¤Game¤ Dragon Tamers Battle Range v.23 {MA Pidgeot}

[DarkestLight]

...Good query. Gives me a reason to flesh out what could be considered inconsistencies. Zent was thrown away right before she hatched, so she spied the doofus trainers(who still has no name..) walking away with some Pokemon (most likely Bruiser), and so she wasn't sure if they were to be followed.

It was hard for me to input that she's been in the Blizzard Room for over a few days, just eating all the dirt she could, and seeing Trainers and their Pokemon all back and forth. Rapp and his well...awkward? way with his Pokemon would have been odd for her to see, especially since he showed attention to her where others possibly didn't-as you noted.

Thanks for the question though. Also helps me round out that corner of Zent's personality.

[The Blue Avenger]

Okay, here's my RBG for 99 and Kurtzwick. This is kinda short, and as fair warning it got rather silly towards the end there. I make no apologies.

Multifaceted
---
Jeff read the letter with no small degree of disbelief. “Dear Lord Porygon,” it read, “one of our products has recently entered beta testing. Because of your recent promotion, we wished to congratulate you by giving you a free copy. Enclosed, please find one copy of the software and one user’s manual. We’ve even already pre-loaded it with information that you’ve registered on your Pokemon, along with a variety of options that our testers thought you might find interesting. The full explanation is in the manual. Please feel free to use it or not at your leisure, but if you enjoy it, we would value your feedback. Yours most sincerely, Ansel Gray (Silph Co., Tor Achare Branch).”

He shook his head. “A month ago, I bet they wouldn’t have even known me,” Jeff muttered, placing the letter down on his lab’s desk. “And now they’re sending me freebies. They probably just want a good review.” His eyes drew across the CD that was sitting unobtrusively next to the letter. It bore only three words: ‘Porygon Line Customization.’ He flipped through the manual, then tossed it back down to the desk in disgust. “As if I didn’t already know enough about the dangers of installing funky stuff on a Pokemon. Last time someone tried that, it screwed up 99’s speech module for weeks.” Jeff grimaced, and without paying the CD a second thought, he shut off the lights and left the room.

Mere moments later, a nearly-transparent figure slithered through the darkened lab. It carried a burlap sack behind it, and if someone had been able to answer exactly how the figure was carrying the bag, they may have been able to take one step closer to solving many of the mysteries of the universe. Without even so much as a whisper, the CD was lifted into the bag, and the thief absconded.

The next morning came and went as normal. The house had become significantly quieter since a full half of Jeff’s team had made the trek to Chrace. An average morning up until that point might have consisted of Mona eagerly greeting the day, loudly, in the backyard, or Bobbery cooking up something that smelled delicious but looked like something scraped off the bottom of your shoe. But now, the routine had settled into Jeff waking up on his own, making a modest breakfast, while Maza or Groviglio read the paper (the other Pokemon being perpetual late sleepers).

Jeff ate his breakfast, and once he had left for the lab and Maza and Groviglio both had made their way to the barracks, one of the aforementioned night owls came out of hiding.

“Oh, Ninety-Niiiiiiine,” Kurtzwick said in that peculiar sing-song way that not only gets your attention but also makes you want to punch the speaker in the mouth. He was sitting in the computer room, CD at the ready, user’s manual conspicuously absent.

99 entered the room. “Query: what do you require?” he asked in his normal monotone, his slightly-squinted eyes providing the only evidence of his mild frustration.

“I’ve got a surprise for you!” A moment passed, and when Kurtzwick realized no response was forthcoming, he continued. “I found this CD. I think it’ll help you out!”

99 glanced at the disc and read the label. “’Porygon Line Customization.’” He looked up at Kurtzwick. “You are of course aware of how suspicious this disc appears.”

“No, look, man!” Kurtzwick jabbed at a spot on the label with his tail. “It’s got Silph’s logo on it and everything!”

“That proves nothing.”

Kurtzwick sighed. “Okay, fine. I took this from Jeff’s office. He got it direct from Silph. Does that put your mind at ease?”

A quiet whirring followed as 99 considered that. “I suppose it does,” he conceded. “Query: what does it do?”

“That’s what I’m aiming to find out!” Kurtzwick loaded the CD into Jeff’s computer. It hummed to life, and before long, a message popped up. “First run: please have the Porygon interface with the computer,” Kurtzwick read. He looked to 99. “You heard the machine.”

99 nodded and shut his eyes. His whirring began to match the computer’s humming, and another message popped up on-screen. This one read “Link established! Please select an option.” There was a dropdown menu underneath it, the current selection being “Default.”

“Here, check this out, 99,” Kurtzwick said. He opened the menu as 99 swiveled his head (a slightly unnerving sight when the party in question has no neck) to see the screen. “It’s just a list of names.”

Indeed, the menu did seem to be just a selection of names and descriptions, ranging from “Vaudeville Antagonist” and “Bubbly Princess” to “Piers Lagrange” and “Miro Milic,” not that the names meant anything to either of the two looking at the screen.

“Man, this is boring,” Kurtzwick said. “When it said ‘customization,’ I thought it’d give you spikes or flame patterns or something like that. Maaaan…” He exited the program and thumped down off of the desk. “Come on, let’s go find that user manual in Jeff’s lab. Maybe it does something else.”

“Perhaps that was the proper course of action to begin with,” 99 said as they left.

Not too long after that, the pair found themselves at the Dragon’s Guild headquarters. Jeff found them not long after they arrived. “Hey!” he said. “Glad to see you two. So you got my message?”

Kurtzwick and 99 shared a glance. “Message?” Kurtzwick said.

Jeff deflated slightly. “Oh. I guess not. Well, anyway, since you’re here, can you do me a favor? A pair of Pokemon have turned up recently that we don’t know a whole lot about. I want you guys to face them in a match and see what they can do.”

Kurtzwick eyed Jeff. “What’s in it for us?”

“Well,” Jeff said, crossing his arms, “I might be willing to turn a blind eye to the fact that a certain disc disappeared out of my office yesterday, Kurtzwick.”

“Uh… huh.” Kurtzwick considered this for a moment. “Understood. So where are these mystery monsters?”

“Down the hall, last left. They ought to be ready for a battle.”

“Then let’s go, 99!” Kurtzwick tore off down the hallway. 99 followed him at an altogether more leisurely pace.

Back at the house, Anzu sat in the computer chair, her front paws resting on the computer table. “What’s this CD in the drive?” she said quietly to nobody in particular. Her tone changed, though, when the program came up. “Oh! Look at all these names!” she said, then added with a grin, “and all of our names are down at the bottom! Fun! I wonder what this is for…”

“So you two are the dudes Jeff wants us to fight?” Kurtzwick said. He glanced across the room. It was bare, except for some unobtrusive cameras built into recesses in the ceiling. Two Pokemon floated on the other side. One was pink and floral-patterned, oddly enough, while the other looked like nothing more than a pair of interlocking gears.

The pink one was the one that responded. “That’d be us,” he said calmly. “I’m Deobor. The two to my left are Twenty-four.”

Kurtzwick squinted. Well. The gears did indeed have two separate faces. Huh.

“I am 99,” 99 said, “and this is Kurtzwick…”

…Anzu selected her name from the list. “Let’s see what happens!...”

99 continued after a brief pause. “So now that we all know each other,” he said, with the best approximation of a smile that a Porygon-Z could muster, “let’s go ahead and get things rolling!”

Kurtzwick raised an eyebrow, but as their opponents charged into battle, he didn’t have much of a chance to comment on it.

STRIFE! Kurtzwick and 99 versus Deobor and 24!
Kurtzwick: “Hack, slay, and haul it all away!”
99: “Let’s heat things up!”
Deobor: “You’re not dreaming!”
24: “Clicka clacka clunk!”

“Let’s start with a full-frontal attack, Kurtzy!” 99 said. With a mischievous look in his eye, he smirked at the Dratini, then charged forward and slammed into Deobor with no hesitation. Deobor reeled back, but didn’t seem shaken.

Kurtzwick arched his brow. “If you say so, 99.” He closed his eyes and began sparking. Without warning, a bolt of lightning shot sideways through 24, then back again, setting the gears spinning in a circle. When 24 finally faced forward, both sets of eyes focused on Kurtzwick, and both of them looked angry. The gears separated and flew towards Kurtzwick, jamming together on opposite sides of him. With a crunching noise that Kurtzwick wasn’t at all sure he liked, the two gears spun, sending him through the rollers. He fell back to the ground and shook his tail, trying to work the kinks out.

Deobor moved last, and all he did was curl into a tight ball. As he did so, his skin seemed to get tougher and more resilient.

”Hmm…” Anzu said. She scrolled through the list. “Ooh, let’s try Trezzatura!”

99 blinked. All of a sudden, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach-analogue told him that being in this battle didn’t seem like a good idea. But if his foe was playing defensively, maybe that was what he should do too. He thought back to the most recent TM Jeff had gotten him – Hidden Power – and how Jeff had said that Hidden Power was only limited by imagination.

“Don’t space out…” “…in the middle of battle!” 24 said, each of his faces speaking independently. The gears began spinning, and he flew at 99.

99’s eyes widened. He frantically went with the first thing he could think of. The Hidden Power appeared around him, the steel energy coalescing into two solid shapes. Right before 24 could ram him, 99 deflected the blow with a metal shield hovering in front of him. As 24 stumbled back, stunned from the impact, 99 struck with the other shape: a piercing lance, also metal. 24 took the strike, and the shield and weapon disappeared.

Both of 24’s faces scowled. “So you’re actually…” “…reasonably competent.”

“Damn straight he is!” Kurtzwick said, smirking despite his confusion. “But I’m no slouch either!” He reared up on his tail, and bits of ice formed in the air around him. A breeze began to pick up, and the ice blew forward, collecting on the bodies of his two foes. Though they both managed to shake it off easily, Kurtzwick could tell that their movements had been slowed.

“Words are cheap,” Deobor said simply. He floated back a touch, and a transparent barrier rose in front of him. It disappeared soon after, but its presence was still apparent by the way it caught a twinkle of light here and there.

”Ooh! Groviglio should be fun, whatever this does!”

“Words may be cheap,” 99 snarled, “but your trainer is cheaper! What is this? You don’t have any good moves to fall back on! What’s the matter? Your trainer couldn’t afford any good TMs? Come on, Mr. I-Am-Not-A-Crook, let’s cripple these guys.”

Kurtzwick nodded, more than a little bewildered, and together, they sent off tendrils of electricity that surrounded their foes. The bolts constricted Deobor and 24, then sunk into them with a crackling noise.

Deobor frowned, moving slowly through the paralysis. “No good moves, is that right?” He glanced at 24. “Let’s give them a Round.” Deobor closed his eyes and opened his mouth, singing a tuneless, wordless melody. 24 quickly joined in, the song picking up alternately from one mouth and the other. The song got louder and louder until it seemed like it was shaking the room itself, and without anything to cover their ears, all Kurtzwick and 99 could do was wince and bear it.

“You just had to goad them, didn’t you, 99?” Kurtzwick muttered. “So unlike you! What is your deal?”

“Ah, stuff it,” 99 said. “Let’s keep on with it! Even you should understand that we can’t let up on the offensive now!”

Kurtzwick rolled his eyes. “Offensive is certainly the word of the day,” he said under his breath.

”What next, what next… oooh, Mona’s in here!”

“What was that, Kurtzwick?” 99 asked. “I couldn’t quite hear you, only it’s so loud in here. Oh, it was loud in here, I guess, and it still only seems loud in here because of that stupid singing attack, and I can’t really hear so good any more. It left a ringing in my ears, and the ringing almost sounds like it’s following the same tune that their song did. I guess it wasn’t really a bad song, though, but it was loud and it did hurt my ears. And I couldn’t follow it very well, so I can’t hum it later if I don’t want to.”

There wasn’t a specific word for the expression that Kurtzwick made at 99, but rest assured it was sufficiently boondoggled.

”Eh, maybe not Mona. What else…? Hm, I wonder what this ‘vaudeville antagonist’ one is.”

“Nya ha ha!” 99 laughed. “It’s curtains for you lot!” His eyes sparkled, and through the magic of Hidden Power, a set of train tracks appeared in the room. “Kurtzwick, my loyal minion! Secure these hooligans!”

Kurtzwick fumed. “Minion? Minion? I don’t know what is going on with you, but – ” He was interrupted when 24 dashed at him. Out of reflex, Kurtzwick lashed out with a bolt of electricity. It struck 24, and only a moment later, 24 found himself bound to the ethereal tracks with a rope of lightning. Before Deobor could react, he met a similar fate.

“Excellent, Kurtzwick, excellent!” 99 turned his head to the ceiling and laughed. “And now, my fine foes, allow me to introduce you to both the Sector Alpha 11:24 from Sybyll and your defeat!”

Against all odds, a dramatic musical chord played at that exact instant. Kurtzwick glanced around, but failed to pinpoint its origin. Not that it mattered, he figured, as the sounds of a steam engine chugging closer and closer filled the room. The ghostly train burst forward from one wall, ran straight down the track and in the process neatly hitting both Pokemon, then disappeared as it ran through the other wall. As the train vanished, so too did the tracks, and Deobor and 24 slowly rose back into the air.

“This is getting…” “…patently absurd,” 24 said. “Let’s end this…” “…with some semblance of speed.”

“Understood, Twenty-four,” Deobor said. Both of them began to charge themselves with energy – 24 glowing yellow, and Deobor glowing purple. At the same time, they both erupted: 24 blasted a giant sparking orb of electricity at 99, and Deobor released a wave of psychic energy that slammed Kurtzwick into the wall.

The Zap Cannon hit 99 squarely, and with a cry of “Curses!” he fell to the ground, his skin crackling.

”…I wonder if selecting Raini’s would do anything neat. Might as well try…”

Despite the paralysis, 99 slowly rose up into the air again. He narrowed his eyes, and both of his foes unintentionally recoiled: he looked more focused than he had in the entire match up until that point. Another use of Hidden Power caused a set of claws to appear to his left and to his right, floating silently in the air. Without a word, he darted to Deobor’s side and tore into him. Strike after strike after strike occurred before Kurtzwick could quite comprehend what had just happened; judging by how 24 was staring, he hadn’t quite taken it in either. Kurtzwick took the momentary distraction to his advantage and sent out one last bolt of electricity. It hit 24 straight on, and the gears fell to the ground, separated.

After what seemed like an eternity, 99 backed off. Deobor collapsed, and 99 let his claws disappear.

”Man, I wish I knew what all this did. Off it goes. I wonder where Kiva is…?”

Victory! 99 and Kurtzwick win! 99 grows to level 7! 99 learns Psybeam! Kurtzwick grows to level 8!

99 shook his head slightly. “That was a very odd match,” he said. An idea occurred to him. “Query: Kurtzwick, did you exit the customization program when we left?”

Kurtzwick looked upwards, thinking. “You know, I don’t think I did. Is that what all this was about?” When he looked back down, Kurtzwick was somewhat surprised to notice that 99 had left fast enough to leave the door swinging.

It didn’t swing for long before Jeff entered and steadied it. “Where’d 99 go?”

Kurtzwick shrugged as best as a serpent could. “Dunno. I’m not his keeper.”

“Hm. Well.” Jeff looked around the room. “Any luck getting any info from these guys?” he asked as he recalled both fallen Pokemon to the Pokeballs the lab had for them. He started for the door, gesturing for Kurtzwick to follow.

“The pink one is defensive,” Kurtzwick said, “and the one made of gears has two mouths but one mind, it seems like.” There was a moment of silence as they made their way towards the headquarter’s Pokemon Center. “Oh, and don’t let them sing at you.”

Jeff raised his eyebrows at that one but didn’t ask.

Back at the house, some time later, Anzu was mildly perplexed to find that the CD she had intended to ask 99 about, given his understandable level of computer expertise, had been broken in half and was sitting on the computer desk, underneath a note that read, in typewritten letters, “this beta is unfit for release ever.”

[classy_cat18]

*snickers* That made my day! I give props to that programmer! Too bad 99 didn't enjoy it! Groviglio would've gotten a kick out of it! Or gotten annoyed at 99's impression of him.

2-on-2 battle, intro and ending...17 stamps sound good?

[The Blue Avenger]

Sounds very good indeed. Thanks.

Yes, I suspect Groviglio's reaction would have edged more towards annoyance. XD

[Lady Vulpix]

I can easily picture the tone of voice Kurtzwick used to get 99's attention. But... was "I'm not his keeper" a biblical reference? In any case, poor 99.

Oh, and I like 24. I'm not even sure why. I wonder if many Pokemon have numbers as their names. One of mine used to, according to Scott, but I never asked him what the number was, there was too much to digest in that same post.

[The Blue Avenger]

As far as numbered Pokemon go in my posts, there's 99, 24, and then the Skarmory and the Solrock who fought Raini, 32 and 59. Maybe I'll just start naming everyone with numbers. XD

Kurtzwick's line there wasn't a biblical reference, sorry. XD; It just sounded good at the time.

And I kinda like 24 too. It seems to me right now that he's in a constant state of vague frustration, just based on his dialogue. XD

[Wolfsong]

color=skyblue] Asing for an extensin just in case between an uncooperative keyborard, storms, and writer's block,.../color]

[DarkestLight]

That was an enjoyable story. I wish for another CD copy to appear someday, lol. vaudeville antagonist, LMAO.

[Lady Vulpix]

Amy, you can have the extension. I wish I could help with your keyboard issues. Can't do anything about the storms either, but if you want to get over your writer's block, maybe a chat session could help.

[The Blue Avenger]

Hello hello,

I'd like an RBG for Kurtzwick from the Electric Retirement Shutdown Center, please. *hands over 7 stamps*

[classy_cat18]

Oooh, Kurtzwick gets to battle a Blitzle!

[The Blue Avenger]

Another short one. And while I'm here, I'd like another RBG for Kurtzwick from the Jungle Recovery Agency. *hands over 7 stamps*

Test No. 1
---
Kurtzwick opened his eyes. The sight of a desolate, abandoned warehouse greeted him.

This startled him slightly less than it might have startled a different Pokémon. Kurtzwick didn’t have any real hang-ups about empty warehouses; some of his best work had been done in places where nobody was watching him.

The first thing Kurtzwick did, as was the first thing he always did when in an unfamiliar spot, was that he checked himself. No bruises. Nothing hurts. And my Collar’s still here. So there’s that.

He looked around. A light, hanging far above him from the ceiling, flickered and buzzed quietly. The room he was in was obviously unused – dust had settled on the sundry boxes and crates littered across the floor. The walls, tin, had rusted. A catwalk spanned the width of the room some feet above him – much too high to reach, Kurtzwick realized. There was a door at one end of the catwalk, though. Kurtzwick frowned. How the heck are you supposed to get up there, then…?

Putting the thought to the side for the moment, Kurtzwick made his way to the crates. A cursory glance through them revealed that they were in fact completely empty, provided you discounted the dust that had accumulated inside.

Kurtzwick grunted. Now that the room had been appropriately scoped out, he could devote his thought process to figuring out where he was and how he got there.

No answers presented themselves. Even though Kurtzwick, as he was no stranger to admitting, had cleaned out several warehouses in his fruitful career, this one wasn’t one he had ever seen before. That said, from the empty boxes, it did appear to him that someone had been there prior. Even if it was ages ago, he thought. From the dust, nobody’s visited in forever.

That just left why he was there. Let’s see. I don’t know this place, and I don’t remember getting here, so someone brought me here. Why would someone bring me to an abandoned warehouse…? Kurtzwick thought that one over for a moment, keeping his eyes open and his head slowly swiveling, just in case someone took the opportunity to sneak up on him. I’ve been covering my tracks pretty well, and nobody’s been coming after me recently, so this can’t be about me. So what does that mean?

In accordance with the laws of narrativity, the light hanging from the ceiling started burning at full brightness as soon as Kurtzwick arrived at his answer.

They’re using me to get at someone else. And as far as people I know who would have people after them, that leaves only Jeff and Raini. Kurtzwick frowned. And between the two, Raini wouldn’t care that I’d gone missing. This must be about Jeff.

His thought process was interrupted, though, when the room flooded with light – far more than what the one meager light bulb could provide. Kurtzwick squinted and looked up. A spotlight that he hadn’t noticed before – recessed into the ceiling – had turned on.

Ooookay. That’s rarely a good sign.

“You’re awake.” A voice spoke out of some hidden loudspeaker. It was male, leaning very slightly towards high-pitched, and it wasn’t emitting any emotion. It was neither good nor bad that Kurtzwick was awake. That was just a thing that had happened.

Kurtzwick knit his brow, glancing from side to side. “Er…” Come on, Kurtzwick, don’t show weakness! He cleared his throat. “Who the heck are you?”

“Please proceed through the door.” The voice never faltered.

Kurtzwick looked around. Though the spotlight was focused on him, it seemed to be slightly angled so that it illuminated the door on the catwalk. “That door? The one hopelessly out of reach, is that right?”

A faint rustling was just barely audible, and a rope ladder unfurled from catwalk. It descended and stopped right at his height.

“Oh. A ladder. For the discerning armless Pokémon. Real nice,” Kurtzwick hissed underneath his breath. Regardless, though, he lifted himself onto the first rung, then looped back and climbed to the second, then to the third. After a length of time just long enough that it couldn’t reasonably be called “soon,” Kurtzwick coiled himself up on the catwalk. Using more dexterity than one might expect from a Dratini, he managed to pull open the door and slither inside before it slammed shut behind him.

The door led, much to Kurtzwick’s chagrin, another room, and it opened onto a catwalk that served only as a dead end. This room was stacked higher with boxes, and an ancient stairway stood in a corner. It ostensibly led to another catwalk at some point in the past, but it had since rusted through – some unlucky sap, Kurtzwick reasoned, had managed to break right through the stairway just before reaching the catwalk. He dropped to the ground and absentmindedly lashed at one tower of boxes with his tail; they fell over without any rattling, only confirming for him that they were still empty.

“Proceed with the test,” the disembodied voice said.

“Test?” Kurtzwick asked, raising an eyebrow. Before he could ask further, though, a clanking from an air vent set high in one corner drew his attention. The grate popped out, and a Pokéball fell from the vent. It bounced a few times, then came to a rest on the ground before opening. A brilliant light filled the room, and once Kurtzwick cleared the flashing lights from his eyes, he noticed that a Pokémon that looked very much like a zebra was standing in front of him.

Test! Kurtzwick versus Blitzle!
Kurtzwick: “Hack, slay, and haul it all away!”
Blitzle: “Hello?”

“Um.” Kurtzwick wasn’t quite sure what to say. The zebra wasn’t making any antagonistic movements. It was just standing there. Thankfully, Kurtzwick realized, it didn’t seem to have seen him yet; his cover behind the fallen pile of boxes seemed to be working in his favor. But. he thought, I can’t get anywhere by just staying here. He tentatively poked his tail out from behind the boxes.

The zebra’s face lit up. “There you are!” it said. Before Kurtzwick could realize what had happened, the zebra had charged up a bolt of electricity and blasted it at him. He barely managed to pull his tail back in before it got singed.

Okay, so, it attacks on sight, Kurtzwick thought. So if I’m going to get past it, I need to sneak past it. Standard operating procedure.

Silently, Kurtzwick exhaled a white smoke that hung in the air between two stacks of boxes. He slipped through the Haze and took cover behind the second pile. Thankfully, the zebra hadn’t seen him. He glanced to the catwalk. As in the last room, there was another door at the end of it. So I just need to make it up there, then I’m home free.

Three more Hazes were all it took for Kurtzwick to make it to the staircase, behind the Blitzle. It was either mind-numbingly dumb or simply not very observant, Kurtzwick decided, since, even though the Hazes were still in the act of dispersing, the zebra didn’t seem to notice that anything was out of the ordinary. It hadn’t even turned from its original spot.

Kurtzwick slithered onto the stairs. This proved to be an incredibly bad move. The rusty metal creaked under him, despite his considerable lack of heft, and the zebra immediately swiveled its head. “I see you!” it called, and it lashed out with another Charge Beam. This one struck Kurtzwick, with nowhere to go, square in the neck, and he fell down the stairs.

This didn’t seem to bother the zebra at all, who continued its volley, zapping Kurtzwick repeatedly until he scrambled his way behind another box. Okay, so that wasn’t a good idea, he thought, panting. A faint glow enveloped him as the singed spots all over his skin began to disappear. I guess I have to take this guy out.

The zebra barely noticed as a cold wind began to pick up in the room. It circled around the perimeter of the room first, clearing away the Haze, then spiraled in on the center. The zebra shivered, then flinched; aside from being cold, the Icy Wind carried with it bits of ice and sleet, and they scraped across its skin. It glanced around for the source of the attack, but didn’t see one; as a result, it held its ground.

The next thing that confused it was the cloud of white smoke that poured forward from between the boxes. Those boxes, the zebra seemed to realize, were the same ones the intruder had disappeared behind earlier. It fired a bolt of electricity into the smoke, but its confusion got worse when the bolt disappeared with a quiet “tink.”

Kurtzwick huddled behind the Protect until the Shock Wave fizzled out. The Haze was still there when he opened his eyes, and he breathed a sigh of relief: it was integral to him plan. He dropped his shield and slithered through the cloud. After taking a second to psyche himself up, Kurtzwick burst forward from the cloud, wreathed in orange flames. The zebra began charging up an attack after flinching, but Kurtzwick barreled into it too quickly. The flames exploded outwards as he rammed the zebra.

Charred and weak, the zebra fell backwards, its eyes shut. Kurtzwick composed himself, sniffed, then slithered up the stairs, easily bridging the narrow gap.

Test complete! Kurtzwick grows to level 9!

He slid to the door, but was interrupted by the voice again. “Very good,” the voice said, though you wouldn’t know it from the tone of the voice itself – it was as passive as always. “You have completed the first test.”

Kurtzwick’s eyes widened. “The first--?”

“Please proceed to the next room.”

Kurtzwick threw open the door. The room that greeted him was incredibly similar to the last - it was stacked high with boxes, with a catwalk leading to a door on the other side of the room.

Had anyone been present, they would have been privy to the precise sound of a Dratini screaming in frustration through grit teeth.

[The Blue Avenger]

Another short one. And while I'm here, I'd like another RBG for Kurtzwick from the Jungle Recovery Agency. *hands over 7 stamps*

Don't want this to get forgotten. And since it's been a week since that one, I'd like to get another one for him, same location, please. *hands over 7 stamps*

[Lady Vulpix]

I'm sorry, Jeff. I wanted to rate your battle, but I've been way too busy these days. I asked Shonta if she could do it, but she was busy too. I'll see what I can do. As for your RBGs, Kurtzwick will battle a Scyther and a Budew. O_o

[The Blue Avenger]

Understood. No hurry on the rating; I just wanted my RBGs. XD Thanks!

[classy_cat18]

*stumbles in, tripping over her own feet* Sorry to keep you waiting! Um...I don't really have a lot of comments right now, so for the moment I'll just reward ya'll with eleven stamps.

[The Blue Avenger]

No problem. Believe me when I say I get being busy. Thanks for the stamps!

Here's the next two RBGs.

Tests Nos. 2 and 3
---
“Please begin the test. I am required to remind all testing subjects that, in the event of power failure at the testing site, testing subjects are encouraged to proceed to the end of the testing room and wait for power to be restored. If the end of the testing room is unreachable due to power failure, then testing subjects are encouraged to wait patiently and attempt to not hurt themselves.”

Kurtzwick frowned as he lashed a tower of boxes over. The voice had certainly gotten wordier in this room than in the last. Thankfully, at least, there didn’t seem to be any opponents in this room. He carefully stacked the fallen boxes into a pile underneath the catwalk and slithered up them; when he reached the door, the voice spoke up again.

“Very good. You have completed the second test. In addition to the previous reminder, I would like to add that test subjects are discouraged from causing a power outage.”

Test subjects, huh? Kurtzwick thought as he entered the door. It, like the last one, led to a narrow catwalk above another room. He dropped down off of it. It doesn’t sound like he’s addressing me specifically anymore. Are there some other unlucky saps trapped here too? He thought for a second longer. Or is he just trying to psyche me out here?

Kurtzwick looked around the room. This one was set up differently from the last. For one, there were no cardboard boxes anywhere to be seen. Instead, there were two metal pillars in the middle of the room, both of different heights. Together, they looked like a staircase leading to the catwalk on the opposite side of the room – albeit a staircase with unnecessarily-tall stairs. Kurtzwick glanced up. There were vents above each of the pillars, and right on cue, a faint clanking began sounding from them. The vents opened and two Pokéballs fell out, each one landing on a pillar. As they released their inhabitants, the familiar bright light filled the room – when Kurtzwick could see again, there was a Scyther on the taller pillar, staring unflinchingly in the direction of the smaller pillar, which held a Budew, who was in turn staring in the same direction towards the wall.

Test! Kurtzwick versus Budew and Scyther!
Kurtzwick: “Hack, slay, and haul it all away!”
Budew: “Hi!”
Scyther: “Friend.”

“The test you are about to attempt involves our signature Move Pads,” the voice said. “Each pad replicates the effect of a single Pokémon move. There are two pads in this room, and they both replicate the same move. 89% of test subjects did not need to be told which move it was. The remaining 11% were, incidentally, the same 11% of test subjects who were classified as having ‘no’ or ‘extremely no’ rates of heart and/or brain activity.”

The monologue only barely registered in Kurtzwick’s mind. He slowly made his way across the room. At the base of the first pillar, there was a section of metal set into the floor – the only thing that differentiated it from the rest of the floor was that its particular shade of gray was just a hint lighter. He glanced around. There was nothing else in the room – this one was significantly cleaner than the last one. And there was no way to get back up to the catwalk he had dropped down from, so no hope of grabbing a box from the last room and using it to test the Move Pad.

I wonder what the goal here is, Kurtzwick thought. If whoever brought me here wants me to solve these puzzles, then this Move Pad would be helpful… but if they’re in it to hurt me, then this would be a great setup for a trap.

He mulled this over for a second, noticing idly that neither the Budew nor the Scyther were budging an inch. They just stared at the wall… and were also staring in the direction of the Move Pad. Wonderful. Kurtzwick slithered around the pillars. Neither of the sentry Pokémon moved, and it seemed that his initial observation was correct: there was nothing else in the room at all. The only furnishings were the two pillars, the two catwalks, the two doors, the two Pokémon, and Kurtzwick and the Move Pad. He looked at the Pad for a little, feeling vaguely like the odd one out in the room.

“The move is Bounce. Congratulations, test subject, on being in a group of 11%.”

Kurtzwick glowered in the general direction of where he assumed the loudspeaker was, then moved onto the pad. As he had pieced together from the loudspeaker’s comments, the pad sprung him into the air, just high enough to look eye-to-eye with the Budew.

The Budew smiled, genuine happiness radiating across its face, and, as Kurtzwick hung in the air at the vertex of his parabola, began spitting razor-sharp seeds at him. The Bullet Seed was enough to send him slightly backwards, so when he fell back down, he landed just behind the Move Pad. Kurtzwick chose not to move for the moment, instead deciding to Recover away the bright red welts that the seeds had left on his skin.

Okay… so getting up there’s going to be difficult… Kurtzwick thought as he lifted his head. Even if I get a Protect up, the Bullet Seed might still force me back. Hm. Then an idea occurred to him.

Kurtzwick backed up, his eyes narrowing, then charged at the pad while surrounding himself with a bright orange inferno. The Outrage got him moving faster than he would have on his own, and when he bounded on the pad, it sent him up with significantly more force than the last time. By the time the Budew could start firing, he was already above it. Kurtzwick landed on the pillar behind the Budew and took a moment to rest, his head spinning from the powerful attack.

When he once again had his wits about him, Kurtzwick took inventory of his situation. The Budew had its back to him, and was very obviously not noticing him. There was another Move Pad on this pillar, and it led up to the higher pillar, the one with the Scyther on it. The Scyther had swiveled his head slightly – to Kurtzwick’s frustration, instead of looking straight ahead, it seemed to be staring at the Move Pad itself. He tested his theory by inching towards the pad; the Scyther, without hesitation, hurled a series of pale-blue Hidden Power orbs in his direction. Kurtzwick darted back before they hit, making sure not to hit the Budew.

“Please be warned that the Pokémon in each test are optimized to more thoroughly test the test subject,” the loudspeaker said. “We urge test subjects to be careful, as being caught off-guard may result in unconsciousness, and ultimately, failure of the test. We would like to additionally note that 89% of test subjects were able to make it past this test with ease.”

Okay. That same trick won’t work twice. What else is at my disposal here…? Kurtzwick looked around the platform again, just to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. The only things on the platform were the Budew and the Move Pad… That’s it.

Kurtzwick positioned himself at the edge of the platform, out of the Budew’s line of sight. A quick Icy Wind was all it took to nudge the Budew away from the ledge, and before it could spot him, he darted in and swiveled it 90 degrees away from him. Another Icy Wind pushed it closer to the Move Pad, and Kurtzwick turned it another 90 degrees; he followed it with one last Icy Wind. The Budew launched into the air as the Scyther began firing; when it reached the apex of its arc, it noticed the Scyther and began firing in earnest too. Most of the Hidden Power orbs got through unobstructed and impacted with the Budew – they, combined with the numerous Icy Winds, were more than enough to send the Budew into the realm of unconsciousness. However, the Bullet Seed, though not inflicting much damage, managed to nudge the Scyther away from the ledge.

Perfect. Kurtzwick approached the pad again, ducking away from the Budew as it fell. The pad was now out of the Scyther’s line of vision, and so it did not begin firing. Kurtzwick propelled himself into the air, and before the Scyther could begin shooting, he launched himself forward with another Outrage. He barreled into the Scyther, knocking it down. It propped itself up using a scythe and jumped to its feet, but another Outrage was forthcoming. This time, Kurtzwick rammed the Scyther hard enough to send its eyes spinning. Kurtzwick skidded to a halt at the edge of the platform, but the Scyther wasn’t quite as lucky – it flew just a bit further and tumbled down the pillar.

Kurtzwick stared over the edge of the platform, making sure neither Pokémon made any attempt to follow him.

Test complete! Kurtzwick grows to level 11! Kurtzwick learns Draco Meteor as his level 10 move!

“Very good.” Kurtzwick flinched at the sound of the loudpseaker. He had almost forgotten that there was someone watching him. “You have completed the third test. We would hereby like to set you, test subject, at ease by reassuring you that the Pokémon you face will not hold a grudge against you when they wake up from the blinding pain you put them through.”

“Yes, yes, wonderful,” Kurtzwick grumbled. “Can I go now?”

“Please proceed to the next room.”

Kurtzwick looked up towards the ceiling. “How many of these freaking rooms are there?”

“Please proceed to the next room.”

“No hints? No cryptic clues as to why I’m here? No insulting comments about my parents? Nothing?”

“Please proceed to the next room.”

Kurtzwick shut his eyes. “Fine, you psycho.” He slithered to the door and made his way through.

[Lady Vulpix]

OK, I've sent a big e-mail message with questions for my supervisor, so I can do this freely today...

Comments ahead.

I wonder how they determine who has 'no' or 'extremely no' rates of heart and/or brain activity. Kurtzwick's brain was quite active at the time he was told what the move was. Was his heart having problems?

It looked like the Budew really loved to battle. Then again, neither the Budew nor the Scyther seemed like real Pokemon at all, and the adjective that was applied to them was creepy. Were they 'optimized' through training or by other means? Or were they fake Pokemon after all? So many possibilities...

Congrats to Kurtzwick on learning such a powerful move!

And there's so much irony in the phrase "We would hereby like to set you, test subject, at ease by reassuring you that the Pokémon you face will not hold a grudge against you when they wake up from the blinding pain you put them through"...

Take 12 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[classy_cat18]

It reminds me of Portal.

...Which suddenly makes this creepy.

[The Blue Avenger]

Re: Gabi:
The bit about heart and brain activity was mostly just for a punchline.
And concerning the rest, rest assured that once Kurtzwick uncovers what's actually going on, things will make more sense.

Re: Shonta:
There maaaaaay have been a tiny bit of influence, I admit. XD

[DarkestLight]

Im loving this far too much XD.

[Lady Vulpix]

I have a story! Go, 25 de mayo! And the most important part of this story takes place in the future! The near future... That is, tomorrow. Which means that even though it took me months to finish this, I finished one day ahead of time.

Now I'd like an RBG for Amber, please (which of course means it won't be an RBG in-story). Source: Free Range Corral. *Pays 7 stamps, keeping 1471.*

ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø ,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø

Of delays and... other delays

<Gabi's POV>

March was such a busy month that I barely had the time to remember my birthday. To make things worse, two days before the event I got a phone call from my dad, who doesn't make international phone calls unless there's a really serious reason. I started shaking as soon as I heard his voice. And soon I found that I'd been right to worry: my grandmother - my dad's mother - had died that morning. He'd already told me in his e-mails that she was very sick, so it didn't come completely as a suprise, but the news was still hard to digest. I could tell my dad was broken, and I was so far away... I didn't know what to say... what to do. Luckily for me, he didn't expect me to say anything. He did most of the talking. When I asked if there was anything I could do, he told me to stay at home and keep up the good work. He'd never been good at dealing with emotions. I was lucky to have Lagi with me at that time. She gave me a big hug and I stayed in her arms for a while, then I went to my room and thought about my grandma. She had lived 90 years, it was her time to go, but I still wished I'd been able to spend more time with her. Ever since I'd moved to Ulthuan I'd only been able to visit her every two or three years. Tsunami missed her too: he had been a young Eevee when he first met her, and she had played with him and recited poems in Spanish. She wasn't sure how much he could understand, but he'd never stopped looking at her as she spoke. And it was in her house that he had evolved.

I still celebrated my birthday, but it was just a small dinner at home with my team, with home-made almond muffins and ice-cream cake (half my team would never forgive me if I let a birthday go without making ice-cream cake). I also gave them some new TMs, and I got cards, calls and e-mails from friends and relatives. The rest of the month was mostly dedicated to work, although I called my dad every now and then to see how he was doing and show him I cared. Kristy had helped at the Reward Center while I was in Avelorn, but when I came back there was a heap of new TMs and items that needed to be stored or put on display. Moreover, after Jeff made an ingenious advertisement, the place was crowded with trainers who wanted to buy the new stuff. Even Donna came by, which was a good thing because I'd got tired of searching in vain for information on her and I finally got to ask her what her last name was. It was Tyler. It was still hard to find out anything about her, since there were countless Donna Tylers on the Internet, but I did find her on the MTU's directory and learned that her code name was Lady Noctowl (which might explain why a Dark Cave Pokemon became interested in her in the first place; after all, she was used to having a Noctowl as her leader). Tsunami reminded me that asking was better than stalking, which was funny because I recalled that same phrase being said to him before. But at least that way I could have an idea of who she was (I'm not normally that paranoid, but she had shown that she knew a lot about me when I knew nothing of her; I needed to do something to change that). I couldn't find anything about her kidnapping, though, but why would she make up something so serious? Besides, Lagi said her emotions had matched her words when she told me about it.

It was during the second week of March that Lagi paid a visit to her friends at the Dark Cave and went to explore Templa Taure. If I'm making a mess of the timeline it's because the whole month felt like chaos to me. Anyway, the good news was that everyone was doing well. The bad news was that we weren't any closer to learning where the Black Dragon was and what he was up to than we were when we started. There was no news about the missing Pokemon either, nor about the origin of the Snag Machines. We did, however, have a key to solving the Dubious Disc mystery. When Hero went to see Tracker, he told her to search for a Porygon 2 inside a computer. Tracker hated to admit that she had no idea how to do that, but she wasn't going to give up: she brought Jenny to my house one Sunday and we brainstormed about what could be done. I thought it could be possible to trace the e-mails as far back as the data allowed, and then search the computer where the backtrace stopped. I didn't know how to gain physical access to that computer, let alone search it for a hidden Pokemon, but Jenny said she could get a search warrant if there was proof that the suspicious e-mails were generating there, and Tracker suggested that a Psychic Pokemon should be able to detect if anyone was hidden inside the computer.

So I left the matter to the experts and started focusing on the Dragon Games again. I had to organize an advertising campaign, which had never been my forte. I designed a poster with the image of a Dratini and a few details about the tournament, and also told people about the Games whenever I could. I got some participants to sign in, but not nearly as many as Scott used to gather. I could almost see him emerging from the shadows of the past to remind me that there was only one true Dragon Master. "Curse you, Scott McHenry," I thought. "I've never liked the way you did things, but they're never as easy for me as they were for you. You could summon crowds and get everyone to do your bidding, either because they were infected by your charisma or because they needed you... we needed you. Or at least we thought we did." I still didn't know how the Dragon's Guild was being run these days. I didn't even know whether Scott was dead or alive, but all signs pointed to the former. It had been years since he had gone MIA. And his shoes were still hard to fill. I couldn't blame him completely, though. I'd always been a responsibility sponge. I had accepted both jobs - no, I'd accepted one and demanded the other - and had made it my mission to ensure that the Dragon Tamers continued functioning after he was gone. And how I had enjoyed celebrating our 10th anniversary! No, I couldn't blame Scott for all the things I had to do. I'd had it all coming from the start.

With a more positive outlook on my own situation, I decided to make some contacts in Sapphery. I didn't really know much about that province. I'd been to the Tower of Hoeth a few times and stopped by Wood's Edge on the way, but I hadn't been to any other place; not even the Capital, Brightland. So I did what any sensible person would have done: I searched the web. I learned that there were two main railway lines which reached Brightland: one that went along the East border of Sapphery - with an express train travelling right along the border and a regular service which took some detours to reach other towns -, and one that communicated Brightland with Tor Yvresse. I had taken the regular train to Wood's Edge before, but I thought the express train would come in handy for the first round of the tournament. I also read a few things about the Tower of Flame which marked it as a particularly suspicious point to check, so I decided it would be best to place the moving stadium just west of Brightland. Then I had to figure out who to call to make sure we'd be allowed to put it there, but as it turns out the authorities of Brightland were on good terms with Yvresse and were excited at the prospect of having their floating stadium close to home, as well as the influx of tourists the event would bring them. I was only warned to avoid causing property damage, and to minimize the disturbance to the Brightlanders' daily lives. It went better than I'd expected. If only everything could work like that.

Then I had to make some more calls to make sure the stadium would be there when we needed it, and keep tending to the Pokemon at the Adoption Center, and supervising the sales of TMs and items. And as if that were not enough, I got a message from Lady Ninetales asking about the topic of my next report. I had to ask for a time extension, with the excuse that some new Pokemon were coming in soon and I wanted to learn more about them in case any of them was worth studying.

We soon got a Tepig and a Deerling. I was particularly interested in the latter, since I'd read that his kind had seasonal color changes (and he was also incredibly cute); but there was only so much research I could do by observing a single Pokemon. I decided to learn about his habits and determine if anything else changed with the passing of the months. It would be a slow project, but it would give me time to tend to other things, particularly the Dragon Games.

And back to that subject (this messy head of mine...), I achieved 30 registrations, including all my fellow DT workers. It was an all-time low, considering we'd never had fewer than 42 contestants before. I wondered how many people had given up on training or even left Ulthuan because of all the attacks we'd had to endure. I remembered the times when I'd considered leaving myself, but - job security aside - I had always had one or more friends who kept me anchored to these lands. Even though some of them had left themselves. And still, some of them had managed to surprise me by returning when I least expected them. That was exactly what happened when I checked the list of contestants and I saw a very familiar name. I didn't recognize the Pokemon's name, but many years had passed, he could have acquired some new Pokemon in the meantime. It could also be someone else with the same name, but what were the odds? Just in case, I decided not to tell Amber about it until I was sure: there was no way to tell how she would react. I hid the list and focused on the number: 30. I'd have to do some math, but I was sure I could manage to arrange matchups for all the trainers and adjust the number of trainers in each round so that we could still have the 4 traditional rounds and 3 finalists. It took me a couple of nights of making calculations in bed before going to sleep, but I managed to come up with an arrangement that seemed reasonable. This tournament might not answer the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, but it would be held and there would be some battles to remember in the upcoming years. And if we could somehow find the Black Dragon in the process, then we'd be making history.

And so time went by with little to report which, in other words, means I spent most of the time working on exactly that. The Deerling wasn't helping much. He seemed to get excited when the weather was warm, and enjoy the sight and smell of the flowers, but that was all I could observe and it was far from conclusive: many other Pokemon liked flowers and warm weather. Of course, I couldn't blame him for not being especially cooperative. He had traveled a long distance and was trying to get used to his new surroundings, while also wondering when a trainer would come for him. I must admit there were times when I was tempted to take him home, but there were so many other Pokemon who had waited much longer... and I couldn't train them all. It was hard enough to give the 10 members of my team the attention they needed, and sometimes I missed things like Water Angel spending hours at a time at the MTU building. I felt guilty for having neglected her so much... I could still remember when she was a Horsea and I used to carry her in my arms. Now it seemed like it had happened in another life; just like all the previous tournaments except for the Unicorn Games which, for some reason, felt like they had taken place recently even though almost 6 years had passed. Minds work in strange ways.

It was Lady Ninetales who suggested that I take a break and make a short trip to Sapphery. She said that would give the Deerling some time to settle down and react to the progress of the spring in any way that he may. It would also give me the chance to clear my mind, which would make it easier to get back to my work upon my return. And it would also allow me to oversee the preparations for the first round of the Dragon Games and get to know the surroundings. I wondered if she had any idea of why I had chosen that location. If she had known, she might have wanted me to go there in order to accelerate my search for the Black Dragon, which had already been delayed for too long. But I hadn't talked to her about it, so was there any chance that she knew? Could she have had a similar idea? I wouldn't put it past her to satisfy her own desire for answers by sending me on a recon mission, but she hadn't made that explicit. It was only her suggestion of exploring the area around the stadium that was the least bit suspicious. I could only speculate about what her intentions were, but if she hadn't given me direct instructions, I wouldn't have to report to her. I still might, though, at least orally, if I found something important. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on, but then I told myself: "it's the Dragon's Guild. Something is always going on. That's the way it works."

So I made the required arrangements and, on the 25th of May, an important holiday in my country of origin, my team and I began our journey. We made a quick stop in Selenia, since it was along the way, to see how the Selenian Reward Center was doing and drop a few attack enhancers in exchange for the TMs they had recently sent us (I liked old-style trading much better than buying and selling stuff for stamps, too bad I didn't get many chances to practice it). I thought about Tor Syle for a moment: I wanted to go there someday to try to improve our relationship with its people. But it would have to be another day: it was out of the way and I didn't have time to spare. Then, I flew on Pidgeot's back to Lothern, where we took the express train to Brightland. Lothern itself was not a place which appealed to my personal tastes - it was even more crowded than the city where I grew up -, but I had to admit the bridge they had built across the Eataine canal was quite impressive. It was huge, with enough room for the railway, cars, bikers and pedestrians to cross it without bothering each other - there were special paths marked for each; and strong enough to support the constant weight of those who went to and from the large provincial Capital everyday. The train ride was uneventful. It took a few hours, but it was much faster than the regular train and, of course, much faster than flying on Pidgeot and a lot less tiring for him (he liked transporting others, though; Lagi could also do it, but Pidgeot was the one who always wanted to do the job, and I had to admit that he was the most comfortable choice).

I won't go into the details of how we got to our hotel room because there was nothing particularly interesting about it other than the receptionist misspelling my name, which is a rather common occurrence. It was late and we were tired, so we went straight to the room and, after eating some of the rations I'd packed, distributed the mattresses, blankets and pillows, and went to sleep. The bed was a bit too hard for my comfort, but the room had a view to a beautiful flower garden, so while I had trouble falling asleep, I could at least enjoy the sight. The pillow on my bed was thick, so I made do without it; Caledor enjoyed it more than I would have. Hero used the pillow from the other bed, while Tsunami took a pillow from a chair. Lagi used the other bed, and the blankets we weren't using made beds for Sylvan and Pidgeot. Amber and Iael were used to sleeping on the floor - although if a large pillow had been found Iael might have used it - and Ventura perched on a chair. I filled the bathtub for Water Angel; it wasn't ideal, but it was the best I could do with what I had. One of my thoughts before I could fall asleep was directed to the Deerling: I was now grateful for not having adopted him. He might not have found a comfortable sleeping spot inside the small hotel room.

--------------------------------------←Rest your eyes on this dotted line.

The following day we got up early and, after a quick breakfast, went out to explore the city. It seemed to be about or almost as big as Sector Alpha, at least in terms of surface, but it had a calmer feeling to it. There was, just like in Sector Alpha, a mixture of ancient and modern architecture, but there seemed to have been an attempt to keep the general style more or less uniform. The constructions were mostly white; the older ones were made of white stones which sparkled under the morning sun. I wondered if that had anything to do with the name of the city. There weren't that many tall buildings either. There were many houses with large windows displaying arrays of small plants, and the sidewalks had flowers as well as trees. In sum, it was a nice view, at least for my standards. Then, after walking for a while, I hit a big avenue and realized it was as noisy and full of shops as other avenues all over the world. I should have expected it. I was glad the hotel where I was staying was located on a much quieter street.

I asked around to find out where the Stadium was being set up, and followed the directions. I took a tramway to the West side of the street and, as I got on, I decided I liked the city: any city which has tramways has bonus points in my book. After I got off, I walked a few streets towards the edge of the city and was able to see the massive floating structure. It was the second time I'd laid eyes on it, and I found it as impressive as the first time. How could they possibly make that thing stay afloat? I also noticed another important landmark: according to my map, it was the Tower of Flame. It was a few kilometers away from the Floating Stadium, but I decided it was worth checking out. After all, any tower which could be seen from that distance was bound to have something to show; and besides, I'd already decided to check it. There were two major ancient towers in Sapphery. If the Tower of Flame had anything in common with the Tower of Hoeth, I couldn't allow myself to miss it while being so close. I had a strong feeling about that place. A strong feeling of what, exactly, I couldn't tell, but I had to check it out.

I still went to see the stadium first. It was almost ready, and a buffet had already opened for early visitors even though no one knew for sure when the tournament would begin. Apparently many of the participants had rather new Pokemon and had requested more time to train them before they had to test themselves in a real competition. That, too, was a first for me, but I had to move with the times if I wanted the Games to be held at all. At least the stadium itself was already attracting visitors, and the arena was open in the afternoons for trainers who wanted to have friendly matches against each other, much like our Battle Tower in Sector Alpha.

Every Pokemon stadium has a large pool for Water Pokemon somewhere, so I looked for it and let Water Angel stretch her fins there. Lagi, Tsunami and Pidgeot also took the chance to play in the water. The rest of us just looked around for a while. Then we all had lunch at the buffet, and finally set off for the Tower of Flame.

There was something strange about that tower. While the Tower of Hoeth wasn't visible until you were almost at its gate, the Tower of Flame was visible from very far away; much further than its size would suggest. When I reached it, I realized it wasn't as big as it had seemed from the distance. But I knew my perception of its size could still be deceitful; space could be distorted at a place like that, making it impossible to determine its real dimensions. The front door was made of wood, carved with images of Dragons and other engravings which I couldn't identify but which transmitted the sensation of power. The outside walls were made of large red stones, once more unlike the Tower of Hoeth, which had bright white walls. While this tower didn't seem to be so tall, every part of it looked heavy and sturdy. The door was partially open. I tried to look in through the open, but couldn't see much: only another red wall and the first few steps of a set of stairs. I tried to push the door open, but it was too heavy. Then Amber decided to give it a try. Her Strength made the difference. She let out a short chuckle, and I was almost sure I knew what she was thinking. Her physical strength - which was as great as it was hard to control - had given her a lot of trouble in the past, but this was one of the times when it came in handy.

A young man was standing on the other side of the door. "Or what appears to be a young man," I thought. You could never know in those places. I hadn't been able to see him through the opening, so he must have been standing behind the door since before we arrived.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Are you here to visit the Tower?"

I was startled for a moment. I hadn't expected to find a tour guide. Then I replied with a nod.

"Good," he said. "I was wondering when we'd start getting visitors, what with the Dragon Games coming up and all. But up to now it looked like everyone just wanted to see the Floating Stadium. I suppose it is more attractive than an old tower, at least at first sight. But this tower has a long and torrid history, which is something the stadium lacks, having been built around 10 years ago."
"The stadium was built 10 years ago?" I couldn't help asking. "Does that mean the people who built it are still alive?"
"Probably, but they're not the ones who came up with the floating technology, if that's what you're wondering. Making heavy stuff stay afloat was child's play for the elves who built this tower. They were experts in magic and alchemy, which most people underestimate these days, and they were also skilled at building powerful artifacts. It's a shame that most of their achievements and discoveries have been lost to history, as this tower suffered from numerous invasions. It had some of the best defenses in Ulthuan, but its design had a fatal flaw. I can tell you what it was after we finish the tour, but first I'd like to know your name."
"My name?" the question caught me off guard. "Gabi. Or Gabriela. Or Lady Vulpix from the Dragon Tamers... and the Dragon's Guild... whichever you prefer to call me."

The guide had stretched out his hand to greet me, but something I said made him take it back. Now it was him who appeared to be startled.

"The Dragon Tamers... and the Dragon's Guild! So you have come after all! But why now?"
"Were you expecting us?" I asked him.
"Yes... Well, not completely... I was told to expect you... It's complicated. But that was about 4 years ago, then everything changed and I began to think you'd never come. Why come now that everything's quiet and peaceful?"
"I'm sorry," I said, "but I don't understand. What happened 4 years ago? Who told you to expect us?"
"I would rather not talk about that..." he looked away.
"You were the one who brought it up. Now please explain yourself if you want to know why I'm here."
"It's not something I'm proud of, but... OK... I think you deserve to know. After all, you were the ones who defeated Yssera, right?"
"You know about Yssera?" I asked. It was a stupid question, but I couldn't stop myself.
"Yes," he looked down, avoiding my gaze. "I used to be a Pokemon trainer. I was born in Brightland, but I thought I could only become really strong if I could travel all over Ulthuan and find the best Pokemon of every region. I was stupid, I know that now, but I did learn more than a few things from my journey. I didn't cross over to Yvresse because I'd heard it was just for tourists. I went clockwise across the south of Sapphery, then Eataine, Caledor and finally Ellyrion."
"Where you visited White Mountain," I guessed.

His silence was a confirmation.

"It's OK," I told him. "I think I can guess what happened, but you shouldn't stay mad at yourself. Many good trainers fell victims to Yssera, but it's over now, and at least you have learnt from your past mistakes."
"I don't think I can call myself a victim. She offered me power and I accepted it."
"That's the way she worked," I told him. "And I bet she didn't tell you what the catch was."
"That much is true. I wouldn't have accepted if I'd known what she would do to me and my Pokemon."
"See? Then stop beating yourself over it, nothing good will come out of it. And maybe you can help us... if Yssera gave you any information we can use."
"What kind of information are you looking for?"
"You could start by telling me why you were expecting us here while Yssera was on White Mountain."
"She was hoping you'd come here looking for the Black Dragon. She sent me and my Pokemon here to help if you decided to face him. But you're late. He's not here anymore. He left about 2 years ago."

I was shocked. After searching for so long without finding the slightest clue, I'd suddenly found a place where I could have found him... and yet I was two years too late.

"Do you have any idea where he went?" I asked him.
"Not really. He left in the middle of the night after having stayed in the tower for a long time. I guess he either found what he was looking for or decided this place wasn't worth his attention anymore."
"So he just left and nobody saw him?"
"He's good at hiding in the darkness. It's no big deal, even my Honchkrow can do that."
"OK, I guess that's possible. But I'd still like to take a look around and see if I can find any clues about what he was looking for or where he went."
"Suit yourself," he said. "I can help if you want, but I must warn you it will take some time. Days, or even weeks if you want to be thorough. The Tower looks small from the outside, but it has many hidden passages and storage rooms, filled with scrolls, weapons and artifacts: most of them broken, some apparently whole but none that anyone knows how to use. Some of the scrolls are still legible by those who know the language, but as far as I know none of the scrolls which have survived the attacks have any important information. They're mostly historical records, personal logs and a few notes on the geography of Ulthuan."
"Do you know which ones the Black Dragon last looked at?"
"I know which ones were lying on the floor after he left. I put them all on the same shelf. Can you read the old Elven tongue?"
"No, but I know someone who can and he's not that far from here. I could pay him a visit on my way back."
"I can't let you take the scrolls away," he told me. "They're provincial property, and the Tower has been plundered to many times as it is."
"I wasn't planning to take them away from Sapphery, just show their contents to someone who's basically doing your job at the other ancient tower. Is there a way they can be scanned or something?"
"The Tower of Hoeth?!" he blurted out, not answering my question.
"Yes, the Tower of Hoeth. Yes, I've been there and I know a few other people who have been there too. You could probably go there if you wanted. It's not that hard as they make it sound, you just have to be firm in your decision to get there. If you know what you want and don't hesitate, odds are you'll reach the Tower before you know it. Now, is there a way to scan the scrolls?"
"I'm sorry, there's no scanner in the Tower and I'm not allowed to take any ancient documents or artifacts outside. I could try to get permission to scan them and then bring a scanner here, but I wouldn't get it today. I think it would take at least a couple of weeks."
"That's OK," I accepted. "I'll be grateful if you can do that. I'll come back here around the time when the Dragon Games begin."
"I'll do that," he agreed. "I have to warn you, though. You can't just go face to face against the Black Dragon. The first two trainers who came here died trying to fight him. Yssera told me to wait for you and help you because she wanted the third attempt to succeed."
"Two trainers died here?! Fighting the Black Dragon?! Why wasn't that on the news?"
"They came here in secret, and the Black Dragon must have disposed of their bodies because there weren't here when I arrived and I never heard anyone say anything about them. The only reason I know they're dead was because Yssera was connected to them and felt them die, trainers and Pokemon alike. To the rest of the world they must have just gone missing."
"That's terrible," I said. "To be honest I still don't know what we'll do once we have found him, but we need to know where he is and what he's up to before we can come up with a plan to stop him."
"I'm just saying you'll have to be extremely careful. This tower is said to enhance all kinds of power so he might not be quite as powerful outside - or perhaps he still will, but in any case you can't afford to underestimate him."
"I know," I nodded. "We won't."
"And I'll do what I can to help you, for what it's worth. By the way, do you still want the guided tour?"
"Sure," I said. "But, just like you, I'd like to know your name first."
"Didn't I tell you? Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Zack."

He extended his hand and this time I did get to shake it.

[The Blue Avenger]

Gabi, I'll rate your story soon - sorry for the delay. But Amber will fight a Farfetch'd.

While I'm here, I'd like an RBG, too, for Kurtzwick, from the UAC. *hands over 7 stamps*

[Lady Vulpix]

Kurtzwick will battle a Duskull.

Farfetch'd, eh? That's a weird match for Amber. Let's see how it works (expect a new story within the week if I can manage it).

[The Blue Avenger]

Gabi: Sorry for the wait!
- Sorry to hear about your grandma, whether that's inspired by real life or not.
- On the other end of the emotional spectrum, happy belated birthday!
- Good to know that even if my ad was annoying, it still worked. XD
- Hm, I never got to see what things were like during Scott's day. SOunds like they must have been interesting.
- Hm, are we expecting a lot of property damage from the tournament? XD
- "This tournament might not answer the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything" - I get it
- It's hard to imagine Water Angel as a Horsea.
- "nothing particularly interesting about it other than the receptionist misspelling my name" - Sydney can sympathize.
- Poor Water Angel. A bathtub doesn't sound very comfortable.
- Aaaand the Black Dragon's gone. Welp, bets on where he went during those two years.
- Hm, two drainers who the Black Dragon killed - I wonder if that's going to be relevant.


All right... a no-battle story, but one with a gratuitous amount of information and several different scenes. I'll call it 7 stamps.

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks a lot for your comments! I'm glad you appreciate the information, even if it was gratuitous.

-Yes, my grandma died 2 days before my birthday. I thought it was relevant enough to mention it.
-And, while my birthday was in March, thanks for the belated wishes.
-I'm also glad that your ad worked.
-Yes, things were quite interesting during Scott's day. Interesting times indeed. He had a huge ego, though, and a lot of secrets he kept to himself. Well, he was the leader of the Dragon's Guild after all.
-We're not expecting a lot of property damage, but things can sometimes get out of control during tournaments and other big events that attract lots of people. Sadly, not everyone's respectful of other people's stuff. And I recall that the Wing Stadium on White Mountain had to undergo extensive repairs after the 2nd Round of the Pegasus Games.
-I'm glad you got it.
-Water Angel was a lovely Horsea. She was a bit shy at first, but she came forward when she started interacting with Pidgeot, and they started winning battles together but, more importantly, she was a great moral support for him. There's a reason she evolved into a Kingdra at level 36.
-At least the room had a bathtub. Some hotel rooms don't even have that. But yes, it wasn't a very Pokemon-friendly hotel, it was a cheap one I booked on a rush.
-I'm not placing any bets. But hey, we have a clue now!
-I'm still debating how relevant that should be. What's definitely going to be relevant, at least for my team, is something he mentioned much more casually.

[Lady Vulpix]

And here it is! Amber's weird battle, among other things.

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<Amber's POV>

Zack gave us a guided tour of the Tower of Flame. It was interesting but, above all, it was sad. Those who had lived there in the past had achieved such wonderful things... yet they'd never shared their knowledge with others, and had only used their power to try to become even more powerful. And in the end, it was all for nothing. The tower was still standing, but its original inhabitants were gone and so were most of their creations and discoveries. I'd never seen so many broken artifacts in my life. I was curious about what had caused their downfall, and so was Gabi, who at the end of the tour asked Zack what the major design flaw was.

"Did you take a look at your surroundings on your way here?" asked Zack.
"Not really," Gabi admitted. "All I saw was an open field. I was so focused on getting here that I didn't pay attention to the details."
"I did notice something," Sylvan spoke out. "The land was almost dry, and there was little vegetation. As we got closer to the tower, the patches of grass became sparser, and there were no trees or bushes anywhere, nor even wild flowers. The land was almost barren. I don't think there are any sources of water nearby."
"What did your Venusaur say?" Zack asked Gabi, who promptly translated.
"Wow, that was insightful!" Zack commended my friend. "Not many notice that. The legends say the place was not as barren before the tower was built, but its inhabitants slowly sucked the energy from the land in their quest for more power. On top of that, there's a thick layer of solid rock under the thin layer of earth you have seen, and water won't flow through it. It could have been different if the tower had been built by a wide river or lake, but the nearest natural water source is the river on the other side of Brightland, and all their attempts to bring some of it closer were countered by their own magic, which was constantly draining the natural resources; so they had to make the trip across Brightland whenever they needed water or food, leaving them open to attacks. They were skilled at defending themselves, but a few well-organized ambushes were enough for invaders to conquer the tower at least four times, and to be conquered in turn by the next invasion. Only the last group that occupied the Tower was able to resist all attacks to which they were subjected, but even they were never seen again after the Sundering. Which goes to prove that no one's invincible, no matter how powerful they are."

There was a grim expression on Zack's face as he spoke. I wondered if he was regretting having learnt that lesson the hard way.

We walked back to the entrance which was, of course, also the exit. Before we left, Gabi asked Zack a more personal question.

"You said you used to be a trainer, but not anymore? What happened to your team?"
"Most of them left after we were released from Yssera's influence," Zack replied. "The ones I caught while working for her, the ones she gave me and even the ones I found in Ellyrion before I met her. Only the ones I found in Saphery, Eataine and Caledor have stuck with me. I still train them sometimes, but not a lot. While I'm at work, they either stay at home or stroll around the city. If you're interested in meeting them, we can arrange to meet tomorrow evening, or better yet on Monday, which is my day off."
"I'll be back in Caledor before Monday," Gabi told him. "And there are a few things I need to sort out while I'm here. But I'll be back here soon for the Dragon Games. Perhaps then I can meet your team."
"Sure," Zack accepted. "I'll see you then."

We started walking back towards the city. Once we had put some distance between the tower and us, Gabi asked us what we thought about Zack, and the things we had seen. I told her the sadness I had felt, and Lagi concurred. Ventura had a different outlook on him.

"I find him suspicious," she said. "It may be true that he was enslaved by Yssera, and if Lagi says he was sincere then he probably was. But why is he still here, doing exactly what Yssera told him to do? And where was he while the Black Dragon was in the tower?"
"I wish you'd ask those questions earlier," Gabi told her. "We won't find the answers by asking ourselves. But remember that the Black Dragon was as much Yssera's enemy as he's ours, so we can't blame him for following her commands in that respect. After all, Yssera's not a threat now, but the Black Dragon is."
"Then why didn't he call us right away?" Ventura questioned.
"We don't know how much he knows about the Dragon Tamers," said Tsunami. "Perhaps he didn't know how to reach us, or didn't know if he could trust us. We're not that well-known around here."
"He had no qualms about telling Gabi when he asked, though," Ventura insisted.
"I can't claim to know his motives or intentions," said the Vaporeon, "but he knows what the Black Dragon is capable of and wants to stop him. Isn't that what we all want? And he can't possibly be setting us up because he gave us no clues as to where to go next. He only told us he was here some time ago, and now it's up to us to find out the rest. Which I think is what we should start doing right now. I'd start by searching for news about missing cattle or even humans and Pokemon. A beast of that size must have had something to eat while he was around."
"Now you've given me an awful mental picture of how he may have disposed of the corpses," Gabi told him. "Thanks, Tsunami."
"Sorry, but that's probably what he did. Taking care of enemies and hunger at the same time would make sense for an evil creature like him."
"I really don't want to hear any more about the Black Dragon's deeds, please," Ventura requested. "I've had more than enough with the actions of that monstrous thing he summoned in Templa Taure. Let's just make sure he's really nowhere near here, and then continue tracking him down. The sooner we can get rid of him, the better."
"We'll do everything we can," I assured her. "Just don't worry so much, if he were capable of summoning something like that again, he would have done it by now. We still have to be on the lookout for possessors like the one that got Bo, and the Black Dragon hiself, of course, but I'm certain that monster is gone for good."

Ventura gave me an indecipherable look. Then again, her face was quite inexpressive most of the time. I could only tell she was upset because of the volume of her voice, and because I remembered what she'd told us about her terrible experience in Templa Taure. We had all been there, but she was the only one who had touched the orb which filled her mind with the extremely realistic scenes of all the atrocities that demon had committed. I couldn't begin to imagine what Ventura had gone through, both while she was touching the orb and later, for the long period of time in which she'd kept it all to herself. She's only managed to gather the inner strength to tell us about it over a year after the event. I never understood how she'd been able to handle it without going insane. I believe that, above everything else, resistance is Ventura's defining quality. But even she needs help and support some times, and communicating her needs is not her strong point. I was thinking about that as we walked into the city, hoping that I'd be able to realize when she needed something, and help her with it.

We thought of asking around for clues, but Gabi didn't know what to ask and the few suggestions she got - especially from Caledor but also some from Hero - just couldn't be taken seriously. We stopped by a news post and took a look at the newspapers until Gabi found the one she found most interesting, then bought it and took it with us. Then we went to a bar to read the news and discuss our options over a cup of tea (for me and Gabi) or whetever everyone wanted to drink. Caledor dared to ask if they served "Pink Stuff" but, of course, they didn't, so he went for a strawberry milkshake after Tsunami strictly forbade him from drinking anything with alcohol. Why the Espeon obeyed is a mystery, but my guess is he was planning to order the milkshake anyway. Knowing him, he may have just wanted something pink, regardless of its contents; not because he liked the color, but because he liked making pointless mental associations.

The newspaper had both local and international news, but nothing that could be linked to the Black Dragon. There was also a comic strip about a Meowth and a Spinarak talking in a garden which made no sense to me, but which Caledor found really funny. Tsunami said it was probably meant to be ironic: it was funny because it made no sense. Gabi conceded that it was a possibility, but I couldn't see the humor in that. There was also a report about people living in airports, one about human polygamy - which was illegal in Ulthuan but some cases still existed -, some news of crimes and car accidents, and a report about the upcoming Dragon Games, which we were all glad to see. It seemed like everyone was eagerly anticipating the beginning of the tournament, which convinced Gabi not to drag it on any longer. She sent a message to Lady Ninetales and soon got a reply saying "I wouldn't have expected any less from you". It left us all wondering if that had been the real reason she'd sent us to Saphery: to convince Gabi to get the games going. So, after checking with the Stadium crew, a public announcement was made to let everyone know the tournament would start on Monday.

Now the only reason we had to get back to Caledor for the weekend was to make some arrangements and pack everything we'd need for a prolonged stay in Saphery. Gabi was quick to book a better hotel before we left and, especially, before all the good ones were booked out. We only spent one more night at the Spartan hotel (that wasn't its real name but it was a suitable nickname) before going back home for the last-minute arrangements. We expected the following day to be uneventful, but it wasn't quite so.

We all got up early again. During breakfast, Lagi noticed Pidgeot's thoughtful attitude and asked him if everything was OK.

"Everything's fine," he said. "I've just had that dream again. I'm still wondering what it means."
"The one with the spark?" Tsunami asked.
"Yes, that one. I don't know why I have it every now and then. Sometimes months go by without anything but normal dreams, and then it comes back when I least expect it as if to remind me that it's still there. I'm wondering if it's something I'm supposed to remember. Dreams come from our subconscious - most dreams anyway, but I know I don't have psychic powers and I don't think anyone else is trying to reach out to me. So maybe something's buried deep inside my mind, trying to come out, and it manifests through that dream."
"That's an interesting theory," Gabi said. "Do you have any idea what it could be related to?"
"I wish I did. I had it almost every night during the few days before I discovered my Hidden Power. I thought it could be related to that, since it was a light that emerged from the darkness and drove it away; my Electric type Hidden Power seemed to match. But then it started coming again, though not as frequently, so I'm sure there's something else."
"Could it be an attempt to shed some light over the dark memories from your past?" Gabi suggested.
"That's an interesting interpretation," Pidgeot commended her. "But it's not mine, and I don't quite... feel it. If it has anything to do with my past, it's not about the bad times which I'd much rather forget than shed some light on. I think it's something deeper... something meaningful. I just don't know what it is."
"I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later," said Gabi.
"I certainly hope so."
"I had a revealing dream too," Caledor said after a moment of silence.

We all turned to look. After all, he was technically a Psychic Pokemon.

"There was this big forest... filled with trees. And then there was a cottage made of logs and with a twisted willow on the West-side wall... I know it was the West side because in my dream it was early morning and the cottage cast a shadow over it. I opened the wooden door and found a cozy space with a table and chairs, a fireplace and a beautiful armoire!"
"Before you continue," Tsunami interrupted him. "May I ask why your dream was revealing? What did it reveal?"
"It revealed that I like wood," Caledor grinned.
"I should Crunch you for that," Hero told him.
"I think a simple Bite should do," said Tsunami.
"Hey, I was just trying to lighten up the mood," the Espeon defended himself. "And I did have that dream!"
"Nobody cares," said Hero, pouncing him, quickly followed by Tsunami.

Caledor was unharmed, but it took a while before things became quiet again. We headed for the railway station shortly afterwards. The place was quite crowded. As it turned out, our train was delayed. When we tried to learn the reason, some said the tracks were undergoing maintenance while others said a tree or a large rock had fallen on them. Then someone connected the theories and said a Sudowoodo was sleeping on the rails. A few others suggested, half-jokingly, that the train had to make longer stops because of all the people who wanted to get to Brightland before the tournament. In sum, we didn't know for sure what the cause of the delay was, but it didn't seem to be anything serious. We waited for a while, but it was getting too crowded and I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I decided to fly around a bit and see if I could spot the train in the distance. What I found instead was a Farfetch'd who nearly rammed into me in mid-air.

"Hey, watch out!" I called out to the bird as I dodged him.
"No, you should watch out..." he countered. "For me!"

Level 57 Charizard vs. Level 57 Farfetch'd

I didn't understand what was going on, so I let out a Growl in an attempt to deter my attacker. He backed off, but only for a moment. He soon began a Swords Dance to counter the effect of my Growl. I noticed he was holding a black cane with a golden handle instead of the leek most of his kind were famous for, and around his neck he wore a delicate-looking white scarf with golden details. I rose just a bit higher and called out to him again.

"Please stop, there's a crowd below us! Why are you doing this?!"

The Farfetch'd stopped for a moment and gave me the odd look which I'd come to know as the "that's not the reaction I expected" look. It's amazing how many times I've seen it, even though this time it was the Farfetch'd who was acting weird.

"It's young master Edward's orders," he replied. "I have to do this. No hard feelings."
"Who?" I asked, but he came flying my way again.

I tried to stop him with my Dragonbreath, and succeeded in slowing him down; but after the initial shock was over, he managed to reach me and Slash my right flank with the tip of his cane, which was much sharper than it looked. His attack was a lot more painful than I'd expected: it pierced my skin and even some of my flesh. I realized that, if I didn't stop him quickly, he'd manage to bring me down.

I heard the commotion below as I conjured up an Aeroblast. I strained hard to make sure the blast of wind would only hit my opponent, and the effect was a highly concentrated windstorm which lasted just long enough to knock the Farfetch'd off the air.

--I grew to level 58.--

I hurried to catch my attacker before he fell on top of someone, but before I could catch him I was hit by a spherical object which threw me off course. Luckily for the Farfetch'd, someone else caught him before he hit the floor or someone's head. Among the general commotion, I heard a boy's voice yelling "No! No! It can't be!" I approached him to see what the problem was, and was surprised to see the young boy pointing at me.

"You're mine, you hear me?" he claimed. "Oh, wait... maybe that's how it works! I thought that thing was going to catch you like a Pokeball, but I think it just makes you follow me, doesn't it? Anyway, you're mine now, so you have to follow my commands."

I tried to figure out what the boy was talking about, but all I could conclude was that he was crazy. I wondered if his ramblings were related to the thing that had hit me. I looked for it and found it lying on the floor close to me. I picked it up and examined it. It was a silver-colored pokeball. I felt its weight, its smell, then closed my eyes and felt its inner mechanism. I concluded that it was just a regular pokeball painted with silver spray.

"Give that to me," the boy commanded. "I may still use it to catch more Pokemon."
"What's going on?" Gabi made her way through the crowd to where we were standing.
"I just caught a Charizard!" the boy beamed.

Gabi looked at the boy and then at me, with a noticeably puzzled expression on her face. I shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but that Charizard already has a trainer," Gabi told him.
"That's the wonder of it!" exclaimed the boy. "With that simple-looking machine I can catch Pokemon even if they're trained! I'm sorry if that Charizard was yours, you'll have to get a new one. But I can give you some stamps to make up for your loss."
"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" Gabi asked me.
"My guess is as good as yours," I replied. "This is just a Pokeball with silver paint on it. He's either delirious or dumb enough to have mistaken it for a Snag Machine."
"What are you doing, Charizard? Hand that over," the boy insisted.
"Her name is Amber," Gabi told him. "And what she's holding is just a painted pokeball. What made you think you could capture her with it?"

A few of the people around us stepped back.

"Do you know who you're talking to?!" yelled the boy. "I'm Edward Michael Samson D'or, and this Charizard is mine now. I had offered to compensate you for taking her, but if you're going to be that difficult I'll take back my offer. Too bad for you, female Charizards are rare!"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are," Gabi replied. "And even if you're famous around here, it doesn't give you the right to treat Pokemon like they were property, let alone Pokemon trained by someone else. And I insist, that is just a Pokeball. Where did you get it?"
"I'll tell my mom about this," the boy ignored her question. "She knows many people. She can make it so that you lose your Pokemon training license."
"I seriously doubt it, since I'm one of the people who run the Dragon Tamers and we hand out training licenses."

Edward gasped, and was speechless for a few seconds, but then came up with a different argument.

"Well, she also has a lot of money. We can buy your Charizard."
"She's not for sale," Gabi told him. "She's not even mine to sell. Pokemon can't be owned." She thought for a moment and added: "and if you have so much money, what are you doing here at the train station?"
"It's a railway station," Edward corrected her.
Most people in Ulthuan used the term 'railway station' but Gabi still called it 'train station' sometimes, especially when she was tired or agitated.
"Sorry, railway station. What are you doing here anyway?"
"It's complicated," said Edward.
"I can explain," said the Farfetch'd, who had been stirring in a tall man's arms for a while. "He's going to visit his father in Lothern. The man has made a few bad investments lately, so his finances aren't going very well. Yet, mistress Faustine - that is Ms. Faustine D'or, my trainer and also a renowned fashion designer - believes that if young master Edward's father wants to see his son, he should come for him personally or at the very least send for him. Mr. Samson, however, says that since mistress Faustine is so wealthy, she should pay for young master Edward's transportation. They were unable to reach an agreement, but my trainer's son still wanted to see his father, so he decided to go by himself. Of course, mistress Faustine wouldn't let him go alone, so she has assigned me to escort him."
"And what part of your job as an escort involved attacking me?" I questioned him. My side still hurt from his deep Slash.
"I'm sorry about that," he said, hopping down carefully, "but young master Edward is used to always getting what he wants, and had I not obeyed him, I would have never heard the end of it. He wanted me to weaken you enough for his device to capture you. I did not believe what he wanted was possible, but I must admit I was curious about what would happen."
"And why did he think this pokeball could capture me?"
"One of his classmates sold it to him for 50 stamps. He somehow convinced him that it was a special device which could capture trained Pokemon as well as wild ones. Are you certain it is just a simple pokeball?"
"Positive," I told him. "I know pokeballs inside and out... in more than one sense. I'm not a genius of electronics like a friend of mine, but I can sense the shape of metallic mechanisms and get a general idea of how they fit together. This is no different from my own pokeball, except for its color which, judging by its smell and texture, is just spray paint."
"Oh, that is such a shame..." said the Farfetch'd. "For my trainer's son, I mean! Not that I wanted to capture you or anything."

Gabi raised an eyebrow as she glared at him.

"What's with all the chatter?" asked Edward.
"He was just explaining the situation," Gabi told him.
"You can understand them?" Edward looked puzzled.
Gabi nodded. "I'm sure once you start training Pokemon yourself, you'll also get to understand your team. But you'll have to start from scratch, there are no shortcuts. The person who sold you that pokeball tricked you. You should be more careful before buying things. Besides, if it were what you thought it was, it wouldn't be legal, and in any case it wouldn't be right to use it: you wouldn't be capturing Pokemon, you'd be kidnapping them."
"They'd get to live in a huge luxurious house," Edward stated.
"That wouldn't make up for losing their own home, and their friends. Think about it: would you like to be taken away from your home and from everyone you know, even if you went to a beautiful place with a lot of... things you like?"
"Yes," the answer startled me and probably Gabi too.
"It wouldn't be too different from what he has now," the Farfetch'd explained. "He doesn't have any good friends, and ever since his father left, his mother has been more focused on antagonizing her ex-husband than on spending time with her son."
"That's terrible!" said Gabi.
"What's terrible?" asked Edward while the Farfetch'd went on saying that his mother bought him many videogames and lots of other things.

Gabi took some time to reply. She must have been thinking of what to say.

"I think you do need some friends," she finally said. "But you can't force them to be with you. You should try being nicer to others. If you treat them like you'd like to be treated, they're more likely to want to be your friends. That goes for humans and Pokemon alike. And while this may be hard, I think you should talk to your mother and try to spend more time together, let her know about your life and your problems. I don't know her, but from what I heard today she seems to be one of those who think nothing bad can ever happen to their children. So let her know that's not true."

A somewhat heated discussion arose among those who were listening, but the train arrived before a conclusion could be reached. Before we boarded the train, someone pointed out that the Farfetch'd - who never bothered to give his name - needed medical attention. Luckily, Edward's mother had given him a few Full Restores, which made me wonder whether she'd been expecting trouble or simply had the habit of taking medicines on every trip like Gabi usually did. If Gabi's theory was right, she could have thought that any problem her son might encounter would easily be solved with a Full Restore. At least she'd been wise enough not to let him travel alone, even if she could have chosen an escort with better judgement than the Farfetch'd. Gabi gave me the Extra Spicy Herb she was carrying for an emergency, and I was really grateful when I felt the pain go away. I must admit I also enjoyed its taste: if it weren't a medicinal herb, I might have poured some into my next Savory Mix.

Things were more quiet during the journey to Lothern. Gabi and Edward continued their conversation on a much calmer tone and, while I'd initially expected him to blow up at any time, he turned out to be a lot more amiable after talking to him for a while. He still frowned whenever Gabi said anything that could be taken as patronizing, but she eventually managed to convey her true intentions to him. She just wanted to help, and he enjoyed being treated like an equal, which seemed to be a new experience for him. When they started discussing whether anything could be done about the boy who had tricked Edward into buying the silver pokeball, he said he'd have his mother talk to his parents. Gabi thought about it for a moment and decided it was probably the best option, although she should talk to them directly as Edward's mother, not issue any threats or pull any strings to punish him. For my part, I was glad there weren't any real Snag Machines involved, even if we weren't any closer to finding their origin.

When we parted ways in Lothern, Gabi said she wished she could do more for Edward, but Ventura assured her he'd pull through. It was unusual of her to make a comment like that, so we all turned to look at her.

"He's strong-willed," was her only explanation.
"Just like you, right?" asked Tsunami.
"Hmph. Maybe. Even if he's not very smart."
"I don't know if I should talk now," said Lagi.
"Don't," said Ventura. "Everyone knows my story. I've fended for myself since I was very young and managed to survive on my own until I found our team. Pidgeot and Iael have been through even worse experiences at a young age and have also pulled through. I believe this boy can make it too. He may need some guidance, but I think he's set on the right track for now. He may become a real trainer in the future, and then he won't be alone again."
"True. And neither will any of us," Gabi said with a smile.

[The Blue Avenger]

I'll have it rated soon, but I'd like another RBG for Kurtzwick, from the UAC, please. *hands over 7 stamps*

[Wolfsong]

I Can give that one out before i go on vacation and be computerless for a few days.

He will be battling a Rotom

[lvl100mewtwo]

Aaaaalright... my first training ground battle... don't expect much Character devellopment here, just getting this fight done so that I can finally start on my tournament battle. Enjoy!

Training Montage: Part I

I rushed into the training grounds, looking at the 2 massive towers. Macedon and Rex were already waiting at the foot of the gate.

Maybe next time I shouldn’t race two Pokémon who have priority attacks. Kind of makes racing a bit unbalanced...

“Alright guys, I guess it wasn’t a really fair race now was it?” I said out of breath as I looked down at both my Pokémon, both grinning ear to ear.

I looked up to notice the old Gates that I had grown so accustomed to over the years. Even now, 10 years later, they still found a way to take my breath away. At the same time, I was flooded with memories of the inexperienced me, making my way with a very eager Eevee into these games.

Taking a look around, I saw the 2 familiar towers of the area and pointed them out to both Macedon and Rex. Both looked at the base of the towers and slowly looked all the way up. A small “crink” noise could be heard, as Rex started to massage his neck. He wasn’t used to looking that up and probably his neck had just cracked.

I started to make my way towards the east tower with both my Pokémon slowly following me. Walking in through the doors, I noticed that this place was crawling with trainers and their Pokémon. It seemed that a lot of them were joining in for the Dragon Games this year, maybe I was getting in a little over my head...

I slowly walked up to the Pokémon centre and let Macedon and Rex go in for a quick rest up. They would need all their strength if we wanted to train for this tournament; I wasn’t going to go easy on them because I knew the opposition wouldn’t take a night off. With a waiting time of one hour, I decided to sign myself up to the tournament and check out the grounds a bit.

I made my way to the registry office, as I put myself in line. Once I finally made my way up, I pulled out my registered trainer’s card and went through the usual process.

“Good afternoon Mr. Lavigne, great to see a returning champion back with us once more!” She said cheerfully. People started to turn around, I didn’t really want the attention right now...

“Will you be using Mystic this time around again?” She said with a large smile.

“No... Not this time... I’ll be using a new Pokémon for this competition...” Memories were flooding back... as I started to push them to the back of my mind. “I’m registering Macedon, my Magby this time around.”

“Alright then sir, you are all registered for the tournament. The competition will be starting shortly. You still have plenty of time to train and make your way to the tournament once you are ready. Transportation will be provided for you to the tournament if need be, if you do not own a Flying Pokémon.” She said with a bit of un-ease.

“Thank you, I appreciate that, I will probably need the transportation to the grounds.”

I walked away from the registry counter and made my way to the map of the grounds, I needed to see if I still remembered this training area. Looking at the map of the tower I was in, it seemed I had access to the Lava Room in the basement and the Dessert Room above where I stood. The Lava Room seemed a great start to get Macedon going for his training; it might be very beneficial for him.

I made my way upstairs to the restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat and check out the area from the top of the tower. Trainers flooded the entire area. It had been a long time since I was around so many people with Pokémon.

I grabbed myself some snacks and munchies as well as a full pizza to eat before getting into training mode. I had to get myself ready before going into the Lava Room.

I looked at my watch and noticed that an hour had already passed as I raced back downstairs to go pick up Macedon and Rex. Getting to the front desk, Mace and Rex were already waiting and raced towards me as they saw me. I lead both of them down to the basement, to the entrance of the Lava Room. Getting to the entrance, a small machine was to its right. I asked Macedon to place his hand in the little opening at the bottom of the machine, as it read his vitals and information. The door slowly opened and a rush of warm air hit me like a brick wall. The heat was going to be very rough in the room. I asked Rex to keep an eye on my back pack and the food as I got into a pair of shorts and a T-Shirt to get into the Lava Room.

Once in, there seemed to be a small isolated box that seemed to be air conditioned, while the rest of the room was a scorching 50ºC.

Thank god there isn’t any humidity in here or else it would probably be worst... I thought to myself; as I looked down to see Macedon in full joy at the heat from the area.

I slowly walked over to the air conditioned area to cool myself down, as I was never a big proponent of heated areas. Walking inside, I noticed there was a microphone and sound system on the inside, probably to emit vocal commands to the Pokémon from inside. I looked around to see that Macedon had made his way to a small lava pool and was starting to bathe in it. He seemed to be feeling quite at home at this point.

“Hey Mace, I don’t think it’s time to play games here and relax, we have to train a bit before the dragon games start, don’t you think?” I said with a stern voice. Macedon turned around and started to splash around. Sometimes I forget that he is still a little infant, as mature as he can be at times.

His splashing around though seemed to be disturbing a pair of Ponyta’s that was residing around the lava pool. Both of them seemed to be lying down, yet the stallion stood up, seemingly a little ticked off at being disturbed. The mare just stayed lying down, uninterested by this testosterone game. Macedon slowly made his way out of the pool. He knew it was business time, no more fooling around...

With a swift buck, the horse Pokémon scattered a huge amount of dust into the air and went into a spinning frenzy, covered in fire. It charged at full speed, blindly towards Macedon, as he nimbly moved out of the way. The Ponyta, sensing he had missed widely curled back and came charging once more at Macedon with blinding speed, yet Macedon readily anticipated it once more, placing himself in front of a large boulder. Swiftly jumping out of the way once more, the fire horse Pokémon crashed through the boulder and shattered it with pure force.

Macedon, seeing an opportunity, decided to launch some well placed Embers at the fallen Pokémon, only to enrage it further. An odd effect occurred at this instance, as the flame on the Ponyta’s mane grew in size.

“Macedon, don’t use fire attacks, I think he’s absorbing them!” I screamed through the mic. My command boomed through the room, as Macedon understood what was doing on.

He took a defensive stance as the Ponyta once again bucked and let up a storm of dust before starting to roll in a ball of fire. He came in at blinding speed, this time, catching Macedon off guard and connecting with a vicious hit, sending him flying into a nearby lava pool. Macedon slowly rose out of the molten rocks and started to cover the entire battlefield with thick smog.

The Ponyta was still in the middle of its attack, aiming once again for Macedon, yet this time, with the massive amount of black smog around the area, couldn’t seem to connect, as it kept ramming into boulders and rocks, never really getting a good fix on Macedon.

Macedon saw an opportunity, as did I.

“Macedon, time to try out Psychic!” I bellowed over the microphone.

With a purple aura emanating from his eyes, the fire horse was stopped dead in his tracks, unable to attack or even move. He lightly floated a foot above the ground, as it seemed to be taking all of Macedon’s concentration to even manage this attack. With a flick of his head, the Ponyta was sent flying into one of the walls of the Lava Room, severely hurting the Pokémon. Debris was sent flying throughout the area, which seemed to awaken and enrage the mare Ponyta at this point.

The male was slow to get up, yet still managed to make it back onto his 4 hooves. Macedon, still regaining his energy from the last attack that took a toll on his body and mind, kept his focus on his primary target. Before I could even spurt out a word, the female Ponyta came rushing in, spinning around and connecting with a strong Double Kick, sending Macedon reeling into a boulder. The loud crash could be heard throughout the room, as my magma Pokémon seemed to be taking quite a beating.

Both Ponytas gathered together and slowly started to make their way towards Macedon, as he was slow to get up to his feet. Anger seemed to be taking over as his normally calm demeanour was turning to a sour one. His eyes started to glow a darker purple this time, as an aura started to envelop around him in the shape of a bubble, slowly growing, expanding outwards. With a loud cry, Macedon released the Psychic energy that enveloped him as the bubble grew in size and the sheer force connected with the male Ponyta, as the female used Protect in defence. Even while being protected, the energy seemed to make the fire horse back up against its will. The male on the other hand was knocked out cold from the energy, making this an even 1 on 1 battle.

The remaining Ponyta did not appreciate seeing it’s mate knocked unconscious, as it unleashed a barrage of Embers in Macedon’s direction, most which he could avoid, but yet couldn’t seem to get out of every ones way. My magma Pokémon seemed to be wearing down, with these constant barrages of attacks; something had to be done, and quick.

“Macedon! Quick buddy, use Double Team! Help yourself out a bit buddy!” The echo’s made their way throughout the room, as my Pokémon started to move at high speeds, making visual copies of himself all around the Ponyta.

The female started to launch embers in every direction, each connecting with copies, not doing any real damage to Macedon, as he slowly made his way around, trying to flank the unsuspecting Ponyta. With one quick movement, he rushed in with a hard punch to the horses gut and returned amongst the copies of himself. Macedon, using a combination of his Mach Punch and Double Team techniques, made it impossible for the flame horse to unravel which was the real one. Every time she thought she had him, he would come in from the side, connecting once more with a strong right hood.

Distressed by the situation and out of desperation, the Ponyta bucked and rolled into a Flame Wheel attack, charging at full speed at what she believed was the real Macedon. Once again, she was fooled, only to find that it was once more another copy. Passing right through the fake Magby, the attacking Pokémon wheeled itself head first into a boulder, shattering it to little pieces. It seemed to disorient the horse just enough for an opening.

“Macedon! Psychic, quick!” I screamed to my Pokémon, as his eyes started to glow a dark purple once again, with an aura bubbling around him once again. With a loud cry, Macedon released the psychic energy once more, the bubble expanding rapidly.

The Ponyta anticipated this move once more, Protecting itself once again, yet not without feeling the utter force of the psychic move of my Pokémon.

“Macedon, quick, his defence are down, Mach Punch!” I ordered. Macedon was really wearing himself down; this match had to end quickly. He rushed in once more, hand cocked behind his body, ready for the blow. The Ponyta tried to react as quickly as possible putting up a Protect bubble as fast as she could, yet Macedon managed to speed his way behind the shield and connecting with a hard hit to the horse’s stomach.

The horse wailed in pain, as Macedon’s eyes turned once again a dark purple. This time, there was nowhere for the Pokémon to hide, as it felt the full force of the Psychic attack from close range. Dust was scattered all over the Lava Room, as I was unable to see what the outcome of the battle was.

Once the dust started to settle, I could see that the mare Ponyta was lying on the ground, unconscious, while Macedon was heavily panting, kneeling and both hands on the ground. I walked out of the air conditioned room that I resided and made my way to my Pokémon to make sure that he was alright. The heat hit me like a ton of bricks, as I walked up to Macedon and took a good long look at him.

“You did great buddy! You ready to get out of here and get a bit of rest?” I said with a smile on my face.

“Biiii...” he softly replied, as he followed me towards the exit of the room.

Once outside of the room, I looked to see that Rex was sleeping next to my back pack, chocolate covered all over his face and a giant grin from ear to ear. I lightly nudged him and gave him a stern look, yet to no avail as he had gotten exactly what he had wanted.

All 3 of us slowly made our way back to the Pokémon center, where I dropped off Macedon to get healed back to full health.

“Hey Rex, you want to go for a little swim? Maybe even get a tester battle out of it?” I asked my blue haired Pokémon. He looked up to me and nodded, as we started to make our way to the Western Tower to go find the Pond room and relax a bit.

Arriving in the Western Tower, we made our way to the basement, towards the pool room entrance. I found myself into the change room to get into my swim trunks and stow away my backpack. I made my way back to the entrance to the room and let Rex place his hand in the reader. Once Rex removed his hand, the door slowly opened to reveal a small walkway that made its way to a single platform in the middle of what seemed a giant pool.

Rex and I made our way to the floating platform and as we made contact with it, the walkway started to retract and the door behind us closed.

“Alright big guy, I hope you know how to swim. I need to cool down after that lava room, and I’m guessing we can relax a bit in here without getting disturbed by anyone else.” I looked down at my Pokémon and then slowly dipped my feet in the lukewarm water, finally entering into the pool. “Water’s fine Rex, just get in” I told him, as I splashed him with a bit of the water.

Rex jumped in, seemingly loving the water and being a natural swimmer. It was good to be in such refreshing water after spending some time in the Lava Room with Macedon.

As my feet were waddling in the water to keep me afloat, I could start to feel something swimming around. I turned to Rex who was enjoying his time in the water. In the blink of an eye, Rex disappeared underneath the water, as I freaked out and made my way back up onto the platform. Rex finally resurfaced, gasping for air. I grabbed my young Pokémon and put him next to me on the platform.

All of a sudden, our assailant surfaced, and fired a water gun towards Rex and I.

“Mud... Kip...” it started to speak.

It came again at us with a Water Gun, this time, seemingly hitting harder on Rex. He seemed unable to do anything, as he would not be able to chance it in the water at the speeds it seemed to be moving.

The little blue creature fired one more Water Gun in Rex’s direction and connecting. Rex didn’t seem like he could take much more at this point, as I asked for the walkway to come back and to let us out of the room. This quiet swim wasn’t quiet at all. I picked up Rex in my arms and raced out of the room, dried myself off and rushed to the Pokémon center once more, this time for my blue friend.

Last time I go for a quiet swim...

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

Macedon (Lvl 11) battled Ponyta x2 (Lvl 15 each) and won both matches

Macedon grew to level 15

Rex (Lvl 10) battled Mudkip (Lvl. 8) and lost

Rex learned he can’t swim as well as he thought. Rex also learned Swords Dance as his lvl 10 TM move from the last match

[The Blue Avenger]

Gabi:
- Sucking the energy from the land rarely works.
- Sucks about Zack's team. I suppose it was sort of a traumatic event.
- As soon as you mentioned Ventura giving an indecipherable look, I considered that that must be most of the looks she gives. XD
- Oh man, Caledor trying to get his pink stuff fix. XD
- People living in airports? Hm... I wonder if living in the Barracks is comparable. XD
- Awesome. Caledor likes wood. Good to know.
- That Farfetch'd came out of nowhere. And needs to work on his one-liners.
- Way to shut the kid up with the comment about licenses. XD
- Chalk me up for someone else who says "train station." XD
I dug it! A lot of good exposition here. I think 12 stamps works.

Alex:
- Snacks and munchies as well as a full pizza? Man, you don't mess around with your pre-training food. XD
- Phew, 50 C. I would be melting. :[
- When the Ponyta got up, I kinda hoped it would just turn into a lava fight. XD
- Standing behind the boulder to avoid the Flame Charge. Good move!
- Macedon rising out of the lava reminded me of the Terminator.
- Nice job for Macedon, taking on two Ponyta right in a row like that.
- Not so nice job for Rex, though. Poor guy. Hopefully that experience will help him if he ends up in a water arena though.
I think 13 stamps here works.


And now! My RBGs. Cheers!
Test No. 4
---
“Please begin the test.”

Kurtzwick, scowling, glanced around the room as he dropped down from the catwalk. Unlike the last room, which featured tall pillars, odd panels, and a duo of Pokémon that seemed more like robots than anything else, this room featured only one distinguishing characteristic.

A large pit spanned the room in a wide strip, dividing it in two, and it was filled to the brim with a noxious, bubbling acid. Naturally, the door was on the opposite side from Kurtzwick.

Kurtzwick peered at it. A bubble rose to the surface and popped. It stung his nose.

“This test will gauge your aptitude in a number of areas,” the loudspeaker said.

There was a pause. Kurtzwick looked up at the ceiling. “I’m listening.”

“One such area is your ability to not die.”

“That’s so helpful.”

The voice continued. “There are two other areas in which you will be assessed here. The first is a matter of battle-readiness. There are two ghost Pokémon hidden in this room, who will attempt to attack you as your past opponents have. Moreover, there is a lock on the door to this room that won’t open until you defeat them.”

“More creepy guys. Wonderful,” Kurtzwick muttered.

“The second area is one of speed.”

Kurtzwick stared at the ceiling, glanced back at himself, then back at the ceiling, frowning. “You know that Dratini aren’t exactly built for speed, right?”

“It would scarcely be a productive test if we were testing you on what you were already good at. If we wanted to test you on something you were good at, we would test you on…”

The loudspeaker fell silent for a moment. Kurtzwick continued to glare at it before the voice came back. “Our mistake. There would be nothing to test you on.”

Kurtzwick squared his jaw and slithered back to the pit. “Thanks.”

“Regardless, as far as speed is concerned, when I have completed this sentence, you will have 1 minute to clear this chamber before the acid pit will begin to overflow.”

This one took a moment to process. Kurtzwick stared back up at the ceiling. “Wait, what?”

“59 seconds.”


“Hell.”

Test! Kurtzwick versus Rotom and Duskull!
Kurtzwick: “Hack, slay, and haul it all away!”
Rotom: “Are you still there?”
Duskull: “I see you!”

Okay, first things first. I need to figure out where the ghosts are. Kurtzwick glanced around the room. Man, invisible things suck!

“58.”

I need a way to figure out where they are! …Or… A thought occurred to Kurtzwick, and a smirk crossed his face. I can figure out where they aren’t.

“57.”

Kurtzwick lifted his head and closed his eyes. A cold wind began to slowly roll into the room, gradually picking up speed. Come on, move faster! he thought, as the voice counted down to 54. The Icy Wind blew throughout the room, and Kurtzwick swiveled his gaze around, looking for… there it was. At two opposite points of the room, hovering near the ceiling over the pit, there were two spots where the Icy Wind was obviously hitting something.

If I had tried to cross the pit without taking them out, they would have attacked me when I was halfway across, Kurtzwick realized.

Once they were hit, the two ghosts faded into visibility. One looked more or less like a cloth wearing a skull mask, and the other was bright orange and sparking with electricity.

“50.”

Kurtzwick ignored the voice and grinned. “There you lot are! I’ve got you now!”

They didn’t move, instead choosing to stay in their positions overlooking the pit.

Well, that helped slightly, Kurtzwick thought. Instead of two invisible ghosts waiting to attack me out of reach, I’ve got two visible ghosts waiting to attack me out of reach. It’s a first step, I suppose. He glanced around. Aside from the pit itself, there was nothing else in the room.

“45.”

Okay, let’s not psyche out here… How can I get across…

“43.”

Damn! Okay, okay! Let’s just try this! Kurtzwick summoned another blast of Icy Wind. However, where the last one was widespread and admittedly rather flimsy, he focused this one specifically on the Duskull. He aimed it around the Duskull, then back towards him; the end result was that the Duskull slowly began moving towards him. It didn’t seem to take any notice, and when Kurtzwick called off the wind, it didn’t move.

“39.”

Okay, Rotom next… Another gust of wind brought the Rotom down a bit too. This time, though, he arranged the Rotom so that it was a little bit behind the Duskull, though a little higher above: about three feet from the acid, where the Duskull was only two.

“35.” Kurtzwick surveyed his handiwork for a moment, before slithering backwards, and…

“We would like to remind all test subjects that the same strategies may not always work twice,” the voice said from the loudspeaker. Kurtzwick jumped. The voice had broken what focus he had managed to work up. “There was actually a third element of this test: working with change. Good luck.”

Kurtzwick pondered over that one for a moment before his heart skipped a beat: the two ghosts had, while he was thinking, both turned to face him. There was a tense moment in which neither of them moved, followed by the voice saying “30.”

Then the two ghosts both began to lob Shadow Balls at him in quick succession. Kurtzwick yelped as the first two hit him, spraying out a thick cloud of Haze to shield himself out of pure instinct. As soon as the ghosts couldn’t see him, they ceased firing.

“25.”

Okay… that was not my best moment. Kurtzwick sighed… then his eyes lit up, bits and pieces of a plan suddenly forming in his head. I’ve got it!

“23.”

A quick Icy Wind blew the Haze away. The two ghosts’ gaze immediately fixed on Kurtzwick, but before they could begin firing, he took a running (well, slithering) jump into the air over the Duskull. I hope this works…

“19.”

The Duskull’s gaze followed Kurtzwick, and when Kurtzwick was above it, it began launching Shadow Balls. Kurtzwick closed his eyes, grit his teeth, and expanded a Protect around him.

Much to his relief, the momentum that transferred into his shield from the Shadow Ball boosted him just a little further into the air.

“16.”

This got Kurtzwick over the Rotom, who did much the same thing. He strained, beads of sweat appearing on his brow from keeping the Protect solid against so many repeated attacks, but before he knew it, he had bounded over the two Pokémon onto the solid ground on the other side. He dropped the Protect and let out a breath.

“13.”

Granted, this didn’t mean that the two ghosts had stopped paying attention. Kurtzwick had scarcely a moment to relax before another volley of Shadow Balls flew at him. He dodged them, weaving his body back and forth, before expelling another Haze; this, at least temporarily, stopped the attacks.

“10.”

Shoot! Gotta take them down! Kurtzwick glanced around, and, still seeing nothing to help him out, sighed. I guess this is the best thing I can do!

“7.”

Kurtzwick closed his eyes. A dull hum reverberated through the room, though, as expected, the ghosts didn’t seem to care.

“6.”

A dark-grey storm cloud began to form at the ceiling, flashing and sparking with errant lightning.

“5.”

The hum graduated into full-on thunder, accompanying forks of lightning. The clouds roiled, turning black and angry-looking.

“4.”

An orange energy began to permeate the storm cloud. Small ethereal pebbles began to drop from the cloud, each also glowing orange, and wherever they hit the acid, they fizzled. One of them hit the Rotom, who looked skyward, albeit unconcernedly.

“3.”

Once the small pebbles had stopped, a multitude of glowing rocks descended next. These pelted the two ghosts, leaving scrapes and bruises where they bounced off and disappeared. The Duskull joined its partner in turning its attention to the ceiling.

“2.”

The thunder came to a crashing, booming crescendo as the clouds parted: from them came one absolutely tremendous boulder. If Kurtzwick had had his eyes open, he would have remarked on how the orange glow looked remarkably like the meteor was engulfed in flames. The glow illuminated every crater, every bump, every crag in the rock as it fell. The ghosts didn’t move.

“1.”

The meteor impacted with both ghosts at once. Kurtzwick’s eyes snapped open, though he had to wrench them shut almost immediately because of the bright orange explosion that resulted – even through the Haze, it was blinding. Two quiet splashes confirmed for him that the ghosts had dropped, and a clicking noise from the vicinity of the door told him that it had unlocked.

He raced through the door and slammed it shut behind him just as the loudspeaker said “0.”

Test complete! Kurtzwick grows to level 13!

“Very good. You have completed the test with a score of 0 seconds left. The current record is 32 seconds left. You scored in the 0th percentile.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kurtzwick grumbled. “Trying to kill me. Friggin’ place. Can I go now?”

“Please rest assured that the Pokémon you dropped in a pool of acid are not dead, and even if they were, you would not be held responsible.”

“Wonderful. Sets my mind at ease. Can I go now?”

“Please proceed with the next test.”

“I will burn this place to the ground,” Kurtzwick muttered under his breath as he scoped out the room.

[Lady Vulpix]

To Jeff:

I'm glad you enjoyed Caledor's antics. Yes, he likes wood. The kind that comes from trees (I can definitely picture him saying that). I was surprised at how many of his past silly phrases were wood related (the wrath of the electric willow, the whole deal with the armoire of invincibility, comparing an enemy's future pain with the amount of trees on White Mountain...), so I gathered he really does like it. Either that or he's messing with me as much as he does with everyone else. On the other hand, I don't think "living lightbulb" has anything to do with wood. I wonder why I even remember all that crazy stuff he said. It's not even relevant to the plot. Perhaps I'm trying to check if he ever repeats himself? <_<
I'm also glad you're not living in the Barracks anymore. Yes, the Farfetch'd came out of nowhere (from Amber's perspective, although you now know where he came from). I wonder if anyone in your team would be willing to help him with the one-liners.
And I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one who says "train station" I initially typed it that way, then noticed and was about to correct it, but then I said to myself: "no, it makes sense to leave it that way, if I made the mistake while typing then I'd have definitely made it while arguing with Edward".
And being with the Dragon Tamers has its advantages after all.

And now for your battle!

It was ironic to see the phrase "invisible things suck" uttered by someone who prides himself in his ability to go unseen.
That was an interesting puzzle, even if Kurtzwick keeps being treated extremely unfairly. I can understand why he made that last remark.
It was also interesting to see how long each action took, thanks to the countdown, though I really wouldn't want to be hearing that during any of my battles.
Nice description of Kurtwick's latest move!

Take 13 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

To Alex:

Oh... so much nostalgia! You've brought me some old memories as well.
Is the Dessert Room the restaurant?
If I'd known there's be an air conditioned area in the Lava Room this time around I might have tried going in there. Macedon, on the other hand, seemed to really enjoy being in there. He's lucky to be one of the few Pokemon who can actually play inside a lava pool.
Macedon's battle was nicely described, and I agree with Jeff's comments.
Also, poor Rex, but a lost battle is a chance to learn.

[The Blue Avenger]

I'd like an RBG for Kurtzwick from the UAC, please. *hands over 7 stamps*

[Lady Vulpix]

Kurtzwick will battle... a... Smoochum.

By the way, all workers please check the tagboard.

EDIT: the rules have been updated! From now on, if your battle goes unrated for over 7 days, you will get an additional stamp for each extra day (from the 8th on) until the battle is rated.

I hope no one will have to benefit from that in the near future.

[classy_cat18]

I apologize for neglecting AC/CC lately. I'm pretty sure I have the most free time out of all the workers here. I'll try to pick up the pace.

Bandit’s POV

“Hey Ali, are you still okay down here?” I asked the Meditite after Shonta and the creepy guy had left with the two Houndour.

Ali was sweating but she wasn’t paying attention to me. Instead she was eagerly watching an enraged Ninetales chase around a young Torchic. “Hang on,” Ali replied once she was able to take her eyes away from the action. “This is going to get good.”

Torchic hopped around the rocks above the pool of lava, Trinity close behind it. It was amazing how a big Pokemon like Trinity (over three feet tall at the shoulder and with nine bushy tails to deal with) can jump around as well as a small bird. There had to be something motivating her.

“YOU WILL PAY FOR BITING MY TAILS! A THOUSAND YEARS OF SUFFERING FOR YOU!” the fox shrieked when she paused on one of the rocks for a few seconds.

“I was just trying to get your attention!” Torchic sobbed.

“Poor bird. Trinity will chase him all day until she gets her revenge,” I groaned.

If you’re wondering why Ali or I didn’t step in and stop Trinity from massacring Torchic, it was because neither of us was willing to pay the price. It didn’t matter if she was of a lower level; she had other ways of making us suffer. She carried a grudge for the pettiest things. Curse or no curse, anyone deserving of her wrath got it in full.

Besides, she wouldn’t seriously injure the bird nearly as much as she would anyone who got in her way.

Ali and I held our breaths as Torchic skidded to a stop at a dead end. He could either lie back and accept his fate, or fight back. His quivering stopped as he looked his pursuer in the eye. “Bring it, sister!” he chirped.

Our excitement for the battle died as a whinny rang out behind us. Ali and I rolled away in time to avoid a stampeding Ponyta’s Tackle. She was headed right for Trinity! “Whoa, wait!” Ali shouted.

Trinity’s ears perked at the sound of hooves hitting the volcanic rock. Ponyta took a huge leap, preparing her hooves for a Stomp. Ali grunted and ran forward to stop her but it wasn’t necessary; Trinity calmly teleported out of the way. “I’m busy here,” the Ninetales growled.

“See here! I’m fine and dandy with it if it’s a Pokemon battle, but you can’t just torment little Pokemon fer your enjoyment!” Ponyta chastised in a country western voice.

Trinity opened her mouth to mouth off but then grinned. “Yeah, it’s a Pokemon battle. The little one just challenged me.”

Torchic hung his head in defeat. “Darn,” he whimpered.

“Then I reckon I should stand back fer this,” Ponyta said before trotting to a safe distance.

L9 Female Ninetales (Trinity) vs. L8 Male Torchic

Torchic sprinted as fast as his little legs could carry him, circling Trinity until he was behind her. Strangely enough, the previously enraged Ninetales stayed still.

“What is she waiting for?” I thought out loud to myself. I noticed that her muzzle was twitching as if she was muttering to herself.

She looked back at a strong Flamethrower, not even moving when it engulfed her. Big mistake. Flash Fire is going to be his undoing. Torchic gulped and started running again, but couldn’t outrun a Quick Attack to the backside. He tumbled through the air and landed on a small rock in the middle of small pool of lava.

“He’s a dead bird,” Ali said.

She wasn’t moving again. Once again, she was moving her lips. Then I saw it, a black aura that was emanating from her. It started to grow until it was impossible for us to miss it. A Psychic Pokemon would’ve run and hidden in fear from it. Ali was close to doing it herself, already on her feet and backing away slowly. “What is it?” I asked Ali.

“N-N-Nasty Plot,” she stammered. “Her bad thoughts are powering her.”

Torchic got over his fear and jumped high into the air. Trinity merely followed his movements, allowing herself to get hit by his claws on the trip down.

We all froze. Even Ponyta was looking fearful.

“He got her face,” I whimpered. “That poor fool scratched her face.”

Trinity jumped back and giggled. The giggle turned to a maniacal laugh. The black aura of Nasty Plot grew even more until it threatened to swallow the whole room in darkness. Okay, maybe not that much but it was turning the room dark. “YOU WILL BURN! YOU WILL SINK INTO THE FIRES OF HELL, LITTLE ONE! I WILL INCINERATE YOU! I MAY BE INVULNERABLE BUT YOU ARE NOT!”

“Run, Torchic!” I shouted.

“Shut up! Do you want to sink into the fires of hell too?” Ali hissed.

Torchic stood bravely and ran for the rock wall. He ran and jumped easily up the wall to a great height, and started kicking at a rock that looked twice as large as him. “I… will… not… lose!” he grunted, kicking with each word.

The rock was knocked loose and tumbled down the sloped hill, other rocks joining it on its journey straight for Trinity. Once again, Trinity didn’t move but when the rocks got pretty close…

“Too slow,” she said before teleporting.

“AAH!” Torchic screamed when she reappeared in front of him.

FWOOSH! Trinity fired a raging Overheat that was twice as bright as the lava surrounding us. Ali shielded her face from the heat and didn’t uncover it until the light from the attack dimmed.

Torchic was a charbroiled mess. He clumsily wobbled away to escape but tripped and tumbled down the slope to the floor. A couple more kicks and a weak chirp, then he was still and silent.

Trinity won and grew to L10! She got Psyshock as her free TM!

The creepy aura of darkness surrounded Trinity suddenly dissipated. She looked so calm. “All forgiven,” she said in a warm voice. She walked to the KO’ed Torchic and started to nudge him toward the elevator. “All is forgiven. All is forgiven.”

It was after she disappeared behind the sliding doors of the elevator did Ali and I notice that we were clinging to each other. “Okay, how scary was that?” I shakingly asked my teammate.

“On a scale of one to ten, one being Lily using Synthesis and ten being Yssera herself, I give that an eight,” she replied.

“O-only an eight?”

“I can’t decide whether that was scarier than possessed Bo or not.”

We let each other go. I was getting thirsty, and Ali was sweating heavily. “Well. Sometimes it’s neck-and-neck, and sometimes it’s a straight-up beatdown.”

Ponyta turned and left the two, passing Ali. “Hey, how about a battle?” she asked Ali.

“Sorry, but I’m at my limit. How about you battle Bandit?” the Meditite suggested while pointing at me.

“Why me?” I whined.

“For the Dragon Games! Plus you can probably last longer than me! I need to get out of here now!”

“Sorry, but I gotta get rid of this sunburn I got.” I poked my red skin and laughed. “There was supposed to be a restaurant on the top floor, right?”

“Yeah, let’s go there.”

Ponyta groaned and trotted somewhere else, probably to find another challenger. We finally left the Lava Room and punched the elevator button for the top floor. My skin finally got to its original green color after the cooler air hit it.

Shonta’s POV

“Okay, your Pokemon have fully recovered!” the nurse told Eli and me cheerfully before yelping in surprise. Noah had decided to leap over the counter instead of walking around it. Destai followed him and sat by my side.

“Noah, you should know better,” Eli scolded. Noah whined with his ears drooped.

Destai looked up at me as if expecting the same treatment. “Yeah, you should know better too,” I told him. He just snorted and nodded.

Eli checked his cell phone and widened his eyes a small fraction. It was hard to catch that brief moment of surprise. “Did you say that you were competing in the Dragon Games?” he asked me.

“Yeah, but they kept pushing back the date.”

“Not anymore. I got a text from one of the Guild members. The tournament starts tomorrow. If I were you, I’d head to the site of the first round today and find a room for the night. Tomorrow the trains will probably be packed with travelers.”

“But my Pokemon haven’t gotten enough training done!” My voice was filled with panic.

“Calm down. The only Pokemon that absolutely needs to be there is the one you entered for the tournament. And you only need to be there during your battles. Once you’re done, you can just come back.”

I stayed quiet for a while, thinking of what to do. “If my Pokemon have finished this tower, it won’t be a problem. We’ll just do the rest after the first round.”

Eli shrugged. “Don’t let me tell you what to do. I think I’ll just relax in the hobby for the rest of the day.”

I grinned and shook the hand he offered me. “It was good to meet you. I hope we bump into each other again.”

Noah barked happily. Destai’s tail wagged. “I’m sure we will,” Eli said.

Eli’s POV

“She’s gone,” Noah muttered after she disappeared behind the door to the staircase.

So far I haven’t had any significant information on my target. In order to observe the red-ringed Umbreon without suspicion, I first had to get friendly with his trainer. That turned out easier than I thought. “Do you think Loki and Valkyrie have met the Umbreon in the Desert Room yet?” I asked my companion.

“If so, Valkyrie would’ve contacted us,” Noah answered. He stretched and scratched behind his ear. “I hope we get something out of this field trip. Your act is very irritating.”

I kept my voice low so that no one could hear me. “What act? I am a member of the Dragon’s Guild. It’s the truth.”

My partner growled in warning. Any further teasing from me would result in an attack. “Don’t play innocent. First you act as if running into the girl on the train was mere coincidence, then you act as if you’re interested in her and the entire team. You act like you can’t understand any of her Pokemon. You even go so far as to waste time on a battle with her Houndour when it’s the Umbreon we want.”

“I know what I’m doing. If I drop the act and start interrogating her about the little Umbreon’s incident too soon, we’ll lose our chance.”

“If you keep playing around with your new toy, she’ll get clingy and suggest we ‘hang out’ more often. Female humans tend to do that, you know.”

I ignored his complaining and leaned back in my comfortable seat. Intercepting the report she sent about the White Mountain mission and hiding it from Lord Absol did both of us a favor. Better me than the elf, after all. This may be my best chance to find that old dragon, and gain a new playmate in the process.

[Lady Vulpix]

Wow, Shonta, that was great! Especially the final scene. I also enjoyed the comments and reactions during and after the battle. And Bandit's scary scale. Take 16 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

Note: I mean it was great for the Battle Range. For the Dragon Games you should focus a bit more on the battle itself, but I think you know that already.

[The Blue Avenger]

I'd like another RBG for Kurtzwick from the UAC, please. *hands over 7 stamps*

[classy_cat18]

Kurtzwick will battle a Drifloon. That'll be fun to read.

[The Blue Avenger]

I'm gonna keep stocking these up - another RBG for Kurtzwick from the UAC, please. *hands over 7 stamps*

[classy_cat18]

Wait, you can do that? Someone give me an RBG for Moriko from the UAC. *pays*

Jeff, Kurtzwick will battle a Girafarig.