{Game} Crystal Caves Battle Arena V.3 [MA]

[Wolfsong]

Crystal Caves: Battle Arena

Mod approved by Wolfsong and Aipom of Doom

The battle arena is where you train your Captured Pokemon. You write out your battle, and then one of the workers rates it and gives you an appropriate amount of CCPs. The amount is base on the quality and effort put into your writing. For each battle you're Pokemon can gain one or two levels. There are two ways in which you can battle.

The Scenario
At all times, there will be one active scenario that works much like the scenarios at the Dragon Tamers Battle Range. Scenarios will be changed once in a while, but you will have ample time to write for them. A list of Pokemon you can battle is privided as is a description of why you are battling. You may battle against two Pokemon per scenario unless it is stated otherwise. The battles can be one at a time or both together. You may also have one or two of your Pokemon opposing each of the opposing pokemon (or one of your pokemon againt two opposing pokemon at once). Be creative; just don't push the limits too far.

The Random Battle Generator
This is the other way to get a battle. Unlike the scenario, this is not free. You must pay 7 CCPs to use this. When you do, one of the workers will assign you an area of the Capture Center and an opponent. You then write a one-on-one battle with one of your pokemon against the assigned Pokemon (who is at an equal level to the one you chose. Your pokemon will gain one level from this battle, and your battle will be rated like the other battles so it isn't hard to make a few CCPs off your battle also. This may be used once a week. You can also request a random battle with 2 or 3 opponents (for 2 or 3 Pokemon respectively). In that case, it will cost 7 CCPs per opponent, and you will have to wait 2 or 3 weeks respectively before requesting another random battle. When asking for an RPG please state the level and name and/or species of the pokemon which will be battling.

Misc Rules
The raising of Pokemon works the same here as it does with the Dragon Tamers. If you aren't familiar with their system, here's an explanation:

¤ Pokemon learn moves at the same level they learn them in any pre-evolution in any version of the Gameboy Games (even if their current evolution doesn't learn it).
¤ When you get a Pokemon, you may choose one bred-on move for your Pokemon. This attack may come frm a list of bred-on moves that your Pokemon can learn, or it can be a TM (what counts as a TM is described next.
¤ When your Pokemon reaches a level that is a multiple of ten (10, 20, etc.) you may get one free TM. The free TM can be any TM or HM from any Pokemon game that your pokemon can learn, a special move that is attainable through one of the Stadium 64 games, or a move tutor that your pokemon can learn. NYPC moves and Pokemon Box moves cannot be used.
¤ Hidden Power is allowed, but once you choose a type it must remain the same.
¤ Pokemon evolve at the level they evolve in the video games.
¤ If a Pokemon evolves via a stone, you need to obtain the appropriate stone to evolve it.
¤ If a Pokemon evolves by Metal Coat, Upgrade, King's Rock, or Dragon Scale, you must buy the appropriate item.
¤ If a Pokemon evolves by trading or by happiness, you must use a Genetic Accelerator Gene.

The current Scenario is found on page 2 (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/showthread.php?p=562440#post562440)

[Wolfsong]

Thanks to Hannah for coming up with our current Scenario.

As the last hold of winter releases its grip on the caves, the Pokémon inhabitants begin to prepare themselves for the coming months. Gradually, little skirmishes build up into full scale fights as the Pokémon battle to lay down the boundaries of their territory. The winners bask in the glow of their power, and the knowledge that they have an area to raise their young when born. The losers retreat, to tend their wounds but….their weak state makes them easy prey for wandering trainers, and many lose again, to the power of the trained Pokémon.

~A Year Ago~

Inside the cold stillness of the South Caverns, two twin Alakazam’s face off against the established leader. Though their youth gives them extra strength, the older creature’s knowledge and experience pays off; defeated, the two slink away.

A flash of light. A roar.
Before they know what has happened, something springs at them, goaded on by the human controlling it. As the two turn to flee, one feels a strange jerk, things vanishing before his eyes as he is dragged backwards into an item….so as his brother runs in terror, alone, a bitterness and hatred begins to emerge.

And as a full year turns, the remaining brother finally turns his attentions to what has become his only focus in life- dealing as big a hurt as he had dealt to him. With him, are those who have suffered the same fear and pain, all ready to fight and destroy as much as they can before they fall.

Morning brings a story to the resident of the Caves….a trainer and his Pokémon, attacked and ripped at by creatures, only escaping with his life as the Pokémon leave him as a warning.

It is up to the prepared trainers to battle these Pokémon and drive them back, breaking them free of the obsession that now drives them.

L10 and below
L5 Totodile L5 +1
L10 Growlithe +2

L10.5-L15
L11 Beedrill +1
L15 Scyther +2

L15.5-L20
L16 Nidorino +1
L20 Mawile +2

L20.5-L25
L21 Stantler +1
L25 Mightyena +2

L25.5-L30
L26 Ariados +1
L30 Primeape +2

L30.5-L35
L31 Fearow +1
L35 Golem +2

L35.5-L40
L36 Vigoroth +1
L40 Blaziken +2

L40-L45
L41 Absol +1
L45 Rapidash +2

L45.5+
L46 Sceptile +1
L50 Tyranitar +2

[Wolfsong]

With the discoveries of the new locations, adventurers and scientists departed into uncharted territory. Nine groups departed in different directions, leaving into the unknown. The groups were never seen for a long time, and assumed to have disappeared.

One day, nine survivors returned. They looked healthy and nourished, not even showing fatigue from living in the wilds for weeks. They grinned in their wrather-weathered clothing. The nine survivors immediately called for 9 buildings to be built, their gyms. As soon as they were completed, they issued challenges to all who dare face them. Whoever would win would recieve a badge to prove their victory and something else. Something special. A Secret Machine.

Do you dare challenge the 9?

In this portion of the Battle Arena, you can challenge any of the 9 SM Holders for their badge and Secret Machine. First, choose an opponent from the list below. Then, descriptively write out your battle, facing only two of the three Pokemon listed in a 3 vs 3 match, listing the three Pokemon you want to use at the beginning of the post. Judging from the quality of the story, the intensity of the battle (you have to make yourself struggle to win this match, not just, "I beat the crap out of the GL's Pokes", the end and stuff to that effect), and other stuff like that, the updater/rater will write the conclusion to your story, and you will either win or lose the match. Now for the list of leaders.


The Grass Gym
Leader: Crystal
Pokemon: Ludicolo (Lv.30), Vileplume (Lv.40), Meganium (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 01, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Flying Gym
Leader: Tori
Pokemon: Xatu (Lv.30), Skarmory (Lv.40), Pidgeot (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 02, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Fire Gym
Leader: Nuria
Pokemon: Flareon (Lv.30), Arcanine (Lv.40), Charizard (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 03, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Psychic Gym
Leader: Matt
Pokemon: Espeon (Lv.30), Xatu (Lv.40), Alakazam (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 04, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Dark Gym
Leader: Alana
Pokemon: Umbreon (Lv.30), Sneasel (Lv.40), Houndoom (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 05, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Steel Gym
Leader: Jeff
Pokemon: Scizor (Lv.30), Aggron (Lv.40), Steelix (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 06, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Water Gym
Leader: Kawase
Pokemon: Lapras (Lv.30), Starmie (Lv.40), Blastoise (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 07, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Ghost Gym
Leader: Christian
Pokemon: Sableye (Lv.40), Gengar (Lv.40), Secret Pokemon (Lv.50)*
Prize: SM 08, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

The Electric Gym
Leader: Carmen
Pokemon: Raichu (Lv.30), Magneton (Lv.40), Electabuzz (Lv.50)
Prize: SM 09, CCPs, Level up for Participants.

* You may only face Sableye and Gengar. The Secret Pokemon match will be written by the updater/revierer/person/worker/thing. :o

This shall be a permanent part of the Battle Arena, and it is not considered a regular Battle Arena Scenario. You may challenge the Gym Leaders as many times as you wish, and costs nothing to participate in a match. Only one restriction though. You may only face one Gym Leader a day, once a day.

Update: Questions have been raised about how many levels you can get from battling the gym leader's pokemon. Each pokemon will grant between 1 and 3 levels for the winning pokemon depending on the raters evaluation of the battle.

Last post here from me for the time being, but now that i no longer have tamal as a battling member of my team (technically released, btut storywise still gonna appear), may i have a refund from his rbg. ^^; *goes to finish my story for the scenario*

[The Blue Avenger]

I certainly don't mind. *Hands over 7 CCPs*

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: Here is part one of my story for the scenario. This is supposed to occur right after Tiana teleported. Sorry if it seems rushed, but I’ve been working on it for so long that I wanted to finish it and I’ve had writer’s block in parts.


(Zale’s POV)

I sighed. That talk with Tiana didn’t go as well as I would have hoped. In fact, it was a disaster. We ended up having a huge argument, and then Tiana teleported away. Even at the best of times, when she was calm her teleporting had much to be desired. When she was upset, who knew where she would end up.

I didn’t want to alarm anyone just in case she was still in the house. I started on the bottom floor and worked my way up, but I didn’t see any trace of Tiana. I decided to make one more trip through the house before I tried to find any help. Another search through the house also yielded nothing. I groaned.

Shaking my head, I turned around and began looking for Dakota. Ruki was too young, and I didn’t trust Tamal just yet. I also didn’t worry Ranec. I quickly found Dakota tucking Aiko in bed. I waited until he was finished before I spoke up. “Got a minute?” I asked him. Dakota looked up at me and immediately knew that something was wrong. “What is it?” he asked as soon as we had left the room.

I took a deep breath. “Tiana’s gone.” Dakota’s eyes widened. “Gone? What do you mean by gone? What happened?” “Tiana and I had an argument. When she tied to walk out the door, I blocked her exit. She then teleported away, and I haven’t seen her since.” “Do you think she might be somewhere in the house?” I shook my head. “She isn’t. I’ve searched the house from bottom to top and back down again. She isn’t anywhere inside the house. Will you help me look for her?” I asked him. “Sure.” Dakota agreed.

“Count me in as well.” came a voice from the shadows. I looked around and saw Ranec emerging from them. He turned to look at me, smiling gently. “Why didn’t you come to me?” he asked. “I didn’t want to disturb you. Besides, you had a battle earlier. You needed your rest.” Ranec smiled. “Zale, your concern for others is both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. You have to let others make their own decisions. However, now is not the time for this discussion. Our main concern is Tiana.” Ranec said before turning to look at Dakota. “We should probably search all night. If we don’t find her, we come back home and wake Amy up in the morning.” Dakota and I nodded in agreement.

I long silence followed. “Where do you think we should look?” I asked them, breaking the silence. “The South Caverns.” Ranec and Dakota said at the same time. “Why there?” I asked. Dakota smiled. “Do you remember what types are native to that particular area?” I closed my eyes in thought. “Let’s see… Fire types are found there, as well as Dark and Psychics. I see. We’re going to look at the most likely place that she would turn up.” Dakota nodded. By now, I was getting impatient. “What are we waiting on? Let’s go.” Ranec shook his head. I was going to have a talk with him after Tiana was found. I needed to find out what me meant by my concern for others being my greatest strength yet also my greatest weakness. I thought about it the whole time that I spent following them to the South Caverns.

Once we reached the South Caverns, we began our search. We saw several pokemon, but none of them was Tiana. Also, the ones that we tried to ask looked at use fearfully, or else like they despised us being in the same room with them. It wasn’t until we came across a young growlithe by himself, before we got any leads at all. He was weaker than any of us. All it took was a little intimidation from the three of use, which was Ranec’s idea, and the growlithe told use what he knew. It wasn’t much, but it was a good lead. Some of the pokemon that were hell-bent on driving the trainers out of the crystal caves, had managed to capture a trainer’s espeon. Rumor had it that it was a shiny espeon which was why it was still alive. Upon hearing that, I tackled the growlithe to the ground. “Where can we find them?” I demanded. “I… I think that they are in one of the rooms deeper in the caverns.” Having answered my questions, I let him go. The growlithe ran off yelping with his tail tucked between his legs.

My eyes narrowed as I watched him run off. I spun around and looked at Ranec and Dakota. They were whispering. “I don’t know what you’re waiting for, but we need to go.” With that, I took off at a run. “Wait! I heard Dakota. “It could be a trap.” At this point, I didn’t care. I had to find Tiana. If anything had happened to her…

I charged through the cavern, heading deeper with every passing second. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally approached a large room. At the far end of the room, there was a cage made out of the natural formations of stalactites and stalagmites. I froze when I saw what was inside the cage. It was an espeon. A shiny espeon lay inside.

“IT seems we have a prowler.” I heard a voice snarl. “A prowler belonging to a rotten trainer,” came a second voice. I looked around and saw that I was being approached by a Mightyena and a Blaziken. I braced myself for a fight, but I knew deep down that I wasn’t strong enough to take on one of them, much less both. “Hold it.” A third voice said, causing the other to pokemon to freeze in their tracks. “Yes sir.” They muttered, parting to let the owner of the third voice through. I gasped. It was a magnificent specimen of an absol. However, instead of the normal white fur like Angel had, his fur was a brilliant golden color. “Throw him into the cage with the espeon.” “Why are you doing this?” I demanded. “The absol shook his head. “Children these days just don’t respect their elders.” With that, the air around him began to crackle with electricity. My eyes widened as the electricity raced towards me like a wave. I tried to run, but it was no use. I cried out in pain before everything went black.


(Dakota’s POV)

I shook my head as Ranec and I chased after Zale. I wished that he had listened, but I had to admire the fact that he would race into the unknown in order to help his sister. I mentally kicked myself. I needed to concentrate. “Did you see where he went?” Ranec asked. “No,” I replied, shaking my head. “Just wonderful.” Ranec muttered. “Now we’ve lost Zale as well.” “Maybe not,” I said, as I put my nose to the cave floor.

It took me a little while, but I eventually located Zale’s scent. I howled once I had located it before taking off running. I had no idea why I had howled, but it felt as if it was a necessity. I guess that was instincts for you. I heard Ranec running after me. We hadn’t gone very for when we came across a vast room. It was in that particular room where I lost Zale’s scent. As I looked around, I noticed that Zale was lying unconscious inside a natural formation that had resembled a cave at the far end of the room. There was also a shiny espeon in there as well. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a closer look as I heard footsteps approaching.

“Well, if it isn’t a regular party.” I shook my head. That voice sounded familiar. I turned around and saw my former pack leader. It was the former leader that had been overthrown shortly before I left. He was the one that I had liked. Anyways, now he was approaching alongside a blaziken.

“What do you two want?” a third voice asked. It took a while before I located the owner of the voice. When I did, I gasped. Up on a rocky outcropping was a huge, golden absol.

“We want you to release the vaporeon and the espeon. Ranec ordered. The absol smiled. “I thought that that might be it, however I can not allow that.” I began snarling, but the absol raised up a paw. “You could however, attempt to win their freedom.” “How?” I demanded. The absol smiled sneakily. The two of you can battle my associates. Should you win, all four of you go free.” “What happens if we lose?” Ranec asked. “All four of you stay. There is no time to debate. Fell! Torch! Get to work.”


[color=gray]Dakota L.25 M Mightyena Vs. Fell L.25 M Mightyena

Fell and I circled each other, neither of us letting our guard down. At least, that was the case until Fell spoke. “Don’t I know you?” He asked. “Yes.” was my only reply. A smile appeared on Fell’s face. “You’re that little pup whose mother joined our pack, shortly before you were born. Her former pack had kicked her out because her mate had been captured. I always knew that you could have been an alpha. It was in your blood. Now we’re never know, because that twit ousted me and you are a spoiled trained pokemon.

His comments had distracted me just for a few seconds, and that was all that Fell needed. Fell caught me off guard and knocked me to the ground with his tackle. I roared in anger. I had allowed myself to get distracted. I wouldn’t let that happen again. I pushed him off of my, buying me enough time to use a portion of my health to create a life-sized, life-like doll.

I grinned as Fell charged towards my substitute and bit it. He sat there, confused as to why “I” didn’t react. Next, I began to secrete toxins from my fangs. Then, I walked straight up to Fell, who thanks to the magical part of the substitute, didn’t see me, and I bit down on his tail as hard as I could with my poison coated fangs.

Fell blanched as he looked around before he smiled. “You are smarter than you appear. I’ve never encountered a substitute before, yet what else could this be. You haven’t disappointed me in ability, but by choice. You could have been so much more than a trained pokemon.” He said loudly before he destroyed what was left of my sub. “Did you think I was stupid enough to fall far it even though I’ve never had it used on me before?” Fell asked, snarling as he shook his head. Stepping out of the shadows, I emerged. “On the contrary, I used it merely as a diversion so that I could attack.” “Poison Fang.” Fell snarled. I nodded, nimble dodging an iron tail by disappearing into the shadows. I remerged behind the surprised mightyena and hit him with an iron tail of my own as hard as I could.

Fell snarled and began to dig into the floor of the cavern. I began to dig as well. Once I felt the vibrations that told me Fell had surfaced, I prepared to surface underneath him. Unfortunately, I had forgotten one tiny thing. All of a sudden, the ground around me began to shake, as I struggled to the surface. I cursed myself. How could I have forgotten that Fell had a ground type hidden power. Once I surfaced, I stood there panting. I was sore all over and no doubt going to have a ton of bruises from being underground when Fell used his hidden power. Speaking of Fell, by now he was having a hard time even standing up. The poisons were doing their job, albeit slowly. I quickly lowered my head and charged forward. My headbutt caught Fell off guard, and we slammed into a nearby stalagmite. I slowly climbed to my paws, however Fell was down for the count. I looked around to see that Ranec was still battling the blaziken.


[color=gray]I won!
I grew to L.27!
I learned Swagger

[The Blue Avenger]

Amy, I think I'ma hand over 8 CCPs for that. You're right in that it did seem a bit rushed, but then again, it's also something I can relate to, so meh. Just a minor nitpick: it seems like the Pokemon are talking an awful lot during the battle. I understand Fell doing it first to distract Dakota, but when he's discussing the substitute, it seems like that would be a prime opportunity to attack. But that's not a big deal at all. Can't wait to see how this all plays out.

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: Here is part two of my story for the scenario. Sorry if it seems rushed as rushed as the first part, but I’ve been working on it for so long that I wanted to finish it and I’ve had writer’s block for most of Ranec’s battle x.X. Anyways, about Fell talking about the substitute. Remember that he used to be the leader of Dakota’s pack before he was ousted. That would mean that Dakota had a little respect for him, even if he was battling. *shrugs* I do see what you mean too. Oh well… Also the electric attack that Ranec used was zap cannon, and I used a randomizer to see if it would hit a clone or the real deal.


(Zale’s POV)

I felt something nudge me. I struggled to sit up, groaning as I did so. “Hey, are you all right?” a voice asked. I waited a few minutes before answering to make sure that the effort from speaking wouldn’t knock me out again. “Does it look like I’m all right?” I asked sarcastically. “No,” came the brutally honest reply. I slowly opened my eyes to find a shiny espeon, but it wasn’t Tiana. “Hey, you’re… you’re not my sister.” I said rather stupidly. The espeon chuckled. “You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes aren’t you? Sorry to disappoint you.”

I was about to ask him what his name was when a pair of mightyenas crashed into one of the stalagmites of the cage. Not long after, one of them slowly rose and I smiled because I recognized him. It was Dakota. As I looked around, I realized that Ranec was having a heated battle with a blaziken, no pun intended. “I take it that you know these guys.” I nodded. “They’re my teammates.” The mightyena is Dakota, the umbreon is Ranec, and my name is Zale.” The espeon nodded. “My name is Ronnie.” The espeon soon fell silent as we watched the battles finish up.


(Ranec’s POV)

I tried to sneak over to Zale, but the Blaziken saw what I was up to and hit me with a powerful kick that sent me sliding across the room. The next thing I knew was that I was crashing into the wall on the far side of the room.


Ranec L.36 M White Umbreon with Black Rings Vs. Torch L.40 M Blaziken

I quickly scrambled to my paws as the Blaziken, Torch, approached me. My eyes began to glow purple as I used my psychic powers to push the firefighter back into the wall. He squawked in pain before his eyes narrowed. Torch slammed his elbow into the wall of the cavern causing ome rocked to fall from the cave’s ceiling essentially burying me. I took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. I needed to stay calm and not panic. Sure enough, once I had calmed down, an idea came to me. I began to carefully maneuver through the rocks when three sprouted from the floor of the cavern and meeting at the top trapping me inside. Or at least that’s what the blaziken was hoping for. Although I was pretty bruised and banged up from first the rock slide and then the rock tomb, I was far from being knocked out. I concentrated, and as I did so my tail turned a metallic gray color. Then, I began to chip away at the rocks surrounding me with my iron tail.

Eventually, I was able to extricate myself, and the first thing that greeted me was a stream of flame. I quickly ducked back inside the rocks and waited for the flamethrower to die out. Unfortunately, I hadn’t escaped the full force of the blast and my ears were still stinging from the attack and my fur smelled acrid, but luckily I didn’t get burned. I growled loudly from inside the rocks, and when I peaked out again, I realized that the blaziken had used double team. Well, I thought. Two can play at that game. I quickly scrambled out of the rocks and as I did so, I was busy creating some clones. When I was finished, I had five clones compared to the blaziken’s two. I was lucky, but not for long. The blaziken gave an angry cry before several tiny heat seeking star-shaped missiles exploded from his beak and headed straight for me, taking out my clones in the process.

I closed my eyes. What I was about to do was risky at the best of times, but with my opponent having double team clones, it was asking the impossible but maybe luck was still on my side. Keeping my eyes closed, I concentrated. I could feel my rings beginning to crackle with electricity as they produced an orb of electrical energy. As soon as the attack was on its way, I felt the electricity in my fur die out. I held my breath, and waited for what seemed like an eternity and then I heard it. An angry squawk that suddenly and abruptly ended. I opened my eyes to see that Torch had an enraged look on his face and his clones were gone.

I charged forwards hoping to slam into the blaziken knocking him to the ground. Unfortunately, at that particular moment he wasn’t fully paralyzed and I crashed into a protective barrier. He then proceeded to lash out at me with his powerful legs. I struggled to keep from crying out as those double kicks hurt. Finally they stopped, and my eyes began glowing violet again. Luckily for me Torch was fully paralyzed now, as I blasted him backwards using my psychic powers. One more psychic attack and Torch sank to the ground unconscious. I walked over to him, snarling and though he couldn’t hear me I whispered something in his ear hole. “Don’t mess with me or my team.”


I won!
I grew to L.38!

With that, I turned around and stared at the absol who was scowling. “You must release the vaporeon and the espeon now.” I said, my voice as steady as the gaze that I stared at the absol with.

“Very well.” the absol replied as he lifted Zale and the espeon roughly out of the cave using his hidden power and threw them across the room. The absol then turned to look me in my eyes. “We will meet again and when we do, I shall make you regret being a trained pokemon.” With that, he disappeared into the shadows.

Once he was gone, I turned to make sure that the others were okay. Dakota looked all right, though he was probably just as tired and as sore as I was. Zale would be okay, but that electric attack he had been hit with had left him rattled. The espeon, which I quickly realized wasn’t Tiana as soon as I saw him, said that he had been hit by a shock wave attack. The espeon was all right as well. I soon learned that his name was Ronnie, and he thanked us for freeing him.

Then something weird happened. Ronnie went rigid. The only part of his body that was moving was his forked tail. He then began to speak in far off, distant voice. “The one you seek will be found as sunrise peaks. As the pidgey fly, look toward the sky.” Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. We all just stared at the espeon. Ronnie blinked. “What are you all staring at?” “Nothing,” I mumbled as the rest of the team agreed.

I shook my head. I didn’t really care much for riddles, especially ones that the maker didn’t remember anything about. Ronnie decided to stay with us until we left the caverns. It took a while, but eventually we managed to make it outside without running into any more hostile pokemon. Once we had made it outside, the sun was just beginning its assent into the sky. “This is where I must leave. Once more, thanks for all of your help even though I wasn’t who you were searching for. I hope that you find her. Take care, and I hope that we meet again someday… though under different circumstances.” We all chuckled at that.

So, after Ronnie left us, the three of us slowly made our way home. We all looked rough, and no doubt Amy would be asking questions when she saw us, but right now I was dreading as much as the others about telling her that Tiana was missing. Suddenly, I heard a surprised shout form Zale.

“There she is!” “Where?” I asked as I was snapped out of my thoughts. I began to look around but I didn’t see any sign of the tiny little espeon. “She’s on the roof!” I looked up and sure enough there was Tiana sitting on the roof and blushing. I used my psychic powers to get her down before we all headed inside. As soon as we were inside, I headed for my normal sleeping spot and as soon as I had laid down, I was fast asleep.

Edit I'd like an RBG for my L.13 shiny umbreon with eevee's mane Ruki please. *hands over 7 ccps leaving me with 23*

[The Blue Avenger]

Amy, I'll get to the rate soon, but Ruki will battle a level 13 Chinchou at the River.

[*Murkrow]

Here's my combined RBG (for Ryau) and my scenario battle.

In this, I'm writing in that I released my Dratini, Sapphire, rather than giving her to Amy.

*Contains blood, swearing and death*

----------------------------

The weak sun shimmered as a sliver of clouds drifted across, sending pale shadows dancing across the grass. A light breeze rippled across, rustling the stems and making the small silver Pokémon giggle. As he danced through the grass, a bark caught his attention, causing him to glance back.
Jock shook his head, motioning for the Eevee to come back; Paytah whined but complied, trotting obediently towards the Houndoom. Settling down by his side, the baby yawned and curled up, drifting into sleep almost instantly. Jock stared at him for a second, then grinned and tugged the Pokémon closer to him, curling up protectively.

Sianna grinned at the sight; Jock and Paytah had really bonded in the weeks since the Eevee’s birth. Though admittedly, maybe evoking the Houndoom’s protective side had not been the most desirable of consequences…but nothing could really be done about that now. She just knew that she wasn’t the only one half-hoping that the baby would grow up quickly.
Still, at least…..her thoughts were cut off as she registered the sound of rustling leaves. Whipping her head-leaf round, she spun on the spot, striking the pouncing figure with vicious accuracy. Then she found herself struggling to resist the urge to smirk at the floundering Pokémon sprawled in the grass in front of her.
‘Really, Fao, you’d think that you’d have figured out by now that you’re not going to succeed in attacking me by stealth. It’s just not your style.’ She smiled in a benign way at the Poochyena sprawled in the grass, who snarled and rolled to his feet.
Ever since the time she’d first struck out at him, the two had been increasingly becoming at loggerheads. His pride and dignity had been pretty much shattered by being shown up by her and so his desperate attempts to pay her back had increased tenfold. Not that he was much of a threat; and to be frankly honest, she had slowly begun to enjoy showing him up time and time again. It was simply payback for all the insults she had had to put up with after she evolved.
Though it was still strange to remember that once they’d been best friends…but that was water under the bridge now.
Watching as he backed off and ran for cover, she felt nothing but contempt.

Faolan snarled to himself as he reached the thick cover of the bushes that lined the sides of the back garden. That cow. He hated her with such a flaming passion.
Crouching down, his eyes easily located her as she strolled casually back towards the house, pausing to make a random remark to Brenth, who trumpeted and nodded.
Acting like she owns the place.
‘Why do you put up with this…‘team’ as you’d no doubt call it?’
The sudden voice made him jump and he scrambled round, to find himself face-to-face with a fully grown, immense looking Mightyena. He swallowed, trying to pretend like he wasn’t both intimidated and in immediate awe. He’d longed to evolve for so long….this Pokémon was his dreams in flesh and blood.
His fur was rich and luxurious, thick, deep black, wonderfully contrasting with his sleek grey fur. His pose was elegant…natural elegance of a kind that Faolan would never have dreamed that he could ever have. His sharp claws glinted in the light, mirroring the knowing glimmer in his piercing eyes. A smirk trickled over his snout, revealing his sharp teeth, coated with a thin layer of saliva.
Realising that this newcomer was no doubt giving him the exact same once-over, Faolan blushed and looked down, shifting his feet. He’d never felt so exposed in all his life.
‘I know what you want,’ the Mightyena whispered, his eyes shining. ‘It’s written all over your face.’
Faolan felt his blush deepen. He didn’t say anything.
‘I could help. I’ve been watching you for a while now, and I think you could release your true potential if you chose to listen to what I have to say.’
‘Yes,’ Faolan whimpered, his eyes welling. ‘Yes, nobody ever talks to me anymore, nobody cares.’
‘Because of her?’ His new friend motioned over Faolan’s shoulder, towards where Sianna had settled down by the porch, dozing in the sunlight. ‘She turned everyone else against you, didn’t she? She stole your light, and destroyed anyone’s interest in your evolution.’
‘Yeah…you’re right, that bitch did,’ spat Faolan, beginning to tremble. Rage flowed though his body as he remembered the last year…all his hints, his longing to battle, to prove himself. ‘Nobody cared. Even when I lost, nobody offered me any sympathy. Even my so called ‘trainer’. She’s only interested in Omega anymore.’
‘Leaving Sianna free to impose her ideas on everyone else,’ breathed out the Mightyena triumphantly.
‘YES! SHE….how do you know her name?’
‘As I said, I’ve been watching you for a while now. I made it my job to know as much as I could about your life and relationships’- Faolan snorted- ‘with others before I approached you. And if you do not mind me saying so…I understand that you chose your name yourself?’
‘Yes,’ snapped Faolan viciously. ‘and I won’t have anyone insult it! It’s proof of my individuality.’
‘I never said it wasn’t,’ his friend murmured gently. ‘But-forgive me, I feel it does not suit you as well as a name should.’
Faolan flattened his ears a notch, and narrowed his eyes. ‘And?’
‘You chose it because it means ‘wolf’, did you not?’
‘Yes.’
‘Zev. It means the exact same thing, yet I feel it encompasses your true individuality more. Don’t you agree?’
‘Faolan…Zev….’ Faloan tested the two names, comparing, contrasting them. ‘ I don’t know. I like my name.
‘As you should do,’ chuckled his friend. ‘Oh, that reminds me. My name is Barbossa.’ He tilted his head regally.
‘Barbossa? Does that mean ‘wolf’, as well?’ questioned Faolan curiously.
‘No idea,’ grinned the Pokémon, ‘it was my way of expressing my individuality.’
‘I see.’ Faolan retuned the grin. ‘Will you help me give Sianna the lesson she deserves?’
‘I would be honoured too.’
‘Thank you.’
Faolan stood up, turned and strode through the bushes protective cover and onto the lawn. His head held high, he stormed across the grass, his body trembling with certainty. Now he was going to show her…truly show her. A wide smile slipped across his face and he laughed joyfully.
‘SIANNA.’
The Bayleef jumped, woken from her light doze, blinking at him in surprise. ‘What, Fao?’
Something about her expression told him something was up with his appearance, but he just grinned wider, relishing the discomfort that was rapidly spreading over her face. ‘Fao..please. What is it? What’s wrong?’
He laughed louder at that. ‘Nothing’s wrong, I’m perfectly fine. Just saying my goodbyes.’ By now, he was aware that everybody within earshot was listening avidly; Jock and Paytah had woken up; Ryau and Celeste were staring at him from their usual spot in the tree branches; Shiri, Brenth, Flash and Tasha were all littered around, watching; Charade and Sapphire were floating motionless in the pond. And Rage….something cold seemed to touch his spine as he realised that the Skarmory was settled on the rooftop, directly overhead, his eyes bearing down. They made contact for a brief second and the Poochyena saw a burning knowledge of what was going on flaring inside of them.
What the........?
‘Fao, this isn’t funny,’ Sianna climbed slowly to her feet, looking anxious.
‘It’s not meant to be funny,’ he hissed. She shook her head and took a step forward.
And something just snapped.
He flung himself at her, teeth bared, even though he knew what her retaliation would be.
‘Sianna, Fao, cut it out.’ Jock, ever the peace-maker stepped forward a few paces, frowning as Sianna knocked the Poochyena onto the grass. ‘Will you two please stop the random fighting?’
‘NO,’ screamed Faolan, rolling to his feet and pouncing again. Jock snarled and ran forwards…..
It happened in a split second. A howl rang out…and then Barbossa was suddenly there, charging across the grass and flinging himself on the lone form of Paytah, still sitting in the spot where he had been sleeping. He seized the Eevee in his teeth and bit down hard. The sound of snapping bones rang out into the sudden silence. Then, ominously slowly, he relaxed his jaw and let the limp form crumple to the ground.
Faolan felt a shudder run through his whole body. That snap, the sudden switch from breathing to..to…he wanted it. He wanted more.
Barbossa fled; he’d done what he’d come to do. Now the true decision lay with someone other than him.
‘You..’ whispered Jock, trembling, shock flickering in his eyes. ‘You sick….’ Next second, the Houndoom crashed to the ground as Faolan lunged at him.
‘You’re not going to touch him,’ the Poochyena chuckled mockingly. ‘Not when he’s the only decent creature around here.’
‘Fao, no,’ he heard Flash yelling behind him…but a metallic shriek cut him off as Rage shot from the roof and landed between the two of them, looking down at Faolan.
‘If you’re going to go, then go,’ he hissed, his eyes carrying that same expression again. ‘But tell Barbossa that I’m going to hunt him down, and when I do, I’ll kill him.’
Faolan laughed, not registering the true meaning behind Rage’s words. ‘I’ll tell him that.’ Then he bounded away from the stunned looking Jock, running to stand by the motionless Eevee.
‘Fao,’ he heard Sianna sob.
He smirked. ‘The name’s Zev, you stupid bitch.’ Then he grabbed the dead Pokémon and fled, hearing the riot erupt behind him as Rage held back the flow of screaming Pokémon.

Bolting over the threshold between the garden and the shrub-lands of the meadow, his heart leapt as he saw the figure waiting for him, his dark coat signalling him out as he regally waited. Zev saw the proud smile lingering over his face, before the Mightyena’s eyes roved skywards and the quiet glow of pride changed to that of triumph. Zev slowed his movement and glanced back, seeing the figure of the Skarmory circling before striking out, in the opposite direction to them. Laughing inside, he turned away and followed his friend, never looking back.

------------------------------

The two weeks that followed were a blur of screams, cries, arguments and silent struggles of emotion. Hannah and Omega had returned to find a home in chaos, with disbelieving Pokémon struggling to explain what had happened while others just sat around in shock. This was not helped when the two had revealed where they had been; after checking through the rent costs Hannah had decided that they couldn’t continue living where they currently were and had been searching for alternative housing. Although this was initially met as another act in the complete screwing up of their present lives, a single day was enough to change their minds; nobody could bear going back out into the back garden, and so within a week the team found themselves re-locating to a ground floor flat nearer the centre of the small town.
One major problem with this was although the block of flats had a garden, there was no adequate space - nor either the permission- required to construct a pool of the proportions right for a Relicanth. And so Charade was released back into the lake a couple of days after their move.
Over the enfolding week, Shiri, Brenth and Tasha also faded out and away, slipping out at night, leaving even more gaping holes in the team.
Then, one day they woke up to find Celeste had vanished. Ryau was devastated; not only that, but Rage had not been seen since he had fled, with the general consensus that he wasn’t going to be seen again. Ryau couldn’t stand the thought that she’d lost both her best friend and her lover, and took refuge in the sky, flying for hours on end, silently watching the landscape beneath her.
Some comfort eventually came her way from Omega, who had an experience he could not work out was a dream or reality; he suddenly found himself standing alongside Sapphire in a vortex of fire as Rénar quietly stated that she had been wrong and had decided that things had to be rectified. Omega hadn’t an idea of what she had been talking about, before Sapphire had nodded, burnt with fire and vanished. Rénar had then sighed, before turning to the Shelgon. In a few choice words, she let Omega know what had happened to Celeste, which he later reported to Ryau and the others. Rénar had helped the Beautifly to the forest at the edge of the Shrine of the Sun, where she had been welcomed by a group of her own kind; she also extended the invitation to Ryau, if she so wished to enter that exclusive forest. For all her emotions, Ryau had declined, unable to comprehend what life in the wild would be like, after being born onto the team.
Sapphire, however, was gone. And from the regret in Rénar’s voice, Omega sensed that it would be a long time before they would ever have a chance of meeting the telepathic Dratini again.
Surprisingly to some, the one in the most pain had not shown the slightest inkling of wishing to return to the wild. Jock had locked himself away, refusing contact, but had never stated a desire of breaking his ties with them. That was understandable, Sianna had pointed out one day; Jock had been captured for nearly two years now, and any friendships he used to have must have faded out long before this.

Slowly, things began to improve. Ryau and Jock were still preferring their own company, but everybody acknowledged that as a part of the healing process and left them to it. Sianna’s naturally peaceful disposition overrode her sense of betrayal by Zev and Flash’s hyper-active personality meant that the two were able to support each other discretely, yet begin to enjoy their lives once more.

Omega was worried, though. The papers were gradually beginning to report attacks on trainers and their Pokémon. One young boy had had his Shroomish savaged after attempting to capture a Totodile. According to the report, the Pokémon had screamed and to his horror, two Scyther’s, a Mawile and a Stantler had exploded from the undergrowth and trampled the trainer before turning their attention to his Pokémon.
Another stated that wild Pokémon who tried to intervene were also getting in the firing line. A Ninetales had encountered a pack of Growlithe’s intimidating a couple of girls and their Sunflora. The pack had turned their attention to the fellow fire type, giving the girls time to run; investigations afterwards found the Ninetale’s mangled body 100 metres away from the spot where the girls had stood.
But the one that truly made his blood chill was the seemingly most harmless. A Mightyena had blocked the path of an exploring trainer; before either could react, a bark had rung from the direction the Mightyena had sprung from. The Pokémon had backed off; later, the trainer had identified the bark as that of a Poochyena. The thought of that had made Omega shudder when he read it, even though Hannah, Sianna and Flash had stated that it must be a coincidence. Omega wasn’t so sure.
He’d slowly taken it upon himself to pace long the roads of the town, keeping an eye on things, privately knowing that he had one of the best chances out of everyone of overcoming an attack. Yet he couldn’t help but become jumpy; the slightest noise was beginning to knock him into a defensive mode.
And one recurring thought kept springing into the back of his mind; what the hell were Rénar and Hakan up to; why weren’t they stopping this?

------------------------------

Rénar knew she should do something about the wave of violence that was slowly but surely sweeping through the caves. Or more precisely- she knew that those who were aware of her thought that she should do something about it.
But it wasn’t that easy. She was an advocate of freedom of speech and choice; if those Pokémon felt that they should rebel then part of her- the part she listened to- told her to let them. At the end of the day, even she would admit that catching a Pokémon and taking it from its home was a barbaric process, even if it was later treated with care and respect. Not to mention that not all trainers treated their Pokémon as actual living things…..
She couldn’t take sides. Turning against those Pokémon would put her at odds with her kind; siding with the Pokémon would destroy every little relationship she’d built up. And all hopes of future relationships. That was the last thing she needed.
Not to say that she hadn’t been trying. She had recalled Sapphire to remove ammunition against her; letting a Dratini into the care of a human was sure to put her at odds with those against humans and their Pokémon.
And she had been doing all she could to track down the living proof that being a trainers Pokémon was not a 100% bad thing. She had managed to find the Umbreon, Axem, who pretty much had free rein over what he could do, very rarely being required by his trainer to follow his orders. The same went for his companions, Salcafar and Zimbardo…although, just to prove her luck, it had turned out that both of Axem’s companions and his trainer were currently in training and unable to be contacted. He did state that they would be far out of the reaches of the antagonised Pokémon, though, which she took as a sign that they were more than likely over the boundaries of the Crystal Caves and in the mountains that lay on the distant horizon. Not what she had wanted to hear, because she did not wish to leave Hakan in charge of the entire caves while she attempted to track down somebody who she was not entirely sure would help settle the disputes.
All in all, she was having a pretty rough time right about now.

-------------------------------

Ryau closed her eyes, sniffing and taking a token swipe at her face with her wing. She couldn’t stop crying, no matter what. Everything hurt so much.
That was why she’d come here; the river, always a hostile place, had become almost deserted following the spate of attacks she knew were occurring. Trainers were keeping away from the truly wild areas, and the Pokémon were lying low. Just how she liked it, now. She could vent her anger, rage and frustration however loud she wanted and nobody would come to interrupt her.
Shaking her head, she angrily hopped off the boulder she’d been standing on, slithering down to land on one closer to the water, its sides damp with spray and mist. The constant roaring and crashing of the water soothed her, for some reason. Maybe because it felt like everything that was going on in her head was being vocalised, released. Or that the river was joining in.
Another tear trickled down her face.
Her eyes were blank as she sat and stared into space, not noticing the small white object bobbing on the surface towards her. Riding the rapids, it bounced over the water’s surface, until –seemingly by chance- it collided with a cluster of rocks a couple of feet away from the Pidgeotto.
She made no indication of noticing it.
Quickly, before the water dragged it away again, a handful of blue tendrils shot from the underside of the ‘rock’, attaching to the real rocks and pulling it up. The white ‘rock’ was at that point revealed to be a tightly coiled shell; the blue tendrils extended further from the lip, and two big eyes protruded out.
Waving its tentacles, the Omanyte slowly inched round to stare at the silent Pidgeotto. For all his small size, the Pokémon was determined to do his bit to defend his territory against the waves of attacks they had been hearing about; this Pokémon had been returning to their home a lot recently. Sizing it up for a take-over bid. He was not going to let that happen.

Tucking into his shell, he rocketed forwards, bouncing off the edge of the rock to slam into the bird’s chest. She gasped and instantly snapped her wings out, beating hard.
She was trying to escape. Going to alert the others. They’d come back and kill him.
His tentacles lashed out, extending and wrapping around her whole body, encasing her wings against her sides; she wobbled. Underneath all his mass of tentacles, he had a small mouth, which he opened and sank his teeth into her chest, shuddering a little as he felt warm blood seeping into his mouth.

Ryau couldn’t believe it. She had just been sitting there, when something had smashed into her. Then when she’d automatically tried to back off, it ensnared her, then bit her.
The pain in her chest wasn’t that bad, but she winced anyway, glancing down to find herself staring into the wide eyes of the Pokémon. Part of her flinched at that; the Omanyte’s eyes were brain-washed with fear; all the talk and tales of Pokémon attacking Pokémon must have spread out even to here. Something told her that he was not going to let go of her either, without a fight.

And something inside of her stirred at that thought. She wanted somebody else to feel the pain she was feeling.

Fading away into the shadows, she saw him fall forwards, tumbling down to land on the rock, tentacles flailing, before he picked himself up, frantically looking for her. She reappeared behind him, pouncing onto his back, letting the dark energy flow over his body as he shrieked in alarm.
Breaking away, she took to the air, rising up high, stalling, plummeting back to the earth, the wind rushing against her body, a constant whine in her mind. He scrambled back, away, slithering down towards the water. She struck him from behind, wincing a little at the blow, of hitting a piece of rock face-on, but she succeeded in sending him spiralling into the churning water.
Banking, she wheeled round and hovered over the water, her bright eyes flickering over the surface, watching intently for any sign of movement.
Slowly, her sharp eyes began to distinguish something….different about the surface. A light mist seemed to be rising, thickening in density even as she watched, thicker and thicker. Light sparkled over its shimmering surface, as it rose upwards; instinct told her not to touch it, as a memory in the back of her mind strained to be heard.
Beating her wings, she powered up, giving her the perfect view as the rain clouds began to gather overhead. As the rain was unleashed, she shivered, the damp trickling over her body in seconds, her waterlogged feathers dragging her down as they flapped, sodden. The thick mist was rising as well, unperturbed by the rain, and she knew that it wasn’t a mist at all, as a faint breeze ran through it stirring the particles. Ice particles. The memory of an early battle played through her mind, remembering the awful cold and the slowness the ice inflicted on her.
The beam of ice knocked her concentration, hitting her left wing, not freezing it, but still….chilling it to the bone. And as the numbness crept through her body, her wing-beats became more erratic. She was struggling to maintain her height, ominously spinning towards the creeping ice cloud.
Abandoning her attempts at flight, she instead stretched out both wings, feeling them growing heavier even as she began to fall. She could see the metallic sheet covering them both.
She crashed into the ice cloud, feeling her body chill, her muscles numbing. A heavy weight seemed to be slipping its way into her brain, making her feel groggy and tired. But her wings were perfect. The part of her mind that was still working properly registered that.
Then she hit the water.
It was deeper than she’d have believed, from all the times she’d stared into it. It was as cold as she’d imagined, though…but somehow, that didn’t seem that bad anymore. It was as though there was a difference between this water and the rain that had been falling from the sky. The restless power inside of her stirred, creating a white aura around her body. The water rippled and seemed to draw back.
Then it exploded upwards, creating a massive wave, which roared over the lower half of the ice cloud and engulfed it. Ryau rocketed out from the water, flying beneath the remaining sheet of ice particles, her mind clear. Her eyes were fixed on the tiny shell swimming forcefully against the water.
She knew that she wasn’t in enough control of her power to have created a wave of such force; they must have both accidentally combined their attacks to create that wave.
But never mind.
The touch of the water had soothed her….and now she was beginning to sense that that was the reason why she had liked the river. The water was related to her in some innate way she had never tried to explore. But she would.
Lowering her gaze back to Omanyte, she saw him spin and dive back down, obviously hiding from any forthcoming attacks. That was the perfect chance. Her body ached, then screamed in pain as her energy was torn from her, focusing to create a miniature version of herself, like a little doll, flying along beside her. Smiling, she fell back slightly, so that she was directly behind it, concentrating on her breathing. Her wings grew heavy; their beats slow. Her heart rate slowed. Her mind, rushing to process the endless data whipping round her brain, dimmed. Yet her body seemed to now pulse with power. Her slow wing-beats disturbed the air, viciously cutting through the invisible substance. Her breathing was deep, her eyes focused. Her dimmed and ready mind focused only on what was needed to.
Deliberately swooping down, she skimmed the water, flying upstream for a few metres, then reversing her path. The tiny doll flew alongside, perfectly matching her speed.
The water erupted upwards, and Omanyte’s spinning shell was revealed; her doll shot in front immediately, taking the full brunt of the blow. Although damaged, it managed to hold on, moving out of the way as she smashed her metallic wings into the falling shell. This knocked him to the side, sending the Pokémon spinning to smash into the rock she had initially been perching on. As he crumpled, dazed, she shot over and rammed him, hard. He responded by wrapping his tentacles around her again, gripping tightly; her doll passed through her body, somehow drawing all his tentacles to it. They encased it…a flurry of energy and the doll crumpled.
She was ready, though. The doll had distracted him enough to allow her to back away, focusing on her power. As he lowered his tentacles, looking for her, she released her power, forming a jet of water that banged into his shell, shoving him up against the rock again.
Then she gathered her energy. She flung herself across the gap between them and threw her whole body weight against him; her body flared in pain as it shuddered under the impact, but she knew she’d done enough as she fell back and his battered shell collapsed onto the rock.

Breathing hard, she felt the slowness that had descended on her lift; looking up, she saw, too, that the ice cloud and the rain clouds were fading and vanishing. And something else was different. She felt more peaceful than she had done for weeks. A smile flicked across her face.

After nudging Omanyte into a concealed spot where he could come around gradually, she paused for a second, hovering over the river, feeling its cool spray on her body. Still smiling, she rose and struck out for home.

The flight back was relaxed; there was no difficulty in riding the air currents and updrafts, a particular skill she enjoyed. Happily stretching her wings, she soared over the landscape, delighting in her freedom and sense of self.
Yet, as she free-wheeled delightedly, her mind registered something to her right, and she shot up in alarm. A black swirl of smoke was beginning to rise, drifting in the breeze, more and more flowing into the air. And below; she squinted. The smoke was rising from somewhere within the meadow, and as such, there was a lot of obstruction, from the numerous tree and bushes that grew there, but within seconds she had noticed the thin tongue of flame winding its way round a clump of trees.
Panicking slightly, she pumped her wings hard, and shot towards it, determined to do her bit.

------------------------------

Omega was running as hard as he could, gasping, trying to ignore the stitch that was building in his side. The grass was batting at his heels as he ran, making him stumble more than once, but he kept going, his eyes fixed on the veils of smoke.

He’d been patrolling the streets when he’d noticed the flocks of bird Pokémon taking to the skies; curious as to what was making them flee like that, he’d kept his eyes on them, facing towards them as he walked- secretly praying with all his might that it didn’t mean what he thought it did. Then he’d noticed the first, thin veil of smoke lifting into the air…and he’d full on bolted, shrieking at the top of his lungs to draw peoples’ attention.
But the attacks had driven most people inside, and his screaming probably only reinforced their views that there were mad Pokémon on the loose. So he’d abandoned that and just concentrated on his running; somebody would notice it sooner or later but for now he wanted to know what had caused it. It just didn’t seem the right conditions for a natural fire to catch; they’d only had rain last night, it wasn’t warm enough, the grass and vegetation was hardly what you could call brittle. He didn’t like it.

Other Pokémon soon started to stream past him, crying, terror apparent in their faces. That only further reinforced his fears. The looks on some of them told him everything. Some shouted at him to turn back, but he ignored them and ploughed on, focusing as he did. The smoke by now was billowing easily into the air, but it still didn’t look as though it was over that large an area.

He reached the peak of a hill and looked down, taking in the surprisingly small flames that were curling their way round a foot of trees. The air carried the tang of burning on it, which rasped at the back of his throat and made his eyes water. The heat emanating from the area was almost painful; waves and waves of warmth that scorched his shell.
And all that coming from what could only be described as a bonfire. A very large and hot bonfire, yes, but a bonfire. Piles and piles of uprooted trees, clusters of bushes and large stems of grass were gathered together, burning viciously, sending the smoke whirling up.
Standing in front of it, triumphant smirks on their beaky faces, two Pokémon stood. Two red spikes protruded out from their beaks. Massive, white wings seemed to sprout from the backs of their head, reaching down their backs, while fluffy white down covered their chests. From their chests to their legs, their thick feathers were orange, changing to yellow when it reached their knees, going down to their feet. Their red arms changed to white, stretching out into long, sharp claws.
Both wore the same expression, matching each others pose perfectly.
They stared at each other silently for a few more minutes, before Omega took a deep breath and slowly began to walk towards them, trying not to swoon in the intense heat.
Stopping about ten metres away- and figuring that this was as close as he could safely get, he caught what he perceived to be the male of the pair by the eye and spoke to him.
‘What are you doing this for?’ His voice sounded weird, set against the crackling of the flames.
The female let out a mocking laugh as the male smirked. ‘Because we knew it would bring people or their Pokémon running. No self-respecting Pokémon would normally run towards a fire, now would they? They’d run for their lives. But humans would, as would their Pokémon. And you have just proved us right.’
‘Well, that’s wonderful, though you seem to be forgetting that no self-respecting Pokémon would deliberately set out to damage their natural environment,’ Omega replied innocently, trying not to flinch as they both glared at him. The female snarled and began to walk forwards, flexing her claws.
‘Don’t play games with us, buddy,’ she hissed warningly. ‘Neither of us cares whether or not what we take on is a human or their little play-toys.’
‘That’s good, because it’s pretty certain now that I’m going to have to pound you both.’
‘Both of us?’ mocked the female, her eyes flashing in amusement. ‘Without any backup at all? Oh, how brave you are, Shelgon!’
‘Omega.’
‘Cute name,’ smiled the male. ‘Mars.’
‘Jenny,’ said the female.
‘Cute names too,’ Omega smirked at the two of them, stepping backwards as they started to move towards him.

He knew that Blaziken’s were fragile Pokémon, which meant that the advantage was in his favour as he had the perfect move for such a situation.

Mars and Jenny exchanged a look; suddenly, their outlines blurred and they shot across the distance between them and smashed into his body. Their speed startled him, he knew he’d never be able to match it, but he could try.
As he rolled away from the impact, he spun gracefully, dancing over the charred ground, feeling his energy rising even as he took the first few steps.
That was lucky for him, because a sudden tremor threw him to the ground, as cracks shot through the charred soil, sending dust and charcoal flying into the air. Trying to brace himself against the rocking ground, he saw Jenny leering at him, standing bracingly, stomping occasionally with her foot to reinforce the tremors. Something about the way she was acting clicked in Omega’s mind and he scanned the lurching ground for Mars.
The male Blaziken was crouching low, a protective violet shield around his body.
Good idea, thought Omega and flung up his own shield. Immediately, the shifting ground failed to disturb him, and he grinned as he saw Jenny scowl and halt her attack.
Their outlines blurred again as they resorted to their speed attacks; he dropped his protective shield, but not after focusing his mind on a certain attack. As soon as his shield was down, they came at him, eyes blazing, one on each side. Each drew back a leg, which erupted into flames and bore down on him.
He rolled his eyes and unleashed a blast of electricity, which shot directly into their bodies, causing them to shriek in pain and anger. It didn’t block their momentum, however, so Omega still felt two thuds in his sides as they collided with him. But taking their surprise as his advantage, he stopped the attack, then cannoned into Mars as he landed dazedly on the ground. The strength of the attack told as Mar’s body visibly crumpled beneath his heavy shell…but then a bright red aura flared before his eyes and he was blasted back, landing in an undignified heap a couple of metres away.
Mars laughed and Jenny smirked as they strode together towards the prone dragon.
‘I think that proves our point,’ Jenny said coldly, her smile fading. ‘I expected…’
Bang
The two Blaziken’s were sent flying as a flurry of rocks exploded from the ground, hovering briefly in the air before Omega nodded at his two opponents. The rocks rose higher, then fell in a cascading swoop. Snarling, Jenny and Mars both blurred as they tried to flee, but the crashing rocks plummeted down, knocking them to the ground; Omega flinched as he heard a crack but an idea flashed into his mind and he spun round to stare at the still burning bonfire. Although Jenny’s attack had caused parts of it to cave in, and it was less compact than it had been, it was still burning. Glancing back, he motioned, and a couple of rocks rose up, crunching down onto the mass of burnt wood and grass. It didn’t extinguish it all, but he was happy with what it did, especially as he heard the mutterings of the Pokémon behind him.
Mars was clutching his arm, which seemed pretty much useless, but other than that, both Blaziken’s were battered, but still on their feet.
Jenny hissed in hatred, then flexed her arms, her muscles suddenly bulging, and she lunged across the space towards Omega. She extended her claws and lashed out, striking for his exposed face, the only part of his body her claws could hope to rip. He ducked, rolling around to dodge her, but a blast of fire shot past him, wrapping in a circle around the two. He could hear Mars laughing in the distance.
Jenny smiled and stalked towards him, claws bared. He backed away, stepping carefully over the ground, feeling the heat at his back. Then a flurry of earth hit him in the face, blocking his vision. Howling, he frantically tried to get it out of his eyes, even as he heard her cold voice laughing. And coming closer. A rush of air….her sensed her coming closer, sensed the claws reaching for his eyes…he screamed and lashed out with a claw of orange fire. He couldn’t see, but he heard her gasp of pain, and felt his claw sinking into her body. Something warm splattered onto his leg, and he shuddered, trying to ignore it. Then he steeled himself and lunged, crashing into her flailing body. It buckled, falling onto her back; he jumped off, hearing her gasping in exhaustion and pain.
Taking that opportunity to shake the final remnants of dust from his face, he turned to face her, as she lay, sprawled, breathing hard. Her eyes showed her pain as he walked towards her. He lowered nodded at her, then whispered sadly. ‘What is it you hate?’
Her eyes frowned. ‘We hate all those who should not be here.’
Omega rolled his eyes at that. ‘They’ve got the exact same right as you do.’
‘No they don’t,’ she said quietly, then closed her eyes. ‘Kill me now.’
‘I don’t kill,’ he told her softly. She didn’t reply.
He shrugged, then focused on his hidden power, lashing her with an electric blast. When it faded, he knew that she was gone, briefly unconscious.
Hey, he’d said he didn’t kill; he had nothing with knocking those who deserved it out.

Now for the last one.
‘MARS, your girlfriend isn’t around to take me out, you’ll have to do it yourself,’ Omega bellowed to the flames.
Silence, before a low snarl rang out and a shadow flickered into view.
‘She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my sister,’ came the low reply. ‘And I’ll never forgive you for hurting her.’
‘I’d never have forgiven you for hurting me, neither,’ he answered softly, ‘so we're even.’
The shadow melted away as the Blaziken stepped ominously out from the flames. His eyes were cold, blocking even the pain from his obviously broken arm.
‘I hate you,’ he whispered quietly.
‘I don’t hate you,’ Omega replied.
They both charged, Mar’s working first clenching, flames erupting over it; Omega didn’t care and flung himself forward, crashing against the fist, then against the feathery body of his opponent. The force knocked them over- Omega bounced off accidentally, lurching to his feet to see his opponent blasting a stream of fire at him. It engulfed the Shelgon, wrapping him in flames and pain. Shuddering, his legs buckled, knowing the reason behind the increased power. Drawing on his protective shield, he sheltered behind it, waiting until the fire died away before retaliating with a quick jolt of electric power. The attack caught Mars by surprise, giving Omega the chance to run closer and ram the fire type, flicking him over his head. Turning towards the thump, he extended his orange claw, then hesitated.
‘Why is it you two decided to join those Pokémon anyway?’ he asked curiously.
‘Our mother’s ‘trainer’ seemed to think that he couldn’t look after his new Pokémon’s twins and abandoned us.’
‘Oh.’ Omega paused, look down, looked up again. ‘You’ve based your whole life on that?’
‘Oh yes,’ was the only reply he got.
‘Then you’ve wasted your life.’
The Shelgon charged across the gap and slashed his claw across the Blaiken’s body. The Pokémon crumpled instantly and stayed down.

The circle of flames died away as its creator slipped into unconsciousness; Omega glanced round tiredly. The bonfire was nearly out- parts were still burning but not as viciously or as threateningly. The flames that he had seen when he had breached the hill were out, no doubt thanks to the bird Pokémon sitting by the charred trunks.
Omega felt a twist in his stomach.
Rage looked tired, black shadows under his eyes, his body leaner than Omega had ever seen before. He looked defeated. His tired eyes focused blearily on Omega for a second, then gazed beyond. The Shelgon looked behind him to see Ryau hovering overhead, staring at them both in shock.
Nodding, he looked back and stared at the Skarmory.
‘Why did you stop us from catching that Mightyena? And Faolan?’ he asked, making sure his voice was loud enough for Ryau to hear.
‘I’m the one who’ll kill Barbossa,’ came the reply, ‘although it’ll be harder now that he’s got that stupid Poochyena following him around. And his name is Zev now.’
‘It was you who caused the Poochyena to cry when that Mightyena threatened the kid?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘I hate him. He’s a traitor; he’ll use what he can to his advantage, then he’ll do what he can to rid himself of the competition.’ Rage fixed Omega with a penetrating look. ‘He and I used to know each other, back when I was wild. We were both prime examples of our species; good hunters, never had a problem with getting what we wanted.’ He shrugged. ‘Then I was caught; I’ll admit, not my plan, but I accepted it. Had to, with you lot all ready to blast me to shreds if I played up. Long story short, when I saw him attack that Eevee, I realised that he was essentially just doing it to have a laugh at me, the stupid idiot who got himself caught. Nobody laughs at me. So I stopped that lot beating him then fled to stop them hurting me. I’ve been hanging round, digging up what information I can about it. But nothing’s worked. He’s got a much more intricate network than I could have imagined. I finally cornered him, but he pummelled me. In front of his pack; Zev was there, laughing along with them. He’s as bad as the rest of them.’ His eyes glazed over. ‘I got away and that’s when I decided to come back. To get you.’
‘Er….?’
‘He won’t believe that a trainers Pokémon will ever be worthwhile. I know you’re going to evolve soon. And when you do, I’m going to drag you to face him and beat him.’
‘I thought you wanted….’
‘Then I’ll kill him. And he’ll know that he’s wrong.’
Omega shifted. ‘And if I say no to this?’
‘I’ll have to do if myself.’
A whimper came from Omega’s side at that; Ryau had landed next to him without him noticing.
Rage sighed. ‘But that’s for later. I can wait.’ His voice was dull. ‘I can’t get anything to eat anymore; everybody’s against me now.’
Omega blinked. ‘You want to stay on the team?’
‘Yes.’
Omega was silent for a second, weighing things up, trying to ignore Ryau’s begging eyes, or the blank gaze of Rage. Then he sighed. ‘I don’t think I can stop you doing that; you’re still a member already. But don’t think that this means that I’m agreeing to do what you’ve proposed.’
‘Ok,’ the Skarmory smiled, a faint flash of relief spreading across his face. ‘That’ll do me fine for now.’

----------------------------

Ryau grew one level to L23 and learnt Whirlwind.
Omega grew four levels to L40 and learnt Dragon Breath by level and Aerial Ace as his free TM.

Phew x_x

[The Blue Avenger]

Hannah - Amy'll rate your story.

Amy - A nice little conclusion to wrap up that particular arc. I'm interested to see when the Absol will show up again. The battle was very good as well, and as I've already mentioned, Ranec got really lucky. Minor nitpick - it seems like the Absol gave up too easily, but upon further reflection, I suppose he knew better than to try and press his luck at the moment. Other than the fact that it seemed rather rushed, this was a good story. 10 CCPs.

[Wolfsong]

Sorry it took a while to rate, but here i am. ^^; Take 31 CCPs. I like how you tied Ryau's rbg into the scenario. Wow. I always enjoy reading your stories and this was no exception. I felt sorry for Jock and it was sad to see what happened to Paytah. You did an interesting job in describing your team's disappearence, at least the ones that were released. It was interesting to see that the omanyte was only trying to protect his home and that it thought that Ryau was one of the attackers. It was nice to see Omega battling again and i have a feeling we'll be seeing him battle more as hes getting closer to evolving. ^^ Ii was glad to see Rage come back and I have a feeling that things will get interesting when we see Barbosa again.

[Wolfsong]

Sorry to double post x.X

Before story notes: This is Tiana’s RBG. This is one of the few battles that I just didn’t want to start and also couldn’t wait till it was over. ^^; Sorry if Tiana’s battle is rushed but I just wanted to get it over with… X.x Tiana won a battle at the BT which is why she grew to L.19 instead of L.18 ^^; I also gave Angel a Future sight tm that Gabi had given me for her. Ruki also got a new move as well, Toxic that i had bought for him. Well here we go.


(Tiana’s POV)

I yawned, stretching as I opened my eyes. I could hear the phone ringing downstairs. Once I was fully awake, I looked around. Ruki was still asleep. I smiled. Ever since he had evolved he has been one of the last ones to bed and also one of the last ones to get up. I had taken to sleeping in his room as it was the furthest away from the kitchen as I could get. I used to love my room where I could smell the foods being cooked but lately the smells just made me sick. As it was occasionally, they would reach me even up here.

I groaned. It seemed like today was going to be one of those days already. The faint smells of Amy cooking breakfast tickled my nose. However faint they were, the aroma was still there. Without a moment’s hesitation I made a beeline for the bathroom across the hall where I promptly emptied the contents of my stomach from the night before into the toilet. I shook my head as I stood up on my hind legs in order to flush it.

When I turned around, there was Ruki standing in the doorway. “Are you all right?” he asked groggily. “Yeah, I’m fine.” “Are you sure?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. It was as if in half a second he went form groggy to wide awake. I nodded my head. “Just what I ate last night didn’t agree with me this morning.” I explained. When it was obvious that he didn’t believe me, I hurried past him as quickly as I could.

Once I was past him, I closed my eyes and concentrated picturing myself on our front porch. With a faint pop, I disappeared and with another pop I reappeared. I slowly opened my eyes and when I did I grinned. “Whoo hoo!” I shouted. I had managed to teleport correctly. I thought about heading into the South Caverns and just looking around. It was rather warm outside today, and the cooler temperatures would be a blessing. Plus I seemed to be more hot natured not that the little one was on the way. “We’ll be there. I’m sure that it will be a nice surprise for her and the rest of the team.” I heard Amy say as I headed out of hearing distance.

Soon I was lost in thought. I was trying to figure out why the morning sickness was so much worse this time around than it was with Kali. Nothing about it made sense. Last time, the smells of the food made me feel nauseous but I didn’t actually get sick. This time, I was actually getting sick and not just feeling nauseous.

Hey Tiana, wait up!” Ruki startled me out of my thoughts. I was so rattled that I accidentally walked headfirst into a tree. “Ouch…” I muttered rubbing my head with my forepaw.

A few minutes later, Ruki had caught up with me. So where are you headed?” he asked. “The South Caverns. It’s rather hot out here and its rather comfortable this time of year in the caves.” “Uh huh,” Ruki said, as we once more resumed our trek to the caves. It seemed he was tagging along with me. Can’t say that I didn’t enjoy his company. At least he wasn’t trying to tell me that Nuka and I weren’t meant for each other. Why had Zale started acting that way in the first place?”

“All right.” Ruki said stopping once we had reached the halfway point between our house and the South Caverns. He stopped right in front of me and he had a serious look on his face.. “Look, I may be younger than you and Zale, but I can tell when something isn’t right. For one you’ve been avoiding Zale like the plague. You’ve also been keeping away from Ranec and Dakota. You’ve moved into my room, and I’m not complaining. I just find it odd. And I saw you get sick this morning and I’ve heard you the other times. Don’t give me any bull about you being okay, when I can sense that something is up with you.”

I sighed. “I’m going to have to tell you aren’t I?” He nodded his head yes. “You have to promise to not tell anyone especially Zale.” “I promise.” “Well… That is to say…” I laughed. “There really is no simple way to say this I guess. “You’re going to be an uncle.” Ruki had a puzzled look on his face. “But I’m already an Uncle…?” Then he got a shocked look on his face. “Oh! Wow! How are far you along?” I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. “Almost two weeks now. But remember your promise. Nuka and I don’t want it out just yet. Nightshade already discovered it. You know how Zale feels about me and Nuka…” My eyes narrowed as I remembered the fight that we had. “We’re hoping that he comes around in his way of thinking by the time I start showing or else it won’t be pretty…” “Yeah, I see what you mean. Tell you what, I think I’m going to head towards the river. It’s a beautiful day to just watch the river.” “And you also want to be by yourself a while to think,” I said chuckling. Ruki looked embarrassed, but nodded his head. “What do you say we meet back at the house in about an hour at the latest?” “Sounds good to me.” With that, we parted ways for the time being.

I sighed. It was nice to have some company if only for a few minutes. I watched Ruki until I could no longer see him, before resuming my journey to the South Caverns. I was already wishing that I was there, the heat bothering me even more than usual. I eventually made it to the South Caverns and I sighed in relief as I headed inside away from the shining sun.

As soon as I had entered, I smiled. The temperature inside the cave was perfect. I tried to stay in the dark shadows as I didn’t want to spook innocent pokemon, and I didn’t want to be attacked by those that were attacking trainers and their pokemon. I relaxed somewhat when I came into a room that appeared to be empty. Still I cautiously walked through the shadows and didn’t stop. That is, I didn’t stop until I stepped on something soft and squishy. An enraged shout echoed about the caverns and if any poke had been in there they were gone by now. I tried to run and I almost made it to the next room when a ghostly collar appeared around my neck and I was yanked backwards. I turned around and there before me was the maddest wobbuffet that I had ever seen. Come to think of it, he was the only wobbuffet I had ever seen. Once I was facing him, the leash and collar disappeared. I gulped. “I’m sorry.” I said, but he wasn’t listening. I tried again to run away but once more, the leash and collar appeared and I was drug back. I sighed. It looked like I was going to have to battle.


Tiana L.17* F Shiny Espeon with a Blue Gem Vs. L.17 M Wobbuffet

I stared at the wobbuffet, and he stared back. I wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible, so I quickly began to conjure up a vile tasting poison in my mouth. I was extremely careful not to swallow any of it and I quickly spit it all over my opponent. He had seen what I was trying to do, and was doing his best to create a safeguard veil. Fortunately for me he wasn’t fast enough and the toxins had seeped into his blue skin before the veil became evident. I smirked and stuck out my tongue at him as he visibly blanched. I then charged forwards. I didn’t see my opponent’s smirk till it was too late. I lashed out at him with my tail which had grown heavy and was now hard as iron. I missed him, but the wobbuffet clapped his hands and I felt the urge to use iron tail again. I connected this time and I felt him slide backwards some from the force of the blow, but then the wobbuffet grabbed my tail and hurled me across the room. I slammed headfirst into the wall. I shook my head dazed slightly before looking at my opponent he looked rather weak. I felt as if he wanted to see my pretty iron tail again, so once more I found myself swinging my iron coated tail again at him. Once again, I missed, and this time I heard him curse. That seemed to snap me out of whatever spell that I had been under. I snuck up behind him and bit down as hard as I could on his tail, my teeth crackling with dark energy. The wobbuffet cried out in pain as he sank into unconsciousness.


I won!
I grew to L.19*!

* = Tiana had won a BT battle since the time I asked for an rbg which explains as to why she grew to L.19 instead of L.18

I’d like another rbg for Tiana. She is now a L.19 F Shiny Espeon with a Blue gem. *hands over 7 ccps*

[The Blue Avenger]

I'll rate as soon as I can, but Tiana will battle a Charmander in the South Caverns.

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: This is Tiana’s RBG. I traded a recycle tm for the headbutt tm that Neva gives Tiana. Also just a little note in advance that was light screen that tiana used ^^; This also takes place immediately following the wobbuffet battle. ^^; Ruki’s RBG is next ^^;


(Tiana’s POV)

I walked away from the wobbuffet and sat down. That battle had drained me. I used what energy that I had left to head back into the last room that I had passed through. I mainly headed in there because I remembered seeing a hole in the roof of the cavern and a rock that I could easily hide behind.

When I made it into the previous room, I smiled. Sure enough, there was a hole in the ceiling that was right above a rock. I slowly walked over to where the rock was and hid behind it. I then proceeded to use the light that was coming in from the hole to fuel my morning sun attack. That helped me to feel better, but combined with the fatigue that I felt from the battle, it made me sleepy.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep, but when I woke up I realized something. When I had entered the room, I had been alone. That was no longer the case. I could hear voices which let me know that there were others in the cavern besides me.

“Please give me Mr. Poofy.”

“If you want it, come and get it.”

I peaked around the rock to see that a charmander was holding a flareon plushie out of the reach of a young sneasel. Whenever she tried to leap in order to grab it, the charmander would try to hit her with his tail. The last straw came when the sneasel finally gave up trying to get the plushie and sat down, bawling. The charmander stormed over to her and raked his claws across her arm causing the sneasel to cry even louder.

The next thing that the charmander knew, he had been sent flying across the room by an invisible force. “Leave her alone.” I snarled as I emerged from my hiding spot. I gently picked up the plushie and gave it to the sneasel. “Here you go.” She looked up and smiled. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” I told her before crying out in pain.

That rotten Charmander had bit me on my tail, and the pain was intense. My eyes narrowed as I whipped my tail unexpectedly, sending the charmander tumbling. He scrambled to his feet, glaring at my his face full of anger.


Tiana L.19 F Shiny Espeon with a Blue Gem Vs. L.19 M Charmander

I took a deep breath and proceeded to calm my mind. As I did so, I could feel my psychic powers getting stronger. Evidently, I had calmed my mind too much and my mind began to wander. Being an espeon had its plus sides, but it was hard for me to concentrates. Thankfully, Nightshade was helping me to master my psychic powers at the Eevee House.

“Ouch!” The charmander had taken advantage of my momentary distraction and scratched me across my shoulder with his claws. That quickly snapped me out of my thoughts and my mind was back on the battle where it should have been in the first place. I quickly bit down on his arm, my teeth crackling with dark energy, before he could pull it out of the way.

“You Bitch!” he screamed as he tried to shake his arm free. I held on and waited until he went to pull backwards and only then did I open my mouth. I smirked as I watched the charmander fly backwards slamming in to the rock that I had been hiding behind.

The Charmander snarled. “You’ll pay for that.” My eyes widened as soon as I saw the charmander take a deep breath. I quickly set about making a barrier in front of me made out of light. Sure enough, a stream of flames came hurtling towards me. Thankfully, the majority of them had been stopped by the barrier that I had made out of light. I sighed as relief as only a small amount of the flames reached me.

The next thing I knew, the charmander was running towards me with his head lowered. I ran forward myself, going as fast as I could possible go. As our two attacks connected, the force of the blow sent us both tumbling backwards head over tail. I quickly scrambled to my paws, and blasted the charmander backwards from another invisible force. Although that attack had drained me of a lot of my energy, I was pleased. That was one of my strongest psychic attacks ever.


I won!
I grew to L.20!
I learned Zap Cannon as my free TM.

I quickly hurried over to the young sneasel who was now tightly holding the battered plushie as tight as she could, sniffing. “Are you all right?” I asked her. “My arm hurts,” she whimpered, showing me the scratches on her arm. My heart went out to her as I licked the wound and, ever so slowly, her crying stopped. “Does it feel better now?” I asked. The sneasel smiled, nodding her head yes as she hugged her plushie.

“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!” screamed an angry feminine voice.

“Oh great…” I muttered, looking around to find that the charmander was now gone. A split second later, I was blasted backwards by a freezing cold beam that sent chills cascading through my body. Luckily, I had not been frozen.

“Momma, don’t hurt her please.” The sneasel cried as she tried her best to explain what had just happened. The mother sneasel’s attitude went from angry to apologetic in the blink of an eye.

“I’m so sorry. I’ve been trying to keep Alissa safe, especially with all these attacks going on. My name is Neva, by the way.” At that, Neva sighed before smiling at me. “I apologize for my previous behavior.” It was my turn to smile. “It’s all right. I can understand perfectly why you acted the way that you did. My name’s Tiana.” Neva looked at me curiously. “You’re a mother to, aren’t you?” I nodded. “My daughter stays with her father and his team.”

Neva sighed. “I’ve struggled to get things for Alissa to at least give her some of the things that I didn’t get to have growing up.” She looked at the small wooden box that she had in her talons. “I had originally gotten this for Alissa in order to help her protect herself, but the fact is that you helped her. I can’t begin to explain how grateful.” Neva looked over at her daughter before sliding the box over to me. “I can’t take it.” “We want you to have it.” They didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. “Thank you.” I said, reluctantly taking the TM. Afterwards, Neva asked me where we lived. I told her and she smiled. “That’s not to far from here.” I shook my head. “Actually it is about thirty minutes.” “Not if you know the shortcuts. We know of one that can get you to your house in about ten to fifteen minutes. Come on, we’ll show you.” With that, I followed my new friends as they showed me a short cut home.


I learned Headbutt!

[Wolfsong]

Apologies for the double post but finally got caught up and finished on my cc rbgs. After this, i'm going to try and at least get somewhat caught up ac wise ^^;

Before story notes: This is Ruki’s RBG. My apologies if it is short and if it stinks. My writer’s block returned when I tried to work on this. One minor note is that that first body slam, was a critical hit ^^;


(Ruki’s POV)

I sat there staring into space as I listened to the sounds of the water crashing into rocks. When I had told Tiana that I wanted to know what was wrong with her, I had expected anything except what she had told me. That caught me totally by surprise. I certainly didn’t expect the news that I was going to be an uncle again.

I dropped my paw into the cool river water. I could understand where Tiana was coming from when she told me not to tell anyone about her condition. Sure, others were going to find out at some point in time. However, I could see her point about not wanting Zale to find out anytime soon. Zale was my brother, and I loved him dearly, but even I noticed how overprotective he is of Tiana and Angel. We had all been trying to tell him, but none of us seemed to be getting the point though his thick skull. I was glad he wasn’t that protective of me, though sometimes I wondered about that. I wasn’t complaining though. If he treated me like he did them, I’d either go crazy or else end up attacking him out of sheer frustration.

The next thing I knew, someone had soaked me from head to tail. I looked around frantically, worried that it might have been Zale. At least I hadn’t been thinking out loud. I sighed in relief when I discovered that the culprit was not Zale but a playful young chinchou.

“Hi, I’m Volts. What’s your name? You’re not from around here are you? You’re an umbreon aren’t you? You’re the first umbreon that I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know that you all had manes. My parents must have left out that detail when they described them to me.”

I had to chuckle. This youngster was rather likable. “My name is Haruki. But all of my friends call me Ruki. You’re right, I’m not from around here. In fact, my backyard ends at the meadow. Yes, you are correct again. I am indeed an umbreon.” I grimaced slightly when Volts mentioned my mane. “Most umbreons don’t have manes.” I explained. “The reason that I have one is that my evolution was triggered by a flawed night stone.”

Volts was still looking at me, smiling. “Well, I think that all umbreons should have them. They look nice on your species.”

I smiled. If that comment had come from an older pokemon I would have just dismissed it in an attempt to help me feel better. However coming from someone young, I knew that it was an honest compliment. “Thanks.” She looked at me with a confused look on her face. “For what?” she asked. I shook my head. “Never mind.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Will you battle me?”

I can honestly say that that question caught me off guard. “Why?” I asked her.

Volts sighed. “My parents don’t like me battling. They’re afraid that if I get strong enough, a trainer might want me on their team…”

“That’s exactly what you want to happen isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she agreed slowly bobbing up and down in the water.

I sighed. AS much as I needed to get home, I wanted to help this honest little chinchou more. “All right, I’ll help you. However, I’m also going to be doing my best to win.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”


Ruki L.13 M Shiny Umbreon with an Eevee Mane Vs. Volts L.13 F Chinchou

Volts began by swimming a little ways into the river before smiling at me. She knew as well as I did that as long as she was in the water, she had the advantage. I had to remedy that as quickly as possible. Luckily, I had just the perfect move to help me out.

I closed my eyes and began to concentrate. When I opened my eyes, Volts was enveloped in a purplish glow. She was squirming trying to get free, but she was unable to escape the psychic hold that I had on her. She continued to squirm as I lifted her out of the water and deposited her a fair distance away from the river.

The look on her face plainly said that she knew that the tables had been turned on her. Yet the fact that she remained calm spoke volumes. She simply inhaled deeply before soaking me once again with a stream of rather cold water.

I didn’t let that water gun phase me at all. Instead, I charged forwards. A few moments later, I slammed into the chinchou with all the weight of my body. Volts was sent hurtling backwards from the blow. I watched, stunned. That body slam did more damage than it should have.

While I was pondering about what had just happened, I was hit by a strong jolt of electricity that caused me to cry out in pain. The thunderbolt had hurt me more than it normally would have given the fact that I was soaking wet.

I had to admit that Volts was giving me a good battle. However, I could tell that she was getting tired. That young chinchou was good at coming up with strategies, and she probably had most of her opponents knocked out by now. Times like this I was glad that I had evolved into an umbreon. I needed to end this before I ended up paralyzed by Volt’s next attack. I took a deep breath and charged forwards once more. This time, when I slammed into Volts she didn’t go flying backwards. Instead, she slumped to the ground. I waited for her to get up and when she didn’t, I shook the water from my coat.

I decided to hang around and wait for Volts to come around. It took about fifteen minutes before she did. When she had finally woken up, she was all smiles. “Thanks for giving me a great battle.” She said, smiling. “You’re welcome. I enjoyed it. You are a pretty strong opponent.” I replied as I helped her back into the river. With that, we said our good byes and I headed for home.


I won!
I grew to L.14!

[Wolfsong]

Apologies for the triple post but i don't want this to get missed. This is my last rbg request until the stories get caught up as i don't want to keep becoming a pain. ^^;

I would like an RBG for my L.17 Elemental Larvitar Laila please *hands over 7 ccps leaving me with 2 for the time being *crosses fingers for a specific loacation that i have in mind but doubtful that i will get* ^^;

[The Blue Avenger]

I swear to God I'll get to your battles soon. X_x
Laila will battle a Hercross in the East Caverns.

[Wolfsong]

Hmmm... might as well add onemore story into the mix. One rbg for Zale my L.18 vaporeon please. *hands over 7 ccps* THis WILL be my last one i ask for till the others get rated so as i don't keep bugging you ^^;

[The Blue Avenger]

Zale will battle a Mantine at the Lake.

[The Blue Avenger]

Okay... sorry for double post, but meh.
Amy: For the vs. Wobbuffet: Take 9 CCPs. You sell yourself short on that battle; it was actually pretty interesting. I liked the interpretation of Shadow Tag, as well as the use of Encore. The line about wanting to see the pretty Iron Tail was great.
For vs. Charmander: This is 12 CCPs, I think. Oh wow, that poor Sneasel... that Charmander was a jerk. Good characterization.
For vs. Chinchou: 8 CCPs. Awww, cute! ^^ Definitely a likeable Chinchou. I wonder if we'll see her on someone's team later?

[The Blue Avenger]

Gah, triple post. >_< Anyway, here is my debut in the world of CC. Enjoy.

---

Pokemon: Seghuccello, Lento, Righello

Christian sat down heavily in a voluptuous, body-hugging recliner, located in a small room behind the main portion of his gym, and picked up a small teacup. Letting himself relax a little, he blew slightly on the tea and took a sip.

It’s a tough life, isn’t it? he asked himself. It’s not enough that I can’t leave the gym without being swarmed by people who want advice or autographs, but then there are the people who claim that I cheat if I win… Christian sighed, and took another sip of his tea. And then when they win, they don’t even say anything like, “Oh! Good match, Christian!” or “Thanks, Christian, that was a great battle.” Sometimes I wonder why I still do this… He was about to take another sip of tea, when a tall butler walked into the room.

“Christian, sir, you have a challenger waiting in the main room,” he said in a mild British accent.

“Very well,” Christian sighed. “Let’s do this.” He stood up, adjusted his platinum hair in a mirror near him and walked toward the door, but his butler stopped him.

“Sir, I feel I should warn you, this challenger seems very… how should I put this… unusual.”

“That’s nothing new, now is it, Daniel?” Christian asked, a hint of a grin playing around his mouth. He stepped aside his butler and entered the main room of the gym – a large, empty dark room, the only decoration a glowing emblem of a Pokeball in the center. The challenger, he saw, indeed met Daniel’s description of unusual: he wore a blue long-sleeve shirt, a pair of blue pants that were exactly the same color, a black tie, white gloves, and strangest of all, a blue ski mask.

Christian and this mystery combatant stared at each other for a few moments, before Christian cleared his throat quietly. “Fool!” Christian yelled in a very theatrical manner. “You dare to intrude upon this most sacred ground? Do you not know who I am?”

The challenger chuckled. “I know exactly who you are, Christian, 8th of the 9 gym leaders, Ghost-type specialist. The real question is, do you know who I am?”

Christian had to admit that he did not, and said so (albeit still in a very theatrical manner).

“Very well; then please allow me to introduce myself.” The young man raised his arms, revealing a belt around his waist holding Pokeballs. Of course, they were all colored blue. “I am the suave, the debonair, the mysterious…” Here, the young man adopted a deep voice, mimicking Christian’s dramatic tone. “Blue Avenger! …Blue for short.”

Christian blinked and took that in. “Oh please!” He laughed, a deep, resounding laugh that seemed to fill the room. “You are just another wannabe trainer, trying to intimidate everyone else in order to gain an advantage.”
Blue leered at Christian. “Well, isn’t that exactly what you are doing?”

Christian took a step back, realizing that the young man had easily penetrated his façade. “You,” he said with a slight grin, “are smarter than you look.”

Blue smiled. “Thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment.” He put a hand on his chin in mock thought. “Now, since we’ve both figured out that the other is a fraud, how about we dispense with these falsities?” He quickly pulled off the mask and stuffed it in a pocket, revealing a face with a shock of thick brown hair, framing a small pair of glasses accentuating deep brown eyes.

Christian laughed, a sincere laugh this time. “Very well, young man, you’ve got a deal,” he said, in his regular tone of voice. “As you have already figured out, I am Christian, the leader of this gym. My Ghost-type Pokemon are powerful – and great on the defensive side as well. But I don’t want to give too much away… I’d prefer to keep some element of surprise.”

“Nice speech,” Blue said with a grin. “Now, let’s get things started, shall we?”

Christian smiled. “Yes. Let this be a great match.”

Battle! Blue versus the mysterious Christian!
Blue’s Pokemon: Seghuccello the male Aerodactyl, Lento the male Slowking, and Righello the male Tyranitar.
Christian’s Pokemon: Sableye the male Sableye, Gengar the male Gengar, and… a third unknown Pokemon.

The two trainers adjourned to opposite sides of the glowing Pokeball. Both pulled a Pokeball out at the same time, throwing it to the ground. The Pokeballs burst open with a brilliant light. As it faded, the two competitors’ Pokemon could be seen: on one side, a gray rocky bird with a huge mouth, on the other side, a small purple humanoid-newt-like figure with brilliant eyes.

Seghuccello versus Sableye!
Seghuccello – “Hey hey! Let’s get things moving!”
~
Sableye – “Heh, you don’t stand a ghost of a chance.”

Seghuccello stared down at the Sableye before turning to Blue. “Hey, boss, you don’t honestly expect me to fight this little thing, do you?”

“Yes, I do, Seg,” Blue said somberly. “I also expect you to give nothing less than your all. This Pokemon is not to be underestimated.”

Seghuccello laughed. “Right, that’s a good one… not to be underestimated. That thing is -” He was suddenly cut off as a black orb of shadowy energy struck him in the back. Seghuccello fell from the air and hit the ground hard, but quickly recovered and turned back to the grinning Sableye.

“Oh, you just made the biggest mistake of your life, boy,” Seghuccello hissed. He flapped his way higher into the air and swooped down at the small figure, his wings extended for a Wing Attack.

Christian chuckled. “Sableye, Detect.” The Sableye’s eyes glowed, and mere moments before Seghuccello struck him, he quickly took three steps to the side, leaving the Aerodactyl to crash into the ground behind him. “Is your Aerodactyl always this headstrong?” Christian asked Blue.

Blue grimaced. “Unfortunately, yes. And it has been the cause of more than one loss.” He turned to Seghuccello. “C’mon! Get your head in the game!” Seghuccello flew back up and glared at the Sableye, who was still grinning like a maniac. “Seg, you’re gonna need more than brute strength to win this! You’re at a serious level disadvantage. Why not try…”

Before Blue could finish, however, he noticed that Seghuccello was already following his advice: the Aerodactyl was flying very rapidly, circling the Sableye, who looked as if he was trying his best not to vomit. Blue grinned. “Now!” he yelled, and Seghuccello stopped circling and launched at Sableye faster than the eye could follow. Before anyone knew it, Sableye was skidding backwards across the floor, a large bruise appearing between his eyes. “Now, once more!” Blue called, and Seghuccello raced over to the Sableye and smacked him with a wing. Sableye fell back again, and stayed there.

“Was that it? That was all your first Pokemon could do?” Blue said to Christian. “Come on! Aren’t gym Pokemon supposed to be stronger?”

“Oh, I’m sorry… do you honestly think you’ve won that round?” Christian said with a smirk. “I beg to differ. Sableye, Recover!” Sableye stood up slowly and began to glow with a brilliant white light. When it cleared, Sableye stood there, once more grinning. All the bruises and scrapes it had suffered were completely gone. “Now,” said Christian, “It’s time to go on the offensive. Sableye, go!” Blue and Seghuccello turned their attention back to Sableye, and were astonished to find that the ghostly Pokemon had completely disappeared.

“Watch out, Seg,” Blue warned. “I think it’s using Faint Attack. It could be anywhere…” He stopped that line of thought abruptly as he heard a shriek: Sableye had just reappeared on Seghuccello’s back, and was currently biting the Aerodactyl’s neck. Seghuccello screeched again, and clamped his fangs onto the Sableye’s arms. Sableye yelped in turn, and Seghuccello threw the ghost to the ground. “Now… um… Seghuccello,” Blue said, begin to stutter a little, “try, um, a Rock Slide! Trap him under rocks!”

Seghuccello nodded, and raised his wings. The ground began to rumble, and suddenly, several large rocks burst forth. They hovered behind the Aerodactyl, and he gestured to the Sableye. The boulders rushed forward faster than one would think rocks could travel, and closed in on Sableye. They stopped just overhead the newt-like Pokemon, and without any warning, tumbled from the sky, smashing into Sableye.

Or so Seghuccello thought. Suddenly, another ghostly ball of energy smacked him in the side; after regaining his composure, Seghuccello turned to look at the attacker. Sableye stood there, leering. “Oh my,” chuckled Christian, “Your Aerodactyl seems a bit confused. Would he like to know what just happened?”

“Yes. Please,” Seghuccello responded in a deadpan voice.

“Now, I can’t understand your Pokemon,” Christian started, “but I can only assume that means ‘Yes.’ Well, let’s put it this way. Have you ever heard of a technique called Substitute?”

Blue’s eyes widened, and he and Seghuccello groaned simultaneously. Then Blue’s face lit up. “Wait! Seghuccello! This means that Sableye is weakened! This is our chance!” Seghuccello nodded, and began to fly in circles above the Sableye’s head again, faster and faster. Soon, all that remained of the bird was a blur. Sableye glanced left and right, left and right before holding his head and moaning.

“Don’t worry, Sableye! Pick out that Aerodactyl with Foresight!” Christian yelled. Sableye nodded, and suddenly, beams of red shot from his eyes. Aiming them at the bird racing around above his head, Sableye focused, and soon, the blur had slowed down enough to be recognizable as Seghuccello. “Now, Sableye, Shadow Punch!” Sableye grinned, and faded into the shadows. After a few moments, as suddenly as he disappeared, Sableye reappeared, directly above Seghuccello. He landed on the Aerodactyl’s head and, fist awash in shadow energy, slapped Seghuccello across the face. Seghuccello grimaced.

“Hah! That’s exactly what we were waiting for!” laughed Blue. “Now, Seghuccello! Before he can react!” Seghuccello smiled and did a barrel roll, dropping the Sableye to the ground. Before Sableye could get up, Seghuccello swooped down and swiped at the ghost with his wing. Sableye flew backwards and impacted hard against the wall. He slumped to the floor and did not get back up.

Round One over! Winner: Blue and Seghuccello!

“Very good, Blue,” Christian said as he recalled Sableye. “But I promise you my next Pokemon will be much more challenging.” He threw another Pokeball onto the ground, and from it burst a large, black, smiling form – a Gengar. “Now, Gengar, kick things off with a Curse!”

Gengar nodded, and became enveloped in dark energy. A silver nail formed itself from the energy, and slowly began to stab the Gengar in the chest. He grimaced, but as soon as it was over, he pointed at Seghuccello…

And for the Aerodactyl, it was as if the very pits of Hell had opened up to him. Fire surrounded him as excruciating pain wracked his entire body.

“Oh no!” Blue yelled. He couldn’t see the pits of Hell, but he could tell that his Pokemon was in terrible pain. “C’mon, Seghuccello, return!” He held out his Pokeball…

“I don’t think so… Gengar! Mean Look!” Christian said with a grin. Gengar contorted his face into a horrible sneer, and the red beam from the Pokeball stopped in its tracks, then rushed back to the Pokeball. “Now, Gengar, Hypnosis!” Gengar positioned himself in front of Seghuccello and began to wave his arms in a circle. Seghuccello stopped thrashing and locked his eyes onto the ghost… Sure, he was in incredible pain, but wouldn’t everything feel better after a little nap? Seghuccello liked that line of thinking and plummeted to the ground, sound asleep.

“Now, Gengar, keep it up with Nightmare!” Christian ordered. Gengar stepped even closer to Seghuccello, and the two Pokemon were enveloped in a purple glow. Gengar grinned sadistically, and the glow condensed itself and rushed into Seghuccello’s forehead. The Aerodactyl began to fidget in his sleep, and soon, he was grimacing and yowling. Beads of sweat began to appear on the bird’s brow… suddenly, Seghuccello stopped moving.

Blue sadly tried recalling Seghuccello again, and this time it worked. Seghuccello disappeared. He glared at Christian. “You monster! How could you torture a Pokemon like that?”

Christian grinned slightly. “Now, now… Your Aerodactyl will be quite fine after a trip to a Pokemon Center. Nothing Gengar does is permanent. Now, do you have another Pokemon?”

Blue sighed. “Okay… Lento! Let’s go!” He tossed the Pokeball onto the ground, and in a burst of light the Slowking appeared.

End Round Two! Winner: Christian and Gengar!
Begin Round Three! Lento versus Gengar!
Lento – “…Oh, it’s my turn?”
~
Gengar – “Isn’t it just ghastly?”

“Lento! Start with Curse!” Blue yelled. Lento crouched into an alert pose, and began to glow slightly. Almost imperceptibly, muscles all over his body began to firm and bulge.

Christian chuckled. “Hah! Like that will save your Slowking! Gengar, Hypnosis!” Gengar began to wave his arms again as his eyes glowed, staring at Lento. Lento didn’t make any move to escape, instead choosing, apparently, to just bear it out. Soon, his eyes began to close, and he began to snore quietly. “Lento! No!” Blue groaned. He began to panic, and tried to recall his Slowking.

“I thought you would have learned your lesson last time…” Christian said. “Gengar, Mean Look!” Gengar twisted his face into the ugly leer, and the Pokeball’s recall mechanism retreated – Lento stayed put. “Now, Gengar, try to regain some health. Eat his Dreams! When you have enough health, Curse again!” Gengar accepted the command, and began to glow pink. After a moment, Lento began to glow similarly. Gengar grinned and moved closer to the Slowking, placing a finger on his forehead.

“Now my Gengar will drain every drop of health from your Slowking,” Christian said, almost casually, to Blue.

“Is that a fact,” Blue replied blandly.

Christian grinned. “Don’t worry, son, there’s no shame in losing to a gym leader. Look, I’ll be quick about taking down your Slowking. No nasty Nightmare business, just a Shadow Ball to the face.” He turned to look at Gengar, and was rather surprised to see the Gengar groaning. “Gengar! What’s wrong?!”

“Sorry, boss, but I’m not getting anything from this guy!” Gengar responded.

Blue smirked. “Now, Lento!” Without opening his eyes, Lento began to glow. A brilliant pink began to radiate from him, and suddenly, an invisible force shoved the Gengar off of Lento and sent him skidding into the same wall Sableye hit.

“But how?!” Christian yelled. “How can your Slowking use attacks asleep without Sleep Talking? And how can he resist Dream Eater?”

“Christian, my good man,” Blue replied, “Today’s lesson is that not all Pokemon with their eyes shut are asleep.” He left Christian to ponder that as Lento blasted Gengar with another Psychic smash, and then a third. Gengar fell from the wall, gasping for breath. Lento halted the barrage, looking rather drained himself.

“Blue, as clever as you may be, I’m afraid your Slowking looks like he can’t keep up! That many powerful attacks in a row will tire any Pokemon!” Christian laughed. “Gengar, on the other hand, can still keep going! Gengar, Shadow Punch!” Gengar disappeared suddenly. The room fell silent as its four occupants watched warily for the specter to reappear. Suddenly, Gengar rose from the shadows behind Lento.

“Lento! Look out!” Blue yelled, but it was too late. Gengar punched Lento as hard as he could before the Slowking could even turn around. Lento reeled from the attack, and dropped to the ground, unconscious.

End Round Three! Winner: Christian and Gengar!

Blue somberly recalled Lento.

“You should have realized, boy,” Christian said, “that bringing a Psychic Pokemon into a Ghost gym was just asking for trouble.”

Blue frowned. “I can assure you that my final Pokemon will have no such problems.” He tossed a third Pokeball to the ground, revealing a massive, light-green, spiky, rocky beast – a Tyranitar. Righello roared and glared at the Gengar as a sandstorm began to pick up inside the building.

Begin Round Four! Righello versus Gengar!
Righello – “You don’t stand a chance!”
~
Gengar – “Isn’t it just ghastly?”

“Gengar! Start this off with… that attack!” Christian yelled. Gengar nodded… but didn’t do anything. He just stood there, grinning.

“Heh heh heh…” Blue chuckled. “I think your Gengar is disobeying you, Christian! Righello, let’s make the most of this! Dragon Dance as much as you can!” Righello smirked and began to dance quickly in a circle. Orbs of energy surrounded him and spun just as quickly in the opposite direction. Righello began to feel invigorated, and he continued to dance – the effect only grew stronger and stronger.

Of course, the unintended effect of this was that Righello didn’t notice Gengar rushing at him, fist outstretched.

“Was my Gengar really disobeying me, Blue?” Christian asked rhetorically. “Or was he merely charging up for one of the most devastating attacks a Pokemon can learn – Focus Punch?”

Blue grinned. “Regardless, I think you’d better take a look at what actually happened…” He gestured to the field. Gengar was wailing in pain as Righello clamped his teeth on the ghost’s fist. “Righello can be surprisingly fast after he Dances.” Righello spit the fist out, and Gengar stumbled back. He started to charge at Righello again, but tripped… He fell to the ground and didn’t move again.

End Round Four! Winner: Blue and Righello!

Christian recalled Gengar and chuckled. “I suppose I’ve been going too easy on you, Blue. You’re far better than I gave you credit for! However, you won’t be going any farther than that! My last Pokemon is my most powerful by far, and more than strong enough to take down your Tyranitar!” He tossed a purple Pokeball onto the ground. Light burst forth from it, and both Blue and Righello shielded their eyes…

[*Murkrow]

Jeff, I'll try to get you conclusion done over the weekend.

I've also finally finished my own gym leader story, at long bloody last x_x

One thing I felt I should explain beforehand: I write it that Reflect/Light Screen can be manipulated to reduce more than the original amount. I.E, in the games, they reduce damage by (I think) half, but if a Pokémon concentrates then they can increase the effectiveness of the shield, so reducing the amount of damage dealt even further. However, they cannot do anything else while they're focusing, so if they, e.g, have Reflect up at max, then Light Screen ony be able to deflect the normal 1/2. If that needs anymore explaining, please tell me, though I hope the reason I mentioned this should become clear once you read the battles.
And if you don't like it, well, tough. If Pokémon can have more then four attacks, learn attacks they normally would never have and generally battle in a way completely different to the games then I think I'm justified in flinging an effect like that in because it sounds like something that could happen.

I'll be using Ryau (Pidgeotto L23 F), Rage (Skarmory M L21) and Omega (Shelgon M L40).

*Contains swearing and blood*

------------------------------

‘Ok,’ the Skarmory smiled, a faint flash of relief spreading across his face. ‘That’ll do me fine for now.’
A brief silence followed that, with all three Pokémon hesitating and glancing awkwardly at each other. Something was different now, and they all knew it.
‘Well….’ Omega coughed and nervously shifted his weight. ‘I guess it’s about time that we, well, went back? We’re going to have a bit of explaining to do, after all.’
‘Y…e….s’ Ryau answered slowly, turning away to glance back at the two unconscious Blaziken. ‘But what about them? Are we just going to leave them here?’
‘Let them rot,’ Rage said coldly with a shrug. ‘They’re nothing, especially now.’
Ryau flinched, avoiding looking at him in the eye. ‘It’s not their fault,’ she murmured, looking to Omega for his advice.
‘I think they’ve done as much damage as they can,’ the Shelgon stated firmly. ‘They’re been bested; they know that if they try anything else then they’ll be dealt with either by me or somebody else.’
‘But should we just leave them lying here?’ persisted Ryau, ‘after all, they didn’t have any qualms about scaring off the Pokémon that lived here; what if they come back, see them completely out of it and decide to get their revenge?’
‘Serves them right?’ suggested Rage.
‘Hopefully, they’ll recognise what was going on and leave the two of them alone,’ Omega answered after a minutes thought. ‘And, frankly, I don’t want to hang around for either of them to come to. There’s going to be trouble when we get back home, we can’t put it off forever.’
‘It’s ok; go back to your home. We can handle this.’
The female voice made them start and look around; strolling casually towards them was a Meganium, her eyes scanning the area expertly.
‘Excuse me?’ asked Omega incredulously.
‘We noticed the smoke; we’ve got an honour to dispel any problems that occur here….though in this case it looks like we were too late.’ She smiled in a rather forced fashion.
‘Oh.’ Omega grinned. ‘So you’re essentially saying that I screwed your job up, right?’
‘I wouldn’t have chosen those words. But yes, in a way. Though we admittedly are always welcome of help.’
‘Indeed,’ Rage snarled, ‘now, if you’re going to be looking after those two idiots’ –he motioned towards Jenny and Mars- ‘we can get off home now. I’ve got a proposition to make to my team-members.’
‘Eh?’ Omega glanced round at him. ‘I don’t like the sound of that.’
‘You wouldn’t because you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be wild, I’m not going to let us sit around and ignore what’s happening,’ he hissed back in reply, flexing his wings.
Ryau’s heart sank and she could tell that Omega’s had as well. That really didn’t sound good, especially coming from Rage.
‘Then why don’t you run along then?’ Meganium put in, giving a little laugh. ‘Let us take care of this averted calamity?’
‘Er…yeah, whatever you say,’ muttered Omega, rolling his eyes. Sensing that now they really were leaving, both Ryau and Rage flexed their wings in readiness.
‘Bella! Have you found it?’
The Meganium regally turned to look behind her as a teenage girl came wandering over. She looked about eighteen to nineteen; her hair was a rather light shade of blonde interspersed with light stripes of green, which matched her eye shade. Her dress consisted of a black, knee-length skirt, slashed to about the middle of her thigh, paired up with a vivid pink halter neck, that, simply put, showed rather a lot of cleavage. Hanging from a black ribbon around her neck was a green crystal that sparkled gently in the sunlight.
Omega coughed and tried to casually turn his attention away; Ryau was regarding the new arrival with curiosity. And Rage just looked like he hated her instantly. Par for the course with Rage.
‘So these are the Pokémon who obviously stopped them?’ The girl waved her hand at the Blaziken’s.
‘Indeed,’ Meganium replied, nodding.
‘Right then.’ She turned to the three and smiled coldly. ‘Well, as Bella has no doubt told you, we can handle things from here, so why don’t you all run along now? And thanks again!’
Both she and Bella directed fake smiles at the Pokémon, who recognised that now was definitely the time to leave. Rage and Ryau flapped into the air- Rage wearing an expression of extreme distaste, Ryau one of bemusement. Omega trotted after them, trying to keep up as the two birds effortlessly sped forwards.

Almost as soon as he had breached the hill, Ryau came drifting down to land by Omega’s side.
‘I’m just not comfortable alongside him,’ she said sadly, staring up at Rage, who was looking down expressionlessly. As soon as he noticed the two of them watching him, he jerked his head round and powered away rapidly.
‘I’m not surprised,’ Omega consoled gently. ‘He’s had a pretty rough time recently from what he said.’
‘He’s always had a rough time,’ Ryau smiled, ‘always. Usually because of you.’
‘If he annoys me on purpose then he should expect some retaliation,’ Omega countered, laughing. ‘But seriously though, things are different now. And I dread to think what’s going to happen when he gets home. Jock for one, may decide that now the time is ripe to kill him. Everybody thinks that Rage had a part in that attack.’
‘I know. I did too.’ She was silent for a second. ‘Do you think it tallies up? He could have caught that Mightyena before he fled, but no. He let both him and Fao…er, Zev, wasn’t it? That’s what he said his name was now?’
‘Yes.’
‘Right, well, He let them both get away. And this is Rage we’re talking about. We’d all just seen Paytah be killed, I doubt that Rage would have really cared if he’d gone and killed that Mightyena in front of us. But he didn’t. Nobody would have tried to stop him either…heck, I’d be willing to bet that Jock would have tried to help. Yet, he, well, let him get away.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Omega said quietly. ‘He’s never been one for subtlety.’
They were silent for a few minutes, just concentrating on their walking, the soft thuds as they brushed through the grass, listening to the whine of the wind as it rustled the vegetation around them.
‘You know what?’ Ryau’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
‘Hmm?’
‘I actually liked him being gone, at times. Everything is always so much simpler when he’s not around. And it was only two weeks, I know, but….I really was getting used to him not being there. To tell you the truth, I missed -miss- Celeste a hell of a lot more than I ever did him.’
Silence again.
‘What does that say about us? About our relationship?’
‘I don’t know,’ Omega replied truthfully.

-----------------------------

Rage was waiting for them a couple of streets into the town.
‘Have we moved or something?’ he asked suspiciously. ‘Because there’s nobody home but the car in the drive definitely doesn’t belong to Hannah.’
‘Oh, of course, you weren’t h…er, we’re more in the centre now. Money issues, that sort of thing,’ Omega told him.
‘Huh’
‘Do you now about the team, um, losses?’ Omega asked, trying to break the tension that had settled among the three as they walked towards home.
‘What?’
‘Charade, Shiri, Brenth, Tasha and’ – Omega winced at the look on Ryau’s face- ‘Celeste have left, by their own accord.’
‘The butterfly’s gone? Joy. And the rat? That’s two of my prospective meals now living lives they really shouldn’t still have,’ the Skarmory concluded heartlessly.
Ryau flinched and focused intently on the pavement.
The silence descended again, even more thickly this time. Only the sounds of their footsteps broke through, their monotony drumming into the Pokémon’s minds.
‘There you are!’ A triumphant voice shouted from ahead. ‘We’ve been wondering where you took off too-’ Flash’s grin faded as he registered the third figure with them, skidding to a halt a few metres away.
‘It’s….it’s alright,’ Omega reassured the Quilava. ‘He’s with us, still.’
‘What the F*** is that meant to mean?’ Rage snarled.
‘It means that nobody was sure if you’d teamed up with those canines,’ Ryau whispered harshly. Rage looked briefly surprised, then hissed angrily.
‘And why the HELL would I want to team up with creatures like that?’ he screamed. ‘I don’t need ANYBODY, you understand that? I can live perfectly adequately on my own, thank you very much. You lot can kid yourself all you want, but if the end came then I could live without you. ANY of you.’ His narrow eyes settled on Ryau, who stared back for a second, before bursting into tears and darting up into the air.
‘Ryau,’ Flash yelled after her, sprinting off after her rapidly retreating figure.
Omega stood, frozen, watching as Ryau vanished. Rage just stood there, looking as though what had happened had been no fault of his.
‘What is your problem?’ Omega marvelled that his voice was so steady.
‘What?’ Rage flung him an incredulous look. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘You’re a bloody liar, that’s what,’ Omega snarled back, feeling his voice beginning to tremble; he doubted that he’d be able to keep himself under control for too much longer. ‘You can’t survive without us, you said so yourself, less than half a bloody hour ago. You can’t return to the wild, can you? That ‘intricate network’ you spoke of Barbossa having…. they’ll block you of from ever returning, won’t they? They’ve been essentially starving you out, haven’t they? That’s why you came back, isn’t it? Because you weren’t ready to die yet? That’s so like you, Rage so like you because it’s so f***ing selfish.’
Rage’s eyes glinted, a guttural hiss rising in his throat. ‘Don’t go there, Shelgon! I haven’t got time for you, don’t you get it? I DON’T need you, get off your high-horse. I CAN live without you lot, it’d be hard, yes, but I can do it. I’ve done it in the past and I can do it again! So maybe I am being selfish, but so bloody what? It’s not selfish to look for the easy way out; you’re right, I’m not planning to die yet, and if sticking with this motley crew of idiots is what it takes, then I’ll do it.’
‘THEN GET THIS INTO YOUR F***CKING HEAD. We don’t want to be put in danger because of you returning. You think you’ll be accepted back in, no questions asked after what you did? You saw Flash’s reaction; everybody thinks you betrayed us. Bloody hell, none of us was counting on seeing you again. Actually, you know what? We were all glad of it. I’ll repeat it again. All of us.’
Omega felt a tiny stab of triumph as he saw Rage’s composure flicker for a second.
‘She told me just now,’ he continued on. ‘When we were walking back. She enjoyed you being gone. As did all of us.’
‘You’re lying,’ Rage hissed, ‘making it up.’
‘And if I was? Why the hell would you care? You told her yourself, all of five minutes ago that you could live without any of us. You saw her reaction, saw her go off; you didn’t care, so don’t attempt to kid yourself to me, or anybody else that you did. You just royally f***ed up any chance of a reunion between the two of you, and I hope that you’re happy.’
‘Joyfully,’ he replied coldly. ‘Like I give a f***. There’re plenty more whores out there..’
Smash.
Rage slammed onto his back as Omega cannoned into him, the Shelgon literally exploding with hate and anger.
‘YOU LISTEN TO ME, YOU PATHETIC PIECE OF USELESS FLESH. RYAU IS NOT A WHORE. SHE NEVER HAS BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE. And now…now, you listen to me.’
Omega leant forward, so that he and Rage’s faces were no more than a few centimetres apart.
‘You remember what you said earlier? About how when I evolved you wanted to drag me to face Barbossa and finish him off for you? Well, I’ve made my choice. No way in hell am I ever going to be siding with you again. But there’s more. I’m going to tell you this now because I’m a fair Pokémon, and doing so will give you enough time to make your own decision about what will happen to you.’
Rage’s eyes narrowed.
‘You said that when I evolved, you wanted me to face Barbossa? No. I’m going to face you, you understand me? And if we do that, then I win, I’ll kill you. Understand me?’ If you’re still hanging round, pretending to be a ‘team-member’ then you’ll die. Understand?’
He nodded.
‘Good.’
Omega rolled off of him, and strode away, forcing himself to not look back. His heart was pounding like anything. Holy crap…had he actually gave Rage a death threat? What the hell? He was all for standing up for his friends, but…a death threat? Would….could….he actually kill Rage? Yet he knew the answer to that. Even if Rage turned against everything, struck out at all his friends. He could fight him, easy. He’d done so before, and won. He just wouldn’t be able to deliver that final blow. He shuddered, even thinking of it.
‘Does that threat only hold once you evolve?’ Rage’s voice made him jump, it was so unexpected.
‘Yes.’
‘Alright then.’ A clatter of steel wings, a couple of seconds wait, and then the bird landed by his side. ‘Which way is the new apartment?’

-----------------------------

Rage was secretly impressed. He’d never have imagined that Omega would actually threaten him like that. Perhaps that Shelgon did have a backbone after all.
Or maybe not.
He could tell from the way he’d walked away that he was shocked by what he’d said. It was obvious. Omega had let his anger take over for a second, blurted out something that he would never be able to perform and was now struggling to figure out what to do now.
That could be quite fun to toy with, actually.
Rage grinned to himself. Hang around Omega, give him gentle reminders of his threat, be the first on the scene when the Shelgon evolved. Just to see the look on his face. Of course, he wouldn’t put it past Omega to battle him, which, as much as he hated to admit it, he’d lose, but how smug could he act when he woke from unconsciousness Taunting Omega, the then proud Salamence, about how he’d backed down from his part of the deal? Perfect.
And considering that Omega had just said so himself, he needn’t have anything to worry about until…actually.
‘When you say that everybody thinks I betrayed them…what exactly do you mean by that?’
‘What it says,’ Omega replied softly. ‘They think you had teamed up with Barbossa before-hand then fled to join up with him. And, believe me, when I said they didn’t miss you, I meant it. They’re not going to be best pleased to see you again.’
‘I’ll live.’
‘Watch your back, if I were you. And not from me. Jock in particular is edgy about what happened, he might not give you a chance to explain.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind.’
Silence fell again.
‘What was that ‘proposition’ you were talking about to that Meganium?’
‘I wanted……nothing. I know not to ask now, nothing will come out of it.’
‘That tells me everything I need to know.’
They lapsed into silence again. Rage was struggling internally. He couldn’t believe the sudden thought that had sparked into his mind; it would make him spend way more time than he would ever wish with Omega, and yet it would be a good way of spending whatever remaining time he had left…oh what the hell.
‘Omega, I’ll make a deal with you.’
‘Huh?’
‘I know you’ll never kill me, really, but if you wish, then I will gladly bugger off when you evolve.’
‘And the catch is?’
‘Train me. Teach me everything you know, then I will willingly turn my back on you and the rest once you evolve. I’ll return to the wild and you’ll never see me again. How does that strike your fancy?’
‘It means that I would be spending an awful amount of time in your company.’
‘I understand that, that is the main drawback on my side as well.’
‘You swear you’ll leave? That’ll be it?’
‘I swear.’

-------------------------------

Omega considered Rage for a few minutes. Although what he was saying would mean the two spending ridiculous amounts of time together, their time could be limited simply because it revolved around him. If he stepped up his personal training and battles, they could be rid of Rage in a few weeks, maybe even less. Then that would be it.
‘Deal.’

-----------------------------
* *
‘Deal.’ Rage smirked maliciously as he followed Omega’s lead. That was settled then. His time here was now officially limited.
That didn’t feel as good as he might have expected, though. Odd.
‘So they were telling the truth.’
Sh*t. Twisting his head, Rage scowled at Jock as the Houndoom approached.
‘What?’ Omega asked curiously.
‘Flash came back saying that he’s spotted the…the three of you together. Then Ryau was escorted back by Rénar and told us everything what happened.’ His tone was steady, emotionless.
‘And what are you going to do about it?’ chuckled Rage.
‘Nothing.’
Huh?
‘I’ve listened to what Ryau said,’ Jock stated tonelessly, ‘I know that you didn’t have anything to do with it as we initially suspected. So I’m willing to accept that you will be rejoining us…..for however long you feel you wish to stay.’
He stopped speaking, regarded him silently for a moment or tow, then calmly turned around and began to walk back the way he came.
Rage felt strangely vulnerable as he stared at Jock as he walked away. He hadn’t expected anybody to just shrug off what he’d done like that.
Omega had the same startled look on his face; he caught his eye then shrugged.
‘Jock’s always been fair,’ he sighed, ‘I just don’t think he could hold a grudge after things were explained to him.’ His expression changed, and became stony. ‘I hope you like knowing that you’re going to really dent his confidence once you turn round and leave. Alongside everything else you’ve done.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Doesn’t sound like either Flash nor Ry told them everything what happened…maybe they glossed over some of the things you said.’
Again, Rage felt that tiny jolt of vulnerability. Mostly at the mention of the Pidgeotto’s name.
‘I-’ he began.
‘I hope you’re happy knowing just what you’re going to do,’ he said quietly, before he started walking slowly after Jock.

------------------------------

Omega yawned as he wandered through the apartment, blinking away the sleep. It was the holiday’s, so having a lie in was perfectly acceptable. That was why the apartment was already flooded with light; a quick check at the clock told him that it was half ten.
He grinned to himself at that. It didn’t take long to rootle around and get himself some breakfast, so by quarter to eleven he was trotting into the shared back garden, looking around for Rage.

Things had been surprisingly calm when him and Rage had arrived home; apparently, everybody had decided to follow Jock’s route and treat Rage with tolerance rather than anger. He’d had a whispered conversation with Flash and Ryau, and all three of them had agreed not to mention Rage’s previous outburst, lest it ruined the fragile relationship that had been remade.
Things had been…strange that night. Rage had excused himself early on, flying out into the garden and hiding himself in the foliage of one of the trees. Ryau had looked for a second as though she was tempted to follow him, but then thought against it. Jock had been rather quiet, seemingly deep in thought, spending most of his time pacing round and round the small living room. Flash, Sianna and Hannah had made stilted conversation for a while, before reverting to the ease of the television.

And now…here he was, beginning his part of the deal. Although he still wasn’t that enthusiastic about spending a lot of time with Rage, he’d slept on the idea, and realised that he could use the time to his advantage as well.

A clang of metal signalled Rage’s arrival; he landed with a sneer on his face and smirked as Omega blinked at him curiously.
‘Everything alright for you, teacher?’
‘Rage, call me that and the deal is off, ok? Besides, I thought you were taking this seriously.’
‘I am’
Something about his curtness made Omega glance up. Rage quickly looked away before they made eye contact, staring at the tree where he’d spent the night.
‘What? Rage?’
‘Did, um, did Ryau…how was she last night?’
Omega stared at him for a second, then groaned and buried his face in the grass. ‘Bloody hell, Rage. Make up your mind about what you fricking want. Then come ask me about her. I’m not going to let you exploit her if you’re still unsure what you want.’
‘You interpreted that exactly as I knew you would; the wrong way.’
‘No, Rage. With you, there was no wrong way. You don’t ask questions about others to be polite. End of story.’
Rage snarled in irritation for a second, then somehow managed a tense smile.
‘So….are you going to start training me now?’
‘Considering I don’t have much of a choice,’ sighed Omega, ‘yes. But in-case you hadn’t considered things, we might have a problem with that. We have no moves in similarity; I’m good and all, but I’m not sure how I can teach you to control your attacks effectively if I don’t know how.’
Rage flung him an in credulous look. ‘Do you think I’m stupid, Omega? Like I’m going to fall for that?’
Bugger it.
‘I have control over everything I know,’ he continued on, ‘I would just like some new ideas and techniques pointed out to me in the way I can combo and use them together. So don’t pretend that you can’t do what you agreed to. ’
Drat. There went one of Omega’s hopes for lessening the amount of time spent with Rage. He groaned.
‘Ok, point taken. But before we move onto what you feel you require….you know Aeroblast, don’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Ever used it?’
‘Oh….er….n-no.’
‘You really have ‘control’ over that move, then?’
‘Am I allowed to say ‘go to hell, Omega’ in these lessons?’
‘If you so feel the need to.’
‘But of course, you won’t feel the need, will you, Rage?’ Ryau asked coldly, swooping down sudden to land by Omega’s side. ‘Because you know as well as I do that Omega will only be telling you stuff that will be completely 100% relevant to your new training schedule, so any come-backs you can come up with will not be required.’
Omega groaned again and smacked his head back onto the ground. Just what he needed; Ryau and Rage glaring daggers at each other.
‘Ry, why are you up so….um,’ he hesitated, realising that ‘early’ didn’t really apply.
‘You made too much noise when you were getting your breakfast,’ she said peacefully. ‘Everybody else is up as well; they’ll be out soon enough.’
‘NO WAY!’ Rage let out a shriek of protest. ‘We didn’t agree that others would be able to come and watch us at will, Omega.’
‘Nor did we agree that they would be entirely private,’ Omega replied, without thinking of what he was saying.
There was a rather nasty silence, during which Rage transferred his gaze slowly from Omega to Rayu and back again.
‘Fine then,’ he hissed, ‘starting from tomorrow, these little ‘lessons’ of ours will be entirely private; I do not wish to have my concentration broken because some pathetic excuses for Pokémon are watching me every move.’
Sianna took that opportunity to come trotting eagerly from the back door of the apartment building, heard his words and beamed back at him.
‘Rage, you’re standing in the middle of a shared garden; we have as much right as you do to come and spend time outside here. As do the occupants of the four other flats.’
‘And you can’t really go train in the wild, can you…?’ Ryau enquired innocently, ‘you know, away from a lot more protection than you might need..’
Rage let out a roar of frustration, snapped at Ryau’s head – managing to snatch a few feathers from her crest – then sprung into the air and swooped away.

------------------------------

‘Is this really how you feel towards Rage now?’ Omega asked Ryau softly as they watched the bird vanish. ‘Or are you just making sure that he, you, er don’t get….er…hurt?’
‘The latter,’ she murmured quietly. ‘Let’s just say that last night, I realised two things. One: Rage does not give a sh*t. Two: I’ll be better off and have a much more peaceful life without him hawking around.’ She ruffled her feathers importantly. ‘It might take a little while of getting used to, but I know I’ll pull through.’
‘Are you really sure you want to put yourself through it, though?’ Sianna asked nervously. ‘I’m not saying that you should just act like you used to; just tell him straight out what you think and feel. Don’t beat around the bush, just go straight to the point. It’d probably save you both some grief later on if you have trouble keeping the act up.’
‘I considered that,’ whispered Ryau, looking distraught for a second, but then hastily rearranging her expression. ‘But he’d exploit it for his own ends; he’d say he’d changed, pretend he had…I know him. That’s what he’d do, and at the end of the day, things would be the same. No, it’s just easier this way.’
There was silence for a few more minutes, during which Jock poked his head out of the back door, half-smiled and retreated back inside.
‘You never told us how long Rage’s training was going to last, Omega,’ Sianna ventured cautiously. ‘All you said last night was that the two of you had agreed that you’d train him for a while. How long is ‘for a while’?’
Omega stared at his friends for a second or two, then sighed. They’d find out eventually, might as well tell them now.
‘Until I evolve,’ he said, careful to keep his voice steady and emotionless.
‘That might not be very long,’ muttered Ryau softly. ‘What else is there to it, then?’
‘The training part is my part of the deal. Rage’s part is that once I evolve, he’ll leave. That’s it.’
Sianna flinched; both the Shelgon and Bayleef were watching Ryau out of the corner of their eyes, and neither missed the spasm of distress that flashed across her face.
She managed to keep her voice flat, however, when she spoke. ‘He’ll leave to where?’
‘Omega shrugged. ‘Where-ever he can go, I’d expect.’
‘Right.’
Her eyes had gone blank; as she turned away, Omega and Sianna exchanged a brief look before Omega slumped down and buried his face in the dirt. What he would do for a quiet life.

----------------------------

Rage was seething as he hastened away from the garden. How dare she, how dare….she had no right to speak down to him like that, insult him. He’d teach her, he’d show her, he’d…. But then she wouldn’t speak to him again, for sure.
Except she probably was already not speaking to him again.
No, she’d spoke to him, she mustn’t hate him that much.
She wasn’t acting friendly, though, far from it.
Give her time.
She sided with Omega.
Of course she would, she…
No, she didn’t have to side with him.
Why should she side with me?
She’s my…no, not anymore.
Pity that.
No..
What the f*** was he saying?
He didn’t want her, he didn’t need her.
Though it was nice to remember-
‘Oh for the love of-’ He stopped in mid air, glared at nothing in particular, then let out a stream of profanities. ‘I’m going crazy. No, Rage, stop it, stop thinking about her, you should never have come back, just leave now, it was stupid, it was…’
His wings weren’t co-operating. His mind was telling them to move him in the direction of…somewhere, but they just kept flapping steadily, keeping him hovering over some random part of the neighbourhood.
He seriously could not believe this.
‘What is wrong with ME?’ he screamed out in frustration. Then jumped a mile as a familiar voice called out from below.
‘Beats me, though you do realise that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?’
He glared down. He was about ten feet above some road, and standing on the pavement, watching him with a cheerful grin of her face was the Meganium from the day before.
‘Something bothering you?’ she enquired happily, giving him a wide grin.
He snarled at her. ‘What do you want?’
‘Myself and my trainer had a little chat last night, and we decided after seeing your friends’ feats yesterday, that we should send him a challenge.’
‘And we, er, he should care, why?’
‘You don’t know?’ She looked genuinely surprised. ‘Oh, I guess that’s why you showed no reaction to her yesterday. Crystal is the grass gym leader of the Crystal Caves. And whereas most of the leaders are open to the general public…Crystal’s gym is invite only.’ She gave a winning smile. ‘Your friend should count himself lucky.’
‘I’m sure he will,’ Rage answered sarcastically, trying not to think of Omega’s reaction.
‘So, will you do me the honour of taking me to him? We managed to get hold of his trainers name and their location, but I’m not very good with street names.’
‘No.’
‘Awwwww. Please?’
Rage stared at her. She’d acted like an ice queen on their previous meeting, yet now she was all cute and just…ergh.
He didn’t have any more time to contemplate her, however, for the next second he found himself flat out on his back in the middle of the road.
What the hell?
He stared at her as she retracted her vines and smiled benignly.
‘I was ten feet above you!’
‘I’m incredibly well trained,’ she replied primly. ‘Now, have you changed you mind about taking me to meet them?’

---------------------------

‘And then he just took off, like that,’ Omega finished eagerly. ‘To tell you the truth, I was well glad to be shot of him; I have a whole host of other things I’d rather be getting on with today.’
‘Omega,’ Jock reprimanded him, shaking his head. ‘You made an agreement with him, and it’s your duty to stick to it.’
Everybody stared at him.
‘Are you sure that you’re alright?’ Hannah asked him eventually. ‘You’ve, well, you’ve adjusted to him being back pretty, er, quickly.’
‘Ever heard of the phrase ‘sleep on it’?’ Jock replied calmly. ‘I realised this morning when I woke that worrying about what might happen is useless, so I’ve decided to play it by ear now, and just see what happens.’
Omega somehow managed to resist the urge to smash his head into the floor again. He assumed that he was the only one who had noticed the twitch in Jock’s eye as he’d smiled. Fan-bloody-tastic. Now half the bloody team was suffering from secret mental problems. He cast a quick, nervous glance around at the others. Flash and Sianna looked ok, thank God. He knew he was fine, and he guessed Hannah was. Phew. If anybody else had or began to show signs of mental anguish, Omega had a feeling he’d have a mental breakdown.
‘Any idea where Rage went?’ Flash asked curiously, snatching another brownie from the plate. Omega, Ryau and Sianna had wandered back inside a couple of minutes after Rage flew off, to find everybody else moaning because Omega had finished off the cereal without realising it. So they’d done the next best thing and raided the cupboards, ending up with a plate of brownies, apples, a few strawberry yogurts and a couple of packets of mints. Which as Flash had pointed out, as a rather well-balanced meal in itself. Omega wasn’t so sure, but he had better things on his mind than to waste time arguing.
‘I got the impression it was to find someplace quiet for him and Omega to train in,’ Ryau stated her opinion, shrugging.
The doorbell rang before anybody could answer her. Next second, Rage evidently lost his temper, figured they weren’t going to answer and busted the door open.
‘Rage, you realise that you’re going to have to pay for that?’ Hannah asked, eyeing the door, now complete with claw and beak marks.
‘Huh,’ he muttered. ‘And now you lot might like to all get outside, there’s somebody out the front who’d like to meet you.’
Really?’ Flash looked up excitedly. ‘Who?’
‘Omega and Ryau will know; we met her yesterday.’
‘Oh great the human or the Pokémon?’ Omega inquired.
‘Pokémon.’
‘What’s this?’ asked Jock curiously, staring at Omega….and only at Omega, as the Shelgon noticed. Jock had averted his eyes the second Rage had appeared.
‘Explain later, I got the impression she doesn’t like to wait for things,’ Rage butted in snidely, rubbing his wings together. That got him a couple of curious looks.
‘Omega, can I ask that next time you run into strange people and/or Pokémon you actually let us know?’ Hannah asked, frowning at Rage.
‘Do I have to tell you everything about my time day?’ Omega rebuked, ‘or why don’t I just sit around here all day, save you the hassle?’
‘Wow,’ laughed Sianna as she trotted towards the door. ‘Talk about over-reacting.’

-----------------------------

‘Come on, we haven’t got all day, you know,’ the Meganium called out as the team trekked out from the building. She had settled herself quite comfortably on the grass on the front lawn, watching keenly as they all milled over towards her.
‘Hello, er, Bella,’ said Omega politely, grabbing the name from his memory. ‘What are you here for?’
‘No beating around the bush then? Oh well…hello dear’- she spied Sianna and gave her a winning smile. ‘Now isn’t that cute! I remember when I was a Bayleef. Not that I stayed in that form for long’- she gave a tinkling laugh- ‘I was always determined to reach my final stage as quickly as possible, because we all know that there’s never any point in just waiting.’
‘I’ve been like this for ages now,’ Sianna whined. ‘And it hasn’t done me any harm.’
‘Of course it hasn’t.’ Again came that fake smile. ‘Now, dear, if you could please translate what I’m saying so that your trainer understands, that would be wonderful. Anyway…as I have briefly told the Skarmory, I am hear to invite you to a challenge against Crystal, the grass gym leader of the Crystal Caves. We both witnessed the Shelgon’s battles yesterday and believe that if he is any indication of this teams abilities’-her smile flickered slightly- ‘then you should show us an admirable challenge.’
She paused for a second to allow Sianna to finish translating.
‘Battles will be one on one with three Pokémon used from each trainer. There will be no move restrictions, and battles are won by straight KO’s, so no funny stuff. No time limit. No Pokémon switches allowed once in battle. And may I also point out that Crystal refuses to battle people unless she herself invites them too, so this is pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity.’
‘She already told me that last bit,’ Rage murmured in Omega’s ear, ‘that Crystal sounds like one of those stuck-up spoilt brats that everybody hates.’
‘Hmm.’ It took Omega a second or two to realise that he and Rage had just spoken to each amiably, and that they had actually agreed with each other over something. Judging by the sound of agitated shuffling, Rage had just clocked the same thing.
‘So, what is your answer?’ beamed Bella smugly.
There was a brief silence in which all present knew exactly what the answer was going to be.
‘Of course we will,’ Hannah smiled, glancing around at her Pokémon.
Omega chuckled to himself. All the more better for him.

------------------------------

Bella strode ahead, leading the way into the meadow, where the gym was situated. The others trailed along behind her, talking amongst themselves, quickly discussing strategies and choices.
‘I’ll bet that she’s putting some of that cheerfulness on,’ commented Flash softly, staring at the Meganium’s back. ‘It must be a bit of a knock to come challenge somebody to a grass battle only to discover that 5/6 of the team consists of Pokémon with either an advantage or a resistance to grass attacks.’
‘Counting resistances in, it’s 6/6’ pointed out Sianna smugly. ‘I would resist any grass attacks thrown at me.’
‘Yes, but you wouldn’t be able to dish out much damage in return,’ said Jock reasonably.
‘Oh, go steal my thunder, why don’t you. Still, that’s me out.’
‘I do not really wish to fight either,’ Jock added, ‘I have not fought in years, and although I should be able to dent anything that comes at me, I don’t have the reasonable skill to put up a decent challenge.’
‘Fair enough,’ replied Hannah. ‘So that means it’s down to Omega, Ry, Flash and Rage.’
‘More like down to Ry, Flash and Rage?’ asked Sianna with a giggle. ‘We all know that Omega will be battling.’
‘I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ put in Omega.
‘Fine then. Ry, Flash, Rage, which of you want to fight?’
‘I’d like to,’ answered Ryau immediately. ‘I am one of the strongest, and it would be a good way for me to increase my levels at the same time.’
‘Ok then. Rage, Flash-who’ll it be?’
‘I’m up for it!’ chuckled Flash, flinging his head back to stare at Rage, who was flying boredly above them. ‘Rage, you want to battle?’
‘Huh.’
‘I’m going to take that as a….no!’ The Quilava’s back flared up in his excitement, making Sianna squeak and jump out of the way.
Omega just couldn’t resist. ‘As long as you don’t go your usual path…what’s you win/loss ratio again?’
Flash scowled at him. Rage laughed.
‘I think the phrase, ‘go to hell’ is very appropriate for right about now,’ he called down.
‘Not my style,’ Flash conceded, contenting himself with one last glare before turning his back on Omega.

-----------------------------

‘And here we are!’ After half an hours casual walk, they had penetrated into the heart of the meadow, finally reaching an acre or so of smooth grassland. Covering a large chunk of this area was what seemed to be the battlefield, the outside perimeter consisting of tall, flowering plants. Two spaces were left on opposite sides, presumably where the trainers stood. The traditional markings inside the arena were created out of smaller, low lying flowers, the combination of which meant that a pleasant aromatic smell was constantly wafting though the air.
Behind the arena, a medium sized building had been constructed, the wood panels almost covered with plants, ivy interspersed with honeysuckle. Hanging baskets overflowing with vibrant colours hung over the open door, through which Crystal came sauntering as they stopped at the edge of the arena. Her attire was nearly identical to the previous days, though the top was a glittery turquoise rather than pink.
She scrutinised them all individually for a few seconds, smirked and strolled to stand on her side of the field, closely followed by Bella.
Hannah and her Pokémon exchanged a look and walked to the opposing side, stationing themselves between the waving flowers.
‘I know that Bella will have explained the rules already, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t start now. There is no referee, by the way; I feel that it is not needed when the rules are this simple.’
She smirked again and pulled a Poké Ball from her belt.
‘Let’s get started then, right, Brooks?’
She flung the ball forwards; it burst open to reveal a sombre wearing grass type with a big grin. Thick yellow fur seemed to cover his body, contrasting with his bright green legs, arms and hat. Almost as soon as he was released, he began to bounce up and down, humming a song under his breath.
‘Damn, I’d forgotten that there was a grass/water nowadays,’ Hannah muttered to Omega who shrugged. The secondary type meant that Brooks would have access to attacks that would deal heavy damage whoever she chose. Still, she knew that all three of her choices had battled and won with disadvantages. That meant all she had to do was choose…..
‘Ry, go.’
The Pidgeotto nodded and swooped forward, delicately landing facing Brooks. There was a couple of seconds silence as both teams glared at each other.
Then, at a silent signal, both battlers leapt back and apart.
Crystal snapped her fingers. Brook’s murmuring instantly erupted into a full-on song, and enthusiastically began to dance across the grass, waving his arms and looking into the sky. Almost instantaneously, the few clouds began to darken, drifting to hover over the battlefield, as the heavens opened. First it was one spot of rain, then four more, then a downpour. Yet focused entirely on the patch of grass inside the flower perimeter; the trainers and their other Pokémon were free from the majority of it, though they could not help by get hit by the spray raining down.
Ryau was drenched in seconds, of course, but she still smiled triumphantly. Wary of the most obvious attacks that might be used against her, she had tenderly focused some of her energy into creating the small doll-like bird that was fluttering gracefully alongside her. It wasn’t long before her decision paid off; flying above Brooks, she saw the water gathering in his sombre, yet not overflowing as he absorbed it into his body constantly.
That was the challenge, then: deal more than he could heal and she’d win.
Crystal clicked her fingers, and Brooks shot his gaze skyward again. His mouth fell open and he spat a large seed out, that grew rapidly, sprouting roots and vines that snaked to meet Ryau. She didn’t move, letting her substitute fly in front of her; the vines encased it briefly, then disintegrated, falling down uselessly.
Ryau thought she heard Crystal swear; she smirked to herself and accelerated down, diving at the fastest she could, successfully ramming into Brooks's head. He stumbled back, hissing irritably, then lashed out with his fist. She dodged to the right, but he feinted and smashed her with his right fist, the surprise of which caused her to flinch, tumbling to land on the sodden ground. She was on her feet in seconds, and flapping her heavy wings, but he bore down on her, particles of ice forming around his mouth. Her doll darted in front of her as the beam of ice blasted out: Ryau prayed desperately that, despite the close range, the damage dealt would not be enough to destroy her substitute, even as she struggled into the air. Brooks turned the beam upwards, trying to catch her; she flung herself into a speed attack to evade him, then felt a stab of relief as she barrel-rolled, catching sight of her battered doll flying after her. It didn’t look like it had much energy left in it, but if it could stave off a couple of blows then it could do wonders for her chances.
Still, no need to take risk if there was no need.
She and her doll slipped easily into the alternate dimension, flying back down, through the lurching shadows of purple and black, to where Brooks’s body emanated a blood-red aura, as he circled round, trying to pin-point where she’d vanished to.
She hesitated for another second, so that the toxins forming inside of her body could increase, then darted out, seizing his head with her claws and letting the dark energy pulsate into his body. He shrieked and pulled away from her, but she clung on, forcing herself to retch and attempt to spit the nausea inducing substance into the water gathered on his hat.
Or at least, that was the plan.
Instead, she felt her body temperature plummet as Brooks unleashed a massive blast of cold from his body: it whipped through the falling rain, freezing the drops, then hurling them around in a frenzy. Ryau was trapped in the middle of the vortex, trembling as the almighty blizzard of ice dug into her. Shivering, she flailed around, trying to escape, when she felt the small tug at her heart that meant her substitute was gone, consumed in the blizzard.
Frantically, she flung up a thin layer of violet light around her form, which repelled the attack, enabling her to fly forwards, trembling, her eyes keenly staring through the thick snow and ice layers around her.
Then suddenly, she was free. The storm died down and she lowered her gaze to see Brooks smirking up at her. He gave what seemed to be a friendly wave and the rain poured down again, thundering against both of their bodies.
Ryau felt exhausted. She wasn’t sure whether it was the rain, the temperature, or just the fact that she was suddenly comprehending what it was she was up against. She could create a substitute again, but she knew that a couple of hits from the blizzard would be all it would take to shatter it, leaving her defenceless again and in an even more weakened state. Her attempt to poison him had back-fired; he’d been prepared if she tried to sneak in again. And with it still raining he could heal himself all he wanted and she couldn’t do anything about it.
She shuddered, heard the swoosh of something approaching and rocketed down, feeling the temperature plummet even lower as the beam shot over her head. Evidently, bringing her closer to the ground was what Brooks was intending to do, because he unleashed an identical beam, again forcing her down. She was flying a couple of feet above his head-level now, yet still trying to keep her distance in-case he opted for another blizzard.
Water was dribbling through her feathers, dripping from her wing tips; she was shivering constantly now.
Brooks was sniggering, even as another beam began to form in his mouth.
She stared at him, then blinked suddenly. One of those random sparks of inspiration flared in her mind, coupled with the weird vagueness that déja vu brings. She’d been facing off to something similar only yesterday, hadn’t she? A smile flickered across her face as she realised that she’d felt equally wet then…in its own way, that was comforting. It reminded her that she’d look back on this as well.
The other thought spurred her on, as she stared at him, barrel-rolling to avoid the attack. Her previous tactic lodged in her mind; she’d tried to poison him by infecting the water he’d collected, knowing that he’d absorb it into his body. Yet if that was how he was constantly healing himself…?
She looked at him and flat-out accelerated again. In seconds she had crossed the distance between them, spinning to smash into his head, splashing into the pool of water gathered inside his hat. Then she went mad, lashing out with her beak, clawing at him with her talons, ripping at the sides, tearing through the delicate structures. She knew she was carrying the element of surprise; he had not been expecting her to do that, and so she only had a few seconds before he came to his senses and blasted her away again…….
Nobody could say that she didn’t take full advantage of the time she had.
She felt the temperature drop and darted into the air, adrenaline powering her on. Brooks shrieked incoherently, water trickling down his sides, flowing through the rips and gashes she’d inflicted in his hat.
Good.
He could still heal, of course but she’d cut down the amount he could. Even better, he’d been thrown off-guard so his attack faltered out as he tried to realise what exactly had happened.
She closed her eyes, feeling her body warm up, aware that her body was beginning to glow, even able to see it, vaguely, the light dancing over her closed eyelids. The feeling increased, the gentle sense that everything would be alright, that she could do this, she would. She became aware that the temperature around her had dropped again, that the cold was encasing her from all directions.
She didn’t care, because she knew she would win.
Then she let her form drop, hurtling through the blizzard, the light that was her body piercing through the thick screen. She wrenched her eyes open, to allow herself to guide her body to directly hit him.
She saw his shadow through the ice.
With a resounding crunch, she smashed into his body, feeling her own shudder with the impact, yet feeling too him crumpling. He stumbled backwards and half-fell: she fell with him, pushing him over the edge so that he thudded onto his back in the grass.
Triumphantly, she breezed to a halt, landing delicately on his chest, digging her claws in as her inner light faded away. It was still raining, drumming rhythmically on both of their bodies and the ground. She wasn’t sure that her friends could see them, if Crystal could see them.
Either way, they were about to. The rain was slackening, as the dance Brooks had used lost its effect; no renewal, no rain.
Brooks big eyes widened, his pupils dilating.
Next second, his mouth had slid open and he spat another massive seed at her, which smacked into her front, instantly wrapping vines around her as the roots snaked back and entwined with Brooks’s hands.
Oh sh*t, was her initial thought.
Backtracking, she flung her wings wide, successfully snapping some of the vines, yet she could feel the steady tug as they began to sap her power, letting it trickle down the roots back to their owner.
He flung her a toothy grin, then abruptly shot another ice beam at her.
The pain engulfed her: at such a close range, the effect was doubled, the intense cold consumed her body, her mind was drifting away….
So intently focused on the sensation, she failed to register that the drum of rain had faded to almost nothing, nor hear the cries that were rising over the damp battlefield.
Until a laugh leaked its way into her consciousness. It alone struck at her because the owner had truly meant something to her.
Anger and indignation flared up in her. She was not going to let him do this, not now. She’d keep her dignity if it was the last thing she did.
It hurt, but she twisted away, hearing her muscles scream out, but she ignored them, turning her body enough that she could send her wing smashing down through the beam. Pain flared, but it was numbed, the metallic coating of her wing withstanding the onslaught.
She ducked down, snapping her beak thought the roots and vines, shredding them, as her body began to glow with her light again.
She’d do this for herself.
His attack finished, as she had known it would; he would want to check the extent of his damage, and possibly even what the glimmer of light on the edge of his vision was. His own attack was blocking his view: he’d messed up, right at the end.
As the final remnants vanished, she spun and plunged into him, ploughing into his body, digging as deep as she could. The remaining roots ripped and battered against both their bodies, their white edges mingling with the fur and blood now flying though the air.
She pulled back, shaking. He lay beneath her, his eyes wide, breathing fast, his front a mass of red and yellow. As his panic stricken eyes watched her, she drew back, forcing herself into the air, where she hovered, then dove, delivering the final blow as she crunched into his form.
He shuddered, then went still, his eyes blank and his laboured breathing slowing as she pulled back, stumbling over her feet as she tumbled off his unconscious body and stood, swaying.

---------------------------

‘Bloody hell,’ whispered Omega hoarsely, staring at the battered Ludicolo and the motionless body of his friend.
His words echoed out over the silence that had descended, and in doing so, broke through the spell.
Crystal flinched, then pulled out Brooks’s Poké Ball.
‘Return.’ Her voice was flat; no silent thanks to her Pokémon. She tucked the ball away, exchanged a look with the glaring Bella and drew out another.
‘Xia,’ she said simply, flicking the ball out. It opened, the light concentrating to form a large flower, her body blue, with deep red petals. Yellow spores clustered over the petals, tumbling over each other as their owner swayed on the spot, her spindly legs seemingly too thin to support her weight.
Crystal clicked her fingers again. Xia let out a yell, raising both arms to the sky as her petals flashed with fire. The fire spiralled around her form once, then exploded upwards, creating a massive ball of fire in the sky, its scorching rays emanating over the field. The fire on Xia’s petals faded, to be replaced by a green glow as the chloroplasts began to work faster.
‘Ry, Whirlwind!’ Hannah shouted to her Pokémon, who had been squatting on the battlefield, drawing deep breaths to ready herself. She nodded in response to her trainers call and lurched into the air, beating her wings heavily. The rapidly drying grass rustled as the wind stirred, whipping into a frenzy in seconds. The epicentre of the wind focused around Ryau, her strong wings sending wave upon wave of air outwards and around.
Crystal looked furious for a second, her expression betraying the fact that she had no way to stop this….then her expression changed. A sly grin flashed to life and she laughed out loud.
‘You’re essentially giving this win over to me, are you? Or hoping that I’m not stupid enough to not take it? Tough luck, hon. Xia, Stun Spore.’
The spores on Xia’s petals shot upwards immediately, scattering into the tornado around Ryau, encircling the Pokémon, drawn in and covering her body. The Pidgeotto winced, feeling her muscles locking up, but she forced herself to finish off with one, strong downwards stroke.
The tornado roared out, seized Xia in its grip and flung her round: a red beam shot from the Poké Ball Crystal was holding, automatically recalling the Vileplume.
Bella didn’t hesitate; she let out a battle cry and charged onto the field, vines lashing from around her neck, ensnaring Ryau as the bird struggled to maintain her flight with her contorting body. Dragging her down to eye level, Bella gave her big, fake smile, even as her petals began to glow white. The light increased, then blasted outwards, consuming Ryau and sending her hurtling back as Bella released her.
For a moment or so, the light continued its assault, causing everybody present to cover their eyes or look away, before it stopped as suddenly as though a switch had been thrown.
Ryau tumbled earthwards, her eyes still faintly open, her wings twitching vainly for flight before she crumpled onto the ground with a thud.
Her eyes closed and she fell silent.
Crystal smirked and flicked her hair back boldly; Hannah winced and quickly recalled the Pidgeotto. Anything she might have been about to say was cut off, however as a furious voice shrieked into the air.*
‘HOW F***ING DARE YOU,’ Rage bellowed at the smirking Meganium. ‘I’M GONNA PERSONALLY MAKE SURE YOU REGRET THAT.’
‘But you laughed when Ry was getting beaten,’ spluttered Omega, ‘why do want to aven..’
‘Shut the f*** up, Omega,’ hissed Rage in anger, rushing into the air with a screech of metal on metal.
‘But I was going to be the third battler,’ Flash whined….then abruptly shut up as Rage shot him a death glare.

------------------------------

Rage was seething inside. How dare that bitch, how dare she. Nobody touched her, his.
She was going straight to hell, and he’d personally accompany her on her trip down.
He tucked in his wings and shot forward like a bullet, his beak whirring as he aimed to strike her in the neck. Hit a main artery or vein or whatever. Make her bleed.
The bitch just stood there, smiling. How easy for him, then.
He was close now, he was seeing the flesh, just ready for him.
Now.
Her felt his beak dig into her flesh, felt a burst of warmth trickle over his face.
For a second.
A flash of red engulfed her, then ricocheted out, knocking him back, away, causing him to smash into the ground, winded.
‘I think your Skarmory is lacking in brains,’ mocked Crystal, splashing a pretend worried expression across her face. Bella snickered. ‘Mind you, Bella told me that she thought that was the case, right from the start.’
Rage hissed, unaware of the snarls coming from behind him, his attention focused only on the Pokémon in front of him. She laughed mockingly and her petals flashed, first orange, then blue. Next second, the colours materialised around her body, two identical looking shields of colour, encasing her perfectly.
‘I’ll assume you know what those two moves are?’ taunted Crystal, sniggering. ‘But to complement the picture-’
A light silver mist rose from Bella’s petals, sparkling, covering her like a veil so that her image shifted and swayed even as she stood still.
‘And there you have it, my Bella’s defences are at the maximum for both types of attacks, and you can’t even resort to status effects,’ smirked Crystal. ‘Might as well call it a day, mightn’t you, Skamory?’

-----------------------------

‘What’s going on here?’ Omega whispered urgently. ‘Something isn’t right; they didn’t do this towards Ry. This is deliberate; they’re trying to strike at Rage somehow.’
‘He just shouted that he’s going to make Bella regret beating Ry. He’s instantly come across as the ‘big, tough’ Pokémon who can’t stand losing: they’re trying to psych him out,’ answered Jock instantly.
‘No. It’s different. They’re taunting him deliberately.’
‘They’re the kind who would taunt him, though; they’re the sort of bitches you’d willingly hit,’ Hannah muttered, ‘both of them. Besides, Skarmory’s in general don’t have very good attitudes, I think they want to see how far they can push him.’

------------------------------

So she was going to hide behind her pathetic shields, was she?
Fine. If she wanted to play like a coward, he’d enjoy this even more. Let them play their stupid games. He wasn’t going to fall for them.
He dove forwards, fully intending to repeat his attack, her stupid shield didn’t matter, it never would.
She smirked as he drew closer, the orange shield around her becoming more pronounced. Rage closed his eyes as he struck it, feeling a spark of momentary alarm –quickly suppressed- at the strength of it, before he was met with her full weight as she pounced on him, crushing him to the ground under her body.
The shock and the indignation stung more than the pain; his steel body was ideal for withstanding pressures such as this, but she was still too heavy for him to attempt to fling off. Instead, he twisted his head round on his neck and shot a barrage of small, five-pointed stars at her, which nearly all bounced off of her reflective shield and vanished. The few that did penetrate through delivered what seemed to be no more than a light tap to her green flesh.
Bella’s grin widened and she whipped out her vines, lashing them around Rage’s beak, ramming it shut then twisting his head round so that his neck screamed in agony. She released her weight slightly, letting her other vine slip around his body, crunching his wings against his sides.
With the bird trussed and pinned she leapt back, dragging her vines upwards, flinging Rage up into the sky, yet keeping her tight grip on his body: for a split second, he hung there before his weight and gravity dragged him back down. Bella held on until the last second, before she retracted her vines with a snap, letting the struggling bird smash into the grass on his own.
Giggling, she galloped forwards as Rage struggled to his feet, winded and coughing. Aiming to pin him down again to repeat her moves, she gave a quick leap, yet came crashing down to land in the disturbed soil.
Scowling, she flung a look of annoyance skywards, where Rage had rapidly flown, breathing deeply to get his required oxygen to concentrate again.
‘Get back down here,’ she yelled at him, snarling. She got a snarl in reply, but ignored him, focusing instead on sending her vines lashing out at him. Her spun, rolling away to dodge, his speed increasing visibly with each powerful blow of his wings. There was no way in hell that she was going to be able to catch him at that rate.
So she did the next best thing. Her vines flicked back to make way for a flurry of razor sharp leaves which whined and hurtled through the air easily. Their edges glinted in the sunlight as they scythed upwards; Rage hissed and darted to avoid them, but as their numbers increased, each rocketing accurately upwards, first one, then another, then another struck him. One crumpled against his wing, one bounced off of his chest. Although his natural resistance meant that he could withstand the attack alright, instinct screamed at him to avoid what was coming towards him. That was slowing him down, his incessant attempts to dodge the leaves.
Too slow, in-fact. And with his attention elsewhere, he did not notice the unnatural light glistening below him, not until it burst out, rushing through the leaves, consuming them. Then it engulfed him; he was lost in a blast of white energy, hearing it screaming in his ears, piercing through his body.
It faded away: half-stunned, he fell with it, allowing a pair of vines to eagerly wrap themselves around his claws. Bella took the opportunity to fling him across the battlefield again, giggling at the resounding crash as he hit the earth.
Rage was stunned. His body ached from where it had been forced to slam into the ground, he could feel his wings lying heavily against the grass, but he couldn’t summon the energy to move them.
Inside he raged, hissing swears towards the strutting Pokémon smirking across at him. He hated her, he was not going to lose to her, he wouldn’t…..
The earth was shaking: she had charged again, obviously hoping that he would retreat to the sky again so that her tactics could be reapplied.
He pulled himself to his feet, watching as she drew closer. If she thought that he would take the cowards’ way out, she was mistaken. He was going to stand his ground, if it was the last thing that he did.
And she saw, she knew. Her legs plunged into the earth, sending her slithering into a halt. Her eyes narrowed and the orange glow around her instantly doubled in intensity.
He blinked.
They stared at each other, Rage’s heart suddenly pounding. He thought he could hear Omega shouting at him….or maybe it was just in his mind. Wonderful. That stupid idiot had managed to lodge his annoying voice into his mind. He scowled inwardly, making a mental note to yell at Omega when he got out of this battle. Yet a part of him argued back. He’d wanted Omega to help him in his strategies…..he could.
The blue glow shimmered around Bella’s body.
He flung out his wings, summoning the power only he could use, the one that was unique to him. Light seemed to filter over his body, glittering over his steel clad body. A heat-haze seemed to materialise around his body, distorting the air around him.
Bella just stared in confusion.
Fire. Steel-grey and blue fire erupted over his body, crackling fiercely: he could hear it burning, consuming him, but it didn’t hurt. He narrowed his eyes at his foe and nodded forwards. The fire exploded away from him, coiling to form the image of a snake-like dragon that roared silently and plunged towards Bella.
Her eyes widened, acknowledged what the attack was and reacted. The blue glow intensed, the orange one diminished and she ducked behind its protection as the dragon reached for her. Light flashed everywhere as the two attacks met, she blocking its advance, him watching coolly, waiting for his moment.

[*Murkrow]

Then he flung himself forward, his beak whirring and reflecting the light that was glinting all around. His attack sparked and dispersed as he relaxed his grip on it, but not enough to allow Bella to realise what was happening before he smashed through her minor shield. It held him back slightly, deflecting some of his momentum, but he carried on regardless, his beak gouging into her neck. She shrieked in pain and alarm, staggering back, shaking. Her vines rose up, wrapping themselves around his body, pinning his wings to his sides so that he half-fell to the ground, but he didn’t give up his assault. Not until he saw the flash of red light and was knocked back. Her vines were still holding him, though, so she was able to use the power to swing him up, then drag him back down again.
Again he thudded into the ground.
Her vines relaxed and pulled away. He could hear her sobbing and managed to raise his head for a triumphant look. Blood was flowing freely down her neck and dripping from her petals.
He laughed and licked the blood –her blood- that was still on his beak. Mmmm. Tasty.
The extreme sunlight was fading.
She sobbed again, as her petals glowed white. He lurched to his feet, thinking of what Omega had said, of the most powerful attack he knew.
An unnatural calm fell over the battlefield as Rage opened his beak. The wind stopped.
But only for a second. A white, blue-tinged glow began to rise in his beak, increasing in size and intensity. Spiralling on the spot, it began to twist the air around it into motion. The wind returned now, focusing around Rage, tugging at his body, rippling over his outstretched wings. It centred in, being dragged around the glow in his beak.
Bella unleashed her solarbeam. Rage saw the attack plummeting towards him, but didn’t move. All his energy was focused on the power he was generating. Even as the beam consumed him, he waited. The glow was increasing, visible even to those watching the battle, a blue shimmer inside the white beam.
A roar was coming, like the roar of a jet plane, increasing in volume and power. Bella heard it and shook, pushing all her might into her attack, begging that it took Rage out before.
The glow was increasing. The roar reached its pinnacle.
For a second, silence seemed to reign, even despite the crash of the beam. Then the roar peaked and the power gathering in Rage’s body exploded outwards, smashing back through the beam, the two attacks battling against each other. The narrow strip inside the solarbeam, where only air hung was consumed, filling with the rushing white-blue light, hurtling back to strike the face of the grass type.
Those watching the battle covered their eyes as the white light erupted. Nobody could see what was happening, nobody could hear over the roar and screams of the two attacks as they sliced through the air.
With one final, colossal crash, it was over. The two attacks obliterated each other and exploded outwards, dissipating into the air to reveal the two Pokémon. Rage was shaking, his whole body visibly trembling as he struggled to hold his ground. Bella was swaying on the spot, her eyes blank, a few bloodstains still gripping to her front, the majority of which had been blown away by the meeting of the two attacks. Her pink petals were ripped and shredded at the edges. The orange and blue glows, and the silver veil covering her flickered and vanished.
It looked like a stand-off.
Then Bella cried out, raising her face up, as a weak finger of fire burst into life, rising into the sky to form another artificial sun. The rays seemed to emanate down, as her petals began to glow a gentle green, the light spreading out over her body.
Crystal smirked, and even more so as Omega cried out.
‘RAGE, BRING HER DOWN, FINISH HER.’
Rage heard, but his eyes were glazing over in pain and exhaustion.
The light covering Bella withdrew back inside her. Her petals were whole again, the deep gashes in her neck healed, leaving only dark lines crossing her flesh. Her breathing was still deep, panting, but all outward signs of injury were gone.
The smug smile leaked across her face again and she went so far as to fling a triumphant look over her shoulder at Rage’s trainer and team-mates. She was near perfectly healthy again and she was going to rub it in as much as she could.
Rage saw her dimly approaching. His mind was wandering; he knew he’d lost. He’d failed.
Except….she’d forgotten. She had assumed he was gone, so she’d let her guard down.
A smile trickled across his face. She was sauntering closer, obviously intending to taunt him with her health before she took him down. He let her come closer, until……
He tensed his body, forced himself forwards and retched, gagging as he felt the poison leaving his mouth, but feeling a burst of pure pleasure as he heard her scream in alarm and saw a thick glob of black toxins trickling down her petals. Even as her petals began to glow, he could see the veins highlighted, dark, as the poison started to do its work.
He laughed.

------------------------------

‘Rage, return,’ Hannah held out the Skarmory’s Poké Ball as the beam cut short and the bird tumbled to the ground. She glanced at the ball in her hand for a second, then turned her gaze to Omega who shrugged nonchalantly and grinned.

-----------------------------

Omega took a deep breath and charged out onto the field. Bella had trotted back to her original position, and was glaring at him as he skidded to a halt.
He could see the poison on her petals, the contrasting pink and black veins standing out vividly.
She was going to faint, not even synthesis could help her now, once the toxins began to eat away at her. He just had to stand long enough for that to happen, and maybe help her on her certain way.
Her petals glowed and the orange and blue shields materialised again. Like that was going to help her now, though. He could dispel those with ease.
He just needed to get close enough to do so.
Bella evidently didn’t plan on letting him any closer, however: she suddenly let loose with the volley of leaves again, all of which rocketed over the grass, cutting up clods of dirt as their sharp edged cut deep into the ground.
They were blindingly fast; he was going to take a couple of hits before he could stop the majority of the attack, but that’s what happened in battles. He inhaled, a burning sensation creeping up his throat. A leaf slashed at his shell, but he barely shuddered under the impact. A well aimed cut slashed across his cheek, making him snarl, yet he kept his attention on the growing warm feeling in his mouth. He could feel himself gagging for water as his mouth dried out, but he pushed himself that last edge and shot a jet of fire out, which condensed to form a massive, five-point star. As he stepped back, gasping, it shot forwards, burning many of the oncoming leaves in its path. Those that it missed were far from their mark anyway and he paid no attention to them.
Leaving Bella to shelter behind her shield, he quickly stepped to the side, then spun, his gracefulness belying something of his size and bulk. His mind exalted as he went through the familiar steps, his movement becoming more refined as he continued.
Bella swore loudly, and he wrenched his eyes round to see her, looking very irritated, aiming her solarbeam at him again. He charged forwards, waiting until the last second where he flung up a violet aura round his body then ran into the centre of the beam. His body was shaking a little at the force of the attack, but the aura deftly deflected its damaging power leaving him free to charge the distance to where he could dimly see Bella’s head and neck through the white light. He extended his legs, the tips glowing brown and lashed out.
Of course, as soon as he launched into another attack, his aura stopped working: Omega found himself being blasted away by the last few seconds of the attack, but not before he’d heard the satisfying shattering sound of a couple of shields being broken. He rolled onto his back as he landed, flipped himself expertly back onto his feet and looked over at Bella again. She had her eyes closed, absorbing the suns energy again, trying to counteract the poisons effect.
He smirked and closed his eyes as well, focusing all his attention to the battle and only the battle, refusing to let any wandering thoughts interrupt his victory.
This resolution was stretched pretty quickly as he felt vines wrap around his front legs and drag him forwards. He stumbled, but quickly dug in his back legs. Bella glared at him and heaved back, her whole body shuddering as she attempted to pull him forwards.
He rolled his eyes, wondered briefly if she was losing her touch and panicking and shot a flamethrower at her. It hit her straight on: the wind wafting around the field brought back the disturbing scent of charred and burning grass.
She shrieked, let go and reared onto her hind legs, her body glowing green again. He had a feeling he was going to be seeing rather a lot of that move during this battle.
But he had a bigger problem to worry about now. The artificial sun she had created before pulverising Rage was burning down on them, and to make it worse, he’d just used two pretty powerful fire attacks. His body was screaming for water.
So he froze, thinking of storms, of torrential rain, and felt a reassuring breeze run across his back. The air cooled, and a low murmur from above signalled the start of the rain.
Next second, he saw Bella charging at him, her eyes staring and mad. He ducked to the side to dodge her, but she leapt up, pounding her whole weight onto his back and pinning him down, at the same time as she screamed to the heavens. He tried to counter her, sending all his energy into creating the rain clouds, but his mind kept wandering as he felt her crushing down on him.
The gathering clouds vanished and the sun resumed its burning quest.
Omega groaned. Bella laughed as she heard him and lowered her face, catching his eye and giving a mocking smile and wink.
‘Let’s see you get out of this, Shelgon.’
Her mouth opened and an orange orb burst into life. This close, he could actually feel the energy pulsing from it.
Refusing to let himself panic, he forced himself to relax, watching the attack, trying to figure out what would be the best time to…oh screw it.
He flung up the violet aura and had the satisfaction of seeing Bella’s expression flare: they both knew that as long as she kept up this attack, he’d be able to walk away unscathed.
Swearing, she cut off in mid-power up, and contented herself with rearing up slightly and slamming her weight back down on him. He snarled and shifted his body, feeling her digging her legs into his shell to get him to stay down. He twisted round as much as he could, hearing her muttering to herself as she tried to keep him down.
Then he sunk his teeth into her nearest back leg. He bit down hard, feeling the flesh tear beneath his teeth, trying not to gag as he felt liquid tricking onto his tongue. She wailed and stamped down hard on him, realised it wouldn't work and tore herself back. He felt her skin rip even more at that and coughed, spitting the blood onto the grass.
She hissed and he looked up, only to see the orange beam explode from her mouth and tear directly into his face.
The force of the blast was enough to knock him back, before his legs gave way and he collapsed, screaming. She’d been clever enough to aim for the one vulnerable part of his body, the thin section of skin over his face, he could feel his eyes watering as they reacted to being hit by one of the most powerful attacks a Pokémon could produce. He tried to open them, but saw only a blur of colour: he felt the ground shaking as Bella strode over to him. She stamped one of her feet on his left-front leg and bent down, pushing her face into his. All he could see was a green blur.
He heard her laugh and withdraw and a bit of him snapped. He rolled around and bit her leg again, hearing her alarmed call. As she pulled back automatically, he spun and lashed out with his right leg, extending the glowing orange claws on it and plunging them deep into her flesh.
He tore down and was rewarded with a blast of white light that sent him tumbling backwards, rolling over and over across the field.
As he slithered to a halt, he heard her running after him and dragged himself up. He felt the vibrations of the earth and spun away, dancing to evade her, feeling his energy rising and his spirit soaring.
She launched another razor leaf, and he whirled round, showing her his back so that the leaves could harmlessly scratch at his rough shell, buying him time. Using the few spare seconds he had, he blinked his eyes viciously, feeling them streaming but quietly coaxing them, staring frantically around, praying that the blurs would sharpen into discernible objects.
The thuds on his back stopped as Bella switched strategies. He rammed his eyes closed and spun round to meet her, charging forwards to where he knew she was.
Those watching the battle saw the three bony protrusions on Omega’s shell glow white, flashing as he drew nearer to Bella who was running to meet him, her small tail now covered with a metallic covering. As they neared, she whipped round to attempt to smash her tail against him, but he rolled away, the glowing protrusions slashing against sides even as she tried to move away. The joys of a ‘never miss’ move.
Omega felt him hit her, and automatically snapped with his teeth, trying to seize hold of her, but missed. He heard her snarl and crash her legs into the ground, making it buckle and shake.
He swayed, instinctively crouching low, but she ran into him again, making him stumble and fall onto his side. She bore down on him, hissing ferally, trying to crush him with her body as she slammed onto him.
He struggled, his eyes flickering open and felt a small rush of relief as he realised that he could make out what looked like some individual grass stems as his face was crushed against the ground. It wasn’t much, but it made him feel better, so he closed his eyes again and concentrated on his hidden power.
A ripple of static crackled through the air, and Omega shot a blast of electricity into Bella’s body. She winced and moaned, her grass type resisting most of the attack, but still….up that close, it couldn’t help but cause her a little harm.
Her grip of Omega diminished, and he rolled sideways viciously, slamming himself into her body with as much strength as he could muster, his hard shell absorbing the shock of impact.
Bella whimpered and stumbled backwards. Omega opened his eyes again as the two glared at each other. He couldn’t make out every intricate detail of the Meganium’s features, but what he could told him everything. The green of her body was contrasting with the pink and black colour of her petals. The black lines that Omega assumed were the veins criss-crossed over every inch of the flowers. There was no doubt in the Shelgon’s mind that the toxins were soon going to start penetrating into her body.
Bella apparently didn’t like seeing him staring at her like that and blasted another solarbeam at him: he jumped to the side to dodge it and took a deep breath. The fire he breathed out wasn’t natural fire; it still contained the same colours and visual properties of fire, but it was draconic. He knew that with her poisoned, its paralysing effects could not come into play, but it would be a useful way to wear her down.
She took the hit, lurching from side to side as she staggered back, her body glowing green as she reached upwards towards the sun. Omega saw the black lines diminishing against her pink petals, but as the glow vanished, they reappeared almost instantly and the Pokémon gagged.
Omega decided to try to finish her off now, put the poor thing out of her misery. Her charged across the distance between them and slammed into her, feeling her body crumple beneath his weight. She took a step back and stumbled, falling onto her side. She was breathing hard, the exertion obvious on her face at this close distance. Omega scrunched up his eyes, blinked hard and saw her face slowly slide clearer into focus. He met her eye and gave her a nod.
Her eyes narrowed, and he felt for an instant that he saw a sly look fly over her face, but then it was gone.
He extended his orange claws and aimed for her head, hoping that a well-aimed blow would take her down. It didn’t. She shuddered under the impact but let her eyes slip open again. This time, the cunning encased in them was obvious.
Omega leant back slightly at that, thrown, suddenly wary. A small trickling sound caught his attention and he looked down. At the join in her neck, where the petals merged with her flesh, a thick, black liquid was spilling.
Alarmed, he jumped back, not wishing to come into contact with the poison, it really wouldn’t help his chances of winning.
His movement gave Bella the chance to scramble to her feet, a smirk slipping across her face even as the poison bubbled out, leaking down her legs.
She didn’t seem too eager to attack, so Omega exhaled and sent the draconic flames smashing into her face.
She didn’t even flinch.
He stared at her, and she raised her eyes to the sky, whispering under her breath. The faltering sun flickered and was restored to its true glory.
Omega scowled at it, then heard her laugh. She raised her head, her eyes wide, her smirk magnificent.
What the….?
Then he froze. A green light began to flare around her, like a candle flame.
Omega’s heart catapulted: he could see the poison beginning to work its way up her neck, and he felt a sickening thud as he registered what was happening.
He turned and ran for his life.
An explosion of light behind him made him swerve, as a massive solarbeam tore past him, its normal white colour encased within the green flame.
Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t.
He heard her laughing insanely and knew that she was aiming for him. He flung his eyes up desperately to the sun, feeling its warmth, absorbing it, combining the power with his own. He inhaled, praying that he could summon the fire power he needed.
Unless….
He heard the beam release, and spun round and charged, flinging up the violet aura. He charged through the beam itself, waiting until she cut the attack off, her smug smile showing that she believed she had ended it.
Then he spat the tiny stream of embers onto her petals, aiming at the join, where the poison still leaked.
It ignited. His gamble had been right: it was flammable.
Bella screamed in agony as the flower round her neck roared in flames. Her body convulsed in agony; Omega backed away, taking his time to aim, then released his draconic flames. They crashed into her body, engulfed it for a second, then burst away.
Bella stood motionless for a second, her body crackling, her expression frozen on her face.
Then her legs crumpled beneath her and she fell.
‘BELLA, RETURN.’
Crystal’s voice shook as she returned her Meganium, staring at Omega with deep hatred. A look of loathing flashed across her face and she flung her last ball back out.
Xia the Vileplume reappeared and glared at Omega, who stared back confidently. He would do this.

------------------------

WTF? So if it's longer than the post requirements it doesn't tell you, just cuts the thing off?

That took me bloody ages >_< *Collapses on floor*

And for whoever writes the conclusion....

Omega
Shelgon
L40 M
Trait: Rock Head
Moves: Rage, Bite, Leer, Headbutt, Dragon Dance, Dragon Claw, Brick Break, Thrash, Dragon Rage, Hidden Power: Electric, Fire Blast, Focus Energy, Ember, Double-Edge, Toxic, Strength (SM), Protect, Flamethrower, Rock Slide, Rain Dance, Dragon Breath, Aerial Ace

He has two Dragon Dances performed.

I'll take an RBG for Omega, my L4? Shelgon whenever my conclusion is written, please.
*Pays*

[*Murkrow]

Take 27 CCPs for that battle ^_^ I especially liked the description of Curse when it was used on Seghuccello.

Seghuccello won, growing two levels.
Rigello won, growing one level

Here's the conclusion for Jeff's battle. Three things:
1) The idea of having the third Pokémon be a ghost of a normal Pokémon was Frank's idea.
2) I used a heck of a lot of artistic license in this. The randomiser really hated Jeff when it chucked out the type/Pokémon he was battling, so I had to write it as mind over matter.
3) For the love of....if you're going to challenge a gym leader, please please please please make sure that your Pokémon has more than one fricking attacking move.

-------------------------

As the light condensed to form a Pokémon, both Blue and Righello stared at it for a second. A mass of vines enshrouded a pair of blank white eyes.
Christian smirked. ‘Yes, boys. That is a Tangela. But a very special one…’
His voice trailed away as the Tangela skulked forwards. Its vines became ethereal, passing through one another as it moved, its red boots morphing into vicious, black clawed feet. Its eerie white, pupil-less eyes stared blankly ahead, seeming to rove over its new opponents.
‘In-case you were wondering, I assume you know the rumours concerning Haunter? Over the belief that they may be able to enter or are from another, warped dimension? It’s true. Before mine evolved into Gengar, we realised that there was a way for him to enter that dimension and bring back the spirits of departed Pokémon. And so I’m the only trainer to have ever existed to have control over dead Pokémon.’
His smirk widened and he regarded the two of them for an instant. ‘It’s been fun, but now- Tangela, finish it.’

Tangela charged, its vines whipping into the air and reaching for Rigello. The Tyranitar backed up, hiding slightly behind the sandstorm still whipping around the battlefield.
Christian laughed. ‘Sunny Day.’
The sandstorm was obliterated as a ball of fire exploded from around Tangela’s body, hovering over the field. Even as the last remnants of sand died away, Tangela’s vines began to glow white.
‘Rigello, Sand Storm!’
The monster leaned back and roared frantically: even as the beam shot towards him, the sand whipped up again, frenzied: Rigello lunged to the left, feeling the beam scorch his side, sending waves of shock over his body. However, the sudden re-emergence of the storm had unbalanced the Tangela, knocking its aim off of its target. As it lurched round silently to find Rigello, the Pokémon charged in closer.
Static flew from his body, hitting Tangela square on: the ghost’s spectrel body locked up, it’s ‘limbs’ struggling against the paralysing effect of the electricity.
Taking the opportunity, Rigello extended his teeth and sunk them into its nearest vines, feeling his teeth sink easily through it, as dark energy flew from his mouth into the Tangela’s body.
Yet even as Tangela lurched and pulled away from the pain, a black mist began to rise from its form, floating innocently to land on Rigello’s body. Then it lashed out with a vine, aiming for the weakened spot in Rigello’s armour, where the Solar Beam had struck. The rock plate cracked, then shattered, revealing the flesh beneath the shattered armour. Some of the particles landed on the spot and vanished, absorbed into his skin.
Rigello let out a roar in alarm, pulling away instinctively, feeling the poison already working its way into his blood stream.
Tangela took the chance to glow green, increasing in size so that it was now reaching to the Tyranitar’s chest, before reaching out and wrapping its vines around his mouth, crushing his jaw shut. Snarling, Rigello lunged back, pulling away from the pressure as Tangela pulled in the opposite direction.
As the sandstorm roared around them, they struggled against each other, Rigello wincing as he felt the poison eating into him from the inside, Tangela’s blank eyes contorting as the static still ran over its body.
Then a lashing pain tore through Rigello’s body: a green mist rose from the vines and ensnared him, light rushing from him to Tangela. His legs trembled and he stumbled forward, the feeling of his energy being absorbed was so immense. Feeling sick, his eyes blurring, he tried to pull away again, forcing himself not to whimper.
The attack cut out suddenly, accompanied by the crackle of electricity; he looked up and saw that Tangela was once again immobilised. His eyes widened, watching the rush of eddies spiralling behind it in the sand.
Digging his claws into the earth, he tensed his body and lunged backwards. The vines around his mouth were still locked in place because of the paralysis, yet the frozen body of his foe could not struggle as it was unbalanced. Even more so, the beat of the storm caught its light body, flinging it tumbling forwards. The slam as it crashed into the ground broke through the paralysis, and its vines relaxed automatically. Rigello seized his moment and plunged across the distance between them, sinking his fangs into its back. No scream of pain came from his foe, but it thrashed beneath him, causing his sharp teeth to tear shreds from its vines, shred which dissipated instantly.
More vines tore from its body, some wrapping around his head and neck again, others diving into the ground and beginning to shine with a light glow, absorbing the scant nutrients the earth in the gym contained.
Hissing, Rigello tugged his head back, opening his mouth to deliver another crushing bite, but all he received was another burst of Poisonpowder, the spores tumbling down his throat as he gagged.
Then Tangela faded away, vanishing into the storm. Coughing, Rigello glanced round curiously, unsure if his foe was gone for good. His fear were realised as he felt the strong vines lash around his body from behind, gripping him tightly. Instinct caused him to release another burst of static: he knew it hit his opponent from the jolt that emanated through the vines.
But as he struggled, he could feel the light glowing from behind and knew that it ws his energy that was being taken. He could feel it plunging into his back, feel the snaps as his armour shattered, it transforming from rock-hard to brittle as his life-force was dragged out. He was aware that he was falling, not realising how fast until he crashed into the ground and lay there.
His whole body ached; his insides were burning up as the poison chewed its way deeper into him. Yet the rational part of his mind was still on the battle…and the fact that the move had cut out suddenly, long before it should have done.
Weakly he raised his head, wincing at the sharp pain in his neck as he twisted back and looked over his shoulder. Tangela’s body was shaking, struggling against the static running over its body.
Rigello stared for a second more, then took a deep breath and forced himself to his feet. He turned and charged towards Tangela letting his mouth slide open, baring his fangs as much as he could. A few of Tangela’s vines were still embedded in the earth, drawing energy from it, but he ignored them. Instead concentrating only on the black vortex at the centre, where those blank white eyes stared.
Seeing him approach, it forced some vines out, grabbing at his legs and arms, cracking against his injured and battered body. He ignored them, striking out.
His teeth sank into the blackness, piercing those eerie eyes, biting deeper and deeper into the creatures’ body. He felt the scalding warmth that signalled another Giga Drain, as it desperately absorbed what it could from him. He closed his eyes and forced every little energy he had into tightening his grip.
It changed tactics, flailing frantically, so that he could feel his claws slashing against his body, hear the strange tearing sound as his teeth sliced through its corporeal form.
Then it spasmed, its vines retracting and going limp.
He jumped and let go, as the body fell to the floor. It shook for a second, before its whole form melted away, vanishing into the air.
His sandstorm died down, even as he groaned and slumped to ground, fatigue aching from every pore in his body.

Christian sighed and dropped the useless Poké Ball on the ground. Then he pulled two objects from his pocket and approached the trainer and his exhausted Pokémon.

Rigello won, growing two levels

Jeff, you have won the Spectre Badge* and SM 08, Dive.

*Yes, I know there's nothing about badges on the introduction. I wanted to give him a badge xD Nothing special, it's just for show.

[The Blue Avenger]

Heheh, cool. Thanks. And it occured to me when I started writing Righello's part that he only knew Bite, but decided to plunge on regardless considering the rest of my Pokemon would have been even more ill-fitting in this match. Question: Are SMs like HMs in that I can use them as many times as I want? And Lento already knows Dive; am I allowed to overwrite that with this?

Righello's level 20 move will be Aerial Ace.
Seghuccello's level 20 move will be Steel Wing.

I'll get to your conclusion soon, Hannah. I go back to school this week, and I've been a little on the busy side. X_x

[Wolfsong]

SMs are useableonly once. I also asked frank the same question earlier and he said that t could be overwritten albeit i was askign about surf when i talked with frank Hope that helped answer the questions. now to get to work on my rbgs.

While i'm asking may i have an rbg for Sapphire/Sunita? L.6 dratini i'm gonna be introducing her soon. *hands over 7 ccps*

[*Murkrow]

She'll be battling a L6 Misdreavus in the North Caverns.

[The Blue Avenger]

Awright, well, in that case, Lento will be getting my Dive SM.

[*Murkrow]

To tide me over until I can get to work on Omega's next battle, I'd like an RBG for my L17 male Houndoom, Jock please.
*Pays*

[The Blue Avenger]

Omega will battle a Skiploom in the Forest.

Jock will battle an Exeggcute in the South Caverns.

Also, Amy's working on your battle. I have far too much to do right now. >_> I apologize.

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: This is Sunita and Laila’s RBG. I’ll try to get to Zale’s soon. I didn’t really feel up to writing this but I wanted to get it done so apologies if it stinks. Also worked with Darkfire on some of this story. This was supposed to happen several weeks ago so I might just skip forward the amount of weeks needed to make things where they are supposed to be. I bought Sunita the water gun tm, a aerial ace tm for angel won the sweet scent tm for willow and bought form Hannah the astonish tm for Dakota. Also Sunita is sapphire the dratini that Hannah gave me. Also Nuka’s reference about eevee’s having up to eight is a reference to a story of mine that’s currently on hiatus ^^; Hannah I promise I’ll get to your battle soon. I’m already trying to get caught up.


(Sunita’s POV)

I groaned, glancing behind me. When I saw that I had lost my pursuers, I sighed in relief. I never thought that I would lose them, especially the three growlithes. It was then that I noticed a small crack in the cave wall. I slithered over and slipped inside. I needed to rest a few minutes.

While I rested, I thought back to previous events. All I had been doing was trying to find my dad. He was busier then ever trying to keep the peace. I wasn’t sure what Renar was doing, because I hadn’t seen her in ages. I kinda wished that I had a trainer. At least then, I’d be better able to make use out of some of the moves that Dad had managed to get a hold of for me. I just hoped that if I ever got a trainer, it would be like one of the ones that had helped Dad and Renar when the trouble appeared the last time and not like those that caused the pokemon inhabiting the crystal caves to start attacking trainers and their pokemon.

Anyways, as I said, I had been looking for my dad when I was ambushed by three growlithes a misdreavus, a machoke, and a heracross. They had wanted me to talk Dad into taking their side and helping with the attacks on the trained pokemon and their trainers. When I had refused, they made as if they were going to attack me so I escaped using my extremespeed attack. My pursuers had given chase.

I had finally lost them, but by the sounds of it not for long. I heard someone making noise in the room. Well, I wasn’t going to hide from a fight even if I wasn’t that great at battling. I took a deep breath before slithering out of that small crack. I looked around, but there was no one there. Suddenly, from out of nowhere popped the misdreavus. I slithered backwards a couple of inches, startled.

“Herc! Goliath! I’ve found her! She’s over here!” the Misdreavus called. “I looked up in time to see a machoke and a hercross enter the room from the next room over. “We just want to have a little chat,” the misdreavus sneered, and as they advanced the machoke cracking his knuckles. “Three against one isn’t very fun.” a feminine voice rang out. I looked up in time to see a very scarred houndoom and a larvitar show up. “Who invited you?” the ghost sneered before she turned to the machoke and heracross. “Take them.” she ordered. As I watched, the machoke was sent flying backwards by an unseen force and the heracross was hit by a fire attack from the larvitar. The misdreavus shook her head sadly. “Good help is hard to find these days,” she muttered under her breathe, glaring at me. “You’ll pay for not listening to reason and allying yourself with these trained fools.”


Sunita L.6 F Dratini Vs. L.6 F Misdreavus

I saw the misdreavus make a movement in which it looked like she was going to throw up. Thinking quickly, I set up a transparent protective barrier. The toxic goo hit the shield and slid harmlessly down to the floor of the cavern.

To say that the misdreavus was upset about her attack failing was an understatement. The floating ghost released a beam of concentrated light in my face, before she started throwing a world class temper tantrum. I looked at her puzzled. What on earth was she doing? I wondered. While she wasn’t paying any attention to me, I coughed up a glob of toxins myself and spit it all over her. The misdreavus apparently didn’t see my attack coming and she was caught totally off guard. She screeched loudly when the toxins entered her bloodstream, before launching herself at me in a physical assault so powerful that it totally caught me off guard. I felt the brunt of her frustrations. It was at that moment that I realized if I was ever going to live up to my true potential I needed to find a trainer. But how was I to find one?” I wondered.

A thunderbolt from behind snapped me out of my thoughts and served as a fierce reminder that I was in a battle. I whirled around and saw that I was now facing three misdreavus. The air around me began to crackle with electrical energy as a wave of electrical energy tore through the clones and slammed into the real ghost.

She was definitely getting weaker, so I quickly sprayed a jet of water at her. Though tired, the ghost managed to not only avoid it, but to send a shadow ball hurtling towards me as well. I was exhausted by this point, but I wasn’t about to lose this battle that I had tried so hard in. Using the last bit of energy that I could muster, I blasted the misdreavus backwards with a wave of psychic energy courtesy of my hidden power. It worked! She slammed into the wall behind her and slid to the ground out cold.


I won!
I grew to L.7!

I saw the crystal colored pokeball lying on the ground. I looked around and saw the houndoom watching me curiously. The larvitar was still battling the heracross.

<Go ahead. I don’t deserve to be on the team with the way I’ve been acting lately. Amy would understand.>

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. <Are you sure?>

The houndoom smiled and I realized that we were both speaking telepathically. <I’m positive. I might stick around, but as I said before I don’t think I deserve to be a battling member of the team. I’ve done some stupid things and now that I’ve had time to think about them…>

<Thank you.> I told him, tapping the crystal ball with my tail. I was immediately sucked inside and a faint ding sounded instantly. The last thing I remembered hearing before the exhaustion overwhelmed me was the larvitar asking about what had just happened.



* * *

Earlier

(Laila’s POV)

”So why are we here instead of going to the lake with Amy and the others?” I asked Tamal. The houndoom ahead of me didn’t answer for a few minutes as we made our way through the caverns. We took so many twists and turns that I wasn’t even sure if he knew where we were going. Finally, he decided to answer me. <Because for some reason I felt that we are needed here.> With that, he fell silent again.

Something up ahead caught my attention. “Look,” I whispered. There, in front of us, was a machoke and a heracross. They seemed to be searching for something or someone. However, they stopped when a voice from the next room called to them. “Herc! Goliath! I’ve found her! She’s over here!” The two pokemon immediately stopped what they were doing and hurried into the next room.

Tamal looked at me and I nodded my head in agreement. We were going to try and help whoever it was, even though we both had a type disadvantage. We hurried into the next room and stopped in amazement. The pokemon’s target was a dratini. When the three pokemon began advancing upon her, I spoke up. “Three against one isn’t very fun.” The misdreavus sneered. “Who invited you?” she asked before turning to the two pokemon that we had followed. “Take them.” she ordered them. Tamal instantly sent the machoke hurtling backwards courtesy of his hidden power. I turned to the heracross who was slowly advancing towards me.


Laila L.17 F Elemental Larvitar Vs. Herc the L.17 M Heracross

I wanted to keep as much distance as I could between me and the heracross. Taking a deep breath and briefly glowing red, I exhaled a jet of flames which hit the heracross right in the center of his chest. It was clear that I had caught him off guard and that he was now furious. Opening his wing case, he flew forwards and slammed his horn into my chest.

I staggered backwards, before darting forwards and biting down as hard as I could on one of his arms. Herc immediately began swirling his arm in a circle gathering up momentum before he tossed me across the room and I slammed against the cavern wall. I couldn’t keep my strong grip thanks to the swirling motion.

I stood up as quickly as I could even though I was dazed form hitting the wall. When I finally managed to remember what I was doing and why I was here, the heracross had already dug underground. I did have an attack that could hit him even while he was underground but I didn’t want to run the risk of hurting Tamal so I chose to do something else. I began to glow white as I sealed the entry hole with a thick layer of ice.

No sooner than I had finished sealing the first hole, than the heracross burst from the ground sending me hurtling face first into the ground. The heracross just stared at me hovering above the hole that he had just made. I made like I was hurt was than I was and that I was trying to hit him with my ice beam, but I missed on purpose. Thankfully the Heracross didn’t realize that.

Pretending to struggle to my feet, the heracross fell for my act. I was hurt bad but not as badly as I was acting like. “Ha! You missed.” he crowed. “I don’t know how you can use both flamethrower and ice beam, but it won’t help you.” I managed to mask my smile into a frightened look and even took a step backwards. My plan had worked. Both holes were now inaccessible and the heracross didn’t even notice it.

Straitening up, I lost all pretenses of being scared. “I’ve still got more trick.” I spoke stepping forwards. For once, I felt confident in myself and my abilities. I then proceeded to concentrate on my hidden power. I used it to lift of several rocks and then hurl them one at a time at the heracross. He made a beeline for the original hole that he had dug and dove headfirst into a solid sheet of ice. It was time to end this. I concentrated on my flamethrower once more, shooting an intense jet of flames at my opponent. When the fire assault was over, he slumped to the ground defeated.


I won!
I grew to L.18!

I turned around in time to see that the dratini and Tamal had been talking. Then, to my surprise, Tamal pushed his pokeball towards her. The dratini then tapped it wither her tail and was sucked inside the ding sounded an instant after the ball had closed. “What happened? Why did you do that?” I asked him. Tamal looked at me sadly. “Like I told her, I don’t deserve to be on the team and I’m sure the others would agree with me. Besides she wanted a trainer. I decided to help her out. Do you honestly think Amy would complain about getting a dratini on her team?” He had me there. With that, the two of us headed to the lake, Tamal carrying his old crystal ball and the dratini’s new one.


* * *

(Tiana’s POV)

I couldn’t wait to go to the lake today. Amy said that she had a surprise for me and the rest of the team lined up for us there. She had told us about the trip last night, btu I was so exhausted from my battles that I couldn’t get excited at the time. I quickly made it up to my temporary bed in Ruki’s room and collapsed falling asleep as soon as my head had hit the pillow. Unfortunately, I had a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen today. I wasn’t sure why but something was telling me that I should hide Zale’s beach ball. I waited until he was busy with Angel before I snuck off with it. I would return it to him tonight.

As soon as we arrived at the lake, I let the others go ahead. I stopped by the crystal clear lake and began to lap up some water since I realized that I was thirsty. When the rippling water stilled, I stared at my reflection. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I looked at a different angle and sure enough I was starting to show. It was barely visible but if one was to look closely they could tell that I was indeed pregnant. I closed my eyes worriedly. “I thought that I had another week.” I whispered to myself.

"Hello, beautiful." a voice said from behind me. I jumped in surprise before opening my eyes and turning around. I smiled when I realized that it was Nuka. “Hey, how’s that TM that I gave you coming in?” I asked before nuzzling him. I couldn’t help but feel worried.

Nuka smiled and nuzzled me back. “I’m getting good at it rather fast. It’s fun to play around with, thank you. Has your TM been helpful at all?” he asked.

Then, almost as if he sensed that I was worried he asked me about it. “What’s wrong.” I turned to look at him smiling worriedly. “Look at me close and see if you can pick up on it.” I watched as Nuka began to look me over carefully. After a few minutes, he spoke. “You’re starting to show.”

I nodded. “I shouldn’t be showing for about another week…” I let my voice trail off. “ Do you think it's related to the morning sickness being worse?” he asked looking just as worried as I felt. “It’s possible.” Frowning, I looked up at him. “I’ve been even hungrier this time around as well…”

I closed my eyes deep in thought before I found myself thinking about me and Zale. Gasping, I opened my eyes and looked over at Nuka. He blinked, frowning. “What’s wrong, Tiana?” “Me and Zale… Could it be?” I muttered, wondering whether I should even voice the idea that had just popped into my head.

Nuka gave me a reassuring nuzzle. “What about you and Zale? Could what be? Tell me.” “What… what if it’s more than one?” I asked looking up at Nuka.

Nuka looked a bit startled. “Well, it would explain many things. Like your showing a full week early, your morning sickness being stronger, and you being hungrier.” He paused a for a moment before he whispered the word out loud. “Twins.”

“It’s possible.: I admitted. “Maybe we should go and talk with Amy and/or Darkfire. If it is twins, we need to work something out as Amy only has one spot open on her team.” I sighed and rubbed my belly with my paw.

“Do you want to try and check with your hidden power before we decide? You know I’m still not that great with my psychic abilities. The TMs have been helpful though. The meditate one that you gave me and the calm mind that Amy gave me a while back.” I looked at Nuka apologetically. “Sorry, it looks as if this is going to have to come out sooner than we had hoped. What do you think?”

Nuka nodded his head. “I’m glad the Meditate TM has been helping. And it could be worse, at least Zale doesn’t have a psychic hidden power like I do.” He gently nuzzled me before he placed his paw on my belly and begun concentrating. After a few minutes, he put his paw back down on the ground looking shocked. “It’s not twins.”

Now, I was even more worried. “What? Is something wrong?” I asked.

Nuka shook his head, still shocked. “No, no. Nothing’s wrong. They look fine and healthy to me.”

I looked at him clearly puzzled. “They? But I thought that you said it wasn’t twins?”

Nuka smiled at me apologetically and gently licked my cheek affectionately. “It’s not twins. It’s triplets.” “T… t… triplets?” I asked. Nuka nodded. “Triplets. Three bouncing baby eevees. And after watching Kali and Kiabo, you can bet they’ll bounce.”

I stared down at my belly. “Well, we can expect that I’m gonna be the size of a barn before all is said and done.” Nuka chuckled at that. “I doubt it. But if it does happen, you’ll still be beautiful to me. I love you, Tiana.” he said, nuzzling me again. I blushed. “I love you to.” I sighed. “I guess you had better talk with Darkfire and I need to talk with Amy. Looks like this day of surprises will continue. I guess it’s time to let the meowth out of the bag, huh?” I nuzzled Nuka before gently licking him. He nodded, and the two of us headed off to talk with out trainers.


(Zale’s POV)

I had been enjoying spending the day with Angel at the lake when Darkfire and her team showed up. Angel and Kali immediately began playing together. When I saw that Senshi was watching them, I excused myself and saw that Nuka and Tiana were together and they both looked happy.

I sighed as I slowly made my way to the far end of the lake. I paced back and forth, muttering to myself. “Maybe I was wrong about him… Maybe Nuka really does care for Tiana…” I slapped the water with my paw. “I really have been a jerk. I need to go and apologize to them both, especially Tiana.

"Don't let Nuka fool you. He's a very good actor." a voice spoke up from behind me.

I jumped in surprise before turning around. There, sitting behind me was a Ninetales. “Err… who are you and what do you mean?” I asked him.

“I’m Cassius, Nuka’s teammate. I lived in the Crystal Caves not far from where he slaughtered his first family.” I blanched, as Cassius calmly went to the water’s edge and got a drink. “Slaughtered? Are you sure? I’ve heard that others were scared of him but he doesn’t seem like… But Tiana… I mean he never hurt her. Are you positive?”

Cassius nodded his head. “How many glowing houndooms are there in the Crystal Caves? He even tried to eat Darkfire. Luckily, she had a Master Ball at the time. I don’t know about him not hurting Tiana, but there’s a reason Darkfire makes certain that Kali always sleeps in her room instead of Nuka’s.

“She sleeps in a different room?” I asked. Cassius nodded his head again, sadly this time. “There's no telling when he'll go off. And now he's stronger than ever with his training.”

I looked around worriedly. I felt like I was being torn in two. I couldn’t help but believe what Cassius was telling me, but I also couldn’t help but believe that Tiana knew what she was doing/ “But... Tiana… she trusts him…” I sighed. “What am I going to do?”

“I know I wouldn’t trust that houndoom with my sister if I had one.” Cassius looked back to where the other’s were still eating. “I wish I could help you, but I have my paws full looking after the children around that fiend. Good luck.” he said, before turning and heading back.

“Wait!” I called. “How do I know that you aren’t trying to trick me?” I asked worriedly. Something was telling me to be cautious but I wasn’t sure why.

Cassius looked back at me. “Why would I want to trick you? I just thought you ought to have a warning to look out for your sister. I doubt she would listen to me if I tried to warn her, am I not correct?” I lowered my head and looked over at Cassius dejectedly. I began telling him about the fight we had three weeks ago today. The ninetales listened sympathetically. Once I had finished talking, he spoke. “She sounds like a strong willed girl. I think she’ll need you now more than ever.”

I laughed half-heartedly. “Strong willed is an understatement…” I looked over to where Nuka and Tiana were. When I saw them nuzzling, it caused my anger to rise once more along with the responsibility that I felt for my twin sister. An eevee was heading over to where we were. Cassius walked over to him and before he picked him up he spoke one last time. “Again, good luck with Tiana.” I turned back to look at the two of them again, glaring at Nuka.


* * *

(Tiana’s POV)

I slowly made my way back to the spot where Nuka and I had been talking earlier. Before I said anything, I lapped up some water. After I had quenched my thirst, I nuzzled Nuka. “How did it go?” I asked nervously.

Nuka nervously nuzzled me back. "Darkfire said it's fine with her if we take in two of the triplets. But she said she won't be so understanding if it happens again." Nuka said, smiling. I smiled as well, relieved. “Amy was all right with taking in the one. She ended up rather shocked when I told her how many there were. She did make it a point to say that when this baby that she’s keeping arrived, her team would be full.” I smiled happily now that I knew that all my babies were going to have good homes.

“This was quite a surprise wasn’t it?” I asked. "It was indeed, but it's a good surprise," he said as he licked me gently. "I wonder what Kali will think about having three younger siblings. I knew she would be happy with one to play with, but the three of them." Nuka chuckled.

“I just hope that everything else goes okay. At least now I know why I was feeling so run down and hungry and sick.” I scooted closer to Nuka and began purring. Nuka nodded his head in agreement. "It's certainly a good surprise rather than a bad one. I was starting to fear something was wrong with our baby." He wrapped a paw gently around my shoulder.

"I suppose I ought to keep the two staying with us in my room this time around. I don't think Darkfire or Kali will be happy with more babies in their room..." Nuka stated. I chuckled. "Yeah, that might get a bit too crowded. Like it will be for me until they're born." I joked. Nuka smiled at the joke. "Oh, I don't know. One time when Darkfire stopped by a library she looked at a book about Eevee breeding. Apparently, an Eevee can have up to eight babies in one litter." I blanched slightly at that. “I've not heard of that around here but if that's true then i would hate to be that poor eevee. I wouldn't mind the babies but can you think of eight?” I said, shaking my head. Nuka chuckled again softly. "And that's an Eevee. Think about an Espeon. You have more room in there than an Eevee." He said, licking my cheek gently.

I smiled, licking him back. Then I frowned. What is it?” Nuka asked. “You do know who we’re going to have to tell don’t ya?” I said, my happiness changing into big time dread. Nuka nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, I think Zale's starting to come around. He hasn't been approaching either of us and trying to discourage us again for a while now."

“Maybe.” I admitted. Then I spotted something that made me raise an eyebrow. Cassius was waling back towards the group. A few minutes later, I saw him heading this way. I poked Nuka. “Speaking of him, Zale’s heading this way.” “"What impeccable timing, we can tell him away from the excitement of the crowd.” Nuka said, perking up a bit

I had a bad feeling. "Let's hope you're right." I said, placing my paw on Nuka's as Zale nears. Angel started to follow Zale but, as we watched, he stops and talks with her. A few minutes later, she walks back towards the group looking dejected as Zale resumes making his way towards us. Nuka and I both frowned at that. This was not a good sign. Once Zale was in hearing distance, Nuka put on a pleasant face and spoke. "Hi, Zale. How's it going?"

Zale sat down in front of us. All right I guess.” he said, taking a deep breath. “What about you?”

“"Couldn't be a better day for a picnic. And Tiana and I have been having some catching up time. I'd say so far it's been a great day."

“So what about Kali? Has she been spending time with Tiana as well?” Zale asked.

Nuka smiled. “As a matter of fact, we were just going to join her at the picnic with everyone else after we had a small talk with you. “About what?” he asked. "Well, no use beating around the bush, as they say. You're going to be an uncle. Again." Nuka kept the smile on his face, as we both watched Zale for his reaction. Zale looked irritated. “How long has it been?” he asked his voice strangely devoid of any emotion. “Tiana’s just startingher third week today.”

“So who is this baby staying with?” Zale asked. Nuka was already answering his question before I could even open my mouth. "Well, one of them is staying with Tiana... The other two are going to come over to my team." Zale blinked, clearly startled. “Say what?” “It’s triplets.” Nuka explained sheepishly as I nodded. I purred when he gently licked my cheek.

“So where are they going to sleep when they arrive?” Zale asked. I blinked, totally blindsided by where that question came from. “They will be staying in my room until they’re old enough to get their old room. Why do you ask?” <Be careful. Something is up. I can feel it.> I told Nuka privately.

“Oh, won’t it be crowded with Kali in there as well?” Zale asked.

“Who said Kali sleeps in my room?” Nuka asked, as he tried to probe for answers. <Yeah, I've noticed. I wonder what he's getting at.> he replied privately. <Do you suppose Cassius had something to do with this?> I asked. <I saw him heading back to the others before Zale headed this way.> <I wouldn't put it past him. He hates my guts for beating him in a battle.>

As soon as Nuka had spoken, all pretenses of everything being okay dropped. "Your team mate told me that she didn't. The ninetales told me that there was a reason that Darkfire made sure she slept in your room. Here i was about to APOLOGIZE to you and Tiana and then i learn about your past and that you even tried to eat Darkfire. " <Oh shit.> I thought.

Nuka dropped his smile and grimaced. “I don't deny it. I've had a bad history. And to set the record straight, I made certain Kali slept with Darkfire back then." <Don't worry, Tiana.> Nuka added privately. <I worry because I’ve got a BAD feeling and I don’t get them often.>

"Why should i believe you? I was told that you're a very good actor. Cassius said that if he had a sister that he wouldn't trust you with her. He also said that he had enough trouble looking after the kids around you." the anger was becoming more apparent in his voice the more he talked.

"Zale stop it." I pleaded.

“Butt out of it Tiana.” Zale replied.

<I'm starting to get a bad feeling too.> "Don't talk to Tiana that way. You can believe me because Cassius is a stubborn Ninetails with a problem of holding a grudge to his grave. Ask Senshi, he was there the day I beat him in a fight, which made Cassius hate me. And Cassius rarely watches the children. Senshi usually does, and I don't let Cass near Kali."

"How about this? You and me battle. If you win, I'll talk with Senshi and if I win, you, me Darkfire, and Senshi have a talk. I don't like being used as a toy and someone here is treating me that way." Zale’s eyes are narrowed. "Why did I have to lose my beach ball today of all days?" Zale muttered under his breath. Imperceptibly to Zale, I sighed in relief glad that I had had and actually listened to a feeling for once.
<And a good day to practice using my Water Sheild. That was a naughty trick, Tiana.> Nuka said, pulling a blue shield off of his back and sliding his paw through the straps until it fit snuggly on his left fore leg. <Thank you. I don't think we can persuade him to not fight.> "I agree to your terms. Win or lose, my name will get cleared."

<I don't have feelings that often but when I do I know to listen. Be careful he's probably gonna start out strong and his strongest water move is Hydro Cannon.> I warned. "Good luck, Nuka. Zale I don't like the fact that you were tricked, but no matter what happens, you ARE gonna be an uncle and you had better start acting like one." I sighed and backed off.

As I watched, the two pokemon that I cared the most for began their battle. I watched nervously holding my belly, in an attempt to reassure both my unborn pups and myself that things were going to be all right.

I was so stressed from watching the battle, which Zale ultimately lost, that I didn’t even hear Senshi approaching until he nudged me and spoke. "Hey, what was with that battle?" I sighed. “Cassius was behind it. "Oh boy." Senshi said, shaking his head. "That Ninetails is something else." Nuka slowly made his way over and sat by me. He looked very tired. Nuka then looked over at Senshi and asked him to wait around for Zale to wake up. Senshi nodded, lying down to wait .

"Are you okay?" I asked him, shaking my head. "If it wasn't for the current circumstances I'd deal with him myself. However when Zale comes around he may find someone new to vent his anger on." I said, looking down at my belly. Nuka nods and lies down as well. "I'll be fine, but I don't think I'll be needing another bath for a month. And for once, I feel sorry for Cassius. He's smart but too stubborn for his own good." I scooted closer to Nuka and lay down beside him.

"Good news, Senshi, we're getting new team members. Tiana's expecting triplets, and two are staying with us." We both beamed happily.

"Oh, cool! I love baby Eevees." Senshi said, grinning.

“It’ll still be several weeks though. Like six more today.” I told him.

"Well, it's still exciting... Are you showing already..?" “Barely.” I admitted. . "After I evolve I'm gonna find a girlfriend." Senshi stated, smiling. "Senshi thinks he's going to be able to do anything with ease after he evolves." Nuka stated, causing Senshi to flush a bit, but he just grinnned again.

I was about to say something to them about Dakota when I noticed that Zale was beginning to stir. A few minutes later, he was struggling to stand. I hurried over and helped him. “Where’s Angel?” was the first thing that he managed to croak out.

"Don't worry, she and Kali and Adonis are up playing games. Neither of the girls know about the fight." Senshi said, smiling. Zale smiled thankfully. "Thanks. Now can someone fill me in on the truth? I'm confused as all get out." Senshi begins explaining everything about Nuka and Kali and the grudge that Cassius holds against Nuka for beating him in a fight. "But why would he try and use me?" Zale asked, lowering his eyes. "How could I have been so stupid. I even asked him how was I to know that he wasn't trying to trick me.”

Nuka sighed. "He's the smartest Pokemon on our Team. If he wants something to happen, he'll get it done by any means necessary. Thankfully, I've gotten strong enough to out last him and his attempts. He saw you were still iffy about us and used the strongest weapons he could find, your protectiveness and my history."

"I was just about to come and apologize for my past attitudes when he approached.” Senshi shook his head. "I swear I'm gonna pommel that Ninetails for this. Trying to break a family apart."

Zale sighs and turns to Nuka. "I'm sorry. About today and in the past..." Nuka offered Zale a smile. "It's no problem. I'm glad Tiana has someone to look after her when I'm not around, even if he does over do it a tad." Nuka winked at Zale who just smiled and sweatdropped. "Maybe the next time we can have an actual friendly non heated battle. No pun intended.” Nuka chuckled. "A friendly battle would be great. Maybe after I've had time to dry out a bit first. Which might take a few days." "Just be thankful i didn't have my beach ball." At that I blushed... "About that. You can have it back when we get home." Nuka chuckled again, and Senshi shakes his head. "I'm going to check on the kids . Later you guys." he said, leaving.

"Shall we head back? As a group?"Zale asked. "Sure," Nuka said, getting up onto his paws as he tries to shake the remaining water out of his fur. Zale and I stood up, as well. "Three? Are you just teasing me?" he asked. "Of course we were teasing. It's eight." Nuka joked. Zale almost faints again at that but Tiana catches him, laughing. Nuka laughs as well. "That time I was joking. It's three."

Ha ha ha. Who all knows? Or am I the last? "Darkfire and Amy know, you, Senshi, anyone else?" Nuka asks, looking at Tiana questioningly, wondering if he forgot anyone. “Nightshade and Ruki. I meant to tell you that. Ruki followed me to the halfway point to the south caverns yesterday. He knew something was up but he didn't know what. I told him that he was gonna be an uncle again. Though he doesn't know that there are three babies on the way. Especially since at the time I didn't know. That kid is smart and perceptive.[/color=plum] Nuka nods. "That's all who knows, no one else. We're going to have to do a group announcement." Zale grinned. "At least i wasn't the last to know. I feared that I was. When do you plan to do that?" he asked. Nuka shrugged. "We can either do it all at once or I can announce to my team tonight and you and Ruki and Tiana can announce to your teammates tonight as well." I quickly caught on to what Zale was thinking. “Why not do it all at once and Zale can stand up there with us." I suggested, winking at Nuka. He grinned widely at the thought. "We can announce as soon as we get back. Right in Cass's face." Zale and I nodded our heads in agreement.

“I won how he’ll react?" I spoke out loud. Nuka shrugged his shoulders. "We'll have to see. Personally, I don't care what the Ninetales thinks. I want to know what Kali will think." I laughed. "That will be cute but lets hope she doesn’t start chanting those bad words again." Zale looked at us confused. "What bad words?" "You'll see. If she doesn't say it, we'll tell you later." Nuka promised as Zale raised an eyebrow. “I’m ready when you two are.” I told them

As soon as we arrived, I cleared my throat standing between Nuka and Zale. “Excuse me. May we have your attention please. We have an annoucment that we'd like to make." Everyone turned to look at us. Even Angel and Kali stopped their game. I turned to look at Nuka. “Nuka would you do the honors?” Nuka nods as he steps forward. "Tiana and I are expecting to be parents again. There will be three new little Eevees running around in six more weeks." Kali grinned widely and began to jump around, shouting, "I'm pregnant!" Zale’s jaw dropped as Senshi went to Kali and shushes her. He explained to her that she wasn’t pregnant and that I was. Kali looked confused but she ran over and rubbed her body against mine, purring. "Mommy's pregnant!" Nuka grinned at Zale. “Those bad words." I blushed, but nuzzled Kali. “I see.” Zale whispered.


Zale then cleared his throat. “And I would like to say that nothing is going to break this family apart as long as I’m around." Zale held out his paw and I placed mine on top of his. Nuka looked as if he was wondering if he should place his paw in the pile. “Go ahead.” With that, Nuka added his paw to the paw pile. Kali wagging her tail, gets onto her hind paws, putting both of her paws on top. Nuka and I both chuckled softly at her. Zale grins and nods for Angel to come up as well and she adds her paw to the pile as well. Finally, Ruki made it up on the stage and puts his paw on the very top of the pile. "To Family" I said, which was echoed by Nuka, Zale, and Ruki. Kali and Angel both said family before Angel tagged Kali and ran off.

Ruki turned to look at me and Nuka. “Three?" he asked. Zale grinned. "Nope, eight." "What?!" Ruki says surprised before they all start giggling. I smiled.. "It's a joke." Nuka grinned. “We ought to keep that joke around." I laughed, nodding my head in agreement. “Yeah.”

What ideas I had for Zale’s rbg have fizzled out. May I have a refund on that one and instead get one for Willow my L.19 M bayleef? Now to try and catch up on my ac stories.

[*Murkrow]

Willow will be battling a L19 Lileep in the Meadow.

[The Blue Avenger]

Okay, Amy, finally finished. X_x Comments: Very nice battles, and a good way for Tamal to make his departure. The interaction with Darkfire's Pokemon was also pulled off nicely. And, oh wow, the bits with Nuka were just... O_O. Take... let's say...18 CCPs.

[Wolfsong]

Thanks. One last rbg request before i set to work catching up on writing. I'd like one for Sunita my l.7 F dratini please ^^ *pays*

[The Blue Avenger]

She'll battle a Snorunt in the North Caverns.

[Wolfsong]

First of all, apologies for taking so long to complete this. And alsp apologies for not having much comments this time, as it is rather late ^^;. I loved reading the stories that you write, especially the descriptions. Edit: Now that i'm wide awake i reread your story and think you deserve a few more. Sorry abotu that. Take29 ccps. I’ll post the levels gained at the very end. Xx had writers block… x.x XD Hannah, you started something with the badges therefore you get one too. ^^; Hope I did okay, here is your conclusion.


Omega the L.40 M Shelgon Vs. Xia the L.40 F Vileplume

Though slightly tired from his earlier battle, Omega was still ready to fight. Thanks to his previous two previous two dragon dances in his earlier battle, Omega was now faster and stronger than ever. Charging forwards, slamming into Xia with such a fierce blow that, if used by most other species they’d end up hurting themselves, Xia staggered backwards. She quickly ejected a cloud of sweet smelling gas into Omega’s face momentarily dazing him.

Xia, quickly taking advantage of Omega’s momentary distraction, doused him with a huge dose of powder that had traces of poison mixed in. Unfortunately for Omega, he couldn’t help but breathe it in and, in doing so, he shook away the effects of the sweet scent.

Cursing to himself, Omega realized that he couldn’t poison his opponent as she was part poison type. He gave Xia a ferocious look that caused her to take a step back. But Xia wasn’t going to let her uneasiness stop her from creating duplicates of herself. When she had finished there were six Vileplumes facing Omega instead of one.

Omega, not having any idea what Xia was planning, took a safe route to getting rid of the clones. He began the intricate steps that would bring forth the rain. He didn’t see that Xia and her clones were busy replenishing their health as the downpour started. The rains quickly wiped out the clones and diminished the amount of health that the synthesis could have provided but it was enough.

Omega charged forwards in an attempt to weaken Xia even more, but she wasn’t about to be fooled twice. As soon as Omega had started his charge, she created a transparent protective shield that stopped Omega cold as he slammed into it.

Xia smirked, and Omega shot her another cold look. He was already starting to feel the poisons start to take their toll. With a shrill cry, the vileplume shot a beam of red light into the sky, which not only evaporated the rain but called the sun out as well.

Xia smirked, now she was just as fast as Omega was. She quickly launched a beam of pure white solar energy at Omega. The force of the attack caused him to take a step back. He was getting tired. He was feeling the damage from the poisons that circulated through his body as well as the attacks that he had taken from his previous battle. He wasn’t about to continue with the battle of wills over the weather. He inhaled deeply before exhaling a stream of flames made even hotter by the sun. Xia screamed in pain as the flames made contact.

Omega, pleased that his attacks were being felt, began drawing upon the last reserves of fire power that he had left in his body. Inhaling deeply, he exhaled a ball of flames that exploded into a huge star shape as soon as it made contact with Xia’s body. She gave one last agonized cry of pain before slumping to the ground, defeated.


Omega won!

Crystal returned her fallen pokemon, and put on a fake smile. Congratulations, you have won the Ivy Badge, SM 01, Cut. With that, she turned around and left.




Ryau earned 2 levels from her battle growing to L.25. Omega earned 2 levels from his first battle and 2 more from his last, growing to L.44.

[*Murkrow]

I've got Omega's battle done :) I really enjoyed writing this.

It's all in his POV.

------------------------------

A low ray of light gently brushed against the clouds underside, turning it golden, illuminating it against the light blue sky. Gradually, the glow strengthened, the soothing white of the drifting clouds flaring into colour as the suns rays pierced through.
Stretching out beneath it, the land spoke of autumn’s approach; rich shades of brown and chestnut covered the once vivid green fields. Layers of crumpled leaves covered the ground in intricate patterns, thickly heaped up as the wind drove them together.
The looming trees rustled amongst themselves as the wind tickled them, shaking their branches so that those remaining leaves twisted and writhed in the breeze. Occasionally, one with a weakened stem could not resist the omnipresent tug, letting itself be ripped free from its position, spiralling downwards to settle eventually amongst the littered carcasses.

I couldn’t help but smile as I charged through yet another of the leaf piles. Each kick sent what seemed like hundreds of leaves crashing into the air with that ever-satisfying crackling sound. Dancing through the drifting leaves, I laughed at myself, at them and at the complete and utter exhilaration that was flowing through my body.
It was two days since we’d beaten Crystal. Two days since I’d stood there and watched as she sulkily handed over the delicate looking Ivy Badge to Hannah, along with her SM and money. That badge had now been placed in pride of place in the small living room back at our flat. As for the SM…..well, she hadn’t decided what to do with it yet. Chances our, that little box would soon find itself permanently enshrined next to the badge.
I paused at the thought of both items commemorating our victory and chuckled to myself. Perhaps that would be taking things a little too far.

Giving another enthusiastic kick at the leaves, I trotted forwards a few steps, then accelerated into a lurching, rocking gallop-the fastest I could move normally. Bouncing along the alternately narrow and wide paths was a bit of a struggle, but at the moment, nothing could get in the way of my enjoyment of life.
It had been that way since my victory. Even as I had shuddered as I stood, Xia’s poisons still working their way into my blood stream, I had felt my body throb with something that wasn’t pain. Even after we had managed to ‘persuade’ Crystal to lend us a small quantity of herbs she kept for ailments, it remained. I’ll admit, I originally just thought it was my body responding to the punishments it had received; sleep should be enough to return my body to normal.

I couldn’t sleep that night. Even though I curled up straight away, intending to rest, I could feel my restlessness increasing. Nothing I could do affected my need to move. In the end, I spent most of the night pacing constantly around our shared garden, before –finally- the monotony and movement combined to knock me out as dawn was breaking.
I had slept through the next day, waking a couple of hours before dawn. It hadn’t left me; I’d only managed to repress it. Unable to keep still, I let myself out and wandered straight out from the small town, back into my natural habitat. I had watched the sky lighten, observed the wild Pokémon begin to stir, stared at the wind and cold ravaged landscape.
And still the incessant desire to move. My muscles felt like they were pulsing with energy, combining to give my gait a strange rocking edge as I bounced along. Not only that, but my senses seemed to be blurring; one second my eyesight would be normal, then the edges were sharpen, objects becoming more defined, yet when I turned my head, things were the same as they normally were. Sharp smells would assault my nose, contrasting with what I could see before me. Sudden crackles of leaves echoed in my mind even when I stood perfectly still and knew I was the only one here.
I loved how I was feeling. It made me feel fresh and alive, making it so that the bounce in my step wasn’t just a result of my overly active muscles.

Of course, I knew what was happening, why I was feeling this way. Finally, my body was nearly ready; I was reaching the point where my current form wouldn’t be able to contain me any more. My sharpening senses was simply the result of my body preparing itself to move on, finally propelling me forwards and giving me what I’d always desired.

A stupid grin trickled over my face and I slithered to a halt. I hadn’t given it any conscious thought, but I knew, deep down, that I’d never see my home through my old eyes again. When I returned, it would not be trotting casually along the roughly applied tarmac of the pavements and roads, but gliding in proudly, perhaps being joined in my final approach by those on the team who could fly themselves.
I lifted an eyebrow at that thought, as I briefly registered exactly who I was talking about. Then I shook my head and banished my thought. Whatever was going to happen between me and Rage would happen, but I wasn’t going to be the one who started it. Not anymore. Echoes of my threat to him still rang in my mind but they seemed like a joke to me now. I wasn’t going to judge him anymore, nor force him to do what I wanted. It was up to him now.

Feeling strangely elated at that decision, I chuckled to myself again and pushed all thoughts from my mind. Gambolling gleefully onwards, I tumbled childishly into a particularly thick heap of leaves, kicking my legs happily, sending showers of gold, brown, chestnut shades cascading around my body.
As my kicking gradually ceased, they drifted down, tenderly covering my body as I sprawled on my back, staring up at the shifting tops above me. Sighing, I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, inhaling the somehow luxurious scent that tingled off of the leaves; that rich, musty odour of autumn.
Happily, I relaxed, feeling shadows flick over my face, occasional pin-pricks of light filtering down when a passing cloud drifted away and let the sun penetrate down.
One of those passing scents came to me; strong, familiar, one I could not sense if I looked for it, but had to relax, letting it come to me. It faded, slowly being replaced by another, unfamiliar, that smelt somehow in-between the mustiness of autumn and the freshness of summer.
I opened my eyes, observing from upside at the figure who silently landed amongst the leaves with barely a crackle. I felt a grin crack across my face.
‘Are you Omega?’ she inquired in a light voice, a hesitant smile flickering across her face.
‘Of course,’ I crooned back, rolling viciously to right myself, getting to my feet and walking forwards from my bed of leaves. ‘And I think I can guess why you’re here.’
Her smile entered her eyes. ‘So he isn’t as discrete as he thinks he is then?’
‘Oh no,’ I laughed inwardly, knowing full well that if anybody else was following this conversation then they’d be lost already. ‘Once this is over, please tell him that I’m more than I once was, so he’ll have to be more careful. And if he doesn’t know what that means then I think he deserves all he gets.’
She giggled. ‘I will tell him that if I can….although it may be you who is waiting for him.’
‘Oh no.’ I shook my head at her. ‘You are talking to the merciless slayer of two of the three grass gyms Pokémon. You can’t beat me.’
‘I like the phrase ‘merciless slayer’,’ she giggled. ‘It sounds very smug.’
‘For good reason.’ I beamed at her and crouched down. ‘Would you like to find out why now?’
‘You know, he did mention something about you getting rather cocky,’ she mused, her face lighting up. ‘I will be glad to try to bring you down a peg or so.’
‘Charming. I’m looking forward to it already.’

Fight
Omega (Shelgon L44 M) Vs Skiploom (L44 F)

We both knew that the way to win a battle was to turn things to your advantage. I backed up into the leaves, surrounding myself once more in a flurry of flying leaves as I leapt easily through the steps that I knew so well.
As I did that, she lifted her arms to the sun, a low trill rippling through her mouth, filling the clearing where we were standing. Her bloom burned orange and a jet of fire exploded upwards, circling to crash into the sky, forming a massive, burning sun. Her bloom instantly began to shine, particles of light being absorbed into it. It rather looked like she was preparing to use a solar beam and was charging it up in readiness.

But regardless; my muscles pulsed with even more energy than before as I bounced forwards- actually physically bounced as I felt my energy screaming to be released from my body. She fluttered into the air in an instant, her large wings/ears barely moving as she drifted upwards in the warming air.
I smiled and turned the sun to my advantage, using it to heat the flames that came scorching through my throat, ripping and burning, aiming to catch her underside. She took the hit without comment, beyond wincing. Yet even as my attack faded, she glowed green and the burn marks faded.

Struck by the similarity between my last three matches, I laughed, then drew on my inner strength; my form shimmered for an instant behind barriers of electricity before it exploded upwards, static circling through the clearing as the roar of lightning crashed upwards. She squeaked - from surprise, no doubt- and aimed a beam of light down at me, which ripped through the last vestiges of electricity.

I darted away, feeling the ground shudder beneath me as the beam struck, sending dirt and leaves blasting away as it buried into the soil. Her speed was actually pretty impressive; it easily matched mine. As she followed me from overhead, I spun to face her, narrowing my eyes to give her my most fiercest look. She faltered under my gaze and I took the chance to blast another flamethrower at her. With her diminished defence, she offered barely any resistance, letting me scorch her badly.

Wailing, she rolled backwards, her body glowing green again as she tried to replenish her health. I tried to hit her again with more fire, but she rolled upright suddenly and motioned in one quick swipe. Her eyes flashed purple, and next second I was about twenty feet in the air, staring across at her as she gave me a deceptively sweet smile. If I wasn’t in a battle, I’d probably have asked her to keep me up there for longer, instantly loving the feeling of being away from the ground, my body hanging gently in the air. If anybody ever felt that, then there was no doubt in my mind that they’d understand what drove me towards my ultimate goal.

But, I was in a battle. She decided to remind me of that by dropping me. I fell like a stone, smacked my legs hard against the ground, did an odd sort of bounce up, before I felt her seize me again and drag me up. Unwilling to let her get the advantage again, I began to thrash viciously, making it increasingly difficult for her to hold on. It must have worked, because she suddenly uttered an irritated sort of squeak and let go. Again, I fell like a rock, but shot a flamethrower downwards to ease my landing a bit.

The second my feet touched the ground, I was blasted away again as she aimed another beam at me. Taking the blast straight on, I felt it to the extreme, with enough force to send me tumbling backwards, finally stopping as I crashed into the sturdy base of a tree.

She giggled; automatically, I looked up, receiving an intense flash of light that burned my retina’s and caused my sight to blur alarmingly. Instinct –and common sense – told me that she was going to take this chance now, so I pushed all my energy into my newest attack. The three protrusions on my back began to glow (I couldn’t see them of course, but I could feel them), before each exploded towards her in a scythe of presumably white light. She must have tried to avoid them, but her three successive shrieks of pain and alarm told what had happened. I laughed inwardly. No point trying to dodge an aerial ace.

With her temporarily off guard, I relaxed, allowing to myself to focus. As my mind gradually started to concentrate on the task at hand, I felt my sharpened senses flaring into play. I could smell her mixed scent, hear her low murmurs of pain; even better, when I opened my eyes my vision was slightly better. I still had a large number of yellow dots dancing and skipping in front of my eyes, but the blurredness of my surroundings was less. And there she was. A green figure lifting her face towards the sun as her body glowed.

‘You know, I never actually asked your name,’ I called over to her.
I saw her shift her attention to me, and although I couldn’t see it, I heard the smile in her voice. ‘Oh- it’s Summer.’
‘Well, then. Thank you Summer for being a good opponent.’

Then I let my jaw slide open and the churning flames come pouring out. Caught as she was, desperately trying to heal the three deep cuts on her body, she couldn’t react in time. I saw her barrel-roll, attempting to escape, but my flames caught her side. Momentarily stunned, it was all I needed in order to move slightly to the left and let my flames entirely consume her.

I won, growing to L45.

Cutting off my attack, I saw her green form drop limply to the ground. Before I hurried over to her, I scrunched my eyes up, blinking frantically to restore my vision somewhere regarding normal. After a couple of minutes, the overall blurriness faded; I still had a few spots dancing around, but I ignored them and trotted over to Summer.

Her light body wasn’t hard to flip over onto her side; I spent a few minutes making sure that she was fully comfortable, then withdrew. I knew that she’d be alright.

Turning away, I stretched and shook my limbs before moving off. As I reached the edge of the clearing, I glanced back at where she lay, my eyes searching the surroundings around her. Nothing stirred. It wasn’t until I finally turned away that I caught the scent and grinned.

Moving away, I walked for a couple of hundred metres, then gradually eased into a jog. My gait quickened as my mind relished the speed, yet before I lost myself in the movement, I flung one last glance behind me, at the sky.

A shadow flickered over the bare tree-tops for a split-second, then vanished. I laughed gleefully. I knew that Summer was gone and safe, and as I turned back and let myself accelerate into a full on gallop, I knew exactly what I was doing.

And I already loved every second of it.

------------------------------

Can I have another RBG for Omega, my L45 male Shelgon, please? *Pays* Thanks.

[Wolfsong]

I'll try and rate your story later, but Omega will be battling a L.45 Aerodactyl in the forest. Have fun.

[*Murkrow]

Here is what was initially going to be a run of the mill story, but ended up as.....this. Don't ask me how, I just typed as I thought.

Bits in italics are Omega's thoughts.

---------------------------

I thundered my way along a path, feeling the swoosh of the wind as it swept alongside my body; with my eyes closed, I imagined that I could feel it sweeping underneath me, propelling me upwards. I stretched my imaginary wings, increasing my stride so that I could bound upwards, leaping into the air.

For an instant I seemed to hang, feeling my body pushing through the tug of the wind, before my front legs absorbed the impact and I charged on. Once the feeling of despair would have crept over me at that, at the sensation of gravity dragging me down, but now I just laughed, exhilarated at myself. Who cared if this shell resisted the touch of the wind? Not me, not anymore. I’d outgrown it anyway.

Come on, come now!

Calling out in my mind, I extended my senses outwards, eager to catch the first announcement of something approaching. I knew now that it was only a matter of time: I wasn’t going to have to worry about a lack of opponents now. No way.

I sensed nothing, so I chuckled to myself and ran on. Propelling myself through the leaves, I snatched at a falling one, feeling its dry crunch as I bit into it. The dead taste spread over my mouth, the flaky form disintegrating even as I let it just rest on my tongue. Savouring what could only be described as the taste of autumn, I opened my eyes, letting this heavy body slow to a stop. My legs shivered as I slid forwards, shaking slightly at the weight pushing against them, before I slithered to a halt.

My sides were heaving with the effort, but my heart still bounced happily. I rocked backwards and stared joyfully upwards, watching through half-glazed eyes at the clouds drifting overhead. Stretching into tatty strands, they drifted casually across the azure sky.

Soon!

Thud.

I heard the sound throbbing in my ear drums, resonating around my skull even after it had faded from the air. I braced myself. The scent of blood tingled my nose, along with the heavy stench of a carnivore. I hoped I wouldn’t smell like that.

Thud.

The air seemed to vibrate around me; the leaves seemed to shrink back. I edged with them, deliberately taking in a deep breath. Instinct was already screaming at me to be careful; I knew this wasn’t going to be a casual, random encounter, yet deep down, I knew that I meant nothing to what was approaching. I was in no doubt over my position right now. I didn’t even know if help would come if I needed it.

Getting scared, Omega?

The day hell freezes over.

I crouched down, getting myself into the best position for striking. I’d never quit, not now.

Thud.

A dark shadow lurched over the treetops, his darkness contrasting so vividly with the light background beyond him. For an instant or so, he hung there. His massive wings delicately caught the oncoming breeze, allowing him to drift so gracefully above me.

I will not be intimidated! Never!

He seemed to be a creature of such contrast. His muscular arms bulged with power, even in a near-silhouette form, an image seemingly enhanced by the delicate membranes rippling from his long, clawed fingers, writhing its way to merge effortlessly with his bony sides. Curled, dagger like claws were held in place beneath him as easily as if they were glued there, resisting the whirl of wind that I could tell was swirling around him. A slowly shifting tail streamed outwards and away, ending in a vicious looking prong.

Then he banked, lowering his head as he let the wind carry him backwards, letting his body rise upwards. A bony protrusion rose between his shoulders; it should have given him a look of a hunchback, crippled and old. It didn’t. Somehow, it only reaffirmed his authority; that he was able to carry what should have been a physical ailment with such ease.

What are you waiting for, come on!

Our eyes met. His, cold, black, burning.

His bird shaped head sparked images in my mind; unconscious thoughts that intruded as I saw the resemblance between him and my friends. No wonder. He was the only thing left now; he’d helped create them. That was gone now. He was the last in a line of those who’d helped push evolution forwards. We all owed him.

Come on.

The sickly, raw smell of a killer was reaching out, embracing the swaying trees, creeping down to whisper through the undergrowth, sending warnings to all those whose crushing claws he could rip the life out of.

I exulted in it. Who was I kidding? He was just as much a dragon as I was. I smelt the blood that burnished his very sides, inhaling deeply.

Come on, brother.

I remembered standing alongside a crushing river, feeling my claws sink deep into the warm, living flesh, feeling the substance trickling its way down my leg.

Suddenly I wished I’d tasted it.

He blinked.

No matter. It’d come.

In a rush he was streaking towards me; immense wings flat against his sides as he streaked downwards, his eyes still burning outwards, dark, calculating. I could almost feel him approaching, feel the air shuddering away from the pressure tearing through it, listening all the while to the whine and shriek as he scissored his way through it.

A tremor shot through my legs and was suppressed. I was not going to fear him! Not now, how could I? He was an image of what I was going to become.

His wings twisted from his sides in a lithe movement, allowing their membranes to catch the full brunt of the rushing wind. He stalled almost immediately, seeming to hang motionless for an instant.

Then his claws unfurled and he crashed down.

It had all happened in a matter of seconds, but I was ready. As he had plummeted downwards, I had steadied myself, knowing innately where I would have to attack to bring him down. As his claws shot open, I timed my movement and rolled to the side, attempting to bring myself to a position where I had the best chance of striking.

I’d underestimated him.

His opposite wing lashed out, catching the wind and bringing him swinging round; his claws extended and smashed into my side.

The impact was enough to send me tumbling onto the ground; his left claw thumped onto the soil beside me, less than an inch from my face, as his right pressed against my body. His weight instantly told, as I felt my body being compressed as he drove down on me. His scent filled my nose, filtering down over me, seeming to centre in on some primeval part of my brain. I felt myself shudder, the overwhelming lust for blood awakening inside of me. He snorted, leaning over and twisting his neck round so that he could sniff my shell; I could feel the warm air flowing over me.

His claw tightened- I felt dry soil flinging against my face as his left claw closed reflexively, digging deep fissures into the ground. I could feel my shell struggling to withstand the pressure. He snorted again and shifted slightly, giving me a second or so of relief before his grip tightened again.

Crack.

Everything seemed to freeze. My mind was blank. Part of me refused to believe that my defences could ever, truly be broken. Not like that, not after I’d pushed my body to its limits, flinging myself from cliffs in my desire, facing off against opponents who’d left nothing more than brief memories in my mind.

Crack.

Again. The pain was gradual, which surprised me slightly. From two points of my sides, a low, pulse seemed to resonate, creeping its languorous way through my muscle until it was able to slip neatly into my brain. Warmth trickled down my sides, drawing his attention closer. His grip relaxed slightly to give him room to sniff at my wound, before I felt his moist tongue flick against my body.

Nobody will drink my blood.

Not you, not anybody.

The primeval part of my identity, the part that had awoken at the scent of blood now rebelled, refusing to accept what was happening. The secret part that only cared about itself sparked and flared, making me attempt to buck my body, throw him off. It didn’t work, of course, but it made his head withdraw, his claw shuffling to get a better grip.

Of course.

I did it again. Then again. Each time focusing intensely on the moment when his hold weakened, as he shifted to try to tighten his grip on me, his prey. I shook my body and tried to get up, arching my back as much as I could. His claws relaxed for a second as he got ready to try to manhandle me into submission. I felt more soil striking my face as his other claw dug into the dirt.

And as his grip relaxed fractionally, I dragged myself forwards, only an inch and twisted round and sunk my teeth into the top of his claw. His skin was rough; echoes of scales flickered across it, in the dry, reptilian feel, and the invisible lumps and granules that were only noticeable by touch. I closed my eyes and sank my teeth in further, struggling against what felt like endless layers on layers of tough, warm skin.

My body shook with impact as he tried to drag me off by sinking his free claw deeper into my body. But the open wounds he’d inflicted had shifted, and he didn’t have the easy option available to him; as he tried to gouge his way through my shell, he screamed aloud, roaring up into the open air, his wings whipping up a hurricane around us as they beat frantically.

I didn’t give. Even as his claws tore against my shell, even as I felt it chip, I didn’t let up. Not until he convulsed and struck me with his free claw, with enough force to simply tear me free, did I let go, my mouth full of his flesh, my eyes never leaving the spot where blood was now leaking its way to freedom.

He didn’t want to give me time to savour the moment. All his mind could interpret was that his prey was fighting back, and so he had to do so to. Raising his wings above his back to make him look more intimidating, he hissed gutturally, mouth creaking open to showcase his glistening fangs, saliva trickling from his jaw as he screeched.

I had an advantage, of course. In-cased as I was within my shell, I had no real areas vulnerable for attack, except my legs, and even they were short and hard to aim at as a target. If he wanted to hurt me, he had to get a good grip and break down through my shell.

He snarled and lunged forwards, his neck snaking towards me, his jaws extended as far open as they could. I let him come, staring into his mouth, seeing beyond his teeth to his tongue, and beyond that, the dark shadows around his gullet. I only had my teeth as a defence.

But that wasn’t going to stop me. As he darted slightly to the side and struck, trying to seize me side-on, I drew my lips back and struck. My movement meant that, although his teeth made contact, they slipped over me, catching slightly on the roughness of my shell and the jagged barbs of flesh, I twisted half-free and plunged my teeth into his lower lip. The flesh was less rough and tenderer here; his head bucked immediately, ripping away from me with a slitting noise. That only meant that I felt his warm blood puddle into my mouth, feeding my desire for more. I stumbled as I caught myself upon landing, licking eagerly at the blood running down my face.

Hissing audibly, he reared back, extending his neck and wings as far as they could go, looming above me, an ominous figure, his breath beating out of him, his eyes locking onto mine again.

I blinked.

Sightless.

Staring at each other, I could see myself reflected in his eyes. Yet nothing stirred there. Nothing glimmered in those cold, dark eyes. No sense of self, no knowledge except the incessant desire, the same primeval need that I could feel had been awakened in me.

But it’s different than that.

I was controlling it, wasn’t I? I wasn’t letting myself go into an all-out frenzy in a need for the taste of blood, warm living flesh, was I? It was there, yes, but I wasn’t letting it- or ever would let it- consume me, until it destroyed the self I had. He didn’t have that. Nothing except the most basic needs, no mind to understand and experience truly what was happening.

Brother.

It couldn’t have been less than fifteen minutes ago when I’d called him that. It was still true, but I knew that it only reflected me on a primeval level. If I let myself go, I’d become him, if I didn’t, if I kept my mind and sense of self, he’d be the part I could use, could control, but refuse to let consume me.

I felt a twinge of pity for him as briefly lowered my eyes in acknowledgment. I doubted that he’d have an inkling of understanding of what I meant, but for my peace of mind, I wanted to thank him, however indirectly.

He stared back silently, then lifted his head and stared at the sky. His wings lifted slowly, hung for a second, then thrust down. The draft crashed into the clearing, sending leaves flying, hurtling around us as he lifted off. I was turning to watch him go when a pain shot through my right leg. My eyes flickered down for an instant, catching what seemed to be a flash of fire jetting over my flesh, vanishing before I could determine what it was.

Thud.

I whipped my eyes up again, but he was gone. I stood motionless, staring upwards. My heart beat, small rivers of blood still ran over and down my aching sides, and my mind tracked the clouds silently.

Nothing stirred.

----------------------------

After that battle, Omega grows to L46.

I'd like another RBG for Omega please. *Pays* His stats are above.

[The Blue Avenger]

You're probably tired of hearing this, but I'll get to your rate soon.

Omega will battle a Baltoy in the Desert.

[Wolfsong]

As promised i have your rating up before the day is through. If jeff doesn't get your story by tuesday then i'll get it. Take 14 ccps. I love to read your stories, especially the descriptions. I especially liked how you described the way Omega's body was preparing itself to evolve. Summer seems like an interesting character. Will we be seeing her any more in the future?

[The Blue Avenger]

Hannah, take 15 CCPs for Omega's RBG. That... was an astounding story. Very edge-of-the-seat. Excellent shift in tone from the beginning of the story to the battle. I also think that not identifying the Aerodactyl as such helped create a feeling of suspense. Just in general, very well done.

[The Blue Avenger]

Before story thoughts...
This is the story that will introduce the twin Tyrogues, Homen and Hoborg. I switched things around a little, in that even though I technically caught Homen first, I am writing this story as if I caught Hoborg first. It just works easier. Also, I’m switching Homen’s location of capture to the South Caverns, again because it makes things easier. With that said, allow me to begin.

***

For Blue, the morning started as it normally did: waking up slowly and staying in bed for a little while, relishing the peace and quiet that filled his small house. The sunlight streamed into his room through the windows, coating the room in a faint yellow glow.

The serenity, however, was not to be long-lived. From the living room blared a familiar (and yet grating) fanfare, announcing the beginning of the local news show. The volume was turned up enough that Blue could hear the top news story.

“Breaking news!” the anchor began in a deep voice. “We bring you live coverage of the South Caverns, where a rogue band of Pokemon has seemingly gone insane...”

That made Blue sit up and take notice. No fewer than five of his team – Vivian and her daughter Dolce, Righello, Fiamma, and Lento – had been captured in the South Caverns, so naturally the place was fairly important to him.

“NO!” a different, higher-pitched voice cried out from the living room. Blue recognized it as the voice of his newest teammate, a Tyrogue named Hoborg. He jumped from his bed and hastily threw on some clothes. Blue slammed the door open, only to see the front door slam shut, a Jynx and a Smoochum watching it.

“What happened?!” Blue exclaimed.

“Blue!” Vivian started, snapping suddenly to face him. “We were watching the news broadcast on this pack of Pokemon causing trouble down at the caves, and suddenly Hoborg flies out of the door!”

Blue sighed. “Did he say where he was going?”

“No, but I’d assume the South Caves – that’s where the camera crew on the news was when he left.”

“Okay...” Blue frowned. “I need to go find him. Where are the others?”

“I think mostly everyone is at the Eevee House downtown.”

Cursing under his breath, Blue slammed his fist into a nearby table. “We don’t have time to go round them all up...” He looked towards the Jynx. “It looks like it’ll just be you, me, and Dolce. Let’s go.”

Vivian nodded and picked up the Smoochum sitting next to her. Together, they dashed out the door.

***

Meanwhile, after using several different shortcuts to get to the entrance of the South Caves, Hoborg stopped to catch his breath. He stared into the inky darkness that dwelled within the cave’s opening.

It can’t have been him... Hoborg thought to himself. He would never do something like that... He cradled his head in his hands. What’ll I do? What can I do?

A loud, deep roar from inside the caves interrupted his thoughts. It was very quickly followed by the sound of a piercing scream.

Okay, that settles it, Hoborg thought while getting to his feet. Whether or not any of this is related to me, I have to go help. He stared at the entrance to the caves for a second longer. I just hope what I saw on TV wasn’t true... Hoborg shuddered. I also hope I don’t run into the psycho Alakazam they were talking about. I’d stand no chance...

“Well, well, well... What do we have here?”

Shoot. Hoborg looked up to see a young Totodile staring him in the face, his fangs glinting in the sunlight.

“What’s wrong, little guy? You lose something?” the Totodile asked condescendingly.

“Oy, don’t talk down at me,” Hoborg growled. “I’m looking for my brother.”

The Totodile’s expression softened. “Sorry. Where did you lose him?”

“We were separated when I was captured...” Hoborg replied.

“Captured?” the Totodile repeated, a manic glint in his eye. “You mean... you’re a captured Pokemon?”

“Yeah, what’s the problem?”

The Totodile didn’t reply, instead choosing only to snap his claws. Suddenly, from the ground, rose a Houndour, a Houndoom, and a Sableye. “Traitor!” the Totodile howled. “Get him!”

Before Hoborg could react, the Sableye grabbed him as the Houndoom blasted him with a gout of fire. He felt a vague sensation of being carried somewhere as the world blacked out around him...

When he woke up, he found himself surrounded by several vicious-looking Pokemon, including the Totodile and his cronies. They initially seemed to be scattered in a random pattern, but upon further inspection, Hoborg realized they were all clustered around one abnormally large Growlithe.

“Sir!” The Totodile said sharply, saluting. The Growlithe turned. “This Tyrogue is captured – and he tried to walk right into the caves. It’s obvious that he was trying to infiltrate.”

“Is that so?” the Growlithe replied, smirking. “Then it’s obvious what we must do. This Tyrogue, as penalty for his arrogance, idiocy, and weakness to be captured by a trainer, must be... eliminated. Make it so.”

The Totodile nodded and gestured to Hoborg. “You heard the dog, folks! Have at him!”

Hoborg scowled. “Not so fast!” He sprung high into the air and landed hard, sending a quick shock wave rippling through the cavern. A loud rumbling filled the chamber as rocks bounced across the ground. Several cracks alerted Hoborg to the loosening of some stalactites on the ceiling.

“No!” the Totodile howled. “You fool! You’ll kill us all!”

Hoborg grinned. “Try and stop me,” he said while sending another shock wave through the cave, sending the group of Pokemon scattering.

Battle time! Hoborg the male Tyrogue versus the male Totodile!
Hoborg – “Just give up now!”
~
Totodile – “You fool!

Before the Totodile could follow up on his statement, Hoborg held out a fist and glowed for a split-second. Faster than any eye could follow, Hoborg suddenly appeared at the Totodile’s side and socked him hard on the side of his jaw. Despite the attack, the Totodile grinned.

“You idiot. Did you honestly think you would have the upper hand?” he growled. Without a further word, Totodile clamped his jaws around Hoborg’s fist.

Hoborg screeched loudly and flailed his arm, but the Totodile held fast. He could feel the blood dripping from his arm as the teeth dug further into his skin.

And then the pain became excruciating. A sharp burning sensation filled Hoborg’s arm, and then slowly spread throughout his body. With every passing second, the pain got sharper and sharper, until the Totodile deemed it time to release his hold. As the jaws unclamped themselves, Hoborg watched as a purple, sludgy ooze rolled off of his arm. As it landed on the ground of the cavern, it sizzled, burning away the dirt until it revealed sheer rock.

“You can’t win,” the Totodile said snidely. “That Toxic will leach away your health until you are no more.”

“There’s...” gasped Hoborg, holding his chest and falling to his knees, “...one thing you forgot, though...”

“Oh? What’s that? Your secret technique of ‘sit there and bleed to death’?”

“No...” replied Hoborg, an expression of determination crossing his face. “I’ve got Guts.” He slowly climbed back to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain aching in every part of his body. “And I’m willing to bet you’re not as strong as you think!” Hoborg, without a moment’s hesitation, charged the Totodile again, this time ramming him hard with his shoulder. The Totodile flew across the cavern and impacted hard with the wall. Quickly, Hoborg jumped in the air again and landed hard, creating another centralized Earthquake. The attack bounced the Totodile around, slamming it into another wall. As the rumbling ceased, Hoborg carefully walked over to his fallen foe and confirmed his suspicions: the Totodile was out could.

Battle over! Hoborg is now level 10! Hoborg learned Hidden Power: Steel!

Hoborg sat down quietly and closed his eyes. The poison was still raging through his system, and he knew quite well that if he didn’t get help soon, the odds of him surviving were slim to none.

“Why did I come here?” he muttered softly. “I shouldn’t have come here without my trainer.” Hoborg frowned. “So that’s it. With the number of Pokemon in this cave pissed off at me, I can’t leave... I guess... I’m not getting out of this one...”

Suddenly, a chorus of loud screams tore through the caves. Hoborg looked up to see several of the Pokemon he had seen earlier shoved backwards forcefully into the walls of the cavern, propelled by some unseen force.

Then a familiar voice echoed from around the corner. “Hoborg, sweetie? You in here?” Hoborg painfully stood up just as a Jynx rounded the corner, carrying a Smoochum in her arms.

“Vi-vivian...” Hoborg mumbled as the Jynx rushed over to him.

“Oh, you poor dear...” Vivian soothed as she reached him. “You’re poisoned, aren’t you?”

Hoborg nodded weakly, the poison continuing to sap his strength away from him.

Vivian smiled slightly. “Blue anticipated something like this. He sent me with some antidotes.” She pulled a few small vials from up her sleeve and handed them to the Tyrogue, who slowly drank the contents. He sighed deeply as he felt the poison evacuate his system.

“Now,” said Vivian cheerfully, “let’s get you healed up and back to Blue. Here, let me use a Wish...” Her sentence was abruptly interrupted by a loud cry of “INTRUDER!” and a small brown thing flying at Vivian’s head. It connected, and the sheer shock of it sent the Jynx toppling over. It went on to tackle her and Dolce, the two landing in a pile, both knocked out.

Hoborg took a moment to train his eyes on the object as his strength slowly began to return to him. As soon as he saw what it was, he gasped. It was a Tyrogue.

“...Brother?!” both Tyrogues asked quietly. Hoborg started to hug the other Tyrogue, but the latter pushed the former off.

“What are you doing here, Hoborg?” he asked. “Weren’t you captured?”

“Yes, but I came here looking for you...”

“That doesn’t matter! If they see me here talking to you, they’ll kill me! You’re the exact kind of Pokemon that they want to keep out of the caves!”

“Hold on...” Hoborg said. “Who’s they?”

“The Alakazam in charge here!”

“You’re with him?!” Hoborg said, eyes wide. “How could you?! I mean, I thought when I saw you on the news broadcast... It has to be a mistake!”

“No...” said the other Tyrogue, shaking his head. “The reason I joined the group is because you... my best friend... were taken from me... Just like a callous human to do that.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about Blue like that! And don’t talk about callous after what you did to Vivian!” Hoborg scowled.

“Who? ...Oh, right, the Jynx. Look, like I said, I’m just doing my job here!”

“Homen, just because they recruited you doesn’t mean you can’t leave!” Hoborg countered.

“Oh yes it does,” a sinister voice called out from the edge of the chamber. A large Growlithe slinked over to the pair and growled. “You, Tyrogue, have been nothing but trouble since you got here. And Homen, I expected better of you.” Homen looked at the ground, but said nothing. “What are you waiting for, Homen? Eliminate him!”

Homen continued to look at the ground. “No,” he said quietly.

“What was that?”

“I... said... NO!” Homen yelled.

“Well then... I have but one thing to say to the both of you,” the Growlithe sneered. “Die.”

Battle time! Homen and Hoborg, the twin male Tyrogues, versus the male Growlithe!
Homen – “We're unbeatable!”
Hoborg – “Just give up now!”
~
Growlithe – “Die.”

“Let’s go, Hoborg!” Homen called. The pair charged towards the Growlithe and slammed into him, but he held his ground, pausing only a moment before releasing his counter-attack: a giant ball of flame that expanded into the shape of a Japanese character. It billowed forth, catching the brothers and shoving them back, leaving several scorch marks on their skin. The fire abruptly disappeared, dropping Homen and Hoborg to the ground.

“We can’t afford another attack like that,” Hoborg panted.

“So let’s get him now,” agreed Homen. Hoborg nodded and, in the blink of an eye, appeared near the Growlithe. He wound up and delivered an uppercut that sent the unprepared Growlithe into the air. Homen jumped into the air and propelled himself down, focusing his energy into his foot. He caught the Growlithe at the arc of his flight, sending the dog straight into the wall. The Growlithe slumped and whimpered.

“Nicely done,” Hoborg said as he turned to his brother, grinning.

“Same to you,” Homen replied.

“Honestly...” called a voice from behind them. “Do you think this is over?”

The brothers turned around, only to be greeted with a jet of fire shooting past them, narrowly missing its targets. The Growlithe got back to its feet and howled sharply, the noise ringing through the cavern.

“Oh, so that’s how you’re playing, is it?” Hoborg shot back. He and Homen dashed back to the Growlithe and took opposite sides: in perfect synchrony, the two Tackled the Growlithe on both sides of his body, following that up with a quick Mach Punch/Hi Jump Kick combo to send the puppy skidding across the cavern floor.

“Now, Hoborg!” Homen yelled. Hoborg nodded, and the two, again in perfect unison, leapt into the air and fell back down with a savage blow, sending a fierce Earthquake ripping through the cave. The quake knocked the Growlithe off of his feet again and bounced him around, eventually smashing him against a rather large boulder. The Growlithe fell to the ground, unmoving.

Battle over! Hoborg and Homen are now both level 11!

Hoborg smiled at Homen. “Thanks for your help,” he said quietly.

“There’ll be time for thanks later,” Homen said, frowning slightly. “We need to get your Jynx friend out of here.”

Hoborg looked at Vivian. She was still unconscious, but she didn’t appear to have suffered any of the attacks from the last battle.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted their thoughts. “Hoborg!” it yelled joyfully. Turning around, Hoborg saw the familiar face of Blue running toward him. As he approached, he deftly recalled both Vivian and Dolce into their Pokeballs.

Blue lifted Hoborg up into the air. “Man, I’m glad to see you fared okay.” He glanced at Homen. “Who’s your friend?”

“That’s my brother, Blue,” Hoborg replied. “Homen.”

“Well, Homen,” Blue said. “I’m sorry I separated you from Hoborg when I caught him. Actually, if Hoborg hadn’t run out today, we probably would have gone looking for you,” he added as an afterthought. Blue set Hoborg down on the ground and held out an empty Pokeball. “What do you say?” Blue asked. “Do you want to come with me?”

One the one hand, Homen thought, glancing between the faces of Hoborg and Blue, he did separate me from Hoborg. But... going with him would mean that I wouldn’t have to work for Alakazam any more... and I’d get to be with Hoborg from now on. Homen looked toward Blue and nodded silently.

Blue grinned and tapped the Pokeball to Homen’s head. With no resistance, Homen disappeared inside.

Blue caught Homen, the level 11 Tyrogue!

[*Murkrow]

Jeff~ Nice, if brief introduction. Hoborg standing off against the Pokémon using Earthquake was a neat touch. Good description of the poison, and it activating Guts was a surprise. Interlude where Vivian healed and the reunion with Homen seperated the battles well. The two teaming up to take out Growlithe in the second battle fitted well. Both battles were short though; slightly increasing the length could have helped pad them out a bit more. The end was good.
Take.....13 CCP's.

And completely off-topic, but I just noticed that your ASB Smeargle has the best nickname ever xD *Random*

------------------------

New scenario coming soon.

[Wolfsong]

Edit: Thanks to Hannah for the scenario.

With spring approaching and getting closer by the day, the Crystal Caves inhabitants are finally breathing a sigh of relief. With winter now all but over, and the renegade Pokémon seemingly dispersed, if but temporarily, it seems things may finally start to bear some resemblance to normality again.

Looking forward to warmer days, it unsurprisingly comes as something as a shock to wake up one morning to discover a sudden cold snap has descended during the night: the streets are covered in a layer of ice while the surrounding mountains are once again supporting snowy caps. As the inhabitants grumble and return to bundling up to keep warm, news begins to trickle in of a new sport that the wild Pokémon have developed.

Eager to discover what it is, some trainers risk the cold to investigate, and return with the news that the Lake is entirely covered in a layer of ice: using this, the wild Pokémon have eagerly found an unusual battlefield and are eager to test their skills out.

The field: Ice entirely covers the entire Lake, but beware; the thickness varies, and in places some of the more heavier Pokémon may not be able to move safely. Although the thicker patches are identified by their darker blue colour, a battler must be wary of the slipperiness of the ice: one wrong move could send them accidentally slithering onto a fragile patch.
Currently happy with their new toy, none of the wild Pokémon are ready yet to see it destroyed and will repair any holes themselves, using an ice attack, regardless of whether or not something is still floundering in the hole it made. For this reason, Dig and Dive are banned from these matches, and any tremor attack (Earthquake etc) should be used with care.
It also should be noted that Pokémon with the ability to fly are much frowned upon- they may participate but preferably battling directly on the ice like the others. Taking to the air may be seen as an acceptable diversionary technique, but the flyer should be aware that spectators may attempt to help their friend by driving the Pokémon back down to the ice in their own ways.

List of challengers

L5-L10

L5 Smoochum +1
L10 Swinub +2

L11-L15

L11 Wooper +1
L15 Spheal +2

L16-L20

L16 Seel +1
L20 Snorunt+2

L21-L25

L21 Sneasel +1
L25 Delibird +2

L26-L30

L26 Cloyster +1
L30 Milotic +2

L31-L35

L31 Vaporeon +1
L35 Sealeo +2

L36-L40

L36 Octillery +1
L40 Dewgong +2

L41-L45

L41 Corsola +1
L45 Mantine +2

L46-L50

L46 Walrein +1
L50 Lapras +2

L50+

L51 Slowking +1
L55 Kingdra +2

[*Murkrow]

I hadn't originally intended to write this using Omega (I wanted to write with Ry and Si battling)...but then I realised that I wanted to get this damned thing over. I couldn't be bothered to write four more battles when I could get it done in one (well, two...). So here it is, pretty much a culmination of nearly three years of writing here at the Battle Arena.

I have wrapped some things up: some of my additional characters are probably going tobe gone, so this might contain the last, incredibley brief references to them. And Rage needed sorting out, so I've wrapped his relationship up (pretty badly, but I'm really past caring as I type this). xD

Random comments:

The feather I mention is Omega's hold item, the Rainbow Feather. It draws from Ho-oh's natural attacks when used; I've been planning on using it in his last battle since I got it. Guess what an attack is if it doesn't seem to fit what a Shelgon can know.

Stuff in italics are thoughts.

The presentation is crap, I know. Too many paragraphs, plus I haven't entirely checked to make sure stuff is spelt correctly (beyond what spell checker can do), or little things such as adding the é. I might go back later and sort all of it out.

And having said all that......yay!

----------------------
‘So, is the little dragon all rested and ready to battle?’ Rage asked with a malicious smirk as the assembled group stared out at the frozen scene before them.
‘Rage, for the last time, I am warning you,’ Omega hissed back, ‘if you value your life even a little bit, you will shut up and bugger off somewhere.’
‘Oh, aren’t you the hard man, Omega? I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon, buddy, and if you believe that you can get rid of me yourself…well, I’d like to see you try.’
‘Give me, oh, I don’t know…..ten minutes, and I’ll prove it to you if you like.’
‘Omega, you are not going to beat two Pokémon in ten minutes.’
‘Despite the fact that I am a very experienced battler, who just so happens to have an advantage?’
‘Omega, they’re ice types. They will slaughter you. And needless to say, I’ll be cheering them on.’
‘And they’ll no doubt be cheering me on when I blast you out of the sky,’ Omega responded with a smirk. ‘A dragon versus a puny little bird; who do you think would triumph?’
‘The very experienced at aerial battles bird with the razor sharp wings and beak, as opposed to the podgy, never-flown-before dragon who has never heard of aerodynamics.’
‘I’ve heard about aerodynamics; what’re you on about?’
‘Win you battles then take a look yourself, pal.’
‘You are still not making an ounce of sense, bird.’
‘Well, then-’
‘Guys, could you possibly, you know….shut up?’ Ryau interrupted, glancing at them both in turn. ‘This is really embarrassing.’
‘Why are we embarrassing?’ Omega asked her incredulously; Rage started to nod in agreement, realised what he was doing and contented himself with glaring.
‘Well, everybody is waiting for to get a move on, Omega, yet the two of you are just completely wrapped up in your own little world.’
‘What are you implying?’ Rage asked suspiciously, staring at her.
‘Nothing. Just that if you two are going to stand and shout at each other all day, me and Ry will gladly take your place, just as we were originally going to be doing,’ Sianna put in gently, exchanging a smug look with the Pidgeotto.
‘NO! No, er, ok, I’ll get to it,’ Omega hastily put upon seeing the looks of their faces. Trotting away from Rage, he headed towards the lakes edge, where Hannah was waiting, looking very irritated by now at hanging around so long. Jock and Flash were standing either side of her, using their internal heat to provide at least some comfort from the cold.
‘Oh, and Omega?’ Ryau called from behind him.
‘What?’ he yelled over his shoulder.
‘Don’t call use birds puny!’

Omega laughed to himself, then skidded to a halt next to his trainer, glaring across the ice to where his two opponents where: two Lapras’s, already settled onto the ice and regarding him with annoyingly superior looks plastered on their faces. He snarled at them, even as elation bubbled through his body.

He’d been wrong. He’d believed that when he would next see his friends he would have evolved, that the voices greeting him would have been those raised in shock and amazement. They had been raised in shock, but not in the way he had been hoping.
After the adrenaline from his battle with the Aerodactyl had started to die away, common sense –and instinct- had gradually flooded back. He had registered the amount of blood on the floor, and the overwhelming throbbing in his sides. His surroundings had started to waver and sway long before he had reached home: Rage had intercepted him just before he had collapsed, carrying him the rest of the way as he slept. He still wasn’t quite sure who had tipped Rage off; whether it was Rénar or Salcafar. He knew that both of them had sent him the opponents to fight. And Rage wouldn’t say. Indeed, Hannah had had no idea what he was up to until he turned up clinging the Crystal Ball inside which he slept.
Worry about his injuries had meant that he had visited again the clinic, where a familiar nurse had examined his back and sides, pumped him full of drugs and hooked him up to a drip. She hadn’t been that pleased to see him, which Omega wasn’t too surprised about: the bite marks from when he had last met her where still visible.
Not that he was in a much better state. After a couple of days, he was back home, where –under observations made by Rage- he had truly began to realise just how much his body would look to an outsider. The old, thick scars that criss-crossed his left leg were plain to see, remnants of his battle with the Feraligatr, when the beast had sunk his teeth into his leg. His shell was cracked and shattered: small shards would fall off under the slightest of movement, while on either side of his body, two massive indentations highlighted the spots where the Aerodactyl had gripped him. The flow of blood had stained the sides of these indents, giving him permanently darker marks on his sides. He was prone to sudden fits of tremors that would jolt his body: he presumed that the claws had hit and damaged some nerves, or else maybe it was just yet another sign that his body was struggling to keep going in this battered state.
Shielded as it was, his face had luckily managed to avoid taking on many injuries, though his other legs were battered and marked with cuts and bruises.
But on his right fore-leg, there faintly lay the outline of feather. He had never noticed it before until he had returned and was confined to bed-rest at home again. Permanently faint, it nonetheless seemed to shimmer when Omega tilted his leg and allowed sunlight to fall on it. What it was, he had no idea, but part of him liked it, especially for the speculation it allowed him to consider, which helped him when he was bored from just plain resting.
He’d passed Christmas resting, finally being allowed to get up and about in January when the tremors and spasms had started to fade and his legs no longer shook when supporting his weight for a long time.
Then the cold snap descended, and the news of the new battlefields had been brought to them by Rage who had learnt it from someone or other. Ryau and Sianna had been the first to eagerly volunteer to battle on this interesting new course, but Omega’s competitive spirit had re-awakened. Neither the Bayleef or Pidgeotto could bring themselves to stand in his way and had agreed to hand over their battle claims to allow him to fight and finally to achieve his long standing dream.

And so, here he was. The cold was making his wounds ache, and the scene was wavering before his eyes, but he wasn’t going to back down. Excitement and adrenaline was coursing through him again as he stared at the two Pok€mon he had to defeat.
‘You beat them, Omega,’ Jock said quietly: Omega glanced behind him and saw them all, watching him silently. A smile flickered across his face as stared back and he nodded, knowing he didn’t have to say anymore.

He turned and ran onto the ice.

A roar rose immediately from the spectators, which culminated into sniggers and laughter as Omega slithered, caught his balance and charged on. The ice lurched and cracked, tiny splinters embedding themselves into his feet as he ran. His two opponents stared back: one, nothing more than an ordinary Lapras; the other had a faint pink tinge to her skin, which contrasted vividly to the fire in her gaze. She and her mate exchanged contemptuous glances as Omega slithered to a halt in front of them, his legs instantly beginning to slide apart on the slippery ice.
‘Your trainer doesn’t seem to have much sense,’ the male commented with a smirk.
‘Indeed; sending a dragon out to face us?’ laughed his mate. ‘How stupid.’
‘For your information, I was the one who chose to battle, ‘Omega snarled back, ‘and I’ve defeated many opponents where I should have had the disadvantage, so don’t you even dare to think that just because I’m a dragon, I’m not worthy to fight you.’
‘Putting words into our mouths, are you now?’ the female chuckled. ‘Very well, if you wish to be defensive about it, we won’t draw this out. But common courtesy dictates that we should at least have a semblance of being civilised; I am Rose and this is Ness.’
‘Wow. What original names,’ Omega laughed, ignoring the glares instantly directed at him. ‘Though there is no doubt that simple as they are, they at least fit remarkably well. I am Omega.’
‘Well, Omega. That is neither original nor fits you, so I believe that awards us the victory in this particular case,’ stated Ness with a simpering laugh.
Omega blinked. ‘You have just lost me.’
‘No wonder, seeing as we are the intellectual superiors, along with everything else,’ Rose smiled. ‘Now, are you ready to fight, Omega?’
‘Why would I be here otherwise?’ he responded with a smile.
‘Good,’ she said with a spark in her eyes. ‘We will try to make your humiliation quick and simple.’
‘As I will to yo-.’

Omega’s speech was cut short as his stomach lurched and vertigo swung around him as his body was flipped backwards: Rose had ducked her head and slammed into him, the smooth ice giving her freedom of movement almost exactly as she would normally have in the water. She was chasing him, now, laughing as he bounced onto the ice; feeling it shudder underneath him, he rolled over hastily, instinctively trying to spread his weight more evenly. His feet slithered out from beneath him, and he felt- or sensed- the cracks slowly appearing in the thin film between him and the water.

He should have been watching.

Pain exploded through him, a numbness unlike anything he’d experienced before: Rose’s ice beam had struck him directly in the face, stabbing daggers into the one sensitive area of his body. He couldn’t see: blue-white colour flickered before his eyes, which were screaming out in agony. The frigid ice was freezing the moisture inside of them, so he could feel the extra weight slowly building inside his sockets.

His mouth dropped open, instantly being engulfed by the cold; his teeth, his tongue, all numbing instantly.

No. I’m not going to!

The same passion that had awakened in him in his previous battle, the same burning instinct to survive stirred again. And something else. A warmth slowly rising on his left leg, an itch of heat flickering slowly to life.

Fire rose up and exploded from his mouth, deflecting the attack away; sprinkling him with drops of moisture as the ice evaporated on contact with the raging flames. Blinking frantically, he struggled to stand upright, yet even as he did so he could feel the warmth spreading, until his body throbbed with it: glancing down, he saw the feather marking on his leg glowing softly. Strength seeped through his body-looking up, he saw both Rose and Ness staring at silently.

A smile flickered across his still numb face.

Gathering his energy, he exhaled and let the flames shoot across the ice, not caring whether or not the heat melted their support, watching with a smug feeling as the two separated, his mind already pondering who to take on first.

Rose spun round to face him, her mouth sliding open as the orb of ice in her mouth gathered energy and streaking towards him. He dropped his attack and kicked off, sliding in the opposite direction, only to find himself confronting Ness. The Lapras had lowered his head, his horn spinning with a piercing whir; gathering his energy, the monster slithered forwards, his body shaking with the backlash of his attack. Using this as his advantage, Omega splayed his legs out, cutting his speed, and skidded to the left. Ness attempted to follow him, but the force of his attack was too much to allow himself to move that easily.

Hearing the ominous crack, Omega lunged forwards and slammed into Ness’s side, making the Lapras yelp in pain, then alarm as the ice shattered and he half-plunged into the water. The whirring horn cut out and he began to thrash, in a failed attempt to drag himself back onto land. Omega held on tightly, scrambling forward to grip one of the protruding spikes from Ness’s shell as he focused inwardly.

Electricity coursed through Omega’s body, transferring immediately into Ness, who convulsed in pain. Above the crackle of the attack, the shrieking Pokémon’s agony could be heard as he wailed and sobbed. Omega held on for dear life, feeling Ness’s body convulse more, then almost lost his grip as something hit Ness hard. And again, and again. Something was rapidly hitting Ness; as Omega registered it, he heard the cries alter. Still pain filled, still in agony, but almost as if more bearable, and no longer rising in intensity.

He opened his eyes as another of the blasts hit the male Lapras. Water. Letting the ebb of his attack decrease, he swivelled round and glared at Rose, who was firing a continuous volley of water at her mate. Not enough so that the electricity could pass back to her, but enough so that…..

Shit. He gritted his teeth as he remembered how some Lapras could exploit water to their own gain, using it to heal themselves.

Rose’s attempt was obviously working, as Ness suddenly roared and bucked his back. Caught by surprise, Omega lost his grip and tumbled to the side, landing in the small gap created by Ness falling through. The Pokémon instantly went for him, smashing his fore-head against Omega’s body and knocking him underwater. Omega snarled and kicked upwards, taking his chance to bite Ness’s nose as his face surfaced again.

Ness snarled and shook his head, throwing him loose, then lurched away, hauling himself back onto the ice. Omega had a good enough idea of what to expect next, so he paddled forwards and grabbed the edge of Ness’s flipper, using the momentum to drag himself out of the water as well; sure enough, the second Ness was clear, another beam shot past, closing up the hole.

Omega let go and skidded upwards, hauling himself back onto Ness’s shell, causing him to the grunt in irritation. Almost immediately, the beam diverted and slammed into his body, with enough force to knock him completely off of Ness’s back. He crunched onto the ice and scrambled upright, digging his claws in to gain a better grip. The pay off for this meant that the ice instantly weakened, but he ignored it and focused on breathing out draconic flames at Ness who slithered to the side, deliberately turning his head to catch Omega’s eyes, his own glowing with a purple aura.

Omega’s mind went blank; he stopped his attack and dazedly stared around at his surroundings. Why was he on some ice? What as he doing? Why was his leg glowing like that? Confused, he stared at the glowing feather and snarled, unable to remember a time when it had done so before.

Get rid of it.

Instinctively reacting, he lifted his leg up and bit down on the glowing area, shuddering as pain shot both through his leg and his mouth as it burnt the delicate skin. The pain smacked his conscious mind, shouting at him to let go: he did, only to be blown backwards as something solid crashed into him. Smashing against the ice, he blinked and shuddered, hissing at Ness who was panting heavily, the exertion required to use the attack leaving him momentarily helpless. His mind fully clear and restored to normal, Omega stumbled up, making a mental note to prevent himself from catching their eyes again; he had no real desire to be tricked into attacking himself again.

As if in response, the feather flew brighter: a thin green aura shimmered around his body, then vanished as a dark burn began to creep up his leg from the shimmering patch. At the same time, a wave of fatigue swept through him, and he felt a stab of alarm. Where was his energy going?
No time to sit and consider it, however: Rose was obviously eager to make up for her mates brief period of incapacitation and was shooting across the ice towards him, her eyes narrowed. A light mist began to rise around them, obscuring his vision as it thickened and clumped around him. He snorted and blew out more flames, watching where the shadows fell, and listening intently for the tell-tale sound of something scraping over the ice.
There.
He whirled round and lashed out with his claws, feeling the blood spurt over the front of his body as they dug into the side of her lower neck. She whimpered and tried to pull away, but he held on, seeing her more clearly as the obscuring mist rose rapidly and vanished. Digging his claws in deeper, he dragged himself closer to her, then levered himself onto her back as she whirled her head round to hit him. Ducking, he focused and electrocuted her, just as he done to her mate.

Hearing the enraged bellow that rose up, he knew immediately that Ness had recovered enough and was back in the fight. And sure enough, the angry Lapras was slithering closer, his eyes glaring at Omega, a look of hate etched across his face. Omega had an idea of what was coming next: as Ness focused, he knew he was right and leapt behind Rose.

Two jets of pure water tore towards the pair, a spiral of water encasing an ordinary beam, combining to form an attack that for most water types would be seen as the pinnacle of their training to obtain. Hidden behind Rose, Omega dodged the main blast, watching as her body shook with the force of the impact, thought the cooling waters provided some much needed comfort from the injuries he had just dealt her.

Then he electrocuted her again, the charge coursing through her, into the hydro pump, and back to Ness, who cut off his attack with a yell of alarm. Sniggering, Omega dug his claws into the ice to stabilise his body, felt the ice give and lunged forwards, smashing into Rose’s side with all the strength he could muster. As the force of his impact sent her skittering over the ice, he bounded onto her back again, at once shooting a mouthful of draconic flames at the approaching Ness who ducked his head to avoid the majority, but could not help getting struck by the remnants that encased the main pillar of the attack.
Rose whined: she seemed to have been winded by Omega’s attack, so he decided to use his advantage. Dropping the attack against her mate, he extended his claws and smashed them against the back of her neck, gouging easily into her flesh. As she screamed in pain and began to shudder, he again let his hidden power rip into her body, the open wound elevating the effects as it coursed easily against her exposed muscle. Ness roared in anger and Omega felt the ice shake as the Pokémon charged forwards: knowing that the best tactic would be to retreat, he let go and darted off of Rose’s back, catching his balance on the surface and pushing off….

The hydro pump caught him full on, knocking the wind out of him and blasting him across the ice with sickening speed until the ice shuddered and collapsed, sending him crashing into the chilly waters below. Struggling to breath, he floundered, hearing the angry murmur’s developing as he coughed and spluttered in his efforts to stay at the surface. Any second now, one of them would start to refreeze the hole, and he’d be stuck in it, forced to forfeit to prevent himself being frozen in and drowned.

‘Bloody hell, ‘Meggy. I’d never have expected you to give up like this. And you were doing…well, not good, really, but something’s up with you. You shouldn’t even be able to use Safeguard, but you already did. Yet you’re just going to sit and let some random fools beat you just because you cannot get yourself out of a little hole? Bloody hell, that’s disappointing. Way to let us all down and show us up at the same time, Omega.’
‘Rage, what the f*ck are you doing? This is a battle.’
‘I’m a flying spectator, stupid. I’m not the one doing the battling so they have no reason to intervene. And I wanted to get a good view of watching the first sculpture of a Shelgon in ice being created.’
‘Go to hell, Rage.’ The Skarmory stared down at him, silently, then looked away.
‘They’re ready, Omega. Any second now, one of them’s going to attack and you’ll be done.’
‘Over my dead body,’ Omega breathed, kicking out viciously, forcing himself to breathe deeply as he lunged for the edge.

I’m not giving up, not now.

His claws grasped the splintered ice and he hauled himself up, even as the air around him chilled and the water churned as something hit it, freezing it solid. He dragged himself forwards, collapsing onto his front as the pool completely re-froze. He could hear Rage laughing as the Skarmory circled away, and he felt a small smile flicker across his face.

Then he looked up. Ness was nuzzling Rose’s unconscious body, his whining audible even across the distance between them. Omega got to his feet slowly and uneasily. His body shook and his breathing was ragged: his leg itched, as the burns the heat was generating consumed his flesh. Thankful that his solid shell was providing a barrier to the burns, he inhaled, ready to scream out his continued challenge to his opponent.
He didn’t need to. A roar rose from the surrounding crowd, and Ness’s head shot up, his eyes blank, then rapidly being consumed by anger. Lowering his head, he nuzzled his mate once more, then turned and slid slowly away, facing Omega head on. His whines intensified, rising in pitch disturbingly rapidly, his eyes becoming blanker and blanker as rhythm slowly began to manifest into his whines, so that, gradually the pain filled moans were transforming, into a….

Omega felt something cold hit his heart. Perish song. Three minutes. Three minutes to hit an opponent who had barely any damage, and beat him. He had to. The song was already rising, becoming wilder, even as Ness stopped singing. It was inside his mind now, working its way into his mind, so that it echoed painfully, never ending, never stopping, until the song consumed him, knocking him into a stupor that would signal the end of the battle.

Ness smiled across the distance between them; he knew as well what would happen, knew as well the chances of Omega overwhelming him in the little time left.
Overhead, a familiar jeering caw echoed down. Omega tensed, feeling his body began to shake as emotions churned to life within him. Ahead, Ness was lowering his head, his horn beginning to spin again. He was going to come right at him, mixing kamikaze attack with kamikaze attack.
Warmth flowed through his body. I can beat him.. He dug his claws in and ran forward, as Ness moved off. In a straight line, they charged, ready to meet each other face-to-face; the triumphant look that was slipping over the Lapras’s face told that he was predicting the results of their charge. Omega knew too, that contact with the whirling horn would mean it as over-the speed it was spinning would tear through even his shell, ripping through his nervous system and leaving him spasming on the floor, dead to the world.
The ice was shaking as the force of their movements ricocheted through it. Cracks shivered through it; splinters cracked. Omega stared ahead as he ran, seeing Ness approaching through a haze.
The whirring of the horn was audible now, even through the screaming rhythm in his head that was nearing its climax.
He leapt, digging in his claws to give him power. Ness plunged his head down; Omega sank his front claws into the Lapras’s nose to give him a boost of momentum, and shot over horn by inches. For a second or so more, he seemed to hover over Ness’s back, staring at the rough shell, before his churning emotions exploded inside of him.
Fire. Burning, exploding heat that erupted around him, tinged with gold light that rippled across the surface. It ran over his body, consuming him until nothing was left but light, no thought flickered through his mind, as his conscious mind vanished.
Gravity dragged him down and he smashed into Ness’s back, fire burning into the rough shell, the unbearable heat reaching out and gripping Ness’s mind, dragging it into oblivion as his body was enclosed in a ball of fire, the ice melting beneath the pair, sending them sinking into the water.
Then nothing. The fire shivered and vanished. Omega crashed onto Ness’s unconscious body, his breathing harsh, his limbs shaking and his eyes staring at nothing.

Gasping, he dragged himself to his feet, urgency channelling through his body: stumbling off of the Lapras’s back, and clumsily leaping over the water and back onto the ice-it snapped beneath his weight, but a rush of wind and two sharp claws pushed him forwards, where he fell forwards roughly, coughing.
‘None of that, already,’ Rage’s voice snapped from behind him. ‘If we can’t stand round and smirk in pride, then we may as well have not come.’
‘Pride?’
‘Yes, pride. You make us all look good, pal, and don’t you ever dare forget it.’
‘I won’t.’
He shook as the Skarmory slammed into his back, knocking him forward over the ice, again and again. As the shore grew closer, the Shelgon’s mind began to relax, focusing inward, where the all consuming fire still burned.
‘……Rage?’
‘Yes?’
‘Promise me you won’t leave the team? Nobody would ever care half so much about training if there wasn’t a chance that they could show you somehow.’
‘By nobody, you mean you, right?’
‘I’ll never tell.’
‘I guess then I’ll have to do some more training myself. No point me not being able to defend my honour if everybody else can walk all over me.’
‘Indeed.’

Omega opened his eyes as he slithered onto rough soil; shakily dragging himself to his feet once more, he slowly lifted his gaze, staring at each one of his friends in turn. Ry was crying already; Jock was gazing at him with an smile on his face; Flash and Si were both beaming and shaking with suppressed energy. Hannah walked forwards and placed a hand on his shell. He could see the pride in her eyes. Then Rage stuck his head into his field of vision.

‘Well, what are you waiting for?’

He closed his eyes and fully relaxed. The fire inside of him expanded and consumed him: his body contorted and grew. His shell shattered, the pieces disintegrating; his legs thickened, growing sharp, permanent claws. He felt a tail grow and fall heavily to the ground, felt his head extending upwards, sharp spikes exposing themselves on either side of his face. And his wings. Ripping from his shoulders, arching over his body, temptingly shifting even as his body settled down again.

A sob shook itself free and he let his eyes open slowly, trying to prevent himself from breaking down. He was now at eye level with Hannah; taller than all of his friends bar Rage, who smiled and stretched out a wing.
Omega smiled back and lifted his right leg in response; as he reached out to shake Rage’s wing, he noticed that the feather mark was etched deeper, covered in a film that shimmered permanently with a life of its own.
‘I wasn’t going to shake hands with you, you know. I was just pointing out how right I was about those damned wings not having anything aerodynamic about them.’
Jock coughed in an effort to suppress a laugh: both Flash and Si giggled and Ry hicouped and glared at Rage who smiled benignly back. Hannah smiled and rolled her eyes at Omega, who laughed aloud, surprising himself at how deeper his voice was.
‘Of course you were.’
He looked at Hannah for a few seconds, then turned and lowered his wing.
‘Come on. I want you to be with me.’
She stared at him for a second or so more, then smiled sadly.
‘Of course, ‘Meggy.’
She rested her hands against the pure muscle of Omega’s back, then jumped, putting her foot onto the base of his wing and swinging herself onto his back.
‘You know, I never really believed that I’d be doing this,’ she whispered, settling herself into a more comfortable position. She looked up. ‘Ready, Omega.’

He nodded and took a deep breath. Turning away from the lake, walked slowly over the flat land of the shore, running his eyes over the surface, evaluating its condition. Pleased with what he saw, he settled down; perched on his back, Hannah felt his muscles tense up as he sank into a crouch.

A few seconds of utter silence.

Omega lunged forwards, his wings sweeping through the air, his legs pushing him onwards; a sob wrenched itself free as he bounded forwards, his wings beat down and his reaching claws scraped the ground. Tears freely running down his cheeks, he tilted his body upwards, hearing his friends screaming and cheering below, accompanied by Rage’s harsh caws.
Beating hard, he copied what he’d seen the birds do numerous times and spiralled gently into a circle, gaining height with every turn.

And he gazed out. Gazed at the rippling scenery beneath and around him. At the icy lake directly below, at the river, snaking its frozen path down from the falls where the Suicune stature overlooked the world. Ahead, they could spy the town, dark roofs glinting in the pale sun. Beyond that, the thick canopy of the forest stretched, seemingly never-ending as it stretched back to the crystal mountains. To their left the meadows were spread out before them, a plateau of white tinged with blue, with green sprouting throughout as the grass pushed its way through the ice. To the right, signalled by the heat haze, the desert stretched away, the looming shadow of the volcano visible as a dark patch within the haze.

They stared down, before Omega’s eyes wandered up again, staring directly ahead, at the single tree, perched near the pinnacle of the crystal mountains. The place where they’d battled before, had stood and behold Ho-oh. Something sparkled- he thought he saw two figures fly briefly through the air, before one swooped down and vanished and the other faded away against the shrine. Rénar and Salcafar again. Something told him he’d never see them intentionally again, but he still smiled.
Then he flung back his head and roared into the open air.

I’m not going to give up.

Never.

-----------------------

[b]Omega grew to L50 and evolved into a Salamence! He learnt Scary Face and Fly by level, Hyper Beam as his free TM and Cut (SM), Aeroblast, Substitute and Earthquake (all TM's I bought/won)

[Wolfsong]

Hopefully soon, I will get a chance to write. In the meantime, I'd like an rbg for Ranec my L.39.5 Umbreon please *pays*

[*Murkrow]

He'll battle a L40 Sharpedo at the Lake.

Also, may I have a refund for Omega's rbg against a L46 Baltoy, please? I'm not going to be writing it.

[The Blue Avenger]

Refund it is. *hands over 7 CCPs*

[Wolfsong]

All right, thanks to an idea that i had and *crosses fingers* hopefully the randomizer will cooperate I will ask for one last rbg before i get started writing. I'd like an rbg for Dakota my L.27 Mightyena please *hands over 7 ccps leaving me wtih 20*

[*Murkrow]

He will be battling a L27 Shuppet.

[Wolfsong]

Congrats to Omega on his evolution. As usual, I loved reading your story and you didn't disappoint with the great descriptions. I liked how in the intro you had Rage and Omega arguing. I didn't particularly care for Rose and Ness and I was rather happy when they were knocked out. I really liked how you worked with the rainbow feather. Take 28 CCPs.

[Wolfsong]

*pays* I'd like one last rbg before i get to work writing on it. I'd like one for Zale my L.19 Shiny Male Vaproeon please ^^

[The Blue Avenger]

Zale will fight a Houndour in the West Caverns.

[Skye]

Okay, I know for certian I had an RBG for Nuka, and I would like to refund it. I also may have had an RBG for Senshi or some other of my team, but I cannot find proof. >.<; So... Up to you. Refund(s) please. x_x;

[*Murkrow]

*Gives 14 CCPs* I remember you getting an RBG for Senshi.

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: I recently bought Zale a Protect and a Double Team TM. I also bought Sunita an earring and a dragonbreath TM. Lastly Phoenix is a pidgey that I bred for and is the daughter of Hannah’s Pidgeotto Ryau and her Skarmory Rage. I gave her a hidden power Tm or rather Aiko unknowingly gave it to her before she evolved (Aiko) at the Eevee House. I still haven’t’ introduced Hinto yet, but that will come in time. I recently made a huge purchase at the Kiosk where Aiko received a Sleep Talk TM, Ranec received Mud Slap, Kumar received Double Team, Jovi received Charm, Laila got Façade, Lani got Dig, Dakota got Swift, Zale got Crunch from the EMT, Wildfire got Submission from the EMT, and I also bought Angel a Shock Wave TM. Anyways, here are Zale, Dakota, and Ranec’s RBGs. I chose to have them all happen at the lake although the opponents were all spread out. I had a bit of writer’s block when I first started the story and apologies if some of the battles were short.


(Zale’s POV)

“So Dad, when are you going to let me have a battle outside of the Battle Tower?Angel asked.

“Soon enough,” I replied.

Angel rolled her eyes. “You always say that, and I’ve yet to test my skills against a wild pokemon of any kind.”

Luckily, I was spared from having to reply because we had arrived at our destination. We were at the Lake. Amy thought that having a picnic at the Lake would be a nice departure from the normal take out at home. I looked around and saw that Angel had run off and was coaxing Aiko into a game of tag. Not that the Delcatty ever needed much coaxing to play. I looked around and saw that Ranec, Kumar, and Amy were spreading out. Phoenix was perched on Amy’s shoulder. The pidgey was the newest to the team and also the youngest. She had already captured the entire team’s hearts, and surprisingly that included Willow. Speaking of Willow, he and Jovi went to the Meadow. They both went looking for battles and I was sure that Willow could find one even if he wasn’t looking for them. Sometimes his mouth got him into trouble because he said things before he even had a chance to realize how they might sound to a stranger. The rest of the team, which was Wildfire, Sunita, Laila, and Lani, had chosen to go exploring in the North Caverns instead of having a picnic.

Speaking of Aiko, despite evolving, she kept her limitless energy. I still got worn out just by watching her. I sat down and just watched Angel and Aiko playing together. Soon, I was joined by Dakota and the two of us watched the kids playing while Amy finished getting things ready so that we could eat.


* * *

I don’t know what restaurant Amy had ordered lunch from but it was definitely some of the best around. After everyone had eaten their fill, Amy cleaned up and then pulled a book out of her bag and started reading. Aiko and Angel were not having a competition of sorts. They were trying to see who could shoot their water pulse the farthest. Phoenix had fallen asleep, nestled comfortably in Amy’s lap. Kumar had disappeared but I knew that he would be back before Amy was ready to leave. Ranec had chosen a secluded spot near the water’s edge where he was practicing his attacks. I looked around for Dakota and saw that he wasn’t too far from Angel and Aiko. He saw me looking and gave me a nod letting me know that he’d watch the kids and make sure that they didn’t get into any trouble. I smiled, and gave my head a nod to let him know that I understood.

The crystal clear water of the lake was beckoning me to dive in. I hadn’t even taken a single step when a Frisbee sailed over my head. A few seconds later, a houndour slammed into me, her eyes intently focused on the Frisbee. It took us several minutes before we managed to untangle ourselves. As soon as we were free of each other, the houndour apologized as she picked up her Frisbee.

“Artemis what is taking you so long?” a voice from behind me asked. I spun around and saw a teenager approaching use. He was about 6 feet tall already and he had jet black hair. I quickly glanced over at Amy who had pt her book up and was walking this way carrying a sleeping Phoenix in her arms. I also noticed that Kumar had reappeared as well.

It was at this point that the young man noticed us. Artemis had returned to her trainer’s side. “I see we weren’t the only ones with plans to spend the day at the Lake.” he observed. The boy then took a step towards Amy and held out his hand. “I see that you have already met Artemis. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Brian.” “Nice to meet you Brian, I’m Amy.” Amy then smiled, looking at the houndour. “Interesting name for your houndour, but suitable I have to admit. Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt.” Brian looked surprised. “You follow Greek Mythology?” he asked with a smile. “Some.” Amy replied. “I took AP English in high school and we studied Greek mythology during the course of the class.”

Brian nodded his head in understanding. I could see him looking at each of us. Amy must have seen it as well because she spoke up. “This is only part of my team, two other groups chose to explore different areas.” Brian didn’t say anything but he seemed to become even more interested, as Amy proceeded to introduce us. “The umbreon is Ranec. He is the strongest pokemon on the team. He was also the very first pokemon that I caught. Amy slowly made her way through all of the pokemon that were at the Lake with her, finishing up with Phoenix who had just woke up and was looking around curiously. “This is my newest and youngest pokemon, Phoenix.”

Brian looked impressed as he reached for the two remaining pokeballs on his belt. “Since you were kind enough to introduce me to your team, or at least the ones present, let me return the favor. Amy I would like for you to meet the remainder of my team. Hades, Poseidon come forth!” In the air in front of Brian, the shape of a shuppet materialized. That must be Hades, I thought to myself as I looked around for Poseidon. I didn’t find him until I looked over at the Lake. It wasn’t hard to miss him. Poseidon was an enormous sharpedo!

Amy was impressed. “How did you get your team so strong?” I could understand where Amy was coming from. She had been training for years to her team this strong. Brian smiled shyly. “I work for one of the Gym Leaders. Alana of the Dark Gym to be more precise. She keeps us on our toes with training sessions. Today is my day off.” Brian seemed to get a twinkle in his eyes. “I don’t suppose you’d be up for a three on three battle, one pokemon out at a time?” he asked. Amy looked at each of us in turn, to see if there were any objections. When there were none, Amy turned to face Brian. “We accept your challenge.” Brian nodded, as Amy gave me a nod. I could tell that she knew that I wanted to battle. I stepped forward as Brian smiled. “Artemis, you’re up! She may be the youngest on my team, but don’t underestimate her.” I knew that I had to be careful even though I had the type advantage. She was bound to have some tricks that I didn’t know about. Artemis had a confident smile on her face, and it was then that I noticed that she was wearing an earring which made me thankful that I had my beach ball with me. “May the best pokemon win,” she said, taking a battle stance. I nodded my head in agreement as I took one of my own.


Zale L.19 Shiny M Vaporeon Vs. Artemis L.19 F Houndour

Artemis wasted no time in getting started and soon I was staring at six houndours. I smiled in amusement. “What is so funny?” the houndour asked. I didn’t bother replying. Instead, I began to dace about in a manner that was designed to bring rain. As I finished the steps, a pale blue light shot up into the sky, and the floodgates opened. As the rain pelted down, Artemis’s clones disappeared. I heard groans coming from the team, and I smiled apologetically at them.

Inhaling deeply, I exhaled a jet of bubbles that were pressed so close together that they formed a beam. Artemis threw back her head and howled a spine-tingling melody. As she finished, a beam of red light shot straight up into the sky causing the sun to com out and the deluge of rain to stop. I snarled, as the sun weakened my bubblebeam.

Artemis was now grinning mischievously, and that was making me nervous. She glanced over at Brian who nodded his head in an affirmative manner. The next thing I knew, I was crying out in pain as electricity coursed through my body. My eyes narrowed, as I spit a glob of toxic goo all over her. Artemis yelped as the toxins slowly worked their way into her blood stream.

“Again Artemis.” Brian encouraged her. This time, I was prepared. I was already concentrating on my hidden power as well. At the exact same time that Artemis released her hidden power, I released mine. The two beams of electrical energy pushed against each other, before mine pushed through and slammed into the houndour causing her to cry out in surprise.

“Zale!” I heard Amy call out. “We need to end this fast. Use Hydro Cannon.” I was confused at first, because Amy rarely gave us orders during our battles. Then, I caught a glimpse of the look on Angel’s face and immediately I understood where Amy was coming from. She looked scared. It must have been because of that first hidden power electric attack that caught me off guard. Unfortunately, my opponent used my momentary distraction to her advantage. She shot a huge jet of flames, powered up by the sun, at me. I tried to dodge them by turning, but I just wasn’t fast enough. The flames slammed into my shoulder, leaving an angry red burn that was already leaving blisters. Gritting my teeth in an attempt to ignore the pain for the time being, I took as deep a breath as I could manage. Then, calling upon every ounce of the water stores that I had in my body, I exhaled a powerful blast of water that pushed Artemis backwards until she slammed into her trainer. She was out like a light and I was so tired that I could barely move. I gritted my teeth as my shoulder still hurt because of the burn.


[color=royalblue]I won!
I grew to L.20!
I learned Hyper Beam as my free TM


(Dakota’s POV)

Amy was about to recall Zale when he shook his head no. He then limped over to Angel and nuzzled her. I guess he wanted to let her know that he was okay even though he had a rather nasty burn on his left shoulder. When I saw it, it was all I could do not to wince, because it hurt just to look at it.

I waited a few minutes to see if anyone else was going to volunteer for the next battle, and when no one did I stepped forwards. Brian didn’t even hesitate. “Hades!” he called out. The shuppet floated forwards giving off an air of superiority. I snorted. We’d see about that. I took a deep breath, before releasing a mighty roar. The shuppet hesitated for a few seconds, before floating forwards again not looking like he fet superior anymore.


Dakota L.27 M Mightyena Vs. Hades L.27 M Shuppet

For a while, neither Hades nor I moved. It was obvious that neither of us wanted to make the first move. Finally, it was Hades whose patience ran out first. He slammed into my neck hard enough that it caused the clasp on my collar to come undone and drop to the ground useless for the battle. Immediately, I began secreting toxins from my teeth as I jumped forwards clamping my teeth into the shuppet and holding on tight. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of yellow and pink. Aiko must have fetched my collar for Amy,, I thought to myself.

I didn’t release my grip until Hades hit me square in the jaw with a shadow ball. Instinctively, I leapt backwards releasing my hold on him. Unfortunately, the attack failed to poison Hades. Quickly, I began tunneling underground. Pretty soon, I was safe in my tunnel and listening intently on what was going on aboveground. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike, I remained still. Now! I saw Hades staring into the hole that I created. Charging forwards, I slammed into the shuppet sending him flying.

Hades quickly righted himself, as he glared at me. I raised an eyebrow at him before creating three clones. Hades cackled like a maniac before sending a wave of electricity that tore through my clones and slammed into me.

Snarling in annoyance, I charged forwards my teeth crackling with dark energy. When I reached the shuppet, I clamed my teeth down and bit with all the power that my jaws could muster. Hades cried out in pain before his eyes flashed green. The next thing I knew, there were literally thousands of tiny bugs swarming all over me getting under my fur and biting down. Yelping, I immediately began rolling around on the sandy Lake shore trying to get them off.

I stood up, shaking the sand from my fur when I had finally succeeded in getting rid of those annoyingly painful bugs. Soon, I was aware of the fact that someone was laughing. Turning around, I saw that it was Hades. My eyes narrowed, but before I could do anything, I was staring at two shuppets. Snarling, I pounced on one sinking my teeth into thin air. It was the wrong one. Spinning around to face Hades, I began to concentrate. As I did so, an orb of ethereal energy began forming in the air in front of me. My opponent’s eyes widened as he tried to put as much distance between the two of us as possible. I wasn’t about to let him avoid my attack that easily. I released my hold on the shadow ball and watches as it hurtled into the ghost. The shuppet crashed into the ground and I waited for him to get back up, but he was out cold. Grinning, I hurried over and took a seat between Zale and Aiko.


I won!
I grew to L.28!


(Ranec’s POV)

I watched Zale and Dakota’s battles with interest. I enjoyed watching my teammates battle almost as much as I enjoyed battling myself. They each had their own tricks and unique style of battling. I soon found myself observing the sharpedo. It was obvious that he was a strong pokemon. In fact, out of our whole team there were only two of us that even came close to what I estimated his level to be. I glanced over at Kumar. He bowed his head graciously, allowing me the opportunity to battle. Brian thanked his shuppet for doing his best before recalling him. Then, he turned to face Amy. “Who will be your last battler?” he asked with a smile. “That would be me.” I said, jumping off the rock that I was sitting on and walking to stand by Amy’s side. “Very well,” Brian said with a smile. “Poseidon, do your stuff.”


Ranec L.39.5 White M Umbreon with Black Rings Vs. Poseidon L.40 M Sharpedo

I looked around the Lake, but the sharpedo was nowhere to be seen. The surface of the lake was as smooth as glass. The Jaws theme was going through my mind as I cautiously padded forwards, peering into the crystal clear water of the lake when suddenly, it exploded. I heard Angel scream in surprise, but I was quickly dragged underwater. Struggling, I managed to break free from the sharpedo’s grasp as I raced to the surface to get a mouthful of the blessed oxygen. I broke the surface gasping for air. Sighs of relief from my teammates also greeted me.

Poseidon surfaced in front of me. “Out of your element, aren’t we?” he asked mockingly. Baring my teeth and growling loudly, I answered him. “I’ll have you know that this isn’t the first time that I’ve battled a water pokemon in the water.” Still snarling, I narrowed my eyes. The sharpedo laughed as if he didn’t believe me completely unaware that the air around me was crackling with electricity. Once I felt that I had enough electricity stored, I released a wobbling orb of electrical energy. I held my breath as I watched it zigzagged towards Poseidon. My luck held true as the Zap Cannon slammed into the sharpedo eliciting a cry that was a combination of both surprise and pain.

I glared at the sharpedo and the air around him began to waver as he was surrounded by a sickly purple glow. Unfortunately for me, paralysis didn’t render Poseidon helpless this turn as I was quickly pushed underwater by a powerful blast of water.

Fighting my way back to the surface, I steadily swam towards my opponent. Thankfully, the sharpedo was right where I left him due to his muscles locking up. I slammed into him with all the force that my body could muster while swimming, unfortunately I had forgotten about how rough a sharpedo’s skin could be. The sandpaper texture of it left scratches everywhere that my body had made contact.

Suddenly, vines began wrapping themselves around my legs trying to pull me underwater. Instinctively, I bit at each of the vines and succeeded in keeping myself from getting pulled underwater. Poseidon was glaring at me looking almost as worn out as I felt. I began concentrating on my hidden power and as I did so, a brown orb appeared in the air in front of me. As I continued to concentrate, its shape slowly shifted from that of an orb to one that resembled a human fist. Smiling, I released my hold on it and watched as the attack slammed into the sharpedo. I held my breath but Poseidon was out cold.


I won!
I grew to L.40.5!
I learned Dream Eater as my free TM

I slowly paddled my way towards the Lake shore. Once I was out of the water, I shook all the excess water from my fur. I heard a snarl and realized that I had accidentally gotten Aiko wet. “Sorry Aiko,” I called over my shoulder.

I made my way over to Amy’s side where Brian was shaking her hand. “Why don’t you come and challenge Alana?” he asked. Amy rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. “I’ll have to think about it and discuss it with my team. Brian nodded, understanding where Amy was coming from. “Well, here is a map to her gym if you decide to challenge her.” Amy took the map from him. “Maybe we can have a rematch sometime?” she suggested. Brian smiled. “I’d like that.” The two of them said their good-byes and we made our way to the nearest pokecenter.

[*Murkrow]

Amy~ Very nice intro, and I liked the introduction to Brian and his Pokémon. Loved the nicknames as well xD Some interesting descriptions in the Zale/Artemis battle. I liked the way Dakota lost his collar for the fight. Ranec's battle seemed more rushed than the others, but it was still enjoyable. I liked the foreshadowing at the end as well. Let's see....18 CCPs.

[Wolfsong]

I'd like a refund for Willow's RBG please ^^; Between computer troubles and eerything i just don't have time to work on it. I might get him another one later but for the time being i just don't have the time.

[Dark Dragonite]

Ok Amy, you get your 7 CCPs back
And for those awaiting CCCC updates, it's coming, I've just had a lousy weekend...let's leave it at that...

[Wolfsong]

All right, now that i'm feeling better, i need to get caught up with things, so that means tryign to get back into writing as well. I'd like an RBG for Angel my L.14 absol please. *hands over 7 ccps*

[The Blue Avenger]

Angel will fight a Sneasel in the North Caverns.

[Inferno_Dragon]

I might be new at this but I can certain give this a try. I would like RBG for Lucky, my level 9 Seedot. *hands over 7 CCPs.*

[The Blue Avenger]

Lucky will fight a Sableye in the South Caverns.

[Wolfsong]

I'd like an rbg for Tiana please. *pays*

[The Blue Avenger]

Tiana will fight a Chimecho in the South Caverns.

[The Blue Avenger]

Pokemon to be used: Homen (level 12 Tyrogue), Hoborg (level 12 Tyrogue), Lento (level 20 Slowking)

---

“Oi, Jeff. We just got a message from Christian’s gym.”

“Oh? Christian? I haven’t seen him in ages! How’s the guy doing?”

“Not too well, apparently. Christian was just defeated in battle.”

“No kidding!” Jeff shook his head. A tall, willowy man with shaggy brown hair and wide eyes obscured behind large sunglasses, Jeff struck a sharp contrast to the person he was talking to: his gym’s assistant, a short, squat boy named James. “Defeated? Really? Even with that crazy ghost of his?”

“Yes sir,” James replied. “According to the log he sent us, the challenger identified himself as Blue Avenger, and he used a Slowking, an Aerodactyl, and a Tyranitar.”

“Blue Avenger, eh?” Jeff looked to the ceiling and put his hand to his chin. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

“I dunno, Jeff. I’ve never heard the name before.” James shrugged and shook his head.

Jeff frowned. “Oh well. I’ll figure it out eventually. Any challengers on today’s schedule?”

“None yet.”

“Right-o. I’m going to go take a nap. Wake me up if something happens.” With that, Jeff departed from his office to the small lounge behind the main battle room.

James busied himself by pulling open a filing cabinet and sorting the papers inside, but before he had made too much progress, he heard the front doors to the gym slam open very loudly. He rushed into the main room and saw the source of the offending noise: a man, roughly Jeff’s height, wearing a blue suit, a black tie and white gloves. His face was exposed, revealing a pair of small glasses and a shock of thick brown hair. The first thought that crossed James’ mind is how similar the visitor looked like Jeff.

“’Scuse me?” the man spoke, looking at James. “You the leader here?”

“Oh!” James started. “No, sorry. I’ll go get him.”

“No need,” called a voice from behind him. James turned around and saw Jeff, rubbing his eyes and still looking rather sleepy. “I’m here. You’re a challenger, right?”

“Indeed,” the visitor said simply.

“Right then,” Jeff said, pausing to yawn. “This is the steel-type gym. My name is Jeff; you’ll have trouble getting past my Pokemon’s iron-hard defense, so on and so forth. What do you go by?”

“I go by many names,” the visitor said. “People have called me the Azure Knight, the Cerulean Crusader, and bizarrely enough the Hypotenuse Man. Mostly, I call myself Blue Avenger. Blue for short.”

Jeff paused for a second, and then chuckled. “Oh yeah! Okay. You’re the guy who just took Christian down, eh? Crazy. Then I guess I shouldn’t underestimate you… no matter how goofy you look.”

Blue scowled. “What do you mean? I’ll have you know that this is the very height of fashion!”

“Where’d you hear that?” Jeff grinned. “No, wait, lemme guess. Bluemingdale’s?”

“Shut it!” Blue yelled. “I came here to battle! Not listen to some hick insult my taste in clothing!”

“Fine, fine,” Jeff said. “Nobody appreciates a good bon mot anymore. Right-o, well, let’s get this over with.”

Battle! Blue versus the unshakeable Jeff!
Blue’s Pokemon: Hoborg, Homen, and Lento
Jeff’s Pokemon: Scizor, Aggron, and Steelix

Both trainers adjourned to opposite sides of the arena, a room filled with stalagmites, stalactites, and rocky outcroppings growing from the walls and ground. Both Blue and Jeff hurled out their Pokeballs, revealing the form of a small Tyrogue and a fierce Scizor.

Homen versus Scizor!
Homen – “We’re unbeatable!”
~
Scizor – “Stop bugging me.”

Homen looked at the lithe form of the steel insect in front of him with determination burning in his eyes. “No matter the obstacle,” he said quietly, “I will overcome it.”

Scizor grinned. “Heh. Big words from such a tiny Pokemon. I don’t think you know what you’re up against.” Faster than Homen could blink, Scizor was mere inches in front of the Tyrogue. “No challenge at all,” Scizor said, raising his claws. He brought them down diagonally, slamming them into Homen’s chest hard and sending the young Tyrogue flying back.

Homen grunted and picked himself up, looking warily at the X-shaped slash mark on his torso. “No matter the obstacle…” he said again.

“Homen! You okay?” Blue called. “Don’t let him faze you! Remember your strengths!”

Homen nodded and closed his eyes. I cannot let Blue down, he thought. Without opening his eyes, Homen leapt backwards into the air, making a neat three-point landing. A shockwave exploded forth from where he landed, ripping up the gym’s floor. Scizor, not expecting the attack, had no time to lift into the air and was thrown to the ground, the Earthquake shaking him violently.

“So there is some fight in you…” Scizor groaned, standing back up. Despite the fierce attack, the only evidence of damage on Scizor was a small bruise here and their on his otherwise shiny coat. He shook his head and began beating his wings. “But this is as far as you go!” A fierce wind began to pick up in the gym, focusing itself into a small, localized whirlwind near Homen. Before Homen could react, the whirlwind drew him in, the force of the wind opening small cuts on his skin. Before long, the vortex threw him unceremoniously skyward.

“Peh,” Scizor said, brushing some dirt off of his arm. “Not even worth fighting.” He glanced around the arena. “…where’d he go?”

“Up here!” a voice called from the ceiling. Scizor looked slowly upward, where he saw Homen hanging from a stalactite, grinning. “Don’t count me out just yet!” Homen dove from his perch, foot first, and slammed into Scizor’s head. Scizor stumbled back, groaning. Before he could regain his composure, Homen jumped into the air again, his landing setting off another Earthquake. The shockwave once again slammed hard into Scizor, sending him to the ground.

“No!” Jeff howled. “This can’t be! Scizor! Get back in the game!”

Scizor nodded slowly and assumed a lotus position. A glow surrounded him and he stood back up, looking none the worse for the wear.

“Geez…” Blue groaned. “Lemme guess. Feather Rest?” Jeff nodded, smiling. “God, does every gym leader do this? How cheap can you get?” Blue shook his head. “Don’t let him intimidate you, Homen! You can do it!”

“Heheheh…” Scizor chuckled, drawing Homen’s attention again. Homen gasped: where there was previously one Scizor, five more had taken his place.

Blue chuckled. “Honestly, Jeff, that’s such an overused strategy. Homen can pierce your Scizor’s façade in a flash.”

“Is that so?” Jeff replied, smirking. “I think he’s having a fair bit of trouble, myself.”

Indeed, Homen was running as fast as he could, as each of the five Scizors was trying to dive-bomb him.

“Ugh…” Blue groaned. “I never told him… Hey, Homen!” Homen turned to look at Blue, narrowly dodging one Scizor’s pincer. “You remember the TM I gave you yesterday? Use it!”

Homen nodded in comprehension and spun around on the spot. He put his arms out and summoned a flurry of bright yellow stars out of nowhere. As if possessed, the stars immediately homed in on the real Scizor. They deflected neatly off of his metal hide, but the shock caused all the fake Scizors to disappear immediately.

Scizor growled. “You swine… take this!” He hovered above Homen and plunged one pincer down, then the other. Homen rolled out of the way of the first one, but the second blow caught him on the side, tossing him backwards. “You can’t win!” Scizor sneered.

Clutching his side and wincing, Homen stood back up. “I’ll never concede to you,” he said simply and drew one foot up. Without hesitation, Homen stomped down, sending out another shockwave, throwing Scizor back, this time against a wall. The Tyrogue jumped into the air and whipped his foot around hard into Scizor’s head, the impact knocking Scizor back again and leaving him slumped on the ground. Homen landed, panting.

Jeff applauded slowly. “Good show,” he said somberly. “Come on back, Scizor.”

End Round 1! Winner: Blue and Homen!

“What do you think, Homen? Can you keep going?” Blue asked.

“Yes. I will fight,” Homen replied simply.

“Well then,” Jeff said nonchalantly. “Let’s bring out the big guns.” He tossed another Pokeball onto the field. It opened, revealing a giant snake-like rock beast that easily took up most of the arena.

Both Blue’s and Homen’s eyes widened.

“Let’s go, Steelix! Crush them!”

Homen versus Steelix!
Homen – “We’re invincible!
~
Steelix – “Heh heh heh…”

Homen took a hesitant step forward before Steelix dove down at him, a stream of turquoise flames spewing forth from the serpentine Pokemon’s mouth. Homen prepared to dodge, but in doing so, aggravated the wound on his side. He winced and dodged a moment too late: the fire surrounded the Tyrogue as he let out a cry. As the Dragonbreath cleared, Blue somberly recalled his fallen Pokemon.

End Round 2! Jeff and Steelix win!

Blue frowned slightly before selecting a Pokeball off of his belt and tossing it to the field. The light dispersed, revealing… another Tyrogue – Hoborg.

“Oh, good choice, you,” Jeff said sardonically. “Your last Tyrogue did so well against Steelix.”

“Come off it,” Blue replied. “He beat your Scizor’s face in, didn’t he?”

“Err, Blue?” Hoborg asked quietly. “What does this guy mean, ‘your last Tyrogue?’”

Blue’s expression changed to one of regret. “I’m sorry to say, Hoborg, that this Steelix beat Homen pretty badly. In one shot, as it happens.”

“What?!” Hoborg howled. “Nobody gets away with that! Steelix, your head is MINE!”

Blue smiled victoriously at Jeff. “See what a little motivation does?”

Hoborg versus Steelix!
Hoborg – “You can’t win!”
~
Steelix – “Heh heh heh…”

Hoborg began quickly, rushing over to Steelix’s side and punching one of the many rocks that made up the snake’s body.

Steelix blinked. “Was that supposed to hurt?” he asked, seeming genuinely puzzled.

“Err…” Hoborg grunted. “Try this!” He planted another lightning-fast punch on Steelix, then another, then a third.

Steelix looked down at him. “Look, you’ll need to do better than that. See?” He dove down at Hoborg and slammed into the young Tyrogue with his head. Hoborg grunted as the air was forcefully pushed out of his lungs and flew back, impacting hard with the wall.

“Uggghhh…” Hoborg slowly rose to his feet. Okay… Mach Punch obviously isn’t affecting him that much, he thought. Let’s try a different tactic. Just as his brother had, Hoborg jumped into the air, his landing causing a massive shockwave. It traveled across the arena, shaking Steelix slightly.

“Hey buddy,” Steelix said, “I said you’ll need to do better.” He slammed his tail on the ground, creating a far larger earthquake that threw not only Hoborg but the two trainers to the ground. “Now that’s an Earthquake!” Steelix grinned. “Now, sorry about this, but I have to take you out.” Steelix began to grin even wider, revealing that his teeth were glowing a bizarre shade of blue. He dove at Hoborg, who had barely a chance to stand up before Steelix had him in between his teeth. Steelix bit down even harder, forcing the ice aura under Hoborg’s skin.

After what seemed to Hoborg like an eternity, Steelix spit him out. The Tyrogue slowly stood, shivering. What can I do? Hoborg thought. Nothing I have has had an effect. I doubt Tackle’ll work, and Hidden Power won’t do anything… He bowed his head.

“Hoborg! Don’t throw in the towel!” Blue called. Hoborg lifted his head and looked at his trainer. “When all else fails… well… just introduce a little chaos to the system, you get what I mean?”

Hoborg snapped his fingers. “Yes! Okay! I get it!” He faced Steelix again and began to wiggle his fingers back and forth. A loud ‘click’ reverberated throughout the arena, and Hoborg felt compelled to lie down. As he did so, a mysterious glow enveloped him and he began to feel invigorated.

“I’m guessing the end result of Metronome was Slack Off,” Jeff said emotionlessly. “Wasn’t it you, Blue, who said that recovery moves were cheap?”

Blue said nothing.

“Oh well. Your advantage won’t last. Steelix, use Iron Tail.” Steelix nodded and brought his tail down hard at Hoborg. Hoborg, fully refreshed, sprung to his feet just in time to avoid the massive attack. Steelix scowled, but didn’t manage to move his tail quickly enough to prevent Hoborg running up it. Soon enough, Hoborg had reached Steelix’s head.

“What now, Mr. Big Bad?” Hoborg called, staring straight into Steelix’s eyes. Steelix responded by breathing a stream of turquoise flames straight up. Hoborg leapt back not a moment too soon. “Whoa!” he muttered. “I guess I shouldn’t taunt this guy… Let’s get in with it, then.” Hoborg brought his foot up and slammed it down on Steelix’s head. The shockwave began small, but quickly grew to epic proportions, spreading throughout Steelix’s body and eventually bringing him to the ground.

Jeff groaned. “That… was a good move,” he admitted, looking at the ground. “But it’s not over yet! You’ll have to get more than one shot in! Steelix, use Gyro Ball!”

Steelix slowly rose back up, tossing Hoborg off. Hoborg landed neatly on his feet and looked up at the steel behemoth. Steelix reared back and released a shiny silver orb from his mouth that fell straight to the ground. He whipped it with his tail, sending it sailing at Hoborg. The Gyro Ball hit home, impacting hard with the Tyrogue and leaving him panting.

“Now, Steelix, finish this! Use Giga Attack!” Jeff called.

Steelix reared back again and flew straight at Hoborg. Hoborg sighed. I won’t get another shot… he thought. I’ll put all my hopes in this last attack! He began to wave his fingers again. As Steelix drew closer, Hoborg began to glow red… as the two Pokemon made contact, Hoborg released a veritable explosion of flames and smoke, concealing the two fighters. It took moments for the smoke to clear, but when it did, only one remained standing…

…Hoborg.

End Round 3! Blue and Hoborg win!

Jeff sighed. “Return, Steelix…” he said, holding out a Pokeball. Steelix disappeared as Jeff carefully chose his next Pokemon.

Blue knelt down to Hoborg, who looked in severe pain and was smoking slightly. “Hoborg,” he said quietly, “you did well, but I know you cannot keep going. I’m going to recall you.” Hoborg nodded wordlessly as he disappeared into his Pokeball.

Both trainers decided on their next Pokemon and released them at the same time. On one side of the arena stood an oblivious-looking Slowking, while on the other stood a menacing Aggron.

Lento versus Aggron!
Lento – “…Oh, it’s my turn?
~
Aggron – “This is it!”

Both trainers gave their orders as their Pokemon charged into battle…

---

Right, so my last remaining Pokemon is Lento, facing Jeff’s lv. 40 Aggron. Here’s Lento’s information:

Name: Lento
Species: Slowking
Gender: Male
Trait: Own Tempo
Level: 20
Moves: Curse, Tackle, Yawn, Growl, Water Gun, Dive (SM), Psychic, Confusion, Surf, Hidden Power: Ground, Iron Tail

[Wolfsong]

Notes: It’s been a while so I’m a little rusty in both writing and rating but here it goes… Also, I finished this up at like 2:45 AM. Take 23 CCPs for the battles. Homen and Hoborg each grew two levels. The battles were interesting. I especially liked how Homen took advantage of Scizor not being in the air to hit him with earthquake. Sorry that it took a year for it to get done but here it is…



* * *

The final battle between challenger and gym leader was now underway. Each person had recalled their previous pokemon and had sent out a fresh battler to take their place. Twin flashes of light revealed their choices.

On the challenger’s side was the bipedal pink Slowking. He gave a cursory glance around the arena noting the lack of water and abundance of rock formations as well as the stalactites and stalagmites that were scattered throughout the arena. On Jeff’s side, an immense steel dinosaur emerged with a look of fierce determination on its face.


Blue’s L.20 Slowking Lento Vs. Jeff’s L.40 Aggron

Aggron made the first move. After taking a deep breath, he let loose an ear-splitting roar that shook the arena and left the ears of both trainers ringing as well as causing some of the stalactites to shake rather dangerously. With a satisfied look, he glanced over at Lento expecting to see him cowering in fear. Instead, the water-psychic didn’t seem the least bit impressed. Much to the behemoth’s frustration, Lento had the audacity to simply yawn in response.

It is a well known fact that yawning is contagious and Aggron soon found himself discovering this the hard way. He couldn’t help but yawn as he stormed over to where his annoying twerp of an opponent was standing staring at him. As he reached the Slowking, Aggron lifted his leg up in an attempt to stomp him, but Lento had other plans. His eyes taking on a slightly blue tone, the bipedal dinosaur was enveloped in a similar glow where he was shoved backwards.

As soon as he was released from the psychic hold, Aggron prepared to rush forwards. He managed to make it one step before he hit the ground hard with a loud clang. Lento made an expression which, if he had had eyebrows, would have been equivalent to raising one. The slowking inhaled slowly and deeply before spitting out a powerful concentrated spurt of water at the sleeping monstrosity.

“Nice work Lento.” Blue congratulated his pokemon. Now that he’s asleep, you know what to do.”

Jeff smiled. “Not so fast. Just because he’s asleep doesn’t mean that he is helpless. You would be surprised at how many times I’ve encountered this particular strategy. Aggron Sleep Talk.”

The behemoth of a pokemon mumbled something unintelligible as he slowly stood up and half-walked, half-staggered over to Lento. Aggron then swung his right fist which was crackling with electricity and hit the Slowking in his stomach knocking the breath out of him. Stumbling backwards from the force of the punch, the smaller pokemon thanked his lucky stars that he wasn’t paralyzed. After taking a couple deep breaths to recover from having the air knocked out of him. Lento knew that he couldn’t take many more of those attacks so he was going to have to end this as quickly as he could. Frowning, deep in concentration, the slowking tapped into a long dormant power and slammed his tail into the ground eliciting a tremor in response. The tremor grew stronger as it raced towards the sleeping aggron.

As they watched, brusies appeared on his steel body, which had been nice and shiny at the beginning of the battle had now turned a rather dull color. Aggron muttered something again and let loose another ear-splitting roar. Lento rolled his eyes in a way that hinted at been there done that. The bipedal psychic simply inhaled deeply once more and shot aggron with another water gun. The shock of the cold water was enough to wake the steel beast up and he was now angry.

Aggron snorted loudly and pawed at the ground before charging forwards with a surprising amount of speed as he slammed his bulk into the smaller slowking. Lento tried to slow down the huge brute’s charge using his psychic powers but he didn’t have much luck.

Lento knew that he was going to be sore in the morning but now was not the time to dwell on that fact. Tapping into his hidden power once more, the earth beneath the aggron once more began to shake violently. The huge metal pokemon staggered forward one step… two steps… before swaying and collapsing to the ground.


Lento won and grew two levels.

Congrats you have beaten the Steel Gym Leader Jeff and his pokemon.

Jeff sighed deeply as he recalled his fallen pokemon. After taking the time to secure the pokeball, he pulled a pair of items out of his pocket.

“I knew that I shouldn’t have underestimated you. Take the Iron Badge and The Whirlpool SM.” After handing over the items, Jeff turned and exited through the rear door of the arena.

Just to be safe, i'd like an extension for the scenario please.

[*Murkrow]

^^ I love it when inspiration strikes. Gym Leader match ahoy!

----------

The wind whistled around us as Omega hurtled out of the sky. Clinging to his neck as tightly as I could, I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the drop below. Since his evolution, Omega had spent barely any time on the ground, choosing instead to spend hours upon hours soaring through the skies, and mapping the entire Caves area from the skies. In the evenings when he returned home, he would happily launch into long accounts of the different places he’d seen; a hidden lake high up in the mountains where he swore he’d seen a Dratini vanishing into the water; of flying down into uncharted stretches of the forest or gazing out as the desert stretched out beneath him. Sometimes he had company on these excursions; Rage or Ryau would choose to accompany him, but soon found that his constant exercise had strengthened his flight muscles so much that keeping up with him when he got going was a struggle, even for them. His wandering nature also made the outings seem rather random, and inability to converse well added another negative. For the rest of us, these trips had the extra thrill of having to ride on his back as he shot to whatever location he felt like. As a result, he was spending most of his time alone, although we all figured that if it started bothering him then he’d do something about it.

Given his wandering nature, if was thus a bit of a surprise when news of a new structure arrived in the forest arrived, not from him, but from Rage when the Skarmory had gone hunting for the day. He had returned home as fast as he could to make sure that he was the one who told us about it- he may have warmed up to Omega, but he still blatantly enjoyed getting one over him. He got his wish this time, so when Omega returned that evening it was to face an irritatingly smug Rage.

Since hearing what Rage had reported, I had spent the day doing some research, drawing up strategies and making sure that my Pokemon were fully equipped. I’d been out of the battling loop for a fair while by then, but I was confident that things would naturally begin to come back. At least my Pokemon had been keeping themselves active and I was confident that they could hold their own. While I was browsing through the information I’d found, I was accompanied by Aviata, my newest captured Pokemon. A shiny Murkrow, I had been delighted to find him at the Shrine of the Sun- and even more so when he joined my team without a fight. However, it quickly became apparent that he was much more wild than any other Pokemon I’d met before. He didn’t mind being in his Ball, but releasing him outside was a sure-fire way of seeing a small purple bird vanishing into the sky. Neither did he talk, and if he actually understood what was being said to him then he made no indication although he seemed to be picking up on ‘no’ gradually. Beyond that, he had tamed quickly and so I’d taken to keeping him on a harness, which allowed him to have a bit of freedom without the risk of him disappearing and having to be chased down by one of my other birds.

As I sat outside, Aviata on my shoulder, Ry the Pidgeotto was preening herself nearby. She was what I was going to be focusing from now on, I’d decided. Flash and Sianna, my other two middle-evolution Pokemon were quite happy as they were, but I knew she was longing to evolve to her last stage. She’d been staring at Omega every chance she could get, and the look in her eyes was obvious. Despite providing some amusement at how irritated Rage got when he noticed her looking at the Salamence, I figured that letting her achieve her goal was more important.

Hence that evening, Omega found himself being informed that the next day he was going to be roped into ferrying me around for a few hours; knowing how good a first impression can be, I thought that turning up on the back of a fully grown Salamence would make a very good one. Exactly what one needs when challenging a Gym Leader.

----------

We were up and out early the next morning; my inquiries the day before had revealed that challenges were being accepted from early morning onwards, but getting there as soon as possible had been the agreed vote. An observer may have pointed out that holding back a day or so would have been a good idea so that we could work on our strategies and spar a little to doubly check that my battlers were in shape…but in the absence of a concerned observer, we were going ahead anyway. I’ll also admit that having Omega around provided a strong sense of confidence; if things went wrong, then who better to step in and rip apart the opponents than him?

Getting to the battle ground had been an experience. I returned all of my Pokemon bar Omega so that everything else I owned would be a surprise, and clambered cautiously onto his back as paced around, anxious to get back into his beloved sky. He barely gave me enough time to get a firm grip before he’d hurtled into his take-off run. As the wind picked up and the ground dropped away, I’d bent against his neck in a rather futile attempt to feel safer and spent the trip alternately opening and closing my eyes depending on what direction we seemed to be travelling in, and what speed we were going. In parts, I did find myself enjoying the trip, and it made me aware that getting Ry evolved wasn’t fully for her benefit. Omega was obviously not the best candidate for riding, and Rage wasn’t either; he was not too thrilled to have somebody on his back unless he had to, and his armour was not very comfy. But Ry was calm, friendly and more importantly, comfy. Exploring the skies from her back would be a nice experience, I reckoned.

Despite my fears- especially in Omega’s last plunge towards the ground, the journey was over quickly, and it couldn’t have been past nine in the morning when Omega carefully landed one of the platforms that had been erected. I leapt off as he finally skidded to a halt, his claws gripping the platform edge. He grunted and roared to announce our presence while I surveyed the arena. Peeking over the edge, I could see the struts and beams holding the whole thing up. It was an awful lot of metal for what was, in essence, a simple battlefield. There were two platforms at either end, presumably where the trainers were to stand; we were on one of them. Between these were five other, smaller, platforms arranged in a diamond structure, with three in a straight line in front of us, and one on each side. Small walkways connected each platform to each other and to the main ones.

‘Couldn’t tell that this is the flying gym, could you,’ Omega muttered, ‘but surely this counts as cheating in someway? Anybody with a heavy, non-flying Pokemon would be screwed. Plus it’s a long way down.’
‘I know. Guess it’s a good job that everyone I plan on using would be alright in this sort of battle.’
‘You hope. He may not act like you expect him too.’
‘Why are you taking so little faith in you team-mates? That’s Rage’s job, not yours-’
‘Christ, is that YOUR Salamence?’ We glanced in the direction of the voice, and found a young-ish, dark haired girl racing over, ogling Omega.
‘Yes, he is. Do you like him?’ I patted Omega on the neck and he growled in amusement, before reaching out to sniff the hand that the girl reached out to him. She giggled, then began to scratch under his chin.
‘He’s nice; I’ve been tempted so many times to try and catch one for myself, but I always think it’d be so much work, raising one and bonding to it and getting it all ready for battles. Mind you, I think that about every flying Pokemon I don’t have!’
‘Believe me, I know the feeling! Though I have a bit less self-control than you do; I’ve caught loads of Pokemon that I don’t have any more.’
‘Really?’ Her tone of voice altered and I rolled my eyes inwardly. Admitting you used to be a rather fickle person was not a good idea ‘Well, that was quite a while ago, and I’m very happy with the eight I’ve got now.’
‘Hmm. Are they all flying or dragon types like this guy?’
‘Most of them are flying, but I’ve got a few others.’
‘So close! I guess you’ve got too many Pokemon anyway. I’ve been waiting forever to find somebody who only focuses on a few Pokemon of a single type. I feel like I’m in such a minority at times. I only have three Pokemon and they’re all the flying type!’
‘Yeah, I saw that when I was deciding whether or not to challenge you. Don’t you find it a little limiting? Especially as it must be easier for others to find out about your strategy that way.’
She winked. ‘There’s no such thing as just a single strategy! I’ve got lots up my sleeve, just you wait and see! You obviously know that I’m Tori, but you are?’
‘Oh, I’m Hannah, and this is Omega.’ He snorted and nodded his head, accidentally smacking her hand but she just giggled again.
‘Great! Well, you’re here now, and I know you didn’t stop by for a friendly chat or to show off that lovely. So….shall we begin?’

She didn’t wait for an answer and ran off, racing over the walkways towards the other large platform. Upon reaching it, she rummaged around on what looked like a blanket right at the edge which I hadn’t noticed before, then gleefully jumped back and came to stand facing me across the gap.
‘This is a three-on-three battle, no time limit, understood?’
‘Sure,’ I shouted back, before whispering to Omega. ‘Wonder how surprised she’ll be when she realises I’m not using you?’ He bared his teeth in a grin, then leapt off the platform to glide over the top of the battlefield. Tori waved at him, then flung the ball she was holding out; it opened with a flash, and a totem-like bird appeared and hovered in an eerily motionless way over the first small platform. I nodded to myself, then selected my first candidate. Rage. Knowing that he preferred to fight by his own steam, I sat back to see what he’d do.

Fight!
Rage (L21 M Skarmory) Vs Xatu (L30 M)

As I expected, he launched straight into the offensive. Tori’s Xatu had the level advantage, but odds were, Rage was going to be resistant to all of his attacks. I figured Tori would know that- well, she was the flying gym leader, she should know that- so I was a little apprehensive about how she’d counter this.

A roar like a plane taking off filled the air as Rage poured his energy into an Aeroblast, that shot across the field and straight into the motionless Xatu. I saw Tori backing away, dropping to the floor and grasping what looked like handhold in the floor. I glanced down and saw a similar one on the platform next to me. Making a mental note to be wary of what could end up knocking me about, I looked back to the battle as the roar faded away. The Xatu had been knocked back and was clearly battered as it floated to his original spot, but even as he did so, he began to glow white and a shooting star materialised out of nowhere and sparkled round his body.

Rage was having to take a second to recover his breath, which worried me slightly, although he didn’t seem to be having any other difficulties. Seeing the glow, he tensed, then shot forwards, his beak whirring, clearly wanting to finish this before the Xatu’s Wish worked its magic. His opponent simply watched him approaching, then-

He vanished. Rage barely cut his speed, beginning to turn into a loop. He must have assumed, as I did, that this was simply Teleport, but we were both in for a surprise as Xatu materialised right next to him, and slammed him with his wing, with a force that was enough to knock Rage sideways and out of his attack. As the Skarmory flapped hard to straighten himself back up, I chewed my lip nervously. That must have been Sucker Punch. I knew that there had been a spate of new attacks that Pokemon were able to learn (from where was unknown) and I’d researched into what new ones my lot could learn, but I’d completely forgotten to take into account the fact that my opponents may have developed strategies using them. Now what was Rage to do? If he stayed on the offensive then he could face that attack each time he tried to attack! I figured there was only one option he could switch to now…

Sure enough, as he swooped back round, tiny drops began to fall from his claws. He shot at the Xatu, who had just began to glow again as the star shot past, wrapping itself around his body. He watched Rage approaching and began to chant softly. Rage seemed to hesitate a second, then barrelled onwards. He shot past the Xatu, raking hs claws over his head. Immediately, dark blotches appeared over Rage’s body, but they vanished just as quickly. Chuckling to himself- audible even across the arena-, he began to loop back, as the sky above seemed to ripple. Huge shapes began to become visible in the sky as Rage’s body seemed to reflect an unseen light. He soared above the Xatu and shrieked. Xatu watched him calmly, then vanished, re-appearing right next to Rage. Before the Skarmory could react, he struck him once, lightly, so Rage didn’t even move, nor did his attack falter.

Next second, however, Xatu’s body turned red and he burst into a stream of light and shot back to the Ball that Tori was holding out. No sooner than he had vanished, then she flung the second one she was holding. Out emerged a second Skarmory, clearly stronger than Rage, and he accelerated upwards with a determined look on his face.

Fight!
Rage (L21 M Skarmory) Vs Skarmory (L40 M)

Rage looked surprised, then a disturbing grin split his face and he screamed. His attack broke through the barrier, shot through him with no effect, and then smashed into the bird rocketing towards him. I could hear Omega growling from somewhere, but before I could look to see what had caught his attention, a black glow erupted from the area where the Meteor Mash had connected with Tori’s Skarmory. With a delighted screech, her Pokemon burst back into view, a black aura writhing around his body. We had a split second to stare at him, before the aura exploded towards Rage, blasting him with a force that sent him spinning. His opponent was on him in a second, shooting past him in a blur, righting himself, then crashing down. He rammed into the still disorientated Rage, pushing him down and in an instant they were both going into free-fall; Rage was shrieking and clearly trying to pull himself out of the fall, but his opponent was holding on fast. They shot through a gap in the platforms and walkways, and me and Tori instantly flung ourselves forward to gaze over the edge; Omega was following the fall, still growling. I couldn’t judge their distance from the ground, but suddenly Tori’s bird let go, and I saw a flash of steel energy as he blasted Rage with it so that my Skarmory lost all chances of regaining his balance in time. From below, came a dull thud. Omega was already swooping towards the spot where he’d fallen, which I took as an opportunity to shout across at Tori.

Rage lost!

‘You could have broken his neck, or his back…or anything! Are you trying to kill your opponents or something?’
‘Don’t be stupid! That’s the most obvious strategy in the world! Don’t tell me that you’ve never fought a battle like that?’
‘Not with such a large drop!’ I broke off saying anything else as Omega flew over the edge, gripping one very battered and unconscious Skarmory in his claws. Not being very well versed in Pokemon health-care, I quickly returned him to his Ball. ‘If he has problems after this, I’m coming after you,’ I bellowed at her, before unhooking another Ball from my belt. Omega was looking at me with worry.
‘Are you sure you want to use him? He’s got an advantage, sure, but you’ve never used him or seen him in battle!’
‘Then if it goes wrong, you’re subbing in for Ry.’ I countered, then tossed out the ball. It broke open and a black dog with white armour and long, curled horns landed gently on the first platform in front of me.

Omega was right. I’d never actually used Jock, my Houndoom and the first ever captured Pokemon I’d got. He’d always been content to sit on the sidelines and cheer his team-mates on. Recently, however, he’d changed. There had been an….incident before Omega evolved, and the Houndoom had become very silent. He didn’t go off on his own, he simply sat, letting conversations go on over his head.

That’s not to say that I figured his attitude to battling would be any different; I’d merely selected him as the third most ideal candidate to use in battle. He had simply nodded when I’d asked, but deep down I was interested to see what he’d do, even if I probably should have chosen a less pressured debut battle. As Tori’s Skarmory flew back to her side of the arena, I tried to ignore the drop and ran over the walkway and bent down to whisper something in Jock’s ear. He swished his tail and said nothing. Omega look irritated as I returned to his side and gave Tori the nod.

Fight!
Jock (L17 M Houndoom) Vs Skarmory (L40 M)

Her Pokemon didn’t hesitate, immediately flapping his wings fast an sending a barrage of fast-moving air darts at my Pokemon, who darted to the side and bounded over the walkway to the next platform like the drop didn’t exist. Skarmory followed him, getting closer with each slash of air. Jock was racing at full speed now, darting across the walkways and the platforms, before he suddenly feinted; instead of continuing forwards as he hit one of the side platforms, he skidded round and charged back to the centre, putting him right under Skarmory. As the steel bird attempted to quickly lock on to him again, Jock spluttered and sent out a large Smog cloud that obscured him, and began to float up to Skarmory. The Pokemon cawed and flapped his wings, driving the fog down again, but only making it harder for him to spot the Houndoom in the thick cloud. Hissing, he flung a glance at his trainer, then looked back at the cloud and sent another blast of his Flash Cannon, which smashed through the fog and into the platform Jock had been standing on. The whole structure shook, and sections of the platform began to drop out from under the cloud.

Omega launched himself into the air again, circling down in an obvious attempt to intervene if Jock started to fall. Skarmory flung him a glare, before changing tactics. The cloud showed no sign of disipatting, so he knew that Jock was still there; angling down, he dove, his beak whirring with the same attack that Rage had attempted to use earlier. With his wings stretched out on each side, he easily covered the whole platform, and as he swooped down to skim over the walkway edge approaching the cloud, I seemed obvious that he would either strike Jock or get him running again. Watching him, I smiled to myself.

Skarmory shot through the cloud, and had a second or so to look confused s he emerged before Jock burst out of thin air behind him, and grabbed onto his back. As the portal to the alternate world he’d hidden in closed behind him, Jock let loose a stream of embers onto the metal birds back, causing the armour to burn. As the Pokemon screamed, Jock sprung off, landed on the nearest walkway, spun s he landed and launched himself once more at the bird, his eyes glowing purple. As Skarmory looked round to keep him in his sights, he blinked and his eyes began to close. Wobbling as sleep began to grasp him, he began to drop, allowing Jock to bound off of his back and onto the next platform. The Houndoom hadn’t won yet, though; perhaps responding to his trainers yell or to his own persistence, the bird was still flying, dozy, but not fully asleep….but he was still vulnerable. Instead of going the obvious route, Jock concentrated, as the air shimmered around him and ghostly apparitions mimicking each of his team-mates materialised. At a nod from him, they all lunged forwards, striking the bird one after the other. Fully awake again, he hissed and began to glow with the same black glow that had helped defeat Rage earlier.

Staring at him, Jock seemed to hesitate, but then snarled and began to tremble. Me and Omega exchanged a glance; Jock knew what could be considered the ultimate fire attack, but if it failed to wipe out Skarmory then the countered damage would be easily too much for him. Skarmory was glaring at Jock now, the burn smouldering its way through his armour. Fire began to flick over the Houndoom’s body and the air began to shimmer; alarm crossed the Skarmory’s face and he flapped his wings hard, sending scythes of air rocketing towards Jock, who tensed, letting each hit slam into him. Blood began to trickle onto the surface he was gripping with shaking claws, but the same surface looked like it was beginning to melt…..

He looked up, his jaw dropped, and the fire erupted around his body, condensed into a ball, then exploded out into a thin jet of fire that ripped towards the Skarmory. He pulled his wings in and dropped to try to escape it, but Jock lowered his head to follow his movements. The heat hit the bird first; he faltered, then the fire struck him and he screeched so high that my ears rung. He went limp and began to fall until Tori shakily held out the Ball and recalled him.

Jock won!

As my Houndoom dropped shaking to the ground, Omega flew back up to my side, looking awe-struck.
‘I thought I’d seen it all!’ He whispered, shaking his head, ‘but that-’
‘Do you think I should pull him out?’ I muttered back, looking at the Pokemon, who was still gasping but beginning to show signs of trying to get up. Beyond him, I could see Tori tossing a Poke Ball into the air, watching us. As soon as she caught us looking back at her, she flipped it up and out of the light flew a rather familiar Pokemon. Her Pidgeot hovered in front of her, looking at Jock with a disinterested look playing across her face. The Houndoom lifted his head and gazed back at her; staring at him, I shrugged.
‘If he wanted to stop then he’d have indicated by now. Just make sure you keep close so if it looks like he’s going to fall then you can catch him.’

Fight!
Jock (L17 M Houndoom) Vs Pidgeot (L50 F)

Pidgeot reacted first, swopping towards the still sprawled-out Houndoom, who watched her approach impassively. She must have decided that he was no threat and wasn’t even worrying about the possibility of an attack on his part. She was partly correct; Jock didn’t retaliate flat out….but as she neared him, he suddenly flung himself back, gripping the platform for dear life as she barely shot over his head. She rolled round and lunged, extending her talons, but his body flashed red and she was knocked back by his Counter. Grumbling audibly, she wheeled round, looking a little ruffled but not hurt. Landing close to him, she tilted her head, then began to flap her wings hard, while digging her talons into the surface. The whole structure, already weakened, began to shake and Jock began to slide further over the edge. He whimpered, which seemed odd as I’d never before seen him in a situation where he’d react like that, and I reached for his Ball just in case. Pidgeot paused, blinked, then leapt off the walkway; Jock spat a mouthful of tiny embers at her, which she easily dodged, then flapped her wings hard, buffeting him back until-

His grip failed and slid off. Omega lunged forwards, but needn’t have worried; showing a little more concern than her Skarmory companion, the Pidgeot snatche jock out of the air, gripping his head in one claw and his back in the other, and letting out a trill to me. I understood and returned him, accepting the forfeit.

Jock forfeited!

I was down to one Pokemon now, and I was well aware that I was taking a risk. Omega really did seem like the safe choice, but I’d accepted this challenge with her in mind, and I wasn’t going to back down.

Ryau shot into the air from her Ball, looking impressed by the sight of a full-grown cousin right in front of her. The two regarded each other as I sneaked a glance at Tori, what from what I could see, looked very surprised. I couldn’t blame her much, and even felt sorry in a way that I’d turned down the chance to put our best Pokemon to the test.

Fight!
Ryau (L26 F Pidgeotto) Vs Pidgeot (L50 F)

Ry had a single advantage in this battle; she was smaller which meant that she was going to be a much harder target to hit, although this was a Gym Leaders Pokemon and I knew that it was only a minimal advantage. She must have been thinking along the same lines as she immediately launched into an Extremespeed, blurring to the side in a similar manner to Jock racing over the walkways. Pidgeot turned her head, and the air shimmered around her.

Next second, a wave of fire exploded from around her; me and Tori dropped to the floor instinctively although they were high enough above us that we received only a minimal amount of heat. Ry soared up, white orbs surrounding her body, which she sent shooting at the fire heading towards her. Seconds before impact, the orbs collided with each other and sent a wave of sparkling white water sizzling through the fire. Ry followed, braving the heat of the fire on either side as she manipulated the water to carve a path to Pidgeot. The larger bird abandoned the attack and darted upwards; lowering her head, she ripped out a large beak-ful of feathers from her chest and flung it at the approaching Pidgeotto. The feather glimmered as they flew, and spiralled round to encase Ry in a sphere that disintegrated almost immediately. She blurred again and darted down; Pidgeot followed her, keeping pace easily without having to resort to any actual moves. Ry must have glanced round, as she suddenly vanished into a dark shadow that appeared out of nowhere. Pidgeot pulled up and began to circle warily, turning her head constantly. She was rewarded when the same shadow burst open by her left side and Ry shot out. Pidgeot whirled round and snapped her beak at Ry, successfully grabbing her right wing; jolted, Ry nonetheless shrieked- and knowing her, in a move that must have taken a lot of will-, she pulled back, bringing her claws up and slashed at the Pidgeot’s left eye.

The larger bird cawed in alarm, allowing Ry to pull her wing back, dart up behind her and bring a Steel Wing straight onto the other birds’ head. Pidgeot faltered, but she was made of tougher stuff than that and rolled round, bringing her claws up to snatch at Ry. The two tusselled in mid-air, sending clouds of feathers in all directions, before Ry plunged her claws into Pidgeot’s breast. From the birds wail, it was obvious that this was no ordinary attack and as the two parted, a black substance could be seen leaking through her feathers. The poison would take a long time before it brought her down on its own, though, and Ry would not be able to rely entirely on it alone.

Pidgeot looked pissed now, and the air began to roar again as she summoned a giant Twister that ripped at the structure and dragged Ry into its centre. Unable to do anything against the force of the wind, she was flung round and round, her screech muffled by the noise of the wind. Pidgeot watched her, before pulling her wings in and lunging forwards as the Twister died down suddenly, leaving Ry still floundering in the air. I watched her with a sinking feeling in my stomach. So much for winning my second badge.

But even as Pidgeot neared her, a blue shield flickered around Ry and the attacking Pokemon merely slid past, her body covered in bloody marks where the force of her own attack had hurt her body. Ry wheeled round and followed her, a little unsteady, but mainly unhurt. Her opponent glanced over her shoulder, then whipped round and darted, head-on. Ry flew to the side immediately, before turning and plummeting towards the ground. She shot past the main battlefield and into the structures scaffolding. Pidgeot followed her, but instantly seemed more cautious. This was a big structure so the scaffolding was well spaced out, but it was enclosed and she was wary. Ry flew round and latched onto one of the support beams, and the two birds stared at each other. Then Pidgeot seemed to make her mind up; she ruffled her feathers and a cloud drifted down as her wounds began to slowly close up over her back and front, although the poison stain still glistened.

Ry shot upwards; Pidgeot leapt back and raised her wings, to reveal that her primary feathers had been among those that fell out. Even though they could be seen quickly growing back, for the time being, she was grounded and vulnerable. Ry burst out and sent another wave of water smashing into the bird, who couldn’t avoid it in time. Turning her head to prevent her vision getting affected, she took her eyes off of Ry, who slammed into her neck again, knocking the Pidgeot off balance. She flapped her wings, managed to right herself as she teetered, then snapped at Ry as the Pidgeotto darted around her head. Her wings were nearly fully replenished but at the same time, the poison was begin to trickle down her chest again. Gasping, she began to lift off, before snatching at Ry again. Getting a weak hold, she clutched at her prize, leaning down to tear at Ry’s head and neck, before dropping down to slam her into the walkway. Ry gasped, then her wings glistened like steel again. Using the one between her and the walkway as a strong prop to propel herself up, she brought the one between her and Pidgeot up and into one of the claws holding her down. There was a snap and Pidgeot flapped to one side, hissing, her claw red. Ry followed her fast, her wings still shining; head on, she shot at her opponent; the bird lunged and snapped at Ry’s head. Ry ducked; Pidgeot seized her crest, and Ry brought her wings together, smashing them both into the sides of Pidgeot’s head. The force of the impact jerked the bird, and with a rip Ry’s crest was ripped out, leaving her with blood spreading down her back. Pidgeot tumbled backwards, flailing and disorientated. Ry dropped after her, ripping at her with her claws, again and again, shrieking, before a beam of red light caused the Pidgeot to vanish.

Ryau won!

Tori nodded at me, then held out Xatu’s Ball.

----------

Here is Ry's info:

Ryau
Pidgeotto
L26 F
Trait: Keen Eye
Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Steel Wing, Double-Edge, Extremespeed, Faint Attack, Hidden Power: Water, Toxic, Curse, Protect, Gust, Sky Attack, Aerial Ace, Quick Attack, Return, Attract, Fly (SM), Substitute, Whirlwind, Featherdance
Wearing: Pokémon Collar

I'd also like a rbg for her please. *Pays*

[Wolfsong]

Notes: My new houndour puppy, who will be introduced later, is the son of my vaporeon Zale and Knight of Time’s houndoom. Storywise, he will be the son of Zale and Artemis (formerly a houdour met in a previous story). I also bred Tiana with Hinto, who I gave to Hannah, though storywise he will be a wild pokemon. It will be a bit before that storyline even comes into play. There are a bit of future story plans that may be hinted at. I bought Angel a fury cutter tm a long time ago and more recently an icy wind TM for Angel as well. The absorb TM that I am giving willow came from the EMT. This is where I’m mentioning it I’ve already added the moves to their info. P.S. the second move that Wildfire sleeptalked was metronome and it turned out to be sweet kiss.

Next up on the agenda is your gym battle Hannah. I had started on it when the inspiration to finish this scenario battle struck though I admit Kumar’s battle was a bit rushed…


(Amy’s POV)

Over the past year, the team and I had slacked off on our training. Lately, everyone was getting restless and wanted to resume their training. Luckily, winter was just about over and spring was just around the corner so it was the perfect time. With the gradually increasing temperatures, I made the decision to resume training and the team welcomed that decision. Especially Wildfire, who was still anxious to evolve into a blaziken, despite Willow’s taunting that she would stay a combusken forever. Therefore, getting her evolved was my number one goal.


* * *

Imagine my surprise when I woke up the following morning to see that everything was covered by a blanket of pure white snow. Angel was already outside, playing in it. Zale, was gone again. This wasn’t a huge surprise, because all winter he had been coming and going. The longest absence had been two days straight a little over two months ago.

Recently, Tiana had been disappearing here and there as well. Unlike her brother, she wasn’t as secretive about where she had been. When I asked her, Tiana said that she’d been hanging out with Hinto. Further questioning revealed that Hinto was a friend that she had made with a pokemon in the wild. She refused to say anything else on the subject.

Laila, Sunita, and Phoenix were all content to stay inside where it was nice and warm. They were watching the game of tag that Angel, Jovi, and Lani were playing. I had just joined the group that was staying inside when suddenly I had an espeon land on my head. “Tiana, what’s going on?”

Sorry, meant to land on the couch.” She looked around and smiled. “I guess I did after all, technically. You are sitting on it. I’m getting better.”

”Tiana, you must have seen or know something important for you to risk teleporting home to get here so fast. So, care to clue me in, what is it?”

“I found Zale, and he has some news for you, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you.” She took a deep breath before she continued. “The Lake is completely covered in ice, and it has attracted a lot of different ice and water pokemon. They’re using it as a training ground and are challenging each other as well as trained pokemon to battles. From what I’ve heard, Dig and Dive are banned.”

“It sounds promising. Is there anything else that I should know about?”

“They don’t like fliers. It’s mainly because of their ability to take to the air and avoid the slickness of the ice, or so I gathered. Are we going to go?”

“I guess so. Ti, could you go outside and ask the others to come in please?”

“Sure thing.” With that, she closed her eyes and disappeared. I ran over to the window and looked out in time to see her land on Jovi. Her sudden appearance surprised Jovi, causing him to fire off a thunderbolt at Lani. Her quick thinking saved her from a nasty shock. She quickly threw up a protect shield. Tiana mumbled something to the three of them and they trudged back inside.

Once inside the team had gathered around, I quickly informed them about what Tiana had discovered. Wildfire as usual was all for it since she wanted to evolve. Kumar mentioned that he would like to battle as well. In the end, Willow, Sunita, Laila, and Phoenix all decided to stay home and the rest of the team, minus Zale who evidentially was already at the lake, had decided to come along and support their teammates.


* * *

Upon arriving at the lake, the first thing that I noticed was a familiar looking teenager sitting down staring at the lake. He had aged somewhat from the last time that I had seen him, but it was definitely Brian. Lying beside him was a houndoom with Zale curled up next to her. Evidentially, Artemis had evolved. They hadn’t seen us yet, their attention was focused solely on the Lake. I followed their gaze in time to see Hades finish off his opponent, a dewgong, with a powerful thunderbolt. Before the shuppet could get off of the lake, he was enveloped in a brilliant, dazzling white glow. As I watched, the ghost grew taller, arms appeared as well as legs. When at last, the glow faded, a Banette stood in his place.

As I watched, Brian congratulated his pokemon. I waited until he was finished before making myself known by giving the ghost a round of applause. When Brian turned around and saw us, he smiled as he waved at us. Zale smiled sheepishly, jumping to his feet before giving the houndoom an encouraging lick on the cheek. Artemis, at Zale’s encouragement, slowly climbed to her feet, looking embarrassed. As the three of them drew closer, it became rather obvious that the houndoom was pregnant.

“Amy, you’re just the person that I wanted to see. I was hoping that you would be here.”

“Nice to see you again, Brian. I guess I now know where Zale’s been disappearing off too. I hope he hasn’t been causing too much trouble.” The vaporeon in question glared at me when he heard that.

“Not at all. In fact, he’s been a huge help when my team was sparring against each other. In fact, he’s even given us a few suggestions which have helped us out in the long run.” At that, Zale stuck his tongue out at me.

“I see.”

“I… um…” Now, Brian was a little nervous. “I was wondering if you could do me a big favor.”

“It depends. What is it?”

“Well, Alana’s sending me off on a month long training exercise. As you can see, Artemis isn’t up for it. She’s got another month before her pup is due. I was wondering, if you could take care of her until I get back? I’d be happy to pay you. Or if you’d rather you could have the pup when its born. Artemis and I talked and we would like you to take him or her in. The only condition is that we get to see the baby on a regular basis.”

Now I was glad that I had a couple of free slots on the team. I had been thinking about going to hunt for a new team member but I never got around to it. Brian was looking at me nervously as I thought about my answer.

“I don’t mind. Are you sure? If you are serious I’d be happy to take the pup in. You’d be welcome to come and see the baby whenever you want.”

“I am serious. I normally wouldn’t have offered, but Zale has proven that you are both a good and caring person.” Brian’s voice drifted off for a few moments before he started chuckling.

“What?” I finally asked when it became apparent that he wasn’t going to let me in on what he found so amusing.

“It seems that your combusken finally got tired of waiting and has already found herself an opponent.”

“Yep, that sounds like Wildfire. She’s good at that, especially with the fact that she seriously wants to evolve. Proving Willow wrong would be a nice bonus to her.”

“Willow?”

“Sorry, forgot that you still haven’t met him yet. He’s my Bayleef.”

“What other pokemon do you have? I’ve met Zale, of course, as well as Tiana, your pidgey, absol, mightyena, persian, and umbreon.”

“In addition to those, I have a jolteon, larvitar, arcanine, combusken as you noticed a bayleef, and a dratini.”I noticed his eyes widen at the mention of a dratini but he didn’t comment on it.

“Nice variety, but I couldn’t help notice that you’re a fan of dark and fire types.”

“Those types have always fascinated me.”


(Wildfire’s POV)

Amy was busy talking with another trainer. I had no idea who he was, but she seemed to know him. At first I waited, but when it looked like she wasn’t going to be stopping anytime soon I decided to go and see if I could find myself a battle.

I took a step onto the ice and almost went sliding headfirst into a group of pokemon that were standing together close to the center of the ice. Barely managing to keep my balance, I slowly made my way over to where the delibird and two sneasels were standing.

“Can we help you?” The bigger of the two sneasels asked as he examined his claws.

“I was looking for a battle.”

“Why didn’t you say so, I’d be happy to battle you.” The Delibird spoke up suddenly.

“I just said so.”

“Ignore him. Sammy’s a little dense sometimes, but don’t let that fool you. He’s a great battler.” The younger sneasel explained as the two of them gracefully skated off the ice in order to watch the battle.


Wildfire L.23 Female Combusken Vs. Sammy L.25 Male Delibird

As soon as his friends were off the ice, Sammy attacked. He quickly opened his sack and pulled a present out. After taking aim, he launched it, aiming for my head. I ducked just as it exploded. I avoided most but not all of the damage. Narrowing my eyes, I concentrated on my hidden power. Almost immediately, I could feel the air around me becoming charged. As soon as I felt that I had enough energy gathered I released it, and let the electricity fly. I couldn’t help but grin when the delibird squawked letting me know that my attack had scored a direct hit.

“So that’s the way you want to play?” Sammy asked as he glowed briefly before splitting into three delibirds. I groaned. Double team was an annoying, but useful move that I needed to get. It was also one that I didn’t have a quick means for dispatching either. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and told myself to focus. As I concentrated, I took a couple of slow but deep breaths. When I opened my eyes, I was more focused and ready to battle.

Thankful that I had my matches with me, I once more took another deep breath. This time, instead of slowly letting the air out, I exhaled a stream of flames. As I watched, they hit one of the delibirds, and with a slight flicker he blinked out of existence. The remaining two cackled loudly and I couldn’t help but think that it would have made a mad scientist jealous. I shook my head. Wonderful, I had been hanging out with Kumar too much. Sammy, then proceeded to gag, before he spat up a vile looking liquid and sprayed it all over me. I tried to dodge but ended up not only sliding into the delibird but also covered in toxic goo. The only positive thing was that the remaining clone disappeared when I slammed into the real Sammy.

I winced as I felt the poison starting to affect me. On the plus side, the clones were long gone. Before he could get away, I kicked out at him twice. Sammy retaliated with blasting me with a blast of freezing cold water. ‘It figures that he would have a water-typed hidden power.’ I muttered to myself.

Before Sammy had the opportunity to make any more clones, I decided to return the favor. Immediately, I began to gag and pretty soon I had retched up a vile-tasting, thick, slimy goo that I spit all over my opponent. It scored a direct hit, as another wave of pain from the poison assaulted me.

The poison was steadily getting worse and I was going to have to get rid of it soon before it caused me to faint. I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure of how well it would work. I winced as I channeled some of my health into creating a very lifelike doll. I knew that this was a risky maneuver, but it was my one chance to turn this battle around as well as keep an element of surprise. As I was focusing on creating my doppelganger, Sammy reached into his sack and pulled out a large chunk of ice before hurling it high into the sky. As id in response, the sky quickly grew darker and the chunk of ice fell back down to the ground to land with a loud thud. A couple minutes later another fell until pretty soon it was hailing pretty steadily.

Wincing, I curled up on the ice and tried to go to sleep. As I slowly drifted off to sleep, the last thing that I remembered was the pain of the poison lessening.


(Angel’s POV)

I was watching Wildfire’s battle with interest. Both the delibird and Wildfire were great battlers. It was interesting to watch and both were giving as well as receiving. Then, suddenly, Wildfire just stood there. I frowned, unsure of what was going on. I glanced over to my right and saw Ranec. “Ranec, what is she doing? How come she’s just standing there?”

“Things aren’t always what they seem. Just keep watching.” He answered, only taking his eyes away from the battle long enough to give me a wink.

Ranec’s answer didn’t make any sense to me, but I trusted him. As I watched, I heard a mumbling sound coming from the ice but couldn’t see where it was coming from. Shortly after the mumbling, there came a loud, disembodied growl that shattered the silence. The delibird didn’t seem all that bothered by it and instead inhaled deeply before blasting Willow with another jet of water. I couldn’t help but shriek when Wildfire shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. Once that happened, I noticed a mound of orange and red feathers. As I looked closely, I could tell that it was Wildfire and that she was sound asleep.

“See, not everything is as it seems.”

“How?”

“It’s a move called substitute.”

Before I could ask him anything else, another round of murmuring earned my attention. I looked over in time to see Wildfire sit up and move her arms back and forth in a motion that reminded me of windshield wipers. She then sat up, jumped to her feet, and ran towards the ice bird where she… kissed him? Apparently, I wasn’t the only one that was confused by her actions. The delibird just blinked as Wildfire suddenly woke up.


(Wildfire’s POV)

When I woke up, I was mere inches from Sammy’s face. He looked worse than I felt before going to sleep. As I watched, the delibird reached into his bag of tricks once more before removing another present. However, instead of tossing it at me, he dropped it on the ground where it exploded upon contact leaving him blackened. I grinned and decided to add to his darkened state. Inhaling deeply, I blew out a stream of flames at Sammy. Once they dissipated, Sammy was collapsed on the icy pond in a blackened heap. Bending down, I gathered energy in my legs and jumped off the pond back onto the shore where the team was waiting.


I won!
I grew to L.25!

(Kumar’s POV)

I extended my claws as I stepped onto the ice. I could feel my claws digging into the ice as I slowly made my way forwards. This wasn’t my first time battling on the ice, nor likely would it be the last. At least, I knew what to expect unlike Wildfire in addition to having four paws. Sometimes it was a blessing to be a quadruped. One paw hit a weak point in the ice and went through the cold water effectively jerking me out of my thoughts. Hissing, I pulled out my paw and shook it dry.

Annoyed at myself, I headed back for the more sturdy sections of the ice. When I came to a complete stop, I was face to face with a vaporeon. I was about to ask him if he wanted to battle when I was greeted by a water gun to the face.


Kumar L.33 White Male Persian with Black Stripes Vs. L.31 Male Vaporeon

Hissing from the rude greeting, the gem on my forehead began cracking with electricity. My opponent’s eyes grew wide as he glowed briefly and split into two separate vaporeons. I picked the one on the left and let the thunderbolt fly. Of course, it struck the clone and he blinked out of existence.

I frowned, I knew that I was a little rusty but I didn’t expect this. No matter, I knew what needed to be done. I stalked up to the vaporeon before pouncing on him and pinning him to the ground with the full weight of my body. He struggled, but I wasn’t in the mood to just let him up and thankfully, I had the bulk to hold him down. The water eeveelution bit down on the first thing that he could find which was the paw that had broken through the ice. My paw was still numb, but the attack still hurt and wasn’t enough to cause me to get up off of him.

I decided to go with a move that had worked for me in the past as well as proving useful in Wildfire’s most recent battle. Gagging, I retched up another mouthful of toxic goo and spit it onto my opponents exposed neck frill. He quickly rolled onto his back, which I wasn’t expecting him to do, and launched another ice beam which scored a direct hit with my chest. Instantly, I leapt off of him biting my jaw to keep from yowling in pain and surprise.

“Is that the best that you can do? Come on, there is a much younger vaporeon than you on my team and he’s a heck of a lot more talented now than you will ever be.” I taunted him, but meant every word I had to say. The truth was Zale was really good at battling. I braced myself as soon as I saw my opponent tense up. As expected, he spun around and nailed me with yet another ice beam.

I faded into the shadows as I watched the vaporeon spin in circles looking for me. I waited until his back was turned before emerging from the shadows and pouncing. My opponent cried out and I was zapped by a strong electrical current coming from the vaporeon.

“Enough is enough.” I growled as I once more concentrated on charging up a thunderbolt. I could feel the boost that my earring was providing as I released the energy. It sailed straight from the gem on my forehead into the vaporeon beneath me. Immediately, he collapsed into a limp bile and I jumped up off of him and stalked back to where my team was waiting


I won!
I grew to L.34 !

Tbc…

[Wolfsong]

I hate being sick. Apologies if this isn't as good as usual but been taking allergy medicine. First off, take 22 CCPS for your battles. Jock gained two levels from his battle and Ryau also gained two which go into effect after this gym battle is over.


Ryau Vs. Tori's L.30 Xatu

In a flash of red, Tori's Xatu emerged from his poke ball the dark blotches still present on his head. The psychic bird and the pidgeotto glared at each other. After a moment, Ryau took to the air. In response, the Mystic Pokemon disappeared in a flash reappearing beside her hitting Ryau as he appeared. Although sent off course, the pidgeotto rolled and managed to strike out at him with her talons. The xatu coughed as the poison worked its magic.

Suddenly, the Xatu began to glow yellow as his feather began to crackle with an electrical current. With a loud cry, Ryau darted up in the air and created a protective shield around herself. The psychic pokemon let out an angry growl that turned into a pained one as the electrical energy slammed uselessly into the shield.

Ryau spread her wings and rose higher breathing heavily as she did so. Suddenly she was halted midair by a powerful unseen force that was slowly but steadily pulling her towards the green bird. The younger pokemon took a deep breath and focused her attention on opening the portal in front of her. She had to time it just right or it would fail. Ryau managed to open the portal in front of her just as the Xatu continued to reel her in until she disappeared in side and it closed behind her. With a puzzled squawk he looked around, and was suddenly slammed from behind as the pidgeotto emerged and raked her talons into his back.

The Xatu concentrated on his hidden power once more and this time managed to catch Ryau with it. She gave a painful squawk as her wings took on a metal glint and she brought them down on him. The Xatu staggered backwards on the platform before coughing as the poison finally brought him down.

Ryau gained another two levels to reach L.30. (L.31 after the bt battle win)

Tori recalled her fallen pokemon, before glancing upwards to look at Omega who was still flying. Ryau quickly returned to her pokeball as well.

She cleared her throat. “You have won so in accordance to the rules of the match I confer upon you the Fly SM and the Feather Badge. Although you have beaten me, if you would like a rematch I’m always interested.

As far as her rbg: *randomizes an area and gets south caverns* Ryau's opponent will be a ponyta.

[*Murkrow]

Thanks Amy! Ry will get Captivate as her L30 TM. I'll get your story rated by Wednesday at the latest.

Edit: Take 14 CCP's for your battles. I liked the continuity in bringing back Brian and how you set up your eventual Houndour into the story. Wildfire's battle was good and Substitue/Rest is a strategy I can't remember seeing in a battle here before. Kumar's battle was decent. Also, I'm glad I wasn't eating when your Pokemon were using Toxic. Eew.

(And on a side-note, I think a new scenario would be a good idea soon.)

[Wolfsong]

Here is my gym battle. I bought the Shadow Ball TM for Tiana. The following TMs were EMT moves that I received: Razor Wind (Phoenix), Helping Hand (Wildfire), Supersonic (Sunita), Faint Attack (Phoenix), Fire Spin (Wildfire), Stone Edge (Angel), Tailwind (Phoenix), and Teeter Dance (Wildfire). I had also bred Tiana with Hinto a while back this is getting that eevee’s introduction set up. This month I also received a screech tm (EMT) that I am giving Ranec and a crunch tm (EMT) that I’m giving Tiana. I also bought a Toxic tm for Dakota.


(Amy’s POV)

I sighed, not at all surprised to find Tiana curled up in a ball on the couch. She had been moping for the last week and a half since she had learned that her friend, Hinto, had been captured. She had been going out each day searching for any sign of Hinto but having no luck. Lately, I noticed that her appetite had disappeared as well.

“Hey,” I said softly as I sat down beside her and scratched her between the ears. The only response that I received was the espeon lifting her head, looking at me, before lowering it again. “I just got back from giving Ranec, Wildfire, Phoenix, Sunita, and Angel some TMs. I have a couple for you as well.” I told her as I sat the boxes down beside her. “It’s Shadow Ball and Crunch. They should be helpful should you have to battle another psychic or a ghost.”

She nodded as she pawed at the boxes and accepted the TMs.

“You know, I was thinking about taking Wildfire and a couple of the others to challenge one of the gyms. Do you want to come with us?”

“No, I think I’ll go check out the South Caverns instead.”

“Do you think you could take Phoenix with you? I wanted to ask Sunita and Angel but they already left for the North Caverns.”

She didn’t say anything but she did look up. “Zale is staying behind with Artemis and you know he’s a bit distracted now.” I added, holding my breath.

“Okay,” she agreed as she stood up. “Where is she?”

“She’s outside practicing her new moves.” I have expected to see Tiana attempt to teleport outside and end up on top of Phoenix, but instead she left by the door. I sighed before I went off to round up Wildfire, Dakota, and Ranec.


(Dakota’s POV)

I was outside relaxing in the sunshine with Ranec as we watched Kumar and Wildfire spar. Although the two of them knew each other so well that they avoided the other’s attacks more often than not.

I heard the back door open, so I lifted my head and looked. It was Amy and she already had Laila, Lani, and Jovi’s pokeballs on her belt.

“What’s going on?” Kumar asked as he dodged a rolling kick from Wildfire.

“How do you guys feel about challenging one of the Gym Leaders?” Amy asked.

Ranec stood up and stretched. “I thought that you were going to wait until Bryan got back before you challenged the Dark Gym?”

“I am.”

“Then what?”

“Lani managed to discover the location of the Fire Gym. So she volunteered to carry Ranec and myself. The rest of the team will be in their pokeballs. I only know that I’ll be using Wildfire but I’m not sure who else will be battling just yet though. Are you all uyp for the challenge?”

“Yes,” the four of us agreed in unison, before Amy recalled me into my pokeball.


(Ranec’s POV)

As I watched, Amy recalled Dakota, Wildfire, and Kumar before she released Lani. The arcanine emerged with a roar, causing me to smile. “Nice roar you have Lani.”

“Thanks,” she replied with a smile before lying down so that Amy could climb up on her back. Once she was situated, I took a running leap and landed in Amy’s lap.

“You two ready?”

“Whenever you are.”

As soon as Lani heard that she leaped up on all fours and took off. I blinked at first because I had forgotten that she had been gifted with a high speed stat. Once she had settled into a fast pace, I sat up on Amy’s lap and watched the scenery speed by in a colorful blur.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the gym. Even from the outside, it was impressive. On either side of the doors were a pair of life-sized Charizard statues, their tails were actual torches.

I was distracted briefly by Lani lying down. After giving my head a brief shake to redirect my attention, I hopped off of her back.


(Amy’s POV)

I carefully climbed down off of Lani’s back and, after thanking her for the ride, I recalled her before taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. I glanced at the charizard statues on either side of the door before pushing it open and entering with Ranec by my side.

If the outside was impressive, then the corridor between the entrance and the actual gym was even more so. There were statues of all of the known fire types on either side of the pathway. I paused at the Arcanine and Blaziken statues admiring them before pausing once more at the Ho-oh statue. I had to admit that it was impressive as well. Although it was nowhere close to the real thing. I smiled at that thought, wondering where Hannah was now.

I reached down and scratched Ranec between his ears before I opened the door and stepped inside. Ranec followed at my side as we entered. It had felt comfortable when we had entered the building but once we had entered the gym area it was sweltering hot.

“I noticed that you paused in front of the statues. What did you think of them?” A voice from the shadows asked.

“They were impressive.” I admitted.

“My favorite is Ho-oh. Too bad no one has seen it.” The speaker admitted as she stepped out of the shadows and I took a step back as Ranec stared.

I blinked but the person in front of me stayed the same. She seemed a little surprised as well. I had heard that everyone had a double somewhere but I had never believed it until now because I was standing there looking at mine. I cleared my throat, deciding now wasn’t the time to say that I had seen Ho-oh and in fact had to battle him along with a friend. “Are you the leader?” I asked instead.

“That I am.” She answered stepping closer and into the light. “My name is Nuria. Are you interested in challenging me?” Her hair was a little longer than mine was and unlike me Nuria chose to wear hers loose, hanging down. I noticed that there was a single streak of gray down the middle of her dishwater blonde hair. The ends of which were died red

I reached back and tightened my ponytail. “That’s why I’m here. What are the rules?” I asked trying to steer the conversation back to the reason that I was at the gym in the first place.

“It’s a three on three pokemon battle with one pokemon out at a time and there is no time limit. Also no moves are banned.”

“That’s fine with me,” I agreed, climbing up the steps that led to the arena. Nuria did the same at the other end. As soon as we had taken our places the area past the left and right boundaries slid back revealing lava.

I blinked at that. “Lava?”

“It makes for an interesting challenge.” Having said that, Nuria reached for one of three pokeballs on her belt and tossed it in the air. The pokeball opened with a flash and a shiny Flareon landed nimbly in the middle of the arena.

I took a deep breath as I thought over before choosing a pokeball off of my belt. I tossed it and Dakota emerged with a loud roar landing nimbly as he stared at down at the flareon.


(Dakota’s POV)

Dakota L.28 M Mightyena Vs. L.30 Shiny M Flareon

I was surprised when I felt myself being released, but I didn’t let it show when I emerged. I gave my best roar before landing on all fours and glaring at my opponent. After a brief hesitation, the bronze colored flareon took a deep breath before shooting a stream of flames at me. Instead of trying to dodge them, I lunged forwards, poison dripping from my fangs and I managed to latch onto his front leg.

I backed away my fur smelling slightly singed but thankfully I hadn’t been burned. He smirked at me and the next thing that I knew I was staring at three flareons. I couldn’t help but smirk as I had the perfect move to get rid of them. Taking a deep breath I exhaled a stream of star shaped missiles that honed in on my opponent’s heat signature and slammed into him ripping through the clones destroying them in the process.

The flareon growled loudly when that happened, and I just stretched and yawned loudly. I watched as the small white cloud floated over to him and dissipated right in his face. He sneezed and shook his head trying to wake up.

Despite his sluggishness, the smaller fire type was still faster than I was and had managed to launch another flamethrower at me. I snarled and opened my mouth concentrating on gathering enough energy. I knew the attack I was concentrating on was a gamble, but my opponent had collapsed in a heap sound asleep. The ball of energy slowly began to get larger and it was harder for me to keep a handle on it until I could hold it no longer and the beam shot out of my mouth and slammed into the flareon.

The only response was a loud snore that hurt my ears causing me to wince. I could only stand there panting from the energy that it took to launch the hyper beam.

I continued to pant trying to catch my breath as I was hit by the sound waves from another extremely loud snore. When I finally felt that I could move, I ran forwards and jumped up and slammed myself on top of the flareon. I heard a muffled yelp as I stood up and backed off.

The flareon had woken up and tried to stand, but after a couple of failed attempts he fell to the ground and didn’t get back up.


I won!

My opponent was recalled and I gave myself a full body shake as I waited for my next opponent.

“Tiger, you’re up!”

I heard a loud roar as a massive arcanine appeared right in front of me. I couldn’t help the small whimper that escaped as I tucked my tail between my legs.

Amy tried to recall be but I shook my head and stood back up. I was still scared of the arcanine don’t get me wrong but I was not going to let my fear get the best of me if I could help it.


Dakota L.28 M Mightyena VS. Tiger L.40 M Arcanine

The huge fire dog saw my reaction at his appearance and smirked. I was slowly secreting the toxins that I normally used with my poison fang attack, hoping that the newest TM that Amy had given me would prove to be just as useful. He lunged aiming at my throat and I dodged, but my rear paws slipped off the edge of the arena. My front legs were all that was keeping me from falling into the lava. While I struggled to hang on, the huge bully just laughed. I spit out the toxic sludge that had been gathering in my mouth and I heard a yelp that ended in a snarl indicating that my attack had hit just as I managed to drag myself back up on the platform.

I panted from the exertion, still tired from the earlier use of the hyper beam. The arcanine took advantage of my weariness and inhaled deeply before exhaling a star-shaped blast of flame. I yelped in pain as the fire blast nailed me before darkness closed in.


(Amy’s POV)

I had winced when Nuria had sent out an arcanine knowing about Dakota’s fear of growlithes and arcanines. I had tried to recall him but the mightyena didn’t want to even though he was scared and tired.

He had managed to posion the arcanine before he was taken out but a massive fire blast. I recalled him, making a note to stop by the Pokecenter once this battle was over. I didn’t have to think about who to use next. I reached for Wildfire’s pokeball and tossed it into the arena. She emerged with a loud squawk before landing gracefully on one leg.


Wildfire L.25 F Combusken Vs. Tiger L.40 M Arcanine

(Wildfire’s POV)

I looked around and spotted the arcanine almost immediately. He was huge but didn’t seem to bothered by me even though he was poisoned. The massive fire dog took one look at me before tilting his head back and howling loudly. Wonderful, I thought to myself. He was still faster than I was with my matches. I took a deep breath, focusing my mind on the battle I had ahead of me.

Without hesitating, he charged forwards and crunched down on my left arm, I quickly kicked him twice in the face causing him to let go. I could see the posion was starting to show signs of weakening him.

The arcanine roared loudly trying to intimidate me. This time, I decided to try another tactic. I began to release pheromones as I blew a kiss at the fire dog. He paused, tilting his head slightly as he continued to stare at me.

His trainer, the Gym Leader, groaned at that. “Double team.” I heard her order. He glanced over at her before nodding and soon I was staring at three arcanines. I would have smirked if I could have. I had been watching him carefully and I was able to perform a perfect mirror move and soon I had three clones.

My opponent’s tail began to wag slowly back and forth when he saw that there was four of me. “Tiger, impress her by showing her your hidden power.” He whines softly but looked around and threw his head back and released a stream of water that went up in the air and came down on the clone that was at my right. It blinked out of existence but the water also hit me causing me to stagger backwards as the rest of the clones disappeared.

Tiger whined softly, not liking that he had hurt me. I shook my head and channeled some of my health into making a lifelike doll that drew his attention. I took a deep breath and curled up and went to sleep.


(Amy’s POV)

“Tiger Crunch her.” Nuria instructed her arcanine. He just whined and shook his head. When Nuria made no move and just stood there I had a feeling I knew what combo she had used but until I heard the disembodied snore coming from who knows where I hadn’t been sure.

“Tiger, I want you to impress her with your acrobatics. Show her you’re aerial ace.”

I winced at that, knowing that the substitute would be unable to handle that attack. Sure enough, I saw the massive orange and black form leap into the air, perform a flip and land on the Wildfire that we all could see and it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces revealing a curled up mound of feathers that snored loudly casing the arcanine to shake his head as Wildfire woke up jumping to her feet. Tiger growled at that hating having been tricked.


(Wildfire’s POV)

“That’s right. Show them it’s not wise to play tricks with your heart. Crunch her hard.”

The huge striped dog leapt at me, but I was ready for him. I could also see that the posion had done a number on him during our battle so I needed to end this. I grunted when I felt his teeth latch into my arm refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry out. I curled my right hand into a fist and slammed the sky uppercut into the underside of his muzzle not only loosening his grip but with the help of the toxic poisoning succeeded in knocking him out. I stood there over him as he was recalled waiting to see what my next opponent would be.


I won!

I groaned when a flash of red revealed a powerful charizard.


Wildfire L.25 Combusken Vs. L.50 Charizard

I stared at him in admiration for having fully evolved for a moment until I remembered we were supposed to be battling. As I watched the charizard began to spin around in a circle and I groaned. He was using Swords dance to increase his attack. I knew it was a gamble but I started to move my arms back and forth as I used metronome. The next thing that I knew I felt really funny and then there was a loud BOOM and everything went black.


(Amy’s POV)

I winced and dove for cover as Wildfire’s Metronome turned into an explosion. When all the dust had settled, I stood up and recalled her noticing that although blackened, the Charizard still seemed to be itching for a fight. Without any hesitation, I looked around for Ranec and found him at the bottom of the steps where he took cover when we realized what was about to happen. He was unscathed. His psychic abilities had alerted him before the rest of us. “Ranec,” I began, “you’re up.”

Ranec is my L.40.5 Male White Umbreon with Black Rings. He is holding a Pokemon Collar which is a 50% Physical attack boost and his ability is Synchronize (when the Pokemon becomes poisoned, paralyzed, or burned, so does the opponent). He knows: Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Psychic, Growl, Pursuit, Body Slam, Hidden Power Fighting, Bite, Shadow Ball, Toxic, Double Team, Helping Hand, Quick Attack, Headbutt, Iron Tail, Confuse Ray, Zap Cannon, Mean Look, Faint Attack, Hyper Beam, Charm, Night Shade, Torment, Facade, Yawn, Baton Pass, Focus Energy, Odor Sleuth, Taunt, Mud Slap, Dream Eater, Screech.

[The Blue Avenger]

Entirely too late on this. My bad.

---

Nuria laughed. “Looks like it’s down to one on one!” she said. “I haven’t had a challenge like this in a long time. You know what to do, Blitz!”

The Charizard nodded, and before Ranec could react, he slammed a series of strikes into the Umbreon’s side. Ranec gasped for breath and skidded back several feet before rising back up; his eyes widened and a brilliant cone of light shone down onto the field like a spotlight. It centered on Blitz, and his eyes began spinning. He stumbled in a small circle, holding his head.

“Confusion? Not a bad strategy,” Nuria grumbled. “Snap out of it, Blitz!” But that was exactly the wrong thing to say to the Charizard, who wheeled around, neatly dropping off of the battlefield into the lava. There was a tense moment; all eyes were on the spot where Blitz had disappeared.

It didn’t last long, however; Blitz burst upward out of the lava, steaming slightly and looking tremendously furious. He flapped his wings, shedding molten rock over the battlefield.

“Be careful!” Amy yelled. “Don’t get near it!”

Ranec nodded and took a few careful steps back. He looked up at Blitz, then yawned widely, his mouth gaping open. Blitz blinked, then yawned quite involuntarily himself. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then spun in a circle, breathing a stream of flames. The fire cloaked him, and he barreled straight at Ranec. The Flare Blitz hit hard and Ranec found himself barely able to catch his breath. It was fortuitous, then, that the Yawn kicked in right about then; Blitz’s eyelids drooped and he fell asleep on the spot, falling to the ground.

“Now, Ranec! Let’s end this quick!”

Ranec squinted, taking aim at Blitz; the Charizard wasn’t moving in his sleep, thankfully, and so it was easy to get a bead on him. With the last of his energy, Ranec fired a slow-moving orb of electricity that zig-zagged lazily until it hit the prone Blitz. The Zap Cannon fried the Charizard, sending him spinning backwards a few revolutions before coming to a complete stop. Blitz failed to move afterwards.

Nuria sighed. “Yeah, that’s game.”

Battle over! The challenger wins!
Dakota gains two levels!
Wildfire gains two levels!
Ranec gains two levels!
The challenger gains 25 CCPs!

Nuria recalled her fallen Pokémon and walked across the battlefield, neatly avoiding the pools of spilled lava. She shook Amy’s hand, and when her hand withdrew, Amy was holding a small badge and an SM. “Congratulations,” she said, “and I really mean that. That battle got my heart racing, I’ll tell you what!” Nuria laughed. “Best of luck in your travels!”

Amy grinned and waved to Nuria as she walked out of the gym, new badge in hand.

[Skye]

I'll ask for an extension >.> Even though the current scenario is so old... I need to finish my other battles before I can write on this one.

[Wolfsong]

You can have the extension. I'll try to figure out a scneario.
Dakota's free tm for reaching L.30 is going to be Snarl.

[The Blue Avenger]

BAM!

---

The building was, as was probably appropriate, dark. The only light came from a series of candles, one in each window. The overall effect was somewhat on the occult side, but then, that was how Alana liked it. Her room, however, was completely dark – there were no windows to the outside, and hence there were also no candles. She sat, cross-legged, on the floor. Her eyes were shut, and her hands were folded in her lap.

Then her concentration was wrecked in quite possibly the most efficient way possible. There was a loud slam as the doors to her gym flew open. She grimaced and stood slowly, leaving her inner sanctum to enter the arena proper.

A man was standing in the entrance. He wore blue slacks, a blue long-sleeve shirt, and a blue ski mask, and altogether he looked like the most likely candidate to rob an art museum of just their Picassos during his blue period. Alana clutched her robe around her, making sure the hood was down over her face. “You’re a challenger, then,” she said simply.

“That I am,” the man said, looking around the arena. “Hey, you think we could turn the light on or something? Because-- ”

“No.”

“Oh… well, all right then. Yeah, I’m challenging you.”

Alana stood up straight. “Declare your name for the annals of history!”

“The what? Listen, are you sure you’re--”

“Your. Name.”

“Oh. Yeah. I’m Blue. Blue Avenger.” Blue puffed out his chest, really getting into the swing of things. “Some have called me the Cerulean Crusader, some the Azure Knight, some have even called me Maurice--”

“Prepare for battle,” Alana said simply. She threw off her robe, revealing clothes so dark that they seemed to fade away in the low light of the gym entirely. She pulled three Pokéballs off her belt. “I shall be using three Pokémon. So shall you. Make your selection.”

“All right, all right, sheesh,” Blue grumbled, palming three Pokéballs as well. “Let’s get it on!”

STRIFE! Blue versus Alana!
Blue’s roster: HOMEN, HOBORG, RIGHELLO
Alana’s roster: ULTIMA, HAVOC, COURSER

The two threw their Pokéballs at the same time. On one side of the field emerged an Umbreon, her rings glowing in the dim light, and on the other emerged a… Tyrogue. Small and unassuming.

Round 1! Homen (lv. 12 Tyrogue) vs. Ultima (lv. 30 Umbreon)! FIGHT!

Blue took a glance around the arena. It was hard to tell with the condition of the lights, but it looked like… the battlefield was a large rectangle, and on the borders was just… nothing. A big gap between it and the wall. Weird. Oh well. “Homen! Give it your best!” he called.

Homen nodded. “Right.” With a blinding display of speed, he darted over to Ultima and slapped her in the face. The Fake Out did its intended job, and Ultima flinched away from the move; this didn’t stop her from finding some sand somewhere and hurling it in Homen’s eyes. He growled and started trying to rub it out of his eyes.

“Don’t let it faze you, Homen! Keep going!” Blue called. Homen took a few hesitant steps backwards before firing a volley bright yellow stars that homed in on Ultima’s location. It didn’t bother the Umbreon a whole lot, but it let Homen, through watery eyes, track her location. Ultima responded in turn by opening her mouth and letting lose a shriek that had everyone in the room (save for Alana, who looked curiously unaffected) covering their ears.

“Screech,” Alana said simply. “You should know better than to bring such a weak Pokémon to a gym match. Now, it will take but a single hit to bring your Pokémon down.”

Blue glowered at her. “Well then, we’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen! Homen! On the offensive!” Almost before they could react, though, Ultima disappeared from view. Homen closed his eyes and listened. There it was… a slight footfall to his left! He leapt into the air just as Ultima reappeared, and let gravity aid his Hi Jump Kick. He landed, foot outstretched, straight on the top of Ultima’s head. Ultima howled and scrambled backwards as Homen neatly rebounded, making a three-point landing.

Homen met Ultima’s eyes. “There’s more where that came from,” he said calmly, trying to ignore the grittiness in his eyes.

Ultima refused to rise to the jab and instead dashed straight at Homen, her speed almost too fast to react to. Homen ducked and rolled, but he wasn’t fast enough; the Quick Attack hit him in the side and he stumbled backwards.

“Homen, no!” Blue yelled. Homen felt his heel hit the boundary of the arena…

It was like time had frozen. Everyone watched as Homen’s arms wheeled around, his balance not coming back to him. After what felt like a year, he tumbled over the side of the arena.

Blue groaned and rubbed his temples. What came next, though, wasn’t something he was prepared for: Homen fell from the ceiling, landing roughly on the arena floor. Blue gaped and looked at Alana. “Explain that, please?”

“It’s a trait of the battleground,” Alana said. “Finish him, Ultima.”

Ultima smirked and opened her mouth wide, beginning to charge up a ball of ethereal energy.

“Homen! Can you keep going?” Blue called, keeping his Pokéball at the ready.

“I… think so…” Homen struggled to his feet. “I’ve got one more shot in me…”

“Then do it quick!”

Homen nodded. He crouched, timing the arrival of the Shadow Ball… at just the right moment, he sprung into the air, the Shadow Ball barely grazing him, and brought his foot down on Ultima’s head again. Two concussions were apparently too much for Ultima to take, and she slumped over.

Round 1 over! Homen wins!

“Good job, Homen,” Blue said. “Come on back for a breather.” Homen nodded and limped over to his trainer, taking a seat behind him.

Alana recalled Ultima without a word and replaced her on the field. The next Pokémon was small, dark, and had a set of very large claws; he adjusted the feather growing from his fur before aiming a sneer at Blue.

Blue tossed a Pokéball back and forth between his hands a few times before tossing it to the field. “Hoborg! This one’s you!” A second Tyrogue appeared, and he turned and grinned when Homen began cheering for him.

Round 2! Hoborg (lv. 12 Tyrogue) versus Havoc (lv. 40 Sneasel)! FIGHT!

Havoc laughed. “You’re the best your trainer can do? Really? I could crush you by sneezing.”

“Do not underestimate us,” Hoborg said, grinning. “Looks like my bro already did a number on your teammate.”

That had the desired effect, and Havoc scowled. “This is a battlefield,” he said, “so let’s fight.”

“You got it!” Much like his brother had, Hoborg darted to Havoc’s side and smacked him, making him flinch. He followed the Fake Out up with a lightning-fast punch, driven into Havoc’s side. Havoc skipped back nursing a growing bruise.

“Okay, those were kind of impressive,” Havoc said. “But that’s all you get.” He gestured to Alana, and she threw out her last Pokéball; a Houndoom appeared, and together the two of them surrounded Hoborg. They threw a flurry of blows, beat up the Tyrogue from both sides. When the attack was done, Alana recalled the Houndoom, once again leaving only two Pokémon on the field.

Hoborg groaned. “Cheap shot!” he said weakly, lurching to his feet.

“And that was my weakest attack,” Havoc said, idly tapping his claws together. “You don’t stand a chance.”

“Hoborg! Maybe you need to shake him up a little!” Blue called. “You know what I mean?”

“Got it!” Hoborg began waggling his index fingers left and right. There was an audible click as something tweaked in his mind, and he rushed Havoc, landing another punch in his side. This time, his fist was coated with a silvery energy, which, upon impact, coalesced into small steel shards and drove into Havoc’s side as well. The Bullet Punch a success, Hoborg nailed him with another Bullet Punch, then skipped back, keeping his fists up in a boxer’s stance.

“Bring up the tempo a bit, Havoc,” Alana said calmly.

Havoc grinned and, somehow, managed to burrow underneath the arena.

“You know what to do, Hoborg.”

Hoborg jumped into the air and landed far harder than something his size had any right to. The ground shook violently, and within a moment, Havoc had struggled out of the hole he dug, looking annoyed. “Fine!” Havoc hissed. “You want to play like that? Then I’m going to deliver the pain!” He began preening over his claws, running them down each other until they gleamed, visibly sharper.

“If he hits you,” Blue said, “we’re done for.” And if I could go through a match without having to say that, it’d be great, he added mentally.

“Then I’ll keep him off balance,” Hoborg said. He waved his fingers around again, and this time, the Metronome gave him a decidedly different result: he began beating his chest, the act pumping him up, even though each blow hurt.

“A Belly Drum? It’s far too late for that,” Alana said. “Havoc. Finish him.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice!” Havoc made a fist, ice crystals crackling around it, and rushed at Hoborg. Hoborg, in turn, balled up his own fist and ran at the oncoming Sneasel. The two Pokémon collided, meeting each other’s’ fists, but the Mach Punch, after a brief moment, broke through, and Havoc fell to the ground.

Hoborg stumbled back, panting hard. He hadn’t escaped the maneuver without harm on his end.

Round 2 over! Hoborg wins!

“Take five, Hoborg,” Blue said. Hoborg nodded and joined his brother on the sidelines.

“Then it’s down to our last Pokémon,” Alana said.

“Sure looks that way, hoss,” Blue said, smiling. He tossed his Pokéball to the field at the same time as Alana. He already knew what was coming – a Houndoom – and sent out Righello to meet it. A sandstorm whipped up inside the arena as both Pokémon took their places…

FINAL ROUND! Righello (lv. 21 Tyranitar) versus Courser (lv. 50 Houndoom!)

---

Okay, my final Pokémon is Righello, my level 21 male Tyranitar. He’s not holding anything, and his moves are Dragon Dance, Thunder Wave, Leer, Sandstorm, Screech, Scary Face, Bite, Aerial Ace, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Rock Slide, and Shadow Punch.

[Wolfsong]

I'll get to your story soon. thanks again for getting mine. New sscenario ahead.

After the ice melted, it was quiet for a while. The wild pokémon attacks against trainers were becoming increasingly rare once more and for that everyone was thankful. As the days passed, the inhabitants of the Crystal Caves began to get bored, the Gym Leaders included.

Then, there came word that strange, new pokémon were appearing in the caves and surrounding areas. Curious, volunteers were sent to look and their return was eagerly awaited.

When the volunteers returned, they had captured some of these pokemon, while others had been persuaded to come and enjoy a celebration celebrating their discovery with the possibility of battles.


List of challengers

L5-L10

L5 Dwebble +1
L10 Maractus +2

L11-L15

L11 Deerling +1
L15 Tirtouga +2

L16-L20

L16 Litwick +1
L20 Liepard+2

L21-L25

L21 Frillish +1
L25 Pignite +2

L26-L30

L26 Larvesta +1
L30 Emolga +2

L31-L35

L31 Zebstrika +1
L35 Servine +2

L36-L40

L36 Musharna +1
L40 Samurott +2

L41-L45

L41 Deino +1
L45 Golurk +2

L46-L50

L46 Darmanitan +1
L50 Mienshao +2

L50+

L51 Mandibuzz +1
L55 Braviary +2

[Wolfsong]

Jeff, great story. I enjoyed reading it. Take 24 CCPS. A couple of things, I noticed. First, I think that you meant her eyes were shut and, I also think that you meant And if instead of id. I liked how you described the gym, as well as the nicknames of Alana’s pokemon. Interesting how the concussions took the umbreon out. Homen and Hoberg both gained two levels.


Righello L.21 Tyranitar Vs. Courser L.50 Houndoom

The brewing sandstorm further obliterated what little visibility that there was in the darkened gym. Courser snarled and shook his head as the sand irritated his eyes. The devil dog, threw his head back and howled. Righello, meanwhile, was focusing on an intricate dance that he had inherited from his ancestors. As he performed the steps, he could feel himself getting faster and stronger.

Courser flicked his tail from side to side with a smirk as he narrowed his eyes before fading into the darkness as Righello continued his dragon dance. Courser silently stalked the tyranitar from the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It came just before Righello finished his dance. The houndoom emerged right in front of his opponent’s legs and caused him to stumble.

Giving a loud roar of frustration, Righello spun around and launched three electrical rings at Courser. The houndoom was caught off guard by the tyranitar being just as fast as he was now. With a low growl as he felt his muscles tighten as paralysis set in and before he could even think of using his hidden power they locked up completely, while the sandstorm continued to chip away at his health.

The armor Pokémon smirked, as he stomped the ground. In response, several rocks appeared in the midst of the sandstorm and slid down on to the still immobile houndoom.

Not wanting to give his opponent anytime to regroup, he stomped over to prone houndoom and picked him up biting down on him with his fangs crackling with electricity. Courser, winced as he felt his muscles unlock and exhaled a stream of watcher at Righello’s chest courtesy of his hidden power.

The attack caused the tyranitar to drop the houndoom onto the gym floor. With a grunt, Courser scrambled to his feet as he was pelted by another rock slide. He tried to endure the attack, but his muscles froze up leaving him vulnerable once more.

Righello waited but, when his opponent didn’t emerge from the rubble, he cautiously headed over as the sandstorm died. Shifting some of the rocks aside, revealed the unconscious houndoom.


Righello won.
He grew two levels.

Alana’s eyes widened, but she quickly put on a neutral expression as she recalled her fainted pokemon. Without saying another word, she moved silently through the darkness. Approaching Blue, she took his hand giving a mandatory shake, leaving behind the Opaque badge and the Fash SM before disappearing back into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*hands over 7 CCPs* I’d like an rbg for my Combusken Wildfire from the east caverns please.

[The Blue Avenger]

Thanks. :D I appreciate the stamps and the conclusion.

Wildfire will fight a Meditite.

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: Darkfire/Skye took in Phoenix. A loooong time ago, I had Tiana bred with *Murkrow’s Shiny Ditto Hinto, and recently she was bred with Skye’s nuka. Storywise though both babies will be Nuka’s. Sela was also acquired by breeding. Her parents are Eben Avis and Shonta’s ditto Serena. Zale’s son, Anubis, the houndour is also making his appearance. He is the level five male with normal colors. His mother is really Knight of Time’s Houndoom but storywise its Aretmis. She also had twins, but only one (Anubis) will be the one I’m keeping the other storywise is going to be Brian’s. brian is storywise Aretmis’ trainer. The following were EMT moves: Focus Energy, Iron Defense, and Iron Tail for Laila, Tail Whip for Kumar, Thunderbolt for Angel, as well as Sky Attack, Roost, and Roar for Sela. This is Tiana’s RBG.


(Tiana’s POV)

I panted as I sat outside the entrance to the South Caverns. I could have probably made it quicker if I had attempted to teleport, but then again knowing my luck I’d have ended up in the middle of the lake. I gave an involuntary shudder at that thought. Zale was the one that loved the water.

I sighed softly. I hadn’t seen Hinto in months. He had been caught, which was surprising since he was a ditto and not given that he was shiny like myself.

I gave my head a shake as I looked around. What I needed was a good battle to distract myself. I wasn’t the only one out looking for a battle today. Angel had asked Ranec if he could take her into the North Caverns and Sunita had tagged along with them. Just before I left this morning, I heard Wildfire talking about looking for a battle.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head to look, I saw a Chimecho darting in close to a growlithe and then back out of range. I stopped, watching not having a good feeling about this. Sure enough, the growlithe tried to run away but the chimecho knocked him out with her hidden power which turned out to be water.


Tiana L.20 Shiny F Espeon with a Blue Gem http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/WolsongsWilderness/TianaASB-1.png Vs. L.20 F Chimecho

My eyes narrowed at that. If there was anything everyone on our team despised, it was bullies. As if in response to my anger, the entire room of the cavern went dark as I could feel my fur standing on ends as I charged towards the chimecho and tackled her to the ground. She shrieked in pain before wrapping herself around my neck.

I coughed having trouble breathing, as I growled loudly as she continued to squeeze even tighter as she wrapped herself tighter around my neck.

Having already used my hidden power, I could feel the energy crackling around my teeth as I crunched down on the little bit of her flowing tail that I could reach. With a cry, she quickly released her hold and floated out of my reach as she glowed faintly and when the glow faded, she looked much healthier. I snarled at that and she responded by sticking out her tongue at me.

I responded by focusing on secreting a toxic substance that I held in my mouth as I took a running leap. At the height of my leap, I spit the sludge all over the floating bell. She was shocked. “Freak,” I heard her mutter before she launched a dark ball of ethereal energy.

I couldn’t help but cry out in pain as the attack hit, but being called a freak, while it hurt, it made me even angrier. It was part of what Ruki went through on a daily basis but he found someone who didn’t mind the fact that he still had an eevee mane even though he was a shiny umbreon. Quickly shaking my head, I returned my attention back to the battle as I retaliated with a shadow ball of my own.

At this point, we were both panting hard. I glanced up and saw that there was a small hole in the roof of the cavern and I mentally called out to the sun, not sure if it was going to respond or not. I couldn’t help but sigh in relief as I felt my body healing. When I was done, I was met by another shadow ball.

I was getting tired of this but she was purposely keeping out of range from my best attacks. Taking a deep breath, I charged up another ethereal ball of energy and shot it towards the Chimecho. It hit, and she dropped to the ground.


I won!
I grew to L.21.

I sat down panting, as I waited to regain my energy. I thought about going to the North Caverns where I could visit Ruki and maybe regroup with Angel, Ranec and Sunita.

It took me a little while, because it had been a while since I had last had a battle. When I finally felt rested enough, I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind and teleport. The next thing I knew, I was dropping down onto of someone.

“Sorry, sorry.” I replied as I scrambled off and looked to see who I had landed on. I blinked unable to believe my eyes as a purr escaped, and all thoughts of catching up with Angel and the others left my mind..


(Amy’s POV)

I carefully carried the egg back to the house. I had found it while I was out for my walk. I waited for a while, when I didn’t see any other pokemon nearby before releasing Dakota. He confirmed, using his hidden power that the egg had been abandoned.

I decided to wait a little longer before we took it with her. Dakota nodded his head in agreement, even though I had not said anything out loud. I thought about that morning, when I had given out tm’s before some of my team went out for training. Laila was pleased with the moves she had received as well as Angel. While Kumar didn’t say anything, he knew that his move might prove helpful at some point.

Suddenly, Dakota sat straight up as he looked towards the direction of home.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“Artemis.”

He only said one word, but the meaning was clear. Artemis, must be having her puppy. So instead of waiting any longer, I picked up the egg and we hurried home.

By the time we made it home, it was over. Zale was standing protectively over Artemis. I stepped closer, and I could feel him watching me. I looked down to see two puppies. One was shiny and the other had normal colors.

“Congrats.” I said softly, as I set the egg down on the sofa.

Zale smiled. “Thanks. Artemis wants to keep one and she knows Brian will take Athena and we’ll keep Anubis.”

I smiled, as the two pups nuzzled against their mother. “Nice names.”

Artemis and Zale beamed at that. However, before anything else could be said there was a loud pop, as Tiana teleported on top of the egg. She laid there for a few minutes purring loudly.

I couldn’t help but smile at that. It had been a while since we had seen her happy. She looked over and smiled at her twin and his girlfriend. “Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Zale said beaming. “It’s nice to see you happy again.”

“I ran into Nuka.” Zale frowned, but before he could open his mouth. “Don’t even start Zale, he-”

Whatever she had been about to say was lost, as the egg she was sitting on began to shake and a crack appeared. She hopped off and watched as a tiny claw poked out. “What?”

As we watched a tiny baby Aerodactyl emerged from the egg and chirped excitedly when it saw Tiana and flopped awkwardly out of the egg toward her. It chirped and looked up at Tiana who just blinked.

Anubis joined the team. He is a L.5 male houndour that knows leer, ember, howl, and double team.

Sela joined the team. She is a L.5 female aerodactyl that knows Wing Attack, Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, and Dragonbreath, plus the following TM’s that I’ve given her Sky Attack, Roost, Roar.

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: The following moves are emt moves I got that I’m giving Anubis and when this before story notes is over, he will know them. The moves are Rage and Faint Attack. Here is Wildfire’s battle, i had a bit of writer's block with this story.


(Wildfire’s POV)

I stretched my legs as I looked around the cavern. At the time, it was empty and that was all right with me.

While my teammates were nice and they didn’t make fun of me, I looked ridiculous. I couldn’t wait to evolve for that very reason. The others thought it was because I wanted to be more powerful, and I was content to let them keep on believing that.

I had to watch where I was putting my feet because of all the water in this part of the caverns. I’d passed a a stunky, a spiritomb, a bagon as well as several other pokemon, although none of them looked strong enough to provide a challenge for me.

I knew that it would be tough to find a strong opponent, Kumar, Ranec, and Dakota had similar problems.

As I made my way through the caverns, I heard footsteps following me. Turning my head, I saw that it was the stunky. I glanced over at him, my matches dangling from the chain around my neck.

The stunky didn’t say anything. He just continued to quietly follow me until I reached the next cavern. There, I arrived in time to see a meditate take out a Gible in one hit with an ice punch.

“Pathetic challenger…” she muttered under her breath.

The dark skunk snarled as he positioned himself up on a rock as the Meditite noticed me.

“What do you want?” She asked.

“How about a battle?”

The Meditite laughed. “You have to be joking. It will be a piece of cake. I have a type advantage.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.

The psychic fighter just shook her head and laughed as if she thought that I was kidding. “Still it’ll bring me one step closer closer to evolving.”

That was something I could agree with, but I wasn’t going to voice that out loud as we both got into battle stances.


Wildfire L.28 Female Combusken Vs. L.28 Meditite

I took a deep breath and focused myself for the battle ahead, knowing that the focus energy could mean the difference between winning and losing. The meditate wasted no time in blasting me with a confusion.

I held my breath to keep from crying out. That attack hurt, but nothing could compare to that metronome explosion. I kept that in mind as I looked over at the meditate before running over and pecking her hard in the head with my beak. She winced, but the next thing I knew I stumbled when the ground beneath my feet began to rumble.

Figures, I thought to myself. “Hidden power ground.

Jumping back, I began to prepare a glob of poisonous sludge as the psychic fighter, while breathing hard was sure that she still had this one in the palm of her hand. I was ready to give her a rude awakening as I spewed the toxic sludge all over her as she leapt at me. Crying out in surprise, her kick sailed wide and she crashed into the cavern wall.

Using her crash as the perfect distraction, I channeled as much of my health that I could risk into creating a lifelike doll. My opponent, turned around and sat down in the middle of the floor and started meditating.

I used the opportunity to curl up and go to sleep regaining my health.


(Meditite’s POV)

When I opened my eyes after I had finished my meditation, I saw that that stupid Combusken was just standing there. Giving my head a shake, I focused on calming my mind, which was proving to be difficult as the poison worked its way through my system

The next thing I knew there was this loud rumbling noise that echoed all around the cavern. I winced as the sound waves hit me. I retaliated by firing another confusion at the fire chicken, who like an idiot just stood there. I was gritting my teeth trying to ignore the pain as the toxic was doing its job

That loud rumbling noise sounded again, as I blasted another confusion attack at the stupid fire fighter. My eyes widened as she shattered into millions of tiny pieces, which revealed the real Combusken standing up and stretching.


(Wildfire’s POV)

I woke up stretching feeling much better, than I had before using rest. I couldn’t say the same for the meditate. Charging forwards, I ran as fast as I could and pecked her hard on her head and she went down in a heap.

I stood there panting as the stunky cheered.


I won!
I grew to L. 29

[Wolfsong]

*hands over 14 ccps* I'd like a 2-2 rbg from teh forest for Tiana and Wildfire please.

[Wolfsong]

*hands over 14 ccps* I'd like a 2-2 rbg from the forest for Tiana and Wildfire please.

Before story notes: This is Angel and Sunita’s RBg. Sorry that it’s a little on the short side. This takes place on the same day as Wildfire’s last rbg. Skye/Darkfire gave aslant back to me at the cccc. I renamed him loki and he’s going to be one of tiana’s unborn babies when he makes his appeareance. Also had a bit of writer's blcok with this story.


(Angel’s POV)

I glanced over at Sunita. I was so excited that I couldn’t keep still. I’d finally get to have a battle that wasn’t at the battle tower.

I looked over at the dratini. I may have been at a higher level, but she knew how to battle without having orders issued whereas I didn’t.

As we made our way deeper into the East Caverns, I looked around and noticed that Sunita was shivering. I stopped and lowered my head, letting her warm up using my neck ruff.

<Thanks.>

<You’re welcome,> I sent back silently. The good thing about us both having a psychic typed hidden power, we didn’t have to talk out loud to communicate.

We made our way silently through the huge caverns passing several other pokemon but none of them wanted to battle. That was, until we came across a sneasel discussing battles with a Snorunt.

“Well, what have we here?” The sneasel asked.

“Sunita and I were looking for a battle,” I answered as Sunita poked her head out of my neck ruff.

“We’d be willing if you want to have a two on two.”

<I’m fine with that if you are. The snorunt looks close to my level while the sneasel is closer to yours.>

“We’re interested.”

“This should be easy,” The snorunt exclaimed.

“Don’t get too cocky, they’re trained pokemon.” The sneasel explained when he noticed the status die around my neck.

“Why?” He asked. “We have the type advantage against the dratini.

They have access to items, as well as more powerful “Tms…”

Sunita had slithered down to rest beside me and I glanced over at her.

<The Sneasel’s smart, but the snorunt’s young and cocky.>

Now that I was about to battle, I was suddenly nervous. <I…>

<You’ll do fine. I’ll help you if you need it.>


Angel L.14 F Absol and Sunita L.7 F Dratini Vs. L.14 F Sneasel and L.7 M Snorunt

<Just remember, sneasels are week to fire, fighting, bug, rock, and steel.>

I nodded as I thought of my attacks and realized I had about three good moves that I could use. While I was thinking, she darted in and hit me with a quick attack. Shaking my head, I reached for my status die and rolled it. A purple haze emerged and floated over to the sneasel and she breathed it in before coughing.


(Sunita’s POV)

I took a deep breath before letting out a series of supersonic waves at the snorunt. He stumbled before running straight into the cavern wall.

He shook his head before falling down onto his side and started rolling around the cavern. I watched him, getting ready to attempt dodging but I didn’t need to. The confusion struck again and he rolled right into a stalagmite.


(Angel’s POV)

Before I could do anything, the sneasel rushed at me and slashed her claws, which were glowing a yellow green, in an “x” pattern across my chest. I couldn’t help but cry out in pain, as she coughed from the poison. I had originally been going to use rock smash, but the attack had hurt so much that I went to the strongest attack that I had. The scythe on my head hardened as I darted towards the sneasel and slammed the rock hard blade into her side. She gasped from the strength of the stone edge.

We were both panting heavily severely weakened from the strong blows. She was faster than I was although, somehow I knew that she was going to go for another x-scissor. I charged forwards before she could even think of moving and took her down. I stood there panting, as I waited for her to get up but the sneasel didn’t.


I won!
I grew to L.15.

I sat down, to watch the rest of Sunita’s battle.


(Sunita’s POV)

Shaking his head, he hopped back up on his feet and glared at me. The next thing I knew, I had a face full of snow. Shivering, I raised my body heat by concentrating on my next attack. The shivering slowed as the heat inside me began to build. Taking a deep breath, I exhaled a stream of flames right into the snorunt’s face.

He gasped and took a step back and soon I was staring at four of the snow hat pokemon. Still a little chilled, I couldn’t help but smirk. I had the perfect move to deal with a situation like this. The air around me began to crackle with electricity as the energy built up in the air around me. When I couldn’t contain it anymore, I stopped trying to hold it back and the wave of electricity and watched as it disintegrated all of the clones. The real snorunt took a step back and blasted me with another snowball.

Shivering, I prepared my next attack. My tail glistened with a metallic sheen as it became as hard as iron as I slammed it into the Snorunt. He went tumbling from the force of the blow and slammed once more into the stalagmite that he had crashed into earlier. I breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t get back up. I slithered over to Angel and buried myself in her neck ruff to warm myself up.


I won.
I grew to L.8.

[Wolfsong]

*hands over 14 ccps* I'd like a 2-2 rbg from teh forest for Tiana and Wildfire please.

Before story notes: This takes place about a month after Angel and Sunita’s last battle. I released Angel and this is the beginning of the explanation behind her departure. Here is my first battle for the scenario as well. Slowly getting Wildfire closer to her goal.


(Angel’s POV)

I was so excited, that I couldn’t sit still. I was starving as I headed into the kitchen, but lately, that wasn’t anything new. Walking over to the full length mirror, I sat down and looked at my reflection. I sighed. I wouldn’t be able to keep my secret much longer at this rate.

I padded over to Aunt Tiana. I needed to tell someone and since she was in a similar condition, although it was much more obvious in her case. I was glad to find her alone.

“Aunt Tiana? Do you have a moment?”

“Sure, Angel. Come on in.

I padded in and sat down looking over at her. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing pretty good. Just very very hungry all the time.

“I know the feeling,” I admitted as I sat down in front of her.

“Angel?”

I nodded shyly.

“Who? “How long? Does your Dad know?”

I smiled as I thought about Isi. “He’s one of the new pokemon that have showed up in the caverns recently. You know the kinds that are going to be the main attraction of the celebration that is going on in town? He’s a grass normal type called a Sawsbuck, and incredibly handsome.” I took a deep breath. “I’ve been seeing him a little over a month and a half. I said as I sat down beside her, “But this. I’m only a month along. And no, Dad doesn’t know. But I’m going to have to tell him soon because I want to go live with Isi.”

“Really? You know Zale isn’t going to be too happy about that.”

“I know.” I looked over at her. “What can I expect other than being hungry all the time?”

Tiana chuckled. “Well, as it progresses, it gets harder to move.” She looked down at herself.

“How far along are you?”

Aunt Tiana looked down before back up at me. “A month.”

I blinked at that. “A month?”

She nodded. “I have a feeling I’m having twins but I’m even hungrier than I was the last time…”

I stepped forward. “Do… do you want me to try and see…” I let my voice trail off.

“To see if it’s more than one?”

I nodded.

“If you can that would be great. I’ve tried, but I can’t concentrate enough to tell for a fact.”

Taking a deep breath, I approached her as she laid down on her pillow. Her tail twitched this way and that, adding to the fact that she couldn’t keep still. I chuckled as I placed my paw on her belly and concentrated on my hidden power.

It was a few mintues before I was able to get anything because the babies got their mother’s energy. I blinked when I did finally manage to determine how many as I pulled my paw away.

“Well?”

I gave a small smile. “Well, it is definitely more than one.”

Aunt Tiana smiled. “Twins…”

“Actually, it’s triplets.”

Aunt Tiana’s eyes widened and she fainted. I looked around before nudging her. When she didn’t get up right away, I used a weak water pulse to just get her face wet and she sat up blinking and shaking the water off of her face.

I was glad I was just having one, but I couldn’t wait to meet my cousins. I’d make it a point to come back for a visit after I had my little one.

“I’ll leave you to process that while I go talk to Dad.”


* * * *

I found him watching Anubis. My little half-brother was playing a game of tug-a-war with Sela. While still small, the baby aerodactyl was growing at a fast rate.

Taking a deep breath, I padded over to him. “Dad, can I talk with you?”

“Sure, Angel.” He said as he followed me over to where we could talk privately but still keep an eye on the kids.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been heading out a lot over the past couple of months.”

“I noticed and you know I worry about you…

“I know.” I took a deep breath and let it out. “I think I’m going to leave the team.”

“WHAT?!”

“I’ve met someone and it’s getting serious. I… I want to go stay with him and raise our family. I’ll still come back for visits.”

“Family?”

I smiled and nodded. “You’ll get to meet him soon. His younger brother is going to be one of the pokemon battling at the celebration.

“He’s one of new types discovered?”

I nodded. “He is. A sawsbuck and mighty handsome and kind and you’ll like him. I’m planning to stay around till after the celebration at least.”

”Have you talked it over with Amy?”

“I have. She doesn’t want me to go but she wants me to be happy. Amy also said that I was the one that would have to tell you.”

“You’ve been thinking about this a lot?” He asked as he looked over at me.

“I have,” I told him as I nodded.

“You sure that you won’t change your mind?”

“I’m positive.” I told him as I nuzzled him.


* * * *

The celebration was going to be huge. Wildfire was excited and talking about the battles she’d get to have. I nodded only half listening because all that I could think about was seeing Isi again.

I glanced over at Dad and he was watching me sadly as I looked around. I stopped by and got some cotton candy and quickly devoured it before stopping sensing that I was being watched.

A few minutes later, Isi stepped out of the shadows and chuckled before nuzzling me. “Hey there. How are you doing?”

“Good. I’m hungry, but good.” Before I could say anything else, I heard someone clearing his throat from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder and ducked my head. It was Dad.

“Um, Isi?”

“Yeah, Ange?”

“Isi, this is my dad, Zale. Dad, this is Isi.”

”Pleased to meet you, sir.”

I could see Dad was watching him warily trying to take in his strength. I rolled my eyes. “He’s level 34 Dad.”

“Hmm…”

I could tell that Dad was impressed, but he was trying not to show it.

“I hear that Angel is considering leaving the team to be with you.”

”Yes, sir. I’m the lucky one.”

I held my breath, as Dad looked him over.

“At least you’re not a loose cannon but I’m still not sure that I trust you…”

“Dad!” I hissed at him

“Well, it’s true. But for her sake I’ll give you a chance but if you ever hurt her… Well, you’ll be certain you will regret it.

”I’m not going to hurt her.”

”You better not.”

Before he could say anyhting else, Anubis ran over yipping softly and pawed at Dad’s neck frill.

I smiled. Little brohter to the rescue even if he didn’t realize what he did. Chuckling, Isi and I headed over to the arena where the battles were going to be held.

It was no surprise that when we got there, Wildfire had already found an opponent. She and what looked like a flying elctric type were facing off.

”That’s an emolga.”

I just nodded as we made our way to the front so that we could watch the battle.


(Wildfire’s POV)

I stretched as I scanned the area for possible opponents. I was looking at ground level, so the only clue I had that someone had arrived was a small shadow on the ground.

”Hi, are you my opponent?”

“I guess I am.” I glanced over at the side of the stage and saw Angel show up with a deer pokemon and they sat down near Amy. Giving my head one last shake, I turned to face my opponent.

“I’m Wildfire.”

”Static.” She said with a smirk.


Wildfire L.30 Combusken Vs. Static L.F Emolga

I took a deep breath and focused on the battle I had ahead of me. As I did that, Static made an aerial loop and slammed into me causing him to stagger backwards.

I shook my head, that attack hurt. Narrowing my eyes, I glared at her. If she was going to play that way and not soften any punches, then neither was I. Taking a deep breath, I concentrated on the attack that my father had passed on to me. As I did so, the rocks that were located in the general vicinity of the stage as well as the others that were close by, lifted up into the air and slid down on top of the flying rodent. She crashed to the ground and was momentarily trapped by the rocks.

I was already preparing my next attack by the time Static had extricated herself. Just before she took back to the air, she was greeted by a toxic sludge to her face. Coughing, she retaliated by zapping my with an electro ball.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled a stream of flames. Static retaliated with another acrobatic assault. Shaking my head, I pushed through the pain as the rocks once more rose up into the air and pelted the flying mouse once again. She fouht free of the rocks and clapped her wings together sending a thunderbolt hurtling at me.

When it hit, I saw spots but I wasn’t going to let Static knock me out when I was just a few battles shy of evoling. However, before I could launch antoher attack, the poison finally became too much for Static to overcome and she collapsed on the stage.


I won.
I grew to L.32.
I learned Quick Attack.

Once the battle was over, Static was whisked away to the tent that was being used as a Pokecenter. I stood there for a moment as I watched the rocks getting cleared off of the stage before I leapt down and slowly made my way to the Pokecenter as well. Before I made it to the halfway point, Laila joined me as well.

”Wildfire?”

“Yes Laila?”

She took a deep breath before looking up at me. “I know that you’re focusing on evolving right now. But when you managed to become a Blaziken, will you help me to get closer to evolving?

“I’ll do my best, but Ultimately that’s up to you and how much you’re willing to battle. You have a longer way to go than I do.”

”I know.”

[Wolfsong]

*hands over 14 ccps* I'd like a 2-2 rbg from teh forest for Tiana and Wildfire please.

Before story notes: Here is my second battle for the scneario. Almost there for wildfire. She only needs one or two more battles before she gets to evolve.


(Wildfire’s POV)

There was a long line and wait at the Pokemon Center. Laila and I watched as the line in front of us slowly got shorter. As we waited patiently, there was a commotion behind us and one of the new grass types was pushing its way tryign to skip his way to the front of the line. I saw a flash of white and the floor in front of him had a small patch of ice that the grass type hit and slid into the wall.

I glances over at laila was was whistling innocently as we moved up one spot. A cyndaquil quicly melted the patch of ice and was chuckling.

The grass snake glared around but couldn’t figure out who had created the ice patch. His eyes never fell on Laila, and why would they. He didn’t know she was an elemental larvitar and none of the other pokemon were saying anythign. Glaring dagger at the pokemon in line, he got back in line end up right where he had been before stepping on the ice patch but not forcing his way any further to the front. Which was exactly behind us.

While it wasn’t exactly a short wait, it wasn’t entirely long either when it was finally my turn. Laila watched as I was looked over and healed before we started to head back to the main area. We hadn’t gotten far when we heard a voice behind us.

“Hey you!”

I sighed. It was the grass pokemon from earlier. “What do you want?”

”It’s Servine to the likes of you. And I’m nto sure how, but it had to have been one of you two that made that patch of ice. So which one of you has the ice type hidden power?”

”Neither of us. Mine’s electric and Laila’s is rock.

”Stop lying.”

”She isn’t.”

Stay out of this runt.

Laila narrowed her eyes and shot an ice beam into the air as a warning shot.

“I am NOT a runt.”

”If it looks like a ducklett and acts like a ducklett it’s a ducklett."

I grabbed laila before she could launch herself at him. I could practically see the smoke coming from her ears.

”Let her come. It’ll get me the level I need to evolve.”

”If you wnt a battle, I’ll take you on.


Wildfire L.32 F Combusken Vs. L.35 M Servine

The next thing I knew, without any warning whatsoever, I was met with a blast of water to the face. Shaking my head, I glared at the servine. I growled loudly as I wiped the water off of my face.

”Ready to give up yet?”

”You’ve got to be joking?” I retorted beore taking a deep breath and exhaling a stream fo flames. He flamethrower sailed through a clone leaving two servines remaining.

Grumbling under my breath because I didn’t get a chance to watch close enough in order to mirror move it so I took a deep breath and started running towards the one on the left. When I got halfway between us I tucked and started rolling before lashing out when I got withing touching distace. I half expected to meet with air, but I connected with a solid form which went sailing thorugh the air as the clone disappeared.

Before he could gather his bearings, I darted in close and launched a point blank flamethrower. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in a burn. Before I could get out of the way, I was blasted by his hidden power.

Shaking myself dry, I began to wiggle my fingers back and forth as I tensed up. The last time I had tried this move, I exploded. When I finished twitching my fingers, I winced until I could feel the air in front of me starting to circulate in front of me. As I watched the wind started to pick up before the aeroblast shot towards the servine slamming him hard into the side of the Pokemon center. I waited half expecting him to get up. When he didn’t, Laila and I drug him inside the pokemon center and the two of us hurried back to meet up with Amy and the others.


I won.
I grew to L. 34.

[Wolfsong]

*hands over 14 ccps* I'd like a 2-2 rbg from teh forest for Tiana(l.21) and Wildfire(L.34) please.

*hands over 7 more ccps* I'd like a rbg for turin my new deino (l.5)from the east caverns please

[Wolfsong]

*hands over 14 ccps* I'd like a 2-2 rbg from teh forest for Tiana(l.21) and Wildfire(L.34) please.



*hands over 7 more ccps* I'd like a rbg for turin my new deino (l.5)from the east caverns please

*hands over 7 more ccps* I'd like one mroe rbg for wildfire from the forest please

[The Blue Avenger]

SORRY ABOUT THAT WAIT :[

Tiana and Wildfire will fight a Mothim and a Graveler.
Your Deino will fight... another Deino.
Wildfire's other battle will be against a Jumpluff.

[Wolfsong]

Thanks. One more RBG for me then i'm going to settle down to write. I would like an rbg for Loki my L.5 Shiny eevee with purple glow from the east caverns please. *hands over 7 ccps*

[The Blue Avenger]

Loki will fight a Meditite.

[Wolfsong]

Wow I just noticed that Wildfire’s two scenario battles as well as Sunita & Angel’s RBG, as well as Tiana and Wildfire’s previous RBGs have yet to be rated. Anyways, here are a couple more (Loki and Turin’s RBGs. Tiana and Wildfire’s will be next Sorry it’s short but getting over writer’s block, in addition to the two low leveled battles.

Before story notes: The three eevees were bred before my disappearance. Chaos is naturally shiny and knows only tackle, tail whip, and helping hand. I got him a charm tm that I had got from Gabi before my absence [I had traded mega kick and five ccps for it], I also got him a hidden power tm that I had traded an emt amnesia to Shonta for] and it will be rock type. Fury was normal colored but I used a mystical aura juice on him though story wise he was born normal with a purple glow. His moves are Tackle, Tail Whip, Helping Hand, Sunny Day. I had also bought him a hidden power tm before my absence. It will be fire type. Loki was a naturally shiny eevee with a purple glow. His moves are Tackle, Tail Whip, Helping hand, and Rest. I just bought him a Snore and Charm TM. I also bought an Essence of Moss Rock, Thunderstone, and a Genetic Accelerator Gene though only the GAC is going to be used right now.


(Turin’s POV)

It had been three years since we had been back. Our trainer, Amy had been away taking care of her family and she took us with her. There wasn’t much for us to do during that time. So, when she told us that we were coming back everyone was excited.

Once we had made it back, which was a long trip in itself, seeing as there was no one on the team that could fly and the only one who could teleport was Tiana. Amy didn’t want to risk any of us with Tiana’s hit or miss teleportation, so we took the long way.

Ranec, Kumar, Laila, Lani, and Dakota were helping Amy clean the house and the yard up. Zale took Anubis with him to visit Artemis and Athena. Sela was working on her flying skills, now that she had some room to practice. Sunita was taking a nap while Chaos and Fury were chasing each other all over the place. Loki and I watched as Tiana and Wildfire left t go to the forest to try and find some battles.

“You know, maybe we could search for a battle as well,” Loki suggested.

“I think that Wildfire and Tiana would notice and make us go back,” I said as I tried to blow some of the fur that hung down in my face out of my eyes.

“Only if we went to the forest, then yes they would. However, if we went to one of the caves then they wouldn’t known and therefore couldn’t send us back.”

“I tilted my head, liking the idea. “Which cave did you have in mind?”

The glowing eevee smirked. “I was thinking about going to the Eastern Caverns. Are you with me?”

“Just me and you?” I asked the silver eevee.

“Yep,” he said with a wink. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” I said as the two of us slipped off.

It didn’t take very long for the two of us to find a couple of pokemon that were the same low level that we were. The trouble was that it was another deino as well as a meditite. I went to suggest that we keep looking but the shiny glowing eevee was gone, already boldly approaching the two pokemon.

“Why do I let Loki talk me into these things?” I muttered to myself as I followed him into the cavern and braced myself for the upcoming battle.


Turin L.5 Male Dieno Verses L.5 Female Wild Deino

She started the battle off with an earsplitting screech that had me wishing that I had hands so that I could cover my ears. Lowering my head, I charged forwards tackling her as hard.

She snarled at that before tackling me back and pushing me into the wall of the cavern. Giving my head a shake, which was a mistake because the fur fell back into my eyes, I charged blindly towards where I saw her last only to slam headfirst into the wall.

Groaning, I turned around blowing the fur out of my face as I did so that I see once more. My eyes widened as I saw a faint pinkish red glow surrounding her. I quickly threw up a protective barrier, which thankfully survived the onslaught of dragon energy. Never in my life had I ever been so thankful for getting protect as my bred on move than I was at that moment.

My eyes narrowed. If she wanted to play that way, then I would too. This time, I was the one that was enveloped in the dragonic energy as it crackled around my body before it flew towards my opponent. Upon contact, it slammed into her and sent her flying backwards into the far wall of the cave. As I watched, she slid to the ground in a crumpled heap.


I won!
I grew to L. 6.

I slowly walked over to the nearest rock and sat down.

(Loki’s POV)

Loki L.5 Shiny Male Eevee with a Purple Glow http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/WolsongsWilderness/My%20Stuff/shinyeeveepurpleglow_zpsugwb0yqf.jpg (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/WolsongsWilderness/media/My%20Stuff/shinyeeveepurpleglow_zpsugwb0yqf.jpg.html) Vs. L.5 Wild Male Meditite

Before I had a chance to do anything, the meditite grabbed me by my hind legs and swung me around in a circle a few times before letting me go sending me flying across the cavern and landing in a heap. I winced at I got back up on all fours, but was thankful for the TMs that Amy had given me. I was definitely going to need them in this battle. I took a deep breath, and put on the most charming look on my face that I could muster, before exaggerating the slight limp that I had as I made my way back over to where the meditite was waiting. I could tell that my charm was working, but the brief flicker of expression that I saw cross his face. It was only there for a second before he scowled and his expression returned to neutral.

I stopped when I saw that his fist was sparking and braced myself. The thunder punch was still going to hurt even if it wasn’t as powerful as it was before. Gritting my teeth, I took the attack. When it was over, I laid myself down in the middle of the cavern floor and willed myself to sleep knowing that the rest would surly help.
(Turin’s POV)

When I looked over to see how Loki was doing, I was just in time to see him lie down and go to sleep? I frowned, wondering what in the world that eevee was thinking. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one puzzled by the turn of events.

The meditite gave him a confused look and poked him before shrugging and using the opportunity to send Loki flying from another seismic toss. Then, there was a horrendously loud snore which caused the small fighting type to hold his hands over his ears.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. As I watched, the meditite tried to sit down and meditate but another snore sounded interrupting the fighter’s concentration. Then I saw a faint movement and noticed that Loki had woken up.


(Loki’s POV)

I woke up, feeling a little worse for wear. However, I remained still pretending to still be asleep in order to lure my opponent closer. I cracked one of my eyes open and saw that he was looking rather rough. I quickly closed my eye again and braced myself as I heard the crackling of electricity again. I got ready to pounce him with a hard tackle the moment I felt the punch. I couldn’t help the cry of pain that escaped from the attack as I lunged forwards and slammed into the fighter. The two of us went down in a crumpled heap. However, I was the only one that got back up on my paws.


I won!
I grew to L. 6.

I sat down, panting hard trying to get my energy back. Once Turin and I both had the energy to move again, we started for home. Once we had arrived, I quickly searched for Amy’s back. I knew that she had bought a few evolutionary items. I knew that Chaos and Fury weren’t ready to evolve yet, but after that battle I was. I was also glad that Charm was a fairy typed move as I grabbed the Genetic Accelerator Gene with my teeth. As soon as I touched it, I felt a surge of power as I was enveloped in a brilliant white light. I could feel myself growing stronger as my body changed its shape. When the glow faded, I was now a http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/WolsongsWilderness/My%20Stuff/loki_zpsbflcua4c.jpg (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/WolsongsWilderness/media/My%20Stuff/loki_zpsbflcua4c.jpg.html) Sylveon.

[Wolfsong]

I'd like an rbg for Laila my L.18 Elemental Larvitar from the forest *hands over 7 ccps*

[Wolfsong]

I'd like an rbg for Laila my L.18 Elemental Larvitar from the forest *hands over 7 ccps*

I would also like one last rbg for Wildfire from the forest *hands over 7 CCPS*