Here are my last few RBGs: Test No. 6?! and Two To Tango. Cheers!
---
The tournament had ended. Jeff had come home. And when he got there, he had found a very frustrated Kurtzwick waiting for him. Though most people might have been a little unnerved by an irritated, six-foot snake in their house, Jeff was not, in fact, most people, and greeted Kurtzwick with a hug. After the requisite explanations, Jeff had directed Kurtzwick to go to the Dragon Tamers. Not, he said, because of anything involving Kurtzwick’s trials; that would have to wait. When Kurtzwick had raised an objection, saying that whoever was behind it had kidnapped him once and probably would do it again, Jeff had said that the Guild would be better served to help him. The Tamers, he said, were going to teach him a special move; after that, Kurtzwick could feel free to go to the Guild to get help. Jeff added that he and the rest of the team were going on a mission; Kurtzwick was welcome to go with them, and in fact it would probably be safer to do so. Kurtzwick had cut him off there, saying that he had a mission of his own, and left to go get his free move.

Kurtzwick didn’t really see a flaw with that. After all, if Jeff wanted to give him the reward for winning the tournament, who was he to complain? It meant that Raini didn’t get some ultra-powerful move, and he was perfectly okay with that. The process didn’t take long, and the machine that the Tamers used even gave him the same sensation that a TM did. And so, without much fanfare, Kurtzwick learned V-Create. They also gave him a handful of candy, which Kurtzwick ate without a second thought. It made his stomach jump for a moment, but it settled down, leaving him feeling energized.

The next fool, he thought, from that foul place is going to get a face full of flaming Dratini. Kurtzwick thought about that sentence for a moment, considered revising it, but didn’t; the alliteration was too good. He left the Tamers’ headquarters and began the trip to the Guild.

All in all, it was a very inconvenient moment for something to grab him and pull him off of the street. The last thing Kurtzwick saw before everything went black was an empty street. Of course nobody saw it happening.

He woke up some time later, and let out a loud expletive. The two events were not unrelated; he had, naturally, woken up in what appeared to be a large warehouse. Dust coated every available surface, as if nothing had been there in months. A catwalk hung near the ceiling, leading to the only door in the room.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Kurtzwick howled. “This crap again?! You didn’t even give me a chance to start investigating! Popple, you jackass, show your face! I know you’re around here somewhere!”

A clunking sound rang out from overhead – the same sound that Kurtzwick remembered from the last time he was there. The air vent popped open, and something fell out – instead of a Pokéball, though, a Pokémon fell out. It was small and pink, and it landed neatly on top of Kurtzwick before collapsing to the ground.

Kurtzwick looked at the figure, then glared at the ceiling. “You know, if you’re going to start answering my requests now, I’d really like a million stamps and to go home. Not necessarily in that order.”

The figure groaned. “Might as well save your breath, see?” it said.

“Good as always to see you, Popple,” Kurtzwick answered. “Which is to say, not at all.”

“I’m in the same boat as you, you schmuck!” Popple said. “When you broke out, they made me start running their tests, see? All their stooges here are more powerful than me!”

Kurtzwick rolled his eyes. “Oh no, I’m soooo sorry. Let me play you a sad song on the world’s tiniest violin.”

“Hey, shut up! You know as well as I do what it’s like here, see?”

The loudspeaker crackled to life above them, and a decidedly more feminine voice than Popple’s spoke. “The test subjects are already showing an alarming degree of infighting. This reminds me of a test! Perhaps that test will promote teamwork. This shall have to be studied.”

Kurtzwick and Popple glanced at each other, but didn’t have a chance to do much more before the room started rumbling in a significantly unnerving manner. “To the wall!” Popple cried, looking up at the ceiling. Without thinking about it, Kurtzwick pressed himself against the wall of the room, just as a series of a dozen or so crates fell from rusted-out holes in the roof and landed with a thunk on the floor. To follow that, panels in the walls slid aside, and water began to pour out. Kurtzwick and Popple both jumped onto crates, and before long, the crates were floating, about half of the room already submerged. The water level’s rising began to slow until it was almost imperceptible.

“Water. It would be water, wouldn’t it?” Popple grumbled, his fur rising on end as he stared at his reflection.

Kurtzwick, however, had no such compunctions, and dove in. “You’re being a wuss, Popple.”

“No, I’m being a cat, see?! There’s a difference!” Popple said, a level of hysteria beginning to rise in his voice. “Who knows what’s in that water?!”

“Look, this has got to be part of some inane test. Let’s just get it solved, then bust out of here.”

“The test will begin shortly,” the loudspeaker said. “Please, prepare yourselves.” Two more Pokéballs dropped from the ceiling and sunk under the water. Two Pokémon rose up and focused their attention on the two thieves.

Test! Kurtzwick and Popple versus Tirtouga and Frillish!
Kurtzwick: “Hack, slay, and haul it all away!”
Popple: “Time to squash these two drips, see?”
Tirtouga: “I see you!”
Frillish: “Are you still there?”

“These two Pokémon,” the loudspeaker said, “used to be like you two. They fought. But then, under my tutelage, they have learned to function as a single unit.” As if to confirm, the Frillish and the Tirtouga stared unflinchingly at their targets.

“Yeah, I bet they have,” Kurtzwick said. “Popple! Keep them occupied! I’m going to try and lock them down!” He dove under the water without waiting for a response.

That turned out to be a poor move on his part; if he had stayed above water for a moment longer, he would have heard Popple fire back with “Like hell, you stooge! I can’t draw their attacks!” This was followed by an “Ah, crap,” as both Pokémon looked at Popple, their other target gone, and generated a tremendous wave that washed across the room. The wave crashed into Popple, knocking him from his crate and sending him crashing into a wall. The Surf also caught Kurtzwick in its undertow and pulled him back up to the surface, reappearing just as the wave hit the wall.

“Popple! What the hell?!” Kurtzwick growled. When he didn’t get an answer, he turned to look at the Skitty…

…who was floating face down in the water. Kurtzwick grumbled something unrepeatable under his breath and swam to Popple. Just as he thought, the Skitty was out cold. Two Surfs must have been too much for him. What had Popple said? That all the Pokémon there were stronger than him? How strong had Popple been when Maza and Trezzatura had fought him and Rookie all that time ago? If he hadn’t been training much, it would make sense that the Pokémon here, which were giving Kurtzwick a run for his money, would skunk Popple pretty easily.

Looks like it’s just me, then, Kurtzwick thought. With a surprising show of dexterity, he hauled Popple onto a crate. He looked up. The ceiling seemed closer than it had a while ago. Of course; the water level’s still rising. After a moment’s thought, Kurtzwick smiled. Then that means I have a plan now. Let’s rock. He jumped onto a crate himself – a different one from Popple – and shot a grin at his two opponents. Without giving them time to react, he arched a bolt of lightning into the water.

The subject of water and electricity is interesting. Everyone knows that water-type Pokémon are weak to electricity, but what about the water itself? Does it conduct electricity? Most people would say yes. Fewer people would say that it would only if the water wasn’t pure. The first group of people would probably fire right back with, “Well, how often does that come up?” To which the latter group of people would likely be forced to respond, “Not often, we’re afraid, and the water probably wouldn’t stay pure for long anyway.” This exercise, in addition to leaving the first group feeling frustrated and the second group embarrassed, just goes to show that if you’re a water-type Pokémon hanging around in the water, facing a Pokémon with an electric attack probably won’t end well.

It didn’t end well. The water conducted the Hidden Power quite excellently, and the bolt coursed through the bodies of the Frillish and the Tirtouga, leaving them charred and slightly smoky.

However, against Kurtzwick’s fondest hopes, it did not down them. Instead, it only served to make them angrier, from the looks on their faces. The Tirtouga sped through the water faster than one would expect a turtle to and locked its teeth on Kurtzwick’s tail, which prompted an anguished yell that only stopped when the Frillish locked eyes on him. An evil-looking glow radiated from the Frillish, and Kurtzwick felt the Hex hurt him in ways he wasn’t quite able to describe. He lashed his tail around and the Tirtouga finally ceded, letting go and flying back into the water.

“Popple, you just had to get knocked out,” Kurtzwick muttered, fully aware how unfair his statement was and yet, at the same time, not caring in the slightest. Under the reasoning that it seemed to work well enough the first time, he lashed a bolt into the water again, frying both Pokémon. They took the attack, showing severe signs of damage, but still wouldn’t go down.

“Repetition in your attacks shows a lack of creativity,” the loudspeaker said in a slightly condescending tone of voice. Well, more condescending than normal.

“Screw that!” Kurtzwick yelled. “What it means is that I’ve got an attack that does a lot of damage to both of them at once and I want to get out of this freaking place!”

“Oh, so you’re going for power over everything else?” the loudspeaker mused. “Let us see how well that works out.” The Frillish and the Tirtouga closed their eyes, bobbing halfway out of the water. A chill was immediately evident in the air, and as a wind began to pick up, Kurtzwick realized exactly what was about to happen. He had used the attack more than once, after all. A Blizzard was coming, and with both of them using it at once… He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hold off something of that magnitude with Protect for long. If it hit him, it’d be over.

That answers that question for me! Kurtzwick thought. This would take some very precise timing and a healthy amount of luck. As the Blizzard began to pick up, Kurtzwick grit his teeth. Focusing on his inner reserves of energy, he channeled it up to his horn. Embers began to spark from his skin, until his horn was blazing red. Just as the Blizzard started in earnest, a brilliant, flaming V, nearly Kurtzwick’s size, sprung forth from his forehead. He charged through the Blizzard, cutting a swath through it effortlessly, and tackled the Frillish. It didn’t do much damage, just as he expected, but it got him past the Blizzard. Kurtzwick landed on another crate and caught his breath. V-Create really tired him out. He’d have to remember that.

Even though the attack didn’t seem to affect the Frillish at first, after a moment, it started wavering. It floated around in a tight circle, then slumped over, unmoving. The V-Create was, apparently, just enough to take it down.

The Tirtouga betrayed no emotion. It simply clamped its jaws onto Kurtzwick’s tail again, giving Kurtzwick cause for another yelp, but Kurtzwick was just as quick on the draw this time around. He grinned in a slightly sinister way; as he did so, for the second time that day, a wind blew through the room. This one centered in a cyclone around the two Pokémon. As it grew stronger, Kurtzwick tore himself from the Tirtouga’s grip and swam out of the way. The Twister picked up both the Tirtouga and a healthy amount of water; as it span, it slammed the turtle into the ceiling, which, by this point, was not very far away. The Tirtouga fell back down, unconscious, and the water fell back down on top of it.

Battle over! Kurtzwick wins! Kurtzwick grows to level 27!

Kurtzwick looked to the ceiling. One of the rusted holes was directly over him. He started for it, then had a second thought. He jumped a few crates, then grabbed the frozen, soaking Popple. With his new traveling companion, he leaped out of the hole…

…and a green arm pulled him back down. Kurtzwick’s head spun as a sharp pain tore through his head. All he saw was a vaguely white and green blur before he blacked out, the second time in one day.

When Kurtzwick woke up, he was at home. Popple was nowhere to be seen. He narrowed his eyes. The person or Pokémon in charge of that warehouse was just messing with him now. But he had a clue. When he had jumped out of the ceiling, he had caught a glimpse of the skyline. It wasn’t much, but it told him where he was. Now it was just a matter of pinpointing the exact location.

Excellent.

---

On the other side of the continent, Sydney Cross was having some difficulties, to put it mildly. About a week or so ago, Miro had suggested to her that she take a little hike through some of Chrace’s countryside. Sydney had jumped at the idea; between training with Broz, getting some logistics on the proposed branch down with Miro, and getting attacked in the news (still!), she felt that a break was deserved.

And so she had gone out into the countryside. She had found a nice bed and breakfast in Lionhome, a small, quaint village that sat amidst rolling green hills. It was very peaceful, but Sydney quickly noticed two things in quick succession. The first was that there was no internet connection anywhere in the village, which meant that the small laptop she brought with her was only useful for Solitaire and taking notes when it occurred to her. The second was that there was no cell reception either, so reporting back into the Guild was difficult.

It wasn’t until three or four days into her vacation that she realized, embarrassingly, that landlines were still a thing. When she called back to the Guild, she found out that Lord Porygon had been panicking a bit. Lord Persian promised that he’d let Lord Porygon know, then insisted that she go back to her vacation.

It was on one hike through the aforementioned rolling hills that the incident happened.

Sydney sat at the foot of a tree. Its broad branches shaded her from the sun, and the leaves were beginning to turn red and yellow. The wind whispered past her, not unpleasantly. She rooted through her bag for a book. These sorts of moments – peaceful, quiet, with nobody asking her for anything or telling her that she’d done something wrong… well, she wished they could last forever.

Of course, those sorts of moments don’t last forever, a fact that Sydney became painfully aware of when another hiker crossed her path. It was a young man, maybe a few years older than her. He was handsome in a rugged sort of way; his heavy clothes were slightly raggedy and he had a few days’ worth of stubble. “Afternoon, miss,” he said with a slight drawl, tipping his hat in a friendly manner, as he stopped in front of her.

Sydney looked up from her book. “Good afternoon,” she said. She wasn’t expecting to see anyone else, and had trouble keeping the slight hint of disappointment from her voice.

“I can’t help but see you’re a Pokémon trainer,” he continued, nodding in the general direction of Sydney’s belt.

Oh lord, Sydney thought. She could see exactly what was coming. He would want to battle. And she couldn’t say no. If she did, somehow, Broz would find out, and he’d rake her over the coals for turning down an opportunity to train. He already wasn’t happy that she was taking time off, but Miro had somehow managed to one-up him in the ‘discussion’ that had ensued.

“What do you say to a friendly match, eh?” the man asked. “My name’s Tango, by the by.”

Sydney stood up. “Sydney,” she said with a nod. “Yeah, I’ll go for a battle.”

“Three on three okay with you?”

Haven’t had one of those before… Sydney thought. But what the hell, I guess. “Sure,” she said out loud. She pulled three Pokéballs from her belt and tossed them to the ground; at the same time, Tango released his Pokémon.

STRIFE! Bow, GG, and Mona versus Cacnea, Budew, and Shuckle!
Bow: “Gast, gast…”
GG: “Woodo sud sud! ♪”
Mona: “SmeeearGLE!”
Cacnea: “Cac! Nea!”
Budew: “Dew bud.”
Shuckle: “Uckle! Shuck uckle!”

Aside from Bow, Sydney realized she hadn’t really used Mona or Groove Guy in a battle much. She pulled the notebook that Lord Porygon had given her from her bag and flipped through it.

Tango laughed good-naturedly. “Taking notes on the match, huh? Not a bad idea!”

“Sure,” Sydney said, half-listening. Two grass-types and a bug-type. Bow is going to shine in this battle. But Groove Guy might have a hard time. Okay. Let’s do this. “Bow! Incapacitate the Cacnea! GG, to the Shuckle! Mona, to the Budew!” One of the things she had picked up from the battles she had participated in was that Lord Porygon’s Pokémon seemed to enjoy doing their own thing. In order to bolster her own skills, she still gave direction, but she left a lot of the execution up to them.

“You heard the woman, boys,” Tango said, nodding to his Pokémon. “Do it.”

Bow moved first, locking eyes with the Cacnea. She stared at him for a moment, neither looking away, until the Cacnea simply fell backwards, sound asleep. Bow gave a small smile that disappeared just as quickly. The Budew gave a troubled glance at his teammate, but discarded his worry; Mona was advancing on him with a smile on her face. It wasn’t a malicious smile by any means, but it was still a smile, and the Budew seemed to find that plenty unnerving. He stood up straight, smiled back, and said “Budew dew,” in what Sydney assumed was the Budew version of a suave voice.

Sydney could almost see the hearts spring up in Mona’s eyes. Attract. Wonderful. Broz had warned her about that move. She was a bit more surprised when the red string that Mona wore around her neck, tied loosely in a bow, began to glow, and the Budew got a similar stupefied expression. Lord Porygon had mentioned Mona’s Destiny Knot, but hadn’t been very clear on what it did. Now I guess I know.

Even with two Pokémon on his team incapacitated, Tango seemed less than worried. His Shuckle began to inch forward, but GG got there first. With an acrobatic movement that involved a somersault and no fewer than two flips, he grabbed a boulder from nearby, picked it up over his head with relative ease, and hurled it at the Shuckle. The rock landed on the Shuckle’s hard shell and actually cracked in two, but when the Shuckle poked his head back out, he didn’t look too hurt. He withdrew into his shell again and began spinning on the spot; once he had built up enough speed, he zipped across the grass with a metallic sheen coating him. Shuckle slammed into Lady Bow, sending both of them scattering. Bow took a moment to catch her breath, then glanced at Sydney and nodded. “Sudo!” GG proclaimed proudly, smiling to Sydney, apparently pleased with his attack.

Sydney nodded. “Good, guys. Bow, switch to Budew and give it a punch.”

“A punch?” Tango asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mona, give the Budew a nice friendly lick,” Sydney continued. “And GG, hit the Budew with your Hidden Power.”

Tango merely nodded at his team, or at least his Shuckle, who was the only one paying attention.

Bow struck first again. The gas that surrounded her coalesced into a spectral hand. The hand clenched into a fist – a fist that then burst into flame – and pounded the Budew from atop his head. The flames coursed over Budew, bringing focus back to his eyes, but as soon as he saw Mona again, he calmed down. Mona stood up to approach the Budew, but apparently a thought occurred to her; she looked at the Budew, then looked at Sydney with a sad look in her eyes. “Smear?” she asked quietly.

Sydney sighed. “Fine. Go after the Shuckle.”

Mona nodded. She clasped her hands to her head and strained audibly; as her eyes began to glow blue, so too did the Shuckle. Shuckle rose into the air, struggling wildly, then Mona hurled him back into GG’s earlier makeshift projectile. Shuckle bounced off, spinning slightly on the ground.

“Go on, Budew,” Tango said. “Give that sweetie over there a present.”

Budew raised a berry that it had been holding… somewhere into the air. The berry disappeared, and a ring of fire erupted from the ground around Mona. The flames receded quickly, leaving as evidence Mona’s scorched fur. Impressively, she didn’t look fazed, the love-struck expression still on her face. Must be… what’d Broz call it? Natural Gift.

Groove Guy took a deep bow, something Sydney had noticed he had been doing more and more before he did elaborate moves. Three purple orbs appeared in each of his hands, and he tossed them all upwards at the same time. With surprising dexterity, he caught them all and began tossing them from hand to hand. The juggling act soon became too quick to follow, and GG began throwing them rapid-fire at the Budew. Each one hit home, splattering Budew with a thick ooze, and it began wavering on the spot.

Good, that’s good, Sydney thought. But wait… what’s the Shuckle going to do? When she turned to look, all she saw was a hole in the ground. I guess that answers that question.


“Bow, finish the Budew off,” Sydney said. The Budew certainly looked like it was on its last legs. “Mona, GG, hit the Shuckle with your most powerful blows.” Broz mentioned how Shuckle can take hits. Let’s hope we can overwhelm it…

All it took was a single Sludge Bomb, slimy and toxic, from Bow to bring the Budew down. The sludge hit it, splattering all over the ground, and the Budew collapsed.

“Good, good!” Tango laughed. “First blood goes to you! But I think I see who your powerhouse is now!” He looked between Shuckle and Cacnea, who was beginning to stir. “Guys, focus yourselves on the Gastly!”

Bow frowned. She had understood that easily enough. With a burst of speed, GG slid in front of her, holding his hands up as if to say “just try it.” The Shuckle began to slowly inch towards the pair, but GG rushed it with a powerful Dynamicpunch. The crack that resonated through the field when he struck certainly spoke to the toughness of the Shuckle’s shell, but it seemed to be in vain; the punch was enough to make the Shuckle retreat into his shell and not come back out.

Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Are you taking this seriously?” she asked. “This seems a bit too easy.”

“No,” Tango laughed. “You must just be that good!”

“Whatever you say…” Sydney shook her head. She couldn’t help but shake the sneaking suspicion that something was up.

The Cacnea was completely awake at that point, and when he realized that his teammates were down, the look of panic that crossed his face was clearly evident. He disappeared into this air, then reappeared behind Bow; Cacnea swung one needle-tipped arm at her, and the impact made her wince with pain. She turned around and locked eyes on him. This was different from the Hypnosis; Sydney remembered that she had seen Bow do this once before. A cage of ice began to form at the Cacnea’s feet, and it began to travel upwards until the Cacnea was completely frozen. Bow’s eyes widened, and the ice shattered. Mona sprang into action next, gripping Cacnea in a psychic hold and hurling him backwards, straight into GG’s punch. The one-two combo proved too much for the Cacnea, and he dropped.

Battle over! Bow grows to level 9! Mona grows to level 10! Groove Guy grows to level 9!

“That wasn’t too bad,” Sydney said, looking over her team. They certainly looked happy enough, if not tired.

“Yeah, not too bad at all,” Tango agreed. When Sydney looked up, he was holding a Pokéball. She hadn’t seen him pull one out; it was as if it had just appeared in his hand. “I think we both profited.”

“What’s that supposed to mean…?” Sydney asked. The sinking feeling in her gut was acting up again.

Tango smirked. He threw the Pokéball with one swift motion, and it hit Bow neatly on the forehead. To both her and Sydney’s surprise, it drew her in and clattered to the ground. Sydney, Mona, and GG watched with gaping mouths as the Pokéball ticked three times in succession, then lay still.

“Yes, I think I profited too,” Tango said. He picked up the Pokéball and saluted. “I must be going! Be seeing you!” He tossed another Pokéball, this one revealing a Dodrio, and he climbed on and ran off.

It took a moment for Sydney to get her senses back together. What do I do?! Hell, hell… one of Lord Porygon’s Pokémon got stolen… I’ll need to contact him! But I’ll need to go back into town, and that’ll take the rest of the day… I can’t lose this guy’s trail!

Then something occurred to her. Sydney drew another Pokéball and opened it, in the process recalling Mona and GG. This Pokéball held Bobbery, and he looked to her with a small smile on his face, eager to help.

“Bobbery, Odor Sleuth. Track a Dodrio down for me.”

Bobbery nodded and began sniffing the air, walking the same path the Dodrio took.

Sydney clenched her fists. Whoever this Tango was, he was going to find out what happened to people who messed with Sydney Cross.

Just as soon as she figured out what that would be.