Pokevore: Room and Board
#2 of Pokevore
Dratini makes himself at home in his new daycare room.
Bill waltzed into the shiny, new daycare center whistling. A carrying case swung back and forth in his right hand, and he placed the container heavily on the desk in front of a fantastically unimpressed desk clerk.
"Welcome to the Fuchsia City Deluxe Day-park and Breeding Center," the clerk said, swishing the long, brown hair out of his eyes. His tone suggested anything but 'welcome'. "New client?"
"Yes, sir, my good man!" Bill exclaimed, clapping the clerk on the shoulder. "Nothing but the best for my little guy. I mean that..." he continued, squinting his eyes at the clerk's nametag. "Allen." With a knowing glance, he reached forward, popping a crisp, 20 Poke-dollar bill into the man's pocket.
Allen's interest was perked slightly, as reflected in his voice. "We offer day-time supervision in our enclosed park, with full air conditioning, as well as deluxe, king-sized rooms. Honestly, I wish my apartment were as big as these little guys get. Do you want a double, or would you like to pay extra for a single?"
"I think my little guy deserves a big room to himself. I only need a couple of days - I'll be back to collect him after a quick trip to Pallet Town."
"Interested in our breeding services? We have the highest success rate of any major city - that's our promise!" Allen peered into the carrying case, wrinkling his brow as he took in the blue-and-white worm looking dratini. "What is this?"
Bill chuckled. "A beaut, isn't he? I'm afraid he's not in the pokedex. This is a new discovery - the baby form of Seviper! So I doubt he'll be doing any breeding. Or she...?"
"I'll just mark 'dragon-type' on the form...and...unknown gender." Allen said, doing just that. "He's caught right?"
"Of course," Bill said. "The pokeball's right there in the cage with him, but I don't want him stuck in such a thing. When I come back, the ball better still read '1' containment." Bill had no idea that the dratini he carried had never actually been caught.
The rest of the forms were quickly filed, and the "save-your-butts" disclosure forms were only glossed over by the eager explorer. Money exchanged hands. With a simple, "I'll be back!" Bill left the center for his well-dented jeep.
Allen grabbed the case and placed it on the conveyor belt, ringing the bell and calling for his subordinate. "Jenkins! Order up for a single."
In the next room, Toney Jenkins saw the belt move, and removed his headphones reluctantly. "Yes, sir, boss!" he cried, though he only assumed something had been said. Sneakers squeaking on the clean, linoleum floor, Toney grabbed the case and kicked open the door to the rooms.
The pokemon rooms were certainly luxurious. Toney wondered why they didn't cram a dozen of the little guys in each, sparkling white cage, stacked three-high all the way down the corridor. Each cage had an opening to the facility's central garden for playtime, and an entrance for food and water, and a plastic window to see into adjacent cages. All the pokemon were caught and tame, so there was no danger letting them see and frolic with each other. Still, Toney could hardly believe that people would pay to keep their pokemon out of the convenient, cheap pokeballs. Imagine all the extra music they could buy with that money!
He stopped in front the first room. The label said, "Marill". The other label was blank. The roly-poly blue rodent had the whole huge room to herself. Opening the door to the carrier and the door to the cage, Toney picked up the surprised, wild dratini, and tossed him into his new, unfamiliar home.
Headphones already back on, the young man whistled his way back to his chair.
"Rill. Marill!" the rodent said. <Welcome! My name is Sandy!>
Dratini looked around the cage, bemused. In one corner, a little bowl of unappetizing pellets lay next to a water drip-bottle. There were two cloth 'beds' in the other corners. The blue snake flicked his tongue, turning his gaze on the pokemon in front of him.
<What...what's your name?> the mouse said, starting to feel uneasy at the beady, black eyes.
Dratini had long since digested the young Seviper thanks to the dragon's fast metabolism. His stomach rumbled, and despite the pleasant smell emanating from the kibble, he was more interesting in the creature in front of him. It wasn't running, or cowering, or anything. In fact, it was talking to him! Though Dratini understood every word, and if pressed, could speak, he had no interest in talking to his food.
Sandy started to tremble reflexively. She said, <Why...aren't you saying anything?>
Dratini began to slither forward, neither tentative nor hurried. Where could the mouse run? It was trapped in the five-by-two cage. The snake was pleased to see that the Marill knew its fate, not even attempting to flee as he approached.
In reality, the rotund, little mouse had no idea of Dratini's intentions. Even as the serpent closed in on the pokemon, she stammered, <My trainer, Sally, named me. She's the best.>
Sandy opened her mouth to speak again, looking up at the looming pokemon, but before she could utter a word, Dratini's mouth snapped open and then closed. Sandy squeaked, half her body suddenly engulfed in the snake's jaws.
Squeeeeak! <What are you doing!?> she cried, though the sounds were only muffled whimpers to the dratini's wing-shaped ears. Dratini gulped again, his struggling prey merely satisfying his predatory urges. Kibble would never do, compared to this.
Tail twitching and tiny feet flailing, Sandy cried, <Sally, save me! Sallyyyyyy!>
The marill was small and fat, hardly more than two gulps for the growing dratini. Wet, warm muscles rippled across the chubby rodent's body, pulling her deeper. In two more gulps, she was encased in darkness, struggling helplessly against powerful, constricting muscles. Her plaintive cries were nothing more than moaning whimpers, barely audible in the rectangular cage. She was pulled helplessly into her new, much smaller, home.
Dratini licked his lips, cooing as the struggling meal slid down his gullet, settling finally in his belly. He didn't give Sandy another thought, curling up in one of the corners and falling asleep, ignoring the sounds coming from his adjacent cage.
* * * * *
<Ow...ow...ow...> the vulpix cried.
<What happened to you in there?> Charlene asked, swishing her burning tail. The charmander had grown very close to her roommate, Vicky, in the month they'd been sharing their cage.
<You don't wanna know,> she said, whimpering. She curled up into a ball and gently licked beneath her six tails.
Charlene had stayed behind each time Vicky had been taken away for breeding. Vicky's trainer was looking for an egg, and the Fuchsia Day-park and Breeding Center boasted nearly 100% success rate! The first few times, Vicky said she'd been placed in a big room with her owner's sandshrew, but the two were 'just friends'. Though Vicky and Sanford played, they just weren't that into each other, despite how frustrated the daycare's head breeder, Miguel, was getting.
Then, Vicky started to come back sore and wincing, with bruises on her body. The vulpix never explained what happened, despite Charlene's best efforts to coax it out of her.
This was the sixth time she'd come back in pain. Charlene tried to look at the bright side. <Do you think...you'll have an egg, soon?>
<I dunno, Charlene,> she said. <The sooner the better.>
Both pokemon were so intent on their conversation, they were completely oblivious to anything going on in the next cage over.
<I wish I had an egg. Why didn't my trainer sign me up for the breeding program?> Charlene complained.
<Be glad they didn't!>
But the charmander couldn't help but wish so, anyway. <Hey, we have a new neighbor!> Charlene exclaimed, looking through the cage at the sleeping, blue snake.
<Where'd Sandy go?> Vicky asked, curiously, cocking her head at the bulging pokemon.
<I guess Sally finally came back! I'm so happy for her. You know how much Sandy loves her trainer.>
Wistfully, Vicky sighed, <And how much her trainer loves her...>
The next day, Vicky was taken away once more, and the following morning, when Charlene awoke, a large, glistening egg had appeared. Vicky had curled up around it. <Congratulations, Vicky!> Charlene cried, trying to suppress her envy. <Sanford will be so proud!>
<Sanford?> Sighing, Vicky simply said, <Yeah, right. Right.>