Show-Off: Chapter 35 posted 22/11

[Chris 2.1]

Karen: Hmm there's certainly a lot to explore, I assure you.

Pancake: It never seemed that big to me. I almost wanted to go for a sort of comic-book style with this fic, and instead of big chapters, posting little 4 page bits here and there. For example, one update would be the scene with Milo and the Guards outside Goldenrod. One could be a training session. I really wanted to explore the idea of a non-chapter, but didn't want to take such a big creative risk on this project.

Eventually I went for what works for my writing style; quite satisfying chapter lengths, and plenty of plot twists :p



Hope you guys can all hang tight since I won't be posting Chapter 10 for a while. I'm writing 11 but haven't had much done. The fic spends quite some time in Goldenrod, and it's all very action-packed. It sorta has the vibe of a spy-thriller or something. I also had a peculiar dream last night involving Jake singing a musical number - I think the tepid British heat is getting to me.

Anyone like the sound of a Jake musical? XD

[Chris 2.1]

Show-Off
-X-
Sex On The Beach

“How do I look?”

Jake emerged from the changing room in a sparkling gold tuxedo. He struck a pose as Milo, sitting in a red chair, rolled his eyes.

“I’m not buying you that.”

“Really?” he asked sadly. “I thought it would look spiffy for when I come to Contests with you.”

“Absolutely not,” Milo said. “You look like a gay Christmas decoration.”

Jake went back inside the changing room, pulling the curtain across sadly. They were in a very stuffy boutique which Milo was not fond of. In the Riverside Shopping District, Milo and Jake had spent their afternoon going from store to store, and Milo had already bought a lot of new clothes. Looking in the bags he had already amassed, he found his new indigo jeans, some customised trainers and an aquamarine polo shirt.

“I think we should head to a different store,” Jake admitted, getting his clothes on. He had a couple of bags with him too, and it was all thanks to Milo’s credit card.

They left the store and arrived outside on the cool afternoon. All around them were cute cafes and high-end stores, with the street paved with lemon coloured brickwork. It made Riverside Shopping District seem charming and innocent.

“Medicham,” Milo said, releasing the Pokemon from her ball. “Can you teleport these to our suite?”

Medicham nodded, waving her hands and causing the bags to rise up into the air. Jake had already bought a new shirt and some grey pinstripe trousers. In a flash, the bags disappeared.

“Nice work,” Milo replied. Medicham looked quite smug, perhaps still gloating over hurting Scyther earlier in the day. “I might get a new watch, you know. There’s a good place up here.”

They were in the West-most part of the city, near the impressive Radio Tower. Before they went to Tickers, the watch shop, Milo and Jake went to a little café to get a coffee. Walking around the city was exhausting, especially given that the sun was still out.

“What do you want to drink?” Milo said.

“Okay,” Jake mused, staring at the board. “I’ll have a double-soy chai tea with a shot of mint syrup.”

“…how normal,” Milo muttered.

“Welcome! May I take your order?” a girl asked.

“Sure,” Milo said. “Right, I’m just going to have a black coffee. To take away.”

“What size?”

“Oh. Medium?”

“No, no, you need to say a size on the board,” she explained. “Tallistic, Grandarino or Massivimatastic.”

“Grandarino?” Milo said, sounding apprehensive.

“Excellent,” the girl said, tapping away into the computer.

“Whoa!” came a voice. “Hold on! You guys totally pushed in!”

Milo turned to see a boisterous guy of his age standing behind him. He had a shaved head with two bolts in his left eyebrow, and if it weren’t for his effeminate voice he would seem threatening.

“Whatever dude,” Milo said, ignoring him. “Okay, and my other drink is a double-mint…Taiwan-blend…oh god…Jake, what was it?”

“A double-soy chai tea with a shot of mint syrup,” Jake replied. “I’ll have it Massivimatastic please.”

“I am SO not settling for this!” the man behind them snapped. Milo turned and walked to the guy, who was around his age. His eyes widened as Milo squared up to him, chests almost touching.

“Looks like you’re going to have to,” he said sternly. “Deal with it.”

Milo paid the woman and took his two drinks, noticing how curiously heavy Jake’s was. Jake took a sip and gave a sigh of relief. They left the coffee shop and headed back out onto the square. There were a few Wingull flying in the skies, scrounging for food. A Pellipper led them.

“That guy was a complete wanker,” Milo said, taking a drink.

“I think we did push in,” Jake said quietly.

“Who does he think he is?” Milo said. “Trying to spook me out with his leather jacket and eyebrow piercing. Douche.”

Moments later, his coffee floated out of his hand. Milo had no time to react as the top came off and the coffee was hurled at his face. Screaming to the skies, Milo fell to his knees as scalding hot coffee stung his face. Jake span around to see the boy from the coffee queue standing with a Venonat.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Jake said, noticing the bug’s eyes were glowing.

“He broke the rules,” he replied.

“Milo are you ok?” Jake asked.

“Medicham,” Milo gasped. “Kill that fucker.”

Medicham nodded as she held her hands out. Flames burst upon her palms; she clenched her fists tightly, allowing the fire to spread across her fingers. She raced at the man and his Venonat, fists blazing as flames wrapped around her wrists. Venonat chirped in an irritating pitch, shaking its messy purple fur and releasing a cloud of spores into the air.

Medicham gave a gasp as she staggered into their path. Stumbling to the side groggily, she seemed overcome by sleep, barely able to sustain the flames in her palms.

“Venonat, use signal beam,” the trainer said. Venonat opened its little mouth and a bright, sparkling beam shot through the air, cycling through red and green as it smashed into Medicham’s thin frame. Hurled through the air, she slammed into the earth and rolled along to her trainer’s side, who was still screaming in agony, eyes screwed shut.

“Paras!” Jake yelled, sending his new capture out. “Use Aromatherapy!”

Paras nodded, sprinkling a fine powder through the streets. Medicham crawled along to it, drowsy from Venonat’s spores, but with a couple of deep breaths she got to her feet again, invigorated. Her fists brimmed with flames once more and she stared coldly at the trainer and Venonat.

“Totodile,” Milo gasped, fumbling for the Pokeball next to his left hip. “Help me out buddy.”

Totodile leapt from his ball and sprayed a light splash of water on Milo’s face, cooling him off and cleaning him up. Milo scratched the little alligator along one of his ridges and got to his feet, facing the trainer opposite him.

“So you think its funny to scald people?” he shouted. “Huh?”

“I didn’t find it funny, no,” he replied. “But it served the purpose of teaching you a lesson.”

“What’s your name?” Milo asked.

“Christian Dior,” he rasped.

“You have the same name as a French designer?” Jake asked.

“I changed it a year ago by deed poll,” Dior replied coolly. Jake looked impressed, which irritated Milo.

“Well I don’t much like the way you play, Dior,” Milo replied. “Medicham sit this one out. Your not strong against bugs.”

He looked down at Totodile.

“Go in for a slash.”

Totodile nodded and raced along the arena, claws sparkling. Venonat watched stiffly as Totodile got closer. Jake noticed that a number of onlookers had gathered. As Totodile leapt to strike, Venonat’s eyes glowed for a mere second; as if an invisible balloon was inflating between them, Totodile was repelled by the attack and flew back through the air.

“Totodile!” Milo said. “Water gun!”

Blasting the attack at the ground Totodile flipped back through the air with control.

“Ice beam!”

Opening his jaws, Totodile blasted an intense beam of ice through the air. Venonat leapt out of the way awkwardly, causing the beam to glaze over some of the bricks paved into the street. The big bug was not fast, and judging by its use of psychic to repel Totodile, its telekinesis was not strong either.

“Are we making this a battle?” Dior asked, getting out a citrus-coloured Pokeball. “Venonat, baby-doll, get back.”

Milo narrowed his eyes as Venonat disappeared. Dior twirled the ball on his finger and slipped it away. He pulled out an Ultra Ball; black and yellow, and gripped it confidently as he looked down at Totodile. Medicham, Jake and Paras watched.

“I never use Venonat for big battles,” explained Dior. “He’s my star contest Pokemon, and I’d hate his fuzzy fur to get ruined before the Goldenrod Contest.

“Bayleef!”

The ball flew through the air and bust open; materialising from the yellow flash was the large creature with a wreath of leaves and spices growing from the base of its neck. Despite having warm, amber eyes, Milo detected an aggressiveness in the Pokemon. Bayleef’s big leaf on its head drooped down its face like a hairstyle.

“Come on dude,” Milo said to Totodile, who sniffed the enticing, spicy scent Bayleef released. “Ice beam.”

The pearly orb grew in Totodile’s mouth rapidly; Milo remembered teaching the technique to Totodile in Ecruteak City. From it, a beam was blasted across the shopping quadrant, but Bayleef released two thick tendrils from seeds around its neck. They wrapped around a lamppost nearby and, once secured, Bayleef leapt back wildly, extending the vines and sailing into the air as if she were abseiling. The ice beam glazed across the street and Bayleef pulled herself back in, flying towards Totodile at an impressive speed.

“Headbutt!”

Vines whipping back around her neck, Bayleef was no longer anchored to the street and tackled Totodile, causing him to fly back. He landed awkwardly, giving a soft cry of angst as he hit the ground. Milo looked to see Bayleef swing her head around and send a flurry of razor-sharp leaves sweeping through the air like shuriken.

“Think of them as juggling balls!” Milo said. “Chomp! Slash! Whip!”

Totodile raced through the air and leapt towards one of the thick leaves, sinking his teeth in as they sparkled with ice crystals. The leaf turned a cool blue as ice spread inside it, and soon shattered. Totodile blasted a water gun at the ground and evaded another leaf, turning and slashing one apart that was heading right for him. As he crouched from the fall, Totodile looked up to see Bayleef sending another flurry. Tail glowing softly, Totodile whipped it around and shredded the next oncoming leaf.

“HEY!” came a gruff voice. Milo looked to see sirens flashing and a police motorbike speeding through the streets.

“Fuck,” Dior said. There were rules against Pokemon Battles in non-designated areas, and being an upmarket shopping district, this had clearly aroused the authorities. Milo grabbed the glittery Pokeball and recalled Totodile, while Jake clutched Paras.

“Get us out of here!” Milo said to Medicham, who placed a hand on his shoulder. She did the same to Jake. Milo saw his opponent tear down an alleyway as he was whipped away from the scene in a bright flash.

*

Milo felt his feet float momentarily before he slammed back into the ground and opened his eyes. Medicham was helping Jake up. They were in a narrow alleyway, but Milo could still hear sirens and was worried Medicham hadn’t taken them far. He walked along to the edge of the alley, where he could see a number of police cars pulled up around a café.

“We’re by the Hotel,” Milo said, noticing the familiar buildings of the Business District.

“What are the police doing here?” Jake said, clutching Paras. Milo led the way out the alley and approached the scene. A woman was standing amid police officers, wearing thick red glasses and pacing around uncomfortably. Milo recognised her from earlier in the day; she had been at this very café with a Porygon.

“I don’t understand!” she cried. “I quickly went back inside the café to order a fruit scone and once I came back the Porygon was not here!”

“What ID is the Porygon registered under, ma’am?” asked an officer.

“It’s on loan from Aidendale Inc,” she explained. “I was just doing some work outside of work. We have such big deadlines it’s been awful.”

“It’s like what Jonty Ink said in The Loft,” Jake said. “Thefts!”

“This is just typical Goldenrod,” Milo replied darkly. “This can’t be related to the coordinating ring. Who would use a Porygon in a contest? They don’t have emotions.”

Milo looked to see Jonty Ink lurking on the scene. He had a Dictaphone held out and stood behind a large woman. It was easy to see he wanted to remain inconspicuous, so Milo decided not to bother him. They decided to leave the scene and instead head to Goldwicks, the luxurious department store.

*

“Milo I’m bored.”

Jake sat haughtily on a chair as Milo walked around the lingerie section of Goldwicks, the huge department store in South-East Goldenrod. An attractive sales woman walked over to Milo, who wore a confused face.

“Can I help you?” she asked. Milo turned to look at her heart-shaped face.

“Oh,” he said. “No, no that’s okay. I’m just looking for lingerie for my girlfriend.”

“Well,” the lady said. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will,” Milo said, smiling.

“You don’t have a girlfriend,” Jake said, once the lady had gone to a different area of the store.

“This is great for meeting women,” Milo explained. “If I bump into this girl when I’m out tonight, I’ll just explain my girlfriend and I fell out. Then I buy her a drink, charm her…simple.”

“Slag,” Jake muttered. They walked through the large store, across many of the eleven different floors and past different departments. Milo was tempted to buy a Metal Coat for his Scyther, which would induce its evolution, but he felt that it would be more beneficial to his Pokemon if he trained it up more. On the styling floor, Jake bought an odd assortment of chemicals and bleaches, which he planned on using with his Paras spores to create some styling products of his own.

“You’re mental,” Milo muttered. He turned to get off the escalator and bumped into a girl. “Oh! Sorry.”

“That’s fine,” she said. Milo looked to see that it was no other that Whitney. She had her pink hair roughly spiked today, with a white zip-up top and skimpy white shorts. She wore a Plain Badge on her chest. She looked shocked to see Milo, stammering slightly.

“Hi Whitney!” Jake cried. “Umm my name’s Jake, and I think you’re amazing in Exposé. It’s one of the most amazing serial drama’s on TV. Can I have your autograph?”

“I - Wh - Sure,” Whitney said awkwardly, smiling. “I’m glad you watch the show.”

Jake pulled out a slip of card (it was actually given to him on the floor below, sprayed with Goldwick’s new fragrance) and Whitney pulled out a pen. She kept her eyes locked on it as she scribbled her name.

“So how have you been, Milo?” she asked casually.

“Very happy,” Milo replied stiffly.

“Of course you have,” she said, handing the autograph to Jake. “Thanks honey.”

“I-I saw you in The Loft yesterday,” Milo stammered.

“Good for you,” she said, smiling. “Come on, Milo.”

“What?” he asked.

“I was talking to my Pokemon,” Whitney replied dryly. Milo looked to see an old, miserable looking Spinda waddling along after his trainer. He stumbled into a display case.

“You named your Spinda after me?!” Milo asked. “Yea? Well I named my Gloom after you!”

“I bet you don’t even own a Gloom,” Whitney replied. “Oh, and by the way. I’m seeing someone now.”

She walked off through the store, Spinda staggering behind. Milo stood still for a moment, before Jake reminded him that they were going to the Men’s section to find some new clothes for tonight.

“You ok?” Jake asked.

“Yea, yea,” Milo said, as they browsed. “She looked absolutely…beautiful.”

“She’s cute,” Jake said, picking out a tie. “How long did you date?”

“Two years,” Milo replied. “She came with me during parts of my league journey. Mum and Dad were even close to building an extension onto the house back home, for her…”

“Wow,” Jake said.

“We were close,” Milo sighed.

“Does it bother you that she’s seeing someone else?” Jake asked.

“No,” Milo replied. “Probably some big football player whose better endowed than me.”

“That’s what we’re all holding out for,” Jake agreed. Milo paused suddenly.

“Shut up Jake!”

“What?” he said, laughing. “Just saying…”

“You big gay,” Milo teased. “No bringing guys back to our Suite tonight Jakey, ok?”

“Can I go back to theirs?” Jake asked.

“I’m not your Dad; do what you like,” Milo said. “Now we’re going to The Cloyster Club tonight; it’s a very big, glitzy nightclub. So we need to dress right.”

“Cool,” Jake said.

“Now I think about it, quite a lot of footballers go there,” Milo said. “Mary Moore is the DJ.”

“Is that DJ Mary?” Jake asked excitedly.

“Yup,” Milo replied.

“I want her autograph too!” Jake said.

Milo rolled his eyes and proceeded to look through the store. Eventually he picked out a navy suit with trousers, in a world of his own as he paid at the till. He imagined Whitney’s face when he managed to kiss hot new model Gina Gourmante; it would be priceless.

[Chris 2.1]

That evening, the two boys relaxed at their luxurious suite. Feeling piggish, Milo ordered Chinese food and they sat on the big comfy chairs watching TV and stuffing their faces. In the suite, all the Pokemon were released; Medicham had a handful of rice (her meal for the entire day) before practicing her yoga, while Totodile and Pichu chased each other up the stairs, fast becoming friends. Ruby sat next to Milo, watching the TV, while Wingull and Paras sat by Jake. Scyther was looking out the window at the impressive city.

“Makes a change from the forest, right pal?” Milo shouted. Scyther turned to look at him and gave a nod. He turned back, silent. Milo sighed.

“He’s really distant,” Milo said. “I think he’s unhappy on my team.”

“It’s not that,” Jake said. “Milo, I think he’s scared of you.”

“What?” Milo asked, keeping his voice down. “Why do you think that?”

“You captured him out of his home,” Jake said. “But it was when Medicham smashed him with fire punch. And you had that that talk with him, explaining that he’s on the team.”

“Yea but I don’t want him disobeying me,” Milo replied.

“You’ve ensured that,” Jake said promptly, grabbing a spring roll.

“Scyther?” Milo said, setting his rice down and walking across the room. “You okay pal?”

Scyther nodded, turning to his trainer.

“Did I tell you how good you battled yesterday?” Milo asked. “I was really impressed.”

Scyther looked at him carefully. Milo was careful not to warrant the use of his Pokemon’s large scythes. Jake watched from the seats, while even Totodile and Pichu watched from the balcony.

“I really look forward to your role on my team,” Milo said. “You have amazing control over your scythes, and as soon as I saw you with your swarm in the park I knew you were special.”

Medicham walked over and stood by Milo’s side. Milo watched as she nodded to Scyther understandably, and wondered if she was perhaps communicating to him telepathically. A moment later Scyther lifted his scythe and placed it on Medicham’s shoulder, which, given her build, could shred her to ribbons.

“I think those two are bonding,” Milo said warmly, like a parent having tucked in his children. He leapt onto the chair and picked up his plate.

“Any more ideas about the contest?” Jake asked.

“I think tomorrow I’m going to refine Ruby’s last appeal and tweak it a bit,” Milo said. “Then probably do something with Totodile.”

“Why not appeal with Medicham?” Jake asked. “And battle with Scyther.”

“Why do you suggest that?” Milo asked, looking across at his psychic Pokemon.

“She knows the elemental punches,” Jake noted. “Mix that in with her telekinesis and kung-fu skills and you’ve got a pretty interesting appeal.”

“Hear that?” Milo said, turning to Medicham. She was showing Scyther her telekinesis by levitating a cushion. Scyther seemed in awe of the power; evidently he had not met many psychic Pokemon before. Medicham turned quickly; the cushion flew out her grip and towards Scyther, who instinctively slashed it apart.

“Oh dear,” Jake said, at the cushion. “Mind you, Scyther looks nice among those feathers…”

“Jake thinks you should appeal in the next contest,” Milo replied. Medicham raised her thin eyebrows and folded her arms.

“You’d be gorgeous!” Jake said. Medicham clicked her fingers and Jake’s jaw snapped shut. Milo burst out laughing as he continued to eat the Chinese food. When Medicham had let Jake’s jaw snap back open, he quietly ate some food before hurrying into the shower.

The two boys began getting ready for their night out, Milo wondering briefly what his sister might be up to. He wore his new navy suit over a white subtle-striped polo shirt, with the suit trousers and some white trainers. As he slid his new leather belt into his trousers, he caught a glimpse across Goldenrod City and looked forward to the evening ahead.

“I’m so excited!” Jake cried, from his bedroom as he styled his messy blonde hair. “I can’t wait to boast that I’ve been out partying in the streets of Goldenrod City…people will be so jealous!”

Milo ignored him.

“Today really got me thinking,” he continued. “You have an amazing life, Milo.”

“Eh,” Milo sighed disinterestedly. He was messing his hair with wax.

“I mean you get driven around everywhere, you have an endless supply of money, and excel at everything you do,” Jake said.

“Well I don’t know what to say,” Milo said, basking in the attention.

“Are you happy?” Jake asked.

“Will you stop analysing me?” Milo said. “For fucks sake!”

Shortly afterwards the two boys left the glamorous Mal Maison hotel. Jake wore a pair of grey pinstripe trousers with a matching waistcoat, a white shirt and a pink tie, and was walking with a spring in his step. Milo hailed a taxi, lacking the energy Jake had, which made the boy seem as if he was being propelled by excitement. Instead he got in the taxi and said nothing to the driver except his destination.

“So how is your shift?” Jake asked the man.

“Laborious,” the driver muttered.

“I bet you wish you were hitting The Cloyster Club tonight,” Jake mused.

“Ha! I don’t think a night’s wages would even get me into that place,” he replied, glancing at the two boys in his mirror.

“Well as a Personal Stylist to a famous coordinator, I can afford these luxuries,” Jake explained. He tugged Milo’s arm. “Isn’t that right?”

“Jake stop calling yourself that,” Milo muttered. Hurt, Jake sat back in his chair and said nothing until they pulled up to the large club. As they arrived, Milo looked up at the huge glass building, with loud music being heard even in the taxi. A red, velvet carpet led up to the entrance. Across the door was a huge logo for the club; it looked like an abstract drawing of a Cloyster, with smeared paints and jagged shading.

“Thanks mate,” Milo said to the driver, handing him a note. “Here we are. The Cloyster Club.”

“OH MY DAYS!” Jake said, as they walked up the carpet. “I feel like a celebrity.”

They paid the man at the door and were given blue plastic wristbands. After walking up a flight of stairs they found themselves on the first floor, which was very chilled out and laid back. The music was a selection of stripped-back trance and cool house music. Milo noticed that this floor was decorated in swirling blues, whites and crèmes, with lights of the same colour flashing on a central dance floor set into the ground. A duel spiralling staircase wound up either side of the circular dance floor, where people were already twisting to the music.

“The bar’s over here,” Milo said, leading Jake to the long bar stretching across the club. The staff all dressed in pure white, with contrasting accessories such as belts or cufflinks to give a casual elegance to their uniform.

“Everyone is so beautiful,” Jake said, noticing the well-dressed people mingling over expensive drinks.

“What drink do you want?” Milo said, handing him a leather-bound menu. He ordered a Black Russian for himself, remembering The Smoky Rooms in Ecruteak City. Maybe with each bitter gulp from the swirling drink would remind him never to be so destructive.

“I’ll have a Sex On The Beach!” Jake cried.

“I like mine without the ‘Beach’,” came a voice. A guy slightly older than Milo was also waiting to be served and smiled at Jake keenly. Jake beamed at his remark and leant against the bar casually, getting his elbow in a spilled drink by accident.

“Tell me more!” he said, as Milo ordered the drink and took another sip of his own. He watched the barman mix a shot of vodka with a shot of peach schnapps, before lengthening the mixture with orange juice followed by cranberry, giving it a colourful, tropical colour. He garnished it with a wedge of fresh pineapple and a slice of orange before handing it to Milo, who passed it quickly to Jake as if it were diseased.

Jake was eagerly talking to the handsome, slightly older guy while Milo took sips from his drink. It seemed like no time since he was last here, when he and Andrew would go out on the town amid their training sessions.

After Jake showed no signs of leaving his new friend, a disgruntled Milo wandered through the club. He went up the elegant stairs towards the next floor, where he knew there was a balcony for smokers. On the first floor it was much less chilled out; smoke curled out of machines and cloaked the brightly-dressed dancers as they swung their arms and sashayed their hips to an eclectic fusion of Drum and Bass.

Heading outside to the balcony, Milo found himself at a cool, chill-out zone. Huge flaming pillars cast light across the dark Friday evening, with the stars twinkling above the stretching skyscrapers. The large, open balcony wrapped around the nightclub, so there were doors leading to other areas. Milo got out a cigarette and lit up, standing by the rails and staring across the city.

He took his time smoking, letting the smoke curl out past his lips and towards the sky in loose spirals. When a waitress came around the smoking garden, Milo slipped her some money and ordered another drink; he drained the contents of his current drink and winced. Maybe he would find something else incriminating tonight.

“Thanks,” he said to the woman. He flicked his cigarette off the edge of the balcony and took his drink. He wandered back inside, but as he did, he saw Gina Gourmante and a gaggle of pretty young girls. Smiling, he caught the eye of a black haired beauty, but Gina told them to walk on as she came over to Milo. She had a shimmering white dress on and her curled, blonde hair was captivating.

“Milo!” she purred, her words dripping with French façade. Her friends were soon out of earshot, sitting in seats on the balcony. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Can’t you keep the French accent on? It’s prettier,” Milo replied.

“Fuck you,” she snarled. Without the luscious, romantic tone in her voice, Gina sounded quite menacing. “I saw you oggle my friends. Just leave us along, ok?”

“I wanted to console you,” Milo said. “Heard your Seel got stolen.”

“Yes, it did,” Gina snapped.

“Any luck finding it?”

“No,” she said, sounding weaker. “They can’t trace Seel, or any of the Pokemon that are being stolen. It’s just too difficult. Pokeballs are so easy to conceal, so easy to distribute. I’ve made peace with my loss.”

“I’m sorry to hear it,” Milo said, sincerely. “Honestly. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost any of my team.”

“Well places like this are a haven for thieves,” Gina said. “I leave my Pokemon at my Hotel, and have my assistant look after them.”

“Yea, good idea,” Milo said, feeling suddenly vulnerable at having his team members on hand.

“I had to train my new team member up vigorously for the contest,” Gina explained. She paused for a moment, perhaps realising she had been chatting to Milo for longer than she had intended. “Anyway. Keep your pervy eyes off my friends.”

“I’ve got eyes only for you, Gina,” Milo replied, smiling. Gina rolled her eyes and stalked off to join her friends. Milo watched her go and walked into the club again, hearing a wave of frenzied electo music. Just as he came to the top of the staircase, he saw Jake, running up eagerly.

“Look who it is,” Milo said dryly.

“Where have you been!” Jake said.

“Just having a smoke,” Milo replied. “Where’s your mate?”

“Oh, Dean?” Jake said. “He’s just gone to meet his friends. I’ve got his number!”

“He seems a bit old for you,” Milo mused.

“Are you jealous?” Jake smirked. Milo shoved him.

“Fuck off,” he said. “I just thought someone closer to thirty wouldn’t be chatting up a scrawny teenager.”

“Thanks,” Jake replied coldly.

Jake wanted another drink, explaining to Milo that he was blitzing through the cocktail menu with Dean. Milo, on cue, pressed his drink to his lips and finished it off, despite having just purchased it. The coffee liqueur stirred in his belly and stuck to the back of his throat; it was making him alert.

“Another Black Russian please,” Milo said, at the bar. “And Jake?”

“I’ll have a Blue Lagoon please,” Jake said. Milo watched the woman crush blueberries in a glass, adding sugar syrup, shredded mint, two measures of vodka and raspberry puree. She then shook the drink vigorously with a cocktail shaker, before pouring the contents into a highball glass. The bright blue mixture sloshed among the thick cubes of ice in the drink, which was only finished when the bartender filled the glass with pomegranate juice. The purple drink spilled into the blue mixture, creating a swirling vortex of fruit and colour. Jake clapped eagerly.

“That’s £20,” the woman said. Milo got out a note, but in doing so, something clattered to the floor. He bent down to get it - it was the weird card he got from the Bug-Catching Contest. He got back up and the bartender stared, alarmed.

“I didn’t realise you were a member, Sir,” she said, handing him the money back.

“Oh,” Milo said. “N-No problem.”

“You got these free?” Jake said, as they left the bar.

“I guess the owner was a member here,” Milo said. “Still, you’d think it would have the logo of the Cloyster Club on it.”

“Yea,” Jake replied.

“Excuse me?” came a voice. Milo turned to see an attractive woman standing before him. She wore a fitted white shirt and pencil skirt, with a black snakeskin belt. “My name is Suzie Swanson. I’m the Manager of this Club.”

“Hi,” Milo said.

“My employee told me you have a Membership Card,” she said. “May I see it please?”

“Sure,” Milo replied, handing it over. Suzie Swanson nodded and gave it back.

“Follow me please.”

Striding through the club she took them up another flight of stairs, which wound further and further up. Milo and Jake followed her, wondering why they were being led away from the dance floor. Past two more floors of dance music and wealthy guests, they arrived on a quieter floor with an impressive looking door ahead of them. It had an ornate handle and an eye carved into the door.

“We have recently updated our Members area,” she explained. She got out a mysterious card of her own, where the gold and black were inverted, and swiped it into the card reader set into the wall. The door gave a click and she led them inside.

“Let me introduce you to The Hieroglyph Palace,” she said proudly. Milo and Jake found themselves in a cool hangout with a slightly Egyptian theme; everything was gold, silver and bronze coloured, with ornate statues and intricate water features situated throughout. The bar was a central hub with four sides, and while the area was quite busy, it retained an exclusivity.

“This place is great,” Jake said, awe-struck. He cleared his throat. “Just like the last time I was here!”

“Yea, it’s certainly different,” Milo stammered.

“Do you think so?” asked Suzie.

“No,” Milo replied. “Actually. No.”

“This is for the best guests at our club,” Suzie said. “We have a very wealthy clientele at The Cloyster Club but we need to reserve a place for the elite among the elite.”

“That’s us,” Milo said. Suzie Swanson then left them to explore the new area of the club, which had small alcoves set into the ground slightly, filled with large chunky cushions and with a silk veil around the perimeter, creating a sensual area to chat.

“This place is mental,” Milo said, wide-eyed. They were still clutching their drinks from the main area, Jake sipping his gingerly.

“I know,” Jake said. One of the alcove-areas had a large table in it; two men sat at opposite ends, talking in low voices. The music here was very odd; it was more travelled, with middle-eastern instruments along a locomotive beat. Milo felt like he had travelled halfway across the world by merely passing through the door.

The drinks here were all complimentary; evidently membership here was either very expensive or given to very rich people. Milo began thinking about the man (or woman) who was the owner of the card. Had they noticed that their Membership Card had been stolen? Did they take no steps to recover it? How long had it even been sitting in the lost and found box at the National Park?

As the drinks began to flow, Milo welcomed the wonderful feeling of losing control. Jake’s walking and dancing became a festival of waggling limbs as he interpreted the obscure music. Milo found himself doubled over laughing at the stylist’s moves; somehow he felt it appropriate to mimic a birthing ritual to a particularly fast song. People were staring.

“KEEP PUSHING!” Milo roared, laughing from the sidelines. Jake lay on his back, legs in the air, grunting wildly. “I’ll get more drinks!”

Milo wandered to the bar, feeling particularly happy. The dance floor was quite empty now; people were mulling around in the private alcoves, at the bar, or simply judging the two young boys as they finally conquered the cocktail list and moved on to shots. Still amused at Jake’s antics, Milo felt tequila dribble down his chin as he gulped it down.

Soon the music melded together and Milo saw colours bursting to life with each second. Jake was never funnier, doing impersonations of Barry Brambles and the weird hippies from MooMoo Farm. Milo saw a familiar girl drinking in the corner but couldn’t see her well enough to place her. Who was she? Why did he recognise her face?

“H--hey,” Milo gurgled.

“Yea?”

“Who…who is that girl?” Milo asked.

“Uhhhhh…” Jake groaned.

“The girl over there!” explained Milo.

“Don’t point, Milo!” Jake said. “It’s really roo…it’s really….roooo…”

“Rude?”

“Rude!”

“How else can I explain who it fucking is!” Milo said.

“I don’t know who she is,” Jake said. “I’m too drunk.”

“You can never be too drunk,” Milo said. “Whoa. I’ve gotta pee.”

“Nice,” Jake said. Milo did a strange octopus-walk across the room to the toilets, staggering to a urinal and unzipping his trousers. In the perfectly white restroom there was soft music playing; a stuffy looking man stood by the marble sinks with an assortment of soaps and fragrances.

“Good evening, Sir,” he said in an oily voice.

“DUDE!” Milo said, turning to face the gentleman and spraying him with urine. “It’s like 2AM!”

“Sir,” he said politely, as Milo staggered into a wall, peeing all over the room. “You are peeing on me.”

The man released a Pokeball, and an Azurill emerged. Her tail glowed brightly and the same sparkling energy transferred to the man’s trousers, where the stain was slowly removed. On his command, the same happened to Milo, who laughed as the Azurill used refresh.

“May I interest you in some fragrant soaps?” he asked irritably, as he recalled Azurill. Milo was about to protest when a loud gunshot was heard outside. “Holy Fuck!“

“You stopped being posh!“ Milo cried.

“What the fuck was that?“ the man asked. Instantly Milo pushed him out of the way and arrived in the Hieroglyph Palace, where people were screaming and running for their lives. The Bar Staff ducked under the bar.

“JAKE!” Milo screamed, pushed aside by a woman. “JAKE! Where are you?“

He looked for the stylist’s messy blonde hair but he wasn’t to be seen. Milo fell to the floor and Medicham was released from her ball instantly. She scanned the area calmly.

“Medicham,” he gasped. “We need to find Jake! I can’t see him!”

Medicham instead pointed to the far corner of the room, where there was a fire escape. Seemingly more concerned for Milo’s safety, she took his hand and led the inebriated young man to the metal door, pushing it open and arriving on a set of cold, stone steps.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Milo spluttered. “Jake!”

Medicham rushed him down the steps, figuring it would be quicker than trying to get out of the crowded nightclub. Echoes of the madness reverberated around the stairwell.

Milo heard voices and instantly looked up, where there was an argument going on. Medicham did not like this, and grabbed his wrist, running down the steps until they reached the back door of the club. They burst out into the cool night, noticing a sea of clubbers in the area around them. Suzie Swanson was being led into an ambulance, a gunshot wound on her stomach.

“Oh my god!” Milo said, shocked at the blood leaking from her. “Suzie!”

Medicham led him away from the crowds, away from any information on the attack. “Medicham, we need to find Jake!”

But she only let him stop wriggling and writhing when he was well out of the way. He panted, disorientated with all of the alcohol sloshing inside him and the sudden adrenaline from the gunshot he heard.

“What happened?” Milo asked weakly. “W-W-Why did they shoot Suzie? Who did it?”

Trembling slightly, Milo felt himself throw up. Splattering the pavement with vomit, he clutched his stomach, feeling wretched. Medicham watched with disappointment, assuming it was the alcohol making him ill. In actuality it was the grim realisation that someone in the club tonight had a gun.

Milo realised that Medicham did not teleport him away because security measures were in place suppressing Pokemon abilities in the club. Once Medicham felt she was able to use her abilities, she placed her finger to her temple and tried to locate Jake.

*

Meanwhile, in the fire exit, a man stood against the rail of the staircase. Jasmine faced him, a Magneton at her side. She wore an expensive gold dress and styled her hair up. The man had a shirt on and a look of disgust on his face.

“There was no need to bring guns into this,” she said coldly. “That woman will probably die from the gunshot wound.”

“She saw me doing the job,” the man explained. He clutched a Pokeball in his hand.

“Just as long as she doesn’t see me,” Jasmine replied.

She clicked her fingers and Magneton throbbed powerfully. Taking a step back, she watched as Magneton applied immense concentration and the man before her screamed in agony. He was sweating profusely. The metal railing bent upon Magneton’s will, wrapping around the man’s torso and securing him in place.

“What are you doing?” he snapped.

“Leaving you here,” Jasmine replied.

Next, as Magneton vibrated with the intense magnetism, the man gave a chilling scream; his fillings were ripped from his teeth, shooting through his skull like bullets. Soaked in blood, they tore out his head and clattered to the ground.

The man’s face was soon ravaged as one filling ripped right through his eyeball. In seconds he drooped; dead. Jasmine bent down and took the Pokeball that rolled from his limp grip. She turned and walked down the stairs quickly, already on her phone.

“It was Anderson,” she said hurriedly, shooting furtive glances around her. “I killed him.”

“If you had to do it, then so be it,” came a voice. “Stay low for a few days. Good work Jasmine.”

“Thank you, Mr Mitchelson,” Jasmine purred, quickly leaving through the fire exit door and escaping into the night.






Next Chapter:
Milo and Jake are brought closer over horrible reprecussions from the nightclub raid, and Milo's attempts to reconcile with Whitney turn sour when he meets her new partner. Jonty Ink provides some clues about the Reclassification, causing Milo to swallow his pride and confront his past.

[Lune the Guardian]

Whoa whoa whoa, major plot twist! Mr. Mitchelson? Geez! Makes me wonder what his real source of money is.

The drunken scene was pretty funny (lol, Refresh) but turned nasty really quickly Hopefully Jake is all right. Poor Suzie. I wonder what "job" the man was doing? Stealing some pokémon maybe?

No big fan of Gina Gourmante, but her telling off Milo was hilarious.

I don't particularly like all the homophobia surrounding Jake.

[Chris 2.1]

Sorry this has taken so long. I've been so busy. I'm breaking my tradition of posting when the following chapter is complete. I've done about a third of the next chapter but its shaping up great. This is one of the few two-part contests in the fic.


New character bios are up in The Writer's Lounge - they hint at future appearences and potential plot lines.

Please, as ever, do let me know what you think of the chapter! And remember we ARE nominated for The Silver Pencil Awards. If you think we deserve to win, do cast a vote! Good luck to any of you nominated.

Show-Off
-XII-
Fruit Bug

“And that was the brand new single from the Eevee Sisters,” came a relaxed voice. DJ Mary was sitting at her desk sipping a hot coffee. “It’s called Elemental Love and it‘s released next week. Do text in and let us know what you think; should the Eevee sisters branch into a music career?”

She played a song in the background and continued to talk over it.

“This is Goldenrod Radio and I am DJ Mary, finishing off early today since I am a guest host at the Goldenrod City contest! After Mia Mitchelson’s epic performance at the last contest there has been a definite interest in this next one. This contest features five judges in total, two appeal rounds per coordinator and has reputation for being one of the most difficult in Johto. It’s going to be great seeing all this raw talent come together in a HUGE day.”

Meanwhile, in the Mal Maison hotel, Jake had the radio station on as he sat in the spa bath. He sighed, looking out the partly-frosted glass to the city below and wondering where on earth his Pichu was. While Paras sat in the corner and soaked up the moisture in the air, Wingull perched on the corner of the bath, satisfied.

Milo was already dressed; wearing his new dark jeans with his aquamarine polo shirt over a white tee. He slid his feet into his new designer trainers and looked at himself in the mirror, admiring himself.

“Jake,” he shouted. “Get up. And turn LesboFM off.”

“Milo don’t be an ass,” Jake said, as he wandered into the living room with a towel around his waist.

“You’re not turning into a lesbian, are you?” Milo asked, laughing.

“I actually got on with Mary really well yesterday,” Jake told him.

“Was that when you went off in a strop and hung out with the Witches of Lesbos?” Milo said.

“Yes it was,” Jake replied.

“What was she saying?” Milo said inquisitively. “Is Whitney a complete vegetarian now?”

“She’s gay, if that’s what you mean,” Jake said cattily. “And Whitney said she wouldn’t go back to guys.”

“I did set the standards,” Milo muttered.

“Why are you up so early anyway?” Jake said. He was sat by the phone, about to order breakfast through room service. “You don’t need to be at the contest hall until 11am.”

“I’m going to the Pokemon Fan Club,” Milo replied.

“Oh, yea, the Reclassification stuff,” Jake said. Milo had explained everything to him yesterday following the gym match. Jake seemed nonplussed about Milo’s plight to blow the cover on the Reclassification, instead ordering a chocolate gateaux for breakfast and weeping over a photo of his Pichu.

“Are you coming to see me compete?” Milo asked.

“I’ll watch on TV,” Jake muttered. The entire contest was broadcast across Johto.

Milo was paying particular attention to his appearance today. Medicham was wearing Jake’s preppy skull and bones scarf from the National Park around her forehead, giving her a more authentic, Street-Fighter look. Despite her initial protests, and using telekinesis to bash Milo against a wall, he had ordered Medicham to appeal for one part of the contest. He was to appeal with Ruby, then Medicham, and he would battle with Scyther. They spent yesterday practicing an appeal, which looked great, but Milo had concerns that Medicham would prove a point by ruining it for him.

Ruby was pleased to be the centre of attention again, after being ignored in Eruteak. Jake had bottled a spray he made using Paras’s stun spore and a few chemicals to create a product to use on Ruby’s fur once it was styled; he added a few fruit extracts and some glitter to make Ruby look beautiful. Milo grimly watched as Ruby nuzzled Jake; those two got on very well.

Unfortunately little Totodile was slightly upset at not being included; Milo had to explain he needed to show off different Pokemon, but his words had no effect on the Pokemon, who sought comfort in Jake’s arms. Jake fed him some cake and sobbed over Pichu. Milo rolled his eyes; Medicham resented him for making her appeal, Ruby was generally not fond of her current trainer and Totodile felt neglected. All he had left was his slightly timid Scyther, who was scared of him.

“Things used to be so much easier,” Milo said, recalling Totodile and making his way into the city. Jake gave a wailing moan ([I]’Pichu LOVED CONTESTS![’/I]) and Milo left the Hotel. He wandered through the city, enjoying the fresh scent in the air. Goldenrod was quiet, as it was still so early in the morning, but he saw the Magnet Train roar through the tracks high above the roads, presumably sending people to work.

Milo made his way through the city, knowing a quick shortcut near a local bakery. He arrived at the Pokemon Fan Club and knocked on the door. In a small tree in the garden, an ugly Fearow perched, glaring at Milo coldly.

“Yes?” came a voice. The irritably boy from yesterday appeared. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Hey Assy McTwat,” Milo replied. “I have a badge from The Speed Gym.”

He got it out and showed the boy, who took it for a moment and admired it. Milo watched him read the engraving on the back and even trace it with his thin, bony fingers.

“Well done,” he said casually. “The Speed Gym has been a big hit.”

“I know Whitney’s battle style,” Milo said. In actuality, he felt Whitney’s performance yesterday was rather poor.

“While it is very impressive, The Chairman is at the Pokemon Contest today,” explained the boy. “He is one of the five judges.”

“He is?” Milo asked, frowning.

“He is,” the boy replied.

“That’s good,” Milo replied. “Because I’m competing in that later.”

“Great! You can leave,” the boy replied, slamming the door.

“You suit your name,” Milo said to the closed door. “ASSY MCTWAT!”

He turned to walk down the path, making sure Fearow didn’t peck his eyes out.

*

In Kanto, the sun shone brightly and heat pulsated from the fiery entity in the sky. At the beautiful tropical Porta Vista, on the Seafoam Islands, Mia Mitchelson sunned herself in a pearl-white bikini. She was at the Mitchelson villa by the beach; it provided her with the liberty of being out on the edge of the continent in the beautiful ocean air, while keeping away from weirdo’s.

Cleo, one of Mia’s friends, sauntered outside. She had her shades on and was wearing a striking yellow bikini.

“Just had a shower,” she said, letting the warm heat radiate and eradicate the cool droplets of water running down her smooth, tanned legs.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Mia replied lazily.

“Lily has taken the car to Porta Vista, to get some supplies,” Cleo told her. Mia just nodded. Cleo released her Seaking into the pool and let it frolic. Mia’s Chinchou was splashing in puddles while her Togetic flew in the sky happily.

“Hey, Mi!” came a cry. Mia looked to see her fourth friend, Daisy Oak, walk outside. “Come and have a look at this!”

“Daisy I know the toilet flushes automatically,” Mia muttered.

“No! The Goldenrod Contest is on TV!” Daisy said excitedly.

“Isn’t your brother competing?” Cleo asked inquisitively.

“Yea,” Mia replied. Before she knew it, the Pokemon and the other girls raced indoors and planted themselves down at the sofa. Hands on her hips, Mia furrowed her brow. Why were they interested?

“I thought you hated my brother because he never called you back,” Mia said to Cleo.

“He was good in bed though,” Cleo said distractedly.

“Mitchelson’s are,” Mia mused.

“You can’t say you’re not interested to see how this whole thing plays out?” Daisy said coyly. “I mean…if Milo can win the Goldenrod contest, maybe he could give you a run for your money.”

“He’d like to think that,” Mia said coldly. Nevertheless, after a fleeting glance to the sunny day, Mia perched herself in front of the TV.

*

“Hello coordinators, and welcome to the Goldenrod Contest,” said a rather flamboyant man. “My name is Terry Thompson. I am the ‘Show Runner’. I will be mincing around backstage like a right drama queen! They call me Terry Tantrum around here!”

Milo was bunched together with a huge number of coordinators that were all competing later that day. They were in a sort of conference room, and Terry Thompson was at a podium, wearing a glittery waistcoat over a shirt. He looked to be about forty, with receding hair and a hint of sadness in his otherwise perky face.

“Now with the current situation in Goldenrod City, there have been a number of very scary thefts from potential coordinators. The City Police have installed a very strict security perimeter around the Contest today, which is why you were all given security passes upon entering today. Keep them on you at all times and do not leave the premises. Ok?

“There are two appeal rounds in this contest,” Terry said. “And we have five judges. Instead of being given a score out of ten and getting a total out of thirty, you get a score out of twenty, and receive a score out of 100. This is also what happens under the Grand Festival regulations, so if any of you are competing there later in the year it will be great experience!

“So we have an area backstage called the Green Bar. It’s just a little relaxation area for you all, they sell Panini’s and sandwiches and nice drinks, so you can just chill out and get to know each other. Maybe share tips on coordinating?”

“Those aren’t to share,” came a rude voice. Milo turned to see the boy named Dior from the back of the room. He looked happy at perplexing Terry Thompson.

“Oh really? I thought coordinators were nice,” Terry mused. “I wouldn’t know. My dad made me chase a football career. Then I had a heart attack on the pitch. Now I can‘t run.”

“Is there anything else we need to know?” an irritable woman snapped. She had her young daughter with her, who looked far too dressed up to simply mingle backstage.

“No, no. Your numbers are all given to you and you are free to go. Please enjoy yourself and remember - this is televised!” Terry cried happily.

The coordinators spilled from the room, Milo being elbowed on his way out. He felt like he was at an awards ceremony; the Contest Hall was like a small stadium, and the set and seating was all still being put up by rotund crew members. Terry pranced off delicately as if he were walking on a bed of tortilla chips. Milo saw the frosty looking woman drag her daughter through the crowd.

“Hurry up Tamara! DO YOU WANT TO FAIL!?” came the scathing screech. She was clearly the girl’s mother; very tall, with her skin taut over her sharp features. She was in what looked like a designer yellow tracksuit, but covered in make-up. Her daughter wore a sweet little party dress and had her hair styled intricately.

“No mummy, sorry mummy,” the girl muttered. A slightly lankier, older girl followed the two, lugging a large bag around. She was pale and had scraggly hair.

“Debbie will you hurry up?” the woman snapped.

“Srymmy,” came a mutter. The girl kept her eyes locked to the ground as she followed her mother and sister.

“Oh hello,” the mother said smartly. Milo looked up to see he was being addressed.

“Hi,” he said.

“Competing?” she asked, her eyes scanning Milo’s clothes. “You don’t look like a coordinator.”

“I am,” Milo replied.

“Denise Dwight,” she said coolly, holding a hand out. Milo shook it.

“Milo Mitchelson.”

“Oh I’ve heard of you,” Denise informed him. “Your mother was a famous coordinator. I hope her talent runs in the family.”

“Oh, it does,” Milo replied.

“Yes, well yes, I mean Tamara here is an aspiring coordinator,” Denise explained. The little girl was chewing her security pass. “TAMMY!

“I’m like her stylist,” Denise chuckled.

“Ha.”

“Who are you competing with?” Denise asked rudely.

“You’ll have to wait and find out,” said Milo.

“HA! Oh you are amusing. Oh! You’re serious? Come now, why don’t we share the tools of our trade?” asked Denise.

“You mean your daughter’s trade,” Milo said. “She’s competing.”

“Yes, well yes,” muttered Denise. “Anyway we’ve just been in Violet City. It was fantastic. I don’t suppose you have been there yet?”

“Not yet,” Milo replied.

“I said to Tamara, I said it’s a very…fragrant city. What did I say Debbie?”

The pale girl piped up.

“It’s a very fragrant city.”

“That’s right,” Denise replied. “Oh. This is Tamara’s elder sister Deborah. No talent whatsoever. She’ll never be a star. I said to Tamara, I said, she’s just not got the stamina. What did I say Debbie?”

“I just don’t have the stamina,” the girl replied sadly.

“But of course Tamara is viciously talented…she can sing, dance, debate, project her voice, distract, conduct and play the cello,” Denise explained. “Debbie hasn’t the figure to do that. What did I say, Debbie?”

“It‘s my metabolism,” Debbie admitted. Her mother’s eyes widened.

“I DID NOT SAY THAT!” she roared. “God! Come. Tamara needs a power-smoothie before her performance.”

Milo rolled his eyes and grabbed a coffee, watching Denise drag her younger daughter Tamara through the crowd. The exhausted Debbie lugged the huge bag around after them, looking sheepish at speaking up. She turned to look back at Milo, giving a slightly crooked smile.

Milo had decided he was going to use Ruby for the first appeal round since it was important he got past the first stage. Medicham’s appeal would be able to take him into the battle round, he thought. He kept his eyes peeled for the Pokemon Fan Club President, but could not see him anywhere.

“I didn’t realise you were a coordinator,” came Dior’s voice. Milo looked to see him standing across the corridor with his Venonat out. Venonat’s fuzzy purple fur was brushed wildly, giving it a styled, yet ravaged look. It was holding a plump berry in its claws and nibbled it.

“Well I am,” Milo replied.

“How many ribbons do you have?” Dior asked. He wore his same black leather jacket and a white scoop-neck t-shirt underneath. He had various straps and bracelets around one of his wrists and a thick silver chain around his neck.

“One,” Milo replied.

“Same,” Dior muttered. “Goldenrod’s a tough venue though.”

“I’d worry, if I were you,” Milo said.

“Just watch that coffee doesn’t splash onto your face,” Dior replied.

“Just watch I don’t jam your ear stud into your eye,” Milo said.

“Ouch,” Dior simpered. “Very fiery. Well I’m going. I hear Gina Gourmante is competing, and I want to suck up to her.”

He walked off, Venonat plodding along behind him. Milo wondered if Dior would use his Bayleef in the battle portion or not, and whether or not he would end up facing him. This was a much bigger contest than Ecruteak or Olivine, so he wound be facing much fiercer competition.

Soon, Milo was aware that the contest was about to start. Lights dimmed in the backstage corridors and TV screens displayed the audience eagerly sitting in the crowds. This was like being in a small indoor stadium, with the audience on all sides waving banners and cheering.

“Milo!” came a cry. Turning, Milo saw Jake walking through the corridor.

“What are you doing here?” Milo asked. “How did you get in?”

“Oh, well security was really tight, you know, with the thefts and stuff,” Jake replied. “But Gina Gourmante saw me and got me in. It was very kind. Have you seen her? She’s wearing this amazing raspberry-coloured cocktail dress.”

“Lovely,” Milo said. “So you’re not upset?”

“I am,” Jake muttered. “But you need my support. And Pichu might be okay. I might even find him one day.”

“It’s good to be optimistic,” Milo said. “Good on you.”

Backstage, Jake was grooming Ruby as Milo watched the MC introduce the judges. One of them was a Nurse called Joy, who was head of Goldenrod’s largest Pokemoncenter. She was wearing her nurse’s uniform and looked very pleasant. Next was Gregory Goldstein, the mayor of Goldenrod City, who wore a black suit and had his heavy gold chain around his neck. Milo thought he looked very old, and knew that the Goldstein family were very rich. Mia and Milo were educated at the Blackthorn Academy with Gregory’s daughter Gail.

“You went to Blackthorn Academy?” Jake said, sounding highly impressed. “That’s like the most expensive school in the region! Loads of amazing people went there!”

“Gail Goldstein is fairly ugly,” Milo pointed out.

“And?” Jake asked.

“Well I…you know. I don’t really like the ugly,” Milo replied.

“You really are a dick, aren’t you?” Jake pointed out. Milo noticed he was smiling.

The next judge was DJ Mary Moore, who waved to the crowd. She seemed to have a lot of fans, and wore a green turtleneck jumper that clashed horribly with her red hair. Judge number four was the Chairman of the Pokemon Fan Club; the camera showed a cluster of fan club members in the audience wearing Rapidash t-shirts. When the final judge, a retired Gym Leader named Juan was revealed, the attention then turned to the coordinators.

Milo noticed the five judges were sitting in front of the stage this time, and looked as the rules were being explained now. The first round was a standard appeal, and the top coordinators would go on into the second round. Next, coordinators were paired up and had to face off in a contest battle to decide who would go to the next round. Those who proceeded would perform a second appeal using a different Pokemon to their first. The two appeal scores would then be added together and the two highest scoring coordinators would face off in a double battle.

Taking in a deep breath, Milo relaxed as the first coordinator took to the stage. She released a Teddiursa, who began running around crying its name.

“God, what a pathetic appeal,” came a voice. Milo saw Denise Dwight with her daughters, Tamara and Debbie. The woman, in her garish tracksuit, was perched on a step as her daughter stood. “Tamara! Are you ready to practice?”

“One…two…three,” the girl muttered. “On the goo-ood ship, loll-ee-pop…”

Milo watched the girl performed a tap dance as she sang along. The mother glared at her daughter with malice, bringing out a large pot of moisturiser and unscrewing the lid. As Tamara rehearsed, Jake tugged on Milo’s sleeve, possibly also aware that the woman was seemingly entering her daughter into the contest.

“Tuck your arms in!” the woman snapped. She scooped out a generous dollop of moisturiser and let her greedy fingers gorge in the cold, buttery substance. As her hands slipped around each other like amorous serpents, they gleaned with a greasy finish and writhed around with a slurping noise.

“That moisturiser is really expensive,” Jake noted. “Look how much she’s applying!”

“She should at least put some on her face,” Milo hissed back. Jake giggled.

“How am I doing mummy?” Tamara asked. “Tap-tap-tappa…tappa-tappa-tap…”

“Hang on,” the woman said, picking up her phone. “Hello Jeremy DAHLING. Yes. Yes. No! Yes. She’s practicing now. No, she can’t speak.”

“Is it daddy?” the girl asked, walking to her mother.

“KEEP PRACTICING!” bellowed the mother. “Jeremy really, you are distracting our daughter. She’s already slipped from ‘Utterly Fantastic’ to ‘Eye-Gougingly Average’ in my books, and I go easy on the girl! Tamara darling, try the song out. And a-one, and a-two -”

“I wanna be -
Bobby’s Girrrrrl
I wanna be -
Bobby’s Giiiirl
That’s the most important thing to meeeeeee.”

“Oh Jeremy, she sounds wonderful,” the woman said. “I have to go. They’re announcing the scores and I need to see how the judges are judging. And we’re low on that moisturiser I like. Get some.”

“Is it just me, or are some of these coordinators a bit weird?” Milo asked. He said this as the Teddiursa appeal got a measly 20 points out of 100. Next up was a boy whose Machoke picked up one of the judges and twirled him around exotically. Juan looked increasingly frustrated as he flailed against the Machoke’s strong grip, explaining his fear of heights.

“Good going, Machoke!” the coordinator said.

“PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT OR I GUARENTEE YOU WILL GET A ZERO FROM ME!” Juan screamed.

Milo laughed as the Machoke trainer got a very low score. He looked at his number, number five, and realised he was actually going to be on soon. Jake said Ruby was all ready, so Milo recalled her and walked from the relaxation area to the back of the stage.

The third act was a mildly interesting appeal involving a Skarmory; the trainer had it unleash a swift and whirlwind combo to hurtle the stars through the air, before it used air cutter to chase and slash apart the projectiles. It made Milo uncomfortable seeing a similar appeal to his own but, after appeal number four, he took a deep breath and walked onto the stage.

“Our fifth coordinator…please welcome Milo Mitchelson!” cried the MC. Applause rang out as Milo stepped onto the stage, gripping Ruby’s Pokeball. The stage was so much longer and wider; Milo was fully aware of the applause dying down as he walked to the centre spot. Clearing his throat, he arched his arm back and summoned Ruby. Bursting from her Pokeball she landed softly on the arena and stood for the judges attention. They seemed impressed by her beautiful appearance.

“Start off with a swift attack!” Milo ordered. Nodding, she blasted a flurry of spinning golden stars through the air. Milo saw the judges look slightly uninterested in another swift appeal. “Then use fire spin!”

As her jaws were swathed in curling flames, Ruby unleashed a spinning jet that hit the ground and whipped up in the centre of the arena. As gold and scarlet burned passionately, embers launched from the vortex and danced to the ground. The swift stars hurtled around the blistering fire attack.

Milo recalled battling Mia on Pua Samoa, and her recently evolved Ninetales’ use of Will-O-Wisp; lavender and periwinkle coloured flames that caused serious burns. In the heat of the moment, Milo deduced the flames she created were hotter, and burned brighter, causing their colour.

“Ruby concentrate on burning hotter flames,” Milo said. “Like a Will-O-Wisp.”

Ruby clenched her jaws and summoned fire. She spent longer swirling the flames around her body, perhaps to let the heat rise. Milo also knew fire Pokemon could adjust their body temperature, so Ruby was perhaps raising that, too. Suddenly she let out a roar and a hearty blast of blue fireballs exploded into the fire spin. Streaks of blue and purple melded among the attack and gave it a haunting look.

“Now go in for extreme speed!” Milo shouted. In a blur Ruby sped into the attack, bursting from the other end as flames trailed past her body. Swift stars sped behind her and the fiery twister lost its shape and faded into the atmosphere. Ruby used a thunder fang to send sparks coursing across her fangs as her entire back half was cloaked in stirring flames. She posed to the crowd, who applauded wildly. Embers danced around her.

“Thank you Milo!” cried the MC. “Now for the Judges scores!”

“A brilliant appeal,” said the Nurse. “It was a beautiful mix of colour. I give you 16/20.”

“Very solid,” Gregory Goldstein declared. “15/20.”

“I don’t think you had control over the fire,” Mary said coldly. “That, for me, highlighted a serious problem with the appeal. I’m giving you 9/20.”

Milo’s heart sank at the unfair score from the scathing DJ. She folded her arms coolly and leant back in her chair as Milo did the maths in his head. Luckily, he was saved by the next judge.

“Arcanine!” moaned the Chairman of the Fan Club. “Beautiful! Regal! Amazing…soft…wild…19/20!”

“Thanks!” Milo said. Mary looked as if she had chewed a wasp.

“As an ex-water Gym Leader, I like to incorporate style and sophistication into my battles,” Juan said, in a slightly French accent. Milo wondered if Gina would try and pick up tips on how to sound French, or even if Juan was similarly putting this dialect on. “So there are many water appeals I find dull and lifeless. Instead, I was met with a grand display of fire and theatrics; it was very well executed. I loved the juxtaposition between Arcanine’s elegance and ferociousness. I give you 17/20.”

“That gives Milo a total of 76 out of 100!” the MC announced. Milo received a rapturous applause and left the stage with Ruby. As he walked into the relaxation area Jake was clapping happily. Milo walked over, but found Jake was congratulating Ruby’s efforts more than his.

“Weren’t you just great?” Jake said, scratching her ear. Ruby closed her eyes and moaned softly.

“Creep,” Milo replied.

[Chris 2.1]

Next up was a man who did an interesting appeal with his Lickitung. The Pokemon was launching very colourful attacks like Shadow Ball and Zap Cannon before eating them using its swallow attack. The audience gasped as the Pokemon ate more exciting attacks such as a flamethrower and even a chunk of ice, before Lickitung blasted the entire collection out in a shimmering silvery orb - it’s Spit Up attack.

The coordinator got a good score, but it was not as good as Milo’s. Milo smiled as he and Jake watched the other performers. Gina Gourmante walked powerfully through the cluster of coordinators, flicking her blonde curls from her face and adjusting a sapphire ring on one of her slender fingers.

“I wonder who she’s using for her appeal,” Jake said. “She must have had to work hard to recover after losing Seel.”

“Please welcome to the stage…GINA GOURMANTE!”

Gina smiled softly as she stood in the middle of the arena. She threw a Pokeball through the air and it burst open as it span forward. Forming from the light was a hovering spectre; with a red pearl necklace and illuminating eyes, the Misdreavus had wavy purple and blue hair with flecks of grey. She gave a girly cackle as she swept into the air.

“Missii!” Gina cried in her immaculate Parisian twang. “Will-O-Wisp!”

The beads glowed powerfully as Misdreavus floated around. Big bangs of blue flame erupted all around the arena, causing flashes to fill the room. Milo watched at the competent ghostly flames snaked up in mid-air. Misdreavus flew among them, releasing crackling bolts of fizzing lightning from her mouth. Like a disturbing storm the appeal melded together.

“Now use pereesh song!”

From the floating orbs of fire, with sparks crackling around the room, Misdreavus let out a long, mournful tune. The audience looked stirred by the reverberating notes that rang across the huge stadium; Milo felt triggered by the lament. It made him upset.

“That song…” Jake muttered. Milo could see behind Jake’s expression he was thinking about the loss of his Pichu, so Milo poured some water over Jake’s face to snap him out of it.

“What a beautiful appeal,” said the Nurse Joy. “I’m speechless. I give it 19/20.”

Gina smiled.

“Indeed, a very stirring appeal, evoking strong emotion,” Gregory said. “18/20.”

“I thought the colours and the elements coming together worked really well,” DJ Mary said. “I also really dig Misdreavus. 19/20.”

“It isn’t one of my personal favourites,” moaned the Chairman. “But you conducted yourself very well. 16/20.”

“Incredible,” Juan said smoothly, twirling his moustache. “You used colour and shape very intricately. The Perish Song tugged at my heart strings. Truly, it brought out a sense of loss in every individual here. I think you will achieve a fantastic career as a coordinator. 19/20.”

“Gina Gourmante leaves the first round with a fantastic score of 91/100!” cried the MC. “Setting a high standard for this contest!”

Backstage, Gina received rapturous applause from the other coordinators. Milo saw Dior clapping sourly, and wondered what his appeal would be like. Gina grabbed a bottle of water from the vending machine and pressed it to her lips.

“She was pretty good,” Jake said. “What a score.”

“Yea, I thought I’d done ok,” Milo muttered, now slightly doubtful. The next coordinator went up; a leggy businesswoman with designer glasses. Barely watching her as she appealed with her Butterfree, Milo sat and soaked in the talent around him.

“You’re up next sugar muffin,” Denise said to her daughter.

“Yay!” the girl cried.

Jake giggled at Denise and her daughter; the boys were very curious when she was called up to the stage.

Denise stood by the edge of the stage creepily, basking in the shadow as she ushered her daughter forward. Tamara walked on slowly, the Pokeball seeming huge in her little hands. She smiled sweetly at the audience and threw the Pokeball into the air.

Bursting from the ball was a long, thin Pokemon. It was a Sudowoodo., with clusters of green shrubbery on the end of its stalk-like arms. It had a rough texture to its body, but gave a distinct sheen, as if polished. Standing next to Tamara, Sudowoodo got ready.

“Ahem!” Tamara said. The audience watched as she began to kick and buck her feet. She seemed to be wearing tap shoes, as she made very intricate clicking noises. Her arms were crossed behind her back; she stared ahead with glassy eyes as she pulled off the very complex jazz-tap routine.

“Sudowoodo! Mimic!” she squeaked.

As his branch-like horns glowed softly, Sudowoodo found himself directly copying the intricate dance. Tamara tapped to the left, flicking her hands to her side. Sudowoodo soon did the same, and Milo finally discovered what his mother was doing; training her daughter extensively as a singer and dancer, then having the Sudowoodo simply mimic it for contests.

“She’s well trained; like a circus animal,” Jake noted.

Tamara finished her appeal enthusiastically and gave the ‘jazz hands’. Sudowoodo tried a similar thing. There was a tepid applause in the contest hall; the judges did not look particularly overwhelmed.

“Tamara, that was very good!” Nurse Joy said kindly. “You looked wonderful and I liked your dancing. I’m going to give 15/20.”

“Are you serious?” came a cry from Mary.

“Yes I am Mary, I think Tamara put a lot of effort in,” Joy replied.

“We’re not judging effort, we are judging skill,” Mary replied. “Everyone has put the effort in today. We need to filter that.”

“Then I suggest it reflects in your score,” Joy replied. “My mind is made up.”

“Mary…,” hissed Tamara’s mother from backstage. “Bitch. I hear she’s a lesbian. Whore.”

“I like her radio show,” Debbie said quietly. Denise turned.

“Don’t you turn into a lesbian, Deborah,” she said coldly. “God knows you need a wealthy husband.”

“It was very good, but we have seen much stronger competition,” said Greg Goldstein. “I am giving you a 10.”

“It was very, very empty,” Mary said hurriedly, barely letting Greg finish his sentence. “You have incredible talent, but it was more about you, not your Pokemon. I give it a 2.”

“Two? TWO?” roared the mother. Milo was smiling.

“Sudowoodo was in fantastic condition, and you showcased its talent for mimicking marvellously,” said the Chairman. “13.”

“I was very unimpressed,” Juan said dryly. “5.”

“Tamara has a grand total of 45/100!” the MC cried. “…well done Tamara!”

“MUMMY!” the girl screamed. “I FAILED! I DIDN’T DO WELL MUMMY!”

“Tamara,” the Chairman said kindly. “It’s ok. You did well. You can go backstage now.”

“No!!!” Tamara wept, collapsing to the floor. “Mummy said Sudowoodo would get made into a chair if I didn’t get at least 75!”

“Oh god,” Mary blurted.

“Tamara honey!” came a shaking voice. Denise walked on stage.

“MUMMY I FAILED YOU!” screamed Tamara.

“Are you the mother?” asked the Chairman.

“My name is Denise Dwight,” she said crisply, taking her daughter’s hand and looking thoroughly embarrassed. “Come on darling…honey-poppet-muffin…come on.”

“Mummy, are you going to divorce Daddy now?” the girl asked.

“No! No,” Denise said, blushing.

“Are you going to hurt Debbie?” Tamara asked.

“We’ll see,” the woman replied testily.

“That was so funny,” Jake smirked.

“I can’t believe that woman,” Milo said, as Denise led her daughter backstage past coordinators who were laughing and glaring at her.

“Next on stage!” cried the MC, keen to eradicate that embarrassing moment. “Christian Dior!”

“There he is!” Milo said, as the confident teen strode onto the stage.

“I wonder what he’ll do,” Jake replied keenly.

Dior hurled his Pokeball into the air and released his Venonat. The big bug shook its fussy hair wildly and Dior struck a pose.

“Sleep powder!” he commanded. Shaking even more viciously, the purple blur produced thick clouds of sticky spores that wafted around the arena.

“Now use poison powder!”

A deep purple powder was then scattered into the air. The particles drifted around the large space; Milo was sure it would be damaging if the spores were inhaled by the audience. Suddenly Dior pointed upwards.

“Psychic!”

Venonat nodded and its eyes glowed brightly. The spores shifted slowly, Venonat arranging them into a shape. Milo watched as the telekinesis coiled the column of spores into a fierce dragon’s head, with the purple from the poison powder being used for shadowing and depth. Venonat sat among the cloud of spores as the dragon’s mouth opened wide; blue spores sprinkled were made into the sharp fangs and forked tongue.

“Solarbeam!” Dior ordered. Venonat fired the beam through the cloud, where it appeared to shoot from the dragon’s mouth. The audience cheered loudly as Venonat used a psychic attack to dispel all the spores into the air conditioning vent in the ceiling.

“Very crafty appeal,” said Nurse Joy. “I’m giving it 16/20.”

“Yes, a very sinister appeal,” said Gregory Goldstein. “Beautifully done, dangerous…I give it 16/20.”

Dior did not look impressed at the second score, but stood by his Venonat as DJ Mary spoke up.

“It was really well done,” she admitted. “19/20 from me! And by the way, your name is super cool.”

“Thanks Mary,” Dior replied.

“Sticky! Purple…sinister…I did not like this at all!” bellowed the dramatic Chairman of the Fanclub. “12/20.”

“Ha! Take that you weirdo fashiony…person,” Milo chuckled.

“I give it a 14/20,” Juan replied, seeming bored. “Clever use of psychic…but it just didn’t grab me.”

“Loser!” Milo said.

“Milo, he got 77,” Jake pointed out. “One point higher than you.”

“Bastard.” grumbled Milo. Dior came off stage looking disappointed with his score. A few people congratulated him as Denise scowled from nearby, applying copious amounts of lotion to her already lubricated hands.

Next were more appeals including a Squirtle, Hitmonchan and Vileplume. Once the first appeals round was over, the MC announced the highest scores that would go on to a brief battle round in order to pass on to the next appeal stage. Milo stared focused at the screen as random named popped up. Come on…his ears strained for the slightest sound…

“Gina Gourmante!” came a cry. Gina’s eyes widened and she cried out in French. More names were revealed including the Skarmory trainer from before. His name was Alistair and he looked very happy. Also going through was a girl Milo recognised from the Olivine Contest - the girl with the pink Koffing. Her name was Kylie. It seems she had used a different Pokemon, as Milo had been completely oblivious to

Eventually Milo heard his name.

“Milo Mitchelson!”

“YES!” Milo cried. He punched the air and turned to Jake, who looked satisfied. In the wake of hearing his name, Milo also heard Dior’s get shouted out.

“Well done!” Jake said. The names were all mixed together and paired off. Milo was to battle Kylie, the Koffing trainer. He saw her in the backstage area, making eyes with him. She gave a soft wave, which Milo returned.

“She is good at appeals, but I think I can take her on in a battle,” Milo replied. Dior, meanwhile, saw that he was facing Gina Gourmante, and gave a wry smile.

“Join us after a brief, fifteen minute interval for the first battle portion of The Goldenrod Contest!” cried the MC.

*

In no time at all Milo was standing on the arena, Pokeball at the ready. He was facing Kylie, who wore a lemon yellow top with aquamarine shorts and a white ribbon belt. She grinned at him and swept her hair from her face.

“This match will last five minutes or until a Pokemon has fainted from one side,” the MC explained. “Coordinators, send out your Pokemon!”

“Scyther!” Milo cried, hurling the Park Ball high into the air. Bursting from the net-like light was the green mantis, who gave a screech and flapped in the air. Milo thought he looked stunning. Kylie raised her eyebrows, hurling a Pokeball of her own through the air.

“Elekid!”

The wily little electric Pokemon burst from the ball amid a flash of yellow light. Milo smirked at the little Pokemon; it had the same aggravated expression his old Elekid once had, but Milo knew their centre of gravity meant they could be pushed over with few problems.

“Scyther VS Elekid! BEGIN!”

“Scyther go for double team!” Milo shouted. Sweeping across the skies, Scyther left a trail of identical looking Pokemon in his wake. The group watched Elekid keenly.

“Charge! Thunderbolt!” Kylie ordered. As his arms swung around manically, Elekid gathered energy, but Scyther planned ahead. On Milo’s command he swung his scythe down like an axe and sent a strip of charged energy smashing into the bulky little Pokemon. Elekid fell to the ground as the sparks dissipated into the air.

“Silver wind!” Milo shouted. Flapping his wings, Scyther commanded a silvery gust to sweep around him. “Now, X-Scissor!”

Elekid got to his feet and turned around. A silvery sparkle fell from the sky and Scyther emerged from nowhere, scythes crossed. Slashing Elekid across the stomach, Scyther’s attack looked incredible as he sparkled with silvery sheen. As a result, Elekid’s Appeal Gauge fell quicker.

“Plasma ball!” Kylie ordered. Nodding, Elekid clenched his fingers, and sparks danced along his arms. Instead of creating a fist for a thunderpunch, however, Elekid wiggled his fingers until the sparks merged into an orb-like state between his claws. “THROW!”

Swinging his arm like a Pokeball, Elekid threw the orb of contained sparks. It curved on the air and smashed into Scyther’s torso, causing sparks to shoot across his body wildly. Scyther shrieked as Elekid leapt across the arena and punched him in the gut.

“Retaliate!” Milo said. Scyther swung his scythe and slashed Elekid’s arm; he gave an irritated buzzing noise and leapt back.

“Scyther use a spinning silver wind!” Milo ordered. As he flapped back, Scyther unleashed the silvery sparkle again, but by spinning wildly, he sent a spiralling vortex twisting across the arena. Elekid leapt to the side, rolling out the way, but was still struck by the attack. Blinded slightly, he blinked to try and clear his vision.

“Elekid use shock wave!” Kylie ordered. She looked flustered. Elekid throbbed momentarily before releasing a fizzing wave of sparks. Scyther flapped out of the way but the attack nevertheless struck him; twitching erratically, the mantis faltered and looked distracted by the pain.

“Now go in for quick attack and ice punch combo!” Kylie said. Speeding along the arena, Elekid’s fists were glazed over with ice. Scyther took a quick step to the left and swung his scythe, cutting into Elekid and causing him to fall.

Milo watched as Scyther flapped up into the air. His appeal gauge was much higher than Kylie’s, whose Elekid was being tossed around easily. As he got up, he swung his arms around like windmills. Sparks buzzed and jumped around his fine fur. An arching javelin of lightening sped at Scyther, who flapped his wings and sent a gust through the air. The curve of wind redirected the electric attack into the ceiling, giving Scyther the opportunity to sweep along the arena as his scythes crossed over his chest.

“X-Scissor!” Milo shouted. Scyther unleashed his scythes across Elekid’s body and the little Pokemon flew back across the arena. “Now fly into the air and use a double team/swords dance combo!”

Flying in wide coils up to the air, Scyther glowed and left a trail of blurred copies in his wake. Holding their scythes up, the army of green Pokemon began performing an elegant dance, sweeping their appendages high, crossing them like swords with one another and sweeping around. The judges looked impressed at the combination, which would make Scyther even more of a threat.

“Shock wave to dispel the clones!” Kylie cried. Throbbing, Elekid let off a burst of sparks that shot outwards and struck many of the clones, depleting them. The real Scyther soared down at a surprisingly steep angle as sparks obliterated the illusions. Pulling up slightly, and racing across the arena mere centimetres off the ground, Scyther’s scythes were pulsating with white energy.

“Elekid!” Kylie shouted. “Protect!”

A huge green dome grew around Elekid; it shimmered with a glittery sheen, but Milo was prepared.

“Feint!”

Scyther nodded and swept his scythes along, tearing into the shield. Instantly the shield faded and Scyther tackled into Elekid, before dealing a double slash attack, knocking the little Pokemon out. Milo smirked as Scyther flapped back to his side of the arena and looked at him keenly.

“Good work,” Milo said, patting him on the shoulder. Scyther nodded. Kylie ran to her Elekid and picked it up; it gave her a quick jolt by accident. She recalled it into her Pokeball and gave a deep sigh. The judges applauded Milo and Scyther’s battle and Milo was ushered off the stage.

“Well done!” Jake cried.

“Thanks,” Milo replied. He got himself a drink and settled down to watch some more of the battles, calming himself for the hectic second half of the Goldenrod City Pokemon Contest. Elated by his success, Milo watched the next match with Jake.

*

Two Days Ago…

Adam Anderson sat in a booth in the luxurious Hieroglyph Palace. He wore an expensive white shirt and smart trousers, with a pendant around his neck. Nursing his drink gently (for he was technically at work), he scanned the area, checking something on his phone.

Pickup successful in Cloyster Club. What is status in Hieroglyph Palace?

He sighed, writing back.

Target not in sight

As he sent the message to his colleague, a girl walked over. She wore her auburn hair up, and had an expensive golden dress on. Smiling at the pretty girl, Anderson offered her a seat. She sat down and wiggled around the booth next to him.

“You look bored,” she said sweetly.

“I’m not bored,” he replied.

“You sure?” she asked, fishing a strawberry from her ornate drink. “You’ve been sitting here all night.”

“Have you been watching me?” Anderson asked.

“Well I wanted to make sure you weren’t chatting up any pretty girls,” she replied, giving a wry smile. “What’s your name?”

“Adam,” he replied. “And you are?”

“Jasmine,” she replied. “It’s nice to meet you, Adam.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Adam replied.

“Are you here on business or pleasure, Adam?” Jasmine asked.

“A bit of both,” Adam replied.

“Of course you are,” she said.

“Let me get you a drink,” Adam said, getting up. “What’s your poison?”

“Strawberry Daiquiri, if you don’t mind,” Jasmine said. Adam nodded and walked swiftly to the bar. Jasmine looked to the ceiling, where a Magnemite was lodged behind a lighting rig. Watching Adam wait at the bar, Jasmine briefly saw Milo Mitchelson wildly dancing with a friend and snorted. As soon as Anderson got out his phone, Jasmine did likewise.

Sending someone to your location to help you. Codeword: symphony

By using her Magnemite to distribute the electronic signals, Jasmine was able to read the text that Adam had just been sent. Eyes widening, she smiled and pocketed her phone again. Shortly Adam walked back over, clutching two of the chilled, slushy cocktails. Jasmine thanked him and traced her finger around the sugar rim of her glass.

“Thank you Adam,” she said, sucking her finger.

“No problem; thought I’d try one myself,” he admitted.

“I love the music here,” Jasmine went on. “It’s so melodic. It’s a real symphony.”

Adam’s eyes widened at the last word. He gazed at her, trying to find something in her eyes.

“Symphony?” he asked.

“Symphony,” she replied. Adam nodded.

“Is it you?”

“Yes,” she replied, meeting his gaze with a steely one of her own.

“I didn’t expect you so quickly,” he admitted.

“I was only sent from downstairs,” Jasmine said.

“Right,” Adam replied.

“So what’s the situation?” she asked him.

“No target in sight yet,” Adam explained. “We were looking for a coordinator named Carl. Germanic origin. Here’s his profile.”

Adam sent the profile to Jasmine’s phone. She looked at the photograph of a handsome man of around thirty, with neat blonde hair and broad shoulders.

“He hasn’t arrived yet,” Adam explained.

“Can we really expect him at all?” Jasmine asked. “It’s getting late.”

“He has some real prizes on him,” Adam said. “A powerful Dragonite. It’s crucial.”

“Well, if he isn’t here,” Jasmine muttered. “What can we do?”

“We have to compensate,” he explained. “Do you see any potential coordinators around?”

“Anyone in here could be a coordinator,” Jasmine said. “Gina Gourmante is downstairs. Why not target her?”

“We have taken a prize off her,” Adam admitted. “A Seel. It’s been shipped off. Anyway there are agents downstairs keeping an eye on her.”

“Yes,” Jasmine said quickly, realising she should know this. “Of course.”

“What about that kid?” Adam said, pointing to Milo and Jake on the dance floor. “The dark haired one.”

“I don’t think he looks like a coordinator,” Jasmine said. “He’s too clean-cut.”

“His friend?” Adam asked. “In the waistcoat.”

Jasmine’s heart sank.

“I…I don’t know,” she said.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Adam said. “I’ll try and hear some of their conversation on the way out.”

“Good idea,” Jasmine replied, as Adam got up and walked across the club. She pulled out her phone and began writing a new SMS.

Im on Andersons side. He is trying to rob Milo

She sent it off and clutched the phone tightly as she scanned the area. So many people having fun tonight, enjoying one another’s company…how many lives would be ruined by Anderson and the organisation he worked for? In no time Jasmine’s phone buzzed as she received a response.

Blow his cover. Take away his discretion

She let out another sigh and put her phone away. Seeing Milo point at her awkwardly, she disappeared from the booth and sent a signal to her Magnemite via her phone, alerting it. As club owner Suzie Swanson was taking a tray of Cosmopolitans to a booth of excited girls, Jasmine dropped an empty Pokeball. Suzie slipped and sent the tray of bright pink drinks crashing to the ground. Shards flew everywhere as Suzie let out a cry. Jasmine blended in at the bar.

As Suzie bent down to sweep the glass up, she noticed Adam Anderson leaving the bathroom. He knocked into Jake softly and delved into the boy’s pocket in one swift motion, pulling out a Pokeball and tucking it away.

“Hey!” Suzie said, getting up. Adam eyed her and reached for his gun. “Stop!”

Hastily, Adam got his gun out and held it by his side.

“Don’t breathe a word,” he hissed.

“HE’S GOT A GUN!” screamed the woman. Adam’s finger squeezed the trigger instantly and Suzie was shot in the abdomen. She groaned as she collapsed to the ground, the huge echoing bang filling the room and causing everyone to scream in panic. People saw Adam with his gun and fled out the ornate wooden door to The Cloyster Club below. Jake, in the vicinity of the incident, screamed as he ran with the stampede.

“Fuck!” Jasmine hissed. She sent a signal on her phone and alerted her Magneton, who was similarly hiding in the air. This was all going horribly wrong.

As Suzie bled from her wound, the colour draining from her face, Adam fled to the other end of the nightclub. Staff from the bar ran over to their manager as Jasmine ran against the grain, following Adam to the Fire Escape and attempting to corner him off.










Next Chapter:
Milo has got into the second part of the contest, where things really start to heat up. Backstage, however, one suspicious coordinator seems to be hiding something. Jake forms an odd bond with Gina Gourmante after she recieves some shocking news.

[Chris 2.1]

Previously...
-Milo and Jake arrived in Goldenrod City.
-Jake's Pichu was stolen in a Nightclub.
-Reporter Jonty Ink shed some light on the thefts in the city.
-Jasmine was revealed to be involved in the thefts, being the person who killed one of the thieves.
-Milo clashed with ex-girlfriend Whitney as she explored her sexuality
-Milo competed in the Goldenrod Contest and won, beating rival Dior.

Show-Off
-XIV-
Adios Motherfucker

“She’s comin’ now,” growled a dirty looking man. He stood in the darkness of an alleyway, a Muk at his side. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

He put his phone away. A slender figure walked down the alleyway in a stone coloured trench coat. She had the collar up and a big pair of sunglasses on.

“Largo?” she inquired.

“Jasmine,” the man replied. “Nice and prompt.”

“We deal with such fragile things, Mr Largo,” Jasmine said, pocketing her sunglasses. “Promptness is very important.”

“Somethin’ poetic like that,” replied Largo. “You comin’ in?”

“Thank you,” Jasmine replied.

“You need me to get in,” the man explained. “Unless you have a Membership Card.”

“Which I don’t,” Jasmine said. They walked down the alleyway, the stench increasing as the light from the Goldenrod street got weaker and weaker. Jasmine saw a solid steel door up ahead. Mr Largo swiped an ornate membership card into a little electronic reader and the door sprang open. Muk slinked into the shadows as Largo let Jasmine inside, who wandered with trepidation. Mr Largo followed.

“This is the back of The Lucky Carp,” he told her, referring to the huge casino in Goldenrod City.

“I’ve seen those membership cards before,” Jasmine noted, as they walked in a low-ceilinged corridor towards a flight of steps.

“They’re the same as the ones at The Cloyster Club,” Largo replied. “But the silver ones are staff. Staff like me. Gold ones, well they’re for those swanky rich folk who go there every night.”

“Spending all their money,” Jasmine muttered.

“Emptying their pockets,” Largo chuckled. He led Jasmine up the stairs to the casino’s ground floor. As the doors were pushed open, a sudden burst of sound filled Jasmine’s ears. It seemed that nobody noticed them emerging from a very discreet door. People were happily gambling and enjoying drinks; some sat sternly on their seat as cards were dished out with precision and speed. Jasmine rolled her eyes at those gambling away their money and followed Largo up a smaller, narrower set of steps against the wall that led to an office.

“Here we are,” Largo mumbled, opening the door.

“Thank you,” Jasmine said, sitting down. Largo sat opposite her, behind a desk.

“So what can I do for you today,” he said.

“I need to speak with your boss,” Jasmine said simply.

“And why would you need to do that,” Largo said curiously.

“Because one of your ‘prizes’ has been reported,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Largo asked.

“You remember a boy named Oliver Lewis, who purchased a Delcatty from you last week?” Jasmine asked. Largo gave a slow nod. “He’s competing in the Goldenrod Contest as we speak. Which is broadcast all across Johto. And since the prize was stolen in Cherrygrove City, I’ve every suspicion the original trainer will soon see it.”

Largo got to his feet.

“FUCK!”

“Well what did you expect,” Jasmine said lazily, leaning back in her chair.

“I told him to get out of the country!” Largo snapped.

“People don’t come to you for your advice, Largo,” Jasmine said. “They come to you because you can get them well-groomed Pokemon for the right price.”

Largo sighed.

“It wouldn’t have been so bad if the Delcatty wasn’t such an unusual colour,” Jasmine went on. “But it’s bright red ears and custard-coloured fur…anyone would recognise it.”

“Fuck!” he snapped, standing and clutching his straggly hair. “FUCKING FUCK!”

“I need to speak with your boss,” Jasmine repeated. “Can you take me to him?”

“I deal with outsiders,” Largo shouted, turning wildly as spit flew from his lips. “We don’t let outsiders in!”

“I’ve earned your trust,” Jasmine replied. “Come on. I’ll break the news to him so he doesn’t break your neck.”

The bloated man eyed her suspiciously. Jasmine returned it with a steely glare, arms folded.

“I’ll go and ask,” he said, heading to the door. “Stay here.”

“I’ll be waiting,” she sang playfully, smiling as the fat man shut the door behind him. She immediately held her finger to her ear; a tiny glass earpiece was slotted in place. “Bill? Did you hear that?”

“Yep, loud and clear,” came Bill’s voice. “Mr Mitchelson doesn’t want you to lose your cool with Largo. He’s the mediator between the company and the consumers. He‘s key in infiltrating them.”

“Looks like the company operate through the casino, too,” Jasmine mused. She walked to a glass pane and stared across the casino floor.

“We think Pokemon may be distributed as prizes,” Bill said. “An organisation tried a similar thing in Celadon City.”

“He’s on his way back,” Jasmine said.

“Remember, all we need is a name,” Bill said. “Get the name of Largo’s boss and the mission is successful.”

Largo entered the room.

“The Director won’t see you,” he replied coldly.

“Did you pass on the information?” Jasmine asked.

“Yes,” Largo replied. “He isn’t impressed.”

“Right,” Jasmine replied.

“He’s given you a mission,” Largo replied.

“A mission?” Jasmine asked, confused. “I don’t do…missions for you.”

“It’s time you started earning the trust of the company,” Largo said, grinning. His teeth were yellowed and crooked. He threw a file to the table, attached to which was a photograph of a Delcatty. Jasmine stared at the document fleetingly, wondering quite what she was getting herself into.

*

Milo had been on the phone to Meredith and explained all about his victory at the Goldenrod Contest. Elated at his success, Milo was admiring his second ribbon as he stood outside the contest hall waiting for Jake. After Jake became quite friendly with DJ Mary, and was seemingly making friends with Gina Gourmante, Milo became worried that he was looking like a horrible person in comparison to the optimistic, fresh-faced teen.

“Ahh fuck it,” Milo said. He saw a sleek black car drive slowly past. The windows were blacked out and it had a personalised registration. Unaware that Gina had lost her agent, Milo wondered if this was her ride, and smirked as the car came to a halt.

The car door opened and a man emerged from the passenger seat. He was in all black, very smart, with short hair. Milo raised his eyebrows, before realising that the man was walking towards him. Quickly turning to see if there was anyone behind him (for he did not recognise the man at all), Milo was unsure what to do as the man got closer.

“Ha-You - orite?” Milo muttered. His fingers clenched around Medicham’s Pokeball.

“Milo?” the man asked.

“What?” Milo asked.

“Look behind you,” he said. Milo turned to find an Alakazam only inches away from his face. He gave a gasp and stared into the Pokemon’s eyes.

“Kazaar?” he asked quietly. The Alakazam raised its hand and Milo’s jaw shut abruptly. All-too-soon Milo empathised with every victim of his Medicham’s telekinesis as his arms pinned to his side and he was raised off the ground.

It all happened so fast. Finding himself stuffed into the back of the car, Milo saw the man get back into the car and whisper to the driver, who nodded. He had no idea where Alakazam was, but his arms were still pinned to his side, somehow.

“Who the fuck are you?” Milo asked, as feeling returned to his jaw. It tingled as he spoke, but his determination to find the answers prevailed.

“Your father sent us to pick you up,” the driver said, as they sped off through the streets of Goldenrod. Buildings which Milo was used to seeing miles apart whizzed by in tandem; they were zooming through the business district.

“My father?” Milo asked. “He could have rang.”

“It was an emergency,” the other man explained.

“Fucking show-off,” Milo grumbled, still unable to move his arms.

*

Jasmine buttoned her coat back up and walked down the alleyway from her meeting with Largo. The afternoon was drawing into a pleasant, warm afternoon; the nectarine-coloured sunset poured across the skies of Goldenrod City.

“Did you hear that?” she said.

“They want you to steal Delcatty from Oliver?” Bill asked, speaking into her ear.

“They said if people have seen the stolen Delcatty on TV at the Goldenrod Contest, and they know who his new trainer is, Oliver Lewis is a big target,” Jasmine explained, noticing a black car whiz past. “So they want Delcatty back.”

“You’ll be fine,” Bill assured her. “You are out of the building, you can do this however you like. And once you have that Delcatty, you’re in a new position of power with that organisation.”

“You’re right,” Jasmine mused. “I hate field work sometimes.”

“I hate working in logistics, sometimes,” Bill said back.

“I’ve seen Oliver,” Jasmine said. “Stay on the line.”

Eyeing the handsome coordinator as he was crossing the street, Jasmine released her Magneton into the air. It span through the atmosphere and disappeared. Oliver was in his navy blazer and wore a scarf around his neck. He was a very handsome young man, with his shaggy brown hair giving him a rebellious look.

“Excuse me?” Jasmine cooed. Oliver turned. “Hi! Erm I don’t suppose you know the time?”

“Oh,” replied Oliver. “It’s 20:04.”

“So late?” Jasmine asked. “Hey, wait a second. You were in the contest, weren’t you?”

“I was, yea,” Oliver replied.

“You were great,” she gushed. “I can’t believe you didn’t get put into the finals.”

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” said a bitter Oliver. “It’s been a long day.”

In the sky, Jasmine saw Magneton’s eyes beep red.

“Sorry,” Jasmine replied, turning to leave. As she did, Magneton unleashed a fizzing bolt of lightening through the air, having locked-on previously. Jasmine watched as Oliver was bowled over by the intense blast of lightening; his blazer crisped with the heat and frayed at the edges as he hit the ground.

“That was 970,000 volts,” Jasmine whispered to the boy. “Lactic acid is pouring into your system and it will keep you immobilised for a number of hours.”

She bent down and her hand traced the boy’s belt. His eyes were wide; shocked, appalled, sparks coursing through his body as he twitched. Jasmine got out an electronic device and scanned the Pokeballs clipped to his belt. The squat, rectangular device looked like a mobile phone, with a large screen and a few buttons. It gave a buzzing noise passing each Pokeball on Oliver’s belt.

Jasmine eyed the numbers emerging on the screen. This device analysed the kinetic output of the Pokeball, which was higher depending on the weight of whatever creature was inside. As Delcatty weighed roughly seventy pounds and was generally a docile creature, Jasmine was looking for quite a low output from the Pokeball. When she found one that looked right, she took it from its trainer.

“Ultra Ball…Delcatty…should be an output of about 75kz,” Jasmine murmured, finding it to be an exact match. She took the ball and stashed it into her pocket and cast her gaze down to Oliver.

“That…cost me…ten thousand pounds,” he gasped.

“The company want it back,” she said emptily. Oliver lay twitching on the ground as Jasmine fled into a nearby alleyway, her Magneton spinning after her.

*

Jake was sitting nervously outside the contest hall, still unable to get in touch with Milo. He was definitely worried. Sitting on the wall, he heard a loud cry and nearly fell from his perch. Wondering if it was Milo, Jake leapt to his feet and ran down the street, ready to release Paras and strike any assailants.

“Milo?” Jake cried, running around the corner. He saw a body lying in the street and hurried over, despite the obvious fact that it was not Milo. It was the boy from the contest who Jake had found quite attractive. He knelt down at the boy’s side.

“Paras, help me out,” Jake said, dropping the Pokeball. Paras burst out and gave an excited click. “Are you okay?”

“Hit…lightning,” gasped the boy, clutching his chest.

“Might be paralysis,” Jake mused. Paras nodded and wiggled slightly, sending an aromatherapy cloud across the boy’s body. Taking as deep a breath as he could, Oliver closed his eyes and tried to relax. Jake knelt at his side, Paras watching keenly to see if his spores had alleviated the boy’s suffering.

“It might take a few minutes,” Jake said.

“Hnnnggg,” gasped Oliver, clearly in pain.

“I know, tell me about it,” Jake said, rolling his eyes. He got a magazine out of his bag and started perusing the pages. “I mean, I just lost my friend.”

“Sry,” came a reply.

“Oh, no, he’s not dead,” laughed Jake. “Well he might be. But I think he’s just probably been kidnapped or something.”

He saw a glossy spread about the Eevee sisters and their new album being released. It looked like they were branching into a music career and escaping Ecruteak City; the article mentioned Rochelle and Morty were now an item.

“Milo has a lot of enemies,” Jake explained to Oliver, as he slowly started to regain feeling. “He’s not a bad person. I think people find him easier to despise than try and understand him.”

“I can’t believe you talk so much,” Oliver gasped, getting into a sitting position and massaging his chest. “I wasn’t able to reply and you still held a conversation!”

He clutched his chest.

“ARGH!”

“I hope that hurt,” Jake muttered scathingly. “You bloody ingrate! What happened to you.”

“I got hit by an electric attack,” Oliver grumbled, looking around.

“Pichu?” Jake said.

“It came from mid-air,” Oliver said. “Sort of from the skies.”

“Pichu can’t fly,” Jake muttered.

“It was this woman…she sweet-talked me then I got hit. And she stole my Delcatty from me,” Oliver admitted, as Jake helped him to his feet and stashed away his magazine.

“She stole from you?” Jake asked, suddenly fuelled by a desire to know more. “Who was she?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver replied. “But she headed off that way.”

“I’m coming with you!” Jake said triumphantly.

“What?” Oliver asked.

“I’ll join you. I got my Pichu stolen a few days ago. And I want to track down the culprits.”

“I’m not going to try and get Delcatty back,” Oliver said to Jake.

“What!? Why not?” Jake asked.

“I bought it for £10,000,” Oliver admitted. “For the Contest. And it didn’t help me win the ribbon. Besides, with all these thefts -”

Oliver’s sentence was interrupted when Jake hit him in the stomach. He looked stunned momentarily as Jake aimed a kick to his shins. Tears streamed down the boy’s face, unable to understand the Oliver’s cruelty.

“You bought someone else’s Pokemon? You heartless fuck!” Jake wept. Oliver took a tentative step back. “What about the trainer?”

“Look, I wanted to keep it, I would have,” Oliver admitted, slightly scared of Jake. “But I don’t want people to catch me with the Delcatty. It’s breaking the law, what I did.”

“You should pay for what you did!” Jake snapped.

“Christ will you calm down?” Oliver said. “I can see why your friend ran away.”

Jake’s brow furrowed. He blinked through his tears and ran at Oliver, head butting him in the stomach. Oliver gave a lurching gasp and fell backwards, hitting the concrete again.

“Get off me you fucking maniac!” Oliver said, crouched as he got a Pokeball out. Jake sniffed.

“That trainer will be so upset!” Jake yelled. “Hoping their Pokemon is okay. And you don’t even care to get it back! What’s wrong with you?”

“I want to win that contest,” Oliver said. “My Pokemon weren’t up to scratch.”

Jake pointed at Oliver and Paras blasted a bullet seed attack. Thick pellets burst on Oliver’s torso and he fell back to the ground, swearing loudly as Paras spat the barrage.

“I won’t hit you with a stun spore,” Jake said, standing over Oliver. “But I could. I could leave you in more pain than this thief did. But I think the satisfaction at knowing you got fucked over for £10,000 will suffice for now.”

“How compassionate,” Oliver said.

Jake turned around and left the scene, deciding that, until he could find out where Milo was, he would head straight for the hotel. Paras was recalled into his Pokeball and Jake stormed off, furious for helping the ignorant, rich Oliver Lewis.

*

The drive across Goldenrod would have been pleasant if Milo were not bound by an Alakazam. He could not see it in the car, but it bound his arms and legs together effortlessly. Milo wondered if Medicham could hear his thoughts from inside her Pokeball, and concentrated hard.

You have to help me, he thought, frowning hard. Medicham, try and disrupt this Pokemon’s PSI waves.

Instead, he felt a surge of stinging sharpness sweep into his head, and knew that Kazaar, the Alakazam, was doing exactly the same thing between him and Medicham. Unable to communicate with his Pokemon, and feeling dizzy from the attack, Milo slumped against the glass in the car and watched as they sped past Goldenrod City Gym.

“We’re nearly here,” one man said.

“Flapjacks,” Milo grumbled, unable to collect his thoughts.

The car took a turn and down a road that led underground. Milo briefly saw a huge glass building reaching high into the sky and recognised it as his father’s Goldenrod office. They were driving belowground, into a cold parking lot with dim orange lights. Milo saw very few cars here, but they kept going, down another ramp. The tyres screeched and cast echoing cries across the parking lot. Milo noticed the car pull into a space, the two men escorting him both speaking quietly to one another.

Soon enough, he felt a sudden, longing ache in his limbs and the car door was opened. Milo staggered to his feet, feeling wobbly after intense telekinetic power was applied. One of the men supported him as he looked around the quiet parking area. Alakazam emerged silently.

“Kazaar, go back up,” the man ordered. The golden Pokemon disappeared.

“Why are you ordering that Pokemon around?” Milo asked coldly.

“Part of the job,” the man replied, nonplussed. Milo seemed able to stand of his own accord; he staggered slightly as he followed the two men to an elevator. They waited for a few minutes as the lift came down, but said nothing.

When the doors opened, Milo was led inside first. The men pressed a button for floor 16 and Milo gripped the handrail wearily. His hand was on Medicham’s Pokeball in his pocket; now that the powerful Alakazam was no longer here, he could take charge. He had to wait for the right opportunity. As the doors shut, the elevator boosted up through the ceiling and they shot up the spine of the glass building, Milo staring out the elevator and looking at the floors below. The interior was huge; he could see board-meetings and office cubicles; glass walkways connecting the different sides of the floors together, and even a luxurious restaurant on one floor. It was very minimalist, with an effortless chic in the way everything was so transparent.

The lift started to slow; Milo saw they were on floor ten. The doors opened and a businesswoman entered, eyeing Milo with intrigue.

“Medicham!” Milo cried. His friend burst from her Pokeball. “Psychic!”

In a sweeping telekinetic blast, the two men and the businesswoman were flung into the corner of the lift. Milo leapt off on the tenth floor, Medicham at his side. She used her psychic attack to send the lift down instead of up, back to the basement car park.

Milo looked around; nobody had seen anything. He ran across the corridor, Medicham at his side. As the glass offices all ran around a huge shaft in the middle of the building, Milo ran to the edge and peered down the intense drop to a blur of a reception area. He looked up, seeing more and more glass bridges connecting the various parts of each floor.

“These guys have Will’s Alakazam,” Milo said. “Dad’s got him working here! He was stopping me from getting your help in the car, like some hired bodyguard.”

Medicham looked somewhat perplexed.

“There’s a directory there,” he said, leading the way to a big laminated board. “I want to find out about the League Reclassification thing. In Ecruteak City, there was an email to the Gym Leader from this company. They’re involved, I know they are.”

He eyed the board.

“IPC Communicatios, Fallow & Riim Digital Media….Silph.Co Johto Division…what would league stuff be under?” he asked, scanning the list of floors. “Mitchelson Enterprises Marketing Inc…fucks sake!”

He slammed his hand against the board and let out a sigh. This building was huge, and he had no idea how to find the information he needed. Just then, someone spoke up.

“Can I help you?”

Turning, Milo saw a woman of about fifty standing there. She was in a grey suit and had her hair tied back.

“Hi,” Milo said. “I’m…a bit lost.”

“I can see that,” she said, almost sounding friendly. “What are you looking for?”

“I’m…sent here from the Johto Board,” Milo said. “On an internship. I’m supposed to help with the paperwork on the Reclassification.”

“Paperwork?” she asked. “And they sent you here?”

“Yea,” Milo said, finding his rather sudden lie to be falling apart quite quickly.

“Well I’m not all too sure this is the best place,” she said. “But if you go on the next floor up, you’ll find all the staff from the Reclassification there.”

“Thanks,” Milo said.

“Who sent you here?” the woman asked curiously.

“I was sent up here by Vivienne Northwood,” Milo said, recalling the name of his father’s secretary.

“Oh,” the woman replied. “I wouldn’t trust her. Drink problem. But I didn’t say that, ok?”

“No problem,” Milo smirked.

“There’s a staircase if you don’t fancy waiting for a lift,” the woman said kindly. “Across the walkway.”

Milo nodded and ran to the bridge. It, too, was glass, with sleek wooden rails leading right across each side. Medicham looked disturbed at walking on the smooth glass, staring below to the many staff members walking on lower floors.

“Come on,” Milo said, walking across, taken in by the impressive place he was in. The building must be so expensive, and Milo could only imagine the view from the top. Vaguely wondering what Jake was up to, Milo was ruptured from his musings as Medicham stopped suddenly.

“You okay?” he asked. He turned around to see Alakazam standing at the start of the glass walkway.

“Kazaar,” Milo breathed. “Medicham, come on!”

They turned to run, but Milo tripped almost instantly. His chin thudded into the thick glass floor and he gave a long groan. Medicham leapt up into the air, landing a few feet in front of her trainer and avoiding an attack from the psychic soldier, readying herself for a fight.

“No,” Milo shouted. “Kazaar is too powerful. Medicham don’t fight him.”

Medicham looked to calm down for a moment. As she did, however, Alakazam gripped Milo’s leg with a psychic hold and dragged him across the floor. Milo tried clawing the glass but it was useless. Medicham pressed a finger to her temple and sent a psycho cut flying into the air. Alakazam waved his spoon and the attack simply melted into nothing.

Medicham then charged a shadow ball between her hands. Alakazam, seeing this, stopped dragging Milo and floated into the air, his legs crossing effortlessly. Medicham narrowed her eyes, hurling the attack, but Alakazam used a psycho cut of his own to slice through the dark, ominous orb, causing it to explode in mid-air. Medicham leapt back and landed on the glass.

“Run!” Milo shouted, turning to get out the way. Never before had he urged himself to run as fast as he did across the glass bridge. Medicham, however, refused to go, leaping into the air as both fists blazed with fire. Alakazam rubbed his two spoons together and created a static charge, unleashing it at Medicham. Struck in the stomach, she fell to the ground again.

She got up instantly, swiping a finger and trying to pin Alakazam up against the wall so Milo could escape. Alakazam puffed his chest out and sent Medicham soaring back, where she managed to use her own PSI powers to land gracefully. She caused fire to burst into her palms again; still standing halfway across the bridge, Milo noticed people pressing their faces up against the windows from all floors, watching the battle.

“Teleport then use fire punch!” Milo ordered. Medicham nodded, disappearing with a pop and re-appearing behind Alakazam. She swung her flaming fists at the Pokemon in a spinning punch manoeuvre, but he faded into nothing as she executed the attack. Confused, Medicham looked around. Milo noticed Kazaar had used substitute. Racing through the air, Alakazam gave a long roar, his fists coated in icy crystals. Medicham was slammed in the back and flew across the bridge, crystals forming across her spine.

“Medicham,” Milo said firmly, bending down. Alakazam was pacing along the glass bridge, his own fists crackling with electricity. “I know you’re trying to honour the promise you made to my brother. But you cannot win. Kazaar is so much stronger than you are.”

Medicham pushed Milo away, causing tears to fill in his eyes. Seeing his brother’s Alakazam here, emotionless and angry, was breaking his heart. Kazaar let the sparks burst among his palm and ensnare his fingers. Medicham walked over, flames burning on her palms. She looked determined as she walked over.

“STOP IT!” Milo shouted. Should he rely on his other Pokemon to help? He gripped Scyther’s Pokeball and held it at the ready, wondering if his bug attacks would help, but knew regardless of types that if Medicham was unable to scratch Kazaar, Scyther would get swatted down in no time. Poor Totodile would suffer quickly, and he wasn’t willing to let his Pokemon get hurt.

Medicham leapt up and span wildly, the flames tearing around her. She slammed both fists into the ground and pressed her red-hot palms into the glass; soon, Kazaar gave a yelp as the heat coursed through the glass; he levitated off the ground, sparks still summoned. Soaring through the air he swung at Medicham, who managed to teleport behind him.

“Fuck…” Milo muttered. Suddenly three bright flashes of light filled the air. Milo fell back onto his buttocks (and truly felt the heat of the glass surface) as Scyther, Totodile and Arcanine emerged. Medicham looked back and nodded at them; had she asked them to come and assist her?

“Guys,” Milo said, getting their Pokeballs out. It seemed futile, however, as the Pokemon were all acting of their own accord. Ruby burst into flames and ran at Alakazam valiantly, tearing across the glass bridge. Scyther took to the skies while Totodile watched.

Alakazam boosted into the air to evade Arcanine. Medicham, however, used her psychic to manipulate the flames on Ruby’s body, forming them into a huge dragon that snaked through the air. It smashed into Alakazam, who was unable to defend with telekinesis due to the large amount used to keep himself aloft. Scyther then flapped his wings and unleashed a twisting silver wind to smash into Alakazam and throw him to the glass floor. Milo smiled as Medicham leapt to his side. Keeping him pinned down with her psychic, she let Totodile run over and crunch down on the Pokemon’s wrist.

“Good going, Totodile!” Milo cheered. Totodile then leapt up and let his tail glow a bright blue; spinning around, he whacked Alakazam in the face three times with his aqua tail, before firing a jet of water into the ground and propelling himself back to Milo.

“Now Ruby, use flamethrower. Scyther, guide it with a razor wind! Totodile, stay here,” Milo ordered. Scyther took to the skies, blasting another intense wind down through the air. Strips of white-hot energy soared down at the Alakazam as Arcanine’s hot flames were spread towards him. Medicham kept Alakazam pinned down, focusing hard. Milo clutched Totodile dearly.

Medicham, however, looked down and noticed her nose was bleeding. Wiping the blood with her wrist, she focused even harder, keeping Alakazam down as the fiery wind engulfed him. Blood trickled faster.

“You’re exhausted,” Milo said. Medicham kept focusing, but suddenly the flames surrounding Alakazam burst out in all directions; a blast struck Scyther in mid-air; another hit Medicham and scorched her skin, causing her to yell out in agony. As she fell back Alakazam turned and used a psychic to hurl Scyther through the air. He soared across the building and smashed through a pane of glass, rolling into a conference room a few floors higher. The people inside screamed as the mantis lay among shards of glass.

“SCYTHER!” Milo screamed. He looked at Kazaar and was instantly pinned to the wall, feeling his back ache. Medicham charged up a shadow ball, but as she melded the shadows together, Ruby, a few metres away, was lifted off the ground and hurled at her. Medicham teleported away, the shadowy wisps curling into the air, causing Ruby to hit the ground. Totodile leapt across the bridge, firing off a jet of water, but Alakazam lazily redirected it at Arcanine, dousing her. Milo strained against his

Scyther flapped back out from the large gaping hole and sped through the air. Alakazam used a psychic and hurled Medicham from the bridge. She applied a telekinetic force to hover fluidly in mid-air, spooked by the huge drop beneath her. Milo couldn’t help but notice her lyrical, peter-pan quality as she floated, hands throbbing softly. Scyther charged up an X-Scissor attack as he swarmed Alakazam, but Alakazam rubbed his spoons together again and unleashed a rapid burst of lightening to strike the bug in the torso. Medicham flew up after Scyther, using her telekinesis to slowly guide him back into the conference room he had smashed into. She leapt in herself, enjoying the feeling of her feet on solid ground.

“Totodile get out the way!” Milo yelled, as Kazaar rubbed his spoons together again. Totodile leapt to the side, successfully evading a volley of sparks. He fired an ice beam that skated across the glass and glazed it. Alakazam looked angry, flicking his spoon and sending Totodile shooting into the wall. With a thump he fell to the ground, spirits dampened. Milo looked as Medicham leapt from the conference room, boosting herself with telekinesis between his two spoons. Crackling shoots of darkness met and grew in size.

“Take it out!“ Milo cried to Scyther. The mantis flew across the air and unleashed a razor wind, buffeting Alakazam and shredding the attack. Medicham narrowed her eyes, her foe distracted. She fired a shadow ball of her own, but it was redirected by a stray wind; it smashed into the frozen glass floor and caused it to crack.

Milo watched the cracks spread and quickly advised Ruby to get off the walkway. They ran across the bridge, Scyther flying down to meet them, while Medicham ignited her fists and stood opposite Kazaar. The icy cracks between them deepened; chunks of glass fell from the bridge and down to the floors below.

“Watch out!” Milo shouted. “Medicham! Teleport here now!”

He recalled Ruby and Totodile quickly. Medicham swung her flaming fists but Alakazam teleported away, before punching Medicham in the side of the head. She fell to the ground as huge chunks of glass fell away inches from her body.

“Medicham!” Milo shouted. She stirred; as Alakazam loomed, she created two small shadow balls and hurled them at the foe. They missed, shattering the glass sides of the bridge and sending a storm of shattered glass to the lower floors.

Whipping out her Pokeball, Milo recalled her, noticing Kazaar standing stiffly on the weakening bridge.

He levitated over the large gap; Milo saw people fleeing the walkways and running out the building in fear. Scyther flapped down and planted himself firmly in front of Milo, raising his scythes. Kazaar saw this, clenching his bony fingers around his spoons. An effortless flick sent Scyther into the wall, but he got up almost instantly. As the Alakazam stared coldly at Milo, who was defiant in the wake of its fierce eyes, Scyther swung his scythe and dealt a crucial blow to Alakazam’s side. Staggering along, Alakazam sported a long cut down his chest, which seeped blow slowly.

Alakazam summoned a thunder punch and swung his fist to the side, striking Scyther. Scyther screamed as he recoiled from the attack, taking a step forward and spinning around, whipping up a fury cutter. The blades whirred furiously; Alakazam crossed his spoons and blocked the slashes, before telekinetically hurling Scyther into the wall again. A soft crack echoed as Scyther made contact with the wall, but he fell forwards and stalked towards Alakazam.

Milo was overwhelmed at Scyther’s persistence. He took a deep breath, wings barely beating, and walked over slowly to Alakazam. Alakazam swiped his finger, but Scyther anticipated the attack and leapt; the telekinesis boosting his jump, he grabbed Alakazam from behind, crossing his blades over Alakazam’s bony frame. His left scythe was pressed firmly against the Pokemon’s neck. Alakazam was motionless, the thick, round blade pressed against his throat. Milo watched in silence.

In a flash, Alakazam teleported behind Scyther. He swung an ice punch round and it smashed into Scyther’s back. Screaming, the mantis fell to the ground and Alakazam threw the body into the wall. Milo quickly recalled the Pokemon as Kazaar got close, holding a hand out and concentrating hard.

“Leave me alone!” Milo shouted. “William wouldn’t want this!”

But Alakazam did not back down; Milo felt its bony fingers clasp around his forehead and everything fade to black. His ears felt muffled as sound was drowned out, and even consideration for his Pokemon ebbed away as Milo slumped into the corner.

[Chris 2.1]

Goldenrod City was as busy as ever. Watching the people filling the streets was Jake, who sat at a window booth of Milo’s favourite bar The Loft. This evening the bar held a mild crowd; Jake would have gone back to the hotel room if he had a key, but quickly realised Milo had the only one. He nursed his drink - a Cosmopolitan - and let out a sigh.

He was concerned for Milo. Worried the boy hadn’t been in touch. He stared glumly out the window again when he heard a somewhat familiar voice from across the room.

“Bushmills and lemon,” he said. Jake turned to see the journalist Jonty Ink at the bar, looking irritated.

“HEY!” Jake cried. Jonty nearly dropped his generous measure of whisky at the cry and looked over, waving mildly. He walked over, squeezing lemon juice from a wedge into his drink, making it cloudy.

“How are you?” Jonty asked.

“Fine,” Jake said. “Seat?”

“Go on then,” the man said, sitting down. He had brown braces on over a crisp white shirt, with black trousers and smart brown shoes. “Where’s your friend? Where’s Milo?”

“I don’t know,” Jake muttered. “We got separated.”

“He won the Goldenrod Contest,” Jonty said. “I saw him on TV. What an achievement.”

“Yea,” Jake said. “He did well.”

“I expect there were a couple under cover’s at the contest,” Jonty said.

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“Agents. People who were there to pad out a database. Contests are the best way to see who has strong Pokemon worth stealing.”

“No!” Jake said sadly. “Today? You think there were people?”

“They won’t have planned any thefts, I imagine,” Jonty said. “You have to understand these…people, they act discreetly. That fiasco at The Cloyster Club drew too much attention. They will be more discreet.”

“Hey,” Jake mused. “There was a coordinator in the Goldenrod contest, called Oliver Lewis.”

“Oh?” Jonty said, taking a drink.

“I saw him before. He got attacked in the street and someone took his Delcatty.”

“That’s awful,” Jonty replied, looking unhappy at the news but not startled. Jake assumed after so many thefts, the shock had worn off.

“Yea, right? But the worst thing is, he said he’d bought it off the street for ten thousand pounds!” Jake cried. Jonty’s eyes widened and his drink spilt down his lap.

“Fuck,” he said, grabbing a napkin. “You say he bought it? Did he give a name?”

“No,” Jake muttered. “I wanted to go after these thieves. They stole my Pichu.”

Jonty finished off his drink quickly.

“Why don’t we?” he said, smirking. “Bit of hands-on investigating.”

“Really?” Jake said.

“Finish your drink,” Jonty said, getting his coat.

Jake nodded and grabbed the delicate cocktail glass, pressing it to his lips and gulping down the sugary sweet contents. Unfortunately, Jake was not a fast drinker; focusing on swallowing, he forgot to breathe and ended up choking slightly.

“Sorry,” Jake spluttered. “I’ll take the fruit out the drink. It’ll be easier to finish.”

His fingers plucked strawberries and cherries from the drink, before he grabbed it again and continued to drink it. Jonty looked at his watch distractedly, while Jake, noticing this was taking too long, poured the rest of the drink down the seat and set the glass down.

“Finished!” he said. Jonty raised his eyebrows.

“Was the chair thirsty?” he asked. Jake blushed.

“You saw?”

“I’m a reporter. I see what people hide,” he muttered. Jake got the impression he quoted that a lot to people. “Let’s go.”

*

Milo’s eyes began to open gradually, adjusting to the light in the room. He was in a hospital ward, still fully clothed, and upon recalling a confrontation with Kazaar the Alakazam, Milo decided he should really get out of wherever he was. Finding his limbs numbed after the numerous telekinetic assaults, Milo got out the bed with trepidation.

He couldn’t smell anything particularly sterile to suggest he was in an actual hospital, so Milo assumed this cosy room, painted in blues and silvers, was actually in his father’s building. Hand fleetingly dusting past his belt, he felt the four Pokemon on his team and made sure to get them healed at the Pokemoncenter when he was done here.

“Milo Mitchelson?” came a whiny voice. Milo recognised it as he turned to see a very sharp looking woman standing at the door. She had a pinstripe suit and a pointed noise; this was Vivienne Northwood, a woman Milo was frequently in contact with whenever he tried to speak to his father.

“Vivienne,” Milo said coolly. She was about Mia’s age; relatively pretty but with an air of someone who sacrificed all of life’s pleasures in order to climb the career ladder.

“You’re awake,” she said crisply.

“Sure am,” Milo said.

“Your father will see you now,” Vivienne said, turning on the spot instantly. It was as if strings connected to her limbs were being jerked erratically.

“Of course he will,” rasped Milo, following Vivienne out the Hospital Wing. They walked along a glass bridge, allowing Milo to see he was actually on the highest floor of the building. Below, the bridge destroyed in the fight was sealed off, and the entire place was eerily quiet.

Vivienne said nothing, walking at a fast pace, distancing herself from Milo. They walked up a few steps towards an area resembling a top-box at a stadium. The exterior was decorated with wooden slats covering the glass, shielding the contents from those outside. Outside were two identical potted plants.

“This is Mr Mitchelson’s office,” Vivienne said, standing attentively at the door. It was perhaps due to her intense following of protocol that she seemed physically unable to walk any further.

“Thanks,” Milo muttered. He stared at the beautiful oak double-doors, each finished with a golden handle. Gripping the handle and twisting it, Milo took a deep breath and walked into his father’s office.

It was large considering it was used for personal space; Wooden slats against the glass walls sent strips of light shining down into the room, against the sleek desk that Milo’s father sat behind. Imposed against the only bare glass wall, overlooking the city, Milo’s father stood up.

“Good to see you Milo,” he said, in his deep, rumble of a voice. Milo walked across the room past the ornate black fireplace and towards his father.

Milo gained much of his looks from his father. Michael smiled warmly at his son, creasing his once smooth face slightly. His hair was very short, flecked with grey against the jet black, and he looked smart and very professional in a grey suit with a navy blue tie. Holding one of his large hands out, Michael looked at his son, who sheepishly met the hand with one of his own, shaking.

“Please, take a seat,” Michael said, settling back into his comfortable looking chair. “How are you feeling?”

Milo looked at his father, noticing he had the same nose as he did. People often said Milo looked like his father, and even old photos showed Michael resembling Milo in a number of ways. At his father’s question, however, Milo’s lip curled.

“How am I feeling?” he asked, sitting back. “How do you think I’m feeling?”

Michael let out a sigh.

“Milo…”

“You used William’s Alakazam to pin me into a car,” said Milo, interrupting his father. “And then you unleashed him on the bridge out there. He hurt all of my Pokemon. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“First of all, you have no idea I ordered the -”

“Kazaar was never like that!” Milo snapped. “That thing’s an indestructible robot. The humanity was gone.”

“The situation was urgent,” Michael replied sternly. “And had you not gone all ‘action-hero’ and telekinetically hurled three of my staff back down an elevator shaft, I might not have had to send Kazaar to get you.”

“He hurt Medicham,” Milo hissed. “Smashed her into the wall. Mum’s Arcanine was thrown around like a stuffed toy. How can you support that?”

“Stop being so misunderstood,” Michael said firmly. He leant in and stared at his son long and hard, causing Milo’s expression to soften like chocolate beneath a radiator. “You destroyed one of the walkways in my office. Your battle caused mass hysteria and panic to my employers. Repairs will cost me a lot of money.”

“If you hadn’t had Kazaar wielding his -”

“I thought I told you to be quiet?” Michael shouted. Milo flinched in his chair as his father stood up. “Milo! Keep your mouth closed.”

Milo nodded.

“I’m sorry for the way I got you from the streets,” Michael said insincerely. “But I needed you off the streets and into sanctuary as soon as possible. I needed to speak to you.”

Again, Milo found himself nodding. Michael saw his son’s acknowledgement and continued, standing proud against the large window overlooking the city.

“This city is not a safe place. Especially where you were today.”

He turned.

“Your mother tells me you have been competing in contests,” he said crisply. “Is this true?”

“Yea,” Milo replied. “Three. I’ve won two.”

“I don’t care how many you’ve won,” Michael retorted bitterly. “Why are you doing these? You almost won the Johto League Championships last year. You can excel beyond dancing on a big glittery stage.”

“You think that’s what coordinating is?” Milo asked. “Dancing? For fucks sake!”

“Whatever it is,” Michael continued loudly, apparently unphased. “Why move down the ladder?”

“I don’t think I am,” Milo replied, crossing his arms.

“You’re certainly not moving up,” his father replied.

“Then we agree I’m moving sideways?” Milo asked.

“You need to get back on track, this is ridiculous,” Michael said. “Your badges make you eligible to compete in the league for another year. You can enter the tournament again this year and claim first place. Pick up where you fell down.”

Michael saw his son’s vacant expression; he was soaking in his words. He continued.

“You need to get back to Pua Samoa. Get your old team back on the roster and I’ll arrange for you to see Chuck.”

At mention of his name, Milo picked up.

“Chuck?” he said. “Why did you fire him!”

“Excuse me?” Michael asked.

“He’s out of a job! He isn’t a Gym Leader!” Milo gushed as something he had wanted to say for weeks burst from his mouth. “And you work with the Reclassification! You could have stopped it!”

“I don’t have enough pull to have my own personal whims taken care of by higher powers,” Michael told his son calmly. “But I agreed with the proposal to remove Chuck from his position at Cianwood Gym.”

“Why?” Milo asked.

“This is the brilliant part, Milo,” Michael said excitedly. “You have trained under the Cianwood Gym for so long, since you were small. You have a powerful fighting type - a unique fighting type - and with a success at the league you could lead the Cianwood Gym.”

Milo’s mouth hung open.

“You - really?” he asked. “Gym Leader?”

“You’d be only a short boat trip to Pua Samoa,” Michael pointed out. “Your mother and I could buy you a nice penthouse at Cianwood Cliffs.”

“That’s why you did this?” Milo asked.

“It’s why I aligned myself to the Reclassification, and gave it my support,” Michael said. “But with pressure from the Board to accelerate the proceedings, once you fled off to coordinate, a new leader was assigned. Eusine Grimm was given the position, at the gym, tentatively called The Illusion Gym.”

“Right,” Milo muttered.

“But all is not lost, son,” Michael explained. “There is a gym being constructed at the peak of Mount Mortar. It needs a leader.”

“When?” Milo asked.

“When can you start?” replied his father. Milo smirked, the Goldenrod Contest a distant memory. Eyes widening with delight at the power and the name he could create for himself, his eyes scanned the room. They fell upon a picture on his father’s desk - a photograph of the entire family. A younger Michael, no grey in his slightly longer, swept hair, held Meredith close as she smiled brightly. Milo was sat beneath his father, looking surly and stern, while Mia, dolled in a glittering tiara and a party dress, flung her arms around a slightly older boy.

Milo’s heart sank at the sight of his older brother, William. Ruggedly handsome, William was slightly broader than Milo was, a similar build to their father. William had the same hair colour as Mia; a rich nutty brown, which was shaved quite short. He beamed at the camera; centrepiece of the family.

Memories swept into the forefront of Milo’s mind as he watched William’s coffin lower into the ground. His father was inconsolable, pursuing his business more than ever. Meredith sank into a spiral of antidepressants and red wine, while Mia jetted to the Orange Archipelago with her best friend Daisy Oak.

“It is a beautiful picture,” Michael said.

“I look like a grumpy fuck,” Milo said.

“True to form, it must be said,” Michael muttered.

“Eighteen months,” Milo whispered. He could feel the tears filling in his eyes; the tears he held back every time he entered ‘WILLIAM’ into his phone’s password system. The tears he had to hide when he saw Whitney in the arms of a woman.

“Milo,” Michael said sternly, noticing his son‘s behaviour. “We don’t have to talk about William.”

“What would he think?” Milo said. “That we’re too scared to even mention him lest we drown in our own tears.”

“You had a lot to deal with when William died,” Michael reminded him. “It was an unsettling time for you.”

“I saw Whitney, you know,” Milo said. “She’s going out with Mary Moore.”

“Is that how she’s coping?” Michael mused, interested at his son’s information.

“Apparently,” Milo replied.

“How did she seem?” Michael asked. Milo almost spoke up too soon, remembering her reaction at seeing Medicham in the Gym Battle.

“Unhinged,” he said.

“Whitney suffered terribly after the accident,” Michael reminded Milo.

“She got a scar on her arm Dad; Will was killed,” Milo said coldly.

“Emotionally,” Michael said. “Emotionally, she suffered terribly. She was driving the car yet came away with a broken arm. Imagine her horror seeing William…imagine the guilt…”

“I stopped sympathising with her,” Milo said.

“We all saw the way you were with her,” Michael told his son.

“I spent some days wishing she had died and my brother was the one who was pulled from the wreckage,” Milo said sadly. “I’ll admit to that.”

“It’s a natural reaction,” Michael told his son, not in a calming way, but a tone with no anger or disappointment. “You were closer with William.”

“But if that had happened, I would have blamed Will for Whitney’s death,” Milo said slowly.

“The trick was never to blame,” Michael preached. “It was the darkest chapter in our family’s lives.”

“Whitney doesn’t love Mary, does she?” asked Milo. He seemed oddly young asking such a strange question to his dad, seeking one answer over the other.

“I think Whitney fell for the strong-willed woman she wished she had been in such a dark time,” Michael said. “I have spoke to Whitney in recent months. Her heart lies somewhere else.”

“Right,” Milo said softly.

“So go back to your hotel and pack everything up,” Michael said, sitting back down. “Judging from your credit card bill you’ve been buying quite a lot of clothes. I’ll get the hotel to send up an extra case so you can take everything home. I’ll book a flight to Olivine Airfield. Then you can get back home and start your training.”

“No problem,” Milo said distantly, imagining himself as the powerful leader of a Johto League Gym. He would have to train hard, and work on rectifying his mistakes first time around, but as he shook hands with his father, Milo felt the confusing fog in his life clearing.

*

It was getting late. Back at the Mal Maison hotel, Milo watched as Medicham waved her hands, guiding clothes into the air. They folded up neatly in mid-air, before landing perfectly in the cases Milo set out on the floor. Forks of lightening burst in the sky above Goldenrod City; Milo watched the rain lash as he lay on the sofa, musing.

Totodile was racing around the hotel, slightly unhappy that nobody would chase him. The team had recovered from the brutal battle against Kazaar, and while Milo was still raw from the confrontation with his father, the news that he had the opportunity to make up for his past mistakes was soothing.

Ruby lay down by Milo as Scyther stared out at the wild, unruly skies. Milo found the weather so late at night quite haunting, but imagined how his Pokemon would all feel when he returned home, eager to train for the tournament. Naturally Golduck would be happy, but he was worried Rhydon would need shaping back up; he had gotten lazy recently.

“Scyther, we have a lot of work to do,” Milo said, imagining he could put Scyther onto his new league team, replacing an older member. His eyes drifted to Totodile - what possible purpose could the cute little alligator serve? He already had Golduck and Kingler, causing a huge electricity weakness. Since Totodile was so young, Milo did not want him growing up too soon, and wondered if he would be happy with Meredith at the home.

The doors burst open and Jake appeared in the doorway.

“Jake!” Milo said, getting up.

“Where have you been!” Jake cried, soaked from the rain. He ran over and embraced Milo tightly. “I’ve been so worried!”

“I’ve been with my Dad,” Milo said absently. Jake let go and shook his wet hair. “…talking.”

“What have you been talking about?” Jake said. Medicham flicked her finger and a bundle of items rose into the air. She began siphoning them off into the suitcase. A photograph drifted to the floor.

“Why are you packing?” the boy inquired. Milo picked up the photograph; it showed him and William arm in arm, looking at each other comically. He smiled at the photo of his brother and wondered if William was proud of him, after his own failed aspirations as a Gym Leader…

Time began to drag as the eyelashes that allowed Jake to blink fluttered slower and slower. Milo turned to Medicham, effortlessly packing his bags, to the picture of his brother. William had wanted to be a Gym Leader years before Milo began training properly. His father had aligned himself with the Johto League by donating a lot of money to them, which eventually earned him a place on the Board of Trustees. Michael hadn’t aligned himself for Milo’s benefit at all…he had done it for William. With William deceased, Michael wanted Milo to follow in his brother’s footsteps…achieve what he failed to…

Milo swallowed as tears formed in his eyes.

“He doesn’t want what’s best for me,” he murmured sadly. Michael had never got over William’s death; he never accepted it.

“Who?” Jake asked. “What’s wrong? Milo?”

Milo turned to a confused, still waterlogged Jake.

“We’re going,” he said.

“Now?” Jake asked. Milo’s phone began to ring. He looked at the screen to see his father’s name as his favourite song played into the room. “Who’s that?”

Milo answered the phone.

“Milo, it’s your father,” he said promptly. “The plane leaves in an hour. Andrew is coming to pick you up at Olivine Port.”

“You never had my best interests at heart,” Milo said coldly. “You wanted to fill the void Will left. You want me to follow his dreams - his dreams! You made me go to Cianwood Gym when I was six years old. Even when I went away to boarding school, it was every weekend - Cianwood Gym! CIANWOOD GYM!”

“Milo calm down,” said Michael.

“No!” Milo snapped. “Fuck no! I’m not coming home. I’m NOT giving up what I’M good at!

“Coordinating?” Michael asked rudely. “Really, Milo?”

“YES!” he screamed. Another fork of lightening cracked in the skies. Milo held the phone away, his father trying to talk to him.

“Please calm down, Milo,” Jake said nervously. Milo gripped his phone and turned suddenly, throwing it to the wall. It smashed upon contact, shattering into shards and chips. Milo was panting hard; Medicham was watching in the corner; no longer focusing her telekinesis, items were floating in mid-air eerily.

“What’s going on,” Jake said firmly.

“My Dad tried to get me to take over a Gym,” Milo said hurriedly. “But…he doesn’t care. He wants someone to fill the position since Will can’t. And he doesn’t want me to coordinate. Fuck him, so stupid, doesn’t even know!”

“Know what?” Jake asked.

“That I’m happy doing this,” Milo said. “I can do it. We’re leaving tonight.”

“Why now?” Jake said.

“Because I’m not living on anyone else’s terms any more,” Milo said.

“Where will we go?” Jake asked.

“Anywhere we want,” Milo replied. He got out his credit card and held it to the light, staring at the small slice of plastic that gave him so much. How he loathed it, in retrospect. Pushing it between his fingers, Milo snapped it in half, letting it fall to the floor.

“How are we going to survive?” Jake asked. “Without money?”

“We’ll manage,” Milo muttered. Medicham clicked her fingers and the zipper on the suitcases zoomed around and clamped the contents inside. Jake saw this and walked up the stairs to his bedroom, ready to pack away his supplies.

“Jake?” Milo said, as Jake got to the top. “I’m sending Ruby back home.”

“Really?” Jake said, sounding sad at the news.

“I think she’s ready to go back; Mum only lent her temporarily,” Milo admitted.

“She’ll miss home,” Jake mused.

“And if she got stolen…I’d never forgive myself,” Milo said.

“I suppose you’re right,” Jake said.

“I’m doing things my way now,” Milo said. “So I know you won’t need to do much styling…”

“Oh yea,” Jake muttered, clicking his tongue.

“But I want you to come with me…as a friend,” Milo added. “I could really do with one of those.”

Jake smiled.

“I could, too,” he said. “Come on Medicham. Help me out.”

And, as Milo stared coldly at the shards of his mobile phone, Jake left to pack his bags and leave Goldenrod City. Milo was shaking with a whirlwind of emotions; speaking about Will with his father had left him very raw, as it normally did; revisiting a murky time in his life was often disturbing. He wondered what his father was thinking, desperately trying to get in touch…but already knowing he had pushed Milo away. Milo laughed, oddly. Once he sent Ruby back to Meredith, he would be completely detached from the family that was constantly at war with his emotions. Medicham was the last living connection…there was a bond they shared through grieving for William.

Milo’s eyes scanned the skyline, raked with forks of lightening. He wasn’t sure what he’d do, how, or where he’d even go, but knowing that it was on his own terms brought an unknown sense of satisfaction flooding to his senses.

*

It had been futile. Wandering the streets of Goldenrod City, Jonty Ink had bid goodnight to young Jake after they had failed to find Oliver Smith and get any new information. His heart had soared upon seeing the boy, but after a scour around the area where Jake had first met Oliver, they found nothing.

Jonty gave a sigh, wringing his cap in his hands. Reporting could be a difficult job…inconsistent hours were the worst. As midnight rolled up, and disappointment sank in, Jonty wondered if he was really going to get close to busting this illegal organisation. Certainly Oliver Lewis was a key player in this…but where was he?

He had to head home, it was so late…and there was no food in the fridge. Jonty picked up his pace and walked through town, walking past the Goldenrod Department Store. The street lights cast alien glow across the roads, and Jonty kept his head low.

There was a rustling ahead; someone was near. Averting danger, Jonty crossed the road, eyes checking the path ahead for any people or Pokemon. It looked quiet. Feeling relieved, he carried on until he heard a voice behind him.

“I know you.”

Jonty turned to see a large, portly man standing behind him in a long coat. He smirked a dirty smirk; his teeth were crooked and yellowed. This was Largo LeGrande, a local mobster who Jonty had run frequent stories about. But the reporter was concerned with the succulent swagger that the man held as he stood in the street.

“Largo, I believe,” Jonty said tentatively, looking around. He saw a spacious passage to his left.

“I heard you ran a story, claimin’ all kinds of trouble,” Largo grumbled.

“I run a lot of stories every day for a living, you’ll have to be more specific,” Jonty replied.

“You ran a story on the raid at The Cloyster Club,” Largo explained. “And I happen’ to notice you mention Adam Anderson was involved in all sorts of wrongdoings.”

“I have reason to believe he was,” Jonty explained. “Anyone who saw his mutilated body would agree. Would you care to give a statement?”

“No,” Largo replied crossly. “No statement. But I wouldn’t bother trying to track down Oliver Lewis, Mr Ink…”

“You know Oliver Lewis?” Jonty asked excitedly. His hand reached into his pocket for his Dictaphone. His finger traced the surface of the record button, making sure it was the right one. Eagerly he jammed the button.

“We got him the Delcatty,” Largo said, in a boastful tone. “And right about now we’re takin’ it off him.”

“So you stole the cherry-red Delcatty and sold it for a profit,” Jonty reiterated. Largo walked towards him, saying nothing. “A-A Delcatty of the exact shade was reported stolen in Cherrygrove city.”

Still Largo said nothing. Sensing danger, the reporter turned and bolted down the alleyway, easily able to outrun the sluggish Largo. He had a confession, right on his tape, and had to get out the city fast. This was a breaking news story for sure. However he was momentarily distracted as he took in his surroundings. The deserted alleyway stank to high hell; a stench of damp, pungent sweat and garbage.

The stench intensified as Jonty ran, not hearing anything to suggest Largo was behind him. But up ahead a lumpy shape emerged from nothing; halting at the sight of it, Jonty covered his nose and gasped.

It was a Muk. Its thick, oozing body was a deep, dirty purple colour and the Pokemon’s big eyes were bloodshot. It had a very elasticised body, and rose up, towering above Jonty as its large, gaping mouth let out a lethargic groan.

“Met my accomplice?” growled Largo from behind him. “Jonty Ink, I think it’s best our secrets die with you.”

Thick, dripping fingers emerged from the Pokemon’s gloopy body. Jonty staggered back with fear as the huge creature came down on him; its intense weight pinned the man to the floor effortlessly. Muk spread out; a sickening slather echoed from the walls as the huge purple shape smothered Jonty’s body. His twitching hand was the only part of his body not under the sludge Pokemon, though it only twitched for a few seconds before it drooped, lifeless.






Next Chapter...
A week has passed since Milo fled Goldenrod City, and the culture shock has definitely had an impact. Milo's perception of money is challenged in a friendly gesture to Jake, while the two meet a curious family on the road who seem too cheery to be true. Jasmine prepares to get answers from Largo when its clear the organisation have no intention of showing their skeletons, but her actions have huge reprecusions.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Cool chapter. Too tired to write a long reply right now, but I really liked the plottwists. I figured out that his dad was going to play an important role, but it's cool that something finally appeared in the fic. I wonder what's going to happen next.

How much people are involved with this. Apparantly Whitney didn't want to join this 'scheme'; Jasmine did and I wonder who else is in on this.

Can't wait to see her new boyfriend.

Poor Suzie.

I'm interested in Scyther and his traits. Can't wait for some training session and battle/contest.

Speculating about Milo's future team members. Jake should catch some more aswell. Wait, Paras was cool too.

More chapters!

[Chris 2.1]

Karin: Hmm the mysterious Mr Mitchelson. I wonder where he is, though; Goldenrod? I think Michael Mitchelson is a very interesting character. Jasmine's mission is a bit vague, but it did seem as if she took a Pokemon from the guy she killed. But I wonder why he was firing a gun.

I am quite fond of Gina. As with Milo initially, I haven't really shown enough of her for people to endear themselves to or really be that interested in her. But she's a great character. Lots of backstory, and her losing Seel will show a new side to her definitely.

Milo = definitely homophobic. Look back in Ch2 at his pointless uncomfortableness around Jake. It's sheer ignorance in that Milo hasn't really met any gay people before so he is just adjusting and learning I suppose. Next chapter, Milo's ignorance goes a bit too far. He comes back from everything in a better state of mind though. Thanks again for reading!


Sike: How handy would a) Telekinesis and b) Refresh be in real life? I'm not saying I pee on myself XD I'm just saying it would definitely be useful. I'm glad to see the return of TPML's infamous HSM! Just what is going on with Jasmine? What did she do, and why does she work for Milo's Dad?


MLG: More light is being shed on Milo's Dad. Its about time we met him. There's more to learn about the group Jasmine is in, too, and targetting Whitney for recruitment was quite important. There's a definite sense of unease in Goldenrod City. I don't think anyone knows who to trust.

Scyther's cool. Kinda timid. Jake and Milo's teams both undergo major changes soon.



The next chapter is not going to be up for a while since I am only really breaking into Chapter 12 - and as you lovely people know, I like to put a chapter up when I have a chapter 'in reserve'.

Feel free to any questions, discuss any of the fic that you are intrigued about, or anything like that! I'd be very keen to learn what Pokemon you think the cast might get.

[Chris 2.1]

Show-Off
-XI-
Bloody Mary

The morning had broken. Opening her eyes blearily, Whitney ran a hand through her shocking pink hair and groaned. She pulled the sheets closer to her body and rolled over. The shutters lifted up mechanically, sending beams of light right at her face.

“No,” she muttered, turning again. “Not yet.”

“It’s morning,” came a voice. Whitney opened her eyes to see Milo walking into the bedroom, carrying a pot of tea and a rack of toast. “Get up.”

“Morning Prince Charming,” Whitney said, smiling as Milo set the tray down and joined her in bed.

“Sleeping Beauty,” Milo said to her. “How did you sleep?”

“Amazingly,” Whitney beamed, kissing Milo on the cheek. “I love you.”

“Love you more,” Milo replied, pouring her tea. “What do you want to do today?”

“Don’t you have to leave for Ecruteak City?” Whitney asked.

“I rang Andrew last night, he said it’s ok for me to stay a bit longer,” Milo replied.

“I know it’s unusual for you to be in the area,” Whitney said. “And I love having you here. But you need to collect more badges. You still need Ecruteak, Olivine and Cianwood.”

“I know,” Milo said. “But it’ll take an afternoon to get to Ecruteak, max. And from there, a day to Olivine. Honestly, I’m on top of this.”

“Good,” Whitney said, kissing Milo on the forehead. “Because the last few weeks have been amazing. I’ve loved having you around.”

“So,” Milo said. “What do you want to do today?”

“Honestly?” she said, as she munched on a slice of toast. “Stay in bed all day, with you, and not think about a single thing.”

“Suits me,” Milo replied, snuggling up to her.

*

The city was wild with noise. Sirens filled the air as people fled The Cloyster Club, spilling onto the streets. In a nearby alleyway Medicham was searching the city with her psychic abilities, trying to locate Jake, who had become separated from Milo during the chaos.

Milo was a few feet away, throwing up in the corner. The wretched taste of bile and a grim reminder of the day’s tastes brewed between his teeth. He was petrified.

“Any luck?!” he hissed at Medicham, breaking her concentration. She narrowed her eyes at Milo, who was oblivious to the distraction he was becoming. Medicham shuffled further down the alley a few feet, pressing her fingers to her temple and concentrating hard. Her spare hand flitted about like a compass going haywire.

Milo clutched his stomach, emptied and sore. Releasing Totodile, he ordered his bright blue Pokemon to wash the vomit off the walls with a water attack. The echoes of the water running down the alley stirred unease in the pit of his stomach once more.

“JAKE!” Milo roared, his voice hoarse and splintered.

Medicham clicked her fingers, emitting a rogue ember; this got Milo’s attention, who looked up as she began to glow softly. She must have found Jake. Rushing over, Milo clutched Medicham’s hand as she teleported to the location, briefly illuminating the alleyway as she was overcome with light.

Still reeling from the alcohol steadily sweating out of his system, and with the adrenaline wearing off, Milo naturally fell to the ground as they re-emerged. Medicham helped him up, revealing that they were on the outskirts of the city, away from the noise. A group of Murkrow perched on a lamppost, watching the trainer and Pokemon. At the roadside was a huge, well-lit diner with Rosie’s splashed across the door. Milo saw Jake sitting at a table, nursing a coffee.

He ran inside and bustled past a large woman who was presumably Rosie.

“Milo!” Jake said, alarmed. “How did you -”

“Medicham,” Milo explained. Medicham waved as she walked over in her own time.

“No Pokemon in my Café!” barked Rosie. “I don’t want any germs.”

“Medicham wait outside, would you?” Milo said. “We’ll teleport back to the Hotel in a sec.”

Medicham nodded, turning to leave the diner. Rosie nodded and went into the kitchen, bringing out three supersize breakfasts for a group of hungry truckers. At the door, Medicham swiped her finger sideways, causing Rosie to stumble and drop the three platters of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast. As she clattered to the ground, she looked up to see Medicham smiling, before she used her telekinesis to slam the door behind her.

“Are you ok?” Milo said, sitting down. “Did you get hurt?”

“Not hurt,” Jake mused. His manic dancing seemed so long ago.

“You must have done a runner as soon as that gun went off,” Milo replied, smirking. Jake’s face didn’t even move. “Are you okay?”

Jake looked up, meeting Milo’s eyes for the first time. He shone with tears.

“I don’t have Pichu with me,” he explained. “Someone took him.”

*

Eventually they went back to the hotel, Milo finally getting into bed at about 8am. The sun was out, and the general hustle and bustle of a Goldenrod morning ruptured beneath their room. However it was Jake’s loud sobs that kept Milo awake as he lay in silence, and he knew he wouldn’t be sleeping any time soon.

While initially blaming the weird guy that was talking to Jake the night before, Milo soon came to the conclusion Pichu had been stolen by the same criminals that took Gina’s Seel. Maybe they were after one of Milo’s Pokemon, or the thief, whoever it was, presumed Jake was a coordinator by his dressy appearance.

Whatever the case, they went to the Police station the next day to report Pichu stolen. The surly man behind the desk was not helpful in the slightest, and was not keen to file the case due to the increasing number of similar stories in the last few weeks. Added to the fact Jake had drunk so much, and had no idea what the thief looked like, and the entire thing seemed almost farcical.

“Cheer up,” Milo said to Jake, as they walked down the steps from the Police station. His eyes were red and blotchy from crying so much during the inquisition. Milo recalled Gina Gourmante’s chilling warning about thieves operating in nightclubs and almost wished he had lost a Pokemon instead of Jake. He knew the stylist had owned Wingull and Pichu for some time, and the three of them were close. Even little Totodile got on well with the lemon-coloured rodent.

They went to an ice cream parlour in the city, Milo wondering if the brightly coloured ice cream and the vast array of flavours were enough to entice Jake into one of his trademark squeals of joy. Unfortunately, despite the staggering amount of ice cream piled into his bowl, Jake did not manage a smile as he played around with the treat.

“Hey,” Milo said to Medicham, plucking the cherry garnish from his sundae. “Here’s your food.”

Medicham took the cherry and ate it delicately. Her diet only consisted of a single berry a day, which explained her slim state. Upon thinking this, Milo knew they were low on Pokemon food for Ruby, and reminded himself to get Meredith to send over another sack of ‘Corporal Crust’s Canine Chompables’, the expensive dog food the Arcanine ate. Totodile seemed to enjoy ‘people food’ quite a lot, especially meat. Milo tried giving him chicken and red meat as often as possible, since this is what he would be learning to hunt for in the wild.

“I wonder what Scyther eat,” Milo said aloud, wondering what food it could access in the National Park.

“Pichu…liked…CHOCOLATE!” screamed Jake, bursting into tears. He sobbed uncontrollably, causing Paras to burst from his Pokeball onto the seat next to Jake. Seeing his trainer upset, Paras wiggled its little orange body and released a pink powder around Jake. Milo made sure none drifted into his sundae, pulling it closer and leaning in close as he took gulps.

Jake began breathing in the pink powder and nodded calmly, breathing slowly. Paras gave a disturbing smile.

“Thank you,” Jake said, stroking the little Pokemon.

“What did it do?” Milo asked. “Caffeine Spore?”

“No,” Jake said. “That one was blue, remember? The pink one is used to calm you down.”

Jake took some deep breaths.

“I was getting panicky,” he admitted. “Paras, you frikkin’ rock.”

Milo decided, in his current state, Jake would not like to know what a retarded word ‘frik’ was. He kept that fact to himself, wondering if the spores had indeed spoiled his sundae. Jake, while still seeming despondent, was a lot less frenzied. He managed some of his sundae.

“Look, we’ll find your Pichu,” Milo said to him.

“We probably won’t,” Jake said quietly. “Goldenrod is huge. And he could have been shipped off anywhere in the world by now.”

“Try and stay positive,” Milo said. The parlour they were in was quite busy, maybe because today turned out to be quite a warm, sticky day. Suddenly, as their table gave a precarious wobble, a familiar face walked by.

“Afternoon boys,” Whitney said, smiling. Her Spinda had staggered into the table leg. “Come on, Milo, you clumsy oaf.”

“What are you doing here?” Milo asked. “Sacrificing the blood of children? Fucking witch.”

“Oh be nice,” Whitney said. “Actually I’m here with my new partner.”

She waved for someone to approach.

“Since we’re being civil,” she began sarcastically. “I suppose we should all introduce ourselves to one another.”

Milo sat there, hoping Medicham was giving Whitney and equally cold look. A woman stopped, apparently on her way to the restroom, blocking Milo’s view.

“Oy” he said to the bespectacled girl. “Out the way.”

“Excuse me?” she asked, confused.

“We’re waiting to meet someone,” Milo said.

“Err…Milo…” Whitney murmured.

“No, no, I want to see this fella you’re shacking up with,” Milo said. “Is this a friend of yours?”

“This…is Mary,” Whitney said. The woman, with vivid red hair, smiled awkwardly. She wore a green polo neck.

“Hi Mary,” Milo said distantly. “Do you know where Whitney’s new boyfriend is?”

Whitney stared at Mary and shrugged. Jake’s eyes were wide as he effortlessly put the pieces together.

“Milo, this is my new partner,” Whitney said, as Mary put her arm around the Gym Leader. “Mary.”

“Business partner?” Milo asked.

“Oh for fucks sake!” Mary cried.

“I recognise your voice from the Radio!” Jake cried suddenly. “DJ MARY!”

“Yes! That’s me! I am Mary!” she cried. She and Whitney kissed passionately before the two boys , who were staring with their mouths hanging open. Whitney leant in for the kiss, closing her eyes and tilting her head as she held her lover close.

“That was…wet,” Milo observed.

“Don’t enjoy that PDA too much,” Mary warned the two.

“Oh don’t worry,” Jake said, waving a hand. “That did nothing for me.”

“So you kissed a girl…and you liked it?” Milo said, bemused. He spoke slowly as if suffering head trauma.

“Absolutely,” Whitney replied.

“But you’re not a lesbian,” Milo said resolutely. “I…we…two years…”

“Yes Milo, I did date you for two years,” Whitney said. “But I’m exploring who I am as a woman. I feel that I have reached a point in my life where I want to be romantically involved with women like Mary.”

“You must have been terrible in bed,” Mary joked.

“Shut up you fucking dyke,” Milo snarled, like a guard dog being poked with a stick.

“Whoa!” Jake said, alarmed.

“Milo!” Whitney cried.

“What did you call me?” Mary asked crossly.

“A dyke,” Milo replied, standing up and meeting her gaze. “Why did you mess up Whitney like this? Stop confusing the girl.”

“She knows exactly what she’s doing Milo, she’s twenty-one,” Mary replied.

“This is ridiculous! You like men” Milo cried.

“Oh Milo will you grow up?” Jake snapped.

“Stay out of this, you know NOTHING about women!” Milo yelled.

“This is NOT about women you fucking idiot!” Jake cried, standing up so that the four were all on their feet, like a bizarre showdown. “It’s about your ego! You can’t stand the fact you won’t be able to charm your way into Whitney’s panties now you’re back in town!”

“You couldn’t pay me to sleep with her again,” Milo spat. “You were the worse thing to ever happen to me.”

“You seem so much better for having me out of your life,” Whitney said. “Immature, sexist, homophobic…it’s going well for you, isn’t it?”

“What will people think!?” Milo cried.

“Nobody cares but you,” Mary pointed out.

“I’m one of the few Johto leaders to keep my Gym title,” Whitney replied. “So I’m clearly not being judged.”

“Well if you sleep with girls and boys, there are more people you can bribe with sexual favours,” Milo retorted. “Dirty little slut.”

As the words left his lips he felt a sharp slap across his face. Whitney stared coldly at him as if he was a diseased little rat. Mary had her arms folded, while Jake brushed his hair from his face.

“You,” Whitney replied. “Are the worst excuse for a human being I have ever met.”

“Me?!” Milo asked wildly. He lowered his voice as he locked eyes with Whitney. “It’s good to see your arm has healed up, Whit.”

“What does that mean?” Mary asked Whitney, who said nothing.

“Fuck - you,” she said sadly.

“No,” Milo replied. “Don’t pass me off as a monster. You are no better.”

“Fuck off!” Whitney cried, turning and leaving the ice cream parlour. Mary looked on, half confused and half distressed, with Jake sporadically storming off too. Milo watched him go, still having not registered that he was alone with the formidable-looking DJ Mary.

“What the hell did you do!?” she screamed. “What was all that about?”

“She knows,” Milo said coldly. He turned to leave, but Mary grabbed his arm. Instantly Medicham used telekinesis to hurl her off Milo, causing her to fall into the table they had sat at. Milo calmly left the chaotic parlour and headed for the streets of Goldenrod City.

*

Later in the day, Milo had found himself in the underground passage. It ran from West Goldenrod to East Goldenrod, and had a few shops located among it, including the urban stylists Weaves. It was a common place for trainers to battle due to a lot of battles being forbidden in the streets.

With Ruby out on the field, Milo watched as the trainer he was facing released a Magcargo. The gloopy snail had a thick, round shell comprised of crusted, cooled magma, with globules of magma dripping from its jowls. Ruby looked repulsed at the Pokemon. Milo could see why.

“Maggie, use flamethrower!” cried the girl. Nodding, Magcargo opened wide and blasted a jet of flames at Ruby. She dodged elegantly, landing further away and, on command, sending a bigger, searing mouthful of fire at the foe.

“Whoa!” the trainer said. “Nice flamethrower!”

“Thanks,” Milo said, despite doing nothing to help Ruby learn the move. “Ruby go for iron tail1”

Nodding, she raced across the battlefield, her tail shimmering and sparkling. As she leapt up she tucked herself in, flipping forward and whipping her tail across Magcargo’s brittle shell. It cracked somewhat, causing the girl to worry.

“Heat wave!”

Nodding, Magcargo throbbed as a soft steam hissed from the cracks among its shell. Milo could feel the heat in the unventilated passage; sweat began to trickle down his forehead. Ruby looked very hot, but nevertheless ready to battle on.

“Okay Ruby, use a swift attack,” Milo ordered. Ruby blasted a mouthful of tiny golden stars that grew as they span in the air. They swept towards Magcargo, but Milo had other ideas.

“Fire spin!”

Flames curling within her jaws, Ruby barked and the flames shot out her mouth, whipping up into a fiery tornado that engulfed the swift attack. As it span around like a tornado, the golden stars seared red with heat, whipping around the vortex and shining brightly.

“Now!” Milo said. “Extreme speed and thunder fang combo! Race into the vortex!”

She became a silvery blur as she tore along towards the attack. Hurling herself through the vortex, Ruby caused the flames to burst and the stars to lose their pull; as her fangs crackled with sparks she leapt from the fire spin, the flames danced along her elegant body, the stars spinning around like comets.

“Brilliant!” Milo said, who was using this relatively easy battle to practice for the next contest. Ruby tackled Magcargo and chomped its soft but warm flesh. Magcargo screamed as sparks jolted through its body.

Ruby raced back to Milo as embers still fell from above. Milo was glad he was able to conduct a new appeal with his mothers Pokemon, but gasped when one of the embers burst into flame on Ruby’s back.

“Watch out!” he said, noticing the flame burning hair on Ruby’s mane. She looked and began to worry, yelping softly and dancing around the battlefield in a fit of panic. Milo couldn’t understand how she wasn’t burned before, but was now seemingly attracting the flames; soon her mane was completely gone as the flames licked her body.

“Totodile!” Milo said. “Extinguish the flames!”

The brightly-coloured Totodile burst from the ball and spouted jets of flames as Ruby looked on sadly as flames swathed her entire body. They refused to be extinguished, however, causing Totodile much distress as he failed to do as commanded.

“Ruby!” Milo yelled. He looked to see the trainer not responding whatsoever, arms folded as Magcargo throbbed calmly. Steam rose from its shell. “Wait a minute…

“Totodile use water gun on Magcargo!”

Totodile turned to the snail and blasted a jet of water through the air. It struck Magcargo in the side, causing her to slide along the arena and mutter in contempt. Upon the execution of the attack, the flames faded from around Ruby, and she appeared not to have been burned in the slightest.

“What the fuck?” Milo snapped.

“Hey! You used a different Pokemon!” the girl cried in protest.

“You made me think my Pokemon was burning to death you heartless fuck!” Milo snapped.

“Magcargo can create illusions through its fire,” she girl explained coolly. “I learnt that from the Cianwood Gym.”

“Cianwood?” Milo said, furrowing his brow. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll share my secret if you can beat me,” the girl said, getting a new Pokeball out. “Let’s make this a double!”

She hurled another Pokeball into the air. It burst to reveal a slick, white Absol, whose curved, grey scythe on the side of its head was grim and disturbing. Absol gave a higher-pitched bark than Ruby’s; the four Pokemon eyed each other as the battle turned into a double.

“Ruby use flare blitz on Absol! Totodile, water gun on Magcargo!” Milo yelled. Ruby burst into flames as she raced along the arena like a firework. Absol charged energy in her blade and slashed wildly, but Totodile leapt forward and blasted a water gun to redirect the energy into the wall. Absol watched, stunned, as Ruby tackled into her with an intense explosion of heat.

Milo was shocked at Totodile’s manoeuvre to protect Ruby, but was impressed with his accuracy. He shot another jet of water at Magcargo, causing a mist-like steam to rise from its hot body. Absol looked irritated by the burn but raced along the arena quickly, smashing into Totodile.

“Your Totodile is an unusual colour,” the trainer noticed. “Where did you catch it?”

“Near Olivine,” Milo replied. “Totodile use ice beam on Magcargo!”

The moisture coating its body would help. Ruby created a fire spin to distract Absol; the swirling fire blocked her from view. Totodile scampered along the arena and leapt up, firing a beam of pearly white ice that slammed into Magcargo. A thin ice began to crackle over the snail’s wet skin, limiting its movement. The Pokemon’s yellow, lamp-like eyes moved curiously.

“Maggie!” the trainer said. “Absol! Use psycho cut!”

Eyes glowing vividly, Absol concentrated hard. Using her mind, she carved into the ice freezing Magcargo and began trying to free her team mate. In that time, however, Totodile raced through the air and attacked with another water gun. Distracted, Absol skidded along the arena, snarling. Totodile dived under Absol’s legs and deftly slashed her stomach, causing her pain.

“Now Ruby! Overheat on Absol! Totodile spin out the way and hit Magcargo with water gun!”

As Ruby charged a huge jet of flames in her mouth, a golden glow took over her body. Totodile saw this and, behind Absol, blasted a jet of water at the ground and was propelled out of the way. Spinning in the air amid droplets of water, Totodile vaulted over the attack Ruby unleashed; a swirling beam of flames swathed in gold light. Absol was struck and shrieked wildly as she was ploughed into the wall.

“Go on Totodile!” yelled Milo. Firing the water gun down, Totodile hit Magcargo, who seemed defeated. Landing next to Ruby, Totodile leapt up and down happily. The girl recalled her Magcargo and ordered Absol to get up.

“Strike with quick attack!”

“Evade with extreme speed,” Milo said. Arcanine shot out the way of Absol’s alleged ‘quick attack’, leaving the wolf-like creature confused. Totodile leapt at Absol and swung his tail around as it shimmered blue. It whipped across Absol’s face, but she sank her teeth in and crunched hard. Totodile gave a yelp and hung limply from Absol’s mouth.

“Swing it into the wall!” cried the girl.

“Charge up ice fang!” Milo ordered. “Then while your fangs are still nice and cold use water gun to escape!”

Totodile began clenching his jaws as icy crystals formed, but Abosl flung him through the air in no time. Totodile struck the wall and collapsed to the ground, hurt from the attack. Absol stalked over as Totodile clambered back to his feet. Perhaps instinctively, sensing an attack, he began creating ice crystals among his sharp teeth once more.

“Absol use slash!”

“Dodge! Ice fang!” Milo said. Totodile leapt to the right as Absol swung her scythe. Chomping down on the Pokemon’s front paw, Totodile sent a freezing sensation through her flesh, causing her a sharp, stinging pain. On Milo’s command, Totodile blasted out the way with a water gun as Ruby fired a flamethrower to finish the dark Pokemon off.

“Yes!” Milo said, as Totodile scampered over excitedly. “Good work dude.”

He stroked Ruby as the disgruntled girl recalled Absol.

“Good battle,” she muttered.

“So spill it,” Milo said, not being particularly friendly with the girl. “What’s going on in Cianwood?”

“The Illusion Gym is open,” she explained. “Run by Eusine Grimm.”

“I know the guy you mean,” Milo muttered. “His mother is Veronica Grimm, the mayor of Ecruteak, right?”

“I don’t know,” the girl scoffed, irritating Milo. “But he owns the gym in Cianwood now. And his Quilava creates illusions using its fire. Causes dehydration, hallucinations, that sort of thing. He helped me learn to do the same with my Magcargo.”

“Where is Chuck?” Milo asked.

“How am I supposed to know that?” she snapped. “Anyway, I need to go to the Pokemoncenter. I have to keep training for my rematch against Whitney.”



*

[Chris 2.1]

Milo also went to the Pokemoncenter, registering his Scyther as a member of his team. He thought it was important to update all his contact information, and added on that he had a ribbon from Ecruteak City. As he mused over Chuck, he saw a familiar face lurking in the seating area.

“Jonty Ink,” Milo said, walking over to the journalist. He had braces on over a white shirt, with brown trousers and a jaunty cap.

“Milo, right?” he asked. “How’s it going young man?”

“Well last night was a bit eventful,” Milo said. “Did you hear about Hieroglyph Palace?”

“I was there,” Jonty replied smoothly.

“You were?” Milo asked, trying to recall seeing him.

“You were hammered; I doubt you had noticed me at the bar,” Jonty explained. “But yes, I did witness the chaos.”

“Any Intel on what happened?” Milo asked keenly.

“The papers are reporting that Suzie Swanson was shot last night,” Jonty mused. “Think she got in the way of something.”

“Yea, I saw her get carted into an ambulance,” Milo recalled.

“Well she didn’t make it through the night,” Jonty said sadly. “She’s dead.”

“Oh shit,” Milo said.

“There was another, unreported death,” Jonty said. “A man was found dead at the top of the fire exit.”

“No way,” Milo said, vaguely recalling an argument he heard on his way out.

“His name - or his alias, I’m not sure if he’ll use his real name - was Adam Anderson,” Jonty explained.

“Why do you think he used an alias?” Milo asked.

“He was working for an organisation I’ve been keeping an eye on,” Jonty said. “Trafficking Pokemon.”

“My friend had his Pichu stolen,” Milo said promptly. “Do you think this is who stole it?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Jonty replied. “There were at least six reported thefts last night, and we have reason to believe there were multiple agents stealing last night. The Cloyster Club is owned by a number of businessmen who work prominently in the City and it’s often rumoured that they run the club themselves.”

“So they lure people into their club, and have their agents rob Pokemon off them,” Milo thought. “Very clever.”

“They have purposefully created an elite place for those with money to let their inhibitions go,” Jonty said. “And they can go in for the kill.”

“Very clever,” Milo said.

“They just know how to work the system,” Jonty replied. “Adam Anderson, as well as any of the people operating there last night, are all employed through the club. So they are never caught out of place, or anywhere they shouldn’t be.”

“Do you think there’s any chance of getting my friend’s Pichu back?” Milo asked.

“I think, if it were stolen last night, it’s probably in another city by now,” Jonty replied. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s good that you’re honest,” Milo said, thinking Jake would be devastated by the news.

“Look,” Jonty said, looking at his pager. “I’ve got to chase a story up.”

“Thefts?” Milo asked.

“No, there’s a man stuck on a skyscraper,” he said sheepishly. “Journalism isn’t always dangerous, you know.”

“Hey, wait,” Milo said suddenly. “Do you know anything about the League Reclassification?”

Jonty paused as he made his way out of the Pokemoncenter. He turned to look at Milo.

“Not a great deal,” he said. “Goldenrod kept Whitney as their Gym Leader since she has such a great following in the community. Everyone is happy with the new Speed Gym.”

“Oh,” Milo said. So Whitney specialised in speed.

“But you should really head to the Pokemon Fan Club,” Jonty advised. “The Chairman there is quite involved in the Reclassification.”

“Thanks,” Milo replied, as the reporter left the Pokemoncenter. Soon, he received his four Pokemon from the nurse and tucked them away on his belt. He got out his phone and accessed the internet, looking on the City of Goldenrod’s digital map to find where the Pokemon Fan Club was.

He walked along the city happily, noticing a guy speeding down the road in a bright blue bike. It could be very pleasant, riding in the city, but Milo had no real need for a bike. The Pokemon Fan Club was a two storey house looking very prim and proper, with hanging baskets outside and a nice path off the main sidewalk. Milo walked along the path.

Looking around, he saw cute Pokemon frolicking outside like Eevee, Magby and Marill. Milo had an idea, and released Totodile from his Pokeball in a glittery flash. He rang the doorbell, clutching Totodile eagerly.

“Hello?” said a man, answering the door.

“Is this the Pokemon Fan Club?” Milo asked keenly.

“Yes, it is,” the man replied.

“I was wanting to speak to the Chairman,” Milo explained. “Is that possible?”

The man at the door surveyed Milo.

“And who might you be?” he asked, looking down his sharp, pointed nose.

“Milo Mitchelson,” he replied. The man clicked his tongue.

“You sound like a crime-solving mongrel,” he muttered.

“Well I don’t know your name, but if it matches your personality I’d guess it’s Assy McTwat,” Milo retorted. The man raised his eyebrows.

“I certainly don’t think you will be seeing the Chairman with that attitude,” he replied. “However our Chairman has been enjoying the recently refurbished Speed Gym. Maybe if you had earned a badge from there he would be interested in seeing you.”

Milo mused over the idea as Assy McTwat slammed the door promptly. Totodile wriggled from Milo’s grip and went to the toilet on the doorstep, perhaps not impressed with the man’s tone.

“Totodile…” Milo said, trying to sound cross. The alligator grinned toothily and scampered off. Walking through the city, Milo was deep in thought. Would Whitney want to challenge him after their confrontation earlier? He didn’t care if she had a new team or a refurbished building; she was not the strongest Gym Leader. The reason she would have been kept on as a Leader was probably due to her profile as a TV actress;, and her apparent flourishing relationship with a popular DJ.

“To battle or not to battle,” Milo said, standing outside the Gym. It was actually a converted cathedral, with large, pointed spires and colourful stained glass windows. Whitney’s less than tasteful penthouse suite was built into the back of it, making the entire thing look clumsy. Milo sighed as he remembered surprising Whitney on their two-year anniversary with a trip to Lilycove City, a very cultured beach resort. He remembered capturing a Smeargle for her birthday and felt a curious ache in his side.

He did not pine for Whitney; merely the sight of the building hurtled him into the realms of the past, to a time when his heart skipped as he entered this gym. To stand there with utmost disdain for the woman running it was confusing Milo. He wasn’t used to standing here and feeling angry.

“Milo? What are you doing?” came a familiar voice. Milo turned to see Mia in a soft top sports car. One of her friends was driving, and Mia sat in the back. Milo smiled.

“Hey Mi,” he said.

“Are you going to see Whitney?” Mia asked, sounding confused.

“I need a badge,” Milo replied.

“You have a badge! From last year!” she said. While her tone was condescending, Milo knew why she was raising the issue. “Don’t bother going in there. I wouldn’t.”

“I need to,” Milo said. “I really do.”

“You don’t need to do anything,” she replied, before signalling to her friend. “Come on. We need to head off.”

“Are you leaving Goldenrod?” Milo asked.

“You wish,” Mia replied, smiling. “I’ve got a meeting with an agent. Trying to follow Gina Gourmante and do some more modelling stuff. Then I think I’m going to the house at Seafoam, just relax, you know?”

The car sped off and left Milo standing in the wake of his sisters confusing state of mind. Was she being protective of her little brother? It seemed out of character. Nevertheless, Milo’s determination to uncover more about the League Reclassification drove him to walk through the doors and into the large Gym. The main battle arena was wide and spacious, painted in a deep buttercup yellow. Light flooded through the stained glass filters, sending beams of rainbow colours across various parts of the arena.

“Christ,” Milo said, looking around. “Back here again.”

“Welcome to the Johto League’s Speed Gym,” came a familiar voice. Whitney emerged on the arena, wearing a white polo shirt with her old Plain Badge pinned onto the breast. She had a pair of pink shorts on and white trainers. She paused.

“Hi Whit,” Milo said.

“What the fuck do you want?!” Whitney asked, a hand on her hip.

“A battle,” Milo said.

“A batt- Milo, you have a badge from this gym. We might be reclassified but badges given out in the last year are still legitimate for 12 months,” she explained.

“I know,” Milo said. “But I need proof that I can beat this gym.”

“Milo…” Whitney said curiously, before pausing. “Fine. Official challenge accepted.”

*

After a briefing on the match (a procedure Milo found himself still familiar with), the arena was cleared and a referee now present. The stands (which were actually designed like church pews) were starting to fill with excited onlookers. Milo was shocked to see Jake and DJ Mary together, wondering if they had gone to bond over how much they hated him.

The scoreboard flashed on.

“This official 3-3 Gym Match will begin now!” the referee barked.

“I choose Totodile!” Milo cried, hurling the silver Pokeball through the air. Totodile burst out of the shimmering glitter ball effect and landed on the arena excitedly. Whitney threw a ball through the air.

“Go Swellow!”

Emerging in the air was a slender, blue bird. It had a forked tail and an elegant plumage. Milo thought it looked very fast indeed. He was slightly concerned about Totodile’s chances in this match, but the flags were thrown down and the match had begun.

“Aerial ace!”

In a blur, Swellow swept along the arena, keeping low to the ground. Totodile blasted a water gun at the ground and launched up into the air, vaulting over the bird and teetering as he landed on Whitney’s side of the arena. Swellow pulled back up and turned, narrowing its eyes and speeding back.

“Ice beam!” Milo shouted. Totodile’s mouth glowed and a beam of pearly white ice was fired; it soared through the air at Swellow, who effortlessly pulled to the left and swept across the arena, evading the attack. Totodile looked to see the bird smash into him, pecking his face and scratching with its claws.

“Now use whirlwind!” Whitney ordered. Higher in the air, Swellow gave two big hearty flaps of his wings; a strong gust threw Totodile along the arena, where he rolled, powerless, to Milo’s feet. As he got up, he gave Milo a weary look.

“You’re fine,” Milo reassured him. He saw Swellow sweep along the arena deftly, keeping low. “Get in the air! Water gun to the ground!”

Aiming his jaws down, Totodile blasted a thick jet of water and was propelled high in the air. Swellow saw Totodile roll in the air, charging up an icy orb in his mouth.

“Keep spinning!” Milo urged. “And release ice beam!”

Since Totodile’s projectiles were simply being evaded, and he did not know any wider-spread attacks like swift, Milo felt spinning and unleashing an attack would distribute it across the arena and thus increase the chance of the agile Swellow being struck.

Strands of ice shot across the arena at jagged angles as Totodile rolled towards the ground. Swellow pulled up sharply to evade a strand, before flashing white and spreading into twelve identical clones. Totodile landed and looked at the arena; it had a few small patches of ice across it, but now there were many more of the enemy.

“Fuck,” Milo grumbled.

“Swellow use aerial ace!” Whitney said, pointing at Milo’s Pokemon.

“Totodile make as much noise as you can!” Milo ordered. Totodile paused for a moment before letting out a high-pitched scream; Swellow flinched and flapped back, clearly pained by the sonic screech. The clones dissipated in seconds, with Totodile throwing his arms wildly and screwing his eyes shut.

“Now run in for ice fang!” Milo yelled. Scampering along the arena, his fangs sparkled with a crystalline sheen. He leapt at Swellow, who was now on the ground, and sank his teeth into the Pokemon’s left wing. Swellow looked in shock as Totodile clenched deeper; ice coursed through the birds feathers as its wing was glazed in ice.

“Get it off! Steel wing!” Whitney ordered. Swellow tried focusing a metallic sheen to coat its wings but the one encased in ice did nothing; the other glistened like a blade, and Swellow whacked it against the Totodile that clamped on. Totodile hung on tightly, wincing as the steel wing slashed against his back.

“Fly up!” Whitney said. “Then slam your wings into the ground!”

Swellow flapped up (badly) and, just off the ground, smashed its wings into the arena. Totodile rolled off limply, the impact hurting its bruised back. But the instant Swellow flapped back, examining its frozen wing, Totodile looked to Milo and nodded. An icy orb charged in his mouth before he fired it at the solitary bird. Seeing danger, Swellow prepared to evade, but was struck in the torso by the impressive attack.

“Yes!” Milo said happily. Totodile looked happy to have done so much damage to Swellow, who had ice encasing its chest and wing now.

“Swellow use quick attack and endeavour,” Whitney replied. Milo sighed; endeavour got stronger when the user was weaker. As Totodile recuperated, Swellow rammed into the little alligator and shattered much of the ice on its chest; Totodile flew back and rolled along the arena, looking thoroughly beaten up.

“Get up!” Milo said.

“Quick attack!” Whitney replied happily. Swellow, although slower due to its wing, swept along and dealt a finishing blow to Totodile, who collapsed. Milo bent down and checked the little alligator was ok; he smiled brightly at Milo, covered in bruises.

“You were great pal,” Milo said, getting the disco Pokeball and recalling Totodile in a bright, glittery beam.

“Nice Pokeball!” Whitney called. Milo remembered his oath to get the Pokeball changed as soon as he could. He got out his second Pokeball, the green Park Ball, and hurled it across the arena. In a flash, Scyther emerged, scanning the weakened Swellow.

“Swellow versus Scyther!” the referee announced. “BEGIN!”

“Swellow use endeavour!” Whitney yelled. Milo gritted his teeth at the technique.

“Evade,” he ordered. Pushing off from the ground, Scyther bolted into the air and into the rafters of the church. Wings beating furiously, Milo once again recalled the fear he felt in the National Park, and found it spurred him on in this crucial match. Swellow looked slow and cumbersome from the frozen wing.

“Razor Wind!” Milo shouted. From high above, Scyther flapped his wings manically and sent a powerful gust at Swellow. Scythes glowing powerfully, Scyther sent blades of white-hot energy raining down at Swellow, who could not evade well due to the strong winds. The first blade of energy smashed into its side, pinning it to the ground as more blades relentlessly battered the blue jay.

“Swellow!” Whitney cried. “Return!”

Milo smiled - he was back on even footing. Whitney’s Swellow disappeared and she took out another Pokeball, kissing it softly before hurling it across the arena. Bursting from it was a plump, orange Pokemon.

“Raichu!” Whitney said. “Show ‘em what you can do baby!”

Milo nodded. Raichu were exceptionally fast on land. But Scyther could adapt to land or skies, giving him something of an advantage. Raichu’s pouchy yellow cheeks buzzed.

“Raichu leap up and use thunder punch!” said Whitney. Raichu got on all fours and sped along the arena, Scyther watching from the air. As the mouse’s paws crackled with lightening, giving it further acceleration on its journey, it leapt back, springing on its tail and launching high into the air.

Scyther flapped back and slashed a blade of energy into Raichu’s stomach, who gasped and fell back to the ground. Scyther swept down after the orange Pokemon, who managed to utilise a quick attack mid-air and make a safe landing by reducing the impact. Raichu crackled with electricity as Scyther held his scythes out deftly.

“Raichu hit it with thunderbolt!” Whitney ordered. Raichu nodded, giving a dark smile and firing off a huge bolt of lightening through the air. It crackled and whooshed.

“Deflect it,” Milo said deftly. Scyther held his scythes ready and, as the attack got close, the emerald-coloured mantis connected with the attack, swiping as it got near. The bolt flew into the air and left Whitney speechless. Raichu looked on.

“Right go for a razor wind!” Milo commanded. He loved Scyther’s quick reflexes and took the opportunity to command the blistering attack. Rising into the air, Scyther commanded a strong gale of wind to blow down on the arena. Raichu kept low to the ground, wincing as the wind made him uncomfortable. Scyther’s scythes then glowed white and he unleashed a series of quick slashes, each shooting through the air, guided towards Raichu’s hide by the gale.

“Raichu!” Whitney cried. The wind howled relentlessly and sent a chill through the church. “Swift attack!”

The Pokemon’s cheeks glowed softly, and from his mouth he blasted a cluster of golden stars. They grew in size and span through the sharp winds, undeterred from their intensity. Scyther attempted to slash them away but was struck by them all; he fell back and the wind died down.

“Fly!” Milo shouted, worried his Pokemon would slam into the ground. Scyther flapped his wings and landed softly to the hard floor of the arena. Raichu brimmed with sparks excitedly.

“Volt Tackle!” said Whitney. As sparks leapt around Raichu’s fuzzy coat, he became coated in a golden glow. Crouching, he then darted along the arena, sparks trailing behind him as he launched himself at Scyther.

“Dodge!” Milo ordered. Scyther leapt to the side but Raichu turned sharply, bolting still for the bug Pokemon. He leapt at Scyther, who was tackled to the ground amid a supernova of white-hot sparks. Raichu furiously slapped Scyther across the face as he jerked from the shocks coursing into his body. Milo could see Whitney smile as Raichu leapt back. He charged lightening in his paws while Scyther got back up.

“Scyther don’t let it slug you again,” Milo said, noticing Scyther looking exhausted. “Go for a fury cutter.”

Scyther nodded and flapped up off the ground by a few inches. He swept at Raichu, who held his fists ready. Getting closer to the foe, Scyther drew one scythe back, but as he did this, Raichu wrapped his black, cable-like tail around Scyther’s other arm. Alarmed, Milo saw his Pokemon staring at Raichu, who smirked.

“Raichu use charge,” said Whitney. Raichu’s cheeks brimmed with electricity, his tail tightly coiled around Scyther’s arm. The large lightening-tip was pressed to Scyther’s cheek. He looked nervous, holding his other scythe out threateningly.

“Scyther get free,” Milo said.

“He won’t be able to do that!” Whitney called. “Scyther is wired up to Raichu.”

“Keep charging, Raichu!”

Milo began to sweat. He was reminded of his defeat to Gina’s Ampharos. Electrical attacks were really very potent, and had been his downfall before. In his league team he had a number of weaknesses to electric types, and was never competent fighting with them.

“Scyther?” Milo asked. “You okay?”

Scyther gave him a fleeting look.

“Return!” Milo said suddenly, shooting the beam from his Pokeball. Struck, Scyther was pulled inside a bright green pool of light, causing Raichu’s coiled tail to droop. The audience moaned and booed at the spineless technique.

“You coward!” Whitney scoffed.

“Medicham,” Milo said. “GO!”

Medicham burst from the ball and materialised before Raichu, who caused his fists to crackle with lightening once more.

“Medicham?” Whitney said, sounding alarmed. “Er Raichu! Thunderbolt!”

“Wrap Raichu’s tail around itself with psychic,” Milo said firmly. Medicham flicked her wrist and Raichu’s black tail coiled round its plump body. Raichu furrowed his brow momentarily before a huge shock rang out across his body, causing him to let out a scream.

“Raichu!” Whitney yelled. “Volt Tackle!”

Nodding, Raichu burst with sparks and raced along the arena like a race car. Medicham levitated off the ground slightly and crossed her legs. On Milo’s command she flicked her wrist effortlessly; Raichu flew back across the arena as if punched by a heavyweight champ. Raichu got back up and growled, clenching his paws.

“Psy-Jump Kick!” Milo cried. It was his take on Hi-Jump Kick which, due to Medicham’s use of telekinesis, allowed for maximum damage. Medicham swept through the air using her telekinesis, diving to the ground and springing back into the air. She swung her foot at Raichu and connected with his jaw; he cried out and flew back.

“Thunderbolt!”

The bolt of lightening burst from Raichu’s cheeks, but with a simple flick of her wrist the attack was redirected into the high ceiling of the Gym. The audience cheered as the sparks burst into life above the battlers. Whitney looked very emotional.

“Medicham pin Raichu to the wall,” Milo said. Medicham flung Raichu against one of the stained glass windows, where he struggled to break free. As light shone in through the multicoloured window, Raichu was surrounded by a beautiful glow.

“Raichu!” Whitney shouted.

“Hit it with focus punch!”

Medicham used her telekinesis to pull Raichu towards her. As he flew through the air helplessly, Medicham charged up energy in her fist and held it expectedly. Raichu got close and Medicham slugged him in the jaw; the Pokemon fell to the ground with a defeated cry.

“Raichu is defeated!” cried the referee.

“Oh!” Whitney said, getting a Pokeball out. She sniffed. “You did so well, Raichu. Return.”

Milo stood behind Medicham and stared at Whitney. She pulled the Pokeball away and tucked it into her pocket, getting a third out. She stood there, holding the Pokeball as the audience watched keenly for her final choice. But she was frozen.

“Whitney, please send out your final Pokemon,” the referee said. Whitney’s eyes swiftly looked to the referee before darting back to the field. Milo looked confused at Whitney, who was sweating profusely.

“What’s wrong with Whitney?” Jake asked Mary.

“I don’t know,” Mary replied quietly.

“Whitney?” the referee said. Whitney shook as a tear trickled down her face.

“I - I can’t do this!” she said. “No! NO!”

“What’s wrong?” Milo asked. Whitney threw something to the ground and ran from the Gym, Pokeball still in hand. Some members of the audience began booing as Mary leapt over the stand and gave chase. Jake watched curiously.

“The Gym Leader has forfeited,” The referee said.

“What did you do!?” Jake asked Milo, running over.

“Nothing,” Milo replied.

“She just broke down,” Jake mused, picking up the object on the ground. “I think this is for you.”

Milo took the object. It was a Gym Badge, but different to the Plain Badge he had won last time he was here. It was a cloud with strips of energy whisking behind it. On the back was engraved ‘Awarded for Success at the Goldenrod Speed Gym’.

“She gave up,” Milo said solemnly.

“Why did you want another badge?” Jake asked. Milo held it tightly.

“It’s going to help us get some answers on this whole thing,” Milo replied.

*

That evening, Whitney and Mary were arm in arm, sitting on the sofa at Mary’s apartment. Whitney had stopped crying and seemed more consolable than before; it had taken the DJ hours to find her girlfriend in the crowded city.

“Are you going to take challengers on tomorrow?” Mary asked, cuddling the Gym Leader.

“I don’t know,” Whitney said. “I don’t want to, but it will affect my stats. And you know I barely kept my title.”

“This forfeit won’t go down well,” Mary thought. “I’ll type up the report for you tomorrow, and send it to the League.”

“P-Put it down to personal circumstances,” Whitney said.

“What happened to you?” Mary asked her. “You just…collapsed from emotion.”

“It’s just seeing Milo again,” Whitney said. “I mean…I’ve seen him a couple of times now, but today it really sank in. He’s fine. He’s not upset, or angry; he’s really well-together.”

She got up from her lover’s grip and walked to the window, staring out across Goldenrod City. Peeling the curtain back, her exhausted sigh caused condensation to form on the glass.

“But why do you care?” Mary asked, sounding cross.

“I don’t have feelings for him anymore,” Whitney said emphatically. “Absolutely not. And I know he is exactly the same. These things erode with time.”

She sniffed.

“Love is such a delicate, beautiful thing, so a relationship built on true love is especially delicate and precious. You must nurture it like a newborn child. Treat it like it knows not the physics and concepts of our world.”

“I do,” Mary said. “Every single day. You know I care for you Whitney. I’ve never loved anyone like you before.”

“I know,” Whitney said, turning and smiling. “And I love you too.”

Mary smiled.

“So what’s wrong?”

“Every time I see that boy,” Whitney began. “I become awash with guilt.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Mary asked, her sympathy hiding a clandestine excitement.

Whitney drew a heart in the condensation on the window.

“It’s my fault his brother was killed,” she whispered.

Mary gasped, but Whitney gave one last remark.

"His name was William."





Next Chapter
Milo is geared up for The Goldenrod Contest, but it looks set to be bigger and grander than anything he has done before! With Gina Gourmante and the slimy Dior among the competetitors, Milo faces a tough time, especially when he meets a persistant mother and daughter combo backstage.

[The_Missing_Link]

Not one of your best chapters. I understand the reasoning behind all the crazy drama but it seemed kind of forced, especially Whitney's little speech at the end. And her freezing up at the end of the battle seemed weird and unexplained, unless the Pokemon she was going to use was somehow involved with William's death

And the pairing between Whitney and Mary? Not really fond of it. The ice cream parlor scene was the epitome of awkwardness

[PancaKe]

I loved these past two chapters. I loved the integration of a drunken night at a club with a pokemon fic. I'm not a fan of those drunken trashy nights, but I love their place in pokemon fanfiction - this style of writing really has evolved with us. ^___^

I love the reality of the drunken scene from chapter 10. I love the way that each drink slowly lead the reader into the drunken state Milo and Jake were in.

I loved their relationship as well by the way. It wasn't as ridiculously mean as usual, they seem more like friends that fight now than two people who hate each other. That's evolved really well. I was surprised that Whitney is now with a girl, but I guess there's a lot going on behind the scenes that we just don't know yet.

Hooray !

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Gotta agree with Becca here, the intention was good, but it seemed a bit forced.

Pichu disappearing was odd. I want to hear something more about those thefts and how perhaps his father is involved with them. Very interested in that father.

What's with Milo and banging Gymleaders. I like Whitney's character, though. I can totally empathize with her on Milo. Lovers are bitter scars

Ok, finally something about William now.

Can't wait for next chapter.

[Chris 2.1]

TML: Hey Becca, thanks for reading. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the chapter; this was what I'd describe as a bridge chapter in terms of its role, and it does sadden me that it wasn't recieved well. I don't know what to say other than perhaps these are areas I need to work on in the fic. For example - I thought it was clear that upon the inclusion of Medicham in the battle, Whitney's skill faltered and her demeanor changed. That was important, and if it didn't come across to the readers I need to assess my skill more.

As while I may not write lesbian romance as well as the next author, Whitney's relationship with Mary is quite crucial in understanding her character. I think she's someone that has become so broken and dysfunctional that she has grown attracted to the strong women that she wishes she could become. Mary shields Whitney a little bit. More to come.


Pancake: Hi! Milo and Jake have grown a lot and I do agree with you they are less of a weird collaboration now. They are two friends who wouldnt normally be friends with each other but have been thrown together and have bonded a lot.

I'm glad you liked the drinking scenes. It was a challenge because I wanted to write it so that the reader - like the characters - weren't quite sure what was going on. The nightclub was full of uncertainty and confusion, and that's quite compelling to read. Interestingly we do revisit the night of the raid on The Cloyster Club from a sober POV.

And yea, Whitney needs to be explored. She's a compelling character, I am fond of her. I think a lot needs to be explained about Jasmine, too. Thanks so much for reading.


MLG: Noted about the forcedness. Thank you for your honesty.

Poor Jake is devestated about the loss of his Pichu. I can only imagine what it must be like having a Pokemon stolen - knowing you might never see them again. I hope the Goldenrod arc really emphasises the idea of how heartbreaking it would be to have a Pokemon stolen, and the fear over what it is used for, where it goes and its safety.

Whether or not Pichu will be seen again remains to be seen. We might have to learn more about the night he was stolen.

William is hugely important in the fic. Notice how many characters his name is....

Whitney, Eva and Jasmine are the only Gym Leaders to be on Milo's conquest list. No Claire (although I'm sure Milo tried!) or Pryce definitely XD. Like I said above, Whitney is a nice character. I feel so sorry for her.

[Sike Saner]

Well, this chapter certainly came with some HSMs of its own. Jake's pichu having been stolen struck me as something of one, first of all. It's interesting, how even though there had been pokémon thefts going on, it still managed to take me by surprise for some reason when it happened to Jake. o.o

The other thing that struck me as an HSM--and a pretty damned big one at that--came in the form of those last four lines in the chapter. That was... damn. o___o

Other highlights:

“No Pokemon in my Café!” barked Rosie. “I don’t want any germs.”

“Medicham wait outside, would you?” Milo said. “We’ll teleport back to the Hotel in a sec.”

Medicham nodded, turning to leave the diner. Rosie nodded and went into the kitchen, bringing out three supersize breakfasts for a group of hungry truckers. At the door, Medicham swiped her finger sideways, causing Rosie to stumble and drop the three platters of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast. As she clattered to the ground, she looked up to see Medicham smiling, before she used her telekinesis to slam the door behind her.

X3 I'm beginning to suspect Medicham isn't going to run out of ways to further convince me that she's awesome anytime soon.

“So you kissed a girl…and you liked it?” Milo said, bemused.

...Just had to get a song stuck in my head, didn't you? X3

“Well if you sleep with girls and boys, there are more people you can bribe with sexual favours,” Milo retorted. “Dirty little slut.”

As the words left his lips he felt a sharp slap across his face. Whitney stared coldly at him as if he was a diseased little rat.

*applauds Whitney for slapping him*

“Okay Ruby, use a swift attack,” Milo ordered. Ruby blasted a mouthful of tiny golden stars that grew as they span in the air. They swept towards Magcargo, but Milo had other ideas.

“Fire spin!”

Flames curling within her jaws, Ruby barked and the flames shot out her mouth, whipping up into a fiery tornado that engulfed the swift attack. As it span around like a tornado, the golden stars seared red with heat, whipping around the vortex and shining brightly.

“Now!” Milo said. “Extreme speed and thunder fang combo! Race into the vortex!”

She became a silvery blur as she tore along towards the attack. Hurling herself through the vortex, Ruby caused the flames to burst and the stars to lose their pull; as her fangs crackled with sparks she leapt from the fire spin, the flames danced along her elegant body, the stars spinning around like comets.

Very cool. Awesome visuals there.

Milo mused over the idea as Assy McTwat slammed the door promptly.

XDD Actually seeing that little nickname used in the narrative...

[Lune the Guardian]

Hmm hmm, William, a seven letter name. I don't think the sudden freezing was forced. Medicham seems to have been linked to Will in the past. Maybe she belonged to him. Seeing her could've triggered Whitney's memory of Will. The death also possibly explains why their relationship stopped.

I can't believe that Jake is still talking to Milo or helping him in any way. Jake is capable enough to get a job elsewhere, he doesn't even need the jackass's money. And that bastard can't even be considered a friend. I'm totally voting Milo as "character most deserving of an ass whooping". Of all awards, this is the only one he really deserves. I don't care if his brother died, that gives him no excuse to have every single wrong trait you would never want to see in a human being. If Will was a cool guy, I wonder if he would be upset at the monster that Milo has become.

Though, I am curious to see what kind of involvement exactly that Whitney had in Will's death.

[Chris 2.1]

Karen: Looks like we have our 7 letters. Whitney claimed it was her fault...but how did Morty know about it? It's safe to say William's death messed Milo up but I think a lot of it is Milo's own fault really. I wonder, indeed, what Will would think of Milo now. I wonder what he's like....?

If Milo were to get said ass whooping, I bet he'd learn a whole lot from it. Form a queue, people! Interesting about Jake. He is very loyal to Milo. But what if Milo's money were taken away? Would Jake still be there?

Personally I always approached Milo's character like he does care. He just has no concept of how to show it. I think he holds great affection for Jake, but is clueless how he goes about being nice.


Sike: Poor Pichu ;_; I wonder if Jake can get him back? It seems bleak, but you never know.

Milo's ignorance really shone through in his confrontation with Whitney and Mary. Milo's finally met a girl he can't charm, and you can see how much it wound him up.

Thanks for reading; Ch12 is up soon.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Cool chapter. This is one of the first contests you wrote that really intrigues me. Good going.

I liked the flashback with the texts and stuff, original. We finally get to see who took Pichu. I wonder if he's going to get it back, Jake that is. Perhaps if he allies himself with Gina.

Kylie seems like a character that could be used for many things. I hope she plays a bigger role later.

Still waiting for Milo's dad.. Also, Dior's appeal was awesome.

Lol at the tapdancing Sudowoodo and that whole family buisiness. Typical hyperparenting.

Anyway, glad to have read another chapter. I needed it.

Keep up the good work.

[Sike Saner]

I enjoyed the number of appeals that were displayed in that chapter, first of all. There was some pretty creative stuff there--it really reminds me of how much I like contest scenes and why.

Denise was certainly a memorable character (as were each of her daughters, for that matter). She was a rather interesting combination of disturbing and amusing. o_o;

And I really liked the inclusion of that last scene there. I always enjoy getting to see a familiar scene from a new angle. ^^

Other highlights and other things that I wanted to respond to directly:

Despite her initial protests, and using telekinesis to bash Milo against a wall, he had ordered Medicham to appeal for one part of the contest.

XDD

“Hey Assy McTwat,” Milo replied.

Yes, that still amuses me. X3

“While it is very impressive, The Chairman is at the Pokemon Contest today,” explained the boy. “He is one of the five judges.”

“He is?” Milo asked, frowning.

“He is,” the boy replied.

“That’s good,” Milo replied. “Because I’m competing in that later.”

“Great! You can leave,” the boy replied, slamming the door.

“You suit your name,” Milo said to the closed door. “ASSY MCTWAT!”

XD

“Hey, Mi!” came a cry. Mia looked to see her fourth friend, Daisy Oak, walk outside. “Come and have a look at this!”

“Daisy I know the toilet flushes automatically,” Mia muttered.

... XD

“Hurry up Tamara! DO YOU WANT TO FAIL!?” came the scathing screech.

Damn. o__o; Yep, like I said, disturbing yet amusing at the same time.

“Yes, well yes, I mean Tamara here is an aspiring coordinator,” Denise explained.

Oh yes, I'm sure that's Tamara's aspiration... XP

The little girl was chewing her security pass.

As I was saying. X3

“HA! Oh you are amusing. Oh! You’re serious? Come now, why don’t we share the tools of our trade?” asked Denise.

“You mean your daughter’s trade,” Milo said. “She’s competing.”

“Yes, well yes,” muttered Denise.

Busted! X3

“I said to Tamara, I said it’s a very…fragrant city. What did I say Debbie?”

The pale girl piped up.

“It’s a very fragrant city.”

“That’s right,” Denise replied. “Oh. This is Tamara’s elder sister Deborah. No talent whatsoever. She’ll never be a star. I said to Tamara, I said, she’s just not got the stamina. What did I say Debbie?”

“I just don’t have the stamina,” the girl replied sadly.

“But of course Tamara is viciously talented…she can sing, dance, debate, project her voice, distract, conduct and play the cello,” Denise explained. “Debbie hasn’t the figure to do that. What did I say, Debbie?”

“It‘s my metabolism,” Debbie admitted. Her mother’s eyes widened.

“I DID NOT SAY THAT!” she roared. “God!

Wow. o_o; I feel sorry for Tamara, too, as I do for any kid through whom a parent or any adult tries to live vicariously, but I feel even sorrier for Deborah. Yeah, in general, being a child of Denise would be... yeah. O_o;

That said, though, the last things out of Denise's mouth there in that excerpt did make me laugh. XD;

And we’re low on that moisturiser I like.

Gee, I wonder why? XP

Next up was a boy whose Machoke picked up one of the judges and twirled him around exotically. Juan looked increasingly frustrated as he flailed against the Machoke’s strong grip, explaining his fear of heights.

“Good going, Machoke!” the coordinator said.

“PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT OR I GUARENTEE YOU WILL GET A ZERO FROM ME!” Juan screamed.

Oh damn, now there's an amusing image. XDD Poor Juan, but still. X3;

Milo recalled battling Mia on Pua Samoa, and her recently evolved Ninetales’ use of Will-O-Wisp; lavender and periwinkle coloured flames that caused serious burns. In the heat of the moment, Milo deduced the flames she created were hotter, and burned brighter, causing their colour.

“Ruby concentrate on burning hotter flames,” Milo said. “Like a Will-O-Wisp.”

Ruby clenched her jaws and summoned fire. She spent longer swirling the flames around her body, perhaps to let the heat rise. Milo also knew fire Pokemon could adjust their body temperature, so Ruby was perhaps raising that, too. Suddenly she let out a roar and a hearty blast of blue fireballs exploded into the fire spin. Streaks of blue and purple melded among the attack and gave it a haunting look.

Nice touch there, Milo. ^^

“Arcanine!” moaned the Chairman of the Fan Club. “Beautiful! Regal! Amazing…soft…wild…19/20!”

XD I'm amazed that he managed to refrain from throwing a "hug it" in there. X3

Mary looked as if she had chewed a wasp.

I like that choice of words there.

“No!!!” Tamara wept, collapsing to the floor. “Mummy said Sudowoodo would get made into a chair if I didn’t get at least 75!”

“Oh god,” Mary blurted.

My sentiments exactly. o_o; Although, the fact that it was (one hopes) just an empty threat aside, one must admit that that'd probably make for one heck of a sturdy chair, albeit not a very confortable one, I imagine...

...Oh God, why did I dignify the topic of making a chair out of a sudowoodo with that much thought? XD;

“Are you going to hurt Debbie?” Tamara asked.

“We’ll see,” the woman replied testily.

Eep. o_o;

“Sleep powder!” he commanded. Shaking even more viciously, the purple blur produced thick clouds of sticky spores that wafted around the arena.

“Now use poison powder!”

A deep purple powder was then scattered into the air. The particles drifted around the large space; Milo was sure it would be damaging if the spores were inhaled by the audience. Suddenly Dior pointed upwards.

“Psychic!”

Venonat nodded and its eyes glowed brightly. The spores shifted slowly, Venonat arranging them into a shape. Milo watched as the telekinesis coiled the column of spores into a fierce dragon’s head, with the purple from the poison powder being used for shadowing and depth. Venonat sat among the cloud of spores as the dragon’s mouth opened wide; blue spores sprinkled were made into the sharp fangs and forked tongue.

“Solarbeam!” Dior ordered. Venonat fired the beam through the cloud, where it appeared to shoot from the dragon’s mouth. The audience cheered loudly as Venonat used a psychic attack to dispel all the spores into the air conditioning vent in the ceiling.

That was pretty darned cool, I thought.

A few people congratulated him as Denise scowled from nearby, applying copious amounts of lotion to her already lubricated hands.

Ew. I bet she slathers that stuff on so heavily that it drips constantly from her fingers as if they were the teeth of a xenomorph. X3

[Chris 2.1]

MLG; Hey man. Glad you liked the flashback thing, it definitely answered some questions right? Jasmine and her mysterious work is explored through the rest of the Goldenrod Arc. I think it will be satisfying!

I'm glad you liked the appeals; next chapter the coordinators have to appeal a second time, and we see some pretty cool ones. Denise Dwight and her severely unhappy children were fun to write

Milo's dad....we are very close. VERY. Just writing some crazy stuff right now.

See you next chapter!



Sike: Hey! Despite the appauling score, Tamara does make it into the next round. Denise has many a trick up her sleeve to get her daughter to success! Glad you liked the characters. One-shots are great for short bursts of creativity.

A sudowoodo chair...XD. Perish the thought! I'm glad you enjoy the appeals too.


Next chapter is pretty cool; the second half of the contest. Jake has some fun parts in the next couple chapters, I think those who like him as a character will enjoy the developments

Currently writing Chapter 14 here. About halfway in, surprisingly. It's astonishing what you write when you have an exam in a few days ^^

Any questions, fire away!

[Chris 2.1]

Posting this up quickly. I guess people aren't around? Voting closed today for the Silver Pencils. Thank you if you did vote, particularly for any of my work. This chapter is the conclusion of the Goldenrod Contest and I must say, a particular favourite. Chapter 14 is also all-kinds-of-awesome.

Currently writing Chapter 15. There's so many twists and turns in the next few installments I hope you do read and please leave a reply, any feedback is always appreciated.

Show-Off
-XIII-
Glitter and Trash

With a deafening roar, Bayleef swung her neck and unleashed a flurry of sharp leaves. They slashed at Ampharos’s skin and caused him pain, but he retaliated by firing off a bolt of lightening to scare the grass Pokemon. Leaping to the side, Bayleef evaded, spitting a seed at the foe. Ampharos felt it lodge into his neck and reached to pull it out.

“Ampharos! Pleeze calm down!” Gina purred.

“Bayleef grab it with vine whip,” Dior ordered. Two vines extended from the Pokemon’s neck and wrapped around Ampharos’s body. Hoisted into the air, Ampharos was then slammed down into the ground.

“Fire punch!” Gina cried. Ampharos gripped the vines and caused embers to ignite in his fists. The vines burned and Bayleef gave a cry - Dior’s appeal gauge dropped and Ampharos ran across the arena using a flash attack. Tail glowing brightly he leapt up and unleashed a massive volley of sparks into the dinosaur.

Watching from backstage, Milo was keen to see who would win between Dior and Gina. Jake pointed out that neither had a particular advantage over the other, since Ampharos’s potent fire punch was difficult to execute without getting too close to Bayleef. Sure enough, As Ampharos leapt to attack he was whipped mercilessly by Bayleef.

Perhaps even more interesting was the deterioration from a contest battle into a full out brawl. Neither trainer were focusing on looking beautiful or impressive. Gina was pulling every trick out of the book to try and deal damage to Bayleef, while Dior was doing everything to ensure Ampharos was kept at bay. The big electric Pokemon screamed as the seed in its back burrowed deeper and Bayleef gained some energy.

There was not long left on the timer, and Dior was winning. On his command, Bayleef charged up an energy ball in her mouth; the large orb was full of bright, citrus colours, swirling and melding together. It was launched at Ampharos, who looked ready to dodge.

“Blow it up!” Dior said. “Bullet seed!”

Like a machine gun Bayleef held her neck out and fired off a flurry of bright seeds. The rapid fire sped through the air and into the energy ball, causing it to explode right as Ampharos turned to dodge. Thrown to the ground, Ampharos felt the seeds batter his hide and roared in agony.

“TIME!” came a cry. The five minutes were up and Ampharos got to his feet. Bayleef stood by Dior as the MC announces Dior as the winner. Gina gave a lurching gasp as she hugged her Ampharos. Dior and Bayleef left the stage one way and Gina went the other.

“Shit,” Milo said. “Poor Gina!”

“Dior had a really weird battle style,” Jake said. Wingull was perched on his shoulder eating nuts from Jake’s hand. “He just like…pummelled the opponent.”

“I wonder if he does Gym Battles too?” Milo said. He noticed Gina tear through the audience, sobbing to herself.

“I’m going to console her,” Jake mused.

“Good luck,” Milo said, as Jake ran after the model. Dior calmly walked off the arena, noticing he received a mild applause from those watching the battle backstage.

“I beat a mildly attractive model,” he said simply. “And she beat you in Olivine. So already I’m aware that I am much better than you.”

“You’re such a wanker,” Milo said.

“Has your friend gone to calm down Gina?” Dior asked, running a hand across his smooth, shaved head. “That’s cute. You know, he’s quite a cute guy. I might ask for his number later.”

“You’re not getting anywhere near him,” Milo replied. “He can do much better.”

“We’ll see,” Dior mused. He popped the collar on his black biker jacket and walked off. Milo had his fists clenched at the nerve of the boy, and wondered if Jake was making any progress on comforting poor Gina.

*

On a balcony overlooking Goldenrod City, Gina Gourmante took a long, satisfying drag from her cigarette. She stared solemnly across the huge office buildings and the chic restaurants. Her phone began to ring, causing her to jump in alarm. The cigarette clattered to the ground and Gina answered her phone.

“Hello?” she purred.

“Gina it’s Dave,” came the voice of her manager.

“Oh thank fuck,” Gina muttered, her accent disappearing. “Listen, I got knocked out the competition.”

“I saw,” said Dave. “It was on TV, remember?”

“Oh yea,” she replied sheepishly.

“Everyone saw you flee the stage in tears after a brutal onslaught from that Dior character,” said her manager.

“Right,” Gina replied. “So what’s the recovery plan? Maybe a radio appearance?”

“Gina…” Dave said testily. “I’m just not sure there is a recovery plan here.”

“What are you saying?” Gina asked. “Dave!”

“I can’t keep investing money into you when you aren’t looking good in the public eye,” Dave replied. “I think we need to terminate your contract.”

“DAVE!” Gina snapped. “Dave don’t be so stupid!”

“I’m really sorry Gina. You were a good client, a lot of potential. We wish you all the best in the future.”

“Dave don’t you dare do this to me!” Gina cried. “You said you lov-”

“I said a lot of things that night Gina, but you know the situation,” Dave told her.

“Hi Gina!” came a squeak.

“Shit!” Gina cried, turning around and dropping her phone.

“Shit!” Jake shouted, upon hearing Gina’s voice.

“Dave!” Gina said, bending down as her phone shattered. “NO!”

“You’re not French!” Jake yelled.

“I KNOW!” Gina shouted, turning around. “What the fuck do you want?!”

“I wanted to cheer you up,” Jake admitted. “You looked sad!”

“Well I am,” Gina replied. “My agency just dropped me.”

“Oh,” Jake replied.

“And I just dropped my phone,” she added.

“That sucks,” Jake said. “You seem less intimidating when you drop the French accent.”

“You think I’m intimidating?” Gina asked.

“You were,” Jake said. “But you seem quite…normal.”

“I am,” Gina replied, crossing her arms. “Very normal, thank you!”

“I take it ‘Gourmante’ isn’t your real name,” Jake muttered, smiling slightly.

“It’s ‘Grey’,” she said. “Gina Grey.”

“I can see why you changed it,” Jake said. Gina turned, looking offended, but the stylist smiled. “Kidding. Milo’s mean streak is rubbing off on me!”

“Oh is it really,” Gina muttered sourly. She didn’t look impressed. “You seem good friends with Milo.”

“We are,” Jake replied.

“But you’re so different,” Gina replied.

“Well we get on well considering,” Jake explained.

“He’s such a rat,” Gina said. “Lusting after me all the time. You know, he’s very lecherous.”

“He’s just a dog with a bone,” Jake said.

“Very funny,” Gina replied.

“You’re a gorgeous model,” Jake added. “Why wouldn’t he lust after you? Isn’t that your job?”

“No!” Gina exclaimed.

“If you didn’t have make-up on and wore sweatpants, nobody would be interested,” Jake pointed out. Gina gave a dry sob and held her head in her hands. Jake watched her, finding himself more and more like the heartless Milo.

“Look…Gina,” he began.

“There’s no need to apologise,” Gina replied. “You have a point.”

“But you’ve been set free from that,” Jake said. “You can do whatever you want now.”

“Well…what do I want to do?” Gina asked Jake. He merely shrugged.

*

There were many more battles occurring during the day. One girl and her Masquerain used an incredibly intricate combo to knock out the foe’s Rhyhorn. First the large moth Pokemon used a bubble attack before freezing it with a blizzard. The frozen baubles were then projected out using a silver wind attack in a devastating appeal-attack. The trainer received much praise from the judges.

“Of course, you were always going to do well,” gushed Denise Dwight to Milo. He was having a coffee and watching the battles keenly, but was getting annoyed by the pushy woman and her children.

“Well done,” she continued. “Tamara has her battle against a rather odd man named Lucian. I for one think he’s a bit of a paedophile but there you go. I think we’ll win. Don’t you?”

“His appeal was quite good,” Milo pointed out.

“Frankly I thought it was awful,” Denise said. “What did I say about it, Debbie?”

“It was awful,” came the dull murmur.

“That’s right,” Denise said.

“He’s a big stinky!” Tamara cried.

“Yes is he!” cried her mother happily. “You are so right my darling, so right!”

“How did you even get through to the battle?” Milo asked, bewildered. “The appeal was awful.”

“Yes, well yes,” Denise stammered. “The judges changed their score during the break. I had a word with them.”

Milo felt uncomfortable around the powerful woman as her daughter’s name was called up. Denise leapt up in joy and shoved Debbie out the way. She didn’t even make a sound as she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground; Tamara was led to the stage by her mother, who was whispering ideas into her ear.

“If it’s a bird Pokemon, use rock attacks,” she hissed.

“Bird like a Banette?” the girl asked.

“No, well, no,” Denise said. “A bird! With wings. You know what I mean. Love you schnooky.”

Tamara waved excitedly, clutching the Pokeball. Denise turned to Milo.

“Very bright girl,” came her extremely bias gush. “Not like Debbie.”

Debbie was on the floor, trying to stand up on her twisted ankle. Denise looked utterly disgusted. Her eyes darted back to the arena, where the opponent, Lucian, flicked his shaggy hair from his face and threw a Pokeball onto the arena. Emerging was a menacing, steel-clad lizard. It gave a screech as it clanked and sinewed across the arena on its four thick legs.

“Lairon!” Lucian cried eagerly. Tamara smiled and hurled her Pokeball onto the arena.

“Blobbarella!”

In a flash of light, a pink blob emerged. It was a Ditto, with tiny black eyes and a very curious shape. It bounced and stretched eagerly, letting off an endearing squeak. The audience applauded at the entertaining Pokemon.

“Lairon go for metal claw!” cried Lucian. Racing across the arena at a surprising speed, Lairon gave off a rattling, metallic sound. Milo was reminded of a suit of armour coming to life as Lairon hissed; jumping through the air, the beasts claws sparkled and it slashed Ditto wildly.

“Blobby!” Tamara cried. “Transform!”

Nodding, the pink creature glowed brightly and its shape contorted out. A ridged shell formed and a long tail slithered out from the body. Four claws burst out of the pink mass and planted firmly on the ground. As the light died down, an identical Lairon stared back at the perplexed creature.

“She is super clever,” Dior said from backstage.

“She seems pretty thick to me,” Milo muttered, making sure Denise was nowhere to be seen.

“Well she’s eliminated all her weaknesses,” Dior pointed out. “Lairon’s steel, rock, or normal attacks won’t be any good.”

“That might be true, but you’re still a massive wanker,” Milo replied.

“Lairon use an iron head!” Lucian shouted. Running along the arena, Lairon grinned as he smashed into the imitating foe. Ditto, in disguise, skidded back, hissing unhappily. Tamara did nothing, seemingly interested in the lighting rig above her.

“Now, water pulse!” Lucian shouted.

“Attack for fucks sake!” Denise hissed backstage.

“Blobby! Use…umm…” Tamara mused. “A rock attack!”

As the Ditto-in-disguise turned to its trainer in confusion, a pulsating orb of water sped through the air and smashed into its hide. Screeching as water dripped among its thick metal plates, the Ditto looked angry and stomped the ground in frustration.

It gave a roar and charged at the foe, the real steel lizard. Tamara took a tentative step back as her Pokemon thrashed around, screeching loudly.

“Ditto can become hard to train,” Dior said, to anyone who would listen. “Having the gift to alter their form, they can often become quite overwhelmed with their own strength. Many refuse to even transform back.”

“Shock wave!” Lucian shouted.

Vibrating softly, Lairon screwed his eyes shut and fired off a burst of sparks. The opponent, enraged but also soaked in water, gave an intense roar to the rafters as sparks coursed through his body. Distracted by the pain, Ditto glowed and fell back into its normal form. It looked worn out, staring at the opponent with worry.

“Iron head!” Lucian commanded. Soaring through the air, Lairon smashed into Ditto and knocked it out. The blob-like Pokemon cried out and melded into a pile. Tamara’s eyes widened.

“BLOBBY!” she screamed.

“Lucian and his Lairon are the winners!” the MC announced. Tamara screamed.

“PLEASE DON’T BAN MY POCKET MONEY! PLEASE!”

“Now, now!” cooed Denise, walking gingerly onto the stage again. She helped her daughter recall the ditto and shed her gaze from the cold stares of the audience. She ushered her daughter off the stage.

“Maybe we should go home,” Denise said tenderly. “How about we buy you an Eevee Tamara?”

“Y-Y-Yes…P-please,” she sniffed.

“There, there,” she said. “Don’t you ask for one, Debbie.”

“Sorry Mummy,” Debbie said.

After a while, the atmosphere backstage began to change. It was filled with a few coordinators who had won their battles and were feeling confident about the impending appeals. Milo sat with Medicham, who looked surprisingly nervous.

“How you feeling?” Milo asked her. She did not even move.

“I really appreciate you doing this,” Milo said. “You’re totally out of your comfort zone…you’re doing that for me. That’s pretty amazing.”

Medicham turned to look at him, and saw a sparkle in his eyes. She rolled hers.

“Now we move onto the third round!” cried the MC. “We have seen some incredible appeals by some truly amazing coordinators today. Some have managed to prove their battle skill in the second round, but now we truly take things up a notch! Juan, tell us more.”

“We as judges are looking for a lot more than we were in the previous round,” he explained. “So standards need to be much higher. Characteristics of the Pokemon and a fluid dynamic are crucial.”

“Thanks Juan,” the MC replied “Okay! So those of you who won your battles, you will be sent back onto the stage to perform your second appeal. Use the same Pokemon if you wish, but beware repeating your last appeal! The top two combined scores from the appeal rounds will go into Round Four for an intense double battle!”

Milo looked across the area. Lucian was rubbing a sparkling polish into his Lairon’s hide. Kylie, who he had beaten in Round Two, was nowhere to be seen. Dior had gone to get a drink, and Jake was still comforting Gina. Milo sighed.

“Please welcome to the stage…Oliver Lewis!” cried the MC. A boy came to the stage with his Pokeball at the ready. He wore a white t-shirt beneath a navy blazer and looked very smart. Hurling it into the air it burst open, sending out his red-eared Delcatty. The lithe cat leapt forward and smiled at the audience. She had a glossy coat and beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

“Sing!”

Delcatty sat in the middle of the arena and let out a sonorous call. A beautiful symphony of soft, delicate tones rang out across the arena and the judges all smiled fondly at the beautiful feline. Milo watched, noticing the sharp contrast from this and Gina’s appeal involving the grim, disturbing war cry. It was very beautiful and, true to the name of the Pokemon, delicate.

“Now use wish!” Oliver ordered. Delcatty sparkled softly. While at first it seemed like a spotlight was on her, once the lights dimmed it could be seen that the Pokemon was creating the glow herself.

“Finish off with heal bell!”

Still glowing, with all eyes upon her sleek form, Delcatty emitted an odd ringing noise. Like a pleasant chime, the sound flowed with the cat song as she glowed softly, sending an angelic aura through the room. Applause rang out as Delcatty winked to the judges. Milo was impressed.

“Oh my god, I want a Delcatty!” Dior announced. “Super cute. They live in Hoenn.”

Milo ignored him, wondering if Medicham might use her telekinetic mojo to hurt him. Unfortunately, she didn’t act on impulse, and continued to watch the stage.

As it was nearly time for him to go up, he walked to the edge of the stage, watching as Oliver received a total score of 82. Thinking that Jake would be upset to miss this handsome coordinator as he left the stage, Milo stayed in the shadows as the next coordinator ran over. He watched the slightly uninteresting appeal with a Staryu as he held Medicham’s Pokeball in his hand.

They had worked on the appeal a bit yesterday…Medicham knew how important it was for him that they did well in this contest. From backstage, Milo could just see DJ Mary watching the Staryu’s water appeal, her expression weary. He wondered where Whitney was today.

*

Meanwhile, on the balcony outside, Jake watched nervously as Gina took a long drag from another cigarette. He winced as she puffed curls of smoke out into the air, watching them filter into the atmosphere.

“Don’t judge me like that,” she said coldly.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Anyway, they help my French accent,” she explained. “It’s a very throaty dialect.”

“Why do you lie about it?” Jake asked. Gina gave a soft laugh, which soon turned to a hacking cough.

“It’s my persona,” she said. “You need a persona. You need to stand out. Nobody wants to listen to Gina Grey from London, her who grew up in a council flat. Her who was taken into care. They want to hear about Gina Gourmante; sultry Parisian beauty who was raised with a silver spoon in her mouth.”

“I saw you in a lot of shows and stuff,” Jake said. “The Goldenpuss Fashion Show, The Olivine Contest…and I thought I’d like nothing more than to meet her and get to know her. But to be honest, I like this Gina more. The real Gina.”

“I left my old life behind, Jack,” said Gina.

“It’s Jake,” he corrected her.

“Right,” she muttered.

“Why leave your old life behind? Embrace it! Who cares if you were taken into foster care?”

“I do,” Gina replied. “I don’t ever want to think about it again. That’s why I became so…avant-garde. I used to sit up, late at night, and think where I’d like to be in life. And I used to see Paris on television. I used to yearn to walk those streets instead of the grimy slabs of London.”

“Have you ever been to Paris?” Jake asked.

“No,” Gina replied.

“You should,” Jake said. “Travel, see the world. See who you’d really like to be.”

“It’s not like I have anything to do now,” Gina muttered. “You ever been?”

“Nope,” Jake mused. “This is the first travelling I’ve sort of ever done.”

“Is that why you follow Milo like a little puppy?” Gina asked, smirking.

“Well he pays for everything,” Jake said. “When I met him in Olivine, he said money wasn’t an issue. That was weird for me.”

“So you’ve hardly known him for very long,” Gina said. “If you started being friendly when I won in Olivine.”

“Nope,” Jake said.

“You love him, don’t you,” Gina mused.

“What?” Jake asked.

“You must! You dote on him all the time, I’ve seen it,” she replied.

“I do not love him,” Jake said hotly. “We’re friends.”

“He’s a good looking guy, successful, bit cocky, loaded. Of course you like him!”

“Do you?” Jake asked.

“I think he’s a slimy little toad,” Gina replied curtly.

“But he’s ‘good-looking’, ‘successful’, ‘cocky’,” Jake moaned. “That’s why I like him, apparently. So you must like him too.”

“I don’t hang out with him,” Gina said, tapping Jake on the nose playfully. “Face it. You want to turn him to the other side.”

“No!” Jake replied.

“Sore spot?” Gina asked. “Sorry I mentioned it.”

“Look,” Jake said. “I do not love Milo. I don’t stay up late at night wishing he was gay. I know his attitude to gay people. He won’t be playing for my team anytime soon. But…even though he has these hang-ups on stuff like that, he’s a good person.”

“No he isn’t,” Gina said. “He’s awful.”

“He has a good in him,” Jake corrected her. “Good that you’ve yet to see.”

“And you’ve seen this?” she asked.

“I see it every day,” Jake replied. “With him and Medicham. This…purity. This understanding between them both. It’s amazing. And I know they’ve been through a lot together, and he can shed away his boorish ways if he tries. It will take time, but I’ve seen the good in Milo.”

“Right,” Gina replied, unconvinced.

“And I’m staying by his side until everyone else can see it,” he said defiantly.

“You’ve got a long journey,” Gina replied lazily, flicking her cigarette from the roof.

“At least I know where I’m going,” Jake responded. Gina bit her lip softly.

[Chris 2.1]

*



“MILO MITCHELSON!” cried the MC.

This was it. Heart hammering against his chest, Milo emerged from backstage.

He felt a warm reception at his appearance and wondered if people liked his appeal with Ruby. Throwing Medicham’s Pokeball out onto the arena, Milo watched the light burst out as she materialised on the middle of the arena.

“Medicham!” Milo cried. “Double team!”

Glowing briefly, Medicham leapt around the arena, creating a slew of clones in her wake. She stood in the centre of the clones, levitating off the ground with her legs crossed.

“Control them with psychic!” Milo ordered. “Fight!”

Medicham rose higher into the air as the clones leapt into action. One bolted into the air, powered by Medicham, and as she pulled it closer to her she swung a karate chop and caused it to burst into white vapour. Landing back to the ground, Medicham turned as a clone came at her again; she rolled out of the way and pounced, punching through it and depleting it.

Using her acute senses, Medicham had a group of clones race at her from all directions.

“Fusion punch!” Milo shouted. Nodding, Medicham held both hands out. One crackled softly; soon sparks were running along her wrist and creeping among her slender fingers. Medicham clenched her fist as the electricity coursed among her left side. On the right, a lingering flame licked her palm and ignited before her. Holding her two hands out, Medicham’s face was illuminated by the flames on one side, and covered by distressed shadows from the sparks.

One clone leapt from the air; another came from the right and a third approached from the left. Fists blazing and crackling, Medicham rose into the air slowly. First she began to spin gradually, using her telekinesis to swirl around, but soon she got faster and faster; embers trailed around her as sparks danced behind. Soon she was engulfed in a cocoon of flames and lightening, which both eliminated any of the oncoming clones. The ribbons of fire spat rogue embers that caused one clone to burst into flames.

“Now focus blast!”

Throwing her fists out and releasing the last of her elemental energy, Medicham used psychic to keep all the clones hustled in place. Hands together, she unleashed a charged beam of white energy that blew apart the rest of the identical clones.

Gasping, she turned to see the audience all on their feet. All the judges applauded, on their feet like the audience, looking impressed at the feat they just witnessed. Medicham, shocked, turned to her trainer as she caught her breath. Eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hair, Milo smiled warmly at his Pokemon. She looked back, empty with shock.

“A fantastic appeal!” Nurse Joy declared, having to shout over the audience. “You employed physical and elemental qualities to show what a truly unique Pokemon you have. 17/20.”

“I loved the puppet master quality,” Greg Goldstein said proudly. “Medicham was controlling the clones with psychic the whole time…which was an impressive feat. Her telekinesis is awe-inspiring. 19/20.”

“I’m not a big fan of aggressive appeals,” Mary said stubbornly. “I prefer appeals such as Oliver’s, showing the peace and grace of a Pokemon instead of its ability to destroy itself.”

Mary was alarmed when a number of people booed her. She looked sheepish, but cleared her throat.

“Nevertheless you showcased Medicham very well. 16/20.”

“MILO!” cried the Chairman. “Exuberant! Ferocious! Daring! Italics! 20/20.”

“Holy shit!” Milo said, beaming at the score. If this guy liked Milo’s appeals, he’d easily learn more about the Reclassification from him. He would surely want to meet the contest Pokemon after the contest. Milo waited for Juan to speak.

“A good appeal,” he said crisply. “You showed precision in the manipulation of the clones, and a destructive element in the elimination of them. Characteristically, you managed to demonstrate Medicham’s unique typing of physical force and mental strength. You are adept at bringing out the best in your Pokemon.”

“Thank you,” Milo replied.

“18/20 is my score,” he announced.

“Milo Mitchelson leaves with a total of 90/100 for Round Two!” the MC cried excitedly. “Milo well done!”

Milo walked backstage, feeling a buzz inside him. Jake ran over and leaped into his arms, hugging him tightly. Milo felt himself gasp his last breath as Jake squeezed him. Medicham, looking cross at Jake, held a hand out and prised Milo off the stylist, only to have Jake hug her just as tightly, grasping her and whispering congratulations in her ear.

“You were one point behind Gina’s appeal!” Jake said. “And she’s already been eliminated!”

Milo smiled broadly. He felt invincible.

“Well done,” came a voice. Milo turned to see if was, but nobody was there. Looking behind him, he saw Dior walk onto the stage, and was surprised he congratulated him.

“Please welcome…Christian Dior!”

“I wonder who else he’ll use?” Milo said.

“Not Bayleef, surely,” Jake said. “Seems like his battler.”

“Yea,” Milo replied.

His elatedness at his appeal score was diminished when Dior released his Pokemon; a Sneasel. The jet black Pokemon raised its sharp claws and hissed at the audience, who watched keenly.

“Avalanche!” Dior ordered. Sneasel nodded and her claws retracted slowly. Her eyes were narrowed and she concentrated hard. For a few brief moments, nothing happened, then Milo began to notice the ground. Moisture in the air around Sneasel was beginning to freeze, causing the ground to crackle as a sheet of ice began covering it. This sub-zero condition spread across the floor, glazing the arena. Sneasel swept her arms up and the ice spread up the walls; the audience gasped as the room they were in gradually got colder.

The lights sparkled across the glassy surface as Sneasel stood firmly.

“Now skate!” Dior cried. Sneasel sped along the icy arena, leaping and changing feet to impress the audience. Sometimes she would leap up and spin, still managing to land with utmost precision. As she sped along, readying for a pirouette, Dior ordered a shadow claw.

Hands flicked out to her sides; Sneasel produced her long, sharp claws and caused them to glow with a feverish purple sheen. Leaping into the air, Sneasel span wildly; her claws produced an energy taking the form of long, bony claws that extended out about three feet each in length. The demonic claws slashed away at any nearby ice and wrapped the dark-type in a blizzard of frosted chips.

“Now use dark pulse!” bellowed Dior. Sneasel throbbed and a pulsating shockwave of fizzing energy burst from her body. It swept through the icy veil and obliterated it; the ice was ripped up from the arena and whipped around Sneasel’s body like a tornado.

Dior clicked his fingers and the appeal ended; ice chips rained down to the ground as Sneasel stood proudly, panting hard. Milo looked impressed at her dark, icy appeal and wondered if he could teach shadow claw to his Totodile. Morty would probably have been able to help…

“While we will need a time-out before the contest continues,” Nurse Joy said. “In order to melt the ice in the arena, your creation of a backdrop for your elemental appeal was very clever. 16/20.”

“Very good,” Greg Goldstein said. “Sneasel is an intriguing Pokemon and I liked the use of shadow claw. 17/20.”

“I really liked it; you were simple in your execution,” Mary declared. “You used the ice well and transforming the arena was clever. 18/20.”

“Ice! Arena! Draughty!” cried the Chairman shrilly. “14/20.”

“It was very impressive the way Sneasel was able to freeze the moisture in the arena,” Juan said. “I must award it a high score. 19/20.”

“Dior leaves the second appeal stage with a score of 84/100!” the MC cried. Sneasel at his side, Dior left the stage sourly.

There was a mild applause from backstage. Milo didn’t bother congratulating him as Dior whispered something to his Sneasel. For around fifteen minutes there was a break, where the staff at the contest hall warmed the arena back up. Dior seemed sheepish that there were lasting repercussions from his appeal, but sipped a drink calmly. Sneasel was sharpening her claws.

“So,” Jake said tentatively. “You think you’ve got into the final round?”

“I hope so,” Milo said. There were not as many coordinators around here, but Lucian and Oscar still hung around. A couple of girls also chatted excitedly, wondering if they would go through. Jake explained Gina was still smoking on the roof.

“Our appeals round has ended!” The MC shouted. “And now, our top two scores from the appeal stages will come together in a fantastic double battle to see who will win the Goldenrod Ribbon!”

The coordinators faces all flashed on screen. Beneath each photo, their total appeal score, out of two hundred, was being calculated. As each number added up, the face would face away, leaving only those whose numbers soared higher and higher.

Milo looked as his face remained. Each second he envisioned it dissolving into the background and facing a loss, despite his hard work. Every pair of eyes was locked onto the screen as Oscar’s face disappeared. Lucian faded away. There were just four left…

“No!” a girl cried, as she failed to make the grade. Milo’s score was being calculated. So was Dior’s. And another coordinator, a girl, clutched her purse eagerly…

Her score added up. 140. Her picture melted away.

“YES!” Milo shouted, leaping from his seat.

“With a combined score of 166/200, Milo goes on to the finals! Battling him is Dior, whose total came to 161/200!” the MC shouted. “Thank you everyone else who competed! Milo, Dior, if you would please make your way to the arena!”

“Good luck!” Jake said excitedly. Milo left Totodile and Ruby with Jake, who released Wingull and Paras as well. He walked calmly onto the stage and saw Dior do likewise, two Pokeballs in his hand. Milo grabbed his two Pokeballs and held them ready.

Standing on opposite ends of the arena, they glared at one another. Milo hated every fibre of Dior’s flamboyant rock-star look, and barely listened to the MC explain the rules. It was a doubles battle, there was an appeal gauge…Milo rolled his eyes as he wondered who Dior would use. He guessed Bayleef, but wasn’t sure about Venonat after seeing it try and fight Totodile a few days ago.

“Are you both ready?” the MC cried. “Fans, are you ready?”

The audience cheered loudly.

“BEGIN THE FINAL BATTLE!”

“Medicham! Scyther!” Milo yelled, throwing the balls into the air. Medicham burst from the capsule and landed softly, getting into a fighting stance. Scyther emerged in mid-air and stared down at Medicham, who nodded at him.

“Bayleef! Sneasel!” Dior rasped, summoning his Pokemon. Bayleef leapt forward eagerly and thudded into the ground. Sneasel, being lighter, landed with more grace, bearing her claws.

“Medicham use a shadow ball! Scyther, guide it with silver wind!” Milo ordered. Medicham held her hands out and charged up the fizzing orb of darkness. As it grew and crackled, Scyther flapped his wings energetically and a silvery glow took over his body.

Medicham launched the ball into the air as Scyther unleashed a brilliant sparkling wave of fine powder. The beautiful gale blew the shadow ball through the air, which struck Bayleef head on. The silver wind also irritated the grass Pokemon somewhat. Sneasel seemed nonplussed.

“Bayleef use razor leaf! Sneasel, blizzard!”

Whipping her long, curled leaf around in a frenzy, Bayleef firmly planted her feet into the ground and sent the barrage of razor-sharp leaves sweeping through the air. Sneasel leapt up and sent a blast of icy crystals towards Milo’s Pokemon. The crystalline wind encased the leaves in ice and made them sparkle beautifully.

“Scyther use agility to dodge them!” Milo ordered. “Medicham, teleport!”

In a blur, Scyther flew into the rafters of the contest hall. Medicham disappeared beneath the icy veil and re-appeared behind Sneasel, punching her and dealing impressive damage. Turning, Sneasel leapt at Medicham, who once again teleported out of the way and dealt a karate chop to the dark Pokemon. Sneasel’s claws sparkled with a dark glow, and she swung a night slash at Medicham’s left leg. The appeal gauge dropped.

“Scyther go for a silver wind! Medicham, evade!” Milo shouted. Scyther flapped his wings powerfully and sent a twisting column of sparkling wind coursing across the battlefield. Medicham, near both Sneasel and Bayleef, teleported out of harm’s way as the attack smashed into Bayleef, sending her flying. Sneasel, however, used an agility to tear along the arena, her claws glowing with a shadow claw attack.

“Psychic!” Milo ordered. Medicham held a hand out to fling Sneasel away, but found it difficult. As a dark type, Sneasel was strong against telekinesis and merely slowed down for a second. In mid-air, she span furiously, the two shadow claws tearing across Medicham’s face. Sneasel then went into a kick, slugging Medicham in the jaw and flipping back to her side of the arena.

“Bayleef! Grab Medicham with vine whip!” Dior ordered. “Sneasel, fire an ice shard at Scyther!”

Medicham staggered slightly. Bayleef whipped out two long, slender vines and they raced through the air at Milo’s star Pokemon. Scyther saw this and sped through the air, trying to protect his comrade. Realising he would not be fast enough, his scythes throbbed with a white tinge. As he flew, he slashed blade after blade of white-hot energy into Bayleef’s body, causing her to scream and retract the vines back into her neck. Medicham looked as Scyther swarmed Bayleef mercilessly.

“Sneasel, take it out! Ice shard!” Dior snapped. Sneasel swung her scythe, sending a frozen chip of ice through the air with speed and precision. Scyther slashed it away and proceeded to slash towards Bayleef. She leapt back, out of the way, narrowly avoiding another chop. Eyes narrowed, the mantis managed to slash her across the neck, causing her to scream in agony and unleash a thick cloud of spores.

“Scyther!” Milo shouted. Scyther gave a hacking cough as he breathed in the spores, staggering back. Medicham got back to her feet and held a finger to her temple, charging energy in the other and tracing the finger across the air. Bayleef gave another high-pitched scream as she was cut across her leg; she stepped back and swung a razor leaf into Scyther, who was still coughing within the stun spore.

“Sneasel hit Scyther with an ice beam!” Dior yelled. Milo had to act fast.

“Silver wind!”

Flapping up a hearty gale, Scyther sent the sparkling wind through the air and used his incredible wind control to sweep Sneasel up and bowl her through the air. Stunned by the popping dust, Sneasel was now open to attack.

“Medicham fire punch!” Milo shouted. Medicham raced along the arena as her fists ignited with scarlet flames. She pounced up at Sneasel, fists blazing, and slugged the weasel in the side with both fists. The ice Pokemon fell from the attack and smashed into the ground. Medicham levitated down softly.

“Scyther use a slash on Bayleef!” Milo ordered. Scyther got up to move, but was stunned. His joints seized up, allowing Bayleef to get out her vines and wrap them around the mantis. His scythes pinned to his sides, Scyther felt drowsy, worsened when Bayleef spat a leech seed into his neck. Milo watched as the seed burrowed in slightly and sent a shockwave through his Pokemon’s body.

“Medicham use focus blast on Sneasel!” Milo said. Medicham nodded and held both hands out, charging up the powerful blast, but Sneasel used a faint attack to disappear from view. Unleashing the attack at Bayleef, Medicham was horrified when Bayleef dragged Scyther into the attack, where he was struck in the torso and unleashed a destructive scream. Sneasel emerged behind Medicham and used a night slash to the back of her knees.

“Medicham!” Milo cried. She collapsed wearily, strength sapped away. Sneasel leapt into the air and threw an ice shard behind her, which connected to Medicham’s skull. The monkey tried getting to her feet, but she was exhausted.

“Bayleef slam Scyther into the ground!” Dior ordered. Bayleef nodded and raised Scyther up before smashing him into the cold, hard floor. Medicham turned to Milo, looking confused. Milo couldn’t believe how good Dior was at combating Milo’s Pokemon.

“Medicham,” Milo said softly. She may be in physical pain but mentally she was as strong as ever. “Use psychic to manipulate Bayleef’s vines.”

Nodding, Medicham concentrated hard. The vines loosened and Scyther flapped back, out of the way. Bayleef watched as her own vines swept along the arena and tripped Sneasel up, causing the weasel to fall over. They then both wiggled before Scyther, who swung a scythe and slashed the tip off Bayleef’s vine. Bayleef screamed louder than ever before; the audience watched in awe as Scyther flapped into the air, looking angry. His strength was then sapped by the leech seed and he dipped somewhat.

“Medicham use a fire punch,” Milo ordered. Medicham held both palms out and fire burst into life; Medicham stared at the flames longingly as they burned bright. “Then use a psychic attack. Surround yourself with the flames.”

Medicham got into a sitting position and her hands were held at either side. As her eyes glowed, the flames whipped around her, forming a small shell of sweeping fire. Milo knew that heat could cauterise wounds, and in her safe haven, Medicham intensified the heat to heal her cuts and wounds. In this state, neither Bayleef or Sneasel wished to go near. Scyther coughed slightly.

Milo’s eyes scanned the appeal gauge. Dior was winning; his mastery at knocking Medicham and Scyther down seemed to be working in his favour.

“Split up!” Milo told Scyther, who flew erratically on command. At each jagged turn a clone would burst from his body, until there were eight Scyther flying in the air. He needed to bide his time, and not rush into anything, because once Medicham was feeling a bit better, he could focus on really taking Dior down.

“Bayleef, fire a razor leaf at the clones!” Dior ordered. Bayleef nodded and swung her leaf wildly. Streams of sharp leaves flew through the air, but the Scyther’s dodged them with aerial precision. Deciding to use his technique from against Kylie, Milo combined swords dance with double team and watched as the clones clashed their swords together, span around and danced in mid-air. The judges looked impressed.

“Medicham!” Milo shouted. The flaming shell rose off the ground, a few feet in front of the real Scyther. The clones all swarmed Bayleef and Sneasel as they glowed silver. “Use psychic to anchor yourself mid-air. Scyther, fire a silver wind and blow the flames down on the enemy!”

Medicham applied intense psychic power to root herself in mid-air. Scyther flapped his wings and spread his scythes; a fantastic burst of silver wind blasted out and looked to hit Medicham. But focusing hard, she stayed bobbing among the wind, and the attack instead blasted through her, gathering the flames encasing her and sending them raining upon Bayleef and Sneasel. The scarlet and gold flames were now flecked with silver dust as they were whipped across Dior’s side of the arena. Sneasel held her claws to her face and Bayleef tucked her neck in as embers burst and banged down at them.

“What a marvellous strategy!” The Chairman roared. “Come on, Milo!”

Milo smiled as Medicham landed, still sparkling after the silver wind passed through her. Bayleef swung her neck around erratically to dispel flames and Sneasel cowered in the corner. As Scyther landed, Medicham used telekinesis to remove the leech seed and crush it. Scyther nodded understandingly at Medicham.

“Sneasel use swift!” Dior roared. Sneasel sprayed the stars through the air; They grew and grew, spinning wildly, but Medicham smirked. Holding her hands out, she slowed the stars down with her mind and, as she had done against Mia’s Ninetales and many other Pokemon, dragged the stars towards her and encased them around her fist.

“Star Punch!” Milo yelled. Medicham leapt up and swung her fist into Sneasel, battering her in the jaw. She staggered back as the swift stars burst into bright light. Retaliating with a shadow claw, she created the long, spindly claws of dark, evil energy to engulf her paws and raced towards Medicham.

“Teleport left and right!” Milo shouted. Medicham popped to the left, and right, and left again, confusing Sneasel. She then disappeared to the other side of the arena, and Scyther swept down to attack Sneasel with an X-Scissor attack from behind. Turning, Sneasel fired an ice beam to strike Scyther in the torso. He cried out as ice crystals formed across his chest, allowing Sneasel to use an ice punch to his jaw.

“Bayleef use bullet seed!” Dior commanded. Bayleef opened wide and blasted thin exploding bullets that peppered the ground like gunfire. Medicham swung a psycho cut through the air but it missed; Medicham found the weak but persistent grass attacks very irritating.

Milo turned to see Scyther screaming out in agony. Another ice beam struck him in the chest and he was now weighed down with ice. Sneasel swept a kick in and knocked him from his feet. Scyther thudded to the ground.

“Medicham help Scyther out!” Milo shouted. “Fire punch!”

Medicham summoned two fistfuls of fire. They danced on her flat palm and, upon Milo’s request, Medicham opened her fingers and clenched softly, forming two fireballs in each hand. Using her psychic abilities to shape them somewhat, she hurled both balls up above Scyther. In a sudden movement, she used telekinesis to send them spinning around the mantis Pokemon, where they melded together like a huge flaming tyre. The ice began to melt, slowly.

“Sneasel! Hit Medicham with a dark pulse!” Dior commanded. “Bayleef! Synthesis!”

Bayleef nodded and throbbed softly as her leaves sparkled with energy. Sneasel launched a fizzling, pulsating beam of energy through the air that Medicham failed to evade; it struck her in the side and she was hurtled to the ground. She got up and swiped her finger, causing Sneasel to trip, and then levitated off the ground and flew right for Bayleef.

“Fire punch!” Milo shouted. Flames raced behind Medicham in ribbons as she soared along like Superwoman. She slugged the docile Bayleef in the side once, then a second time, before using a telekinetic blast to hurl the dinosaur at Sneasel. Dashing out the way, Sneasel looked for an escape.

“Get up Scyther!” Milo shouted. Scyther swung his scythes and Sneasel met them with her own; the weapons clashed as the little weasel stared at Milo’s green mantis. Scyther span and launched his scythes a second time, but Sneasel flipped back and launched an ice shard to strike at Scyther’s skull. Spinning wildly, Scyther sent a twisting silver wind to sweep Sneasel up and into the air.

“Focus blast!” Milo yelled. Medicham leapt up and blasted the impressive, white-hot blast that struck Sneasel as she flew back. The silver wind was blown away and a massive silver explosion filled the arena as Sneasel was catapulted into the wall. Dior’s appeal gauge dropped severely.

“Sneasel!” he snapped. “Ice beam!”

“Psychic!” Milo roared. Time was ticking away…he was in the lead…

Medicham used her telekinesis to redirect the bolt of ice, sending it towards Bayleef instead. She leapt out of the way and used her razor leaf attack to bombard Medicham. Instead, Scyther raced in front of the psychic Pokemon, using his appendages to slash away any oncoming leaves. Medicham watched, shocked, as her ally once again put himself in the firing line. Scyther fought against the onslaught of leaves and an opportunity presented itself.

“Medicham stun Sneasel with a shadow ball!” Milo yelled. Medicham leapt up and hurled the ominous orb right at Sneasel, who flicked her claws out and slashed it apart right away. Bursting before her eyes were the melding colours of purple, black and royal blue; they caused a thick veil to obscure her vision somewhat as the remnants of the attack floated in the air.

Blinking, Sneasel swiped her claws to try and clear the air. A bright light emerged through the fog. Sneasel saw all-too-late what it was, as Medicham raced forward and threw a focus punch to Sneasel’s jaw. Struck, she soared back and rolled across the arena, exhausted. Medicham was panting heavily as Scyther battled Bayleef’s razor-sharp onslaught.

“TIME!” cried the MC. Bayleef stopped firing the attacks and Scyther flapped back. Milo and Dior’s eyes darted to the screen - with Sneasel knocked out, Dior lost 50% of his current appeal gauge, leaving Milo as the winner. His face showed up on screen with pictures of Medicham, Scyther and Ruby, sending a big grin right across his face.

“Milo is the winner!” the MC announced.

“HOLY SHIT!” Milo gasped, his knees buckling. Medicham turned to see him, and was about to walk over when Scyther flapped across and helped his trainer up. Milo looked at Scyther, who was very bruised and weak, and smiled as Scyther took his weight.

“We won…” he whispered. Medicham walked over as confetti burst from the ceiling. Dior stroked his Bayleef, whose skin was scorched from the fire attacks as Sneasel lay unconscious. With no warning, Totodile scampered onto the stage, where Milo scooped him right up and gave him a quick squeeze. He was shooting darts of water into the air happily. Jake, Ruby, Paras and Wingull all came from backstage, grabbing Milo, hugging Milo and generally congratulating him as Dior sulked off.

“That was amazing!” Jake cried.

“You guys were…” Milo began, before becoming overwhelmed by everything. Medicham smirked; in her heart, he knew exactly what he was trying to say.

*

“He did really well,” Gina mused. She sat with Jake on the edge of the stage, an hour or so after the contest had finished. After a brief radio interview with an irate Mary, Milo had gone to ring home and Jake wanted to catch up with Gina before they parted ways.

“Yea, he handled Medicham and Scyther really well,” Jake said.

“I’m sorry to hear about your Pichu,” Gina said. “I really am, Jack.”

“Jake.”

“Right. Jake.”

“Thanks,” Jake replied. “I’m hoping I’ll be reunited with him one day.”

“Maybe I’ll see Seel again,” Gina said. “Stranger things have happened.”

“Are you sure you won’t come with us?” Jake asked. “We could find out about this company…and try and get them both back…”

“You’re very sweet,” Gina replied sagely. “But…I just don’t have the hope you do, I’ve made peace with my loss. Whoever was behind it has been doing this too long to get caught - you and I can’t just team up and ransack some big building Jake. There’s no time for heroes.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Jake sniffed.

“You’ll be the same in a few years,” Gina muttered.

“So where are you next competing?” Jake asked.

“Who knows,” she replied. “I need money, since I’m unemployed.”

“Ha. Yea…” Jake said. “That sucks.”

“Value everything you have right now,” she warned him. “You might wake up and have nothing left.”

“I’ll remember that,” Jake replied, giving Gina a kiss on the cheek. “I have to go meet Milo out front.”

He leapt off the stage and walked through the building. Set people were dismantling the stage and clearing the confetti up, and everyone else had gone. Jake was so happy for Milo, and imagined that they would either head south to Azalea Town, or head back north and then go to Violet City. Both had contests, but Jake suspected Milo might not like Azalea Town’s peacefulness.

He walked out the front doors of the big contest hall and turned both ways. Milo was going to meet him here, and Jake was already late. Where was he?

“Milo?” Jake asked, getting out his phone. He dialled Milo’s number and pressed the phone tightly to his ear. He checked around the back of the building - no sign. The phone rang and rang, Jake worrying by the minute. It clicked.

“Hello?” came a voice.

“Milo!” Jake said. “I’m outside.”

“Jake,” he said hurriedly. “Jake!”

“What?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m at *ad&s chhhhOM*a*y.”

“What?”

“D**'s got me,” came the distorted, crunching noise.

“I can’t hear you!” Jake shouted, running across the street to get signal. “Milo!”

The signal died. Jake looked around worriedly in the early evening of Goldenrod City as panic set in. Where was his friend? Was he going to be okay? Jake paced around fearfully as a Magnemite swooped overhead.




Next Chapter - As if you didn't guess, Milo has been pulled in by his father, prestigious businessman Michael Mitchelson. On the way to meet his father, however, a figure from Milo's past sends the boy on a heart-wrenching battle for his life as each and every skeleton falls from his closet. But what will his father say? Meanwhile, as Jake assists reporter Jonty Ink, Jasmine takes on a dangerous mission to earn the trust of her enemy.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Very nice contest, also very nice battles. I loved how Dior really knows his stuff.

Medicham's psychic manipulation of lots of attacks was a bit over the top for me, though. A tad to much 'uberness' from her. I do however know that she was his first and best pokemon so she can be powerful, just don't overdo it.

The teamwork you wrote between Medicham and Scyther was very nice and appealing. Scyther really is a cool character, I hope to see more of him. Very noble.

Dior's bayleef is by far my favourite pokemon from this chapter. Cool beans.

The talk between Gina and Jake was also inspiring, especially since Gina was sounding very realistic and hopeless. I hope she drops the french act now and becomes a real star. What shall happen to her?

It was very tight battle and you wrote quite entertaining. Although I suspected Milo to win the contest, I did not suspect him to be kidnapped by his father. Finally, the big ol' daddy is here.

This next chapter is really looking promising. Honestly, I'm on the tip of my seat.

Keep up the good work, dude!

[Sike Saner]

I really enjoyed the scenes involving Jake and Gina; I like the way they interact. I also liked seeing Gina fleshed out even more as a character, furthermore.

I thought Medicham's appeal was great. Not only was it really cool but also nice and creative. And that was some pretty darned impressive control of those double team-generated copies on Medicham's part, too. Very cool.

Nice hook of an ending to that chapter. o.o I really like it when a chapter's ending gets me all the more interested to read the next one. ^^

Oh, and I was very amused by Tamara's apparent notions of what constitutes a bird. XD

Other highlights and et cetera:

“Hi Gina!” came a squeak.

“Shit!” Gina cried, turning around and dropping her phone.

“Shit!” Jake shouted, upon hearing Gina’s voice.

“Dave!” Gina said, bending down as her phone shattered. “NO!”

“You’re not French!” Jake yelled.

“I KNOW!” Gina shouted, turning around.

I thought that exchange was hilarious. XDDDD

“Yes, well yes,” Denise stammered. “The judges changed their score during the break. I had a word with them.”

I imagine that's far from the first time that she's done such a thing, furthermore...

“If it’s a bird Pokemon, use rock attacks,” she hissed.

“Bird like a Banette?” the girl asked.

...That caused me to picture a banette with a rubber beak strapped to its face. XD

“Lairon go for metal claw!” cried Lucian. Racing across the arena at a surprising speed, Lairon gave off a rattling, metallic sound. Milo was reminded of a suit of armour coming to life as Lairon hissed

I'm really liking how the lairon's described there, especially the likening of it to living armor. I thought that was cool.

“Well she’s eliminated all her weaknesses,” Dior pointed out. “Lairon’s steel, rock, or normal attacks won’t be any good.”

“That might be true, but you’re still a massive wanker,” Milo replied.

Epic reply. X3

Ditto, in disguise, skidded back, hissing unhappily.

I found that kind of adorable in an odd way.

“Attack for fucks sake!” Denise hissed backstage.

“Blobby! Use…umm…” Tamara mused. “A rock attack!”

...And that caused me to imagine the rubber beak strapped to a lairon's face. XD

Medicham turned to look at him, and saw a sparkle in his eyes. She rolled hers.

XD

“You’ve got a long journey,” Gina replied lazily, flicking her cigarette from the roof.

“At least I know where I’m going,” Jake responded. Gina bit her lip softly.

I liked this bit of dialogue a lot, especially Jake's line there. ^^

“Medicham!” Milo cried. “Double team!”

Glowing briefly, Medicham leapt around the arena, creating a slew of clones in her wake. She stood in the centre of the clones, levitating off the ground with her legs crossed.

“Control them with psychic!” Milo ordered. “Fight!”

Medicham rose higher into the air as the clones leapt into action. One bolted into the air, powered by Medicham, and as she pulled it closer to her she swung a karate chop and caused it to burst into white vapour. Landing back to the ground, Medicham turned as a clone came at her again; she rolled out of the way and pounced, punching through it and depleting it.

Again, this was a great, creative idea for an appeal, I thought. ^^

“Fusion punch!” Milo shouted. Nodding, Medicham held both hands out. One crackled softly; soon sparks were running along her wrist and creeping among her slender fingers. Medicham clenched her fist as the electricity coursed among her left side. On the right, a lingering flame licked her palm and ignited before her. Holding her two hands out, Medicham’s face was illuminated by the flames on one side, and covered by distressed shadows from the sparks.

Cool technique. ^^

“I’m not a big fan of aggressive appeals,” Mary said stubbornly. “I prefer appeals such as Oliver’s, showing the peace and grace of a Pokemon instead of its ability to destroy itself.”

Mary was alarmed when a number of people booed her. She looked sheepish, but cleared her throat.

“Nevertheless you showcased Medicham very well. 16/20.”

Her score certainly surprised me. o.o I wonder if she had planned to give him a lower score but decided against it due to the crowd's reaction to her comments there.

“MILO!” cried the Chairman. “Exuberant! Ferocious! Daring! Italics! 20/20.”

I couldn't help but laugh at that. XD I found his screaming "MILO!" there at the beginning pretty funny, too. X3

Hands flicked out to her sides; Sneasel produced her long, sharp claws and caused them to glow with a feverish purple sheen. Leaping into the air, Sneasel span wildly; her claws produced an energy taking the form of long, bony claws that extended out about three feet each in length. The demonic claws slashed away at any nearby ice and wrapped the dark-type in a blizzard of frosted chips.

I like this depiction of shadow claw a lot. ^^

“Ice! Arena! Draughty!” cried the Chairman shrilly. “14/20.”

He amuses me so very much. XD

Holding her hands out, she slowed the stars down with her mind and, as she had done against Mia’s Ninetales and many other Pokemon, dragged the stars towards her and encased them around her fist.

“Star Punch!” Milo yelled. Medicham leapt up and swung her fist into Sneasel, battering her in the jaw. She staggered back as the swift stars burst into bright light.

Another cool technique. ^^

“Medicham help Scyther out!” Milo shouted. “Fire punch!”

Medicham summoned two fistfuls of fire. They danced on her flat palm and, upon Milo’s request, Medicham opened her fingers and clenched softly, forming two fireballs in each hand. Using her psychic abilities to shape them somewhat, she hurled both balls up above Scyther. In a sudden movement, she used telekinesis to send them spinning around the mantis Pokemon, where they melded together like a huge flaming tyre. The ice began to melt, slowly.

An interesting use of fire punch there. ^^

Medicham leapt up and hurled the ominous orb right at Sneasel, who flicked her claws out and slashed it apart right away. Bursting before her eyes were the melding colours of purple, black and royal blue; they caused a thick veil to obscure her vision somewhat as the remnants of the attack floated in the air.

I rather liked that choice of words. ^^

“You guys were…” Milo began, before becoming overwhelmed by everything. Medicham smirked; in her heart, he knew exactly what he was trying to say.

The way he fell speechless there did a really nice job of conveying how he felt in that moment, I thought. ^^

“I’m at *ad&s chhhhOM*a*y.”

“What?”

“D**'s got me,” came the distorted, crunching noise.

I liked the way you depicted the phone signal being screwed up there.

[Chris 2.1]

MLG: Thanks for letting me know about the sort of uuberness in Medicham's telekinesis. I agree it can get stale and over the top so I will try and lessen the extent of her invincibility. On that note, Medicham does do battle with another psychic Pokemon next chapter, where her limits are intricately explored.

And due to Milo's past with Chuck, she does know loads of fighting attacks. But Chuck has deemed Milo lazy for relying too much on his Pokemon's psychic type and not her fighting (Ch1).

From your anticipation I do hope you enjoy Chapter 14. It's quite....action-packed. Scyther has become this sort of protective, loyal Pokemon; I envisioned him to be middle-aged, very capable. Dior will also return somewhere.

See you next chapter...


Sike: I'm glad you like the depth exploring Gina. I always wanted her to be one of the more fleshed out characters; hence her introduction so early into the fic. She's a bit like a girl version of Milo and I think finally getting the boot from her Agent will send her down a more organic route.

Thanks for the feedback - i think I will have to bring Denise, Tamara and Debbie back at some point! The scene with Jake and Gina was kinda touching. Jake has this awesome quality of bringing out the best in people, and he's definitely bonded with the beautiful model.



So guys...the Silver Pencil results were in, and we won five awards!

Best Pokemon Fic
Best Chapter [Default]
Best Quote
Best Character
Character Most Deserving of an Ass-Whooping

Thank you so much to anyone who reads, votes, nominated or has generally supported me since I began the fic in January. You have all been fantastic and I love getting feedback about any of my work.

In fic-related news, next chapter is pretty action-packed. Jake plays detective with Jonty Ink as they search the streets for a stolen Pokemon. Jasmine undertakes a risky assignment for the crime syndicate, and Milo has a heated confrontation with his father with huge consequences.

Current teams, in case you forgot:

Milo:
Jake:

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Wow, didn't expect that. Good going Milo. Dropped the money, send Arcanine back, now the real story begins

Good thing to hear something about his father and William, but I'm still waiting on that big revelation. Hurr hurr, I'm impatient.

It would've been cool to see Milo in his own gym, but yeah, kinda figured that wouldn't be the case

To much hung over to say much more, sorry.

[PancaKe]

I enjoyd these last few chapters. I usually don't like reading about battles but I really enjoyed reading these ones

I felt that the scenes with Milo and his dad were a bit forced though. Especially the phone call. I can understand Milos fury and stuff but I still felt it was a bit forced.

So Jake does like Milo then? ^___^
And Milo is now in the process of running away and earning money another way. It'll be interesting to see where this goes! ^___^

[Chris 2.1]

MLG: Glad you liked the chapter. We're definitely entering a new arc in the fic; how will Milo cope on the road with no money? It's a shame to see Ruby leave the team, but she will make appearences throughout the fic. Milo fills her space on the team quite quickly.


Pancake: Hey stranger! The fight on the bridge was intense; there's definitely a few reprecussions from it, as you'll see. Sorry about the forced-ness...I'll work on it! Milo's dad is still a prominent character in the future chapters.

And it sounds like Jake does like Milo...but what would Milo say?



The next couple chapters are looking good, with Milo and Jake on the road to Azalea Town. It's good character development for the two, I hope you like the next few chapters. Ch15 will be up soon.

(I just wanted a bit more feedback from some of my readers to be honest!)

[PancaKe]

I'll try give you more feedback next time Chris! I'll be honest, I find it hard to give good feedback especially on errors in spelling and grammar; so I'll just try give you a detailed list of what i liked and didnt like etc....

[Chris 2.1]

Thats the best kind of feedback! Telling me about character interactions, or scenes that you enjoyed. How you find the story to be developing. I just haven't heard from a few readers in a while....


and oh boy, are the next few chapters amazing or what :p

[PancaKe]

I'm afraid I wouldn't know....

[Chris 2.1]

Previously
-Milo won the Goldenrod Contest
-Milo was taken to meet his father.
-Jake attempted to help investigate the thefts
-Reporter Jonty Ink met an untimely end after poking his nose where it wasn't needed.
-Milo's was offered a Gym Leader position by his father, but refused.
-He fled the city with Jake.

Show-Off
-XV-
Long Island Iced Tea

There were no clouds in the dreamy blue sky, so vast and expansive. A wind picked up and rustled the thick, tall grass around the hilltop; the dark green blades danced elegantly. A small monkey plucked a juicy berry from the ground and held it inquisitively. Between her thin fingers she squeezed the berry, letting the juices seep out the top. She then gobbled it up.

Looking around the plains, she concentrated hard and focused her eyes ahead. A clump of grass was uprooted, flying into the air and sending dirt raining down. The monkey looked at her thin, white hands curiously. From her big ears she could hear something in the distance, and inquisitively wandered on through the thick grass to see what it was.

She seemed happy as she ran clumsily through the grass. It was a very quiet, spacious place, and she enjoyed living here with her family, but it was good to feel the wind whistling past as she got faster and faster. Soon, she heard voices. Sensed them. Closing her eyes, the little Meditite focused hard, and could feel the presence of something nearby.

Take a step back, she thought to herself.

In an instant there was a long, sad moan; Meditite looked to see a Vulpix leap through the air and tackle her to the ground. She hit the rough ground hard, wincing slightly but getting up to assess the situation. The Vulpix stood readily, its beautiful eyes locked onto Meditite. She screwed her eyes and focused hard, sending a psychic attack to Vulpix’s head. Looking irritated, perhaps suffering a headache from the pain, Vulpix staggered slightly. Meditite rolled out of the way, looking around the plains intently.

“Ember!” came a girlish cry. Meditite looked as raining showers of white-hot embers flew through the air. She nimbly leapt up and rolled out of the way. Sensing more danger, she concentrated hard, and managed to teleport a foot away from where she previously stood, watching in awe as her previous spot was struck by fire. Meditite could see a young girl in a pink polo shirt commanding the Vulpix. She had sleek, caramel hair and wore a short denim skirt. Vulpix blasted more and more embers around, trying to trap Meditite. Trying to teleport, Meditite found herself feeling overwhelmingly stressed, and failed to get anywhere at all.

“Good going Vulpix!” the girl said. “Now go for quick attack to stun it!”

Meditite looked as Vulpix raced through the air, tackling into her a second time. As she fell to the ground, she swung her hand in a karate chop and hit Vulpix in the throat; the fox gave an exasperated cough and gasped for air momentarily, allowing Meditite to swing a kick into the Pokemon’s rib cage.

“William it’s not working!” came a shrill cry from the girl. “WILL!”

“I‘m right here, Mia,” came a deeper voice. Meditite looked to see a boy a few years older than the girl walk over to see what the problem was. He had very short, black hair, with a firm jaw line and had a blue button-down shirt on. He looked slightly exhausted at the girl.

“It’s kicking and punching Vulpix,” Mia stammered. “Vulpix! Breathe fire!”

Vulpix blasted a stream of flames from her mouth and struck Meditite, who fell backwards and collapsed on the ground. Staring into the peaceful sky, Meditite felt a stinging pain in her chest; it felt hot and prickly, and she didn’t care for getting up right now. She still sensed the voices around her, but was more concerned with the deep heat she felt in her chest. It was so hot, so searing strong…

Meditite looked up to see that, in actuality, the fire that Vulpix blasted out was burning the thick, dry grass around her. Leaping up in panic, Meditite saw flames lick high and roar powerfully as they spread. The Vulpix was barely distinguishable, her ochre-coloured fur blending her in among the flames.

“Will!” the girl cried.

“Fuck!” the boy shouted. “Mia!”

“The fire got out of hand!” she protested, as if it were perhaps the fire’s fault. Meditite saw the very earth around her get hotter and hotter, tendrils of smoke curling through the bare plain.

“I need to get Neptune,” William said, reaching for a Pokeball. As he did so, he collapsed to the ground, an intense headache overwhelming him. Mia looked to see a Medicham leap across the plains in teleporting bursts; she swung a punch and socked Vulpix in the jaw. Vulpix snarled and flames curled around her jaw.

“Stop using Vulpix,” William said urgently. “The fire is spreading!”

Medicham turned to the fire, engulfing the Meditite within. Tears filled her eyes as her daughter stared back in fear; apprehension on her face as the fire grazed her skin, burning hot, burning bright…

Mia recalled Vulpix and stood behind her brother, watching stupidly. William got a Pokeball out, but the Medicham attacked him with another mental assault. The pain overwhelming him, William collapsed to the ground, the Pokeball rolling idly along. Medicham turned to the fire and looked for a way to teleport into the area her daughter was, but the monkeys sharp, distressed cries told her it was useless. Medicham’s eyes filled with tears as her daughter screamed; flames were now engulfing her torso, hissing as they flickered along her beautiful face. It was too much.

Medicham turned at the two humans, hands held out at her sides. She leapt towards the girl, angered, and swung her fist into the girl’s face. She screamed in pain as blood spilled from her lip; the girl collapsed and cried hysterically, Medicham ready to take another punch.

“Hey!” the boy shouted. Medicham turned to him. “Get off her.”

Jumping up, Medicham punched the boy; he fell down easily, but did not make a noise. Medicham punched him a second time, and then a third; his face swung left and right as he took the ferocious attacks. The girl was crying as she saw the flames completely engulf the little Meditite, noticing for the first time that the sky was no longer pierced by its cries. It was silent.

This lingering silence unsettled Medicham, who leapt up and got off the boy. He looked at her, wiping blood on his sleeve and staring at her solemnly.

But it began again. No sooner had William got to his feet than he was punched in the gut; perhaps due to a psychic amplification, William flew through the air a few feet and rolled along the dusty earth.

“Kazaar,” William croaked, feeling for a Pokeball on his belt. Medicham sneered and held her hand out, inflicting another headache at William. He clenched his teeth and screwed his eyes shut as Medicham stared maliciously.

All of a sudden, she felt powerless. Her hand drooped to her side and William rose to his feet, no longer hurt. Medicham saw a golden coloured warrior at her side; where he came from, she did not know. He had a thick, bushy moustache and bronze plates over his frail looking body. William nodded to the creature.

Every innate function seemed dimmed. Medicham looked as the creature held his hand out, and felt suppressed, deflated. She collapsed to her knees, tears still soaking her eyes, as the flames behind her cast a sinister heat upon her back. An evil warmth.

“I’m going to keep an eye on her,” the boy said. Medicham was aware that she could hear their conversation, but she was not with them any longer. The fiery plains had gone; she was somewhere else. Somewhere safe.

“You have a psychic Pokemon already!” the girl cried. Medicham felt a bubbling loathing in her stomach.

“This Pokemon has lost her daughter,” the boy replied. “I don’t know what that feels like, but it would be the end of my world if you or Milo ever died.”

“She’s all crazy and attacking!” came the girl’s voice.

“She needs to grieve. I will let her do that,” William replied calmly. “Who knows, she might end up liking me.”

Medicham rolled her eyes. She doubted that very much.

*

There was always the sound of manic clicking, reeling and cheering in The Lucky Carp Casino. Luxurious and decadent, with scarlet and gold furnishings, it was the number one hotspot for the best cocktails, the beautiful people, and the huge amounts of money to be won there. On a balcony overlooking the main floor space, two bouncers stood.

“Frank,” the throatier man said. “You ever think about life outside the casino?”

“That’s crazy talk,” Frank muttered. “Crazy. You can’t just go home after this sorta job. Stays in your head. Taps into the psyche. Employs the senses.”

“Erm…yea, exactly,” the other said.

“The wife’s sayin’ I’m not paying her enough attention,” Frank continued, clicking his tongue. “I mean. Tsch. Come on…she knows I’m good for it. I said to her, I said, if you worked in the casino, everything would be peachy.”

“That’d be really peachy,” the other man agreed.

“Right? But no. I’m obsessed, apparently,” Frank muttered. “What is it with women, Brian?”

“Eh, I never really got it myself,” Brian said, almost triumphant.

“Different planet, I swear,” Frank sighed, staring out across the casino. “We’re from Earth…and they’re from…Crazy…Weird Planet.”

“I hate that place,” Brian said.

“Frank?” came a voice. The pretty lady on the main desk, Sara, spoke down the radio to the burly security man. “Can you go and check the slot machines? We’ve reason to believe someone is manipulating them. Cheating.”

“I’m on it Sara,” Frank replied.

“I’ll keep watch,” Brian said to his co-worker.

“You do that,” said Frank. “And by the way. How sexy is Sara? I’d leave my wife for her…leave my problems behind, too. She works here.”

“She can also still hear you,” came Sara’s voice from the radio.

“HA!” Brian smirked.

“And if you can find whose tricking the machines, you can take me out for drinks tonight,” Sara called. “I won’t tell your wife if you don’t.”

Frank looked at Brian greedily, who gave the thumbs up. Frank had the energy to leap down the stairs two at a time, eager to sneak off with Sara that night. Brian, meanwhile, watched his friend go with intrigue, eyes resting at Frank’s trousers encasing his sculpted rear. His eyebrows raised with intrigue.

“Who needs women,” he mused.

Frank, meanwhile, was down on the main floor. Stepping to the side, he let a man past with a tray of expensive, colourful cocktails for the roulette table. A gaggle of beautiful women were betting some money, screaming excitedly when one of them won.

“Excuse me sir,” Frank said, approaching one of the slot machines.

“What?” snapped the boy, perched on his stool.

“What is your name?” Frank asked.

“Milo Mitchelson,” he replied.

“Membership?”

Milo flashed the gold and red membership card and Frank nodded.

“There have been complaints of cheating in the casino,” Frank said. “Have you noticed anything suspicious?”

“No, not once,” Milo said.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Frank said.

“Thank you for ruining my good streak,” Milo snapped. The machine he sat at crackled. Frank eyed it suspiciously - had he seen a spark of lightning? Eyes darting around the room, Milo cleared his throat loudly.

“That light above me keeps flashing on and off,” Milo said awkwardly. “M-Maybe you should fix it.”

“The light,” Frank said. “Yes, yes. We’ll do that.”

“If I develop epilepsy, I’m suing,” Milo grumbled.

“I’ll…let you get your game back,” the bouncer said, turning and walking on through the crowd. Milo watched him go, waiting until his murmurs into the radio died on the air. Once Frank turned to an aisle of machines and investigated further, Milo gave the machine a light kick.

There was a buzzing noise followed by a web of sparks. The slot machine vibrated softly and coins burst from within; they clattered into the tray and Milo’s eyes lit up happily. Appearing at his side, Medicham waved her hands as a cluster of large cardboard cups rose into the air. She twinkled her fingers; coins floated into the cups and rested on a nearby table. The coins kept on flowing; a river of silver and bronze.

“You can come out now,” Milo said smoothly. A rattling in the slot machine caused a Magnemite to fall in the coin tray. It looked at Milo blearily; a Pokemon he had captured two days ago beneath the Magnet Train. Milo recalled the magnet and, with Medicham, went to cash his prizes in.

It had been a week since he fled Goldenrod City, but in truth, Milo and Jake had not got far. Spending some of Jake’s savings on a large tent, the two boys pitched up in a nice wooded area just outside the city, on the other side of a wide creek. Scyther and Paras were guarding the tent during the day to stop anything being stolen, while Jake worked in the city and Milo sat in the casino.

After failing to win any money at the casino, and with a burning competitive streak, Milo caught the Magnemite as it fed on the strong electricity of the rail lines. It was an excitable Pokemon, with weak but accurate attacks. Milo had not battled with it a great deal, as it was merely useful when applying its magnetism to unhinge the rods within the slot machines.

Milo passed the prize counter on his way out of the casino and, after cashing in his tokens, had an ingenious idea.

*

Meanwhile, in the sunny streets of Goldenrod, Jake rode on his bike. After failing to get any styling work in the snooty city, Jake had got a job at the new bike store, advertising by riding a bike through the streets. He towed a small trailer with a triangular signboard advertising the shop, on Silver Street. It was easy work, good exercise, fresh air…Jake enjoyed it thoroughly. Wingull flew high in the sky as Jake rode through town, looking forward to a relaxing night at the camp.

After a twenty minute cycle, Jake carried on south through the city, noticing the flash buildings and bright lights faded into a grimy outer-circle of dishevelled streets and old buildings. He bit his lip and pedalled slightly faster, and it wasn’t long before he was out of Goldenrod City completely. He saw the welcoming sign as he passed:

‘Goldenrod City - The Festive City of Opulent Charm!’

He laughed quietly. Things were far from opulent.

Leaving the city, he biked through a sparse countryside, keeping his eyes on the creek to his right. It was important to time everything perfectly. Building up speed, Jake pulled away from the bank slightly, his finger trembling over the bell…

With two sharp rings, Jake made his presence known. He turned sharply, bolting towards the bank, but felt a force grab and guide him as he soared over the width of the creek. Jake’s arms left the handles of the bike as he slowed down and hit the bank on the other side, turning and shooting around the corner.

Here he rolled slowly into the camp area. Milo was constructing a fire a few metres from the bright tent; Medicham waved at Jake, having used her psychic to hoist him over the creek. It was a fantastic way to deter any predators in the area, wild Pokemon or thieves.

“Afternoon,” Jake said, getting off his bike.

“How’s it going?” Milo said, wishing Ruby was still on the team to help start the fire. He had sent her back to Meredith, ready to move away from a comfort zone his parents had seemingly paid for. Meredith was happy to have her Pokemon back and seemed so overcome with joy she did not notice her son’s unhappy, shabby state.

“Good, yea,” Jake said.

“Good day at work?” Milo asked.

“Well all I do is bike, every day, so yea, it was good,” Jake said. “You get anywhere with finding a job?”

“Nope,” Milo said gleefully.

“This is hardly fair,” Jake said. “I’m biking for about eight hours a day, and you’re doing…what, exactly?”

“Winning big time at the casino,” Milo said. “£350 today!”

“Seriously?” Jake said, looking impressed. He noticed the Magnemite buzzing around the clearing happily and frowned. “Did Magnemite help?”

“Course he did,” Milo smirked. He beckoned the little unit over and, getting a cloth out, began polishing its silver coat. It caused a static charge to build up all around the Magnemite, causing it to vibrate with excitement.

“Milo, if you get caught…” Jake said worryingly. Wingull flew to Totodile, the two fast becoming friends. Scyther was washing his scythes in the creek as Paras clicked happily upon the arrival of his trainer. “Well…at least we have some money for now.”

“Actually…I spent it,” Milo muttered.

“What!?” Jake cried. “Milo!”

“It was worth it,” Milo said, turning. From the tent came a ruffling; a little figure emerged from inside, scampering along the path. Jake’s eyes widened at the scruffy fur, bright yellow, with black pointy ears and pink cheers.

“Pichu???” he gasped, falling to his knees. “OHMYGOD!”

“I know you’ve been heartbroken since your Pichu was stolen,” Milo said, as Jake shuffled over to the little rodent. “So I bought you a new companion from the Game Corner.”

“That was so kind!” Jake gushed. “Pichu!”

The rodent jumped for joy as Jake gave it a tight squeeze.

“You smell like a Pichu should smell…” Jake said, taking a deep breath. “Oh little Pichu…Milo…this is the kindest thing I think you’ve ever done!”

“I just wanted to help out,” he said sheepishly. He watched with Medicham as Jake hugged Pichu, his Wingull and Paras rushing over to join in. Truly it was a wonderful moment; Jake dissolving among his own tears, clutching the yellow Pokemon tightly.

“I know you spent all your winnings…but it was worth it,” Jake said, smiling. Pichu’s fur brushed against his nose briefly and he pulled away, sniffing.

Blinking rapidly, Jake felt a sneeze coming on and, with a huge, dramatic splutter, sneezed at Pichu. The rodent gave a squeak and sneezed back, flying backwards and rolling into the tent. Milo looked concerned as Pichu staggered back out. Throbbing softly, the Pichu was stretching and losing its yellow colour for a deep pink.

“Pichu?” Jake asked wearily, as the ears melded into the body. The face sank back and soon all that was left was a pink, mallowy lump. Jake burst into tears.

“Well the Game Corner didn’t have Pichu’s,” Milo confessed. “So I bought a Ditto and had it transform into a Pichu. But this is loads better than a Pichu - Jake, you can own every Pokemon in the world!”

“I DON’T WANT EVERY POKEMON IN THE WORLD!” Jake screamed, pulling on the Ditto’s squishy body and leaping away, disgusted. “PICHU!”

“Don’t be so fucking ungrateful,” Milo said, crossing his arms. Magnemite crackled and unleashed a thunderbolt attack at the dry wood; they heated and sparks created flames, soon burning through the paper and softer materials on the fire.

“I-I’m *hic* sorry,” Jake sniffed, as Ditto wobbled along the clearing. Totodile excitedly prodded Ditto in the tummy, only to have the pink Pokemon transform into the aquamarine alligator with a pop.

Totodile’s eyes widened and he ran from Ditto, running around the back of Medicham. The Ditto, under the guise of Totodile, looked unhappy at the rejection, as none of the other Pokemon seemed comfortable around him. Milo sighed as Jake sobbed by the campfire.

“I think…we should move on,” Jake said, his eyes red and blotchy.

“What do you mean?” Milo asked.

“I mean let’s get away from this place. These memories…” Jake said. “Move on to the next town.”

“We don’t have much money,” Milo admitted.

“Well I don’t think we’re ever going to have much money,” Jake told him. “There’s a contest in Azalea town…we could stay there for a bit. What do you think?”

“I think it’s probably time to move on,” Milo agreed.

*

After a night of very little sleep, in which Milo heard Jake crying as he clutched his new Ditto, the two boys agreed to move from their camping spot outside Goldenrod City. Staring at the looming buildings, Milo thought about his unease when they had first arrived. Back then, Milo was plagued with doubts, worrying about seeing Whitney or losing the contest. Now, his victory at the contest against Dior seemed to have happened so long ago. Milo got the ribbon out and stared at it; it had gold and silver ribbon trailing beneath the curved medallion.

Now he had two ribbons, but he had no money. He smashed his phone, so had no way of contacting anyone, and had also sent Ruby back to his mother. It was for the best; she had never really been happy on Milo’s team, and leading up to her departure Milo was sure she would leave for Jake’s team.

“Can you help pack the tent up?” Jake moaned, sorting pots and pans into a large rucksack. Their seven Pokemon were all out in the forest clearing, but Milo did not get Medicham’s attention and calmly began taking apart the support poles and rolling the tent away by himself. She did not have to use her telekinesis; she was no Swiss army knife. As he worked, Milo could feel Medicham’s eyes on the back of his head.

“You know, I think we’ll work on your fighting skills a bit,” Milo said to Medicham distantly. Thinking about it, she really deserved a break, considering the work she had done in the last few contests, and the intense mental battle against Kazaar.

“What are you going to do with Magnemite?” Jake asked keenly, as Ditto transformed into a Metapod and span a fine silk string to secure his suitcase shut. Ditto’s transformations worked only when Ditto could see the species it was to become; spying a cluster of the green pods underneath a tree, it shifted effortlessly.

“Well…I dunno,” Milo said, shrugging. “Medicham and Scyther are the battlers. Totodile’s primarily an appeal Pokemon…logically Magnemite would do appeals.”

“Makes sense,” Jake said. Ditto popped back into it’s pink, shapeless form, giggling. Wingull was flapping her wings to clear the area of debris, while Paras looked terrified at his new team mate.

“Right everyone,” Milo said to the group. He admired the large backpack he had to carry. It would give him a curious sense of success in hauling it through the forest to Azalea Town. “It’s time to move on. Take a good look at this craphole we’ve been living in. Then forget about it.”

“Hear, hear,” Jake said dryly. Once Jake had recalled Wingull and Ditto, and Milo pulled Totodile, Scyther and Magnemite back into their Pokeballs, Medicham used a soft telekinetic fling to throw the trainers across the wide creek, concentrating hard to help them land deftly to the other side.

Milo took a fleeting look at Goldenrod City before turning to the road ahead; a dusty trail ran along the creek towards the dark, gaping mouth of Ilex Forest. Nearby was a large cottage, but apart from that it looked very desolate. As Paras practised his slash attack by leaping at thick clusters of grass, Milo mused on how useful he could make Magnemite, especially since he wasn’t going to be robbing casino’s any longer.

*

“Go on!” Milo yelled. Totodile charged along the grass, head tucked in. He smashed into the squat tree and staggered back; three Pineco fell from the branches and looked around angrily. Milo cheered and Totodile clutched his head as he tried to focus on the three angry bagworms.

“Magnemite lock-on,” Milo ordered. Magnemite bleeped and his pupil flashed a vivid red. “Totodile, go in for an ice fang!”

Totodile leapt at the nearest Pineco; it was largest, very fat and irritable. Totodile’s sharp fangs glazed with an icy sheen as he sank them into the thick, dry skin of the Pokemon. Clenching hard, he sent ice shooting across the Pokemon’s body.

“Now use thundershock Magnemite!” Milo yelled. With complete focus, Magnemite shuddered and blasted an arcing bolt of lightening through the air. It soared at Pineco and zapped it, causing the Pokemon to tremble and explode with a huge boom. Milo swore loudly as the intense blast sent Totodile flying through the air.

“Stay back!” he cried. “Totodile use water gun!”

As the charred Pineco rolled to the base of the tree lazily, the other two shook slightly, evidently about to burst themselves. Totodile opened his jaws and blasted a jet of cold, foamy water to douse the excitable bug Pokemon.

“Magmemite! Fire a swift attack into the air!” Milo shouted, thoroughly enjoying the clicking and whirring noises the magnet Pokemon made to communicate. Blasting the golden stars into the air, Magnemite concentrated hard. The cluster of swift stars were smaller and fewer than Medicham was able to unleash, but Milo knew it would improve with time.

“Now! Discharge!”

Shooting around excitedly, Magnemite blasted white-hot tendrils of blue lightening around the area. They struck the sweeping golden stars and charged them up; each whizzed around manically and glowed with an electric-blue tinge as sparks coursed behind them.

“Milo that looks great!” Jake said, as the electrified stars smashed into the soaking wet Pineco pair. Milo smirked as Magnemite throbbed with a white-hot energy following the intense blast. Totodile leapt up excitedly and ran back to Milo, happy that he helped fight off the three foes.

“Magnemite looked great,” Milo said, feeling content that the accidental capture was benefiting him. Totodile looked unhappy and nipped Milo on the finger. “What’s up?”

“Totodile probably feels left out,” Jake mused. “He hasn’t really been used since Ecruteak City.”

“Pal, you know I think you’re great,” Milo said, picking Totodile up like a rugby ball and tucking him under his arm. Totodile chuckled and blasted a soft jet of water into Milo’s face; he spluttered but held on to his Pokemon tightly, swinging him around.

Milo then felt a sharp, cold pain in his wrist and dropped Totodile. Clearing his eyes, he saw a frosted glaze sweeping up his fingers and realised Totodile had used an ice fang on him. Totodile looked up with a determined gaze, almost smiling.

“Totodile!” Milo said crossly, rubbing his fingers, trying to get the feeling back. He flexed them and felt the cold tinge right up to his wrist. “That hurt!”

“He’s getting a bit more aggressive with you,” Jake noticed.

“I was thinking the same thing!” Milo said.

“Maybe he’s growing up a bit, you know?” Jake said. “More testosterone in his body, so he’s acting out a bit.”

“Elekid was really violent before he evolved,” Milo mused. “Would chew through electrical cables, climb electric fences…he was mental.”

“Totodile’s kind of going that way,” Jake said.

“You think he’s going to evolve soon?” Milo wondered. Totodile leapt around excitedly, shooting an ice beam across a patch of grass and marvelling as they frosted over. “He still seems a bit…young.”

“He’s never bitten you that aggressively before,” Jake pointed out.

“I don’t want him to evolve…not yet…” Milo mused. If his Totodile became a hulking Croconaw, would he still be able to pull off the cutesy, adorable appeals Milo had planned? He looked so young and innocent in Ecruteak, juggling the bright orange balls…nobody would want to see a muscled, aggressive Croconaw doing that.

“Evolution means change; difference,” Jake said. “And different doesn’t mean ‘bad’. It just means…different.”

“I’ve had Pokemon evolve before,” Milo retorted. “Elekid, Rhyhorn -”

“Medicham?” Jake asked. “From a Meditite?”

Milo furrowed his brow.

“No…no…” he said. “Not with Medicham.”

“My Mum had a Quagsire,” Jake said. “Evolved from a Wooper she had.”

“They grow kinda big,” Milo said.

“Yea, if it ever got into the house there was mud everywhere,” Jake said, his eyes glazed with sentiments.

As the two walked, they could see smoke rising up in thin, weak coils. It was coming from near the creek, where the water was crashing over thick rocks and creating a thick foam between the cracks. Milo could see a forested area just off the main track, where the fire was coming from.

“Should we check it out?” Milo said.

“Sure,” Jake muttered. As they walked into the forested area, they could gear guitar music and a gentle chorus singing along.

We are the great, Speight, fam-il-y,
Travelling Johto is extra fun!
We are the great, Speight, fam-il-y,
Dad!
Billy!
Sally!
And Mum!

“It sounds like a bunch of singing idiots,” Milo muttered, as the two walked into a camp-area. Sitting on logs around a campfire were a group of four; as the song indicated, there were parents and their two kids. The dad, wearing a horrendous argyle sweater, played his guitar happily, sometimes propping his owl-lens glasses back up his nose. His wife, with blonde hair and a pink cable knit jumper, was clapping excitedly and beaming at her husband. The children, both very young, were engaging in the awful song.

“Guests!” cried the man.

“Oh wow, kids, look!” the mother said excitedly.

“Howdy friends!” the man said. “You lost?”

“No, we’re fine,” Milo said, realising they should probably leave.

“Headin’ to Goldenrod? Sure, you’re not far!” he called.

“We’ve just been,” Jake explained. His Paras looked petrified at the crackling fire, so Jake bent down and recalled the bug Pokemon.

“Well gosh darn you’re Pokemon are just adorable!” the woman said. “Look Billy! A Totodile.”

“It looks diseased!” the boy yelled. “Maybe God has smote it!”

“My Totodile is not diseased you ignorant little -

“Say, why don’t you guys sit down!” the man said. “You look tired. And all that luggage!”

Milo and Jake took a seat, setting their baggage down. Milo noticed his trainers were dirty and smeared from the walk through the Johto countryside, and mourned the desecration of such expensive footwear.

“Name’s Sherman,” the man said. “This is by wife Barbara.”

“Call me Bar, everyone does!” the woman cried.

“It’s true! Everyone calls Bar, Bar,” Sherman chuckled. Milo made a coughing noise and Jake elbowed him in the side.

“These are our kids, Billy and Sally,” Bar said fondly.

“Hi kids,” Milo muttered, particular venom towards the boy who made fun of Totodile.

“I’m Jake, and this is Milo,” Jake said, introducing themselves.

“Pleasure to meet you, boys!” Sherman said, fiddling with his guitar.

“Oh I do like to travel on the road.
Yes I do like to travel on the road.
Because we meet new friends, oh it never ends,
Like Milo and Jake,
What a heaven-send.”

“Join in!” Barbera cooed. “Oh I do like to travel on the road…”

Milo frowned as the entire family joined in. Barbera got out a tambourine and patted it against her leg softly, a big grin on her face as the children chimed along. Jake made a motion as if he were about to join in the song, but Milo cast a dark gaze at his friend.

“No,” he said.

“Ahh you’ll pick up the words eventually,” Sherman said.

“I hope so,” Milo said dryly.

“So what are you boys up to then? What brings you to the woods?” Barbara asked.

“Well…we’ve just been in Goldenrod City,” Jake said.

“Ah-ha,” murmured the woman.

“Hm?” Jake asked.

“I didn’t say anything, dear,” Barbara said. “Go on?”

“Right…yea, erm well we’ve been in Goldenrod, and Milo’s just won the Goldenrod City contest.”

“Ah-ha.”

Jake paused again. Milo gave him a quizzical look, shrugging.

“So we decided to head to Azalea Town, you know, have a bit of a break after the big city.”

“Ah-ha, ah-ha,” came the murmurs.

“Azalea’s real nice,” Sherman said. “My aunt once dated a vicar from Azalea Town.”

“What’s it like?” Jake asked.

“Oh, I’ve never been,” Sherman mused.

“I have,” Milo said. “It’s a right shithole.”

“Ooh!” squeaked Barbara. “Kids!”

They clamped their hands over their ears.

“We don’t like to swear in our family,” she hissed.

“I’m sure glad I’m not in your family,” Milo muttered. Sherman looked shocked at the response, and Jake elbowed Milo in the side.

“Milo! For…Flaaffy’s sake!” Jake gushed, quickly substituting his own curse word. “No swearing, it’s terribly rude.”

“When did you become all good-and-proper?” Milo hissed under his breath.

“These weirdo’s might let us stay for dinner,” Jake hissed back. “Free food?.”

“Oh…OH! Oh I am so sorry,” Milo said, his face breaking into a pained smile. “My manners!”

“That’s…quite alright boys,” Sherman said, watching them. “You know, Bar used to be a raging alcoholic before The Church brainwashed her.”

“It’s true, I was legless!” she cried.

“Hit me over the head with a lamp once,” Sherman chuckled, massaging a lump on the back of his head fondly.

“But then Sherman got me talking to The Church…”

“Our problems were washed away,” Sherman said, smiling.

“Washed…wet…liquor,” Barbara said curiously. Sherman glared at her and she looked sheepish.

“Bar…”

“So where are you guys going?” Jake asked curiously.

“We’re taking Billy and Sally to see their Great Uncle Osmond in Goldenrod City,” Barbara said happily. “He has a Pokemon!”

“POKEMON!” cried Billy.

“Don’t any of you?” Jake asked.

“No, no, they’re very dangerous,” Sherman pointed out. “Some can breathe fire.”

“The fishy ones can’t,” Jake mused.

“Poor kids, no Pokemon?” Milo said. “I got my first Pokemon when I was six.”

“What was it?” Barbara asked keenly.

“A Geodude,” Milo muttered. “It was my partner for my Gym training. Lousy twat of a Pokemon really.”

“Kids!” Barbara yelled. “Ears!”

“Milo!” Jake said, slapping Milo across the head.

“Watch it,” Milo growled. “Anyway yea, I was given this Geodude. Trained with him at the Gym every weekend I was home from boarding school. He evolved into a Graveller eventually.”

“And are you guys still buddies?” Sherman asked.

“Fuck no,” Milo said.

“KIDS!” Barbara cried. “EARS!”

“SORRY!” Milo yelled. “I mean…flipping heck, no. Better? I don’t see the fucking difference. So I set off on my Pokemon Journey, and once I was outside New Bark Town I let Graveller go. I said mate, we never got on well, and I always thought you were a bit useless really. No fun, no banter, you know? So I said just head off if you want, go and find some mates. Never saw him again.”

“Christ,” Jake gasped.

“Mummy, is the Graveller ok?” Billy asked sadly. “How did it find food?”

“I imagine it…made lots of friends!” Barbara cried. “Lots and lots! Lots and lots!”

“To be honest, given the temperature of the area, it probably didn’t survive winter,” Milo mused. “Thing is with Graveller, and any rock Pokemon really, cold climates cause their movements to slow. Their skin cracks because they don’t have a natural moisturising conditioner in their body. Some literally shatter.”

“Oh god!” Billy yelled. “Gravel pebbles!”

“Kids, I have a feeling Jesus saw the whole thing, and made sure the Pokemon was okay,” Sherman assured his children.

“That guy?” Milo said, eyebrows raised. “Ha.”

Despite managing to scar the children for life, Milo and Jake spent the evening in the company of Sherman, Barbara, Billy and Sally. They made a pot of stew, and the two boys thoroughly enjoyed the hot meal provided by them by the kind, though bizarre family. Jake overrode Milo’s decision to move on that night, pointing out that walking through Ilex Forest at night was very dangerous. They unpacked the tent from their overwhelming amount of luggage, and set it up manually near Sherman and his family’s tent. Surprised that the family had no Pokemon for protection, Milo and Jake set up a safety area. Paras scattered spores around the woods, leaving them on tree branches, roots and bushes. As it got later, Sherman sang the family one last song for the night before they got into their big, bright tent. Milo and Jake stared into the flames of the campfire as they burned lower.

“It’s weird, being out the city,” Milo mused.

“It’s nice,” Jake said quietly.

“We’ll set off early tomorrow,” Milo said. They put the fire out with Totodile’s help and crawled into their sleeping bags.

*

It was still dark outside when Milo’s eyelids flickered open. He could see Jake next to him, whose breathing was slow and steady. Unsure why he felt so awake, Milo sat up in his sleeping bag and looked around the small tent. There was no noise aside from Jake’s breathing.

But there, outside - a figure stood silhouetted. They were walking in a tight circle just by the tent. Grabbing Scyther’s Pokeball, Milo crept out his sleeping bag, ready to fight the potential attacker. As he unzipped the tent, he leapt out and brandished Scyther’s Pokeball.

“Hold it!” he hissed, staring ahead. It was a girl, a girl he remembered from Ecruteak City. Dressed in a frayed tweed skirt and a ruffled grey shirt, Luna Fuerte turned around to look at Milo.

“Milo Mitchelson,” she said softly.

“Luna,” Milo breathed, still on his knees from getting out of the tent. Scyther’s Pokeball was held ready.

“Why are you up?” she asked curiously, her pumps softly grazing against the earth. “It’s very late.”

“I heard someone,” Milo said.

“I didn’t make a sound,” Luna retorted.

“Well I…woke up,” Milo reiterated. “What are you doing here?”

“Staring at the moon,” she said dreamily.

“At the moon?” Milo asked.

“I was born in the middle of the night, on a full moon,” Luna said dreamily. “I’m drawn to it.”

“Hmm,” Milo said, fascinated but unsure what to say.

“You did the right thing, you know,” Luna said, staring still into the sky.

“What do you mean?” Milo asked.

“Doing things your way,” she said. “Carrying on with your journey despite what your father thinks.”

“How do you know about that?” Milo asked. “How could you possibly -”

Luna smiled.

“Trust me, you did the right thing.”

“I’m camping in the woods with a load of fucked up religious boffins,” Milo said. “My feet are killing me, I’m hungry…and all my clothes are worn in and sweaty. How am I supposed to believe I did the right thing?”

“Because you dreamt me here,” she said. “You brought me into your subconscious as a way of dealing with the lifestyle change.”

“I’m not dreaming,” Milo said. “You can’t feel pain in your dreams.”

Luna swung her hand and slapped Milo across the face.

“Ouch,” he murmured. Luna smiled.

“Any more theories you’d like to try out?” Luna asked.

“Why you? I only met you once,” Milo said.

“Maybe you like me,” Luna said, winking. “I’ll see you soon Milo. Keep believing in yourself.”

And with that, she burst into flames instantly. Milo watched, still on his knees, as the flames licked higher and higher into the sky. Thrust awake, Milo looked around the darkened tent he was in, blinking furiously. Jake was breathing softly, chest rising gradually. There was nothing else but silence, yet the image of a girl bursting into flames was etched into Milo’s mind.

“What the fuck?” he asked himself.



Next time...
-Milo and Jake continue their journey to Azalea Town, but are struck by a mysterious illness as they near Ilex Forest. Meanwhile, Jasmine is determined to get further within the organisation, but fails to see how far her employers will go to keep her at bay. Michael Mitchelson recruits a surprising new agent for his team.

[PancaKe]

Ok, so I’ll write a reply as I read this chapter…. So this is pretty much my brain vomit…

Powerful introduction. I guess it was pretty bad timing though, today I could’ve sworn I heard my neighbor run over their cat, or something. All of a sudden, I just heard these screams, at first I thought it was laughter, but then I realised it was hysterical crying, screaming nd shrieking. I got dressed to go outside, and then there was noone there. Your descriptions of Medicharm reminded me of this scene a lot. It was intensly written.

Ah, it was good that you did a little flashback when you were describing the Milo in the casino scene. for a moment I had forgotten about the fight with his father and all that business. All makes sense now.

I know that Milo likes Jake! Ahhhh Milo+Jake shipping right here. As if he would just be kind enough to buy Jake a Pichu for any other reason. … Oh wait ; I kept reading and alas it’s just a Ditto …

I like the turn in events. I like the way its shifted from this expensive flash glam lifestyle back to true almost trainer-fic roots. I like the way they’ve gone from flash hotel rooms to tents. It’s good for their character development. It seems that without the money to make him feel important, Milo is somewhat more human. Jake is still the same though.

“My Mum had a Quagsire,” Jake said. “Evolved from a Wooper she had.”

“They grow kinda big,” Milo said.

“Yea, if it ever got into the house there was mud everywhere,” Jake said, his eyes glazed with sentiments.

That made me laugh for some reason.

The whole Sherman family situation – not sure I really liked that. What was your purpose in putting that in there? I guess it showed Milo’s character, but yeah… felt a bit like a filler…

What…..
So I’ve just finished the chapter, and I feel like it was a bit of a filler. I mean, I enjoyed reading it, and I’m sure it was setting up some things for the next few chapters, but I just felt a little… empty after reading it? I want to know what happens next, but I don’t have that same intense burning like I usually do, where I need need need to know… does that make any sense???

[Sike Saner]

Fwee, a battle with an alakazam. That was great, especially what with getting to see all those pokémon in action within the course of that scene. Plus, damn, Kazaar was pretty intense. o_o Certainly made for quite the opponent.

Speaking of kicking ass, I also rather enjoyed watching Jake pwn Oliver, I must say. X3

Michael's stated motives for being involved in the Reclassification took me by surprise... and then Milo's realization in a later scene about what his father's motives might really have been added a whole other dimension to it. So yeah, some interesting dramatic elements there in that particular chapter.

It was good to get some Medicham backstory at the beginning of the latest chapter--and damn, what a backstory it was...

And the pichu bought for Jake turning out to actually be a ditto was another thing that I didn't see coming. Fwee for surprises. ^^

Highlights:

“Fuck!” he snapped, standing and clutching his straggly hair. “FUCKING FUCK!”

Quite a reaction. X3

“Milo has a lot of enemies,” Jake explained to Oliver, as he slowly started to regain feeling. “He’s not a bad person. I think people find him easier to despise than try and understand him.”

“I can’t believe you talk so much,” Oliver gasped, getting into a sitting position and massaging his chest. “I wasn’t able to reply and you still held a conversation!”

Heh. XD

“You bloody ingrate! What happened to you.”

“I got hit by an electric attack,” Oliver grumbled, looking around.

“Pichu?” Jake said.

“It came from mid-air,” Oliver said. “Sort of from the skies.”

“Pichu can’t fly,” Jake muttered.

Somehow I found that bit amusing as frell. XDD

“I won’t hit you with a stun spore,” Jake said, standing over Oliver. “But I could. I could leave you in more pain than this thief did. But I think the satisfaction at knowing you got fucked over for £10,000 will suffice for now.”

Awesome quote.

Medicham, however, used her psychic to manipulate the flames on Ruby’s body, forming them into a huge dragon that snaked through the air.

Ooh, cool. o.o

Jonty looked at his watch distractedly, while Jake, noticing this was taking too long, poured the rest of the drink down the seat and set the glass down.

“Finished!” he said. Jonty raised his eyebrows.

“Was the chair thirsty?” he asked.

Heh, I liked that line. X3

Jake blushed.

“You saw?”

“I’m a reporter. I see what people hide,” he muttered. Jake got the impression he quoted that a lot to people.

I rather liked that one, too. X3

Sensing danger, the reporter turned and bolted down the alleyway, easily able to outrun the sluggish Largo. He had a confession, right on his tape, and had to get out the city fast. This was a breaking news story for sure. However he was momentarily distracted as he took in his surroundings. The deserted alleyway stank to high hell; a stench of damp, pungent sweat and garbage.

The stench intensified as Jonty ran, not hearing anything to suggest Largo was behind him. But up ahead a lumpy shape emerged from nothing; halting at the sight of it, Jonty covered his nose and gasped.

It was a Muk. Its thick, oozing body was a deep, dirty purple colour and the Pokemon’s big eyes were bloodshot. It had a very elasticised body, and rose up, towering above Jonty as its large, gaping mouth let out a lethargic groan.

“Met my accomplice?” growled Largo from behind him. “Jonty Ink, I think it’s best our secrets die with you.”

Thick, dripping fingers emerged from the Pokemon’s gloopy body. Jonty staggered back with fear as the huge creature came down on him; its intense weight pinned the man to the floor effortlessly. Muk spread out; a sickening slather echoed from the walls as the huge purple shape smothered Jonty’s body. His twitching hand was the only part of his body not under the sludge Pokemon, though it only twitched for a few seconds before it drooped, lifeless.

A rather memorable scene there. Blech, death by muk... what a way to go. o~o

The girl was crying as she saw the flames completely engulf the little Meditite, noticing for the first time that the sky was no longer pierced by its cries. It was silent.

Wow. ;-; Very sad, especially that last line.

“And by the way. How sexy is Sara? I’d leave my wife for her…leave my problems behind, too. She works here.”

“She can also still hear you,” came Sara’s voice from the radio.

XD

“It sounds like a bunch of singing idiots,” Milo muttered, as the two walked into a camp-area.

I liked his assessment of the situation there. X3

“Fuck no,” Milo said.

“KIDS!” Barbara cried. “EARS!”

“SORRY!” Milo yelled. “I mean…flipping heck, no. Better? I don’t see the fucking difference.

XDD

“Mummy, is the Graveller ok?” Billy asked sadly. “How did it find food?”

“I imagine it…made lots of friends!” Barbara cried. “Lots and lots! Lots and lots!”

“To be honest, given the temperature of the area, it probably didn’t survive winter,” Milo mused. “Thing is with Graveller, and any rock Pokemon really, cold climates cause their movements to slow. Their skin cracks because they don’t have a natural moisturising conditioner in their body. Some literally shatter.”

O_O Damn. X3

“Oh god!” Billy yelled. “Gravel pebbles!”

That made me laugh. XD

“What the fuck?” he asked himself.

I love that a chapter actually ended on that line. X3

[PancaKe]

Aw I thought I was so great, giving a long indepth reply. Then Sike comes along and BAM .

[Chris 2.1]

Teams
Milo:
Jake:



Pancake: Thanks for replying! There's a definite shift in atmosphere; I'm glad you saw the juxtaposition between the glitzy Goldenrod lifestyle and the more basic, urban lifestyle the boys are living in the aftermath of the previous chapter.

Regarding the lack of 'wow' factor, I took a few things out of this chapter that may have prevented such a thing. I wanted this to be a pretty basic, straightforward offering. It's the follow-up to a chapter that was big on revelations, twists, characters...the idea with this chapter was that Milo and Jake's journey has kinda rebooted, and they're going back to the start.

So since I took some stuff out, then by default, Ch16 is going to be EXTRA amazing, I think. A lot of the Goldenrod organisation storylines are put on the backburner now we're longer there, but key scenes will crop up during the fic.

Oooh you think Milo likes Jake? Intriguing....

The next sort of 'arc' in the fic is far different from the Goldenrod. I hope the readers enjoy the twisted take on Azalea. Plus, a very popular character is back next chappie....



Sike: I'll reply to you later XD

[PancaKe]

YAY I'm excited now for the next chapter. Yeah, if I had read this whole fic in one go, as opposed to reading one chapter weeks ago and the next like, yesterday, it's a bit of a jump... but reading it all at once it would've been quite a lot to take in, so making this chapter less amazing was probably a good move.

So keen for next chapter though

[Chris 2.1]

Hey guys, I'm alive x_x

Uni is a bit hectic, and I haven't been able to write much, but I will try and get Ch16 up soon. In the mean time, if any of you have seen the latest chapter do let me know what you think!

Ch16 and 17 are a great kickstart to the next arc in the fic. It's very exciting! I'll give you a clue about the storyline. *nt*-r*cl**s*f*c*at***

:-/