The Pokemon Masters League (A Tribute to ASB) [Archive] - Page 3

Chris 2.1

10th July 2006, 02:02 PM

Wow new chapter! Hehe prepare for some big shocks and some big twists to the story!

Chapter Twenty-Six
[size=3]Charles Legend

In Jenny’s flat, I sat with The Missing Link and Amy Wolfsong. Amy was speaking to us about her past. After asking her and Becca to tell me everything, we had begun with Amy’s story about Liang – his past, his brother Henry, and her suspicions about his true loyalty.

“Henry and Liang were always handsome,” Amy said fondly. “Henry was slightly older than Liang. I had a crush on Henry for some time…and with Liang, we were like good friends. Very good friends. Close. I think he misinterpreted things. I would fawn over Henry while Liang sat in his shadow.

“After a while, Liang began to make advances onto me. I was flattered, really…but whenever Henry saw Liang flirt with me, it drove him away and that wasn’t what I wanted at all. So in order to try and see Henry, I had to rebuke Liang’s attempts.”

“How did he take it?” Becca asked, an ice pack on her wound. The colour was fading from her skin and she looked quite ill.

“Badly,” Amy said hesitantly. “He didn’t speak to me for…well, months. It was actually…about 4 month’s altogether. I began dating Henry in that time and everything went smoothly. After a while though, I realised where my priorities lay. Liang was jealous, and had become really reclusive. We had been such good friends. He needed me more. I ended things with Henry and asked for some kind of forgiveness from Liang.”

“And you got it?” I asked.

“No,” Amy mused. “He still wouldn’t speak to me. And he never did until about 8 weeks before I was taken at the lake. He sent me a letter.”

“I saw that,” Becca mumbled. “It was in my mail at the Tower.”

“It said he had been immature and had hidden how he felt. He wanted to forgive me, and was not going to be so cold to me anymore. After that, we never exactly became good friends again, but we didn’t ignore each other.”

“And when you were kidnapped,” Becca began. “Did Liang take you specifically? I assume he did…but it seemed coincidental to me and Karin that the one who was ‘murdered’ by Liang was the one that had been the catalyst for his…explosive other side.”

“I think it was a case of two birds with one stone,” Amy said thoughtfully.

“What happened to you?” I asked keenly.

“Shortly after arriving there I was drugged, and went straight to sleep,” Amy explained. “I was kept in a glass coffin, with tubes going into my bloodstream from my wrists. I was suspended underwater, and every 33 minutes I was brought up to the surface. Liang would ask me questions…they were usually about ‘what I knew’, although I had no idea what he was taking about.”

“He kept you in a coffin underwater?” I asked. “Good god.”

“He let me out…a few times,” Amy said. “To talk…the last time he did it, though, somebody called him to another room, and I specifically heard him being threatened. ‘Don’t make me do it again’. It was a males voice…it sounded familiar to me. When we were talking, Liang would always avoid answering too many questions, and simply said that I knew too much.”

“So you were a liability?” Becca asked. “They took you because you knew something they didn’t want you to know about.”

“That’s why Ecks attacked you in the woods,” I said. “He had to get you back.”

“So Ecks is really the one in charge,” Becca mused. “And he told Liang to drop Karin’s name in any tight situations. That would throw us off the trail.”

Becca turned to me, suddenly realizing something.

“Chris doesn’t know,” she said. “And since he needs to know everything…”

Amy regaled me, ignoring the bitterness in Becca’s voice. She was obviously unhappy I had to be filled in on everything that had happened with her. Amy explained to me about Cocoa Sting demoting Becca, who subsequently went into the lake to find Amy. Inside, she had been shot by Liang and tied up, only to escape with Amy later on, finding a secret way out the labyrinth beneath the elusive lake.

“When Becca asked Liang who he was working for, he said Karin,” Amy said. “I went to find evidence but of course, found nothing…”

“…and Cocoa got me, locked me in the room beneath the Rules Tower and wanted a confession. I escaped with Hitmonchan, got into the village, and then received your message.” Becca explained.

“Right,” I said. “So…”

“So obviously Ecks was behind it all along,” Becca continued. “He has Liang exactly where he wants him…”

“But how? And why?” Amy asked.

“I don’t know,” Becca groaned. “Look, I’m going to go. Chris, you’re up to speed on everything. I’m going to find Nurse Cray and ask her to help me with this goddamn wound.”

Becca rose from her seat but in no time the door was hammered against wildly. Becca’s eyes darted around.

“THE MISSING LINK! COME OUT NOW, YOU ARE SURROUNDED!”

“It’s Cocoa’s men,” Becca snarled. “Chris! Hide me.”

“Err…come in to the kitchen,” I said, leading the way. But it was too late. A sharp hammering smashed the door open as ten men filed into the room. Some were accompanied by Metang, some by Machoke.

“Get out of the –” I began. But Amy had disappeared. It was just me and Becca.

“Both of you, you’re coming with me,” the ‘leader’ of the group said.

“No, Agent Kalson, please,” said a soft voice. Cocoa parted through the men and arrived in my living room. This was Cocoa Sting. Young and powerful, sexy and sinister, she had an intelligent beauty about her, while retaining a fearful imperiosity over these men. “I only want The Missing Link.”

“How did you find me?” Becca asked.

“Never mind that,” Cocoa said. “Nice try escaping…but I want you back in my office, now.”

“Office?” Becca asked. “Why not the…”

“Oh, you’ll be going back in the cell soon enough,” Cocoa smirked. “But this is more important. Please, come with me.”

“Miss Sting?” asked a man, walking in from the kitchen. “You should see this.”

“What is it?” snapped the woman. Amy Wolfsong walked out the room shamefully, brought out by the man. Cocoa’s dark eyes widened. “Good god! Amy Wolfsong?”

She turned to Becca and me.

“Which one of you is going to tell me the end to this preposterous tale of events?” she asked.

“I’ll explain everything,” Becca said.

“See that you do,” she snapped. She then turned her attention to me. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ch-”

“He’s no-one,” Becca interrupted. “I’ve never met him before…I just raided his house and asked him to hide me.”

“Is this true?” Cocoa asked me.

“…yes,” I said, taking Becca’s hint. “Yea, she did.”

“Very well,” Cocoa said. “I’m sorry for causing you any distress. I shall give you a small compensation bonus.”

“T-Thanks,” I muttered. Money? Awesome!

“Get both the girls,” Cocoa said lazily. “Let’s go.”

I watched as Becca and Amy were led out of my flat. The armed guards surrounded them and they left, Cocoa leading the way. I sighed, feeling slightly confused. I had helped Amy…but now her and Becca were in trouble. How would Cocoa react to Amy being alive? Soon, I received a message on my VS Seeker:

From: The Missing Link
I don’t want to drag you into this. If Cocoa knew you knew more than the average person, you’d be dragged here too. Stay low – Ecks will be after you. I’ll explain everything to Karin and Cocoa.

Sitting there, I re-read the message when Jenny emerged from the bathroom.

“What were all those noises?” she asked.

“Cocoa’s Guards were looking for someone,” I lied.

“I heard other voices,” Jenny added.

“She brought in a couple of ex-moderators to…help her find them,” I said, smiling.

“Well whatever you’re covering up,” Jenny said. “I don’t care. I got my results…and I’m not pregnant! He didn’t leave his mark. I’m not tainted and couldn’t feel any happier!”

Tears welled up in her eyes and I embraced her tightly. I was laughing and even felt tears down my own face, too. Jenny was ok. Her therapy had finished, she was on the road to recovery, and we could just stay like a normal couple. Amy and Becca left my mind completely as I basked in this moment with Jenny.

“Do you want to go to one of the Battle Frontier Matches tomorrow?” Jenny asked.

“Err…” I murmured. Stay low – Ecks will be after you. “Sure! First though, I’d like to head to The Deux XP Machina Café…I have some work to take care of first.”

*

Cocoa stood before four of her five moderators. Knight of Time, Grey, Dark Dragonite (who was, in actuality, Ice Man’s Ditto) and The Missing Link. The latter was in floods of tears, face red and blotchy, eyes watery and being comforted by Kyle. Cocoa had just broken the news about Karin.

“We face a crisis,” Cocoa said formally. “And I need your support.”

“How did she die?” Kyle asked.

“She was shot,” Cocoa said emptily. “In the stomach and in the back. Our forensics team has closed the archive off and has sent Karin’s body to the morgue at Jolly Japes. Family are being informed now.”

“So it was murder?” Pseudo-Steve asked. Cocoa nodded.

“One of our own,” he went on. “Shot…it’s awful.”

“N-Now do you see?” Becca hissed.

“Becca…” Grey said softly.

“…shush,” Kyle murmured, an arm around her. “Be strong.”

“Screw that!” she snapped. “Can’t you see now, why I got complaints? Why you had to step in?”

Cocoa looked at her.

“I didn’t know how to handle Amy Wolfsong’s death, either!” she wept. “So I lied! Tried covering it up, tried silencing those who asked questions. It didn’t work! People found out the truth, one way or another.”

“Why weren’t you honest?” Cocoa asked. “Seriously…what made you decide to hide it?”

It was a down-to-earth tone that Becca had never heard in the woman before. She sniffed, mopping her face on her sleeve. Since being captured she had changed into a new shirt and suit, and her wound had been given initial treatment. Amy was being held downstairs.

“B-B-Because I knew she was alive,” Becca said. “It was a gut feeling I had…maybe I’m naïve, but I was right!”

“Right?” Kyle asked.

“It is true,” Cocoa said, sighing. “Amy Wolfsong is alive.”

“No!” Pseudo-Steve cried. “But she was dragged underwater!”

“She’s downstairs, being questioned,” Cocoa explained. “Becca and her had…raided an innocent persons house to take cover. Aragornbird is also loose.”

“What?” asked Kyle. “Cocoa…what do you mean?”

“Becca…do you wish to tell them?” Cocoa asked. She shook her head, sniffing, sitting in a chair in the office she used to occupy. “Very well. Shortly after I came here, and took this position of Head Lady, Becca knew the only way to redeem herself was to prove the rumors of Amy false and find the girl. Having already had someone scout the lake, she observed a small opening at the bottom of the lake and headed there, using her Starmie to supply a shield of oxygen. Down there, in a cave area, she discovered Aragornbird and Wolfsong. Instead of murdering Amy, he seemed to have captured her and used a clever series of tunnels to leave the cave complex whenever he chose to. Karin and Becca had arrested him, but it seems he had actually managed to escape, and stayed down beneath the lake with Amy.”

“So Becca managed to free her?” Kyle asked.

“Yes,” Cocoa said. “The two fled, leaving Aragornbird there. Amy and Becca came here, and that’s where we’re at now.”

“So we have an angry Liang waiting to get Amy back,” Grey mused. “He is most probably torn between rescuing Amy and keeping his low profile.”

“He dropped Karin’s name into this,” Cocoa said. “So Becca thought he was working for Karin.”

“I-It’s all my fault,” Becca wept.

“Don’t say that,” Kyle cooed.

“Now then, this has been a distressing time, but I have to speak to the Board,” Cocoa said importantly. “Is there anything else? Oh, Becca, take a few days rest, please. I’ll leave The Blue Avenger in your post.”

“Who’s going to take Karin’s post?” Kyle asked.

“We’ll contact River, once the Grand Festival has finished,” Cocoa said. “She seemed very competent. If that doesn’t work…just stick OzAndrew in.”

As Kyle left the tower, Grey gave Pseodo-Steve a slight nudge before bidding farewell to Cocoa and leaving. Becca stayed there, sobbing in the chair, overwhelmed with grief.

“Ah, Steve,” Cocoa said. “How are The Antibodies?”

“I went to Feizhi Outpost,” Pseudo-Steve said. “But they’d left. They left their mark – someone had etched a needle into the wall of the outpost with flames. Clearly they had left. I was lucky to find them later on, near the Crush Quarry.”

“And?”

“Once there, I burst the door down of a small metal bunker set into the ground. I entered cautiously with my Gulpin but two people grabbed me and knocked me out. I don’t know who they were.”

“Right, any distinguishing physical features?”

“One had black hair in a ponytail, the other a buzz cut. I didn’t recognize either of them from around here.”

“Razor Leaf’s obviously hired goons,” Cocoa mused. “Thank you, Steve. I want you to organize an ambush of the bunker as soon as possible.”

“Oh, before I go…” he said, withdrawing a small piece of paper from his pocket. “I’ve been speaking to Grey recently, and he suggested we built a theatre down BT Street. I believe it’s a good idea since the popularity of TPML has increased spectacularly. A nice touch of culture, don’t you think?”

Looking at her moderator, Cocoa mused this for a moment.

“I think you’re right,” she said. “Tell Grey plans are scheduled, and take the necessary precautions.”

“I’ll contact Mr George,” said Pseudo-Steve. “He’s the best architect I’ve seen.”

Pseudo-Steve left, and as he left the office, Razor Leaf spoke to him through the small receiver in the spy’s ear.

“A theatre?” he hissed. “Why did you say that!?”

“Grey told me to,” Pseudo-Steve said airily. Razor Leaf turned to face the Antibodies, who were all lounging around Feizhi Outpost.

“We need to speak to Grey,” he snarled.

Meanwhile, Cocoa spoke to the Board on a video call. The other 11 members sat at a very exquisite, expensive mahogany desk and judging by the brief view out of the window, it was evident they were high up in a conference-style room. An aging man sat at the head of said table.

“It seems, Cocoa, that you are finding stress in running the league,” said the man. His name was Gordon and he was the Chairman of the Board, responsible for financing each and every Pokemon Masters League in the world.

“If I’m honest about the death, people will think the Security System is not working,” Cocoa explained. “If I lie, I go down the same road as The Missing Link.”

“I think being honest is key,” said a sharp looking woman with blonde hair tied back. Her name was Callisto Thunder. “The Missing Link failed to trust that her people would understand and empathize with her position.”

“After all, you’re human too,” said a big man named Austin Myers. “Just because you make the final decision doesn’t mean you can’t face difficult decisions.”

“I saw that speech Becca made months and months ago,” said Callisto. “Claiming Amy had a blood infection. It was tacky, cheap and very evident she was lying. If you want my opinion, that is.”

“It seems,” Gordon said proudly. “We have reached a decision. Has anybody else got anything else to say? Derek?”

A man at the end of the table was sulking. He wore a sharp black suit and white shirt with black tie. His black hair was graying and he had a certain air of youth which hinted he was older than he appeared.

“Nothing,” he grumbled.

“Honestly,” Gordon chided. “You’re as unbalanced as your Grandson.”

“Razola is doing his job, like you asked,” Derek snarled. “You know he had a tough time at that place, and you made him stay against his own wishes, just so we had a little investigator on the scene.”

“Have you received your next report from him?” asked Gordon.

“Is there anything on your desk?”

“No, I believe not.”

“Then I haven’t got it,” Derek said rudely.

“I think I shall leave,” Cocoa said. “Thank you for your opinions.”

She ended the call, opening an evidence document which had a photograph of a blood-smeared X on the floor of the archive.

*

My heart was pounding. The blood in my veins seemed to be pumped more prominently. I felt a glow radiating around myself.

“Lady Smiles,” I said firmly, in The Deus XP Machina Café. “I’m quitting.”

“You are?” she said. “LOLZ! LOLZ! LOLZ x10! You’re not quitting you silly little sugar cube!”

“Yea, I am,” I replied harshly. “I quit. This place sucks.”

“You need the money,” she said slowly.

“I don’t have anything to pay for anymore,” I said, now Jenny was out of hospital. “And Cocoa Sting just sent me a generous compensation cheque. Not forgetting, of course, the battles I can have…”

“But…I just got here!” Smiles said. “You’re…going?”

“Yea.”

“DAMNIT!”

The woman turned and grabbed a computer, hurling it to the ground where it smashed. The keyboard sent letters flying everywhere and a G hit me in the eye. The geeks and computer-people looked around.

“Hey!” cried one. “I was reading spoilers on that! Did you know Ash catches an Aipom?”

Smiles turned to him.

“WHO THE HELL IS ASH?”

She roared loudly, gasping. A Clefairy popped up from behind Nurse Smiles and injected her in the arm with a large needle. An odd fluid was pumped into the woman and her breathing slowed down.

“Oh…” she gasped. “Phew! Deary me. Thank you Popcorn!”

Clefairy sighed and skipped off.

“I…I have these…erm…” Smiles said slowly. “Attacks. Popcorn, my Clefairy she erm…she helps me out.”

She began backing away.

“I need air…”

And with that, she disappeared into her office. Jenny turned to me, looking quite confused.

“Are you unemployed again?” she asked.

“Let’s assume so,” I said, as we fled the café. As we wandered back up the dark alleyway leading there, I turned back to see if the magical place of employment looked any different.

…but it wasn’t there anymore. Talk about a Deus Ex Machina…

*

Later that day, true to my word, I took Jenny to a match held at the Battle Dome. It was actually one of the closed-top stadiums up on Crescent Walk. Just outside the village, a light, dusty road wound upwards to the stadiums. There were 4 in total. There were also shops and restaurants here. This place was Crescent Walk.

Jenny and I bought some greasy food and walked up to Crescent Walk, where boards were indicating the next challenger to face Dome Superstar Tucker was none other than Elec Man EXE. I hadn’t heard of him, so I got my VS Seeker out:

Elec Man EXE
A veteran from ‘the old days’ Nathan (who prefers his TPML alias) is only 19 but packs a punch. Competent, mature and highly skilled, his wide-spread team covers a variety of types. It is rumored he is the descendant of the creator of Dungeons and Dragons.

“Seems good,” I said. “Wonder what Pokemon he has?”

“You’ve never accessed the Team Gallery page?” Jenny asked. I raised my eyebrows and she took my handheld device, pushing a very discreet right shoulder button. A new screen showed he had a Masquerain, Kabutops, Pinsir, Glalie and Duskull to name but a few. I was highly intrigued and as we sat in our stadium seats, Jenny making me sit next to the weirdo in a lab coat, I accessed my archive of peoples VS Seeker profiles, viewing their teams.

Grey and Razor Leaf had massive teams, the latter having loads of Pokemon I’d never seen him use like Slowking Gastly and Mawile, not to mention Haf, his formidable Blaziken, a Dugtrio and even a Mightyena.

The lights dimmed, and a spotlight showed Dome Superstar Tucker wander onto the stage. He was dressed in a rather flamboyant pink fairy costume and despite trying to look effeminate had oddly muscled arms. He leapt onto the stage happily, waving and gasping in amazement.

“Hey fans!” he cheered. “Heya! Ok so who’s ready for a Frontier Brain Battle?”

The crowd went berserk, cheering and roaring. Tucker smiled and waved happily, wearing a fairy crown of some sorts. I felt quite scared by what this man might achieve. He was so popular. I saw a lot of fan girls (and boys) at the front rows. I was in the middle roughly, next to Jenny and the odd scientist man.

“This is my opponent…ELEC MAN EXE! Give him a warm welcome!”

Running onto the slightly raised arena was Nathan – better known as Elec Man EXE. He caught his breath on his side of the arena as the scoreboard picked Tucker to send his Pokemon out first. He gripped two Pokeballs and hurled them forwards through the air.

“Go Swampert!” he cried. “Go Salamence!”

“‘The Battle Dome is based primarily upon Double Battles, and Tucker is adept at choosing good candidates for pairings despite his small team’ – so every Facility is different?” Jenny asked me. She had a pamphlet on the Battle Dome, mainly filled with glorious shots of Tucker.

“I heard Annabel is just a plain 3-3,” I said. “But Noland, at the Battle Factory, makes sure both his foe and him use randomly selected Pokemon. You can get anything from the Pokeballs you’re given.”

“Oh right,” she replied. “Why?”

“He’s the symbol of Knowledge,” I continued. “And so he specializes in knowing in attributes, attacks and specialties of every Pokemon species.”

Meanwhile, eyeing up Swampert and Salamence, Elec Man plucked two Pokeballs from his belt. The large swampfish, standing on its hind legs, gave a menacing stare and, added to Salamence’s intimidating looks, did not seem to fit Tucker’s personality at all.

Elec Man’s choices were revealed. He picked a Glalie; large and chunky, it had two spike-like horns protruding from its head and an evil, menacing glare. Next to that was a rather fiendish looking skeletal warrior. It was a Kabutops, with sickle-like arms and a very thin body.

“Hailfire!” he said. “Equinox! Ready yourselves.”

“You need to handle your types better!” Tucker said delightfully. “Swampert! Use a mud shot on Kabutops and Salamence, twister!”

Kabutops held his sickles crossed and close to his face as the ball of mud slapped against him. He charged through the air, sickles shining as he leapt up and aimed a slash. As he did so, Salamence flew by his ally and blasted a swirling cyclone of energy, blowing Kabutops back into Glalie.

“Hailfire! Use ice beam.”

As his horns glowed, a feverish beam of sweeping ice energy bolted at Salamence. Kabutops raced through the air again, slashing away at Swampert and distracting the beast. Swampert defended as Kabutops drew near, allowing the beam of ice to strike Salamence square on.

“Excellent!” Elec Man shouted, before Salamence rose up again and darted for Glaile, claws glowing with radiant energy. A double dragon claw was dealt to the Pokemon, who was subsequently grabbed and dragged into the air by Salamence.

“Now! Use seismic toss flamethrower combo!”

Hurling Glalie to the ground, Salamence opened wide and blasted a wide cone of sizzling flames, which built in speed and engulfed Glalie completely. The Pokemon got up, floating back and apparently quite confused.

“Now!” Tucker raged, before Elec Man could react to Glalie’s condition. “Swampert focus punch on Glalie! Salamence, hyper beam to Kabutops!”

As Swampert began focusing mentally and physically, his fist glowed an eerie beige-white. As the energy engulfed his fist, he stood ready as Glalie hovered uncertainly. Salamence, meanwhile, soared over the battlefield, and charged up a ball of orange energy in his mouth. On a huge screen, a close-up could be seen, and as I watched keenly I saw a beam erupting from the dragon’s mouth, soaring down and causing a huge explosion on the stage. Smoke filtered out as a crater was left with Kabutops splayed inside.

“Equinox!” Elec Man cried. “Get up and use water pulse!”

Equinox fired off a ball of ice cold water, which slammed hard into Swampert and stunned it momentarily, postponing the focus punch. Kabutops got his strength back as Swampert was stunned and, seeing Salamence in the air, took action.

“Now! Use giga drain!”

As Glalie began coming to his senses, Kabutops tore through the air, latching onto the back of Swampert. Swampert looked around, clueless, as Kabutops began draining the foe. Salamence saw this and blasted a flamethrower down at the earth, but Glalie intervened and blasted a water pulse up, extinguishing the flames. Swampert groaned and tried swatting the skeletal Kabutops away, but to no avail.

“Salamence get down there and knock Kabutops off! Blast Swampert too if you have to!” Tucker snarled. Nathan grinned. A hyper beam was sent flying down, smashing into Swampert and Kabutops at once. Kabutops toppled off the foe, and Swampert turned angrily, ready to hurt the foe who was regaining strength from him.

“Brick break, Swampert!”

But before that was possible, Glalie used a headbutt to smash into Swampert. Salamence fired another cone of flame down, but Kabutops defended using an ancient power. Kabutops summoned rocks from beneath the earth’s surface to surround himself and Glalie in a sort of shield.

“Salamence! Rock smash!”

I watched in awe. This match was fantastic! Tucker commanded his Pokemon well and assigned them to very specific and very functional roles. Although Swampert was weakening, he covered the ground while Salamence fired off from the air. I noticed the man next to me grinning at Jenny for the entire match, and got more infuriated by the minute. Was he trying to hit on my girlfriend?

*

The match ended spectacularly. After taking down Swampert, Kabutops launched Glalie up to use a Blizzard and headbutt combo to knock Salamence out of the sky. Salamence tried battling the two, but they managed to overcome the large dragon just before Kabutops collapsed out of fatigue.

Elec Man had been handed a golden, round medal with an engraving on it. I couldn’t quite see it. He was hailed by the crowd as Tucker even managed to muster a smile and a congratulatory applause.

“That was fun,” I said, wandering along Crescent Walk.

“Hey!” said a voice. It was the guy in a lab coat from the stadium. My eyes narrowed and I decided he needed to be sorted out. Jenny looked slightly scared. I gripped a Pokeball tightly as he strode over.

“Hi,” I said coldly.

“Good match, right?” he said, smiling. He had short hair and looked in his twenties.

“Yea it was all right,” I said.

“You’re Chris 2.0, aren’t you?” he said. “Or should I say ‘Brit Chris’?”

“Chris 2.0,” I corrected him. “I changed it.”

“I know,” he said. “I wanted you to know I knew.”

“I see. So how do you know me?” I asked. The man showed me his VS Seeker, which had my very own biography on it.

Chris 2.0
A friendly member of the league whose team has much potential to grow and mature. While having not been here long, Chris has already proven his worth as a worthy battler and friendly face.

“My team has ‘potential to grow’?” I snapped. “Just because I don’t have a bloody army like Razor Leaf.”

“Well I think you’ve done very well,” he said. “I mean your redemption against Girafarig proved a lot, and you did well against Andrew on his bouncy castle…”

“You know a lot about him,” Jenny said, realizing he was not to be feared. It seemed instead of smiling at Jenny in a perverted fashion, he had in actuality been staring at me in apparent awe.

“I’m a big fan,” he said. “I present to you…Charles Legend!”

He tore his lab coat off recklessly revealing a most hideous sight. A plain white t-shirt with a photo of my on the front, grinning sheepishly. ‘Chris 2.0 ‘2’ Win!!!’ was underneath it in computer-styled letters.

“…you’re…a fan?” I asked slowly.

“A huge one,” he said. “I even visited your hometown in north England, I wanted some of your old knickknacks from around your home.”

“That’s weird!” I cried. “What do you want, anyway?”

“A battle!” he cried. “Against the legendary Chris 2.0! You could teach me a lot…I’m not a great battler myself…”

“What do you think?” I asked Jenny.

“I think you should,” she said brightly. Then, under her breath, “It would keep him away from us.”

“Ok then Charles,” I said. “Let’s have a battle!”

*

At the Battle Factory, Andrew waited at the entrance, watching a plasma screen in the sort of lobby area. On it, Chris Watarimono was using a Beedrill against Noland’s Forretress. The large, steel shell was taking the jabs from the large drone bee.

“Forretress!” Noland barked. “Rapid spin!”

Nodding, the Pokemon span and leapt up, tackling Beedrill and ramming it down to the ground. Beedrill, defeated, landed against the floor and the noise began reverberating around the room.

“Return,” Chris said, disheartened. “Thank you for the battle.”

“Good luck in the league,” Noland replied, recalling Forretress. Andrew waited impatiently, arms folded as his previous lawyer, the Jynx named Miss Justice, readjusted her power suit. Chris walked out and left the Factory. A perky looking woman emerged from the same door.

“Next competitor?” she said. Her brown, curly hair gave her the look of a Springer spaniel.

“OzAndrew,” he said.

“Ok OzAndrew!” she said. “If you’d just like to recall your Jynx and give me your Pokeballs –”

“What? Why?” snapped the Australian. The woman flinched somewhat, and cleared her throat.

“T-The Battle Factory uses rental Pokemon,” she said quietly. “And because of that –”

“RENTAL POKEMON?” cried Andrew.

“P-Please don’t shout,” the woman muttered.

“I refuse to use some scabby, mangy bird-flu carrying Pokemon in a match!” snapped the Oz. “I want to use mine!”

“But you can’t!” protested the woman.

“I WANT TO!”

“STOP SHOUTING!” screamed the woman, sinking to her knees. “ARGH! EVERYBODY’S SHOUTING! NO! NO!”

“Forget this,” Andrew said, walking to the door. The woman rolled around wimpishly.

“Everyone…shouting…it’s too much…” she moaned.

“Will I ever find a facility to conquer?” he asked anonymously. He turned to the woman. “A-Are you ok?”

“…noise…too much…”

“Meh,” he said, leaving the Factory’s Lobby and heading off to the main part of the village.

*

We were using an arena in the village center. A few people watched, although the temptation of the Battle Frontier matches were just too tantalizing to miss. I saw, distantly on a screen The Arena Tycoon, Greta. She wore a ninja garb and had blonde hair. She was using a Shedinja and her opponent, the cheeseburger loving MeLoveGhosts, had his Teddiursa out, looking worried. I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on…a panel of judges was holding scores up.

“Let’s make this a double match,” I said, after seeing Tucker and Elec Man. “Go! Sneasel, Mankey!”

My Pokeballs exploded open and two of my fighters emerged. Sneasel darted out, a smirk on his thin face as he extended his claws, Wolverine-style. Next to him was Mankey, arms crossed in a firm, cocky manner.

“Ok…” Charles mumbled. He grabbed two Pokeballs from his belt. “King! Blake! I choose you!”

Opposite my two Pokemon were Charles team members – a Charmeleon and a Pinsir. The large red lizard stood on his back legs, flexing powerful arms and being bigger than Sneasel and Mankey. Next to him was a brown beetle with thick, spiked horns that sliced together like scissors. I have to admit…his two were bigger than my two. I was starting to wish I’d picked my bigger Pokemon.

“Ok,” Jenny said, sitting on a bench. She released Skip, who stood by her side. “BEGIN!”

“King! Flamethrower at Sneasel!” Charles cried. “And Blake! Use faint attack!”

Charmeleon cried his name in a throaty roar as flames spewed from his mouth, sweeping majestically across the ground and flickering at Sneasel. My weasel Pokemon used a quick attack to dart around the arena, causing Mankey to take the hit. Sneasel leapt up and above the flamethrower, before darting down and delivering a slash to King’s face. Pinsir disappeared into the air and ran at Mankey, who held his fists ready. He was slammed into and flew back, before swinging a punch and knocking into the Pokemon. His revenge attack had been successful.

“Now, use iron tail on Pinsir!” I cried to Mankey. “And Sneasel, use shadow ball!”

Sneasel hissed and held his clawed paws apart as he charged up a purple orb of contained shadow energy. As it grew in size, a stunned Blake watched as Mankey leapt up, swung around and smashed a glowing silver tail into his body. The beetle was hurled back but managed to regain his footing, clicking his pincers angrily. Sneasel fired off the shadow ball and struck King, who clutched his chest.

“Blake, helping hand! King, use fire spin!”

As Pinsir channeled his energy into his partner, King unleashed a blistering torrent of spiraling flames. Sneasel and Mankey watched as it grew in size, getting bigger and bigger until it was too difficult to evade.

“Guys,” I said firmly. “That cyclone’s blocking our foes.”

“Just relax guys!” I heard Charles cry.

“His Pokemon are using that attack as a shield,” I said. “I need you to run through the flames. Please. Just dive through and then you can attack.”

Sneasel gave a nod, and in a flash was speeding through the arena like a rocket. He bolted through the flames, groaning in pain as they scorched his body momentarily, but landed on the other side, ready. However all I saw was my Pokemon flying back out through the flaming tornado as Charmeleon dealt a slash.

“Mankey, Sneasel,” I said firmly. “Double swift attack! Rip apart those flames.”

After getting back up, Sneasel stood by Mankey’s side. The two opened their mouths and began spraying a blast of golden stars. They ripped through the cyclone and after a few moments (with both focusing furiously to spray bigger, sharper stars) the large abundance of flames exploded, with embers shooting all around. Charmeleon was standing on top of Pinsir, who was in a sort of crouched praying position.

“Launch King, Blake!” Charles shouted. Pinsir bucked…like Buckaroo (damn I can never get the suitcase on that Donkey) and King was propelled high up into the air, flames curling into a large fireball within the beast’s mouth.

“Watch out!” I cried. “Sneasel, Mankey, evade!”

Sneasel leapt to the left. Mankey darted to the right. The large ball of rolling flames slammed into the ground, sending heat waves whispering across the arena. I took a precarious step back and looked through the steam to try and direct the battle.

“Sneasel! Metal Claw and quick attack!”

Claws crossed by his chest, Sneasel darted through the air, summoning a metallic sheen. Charmeleon’s eyes widened as Sneasel rammed into him, throwing him back before tearing into his chest with the sharp claws.

“Leon!” gasped the monster as Sneasel disappeared to leave Mankey, who swung his iron tail into his foe’s face. With a crunching thwack King fell to the ground, defeated.

“King! Return,” Charles said, shooting the Pokeball beam. “Blake, it’s up to you! Swords dance to power up and then brick break Sneasel!”

Pinsir began channeling energy into a series of long, ghostly swords that spiraled around him. Mankey and Sneasel took a few seconds to catch their breath as I contemplated the next move.

“Faint attack Sneasel,” I whispered. “Mankey get ready to take on Pinsir.”

Pinsir charged across the arena, clicking pincers viciously. Sneasel charged at Pinsir and sneakily disappeared into thin air, speeding around the back of the foe. Pinsir kept running, now at Mankey, who wasn’t quite sure how to apprehend the foe. One paw was holding his fist and both were infront of him. Mankey sprinted across the arena at Pinsir…what on earth was he planning?

“Attack, Blake!” Charles cried.

“Mankey!” I shouted. His fists glowed a bright white as he leapt high above Pinsir, doing a mid-air-flip and slicing down at the foe. It was aerial ace. Pinsir staggered back, right into a powerful ice punch from behind thanks to my Sneasel, and was subsequently knocked out.

“Blake!” cried Charles. Pinsir gave a grunt. “Return buddy.”

“Good work guys,” I said, Mankey and Sneasel darting to my side. “Really, that was great.”

“Well done!” Jenny said, bending down as Mankey ran over excitedly. She gave him a peck on the forehead and smiled. Sneasel folded his arms and watched Charles.

“I have a lot to learn,” Charles said to me. “Although that battle did teach me a lot…”

“You’re not giving yourself enough credit,” I explained. “Your fire spin was a good defense strategy.”

“Well as they say the best offence is a good defense,” he said shrewdly.

“It was nice meeting you,” I said, preparing to leave, but it seemed Charles had other ideas.

“So when should we meet tomorrow?” he said. I turned to him.

“What?”

“Well I want you to help me get better,” he said. “And maybe we can battle again tomorrow and you can show me where I’m going wrong.”

“I have plans tomorrow,” I lied. “Someone else can battle you.”

“It needs to be you!” Charles cried. “You’re my idol!”

“Idol?” I whined.

“Yep,” he said proudly, jabbing his t-shirt with his thumb.

“No, Charles,” I said vehemently. “No. I’m going. Goodbye.”

I turned to leave with Jenny, Marshtomp, Mankey and Sneasel, leaving the arena and heading to some shops. As I walked by, Charles wore a disgusted look on his face and gripped a different Pokeball – this one had a ‘2.0’ carved into the button.

“Time to meet your mini-me, Chris 2.0,” he murmured.

*

Meanwhile, Razor Leaf stood proudly before The Antibodies. They were in a much different location from Feizhi Outpost. They were in a location called The Old Village; a small, ‘ye-olde-english’ style village a few miles out of The Pokemon Masters League village 04621. It was old and abandoned, and the group were at the old cathedral.

“Pseudo-Steve has been most useful,” Razor Leaf explained to his people, the ditto at his side. “Cocoa is being thrown off the scent. But what has not been helpful has been the actions of one of our moderators.”

He shot a scathing look at a sincere Grey, sitting in one of the pews.

“A theatre?” snapped the leader. “You felt it necessary to manipulate our operation so that it would benefit only you?”

“You manipulated one of our meetings,” Grey reminded him. “A conversation soon led itself to you destroying my Playhouse and burning it down.”

“That was you?” Mega Horny said, surprised. “You told the newspapers you saw some thugs burning it down! You lied!”

“Shut up Mega,” snapped Razor Leaf. The majority of The Antibodies watched in horror as Grey revealed the truth. “Grey we’ll talk later. We have bigger things to deal with. This is our new base of operation. As we use Pseudo-Steve to get information from Cocoa, we’ll be planning our attack on the village and the overthrow of Cocoa Sting.

“Now at the moment, since Grey and Kyle tell me that 04621 has been murdered, The Missing Link is on a bereavement leave, if you will. That means The Blue Avenger has to do her work at the Trading Tower, so he is unable to make if here today. Furthermore, Knight of Time is going to be battling at the Battle Pike tonight, aren’t you Kyle?”

“That’s right,” said Kyle, from the corner.

“So everybody wish him luck,” Razor Leaf added. As an afterthought, he mused “Perhaps we ought to try recruiting some of those Frontier Brains into our cause. They’re very strong.”

“Hey, Razor Leaf?” asked Vermillion.

“What?”

“Where’s that Mr Ecks guy?”

“I haven’t seen him either,” Ultimate Charizard mused. “Last time I saw him was when he suggested we used Ditto.”

“Hmm,” Razor Leaf murmured. “I don’t like this. I want members here at every meeting, or else we risk him wailing on us.”

Razor Leaf turned to Vermillion and UC.

“Go and look for him,” he said. “I want to know where he is. Everyone else has been pretty good attendance wise, but if people aren’t in this 100% they cannot know what we’re planning.”

After the meeting finished, Razor Leaf stormed off to Grey.

“You dirty little –” he began, but was interrupted.

“I’m playing your game,” Grey sighed. “That’s what’s ironic. You’re arguing with me because I’m acting just like you would. If you want to try and humiliate me, try again.”

“Whatever,” Razor Leaf snapped.

“I’m sorry,” Grey said calmly. “It was out of order, and I know that. But we are united here, against a common enemy. We have to remember that.”

“Yea…” Razor Leaf murmured. “Yea.”

“You know,” Knight of Time mused, having been nearby. “I bet I know someone who might like to join us.”

“Oh?” Razor Leaf asked.

“A good friend of mine,” he went on.

“Well have a word with him,” Grey said. “I’ll need to go now, and update the bank.”

And as Grey and Kyle left, as did the rest of the members, who had decided to generally situate themselves around this village, setting up camps and places to sleep, Razor Leaf stood alone in the cathedral, letting out a big sigh.

“I’m not happy,” he groaned.

*

Later on, Jenny and I had recalled our Pokemon and went to The Chunky Clefable Café. We had a light snack and Jenny, saying she was pretty tired from the day, decided she would walk home since her flat was just down the street. Although hesitant, I knew I had to give her space and freedom.

I walked off into the village again but as we were about to part ways, a strangled cry was heard from beneath us. We turned to see a young girl sitting in the street, pale and thin, a hat on the ground with some change in it.

“Any leftovers?” she croaked.

“Crystal?” Jenny asked. “I-Is that you?”

“Oh,” she said emptily. “It’s the happy couple.”

“What happened to you?” I asked weakly. “You look awful…”

“Where are your friends?” Jenny asked.

“Not here anymore,” sighed the girl. “I went back to conning people but my heart wasn’t in it…I got busted so easily. People threw rocks and rubbish at me. I don’t have any money…I’m too weak to battle for pay.”

“Look,” I said, getting my wallet out. “Here’s £5. Get yourself something from the Café.”

“Get lost,” she snapped. “I don’t want your charity.”

“You need food!” protested Jenny.

“I’d rather starve than get money from you,” she snarled. “Just go away.”

I let the note waft slowly to the ground, by Crystal’s feet where, once Jenny and I parted ways, Crystal was keen to snatch up and pocket, eyes darting around to make sure we hadn’t seen. A tear leaked down her face as she slumped against the wall.

*

Early evening set into the village and I saw Girafarig in the park. He was battling The Blue Avenger, who was wearing a cork hat that might make OzAndrew slightly upset. Girafarig’s Girafarig (hah! He has one?!) was firing a psybeam at a Clefable who was, strangely, wearing a Chunky Clefable Café apron. Clefable took the attack and then began to charge up energy in her paw. As she raced at the Girafarig (Pokemon…not the trainer you idiot) a silverfish sparkle swept from behind her.

“Meteor mash!” TBA cackled. Girafarig took the attack (no…no the Pokemon Girafarig, not the guy…although I wish he would. How funny would that be! Wait this bracket thing’s getting too long…erm…) and stumbled back. The palindrome-foal leapt to the side as Clefable tried a body slam, but to no avail.

However soon, as I wandered around, I came across a sickening sight. Something truly disgusting. A trainer and his Hitmonlee were walking past me…and both were wearing those foul T-shirts like the ones Charles Legend wore.

“Hey!” I snapped, stopping him. “Where did you get that?”

“Oh,” he sighed, raising his eyebrows. “That weirdo over there made me buy it, and wear it…he was going to break my legs in his Pinsir. So I did.”

“Charles…” I growled.

“Oh, hey!” he said suddenly. “It’s you! You’re Chris 2.0?”

“Yea,” I sighed.

“My VS Seeker says you suck,” he said. “Nah, kidding! I don’t know anything about you. Are you new?”

“NO!” I snapped. “Go away!”

I pushed past him and walked on through the park, where Chris 2.0 T-Shirts were worn by a small number of people (thankfully not many). In the next clearing, I saw Charles with some of his team – an Aipom, Farfetch’d and a little Magby. Charles wore a sandwich board saying ‘Support my Idol!” and was handing T-Shirts out.

“CHARLES!” I roared.

“Look everyone!” Charles cried. “It’s Chris!”

His Pokemon cheered.

“Chris, I want you to meet Chris 2.0, my Magby!” Charles said happily, picking the little thing up and showing me. “He’s a big fan of your Magmar!”

“Give me strength,” I murmured.

“We were watching your match with Razor Leaf in the archive,” he went on. “It was great!”

“Stop this madness!” I cried. “Please! T-Shirts? It’s insane!”

“I need to spread the word about your skill!” Charles cried innocently.

“Look STOP IT!” I cried, feeling my throat get redder through my increased shouting. I was going to pay for this in the morning. “If you stop selling T-Shirts to people, and telling people I’m your Idol…I’ll make it worth your while.”

“You will?” Charles asked. “How?”

“I’ll…” I said thoughtfully. “Let you witness your ‘idol’ challenge a Frontier Brain and win.”

“Wow!” Charles cried. “In person?”

“In person,” I replied, feeling this was a bad idea.

“Great!” Charles said. “Well we should really go to the Battle Tube, it opens at 6PM and closes at 6AM. It’s a late-night sort of place…”

“What…you want to go now?” I said, eyes widening. “Fine. Pack your things and meet me at the Southern Gate of the Park.”

I smirked.

“We’re going to have to go through Grave’s Yard if we want to reach the Battle Tube.”

*

Meanwhile, Liang was in the caves beneath Ivy Lake. He was pacing back and forth, trying desperately to recite the drawing of the cave complex. How did he get out? He wasn’t sure and knew if he tried exploring this labyrinth he would get lost. His phone rang.

It was Ecks.

“Hello?” he asked.

“What have you done,” Ecks said softly. It was not much of a question; more a statement of what he had done. “Becca and Amy escaped.”

“I know,” Liang muttered. “But…”

“But nothing,” Ecks snapped. “You’ve cost us a lot. You do realize that keeping Amy here was vital? Did you not think that the fact you were down there, guarding her, the fact you have a large collection of firearms with you, and the fact that I’m doing everything I can to cover this up conveys the sense that this was quite important?”

“It’s happened now,” Liang said.

“And you’ll pay the price,” growled Ecks. “I thought having to shoot Henry might have taught you that I do not tolerate failure.”

“I-It did,” Liang said. “But you wanted him dead anyway.”

“True,” Ecks said airily, as if they were discussing something of mere triviality. “A sufficient punishment and an assassination…how useful. Now then, Liang, we need to make sure you don’t mess things up again.”

“What is it this time?” Liang snapped.

“Show some respect,” Ecks snapped back. “Do not dare take that tone with me!”

“Respect? I don’t owe you respect!” agued the young man. “You’re a monster! Everything you’ve done…murdering innocent people, making me murder innocent people…and why? What have you achieved through it all?”

“If I had achieved it, then I wouldn’t need to punish you for letting Amy get away,” Ecks said simply. “The cogs are turning against one another and things are being set into motion…although the release of Amy Wolfsong is going to highly complicate things.”

“She said she didn’t know anything!” Liang protested. “She wasn’t a liability.”

“If she told us what she did know,” Ecks explained. “She’d know we’d kill her. She was the Head Banker for long enough to be a threat…”

“You’re insane,” Liang said coldly. “Insane.”

“Take that back,” Ecks snarled.

“No I won’t take it back Ecks,” Liang snapped. “I’m done with this! I’m not being your pawn anymore.”

“You ungrateful bastard!” Ecks roared.

“You sent me to jail!” Liang cried.

“I broke you out as well, didn’t I?” Ecks said. “I caused the van to crash on the motorway…I shot dead the people taking you to the jail, and I even destroyed all identification so that your lack of arrival at the jail went unnoticed for so long.”

“You wouldn’t have needed to break me out if you hadn’t framed me,” Liang retorted. “Why did you want my Pokemon to guard the lake? Why not yours?”

“I demand an apology,” Ecks said, ignoring the last question. “Now, Liang, because you know the ones you hold dear will pay…just like Henry did.”

“You can’t hurt them,” Liang said. “You’re going to die before any of them do.”

And with that, Liang hung up. He threw the phone across the cave where it shattered against the wall, crumbling into many, many pieces. As Ecks furiously tried dialing Liang again, the ex-moderator released a large Blaziken, clearly bigger than Razor Leaf’s.

“Varda!” he cried. “Fire blast.”

Opening her beak-like mouth, Varda blasted a large symmetrical symbol of intense fire. It slammed into what looked like a part of the cave wall, but when the attack cleared, it was evident that behind part of the rocky surface was a thick metal vault. The rocky façade fell away and Liang walked to the combination.

“06…77…34…09,” he muttered, clicking the locke. It opened wide and Liang got a torch out from his pocket to examine the dark interior. He found a multitude of sleek, silver briefcases and took a handful out.

Opening the first, Liang found a lot of empty Pokeballs of varying types. Pokeball, Greatball, Ultraball, even some Lureballs and Fastballs. He put the briefcase aside and got another out, which was filled with guns. He took two pistols, slipping them into a holster he also got from the briefcase. He stocked up on ammo. Searching more, Liang found all sorts of things in the various briefcases before finding one he wanted.

Explosives.

Plastic explosives – red, moldable and putty-like, Liang took a lot out and began spreading it all around the walls of the cave. In another briefcase was a few small, palm-sized mines, which Liang turned on, set the frequency and secured onto the floor and walls. He also searched for dynamite, which he set all around the perimeter and began tying all fuses together so that a long, thick, knotted fuse was at his feet.

“Pelori,” Liang said, releasing his Porygon2. “Get a map of this place.”

Buzzing, clicking and generally making odd noises, before it Porygon2 managed to create a virtual map of the place, itself and Liang marked with yellow dots. It looked like a schematic of the entire complex. Liang smiled.

“Excellent. Varda, it’s time.”

Blaziken nodded and sprayed an array of embers across the floor, igniting the fuse. Liang quickly recalled his Pokemon and turned to Porygon2.

“Locate the exit,” he said. “And teleport!”

The Pokemon nodded and the two disappeared in a bright flash as jumping embers danced along the fuses towards the various explosives. As they went, the timers on the proximity mines began to tick down to 0.

Mere minutes later, many of The Pokemon Masters League looked around in alarm as an almighty boom erupted around the village. Cocoa Sting looked out of her tower, seeing flocks of birds fly from the treetops at Ivy Woods. From the village, Chris and many other people saw a cataclysmic rush of water throw itself up in the air following the explosion beneath it. Trees collapsed nearest the lake and for those nearest the lake, they would see the ground crumble as the foundations of the lake bottom collapsed. The peace of the evening was disturbed and a hazy smoke filtered out into the night. Pokemon cried as debris fell on them – panic spilled through the serene forest.

Through the smoke, Liang ran from the lake and through Ivy Woods, cocking a gun and sliding it back into his holster. He cocked the second, sliding that back where it belonged as fury and purpose were etched into his face.

He was going to find Ecks. And he was going to kill him.

Next: Chapter 27 - Pike Queen Lucy (Part 1)
Liang returns to the village just as Cocoa makes an announcement which clearly states him as a threat. Can Aragornbird carry out his task? Cocoa also re-introduces Amy back into the village, causing confusion amongst the members and many soon feel Becca didn't need demodded after all. But why does Liang want to speak with Grey?

Disaster strikes Chris and Charles on their way to the Battle Pike...can Chris fulfil his promise to Charles? Razor Leaf finds himself wanting to detatch from The Antibodies and tries to think of a way to get out of it. Meanwhile, a seemingly innocent member of TPML has a deep talk with Ecks. Who else is involved in his plans?

Description subject to change. I'll keep you guys posted. Basically I might add more or save it for the Part 2.

The Blue Avenger

10th July 2006, 04:25 PM

Ohoho... well done. I know I've said it before, but I like the way you write battles - and you've got a good eye for combos as well. The first battle gave a very good impression of just how tough these Brains are (even though he lost). Plus, Tucker is my favorite out of the bunch, so yeah. The next battle, against Charles, was hilarious... the character in himself is funny as well. I enjoyed his blackmail-type strategy, and of course I'm looking forward to seeing Chris take on a Brain.

And Deus XP Machina... disappeared? Creeeepy. o_o

It's interesting to see that Liang is more innocent than he seems. With characters like him and Razor, you've got quite a lineup of very multifaceted people.

I'll be eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

Charles Legend

10th July 2006, 07:54 PM

LOL @Charles Legend and has a nice line up of Charmeleon, Pinsir, Aipom, Farfetch’d and a Magby. and the fact that he blackmilling Chris by giving out t-shirts that he made with a photo of Chris on the front, grinning sheepishly. under which reads ‘Chris 2.0 ‘2’ Win!!!’

Annyways I thought the Chaphter over all was grate! Razorleaf wants to leave the Antibodies because he not happy? and LOL@ Laing Desroying Ivy lake....

~Charles Legend

MeLoVeGhOsTs

11th July 2006, 11:46 AM

Very nice chapter indeed. Bringing up some good stuff like Amy's return to TPML and so is a great strategy. The battle was nice aswell and Jenny seems to mature ALOT. Nurse Smiles was awesome and I could easily picture her actions, it made me laugh out loud, for real.

Seriously, with all this battling and all, I expect Chris to actually do something and evolve his pokemon. His team is quite weak for now.

I always liked Liang and I'm loving him even more now. I hope he can complete his task as it will be hard when Cocoa's goons are hunting him down. His team looks mighty powerfull, I wonder why how he could make Liang do all those things.

Interesting indeed. Nice chapter, awaiting new one.

Blademaster

11th July 2006, 01:09 PM

Well, well, well, this story is getting much deeper now, isn't it?

Let's see... Jenny's not pregnant, which is good. Chris has a new fan, which is... bad. Cocoa Sting... seemed a little less bitchy, which I like.

My favorite parts of this chapter were the little bout between Grey and RaZoR LeAf and the phone fight with Liang and Ecks. Very realistic-sounding... I just hope Liang succeeds before it's too late...

I never saw the 7 Pike Battlers, so this is all new to me, too; I look forward to see where this is going...

-Blade

Chris 2.1

11th July 2006, 04:39 PM

TBA: Thanks! Chris is going to really work in his own attack combo's and the like towards the league. Razor Leaf demonstrated a few and I think he wants to make his own. Charles was actually more formiddable than he gave himself credit for but nevertheless the match at the Battle Pike should prove interesting. I love choreographing battles. Theyre a lot of fun.

Haha the exact use of a Deus Ex Machina - something brought in for a specific purpose (ie: Chris getting money to pay for Jenny's therapy). Once it's served its purpose, it leaves. Think Ash's Charizard in the anime! So in a fitting theme, Chris had never noticed Deus XP before...and now he's left...it dissapeared. Wonder where all the customers go?

True Liang's very multifacated. And Razor Leaf....looks like he's having second thoughts about leading this revolution. Two very complex characters. Two of my favourite, too. I like Jenny a lot as well.

Charles: Thanks! More of Charles over the next few chapters. Basically Razor Leaf has come to realise the truth - his 'army' of people who dislike Cocoa can't really do much about it. If they attack the village they're not overthrowing cocoa....theyre destroying the village they love. There's very few ways to effectively and discreetly remove Cocoa from her position. And face it - they can't keep Pseudo-Steve up forever.

MLG: Amy's return is interesting since we didn't see much of her in the village - she was taken in her debut chapter. So seeing her interact with other members will be interesting. Furthermore it’s going to make people think a bit about why Becca was demoded. Did she ever confirm that Amy had been kidnapped? Nope.

Jenny’s changed a lot and it’s quite a welcome change even if I loved writing her in her old character. It was great seeing Nurse Smiles….but you know what’s going to be even better? The much needed screen time of UuberFred. He’s going to challenge a Brain -_-;;

Chris isn’t weak – he has Cacturne, Magmar, Electabuzz, Poliwhirl, Sneasel and Mankey. That’s not bad really. His team is small but the majority are in their final forms or at least evolved. His team undergoes some changes over the next few chapters. The easy thing about everyone else is I can sneak a new Poke on their team and say “yea they caught it the other day” but with Chris, who we see all the time, we need to see it. So for much of the Frontier Arc he’s going to be training I think. His match with Lucy will teach him he needs to get his arse into gear!

Blade: Yea Cocoa was quite human. Intriguing. Jenny’s not pregnant! Wow! So if being a mother isn’t it…what was this road she was going to go down? Was it merely that she would mature and find love? Because her and Chris seem quite close…closer than just boyfriend and girlfriend. Oh god she isn’t going to propose is she?!

Grey and Razor Leaf is such an interesting relationship. I like tilting their proverbial scales and taking things to different places. It’s fun. I’ve planned how one of them’s story will wrap up, and what their character goes through during the rest of the fic and it’s very unexpected.

As for the Brains, this is one of the facilities. There are 7. The Battle Pike is the name of this facility. And it’s run by Lucy, the black haired sexy woman Chris had his eye on.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

12th July 2006, 04:51 AM

UuberFred? Challeging? *dies*

Chris 2.1

12th July 2006, 07:41 AM

I know. Luckily the battle proves that while our dear old Fred Uuber is a large pot of incompetent crazy, he's got some mildly useful qualities.

Hyperness is a Good Thing

12th July 2006, 10:15 AM

Chris is getting quite protective of Jenny now..their relationship has really, really improved.
aww..too bad for CT the con artist...
Can't wait for uuberfred's next appearance lol, could he have gotten stronger maybe?
I wonder what will Liang do next, he is quite a complex character...
gah, all in all, can't wait for the next chapter, as usual, lots of stuff is gonna happen ^_^

Dark Dragonite

12th July 2006, 12:27 PM

another great one Chris!!

I knew Smiles would destroy machina, lol...
Some very interesting new events, Liang with a good purpose, Ecks distracted, the Antibodies having disputes...
I do have a question though: Is Dark Dragonite(the real one) still in the Feizhi Outpost, or was he taken into the olde village, as Razor was alone?

Chris 2.1

12th July 2006, 12:45 PM

Hyperness: Yea you can really tell. nd I've got a sneaking suspicion that three letter word's going to come along pretty soon, too :O

Hmm I'm tight lipped about UuberFred but I can tell you it should be an interesting chapter and we're going to learn a little about his past. As for Liang...he wants to kill Ecks and I don't think much is going to stop him. Where is Ecks, anyway? Is he hiding somewhere? Julius Ceaser! *looks shifty*

DD: The real DD is being closely guarded at The Old Village. He's not in the Church but when the meeting ended he was moved to a seperate part of the village. But they can't keep him locked up forever, can they?

Chris 2.1

15th July 2006, 05:51 PM

New chapter in 5 days? Fingers have worked fast :D

Chapter 27
[size=3]Pike Queen Lucy (Part 1)

It was late at night. Cocoa Sting and an entourage of armed guards hung around the lake, as well as many curious onlookers. Grey, Becca and Pseudo-Steve watched on, too. Knight of Time was at the Battle Pike, also known as the Battle Tube to some.

“This place…” Cocoa said emptily. “It’s been destroyed.”

“It looks like an earthquake,” Pseudo-Steve said. “What happened?”

“Any idea, Becca?” asked Cocoa.

“It looks like the cave beneath the lake collapsed,” Becca said.

“But the mass of water,” Grey mused. “There was a huge rumbling, too.”

“Miss Sting!”

A few guards were with some members of the league. One of which was Dark Sage. The majority of the trees surrounding the lake were ripped up, torn apart or else on the ground. This meant the whole area was quite open and sparse. Dark Sage seemed to have found the entrance to the hidden staircase.

“What’s this?” Cocoa asked.

“The way we escaped,” Becca said. “But it looks ok…”

“This part is,” the guard said. “But about 1/3 of the way down it’s pretty corrupt. The stone that the stairs are made of has crumbled, and the bottom half has just given in. There’s no way to safely get down there.”

“Crumbled?” Cocoa said.

“He rigged it with explosives,” Becca mused. “Look.”

She pulled from her back pocket the roughly drawn sketch of the cave complex.

“This center room – this is the bit where we were held. All the corridors and other rooms seem to span off from there. Liang must have rigged the center room – the main one – and the explosions and tremors set the other rooms off too. It’s like when you drop something into a pool; the impact spreads out.”

“He obviously wanted to get rid of any evidence implicating him, and to stop us making any further progress,” Cocoa said.

“So if he blew up his hiding place,” Grey said.

“He’s back,” Becca interrupted. “In the village.”

“Aragornbird’s back?” Pseudo-Steve asked.

“Look’s like it,” Cocoa replied firmly.

*

I met Charles Legend at midnight and, after hearing an odd eruption around Ivy Lake, made my way through Grave’s Yard to the Battle Pike. I wanted to see what was going on at the lake (and as I wandered through the village, there were quite an extraordinary number of people investigating the source of the noise) but knew if I wanted rid of Charles, I had to do this.

“So then I managed to find the berry of Questiola and took it to the prince…” Charles went on. “And he said ‘Ryu Slayer’ – that was my name at the time –”

“What are you talking about?” I snapped.

“You weren’t listening?”

“No.”

“Well it started when I got King, as a Charmander,” he began.

“SO CHARLES,” I shouted, drowning his story out. “How many Pokemon do you have?”

“A few,” he mused. “Leeks – that’s Farfetch’d. Erm Mr Slaps the Aipom, Blake, King, Chris 2.0…I want more reptiles and dragons though. I want a Totodile.”

“You should try Skinny Dip’s Pond,” I said, getting my map out. “It’s supposed to be good for fishing.”

“Will you come too?” asked Charles.

“…no,” I replied. “I’m taking you to the Battle Pike, and that’s it.”

“Until we meet in the league,” he grinned. “I can’t wait!

“Yea…” I said airily. “Look.”

As we wandered among the rather eerie, grassy land, I felt a shiver down my spine. It was dark – the moon glowed brightly in the dark sky. The trees were decayed and withered; the ground was hard and bumpy. We wandered along, our shadows at our sides, as a few Murkrow swept across the night. As we walked, a Duskull was slowly floating there, wispy arms hanging loftily.

“A Duskull,” Charles whispered. “Are you going to catch it?”

“Don’t be stupid,” I said. “I’m not a fan of ghost Pokemon. But it’ll be good practice. Cacturne, go!”

In a flash my large friend appeared, grinning at me with one hand on his hip. Charles eyed Cacturne with intrigue.

“So this is the Cacturne who you caught as a Cacnea at Crush Quarry?” he asked. “And evolved in your rematch against Girafarig…”

“…how do you know that?” I asked, shaking my head. “Cacturne, use faint attack and needle arm combined.”

Nodding, my faithful friend faded into the night as he charged at the docile Duskull. His needles began glowing white, and in the dark as he disappeared, his glowing needles looked creepy and rather ominous. Cacturne re-appeared to slam his club-like arms into Duskull’s back, causing the spirit to let out a moan.

“That was good damage!” Charles cried.

“Cacturne, leap back and unleash a pin missile,” I said. Cacturne pounced high, leaping back and landing in front of me before unleashing a barrage of white-hot pins. Duskull, by this point, had turned to see what was going on, meeting the pins head-on and giving a long, chilling groan.

“Wow,” Charles said. “That went down easily.”

“It’s done,” I said, as the Duskull hurried away into a cluster of trees. Nearby, we both saw a cluster of Murkrow eating at a variety of seeds, pecking keenly. I turned to Charles.

“Watch this,” I told him. “Cacturne, use some Scare Tactics.”

“Scare Tic-tacs?”

“Tactics,” I growled. “We’re going to draw on his natural characteristics. Try faint attack and leer.”

Cacturne disappeared into the night and swept towards the unknowing crows. They eagerly ate the scattered seeds, perhaps not even knowing Charles and I were nearby. My accomplice watched hungrily, eager to see Cacturne in action. Out of nowhere two sharp, yellow eyes leered at the birds and scared them witless. With caws and cries they took to the skies, but I was ready.

“Electabuzz!” I shouted. “Thunderbolt!”

“Buzzah!” cried my Pokemon, firing off a massive bolt of electrical energy. It soared upwards and zapped a Murkrow out of the sky, causing it to spiral down into the area of forest where Duskull had retreated to. The others turned towards Charles and I, looking at us with puzzled expressions.

“I want to catch one,” Charles said. He gripped a Pokeball. “Thanks Chris, but now it’s my time…”

“I choose you Mr Slaps!”

The rather bubbly Aipom leapt out his Pokeball enthusiastically. I was reminded of the two that Graham and Anne both had at their Bed and Breakfast. I wondered if they were enjoying the money that Razor Leaf bought the house for.

“Slaps get that Murkrow with Mega Punch!” shouted Charles. The purple monkey bounded through the air enthusiastically, tail paw glowing white and curling into a fist. Aipom leapt up, grabbing a Murkrow with his other paws and slamming his glowing one into its jaw.

“Kraw!”

“Good job! Now, try fury swipes!”

Aipom relentlessly slashed away at the Pokemon but he soon flapped out of the way. Eyes glowing white, Murkrow caused a dense layer of fog to surround us. I could barely see Charles as the arena was swamped with hazy mist.

“Mr Slaps! Tackle!”

“Ow! That’s me you tool,” I snarled, grabbing Aipom and hurling him through the mist. Charles was wandering after the Murkrow, who were both hopping into the distance. “Charles! It’s leading you away, come back!”

“It’s just over there,” snapped Charles. I had to admit, he was quite a few years older than me so it might be best not to anger the guy. “Come back!”

“It’s cold,” I mused. “Damnit I wish I had a bird Pokemon. We could clear the mist.”

Cacturne and Electabuzz stayed by my side as Charles, hearing my comment, grabbed another Pokemon.

“Leeks! We need you! Use whirlwind,” he said, slightly distracted, following the Murkrow with Aipom. I wandered after him. Leeks emerged, looking rather odd. I saw he was wearing green contact lenses…and had a green L slapped on his forehead. Poor guy.

“Far!” he squawked, flapping his wings powerfully. The force began moving the fog, curling and twisting it out our vision. Electabuzz and Cacturne at my side, I looked as, with Charles, Aipom and Farfetch’d, the mist cleared and a gang of rather unruly looking ghost Pokemon circled around us.

Duskull were aplenty; I immediately saw the one I had injured. We seemed to be quite far from the grassy plain of Grave’s Yard. Some Murkrow flapped overhead as the injured ones joined their comrades. A Dusclops had its arms crossed, single red eye glaring at the both of us. Soon a few ghostly Gastly materialized, as did a group of sheet-like Shuppet and their evolutions, Banette.

“Crap,” I murmured.

“We’re surrounded!” Charles cried.

*

“People of 04621!” Cocoa cried loudly. Another announcement was taking place as her moderators – Grey, Knight of Time, Pseudo-Steve and Becca backed her up. Black drapes were up. “It is a sad day today as I bear terrible news.”

Quite an impressive number of intrigued people gathered; the rumbling quake that night had raised more than a few eyebrows.

“Our beloved moderator, Karin, aka 04621, is dead.”

There was an altogether wave of murmur and gasp. Razor Leaf watched this from the back of the crowd, arms folded, staring at Cocoa. Even Chris Watarimono was here; Chris had recently been asked to be the DJ of the Radio Tower, as construction was nearing completion. It had taken some time; construction had halted many times.

“She was murdered, it pains me to say, but I feel you as a community needs to know the truth. Karin was murdered in this village by an unidentified assailant. Despite that, we have increased security, and guards are patrolling more often. Please do not feel this village is unsafe, as we have the best security around.

“Furthermore I am delighted to say the Battle Frontier is being received well indeed – a special mention to Elec Man EXE who has so far conquered three of the facilities! I might also like to add the Brains tell me they are very impressed with the overall strength of the people in Village 04621!”

There was a raucous cheer from the crowd; Karin’s death was wiped from their minds almost, as was the fear of being shot themselves. Cocoa went on to praise them before clearing her throat.

“Now I have another piece of good news,” Cocoa said, smiling. “Although she has been very ill…I am thrilled to say former moderator Amy Wolfsong is back in the village!”

Sheepishly, Amy walked out from behind the stage, waving shyly.

“Hi everyone!” she said.

“As The Missing Link explained some time ago,” Cocoa went on. “Amy has been very ill following a blood infection. However she seems to have regained her fighting spirit and is looking forward to the league!”

“I’d like to let the Frontier Brains know,” Amy said. “That I’m back! And I’ll be taking you down.”

While many people waved, smiled and cheered for Amy like she were some sort of celebrity, some people hung back from the energy and seemed rather bewildered. Razor Leaf became keen in a conversation between Dark Sage and MeLoveGhosts.

“So…Amy’s alive?” MLG said, his Teddiursa by his side.

“Apparently,” Dark Sage murmured. “But that’s not what those posters said. They said she’d been dragged under Ivy Lake.”

“Yea…” MLG mused. “But she looks ok.”

“Quite tired.”

“Not great…”

“…but ok,” Dark Sage finished. “So the person who supplied all that anti-TML propaganda lied.”

“And loads of people complained,” MLG thought. “And…that’s why The Missing Link lost her position.”

“She never even mentioned the rumors,” Dark Sage said. “Maybe she was oblivious to them because she knew she was telling the truth?”

“Whatever the case,” Razor Leaf said, from behind them. “Cocoa’s doing the job Becca should have kept onto all this time.”

“What?”

“You’ve been listening in on us?” Dark Sage asked, disgusted.

“I heard…bits,” replied Razor Leaf. “A large crowd isn’t the best place to host a private conversation.”

“Yea…”

“But I digress,” Razor Leaf replied. “All you need to do is vote Cocoa out, and Becca back in, just reverse what happened last time.”

He turned and walked away.

All I need to do is get Cocoa out of here before The Antibodies do… he mused. Anything we do as a large gang won’t get rid of Cocoa…we’ll just be destroying this village. I’ve angered everybody up…they’re mad…

As Cocoa’s announcement ended, Razor Leaf disappeared within the crowd as Dark Sage and MeLoveGhosts mused upon his words. Meanwhile, from afar, Ecks watched the goings on, sitting in a chair and dialing a number on his phone.

*

Meanwhile, at her flat, Jenny lay on her bed, reading the latest copy of ‘Teenage Whining’ Magazine.

Dear ‘Ask Alexis’
My life was wonderful. I met this cute guy, who totally liked me for who I was, but then all of a sudden he got with my sister Feather and cheated on me! AND he like, got her pregnant and I’m all ‘How can I love my niece if her dad is the man I love? And the man I love’s love is my sister? And I don’t love her! Was it against the law to like, drown the kid? I hope you say no…

From Alexis… erm Rachael Smith

“Oh my god!” Jenny cried. “Ask Alexis blatantly makes her own stories up!”

She held up last weeks issue, entitled ‘BigFoot is my lover…but I don’t love his feet!’ and threw it aside.

“…I knew it!”

The doorbell rang. Jenny got up, Paris the Meowth following her, and the two opened it to see Solia and Luna, the Eon Sisters, standing there. They were grinning awkwardly at her, bunched close together in the doorway.

“Oh!” she said. “…it’s you.”

“Hey Jen,” Luna said soothingly. “Can we like…come in?”

“We have something for you,” replied Solia. “It’s a present.”

“Oh,” Jenny said, standing by and letting the two in. “Erm yea…come in.”

“Like, wow,” Luna said. “Your house is…so….”

“Quirky!” Solia said suddenly.

“Yea…” Jenny mused.

“Anyway, Jenny,” Solia said, handing Jenny a gift bag. “We got you this. We heard about your attack and we were like…totally upset.”

Jenny opened the bag, inside of which was a small box. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with a Japanese symbol hanging from it. Jenny gasped in soft appreciation as she wore it, putting the box aside.

“It looks beautiful,” Luna said.

“Our Mom was raped when we were young,” Solia said. “That symbol means ‘strong’, because we know you must be if you’re still here.”

“We thought you’d be like, an ugly wreck,” Luna said mildly.

“Oh.”

“But you look fantastic,” Solia said, correcting her sister. “Doesn’t she?”

“Totally,” Luna replied. “Like…so…yea.”

“We just wanted you to know we behaved immaturely,” Solia said. “And we hope you’ll accept our apology.”

“Of course I will!” Jenny gasped, embracing the two girls. “I’m so overwhelmed…this is so nice of you…”

“Cool, you’ve got the new issue of Teenage Whining magazine?” Solia asked.

“Yea…” Jenny said. “And you’ll never guess what!”

“What?”

“It’s all a scam by Alexis herself!” Jenny said. “Come through here and I’ll read you the article.”

And with that, Jenny began a new chapter in her time at TPML. With two new friends they tore apart the weak writing of Alexis Munter and spent the afternoon chatting and hanging out together.

*

“Chris…” Charles mused. “They’re not going to let us escape!”

“We’ll have to attack them,” I grumbled. “Electabuzz! Thunder. Cacturne, use faint attack and needle arm!”

“King, Chris 2.0, Go!” Charles shouted. “Fire spin!”

Electabuzz rubbed his palms together and unleashed a crackling surge of electricity. It swept through the air and zapped some of the Banette and Shuppet nearby. They screamed in pain but made it clear they wouldn’t back down. A group of them used an assortment of shadow balls to pepper at Electabuzz, striking him in the face, torso, arms and legs.

“Keep it up,” I urged him. “Cacturne! Go!”

As he disappeared I sensed my plan was foiled when the Dusclops’ red eye glowed brighter and my cactus Pokemon appeared to be surrounded by a bright red glow. As he went towards the big Dusclops it drew a fist back and slammed Cacturne with a shadow punch, catching him off guard and hurling him down to the ground.

“Electabuzz, thunder wave,” I said, thinking fast. As Charles tried unleashing a double flame combo, one of the ghosts summoned a downpour from above. Tiny droplets became deadly bullets of rain that hammered down on us and soaked us to the skin. Magby and King looked too uncomfortable and were recalled.

“Electabuzz, thunder again!” I said, as his thunderwave was taken by a Duskull. The rain clouds cackled and Electabuzz gave a sharp grin as he summoned a huge storm. Bolts rushed down from the skies and stunned many of the ghosts but it just wasn’t enough. Cacturne got up and unleashed a pin missile, but as he did a Banette leapt up and used double edge. Cacturne gave a strangled cry as he fell to his knees.

“LEAVE US ALONE!” I cried. Charles’ Aipom tried attacking but flew straight through some of the large Pokemon. A Murkrow squadron swooped down and I felt sharp, cruel beaks slashing at my back. I, too, fell on my knees beside Cacturne as tears streamed down my face. “GET OFF ME!”

“Chris!” Charles cried, as a shadow ball smashed into his stomach. “Leeks, use whirlwind to blow them away!”

Leeks the Farfetch’d swept upwards but was struck by a thunder wave from the Murkrow fleet. He fell back, paralyzed, unable to do anything. All I knew was pain as I recalled Cacturne. Electabuzz gripped my Pokeballs and released Poliwhirl and Sneasel. Poliwhirl instantly defeated a Banette with water pulse, while Sneasel used metal claw to rake across a Murkrow. He leapt back from a shadow ball and charged an ice beam, freezing a Murkrow into a solid block of ice.

“Charles…” I gasped. “Are you ok?”

“F-Fine!” he said, getting up. “Mr Slaps! Iron Tail!”

Aipom’s tail shimmered as he ran towards the ghosts. A Haunter emerged, and his two hands dived down through the air and picked Aipom up. Almost dejectedly Haunter hurled the purple monkey to the ground, where he cried in agony.

“Poliwhirl! Concentrate your psychic energy!” I shouted. “Psychic!”

Poliwhirl nodded, arms and paws creating a round opening in front of his mouth. He forced a beam of glowing purple energy which tore through the air and smashed right through Haunter, causing the Pokemon to instantly dissolve into the air. His part poison type made him weak to psychic attacks. Poliwhirl began gasping for breath.

“Come on!” I cried. “You’re ok, are you?”

He nodded, still catching his breath.

“Water gun!”

As he blasted a jet of water around like a hose, he managed to stop most of the Pokemon from reaching us. Electabuzz, I noticed, was busy wrestling the big Dusclops (which, I thought, was the leader of the group), sneakily discharging electricity to cause the Pokemon to receive a shock.

“Aipom, use a shadow ball to show those pesky ghosts!” cried Charles, getting to his feet once again. A Shuppet flew down and soon met the crackling purple orb of digested spirits and shadow. Aipom cried his name happily as Shuppet was knocked out, but soon the Pokemon glowed purple. It was Destiny Bond. No sooner did Shuppet dissolve into the air than Aipom felt a surging energy overwhelm him. He fell over backwards, defeated.

“That was cheap!” I cried, throat hoarse. “Electabuzz, thunderbolt! Sneasel, blizzard! Poliwhirl, water gun.”

Poliwhirl nodded and blasted jets of water but it soon transpired that the ghosts had other plans. Dusclops pointed forward and a group of Duskull fired attacks our way. A jagged nightshade, overflowing with darkness pierced my chest and threw me to the ground, where I shouted and roared as pain and torture overwhelmed me. Charles recalled Mr Slaps and Leeks, feeling lost, and soon a purple glow engulfed Poliwhirl and Sneasel. They disappeared into their Pokeballs as another flashed white. Mankey burst out, looking ready but somehow confused.

“Mankey?” I asked.

“Ghosts are manipulating,” Charles groaned. “They’ve dragged Mankey out.”

“Mankey, get back in your ball!” I shouted. “You’re no good against these Pokemon! Electabuzz, shield him.”

Electabuzz stood in the way of Mankey as a Banette unleashed a shadow ball to strike my electric warrior in the chest. He shook the damage off and swung a thunderpunch to connect with the plush doll. He gave an eerie scream and soared upwards, distracting Electabuzz while Dusclops swept through the air, phasing into the environment. I looked around. In a flash, Mankey was hurled backwards.

“Mankey!” I cried, but he rose, a crackling black aura surrounding him. Dusclops was gone…where was he?
Unless…

“Charles!” I shouted. “That Dusclops has possessed Mankey!”

“Why?” asked Charles.

“HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?” I screamed. “Just help me!”

Mankey gripped the sides of his head. He sank to his knees, eyes rolling in the back of his head and soon he was writhing around on the floor, panting relentlessly. My eyes darted around at the army of cackling specters…was this punishment for attacking them?

“Mankey hold on!” I shouted. “Electabuzz…DO SOMETHING!”

My Pokemon looked clueless at me and tears ran down my face, staining my cheeks.

“Just…do something!” I cried. “Please! Shock Mankey…that might send the spirit out.”

Electabuzz began charging with energy as a curious thing happened. A glow overtook some of the Shuppet, Duskull, a Banette and a Sableye and in no time, Electabuzz was engulfed in a similar white glow. What emerged from his body was not a light shock, but a bright white amalgamation of furious sparks that soared into Mankey and dealt a terrifying shock.

“MANKEY!” I screamed.

“T-They all used Helping Hand!” Charles wept. “T-They powered up Electabuzz!”

“YOU MONSTERS!” I shouted, as Mankey shook irrationally, eyes rolled into the back of his head, body flailing everywhere as I could smell burning flesh in the air. The shock was intense...and when Dusclops soared out of the Pokemon’s body, and the peppering rain finally subsided, my suspicions were true.

“A-Are you ok, Mankey?” I asked. He opened his eyes and looked at me. He gave a slow nod. I rose and turned to the fleet of ghost Pokemon.

“What did he do to you?” I snapped. “WHAT? WHAT DID HE DO?”

Dusclops eyed me contemptuously, but I didn’t care one bit. I pointed at him and turned to Electabuzz.

“Thunder. Do as much damage as you can.”

A huge cone of energy engulfed my electric soldier. Sparks jumped and danced on his yellow fur as a huge, arching cannon of power swept up, streaking down and smashing into the army of ghosts. Charles watched with awe as a golden light bathed us all in the small area off of Grave’s Yard. Many of the ghosts, defeated, dissolved into the night, Electabuzz standing by my side. Sparks covered his body like golden armor as he crossed his arms firmly.

“Come on,” I said to Charles, picking up Mankey. “We need to get this guy taken care of.”

“Mankey looks awful,” Charles said. A clump of his hair had fallen out by his left ear. He looked scraggly and weatherworn. “There’s a Pokemoncenter at the Battle Pike. Let’s go there.”

And, Electabuzz and Charles by my side, I raced into the night across the plains, the rest of the undefeated ghosts mulling around the area quietly. We were close to the Pike – I could see it in the distance.

*

Amy Wolfsong was sitting at the broken down shoreline of Ivy Lake. She stared out at the muddy ditch and sighed. There was no water. No beauty. No tranquility. Her little slice of peace and quiet in the village had ebbed away.

“Oh Liang,” she sighed. Sitting there, she closed her eyes for a few moments, letting the world disappear for a few moments.

“Amy!”

“Liang?!”

Amy was jerked to her senses as a worn out Aragornbird stood before her, gasping for breath.

“W-What are you doing?” Amy asked. “Everyone’s looking for you?”

“Why?” Liang asked innocently.

“You don’t know?” Amy hissed. “Cocoa’s put a warrant out for your arrest. She’s told all security here, as well as all Moderators and she’s even alerted the Board of Governors!”

“I’m innocent!” Liang cried. “It’s Ecks that’s behind all of this.”

“We thought so,” Amy muttered. Liang looked confused. “Becca, Chris and I.”

“Brit Chris?”

“He’s Chris 2.0 now but yea, he knows,” she said.

“Ecks is a dead man,” Liang growled. “I’m going to kill him.”

“What made you turn against him?” she asked. “In fact…what made you go along with him in the first place?”

He looked at her, face exposing his angst and fear.

“You can tell me,” she cooed. “We want to help.”

“Ecks has done some bad things,” Liang murmured. “I never wanted to work for him. When I was working as a banker at TPML, it was around the time he was dismissed from The Board of Governors. Quite a while after he left, his compensation cheque came through to me, and I updated his account. I found that he had an excess amount of money in his account, considering I hadn’t see him battle very much. I traced the account and learned that he’d managed to hack into the accounts of Gordon, from the Board of Governors. He’d organized a Slipstream Transfer Code –”

“A what?” Amy asked.

“It’s basically a code that transfers a lump sum from one account to another automatically. It also erases backup so that when people look back, the accounts add up. Gordon’s paycheck was of such a size that £1,000 can go missing and he’s none the wiser.”

“So…Ecks was getting money directly from Gordon himself?” Amy asked. Liang nodded. “And what happened?”

“Ecks found a scapegoat,” he went on. “A man named Leslie Van Artz. Half French, Half American. His business, V.A. Corporations, made and maintains the software that ALL computing is based off in TPML; VS Seekers, the Bank’s computers, you name it. Ecks managed to turn VA Corp’s software against itself, framing Leslie as the one who had used a Slipstream Transfer Code to leech money from Gordon.”

“So Leslie was arrested?”

“Yep,” Liang said darkly. “As for his son, Joseph…”

“…the boy in the hospital?” Amy asked. “I’ve visited him! All he says is…X…”

“That’s right,” Liang murmured. “Ecks…”

“What did Ecks do to him?”

“Corrupt his family,” Liang said simply. “Joseph’s life was turned upside down and…he lost it. He just couldn’t comprehend that his father, a rich tycoon, was a corrupt thief.”

“Hang on…” Amy said. “You said Ecks placed all the blame on Leslie. So how did you find out?”

“He deposited some of the excess from Leslie’s account,” Liang went on. “In the end he kept a small percentage of what he stole, but it was still a nice sum of money. He took some money out the account, framed Leslie, and each week put it in his TPML account in small doses.”

“This is complicated,” Amy said, smirking. “And you found out?”

“I found out and confronted him,” Liang said. “He tried defending himself at first, but I dug deep, and I had all the evidence I needed to assure him that I wasn’t going to be fooled by anything he had to say.”

“So what did he do?”

“More of his fancy computer work,” Liang sighed. “And changed a few records on the main TPML server. I don’t know how he did it – by this time he was off the Board so he shouldn’t have access to the files he did…”

“What are you saying?” Amy asked.

“He made it look like I framed Leslie,” Liang moaned. “If you look at the records, you’ll see me implicated.”

“Why would he do that?” Amy asked. “Won’t someone see?”

“The records are old, nobody would look anymore,” Liang explained. “He told me that if I tried working against him, he would draw attention to the records and I’d go down with a Life sentence. And he’s right.”

“So you worked for him…” Amy muttered.

“…it wasn’t much,” Liang said. “But that doesn’t matter. Ecks targeted Henry after he found what I found. Then, when you were given the position of Banker, he wanted to make sure you didn’t find out, either.”

“So that’s why I was taken…and why Henry was shot…” Amy mused.

“Who’s the current banker of TPML?” Liang asked. “They need to –”

There was a rustling and Amy looked around. She heard boots crunching a Metang buzzing it’s name. Guards. She bungled Liang into the overgrowth and walked back to the shoreline.

“Oh,” said the Guard. “Amy.”

“Hello,” she said calmly.

“You shouldn’t be here, Amy,” he said, in a southern drawl. “I aughta take you back to the village.”

“C-Can I stay a little longer?” Amy asked. “I’ll go back straight away, I promise.”

“I have orders to keep people away from the lake,” he reiterated. “Metang…scout the area with confusion.”

Metang nodded.

“No!” Amy cried.

“No?”

“Please…I want to stay,” she said. “I-It helps me here. It helps me remember things.”

“From when you were taken?” asked the Guard.

“Yes,” Amy said suddenly.

“Ok then,” the Guard said. “I’ll wait here with you. Quietly, I assure you.”

Amy bit her lip but caught a glimpse of Liang disappearing in the distance. He was safe. She sighed, staring out at the destroyed lake, trying to digest everything Liang told her. So Ecks was good with computers. He framed Liang and was willing to let him take the bullet for everything he had done himself. What Amy didn’t understand was what he was doing now. Was he simply covering his tracks? Or did he have a new motive?

*

I sat in the Pokemoncenter part of the Battle Pike’s lobby area. It was a huge building designed like a massive Seviper. The beast’s mouth was open wide and it’s forked tongue acted as the stairs to which we entered. The red fangs lit up the path with a neon glow. I saw the creature’s tail curl upwards. The whole thing was absolutely massive, perhaps the height of a house and the length of several.

A Nurse came out from swing doors with a tray of Pokeballs. Charles and I took them, thanking her.

“…hang on,” I said. “Mankey. His Pokeball’s not here.”

“Chris…” she said softly.

“DON’T…” I snarled. “...tell me…”

“We did all we could,” she cooed.

“Bullshit!” I snapped. “BULLSHIT!”

“Chris…” Charles mumbled.

“It was those BASTARD ghosts!” I went on. Rage pumped through my veins and circulated all through my body. “THEY killed him!”

“We’re at the Pike now,” Charles said. “So if you fancy the challenge…”

“Not now,” I growled. “I’m going back to them.”

“You’re going back?” The Nurse asked, bewildered. “Your Pokemon were really hurt! Don’t go back.”

“It was him,” I hissed. “Dusclops. He killed Mankey.”

“So? What will battling him do?” she cried.

“Battle?” I asked, laughing. “I’m not just going to battle him! No…he needs the ultimate punishment. He needs a fitting punishment for murder.”

“Chris what are you planning?” asked Charles, wearily.

“I’m going out there and I’m going to catch him,” I replied darkly. “He killed one of my Pokemon. He took an innocent life. Mankey was a good f-friend. I’m going to make Dusclops pay. I’m going to take away his freedom.”

I slipped my Pokeball belt on and headed for the door.

“You coming?” I asked.

“No,” Charles said. “I’m staying here. I’m waiting for you to come back.”

“I won’t be long,” I said. “Then I’ll show you a good battle against Lucy.”

Charles sighed and turned to one of the plasma screens. Now in the lobby of the Pike, which was quite dark and had the look of a burlesque house with frilled curtains, maroon walls and dark skirting boards, Charles stared at a Plasma Screen. There were six in the lobby; each showed various rooms of the Pike.

The Battle Pike tested foe’s luck. You entered and had to negotiate a maze, battling other challengers and wild Pokemon in the rooms of this old, odd house. If you were lucky, you reached the back, where you would challenge the Brain, Lucy, in a battle. She watched her challengers on screens, sitting in a large throne with a Shuckle on the armrest, and a Seviper curled at her feet.

“Come on,” she said softly, a glass of red wine in her hand as the other petted Shuckle. “Challangers…I’m waiting…”

*

The walk didn’t take me long. Cacturne walked at my side as we headed into the dark night, the ghostly area of Graves Yard where Mankey’s life was taken. Cacturne had been informed, and he wasn’t pleased. The two were good friends.

“HEY!” I roared. “DUSCLOPS!”

There was no response.

“DUSCLOPS!” I said again. “I want a battle!”

Still, no response. Cacturne stood there, eyes darting around.

“A FAIR BATTLE!” I cried. “I’ll use one Pokemon, you leave your minions! A fair fight.”

Then, out of the darkness, the creepy specter materialized. His red eye focused on us as he flexed his pale arms. He nodded to signal the start of the battle.

“Cacturne,” I said. “Needle arm!”

He ran eagerly, arms held out, needles glowing a bright white. Cacturne swung around in a spinning motion and shredded Dusclops’ side. Dusclops raced forward, fist glowing with a focus punch, but Cacturne leapt high and blasted a bullet seed directly at the glowing fist to reduce the power.

“Nice work,” I said. “Follow up with faint attack.”

And, as Cacturne melded into the darkness, Dusclops followed him with his red eye. Completely focused on my scarecrow, Dusclops had his back to me, and I gripped two more Pokeballs. I hurled them up and, in a flash, Magmar and Electabuzz appeared.

“Thunderwave! Fire blast!”

Dusclops flew upwards in surprise, trying to escape, but Electabuzz didn’t want that at all. A crackling web of electricity was released, stunning Dusclops and causing him to collapse to the ground, crackling sparks dancing around him. He gave a shuddering gasp as Magmar leapt up, firing off a large symbol of pure flaming energy. It slammed into Dusclops, grinding him down into the ground as flames burst up around him, scorching him. His moans and roars of anguish filled my ears and I gave a sick smile.

“He’s had enough,” I said. I drew a Pokeball from my belt, hurled it through the air and watched it suck in the Pokemon. In his last few moments I saw a scowl on his face as he became my prisoner. The ball fell to the earth, wobbling and teetering before letting a short ping out to declare he was mine.

“Good work,” I told my Pokemon. I gripped the Pokeball that contained Dusclops and spat on it. “Don’t talk to this guy. Ever.”

Recalling Electabuzz, Magmar and Cacturne, I looked to the Tube, seeing it in the distance. I began my walk, Dusclops now truly one of the team. Lucy better be ready – the fury I felt over Mankey’s death had washed any upset or emotional feelings away. I felt like the hulk as I made my way back, and knew that nothing was going to stop me.

*

Meanwhile, Razor Leaf wandered along the sandy beach of Tranquil Shores. It was late, and he felt quite ill from all the stress. He noticed a girl sitting there, staring out the cove and out at the moons gaze across the rippling surface.

“Becca?” he asked.

“Dan,” she said calmly. “Have a seat.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Losing myself,” she replied, smiling. “I need to get away.”

“How are you,” he said apprehensively. “After…”

“Everyone was sad,” she said. “When Cocoa announced it. Then they turned their sadness off and went back to their lives. They battle, they work, they carry on. I’m still stuck in the same place.”

“I know how you feel,” replied Razor Leaf. “I recently lost my mother.”

“Oh,” Becca said softly. Razor Leaf raised his eyebrows.

“…usually people say ‘I’m so sorry’ or something like that,” he noted. Becca turned to face him.

“I know,” she said. “But…you know I’m sorry. In the wake of death…who isn’t ever sorry?”

“Yea…I suppose,” Razor Leaf said.

“It’s my fault,” Becca mumbled. “Karin was stressed. She needed the time off. She went to the Absence Tower…”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Razor Leaf said soothingly.

“I just want her to know how much she meant to me,” Becca said, as tears rolled down her cheeks. “S-She was so important.”

“She knows,” Razor Leaf replied. “And my Mum knows how much she meant to me. They’re watching us. Protecting us.”

“So…why are you here?” Becca asked.

“The Antibodies…” Razor Leaf mumbled. “…basically…I started up this Anti-Cocoa movement.”

“You did?” Becca asked, eyes wide. “Wow.”

“I rallied loads of people…but now I feel as if we can’t achieve anything. We can’t get rid of Cocoa with an army of thugs, can we? All we can do is…attack the place.”

“The only way to get Cocoa to step down is to vote her out, like I was,” Becca said simply.

“I know…” Razor Leaf said. “…now. I don’t know how I did it. I have an army.”

“Look,” Becca said. “I heard about Cocoa giving you, Grey and Kyle a real shouting at. If you want to slip out of this just give leadership of The Antibodies to someone else.”

“I like most the people in it, though…I wouldn’t want them to take the bullet,” Razor Leaf mused.

“There isn’t anyone you can think of?” Becca asked. Razor Leaf’s eyes widened and he gave a smirk.

“There is one person…” he said. “Someone I’m not all that fond of at all.”

And on that note, the two friends sat on the sandy shore, staring out to sea. Both had found common ground and as the village moved along around them, they stayed stock still, basking and sharing each other’s problems.

“Dan?”

“Yea?”

“I wanted you to stay as a mod,” Becca said. “Honestly.”

“I know,” he said. “I wanted you to stay as Head Lady here. You’ll get it again. I swear.”

“No way,” Becca said flatly. “I couldn’t do that job again. I don’t want to. No.”

“Wh-Why?” Razor Leaf asked.

“Because,” she said admirably. “When you had a job like mine…you don’t get moments like these. No time to empty your thoughts into the ocean and watch them swim away…”

Razor Leaf stared out at hearing her words.

“…maybe we’re both better off where we are…” he mused.

*

Meanwhile, Ecks was in a dark room. It was quite large and spacious. He was on a phone, pacing back and forth around a small radius of light.

“…Liang’s a dead man,” he said. “Judging from our…conversation, the plucky scapegoat’s after me. And he knows exactly where I am. He smashed his mobile phone. I can’t even reach him.”

“How do you know he’s after you,” said the voice.

“He made that clear,” Ecks replied.

“Oh?”

“Yes, now please,” Ecks snarled.

“He might talk.”

“He won’t talk,” replied the man. “You don’t know him like I do.”

A figure stepped into the room. Ecks turned around.

“I’ll call you back.”

As he hung up, the boy named Hanada Tattsu walked into the light, staring at Ecks. He wore a confused expression. Ecks beamed.

“Greg!” he said.

“…Dad?” Hanada asked, brow furrowed.

Next: Chapter 28 - Pike Queen Lucy (Part 2)
Chris and Charles venture into the Pike...but luck isn't on their side. Chris meets Knight of Time and knows if he wants to beat him to Lucy, he'll need to battle him. Will his anger cloud his vision or focus his concentration? Razor Leaf finds a suitable leader for The Antibodies in Ecks, but does he realize the consequences of his actions?

Amy uncovers some information linking Ecks to Karin and, armed with her conversation with Liang, she rallies Becca for help. But why won't Becca assist in getting Ecks back? Meanwhile, Liang goes to a final confrontation with Ecks. Solia and Luna help Jenny realize her feelings for Chris, while Pseudo-Steve raises a few eyebrows

The chapter will focus MAINLY on Chris and Charles in the Pike, hence it being quite a quiet looking chapter. But I assure you a lot will go on! This chapter has a lot of battles in it though!

Thanks!

The Blue Avenger

15th July 2006, 06:30 PM

*blinks* Wow. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that I didn't expect the majority of that chapter. The Eon sisters being nice was out of the blue... I know you said that we'd see a new side of them, but I thought you meant they'd be, like, uber-jerks now or something. I'm still not entirely sure I trust them, so I'll wait and reserve my judgment for a while.

I knew the kid in the hospital would be related to Ecks in some way, shape, or form. Although I guess it wasn't that hard to figure out, it was a cool little throwback to chapters past.

Mankey's dead? O_O That was unexpected. You were right when you said that the chapter would be grim. It sheds a bit of light onto Chris' personality, which is always a plus. I'm curious to see how Dusclops will be treated in the future.

And then we come to the end. Ecks is his father? That's... wow. Definitely didn't see that coming. However, I do think it goes a bit towards explaining Tattsu's behavior in early chapters - so volatile. Definitely could have used a Darth Vader "I am your father" moment. :D

I'll eager to see where this next chapter goes, so until then...

Hyperness is a Good Thing

15th July 2006, 11:46 PM

o.o a lot of thing did happen in this chapter.. Mankey died =(
The biggest shock has to be that Eck's is a father o.O I always imagined him as a youngish guy so suddenly he's someone's dad???
Oh the I sort of guessed that the dude in the hospital was related to Ecks.. I mean he did keep on going X X X .... >.>
Liang's finally going to confront Ecks in the next chapter? Hope he makes it through, I did like his character and now that his motives and all have been explained....

Blademaster

16th July 2006, 02:15 AM

Mankey is dead... Poor li'l guy... I wonder what this means for that Dusclops? Will he ever battle? Or even ever get to come out of his Pokeball? Or, maybe...

Nah, I don't wanna take the chance of spoiling anything.

Hanada and Ecks' being related was quite unexpected; I wonder, will Hanada be a friend...

...Or a foe? :eek:

Anyway, I'll be waiting to see Lucy and Chris face off, so until then...

Peace! :wave:

-Blade

Andrew

16th July 2006, 03:29 AM

Oh I see, they're going to be getting rid of psudo-steve in one fell sweep and the real one too!

omgs poor Mankey. I bet electabuzz will feel depressed for a while now. Why couldn't chris just recall him? I'm surprised he's not going to subject Dusclops to some sort of mean torture as pennance now.

The rape thing still bugs. It's like so ... blatent. I love where the Eon sisters were coming from, but it's like "Hay I'm JEnny and I got raped!"

"Hi Jenny!"

"Omgs I had the nicest dinner the other night and the best part of it was when I wasn't raped!"

I picked up the lost Artz ref, and I still don't think Ecks is the main man. And last chapter, I really enjoyed Oz's shouting match. lols.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

16th July 2006, 06:45 AM

w0000t I had a cameo! Btw, Teddi is already evolved now ;)

Also, I thought Dan would give the leadership to Mega horny. Lol, but yeah, I forgot that Ecks was in the Antibodies himself.

Much things happened. Mankey being dead and all. I still love ghost pokemon however, they're awesome :p

Interesting chapter, I'm eager to watch the battle ^^

Chris 2.1

16th July 2006, 08:25 AM

TBA: Yea I said to you in PM we saw quite a dark side to Chris. I really wanted to emphasize that he has different ways of coping with loss. Jenny would be distraught, maybe burst into tears, whereas Chris wanted revenge and justice. His angry emo streak continues into next chapter.

As for the Eon Sisters...well they could do a lot. I'll not say exactly where they're going but they're going to be featured a little more in future and I wanted to bring them back in a surprising way. Joseph has been explained...but regarding Ecks past....Liang has barely scratched the surface of the mysterious man. There's a lot you don't know.

I'm excited about Dusclops' role in the fic because theres this general thing where everyone is best friends with Pokemon. Chris and Dusclops won't be friends. Chris isn't going to treat the Pokemon nicely. He wants Dusclops to suffer for what he's done but I think once he has paid the price for his murder, he'll either be released, or treated kinder.

Hmm Hanada and Ecks is definitely going to open a window into the man's life. This wasn't in my original plans for Ecks but it should provide some interesting clues to his past. I'm torn about how much I'll say, but there story won't be the conventional "I am your father" sort of thing. Thankfully.

And who is the mother?

HIAGT: Ecks is quite a young, handsome businessman I'd say he was in his early thirties. Hanada was 15 so Eck and Hanada's mum were apparently very young when Hanada was born. Is Ecks his biological father, though? Hmm muse upon that.

Liang's confrontation will be exciting!

Blade: Go on. I guarentee I'm the only one who can actually spoil things here :p You can speculate till the cows come home! I'm very intrigued what you think.

Hmm considering Hanada and Chris ended things on a bad note (Horsea being bloodily beaten) I'm not sure they're meeting will be pleasant. But on the other hand, who knows about Ecks and Hanada? Lucy and Chris' battle is the focus of Chapter 28 so watch out for it.

Andrew: Err not really, no! Lol. I think the team will feel the effects of the death, particularly Electabuzz. In my opinion even if Chris had recalled him, Dusclops would reside inside Mankey and would still be posessing him. I think you'll find Chris is going to make Dusclops pay.

Honestly I'm finding it hard to please everyone with Jenny's subplot. I don't get how exactly that example is anything like what's actually going on, but I tried writing a mature storyline, and it blew up in my face, and it blatantly sucks. I can't write. Is that what you wanted to hear?

MLG: Nah I think Razor Leaf knows Ecks is a smart man. MH is a bit of a fool! So he knows Ecks is quite mysterious but also the right age and a good leader. How wrong he is...hmm I hope you look forward to the battle!

Hanada's mother is someone we've seen before in the fic. Clue! Haha. And he's a very pasty white, so Cocoa (being African American) is quite unlikely to be the Mother ;)

Dark Dragonite

16th July 2006, 11:37 AM

I love reading this Chris, great work again!!

Ok, predictions:

1)Liang will Kill Ecks
2)Hanada will kill Liang
3)Somehow, RL will use his dislike towards DD and make him the fall guy for the antibodies...

Charles Legend

16th July 2006, 01:54 PM

poor Mankey, but seeing as you gave Andrew your Primape I kinda see why you had it die. but why did Charles want to try and catch a Murkrow? and is Hanada's mother be none other then Nurse Smiles herself?

over all  not a bad Chaphter, maybe a little Depressing over the death of Mankey, but still good never the less... 

I also loved the part where Charles tells Chris he wants to catch a Totodile, and Chris reply,

Also ROFL @ Charlrs saying “Scare Tic-tacs? but what the simi hell is a Questiola or was Charles telling Chris about Rayquaza or was Charles talking about Quetzalcoatl? the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations.

~Charles Legend

Blademaster

16th July 2006, 10:50 PM

Ok, predictions:

1)Liang will Kill Ecks
2)Hanada will kill Liang

Or maybe, the big twist: Hanada will kill Ecks. :eek:

Blade: Go on. I guarentee I'm the only one who can actually spoil things here :p You can speculate till the cows come home! I'm very intrigued what you think.

Well, Chrisman, it seems that in your story, Ghost Pokemon are already dead, and very vengeful, so if Chris tries to make Dusclops suffer in anyway, I doubt Dusclops will respond. Or, at least, he won't respond positively. So, maybe Chris will...

...Um, well, to be honest, I haven't really thought it through; Chris did say he'd make Dusclops pay by "taking his freedom," so maybe Chris will take the Pokeball with Dusclops in it and put it somewhere - maybe he'll hide it or bury it, leaving Dusclops trapped forever...

...Or at least until someone else finds him.

-Blade

Andrew

17th July 2006, 01:01 AM

Chris, no, if I didn't think you couldn't write, why would I continue reading for christ's sakes.

I was just saying the subtlety of it all is just lacking. It's a valid storyline, but just after talking to abused people I know, they're not so "HAY LOOK AT ME I GOT SEXUALLY ABUSED AS A KIDDY" it's something only people very very close to them know. And they either distance themselves greatly (which was covered well in teh hospital stay) or try get over it by sexing themselves up a lot. Which leads me to ask, how did the eons know? Newspaper article?

Maybe we'll have ZOMBIE MANKEY... or will Mankey now be a gastly/misdreavus?

Chris 2.1

17th July 2006, 08:11 AM

DD: Muse upon them further!

Charles: Yea Mankey wasn't working. I don't particularly like them. *shrug* but it's important because a) Sneasel has nobody to look down on (Mankey was the only one who hadn't evolved yet) and Chris has to feel a pain like that. Few people have had to go through that. His reaction? a Hulk-like rampage in the Pike. Exciting.

Questiola was a made up RPGgy continent I decided to drop in. *2nd shrug*. I have this nice idea of Charles trying to boast about all these amazing adventures that are pretty sucky. Meh.

Blade: You've noticed the juiciest part of the cliffhanger - we don't know ANYTHING except Ecks and Hanada are father son. So the relationship could go in any way and I'll promise you'll be surprised by the way in which Hanada's relation to Ecks is played out.

I think by "taking his freedom" he meant capturing him, taking him from his friends and making him battle for him.

Andrew: This is something I wanted to address. A stereotype is that people who get raped become people-phobic recluses who shake when they hear newspapers rustling and it's unfair. I have a close friend and she was raped. She wasn't a very strong character, quite quiet, and she dealt with it magnificently. She didn't hide, she didn't break down, she didn't need any counselling, she just picked herself up and carried on. And, while she doesn't wear it on a t-shirt, she's very willing to talk about it.

This fic is my way of telling all sorts of stories. The Antibodies are in a "power isn't the answer" message whereas Jenny's subplot is saying that not everybody deals with things the same way; also mirrored in Chris' dealing with Mankeys death. Jenny's recovering very well and she's not the type of girl to let it get to her. When she realized she wasn't pregnant, that confirmed her thoughts; she needn't be scared anymore. That chapter of her life was closed.

It was never mentioned how they knew. Were they partly responsible? Hmmm. As for Mankey, I don't think he'll be a Gastly lol. Interesting idea though.

Chris 2.1

20th July 2006, 05:20 PM

Note!

The Golden Pens are fast approaching and it's YOUR chance to make MY ego look HUGE!

Seriously!

If you've enjoyed TPML since its....birth, and anything particularly stuck out, be sure to nominate us for a Golden Pen! If your memory of chapters since roughly Ch11 is hazy (since thats when the Silver Pencils were up) backtrack through the thread and check out some old Chapters!

Here is a Chapter List thus far:

The First Act
Chris enrols at The Pokemon Masters League, meeting many of the other battlers and making more enemies than friends. Chris' suspicions about a mysterious lake are confirmed when a girl is kidnapped beneath a layer of fog.

Chapter 1: The Missing Link
Chapter 2: Girafarig (Part 1)
Chapter 3: Girafarig (Part 2)
Chapter 4: Razor Leaf
Chapter 5: OzAndrew (Part 1)
Chapter 6: OzAndrew (Part 2)
Chapter 7: The Arbiter
Chapter 8: Aragornbird VS Pichu
Chapter 9: Hanada Tattsu

The Second Act
Chris' rivalry with Razor Leaf reaches an empasse as the boy is caught between The Arbiter and Razor Leaf's ancient feud. Jenny finds Chris and registers under the username FabuLass, irritating our hero as her fiery personality causes more conflict in the village. A mysterious businessman arrives at the village.

Chapter 10: Wolfsong (Part 1)
Chapter 11: 04621 (Part 1)
Chapter 12: 04621 (Part 2)
Chapter 13: Crystal Tears
Chapter 14: FabuLass
Chapter 15: Knight of Time
Chapter 16: Razor Leaf (Part 2)
Chapter 17: Razor Leaf (Part 3)
Chapter 18: Razor Leaf (Part 4)
Chapter 19: The Blue Avenger
Chapter 20: The Weakest Link

The Third Act
A member of The Board of Governors takes the reins and Becca is forced from her office. Cocoa Sting re-organises the moderators, while Chris undergoes a new persona in the village. The Battle Frontier is introduced and is soon a useful mask to slip over the village as blackmail, murder and turmoil are rife.

Chapter 21: Cocoa Sting
Chapter 22: Girafarig (Part 3)
Chapter 23: Wolfsong (Part 2)
Chapter 24: Chris 2.0
Chapter 25: Salon Maiden Annabel
Chapter 26: Charles Legend
Chapter 27: Pike Queen Lucy (Part 1)

Future Chapters
Chapter 28: Pike Queen Lucy (Part 2)
Chapter 29: Hanada Tattsu (Part 2)
Chapter 30: Dome Superstar Tucker

Ch30 is, subsequently, the end of Act 3. Act 4 will tie up the Battle Frontier and continue developing the main body of the plot, and I am presuming/hoping there will be an Act 5 to deal with the league.

Knight of Time

23rd July 2006, 07:00 PM

Hey, sorry I haven't been posting here much, but I've been reading all the chapters so far, and they're each great!

This topic definitely could use a Golden Pen nomination.

Can't wait for more chapters here, Chris 2.0.

Chris 2.1

23rd July 2006, 07:08 PM

Thanks Kyle - look out for Knight of Time stumbling upon Chris 2.0 in the Battle Pike. Remember their pact after Ch15? Kyle wants to fulfil it.

Oh and I'm working through Ch28 well. It's going to be probably the length of Ch26; big, but not the biggest. It's mainly dealing with Chris and Charles at the Pike, as well as the change in the Antibodies in a few ways. There's also a lot going on with Ecks, Liang, Amy and Hanada.

RaZoR LeAf

26th July 2006, 06:13 AM

Can I make a suggestion? Not to the fic itself, but in your first post, have a list of all the chapters, and link to the actual posts they appear in. If people are going to be voting, they can find the chapters easier in amoongst all ther reviews.

Fic is going great by the way. :D

Chris 2.1

26th July 2006, 06:24 AM

Good idea *Does that*

Elec Man EXE

26th July 2006, 10:41 AM

2 new chapters to read now that I'm back from vacation, schweet.

Continues to be great stuff. Especially since I had a battle, and quite a cool one at that (what? I'm not conceited, really :p).

LOL @ Andrew's shouting battle... too much noise :ninja:

Mankey dies? Shocker!!! Should be interesting to see how Chris uses his newly captured ghosty, if he even does. And it really showed Chris' bad side, ambushing it with 3 pokemon... tsk.

Deus Ex disappeared, thats interesting.

Would have never thought of Razor Leaf suddenly becoming all logical and abandoning the Antibodies, complete personality switch. I wonder if they'll end up becomming more scapegoats for Ecks... I hope not, I don't want to be evil :rolleyes:

Chris 2.1

28th July 2006, 09:14 AM

Elec Man: Haha yea I liked the match; I felt it was a real David VS Golliath sort of scenario but didn't show all of it. Tucker has his own Chapter (possibly even a two-parter, like Lucy) in which he'll face one of TPML's bitchiest members. I cannot wait to write it.

Chris' bad side eliviates during the Pike but Dusclops is going to remain on his team; a reminder of that small dark side he unleashes every so often. I'm fond of Chris and Dusclops' relationship and it'll be fun developing it over the rest of the fic.

Deus Ex....lol. I loved that place.

Hmm as Chapter 28 will show you, Ecks utilises his position in a purely 'Ecks' manner, I think you'll agree.

Ch28 is going very well and I'm very pleased with it thus far. It's almost finished and I can (hopefully) guarentee it will be up this weekend. As a person who always critiscises my own work, I'm surprised to find myself very pleased with this and have to say Chapter 28 is a fond favourite.

For all you ASBers it will build on characters such as Elec Man, Grey, Knight of Time and Dark Dragonite as their stories develop. Overall we see character development from...well...everyone really.

It's of usual lenth.

I'll get to it ASAP!

Chris 2.1

29th July 2006, 12:13 PM

Chapter Twenty-Eight
[size=3]Pike Queen Lucy (Part II)

“Thank you for registering for the Pike,” growled a chunky looking attendant. She eyed Charles. “Is this Gentleman accompanying you?”

“Yea…he’s…” I mused. “A student.”

And with that, we wandered through the veiled door and found ourselves standing in the creepy, old mansion-style interior of the Pike. Three doors faced us. Each was covered with a curtain. I turned to Charles.

“Luck is all we have,” I said, walking randomly through the center door. “And it’s all I need.”

“Look…” Charles mumbled. “I know Mankey just died, but…”

“Shut it,” I snapped. “Don’t mention his name.”

“…I was only wanting to offer my –”

“I said shut it,” I replied angrily. Charles gave a nod. “Come on.”

As we walked into the next room (which was also empty), I noticed a staircase and decided we’d go up a floor. As we went, I caught a glimpse of Charles’ glum expression and my anger began to ebb away.

“Look…” I said. “…sorry. I was pretty mean.”

“It’s ok,” Charles said. “It’s just your way of dealing with things.”

I looked at him.

“…I guess it is,” I said. I spied a figure up ahead. He wore a black cloak and a corked hat. It was OzAndrew, with a suit-clad Jynx at his side. “HEY! Andrew!”

He turned.

“Huh?” he cried. “Oh. Chris. G’day.”

“Look Chris, it’s OzAndrew who was fined by The Missing Link!” garbled Charles. Andrew put a hand on his hip and eyed Charles.

“Who’s this?” he asked. “Oh…I remember you…Charlie!”

“It’s Charles,” replied my friend.

“Charlie!” OzAndrew cried. “Yes…we battled in the old days, didn’t we?”

“Erm…” Charles mused.

“Old days?” I asked.

“Before you were around, Chris two-point-something stupid,” Andrew muttered. I turned to Charles.

“You’ve been here longer than me?”

“You were pretty good,” Charles grumbled.

“I’m even better!” Andrew cried. “And I’ve finally found the perfect facility! I’m going to conquer this one and finally get a Medal!”

He smirked.

“I’ll battle you!” he said. “I can’t have you getting to Lucy first…Miss Justice, go!”

The Jynx, in her navy blue suit and skirt combo, slid forward, a briefcase in her hand. I stepped forward, gripping a Pokeball and hurling it through the air. Dusclops leaped from the burst of light and looked around.

“Hey,” I snapped. “Look at me.”

His eye focused.

“Get that Jynx in a battle,” I said. “But none of that shit you did before, understand? This is a fair fight and when you are unable to go on, I’ll recall you. Understand?”

He gave a doleful nod.

“GO!”

“Oh damn!” OzAndrew simpered. “Miss Justice! Case Closed!”

Clutching her briefcase, Jynx swung it around and it slammed into Dusclops’s side, hurling him to the ground. He got up, muttering his name and sweeping through the air, countering with a shadow punch.

“Good work,” I said.

“Miss Justice! Ice Beam!” Andrew cried.

“Will-O-Wisp!”

As the beam of concentrated ice swept through the air, Dusclops surrounded himself in periwinkle-blue flames, growing in size and soon engulfing his entire body. The ice beam collided but melted into nothing and my ghostly Pokemon soon fired off the wheel of fire, striking Jynx and burning her.

“Now, follow up with shadow ball,” I said coldly. Dusclops fired off the crackling beam of umbra and darkness, slamming hard into my foe. Jynx fell back and sneezed, spraying powdery snow through the room we were in.

“Dusclops, fire punch,” I snapped. As flames danced on Dusclops’ pale arm, he clenched a fist and swept through the air. Jynx used a powder snow into her palm to create hard snowballs, hurling them through the air and creating new ones. Dusclops’ used faint attack to fade from the onslaught and struck Miss Justice from behind.

“Stop being cruel!” OzAndrew snapped, recalling Jynx. “I choose you, Weezing!”

“Dusclops, return,” I mumbled. “Poliwhirl, I choose you.”

Poliwhirl emerged, flexing his muscles proudly. I saw Weezing (called OzWheeze, if I was not mistaken) floating there, eyes half shut in a relaxed demeanor. Andrew clenched his fist tightly, and Charles, slightly behind me, watched in awe.

“Let’s use psychic,” I said firmly. “Go.”

“Err…Smokescreen!” Andrew shouted. As Poliwhirl concentrated hard, a sheet of thick curling smoke filled from the gasbag’s mouth, swathing the arena. Poliwhirl held off his attack and I felt myself coughing, stumbling back. Footsteps told me Andrew had pegged it.

“Come back!” I snapped. “Damnit. He’s gone.”

Luckily the smoke began to thin out into the atmosphere and Charles and I made our way into the next room. On we went, finding only two rooms to choose from. I opted for the left choice, but before doing so, recalled Poliwhirl and released my Magmar. He surveyed the new environment with intrigue.

“Magmar, use an ember on the wall,” I said firmly. Magmar opened his bill-like mouth and blasted a series of furious flames. They scorched the wall of the room we were in, leaving a series of burn marks. Charles watched, eyes wide.

“What are you doing?” he cried.

“Marking which rooms we have visited,” I said proudly, walking into the next room with Charles. He mused for a few moments.

“…have you been reading Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix?”

*

Hanada Tattsu eyed his father, who had turned the lights on in the rather sterile looking office he was sitting in. He sat in his chair, watching his son keenly. Hanada looked scruffy, more rugged and slightly older. He no longer had the Spheal backpack.

“I got your message,” Hanada said. “What did you want, Dad?”

“I heard rumors of your arrival back in the village,” Ecks said. “And you took on a Frontier Brain! That’s excellent news.”

“I didn’t win,” the boy muttered. “And I’ve been back a while.”

“I thought you were training?” Ecks asked.

“I was,” retorted the boy. “But my training was interrupted by a certain member. The same one that drove me to train in the first place.”

“Chris 2.0?” Ecks asked.

“Brit Chris, actually,” Hanada said.

“He has undergone a name change,” explained his father. “I am unsure why. In either case, your battling has evidently improved from when Chris defeated you. Are you going to give him a rematch?”

“I might,” Hanada replied. “Chances are we will battle in the league.”

“I’ll arrange a battle between you,” Ecks replied. “You could meet in the old Gym where he defeated you. How does that sound?”

He began typing into a computer which, judging by the TPML logo in the top right corner seemed to have logged in access to TPML’s main database. He opened a VS Seeker message sending option, addressing it to ‘Chris 2.0’.

“…I suppose…” Hanada grumbled. “I might just wait…”

“Wait?” Ecks barked. “He has insulted our heritage. You trained in the mountains for the sole purpose of defeating this boy! Now you might wait?”

Eyes narrowing, Ecks suddenly caught on to his son’s actions.

“…you’re scared of him, aren’t you?”

“I’m not!” Hanada snapped. “But the bastard nearly killed my Horsea.”

“I know that,” Ecks said, rolling his eyes. “Surely that drives you further? It inspires you to seek revenge?”

“…sort of…”

“Scared. I knew it.”

“I’m not!” Hanada snapped hotly. “Fine! Arrange this…battle, and I’ll go.”

“Good boy,” Ecks said dryly, sending the message. In the ‘From’ section of the message, the name ‘Anonymous’ was present. This suggested Ecks hacked into the main server to send anonymous messages. As Ecks finished, a call came in on his phone.

“Greg, thanks for dropping by,” said his father. “I’ve sent you details of the match with Chris. Drop by again sometime.”

Hanada left rather suspiciously as Ecks answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“It’s me.”

“Why are you calling?” Ecks asked firmly. “You should be busy.”

“Don’t speak to me like that,” said the hurt voice. “I just wondered how things are at your end.”

“Well I’ve been hindered,” Ecks said, glancing at the doorway which Hanada had exited moments ago. “I asked Greg to come and see me, and he’s in a strong rivalry with a Chris 2.0.”

“Oh yes,” said the voice, as if mention of the name triggered a memory. “Chris.”

“I’m dealing with it,” Ecks replied.

“And what about Project Metafavo?” asked the person on the other end, slightly anxious. Ecks smiled, staring out of his window.

“I assure you I will tie up our loose ends,” he explained. “Liang is after me…and I’m going to make it that much easier for him.”

“Is that not dangerous?”

“No,” replied Ecks. “Liang is easily manipulated.”

*

“Good work, Charles!” I cried. Charles had his Charmeleon, King, battling a wild Arbok. The large cobra swerved its head and blasted a sludge bomb through the air. King was hit and stumbled back, but took the damage admirably and retaliated with releasing a slew of embers.

Arbok’s hood was hit, and in no time the large purple Pokemon dived forward, biting King and injecting a foul poison into his body. King clutched his chest, grunting angrily. Without an order he leapt forward, swinging his tail around and smashing the foe hard.

“Good work, King!” Charles shouted. “Now, grab Arbok and unleash a flamethrower!”

King gave a roar, using his clawed fists to grab Arbok’s head and blast a torrent of flame in the serpent’s way. Arbok gave a hiss of pain; a personified scream ran through the room and into our ears. The snake collapsed limply, eyes closed. King gave a smirk.

“That was great,” I said to Charles, who used King’s flames to mark the wall of this room. We wandered on further and my flame technique had worked wonders, as we had frequently come across the same room. On the way, I had accessed Lucy’s VS Seeker information:

Pike Queen Lucy
Owner of the Battle Pike, Lucy is a fan of snakes and other serpent-like Pokemon. Her Pike tests challengers on their luck as they try to conquer the maze-like parlor. Strong and seductive, Lucy has been linked to many famous figures, including Brandon, a fellow Frontier Brain. She is quiet and clever.

She had five Pokemon; Seviper, Milotic, Shuckle, Gyarados and Steelix. I knew for a fact, after experiencing it myself that wild Seviper roamed rooms of the Pike. I had taken this as my cue for training against them.

So far, I had battled a small handful of the beasts and found their style intriguing. Seviper had a defensive characteristic – they would sinew and twist out the way of attacks before springing forward with a lunging, powerful bite called Poison Fang. They also liked to distract the foe with their poison tail (brandishing it like a sword) before attacking with the fangs.

This was, of course, a generality, but it meant I had an upper hand against Lucy…if she chose to use her Seviper. My choices were tough…as we navigated the Pike I felt myself planning my team. Electabuzz for Milotic and Gyarados…Poliwhirl for Seviper (and perhaps Shuckle…it was part rock…I think) and as for Steelix, a combination of Magmar (fire beats steel) and Poliwhirl (water beats ground) would suffice.

Despite that, my anger at the events in Graves Yard drove me to want to use Dusclops. I wanted to command him, to dominate him and to leech his freedom away. Letting him rot in his Pokeball was not satisfying enough. I needed to see the results of his punishment.

Together with Charles, who recalled his Charmeleon, we set off to the next room.

“Did I tell you about my battle against the pig-warrior Snout-a-lot?” Charles asked. I didn’t reply, consumed in my own anger. “He invaded the castle of Mock-Mocha and I had to stop him! So I sent out Girasol, my Sunkern, and then he was like ‘Pig Power!’ – I was so scared! I hurled Girasol through the air and he was eaten alive by Snout-a-lot…either that or he hopped away and embedded himself in a large pit of soil…”

My attention was diverted. As we pushed through the velvet curtains we found ourselves in another room. But a familiar face had just walked through the opposing door and faced us. Doors stood to our left and right.

It was Knight of Time.

“Kyle…” I said emptily, jerked to my senses.

“No! It means ‘sunflower’,” Charles said all-knowingly. “Wait – what!?”

“Chris 2.0, as you go by,” Knight of Time said, smiling. His huge frame towered over me. “Conquering the Pike I see.”

“Yea,” I said. “Back there’s just a waste of time.”

Kyle jabbed his thumb behind his shoulder.

“Back there’s a dead end,” he said. “Anyway…before that, we need a battle.”

“Oh, Kyle…” I mused, hoping to save my Pokemon’s strength for the match against Lucy. “…now?”

“How long has it been,” he mused. “Since we met on Trolgar Mountain? How long since I apologized to you for my attitude and promised you a battle.”

He hurled a Pokeball forward. It exploded in a burst of light and a Sceptile stood there, just taller than Kyle and a crimson colour (save for the yellow stripe on his belly). The raptor had an odd contorted look on his face, his spindly arms lined with sharp leaves. I gripped a Pokeball that I had engraved an ‘X’ on the button of.

“Go!” I snapped. Dusclops materialized, shooting me a furtive glance before readying himself for battle.

“Finally,” Kyle said, smiling. “Blade! Leaf Blade, go!”

*

In the Old Village, the members of The Antibodies watched as Razor Leaf made his final speech to his followers. Having been previously informed of the change, Ecks stood by his side proudly.

“And it is with great regret I take a step down from my involvement,” Razor Leaf lied. “Personal issues have arisen and I know that Mr Ecks will do a fantastic job leading you.”

He wandered down from the podium and Ecks took his place.

“Thank you, Razor Leaf,” Ecks said, smirking. “Antibodies! The Toxic Sting that resides in our village is beginning to meet her demise. I ask you…”

Razor Leaf discussed things with Grey as members were engrossed in Ecks’ words. Vermillion and Ultimate Charizard had abandoned their search for the man since he had…well, turned up.

“Look at them,” Razor Leaf sighed. “T-They don’t even care I’m gone. No questions asked.”

“All these people want is a leader,” Grey explained. “A figure of power. They don’t care who it is, why it may change – all they care about is that there is a leader for them. Incidentally, Daniel –”

“Razor Leaf,” corrected the veteran.

“…why did you step down?” Grey asked.

“You know,” Razor Leaf sighed. “I can tell, all along, you’ve known that we can’t achieve what we want. I like TPML. I don’t want to destroy it to have to get to Cocoa. I dislike her…and I rallied people who felt the same. Then people wanted us to take action, but how can we remove her as a large gang?”

“You cannot form an army and not go to war,” Grey said importantly. “A fact our friend Mr Ecks seems to realize.”

“What do you mean?” Razor Leaf asked, looking to the man. Grey did not reply, instead thinking to himself as a smile formed on his face.

“The Theatre is coming along nicely,” Grey said. “But I fear Pseudo-Steve is reaching his final moments among us.”

“Final moments?”

“He is a Ditto, and like all Pokemon, Ditto tire. He is using an attack all the time – his transform ability. It is stressful and exhausting, and he cannot maintain it much longer,” Grey told Razor Leaf.

“When he emerges as a Ditto, Cocoa’s going to ask questions,” Razor Leaf said. He mused upon the idea but gave a shrug. “It’s none of my business.”

“Will you help me?” Grey asked.

“With what?”

“…we’ll need to make the switch back discreetly,” Grey said, apprehension dawning on his face. “We’ll need to break Dark Dragonite out of The Old Village before Pseudo-Steve morphs back.”

Razor Leaf raised his eyebrows.

“We’ll be doing nothing,” he said. “You’re on your own.”

“Why won’t you help?” Grey asked angrily.

“I have my own things to do,” he said lazily. “I’m training to take on Brandon – the strongest of the Frontier Brains. And I’m going to stop at nothing to achieve what I want.”

As he left the meeting, Grey turned to see the tyrannical leader of the Antibodies rallying his soldiers. Wondering where Dark Dragonite was kept; Grey began typing out a message on his VS Seeker to Knight of Time.

*

“Dusclops, Will-O-Wisp!”

Flying up into the air, Dusclops summoned the airy blue flames to spin down and engulf Blade the Sceptile. Sceptile leapt back and slashed another double leaf blade right into my Pokemon, knocking the wind out of him.

“Night shade!”

Dusclops narrowed his brow and held his pale hands forward as a sharp bolt of dark energy jutted through the air. Sceptile tried leaping out the way but as he did the bolt picked up speed and rammed into his chest. He staggered back.

“Blade! Iron Tail!”

Fern-leaf-tail shimmering a glorious silver, Sceptile leapt up and swung his tail around. Dusclops phased into the air with faint attack and swept behind Knight of Time’s Pokemon, re-appearing and striking him with a fire punch. Sceptile took damage but it was for a great cause – he spun around and delivered a thunderpunch, causing my Pokemon to leap back and crackle with sparks.

“He’s paralyzed!” Kyle cried. “Good work, Blade! Now agility!”

The lithe raptor leapt around, disappearing and re-materializing on the walls, firing off a bullet seed before appearing behind Dusclops and sliding into his back with a leaf blade. Dusclops was hurled forwards and, facing me, gave me a disgusted look.

“Get up,” I snarled. “NOW! Use a Façade.”

Body glowing triumphantly, a yellow glow engulfing him, Dusclops charged through the air, ramming himself into Blade and throwing the thin Pokemon back. Sweeping up into the air, Dusclops clenched his fist and projected a beam of pure red energy through the air. It gave a deep moan as it smashed right into Sceptile and caused the Pokemon to let out a shriek of disgusted pain.

“Blade?” Kyle asked.

“What the hell?” I asked.

“That’s Frustration!” Kyle said, eyes wide. “Chris…that was incredible. But a positive bond is better than a negative one. Blade, get up and use leaf blade!”

Sceptile failed to respond. He lay there, motionless, and Kyle recalled him, frowning.

“I have to admit,” he said. “The resentment and loathing your Dusclops has towards you is powerful. That is not to say it is healthy or right. He…he hates every part of you; I saw it in his eye when you spoke. Your words woke a bubbling hatred within him. It was sickening to watch.”

He grabbed a new Pokeball.

“I misjudged you,” he said. “You came across as such a positive person. Sabre, I choose you!”

A beautiful Absol emerged, fluffy white fur contrasting with the dark, deadly black skin and sharp blade. Sabre gave a gruff bark and readied himself. I knew Dusclops was weak against the dark type of Absol but knew he had to learn.

“Go in with shadow punch,” I said. Dusclops swept through the air, heading for Absol, but the dog-like Pokemon had plans, too. He raced across the arena, heading for my Pokemon like mine was heading for him. The two made their way to the center of the battlefield, and as Sabre ran, he flashed into the darkness and was gone. Dusclops slowed down, fist aflare with shadows and umbra.

“Re-appear and use ice beam!”

Re-appearing mid-leap, Sabre overlooked Dusclops and unleashed a beam of crackling ice energy. The independent bolts of ice merged into a solid beam of frosted air and collided into my Pokemon, hurling him to the ground.

“Now,” Kyle said, a frosty layer on Dusclops’ side. “Use slash.”

“He’s a ghost!” I cried. “Wrong move!”

“Don’t be so sure,” Kyle said. “Absol’s ice beam created a medium between Dusclops and the air around him.”

And sure enough, the powerful blade of charged energy was deployed, smashing into the frosted layer of Dusclops and dealing incredible damage. He rolled over, heaving himself up and preparing to unleash another frustration.

“Go! Frustration!” I snapped. The violent red beam erupted again; this was evidently its most potent form. The beam flew towards Absol who lithely leapt up into the air. He charged a shadow ball up, firing it into the air before unleashing a slash to drive the shadow ball towards Dusclops with twice the speed and power. The supercharged ball drove through the red beam, splicing it and striking Dusclops head-on. The beam smashed into the wall.

“Dusclops,” I said slowly, as he collapsed. “Return.”

As he was absorbed by the thin, red beam of light, I fumbled on my Pokeball belt. I knew just who to use against a dark type…but as I felt around, I remembered Mankey’s Pokeball was at the Pokemoncenter, and he wasn’t in it anymore.

“Mankey…” I whispered, clenching a fist. I gripped a different Pokeball and released Poliwhirl. He saw my face, straining to quell a single tear from escaping my eye, and turned to face Absol.

“Sabre, use a slash!” Kyle said, grinning.

“Take it,” I murmured. Poliwhirl held his hands out as the blade of energy was driven firmly into him. He was forced back, digging his heels into the ground and retaliating by running at Blade, firing bubblebeam from his fists.The orbs exploded upon impact, leaving Blade shrouded in smoke.

“Poliwhirl, ice ball go!”

Releasing a small, orange-sized ball of ice, Poliwhirl watched with dismay as Absol simply swung his tail around and shattered it. He raced through the air, leaping left and right as the second, football.-sized ice ball hit the ground. Charles watched keenly, apparently aware of ice ball’s five-use attack, each use getting bigger and harder to avoid.

“Sabre, quick attack!” Kyle cried. The Absol streaked through the air as a trail of blazing white energy flickered behind; Poliwhirl was hurled back and again dug his heels into the floor as he skidded back; his third ice ball, roughly the size of a watermelon, was launched and crashed into Absol. Sabre was flung to the ground, getting up and seemingly no worse off.

“Shadow Ball,” he murmured, and just in time, too. As the light, airy orb of contained, repressed darkness was launched, a fourth ice ball, this one even bigger than the third ploughed through it and smashed right into Sabre. Kyle gasped as his Pokemon was flung mercilessly to the earth where, this time, he struggled to get up. Shaking off the damage, Sabre pawed the ground.

“End this now!” Kyle cried. “Use Thunderbolt!”

“Thunderbolt?” I gasped. Crap…his Absol has ice and electric moves? I really should invest in one, they sound quite good. “Launch the final ice ball!”

The large ball, probably the size of Poliwhirl himself, was held high above my Pokemon’s head as he hurled it magnificently. It flew forward, gathering momentum as Absol unleashed a crackling arrow of sparks. They ploughed through the ice, seemingly growing in size and racing at Poliwhirl. As my tadpole was electrified and hurled back, Absol was crushed by the colossal ice-rock. It shattered and showered him with sharp spikes of ice and he fell to the ground as Poliwhirl fainted.

“Double K.O…” Charles mused.

“I’ve had enough of this,” I snapped, recalling Poliwhirl. “Magmar, leave a mark!”

Kyle recalled Absol, looking at me analytically as Magmar scorched the walls with an ember assault. Charles released Leeks, who perched on his arm like a hawk. Magmar joined my side.

“Thanks for the match…” Kyle mused emptily. “You’re…not what I expected.”

He went for the door on the left, so Charles and I went through the door on the right. I left Kyle, feeling quite elated at our tie. At least I didn’t lose to him…then again; witnessing Dusclops’ frustration was amazing. Charles reminded me that power came from his disgust and hatred at me, which I ignored.

On and on we went, little did I realize that we were nearing the final chamber of the Battle Pike. Lucy sat in her throne, the room long and thin, draining the contents of her glass and setting it aside. She recalled her Pokemon and stood up, ready for the next challenger.

*

“Cocoa,” said the voice of Gordon on the video conference call. “We at the Board have received similar complaints to the ones we got when Becca was in office. These ones are, however, demanding you step down.”

“I see,” Cocoa mused.

“People feel,” came Callisto Thunders voice. “That you came in to answer their prayers. But now it seems their prayers – or complaints – were unnecessary. People are regretting complaining since it transpired The Missing Link wasn’t lying at all.”

“I was brought in,” Cocoa sighed. “A decision was made.”

“It would be wise not to simply do as the people wish,” Gordon said imperiously. “But at the same time, you were introduced to get TPML back on its feet. You have done that.”

“So, you want me to report back?” Cocoa asked.

“I think you must choose a successor,” Gordon said. “Austin has done some research into TPML members and possible candidates.”

“Ok,” Cocoa said.

“I’ll send you an email with brief analysis of a variety of members,” Austin garbled. Cocoa nodded and logged into her computer. As she did this, Amy Wolfsong entered the room.

“Oh – sorry,” she said absently. “I’ll…come back should I?”

“Just hang on Amy, I won’t be five minutes,” Cocoa said. “Ok Austin, I’ve got the file.”

Amy nodded and sat at the other desk. She looked around and found a leaflet for the Battle Palace. It showed a spindly man with a blue staff standing in a lush garden by an ornate palace.

“The Battle Palace – Where your Spirit is tested!” she read. “Hmm. ‘The Battle Palace, run by Palace Mavern Spenser is a true challenge as battles are not coordinated as usual. Instead, the battlers have to rely on their Pokemon to battle for themselves – it is truly a trust exercise that relies heavily on natural characteristics of Pokemon’ – hmm, sounds like Spenser is just lazy to me…”

She paused as she set the leaflet down. A brown document lay there with the word ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ stamped across it. A Polaroid photo stuck out of the sleeve. Seeing Cocoa, who was looking at information sent from the Board of Governors, Amy opened the document carefully and looked inside.

It was on Karin’s murder. Amy saw the picture, which was of her dead body. Face white, tinged with blue around the eyes, Karin’s hair was ragged and some was knotted with dried blood. Her lips were blue. Amy felt a tear leak down her cheek as she saw this. She put the picture aside, however, and saw another one.

It was off a dark red X, presumably in blood, with Karin’s hand and arm visible in the frame. Amy’s eyes widened and she got up abruptly, photograph clutched in her hand. Karin had left this…on purpose…she wanted to warn them…

“I’llSeeYouSomeOtherTime!” she cried haphazardly, leaving the room. She had to find Becca as soon as she could. Cocoa, meanwhile, turned back to speak with the Board of Governors.

*

Sweat poured down Liang’s forehead. After fleeing from the Lake, he had managed to pass on a lot of information to Amy, but had not the time to explain everything. With two guns loaded, he raced through the overgrown jungle that led towards Feizhi Outpost.

He looked around and noticed it was deserted. Liang’s eyes traced the area. He looked up to the skies, where a silvery Flygon swept down from the clouds and landed.

“Silver,” Liang murmured. Flygon gave a nod. “He’s at the Old Village? Ok good. Return.”

He recalled his friend and headed on through the overgrowth. It was sweltering in this unchartered area, and many Mankey and Primeape hung from the treetops, watching the stranger wander by.

Suddenly Liang turned and saw a series of razor sharp blades sweep into him. He was hurled to the ground and saw a Scyther standing over him, holding a scythe to the jugular vein in his neck. Ultimate Charizard was standing there, arms folded, a smirk on his face.

“Get up,” he snarled. “Hey, Elec! I got him!”

Elec Man EXE ran out the bushes, Glalie by his side. Glalie subsequently rammed hard into Liang’s side, causing him to roll over and give a long moan of defeat.

“Right,” Elec Man said firmly. “Let’s take him to Ecks.”

*

Minutes later Liang had been dragged into the Old Village. The entrance had two large, guarding towers which Vermillion and Silencer were manning respectively. They nodded to Elec Man and Ultimate Charizard as they were taken in.

Liang was hurled into a rather sterile looking cell. He wasn’t quite sure what building he was in – he was tired, and was sure he had passed out at least once on the journey here. His guns had both gone, and the room had tan walls and a white floor. He got up, feeling a sharp pain in one of his arms.

“Aragornbird?”

Dark Dragonite was chained up; hands cuffed and chained together which were subsequently chained to a spike in the wall. He looked around at Liang, whose bloodied face showed exhaustion and fatigue.

“Steve?” Liang asked. “What’s going on?”

“T-They replaced me,” he shuddered. “Cloned me with a Ditto. That Dark Dragonite that’s with Cocoa…he’s a spy.”

Liang’s eyes widened in understanding as he heard Steve’s story.

“That’s awful,” he said.

“What about you?” Dark Dragonite asked. “You’re all bloodied and bruised.”

“It’s a long story…” Liang sighed. “I’ll explain everything in a minute.”

He wandered to the door. It had a small, barred window and he peered out. He could see a corridor leading to the door they were on the other side of. Ice Man, the owner of the Ditto that had turned to Pseudo-Steve, was halfway across the length of the corridor.

“Hang on…” Liang whispered. “I think I can open this door. When I do, get out as soon as possible.”

“Why me?” asked Dark Dragonite.

“You can pretend you’re the clone, and you’ve come to deliver information,” Liang said, smirking. “Just get out Ice Man’s way and get to the exit of this place. Then get help.”

He then turned to his fellow captor.

“What building is this, anyway?”

“We’re in an old jailhouse,” Dark Dragonite sighed. “So this place is like a maze. We’re even underground.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Liang said. “As long as people think you’re Pseudo-Steve then they won’t stop you. Until Ice Man checks this cell and sees that you’re gone…you’re ok. Just go.”

“Ok,” Dark Dragonite said. “How come the door’s not locked?”

“You’re chained up, and I just got here,” Liang said, as he began helping Dark Dragonite out of the chains. As he did so, Ice Man walked back to their end of the corridor and began his march back up. Dark Dragonite was soon free and they hastily made their way to the door. Liang’s heart was pounding furiously, and he could only imagine the pace at which Steve’s was beating. The large metal door was slowly opened, and Dark Dragonite whispered ‘see ya on the other side’ before slipping out. Liang shut the door.

Steve began to walk up the corridor, soon meeting Ice Man. He turned and frowned at Dark Dragonite.

“How did you escape?” he snapped.

“It’s me,” Dark Dragonite said, remembering this was the Ditto’s trainer. “Master. I’ve returned from the Village with news for Razor Leaf.”

“Bullshit,” Ice Man retorted. “You’ve walked up from the prison!”

“It was worth a try,” Dark Dragonite said, punching Ice Man in the face. He stumbled back and Dark Dragonite grabbed his own Pokeball belt from Ice Man. He slammed another punch into his face and fled the building.

Instantly Ice Man ran to a button mounted on the wall and hit it. A red siren screamed into the underground lair as Liang’s prison was locked down further – barred walls slid down from the ceiling and locked him in tightly. Dark Dragonite ran up a staircase, releasing his Castform. At the top, Mega Horny was seen standing guard.

“Weatherman!” he cried. “Attack!”

"Hey!" Mega Horny cried. "Intruder!"

He released a large Muk upon seeing Dark Dragonite appear at the top of the stairs. Castform blasted an assault of embers through the air and distracted Mega Horny briefly.

“Explosion!”

“Protect!”

Dark Dragonite let Castform erect a glowing white shield around them as the large glob of purple slime exploded fantastically. Mega Horny, seeing this, realised the consequences as the wall of the thin corridor crumbled away somewhat. Seeing Muk collapse (or rather, spread across the ground like a sloppy splat), Dark Dragonite turned and ran out through the wall through the Old Village.

“I have to get out of here…” Dark Dragonite gasped. He bypassed old buildings and ran down a cobbled street…Castform at his side, his heart furiously slammed against his ribcage as he pushed himself further, further. He wasn’t quite sure where he was, as he didn’t know the Village well. He had to suddenly run behind a building as Elec Man marched past, a Kabutops by his side. Once he had passed, Steve was about to turn and run when a hand clasped around his mouth. He gave a mumbled shout but felt sleep ease into his body…it washed over his muscles and began soothing his senses. His eyelids drooped shut and he went limp.

“Got you,” said a voice smugly.

*

It wasn’t long before Charles and I pushed the velvet curtain away from the door and found ourselves in a long, thin room. Battle markings were drawn out in crimson and the sexily seductive Lucy stood up from a powerful throne. She finished a glass of wine and walked down the series of steps to the battlefield.

“Welcome to the Pike,” she said, smiling softly. “My name is Lucy.”

“I’m Chris,” I replied coldly. “I want a match.”

I drew a Pokeball.

“Very well,” Lucy said, as a woman dressed like a maid appeared as a referee. “I can only adhere to a 2-2. To my distaste I have just been beaten in a 3-3 by one Knight of Time.”

“Damnit,” I snapped. “Well…that’s fine by me!”

“Let the battle for the Symbol of Luck begin!” the maid cried.

“I choose you!” Lucy cried, releasing a rather curious looking creature. It was small and had a round shell, with thin, tendril-like arms and legs poking out holes from said shell. Its head, like its arms and legs were a canary yellow colour. It was a Shuckle.

“That’s your Pokemon?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “Magmar, let’s go!”

Magmar leapt out onto the arena and flexed his muscles. Shuckle looked slightly bemused by the situation. Lucy cracked a whip and the battle began.

“Go Magmar! Fire spin!” I roared. As Magmar leapt back he unleashed a spiraling mass of flame which, upon hitting the ground, took the form of a large, flaming tornado that swept towards Shuckle.

“Go,” whispered Lucy. Shuckle tucked his head, arms and legs into his shell and, with great force spun through the air. He tore into the tornado and caused it to shred into a great shower of embers, before smashing right into Magmar’s face and dealing impressive damage.

“Constrict,” Lucy smirked. Shuckle latched his arms and legs around the back of Magmar’s head and constricted tightly. Magmar gave a loud roar of disapproval as he stumbled around the arena. “Now, use toxic.”

Shuckle’s head wormed out of its shell long enough to spray a watery toxic substance onto Magmar’s skin. He cried in pain, wandering aimlessly around and slashing his claws against Shuckle’s rock hard shell.

“Shuckle is a rock type,” Lucy said knowledgably. “So it’s shell is strong against whatever your Magmar can bring. Shuckle, get off and use sludge bomb.”

Pushing itself off Magmar’s face, the small shell Pokemon flew back through the air and unleashed a peppering blast of sludge. Magmar held his hands up against the onslaught as a horrible sludge covered his body. Lucy gave a soft laugh.

“Impressed?” she asked.

“I am,” I admitted. “Magmar, use brick break!”

Leaping high, Magmar readied himself and prepared to strike. Shuckle watched as Magmar unleashed a double chop into the foe’s body, but the little Pokemon did nothing in return. He simply looked around inquisitively.

“Again!” I shouted. “Then iron tail!”

Magmar ran forward and unleashed more chops with both hands. Shuckle was being beaten badly and I started to wonder why this was so easy. For a cleverly intricate Pokemon, Shuckle was sitting there like a target, luring us – daring us to attack. Then I realised…

“It’s going to use bide!” I shouted. “Magmar, get back!”

Magmar’s eyes widened as he twisted mid-air, slamming his glimmering silver tail onto Shuckle. As he did, a powerful force awoke from the foe and a fantastic beam of white light was blasted out through Magmar’s body. Propelled back, my fire Pokemon fell to the ground with a thud, struggling to get back up.

“Magmar, I said. “Get up!”

“Shuckle, body slam!” Lucy cried. “And Sludge Bomb!”

Magmar looked weary and exhausted. That poison was sapping his energy and as Shuckle leapt up, he blasted an array of sludge pellets. Magmar was hit, falling backwards as he dug his heels in.

“Iron Tail as it comes close!”

Shuckle flew down at Magmar who, using all his strength threw his shimmering tail around and smashed into Shuckle. Shuckle fell backwards, hurt, as Magmar stumbled and finally keeled over.

“No!” Charles cried.

“Magmar…” I sighed.

“Magmar is unable to battle!” the maid cried. “Chris 2.0 – send out your next Pokemon!”

“Never underestimate Shuckle,” Lucy purred, cracking her whip again. “Send out your next victim.”

I recalled Magmar and, thinking hard, began thinking about my next Pokemon. What was able to take on that Shuckle and defeat whatever Lucy had next?

*

Meanwhile, in the village, Amy ran to see Becca, who was in the park. Her Absol, Lyra, was sitting at her side. Becca stroked her emptily.

“Becca,” Amy gasped. “Look at this!”

She showed her the picture of Karin’s subliminal message – the bloodied X. Becca saw it, examined it, and her eyes widened ever-so-slightly. She soon handed it back.

“This is a sign!” Amy said. “It was Ecks who shot Karin.”

“Our suspicions are confirmed,” Becca said lazily. “I suggest you put it back so Cocoa can see it.”

“She already has,” Amy sighed. “But when we explained everything to her…we never told her our suspicions about Ecks. So she doesn’t see past it.”

“That makes sense,” Becca replied.

“What’s wrong with you?” Amy said fiercely. “You’re so…empty!”

“I’m sick of this place,” Becca snapped back. “Karin…I miss her. She was so important to me. She helped me accept that you were gone…that you wouldn’t be back. Karin shared my pain and I grew very close to her…”

She stared across the park, where the two of them could see FabuLass and both the Eon Sisters with their Pokemon.

“…Liang tricked me into accusing Karin for everything. How could I have been so stupid? Karin wasn’t capable of that. She was such a pure being. She stood for justice. And I argued with her…I caused her to go to the absence tower.”

“Look,” Amy said, sitting down and putting an arm around her friend. “This isn’t your fault. Ecks did it. He told Liang to use Karin’s name. He manipulated you on purpose.”

“Either way,” Becca said, standing up and preparing to leave. “I can’t go on here. I’m…I’m just not strong enough.”

“You’re leaving?” Amy asked weakly.

“Too many people have lost their lives in vain,” Becca sighed. “I’m going to attend Karin’s funeral in New York. I’m not coming back for a while.”

“Becca…” Amy sighed.

“I know you,” Becca said, smiling. “Even with all that’s going on…I’ll live to see your smiling face again. Goodbye for now.”

She walked off, Lyra by her side. Amy Wolfsong watched, disheartened, as her close friend left the park. Amy knew she needed to find help – Liang had been lying low and Becca had left TPML. She got her VS Seeker and typed a message.

“I need you, Chris,” she murmured, typing her message.

*

Meanwhile, Dark Dragonite awoke to find himself in a small, dimly lit room. He saw a glass window and a door on the opposite wall. He thrashed wildly against his restraints, crying for help.

On the other side of the window, Grey and Knight of Time were in deep thought. They were exchanging darkly significant looks.

“We had to do this,” Grey reminded himself. “Better with us than with Ecks.”

“So we’re disassociating ourselves from the Antibodies?” Kyle asked.

“Razor Leaf was right,” Grey said. “It’s an impossible feat. Nothing can be achieved out of pure hatred and loathing. And now leadership has been passed to Ecks…”

“…why Ecks…” Kyle murmured.

“Many of the current members of the Antibodies don’t deserve to take the bullet,” Grey explained.

“We were fined heavily for being suspected,” Kyle added, thinking. “So when Cocoa finds out the Antibodies are going strong, she’ll really punish the leader.”

“Razor Leaf hated few of the Antibodies, but I think he felt slightly threatened by Ecks’ age, maturity and overall logic,” Grey said. “Therefore he was a good leader. But it’s brought out his megalomaniac side.”

They both turned to Dark Dragonite. The window was only one-way, so he could not see them.

“We need to carefully bring Pseudo-Steve here,” Kyle said firmly. “And make the exchange before he returns to a Ditto right in front of Cocoa.”

“But when Steve returns to TPML…Cocoa will hunt down the Antibodies,” Grey thought suddenly.

“And with Ecks there…” Kyle muttered.

“It’ll be war,” Grey gasped.

*

I grabbed my next Pokemon and hurled it forward, releasing my Electabuzz. As sparks danced across his body he beat his chest with his fists and gave a proud roar. Shuckle readied himself.

“Shuckle,” Lucy whispered. “Body Slam! Then latch on with constrict and use toxic.”

“Electabuzz!” I shouted, “Defend!”

In what I believed was a clever technique we had employed during the wild Pokemon battled, Electabuzz charged up energy in the form of sparks and electrical discharge. The shield of sparks engulfed my friend and as Shuckle got close was seemingly electrocuted and hurled backwards.

“Hah!” I cheered. “Good work! Electabuzz follow up with thunderpunch!”

Shuckle, however, popped into his shell and the attack dealt meager damage. Shuckle popped back out and wrapped his tentacles around Electabuzz’ fist.

“Don’t worry about that, use thundershock to get it off,” I said hurriedly. With a quick, bright jolt, Shuckle was zapped off my Pokemon and Electabuzz raced forward. “Iron tail!”

Electabuzz sent a shimmering silver energy up his tail and leapt up, slamming it down on Shuckle, who subsequently skidded back but retaliated by blasting a sludge bomb through the air. The sloppy pellets exploded upon impact, causing Electabuzz much grief.

“Retalliate! Cross Chop!”

Electabuzz raced through the air, leaping up and crossing his arms as he charged up energy in a cross shape. He unleashed his crossed arms upon Shuckle who leapt up and avoided the attack, slamming onto Electabuzz’ back with a body slam. Electabuzz grabbed the foe and hurled him to the ground.

“Now, thunderwave!” I shouted. I knew rock types were not immune to electric attacks, but merely strong. Nevertheless, the crackling web of sparks fizzed and snapped as it smashed into Shuckle, rendering it much slower. “Try Cross Chop again!”

Charles saw a faint white glow around Shuckle and realised what was going on.

“Chris!” he shouted. “Don’t!”

But Electabuzz carried on, slamming firmly into Shuckle with the cross chop technique that he had learnt after training with Mankey. I wondered if Mankey’s death had spurred the rest of the team on to perfecting their fighting moves, because the sheer determination of Electabuzz’ face was impressive.

“Shuckle, bide,” Lucy said softly.

“No!” Charles shouted.

“Electabuzz, get back! Counterstrike!”

Electabuzz did a lithe leap backwards as the fantastic beam of energy was blasted from Shuckle. His body was suddenly coated in a fine, toffee-coloured glow and as he was struck by the bide (which seemed to really deal damage), he swiped the damage away and leapt at Shuckle savagely. In a fell swoop, he slammed a glowing fist into Shuckle and countered the counter, sending the little Pokemon crashing to the ground.

“Shuckle is unable to battle!” the maid shouted.

“Good work,” Lucy said, recalling her Pokemon. “Now! I choose Seviper!”

I gave an inaudible gasp as the large, sinewy viper emerged, large red fangs jutting down its face. It gave me a tricky smile, its blade-like tail happily swaying left and right. Electabuzz was panting – he had used a lot of energy taking down Shuckle.

“BEGIN!”

“Seviper, Haze!”

“Huh!?”

Electabuzz and I stood there, bemused, as a thick hazy fog filtered through the arena. As Charles gasped for his inhaler and staggered around, I heard a soft rasping hiss that told me Seviper was drawing near.

“Electabuzz, thunderbolt!”

But I had fallen into a trap. No sooner had Electabuzz sparked up with yellow volts than I saw Seviper’s illuminated face in the darkness.

“You’ve got a visual! Poison tail!”

“Vipaaahh!”

Seviper swung his tail around and it sliced across Electabuzz’ chest, causing him to discharge an array of sparks in all directions as he lost his concentration. A purple wound appeared where he had been struck; I think my Pokemon had been poisoned.

“Now, crunch!” Lucy cried.

“Iron Tail!” I shouted. Lucy’s Seviper swept through the air, mouth gaping open, but Electabuzz grabbed his tail and, causing a silver shimmer, swung it into the foe’s face, smashing it hard and causing it to fall to the ground.

“Electabuzz, use thunderpunch!” I cried. A crackling fist was slammed hard into Seviper’s head but, little did we realize the stirring tail shot up and stabbed my Pokemon. Electabuzz fell back as Lucy gave a soft laugh.

“Seviper can attack with their teeth and their tail,” she explained. “Whenever you focus on one, the other is ready to strike.”

“What do I do?” I said quietly, as the haze began to lift. “Electabuzz, use a screech to disorientate Seviper.”

“Sludge bomb.”

As Electabuzz unleashed large rings of sound, Seviper struggled to lift his head up long enough to blast pellets of exploding sludge at my Pokemon. Electabuzz was struck; his wound was a prime target for more attacks and more poison seemed to seep into his body. He fell back and hit the ground.

“Get up!” I cried wearily.

“The poison in poison tail is extremely potent,” Lucy explained. “Seviper! Poison Fang!”

As the fangs of the beast glowed purple, it dived forward at my warrior, and I realised this was going to require more than luck. Electabuzz sluggishly evaded the attack and unleashed a thunderbolt, electrifying the viper from behind and causing some light paralysis.

“Façade!” Lucy cried. Damn her…the Seviper turned, leapt and gave a fierce headbutt to Electabuzz’ chest, dealing good damage due to the boosted power from the paralysis. Seviper then coiled around Electabuzz’ chest tightly, flickering his tongue provocatively. Arms pinned to his side, Electabuzz stood there, straining, as the poison took its toll.

“Seviper, keep it still with Glare,” murmured Lucy, and soon Electabuzz was rooted to the ground by the piercing gaze the Seviper leered at him with. “Now, lick.”

Running his thin, forked tongue up Electabuzz’ face, my Pokemon shuddered and squirmed tighter than ever. I realised the poison was sapping his strength and Lucy was stalling for time, but luckily I had a plan.

“Electabuzz, thunder!” I shouted. Sparks danced across the light yellow fur of my Electabuzz and soon Seviper looked uncomfortable. A white light pierced my Pokemon’s body as he unleashed a rumbling electrical surge, expelling the Seviper with a bang. Seviper flew across the ground, rolling over and looking up just as the bolt of powerful, golden sparks jetted from my Pokemon’s body and smashed right into Seviper, who gave a rattling hiss of pain and torture. The entire area was illuminated magnificently.

“Seviper, get up!” Lucy cried.

“No!” I shouted, as the snake got up and stared at us. Electabuzz was so weak from that attack…yet Seviper was still standing.

“Go in for a poison fang and crunch combo!” Lucy snapped, and Seviper dived at us again. Electabuzz was gasping for breath, clutching his wound with one hand, and I racked my brains for some sort of counter attack.

“Electabuzz!” I cried.

“Chris!” Charles gasped. Electabuzz dived to the ground in a manner similar to the ‘duck and cover’ method; Seviper soared over him and landed by my feet, skidding into the ground. Electabuzz turned and, with his right foot, slammed it down onto the Pokemon’s scaly body with a crunch.

“Seviper…” Lucy murmured.

“Seviper cannot battle!” The maid cried. “Chris 2.0 has won the Frontier Challenge!”

“Electabuzz!” I said happily, grabbing my friend. As I embraced him, I felt his muscles loosen and, the poison finally too much for him, he collapsed. I watched him and got his Pokeball, recalling him as Lucy recalled Seviper.

“Very good,” she said, not showing a smile. “You were superb.”

She got a red, leatherbound case and opened it, revealing my prize. A golden medal, shining brightly, with what looked like the outline of an eye engraved on it. I took it and pinned it to my chest.

“The door to the left,” Lucy said airily, indicating a curtained door I had not seen previously. “Will lead you safely out to the main foyer.”

I nodded, thanked her and made my way out of the Pike. On the way, Charles was bounding alongside my like an excited puppy, regaling me with events of the battle.

“The bit where Magmar had Shuckle on his face!” he cried. “And then he leapt off and was attacking…and when Magmar used iron tail to hit it!”

“Yea, I know,” I said. “I was there, remember?”

“But when Electabuzz came out, I was like ‘I know he won’t make the same mistake! But then you did, when it used bide! But then you countered it and I thought ‘Geez he knew!’ – that was so awesome,” Charles said, ignoring me.

“That’s right,” I said, rolling my eyes and leaving the Pike.

*

Liang lay in his cell, wondering where on earth Dark Dragonite had got to. He had been gone for some time. The door opened and Ecks walked in. Seeing this, Liang got up and staggered into the corner of the room.

“Hello Liang,” Ecks said quietly.

“H-H-Hello…” Liang murmured. “Ec-Ecks.”

“You look scared,” Ecks noted calmly. Liang gave a nod. “You are? You are scared, Liang?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Well you should be,” he snarled, suddenly punching Liang in the face. He fell into the corner, but Ecks wasn’t done. He grabbed Liang’s shoulder and continued to smash his fist into Liang’s, resulting in a deep crack and a warm, runny flow of blood.

“Stop!” Liang screamed.

“NO!” Ecks snarled, kneeing Liang in the stomach and hitting him across the back of the neck. Liang gave a sob and collapsed on the floor, where Ecks continued to kick him furiously.

“Please!” Liang wept, face bloodied by his broken nose. “Please s-stop!”

“You thought,” Ecks said slowly. “You honestly thought you could come here and finish me off?”

He took a step back.

“And the Lake…” he groaned. “The Lake, Liang! You blew it up!”

Ecks took a deep breath and kicked Liang hard again. Liang rolled over and coughed up blood, which splattered against the floor.

“There was still a person in the caves,” he said coldly. Liang’s battered and bruised face showed apparent realisation as he recalled something.

“Th-The Iron Maiden,” he whimpered. “No!”

“Yes,” Ecks said coldly, giving him another sharp kick. “Now nobody can get down there and the operation will proceed with immense difficulty. But of course…the new, rebellious Aragornbird doesn’t care about me anymore, does he?”

Liang said nothing.

“This is where independence gets you,” Ecks said slowly. He left the room and locked the door tightly as the boy named Aragornbird curled into a tight ball, bloodied and bruised, clothes torn and tears shining in his eyes.

Next: Chapter 29 – Hanada Tattsu (Part 2)
As Hanada Tattsu prepares to take on Chris in a no-holds-barred rematch, little does he realize his scheming father is the one pulling the strings. What does Ecks plan to do? Meanwhile some of Hanada's training is revealled, with a surprising connection to another TPML member.

As Becca bids farewell to TPML, Amy tries to find Chris, while Grey and Kyle begin their operation to switch Pseudo-Steve with Dark Dragonite. The Antibodies prepare for War, and Cocoa is reluctant to leave. Meanwhile, Andrew finds the perfect Brain to challange - and is determined to see this one through.

Blademaster

29th July 2006, 01:15 PM

Wow... This fic is starting to get surprisingly dark... Maybe it should be nominated for the 'Best Dark Fic' award... :cool:

Chris' relationship with Dusclops seems to be building in a very negative way, but didn't he say 'Good work?' to Dusclops during the battle with Andrew's Jynx? That seemed a little odd to me, considering they hate each other so much...

I can't make a guess as to what's coming next, but I will say that I'll be waiting for it - You've got quite an intricate series of plotlines all tied together, and I wanna see how they'll all turn out.

So, until next time, this is Blademaster signing off.

-Blade

The Blue Avenger

29th July 2006, 04:46 PM

Very cool. This was an excellent chapter - it sucked you in right from the very beginning and didn't let you go. I enjoyed the reappearance of Lawyer Jynx, and her signature attack was great. I'm also interested to see where the relationship between Chris and Dusclops will go - Knight of Time brought up a very good point in that having Dusclops makes Chris look much worse than he actually is.

So Chris won a symbol - excellent. I honestly didn't think he would, but that may just be stemming from frustration that I've never been able to do so in the game. Heh.

And Ecks proves more and more that he's very adept at playing the villain. Slimy, brutal, two-faced... wow. You've come up with a great character, man.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

Knight of Time

29th July 2006, 04:55 PM

Wow, very interesting chapter Chris 2.0.

Our battle in this new chapter ended in a tie? I didn't think that was going to happen. I had the feeling that either of us could have gone down in defeat in that battle.

Nonetheless, keep it up! Can't wait to see my character's role develop more and more.

Andrew

29th July 2006, 11:42 PM

Dammit! I lost again! Damn Jynx! She's a useless whore! I'm not going to be using the useless tramp again till I can find a newbie to win against. I'm surprised I haven't given her a good slap around the back of the head for losing constantly.

Dark Dragonite and Liang escaping and being captured... DRAMA! I loved Amy's reaction to Spenser "He just sounds lazy!"

I don't see why battling eachother to get to Lucy is a big deal, wouldn't it be smarter to work together to take out all the traps and then, you know, queue to fight her? Like Indiana Jones! IN A BURLESQUE HOUSE! Maybe I just don't understand Pokemanz....

Still, yay for Chris, what will he do with the symbol?

Also nice to see fabulass and the Eons hanging out...

Ace64

30th July 2006, 08:51 AM

Hurray for Emo Chris! I was kind of expecting him to lose the match against Lucy, because of his anger, but I was surprised. Also, nobody can use Arbok except for me, dammit! I was interested to see Kyle's view of Chris change, after the battle against his Dusclops- I wonder if that's foreshadowing for some of the other characters he'll meet. Charles is the only one who saw what happened to Mankey, and I doubt Chris will be ready to tell everyone the incident, aside from maybe...Jenny.

I'm a bit confused about Hanada- he took the initiative to go off and train on his own, but as soon as he meets up with his father, he falls back into his old role.Also, I wonder who Ecks was speaking to on the phone- it sounded like a woman. Hanada's mom!?!1!

MeLoVeGhOsTs

30th July 2006, 02:32 PM

Everything I wanted to say, was said by TBA. So sorry, no reply for me, TBA said the exact same thing I wanted to say ^^

Awaiting next chapter!

Chris 2.1

30th July 2006, 05:50 PM

Blademaster: By all means vote for us :D Hehe Best Dark Fic? Wow. I can say some elements of the fic get darker, but of course I'm retaining some of the comedy elements because I've found they work so well together with serious things. As for Chris' comment, I think it was said quietly, almost to himself; having never used a ghost before Chris was quite impressed with Dusclops' power against Jynx.

Indeed all the plotlines are coming together and I can assure you that some characters stories will already be coming to an end over the next few chapters. Others will keep on going and some might even take the odd twist...

TBA: Miss Justice is a cool character who Andrew's found highly useful. I'm glad you liked the chapter - it continued on from when they got to the Pike so I wanted it to reel you in straight away. Again, Kyle seemed to have judged Chris mainly on his treatment of Dusclops, and I really liked the way it turned out. Too many people have lovely happy Pokemon but this is a twist. Dusclops and Chris loathe each other and yet that's what makes them strong. Is it right to be strong through such hatred and negativity? It has some moral issues which seem to have triggered Kyle's thoughts.

Lol I'm surprised you're all surprised; I may have Chris take on another Brain but I've planned most of it out. There's a strong chance....but they've all been designated to various TPML members, you see. And remember how I told you UuberFred would be fighting a Brain? Well he still is, but it appears towards the end of the arc SO I've decided to include some hints and such in future chapters, building up to the eventual battle. It's going to be rather like a dog chasing a wasp.

And Ecks….thanks ^^

Kyle: Agreed. I think they are of a similar strength. Yea Kyle’s subplot will allow his character to develop more – I think you’ll agree this chapter alone was a real build on his character in the way he reacted to Chris and Dusclops.

Andrew: LOL the reasoning is simply a) Jynx was against a ghost and b) she wasn’t trained well. She’s a professional Pokemon with little EXP. Heh. Hence the briefcase attack.

As for the Pike, I was keeping to the Game version where there are a lot of trainers you have to battle. Also it adds to the ‘luck’ element of the Pike.

As for the symbol….show it off! Lol what did you think?

Ace: Emo Chris to the rescue! Lol. Its interesting because Chris is realizing that he’s making a bad name for himself by battling with Dusclops, yet it grants him so much strength.

As for Mankey….I can see Chris telling Jenny, but maybe not bothering to tell anyone else.

Hanadas bit was slightly confusing, particularly the part about Chris ruining his training. Anybody know what that’s about? You will, if you look closely enough. Hanada’s been places we didn’t realize and that’s all part of the fun in Ch29 – showing you parts from previous scenes and events that Hanada was actually at. It’ll all be explained.

And to be honest, since Horsea nearly died, I think Hanada’s quite scared of Chris. But he has trained, and he is strong. **Points at Ch29**

Hanada’s Mother? Now that is a good guess.

MLG: Cool! :D Thanks for reading.

aragornbird

31st July 2006, 01:01 PM

omg, I took quite a beating. That darn Ecks. :mad:
But I really like how so much has happened in these two last chapters. I guess this makes sense since Act 3 is...*gasp*...almost finished! That's awesome, you've really come a long way, Chris.
I'm glad you managed to complete the Battle Pike. It would've been a lot easier if you used your Lairon, but then again, where's the fun in reading easy battles? As always, your battle descriptions are great.
It really is gonna be war, huh? Wow...

Chris 2.1

1st August 2006, 10:14 AM

Liang: I get the impression he's not satisfied enough with just shooting Liang. I think Ecks wants to inflict all the pain Liang has caused him; he's a stress reliever and I think things are going to get much worse for him. The fic is moving nicely and I'm very excited about the future of the fic.

Just as the end of 'Act 2' ended with Henry being shot by Liang, expect the cataclysmic end to the war at the end of Act 3.

Haha in the fic Chris doesn't have Lairon! His team is:

-Sneasel
-Poliwhirl
-Magmar
-Electabuzz
-Cacturne
-Dusclops

Mankey did, of course, die, but Chris will make more catches in the future. Probably not until the beginning of the next Arc, since this one is quite action packed and our hero's right in the center of the action till Ch30.

Like I said - Its war - the exact specifics will be kept a secret but I'm hoping it'll be on-the-edge-of-your-seat stuff as we build up to it over the next few chapters. Wahoo.

Elec Man EXE

2nd August 2006, 12:47 PM

More "knock out people with my Glalie" goodness...

I was really suprised at Chris' victory at the Pike, I thought for sure he'd lose. Excellent battle with Seviper, though. One of my favorite pokemon.

This whole war thing should be interesting... so long as I don't end up a casualty :p

Chris 2.1

7th August 2006, 08:34 AM

Elec Man: Hah yea well Glalie's a portable headbutt really. Very useful heh. Glad you liked the Seviper match, any chance of seeing one on your ASB team?

News

The Golden Pens are here and nominations are closing in a few days. Not many people have nominated so if there is anything you do want to nominate (TPML or otherwise) then click here (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/index.php?topic=44978.0) for the Nomination Topic.

Charles Legend

7th August 2006, 05:31 PM

“Did I tell you about my battle against the pig-warrior Snout-a-lot?” Charles asked. I didn’t reply, consumed in my own anger. “He invaded the castle of Mock-Mocha and I had to stop him! So I sent out Girasol, my Sunkern, and then he was like ‘Pig Power!’ – I was so scared! I hurled Girasol through the air and he was eaten alive by Snout-a-lot…either that or he hopped away and embedded himself in a large pit of soil…”

My attention was diverted. As we pushed through the velvet curtains we found ourselves in another room. But a familiar face had just walked through the opposing door and faced us.  Doors stood to our left and right.

It was Knight of Time.

“Kyle…” I said emptily, jerked to my senses.

“No! It means ‘sunflower’,” Charles said all-knowingly. “Wait – what!?”

Chris did I tell you how much I love this alter Ego of mine, oddlly enough I am just as an odd ball in real life.... ^^;; Anyways the three part Soga was grate over all. ;)

~Charles Legend 

Chris 2.1

7th August 2006, 06:02 PM

Chapter Twenty-Nine
[size=3]Hanada Tattsu (Part II)

Previously…

Hanada Tattsu sat awkwardly in the Village’s main Pokemon Center. Various posters on the walls explained that the Center was being moved to BT Street over the next few days. The center looked drab, unloved and worn out. Hanada stood in an old chair, staring in the shards of a shattered mirror that a clumsy removal man had evidently dropped.

His hair was raggy and unkempt; his pale face looked scared and almost as empty as his surroundings as the intimate tick of the wall clock died out. Looking up, Hanada saw Alf, the Janitor of TPML remove the clock and wander off with it.

“Hanada Tattsu?”

A nurse had entered the waiting area. Hanada rose, but the Nurse politely put a hand on his shoulder and kept him sitting. She joined him, staring into his worried face.

“Horsea has been very badly attacked,” she said softly. “You say this was a wild Sneasel that attacked?”

“W-We were training at the lake,” Hanada lied. “A-And Horsea was swimming back to the shore when it slashed at her horribly.”

These words aroused the Nurse’ curiosity as Hanada glowed red. In truth, he could barely admit that these had been inflicted on purpose. Chris 2.0’s face showed itself before his eyes and he screwed them shut furiously, trying to block out the sheer pain.

“She’s lost a lot of blood,” the Nurse went on, regardless. “Her wounds have been mended and are healing…but that might take some time. Added to that the trauma of her attack – she’s only young – Horsea might not be battling for quite some time.”

Hanada gave a slow nod.

“Mind if I come back after a couple of months?” he asked quietly. “I was going to start some intense training, far away from the village.”

The Nurse looked at him, thinking it over. She got up softly, giving a nod.

“I’ll let you know of Horsea’s progress through your VS Seeker,” she explained. Hanada got up, his other Pokemon having been healed and made his way to the doors. As he got there, the nurse piped up, “By the way…where is it you’re going?”

Hanada turned in the doorway.

“Trolgar Mountain.”

*

Hanada Tattsu packed his backpack – a cute Spheal one – with a few clothes and some sandwiches he had made and tried haphazardly to close the zip. With his bag bulging, Hanada made his way through the village.

As he walked, a painfully patronizing voice cut into his ears.

“Hey Greg.”

It was Chris 2.0, known at the time as Brit Chris. He was looking rather daft; he had a cap bearing the words ‘Come to Graeme and Anne’s! Quality Bed and Breakfast’, as well as a t-shirt, bum-bag and a handful of key rings with similar catchphrases.

“Hi,” Hanada replied coldly. Horsea’s innocent face appeared in his minds eye, and his frustration at Chris grew.

“Y-You ok?” asked the older trainer, in what would seem to be a worried expression. Hanada felt he detected a glint of triumph in the boy’s voice.

“Better than my Horsea,” he replied, keeping a sterile, cold tone. Chris’ innocent façade soon disappeared as he got agitated.

“Look, if your Horsea wasn’t up to standards, you can’t blame me,” he snapped. “Stop sending me on a guilt trip just because YOU didn’t train up enough!”

“Train up?” Hanada asked wildly. “Train up? You FROZE the arena, rendering Horsea hopeless! Then you smashed through the ice, plucked my Pokemon out her habitat and beat her to a bloody pulp. She can’t survive on land, for goodness sake!”

He hitched his bag up a bit further, feeling its awkwardly packed contents. Chris looked somehow uncomfortable.

“Don’t say you’re leaving…” he said quietly, almost ashamed.

“I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction of knowing you drove me away,” rasped Hanada. “No, I’m heading somewhere outside the village, somewhere I can clear my mind and grow with my team.”

He turned to leave.

“But know this,” he began. “I’ll train up for one purpose and one purpose only. To defeat you in a battle.”

As he walked off, Hanada felt swelling pride in his mission. His team and he needed so much redemption for their antagonizing defeat the previous day it wasn’t even funny. Hanada got his cerulean-blue VS Seeker out and located the foot of Trolgar Mountain.

Present

After my success at the Battle Pike I returned home in the early hours of the morning, Charles at my side. Luckily I managed to shake him off and, feeling glad I had gotten rid of the rather clumsy trainer, went to the flat with a smile on my face.

Jenny let me in, tired and still in her pajamas. We decided that, until we’d both got some sleep we would fill the other in on what had been going on. So I crawled into our bed and soon, my worries, hopes, fears and my anger began to slowly drift away.

When we woke, at roughly midday, we prepared pancakes for breakfast and I regaled Jenny with my tale of The Battle Pike – not forgetting of course the tragic events at Graves Yard which claimed Mankey’s life.

“Oh my god,” Jenny said slowly, a hand covering her toast-filled mouth. She had been fond of Mankey, as one of the small, sweet members of my team. I went on to explain that the murderer, a rather large, intimidating Dusclops, was now on my team. At that point I showed her his Pokeball, which had an ‘X’ engraved on the button.

“And I haven’t even told you about the Pike,” I said suddenly, noticing Jenny’s reaction to Dusclops’ capture seemed to suggest she was hurt by my actions. This changed as she heard of Lucy’s ferocious Seviper and tricky little Shuckle, and my victory against them.

“At least you got rid of that psycho fan,” Jenny said.

“Charles…wasn’t that bad,” I mused. “‘Entertaining’ would be a good word to describe him.”

My VS Seeker’s screen flashed as a new message appeared in my inbox. Curious, I picked it up off the table and checked the new message.

New Message
From: Anonymous
Time for a rematch Brit Chris. I’m back in the Village and I want to settle the score. Meet me at 12:30 in my old Gym – time for me to avenge some of my Pokemon. Hanada Tattsu.

“Hanada Tattsu wants a rematch,” I said, showing Jenny the message.

“Is the message from him?” Jenny asked. “It says its anonymous.”

“Yea.”

“Chris, I don’t think you should go,” Jenny replied hesitantly. I got up, kissing her hand and gave a sly wink.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s nearly 12:30 now – I don’t want to be late. I’ll see you later.”

And I walked out of the door, leaving Jenny to admire a brochure that had been put through the door. It was for the Battle Arena, and showed a rather muscled woman with blonde hair (a style, Jenny thought, resembled Princess Lea’s admirably) holding an Egg Timer. A Heracross, Umbreon and Shedinja surrounded her.

“Can You Handle Pressure? The Battle Arena tests Guts and is Greta’s Facility. The Arena has timed matches which test the challenger’s ability to structure a match. If, by the end of the time limit, neither Pokemon has been knocked out, a panel of Judges will decide who has been the most Gutsy based on their Mind, Body and Skill. Greta’s three Pokemon are all good at balancing these qualities and are tough opponents.”

Jenny released Paris, her Meowth. The rather diva-esque cat mulled around as Jenny re-read the brochure.

“We’re as courageous as Chris,” she mused. “Maybe we should enter this Battle Arena? Paris, we’re all going to go and train up. Train harder than we’ve ever trained. I want you to feel our determination boil our strength and utilize it –”

She paused.

“Maybe first…we’ll watch some matches at the Battle Arena,” she smirked, taking Paris and leaving the flat.

*

In no time I had arrived at the old, crumbled Gym. I stood obediently in one of the cage-like trainer boxes, littered with fairy lights, and stared across the dirty, murky water at Hanada Tattsu. His hair was still jet black but was more scraggly; previously it looked like it needed a comb, but now it was wilder. His blue t-shirt was armless, evidently ripped off, and for a 15 year old he was showing impressive muscle on his arms. He had a golden tan and his handsome eyes stared at me firmly.

“Glad you could make it,” he snarled.

“Of course,” I replied. I felt quite scared of his presence, and gripped Cacturne’s Pokeball tightly. “I’m not going to let this match be any different from our last.”

“I am,” Hanada replied darkly.

Previously…

The sun sat in the sky, smiling brightly and sending pulsating waves of radiating heat down on Hanada Tattsu. As he wandered along the mountain trail, nearing the top, he took a lengthily swig from his water bottle and saw a corner up ahead, leading around to the peak of the mountain.

“I’m at the summit,” he said proudly. He stepped mercilessly on a twig, sending a thick snapping noise through the area. Hanada smirked as he imagined Chris’ face on the twig, begging for forgiveness.

Hanada turned the corner and came face to face with a huge Raichu, grinning moodily as sparks coursed through his body. Arms folded, tail snaked at his feet, Raichu seemed to have expected Hanada Tattsu’s arrival.

“Err…” Hanada murmured. “Can you get out my way?”

“No, he cannot,” came a deep voice. Hanada saw the shadow of a trainer behind the Pokemon. “You are not welcome here.”

Raichu’s brimming sparks intensified, so Hanada grabbed a Pokeball and hurled it through the air. A small Wooper emerged, giving a little cry and leaping onto the battlefield, staring emptily as a roaring bolt swept into him and bowled him back.

“You’re ok!” Hanada shouted at his Pokemon, who got up (this proving difficult with no arms). Raichu darted forward with a quick attack, tail shimmering silver. Whipping it round, Raichu slammed his tail into Wooper, who flew into Hanada’s chest and caused him to topple to the ground.

“Man…” Hanada groaned, nursing his stomach. “Wooper, you ok?”

The little critter was defeated, eyes drooping shut. Hanada nodded and recalled the little Pokemon. As he sat there, both Raichu and the trainer stood there. The trainer had a huge frame and looked somewhat intimidating.

“Leave this place,” he replied raptly. “Now.”

Hanada got up, trembling, and wandered shamelessly around the corner. He heard the trainer say something to his Raichu as he stared down the long, winding path back to the village. As he looked, though, he realised something extraordinary. He had come all this way and was willing to go all the way back because of one person. One ignorant person. Remembering Horsea, and even Wooper, Hanada turned back to the summit.

“I’m not going to fall in line,” he growled. “I’m not leaving here.”

Present

“Well then?” I asked nonchalantly. “Are you sending a Pokemon out?”

“Yes,” snapped Hanada. “Go! Octillery!”

Emerging on one of the ripped floats was a medium sized red octopus. Its two longest, strongest tentacles were at the front of its small body while the others trailed behind it. It gave us a sinister, gruff call of its name.

“Let’s go Cacturne,” I replied, releasing him onto one of the platforms, too. “Ok! Bullet seed, go!”

Cacturne stood there, blasting a series of bullet-shaped seeds at Octillery. They peppered against his large head, the subsequent force moving his float towards his end of the arena. Octillery held his tentacles in front of his face and was deflecting the attack. As this barrage went on, I noticed a faint white glow at the bottom of the pool.

“Go! Faint Attack and Needle Arm,” I said firmly. “Keep him guessing!”

“Use your own Bullet Seed,” Hanada replied. “Wide-ranged assault!”

As Cacturne randomly disappeared and leapt from float to float, Octillery blasted similar green seeds through the air, in a rapid fire, wide range that soon revealed where my Pokemon was. Wasting no time, Cacturne leapt up and slammed his glowing arms into Octillery, sending him backwards into the water.

“Return to this side of the arena and brace yourself,” I said firmly. Cacturne leapt back and waited as Octillery’s shadow was obscured by the debris and murk. Suddenly the white glow at the bottom of the pool intensified, soon engulfing the entire body of water. Cacturne’s face, illuminated by the glow, managed to mask his awe and slight fear at this power with a smug, keen look.

“What’s that?” I asked, bewildered. The bright white light obstructed my vision. I looked around and, as the light died down, an amazing sight met our eyes. The pool was immaculate. The water – crystal clear. The tiles were clean and missing ones had been replaced. No debris or junk at all. But Octillery was also missing. Cacturne looked around just as the beast headbutted up at the float, sending Cacturne flying up into the air. Octillery used his suction cups to emerge from under the float, securing himself on the red buoyancy aid and firing a beam of ice through the air at my falling cactus.

“Cacturne!” I shouted. “Use Needle X!”

My Pokemon, soaring down towards the uncoming train of chilled, unforgiving ice, crossed his arms as his needles all glowed a vivid, natural green. The glowing double needle arm gained strength from the cross-chop characteristics, and Cacturne held on tight as he smashed against the beam of ice, matching the force exerted with his own. He then used faint attack to leap around the beam, re-appearing behind Octillery and unleashing the cross of energy. Octillery was hurled through the air, landing in the water and emerging at Hanada’s side.

“Taunt it,” I hissed, grinning as Cacturne verbally insulted Octillery. Hanada watched as his Octillery began to twitch uncontrollably. In no time he was firing off a bullet seed in anger, which Cacturne leapt away from easily.

“Let the anger aid you!” Hanada Tattsu shouted. “Hyper Beam!”

I knew this was ok. Taunt meant that Octillery could not use its patented ‘Lock On’ to secure Cacturne as a target. Thus, the beam of comprised energy would speed towards us like a runaway train – no control whatsoever.

“Don’t worry!” I shouted. “Evade it!”

Leaping high and leaping wide, Cacturne danced around as the beam was powered up by a glowing, orange orb. The beam hurtled across the arena, but Cacturne darted from its path. As a result, it smashed against my end of the arena and caused a rise of thick, black smoke. I felt the edge of the pool crumble and saw Cacturne’s sinister, yellow eyes through the darkness.

“Good work!” Hanada cried.

“Wrong!” came my voice. “Cacturne, that things exhausted! Now let’s take things into our own hands!”

Cacturne siphoned away the smoke by using a spinning needle arm across the floats. He eyed me and I gave a nod.

“Use cut on that red float in front of you!”

“What?”

A slicing blade of energy cut the float into two identical rectangles. Each was the length of one of Cacturne’s arms, and the length of two or perhaps three. I pointed at them, floating innocently.

“Needle arm! Slam your arms into the floats!”

Using one leg to manoevure his yellow float across to the new, fresh cut floats, Cacturne bent down and sent his left, glowing arm slamming into the float. Due to his sharp needles, the float stuck to his arm and looked like safety padding. He did the same on the right arm and in no time had large, red floats on the top of his arms, secured tightly.

“Now!” I shouted. “Bullet seed at my wall!”

Turning his head, Cacturne fired the seeds in rapid succession, pushing himself off from my side of the arena. In no time he was speeding across the water on his float, approaching the gasping Octillery. His arms were useless now – those were his defence.

“Mega Kick!”

“Stop it! Sludge Bomb!”

As Octillery blasted the pellets of exploding sludge, Cacturne stopped using Bullet Seed and faced his foe. With enough force, he did not need to keep on firing attacks; he was moving along through the water admirably.

Cacturne held his arms up and the large, soft floats blocked the sludge. As the arms drew back, Cacturne fired off a poison sting, and the array of sharp, stinging needles pierced Octillery’s body. Leaping up, my cactus covered his face with his arms and delivered a sharp kick to the foe’s face. Octillery was launched back, landing on another platform as Cacturne took the one Octillery had just inhabited.

“Octillery! Aurora Beam!”

“Bullet seed against Hanada’s wall,” I shouted. “And protect with your padding!”

Cacturne blasted the bullets and pushed himself back away from the foe, and as he began drifting towards me, he held the floats to his face and allowed the aurora beam to smash against them – this force subsequently helped Cacturne reach my side of the arena again.

“Damnit,” Hanada muttered.

“Cacturne, it’s time to finish this off,” I said. “Use Spikes (1)!”

Cacturne nodded and, arms and legs wide, gave a grunting roar. As his needles glowed white, they formed into long, thin lances and shot upwards, shredding the floats that were attached to him. Needle-like lances glowing white, Cacturne prepared to attack.

“Needle Arm!”

Racing across the floats, eyes wider than his smile, Cacturne unleashed both his arms in a swiping motion across Octillery. The long, sharp lances raked across the Pokemon’s body and, as they shrank to their normal size, Cacturne swung a foot and slammed another kick into the octopus, causing it to fly up into the air.

“Faint Fury!”

Flashing into darkness, Cacturne re-appeared in mid air above the falling Octillery, unleashing a citrus blade of energy that smashed into Hanada Tattsu’s Pokemon and caused him to hurtle into his float and lay there.

“Yes!” I cried.

“Get up,” Hanada said. “Octillery, sludge bomb!”

Octillery clambered onto the float, looking worse for wear and firing off pellets of exploding sludge. Cacturne felt them smash against his body and explode, dealing good damage, but when the smoke, dust and smog cleared he was standing purposefully.

However as I planned my retaliation, Cacturne gave a rattling groan and stumbled on his float. His eyes widened and he fell back, splashing into the water, looking as if he was utterly exhausted.

“Cacturne?” I asked weakly. “Wha…what’s wrong?”

“Looks like he’s been knocked out,” Hanada said softly, from behind Octillery. I looked up at Hanada disbelievingly.

“You rigged it,” I snapped.

“What?” Hanada asked. “That’s stupid.”

“You must have. You must have rigged it,” I gasped, refusing to recall Cacturne.

“I’m stronger than before,” Hanada declared imperiously. “You need to accept that. Recall your Pokemon and send another out.”

“Enjoy this while you can,” I murmured, recalling Cacturne. The situation required a nimble Pokemon; type wasn’t necessarily a problem here. Electabuzz, while being effective (and probably good at wiping out Hanada’s entire team) was simply too big for the arena – he wasn’t as particularly speedy as he had been in his Elekid form.

“I choose you,” I replied, releasing an old friend. Sneasel materialized and flexed his muscles. Hanada watched this Pokemon darkly. “Sneasel, ice beam, go!”

Sneasel blasted the pearly beam of ice across the arena, freezing the surface into a long thin road of frosty moisture between his float an his foes. He looked at it – it was quite weak. Octillery continued to get his breath back, as he was nearing defeat himself.

“Again!”

And after the second attack, the ice path looked relatively strong. I pointed at Octillery and Sneasel readied himself. He leapt onto the path and slid across the part of the arena, claws glowing a bright white.

“Crush Claw!”

He came to the end of the path; Sneasel leapt up and swept down fantastically, his slash to Octillery aided by the force of his fall. Octillery was propelled into the wall and slammed against it, sliding into the water and giving a long moan of defeat. Hanada clenched his fists and recalled him. Sneasel skidded back to me, but not before the applied pressure became too much and the ice began to gently crack.

“Get onto a float,” I said, smirking. Sneasel nodded as the ice path drifted into small chunks of ice and Hanada Tattsu released his next Pokemon. From the ball emerged a huge, watery looking dragon. It had a long, blue snout, an age about it, and furious, deep red scars all across its proud chest.

Kingdra.

“Look what my little Horsea evolved to,” Hanada said coldly. “Kingdra wants a little rematch against your Sneasel, Chris.”

Previously

Knight of Time sat atop Trolgar Mountain. A Houndoom slept at his feet, while a Quilava retracted his flames and simply enjoyed the large, roaring fire they made that night. Suddenly, from the darkness, a jet of water extinguished the bonfire. Kyle bolted up and Quilava stirred as Hanada Tattsu walked out of the darkness with Squirtle by his side.

“You,” Kyle murmured. Hanada clicked his fingers and Wooper flung a scoop of mud into Kyle’s face. He stumbled back, Quilava darting forward to avenge his master, but Wooper rammed into Quilava as Squirtle spun into Kyle.

“I’m staying right here,” Hanada snapped. “Maybe on the other side of the mountain, but here nonetheless. You have no right to banish me with your strong Pokemon and cocky attitude. I’m staying here as long as I wish.”

He called Squirtle and Wooper back to his side. Kyle got up and stared at Hanada in the semi-darkness. Hanada began to leave, but Kyle stopped him.

“No,” he said. “You…you can stay at this part of the summit. There’s a huge archive on the other side…not much room.”

Hanada stopped.

“Thanks,” Hanada said emptily. The two shared a firm, knowing look; perhaps it was simply an older human being helping another out, or perhaps Knight of Time felt some form of empathy for the young boy. Nevertheless, Hanada unrolled his sleeping bag and prepared for his first of many nights above The Pokemon Masters League.

Present

“Sneasel, stay calm!” I cried. “That things not going to be a problem!”

“Kingdra! Bubblebeam.”

The array of bubbles whooshed through the air, but Sneasel held his sharp claws out and they merely burst on contact. Kingdra weighed itself down to the bottom of the pool and, using its long snout, began unleashing a ferocious whirlpool. Sneasel watched as a whirling vortex sped around the pool, and Kingdra emerged in the eye of the whirlpool, watching us.

“Sneasel!” I cried. “Ice Beam to try and freeze the water.”

Beams of ice bolted from my Pokemon’s mouth, but the frozen water was frozen for a fraction as it was mercilessly dragged around Kingdra. The large, draconian Pokemon simply rested as Sneasel was whipped around on his float.

“Use Quick Clawz!” I cried. “Land on Kingdra!”

In a silver blur, Sneasel darted into the air and swept at Kingdra as his claws glowed a shimmering silver. He slashed Kingdra’s snout and clung onto the dragon’s head. Hanada smirked.

“Dive.”

“No!”

Kingdra simply plunged beneath the surface of the sloshy waves. Gulping, Sneasel was dragged under and thrashed around. I heard a deep slam and saw my dark Pokemon momentarily surface, only to be dragged back down.

“Sneasel!” I cried. I turned to Hanada. “Stop this!”

“Sneasel’s as weak underwater as Kingdra is on land,” Hanada mused. “How…ironic.”

“Don’t do this!” I snapped.

“I can’t help it,” Hanada said. “Kingdra’s the one that’s out of control. Oh…Kingdra…stop…”

He spoke in a fake, pseudo-caring voice and I began gritting my teeth in frustration. Sneasel was going to suffocate if I didn’t do something fast. I briefly envisioned another Pokemon dying in battle as I thought of a plan. I grabbed a Pokeball, but Hanada’s eyes widened.

“If you send out another Pokemon,” he said. “You’re DQ’ed. This is a 2-2.”

“Hanada!” I cried. “Greg! Stop doing this! You’re going to kill Sneasel!”

“Kingdra, use disable!” Hanada cried. Disable would stop Sneasel from thrashing about underwater, and he’d simply lay there, lungs unable to struggle for breath. My mouth widened in horror as comprehension dawned on my face.

“STOP THIS!” I shouted, preparing to dive into the water. “I’m coming!”

“I don’t think that is necessary,” came a soft voice. Smooth and mature, the tones rang through the air and we both looked around. I could tell I wasn’t the only one who recognized the voice.

Ecks strode into view. He was slipping a Pokeball onto his belt.

“Greg, stop what you are doing,” he commanded.

“Why should I?” Hanada snapped.

“Stop what you are doing,” Ecks reiterated. “Pluto, do the honors.”

A Gengar emerged from the darkness and clapped its hands. In no time, both Kingdra and a limp Sneasel were lifted from the pool, the former thrashing and struggling. Both were thrown to their respective trainers and, as I caught Sneasel in my arms, I saw Hanada collapse under the weight of Kingdra.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, looking at my unconscious Pokemon.

“Recall your Sneasel,” Ecks said. I nodded, obliging for reasons beyond my knowledge, and recalled him in his Pokeball. “He will be ok if you treat him as soon as possible.”

“I’m going,” I said firmly, turning. I heard a sharp click and as I turned back, cautiously, my eyes met the end of a gun Ecks had pointed at me. Hanada’s eyes widened.

“Dad!” He cried. “What are you doing?”

Ecks was Hanada’s Dad? My eyes widened at the news, which Ecks apparently saw. He just smirked and pressed the gun into my forehead.

“You said you were going to organize the battle! Get out the way, I’m winning!” Hanada cried.

“You are winning because I have been helping you,” Ecks said. “Pluto used spite to leech Cacturne’s energy away. My Altaria used refresh to clean and purge the pool of all these hazards. Chris. Sneasel is weak. Very weak. His lungs are full of water and he won’t last much longer if he is not treated effectively. Therefore I will let you go if you help me.”

I looked into his eyes as his words, spoken in a cruel yet handsome voice rang around me. Hanada looked furious as he soon learned he was not as strong as he seemed. I was quite glad to find some reasoning behind his victory.

“Where is Amy Wolfsong?” he asked.

“She’s in the village,” I said.

“Where in the village is she?” he asked again. “I remind you, Sneasel’s life is wavering…”

“I don’t know,” I said firmly.

“Yes you do,” Ecks replied. “Cocoa stormed your house, and found both Becca and Amy there. You’ve been in contact with her since she returned.”

“How do you –”

“Don’t think all of Cocoa’s guards are working for her,” Ecks smirked.

“Well they raided my house,” I said, remembering the cover story. “They just broke in.”

“Liar,” Ecks said. “I orchestrated her kidnapping. I saw you with Amy at the Lake and I was the one who explained to Liang he needed to take you out.”

I looked down at the ground, embarrassed that my lie hadn’t quite worked. Ecks was a powerful man. Hanada continued to watch nervously. Ecks gave a glance back at his son, giving me time to whisper a few choice words.

“So I shall ask you again,” he said to me. “Where. Is. Amy –”

Suddenly a ghostly howl echoed around the room and Dusclops soared from the rafters, eye glaring at us. I had commanded him to phase out of his Pokeball and strike. Ecks turned and fired at my Pokemon, but he passed through the bullets and hurled a shadow ball at the pool. While Ecks turned to look at me, Dusclops gave another rattling moan and phased into Hanada’s body.

“Greg!” Ecks snapped, as the boy, skin tinged a murky gray colour rose into the air. His eyes rolled back and his body limp. “GREG!”

“Walk to your son’s side of the arena,” I said imperiously. “And drop your gun in the pool.”

Ecks turned ferociously, gun pointing at me again.

“Get him down.”

“Shoot me, and Dusclops is ordered to eat away at Hanada’s body. He’ll sever the arteries and veins from the heart…it’ll pump blood through his body until he’s all full up. Then you’ll watch your son as blood seeps out his eye sockets and fingernails –”

“FINE!” Ecks snapped, hurling his gun into the pool. He ran to the other end of the arena, watching his airbourne son. As I saw the gun sink to the floor, I clicked my fingers. Dusclops swept out of Hanada’s body and into the air as the body dropped and fell into the pool, causing a splash. Ecks watched furiously as Dusclops returned to me and I ran out of the Gym.

“Get my son,” Ecks said firmly. A lithe Golduck leapt from the darkness and dived underwater, grabbing Hanada Tattsu’s limp body and heaving him out. He placed the soaked body on the edge of the pool, and Ecks watched me go.

“Pluto,” he whispered. “Leave your mark.”

As I headed for the door, I grabbed it and tried to wrench it open. Dusclops fazed into the air as a wheeling roll of violet flame smashed into me. Screaming from the top of my lungs, I felt a rattling burn sweep up my body, scorching my clothes. Luckily, I had turned to the door in my haste; as a result only my left side was hit by the Will-O-Wisp. I hurried out, finally getting the door open. Ecks smiled from afar.

“Are you ok Greg?” he asked. Hanada was unconscious, mind whirring and clicking as memories flooded his brain…

Previously

Hanada Tattsu was doing furious press ups. His t-shirt arms had been ripped and his hair was a little longer. Knight of Time watched, sitting on a rock, his team members helping Hanada train.

“Rika! Crush Claw!” Kyle ordered at his Zangoose. A Wartortle leapt to the side and evaded the attack, pouncing up and hitting her in the chest. Staggering back, Rika saw Wartortle come close and created a double team, allowing Wartortle to slide through a clone.

“There,” Hanada said, having finished his workout. “Hey, Kyle, good idea with these sleeves. It’s much more comfortable without your arms getting all sticky inside long t-shirts.”

“How did you sleep last night?” Kyle asked.

“I heard noises,” Hanada mused.

“Again?” Kyle asked, confused.

“How come you don’t hear them?” Hanada asked.

“Maybe the noises are in your head, not outside,” Kyle suggested. “That boy…Brit Chris…he’s obviously caused you a lot of trauma and hurt. When you’re asleep, your guard is down, and that’s when your subconscious attacks you.”

“But you must have had trauma,” Hanada said. “If…if you’re up here, training.”

Kyle surveyed the Village from the mountain, thinking deeply. He was trying to structure his answer carefully. Hanada’s other team members – Totodile, Mudkip, Quagsire and Poliwhirl all gathered around with Wartortle and listened.

“I was not traumatized by anybody,” Kyle thought. “Not any single person could inflict this on me. It was the village itself. The corruption.”

He turned to Hanada, who was listening intently.

“When Businesses were introduced they devoured people. Loads of the community had various businesses, competing for customers. People forgot why they were here. Most the people abandoned their Pokemon just to push their businesses. The place fell apart. Businesses were all scrapped; BT Street was a shell of its former self. Karin left for New York, Amanda simply disappeared…and the recently moderated The Missing Link found herself reluctantly holding the steering wheel.”

“So you just…left?”

“A lot of people fled before the ship sunk,” Kyle murmured. “The Arbiter…a trainer in my time fled. He was to be missed.”

Kyle looked around.

“This…Brit Chris,” he said, musing. “Does he always target weaker foes?”

“I think so,” Hanada murmured.

“I met a few people like that,” Kyle aid angrily. “If I ever lay eyes on him…I’ll make that boy pay.”

“Thanks,” Hanada said quietly.

Present

Meanwhile, at the Station, The Missing Link prepared to board her train to New York City. She was dressed all in black and carried with her a suitcase. She got on board, sat down and stared at the window, able to see the Towers pierce the treetops from where she sat. A flock of Pidgeotto swept through the skies happily, and she heaved a sigh as the train pulled out the TPML Station and made its way to its next destination.

*

“Oh Chris,” Jenny cooed softly, as I emerged from my shower. “Your body…”

My left forearm was cloaked in violet burns, making me look dangerously like a blurry Telletubbie. My hand, too, was burned, but not as badly; similarly, burns ensnared the base of my neck. Sneasel and Cacturne were at the Pokemon Center, recovering. Sneasels fragile body had been taken to A&E, but the Nurse said he looked pretty worn out. I was to receive regular updates off the Nurse.

“They’ll go down, right?” I asked, worried. Jenny assured me they will as I got into a long sleeved t-shirt, fast. As I got changed, and Jenny told me how she was now friends with the Eon Sisters (even though Luna wore her make up like a slut), the door rang and Amy Wolfsong appeared.

“Amy…” I said softly, glad I had just got changed.

“Chris,” Amy said. “Could…I talk to you in private?”

“Erm…sure,” I said, stepping outside and closing the door. “What’s wrong?”

“Becca’s left,” she said sadly. “Gone to Karin’s funeral. I don’t know when she’s coming back.”

“Oh,” I said. Was that it? I mean, I was upset about Karin’s death but I wasn’t too bothered where TML went. “…and?”

“Liang’s disappeared,” she said frantically. “He appeared at the Lake, and spoke to me. He told me a lot of things I’ll try and explain to you…but he said he was going to kill Ecks himself. And he hasn’t been seen since.”

“Well I just encountered the man named Ecks,” I said grudgingly, staring down the street where the Gym was distantly seen. “He’s certainly not dead.”

“So Liang must have failed…” Amy mused.

“Ecks will have killed him,” I assured her. “He doesn’t hang around.”

“Oh Chris…” Amy sobbed. “Don’t you see? We’re the last remaining people! We’re the last ones he wants to finish off!”

“We won’t let him,” I said firmly. “He wanted me to give you up. I didn’t. I fled.”

“We need to stop this,” Amy replied. “Chris…we need to make a pact.”

“A pact?” I asked.

“A pact to eliminate Ecks from TPML,” Amy said, thinking. “We need to…to kill him.”

“Kill him?” I asked.

“Think about it!” Amy cried. “He’ll make sure we die. He’s making sure of that now. He’s doing everything in his power to kill us both, Chris. We need to beat him to it! Bring those fallen to Justice!”

“I’m not a killer,” I said warily, although my inner voice reminded me I nearly let Hanada Tattsu die in the same way I had watched Mankey perish. I hated myself for a few moments.

“We need to play his game,” Amy murmured. “I’m no killer either; it’s a sin to murder.”

I looked at her.

“Well…it’s a sin to murder the innocent,” I mused. She looked at me surprisingly. “I went to Sunday School for a while. The whole ‘school on weekends’ didn’t work for me so I stopped going.”

“I see,” Amy replied, looking at me ambiguously. “So. Are you in?”

She held her hand out, and I watched it precariously. I slowly reached mine out to hers and we shook, thick and wholesomely, for we both knew what was at stake. As we repeated Ecks’ name in clarification, little did I realize Jenny was listening on the other side of the door, eyes wide.

*

In The Rules Tower, Cocoa Sting was talking with OzAndrew, who had a wide grin on his face. Due to Karin’s death, and River’s participation in the Grand Festival which was, this year, held in the city of Chicago, Andrew had been given the position of Head Coordinator.

“…and as a result I feel the Contest should be scheduled for around the end of the Battle Frontier’s stay,” Cocoa said. “Andrew? Are you listening?”

OzAndrew, secretly fantasizing about money, gingerbread houses and candy bracelets, sat up and gave a nod. Cocoa looked back down.

“How do you feel about hosting a double appeal stage?” she asked. OzAndrew was wearing another dreamily content look. “ANDREW!”

“Whassa!?” he cried. “Yes Cocoa. Yes I do.”

“Hmm,” Cocoa mused. “Andrew we’ll meet again on Wednesday to discuss matters further. Thank you for your time.”

OzAndrew got up and cheerily left. Cocoa mused upon things for a moment; she wasn’t fond of OzAndrew. She got the impression he was never really focused, but he had a good application for the position of Head Coordinator. She made a video call to Gordon, the Chairman of the Board of Governors.

“Aha, good afternoon, Cocoa,” Gordon said. Cocoa saw Gordon at the head of the table, as well as Derek, Razola’s grandson (although Cocoa knew him to be just 58), Austin Myers the large, friendly man; there was Callisto Thunder, the sharp, sexy looking businesswoman with her jet black hair and beautiful figure, and the various other members.

“How is everything going?” asked Jacques, a man towards the end of the table. He had short, black hair and a little moustache; he was half American and half French, and embraced both parts of his heritage.

“Everything is going smoothly,” Cocoa admitted. “I think everything is working out well.”

“Did you look at the data Austin sent to you?” Gordon asked firmly. “Regarding new Moderators?”

“I did, Cocoa said ambiguously. “Yes, I did.”

“Who is Head of 04621 then?” asked Callisto keenly. She had cat-like eyes and a playful look on her face.

“…according to our database,” Austin said, brow furrowed as he accessed the server from his Laptop. “Cocoa Sting is the Head Lady.”

“Why haven’t you stepped down yet?” Gordon asked. “Cocoa, did I not make myself clear in our previous conversation?

“I am preparing to step down,” Cocoa said. “But I wanted to…I wanted to see that Karin 04621 was brought to Justice.”

“She can and will be,” Gordon replied. “And you can be informed of progress from here. You are not needed in 04621 any longer.”

“I am staying,” Cocoa told him. “For a bit longer.”

“Miss Sting…” Gordon sighed. “…as you wish.”

He ended the call and looked at his fellow Board members. Each wore a surprised look at their boss, who had given up so easily in persuading Cocoa to return here. Jacques, from the shadows, cleared his throat as Derek ignorantly poured himself a drink.

“Sir?” he asked snidely.

“Cocoa Sting needs to come back here,” Gordon said firmly. “We are without a member of the Board and I do not like that.”

“Why does she want to stay there?” Austin asked, bewildered.

“It’s deliciously ironic, Myers,” Jacques said from the back. “You weren’t on the Board at the time – naturally you are unaware. Before she was even a serious Pokemon Battler, Karin was on the Board of Governors. She was sent to do a schematics report on the Village; this was after the League in Village 04621 was fully being recognized and Businesses were being implemented for the first time. She seemed to have fallen in love with the place, and eventually handed her notice in and asked that she leave the Board. We were shocked, but allowed it. We replaced her with Cocoa Sting, who was, at the time known as Cocoa Caniche, for she was only engaged to future husband Eriksson Sting.”

“Oh,” Austin murmured sheepishly. It was evident he took very little of this in.

“Basically,” said a voice. A young, pretty girl named Rosie Cran was the possessor of the soft voice that got Austin’s attention. She had blonde hair and rosy red cheeks, and at 24 was the youngest member on the Board. A new addition following the departure of Board Member Imperion, many felt she was incompetent, but Gordon’s word was final, and the young English student had been let on the Board.

“Basically, Cocoa’s gone down the same road that Karin did,” Rosie explained to Austin. “She was on the Board, visited 04621 and ended up staying there.”

“Thanks Rosie,” Austin said, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

“Yes, thank you Rosie,” Jacques grumbled.

“I have reached a decision,” Gordon said importantly. “Miss Thunder, I want you to make your way to 04621. Austin, if you would contact our sponsors and have them set a private jet up for Callisto, I would be most grateful.”

“I’m on it,” Austin mumbled, frantically typing into his computer. Rosie looked across at him.

“And arrange a car to be picked up at the airport,” Gordon went on. “Damned Village doesn’t have an airport.”

“Yes sir.”

“Callisto, head down to 04621 and bring Cocoa back by force,” Gordon sighed. He got a piece of paper and, taking his favorite pen, began scribbling hastily. “This signed document gives you full custody over the Security Cocoa has installed. Use them if necessary.”

“Yes Gordon,” Callisto said, getting out of her chair. She took a black suit from her chair and slipped it on over her midnight blue shirt. She gazed across the table; her cat-like eyes a similar colour to her shirt, and nodded to them. “Goodbye for now.”

“Good luck,” Derek said dryly.

*

OzAndrew wandered on through the village, a swagger in his step. Mr Mime was levitating a tray of smoothies that the Oz planned on sharing with the team. As he sat down, however, a thin, spindly figure emerged from the bushes.

“A-A-A-A-A-A-”

“ARGH!” Andrew screamed, leaping out his seat and knocking into Mr Mime. Mr Mime hurled the smoothies through the air and they disappeared into the distance.

“…A-Ann-Ann-Annd…”

The shaky Mr McPrawn was stuttering wildly in the bushes. Andrew crossed his arms and folded his arms, waiting for him to get his words out. As he managed to annunciate the D in Andrew, Mr Mime wandered to the Smooth Groove Smoothie Shack and bought 6 more fruit smoothies.

“And-And-Andrrrrrr –”

“Ew?” Andrew asked. “What’s wrong McPrawn?”

“The sunlight,” he hissed, shooting a fierce look at the sun. “…Among other things. Andrew you m-m-made a proposal to me some time ag-ag-ago. Where is this Frontier Medal of mine?”

“I haven’t got it yet,” Andrew said, slurping happily on an Orange and Mango Grim Fandango. “Oooh! Brain Freeze! Anyway yea…I haven’t got one.”

“Y-Y-You!”

“What?” Andrew asked.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Mr McPrawn said. “Y-You get me th-that medal…or I’ll s-s-sort you out!”

Andrew pushed Mr McPrawn into the bushes, where he gave a childish cry of pain. Turning around, Andrew came face to face with UuberFred, the pale, clammy faced boy with the pudding bowl haircut. He wore a badge saying ‘I Got Kidnapped at DisneyLand!’, perhaps signifying where he had been.

“Freak!” Andrew called, knocking into Mr Mime. The rest of the smoothies flew up again and into the distance, where a disgruntled cry could be heard. Andrew watched as a slightly familiar Frontier Brain marched up to him, smoothie covered all over his flamboyant fairy costume.

“Hey BITCH!” Tucker called. “You spilt these smoothies on me!”

“Yea…” Andrew sighed.

“I don’t like it when people spill smoothies on me,” Tucker explained. “Show me some goddamn respect! I’m a Brain!”

“Well I’M a MOD you little freak!” Andrew screamed. “Not you, Fred. I’m talking to this sorry excuse for an elite trainer!”

“Ooooooh no you didn’t?!” Tucker said.

“Oh yes I did!” Andrew snapped. “Mr Mime! Use Duelling Glove!”

Mr Mime leapt up at the Fronier Brain and delivered a powerful slap to his face. Tucker stumbled back, aghast, a red mark on his handsome face. His eyes widened and his temper flared.

“I challenge you to an official Frontier Match tomorrow!” Andrew cried.

“I accept!” Tucker declared. “1pm, tomorrow, the Dome Stadium. BE THERE!”

Andrew smirked happily as Tucker stormed off. A group of people had seen this and were applauding and cheering, apparently quite looking forward to the bitchy Pokemon Battle the next day. Andrew turned, seeing UuberFred.

“So, Fred,” Andrew said. “How was the…erm…the kidnapping?”

“It helped me,” Fred said. “I’m not a rookie anymore! I am a champion! It was spiritual training of the highest caber.”

“Calibur?” Andrew suggested.

“Yea, training of the highest caviar,” Fred warbled on. “A truly memorable experience. I know my Pokemon can feel my spiritual energy from all that sitting still in a cold dark room bound with ropes!”

“Yes.” Andrew murmured. “Anyway yea bye? Ok! Cya!”

He ran back to the bushes to find Mr McPrawn sitting there, trying his best to look utterly casual in a thorny bush.

“You’ll get your symbol, Prawn,” Andrew said proudly.

*

There was a swirling mass of flame. A roar filled the air. Knight of Time fell to his knees as a Kangaskhan reared her head. Kyle got up wearily, looking around; before his eyes, Grey and his Umbreon, Fenrir, were fighting Dark Dragonite and his Kanhaskhan.

“Fenrir!” Grey cried. “Quick Attack!”

“Thunder wave,” Dark Dragonite hissed. Kangaskhan unleashed the crackling web of feverish sparks. Beside Kyle lay the Ditto that had once been Pseudo-Steve. Kyle recalled how they got here, the village square…Grey had been in Cocoa’s office with Pseudo-Steve…they supplied Cocoa with the alibi they were viewing progress on the new Theatre. Meanwhile, Kyle brought the prisoner, Dark Dragonite, through the village, where he had managed to headbutt Kyle and verbally release his Kangaskhan, Feizhi. She used her claws to sever his cuffs, and when Grey and Pseudo-Steve met them they were met by a ferocious attack. Pseudo-Steve, finally defeated, was now a Ditto and lay beside Kyle, weakened, while Grey fought on.

“Feizhi! Sandstorm!” Steve shouted. As Feizhi whipped up a frenzied vortex of sand, her owner ran through the obstructed haze and into the main part of the village (they were down Falken Street, just off from the main part of the Village).

“He’s getting away!” Kyle groaned, getting to his feet. A dizzy punch met his face and he collapsed. Grey ran over to see him, Fenrir firing a confuse ray to Feizhi’s eyes. Grey supported Kyle and as Feizhi stumbled among the sandstorm, Fenrir used a bright flash to guide them after Dark Dragonite.

“STEVE!” Grey roared. “COME BACK!”

As the sandstorm soon cleared they saw the moderator head towards the Rules Tower. Grey ran as best he could, with Kyle in tow; soon it became very awkward. Releasing his Skarmory, Vector, Kyle clambered aboard and followed through the skies.

Grey and Kyle made their way to the Rules Tower, but Dark Dragonite already flashed his clearance card and headed up the stairs. The Alakazam stood in the way and Steve raced up the stairs, gasping for breath as sweat trickled down his face. He arrived at the door and pushed it open.

“COCOA!” he gasped, collapsing.

“Steve?” Cocoa asked, getting up from her desk. “Wh…what happened? Where’s Grey?”

“After me,” Steve murmured. “Cocoa, listen…I haven’t been here for ages. It’s been a clone. Feizhi Outpost…the Antibodies…they kidnapped me, and made a clone using a Ditto. That clone’s been spying on you for them.”

“What?” Cocoa asked, bewildered. “Are you sure?”

“Ecks overthrew Razor Leaf,” Steve groaned, struggling to remember how everything happened. “Grey…and Kyle…they knew, and they were removed from the group. They were trying to get me back here without…without disrupting things.”

“Where are the Antibodies situated?” Cocoa asked.

“The Old Village,” Steve murmured. “They’re coming…”

“When are they coming?”

“Soon,” Steve groaned. “They want you out.”

“They want me out?” Cocoa asked. “Of course…that’s why they started in the first place. Well Steve, I am glad you escaped. I might remind you I am on the Board. I won’t let any Antibodies get me OR this village.”

She picked up the phone, dialing a number and waiting patiently as Steve slumped into a chair. Grey and Kyle were at the foot of the staircase, listening intently.

“Scott?” Cocoa asked. “Cocoa here. This is an emergency.”

“Emergency?” asked the enigmatic ringmaster of the Frontier Brains.

“I need the Frontier Brains to assist the League,” Cocoa explained. “War has been declared by a group of rogue trainer’s intent on getting rid of me.”

“Good god,” Scott gasped.

“I need the Brains…they need to assist my moderators and members against them.”

“When for?” asked Scott.

“As soon as possible,” Cocoa sighed. “War has been declared, and we need to build an army.”

From downstairs, Grey and Kyle stared at each other.

“We’ve failed,” Grey said softly. “They’re going ahead with it…they’re going to war with Ecks.”

“We’re moderators,” Kyle reminded him. “We’ll be fighting whether we like it or not. But Ecks isn’t going to just fight. He’ll kill whoever he has to if he wants to get to Cocoa.”

“At least we tried,” Grey sighed He spent a playful moment basking in a particularly delicious memory, before saying, “Do you remember the last time we battled?”

Previously

“Look!” Hanada cried. “They’re coming!”

“My Houndoom has gone to take care of them,” Kyle explained.

“Chris is here!” Hanada panicked. “He’s come for me! With reinforcements!”

“Calm down,” Kyle said. “You’re stronger now!”

“I’m never strong enough for him,” Hanada panicked. “I’m scared, Kyle!”

“Snap out of it!” Kyle said sharply. “I did not train you to be scared! He is a human being with Pokemon like anyone else.”

Hanada was whimpering and looking absolutely terrified. Kyle gave a long sigh, not before his defeated Houndoom, Shadow, limped up the mountain to its trainer. Kyle saw the wounds and knew it had been badly hurt.

“Return,” he sighed. “Chris is on his way. Stay back there around the corner. I’ll tell you when it’s safe to come out.”

“Fine,” Hanada murmured, running around the corner. He pressed against the rocky wall, breathing deeply, wondering if Kyle could beat Chris. As he listened, he heard two other voices besides Chris, looking at the Raichu Kyle had released.

“Go away,” said Kyle firmly.

“Who are you?” asked Chris.

“I could say the same to you,” he replied in his deep voice. “But I already took the time to scan you in my VS Seeker when I saw you coming.”

Hanada suddenly saw a figure standing there. It was someone he did not know; someone a few years older than Kyle, with a black Charizard and a Manectric. He was smiling broadly.

“Hello,” he said.

”Wh-What are you doing here?” Hanada asked.

“My name is The Arbiter,” he said. “I am currently resting here. My home was destroyed.”

Hanada recognized the name; Kyle had mentioned him before. Behind him, he heard the men arguing with Kyle, and Raichu crying his name as he unleashed a thunderbolt. Hanada knew Raichu was doing well.

“What are you doing here?” Grey asked.

“Thinking of running away,” replied Hanada sheepishly. “You…probably think that’s stupid. Cowardly.”

“Is it cowardly to accept you are beaten?” Grey asked. “To acknowledge ones own strength? If you can learn from it – gain from your loss, it is not stupid at all.”

“Kyle will be mad,” Hanada mused.

“You need to worry about yourself,” Grey went on. “Kyle…is lonely. I’m going out there, to…well, to stir things up. I feel the situation worsening. When I go, you head down the back path. It’s quite safe.”

He fumbled on his belt. He handed a Pokeball to Hanada, smiling as if he were looking at a younger brother.

“This will help,” he said. “Go!”

Hanada opened the Pokeball to see a little Lileep staring at him with an odd expression. The suctioned sea-urchin wasn’t a water Pokemon, but Hanada knew it was to help him navigate the steep descent. As he made his way down, he heard Grey.

“Use lightening rod, draw that attack away or Chris will be killed,” he whispered. Hanada kept on going, Lileep giving a soft, crooning noise. The battle seemed to intensify, and Hanada saw the village looming towards him.

Was he destined to run forever? From a boy who wasn’t really that strong…he shook his head. Kyle would hate him, but the way he was, he was likely never to see him again. Moments after Hanada disappeared, Chris 2.0 ran around the side of the mountain, eager to find the TPML Archive and discover more on Grey and Razor Leaf’s feud. Kyle and Grey had their double battle and the latter won, managing to talk to Kyle and convince him to return to the village.

*

I arrived home after a day of…well, nothing. When I got there, however, Jenny was facing me, wearing a look of utter disgust on her face. I settled into a chair, looking at her firm gaze.

“What?” I asked.

“You,” she said coldly. “You’re actually going to do it, aren’t you?”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Murder someone!” Jenny cried. “Y-You’re going to kill that Ecks man!”

“Jenny…” I said, slightly stunned; she must have overheard me one way or another. “Let me explain…”

“You can never, ever justify murder,” she snapped. “NEVER!”

“He’s a bad man! He’s murdered innocent people!”

“You're doing the same!”

“He is not an innocent man! He gave me these burns!”

“Tinged skin is NOTHING compared to death!” sobbed Jenny. “You think because he has sinned it gives you the right to do the same? To acknowledge his evil and mimic it?”

“When did you get so religious?” I asked.

“It’s called having morals, Chris,” Jenny snapped.

“You’re blowing this out of proportion,” I explained, but it was soon evident that was the wrong thing to say.

“What about my attacker?” Jenny asked. “Who raped me. What if he did it because someone raped him? In your eyes, that makes it right?”

“I didn’t mean –” I stammered.

“I love you,” Jenny cooed. “Please…please don’t do this to yourself. Once you kill, that mans blood is on your hands. Your conscience. It will never go away, that look in his eyes as you ended his life.”

“Jenny…” I said softly. “I love you, too –”

“I can’t do this,” Jenny sighed. “I can’t lecture you like this.”

“Oh,” I said. “Well…thank you –”

But Jenny wasn’t finished speaking.

“Go if you want. Go and end that man’s life. But if you do,” she said warningly. “Don’t expect to find me here when you come back.”

She wandered into the bedroom, slamming the door. I watched her, hearing the lock click and guessed I was on the settee tonight. She had given me a choice – stay with her, the girl I loved, or bring Karin to justice and end this once and for all. And unfortunately, I knew which one I had to do.

*

Ecks was sitting in a dark office. He was sighing to himself, the various parts of his gun laid out and hoping they would dry. He had a glass of whiskey on his desk, and had his short arms rolled up. Things hadn’t turned out well at all.

Hanada Tattsu had been sent to Jolly Japes to recover from the traumatic shock after the possession – he had lost the use of his limbs and doctors feared this may be permanent. Ecks was furious at himself, but more so at Hanada.

His phone began to ring.

“Hello,” he said stiffly.

“I heard about our son,” said the voice. “What on earth happened?”

“Chris 2.0 had a ghost Pokemon,” Ecks explained. He was on TPML’s Profile Page and was on Chris’, where a Dusclops picture was emblazoned on the boy’s team. “I never knew…”

“Greg is going to be fine,” the female voice replied. “If not, you are going to pay.”

“I’ll let you know how he is doing…” Ecks sighed.

“No need,” came the voice. “I’m on my way down to 04621 as we speak.”

She hung up there and then. Ecks was dumbfounded, but took another swig of his whiskey as he browsed around on the internet.

Meanwhile, at the airport, the woman named Callisto Thunder put the phone down and gave a quick smile. She delved into her pocket, pulling out a wedding ring, and slipped it slyly onto her finger, before sliding into a car. In no time she was whisked away into the night, ready to be reunited with both her son and her husband.

"I'm coming for you, Cocoa," she whispered mischeviously.

Next: Chapter 30 - Dome Superstar Tucker
Andrew and Tucker's bitchy Frontier match is about to get underway, but can Andrews quirk beat Tucker the jerk? Meanwhile Chris has to decide whether to choose Jenny's love over Amy's pact, while Callisto Thunder's arrival makes things difficult for both Cocoa Sting and Ecks. The Frontier Brains clear their schedules and prepare to assist the Moderators against The Antiboides in the Immunisation War.

It is POSSIBLE that this is a 2-parter.

The Blue Avenger

7th August 2006, 06:25 PM

So Callisto's the mother, eh? I suppose it would make sense that the mother and the father met on the Board... Speaking of the family, I really enjoyed the little peeks into Hanada's past. They provide a really stark contrast between the Hanada now and the Hanada then.

Along the same line, the battle between Hanada and Chris was fairly... grim. I wasn't expecting it, to say the least; the possession was out of nowhere. It really seems like Chris is becoming more and more ruthless... although I liked that you mentioned his remorse about that towards the end of the chapter.

The part with OzAndrew was good as well; I'll be interested to see how the match between him and Tucker goes. Tucker really is the perfect opponent for him. Heh. I also enjoyed seeing Fred again; he would be the kind of person to get kidnapped at Disneyland.

On a final note, I think it's interesting how Jenny's really become Chris' conscience. She really has changed from the beginning of the story.

Ace64

7th August 2006, 08:53 PM

It's interesting to note how the dynamics of this war has changed. Before, Cocoa was a tyrant, seemingly deserving of the ousting the Antibodies would give her. Now, she may not be nice, but....she does care about the Village, even if her methods are a bit much. Now, with Callisto on one side and Ecks on the other, the odds are stacked against her. Not good at all. I suspect that Callisto will manipulate her, having Ecks cause her trouble, before smoothly stepping in and taking control. Ecks will find some way to disband the Antibodies, so they can take power together. I wonder if they will both harbor a grudge towards Chris.

Speaking of which, Chris is becoming a bit more ruthless, isn't he? I'm surprised that he went as far as he did with Hanada- turning the kid into a paraplegic is really not cool, though it wasn't intended. I like Tattsu, thanks to the back-story- I suspect he may have a change of heart a la Aragornbird. Speaking of which, is he still alive?

The McPrawn bit reminded me of Harry Potter- Crouch hiding in the bushes. Intended? lol.

Andrew

8th August 2006, 02:10 AM

I KNEW ECKS Wasn't working alone....

Loved the contest beginning and the smoothies... I wonder who else is on the team? But... Uuberfred's Caviar comment had me laughing at work. Thanks for getting me through theday!~

The Battle, wow, Cacturne kicked ass, but Chris reallly needs new Pokemon ASAP, compared to the rest of ASB he has a small team! The Hanada Battle, interesting, but the Sneasel thing :( But it had it coming, I wonder if that dark cat's going to bemore grumpy now. Ecks really is a bastard, I'm surprised he didn't send a Pokemon after Chris to track him... but I doubt his burns will go down till Gengar is killed.

It was also a brilliant touch to tie in those old random battles!

Maybe if Chris and Amy just, like incapacitate Ecks and deliver him to Cocoa... That way he can have Jenny AND live!Or let Amy kill him and "pretend" to stophim so Jenny will go ")OMGSLOVEYOU!"

But the war seems like superfun! I can't wait to have people battling on the streetcorner as old ladies try escape, or on top of the CCC and Lady Smiles joining the front lines.

Blademaster

8th August 2006, 03:25 AM

Man, this story is getting hard to follow - I don't mean the plot (I get that.), but the changes in each character from chapter to chapter... Jenny has become a saint (Go, peaceful Jenn!), Andrew has gone ****ing crazy (Before he was just crazy.), Kyle seems to have turned on Chris, Hanada has lost his mind, Ecks is going Christopher Walken, and Chris... Well, Chris has gone from average to... I can't even keep up with him anymore - dark, funny, crafty, meek, stubborn, and off the deep end all at once...

I guess I should've seen Hanada trying to kill Sneasel in battle; good thing Chris had Dusclops...

Honestly, I'm surprised Dusclops even helped Chris - he could've just waited for Chris to get shot and split... Could there be some form of bond building between them? :confused:

And I like Cacturne's new moves... Needle X... Sounds like a B horror movie title... :p

MeLoVeGhOsTs

8th August 2006, 04:57 AM

Uuberfred is interesting to say the least. Thunder being the mother is awesome, such corruption. It's almost like the real world, damn capitalists.

Anyway, Chris has proven to be quite the battler in my eyes. His display with Cacturn made me respect his methods, although I do not really like his pokemon, 'cept for Sneasel then. And Dusclops, who is awesome. His part in helping Chris also surprised me, could it be that they will actually like eachother at some point in their lives?

Andrew and Tucker will be sweet. Brains are cocky, let them be gone forever. Darn trainers. I always root for the underdog.

The war seems interesting aswell. It almost reminds of that final battle at Hogwards, where the Deatheaters battle the Hogwards teachers in 'Half Blood Prince'. Anyway, I see Harry Potter in all of your chapters :p Btw: that means that it's good ;)

It's great to see that Jenny is becoming different that the bitch she was before. Also Chris getting more rutheless is awesome.

I wonder what people like me, or any non Antibodie will do. Choose sides? Battle for their selves? Start their own movement? Oh the pleasure.... :D

Great chapter Chris!

Chris 2.1

8th August 2006, 06:35 AM

I love posting chapters at midnight because when I wake up there's loads of replies ^^

TheBlueAvenger: Hmm Callisto and Ecks have a backstory I'll explore soon. You've noticed neither has had their own chapter yet. But the Board is a very large part of their lives. I, too, liked the flashbacks and I think they helped show Hanada's transition from who he was, to who he is. But being secluded on the mountain tricked him into thinking he was able to beat Chris - as soon as he reappeared Hanada was terrified. Even when he met Ecks, Ecks sensed the boy was scared of him.

I'm glad you noticed Chris' streak of rather disgusting cruelty because our 'hero' is going to be asking himself some tough questions in Act 4. He's going to question his morals; he dropped out of sunday school, doesn't have the morals of Jenny, and he did onto Hanada what killed his Mankey. I'm adopting a Religious feel to Act 4, what with a cataclysmic war. Chris is going to sort of wonder about turning his life around.

Fred's back - I mean it. After the way I did Hanada's chapter, I think I'm going to do a similar style for UuberFred which will depict his life, including some key events as he finds himself targetted by one of the Frontier Brains. Expect this towards the end of the Frontier.

Jenny really has changed. I wonder if Chris will stay with her.

Ace: Cocoa has changed a lot, I agree, but in a good way. I think she wanted to try and rule with an Iron Fist, but even though she can be cold and calculating, she loves the village.

So will Ecks take her out? Or will she promote the new Head of TPML and flee? Will she defend the place she loves? All sorts of possiblities I think you'll agree. It's also good how Dark Dragonite....well, got all the details wrong.

Hanada mght recover, but either way the entire family aren't too pleased with our hero. Hanada's character is interesting. I think this part of the fic is all about personal choices; everybody is at a stage where they have a chance to do what is expected of them (stay with Jenny, help mother and father vs TPML, leave for the Board) or do something drastic that might save the day (kill Ecks, fight against his genes, stay and protect the place she loves). Not all of the characters will be hero's, though!

Re: Crouch. I can't say I noticed the resemblence :O

Andrew: Callisto is a very valuable assett. If you mean Tucker's team, he has a pretty kickass team that is PERFECT inspiration for Andrew to ressurect VEEDP again. Well, the D part. Glad you liked the UuberFred part - Lol!

Chris has but 6 Pokemon - he'll be making some new catches soon, I assure you! Not too many more, however...maybe 8 to 10. Kingdra was redeeming itself - will Sneasel be ok? More on that next chapter. Anyway expect Sneasel to reach new levels of character development when a battle against another TPML-er showcases Weavile, the evolution of Sneasel.

Since Ecks seems to have quite a lot of Pokemon, one may be tailling him already. Maybe that's how he spies on him? Or was his comment about the security true?

I'm glad you noticed a lot of Hanada's flashbacks were actual scenes from Ch15 - but from Hanada's point of view. Read Ch15 again and you'll be surprised :p

LOL Lady Smiles....I wonder what she'll end up doing.

Blademaster: Dusclops and Chris are an odd combination. Dusclops brings out the worse in Chris but that helps him achieve good things (ie: VS Kyle, even avoiding his own death in the Gym). Will Chris keep him?

Needle X :p Glad you like. Look for a training based chapter coming up in which you'll see Chris really. Really. Train.

MLG:: Yea Hanada's born into this family and...well, its slightly tragic since they're both quite corrupt people. I agree Chris is a competant battler. Dusclops and Chris......their fairy tale doesn't have a conventional ending, I'll give you that.

You'll need to root for Andrew given how big and dragonlike Tucker's team are. Argh!

Hmm I agree the motions are similar - it's a standard war-like battle. But this takes place all around; TPML, The Old Village, and the Feizhi Outpost particularly.

Hmm as for the on-the-fencers. Flee, I suppose :p

Elec Man EXE

8th August 2006, 10:31 AM

Wow, lots o' stuff happening. And yes Chris, I'll be getting a Seviper in ASB eventually... got way too many pokemon to get.

Battle between Hanada and Chris... wow. Both of them are quite ruthless. Drowning the poor Sneasel? There could have been ways for Chris to get out of it, though, but what fun would THAT have been I guess. Liked seeing Octillary battle, and the fact that he took so many super-effective attacks from Cacturne and still came out on top... must be a darn strong pokemon.

Really suprised that Chris gave in about killing Ecks so easily to Amy, always pictured him as having a better moral compass (I suppose it broke when Mankey died, or so it seems). But I guess thats Jenny's job now.

Should be quite interesting watching Andrew battle. Thats sure to be an entire section of angry outbursts :cool:

MeLoVeGhOsTs

8th August 2006, 04:16 PM

Fleeing is boring, you know that Chris ;)

Chris 2.1

9th August 2006, 05:35 PM

Elec Man: I agree there were ways. I did feel, though, that this method was realistic and true to Chris' nature. He might be quite cruel, but in a sudden, surprise emergancy such as this, he just shatters, and really loses himself. Its difficult for him to get around problems. I felt as if I needed Chris to really panic; Mankeys death was so fresh it would be horrific for him to imagine the same for Sneasel; one of his first Pokemon.

Sneasels fate is revealled over the next few chapters. Octillery was very strong; in the flashbacks Hanada had not obtained it by then so its assumed he caught one to help against Annabel. But the only reason he did come out top was because Ecks' Gengar's Spite was fatiguing Cacturne's grass attacks, primarily needle arm. After Cacturne was down, Sneasel finished the calamari off.

Hmm. Chris is one of the characters I [discreetly] mentioned would be in a dark place as the fic progressed, and I think its because of Mankeys death. I like the term 'Moral Compass' -anyway Chris is pretty dark and surreal, but I don't plan on having him turn truly corrupt. Soon, he's going to realize what we've known for a while - he's really messed up.

Jenny might have really....evolved, but expect big things from her in the near future.

Oh yea...Andrews match is going to be fun. Guess who's refereeing? *Points to woman that went psycho at the Battle Factory*

Nominations

Thanks to everyone who nominated TPML for the Golden Pens! We're in 12 catagories and I myself am up for 2. The specific nominations are in the voting topic!

I'm not going to hold a gun to your head and force you to nominate. If you think we deserve recognition I would be honoured if you voted for us.

Dark Dragonite

9th August 2006, 09:48 PM

wow!!

I loved this chapter!! Maybe because DD finally kicked ass...2 of them!! finally, no more Castform fights, but KKhan!!

I have a feeling there will be more deaths, especially with a board member being married to Ecks...

Chris 2.1

10th August 2006, 10:45 AM

The Pokemon Masters League was reviewed by Blademaster. You can take it off the list ^^

Edit: Huh. I can't find it anywhere o_0'

Chris 2.1

13th August 2006, 03:53 PM

DD: Lol glad you enjoyed it. Dark Dragonite still hasn't had a chapter but I think he will get one at some point during the fic. Maybe not just yet, but definitely during Act 4. Hmm yea I want to show him in proper battles, with more of his team.

As for deaths, I'm not going to comment lol.

I will however comment on a non-ASB character I'm drafting into the fic. She's a character I developed years ago who was originally going to be put in Monica's Revolution. She never made the final cut and instead was set to feature in "Lucky Charms". That never happened either and she will thus make her debut in TPML. She's going to be introduced around about the league, and I'm going to make sure she makes this one! When you do see her, bear in mind she's been long overdue a role. In anything.

darktyranitar

15th August 2006, 09:12 AM

Woohoo! I really need to catch up!

Hm, a lot of things have happened. Mankey's death was tragic, but in a way it gives Chris a Dusclop which prove to be quite useful- and evil too. Shame on Chris for using such tricks on Hanada Tattsu, but I guess it's all right if he wants to escape from Ecks.

Still love the psycho Andrew. Wonder how his battle will turn out with Tucker? The woman and the factory will be reffing? This is gonna be interesting :D.

Of course, I'll be looking forward to the war. Ahh, I always love to see a war...Hope you can post the next chapter soon, Chris!

Chris 2.1

15th August 2006, 11:26 AM

Its coming along nicely. About 6 pages written - in TPML terms - not very much :p

classy_cat18

17th August 2006, 01:52 PM

Hey, Chris! I was having a lazy day in class so I decided to start reading your fic. Only read the first three chapters but it's great so far. I liked the way you turned the ASB forum into an actual place with the towers and such. Well, I'll keep reading and writing my own fic over here. C ya later!

Chris 2.1

18th August 2006, 08:40 AM

Thanks Classy! ^^ So nice to have a brand new reader so late into the fic! Keep us posted on your progress and your thoughts! :)

Chris 2.1

21st August 2006, 07:43 PM

UPDATE

Ch30 is going well but it's a very intricate chapter; a lot of the scenes all intermingle so I had to plan it very precisely. That meant instead of writing it how you see it, I'm writing the scenes all at once, cutting them up and fitting them together. Its tough.

Its probably going to be far shorter than the other chapters; I can only attribute that to the fact that it leaves a lot to happen in the next chapter. While it is not yet finished it is 75% there, and is not quite the size of the previous one.

That isnt to say it wont be as good; it is a chapter I'm rather fond of so far. It paves a lot of things for the next chapter which MAY be the first TPML Chapter not to feature a character in the title. :-o

Chris 2.1

22nd August 2006, 08:00 AM

UPDATE II

Just returned from posting a Chapter 21-sized reply to the Golden Pens.

LOOK HOW WELL WE DID!:

Best Pokemon fanfic
Best Overall Setting
Best Cast
Best Plot
Best Battle Scene [Playhouse Brawl; Chapter 11]
Best Quote: "You have been fined £500 for the damage of a very expensive Approval Tower. Your frantic stunt endangered your health, as well as a possible splattering of your corpse on our expensive ground." - The Missing Link
Best Supporting Character [Nurse Smiles]
Funniest Character [UuberFred]

And I got two awards for being Chris 2.0 as well. I'm overwhelmed, and you don't need a webcam to see there's a huge grin on my face as I'm typing away. Honestly....this fic was a little side project. I thought it'd be fun. A little bit of fun. In fact up until 5 minutes ago it was still called ASB: The Fic in my sig!

This fic has suceeded my expectations and more. Your support is overwhelming and, because you've been such brilliant readers, I've got a sneak peak of Chapter 30 for you.

*

“Welcome fans to the match of the moment!” Tucker cried. “I’m defending my title as the UuberBitch of TPML. This guy…this guy thinks different!”

Boos and roars erupted all around OzAndrew, but his ego was not completely deflated. As he looked around, he saw many a banner in his favor. He had supporters too. He felt more confident as the match prepared to begin.

The referee, he noticed, was the quivering woman in the lobby of the Battle Factory. She saw Andrew and gave a squeak.

“T-This match will be a tw-two on two,” she murmured.

“I CHOOSE YOU!” Andrew shouted, smirking at the referee’s flinch. “Misdreavus!”

*

Meanwhile, Cocoa and Ecks meet over the impending war:

“If I’m not back at HQ in half an hour, they’ve been given orders to attack the Village regardless,” he said, smiling. “So I think you should really let me go.”

“You think I’ll let a…a terrorist like you walk out of my office?” she asked, showing no signs of fear whatsoever. “You thought wrong, Ecks.”

*

So much more spoilerific stuff to come! It's gonna be up soon.

Thank you all so much!

Dark Dragonite

22nd August 2006, 08:06 AM

Great, I look forward to this chapter!!

Congrats on the awards...I r a registered voter!!
Such a confusing ballot, and those damned hanging chads!!
{/shot at American Elections}

MeLoVeGhOsTs

22nd August 2006, 10:08 AM

I never got around voting =/ But I would have voted for you for atleast 9/10 Awards you won :D

Chapter 30 is looking juicy and I'm thirsty, bring it on ^^

Elec Man EXE

22nd August 2006, 10:14 AM

LOL, I love that line that won "Best Line".

Looks like a good chapter, mmm. Good stuff.

And congrats on all the awards Chris.

Chris 2.1

22nd August 2006, 11:08 AM

Chapter Thirty
[size=3]Dome Superstar Tucker

I looked out of the window. The world was slowly drifting by. It was a cloudy day in The Pokemon Masters League, and as I examined the day, I heard the faint sounds of Jenny awaking from her sleep. The previous night she made an ultimatum; choose Ecks or her. I was torn, and to be honest didn’t sleep much last night (and it wasn’t because of the horrible sofa).

I had to help bring Ecks down. I felt obliged. But as I dwelled on it, I needed Jenny. She was my world. I loved her so much and without her, would anything feel the same? I shook my head, trying to empty the discussion out of my head. Unfortunately, once I steadied myself, the argument raged on.

She’s taking you on a guilt trip, I told myself. She knows you’re going to choose Ecks.

“But I’m not going to,” I sighed. “I don’t know if I want to.”

“Who are you talking to?” said a voice. Jenny emerged, dressed today in black skinny jeans and a pink polo shirt which matched her pink converse trainers. She seemed chirpy; almost as if last night never happened.

“Nobody,” I mused, still staring outside.

“I thought we could go to the Park today,” Jenny said, making herself a cup of tea. “What do you think?”

“Yea,” I said, rather slowly and emptily. “Yea, yea definitely!”

Jenny smiled.

“That’s good,” she said.

“You seem chirpy,” I admitted, venting out my thoughts.

“Oh?” Jenny asked, a wry smile on her face. “I hadn’t noticed.”

It was obvious she had tried putting it behind her. I think. Actually it wasn’t obvious at all; I was bloody confused! The more she smiled at me I felt myself forget about Ecks. Amy could take care of him no problem.

I hope.

*

As we sat on a springy slope in the Park, overlooking a placid pond, we ate some sandwiches and crisps that we’d made at the flat. It was so weird. I told Jenny I loved her. She loved me. Ever since then…even though it was a night ago…we felt different.

“There’s a Contest soon,” Jenny said. “Well…it’s part of the opening ceremony for the League. So it’s quite soon.”

“You’re entering?” I asked.

“I think I will,” she said. I was reminded after her attack, when she told me she wanted to settle down, not compete in contests and just relax. I suppose now she had broken out of her comfort zone, she wanted to get into action again.

“Who are you going to use?” I asked keenly. Jenny mused upon this.

“Flora,” she said, referring to her Sunflora. “She’d be brilliant.”

“I agree,” I said.

“You know…” Jenny mused, looking across the small pond. “…you know what would look really great?”

“What?” I asked.

“A Surskit,” she continued, staring hypnotically at the lake, where a little pond skater was pleasantly sweeping along the lake’s surface. “Don’t you think that’s just beautiful?”

“I…”

“Exactly,” Jenny said impulsively, rising up from where we sat. “Paris, I choose you!”

In a flash of bright light, her rather diva-esque Meowth emerged, giving a soft purr. Jenny caught the Pokeball and I saw a fiery passion in her eyes. Meowth watched Surskit lazily.

“Ok Paris!” Jenny cried. I noticed Meowth wasn’t the best choice for attacking a Pokemon that was pleasantly doing a Beatles-esque dance on the water. Jenny, however, seemed to surprise me.

“Ok! Sing, Paris!” Jenny shouted. The Pokemon cried out an oddly beautiful harmony. The song carried across the pond and the energetic Surskit, skating in circles, began to look drowsier. As his skating became slower and slower, he sank slightly beneath the water. Apparently he needed to keep up a certain speed to skate on the water.

“Now! Assist!” Jenny cried triumphantly. A white orb was charged within Paris’ paws. She leapt up and from the orb came a direct blast of water; an assist from Marshtomp. Surskit was hit, but merely woke up; he skated to the left and seemed to have noticed Meowth was a foe.

With a shrill yet adorable cry, Surskit peppered Paris with a bubblebeam. Paris leapt back and charged up an assist orb again; a flurry of sharp leaves soared down and slashed into Surskit who, feeling some pain, zipped across the pond, fleeing the scene.

“No!” Jenny murmured, a hand held out. “Don’t go, Surskit…”

“Sorry about that Jen,” I sighed. I was about to congratulate her on her Meowth’s distinct attacks when Paris felt a white glow take over her body. Jenny held a hand over her mouth in surprise as the upper crust Meowth formed into a lithe, elegant Pokemon. The light died down, and a very mature looking cat was in its place.

“Oh my god,” Jenny said slowly. “Paris!”

“It’s a Persian,” I said, eyes wide. “Well done.”

“You…evolved!” Jenny said quietly. Persian, facing her trainer, gave a slight nod. “You’re so…strong!”

Persian walked over and brushed her head affectionately against her Mistress’ knee. Jenny stroked her, suddenly in awe of the Pokemon’s beautiful, soft fur. Obviously she had been well taken care of by Jenny in her Meowth form.

“You’re beautiful,” Jenny whispered. “But…you don’t suit Paris. How would you like a new nickname?”

Persian gave a coy nod.

“I’ll think of something,” Jenny said, smiling.

*

The Dome was closed today. Rain had been predicted, so the roof had arched over and slammed shut. Crowds had filled up despite the short notice for the ‘Ultimate Bitchmatch’, the turnout was fantastic. OzAndrew stood on the raised stage, slightly nervous, hand clutched around a Pokeball.

“Welcome fans to the match of the moment!” Tucker cried. “I’m defending my title as the UuberBitch of TPML. This guy…this guy thinks different!”

Boos and roars erupted all around OzAndrew, but his ego was not completely deflated. As he looked around, he saw many a banner in his favor. He had supporters too. He felt more confident as the match prepared to begin.

The referee, he noticed, was the quivering woman in the lobby of the Battle Factory. She saw Andrew and gave a squeak.

“T-This match will be a tw-two on two,” she murmured.

“I CHOOSE YOU!” Andrew shouted, smirking at the referee’s flinch. “Misdreavus!”

His sinister little specter gave a wink to the audience as her image appeared on the large screen in the stadium. Tucker drew a muscled arm back and hurled his Pokeball forward. A hulking great Metagross firmly stamped all four clawed arms into the earth.

“Metagross VS Misdreavus!” the woman said.

“Shadow Ball!” Andrew said jubilantly. An orb of crackling shadows were summoned, and Misdreavus launched it furiously down upon the huge iron crab. Metagross gave a grunt and swung one of its clawed arms around, destroying the attack in a shaking whoosh of dark light.

“Now! Thunderpunch!” roared the Brain. Misdreavus turned and fled, sweeping through the air as the giant followed. All arms tucked under its body but one; this crackled with sparks and the creature whooshed through the air like a menacing rocket.

“HIT IT!”

The punch slammed into Misdreavus and threw her through the air. She landed against the arena floor, giving a soft moan. Sparks coursed through her hair and she looked hurt. Despite this, she rose up, firing off another shadow ball and managing to catch the huge beast by surprise.

“Missy! Don’t worry!” Andrew cried. “Thunderbolt!”

Misdreavus crackled as sparks continued to sweep across her body. An arching bolt arrowed into the air and pointed down at Metagross. Metagross saw this and, his cross glowing an eerie blue, the large behemoth managed to change the path of the thunderbolt, having it speed round and head for Misdreavus.

“Misdreavus! Double Team!”

She flashed white momentarily, before making two identical clones either side of her. Metagross took no notice, unleashing a psychic blast to smash all three of the Misdreavus’. The clones fizzled away in no time.

“Missy this is tough!” Andrew moaned.

“Now use shadow ball!” Tucker shouted. The crowd was chanting as the screen showed a close up of Metagross charging the demonic orb of inky darkness. Misdreavus turned to see her trainer, slightly worried.

“I have a plan!” Andrew cried, sensing Misdreavus was weak. “Pain Split!”

Misdreavus nodded, giving a grievous shriek which rang out through the stadium. She glowed white, as did Metagross, who gave a thick, irritated grunt as his health was sapped away. Misdreavus was healed slightly. They were even in terms of HP.

“Pain Split was a stupid idea,” Tucker rasped, as the shadow ball soared into Misdreavus and slammed her hard. She winced in pain. “Metagross! Just relax for now. Prepare to take on any attacks if they come your way.”

After the intense battling, there was a general lull in the pace of the match. Misdreavus floated there, trying to recover from the damage she had received. Metagross gave Andrew a deadly stare as he stood motionless, waiting.

“I think you’re ready,” Tucker said, smirking. “SHADOW COMPLEX!”

“Wha?” Andrew murmured. A shadow ball was created, but this time seemed to be forming above Metagross’ being. It got larger and larger; much bigger than an ordinary shadow ball, Andrew noted. He was unsure what was to come from the attack, but knew his retaliation well. Misdreavus, reading her trainers mind, also sensed what was to come.

The larger-than-life shadow ball was launched upwards like a gigantic pinball; it whooshed up into the air, the swirling colours creeping within like possessed mist; Metagross teleported up above the attack and, using its clawed fist, slammed the shadow ball at Misdreavus.

“Brace yourself!” Andrew cried, as the ball smashed into his side of the arena, causing a large, purple wave of shadow to gobble up his end of the battlefield. Tucker watched, a hand on his hip as Metagross landed in front of him. The mist began to gentle clear, showing Andrew standing there, covered in an odd, purple dust and his Misdreavus on the floor, defeated.

“Yes!” Tucker cried. “Good work Metagross!”

“Destiny Bond!”

There was a typical, talk-show gasp as Misdreavus began glowing a furious purple. This glow encased Metagross like a shadowy hand, snatching at him and dragging his conciousness down. He gave a deep groan, trying to resist; but Misdreavus was just too strong. The lumbering beast collapsed, causing a loud cheer from some of the audience.

“That was a cheap trick,” Tucker growled, recalling his Pokemon. Andrew did likewise, selecting his next beast.

“No, it was a bitchy trick,” he replied. He turned to the crowd. “Oh-no-he-di’int!”

*

Meanwhile, following a long drive, a rather expensive black BMW pulled up on the edge of the village. The windows were blacked out. The drive had gone on through the night. The back door opened, and Callisto Thunder emerged, gazing across the parking area.

“We’re here,” she mused, turning to the driver. “Thanks.”

“That’s £49.50,” he said firmly.

“Gordon will cover my cost,” Callisto said airily, but the man did not take this as the right answer.

“Look Lady,” he snapped. “I drove you a damn long way and you’re going to pay me.”

Callisto smirked.

“Try giving me orders again,” she said softly. “And I’ll arrange for your filthy little cab businesses to be run into the ground. Do you understand?”

Callisto took her silver briefcase and strode purposefully across the parking lot as the driver reluctantly pulled away and drove off out of TPML 04621. The businesswoman withdrew a rather sleek cell phone and dialed.

“Hello?”

“Ecks darling it’s me,” she said, making her way through the Battle Park. “I just arrived in 04621.”

“Right,” he said firmly.

“I’m going to see Cocoa straight away,” she went on. “And…set her straight.”

*

Cocoa Sting’s regime had not been a smooth one. When she had started, she had to contend with both Karin and The Missing Link, both feeling she was inaptly chosen for her position. But with the demise of Karin, and The Missing Link away, Cocoa felt as if things were starting to make sense.

However, this soon changed. Her door opened and Callisto Thunder entered, looking inquisitively at the woman behind the desk. Cocoa’s eyes widened.

“C-Callisto?” she asked wildly. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“Gordon sent me,” she sighed. “They want me to bring you back to the Board by force.”

“T-They do?” Cocoa asked. “Why?”

“Because you should have come back weeks ago,” Callisto sighed. “Can I make myself a drink?”

“What? Oh. Yes, of course,” Cocoa said, as Callisto wandered to a kitchen area and poured a cup of tea.

“Want one?”

“I admit I’ve been here a while,” Cocoa sighed, as Callisto took her answer as yes and brought a cup of tea over. “But…it’s nice. It’s peaceful. The Board’s hectic.”

Callisto nodded, pressing the cup to her lips and drinking. “I agree with what you’re saying,” she said. “But you belong on the Board.”

“I’m going to return,” Cocoa admitted, taking a drink. “I like the Board. I just wanted a little slice of escapism.”

“It is quite a nice little place,” Callisto mused. “I walked through the Park on my way here. It’s relaxing.”

She thought for a few moments, Cocoa continuing to drink her tea. She cleared her throat and spoke again.

“I’ll keep Gordon out your hair,” she said, smiling. “Cocoa, stay here a little longer if you wish. Just…try and come back soon.”

“Oh Callisto,” Cocoa said slowly. “Thank you.”

“It’s ok,” Callisto said. “I need to do a briefing report since I’ve got here. I’ll need to speak to Gordon and keep him busy. I’ll come by later.”

And as Callisto Thunder left Cocoa’s office, the woman felt a warm feeling in her stomach that wasn’t because of the tea. The Board of Governors were a group of generally rich, well educated people; they worked together and cooperation on a friendly level was rare. As Callisto’s kind gesture swam in her mind, Cocoa wondered if it was simply this village that brought out the best in people.

*

“Ok!” Andrew shouted. “Foxxy I choose you!”

In a bright flash of light, Andrew’s beautiful Ninetales emerged. Her soft, yellowed-white fur looked well taken care of, and her snout was thin and well structured. Eyes glittering, she stared across the arena as her lithe body fanned into nine thick, fluffy tails.

“Ha!” Tucker said, plucking a Pokeball from his belt. He leapt up, stretching his arm out and hurling the ball through the air with every ounce of strength he had. The ball opened, spilling hot light that materialized in the form of a huge, bipedal creature. It had a gaping mouth, large hands and feet and was a dark blue in colour.

“Swampert!” Tucker cried, landing artistically. “Let’s rock ‘n’ roll!”

“Damnit,” Andrew murmured. “Foxxy! Use a safeguard!”

A vibrant green shield materialized and surrounded Ninetales as she gave a soft cry of her name. The brutish Swampert took no notice and opened wide, blasting a jet of water through the air. It swept across the arena and smashed into Ninetales; she had leapt to the side, meaning she was struck in the ribs and fell to the ground.

“Now, mud shot!” Tucker cried.

“Get up! Quick Attack!” Andrew shouted. Ninetales leapt up swiftly; she darted across the arena, sleek and fast as Swampert molded a clump of mud, holding it aloft and taking aim carefully. As it was hurled through the air, Ninetales leapt fantastically through the air, roaring her name and tackling the foe. As the mud splattered against Andrew’s feet, the crowd gave a triumphant roar. A sweeping sensation filled Andrew’s stomach at their support.

“Water pulse!”

“Intimidate!”

This was one of Andrew’s signature combo’s that Foxxy and he had perfected quite well. Swampert opened wide and prepared to blast the jet of icy water; as it spiraled through the air, creating supersonic rings; Ninetales raced into the darkness and was eaten up by thin air. Swampert’s attack hit the ground awkwardly and he looked around, giving a ragged grunt.

From nowhere, Ninetales cooed a chilling howl; it was eerie and sad, a painful string of dulcet tones that wavered around the arena. Looking unsurprisingly intimidated, Swampert took a few steps forward.

Next, a series of shrieks filled the air and Ninetales re-emerged, deep crimson flames surrounding her. Eyes ablaze with fury, she leered at the foe, and as she did, a chilling red energy seeped out of Swampert’s pores.

“Swampert! Mega Punch that bloody fox,” Tucker snarled. Ninetales was fast, but still felt the swinging punch and flew back, digging her heels in to keep her from falling off the edge of the arena. “Now! Water Pulse!”

Swampert opened wide, brow furrowed as Ninetales limped across the arena again. As he did so, a feeble jet of water bolted through the air, stinging Ninetales no more than a bee sting. He saw the small, dart-like jet and turned to Tucker in confusion.

“What did you do?” he snarled.

“Intimidate,” Andrew said, counting the attacks on his fingers. “1: Faint attack to disappear. 2: Howl to boost our attack and scare Swampert. 3 and 4: A combination of spite and leer to sap the energy from your Pokemon.”

He pointed at Swampert.

“Go! Iron Tail!”

Ninetales leapt upwards, tails shimmering silver as she did a mid-air flip. Swampert was hit and staggered back as his jaw gave an unholy crack. Ninetales darted back to her trainer obediently as Swampert staggered around, jaw aching.

“Swampert! Your water attacks are useless,” Tucker sighed. “Go! Earthquake!”

“Crap on a stick…” murmured the Australian. “Umm…fly?”

Ninetales watched precariously as the earth shook. The arena, which was slightly raised from the ground shook wildly; Tucker stood his ground but Andrew toppled over with Ninetales. His bruised face was zoomed in on the MegaView camera.

“NO!” he cried. “You can see my pores! ARGH Foxxy! Get up and use faint attack followed by a fire spin!”

Ninetales nodded, pulling herself up and darting through the air. As she raced along, she leapt up and her mouth glowed with bright embers. Swampert leapt to the side, hurling another mud shot to slam into Ninetales side. She fell to the ground, groaning but remembering her orders. A cone of brilliant flame swept upwards, smashing into Swampert and dealing minimal damage. Despite the lack of damage it irritated him to no end, but Tucker was prepared.

“Stomp!” he cried jubilantly. Andrew’s eyes widened as the large beast lifted a flat foot and stamped down hard on Ninetales’ body. She gave a yelp, biting into his foot in defense, but with a quick shake she was thrown off like a piece of rubbish.

“Again!” Tucker said, more firmly this time. Swampert tried to stamp firmly on Ninetales, but she lithely swept up and escaped his wrath. Turning, she fired a swift through the air, and the sharp golden stars shredded into Swampert’s side.

“Focus Punch! Go!” Tucker shouted. Swampert charged up a glowing orb of focused energy; as he stood, eyes closed, the orb engulfed the fist more and more. Andrew knew he had to strike before the attack hit.

“Go! Iron Tail!”

Foxxy, injured from previously began to race through the arena. Swampert, however, was racing forward with his glowing fist of concentrated energy. Andrew and Tucker locked eyes momentarily, breaking to watch their Pokemon’s clash.

Swampert’s fist surged through the air; Ninetales leapt up and over it, spinning furiously and slamming her many-shimmering tails into Swampert’s facial area. His fist lost its enigmatic glow and he tumbled back, collapsing onto the ground.

“Yes!” Andrew cried. But his celebration was short lived; in a flash, Swampert leapt back up and the glowing energy engulfed his fist in a micro-second; he slugged his fist into Ninetales’ face and she was propelled back across the arena. Andrew’s eyes widened as she slammed into the earth, giving a final cry of pain.

“No!” he shouted. The referee held her flag up.

“Ninetales has –”

“SHUT UP BITCH!” Andrew screamed. “Foxxy get up!”

The beautiful Pokemon lifted her head up weakly; she looked around at the roars of the crowd and the intimidating glare of the weakened Swampert. Her head lowered again; a gasp came from the audience and the referee held her flag up a second time, watching Andrew nervously.

“Don’t even bother,” Andrew snapped.

“Ninetales has been defeated,” she said firmly.

“I said…”

“The round, and the match, goes to –”

“I MEAN IT BITCH!”

“D-D-Dome Supers-s-s-tar T-Tucker!” she cried suddenly, throwing her flags up and racing out the dome, tears spilling down her face. “SO MUCH SHOUTING! NO!!!”

“Well, well, well,” Tucker said admirably, recalling Swampert. “It looks like I won, bitch.”

“Yea…” Andrew grumbled, recalling Foxxy Love, the fallen Ninetales. “This – ain’t – over.”

And he stormed out of the Battle Dome, feeling thoroughly angry at himself. He had lost to Tucker. This was the match he had wanted to win so badly, and yet he had failed. A burning guilt bubbled in his stomach as he walked out the stadium and into the hilltop district known as Crescent Walk.

“Stupid idiot…” he murmured. “Not giving me a symbol…making me mutter incessantly like that…”

It was some time before he realized where he was. Andrew noticed he was down an alleyway, a dingy, smelly alleyway. A cluster of Grimer were headbutting a trashcan over and rummaging within.

“Eeew!” Andrew said, grossed out. “Disgus- wait a minute…”

He stared straight ahead, towards a large dumpster where a familiar yellow spandex costume was left. As Andrew paced towards it, images flashed in his head…sweeping through the air on his bouncy castle, attacking Tucker as the masked menace Quackman…

“Oh yes,” he said, smiling. “Oh yes indeed.”

*

Ecks was in Cocoa’s office at the Rules Tower. She had summoned him here after increasing rumors about a war between The Antibodies and anyone who dared oppose them. She sat in her leather chair as Ecks stood cockily in her way.

“I’m glad you could come,” Cocoa said calmly. “This is important to me.”

“Please,” Ecks said, in a similarly calm manner. “Say what you have to say, Cocoa.”

“The word on the street,” she said. “Is that leadership of The Antibodies is now in your hands.”

“That’s right,” Ecks said smoothly.

“A group which – forgive me – was founded loosely on distaste for my own leadership?”

“Distaste for you,” Ecks replied, smiling. “Not just your leadership.”

“I see,” Cocoa replied, not flustered in the least bit. Anyone who might have discovered a renegade group were against her very being may have been disturbed, but Cocoa Sting retained her firm, steely demeanor. “Furthermore, speculation is rife that these Antibodies are planning some sort of…”

Cocoa could barely bring herself to say it.

“…war.”

“Cocoa…” Ecks said softly. “It is true. The Antibodies will be invading the village. We are beginning a full scale war on this village for refusing to do something against your reign.”

“Is that so?” Cocoa asked, smiling. “In that case, Ecks, you are under arrest. I can’t have you leave the room now you confessed.”

“I knew you’d try that,” Ecks replied, smirking. “Listen to me, Miss Sting – my Antibodies are on very specific orders, since we assumed you may try and keep me here against my will.”

He cleared his throat.

“If I’m not back at HQ in half an hour, they’ve been given orders to attack the Village regardless,” he said, smiling. “So I think you should really let me go.”

“You think I’ll let a…a terrorist like you walk out of my office?” she asked, showing no signs of fear whatsoever. “You thought wrong, Ecks.”

Cocoa picked up the phone, taking a sip of her coffee as she dialed.

“I’d like to request some security to be brought up here to my office. I have a man I would like to throw in jail.”

“Yes ma’am,” came the reply down the phone. Cocoa put the phone down and eyed Ecks.

“Now then,” she said, rising from her seat and staring at the man. “I don’t care if your allies are going to attack. We have enough people to fight off your little army, Ecks.”

“Of course you do,” Ecks said calmly. Cocoa looked around. The Guards had not yet arrived…how curious. They should have been up here in an instant, seeing as they were stationed downstairs. She rose from her seat, walking across the room precariously.

“The security must be on their way,” Cocoa said, taking another step. As she did, however, her eyes bulged wide suddenly and she took a sharp intake. It looked almost as if someone was squeezing the woman by the neck. She gasped for breath; hand around her throat as she slowly stumbled backwards. Ecks had a curious look on his face as the Head Lady of TPML fell, knocking her head against her desk and collapsing in a heap on the floor. Ecks looked at her, breathless.

“Cocoa?”

His hand crept to the gun in his holster.

“What on earth happened here?”

The woman was fine…but she suddenly dropped to the floor. She was knocked out, but had she died? Blood was leaking from a nasty looking wound on her head, spilling blood down her beautiful white suit and staining it horribly. Ecks pointed his gun. He had to kill her anyway…

“She’s as good as dead,” Ecks sighed suddenly. He gave her a sharp kick in the stomach. “She’s out of our way for the takeover.”

And with that, the mysterious man left the room, heading down the stairs and tucking his gun away as the unconscious Cocoa Sting bled more and more.

*

Meanwhile, at Crush Quarry, Razor Leaf and The Blue Avenger were engaged in a furious match. While training for the Battle Pyramid, Razor Leaf was having a difficult time deciding whom he would use against the Pyramid King, Brandon. He was using his four main contenders in a match against the current Head of Trading (as The Missing Link was away at Karin’s funeral) to determine who would be best.

“Come on, Number Six!” The Blue Avenger cried, his enormous Snorlax standing there firmly. “Hit it with hyper beam!”

“Largo! Rollout,” Razor Leaf snapped, pointing at the foe. His large Donphan leapt up, curling into a ball and sweeping across the arena, dodging the orange beam of concentrated energy as he build up speed. Largo rammed into Number Six, uncurling and unleashing his own beam of energy. It smashed right into Snorlax’ face and threw him to the ground.

“Return,” TBA sighed. “Come on out Dr Worm!”

A medium sized ball of tangled green vines emerged, sparkling slightly. He had red shoe-like feet and ominous round eyes. It was a Tangela. Razor Leaf pointed firmly.

“Take down!”

“Vine Whip!”

The large knot unleashed two think green vines from the tangled mess; they snapped cruelly around Donphan’s large, protruding ears. Tangela tugged sharply, and as Donphan got close, sprayed an intoxicating powder into his face.

Razor Leaf was not fully aware, but in the distance stood a surly looking man with a pair of binoculars. He was atop a large structure which was The Battle Pyramid. It was, in actuality, one of the mountains on the outskirts of the Village but lay to the North of the towers, whereas Trolgar Mountain lay to the East. He surveyed Razor Leaf’s battle keenly. As he waited at the summit, numerous challengers were navigating around the outside of the mountain, which led them inside cavernous tunnels and mazes within in order to reach the King first.

“Get it off,” Razor Leaf murmured. “Use rapid spin!”

Largo leapt up, curled into a ball and span furiously, trying to remove the thick spores. As he did so he flew through the air like a cyclone and smashed into Tangela, who stumbled back, confused.

“Come on Dr Worm,” TBA growled. A message appeared on his VS Seeker.

“Hey,” he said. “Someone wants a trade to go through at the Trading Club. I have to go.”

As the only trained operator of the Trading Machine, The Blue Avenger had to supervise every single trade that took place. Thus, he was sent a message whenever a trade was about to take place.

“See you soon,” Razor Leaf murmured, as TBA and Dr Worm fled across the Quarry. Razor Leaf settled himself down on a large rock, thinking hard. In the distance, Silencer and Dark Tyranitar were training together; Silencer’s Tauros was ploughing towards DT’s furious Scyther.

“Largo would be excellent,” he mused. “Haf is definite, and Razor is going to be pretty good too. I guess I’m leaving you out of this massive battle, Savoonga.”

And with his team decided, Razor Leaf stared at the Battle Pyramid, preparing to take on the Pyramid King for his symbol. This was his quest. His mission. Brandon was the strongest of the Brains and if he could beat him, it would help him to get back on track after creating the monster that was The Antibodies.

“I need redemption,” he sighed heavily to himself. His VS Seeker gave a buzz and he picked it up, looking at the screen. He had a new message, opening it. As he did, he saw he was not the only recipient.

“URGENT: Please come to the Rules Tower, all of you. We are in big trouble. Wolfsong.”

Wondering what on earth this could be about, Razor Leaf recalled his team and ran through the quarry, eager to hear what was going on.

*

I had received a message from Amy Wolfsong. It was urgent. I saw it was addressed to a few people; Grey, Knight of Time, Razor Leaf to name but a few. Jenny had not received the message, and I wondered what it may be about. My fears were that it was mainly about Ecks; if I went, Jenny may learn and she would leave me.

I decided to go anyway; if it was about Ecks I would leave. Jenny was luckily engrossed in a double bill of The O.C and I simply told her I was meeting a trainer for a battle. She was currently engrossed in a storyline about some dead girl’s sister.

Through the village I went; I saw a few trainers mulling around, but it was only late afternoon. As I went down BT Street, I saw the construction crew continuing to work on the Theatre, the one being built in place of Grey’s old playhouse. I remembered when I first met the veteran in his playhouse; he seemed quite insecure, and had a multitude of Pokemon wandering free. This Theatre was white and very grand looking, with inspiration coming from Roman architecture.

I wandered through the main village – I saw that a small group of Meowth dashed cheekily out of the old, abandoned Latte Days and remembered the time I used to spend there. In the distance I saw Girafarig, a Xatu by his side. He was staring into the sky, looking hopefully at it, almost as if he could reach out and pluck a clump of wispy cloud as if it were candyfloss.

By the time I got to the Rules Tower, and wandered in, an Alakazam ushered me up the staircase behind the closed off door. I jogged up, remembering when Elekid, Magby and Sneasel fought off the security so I could warn The Missing Link about The Monster. I opened the door, seeing a multitude of people before me.

Razor Leaf’s sneering face showed itself first; he was closest to the door, standing next to Grey, who watched me with a smile on his face. Standing behind him was Knight of Time, aka Kyle, and while he didn’t beam like Grey, he showed something of a satisfied stare. I also saw Amy Wolfsong, fidgeting and looking highly tense, as well as a moderator I knew to be called Dark Dragonite, although my experiences with him were few to none. Also present was a woman with long, black hair, and the large Frontier Ringleader, Scott.

“Chris,” Amy said tensely. “Thanks for coming.”

“That’s everyone,” said the rather sharp looking woman with cat-like eyes. “Shall we begin?”

“What’s going on?” I asked. The woman looked thoroughly irritated, clearing her throat, rolling her eyes and staring at me.

“Cocoa Sting has been rendered immobile,” the woman said coldly. “It is high nerve damage and limp paralysis and we are unsure of the cause. I found her on the floor, stiff as a board, eyes wide in fear.”

Gasps filled the air; Razor Leaf raised his eyebrows disbelievingly, while Scott looked slightly unnerved at the news, perhaps wondering if the Brains were able to pack up and leave just a little bit sooner.

“Your Leader has been attacked, and it was not an accident,” she added. “As a member of the Board of Governors myself, I would seem to be the one who has to announce that Cocoa had listed both Wolfsong and The Arbiter as her successors. That is to say, you will be Head Moderators of the League together.”

Amy and Grey both exchanged a wry smile.

“It has also come to my attention that disgraced Board member Ecks is trying to launch a full scale attack on the Village.”

“That’s right,” Dark Dragonite said firmly, taking a step forward. “Cocoa and I –”

“I was under the impression,” the woman said. “That I was talking, Dark Dragonite.”

He soon quietened, murmuring a “Sorry, Callisto,” under his breath. The woman named Callisto gave a firm nod, before turning to the group again.

“His Antibodies may have been behind the attack. Without a leader TPML is an easy target because nobody can officially lead a retaliation,” Callisto explained. “I have to do a debriefing on the situation here and the Board of Governors need updated on the situation. Amy – you asked all these people here today. You need to organize something.”

“Yes,” Amy said, looking slightly flustered. Callisto busily marched off into the corner, where she began making some notes on Cocoa’s computer. “I called Scott here – as the leader of the Frontier Brains, Scott tells the Frontier Brains will be able to help us defend the perimeter of the Village.”

“We don’t just need the perimeter surrounded,” Razor Leaf pointed out. “We need people in the main Village square to help ward off anybody who breaks the defence.”

“Why does Ecks want to lead an attack?” Grey asked suddenly. “Surely Cocoa is out of the way?”

“I think he wants to take his anger out on the village,” Dark Dragonite said. “I mean…he’s obviously a disturbed soul. Maybe he feels he needs someone – or something – to…release the pain.”

“Either way, we know he’s coming for us,” Amy reminded the group.

“Not exactly,” Razor Leaf cut in. “We don’t know what he wants. We thought Cocoa, but she’s at Jolly Japes, recovering.”

“Unless he wants to finish her off,” Kyle said slowly.

“We’ll set up extra defense at the Hospital,” Scott said.

“And BT Street,” Kyle said.

“And BT Street…” Scott murmured.

“Why isn’t OzAndrew here?” I asked. “Isn’t he the new Head Coordinator?”

“We couldn’t reach him,” Amy said quietly. “His VS Seeker was inactive.”

“Look,” Grey said. “Let’s…map out the areas of the village we want secured. They’re coming from the Old Village, which passes through the Feizhi Overgrowth. So that area we need to make extra secure.”

As they talked, I looked across at Amy, who had the fleeting look of someone who had gone through too much to hold the reins at the moment. Grey, however, was calm; he helped Scott by drawing a map of the entire village, and with the others he began showing him geographical advantages and disadvantages – a true leader.

*

Tucker was wandering across Crescent Walk. It was getting late, and he had managed to hold off Dark Sage in a truly climatic battle that day. As he walked along, he felt an odd shiver down his spine. Was the aftermath of Dark Sage’s ugly Shiftry starting to unnerve him? No. Salamence had made short work of that ugly, ugly Pokemon.

“Hey,” said a soft, excited whisper. “Hey, you.”

“W-Who’s there?” Tucker asked, turning wildly. The area was pretty empty. He stumbled out the way of the area, wandering down an alleyway. He kicked a can and heard it rattle down the cobbles; he gasped as, staring ahead was an enigmatic, spandex-clad figure.

“Who the hell are you?” he spluttered.

“Quackman,” replied the stranger.

“Quack…man?” Tucker asked skeptically. “Is this some kind of joke? Is this Candid Camera?”

“One Pokemon each,” Quackman continued. “Do you agree?”

“A match?” Tucker said, bewildered. “It’s a bit late…and I don’t usually battle lame super-zero’s without an appointment…like this one guy, OzAndrew, man he was so LAME! Anyway. I accept.”

“You…accept…?” Andrew said, eye twitching madly through gritted teeth. “Good. I also accept.”

“I choose you,” Tucker said, leaping back and hurling a Pokeball forward. The dark, gloomy alleyway was illuminated in a bright, white light as the ball opened up, revealing a large, orange dragon. It was a Charizard. Standing very tall, with a thin, muscled neck, Charizard spread his large, green wings and gave a low growl.

“Go Mr Mime!” Andrew hissed, sending his Pokemon out. The Mime leapt forward, crying his name happily. He was small and insignificant compared to the large Charizard, but it did not matter. “Go! Psybeam.”

Holding his hands forward, a furious rainbow beam swept through the air, giving a soft, whirring noise as it struck Charizard in the chest. Charizard staggered back but flapped his wings and blasted a flamethrower through the air. Mr Mime, however, used a psychic attack to hold the flames back, reversing them and sending the stream of embers loosely upon Tucker, who dodged admirably.

“Go! Iron Tail!”

Charizard gave a nod and swung his thick tail around; it shimmered silver and smashed into Mr Mime’s stomach, hurling him backwards. He slammed against the cold ground but got up again, brushing the dust off and examining his grazes. Upon Andrew (err…I mean Quackman)’s command, he clenched a knobbled fist; sparks began to crackle around as he raced across the arena, slamming hard into the foe’s stomach. The sparks danced and zapped Charizard, but the damage was little; he flapped up, powering up embers and firing a multitude of warm, round flames at both Quackman and Mr Mime.

“Stop!” Quackman hissed. “He’ll melt my spandex! Mr Mime! Psychic blast!”

A wide spectrum of wavering purple energy was blasted from the mime; he managed to shape it into a rippling beam, which struck Charizard and, despite hitting his torso, made him clutch his head in pain.

“Yes!”

“Iron Tail!”

The thick tail swept out of nowhere a second time and caught Mr Mime off guard. As he toppled down like a discarded toy, OzAndrew, sweltering in his Quackman costume, wore a worried look. The match was difficult; Charizard was a really big Pokemon and he cursed Tucker’s love of the dragon Pokemon. More reason to beat the little bitch, he told himself. He likes Dragons! And I don’t! Remember VEEDP? Wait…who am I talking to?

“Shadow Ball!”

“Block it; wing attack!”

As the charged up ball was made, created by forming shadows and spirits from the air, Charizard stood waiting and, when the ball was launched, his large wings pulled around and covered his body; the orb smashed against them and with a flap, the wings expelled the remnants of the attack. The Pokemon flapped through the air, claws shimmering gold; they core into Mr Mime’s chest before a punch was dealt to his head.

This isn’t working! Andrew whined. Ok…ok…

“Mr Mime! Psychic on that trashcan! Throw it!”

A purple aura gripped tightly around a large, overflowing dustbin. It was hurled mercilessly through the air, Charizard looking slightly unexpected as it smashed into his face, causing a loud roar that echoed through the evening night. Andrew gave a smile and pointed at a large dumpster, with a multitude of various items lying discarded.

“Use that fire extinguisher! Hurl it!” he said, grinning. He suddenly realized how much he sounded like himself and deepened his voice. “…my friend!”

The fire extinguisher was similarly lifted from the ground, hovering precariously before sweeping towards a weakened Charizard. He did, however, use his strength to give a great flap and sweep into the skies, narrowly avoiding the attack. However, it kept soaring, heading towards Dome Superstar Tucker and smashing right into his face.

“NO!” he screamed, stumbling back. “MY FACE!”

“Monkeytrumpets!” Andrew cringed. “Umm, let me help you!”

“NO YOU MANIAC!” Tucker screamed, turning and running through the alleyway. Blood soaked the floor copiously; his nose was smashed and his face disfigured, covered by a mask of thick, dripping blood.

“Tucker, you can’t see!” Andrew said, running after him. Tucker was wildly sprinting through Crescent Walk; he was running along the edge of the raised walk, some seventy feet above the village. His hand was gripped on the guide rail around the outside of the stadium area – this was to reduce falls off the edge.

“Mr Mime, use psychic to grip him! Pull him back here!”

“Mime!”

The psychic grip wrapped around the running Tucker, but Mr Mime knew better than to try and lift a moving object; like a bar of soap clutched between two wet hands, Tucker was hurled up spontaneously, smashing his back on the guide rail and falling down the immense drop off the edge of Crescent Walk.

“Oh god,” Andrew sighed. Charizard flew after his trainer. “Teleport.”

In a flash, he appeared at the bottom, on the outskirts of the village. To his left, the actual pathway that led up to Crescent Walk lay. There was also a chairlift station; people could pay to take a chairlift up the gentle slope to the stadiums.

A bloodied Tucker laid there, clothes shredded, muddied up by the soil and earth and stained with large splashes of blood. His face disfigured, his back was arching up as if he had an uncanny itch. His legs stuck out at funny angles, and one arm was dislocated.

“Crap,” Andrew gasped. “Crap!”

He bent down, fumbling in the Dome Superstar’s pockets. He withdrew a shiny gold symbol, smiling and pocketing it happily. Thinking momentarily, his brow furrowed; what on earth was he thinking?

“I’m such an idiot,” he said, sighing. “He’s out cold! I can take as many as I want.”

And with that, the Australian skipped merrily along to Mr McPrawn’s Pawn Shop, a jangling pocket of Frontier Medals to boot. He may not have beaten the Brain, but he proved, by breaking him like an old chair, that he was the bitch in TPML.

*

I had made my way back to the flat when the entire place was being evacuated. Jenny and the Eon Sisters ran towards me, all looking scared, and in no time, a Frontier Brain by the name of Greta herded us up, taking us to a familiar location. We were in the Chunky Clefable Café, and we weren’t the only ones. Looking around, I saw The Blue Avenger helping people to safety; Girafarig, Chris Watarimono, Charles Legend and a skilled trainer I knew by the name of Ace64. The Blue Avenger was working with Greta, the Frontier Brain who owned a creepy Shedinja and Annabel, who had her Alakazam with her.

“What’s going on?” Jenny asked timidly.

“Like…we’re missing The O.C!” Luna wailed.

“It’s Ecks,” I said quietly. “He’s launching an attack on the village.”

“Why?” Jenny asked, staring into my eyes. I held her close as I saw The Blue Avenger’s green Mr Mime erect large barriers around the walls of the Café.

“…because he can,” I murmured. “Damnit. I wish there was something we could do.”

“Leave it to the people whose job it is to do something,” Jenny assured me.

“But they called me to the meeting like every –”

“Meeting?”

“Umm.”

“You were at a meeting?” Jenny asked me.

“I…”

“You lied to me?” she asked furiously. “You are involved in this, aren’t you?”

“Do I look involved?” I snapped.

“What are they arguing about?” Solia asked softly.

“Like…I don’t know, but it’s totally as good as The O.C,” Luna replied.

“Fine! Go and help!” Jenny snapped. She got out her seat and led Luna and Solia to another part of the café. I looked around. UuberFred was chasing his Swinub around the room. I needed a distraction.

I waited until I saw the combined forces of The Blue Avenger, Greta and Annabel try to stop UuberFred’s Hypno from throttling him before making my move. I slipped out of the door, breaking into a run down BT Street.

Soon, as I ran, I saw a lot of Moderators patrolling. Knight of Time had a Quilava out, as well as his huge, crimson Sceptile. I saw Grey, who released a Salamence up into the air, while keeping a blue Electrode bouncing by his side. He spoke to Dark Dragonite, who had released a Haunter.

“Is the Hospital closely guarded?” he asked. Dark Dragonite nodded.

“I’m heading there now,” he said. “Spenser has also lined the vicinity with his Pokemon team.”

“That’s not much,” Grey mused.

“Jeff is making his way there too after rounding people up in The Chunky Clefable Café,” he added. “We’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Grey said. Just then, I felt someone grab me and I was wheeled round, staring into Amy Wolfsong’s face.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I nearly attacked you!”

Her large Meganium stood by her side, as well as a Beautifly and Dustox. She looked worried as I wrenched free of her grip.

“I’m going to take Ecks on,” I said firmly.

“You are?” she asked.

“He needs to be stopped, like you said,” I replied.

“You don’t even have a gun,” Amy said sadly. “Chris…he’ll kill you! Just…just help us protect the village from him, and we’ll attack him with our Pokemon.”

“Amy…” I sighed. “This man…”

A bright beam of light bolted up into the sky from just outside the village. Amy nodded, pointing to the skies.

“Willow, fire off a solarbeam into the skies!”

She gave a deep cry of her name and lifted her head high, firing off the spectacular beam of bright light. As it soared into the night, another similar beam flew up from near Jolly Japes Hospital.

“That’s the signal,” she said. “Get ready.”

I nodded, releasing Electabuzz and Magmar. They stood at my side, and we began to wander around the village, patrolling just like Amy had suggested. She told me that we would get him back for what he did to Karin, to Henry…to Liang…

*

In The Pokemon Masters League, the night was settling in. The day was almost over. However, torch brackets burned wholesomely; jammed into the soft earth in Feizhi Overgrowth, surrounding the biggest entrance to the village square of The Pokemon Masters League.

The surly looking Noland, in a white trench coat, lit up a cigarette as a large Venusaur stood by his side. About twenty meters away was the smooth, sexy Lucy, arms folded as she surveyed the darkness. She was in between her two Pokemon; a huge, glimmering Steelix with thick blunt spikes protruding from his steel segments and a large hinge jaw. On her other side, a stark contrast, was the beautiful Milotic. Just as sinewy as Steelix, her long body ended in a wonderfully scaled mermaid-like tail. She had sweeping lengths of red fur, soft as silk, curving down her back and stared, purposefully, through beautiful eyes.

To Noland’s other side was Brandon. He was with his huge Pokemon Regirock, the large guardian of ancient times. The rather still golem stood there, Brandon standing by his side. Slightly further along, feeling somewhat nervous, was Razor Leaf. He had Haf, his Blaziken, and Razor, his Victreebel at his side.

“Thank you again for helping us,” Brandon said stiffly, staring ahead as he addressed Razor Leaf.

“Of course,” he replied.

“Had I not seen you train so hard these past few days,” Brandon mused. “I would not have considered you at all.”

Razor Leaf gave a soft nod of understanding, but this was not received by the Brain, who was staring ahead into the night.

“…what are you training so intently for?” he asked.

“Your Battle Pyramid challenge,” Razor Leaf sighed. “They say you’re the best.”

“Is that what they say?” Brandon asked, giving something of a ironic chuckle. “Well, maybe once we have resolved this war…you can come to the Pyramid and try and defeat me.”

“I’d like that,” Razor Leaf replied. Noland took a step forward. A Pidgeot soared through the skies, slowly descending and landing by him. He stroked the Pokemon’s handsome plumage.

“They’re coming,” he told the group.

*

“And you say Gregory is recovering?” Ecks asked.

“He is able to make clenching gestures; he’s able to move his fingers a bit,” Callisto said happily. “How is everything going?”

“Cocoa Sting simply dropped to the ground when I spoke to her,” Ecks said hastily. “She just...collapsed.”

“She was poisoned,” Callisto explained.

“What? How do you know?” Ecks asked.

“I slipped something into her tea before I left the office,” Callisto said sneakily. “I knew you wouldn’t have the guts to shoot her.”

“Well,” Ecks sniffed. “She’s in the Hospital. Some of my men will be breaking the defenses at the Hospital; I’ll head in after them and take her out completely.”

“And the others?”

“Doing as much damage as they can,” Ecks replied. “I have to go. We’re about to commence.”

He shut the phone up and slipped it into the pocket of his tailored suit. He turned, marching up to the podium in his Old Village, addressing his Antibodies on the streets. A lot of them had their Pokemon out; some held torches and were chanting angrily.

“My men!” Ecks cried. “The time has come.”

He pointed to the large Feizhi Overgrowth.

“Over the last few days, our more dedicated members have been making things a lot easier. As you all know, over the years the old village has been cut off from TPML by the large overgrowth by Feizhi Outpost. Elec Man and Mega Horny have been proudly clearing a path for us.”

As applause filled the air, Mega Horny grinned, his large Muk at his side. Elec Man looked rather worried. He had a Glalie and Electabuzz out.

“The First Wave – make your way through to the village. Attack anybody in your way. Clear the way for the Second Wave.”

Many people chanted “An-Ti-Bo-Dies,” as they marched on, breaking from the crowd. These first people were to breach the defenses around the village, leaving way for the next group to attack the hospital line of defense, and the third group, led by Ecks, were to invade the Hospital and kill Cocoa.

“Remember also, Antibodies. Do not trust Razor Leaf, Grey, Knight of Time or Dark Dragonite. They may once have been affiliated with us, but they could not stand more opposed to our ideals.”

“God Speed!” Ecks shouted, as Vermillion, Mega Horny, Elec Man, Ultimate Charizard and Spike to name but a few walked in the group of Antibodies towards the Village. Ecks asked Second Wave to ready themselves as he walked through a building of the old Village.

As he walked, his footsteps echoed off the walls. A smile was on his face as he envisioned the Village deserted, abandoned, filled with cries for help. He approached a long corridor ending in a heavily bolted metal door. He undid the large bolt, opening the door and looking into the darkness.

A figure lay there, curled up and still. As he stepped forward, the figure perked up, backing into a corner and making a whimpering noise. Ecks cleared his throat.

“The Village is under attack,” he said crisply. “How have you been finding the heat?”

“P-P-P,” stuttered the person.

“Pleasant?” Ecks asked, laughing.

“Please…”

“Pleasing?”

“Kill me,” gasped the person.

“Liang, I must admit, shooting you isn’t satisfying anymore,” Ecks explained. “Or I would have done it the moment you came after me. No. Instead I’ve broken your nose, two ribs, a few fingers and toes…and bloodied you up. You scuttled into the corner the moment I arrived. And with my Arcanine’s Heat Wave circling through the cell…you’re suffering.”

“I know,” he said quietly.

“But know this,” Ecks said softly, bending closer to his victim. “The greatest satisfaction will be when you are hysterical; pleading for me to end it all. End your sad little life. Take the pain away…you’re going to beg me to kill you.”

And with that, Ecks rose, walking out of the cell. Liang sobbed in the corner, face all bruised and swollen. As Ecks slammed it shut, Liang cried louder and louder, screaming as an intense heat wafted into the area and surrounded him.

Coming up Next: Chapter 31 - Currently un-named
It's war. The Antibodies launch their attack on the village, and it's going to take the combined efforts of the Frontier Brains, the moderators and anybody else to keep them from doing their worst. Old rivalries, feelings and attitudes have to be discarded for the Greater Good - but will Ecks suceed?

Jenny leaves Chris a letter explaining everything as she battles her emotions, and Amy and Chris learn Liang might not be dead. Can Chris salvage his relationship with Jenny and rescue Aragornbird from The Old Village?

Thanks guys. Hmm well the preview seems a bit dry but the majority of the chapter will be the war. Still not sure on a name. It might be slightly shorter than the others.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

22nd August 2006, 11:55 AM

Excitement all around! I'm so thrilled! To bad I have to wait for the next chapter. I wonder what I'll do, my underestimated pokemon, muhahaha!

Jenny is looking frustrated indeed. Chris has to do this I believe, I wonder what will become of this.

This war thingy, it just looks so, so real. Like real combat, slaughtering, oh the enjoyment ^^ Ecks torturing, war, poisoning, cigarets, real life! Awesome.

The Antibodies aren't as great in numbers as the rest IIRC? Still, skillfull pokemon and the quirkyness of Mega Horny will asure some good times. Oh if only I could take him on, bastard :D

You know, it's not healthy for me to get winded up in a story like this, but it means that it's darn good! I see why you won so many awards.

Oh and Andrew surprises me, what will he do?

Elec Man EXE

22nd August 2006, 12:35 PM

Wow... intense stuff. Sneaky Callisto, poisoning Cocoa... definately related to Ecks.

Andrew's match was great, as expected. And he beat him up afterwards pretty badly... I wonder how that'll effect the war, thats one less brain on defense.

One of the brains has Regirock? That should make for a good bit of battling, whoever ends up facing him.

Hopefully my character doesn't get too beat up with this war ;)

darktyranitar

22nd August 2006, 03:21 PM

Whoo, things just kept getting more intense!

So, Callisto's the mole here? I didn't understand at first why she acted nice towards Cocoa, but it seems clear when Cocoa is poisoned- and Ecks was surprised by that. Still, what was her motives behind this? This is interesting.

Chris conflict with Jenny seems to go awry. I'm looking forward to how things would turn out between them.

And Andrew- that's so typical of him! Taking as much symbol as he can? lol. Wonder if he'll play any important role in the war. Quackman, perhaps?

The war is coming! I'm really looking forward for the next chapter! :)

Ultimate Charizard

22nd August 2006, 04:02 PM

Noooo im a baddie lol.

Things are starting to boil over, should be fun.
Loved the bitchfest. Just another lesson from TPML. If your going to beat Oz then you best not gloat about it lol.

Lookin forward to the war kicking off.

Blademaster

22nd August 2006, 04:09 PM

Heh... if TPML Blademaster is anything like me, he's gonna die real fast if he's an Antibodie... If not, he'll probably wind up blasted into the sky or something... :eek:

I liked this chapter quite a bit - the war is about to begin, and Andrew VS. Tucker was so great. Go, Andrew! Go, Quackman! Go, VEEDP! :dance:

BTW, congrats on all your awards, Chris. (coughcoughluckybastardcough) :rolleyes:

Keep up the great work! :yes:

-Blade

Ace64

22nd August 2006, 04:23 PM

Chris, please don't kill off Poliwhirl in the incoming war because of the Politoed you traded me... :) And congrats on all the awards!

Anywho, this chapter didn't really feel all that short to me. I'm surprised by how devious Callisto is- though I wonder how long her plans will last. The Board sends her to take Cocoa back, and Cocoa ends dead. But wasn't Cocoa the reason for the Antibodies' existence? What will they do, once they realize that the person they're fighting against is gone? Hopefully, 04621 isn't in ruins by then. At least Hanada's ok, sort of.

Razor Leaf wants redemption, huh? Well, this whole thing is kind of his fault. I wonder if he will face off with Ecks, or if Ecks will be too busy pulling strings behind the scenes. I'm looking forward to an all-out Pokewar for the next chapter. And whee! I was mentioned in this chapter.

The Blue Avenger

22nd August 2006, 04:24 PM

Wow, that was an excellent chapter. This war should prove very interesting indeed. Andrew's match was awesome - the intimidate combo was masterful - and I loved that he stole all of the symbols.

Everything else I wanted to say has pretty much been covered - Chris and Jenny's relationship is becoming even more interesting, Callisto was a lot sneakier than I originally gave her credit for, and Ecks torturing Liang? Wow. Heavy stuff, man.

Eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

Elec Man EXE

22nd August 2006, 05:51 PM

Cocoa isn't dead, Ace. She's just paralyzed... though I suppose technically she may as well be dead, can't do much of anything in the state she's in (hence why leadership is passing to the others).

Chris 2.1

23rd August 2006, 04:19 PM

MeLoveGhosts: I can safely say Chris and Jenny, as a couple and storyline, get more complex and more interesting in the next few chapters. I love Jenny’s character. You remember she’s based off my girlfriend of the same name. She’s still kinda Ch1 jenny. Not Ch21+ Jenny.

It’s going to get pretty steamy. People are going to get hurt. I’m not going to say whether there will be death in the next chapter but it is lingering over the next few I can assure you.

As for The Antibodies ranks – They’ve probably got 20 people, and they’re all using their Pokemon. At first it was a small society but it grew more and more.

Andrew? Geez let’s just say he can’t hide from his crime.

Elec Man: A match made in hell? Not heaven. I want to explore their lives prior to now in a chapter soon. I think it’s important. I’m not sure on the exact order but expect one soon. Tucker’s down, but it wasn’t intentional!

Brandon has a team of the Regi Pokemon. In the games he also has the Bird trio (but the movesets SUCK).

DarkTyranitar: Totally :-o Callisto is indeed a mole – more on that in her/Eck’s upcoming chapter. Their history on the Board, and their life with Hanada Tattsu…it’s all quite interesting.

Her motive was to help Ecks. With Cocoa out the way they can attack the village. Ecks was surprised because it was quite a sneaky way of killing someone; he’s quite upfront and bang-bang with his gun. But his dear lady wife is discreet and convincing; perfect for a mole of the Board.

Andrew isn’t involved in the war much, but has a lot to contend with over the next few chapters!

UC: Haha you and most Antibodies just hate Cocoa. But Ecks selected some of his strongest men so I doubt you’ll go down without a fight!

Blade: Hey I think I deserve at least some of my awards, don’t you? :p Thanks for the congrats. The war is set to begin….it’s all coming together…

Ace: Thanks! Haha Charles asked me a similar question and it made me realize just how…..paranoid my readers are :) Poliwhirl doesn’t die. As for Callisto she might head back to the Board, assisting Ecks from the sidelines. You’ll have to see.

The thing is Ecks is attacking the village because these people failed to act to get Cocoa out of office. That’s his excuse anyway. I think they might know Cocoa is in hospital because they’re planning to take down the security so Ecks can kill her. But how many Antibodies are ok with death? I think some of them don’t realize quite how deep Ecks is.

Hanada’s recovering. Slowly. And I wonder if 04621 will be destroyed?

TBA: Intimidate was pretty cool. I’m introducing more and more combo’s from trainers. As for Callisto, she’s a cool character and accommodates Ecks brash, in your face style well. I want to write their back story quite a lot now!

Hanada Tattsu-style-flashbacks will be present in an Ecks chapter and an UuberFred chapter. I liked that style.

Ecks’ torture is quite intense. Will Liang survive? I just wanted to show how Liang and Ecks’ relationship has changed. Ecks used to be orchestrating it all but now he’s having to get his hands dirty. Now he’s dragged Callisto and Hanada into it, too.

Elec: Grey and Amy were chosen ages ago but Cocoa wanted to stay a bit longer. Maybe she’s not comfortable handing power down to people, or maybe she’s actually fallen for the village like Karin did.

Possibilities have arisen for another Karin chapter dealing with some of her life on the Board. Just because I realized she had a lot of stories to tell, and I like the idea of her having that story told from beyond the grave. Or maybe, in another characters chapter, we could see flashbacks to Karin.

Ehh.

Anyway future chapters will include:

Arena Tycoon Greta
Factory Head Noland
Palace Mavern Spencer
Pyramid King Brandon

Possibly Crystal Tears: Part II
Green Lanturn
Ecks/Callisto
Possibly Hanada Part 3
The Arbiter: Part II
Knight of Time: Part II
Razor Leaf: Part VI

Chris 2.1

25th August 2006, 02:55 PM

Another synopsis for Ch31:

Next: Chapter 31 - The War
Ecks' troops head for The Pokemon Masters League, clearing the way for their leader. It will take courage, perseverance, trust and more to help fight off the Antibodies. Chris and Amy fall into a trap; Ultimate Charizard risks his life for the cause, and The Frontier Brains work effortlessly to protect the members of the league. Can they band together and stop Ecks from succeeding, or is the League destined to fall into corruption?

Make of that what you will. There is more than one death in this chapter. I've just finished outlining it and I am about to work on it! I'm as excited as you guys :)

Ultimate Charizard

25th August 2006, 03:26 PM

Well thats me dead then

Chris 2.1

25th August 2006, 03:42 PM

UC: Don't take it personally :p

I think this is one of the very dark chapters, possibly darkest in the fic yet. This does, however, signal the climax of the dark goings on with the war finally being unleashed. I think many of the chapters after this will have less of a dark feel.

Elec Man EXE

25th August 2006, 04:50 PM

Lots of deaths, eh? Thats sure to resonate through a small community like the village, what with most people knowing everyone and such.

Should turn out quite a tragic, and thus intruiging, chapter.

Andrew

26th August 2006, 12:30 AM

First off, owies.

Second. Sorry I hadn't replied yet, there was just so much to comment on and texting the entire thing.. NO.

Okay, firstly, Paris evolving! Christ, I doubted he had that much experience to evolve, seemed too pampered.. and the rest of Jenny's team is lightweight, isn't it? The battle against tucker (I've played that Battle Dome SO many times with my Wheezing/Ludicolo team and won and NEVER seen him. ) Missy got owned, BAD! But, poor Foxxy Love! She did really well! Especially against swampert. I still think it was daft of me to have it use a physical attack if it needs to be in close range to hit. Oh well. lol. I've still won twice in this... once against a Vigroth with Wheezing and against the Eons.

Still, the rematch, Mimey was doing well and the psychic levitations, doing well. The "What was I doing! Wait, I could take as many as I wanted" was hillarious. Truely hillarious. I hope I get one to keep and show off.

Callisto's a bitch too, but why does she want Cocco alive? Oh the head co-ordinator, did you want to see a sneak preview of the 2nd round of the festival Chris?

Uuberfred's Pokemon attacking him, still funny. The Eons are nice to see too. I can't wait to see Nurse Smiles again, after winning an award, you just know she'll return. And perhaps the old couple Razor brought out (I wonder if he still has gingivitis?) Oh and who else is in the AntiBodies?

YEs, it's all starting to become superfun!

Chris 2.1

26th August 2006, 07:37 AM

Elec Man: Definitely. Ch32 (after the War) will be quite sad, and really take the mood somewhere else.

Andrew: Paris is a girl (after Hilton) but yes, she seems to have enough expirience. She has a Mareep, Sunflora, Persian, Ledian and Marshtomp so it's not bad. I always wanted to shed more light on Jenny's battling, but it just never came to light.

I think Andrew might keep one and sell allll the rest to Mr McPrawn (who has a rather funny first name). With Callisto, she wanted to a) convince Cocoa she was there to help and b) set her up for Ecks to kill her. Ecks felt it was bad enough she was paralysed and he would finish her off later. Callisto's just discreet.

Lol no thanks about the sneak preview ;) but I need to get a hold of Drew or Verm! Either that or this round will just be a score out of 20. That might be easier.

Andrews going to be a pretty funny Judge in the next TPML Contest. Think "Simon Cowell" :p

Yea I love UuberFred. He's going to need a shaman before long....you'll see why in Ch31. The Eons are cool too :) I can safely say Smiles is back soon :)

Greame and Anne? That's a nice idea, but they bought a large house with the leftovers of the money Razor Leaf gave them. It's probably a bit out of the village.

Antibodies include:

Ecks, Ultimate Charizard, Mega Horny, Ice Man, Elec Man EXE, Vermillion and the main ones. There are a lot of other ones. Conspiracy, Metallix, that's all I can remember of the top of my head. There's about 28 of them altogether.

Chris 2.1

1st September 2006, 09:35 AM

Update.

Ch31 is really progressing nicely. Most the chapters in the 20's have really been quite big, but Ch31 is slightly smaller, although I feel, skimming through what I've written so far, the action more than compensates. Expect quite a mix of emotions in the chapter.

I think the chapter is excellent character development for quite a few of the cast. I really look forward to its response. It should be up in a few days, hopefully. I start college again on Monday so expect writing time to be slashed. I'll endeavour to keep writing though :)

Elec Man EXE

1st September 2006, 10:04 AM

Clues in boln, Chris? :rolleyes:

darktyranitar

1st September 2006, 10:13 AM

I think he meant bold :D.

Chris 2.1

1st September 2006, 01:14 PM

I did -_-

Anyway Ch31 is going great. Almost done! But I've got a very busy weekend and I'm not sure when it will be up.

Chris 2.1

2nd September 2006, 12:15 PM

Turns out my plans are cancelled. And you can cheer; Ch31 is the same length as most chapters. Perhaps even longer.

Chapter Thirty-One
[size=3]The War

It was late. Shouts and jeers filled the air as a group led by Ultimate Charizard, Vermillion and Mega Horny walked on through the overgrowth, their Pokemon by their sides. On the Front Line, Brandon heard their calls.

“Here they come,” he said firmly.

“I’ll handle this one,” Lucy said softly. “Milotic! Hydro Pump.”

Opening her mouth widely, Milotic charged a shuddering, ocean blue orb. It spilled open, releasing a gush of water that smashed into the early marchers of the group. As they stumbled back, the water hit other people and blocked them off. Lucy smirked sensually, but out of nowhere, bolts of white energy rained down upon them; they struck all and dealt agonizing damage.

“What was that?” Razor Leaf asked.

“Future Sight,” Noland said firmly. Vermillion raced forward, a Banette by his side, who unleashed a crackling shadow ball directly at them. It flew at Steelix, who swung his tail around and destroyed the feeble attack as if it were merely an irritating fly. Vermillion sighed, but Ultimate Charizard released his signature Pokemon, a Charizard, who sent a blast of heat that slammed into Steelix.

“Haf!” Razor Leaf shouted. “Take on Charizard! Slash! Double Kick!”

As Charizard swept low, Haf leapt high; his legs locked around the Pokemon’s neck and he raked his claws across the Pokemon’s body. Leaping back, Haf unleashed a series of flashy kicks. As Charizard staggered back, another shadow ball flew from Banette and struck Blaziken in the face.

“Venusaur! Stun Spore!” Noland shouted. “Get your Pokemon back, Daniel.”

“It’s Razo-”

“I know,” Noland replied coldly. Razor Leaf nodded, calling Haf to leap back to his side as Venusaur blasted a thick cannon of sticky gas. As it filtered through the dark sky, a strong gust blew it back; Vermillion was shown ordering a Pellipper and Venomoth to use strong whirlwind attacks.

“Steelix! Dragonbreath,” Lucy sneered. Her large, iron creature opened his hinged jaw as a sweeping jet of green flames whooshed upon Venomoth and Pellipper. Pellipper avoided damage but Venomoth was taken out instantly. Vermillion recalled his Pokemon as Mega Horny released his Exeggutor.

“Egg Bomb!” he cried. Large exploding eggs flew through the air, exploding upon The Front Line. As this happened, Ultimate Charizard took two Antibodies (Sam Spam, Mega Horny’s brother, and Elec Man EXE) and walked to the back of the group.

“I’m going to try and find a way around the Front Line,” he said bossily. “And you two will help.”

Sam sent out an Aron, while Elec Man released his Glalie. They walked in a gentle curve due left around the main part of the battle. Elec Man saw Noland’s Venusaur unleash a flurry of sharp leaves across at the Egg Bombs, causing them to explode in mid-air. Another Antibody sent out an Exploud, who used Hyper Voice to blast Milotic back.

“Those lot are well prepared,” Ultimate Charizard went on. “Look. We’re nearing the outskirts of the overgrowth.”

He was right; the jungle was thinning out and they were now wandering across the back of what looked like BT Street. As they walked down an alleyway, they saw where Grey’s Playhouse once stood. A little trapdoor was fitted into the ground in the alleyway. Walking past, Ultimate Charizard peered around the corner.

“This place is swarming with people, too,” he mused. “Greta and Annabel…The Blue Avenger…they’re rounding people up.”

“Probably into the Chunky Clefable Café,” Elec Man said. He had beaten Annabel in a match, subsequently winning a Symbol. He got on really well with her and might like to say she was very pretty. His morals clashed against each other as Ultimate planned their move.

“Right. Nate, go and take them out. Me and Sam’ll come behind you and head to the Hospital.”

“But the Second Wave are going there; we’re supposed to take out the Front Line,” Sam whined.

“The Front Line is too strong,” Ultimate hissed. “It would take all of the Antibodies to overcome them. Our best bet is leading Ecks around them. Nate, go and attack.”

Elec Man sighed.

“Why don’t you?”

“Just attack them for Christ’s sake,” Ultimate responded. “Or I’ll tell Ecks you’re backing out.”

Nate heaved another sigh as he got out a different Pokemon. He released his Breloom, who looked across at Greta, currently helping some people into the Café. A shaking finger pointed at the targets.

“Hyper Beam.”

*

“Oh my god!” Shrieked Luna. Greta was blown backwards across BT Street by a hurtling orange beam. Annabel was thrown to the ground, only because she had been standing up a few meters away from the beam. The glass paneling of the Chunky Clefable Café meant all the people inside could see the horrific goings on.

“Sweet Kelly Clarkson!” The Blue Avenger gasped, racing outside.

“I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE THIS!” Solia whined, sitting in a corner. “I’M SCARED!”

“We all are,” said Chris Watarimono rudely. “But some of us keep quiet about it.”

“Look!” Solia snapped. “Like, I MISSED The O.C and I’m TIRED and Greta just got PLOUGHED by a massive BEAM! STOP SHOUTING AT ME YOU LITTLE RETARD!”

In another part of The Chunky Clefable Café, UuberFred was tactfully balancing a Pokeball on his nose. As it teetered, he supported it with his fingertips, staring avidly at the little ball on his nose. Charles Legend watched keenly.

“I don’t want to stay here,” murmured Crystal Tears from the same table as UuberFred and Charles. “We should help.”

Greta was dragged inside as Annabel and her Alakazam furiously battled against Elec Man EXE and his Breloom. A psybeam smashed into Breloom but he got up, firing off a bullet seed. As the round seeds exploded against Alakazam, Ultimate Charizard and Sam Spam ran down the street.

“Jeff!” Annabel shouted. “There are more!”

“Hang on!” TBA cried, as he lay Greta down. Moonlight filtered through the glass windows and fell on her face. The people inside the Café ogled her.

“God she needs a facial,” Luna rasped.

“There’s two of them against three,” Crystal Tears snapped. “That’s unfair!”

She got up and drew a Pokeball. As she released it, UuberFred gave a gasp and his Pokeball rolled down his throat. After a gagging gasp, he looked around wildly just as a Rhydon emerged at Crystal Tear’s side.

“I swallowed my Pokeball!” he whined. “My Gastly’s in there!”

“Oh shut up,” Solia snarled. “Nobody’s ever listening.”

“Quistis!” Crystal cried. “Let’s go!”

The large beast stomped out of the Café doors delicately, onto the wide, paved street where Annabel and Alakazam held off Elec Man and Breloom. The Blue Avenger’s green Mr Mime was also helping against Ultimate Charizard and Sam Spam.

“Aron!” Sam cried, as he flew towards Mr Mime. “Go!”

“Barrier,” TBA muttered, Mr Mime wiping the air as if cleaning an invisible window. A pink barrier materialized and the little ore Pokemon ricocheted off, smashing into Sam’s stomach.

“Charizard, fire blast!” Ultimate cried. Annabel gave a gasp as a whooshing roar of flame swept down on them; Quistis leapt forward, taking the brunt of the scorching flame and clenching his muscles tightly.

“What are you doing here?” Annabel asked sharply.

“Saving your life,” Crystal Tears gasped. “Quistis! Mega Punch!”

A glowing fist swung through the air and smashed into Charizard’s face. He gave a roar and staggered back as Breloom raced towards Rhydon amicably. Breloom dealt an effective uppercut, but Rhydon swung his tail around and smashed the foe back. As Elec Man released his Kabutops to assist them, Charizard grabbed his trainer and took off into the sky. Sam Spam watched emptily.

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” he cried, as a psybeam struck his newly released Magnemite. Elec Man stared up into the sky. Ultimate Charizard rang Ecks as he soared above BT Street.

“Yes?”

“It’s me,” he said breathlessly, his Pokemon clutching him tightly. “There’s a problem.”

“Oh?”

“The Front Line by Feizhi is well guarded; most the First Wave were taken out,” Ultimate went on.

“Most?”

“I gathered a few to go around the overgrowth and come up BT Street,” he said. “I suggest you send the Second Wave this way.”

“And what are you doing now?” asked Ecks.

“Sam and Nate are keeping the Brains busy,” he went on. “I’m flying to the main square. I’ll weaken the people around there.”

“You do realize that you’re taking them on solo,” Ecks said. “And you’ll be easily identified.”

“I’m wearing them down for you,” he said. “I have to go. I’m landing.”

“I’ll help thin the area out,” Ecks said, smiling. He picked up a VS Seeker on his desk that was not his own and he began typing out a message. “Good luck.”

*

Meanwhile, on the Front Line, there was a general lull in the level of activity. The four had managed to subdue the majority of the Antibodies; some had been caught, like Vermillion, while many had fled back to the Old Village, injured or exhausted.

“I think Daniel and I should stay here,” Brandon declared. “Lucy, Noland, go up ahead. You can fight anybody off that comes near. We will stop anything coming towards us.”

Deciding on the plan, Lucy recalled Steelix and headed on with just Milotic slithering across the earth. Noland similarly recalled Venusaur, who was tiring, and released a large, pale brown Kingler. Kingler scuttled alongside him, frothing at the mouth.

As they ran through the dark evening, a sudden multitude of attacks swept through the air. Lucy gave a scream as a hyper beam collided into her, throwing her to the ground. Milotic looked angry, trying to see where the attack came from. Noland and Kingler watched out as a wave of Antibodies raced forward, roughly ten of them. A rather young girl led them.

“Skye!” she shrieked, as a Swellow soared down upon them. Lucy regained her posure, ordering an ice beam. The cool beam of icy energy blasted towards Swellow, who swept out of the way as the girl called Classy Cat ordered her Pokemon on. On her mistress’ orders, Swellow fired off another hyper beam, but Kingler took the brunt with his large claw.

“Lucy,” Noland said fiercely, as the girl drooped. “Are you ok?”

A bolt of electricity whooshed through the air like a furious firework. Milotic took the attack hesitantly, producing a mirror-like film around her body, before unleashing a wave of countered energy. The mirror coat smashed into the rabble, giving Noland time to react.

“Pidgeot,” he said softly, releasing his large Pokemon. “Lucy is hurt. Take her somewhere safe.”

As Pidgeot’s talons grasped around the woman’s body, Noland watched his companion take flight. Milotic was also recalled by a weak Lucy, suffering exhaustion after the brunt of a hyper beam struck her. Noland released a Flareon, who exhaled a smog attack to cloud the area ahead. He ran back to Brandon and Razor Leaf beneath the thick layer of smoke as Lucy was flown away.

“Lucy was hurt. Badly,” Noland gasped. “I sent her away on Pidgeot. Another group of them are coming.”

“Right,” Brandon said. “Regirock. Lock-On to the center of the group.”

The ragged mob marched forward, Classy Cat leading the way, Swellow sweeping through the air. The blue bird helped siphon the smog away, by which time Noland had rejoined the Front Line.

“Ready?” Brandon barked. “Zap Cannon!”

A huge, charged orb of crackling, fizzing sparks was held between Regirock’s large, blunt arms. As it grew in size, the small group went forward. Classy Cat held back slightly as the rest proceeded.

“LAUNCH!”

The huge ball sizzled and streaked through the night sky, illuminating the inky darkness. Razor Leaf’s eyes widened as he spied veteran Syberia among the Antibodies, a Porygon2 by his side. The Porygon2 glowed white before shedding his pink body for a tough, rocky exterior. The odd, computer Pokemon zipped through the air, taking some of the Zap Cannon but receiving no damage. The rest of the attack ploughed right into Jolt100, who was battling with a Croconaw. He collapsed in a fuzz of sparks.

“Hydra! Double Edge!”

Razor Leaf sent Blaziken forward to take on the rocky Porygon2. He slammed into Haf, who staggered back but leapt forward eagerly, his legs blazing up as he threw himself into the air dealt a double blow to the quirky Pokemon. As Noland and Flareon dealt with Iceman and his Umbreon, Brandon, atop Regirock, saw Classy Cat head through a clearing to her left.

“That girl is taking the rest of the Second Wave around our defense!” he barked. As he gripped a Pokeball, he leapt off Regirock. Razor Leaf stopped him.

“You need to stay here,” he said. “Take on Syberia. I’ll deal with Classy Cat.”

“Good luck,” Brandon said gruffly, as Regirock dealt a catastrophic focus punch to Porygon2. As he was struck, Porygon2’s body began to resemble fluffy white feathers, and he soared high into the sky.

Razor Leaf raced through the village, messaging The Blue Avenger as fast as he could. His fingers were furiously sweeping across his keypad as Blaziken ran by his side and Victreebel hopped along also.

New Message
The Antibodies are being led around our line of defense; that’s where they’re all going. They’re heading up BT Street. I’m on my way to help take care of them.

*

I was patrolling the main square. Electabuzz and Magmar were by my side. Earlier today, not that long after Jenny’s Meowth had evolved; I picked Cacturne up at the Pokemoncenter after his battle with Hanada Tattsu. Sneasel was still recovering, but I was told he would be out soon.

It was boring, wandering along the quiet square, stumbling past shop windows and empty benches. In the distance, I could see the punkish Dark Dragonite and a few of his Pokemon walk by; I saw a Nidorina, a Noctowl flying up in the skies and a Spinda staggering like my alcoholic Uncle Bernie.

“Chris?”

It was Amy, her Meganium by her side. Meganium looked so beautiful in the moonlight. Amy looked slightly scared, her VS Seeker in her hand. “I just got this message. Look.”

New Message: From - Aragornbird
Amy. I’m barely alive. I’m not going to last much longer. My VS Seeker broke when I got kidnapped by Ecks, but I got it to work. Come now. The Old Village. I don’t know the whereabouts of where I’m being held. But it’s in the middle of the Village somewhere; it took a while to get here. Come fast. Liang.

“When did you get this?” I asked, after reading it through a second time.

“Just now.”

“Well you can’t go…you have to patrol.”

“We’ll be fine,” Amy gushed. I stood there, staring at her.

“You want me to come as well?” I asked.

“Well…yes,” Amy murmured.

“Amy, you’ve just been instated as the Co-Leader of this Village! You can’t go gallivanting around on rescue missions. And this has nothing to do with me. You said I should stay here when I wanted to go off. The same applies to you.”

“You wanted to kill Ecks, which can wait,” Amy snapped. “I want to save Liang. By the sounds of it, he’s not going to last for long. Once Ecks finds out his VS Seeker is working, he’ll go mad.”

I looked into her eyes and heaved a long sigh to myself.

“Fine,” I said. “Let’s go.”

And we trekked off across the Old Village, Amy stopped. She explained that The Antibodies were coming in from the south-east; if we were to go that way we would meet them. Instead we headed directly east, this particular route taking us to the base of Trolgar Mountain. As we walked, we then headed south, approaching The Old Village from the North and hopefully avoiding the Antibodies altogether.

*

“Razor Leaf!” TBA cried, as the figure arrived on the scene.

“I took out some of the Antibodies,” he gasped. “But more are on their way. I just ran.”

Down BT Street, Elec Man released a Vibrava as the match carried on. Sam Spam stood there emptily as Crystal Tears assisted Annabel, TBA and Razor Leaf against the oncoming hoard. Classy Cat led the way with her Swellow, shooting Hyper Beams through the air.

“Annabel, calm everybody down at the Café,” TBA sighed. “Numeron! Bomb Voyage!”

His chunky, trunk-like Pokemon gave a sleepy nod as he dipped his large head. From where his leaf-like roots dug into his scalp came a glowing white circle. Bombs flew through the air, some of which an egg shape, exploding among the army that made their way forward. Swellow swept upwards; a huge Claydol emerged from the smoke that furled out following the exploding egg attack; this Claydol was made of white marble with blue, glittering eyes. It was larger than most, floating eerily. A trainer emerged.

“Diamond!” he cried. “Use Ancientpower!”

The ground was ripped up and slabs of thick concrete flew through the air. Numeron teleported away from the attack and Quistis the Rhydon took the hit. Swellow swept down and managed to strike Numeron hard; as this happened, Breloom leapt up and fired off a series of seeds that leeched onto Rhydon’s back firmly. Small vines whipped out and ensnared the large beast.

“Quistis, mega punch!” Crystal cried. She gripped another Pokeball. “Yuffie! Go!”

From the ball emerged a healthy looking Pikachu, smiling. She scratched her long ears and leapt forward, immediately running up Quistis’ spine, slashing away at the vines that snaked up. Yuffie stood atop her allies head, cheeks charging up electrical energy.

“Alakazam! Psychic blast!” Annabel shouted. The psychic force swooshed into Breloom, weakening him, but Vibrava then used a supersonic to cause most of the Pokemon confusion and irritation. The Eon Sisters watched from inside the Café.

“Like…she’s so brave,” Luna sighed.

“We should totally help,” Solia murmured, as UuberFred’s wails of ‘Oh god…oh god…I swallowed my Gastly! HE’S GOING TO POSSESS ME! AAAAAARRRGGGGHHH!’ filled the room. “LIKE SHUT UP!”

“I want to battle,” Charles sighed. “We should battle. We should help.”

As he said that, a beam of sparkling diamond dust was projected wildly from Claydol’s arms. It smashed right into Yuffie, whose blast of electricity didn’t hurt the opposition much, although it did cause a mild distraction.

“ENOUGH!” bellowed an Antibody. “Bakufun! Fire Blast!”

A huge Typhlosion emerged from the rag tag group. His trainer, Fifty-Six, pointed at the group, and Typhlosion’s collar erupted in raging flames. An enormous blast of fire swept through the air, embers dancing brightly, flames searing hot; Numeron and Alakazam both used their psychic attacks to hold off the flame, which was beginning to curl into a large ball of fire. Quistis was battling Claydol, using an iron tail to smash into it. Yuffie dodged attacks from Breloom, and Razor Leaf and Blaziken were battling Vibrava.

“Alakazam!” Annabel cried, as her Pokemon’s stance slackened; he looked…looser. “Don’t give up!”

But despite their efforts, the huge ball of fire, which was being made larger and larger by Typhlosion, issuing large, snaking jets of flame, was beginning to slide forward in mid-air as the psychic connection got weaker.

“We can’t let this loose! It’s devastating!” TBA gasped. “NUMERON! 100%!”

But Numeron was exhausted. He stumbled back, collapsing on the ground and rolling to a stop. As his half of the psychic connection broke, Alakazam’s force overbalanced the hold on the attack and it was released, sweeping slightly to the left and smashing right into The Chunky Clefable Café, shattering the glass walls and exploding inside.

“NO!” Annabel shrieked. “Alakazam! Rain Dance!”

“It won’t work!” TBA cried. “Universe Man! Jimmy.T! Carpainter! Come on out! Return, Numeron!”

As Exeggutor was recalled, a large Poliwrath flexed his muscles while a thinner, sluggish looking Lombre emerged, nodding to his trainer. Next to Lombre was Carpainter, the eccentric beagle.

“Extinguish those flames!” TBA said hysterically. “Dan! Annabel! Cover me!”

As Jimmy and Carpainter blasted jets of water at the building, which was now swarming with flames, Poliwrath leapt into the inferno and helped people out. Charles Legend was seen helping UuberFred out, while Chris Watarimono and his Swampert helped a shocked Luna and Solia. Jenny also fled, using her Marshtomp. The people began evacuating the Café, spilling out into BT Street, which was slowly emptying of Antibodies. Amid the rush, they sped past the defense down BT Street and onwards to the main part of the Village.

“Everyone, come on!” Annabel shouted. “Razor Leaf, lead the evacuees to Ivy Lake. It’s centralized so you can see people coming. Crystal Tears, I want you to send out some fresh Pokemon and also help Razor Leaf.”

“Ok,” Crystal murmured, recalling Quistis and Yuffie. She sent out two more Pokemon; Squall, her Scizor and Tidus, a Bayleef. They helped round up people who were being evacuated from the building.

Annabel cast a look up BT Street, where most of The Antibodies were heading.

“We failed,” she said miserably.

*

Meanwhile, Andrew stood underneath the dim light of The King Prawn Pawn Shop. Mr McPrawn was craftily examining each Frontier Symbol with a monocle. His sad, scrawny little Murkrow was keenly picking up a symbol in his beak and dropping it into a safe beneath the counter. Despite a sprightly appearance, Murkrow had graying feathers which were ruffled and unkempt.

“That’s right, Jake,” Mr McPrawn cooed. “Well Andrew, I d-dare say you have accumulated a va-va-vast amount of symbols here.”

“That’s right,” Andrew said. “I’ve kept two. One to show off and another to keep safe incase my hilarious antics wind me up in some sort of trouble. Knowing the auth- I mean…knowing my luck, I’ll have some crazy escapade planned in the future. Think of it as my…bargaining chip.”

“I can offer you near £1,000,” McPrawn wheezed.

“That’s brilliant!” Andrew cried.

“Y-Yes…” he murmured. “Although I must admit I’ve not actually got that amount of money on me at the moment.”

“How much do you have?” Andrew asked casually. “If you’re a little bit short to the £1,000 I can understand…”

“I have…” McPrawn mused slowly. “£40, an old toffee and a whirling bow-tie.”

“Right,” Andrew grumbled. “So what do we do?”

“Oh it’s nothing big,” McPrawn explained. “I’ll simply transfer the money from my own Bank Account straight to yours. That way, your various fines will be deducted from the total and you’ll be all sorted out.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” Andrew asked rudely. “No offence, but you’re an emotionally crippled, smelly man who nobody loves.”

“I keep my promises, I do,” he said shakily. “Or my name isn’t Sushi McPrawn.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Andrew snapped. “Or you’ll pay.”

“What do you mean? I’m paying already!” McPrawn said wearily.

“It’s a saying. You’ll pay for this!” Andrew quoted.

“For what? The symbols?”

“NO!” the Australian snapped. Jake the Murkrow flapped up in fright. “IT’S A GODDAMN SAYING! NOW SHUT UP AND GIVE ME THAT ROTATING BOW-TIE!”

*

Amy and I had found ourselves on the outskirts of the Old Village. The main gate was guarded by two Antibodies. We crept around the outside and managed to sneak in another way. As we crept on, my heart hammered wildly and I imagined finding Aragornbird. Would he still be alive?

“Liang said the building was in the middle of the Village,” Amy whispered. We had recalled our Pokemon now. They were too big and easy to notice. As we walked along the Victorian setting (the streets were cobbled, the houses weatherworn and abandoned; the roofs thatched and torn), the entire place was abandoned.

“This used to be part of TPML,” Amy explained. “We had this village for shops, housing and entertainment, and the Towers were situated in the square in the main village. Then, eventually, shops were built there; the park was opened, and soon that place thrived more. I think BT Street’s growth also helped slay the life of this peaceful place.”

“Right,” I said awkwardly. To be perfectly honest I couldn’t care about this oddly creepy village. It was oddly British. I saw the window of ‘Miss Grenadine’s Old Fashioned Fudge’ smashed and the bay window crooked.

“Look,” Amy mused. Up ahead was a member Amy recognized as Cyrus, an old veteran who seemed to be in with the Antibodies. He was talking on a phone.

“Aragornbird is fine,” he said. “I left the compound; I’m outside at the moment. No, honestly, he’s unconscious. Everywhere’s locked up. I think there’s someone guarding the entrance. Ecks, everyone’s fighting off your men. Just transfer the money into my account and let’s end this.”

He turned.

“Holy sh-”

We released our Pokemon fast; Amy sent out a white speckled Houndoom and I released Poliwhirl. Duel blasts of flame and water smashed into Cyrus and hurled him back. His Pokeball belt exploded in a shower of white light, and a Medicham emerged alongside a Marowak. His phone smashed.

“Thunderpunch! Bonemerang!”

As Medicham’s long, bony arms charged with sparks and vigor, Marowak hurled his bone through the air. Houndoom leapt to the side and blasted a fireball into Medicham, whose aim was thrown off drastically. Poliwhirl leapt over the yoga monkey and unleashed a streaming blast of chilled water, which struck Marowak and dealt good damage.

“Houndoom! Roar!”

“Poliwhirl, ice punch!”

A loud roar erupted across the village. Cyrus gave a laugh, despite the fact Marowak was struck with a sharp, icy punch. As the fist smashed into him, the wet areas on his body began to freeze lightly. Marowak, stiff and frustrated, simply stood there.

“Nice way to draw attention,” he said. “Medicham! Psychic!”

“Yana! Flamethrower!”

Medicham’s hands began glowing as Poliwhirl was levitated into the air. Luckily as Poliwhirl shut his eyes in pain, a jet of flame smashed into Medicham and hurled it to the ground. Poliwhirl landed awkwardly but unleashed an ice beam, hitting Marowak square on.

It soon became evident Cyrus was not particularly competent at double battles, for his head would often turn from Medicham to Marowak and back; his Pokemon also looked rather exhausted, and their attacks lacked a certain polish to them. I wondered if he had not battled since ‘The Golden Days’ of TPML.

“Just give it up,” Amy said playfully, as Houndoom fired off a shadow ball and defeated Medicham. “Cyrus, you’re not going to win.”

“Look,” Cyrus snapped, recalling Medicham. “I’m not some villain. You know me, Amy.”

“I knew you,” Amy said coldly. “Who knows what you’ve become?”

“Good god,” he snarled. He was quite tall and broad, with a dusty coloured trench coat on. He looked typically shady and had some slight stubble, while only being in his 20’s perhaps. His eyes were unusually small and narrow. “Amy, I’m just getting a bit of money.”

“So you are working for Ecks?”

“Yes,” Cyrus snapped. “Just did a little work looking after a prisoner. Now I was about to go, do you mind?”

“Tell me where this prisoner is,” Amy said softly.

“Why should I?” asked Cyrus.

“Because Ecks will transfer your money straight away; it’ll get into your bank in a few hours time. By then we’ll have got Liang and Ecks won’t be a threat anymore. You get this money whether Liang is freed after you did your job or not.”

“Fine,” Cyrus snapped. “It’s the large church-like building in the center of the village. Can’t miss it. Now, can you move?”

Amy stepped aside. Cyrus stormed past, his Marowak by his side. I watched them go, feeling slightly confused. If he worked with Ecks, why didn’t Amy want him captured? I brought this issue up to her as we walked on.

“I’m going to capture him,” she said, as we walked. “But not yet. I want him to think he’s free. And I want to see Liang first, and make sure he’s ok. Don’t think I’m not taking this job serious, Chris.”

“Sorry,” I murmured.

“That’s fine,” Amy said. “Cyrus was one of the corrupt people in TPML. Look at him here. He told us Aragornbird’s location simply because I reassured him he’d still keep his money. Although whether or not Ecks hunts him down remains to be seen.”

We arrived at the Church. It was old fashioned and the architecture was amazing. I stared up. A symbol of a needle bearing an X legend was sprayed over the stained-glass windows. The door was on hinges.

“Oh my,” Amy gasped. I thought back to her religion. Seeing a defaced church would be probably quite upsetting for her. Ecks, the man Amy was sacrificing her beliefs for, located deep inside the very symbol of her beliefs itself. I couldn’t help but think it was slightly ironic.

“Ready?” I asked her. She nodded, and we proceeded into the lair of Ecks.

*

Meanwhile, the various Antibodies from the first two waves were battling in the main village. With Amy and Chris gone, only Dark Dragonite and Grey were left. This was a problem, but Grey managed to help; his colossal team were all battling furiously and, due to their bond with their master, little command was needed.

“Good work!” Grey shouted hoarsely. Winden the Salamence soared through the air, battling with Ultimate’s signature Charizard. Ultimate also had a Wartortle out, although it was not faring as well. Charizard unleashed a stream of fire at the foe, who turned and gave a boisterous flap of his wings, sending a blast of air to break up the flames.

“Dragon Claw!”

“Hydro Pump!”

Charizard’s streaking tear through the skies was soon regretted; Salamence unleashed a frothy blast of water that struck the large, orange dragon hard. He was propelled down through the air, hurt but never defeated; he flapped to his master, who watched the beast.

“Give up, Gavin,” Grey said softly.

“Gladly,” said Ultimate. “If that means you’ll let me go.”

“To do what?” Grey asked. “I see you’re with The Antibodies.”

“So were you,” Ultimate spat. “Traitor. You know Cocoa is an incompetent leader. And nobody in this godforsaken village bothered to do anything about it.”

“And you really think destroying this place is a good idea?” he asked.

“I’m not here to destroy,” Ultimate said. “Although it is enjoyable I must admit. Everybody’s so scared!”

He glanced across the route to the Hospital.

“Anyway, I really have to go.”

However, as he turned to leave, a Tyranitar emerged from behind him, roaring loudly. Grey smiled. Meanwhile, his Blastoise was firing jets of water towards Elec Man and his Glalie; Classy Cat and Swellow were dueling fiercely with Dragonite, and Mega Horny was cleverly watching from afar.

He looked up ahead. A group was racing through the streets, and none of them looked like Antibodies. One, a pretty girl, was leading the way as an Espeon ran alongside her. Another girl of the same age ran after her, exhausted, an Umbreon by her side.

“Solia!” Luna gasped. “C-Come back!”

“No!” Solia snapped. “We need to battle these people. We need to help.”

“Solia!”

“Come on King!” Charles Legend cried. “Go! Ember assault on that Swellow!”

“Agility!” Classy said, her command issued like a cracking whip. The bird flew up into the air, higher and higher, out of reach from King’s raining embers. Drew smirked, sending his Dragonite to patrol the skies, but Ultimate Charizard took this chance to run, recalling Wartortle and heading for the Hospital.

“He’s heading to the Hospital!” Solia cried. “Espeon! Psybeam!”

“Chris 2,0! Headbutt!” Charles shouted. His Magby ran through the air at Elec Man’s Glalie, but the large Pokemon took the headbutt, before headbutting the small Pokemon back, where he hit the ground. “Get up! Flamethrower!”

Meanwhile, Espeon’s beam of rainbow light swept through the air. It struck Ultimate who fell to his knees in agony, now on the west side of the Village Square. His Charizard was flying up ahead. He turned to see Solia facing him from a distance, Espeon unleashing a swift attack.

“SOMEONE BLOODY HELP ME!” he snapped. He got up and ran again, the golden stars racing at him and tearing into his body. He roared in pain, like a lion roused from sleep, as Mega Horny looked around wearily.

“Tweeze,” he said to his Scyther. “You ready?”

“Scy….” Sighed the patronized bug.

“Ok, our attack was always planned like this,” he said slowly, quietly and stealthily. “Leap out, fire off some attacks, you know.”

“Scy, scy…”

“When I say go, unleash a hyper beam. Got it?”

“ANTIBODIES! WHERE ARE YOU?”

“Oh god,” Mega sighed. “It’s that whiny Charizard bloke. Tweeze! Let’s go.”

Mega Horny ran out from behind a Tower, Scyther leaping into action. A silver wind was blasted through the air, slamming into Chris 2.0 the Magby and hurling him back. As he did this, Elec Man’s Glalie dealt a slamming headbutt to take Magby out altogether.

“Return!” Charles said. “King, keep going at Swellow! I choose Snappy!”

“Cheers for that,” Nate said glumly to Mega, although he didn’t sound particularly bothered. “Hailfire, crunch.”

Mega Horny raced on through the village square. Ultimate Charizard was suspended in mid-air by Solia’s Espeon. The Pokemon sat there calmly, bead glowing as Ultimate was hoisted up. He shot a dirty, disgusted look at Mega Horny, and he knew what he had to do.

“Tweeze!” Mega Horny said firmly. “Hyper Beam!”

“Scyther!”

A few feet behind Solia, Mega Horny ordered the attack. The orange beam was furious in its power; it swept forward at Espeon, who momentarily dropped her psychic connection with Ultimate’s body to deflect the attack. Still facing forward, she unleashed a rippling series of waves; they moved all around and grabbed the head of the Hyper Beam. The attack split the beam into seven segments; seven small, orange beams hurtled off in various directions. One hit Scyther, who stumbled back; another, however, smashed into Solia and hurled the thin girl backwards through the air.

There was a sickening crack, and her body collided with the side of the Approval Tower. The girl, eyes closed, fell in a crumpled heap on the floor, blood seeping out across the ground.

“Oh my god,” Mega Horny gasped. He ran over to Solia, barely noticing Ultimate Charizard tearing off to Jolly Japes Hospital. Mega dropped to the girl’s side, her Espeon licking the girl’s scraped arm. She wasn’t breathing.

“No!” the boy cried weakly. “N-No! D-Don’t die…”

Even as her still form lay there, she looked beautiful. Lips full and poised in something of a pout; almost as if the girl disapproved of her own death. Her make up was obvious as she was bathed in the moonlight, but it enhanced her natural beauty. The blood soaked in her blonde hair stained it, but it was an artistic, almost intentional mark that gave Solia something of a rebellious look.

“Solia? SOLIA?”

Luna ran over to her sisters side, Umbreon too.

“SOLIA?”

She turned.

“YOU KILLED HER! THIS BOY KILLED MY SISTER!”

“No, no…” Mega Horny whispered. “Y-You don’t understand!”

“SOMEONE HELP!” Luna shrieked. “MY SISTER HAS BEEN MURDERED!”

Some of the action seemed to subside; Classy Cat and Elec Man, while curious, took this time to flee across towards the Hospital with Ultimate. As Charles and even some of the Antibodies wandered over to see what was going on, Mega Horny turned and ran into the overgrowth, eyes stinging with tears.

*

At the remains of Ivy Lake, many of the evacuated people from The Chunky Clefable Café were huddled around the bank. Greta was awake; she seemed quite badly injured, however. Annabel, Razor Leaf, The Blue Avenger and Crystal Tears looked around.

“We’re missing some people,” Annabel gasped.

“Charles Legend is missing,” The Blue Avenger said, eyes scanning furiously over the heads. “And…those girls…”

“Luna and Solia,” Razor Leaf sighed. “Haf and I will head back and see if they’re lost.”

As he ran off, the Blaziken by his side, the others looked around the lake. Many of the trees had been ripped up, the large, empty lake muddy and vast. TBA peered into it keenly.

“Is everybody ok?” Annabel asked.

“I think everyone’s fine,” The Blue Avenger said. “Our Pokemon really took a beating…”

“Jeff, I think you should help fight them off,” Crystal Tears said softly. “T-The Antibodies. You’ve got loads of Pokemon left.”

“I’m exhausted,” he sighed.

“I’ll go,” Annabel said, getting up. “I’m a little worse for wear…but I’ll do my best.”

She released a different Pokemon; it was a Furret. Long, slender and fuzzy, it was quite sweet, staring ahead and scampering off with Annabel. In the distance, a figure was wandering towards them. They were staggering, and something alongside was slashing down the foliage.

“Who is that?” Crystal asked. The Blue Avenger sent out his Nosepass.

“I don’t know; watch out,” he growled, as the shadowy form moved closer. “Particle Man…Lock On.”

As a red circle was projected onto the figure, they merged from the overgrowth. It was Lucy, looking slightly flustered, her Seviper by her side. She staggered forward, looking around wildly.

“Oh,” TBA said slowly. “Lucy.”

“I saw Razor Leaf…” she said absently. “H-He said you were all here.”

“Are you ok?” Crystal asked.

“I was hit…by the First Wave,” she added. “Noland sent me away on his Pidgeot. I went to Spenser…he healed me up nicely, and suggested I found the evacuees. Things are getting dangerous at the Hospital.”

“They’ve broken through the Village defense?”

“Someone…someone was killed in the onslaught,” Lucy said darkly.

“Who was it?” TBA asked abruptly. “One of us? Or one of them?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” came a hurried reply. “It broke up a lot of the fighting. A few made their way to the Hospital. Kyle and Spenser are fighting them off.”

“I need to go, too,” TBA said firmly.

“No!” Crystal cried. “You need to stay and protect everyone.”

“…I know,” TBA sighed, looking around.

“This will all be over soon,” Lucy said. “For better or for worse.”

*

Meanwhile, Ultimate Charizard raced through towards Jolly Japes Hospital. His heart was hammering wildly; he had heard screams, and was sure someone had died. That didn’t matter. Charizard flew alongside him when a voice echoed out through the woods.

“Stop what you’re doing.”

Ignoring the voice, he charged on. As the top of the Hospital loomed into view, the voice reverberated around again.

“I told you to stop.”

“Show yourself,” spat Ultimate, still running.

“Very well.”

From the trees, a humongous ape-like creature leapt out, grimacing sickly and landing with a heavy thud. The ground trembled, and Ultimate stopped, staring up at the gigantic Slaking. On the Pokemon’s shoulder stood Spenser, smiling broadly.

“What do you want?” asked the veteran angrily.

“I want peace,” Spenser replied, in a calm wheezy voice. “And you are preventing me from achieving what I want.”

“So?”

“So turn around,” Spenser said, an imperious tone to his voice. “Or I’ll fight you.”

“Fight away,” he said casually. “Charizard! Go!”

As his Pokemon soared into the sky, Spenser leapt off Slaking, his toga billowing slightly as he landed. He looked across at Ultimate sternly. Charizard blasted a swathing jet of whooshing flames that smashed into Slaking’s torso; he grunted and swung a punch, smashing Charizard in the face.

“Charizard, iron tail!”

“Clap.”

“What?”

Swinging his tail around, Charizard gave a grunt as a metallic sheen covered it. As it flew towards Slaking, however, two large, beefy hands clapped firmly onto the tail, sandwiching it between the ape’s hands. Slaking then slammed Charizard down to the ground, where he gave a loud roar and lay there, motionless.

“I think all that battling has taken its toll,” Spenser said, smiling.

“Looks like it,” Ultimate said, getting his Pokeball out. “Return.”

“You tried your best,” said the elderly Brain. “But my purpose is sharper than yours.”

“You think so?” Ultimate asked, smiling. From behind Spenser a figure materialized into the air. With a sharp crack, a bolt of lightening jetted into Spenser’s body, striking him from behind and causing him immense pain. He collapsed, and a Haunter was seen floating behind him.

“And take care of King Kong over there,” Ultimate drawled. Haunter used his psychic powers to lift up Slaking’s Pokeball. Ultimate took it and recalled the beast, minimizing the Pokeball and laying it next to its unconscious owner.

Ultimate Charizard, still not at the Hospital, got out his phone. As he dialed a number, Haunter bobbed up and down in the air, glee all over his pointed face.

“Ecks? It’s me. Everything’s set. We’re all waiting for you.”

“Thank you, Ultimate,” came a sleazy drawl. “I want you to get out of here. People have seen you, you’re a liability now. Stay in the village, just away from the people. I will call you when it is done. You have pleased me to no end.”

*

Ecks got up from his desk. He had just got off the phone with Callisto Thunder, his beautiful wife. She explained to him that currently she was still in the village; The Board had allowed her to stay until her son was better. By then, however, she was to return.

Ecks loaded his gun and slipped his 12 Pokeballs onto his belt. He wandered out of his office, heading down a corridor and taking a joyous jog down the flight of steps. He felt happy that, thus far, everything was working well. Judging from his call to Ultimate Charizard (who had been somehow surly and moody at first, but now was really doing his duties for The Antibodies, Ecks felt), he had navigated the main square quite nicely. He thought of Amy Wolfsong and Chris 2.0, who he had lured to the Old Village quite cleverly by sending a message from Aragornbird’s VS Seeker.

“Cyrus was a good find,” he said aloud, as the temporary worker had also been assigned to take care of anybody trying to get to the headquarters. He turned left, navigating the small, narrow corridors beneath the Church quite well. He came to the long corridor that headed to Aragornbird’s prison. He got to the end, gun held ready. Slowly he unbolted the door, opening it and gazing into the dark cell.

Aragornbird had been able to make himself curl up so small that when Ecks walked into the cell, his shady form in the dark corner was barely visible.

“How are you?” asked Ecks, drawing closer. “Now I know you didn’t like the heat torture…but I just felt as if the supersonic treatment might have been taking things a bit too far. I could hear that screeching from my office.”

He walked closer.

“You’re awfully quiet…I do hope you haven’t died on me, Liang. I hope you have not died on your own terms…that would be ever so tragic…”

However, as he got even closer, he saw that Aragornbird was not there at all. The cell was empty. His eyes widened, brow furrowed and mouth slowly hanging open. Aragornbird had escaped.

“You,” he snarled. He raced out of the cell, looking down either end of the corridor, but it was deserted. Amy was gone. Ecks got his cell phone out and dialed a number. He paced furiously back down the corridor.

“Hello?” came a whisper.

“It’s me.”

“What are you doing?” hissed the person. “Why are you calling me?”

“Why do you think,” replied Ecks rudely. “I need you to help me.”

“Oh?”

“A person named Aragornbird has escaped,” Ecks said. “Check his name in the TPML Database. He’ll most likely be with Amy Wolfsong and Chris 2.0.”

“I see,” said the voice.

“Kill Aragornbird. You can kill the other two as well,” he said lightly. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Ring me when it’s done,” he snapped.

*

Some time later, Ecks had left The Old Village behind. Best suit clean and sharp, tie tied to perfection, shades covering his deep eyes. His straw-like hair jostled in the breeze as he ran. His gun was in its holster.

Running through the overgrowth by Feizhi Outpost, Ecks took a sharp left, weaving around Noland and Brandon. As he was one man, this was an easy feat. He heard them discussing a girl who had died.

On and on he went, the burning Café flashing past his vision as he went on. When he got towards the main square, he had to be quick; pressing against the Rules Tower, he snuck around and bolted towards the Bank Tower, watching people help get a girl to safety. An Espeon was crying by her side, as was her larger and equally loud sister. Ecks scurried on past the crowds and was on the way to Jolly Japes.

The tension in the air was delicious. It was aromatic, gently caressing his senses and forcing him on and on. He wandered along the leafy road to Jolly Japes, seeing an unconscious old man on the ground. Ecks, keen to get to the hospital and do his work, pressed on, resisting the urge to kill him.

“Hold it.”

He stopped dead in his tracks. Two figures were outside the Hospital. One was Grey, aka The Arbiter, while the other was Kyle: Knight of Time. Kyle had his Absol out, and Grey had released an Electrode.

“Ecks,” Grey said calmly. “How nice to meet you.”

“Get out my way,” he growled, sliding his gun into his holster. “Or I’ll kill both of you now.”

“We’re not moving,” Kyle said firmly.

“Those people are vulnerable. Your lackey put them in a deep sleep and they won’t wake,” Grey replied coldly. “We’re here to protect them.”

“Mars,” Ecks said, gripping a Pokeball. “Zeus. Let’s teach these two a lesson.”

From his two Pokeballs emerged his Arcanine, Mars, who gave a long roar and shook his bushy mane, and Zeus. Zeus was large, looking similar to an Electabuzz. His body was more rounded; his arms thicker, with black, sausage-like fingers flexing impressively. His jowls were fuzzy; his red eyes beneath thick black stripes and two thick black cables wound up from his shoulder blades. Electricity flexed across his body powerfully.

“What on earth is that?” Grey asked.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Kyle admitted. “Saber. Are you ready?”

His Absol gave a nod.

“No-One, use a rollout!” Grey snarled. His Electrode ploughed on across the earth, smashing into Arcanine who was hurled up into the air. Mars retaliated by spitting down a flaming sensation of flames, but Electrode spun back to his trainer. Zeus, meanwhile, raced at Absol with a thunder punch and socked him hard. Saber retaliated by sinking his teeth into the Pokemon’s arms, before slashing wildly at the foe’s face.

“Overheat!” Ecks shouted. A curling orb of fire formed into a fluorescent beam. The beam sped through the air, and Grey had to leap to avoid it; Electrode swept under the beam and charged up electricity, shocking an exhausted Mars.

“Zeus,” Ecks snarled. “Giga Impact!”

“Saber! Watch out!” Kyle cried. Absol shook his head and stood before his trainer, creating two more clones of himself. The hurtling beam of ugly sparks was projected from Zeus’ body; it was white hot with golden flecks of electricity and it raced at a doomed Absol. In a smashing crackle, Absol’s clones were depleted and the force of the attack hurled him into the air. Kyle stood there, but fury etched into his face washed away as the beam exploded into him, throwing his limp body to the ground in a fantastic explosion. Absol collapsed to the ground and his trainer lay there, motionless.

“KYLE!” Grey cried. He ran to his friend’s aid as Ecks smiled softly.

“Now you understand,” he said solemnly, racing towards the Hospital.

“Are you ok, Kyle?” Grey asked wearily. Kyle did not respond. Grey felt tears leak down his face; creating glimmering salty trails down his cheeks. His friend, fellow moderator and oppressor of The Antibodies lay dead beside him. Absol watched sternly.

“Saber,” Grey said emptily. “I’m so sorry.”

Absol gave a nod, walking to up Grey, who was on his knees. The Absol scooped Grey’s limp figure under his head, supporting the exhausted, limp, emotionally void veteran. His arm draped over Saber, Grey looked across at Kyle.

“I can’t leave him,” he said. “I can’t.”

“Then don’t,” said a voice. Grey looked up. A woman was standing there in all black. Grey’s head lifted up. “I’ll go.”

“Becca!” Grey cried. The Missing Link stood there, looking at Kyle’s dead body from afar. Her eyes blinked furiously; she held back her tears. “Ecks…”

“He’s gone to kill Cocoa, hasn’t he?” Becca asked. “I’ll go.”

“You need to stop him,” Grey said. “Too many lives have been lost already.”

Becca simply nodded, her Alakazam at her side. They raced towards the Hospital, seeing an odd, pink mist hang around it serenely. As she walked, she felt suddenly drowsy. Becca realized what this was.

“Safeguard!” she cried. In no time a dome of white energy engulfed Nightshade and her, protecting her from the hypnotic mist. The automatic, glass doors parted pleasantly, and Becca met a most disturbing sight indeed.

The entire place sparkled with pink and purple stars; they clung to the walls, on desks, floating ominously along the corridors. The place glistened like a fine glass ornament. All around, doctors, nurses and patients lay slumped around on the floor, against walls and some simply sleeping whilst standing up.

“Where are you, Ecks…” Becca mused. She had no idea where on earth Cocoa was…what ward, what floor…she could be anywhere. Just up ahead, where the corridor split left and right, she saw Ecks race along to the left, the large Electabuzz-like creature also in tow.

*

Amy and I had managed to find Aragornbird and we fled. We raced back the way we came, Liang looking thoroughly beaten to a pulp. His lip was cut; blood was stained down his chin while his eyes and face were swollen, tinged yellow-green and purple in areas.

“W-We need to stop!” he gasped, as we left The Old Village behind us. “I can’t go on any longer.”

“If we stay, Ecks will find us,” Amy said. “Willow! Come on out!”

Her large Meganium emerged. Aragornbird stared up, eyes wide. He gave a smile, although it seemed to hurt his face, for he quickly retracted his grin.

“You’re big,” he said. “I remember when you were just a little Chikorita.”

Willow was seen blushing, a coy smile on her face. We both helped Liang onto Willow’s back, and she set off at a jog across the woods, Amy and I racing alongside. We had found him. He was hurt, poorly and injured, but we had him.

Amy had mentioned something on the way here. That Liang had explained all sorts about a man who Ecks had worked with…someone that Ecks had framed, before placing the blame on Liang himself.

Every inhibition in my mind was being hurled around. My opinion of Aragornbird was misty; was he a threat? Was he playing the innocent card? What did he know? Has he set this escape up with Ecks?

I knew I’d get answers soon.

*

“STOP!” Becca screamed. A bolt of lightening flew at her as Ecks turned with Zeus. She had Nightshade protect from it, before firing off a psybeam. Ecks pressed on, his Pokemon heaving along beside him. Becca followed.

“You should have stayed with your friend Kyle!” Ecks cried. “He needs all his friends there.”

“That won’t bring him back to life you monster!” Becca snapped. “Nightshade, can you find out where he’s going?”

Nightshade, as he ran, rubbed his two spoons together and his mind began focusing hard. As he did so, Becca suddenly clutched her head and felt a flashing image pulsate in her mind’s eye. A blue sign reading ‘Larch Ward’ appeared and she knew that was where Ecks’ was heading.

“Teleport us there,” she said softly. Alakazam grabbed her and in a bright flash, they were gone. They didn’t go far; simply up another floor and across a corridor. Becca looked around; this floor, too, hung with the odd, crystalline dust. It felt enchanted. Almost as if she was dreaming. Various nurses and staff were sleeping, some sprawled across the nurse’s station, others leaning across patients beds.

Wondering if she had fallen asleep on the train home, The Missing Link looked into the nearest ward and saw Cocoa, in her own, executive room, sleeping peacefully. All sorts of complicated computers, machines, wires and devices were hooked up to her. Becca saw one machine that suggested her stomach had, or was being pumped.

“Cocoa…” Becca said softly, walking over. In a blue night dress, under itchy covers she looked so different; her sharp, important suit was not on anymore and her sleek black hair didn’t look nourished and springy. Her chocolate-coloured face had lost some of its colour, and she no longer looked prestigious and powerful. She looked…normal. Like she could be anybody in the world.

Footsteps filled the corridor, so Becca did the right thing and shut the double doors into Cocoa’s private room. She stood pressed against the same wall, so that Ecks could not see her when he pressed his face through the small, round pane of glass in the door. He muttered to Zeus.

In an electric smash the doors were blown open; they were torn to pieces as the large electric Pokemon stomped past Becca and Nightshade and into the large, spacious room, where Cocoa slept peacefully. He turned and nodded, and Ecks walked smoothly into the room.

“Oh, Miss Sting,” he said softly, walking around her bed. “I bet you thought you were safe in these four walls, did you? You were wrong.”

“No she wasn’t.”

A wide cone of purple energy was blasted from Nightshade, slamming into Zeus and hurling him into the wall, where he made a large crack down the middle. He staggered back up, head stinging. Ecks’ eyes darted to Becca, and he drew his gun.

“Nightshade, disable,” Becca said coldly. A white streak of light flashed into the air and Ecks staged back, struck; his gun slid out his grip and onto Cocoa’s bed, where it was let off and made a loud bang. Blood spurted from Cocoa’s shoulder; her still frame didn’t stir as blood seeped across her bedsheets.

“Nightshade, psychic!” Becca said, almost shouting; her voice was losing its tame beauty and she was blinking furiously. Zeus was half leaning and half standing by the wall, seemingly hurt from the attack before. Ecks, meanwhile, was levitated up into the air, an aura surrounding him.

“You…” Becca snarled, a twisted look on her face. “You killed Karin. You killed Henry. You killed Kyle. God knows who else you finished off while I was away.”

She was walking up to him, eyes burning with distaste and fury. Ecks looked calm, but he may have felt otherwise.

“They were friends of mine,” she went on. “FRIENDS! Do you have any friends here?”

“Well, I do –”

“Shut up,” snapped Becca. “Just. Just shut up.”

She picked up the gun on Cocoa’s bed and loaded it. As she did so, Ecks raised his eyebrows, apparently quite intrigued about what she might do. Becca spoke without turning to Nightshade.

“Throttle him.”

Eyes wider, Ecks looked slightly aghast as the grip on his body tightened; his neck, particularly, felt as if thick, stubby fingers were pressing around his windpipe. His body shook; his eyes were wider and his face grew in colour. The mans eyes rolled back slightly as he shook.

“You’re a monster,” she said quietly, before shouting, “MONSTER!”

She held the gun up and pointed it at his heart.

“You need to join the people whose lives you ended,” she said coldly. “Goodbye, Ec-”

But before she could shoot, a sweeping noise filled the air. The aura around Ecks disappeared and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. A Gengar had struck Alakazam with a Shadow Punch and proceeded to fire off a nightshade at Becca. Struck, she flew into the corner, and the gun went off again; the bullet was fired into the ceiling awkwardly. Pluto the Gengar held Ecks tight, and he smiled at her.

“You tried,” he said softly, recalling his large electric warrior. In a flash, he disappeared just as quickly as Becca had. She stood there. Alakazam was gasping for breath, but immediately went over to Cocoa’s bed, placing his hands on her would and murmuring to himself. Small beads of energy wrapped around the woman’s arm and the bleeding stopped. Alakazam had used recover externally.

As Becca sat, winded and curled up in the corner of Cocoa’s room, she gave a few stifled gasps of air before breaking down. Tears spilled down her face as the trauma of her return to TPML flashed before her eyes. Knight of Time dead… the immense stress at racing through the hospital after Ecks. The fury she summoned as she strangled him, and that brief moment when she held the gun and told herself that she was going to shoot him. That he would die.

It was all too much for her to take.

Next Chapter: Coming Soon

I have some rough ideas on next chapter; it's going to be a Frontier Brain but some things need to be sorted out. It'll come soon.

Crystal Tears

2nd September 2006, 01:09 PM

[font=sylfaen]Holy crap I actually battled with decent pokemon.. None of this "lets zap Chris with my pichu" deal. This chapter is so chaotic X_x. But ha! Fear me and my Rhydon that cannot dodge worth shit! And Chris... QUISTIS IS A GIRL. *grumble grumble*

Nahaha, my useless Pichu evolved in a useless Pikachu! Yay! Go Yuffie! My ninja chu!

*snickers* 'Oh god…oh god…I swallowed my Gastly! HE’S GOING TO POSSESS ME! AAAAAARRRGGGGHHH!’

Had me laughing for a while, almost fell off my chair at that.

What? Solia died? Noo, so sad... Poor Mega, he's gonna feel so responsible... Whatever, it wasn't his fault, its all... Ecks fault yes... Ecks...

*Hates Eck*

Ecks... Should've... Died....

I give credit to TML has to getting that close to killing him... But he's going to kill cocoa, then becca, then everyone else will die horribly at his icky hands.

Except Liang... Because he seems to evade death constantly.

There Chris, I replied. Now be happy -.-'' *poof*

Ultimate Charizard

2nd September 2006, 02:33 PM

Wow....im all honourable uber villainy type.
Personally it would have been Snorlax goin toe to toe with that Slaking but that was pretty sneaky. What do you do when faced with an extremely powerfull pokemon?, steal its pokeball and recall it lol.

Once again Oz manages to get me laughing, though that Bow tie seems to be an important plot device, dont let it slip into obscurity now ;)
2 Deaths, im surprised the body count was so Low though taking out one of the Eon's was an odd move.
I can see alot of grief and guilt coming in the next chapter..

oh and one last thing.....Whiny? :mad:

Charles Legend

2nd September 2006, 03:16 PM

Wow Chris the last few chapters were grate, Anyways it's grate to see I am not the only one who used a D/P pokémon or two.

Oh god…oh god…I swallowed my Gastly! HE’S GOING TO POSSESS ME! AAAAAARRRGGGGHHH!’:lol: I am going to be nomating as the best quote in the next nomation topic... ;)

oh andgood to see charles battling and I cant wate until we hear the sorry behind Charles catching snappy... ;)

oh and it was quite darl and I take those Crystal things were full of Sleeping gas?

~Charles Legend 

Blademaster

2nd September 2006, 05:47 PM

Lack of sleep (AGAIN! :mad:), lack of food, crappy weather... Not much to say, so I'll keep it simple:

1. Uuberfred was funny.

2. Andrew was funnier.

3. The battle... We may have a new nominee for the Best Battle Award next year.

4. Good use of Elektible - he seems so fitting for Ecks now...

Keep it up...

-Blade

The Blue Avenger

2nd September 2006, 06:44 PM

Wow. That was impressive. I was totally bracing myself for Ecks to die, even though I knew it wouldn't happen... and then it didn't. However, the deaths in this chapter worked well, particularly that of Solia and Mega Horny's reaction. I really want to see where that goes.

Incidentally, I really like the subtle things you've slipped in with Ecks - he quite obviously thinks of himself as a god. His Pokemon's nicknames, the hiding in a church, and so on. Just thought that was cool.

Also, Andrew and Uuberfred were funny, as always. And poor McPrawn. Such an unfortunate first name.

Eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

Knight of Time

2nd September 2006, 06:45 PM

'covers his eyes with his hand in heavy disappointment'

Oh no, I was killed in this chapter! How could you, Chris 2.0? :(

I'm simply...stunned this happened, especially when I was one of the newer characters from the current ASB to die.

I'm really sorry, but without my character here now, I can't stand to post in this topic anymore (I'll still be in ASB, but I will soon be not as active; I'll explain why in the Absence Tower) to comment on any future chapters I might notice.

classy_cat18

2nd September 2006, 07:01 PM

It's a good thing that I read this chapter. I had no idea that I was going to have a part in it. It was an overall great chapter. Poor Becca, though. I hope Ecks gets what he deserves!

Ace64

2nd September 2006, 11:30 PM

Oh crap! This was nice to come back to. Geez....TPML really won't be the same, huh? Most of what I want to say has been said already, but I'm really curious about the person Ecks called on the phone. Ecks told him to look up Aragornbird, so does that mean that the person doesn't know AB? Curious- perhaps there is yet another traitor.

Can't wait for more!

darktyranitar

3rd September 2006, 05:36 AM

Two death... I was expecting someone else to die; maybe Liang or Ecks himself. It's surprising that Solia died just like that, and even more surprising that it was from Mega Horny (though it was rather unintended). The potrayal of her beauty even after her death sounds like a thought from a sick killer mind- I'm glad it wasn't someone else thought.

Uuberfred swallow his Pokemon! Heh, I could have laughed at that (not that I'm not amused, but rather I have this slight fever). And Andrew; wow, he's really oblivious to the war around him isn't he?

The next chapter seems to be full of despair and guilt. Man, TPML surely not gonna be the same after this...

MeLoVeGhOsTs

3rd September 2006, 06:53 AM

Agreeing with all users posting above.

Seriously, Kick ass war dude. Many pokemon were put to good use, it was great to see that militairy tactics were used and so. Those VS seekers are handy things eh? MH seems to be full of remorse, I'm loving that. Poor MH. I wonder if Luna will try and get payback.

Andrew's bowtie thingy was hillarious.

I was really impressed by UC's preformance. He reminds me of me in real life, without the show that is :p Honestly, kudos for doing this to it's full potential.

I'm still wondering what people like me do in those times? Do we sit around and wait in CCC, scared? Or do we take action? I know what I would do, but I'm not writing TPML ;)

Awaiting next chapter! :D

Chris 2.1

3rd September 2006, 09:43 AM

Crystal: In my defence, Rhydon is a GIANT HULKING ROCK THING. It was in a pretty hectic street. Anyway it did well, stop complaining -_- UuberFred swallowed his Gastly, hehe, this leads to some brilliant things in the future.

Umm it was kinda Mega’s fault…but either way he didn’t mean to kill her, or hit her, and now he’s going to be pretty stuck. People saw him; Luna’s furious at him…will be have to go on the run? You’ll find out.

Ecks will probably be back….but you’re quite right. Liang’s still alive after all of this. Sounds like it’s going to change.

Ultimate Charizard: I think he wanted to prove himself, but Ultimate’s act left him in trouble. A lot of people could identify him as the main culprit. As for Slaking, Ultimate wanted to get through ASAP. Who says he has a Snorlax, anyway? ;)

Haha yes, the bow tie is very important. But yes the death count was low, although most people were injured. I don’t think it was The Antibodies intention to kill anyone…except Cocoa.

Taking out the Eons was odd, but it was an accident.

Mega’s character obviously doesn’t like your character.

Charles: Elecable (or whatever its called) seemed so suiting for Ecks, I had to pick it. I might incorporate D/P Pokemon in the future. We’ll see. Charles caught Snappy at Skinny Dip’s Pond. I was going to show the scene but decided against it.

The crystalline dust, as explained in Ch32, was a fusion of Haunter’s psywave and hypnosis. It was dispersed through the ventilation in the Hospital to lead everybody into a deep sleep.

Blade: Lack of sleep huh? Don’t blame me!
1: Thanks
2: Thanks!
3: The whole thing? *crosses fingers*
4: Yea…I thought so, too…

TBA: Thanks! Yea I wanted Ecks’ storyline to end in a mysterious way. You know, make you think he would die and then have him disappear. I also thought the deaths were very significant. I explained this to Andrew on MSN, but I had a very solid reason for killing Solia off. Oh yes.

Firstly…the two Eon Sisters are pretty funny characters. I felt though that the more I wrote them they would eventually get watered down beyond belief, becoming more and more stupid. I sacrificed their humor, and now I’m very much looking forward to developing Luna’s character as she copes with the death of her sister.

Mega Horny killing her, accidentally anyway, brings about an interesting dynamic and there’s more on that next chapter.

Overall I think it was a good move. Kyle’s death was also highly significant; I didn’t really want to kill him off. I really liked his character, from the moment I wrote him in as this aggressive guy, I wanted to peel away his exterior and show you what he’s like. But his story had a beginning, middle and an end. He was a hero.

It also means that when Hanada Tattsu finds out his mentor was killed by his father…sparks will well and truly fly.

Oh you noticed the subtlety. Well let me tell you when the mysterious man has his own Chapter, you’ll learn religion was a very big part of his background and life.

Kyle: It’s a sacrifice I wanted to make for the good of writing; please don’t take it personally! I notice Karin rarely replies here anymore….hmm I’d better stop killing people off or I’ll lose all my readers.

TBA’s response explains that Kyle is a character whose death brought open a lot of possibilities for the future. And he isn’t really new; introduced in Chapter 15, he’s been featured increasingly, and I worked hard to build his profile up.

I’m just slightly disappointed that you don’t see anything more to this fiction than your own name in the cast list. It’s a shame you won’t be around here.

Classy: Hehe yea, I might feature you more often actually. I just thought you’d make a cool character. Thanks!

Ace64: In order to express the events of Ch31 more thoroughly, Ch32 takes place some time after in order to convey certain aspects of the war. We’ll see the villagers recovering from the loss of two members; we’ll see repairs starting to take place…

Aha. The person Ecks called? A traitor…that’s a very good word for them. But don’t assume they’re as in on everything as Ecks and Callisto.

Darktyranitar: People think Liang’s going to die an awful lot, don’t they? :p But this new assassin might finally end his lucky streak. Her beauty remark was quite odd…but she was a pretty girl, and obviously when they snuck off to fight, she wanted to look her best. I quite enjoyed the pout, as if she disagreed with her own death. Quite suiting 

Andrew’s got bigger things to worry about! And yes, UuberFred swallowed a Pokeball. This is quite significant!

MLG: Yea I liked the way it worked, the way the waves attacked, the way a lot of members got to see some spotlight. I’m very pleased you liked it. I didn’t write it…must have been too caught up, but you were sitting in the CCC with everyone else.

Next Chapter News

I had planned the outline for Ch32....but I scrapped it. It's going to be exciting, overdue, and Ecks-ellent.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

3rd September 2006, 12:41 PM

Oh crap, I'm a woose :p

Ace64

3rd September 2006, 05:38 PM

DONT T UTA ME I LY LOVE?

Hmm.

classy_cat18

3rd September 2006, 07:26 PM

DONT T UTA ME I LY LOVE?

Hmm.

I got "don't trust family".

darktyranitar

4th September 2006, 12:28 AM

Hm, I got something like "DONT T TRUST FAMILY LOVE". Hm, what are you hinting at, Chris?

Ace64

4th September 2006, 12:33 AM

Hanada and Ecks, perhaps? That would be a verrry nice scene.

Hyperness is a Good Thing

4th September 2006, 01:31 AM

o.O Interesting... *missed out on a few chapters* Had to catch up, and WOW was it worth it.. lots happened... and hey, you killed off some characters - but those mostly haven't played that big a role in the story yet - most of the "mains" (actually ALL of the mains) are still alive.
I wonder what is that evil mind of yours is concocting up for the next chapter! Definitely looking forward to it ^^

Chris 2.1

4th September 2006, 09:52 AM

My evil mind is whirring away like a super (and exhausted) pair of clock hands. And the subliminal messaging? I didn't even notice that *whistles*. It's a good guess to throw them all together, but it might also be quite wise to look at where the words were placed and if they are simply clues on their own.

My mind's forever changing on what the next chapter is. However I have finally decided.

Chapter 32 – Palace Maven Spenser
One week on from the Antibodies attack on the Village, the people of TPML are still in mourning for the lives lost and the destruction caused. As Tucker lies in Hospital, he struggles to remember much else about his attacker other than his villainous costume, and vows revenge. Amy and Grey, as the new ones in charge, reorder the Moderating system and stage a friendly battle at The Battle Palace to get publicity back in the Village.

Hanada Tattsu has left Jolly Japes, but will his loyalty for his missing father continue? Callisto spends her last days in 04621 trying to find her husband, while the death of Solia puts Jenny in a new frame of mind.

Discuss.

Mega Horny

4th September 2006, 09:57 AM

while the death of Solia puts Jenny in a new frame of mind.[/i]

MUST KILL MEGA HORNY!!!!!

So chris, are you going to answer my pm? :p

Blademaster

4th September 2006, 10:04 AM

Hm, I got something like "DONT T TRUST FAMILY LOVE". Hm, what are you hinting at, Chris?

"DONT TRUST FAMILY LOVE" = "Don't trust family; love."

In other words, trusting a lover/spouse may be smarter than trusting family at times.

That's how I interpreted it, anyway.

Elec Man EXE

4th September 2006, 10:43 AM

Wow... lots of goings on, my head is spinning.

First of all, LOL at Uuber. Swallowing a pokeball... thats what you get for fooling around while under attack :o

War... death... ack, thats never going to turn out well. But now that its over... it'll be interesting to see how everything turns out. I'm particularly curious about exactly how the Antibodies are going to go on. Cocoa isn't dead, but I doubt many of them will want to continue after the deaths, but they can't very well go back to normal life in the village either.

I blew up a frontier brain, not going to turn out well for me. At least I hesitated a little, lol. And Mr. floating Headbutt got a lot of action as usual, hehe.

I'm also curious about who Ecks called. Mysterious assassins... that can only mean ninja's (well, not really, but who doesn't love ninjas).

As far as the bold clue goes... humm, could mean a few different things I suppose. We'll just have to see.

Charizard04621

4th September 2006, 12:12 PM

Noooooo Becca, shoot first, talk later damnit! =/

Chris - I don't post here not because I'm hiding from this topic, I'm hiding from TPM altogether. I barely exist here anymore.

KoT - This fiction has nothing to do with the real people, I always refer to Chris's created character in third person because it's so far off from the real me, as is expected of an author's poetic license. It's fictional, when she was alive she did so many things I would have done better, but I didn't take it personally.

As for making lengthy comments, I never was one to do that. This fic is interesting as far as plotline goes and I'll keep reading, but commenting on plot alone is just... meh. I don't mean to attack your writing style Chris, maybe it's just the story itself that's causing it but I don't know. I'll say that you're pretty good at creating surprises and advancing the storyline, something that I have to work on as I focus too much on thoughts and dialogue alone.

Anyway, cheers, I'll be waiting for more.

Andrew

9th September 2006, 02:10 AM

Wowo, fighting galore. I missed all the little character nuances, but the interaction scenes, not battles were the best! But yea, too much fighting!

First off, who's Greta? Also, loved the idea of the lesser members trying to fight... and kind of failing (Poor Solia, but Luna was better... and will her sis get the Espy? and her other? Pokemon?) Although Mega Horny's going to be all "Don't blame it! It was an accident! I got caught with a bad crowd!" Capital punishment! I can see Luna just wanting him removed from Pokemon altogether.

Liang's message was hillariously detailed for someone about to die. lol

McPrawn's an awful character, I bet with awful hygene too. I also loathe Bow Ties, they're awfully unfashionable! But, I love the fact my character kept two! Good thinking!

Oh and the dust thing, that's ghost crap?

Oh and Ecks is all jesusfreak, he has 12 disciples, which means he has a Judas! Who will turn against him!

Although, poor Cocoa, getting a bullet IN hospital! Christ, not cool. Weren't some people hurt or died because of the sleep, like diabetic comas or bleeding to death in emergency?

Chris 2.1

9th September 2006, 06:46 AM

Elec Man: Bold clues? *shrugs* you guys are probably reading into this way too much ;). Anywho the Antibodies fate is partly revealled next Chapter, and we're going to see how some of the characters (Mega Horny, Elec Man) try to get out of the situation they're in. Will people accuse them? Will they run away? You'll be surprised just how it works out.

UuberFreds swallowing of the Pokeball is set to be a particularly funny part of the fic that leads up to his flashback chapter. I'm quite excited about that. Our neglected nightmare will be featured in Ch32. His appearences will be more frequent as we approach his chapter (see below)

You'll find out who Ecks called...very soon! It's hugely significant.

Karin: I know, don't worry. I know you don't frequent the boards, and I'm sure you're always reading. Thanks for replying anyway!

OzAndrew: It was a very full-on chapter I agree. Greta is a Frontier Brain (check the chapter where the Brains are all introduced) she's a bit of a ninja-esque person. She has an Umbreon, Heracross, Shedinja, Gengar and Breloom.

Luna will get her sisters Pokemon, yes. They only had 3 each, anyway, so Luna will carry a full team of 6. Mega Horny is quite interesting...you'll see what happens next chapter.

Liang's message: he wasn't about to die. Its not like blood was spurting fantastically from a gaping wound. He was just drained, physically and mentally exhausted, and felt like he couldn't hold on for many more days. McPrawn. Eew. Notice the Shawshank Redemption reference?

Bow Tie = IMPORTANT!

The powdery stuff in the Hospital was a pink, crystalline substance which was the result of a psywave + hypnosis combo. It was like a heavy spore, in a pinkish lavender colour. Ultimate's Haunter did it.

Ecks has a religious background (in a manner of speaking...see below) and I can't wait to explore it.

Update

Ch32 is plundering along. The pace is so different from Ch31's I'm finding it difficult to re-adjust! Hehe in either case it begins with a sort of epilogic way; you'll hear and see how things are since the attack. It is set one week after the night Kyle and Solia died.

I'm also fitting in plans for what the next few chapters will be. The Ecks Chapter will come very soon, since there are parts of his life that are necessary for you to see as we enter a crucial part of his storyline. It will have flashbacks like Hanada's chapter. You'll see his Father, and his early relationships with Callisto.

Similarly, UuberFred, while not having his own chapter, will have his back story explored in the chapter Factory Head Noland, which will also come soon. We'll see his home town of Michigan, and his little sister, as well as other members of his (surprisingly large) family.

Blademaster

9th September 2006, 08:38 AM

home town of Michigan

Michigan's a state, Chris-man.

Sorry, pal; couldn't resist - if you read reviews of my other fics, you'll understand. It's something of a curse, I guess... :sweat:

Just for the record, though, I never saw The Shawshank Redemption... So, I'm curious - just what reference were you talking about this time? I know, if I haven't ever once seen it, I won't know, anyway; humor me. Maybe I'll learn something... ;)

Ace64

9th September 2006, 07:36 PM

Don’t trust family love
Intentional taking of ones own life

I can't take it anymore. Will Mega Horny commit suicide for taking Solia's life? Or someone else- Elec Man or Ultimate? Hmm...

MeLoVeGhOsTs

10th September 2006, 05:47 AM

Or something between Hanada and Ecks?

Moltrecuno

14th September 2006, 10:50 AM

I only read the first chapter (don't shoot me >.< )... but I do like the story so far. Especially the descriptions. I just need to read 30+ chapters before I understand what the heck is going on. -_-'

I've always wanted to see a fic like this for the ASB and its kinda sad for me that I didn't see one before I disappeared from the forum. This'll be a good read for me while I'm at work or before bed.

I'll keep on reading even though you'll only see a random post from me once every four months or so...

Chris 2.1

14th September 2006, 11:16 AM

Blademaster: Meh. Thats hard to read. I finally share your pain. You're all very patient and information-seeking and these bold clues are rewards. Huzzah.

Anyway Fred is from Michigan, whatever the fuck it is -_-

Ace: You might be wrong to assume both clues are together; in fact the first clue 'Don't Trust Family Love' could be interpreted much differently if you look where the bold clues were placed in which paragraphs.

I know it's tantalising. One of the clues will actually be apparent quite soon. It's such a gargantuan twist. It's been in development from the very very early stages of the fic. I can't wait to write it. It's going to be so fun! I guarentee nobody will expect this.

MLG: That's the main family theme here, Hanada and Ecks. But Razor Leaf's mother was part of his story. Chris' was also mentioned. Hmm.

Molt: New reader! Hey, I remember you being big around TPM. Maybe? I hope you post after some of the chapters; I'd like to see your reaction and reading it in one block will be quite interesting. Haha some of it gets scary...so be careful it you read at night time :)

Hmm information time.

I have confirmed an Ecks chapter will come soon; it's more of an Ecks/Callisto/Hanada chapter, since there are flashbacks to them all. It will detail their lives; you'll learn why Ecks was fired from the Board, how his marriage to Callisto has been strained, and some history on Eck's father.

But I also want another Ecks chapter detailing more of his pre-Callisto life; his background is important, his religion, his beliefs etc and I want to illustrate that eventually. So you might see two Ecks chapters before the fic is done.

Other characters to get chapters will be Razor Leaf, Grey and Jenny hopefully. I thought about giving Chris a background chapter, but I don't think it is necessary.

Thats all I guess. Ch32 going slowly. Hehe.

Elec Man EXE

14th September 2006, 11:46 AM

Molty!!!! :eek:

Good to see your still lurking around... you should come back to ASB, I never did get to battle you way back when, I don't think. I need more old-ASB friends to come back :)

(watch her not remember who the heck I am, lol)

Moltrecuno

17th September 2006, 03:29 PM

I guess I must've been big in the ASB in the past or not too many people would've remembered me. lol I just finished reading five chapters so I'm getting there lol. I really like the descriptions for the battles. ^^ I have so much going on with me IRL at the moment (or more like the past two years >.>; ) so it will take me a few weeks to catch up to where the fanfic is at the moment.

Elec Man: Of course I remember you lol. I remember reffing a battle or two of yours in the past. I'm not sure about the coming back part because I'll be very absent minded about posting my attacks in an ASB battle lol. If I ever get enough time, I might come back but I'll be a very casual player in the league.

The Blue Avenger

17th September 2006, 03:33 PM

Moltrecuno... that name rings bells. I think I might have been in a tagteam match against you when I first started out? I was under the name TheBlueAvenger then.

Chris 2.1

20th September 2006, 03:28 PM

Chapter Thirty-Two
[size=3]Palace Maven Spenser

It was exactly a week since Ecks had unleashed his Antibodies upon The Pokemon Masters League. In the vicious attack, an attempt had been taken on Cocoa Sting’s life, although The Missing Link had been able to prevent it. Ultimate Charizard, through use of his Haunter, had bewitched the people within Jolly Japes Hospital into a deep sleep, using a combination of hypnosis with psywave to spread the sleep inducing waves further into the Hospital, mainly via the air conditioning vents throughout the building. As he did this, The Antibodies, from The Old Village, moved in ‘waves’ towards TPML. Despite efforts from The Front Line and The BT Street Guard, some Antibodies had gotten through, but the majority had been captured.

Over the week, The Board of Governors had been sent a number of cases from some of The Antibodies. Many were let off; they were lackeys, people who were simple cowards and had not caused any real damage, but some had been more severe. Fifty-Six, the Typhlosion trainer who had set alight and burned The Chunky Clefable Café to the ground, had been sent to jail and banned from any Leagues. Dark Phoenix, the owner of the diamond Claydol had been given 500 hours of community service, a fine and a similar ban. Classy Cat had managed to provide a good case in her defense and had been let off. However, some cases were harder than others.

Witnesses had seen Elec Man purposefully attack Greta with a Hyper Beam and lower the guard of TPML members defending the village. But many knew Nate as a good person. At only 19, he was more innocent than others, and Rosie Cran of the Board defended him, saying he was under the peer pressure of a leader with a reputation for shooting inferiors. Cocoa Sting (who, while still not completely over her attack, was back on The Board of Governors and taking an insane amount of tablets and antibiotics) also explained that he was doing well in The Frontier Brain Challenge. If they did pardon him, his quest for all 7 symbols may serve as a publicity stunt to bring attention back to the good aspects of the village. He currently had five. Elec Man EXE was pardoned, and allowed back to the village, but was warned from Gordon that, should he flaunt his sentence (or lack of), he would be in a lot of trouble.

Ultimate Charizard was nowhere to be found; people had searched the village extensively but there was no trace. Similarly, Ecks had disappeared, leaving people like Sam Spam, Vermillion and Syberia to take the fall. Syberia managed to get off lightly; his contributions to TPML over the years seemed to work in his favor, and his fine was slightly less than anybody else’s.

Security had found Cyrus’ dead body in The Old Village, with bullet wounds spelling an X across his chest. Nobody had known he was even back at TPML. Since the attack, The Board of Governors issued more security around the village as it went through a radical change in its History.

The day after the attack, Wolfsong and Grey addressed the people of TPML. Cocoa had stated them as joint Heads of TPML together, and they delivered a message reassuring everybody that despite the hardships, the Frontier Brains were staying for a little longer before the League was to take place. They also announced that the Moderating system was to be revamped.

OzAndrew, current Head Coordinator of The Pokemon Masters League was slightly startled (but not surprised) when an unconscious Tucker was found at the base of Crescent Walk. Bloody and battered, he was taken to Jolly Japes (after the place was cleared of all sleep inducing particles), and treated straight away.

Unfortunately, the doctors were quite worried about the state of Tucker’s spine. It had not shattered; such an act would surely make him no more than a vegetable, but it looked as if the area around the spine was bruised, and his movement was very much limited. The Frontier Brains had cancelled all Battle Dome Challenges as they pondered what they would do. Tucker had been with them for such a long time, but doctors were worried that the damage to his ribcage (four ribs had been broken, two of which were simply shattered) opened up a whole new page of problems about the safety and protection of his heart.

“Quite simply,” said Doctor Wernham. “He should retire from his position. I just fear that he’ll do himself even more damage.”

Scott and the remaining Brains were currently in a conference call with Amy and Grey, the new Heads of TPML, and the Board of Governors. They were discussing everything that was to take place in TPML. Callisto Thunder was also present in The Rules Tower. She was allowed to stay in the village while her son recovered from his condition, but Callisto had conveniently forgotten to inform Gordon that Hanada had left Hospital that very morning, feeling having returned everywhere in his body.

“I think that, under the circumstances,” Gordon began. “A new Frontier Brain should be selected for you. We will host a worldwide search for a new one. And I shall have the Board decide on the finalist.”

“I’m not so sure…” Scott said meekly. On the seat next to Gordon, Cocoa Sting spoke up. Despite the attack on her life, she had recovered well following the poisoning, and the muscle seizure had passed over the days. Now, however, she still looked slightly flustered; her skin was a lighter tone, her eyes somehow wider, and her hair, despite her expensive stylist doing all he could, was wispy and ghost-like, whereas before it had been powerful, springy and dark.

“I think the Brains should choose a member for themselves,” she explained. “After all the seven of them go through together it makes sense that they should decide who they battle alongside.”

“Cocoa makes a good point,” said Austin Myers. From across the table, Rosie Cran looked slightly upset at Austin’s alliance with Cocoa.

“Very well,” Gordon sighed, as many of the Board looked in agreement.

“Perhaps the winner of the 04621 Tournament could be offered the 7th spot?” said Jacques, the sharp American-French gentleman. As he spoke, his forefinger and thumb finger played with his thin moustache.

“I like that idea,” said Callisto Thunder.

“They need someone before then!” came a thick splattery voice. A large black woman in her 50’s spoke up from the other end of the Board. Her name was Voletta Kane. She had loopy earrings and a sequined shirt. “We can’t wait until the end of the tournament!”

“We will keep you informed, Scott,” Gordon said firmly, ignoring Voletta. “And Callisto?”

“Yes, Gordon?”

“I fail to see why you remain in 04621 when your son was released from the hospital,” he said coldly. “We booked a taxi for you in an hour. It will take you to a nearby airfield where you will be flown back here.”

Callisto looked as if she had just stepped in something foul. Face faltering, lips forming into something of a sneer, her perfectly penciled eyebrows pointed down to her eyes and she took a deep breath.

“Yes Gordon,” she said firmly, as the call ended.

“Well, until they come to a decision,” Amy said, in an authoritative tone. “I asked you to come here again to further discuss the content of our last meeting. Since the attack on the village I’m sure you’ve all noticed the extensive damage to BT Street, as well as, but not as importantly the overgrowth area around Feizhi Outpost. Now at the moment we are getting The Chunky Clefable Café refurbished and repaired. Most the damage is not too extensive, but nevertheless quite important to remove.

“I was talking with Spenser yesterday, and we feel that we need to do something to boost the morale. I suggested that, as newly instated moderators, Grey and myself, as well as Spenser, engage in a free-for-all battle at the Battle Palace. Like…well, a publicity stunt.”

“That sounds good,” said Greta, who had recovered in no time. “A melee is always good for the crowds.”

“I would be honored,” said Spenser shortly.

“I’ll announce it at lunchtime,” Amy said. She looked across at Grey. “We both can. We have finalized the new moderating line-up, too, so we have plenty to talk about.”

“Did you find somebody for the position of Head Trader?” asked Scott.

“The Blue Avenger denied it,” Amy sighed. “He said he’d no sooner cut off John Flansburgh’s tongue.”

“We asked Chris 2.0,” Grey added. “He similarly refused.”

“And we decided that, since Trading is uncommon anyway, to demolish the Trading Club,” Amy said. Grey looked rather frustrated at being interrupted. “We are installing Trading Pods around the Village in a few weeks.”

“That’s right,” Grey said icily, looking irritated.

*

Since the attack on the village, I had managed to help Amy return Liang to civilization. Aragornbird seemed shaken; he rarely spoke. After all he had been through (he confessed to us both that he had shot Henry, his brother, but the choice was not his), I was surprised he was still alive.

He was staying in Amy’s flat, but at the moment was booked in to Spatial Spa, the most luxurious (and only, as far as I knew) Health Spa in TPML. Apparently Dark Dragonite had helped revitalize it; it used to be an old, creaky Hotel at the far end of Tranquil Shores, but after a hefty sum of money and an eye for design, Steve had helped create a wonderfully relaxing place. Liang’s bruising, aches, pains and stress would ebb away in a collection of fruity bath salts.

As Jenny and I sat on the grassy slope by the pond (which had soon become our favorite picnic spot) I couldn’t help but smile. Jenny had given me an ultimatum; stay with her, or go after Ecks and, despite heading to The Old Village; she was still talking to me. The threat wasn’t empty (Jenny isn’t like that at all), but after the death of Solia, Jenny was somewhat shaken and upset, and I think she needed me.

“I’m sorry,” she said, albeit clumsily, for her mouth was stuffed with crisps. She swallowed.

“It’s ok,” I said, smiling at her.

“I still think you shouldn’t kill him,” Jenny said slowly, as if considering and structuring her answer carefully. “But…”

“Let’s just forget about it,” I said, holding her close.

*

“WELCOME, PEOPLE OF TPML!” Amy cried happily. A weary crowd had gathered in the village square, including Charles Legend, Chris Watarimono, Dark Sage and many of the regulars. Crystal Tears was mysteriously absent.

“It has been a difficult week,” Grey said, slightly quieter and more serious. “For all of us. First, before we go on, I would like to offer my condolences to the families of both Kyle and Solia, the two lives that were lost during the attack last week. There will be a commemorative service held here in TPML in roughly another weeks time; anybody wishing to give a eulogy please contact us. Their lives were taken too early; these two did not deserve to die when they did.”

I could see, in the crowd, Razor Leaf looking slightly weak. He blinked furiously, arms no longer crossed as they always were, frown no longer pushing his expression into one of distaste.

“But we must move on,” Grey said lightly. “These dark times are lifting and we have to press on through an ocean of unknown territory. In other news, The Chunky Clefable Café, after perishing, is to re-open on Wednesday under the new name Hoothooters. Grey’s Theatre, called Theatre Gris, will also be open in around a month.

“Furthermore, we advise anybody to have a look at Spatial Spa, the new Hotel/Spa treatment center on Tranquil Shores. Our new Moderating System has been re-vamped, and your new Moderators are as follows:

“Our Head Referee is The Missing Link, who is now back with us as a full member of the TPML Team.”

Becca walked from behind a screen that was at the back of the stage, waving formally. She wore a black, pinstripe suit, with a white shirt underneath.

“Next,” Amy said proudly. “Is OzAndrew, the Head Coordinator!”

Andrew walked on, a smile on his face. There were cheers and cries out loud; one boy held a sign saying ‘THROW YOUR HAT IN MY EYE!’ Andrew was accompanied by his Mr Mime, waving.

“Aragornbird has been promoted as our Head Banker,” Grey said. “But he is currently recovering and could not be here today. Veterans will remember Aragornbird as a confident and competent Banker from old times.”

“Head Businessman is Dark Dragonite,” Amy said, as Steve walked out onto the stage. I saw Razor Leaf wearing something of a patronizing smirk and wondered why he hadn’t been re-assigned as Head Businessman.

“And The Blue Avenger is Head of Archives,” Grey said finally. “Head of Archives will be in charge of looking after The Absence Tower, as well as archiving important information.”

“This is our new moderating team,” Amy said to the crowd, who were quite excited to see four of these five figures standing there. “And Grey and I are the Chief Executives of TPML from now on, replacing Cocoa Sting, who was taking over for us.”

“We’d like to close the announcement today by reminding you all that there is a 3-way melee at the Battle Palace today at Half Past Two. For those of you without Map Cards in your VS Seekers, The Battle Palace is located near the Park. If you go to the park, keep heading West and you’ll come to the Orient Gardens. The Palace lies there. Make sure you come!”

“From both of us at TPML, we wish you a great day!” Amy said jubilantly. The crowd gave applause before they started to depart; many felt this melee sounded quite interesting, and would be just the exciting battle to wash away any unwanted, muggy feelings after the attack on the village the previous week.

*

Meanwhile, Jenny and Luna sat in the park. It was a quiet day. Luna was wearing all pink; she explained to Jenny that all-black, while usual for bereavement, would go horribly with her new sunglasses and trainers. Jenny tried to understand.

“I’m just so…lonely,” Luna said quietly. She looked at her watch. “So…how did things turn out with Chris?”

Jenny let out a sigh. She stroked her new Persian, nicknamed Kayla, and struggled to piece together her thoughts into a coherent sentence.

“I…love him,” she said slowly. “And I just couldn’t bring myself to desert him for doing what he believed in.”

“Wow,” Luna said.

“I know, it’s deep,” Jenny said.

“No, I mean wow, according to Ok! Magazine, Paris Hilton has her own Tractor! I mean whoa!”

“Luna!” Jenny cried. “I love Chris, and I just couldn’t keep that up any longer. Being angry with him. It just…it just wasn’t right.”

“Love is difficult,” Luna mused. “I mean, how can I have ‘blossoming romance’ in my horoscope when my frikkin sister just died! Hello?”

“I’ll give you some ‘you’ time,” Jenny said tentatively, sighing to herself and leaving the bench, Kayla by her side. Luna nodded, folding her magazine away and releasing both Espeon and Umbreon. Since they had only three Pokemon each, Luna simply took her sisters Pokemon onto her roster. Her Pokemon (Umbreon, Natu, Solrock) were now accompanied by Solia’s team; Espeon, Murkrow and Lunatone.

Luna looked up suddenly. A ragged, messy Mega Horny stood in her path. His hair was ruffled, clothes ripped, and a bloody cut ran down his cheek. He was calm and quiet. Luna was about to scream.

“No!” he said. “Please, please be quiet!”

The innocence in his voice was unbearable. Luna sighed.

“You murderer!” she cried. “Y-You! You!”

“It was an accident,” Mega Horny said sadly. “Ultimate was intimidating me. If I hadn’t attacked her…he would have told Ecks. I would have been killed!”

“Monster!” Luna shouted.

“I didn’t mean to hit her…Espeon…Espeon deflected the –”

Luna looked down at a scowling Espeon, who darted in front of her trainer and unleashed a psychic blast. Mega Horny was hurled off his feet and fell to the floor, where Luna towered over him.

“What are you doing?” Mega Horny asked, bewildered. “Luna?”

Luna stood there, fuming. Her gaze bore into Mega Horny’s eyes. He was quivering…would she have him arrested? People had seen him attack Solia, and they had seen her die. He wouldn’t be safe. As he lay there, the psychic attack having caused numbness across his body, he wondered why Luna wasn’t doing anything. Eventually, she spoke up.

“You can get up and go,” she snapped. “And I’ll let your conscience punish you.”

She wiped her face on her sleeve. She turned and sat back on the bench. Mega Horny hastily got up, looking flustered and confused. Luna pretended to be looking something up on her mobile phone, but secretly she watched Mega Horny scurry away through the park. She checked her watch a second time.

*

Meanwhile, after the meeting, Grey hastily made his way to Jolly Japes Hospital. He wanted to see Tucker before the match at the Palace. Upon entering into the lobby area, glad to see people queuing, doctors hurrying around and patients being treated, Grey made his way to the Second Floor, where the Brain was located.

“Grey!” came a cry. It was Lucy, who was sitting in Tucker’s ward, at his side. “How nice to see you.”

“Are you not at The Battle Pike?” Grey asked, bemused as Lucy kissed his cheek.

“An advantage of opening during the night,” Lucy said softly.

“How are you?” Grey asked Tucker.

“You tell him,” spat the camp Brain to Lucy. She swept her hair from her eyes.

“He…has to be confined to a wheelchair,” Lucy sighed.

“Oh my,” Grey said sadly. “I am sorry Tucker.”

“Yea, yea,” Tucker muttered, looking less flamboyant in a plain night shirt beneath his covers.

“He cannot stay with the Frontier Brains,” Lucy said. “We are selecting a new one. Tucker couldn’t constantly tour with us, moving from place to place…too much stress is going to be dangerous for him.”

“Are you staying here?” Grey asked kindly.

“I don’t know,” Tucker snapped. “How would I know?”

“Well,” Grey mumbled, feeling as if the conversation was difficult, awkward and not helped by Tucker’s snappy attitude. “I really should go…see you soon Lucy…Tucker…”

He left the ward. Lucy watched him go, while Tucker picked up his phone and dialed a number in it. As it rang, he clicked his tongue impatiently as Lucy sat there, mildly interested in what he was doing.

“Hey Tucker.”

“Hi,” he said. “Look…we should cut small talk –”

“But we haven’t spoken for ages!” came the voice.

“I’m going to be living in a freaking WHEELCHAIR!” he snapped.

“You…are?” the voice asked. “W-What happened?”

“Some…masked bastard attacked me,” he mumbled. “A yellow…spandex-clad person. That’s why I thought you might be able to help me. His name was Quackman.”

“Quack…man?”

“Yes,” Tucker snapped.

“He sounds lame.”

“He is,” Tucker replied. “But he beat the tar out of me!”

“So you want…my services?”

“If you would,” Tucker said dryly. “Come to TPML Village 04621.”

“Understood,” said the man. “I will let you know when I am there.”

“Who was that?” Lucy asked a smug looking Tucker, as he slipped his phone away. He smiled.

“Just…a useful contact,” he said airily.

*

Hanada Tattsu was on his way out of Jolly Japes Hospital. He remembered a dreamless sleep last night, deep and thoroughly refreshing. After some extensive physiotherapy he was now admitted from the Hospital, with some antibiotics to take and an extensive list of various arm and leg circulation exercises to stop his limbs seizing up.

“We definitely need some practice,” Hanada mumbled. He fumbled on his belt for Wartortle’s Pokeball, unwillingly walking right into Grey, still at the reception of the Hospital.

“Oh, Greg,” Grey said kindly. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Hanada said. “Back down from the mountain then?”

“Yes,” Grey chuckled. “How is Lileep?”

“Fine…” Hanada said airily. “I’d better go. I want to train up some…and if I find Kyle today then hopefully he can help me, you know, like he did at Trolgar Mountain.”

Grey’s face fell slightly. He looked at the unknowing Hanada Tattsu and opened his mouth to speak.

“Greg…” he said softly. “I…I thought you knew but…well…being in the Hospital…you wouldn’t…”

“What?” Hanada asked.

“Kyle is dead,” Grey finished, staring at the ground as the words left him.

“What?” Hanada asked.

“He was protecting the Hospital…with me,” Grey said, as images of Kyle flashed before his eyes. He saw the charged electric beam hurtle into him…he saw Absol flung high into the air as his master was ploughed into the wall of the hospital… “But he was killed.”

“Oh my god,” Hanada said emptily. “…who did it?”

“Who else,” Grey said coldly. “Mr Ecks.”

Hanada’s eyes darted to meet Grey’s. They were empty, lifeless and burning with tears. Hanada’s lip began to tremble as he imagined his father standing before a lifeless Kyle…and frustration bubbled within.

“That bastard,” he snapped.

“He will get what he deserves,” Grey said calmly.

“I know,” Hanada said firmly. Grey and Hanada discussed Kyle more, and Grey happened to mention the service being held in his honor. As Grey left the Hospital, Hanada quickly dialed his mother’s number in his phone and rang her.

“Hello?” she said airily. “Is everything ok?”

“No it isn’t!” Hanada snapped.

“Well Greg, I’m waiting to board the plane back to New York,” Callisto said. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Explain something to me,” Hanada said coldly. “Did my Father murder Knight of Time?”

Hanada heard a long pause down the phone; his mothers breathing was heard, but she sounded slightly nervous.

“Greg…” she said. “You need to understand that –”

“ANSWER MY QUESTION!” shouted the boy.

“Who told you this?” Callisto asked suddenly.

“The Arbiter,” Hanada replied.

“He’s obviously lying,” Callisto said airily, but her son did not take the lie easily.

“You could not fake those tears in his eyes,” he snapped. “There’s a ceremony being held in a week. You think that I’m going to believe the entire village is living a single lie? Or that my father is the one lying, and you’re covering him up!”

“Greg…please,” Callisto said slowly.

“He’s a murderer,” Hanada said, initially angry; however, he trailed off at the end of the sentence, voice losing its momentum. “…why?”

“It’s complicated,” Callisto sighed.

“You knew all along,” interrupted Hanada. “You…approve of what he’s doing?”

“I don’t app-”

“You’re just as bad as him,” Hanada snapped, hanging up and stuffing the phone in his pocket. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, heading towards the main part of the village. Meanwhile, Callisto was boarding her plane back to the Board of Governors in New York City; the private jet was readying to take off, and she dialed Ecks.

“The person you called is not available. Please leave a message after the tone.”

“Ecks? It’s me,” she said sadly. “Hanada found out about…about Kyle. He’s furious with us both, and he’s not speaking to me. Please…please reply as soon as you get this. Are you ok?”

She sighed.

“Speak soon.”

The woman had tried reaching her husband for days. He had not contacted her since the attack, and she was slightly worried about what had happened. He teleported away…The Missing Link had seen it…but where had he teleported to? Had Becca lied, and was he really dead? She wondered about the possibilities as the plane took flight.

*

At the Battle Palace, a crowd had fast filled up. The splendid, white marble floor glistened in the large, echoing chamber-like room, and on the arena were four roman style columns, thick and powerful, shooting up to the roof and supporting it. The arena was circular; Spenser, Amy and Grey were spaced out at various intervals around the arena. The crowd was on all sides, watching.

“We all use one Pokemon,” Spenser commanded deeply. “I choose you, Crobat!”

From his Pokeball emerged a large purple bat; it consisted mainly of a squat body, with thin, long wings coming out of its body in two pairs. It had a sneer and thick fangs, beating the air and staying aloft with ease.

“Sforzando!” Grey said firmly, unleashing a Torkoal. The Pokemon was of average size, with a body orange as glowing embers and a hard shell in a charcoal colour. It squinted around the arena, wheezing its name.

“Now! Let’s go Aiko!” Amy said happily. Her lithe Delcatty emerged, giving a soft yawn and examining her foes. A referee stood from the sidelines.

“BEGIN!” he cried.

“Steel Wing! Go!” Spenser cried, aiming at Aiko. Crobat’s wings shimmered silver and he swept down through the air. Grey watched for a few moments. Crobat slammed into Aiko, who flipped as she soared back. Skidding, digging her paws in and hissing loudly, she fired off a flurry of swift stars to tear into the large bat.

“Assist!” Amy cried. A white orb charged in the creatures mouth, eventually turning a dark red; flames flickered and whooshed out the Delcatty’s mouth, sweeping upwards at the Crobat. With a deft flap of his wings, Crobat dispelled the flames, which scattered to the ground and lost their glow.

“Now!”

A spinning black mass smashed into Crobat’s back; limbs of an orange colour popped out and it soon became evident Sforzando had tucked into his shell and used a body slam attack. As Crobat dropped, flapping back up and looking positively irritated, Sforzando was sent across the arena by a double edge, executed by Aiko.

“Good job!” Amy cried, her Pokemon leaping back to her side. Sforzando began fending Crobat off by spurting jets of flame; Crobat was finding it difficult to attack, flapping into the rafters hesitantly. Aiko used another assist, this time managing to produce a psychic attack. The attack struck Crobat, dealing good damage.

“Crobat, use Deathstrike,” Spenser said firmly. In a flash, Crobat was speeding through the air towards Aiko; Amy watched, unsure what was going on.

“Don’t let it get you! Iron Tail!”

As Crobat opened wide, a fine, heavy tail swung around like a whip. Crobat was struck in the face, giving an ugly, disorientated cry; in a flash he dived again and sank his teeth into Aiko’s hide, injecting a deep, draining poison into her skin.

“Shock wave!” Amy cried. A quick, sudden flash of electricity engulfed Aiko; it also swept swiftly into Crobat’s body as he flapped away; shocked, the Crobat gave a gritted screech, not long before a jet of flame was propelled from Torkoal, sweeping into Crobat’s back.

“Crobat,” Spenser said softly. “Wayward Diversion.”

Grey and Amy, despite retaining their status as ‘leaders’, found themselves glancing wearily at each other. Attack combinations were one thing; named combos, which did not hint towards the attacks used, were another, but even more worrying was that a Frontier Brain’s combo would most likely be rather potent.

Crobat unleashed a thick, furling smoke; a periwinkle blue colour, it swept through the magnificent palace, obscuring their vision; both Amy and Grey watched their Pokemon closely, who were nearby and watching apprehensively.

“Aiko! Shock wave!” Amy said firmly. But as the electric bolt tore through the air, a sudden cold wind picked up; the cold blue mist swirled around as if a large wooden spoon stirred it, the contents within a large, round cauldron. The electric attack flew off course beneath the strong wind and smashed into a marble pillar; Torkoal and Aiko both struggled to find Crobat amid the harsh, swirling winds.

“Haze and whirlwind, I think!” Grey shouted. “Sforzando!”

But before he could issue an attack, there was a deafening cry. Aiko was swept off her feet, flying right into Sforzando and hurting herself against his tough shell. As she got back up, a raining spray of stinging needles rained upon the arena as the wind began to die down.

“Sforzando,” Grey said calmly, looking around the arena. “Use Body Boost.”

Torkoal nodded. Amy watched Crobat intently, watching how the combo was supposed to be utilized. But her eyes widened when Sforzando leapt at Aiko. The cat was caught by surprise and therefore felt herself get flattened by the large tortoise. Torkoal then blasted a powerful stream of flame at Aiko, propelling himself back up through the air and a few feet back, where he landed powerfully and watched Aiko, who was weakening severely. Amy cast a look across the arena at Grey, disheartened.

“Sforzando, use a fire spin,” Grey said smoothly, pointing this time at Crobat.

“Aiko, use assist on Sforzando!” Amy cried. As a large swirling mass of flame jetted up towards Crobat, the agile poison Pokemon sped to the left, attempting to evade; as the flames found their target, Spenser smiled; an icy beam of frozen moisture slammed into Sforzando, dealing very little damage.

“Sforzando, iron defense,” Grey said firmly. Sforzando’s arms, legs and head tucked inside his large shell as Aiko leapt up, tail shimmering silver. She slammed it down on the foe’s shell but it did very little; as Aiko was attacking Torkoal, Crobat swept down and dealt a furious slicing attack.

“Crobat, hyper beam,” Spenser said crisply. An orange beam of hypercharged energy was concentrated; it hurtled through the air towards Aiko, who was looking scared. Amy pointed a finger forwards.

“Shock Wave!”

Aiko unleashed the jagged bolt; it sped towards the Hyper Beam, slamming against the head of the beam. It did nothing, but the force it exerted upon release seemed to slightly change the direction of the attack. The beam was now heading towards Torkoal who, trotting around, found it difficult to evade.

“Iron Defence!”

Torkoal ducked into his shell again; Amy watched, feeling fury and frustration spill over her as her diversion failed. Aiko, having used up a lot of energy, was really feeling the effects of the poison as it spread to all parts of her body. Grey looked across at Amy.

“Sforzando, finish Aiko off with a flail,” Grey said, calm and stern. The Pokemon tucked into its shell and propelled itself through the arena, slamming into Aiko and untucking himself; his legs all thumped the weakened cat cruelly; she staggered back, crying to the rafters and collapsing.

“Aiko!” Amy cried.

“Amy Wolfsong is out!” the Referee cried. “There are only two battlers remaining!”

As Amy walked off the arena, Grey cast his gaze across at her, feeling slightly guilty. As he did watch, however, Sforzando was hurled back by Crobat. Remembering he was in battle, he continued to duel on.

*

Meanwhile, at Jolly Japes Hospital, UuberFred was sitting nervously in an office. The door opened and Doctor Drummond-Bones emerged, closing the door and making no particular attempt to calm UuberFred’s wavering nerves. He was wearing thick, sensible glasses and had his usual dry look on his face.

“Ah, Fredroverick,” Drummond-Bones said, taking his place behind his desk. “Back again?”

“Please,” UuberFred said. “Call me UuberFred.”

“Very well,” Drummond-Bones replied coldly. “What seems to be the problem?”

“I swallowed a Pokeball and my Gastly was in my Pokeball and the Gastly went into my tummy,” he sighed. “Then, I threw up this –”

He pulled out a Pokeball, which had lost most of its rather shiny red paint. It was sticky and covered in brownish lumps of bile and vomit.

“Right,” Drummond-Bones said, taking it gingerly and pretending to examine it. When UuberFred suddenly noticed his shoelace was untied, Drummond-Bones simply threw the Pokeball out of the window. “So the Pokeball was empty…”

“Yea,” UuberFred said. “Gastly’s still inside me!”

“Oh dear,” Drummond-Bones said grimly. “UuberFred, what you are suffering from is a rather difficult disease. One that we in the medical profession find quite hard to treat. You have a severe case of lying.”

“I’m not lying!” UuberFred snapped.

“There you go again,” Drummond-Bones said airily. “I can hit you with my rolodex if you wish…that…might help.”

“Well, if you think it will help,” UuberFred murmured.

After about half an hour of Drummond-Bones hurling various items at UuberFred, he admitted there was very little he could do. UuberFred left the hospital, wandering along a quiet corridor. He saw, on the Notice Board, a sign looking for a missing woman; according to the poster, she used to work at the Hospital, but had been fired and was similarly liable for thousands of pounds damage. She was big, black and busty, and despite the circumstances, she was smiling unbearably.

As UuberFred left and the air tickled his pudding-bowl haircut, he felt an odd, sweeping sensation fill his stomach. His arms throbbed and his eyebrows caused a frown.

“I feel…” he said mysteriously. “Better.”

And he walked off through the forest path.

*

“Sforzando!” Grey cried. Torkoal leapt back as stingers rattled against the floor. A ball of fire flew up and struck the Crobat; Spenser watched keenly. The crowd were thoroughly enjoying the battle, and Grey found the Brain challenging. Crobat sped around the arena, hissing and zooming around.

“Defend! Fire Spin!”

Flames engulfed Torkoal and swathed his body, like a large, flaming column; Crobat screeched and flapped back, sending a razor wind through the air. It sliced up the flames, causing segments of ember to burst as the thick, firm column was torn apart. Torkoal was ready, however, and as the flames surrounding him disappeared, he leapt up and dealt a tackle to Crobat.

“Stop him,” Spenser said. “Shadow Ball! Go!”

Charging up the orb of inky darkness, Crobat blasted it down; Sforzando was struck and fell back. However, his mouth sparked with red flecks; he blasted an overheat through the air, the fiery beam of concentrated flame smashing into Crobat and knocking him out of the sky.

“Yes!” Grey cried. Crobat slammed against the marble arena and grunted. Grey gave a hearty laugh, but the body flashed into thin air; in a second, Crobat re-appeared behind an exhausted Sforzando and swept a steel wing into his back. Stumbling forward, Torkoal turned as Crobat used faint attack to sweep behind him again, blasting him with a shadow ball. It was all too much, and he fell back, defeated.

“Sforzando?” Grey asked suddenly. He saw the Pokemon looked flushed. “A-Are you ok?”

“Aiko wasn’t the only Pokemon I poisoned,” Spenser said firmly, as Crobat returned to his side. Grey recalled Sforzando sadly, as the referee announced Spenser as the winner. Grey wondered when Sforzando had been poisoned, but was unable to put his finger on the precise moment.

The crowd was wild; they were roaring and cheering, but Grey left the Palace, finding himself in the Orient Gardens. A Bellossom group were singing softly amid a flowerbed. Amy Wolfsong was waiting.

“Looks like you lost,” she said coldly.

“Yes,” Grey said, calmly. “Are you walking up to the Rules Tower?”

“I can’t believe you knocked Aiko out,” Amy said. “That was so cruel!”

“If you think my actions determine my opinion on you, you are mistaken,” Grey said.

“We’re a team, Grey!” Amy cried.

“Yes,” Grey replied. “But in that battle it was every person for themselves. I had to think carefully – Spenser saw you as the weaker foe; he targeted you more than me, and Crobat used most of his energy trying to take you out.”

“Then why not let him finish the job?” Amy asked.

“Because there were three of us – he had poisoned you to ensure you would go down regardless. If I did nothing, he would turn on me, and let the poison eat away at Delcatty.”

“And you still lost,” Amy said rudely.

“This isn’t about winning or losing!” Grey cried, losing his temper. “We battled to help raise morale, bring people back…not to boost our egos. Amy…is that voice really you?”

“I’m going,” Amy snapped. “Look. See you later.”

And she walked off, fuming. Grey sighed to himself, wondering if the stress and demanding nature of the job was unsettling Amy somewhat. He decided to not go to the Rules Tower, since that would be where Amy was going, and she might want some time on her own. He peacefully walked through the gardens.

“Excuse me?” said a voice. Grey turned to see a woman with vivid ginger hair in his way. “Hey!”

“Can I help?” Grey asked.

“No, we’re just fine getting lost in this garden,” spat another woman. She was looking completely drained, her blonde hair curly and well kept. “God…”

“Excuse her,” the ginger haired one said. “Dawn is…not a morning person…or an midday person. Not even an evening person…”

“I see,” Grey said firmly.

“You use that joke every time!” sighed a third girl, who was sitting on a bench. She had straight auburn hair. “Come on, Eve…”

“Do you know how to get to the Village Square from here?” said the ginger haired woman, acting oblivious to the comments of the other two girls. “We’re…late!”

“Just head on that trail,” Grey said, pointing ahead. “You can’t miss it.”

“Yea, we can’t miss it,” drawled the blonde-haired girl, whose name was Dawn. “It’s totally not hard to find, that’s why we got lost.”

“Come on,” said Eve, the ginger haired woman. She led the other two girls ahead. Grey watched them go, wondering if they had turned up to the village before the League was beginning. As he watched, however, Hanada Tattsu walked towards him, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Greg,” Grey said. “How are you?”

“I wanted to tell you something…” he said quickly, staring at his feet. “I came here because I knew you were finishing that battle thing…”

Grey turned back to the Palace. The crowd was dispersing slowly. Hanada saw this, too, and quickened up what he was saying.

“T-Thank you…for telling me about Kyle,” he said.

“Oh, it’s quite –”

“I’m not finished,” Hanada said suddenly. “T-That woman, from the Board of Governors…Callisto Thunder…”

“Yes?” Grey asked.

“She’s married to the man that killed Kyle. That Mr Ecks.”

Grey’s eyes widened. He cleared his throat, looking at the fifteen year old boy, who looked rather messed up and slightly dazed.

“You’re sure?” Grey asked. “You’re sure of this?”

“Positive,” Hanada said firmly.

“How do you know?” Grey asked. Hanada turned a deep shade of red. His hands were interlocked and moving erratically.

“I…I just saw them…meeting up, a few days ago,” Hanada said. “A-And when they left, she took off her wedding ring and put it in her pocket.”

“Greg…” Grey said slowly. “This is very important news. Callisto must know where Ecks’ whereabouts are. Oh but…she’s gone back to New York…although under the circumstances…this is a criminal investigation…Greg, do you know when Callisto left?”

He looked around, but the boy was no longer there. A mass of people were all cheering, waving to Grey as they passed through Orient Gardens. He looked, squinting for a messy head of black hair, but could not see at all.

“Greg?” Grey asked wearily.

*

After a day at Spatial Spa, Liang was already feeling better. He decided, upon returning in the evening that he would catch up on some work at the Bank. After all, he had just been given the position; it would be foolish to give a bad example. So he settled himself in the office, updating people’s bank accounts, updating figures, validating the evidence from the official matches.

The majority of official matches were videoed by a referee. However casual, unofficial battles were not; a cash sum was usually agreed by both battlers and this was cash-in-hand. So for the moment, Liang’s workload was not large. He did, however, have a lot of work to do since the Bank had not been attended to frequently when Grey was in charge.

Through the night he worked, and once the darkness engulfed him, he turned on the lights. The Bank was large; down stairs, Alakazam worked on three desks, separated by a glass partition; there was a large staircase spiraling up the tower, similar to the Rules Tower, which led to Liang’s office, the main computer, and the main parts of the database.

Little did he realize, a shadowed figure lurked in the corner of the room. Their eyes fell upon Liang working and, realizing someone was in the room, they took action. Holding a gun out, they fired a thick dart that struck Liang in the neck. He turned, gasping in surprise and stumbled off his seat, hitting the floor.

Getting up, light fell on the figure. They shot at the lights, shattering them and plunging their face into partial-darkness, leaving one bulb glowing. The figure tied Liang up to his swivel chair with rope, and kicked it so that he sped along the length of the office and slammed against the wall, where he did not stir at all. Bending down, the intruder opened up the side plate of the main computer, pulling a device from their pocket. It fitted snugly onto the side of the motherboard. A little red button was pressed, and a timer appeared.

01:59

As they rose, the person began to walk to the window, where it seems they had managed to break into.

01:40

Liang dozed unknowingly as the figure disappeared, a fine silk string hoisting them from the room.

01:27

The clock was ticking.

*

Meanwhile, on the plane to New York, Callisto Thunder looked down upon the many lights over the many cities she passed. Her son’s words echoed around her mind, and she wondered just what was going on. She tried ringing Ecks again but simply got his answer phone.

“Where are you?” she cried, frustrated.

*

00:30

A strong vibration woke Liang from his semi-conscious sleep. He looked around. Tied to a chair, he felt himself unable to move, until he realized he was on a swivel chair. Digging his heels into the ground he tried admirably to move across the room, where a beeping could be heard, and red numbers beeped at him from something attached to the computer.

“C-Come…on…” he groaned, struggling to move. The timer was getting closer and closer to zero. He felt a sharp pain in his neck – the result of having the dart in there. Turning, he could just make out the remnants of the needle still there.

00:10

I’m not going to make it, Liang thought miserably. Still relatively close to the wall, he instead turned around and planted his feet on that wall. Giving a firm push, he propelled himself towards the main computer as he realized what it might be.

“Oh no.”

00:03

00:02

00:01

00:00

He stopped abruptly right by the computer. A long, reverberating grumble rang through the building as the 00:00 flashed continuously. Screeching of the highest caliber filled the room; the computer was rattling and shaking wildly as sparks coated its exterior like manic, sparkling flies.

“Wh-What’s going on?” Liang asked. A blinding light filled the room, and in his haste, he fell over backwards, still tied to his chair and watching the events from the ground. The vibrating was still going on; sparks jumped and squealed all around the room…and an unholy screech caused him to writhe in pain.

All around the main village, streetlights shattered and plunged the entire place into darkness. A fountain in the park began spurting water out at an unholy rate before stopping completely, and lights in some of the closer houses went out completely.

Meanwhile, from the base of the tower, a figure stepped out into the light, and Amy Wolfsong was seen slipping a gun into her pocket, before running off into the night.

Chapter 33 – Christian Cronus
TPML is in further disarray after the events that unfolded in the Bank…but did Liang make it out alive? Was this attack intended or did the perpetrator try and get him out of the way?

As Chris makes a new addition to his team, Jenny is haunted by dreams of her attack. Luna is shocked when family drops in for a visit, although they bear something of an ulterior motive. Hanada’s information spurs Grey to lead an undercover investigation into the whereabouts of Ecks, with Callisto as the main suspect.

Meanwhile, Callisto sees her son as a liability, and continues her search for her husband.

Blademaster

20th September 2006, 04:10 PM

Damn it, this story is getting too deep for me to comment on... Uh, let's see...

OK, I have a feeling Hanada, Liang, and Andrew are gonna all run into big trouble soon, that is, if Liang is even still alive - he's dodged the bullet enough times already...

Um... what else... Mega Horny. Interesting little side-story right there... How will he cope with all this?

And, uh... Oh, yeah. Uuberfred. He's just too funny... :lol: He can never win.

Somehow, I have a feeling that Voletta is hiding something... Hmmm...

The Blue Avenger

20th September 2006, 06:19 PM

Hm, Liang just can't seem to catch a break, can he? I mean, now he's been attacked apparently by Amy... right after being promoted, no less. Poor guy. It's good that Hanada is doing okay now, but I have a hunch he's going to have it rough in the next chapter as well...

I very much liked seeing Grey's character this chapter - he's a very complex character, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of him, as I imagine we will. I also enjoyed seeing the effects of the attack on, well, pretty much everyone - but Luna and MH really stood out for me. That was an excellent scene. Incidentally, Luna seems to be handling herself all right, considering the circumstances. I'd think she'd be a little more torn up, but I guess it's still in character for her...

Also, I dig the John Flansburgh line. Nice.

Charizard04621

21st September 2006, 12:27 AM

Maybe the real Amy has been taken somewhere much like Steve was replaced by pseudo-Steve, and that figure that Liang saw as well as the one that reacted oddly to Grey is somebody or something else.

Not sure what the electrical outage is for, whoever caused it must be preparing to do something else which requires that kind of distraction. Or maybe just hide some information, I don't know.

Oh yeah, and Uuberfred = win.

Elec Man EXE

21st September 2006, 12:21 PM

Hmm, interesting chapter. Lots of mysterious stuff going on.

UuberFred has chronic lying syndrome, lol. I could hit you with stuff, that MIGHT help... :lol:

Amy's a bit touchy, I wonder whats going on with her. That should turn out interesting. And whats with the gun...

I'm curious about those people asking Grey for directions. They seem important.

Ecks disappeared, that seems odd to me. He seems like the type of guy who'd be right back in the open again. But then again, I guess even he has the sense to be somewhat discreet after a major attack.

Yay, I'm not going to go to prison.... wait, I'm not supposed to flaunt that. Crap...

Looking forward to the next chapter. Chris getting a new pokemon, wonder what it'll be.

The Blue Avenger

21st September 2006, 12:23 PM

I'm curious about those people asking Grey for directions. They seem important.

10 bucks says they're Luna's family.

Chris 2.1

21st September 2006, 01:20 PM

Blademaster: Damn. You think its deep? I didn’t think it was very deep; in actuality, I felt this chapter helped tie up a few loose ends. Andrew….hmm what can I say? I’ll point to Ch33 and say you’ll find out exactly how he resolves things.

Hanada’s spotlight is brighter; I have a lot to tell. I like his character. I also like Liangs, and you’re right; he has dodged the bullet a lot of times. Is this attack supposed to hurt him, or was he simply in the way?

Actually Gastly’s possession and Fred’s last words….I think his losing streak might fade!

Volletta, you say? Hm well she is a very undeveloped character, but you’ll have to wait and see :-)

HM: Hmm yea. He has no friends! Poor guy. All is explained in Ch33. I also like Grey; we had the initial Razor Leaf/Grey feud, then his [brief] involvement with The Antibodies, but now he’s running TPML (albeit with Amy) and I’m really excited about exploring this side of his character.

As you’ve seen, Amy and he will find it difficult working together. Things get more deceitful and such next chapter, but it’s all for the Greater Good….

Agreed, Luna and MH’s scene was a gem. As I may have said, the Chapter was very short, and there were a number of scenes I wrote for this chapter which just didn’t work. There was a scene where Elec Man and TML met, and she basically told him that even though he was cleared, she didn’t approve of his behavior etc, but it didn’t feel right so I cut it.

One thing I wanted to address was Luna and how she was doing. This is a plot point for a lot of the fic, as she’s not too good at taking bad news. Mega’s punishment is quite literal; Luna wants him to just think about what it’s done. It’s going to have a lasting effect, I think. I’m glad you liked it.

Luna hasn’t fully accepted her sister’s dead. I’ve experienced family death and at first, I coped well; after a while, though, it hit me in the stomach like a fist and it’s a real shock. I want Luna to experience something similar.

Karin: Wow. That’s a very clever theory. After all, Ecks did suggest the ditto method when he was in the antib- sorry. I should really stop. I’m being very indiscreet here.

All is revealed in Ch33 about the bomb. And UuberFred = yayness.

Elec Man: Heh yea it was supposed to be a slow, winding down chapter but the pace went right back up. Whoops. Amy’s gun was the one that fired the dart at Liang. There’s no point denying that. The three girls – Dawn, Mida and Eve are quite significant in the next few chapters. I wanted a sneaky look at them already!

I agree with you. Ecks absence is partly explained in the next chapter but I won’t guarantee he’ll resurface. The character the chapter is named after has some significance to Ecks.

As for Elec Man – yay. He acted under pressure and I think people saw that, but others aren’t so trusting. He’s seen trying to conquer the Battle Pyramid next! I also plan to have Ultimate return. So Nate should keep his eyes open!

HM: **hands over $10**

PS: What is THIS (http://www.ecks.ca/)? I didn’t do it, honest!

Elec Man EXE

21st September 2006, 02:04 PM

You cut my scene, how dare jOO!

J/K, if it doesn't fit it doesn't fit. But if you didn't just delete it (like you kept it recorded somewhere) I'd like to see it, just for more personal gratification (what? I like me :)). Unless you plan on using it later of course.

And that Ecks thing is.... wierd. I somehow doubt it has anything to do with this story, but I guess you never know. You might have started a wierd crazy group :p

Blademaster

21st September 2006, 04:10 PM

Blademaster: Damn. You think its deep?

Chris, I have ADHD, my attention span is 8 seconds, and I'm jacked up on caffeine 24-7. Go Dog Go is too deep for me. :rolleyes:

Chris 2.1

22nd September 2006, 02:57 PM

Elec Man: I also cut it because a similar sort of scene is going to be apparent over the next few chapters (perhaps 33, more likely 34). I'd rather not show it, if that's ok; it would mess things up. I wonder who started the Ecks website.

Blade: Oh I see. Go dog, Go!

Ultimate Charizard

22nd September 2006, 06:05 PM

See i wasnt sure untill you mentioned all their names but i think the 3 new girls very well may be related to Solia and Luna.
Since Solia and Luna are Day and Night and now we have Dawn, Midday and Evening coming into it....

Im a Fugitive with Ecks then huh.....does that mean im an official Henchman? (pulls out 'Number 2' costume)

Chris 2.1

23rd September 2006, 04:46 AM

UC: Yea I only mentioned Dawn and Eve, but the other one is called Mida. They will make an official debut next chapter and I was tempted to name it after them.

Ultimate (as he is commonly known in TPML) will return, but not just yet. Sources suggest the two aren't even in the same place. But will they meet again? I think so.

Shadow Djinn

23rd September 2006, 07:15 PM

Well, I still owe you a few replies, but it'll have to do here eh? Reading 32 chapters in 2 days is kind of a handful, so if I miss anything/forget something, you'll know why.

This is quite a tale you've weaved, I like the whole concept of it all personally. It was very well done, and for that I commend you. However, I've noticed ( way back in the mysteriousness chapters..) that you used a bit too much of 'Little did I know', 'Little did I realize', etc. However, I don't spot it much (or maybe I just forget) anymore, but I would watch for that in future chapters and change it to something else (just IMO). I loved chapter 31, it was incredibly hard to write I imagine, with so many things going on. I also liked how you stuck Cyrus in there, he was a wonderful ASB vet and deserved a mention. Are you bringing back other vets as well, such as Jareddo?

I'd also like to make a comment on the whole Pichu thing...as far as when I talked to her, she was female. First she said she was male but revealed later on that she was in fact a girl (in a hassle on the VG boards, in which she ended up getting banned.)

Well, other then that I don't have much to say except good job and keep going. ^_^ Ta ta.

Chris 2.1

24th September 2006, 05:29 AM

Djinn: Ohh cool so you read 32 chapters in two days? I'm impressed. Heh sorry for the overused phrases; I guess you notice them more when you read it all together huh?

Ch31 was quite a tough one to write - I'll admit that. I was really worried how the reaction would be - it was an entirely different concept to previous chapters, and was very action-heavy. However it got a warm response and, thanks to its presence, paved new character development for an assortment of characters including Luna, Mega Horny, Ultimate, Grey, Hanada Tattsu, Ecks himself and so much more.

I wasn't too sure what Cyrus was like, but some of the Antibodies (namely Dark Phoenix, Syberia, etc) were from the old days - I looked at their info from the archives and put Cyrus in, too. I was worried how he was portrayed; in the fic he seemed slightly corrupt but he was apparently a nice guy.

Thats a reason I'm not so keen on having returns of other people; I don't know them well or at all (I joined ASB during the mid stages of the new era) and I wouldn't like to do them an injustice of misrepresenting them. I also have to wonder what it is they would bring; an original concept was that, round about now,before the league started, a group of veterans returned to the league and formed something of a clique together. They weren't bad people, but generally powerful and they knew it. I scrapped the idea eventually.

As previous chapters have indicated, Rosie Cran, the young girl from the Board of Governors, replaced Imperion, who had recently quit for unknown reasons. And Derek, ont he board, is the Grandfather of Razola, who the Board hired to feed them certain tidbits of information from the league. This was, however, before everything began escalating and the Board was in frequent contact with 04621.

And Pichu. Tsch. Weird :p

Charizard04621

24th September 2006, 01:34 PM

Yeah you really have to watch your sources, a bunch of people trashtalked about Cyrus because they were jealous that he was good. Drama drama drama, got sick of it, that's why I left ASB really. I'd avoid future "veteran" returns if you're concerned about portraying them incorrectly, you've done that a lot, lol. The real Cyrus wouldn't have done shit for Ecks, he was an individual mostly but if he supported anyone he'd have gone for Cocoa. He didn't believe in anarchy. He was arrogant, though, another reason why lots of people didn't like him; but (now that she's dead I can talk about her) the real 04621 was arrogant too, an elitist really. Strangely most people liked her though.

[EDIT]: Yes I just did talk in third person, 04621 was one of my many personas, she may have had some of my true characteristics but I act differently in person.

Ultimate Charizard

24th September 2006, 01:55 PM

Hey dont sweat it, were all different people when we have power/responsiblity.
I remember more than a few mini wars back in the old days. Even Yourself and me had a few good arguments lol.

In the end this is a fictional dramatization using 'our names' to charicature our personalities as Chris sees it (or am i giving him too much credit ;))
I personally dont like being the bad guy, ever. Though rooting for the Underdog and the people being stepped on (as the Antibodies may have seen themselves) is right up my street. Also liked the ruthless but efficient battle style lol.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

24th September 2006, 02:15 PM

Very neet chapter to say. I'm very pleased with how things are working out here. Various characters get back their 'normal' life and others are totally twisted. Mega Horny has crap, and Ultimate is gone. Amy is totally freaking out if I'm reading it decently, but more will be revealed later I guess (as always). You do a good job with keeping various characters each having their own thing, but what confuses me the most and that you don't put much attention into what the other people in the village think. I haven't heard much critism or compassion from other trainers. It's as there are only a certain limit of trainers and those are the main characters. Just my opinion, so don't ban me just yet ^^ please?

Great job in doing this, I'm absolutely thrilled and I have praised myself from opening this fic, that 1) has me addicted 2) Introduced me to ASB and the whole TPM community.

Great subject to start from for a fic and it's been played well by you Chris. Good job, expecting a new chapter ;)

The_Missing_Link

24th September 2006, 02:24 PM

Chris 2.1

25th September 2006, 08:48 AM

MLG: Hey thanks ^^ I see your point about the villages reactions and should have perhaps put some of Ch33's content into 32. Remember me mentioning how some scenes were cut? One thing is there are very few Antibodies who are still in the village, and those who are are probably gonna be pretty quiet. Those who aren't will feel the consequences of their actions. Mega Horny and Elec Man's parts of next chapter illustrate that succinctly.

I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Ch33 is going well already!

Karin/Ultimate/TML: Thought I'd 'respond' altogether. What I need to convey is that I'm not writing about you guys. This isn't like some kinda microcosmic biography of your life in the ASB. I just took you as the stimuli for characters. Some, like Andrew, Charles, *thinks* TBA etc are (as UC said) dramatasations of their ASB counterparts, but the more serious ones are less based off how you act in ASB.

So if TML ends up buying 100 lottery tickets, or Ultimate goes to the moon, I wouldn't want you to feel like I'm doing an injustice, because the character in the story and your own being are completely different.

UC: I kinda feel Ultimate is a good guy. But he's doing bad things. I wouldn't say he's a 'baddie' and I wouldn't say he's a lackey either. When he returns I hope to develop his character a bit more, and show you some sides of him that, until now, are just in my mind.

Charizard04621

29th September 2006, 12:27 AM

Karin/Ultimate/TML: Thought I'd 'respond' altogether. What I need to convey is that I'm not writing about you guys. This isn't like some kinda microcosmic biography of your life in the ASB. I just took you as the stimuli for characters. Some, like Andrew, Charles, *thinks* TBA etc are (as UC said) dramatasations of their ASB counterparts, but the more serious ones are less based off how you act in ASB.

So if TML ends up buying 100 lottery tickets, or Ultimate goes to the moon, I wouldn't want you to feel like I'm doing an injustice, because the character in the story and your own being are completely different.

I figured as much, that's what I told darkprince when he was upset that the character died in the story. You contradict yourself however, I was responding to your comment on how you are hesitant to add asb veterans you know nothing about in the story in case you misrepresent them.

Chris 2.1

29th September 2006, 09:50 AM

Well that settles that :)

In other news, expect Ch33 very soon! I found myself writing it quite quickly; the ideas had been conjealing in my head for such a long time it was easy to put them down to paper. I think you'll like this one.

Chris 2.1

30th September 2006, 05:56 AM

[size=4]Chapter Thirty-Three
[size=3]Christian Cronus

Nineteen Years Ago…

It was a spectacular, moonlit night. A star-strewn blanket of stars was pulled across the sky, and on the shore of a beach, two young teens walked barefoot. The waves gently lapped against the edge of the shore, staining them a darker shade of golden brown. The couple, who were holding hands, were dressed rather formally. The male, with sharp, straw-like hair, had his trouser legs rolled up and was holding hands with the woman, who had long black hair and was using her other hand to keep her long, elegant dress out of the sand.

Their footprints went all the way back to the other side of the beach. In the distance, skyscrapers climbed powerfully up into the skies. There were two large rocks protruding from the sand, and the teenage boy helped the girl clamber upon the top. Once she was settled (sitting on his dinner jacket so that the slimy rock would not spoil her dress), the boy clambered up next to her, and the two admired the view.

“A perfect end to the evening,” the boy said romantically.

“Oh I agree,” she replied, gazing out to sea. “This was a beautiful night, Chris.”

The boy did not respond for a few seconds.

“You know I don’t like that,” he said quietly. “It’s Christian.”

“Sorry,” she said, slightly embarrassed.

“It was beautiful, though,” Christian replied, as awkwardness ensued.

“Wow. I mean…two and a half years today,” the girl replied, smiling. “Since our first date. It’s just…a shame.”

“A shame?” Christian asked.

“That, well…we have to ‘cut the chords’, just when everything was going so well,” the girl went on, a sad tone in her voice. However, she suddenly became somehow business-like. “I’m still going to University, Christian.”

“Oh,” he replied emptily. “Still going…”

“I have aspirations,” she said passionately, looking at a rippled sliver of moonlight across the ocean. “I got an offer from Yale. Yale, Christian. If I got my Masters Degree…I could run my own Business. I could be successful, and you know that’s what I want.”

“Callisto,” Christian replied firmly. “I have aspirations. I want things out of life. But I’m willing to hold them off for you.”

“Our aspirations are entirely different,” Callisto said importantly. “I want to be a powerful financial figure. And you…”

“And I want to spread the word,” Christian said, smiling. “God’s word. To whoever I can get to listen.”

“Being a Teacher is important to you,” Callisto reminded him, as he played with a gold cross from a chain around his neck and smiled. “You’re a kind spirit. A wonderful soul. I just…I just feel that if we sever our relationship now…and we’re truly destined for each other…fate will bring us back to each other.”

“I can wish for whatever I want,” Christian replied. “But you know I’m staying in the city. My father…”

“You should stand up to him!” Callisto cried. “You don’t have to do what he asks you to! Particularly if it disrupts what you want to get out of life.”

“Look…” sighed Christian, reaching into his Pocket. “Stay with me. Please. Stay here.”
He pulled out a small velvet box, sliding off the rock and kneeling in the sand. Callisto’s eyes widened, and Christian revealed a glimmering ring.

“Will you marry me?”

“Christian…” Callisto sighed. “I…”

“I love you, Callisto,” Christian said passionately. “I can’t stand to lose you. You’re…you’re almost as important as my God.”

She sighed.

“Oh Christian,” as she slid down off the rock, holding him close. “I couldn’t stand to lose you, too. I do.”

And the two kissed under the stars, holding each other close. Callisto, eyes closed as she embraced the passion of her lover, slipped the wedding ring onto her finger and held her fiancée tightly.

Present Day…

Callisto Thunder was outside the sleek mahogany doors of the conference suite that the Board of Governors had sat at. Her plane had landed her back in New York, and as she spent her last few moments outside, she slipped her wedding ring off and pocketed it securely.

“Ahh, Callisto!” Gordon said fondly, as Callisto entered the room. “How lovely it is to see you. Is Gregory ok?”

“Oh. Yes, yes he is,” Callisto replied emptily, her eyes scanning the room. Many faces looked up in intrigue, but the somber Derek still sat in the shadowy corner, looking miserable as he drank a scotch. Rosie Cran, the young, pretty English Student, smiled enthusiastically. Cocoa Sting, who looked unkempt and shaken, stared at her purposefully. Callisto wondered if she knew who really poisoned her.

As she took her seat, it was evident that the Board was in discussion with Wolfsong and Grey from 04621. Austin Myers was frantically typing into his small laptop.

“And as a result, the Bank’s entire memory has been corrupted,” Grey said darkly. “Some of the excess energy had struck the lights or other electronical devices in the main village but the damage is mainly at the Bank.”

“Austin,” Gordon said firmly. “Did you manage to salvage any information?”

“I did,” Austin said nervously. “The device was an EMP bomb – short for Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb. When it goes off, it unleashes a wide spectrum of electromagnetic energy that can disrupt and scramble electrical circuits in computers and other electric-based devices. The standard model is quite large and capable of causing a blackout in an entire city…but the damage from this one looks slightly smaller.”

“It seems to have been intended to strike the Bank only,” Amy added.

“As a result, I am assuming that the data in the Bank Accounts has been destroyed?” Gordon asked.

“Yes sir,” Grey replied.

“Austin, can you go downstairs and open up a Terminal Station?” Gordon asked. “Try and repair the damage and salvage any account data. In fact, Jacques, go with him.”

Austin nodded, folding the lid on his laptop and getting out his chair. Jacques, older than Austin, looked slightly irritated as he stroked his thin moustache and cast his sharp eyes down his thin nose.

“Let’s go,” he snarled.

“In other news,” Cocoa said. “Our figures show a lot of people returning to the village. Was the Melee successful?”

Grey glanced across at Amy.

“Yes,” Grey said. “But I think the fact we are nearing the league is also rather significant. A lot of trainers register for the league, train around the world and come back just for the competition.”

“We are expecting a rapid number of people to return,” Amy replied.

“Have the Frontier Brains picked a new replacement for Tucker?” asked Gordon.

“Not yet.”

“Very well. We will contact you when Austin and Jacques have finished,” Gordon said firmly, ending the call between TPML and the Board of Governors. Callisto cast a nervous look around and, despite not looking, had the curious feeling Cocoa Sting was gazing at her.

The call ended. Amy and Grey turned to see The Blue Avenger, Andrew, The Missing Link, Dark Dragonite and Aragornbird.

“Moderators, if you would return to your positions,” Grey said firmly. “Amy, I’m going to check on the status of the Theatre.”

As the group split, Amy looked at Liang, who was slightly shaken after the bright light and screech from the Bank.

“Liang?”

“Yea?”

“Can you…come here?”

Liang walked up to Amy, who sat behind her desk. He pulled up a chair. Amy’s Delcatty, Aiko, was prowling around the office.

“How are you feeling?” she asked keenly.

“Fine…I think,” Liang said, screwing his face up. “My ears are ringing…but…well…”

“You were lucky I was in the village at the time,” Amy said. “I ran to investigate and found you passed out on the floor, tied up.”

Liang gave a nod. Amy cleared her throat and stared at Liang firmly.

“Liang…I did it.”

“What?”

“I did it,” Amy said heavily, wishing she could just look away from Liang’s innocent, confused look.

“You did…”

“I was the one who broke into the Bank,” Amy said quickly and suddenly. She didn’t let Liang register this fact, and pressed on. “I shot you with that dart…and planted the EMP Bomb.”

He cocked his head; like a young dog with confusing orders. He looked at Amy.

“Wh…what?”

“I didn’t know you’d be there,” she pressed on. “I didn’t. I had to do it quickly before I gave it too much thought.”

“Why did you do it?” Liang asked.

“I remembered what you told me,” Amy said. “About how Ecks stole money from Gordon and framed Leslie Van Artz, of V.A Corporations. You told me that the records on the main TPML Server had been altered…so I caused an override in the main server through the EMP bomb.”

“Oh my god…” Liang said slowly.

“The records have been wiped. You aren’t linked to the crimes that Ecks committed!” Amy said happily.

“You wiped the slate clean…” Liang added.

“Now Ecks has nothing on you,” Amy said, although she knew now that Ecks had gone beyond wanting to frame Liang and now simply wanted to kill him, as well as herself and Chris 2.0. Becca was probably also quite favored to be fed a bullet.

“Thank you,” Liang said, smiling. “Thank you…”

“Nobody can ever know it was me,” Amy said firmly. “Ever.”

Sixteen Years Ago…

On the top floor of a magnificent skyscraper complex, a proud looking man with wavy blonde hair marched through a reception area. A rather grim looking woman sat behind a desk, skin pale and eyes hollowed out. The man, who looked to be in his late forties was speaking on a phone to someone.

Words reading ‘Welcome to Cronus Enterprises’ were visible from behind the reception desk. The general interior looked modern and somewhat sterile, the glass tables, neutral colours and straight edges leeching the character from all around.

“No, no, thank you Mr Everston,” the man said, ending the call. He turned to the woman at the desk. “Callisto, any…any news?”

The grim woman from behind the desk looked up. Her hair was lank and unkempt; her face pale and sad. She looked slightly inflated.

“No news, Mr Cronus,” she said. “Oh. You got a message from Algernon Ebony.”

“Can you forward it to my inbox?” asked the man. “Oh and Callisto, please. Call me Virgil.”

“Yes Mr Cr- Yes, Virgil,” Callisto said obediently.

“What size is it?”

“Sorry?”

“What size is it? The little wonder?” Virgil Cronus asked keenly, peering at Callisto. She put a hand on her stomach.

“Small grapefruit,” she said automatically.

“A small grapefruit,” came Virgil Cronus’ voice proudly. Callisto gave a bleak smile, before dipping her head and typing away into her computer. The lift beeped, the doors parted, and a rather flustered looking young man bustled out. His straw-like blonde hair was the exact same tone as his fathers, and he was carrying a file bulging with notes and information.

“Chris!” Virgil Cronus said happily, beaming. Christian did not correct his father about the pronunciation of his name. “Your fiancée tells me your little baby boy is the size of a grapefruit now!”

“It might be a girl,” Christian said meekly.

“Well…” Virgil replied absently. “Well yes, I suppose it might. Come, we have work to attend to.”

Christian waved to his glum fiancée, who barely noticed. He hastily caught up with his Father.

“So,” Virgil said. “Still no date?”

“No,” Christian replied coldly.

“You do realize,” Virgil said, his friendly demeanor beginning to shed. “You and the future Mrs Cronus have been engaged for almost three years?”

“I’m well aware,” Christian retorted. “We’re saving our money up.”

He looked at his father, who was staring ahead as they strode through the building complex.

“…but Callisto…Callisto wanted something of a more…business-orientated job,” Christian added. “Wh-When I explained I was able to get her a job…she had in mind…she…had in mind…well, she didn’t quite expect to be a receptionist.”

“Is that so,” Virgil went on coldly. “Well Christian, with the glamorous wedding you two will be having – I daresay any source of income should be embraced.”

“She wanted to be a Businesswoman,” Christian went on, sadly. The two continued to walk through the building.

“But you’re a Businessman, Christian!” Virgil said. “I say Businessman – Junior Vice President, no less!”

“I wanted to be a Religious Teacher,” said the young entrepreneur.

“Don’t be so daft,” Virgil went on. “Your mother wanted you to learn religion, not me.”

“It’s the only way I feel close to her,” whispered Christian, more so to himself. His eyes were watering slightly. Virgil did not hear his comment.

“Come on,” he said firmly. “We have a client to deal with. And leave your religion at the door.”

As Virgil opened the double doors to a deluxe conference suit, a graying man of about fifty looked up. He was reading a newspaper. Virgil beamed, walking forward to greet the man; he similarly rose, clasping Virgil’s hands in his own.

“This is my Junior Vice President,” Virgil told the man. He turned slowly to Christian, who was staring at the door.

“Are you coming in, Christian?”

Christian gave a doleful nod, walking through the doors and closing them behind him. As he sighed, he prepared himself to shed any beliefs, morals or ethics before he walked into the room; he would have to employ all methods of smart-talk he could; his body language would have to lull this client into a false sense of security and he would have to build a faux bond with this man in order to convince him to be their business partner.

Present Day

I woke the next day to find Jenny sitting in a chair in the bedroom, eyes wide and hair a mess. She was in her pajamas and looked awful.

“I’ve been having nightmares,” she told me. “Of my attack.”

I wondered if there was anything I could do, but she told me that as much as she loved me, in sleep she was alone, solitary and unable to get help in fighting her demons. Jenny went on to explain how very tired she was; but she sat up, scared she may fall asleep and enter another nightmare.

“I’ll go and get you some Sleep Eaze,” I said. “And I…well, I might go training.”

“Bye,” came her deep, glum response.

As I left the flat down BT Street, I saw Grey overseeing some work on his new, illustrious theatre. It looked roman and absolutely fantastic. Dark Dragonite was there, as the Head of Businesses, and looking very smug.

“Hey,” I said.

“How are you?” Grey asked warmly. “What do you think of Theatre Gris?”

“Very nice,” I said.

“The cost isn’t ‘very nice’,” Dark Dragonite rasped. A Nidorina and Heracross were with him.

“You did approve of my idea,” Grey said wryly, causing Steve to blush. He mumbled something about ‘deceit’ and ‘taking advantage’. “Chris…I was wondering if I could have a quick word with you?”

I nodded and we wandered further down BT Street, near Hanada Gym. I looked at the old, derelict building and felt myself run my hand along the purple burns up my neck. They were still rather prominent.

“Before Kyle…passed away,” he said slowly. “We were in conversation and he mentioned that you had a battle at the Pike.”

“Yea,” I said.

“He said you drew with him.”

“Yup.”

“I must say…” Grey went on. “I was very impressed. To think you are reaching that caliber tells me you are destined for good things.”

“Thanks,” I replied, smiling.

“But Kyle also mentioned your newest Pokemon,” Grey said sadly. “Dusclops.”

“Oh,” I said.

“Chris…ghost Pokemon are difficult to control. By the sounds of it, your relationship with your Dusclops is slightly rocky. He feeds off your anger and loathing and turns those emotions into power.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” I asked. “If it means I am ‘destined for good things’ as you said?”

“It means that, while you are strong, your power knows no boundaries,” Grey said, as if this was something incredibly disappointing.

“Right,” I said. “I’m…I’m not quite seeing how this is a bad thing, Grey.”

“Power is key to victory,” He said. “But at the same time, so are control and trust. If any one of these three factors is exaggerated, it overrides the others and trainer/Pokemon relationship becomes tricky. If you have no control over your Pokemon, no trust or no power, then you will never achieve great things, even with the other two in large measures.”

“I have those,” I said firmly, but as the words escaped my lips I knew I was lying. I think Grey sensed it, too.

“Then I was wrong in suspecting you,” he said calmly. “I’m sorry.”

As I left BT Street, my eyes traveled across to the new café, called Hoothooters. The round, doleful owls were flying around ecstatically, and as I watched, I saw one lazy looking Hoothot deliver a bowl of hot soup to a table, clumsily spilling it on the family awaiting the starter.

While the screams of the family stayed in my mind, I wandered up BT Street further, noticing the Trading Club had shut down. Why was Dark Dragonite the new Business Moderator? Razor Leaf was much better, and yet despite Cocoa Sting’s regime being truly over, Dan still didn’t have his job back.

After getting my lunch in a rather nice looking Baguette shop called ‘Tasty’s’, I made my way to Crush Quarry, a destination I found perfect for training. Once I arrived there I released all six of my team members. Sneasel looked across at the group scathingly, showing particular dislike for newest member Dusclops. Poliwhirl folded his arms and stared at me, almost waiting for an instruction, while Magmar and Electabuzz stood side by side like brothers. Cacturne had a hand on his hip and was also showing particular intrigue in Dusclops, who was floating an inch off the ground.

“Right guys,” I said firmly. “My plan is to conquer another Battle Facility before the Frontier Brains leave. That, and the fact that the League is coming up, means we need to train. Ok?”

There was a collective noise, ranging from grunts of approval, cries of appreciation and Dusclops’ eerie, reverberating cry that sounded oddly like a very cold man. I looked around, wondering how we could train when a familiar figure pointed at me.

“Chris two-point-two-point-two-point-oh!”

“What do you want, UuberFred,” I groaned, for the rather inept boy had strode towards me. His horrible, airy-brown hair was in its usual budding-bowl cut, and his t-shirt was horribly worn and old. His jeans had a scratch in them, and he still looked very ill, but there was still some sort of spark in him. Something…different.

“A rematch!” he cried. “A rematch to settle our rivalry!”

“…we have a rivalry?” I asked myself. “Fred, you’re a complete tool. Just go away.”

“Slowking!” came a cry, and in a flash, a large, fleshy looking creature materialized in front of UuberFred. He stood tall, a ruff collar around his neck, wearing a symmetrical conch shell on his head with a red jewel set in the middle. Slowking looked intellectual.

“Fine,” I said firmly. “Electabuzz, go get him! Everyone else, stay back.”

Beating his chest furiously, Electabuzz strode forward, the rest of the clique milling around rocks or sitting in the dirt to watch the battle. Slowking put a fingertip to his chin, eyes up, as if he were contemplating something. He then clicked his fingers with a doughy call of his name.

“Let’s do this!” UuberFred said furiously.

“Electabuzz! Thunderpunch!” I snapped. Electabuzz raced through the air, eyes narrowed and fist ablaze with white-hot sparks. UuberFred’s eyes twinkled mysteriously and he pointed at me.

“Slowking! Psychic!”

As Electabuzz drew near, an odd aura encircled him and he was hoisted off the ground. Slowking gave a cry and hurled Electabuzz high into the air, launching him up; the sparks ebbed away and Slowking clenched a fist, before leaping up into the air after him. He dealt an admirable uppercut to Electabuzz, who was then smashed down into the earth by Slowking, who fell down gracefully and landed in front of him.

“What the hell!?”

“Now Slowking! Iron Tail!”

Slowking leapt up pointedly, flinging himself around and thrusting his heavy, glowing tail into Electabuzz’ face as he got up. My Pokemon stumbled back then, realizing the absurdity of the situation, shook his head wildly and clenched his fists. Sparks flashed all over him, dancing feverently.

“Go! Thunderbolt!”

Roaring proudly, Electabuzz unleashed a bolt of lightening that flashed as it hammered through the air. Slowking leapt to the side and dodged it; the attack zapped UuberFred and he gave a ghostly wail. I saw an odd aura around him, and as he recouperated he looked oddly dumbed.

“Slowking!” he shouted. “It’s not over yet! Tackle!”

As the large, wizened Pokemon charged full-pelt, Electabuzz drew back his fist and gave a hearty cry as his thunderpunch slammed into the foe’s gut. Groaning, Slowking flew back and landed against the earth.

“Nooooooo!” said UuberFred. “Ok! No more Mr Nice guy! Slowking use shadow ball!”

“Ok Electabuzz, use BuzzLock!”

“What the Hickory Smoked Beef is that?” UuberFred garbled. Slowking charged up an inky black shadow ball, holding it ready and blasting it at us. Electabuzz, however was charging at Slowking, and punched through the shadow ball on his way across the arena. He grabbed Slowking under an arm, getting him in a prompt headlock, before turning to the skies and crying his name. Clenching all muscles tightly, a vibrant glow came off him and the skies crackled loudly.

“What’s going on?” UuberFred wailed. “WHAT’S GOING ON?”

“NOW!” I shouted. A bolt of lightening pierced the sky, sweeping right into Electabuzz. He gave a hearty groan as it crackled across his body, making him glow like a neon sign. The electricity coursed through into Slowking, who tried with all his might to wriggle free. Electabuzz then leapt up, swung his tail around and smashed into Slowking, who gave a stagger back and collapsed.

“No! My plan!” UuberFred cried. “Joshua, return!”

The Slowking cast a begrudging look at his trainer as the red light absorbed him. I looked at Electabuzz proudly. The rest of the team congratulated him; Magmar gave him a high-five which resulted in a sharp electric shock similar to a joy buzzer.

“This isn’t over!" UuberFred cried, racing away. As he did, I congratulated Electabuzz and we went over the finer points of his BuzzLock combo. I was trying to devise combos and found that Electabuzz’s greatest asset was his physical strength.

Just then, I heard a shrill cry. Looking over my shoulder, I saw something small, shiny and shimmering looking up at me. It was an Aron, with large dents in its small, streamlined body. It gave another little cry.

“A steel type,” I said, thinking. “Ok. Sneasel, step up. It’s time to catch.”

Sneasel sharpened his claws and stepped forward, Electabuzz watching with the rest of my team. Aron beamed at all the people watching him and then began to charge towards me.

“Go! Quick Clawz!”

Sneasel darted across the tough terrain of Crush Quarry. Aron was charging, but Sneasel’s agility meant he could dart around the speeding bullet, swipe his claws and deal an icy slash. Aron tumbled over, but was still keen to make sure my Pokemon and I saw him.

“Now, use shadow ball!”

As Sneasel leapt back to me, he charged up an orb of swirling shadow. Aron stood there, before suddenly having an idea. His rounded paws dug intently in the ground, but as he did so, the ball was launched, rocketing into Aron and flipping him over. He lay there, gave an over-dramatic sigh and closed his eyes.

“That’s it?” I said quietly. Sneasel folded his arms, looking surprised. I saw Aron open and eye and, seeing me staring in disbelief, quickly close it again. “Fine.”

I fumbled for a Pokeball, drawing my arm back. This one would be easy…I just hoped he was actually stronger than this. If not…I could maybe give him to Jenny. She might like him.

I hurled the Pokeball, watching as it knocked into Aron, who gave an exuberant cry of his name. The ball scooped him up and flew back to me, giving me a satisfying ping noise, telling me that this little drama queen was in fact captured.

“Ok guys,” I said. “We’ve got a new team-mate. Say hi to Aron.”

I released him, and the perky little guy instantly gave a happy cry. He plodded over to Sneasel, fully aware that the rest of my (significantly larger) team members were watching curiously. Aron held a paw out for Sneasel to shake. Surprisingly he gripped it, giving it a firm shake and looking at Aron.

The little treasure hunter, so excited, began running in wide circles, crying his name. As Sneasel showed a look bearing both disgust and confusion, Aron tackled right into me and I fell to the ground, wondering if I could get this Pokemon into good enough shape for the league.

*

Sushi Reginald Tuna McPrawn was an odd man. In his darkening, gloomy little Pawn Shop he counted his money, his young yet raggedy Murkrow Jake piping up various caws of his name as he put the counted bags in a pile.

The doors of his shop were thrust open and OzAndrew walked in purposefully, Mr Mime at his side.

“MCPRAWN!” he bellowed.

“A-A-Andrew!” cried McPrawn.

“Where’s my money, McPrawn?” barked the Australian. “I just went to the Bank. Seems there’s been some sort of…oh…how should I put th- WHERE THE HELL’S MY MONEY YOU SMELLY OLD FISHMONGER!”

He picked up an old item on a shelf, entitled ‘Ash Ketchum’s Orange League Trophy: £500’ and hurled it at the man. McPrawn ducked.

“What are you talking about?” he cried.

“YOU DID IT!” Andrew shouted. “YOU CONNED ME! I GOT YOU SO MANY DELICIOUS GOLDEN FRONTIER SYMBOLS AND YOU DIDN’T GIVE ME MY MONEY!”

“I p-paid it in!” wept the weedy man.

“Then how come – on the day you p-p-paid in the money – the bank suddenly goes on the fritz! Huh? HUH? GODDAMN HUH?”

“I don’t know! P-Please don’t h-hurt me.”

Another useless piece of rubbish was hurled at McPrawn, and this time he didn’t miss. He was struck in the face and staggered back, collapsing in a heap on the ground. Murkrow was helping himself, taking a few shiny objects to a little nest on top of a filing cabinet.

“You’re going down, Prawn,” Andrew said darkly, as he left the room.

Fourteen Years Ago…

In the lobby of Cronus Enterprises, Callisto Thunder was sitting at her desk, but there was a much bigger change in her appearance. She was slimmer, with more volume in her sleek black hair; blonde streaks littered her hair giving her an electrified look. She had more colour in her cheeks and no bags under her eyes; a picture on her desk was all it took to bring a smile to her face.

“Good morning,” came a deep growl of a voice. Christian Cronus leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “How’s everything going?”

“Oh, well,” Callisto said, rolling her eyes. “It’s good to be back.”

“How was the nanny for Greg?”

“Well…” Callisto sighed. “I think we should have introduced him to new people sooner. He’s already 18 months old…and he got a bit scared when she came close to him. But…it’s the only way. We both need to work.”

She groaned.

“Even if it’s a job that couldn’t differ from the one I really want,” she murmured. Christian looked at her, empathizing with her situation. Virgil walked into the lobby, looking angry.

“Christian,” he snapped. “Come.”

“What’s wrong?” Christian asked.

“I’ll tell you what,” he growled. “Michael Milliken has just cancelled our partnership. Terminated the contract. Thinks that we were being a bit seedy.”

“Oh,” Christian said.

“You were the one who spoke with him,” Virgil said airily. “What was it you said to come across as ‘seedy’?”

“I…I don’t remember,” Christian said.

“Try.”

“I…told him what you told me to tell him,” Christian thought. “But he questioned it. A lot. Milliken was a clever man, dad; he didn’t just swallow everything I threw at him. I suppose…when he really pressured me…I was…honest.”

“Oh?”

“A-And he realized that if he did couple with our Business…then…well, he wouldn’t benefit from it as much as we would from him.”

“I see,” Virgil said firmly. “Christian…I appreciate your honesty. Your…style. But it is not the correct style to adopt if you want to be a Businessman.”

“I never did,” Christian retorted.

“I am passing this down to you!” Virgil snapped. “This is my legacy! You should appreciate the position you are in!”

“I’m going home,” Christian snapped. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“If you leave…” Virgil barked. “Then you lose your job. And you lose my respect, Christian.”

“I can’t lose what I never had,” said Christian in a rude voice. He turned his back on his father and strode out of the room, leaving the man fuming. Heading to the reception area, Christian found Callisto on the phone with a client.

“I’m going to get you that job you always wanted,” he told her.

“What?” Callisto asked, placing the phone over her shoulder while she spoke to her husband.

“When I’ve finished my work,” Christian said coldly. “You’re going to be running this Business.”

*

It was the end of a hard day for Virgil Cronus. He was leaving his office, locking up; everyone else had gone home now, and he had asked Callisto Thunder, his receptionist, to talk to Christian when she got home; Virgil was fuming with him but was not willing to forgive easily.

As he left the complex, his car was waiting for him outside. It was his personalized car; a stretched Rolls-Royce; it was black and had a blacked-out partition between the front and back.

“Evening Smithy,” Virgil said airily, sitting himself down. “Just home, please, it’s been a tiring day.”

The car set off. Rain lashed against the windows that night, and Virgil stared out, thinking. His son was too honest, too kind…certainly not cut out for owning his own Business. Virgil remembered what he had learned…and an old voice popped into his head:

In Business you are either a shark or a sheep.

“Smithy?” Virgil asked, peering out the window. “I don’t recognize the road we are on, Smithy.”

There was silence.

“Found a new route?” asked Virgil shrewdly. “Smithy? Answer me, Smithy.”

He pressed a button which lowered the glass partition between them, and as it lowered, he noticed that his chauffeur, Smithy, was not behind the wheel. It was his son, Christian. Christian eyed his father through the mirror and pressed a button, allowing the partition to rise back up.

“W-What are you doing?” Virgil asked. Another button was pressed and the doors were locked shut. “CHRISTIAN! PULL OVER RIGHT NOW!”

But he simply wore a determined look on his face as the car drove further and further out of the city.

Present Day…

Meanwhile, in the Rules Tower, Grey was speaking importantly to Becca and Amy, both of which he had invited to join him. Each looked slightly confused at the subject of discussion. What was more confusing was that Cocoa Sting was currently on speakerphone.

“I have proof,” Grey said firmly. “From an eye witness. Callisto Thunder, from the Board of Governors is married to Ecks.”

“You’re 100% sure?” Amy asked.

“He’s not lying,” came Cocoa’s voice. “I pulled up something from the archive. Turns out Ecks and Callisto have been married for quite some time. When Ecks was dismissed from the Board, Callisto told Gordon she was filing for divorce. Looks like it never came through.”

“So people thought Callisto hadn’t seen Ecks since their divorce,” Becca mused.

“But she’s stayed married to him all this time?” Amy asked.

“She is our only link to Ecks,” Cocoa said.

“Which is why I assembled you all here,” Grey said. “Now Callisto Thunder might be…involved in some way, but she’s still sitting on Gordon’s right shoulder. Cocoa told me she is one of his closest allies on the Board, so I don’t think it’s in our best interests to take the case to him; he’ll dismiss the idea, tell Callisto and she’ll probably inform Ecks.”

“So we’re doing something covert?” Becca asked. “And keep it amongst us four?”

“I think we do need to lead some sort of operation, yes,” Grey said. “I wanted to contact Chris 2.0 about this, too…”

“The less people involved, the better,” Becca said firmly. “So Grey. How exactly are we going to go about this?”

“I drew up some plans,” Grey said, smirking slightly. “We obviously need to get a hold of Callisto Thunder. Unfortunately for us she’s now back on the Board, and her absence will not go unnoticed.”

He paused dramatically.

“That is where our good friend Cocoa comes in. She is occupying the same building as Callisto.”

“I can’t do this all on my own,” Cocoa explained.

“I know,” Grey sighed. “Becca and I are coming to meet you at The Board.”

He gave a smile to Amy and Becca. Amy looked slightly confused, a hand on her chest; Becca got up firmly, looking around the room, and Cocoa, who had to attend another meeting, had to go.

“We leave tomorrow morning,” he said firmly. “It’s time to confront this once and for all.”

*

Luna was sitting on her bed in her room. A picture of her and Solia was in her hands; both were smiling, beaming happily. Luna set it back down and sighed. Her sister had been gone for eight days. The pain was beginning to manifest itself; initially, Luna hadn’t felt anything at all, but now…

She looked at her desk, which had an assortment of cards on them. Many read such things like ‘Thinking of You…’ and ‘Sorry for your loss…’, and people had even stopped her in the street to offer their condolences.

The doorbell rang. Luna looked up; her Umbreon had wandered sleepily to the door. As Luna opened it, three older woman gave a hearty smile.

“Sis!”

“Eve?” Luna said. The woman with vivid ginger hair beamed, letting herself in and embracing her younger sister. “Mida? Dawn?”

The other two women entered. Mida, with her straight auburn hair looked on as Eve hugged Luna. The third woman, with the curly blonde hair, sat herself down and scowled at the room, as if it had just insulted her in one way or another.

“How are you?” Eve asked. She seemed oldest, in her mid twenties, while the cold Dawn, scowling all around looked the youngest of the three. “We came as soon as we could.”

“I’m fine,” Luna lied.

“We’re all so sad,” Mida said quietly. “Poor Solia…”

“And we decided that we’d come and see you,” Dawn said from her chair.

“After all, there is a contest coming up soon…am I right?” asked Eve brightly.

“Yea…there’s a contest,” Luna said slowly. “As part of the League’s opening ceremony.”

“Who are you using?” Mida asked keenly.

“I don’t know,” Luna mumbled.

“You don’t know?” she asked her little sister. “Luna, you need to decide now! You need to practice an appeal! You know it’s –”

“I KNOW!” Luna snapped suddenly. Her three sisters, even surly Dawn looked startled. A slow silence met their ears.

“…sorry,” Mida murmured.

“We wanted to make sure you were eating right, and preparing yourself for the contest,” Eve said, walking around the flat and re-arranging picture frames and such. “Mida is going to be making the meals and working as your nutritional advisor while we’re here. Dawn is going to be your fitness instructor – you need more exercise, like a leisurely jog in the park every morning – and I’ll help you with your appeals.”

“I really don’t –”

“After all,” Mida said, smiling. “We are…”

The three of them plucked a Pokeball each from their belt and released them. Next to Eve emerged a soft, plush Flareon; Dawn’s furrowed brow looked down at her spiky Jolteon and Midi’s cool blue eyes matched those of her Vaporeon.

“THE EON SISTERS!”

“Yea…” Luna said absently, giving little attention to the flamboyant pose that her three older sisters struck.

*

Elec Man was wandering through a lush jungle, similar to Feizhi Outpost’s one. However he was north of the Village, his Breloom at his side, preparing for a truly incredible challenge. The battle for his sixth and penultimate Frontier Symbol. As he neared the foot of the unnamed mountain, he saw a large building built into the base.

Upon entering, Nathan was surprised. It was quite dark, with eerie white lights on the ground that illuminated the room ever-so-slightly. Reminded of the Absence Tower, Nathan went to a registration desk, where a portly man stood.

“Hoho!” he cried. “Another challenger, huh?”

“That’s right,” Nathan replied.

“Ok son,” the man replied. “You need to recall all your Pokemon and choose only three for your Battle Pyramid Challenge. Hand over any loose items, too.”

Nodding, the member known as Elec Man EXE recalled Breloom and put the ball on his belt. He handed over seven other Pokeballs.

“I’m using Breloom, Glalie and Masquerain,” he said firmly. He also handed over his backpack, and at this, the man gave him an empty bag with a Battle Frontier symbol on it.

“Take this empty Battle Bag,” he went on. “And you can store anything you might find. In the Pyramid’s complex, there are a number of items dropped by trainers. Keep one eye squinted ahead and a second on the ground.”

“Right,” Nathan said.

“On the other side of the door is the hike to the first cave,” he said. “What size feet do you have?”

“Ten,” Nathan said, puzzled. The man brought out a pair of trainers and handed them to him.

“You’ll need these,” he said. “Wear them and they emit a small light in the darkness. Every time your VS Seeker clocks a victory whilst in the Pyramid, the light’s scope and power is increased, making it easier to find the way out.”

Nathan smirked as he put on his new shoes. So if he had heard correctly, he had to make his way to the summit of the Pyramid to battle the ‘King’. On the way, however, he would have to navigate the interior of the mountain, where other trainers were battling against each other in a free-for-all, no-holds-barred all-you-can-hyphenate melee. Once all three Pokemon were defeated, you were out.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Good luck!” said the man, letting Nathan through. He left the back door, wandering up the gentle incline towards the first cave. As he went, he saw a figure walking back down, looking crestfallen. Nathan got out his VS Seeker.

Dark Sage
Already a competent battler, Dark Sage has been known for utilizing a Pokemon’s natural potential. A fan of literature, he is a rising star in the league, with a firmly structured team and a drastic way of thinking.

“Hey,” Nathan said glumly.

“Oh,” Dark Sage replied. “Hi.”

“You lost?”

“I was so close,” Dark Sage sighed. “Nearly at the end of the third cave. Then I got challenged.”

“By who?”

“I couldn’t see him very well…just his Pokemon. Devastating. Even my best wouldn’t do.”

Meanwhile, in a semi-dark cave, a tall figure gave a high-five to his Blaziken, who was emitting a red glow.

“Good work, Haf,” Razor Leaf said softly, walking out of the cave and up the road to the next cave complex.

*

It was evening. McPrawn was currently putting everything back that Andrew had destroyed. The doors burst open and security filed in. They were armed.

“PUT YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR!”

“OH GOD!” McPrawn shrieked, throwing himself to the floor. “NOOOOOOOOOO!”

“STAY STILL, SIR!” cried a man. Jake watched keenly from his perch. “You are under arrest for the brutal, attempted murder on a Frontier Brain. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you do say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand?”

“W-W-Wait!” McPrawn said. “What do you mean?”

“We have received a tip-off,” spoke the man. “And subsequent investigations led us to find this buried outside your shop.”

He held out an old, tattered yellow spandex outfit, complete with top-hat and black gloves. It was ripped and shredded.

“Come with us,” he growled. McPrawn eyed them suspiciously.

“I don’t know what you’re on about!” he said, but was grabbed by them nevertheless and led out of the building. As he was led out, two guards searched the little shop, and OzAndrew watched from an alleyway opposite the shop. He smiled.

“Wait until they find the confession!” he said.

“Hey!” said a guard. “Look at this!”

“What is it?” asked a second. The guard showed him the piece of paper.

~

Andrew Mr McPrawn’s Log.

Well it’s finally happened! VEEDP has truly begun to be established in the world of TPML. What is it, you ask?

Well, since I luuuuurve posting my thoughts online…

VEEDP is my Vendetta against Eevees, their Evolutions, Dragons and Pikachu. As the most popular Veteran pawn shop owner in the world (winner of the 2006 OzAndrew Loser award for outstanding achievement in OzAndrew Loser. Sponsored by OzAndrew. I wish I was as cool as him!) I think my opinions should be taken into account.

I hate Eevee. I hate their scummy little smiles, their bushy little tails and their constant POPULARITY! Their evolutions are icky. Dragons are way too uuber and I hate them SO MUCH! And Pikachu is a cash cow.

I stole Espeon and Umbreon from those bitches Luna and Solia. I tried getting ransom money off them, to pay The Missing Link’s fines. But they stopped me.

If it wasn’t for those damn kids I would have got all the money…

~

“A written confession,” said the first man. “Oh Mr McPrawn, you’re going down for a long time….”

OzAndrew smiled as the man was led into a security van. Justice was sweet.

Fourteen Years Ago…

One Week Later…

Christian and Callisto were in the office of Cronus Enterprises with an old, crusty looking man with small spectacles. Christian had tears in his eyes, while Callisto put an arm around him. The two wore black.

Mere days ago, Virgil Cronus had been found buried on Monument Hill, a large hill on the outskirts of the city. His teeth and fingernails had been pulled out, and he had been encased in clay. It had taken the Forensics team some work to find out who the body was, but nobody (except Callisto) knew that Christian was the one who killed him.

“Your Father has given the Business to you,” the man said. This was Frank Lomax, who had come to explain the will, financial situations and other important business. “Christian it is under your name specifically. You have also inherited a large sum of money.”

“There’s something you should know,” Christian said, reaching into his pocket. Callisto’s eyes widened until he simply drew out an envelope. “I received a letter from The Board of Governors. Due to his commitment and the success of the business, he was offered a place on the Board.”

“I see,” Lomax replied grimly.

“I want to take up their offer,” Christian said.

“And do you wish your wife to run the business?” Lomax asked, eyeing Callisto. Christian nodded. “Very well, that can be arranged. Simply sign the waver here. It will allow the corporation to be run by whomever you want.”

“Thank you,” Christian said, signing the form.

“You will need to write back to the board,” Lomax continued. “And accept the position they have offered you. It is a great honor to be on the board. Your father would be proud of you.”

After Lomax had left, Christian wrote to the board to inform them of his acceptance of his father’s position. But he paused thoughtfully. Callisto was over his shoulder, having just called the nanny to check on her son.

“Finished,” he said firmly. Callisto took it and began reading. Her eyes scanned it thoroughly, but when they fell upon a certain point, her eyes widened and she looked rather surprised.

“'As the Junior Undersecretary to Virgil Cronus, I am requesting that Mr Cronus’ position is given to me. I have enclosed documented copies of my work to ensure that I meet the standards you expect of a Board member. Signed: Mr Ecks Ian.' Ecks? Ian? You haven’t even mentioned…”

“…I’m not going to the Board as Christian Cronus,” he said firmly, wrenching a golden cross from around his neck. “I killed my own father for you, but this phase in my life is a fresh start. I’m using the alias Ecks Ian from now on.”

“Christian…this is…this is –”

“Ecks is latin for Christ,” Ecks pressed on. “Coupled with my surname, that spells Christian, my old name.”

“Christian…”

“…my name is Ecks,” he said. “Please, Callisto. I can’t be linked in any way to my father. As far as I’m concerned, my name died when my father did.”

He hurled the cross out the window, where it plummeted to the ground. Callisto gave him a knowing look and, after promising to look after things at the Business, kissed him passionately on his lips. The man named Ecks departed from the building and made his way to The Board of Governors.

*

“How successful were you?” asked Gordon. Jacques and Austin had returned from their work on restoring the information from TPML’s bank.

“Mr Myers and I worked as best we could,” Jacques said curtly. “One more so than the other.”

Austin looked sheepish and embarrassed, hands wringing together. From her seat, Rosie Cran gave Austin a reassuring smile, and he weakly returned it. Jacques continued.

“We managed to retrieve the data from up to two days prior to the attack, however, so our work was ultimately successful.”

“Your work is very much appreciated,” Gordon said firmly. Callisto suddenly felt a vibrating sensation against her leg. Her phone was ringing and, as she discreetly checked it, saw that her husband was calling.

“I need to use the toilet,” she said quickly, hurrying out of the room. Cocoa watched her shrewdly, but it appeared nobody else was particularly bothered. Down the corridor, Callisto answered the phone, hands shaking.

“E-Ecks?”

“Hello,” he said casually.

“Where have you been?” Callisto said desperately. “I’ve been so worried…”

“I’ve been keeping a low profile,” he explained. “I didn’t want to involve you in anything. I wanted to make sure you were not involved.”

“Greg has lost his faith in you,” Callisto sighed, her eyes peering around the corridor. “He knows you killed Kyle!”

“I did suspect he might learn,” Ecks sighed. “How bothersome.”

“I think our son is becoming a liability,” Callisto said sadly.

“Indeed,” Ecks replied.

“Where are you?” Callisto asked.

“Where else?” Ecks said, smiling. At that moment, the door opened and Cocoa Sting walked out of the room. Callisto hung up quickly and watched the black woman walk along.

“If you’re looking for the toilet,” Cocoa said scathingly. “You’re standing right next to the door.”

“Oh,” Callisto said firmly. “Yes.”

“I’m making a private call,” Cocoa went on. “Excuse me.”

Callisto nodded and proceeded to go to the toilet despite not particularly needing to go. Ecks’ words haunted her, and she began wondering if he had gone to finish his work in TPML, or had turned up here to take Cocoa out personally.

“I just overheard Callisto on the phone,” Cocoa said quietly. “She is in touch with him. Come here as soon as you can.”

“Leaving now,” came Becca’s voice, from the other end of the line.

*

I had been through a rough day. Aron was a fantastic addition to his team, particularly after I learned about his evolutions. A big tank-like creature would be perfect. However, Aron had made things increasingly difficult by generally getting motivated by large crowds. So much so that he refused to battle unless enough people were watching. As a result, my team was often feigning some cheers and cries of enthusiasm as he trained against small foes.

Wandering back down BT Street at the end of my day, I was deep in thought. It had been a good one – tiring, yes, but good and productive nonetheless. I saw the playhouse still under construction and the same questions materialized in my head just as they had gone at the start of the day. Why wasn’t Razor Leaf modded?

I knocked on the door of Jenny and I’s flat. In all honesty…it was Jenny’s, but since we shared it together…I liked to think it was mine, too. I knocked again, after there was no response, before thinking Jenny was probably fast asleep, having finally drifted off.

I pushed the letterbox up and slipped a hand inside, feeling for the key, which was attached to the back of the front door. I found it, pulling it in my hand and unlocking the door. I tried being as quiet as possible; Jenny would be asleep.

The flat was empty, but there was a crack of light coming from the bedroom door. Heading towards it, I took my shoes off and walked silently. My hand reached the door and I pushed it gently.

Jenny was stood there, white as a sheet. She was trembling as she held a gun close to her head. Eyes wide, her lip quivered and a tear slipped down her cheek. An envelope lay on the bed.

“Jenny?” I asked feverently.

“C-Ch-Chris…” she gurgled.

“Jenny!”

“I love you!

BANG

Next: Chapter 34 - The Green Lanturn
Andrew reaps his reward when McPrawn is sent to jail, but a superhero-gone-TPML Vet comes to the village to find Quackman's true persona. Meanwhile Luna struggles to cope with the pressure of her sisters when Solia's death begins to sink it.

Grey and Becca make their way to New York City to get the truth out of Callisto, but the unknowing woman has a surprising ally. Elec Man meets Razor Leaf in the Battle Pyramid, and it soon becomes evident both veterans want to advance.

Meanwhile, Chris is shaken to the core as Jenny's life hangs in the balance, and soon learns there might be more to her suicide than he initially thought.

The Blue Avenger

30th September 2006, 09:33 AM

Wow. That chapter was insane... I mean that in a good way, of course. Jenny's suicide came out of nowhere - even with her conversation at the beginning of the chapter (which, looking back at it, was fairly obvious foreshadowing), I wasn't expecting it.

I suspected that Christian Chronus had something to do with Ecks, and I liked how you derived Eck's current name from his prior one. Although, I don't think Ecks is actually Latin, is it? I just figured it was derived from how some people use 'X' in place of Christ in some things, like X-Mas. Incidentally, his name does fit his god complex very nicely, as does his backstory.

Aheh, poor Mr. McPrawn. Of course Andrew would blame him for what Amy did... (speaking of, I was totally right on that! Just not on her doing it to save Liang... which, in itself, was unexpected as well.) I wonder which veteran will be making a return.

Blademaster

30th September 2006, 01:06 PM

.......

I'm not gonna lie to you, Chris - a tear came to my eye a few times in that chapter. This story is like a roller coaster ride, there's so many twists and turns. I look back at Jenny in the first chapter, all jealous and bossy - pretty comical, actually, and then I look back here...

Andrew provided some entertainment as usual, and the backstory on Ecks and Callisto... wow.

Keep it up...

MeLoVeGhOsTs

1st October 2006, 04:13 AM

Great story, great things happened here. Callisto and X were great, their background story was well thought off, great job.

Make sure the fic doesn't turn into a soap, with deaths and cries and suicides and, you know. I mean, it's a good fic, but I just don't want to see it get 'soap-ed'.

Ultimate Charizard

1st October 2006, 04:32 AM

Gah i knew it. I never thought before why there were only 2 Eon Sisters when there are 5 Eeveelutions.

*slaps forehead*

As for the rest...emotional Angst isnt really my thing. Its good stuff but as said above, its getting a bit 'soapy'
Im half expecting some long lost uncles doctors room mate to show up and reveal Jenny is Chris's sisters evil twin or something.

Chris 2.1

1st October 2006, 06:56 AM

TBA: Hmm I guess it's just because there's a lot more to tell about why Jenny shot herself in the head. My sources tell me Ecks is indeed latin for Christ; Grey had a Metagross in ASB which was originally called Ecks. I guess nobody saw it *shrug*. There's more to tell on Ecks and Callisto - we still don't know why he was kicked off the Board, and although hints were given, we didn't get much information on his mother. I don't know if I'll include any of this in more flashbacks lest they get stale.

And yes, McPrawn has gone to jail. Guess who ends up getting the Pawn Shop?

Blade: That's very sweet. I like Jenny a lot, and her fate will be revealled next chapter. I mentioned to TBA across PMs that the good thing is she could live or die - both have plausible consequences. This is something I've planned for a long time; this has been a core element of the fic almost since Jenny returned in Chapter 14.

Andrew provides more humour next chapter. Oh I can't wait to write some of that.

MLG: Thanks; that's been something else I cosnidered implementing sooner, but I like the way it went. We needed to know more about Ecks.

Yea good point. Soapness is bad! This is kinda different though. I don't want to give much away but it's all relevant! Hehe.

UC: They were gonna be introduced like when Jenny hates the Eons, and be even more bitchy, but they're kinda the parental role for Luna. And it's not particularly welcomed. Ps: There's 2 new Eeveelutions in DP! :-/

Haha it isn't many peoples thing. I can see your worry about the soapyness, but fear not. The roots of this fic are Pokemon and battles. And you'll see plenty of that in the next chapter. Jenny's been an emotionally based character; her team, her battles etc aren't part of her character.

Battles are aplenty. I just wanted one of those more emotional chapters, that's all. Particularly after the war. Did you expect that in a soap? :)

Thanks guys!

Elec Man EXE

2nd October 2006, 11:25 AM

Well that chapter went out with a bang.... I know, I know, corny. Couldn't resist, though :o

Really unexpected, though. Even with (as Hypotenuse Man mentioned) the obvious foreshadowing in the beginning, which I also missed, its a big twist. I really hope Jenny pulls through, though, I really like her character and she's become one of my favorites in the fic.

Chris caugt an... interesting pokemon. I loved how the thing played dead in order to get caught by him. Seems to be rounding up to be a real wierd pokemon, and should make for some interesting battles. And if it evolves... *imagines an Aggron tackling Chris* :lol:

The battle with Uuber was cool. It seems that his possession gave him much more battle expertise, though getting hit with that bolt turned him back into the normal Uuber we all know and love.

I'm going into the Battle Pyramid, eh? Always hated that place, and battling against Razor Leaf will make it a real challenge. Should be an epic battle, and those are always good.

I wouldn't worry about it turning into a soap too much... I mean, you'd have to have 5 people having affairs with another 7 people, all intertwined with one another, to get to THAT level :p

Andrew

2nd October 2006, 05:53 PM

Delicious Frontier Symbols. Lol. That cracked me up, so much. So it was an EMP shockwave! I thought it was a bomb! Dammit! Now I'm poor!

Still, Luna's going to have like 2 half-sisters like Leafeon and Glaceon or something now. Poor dear.

Also! I picked that he was a jesusfreak! Hoorah, one of his Pokemon is going to be a Judas, and do the "Right" thing. But it was interesting seeing his background story.

Also, hoorah for Aron, but will chris have a strong and large enough team!?

Oh, and Uuber... how did he get INTO the league .... I doubt he'd have gotten far with the initiation battle.

Jenny's suicide... I don't think it was intentional, more along the lines of Ecks cleaning up any loose ends... BUT if he was the rapist (Which I feel goes against his beliefs) then... yeah, that's why.

Charles Legend

4th October 2006, 07:04 PM

Guess who ends up getting the Pawn Shop? Andrew.... ;)

Gah i knew it. I never thought before why there were only 2 Eon Sisters when there are 5 Eeveelutions.
UC there are Seven Eeveelutions. ;) Crud Chris beat me to it... :dead:

Anyways not bad, I love Chris Aron seems to act alot like a dog I know he is an attention seeker I am just saying he reminds me of my dog... :lol: And it seemes Andrew just Pawned Mr. McPrawn... I know is a bad Pun but some one had to say it.....;)

~Charles Legend

Chris 2.1

12th October 2006, 04:58 PM

Elec Man: Bang? **Groan** Yea Jenny’s fate will be revealled next chapter, but that’s not to say she couldn’t die in the future right?! Incidentally I’m actually pleased you like her so much…because I do, too. She’s become very important. She could live, and Chris could realize how much she means (that she’s the angel sitting on his shoulder…and that Dusclops may be the devil on the other side)…or she could not pull through, and Chris goes off-course like a ship in a storm. Both are tempting…but only one is true!

Aron was going to be obtained in a slightly different way; Chris was going to catch a Nuzleaf and eventually trade it for Lairon, but I wanted Aron because…I just did :p. Aron’s got a quirky personality and I really look forward to building on that.

Yea UuberFred’s Gastly seems to have left him – I won’t say for definite though. I want to go into detail about him soon. You’ll see more of him :-D

I hate the Pyramid too – I like TPML’s version better ^^ Should be good! See you next Chapter!

Andrew: Haha Andrew’s poor! But in Ch34 you’ll learn that not everyone’s convinced at McPrawn’s Arrest! Eeeew no D/P-volutions in this fic thankyou. You think Ecks has a Judas? You’re right! In fact…we’ve seen Ecks’ Judas Pokemon in the fic already!

Chris gets down to some serious training in the next few chapters. He’s a little busy in Ch34, but the end of the Brains/leading up to the league is aptly nicknamed ‘The Training Saga’. Just by me, for referencing.

How did UuberFred get into the league? Hmm good question. Something Uuberiffic…I can say that much!

Hmm you think Ecks killed Jenny? Yikes! Well you’ll soon find out.

Charles: Haha yea Aron is kinda like a dog! Thanks! No new Eeveelutions for the fic. It’s just silly!

News

Ch34 is on its way. I’m swamped with essays and things like that so I haven’t written a lot yet. Well half way through maybe? It’s a shorter one and has more shocks! I’m also excited about introducing a few new non-ASB names into the fic, characters like UuberFred, Nurse Smiles etc.

I’d also reveal some future Chapters…but I don’t know many yet! Apart from Arena Tycoon Greta, Pyramid King Brandon and Factory Head Noland! Christ we have three more brains?
Anything anybody wants to discuss….go for it. Ch34 is a nice chapter where we’ll see a lot of hints at everything

Chris 2.1

18th October 2006, 05:33 PM

You all expected a new chapter, didn't you?

Sorry!

It will be up soon but I really am quite busy at present. I've updated the chapter listings and the Acts.

The First Act
Chris enrols at The Pokemon Masters League, meeting many of the other battlers and making more enemies than friends. Chris' suspicions about a mysterious lake are confirmed when a girl is kidnapped beneath a layer of fog.

Chapter 1: The Missing Link
Chapter 2: Girafarig (Part 1)
Chapter 3: Girafarig (Part 2)
Chapter 4: Razor Leaf
Chapter 5: OzAndrew (Part 1)
Chapter 6: OzAndrew (Part 2)
Chapter 7: The Arbiter
Chapter 8: Aragornbird VS Pichu
Chapter 9: Hanada Tattsu

The Second Act
Chris' rivalry with Razor Leaf reaches an empasse as the boy is caught between The Arbiter and Razor Leaf's ancient feud. Jenny finds her boyfriend and registers under the username FabuLass, irritating our hero as her fiery personality causes more conflict in the village. A mysterious businessman arrives at the village.

Chapter 10: Wolfsong (Part 1)
Chapter 11: 04621 (Part 1)
Chapter 12: 04621 (Part 2)
Chapter 13: Crystal Tears
Chapter 14: FabuLass
Chapter 15: Knight of Time
Chapter 16: Razor Leaf (Part 2)
Chapter 17: Razor Leaf (Part 3)
Chapter 18: Razor Leaf (Part 4)
Chapter 19: The Blue Avenger
Chapter 20: The Weakest Link

The Third Act
A member of The Board of Governors takes the reins and Becca is forced from her office. Cocoa Sting re-organises the moderators, while Chris undergoes a new persona in the village. The Battle Frontier is introduced and is soon a useful mask to slip over the village as blackmail, murder and turmoil are rife.

Chapter 21: Cocoa Sting
Chapter 22: Girafarig (Part 3)
Chapter 23: Wolfsong (Part 2)
Chapter 24: Chris 2.0
Chapter 25: Salon Maiden Annabel
Chapter 26: Charles Legend
Chapter 27: Pike Queen Lucy (Part 1)
Chapter 28: Pike Queen Lucy (Part 2)
Chapter 29: Hanada Tattsu (Part 2)
Chapter 30: Dome Superstar Tucker

Act Four
Tempers flare in TPML. Relationships with his son are tested when Ecks unleashes his army upon the village and kills several people at his expense. Amy and Grey struggle to lead TPML together, and the ladder soon leads Becca on a mission to New York City in a desperate bid to finally catch Ecks. Skeletons begin to fall out of Jenny's closet.

Chapter 31: The War
Chapter 32: Palace Mavern Spenser
Chapter 33: Christian Cronus
Unreleased: Chapter 34: The Green Lanturn
Unreleased: Chapter 35: Pyramid King Brandon

Elec Man EXE

19th October 2006, 11:09 AM

Tricky Chris, tricky indeed.

Andrew

19th October 2006, 11:10 PM

Argh! Getting me all excited! Almost as excited when you said you'd have a look at new EBTV!

Totally not cool with the fakeout!

Wolfsong

20th October 2006, 02:38 PM

Sorry that I haven't replied in a while, but I have been reading. I have enjoyed the last several chatpers but I jsut hadn't had the time to post. Anyways, I don't have much time, But i'm looking forward to the next chapter. Once more sorry it took me so long to post.

Chris 2.1

20th October 2006, 04:27 PM

Sorry about that 'trickery' yesterday :p Here's my way of making it up to you!

Chapter Thirty-Four
[size=3]The Green Lanturn

I fell to the floor, barely feeling the pain in my knees as Jenny lay there in front of me. The large wound in her head wept thick, shining streams of blood that crept across the carpet and matted in her hair. Tears burned in my eyes as I shuffled over, cradling her head in my lap, looking at her lulling eyes…

“D-Don’t die,” I sniffed. I began stroking her hair from her eyes, trying to see past the bloodied façade, trying to find the girl I loved among the ghostly apparition before me. “J-Jenny…”

She really was pale. Her breathing was slow and labored. Acting fast I pulled the drawer open and found an old sweater. I pressed it against the wound on her head, watching the soft, crème sweater slowly turn a messy red colour. The blood began to stop spurting; it was now trickling, spilling down her body. Her head limply fell to the side. Her breathing slowed down even more.

“Jenny,” I said softly, noticing her chest had stopped rising completely. There was no point trying to convince myself otherwise; I saw the pieces of flesh fly from her head when she pulled the trigger. I saw the buckets of blood, which had pooled around her body as they leaked from her head. There was no point trying to convince myself she was alive.

I felt my lips part. Speech made its way up my throat, but when it escaped, a savage roar of defeat left me. I grabbed a nearby glass ornament that lay on the dresser and hurled it against the wall, where it shattered.

Another loud roar filled the room; was that really me? I staggered into the wall like a wounded beast, slamming my fists and giving a long roar of anger. Tears spilled down my face; I felt them burn my skin as they trailed down. I closed my eyes, screwing them up tightly; but despite that I could feel a hot, warm glow on my eyelids; hiding was impossible.

As I opened my eyes, however, I noticed something. A letter in a yellowed envelope. My name was written on the front in an unidentifiable scrawl. I picked it up and began opening it.

Dear Chris, it began.

*

Tucker was finally released from hospital, now confined to a wheelchair. He felt utterly useless, slightly embarrassed and certainly not a diva. He had battled a little in the Park, but it wasn’t the same.

In the Park, Tucker wheeled himself parallel to a park bench and looked around glumly. As he did, a figure approached him, dressed in green spandex and wearing a mask. GL was stamped across his chest, with the silhouette of a Lanturn. Tucker’s eyes widened.

“Aha,” he said, smiling. “You came.”

“Hello again, Tucker,” said the person. He only looked around 18 years of age, but had a deep, authoritative voice. “My, my, my…the ravages of time!”

“…I’m not old,” Tucker spat, signaling his wheelchair. “It was that goddamn Quackman!”

“Evil knows no bounds…” growled the person.

“Quackman was arrested,” Tucker went on. “I read about it in the newspaper. But I want to know his identity. You need to help!”

“How can I help unsleuth the mysteries of this msyterio?” he asked.

“OzAndrew…” Tucker growled. “He knows who Quackman is.”

“Very well then,” said the other person. “THE GREEN LANTURN DEPARTS!”

And with that, he got on a little scooter, revved it and zipped out of the park. Tucker watched, sighing to himself as a Frisbee found its way into his face. Giving a goofy cry of disgust, Tucker noticed that it has knocked one of his teeth out.

“Damnit,” he grumbled.

*

Meanwhile, OzAndrew was happily sitting in The King Prawn Pawn Shop. However, it was different. The Police had given Andrew a large sum of money for helping catch Quackman, the lame super villain. He had used this money to buy the Pawn Shop, refurbishing it to look less grimy and unclean. The sign outside read ‘Oz’s Corrupt!’

“I like money,” he said, in a sing-song voice. “I love it I love it I love it.”

He had used some money to get some good Pokeballs, too; he needed these (as well as his Mr Mime) to catch a new Mr Mime; this one was a sky blue colour where his other one was red, and was slightly smaller. He had used his own Mr Mime as bait.

“Come on!” he snapped at the blue clown. “Work more! No…work less! Little more…little less – I SAID WORK A LITTLE LESS – good.”

The doors opened firmly and The Green Lanturn stood there. He had a Pokeball in each hand. Andrew eyed him shrewdly.

“Yes, welcome to Oz’s Corrupt…money, explanation, umm give me some stuff and I might give you some stuff back…”

But The Green Lanturn hurled both Pokeballs forward. A Combusken and a Shellgon emerged. Andrew watched from his side of the glass partition. McPrawn was an idiot, but Andrew had installed Durable Triple-Glaze Windo-Shields in the shop, as well as a durable Securi-Door with a 12 digit code, so intruders couldn’t attack him as easily as he had attacked McPrawn.

“Hah! Unnamed, masked and oddly muscled for an eighteen-year-old Rogue! I have installed security measures,” Andrew said smugly. But he soon realized The Green Lanturn wasn’t intent on getting to him – he simply wanted to destroy the shop. “NO! STOP IT!”

Andrew got off his seat and ran to the door, trying to remember the 12-digit code.

“DAMNIT! Umm the code… cug5pan…there was something else…it sounded like deer, or did it sound like ‘bambi’ which is why I thought of the word deer…oh! I put a number 7 in there, since there were 13 at the last supper and 13 plus the first digit (a number 1) equals 14 which, divided by two equals seven….or was it 13 plus the second digit….AHH FRICK STOP ATTACKING MY SHOP!”

Combusken was slashing and ripping the walls; Shellgon’s heavy frame rammed against shelves of stolen items as Andrew hammered against his own protection.

“DAMN YOU!” he screamed.

“Combusken! A final slash,” The Green Lanturn grumbled. “OzAndrew, if you want this to stop, meet me beneath The Bank at midnight and we will talk. Until then, I will destroy your shop every day for at least two days!”

And as he fled, Andrew’s knuckles began bleeding as he pounded against his security.

“Oh, I know how to open the door,” he said, smiling as if he had forgotten something so simple. He picked something up from beneath the counter. “EAT AXE!”

Smashing the door open, Andrew unleashed both his Mr Mimes. A double psychic blast struck The Green Lanturn in the back and he staggered forward, fuming. On his command, Shellgon leapt at the two Mimes, but they held him back with a psychic and hurled him at The Green Lanturn. He ducked and Shellgon struck the wall.

“Damn!” he snapped. “Blue Mime – return! Miss Justice, I choose you!”

His ball popped open and revealed a white piece of paper.

Ran away when you weren’t looking. You suck – Miss Justice.

“DAMNIT!” screamed the Australian, grabbing another Pokeball. “Ok! Foxxy! GO!”

His Ninetales emerged. The Green Lanturn, however, had already fled the scene with Shellgon and Combusken. Angered, OzAndrew raced out the front door with Mr Mime and Ninetales, looking around hastily.

“Mr Mime! Inflata-Formation!”

The Green Lanturn fled down the street, Combusken occasionally leaping up and spewing flames to keep the manic foe away. He found himself near the end of an unloved street; jungle-like and deserted. Having been a TPML contender years ago, he knew he was not far from Feizhi Outpost and, ultimately, The Old Village.

Racing along, the superhero didn’t dare look back. He found the entrance to the Old Village, empty and deserted, with the occasional Pokemon mulling around. He turned to look behind him. OzAndrew wasn’t there.

“He…He’s gone,” The Green Lanturn murmured. As he said that, however, a large, shadowy shape moved across the treetops of the thick, complicated jungle by Feizhi Outpost. It was pink and shiny. It was OzAndrew, arms folded like an imperial figure as his two Mimes helped keep the large Bouncy Castle afloat. Ninetales, Jumpluff, Misdreavus, Electabuzz…a multitude of attacks rained down on The Green Lanturn, who plucked two other Pokeballs and hurled them forward.

“Migo! Otto!”

A plump looking Grumpig materialized as well as a grouchy and angered Ursaring. They, along with Combusken and Shellgon, prepared for battle.

“BRING IT ON!” shouted the superhero, as OzAndrew prepared his retaliation.

*

Dear Chris,

I feel, as I write this, as if I owe you something of an explanation. I know the sight you saw was not pretty, expected or, in reality, fair. I would never like to see you take your own life and, as I began planning my suicide, I knew that the aftermath of my actions would hurt you for a long time.

But was it right? I don’t know. I just knew that eventually I would have to hurt you in a way beyond physical pain. Anguish. I knew it would seep into your skin and I warned myself what my actions might do. And still I shot myself in the head.

I want you to know why.

My name isn’t Jenny. My name is Morpheus, and I was sent to spy on you. I have been reporting back with information about you, and I have been in 04621 acting as an informant for my master. I am, in actuality, a Ditto, and I have been under this guise for many months.

The switch took place while you were away. The night that Jenny was raped. As she walked home one night, laden with clothes, my master dragged her down an alleyway and knocked her out. I transformed into her, wearing the clothes she had bought that day. I took her watch, wallet, phone, make-up, her Pokemon and everything on her. My master kept her and used her to extract information, which was fed to me down the phone during the initial days of the switch. Things that only she would know. Ever since he discovered that you were the one who had also witnessed Amy Wolfsong’s kidnapping, he was desperate to keep a tab on you, and that was through me. As I recovered from the ‘rape’, being held in the Hospital for all sorts of things, master rang me, and I was beginning to learn more about Jenny Jackson-Smith as he spoke.

Of course, it was relatively easy. I was happy. Transforming into a human grew tiring, however, but my alibi allowed me to spend a lot of my day recovering. In these last couple of weeks I have been feeling myself deteriorate. It was difficult to maintain my façade.

But although everything was going well, I truly felt myself become Jenny. I was no longer Morpheus. And this is when things became difficult. With you, Chris, I felt myself connecting to a human being in a completely new and invigorating way. I knew that you were falling in love with me, and I soon found myself fast falling in love with you.

What was I supposed to do? I had a mission to undertake. Although master had eventually uncovered the truth – that you knew very little about Wolfsong’s kidnapping, and in the time I spent with you he had also learned she knew little of what he was doing – he still wanted me there. Despite my orders, I knew that you and I were deeply in love. It was confusing, for you were in love with Jenny, and I, more and more becoming this girl you thought I was, loved you back unconditionally. It did not hurt me in the slightest that I knew I was someone other than your love. What hurt was that one day I was going to have to stop this façade. One day I was going to turn your world upside down.

I tried to end the relationship. When you said you were going after Ecks, I knew that objecting might make you prioritize him over me. But it failed, and even though you wronged me, I couldn’t stop giving you my love.

So when you went out today…I did it. I already had a gun…master had already asked me to take care of Aragornbird since he escaped, and as I was debating whether to kill him, as I was ordered to do…I took the gun to my head instead.

Once I have died, and my brain has completely shut down, I should revert back to my original form. I have done a terrible thing, and never in my life would I imagine that love could cause so much sin. I have decided to help you the only way I can.

Master kept Jenny so that he could keep extracting information from her. She was located beneath Ivy Lake, although now the complex has been blown up. Aragornbird terminated the main corridors beneath the lake, but Jenny’s room was far, far away from where Wolfsong had been kept. I have drawn a map, enclosed, showing you the way there. There is another entrance.

I hope you find her and that she is well. All I can say is that I am sorry I fell in love with you.

Yours,

Morpheus

For a few moments I read the letter. My brow was furrowed in a vain attempt to stop my eyes from watering. I stuffed the letter in my pocket, and turned to see Jenny. Unfortunately, all that lay there were a bundle of her clothes, and just visible from the top, a Ditto with its eyes shut. There was a tear in its side, perhaps a modification of the bullet wound. It was dead.

I picked up Jenny’s Pokeball belt and took her Pokemon. I think I might need their help in finding her. I looked at the map, which was, from Ivy Lake, showing a little path around the side, where there was a cave set into a little hill. I hadn’t been this far around before.

Outside, I saw it was dark. I whipped off many of the Pokeballs, and the multitude of creatures materialized. Persian, Marshtomp, Poliwhirl, Dusclops.

“Come on,” I said firmly. “We’re going to find Jenny.”

A Pokeball quivered and Aron leapt out, seemingly excited at Persian and Marshtomp, two that he had not met before. He smiled. Persian watched scornfully. Together, the group of us set out, heading up BT Street and towards the main part of the village. It was extremely quiet.

The quest had begun. The quest to find my girlfriend and save her.

*

The Missing Link and The Arbiter, better known as Grey, were making their way through the main square. They were on their way to The Board of Governors to meet with Cocoa Sting, and ultimately try and question Callisto Sting to learn about Ecks’ whereabouts. Grey felt tense; as they walked past the shadowy towers, it felt odd to be leaving the village. A car was waiting at the other end of the park to take them to a nearby airfield.

Through the park they went. It was quiet, but there were a few Volbeat and Illumise sweeping around, tails glowing brightly. Neither spoke. Grey was glad to be doing something, although he did worry about the state of the village while they were away. Ecks could be planning anything, and both Grey and Becca felt that he was either done for good, and his absence was a good time to leave and sort things out, or that he was waiting to strike again following the war, and they were, in fact putting the village in danger.

With it just being the two of them, neither was worried about the state of the village. Security Guards were still present since Cocoa Sting’s regime, and the moderators were all present (except for Becca).

“Grey…” Becca said firmly, as they arrived on the scene. The chauffeur was standing outside by the car, which looked unusually close to the floor. The tires had been slashed and the driver was not happy.

“What happened here?” Grey asked.

“I sat inside, waiting for you,” said the thin, irritable man. “And then swoosh! something streaks past my car and all four tires are beyond repair.”

“We’ll have to order another one,” Grey said calmly. “Can you send one?”

“You’ll have to pay for two,” growled the man. Becca sighed.

“We’ll miss our flight,” she said urgently. “We need to leave now.”

“Do you think someone did this to stop us going to New York?” Grey asked. Becca considered this point for a moment.

“Maybe Ecks is still around,” she said warily.

“We have been very secretive about this,” Grey admitted. “So it is very unlikely…although Callisto could have learned from Cocoa.”

“Someone could have heard our conversation, tapped into the phone lines,” Becca mused. “I can’t honestly say that our transportation being sabotaged in the middle of the night on the way to a top-secret operation is not unsuspicious.”

“Then what do we do?” Grey asked. Becca looked at the bristly man standing by the car.

“Get us another car pronto,” she said firmly. “We’re going to the Airport. If we miss our flight, we wait patiently for the next one. I’d like to see Ecks bring down a plane.”

Grey gave a nod. From the bushes, a shadowy figure watched them, cursing in fury. It was a young boy with ragged black hair, slightly tanned skin and a large Cloyster by his side.

An hour later, Grey and Becca had managed to get on board a jet which was taking them to New York City. The two discussed Ecks, and made it clear they thought he was back in the village.

“Amy, please make sure everybody is alert,” Grey said firmly.

“If you think Ecks is in TPML, why are you still going for Callisto?” Amy asked desperately, still in the village.

“She will confirm our suspicions,” Grey explained. “And furthermore…I believe we can use Callisto to our advantage. Take her with us to TPML and set a trap.”

“A hundred things could go wrong,” Becca said, sighing.

“I know,” Grey said sadly. “But we cannot let this man get away.”

*

The walk did not take long. I stormed purposefully into Ivy Woods, noticing the path had been cleared more since I was last here. It was tidier. More spacious. Memories swarmed around me as my footsteps took me along the path…the path I had once led Amy Wolfsong around multiple times, when I had convinced her there was a monster beneath the Lake.

My first visit here…Elekid and Magby had been attacking wild Pokemon. We arrived at the bank of the lake, and I distinctly remembered staring out across the vast mass of water…wondering how many people knew there was a lake within the forest. That was when Spearow and Taillow attacked…and when all was lost, OzAndrew emerged mysteriously, helping me defeat them.

The curling mist, a deep echoing cry…the shadowy form of the monster. There had been a few instances where I had seen it; the large Dragonite that Aragornbird used to own. Amy was taken…I remembered being knocked out, and waking to find her gone.

On and on I went, the army of Pokemon by my side. I thought back to Karin, and when she came back to TPML after Amy was taken. My brief time in Jolly Japes and all along poor Amy Wolfsong was in a glass coffin, tubes entering her body, lowered into a body of water and interrogated for answers.

There were no tears in my eye. In fact, my eyes were as dry as the remnants of the lake. After Aragornbird escaped, using explosives from within to cause an implosion, the water from the lake was pretty much gone. Peering into the vast, deep ditch I saw a small pool at the base, and a lot of dead fish on the muddy slopes of the lake. Some were skeletal. A strong smell of fish emanated. I saw the tunnel that led to the Cave Complex, at the bottom of the lake…but mud and dirt from the banks of the lake had caused it to become blocked.

I looked down at my map. It led around the side of the lake and, my group with me, I walked on. Aron had a strut. Persian eyed Aron viciously. As we went, I looked to see the base of a number of hills. As we neared, I saw that they were in fact covered in a thick, crusted moss.

The map had this labeled as the place where the door was. I looked. All I saw was a mossy hill.

“Ok guys, attack,” I said emptily. Aron bolted through the air, paws glowing a shimmering silver. He tore at the moss manically, shredding it fantastically but not actually revealing anything other than soil and mud. The slope was gentle; any door or hatch was going to be at a very gentle angle from the ground. Aron shuffled back guiltily as Jenny’s Persian geared itself up to attack.

Poliwhirl had an idea, though, as Persian raced forward slashing furiously. He motioned to Marshtomp, and began exhaling a gust of sparkling, frosty air. It was an icy wind, and it seemed he was trying to teach Marshtomp how to use it. As the frost covered the moss, the moss became brittle and, after Aron and Persian’s slashes, it fell off limply like dead skin. Eventually we saw a metal frame, and as I peeled away the rest of the debris, a thick, metal hatch-like door stared at us from the mountain. Stamped across the iron-gray front in black was a logo

Cronus Industries

I shrugged, asking Marshtomp and Poliwhirl to help me heave the door open. It was proving difficult, and Marstomp, in his frustration, pulled too hard and the handle snapped clean off.

“Damnit,” I spat. “What did you do that for?”

Marshtomp looked thoroughly upset. I shot a cold, steely glare at him as he shuffled uncomfortably. Persian scowled at me in a way reminiscent to Jenny, while Poliwhirl tried to stop Aron from looking so happy. Dusclops, in the background, phased into the air and disappeared.

“Great, now Houdini’s buggered off,” I snapped. The team sensed my hostility and stood patiently. I looked at the map Morpheus had written. There was the lake, which had a red X by the little entrance (to tell me it had been blocked in Aragornbird’s explosion), as well as a similar door to this one set into a hillside, but much closer to the lake. It was also crossed out. Ours was slightly further away than the others.

Soon I heard a dull clunk, and the doors opened for us. Dusclops materialized, apparently having opened it from inside using his ghostly abilities. I flashed a rare smile and looked. It was a gentle set of steps leading down to the interior. My team looked around.

“Come on,” I said. “Dusclops, use a flash. Lead the way.”

Hands glowing an ethereal silvery colour, Dusclops wandered onwards ahead of us. We began our descent, the night-sky outside getting smaller and smaller as we furthered ourselves on. The steps wound around deeper and deeper as Dusclops led the way for Poliwhirl, Marshtomp, Persian, Aron and myself. Soon, we reached the end of the corridor. There was a door on the left, and another door on the right. Deciding on the left, I turned. A well-placed punch from Marshtomp broke it down.

“Thanks, Skip,” I said kindly. Marshtomp smiled. Entering the room, I found a light switch, and turned it on. Dusclops’s hands stopped emitting their ethereal glow, and instantly my eyes widened.

There were pictures. Notes. Everything was on the walls. A photo of Jenny and I in the Park at home; analysis of Jenny’s team, even discarded lipstick, and some of her clothes, put on the wall like some sick scrapbook. I pulled a piece of paper from the wall and read it. It appeared to be a transcript.

X: How is it going?
Morpheus: Fine
X: Where are you communicating from?
Morpheus: There’s a cyber Café in the Hospital.
X: Ok
X: Anything new to report
Morpheus: Yes. We had intercourse
X: I see
Morpheus: It was wonderful
X: It is your job. Never forget that.
X: Does he suspect anything?
Morpheus: Of course not. Why would he?
X: Why indeed.
Morpheus: When should I return back?
Morpheus: How long am I needed?
X: You’ll stay for a long time. You are proving useful. You are allowing me access to somebody who has been avoiding me.
X: I may ask you to kill him for me
Morpheus: If I must

I read it through a few more times. Blinking furiously, I read again. Morpheus. X…Ecks, in other words. So they had been communicating all this time…this entire place was abandoned, and I could tell it had not been in use for a while. At least two weeks. I was still concerned someone might find me.

If I must – Ecks had asked her to kill me…kill me when I had stopped being useful. I wondered about my usefulness – I think I had become more of a nuisance, but had she put off her task to kill me? Had she fallen in love at the right time?

“Let’s try the next room,” I said grimly to my team.

*

Meanwhile, all hell had been let loose in The Old Village. OzAndrew flew his Bouncy Castle around, firing off attacks from his team. The Green Lanturn, meanwhile, retaliated with his four Pokemon: Ursaring, Combusken, Shellgon and Grumpig.

“Grumpig! Psychic!”

A psychic blast struck Andrew amid the castle. He staggered back, knocking into one of his Mr Mime; he subsequently lost his control on the castle and it fell to the ground. With a deep thump, Andrew staggered off, to see Combusken standing there furiously.

“Slash!”

“Mimes! Go for a Happy Slap Attack!”

The two mimes ran at Combusken, slapping him everywhere. The fighter, angered by the assault, span on the spot, releasing a stream of flames. Grumpig leapt up and hurled an exploding shadow ball, while Ursaring charged up a hyper beam.

“Tell me who Quackman is!” demanded The Green Lanturn. His Shellgon raced forward and slammed into Ninetales, driving her hard into a wall. Her tails shimmering, she threw him off awkwardly, before racing at him with a majestic sweeping of flames.

“It’s McPrawn!” replied the Moderator.

“Liar,” spat TGL. “Ursaring! Hyper Beam on the Mimes. Everyone else, all out attack!”

“Hah! You fight like…like a dairy farmer!” OzAndrew retorted.

“How ironic,” The Green Lanturn replied. “You fight like a cow!”

“SHUT UP!” snapped the Australian as a charged orange beam slammed into Mr Mime. “Ok! Weezing! Poison Gas attack! We have to flee!”

As a thick layer of smog filtered around the arena, Andrew plucked many of his Pokeballs from his belt and recalled his team. The Green Lanturn, however, was not happy with this. Combusken leapt into the air, arms spinning around, trying to clear the smog.

When it did clear, Andrew had gone. The bouncy castle, which was deflated and rather dead, was flopped against a building in the Old Village.

“Damnit,” he sighed.

*

The Board of Governors was very important. Meetings were held very often and they could last a long time. But when meetings did not take place, the 12 people did various other tasks as part of their jobs. Austin Myers, for example, was an exceptional Computer Technician. Jacques, the half American and half French man with a stale, crusty look on his face also dealt with computers – data protection, encryptions and other secretive, code-like methods.

Rosie Cran, bursting with literary technique from University often wrote the minutes of each meeting, and was currently working on typing them up and distributing them. She worked in the same room as Austin; a large computer room with work stations situated in various places; the lighting was dim.

Callisto and Cocoa were both advisors to Gordon, and subsequently had the higher positions on the Board. They shared an office directly below Gordon’s own one. Derek, Razola’s grandfather was in contact with him. He had just learned that, following the war, Razola had fled TPML and vowed never to go back. Derek, shocked, poured himself another drink. All the members were situated around the huge skyscraper that was The Board of Governors office. The Meeting Room was on the top floor; where they frequently collaborated.

“Austin?” asked Rosie meekly. He was busy trying to track down the company that made the EMP bomb. “C-Could you help me out?”

“Sure,” he replied.

“How do I spell ‘embezzled’?” she asked, her pen between her teeth.

“Rosie…”

“I know there’s a few ‘Z’s in there somewhere,” she mused.

“You know I’m dyslexic,” Austin said rudely. Rosie mumbled something and flushed a deep shade of red. Cocoa Sting marched through the room, a file under her arm. She wore today a black suit with white trim, and a sharp, heavy collar jutting out from her neck. Marching through the Console Room, she arrived in a corridor.

“Yes?” she said.

“It’s Grey,” came the voice. “We’re up in the air.”

“Any problems?”

“An unknown assailant tried to stop us getting here…weakly,” Grey sighed.

“But you’re ok?” Cocoa asked.

“Fine,” Grey said.

“Do you know who it was?” Cocoa asked.

“We have assumptions, but we are focusing on the matter at hand. It is unsafe to tell you the plan over the phone. Or are you in a secure place?”

“It’s too risky,” Cocoa said, staring around her. “Thanks for the call. Let me know when you arrive.”

*

Meanwhile, Callisto had to similarly leave her office in order to take a call from her husband. However, to avoid a similar situation as last time, she went outside, leaving the building completely. Sitting on a bench on the sunny street of New York, she spoke to Ecks.

“It’s safe,” she said.

“I’ve just been speaking to our son,” Ecks said firmly. “He rang me.”

“Oh.”

“’Oh’, Indeed,” Ecks said, thinking. “He tells me he saw The Arbiter and The Missing Link make their way to a taxi. They were heading to the airport. In the middle of the night. Isn’t that interesting?”

“Where do you think they are going?” Callisto asked.

“To you!” Ecks snapped. “Someone knows you are still in contact with me!”

“No!” Callisto said. “Nobody should –”

“They obviously do,” Ecks growled. “He overheard conversation. About New York.”

“It’s a big city,” Callisto replied.

“Not big enough to hide a criminal,” Ecks replied, which fired his wife up fantastically.

“I am not a criminal!” she cried.

“You’re associated with one,” retorted the smart man. “And that’s just as bad. They’ve come for you. They’ve come to get you to tell them where I am.”

“Oh my god…” Callisto said wearily. “Ecks…Ecks!”

“Everything is fine,” Ecks replied. “I have a plan. They will not learn anything from you.”

“What –”

“Let us keep up the tradition that we do not speak often,” he said coolly. “If I tell you the ways and means…then that is one more thing they may extract from you.”

“I am your wife,” Callisto snapped.

“And you are also a liability, just like our son,” came the voice on the other end of the phone. Callisto’s stress and fear was not noticed by those making their way along New York.

“Our son is a liability?” she asked. She waited for an answer.

“I think he may have told someone something about us,” Ecks said grimly. “Why else would they come to New York? Cocoa has suspicions perhaps…but she cannot prove anything. They must have proof, or else they would not make the trip.”

“So? What do you propose we do, Ecks?”

“I need to silence him,” came a solid, firm response.

And, ironically, only silence met his threat. Callisto’s eyes widened and she gave a shuddering gasp at her husbands words.

“You…you don’t mean…” she said, struggling to find the strength to comprehend.

“I mean,” Ecks said crossly. “Do whatever is required to keep our son from leaking information. He knows we are married. He knows that Ecks has a son. That I have a son. Him. He could intrigue a lot of people with what he knows, Callisto.”

“Did you find Morpheus?” Callisto asked, as if the previous conversation had not occurred.

“No, I have not been able to contact her,” replied Ecks. “I can only assume she is busy.”

“Could she have…died?” Callisto suggested.

“It did cross my mind,” Ecks told Callisto. “And should I not hear from her soon, I will assume that to be the case. But now I must go. A second on the phone is a second our son could ruin our lives.”

“Are our lives not already ruined?” Callisto sobbed. But she did not get her question answered; Ecks hung up and she was left sitting emptily in the street. Would Ecks sacrifice their only son to the cause? And what was their cause? Callisto felt as if all they were doing was erasing their tracks, deleting the past…and yet so much had to be done to achieve it.

Turning, she looked at the building she would soon have to re-enter. When was Grey going to arrive? And how much did he want the information that he believed she, Callisto held?

*

“Now these contain a mere 2.5% of your daily allowance for salt,” cooed Mida, her auburn hair tied back sensibly as she stood at the kitchen area of Luna’s flat. “So that’s very good. Pasta is also a great energy-booster, so when you go out running you’ll be super-charged.”

“Mm,” said Luna, sitting on the couch and watching the back of her sister. Her face was pale, eyes sunken and hair lank and greasy. Today she had woken up in floods of tears. Nightmares followed her in her sleep…but it wasn’t that. She woke up this morning and words filtered into her head.

Solia was never going to come back.

And the very perception of those words sat in Luna’s stomach like a lead weight. It made her feel ill as she shoveled a pasta dish down her throat. It made everything seem mundane. Everything was boring. Even her three older sisters staying in the area didn’t help. Luna wished they would leave her alone.

Eve entered the room, shaking her vivid ginger hair from her face. Her skin was pale, but she looked beautiful, like a porcelain doll. Her Flareon came in with her, whose thick furry mane was similar to her owner’s hair.

“How are you?” Eve asked kindly.

“Fine,” Luna grumbled. Her voice was unfamiliar. Deep and coarse. She didn’t look at her sister which, unfortunately, drew more attention to the fact.

“Hey,” said a soothing voice. Luna felt Eve’s finger brush against her chin. Forced to look into her sisters eyes, she struggled to smile. Eve beamed at her. “Smile!”

“Mm,” Luna grumbled, head lolling back as she moved her pasta shells around the plate. Luna saw Eve exchange a darkly significant look with Mida, who was washing the dishes.

“How come you’re not wearing any make-up today?” Eve asked.

“Just didn’t want to,” Luna replied, trying to appear casual.

“You? Not wear make-up?” Eve said, smiling. “Oh my dear sweet Luna! You love make-up! You always liked to put ours on when you were little. You and Solia –”

She broke off suddenly. Luna felt the lure and looked up.

“What about Solia?”

“No, nothing,” Eve replid awkwardly, busying herself and trying to look as if she was doing something in the kitchen area. However she only made herself an obstacle for Mida, who was carrying drying dishes back and forth.

“You were going to say something about Solia,” Luna said perkily. “What was it?”

“J-Just that…th-that…never mind, anyway, it was just stupid, forget I ever said it.”

“NO!” snapped Luna, rising from her seat. “No I will not! Stop treating her like some taboo word, like she’s an evil curse or a swear! She’s my sister, my best friend! And she’s dead! You…you don’t get it, do you? She’s dead, and I feel dead inside now she’s gone! You’re all standing on eggshells, aren’t you? I see those cursory glances…those ‘oh…watch out – Luna might hear!’ looks you exchange, as if any mention of my sisters name will cause me to burst out into tears! Well let me cry! Let me cry with happiness, with remorse, with sorrow…let me cry with fond memories and remember her! Let all my tears wash away the despair in my heart and let me fully accept my sister has gone!”

Tears really were streaming down the girls face. Mida and Eve looked rather moved by her words, too. Luna wiped her face on her sleeve.

“Sometimes, it’s good to let go. Right? What do you think Mum would say if she was alive today?”

Luna took one look at her sisters faces and left the room. She had made her point.

*

After leaving the small, ‘scrapbook’ room, the team and I emerged at the corridor we had been in. I was confused. Everything was beginning to spin out of control. I was being spied on. Ecks had wanted me dead. Everything I felt for Jenny had crumbled away; our blossoming romance was…a façade. A cover-up for the girl’s real identity.

Having explored one room, I opened the opposite door in the corridor and the Pokemon followed. This room was long and thin; I could see bare walls and a flickering light. It gave an odd buzzing noise as it flickered on and off. I made my way down.

There was a spiral staircase leading deeper into the complex. On my way downward, I considered this place; a complex layer of caves hidden in the already elusive Ivy Woods. Unfortunately the stamped logo on the front of the metal doors had left my mind. On and on I went, feet clanking against the metal steps as Jenny’s shocked face sprang in my mind. The fear…the sweat, cold and cruel, crawling down her face…and that moment when she pulled the trigger.

I reached the foot of the stairs. I got to the door, which was very thick and, as I guessed, locked tight. I hammered against it wildly, before turning to my team.

“Destroy it.”

And, barely watching the flurry of water, fists, claws and Aron slam into the door, I stepped forward as it opened. The room was small, in two parts; a thin corridor separated this room from another bathing in shadow. I looked around. Screens everywhere. Some were black and white, others in colour. One was gray and fuzzy. These monitors lined the walls, and there was a desk pushed against one wall. Lighting was dim here. I looked at the screens and my eyes widened.

Screen One: Grey and Amy’s office in The Rules Tower
Screen Two: The Bank. Staring, I saw Aragornbird working at his desk. He had no idea there was a camera watching him.
Screen Three: My living room.. Jenny’s living room, really. It was in colour. The door to the bedroom was ajar and, screwing my eyes up tightly, I could see a faint dark-red stain on the carpet near the bedroom.

I tore my eyes away, giving a dry sob and slamming my hands against the dry wall. It crumbled slightly. This place was freaking me out. Cameras…spying on me, on everyone in TPML. Pictures of Jenny. Notes. Annotations. I’ve been watched all this time.

“ARGH!” I roared, picking up one of the monitors nearest to me. I briefly saw the image of a sleek mahogany table with quite a lot of people sitting at it. I pulled it from the shelf and hurled it to the ground, where it shattered, glass and shards of plastic spilling across the floor. Marshtomp and Persian erected a white dome around all the Pokemon, protecting them. I looked around angrily, my breathing thick and heavy.

“…ungg…”

A quiet, labored groan. It was from the darkening room ahead.

“W-Who’s there?” I snapped. “Hey!”

No answer. But then…

“…hhmmmrrnnn…”

I cast a quick gaze at my Pokemon. They looked at me, from their protective shield. I headed across the room alone, wandering down the thin corridor to the darkening room. I knew it could only be one person…it had to be. But what had made her sound so drained? So exhausted?

There was even less light in this room. As I stepped into it, I saw a beautiful woman in the center of the room. Still. Illustrious. Perfectly still. As I got closer, I realized something truly startling.

She was not even real.

*

It was dark. Elec Man wandered on through the cave, his trainers emitting a light that guided him along. He had battled quite a few people, spent quite a lot of time here, and was already feeling himself get closer to the summit.

His bag was bulging with various items. From revives to berries to dusty potion bottles, he had found a number of things to make the battles easier. He had needed to revive Breloom after a particularly tough battle before.

After walking around for a while, Elec Man looked and saw a bright blue circle of light beneath a ladder leading upwards to the exit of the cave. The end of the cave! This meant that the Pyramid King must be near.

Hurrying towards it, he grabbed the sides, and hoisted himself up each rung. As he rose higher he surveyed the floor of the cave complex; he had come a long way. Various sized spheres of light were visible moving around. Above him, he could see the light from the exit of the cave. He kept on going.

“Vine Whip.”

A thick lashing vine snapped against Nathan’s fingers and one hand whipped from the ladder, causing him to wobble. Unable to see what had happened, he dared to try again; but this time a flurry of leaves slashed against his knuckles and he lost his grip. Nathan fell from the top of the ladder and hit the ground, giving a long groan of pain. Dropping down, lowered on a vine was Razor Leaf. He recalled the creeper, which seemed to belong to one of his Pokemon, still at the top of the ladder in the next room.

“Well,” Razor Leaf said coldly, surveying Nathan as he got to his feet. “Elec Man EXE. I must say I am surprised to see you around.”

“Why did you knock me?” he said weakly.

“You’re heading up to the summit,” Razor Leaf said. “As am I. Only one of us can get to the very top.”

“So you want a battle?” he said, getting to his feet. “Fine.”

“As it happens I just have one Pokemon left,” Razor Leaf said slyly. “I have recovering items for an emergency…but I’d rather save them for Brandon.”

“I have two,” Elec Man said, remembering Glalie meeting his end in a battle against a trainer named Ace. However, he was lying about the number on his team; Breloom was also unable to battle. He was hoping this technique would intimidate Razor Leaf. Subsequently he had planned to revive both before his final match. “Ok then. Masquerain, GO!”

The glittering moth emerged, giving a little cry as she fluttered her wings. Razor Leaf nodded, grabbing his Pokeball and unleashing his Victreebel, Razor. Masquerain’s delicate eyes watched the rather large, sickly citrus coloured flytrap as its eyes surveyed the dark room.

“Let’s go,” Razor Leaf said. “Razor! Razor Leaf!”

As a flurry of sharp leaves flew through the air, Masquerain gave a cry and began spinning her wings. They blasted air at the oncoming attack but failed to stop it completely. She was slashed across her face and rose higher into the air.

“Ice Beam!”

A beam hurtled through the air, formed from Masquerain’s mouth. It was smaller than most, being that Masquerain was a small, petite Pokemon. Victreebel was struck and issued a scream; hopping forward, the flycatcher swung its vine out and caught Masquerain.

“En Tende Slam!”

Leaping up, with the little bug trapped firmly in her vine, Victreebel slammed the foe into the ground. As Masquerain gave a shriek of discomfort, Razor landed and slammed down on the moth a second time.

“Whirlwind!” Elec Man cried. From beneath the vicious fanged plant, Masquerain flapped her wings hard. Unfortunately this did not work; wings pinned to her side by the weight of her foe, she mustered and mustered.

“Save that delicate little darling for Pokemon Contests, Nate,” hissed Razor Leaf. “Razor! Energy Ball!”

As a white light danced on the rim of the creatures mouth, Masquerain struggled free and limply flapped to its side of the arena. Elec Man cast a gaze at his so-quickly-defeated Pokemon. Masquerain was weakening.

“Come on!” he said. “Blizzard!”

But the ball was launched; a large, round orb of throbbing white energy. It was catapulted high into the air, before darting suddenly down at Masuqerain, almost as if it had spotted its target. Masquerain sparkled momentarily, and a fantastic collection of thick, icy shards were blasted through the air. They froze the energy ball, forcing it back, where it wobbled into the ground near Razor Leaf. He leapt out the way as it caused a large boom. Victreebel took this opportunity to leap up and slash leaves at the little Pokemon.

However, it was in vain, as Masqerain, having conjured such a powerful blizzard, was drained of energy and soon fluttered limply around of her own accord. Razor Leaf smiled as the small Pokemon collapsed.

“No!” Elec Man cried.

“And….there is it,” Razor Leaf said softly, arms folded, Victreebel by his side. “According to my VS Seeker, you don’t have any Pokemon left.”

Elec Man was silent, recalling his Masquerain. The light in his trainers flashed red, and his Pokeballs were activated with a security lock so, even if he did continue up, he could not release his Pokemon for battle.

“I don’t care if The Board of Governors let you go free,” said the ex-moderator coldly. “And I don’t care that you used to be one of us. One of the proud veterans in TPML. No, Nathan, what I care about is that you aligned yourself with the Antibodies even when it became clear what they were doing.”

“I’m not like them,” Elec Man snapped back.

“No…you’re cowardly,” Razor Leaf replied. “At least they stood up for what they believed in.”

“Hey, you used to run the Antibodies,” snapped the young man.

“I was the spokesman for a group who did not like Cocoa Sting’s methods,” Razor Leaf explained. “Ecks was the dictator for a group who wanted her dead. I knew when to stop. You should have, too.”

He cleared his throat.

“Just go, Nathan. Nobody wants you in TPML any more.”

He smirked, recalled Victreebel and began clambering up the ladder. He got to the top, in a small room with an opening at the end. As he left this cave, he emerged outside of the mountain, on the trail leading to the top.

“This is it,” he said firmly. “…the final battle.”

*

In was late afternoon. A spandex-clad superhero wandered through the park. His Combusken was at his side.

“Evil…knows no bounds,” he said. “Australians are an evil, evil group of people.”

“Hey.”

It was Tucker. The retired Frontier Brain wheeled along after his friend, looking cross as his firmly toned arms moved him along.

“How did it go?” Tucker asked. “The…meeting.”

“He ran,” The Green Lanturn said, frustrated. “Oh how he ran! Under a veil of smoke – the sneakiest aerosol particles known to man!”

“Then he’s hiding something,” Tucker said firmly, thinking hard. “He’s obviously guilty.”

“Or…as inept at battling as a monkey in a negligee,” The Green Lanturn concluded.

“I’m staying around for a while,” Tucker explained.

“So am I.”

“You…don’t have to stay,” Tucker said slowly. “I can manage on my own.”

“I mean I am registering for the league!” The Green Lanturn called. “Being back here…it has revitalized me. The village, the park, the people, the Pokemon…”

Pointing to the horizon, he pulled off his mask and gave a wry smile.

“Villainous peoples, beware! A crime fighter has arisen from the ashes of old, to smite those who deserve to be smoten!”

“Drama Queen,” Tucker rasped.

*

I began admiring this woman before me, looking peaceful, still and human. My hand stroked her - while her pale, white face looked as if she may be carved from ivory, the touch told me different – despite the colour, she was made of iron. Finely sculpted, she was standing there, slightly bigger than me, and it wasn’t until I had a good look that I realized exactly what she was.

A cabinet. Like a dresser, but made of iron. Face riddled with sorrow, she had her arms crossed over her chest. I noticed a line down the middle of her body; where her front must open out. A lock was securely attached.

“Aron,” I said firmly. “Metal Claw.”

My newest Pokemon attacked the lock, slashing at it with his claws. Rusted and old, the lock fell off, clattering to the dim floor. I stared at the iron maiden, mouth wide. A trembling hand of fingers reached the groove and I pulled it open slowly…

It was deeper than first I thought. As I looked within, the standing figure of Jenny stared back at me. Eyes were wide, still and glazed; skin white and chalk-like. She had lost a lot of weight and her eyes were sunken. With the doors of the maiden open, she had nothing to lean against, and fell forwards limply.

“Whoa,” I said, catching her. I lay her down gently and stared into her starved face. She was alive. The real thing, not some imposter or spy. The Pokemon soon rallied around, and we all looked at her. She was not blinking. She seemed in shock.

“Come on,” I said grimly. “Let’s get her home.”

Next: Chapter 35 - Pyramid King Brandon
Redemption. Focus. Repentance. Razor Leaf has been riddled with guilt and remorse for founding the Antibodies, and has finally come to the fiery conclusion of his personal quest. His Battle against the Pyramid King. Can Daniel beat the superpowered golems of the past in a furious battle atop TPML?

Meanwhile, Chris manages to get Jenny home safely, but her response to his rescue mission comes as a shock. Cocoa's involvement with Grey and Becca causes suspicion on the Board, further aided by Callisto, who uses her enemies dissapearences to her advantage

Thanks guys.

Blademaster

20th October 2006, 05:14 PM

WARNING: CHAPTER 34 SPOILERS AHEAD.

Look on the bottom of the previous page for the new chapter if you don't want for it to be spoiled. :ninja:

Jenny is alive... Thank God. Mankey dying was bad enough... though, as much as I hate to say it, Mankey's death did lead to Chris gaining a new, stronger Pokemon... Dusclops and Chris almost seem like... friends now.

Well, as always, you've done a great job of making your work 'fluctuate,' Chris - the comedy of Andrew and Green Lanturn, the suspense of Chris' rescue mission, the drama of Solia's death, the action of Nate's and Dan's little battle... You done good. ;)

One thing I gotta ask, though - Dan's Victreebel used a Grass-type Slam attack called 'En Tende Slam...' What does 'En tende' mean?

At any rate, keep up the great work. :wave:

The Blue Avenger

21st October 2006, 02:54 PM

That was... unexpected, to say the least. I'm glad to see that Jenny's alive, and that Dan's back to his old snarky self, even if he does have a good point. I like how you portrayed Luna this chapter - quite a far cry from her first appearance as a soulless brat.

Green Lanturn and Andrew proved to be an entertaining interlude. You already know, I'm sure, but I always get a kick out of comedy, even in an otherwise-serious story.

Now, for something that bugged me a tad - repetition of words in really close proximity. The example of this I noticed was when you were describing the lake - something to the effect of "Fish scattered the lakebed, some skeletal. The smell of fish emanated from the lake." Wen you use a word, in this case fish, several times close to each other, it can be jarring for the reader (at least for me). I know I've seen it before in your story, and while it's nothing major, it's something to look out for.

classy_cat18

21st October 2006, 05:56 PM

I don't have much to say about this chapter but I found the note in Miss Justice's pokeball to be very funny. And the letter that Morpheus left behind was very touching.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

22nd October 2006, 01:22 PM

A good filler chapter if you ask me. I didn't like Morpheus. Jenny being a ditto wasn't something that I liked. Intercourse with a Ditto, how is that possible? Doctors at the clinic should have seen that the ditto doesn't respond to tests in the same way a human does. It's a different cell structure. It confuses me. Andrew and GL were great for filling in some comedy. Dan is still a jerk as ever and Nathan will do something important later, I believe...

All this death and sorrow, it's getting a bit repetitive. Prehaps something to take in regard.

You know, this critism may sound harsh or even rude, but this fic is a great fic and I don't want to see it get softer. It's a dramatic fic, so I've noticed, prehaps getting a bit down to earth would do some good for the fic.

Still, loving it like always and eagerly waiting for the next chapter. Don't attack me.

Elec Man EXE

23rd October 2006, 11:09 AM

[color=#FFDD11]ZOMG, the Ditto conspiracy has finally come true... glad Jenny isn't dead, though I gotta say I didn't much care for the Ditto thing. And I wonder just how different the real Jenny's personality will be from this Ditto. Ecks is a seriously screwed up guy (not that we didn't know that already, but... this just confirms it). Locking people in caskets and whatnot...

Miss Justice ran away from Andrew, heh. And it seems Andrew now has a spandex-wearing Super Hero rival for himself, should be interesting if Quackman and GL meet up in the future.

Gah, crap. I lost... quite thoroughly, at that. I would have hoped that double-resistance to Grass would have helped a bit more than it did. I don't like my awesome Masquerain being labled as weak, but I can see where you're coming from I suppose. One minor thing, though... my Masquerain is male. Not that it matters, but I'm a nazi for correction ;)

RL still harbors a lot of hatred for me I see. To be expected I guess... I better not take his advice and leave though.

Energy Ball... thats a D/P attack, yes? I'm assuming anyway, unless its some wierd combo thing. Neat that your giving exceptional trainers some new stuff from D/P slowly, like Ecks with Elekible.

Chris 2.1

23rd October 2006, 03:40 PM

Blade: Mankey's death opened up a new side of Chris. That rather angry side. But yes, Jenny is alive and well, but what reprecussions (if any) will have opened from the entire situation? As for Dusclops...you're right.....Chris has realized that Dusclops is useful.

En Tende Slam is a take on the word [double] Entendre - in this instance Victreebel used a slam attack, but it was a slam involving a) slamming the foe and b) slamming oneself onto the foe.

Thank you!

TBA: Yea the whole thing was a big twisty road. I really enjoyed writing Chris' scenes exploring the undeground facility. They were creepy and mysterious. There's more on the history of that place I think - Cronus Industries was seen stamped on the front of the door, but does that mean Ecks built it? Or was it Virgil? Maybe even the current C.E.O of the company.

Yea TGL is sticking around - he's a league participant now! And he's seen enough 80's comicbook superhero cartoons to know exactly how to play the part.

And also, regarding comedy.....you'll enjoy some of the next future chapters I can tell you.

Classy: I worked hard on the letter, and it turned out to be very long too. I think it worked well. A theme of this story is the destructive power of love. It's quite a force. Thanks!

MLG: We did discuss this in PM and I'm glad we did. Obviously human transformation is a difficult subject, altering molecular structure and whatnot; but my perception was that Morpheus literally did become a human. Think Mystique from X-Men; if she transforms to say, an old man, she has those wrinkles, that greying hair, and is heavier and taller etc. Its the same with Morpheus and Jenny, although I have to explain I found the idea of intercourse very disturbing too. I'm pleased we discussed it because both/all views on the matter are interesting.

Haha I did suspect it might lose its impact. While I won't rule out death in the future, I will let you all in. This particular sorrow; Chris being led to think jenny was dead, and she wasn't, was in my opinion quite a succinct way to tie up the despair. I will be using a lot more humour in the next few chapters. Of course, with Ecks hanging around, the tone might still stay rather grimy.

I really appreciate the feedback. I think things are escalating at the moment, so a climax could well happen soon! But let me be the first to say we're going to have some pretty cool fic moments.

Remember freak island? Well, plot pending, The Blue Avenger will be adorning his pirate garb and leading a swashbuckling mission over there with a crew of TPMLers.

Elec Man: Jenny is still Jenny. But she won't be quite the same after being locked up for so long. I'm really glad I incorporated The Green Lanturn into the fic because he's going to be funny, inside and outside of battles.

The match could have been longer, but I wanted to prove that Razor Leaf wanted it more. He was rude, but spoke with truth; Nathan, unfortunately, also has a case, seeing that he's still young and Ultimate and Ecks gave peer pressure a new definition.

Whether Elec Man leaves or not will be an interesting point to consider.

Yea Energy Ball = DP. Victreebel doesn't have the most creative moveset. I won't intergrate loads of D/P but I think we might see one or two new Pokemon in the future, for gimmicks sake.

Elec Man EXE

23rd October 2006, 03:50 PM

*whaps Chris* None of that considering making me leave, now. ;)

I thought of another question concerning Jenny.... now, did she actually get raped on that night, or was that simply the Ditto's "cover story" for the time being? Humm.

Chris 2.1

23rd October 2006, 04:37 PM

It was the cover story. In actuality, Ecks pulled her into the alleyway and drugged her. Instantly Morpheus transformed into her, and wore the clothes she has bought that day. Ecks hit Morpheus and abused her, hurling her to the ground to simulate an attack (whether he did actually rape Morpheus to make the wounds 'realistic' around her areas is unknown and I'm sure unecessary). She lay there, he took Jenny back to the cave complex.

The rape, pregnancy and STD scares were to give Morpheus time to learn about Jenny, who was being interrogated by Ecks in the caves. More on that next chapter.

Andrew

23rd October 2006, 11:14 PM

Jenny being a Ditto... I liked the idea that she had trouble writing... but if that's the Judas... oh dear.. I'm surprised her Pokemon or no-one would've been able to figure it out. I still felt it was a bit... eh.... a bit of a fakeout moment.

Real Jenny would've have learnt any of these lessons the ditto would've and that "Friendship" with the Eons is non-existant now.

Poor Tucker, the way I visualize him, it's kind of gross!

Also, LOL to Oz's Corrupt. And Miss Justice Running away, I wonder if we'll ever see her again, perhaps sueing people and she's like the first Pokemon to have an army of People working for her and she has a penthouse and stuff! Poor Foxxy Love though!

I am also surprised that Callisto just doesn't have them tragically die in an "Accident". Like walking down the icy streets and one little shove later the fall over and snap their neck. Cronus Industries! That's the name of the Doctor Who Cybermen buisness! But I feel some VERY strong Lost influences here.

Poor OzAndrew he just can't seem to get a break or win a battle, can he? Lol, but amusing battle, well done.

Luna's breakdown, well done though. Razor's a mean bastard, I like that. We need more nastiness. "You call this a latte? I say it's absolute shit" *Throws it on poor Barista*

Oh and EBTV :)

Chris 2.1

24th October 2006, 01:09 PM

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa

whoa

Cronus Industries is in Dr Who?

Seriously?

Crap.

Charles Legend

24th October 2006, 04:00 PM

although I have to explain I found the idea of intercourse very disturbing too.

Yea Energy Ball = DP. Victreebel doesn't have the most creative moveset. I won't intergrate loads of D/P but I think we might see one or two new Pokemon in the future, for gimmicks sake.

LOL well there are myths in Japan about Kumiho you know those evil fox spirits that transform into a beautiful girl often set out to seduce men. so it dose not disturb that you had a ditto have intercouse with Chris... ;)

Right, so why the hell did you give me a hard time for using them if you have also been useing them yourself? :rolleyes:

Anyways So the Iron Madden was Jenny the whole time, well wen I read that that ditto killed itself, and that chris was on a mission to recuce Jenny, I had a felling that the mystery Iron madden would be some what sovled,

Also when I read that Ecks had been watching Chris and everyone the whole time in the caves, it remined me of Giovanni in What Dreams Are Made Of where he has a soulless clone of Lance rape Deliah Ketchum and if memory serves Giovanni was watching it happen....

X: Anything new to report?
Morpheus: Yes. We had intercourse. :keke:
X: I see... :rolleyes:
Morpheus: It was wonderful... :D
X: It is your job. Never forget that. ;)

LOL sounds like Chris got owned by a Ditto...

~Charles Legend

Chris 2.1

28th October 2006, 04:36 PM

Andrew: I did toy with the idea of her Pokemon not trusting her during her transformation but I felt it would give it away. I wanted this to be unexpected. Either way, Jenny's gonna freak when her cute Paris is now a large Persian.

Don't rule out change. Jenny's been locked up for months. She's going to be slightly different. Tucker gross? He's a bit....*thinks* different. He was powerful and ego-driven and now he's handicapped, so he does feel a bit bummed out.

Oz's Corrupt! Hehe. Miss Justice has gone....it felt so suiting for a Pokemon who was an attorney. Lips sealed on her return or lack of!

The underground complex reeked of Dharma *guilty*

OzAndrew will score a victory. I was going to have him win this match but it felt like too much of a street brawl to have a specific outcome. Thanks on the Luna scene. More of her and her sisters across the next few chapters. This 'Old-School' Razor attitutde was well needed; he's been in the background lately and I just hate that.

EBTV - I will read it. Honest.

Charles: I have used D/P in small roles and generally unimportant scenes. You seem to have rewritten your story to specifically include D/P Pokemon.

The Iron Maiden was the device Jenny was held in, yep. It was quite interesting I think and both Jenny and Chris will be reeling from the ordeal. As for Ecks, he's surely made this whole thing personal.

Ok so I'm back from holiday and, in true holiday spirit I was planning TPML related stuff. A few nuggets:
-The last Brain to be featured as a chapter is Factory Head Noland.
-Chris challanges another Brain
-Eck's storyline will intensify soon.
-Expect a slightly warped form of character development for one of Chris' Pokemon
-If you're raising eyebrows at the New York Storyline, you're looking in the right places
-The Autumn Contest will coincide with the end of the Frontier Brain Celebrations.
-In the contest we'll see Andrew judging with two assistants, neither of which are welcome.
-We will see more of:
~Crystal Tears
~Mega Horny
~Razor Leaf
~Hanada Tattsu
In the coming chapters.

Umm that's all I'll say.

Any discussions on the fic, or questions you want to ask, fire away!

Chris 2.1

23rd November 2006, 11:27 AM

Not much to repost hehe.

Chapter Thirty-Five
Pyramid King Brandon

It was late morning. The main village of The Pokemon Masters League was filled with people. They mulled around the towers, some even down BT Street and its neighboring Falken Street. A figure stood at a podium on a stage. Her face was seen on plasma screens across the village.

“It has been ten days since the attack on the village,” Amy Wolfsong said. She was dressed in black. Aragornbird, Dark Dragonite, The Blue Avenger and OzAndrew also stood by her side. Absent were Grey and The Missing Link.

“In spite of the damage caused, we as a village and a community have begun to heal,” she said firmly. “The Chunky Clefable Café is now Hoothooters, a thriving, western-themed restaurant. The Arbiter has also announced he will have to take a back seat with the productions at Theatre Gris, but tells me that Waiting for Godot is to begin its circulation in the coming weeks.”

She cleared her throat, casting her eyes across the crowd. Not a smile. Some shed tears. Behind her were large photos of two people – Knight of Time and Solia Princess.

“But today, we stand here,” she said shakily. “To remember two very important people. Two people that were taken from us unintentionally. Kyle, known to many as Knight of Time was a kind person. He was brave, loyal and very talented with his Pokemon. Kyle moderated for us in previous years, and was asked back onto the moderating staff when he returned to the village recently. He died protecting Cocoa Sting from harm. I think a lot of people could learn a lot of things from Kyle.”

Amy looked around and saw Luna, standing in the crowd, looking desolate and empty. She was with her three sisters, and each looked upset and moved by the service.

“Solia was a girl who wasn’t as well known in The Pokemon Masters League,” Amy went on. “Although she was bright, cheerful and always liked to look her best. Her four sisters will be devastated by Solia’s death, so please bear that in mind. Solia died trying to fight off the Antibodies – and she will be remembered for sacrificing herself to save others.”

“She’s saying all the wrong things,” sobbed Luna quietly. “Solia didn’t sacrifice herself.”

“It’s ok,” Eve said soothingly, cuddling her sister. “Come on…be strong for your sister.”

“Solia will be remembered for winning the Winter Contest in her home of Washington,” Amy begun, although she was cut short.

“SHE DID NOT WIN IT!” Luna screamed. “I DID!”

People looked all around. One of the cameras was now focused on Luna, blowing her image up onto one of the large screens.

“None of you know anything about her! You don’t! How can you throw together a terrible service like that for my sister and not expect me to be bothered by it?”

Amy said nothing. Eve was shocked, Mida looked furious and Dawn was blushing.

“Can you stop this?” snapped Mida.

“Get off me!” Luna snapped. “GET OFF! I didn’t even ask for any of you to come here and smother me with your pathetic attempts at being our mother! Just get – out – my – WAY!”

She barged into Mida, who scowled slightly. The crowd parted as Luna fought her way through the village square. As she went, people quickly cleared out the path of the boisterous girl. Tears spilled down her face as she made her way to the back. As she did, she came across Mega Horny, looking rather weak and upset, watching the service like everyone else.

“Oh,” she said softly. A smile curled around her lips. “Look who it is!”

Mega Horny looked abashed as Luna made no effort to keep her voice down. People around looked intrigued; Mega Horny had escaped being prosecuted by the Board of Governors, and when she found him, Luna had ordered him to remain in the village to endure the guilt over what he had done.

“Luna, I’m so, so –”

“Sorry? SORRY? Sorry for what? Maybe sorry for…oh, I don’t know, murdering my sister?”

She looked around.

“Did I not tell you all?” she cried. “This boy – MEGA HORNY, everyone! He was the one who killed my sister. He killed her right there – it was over by the Bank, wasn’t it?”

“LUNA!” snapped Mida, walking over firmly. “Luna get back here!”

“EVERYBODY REMEMBER!” Luna sang madly. “That this boy is a murderer. He’ll never get my sisters blood from his hands now!”

It was soon pandemonium. Luna’s sisters raced at her, grabbing her and restraining her as people soon looked rather cross at Mega Horny. He ran through the crowd, who once again parted mainly through fear. Amy was at a loss for words, standing there emptily.

The boy named Mega Horny kept on running, not daring to look back as he fled the main square. As a worried, shocked and still Amy continued the service, Luna was taken back to her house by her sisters.

From the top of Sunshine Fields, Mega Horny looked out across the village and heaved a sigh.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said sadly.

*

At the summit of the Pyramid, Razor Leaf marched onto the battlefield, where a referee and the King, Brandon already stood. Clouds curled across the sky calligraphically, but the ex-moderator had little time to admire the view.

“My challenger,” Brandon said firmly. His arms were folded, surveying his foe through the chocolate coloured hair that hung at his eyes. “Daniel, how nice it is to see you.”

“Razor Leaf,” he replied sternly. “And thank you.”

“After our fight together against the Antibodies, how suiting that we fight against each other,” Brandon went on. He looked at the referee. “Marcus, I’m ready.”

“This is a three-on-three match,” said Marcus, the referee. “Are you both ready?”

They nodded.

“The official Frontier Match has begun,” he said firmly. Brandon grabbed a Pokeball and hurled it forward, unleashing his first Pokemon. It materialized, boasting large, heavy arms and small legs. It was made of various rocks; varying in colour and size, texture and tone. It had no face, but club-like appendages comprised of thick rock.

“Regirock, go,” Brandon said firmly. Razor Leaf gripped his own Pokeball and threw it forward, unleashing his Donphan, who pawed the ground proudly and stared at the foe.

“Regirock VS Donphan,” Marcus said. “GO!”

“Donphan, take down,” Razor Leaf said firmly. His Pokemon, after racing along leapt into a ball and sped at the humongous Regi like a devilish tyre. Regirock held a stubby fist back and slammed it at the speeding foe; Donphan pulled a tight turn and sped around the back of the large behemoth, uncurling and delivering a heavy tackle.

“Retalliate,” Brandon grunted. Regirock charged up another glowing boulder of energy and slammed his arm into Donphan; the result sent the Pokemon skidding back and trying to shake off the immense damage.

“Donphan, use a double team,” Razor Leaf said. His Pokemon rolled back to his side of the arena and flashed white, before an entire circle of Donphan-a-likes materialized and surrounded Regirock.

“Pathetic,” Brandon scowled. “Regirock! Shock wave.”

“Ground type, Brandon,” Razor Leaf smirked.

“It’s not used to hit Donphan,” replied the brain. Static electricity building up soon flew off in all directions, eliminating the clones with ease. The real Donphan was struck, but didn’t really receive any damage.

“Double team was a boring tactic,” Brandon said lazily. Donphan, behind Regirock, leapt at the foe and dealt a heavy tackle.

“It was only to give you time wiping the clones away,” Razor Leaf said. “While we boosted our attack. Go on, Donphan.”

Donphan rolled into a ball again, slamming into Regirock, but it appeared that the large Pokemon was receiving little damage. Turning, he socked Donphan with a focus punch, and the earth mammoth was thrown back.

Razor Leaf looked around. The battle was tough. Donphan and Regirock were of a similar type so their attacks were not particularly effective against each other, although the sheer power behind Regirock’s thumping attacks was devastating.

“Right,” Razor Leaf murmured. “Donphan…”

An earthquake would be useless this far up; the entire Pyramid could collapse. Regirock was standing stationary. This was useless. Razor Leaf grabbed a Pokeball and recalled Donphan, keeping the earth-type back until later.

“I’m sending out Blaziken,” Razor Leaf said firmly. As Haf emerged, fire erupting around his wrists and ankles, Brandon smirked. Regirock gave a deep, bowling roar and charged up energy and focused it on his arms, before racing at Blaziken.

“Haf, you’re ready for this,” muttered the trainer. “Go!”

His large Pokemon leapt up proudly, evading the attack from Regirock. As he flipped and threw himself down, his feet blazed and he swung them around like chopper blades, dealing a double smash to the rocky exterior of the foe.

“Thunderwave,” Brandon boomed. A jagged web of crackling sparks swept around the arena; Blaziken used some fancy footwork to throw himself up and onto his foe before slamming his fists down and leaping up into the sky.

“It’s hot, Haf,” Razor Leaf noted, looking at the sun. “Ok, bulk yourself up and take a hit.”

As Blaziken’s breathing became focused, and he concentrated on his flexing, Regirock leapt forward and smashed the large fowl with a focus punch. The devastating attack caught Haf off guard and he stumbled back, leaving the slugger Regirock to slam another boulder-sized fist into the fire-types face.

“Haf!”

Blaziken had taken considerably more damage than Razor Leaf had hoped. As the sun blazed, Razor Leaf knew he had another option.

“Solarbeam!”

Brandon’s eyes widened; Regirock took a step back and Blaziken gave a ferocious roar. A beam of glowing white energy hurtled through the air, smashing into the ferocious giant and causing immense damage. The light soon faded, and Blaziken ran straight for the foe, leaping up and delivering a slamming kick to knock out the beast.

As Regirock fell, Brandon got out its Pokeball and recalled it, a smirk on his face. Blaziken landed by Razor Leaf, but was evidently exhausted, panting slowly, doubled over and regained breath.

“Next I choose Registeel,” said Brandon, giving little time for Blaziken to recover. A smile found its way on Razor Leaf’s face; with a double type advantage, the steel golem would fall sooner than the rock.

*

Meanwhile, in the bustling New York, The Arbiter and The Missing Link strode through the city. Becca wore her black suit piece with a dark green shirt underneath. Grey wore a smart pinstriped suit as well, with a white silk tie. The two were amid a flurry of people.

“So,” Becca said. “New York.”

“Karin always did say it was beautiful,” replied Grey. “But I’m struggling to see it.”

They passed a large, roofed stadium-sized building with ‘New York City Contest Hall’ spread across the front. Posters advertised a contest coming up, guest judged by a man named Robert. Grey’s phone rang.

“Hello Cocoa,” he said calmly, the two basking in the sunshine as they wandered on.

“I can’t talk long,” she said, sounding both irritated and anxious. “We have a new receptionist on rotation, convince her you work in the building and she’ll let you through. There’s a door that requires a combination. Left 15, Right 4, Left 19. Head to Conference Room C on floor 4. Wait there – nobody will find you.”

“What about Callisto?” Grey asked.

“I’ll deal with her,” Cocoa said firmly. “I’ll see you later.”

As she put the phone down, she was confronted with the woman herself. Standing there, hands on her hips, Callisto Thunder had her eyebrows raised. In her stormy blue suit, her sleek black hair was long and well maintained.

“Busy?” she asked.

“Just…talking to Martin, in Technical,” Cocoa lied. “There have been a few gremlins in the works.”

“Is that so?” Callisto asked, giving a knowing stare. “That’s odd…Martin has been in my office with me just now.”

Cocoa’s expression faded. She looked at Callisto’s sharp, high-cheekboned face, and felt herself go red. She gritted her teeth. She could not back down.

“You know what, Cocoa?” Calisto said airily. “I think I saw Martin answer his cell phone as he left my office.”

“Yes,” Cocoa replied firmly. “Yea, that’s right.”

“You probably have work to do, I know I do,” Callisto said, and with that, she stalked off, withdrawing her own phone as she left. Cocoa, seeing her rival go, walked back to the nearest office. Callisto had shrugged things off too easily. She knew something was up.

“Hello?” said Ecks.

“It’s me,” Callisto hissed. “Cocoa Sting is acting suspicious. I think she’s up to something.”

“Involved with Grey and Becca,” Ecks said thoughtfully. “I have no doubt she is helping keep the entire process a secret.”

“From the rest of the Board?” Callisto asked, to no response. “They’re here…for me…”

“You know as well as I do that they have to operate secretly,” Ecks said. “I doubt Gordon would approve of interrogation without evidence. But I have everything under control.”

“How?” hissed Callisto.

“You need to trust me,” Ecks said calmly. “I will make sure you are not harmed.”

“But Ecks…” Callisto whined. “What will you do?”

“Callisto, as I explained, the less you know, the less they can extract from you –”

“Save me, Christian!” she cried. This name did not suit Ecks, who replied with a low, sharp snap.

“Just stay where you are,” he shouted. “And know this – it might be easier if you let yourself get captured.”

Continued in next post

Chris 2.1

23rd November 2006, 11:30 AM

Continued from Above

In the Board of Governors building, there was an area on each floor called the Relaxation Room. There were an array of leather sofa’s, expensive, blooming plants and a stocked fridge. Closely resembling a staff-room, they allowed members to spend time here and relax. Callisto sat there irritably, unable to concentrate. Jacques entered the room, stroking his thin, sharp moustache fondly.

“That’s great – Conference Room C is being kept empty,” he called to whoever he had been talking to. His eyes met Callisto.

“You’re here,” he said, not sounding particularly bothered at all. “Again.”

“Oh,” Callisto said. “Yes, yes I am.”

“You’ve been here a lot,” Jacques noted.

“Yes,” Callisto replied. Her eyes had deep bags and she looked very stressed. The thought of her husbands words sank into her – she had to let Grey catch her and possibly interrogate her – how far would he go to ensure she talked? Given that Kyle was a close friend of his, Callisto felt she knew the answer, but dared not think it.

“If it’s something to do with Gregory,” Jacques added precariously. “I’m sure you could go home.”

“I’m needed here,” Callisto said firmly, not looking at the man, who was standing behind her.

“Nobody needs you while you’re fiddling around in here,” he said airily. “Anyway, Gordon was curious where you are, that’s all.”

And Callisto heard him leave. She sniffed quietly. Life was crashing around her – she felt abandoned by her husband and her son’s lack of contact worried her. Just then, she saw two guards wander past the door. Guards? Here? That could only mean one thing. They were coming for her.

Without thinking, she rose up from her seat and her eyes scanned around. What was she going to do? They were here. Now. She had to leave. But could she? No. That was stupid. She thought hard. The building would be secured by other guards, to prevent her escape...and these two were searching.

She was on the top floor. That means they were nearly finished their search. She had to move. Callisto looked around and saw, in the Relaxation Room, there was an emergency set of keys to the locked rooms in the entire building. Surrounded in a glass case, they needed authentification to open them up. Smirking, the woman withdrew her key card and walked over to the glass case on the wall. In a swipe, bleep and click, the glass front swung forward and Callisto unhooked a key, recalling what she overheard Jacques said to his colleague previously;

‘Conference Room C is being kept empty’

Walking to the door, Callisto looked around. The Guards were wandering to the end of the corridor. She gripped a Pokeball on her belt and threw it forward, hissing a command. In a flash, a round, small Magnemite emerged, and in a spark sent a bolt of crackling lightening to strike the guards down and cause them to writhe in pain. Magnemite at her side, Callisto ran down the adjacent corridor.

She reached the stairwell and pushed the door open, running down the flight of stairs. She had to get down two floors to Conference Room C…she had to. Trying to be quiet, she slinked down them, her Magnemite using its lock-on to help detect anybody nearby. It was clear. At the bottom of the stairs she pressed against the door, opening it gently and, upon seeing the way clear, she headed off.

Floor Five was busier than most. This was where a lot of the corporations beneath the Board of Governors operated. This particular level held a room of people tapping away at computers, many people on phone headsets and talking rapidly. Callisto brought her posture up, took a deep breath and recalled Magnemite. She strode purposefully through the aisles of computers, eyeing them coldly as if she were some sort of Drill Sergeant. They all knew she was on the Board and therefore highly important. On the other side of the room, Callisto came across a handsome man in a gray suit. He smiled when she approached.

“Callisto,” he said softly. “How good to see you.”

“Brooklyn,” Callisto said curtly. Her eyes flickered around for a sign of more guards.

“What brings you down to our floor?” he asked. He had short, black hair and a very well defined face. Young but roguish, Brooklyn had a lot of talent and seemed to know it. Initially working as a salesman for a car company, he soon transferred to work in a division of the Board, employing his way with words and gleaming smile to win clients over.

“Just business,” Callisto said stiffly. She really needed to leave.

“I assumed that much,” Brooklyn smirked.

“I’m actually just here to look over your staff here,” she said importantly. “Gordon felt some of the progress made wasn’t up to scratch, and he did ask me to give this place something of an inspection.”

“I see,” Brooklyn said flatly. “Well…”

“Just keep this place in shape,” Callisto snapped. “You need to organize everybody better.”

“So does Gordon,” Brooklyn said coldly. “Since I work for Jacques, not you.”

Callisto frowned.

“Do your work – I’ll be back shortly to see how things are in more detail and if I’m not satisfied, heads will roll,” she snapped back. Turning, she headed to the stairs again, not able to see Brooklyn scowling at her.

She wandered to the next set of stairs, looking around and ensuring the coast was clear. She released her Magnemite again, as well as a deceptive-looking Mawile.

“Magnemite, scramble the computers on this floor,” she said firmly. “Let’s give Brooklyn a hard time. Follow us down the stairs and use lock-on to help root out anybody. Mawile, come with me.”

She headed down the stairs just as Magnemite hovered underneath a computer console. Attaching itself to the side, the Pokemon fizzed and crackled, unleashing magnetic pulses that began affecting the computers.

“Mr Knight!” cried a young girl. “My computer is down!”

“What?” Brooklyn snapped, walking over. “What happened, Paula?”

“I-I don’t know!” she cried. “I was typing up my report on the Frontier Brains evaluation and it –”

“Mr Knight!” came a cry.

“What?” asked Brooklyn, storming over to a worried looking man.

“Everything’s just crashed,” said the man.

“What the hell is going on?” Brooklyn said, as more and more computers began to malfunction. Magnemite soared beneath peoples legs and appeared with Callisto once more as she sleekly walked down to Floor Four. At the foot of the stairs, she recalled both Mawile and Magnemite again – Pokemon were not allowed on the main floors. She did, however, like her two Pokemon out for protection.

As she opened the door to Floor Four, Callisto looked down the main corridor. Doors on each side led to other corridors spawning large, private Conference Rooms. They were sound proof and had no glass in the doors or walls. Many companies hired these luxurious, executive suites for conferences.

Callisto got her key out and unlocked the door leading to Conference Room C. She opened the door, which led to a corridor that had the room at the very end. As she walked, her hand extended and the key reached for the door to the room. The key clicked, turned the lock and she walked inside.

The problem was, there were already some people inside. Callisto saw The Missing Link slam the door shut behind her, lock it with the key that she had used, and nod to Grey, who folded his arms and looked across at her.

“Sit down, Callisto. We need to talk.”

*

Registeel was similar to Regirock in that it was large and solid-looking. However, it had a more rounded head, red dots formed a circle on its face and it had long, rounded fingers. Blaziken watched.

“Let’s go,” Brandon boomed.

“Haf!” Razor Leaf cried. “Blaze Kick!”

Sprinting across the rocky arena, Blaziken’s feet throbbed as flames engulfed his lower legs. As he leapt up he swung both legs around, but they smashed right off the shiny exterior of Registeel. The foe had used protect. Blaziken fell down to the ground and Registeel swung a sharp hand; claws raked across the fire Pokemon’s face, crying blood.

“Get up,” Razor Leaf murmured, and his soldier rose again, brushing himself off and staring at the giant. Registeel suddenly began charging across the arena. His feet thumped and thudded as he went, moving at a surprising speed. Haf leapt to the side, rolling on the ground and darting out the way; but the giant, who had stopped suddenly, turned its face and blasted a white beam of energy that struck Blaziken head-on. Pain searing into his body, Blaziken fell down.

“No!” Razor Leaf cried. “Haf! Blaze Kick!”

Blaziken, although hurt, sprinted around the arena and leapt at the back of Registeel. Turning, the large golem received a flaming kick to its facial area. It was hurt badly, the heat conducting through its metal body, but managed to grab Blaziken in its large claws and clasp it tightly.

“Fire Blast!” Razor Leaf barked. In the grip of the foe, Blaziken’s mouth glowed brightly as a sweeping mass of flames blasted out right into Registeel’s face. The attack caused such a stir Registeel stumbled back; leaping from his captor’s grasp, Blaziken swung a pair of legs around and dealt an impressive clobber.

Registeel staggered, giving a thick, mechanical groan. Brandon’s eyes widened and he thought fast.

“Body Slam,” he said firmly. Blaziken, who had been recovering from the large blast of fire, was doubled over when the huge Pokemon facing him leapt up and slammed down firmly. Blaziken gave a cry, turning to escape. With a deafening crash, the golem lay on the floor, having trapped Blaziken’s leg under its immense weight.

“Now,” Brandon said quietly. “Explosion.”

Razor Leaf’s eyes widened as the foe began to glow a bright white. He had just been sent out! Why was Brandon sacrificing him? In a terrible boom, Registeel unleashed a wide radius of searing hot energy around Haf, who gave a long roar of pain. The power, strength and force of the attack blasted sand and debris all around; Brandon stood there, undeterred; Razor Leaf staggered back, screwing his eyes shut. Moments passed when there was silence, and dust filtered around the arena.

As it settled back down, Registeel lay there, defeated. Blaziken was similarly on the floor, groaning in pain. He looked strained.

“That was a stupid move,” Razor Leaf goaded. “Blaziken, return. You’ve done a great job.”

Despite his trainers words, Haf looked thoroughly disappointed as he was absorbed by the red beam of light. Razor Leaf threw a Pokeball out, releasing his Donphan again. He pawed the ground. Brandon recalled Registeel and gripped another Pokeball.

“Down to my last already,” he said softly. “Go!”

And, from the ball emerged a slightly pointer beast. It was a wintry blue, entirely made from crystallized ice. With a yellow cross across its face, it looked eerie (although, the veteran told himself, all three of these Pokemon looked eerie). It stood on pointed feet. A chill spread through the summit.

“Regice, let’s go,” Brandon said, smiling softly.

*

It had been a tough day. After finding Jenny inside the Iron Maiden, I helped her out and brought her home. She was so pale I could almost see beneath her skin. Her eyes looked wider. She was so fragile. I took her to bed; luckily she was too tired to notice the blood-stained carpet, the jumble of her old clothes (similarly stained with blood) and the limp form of Morpheus the Ditto.

As she slept, I tried to clean up the place. Eventually, after trying to store Morpheus in a Pokeball and failing, I buried the Pokemon in a patch of grass on the edge of Ivy Woods. The blood was difficult to remove from the carpet, so I moved the rug to cover it.

Later in the day, she awoke. Still looking fragile and delicate, she neatly wandered into the living area of the flat. Her eyes scanned the room.

“You’re up,” I said, smiling. I moved towards her. She took a step back.

“Yea,” she said emptily. Her arms were folded over her chest and she looked away.

“How did you sleep?” I asked. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” she said, scuttling past me to the kitchen area, where she began to make a cup of tea. She had her back to me. I thought she was scared, but remembering her flinch, stayed where I was and instead raised my voice.

“What’s wrong?”

She lowered her head at my words, hands gripping the counter as steam began to billow from the kettle.

“Why didn’t you come for me,” came her voice. It was sharp, quiet and deadly.

“What?” I asked defiantly, unable to comprehend what she was saying. “I did!”

“Sooner,” she hissed, turning and staring at me furiously. “I have been locked down there for months. Why didn’t you come?”

“I didn’t know!” I cried.

“How could you not know?” she spat.

“He – Ecks – sent an imposter. A Ditto. It transformed into you.”

“An imposter?”

“Her real name was Morpheus,” I said, hurrying to tell my tale. “She was identical to you in every way – otherwise I would have noticed! She faked a rape, and was in hospital for a while being tested. I had to get a job to pay for her treatment. But in the end she shot herself, and left me a confession telling me where you were kept.”

“Why did she shoot herself?” Jenny asked.

“I – She…she felt bad for what she was doing,” I said. Jenny’s stare was piercing. “She felt guilty for being in your place.”

This quelled Jenny slightly; her eyebrows relaxed, she exhaled deeply, but her eyes were still locked onto me. I could see the cogs clicking in her head, coming to a conclusion I wished she would steer clear of…

“Did you kiss her?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied glumly. Jenny gave a small nod. I had to be honest.

“Did you sleep with her?”

“No.”

Perhaps not too honest.

“Liar,” she spat. “He talked to that clone when I was there. I heard her.”

“Oh,” I said, glowing a vivid red colour. Jenny almost smiled.

“You slept with someone else,” she said airily. “And all along I was rattling inside a large iron coffin.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said desperately. “Jenny…”

“You couldn’t even tell the difference between me and some freak trying to be me?” asked my girlfriend, stalking towards me. “If that’s the case, you need to ask yourself where we stand.”

I couldn’t exactly think of anything to say.

“I need to do a lot of thinking,” she said firmly. “And you do, too. Why did you rescue me? Was it because you wanted me back, or because you wanted her back?”

She got her jacket and left the flat, leaving me standing there as the kettle clicked. Still decoding exactly what she said, and meant, I slumped into a chair and heaved a sigh.

*

When Brandon had ordered his healthy Registeel to self-destruct, Razor Leaf had detected a hint of weakness in the man. Confusion, rashness…signs of someone who wasn’t entirely sure of what they were doing.

As Donphan charged and slammed into Regice, who leapt back, twirling on its pointed feet and blasting a chilled breadth of icy spears through the air, Razor Leaf eyed his opponent, who stood with arms folded and a frown.

“Now, use ice punch!”

Leaping up, Regice span around. His fist sparkled and he swept down on Donphan with impressive agility. Donphan curled into a ball and rolled off, hastily avoiding the foe, whose fist slammed into the earth and froze the dry dust over.

“Rollout!”

Donphan picked up speed and raced into the back of Regice, who gave a shuddering gasp and turned quickly; both fists slammed into Donphan’s scalp/neck area and dealt impressive damage, freezing the aforementioned area. Because this was where Donphan’s spine was situated, rolling would now be something of a problem.

“Now! Blizzard!”

Regice leapt up into the air, arms wide and spiraling. It looked like a hulking ballet dancer. Shards of ice and cold wind were released, falling around the arena like a winter’s wake. Donphan was only lightly hit, since the attack was not focused and instead was widespread. Donphan stood there, neck sore as Regice landed. Much of the arena was covered in a thin layer of ice now.

“Snow slide!”

Darting forward, Regice skated on the surface of the ice, approaching Donphan. The ground Pokemon turned to dash away but slipped, falling and hurting his tusks and face. Regice caught up to Razor Leaf’s Pokemon, slamming a fist into it and giving it a hearty tackle.

“Donphan, come on,” Razor Leaf said. Having already received damage from Regirock, Donphan was already a lot weaker than Regice. But knowing his last Pokemon was his Victreebel, Razor Leaf knew he had to make Donphan’s time count.

“Keep up the onslaught,” Brandon said firmly. “Supercold.”

“Supercold?” asked Razor Leaf. Regice danced across the arena and grabbed Donphan tight. Holding him tight to his diamond chest, Regice leapt up into the air, squeezing the elephant hard. Airborne, he held Donphan high and hurled the foe to the ground. Donphan slammed hard against the icy arena, cracking some of it. The Regice came crashing down, jousting into Donphan with his feet and subsequently slamming a thick, hard fist into the ground Pokemon’s side.

“Donphan…” Razor Leaf murmured. “Try another rollout.”

But Donphan could take no more. Giving a groan he collapsed there and then. Brandon gave a smile, and Razor Leaf whipped out a Pokeball. Shooting the beam at Donphan, Razor Leaf had seen enough in this battle to know that being this high up on a mountain summit was a disadvantage. His ground-based attacks were too destructive and dangerous. He should have thought of that.

“Ok,” he said. “Razor, I choose you.”

And, from his last Pokeball, Victreebel emerged against the large, imposing Regice. Victreebel looked ready. The flags were thrown down and the match began.

“Ice Beam!”

“Sunny Day!”

Victreebel gave a long leap to the side, away from the jagged beam of ice that bolted past. As the Pokemon glowed, the clouds sifted and the sun was visible. It throbbed powerfully and an immense blast of heat wafted down. Already the icy arena was looking weaker.

“Very good,” Brandon said, smiling. “You may have thought Registeel exploding was a risky maneuver but I had everything planned out. Your best Pokemon was Blaziken – his duel types were good against my entire team. Once he was out the way, I knew Donphan would fall soon after. That left you with a type weakness against my last (and strongest) Pokemon.”

“I guessed wrong,” Razor Leaf admitted. “But Victreebel has evened out the odds.”

And, sure enough, the arena was becoming less and less icier. Victreebel looked satisfied. Razor Leaf clenched a fist and stared ahead. Victory was near, and he was ready to battle the odds and secure a win.

Part 3 below

Chris 2.1

23rd November 2006, 11:32 AM

Stupid 20000 post limit....

Part 3

In Conference Room C, on floor four of The Board of Governors main office, Grey and Becca were standing before Callisto, who they had tied to the chair she was sitting in. The room was locked. Callisto was sweating.

“There’s a camera watching us,” Callisto said nervously. “You do realize that?”

“We do,” Becca said quietly.

“What do you want from me?” she cried.

“To tell us where your husband is,” Grey replied. “Stop stalling.”

“Look,” she said quickly. Grey slammed his fist on the table.

“Tell me!” he said furiously. His eyes were ablaze with contempt and Becca found herself watching the man with awe. “Your husband is a monster, Callisto. He is a murderer. Do you know that?”

“Y-Yes I do,” she said, stammering as she sat there. “He just wants us – me and him – to be left alone. He’s trying to cover his tracks.”

“He is responsible for the murders of four people,” Grey said firmly. “That we know of. I am not leaving here until you talk to me, Callisto.”

Meanwhile, Cocoa was watching all this from her computer in her office. It was hooked up to the security camera. She quickly pulled up a different screen as Jacques came over, looking thoroughly irritated.

“Cocoa,” he said impatiently. “Have you seen Callisto anywhere? I just got off the phone with Brooklyn Knight downstairs, apparently she’s been frightening him with news of an inspection.”

“I haven’t seen her for about half an hour,” Cocoa lied. “She told me she was going to get some fresh air.”

She lowered her voice.

“I think Gregory is back on crutches, you know, after he was hospitalized. He was recovering but…he’s gone back downhill again.”

“Oh dear,” Jacques said indifferently, clearly not bothered. “Well, thank you.”

Bidding her a frosty farewell, Jacques stalked off. Cocoa Sting got her phone out and rang Amy Wolfsong, to give her a brief outline of how everything was going.

“Wolfsong it’s Cocoa,” she said busily.

“Hi Cocoa,” said Amy. Liang was in her office with her. They were evidently discussing something. “How are things going?”

“Covering it up is arduous enough,” Cocoa sighed, as if she was talking about something trivial. “But they seem to be making little progress. However they did ask me to tell you that they do want a team ready to go to the location Callisto provides.”

“A team?”

“Yes, a group to apprehend Ecks,” Cocoa went on. “Grey and Becca need to keep a hold of Callisto until they can verify her information. A team should go to said location (should she provide one) and if he is there, arrest him. If not, report back and Grey and Becca shall have to interrogate Callisto further.”

“I see,” Amy said.

“I think, however, you should keep out of the way – we need at least one of the two leaders to stay alive,” she continued. “Select some candidates. Pick moderators and non-mods.”

And with that, she hung up. Amy stared emptily at Liang, before putting the phone down. Liang looked curious.

“That was Cocoa,” Amy sighed. “She said that she wants us to arrange a team for when Callisto speaks. Just a small group who can check out the location that Ecks will be at.”

“Do you have anybody in mind?” Liang asked.

“Well, I’m ‘not allowed’ to go, since I’m the Head,” Amy said, rolling her eyes. “I thought about you…I considered Dark Dragonite but I don’t want too many of our moderators out in the field in case they get injured.”

“I see your point,” Liang admitted.

“If you could start arranging it,” Amy said, “That would be brilliant. I’m a bit…swamped at the moment. Frontier Brain paperwork, making sure each facility is efficient and all that. Not to mention the enquiry on the war.”

“Tough job, isn’t it,” Liang said, smirking. Amy heaved a sigh.

“Yea,” she murmured slowly. “Yea…”

*

I sat in the living room, watching some atrocious anime about the children of the original cast of friends who were, ironically (or predictably?) living in the same house with that damned purple door.

“Hey Montana,” said a young man resembling Ross.

“Oh hey Boston!” she said. “Oregon is on her way.”

They all seemed to be named after cities, states, towns or various places. When Herefordshire came striding in, I knew it had gone on far enough. I turned the television off, just as Jenny walked in.

“Hey,” I said casually. She was scowling and looking at me with a sharp stare.

“I met a girl today who had just caught a Meowth,” she said, in a would-be-airy voice. “I instantly wanted to show her my Meowth…and I suddenly found out she had evolved into a Persian.”

“Oh,” I said. I had forgotten to tell her this had happened, but she barely gave me any time.

“I never particulatly liked Persian, and if the decision had been mine I would have kept her the way she was,” Jenny went on.

“Hm.”

“This whole thing is such a stress,” Jenny exhaled. “Everything has changed. Solia is dead. Luna’s spiralled into depression. People I’ve never met before are talking to me as if I’m their friend.”

I had no idea what I could say, so I sat there and listened as my girlfriend strode around the room.

“None of this makes sense to me anymore,” she said sadly. “I’m going home.”

“Home?” I said suddenly.

“I’ve been through an awful lot,” she said. “I’m uncomfortable around people after being imprisoned in an iron coffin. My boyfriend loves me because he fell for someone pretending to be me. My Pokemon have grown up and become too independent, and I feel as if it all stems from my relation to you.”

“What?” I said. “Me? How is this my fault?”

“Ecks took me because he needed someone close to you,” she said desperately. “He used me. I was a weapon and nothing more. And,” she continued, tears filling in her eyes. “It hurt.”

“Look, Jenny you’re being hasty,” I said, getting up. She stepped back.

“No!” she snapped. “No!”

And as the tears overwhelmed her, she gently sank to the floor, sobbing.

“Just let me go,” she wept. “I want to go home.”

And right then, staring at her, I felt tears filling my own eyes as I saw Jenny sitting there. She sobbed uncontrollably. There was a horrible feeling in my heart; an aching, a longing, an everlasting desire to turn the clock back a mere hour. How could everything be shattering before my eyes? How could this relationship – with the girl I thought I loved be selfdestructing?

Because I didn’t love Jenny. I loved Morpheus. Morpheus was the one who had been quieter, more approachable; I had taken this as a sign Jenny was maturing after the attack. But this was a ruse, intentional or not, and I had been hooked. I had fallen in love and paid the price. Now, with Jenny back, I thought I would be happy. But this was the girl who had never shown a vulnerable side in her life. Who fought for herself no matter what. The boisterous girl who let her opinions be known at all times. I liked her…but I didn’t love this girl.

Jenny dragged herself into her bedroom, insisting she pack straight away. Face shining with tears, I wondered whether or not I should follow her – convince her to stay, to give things another go…but I didn’t.

Instead, I wandered loftily back to the sofa and collapsed. As my face hit the cusion I blinked, clearing my eyes of tears and simply lay there, immersed in my own thoughts as Jenny’s cries filled the room.

*

Victreebel leapt to the left as an orange beam hurtled past. As he landed, Razor swung his large leaves, sending a stream of sharp green leaves at Regice. Despite the types, the attack did good damage, managing to chip away at the golem’s body.

“Regice,” Brandon said, staring at the sun. “Just take a second to recover from that hyper beam.”

“Let’s speed this up,” Razor Leaf smirked. “Victreebel this is really boring me. Fire a toxic at it.”

The splatters of thick goop slapped against Regice’s hard, icy body. Despite the exterior being hard and impenetrable, the toxic goo sunk within and Regice wobbled slightly. He leapt forward, slamming a fist into the flytrap; Victreebel fell back but flung his vine out and ensnared the golem’s arm. Tugging, Regice yanked at Razor, but he was not letting down.

“Zap Cannon!”

As Victreebel began to try and escape, Regice catapulted off a huge orb of glowing, reverberating electricity. It smashed right into Victreebel and, after Regice finally slacked his grip, Victreebel toppled back.

“Keep in the game,” urged Razor Leaf. “Sludge Bomb!”

Leaping up again, large thick pellets of sludge were blasted through the air. They splattered all over Regice, turning his beautiful crystal body a sickening brown. In a delicate twirl, the sludge was flicked off; Marcus the referee was covered but said nothing.

“Regice, use superpower,” growled Brandon. “Type 2!”

“Type 2?”

Regice charged up a large orb of feverish energy, which was held tightly in both hands. He drew one arm back, the ball still powered in his other arm. He raced along the arena, one arm drawn back in a punch, the other clasping the round sphere of power. Victreebel gave a screech but wasn’t quick enough; the orb was pushed firmly into the grass Pokemon’s body, and in an instant Victreebel was slugged impressively and shot back several feet.

“Victreebel!”

“Superpower is a very versatile move,” Brandon explained. “As a result my Pokemon and I have many variations on it.”

His eyes caressed the skyline.

“The sun is hiding again,” he said, smiling. “Regice! Ice Beam!”

“Double Team!”

Flashing white, Victreebel unleashed an array of clones. One thing that Razor Leaf prided himself on was his teaching of double team. As he had once demonstrated in a battle (against Chris 2.0, he recalled), double team was a common technique, but very difficult to master. Here, Victreebel created no less than 20 clones, in two circles surrounding Regice. The ice beam flew through a clone. 19 to go.

“Razor! Use a razor leaf,” said Razor Leaf. “Chip away at his body.”

Streams of leaves tore through the air from all directions, although only some of them actually hit Regice. The clones created illusionary leaves which, of course, faded upon impact.

“Wipe them all out!” Brandon snapped. “Blizzard!”

Sweeping chunks of ice flew all around. The clones were depleted with ease; Victreebel was struck but leapt high; a mass of sludged goo down at Regice. Struck, Regice was bombarded and unable to attack back; hands held up in protest the golem attempted to quell the ongoing attack.

“Keep it up!” Razor Leaf shouted.

“Attack with Ice Beam!” shouted Brandon. As a pearly white beam of fizzling ice was blasted from Regice’s hands (after two slightly hampered attempts), the sludge onslaught proved no problem and the attack swept towards Victreebel.

“Swords Dance!”

Leaping forward, Razor the Victreebel summoned an army of algae-green swords, ghostly and facetious. They began to spin around the flycatcher at an impressive rate as the cracked beams of ice homed in. Surprisingly, they struck the whirling shield of swords and were caught up in it; eventually the beam persevered and struck Victreebel hard.

“Now! Finish it off!”

Regice leapt into the air, swirling and dancing gracefully. Landing, the beast began a charge, fists both crackling with icy frost. Victreebel stood there innocently, slightly frosted and wondering how to counterattack.

“Razor!” said Razor Leaf. His mind was blank.

He had no idea what to do. No way of defending himself.

This was it.

Regice swung his fists; Victreebel did a long clockwise swerve, before using his vine to whip both arms together. Regice watched menacingly, which was a slightly odd sight, as the Pokemon had no face. There was simply a detection of anger in its way.

Suddenly, Regice staggered. The yellow dots began to fade. The vines loosened and it simply collapsed. A large sheet of dust rose into the air as Razor Leaf watched. Victreebel, seeing the sun emerge from the clouds, began to use an attack called synthesis to restore energy.

“Poisoned,” Brandon said, looking slightly irritated. “Return.”

“The Pyramid King has been defeated,” Marcus said. “The winner is Razor Leaf.”

Despite the victory (which had been Razor Leaf’s goal for some time now) the veteran did not grin or widen his eyes in ecstasy. He gave a flicker of a smile, strode to the center of the arena (after recalling Victreebel) and approached Brandon.

“The Bravery Symbol,” Brandon said proudly, handing the golden disc to Razor Leaf. He admired it briefly and stuffed it in his pocket. “I know you went through a lot to get here. And while your tactics were…sly, to say the least, you battled with purpose and precision.”

“Thank you,” Razor Leaf said, nodding.

“The path on that side of the arena will lead you back to the lobby,” Brandon said, and as Razor Leaf said thank you, he made his way to the exit. As he went, Brandon got out his phone and dialed a number. He watched the broad veteran disappear down the track.

“Scott?” he said, speaking to the manager of the Frontier Brains. “I think I just found Tucker’s replacement.”

Part 4 below

Chris 2.1

23rd November 2006, 11:33 AM

Despite their efforts, Callisto Thunder was proving difficult to crack. She sat there, tied to the chair as both Grey and Becca exchanged knowing looks. The two of them were sweating heavily; the pressure of getting information from this woman was overwhelming; their frustration at a lack of results thus far and the added fact that they were shouting themselves hoarse was not helping.

“Where is he,” Grey said slowly, eyeing the woman with absolute disgust. “Tell us where he is now.”

“Lips,” Callisto said calmly. “Sealed.”

“I’ve had enough of this,” Grey murmured. Callisto gave an irritating, sharp smirk and drove the man over the edge. He leapt at Becca, grabbing the gun from her holster and pointing it at Callisto. Becca’s eyes widened as Callisto shrunk in fear.

“Grey!” Becca cried.

“She’s useless, Becca!” Grey snapped. “She won’t tell us a thing. We have no need for this simpering woman any longer.”

He cocked the gun. Callisto flinched.

“Calm down,” she said, flustered. “J-J-Just put the weapon awa-ARGH!”

It was pressed firmly between the woman’s eyes. She was shaking, blinking furiously, eyes watching the barrel as it pushed into her forehead.

“You have until three,” came Grey’s voice. “And after three, if you don’t tell me anything I want to know, then I pull the trigger.”

“Please, please don’t-”

“One.”

“Grey stop this!” Becca said firmly, from afar. “You aren’t thinking rationally!”

“He doesn’t think rationally,” Grey snapped, eyes pointed at his victim. “He doesn’t contemplate – he annihilates. I’m sick and tired of good people dying at his hands. I want to settle things. I want to kill his wife and even the odds.”

“You’re making things worse!” Callisto shrieked. “He’ll be after you if –”

“Two.”

Becca stepped forward but Grey, perhaps seeing from the corner of his eye, held a hand out, eyes still fixed on the trembling woman tied to a chair.

“Stay back, Becca,” said the man.

“What are you doing?” Becca asked, frenzied. She looked shocked, appalled at what she saw: such ruthlessness in the man she thought she knew so well. Grey’s arm was shaking slightly; Callisto’s tears merged with the sweat trickling down her face.

Meanwhile, Cocoa Sting, giving been slightly preoccupied by a report that she had been assigned to be Gordon, returned to her console in her office, only to see the sight of Grey holding a gun to Callisto’s head.

“Oh my god,” she said slowly, eyes wide. She closed the window and got a set of keys from her desk. Racing to the door she wrenched it open, knocking into the large form of Austin Myers on the way.

“Sorry!”

As she darted down the corridor she knew she had to be fast. Grey, pulling a gun to someone’s head? He had evidently reached breaking point, and that meant he was beyond reason. Cocoa had to stop him spilling blood in the Board of Governors.

“One last chance to say something,” Grey snarled. “His location, Callisto. TELL ME WHERE HE IS!”

“I-I won’t!” she screamed.

“THREE!”

“No!” Becca shouted. Callisto gave a grunt as she screwed her eyes up, teeth clenched and face contorted into an expression of anguish. Grey’s hand still shook as it pressed into her head; as the seconds whittled by, Callisto opened her eyes to see Grey, who was looking shocked and tense, still holding the gun.

“Oh…” she said raptly, suddenly realizing. “Oh…oh I see. It’s ok Grey, it’s quite alright…”

“Are you ok?” Becca asked.

“He’s fine,” Callisto said quietly and softly to Becca. “He’s just not a killer.”

“I am,” Grey snapped. “Shut up.”

“He got so hormonal when he was angry,” Callisto went on.

“Don’t – stop – shut up!” Grey snapped. “I’ll shoot you!”

“…and he felt big enough to threaten me,” Callisto continued. “Empty threats…”

“I said shut up,” muttered Grey.

“You’re not a natural killer, Grey,” Callisto said, smiling. Grey’s hand was shaking even more. Callisto heard something from behind her.

“Fine,” Grey snapped. Callisto raised her eyebrows in a silent taunt, and Grey began to compose himself. “Fine!”

“Do it Grey,” she whispered. “Make this whole thing personal.”

The door flew open with a bang; Callisto screamed ‘NOW!’ and spat at Grey; he gripped the gun as she threw all her weight behind her, her chair falling to the ground. She hit the floor as Grey aimed his shot; another bang echoed around the room. Suddenly he saw, ahead of him (and initially behind a now floor-bound Callisto) Cocoa Sting, clutching her stomach, eyes wide as blood spilled around her hands.

Words could not quite reach Grey’s lips. Colour drained from his face as Cocoa Sting stumbled forward into the room. A phone on the table rang and Becca, seeing it, grabbed it and put it to her ear.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Who else?” came a familiar, rapt voice. Ecks.

“What the hell do you want?” Becca snapped. Grey’s eyes seemed to be as bright and wide as headlights as he stood there, rooted to the ground as fear snaked around him and flooded his insides. Becca could see Callisto Thunder, tied to her chair, lying on her back, a sick grin on her face.

“I want my wife back,” he said firmly. “And to let you know that if you touch her, then this entire thing goes from a misunderstanding to…to something else.”

“This is already ‘something else’,” Becca responded flatly. “You give me one good reason why we should release your wife.”

“Because I have an innocent boy with me right now who will die if you don’t return Callisto to me right away.”

“Prove it,” Becca said, eyes darting around the room. There was a scuffle, a frightened cry, and a dark murmur.

“Hello?” came a voice. “Someone – Someone help me please!”

“Hello?” Becca answered. The phone was pulled away from the boy and Ecks responded again.

“Bring her back to TPML with you and I’ll give you further instructions,” Ecks said. “This boy isn’t the only one who will perish if you don’t bring her to me.”

He hung up, leaving Becca to look around the room. Cocoa Sting, blood shining over her white suit collapsed on the floor next to Callisto Thunder, who was facing the ceiling tied to her chair, heart hammering wildly.

Grey had fallen to his knees as blood poured around the room. Becca stood there, transfixed. Everything was crashing around her, and she wasn’t sure quite how she was going to deal with it.

Meanwhile, in the dark cave complex, Ecks put his phone in his pocket. He turned to face the large, iron statue bathed in the light of the small room. It was locked with a new padlock, and there was a rattling gasp coming from within.

“Had to be done,” he said. “You have come between things once too often. It may interest you to know your mother is currently being tortured for my whereabouts.”

He paused.

“And why? Because of you. This is your own fault Greg.”

“Are you ac-actually going to k-kill me?” came the slightly muffled voice of Hanada Tattsu, from within the Iron Maiden.

“That all depends on how well they cooperate,” Ecks said firmly. Within the Iron Maiden, Hanada Tattsu was shaking, tears leaking down his face as the powerful form of his father sat down at the desk beneath the caves. The boy was scared. Frightened. And seeing his own breath curling into mist before his eyes in the darkness was enough to tell him that the next few hours were going to be some of the most chilling of his life.

Next: Chapter 36 – Arena Tycoon Greta
Chris deals with his relationship problems in a non-too healthy way at The Battle Arena. Grey and Becca attempt to take hold of the situation at the Board of Governors, and Callisto is distressed when it seems Ecks is going to make good on his promise to kill their son.

Luna’s grief reaches greater heights as she becomes cut off from the village, leaving her sisters struggling to handle her and opting for the ultimate act of betrayal.

Blademaster

23rd November 2006, 02:59 PM

OK, I'd rather not repeat my review, especially since it was already responded to, but I did wanna say this:

Happy Thanksgiving to Chris, Gavin, Nate, Chuck, Ozzy, and the rest of the TPML gang (I know, a lot of you guys probably don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but bear with me here...).

And check around FanArt later or tomorrow - I have a little something planned for the holiday. ;)

-Blade

Chris 2.1

5th December 2006, 06:09 PM

Hey guys! BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG Chapter - roughly 40 pages on word which is almost double a normal chapter. Wow!

It was actually going to be a smaller Chapter but my creative juices doth flow and I think you'll find this chapter is a bible of information and secrets, plot twists and such!

Enjoy all the many parts I have to chop it up into -_-;;

Chapter Thirty-Six
[size=3]Arena Tycoon Greta

“This is Chris Watarimono here, reporting live for Revival Radio! 04621 on your dial! I’m here with some of the Frontier Brains, who have been here in TPML for some time. The powerful trainers will not be staying for much longer, but promise to ‘up the ante’ of their battles. Lucy, can you tell us anything about your next Battle Pike matches?”

“Certainly,” replied Lucy. “I have been very busy making the Pike even more difficult to navigate. Furthermore I have been upholding my status as a Brain and ensuring only the strongest win.”

“Now Brandon is also here,” Chris said fluidly. “Brandon, you have the lowest rate of trainers who have won a symbol off you. What factors do you think are attributing to this?”

“The Pyramid is a difficult place to overcome,” Brandon said formally, not particularly friendly or warm. “Once you even make it out the caves, you have to face me. I have a team of highly trained Pokemon and make it my goal to hand symbols over to only those who can defeat my team.”

“Of course,” Chris said, turning to another woman. “Greta here has been renowned for giving medals away to those who have even failed to defeat her. Isn’t that right?”

“The skills that we have aren’t just down to strength,” Greta explained, eyes glaring at Brandon. “I reward people with the Guts symbol if they have guts. Not literally of course – we all have a liver and two kidneys! But the traits of battle are evident in a win and a loss.”

“Thank you Greta,” Chris said. “After the news at lunchtime I’ll be interviewing Scott, the ringmaster of the Frontier Brains, and we’ll be discussing which TPML city the Brains are heading to next! And the rabid speculation that Lorelei from the Elite Four is to join the Brains will also be touched upon! Remember our text poll: ‘Who do you think should be the seventh brain?’ is still running. Text ‘REVIVAL’ to 82235 and the best ones will be read out!”

“And…we’re off.”

“Great,” Chris said, taking his headphones off. His Miltank was holding a boom mic steady. “Thanks for that guys – great interview.”

Brandon grumbled and stalked off. Greta muttered something about having a battle soon and made her way to the Battle Arena for training, while Lucy joined Brandon to go and see Scott, who was sitting at Hoothooters.

“How was the interview?” Scott asked conversationally, as the two entered the restaurant down BT Street.

“Fine,” Lucy said airily, sitting across from her boss and ordering a drink. Brandon sat down heavily next to Lucy. “The DJ…he’s only young. Very enthusiastic.”

“Have you given any thought on my suggestion?” asked Brandon. Scott sipped his tea, eyes closed as he constructed his answer.

“Yes,” he said, setting his cup down. “Unfortunately Daniel has not challenged any other Brains, so his reputation is debatable.”

“He fought alongside me and Noland during the Antibodies Attack,” Lucy piped up. A fleet of Hoothoot, whose feet were clenched around the bars of a hostess trolley, flapped frantically, dragging the trolley along. Lucy’s glass of red wine was there, as well as a scotch for Brandon. Scott, it seemed, had ordered a steak and took it gratefully. The Hoothoot, its load lighter, flapped back to the kitchens.

“And how did you feel he was?” Scott asked, tucking a serviette into his neck.

“Very good,” Lucy said, thinking. “A fantastic battler…he obeyed orders from us and was quick to offer advice on tactics.”

“There is a battle archive in this village,” Brandon added. “Why don’t Lucy and I find the Archive moderator and look at some of his old battles?”

“I’d advise you to do so,” replied Scott, through a mouthful of rare meat. “In fact, I’ll come with you, Brandon. Lucy, stay in the village, work on your training. I saw your match with Ace and you were awful.”

Having barely started her wine, Lucy shot her boss a sharp, scornful look as he munched on his steak. Brandon was seen smirking oh-so-slightly as he took a sip from his scotch.

*

Meanwhile, panic had erupted at the Board of Governors. Grey had accidentally shot Cocoa Sting during an interrogation of Callisto Thunder, who lay on the floor, tied to a chair. Becca was tending to Cocoa’s wound around her abdomen. She was stemming the bleeding, panicking slightly.

“We need to leave here,” Grey said.

“We can’t leave Cocoa!” Becca cried, without looking. “Get her up from the floor, Grey!”

“Come here,” Grey said, pulling Callisto up. She had tears in her eyes and looked hurt. Grey saw this and wondered what was wrong.

“We need to go now,” Callisto said urgently. “Ecks is expecting us. If anyone finds you…you’ll be arrested for sure.”

“How do we get out of here?” Grey said frantically.

“I can get us out of here,” Callisto said. “But it will be hard. We need to go before he kills Gregg.”

Becca looked around. Cocoa lay on the ground, bleeding still, and Grey watched the sharp woman with intrigue.

“You know who that boy is?” Grey asked, familiar with Hanada Tattsu, as it was him who explained about Ecks and Callisto’s marriage.

“He is my son,” Callisto said, eyes shining with salted tears. “And his father is prepared to kill him, whatever you think.”

“Ecks would kill his own son?” Grey asked.

“He would do anything for my protection,” Callisto sobbed. “And…Gregory was never planned, I might add. Oh how we struggled raising the boy, with our jobs and the cost of living…but Ecks is a religious man. He would never abort a child.”

“Callisto, we’ll let you go,” Grey said to her. “But we need you word that you will meet us directly outside the Board of Governors building once you have kept everybody busy.”

“I promise,” Callisto said. Grey untied her (rather anxiously) and she stood up. “First thing’s first; I’ll book transportation to 04621. I’ll keep everyone at the Board busy enough while we escape, and I’ll call a medical team down to tend to Cocoa. Keep your gun and don’t you dare leave it behind, or you’ll be found out.”

She stalked towards the door and unbolted it. She peered down the corridor, which was deserted.

“Ok,” she said. “I will contact you via your VS Seeker when the coast is clear. Take the stairs – you’ll run into less people.”

“Right,” Grey said.

“And keep an eye on Cocoa,” Callisto said, as she shut the door behind her. Once this was done, Becca walked over to Grey. She looked cross.

“Callisto doesn’t need us to get to TPML,” she said. “She can call some authorities to come to this room – which contains both you and me and a Board member bleeding profusely – and she can flee to her family.”

“Ecks is contacting us,” Grey said. “I have her phone here with me now, anyway. I took it from her before the interrogation. He cannot contact her at all so she has no idea where to meet him.”

“I hope you’re right,” Becca said warily.

*

All I knew was that my body felt numb and empty. I had to blink to stop the tears welling up in my eyes. I was at the Train Station just north of the Towers at TPML; Jenny had just boarded the train and had sat down. She looked at me and mustered a smile.

I’ll never forget her last words to me. She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and hurried onto her train.

‘This isn’t your fault.’

I began accepting this as true, and instead knew the person responsible for tearing us apart. Ecks. The man who kidnapped Jenny, created Morpheus and toyed with my emotions. It sounded cliché to say it, but as I saw the train slowly pull from the station, I truly felt my heart shattering. As if the train was driving right through my body and tearing apart my being just to get out of TPML.

Slowly, Jenny was going, going…and she soon rounded a corner and was gone completely. I watched until the tail of the train snaked around the bend, and sighed.

Meanwhile, Jenny had sat down and was in a carriage on her own, save for a young boy across from her who was staring at the ground in some sort of trance. Jenny stared at him questioningly. He saw her.

“Hi,” she said, realizing her staring had been detected.

“Hi,” he replied glumly. “Empty carriage, huh.”

“Yea,” Jenny said airily. “Oh, I’m Jenny, by the way.”

“Mega Horny,” replied the boy.

“You look a bit upset,” Jenny said.

“I’ve been through a rough ten days,” came his response. “Decided in the end, I couldn’t hack it here. I’m going home.”

“Me too,” Jenny said lightly. “And I wasn’t even there to register for the league.”

“What were you doing there?” asked Mega Horny. Jenny thought carefully about her answer.

“I…followed my heart,” Jenny said conclusively. “But I didn’t find what I was looking for.”

The boy called Mega Horny smiled, before looking back down at his shoes. Jenny, meanwhile, got out her makeup bag and applied some more foundation to her cheeks. She saw the boy, younger than her, furrow his brow. Perhaps her words had been too complex.

“I hope you find what you are looking for,” he said innocently.

“So do I,” Jenny said, staring out the window, after closing her makeup bag with a snap. “So do I.”

*

I had decided that I was going to do some training. After all, the league was fast approaching and, looking at my team (which consisted of Poliwhirl, Electabuzz, Magmar, Cacturne, Sneasel, Dusclops and Aron) I thought we could do with a lot of work. I wanted more team members, and headed down to Crush Quarry to see what I could find.

Evidently I wasn’t the only one who had realized that the time to train was now. I saw (among others) MeLoveGhosts, who was training up what looked like a demonic Gengar. I had no doubt he had been using one of the new trading pods, installed around the village to allow trading between people. He looked at me, perhaps recognizing me from somewhere.

“Hey newbie!”

I turned around. Girafarig was wandering towards me, his Rhydon by his side. My first ever opponent in TPML, this guy was new as well, but it was something of a [rubbish] running joke that he called me a newbie.

“What do you want?” I asked firmly. Jenny’s departure fresh in my mind, and my altogether anger at Ecks left me feeling unwilling to participate in this little joke.

“Hey, chill,” he said, flicking the collar up on his shirt. “Why so uptight?”

“Never mind,” I growled, feeling an explanation would be somewhat lengthy and time-consuming. “Just…having a bad day.”

“I’m not,” he replied, grabbing a Pokeball. “I just caught a new Pokemon.”

He hurled it forward and released a Marcargo. The large, fiery slug-like Pokemon was rather odd and sloppy. I knew Girafarig liked his earthy Pokemon and also knew this was a fire and rock type.

“Very nice,” I said dryly, feeling Poliwhirl would take it down admirably.

“I know when I got back off that Island I was a bit of a state,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Even lost to you! But I’m back in the game now. I even got a Frontier Symbol, look.”

He pulled it out and showed me. It was from the Battle Factory.

“Oh, the Factory,” I said, thinking about what I’d read. “The facility where you win using other peoples Pokemon. What good training for your team.”

Girafarig looked hurt, I thought, staring at him. He was about a year younger than me, but turned slightly sour at my remark.

“Shut up,” he remarked weakly.

“Good comeback,” I snarled.

“You think you’re so great,” he replied. “You got any symbols?”

“I’ve got one at the moment,” I said, showing him my Luck Symbol from the Battle Pike.

“Luck,” he repeated, reading the inscription on the back. “Hah. And you thought I was pathetic.”

“Luck is needed to get to the Brain with a stable team,” I retorted. “Luck doesn’t beat her Pokemon. And besides, I’m heading to another facility today.”

“What’s stopping you?” Girafarig asked me.

“I’m training first,” I replied. I eyed a flock of…something across the sky. They moved in a tight, cloud-like formation, buzzing as they spiraled closer to us. Upon closer inspection they looked fly-like in appearance. Liking what I saw, I grabbed a Pokeball and released Cacturne.

“Cacturne,” I said firmly, ignoring Girafarig, who was facing me. “Use a pin missile to break up the group.”

My plan was to see which one retaliated; that would be the strongest one, the leader. I needed a boisterous Pokemon. Cacturne opened his arms invitingly, firing off dart-like pins from his body. They all swept into the group; bangs and clatters were heard and the group all split, covering the sky succinctly.

They had diamond-shaped wings and thin, insect-like bodies. They were a dark hue, with a mix of greens and browns. I had Cacturne wait as one, presumably the leader of the flock, darted down towards us at impeccable speed.

“Spikes,” I said, recalling the different ways we executed the attack. This variation involved Cacturne expanding the size of the long needles on its body until they were long, glowing and lance-like. He held his arms out and the creature slammed into them, screeching in discomfort. Cacturne retracted the spikes and slammed a punch into the foe, which swept into the air and powered up an attack.

This time, a ball of assorted flames gathered in the mouth of the creature. Unleashing a blast, it flapped its wings heartily, spreading the dark embers upon us. Cacturne used a faint attack to sweep through the air, behind the foe to avoid the gale. He leapt up, needles glowing on his club-like arms as he dealt a heavy punch to the Pokemon’s back. It toppled down to the ground, defeated. The rest of the flock looked on.

“Go,” I said, reaching for a Pokeball. Unfortunately I didn’t have any on my belt, which left me in a difficult situation. I looked across at Girafarig. “Cacturne, thief.”

“Thief? Huh?”

In a flash, Cacturne dashed around the back of the trainer and reemerged, gripping a rather nice polished, shiny black-and white Pokeball. I held it, arching back and hurling it towards the Pokemon. It was thus captured, drawn in a red light which was scooped up by the ball. The ball gave a ping and I ran over to get it.

“We caught it,” I said firmly, giving Cacturne a thumbs-up.

“You owe me a Pokeball,” he said grumpily. “That’s a special one!”

“I’ll give you a new one,” I said dismissively. “Now, if you’ll get out my way, I’ve got a Medal to win.”

And, clutching my new Pokemon in hand, I made my way to a facility. I wanted to see which one would be best, but first off, I wanted to learn about my brand new Pokemon.

*

Callisto Thunder walked up to floor 5, where Brooklyn Knight and his team were working. She kept the usual discrete behavior, and when she came back up, she found herself almost instantly confronted by the charming, if not dangerous man.

“Callisto,” he said, showing his white teeth. “We’re in a bit of a difficult situation at the moment. I’ve got Austin down from your area – he’s helping fix the server. Our whole network has crashed.”

“Oh,” Callisto said, feigning interest. “Well listen, I’ve been asked to deliver a message to Austin from Gordon – he just called me – which room is he in?”

“He’s in the control room,” Brooklyn said. He had loosened his tie and discarded it. The Control Room was a medium-sized room just off the main area of level five. There, there were a multitude of large computers, data processors and complicated machinery. The lighting was dim, but the various blues coming off the lit-up keypads gave the entire room an eerie feel. Austin, the large member of the Board had plugged his laptop into the main console (roughly resembling an arcade machine) and was typing in some codes.

“Austin,” Callisto said quietly, releasing her Magnemite, who sneaked to the other side of the main computer.

“Hi Callisto,” Austin said, slightly distracted. His shirt, bearing the signature Ralph Lauren logo on its breast, was teeming at the buttons. His frame was large to say the least. “I’m a bit busy at the moment…”

“I was wondering if I could be of any assistance.” Callisto said.

“You don’t have any experience as a technician,” Austin went on, his voice anything but accusatory. “Jacques and I are the two people who can work with computers best.”

“I know that,” Callisto said. “But I do know a few things. What’s the problem?”

“There’s been a server overload,” Austin said, mopping his forehead with a handkerchief. “An overdose of electrical output…and that’s so unusual for a computer. A foreign device would have to have caused this.”

“It’s like the EMP bomb that was planted at 04621’s Bank,” Callisto said.

“Yes, exactly,” Austin said, smiling. “We need to identify what caused the problem and also how we can restore the settings. Brooklyn’s department is crucial to some of our work here; we need it running at full capacity.”

“I didn’t realize Brooklyn’s floor was so important,” Callisto said airily. She was watching Austin firmly.

“Oh yea,” he said. “I mean most of the Boards contact is through this floor; call diverts and simple things like that. We need this place running properly.”

Callisto now fully understood that her earlier prank on the smarmy, jock-like Brooklyn had actually caused some convenience and was the main stimuli for her next attack. The system was down. But the main server was, so to speak, reviving the computers which Callisto’s efforts had put to sleep. She needed to prevent that.

A stamp of her heel against the floor. That was the cue. Magnemite began using charge, an attack that helped boost the power of electrical output. A faint crackling could be heard, disguised by Austin’s fast typing and talking.

“It’s nice of you to come down here,” Austin said mildly, eyes fixed on the screen. “Rosie hasn’t been down to see me today.”

“Oh,” Callisto said. It was widely known to everyone except Austin and Rosie that they liked each other. Callisto thought of Rosie, the young, charming studenty-type, and wondered what she saw in a larger-than-life man who knew too much about computers.

Another stamp of her heel. Magnemite knew the time was now. A widespread radius of crackling lightening flew into the server; the sides overheated and popped off like buttons from a vast waistband; wires fizzed and snapped; bangs echoed around and Austin stammered back, terrified. Magnemite crept further into the computer and fired off bolts; they slashed cables and overheated the motherboard.

“The server!” Austin said meekly. “No!”

“Oh my god,” said Callisto. “I’ll call Gordon right away.”

She went to the phone on the wall, but Austin spoke up.

“No you won’t,” he said miserably. “The entire communications power has gone. No computers will work. No phones connected to our phone lines. Nothing.”

“Oh,” Callisto murmured. As Austin walked around to investigate the various angles of the main server, Magnemite swept silently to Callisto and she recalled it discreetly.

“We need to call in some people from VA,” Austin decided. Van Artz Corporations was the name of the company that designed the VS Seekers and a lot of the computing equipment for TPML and the Board of Governors. In fact its owner, Leslie Van Artz, had been heavily involved with both Callisto and Ecks; Ecks had framed Leslie for the money he had stolen from Gordon’s own account, and as she recalled, she remembered he was still in jail. Callisto wondered who was in charge of VA now.

“I’m going to see Gordon,” Austin said. “Since the phones won’t work.”

He turned to leave. As he did, Callisto began typing out a message on her personal organizer; as she was not registered in any TPML she did not have a VS Seeker. She sent the message to Grey, before hurrying to leave the building

Chris 2.1

5th December 2006, 06:11 PM

That afternoon I wandered down BT Street and was pleasantly surprised when something stood there lazily. The Deus XP Machina Café. ‘Now with iChu – the sneeze-guard for your computer!’

I strolled inside, since I wanted to use the internet. It was empty. A lot of the computers were smashed and broken, but one lay intact (which was new and rather flashy looking). I sat down, logged in and began my surf.

“HI!”

“GHOST!” I screamed, spinning around. Nurse Smiles bolted forwards like an excited puppy.

“HI CHRIS!”

“Hi!” I said nervously. “Please don’t smother me…”

“Oh! Oh you and your JOKES!” she screamed, eyes bulging as she grinned. My god…her teeth were so white! I could almost see my reflection in them.

“So…where has this Café been all this time?” I asked casually, googling ‘Pokedex’ and seeing where it took me. “It disappeared.”

“No it didn’t!” she said happily.

“I haven’t seen it for weeks!” I cried.

“No it didn’t!”

“Erm…IT DISSAPEARED!”

“No it didn’t!”

“Ok, you seem to be stuck on some type of loop,” I said absently. I found a Pokedex and looked for information on my Pokemon I had just caught. As I typed, Nurse Smiles kept saying ‘No, it didn’t!’ in a perky chirp. Soon, a little Clefairy appeared and injected the psychotic nurse with a needle. She slowly came to her senses.

“I am sorry,” she said politely. “Would you like anything to eat?”

“What do you have?” I asked, unable to see the menu anywhere. The entire place was a mess and it looked slightly abandoned. I did, however, see a fat boy clicking fanatically on a website.

“Poketch is unavailable? WHAT COULD THAT MEAN?”

“We have a Toffee Cliffhanger, that’s our special dessert,” Smiles said, thinking.

“Did you spell that with two s’s?” I asked.

“I didn’t spell it at all,” Smiles explained. “I said it.”

“Isn’t it spelt desert?” I pointed out.

“Hm I think dessert,” she murmured. Grabbing a piece of paper, she got my attention. “Look. D-E-S-S-E-R-T. Oh…that sounds like des-sert.”

“Exactly my point!” I said. “Anyway, I’ll have a Toffee Cliffhanger please.”

She scuttled away, leaving me to muse upon my findings (as well as the spelling of desert). My Pokemon was a Vibrava – it was a dragonfly of the ground and dragon types, which was cool. According to the Pokedex, the females usually lead the fleets of Vibrava so I took it mine was a lady. They had a powerful mix of attacks and were very vicious in the wild. I was elated at my new capture.

“Here we go!” Nurse Smiles said, bringing my plate over. It was a lumpy slab of toffee on a plate. I raised my eyebrows, took the plate off her and examined it. I decided to see just how hard the toffee was, and held the plate upside down. It did not move.

“There!” cried the Nurse, at the look on my face. “A Toffee Cliffhanger!”

“Oh god,” I groaned.

*

The plan had, thus far, worked well. Callisto had also made sure that Cocoa had been found; paramedics rushed onto the scene and the entire building was under investigation, everyone’s work halted as Police searched the building for the supposed shooter. Callisto fled the building with Grey and Becca, who all leapt into a taxi quickly.

“The airport, please,” Grey said firmly.

They were there quite quickly; Callisto was still pale and clammy. Grey was in a state of shock, too, still pocketing the gun that he had shot Cocoa with. It seemed Becca was the most stable of the three; she sat calmly as they drove.

Meanwhile, the Board of Governors converged on the top floor.

“Shot,” Gordon said firmly. “By an intruder, it seems.”

“Why are we two members short?” came a snap. It was the formidable black woman named Voletta Kane, who was looking furious.

“I am presuming Cocoa cannot make it,” Jacques said dryly, from the opposite end of the sleek table. “I for one see ‘bullet to the abdomen’ as a plausible excuse.”

“Very well,” Voletta grumbled. “And…”

Her eyes scanned the table.

“…Callisto, where is she?”

“On another assignment for you Gordon?” asked the somber Derek. Razola’s Grandfather, his hair was graying more and he had large bags under his eyes. He stirred a drink as he sat at the bottom of the long table, cast in shadow and a swathe of smoke.

“She is not, no,” Gordon said firmly. “Have we got any news on her?”

“She was in the Relaxation Room,” Jacques said, suddenly with some vigor and life in his usual satirical tones. “She was talking an awful lot about her son…he’s been getting worse.”

“I see,” Gordon said. “Did she say something to you about visiting him?”

It suddenly occurred to Jacques that he had been ignoring the woman all along, and if he did in fact throw away the fact that she might have explained she was to be leaving New York to visit her son, he would be in deep trouble from the Board. So, after trying (and failing) to recollect the conversation (which occurred as he was admiring his new suit that morning), he felt he knew what to say.

“Yes, she did say she was going to be away for a few days.”

“I see,” Gordon said, thinking. “Well Callisto is under a lot of stress, as you can all imagine. Her ex-husband’s surface to terror has reminded us all of the horrific circumstances in which he was removed from this very Board; we must respect her wishes to spend time with her son.”

“What about Cocoa?” said a voice. It was calm and soothing; much needed, some felt. The voice of Arthur Pacie wafted across the table. Tall, Arthur was well-built; his nose was craning and seemed broken (or it may have been). He wore an expensive-looking suit with a gray shirt underneath but didn’t seem to care. Many of the Board looked at Arthur with mingled expressions of distaste.

“I do not know how Cocoa is,” Gordon sighed. “But I am receiving reports from the Hospital when she has come out of surgery.”

“I can’t see the woman wanting to stay here,” Rosie said precariously, for fear of being dismissed by the other Board members. “This is the second time she’s been shot at – first at Jolly Japes Hospital, and now –”

“Yes, thank you Rosie,” snarled Jacques. “We can all remember as far back as 11 days.”

“She was also poisoned by Ecks, back when she was in charge of TPML 04621,” Rosie said stubbornly.

“Cocoa’s future can indeed by reconsidered should she wish to leave us,” Gordon said sagely. “Until then, please everybody get on with your current work. Jacques, I want a report on the server’s down-time to hand to the representatives of VA when they arrive.”

“Yes Gordon.”

“Austin, get messaging to Mack. See if we can get the new computing equipment replaced now.”

“Yes Gordon.”

The group all split; some, like Derek, lingered at their seat, while Voletta stormed out of the room instantly. Rosie Cran followed Austin, catching up to him as he made his way downstairs.

“Austin!”

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Why didn’t you tell him?” Rosie asked desperately. “This is serious!”

“I…” mumbled the portly young man; Rosie cut in. Shorter than her co-worker, she drew herself up to his height.

“You talked to Callisto moments before the meeting!” she hissed. “You need to tell them Jacques is wrong! That…that Callisto is still around somewhere!”

Austin garbled something incoherent. Rosie ploughed on, Austin’s blank face fuelling her words.

“What if she does something? What if she is planning something in her absence? It will be on your conscience.”

She paused, blushing slightly, as her voice was attracting attention from others around. Lowering it, she crept in closer to Austin.

“There is a chance she could be working with Ecks, isn’t there?”

“Well yea,” Austin mumbled, glad Rosie had calmed down. “I forgot…you weren’t on the Board when it happened, were you?”

“No,” she said quietly. “When I joined, they were already divorced and Ecks had lost his position on the Board.”

“I’m starting to wonder if they really did get divorced,” Austin admitted. “Callisto was sent to TPML around the time Ecks invaded. I think she helped out there.”

“So what happened?” Rosie asked. “In…the past?”

“They were a married couple, and as normal as you got,” Austin said, thinking. “Ecks had been given the position on the Board first; a few months later Kevin left the Board and we needed someone else. Ecks suggested his wife, a woman named Callisto Thunder, who was the CEO of a corporation called Cronus Industries. Now I heard that before Ecks was offered his position, the previous owner of Cronus Industries, Virgil Cronus, had been offered the place, but he had actually been found dead. So, eventually, Ecks was given his spot. I’m not too sure of Ecks’ history; how he heard of the position, for example, but I do know Gordon was very pleased to have him on Board. This was all when I had just started here, so I wasn’t too comfortable asking questions and opening doors that shouldn’t be opened.

“So Callisto was given the job, proving to be an independent and capable employee as well as a very handy assistant. Gordon used her and Cocoa for a lot of his own work, and even now, both of them write a lot of reports for him and act as his general assistants. Anyway, some time later, there was a report on the news that a young boy of about six years old had been murdered nearby. His name – I’ll never forget it – Michael Phillips. He had been bludgeoned to death outside the school he went to. The investigation was seen as suspicious when a number of clues pointed the finger at Callisto Thunder.”

“Callisto?” Rosie asked, staring around to check for listeners. “She was a suspect?”

“Only when the Police probed deeper into the case,” Austin said. “Michael was in the same class as Greg at school. Phone conversations that had been discovered suggested Greg had been bullied by Michael, mainly because Greg was raised by a nanny a lot of his childhood. Since Ecks and Callisto were on the Board, they didn’t see their son a lot.”

“And was Callisto guilty?” Rosie asked.

“Everyone thought so, until Ecks admitted being the one responsible for killing the boy.”

“No!”

“He was immediately dismissed. Should have gotten a life sentence, but from what I heard Gordon pulled some strings – I’m not sure how long, but I know he did spend some time in Jail. Ecks was a disgrace; but Callisto announced her divorce from the man, and he simply disappeared.”

“You never heard from him again?” Rosie asked.

“Nope,” Austin said. “And Callisto soon rose above her troubled past and became one of the most prominent members of the Board.”

“So do you think Ecks did do it?”

“I think so,” Austin said, thinking. “I mean…he did admit that he did it, right?”

Rosie clicked her tongue. Evidently she thought there was more to this, but did not like to ridicule Austin after he provided her with so much information. They saw that Jacques was nearing, and not wanting to be told off (although he had equal authority as them) they wandered off to do some work. Meanwhile Becca, Grey and Callisto were boarding their plane that would take them back to TPML.

*

I wanted to fill that gaping hole in my heart. I had to release all this tension in my body, and while my argument with Girafarig was deliciously refreshing, and my catching of a Vibrava had also quelled my fury, I wanted more. After deciding upon challenging a Frontier Facility, I made my way to the Battle Arena, after hearing the high win rate there on the radio.

The Battle Arena was down Smith Street; whereas BT Street lay south from the Towers, Smith Street was North-West; around 10 o clock on a watch. It was a very empty street, smaller and with one or two derelict houses down there.

As I walked there, I saw it; the Battle Arena. It looked like Smith Street Community Center; there was a letter board which read ‘JOU_EY __UTH – 4TH - 7TH SEPT BO_K NOW’. Many letters and numbers had fallen, clattered to the ground. Who were Jouey Uth anyway?

I wandered inside, and instantly I saw the place looked much nicer on the inside. It was painted a light brown; there was a selection of seats for people to occupy. There was a television screen which displayed the current battle; the Brain, a woman named Greta, was dressed in black ninja garb, using her Umbreon against The Blue Avenger and his Nosepass.

I noticed that there were other people in the waiting room. Instantly UuberFred stood out; his pudding bowl haircut looked even more ghastly and his eyes oddly gummed together. Nearby, Charles Legend mulled around and, upon seeing me, he bolted over jubilantly.

“Chris!” he said. “Good to see you buddy.”

I felt the most curious handshake from the older boy – almost as if his two hands were trying to eat mine.

“Remember the good old times at the Battle Pike?” he said to me.

“Yea,” I replied firmly. “One of my Pokemon being murdered by a gang of ghosts. How fun!”

My bitter tone continued and seemed to confuse Charles. He blushed and looked thoroughly embarrassed, which satisfied me for some time. He then went into a story about a colour wheel, all the while fiddling with a Pokeball on his belt.

“Hey Chris.”

Also here was Crystal Tears; the once con-woman smiled at me cautiously; last time I saw her she had driven a wedge between Jenny and I, and she had begrudgingly taken money from me in a desperate moment. However she looked different; slightly older. Her hair was a bit longer and she seemed healthy. Her Pokeballs looked polished. I remember seeing her, as well as some other villagers fighting off the Antibodies, and wondered what she had been doing. Charles saw my intrigue.

“Hey,” I said. “How are things?”

“Ok,” she said. “Yea, ok thanks. I’ve been doing a lot of training since the…the erm…”

“The war?” UuberFred said casually.

“It wasn’t a war,” I snapped to him, before turning to Crystal again. “Good to hear you’re training. Not long until the league, right?”

“Oh no!” dramatized Charles. A little alligator emerged by his side, standing there innocently. “Snappy you silly Pokemon! You stay in the Pokeball! God it’s like the anime where Wobbuffet sometimes comes out his Pokeball and also Chimecho but then Manene (who is called Mime Jr now) after James gave Chimecho to his housekeepers…)”

Nobody seemed to notice.

“So you won at the Pike, right?” Crystal said. “I saw on your VS Seeker data that you have a Symbol from there.”

“Yea,” I said, recalling the adventure with Charles not that long ago. It was shortly after I had captured Dusclops, and I remembered the fantastic battles both Electabuzz and Magmar pulled off. “Don’t underestimate her Pokemon.”

“I wouldn’t,” Crystal said seriously. Charles, it appeared, was trying to get his Totodile to chomp on his hair.

“NO Snappy!” he said firmly. “Go on…just take a chomp! I know I’m saying not to, but that’s the whole joke – SNAPPY! Don’t!”

He looked at us. Even UuberFred looked disgusted.

“…excuse my Pokemon,” he simpered. I turned back. At that moment, the door to the arena opened and the brain, Greta, emerged. Her hair had a slight Princess-Leaism about it except it was blonde. She had a square jaw and a smirk on her face.

“Hey guys,” she said in an excited voice. “Listen…there’s going to be a slight change to how we’re doing things.”

“Basically,” said a stern-looking woman with jeweled glasses. “The four of you are to engage in a miniature tournament to decide which one will face the Brain.”

“Why?” I asked firmly. A tournament? I came here to fight Greta damnit!

“The demand for all the facilities has increased,” droned the young woman, who seemed to be a P.A. “And since his accident, Tucker has cancelled Battle Dome challenges. So now everyone wants to battle the Frontier Brains before they depart.”

“Fine,” I said. Her answer was good, but I would never let her know that. The other three seemed intrigued, while Charles was still teaching his little alligator how to ‘amuse’ the crowd.

“The first match,” read the woman. “Is UuberFred VS Crystal Tears. Please make your way to the arena. Spectators, please make your way to the stands.”

I was planning on some more training, but I was ushered into the spectator stands with Charles. The Battle Arena was a standard arena with a large, digital clock behind each battler. The arena was slightly raised and the seating low, giving a similar feel to that of a sumo ring. The seats only ran down the longer sides of the arena.

“This is exciting,” Charles said. Greta and her assistant sat nearby. The seats began to fill up. “So Chris, did you wonder why Totodile was trying to bite my hair?”

“Hmm,” I groaned, feigning interest.

“It all started at Skinny Dip’s Pond,” he began. “There I was, having caught nothing but Magikarp all day when suddenly – BANG! Do you know what it was?”

“Yes,” I said firmly, thinking this could be a potentially clever way to shut him up. I saw the Arena doors shutting. The match must be starting. A crowd had materialized, but I did not see The Blue Avenger. Maybe he had left the Arena a different way?

“It was none other than the monster of Skinny Dip’s Pond!”

“Oh, how interesting.”

“Challengers, this semi-final match for a place in the finals has begun!” said a referee. “You have five minutes to deal...”

However the rules for the complicated facility were being drowned out by my accomplice, who had (somehow) bought himself a bagel and was eating it contently as he talked. A wave of crumbs washed over me.

“…so the beast leapt at me with a thousand fangs! Each more pointed than the last, except the first, which was twice as pointed as the fourth! And it had about five wings! So I released Rookie, because even though I knew fire was weak to water, I also knew that he had the power to overcome even the biggest obstacle!”

“…the whistle blows, and the final attack is dealt there will be a short…”

“So fire wasn’t working, and I told Rookie ‘we need more power!’ Suddenly the big evil Magik- scary beast, yea the SCARY BEAST -”

“Hey!” I said. The bastard shouted in my ear.

“Sorry Chris, I need to make you appreciate all the fear! And Rookie then growled, and glowed white! And I realized he was evolving!”

“…if there is a disagreement, then we will….”

“But then it turned out to just be a white glow which came from someone’s laser pointer hitting a foil crisp packet and then merging into Rookie’s body, which ended up giving him cancer…”

“Ok,” the referee said firmly. Crystal Tears was smiling rather proudly. UuberFred was dabbing at his armpit with his other hand. “BEGIN!”

“I choose you!” Crystal said happily. She hurled her Pokeball forward and released a Scizor. A bright red (whereas Becca’s was more of a pink-red), Scizor snapped its claws and stared firmly at UuberFred. He got out a Pokeball and released it. From it emerged his pink, fleshy Slowking, a similar height to its trainer.

“BEGIN!” said a voice. The timer began to tick. Scizor swept through the air, slamming both clawed arms into Slowking’s face. The king staggered, giving Scizor time to sweep up and spin fluidly. As she span, a silvery glow picked up and whipped around, before being launched into UuberFred’s Pokemon fiercely.

“Good job Squall!” cried Crystal.

“Slowking, use water gun!”

Scizor was struck by a precise jet of cold water, but it did not seem to mind at all. I watched the battle half-heartedly; Charles was regaling me with his tale of pathetic woe and Jenny’s face swam in my mind.

Chris 2.1

5th December 2006, 06:13 PM

There was tension in the air. Luna had been screaming at her sisters after her stunt at the memorial service, and now she had locked herself in her room. Dawn, Eve and Mida were sitting downstairs, wondering what to do.

For the three elder sisters, they were not as close with their two younger siblings (Luna and Solia) as they were with each other. The three girls, who were all in their twenties were mere years apart; Luna and Solia, meanwhile, were twins (although not identical) and shared the same birthday.

All three had gone to University; Dawn, the quiet, bitter girl had done Sports Science at University. Midi, the pretty, calm girl with auburn hair had done Journalism, while Eve, the redhead who worried far too much left after one year of an Economics course, and spent her time traveling. Dawn sat in the living room, a finger twirling around one of her curls in her blonde hair.

“We should go,” she said firmly. The brunette, Midi, shook her head slowly, arms folded, leaning against the counter. Dawn saw this and retorted wildly. “Oh? You don’t think so? Well what should we do Midi?”

“Send her to see someone,” Midi said in her calm, soothing voice. “There’s a renowned psychiatrist at the local Hospital.”

“A quack?” Dawn snapped. “Hah! Have you not read the paper? A member of the Board of Governors was shot while at that Hospital. You tell me our little sister is safe there.”

“I think we need to get her in the hands of a professional,” Midi said, a trace of sadness in her voice. “What would Solia think – what would Mum think if we just abandoned Luna?”

The mother of all five girls had died when Luna and Solia were only young. As a result, Eve dropped out of University to help raise the girls and be their mothering figure, which seemed to have led to her clinginess.

“You seem awfully quiet, Eve,” Dawn said grumpily. Eve was sitting in a chair, completely lost in thought. Eve, with her frizzy ginger hair was quite pale, like Luna, but looked beautiful. She wore calm colours today.

“I…I think,” Eve said mildly. “We need to patch things up with her. Stay here and let our wounds heal. No doctor can be as helpful as a loving family.”

“Love,” Dawn said, in a simpering, mock-affectionate tone. “Rubbish! If I were her I’d want to be on my own to deal with it.”

“You’re right,” came a voice. It was Luna. She was walking down the stairs slowly, staring at the three of them.

“Luna, we didn’t hear you,” Eve said, walking over. But when Eve saw Dawn’s icy glare, she halted.

“Dawn is right,” Luna said. “I…want to be left alone.”

“Well,” said Eve, who was not expecting that at all, continued. “That’s perfectly ok. You can…go and practice your appeals…and we, well, we could go away for the day, couldn’t we?”

“No,” Dawn said firmly.

“Ok, Mida and I will –”

“Luna wants us to leave the village,” Dawn said irritably. “Isn’t that right?”

Luna gave a soft nod.

“W-We came to see you perform!” said Eve, looking offended. “In the Contest! We wanted to come and help you…”

“You came because Solia died,” Luna corrected her. “Under the pretence that you wanted to help me. I love you all…I do…but this is difficult.”

“Then we should help you,” Eve said, walking over, but Luna jerked away.

“I need three big sisters,” she said, upset. “I need space. By all means stay for the Contest but…let me grieve by myself. Let me let Solia go. Please?”

“If that’s how you feel,” Mida said kindly, but Eve was not willing to let her sister slip away from her.

“When Mum died,” she said firmly, “We promised we would look after you. We said we would make sure you grew up ok and –”

“Eve,” Dawn snapped. “We can look after her without smothering the poor girl. Come on. Let’s find somewhere to stay while she trains for the Contest.”

“Ok,” Eve said, beginning to tremble. Mida saw this and comforted her older sister, putting an arm around her.

“See you tomorrow, Luna,” Mida said. “We’ll…we’ll come and pick all our stuff up. Ok?”

“Yea,” Luna said. Mida led Eve out of the room, who looked distraught. Dawn followed reluctantly, staring back at her sister.

“Thanks,” Luna whispered.

“No problem,” murmured the surly sister. The three sisters left Luna, shutting the door behind them. Eve’s cries could be heard as they went down the street. All alone, for the first time in a while, tears spilled down Luna’s cheeks, but she smiled through them, glad to have her space.

*

Slowking was running in circles as Scizor chased him, firing off twisters of sparkling silver wind. In a smash, Slowking was hurtled to the ground and Scizor stood proudly, pincers crossed over the beast’s chest.

“Slowking is unable to battle. Crystal Tears proceeds to the finals of the Tournament!” cried the ref. I looked at the clock. The match had lasted a minute and a half.

“It’s us next,” I told Charles, as we were called to the locker rooms during the interval. I saw Crystal Tears in the locker room, who was going over her Scizor with a rag. She seemed to be shining it like a conker.

“What are you doing?” I asked her.

“Just keeping Squall in good condition,” Crystal said, smiling before recalling him. “Good luck against Charles.”

“Thanks,” I said, thinking back to when we battled in the village. His Charmeleon had been really strong. I wondered what he would use in this one-on-one Pokemon match. I knew who I was going to use – the Pokeball marked with an X sat snugly on my belt.

Not that much later, the interval had finished. Crystal and UuberFred sat in the stands (though Crystal cleverly used a toilet-break as a perfect chance to avoid sitting next to the odd boy) and both Charles and I were facing each other.

“The same rules apply,” the Referee said sternly. “You have five minutes for this battle. In those five minutes you have to try and beat your opponent. After the five minutes are up, and the final attacks have been dealt, a whistle will blow and whoever is still standing will be sent forward to the finals. If both are still standing our panel of judges will decide between them which Pokemon wins by examining their Mind, Body and Skill throughout the battle.”

“Is everything clear?”

“YES!” cried Charles.

“Yup,” I murmured casually.

“Then let the match commence!” he roared. Charles gripped a Pokeball and hurled it high into the air. It span up, burst open and light poured out, revealing a little red Pokemon with a curly head. It was Magby, named Chris 2.0.

“Chris!” Charles cried.

“What?” I asked, the same time as his Magby said his name.

“Not you, Chris 2.0!” Charles said jubilantly. “You, Chris 2.0!”

“What?”

“Charles Legend! Call your Pokemon by its species or please pick another one for the match!” snapped the Referee. I noticed the clock was ticking and grabbed my Pokeball.

“Dusclops! Go!”

My ball opened up and Dusclops emerged, his red eye looking slightly bloodshot. When he faced off against Magby he looked much bigger than usual, and his greyed hands were open and held out.

“Magby, use ember!” Charles cried. A flurry of embers flew through the air. Dusclops flicked his hand lazily and the embers exploded before our eyes. The crowd cheered. Charles and Magby looked stunned. Lifting off the ground, Dusclops swept through the air, fist swarming with dark, cryptic energy.

“HEY!” I shouted to him. “Do as I say, Dusclops!”

He socked Magby with the shadow punch and the small Pokemon was hurtled back. Magby hit the ground and skidded back, getting up with much difficulty.

“Dusclops, you attack when I order you to attack, do you understand?” I snapped. He turned to look at me for a moment, eye glaring. He gave a solemn nod and a murmur of his name. “Good. You’ve been in my possession for some time now and you’re still not grasping the most basic things. Come on.”

I knew frustration was a powerful attack and wanted Dusclops to be stronger. He looked angry (from what I could tell) as I mocked him.

“Now use a nightshade,” I said. A crackling bolt of darkness jetted through the air; Magby did a leaping flip and dodged it; he blasted a series of embers that grazed against my Pokemon’s side, but his eye then glowed a feverish purple; the night shade whooshed around like a train speeding around a corner and smashed into Magby.

“Ember again!” Charles said, looking like he meant business.

“Faint Attack, evade!” I said, hatching a plan. Embers were blasted at Dusclops who simply fainted into the darkness and swept around the arena, cackling. Little wisps of flame shot through the air but didn’t hit.

Charles ordered the attack again and I knew we had our chance.

“Now! Psychic! Will-O-Wisp! Attack!”

As more and more embers flew through the air, Dusclops, remaining hidden in darkness, conjured up more psychic power. The embers were ensnared and dragged up to the rafters of the building, where they merged with periwinkle-blue flames that Dusclops produced himself. The result was a massive ghostly ball of red and blue flames that resembled a snake-like mass of heat and fire.

Dusclops pointed it down and the snake dived, winding through the arena and opening an orange mouth, revealing blue fangs…the attack collided into Magby, dealing impressive damage, but Dusclops wasn’t done. As he focused hard, his eye glowed brighter and brighter as his hands were held forward. A cataclysmic blast of red energy hurtled through the air, sweeping down and smashing into Magby, who gave a scream of pain and was thrown brutally into the arena floor.

“Magby is unable to battle,” said the referee. I gave a smile as Dusclops hovered back to my side. I was smiling that we had annihilated that Pokemon, and Dusclops seemed to know that too.

“Oh,” Charles said slowly, recalling his fallen comrade. He looked on the verge of collapsing. “Return.”

“Good battle Charles,” I said meekly, feeling a cold chill as Dusclops moved to the other side of me. My anger was ebbing away, and yet I still felt cold satisfaction at beating the boy.

“See you later,” said the trainer aimlessly, wandering off the stage. The referee went to collect Crystal Tears – for some reason there was no break anymore – and the clock was reset.

“The next match will take place immediately,” the Referee said, as I recalled Dusclops. When he said immediately, he didn’t mean, well, the immediate sort of immediately. There was a few minutes for everyone to get ready before Crystal Stood before me, smiling as she gripped a Pokeball.

“Ok then,” I said, grabbing a Pokeball. “I choose you! Poliwhirl!”

From the white light emerged my tadpole; he flexed his arms, narrowed his eyes and gave a crooning cry of his name. Crystal Tears seemed to spend a second musing on her choice of Pokemon; she gripped a Pokeball, held her arm back and subsequently released her warrior.

Initially, as the white light took form I felt I recognized the outline, but it grew larger and developed to the point where it became something I could not recognize. Dark in colour, with two large, clawed fingers on each paw. A sneering face, small fangs and a large, red crown finished off what looked like a relative of Sneasel.

“Edea!” said Crystal, smiling. I’d never seen anything like it before, but it was evidently an evolved form of Sneasel that I had never encountered – or was aware of – before.

“Poliwhirl keep your guard up,” I said grittily, frustrated at this mysterious foe. The evolution held its claws back and sped through the air, giving a cry. Dealing a slash, it then kicked at my larger Pokemon, who staggered back.

“Good work Edea!” Crystal said happily.

“Poliwhirl, go for mega punch,” I said, recalling that if Sneasel was a dark type, this mysterious, assassin-like beast would certainly keep that trait. As a result, Poliwhirl’s improving psychic abilities would have to be left aside today, as would his ice attacks. With increasing agility, Poliwhirl slammed a glowing fist hard into the foe’s side, causing the war-like weasel to skid back. Not allowing any recovery time, Poliwhirl launched a jet of water to strike succinctly.

“Edea! Quick Attack!”

As the beast leapt up it sped along, feet furiously finding space and sweeping across the arena. The clock ticked on as the crowd watched intently. Poliwhirl, upon seeing the foe come close, span around and released sharp pellets of ice that blocked the foe from getting close.

“Blade Test!”

Still speeding, Edea pounced up like a rocket and span around, claws sparkling a dark colour. The two paws were placed atop each other and the creature whipped down to earth, slicing a dark slash into Poliwhirl’s stomach. Skidding back, Poliwhirl gave a cough and a groan.

There had to be some form of retaliation, but I could hardly think. The Sneasel evolution lashed out at Polwihirl with a series of slashes; Poliwhirl himself leapt up, dodged, flipped and shimmied away from them while trying to fit a slap in with his large, gloved hand.

“Dark Pulse!” shouted Crystal Tears. Her Pokemon, named Edea, leapt up into the air and charged a dark orb of crackling energy between her sharp paws. The ball unleashed a wavering beam of sparkling dark energy that span down and slammed hard into my Pokemon. Poliwhirl stumbled back, injured by the slew of mysterious attacks.

Flickering up, my eyes saw the time. We didn’t have long left to even the field. Polwihirl looked at me and I nodded. He then raced towards Edea, who stood patiently. As Poliwhirl drew near, Edea brought her claws out, extending them and getting into a fighting stance. Once Poliwhirl was close enough, the weasel leapt forward to deliver a faster hit; Poliwhirl blasted a jet of water at the ground, propelled himself into the air and landed behind our foe.

“Poli!” came his thick, masculine cry as he dealt a quick double chop Brick Break to Edea, who fell forwards in surprise. Sliding down, Poliwhirl kicked the foe and ended with a bubblebeam to push her across the arena further.

“Don’t stop!” I shouted. “Dynamicpunch!”

“Blade Test!”

Poliwhirl’s fist was glowing a bright white now as he quickly raced across towards Edea. Her claws were sparkling that same epic dark glow and she turned frantically, claws clenched together like a large scythe. Unfortunately for us Crystal’s Pokemon was quicker; Poliwhirl felt a long slash tear across his face before he socked Edea firmly.

Time was ticking down now…barely a minute left…

“Poliwhirl!” I cried. “Another brick break!”

“Use Fast Flicker!” shouted Crystal Tears. A combo attack? Sounded like it. Edea soon disappeared into the darkness and in no time was heard whooshing around the arena. Poliwhirl attempted a chop but sliced through the air; re-appearing, Edea leapt up and slashed Poliwhirl from behind.

A loud buzz echoed through the hall.

“TIME!” shouted the referee. Poliwhirl fell back, nursing his wounds; Edea landed calmly next to Crystal Tears. “The time is now up. Our three panelists will determine which trainer advances to the next stage based off Mind, Body and Skill.”

A spotlight came up on three well-dressed members of the audience. They were sat at a judges table and looked serious. One was the assistant of Greta; the young businesswoman with an answer to everything. Another was Tucker, in his wheelchair, looking haughty and formidable. The last was Greta herself.

“Miss Elaine,” the ref said. She looked up over her jeweled glasses.

“The trainer who determined the application of Mind was Crystal Tears,” she said importantly. “Crystal and her Weavile were on the attack throughout the battle.”

So it was a Weavile, that Pokemon of hers? I made a note to head back to the Deus XP Machina Café and look it up. But damn…Crystal just needed to win one more of the next two categories and she got the best 2 out of 3, therefore going on to face the Brain.

“Tucker?” asked the ref.

“Body goes to Chris 2.0,” he said in a low, almost angry voice. “Poliwhirl seems to have the most stamina at the end of the match.”

I looked across at Poliwhirl who, despite the slashes and bruises was looking quite fit. Now Edea, Crystal’s Weavile, looked more out of breath. We were drawn. I needed to get the Skill category and I’d be in the finals…

“And finally, Greta.”

“The Skill category is difficult,” Greta explained. “Because both combatants seemed to deal a lot of damage in the match. However, I have been noticing the attacks used compared to the overall health of each Pokemon and conclude that Chris 2.0 dealt the most damage. His fighting attacks helped him secure the win and he will now go to the finals to face me!”

Crystal looked shocked for a moment; her face then broke into a smile and I couldn’t help but beam myself. Poliwhirl gave a smile and smacked me on the back with his hand; I doubled over and fell on the ground as the audience roared with anticipation.

“Come back after a short interval for the 2-on-2 final between Chris 2.0 and Greta!” the referee said happily. I left the stage and ran after Crystal Tears, desperate to find out how she got her Sneasel to evolve into a Weavile. I left the stage and looked around the locker rooms.

“In time, the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble; they’re only made of clay, bu-ut, our love is here – to – stay!” came a voice. I turned a corner to find UuberFred gleefully grooming a rather scabby looking Murkrow.

“Oh! Hey Chris,” he said.

“Is Crystal here?” I asked impatiently.

“No, but check this out! This is Jake, my Murkrow! He was wearing a collar, isn’t that weird? I found him by that old Pawn shop. It smells of kangaroos, eucalyptus and didgeridoos! Isn’t that weird?”

He looked around.

“Chris?”

Chris 2.1

5th December 2006, 06:14 PM

Meanwhile, a plane was silently gliding amongst the clouds. Becca, Grey and Callisto sat on board the luxury transport, which was taking them to an airfield near TPML. Becca was keeping a close eye on Callisto, while Grey seemed lost in thought.

“Look,” Becca whispered, leaning in close. “Cocoa will be fine. Help was on the way.”

“She was bleeding for a long time,” Grey said emptily.

“And even if she did die,” Becca said urgently. “God forbid…even if she did die it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t aim for her. It was her fault.”

She jerked her thumb to where Callisto sat behind her. She was filing her nails, looking thoroughly bored by everything. Callisto, despite being occupied, did not seem to be ignoring them; on the contrary her glazed eyes suggested she was listening intently.

“We’ll continue our discussion when we get back,” Becca replied, shooting a glare at the woman. Grey nodded gravely and stared out of the window. The chairs, which rotated like office ones, allowed Becca to spin and face Callisto.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Ring your husband,” Becca said firmly. “Tell him you are on your way and ask where he is.”

“Fine,” Callisto said sourly, getting her phone out. She dialed a number and pressed the slim phone to her ear, waiting for her husband to pick up.

“Say ‘Hi’ if you can not be overheard, otherwise ‘Hello’,” Ecks purred.

“Hi,” Callisto said.

“Put it on loudspeaker,” Becca demanded. Callisto stuttered.

“Hello?” she asked wearily, hoping her husband would understand. It seemed he did, for he could then hear Becca asking if loudspeaker was on or not. “There. It’s on.”

“Good day to you all,” Ecks said pleasantly.

“Where are you located?” Becca asked. “We want to know so we can deliver your wife.”

“I will ring you with the details, do not worry,” Ecks said coolly. “After all, I’m not going to invite you to my own little office am I? You could bring anybody.”

“Yes,” Becca murmured.

“Expect a call from me in three hours time,” Ecks went on. “When you are back in TPML. Until then, leave me alone.”

*

After an interval and a few failed attempts to find Crystal Tears, I eventually healed up my Poliwhirl and went back to the Arena. When I got there, Greta was standing there, grinning hardily.

“We’re using 2 Pokemon each, one at a time,” she said. I nodded. “Same rules apply as before. Ok?”

“Sure,” I said. I glanced across and saw Charles in the audience with his Magby. Their ‘Support Chris 2.0 T-Shirts’ were on. Dear god.

“I’m going to start with you!” shouted Greta, hurling her Pokeball into the air. Bursting forth was a sleek black Pokemon with golden rings; an Umbreon. Recalling Luna’s, I smirked and gripped one of my Pokeballs, hurling it forward and unleashing my Pokemon of choice.

It was Dusclops; he was my powerhouse without a doubt. He surveyed the room, and even from here I heard Charles give a long sob of pain. Umbreon’s two eyes gripped Dusclops’ single one.

“BEGIN!” cried the referee.

“Dusclops! Shadow Punch!”

Sweeping across the air, Dusclops cackled as purple energy swathed his gray fist. Umbreon darted out the way, pointed ears pinning to his side as he did a quick turn and fired off a shadow ball at my Pokemon, striking it straight away.

“Good work!” Greta cried.

“Dusclops! Hit it!” I shouted. Umbreon, however, darted out of the way. It then retaliated by blasting another shadow ball. Luckily, Dusclops used a swinging punch to break it up. No damage was dealt.

“Go for a will-o-wisp,” I ordered. Umbreon just sat there effortlessly as the blue flames were gathered and merged all around my Pokemon. Groaning, Dusclops commanded the spirited flames on; they smashed into our foe and it cried in pain; in the corner of my eye I saw Magby scream in some sort of empathetical moment. Umbreon skidded back, but its rings began to glow a deep, throbbing red as it did.

A sharp pain filled my ears and I saw my own Dusclops reeling as blue and purple burns crept upon its body. Umbreon’s synchronize had managed to also deal the burn to my Pokemon, too. Damn.

“Umbreon! Use Iron Tail!” Greta said. Charging, the lithe beast leapt up and swung its lower body around, causing its shimmering tail to smash into Dusclops and make him stagger back.

“Shadow Ball!” I ordered, but the attack was met by an equal one of Umbreon’s. The two balls smashed into each other and fizzled into an exploding wave of dark energy. I saw Dusclops’ eye glow faintly.

“This is getting us nowhere!” I snapped.

“Chris, calm down!” Greta said jokingly. She smiled at me and I felt myself burn with anger. How dare she?

“Frustration, Dusclops!” I roared. Fists clenched, brow furrowed I watched as Dusclops’ eye glowed a brighter red; the beam of manipulated red energy was blasted at a fericous rate; it slammed into the earth and raced at Umbreon, who leapt out the way, not before receiving the butt of the attack in his leg. The attack had created a very small trench in the arena, right down the center. Greta’s jaw dropped.

“Now! Shadow Ball!”

“Swift!” Greta said. The ball was launched but torn apart immediately by glowing golden stars. Dusclops clenched his fists in anger and soon I felt myself feel more and more frustrated, wishing I could use the attack.

“Dusclops!” I shouted. “Start doing what I ask! Quickly use Will-O-Wisp!”

As the flames were conjured, I saw Umbreon do exactly what I wanted; shuffle his feet and prepare to dodge. The flames were, this time, summoned into a large globe of overwhelming flames. Dusclops hurled it, causing Umbreon to do one of its incredibly fast escapes.

“Disable its legs!” I said gleefully. A quick, red-and-gold spark flitted from Dusclops’ palm; a similar one appeared on Umbreon’s body and the Pokemon instantly collapsed to the ground.

“Umbreon!” Greta said alarmingly.

“Now! Frustration!” I shouted. “FULL POWER!”

I saw Dusclops hover above the air and charge up the fantastic red beam. As it was released it glittered with a spiteful golden glow; the attack raced towards Umbreon, who lay there, immobilized.

“Umbreon!” Greta cried. There was a humongous smash that filled the air with red and gold sparks as a smash, crack and cry was heard amongst the fantastic glow. I watched, heart beating blood through my veins as my fists were clenched tightly.

“Dusclops foresight to detect it,” I said, despite being unable to see. “And then shadow ball!”

After giving a low hum of understanding, Dusclops’ hand flitted around, before finally resting upon a moment in the air. A shadow ball was launched before his mouth, focused in his spare hand and flung ruthlessly at the golden wave of energy that had manifested from the onslaught of frustration.

Once the light dispersed, I was shocked. Umbreon was standing strong, a silvery sheen covering his body. Dusclops floated above the ground, feeling frustrated.

“Protect to avoid damage,” Greta said thoughtfully. “And Moonlight to recover HP.”

“Dusclops, shadow ball!”

“Swift.”

The beam of golden stars tore through my Pokemon’s crackling orb of fizzing shadow. Greta smiled, arms folded as she watched me.

“Anger is not the way to do this,” she said, as if telling a child off for drawing on the wall. “Chris you cannot achieve anything good with anger.”

“Dusclops, full power!” I snarled.

“Chris has lost it!” Crystal said, dismayed. Charles gave her a nudge.

“He was like this at the Battle Pike,” he said. “Between you and me…I think Chris has some grudge against the Frontier Brains. And it’s personal so he trained up his Pokemon to take them all down. In fact…it’s a new fic of mine, called Chris 2.0’s Vendetta.”

Crystal did not reply.

“Umbreon, strike Dusclops once more!” Greta said, eyes flickering up. As Umbreon’s rings glowed, a powerful, warm energy circled from within. Umbreon opened its mouth to fire a long, crackling black beam similar to Crystal’s Weavile’s. It was that Dark Pulse attack, and struck Dusclops hard as the timer went out.

“TIME!” came the voice of the ref. “The time is now up. Once again we will consult our three panelists on the traits of Mind, Body and Skill.”

The spotlight came up on Miss Elaine, Greta’s assistant.

“Mind goes to Chris 2.0,” she said, clearly bored. “Dusclops was on the offensive for the entire duration of the match, showing no remorse or – may I add – dignity whatsoever.”

A few members of the audience laughed, and I clenched my fists tightly. Dusclops began throbbing again with what I could only assume was some form of anger. Next was retired Frontier Brain Tucker, who was also looking slightly put-off, as if a pungent slab of cheese was placed before him.

“Body is given to Greta, because her Umbreon, despite being tired, is the less fatigued out of the two battlers.”

There were cheers. We were neck and neck. I needed to get this next category. The spotlight fell on Scott, the large man in the bright Hawaiian shirt. He had his shades off, showing surprisingly small eyes. I recalled Greta being on the panel previously; obviously she couldn’t do it during her own match.

“The Skill card goes to Greta,” he said simply. The crowd cheered, my jaw dropped and Greta gave a smile. Scott waited patiently for quiet. “Chris 2.0 dealt the most damage initially – but following Umbreon’s health recovery, and looking at the status of both from the end of the five minutes, Umbreon is healthier and Umbreon’s attacks dealt more damage to Dusclops than vice versa. The round is awarded to Greta.”

“Chris 2.0, please recall your Pokemon and send out your last,” the referee said. I understood now…in a match more than a 2-2, whoever got the least out of 3 cards had to recall their Pokemon, no matter how healthy…

“Ok,” I said, musing upon it as Dusclops was absorbed in a red beam. Aron was too small. Vibrava was too unpredictable (I hadn’t even used it in battle yet). Sneasel…well he was good, but until I knew how to evolve him I was reluctant to let him out. Poliwhirl had already battled today…so I gripped a Pokeball tightly and hurled it forward.

“Burr-ah!”

It was Electabuzz, beating his chest proudly as he faced Umbreon. Umbreon looked at Greta, who gave a nod. Already sparks were fizzling around Electabuzz like fuzzy armor. The referee threw his flags down.

“The time starts…NOW!”

Umbreon darted through the air but Electabuzz ducked down low, swinging his tail up as it shimmered in a metallic sheen and caught Umbreon in the ribs. He flew up, where Electabuzz leapt after him and slammed into the Pokemon with a thunderpunch.

“Good work!” I shouted. Seeing Electabuzz made my anger and frustration drip away…I pointed at him and ordered another attack. Electabuzz crossed his arms, ran at Umbreon and delivered a fantastic cross chop.

“Umbreon!” Greta shouted. The black Pokemon skidded along the arena, defeated. “No way!”

She quickly looked up at me, smirking as Electabuzz thumped his chest again, generating sparks. Giving a discrete smile, Greta shot a Pokeball beam at her fallen Pokemon and put the ball away.

“That was fast, I’ll give you that,” she said, eyebrows raised. “You’re a difficult one to place a mark on.”

“Hurry up,” I snapped.

“I choose you,” Greta said, hurling a Pokeball forward fantastically. It burst open revealing a small, stiff-looking Pokemon in a camel-colour. Greta caught the ball and judging from the applause, this particular Pokemon was a fan favourite. It was so still in mid-air it looked as if it may be held by an invisible hand. A shell-like body, almost as if it were a lifeless cocoon, this odd Pokemon had a torn back that folded out into two ‘wings’. Its eyes were half-shut and lifeless.

“Electabuzz,” I said to him. “Thunderbolt.”

Nodding, my warrior charged himself up with energy. He opened his arms wide as a mass of sparks whooshed forward, forming into an arrow of golden volts and sweeping towards the Pokemon.

“Shedinja,” Greta said softly. Shedinja did nothing. As the attack got near, the blackened hole at Shedinja’s back (where the wings came from) glowed a bright white, and was soon the source of a large white dome that covered the Pokemon completely. The thunderbolt met the dome and simply fizzled away. Electabuzz and I watched as the shield merged back into the hole.

“Electabuzz,” I whispered. “It absorbed the attack. It didn’t need instructed so I think that’s a natural ability. Try a physical attack.”

Electabuzz raced at the airborne, still Pokemon, arms crossed and glowing. He leapt up, swung around and aimed himself at Shedinja; the same white shield emerged which seemed to act as some sort of magnet; it dragged Electabuzz around the back of the eerie Pokemon and threw him back across the arena at me.

“Good work Shedinja!” Greta cheered. My Pokemon pulled itself up from the arena, bruised, and faced the foe. It managed to block physical and special attacks. I summarized that this natural force field was automatic, but was breakable.

“Wait for it to attack, Electabuzz!” I said, thinking. Once it attacked, we would strike back. But Shedinja just floated there eerily and did nothing, not even bob in the air. Time was ticking down, and it seemed that Greta knew this.

“Our audience needs to be entertained,” she said succinctly. “Silver Wind!”

Shedinja, still immobile, unleashed a glowing silver dust from the gaping hole in its back. The dust whirled in the air and swept at us as two shimmering columns of energy. Electabuzz fired off an attack; we used a weak array of bolts to strike and hopefully break up the oncoming silver wind, but the attack was too strong; the sparks and the wind smashed into us and bowled my Pokemon back.

“Try a thunderpunch,” I said, thinking that a physical and special attack might stop this creepy Pokemon. Leaping up, sparks ensnaring his fist, Electabuzz finally seemed to be striking…but the force field kicked in and hurled him back to the earth. I was starting to get angry.

“How is she doing this?” I snapped. “Electabuzz, use a swift attack!”

Swift was powerful and fast. It rarely missed, as it was hard to give the foe time to counter. Electabuzz clenched his fists and roared; golden stars whipped up and, like angry birds soared through the air at Shedinja. It stayed there, and the shield emerged; the stars pecked and smashed against the shield, unable to penetrate it at all. They eventually dissipated.

“TELL ME!” came my roar. “HOW?”

“Calm down!” Greta said, laughing.

“Stop telling me what to do,” I said manically. “STOP LAUGHING!”

“Shedinja, slash!”

And the creature still remained still. Two blades of energy materialized before it and they swept at Electabuzz, slashing him across the stomach. He gave a grunt, staggered back and fired off a weak bolt; it hit the shield again.

“Time is running out!” Greta said airily. I forgot how long I had taken standing there idly, trying to think of a way around this…this conundrum. Electabuzz turned and looked at me, shrugging. “If you can’t figure it out, then forfeit!”

“I will not forfeit!” I replied. “Electabuzz, THINK!”

“Burr-ah!” he cried, puzzled.

“THINK!” I snapped. Electabuzz, angered, swung a fist and sent a crackling punch into my gut. I fell back onto my buttocks, eyes wide in shock as the audience laughed. Electabuzz stared at me with utter malice as I sat on the ground and the timer finally pinged.

“TIME!” the referee said, smiling. “Judges, please give your scores.”

“The Mind category is a tie,” Miss Elaine said. “Both Shedinja and Electabuzz were on the attack throughout.”

What? A TIE? Electabuzz was on the offense way more! I wonder if she took ‘marks’ off for the fact we dawdled around for so long between attacks.

“And the Body category goes to Greta,” Tucker said, leading straight froom Miss Elaine. “Shedinja was not fatigued at all during the match. It’s attacks were effortless.”

“And Scott?” asked the Referee.

“The Skill category is awarded to Greta,” he said. “Electabuzz dealt no damage whatsoever to Shedinja.”

The crowd gave a cheer. Greta leapt up excitedly as confetti rained down from the rafters. I got up, dusting myself off and staring at Electabuzz. He gave me an ugly, contorted look of disgust as I recalled him into my Pokeball.

“Hey, Chris?”

It was Greta. I expected sympathy, but she looked serious. Almost scared.

“Please, be careful,” she said urgently. “You seem…on edge.”

“Thanks Doctor,” I replied. I didn’t even look at her – it was embarrassing. She seemed undeterred. I saw her, from the corner of my eye, reaching for something.

“Take this,” she said. “I…I think you earned it.”

And she produced a golden Guts symbol. It sat in her open palm and she smiled at me. I gave a smile, laughed, and knocked it out her hand.

“Shut up,” I said, walking away. “And stop patronizing me.”

I walked out of the Battle Arena, feeling depressed, upset and a complete and utter failure. As I pictured Jenny, I began wishing she was here to cheer me up – before a voice in my head told me she was the reason I felt so bad in the first place.

I needed to…to vent out some of this toxic anger.

Chris 2.1

5th December 2006, 06:18 PM

It was getting late, and a red-orange sun swam beneath the hills. A car pulled up in the main square of TPML and the door opened. Becca walked out, taking in a lungful of fresh air from the village. Callisto soon followed, looking thoroughly disgusted, and Grey left last, paying the driver and leading the three to the middle of the towers. As they walked, Callisto’s phone rang. She saw Ecks’ name displayed on the screen and, putting loudspeaker on, pressed it to her ear.

“Ecks?” she asked.

“Go to Ivy Woods and wait there. Someone will collect you.”

“Where abouts?” Callisto asked.

“Anywhere,” Ecks said. “I’ll find you.”

And he hung up. Callisto turned to meet Becca’s eyes.

“Ambiguity was always your husband’s strength,” Becca sighed. As they wondered about how they were going to do this, Amy strode across the square with a group of people. Grey’s eyes lit up as he saw Razor Leaf, Elec Man and Aragornbird with Amy.

“Greetings,” said Amy, smiling.

“Excellent,” Grey said briskly, clasping his hands. “A rescue team. And some good people among it, I see.”

“Liang wanted to lead, and I think he knows Ivy Woods well by now,” Amy smirked. “Razor Leaf and Elec Man are also strong and competent.”

She then furrowed her brow.

“Nate also needs to work out where his loyalties lie,” she said, like a disapproving mother to her child.

“I’m not with him,” Elec Man said. “You know that!”

“I do,” Amy said, smiling. “But I want you to do this as a final act of conviction to me. Becca, will you go with them?”

“Four of you to take little old me?” Callisto smiled, as Becca nodded to Amy. “Wow.”

“We know what your husband is capable of,” Amy said seriously to Callisto.

“Exactly my point,” she replied. “Four innocent people…”

At these words, and the terrible insinuation, Amy cast a look at the four members of the team – they seemed unfazed, but Callisto still smirked gleefully.

“So how is this going to work?” Razor Leaf asked.

“We were given instructions simply to ‘go to Ivy woods’ and wait there,” Becca explained.

“If we wait on a target for him then he can just take us out with ease,” Liang said. “Why should four of us go?”

“The five of us should go because we don’t have to go together,” said a dark voice. The group looked around to see a boy walking towards them. It was Chris 2.0, eyes looking worn and posture slumped. He strode to the main village and met with the group. “We need to take advantage of the fact that Ecks doesn’t know how many of us there are.”

“Were you listening in on us?” Becca asked sharply. Chris clicked his fingers and a Dusclops materialized at his side, floating an inch or two off the ground. He was throbbing with energy.

“Dusclops sensed a high level of emotional frequency,” Chris replied cleverly. “So yes.”

“So you obviously have something in mind,” Liang said, keen to hear what Chris had to say.

“And he obviously thinks he’s coming,” began Razor Leaf, but he was interrupted by Liang, who hissed for him to be quiet. Chris thought for a second before answering Liang’s question.

“Ecks doesn’t need to know we’re all coming for him,” explained the boy. “So if Callisto is taken by one, maybe two people, then others can also hide for back-up.”

Nobody looked particularly impressed.

“That’s a very nice offer,” Becca said. “But we can manage without you.”

“If someone comes with me to his bunker, we can catch him off-guard,” Chris went on, sounding casual and yet enthusiastic at the same time. “I doubt he’ll come to get his wife himself. He’ll be sitting where he’s safe.”

“Bunker?” Amy asked wildly.

“What do you know?” said Grey. Chris saw these looks and smiled.

“He’s under Ivy Lake,” he began, not allowing anyone to remind him that Liang caused the caves to collapse. “In a chamber set-apart from the cave complex. The entrance is set firmly into the side of a mountain so it wasn’t affected when Liang detonated the caves. He’ll be waiting there, and if he doesn’t have someone else waiting in the Woods to shoot you, he’ll have his Pokemon.”

“How do you know all this?” Grey asked, in a kind, curious manner.

“I’ve been down there,” Chris replied firmly. “He has a room full of screens. He’s got cameras all around TPML. He’s been watching us.”

Grey, shocked at the words, turned to look at Amy, who was staring at him with shock and horror. Ecks’ mysterious demeanor and mass of knowledge became clear.

“Right,” Grey said, flustered slightly. “Chris, go with Liang to this bunker. Becca, take Callisto to the woods where Ecks planned to meet. Use your Pokemon. Nate, Daniel, provide back-up and release your Pokemon. Try and find Ecks.”

“Good luck,” Amy said sadly, as she and Grey walked to the Towers. The group, consisting of six people moved on. They walked through the village, Callisto in cuffs and closely watched by Becca. Chris and his Dusclops wandered on fast; Liang struggled to keep up. Razor Leaf eyed Elec Man with contempt.

“Do you think it was wise to let Chris go?” Amy asked.

“In honesty, Amy,” Grey said softly, as they walked to the Rules Tower. “He’s our best weapon.”

“So what spurred on this…hatred of the man Ecks?” Becca asked, in a would-be casual voice as she led Callisto on.

“He took something of mine,” Chris growled, nursing a bloody knuckle. He gave Callisto a prod. “How can you love that man, how?”

“Ways and means,” Callisto said, staring right ahead.

“He’s a murderer,” Chris spat. “He’s killed many people.”

“I’m aware of that,” Callisto spat.

“Don’t try and reason with her,” Becca said conversationally. “Be glad we have leverage. Ecks has that Hanada boy kidnapped, and he’s planning on killing him (and others) if we don’t return Callisto.”

“I wasn’t aware,” Chris said.

“Pick that up with your bloody emotional frequency,” she whispered. Callisto, upon hearing it, gave a soft laugh. After a few more minutes walk, they arrived at the entrance to Ivy Woods. All six shared a glance.

“When we leave this place,” Liang announced. “Ecks will be a dead man.”

“We are sent to arrest him Liang,” cut in Razor Leaf. “Not kill him. Although considering your pairing with Calamity Chris I’m wondering which one will finish him off in the end.”

“You won’t kill my husband,” Callisto said fiercely.

“That remains to be seen,” Razor Leaf said dryly. “Becca, take her to the woods. Nathan and I will be nearby.”

“Come on Liang,” Chris said, leading the way through a different path in the woods. Liang followed.

“See you later,” Becca said emptily. With Callisto’s arm in a firm grip, Becca rolled two Pokeballs to the ground as she walked. In a flash, her Alakazam emerged, as did a Charizard. The large dragon flapped up into the treetops as Alakazam faded into the air, providing a shimmering, white shield to surround Becca and Callisto, which soon slowly dissolved into the air until it was required.

Meanwhile, in another part of the woods, the man named Ecks stood there proudly and on his own. A gun was tucked into his holster as he looked around.

“Ceres,” he whispered to the trees. “Juno tells me our guests are near. Greet them, would you?”

As two quick sparks of light told him his orders were understood, he gave a smile, staring straight ahead, waiting…

Next: Chapter Thirty-Seven - Callisto Thunder
With Callisto among them, The Missing Link, Razor Leaf, Aragornbird, Elec Man EXE and Chris 2.0 head into the mysterious Ivy Woods for a final showdown. But has the man anticipated their plan? Will the boy Gregg survive the onslaught between his parents, what is right and what is wrong? And can Ecks finally be brought to justice?

Meanwhile Scott visits the Archives and is impressed with Razor Leaf's track record, while Luna begins to heal after an inspiring training session.

There we go!

Ultimate Charizard

5th December 2006, 09:13 PM

Very emotional chapter...angst isnt usually my thing but i can kinda relate to Chris's mood (not that ive ever had a girlfriend locked in an Iron Maiden and replaced by a Ditto) though he does seem to be going a little over the edge. Theres a fine line between emotional and psychotic lol.

Also, am i the only one that finds the Casual name introduction of 'Mega Horny' not raising an eybrow wierd?

Blademaster

5th December 2006, 10:16 PM

OK, rather than try and review this whole chapter, I think I'll just save my energy and just say this:

Chris is losing it. Considering the way he's acting, and the direction this fic is going, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he and Ecks wound up killing each other now... :eek:

Luna did good, telling her sisters to butt out like she did - trust me, being alone is more helpful than being... well, smothered, as Chris said.

Speaking of smothering, lol at the following:

-Nurse Smiles getting 'stuck' :lol:
-Uuberfred losing in a minute and a half :lol:
-Charles Legend getting his ass kicked by Dusclops :lol:
-Electabuzz punching Chris' lights out :lol:

Anyway, I'd normally say keep up the good work, but in this case, I'm gonna change it:

No more 5-post chapters, please... :cry:

Otherwise, though, nice work once again.

Laterz! :wave:

Elec Man EXE

6th December 2006, 12:17 PM

Long chapters! Most excellent. Worth the wait :hellyeah:

I found Callisto's change of heart... well, sudden, to say the least. One minute she's not talking at all, the next she's helping everyone get out. I suppose Cocoa getting shot brought the "realism" of the situation to her.

Chris has gone "dark side" on us. I'd be scared to meet him in a dark ally :ssj: :scared: . New pokemon are always good, though. Vibrava is nifty. If he keeps using nothing but Dusclops, it'll be rather pointless, though. Him going berserk when he came up against Greta's Shedinja was pretty funny (as was Electabuzz punching him :p ). Pst... Chris, use Fire Punch.

Another D/P appearence in Weavile, wasn't expecting that. I guess Chris has something for his Sneasel to strive for (though again, not if he won't stop using that darn ghost). I like how Dark Wave was portrayed.

I sense much angry glaring (at me...) in RL's future. Great idea pairing me with him, Grey :rolleyes: . I suppose I'll eventually reconcile myself to him, though. And he seems to be the last one with that angry grudge there.

Next chapter should be intense :ingrams:

Chris 2.1

7th December 2006, 10:42 AM

Ultimate: Firstly, I have to say that Ultimate was supposed to re-appear in Ch36. However my sources tell me he will make an appearence in Ch37. Now I'm not going to guarentee a thing; of my various ends that I want to tie up your character, being a small part, isn't top of the list. But he should be back in TPML soon.

The Angst was quite intense but this will help Chris revert back to his ordinary self, as it were. It has to get worse before it can get better. Jenny's departure was always going to affect Chris in some way...and now he's begun to realize that...well, he might try and get over it.

Hahaha yea fair point. When MH initially joined I found the name thoroughly unfunny and sleazy so I decided not to shed light on his hilarious jesting when he appeared in the fic.

Also he never really made a debut. He was, all of a sudden, just 'there'. Thanks for reading!

Blademaster: How Harry Potter of me. But it's a very plausible theory. Chris and Ecks' hatred is on a personal level now. I'm glad you liked the Luna scene; I was planning on having the sisters stick around a bit more, but they're appearences from now on will be less frequent. Luna meets a better figure in Ch37.

And I know the 5 post chapter was intense -_-'' Most chapters will be 3 posts though; I'm a big chapter-writer! Glad you liked Nurse Smiles' re-appearence.

Elec Man: Hey! Thanks - I quite liked the way the chapter turned out. It's the calm before the storm that is Ch37.

It wasn't the injuries that Cocoa sustained that made Callisto change her heart. It was that she knew Hanada was the one Ecks was going to kill. Her son - she believes (or knows) that Ecks is actually willing to kill Gregg if he cannot have her, and loving the boy slightly more than his father does, she vowed to do everything to help.

Chris is a scary dude; he still has the purple scars from when Ecks unleashed a Will-O-Wisp on him in Ch29. Vibrava should be a cool addition, but you've raised an interesting point about Dusclops. Chris has managed to unlock Dusclops' sheer potential in his frustration, but that chapter taught him something Grey tried to teach him not that long ago - sheer power is useless unless tamed.

Speaking of which, there were subtle hints in Ch36 (and others) that suggest Dusclops is taking advantage of Chris' current state. If you didn't catch them, all will become clear in a few more Chapters.

Originally in the very early stages of the fic, Aragornbird was going to give Chris his Flygon for the Tournament to help take on Ecks, who was actually in the competition.

I really wanted to intergrate Weavile as soon as it was revealled, when I realised that it's debut would give Chris something to aim for with Sneasel. Now Chris' team is getting bigger he can finally shift his focus to Sneasel, who has been feeling unloved and emo all this time. There won't be m/any D/P appearences though.

You know Razor - he bears a grudge like hell. I don't think Becca's too cool with you. Neither is Ultimate - *points to Ch37*. Anyway Razor and Nate is interesting.

I will officially nickname Ch37 as The War - Part II. It is going to be messy.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

9th December 2006, 11:05 AM

Hard to comment such a wide chapter.

1) I loved chris going berserk and dark. This really appeals to me. As I Love Ghosts, I like Dusclops.
2) Weavile is the shizzles. I'm a big fan off Sneasel and Weavile. Dark Wave was pretty nifty aswell as Greta's Umbreon.
3) Chris' ignorance was funny. Oh the sheer sight of Shedninja amuses me.
4) Callisto and her 'oh my, my beloved son' is annoying me. Now she wants to save him, but she let him stay with a nanny for 10 years. Get a grip on yourself woman.
5) Ecks is more understandable then Callisto and his ambition makes me smile.
6) Vibrava is not a favorite of mine, but I'm glad to see some new team changes.
7) Hurray for my cameo! Hurray for Gengar! Hurray for UU! *cough* ahem.
8) I'd like to be left alone aswell, so I understand Luna perfectly.
9) Chris is becoming interesting.

Cheers.

Charles Legend

10th December 2006, 05:55 AM

-Charles Legend getting his ass kicked by Dusclops :lol:

What I find so Ironic in TPML I get my ass kicked by a duskclops, and the ASB I get one as a Present.... :o

Anyways Chris this chaper was good, even if Charls was crazy and lost to Chris... :D And yeah the rest of the chapter was grate as well, now is the ASB the dciption for Dark Wave going to be any thing close to what you have in this chapter?

anywaysas always good work Chris....

~Charles Legend

The Blue Avenger

10th December 2006, 11:52 AM

Holy crap, Chris is going psycho... He's definitely in a, uh, downward emotional spiral (I think that's what my communications class called it). Dusclops definitely isn't helping that any either. I'm guessing that Dusclops is tying his mental state to Chris' as a sort of revenge? I dunno.

I guess Jenny is gone for good now... although I wouldn't be surprised if she still shows up every now and again.

Chris' Brain battle was intense, and it again makes me think that he should get rid of Dusclops - he's obviously a bad influence on him.

I liked seeing more of the Board. They're very interesting characters, and I enjoy seeing the way they interact with each other.

That's really all i have to say that hasn't been said already. Cheers!

Chris 2.1

10th December 2006, 02:06 PM

MLG:
1) Dusclops is a really cool character. He's so creepy. And I like the Chris/Dusclops relationship personally.

2) Weavile really appeals to me, too. So does this give Sneasel a glimmer of hope towards evolution?

3) Funny? The guy was a complete dick! Haha I think Chris did begin to realize that though. But will he figure out that Dusclops is a bad influence? Grey, Kyle and Greta have all pointed this out now.

4) Hmm well yea, I suppose. Making up for lost time?

5) Ecks....what can I say. He's the one who wants it more.

6) Hmm as I said it was a quick decision. But I will look forward to Chris' flier battling. She gets some in next chapter.

w00t cameo!

8) It's something to consider. Luna likes to be left alone so her sisters have to be there for her by leaving her. Confusing. But they will still be around. Just not as much.

9) Emo-Chris to the max! I did say he'd need therapy :)

Charles: Haha it is! Make sure you don't let Dusclops take over your mind! I'm unsure of ASB D/P attacks. It was just the way I envisioned it. I'm glad you liked it though!

TBA: Hmm not quite. It's a bit more psycological than that. But Dusclops and Chris' relationship is going to reach new levels. I had actually planned a sidestory which took things really far but in the end decided it was not really appropriate for the direction the fic was going in. Nevertheless their relationship is built upon more and Chris will realize that this Pokemon is his strongest but his most dangerous to him and everyone around.

You know I like the Board too. I think we've seen about 9 of the members; there are 12 overall. So over the rest of the fic you'll meet the other ones. I do like that Austin is sort of given some story in that he knows more about Callisto's whereabouts than others.

So guys. I know there was a truckload of things but did anybody recall the conversation between Rosie and Austin? Who do you think killed Michael Philips - Callisto or Ecks?

Elec Man EXE

13th December 2006, 10:42 AM

I think Callisto did it, and then Ecks took the fall for it. His last selfless act before becoming a complete bastard, perhaps?

Chris 2.1

29th December 2006, 07:01 PM

A few things.

This chapter is a good length and a lot had to be cut. The Luna scenes (which I had already written and may need to re-write due to plot things) will make it into next chapter as we explore a new arc of stories for her.

Also some Board of Governor (sorry - all B.O.G scenes) were not included in Ch37 due to the main action being in Ivy Woods. They also had a power outage when Callisto wrecked the place, so technically it's plausible that they're not around.

TBA's scene was also shortened.

But you'll like what you see!

Chapter Thirty-Seven
[size=3]Callisto Thunder

In Ivy Woods there was an odd quiet. Even the trees appeared to rustle their leaves discreetly, for fear of awakening something sinister. The six people, consisting of The Missing Link, Razor Leaf, Elec Man, Chris 2.0, Aragornbird and Callisto Thunder all began to branch out.

“Chris, Liang, find that bunker,” Becca said firmly. Chris nodded and led Liang away. She turned to Callisto. “We’re going on through the forest and waiting for Ecks. Dan, Nate, stay hidden. Keep Pokemon out.”

Nodding, the two also disappeared amongst the bushes as Becca tightened her grip on Callisto’s arm, steering her on through the foliage. Becca’s Alakazam and Charizard were out, Alakazam having provided a safeguard for the two as they went.

“You don’t have to hold me so tightly,” Callisto spat.

“Just shut up,” snarled her captor. “And we’ll get you reunited with your son.”

“If Ecks hasn’t killed him already,” Callisto said.

“You really think he’s capable of killing his own son?” asked Becca, skepticism over her face. Callisto gave a nod.

“Ecks has always been detached from Gregg,” she said. “He’s tried compensating…making up for lost time, but the boy’s quite closed off towards his father.”

As she said this there was a rustling. Looking to the left, Becca saw the bushes shake and quiver. She clicked her fingers.

“Nightshade, foresight to detect it,” she said firmly. Alakazam used its spoons and managed to peel the bushes away. There was nothing there. Staring at the spot for a moment, Becca was caught off guard when a barrage of sludgy pellets slammed into her back. She turned to see a Vileplume standing there.

“Ceres,” Callisto whispered softly. “One of Ecks’ finest.”

“Nightshade, psybeam,” Becca said firmly. Alakazam leapt up and blasted the rainbow beam of transcending light. It smashed into Ceres, driving her back firmly, but she held on; after the attack she leapt to the left, unleashing a swirling cannon of sharp petals.

“Nightshade slam it with psychic,” added Becca. A force was soon surrounding Ceres. She was lifted off the ground, eyes darting all over in fear as she got higher and higher, Alakazam watching as he focused intently. Callisto gave a quick smile just as a shadowy fist slammed into the Alakazam’s back. Losing his concentration Nightshade dropped Ceres, who landed awkwardly and blasted a stun spore through the woods. Luckily Becca and Callisto were protected by the safeguard. Ecks’ Gengar, Pluto, emerged from the shadows and joined Ceres.

“Pluto,” Callisto said.

“Drake, help Nightshade,” Becca said firmly. Her Charizard’s mouth brimmed with flame and ember; a stream of heat jetted out and struck Vileplume as Gengar swept through the air to hurt Alakazam.

“He’s sent his 12 strongest Pokemon out into the woods,” Callisto said. “And they are very strong indeed.”

“Nightshade use another psybeam at Gengar,” commanded Becca. “Drake! Fire spin!”

As this went on, and Gengar groaned under the pressure of a frantic beam of energy, Vileplume leapt away from a spinning vortex of flame. Callisto, no longer in Becca’s grasp, slinked to the side of the moderator when a bolt of lightening struck her feet. She leapt back as Elec Man emerged from the shadows, a squat Electabuzz at his side.

“Thinking of running away?” he sneered. Becca saw this and smiled, battling on. After she subdued Vileplume enough she then attacked Gengar with more flames and psychic blasts. Once she felt that the specter was sufficiently fatigued she recalled Charizard, grabbed Callisto and ran on through the woods. Elec Man and Razor Leaf followed.

“Ecks obviously planned an ambush,” Becca panted. “And if he has 12 of them we were literally standing on a target.”

“He’ll probably be down in the Bunker,” Elec Man said.

“Come on – let’s catch up to Chris and Liang,” Becca said. As she said this she felt a sharp pain in her ribs; Callisto elbowed her and struggled from her grip. At once, Razor Leaf and Elec Man’s Pokemon were ready; Razor Leaf’s Solrock emerged in a flash, aided by Elec Man’s Glalie. They fired off a stream of fire and a jet of water respectively, but Callisto had leapt into the overgrowth and ran.

“Psychic,” Razor Leaf hissed. “Locate her!”

As psychic energy rustled the bushes and the leaves were stripped from the branches but Callisto had disappeared. Razor Leaf ran off the path into the overgrowth and Becca followed cautiously. They looked around but the woman had just….vanished.

“She’s gone!” Becca snapped.

“We need to get her back,” Razor Leaf snapped. “We need our bargain chip to get hold of Ecks.”

“Come on Nate,” Becca said, turning round. As she did, she saw an empty spot where Elec Man had previously been. He wasn’t to be found. “Nate?”

“Where the hell is he?” snapped Razor Leaf. A shocked expression crept upon Becca’s face.

“They’ve got him.”

*

“So sorry,” came a gasp. “So sorry.”

“It’s fine, honestly,” said The Blue Avenger mildly. He was standing with a displeased Brandon in a forest clearing which looked much more pleasant than Ivy Woods. They faced a rocky wall. They were in fact at the foot of Trolgar Mountain, and were about to access the archives.

Scott bustled towards them, looking exhausted.

“I got called to the Battle Arena,” he explained. “Important business, you understand.”

“Seriously, don’t sweat,” said The Blue Avenger. “Anyway…we’re here. The archives.”

“Good-o,” Scott replied, mopping his brow. “All we want is to look at some of Razor Leaf’s previous battles. If that’s ok?”

“Yea,” replied the Head of Archives. The Blue Avenger walked through the clearing to the side of the mountain, where a metal set of double-doors were embedded into the rock. There was a small keypad next to it. The Blue Avenger began tapping something into it.

“The archives are pretty secret,” The Blue Avenger explained. “Only moderators can access it from down here. Normally you’d have to scale Trolgar Mountain and get in that way. And that takes like…a few hours. So nobody bothers.”

“So it’s quite an exclusive place?” Brandon asked. As the metal doors slid open they were greeted by a long, metal corridor. Lights on the ground flickered on two at a time, guiding the way forward. The Blue Avenger led the way.

“Oh yes, very exclusive,” he said knowingly. As they approached the next two doors they parted. Charles Legend wandered out aimlessly.

“Oh hey there TBA,” he said conversationally. “Hi fat man! Hello Pyramadrid King Brandon.”

“Uh…” murmured Brandon, looking slightly confused. Scott was alarmed at being called ‘fat man’. Charles whistled an elusive tune as he wandered out.

“Exclusive?” Scott wondered.

“He….must have just snuck in,” said The Blue Avenger, looking thoroughly embarrassed. As they arrived on the ground floor of the Archives, a multitude of people were seen mulling around.

“HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU PEOPLE GET IN HERE? IT’S PASSWORD PROTECTED! PASSWORD PROTECTED GODDAMNIT! DO YOU KNOW HOW HAPPY I FELT TO HAVE A PASSWORD INTO THIS METALLIC GOLDMINE OF SECRETS! I FELT SO SO GOOD ABOUT MYSELF! AAARRGGH!”

Roaring, The Blue Avenger threw himself to the floor screaming. Some of the people looking around shrugged. They all had stickers on their chest. A man seemed to be leading them around.

“Folks, don’t worry! That’s just our resident Archive Moderator The Blue Avenger! Say hi guys!”

“Hi, Blue Avenger!”

“Erm…” Scott murmured. He hadn’t even had the time to take in the lavish furnishings of the Archive, which was all encased within Trolgar Mountain. The only source was lanterns, chandeliers and lamps; they emitted an orange glow around the gigantic, spacious complex. Each floor was rather like a library in that there were shelves, but instead of books all these were DVDs. These DVDs contained all the archived matches in TPML (in other words, ‘official’ matches). The large, curved staircase lead up to the other floors, with a beautiful red carpet atop. The floor was highly polished wood-panel, giving the entire place a luxurious feel.

“Here’s the Directory,” Brandon noticed.

DIRECTORY
YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON FOOR -5

ENTRANCE/EXIT: GROUND FLOOR
YEAR 2005: FLOOR -1
YEAR 2004: FLOOR -2
YEAR 2003: FLOOR -3
YEAR 2002: FLOOR -4
YEAR 2001: FLOOR -5

PLEASE NOTE EACH YEAR BATTLES, CATCHES, LEAGUE MATCHES AND COMPETITIONS ARE ADDED TO THE ARCHIVE. THE ARCHIVE KEEPS 5 PREVIOUS YEARS OF TPML RELATED NEWS, AND NO MORE. ONCE A YEAR IS CLEARED FROM THE ARCHIVE IT IS CLEARED.

“We should look at more recent matches,” Scott said, thinking. “Come, Brandon.”

And together, they made their way to Floor -2. The Tour Group was shown around the Archives, and The Blue Avenger melded on the floor, moaning in torture.

*

In the darkness of the deepest part of the woods, Callisto Thunder stayed perfectly still, hand clamped over Elec Man’s mouth. She had already given the 19-year old veteran many scratches, slashes and bruises from attacking him. She had sent a message to her husband on her phone.

“They’re going away…” she whispered. “They must have thought you’ve gone ahead.”

She was referring to Razor Leaf and The Missing Link, who she had taken Elec Man away from. They had headed onwards, Razor Leaf’s Solrock with them. Becca’s Pokemon also followed. Callisto threw Elec Man to the ground. Nearby, Gengar and Vileplume arrived next to Callisto.

“Good work Pluto, Ceres,” she said, smiling. Pluto was holding two Pokeballs in his purple hand. There was a note attached. Callisto read it as both the Pokemon, looking slightly worn out, watched Elec Man dangerously. He dared not move.

Callisto,
Take these with you – you might need them – Ecks.

“Get back in your balls,” she ordered, recalling the two Pokemon. They needed some of their strength back. As she said this she received a message on her phone. It was from Ecks.

Hermes is on his way. He is bringing you to me. Just kill the spare and go.

Callisto slipped her phone into her pocket and her gaze traveled to Elec Man. She grabbed him by his shoulders and gave him a kick in the stomach. He gave a groan and fell to the ground as Callisto slashed and punched at his limp body.

“You know,” she growled, helping him up and slamming his back into a thick, gnarled tree trunk. “My husband wants me to kill you.”

Eyes wide, Elec Man gave a shudder. Callisto twisted his arm, smirking and, seeing something overhead, pushed him to the ground another time. He looked up as a high-heeled kick cracked his nose. In the sky, a Pidgeot was seen swooping down towards them.

“Just be glad I’m not going to. I can’t afford a black mark on my record. You’ll die…but it won’t be me that did the deed.”

She turned as the large, majestic bird Pokemon landed on the rough dirt of the dark forest clearing.

“Hermes,” said Callisto soothingly. Hermes had a Pokeball around its neck, so Callisto assumed this was hers to battle with, too. She clambered onto her Pokemon and gave it an affectionate stroke. Beating its wings, Hermes the Pidgeot clambered up into the air, blasting debris from all around into Elec Man’s face. And in no time, Callisto Thunder was off, flying up into the sky and sweeping over the treetops of the forest.

*

Ecks, meanwhile, was sitting on a large rock in a very open, wide clearing of the forest. Unlike the one that his wife had just left, this was bright and refreshing; beams of sunlight penetrated the canopy of leaves and struck his frame. A Gardevoir was at his side.

“Juno,” Ecks whispered. “You may leave me now. You are needed elsewhere.”

The Gardevoir gave a doleful nod, swept her hair from her eyes and in an instant was gone. Ecks looked around the empty clearing as if he were simply waiting for the bus. Something rustled in the treetops.

“Where are you, Liang?” Ecks asked himself, giving a soft laugh. “After all this…our cat and mouse game that has spanned so long, you do not wish to meet me one last time?”

He suddenly got a message on his phone.

Liang is going to the Bunker with Chris 2.0. TML following me in the sky. Callisto.

Ecks’ eyes widened. Chris 2.0? The Bunker? He had not expected the boy to be in the entourage. He thought back to watching the surveillance from the village square…and seeing both The Arbiter and Amy Wolfsong bid goodbye to The Missing Link, Razor Leaf, Aragornbird and Elec Man. When had Chris 2.0 emerged? And the Bunker…the place he thought nobody else knew about. He did, of course, know that Chris was aware of it – the boy had rescued his girlfriend from it. But had Ecks known about the excursion to the Bunker, he would have prepared for it.

With a leap, he jumped off his rock and gripped three Pokeballs, hurling them forward. One burst forward and revealed a purple, slender shape. A long, thick, powerful body with a colourful hood and small head. Big, shining fangs.

“Artemis,” Ecks said to the Arbok. “Callisto and Hermes are coming here. The Missing Link (and possibly Razor Leaf) will follow. Attack both and don’t be afraid to kill.”

Another morphing, white light took form of a hulking great form. Big and round, rocky and heavy, a Golem flexed its arms and stared up at its trainer. Ecks smirked.

“Venus, Mars, do likewise.”

He was talking to the Golem and the Arcanine that emerged by Artemis. The three nodded and waited there. Ecks then grabbed another Pokeball and sent out his beautiful Altaria, who took to the skies.

“Apollo, heal your allies when they are weak. Be invisible.”

And with that, he dashed off to the Bunker to find Aragornbird and Chris 2.0. As he did, a beam of energy was blasted down from the trees. It narrowly avoided Ecks, who ignored the attack by a figure sitting in the trees, shielded from view.

*

Meanwhile Liang and I were walking through the forest. We were heading straight to the bunker that was set into the cave complex; here we were going to snoop around for Ecks.

I knew the way well; incidentally my meeting with everyone late at night (and feeding them information about the Bunker) had boosted my ego to the max. I felt good. Unfortunately, being in this forest always made me feel glum. I remembered my rescue mission to get Jenny back.

“Ecks is not expecting us,” I said.

“This is it,” Liang said triumphantly. “We’re going to stop this man.”

“You don’t know that,” I warned him. “He is a difficult man.”

“I think I know him better than you,” Liang replied, sounding offended. He sighed. “Remember when we came through this forest together, just after I had been moderated?”

“We saw the ‘monster’,” I said, laughing and thinking about the song of the same name. “Shielded in mist…walking across the water towards us…”

“And all that time I had planned it just to scare you,” Liang said. “And all that time Ecks was under that lake, planning a way to silence Amy Wolfsong.”

As we reminisced, I realised just how much had gone on. The three old bankers – Amy, Liang and Liang’s brother, Henry (whom I had never had the chance to meet). The latter two had discovered Ecks’ deeds of stealing so much money from Gordon of the Board of Governors. Henry had left TPML but Liang was framed for the crime, and to keep the truth from leaking out, became the puppet that Ecks used to orchestrate everything. Thinking Amy was also in the know, Ecks had her kidnapped, under the lake, and interrogated for everything she knew.

And since then, a lot really has changed. Becca went down the lake to find Amy; she emerged, having defeated Aragornbird, and took Amy back to The Pokemon Masters League. At that time Liang, who knew the way out which wasn’t through the lake, had been forced to kill his brother Henry, who had returned to the village.

Cocoa Sting, Board of Governors member, had been drafted in to replace Becca and was ruling with an iron fist. Aragornbird soon threw off Ecks’ hold and prepared to kill him; unfortunately he ended up being taken prisoner in the heart of The Old Village – the place where Razor Leaf had given birth to The Antibodies, a society of people against Cocoa’s regime.

When Razor Leaf realised that this was not working, he handed leadership to someone whom he did not want to take the fall; he chose an unsuspected Ecks, who turned the group into an army of people that attacked the village one night.

Lives have been taken, friendships tested and everybody had suffered in one way or another. As Liang joked, however, I began to wonder if he was in fact on our side. Was he really with us? Or was he going to reunite with Ecks and help defeat everybody?

Thankful that I read Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince that night, I wondered about Liang’s true alliance (and laughed at the irony of the blatant plagiarism from Professor Snape’s predicament). He had been villain…he was friend…but was he going to turn again?

My thoughts were interrupted. A beam of orange energy hurtled down from the sky and smashed into the ground. I was hurled back, slamming into the earth as a large Pidgeot descended, firing off large, golden stars that shredded into the trees and overgrowth as they honed on towards us.

“Callisto!” Liang cried.

“Hey!” I snapped. I grabbed a Pokeball. “Liang! Go on to the Bunker!”

What was I thinking?

“A-Actually I’ll go,” I said hurriedly. “I know it better…”

“We’ll both stay,” Liang said firmly. “And then we’ll both go.”

“Hermes! Whirlwind!” Callisto cried, still on the back of her Pokemon. A huge wind picked up; I hurled my Pokeball forward and it burst open, but the wind carried it back so that my newly captured Vibrava was ploughed right into my face.

“Fight that wind!” I snapped, unsure of what the hell it could do. Vibrava gave a nod, tucking her wings into her body and shooting forward like some skeletal javelin. Vibrava managed to sweep around Pidgeot and unleash a column of silver wind. The glittering attack smashed into Callisto’s back and hurled her to the ground.

“Keep it up!” I shouted, as Callisto unleashed a Gengar and a Vileplume. “Silver wind again!”

My eyes widened suddenly as Gengar emerged. One of my hands subconsciously brushed down my neck, feeling the violet burns all down the side where that same ghost had wounded me. The reunion at Hanada Gym. More memories swirled around my head.

“Pluto, Will-O-Wisp! Ceres, use a stun spore and Hermes, whirlwind!”

Unfortunately I knew biology. Liang did, too. When flames met toxic dust they often burst into life; the purple flames ignited the yellowed powder and as it was spread across in a deadly gale, soon both Liang and I found ourselves facing a sweeping wind of purple fire.

“Fight back, Vibrava!” I cried. Her whirlwind was nowhere near as strong as Pidgeot’s. Liang gripped a Pokeball of his own and unleashed it; the light burst forth and revealed the gigantic ‘monster’ we had talked of before. Dragonite. Looking roughly eight or nine feet in height, it towered above us all, looking big even for a Dragonite.

“Go!” Liang said, as we watched in awe. The behemoth unleashed a blistering tornado of frosted wind; the blizzard was blasted through the air and smashed right into Vileplume, dealing excellent damage. Pluto unleashed flames to protect Hermes and Callisto, but met a lot of the attack himself.

“Hermes!” Callisto said shrilly, recalling both Ceres and Pluto. “Come!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Liang growled, readying himself to clamber onto Dragonite.

“No need.”

Suddenly there was an orange blur; looking, I saw The Missing Link sweeping through the woods on her Charizard, Drake. Callisto was on the treetops now and flying away. Drake curved upwards, roaring magnificently and giving chase.

“Becca!” I shouted. We both received messages on our VS Seekers.

From: The Missing Link
Status so far. Callisto got away from us. Elec Man has disappeared – we think Ecks has him, too. I went after Callisto on Charizard once we saw him. Razor Leaf is following on foot. Get to the Bunker A.S.A.P. This needs to end tonight.

“You heard the lady,” I said, smiling and putting my VS Seeker away. Liang recalled his Dragonite, and instead released a rather ugly looking Dodrio. The large Pokemon looked like an ostrich, but brown in colour and with three heads atop thin, craning necks. One head looked calm, but the other two (the ones on the ends) looked agitated. Staring in awe, I gave a cry as one head nipped my arm.

“Hey!”

“Dragonite tires quickly,” Liang said. “When I trained under Ecks we did a lot of work on Dragonite – even trying some extreme chemically induced diets. Dragonite is one of the biggest in the world, but he tires so easily. He’s getting old, too. So I use him less and less.”

“You scared the life out of Callisto with that Blizzard attack,” I said, smirking. Another Dodrio head pecked my arm. “I didn’t do anything that time!”

“They’re pretty irritable,” Liang said.

“Yea,” I agreed. I received another peck – “He said it! I just agreed!”

We walked on. Vibrava flew alongside me and Dodrio trotted amicably by Liang. Liang explained his Dodrio was a good Pokemon for land battles as it had the ability to jump and soar. Its speed was phenomenal. I knew that, because during our talk, I was pecked three more times without even realizing.

*

Meanwhile, Grey and Amy had just received a call from the Hospital. Cocoa Sting was out of surgery and stable. They called her as soon as they could, before The Board of Governors got to her and asked about the shooting.

“Grey?” Cocoa asked wearily.

“Yes Cocoa, it’s me,” Grey said. “Amy is also on the line.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “I’ve barely woken up Grey.”

“We need to speak to you urgently, regarding the incident in New York,” Grey went on.

“I thought you might,” Cocoa said, sounding amused. “I know you didn’t intend to shoot me. I saw Callisto had thrown herself out of the way. It was an accident.”

“The Board is not aware what has happened, but with your shooting and Callisto’s disappearance I am expecting them to come to the conclusion it was her.”

“They will no doubt think that,” Cocoa said. “But there is a problem. As I had let you into the Board, I was monitoring everything on my computer. That is why I rushed down when I saw you brandishing a gun. That video is on my computer at the Board.”

“We need to delete it,” Grey said.

“We don’t need to!” Amy said. “I just got a message from V.A Corporations. They’ve apologized for the inconvenience but ‘The Board of Governors has been rendered immobile by a power failure. We are fixing the problem now and The Board will be able to get back to you soon.’. It explains that there has been a surge of power and the entire placed has shut down.”

“So all our work will be gone,” Cocoa said, thinking.

“They can retrieve it, though,” Grey said, musing. “If V.A is the best at computer management.”

“It’s the same as what happened at your Bank,” Cocoa explained. “Anything from the last day – or last few hours – will be gone forever.”

Happy that they might get out of this ok, Grey and Amy thanked Cocoa and let her get some rest. Grey, walking to the window, stared out at the distant tops of Ivy Woods.

“I wonder how they’re doing,” he said.

“They will bring this man to justice,” Amy said firmly.

Chris 2.1

29th December 2006, 07:22 PM

We were here. We broke through the woods and emerged at the scene of Ivy Lake, teetering on the edge of the bank and staring across the immense vastness – surprisingly, given the rainfall some of the lake had begun to fill up again; little puddles here and there. We stared down the immense chasm that was the bottom of the lake. It truly was enormous.

Quickly wandering around the bank we found the Bunker. Embedded into the side of the mountain at a forty-five-degree angle, we saw the name ‘Cronus Industries’ stamped on the front.

“Cronus industries?” Liang asked.

“What?” I asked. “It’s just a name.”

“They were absorbed by the Board of Governors years ago,” Liang said, thinking. “The owner, Virgil Cronus, was supposed to be a member of the Board, but he just disappeared. When the company was in disarray some time later, it was absorbed by the Board and became an undercompany.”

“Undercompany?”

“A company that works under the Board. They have media outlets that deal with complaints and press association, the best concept and design people that help promote what they do; there’s V.A Corporations, the people behind all the technology at the Board…and they all have sectors in the Board of Governors building.”

“Right,” I replied, feeling really uninterested. Liang and I opened the doors of the bunker (the handles that Jenny’s Marshtomp had ripped off were replaced, oddly) and looked into the vast darkness below.

Liang recalled Dodrio and sent out a Hoothoot that perched on his arm. I recalled Vibrava and let out Electabuzz. Liang held the clock-like owl on his arm, which blinked in time with the soft clucks from his beak. Electabuzz seemed to have forgiven me for my argument with him at the Battle Arena.

Hoothoot blasted a red beam from his eyes, which shone down the gentle decline of steps towards the corridor we were to go down. Electabuzz also covered himself in a layer of fuzzing sparks to help light up the place. We went down, Liang following Electabuzz and I.

We stayed quiet, although Electabuzz sounded like a neon sign as he buzzed. As we got off the steps, we looked around. The door on the left, the door on the right. Interestingly enough there was no door on the left anymore; it had been ripped clean off. Liang took a look in, although I knew that wasn’t the way we wanted to go.

“It’s…empty,” he said, confused.

“What? I asked, recalling all of the pictures of Jenny and I that had previously adorned these walls. There was nothing. All paper; notes, transcripts, pictures, clues ripped from the walls and discarded, leaving white patches where they had been. Curious.

“We need to go this way,” I reminded Aragornbird. The yellow and red light emitted frm each of our Pokemon made this place creepier than it should be. We took the right door, Liang closing it behind us as we walked down a long, thin corridor towards the spiral staircase.

“You’re sure this is the way?” Liang hissed. I did not reply; instead, Electabuzz blasted lightening to destroy a camera watching us from the corner of the ceiling. That had definitely not been here before.

As the light overhead buzzed, so did Electabuzz; Hoothoot’s red beams searched the room, creating shadows of the smallest things. Indeed, the debris of the once alert camera was now on the floor, shattered, and when the red light hit it we were met with a sight quite scary.

Down the curved steps we went, out trainers clanking against the surface. Electabuzz found some difficulty in managing stairs. We got to the bottom, Liang behind me, and faced the door leading to the final chamber. It was locked twice, this time. Locks were no problem.

“Cross Chop,” I said firmly, remembering when Electabuzz learnt this from Mankey. The locks shattered and the door broken slightly; we opened it and arrived in the two connected rooms.

“Here we are,” Liang gasped. The main room was how I remembered it; monitors on the walls, some in colour and some in black and white. I saw the interior of the Rules Tower office; Grey and Amy were talking, but I could not hear them. The screen showing my house had been smashed (by me) but the other images showed the main square (in various angles) and BT Street. The thin corridor to the next section of the room lay ahead.

We walked on. Electabuzz stopped buzzing since there was ample (although very little) light in here. Hoothoot stopped shining light from its eyes. Through the darkened passage we went, until we found ourselves in the second section of the room.

And there, bearing itself before us was the Iron Maiden. And from the rapt breathing within, I knew already someone else was inside. The sleek, ivory-white iron lady bore itself at us, with two padlocks over the front this time.

“Someone’s in that thing?” Liang asked, mortified.

“I think so,” I replied. “Should we open it?”

“I don’t know,” Liang said, looking tense. “It might be a trap.”

“Electabuzz, snap the lock off,” I said firmly. My Pokemon walked to the maiden but before he reached it, there was a sudden whooshing noise. Something white merged from the darkness and struck Electabuzz with a shadow ball. Clutching his chest he staggered back, and both Liang and I deciphered the foe.

“Juno,” Liang said.

“What?”

“That’s Ecks’ Gardevoir,” Liang said hastily. “Juno. She’s very strong. He obviously has her here as a mode of self defense.”

“We can take her on,” I said firmly. “Electabuzz, thunderbolt!”

A quick, derisive bolt of lightening was swept from Electabuzz; it crackled and flashed but Juno flicked her hand lazily; the attack slammed instead into the Maiden, causing the person within to scream. The tall, billowing Pokemon then began drawing a square with her hands; a blue energy formed the lines and, when she placed both hands to her temples, the square enlarged and surrounded both myself and Electabuzz. A blue light flooded the area within the square. I could not move.

“That’s Imprison!” Liang said, having leapt out of the way. He threw a Pokeball forward and released a Sceptile; it was an apple green with a bold red stripe and looked threatening. It was, like Dragonite, larger than a normal species (I was comparing with Knight of Time’s Sceptile, although I had found his crimson-coloured one much cooler). Sceptile raced at Gardevoir and managed to successfully deal a leaf blade attack, slashing across the beautiful creature’s chest.

“Imprison is an incredibly powerful psychic attack, and it requires a lot of concentration to subconsciously ensnare people. Gardevoir is at its weakest,” Liang explained. I simply stood there, feet planted firmly to the ground. “Sceptile! Iron Tail!”

The large Pokemon leapt up and the fern-like tail shimmered silver. As Sceptile swung it down Gardevoir waltzed back, swirling out of the way and conjuring up a Will-O-Wisp attack, hurling the ghostly cannonball of flame at the grass Pokemon. Hit, Sceptile fell from mid-air and collapsed into the earth.

Gardevoir gave a soft, wavering cry and swept forward, charging up the liquid umbra of a shadow ball. Hurling it forward, the contained sphere crackled and fizzed; Sceptile, despite standing quickly, slammed the orb with his thick tail and it began to burst. Jets of shadow scattered around the room; I felt myself get smashed in the torso from a stray fracture of the attack; Gardevoir suffered a similar fate. I felt the Imprison weaken slightly.

“Electabuzz, try using a thunderbolt around your body,” I said firmly. My Pokemon covered himself in the shield of sparks; however they soon were focused away from his body and into the horizontal plane before us. Electabuzz gave a loud shout of anger and brimmed with energy.

“Liang, defeat that Pokemon so I can get out!” I shouted, wary of what was going on. I knew Dusclops could wipe the floor with this snotty Pokemon and wanted out as soon as I could. As the thought strayed my mind, I told myself that by the time I was free of the attack, Gardevoir would have had to have been defeated. Being imprisoned sucked.

“Sceptile use another leaf blade!” Liang shouted. His Pokemon raced across the dim room. I watched, stuck, as something hammered from within the Iron Maiden. Gardevoir was slashed across the chest; she gave a soft gasp as she staggered back, glowing an odd, blue colour. Sceptile, meanwhile, kept up the assault; charging each blade as the last died, he dealt a massive, continuous slew of blades to the foe’s body. Liang clenched a fist in happiness. Gardevoir flashed and disappeared completely.

“She’s gone!” I cried.

“Good work, Sceptile,” Liang said proudly. Sceptile bent over, gasping for breath.

“That was great,” I said. “But…Liang…”

Something wasn’t right. I still couldn’t move my body, and the layer of imprisoning energy still kept me from feeling below my legs. A look of horror crept upon Liang’s face…

There was a sweeping song; Liang was hurled through the air and slammed onto the hard floor, groaning as he landed on his arm. A blue aura materialized and Juno the Gardevoir appeared again, a gigantic, chair-sized ball of blue flame above her. In a moment, the ball smashed right into Sceptile and hurled him forward into the Iron Maiden, where a boy’s cry echoed through the minute holes on the front. Liang struggled to break free as the flames died on the concrete floor; I felt my arms throb with vigor.

“Liang! This field is loosening!” I shouted, instantly reaching for a Pokeball. Juno turned, eyes blazing with passion as power surged through her body. Instantly my body tightened; arms pinned to my side, my hand had frozen as it pushed a button on my Pokeball. Dusclops materialized, his red eye scanning around. As Juno spent more of her energy keeping me and Electabuzz still, Liang lay injured on the floor, Sceptile scorched and sore.

“Dusclops!” I shouted, glad to see the beast for once. Flashes of Greta appeared before me, and the fury at my loss strengthened my spirit. Despite her words, I felt as if this was right. Dusclops and I…this was good. “Nightshade!”

A low bellow filled the air and the arrow of purple energy was projected from Dusclops’ pale hands. Gardevoir was hit; as she staggered back Dusclops phased into the atmosphere and emerged from behind, slamming a shadow punch into the beautiful, graceful psychic Pokemon’s neck.

As she gave a soft, beautiful cry of pain, Gardevoir turned. Dusclops disappeared again, firing off a swift attack (that I never knew he had learned). Gardevoir swung her thin arms, trying to deflect the stars but they homed on, zooming around before striking their target as they span like wheels.

“Good! GOOD!” I cried happily, as the blue imprison faded. Gardevoir turned, spinning her arms as they ignited with fire, but Dusclops was much further ahead. A proper fire punch emerged as red-hot fire burned from the fingertips of my Pokemon’s gray fingers. Drawing a fist back, the fire curled to a ball, and Dusclops smashed right into Gardevoir’s face with anger. A smile found its way on my face. My ghost glowed purple.

“Now!” came another shout – the force field was finally depleted and I leapt forward. “Frustration! Electabuzz, thunderbolt!”

With her last remaining strength, Gardevoir stood tall as a crackling javelin of sparks smashed into her frail body. Spinning back, dazed, she did not see the blood-red glow in Dusclops’ eye as it began enveloping his entire body. From those projectionist hands came a fantastic beam of pure energy, hatred and loathing. Golden flecks adorned the beam as it traveled, slamming into Juno and forcing her against the wall. White-hot, the beam burned deep; screams so human filled the air and a shiver went down my spine.

“Dusclops!” I said suddenly. “That’s enough!”

He obeyed, unwillingly, hovering to my side. Electabuzz watched darkly, and Liang remained on the ground in pain. Gardevoir was slumped against a corner, skin torn and bleeding. Her eyes were long and sad.

“Liang,” I said. “She’s down.”

But it wasn’t my words that provoked a reaction from Liang. A sound. A sound that filled the entire chamber. Footsteps. Clank, clank, constantly hammering against steps were those expensive shoes. They were slow – labored and relaxed. Powerful. And only one person would walk with such confidence, such swagger, at a time like this.

Ecks.

*

While beneath the earth there was panic in the bunker, there was an odd calm in the skies. That was before Callisto Thunder tore through mallowed clouds on the back of Hermes, a large, majestic Pidgeot that belonged to her husband.

“Swift.”

Opening his beak, Hermes cried his name as small rays of stars flew out. Spinning fast, they tore through the air, before sweeping up, arcing over and racing at something behind. Hermes remained focused.

The stars swept towards The Missing Link, gripping tightly onto her Charizard, Drake. With a hiss, Becca ordered the attack; Charizard unleashed a myriad of embers right at the projectiles, while sweeping to a sharp left in a bid to shake off the attack and also weave in front of Callisto.

“Drake,” she said firmly. Her mind was burning as she reached a difficult crossroad. Attack Callisto and injure her? She was no good to them dead – no good to anybody dead – and they needed her as much as Ecks did. Her other option was not attack (she feared fire was too deadly an attack) and leave herself open to attacks from the foe.

Suddenly the bird ahead jetted up; he reached into the clouds and Becca followed. As she did, she gripped Drake’s leathery neck tightly; the dragon was not as comfortable as she imagined a Pidgeot would be. Soon, however, Hermes dived down; the ascent was merely for the descent. Becca followed.

Unleashing a swift attack of his own, Drake slashed apart foliage and canopies to help land. Becca leapt from her Pokemon as their duel commenced on the ground. As she landed, she saw Pidgeot and Callisto right there. Charizard, almost reading her mind, blasted a slew of flames forward.

“Pluto!” Callisto shouted, her arm swinging back to unleash the Pokemon. A slightly healthier-looking Gengar swept at Charizard, who dodged by stepping with a wide berth. Suddenly there was a rip-roar; Razor Leaf gave a cry as he leapt through the overgrowth, his Mightyena by his side.

“Shadow Ball!” he shouted, as Charizard avoided another attack from the demonic Gengar. The charged up attack smashed into Pluto and he gave a groan; Callisto watched intently as Hermes kept far away. Gengar retaliated by racing at Drake a second time; Drake gasped as a ghostly smash rippled his insides. Staggering back, the dragon shouted in agony.

“Poison Stab,” Callisto smirked. “Poison is literally stabbed at the foe…but when you have a ghost Pokemon with you, they can use their natural phasing to stab within the body.”

Gengar avoided Mightyena’s rather weak-looking Shadow Ball and flew around the large clearing they were at.

“Your Charizard has been internally injected with a deadly venom that can be catastrophic to his health should the poison touch the exterior of the skin. Needless to say…he’s going to suffer.”

“Drake, I can return you,” Becca murmured. Her Charizard looked back at her, pale. The poison seemed to have taken effect very quickly. Charizard flapped up and exhaled a deep mouthful of smoldering fire; Pidgeot flapped with a big sweep of his wings and the flames were extinguished.

“You’re too weak,” Becca said firmly, grabbing a Pokeball. “Drake! Return. Lyra, go!”

The white light from the fresh Pokeball gave a sparkle as a lithe looking Pokemon emerged. It was Lyra, looking suiting alongside Mightyena, who was firing off a hyper beam and managing to deal good damage to Pidgeot. Absol raced forward, firing off a beam of pearly ice; Pluto took the attack bravely and grinned as a thin layer of frost managed to form over his torso.

“Now! Slash!”

Callisto just smirked, but there was something in her face that suggested she knew Becca was not that stupid. The blade of energy was thrown from Lyra’s head; it gained momentum and smashed into the ice medium on Gengar’s body; giving a shout, Gengar looked surprised at the power of the attack as he skidded back.

“Lyra, future sight,” Becca said firmly. Absol began to throb, predicting precognitions. Mightyena raced through the air at Pluto but he swept out the way; re-appearing behind the canine, he grabbed Mightyena and threw him back. Razor Leaf leapt out of the way.

“Did you not find Nate?” Becca hissed.

“Obviously not,” Razor Leaf snarled. “Noctowl and Solrock are searching the woods. Mightyena! Fire Fang!”

Pidgeot was soon irritated as Mightyena set his sights on him. Flying up, the bird tried evading; Mightyena leapt high and sank his fangs into Pidgeot’s leg. Eyes blazing ferociously, Mightyena conjured up flames in his mouth that were suddenly propelled up at Hermes, dealing impressive damage. The wolf let go, landing and leaping up again to smash Hermes with an iron tail.

“Great work,” replied his trainer. Just then, darts of energy erupted from Lyra’s body; they went everywhere, striking Pidgeot, Pluto and Callisto. Callisto was soon shielded by the large wings of her husbands Pokemon.

“Lyra! Ice Beam on Hermes!” cried Becca. Pidgeot turned and swept low along the large clearing; Lyra raced alongside, leaping up and around, firing off a fantastic beam of crystalline ice that met the flying type right in the face. Hermes was ploughed back and smashed into the earth; Lyra’s jump landed badly and she staggered in agony as she fell.

“Now Mightyena, finish up with hyper beam!” Razor Leaf said jubilantly. Sensing her means of transport may be defeated, Callisto Thunder grabbed a Pokeball and she recalled the Pokemon and her dignity. Leaping to the side, she avoided the orange beam smashing into a tree and splintering it beyond help. She got up, dusting herself down and addressing Pluto.

“Pluto! Screech then shadow ball!” she said.

“Lyra, shock wave!” shouted Becca.

“Mightyena, return,” Razor Leaf said, his Pokemon panting hard. At that moment, his Solrock and Noctowl emerged, both looking disheartened at the lack of Nate anywhere. Callisto watched as Gengar’s shadow ball was destroyed by the array of sparks cast by Becca’s Absol. Razor Leaf recalled Noctowl.

However, it seemed that things were beginning to heat up. There was a loud bang and from the bushes a large boulder rolled speedily towards the people; Becca jumped to the side as her Absol was smashed into; Razor Leaf had his Solrock fire off a psychic blast to subdue anything coming close.

The boulder leapt up and arms, legs and a tortoise-like head revealed itself. This was a Golem, looking very large, very heavy and very angry. Callisto smirked in satisfaction as a rattling hiss filled the air. There was a slow, heavy sliding.

“Venus is my dear husband’s Pokemon,” Callisto replied. “Venus! Take care of them for me.”

“One Golem doesn’t scare me,” Becca said, as her Absol leapt into action again, slashing blades of focused energy forward. The hissing got louder, the slithering longer…from the darkness and a dim, purple hood emerged…

Giving a hollow hiss, an Arbok, long and thick, reared its head just as Absol unleashed an attack. Darting forward, Arbok attacked Lyra; his long thick fangs sinking down on the flesh between the Absol’s ribs. Absol gave a disgusting cry as she was swung like a toy.

“Artemis is my dear husband’s Arbok,” Callisto continued, recalling Pluto. Razor Leaf had Solrock attack Arbok, who had since released a heavily bleeding Absol. Becca recalled her Pokemon as her eyes filled with tears. She unleashed the next choice for battle; Orion, her Scizor.

“Orion! Metal Claw on that Arbok,” Becca said in a murmur. The agile Pokemon swung clawed hands at the large snake, which had been rammed into hard by Solrock. Becca smiled; Golem leapt to attack Orion but Solrock soon intervened; Razor Leaf flashed a rare smile to his comrade.

“Mars! Do come and assist your allies,” Callisto said. A heavy galloping led the way for a gigantic, beautiful Arcanine to leap out and unleash a stream of sunset flames. They hit Orion right away and he was blown back, overwhelmed by the attack. As he recovered, he felt a strong hyper beam strike from Golem’s direction. Solrock was getting confused as Arbok slithered amongst the battle.

“We need more Pokemon!” Becca said frantically.

“Lunatone!” Razor Leaf called, sending out his other psychic Pokemon. Solrock and Lunatone, glowing together, circled Arcanine eerily as each charged a spiritual beam of power. Arcanine was trying to fire flames towards Orion, but the two Psychic Pokemon blocked the attacks with their still eyes.

“Apollo!” Callisto shouted. “Remember my husbands orders!”

She turned to leave. Both Becca and Daniel were too busy fighting off the strong Pokemon of Ecks to notice Callisto run away as fast as she could. Mars unleashed a whooshing jet of flame that smashed right into Orion; skidding back, clawed arms over his face, trying to protect his eyes. Flying up to the treetops, Orion unleashed a swirling vortex of silvery wind; the attack smashed right into Artemis the Arbok, who was about to strike Razor Leaf.

“This is getting deadly,” Becca sighed, as both Solrock and Lunatone circled Golem and fired off beams of energy. She grabbed another Pokeball. “Shade! I choose you!”

From the ball burst forth her large, hulking Venusaur. He gave a roar, the large, tropical plant rooted to his back shaking slightly. Warted skin tinged a dark hue; the Venusaur looked at the opponents, aided by Becca’s Scizor and Razor Leaf’s Solrock and Lunatone combo. They were now outnumbering Ecks’ three Pokemon.

“Shade! Vine Whip!” Becca cried. “Orion! Quick Claws.”

While two long, thick vines whipped out and lashed against the heavy Golem, Orion streaked through the air at impeccable speed, striking Arbok swiftly. As Arbok recovered, Solrock unleashed a barrage of flames, while Lunatone fired off a chilling beam of ice at Golem. Venusaur then fired off a strong gust of wind from the tip of his flower to help combat a stream of flames that Arcanine delivered.

Suddenly Solrock gave a sharp shout. A Golduck leapt from the overgrowth and delivered a stunning cross-chop to its rocky exterior. As it was sent reeling, the muscled duck blasted a heavy blast of water that forced Solrock into a tree. The Golduck landed delicately, staring down its beak at the enemy.

“Another of his slaves,” Becca groaned. “This is too much! I can’t orchestrate this many Pokemon separately.”

“Callisto has gone,” Razor Leaf said suddenly. “Becca! She’s gone!”

“We can’t go after her – these four Pokemon are in our way,” she said firmly, as her Venusaur unleashed a vast mass of sharp, spinning leaves. Golem began rolling around furiously, leaping over Arbok and striking Scizor, who retaliated with a skull bash.

“I’ll help,” came a voice. Staggering through the bushes was a surprise to both Becca and Razor Leaf – Elec Man, clothes torn, face scratched and blood seeping from his cheek staggered forward.

“Nate!” Becca cried. “What happened?”

“I’ll let you in on the specifics when we’ve sorted these Pokemon out,” he gasped, not meeting Razor Leaf’s eyes. He hurled two Pokeballs forward and released a slightly short Electabuzz and his Glalie. “Razor Leaf, catch up with Callisto.”

“Ok,” he replied sternly, heading off. As he ran, Arcanine leapt up at him ferociously, teeth snarling and eyes narrowed. Luckily a bolt of golden lightening shot up and pierced its body; the large canine dropped to the ground in pain as Razor Leaf saw Elec Man and Electabuzz.

“Go!” he shouted wearily. “Go!”

Razor Leaf gave a nod. As Lunatone and Solrock swirled around him he ran through the overgrowth as Golem, Golduck, Arbok and Arcanine were kept busy by The Missing Link and Elec Man. On he ran, leaping over shrubs and tearing his shirt on thorns. He saw the look of dedication on Elec Man’s face when he emerged from the bushes…hurt, worn, weak…but still fighting.

They could not go through this to have Callisto and Ecks get away. They could not

Ultimate Charizard

29th December 2006, 07:34 PM

Starting to tie up alot of loose ends i see. Chris has finally calmed down to some degree and its nice to see Ecks getting a little ruffled for once with an unforseen event.
Who's the mystery dude (or dudette) that attacked him though, and why would he just ignore the attack and keep going?

Chris 2.1

29th December 2006, 07:38 PM

Down in the bunker, all was quiet as the footsteps rung gently through the walls. Liang and I were both inched quite close to the large metal door, and in walking curiously to this part of the room, left the hammering figure inside the Iron Maiden in the back.

“Is it him?” I hissed.

“We won’t know,” Liang replied, stepping back and grabbing a Pokeball. “But we need to be prepared to attack.”

I nodded, sending out my Cacturne. He stood there menacingly, smirking with his dotted mouth and yellow, lamp-like eyes. A hand on his hip, Cacturne waited with us as the footsteps got louder and louder.

I retraced some steps and prepared myself as louder, thicker clunks echoed around us. They were near. I knew it. A trembling hand clenched into a fist and I forced it forward, addressing Cacturne.

“The moment that door opens –”

BANG.

In a blinding flash the door was ripped from its hinges; I felt myself soar up and back from a blast, eyes screwed up as I slammed into the ground. Sharp stings explained to me Cacturne had landed on me. Throwing him off, I got to my feet. Liang was against the wall, panting. Ecks stood there firmly with that humongous Electabuzz relative I had seen before.

“Well, well,” he said. “Zeus. Another Thunderbolt.”

Instead of releasing an electric charge, the giant Pokemon charged up sparks in his long, cable-like tails and molded them into large, glimmering lightening bolts. He hurled two through the air, which missed us barely but exploded in a shower of sparks.

“Cacturne! Needle Arm!” I cried. My Pokemon’s needles glowed a bright white as he swept off through the air, smirking. Zeus did not care; he unleashed a wide web of electricity that smashed into Cacturne before he came close to the yellow foe.

“Get back!” I cried.

“Fire Punch!” Ecks smirked. Flames popped into life, merged upon Zeus’ fist and were slammed hard into my Pokemon’s face. He skidded back, looking sour as he leapt up and away from harm, appearing again by my side.

“Snorlax!” cried Liang, holding his Pokeball high. Zeus fired off two more thunderbolts and they swept right into Liang. I watched in horror as suddenly the boy had an odd golden glow; sparks coursed through his veins and tortured his insides; the boy staggered back and fell to the floor, the Pokeball rolling out of reach.

“Liang!” I shouted, turning in haste.

“Your attention is here, Chris,” Ecks barked. “Zeus! Grab his cactus and let’s roast.”

“Cacturne! Faint Attack!” I cried. My Pokemon (luckily) evaded the claws of the large Pokemon and managed to slam a needle arm into his hairy back. Despite being hurt, Zeus’ tentacle-like tails ensnared my Pokemon and held him high above his head.

“Spikes – Set One!” I shouted, using our formation of the attack. Cacturne nodded and his needles glowed brightly, before extending a few inches and piercing Zeus’ hands and tail. This was one version – Cacturne being able to extend his own needles to spike-like proportions. The second set, Set Two, was where he released tack-like needles around to protect himself. Zeus gave a cry and let go of my Pokemon, who sped away before turning and leaping high.

“Needle X!” I shouted. Arms crossed, Cacturne’s needles glowed fiercely as he sped down through the air. Zeus blasted large orbs of electricity; Cacturne smashed them away and dealt a shocking blow to the beefy Pokemon’s body; staggering back, Zeus whipped around, his tails lashing Cacturne and knocking him out of the air. He landed against the ground.

“Zeus! Giga Impact,” Ecks snarled. Cacturne got up wearily, trying his best to win this bout. As he tried, the stripes on Zeus’ body flashed white; golden sparks shook into life and crept up Zeus’ body, tickling the hairs on his chest and enveloping him in a cocoon of frantic sparks. A white light bubbled from within…

“NOW!”

The beam, golden and glorious, bolted out of the cocoon and gathered speed, forming into a sharp arrow-head as it smashed right into my Cacturne. The sheer force of the attack ploughed into him, driving him back across the arena, where he smashed right into a computer console. The expelled sparks, so vivid, managed to short-circuit a lot of the surveillance screen.

“Cacturne!” I shouted, as he staggered away from the attack. “Return!”

Suddenly there was a cackle as my Pokemon became enveloped by the red beam. Long, needle-like pins abruptly fell from the ceiling; they clattered onto Ecks and drove themselves into his skin. He gave a scream, shutting his eyes and I realised that this retaliation seemed to be an early form of destiny bond, a powerful, ghost-type attack. The needles forced themselves into Ecks, where he collapsed to the ground and writhed in pain.

This was my chance.

I ran towards him angrily and drew a fist back. I guided it towards his tender stomach and smiled at the attack…before a sharp crack echoed through the room and the bones in my hand shattered beneath solid armor.

In pain, I staggered into the wall, resting at the desk where the screens were. My hand was wailing in pain as the bones were crushed. I pressed it to my chest. Suddenly I felt something long and sinewy. Two snake-like cables wrapped around my legs and body and I saw the demonic Zeus smirk as I was lifted above his head.

“I should have known you would come back here,” Ecks said coldly. There was no cocky smile, no smug look. He was furious. “You killed Morpheus. She was my Pokemon and you took her life away.”

“It’s not nice when people close to you fade away, is it?” I said calmly. “You’ve done the same to us. And if you were really spying on me, you’d know she committed suicide.”

“I remember the first time I met you,” Ecks recalled. “Weak. Scared. Not a leader at all. And you never will be.”

He clicked his fingers and turned away. What he did next was of great mystery to me; I felt hot, surging pain like nothing before and my body gave a spasm of shock. My body could not twist amongst Zeus’ tight grip; volts were pumped into my body and my hearing began to fade. Vision tightened and soon all was limp; I felt a sharp thud, a searing pain in my head, and my worries fade away.

*

Feeling worn from the battle, Razor Leaf was slowing down as he ran. Solrock and Lunatone followed in the air, keeping an eye out for Callisto. He was in a very overgrown part of the woods; it was considerably darker here. He instantly felt quite shocked at the fact he was alone…he was alone in this wood. He got out two Pokeballs and recalled both Solrock and Lunatone; they had done some feverous battling and would need rest. Razor Leaf then selected a different Pokemon; his Ariados. Nodding, the veteran sent his Pokemon scuttling off into the woods.

Eyes focused, raking across the trees ahead, Daniel did not allow time to relax. He could very much die, and he knew it. Both Ecks and Callisto were deadly, with guns and Pokemon, and he expected both ready to strike whenever he walked. However, soon his Ariados gave off a very subtle clicking of his pincers, and Razor Leaf knew the plan was set.

Ariados now by his side, Razor Leaf waited. Suddenly a bang echoed out through the woods and birds flew from the trees in panic; who had just fired a gun? And who had met the bullet? Frantic, Razor Leaf looked around, desperate for a sign. A rustle was ahead; Ariados clicked in confirmation and Razor Leaf’s suspicions were met. There was a figure leaping through the darkness, eyes wide in fear.

“Daniel!” he cried, running up to Razor Leaf. It was none other than Ultimate Charizard, his hair wavy and messed up; clothes torn and dirt on his face. “Dan!”

“It’s Razor Leaf,” he retorted. “What did you shoot at?”

“I didn’t shoot at anything!” he cried. “It’s Callisto! She’s here!”

“Keep running,” Razor Leaf said, thinking. “I’ll keep her away.”

“No!” Ultimate said firmly. “No. I’ll help stop her with you.”

“I don’t need you,” Razor Leaf replied angrily.

“She’s here,” Ultimate said firmly, as the bushes rustled again. Leaping out was Callisto Thunder and her husbands Vileplume. She landed, looked around hungrily and, upon spying Razor Leaf, drew a gun.

“String shot.”

A whipping silk thread snapped up the gun and flipped it up into the air. She watched, horrorstruck, and pointed at Razor Leaf.

“Ceres! Attack!”

“Scarlet, retaliate,” Razor Leaf said firmly. As the Vileplume blasted off sludge pellets, Ariados leapt into the trees, leaving behind a long web that managed to ensnare the attack. Vileplume gave a cry as Ariados appeared from behind, striking with a bite.

“Ceres!” Callisto snapped. “Stun Spore!”

A turret of thick pollen was blasted up from the little hole on Vileplume’s head. Scuttling back, Ariados increased the distance between the two and fired off a night shade. The jagged bolt of dark energy smashed into Ceres wildly. Callisto drew another Pokeball.

“I choose you,” she said, and from the light emerged a rather angry looking Mawile. Razor Leaf looked at the relatively small Pokemon and wondered what to expect. In no time the Pokemon raced through the air, showing particular agility and chomping hard at Ariados; the spider scuttled back as the extending maw of the flytrap Pokemon snapped and chomped.

“Ariados! Psybeam,” Razor Leaf hissed. He knew fine well a lot of Scarlet’s (his Ariados) poison attacks were useless against this steel type. The rainbow beam was blasted forward, striking Mawile and forcing her back across the forest floor. Shaking the damage off, Mawile looked sour; Ariados clicked in success before Vileplume leapt out of nowhere and blasted an array of exploding seeds upon Ariados.

“Help me out!” Razor Leaf snapped at Ultimate, who was standing there emptily. He gripped a Pokeball and curved his arm back, releasing a large, warm light that morphed and took shape into a humongous creature. It was a Blastoise of a dark blue hue; its shell, a chocolate brown, and it had two thick, steel cannons from its shoulders.

“Blastoise,” Ultimate said firmly.

“Good one,” Razor Leaf said sarcastically. “Scarlet! Use a string shot.”

“Blastoise, hydro pump!” Ultimate said, voice hoarse. Vileplume was running towards Blastoise, but Ariados unleashed a shot of thick, gooey string that ensnared the Pokemon’s body and restricted its movement. Meanwhile Mawile charged up energy in her jaws. Blastoise unleashed a furious jet of cold water that struck Mawile. The small Pokemon soared high into the air, landing awkwardly, soaking wet.

“So you’re not fighting on our side anymore, Gavin?” Callisto asked, a smirk on her face as Vileplume fired off a sweeping array of sharp leaves to help slash apart the string. Ultimate was quiet for a moment as Blastoise leapt forward into the mud to evade an attack.

“I was misled,” he said.

“Mislead,” Callisto repeated, humoring herself. “Ceres! Use a solarbeam. Mawile, use ice beam!”

Vileplume powered up and blasted a supercharged beam of white-hot solar energy. Blastoise leapt away in evasion and hit the ground, before aiming and blasting a jet of water towards the foe. Mawile, however, had leapt up and unleashed a fantastic beam of chilled ice that smashed right into the frail Ariados. Razor Leaf looked at his Pokemon, who was definitely weakening.

Most of his team was fatigued, hurt or unable to battle anymore, and he realised he had few choices left. Although he had a division of his team that were strong and big, he also had some Pokemon that were younger, weaker and not as trainer. He daren’t use any of them and instead got a Pokeball out.

“Ninjask!” he said. “GO!”

From the ball emerged the bug, flapping its wings at an alarming rate. Blastoise charged at Mawile and grabbed her, only to have Vileplume blast a sloppy ball of poison into his eyes.

“Blastoise, clear your eyes with some water,” encouraged Ultimate. “Dan! Lend a hand!”

Razor Leaf eyed Ultimate darkly.

“Ninjask! Quick Attack!” Razor Leaf shouted, his eyes now locked firmly on Ceres the Vileplume. Callisto’s Mawile fired an ice beam at Ninjask but he was too fast; the bug zipped around the forest with a soft whizzing noise. Scythe-like arms glowing bright, Ninjask unleashed a fury cutter at Ceres, screeching as he did so.

“Blastoise, body slam,” Ultimate said firmly. Blastoise leapt up at Mawile who was unprepared for the attack. There was a heavy crunch as the shelled water Pokemon bore itself down on the little Mawile, who had no chance of retaliating.

Ninjask swept around a bullet seed from Vileplume and dealt another fury cutter; again, the attack was meager in terms of damage but there was no denying the attack deepening in power. Callisto saw this, and recalled her Mawile as she sent out her little Magnemite.

“Again, Ninjask! Fury Cutter!” Razor Leaf shouted. An exhausted Vileplume staggered back as a third, slicing blow ripped at her beautiful petals. She blasted bomb-like seeds, but their aim was worsening and worsening. “Now! Finish with Scissor-Cross!”

As its thin arms glowed, they extended slightly, and the serrated tips crossed to form an X. The bug swept through the air, the force of the cross giving off sweeping wisps of energy as it charged. Vileplume staggered back, blasting sludge bombs through the air, but they failed to penetrate past the speeding bullet that was Ninjask.

In a searing swipe, Ninjask slashed across Vileplume and the portly Pokemon collapsed in exhaustion. Callisto recalled it reluctantly, her little Magnemite being the only one left. Razor Leaf stood there, Ninjask at his side. Ultimate and Blastoise also watched Callisto Thunder.

“That Ninjask is strong,” Callisto said calmly. Razor Leaf just nodded, but out the corner of his eye he saw Ultimate take a step forward. In a flash he leapt at Callisto to grab her; Magnemite popped up from beside her and delivered a jolt of electricity to cause Gavin to hit the floor in a wild spasm.

Razor Leaf moved forward; Ninjask stayed where he was but Razor Leaf walked towards his fallen comrade. Before he could react he felt a sudden ache in his gut; a figure ahead (was it Callisto?) kicked him in the stomach and he doubled over in pain. A chop to the back of the head caused him to keel over in agony. He heard a hiss; Ninjask seemed to try and apprehend the attacker but failed.

“Come, Vulcan!”

Razor Leaf screwed his eyes shut as pain flooded him all around. Ultimate got to his feet, looking at their surroundings.

“She’s getting away!”

Looking, Razor Leaf pulled himself up and saw the woman disappearing away ahead, with what seemed to be a Hitmonlee alongside her. His phone vibrated, signaling that there was a call coming in.

“Becca?” Razor Leaf asked.

“How did it go?” Becca asked.

“Good timing,” Razor Leaf grumbled. “She got away. The match went down to the wires…and a Hitmonlee chopped my neck. She’s gone.”

“Nate and I managed to take down the rest of those Pokemon,” Becca gasped. “Ecks has an Altaria, too – it flapped down and managed to heal his other Pokemon. Anyway we took them down, ran before they could regroup.”

“And where are you now?”

“We’re at the bunker. We can hear a lot of commotion downstairs. I think Chris and Liang are with Ecks.”

“Go and help him,” Razor Leaf said firmly. “I’ll make my way there, too.”

He ended the call, slipping his phone in his pocket and straightening up, bending and straightening a few times to get the feeling back in his sore stomach. Ultimate looked at him curiously.

“So what next?”

“I go,” Razor Leaf said, turning.

“I’ll help,” Ultimate said seriously. “You can’t deny I helped out against Callisto.”

“I also cannot deny you knocked out Spenser of the Frontier Brains and cleared the way for Ecks to attack,” came Razor Leaf’s response. He walked, but Ultimate was not done.

“Hey,” he cried angrily. “Look at me.”

Razor Leaf turned around. Ultimate had a serious, pained expression on his face.

“I want to stop this man just as much as you,” he said. “I helped him…but so did you. You gave him the Antibodies in the first place.”

And to this, Razor Leaf gave a soft, cold laugh. He raised his eyebrows and spoke his words softly, delicately, as if each was as important as the last.

“Is that…the best you can do?”

He turned away.

“Nice try, Gavin. Just leave this to us.”

*

Ecks looked at the fallen body of Chris 2.0 and smirked. From his holster he drew his gun, aiming it down at the body and taking aim. In a swoop, a Pidgeotto got in the way, talons clasping around it as two shots were fired inches from the boy’s hand. Pidgeotto hurled the gun to the floor.

“Zeus,” Ecks snarled. The beefy Pokemon clenched his fists and unleashed an arrow of lightening; it smashed right into the bird, who became ploughed against the wall, screaming in a tone so human.

Zeus gave a grin when a punch hit the back of his head with force. Liang was up; his Snorlax at his side, he looked furious as his large eating Pokemon socked Zeus exceptionally. Ecks looked sourly at Liang.

“Zeus, iron tail.”

The two cables shimmered in a silvery colour. Zeus leapt up heartily, swinging his tails around. They whipped into Snorlax’ stomach and he gave a disgruntled bark – his hands reached down and gripped around the Pokemon’s tails, slamming the electric Pokemon into the ground.

“Retalliate,” snapped Ecks, but before Zeus could even register the command Snorlax body slammed hard onto the foe, looking cross. He backed off after forcing his mass onto the striped Pokemon, but Zeus got up with gusto and slammed a punch into Snorlax’ gut. Not happy at all, Liang gave a nod to his Snorlax, who had turned to ask for some help in combating the bulky foe.

Snorlax stepped back as an orange glow took over his body. From his mouth, a wave of orange energy hurtled forth; it whooshed through the air with purpose and smashed right into Zeus, who screwed his eyes up in disgust as he was injured greatly. He managed to throw himself out the trajectory of the attack, before charging up an orb of sparks and hurling them at Snorlax. During this, Liang managed to pick up the gun his Pidgeotto had stolen.

“Take that!”

He fired two, three, four shots, but a blue aura enveloped them and they were reduced to a mere powder. From behind the Iron Maiden Gardevoir emerged, looking thoroughly worn but willing to fight for her master. In no time Ecks leapt at Liang, punching him in the face. Liang struggled manically, trying to throw the man off.

I awoke suddenly, blinking in quick succession as I tried to remember what had happened. I saw Liang stagger into the wall as Ecks dealt a punch to his face; I quickly grabbed a Pokeball and offered to help, noticing that a Snorlax and Ecks’ electric Pokemon were furiously brawling, too. Juno the Gardevoir, still apparently able to battle, was leaning against the Maiden.

“Magmar!” I shouted, hurling the ball forward. My fiery beast leapt out, eyes blazing as strongly as his tail. “Magmar, flamethrower at Gardevoir!”

He nodded, and the jet of flame burst from his beak-like mouth, curling yellows and reds to fuse beautiful oranges. The flames whooshed towards the skinny psychic Pokemon who held her arm out, glowing blue.

With a lazy flick, the flames jetted off to the side, where they struck the metal maiden and a boy screamed from within. I furrowed my brow, ordering the same attack. Gardevoir deflected that one, too, which swept towards Snorlax and did more damage than good.

“Focus, Magmar,” I said firmly. “That Pokemon is weak – it can’t deflect too easily.”

Magmar nodded and instead decided to take a different approach. He charged at Juno angrily, his fists ready to slam her with fire. As he ran, Juno watched, alarmed; she glowed blue and tried to possess Magmar. It wasn’t working, and the flames trailed from his fists down past his elbows as he got faster and faster. Gardevoir gave a crooning yell as she managed to pick Magmar up off the ground completely; she groaned and forced him away at an angle; Magmar slammed right into the back of the Iron Maiden and gave a long, aching sigh as he collapsed.

“Magmar!” I shouted. My eyes darted up to the enigmatic Iron Maiden; it teetered gently, the force from Magmar and the attacks during the entire brawl causing it to stagger. Magmar got out the way quickly. Liang tackled Ecks and he staggered backwards; Snorlax, in a dirty tactic, fired a swift attack at Ecks himself, who fell to the ground. As he did, his eyes saw the magnificent Iron Maiden fall down upon him.

There was a sickening snap and I knew Liang screwed his eyes up as tightly as me. I opened them wearily to see Ecks lying under the Iron Maiden, looking exhausted, scared and in agony. One of his legs was crushed entirely under the humongous iron coffin, while the other only partly so.

“Chris!” Liang cried. Zeus tackled Liang to the ground while expelling a surge of electricity.

“Magmar!” I shouted. “Fire spin at Zeus!”

But Magmar’s spinning vortex of flame was expelled by a still-weakening Gardevoir, horrified at the sight of her master struggling under an iron coffin. All she could do was watch as he writhed from underneath the beautiful woman carved into the front.

“Liang, we’re still outnumbered!” I shouted. “Magmar!”

But my attack was cut short when Magmar, Zeus, Snorlax and Gardevoir gave long shudders. Liang and I exchanged furtive looks as even the Pidgeotto on the ground gave a writhing screech. Figures entered the doorway to this two-part room – Becca, Elec Man and Becca’s Absol, Lyra.

Lyra was pulsating an odd colour and I wondered what was going on. Snrolax gave a groan and collapsed; Zeus panted, his hand to his heart as he leant against the wall. Magmar looked terrible; colour sapped from his face, he put his hand on mine and seemed to be pleading for something from me.

“Chris, Liang, recall your Pokemon,” Becca said softly. Her Absol was looking ill. “We heard a commotion outside when we were descending. Lyra has used a perish song.”

“All the Pokemon who heard it are feeling pretty weak now,” Elec Man said softly. “But the song is hard to hear if you are human.”

“Look at him,” Becca said, of Ecks.

“He’s ours,” Liang said firmly. I walked to the maiden and undid the latch on the front; opening it up, I saw a boy I recognized only too well. I helped Hanada Tattsu out of the large device, his father watching us.

“Chris!” he said, panting. He had a bruise above his eye where he had been hurt when the coffin fell. “Aragornbird…The Missing Link…”

“Gregg,” Becca said. “It’s ok.”

“Dad…” Gregg said, turning to look at his father. He had a strained expression on his face, looking in absolute agony. Gregg was still, almost unable to move. “You deserve this.”

“Yes,” Ecks said softly. “I expect I do.”

At that moment, Razor Leaf cautiously moved into the room. I saw him meet with Elec Man, and the two gave a surprising shake of hands as Elec Man explained everything to Razor Leaf.

“Well done,” Razor Leaf said to me. I just nodded, turning my gaze back to Gregg, who looked utterly lost. Becca was on the phone, presumably to Amy Wolfsong.

“Get in touch with the Board of Governors; let them know we have Ecks. They can’t send people to pick him up fast enough, so I want you to send security from here to lock him under the Rules Tower – use the cell. We need them fast. I’ll send a couple people up to the bunker so they can find us ok – the rest of us will stay here and keep all our eyes on this man until he is behind bars.”

And, as she talked, Becca eyed the man, struggling under the weight of the Iron Maiden. The vicious, ruthless killer had been stopped, but everyone in the room, from his young son to the rescue team, knew that he would do everything in his power to escape.

*

Meanwhile, in the darkest area of that same forest, a woman with sleek black hair was panting, crouched down low. A Hitmonlee and Magnemite were by her side. She listened carefully. There was no-one around.

She carefully took something from her pocket; it was an envelope creased and worn – her husbands Pidgeot, still residing in its Pokeball, had delivered this to her as well as the Pokeballs. Her eyes scanned the title.

‘Plan B’

And, opening it up, the woman began to read her husbands words, the darkness enveloping her as her eyes flicked across the page.

Next: Chapter Thirty-Eight - Factory Head Noland
As The Frontier Brains prepare to leave, Noland finds he has one last challanger. Luna is struck by a mysterious, enigmatic woman, while Razor Leaf is given a surprising offer from Scott.

Grey reaches out to Gregg in a bid to help the troubled boy, and Chris strives to evolve both Poliwhirl and Sneasel before the impending league. Meanwhile, as Callisto plots her next move, Ecks finds himself trapped inside his own head.

Thanks folks! Remember Silver Pencil nominations - if we deserve it, then say so!

Ultimate Charizard

29th December 2006, 08:00 PM

Looks like i posted too quick lol.
And im back!!! lol. (despite makin a basic error using a Water type against a grass lol)
As usual just as you think things are over you realise theres still one madman (or woman) lurking in the shadows and that whole note thingy makes it seem like Ecks planned his capture....(though probably not the crushed leg).
Chris, your storylines are more twisted than i am lol.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

31st December 2006, 04:45 AM

First thing I noticed is that Ecks gives mytholical names to his pokemon, just as myself. Interesting.

Then, as I am a total battle freak, I LOVED this chapter. Seriously, very well written Chris, a constant array of battles and moves, splendid! I just wanted to send out my whole UU squad and battle alongsides it! MiLG to the resque.

Anyway, keep up the good work, Ecks seems depressed, Callisto is bound to do something important, prehaps something very dangerous.

Still wondering on who attack Nate. I see that Razor Leaf is still as cocky as ever, Chris seems to be maturing well, his pokemon are pretty nice aswell, although it are not my favorites.

Next chapter looks promising aswell, eventhough battles are reduced, we'll get a frontier battle, which is always exciting.

Poliwhirl will evolve, probably into a Politoed, to bad. I adore Poliwrath.

Keep us updated Chris!

Elec Man EXE

8th January 2007, 02:52 PM

Ugh! TPM had a brain fart just after I posted my responses apparently, 'cause now they're gone.

Great actiony chapter, excellent stuff. Gotta love multiple battles.

I got taken prisoner by a prisoner... how emberassing. Gotta learn to restrain the captives better (Octillary wrapping her, anyone? :hellyeah: ). She managed to beat me quite well, too. At least I came back and helped out, wouldn't do to have me sitting there like a blob just because I got beaten by a girl :p. And now I've finally redeemed myself to RL. Would have liked to have seen me battle a bit more, though (what? I like seeing myself fight :D ). You cut out right as I was going to actually get some action :o .

Ecks must be a heck of a trainer. His pokemon can stand up to anyone, and he's not even there calling the shots. I wouldn't put it past him to be using some sort of poke-steroids or something on them, though. Especially that Gardevoir... them things are fragile, but it just wouldn't go down. I was really suprised to see him upset about Morpheous' death, though. He seems more the "pokemon are tools, nothing more" mindset, so the fact that he even cared (aside from the fact that it went against his plan) was out of left field.

Callisto is proving to be every bit as cunning as her hubby. Hitmonlee kicking the trainers when she was about to lose? Dastard! Not to mention pulling a gun on RL. I always saw her as more innocent, but I guess her true colors are starting to show. I wonder if she was genuinely worried about Gregg, or if it was all just a ruse.

Gotta give you props on the way you portrayed Perish Song. Perfect description, really gave a picture of the attack, and exactly as I'd have imagined it.

Loved seeing all the different pokemon, too. Lots of variety, a good change of pace from just seeing Chris' small team.

Final word... haha, Ecks got himself crushed by his own precious trap. Sucks for jOO!

Chris 2.1

8th January 2007, 03:08 PM

Ultimate: Hmm interesting idea. I'll say this: Ecks knew to think he could get captured. That's all!

MeLoveGhosts: I thought this chapter was pretty action-packed, too. I have to say I'm surprised this or The War weren't nominated for Best Battle...but you know. What can you do?

I think MLG needs more of a cameo - your team's quite cool. But the match was fun to write - I personally liked the Gardevoir battle the best!

Hmm Ecks is a bit subdued. I'm in the process of writing his scene as mentioned in the preview for Ch38; it's quite kooky and odd. I'm wanting to keep tight lipped since I think your reaction to it will be better if you know less. Oh and Callisto is going to be doing something her husband would be very proud of.

The Battle Frontier match is a cool one that's been in my mind since I first had the idea of introducing them. It just ended up that it was the last featured.

Chris' team will grow over the coming chapters as he tries to desperately learn how to evolve Sneasel, since I think it's probably strong enough. But will he manage before the League starts? I think he should ask Crystal.

Don't count on Poliwhirl evolving into Politoed [or anything] just yet.

Elec Man: Haha yea but Elec Man has had a lot of battles recently. I think Becca and Aragornbird needed the spotlight more. As for Ecks...he had those 12 Pokemon (well, 11 - Ditto shot herself) trained like soldiers. Juno the Gardevoir was one of his strongest, but I think his #1 was Zeus.

Callisto is like her husband; ruthless, but with a droplet of humanity. We've seen a more human side to Ecks through his flashback, and we've seen a more brutal side of Callisto during this chapter. Callisto loves her son and her husband, and that's just about it. She wants to eliminate anything that threatens her future with both. So I imagine that will help you figure out what she is planning.

We'll see Chris' small team next chapter (Poliwhirl, Sneasel, Magmar, Electabuzz, Cacturne, Dusclops, Aron, Vibrava - hey! He has 8 Pokemon!) in a battle. I imagine we'll see him get another team member, if not two.

Guys we're up for nomination for a few Silver Pencil awards! Check them out in fanfic and vote for us! [If we deserve it!]

Oh and we'll see more of that Friends spinoff in Ch38.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

10th January 2007, 02:23 PM

I have to say I'm surprised this or The War weren't nominated for Best Battle...but you know.

I didn't nominate anything for that subject since I totally forgot all battles back then. Should have browsed through my fics, I would have stummbled upon this.

I think MLG needs more of a cameo - your team's quite cool

Hey, thanks. That's highly appreciated.

Mega Horny

15th January 2007, 01:23 PM

Whoaa. I can't breathe after reading all that.

Alright, not much to say that others already havent, so ill just note the basic stuff.

RaZoR LeAf's new position will likely increase the fire of his rivalry with you.
I dont follow what the difference between superpower type 2 and the original is.
And come now, do you really think im so young i can't understand what Jenny is talking about? in a year i'll have my permit :P
Also, am I gone from this fic forever? Where is home? My character is pretty mysterious, and it would be cool if I could learn some more about his past.
Your team just keeps getting better -- also, nice use of the new D/P moves.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

Chris 2.1

15th January 2007, 01:53 PM

MH: Hey! Long time no see. IF Razor Leaf takes the offer, (Chapter 38 gives him plenty of reasons for AND against) he will certainly cause a stir with Chris. Look out for some powerful scenes next Chappie.

Superpower...I'll re-read it again but it probably made more sense in my head. *shrug*

The line was basically because MH didn't know about Jenny being abducted, replaced by a clone who later fell in love with her target and commited suicide, prompting the target in question to hunt down the real thing, who had been encased in an iron coffin for a few months. And then she learned the whole thing. :P

I think the story of Mega Horny has been wrapped up; there are specific details like where he came from, and family life, his entire team etc, but I didn't feel some of that was relevant to his storyline. I might bring him back, but I thought the way in which he and Jenny boarded the train to try and find some solitude was quite nice.

The team grows! Unfortunately Chris can't get it to grow fast enough and he's getting desperate. I can see him with perhaps another Pokemon - maybe two. I'm not sure. They need to evolve really.

Ch38 is going well; just over 1/2 way done. I have been writing the Ecks scene hinted in the preview; Ecks finds himself trapped inside his own head. It has been difficult so far and a lot of planning has been done; I want it to be perfect and to help fuel my writing, I've been downloading and listening to a lot of jazz music.

Make of that what you will :)

Mega Horny

15th January 2007, 02:19 PM

Alright, all sounds great. But I better come back somehow ;)

Sike Saner

18th January 2007, 08:04 PM

God, there is nothing quite like that “I so should have read this sooner” feeling…

This is, put simply, fucking excellent. VERY absorbing and unpredictible plot, and I mean it about unpredictible—many times has it completely surprised me. I wasn’t expecting Amy to be found alive. I wasn’t expecting Jenny’s suicide. And I SURE AS HELL wasn’t expecting said suicide to actually have been a Ditto who’d been masquerading as Jenny for some time. O_O I just adore surprises. The bigger, the better. :D

It’s also worth noting that as unpredictible as the storylines are, they always seem to me to be very well-thought out, with every new development skillfully executed in its writing; however complex the storyines get, they never seem a mess. Damned impressive.

I’m also highly impressed by the quality of the characters. They just seem so well-realized, and have distinct personalities. And some of them are just priceless as hell, furthermore. Andrew’s a particular favorite; the first time he brought out the Bouncy Castle, I was sold, and then as he came out with VEEDP and Quackman and other such things…yeah. Very entertaining. ^^ Charles amuses me, too, what with his “harrowing anecdotes” *snort* and those FAN SHIRTS. XD Then there’s Nurse/Lady/Person-Who’s-Generally-Just-Insane-In-The-Membrane-And-Thus-She-Rules Smiles. She’s severely amusing, in that scary sort of way. XD I also like Chris 2.0 and Razor Leaf quite a lot; I think those two characters have both developed particularly well.

Action, drama, humor, and a hell of a lot of intrigue—a damned addictive formula, I have to say, and I am officially hooked. :D

Chris 2.1

19th January 2007, 09:15 AM

Sike: You are very kind. It is wonderful that I have a new reader - so far into the fic! You may have read along the way, but I plan roughly 50 chapters - a good number to end on, I think!

I'm glad you like the surprises; I've gone for a sort of 24, Nip/Tuck, Lost sort of setup in that [generally] there is a big twist at the end of the episode (in my case: Chapter).

And I do admit I comb over things a lot - if I reference something weeks ago I'll damn sure dig it up to find out what it was. I'm so glad you have enjoyed all the effort I've been putting in. We swept the awards last year and I hope we do well this year, too. This started as a mini project and has escalated into a phenomenon!

What else can I say? You have officially made my day. Honestly :D it is so nice to have a new reader!

And since you're so nice, here is the chapter list for a few upcoming chapters! Speculate as you wish, as one particular one is going to cause some.....intrigue :)

Chapter 38: Factory Head Noland
Chapter 39: Razor Leaf (Part V)
Chapter 40: Luna
Chapter 41: Queen Bea
Chapter 42: The Blue Avenger (Part II)
Chapter 43: Preliminaries (Part I)

Keep voting guys!

Chris 2.1

23rd January 2007, 04:56 PM

Chapter Thirty-Eight
Factory Head Noland

Throughout the village of TPML, a sense of completion was evident in the air. The Battle Frontier challenge was drawing to a close, and the six brains (with the seventh still undecided) were to head off to the next location and showcase rare talent and prowess. Many facilities, the long winded ones such as The Battle Pyramid and Battle Pike had closed permanently now. A large tour bus housed some of the Brains not currently battling.

Of course, the direct-to-challenge facilities, such as Annabel’s Battle Tower and Spenser’s Battle Palace were proving very popular indeed. So they were fighting, brawling and testing their Pokemon much more than others.

In the bus, Lucy was watching an awful sitcom which seemed to be a spin-off of Friends. Her face was still and she did not laugh. Brandon was on a personal computer, accessing information on his team. Noland was staring out of the bus’ window, observing the main square of the village.

“I’ve a challenge this afternoon,” Noland said to the room, although he had distance in his voice. He wore a billed cap and a white jacket resembling a lab coat. He looked troubled.

“Who is it?” asked Greta, who was eating a croissant that strikingly resembled her hairstyle.

“Him,” Noland grumbled, pointing to a boy who was battling with a Swinub and a Murkrow. He was failing, flailing his arms wildly. “His name is UuberFred.”

“Oh I know him,” Greta said, as she dusted flakes of pastry from her mouth. “He battled in the last Arena match. You know we had that mini tournament? He was in that.”

“He couldn’t even get past the reception at the Pyramid,” Brandon grumbled, a stylus moving things on his screen. “Walked right into a potted plant and swallowed a pound of soil.”

“Well he never came to my facility,” Lucy said, almost slightly offended.

“He’s scared of the dark,” Greta noted. “And your facility opens at night.”

At that point, Scott emerged from the staircase leading outside. He looked very hot, taking his shades off and panting as he stopped at the top of the stairs. The brains that were around looked up at him.

“I just made the call to Daniel,” he said calmly. “Offering him the position of Dome Ace.”

“What did he say?” Greta asked, eyes wide and hungry for the news. Noland stared absently out of the window; Lucy tried to watch the program as Pennsylvania and London’s wedding loomed. Brandon, while working, was not focused and listened as discreetly as possible.

“He is…thinking about our offer,” Scott sighed.

“Scott,” Greta said firmly.

“We’re leaving soon,” Brandon murmured.

“He knows he has a short time to decide,” Scott explained. “But it’s a big decision.”

“I don’t think he will,” Lucy said absently. “He’s strong, but not social enough.”

“You managed to get your job, didn’t you?” Brandon said rudely. Lucy shot him a scathing look and watched TV as the Bridesmaid (and rap artist) Nu York erupted onto the scene, eyes ablaze.

“Noland?” Greta asked. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” Noland grumbled. His eyes were fixed on the boy battling outside. “I’m…I just…”

“What’s wrong?” Scott asked.

“I know that boy,” Noland said. “I just don’t know where from.”

* Previously… *

It was a cold day. In a very cold, empty building a battle was being held. There was a very small crowd watching the match, which was held in an old cooling tower. On one side of the arena was a tall, skinny man with blonde hair, who had his shirt sleeves rolled up and his trousers tucked into his shoes. A Vulpix was battling for him. On the other side, looking colder but cooler was the Factory Head, Noland. He wore the same gloves, the same coat, the same hat, but looked one or two years younger.

The setting: A small town called Augusta in the state of Michigan. Noland had out a proud looking Pidgeotto; the bird soared up into the freezing rafters of the cooling tower as Vulpix blasted searing heat from her mouth.

Next to the lanky man, who had shining blue eyes was a boy of about twelve or thirteen years. He was holding onto his fathers arm tightly, watching as Pidgeotto swept around a slew of embers and delivered a slashing peck to the red fox.

“Vull-picks,” purred the man, in a heavy German accent. “Utilize flamethrower.”

“Vulpix!” cried the little Pokemon.

“Go UuberDad!” cried the little boy. The Vulpix, as ordered, utilized the flamethrower, running across the arena bravely and spouting the turret of flame. Pidgeotto swept around it, spinning as it homed onto the target.

“Drill peck!” Noland barked. Pidgeotto got closer and closer, the Vulpix leaping to the left and scampering away. But the Vulpix could not escape. Pidgeotto slammed into the fox and drove its beak into the wound, forcing the creature across the arena. In panic, Vulpix unleashed a jet of flame that scorched Pidgeotto’s side and caused the bird to flap back in shock.

“Good vork!” shouted the trainer. Noland recalled the Pidgeotto, who was having difficulty maintaining balance during flight due to the burns on its wing. The man looked at UuberFred, smiling broadly. Noland unleashed another Pokeball.

“GO!”

A bright light engulfed a shape that soon revealed itself to be a very streamlined yet oddly roughed Pokemon. Blue in colour, with shaggy, spark-like fur patches in a bright yellow, it had a cone-shaped head and looked slightly aggressive. It was a Manectric.

“Vot is that?” asked the father of a rather perturbed boy, who was eating a shoelace like a string of spaghetti. “Vull-picks, attack! Will-O-Wisp!”

As she stood there, Vulpix summoned up popping balls of blue fire, spinning around her with considerable force. They span and span, before they were unleashed at Manectric in a wheeling fashion. Manectric, with incredible agility, leapt to the side, dodged and blasted a streak of lightening at Vulpix, striking her dead-on.

“Vulpix!” UuberFred shouted, hurt. “UuberDad this is your last Pokemon!”

“I know,” sighed the man. “Vull-picks! Tackle.”

“Shock wave!”

Vulpix raced across the arena at the still, sitting Manectric. As she leapt up for a tackle Manectric unleashed a sudden surge of volts; shocked, both literally and in a manner of speaking, Vulpix was hurled back, allowing Manectric to race after and deliver a sharp headbutt.

“Vull-picks!” cried the man wearily. The Pokemon was defeated.

“Vulpix has been defeated! The winner of the official Frontier Match is Noland!”

Noland smiled, satisfied, recalling Manectric. UuberDad recalled Vulpix and, with two other Pokeballs, handed it over to the referee. The Battle Factory was fought using rental Pokemon so therefore the Pokemon UuberDad used were given back.

“Dad?” asked the young boy, as they left the cold, cold building and walked along a frosty street. “Dad?”

“Vot is it son?” asked the man, now wearing a duffle coat that emphasized his thin, pointed face and bony hands.

“I thought you were going to win me a Frontier Medal?” the boy asked innocently. He stumbled into a lamp-post awkwardly.

“I did my best, son,” admitted the man. “But it is very tough.”

“It’s ok,” he replied happily. “After all, you are the best stencil-maker in all of Augusta.”

“That’s right,” said the man proudly, similarly colliding with a lamp-post as he became distracted in his own thoughts. The boy stared at his father, feeling slightly crestfallen.

His father was a complete loser.

*

Meawhile, UuberFred was ready to take his Frontier Brain Challenge, and had just deposited his Pokemon at the front desk. He was given a belt with 6 Pokeballs on and taken to the arena.

The Battle Factory was the facility furthest out of the village, located in an old steelworks factory by an industrial estate past the border of TPML 04621. Here a crowd had gathered; there were not many Frontier Battles left so everyone was keen to see them.

“You understand the rules?” the Referee said, having explained them to UuberFred.

“What was the bit in the rules about…battling?” he asked casually. The Referee exchanged a nervous glance with Noland.

“…a lot of the rules mention battling,” he said gently.

“Exactly – just what I needed to hear,” UuberFred said firmly, pulling out his first Pokeball.

“This match has BEGUN!” shouted the Ref. Noland and UuberFred both unleashed Pokeballs that shot up and burst open. Noland’s Pokemon was very small; it was a combination of sky blue, white and canary yellow. With snake-like qualities, its tail ended in a drill-like appendage and it had little wings that kept it just off the ground, its eyes calm and content. It was a Dunsparce. UuberFred’s ball opened to reveal a Squirtle, who gave a little cry of his name.

“Squirtle! WATER GUN!” UuberFred cried loudly. Squirtle nodded and blasted a jet of water at Dunsparce, who used his tiny little wings to sweep around the attack and through the air, before tackling the turtle hard.

“Dunsparce, use a glare,” Noland said firmly, not moving an inch as he folded his arms tightly. The eye area of the land worm Pokemon glowed a vivid yellow as Squirtle suddenly froze in surprise. UuberFred watched in awe.

“Try moving!”

Squirtle writhed and wriggled but to no avail.

“Ok! Try…moving!” UuberFred suggested, thinking of what he could do. Squirtle repeated the technique, finding himself still rooted to the ground as Dunsparce hovered darkly.

“This is challenging!” proclaimed the boy. “How about moving?”

“Dunsparce, use horn drill,” Noland said, sounding bored. His Pokemon snaked along through the air, pointed tail spinning as he curled around the immobile little turtle. Squirtle, on his own accord, peppered the air around him with soft bubbles, but that achieved nothing whatsoever. Dunsparce’s drill struck Squirtle and dealt heavy damage. The little turtle fell forward, giving Noland time to strike.

“Headbutt!”

Squirtle gave a genuine scream as Dunsparce smashed into him, sending him collapsing to the floor. UuberFred gave a grave moan as his little Pokemon could take no more.

“You did brilliantly!” he said, recalling the small Pokemon. “Ok! Pokemon #2, I choose you!”

Previously…

Back in the serene little Augusta, UuberDad was standing in the old Cooling Tower again; a week or so had passed in this time. Fred, roughly twelve years old, had a newly-performed pudding-bowl haircut, looking pale and clammy. His Father was battling Noland again after failing to impress his son.

“Come on!” he shouted bravely. His Pokemon, a Roselia, leapt to avoid an attack and unleashed a swirling barrage of petals. His opponent, a Rhyhorn, took the attack well and began to charge forward.

“Mega Horn,” Noland growled, smirking. Roselia leapt up, firing off a series of poison darts. Rhyhorn screeched to a halt, turning and chasing Roselia, who landed clumsily on the other side of the arena.

“Dad!” UuberFred cried. “Do something!”

“Err…” UuberDad said nervously. “Roselia! Razor Leaf!”

He looked down at his son.

“Why don’t you use the toilet, rid your bowels,” he said, in what appeared to be a kind voice. “Go on Pchestfrederunk.”

“Dad…” Fred whispered. “Don’t call me that. It’s Fred.”

“We christened you Pchestfrederunk!” he hissed angrily, as Roselia was slammed into by the large, burly rhino. “Go! To the toilet my boy!”

Fred darted across to the door at his father’s side of the arena. He opened it, turning to see Rhyhorn stamping hard on the delicate little grass Pokemon, before closing it behind him and wandering down a corridor, looking for the toilets. He was intrigued; the fact that he didn’t need the toilet at all (his father often thought everyone had as weak a bladder as he) meant he could spend some time wandering around.

As he walked down the corridor, something poked its head from around a door at the end of the passage. It was large and pink, resembling a bear in shape and appearance, but with a crown-like shell atop its head and a wise look on its face. Intrigued, the clumsy boy walked towards the Pokemon, who retracted his head and disappeared behind the door. UuberFred jogged along down the corridor, noticing a sign above the door reading ‘STORAGE’.

His clammy hands gripped the door and he slipped it open before sneaking inside. A wonderful sight met his eyes as he stared at the contents of the room. The pink Pokemon stood there amid shelves and shelves of Pokeballs, each with a little diagram and description of the beast within the ball.

“Cor!” cried the boy, examining the shelves. “Look at all these Pokemon!”

He looked around softly before reaching out and taking a ball, feeling the cold, smooth orb in his hand. He read the little plaque:

“Parasect: Mushroom Pokemon. Highly Trained. These must be the Pokemon Noland uses in the official matches!” he cried happily. “He won’t mind if I…take a few of the less-cool ones.”

As he pocketed Parasect’s Pokeball he looked at a few more.

“Hypno!” he said, admiring the picture of the yellow, hook-nosed psychic. “Cool! I always wanted a hypnotizing Pokemon. Dragonair? That looks like a snake. And they start with the same letter as spider…and my mom’s second cousin once knew someone who hated seagulls so I’d better leave that one.”

He found a plaque which intrigued him greatly, shortly after he pocketed a Hitmontop and an Foretress.

“Slowking,” he said, reading it. “Oh! That must be you!”

He picked the Pokeball up and held it at Slowking, who looked slightly hesitant at showing the boy this room.

“Return!”

And as the red beam of light hit the psychic Pokemon, UuberFred ignored the almost human cry of protest as he added yet another Pokemon to his roster. Fearing he may soon be caught, he left with his newer, stronger team and headed back to the arena.

*

Meanwhile, Grey and Amy were sitting at their desks. Razor Leaf, The Missing Link, Chris 2.0, Elec Man and Aragornbird were joined by Dark Dragonite, OzAndrew and TheBlueAvenger, the three mods not involved in the rescue mission.

“I am pleased to announce that Ecks is in the cell beneath us,” Grey said firmly. “Thanks to everybody’s efforts last night he has been captured. Although Callisto has escaped, we are certain that we can get her. Her husband is, we must remember, more valuable.”

“We will be contacting the Board of Governors and giving them a full briefing on the situation,” Amy went on. “Ecks is being picked up today and will be sent to New York for prosecution.”

“Thank you,” Grey said, as the people all got up and wandered off. “Dark Dragonite, TBA, Andrew…if you three could stay a little longer I’d like to speak with you all.”

The others soon left.

“Jeff,” Grey said to TBA. “We have been trying to contact you for some time. Where were you yesterday?”

“I was at the Archives,” he explained calmly.

“Why?” Grey asked. “They do not need updated until the end of the month.”

“Scott and Brandon wanted a look around,” TBA said firmly. “They are looking at some of Razor Leaf’s files and battles.”

“Why Razor Leaf?” Amy asked.

“They are considering him for Tucker’s replacement,” TBA finished, feeling somehow guilty for being the bearer of this news. It was supposed to be secret, since Razor Leaf had only just been told.

“As a Frontier Brain?” Amy asked, bewildered.

“Don’t you find it…unsuspicious that Tucker was injured on the day of my match with him?” Andrew said in a would-be-calm voice.

“They wouldn’t want Daniel…” Grey said slowly.

“They do,” TBA went on. “They both liked what they saw. They made the offer to him today.”

“What?” Grey asked. “No! Jeff are you serious about this?”

“Yes!” TBA cried.

“He won’t take it,” Dark Dragonite mused.

“What does he have to stay for at TPML?” Amy asked. “If you ask me, any High Rank position is worth taking. Don’t you agree, Grey?”

“I…do,” Grey murmured.

“Thanks for clearing that up, Jeff,” Amy said kindly. “You can go.”

Grey seemed slightly lost for words, so as The Blue Avenger walked happily out of the office and down the stairs, Amy talked with OzAndrew as Dark Dragonite watched intently.

“Andrew, we have been noticing that your office above the Contest Hall hasn’t been used at all since you were given the position,” Amy sighed.

“Yes it has!” he protested. “I like…totally use it! And…stuff.”

“No, it hasn’t,” Amy replied sternly. “I still have the key.”

“Damnit!” Andrew snapped. “My only flaw.”

“You need to actually do work for part of this job, you are Head Coordinator,” Amy went on, being quite firm and angry. “We have a Contest scheduled to take place as part of the Frontier Brains closing ceremony and you have yet to pitch a SINGLE idea to us!”

“I’ll do it this afternoon!” Andrew whined. “Can I go now?”

“Yes,” Amy replied heavily. Dark Dragonite, it seemed, was finding the situation very funny indeed. He smirked, causing Amy to flare up in rage. “You needn’t laugh! Steve – I’ll keep this short since you have proven that your attention span is limited. You’re demoded. You cannot do this job well.”

“What!?” he cried, getting out his seat. “Amy this is absolu-”

“This is not unfair, you knew this was coming,” Amy snarled, pointing at him. “You were hired by Cocoa and we kept you on. But you do not show any edge or any drive to do what is required! I’m sorry…but that’s final.”

“Who will replace me?” Dark Dragonite asked. “Razor Leaf’s going off to better pastures! You don’t have anyone else.”

“We have a lot of people that can do this job a lot better than you,” Amy said firmly. “Now get out!”

Storming away, Dark Dragonite wrenched the door open and stomped down the stairs, muttering angrily as he did. Amy turned to a somber Grey.

“Thanks for backing me up,” she snapped.

“Sorry,” Grey said quietly. Amy dialed up the conference call to the Board of Governors; she projected the image onto the large screen that she faced with Grey and prepared to speak to Gordon.

“Hello Amy, hello Grey,” Gordon said, from the usual sleek mahogany table that the 12 Board members sat at. “It is good to speak to you again.”

“And you,” Amy said. “I understand there have been communication problems.”

“We have investigated thoroughly,” said Gordon. “And thanks to some Intel from both Austin Myers and Rosie Cran we have managed to find the cause of the loss in power at our base. Callisto seems to have caused it before fleeing the building.”

“Callisto?” Amy asked, feigning shock. She had to stay quiet about the fact that Grey and Becca smuggled Callisto out of New York and had accidentally lost her in Ivy Woods. “She did this?”

“We believe…she is connected with her husband,” Gordon replied, looking thoroughly ashamed. “Their line of communication was still alive following Ecks’ demotion from the Board – Arthur has looked into this and also brought to our attention the fact that the two never got divorced.”

“I see,” Amy said firmly. Arthur Pacie was the kind, calm man on the Board, wearing what looked like an expensive suit. He was the legal aid on the Board, and was a qualified attorney. However, he did do a lot of different jobs at the Board. His calm presence and friendly demeanor seemed to irritate most of the other members, whose long hours and demeaning jobs left them empty and resentful. “Thank you, Arthur.”

“Just doing my job,” he smiled. Jacques looked utterly disgusted, while the busty Voletta flashed her dark eyelids at him, despite being slightly older than him.

“You will, I assume,” Amy said, “be interested to learn that we have managed to successfully apprehend Ecks.”

“Good,” Gordon asked firmly, not surprised the man was there at all. “That is good work Amy.”

“We also have heard Callisto was in the village,” Amy added. “Although we have not caught her.”

“I see,” Gordon replied, thinking. “Then try to get Callisto. She is very smart and will not be found easily. Magnus, can you send a team of men to TPML 04621 to take Ecks for us please?”

“Sir,” came a thick grunt. A hulking great man emerged from the other end of the long table, near a heavily jaded Derek and sour-looking Jacques. This was Magnus Archer; he looked slightly weathered by his past and wore a plain black zip up jacket over a black shirt. He was tanned and looked to be of Latin descent, although it did not show in his name. He had a very broad set of shoulders and a squat nose. He marched out the room and made a phone call. He was head of Field Operations for the Board and was responsible for the teams of guards that were sent anywhere.

“Magnus will lead a team to get Ecks,” Gordon explained. “However since Callisto’s attack on our power our resources have been lowered. A team from V.A Corporations are here. They should be done in a day or so.”

“Ok.”

“Cocoa Sting has also agreed to return to the Board; we spoke with her briefly on the phone and she is recovering well. Cocoa explained she was shot by Callisto.”

“Are you getting someone to replace Callisto?” asked Amy.

“We have given Brooklyn Knight, from Technical, a promotion. He is temporarily serving as a member of the Board until further notice,” continued Gordon. From his seat on the Board Brooklyn gave a wink and a wave; he was wearing a pinstriped suit today, something that Voletta Kane noticed.

“I like your shirt,” she whispered, despite the fact Brooklyn was about two-thirds her age.

“Brooklyn, you should get use to a desperate, 46-year old woman trying to take you home and eat you,” Jacques spat, disgusted at the woman. “Until last week I didn’t even realize she had a job here other than Resident Maneater.”

“Shut up,” Voletta snapped in her familiar, whip-crack tone. “Brooklyn, honey, I’m not a maneater. I work in accounts.”

Brooklyn smiled.

“Amy, I am ordering you not to let anybody from your village see Ecks. He has scarred a lot of people, and a lot of people would want to take advantage of that mans position,” Gordon said firmly.

“Yes sir,” Amy replied.

“Thank you,” Gordon said firmly, ending the call. Amy turned to Grey, who had been quiet for some time.

“Grey!” she snapped. “What the hell?”

“What?” he asked mildly.

“You didn’t say a single word during the entire meeting,” Amy snarled, looking absolutely furious at her coworker.

“I’m sorry,” Grey said airily. “I…I need to go somewhere.”

And, without any more explanation he rose from his chair, walked to the corner of the room and slipped on a long black coat, buttoning it up proudly. He closed the door quietly, giving a brief nod to Amy Wolfsong as he did.

Chris 2.1

23rd January 2007, 04:58 PM

It was frantic in the Battle Factory. UuberFred ha recalled his Squirtle and his second Pokemon was revealed to be a large red penguin. It held a sack in one of its paws, and looked thoroughly high on some sort of drug.

“Deliburu!” it cried. “Buru!”

“You must be a Skarmory!” UuberFred said cleverly.

“UuberFred has selected DELIBIRD,” the announcer said firmly, so as not to confuse the audience. Noland pointed ahead.

“Headbutt it,” he said. Dunsparce swept along through the air menacingly. The slightly bigger Delibird looked excited at the prospect of this battle and zipped away to the left as fast as he could. Dunsparce quickly followed, turning sharply and followed like an ugly missile.

“Skarmory!” UuberFred said to his red Pokemon. “Use steel wing!”

Delibird only looked confused for a moment, before dropping his bag and rummaging inside as the opponent got closer. Delibird pulled out two shiny wing-like appendages and, like gloves, slipped them onto his paws before admiring his new, shimmering wings. Dunsparce got close.

“Derii!” cried the bird, slamming his wings forward and smashing right into Dunsparce, who dropped from mid-air and fell to the floor awkwardly. Delibird slipped the wings away and grabbed his sack.

“Wait a minute…” UuberFred said slowly. “You’re not a Skarmory!”

Delibird smiled.

“You’re a Togetic!”

“Derri!” screamed the bird, leaping into the air and charging up an orb of ice. It seemed the ice-type wanted to do this battle his way, disobeying his trainer. The ball of ice was hurled at Dunsparce, who, during mid-flight span around and shattered it with his tail. Delibird then streaked across the arena at high speed, hurling another orb of ice at the foe from behind.

“Go, go Togetic!” cried UuberFred happily. The next ball of ice dealt more damage to Dunsparce, who blocked it at considerable risk to himself. He then charged up a jet of flame, and as he flapped at Delibird he unleashed the flamethrower, striking Delibird successfully.

“Now lead into body slam!” Noland shouted. Pulling up, Dunsparce shot towards Delibird, before a dead weight caused him to slam down upon the flabby penguin. Delibird staggered back, looking displeased; Dunsparce unleashed a swirling vortex of heat that smashed into UuberFred’s Pokemon and knocked him out.

“No!” UuberFred cried. “Togepi!”

“Last Pokemon,” Noland said firmly.

“Fine,” UuberFred simpered. He grabbed a Pokeball and recalled his fallen Delibird, looking deterred but not yet beaten. “You did well Togetactic.”

He sent out his next Pokemon, hurling the Pokeball clumsily as it burst open to reveal a burly-looking Hitmonchan. UuberFred looked at it keenly.

“Hey!” he said. “You look like my Hitmontop!”

Noland eyed Fred curiously. His Hitmontop? Noland used to have a Hitmontop at the Battle Factory, until that fateful month in Michigan…

*

Meanwhile, in the Battle Park, Luna sat on a bench as her assortment of Pokemon hung around. Espeon and Umbreon were together underneath the bench, while Solrock and Lunatone were hovering above her. Natu and Murkrow had gone for a brief fly.

“We should really practice our appeal again Umbreon,” Luna said softly. The contest was fast approaching, and she had done little practice. “Come on.”

Umbreon nodded, getting up and wandering to the space. Luna got up, too. She was feeling quite good about herself in recent days; while her sisters often bumped into her around the village, they were polite and did not ignore each other.

“Umbreon, start with faint attack,” Luna whispered. Umbreon disappeared into the darkness and raced around the arena. “Now, launch a shadow ball!”

The crackling orb of darkened soul was charged from apparently nowhere; it was launched up into the air, and Luna pointed at it firmly.

“Iron Tail!”

The lithe black creature raced up, tail shimmering silver. It whipped up and tore into the orb, sending crackling drips of shadow and darkness falling all around, glittering in the sun. Umbreon landed in a brave pose and Luna clapped enthusiastically.

“Great!” she said. However, there was still applause. An odd, hollow applause from behind her. She turned slowly to see a woman staring at her, a smile on her face.

“Hello,” the woman said, in a slight Brazilian accent. She looked very beautiful, with shiny brown hair in an elegant, twisted knot in the back of her head. She wore a silvery gray suit and was apparently drinking a glass of something alcoholic.

“A-Are you drinking a martini?” Luna asked skeptically. The woman gave a simpering laugh and quickly tossed the contents of the glass into the overgrowth.

“I saw your performance,” said the woman, looking in her mid twenties. “But it needs work.”

“Oh does it?” Luna asked angrily. “Does it really, Miss ‘I-Drink-Martini-In-The-Late-Afternoon’!”

“Of course,” she said looking slightly embarrassed. “I forgot to introduce myself.”

She held out a hand with an expensive ring on the finger.

“Lady Vulpix.”

“Luna,” Luna said quietly, shaking the woman’s hand.

“Most just call me ‘Lady’,” she explained.

“Nice to meet you, Lady,” Luna said in a forced, polite tone.

“I’m…new to this particular League,” Lady said airily. “I was a Coordinator at the TPML in New York, you understand.”

“What made you come here?” Luna asked, becoming slightly interested in the woman’s story.

“I heard Contests have only just been established here,” she went on. “And naturally that is where I can find the raw talent in new coordinators.”

“Surely there is talent in New York?” Luna asked.

“My dear,” Lady said. “New York is a scene. There are trends, fashions, appeals become in and out depending on the ‘season’ – it’s disgusting. All the most famous coordinators go to New York (well actually, this season it’s Chicago; that’s where they held the Grand Festival this year. Of course, that’s finished now, so everyone’s flocking back to NY). So there isn’t talent…just celebrities in the Contest Circuit. People imitate appeals that worked well for others…oh it’s terribly multifaceted. But here, all you budding coordinators use your mind. You have nothing to copy from. ”

She cleared her throat.

“The coordinators here will be free of trends and what’s hot. Their appeals come from their heart.”

“Well…” Luna said, quite unsure of what to say. Lady saw Luna and helped her out.

“I think that appeal was quite…meager,” she said truthfully. “And you, too, will feel the same.”

“Oh?” Luna asked.

“Meet me at Skinny Dip’s Pond tomorrow night at 20:55PM. Come at the exact time, no earlier or no later. It is essential.”

“Why?” Luna asked, puzzled. Lady flashed a smile.

“And here I was expecting you might know the answer,” she said, smiling. “Like I said. Skinny Dip’s Pond, tomorrow night, five minutes to nine. Be there.”

And despite the ambiguity of the request, Luna found herself enthralled with Lady Vulpix as she strode off through the Park pleasantly. This woman had such a mysterious aura…and Luna knew she would definitely make an appearance that night.

*

UuberFred’s Hitmonchan had been released; this was his last Pokemon. Noland had given Dunsparce a rest and had sent his Pokemon out; a burly Charmeleon. Charmeleon gave a hiss and the Pokemon were ready.

Noland, however, was preoccupied. He had just received a message on his phone from Alvin, his technical assistant.

Just checked out the kid’s profile; he’s got a Slowking, Hitmontop, Hypno and Parasect. Coincidence?

[i]No. Keep his Pokemon secured at the desk. I’ll be finished soon,[i] replied the brain. He pointed ahead.

“Charmeleon! Iron Tail!”

“Hitmonchan! Ice Punch!”

“Fire Spin!” cried Noland, as his Charmeleon charged through the arena. His lithe, lizard-like tail shimmered silver and he leapt up, spraying a shield of warm flames all around like a shield. As he swept down, Hitmonchan’s measly ice punch failed; the flames struck him shortly before a swift, decisive tail caused Hitmonchan to groan in pain.

Noland hated to injure one of his many Pokemon, but he wanted this victory and also wanted four of his rental Pokemon back off the meddlesome boy. Hitmonchan skidded back, but Charmeleon’s rage attack caused his power and strength to increase with every decisive strike. Slugging at the boxer, Charmeleon gave a grin.

“Hitmonchan! Sky uppercut!”

Charmeleon’s jaw ached as a swift punch slammed into him and launched him up. Charmeleon opened wide and blasted down more flames that smashed into the arena. UuberFred gave a whimper. Hitmonchan darted away.

“Swift,” Noland snapped. “Ember! Smokescreen!”

A thick, fog-like smoke curled from the dragon’s mouth. As it did, Hitmonchan turned to UuberFred, confused. Light sparked up far away. UuberFred watched as flaming golden stars tore at Hitmonchan’s body, streaking across his skin and forcing him to the ground.

“Hitmonchan!” UuberFred cried. “I BELIEVE IN YOU!”

Hitmonchan raised an eyebrow as Charmeleon’s claws tore into his back.

“PLEASE!” he cried. “YOU CAN DO THIS!”

“Chan…” came the weak whisper of the fighter. He began to get up, staring at his current trainer, who was fumbling in his pocket.

“Look! Look at this drawing I drew!” he said, showing a messy-looking human covered in armor. “It WAS called KyogrDon and it WAS forged when Kyogre and Groudon fused under the Armour of Fredgendary Power…but NOW it’s called HitmonFred and NOW it’s the evolved form of Hitmonchan and it evolves when it wants to win for its trainer!”

Hitmonchan looked confused, but the confusion ebbed away when a huge, star-shaped blast of fire ploughed into his back, causing him to stagger and collapse at his trainer’s feet. UuberFred gasped.

“You’re evolving?” he cried. “Into HitmonFred?!”

“The Challanger has used his three Pokemon,” came the announcer’s voice. “Factory Head Noland is the winner!”

“No!” UuberFred said sadly. “Oh well, Hitmon…which one were you again?”

He recalled his Pokemon and watched as it became absorbed into the red light. Noland recalled his Charmeleon, whispering something. He waved to the cameras and audience, who were cheering loudly. UuberFred turned to the referee.

“Where do I get my Pokemon?” he asked.

“Just at the lobby on the way out,” the referee replied.

“In that case,” UuberFred said, winking. “I’m going to – GO TO THE TOILET – if you know what I mean?”

“Son, you’re at a curious age,” replied the referee. “Do whatever you want in there.”

“Yea, I will,” UuberFred said defiantly, not sure what the man meant. “Weirdo.”

He pushed the doors open and wandered down the corridor, passing the toilets and wondering about where the Pokemon were stored.

“Going somewhere?”

UuberFred turned to see Noland himself standing there, a Sandslash by his side. He had his arms crossed and looked furious.

“I need the toilet,” UuberFred said monotonously. “Now get out my way, I need to find the storage room.”

“I know you stole some of the rental Pokemon from me when we were at Michigan,” Noland said firmly. “Ever since we arrived here I have been racking my brains and it all makes sense. I remember you and your pathetic, stencil-making father and now I want what’s mine. The Pokemon you handed in at reception that were [i]mine have been taken back. Now you have your ugly Swinub and that grimy Murkrow.”

“Hey!” UuberFred snapped. “I found that Murkrow outside a shady pawn shop!”

“Give me the Pokemon from this battle,” said Noland, holding a hand out. “Leave the Factory, and never come back.”

UuberFred nodded, handing the balls of Squirtle, Delibird and Hitmonchan over, as well as the other three balls he had the option of using throughout the battle. Noland responded by giving the boy the grubby Pokeballs that belonged to him before walking off down the corridor. UuberFred watched him go, a tear in his eye. It felt like he had needed the bathroom, after all.

*

Meanwhile, in Theatre Gris, Grey and Hanada Tattsu were in one of the theatres. The large complex actually housed three, size-differing theatres for varying performers. On its opening night, Waiting for Godot had performed excellently; the play was still being performed for a few more weeks during the initial stages of the tournament. It was proving successful, and the theatre itself had introduced a new sense of class to TPML.

However Grey had not been around to enjoy these perks; he had managed to employ a team of people to help look after and maintain the Theatre itself; while he was reaping the rewards, he had not been able to bask in the success. He had been overworked dealing with Ecks, and his ghastly visit to New York still haunted him.

Now, however, he was with the son of Ecks. Gregg had been brought out of the Iron Maiden by the people that had apprehended Ecks, and had been spending a lot of his day with Grey, discussing a number of things.

“So do you know where your mother is?” Grey asked the boy.

“No,” Gregg replied meekly. “I’m not really that bothered, to be honest.”

“You’re not?” Grey asked.

“She worked at the Board during a lot of my childhood,” Gregg explained. “I’ve never been as close with her as I have with my father.”

“You were close with Ecks?” Grey asked, interested. Gregg nodded.

“When I was very young we had a nanny…but Dad…Dad quit work, he told me,” the boy told Grey. “He stayed at home and looked after me and Mum kept her job at the Board. I was still sort of young…I remember because a boy at my school died around the same time.”

Grey looked across.

“I see.”

“But…when I heard Dad had killed Kyle, and Karin…I began to lose faith in him. Anyone would.”

“Yes,” Grey said gravely. “We miss Kyle.”

“Grey…” Hanada said softly, reaching into his pocket. “When I first met you, we were on Trolgar Mountain. You gave me a Lileep to look after…and I headed down to the village. But I cannot look after it anymore.”

He held the ball out.

“Please…take it back.”

“If you wish,” Grey said, picking the ball up and admiring it. “A Pokemon like this might be difficult for you to train.”

“I need to train the rest of my team,” Hanada murmured, sounding almost ashamed. “I haven’t done enough.”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Grey sighed.

“The Tournament starts soon…doesn’t it?” Gregg asked weakly, staring at the Head of TPML. Grey gave a slow nod.

“Soon,” he said firmly. “But you can get through the first stages, Gregg.”

“How?”

“I can help you.”

“What do you mean?” Gregg asked curiously.

“I could help you train up,” Grey said, thinking. “We could head to the Battle Park today if you’d like.”

“I would,” Gregg said, getting out his chair. “Why don’t we go now?”

“No time like the present,” said the young man, and he walked through to the doors of Theatre Gris, the young boy following. He stared at Grey with fixed awe; as they were walking through the lobby, the doors of the Theatre opened, and Razor Leaf strode in.

“Grey?” he said firmly, before spying the man right before him. “Oh. Grey.”

“Razor Leaf,” Grey replied dutifully, using the veteran’s username, something he preferred to his real name.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Razor Leaf said snootily, staring at Gregg. “…in private.”

“That is a shame,” Grey said, standing his ground. “Gregg and I were going to do some training.”

“I see,” Razor Leaf grumbled. “This…is quite important, Grey…”

“As is this,” Grey replied. He moved past the slightly taller man to get to the door, hearing Razor Leaf utter a hissing line to his ears;

“Got a new protégé already?”

Grey turned, smiled, and gave a nod.

“I believe so,” he replied coolly. “Gregg, come, we have a lot to do.”

And they left, leaving Razor Leaf in the lobby of the Theatre, the resurrected stature of the building he once torched down. Clenching a fist, Razor Leaf waited for a few moments and, making sure Grey was nowhere in sight, rushed out of the theatre and up BT Street.

*

I had a pretty good sleep following the raid on Ecks’ bunker. A lot of my team was tired and I had sent them to the Pokemoncenter. I had been pretty exhausted from the battle that night, and felt really oddly disjointed and…moody. So the next day I went for a battle in the Battle Park.

I had found OzAndrew, who was wearing a Beaverskin coat he had bought after the floundering success of his seedy marketing business. We chatted and engaged in a quick battle; he sent out a Kirlia, while I released my little Aron. Kirlia was white and green, looking delicate yet deadly.

“KirliOz!” Andrew cried. “Use psychic!”

“Aron, evade!” I shouted wildly. Aron, suddenly quite agile, darted in a zig-zag pattern as psychic waves were fired off from Kirlia’s horns. Managing to evade all the blasts, Aron charged and dealt a furious headbutt to the frail psychic.

“Good work!” I said happily.

“KirliOz! Magical Leaf!” Andrew said firmly. Kirlia nodded, sending a myriad of glowing, speeding leaves with very sharp edges. Aron executed an iron defense, tucking his limbs into his body and taking minimal damage.

“Now use another headbutt!” I shouted, watching as Aron leapt up and out, speeding through the air like a little bullet. He struck Kirlia again, darting around and racing back to me, smiling broadly. It looked weird.

“KirliOz don’t let him do that to you!” Andrew snarled. “Use a confusion!”

A pinkish aura enveloped Aron as he was pulled up from the ground, looking horrorstruck. With a crunch he was slammed mercilessly into the ground, giving a soft shout of anger. Kirlia gave a smirk and swung her arms around, unleashing a magical leaf. Aron leapt out the way but the leaves still slashed at his hide.

“Come on!” I shouted eagerly. It appeared he was young; his move set was limited. “Aron use take down!”

I knew he had this attack in his arsenal. Aron charged, head tucked down as he got faster and faster. A streak of white-hot energy trailed behind him as he raced through the air, before leaping up and tackling Kirlia heavily. She staggered back, not pleased at all.

“KirliOz!” Andrew cried, casting his gaze across the arena. “Ok Chris. I give you £15, and we call this match quits.”

“What?” I gasped. “Why?”

“Kirlia sort of…hates me,” Andrew explained, in a stage whisper. “I might have accidentally stolen her from a Magician. Anyway I need to keep her happiness quota up and she’s going to lose to your clunky little thing.”

“Fine,” I snarled. “Aron, good job.”

Andrew got out fifteen pounds and handed them to me. I shrugged. Whether the match finished or not wasn’t really important; Aron still got to battle. I needed him to evolve soon…he was small and at the moment, pretty insignificant. Rumors were that the Tournament was in mere days; I had to get my act together. I had to. I still hadn’t been able to find Crystal Tears and quiz her about Weavile, and how I could evolve my Sneasel.

“Anyway,” Andrew said. “Here’s another £5 for battling me.”

“Oh,” I said, taking the note. “Thanks.”

“You have such good manners!” Andrew cried. “Here’s another £5.”

“You don’t need to give me all this money,” I said, stammering.

“My business is so successful!” Andrew said, smiling. “They sell me Pokemon, objects, unwanted family members…and I sell them on at half the price and double the emotional damage!”

“Great!”

“You’re positive! I like that!” Andrew said. “Here’s ten pounds.”

Realizing I was accumulating a vast amount of money from simply not doing a thing, I decided to try a different tactic.

“Hey…Andrew?”

“Yea?”

“I…love that sweater!”

“Oh don’t be such a kiss-up,” snarled Andrew, turning to walk away. I pocketed the money I did have, before I wandered off through the park. I had just seen Girafarig, whom I had a big argument with not that long ago. That was when I had boldly stated I was going to conquer the Battle Arena. Oh, the shame. I wasn’t in the mood for his attitude problem.

As a fatigue swept through my arms I ran into another familiar figure. Razor Leaf. He strode over to me instantly, and as we did I looked across the park at the spot where his Blaziken had torched my picnic. The swine. Razor Leaf looked as stern as always, but something was different.

“Hey,” he said stroppily.

“Hi,” I replied, trying to evade getting tormented by him.

“How…how’s it going?” he asked, in a would-be-casual-but-I-secretly-hate-you sort of way.

“Fine,” came my reply. I loved being arrogant – I could see why he relished on this attitude so much.

“Oh,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Well that’s…that – that’s good.”

“Yep.”

This was so good! He looked so embarrassed and so uncomfortable…he really was squirming and wriggling here. He deserved it.

“Listen,” he said. “I…I don’t know if you – well of course you won’t, I only just – but anyway, I was wanting to sort of…well not sort of, but tell you…erm…I got a phone call today.”

I looked at him.

“People want to call you?”

“Well yes – I…no, no they don’t but – yes, I suppose so,” he hummed. Soon, however, a wave of guilt lapped against my senses and I felt that I could throw him a rope. He was so oddly disturbed.

“So who was it?” I said. “On the phone?”

“Scott,” he replied. “The Leader of the Frontier Brains.”

Unfortunately for me (for I was having such fun), this seemed to give Razor Leaf some strength, and he talked passionately from here on, the awkwardness of out conversation dampened.

“He offered me the position of Dome Ace.”

“Wow.”

It was all I could say. Honestly, I wasn’t able to articulate anything else. I knew Daniel was strong, but to be given the offer of Frontier Brain…well, they’re very strong, well paid, renowned around the world…and he would be one of them.

“I haven’t taken it yet,” he sighed. “I have to let them know within the next two days.”

“Are you going to take it?” I asked, actually keen to hear what he was going to say.

“Well,” he began. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I need to weigh the pros and cons,” he sighed. “I wanted to speak to Grey…but he’s busy with that freaky X-Child.”

He looked up at me.

“I was hoping…I could ask you.”

I stared at him for a moment. Ask me. He wanted to ask me about what he should do. The more I thought about it, the more a thin smile crept upon my face, and despite not meaning to, I gave a snort.

“Me?” I asked. He looked alarmed. Good. “So…this is how it works? You torment me, you buy me out of a home, you bully me, you harass me day in day out…and when it suits you, when you want something, you come to me?”

I crossed my arms.

“That about it?”

“Well,” he said firmly. “Yes.”

“Listen Daniel,” I said assertively. Razor Leaf stared at me in disgust, but I kept the ball rolling. “And don’t look so surprised – you’re in your twenties and you need to be comfortable with your first name. I mean if you take this offer, you won’t be known as Razor Leaf to anyone. Because you’ll be Daniel. That is your name outside of this place. You’ve become so self-absorbed in your persona here you’ve forgotten who you are when you’re not in TPML.”

“Excuse me?” Razor Leaf said firmly.

“Just ask yourself if there is anything here worth staying for,” I said firmly, before I turned and walked away. I had a lot to be getting on with (I wanted to buy a water stone to evolve Poliwhirl) and strode off on that note, feeling, for the first time at TPML, like I had just got one up on Razor Leaf.

I passed Grey and Hanada Tattsu having a practice battle in the park. I was watching for a moment, seeing Hanada’s Wartortle fire off jets of water at Grey’s Butterfree. I began to remember what I saw in the archives; Grey and Razor Leaf training together and wondered if this was a similar thing. I really wanted to get away – aside from wanting to evolve Poliwhirl I was keen to find out how my Sneasel would evolve, so finding Crystal Tears was a must.

As I left, I saw Razor Leaf sulking in the distance, watching Hanada Tattsu with envy.

Chris 2.1

23rd January 2007, 05:02 PM

Later on, during the afternoon, Factory Head Noland gave a long groan as he stood at his side of the arena. Again. Despite his secretary informing him that UuberFred was his last challenger, that seemed to be a mistake. He had one more.

Standing opposite him was The Green Lanturn, whose random Pokeball had unleashed a rather barbaric looking Ursaring. Upon this, The Green Lanturn smiled; he himself had an Ursaring on his team and put it down to ‘good luck’. Noland had sent out a Crawdaunt, the scuttling lobster Pokemon with dark, saggy eyes.

Ursaring fired off a hyper beam from its large golden ring marking; the beam smashed right into Crawdaunt, who was launched back and retaliated by swiping forward and preparing a crabhammer. Ursaring barely missed the attack, leaping to the side and kicking the lobster hard.

“The perfect distraction,” UuberFred said gleefully. He was watching from the audience, wearing a very large hat and big sunglasses. As Noland punched his fist forward, ordering Crawdaunt to leap up and attack the Ursaring, UuberFred ran down the steps and dashed out a little door.

He wandered along a corridor, with Jake the tattered Murkrow on his shoulder. Murkrow’s feathers were ruffled, mangy and some graying, although he had a vivacious, youthful personality. UuberFred knew he had to get his Pokemon back.

“Hmm,” he said, arriving down the same corridor leading to the storage room. This time there was no Noland there to watch out. However, there was a Machoke that walked out of the door wearing a black suit and shades. He eyed UuberFred and flexed his muscles threateningly.

“No!” UuberFred cried. “Triple H! Ok! I choose you Swinub!”

UuberFred unleashed his little furry pig-like Pokemon, who looked like its hair was growing a bit too much. The pig leapt up and tackled Machoke, who smashed his fist down on the little ice-type. Murkrow flapped up.

“Thief!” UuberFred said. “Steal something!”

Jake soared past Machoke, who turned to give chase, but Swinub unleashed a weak blast of cold air that caused discomfort for the large fighting Pokemon. Machoke took a second to re-move his arms and legs, regaining circulation, before summoning up a fistful of flames to swing down at Swinub.

“No!” UuberFred cried. “I THOUGHT WRESTLING WAS FAKE! Stop hurting my Pokemon and give me an autograph!”

Murkrow swept back into the room, carrying a little drawstring bag he had found to store a number of Pokeballs in. He hurled it at his trainer, who grabbed a Pokeball and unleashed a beast, shouting “Help me!”

From the ball emerged a very rounded, blue Pokemon with a screwed up face. The Wobbuffet leapt before the little Swinub and bore the flaming attack; as Wobbuffet strained to bear the attack she glowed a bright red and blasted an attack back that sent Machoke flying right into the wall, where he smacked, groaned and collapsed.

“Wow!” UuberFred said. “Thanks!”

Wobbuffet gave a nod, a hand on her hip in a girlish fashion. UuberFred recalled Murkrow and Swinub, before he then learned his new Pokemon’s name (“Wobblefest? Wobbu-The-Ffet? BobbleFred?”). UuberFred admired the other Pokeballs that were in the bag. They had gift-like tags on them with a picture and description of the contents within. According to the tags, he had a Quilava, a Lickitung, a Manectric, and a very special pink Pokeball with a message engraved on it.

‘To my Daughter, Maisy. I hope this Pokemon serves you well as you begin your Pokemon journey. I have trained it to be obedient for you and hope it will be a loving companion. Good luck. Daddy.’

“That is so beautiful,” UuberFred said. The little tag that was on all the Pokeballs at the Battle Factory told him this was an Eevee. UuberFred put the Pokeball away. “I think Maisy would be honored to let me have it. Maybe.”

He looked around, wondering if anybody had noticed he had gone. The crowd was cheering – it sounded as if someone had won the match. UuberFred knew that Noland was probably going to be free now and hastily dashed towards the exit, a new, pumped-up team in tow.

*

Despite the refreshing start to my day, and the ever-so-juicy old-school take down I used on Razor Leaf, I was glum. I’ll tell you why.

I went to ‘Stones, Stems and Storks’, the random shop that specialized in elemental stones, herbal plants and stork-shaped plush dolls, hoping to find a water stone for Poliwhirl. They were sold out – allegedly.

After showing the woman my Poliwhirl, she noted its psychic prowess, and suggested I evolved it into a Politoed. It was apparently a bit harder than the Poliwhirl to Poliwrath evolution, but she encouraged it, saying that Poliwhirl was not muscled and physically strong enough to make an easy transition into Poliwrath.

“Politoed, however, is stronger mentally,” she replied eagerly.

“I think you need to be stronger mentally,” I retorted. “Hippy.”

Oh well. I sat in Hoothooters, waiting for my food and wiping owl muck off my cap for the third time that day when I saw a familiar figure wandering across the street. It was her. I ran outside, following her as she casually wandered on.

“Crystal!” I panted. “Crystal!”

“Chris!” she replied, turning to see me. “Umm. Hi!”

“Listen,” I said. “How did you evolve your Sneasel?”

“What?”

“How,” I replied. “Did you evolve Sneasel to Weavile?”

She did not reply straight away. I carried on.

“Ever since I saw your Weavile at the Battle Arena I knew I needed to evolve my own Sneasel. It is imperative to him – he’s the most focused member of my team, and one of my strongest but his size gets in the way, and he cannot take on some of my larger opponents. Please, tell me!”

“Chris!” she replied hastily. “…I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

“Why?” I snapped.

“I-I caught Edea as a Weavile,” she admitted. “My sister River and I…we found a pair injured. And we looked after them. That’s how I caught her. She’s always been…a Weavile to me.”

I stared at her, the words sinking into my mind and processing.

“Damnit,” I hissed.

“Chris?” she asked precariously. “Listen…”

“What?” I snapped again. She flinched.

“I was…wondering,” she murmured. “If you wanted to go and grab a coffee?”

“I can’t,” I replied, irritated and itchy with rage. “I need…I need to go somewhere.”

I stormed off. Crystal stood there emptily, sighing to herself as I marched up BT Street towards my flat. The keys were rammed into the lock and turned firmly. I strode in, threw my bag and jacket to the floor and slumped onto my bed, feeling suddenly heavy and miserable.

How was I supposed to evolve Sneasel now? How could I find out if the only girl who has a Weavile didn’t evolve it from it’s basic form. I snarled into my pillow as the face of the shop lady swam in my mind. Politoed? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

As my thoughts swirled around, Dusclops hovered over the bed unbeknownst. My eyes were screwed shut. He throbbed painfully in a deep, dark purple.

*

Meanwhile, in a dark, dark room, a woman sat at a computer. Light filtered in through a small, brick-sized window set high into the wall. She was in a very quiet place. The woman named Callisto Thunder set a number of Pokeballs onto the desk beside her as she tapped away at a computer.

Loading…Loading…Loading…

Her eyes widened as something was projected onto the screen. A blueprint of Theatre Gris, detailed enough to show entrances, exits, windows, air ducts and all sorts of complicated information. Satisfied, Callisto leant back in her chair.

“I’m coming for you son.”

Next: Demons
(A brief mini-chapter)

Arrested, beaten and broken, Ecks (aka Christian Cronus) cannot escape the demons in his head when manifestations from his past begin to haunt him.

This is the Ecks scene mentioned in the preview. It will be put up in a week but is long enough for me to consider it worth waiting for.

MeLoVeGhOsTs

24th January 2007, 06:57 AM

Nice chapter, Uuberfred really irritates me, the prick. He's really stupid, ignorant and annoying. I loath him, so much frustration right now ^^ Noland is quit right to kick him out. Noland's pretty awesome.

Noo, I hope it's not going to be Politoed. I like Poliwrath so much better, but yeah, mentally that's alright.

I'm hoping that Dan might change a bit, a tiny bit. Prehaps he should make some friends. That'll help.

Now, I'm wondering what Greg is trying to prove, teaching all those rookies. Is he making himself feel good by showing himself that he's capable or is he recruting for supporters. Beats me.

Nice chapter, I'm not really interested in the next one (since I'm kinda through with Ecks), but I'm looking forward to the Tournament and all those battlers ^^ Keep up the good work.

Elec Man EXE

24th January 2007, 10:44 AM

Time for more completely random reactions!

Hmm... UuberFred's not as rediculous as he seems. Still quite dumb, and a poor battler, but he seems to be a halfway decent thief. And rather determined, getting the pokemon taken back and going right back in to steal more. I wonder what ever happened to his Gastly, though.

Seeing more of the board, that was cool. Maneater :o . The sarcastic dude wins.

Who spit in Chris' soup? He's quite the moody dude, I'd have thought he'd be happier, what with Ecks' capture and all. I liked the conversation he had with the lady at the shop... I think you should be stronger mentally, hippie. LOL :D . No evolution for poor Sneasel, thats too bad. Aron did well in battle though (and I loved how Andrew paid Chris to stop the battle). Oh, and... stupid Chris! You don't turn down a cute girl just because your having a hissy fit because you can't evolve your pokemon. Even I know that :p

I fear for Grey's theatre. It'll probably get caught in the crossfire of Callisto and end up burning down... again.

Lots of good RL snubbing going on in this chapter, I see. Getting the offer for the brain position really humbled him, for whatever reason. I'd have thought it would have made him more full of himself, not less. Maybe its because he doesn't have confidence that he could be successful as a brain.

The whole Dusclops thing at the end of the chapter... intruiging. I can't tell if he's just feeding on his emotions, or causing them. I guess thats to be seen in the future, though.

Chris 2.1

24th January 2007, 12:02 PM

MLG: Howdy! I agree that Noland was right. I liked his character. UuberFred is still an enjoyment to write :) As for Politoed, it would mirror the critter's appearence on my team.....but remember how my Politoed got traded away? ;)

Dan has changed a bit. See below for a bit more info on what exactly happened last chappie. My opinion? He's scared of leaving TPML.

You mean Grey? I think there are a few reasons. Firstly, Grey is captivated by the mysterious Ecks, and Gregg could fill in a few of the holes in the mans life. Gregg is also extremely troubled and I think there is some genuine need for Grey to help the boy. And then there's Razor Leaf - Grey and Daniel are both trying to show the other they don't need the other; Dan has the offer to go elsewhere to better things, while Grey has a new protoge. Hmm.

As for next 'chapter': it isnt a chapter per se as I have already written it. But it features Ecks, and a few characters that we have not seen for some time (HINT). It is also a good way for me to begin to tie up the mans storyline without doing anything too cliched or overly-expected.

I think it will be enjoyed.

Elec Man: UuberFred is clever, crafty but still such a complete tool! Haha. His father is, too. Gastly? He's probably posessing somebody else. That was a big scene with the Board, and the man Magnus (who got up and left during the meeting) will be making his way to TPML to apprehend Ecks. He is interesting.

I think the reason Chris isn't happy lies in Chapter 38. Keep looking :) Chris will be spending a lot of time training as we near the league, but our hero has to sort his priorities!

Crystal? Heh she seems to like Chris a little bit, but I think the boy's slightly put off girls after what happened with Jenny. And Grey's Theatre....it would be true to say Callisto's willpower is strong. But can anyone save Grey's Theatre?

RaZor LeAf was a bit put out. He got the Brain offer and really wanted to tell Grey (and maybe even get some advice from him on what to do) but it seems that seeing Grey with Gregg has envoked some jealousness in Daniel. That's why he spoke with Chris - Chris is all he has left.

And Chris' line - seeing if there is anything worth staying for - seems to have stuck in Dans mind. I feel sorry for him personally!

It is safe to say Dusclops is partly behind Chris' mood swings. But in what way? You'll learn!

MeLoVeGhOsTs

24th January 2007, 12:58 PM

Lol, I'm hoping I'm gonna like that hint ^^

Dan/Greg relation seems to be quite interesting. I'm looking forwards to more evolution.

Politoed is going away? Hmm..we'll see.

Eagerly waiting for the next chapter, thank god it's coming up soon.

Andrew

24th January 2007, 04:20 PM

The Brains all living in a tour bus? I can't see that ending well!

Still, a UuberFred episode! Loved the fact he couldn't get past a pot-plant.

I was a bit confused at the first flashback, I always thought of the Brain being German or like European to some degree. Still, UuberDad wasn't doing particularly well. I'd be greatly amused if UuberMum was some European Swimsuit model who found the stenciller hawttt!11

Uuberfred stealing those Pokemon, oh dear, he's a daft one.

Andrew's Unsuspiciousness! Stop! You'll give yourself away! But I wonder what he'll do for the Closing Ceremony?

Arthur from the board, I'd like to see him with Rosie, I think they'd be a good match, her young drive and his attitude! The rest would resent them! Lol And good to see Brooklyn again! Haha, nice to see he's getting hit on there.

Oh, dear Delibird's hillarious. Truely hillarious.

Oh, and Lady V, like, she would NEVER drink alcohol or swear or be mean to ANYONE! And There's no way in hell she'd SkinnyDip! LOL. Mysterious!

Andrew's battle - Oh god! I never win anything do I! Still, I found that money giving quite funny, because it seems like something I would do. lOl. Especially selling unwanted Family Members, like my own sister.

Finally, Uuber getting more Pokemon again!? Doesn't Noland, like have a security system or, like cameras?!

MeLoVeGhOsTs

25th January 2007, 10:55 AM

Noland is european. We europeans are poor, no cameras. Lol.

classy_cat18

25th January 2007, 11:20 AM

UuberFred's stealing Pokemon now? I'm sorry, but I hope someone finds out about that and gives him the ass kicking he so rightfully deserves. And stealing a little girl's Eevee. For shame!

Oh, and good wrestling jokes.

Chris 2.1

25th January 2007, 02:56 PM

MLG: I think you will, but not for the reason you're thinking of :p Think. The characters that are featured have not been seen in the fic for some time. The reason is based around Ecks himself. I'm really being indiscreet here!

Politoed....what can I say? Watch this space. There will be evolutions aplenty coming up.

Andrew: That was the plan; I think some of them will stay in their facilities. Noland sleeping on the Factory lol!. Originally I wanted to include UuberMum and UuberGirl (the entire family was going to visit him) but...well I scrapped the idea to include the brief mention of more Eon sisters.

Andrew has a cool plan for the Contest. He also has two snarky assistants.

Arthur and Rosie? No! I want Austin and Rosie to hook up :p. Arthur is such a nice guy. I imagine he's married. And Brooklyn? Hah. Voletta's such a maneater but she might be after Brooklyn for something else! Watch this space!

Skinny Dip is the name of the pond :p But yes this is a very different characterisation of Lady V. This woman is a jaded coordinator and she has a cool part over the next few chapters.

Haha Andrew has beaten Luna and Solia in like Ch5. Lol! Do you think he'll do well in the league?

Noland's security sucks because the Brains are moving from city to city and he never has a permanent place. That's why he used his Machoke! Anyway it's needless to say Noland will discover his Pokemon have gone before he leaves!

Classy: Sucks doesn't it? Noland finds out. That Eevee was to Noland's daughter, Maisey. For shame....

Sike Saner

25th January 2007, 06:55 PM

UUBERFRED HAS DEVOURED MY SANITY LIKE A POUND OF POTTED SOIL BY WAY OF HIS FREDGENDARY POWER. @___@

Thus, be forewarned: I’m in something of a goofy mood at present. XP

Pretty much every scene he was in had me laughing like a damned hyena—particularly his battle scenes. Fecking classic stuff. XD Yielding an identical result was his father, due to bearing similar tendencies (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, indeed), and also due to his NAME. XD It kind of makes me wonder about the rest of Pchestfrederunk’s (you should hear me attempting to pronounce that name XD) family—is there an UuberGrandma? UuberBrattySister? UuberWeirdUncle?

…Yeah, again, my sanity is currently out to lunch. XP

Also amusing was Voletta. I fear for Brooklyn, let me tell you—I get the feeling said desperate, 46-year old woman has only just begun to pursue him. XP

I look very much forward to Ecks’s upcoming scene, and I’ll conclude this review with some of my favorite highlights from the latest chapter:

“Try moving!”

Squirtle writhed and wriggled but to no avail.

“Ok! Try…moving!” UuberFred suggested, thinking of what he could do. Squirtle repeated the technique, finding himself still rooted to the ground as Dunsparce hovered darkly.

“This is challenging!” proclaimed the boy. “How about moving?”

“Deliburu!” it cried. “Buru!”

“You must be a Skarmory!” UuberFred said cleverly.

“UuberFred has selected DELIBIRD,” the announcer said firmly, so as not to confuse the audience.

“Look! Look at this drawing I drew!” he said, showing a messy-looking human covered in armor. “It WAS called KyogrDon and it WAS forged when Kyogre and Groudon fused under the Armour of Fredgendary Power…but NOW it’s called HitmonFred and NOW it’s the evolved form of Hitmonchan and it evolves when it wants to win for its trainer!”

Hitmonchan looked confused, but the confusion ebbed away when a huge, star-shaped blast of fire ploughed into his back, causing him to stagger and collapse at his trainer’s feet. UuberFred gasped.

“You’re evolving?” he cried. “Into HitmonFred?!”

Chris 2.1

1st February 2007, 03:44 PM

Sike: It is pronounced P-shest-fred-er-unk. I thought Frederick was too boring for our Uuber ^^ I think there may be other UuberFamily, but it is possible UuberFred took the Uuber suffix from his partially-german father.

Voletta and Brooklyn's scenes are pretty funny but that's not the direction that story arc ends up taking. Ecks mini-chapter: Below!

Here we go, the mysterious, freakazoid Ecks scene that is, and I am being truthful here, one of my proudest pieces of work to date. If you want to feel what I did when I was writing it, download 'Come Get It', an amazing jazz number by Miles Davis. It sets the scene aptly.

Chapter 38.5
Christian Cronus: Part 2 - Demons

His eyelids gave a brief flutter and the man Ecks awoke with a jolt. He blinked a few times, eyeing his surroundings. He was sitting in a chair. His suit was dirty, ripped and stained, while his hair was a mess and his eyes throbbed with irritation. He was facing a glass partition separating him from the other part of the room; three guards were there, each facing him and keeping a close eye. There was a staircase winding up to the next floor, and a plasma screen fitted into the wall directly opposite him.

Here he was. Captured, after all his alluding and trickery. A sharp pain seared down his leg; it felt almost as if it was not there. Recalling the Iron Maiden incident, Ecks understood. It was bandaged, however, his trouser leg ripped, and had a strip of wood bandaged to the back of his leg as a splint.

“He’s awake,” said a dull voice. A guard was motioning the others towards Ecks. He simply sat there effortlessly, unable to really get out his chair without immense difficulty. The chair (and himself) were in the middle of a spacious cell. He needed support from the wall or something to that effect if he wanted to get up.

Suddenly he heard a new voice. A fresh, airy voice.

“You’re going to die in here.”

Where had it come from? It was a soft voice, although there was bitterness and some glee within. It had been a girl; Ecks was sure of it, although there was not a girl in sight, anywhere. The men across the other side of the cell looked blurred.

“I’m what?” he asked.

“You are going to die in here.”

“No I’m not,” Ecks snarled, carrying his voice all around him. “I’m being sent to prison, actually.”

“Prison?” the voice asked. Ecks knew the person that the voice belonged to, he did…but who was it? “For all the crimes you committed, you’ll be given the Death Penalty, Ecks.”

“That is against the law,” Ecks said smartly, giving a grin and turning for the room to see.

“They’ll make an exception,” she replied, just as smug and cleverly as he. “You are an exceptional man.”

“Who is this?” Ecks said firmly. “Show yourself!”

And, before him, a fluttering shape glistened before his eyes. A silvery glow…a glittering something…and, as he focused, squinting his eyes…he saw a masquerade mask, looking expensive, mysterious and flamboyant. It slowly floated towards a face, before the woman used a hand (a hand draped in an expensive, elbow-length glove) to take it away and reveal herself.

It was Karin. Dressed in a beautiful silvery dress, wearing a glittering necklace, she looked stunning. Her skin shone and her hair, tied back, flowed so gracefully and yet so decisively. She smiled.

“You?” Ecks said, surprised.

“Me,” she replied, her voice no longer airy and wisp-like. “Karin. And I stand by what I say, Ecks. You will pay.”

“Karma is nonsense,” Ecks said, above the rumors the woman was spreading. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know a lot more than you think,” she said, giving an oddly triumphant smile, showing pearly white teeth. “Ever wondered what happened to me?”

“I assumed you died,” Ecks said. His eyes noticed that right where he had shot Karin, there was a tear in her dress. Blood leaked from her and stained her wonderful dress, but the blood was controlled and not gushing as it once had.

“I did die,” she sighed. “And I am dead. It was wonderful.”

“Your death was wonderful,” Ecks repeated. “It looked painful.”

“It is,” snarled the woman viciously. “It still bleeds. But the pain is overridden by the wonderment of it all.”

She sighed, sweeping her arms from her side.

“Death is like a Broadway show,” she explained, recalling it with a nostalgic smile. “A sea of faces watching me…wonderful music riding up into the rafters of a gigantic room…and me, in a wonderful silver dress, striding purposefully to a bright light…”

Again she gave a heavy sigh.

“Wonderful.”

“Not quite the words I would use,” said a slightly bitter voice. There was a sudden change in mood; Karin wandered from Ecks’ eyesight as the lights dimmed to a spotlight just past the glass partition, revealing a lone figure holding something. The sound of heels told Ecks Karin was marching around him. The figure turned.

“Henry!” Ecks whispered. It was Liang’s brother, gripping a dodgeball tightly and looking very twisted and sour. An odd melody filled the air; rapturous tingles from a saxophone as a bass and a keyboard battled amongst the noise. Ecks could see that where the three guards stood there was now three wolves, each bipedal in a snazzy suit, playing a bass cello, jazz keyboard and saxophone respectively. One wore shades. One smoked a cigarette. The third wore a waistcoat.

“Hello Ecks,” Henry said, smirking. He was moving the dodgeball in his hands erratically, as if he were about to launch it. Ecks’ eyes followed the ball.

“Henry,” Ecks said firmly. “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you explain?” Henry asked Karin. He wore very old clothes; not raggy but definitely well-worn. His hair was tousled and unlike Karin, he looked less distinguished. He also wept blood from a wound around his stomach. Karin’s voice filled the air.

“I set the ball rolling.”

“I killed Karin,” Ecks said. “Is this some…ghosts of my past thing? Because I didn’t kill you, Henry.”

“You had me killed,” he replied, showing two pointed teeth as he held the dodgeball wholly. “You made my own brother shoot me in the stomach. On your orders. So yes, Ecks, I think you did kill me.”

He paced back and forth, still behind the glass partition. Suddenly he launched the dodgeball, which hit Ecks square in the face. He gave a groan as the dodgeball melted into the floor and another appeared in Henry’s hand. The jazz tunes swept the cell.

“And despite Karin’s sentiments, death is not lined with expensive dresses and beautiful music. Death is different depending on the individual.”

He span the ball on his finger without even looking at it, staring at Ecks coldly.

“Death is like a game of dodgeball,” he explained, firing the ball up into a corner of the room, where it bounced back and fled into his expecting hands. “Chaos. Panic. A rush of people sweeping around as a man in a black suit stands perfectly still. But instead of firing dodgeballs…he clicks his fingers and points. That is it. A click and point and BANG, you are gone.”

He smirked.

“Ever heard of those stories? You know, ‘I saw the light, but I came back’, that kinda thing. Those are the lucky sods that don’t get targeted by the man straight away. They manage to dodge the proverbial ball, and they live for a little bit longer. Maybe days, weeks, months, years…”

“But you never managed to dodge those…proverbial balls?” Ecks asked, a sneer on his face. Looking angry, Henry launched another ball that connected with the mans face. Ecks gave a gasp as the ball disappeared, and another appeared in Henry’s hands.

“No.”

He stalked through the glass partition, around Ecks, and behind him like Karin had done. It was quiet for a moment. Ecks sat there, the pain in his leg making it impossible for him to move away from these two. As he readjusted himself, an odd, fine powder sprinkled from above, getting in his hair. He looked up as the black and silver specks of glitter fell upon him and a figure descended from down the stairs. Wearing a slightly tartier dress than Karin, a young girl emerged step by step, wearing a sash that read ‘DESCEASED’ and a pretty crown, perhaps made of bone. She gripped a scepter as well. The girl smiled and gave a wave as she walked. Ecks watched.

“Hello Ecks,” she said politely. She had a graze and bruises down the left side of her face but seemed unhurt.

“Who are you?” he said impatiently.

“Solia,” she replied, sounding sour in a way not unlike Henry. She walked through the partition.

“I can’t feel any remorse for people I haven’t even met,” he snapped rudely. Solia gave a nod and from behind, a dodgeball struck Ecks. He swore loudly at whatever may be behind him.

“I tried fighting off the Antibodies during your attack,” she explained. “And was struck by a hyper beam and ploughed into a wall.”

Ecks didn’t even bother to say anything; his feelings were known. He simply sat there, arms folded.

“Mega Horny. That was his name,” Solia said. “An innocent boy who attacked me due to sheer peer pressure from you.”

Ecks just sat there, unable to feel any remorse.

“My entire life was ahead of me,” she said firmly. “And you took it away.”

She turned around in a slow swirl, head high.

“And yet…when I died, I felt so alive.”

“Alive?” Ecks asked wearily, intrigued by the girl’s phrasing.

“Death is like a sparkling parade,” she said, almost transfixed by her own imagery. “I collapsed at the foot of the Rules Tower…and then it came. A fantastic parade of floats and dancers. The world around me dissolved into black and white as vibrant colour flooded the floats. I was hoisted onto a throne and paraded through TPML, watching as we drove slowly past people and places from my life. A celebration of my childhood, my loved ones and my memories.”

“Again,” Ecks said firmly. “I don’t know you. I don’t care.”

“Then care about my sister,” Solia snarled. “She lost me – her closest friend. No…it’s not enough that our mother died when we were young. I’m gone, too, and she has nobody left now.”

“Do you?” Ecks asked provocatively. “Have anyone left?”

“I have my mother,” Solia said firmly. “She is with me in this life.”

“Solia is roughly the age of your son, isn’t she?” Karin said, striding into view. Ecks looked at Karin angrily.

“I fail to see the relevance,” he said.

“Imagine Gregg’s life being taken away from you,” Karin said firmly, standing next to Solia like a powerful, older sister.

“If I die, it will be so,” Ecks said simply. “You’ve already threatened me with being separated from my son…although if you did still coexist here, you’d know I was willing to kill my own son to be with my wife.”

He gave a short, derisive laugh.

“You don’t scare me.”

“I fail to believe that for a second,” came a fourth voice. Before his eyes, Ecks witnessed the floor shimmer with an odd glow; Henry, Karin and Solia all seemed to lift off the surface for a moment as it bubbled and popped like thick, marsh-like quagmire. A figure was rising up from the shadowy depths. And, starting with the head, Knight of Time emerged from the floor. After his head came his broad shoulders, his chest, stomach (arms at his side, looking as muscled and well built as they always had) followed by his legs and his feet. He did not appear wet. Once he was out, the floor became solid again. Kyle stared at Ecks. His entire body was charred.

“You fail to believe it, do you?” Ecks said, raising his eyebrows. Kyle nodded. His hair was messy and his glasses, broken and shattered, hung from his face. He had darkened skin, cuts and grazes all over his body after the electrifying death Ecks gave him.

“I do,” Kyle said firmly, although he was not threatening. “You don’t know what we can achieve, Christian.”

“How do you know that?” Ecks snapped, panicked. He moved out his chair slightly, staring at the four figures. “Who told you that?”

“There are very few people who know your real name, Ecks,” Kyle said softly. “And even fewer of those people are dead.”

“My father…” Ecks said slowly. “He’s here?”

“He is,” Kyle said.

“Bring him to me,” Ecks snapped. “Bring him here right now!”

“We can’t,” Karin replied.

“Why not?” Ecks seethed.

“All of this,” Karin said. “This is your mind. You have to want your father to appear, and then he will.”

“That’s a lie,” scoffed the man Ecks. “I didn’t want any of you to appear, and you did of your own accord.”

“Untrue,” Kyle said smugly. “We all appeared as manifestations of your reaction to the word ‘death’. Once you were told you were going to die, your mind placed the voice as Karin’s, and she was created. Again and again, those who you know you are responsible for the deaths of have emerged here, in your little cell to talk to you.”

“I didn’t know Solia,” Ecks snapped. “So how could my mind manifest her?”

“You’ve seen her picture,” Kyle went on. “You saw live coverage of the Memorial Service for Solia and I from your little bunker hideout. You knew of her, and your inner mind knew that you felt guilty even though you were distanced from her.”

He paced back and forth. He was wearing a black army jacket, loose jeans and held a stick.

“In fact….not knowing Solia made her death even worse.”

“That’s a lie!” shouted Ecks. “LIAR!”

“I’ll keep talking!” Kyle shouted back, over the mans manic cries. “Death is like a plane crash. You could say my death was an accident. I opened my eyes to find myself in a plane. High up in the air, in black and white I sat, buckled tight. We lost control…the man next to me, shadowed and blurred writhed and screamed as we began to plummet down. We went faster and faster, my heart hammered wildly against my chest. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

“Did you die again?” Ecks asked. Karin gave a laugh and another dodgeball was launched from Henry, striking Ecks in the back of the head.

“As we got faster and closer to the ground the blacks and the whites ran, wiping away to reveal bold, bright colour. An incredible warmth spread over me I calmed down; this was panicky and chaotic, but I was going to be safe.”

“Did the plane crash?” Ecks asked keenly, apparently finding this more interesting than the previous stories.

“Do you want to see your father?” Kyle asked, smirking. He saw the hungry expression on his face. “Funny how you forget what you were angry about so quickly.”

“I do want to see my father,” Ecks snapped. “Now…bring him here right now!”

“You bring him here,” whispered Solia.

“I don’t think he’ll be happy to see you,” thought Henry, giving a short laugh. As Ecks stared at the wolves playing their jazz music (which had begun increasing in speed and pace), there was a short, sharp crack of a whip. The cello strings splintered, the saxophone seemed to have something jammed in it, and the keyboard gave an unholy scream as it was struck. The wolves each looked stunned. Ash dropped from the end of one’s cigarette. Suddenly the walls seemed to bleed a dark, inky paint as the glass partition shimmered.

“He’s here,” Ecks whispered. Nothing could divert his focus from the space ahead as a gentle breeze had picked up. The walls began to bleed heavier and slowly faded away; Ecks stared, transfixed, as his surroundings morphed and changed. He was no longer in his cell…he was in a deserted wasteland. Nothing was happening. The breeze swept specks of sand across the area. It was darkening. He was still in his chair, intrigue rooting him to it.

And then, he heard it. A vroom, vroom that rang out across the canyon-like area. Ecks knew this place…and as he sat in his chair, the leg ailing him so, he recalled that this was the place he brought his father, Virgil Cronus, to die.

Sure enough, a Rolls Royce car purred across the sand, spraying a cloud of dusty dune into the air. That was his father’s personal car. It was then, when a familiar figure got out the driver’s seat, that Ecks realised he was watching a projection of the day his father died. The rainy day that Ecks knocked out his father’s chauffeur so he could hijack the car…the day he wanted to take over Cronus Industries.

He himself, then known as Christian Cronus, was wearing shades against the ferocious winds. He grabbed his father by the neck and dragged him out. Virgil was limp, probably due to fear; he let his son hurl him to the ground, where he got up calmly, dusting himself off.

“What on earth are you doing, Christian?” Virgil asked firmly. “Driving me all the way here –”

“Shut up,” Christian Cronus snapped, pointing the gun directly at him. Virgil’s eyes met the gun and widened slightly. He gave a shuddering gulp.

“I see.”

“I don’t think you do,” Christian retorted.

“I see that you want my company,” Virgil replied smartly. “And it seems somebody learned that Cronus Industries is passed down to you when I die.”

“Correct,” Christian said. He gave a smirk. Virgil noted his son’s irritation at facing the wind dead on, for it was disrupting his vision. So when a sharp gust pushed against him, Virgil took his chance, batting Christian’s arm decisively. Staggering back, Christian lost hold of the gun; it let off a heavy shot as it was fired. Virgil scrambled to get it and held it ready, pointing it at his son.

“I’m not stupid,” Virgil said firmly. “I, unlike you, can kill a man, Christian.”

“I can,” Christian snapped. “I could kill you!”

“You waited too long,” Virgil said simply. “Killing is quick. Decisive. If you want to do it, do it quick. Each second is a seed of doubt planted into your mind.”

He put the gun down slowly.

“See you in hell, son.”

And he then pointed it at the roof of his own mouth, squeezing the trigger. Christian cried in protest as he ran forward; there was a BANG and blood splattered over the young man’s face and clothes. Virgil dropped limply to the earth, blood spilling from his mouth.

“Dad?” Christian asked meekly. “Dad!”

“STOP THIS!” Ecks screamed suddenly, watching the scene from afar. “STOP! STOP THIS NOW!”

He was thrashing around in his chair, tears in his eyes. As he screwed his eyes up, the dusted ground, the dead body of Virgil Cronus, and the figure of Christian Cronus at his feet, struggling to comprehend what had happened.

“You might as well have killed me.”

Ecks looked. Suddenly he was back in the cell; the wolves had left their little stage, their instruments ruined, and there was no music any longer. Karin, Henry, Solia and Kyle were circling him. Virgil Cronus stood before Ecks, blood having dried and cracked around his mouth.

“Dad,” Ecks said.

“Don’t,” Virgil replied firmly.

“Don’t? I’m your son,” Ecks said exasperatedly.

“My son is Christian Cronus,” Virgil snapped. “Not some ‘Ecks’ persona. My son couldn’t kill a man, and here you are having killed many! You are scarring yourself! Your life is ruined.”

“No it is not,” replied Ecks darkly. “My life is not ruined at all!”

“He’s going to die,” Henry said playfully. Virgil turned around.

“Don’t be so ridiculous,” he whispered, anger surging through his words. He turned to his son. “Ecks, you are not going to die; they cannot give you the death penalty. But you will spend a lot of time in prison. Your wife and son won’t have a husband and father for ten to twenty years.”

Ecks stared back. He didn’t know what to say. Virgil crossed his arms and stared down at his disgraced child.

“This is the last time you will dream of me,” he said sternly. “And for your sake, that can only be a good thing.”

“What do you mean?” Ecks asked suddenly. “What are you talking about?”

Suddenly his father turned to walk away. Ecks watched, suddenly realizing he wasn’t satisfied with the response.

“Don’t walk away from me!” he shouted. He was still sitting on this same chair. As his father walked away, the scene shifted. Karin gave a jeer and Henry hurled a dodge ball into Ecks’ face. He shouted out. Kyle laughed and Solia watched, arms crossed furiously.

“VIRGIL!” Ecks cried. He felt a sudden sweeping surge of heat and panic – looking around, the cell was empty. No Karin, Henry or anybody else. No Virgil. The three guards watched him, evidently confused by his sudden outburst. Ecks sat there, gasping, wondering what on earth happened.

“Bad dreams?” asked a guard in a voice that suggested no warmth.

Ecks gave a slow nod, wondering if they were dreams at all. He stared around, feeling oddly numb from the entire scene. Had he envisioned the whole thing? Was that his mind playing tricks, or had he actually been haunted by those he had killed?

Next: Chapter 39 - Razor Leaf (Part V)
Daniel makes a decision on the Frontier Brains offer, surprising a lot of people in the village. But what is his offer for Grey? Chris begins to weigh up what he wants against what his Pokemon need as he trains for the league, and is given mysterious advice from a Frontier Brain in the park. Meanwhile, Callisto runs into a hitch on the way to taking back her son and Luna begins unmasking the marvels of Lady Vulpix.

Please let me know what you thought of the insane scene!

Mega Horny

1st February 2007, 03:55 PM

Great stuff. Don't have much time, but I'll say what I'll say. Noland was as badass as always, and Uuberfred was hilarious (Wobbu-the-ffet)! I died. Also, your hippy comment about Politoed got a lol from me too. The mini chapter was a classic bad guy picture, and portrayed Ecks the way i would imagine him. Keep it up.

Elec Man EXE

1st February 2007, 04:29 PM

Thats was quite interesting, I must say. I'm not much for insanity-scenes personally, but it was interesting the different ways you portrayed death. The wolfs playing jazz music was just weird, though :P

But his "father" only expects him to get 10 to 20 years for killing 2 people, torturing / kindnapping others, and leading any army that caused great damage and at least 1 more death? Guess he's pretty forgiving.

And his father killed himself? Ooh, plot twist (that wasn't revealed earlier, was it? If it was... then ignore me :p). Definately didn't expect that.

The Blue Avenger

1st February 2007, 08:11 PM

I haven't reviewed this in a while, so I'll get on it. I think out of the past 2.5 chapters you've posted, Ecks' one is by far my favorite. Uuberfred's past was cool - he's an... interesting character to be sure - but the insanity scene was really well done.

I think what made this chapter... just seeing all those characters again, and all their different views on death. It provided a lot of insight into the, and Ecks' reactions really worked well. Particularly to his father. I wasn't expecting that at all.

So yeah. See you next chapter.

RaZoR LeAf

6th February 2007, 06:02 PM

You know, I think that mini chapter focusing on Ecks' mental state is the best one you've written so far. But I can't help think RaZoR LeAf's and Chris' conversation is somehow linked to recent events?

Chris 2.1

7th February 2007, 05:09 AM

Mega Horny: Thanks, I'm glad you liked them!

Elec Man: I was thinking of that cartoon Wolf from Droopy and Dripple, in his pinstripe suit. The one that goes "arf arf! woof! hubbah hubaah!" etc etc. Beastiality. You gotta love it!

Virgil was probably toying with his son....if 10/20 years sounds bad, the real figure will be even more shocking. And no, in Ch33 (Christian Cronus) we saw Ecks feel so trapped by his father and so pressured. Ecks wanted to run Cronus Industries in order to be wealthier and provide better care for his family, so he abducted his father in the Rolls Royce. All we saw was Virgil demanding to be let out as Christian drove the car away. It was assumed Christian shot his father, took on his Ecks persona and ran Cronus Industries.

But it seems Virgil shot himself. Why? To me, the man wanted his son to be just like him. And seeing how low he would sink to get a job he was guarenteed to get anyway, give or take five or ten years seemed to upset him. He wanted to give his son what he wanted, but at a cost. The message was clear; Ecks could run the business, but would never have the guts to pull a trigger.

I guess he's wrong though, since Ecks has been particularly trigger-happy in TPML.

TBA: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I do find myself reading that Ecks chapter a lot. It's quite.....different. I told you we'd see some old faces :) This was my last hurrah for the victims of Ecks before his inevitable serving time. Everything that has happened that was his fault has caught up to him to basically look him in the eye and say "ha ha". He's like an animal in the zoo. And I wanted to project some of my own feelings on death.

Did anybody read that chapter and ask themselves "what will death be like for me?" Try it.

And all bad people have horrible fathers, its classic storytelling. Just wait until you meet Ecks' Mother

...

Wait a minute. Um. Next!?

Dan: It's surprisingly not; from the debut of the Brains Daniel has been drafted in to leave the village, and it was odd for me because I considered changing it.

Drew left, and you stayed in ASB so I wondered abut Dan being offered the brain position but suggesting Grey go instead. That was an idea I had. But a lot of events in TPML will never relate to those in ASB. This one, however, managed to. It's quite odd.

Daniel will be making his decision. I'm sure you all know what it is though :o

And thanks about the chapter. It's my favourite, too!

Look out for:

An old ASBer/TPMLer coming back to the village in future chapters. Or did she ever leave? Hmm.

Andrew

7th February 2007, 06:41 AM

Ecks' mum... I am thinking a very cutting woman with high standards. Or, someone who goes against his moral stance. Like, some floozey.

Lol, Solia dead became quite amusing, but I'm totally on Ecks' side going "How can I feel pity for someone I haven't ever met". She still was tons of awesome. It's a pity we won't see her again. Karin was also good to see again.

I always presumed Daddy committed suicide (I bet he had a large life insurance payout too?) and Henry's dodgeball kind of annoying lol.

It was an interesting chapter to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I ALSO predict Dan trying to offload his former mentor to the frontier brains instead of him since he wants to be a big fish in a small pond. You know, promoting someone else to take a position so he can stay in charge... or perhaps, sugget Cocoa as the next Frontier Brain, lol, after all the damage she's taken! LOL. I am surprised she is not on stress leave.

And Luna unmasking Lady V? Oh... dear... her character in this fic is so far removed from the Lady G I know, I have no clue what to expect!

Oh and seeing what death is like for me. It's something I hope that doesn't happen to me for along time. I kind of see it as you die. You are gone. That's the end. There's nothing at all, it's the little moments in life that count, the imprint you leave on the world.

Sike Saner

9th February 2007, 06:35 PM

Hell. Yes. :D

That chapter was wicked boss, and I imagine it must have seriously fun to write. The different perspectives on death were quite fascinating. There was a lot of really great imagery; first and foremost, the WOLF BAND. :D What an awesomely surreal image they provided. I also liked the hell out of Solia with her dress and sash and scepter and crown of bone, looking like some kind of morbid homecoming queen. Morbid stuff makes me HAPPY! :D

Easily, my favorite part was learning about what really happened to Ecks’s father. It went something like this for me:

Me: *reads*

Virgil: *blows own brains out*

Me: HOLY SHIT! O___________O

Good times, good times. X3

So. That chapter gets the “favorite” stamp from me. ^^ I’ll now conclude this review with one of my favorite quotes from the chapter:

“Death is like a game of dodgeball,” he explained, firing the ball up into a corner of the room, where it bounced back and fled into his expecting hands. “Chaos. Panic. A rush of people sweeping around as a man in a black suit stands perfectly still. But instead of firing dodgeballs…he clicks his fingers and points. That is it. A click and point and BANG, you are gone.”

Chris 2.1

12th February 2007, 08:56 AM

Andrew: Actually, she's dead. *shrug* you will see her at some point though. She had an influence on little Christian Cronus. Unfortunately so did Virgil and the latter stuck around a little bit longer.

I'm glad you liked seeing the dead people. It was fun to write. Heh Razor Leaf and Grey have a lot of the spotlight next chapter, there's a lot of battles and some rather touching words. It's about halfway done altogether.

Lady V is a cool character; quite spontaneous in her creation but she has a big role to play. I'm enjoying intergrating her among the rest of the cast and over the next few chapters we will learn more about her.

Sike: Hey! Very fun to write; initially Ecks was going to meet the five deceased people in an entity called The Between - an area between life and death wherein they were held until Ecks was brought to justice - then they could rest in peace. In the end it felt a bit....almost like I was projecting some karma-induced philosophy and I didn't like it.

w00t for the Wolves :) And Kyle wasn't originally in a plane crash when he died. I'm trying to think...umm anyway I liked his version. It made me think about my own death - I think I'd either like Karin or Solia's version!

I guess for you it was more of a twist; others havent read Ch33 (Ecks flashback chapter) for MONTHS so it wasn't perhaps as clear. Thanks for reading!

Ch39 will be up maybe in a week or so. I've written quite a lot of the dialogue, with some interesting paths weaved for some characters. Look out for ... well just look out since a lot of twists will be twisting around!

Look out for another flashback-sort-of-chapter just before the League starts. It's going to be very revealling, it's based around someone we've known for a long time and we're going to see some skeletons fall out of some proverbial closets.

:)

Chris 2.1

24th February 2007, 05:50 PM

Chapter Thirty-Nine
Razor Leaf: Part 5

Life was…stressful. Seriously. Pressure was all around and it felt horrible, like a weight against my chest. I woke the next day after a very good sleep, dressed (and decided that I needed some new clothes, pronto. I didn’t want to be like Bart Simpson and have the same orange t-shirt all the time) and went to the Pokemoncenter down BT Street. I wanted my team to get healed up and feeling fresh for the day. We had a lot ahead of us. I wrote a list of things I wanted to do and headed out the flat.

I wandered down BT Street. This place had changed. The Trading Center was now ‘The Lucky Karp Casino’, the restaurant Hoothooters was being refurbished to a new, hip seafood restaurant ‘OmaStarbucks’, which looked pretty interesting. I saw Grey’s fantastic playhouse, as well as a sign promising a future Breeding Center. Wow. Hanada’s Gym (as it would forever be known) was being looked over by a group of construction workers.

I came across a familiar face quite soon into my venture. The sneering Girafarig, who was wandering up from the seedy looking casino with emptier pockets. His eyes met mine and his lips curled into a smile.

“Hey Chris,” he called, wandering over. Crap.

“What do you want?” I asked rudely.

“Fancy a battle?” he asked nonchalantly. I eyed him briefly before shaking my head.

“Sorry,” I replied. “I’ve got bigger things to do.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled. “I just won a prize at the new Casino.”

“Good for you.”

“It’s a Leaf Stone,” he said. “They’re quite rare.”

My ears perked up.

“Leaf Stone?”

“I’m thinking of catching something like a Nuzleaf or Weepinbell,” came his voice. “And then I can evolve it with my new prize.”

“I need to go,” I said firmly, deciding to head to the Casino. However Girafarig blocked my way, holding an arm out and standing before me.

“I forgot to mention,” he said. “I saw the records. Apparently, despite your huge, ego-driven speech you gave me before you went to the Battle Arena, you didn’t even win the medal.”

I stared at the boy angrily, partly because he was pushing my buttons, but partly because my ego was in the way. He saw my reaction and gave a nod.

“You’re all talk,” he sniped. I clenched my teeth in anger.

“Shut it and let me past.”

“You,” he repeated. “Are all talk.”

I didn’t even think before I swung my fist upwards and socked Girafarig in the face. He staggered into a wall, a hand over his eye as he fell back. My eyes watched his single one widen in alarm.

“Talk to that,” I replied angrily. I walked across the road, feeling smug, egotistical and surging with anger. I decided that, since he had won a leaf stone at the Casino I should try my luck, maybe I could win a water stone to evolve Poliwhirl. I made my way there, just across the street, which was lucky, because there were sharp pains in my feet.

I hobbled on a little further when stars burst into light before my eyes. I staggered. These stars wouldn’t stop popping in front of me, and slowly, a heavy muffling was sneaking into my ears.

“I…I can’t hear anything,” I warned the street. “And…”

Thump.

*

Straight away I was awake, my eyes leaping out in shock when I saw that I was sitting down. When did I sit down? I didn’t remember sitting down, but did feel a sharp pain in my head. People were crowded around me.

“Are you ok?” asked a girl. It was Greta, the Frontier Brain who beat me at the Battle Arena.

“What happened?” I said weakly.

“You fainted,” Greta said calmly. “A boy…Girafarig, he saw you collapse.”

Oh god, that’s all I needed, that cocky bastard with one up on me. I rolled my eyes. Greta began to send people away; I was ok, I didn’t need any mollycoddling.

“What made me faint?” I asked Greta, who was sitting by me.

“I think I know,” Greta said softly. Why did she look so fearful? “Chris…truth be told, some of the Brains have shown particular anxiety about you ever since you challenged the Battle Arena.”

“Why?”

“When I saw your Dusclops, I was in awe of its power,” Greta admitted. “It is a ferociously strong Pokemon.”

“Then how did you beat it?” I asked her.

“I, too, am ferociously strong,” admitted the friendly woman, smiling at me. “But power is not the only key to success.”

I recalled Grey telling me a similar thing. Greta suddenly looked serious and remorseful, as if somebody had died.

“But the more and more your tactics were working, the angrier and more frustrated you got,” Greta replied firmly, not even letting me contradict her. “I saw you. But your own fury and anger at your Pokemon was spurring on the cataclysmic power of Frustration. It was a vicious cycle.”

“I don’t see what you’re getting at,” I admitted.

“Ever since then I have kept my eye on you when I can,” the Brain continued. “You are pale, you have huge bags under your eyes and you seem constantly fatigued.”

“So?” I snapped.

“And you’re easily agitated,” Greta replied. “I didn’t need to do any research because I know the signs when I see them.”

“Is something wrong with me?” I asked weakly, suddenly realizing this was a very similar situation to a doctor speaking to their patient. Greta’s head dipped slightly. Oh my god I’ve got cancer!

“It’s…Dusclops.”

“Oh,” I said softly. “I don’t care if he has cancer.”

“That’s exactly what’s wrong,” Greta said desperately, her eyes ablaze with passion. “You have never loved or cared for Dusclops like your other Pokemon because of its frustration attack. Yes, it grows stronger with hatred, but you and your Pokemon have taken this too far. Dusclops is the one making you feel moody, angry and tired because it’s leeching all your negative emotions to satisfy its hunger for power. If you ever feel sad, Dusclops can locate that sadness and devours it; he expands and elongates your feelings which makes you feel worse. This Pokemon will control you if you don’t sever your ties with it as soon as you can!”

I stared at her.

“You honestly think that?” I asked.

“Honestly,” Greta said. I thought about Jenny…Morpheus, well, both of them, and how depressed I had gotten. How unhinged. How violent, and I started to wonder if she was right.

“So I should release him again?” I asked. Greta thought for a few moments.

“I would,” she replied. “This is a natural, fiendish trait of ghost Pokemon – they are extremely difficult to train up.”

“You have a ghost Pokemon,” I said, thinking. “Shedinja.”

“Correct,” Greta said. “But he evolved from a non-ghost Pokemon, so we had already established a bond between each other.”

“Right.”

As she talked, I registered what she said…but also felt slightly awkward. Greta explained that she had to vacate the Battle Arena, as it had officially closed now. She walked off, and I thought about her warning. Was it right for me to abandon Dusclops? Or would it be foolish to hand away the strongest member of my team?

*

Meanwhile, Grey was in his Theatre with Hanada Tattsu. They were battling together, Grey using his Pupitar against Gregg’s Quagsire. They were fighting furiously, and had been training each other and helping each other out quite a lot.

“That is good,” Grey said calmly, as Pupitar was struck by a rogue water gun. The shell-like Pokemon skidded to his trainers feet and Grey held a hand up. “Take a short break.”

Hanada nodded. Quagsire was recalled. Grey recalled Pupitar in a similar manner and the two took a seat in the theatre’s front row, each pulling out a bottle of water and drinking.

“Do you see how you are improving?” Grey asked.

“I do,” Hanada replied quietly. “You are making things much clearer.”

“Your main obstacle is an electric or grass type,” Grey explained. “You knew this when you started training water Pokemon. But I know you can tackle them, Gregg. I will start using some of my stronger electric and grass types in combat and we will learn how to overcome them.”

The door of the theatre opened and Razor Leaf slid in.

“Oh,” Grey said. “Hello Razor Leaf.”

“I need to have a word with you,” he replied sternly.

“Oh yes?”

“In private.”

“We are in privacy here,” Grey explained. Razor Leaf eyed Hanada Tattsu enviously. Grey noticed this and smiled. “Gregg is nothing to be scared of.”

“I’m not –” began the veteran. “…look. I…I took the offer.”

“Excuse me?”

“I took the Frontier Brains offer,” Razor Leaf replied. “I called Scott. Took the offer.”

“You took it?” Grey said, thinking. “Wow.”

“Yea,” Razor Leaf muttered. “Wow.”

“I’m…surprised.”

“Me too.”

“When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow,” Razor Leaf said emptily. The boy’s viper-like stings of cruelty and rudeness had ebbed away. Instead, an innocent, confused person stood. “Evening.”

“I see,” Grey replied. Neither seemed to know what to say, or perhaps neither wished to be the first to say how they really felt. Nevertheless, it was an awkward moment. Gregg saw the two staring at each other, wondering what was going on.

“I want a battle.”

“You do?” Grey asked. Razor Leaf nodded. “How suiting. An…epilogue to your saga. I couldn’t agree more.”

“We’ll meet in an hour,” Razor Leaf replied. “With our three strongest Pokemon. We will meet at the base of Trolgar Mountain.”

He gave a nod, turned and left the Theatre. Gregg continued to watch Grey, who was staring at the ground, lost in thought.

“That was weird,” he noted.

“Daniel and I are old rivals,” Grey said fondly. “And the trainer has since begun to need me less and less.”

“Who are you using for the match?” Gregg asked. “Dragonite? Salamence?”

“Not my strongest,” Grey replied. “They are needed for other things today. However I will ensure that I take some of my most powerful Pokemon. That is imperative.”

*

“Ok,” I said firmly. “Be cool. Don’t laugh.”

My opponent at this moment was very tall. He was very thin. He had wiry red hair and his face painted white with a red smudge around his eyes and mouth. Polkadot bow on his stripy shirt. I had originally wanted to attack the man due to my large phobia of red wigs, but my VS Seeker scanned him and I learned he was indeed a registered TPML battler:

No-Frowns the Clown
A veteran at making young people smile, No-Frowns is a popular entertainer in TPML, who has recently turned his attention to battling and entering the league. His small, concentrated team is part of his comedy act. Don’t mention shoe polish.

No-Frowns (referred to as NF from now on) had sent out an Aipom, while I had opted for my Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl leapt up into the air, arms held out as he blasted round, blue bubbles like ammunition. Aipom dodged, leaping left, right and up as he maneuvered around the attacks.

“Hyk-Hyk!” NF cackled. “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. NF pointed at Poliwhirl.

“SOLARBEAM!”

“What? That’s the punch line?” I snapped, as Aipom’s glowing tail-like fist unleashed a bursting beam of solar-charged energy. It hurtled through the air and smashed into Poliwhirl who skidded back, furious. I saw him clench his fists.

“Poliwhirl! Ice Punch!”

Not wasting any time, and showing impressive agility, Poliwhirl raced at Aipom and pulled his fist back as it frosted over. Still recovering from the powerful grass attack, Aipom was woozy. With a slam, Poliwhirl socked Aipom, who soared into the air. Perfect.

“Now! Psychic!”

Aipom was encased in a blue glow as Poliwhirl concentrated hard, slamming the Pokemon into the ground with mental prowess. Aipom gave a scream as he was pulled up; NF watched as his Pokemon was relentlessly slammed.

“Stop,” I snapped. Poliwhirl threw Aipom up with a psychic whoosh. “Focus Punch.”

Poliwhirl ran along, leaping up and pulling a charged fist back. He gave a groan as his fist socked Aipom in the stomach, dealing impressive damage. Aipom collapsed in a heap. Poliwhirl landed and gave a powerful nod, arms crossed. No-Frowns the Clown recalled Aipom and gripped two more Pokeballs.

“Double match!” he cried. “Roselia! Combusken! GO!”

The balls burst forth; a pretty, delicate grass Pokemon danced to the ground, holding her rose-like appendages out as her ally, a large fowl, stood menacingly. Both of these were a cinch; we had battled Pokemon like this before. Poliwhirl was still a strong contender; I gripped another Pokeball and unleashed one of my newer captures.

“Vibrava!” I shouted. “Come on!”

“So, a man goes into a dentists office,” No-Frowns chuckled, barely able to hold in his delightful glee at the joke. “And he says – ‘Doctor! Doctor! I think I’m a moth!’”

“Poliwhirl, go for a water pulse,” I began, ignoring the clown (yet still eager to hear the joke). “Vibrava, dragon breath.”

Poliwhirl channeled the water through his small mouth, aiding it with his hands as the cold jet of water was surrounded by supersonic rings of pulsating shock. The attack slammed into the chubby Combusken, who gave a shrill cry as he was forced back mercilessly. Roselia leapt around as Vibrava, flapping through the sky, blasted a fierce concoction of purple flames.

“Roselia! Petal Dance! Combusken! Ember!” cried the manic clown. “So anyway, the dentist says ‘Why did you come up to my office if you think you’re a moth?’ and –”

He was interrupted when the spiraling vortex of petals caught fire as Combusken’s attack accidentally met Roselia’s. The result was a spinning barrage of flaming petals, which my team managed to stop well. As Vibrava blasted a strong gale, Poliwhirl unleashed pellet-like bubbles that tore through the attack and struck our foes.

“…and the man says ‘Well, your light was on!’ Isn’t that funny! Hyk-Hyk!”

“Shut up,” I snapped. “Poliwhirl! Ice Punch Roselia and unleash an aqua ring at Combusken. Vibrava, provide back-up. Quick Attack to tail Poliwhirl and unleash a sonic boom to any threat.”

Poliwhirl’s fists both crackled and shone with glistening ice as he ran across the length of our battlefield. Vibrava soared overhead, wings buzzing frantically as he focused on the two foes. Combusken was racing towards Poliwhirl to intercept the punches; Roselia seemed rooted to the ground, restoring her energy. Vibrava pulled up slightly and projected a shock wave of intense sound-like power at Combusken; the wall of powered, expelled energy met Combusken and threw him back, giving Poliwhirl a chance to leap at Roselia and unleash two fists of frosted fury. As he did that he leapt up, unleashing water as he span his entire body around. The effect was a ring of water sprayed Combusken and Roselia, dealing damage to both.

“Vibrava use a faint attack,” I said. “Poliwhirl, use blizzard.”

Dissapearing into the darkness, Vibrava swept through the arena and smashed into Combusken. Roselia unleashed a series of stingers that were stopped on their way to clashing with Poliwhirl by my tadpole’s attack. Poliwhirl’s fists glowed as a concentrated blast of chilled air, chunks of ice crystal and sparkling, glass-like dust tore across towards the innocent little bud. Roselia was forced back, wincing in pain; the blizzard soon settled as Vibrava re-appeared and slammed right into Combusken again.

“Poliwhirl! Bubblebeam!”

“Roselia!” cried No-Frowns. “ROSELIA!”

Despite the fact I was aiming at Combusken, No-Frowns was fraught. Roselia fired off a razor leaf as Combusken was struck by the exploding projectiles. Poliwhirl was hurt by the strong, slicing leaves.

“End this,” I said firmly. “Poliwhirl, freeze Roselia with an ice beam. Vibrava, follow up with dragonbreath.”

“Combusken! Defend!” cried No-Frowns. “Oh, did you hear the one about the Nun, the Vicar and the Boiled Egg?”

“No, I don’t think I –”

“STUN SPORE QUICK!”

“Damnit!” I snapped. “STOP LEADING ME ON!”

Poliwhirl blasted the beam of ice at Roselia and managed to strike her firmly in the torso. She staggered back before holding each bud up and blasting a sweeping cone of sticky pollen up into the air at Vibrava. My dragonfly unleashed her attack too soon; the draconian flames struck the pollen and a huge explosion ensued. Vibrava was thrown out the sky; Combusken, who had leapt up to protect Roselia from the attack was hurled to the ground in a flaming entity. Roselia stood there, frozen and stiff, as the whooshing remnants of the two attacks collided into her.

She collapsed, unable to go on. Poliwhirl watched proudly. Combusken leapt up, aching, but Vibrava dealt a speeding hit with quick attack and the fowl was now out of play completely. My newly-acquired dragonfly flapped alongside Poliwhirl as No-Frowns the Clown watched on.

“Very good,” he said. He recalled both of his Pokemon.

“Good work guys,” I said, recalling Vibrava first. I put the Pokeball away and looked at Poliwhirl. He was so strong. An evolution would do him good. I pondered. Poliwrath or Politoed? This wasn’t really my decision to make.

I was going to buy a Water Stone and a King’s Rock. And I was going to let Poliwhirl decide.

Chris 2.1

24th February 2007, 05:51 PM

Grey stood proudly. It was a brisk day so he wore a thick trench coat, collar turned up against biting winds. Razor Leaf also stood at Trolgar Mountain, today wearing a zip-up hoodless jacket, some new dark jeans and new shoes.

“Are we going to start?” Razor Leaf barked.

“Very well,” said Grey sagely, plucking a Pokeball out. As he hurled it forward the light burst forth and revealed his Smeargle. Smeargle gave a low bark as Razor Leaf unleashed a spunky Kecleon, who leapt out enthusiastically.

“Kecleon, use a psybeam,” Razor Leaf snapped. The red stripe shimmered momentarily as a beam of rainbow energy was blasted out. It smashed into Smeargle, who gave a goofy leap of surprise and countered aptly. The dog slashed his tail across the air, sending a blade of energy surging into the chameleon Pokemon.

“Fortissimo,” Grey went on. “Hydro Pump.”

Holding his tail like a hose, Fortissimo staggered back as an intense (but thin) jet of water flew from the end of his tail. It missed Kecleon, who raced around to the left, leaping up and unleashing another psybeam. Luckily, Fortissimo traced a dome-shape around himself to protect against the attack.

“Now use volt tackle.”

Suddenly sparks ignited Fortissimo and in a sudden burst of speed he bolted through the air, the jittering electric current giving him some sort of acceleration. Kecleon was unable to avoid the attack and was struck hardily. As Kecleon tumbled back Fortissimo began to draw a pair of big, fluffy wings. As he sketched them he strapped them onto his shoulders and stared at the foe.

“Kecleon, use vine whip,” Razor Leaf replied. Grey watched curiously as Kecleon’s tongue extended from his mouth, rising and brandishing down on Fortissimo’s face like a cracking whip. The Smeargle, with his new wings flapped up into the air, albeit clumsily, and with his tail held out blasted another stream of water.

“Double team!”

Kecleon suddenly appeared to have 5 clones. They all watched as the blast of water struck down one, leaving four clones and the real thing still amid the arena. As Smeargle flew across the arena, hosing down clones, the real Kecleon leapt up from behind and engraved a deep, throbbing slash down his opponents back. Fortissimo fell to the ground and Kecleon blasted another psybeam.

“Get up,” Grey said. “Karate chop!”

Kecleon gave a cry as Smeargle quickly struck him in the throat; stumbling back, the chameleon staggered and lost his balance, giving Smeargle, who had shed his wings, the chance to speed along the ground with Volt Tackle. As the jittering sparks fuelled the beagle’s speed he rammed into Kecleon, bowling him back.

“Kecleon,” Razor Leaf said calmly. “Another psybeam! Combo with agility.”

The pint-sized Pokemon charged, blasting the rainbow-coloured beam from his stripe as he sped across the arena. Struck. Fortissimo felt the beam become ploughed into him and was forced back, groaning in pain and torture as the intensity became unbearable.

“Finish it with slash.”

Fortissimo’s eyes widened in fear as Kecleon leapt up, spinning frantically as his claws glowed bright. In a smashing blow, Kecleon drove himself into Fortisimo’s face, tearing at the Pokemon’s skin and unleashing an immense load of pain.

“Fortissimo,” Grey said quietly. “Return.”

Razor Leaf smiled as Grey recalled his Pokemon. In a sporadic moment, the soon-to-be-Frontier Brain also recalled his Pokemon.

“Let’s start fresh each round,” he said. “One-nil to me. Grey, send out your next Pokemon.”

*

The Board of Governors was as busy as ever. Magnus Archer had taken a large fleet of men to apprehend Ecks; to take him from TPML and back to New York where he would be questioned, trailed and arrested for the crimes he had committed. Meanwhile, Gordon was speaking to Amy Wolfsong. He had some of the Board with him, including Cocoa Sting, who had come back on the Board following her gunshot wound. She had only come back on the condition that Callisto be removed, although that seemed to have happened organically.

Brooklyn Knight was adjusting to his new office. He was no longer the Coordinator of the Technical Department; he was a Technical Advisor for the Board. He was doing some work when the door opened and Volletta Kane wandered in.

“How is everything?” she asked cheerfully.

“Just fine,” he replied, smiling. Volletta smiled back.

“I’m just down the corridor if you need anything,” she replied.

“Why are you on this corridor?” asked Brooklyn. “You said you were Accountancy Advisor…but this is the Technician’s block. Austin, Jacques and I are the Technical Advisors.”

“I was given a different office and workstation,” Volletta answered. “I needed some more access than at my current place so Gordon gave me a higher level access code to help me with my work around here.”

“Right,” replied Brooklyn.

“We’re needed back in the meeting room in two hours,” Volletta told him. Brooklyn gave a nod. Sensing that her stay was becoming awkward, Volletta turned to leave. “See you later.”

Brooklyn nodded. His phone rang and he answered it.

“Brooklyn Knight.”

“Jacques here.”

“Jacques? Your office is mere meters away,” Brooklyn said. “Why are you ringing me?”

“They gave us phones, Brooklyn,” Jacques rasped back. “The least we can do is use them.”

“What did you want?”

“What was Volletta doing in your office?” he asked.

“The usual,” replied Brooklyn in an arduous tone. “She’s making me slightly uncomfortable.”

“Oh Brooklyn,” replied Jacques in his sensual, velvety voice. “From what I heard you saying last week to ‘the lads’ in Technical, having women flirt with you is one of your more enjoyable pastimes.”

“It is,” Brooklyn admitted, giving a boyish laugh. “But she is a bit old for me.”

“Volletta is lonely and large,” sighed Jacques. “And she’s trying to sink her claws into something before she tumbles off the social ladder.”

“She means well,” Brooklyn mumbled.

“How cliché,” replied Jacques. “Maybe you can ‘just be friends’?”

He put the phone down. Brooklyn gave a heavy sigh as he saw Austin outside, who was chatting to Rosie by a water cooler. That was cliché, he thought to himself. The two were very fond of each other; large, bumbling Austin seemed to be very smitten with the petite, pretty English student and yet neither admitted to how they felt.

Meanwhile, Volletta sat down at her computer, having left Brooklyn. She was sending an email to someone. Her eyes were narrowed at the screen. Whomever she was communicating to, it seemed important; she had her blinds drawn and her door shut.

…Our meeting is in two hours. I imagine we will be discussing it then…

She paused as there was a knock at the door. Brooklyn entered, looking slightly sheepish, which mixed with his boyish charm and made him look very cute. Volletta looked up.

“Listen,” he said slowly. “Sorry about before. I was…a bit rude.”

“Of course not, honey,” Volletta said warmly, still at her seat. “You’re still settling in here. I understand.”

“Is there a problem?” Brooklyn asked, for the woman was screwing her face up as she clicked at her screen. She was huffing and hissing as her attempts yielded poor results.

“I’m just not the best at computers,” Volletta snorted. “It…won’t let me –”

“I can help you out,” Brooklyn said politely, walking over. Volletta pulled away.

“I’m fine, honestly,” she said sweetly. “I’ll just…tinker with it. Learn by doing.”

“I can sort it out,” Brooklyn insisted.

“No, no, get back to work,” Volletta said, smiling. But the charming man insisted, pushing her aside gently as he bent down and had a look. He began typing away, scarcely looking up at the screen. Volletta watched fearfully, pulled back, wondering what she could do. It was imperative he did not read the email. She needed to cause a diversion. She slipped off her shoe and her toe found the power button on the computer console. She pushed it discreetly. The computer beeped and began shutting down.

“What happened?” she asked timidly.

“You just turned the computer off at the mains,” grumbled Brooklyn, getting up. “That can damage the computer, did you know that?”

“It was just an accident,” Volletta said meekly. “I didn’t mean to…”

“Well you’ve lost that email, you’ll have to type it out again,” commented Brooklyn coldly, as he walked to the door. “Whatever it was.”

He left her room. Volletta breathed a heavy sigh and typed out the email again. Brooklyn, meanwhile, cast the flirtatious, vivacious woman a calculating look as he walked down the corridor.

*

Grey was finding his battle tough. He had released his Umbreon, and she was doing a fantastic job as she raced along the arena dodging attacks. Razor Leaf had sent out his Magneton, which was blasting bolts of lightening from up in the air.

“Use thunderbolt,” Razor Leaf snarled. A bolt of crackling energy swept down but Umbreon darted out of the way. Landing, she turned and blasted a shadow ball that smashed right into Magneton from behind.

“Umbreon, use faint attack,” Grey said.

“Shock wave and find it!” snapped Razor Leaf. Magneton brimmed with energy and fired off a multitude of fizzing bolts. They all searched around, before finally slamming into a single, sherbet bolt as it pierced the air where Umbreon was. Umbreon, although hit, suddenly glowed a bright white as a fantastic glow filled its body.

“Dark Pulse!” Grey cried. A glowing orb materialized before Umbreon; it was an etchy black with purple stems of energy. As Umbreon focused on it, a wavering beam was blasted forth, throbbing and vibrating as it wound up and smashed into Magneton, dealing good damage.

“Magneton, use a double-edge,” Razor Leaf replied. The Pokemon began to spin like a discus, flying through the air towards Umbreon. The Pokemon dashed to the left and unleashed a swift attack, sending the golden stars in the way of the projectile that was the magnet Pokemon. Magneton’s initial momentum was halted by the glowing golden stars as they clattered against it. Magneton pulled back and fired off a bolt of lightening. Umbreon disappeared.

“Magneton, fire a wide-spread thundershock until you find Umbreon,” Razor Leaf grumbled. Magneton nodded, blasting the jagged bolts across the arena, desperately searching for the invisible foe. Umbreon re-materialized, underneath Magneton, and leapt up to deal a powerful iron tail before the electric and steel Pokemon could retaliate.

“Gyro Ball,” hissed Razor Leaf. Magneton shimmered silver and produced a heavy orb of metal that was launched like a cannonball. It smashed into Umbreon and bowled the dark Pokemon over. As Umbreon got up, she was struck by a heavy thunder attack from a sinister Magneton.

“Umbreon relax,” Grey said calmly.

“Another thunder attack,” Razor Leaf boasted. Magneton crackled furiously as sparks danced around its rounded body. Umbreon lay there in a relaxed but knowing manner. The sparks merged into a long shot of sparks and voltage that furiously sped through the arena like a train. Umbreon watched.

“Now!” Grey cried. “Quick Revenge!”

Razor Leaf looked intrigued, watching his foe become engulfed in a collection of frantic sparks. Umbreon gave a long shuddering cry of anguish as the golden sparks volleyed into her body, but soon this pain caused a sense of power; Umbreon darted out from the attack, speeding through the air and dealing a terrific slam into Magneton.

“Quick Revenge is stronger when one has been hurt. The need for revenge is…deeper,” Grey mused.

“I know,” Razor Leaf snarled. “Magneton!”

“Umbreon, finish with a hyper beam,” Grey said firmly. Umbreon opened wide as her rings glowed orange. Magneton, slightly dazed, hovered there weakly as Umbreon fired off a fantastic beam of hurtling energy. The energy drove across the arena and slammed right into Magneton, dealing excellent damage.

“Magneton!” Razor Leaf barked.

“Shadow ball!” Grey cried.

As Magneton shook wildly, presumably from the pain, Umbreon used the rest of her energy to charge up a ball of shadowy energy that throbbed mightily. Blasting it forward, it exploded into Magneton and finished off the weary Pokemon.

“Return,” murmured Razor Leaf. Grey did the same to his Umbreon. “Next Pokemon.”

He got a Pokeball out, but Grey held a hand up. Razor Leaf looked at him.

“You don’t need to do that.”

“What?”

“Why don’t we go and get a drink? Battling is not our only way of communicating. It is enjoyable, yes…but you’re leaving TPML. And I’ve spent a lot of time in your company, Daniel.”

“Maybe we should,” Razor Leaf said, an evident smile on his face. “Yea, let’s do it.”

“Ok,” replied Grey, smiling.

*

“Ok then,” I said firmly. I was sitting in the park and had released Poliwhirl. My quest to obtain a Water Stone had been easy enough, but I had spent most of the day obtaining it. Before I went fishing at Tranquil Shores I bought a ‘Lucky Incense Lure’ from a nifty, familiar-looking shop down BT Street called Deus EXellent Fishing Machina Supplies – this helped me a snag a Clamperl at the bottom of the sea. Unfortunately it fought (I assume. I didn’t bother buying any Underwater Vision Appreciation Circles from the shop so I cannot be sure) but one thing was for sure – my line was whipped out the water at my frantic tugging (I enlisted the help of Electabuzz – he’s strong) and a Blue Shard was hooked on the end.

I took the shard with me to High, High House, a mysterious abode situated on the top of a hill just past Feizhi Outpost. After knocking on the door three times I was met with Old Man Plott, a rather irritating man who carried a cane. After an excruciating 15 minutes he agreed to craft the shard into a water stone provided I carried out three tasks.

Number One: get his strongest, sharpest knife from the drawer.

Number Two: get him a carton of creamy, creamy milk from the nearest shop.

Number Three: pay him £48.

So I completed all those menial tasks. I waited at High, High House for a long, long time, thinking about how much easier it would have been to win a water stone at the casino. The day was arduous; I actually changed the message tone on my VS Seeker to a horn-like sound. Classic. Honk, honk!

New Message: No-Frowns the Clown
Hyuk-Hyuk! A man walks into a bar. Ouch!

What. A. Tool.

Ecentually, however, Old Man Plott handed me the very chunky looking Water Stone. Luckily, for time’s sake, I found a King’s Rock on my way to the park. Isn’t that handy? It was lying next to a business card for The Deux Ex Machina Café.

Need a quick drink?
Come to the Deus Ex Machina Café! Whenever you need us, you can expect us!
Located on 45/13 BT Street.

So here I am. I have a King’s Rock and I have a Water Stone. I’m sitting here with Poliwhirl out his Pokeball. On the left, just ahead, sits the crown-shaped rock that I hope isn’t just a crown-shaped rock. On the right, just ahead, lies the chunky, glowing stone, azure blue and beautiful.

“Whichever creature you want to become,” I said to my Pokemon. “The choice is yours. I…I’ve trained you as a fighter and a thinker. Now it’s time for you to select something to specialize in. Brain or Brawns.”

I motioned to the two immensely difficult-to-obtain items. You know if he picked the water stone, the object I slaved over all day to try and get my hands on, I’d be happy. If he chose the King’s Rock, the item I stumbled upon randomly, I might be quite upset. I might even have to hurt someone.

My eyes watched as Poliwhirl walked forward. But as he did, wandering no more towards one stone than the other, he stopped. He turned to face me and I met his gaze with one confused. Poliwhirl’s hands lifted above his head as a psychic glow gripped the King’s Rock and, using his abilities, Poliwhirl levitated the rock until it slowly rested on his head. The old crumbled stone sat for a mere moment before it throbbed and glowed a brilliant, bright white. That same light cascaded down Poliwhirl’s body and engulfed him. Sitting slightly further back, I felt heat emanating from my Pokemon as he grew ever-so-slightly. His arms were not as ropey as I had envisioned; evidently the bulk he grew was maintained. However he developed three finger-like appendages on each hand, while his eyes were pushed back into the sides of his rounder, arching head. A long, thick curl of hair grew from his scalp and hung over his rosy cheeks. The light began to fade, and I took in the sudden green and yellow evolution to my old friend. Politoed.

“Poli!” cried the Pokemon in a slightly higher voice. I looked at him. He had a lemon-and-lime swirl on his belly.

“Hey man,” I said coolly. “Look at you! You haven’t sacrificed brawn at all, you’re ripped!”

Politoed chuckled and gave a joking flex of his arms. He opened wide and fired off a more rapid bubblebeam, and I watched the light refract the thicker, faster bubbles with intrigue. Why had I been against this?

He was happy, so, so happy. Evidently the Poliwrath evolution wasn’t as appealing to him. I looked at the beautiful bubbles. Appealing. Appeal…

I had the best idea ever.

“Let’s enter the Contest!” I said.

*

It was mid-afternoon, and in the village square two old friends sat together. Some of their Pokemon were out. Both Razor Leaf and Grey were laughing and joking, reminiscing about old friends and situations. They had discussed all sorts of things.

“Hanada Tattsu,” Razor Leaf murmured.

“Gregg?”

“How is he doing?”

“He’s very…determined,” said Grey carefully. “I think the boy’s origins have fuelled something inside of him.”

“It would,” Razor Leaf replied. He took a sip of his drink. “So. Ecks is getting sent away.”

“He’s being trailed first, I believe,” replied Grey. “Not that anyone would find him Not Guilty. Frankly Amy and I just want the man out of the village.”

“He made things interesting for a while,” joked Razor Leaf, before the severity of the man’s crimes caught up with him. “Remember when you, Kyle and I were in The Antibodies? Oh what were we thinking Drew.”

Grey paused.

“You called me Drew.”

“Oh, well,” Razor Leaf said, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“No, no,” Grey stammered. “You’re one of the only people who know my name. I’m very touched you used it, Daniel.”

“The Antibodies…what a monster we created,” sighed Razor Leaf, ignoring the other man’s sentimental comment. “Poor Kyle.”

“Meeting Kyle on Trolgar Mountain again persuaded me to re-register for the league,” Grey recalled. “In fact…that was the first time I met Gregg – Gregg had been under Kyle’s tutelage up there.”

There was a soft silence in which the two men basked in their words.

“Will you miss it here?” Grey asked.

“I already am missing it,” Razor Leaf said bitterly. “This…conclusive end to things. The way that everything I do has to count because I won’t be around much longer. There’s no…there’s no lazing around – everything has cause and motive because I’m making the most of my time here. And even though I’ve been here about five years…there’s only one person who seems remotely bothered I’m leaving.”

“Come and visit from time to time,” Grey said quietly.

“I got a copy of the Brains Touring Schedule,” replied Razor Leaf. “After here we’re going to London for 4 months and then we’re going to visit New Zealand – they only have one TPML there so we’ll be staying a further 6 months. I won’t have time.”

“You’ll be on the other side of the world,” noted Grey.

“And you’ll be….right here,” Razor Leaf said, smirking.

“In this year alone you’ve been Head Businessman, I was Head Banker, you got fired, I ran the village, you got a Frontier Brain offer and I found a new student,” Grey said, startled.

“And not to mention you training Chris 2.0 up to destroy me,” Razor Leaf laughed.

“All these bitter feuds…burning the playhouse with me inside, all the snipes and jibes…all of them have been important. All of them and their consequences have led us both here.”

“Here?”

“To this…level of understanding between us.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“To…the unknown,” Grey said, smiling. Razor Leaf acknowledged the toast and met it, smiling.

Chris 2.1

24th February 2007, 05:59 PM

Meanwhile, at Skinny Dip’s Pond, Luna anxiously sat on a bench by the side of the elegant pond. It was 20:51 – four minutes before her arranged meeting time with the mysterious Lady Vulpix. She had been wondering what was required of her, or what it was about this specific time that was so important.

Perhaps this was an elaborate joke? Maybe Lady had told people to simply come here at 20:55 to see Luna waiting anxiously. Maybe it was a test to see how long Luna would wait for Lady before she cracked. Either way, as the minutes dwindled by, Luna twiddled her thumbs in the increasingly cold weather.

And then, as Luna stared at the large, glowing moon as it sat calmly in the sky, there was a sharp rap of heels as Lady wandered down towards Luna, wearing a very stylish suit-jacket. She wore a silk scarf around her neck and stopped, smiling.

“Good evening,” Lady said.

“Good evening,” replied Luna.

“Glad to see you could make it,” Lady said politely.

“I’m still confused why we are here,” Luna said.

“When you didn’t know earlier, I guessed that you would still not know when we met,” Lady explained. “Send out your Umbreon.”

Luna nodded, reaching for the ball on her belt and plucking it up, maximizing it and sending it out. It span frantically, before bursting open and unleashing her sleek, black Pokemon with its glowing yellow eyes. As Umbreon landed, Luna noticed something.

The yellow rings on its body were shimmering a fantastic silvery-blue; as Luna stared, she could not quite decide whether the glow was liquid or solid. It was such a melded, running pattern and yet it was so firm and decisive. She stared for a few more moments, Lady watching the girl’s reaction.

“I assumed as an Umbreon trainer you would know when the full moon is,” Lady went on. “The strength of the moon at this time on this evening gives your Pokemon so much more strength and beauty. It gives it a cool, sensual glow.”

“I’m impressed,” Luna said. “Umbreon looks beautiful.”

“This is not just impressive,” Lady said. “We need to harbor this essence for your appeal at The Winter Contest.”

“We’ll be indoors,” Luna said, disheartened. “With all those lights…we can’t replicate this dark night.”

Lady gave a lighthearted sigh.

“We have a lot of ground to cover,” she said. “Do you need to be anywhere tonight?”

“No,” Luna murmured. “Not particularly.”

“Then let us continue,” Lady said, smiling. Luna smiled back as her Umbreon glowed brightly in the moonlight. Meanwhile, sitting in the distance, Luna’s elder sister Eve watched suspiciously, speaking down her phone.

*

“I’m impressed,” Hanada Tattsu said that evening. “I didn’t realize Razor Leaf was stronger than you.”

Grey gave a nod. It was vague, brief and empty, but soon he smiled. He had told Gregg that they had a battle, and that Razor Leaf had won. He was not entirely sure why.

“Daniel is a very talented man,” he commented. “And maybe I should do some training of my own.”

“You needn’t worry,” Gregg said. “Razor Leaf is leaving. You’re the strongest now he’s gone.”

“Thank you,” Grey replied. He turned to his Smeargle, who was looking rather upset at her loss before. “Fortissimo, do not weep. You did a wonderful job.”

The Smeargle blinked her eyelids and smiled.

“I have to ask,” Gregg said tenderly. “Why Smeargle? Why not Salamence, or Dragonite? Tyranitar, Metagross, Charizard, Blastoise? Those are your kingpins.”

“They are needed elsewhere,” Grey said simply. “Fortissimo needed a battle…and I suspect Razor Leaf needed the ego boost.”

Gregg looked at the young man.

“You lost on purpose?”

Grey turned to answer when there was a deep bang. A reverberating boom filled the Theatre and the two shared a swift look. Looking towards the door, Grey saw the frame quiver and instinctively leapt up.

“What was that?” asked Gregg. Grey turned to him.

“You need to stay here,” Grey said seriously. “Fortissimo, take Gregg to the basement. Use sketch and draw a big dome around you both for protection.”

“What’s going on?” Gregg asked. “What’s that noise?”

“Just go. Take my Pokemon.”

Gregg was led away by the Smeargle, who used his tail to paint an arching dome around them both. Grey handed his belt to Gregg, who reluctantly took it before Fortissimo applied heavy shading to the dome to create a metallic, steel finish. Grey walked through the doors of the grand theatre and stared at the darkening sky, watching from the top of the elegant marble steps as a torn-looking woman stood outside.

“Callisto,” Grey said calmly. A thunderbolt flashed overhead. The woman, wearing a cream coloured trench coat and matching hat was standing idly by as some Pokemon thumped the ground.

“Good evening,” she said, just as calm. “I’m here to collect my son.”

“I see,” Grey replied. Callisto waited for any more words, but they did not come. She clicked her fingers. An Arcanine stepped forward, a flaming mass of curling fire forming between its jaws.

“Are you going to let me in?” she asked politely. A Hitmonlee flexed his knuckles next to her and a Golduck was in a martial pose.

“I’m afraid not,” replied Grey. “You will not come in this place.”

Callisto lifted the brim of her hat up slightly and gave a smile.

“My dear,” she replied. “I will pull my son from the burning remnants of this building if I must.”

“Please feel free to attempt to rescue your son,” Grey replied darkly. “But let me tell you I am as intent on keeping him in my care as you are on taking him away. You are a cold, venomous woman and as long as that boy is in your care he is in imminent danger.”

“Mars,” replied Callisto. “Fire Blast.”

She gave a wicked smile.

“As uncomfortable as your relationship with my son is,” she continued in a pleasant tone. “I am not a woman who can be intimidated by words. Especially someone of your age. You act as if you were my father.”

She turned sharply to see where her Arcanine’s attack was, for there was no propelled burst of flame. As she turned, she saw that her large, fluffy canine was rooted to the ground by an odd, shimmering glow. She turned to Grey, aghast.

“What are you doing?”

Her eyes turned to the Hitmonlee.

“Attack that man!”

Hitmonlee nodded, and in no time the limber fighter was racing through the darkening street at Grey, who stood there calmly. As this happened, there was a cry; Arcanine was hurled through the air and slammed directly into Hitmonlee’s back, toppling him over. Hitmonlee hit the ground, the fire type on top of him, and Grey pointed to where the dog had come from. Directly above Arcanine, hovering in the air was Grey’s Metagross.

“Good work Xanthos,” said Grey. The Pokemon flashed and re-appeared at the bottom of the steps by Hitmonlee and Arcanine. Grey looked past Callisto, where his Tyranitar was standing proudly, towering over all that were there.

“Ceres,” Callisto hissed, sending her husbands Vileplume from its Pokeball. The grass-type emerged, spinning and blasting a series of sharp leaves at Tyranitar. The Pokemon gave a loud cry and swiped its arms across its chest; a thick blade of energy sped at the target and Vileplume was swept from her feet. Among the inky darkness walked Grey’s Dragonite, staring at Callisto in disgust. The three Pokemon closed in on her. Her Vileplume, Arcanine and Hitmonlee were in the center of the group, while Golduck was by her side.

“Attack an individual,” Callisto ordered to her Pokemon. Ceres fired off a swirling petal dance towards Dragonite, focusing on sending the twisting petals at the lumbering foe. Metagross watched as Arcanine unleashed a jet of fire, while Tyranitar swung his tail around to stop Hitmonlee from leaping up. Metagross managed to redirect the fiery attack and slam it into Ceres, who gave a sharp scream. She staggered back, coughing a thick plume of sticky pollen into the air. Dragonite gave a sharp flap of his wings and cleared it up into the atmosphere.

“You cannot beat us,” Grey said simply. “Not with your husbands Pokemon. They prefer to attack by themselves. So do mine. But if I order them to kill you, Callisto, they will comply.”

“You don’t have the stones to kill me,” laughed Callisto. “New York?”

“I pulled that trigger and you know it,” Grey snarled. “You just avoided the bullet.”

“And I saw how it shook you,” replied Callisto with a sneer. “You were nearly sick with fear.”

“I would kill you to protect this boy if you did not heed these warnings,” replied Grey. “I am taking care of this boy. I will look out for him. I had to endure a horrific childhood and I will not have this boy experience any more terror.”

Callisto watched a watery tear swim in Grey’s eye.

“I have protected this boy more than you can imagine,” Callisto snapped. “He has been ridiculed and bullied by his peers and I have put an end to it!”

Suddenly Grey was brought into realization.

“Michael Phillips,” he said emptily.

“What?” snapped Callisto.

“Gregg told me he was bullied by a boy named Michael…” Grey began. “He hated the boy until Michael died during the summer holidays. Then…then Gregg told me he didn’t hate him as much. He felt sorry for him.”

He stared at Callisto with disgust. The mother of Gregg stared back, a sick smile on her face as she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“You ‘put an end to it’, did you?” Grey said, awe-struck. He watched Callisto give a knowing nod of her head. “You disgust me Callisto, you really do.”

“Ecks took the blame for me,” Callisto went on. “He was dismissed from the Board and fined a hefty sum. He was never arrested, but he did have a permanent black mark on his life. He couldn’t get a job again.”

Soon, a large, greenish Salamence descended down on the group from afar. Callisto also watched as a black Charizard and a Blastoise emerged from around them. Grey, who had not spoken for some time, just watched as his own Pokemon surrounded her.

“You are outnumbered,” he went on powerfully. “By my strongest Pokemon. Do you still want to risk your life?”

“I am a mother,” Callisto spat. “Of course I do.”

She took a step forward. Neptune, her Husbands Golduck, leapt forward at Charizard, but the Pokemon tore through the air, flapping his wings heavily and headbutting the duck back. Golduck sprayed a jet of water that Metagross re-directed into the sky, where it fell as rain.

Grey’s phone suddenly vibrated and rang. He kept his eyes locked onto Callisto, who was surrounded by his Pokemon as he pulled the phone to his ear.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s Amy,” came Wolfsong’s voice. “I just heard from Magnus Archer at the Board. He’s on his way with a tactical team to apprehend Ecks and take him away to court.”

“Already?” Grey asked, for they had only just caught Ecks themselves.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Amy sighed. “We want this man taken away from here as soon as possible.”

“You’re right,” Grey murmured, still trying to focus on Callisto, who was waiting patiently. “When is he arriving?”

“Around three-quarters of an hour,” replied Amy. “Please come. You’re never at Board meetings any more, Grey.”

“I’ve been a bit preoccupied,” Grey admitted. As he thought on how to phrase his current situation, he heard the doors behind him fly open. A ghostly wind threw the Head of TPML down the set of marble steps that were before his grand theatre and he fell, landing awkwardly at the bottom. He turned to see Pluto, Ecks’ Gengar, who unleashed a Will-O-Wisp to destroy Grey’s phone. Behind him, Arbok, Golem and Magnemite were dragging Hanada Tattsu out.

“Good work Pluto,” Callisto smirked.

“Gregg!” Grey cried. He turned to Callisto. “You…”

“I…,” Callisto replied. “I kept you busy while my Husband’s Pokemon broke into your little Playhouse. HERMES!”

She called to the skies, where a beautiful, gigantic Pidgeot swept down through the air gallantly. Speeding like a bullet he smashed into Charizard, who staggered back and launched a flamethrower. Hermes pulled left and skimmed the attack, sweeping around and finding Callisto, who leapt atop the Pokemon with glee, recalling Arcanine, Hitmonlee, Vileplume and Golduck around her. Metagross fired a beam of energy at Callisto, for she was pulling up and away, but Gengar used a shadow ball and damaged Grey’s psychic type with the heavy attack. The beam was re-directed and smashed into The Lucky Karp Casino.

“Pluto!” Callisto cried, as she flapped higher. Grey watched, still on his knees as his army of colossal Pokemon prepared to give chase. “Hold onto Gregg! Venus! Explosion!”

The Golem roared and leapt into a ball, spinning towards Grey’s Pokemon. Metagross hovered up and out of the way before the rock Pokemon glowed brightly and exploded, leaving a fantastic wave of explosive particles sweeping into all around. Altaria soared up and fired off a torrent of flames. Metagross lifted Grey to safety as Dragonite and Salamence began clearing the dust and debris. Tyranitar fired a hyper beam down at Arbok, who tunneled out of the way. Altaria then unleashed an ice beam at Tyranitar, freezing a large area on the ancient Pokemon’s chest.

As this happened, Callisto on Hermes swept down to Pluto, where she grabbed her son and held onto him tight. Pluto had used a hypnosis attack to lull the boy into cooperation. Callisto smiled and recalled the demonic Pokemon, as well as recalling Arbok, Magnemite, Altaria and the fallen Golem. Once she had her Pokemon in their Pokeballs she gave a smile and tore through the skies on Pidgeot.

Grey looked around wearily. The area around his playhouse was a mess. The ground was torn up, dust had settled and debris was scattered everywhere. He was on his Metagross, lifted into the air.

“Can you trace where Callisto has gone?” Grey asked, for the woman was too far gone. His Pokemon tried on numerous occasions, but the result was an odd, black glow that surrounded him. The more Metagross tried, the more pain he seemed to receive.

“I understand,” Grey said, getting off the hulking steel beast. “Gengar has used Imprison to seal off your psychic abilities.”

He panted to himself.

“You all did a fantastic job at protecting my playhouse,” Grey said proudly. “I am so proud of you all. You deserve to rest now. I will go inside, collect some of my reserves and head after you.”

*

There was a fragile cold in the air. A young figure walked down an alleyway late at night, eyes darting around, trying desperately to detect presence. Head lowered, a hooded top on, they were silent; very soft, very precise, very alert.

Mid-way down the back-street the figure stopped and light managed to catch an unsightly bruise across his eye. He looked around. Before he knew it, there was a stocky figure standing before him.

“What,” replied the stocky man.

“I needed to talk to you.”

“I guessed,” he replied. “This does not happen often.”

“Why did you not let me talk on the phone?” asked the hooded figure.

“Thomas.”

“I don’t see why I couldn’t discuss this over the phone.”

“I told you why,” came the blunt response. “Now what did you want.”

“I can’t do this anymore,” the scared voice said. “I won’t.”

“Go on.”

“It isn’t right, I feel so wrong.”

“You haven’t done anything,” the man said. “Yet.”

“I won’t be doing anything, I’m out of this,” came a stronger reply from the younger person.

“We have already kept our end of the bargain,” the man replied, sounding cross.

“Take it back then, I don’t want it.”

“You have it now. All that is left is for you to scratch our back.”

“I won’t.”

“This is why we couldn’t do this over the phone,” came the response. The man swung a fist and smashed the other person in the face; there was a crack and a yelp as the figure staggered into the wall. Another thump came this time; there was no wail of protest. A groan emanated from the hooded figures mouth as a foot swung into his stomach. After a few more moments of kicks, punches and cries, the man, who was wearing a gray suit and black shirt, slipped a hat on and left the cradled figure lying in the alleyway.

“Just spoke to him,” the man said down the phone. “I think we’re ok.”

*

Meanwhile, in his cell, the man named Ecks sat there, the pain in his shattered leg almost unbearable. He screwed his eyes up and stared towards the ceiling, keeping his limb as straight as he could to avoid further hurt. All was quiet, apart from the three guards who stood on the opposite side of the cell. As Ecks glared at one, he noticed the uncanny similarity to a wolf in his thin, narrow face.

His ears perked up as a thick, rumbling cough echoed through the room. It sounded like a motor…or perhaps, and more probably, a fleet of vehicles. One of the guards answered a call on his phone. The other two advanced towards Ecks.

“That’s Magnus,” said the wolf-like guard. “Magnus Archer, from the Board of –”

“I used to be on the bloody board,” Ecks snapped. “I know Magnus, thank you.”

“He has to meet with Amy and Grey to sign the release documents and then he’s going to meet us upstairs,” the guard went on. One guard opened the cell door. The other two advanced, one of which carrying shackles and the other a large needle.

“Shackle up,” the guard sneered. He held the cold, rattling chains and approached Ecks, who sat there innocently. “Evans, drug him.”

The prisoner did not respond; his eyes widened in shock at the sight of the needle and his fingers clenched the sides of his chair as the men got closer. There was no way out. His face got whiter as the guards laughed.

“Scared?” one asked. Ecks hoisted himself up from his chair slowly, his wide eyes staring at the shackles and the needle. He managed to slowly drag himself away from the men but they advanced further. “Ecks…come here.”

“N-No!” he cried, turning to run, but the pain in his leg was too much He staggered and fell to the ground. He hit the ground alarmingly and collapsed, face down and not moving in the slightest. The two guards in the cell stepped back precariously.

“Ecks?”

“Jesus he just collapsed,” said one guard.

“ECKS!” shouted the guard. He bent down to give the man a firm, assured slap when Ecks’ eyes darted open. His hand reached for the guards gun and he drew it from the holster, firing two shots directly into his stomach. The guard was dead in seconds, falling over in a shower of blood.

“Hey!”

Bang.

Ecks turned and aimed up, managing to shoot the second guard right in the throat, again killing instantly. This guard simply fell to the floor limply as if a puppet had its strings cut. Seeing this, the third guard, at the door, turned and began to run for the stairs. Ecks managed to settle himself and limp across the room, turning out the cell doors and taking aim. He fired one, two, three shots, finally striking the guard in the small of his back. The guard gave a cry and melded over the first two steps leading out, bleeding heavily.

“Scared?” mimicked Ecks, aiming for the back of the man’s neck and blasting a final shot to end his life. Blood sprayed over his face and he screwed his eyes shut. Opening them, he found the long staircase quite clear for him to escape. He used the rail to guide him as he limped up the stairs one at a time. The light from above was bright.

He was going to get out, escape, and finally get back at everyone who had tried to imprison him. A dirty smirk was smeared across his face as he went up each step, blood in his messy, straw-like hair. A shattered leg couldn’t even stop him…he had managed to overcome the odds. He froze when a figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Ecks?”

It was Callisto. She had her coat on and looked flustered.

“Callisto,” Ecks said warmly, beaming.

“You escaped!” she cried. “Wh…how?”

“Ways and means,” he grumbled.

“I came to break you out myself,” Callisto said slowly. “Gregg is here…I broke him out of that Arbiter’s care and he’s waiting with our Pokemon outside. I managed to get in here easily enough…come on…come on Ecks.”

“What are we doing?” Ecks asked.

“We’re leaving this place,” Callisto replied. “I…I think it’s best.”

Ecks looked. Callisto had stopped on the stairs and had not descended any more. She was looking at her husband with tears in her eyes.

“You look so brave,” she said sensually, smiling at him.

“Callisto, please,” Ecks snarled. “This is important.”

“So is this,” she replied, sniffing. In a flash she aimed her gun and fired two shots into her husband’s chest. Startled, Ecks fell back down the stairs he had conquered; his bones and body cracked and smashed as he hit each sharp step, finally landing in a crumpled heap next to the guard he had just killed. Callisto’s hand was shaking as she lowered the gun.

“I know you can still hear me,” she wept. She took a slow decline down a single step.

“I love you…but with all your crimes…” she gave a long, reverberating sniff as she struggled to speak. “What chance do any of us have of ever leading a happy life again? Your black mark has washed onto the lives of those you love. And I cannot let you hurt us like that.”

Callisto put her gun away and turned.

“You don’t have long left. Goodbye, Ecks.”

And, turning on her heel, she dashed back up the few stairs she had descended, leaving her bloodied husband to slowly wither away in the cell room. Blood from his wounds spilled all across his shirt and suit; his hair was ruffled in a defeated manner and his eyes slowly rolled into the back of his head as his sore leg, shattered and broken gave a short twitch of loss. Fingers clenched in a vain attempt to clutch onto what life he had, and the last noise he heard was a long, wet sob followed by a heavy shatter. Glass and debris fell on his face and body as the woman he loved disappeared forever.

As his vision blurred and a warm fuzz filled his ears, Ecks could almost see the figures of those he had killed; Karin in her sparkly dress and Kyle in his broad dark jacket. He could see Solia in her grim homecoming outfit and Henry clutching a dodgeball. He then looked at the three guards he had shot just now; they watched him curiously, those whose bodies shared the same tomb as he. They were watching him, already dead, with varied looks of sympathy and triumph on their faces. Ecks felt his vision grow stronger; he blinked furiously as pain throbbed mightier than a heavy tribal drum. Lying there, he did not move as Karin broke from the pack and surveyed him.

“So, Christian,” she said knowingly. “How did you die?”

Next Chapter: Luna Fuerte
The Frontier Brains leaving ceremony commences in TPML as the village say goodbye to the Brains, including newly signed Dome Ace Daniel! Razor Leaf makes his final goodbyes and finds himself reluctant to leave.

The Winter Contest begins, but can Luna persevere with Lady's tutelage? Dawn, Midi and Eve clash with Luna's new mentor and Chris decides to enter the contest.

Meanwhile, Callisto Thunder comes across a hitch in her plan and Grey finds himself shrugging his Moderating duties to try and find Gregg.

Notes

-Grey has a Pupitar AND a Tyranitar. All will be explained.
-Grey's ASB Smeargle was called Davin and his Machop Fortissimo. I changed it.

Thanks!