Smogon Community - The Misty Story II : Search for Steelicks

Suggested reading: The Misty Story: A Smogon Legend

56K warning, if that’s even relevant. Hell, this might be a broadband warning…

And now, part two………….

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Many months had passed. Despite his efforts, Fish was still no closer to finding Steelicks. He knew of one way to surely find his friend, but he wanted to make sure there was no other way before he took that dangerous route. At this point, it was almost certain that he would have to resort to his backup plan.

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Fish had retained the laptop housing the Misty program, but left it inactive since it was shut down oh-so-long ago. The answers to his questions were inside, but he was wary of the dangers that could arise from rebooting the machine. Now, he had no choice. He removed that unit’s wifi card to prevent it from wrecking havoc on the Internet.

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Upon being booted up, the Misty program was outraged that it had been neglected for so long. Expectedly, he refused to help Fish get the information he wanted. Fish tried to get the information through force, to no avail.

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Fish was unsure of what to do. He decided if he was going to get any answers, he need to go straight to the source of this dilemma. When he contacted Professor Brain, it was evident that the professor had been expecting such an encounter.

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Fish explained his situation. He needed a way to extract the necessary information from the Misty machine by force. Brain made clear that there would be only one way to get this information, and that it would be exceedingly difficult.

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Wellll... maybe not that difficult!

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Professor Brain had been working on a device that would allow an individual to enter a computer. Their consciousness would enter the system, and they could navigate it as if it were an open room. There were of course many dangers to using this, as if the system shut down with a person inside, they would be trapped.

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When the two reached an understanding, Brain handed over the device and wished Fish luck on his mission. He still felt as though it was his fault that Steelicks had been lost.

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With the new device in hand, Fish headed back home to put it to use. He explained to Misty what it was, and gave the program one last chance to tell him what he wanted to know before he removed the information by force.

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Misty knew exactly what this meant. The only reason the program was allowed to survive to this point was because Fish wanted to find Steelicks, and the computer was the only way to find that information. Misty, faced with the reality of the situation, tried to distract Fish from the mission at hand.

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The plan worked, but only briefly. Fish quickly remembered his priorities, and went to set the plan in motion.

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With a swift motion, Fish was inside the computer. It was quite a unique experience. Now that he was here, however, he had no idea where he was supposed to go. He started at the most logical place, My Computer.

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Suddenly, he could hear a voice speaking to him, though he couldn’t see anybody. He soon figured that this was Misty communicating with him. Misty seemed intent on stopping Fish at all costs. Fish started heading towards the G: drive, where the Netbattle program was located.

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However, upon arriving, the only folder he found was titled “Project 64.” Misty bitterly told him it was at the end of this folder that he would find the way to Steelicks. Inside, Fish discovered three generically named folders. Misty explained that Fish must clear all three in order to reach his prize. He would have no idea what lay ahead in each one until venturing inside. Fish took a deep breath, and entered folder number two…

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The room seemed to change around him. He quickly recognized his surroundings and came to the realization that he was in… a video game.

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With his newfound photography gear, Fish started heading forward. He still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, although he was familiar with Nintendo 64 works such as this.

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He started heading down the path towards the first level. Once he arrived, his trip began. It was not long before he heard a rustling in the bushes. He instinctively pointed his camera at the disturbance…

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What was this? A wild… Basics appeared? That certainly wasn’t expected. Before he could stop to figure out what was happening, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

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Dear lord! It was a swarm of flexing Black Leather Jackets. Slowly, Fish began to understand. It seems Misty’s attachment to the community was still strong even after being disconnected so long. He was replacing all the characters in the game with the likenesses of community members. This would get interesting…

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It was Roy! Except it wasn’t really Roy…For some reason now, Fish felt compelled to find the real Spencer Horne.

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Fish then stumbled on what appeared to be another Basics. Apparently wild Basics are very common creatures. He was engaging in some interesting activities. A skarm sat on a nearby log enjoying the show.

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Look out! The Requiem looks like he fell off his perch. The fear of this exotic but dangerous creature caused a nearby LazarusLong to flee.

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Hrm. What looked like a wild Carl appeared before Fish? Or was it a MrDodrio… it seems Misty’s memory was a little more corrupted than Fish thought.

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Yet another wild Basics appeared, this time chokinabitch. Fish was upset with the creature, as his barbaric display seems to have frightened the real ‘lil Spency. Another day, Roy Master…

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Nearing the end of the level, Fish discovered a wild StrangerDanger performing a ritual sacrifice. This was not a wise place to stay…

Suddenly, Fish saw something ahead. It looked very imposing, as if it could be the boss of this game. Fish kneeled down to get a good look…

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Oh dear… a wild Pringle Cloud…. these were rare indeed, albeit a little disturbing. Just as the encounter was completed, Fish’s surroundings changed and he was back where he had started. It looks like one mission was done.

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On to the next!

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What luck! Fish had spent so much time years ago playing this game with his friends. He felt confident that he could take whatever was going to be thrown at him. Of course, he then remembered what Misty had been doing as far as familiar faces…

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Hmm… Fish wasn’t sure if he could fight even the likeness of one of his friends. He was having trouble deciding whom he should fight.

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After not being able to decide how he wanted to proceed, he figured the best course of action would be to random it off. He had no idea who he was going to get…

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As the battle began, he saw his opponent. It was… his clone?

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Fish was immediately worried. This version of himself was stronger and more menacing than he. Fish decided to take on a defensive stance against his alter ego.

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However, Juggler Fish wasted no time going on the offensive. Fish appeared to be getting ready for him, though.

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As Juggler Fish attempted to blast Fish with an aerial attack, a shield popped up to protect the hero from the blow.

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Fish’s shield was able to repel his opponent, and ultimately knock him on his behind.

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Using the opportunity, Fish attempted a grab.

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Success! Adversary in hand, Fish starting swinging him around furiously to launch him for maximum damage.

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The attack didn’t do as much damage as Fish had hoped. Juggler Fish, however, was getting impatient. He knows everything Fish does, especially that Fish hates being taunted when winning. Juggler Fish jumped up on the high platform and start chain-taunting, while Fish grudgingly remained in his defensive posture.

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Not long after, an item dropped. A Pokéball appeared right below Fish’s feet. He rushed to pick it up and release the Pokémon inside!

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The Pokéball opened up to reveal… Deoxys?!

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Before Juggler Fish could retaliate, Deoxys took a position high in the sky and starting firing away with Hyper Beam. Things were not looking for the juggler…

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The repeated pummelings by Deoxys left Juggler Fish beaten. When the attack was complete, Deoxys departed the scene of the battle and left the juggler flying to his demise.

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Fish felt a little bad about the way in which he had won. Just a little…

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Those negative feelings quickly wore off as Fish realized he was almost to his goal of saving Steelicks. With two obstacles down, he was getting ready to head for the next challenge!

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Victory! Two obstacles were now complete, but there was still one more challenge to face. Fish entered the final folder, hoping for success so that he could finally realize his goal…

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The next game awaited him.

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Fish and a group of friends were on a mission to save the Pokémon community from evil! They received their orders from none other than chaos himself.

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The team took to their Arwings and prepared to launch. Fish wanted to make sure everything was under control before they began their mission.

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They headed off. Star Fox 64 was one of Fish’s favorite games, so it was like second nature to him. It didn’t hurt that his friends were willing to offer their advice along the way.

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The mission was going smoothly. Everything went without incident… that is until the third level…

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Fish ordered his wingmen to take them out. After a few moments, it seemed like nothing was happening. It didn’t make any sense until DM shared his thoughts…

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Knowing how GGFan behaves, it was starting to make a little more sense. Arti then confirmed what Fish was thinking at the time.

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It looked like GGFan had brought his alts to back him up in battle. Of course in reality, there was only one person there. GGFan protested such a blatantly insulting allegation.

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Despite his delusion, he was only one ship, and the battle was swift and easy.

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GGFan tried to fake the log of the battle to no avail.

The rest of the path was as Fish knew it. However, he was preparing himself for the final battle, as he knew there was sure to be a curveball thrown at him. As he was entering the corridor to the boss, he fell victim to some mild taunting.

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After navigating the corridors, he approached a large, shadowy figure.

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In a few moments, the grotesque figure was finally revealed…

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Fish’s craft was too close to for him to see what he was looking at. He backed off to get a better look, only to scream in frightening realization…

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The evil EeveeTrainer would be Fish’s last challenge on this day. After regaining his composure, Fish went in for the kill.

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After a long confrontation that left Fish’s Arwing quite battered, Fish came out victorious over the evil mastermind ET.

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However, the destruction of the massive head left the structure in shambles, and it began to come down around him. It looked like Fish was going to be taken down with his enemy, until he heard the sound of a familiar voice…

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It was Steelicks! Fish could barely believe it, but he wasted no time in following his old friend. He did his best to traverse the collapsing corridors, and was moments from destruction before the exit was before him.

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Upon his escape, Fish saw Steelicks disappear into nothingness. His morale sunk. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t at the time realize there was no way Steelicks could have actually been there with him. It would seem the Misty program has a twisted sense of humor after all…

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Despite this, it was still a time to celebrate. The last obstacle had been overcome, and the way to find Steelicks would soon be revealed.

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Fish returned to the computer screen. He demanded that Misty give him what he wanted as he had fulfilled the program’s requirements. It wasn’t long, however, before Fish was greeted by someone he wasn’t expecting…

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It seems Fish was mislead after all!

To be continued…