Gotta Catch The Pretty Ones

© 2011-2014 by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Chapter Forty-Two

While Penny was gone on her trips Sara normally spent most of her time as a Poketech, reading manuals, exchanging information with traveling Pokehunters who dropped by and just doing the work that she could one handed. She had quickly discovered that Pokeballs were not designed to be serviced by one handed techs, though a one handed hunter had no difficulty with them. After all it was simply push one button then through the marvel of tech-no-wizardly, everything else was simply a battle of the minds. Being round the red and white balls slipped around easily, even falling to the floor to roll away into interesting and very difficult places to fish them out. More than once Sara had resorted to a Pokepet to help her find an errant ball and recover it. It was how she became real friends with Patricia O’Donnel, their favorite Pokepet.

“You really don’t mind being captured?” Sara asked Patricia over dinner.

“At first yes” the black tressed woman answered truthfully. “Then I realized that I was learning what it was like from the Pokemon’s side of things. That is information I always wanted and honestly Sara, my eyes have been opened by what I have discovered.”

“Your notes have been invaluable” Sara agreed. “I never suspected that Pokemon could talk to each other while in their balls.”

“With each other yes Sara” Patricia agreed, “But only those who were owned by the same person. When Pokehunter’s come in your shop we can’t even tell if they have pokemon or not, only that you are talking to someone. It’s too dangerous though to try too hard, if a Pokemon discovered us everything would be ruined.”

“Ruined?” Sara asked, she was taking notes while they talked, Patricia’s words were gold to the Poketech. “Well, Penny and I would go to jail that is certain, all of you would be released and return to your own lives. How could that be ruined in your opinion?”

Patricia remained silent for a whine, looking at her coffee a moment. “Penny makes better coffee than anyone I’ve ever met” she said softly.

“And you can find yourself in your pokeball and not a nice soft bed” Sara agreed. “Is it Waterman? He’s dead, he’s been dead a long time Patricia. He isn’t going to come out of his grave that’s just fiction. I can give you some money, you can go home right now. All I ask is that you never tell anyone where you have been.”

“For me it’s Waterman” Patricia agreed. “For the rest something else, you know what Lucy’s problem is for example. Sara, if you and Penny ended up in jail she’d kill herself, she loves being a Pokepet. There is no freedom in her future she doesn’t want it, but for the rest of us...” She looked away, then back to Sara. “It might be the programming or it just might be that we have had enough time to ourselves to really understand ourselves. We trust you, we want to be part of your lives. God Sara, we couldn’t survive without you.”

“Yes you can, it’s that damn program talking. I swear to you Patricia, I will discover how to erase what it has done to all of you and I will free you. All of you, then I’ll send you all home, even if it is the last breath in my body that does it.”

Patricia shrugged. “Maybe. But you will never get rid of Lucy and, if I have my say... me either. I just can’t feel safe on my own again. Like you once said, there are a lot like Waterman around and I’m not exactly ugly. That’s why Waterman wanted me, because I was beautiful. Nothing else. So even free I’m staying with you wither you like it or not. We talk about this a lot while we are in our Pokeballs Sara, if we didn’t have that ability we would go insane. You don’t take us out near enough you know.”

“I wasn’t aware” Sara admitted. “Current theory is that no time passes for Pokemon while in their balls. You and the rest have already proven that wrong, that after a certain period of time you become aware of the environment around you. But no one had any suspicion that Pokemon could talk to each other while in their balls, or that such communication is limited to the owners pokemon. Look Patricia, as soon as we move into the new tower house I give you my word that you will be out of those things a lot more often, at least a day a week. All at one time if you want.”

“We’d really like that” Patricia admitted. “Even Maria finally came around that she wasn’t the pants in the family anymore. For a while she tried to rule the roost but we just ignored her. Eight months of no communication finally broke her. She’s nice and polite now but I wonder what she’s like out of her ball.”

‘Maria’ Sara thought, trying to remember the woman. Finally it came to her, “Oh that one, I really don’t know Patricia, we’ve never had her out of the ball other than to transfer her from Penny to I, she scared us.”

“You ought too, she’s been crying lately.” Patricia finished her meal and stood to clean up. “Don’t say a word Sara, when you get your new hand you can help. Until then have one of us out every night until Penny gets back. She’s told us how hard it is for you to do things one handed, though you are getting better.”

“All right.” Sara stood, carefully stacking her own plate and silverware but waiting for Patricia to take care of it. “Do you miss Poky hunting?”

“A little yes” the almond eyed woman admitted. “I miss my Pokemon more though, we were friends you know.”

“I think I’ll take a trip down to Harper Falls and see if anyone found what’s left of your pokeballs. As long as the battery section wasn’t broken or disconnected from the memory there is a chance.”

“Let them go, okay?” Patricia asked.

“I will” Sara agreed. She moved into the main room, settling down on the rooms sofa waiting for the radio to warm up. As it did Patricia settled down beside her. “I wonder how many Penny will bring back with her” she said as she snuggled against the red head.

“None” Sara answered. “She specifically left all her type eights home, said she didn’t feel right about hunting. A dream or something.” Music started filling the room and Sara turned the oil lamp down low.

Patricia shrugged. “Too bad, we could have seen if the communication problem is real or just we aren’t trying hard enough.”

“There will be other times” Sara answered, putting her handless arm around Patricia’s shoulder to pull her closer. “Right now lets just enjoy the evening.”

“Bed later?” the Pokepet asked.

“If that’s what you want” Sara agreed.

“Oh yes, it’s what I want” Patricia admitted. “I so very much want.”