#013 - Evolution #9
(Pokémon and related elements ™,©1995-99 Creatures/GAME FREAK/Nintendo.)
Storyline, art by Robert H. Magnusson

"S-SANDY?!"

Sandy began to sweat profusely as the light enamated from within. As Chue watched in horror, her armor plates began to crack open, revealing brown fur and sharp spines. As she held to the ground in obvious pain, Sandy began to grow and change... soon the light dimmed to normal, and Sandy, now a mass of huge quills, continued to shake. "...sandy?!"

Sandy began to stand, uneasily. She pulled her hands from the ground, unsheating massive blades where her claws had been. Her jeans and T-shirt were torn where she had violently outgrown them. Chue had seen Sandslash before, but this one... it was clear Sandy, or whatever she was now, was most certainly a monster, if she hadn't been before.

She turned to him with her dark eyes, now framed in vicious quills that made up her hair. "You'll... pay... for... this...!!"

Chue swallowed hard, paralyzed with fear, and looked toward Marrilyn for help - she was nowhere to be found, nor was Percy. Before he could say or do anything, Sandy attacked violently, slashing her blade-claws at him, sending him into the air. Every cut tore at his clothing, his protective barrier of electricity useless. As he began to black out from the pain, he heard a KERASH of thunder...

The last thing Chue saw was Sandy standing over him in the... in the storm... that had... come... up.

....

"Ooogh.. what... happened?!"

"Good. Our prisoner is AWAKE."

"PRISONER?!" Chue's ears shot straight up. He was inside a large glass half-ball, still in pain, covered with bandages and wearing a pair of black shorts. "Where AM I?! Where's LYN?!"

"Now, now, Mr. Raton, this is no time for QUESTIONS." A lone figure stepped toward him, a Blastoise dressed in a black shirt with a white vest with an R on it, and white pants. Behind him, Percy, what once was Sandy, and a Tentacruel stood, in the more traditional black. "Allow me to introduce myself - I am TARTARUGA, head of Team Rocket's Pokémon City branch. I believe you've met a few of my associates... Percy, Sandy... excuse me, Sandra... and Krüehler. As for you, I've head a lot about you."

Tartaruga stepped toward Chue's prison with purposeful authority, and leaned toward the Pikachu pressed angrily against the glass. "Your performance as a lightweight champion earned me MUCH-needed money, and NOW, with the HEAVYWEIGHT crown on the line, I can make even MORE."

"You may have paid off BLAZER, but CHAMP would never...!"

"I'm afraid I already know that all too WELL, Chue. That's why I sent IVY to take care of him, when the proper round comes..."

Meanwhile, Ivy the Ivysaur was leaning back against a door, which announced in bold letters: CAUTION: OVERHEAD WALKWAYS. It would be a perfect vantage point to carry out the boss's plans...

"As for your blue friend, she will make the PERFECT test for our devolution beam..."

Chue craned his neck to see an evil-looking machine, like a microscope but much much larger. Marrilyn stood in the middle, on her knees, her wrists chained to the plate she knelt on. A large beam was indeed pointed at her head. "A non-anthropomorphic Pokémon as rare as Marrilyn would be EXTREMELY valuable to a human trainer on the black market. As for you, I fear you may not be as lucky, as much as you know, so I must ask... any last REQUESTS, squirt?"

Chue began to rip the bandages from his fur, especially the ones covering his cheeks, and began to spark with rage. Oh, HE had a request, all right...!