¤Game¤ Dragon Tamers Battle Range version 21 (M.A. Pidgeot)

[Kirei]

Thanks for the rating, Gabi! Yes, Alan is very scary! I didn't understand the comment about Thunderblast though, I asked Ade and he was a bit confused too - this is set before Ade's story, so I think Sumi still misses her, is that what you meant? Ade said he might make me a new Kirei icon!

[Lady Vulpix]

I guess I must have misread something, then. Sorry about the confusion.

[Charizard04621]

Could I please have an extension for the current scenario? I'm not sure when I'll be able to write... >_< College apps are crazy.

[Lady Vulpix]

>_< Uni's crazy too. You can have the extension, Karin. And I'll see if I can manage without having to get one myself.

[aragornbird]

Yeah, I need an extension too for this scenario. I haven't even finished my last one, and don't see how I can this month with college applications and an art portfolio.

[Lady Vulpix]

I see several people are applying for college this year. Good luck, everyone!

And yes, the extension is yours.

[Moonlight Espeon]

Dropped my size 1 because it's hard to read.
Don't kill me. This is my absolute first time and the only reason I tried this is because SD said that I should try it out so I don't know if I'll be good at this or not..

~1st Person POV~

I could have sworn that we wandered for hours. The sky displayed its usual violet color quite boldly that night as we walked into the endless light. I almost couldn't take it anymore when I heard something. Quite far in the distance, but it was clear and I was able to easily pick up on it.
It sounded like a Pokemon battle.
All I could make out was "Gastly, use.." and "No! Rattata, dodge it"! when I remembered why I had gone on that long, strenuous trip. I was sent on a mission. I approached slowly until I saw the familiar symbol, the red "R", shining off the flickering moonlight. I hesitated. I knew that this was my first mission and I really was set on not blowing it, so I stupidly passed up my chance to get them while they were concentrated. One looked in my direction. I stupidly ducked, thinking that something was in front of me, and then they knew I didn't want them to see me. That is when the trouble began.
One ran toward me and the other followed, and I knew right at that moment that it wasn't going to be easy to get out of what I knew was about to happen. I looked their Pokemon in the eye and there was no need for words. They were out for blood.
I tried to compensate. I didn’t want what I knew was about to come if I didn’t act quickly.
I broke the silence.
“What do you want with me?”
“You think you can talk like that to me, punk?” one of them said.
“I was just trying to ask...”
“Nobody cares what you were trying to ask. What are you doing here anyway? I advise that you get out of here as fast as you can before I have to hurt you.”
“I came here because..”
What was I thinking? I couldn’t just tell him why I had came. I can’t give him that much information. I can’t blow my cover.
“I was just wandering around these parts.”
“Then why do you seem so nervous? Scared, little wimp?”
“No...”
I knew myself that I was lying my face off. It was quite obvious that I was scared and I think they recognized that.
“It’s just really cold out here..”
“You punk. Trying to lie to me. I can see right through you. So unless you’re looking for some pain, you better get out of here pretty darn quick.”
I turned back to run, following their advice. But the other one, who hadn’t talked, the one without the R and some strange pattern on their shirt, grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around. I knew I was in trouble.
“Hey, I recognize your face. You’re that new guy in that stupid organization. They sent you on a mission here, didn’t they?”
“Um.. er... no... well.. yeah.. So what if they did?” I said suddenly.
Then I realized my stupid mistake right after I had said it. I tried to run again but he grabbed me by the collar this time. I knew there was no way out and the only way to get through them and to complete my mission was to battle them.

~Battle: Crystal the Snorunt vs. Lv. 8 Gastly~

I didn’t know quite why I sent out my Pokemon yet, maybe it was out of anger, maybe it was out of fear, but regardless I got myself into a battle that I didn’t particularly want to get into, but it was no matter. I was going to fight and I was going to win at any cost.
“Crystal! Attack it with Hidden Power: Flying!”
“Gastly, dodge it!”
I should have known that such an erratic attack wouldn’t have worked very well. I needed to have patience. I needed to win.
“Gastly! Shadow Ball!”
Wait a second... I was forgetting something!
“Crystal, release your most frightening Leer!”
It had worked. The Gastly became scared. Here’s my perfect chance.
“Now, use Hidden Power: Flying!”
It worked like wonders. The Gastly was so scared, it didn’t know what hit it. The attack hit head-on, and Gastly was barely holding on for dear life. Victory would not slip between my fingers this time around.
“No! Gastly! Psychic now!”
What? A Gastly using Psychic? You sure don’t see that every day.
The Psychic hit, but it didn’t do very much damage. It was still scared. I needed to strike as quickly as I could.
“Crystal! Finish it off, now! Hidden Power: Flying again!”
It worked. The Gastly got knocked back from the wind and started to sway from side to side. I knew that I was victorious then, but I also knew that the battle to come would be much harder than this.
Gastly was returned to its Pokeball.
~Crystal grows to level 8~

I glared at the two and almost had a smirk on my face. I was going to win. I should win. I will win. I have to win.
Well, I suppose that smirk was enough to provoke the Rocket, because he came towards me with his evil-looking Rattata and I knew that this was the harder battle.

~Battle: Aqua the Tentacool vs. Lv. 15 Rattata~

I didn’t know what came over me when I sent out Aqua, but I started to go into a trance, I was so obsessed with battling and winning at that moment. I decided to immediately take the offensive and I made the exact stupid mistake I had on the last battle.
“Aqua! Sludge Bomb!”
The Rattata easily evaded. I had to catch it off guard. I knew that if I didn’t it was going to kill me.
“Rattata! Hyper Fang!”
The last thing I needed was that evil Rattata’s teeth in my Pokemon’s flesh, so I decided to do something quite odd.
“Aqua! Release a Sludge Bomb as fast as you can right into Rattata’s mouth before it bites you!”
It worked like a nice little charm. The Rattata was coming after me at full speed, but I was ready. Aqua did just as told, and Rattata swallowed a mouthful of toxic waste. It was poisoned and it would not have the will to battle much longer.
I needed to think of something to keep it away from me, though.
“Aqua! Supersonic!”
I’m not sure what came over the Rattata, but the sound waves I had sent into the air made it sway back and forth as if it were drunk. Then I saw it flinch, and I knew that its poison was affecting it. It continued to sway, head up. It was quite a funny sight, but I wasn’t interested in anything funny right now. I knew that I needed to finish it off.
It remained drunk when I decided that I needed to do something quickly. I couldn’t Surf because there was no water around, but I could certainly drop a few bombs.
“Aqua! Use Sludge Bomb over and over as fast as you can!”
The sky turned a dark violet and the ground started to take a purplish color. Toxic bombs were flying and exploding everywhere. It looked like a freak show. After the smog had subsided, I finally could see the playing field again.
I was shocked by what I saw.
That Rattata stood there, purple goo all over it, panting, but it looked like it wanted to battle on. This was too much. If this Rattata had any sense, it would refuse to battle further but it decided to go on.
In a second, I knew why.
“Rattata! Thunderbolt!”
WHAT?!
Thunderbolt?
It suddenly hit me what was going on here. The Rocket was trying to trick me into a false sense of security, and it worked. I had realized too late. If the Rattata could use Thunderbolt, it obviously wasn't the pushover I thought it was, but I remained confident.
Aqua got hit hard with that Thunderbolt, but it didn’t give in at all. Both were determined. All I needed to do was do something to turn the battle in my favor.
“This is it..” I said under my breath.
“Aqua! Constrict!” I said suddenly.
That was it!
I immediately trapped it in Aqua’s feelers and bam, it couldn’t escape. Perfect chance right here.
“Aqua! Sludge Bomb right at its face while you’re holding onto it!”
The bomb hit directly and did even more damage then I had planned for it to. Aqua fell back itself after using it, and I knew then that the Rattata couldn’t go on no matter what it had taken.
Rattata fell.
~Aqua grows to level 14~

After the battle was over, I stood there for a while. Just stood there and stared into the eyes of my opponents. They looked shocked. Baffled. Embarrassed.
I couldn’t hold back a small giggle. Knowing that my mission was complete, I teased them a bit.
“Heh. And you’re calling ME the punk.” I said abruptly.
They obviously didn’t want to talk about it because they very quickly ran off.
“I love my job..” I thought to myself. “I’ll always have time for freaks like them.”

[Kerel]

22 PM, Lonesong Bar, the actual meeting hour, we were supposed to meet with our contact: "Big Fat Dumbledore", we would give us some important information about the thing we were looking for.

We couldn´t get there in time cause we had an emergency.

Bruce: Yeah, a sanitary emergency.

22:06 PM: we entered the bar, it was an old place, the illumination was pretty low so it was pretty dark, all the people you could see around (besides a BIG and Fat guy at the bar wearing a grey raincoat and a hat) were a bunch of lowlifes and...

...

...

Bruce: cmon say it...

-Theresa Dorcuato.

You could see a very beautiful woman with the face of an angel and the body of a demon, blonde, long hair and of course wearing a red and sexy dress, as well as her attitude. She was the center of attention.

(Bruce: Just imagine Jessica Rabbit)
(Caroline: Ponyta?)
(Bruce: yeah, I think the same)

Theresa came to me and said.

-Hello Kerel, long time no see.

-Not long enough Theresa.

-Oh, you're still upset for our previous encounter, come on, I didn't mean to hurt you, you know?

-but you did.

**Bruce: so that you can understand, this is not the first time they meet, but that's a long story.**

Theresa said then to me, while pointing her finger to the bar: Kerel, ain't your contact being kidnapped right now.

Kerel: Hey don't change the subj...

I turned back and saw 6 ninjas that were taking the guy on the raincoat through a backdoor.

Kerel: Damn! Let's go!

We all followed the guys, to a dark and dirty street, they forced Big Fat into a black Limo. and started driving away.

I started running towards the car.

Kerel: Caroline! burn its tires.


Caroline used her flamethrower and burned one of the tires on the back of the car, bur then the guys opened the windows and
started shooting at us. So we had to dodge the bullets and the car went far away.

Kerel: Damn we lost them!!!
Bruce: Whoever they were. You did take note of the number on the car's plate, didn't you?
Kerel: errr.
Theresa: I did. (she said while giving a piece of paper with a number on it to Kerel)
Bruce: Theresa you're a blessing.
Kerel: Yeah, well, thanks but "What are you doing here and how did you know Big fat was my contact?"
Theresa: Who do you think led you to him in the first place?
Kerel: so it was you?
Theresa: I thought you'd already found out, don't you ever check on you caller ID?
Kerel: er... I don't have it, I had this disagreement with the cell phone's company and...well nevermind.
Theresa: Well all we need to do is check out whose that car is, and rescue BFD.
Kerel: Wait a seccond...we?
Theresa: Sure, you can come along.
Kerel: I´m not sure you get what I...
Theresa: Come, my car is parked on the next street.
Kerel: oh...whatever...

--------------------------------------
tech data:

Bruce Zangoose level 7
Caroline Ponyta level 7
Kerel Human level 2?
Theresa Human no further data
Gastly level 8 hasn't appeared so far

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

[Lady Vulpix]

Sorry, Kelly, but your battle is invalid. Crystal can't have 2 different types of Hidden Power. Please decide what type you want and fix it.

[Moonlight Espeon]

Sorry, Kelly, but your battle is invalid. Crystal can't have 2 different types of Hidden Power. Please decide what type you want and fix it.

Oops. I taught it Hidden Power twice. That was a mistake..

EDIT: Fixed. All I had to do is make it use HP: Flying twice, since I moved the HP: Psychic to another adoptee. Luckily, Crystal didn't battle anyone before this incident.

[Charizard04621]

LOL Kerel! Take 2 Stamps... Hehe. You're going to make my face sore from grinning!

[Kerel]

heh, thanks

[Lady Vulpix]

It still says Psychic the first time, Kelly. Anyway, Crystal already knows what type her Hidden Power is; you don't need to tell her (not to mention announcing the type in advance provides important information to your opponent). By the way, Surf can be used as long as there's humidity in the air, but it's ok for a new trainer not to know that.

I didn't quite understand the paragraph that says "It suddenly hit me what was going on here. This Pokemon wasn’t right in the head. It was somehow messed up. I didn’t want to linger on it, but I also knew that it would be quite a job to knock this Rattata out because I knew that it had an alternate source of energy." What did you mean?

And the rockets were bluffing all along, right? Otherwise I don't see why they would run off as soon as they lost a pokemon battle, if they looked so threatening at the begining.

I could assume the first "Psychic" says "Flying" and give you some stamps now, but I'll give you the chance to edit your post in case you want to make any other changes.

[LightNinetales]

The egg is the egg I got at the Pocket Monsters Breeding Center; the HP Grass TM is the one I bought at the Reward Center a month ago, or something like that.
Oh, and as a reminder:

Sparkle writes in pink.
Light writes in white.
"Oni", or the others opponents I could have, writes in bold.
Aidane writes in Lime
Lightstorm writes in orange.
Kusa writes in green.
Axolotl writes in blue.
Joyau writes in Royal Blue.
Enigma writes in slate gray.
Whitney writes in gray.
Silvereyes writes in silver.
Will'O writes in dark orchid.
Honoo writes in red.
Chataigne writes in yellow.
Acajou writes in Deep sky blue.
Tooana writes in Sienna.
Krystal writes in Pale Turquoise.

________________

~x~ Light’s POV ~x~

We managed to escape these training grounds. Actually, I was really happy. I won’t have to battle anymore.... I won’t have to watch my pokemon fighting....
Well, that was what I thought before hearing Lightstorm.
“Light, where’s the next opponent?”
“Meh, Lightstorm, I don’t think you’ll battle anyone this week....”
“WHAT?” shouted Silvereyes."No battles?”
“Yes, Silvereyes” answered Honoo. “No battles. I don’t want you to be hurt, and-”
“But I want battles! I want to become stronger!”
“Calm down, Silver.” said Will’O. “You’ll battle. Actually, Light got a phone call and –”
Lightstorm jumped on my head.
“Someone called you? Who? What did he want? Will I battle?”
I looked at Lightstorm’s soft red fur, took the Vulpix in my arms, and caressed her six tails.
“We have a mission” I said. “We have to neutralise two evil organisations. Team Rocket, you already know what it is, and Crimson Blades, a small group with violent creatures. And you know, they are, ahem,.... really evil, and...”
“I will battle the eviiiil pokemon, whee!”
Joyau was sarcastic, of course. He was frightened, just like I was....but I was the trainer, I couldn’t explain them I would prefer not battling at all.
“That’s soooo cool!”said Silvereyes, suddenly excited. “Can we go battling them now?”
I looked at Honoo’s majestic flames.
“Maybe.... we should... stay here.... and wait for them?” I suggested.
Sparkle and Kusa were talking, and I was sure they didn’t heard what I said. Kusa turned back, ran , jumped on my bag and opened it. She took the Hidden Power TM I bought and gave it to Sparkle.
“That’s a TM with the only grass-type attack you can learn” she said. “That’s Hidden Power Grass.”
I saw a smile on the Elekid’s face. I also saw the glitter in its eyes as he took the TM and used it.

Sparkle learnt HP: Grass!

~x~Sparkle’s POV~x~

“Thank you, Kusa!”
I was so happy. I learnt a grass-type move, Hidden Power.... I hugged Kusa.
"Argh... Can’t breathe...” said the Oddish.
I let her go and looked at Light.
“You bought the TM for me, right?”
“That was Kusa’s idea” she answered. “She said you were always talking about learning grass-type moves but you couldn’t learn any of them. I told her there was Hidden Power, and she asked me if I could go at the Reward Center and buy it for you.”
“Oh, that was nice.... And what did you say? I’ve never seen Silver so excited since the day you gave her the Hidden Power Electric TM.”
“Ahem, I got a phone call, and we.... we have to prevent two evil groups from damaging the areas they’re battling in.”
I didn’t realize what it meant.
“We’ll talk with them and tell them they’re damaging the areas?”
Just after I heard myself asking this question, I knew I had been naive.
“No, Sparkle.... Actually, we have to... ahem....”
She took a break, then said quickly “ Fight them.”
I fainted.
“Sparkle? Sparkle, is there something I said that hurt you?”
I opened my eyes and saw the other pokemon and Light, looking at me. They seemed worried.
“I’m fine, but... ahem.... did you say we had to FIGHT?”
“That’s what I said... no, Sparkle, don’t faint again! You won’t fight, I think I’ll ask another pokemon, like.... Silver, she seemed so impatient!”
“There’s someone else here” said Chataigne. “I smelled it.”

~x~ Enigma’s POV ~x~

“Is it an ally?”
“Neh” answered Chataigne. “I smelled her cruelty...”
I smiled. Chataigne’s sense of smell was good, but I didn’t entirely trust it.
“Hey” said Acajou, “there’s something in Light’s bag that is... well, moving.”
I looked at the black and white bag, and searched the mysterious thing. I found an icy blue egg. It was unexpectedly cold.
“Chataigne, there’s something strange about this egg...”
“Something strange? What?”
“This egg is –”
I stopped talking and listened attentively. Nothing. Maybe I imagined this sound...
“Why did you stop explaining me what was strange, Enigma?”
“I thought I heard something. And the egg... it’s so cold....”
“You heard something and I smelled something, that means there’s someone hiding here!”
“But I only imagined that sound, I’m probably paranoid, and you shouldn’t trust my senses....”
“No, you didn’t imagine that sound. What did you hear?”
I tried to visualise the scene. There was a tree, there was another tree, someone, a tree, another tree....
“There was someone in a tree. He or she tried to move to another tree.”
“So, there’s someone hid-”
“Chataigne! Come here, I need you and Acajou!”
And Chataigne obeyed. I was alone, they were probably discussing about the egg...
I heard another sound. I started to get really scared.
Then, I saw her. The “evil member of the evil group”. Her eyes were as cold as the egg I was protecting. She had a short, black hair, dark eyes, and dark red clothes which were probably the uniform of her organisation. She seemed calm, but cruel inside.
She took one of her pokeballs and pushed the little button on the middle. A Rattata appeared. It was as cold as his trainer, with his black fur and his pale blue, glowing eyes.
The Rattata approached me.
“Bite her.” said the trainer. Even her voice was cold.
“Who... who are you?”
“My name is Onirei Ichigo, but people often call me “Oni”. And his name is Demon.”
I realized she was talking about the Rattata.
“Why are you here?”
“I was waiting for Team Rocket members, and I found you. You are my opponents, since you were talking about fighting my organisation...”

Enigma the female Meowth[lv.5] and a mysterious icy blue egg[lv ?] VS Oni’s Demon the male Rattata[lv.15]


~x~ Chataigne’s POV ~x~

I turned back and saw Enigma, my egg, and.... this young woman with the black hair.
Light and the others also saw them.
“I will battle for Enigma, Light! I have to help her!”
“Stay here, Chataigne.”
“What? I promised, Light, I told her I’ll protect her, and the egg is my son and I can’t let them –”
“Stay here.”
“Did you understand what I said?”
“Yes. But I want you to stay here and watch Enigma’s battle.”
I obeyed. Enigma was a good fighter, actually; she already used an attack that was probably Body Slam. Joyau and Lightstorm were discussing about Enigma’s strategy.
The Rattata rushed towards Enigma, his fangs ready to sink into her flesh.
But something captured his attention. The egg –my egg- was glowing, its shell was starting to crack, and a black paw appeared. Slowly, the icy blue shell entirely cracked; something was on the ground, where the egg was two minutes ago. Something with black fur and crystal blue eyes. Something with a gray and rainbow mane. An Eevee; an Eevee with my black fur.
"Krystal” I said.
“Krystal?”
“My son, the Eevee. Krystal.”
Enigma didn’t hear me, but we probably had the same idea at the same moment, because she shouted “Don’t touch Krys, you stupid Rattata with pale blue eyes!”
She rushed towards him, jumped, and landed on his back.
The Eevee was watching the scene with a strange smile that I already knew -it was mine- .
And something happened. The wind became cold, Krys’ blue eyes started to glow, and an icy blue aura surrounded him. Even Enigma was amazed by the scene. Krys, the newborn Eevee, using an ancient power. The power of ice.
“Look, Sparkle.” said Kusa. “That is Hidden Power Ice.”
The Rattata seemed wounded. That kind of attacks –non-physical attacks- hurt him a lot.
“Oni” seemed astonished. Her Rattata wasn’t able to move, paralyzed by Enigma’s attack; and he was wounded. She recalled him into his pokeball.
“That doesn’t mean you’re better than me” she told Light."That means my pokemon isn’t able to battle anymore.”Then, she ran away.

Enigma&Krystal won!
Enigma grew to level 6!
Krystal grew to level 6!

~x~ Krystal’s POV ~x~

Phew. I was just born a few minutes ago, and I had already shown my power and defeated my first opponent. This Meowth, Enigma, seemed nice.
“Who are you?” I told the black Jolteon.
“But, Krys... I’m your mother, Chataigne.”
“Krys? Who is Krys?”
“You are Krys. Krystal, actually, but we’ll call you Krys.”
“Mommy?”
I finally realized the Jolteon was my mother. The Meowth was probably my sister.
“Hm? What do you want, Krys?”
“Is Eenaikma my sister?”
“No, I am not your sister” said the Meowth. “And my name is Enigma, Ay-nee-gma.”
I looked at Enigma. She had a black fur, too. Then, I saw a Vaporeon. He was smiling.
“You can call me Uncle Acajou, little Krys” said the Vaporeon.

~x~ Tooana’s POV ~x~

“Chataigne!” I said. “Light just let me out of my ball. She told me something had happened. What?”
“Mommy... ahem, Tooana! I... have a son, Krystal. The little Eevee hiding behind Eni’s back.”
I didn’t believe her, at first.
“You? You, Chataigne, the little Eevee who was always annoying her brother?”
“Please, don’t make me remember these days.... I’ve grown up now, you know.”
I laughed. Chataigne, grown up? She was still the same, at least for me.
“Tooana! I missed you. Why didn’t you get out of your ball?” said Acajou.
“Well, Acajou, I needed to think about the team...Who are these pokemon?”
“Our new teammates. You already know Krys, but there’s also Aidane...” he said, pointing at a Bulbasaur. “and Joyau.” I noticed the Tentacool on Axolotl’s head.
“Tooana...you were... like a mother for me.... and... well... maybe you could.... tell me... do you think I’ll be a good mother for Krys?” said my little Chataigne.
“I don’t know, Chataigne, but you aren’t alone... there’s me and Eni, and Light, and also Honoo, who is so kind and peaceful, and he is probably the best father Silver and Will could have... If you need advice, we’re there, you know that.”
“Thanks, Tooana. Thanks for being there.”
I saw a smile on her black face and knew she still needed me. After all, she hadn’t her parents with her, she only had me. I couldn’t just lock myself up in my own ball...
“I will always be there, now, Chataigne.”
_______________________________________________

Meh, that's the longest battle I ever wrote(at least in English...) ^.^
Well, I hope I haven't made too much grammar mistakes, and I have to say I quite liked that battle .

Oh, and I'd like a time extension, please^^-.

[Moonlight Espeon]

It still says Psychic the first time, Kelly. Anyway, Crystal already knows what type her Hidden Power is; you don't need to tell her (not to mention announcing the type in advance provides important information to your opponent). By the way, Surf can be used as long as there's humidity in the air, but it's ok for a new trainer not to know that.

I didn't quite understand the paragraph that says "It suddenly hit me what was going on here. This Pokemon wasn’t right in the head. It was somehow messed up. I didn’t want to linger on it, but I also knew that it would be quite a job to knock this Rattata out because I knew that it had an alternate source of energy." What did you mean?

And the rockets were bluffing all along, right? Otherwise I don't see why they would run off as soon as they lost a pokemon battle, if they looked so threatening at the begining.

I could assume the first "Psychic" says "Flying" and give you some stamps now, but I'll give you the chance to edit your post in case you want to make any other changes.

The first Psychic is supposed to say Flying, yes. I edited that in just now.
Sorry about that Surf thing. >_<;
Um, I don't exactly know what I was doing, I got into some Colosseum thing where I was making it a shadow Pokemon for some odd reason. o_o Fixed that and changed it to something else too.
Yes, they were bluffing, the whole thing is is that they were only lying to make themselves look tough when they weren't really tough at all.

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks for fixing it, Kelly. You can have 8 stamps now. ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[classy_cat18]

I'm sorry I haven't written anything in a while. My laptop's modem's busted and my mom is taking it in for repairs tomorrow. Can I have an extension to the scenario?

[Charizard04621]

Sure, problem understood. >_< Have your extension!

[LightNinetales]

I'm not sure someone saw my post, so I'll repost the most interesting part of it: can I have an extension please? ^.-

[Charizard04621]

Yeah, too many colors... And it was right at the end, lol. Sorry about that. Yes, you can have an extension too.

[Kerel]

I'd like to have a Random Battle from "Free Range Corral" for Bruce (zangoose level 7).

[Lady Vulpix]

I saw and read it, LightNinetales. But it takes time for us to rate battles. You've already been given the extension, though since everyone's asking for one I don't think it's time to change the scenario yet. You can have 8 stamps for your battle. I found it strange that Krystal was talking and battling as soon as he was born (he reminded me of Karin's Dratini, Elwing). And how did Kusa know what type Sparkle's Hidden Power would be? I liked the rest of the story. ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

Kerel, that will be 7 stamps (leaving you with 1). Bruce is going to battle a Tauros. Have fun writing!

[Kirei]

Can I have an extension too please? I have been too busy lately fighting with Alan to write much!

[Lady Vulpix]

Yes, though, as I've said in my post right above yours, the scenario isn't about to change yet.

[LightNinetales]

I saw and read it, LightNinetales. But it takes time for us to rate battles.

I know that. I just wanted my extension, I didn't ask for a rate^.^

I found it strange that Krystal was talking and battling as soon as he was born (he reminded me of Karin's Dratini, Elwing). And how did Kusa know what type Sparkle's Hidden Power would be?

Krystal is very, very smart, actually. None of my other pokemon had to battle just after being born...
Well, I'll try to explain that more in the next battle.
Sparkle's Hidden Power type...well, it was so obvious...
When an Elekid loves flowers and is always talking with grass pokemon, its Hidden Power type can't be anything else than Grass...^.~

*has to finish her next battle*

[Skye]

Apuntes:
Darkfire's thoughts are in red
Rayne's thoughts are in brown
Darkfire's memories are in red, bold, italics
Naois and Amaris do not battle
This battle was written a while ago, so many Pokemon I have are not mentioned.
I have a valid extension.
Ch 1 is way better that Ch 2 description and length wise, but I think the battles are better here.
Not at all Dragon Tamer accurate, and I've decided to not change my writtings at all, because of what happens in later Chapters.
Too much Spanish class. X_x

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-What Was-

Throughout history, there have been stories and legends. Myths about people and creatures who have succeeded in defeating any challenge of life, some later being defeated by another ‘hero’. These ‘heroes’ came in all shapes and sizes, famed in one culture or another for their valiant efforts. Striving to do the impossible, and they seem to always succeed in they stories.

And then there are the antagonists, the evil opposing the protagonist. Those who are enemies to the heroes, determined to be the power that stops them from defeating life’s challenge. Every time, they seem to be defeated by the protagonist, the hero. But if they had not been overthrown, how would if effect us today? Are these really just stories, or are they an ancient history so old, no one remembers them as such? And what if the hero was also the evil? Would some force of blinding goodness or a shadow of another evil defeat the dark protagonist?

And what if we are all heroes to be taken down some day. Only the Earth herself knows. Only she has witnessed all that has really happened. Only she can see the patterns of ages, and decipher the destiny of each living being on her surface. So, then. What if YOU are the evil?

****************** ****************** ****************** ****************** ******************

Darkfire lurched forward, landing hard on her hands and knees. Her eyes burned from he water, bringing tears to her eyes. She coughed heavily, spitting water up from her throat and lungs onto the hard floor in front of her. Her body shivered violently from its close brush against death, and her mind raced, wondering what had happened. Gasping and coughing still, she picked her head up and looked around. There was nothing to this room. Quite literally. No color, no furniture, no reason. Only darkness. Shadow upon shadow. No one was there, in this dark forsaken room, and yet Darkfire felt her hair stand on end. No matter what she saw, her instincts screamed that she was not alone.

She forced herself to stop gulping in air in noisy, grateful gasps, and listened. There were voices, whispering. She could see no details of the room, no matter how hard she tried. It was pitch black, so thick, she was almost afraid she would choke on it and drowned. She breathed very carefully from this unreasonable fear, and tried to catch snatches of conversation. Yet the voices seemed to circle her, making it hard to pinpoint them. Their tones rise and fall, almost a soothing motion of emotion. Who or whatever THEY are. That last thought set Darkfire on her guard.

The circling voices seemed to stop, ceasing their conversation. Darkfire felt that she was now their center of attention. She tried to stand up in an attempt to veil her utter exhaustion, but her limbs were unable to move. To cover her weakness, she went to her second plan and sat cross-legged on the floor, waiting patiently. As soon as she was seated, a fire sparked inf front of her, fuel by the nothingness. Darkfire blinked, but looked into the fire. She then realized that if anyone tried to sneak up on her, she would be half blind from this.

Wary, she looked away, only to notice that the fire’s light in her eyes had not effected her vision. Neither, however, did the fire penetrate the darkness. She was still blind, with the fire her only vision. The room, once cold enough to freeze the water on her skin, had now warmed drastically. It burned her skin sharply for a short time, but soon was a perfect temperature in a matter of moments. Knowing that this was some odd dream, Darkfire growled challengingly at her captors, whoever they were.

“What in Blood do you want with me? Why am I here?” She snapped. She felt shock emit from the others in the room. She smirked at them calmly, then paused as she found herself completely dry. Now, this IS a weird dream. Darkfire growled in fury.

“And Who Are You To Swear By The Sacred Blood, Human!?” One of the voices snapped.

“Darkfire.” She narrowed her eyes. “Darkfire Storm, and I do as I want. No one can stop me.”

“Are you so certain?” Another voice purred as if in amusement as her serious comment. Darkfire felt her hackles rise as she realized that these voices were neither masculine nor feminine. And that they seemed to echo around her in an intimidating fashion.

“If anyone were to try and stop me, they would have done so or failed.” Darkfire replied smoothly, shoving her fear away and letting her anger make her bold. “Want to try me?”

“I Would Gladly Set You In Your Place, Whelp.” The first voice growled. “Unfortunately, Or Fortunately For You, We have Very Little Time.”

“Chicken.” Darkfire sneered.

“Chicken? What Does Food Have To Do With-” It was cut off by a third voice.

“Enough of this. Darkfire, if you look at the people you are with, you will realize that allies and enemies are only a term they use. You must decide whose side your on.”

“I already know. I’m on my side. No one stands with me.” She paused at this. She would mention that Rayne was also on her side, but she didn’t dare call unwanted attention to him. Dream or not, she had to be careful.

“Your Side Will Perish. You Have To Choose, Or You Will Fail.” The second voice warned, forgetting her comment on chicken.

“Well, too bad for me. I’m out of here.”

“Wait, Darkfire. You must find the Gentle Warrior and the Dark Spy...” What else the third voice had to say was lost to Darkfire as she vanished completely from the black room.

She reappeared, lying down and soaked in water, on the dock. Rayne was watching her anxiously, and behind him, Cyndane was looking at her as well. Darkfire’s eyes opened, and she studied them both hard before giving a light half smile.

“What? Haven’t you two ever seen a soaked female human?” She taunted, all memories of her dream forgotten. Rayne hissed in relief, while Cyndane just shook his head. Darkfire sighed and forced her aching body to sit up.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t move.” Cyndane warned her.

“I’m fine! Just because I nearly drowned doesn’t mean I can’t move!” Darkfire snapped. Perhaps a bit too harshly as Cyndane fliched at her tone and averted his gaze. “Ah, come on, Cyndane...” Darkfire really felt bad now. Blood, someone actually cares about what could happen to me, and I go right off, trying to hurt them. She growled at him, but he still didn’t look at her. Oddly, Darkfire remembered that she had done the same thing to him before. “Rayne, sic ‘em!”

Rayne eyed her for a moment before going up to Cyndane, obviously intent on using his sharp, powerful claws against him. Cyndane looked at Rayne and began backing away. Darkfire sighed. Again, too harsh. Rayne stopped and went back to Darkfire, obviously knowing that she had changed her mind. She put her hand lightly on his shell. He thrummed lightly in response.

“Hey, look, Cyndane... I...” But old pride stopped her there. Besides, she was really his enemy, not his friend. Yet still. Darkfire reminded herself. I should pretend to like him. It would be a good cover. “I’m just not used to anyone really caring.” She finished. Really, it was a half lie, but it made Cyndane look back at her, his expression startled.

“Really? How come?” He inquired.

Darkfire shook her head in response and forced herself to stand. Cyndane took a step towards her, but stopped when she glared fiercely at him. She could tell that her reactions had again disheartened him, if only through her sense of people. He actually looked completely emotionless and uncaring, but she felt his sorrow at her harsh attitude toward him.

“Nor am I used to feeling so weak.” She admitted, startling herself at her sudden openness. She swiftly hid it, however. “Where I come from, the weak get hurt... Often.” Darkfire concluded and looked away.

“And old habits die hard.” Cyndane mused, even looking much more relaxed now that he believed he knew something about her.

“You have no idea...” She muttered. She then glanced at her Pokemon and arched an eyebrow at him, “What are you looking at?” She glared at him, listening to him hiss back at her for snapping at him, then thrum in amusement. She felt herself relax as well, somewhat pleased that Rayne recognized their similarities as well. Though his joking anger confused her, Perhaps we are not a similar as I thought.

Cyndane heard her first remark and frowned but wisely didn’t press on it. Instead, he hid his frown before he thought Darkfire had seen. She looked back at him, smiling mockingly. He arched an eyebrow in response, making Darkfire chuckle.

“I saw that,” she taunted “and I’m leaving.”

“Maybe you should let a doctor look at you.” Cyndane suggested.

“There is no way you’re getting me near a doctor!” Darkfire’s ease vanished in the blink of an eye as she glared defiantly at Cyndane. “I dare you to try it.” She growled.

She nearly jumped in shock when Cyndane began to laugh at her. She glanced uncertainly at Rayne, who returned the glance in his own surprise. I wondered how sane he was. Now I believe I know, she thought. The dream slowly came back at her thought. Gentle warrior, dark spy.

She shook her head, and motioned to Rayne. He gestured back with a fore claw before Darkfire recalled him to his Pokeball. Cyndane had stopped laughing as he watched this exchange. He gave Darkfire a questioning glance while arching an eyebrow in such a manner that she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at him.

“You look like a Growlithe that was just told to use Water Gun.” She managed before she began to snicker at him.

“I suppose I do. Not many people confuse me as much as you do.”

“I’m just the bad girl playing with the good boy’s mind,” she replied. It then occurred to her how odd that sounded. Gentle warrior…Dark spy…? Are they talking about me and…Cyndane? She frowned at him, studying him. No. They can’t mean us.

“Now you look like a Growlithe that realized she can’t use Water Gun,” he teased.

“I’m going,” she replied and left.

****************** ****************** ****************** ****************** ******************

Cyndane watched Darkfire leave. She was still unsteady on her legs and it was no wonder. The Gods alone know what happened to her. One moment drowning, then gone. Vanished. And when he had come down to see what had become of the novice, Dragon Tamer, she had reappeared on the dock.

Now, he watched the form of another figure fill the doorway. Cyndane nodded in greeting to the other Tamer, going habitually back to an emotionless state of mind. As he did this, it then hit him that Darkfire had pushed him out of his old habits. Another thing about her to confuse him.

“She fights too rough,” the figure commented.

“I watched,” Cyndane replied.

“I’m going to have to correct that.”

“By all means, try.”

“You don’t think I can defeat her?”

“No. I think she is too determined to accept even the defeat of death. But, try. She wants the challenge.”

“You have faith that she could defeat me?”

Cyndane didn’t reply right away. He simply closed his eyes in thought. He felt the figure smirk at him, but chose to ignore him. He had actually watched Darkfire talk to Rayne, almost as if she understood him. It seemed impossible to him. Only people that have been with their Pokemon for a long time ever established such a communication. Or, those lucky few that gained an item or ability…Again he pondered over the bond that was there.

“Ah. I see. You like her. A bit young for you, but she seems to be older than normal mentally.”

Cyndane looked at him, feeling a slight heat creeping to his face. His mind went blank for a moment, leaving him at a loss for words. His mind went blank for a moment leaving him at a loss for words. The other laughed at him then.

“Well, looks like little Cyndane likes the younger women!”

Cyndane glared coldly at the other, his eyes narrowed dangerously. His mind cleared and the flush vanished in an instant. The other Dragon Tamer stopped laughing when he noticed Cyndane’s hand stray to his Scyther’s Pokeball. He paled and murmured that he was late for an appointment before hurrying away swiftly.

Once he was gone, Cyndane relaxed. Apparently his old, more violent reputation still haunted around.

****************** ****************** ****************** ****************** ******************

After making a few stops, Darkfire decided to look in on the adoption centers again. She went first to the Dragon Tamer’s, but nothing there seemed to suit her, so she soon found herself going to the PokeZoo.

Inside, she immediately saw two Pokemon that caught her eye, a Charmander and an Absol. The Charmander had a powerful build, and emitted an aura of silent strength that attracted Darkfire’s complete attention. The Absol was young, her eyes shifting curiously and limitless energy pent up within her.

She wasted no time in adopting the pair before heading down to the training grounds, naming the two new additions. Naois the Charmander and Amaris the Absol...

****************** ****************** ****************** ****************** ******************

Darkfire almost yawned. The snow seemed to be falling in thicker clumps than when they had come in. The wind howled, screeching loudly as it attacked and bit at her bare face and hands. Rayne followed stiffly behind her, his movements slow. She stopped, looking back at him. It was obvious just how miserable her stubborn Pokemon was.

“Rayne,” Darkfire shouted above the freezing winds. They blew into her mouth and down into her throat. Darkfire coughed, feeling as if she had just swallowed her own words. Speaking louder, she all but shouted, “Rayne!”

Her Kabuto stopped and looked up at her. The normal glow in his eyes had died down. They were both exhausted and nearly frozen. Darkfire noticed that ice had begun to form around his legs and around his shell.

“We have to turn back!” She shouted. Much to her surprise Raynes’s eyes glowed brightly and he hissed angrily. “We’ll come back, I promise! But, we need more-” Rayne hissed again and shoved forward, brushing sharply past Darkfire. She blinked, staring after him. She then realized that she had been acting just as weak as a Tamer, talking about what COULDN’T be done instead of what WOULD be done!

Sighing in irritation at her actions, Darkfire plowed after Rayne. She found him waiting, balanced back on his hind claws, fore claws crossed in front of him defensively. Darkfire looked past him and spotted another Pokemon in front of them. It had a rounded out medium length snout. Really, all of its body was rounded. Its ears were round on its fat, round head, balanced on a fat, round body, seemingly with no neck. Its legs were thick and short, and it had a thick and long tail. Its round eyes stared dumbly at Darkfire and her defensive Kabuto. Darkfire narrowed her own eyes at the fat, pink, Water-Psychic creature in front of them. A Slowpoke!

Most people wouldn’t consider a Slowpoke a threat, but Darkfire remembered the genetically enhanced Slowpoke that she had seen being trained up at the base she had been taken to while receiving her current assignment. She heard a rusty click overhead and looked up briefly to see the usual scoring board lowering itself down over the two Pokemon. According to this the Slowpoke is Level 15…

Rayne’s fight! Rayne (11) Vs. Slowpoke (15)

“Rayne, Confuse Ray!” Darkfire swiftly averted her eyes before the attack began. She counted to five before looking back; triumphantly noting that Slowpoke looked even more dazed than before. It blinked slowly, weaving its head as if trying to look at multiple things at once. Rayne dug his claws firmly into the ground to keep a sudden gust from blowing him away.

“Great!” Darkfire shouted. She glanced up at the board, noting that the storm had been draining Rayne’s health. “Absorb, now!” Time to get some health back.

Rayne nodded in agreement and withdrew his claws from the ground. He then advanced steadily on Slowpoke, deadly intent in his eyes. When he had moved forward a few feet, closing the gap between himself and his dazed opponent, Rayne decided that this was as close to the Psychic-Water type as he wanted to get. He stopped, and an eery white glow engulfed his body and that of his opponent as well. Darkfire noted the attack’s damage on the board with satisfaction. Though when the attack stopped, and while Rayne looked much better, Slowpoke looked no worse than it had before. It looked at them, the daze cleared and it yawned Yawned…

“Ice Beam!” Darkfire shot out. Rayne blinked, startled. Then he picked his fore claws up and created a sphere of light blue energy. He quickly fired the result a powerful beam of pure ice, shooting directly at Slowpoke. It was still yawning. The ice hit Slowpoke and began to spread over it. It surprised both Darkfire and Rayne to see the ice cover and ensnare their opponent so easily. Fighter and trainer glanced warily at on another. At least the Yawn seem to have failed.

Darkfire looked back at their frozen opponent. “Are you alright Rayne?” Rayne thrummed and faced the battle screen. Darkfire looked as well. Rayne’s health was better and Slowpoke’s health had a huge chunk missing. So much for the Tamer’s perfect system, Darkfire smirked.

“Absorb!” She was almost laughing now. Oh, this is so easy!

Rayne thrummed and faced his frozen opponent already glowing. Darkfire closed her eyes, imagining herself in Rayne’s position. Determined to prove her power, allied with a trainer that felt the same way. She wished briefly that she could feel the power that he felt, to be able to see through his eyes. She felt herself flush in embarrassment at the wish. I can’t be childish! I have a job to do!

Darkfire sighed mentally. Slowpoke was being recalled by a trainer veiled in snow. No matter to her. With Rayne she looked up to see his new status.

Rayne is victorious! Rayne grows to Level 13, but learns no attacks

Rayne clawed back over to Darkfire, his movement’s exaggerated, proud strutting strides. Darkfire smiled softly. Rayne has proven himself again and I am ashamed at my lack of faith in him and in his abilities. Still smiling she walked through the snow to meet him.

“I am an idiot.” She remarked. Rayne thrummed in reply obviously amused at her apology. “Care to head back for a quick refresh before we battle again?”

The Kabuto paused a moment in thought before nodding his agreement. Darkfire smiled again, but knew better than to offer to recall Rayne to his Pokeball. It still felt odd, thinking of anyone or anything being so close to her, but she knew that Rayne was just like her.

Shivering slightly, she turned and began to trek back through the snow, Rayne following. Darkfire kept her head down, fighting against the cold with determined silence. Her breathing was becoming painful, her body aching with numbness. The cold was finally sinking into her harshly, burning her through the thick clothing that she was wearing.

After only a few minutes, Darkfire noticed that she had begun to slow down. She bared her teeth angrily at the blizzard that whipped around them before stopping to check on Rayne. He looked even worse than before, much to Darkfire’s dismay. Logically, the Lava and Blizzard Rooms are the hardest…The Pond was surprisingly easy…The Desert and Jungle Rooms may be somewhat easier. I just hope that I’m not asking too much from Rayne. Darkfire stopped then, a small smile of amusement on her face. When she thought about it, how foreign caring about Rayne seemed, she was surprised how naturally the feelings came.

Rayne stopped by her feet, looking straight ahead. He didn’t need to motion or make any sort of indication for Darkfire to realize that what he saw demanded urgent attention. She followed his gaze with her own eyes and blinked at what she saw. Directly in their path stood a trainer, a Tamer. He was watching them calmly, a solo Pokeball in his possession. Darkfire was acutely aware that she had two other Pokeballs on her own belt containing Naois and Amaris.

****************** ****************** ****************** ****************** ******************

Rayne noticed Darkfire glare at the other Dragon Tamer while she brushed her fingers over Naois’s and Amaris’ Pokeball. He knew that she wouldn’t call them out into battle, here and now. She had promised that Rayne alone would battle in the training grounds. His twenty levels would be gained before she began to battle with the Charmander and Absol.

He kept his gaze focused on the opponent in front of them. Any trainer confrontation usually meant a battle. Any battle meant that he would fight. He hissed impatiently at Darkfire, aching to begin his next battle. She gestured to him to be patient, making him hiss at her again.

“I am the person who trains the Water Pokemon at the training grounds. I have received a notice that you and you Kabuto have been defeating my Pokemon with too much ease. Therefore, I am here, now, to test you myself.”

“We are going to the Center to freshen up. We would be glad to accept you challenge another time,” Darkfire called to the nameless Tamer.

“No! You and I shall battle here and now. You owe me that much at the lease, after what you both have done to my Mud Kip.” He drew out his solo Pokeball and opened it. In a flash of color, another Slowpoke materialized. Another Slowpoke! Rayne advanced as the status screen lowered between them. Rayne’s trainer sighed in irritation, but when Rayne glanced back at her he saw that her shoulders were back, her head held high and her eyes narrowed. He doubted that Darkfire knew that she did this, but he had seen it at the beginning of every battle. These were her signed that she was ready to fight. He turned back to the off colored, shiny Slowpoke who was also ready to fight.

Rayne’s Fight! Rayne (13) Vs. Slowpoke (15)

“Rayne, opening shot of Ice Beam!” Darkfire shouted above the howling blizzard. Rayne hissed and reared back onto his hind claws, holding his fore claws up in front of him. A familiar blue orb of power and deadly energy formed between the points of his claws. Rayne wasted no time before firing his attack, sending a beam of solid raging ice at his opponent. A steady, light purple glow consumed his attack. Startled and wary, Rayne cut his attack short. The ice twisted, and came right back at him! Rayne didn’t even have time to brace himself before his own attack pounded into him. He was sent flying back a few feet before landing in a snowdrift.

He lay there, struggling to breathe properly, the pain and humiliation of being struck with his own attack burning within every fiber of his being. Darkfire, he could feel, was radiating anger, surprise and concern in waves.

“All of that, and it couldn’t even take on little Confusion attack.” The unnamed trainer laughed.

“Sorry to burst you pathetic bubble,” Darkfire sneered, “but we’re not finished yet! Rayne, Confuse Ray!” When she becomes angry, her energy shoots up…almost as if she is fighting with me, thought Rayne.

Rayne, encouraged, plowed out of the snow mound and fired his Confuse Ray. Both trainer and Pokemon were caught off guard, and both were temporarily blinded by the flash of power he fired. But, as their eyes cleared, Rayne had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. It soon became painfully clear that Slowpoke was not confused.

“A tough creature you have there, but Slowpoke’s Own Tempo trait is obviously very useful, don’t you agree?” Rayne hissed while Darkfire growled. “Now, Confusion!”

“Down and Harden!” Darkfire countered an uneasy note in her voice. The attack itself wasn’t meant to block out the damage done by Special Type Attacks. However, it was a good improvisational defensive move, helping Rayne prepare himself to endure whatever attack was going to be used. Obedient to Darkfire’s strategy, Rayne lowered himself onto the snow, drawing white energy over his shell, just as a particularly nasty pocket of wind and snow lashed out overhead. Rayne barely felt it; however, as he was rigidly awaiting Slowpoke’s painful attack. For a few seconds, he became fiercely aware that the wind above him had deposited a thin layer of snow over his exceptionally hard shell. It was a short while later, when no attack came, that Rayne realized the Darkfire’s strategy had no been to help Rayne endure the doming attack, but to keep him from being attacked in the first place.

“No games, girl,” Slowpoke’s trainer growled, “Fight or forfeit, I’m not waiting!”

“I’m not playing.” Rayne heard Darkfire reply smugly, “I’m winning. Absorb!”

Rayne cast out his newest Grass Type attack, easily locating this stationary opponent. Without reveling himself, he began to drain of off-colored Pokemon of its’ health and energy. A mixture of warmth and energy filled him, helping to sustain him and keep him active and alert. He knew that Slowpoke was now feeling the exact opposite, as if it was freezing, its joints stiffening painfully. It gave a pained mutter and tried to move out of Rayne’s attack range, instead moving until it was right on top of Rayne.

“Scratch it up!” Darkfire saw the opportunity and disregarding the risks, was telling Rayne to attack. Also recognizing and dismissing the risks, Rayne surged up from under Slowpoke, sinking his claws into and slashing though his opponent’s tender flesh. Blood covered them both, splashing over Rayne’s shell and slicking off to stain the snow. His opponent cried out in agony and scrambled blindly back.

“Psychic!” the enemy trainer called out desperately

“Absorb!” Darkfire was dead tense now. If the Psychic attack was earned through, neither she nor Rayne knew if he would survive.

Slowpoke stopped its retreat and turned to face Rayne, a deadly glow consuming its body. Rayne tried to follow through with his own attack, but his mind and body would not allow him to continue on. He was dimly aware of being lifted into the air, and then all he knew was immense pain.

****************** ****************** ****************** ****************** ******************

Darkfire was a mess of emotions, but the feeling that came out as strangest was pure rage. Anger, hatred and almost any related emotion that could be felt surged through her. It was the thought that anyone could imagine her and her Pokemon as so weak that burned all rational thought from her mind. It was the kind of rage that, if left unchannelled and uncontrolled, resulted in the affected person being in an even worse spot than they were before.

Her heart pounding in her ears, she watched Rayne flail in agony as he was lifted into the air. She bit the inside of her cheek until blood flowed into her mouth. Chaos alone is weak. Controlled it is unbeatable! She mentally recited until her mind cleared. A new strategy hit her so hard that she nearly swore aloud at her idiotic blindness to it before. She noted that Slowpoke was indeed close to Rayne, having pulled its suffering opponent closer. If it had lost that much blood now, one or two more strikes would be its end. “Absorb!” She shouted out, feeling determination to beat this opponent, the first real challenge she had received since coming here.

For a few seconds Rayne didn’t react to her voice, making Darkfire question his true strength in battle. But soon, he was drawing on Slowpoke’s strength and energy. It jerked in surprise and pain, dropping Rayne as it tried to escape the tormenting attack. Rayne got up and scurried after it, his eyes gleaming dangerously as he sought revenge.

“Scratch it!” Darkfire commanded. She added Psychic powers to the list of things that she hated.

Rayne swiftly closed in on the Slowpoke and swiftly raked his claws through its soft skin again. It cried out again before passing out from its pain, fatigue, and blood loss. The board flashed, changing:

Rayne is Victorious! Rayne grows to Level 15, but learns no attacks

The opposing Tamer recalled his defeated Shiny Slowpoke and favored Darkfire with a glare. She smirked in return and motioned to Rayne. He came back over, looking weary but happy. No wonder, Darkfire realized, This was our fourth fight. Eight Levels already come and gone.

“Very good.” She praised Rayne, who nodded in reply, “Let’s go before we turn the room red.” Rayne glanced at the blood soaked snow and hissed. She then realized that he didn’t like fighting using this style. “We’ll work on it.” She assured him before turning and leaving. She heard Rayne hiss again before following her.

****************** ****************** ****************** ****************** ******************

Darkfire sat alone in the Pokemon Center, her eyes closed. Fate had brought Rayne to her for a reason. Always fate. She knew that she was alone, but she still firmly held back her unshed tears. She wasn’t weak. She despised the weak, she would weed out the weak and obliterate them. But she realized that she had been weak. Rayne had seen it and had been disgusted with her. Cold, cruel memories flooded through her mind unforgivingly.

She was only five, wantering the cold streets in winter. She had numerous burns on her skin, and was covered in blood. It wasn’t only her blood, pouring from her injuries, but the blood of her parents, her siblings, their Pokemon... She whimpered weakly and collapsed onto her knees, shadows closing in on her...

Darkfire roughly shoved away the memory, not even wanting to think about what came after. In a time when she had yet to become Darkfire, when she had been weak. However, the damage had been done, and tears finally came.

[Lady Vulpix]

And Darkfire gets... veinticuatro estampillas. (I liked your 'apuntes'). Though I'm curious, how did using Harden prevent Rayne from being attacked? ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[Skye]

Gracis. I wish I was certain exactly how many that is... I'll have to count. ^_^U

And Harden doesn't stop the attack, it just reduces the damage. I had my mom type it out, so she might have changed parts of it. I didn't get the chance to reread all of it. ^_^U But I think I know what part you're reffering to. The snow just covered Rayne up, and Slowpoke couldn't see him, and the attack couldn't be dealt properly without a visual target... I hope that makes some sense... *starts hand counting Stamps* I need to work on my Spanish more....

[Lady Vulpix]

Ah, that's 24 stamps, sorry.
So your mother helps you write your stories? That's a first as far as I know. Does she like pokemon?

[Skye]

No problem. I'm still learning Spanish, so I'm a bit slow. But when I guessed, I came out with 24, so GO ME! ^_^U And mom edits my stories. It's hard to correct your own work. I can spend hours trying to find what she can in fifteen minutes. She's alright with Pokemon, but no real fan. I don't try to push her into it, because if I annoy her, I lose my editor. But besides editing, she also gives me some comments. But besides that, I write everything else on my own. though for the last part I put up, I wrote it in a notebook, and I had to get my mom to type it because I got super lazy. ^_^U

I think I'll stop being off topic though. So for an FYI, all of my training ground battles will be out of date because I already have my ideas down and I don't really want to change them. I'll start being in date again for the Crimson Blade battle and such. There.. Now that I added that, i don't feel quite so bad. ^_^U

[Lady Vulpix]

<Gabi's POV>

"I'm fed up with this scene," I thought to myself. I took a look at my alarm clock. 6:12 AM. I could have bet I wouldn't be able to get up for another 3 hours, maybe even 4. "Don't think about it or it will happen," I scolded myself.

I was reaching the end of yet another restless night. I'd had too many of those lately. I couldn't get myself to sleep till about an hour after I lied down, and then I'd wake up every hour or so. Then in the mornings I'd usually need help sitting up because of my low blood pressure, and even then my body would try to pull me back into my bed because it hadn't had enough sleep. The reason? Tension, I assumed. The effects of my huge to-do list combined with all that was going on and the uncertainty of when the whole situation would explode on our faces, and of what we would do when it happened. But this time it was even worse than the previous nights. This time I could hear my heartbeats in my head and I couldn't shake the awful feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

"Why?," I asked myself. "What makes this day different from any other? Why am I feeling this way?"
"Because it starts today," said an ominous voice inside my mind which, scarily enough, I recognized as my own.
I looked down at my chest and noticed that my white pendant was glowing. There was no room left to doubt. Unexpectedly, I managed to sit up.

I imagined knocks on my door. A second later, reality echoed my thoughts.
"Now that's more like it," I said to myself. "The useless psychic powers I know and love."
A slight smile made its way across my face. If I didn't keep some humor inside me, I'd go insane.
"Come in," I said.
The door was slowly pushed open, revealing the image of a worried Dragonite.
"Figures," I sighed. "Come in, please. Are you restless too?"
"Half the team is," Lagi answered, walking into my room and standing next to me. "But I was especially worried about you."
"About me? Why?"
"Let me once more tell you what you already know. You've been pushing yourself too hard, stressing yourself to the limit and now when you were feeling like you were about to collapse, everything changed suddenly and exhaustion gave way to fear, uncertainty to sad realization... How could I possibly not worry about you?"
I let out a sigh with a bit of laughter in it.
"Caring and motherly to the end, aren't you?"
"Yes, but this is not the end," she affirmed. "Now will you please tell me what's going on?"
"She and me both," said a voice above my head. I looked up and saw Ventura hovering above me.
"Yes, just come down because my neck hurts," I told my Venomoth friend, who decided to land on my bed. "I'll tell you what I know, which really isn't much. Something bad is about to happen, and it's starting today. I think it may have something to do with the Rocket attack we'd been expecting for some time now, but I can't be sure since you know how vague my premonitions are even with the stone."
I held my glowing stone in my hand as I said this.
"Then maybe you should let someone else try to figure it out," Ventura suggested.
"No offense, but I'm not sure giving it to you would help. Have you ever..."
"Not me, Caledor," she interrupted me. "He's done it before, hasn't he?"
"Oh... Yes, he has," I remembered. "He's used the stone before, but if I remember correctly, all it did was make him glow purple."
"But that was before he developed his psychic abilities... No, developed's not the word... Before he started manifesting them. He hasn't really developed them yet, but it's worth a shot."
"Ok, we'll try. Just let me finish getting up," I asked her and Lagi.

I stood up and went on with my morning ritual. When I emerged from the bathroom, Lagi and Ventura followed me to the kitchen for breakfast. I was surprised to find Caledor and Iael already there.
"I told you half the team was restless," Lagi reminded me.
"What's going on?," asked Iael.
"We don't know yet."
"I don't know but I don't like it," said Caledor. "All those long and gloomy faces? Come on! It can't be worse than everything we've already faced! I think what we need is a little game to cheer us all up."
"Not now, Caledor," Ventura told him.
"Bah, spoilsport. You don't have to play if you don't want to. But in my opinion you could use some fun. Maybe more than anyone else here. I don't recall you laughing even once since we first met."
"Then your memories are wrong. I have laughed... a few times at least. But I can tell when the situation calls for us to be serious."
"Me too, and those are the moments when a good laugh is needed the most."
"Do you realize you'll never come to an agreement on that topic?," I pointed out. "Everyone has their own way to handle the tension, but I think we should focus on how to deal with the problem... Whatever it is."
"Let me get this straight," Iael spoke out. "We're getting awfully worked up about a problem we know nothing about?"
"Basically yes," I chuckled noticing the absurdity of the situation. Caledor laughed in response, but Iael seemed even more serious than before.
"Then we're in trouble," the Stantler said.
"Does anyone want anything for breakfast? I think it will help us think more clearly. Tea, Gabi?"
"Have I become that predictable?," I laughed at myself knowing the answer. "Yes, please. Any variety will do."
"Camomile, then. And I'll have some too. Anyone else?"
"I'll have some cinnamon tea, but don't worry, I can make it myself," said a still sleepy-looking Charizard as she walked into the kitchen.
"Can I have some cheese?," asked Caledor before Amber asked the inevitable question.
"What's everyone doing up so early?"
"Will you believe that we don't know?," I told her. "I've been having this awful feeling and it seems I'm not the only one."
"Why don't we do what we can to verify it?," suggested Ventura. "You know my plan."
"Yes, I know. I just don't know if Caledor will agree with it."
"Me? Wha?," Caledor's ears perked up.
"Ventura would like you to touch the glowing stone and see if you get a premonition or something," I told him. "But I won't force you to do it if you're not ok with it."
The ever-so-joyful Espeon looked scared for a second.
"Ok..." he said. "I guess I can try, there's nothing to lose. I don't know to come out as a hypocrite. It's easy to laugh when everything's fine, the true art lies in laughing when things get tougher. So let's prove how good I am at laughing at this one."
His logic scared me, but I kneeled down and let him touch the stone with his paw.

Upon contact with the stone, Caledor's fur began to glow, and his gem adopted the same bright purple color. He put his paw down slowly, silently letting the light fade away, and looked up at the window.
"Are you alright?," I asked him.
"I'm always alright," he said, but his tone expressed the opposite.
"What did you see?"
"The sky... It's staying as black as it is now. Don't ask me why. I saw a few glimpses. I'm not a good psychic, you know. I saw Team Rocket members fighting each other, and many others running away scared. And then I saw..."
I looked at him waiting for him to finish the phrase, but he seemed to be having trouble with that. Lagi left the kettle and kneeled down to stroke Caledor's back. Her touch brought the smile back to his face.
"Thanks, Lagi. I know you're already a lot here, but please don't tell anyone you saw me like that. It'd ruin my reputation."
"It's ok," I said. "You don't have to say it if it hurts too much. I'm sorry I've exposed you to that."
"No, it's not that," he said. "Not at all. It's just that I can't make out exactly what I saw next, but it felt as if someone was after me. It scared me a little, you know, like one of those nightmares when you feel someone is after you. But that was all."
"Only that wasn't a nightmare," Amber pointed out. "It was a vision. So either someone is after you or you've tapped into the mind of someone who's being chased."
"Yeah, that could be it," Caledor reflected. "Anyway, it's gone now. We have an idea of what's going on, so now we can start getting ready for it and stop worrying about it."
"I'm shocked at how much you've matured lately," I commended Caledor.
"Are you talking to me?," he tried to make sure. "No way! You must be mixing things up."
"Maturing is not inherently a bad thing, you know," Ventura told him.
"I'm not saying it is. I'll just warn you that you shouldn't expect me to ever stop playing games, making jokes, laughing at everything and being just plain silly."
"I really hope you hold on to your word on that matter," I said, giving him a warm hug.
"Hey, maybe gloomy premonitions aren't such a bad thing after all!," Caledor exclaimed. "I've got stroked and hugged by two ladies in less than two minutes!"
"You don't have to be that silly," Ventura scolded him.
"What shall we do now?," asked Amber.
I meditated on it for a few moments.
"The only thing I can think of is calling for a DT meeting. There's no one else we can rely on right now. I could try to contact the people I still trust at the Guild, but this time we won't be able to lean on anyone's shoulders."
"I know," Amber nodded. "Will it be a DT staff meeting, or a broadcast to all Dragon Tamers?"
"Staff first, I think. There are some decisions we should make before getting the newer trainers involved, and most of the experienced ones are gone save for Ade who's probably one step ahead of us already. I'll try to contact him after we've talked to Amy and Karin."
"Are we going out now?," Iael queried, "or are we waiting until the others wake up?"
"Water Angel's already awake," Lagi informed us. "The only ones still sleeping are Sylvan, Hero and Tsunami."
"What about Pidgeot?," I asked.
"I wish I knew," Lagi said. "He's not in the house and Water Angel's worried sick about him. He must have left before I woke up."
"He takes the term 'early bird' to a whole new level," Caledor commented.
"He's been spending a lot of time outside lately," Amber noted. "I've tried to ask him what he was up to, but he wouldn't talk. I can understand Water Angel's concern. You guys don't think he's trying to pull a Scott, do you?"
"Going up against a dangerous and powerful force on his own? I really hope that's not the case," I reflected.
"It's probably the case," Iael argued. "He may not be trying to fight Team Rocket on his own, but he's definitely trying to find them. If I heard Mewtwo was back and plotting something, have no doubts that I'd be out there looking for him."
"I hope that never happens, but if it does, please don't," I told him. "You're not alone. Neither is Pidgeot. We're a team, and everyone should remember it. We're stronger together."
"True, but there are some things one can only deal with on their own," Lagi stated in a sad tone.

<Pidgeot's POV>

I was out early that morning, and I must admit I lost track of time. The sky wasn't helping me; it gave no signs of the passing of hours. That reminded me of a game Gabi normally talked about... only this was not a game. I realized something was wrong when the first pokemon started running across the streets in panic, or taking off into the air. Natus, Espeons and a few Smoochums. You can tell something's not right when the psychics start getting scared systematically. I wondered how everyone was at home, but now I didn't have time to go back and check on them. I was too close to finding out what was going on. And they were a strong team, they'd know what to do. I only felt sorry for Water Angel. She'd seen me go, and nothing she could say would stop me, but it still tore me to hurt her; to cause her to worry. But if I was right, this would bring me closer to ending her worries once and for all. Not only hers, but everyone else's too.

I'd been following tracks and rumors for many days now. I'd reached many dead ends, but now I was certain that I was on the right track. After all, I'd seen that Alakazam sitting casually at the front of that office building. And I'd never forget that face.

I hovered around the building for a minute, watching for anything that moved. It was dark and I couldn't see much, but I'd learnt that darkness could be my ally. There were planty of shadows to hide in, to spy on those inside the building without being noticed. It wasn't hard to get inside using my Faint Attack. The office I landed in was empty, and the door was open. It looked too much like a setup. I tried to convince myself that I'd be safe as long as my hammering heartbeats didn't reveal my position. After all, they considered me a failure; I couldn't be on their top 10 threats list.

I moved carefully along the corridors, until I heard the sound of voices. I followed the sound to its source. Some kind of conference seemed to be taking place. I reckoned that going where everyone was gathered wouldn't be safe, so I stayed in the shadows, trying to listen. What I heard was shocking. It seemed Team Rocket members were about to go on a war against each other. They could all kill each other as far as my wishes went, but I knew innocents would get hurt in the process. They always did. This war needed to be stopped before it went too far.

"I predicted this," a voice said behind me. I turned back to see it was the Alakazam. "It was just a matter of time. Now I wonder what side you'll be helping."
I looked at him, still hiding. He couldn't possibly see me, but...
"Come on, respond. I didn't let you watch all of this not to get an answer from you. You may come out of the shadows now, everyone else is too busy fighting each other to pay attention to us."
I decided to emerge. Staying hidden was pointless now.
"What do you want from me?," I asked.
"Haven't I made myself clear? I want to know what side you'll be on."
"I'm not one of you. I'm not going to help either side."
"Wait. They're starting to come out. Let's go somewhere less crowded."

The Alazakam teleported me to the top of the building. I was surprised... again. I thought he'd take me to an enclosed space, but instead he took me where I had the most room to maneuver. I wasn't too pleased with this either. My inability to predict his actions meant he was in control. I needed to change that somehow.
"I must admit I'm surprised," he told me once he made sure no one else was around. "I didn't expect you to embrace your dark side so soon."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I emphasized.
"You know full well what I'm talking about. Using your dark powers to break into Team Rocket's facilities and try to spy on us... How much darker can you get?"
"Oh, dark in the literal sense of the word, you mean. You'll find there's a big difference between that and what others normally call dark."
"I see... does that mean you're still pretending to be Mr. Good Samaritan? Is that why you came here on your own?"
"I don't see why I should keep talking to you. You sicken me."
"What? Like poison?"
I couldn't stand the grin on his face. Why did he have to remember the one thing I hated the most?
"Come on, don't be such a chick," he continued. "We're big now. We've been big for quite some time, actually."
"If all you're gonna do is talk senselessly, I'm leaving."
"You'll leave when I let you," he said. "First I need to know. You've seen what DiAnnio's capable of. If his side wins, there'll be a massacre. No one will be safe. Are you going to help us? Or him?"
"Last time we met you didn't seem to think much of me. Why do you want my help all of a sudden?"
"You have powerful allies. I'd have to be blind not to notice."
"And you're against that lunatic because...?"
"I'm not sure if I should tell you this, but... what the hell; he's ordered the cancellation of AEP."
"Wow, for all his wrongs, I can't believe he did something good after all!"
"Don't be stupid. I know how much you hate our program, but he's not doing it for the good of your poor damaged soul. He's trying to dismantle everything Giovanni has constructed to replace it by something that's far worse. Even a dumbass like you has to understand that."
"Listen. I'm not going to help you. I'm happy that they'll stop torturing young pokemon and forcing them to evolve before they're ready; I'm not going to help either side. If anything, I'll do whatever I can to stop ALL of you."
"Oh, please, how STUPID can you be?! Don't you see? If you don't help us, you're helping them! I'm not even asking you to recognize the good AEP has done to you. But you MUST see the suffering the Crimson Blades will cause if they're not stopped!"
"I'm not saying I support them. I'm just saying I'll never side with you. I'll never work for Team Rocket. I think I've made that clear before."
"You mean before they dumped you for being unable to stay on your feet? Or that time at the Dragon Tamers party when you had to hide behind a shield in order to stand a chance against me? I seem to remember a scaly babe tried to stop me from hurting you before our battle began."
"This conversation ends now," I declared, ready to take off. But some sort of barrier stopped me.
"You wouldn't think I'd let you go if you're not going to help us," the Alakazam said. "You're every bit as dimwitted as you look. I can see why they branded you as a failure."

I turned to face him again. This wasn't my best day at all. I needed to think clearly - a hard thing to do when Team Rocket was involved, but the only way I'd be able to get out of there and tell my friends what was going on. I told myself not to fear. I was no longer the frightened little bird in a body too large for him and at the mercy of evil masters. I was stronger now; and wiser. Moreover, I'd beaten that same Alakazam once before. I'd had my friends to back me up at that time, but I'd defeated him by myself. I could do it again.

Level 60 Pidgeot vs. Level 65 Alakazam

"You'll find out I've learnt some new tricks since our last encounter," my enemy announced before attacking.
I would have been susprised if he hadn't learnt anything in such a long time, even if he was stupid enough not to understand the meaning of the word 'no'. I tried to remember what moves he'd used in our previous battle, but it had been so long ago... He'd said something about me hiding behind a shield, so he had to know an electric attack... probably Thunderpunch. And I seemed to recall he had a healing move too, which had scared me during the battle. Those two things alone were reason enough to be extra careful, especially since I didn't have my shield with me right now. But I had some extra tricks too, and I knew the best way to find out what he could do without getting hurt in the process.

I fixed all my senses on the Alakazam, ready to detect and evade whatever he was about to send against me. My worst fears were confirmed when he spat out an obscene amount of toxic goo in my direction. I managed to avoid it, but it still had an effect on me. I knew this was going to be tougher than any battle I'd had so far. I was fighting for my life; I couldn't afford any mistakes.

"That was just a warning," he told me. "I'll get you sooner or later. Either you're with us, or you're going down. I won't be as lenient as the humans were."
Lenient? How had they been lenient? They'd literally dumped me away, with a swollen body I could barely move and a soul too hurt to push forward. I still had a small spark inside me, that's true. That's what they weren't counting on. I still held on to the faint memory of a life that was actually worth living, and that's how I recognized the good intentions of those who took me in and healed me, and why I welcomed the starting trainer who offered herself to help me get a new life and be at peace with myself, even if back then I wasn't sure whether that would be possible. But that had never been what the Rockets expected. What they wanted for me was a slow death, as my punishment for not bending to their will. What leniency was this guy talking about?

An intense pain in my head revealed that I had made a terrible mistake. I had got distracted. I couldn't afford that to happen again. I hid in the shadows, if only to decide what to do next. Even if my opponent could sense my presence, the dark energies of Faint Attack wouldn't let him pinpoint my exact location. The Alakazam didn't look phased by my actions.

"I dare you to try that," he said. "Your Faint Attack isn't strong enough to defeat me. I'm not an Abra, you know? I can't say I even remember being one."
"That's your problem," I said, coming out of the shadows and hitting him with my Faint Attack.
I hated to prove him right. His calmness was disconcerting.
"I told you so. Of course you're welcome to try again. You'll find out it will be even less effective this time. You can even try that dark Hidden Power of yours if you've already unlocked it."
"You're wrong," I told him, smiling inside for the first time that day. "I've already unlocked my Hidden Power. It's not dark type."
I had forgotten how quick he was to jump to the wrong conclusions about me.
"Well, whatever type it is, I don't care. You're not strong enough to beat me. That much is obvious."
"I've already beaten you once."
"You just got lucky. And I've become stronger since then."
"That's the problem with you Rockets. You think everything's about physical strength."
"No, I'm talking about mental strength too. You must have noticed the improvements of my Psychic attack."
"I'd tell you what I think, but your square mind would never understand it."
"You think you're smarter than me? You're amusing. Please do tell," he laughed.
I didn't know what he'd make of it, but I said it anyway.
"It's not the strongest who survive. It's the ones who have hope."
"It's so funny to watch you talk," he kept on laughing. "That's the corniest thing I've ever heard."
"Look for examples in history, medicine, and even the results of scientific research. You'll find that I'm right."
"I couldn't expect any more from a Dragon Tamer. So what? Are you trying to talk me to death?"
"Now that you ask, I was using the chance to get my item to work. Thanks for your time."

That really got to him. I could feel I was in control for once. My sacred ashes had healed me, and I'd kept them hidden so my opponent had no way to know what my item was. But my advantage wasn't long-lived. The Alakazam came to me with a Thunderpunch I had no way to avoid. I felt the electricity surge through my body, burning each and every one of my cells. I tried to counter it with my own power; electricity wouldn't hurt so much if some of it was my own. I managed to stop it before being paralyzed or fatally wounded, but the effort drained me so much that I knew I wouldn't last another shot. This was my last chance. I had no choice but to use my strongest move before the Alakazam could do anything to stop me. I stretched out my wings and took in as much air as was possible, before sending the most powerful blast of wind I could muster against my opponent. The puzzled look in his eyes before he went down proved that he literally never knew what hit him.

I grew to level 62!

I guess I was lucky after all. My Aeroblast had been at its strongest (or near its strongest at least). The Alakazam wouldn't wake up for some time, and without him the barrier that held me there was bound to be gone. Now I needed to flee before more Rockets arrived, and get help right away.


[Edit: this story should provide enough context information to understand this post. Especially the flashback and what comes after it.]

[*Murkrow]

Also, could you please explain what "just motioned forwards as the blue glow as she tapped into her confusion materialised around her body" means? I've been trying to figure it out, but failing.

Oh, right. I wrote it out going by the idea that when Ralts used Confusion a blue aura/glow would appear round her body. So what that sentence basically says is 'A blue glow appeared round Ralts' body as she began to use Confusion'.

I've also finally managed to finish the training grounds off x_x I don't really like everything after the end of the first battle, but I want to get started on the new scenario, so I'm just going to post it anyway.


~Fizz~

“So the gist of it is…I think it’d be good for both you and Bakura if you spent some time together.”
The Tropius said nothing in answer to that, just continued staring blankly at me.
“Don’t rush to answer then.”
She still said nothing, but I wasn’t willing to give up just yet. I was convinced that I was onto a good idea.
“Will you at least come with me when I give him these TMs? I was going to give him that spare Pokémon Earring..but Harlequin ran off with it. But anyway, come with me, then you could at least say hello…come to think of it, do you even know who he is?”
“The Bulbasaur, right? He joined the team right before that damned Vulpix did.”
“There you go, you do have something in common already! That ‘damned Vulpix’ is practically the bane of his life; you could sort that out for him. She’s already learnt not to even approach you, so if you’re with him she won’t come near.”
“You are kidding, right?”
“No. I think you’d make good friends.”
“Listen carefully to me. GO AWAY.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you at least come and say hello. You should at least try to get close to one Pokémon here.”
“I don’t want to be close to anyone.”
“Why?”
“None of your business.”
“Why?”
“Go away.”
“Why?”
“FIZZ.”
I’d probably have answered back to her just then, had she not suddenly lurched to her feet and loomed over me; I knew in a fight I’d be able to take her down, but the size difference was suddenly very obvious…enough to shut me up briefly at least.
“Leave me alone.”
“Come with me. Just to give him these. Give me some moral support.”
“You don’t need moral support, he gets terrified if anybody so much as looks at him.”
“So? Lend him some moral support then.”
“Will you ever give this up?”
“Not really.”
“Fine then. I’ll make a deal with you-shut up, quit pestering me and I’ll come with you when you give the baby his presents. All right? Then leave me alone. I don’t want-or need to speak to anyone here-, don’t need to be close to them, need to be friends with them, you got all that?”
“Ok.”

~Tropitorm~

Fizz seized the TM boxes in front of her, before easily darting into the air- it was so easy for her. I needed a run up before I had any chance of getting airborne.
Backing up, I stumbled forward, beating my wings hard against my sides, trying to force myself up into the air.
All the while, I still couldn’t really believe that I’d agreed to go with her. Why should I devote my time to a bunch of spineless traitors? But that was really the problem, I hadn’t originally intended to accept any of them, but a year in their company seemed to have weakened me….I didn’t know anymore. At least they normally left me alone.
I was flying now, having to beat my wings forcefully to even stay aloft, while Fizz chuckled and swooped easily round me. It was so easy for her.
She was also giving me an odd look from the corner of her eye- she must have been able to guess what was going through my mind at the moment.
Well, see if I care.
Five minutes later, we were landing in the area the team had claimed as their own, and Fizz was pointing me over to where Bakura was crouched, trying to ignore the Vulpix circling him playfully.
“Do your thing then.”
“Dream on.”
“Fine. Here, take these for a second”- she dropped the two TM boxes in front of me, then dove at the other two-“Pixie, beat it.”
Bakura started, and Pix spun round to face Fizz, hesitated for a second, before backing away.
“Hey Bakura, do you know what Tropi’s got for you?”
“No.”
“Well, you’ll find out now. Come here Pixie….I’m off to the Desert Room, bye guys.”
Next second, she’d grabbed Pix by her head curl and dragged her off, leaving me standing with Bakura.
That wasn’t part of the deal.
I considered charging after her but Bakura was staring at me, shivering a bit. Damn her.
“Here. These are for you.”

~Bakura~

As she shifted her weight, I tensed, expecting a kick, but instead, she just knocked the two boxes across the floor at me.
“TMs. They’re yours now.”
“What are they?”
“You expect me to…? Hmm. That must be Hidden Power- I was given one similar recently-, and the other looks like some sort of grass attack.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
Nervously plucking at the boxes, I risked a glance at her and smiled; she looked briefly pleased, but hastily switched back to a blank expression.

~Pix~

“Oww. Let go of me.”
“Shut up and I will.”
Obediently, I fell silent, and Fizz finally released her hold on my head, before she leant further forward to get Tropitorm and Bakura into her view again.
“Want to play?”
“No. You can go now.”
“Why’d you do that?”
“Tropi needs a friend. I was counting that having contact with Bakky would make her, well, feel maternal. And that might make her more willing to become close to him.”
“Why doesn’t she already have friends?”
“That just shows how new you are to the team. She’s always acted like we’re beneath her because we’re happy being trainers Pokémon. She basically hates humans, though she’s toned down quite a bit since I first met her. Holding a conversation with her back then was practically impossible.”
“Oh.”
I don’t think I managed to keep the boredom from my voice. But I couldn’t help it. What she was saying wasn’t any fun, it was boring.
“Well. Maybe she’s getting over that now- she seems to be, but I don’t know for sure. But anyway, I’m going to do what I said I would; I’m in the mood to test my skills. And if Tropi does leave Bakura alone, don’t go and start to annoy him. He doesn’t like it, but doesn’t have the nerve to say so himself.”
“I just want to play.”
“He doesn’t.”
Taking off again, she circled, threw me a warning look, then swooped off to vanish inside an opening along the back wall of the room we were in.
After a couple of seconds watching, I trotted after her.

~Fizz~

I was grateful for the thermals this place generated. The rising air meant that I could easily glide along, without having to worry about flapping, which was conserving energy I’d need for a battle.
I admit, I’d underestimated this place. I’d battled in shrub-land before, but this was completely different.
Miles of rich, russet red-orange coloured sand, criss-crossed by jagged barbs of rock outcrops, dark brown patches in the strange, barren landscape. As I drifted over, the light reflected off of the sand, acres of colour lightening, turning golden, shimmering below, while dark shadows lurked beneath the rocks, the only respite from the blazing sun and heat. The cracked surfaces of the rocks themselves were visible from even up here, finely veined blocks, black lines scouring across firebrick coloured boulders.
And then there was the heat of course, but the less said about that, the better.
I could feel the strength of the sun on my back, my dark feathers absorbing every speck of light that flicked over my body. Barrel-rolling to expose my lighter underbelly, I caught a glimpse of a solitary figure loping through the sand below.
Squinting down, I recognised fully the creature below, sighed, and dove at her, enjoying the look of terror on her face as she glanced up to see me plummeting at her.
“That’ll teach you to follow me.”
I easily pulled up and dropped to land by her side; wincing immediately, I flapped back up and poked her.
“Ok. We’re going to go over and talk in the shade under that rock, I’m not going to stand around here baking in this.”
She padded through the sand over to the place I’d indicated, settling herself gently as I collapsed by her side.
“Why’d you follow me?”
“It looked like fun.”
“That’s your excuse for everything.”
“But it’s true”-she lapsed into silence for a while, then sighed- “but if I’d known how beautiful it was, I’d have come anyway. I’m not going to leave now, whether you say so or not.”
“That’s the most intellectual thing you’ve ever said. To me or to anyone. Though it is beautiful here, I’ll agree.
Both of us fell silent, when I sensed her stiffen and tense as she caught sight of what was scuffing through the sand. I’d seen him as well- a Phanpy. Perfect.
“You ever seen a real Pokémon battle, Pixie?”
“No.”
“Watch and learn.”

Fight
Fizz (Taillow F L14)
Vs
Phanpy (M L15)

~Pix~

Fizz didn’t hesitate once, just glided smoothly into a battle pose, while her new opponent raised his trunk, then began pawing the ground.
Phanpy decided to start off the battle, growling up at Fizz with a vigour that belied his tiny size; I could feel my hackles rising and I automatically began to snarl back.
Fizz didn’t seem that bothered though, if anything, she seemed to be concentrating hard, focusing her mind…hmm. Focus Energy.
Then she jolted from her brief trance, snapped her wings together and created a massive, white arrow-shaped projection of energy that rocketed down to crack into the sand as Phanpy dodged.
The fact that she’d missed didn’t seem to bode well, judging by the look on her face; she glared at him, then plummeted down to attack close range.

~Fizz~

I had the feeling that he’d managed to evade my Air Cutter because of the distance between us; he’d had plenty of time to realise what was going to come and plan the right moment to leap clear.
But he wouldn’t be able to do that up close, I’d be too fast for him.
Fixing my eyes on my target, I wasn’t that surprised to see he was attempting an attack now-chances were, he only knew close range attacks, so this must seem to be a golden opportunity in his mind.
Clouds of sand were beginning to rise round his form as his body plunged forward, spinning to form a rolling mass of flesh as be began, slowly to move forwards.
It reminded me of the battle with that Mudkip, when I’d shattered her Ice Ball…the same strategy would probably work here as well, but why not have some fun with him?

~Pix~

Phanpy was swinging round in a large circle now, his Rollout increasing in speed and strength, proven by the massive clouds of particles that were now being flung through the air as he pounded through the sand.
It didn’t help that I’d lost sight of Fizz. One second she had been swooping above the battlefield, then I’d taken my eyes off her for a second and she was gone.
Nagging at the back of my mind was the fact that she hadn’t wanted my to come along anyway…she wouldn’t pretend to start a battle but then fly off and leave me, would she? I doubted it, but still…
A flash of black caught the corner of my eye, a split second before Phanpy flew off the ground, uncoiling in alarm as a navy figure flashed into view again, briefly lashed him with the same black energy, then faded away.

~Fizz~

Easy.
Drifting back into the realm of my Faint Attack, I saw his flailing body rushing through the air, before he bounced onto the sand with a muffled thud, that echoed strangely around me.
It was simple- my first Faint Attack had knocked him back, and his own momentum had been enough-when coupled with another burst of dark energy- to send him flying back, where I had been able to briefly attack at will.
Now, he was sprawled in the sand, whereas I was in reasonably good condition. My front did throb a bit where I’d had to smack into him initially, but it was bearable. The real problem now nagging at me was the mental strain I was feeling. I’d never used Faint Attack this long before; usually I simply evaded others attacks then launched my own, but flying around like this was a burden. Though it wasn’t exactly hard to get rid of.
Focusing again, I aimed carefully, waiting for the moment as he spun round in vain, anticipating a further attack; banking, I pulled in my wings and dove straight down, feeling the dark energy closing in.
Seconds out, I stalled and lashed out with my claws, intending to send the energy pulsing into his skin.
Instead, I received a beating to my chest as he whipped out with his trunk, catching me squarely in my stomach, with enough strength to knock me from my flight.
Winded, I tumbled onto my side as he smirked at me triumphantly; the energy surrounding me dissipated as he muttered something then began to pound the ground viciously.
It rumbled.
Instinctively knowing I had to get off the ground, I wrenched my wings open, caught a thermal and managed to rise, yet with a roar, the sand below me caved in and four massive, slabs of rock exploded up. Ignoring my aching muscles, I beat my wings hard, but the slabs arched overhead, then collapsed against each other, tightly locking me into the enclosed space.
Then the grinding began; each individual rock was slipping further together, tighter and tighter; panicking slightly, I let my wings flash silver and beat at the nearest slab, desperate to see if it would be enough to break through.
It wasn’t, but what else was I to do?

~Pix~

I couldn’t believe it when I saw the attack Phanpy had used. It was like a giant mouth had burst from the ground and seized Fizz. The four rocks had locked together, forming a massive dome, encasing her inside. And now they were creeping tighter together; I was suddenly nervous-Rock Tomb was a legal attack, but how much would it close in on her?
My paw began to twitch nervously.
Several agonising seconds later, it was over; Phanpy charged at the rock dome, his ear and trunk markings glowing brown; slamming into the rock, it shook, held for a second, then shattered.
He stepped back, edging away from the falling rocks as the rest disintegrated. I’d underestimated how thick those rocks were….if they were that thick, then they must have been pushing tighter than I’d though. Then, high up, close to where the rocks had met at the top, I spotted the small, flying Pokémon, released from the rocks grip, spiralling down wearily.

~Fizz~

As the rocks fell away at my sides, I gladly just let my body drop down, gasping to draw in more air to slow down my rapidly pounding heart.
The rocks had pushed far closer than I would have thought, easily managing to push me up to one side, and worse, somehow or other, the gap had quickly turned into a vacuum, so it had been hard to breath.
Perhaps I should be flying higher. The lower I am, the easier it will be for him to launch another attack…maybe the same one. Do I want to be caught in that again?
No was the answer to that, but I needed a couple of minutes or two to gather my wits after nearly being crushed.
“Fizz, he’s going to use Rollout again!”
Hearing her warning, I looked up, and forced myself to fly up, feeling the rush of air as he passed beneath me, centimetres away from my tail feathers.
An idea sparked in my mind.
Staring intently down at him, I brought my mind quickly to the point I required, focusing all my skills onto the state of mind. Focus. Beat him. The additional effect of Focus Energy wasn’t going to activate, but it brought my mind forward, and focused entirely on finishing this battle.
As my wings grew heavy as Steel Wing kicked in, I stalled and accelerated towards him; he saw me coming and charged, trying to meet me head on.
Ducking my head in, I whirled to bring my glowing wing directly across his face, but instead hit the red aura covering his body, which countered the attack, ricocheting it back to smash across my face.
Stunned, I thumped into the sand, seeing him bounding into a ball to launch Rollout; remembering my newest attack, I closed my eyes and struck out with my mind, reaching to slip into his thoughts, seeing the list of what attacks he knew.
Seizing the knowledge of the one I was going to temporarily learn, I opened my eyes, considered the moment, and let the aura burst into life round my body. He smashed into it, hung, frozen, then soared back; accelerating, I lunged into his body with a Quick Attack, succeeding in sending him cracking down onto the sand, where he collapsed.

I won!
I grew to L16!

“What did you do there?”
Pixie came dashing over, looking interested.
“Mimic. I took his last attack against me, and was able to use it myself. So he got knocked out by a Counter I’d learnt from him.”
“That sounds like…what is it…Mirror Move to me.”
“But Mimic copies the move used permanently for the battle, not just for a single turn like Mirror Move would.”
I actually found myself enjoying explaining this to her, which was odd, seeing as I’d never felt any need to teach before.
“Can we play now?”
“And there I was thinking you’d finally become serious.”
“What’s wrong? I just want to…”
“Shut up Pixie.”

~Pix~

Tilting her wings, Fizz caught another thermal and easily drew away from me. Sensing she wanted me to follow her, I glanced round, then followed her, heading back towards the rock we had been sheltering under earlier. Once we were safely back in the shade, she pretty much ignored me, concentrating on smoothing down her ruffled feathers.
Well, if she wanted to be like that, fine with me. I didn’t have a problem with this heat.
Slipping away from under the rock, I set off at a run, unsure exactly what I was intending to do, but unable to stop running through scenes of Fizz’s battle in my mind.
Talking of battles.
I skidded to a halt, seeing the sand stir slightly as a figure- a Pokémon, obviously-, scrambled out from the sand.
Dusty brown spikes blended with the pale gold body; sharp, white claws glinted even from the distance. Large, black eyes glanced cautiously around the surroundings, finally flicking to settle on me.
Immediately, his whole body shook, then his claws flailed and he buried back into the sand again.
“Awww, wait, don’t go.”
I scampered as fast as I could through the thick sand, scuffing clouds up as I went, all the while trying to keep my eyes on the place where he’d hid. The sand had already filled it in and it had blended perfectly with the rest of the ground. Guessing that I was in the right place, I knelt down and addressed the sand, hoping that he’d still be near by.
“Come on. I’m not scary. You look nice. I want to play.”
The sand beneath me erupted as he burst out, his extended claw catching me under my stomach, the result being that I somersaulted onto my back, then had to roll quickly to avoid his claws again.
Bounding to my feet and legging it away, he still managed to keep up with me, knocking my feet from under me so I tumbled into a crumpled heap on the ground again.
A flash of navy shot across my vision; he swerved, snarled briefly, then turned his attention upwards, as Fizz’s voice rang out from above.
“WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? WHY DOES EVERYONE TRY TO HURT YOU? OH, HANG ON I KNOW.”

~Fizz~

I could not believe this. She goes off on her own for five bloody minutes and promptly ends up the receiving end of a Pokémon over double her strength. No doubt she had been bugging him to play, as she did everybody else.
And who was now going to have to ‘smooth’ things over?
Oh yes.
Me.

Fight
Fizz (Taillow F L16)
Vs
Sandslash (M L25)

At least I’d had a little time to let my body recover from my previous battle, but I still wasn’t in the mood to prolong this, so I darted forward into a Quick Attack, accelerating to try to catch him out.
But all that happened was I crashed into his raised spikes as he quickly rolled into a Defense Curl. The tips of the spikes drove into my front, each one feeling like it was laced with acid; irritating stabs of pain that raked through my body.
Muffling a cry- I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt me so early in the fight- I retreated up to the sky, hoping that this meant he’d take the chance to uncoil.
Of course, he did.
But what really struck me was that he was visibly weakened; his breath was coming faster than it had been only seconds before, and his body shook with tremors that seemed reminiscent of pain than a healthy creature should have been.
Weird.
Though I’m not going to complain.
Stalling, I dropped, this time ready to catch my body the second he went into a Defense Curl, which would have been annoying, but if it reduced his health even more, then I was all for it.
Yet he didn’t, just stood and watched me coming, looking pleased.

~Pix~

Sandslash still didn’t dodge, just continued to watch Fizz as she stretched out a wing for a Wing Attack.
She was seconds away when something suddenly materialised in front of him- a tiny doll, an exact copy of him, but lifeless, standing between his body and Fizz’s impending attack.
The look in her eyes changed as she registered what had just appeared, but though she had been ready to react previously, she was too close now to do anything about it.
The next seconds passed to quickly for me to be totally sure what happened- I saw her hit the substitute, got a glimpse of the cracks bursting over it, then everything vanished as a flurry of sand as both Fizz and Sandslash vanished. Almost immediately, Fizz exploded from the cloud, and hurtled to roll into the sand about ten metres away.

~Fizz~

Spitting out a mouthful of sand, I eased my body back into the air, instantly being confronted by a barrage of tiny stars, each aiming perfectly towards my body.
Confident in Steels resistance to Normal attacks, however, I let my wings glow as I tapped into Steel Wing, then lashed out frantically, left right, centre, trying to deflect each star. I could feel the impact as they exploded against my wings, yet it was bearable…but my senses were still reeling from his Seismic Toss, and my reflexes showed this.
The constant stream clattered against my wings-finally, one veered off, stabbing into my chest. Letting my guard down for the second as I registered it, the stars began to pound against my body.
But even in that time, a thought slipped into my mind.
I let my body fall.

~Pix~

Fizz seemed to have recovered for a second there, as she began to fight against his Swift, but suddenly, one struck her, then more, and then she was falling.
His tactics changed at once.
Stopping his Swift in mid fire, he retracted one claw, then coiled his paw-with some difficulty- into a fist.
Raising his head to aim, he lifted his fist and charged forwards, obviously struggling against the power that now surged along his arm, but nevertheless keeping a good line towards Fizz’s falling, prone body.
Then she snapped her wings out, spun, and let loose an Air Cutter; the arrow shaped energy flow struck the rapidly materialising doll, yet succeeded in shattering half the side.
Now just to destroy the rest and she’d be able to actually take some shots at him.
That was exactly what she did as well.
Slipping straight into a Quick Attack, she not only easily evaded his Dynamic Punch, but cracked against the remains of his copy- it simply disintegrated, and so fast was her attack, he didn’t even have time to react, letting her get her first proper hit of the fight in.
Both retreated at that- she swooped back up into the sky, while he backed off, dropping back to all fours.

~Fizz~

My whole body was aching badly.
Even the thermals weren’t helping here- my whole front throbbed from where I’d slammed into his flesh, and my wings were trembling as they were forced to support the little weight I had.
A rush in the air signalled he had started attacking again- another Swift from the sounds of it. I was lacking the energy needed to try to counter it, so instead I just dived. The stars followed me of course, but as I neared the ground, the attack cut out again.
Deciding to use the speed I had created, I spun and went into an Aerial Ace, striking his side- the spikes scratched me a bit, but before they had a chance to do any real damage, his claw whipped out and slashed across my wing.
Screaming in alarm and pain, I jack-knifed over into the sand.

~Pix~

He didn’t wait.
Pinning her down, he slashed her across the back viciously- she struggled for a second, before beginning to growl weakly.
Hesitating at that, he sized her up, then slashed again.
Her body just exploded into white light; alarmed, he yelped and jumped back in surprise. I could feel a shiver trembling down my body.
The light increased in intensity- Fizz’s form was now completely a glow, and covered by a shimmering aura.
Edging away, Sandslash crouched down tense and wary to flee.
He was still too close.
The light flashed and then Fizz exploded into his body, covering the distance between them in a split-second, and smashing directly into his chest.
Rolling into a ball as her momentum carried them both backwards, the Sandslash uncoiled almost instantly, extending his claws to their full extent.
Yet all he received was a blow to his jaw as Fizz smashed a Steel Wing into his face with a crack that rung out ominously.
Seizing his jaw in pain only gave Fizz an ideal opportunity to slam another attack into his body.
But she was panting hard, and I couldn’t notice that she was only using her right wing to launch her attacks; she was holding her other one limp, keeping it away from Sandslash’s claws.
His claws shot out, trying to seize her for another Seismic Toss.
She let him grab her, pull her in close, then shuddered, and wrenched her left wing round. It was weak compared to what would be her normal Wing Attack, but it struck the side of his face and was enough.
As he slumped into the sand, Fizz fell away from his grip and stared at his silent form.

Fizz won!
She grew to L18!

~Fizz~

My mind was spinning, and I could feel every muscle in my body caving in.
As Pixie came running over, concern written across her face, I somehow managed a smile, then collapsed.

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

“You ok?”
Archie poked his claw into my face constantly, until finally I gave in and let my eye open a slip.
“Will you cut that out?”
“Well, you’re talking to me at least, that’s a good sign.”
I closed my eye and shifted slightly- I felt warm and comfortable, as far away as to what I had felt back in the room as there could be.
“Guess what?”
“Don’t know. Surprise me.”
“Your little ploy with Tropi and Bakura worked. For the last couple of days she’s been keeping an eye on him, you know, stuff like chasing Pix away.”
“I wasn’t chased. I, um, felt like leaving.”
“Yeah right.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Two days. But you still need a bit of rest.”
“Gladly.”
Archie laughed and winked at me, before shepherding Pixie away. Smiling back, I waited until the two had gone, gave my wings an experimental flap before settling down again.
There was no need to rush.

[LightNinetales]

Got my second battle done.

Tom speaks in red, bold.
Temper speaks in red, italic.

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

~x Oni’s POV x~

I was watching this little Eevee, playing and laughing with this Vaporeon. And this baby defeated Demon? Well, at least I could steal him and train him like I trained Demon. In the cold darkness of the Moonlight room, in our secret place. Of course, Crimson Blades had several pokemon we could train against; but I really liked the Sneasels and Absols in the Moonlight Room. I felt something on my hair. I turned back and saw... him.
He was still the same – maybe a bit taller -, with his short red hair, his smile I hated so much and his blue eyes which I also hated for they were sparkling, and they had that shine good people’s eyes have.
“Tom. Why did I find your hand – I’m sure it was yours – in my hair?” I said, with the cold voice I took when I wanted to scare people. But Tom never got scared by my voice.
He grinned.
“I hadn’t seen it in a long time...Couldn’t resist.”
Tom was always acting like that. Playing with my hair – or with my nerves - , smiling, grinning, and sometimes making comments about how I am ‘so fascinating, especially because of your[my] dark eyes, that’s amazing how they’re cold!’. Probably the only man who wasn’t afraid of me.
“That is not the subject. I called you because I needed your help. I wasn’t wanting you to annoy me like you are doing at the moment.” My voice became colder.
“What I love in you, except your incredible warmth we feel when you talk, is that kindness of yours.” he said, still smiling and trying to catch my look in the glittering sapphires he called his eyes.
I frowned.
“Stop playing with me like that, Tom. Stop it now and let’s get to the real subject of our discussion. You know I wouldn’t have called you if I hadn’t been so angry at this girl and her pokemon.”
“Yes, because you hate me as much as I love you. So you were defeated by a thirteen-year-old little girl, her newborn Eevee, and a Meowth with this ‘so stupid attitude, always protecting that egg instead of trying to save her life’. Right?”
I could feel the happiness in his voice. He was happy to see me, huh? I would have loved seeing him dead. Unfortunately, he was still alive, and still annoying me with his smile and kindness.
“Right. You’re here because I need you to challenge that girl and her pokemon. While you and Temper will be battling, I’ll try to take the Eevee and I’ll train him. He is smart and already powerful. Which means he could be a very, very useful pokemon if it gets evil. Team Rocket won’t resist if we have this pokemon.”
“And what would I get for that?”
“Well, I might decide to upgrade you from ‘stupid and annoying boy who hurt me in the past’ to ‘a man I don’t like’...”
“That’s ok. Oni, why do you have this opinion of me? What did I do?”
“What did you do? Should I say it? You betrayed me, and now you’re claiming your love for me, that’s what you did. You should think about it before playing that game with me. And after all, past is past. You can’t erase it.” I said, losing my calm voice.

~x Light’s POV x~

“Enigma!” I shouted. “What did you found?”
My Meowth was looking at something on the ground, sometimes touching it and showing Krys that strange thing she had found. She finally took it.
“It’s a key” she said. “It’s as shiny as Krys’ eyes. And it’s blue. Sparkling. Looking like ice but sparkling.”
“Oh. It must be a Crystal Key.”
“What is that?” she asked.
“A special magic item. When a pokemon holds it, its attacks can break magical defence walls.”
“Magical defence walls? The ones created by attacks, or any kind of wall?”
“The walls created by attacks. Reflect, and Light Screen. Very useful. But the Crystal Key needs to be given to someone who has enough power to hold it. If it isn’t, it won’t be as useful as it can be....”
Enigma frowned. She was probably thinking about that Crystal Key. And she would probably keep it. I knew she wanted that glittering key – Enigma loves glittering things, like the other Meowths.
She looked at the key, then moved her look to Krystal’s eyes. She found a cord and made a necklace. She put it around Krys’ neck and waited.
Something really strange happened. Krystal’s body was surrounded by a magical icy blue glow. And.... a picture came to my mind. It was Krystal –I recognized his deep black fur and his gray and rainbow mane- with his eyes closed. He had this same eerie blue glow.
There was a quite dark thing in the room. Something I didn’t know, but it frightened me. And Krystal opened his crystalline eyes. The aura surrounding him became lighter, but there was still something scaring in it. Something dark.
I opened my eyes, coming back to the real world, and noticed Krystal’s body wasn’t glowing anymore. Did I just imagine that?
“Did you see that glow?” Enigma whispered, fascinated. “It was so...magical. I was attracted to it. I wanted to touch it... and it vanished.”
“To me, it seemed very dark and dangerous. I was frightened just by seeing it. Please, Enigma, I want you to follow Krys anywhere he goes. You’ll protect him. And he needs it. Do you remember how his egg was cold? Do you remember how he was battling and using special powers just after being born? Do you remember that feeling that came out of him? That sadness. And when he used Hidden Power, these icy things appearing in the air and hitting his opponent. Looked like solid tears.”
“Why me?”
“Because you understand him. You’re both quite sad-for different reasons, though-, and also you were the one who saved him when he was still an egg. If you hadn’t been there, that Rattata would have eaten his egg.”

~x Temper’s POV x~

“Tom?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
I tried to take a kind voice, but I just couldn’t do it. So I stayed with my usual angry voice.
“She hates me.”
“And you realize that only now?”
A tear slid down his cheek.
“Please, Temper. I don’t need that.”
“Explain me. When did you ‘betray’ her? What’s your ‘past’?”
“Ok. But.... it is a very long story. That begins.... with my birthday. I was twelve years old. I just moved in a small house with my parents, I was alone, and in three months I haven’t made any friends. I was... well, weird. Really small, with the same red hair I have now. And shy. Plus, I was always studying or talking with my teachers, or playing with my fingers. Not the kind of person you want to be seen with.
So, I was alone, with the two gifts from my parents. I was telling myself I shouldn’t be sad, it’s better being alone than with these stupid kids. And a girl I didn’t know came. About my age – actually she’s six months older - short black hair. She sat down next to me and said:
‘I live there’. She was pointing at a house we could see through the window. ‘I noticed you were sad, and I decided to come and talk with you. And someone told me it was your birthday, so I brought a present for you.’ She gave me a book. I still have it. That’s how I met Oni.
Three years later, we were still best friends. She was really nice to me, but I couldn’t follow her when she was with her friends; they would have laughed at me. So I stayed alone and waited. That year, she was in love with this boy – what was his name? He had a Vaporeon named Ozon....- and she told her friends she would be his girlfriend before the end of the year. You know, the kind of things you say when you’re fifteen and you want to prove your friends how much better than them you are...”
He took a break. I could hear his breathing.
“It took her six months to prepare the field for what she called ‘her fight’. When I asked who was her opponent, she said it was the other girls, and he had to choose her, because if he didn’t she would lose her credibility.
And this day – the day of ‘her fight’- , I told her I loved her, because she was the only person I trusted and I felt really better when she was there. She looked at me and explained I wasn’t ‘impressing enough’ to me. I asked her if she really thought love was a question of impression. She said she wanted someone who would impress her friends.
Well, I should have been more clever, I should have waited. I told her when she was just a teenager like most of them, thinking life is just about impression and beauty and ability to integrate a group.
Then, she talked with...what’s his name... can’t remember....Rick. She put a cute smile on her face, took a special voice – which I didn’t like – and they just talked. About things as interesting as ‘flowers in spring, so beautiful, just waking up from a great sleep’.
And anger started to grow inside of me. Why was she taking that smile and talking about subjects she wasn’t interest in, with a stupid boy and his annoying blue hair he was doing every five minutes? Why wasn’t I ‘impressing enough’? You know, Temper, I’ve always been a coward, but anger can make you very bold. Plus I have a tendancy to tease people I like. I grinned, approached her –she didn’t see me, she was focusing on her smile – and kissed her.”
“Oh. Her friends were amazed, right?”
“Yup. Actually, I took a lot of pleasure in seeing their astonishment. They couldn’t believe it.
Then, they started to laugh at her. She really lost all her credibility. And when I saw her alone, in the evening, I understood I had been selfish. I also understood what true anger was.
She shouted I betrayed her. She said I didn’t think about her and her reputation. She said I was her best friend, she thought she could trust me, but in fact I betrayed her. She said I was the person she hated the most in the world. She said it twice.
I saw her two years later. She lost that glitter she had in her eyes. They were dark, they were cold. She wasn’t the same. She was frozen, deep inside.
Then, I learned she was a member of Team Rocket. I joined the organisation. And when she became a member of Crimson Blades, I followed her. The events I just told you about happened nine years ago. I thought she would have forgotten, and/or forgiven. But she did neither. She still remember this, and she didn’t forgive. She hates me, Temper.
She hates me!”
“Do you still love her?”
“Not as much as I did when I was fifteen. But she’s like a sister. And it hurts when your sister hates you, when she can’t even say a word without taking a cold voice, a voice with no feelings in it.”
He sighed.
“The only way I have to help her is defeating that girl. I’ll do so. I have too many things to lose if I don’t do it.”



~x Krystal’s POV x~

I was in a dark place. With something glowing in the middle of the room. I approached it, carefully, slowly. My eyes became lighter as I got closer to the mysterious thing. I took it and its power came into me. I felt really sad. When I opened my eyes, I was floating in the air, with this crystalline aura surrounding me. Something in me woke up. I had that same feeling that I had the day I first used my Hidden Power....
“Krystal? Wake up, Krys! It’s time to battle!”
I opened my eyes and saw Enigma.
“Eenaikma?” I said.
“Yeah. Krys, we’re waiting for you. Someone challenged Light. She’s giving TMs to Chataigne and Acajou.”

I saw Light and Mommy and Uncle Acajou the Vaporeon.

~x Chataigne’s POV x~

“Look” said Light. “I have TMs for you.”
She put one of the TMs in front of Acajou and the other in front of me. I put my paw on Acajou’s and stole it.
“Chataigne, both TMs are the same. Hidden Power. But with what you’ve just done, I think yours should be Ghost.”
I used my own TM.
“What’s my Hidden Power type?” I asked.
“I don’t know it, Chataigne. Ghost or Dark. It depends on your personality. Acajou’s could be Water, Grass, Flying or Psychic. A peaceful type.”
Acajou used his TM.

I learned Hidden Power!
Acajou learned Hidden Power!

~x Third Person x~

Light and her entire team were looking at the trees – Light’s opponent should be there, waiting for her. Only Krystal wasn’t there. He was alone now, thinking about his Key.
Tom finally appeared. Light was impressed by her challenger – when Enigma told her she got a challenge, she thought it was from a little kid. But her opponent wasn’t “little”. He was quite tall, actually.
“Let’s fight.” Tom said, calmly.
He didn’t care about the result of the battle. He only wanted to catch Light’s attention while Oni was taking the Eevee.
“Okay... You’ll fight Tooana.” Light decided.
“Well...Temper!”
The Rattata appeared in a beam of light. She looked at Tooana with an expression of anger.
At the same time, Oni was slowly approaching Krys’, who was still somewhere in his thoughts, not paying attention to the real world. And Enigma wasn’t there to protect him.
She put her hand on his body and was about to take him and run away with him.
Suddenly, a crazy fur ball jumped on her face, cutting her skin with her claws, and managed to put them very, very close to Oni’s throat.
Tom and Temper rushed towards her. Tom took Krys’ in his arms and Temper was standing on the grass, waiting for Tom’s orders.
Then, Chataigne, Acajou, Light, and the others came in.
The Jolteon jumped in front of Temper and took a challenging attitude. Electricity was running through her spikes and her eyes took a red tint.
“Let Oni go and I’ll give you the Eevee back.” said the red-haired man.
“Let Krys’ go and she won’t die.” replied Enigma with a grin.
“Well, I suggest we fight now... if I am the winner, you’ll let Oni go, and if I lose, you can take that Eevee.”
“Perfect.”

Enigma VS Tom!
Chataigne[Lv 5 female Jolteon with black fur]VS Temper [Lv 15 female Rattata]!

~x Chataigne’s POV x~

I had to win. For Krys. I couldn’t do anything else to help him – his crystalline eyes, his Crystal Key, his sadness...all these things I didn’t understand.
At least I could protect him. I growled and moved my “tail” slowly, trying to look funny.
Temper laughed. So, you are exactly doing what Joyau told me you’d do. Starting to laugh at me, and forgetting to protect yourself, little Rattata. I moved my tail again – left to right, slowly. Temper couldn’t stop laughing now. Perfect, little Temper. Perfect.

~x Tom’s POV x~

“Stop laughing, Temper. She can’t be that funny.”
I knew what would happen next if Temper didn’t think about protecting herself. And this Meowth’s claws were sharp.
Temper finally realized that the Jolteon was sharpening her claws and thinking about having Rattata for dinner. She bit her opponent’s hind leg and started to run everywhere in the field, avoiding Chataigne’s claws and finally hitting the black pokemon’s belly with her head.

~x Enigma’s POV x~

“Chataigne!” I shouted.
Why didn’t she use her new TM Light bought yesterday?
With the five moves she had, she couldn’t win easily. And Temper had more experience.
Krystal was staring at the scene, his crystal blue eyes seeming frozen by an incredible sadness. I smiled at him, getting my claws closer to Oni’s throat.
Chataigne tried a Slash attack again. Her claws hit Temper’s left ear. The Rattata seemed hurt, but I could still see her white teeth shining in the sunlight.
Then, Temper dug a hole in the ground.
“Chataigne, jump!” shouted Joyau.
But Chataigne wasn’t listening to him. She was looking at her son, trying to find something warm in his eyes. They were still frozen.
Temper finally came out of her hole. Chataigne was projected in the air, and fell down to the ground due to the gravity. She hit the grass with a little “My poor little bones!”.
“I won.” said Tom.
But I wouldn’t let the girl go. I glanced at him and put my paws on her skin. If he did anything, I’ll let my claws cut that girl’s throat.
Tears were flowing down his cheeks, freezing before they could even reach his fluffy mane. His solid tears looked like diamonds, lined up on Krys’s cheeks like they would be on a necklace.
Chataigne managed to get back on her legs. She saw her son’s tears and her eyes became as black as her fur. The field became dark. Shadows were moving in the air, like ghosts would move in the darkness, and they surrounded Temper. Finally, I saw Chataigne. Despite the fact that my eyes could see in the darkness, I haven’t seen her before. She used a strange move that looked like Faint Attack(but it wasn’t – she couldn’t use a move she doesn’t even know of), vanishing and re-appearing behind Temper’s back. She took her in her paws and started to play with her, like any cat would play with the mouse it just caught.
The dark atmosphere vanished. And everyone could see Chataigne was sitting on the poor rat, waiting for Light’s approval before eating her.
Krystal’s solid tears shattered.
Tom let him go, and rushed towards Chataigne and Temper, taking his pokemon in his arms to protect her from Chataigne.
I also let that girl go. I put my paw on Krystal’s mane.
When I turned back to see Oni and Tom, they weren’t there. They ran away again.


Chataigne grew to level 7!

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

Chataigne's HP type is Dark and Acajou's is Psychic.
Sorry for not specifying it ^.^

Oh, and I know there's too many colors, and the story isn't even that good.
Maybe in a year I could write very, very good stories?
*I doubt it though, my writing skills aren't really high, even in French, so...*

[Wolfsong]

Before story notes: I started out good on this rbg and then ended up getting writer’s block when it came to sugar’s battle. x.X Anyways, I bought and gave Sinopa a charm tm since that seemed to suit her. ^^ Gabi bought the faint attack TM and gave it to me to give to Sinopa. BTW, thanks again Gabi. I also bought, Sinopa an odor sleuth TM. I got Tiny’s stat modification die from the GT, and the mimic tm that I traded with Becca for to Darin. I won a tail whip tm that I gave to Kiara from the emt game last month. Speaking of Kiara I bought her a charm tm and the twins a mimic tm each. Now, on to Sugar’s rbg. Apologies for the short battle just couldn’t seem to get anywhere with it x.x

(Sinopa’s POV)

“All right Sinopa, you don’t have to rely only on your eyes to detect your opponent. Can you name another sense that can prove useful in finding an elusive opponent?” “Yes sir. The sense of smell.” “Very good, but please call me Blazer.” I grinned. I couldn’t believe my luck. Yama had a battle at the BT, so Blazer had offered to look after me. He had even offered to teach me a trick or two. “Okay, Blazer.” He smiled. “Kiara, here, is going to help us out.” “How?” I asked. “Well, she’s going to use double team. Next, I want you to try and determine the location of the real Kiara. When you do, use a fire attack on her.” “But won’t that hurt her.” “You’re a smart one. That is some good thinking on your part. But, no it won’t. Like you, Kiara has the flash fire ability. Having that ability means that fire attacks won’t damage her just like they don’t hurt you. That’s the main reason that I didn’t ask Ayla, Jasmine, or even Tiny to help.” I nodded in understanding. “Are you ready?” he asked. “I guess so.”

As soon as I had said, “I guess so” Kiara began to glow a faint yellow color. Before my eyes, she split into several images and I was surrounded by lots of Kiaras. My heart began to race as I tried to determine which one was the real Kiara. My eyes frantically darted from one image to another. Eventually, I just picked a random image and sent a tiny fire ball heading towards her. Upon contact, the clone flickered and disappeared. “Take a deep breath and relax.” I nodded, as I did as Blazer suggested. Soon another copy had filled the spot that I had created. “You calm now?” “Yeah.” “If you can’t focus with your eyes open, close them. Sometimes vision isn’t the best way to find a tricky opponent. Trust your nose. Try it again.” “All right.” I closed my eyes and concentrated on my sense of smell. At first nothing happened, as I slowly walked in circles. Then, all of a sudden, it was as if someone had flipped a switch in my nose. I caught Kiara’s scent before taking in a deep breath. As I exhaled, I released several tiny fireballs at my target. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw Kiara and Blazer and they were both smiling. There were no more clones and Kiara’s fiery mane was burning brightly. “You did it.” she said, smiling as Blazer nodded. It was at that time that Amy and Yama came back.

(Sugar’s POV)

I stretched, yawning because I was bored. I hadn’t had a battle in ages. In fact, if I remembered correctly the last one I had was the tag battle I had with Yana where she evolved. Speaking of Yana, she was out battling.

“You’re bored, aren’t you Mom?” I looked up to see Ayla standing in the doorway. I have to admit I still wasn’t used to seeing her blue again. “Yeah,” I admitted. “Maybe you could ask Amy to arrange a battle for you.” “I don’t think that I’m in the mood for a BT battle.” Ayla smirked. “Who said anything about the Battle Tower?” I was talking about asking Amy to schedule you a battle at that new thing?” “That might be interesting.” I admitted as Ayla turned and left the room.

(Amy’s POV)

Upon returning from the battle tower, I went over to my desk and dropped my bag onto it. I pulled out four TM boxes and the stat modification dice that I had gotten as a mystery gift. I was about to call the twins when I was pounced on and given an electrical shock. “Sugar…” “What?” she asked, leaping off my back and into my chair. I slowly climbed to my feet. “What was that for?” I asked her. “Well I had a talk with Ayla, and I want a battle.” “Battle Tower or other?” I asked, rubbing my temples. “Other,” she answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“You know there are better ways of asking.” “There are?” she asked giving me an innocent look. I just shook my head. “I’ll make a call and try to arrange a battle in a little bit. First, can you do something for me?” “What?” “Can you get Sinopa, Kiara, and the twins?” “Okay.” “No shocking anyone though.” “Awww…” she said before turning and walking off. Ten minutes later, Kiara and Sinopa were sitting in front of me.

What did you want us for?” Kiara asked. “Well, I bought you a Charm TM.” “Nice.” “What about me? Am I in trouble?” Sinopa squeaked. I knelt down beside her. “No you aren’t. I have a present for you from Gabi.” “For me?” I nodded. “What is it?” she asked, her curiosity finally winning her over. “It’s a Faint Attack TM.” I explained as I sprinkled the contents of the box over her.

No one could have predicted what happened next. Sugar raced into the room, but she wasn’t alone. The twins were with her, but not like we had expected. Colby had the stub of her tail in his mouth, and Tiny was latched onto Colby’s tail. “Please get them off.” she practically begged. I couldn’t help it, but I burst out laughing. Sinopa and Kiara struggled to keep straight faces. “I didn’t shock them either. They have sharp teeth.” she whined. I nodded, taking a deep breath. “All right, funs over. Let go of Sugar’s… uh.. tail.” Colby immediately complied and thus Tiny released his hold on Colby’s tail. “Whatcha want?” Colby asked. I had only recently begun to understand him. He was quite a talker when the mood struck him. Tiny on the other hand, hardly said anything. “Well, I bought you and Tiny each a mimic TM.” “Cool, can I have mine now?” “Sure.” I said as I gave him the box. Tiny cautiously approached me. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.” Sinopa nodded. “She’s telling the truth.” “With Sinopa’s encouragement Tiny jumped up on my lap. I gave him the TM, before noticing that he was staring at the stat modification dice. “Do you like that?” I asked him, and he nodded his head yes. “Would you like it?” A grin appeared on his face. “All right, it’s yours. I took his even larger smile as a thank you before he and Colby ran off. I then got on the phone and made a few phone calls.

I turned to look at Sugar. “You ready?” I asked. To my surprise, and her credit, she didn’t shock me. Instead, she jumped up and perched herself on my shoulder. “Yeah. Let’s go. Any idea what I’ll be battling?” “Nope. They just told me that it’s a bug pokemon. I just hope that it isn’t a beedrill. Those things give me the creeps.” Sugar muttered something under her breath. “Well, let’s go. We’ll never get anywhere if we stand here talking.”

(Sugar’s POV)

Even though I was sure that we were going to be late, we arrived early. In fact, my opponent hadn’t even arrived yet, the lady explained as we were let into the backyard of the building. I looked around, before turning to look at Amy. “How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” I asked. No sooner than I had spoken that my ears picked up a buzzing sound that was getting closer. “Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good at all.” “What is it?” “I think my opponent is coming.” I just scanned the skies and jumped nimble to the side when the beedrill dived stinger first. He hit the ground and got stuck. “You my opponent?” it asked. “No, I’m just the stand in while she shows up. Here’s your sign.” “Sugar…” I heard Amy groan.

Sugar L.39 F Jolteon VS. L.39 M Beedrill

Before he could free himself from the ground, I ran over and kicked him twice with my hind legs. He buzzed as his antennas began to glow a green color as he gathered up energy from the sun. “Uh oh,” I said, darting forward and tackling him. Unfortunately, that helped to free the beedrill. “Thank you.” He replied before releasing the energy that he had been gathering. The solar beam caught me in my side, and winded me. When I looked up the beedrill was diving stinger first at me again. He really didn’t learn did he? Well, it was good for me. I used quick attack to get out of the way, and once more the beedrill was stuck in the ground. “Having troubles?” I asked, releasing the electrical energy that I had been building up in a bolt of electrical energy. When he had managed to extricate himself from the ground, he stared at me. “You’re not the only one that can be tricky.” He quickly split into four copies. Immediately, I began laughing. “What’s so funny?” the beedrill asked. “You’ll find out, but not right now.” I replied as I closed my eyes shortly before releasing a blinding flash of light. “Oy, you could have warned me that you were going to do that.” Amy muttered. “Where’s the fun in that?” I replied before turning my attention back to the now temporarily blinded beedrill and his clones. “Now you get to find out.” I told it. My entire body began to glow a bright yellow before I released a wave of electrical energy that tore through the clones before slamming into the real beedrill. The beedrill muttered something under his breath, before he launched a purple glob of poison at me. The sludge bomb hit me square in the face and I immediately felt woozy. Vines quickly erupted from the ground and held the beedrill in place as I gathered my remaining energy into another electrical bolt. Luckily the thunderbolt hit, and the beedrill was knocked out. I stood there panting as the nausea took its toll, before Amy returned me to the safety of my pokeball.

Sugar won!
Sugar grew to L.40!
Sugar learned Double Team as her free tm.

(Amy’s POV)

As soon as the beedrill fainted, I recalled Sugar. I quickly headed for the nearest pokecenter and entrusted Nurse Joy with Sugar’s pokeball. “I’ll have her back good as new.” she assured me. “Thank you.” I told her as I sat down on the couch and waited.

I’d like a 2 on 2 RBG please for Colby and Tiny. *hands over 14 stamps* I’d like it to be from the Free Range Corral please.

[Charizard04621]

Sorry about not rating anything. >_< I'll try to start picking up after I get back from break, which will be on the 26th. Gabi or Amy (or both), I can get yours, but only if you don't mind waiting several more days. Sorry about this.

[Lady Vulpix]

No problem, Karin. I hope you enjoy your break.
Hannah gets 16 stamps. At some points it was hard to tell who was talking. Using (just) colors to show it makes it hard to understand. And mimic works differently in GSC, but I guess there are no rules against using the descriptions from other games at the Battle Range. I liked the descriptions in general. That Rock Tomb was really scary! I still feel I'd like to get to know your characters better. ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

Light and Amy, I'll try to read yours soon.

As for the RBG, Tiny and Colby will battle a Pidgey and another Eevee. Interesting.

Editing in more ratings.

LightNinetales gets 12 stamps. So... Chataigne's Hidden Power is Dark type? Interesting way to describe it. And Tom's story was interesting too. I liked seeing his point of view. ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

Amy gets 8 stamps. That was a nice story! ^_^ I liked the training session at the beginning. And Sugar is funny. Though I don't get what she meant by "here's your sign". And what does 'colo' mean? If, as you said, you were having a writer's block, it really didn't show. ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[AntiAsh Superstar]

Ah, finally done my RBG. Angst, mental instability, power-crazed maniacs pretending they're righteous, plus a day at the park with the biggest libidos in the history of Ulthuan. Fun!

-----

I awoke that morning with a wonderful, inexplicable feeling inside me. The feeling that I had somehow managed to take all that life could throw at me and survived against all the odds. Silently I slipped out of bed, trying my hardest not to disturb the slumbering form of Soo beside me. For once her unruly Charmander had opted not to wake us up at five in the morning. Which might have been more to do with me putting a lock on the door more than anything else, but still Soo deserved a lie in for once. So I moved around with the utmost care, silently finding my glasses and my dressing gown; this latter object was a wonderfully snug black affair that I had been forced to purchase owing to the increasingly bitter nights that not even the most up-to-date central heating could have managed to hold off completely. And it was in total silence that I made my way out of the bedroom and padded down the carpeted stairs, careful not to make so much as a creak as I moved. Today was a good day. I could just tell. In fact the events of the previous night, the terrible Team Rocket riots that had gone on for hours, the encounters with Armand DiAnnio's new Crimson Blades units, they were all starting to seem like fragments of a nightmare. Something unreal, detached from reality in a way that I couldn't hope to comprehend. Something that simply hadn't happened to me at all. Finally allowing myself to whistle cheerfully – albeit badly; for whilst I could sing rather well my whistling always seemed to be horrendously out of tune – I headed over to the kitchen where I intended on making myself a decent meal to start this day off with. Or at the very least asking Sindel if she would mind making it for me.

"Morning, Ade." I let out an audible groan. Sitting nonchalantly upon one of the kitchen surfaces munching her way through a pile of toast was a sight that brought everything rushing back to me with horrible clarity. A sturdy Raichu with a total air of indifference seeming to emanate from her. Thunderblast. So much for last night being just a dream! She smiled as she saw me and waved. "You know, we never used to eat this well at Dan's. Normally we were lucky to get a bowl of cereal thrust at us."
"What on earth is she still doing here?" I asked the other occupant of the kitchen. Sindel was, as ever, busy preparing the day's food, using her considerable psychic powers to perform about ten actions at once. Sometimes it seemed like the Alakazam never actually slept.
"Don't ask me," came the tired response. "All I know is that she turned up about twenty minutes ago complaining very loudly that she was hungry and was going to help herself, and of course there's no way I was letting her do that. Must've spent the night with Sumi or something."
"Correct," Thunderblast nodded. "And do you both mind not talking about me as if I wasn't in the room?"
"Sorry." I shook my head in disbelief, sitting down at the kitchen table and accepting a large mug of coffee from Sindel. "So what are you still doing here?"
"Not really got many other places to be," came the shrugged response. "It seems silly to go back after just one night when I've not caught up nearly as much as I'd like. So I think I might just stick around here for a while if you don't mind." At some point, I couldn't help but notice, Dan's Raichu had stopped relying on her telepathy to talk to me. Yet I was still capable of understanding what she was on about. Now that was an interesting development!
"Hm. You sound like you made up your mind before even asking if it was okay."
"I had," came the disturbingly blunt response. "Mind if I have some more sausage, by the way?"
"You'd help yourself even if I said that I did mind, wouldn't you?"
"See? That's why I'd rather stay with you than anyone else, randy Growlithes notwithstanding. You understand me better than most do." With this comment Thunderblast resumed her eating, leaving me to ponder exactly what was going to become of this latest development. What exactly was she asking? For a place to stay and nothing else? That was what it seemed like, yet there was a subtle undercurrent of something else there as well, something that I simply couldn't figure out at this moment in time. Well, knowing Thunderblast if she wanted something other than that she would be sure to let us know soon enough. In the meantime I had other things to concern myself with. Like the pokémon I had been raising myself for the past few years. Today, I decided, we were going to wind down from the horrors of last night with a nice, simple training session. What could possibly go wrong with that?

As it turned out things seemed to have gone wrong before the day had even started, although I wasn't to know that at the time. The seeds began to spread before I had even had the chance to talk to most of my team, as Milliardo was on his way downstairs to get some breakfast and generally annoy the living daylights out of anybody who was unfortunate enough to run into him. Unfortunately he never got the chance to so much as set a paw on the stairs. For he was distracted along his way by a deep, despairing sobbing coming from one of the side rooms. For a moment he was sorely tempted to ignore it. Milliardo, like most Umbreons, had never been what one could call a morning creature, and the early morning grogginess only served to enhance his irritable streak tenfold. However, as bad tempered as he was, Milliardo would never ignore one of his friends when they were feeling low. And hence he found himself pursuing the source of the sobbing rather than getting on with his day.
"Rhi?" By the time my Umbreon had finally managed to trace the sound's source he was really starting to wish he had never bothered. If for no other reason than he really didn't need to see the sight in front of his eyes right now. There were only a handful of creatures on the planet whose sorrow could cut deeply into his psyche. Pandora was the obvious one. And second place was the creature in front of him now, a remarkably petite Jolteon that was skinny even by the lean standards of her species, her face buried in one of the many large bean bags that made up the beds of the many, many pokémon that inhabited the house. Milliardo was disturbed to note that she was flecked in splatters of blood an even more vibrant red than the uniforms of the Crimson Blades. "Rhi, what's wrong?" He advanced cautiously into the room, that spare room that Rhiannon always seemed to retreat to when she needed time alone in the house. It had been that way ever since she evolved.
"Milliardo!" Rhiannon cried out suddenly, rushing over to her brother and burying her eyes into his flank, crying into his velvet-like fur in the same way she had been soaking her bed just seconds ago. "Milliardo, help me! Help me, she's been really bad, she's been really bad and I can't stop her, I try so hard, I really try but she just won't listen and she keeps on doing it and... oh, I can't stop her, Milliardo, I never could, I could only ever watch as she did all those awful things and... and... Milliardo, I'm scared!"
"Ssh," Milliardo sighed, trying very hard to support his hysterical sister. "Hush, Rhi, nothing's gonna happen to you as long as I'm around. There's only a handful of creatures in this world I really give a shit about, but I'll defend them to my dying breath. You're one of them. Now, whatever's happening here it's nothing compared to the sheer unquenchable pigheadedness of your brother. So let me know what's wrong, Rhi, because I'm gonna find out sooner or later."
"Milliardo..." Rhiannon looked up at her brother with eyes filled with tears. "she's doing it again. She's making us kill. She did it, she did it so easily, she made him tell everything he could tell and then... and then..." At this point the Jolteon burst into fresh bouts of sobbing. All of a sudden all thoughts of breakfast were forgotten. What in earth had happened? Milliardo could only guess. And to be frank the possibilities didn't exactly thrill him.
"Come on, Rhi. You can tell me what happened. I'm your brother, remember? Just calm down and start again from the beginning, because I haven't followed any of it so far." Silently the Umbreon wondered as to when he had become so compassionate and understanding. Was his lack of tact not legendary? Still, there was no time for that now. He had to deal with his hysterical sister before he could allow himself any time for self-reflection.
"She..." the Jolteon whimpered, "she hurt it, she hurt it badly just to find out what it knew, then she killed it!"Finally calming down enough to notice the lack of comprehension on her brother's face, she quickly explained "The Rattata that hurt Pandora. She's been keeping it prisoner in one of her dimensions. Just to find out what it knew about the Crimson Blades, which wasn't much. And when she realised that she... she..." Rhiannon looked just about ready to cry again, the tears welling up in her eyes before she could every attempt to hold them back. Finally it became all too much for her, the very thought of what happened next too much for her to take. Finally the tears started to flow again, wetting her brother's fur as she buried her head in his side. "She killed it, Milliardo, she did it again, she took my body and made it kill it! S... she made me a m... m... murderer!!!"
"Rhi..." Fortunately Milliardo was spared from a potentially impossible to deal with situation; after all, he had never had to deal with anything quite like this before! As it happened, Pearl chose that moment to wander over and see what all the commotion was about.
"What on earth's going on here?" the Ninetales exclaimed, wandering in to find Rhiannon in a hysterical state the likes of which she hadn't seen since the days Pandora had first joined the team. "Milliardo, what happened here?"
"Seems evil Rhi's gone and done it again," the Umbreon snorted by way of reply. "She's quite good company and all in her own stupid way but she's got less remorse than Tsuyoi!" His eyes narrowed. "The sooner we figure out a way to get that monster out of my sister's mind the better, I say."
"Not answering my question, but I get the general idea. Let me handle this from here, okay?"Quietly my Ninetales moved over to the two Eeveelutions, speaking in as calm and reassuring a tone as she could possibly manage. "Rhiannon? Rhiannon, listen to me. No matter what awful things she may have done, you had nothing to do with any of it, okay? Just because she was in your body doesn't make you responsible for any of her actions. And I know it's probably a lot to ask of you to try and think of it that way, especially when you still have the blood of whatever it is she's hurt upon you, but you really have to try. Until you think of her as totally separate from you then you won't be able to fight her. And isn't that what you really want, Rhiannon? To be able to fight against her and drive her and all of her cruelty away from your life for good?" Rhiannon stared at Pearl for the longest of times. A faint trace of a smile crossed her face. "Come on, Rhiannon. Come talk to me, come tell me everything that's troubling you. I can't say I have all the answers. Nobody does. But the least I can do is listen. It's what I do best, after all." Milliardo watched with a bemused look on his face. He had no idea how Pearl managed to do it at all. Get to the root of the problem and turn it so that you couldn't help but spill your guts out to her. All in the space of a few simple sentences that, coming from anyone else, would have sounded rather clichéd. But coming from Pearl they sounded just like the right thing to say. The Umbreon had to envy her for that. Normally when he spoke he managed to come out with the exact wrong thing to say.
"O... okay..." Rhiannon finally sniffled, accompanying Pearl to an adjoining room to lay bare all of her problems like countless others had done before her. Leaving Milliardo to wonder what, exactly, was to become of the sister that he had held dear for so very long.

That was only the first of two major setbacks to befall our team that day. The second arrived in the form of a phone call, just half an hour after we had eaten one of Sindel's delicious and extravagant breakfast spreads. Amongst much complaining from my Alakazam about being undervalued, of course, but, as Milliardo commented, 'she can't be happy unless she's got something to feel affronted about'.
"Hello?" I had picked up the phone without much of a thought. After all, it was quite a nice day outside now despite the season, certainly the sort of day that nothing should have been able to spoil. How wrong I was, however.
"Hello. You're the owner of the Houndour, Pandora, aren't you? Ade?" came the voice on the other end of the phone, a voice I couldn't even claim to recognise. My blood ran cold. There was something not quite right about that voice, some barely concealed pang of anxiety that I picked up on in an instant.
"Yeah. That's right. I am." My mouth was dry as I spoke. "Is something the matter?"
"Well... uhh, it's sort of difficult to explain over the phone. Would you mind coming over to the Pokécenter as soon as you can? I'm afraid to say she's in a bit of a state and could use a friendly face right about now."
"I'm there," I said, slamming the receiver down with unnecessary harshness. What was this now? What had those fools at the Pokémon Center been doing to my poor Houndour behind my back? She had always needed handling with the utmost care. She had always needed a sympathetic face to turn to. Silently I cursed myself for even thinking that I could have left her alone with complete strangers. A need to be healed or not, a prolonged hospital stay may have done her more harm than good. I could see that now. "Guys, I'm gonna need you all to hold down the fort for me for a while, something urgent's come up." Before anyone could hope to so much as say anything in way of response, I quickly added, "Except you, Milliardo, and you, Pearl. You're both coming with me."
"You what?" Milliardo complained. "Hey, the least you could do is explain! I know your little mind doesn't work quite in the same way as the rest of us, but you owe me that much before dragging me off to parts unknown!"
"Quit complaining, you pain in the butt," Thunderblast commented, all but shoving my Umbreon in my direction. Over the past twenty four hours a distinct power struggle had started to develop between the two pokémon, mainly because both seemed to want to be in control, neither seemed to want to give the other one inch of ground, and neither Thunderblast nor Milliardo was finding their usual tactics for getting their own way working very well on the other. "Just go, would you? You're needed."
"Whatever," Milliardo sighed, admitting defeat. Plus there was a distinct air of urgency in my tones, and my Umbreon was never the sort who would leave his friends waiting when they actually needed him. "Okay, Ade. Where are we off to, then?"
"The Pokécenter," I replied in a voice too calm to be truly sane.
"The... what...?" Finally the penny dropped. "Why the **** are we wasting all this time then? Take bloody Thingy as well and she can Teleport us there!" It had to be said that when the danger finally hit home Milliardo had always been the first to show the side that was concerned for his friends above all else. The point was whether that side was being shown too late.

A short while later and my little group had long since departed, leaving behind a bored, listless and confused group of pokémon free to mill about the house as they pleased.
"Man, I'm bored!" Kasumi whined for the millionth time. "It's no fair. Marius and Becks have hogged the computers..." This was only a complaint because since Marius' conquest on the system Kasumi had quickly realised how easily her telekinesis could be used to press keyboard keys. She cast a sulky glance over at the two pokémon, too intent in a multi player game of some random Doom clone to notice. "... nothing's on the telly AGAIN and what's worse it that even I have to admit that if I get 'Sumi'-ed again in the next hour or so I'm gonna be too sore to do much at all for about a week." The Growlithe sighed, turning to her usual source of inspiration. Namely Thunderblast. "Know anything we can do that doesn't involve lots of rubbing, snuggling and generally slowly killing ourselves in the nicest way possible?"
"Plenty," came the calm response. "Depends on how mean you want to be in the process. I mean, if you want to get Marius and Beckham off the computer, for instance, that's easily fixed. If, however, you want fresh inspiration, I have a few ideas on that score, too."
"Ooh! Come on, spill the beans!"
"Okay. This is how I see it. Ade was planning on holding a training session today until he had to dash off." Not even Thunderblast was tactless enough to just blurt out why I had dashed off, even though she understood my reasons perfectly well. "So how about we just carry on without him and train ourselves? It's not like we couldn't do it, is it?"
"Heh, that's true!" Katnip interjected, suddenly zooming in from the rafters of the room where he was currently dangling by his tail. "Neither of ya were around for this, but when I first joined Ade was on his back fer ages with some stupid illness, we really did hafta train ourselves fer ages! No reason why we couldn't again fer one day." The Raticate grinned broadly. "Or why ya both couldn't. I can see where this was goin' before I butted in."
"Hey, if anybody does wanna come along..." Kasumi began, but was swiftly silenced by a shake of the head.
"Nah. We lost Marius an' Becks since 9am. Rhi don't seem too well right now. Yer gonna hafta be a better talker than Pearl an' Milly combined ta get Scratchy or Brandy ta tag along. Megan seems too busy cheerin' Becks along. Ryo-Ohki hasn't even woken up yet, an' as for Bolovayr... man, that spook's in a world of his own. Milly, Sindel an' Pearl have all buggered off with Ade, Pandora's still in hospital... so unless ya wanna train with any of Soo's lot that leaves me, an' I wouldn't wanna get in the way of ya both spendin' some quality time tagether when I can just spar with Sparky fer a bit or somethin'."
"Katnip, you're a star," Kasumi grinned brightly. "Shouldn't we, like, let Soo or someone know where we'll be, though?"
"Oh, I'm sure Katnip can pass on a message for us, right?" Thunderblast smirked with a look on her face that was easily interpreted as 'you WILL pass on a message'. "Come on, Sumi, let's get out of here. I know of a few places that we could find a battle or two at."
"Ya could find a fight pretty much anywhere," Katnip commented. "Don't suppose many really understand yer way of makin' a point too well, huh?"
"I guess not," the Raichu finally conceded after giving this a moment's thought. "It's no skin off my nose, though. I like to fight and the ones I actually am bothered about tend not to get violent if I say something they don't want to hear, it all works out rather well for me in the end regardless." Suddenly she broke out into a bright grin. "Now stop holding us up, we were supposed to be sneaking off at this point! Sumi, you coming or what?"
"I'm there!" my Growlithe grinned brightly. A day spent in the company of her favourite pokémon of all awaited her, and it lifted her spirits to an almost euphoric level. What happier creature could there possibly be than Kasumi right about now?

As it turned out, the day was spent in a far more idyllic fashion than Kasumi had expected. The two had made their way over to the local park. Lots of trainers tended to practice there owing to it being the biggest patch of open land within the confines of Sector Alpha. Thunderblast had assured her that they would have themselves opponents within minutes of crossing the threshold. Which never happened. Instead the two pokémon found themselves flopped underneath a nearby tree, Thunderblast lay back contentedly watching the sky as Kasumi snuggled into her side. So maybe it wasn't training. It was still a good way to spend the day, just flopped down without so much as a care in the world.
"Sumi?" Thunderblast asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you think I did the right thing?"
"What do you mean?" My Growlithe picked her head up to pay more attention to what Thunderblast was saying, although it soon flopped back down again as the Raichu began absently scratching her belly.
"Upping and leaving like I did, I mean. I spent years with Dan and his team then I go run off. It's probably not what most would consider good behaviour. And besides, here's the really damning thing... I don't even think I can say I regret it, you know? I left those I spent so long with and I don't even feel guilty about it, not one jot. I guess those who say I'm odd might have a point, huh?" The Raichu gave a half-hearted laugh at this point. "This is where I need to be, though, here, with you. If anyone's got a problem with that then it's tough."
"I'm glad you're here," Kasumi smiled contentedly. "I don't think anybody else really gets me like you do. They either see the mad, excitable girl who's the sort to get up and do really bad, out-of-tune karaoke – and face it, if I was human I'd probably be one of those blonde-haired, short-skirted girls in really painful high heels that make everyone cringe by getting too worked up on a night out – or the colossal pervert. It's never both. And that really bugs me. I know it's probably my own doing what with me finding shocking people hilarious and all, but... hmph, nobody but you seems able to withstand my sense of humour for long enough to notice there's other stuff there as well."
"It's called 'digging your own grave', Sumi, that's what that is." Thunderblast yawned loudly, the relaxing effect of stroking Kasumi starting to get to her. "You're loud, you're excitable and you're more... uh, well, how can I put this tactfully? Wait, why should I care about that? You're more interested in being screwed in the most imaginative ways possible than most. Again, we get back to the whole 'we're like this, deal with it' thing. Seems to be the answer to everything, if you ask me."
"Good point!" Sumi conceded.
"Anyway, shouldn't we be finding ourselves an opponent right about now?" the Raichu asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"Yeah, but how do we do that, exactly?"
"Well, what kind of opponent do you fancy fighting?"
"Hmm..." Sumi thought about this for a second. Normally she would have said 'a cute one'. But having Thunderblast in the house had taken the edge off her libido a little. At least when it came to random strangers. "As big a challenge as possible, I'd say." Then, almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and do-able, you know what I mean?"
"Am I not good enough for you now?" Thunderblast asked, her eyes scanning the area for likely opponents.
"Of course! Am I not allowed to want a bit of eye candy now or something?"
"I'm not that possessive," came the calm reply. "Flirt and ogle as much as you want. Just bear in mind I have a lot of stamina, so you might want to make this an exclusive relationship if you don't want to end up in a Pokécentre with a really embarrassing complaint due to overuse."
"I'm bordering on that happening as it is!" Kasumi grinned. "So, I guess just find me the toughest opponent you can."
"I have it sorted," came the evil-sounding reply. All of a sudden a seemingly random Sudowoodo came flying towards the two pokémon. Although it wasn't in a 'leap of rage' kind of way that you would expect from an enemy. This pokémon seemed as if it had been just flung through the air in their direction! All of a sudden Thunderblast was on top of the pokémon, her front paws poised ready to strike. "Right, you," she commented calmly, "You're going to have a battle with my friend over there, and you're going to like it. You're going to give it your all. Because if you don't... well, I know many ways to hurt you, and the Cross Chop I'm threatening you with at the minute is the least of your worries. Savvy?"
"Uh... uh-huh," came the petrified response.
"See? What did I tell you? Nothing to it." Here Thunderblast stepped smartly off the fallen pokémon and turned to Kasumi with a grin."One opponent, all ready and waiting."
"Mean, but very effective," Kasumi chuckled. Here she turned to address her less than willing opponent. "Sorry about that. However, I would kind of like a battle if that's okay with you."
"I guess," the Sudowoodo grumbled, dusting itself down and looking as affronted as a Sudowoodo could possibly manage. "I was hoping to find someone to spar with myself. Your friend could have got my attention in a slightly nicer way, though! I mean, how hard can it be for two remarkably pretty pokémon like yourselves to get a guy to notice them?"
"Give it a rest, bud," Thunderblast interrupted, clearly none too impressed with the pokémon's attempts at flattery. Although Kasumi seemed rather obviously pleased at the compliment. "You're fighting, remember? First to a knockout wins, no seriously wounding your opponent, yadda yadda." Here the Raichu patted Kasumi on the back before tacking a step away. "Let's see what you both can do, guys!"

FIGHT!!! L14 Growlithe v L14 Sudowoodo!

Kasumi circled her opponent with caution, trying hard to remember everything she could about the Sudowoodo race. Which wasn't particularly much. The only fact that came to mind was that although they looked like plants they were anything but, and her Fire attacks were going to be of little help in this particular encounter. Well, that was okay by her. She knew a few other little tricks that would be of use anyway.
"Okay!" the Growlithe cried out suddenly. "Let's see how you handle this!" Quickly she raced towards her opponent and sunk her teeth hard into one of its branch-like arms before it so much as had a chance to realise what was going on. She had the obvious advantage of speed in this confrontation. And it was an advantage she had every intention of using.
"Ah!!" The Sudowoodo gave a sharp cry of pain. That had been unexpected! Angrily it waved its arm hard, until the force of its flailing limb threw Kasumi from her position fastened into its flesh. With a speed surprising for its awkward shape the strange pokémon continued with its seemingly random flailing about, rushing at the slightly stunned Growlithe in a mass of thrashing, jerking movements. Kasumi only just had enough of her wits left about her to get out of the way as soon as humanely possible. After all, she knew what this move was, she had used it to great success on many occasions herself! "Come back here!" her opponent yelled, its mad thrashing only serving to add to its general awkwardness now that Kasumi was up and moving again.
"You think I'm mad?" Kasumi shouted excitedly, getting caught up in the moment. "Well, maybe I am mad, but I'm not stupid!" She cast a sly glance over at Thunderblast, who was stood on the sidelines watching with a critical eye. "What do you think to a spot of Sudowoodo tipping?" she asked.
"Might be kind of funny," her girlfriend shrugged, not seeming to care much either way.
"Cool! Then watch... and learn." Kasumi focused her thoughts upon her opponent, sending out a short but strong burst of psychic energy in the direction of the still-thrashing Rock type. It did its job admirably, knocking the stick-like pokémon flat on its back. Which was never a good position for a Sudowoodo to be in. It left it open for the real Hidden Power attack, a crushing blast of psychic energy directed downwards onto its now-exposed chest, knocking the very wind clean from its lungs.
"Nice going!" Thunderblast cooed appreciatively from her place as spectator. "I though you were just pissing about with the Sudowoodo tipping thing."
"Well. uh, actually I was, the fact there was an opening just happened to occur to me as I was knocking him over." My Growlithe blushed slightly. "Glad you liked that little trick, though."
"I'll like it better when you actually defeat him," Thunderblast noted calmly. "Eyes forward, Sumi, he's getting up again."
"He is?" The Growlithe turned to set her eyes upon her opponent who, sure enough, was picking itself up off the floor, a look of indignation in its eyes. "Oh great. You just don't know when to call it a day, do you?"
"On the contrary, but now isn't that time! Prepare to lose!" With a speed that was quite remarkable for a creature so awkwardly-built, the weird-looking pokémon shot forward and planted a strong kick in Kasumi's chest, knocking her backwards with a cry of pain. Kasumi blinked the tears away from her eyes. That had hurt! A sudden anger flaring up within her, the Growlithe fired another strong psychic blast from her Hidden Power in the direction of her opponent. It struck with unerring accuracy, sending the Sudowoodo hurtling backwards to crash painfully into the grassy floor, its skidding body ploughing a deep ridge in the ground as it went. "Y... you..." the fallen pokémon grumbled, getting unsteadily back up to a sitting position, its usually blank face contorted into a scowl. "That does it! Enough games! I'm putting an end to this, then I can be free of this whole stupid situation!" The pokémon paused for a moment, clearly concentrating hard on something. Quite what that was, however, wasn't initially apparent. Until a huge boulder seemed to rise out of the ground behind the pokémon, hovering there menacingly for a moment. Kasumi could see where this was going, and it wasn't exactly a comforting prospect.
"Uhh... let's talk about this, can we?" she gulped, looking all about her for some possible means of cover. Sadly that seemed to be rather thin on the ground on this particular day. "Like, isn't there some unwritten rule against hitting ladies with giant rocks or something?"
"Sumi," Thunderblast commented with a roll of her eyes. "I love the damsel-in-distress act, I really do, but you're the telekinetic Growlithe, you shouldn't have anything to fear from any tangible attack at all."
"Eh?"
"Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to, you airhead," The Raichu stuck her tongue out. "You can throw that thing right back at him, right?"
"Oh! Right!" Finally the penny seemed to drop, and hence Kasumi returned her focus back to the battle at hand, a sudden smirk upon her face. Yes, the plan was risky. But it seemed a risk that was well worth taking. "Okay you, since you're so strong let's see what you got."
"You asked for it!" All of a sudden Kasumi found the large boulder being hurtled at her at a speed that she would have found terrifying if she hadn't been alerted to a game plan so obvious she was kicking herself for having never thought of it herself. Her eyes narrowed as she gathered up every ounce of concentration that she possessed. This was going to be a tough one! Slowly but surely she began to work her Hidden Power's remarkable skills upon the incoming missile, trying hard to counteract its motion with her telekinesis. To begin with it didn't appear as if her tactic was paying off. The boulder was still moving towards her. But as the seconds passed it became clearer and clearer that its speed was rapidly decreasing, until it finally shuddered to a halt just touching the Growlithe's nose. It was as much as she could do to stop herself from collapsing from relief. That had been a close one! "W... what on earth just happened?" Kasumi's opponent blinked in disbelief at what it was seeing. "How did you manage to stop my Rock Throw?"
"That's for me to know and you to be confused about for the rest of your life, big boy," Kasumi grinned, her normal confidence returning now that she felt more in control of the situation. "Let's just say it's the same thing that let's me do this." Abruptly my Growlithe gave the giant stony sphere another sharp push, applying just enough force to send it soaring straight back at her opponent, who couldn't so much as hope to avoid it. Or the last invisible blast of energy she sent swiftly following on its heels for good measure. The results of this dual-pronged attack were spectacular. First, the boulder collided with the Sudowoodo. Then the psychic attack struck home, smashing straight through the stone. Causing the entire thing to explode in an instant.

"Geez, Sumi, finish with a bang, why don't you?" The flying shrapnel was causing no end of chaos to the surrounding area, although Thunderblast at least was finding it relatively easy to dodge, deflect and generally destroy any stray bits of stone that headed in her direction. With an almost bemused annoyance she batted away another handful of sharp shards with a well-aimed psychic blast. "This is what happens when you give someone psychic powers but don't teach them how to use them, I guess." The Raichu looked all around her as the dust finally settled, her eyes finally alighting upon a slightly scratched Kasumi, who seemed more shell shocked than actually hurt from the incident. "Or it could just be what happens when you give Sumi psychic powers, period." Quickly she bounded over to her companion and began absently dusting her down. "I really don't know how you manage it," she tutted. "You're even a klutz with your psychic powers, aren't you? Good job for me you at least keep your clumsiness out of the bedroom."
"Huh?" Kasumi blinked several times, her brain finally returning to the real world. "Thunderblast? What happened to my opponent?"
"Over there," the Raichu replied, waving over to where the Sudowoodo had passed out in a pile of broken rock. "I'd say you got him good. And without trying to use Attract as well, now that's what really stunned me." Finally Thunderblast had managed to get Kasumi into some state of tidiness again. Carefully she took a step back to admire her handiwork. "Pretty as a picture."
"What kind of picture?" Kasumi grinned, her usual bounce starting to come back to her.
"Oh... one out of those magazines you find on the top shelves of newsagents. Probably with a title like 'Small and Slutty' or something equally stupid."
"You sure know how to make a girl feel special, Thunderblast."
"I try my best." The two pokémon grinned at each other for a moment that seemed to last an eternity. All of a sudden the sinister events of the past few days seemed to melt away entirely. All of a sudden life seemed to be very good indeed, just two pokémon who truly enjoyed each other's company spending an idyllic day at the park. A simpler life than this couldn't be imagined.

Kasumi wins!
Kasumi grew to L15!

"What on earth do you mean by THAT???" Sadly not everybody had the privilege of a simple life. For some of us life was fraught with complications, with twists and turns that only seemed to grow all the more cruel with every passing day. But even so, even by the usual standards of the evil tricks that life seemed to like to play upon me, this was probably an all-time low.
"I'm sorry, sir." The Nurse Joy stood in front of me was wearing her best apologetic face, trying her very best to appear sympathetic to my plight. Like hell she truly understood. Just to ring me up like that to impart such terrifying news, then to stand in front of me with a false sincerity so irritating that it was as much as I could do to stop myself from screaming at her... no, this was the last thing I needed right now. "I meant exactly what I said, and I'm truly sorry you had to hear this, it can't be easy for you..."
"Damn right it's not easy for me!" I shouted. "I should have just taken her home the instant she woke up. But I didn't. So it's all my fault." What, exactly, was my fault? This whole situation. The phone call from earlier had been the local Pokécentre with a rather urgent-sounding message that instructed me to come down as quickly as possible as there had been a problem with Pandora's recovery. Only when I had arrived, however, did I grow to realise exactly how grave the 'problem', as they called it, truly was. Pandora seemed to be totally broken. Something had happened, somehow, that seemed to have finally tipped her fragile psyche over the edge. All she seemed to be able to do was stare blankly forward into space, not really fully registering what was going on around her. Even the frantic efforts of Pearl and Milliardo didn't seem to be doing much in the way of good, my two pokémon trying their hardest to cajole some kind of reaction from her whilst I dealt with this irritating Nurse Joy.
"You're not to blame for this," came the calm response. "If anything it's our fault."
"Tell me something I don't know," I hissed venomously. "This place has done her no good at all. Give me whatever papers I need to sign to get her discharged. We're taking her home with us right now before you can screw things up any more."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
"You what?" I asked frostily, rounding upon the nurse with a surprising amount of anger. "How can you dare tell me that after it was in your care that all of this happened?"
"I'm sorry. Really I am. But we simply can't let her go in this state. If you were to take her away whilst she's like this, as justified as your reasons might be, serious questions would be asked about your capabilities as a trainer. To remover her from where she can get the help she needs... you could lose your trainer's license for that, you know."
"Got an answer for everything, don't you?" I snarled. "Fine. You have three days to get her better. If there's been no headway by then... well, I'm coming in here and taking her away, and screw you and your stupid rules. I'll be hanging around here like a bad stench until then, though, you can count on that." So saying, I stormed away from the conversation, too furious to even consider carrying on arguing lest I say or do anything that I would later regret.
"You did well," a calm voice rang out from behind a well-concealed door. "You almost had me believing that the only reason we have to let him stew is because he might get his license revoked."
"I didn't appreciate having to do that, you know," the Nurse Joy complained with a decidedly bitter tone in her voice. "It goes against all of my training."
"I've no interest in your ethics, woman." Finally the owner of the mystery voice decided to reveal himself, stepping out from the shadows. A tall, gaunt figure with thick black hair that fell over his pale face, dressed in padded black clothing trimmed with silver. Hardly an inch of his flesh was on show. Even his hands were covered by thick black gloves. And his eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses that allowed no inkling as to what was going on in his mind. "In any war there has to be casualties. That one has been clashing with DiAnnio far too many times for my liking. Not to mention he's one of the few veteran Tamers left in Ulthuan. I feel much better knowing that he'll be too distracted by his poor little Houndour to snoop around in my business."
"I would have thought that all a Lord of the Dragon's Guild would have to do to silence a Dragon Tamer is give them an order." The way the nurse said 'lord' indicated that she didn't think much of her companion's status, nor his worthiness of such a title.
"We tried that. They don't listen. So it's just a case of making sure they're too busy to meddle where they're not needed. Harsh, but necessary. Which reminds me, maybe it would be best if we gave Lady Vulpix a few more pointless reports to do, just to keep her occupied..." A slight smile formed at the corners of the man's mouth. "The trouble with the Dragon Tamers, you see, is that everything has to be black and white for them. They can't see how complicated the world really is, how sometimes the just course of action isn't the wisest one. No, if we let them run around unchecked we'd have a political disaster on our hands. Power tends to fall in the hands of the most ruthless, and it's never good to upset those who hold the power."
"So I see," the Nurse Joy complained. "And there was me thinking the Dragons Guild was supposed to be a benevolent organisation."
"Oh, we exist for the protection of Ulthuan. And I do what I do for a reason. The Crimson Blades possess a biological weapon that has been brooding and growing ever stronger since the days of the Dark Cloak, and to send mere pokémon trainers against it would only serve to enrage it all the more. I was entrusted with the task of tying up the loose ends regarding this, so to speak, and I don't need all these people with vendettas rushing about getting in the way of my business." Here he turned to look at the Nurse Joy with an expression that she guessed was remarkably sharp. "But I talk too much. Woman, you've outgrown your usefulness to me now." The man reached into a concealed pocket within his jacket and pulled out a pokéball that was the same black and silver as the rest of his ensemble. "Number 27, deal with this for me." Abruptly the pokéball burst open in a blinding flash of light to reveal a Scizor with a rather vacant expression in its eyes. And that wasn't all that was wrong with the creature. Its entire left arm seemed to have been replaced with a remarkably futuristic-looking bionic replacement, all chrome and wires and electrical buzzing.
"W... wait!" The Nurse Joy backed away, wanting to cry out for help but finding herself paralysed by fear. She stumbled backwards over a random box and fell hard on her behind. The pain was excruciating, but it didn't stop her retreat in the slightest. "You can't do this!"
"Number 27, if you'd be so kind as to eradicate the lady's memories of the past five minutes."
"Yes, Lord Absol." The Scizor advanced menacingly upon the Nurse Joy, taking slow, sluggish steps towards her that should have been easy to retreat from. Easy, that is, if she hadn't been captivated by the shining amber stone that had somehow materialised from the pokémon's forehead. It was shimmering with an almost ethereal light, threatening to capture her mind forever with its exquisite beauty.
"By the way, the reason I would rather deal with DiAnnio myself, in case you wondered, is that I'm not exactly short of a biological weapon or two myself..." Those were the last words Nurse Joy heard before the entire world became nothing more than a brilliant yellow hue.

---

BTW, I'd like to give Pandora an RBG at the Electric Shutdown System, please. I've a little mini-story for her that needs to be worked out via the use of RBGs. And before I forget, nice story, Gabi, that Alakazam Pidgeot fought has Armand sussed pretty well I reckon.

[Lady Vulpix]

*Prints Ade's battle.*
Thanks, Ade! I'm glad you've read my story, and liked it.
Now for your Random Battle... Pandora will be up against a Plusle!
I'd like to see what comes out of this.

I hope I can finish my 2nd part of the story soon. The part of it I've done already includes a character who's been out of the scope of my stories for too long for Hero to allow it.

Oh, and for your story, you get 20 stamps! I was wondering when he would show up, but I never thought it would be this way. And Thunderblast is scary! I felt sorry for the Sudowoodo. I wonder where this all will lead... ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[Wolfsong]

Sorry, if its not a detailed rate, but i enjoyed reading your story and thanks for that link. It was helpful and I was glad to have read that background info ^^ Sorry about Pidgeot's experiences though. Apologies for taking a while to get around to rating it but with the holidays... *Gives 15 stamps* Reading yours made me realize that i need to get started on my story

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks for the stamps, Amy! And also thanks to Ade, Amy and Karin for reading the first part of my story for this scenario. ^_^ Here's the 2nd part.

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

<Pidgeot's POV>

I heard sounds in the darkness. At first, nothing had meaning. All I could feel was a general numbness. Then I remembered the battle, my encounter with the Alakazam, the Team Rocket meeting, the Crimson Blades... I wished it had all been a nightmare, but it was all too real. All the physical pain soon came to me to confirm that. What had happened then? Why was I on the ground? I recalled something hitting me while I was flying for help. Possibly a stray attack from a battle below... or maybe the pain from a wound my mind had blocked out during the battle, coming back to me once the threat was gone. Either way, the sound of fights all around me made one thing obvious: the war had begun.

I made an effort to open my eyes. For a moment I thought the light would blind me, but then I remembered the sky was all dark. When my eyelids finally moved away from each other, I saw a pair of reddish pink eyes (or maybe pinkish red) looking at me.
"Welcome back to the world of the living," a female Ninetales voice said.
The voice echoed in my head, barely standing out from the loud surrounding noises. I focused my sight and the full image of the Ninetales took form. She looked like she hadn't had an easy morning, though it couldn't had been as bad as mine. I knew her, of course. I had even battled her once, but it had been a friendly battle, nothing like the one I'd just had. I knew I could trust her. I'd finally found some of the help I was looking for.
"Thanks," I told her. "How long was I out?"
"Hmm... I'd say about an hour, judging by how the scents of the street have settled on you."
"I bet that's something only you can say," I commended her, trying to sit up. She helped me, lifting my head with hers.
"There are many who are much more powerful than me," she said. "Without going too far, I have a friend who can see the future. I only have good senses."
"We work with what we have," I said.
"That's true. I just wish I could do more at a moment like this. What happened to you anyway?"

I started to tell Tracker everything: how I had made it into the Team Rocket headquarters, and everything I'd seen. Officer Jenny soon came running after her Ninetales, yelling at her for running off again, but stopped when she saw me, letting me finish my story. I then said everything about the Alakazam, the battle and how I had escaped, but then I had fallen before I could get back home.
"It's ok," Tracker said. "We'll take you to a Pokemon Center, and then I'll find your team and tell them everything. Then we'll all stop Team Rocket and this new group too."
"That won't be easy."
"What kind of police pokemon would I be if I backed off whenever things got tough?"
I nodded. She was right.
"I wish I could speak Pokemon language," Officer Jenny said. "This Pidgeot belongs to Lady Vulpix, right?"
Tracker nodded.
"We'll have to find its trainer. But first he'll need some help. I'll call the Pokemon Center and ask them to fetch it."

I wasn't used to being called 'it' and I can't say I liked it, but I appreciated the help. Especially since I didn't feel like I'd be able to make it there on my own. After the officer made the call, both she and Tracker stayed with me for a few minutes, until two young men came to me with a stretcher. I could stand up by then, though my wings didn't seem ready to lift me yet. They watched as I was taken to the ambulance which was already carrying several wounded pokemon, and then left with Tracker's promise to get the rest of my team.

<Gabi's POV>

The meeting started rather well considering the fact that it was arranged on such a short notice and we didn't have enough information to act upon. I felt sorry about interrupting Karin's vacation, but this was important and she wouldn't have wanted to miss it anyway. Gwaihir carried her and the rest of her team to the DT Central so fast, it felt like they hadn't gone away at all. Once we were all there, I tried to tell my friends everything I knew about the current crisis. Amy and Karin seemed disoriented; I attributed that to my own inability to explain the situation clearly, though how clear could I be when I wasn't certain about what was going on myself? We all agreed that something had to be done, but none of us seemed to be willing to take the lead this time. Then, in the middle of the meeting, my gearphone rang. Weird, since it had been over a year since someone had last phoned me on that number. I wondered who'd bother me at a time like this... though it could be something important. I picked up.

"Hello?," I said.
"Hello, this is Golden Growlithe of the Dragon's Guild."
The formality sounded out of place and confused me for a moment, but I soon recognized my interlocutor.
"Ah, it's you! Sorry, you caught me in the middle of a meeting."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But if I hadn't called you, Lady Ninetales would have and I assure you that you'd rather talk to me. She's become even more irritating than usual."
"Oh, I see. So is this about the report I handed in last week? Or do they want me to start a new one already?"
"I swear you're psychic."
"It's the only reason why she ever calls me," I explained.
"Well, yes, they're asking you to write a new report. You can pick the subject and location. You're also allowed to take company with you to help you with your research. They want something good and said they don't want to limit your scientific developments in any way, so you literally get to go anywhere you want this time. I wish I would get all those benefits."
"A year ago I'd have been grateful, but now I'm starting to feel they're trying to drive me away. I wonder what I have done to annoy them so much... Or what they're hiding that they don't want me to find out."
"Yeah, I'm working on it. But for now I don't even know who the Dragon Master is. If there is one at all. Maybe we should talk about this personally someday, but I can see the Guild is facing more internal problems than they care to show. Maybe if you take me with you to do your research we can talk more freely."
"I'll think about it, but that will have to wait. We're in the middle of a crisis now."
"A crisis?"
"Yes... I have a feeling you'll understand what I'm talking about if you get out of the building for a moment."
"Ok, I will, but LN wants to know what the subject of your report will be and she'll ask me about it as soon as she comes back."
"She wants me to come up with a subject right now?! She knows I'm not good at taking decisions on such a short notice!"
"Hey, don't yell at me. I'm just the messenger."
"Sorry. I just can't right now. Can I please have a week to think about it? I can think of something good for next week, but not today."
"I don't know... that decision's not up to me. I have just enough power to call you, but not enough to decide what to tell you. Maybe if you think of something now... and then if you want to change it before next week I don't think anyone will mind."
"Ok, let me think..."
I didn't know why the thought crossed my mind. It was always unexpected when it came, but it was recurrent. Sometimes it brought nostalgia, sometimes sorrow or even guilt, and sometimes it came with the weight of unfinished business. Well, maybe I'd get the chance to get rid of one of those feelings now. I just needed to give it a title...
"Ponytas in high places."
"What?!"
"Sorry, I think that didn't make any sense. Maybe you can help me word it better, I mean... how high altitude affects Ponytas, since they're known to live on the plains, but a few colonies of Ponytas have developed on mountainous regions... I'd like to write a report about how those groups of Ponytas have adapted to life in the mountains."
"Ah, ok. I think I can work with that. Thanks, you're really not that bad at coming up with ideas on a short notice."
"To be honest, that's not what I did. I needed a reason to go to a certain place and now I have it. If the Guild is going to use me, I might as well play the same game and use them in the process."
"I didn't know you were capable of such actions."
"I'm normally peaceful, but I react if they push me too much. I'm not going to hurt anyone, there's just something I need to sort out in order to be at peace with myself. But only after we've dealt with this more urgent crisis."
"Alright, if there's any way I can help you, I will. Oh, by the way, before I forget... A woman came by about an hour ago. I don't know if this means anything, but I didn't know her, and my pokemon were uneasy around her. She didn't look like she was from the Guild, but she ended up leaving the building with one of the Guild's most prominent scientists. And he didn't look too pleased. I thought you might want to know."
"At this time anything out of ordinary could be a clue. What did the woman look like?"
"Blonde, long wavy hair, well built for a woman if you get what I mean. She wore a black skirt and a blouse with large pink roses. She had a wide smile plastered on her face, but it didn't look like a sincere smile of joy, nor a completely fake smile... it was somewhat disturbing, I can't tell exactly what it looked like."
"I see... I don't know anyone who would wear a blouse with large pink roses, but please tell me if she shows up again. Did she or the scientist say anything? Who was the scientist anyway?"
"People call him Gene. I think his first name is Eugene, but he doesn't say his last name in public. I think it's classified or something. He's a weird guy. He rarely shows his face around here. He works with the guy who threw a fit when the rainbow Aipom was released, but I don't know what they're working on."
"Alright, I'll... think about all of this when I get the chance. It may or may not mean something, but right now..."
"You have a crisis to avert. I know. Good luck with that, my friends and I will help if we can."
"Thanks. See you."
"Bye."

I turned back to my friends at the meeting room. They were talking, but hadn't seemed to come to an agreement while I was on the phone.
"So, where were we?," I asked.

<Hero's POV>

The meeting was being carried out as it had begun: plain boring and useless. These girls took ages to make any decisions. It was easier when Scott was around, he'd decide what to do and everyone else would have to adjust immediately. Or even Ryan: he'd never been a part of the DT staff, but he always had a plan and Gabi would always find a way to implement it. I couldn't tell if they really had no ideas or none of them was willing to take responsibility for the whole thing. And the pokemon weren't really participating. What can I say?, I guess everyone was confused about what was going on. Even Caledor seemed uneasy, and that's something you don't see everyday. Then Gabi got the phone call... for a moment she looked like she was about to explode. And she started talking about things that made no sense to me, so I stopped paying attention and started looking through the window. The sky was still unnaturally dark. Down on the streets, even the crickets had gone silent. But far away I could hear the sound of things getting broken and beams being shot. Typical pokemon war, if you asked me. But no one did ask me. And then, also on the street, I saw what came to me as a ray of sunlight in the darkness. And Officer Jenny was running after her, as usual.

It was a good thing that the door wasn't locked. I pushed down the knob and ran down the stairs until I reached the entrance. Naturally, I made it there before Tracker did and waited for her. Unfortunately, I had to wait for someone to open the main door. In the meantime I looked at her. She looked rather worn out, and her hair was almost as messed up as mine, which was unusual in her. I'd always wondered how she managed to keep it neat all the time; now I knew the answer: she didn't. Her ears were moving sideways, as usual whenever something was going on. She never missed out on anything. But her eyes... her light ruby eyes were fixed on me. I was glad I had fur all over my face to cover the blushing.

When the door was finally open, both Tracker and Jenny walked into the building.
"Hero," Tracker said with a smile. For some reason when she said it it didn't feel just like my name, but the original meaning of the word.
"Beats Speedy and Spooky," I answered, immediately scolding myself mentally for not coming up with anything better.
"Well, Speedy was Scorch's idea, not mine. Between us, I think he was never good for picking names. Flame was better at it."
"Flame's names weren't that far from the obvious either. They were just a little more poetic, but still unoriginal. Blessing, Sunrise, Sunset..."
"...Tracker..."
"Well, your name suits you, but there's a lot more to you than that."
"Thanks for noticing," she smiled. "But that happens with all names. They can never fully describe their bearers. That's why it takes time to get to know others well."
"Yeah, some need more time than others. You're good at figuring others out."
"It's just a matter of attention, really. I'm sure you can do it too, if you try."
"You know my attention's only good for battles and competition. That's my only flaw."
"Sure," she chuckled, "because you don't seem to have any modesty problems."
"Nah. No modesty to worry about," I laughed. "Really, it's good to see you here."
"I'm glad to see you too. I've been so busy lately... training, patrolling, investigating, chasing criminals... working as a police pokemon is a demanding job and today it's started out as the worst day we've had this year. I hadn't seen riots like these since the attacks on the hotels, only now it's all over the city. Only a few have been caught so far, it looks like were doing clean up work more than anything else. It's like they're always one step ahead of us."
"Then it must be time to stop and think of what they're going to do next so you can catch them, isn't it?"
"Don't think I haven't thought about it, it's just that the attacks don't seem to have any visible pattern yet. Except that most of the targets have been pokemon and pokemon trainers, but that's still to vague a track to follow. And now, from what I've heard, the Rockets are fighting each other. Oh, before we accidentally change the subject again, I met your Pidgeot friend today. He knows more about this whole thing than I do, I think you should talk to him. He's at the Greendale Pokemon Center now."
"Is he hurt?"
"He is, but don't worry. They're looking after him and he'll recover soon. He has an amazing willpower from the stories you and he have told me. He won't be taken down easily."
"Yes, that's his strong point in battles. Will to keep fighting and a good ability to adjust and improvise. I guess that helps in life as well. So, what happened to him?"
"He had a clash with a Rocket pokemon. And old enemy, apparently. He managed to escape after watching Team Rocket declare some sort of a civil war."
"We need to tell the others."
"I think my trainer's already taken care of some of it. She must have told the Tamers what she knows, though one of us or both will have to go up there and fill in the gaps because she couldn't understand what Pidgeot said."
Only then I noticed Officer Jenny was gone. I really needed to work on my attention.
"She doesn't understand you yet?," I asked Tracker.
"No," Tracker shook her head. "She has no psychic abilities, and while we care for each other, communication between us hasn't improved that much. I think I'm to blame for a part of it. I know I always keep acting on my own initiative instead of waiting for her to make a decision, or sometimes even in spite of what she says. But in our line of work often every second counts and I can't help but trust my instincts. Most of the time I have more information than she does. And I think the fact that she's my second trainer doesn't help her confidence. She looks a lot like her cousin, but they don't act the same way. Plus I think she knows she's not the reason why I decided to stay here instead of going back to Goldenrod."
"I see. It sounds like a complicated situation. I'd like to help you, but I have no idea how to fix that."
"It's ok, I know it will take time. I wasn't asking you for advice on this, but I think you can help us stop Team Rocket from trashing the city and spreading to the rest of the country."
"I promise I'll do my best."
"Shall we go up now?"
"Up? What for?"
"To talk to our trainers and decide on what to do."
"Oh! Of course. Up we go."
...And up we went.

After we told everyone the story, the staff finally reached a conclusion: this was a job for all the Dragon Tamers. Or at least all those who volunteered; the situation was too dangerous to have anyone participate without considering the risks first. Each Tamer would be contacted individually - Gabi didn't think it would be safe to broadcast the message this time. That would take time, but at least everyone would be informed of what was going on, and hopefully enough trainers would decide to help keep the crisis contained.

Once the meeting was over, everyone got on the move. Gabi and some of my teammates went to the Pokemon Center to check on Pidgeot, while the rest of us (namely Tsunami, Caledor, Amber, Iael, Ventura and myself) decided to patrol the streets. I followed Officer Jenny and Tracker and offered them my assistance. The others formed pairs to explore the city, except for Ventura who preferred to fly on her own.

<Caledor's POV>

I paired up with Tsunami because he was the obvious choice. Not only because he was one of my best friends and the other had decided to follow his girlfriend or whatever their current status was, but also because he was the only one who could distract my thoughts from the vision I'd had earlier that day. I hated to admit it, but I just couldn't shake it off and I didn't even know why. And the general dark and gloomy environment wasn't helping me make any jokes either. Hopefully I'd find some Rocket to battle and then my mood would change. I had a reputation to maintain. At least with Tsunami I managed to get some light talk, and soon we were speculating about whether Hero and Tracker would ever formalize their relationship. Though he said something really puzzling at the end of the conversation; something about him not wanting our bond to be broken, since even I was getting lucky this days.

"What do you mean?," I asked him. "I build my own luck. It's the same way it's always been. What do you mean by 'these days'?"
"Ah, forget it. I just... feel lonely sometimes, but I know you and Hero will always be there for me. You're the best friends I could have hoped for. But don't tell Hero that or it will go to his head."
"I didn't know you felt lonely. Well, you can call me any time you need some cheering up, because you know that's what I do best!"
"Indeed," he chuckled. "And I can tell you're not about to change any time soon. You don't even like changes, do you?"
"Only if they're for the best. But why change what's already working? I'm not ever going to become serious if that's what you're referring to."
"That wasn't exactly what I was talking about, but it's still good to hear."
"Then what were you talking about?"
"Forget it. I wasn't making sense. Hey, look who's there!"

After wondering about for a while, we'd end up bumping into Amber and Iael again.
"Hey, guys!," I greeted them. "Did you find anything?"
"I just saw a pair of grunts running away after a battle," Amber replied. "Probably newbies; not a real threat. What about you?"
"We saw an ambulance pick up a wounded Rattata a couple of minutes ago," Tsunami said. "No Rockets yet, nor any signs of those Crimson whatever."
"Blades," Iael said. "I wonder if they have real blades with them."
"We don't know much about them, so I guess anything's to be expected," Tsunami answered. "Wait a minute. What's that noise?"
I perked my ears and tried to find whatever Tsunami was referring to. It didn't take too long before I noticed the noises coming from a store nearby. It sounded like the whole place was being torn down.
"It's in that store," I pointed. "We should check it out."

We ran over to the store, which reminded me of the PokéMart at Selenia for multiple reasons. Well, for two reasons, actually: because they both sold stuff for pokemon and because they were both a complete mess the first time I saw them. The store seemed to be closed, but the door was open. There were boxes and broken bottles all over the floor, the counter had been pushed against the wall and it was hard to find any shelves that were still in a horizontal position. I looked up to find the cause of that chaos, and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it... It was a Dragonair!

"Hey, you! Stop it!," Amber ordered the dragon, who was sitting on the highest shelf and waving his tail to throw down whatever wasn't on the floor yet.
The vandal stopped for a moment to see who was talking, but then went on with his task.
"I'm not going to stop just because you say so," he replied, not even looking at us.
"Why are you doing this?," Amber queried.
"Because it's as good a way to cause trouble as any other."
"Do you work for Team Rocket?"
"Team Rocket? Don't insult me," the Dragonair chuckled. "I'm with the Crimson Blades. We're stronger, more powerful, and have the conviction Team Rocket lacks. Those amateurs are going down. Soon you won't even remember their names."
"Conviction? What kind of conviction?"

The Dragonair stared at Amber for a moment, just before launching himself off the shelf, coiling his tail on the floor and stretching up the rest of his body to share Amber's eye level. He had a fierce look on his face I'd never thought a Dragonair would be capable of.
"I'm not a hotline for you to ask me all those questions," he confronted her. "What are you here for? If you want a fight, let's get down to it, but make it quick. I'm busy."
"I don't think he's up for any kind of reasoning," I pointed out.
"So you both want to fight? No problem. I'll take you both down and give you pests a taste of true power. Then I'll take care of your two friends if they haven't run away by the time I'm done with you. It should be fun, I must admit that wrecking a closed store was getting boring."
Maybe it was prejudice, but I had trouble picturing a Dragonair as being so vicious as this one seemed to be. I reckoned not all the pokemon of the Dratini line could be as friendly as the ones I knew, but it was hard to imagine one of them joining the Crimson Blades. Still, I had to face the facts; no matter what this Dragonair's story was, he saw us as the enemy and wouldn't talk things out over a cup of hot chocolate. Amber and I accepted his challenge.

Level 51 Charizard and Espeon vs. level 55 Dragonair

Amber managed to attack first, thanks to her matches. She didn't hold back, or at least she tried not to, as I could see from the attack she chose to use against the dragon type: Dragon Claw. I tried to do my best too, and attacked the Dragonair with Psychic, but our attacks combined weren't strong enough to bring down our opponent. The Dragonair sent a Thunder Wave in Amber's direction; that was enough to neutralize the effect of her matches, but not enough to intimidate her. I tried another Psychic, and it seemed to work quite well. The Dragonair couldn't hide his pain anymore. But that didn't last. He stretched up as if to let me take a closer look at his scales... the scratches left by Amber's claws were healing; the wounds sealed in a matter of seconds.

So he knew a healing move... That didn't mean we couldn't beat him, it just meant we'd have to think fast. I rolled my die. Nothing bad could possibly come out of it. The die hit the Dragonair and landed on the floor. The spiral on the top side started spinning, illuminated by a pink light that came from the inside of my item. The Dragonair, who was trying to summon a new attack, hit the few shelves that were still standing and landed his head on one of them. Then he stopped moving, but not without letting a pile of random objects fall on top of me. Something similar to a pokeball hit me and opened upon contact with my fur. Some powder came out of it. I couldn't see it, but I felt it spread all over me. It gave me a strange feeling, and then vanished.

"What happened? Are you alright?," Iael asked me.
"I'm fine, though I'm afraid Gabi will have to pay for this," I told him. "I think I've used a TM by accident... or something like that."
"I take it you don't know what it is?"
"No idea. With the labels over the floor I don't think I can find the right one. I think it was one that I could use, though, so I guess I'll find out soon. What happened to the Dragonair? Is he asleep?"
"So it seems," Amber confirmed. "Do you think there's anything here that can heal paralysis? I'll work to pay for it."
"I don't know," I said, walking to pick up my status die. "It'll be hard to find anything among this mess, but you can look around."
"Don't you think we should do something about the Dragonair first?," Tsunami reminded us.
Why did he have to open his mouth? The Dragonair started moving in his sleep... spinning around in his place. Then set of tornados formed out of nowhere and came heading my way. I tried to run, but I got caught in them. Luckily, they passed as quickly as they had come, leaving me lying with my back on the floor, but still able to stand back up.
"Yes, we should, Tsunami, but remind me to keep your mouth shut next time," I told my friend. "Every time you open it something bad happens."
"Hey! Don't blame me! It's not my fault that Dragonair knows sleep talk. Focus on your battle or I'll have to pick you up next time you fall."
"No way, I'm not falling again. Check this!"
This time I opted for a move I normally didn't get the chance to use. You could have said I was showing off, and you'd have been right, but my Dream Eater was very effective... even if it left me with a disgusting taste and I couldn't even be sure it was in my mouth. The bad news was that the Dragonair woke up as soon as I attacked him, and he didn't look too happy about my eating his dreams. Amber managed to stop him from getting back at me, by spitting a cloud of smoke on his face. But now he got mad at Amber.

"I'm going to stop playing now," the Dragonair said.
He picked up some herbs from one of the boxes on the floor and swallowed them whole. I had a bad feeling about those herbs, especially if he'd chosen to take them instead of using Recover again. My die wouldn't help me this time, nor would my Dream Eater. I was running out of options. I disappeared into the shadows, if only to create some confusion in my opponent while I thought of what to do next.

Well, at least I succeeded at something. The Dragonair started looking around, trying to find out where I'd disappeared to, leaving himself open for an attack. Or so I thought. When I tried to hit him with my Faint Attack, he somehow managed to evade me.
"You can avoid a Faint Attack?!," I yelled out of sheer frustration.
"And you can perform one! What's more surprising? I think you'd make good fighting material if you weren't so soft inside," my opponent replied.
"You don't know what I'm like inside," I said while I waited for Amber to make her move. "I can't say the same about you," I added when she managed to pierce his skin with her Dragon Claw.
Ok, so that was a nasty joke, but it wasn't my best day and that Dragonair had had it coming. The downside to all this was that now he looked like he wanted a piece of me. And none of my 36 known moves would be strong enough to stop him before he reached me. There was no option left but to take a chance and try out my 37th move... the one I'd just acquired, and which could be just about anything for all I knew. I wondered how I'd be able to pull out a move when I didn't even know what it was supposed to be, but it's amazing what you can do in a critical situation and a part of me which knew exactly what to do reacted immediately to my need to defend myself. I couldn't tell exactly what I'd done, except that it had been a furious psychic attack that had left me quite drained, but had also left the Dragonair panting, leaning against the wall against which my mental blow had made him crash. I'd never been able to do anything like that.
"This ends now," declared Amber right before stopping the Dragonair's attempt at getting up with a Dragon Breath attack.

Both Amber and I grew to level 52!

I couldn't understand what I'd just done. It was certainly a move I'd never seen or heard about. I really doubted it had been for sale, since I would have probably heard of it if that had been the case. I didn't know how it had ended up at the store, and falling on me, but it probably meant I'd be in trouble as soon as the shopkeeper found out. But there was something more urgent to think about: what to do with the Dragonair.
"Does any of you think he was really just here to mess up the store?," Tsunami asked the rest of us.
"I don't think there's a way to find that out right now," Amber told him.
"What shall we do now?," Iael asked.
"I think one of us should get the police here to pick him up," Tsunami suggested. "I don't know how they'll deal with a case like this one, but it's more along their line of work than ours. I'll go out and send a signal, hopefully our mighty Ninetales friend will notice it and bring Tracker and Officer Jenny with him."
"Ok, we'll stay here to watch in case he wakes up," Iael agreed. Then he turned to me. "Nice move you pulled out," he said. "What was it?"
"Honestly, I have no idea," I told him. "I'm not even sure if I can do it again, I'm just glad it worked in time to stop the Dragonair."
"Hey, watch out!," Tsunami warned me from the door. "You're starting to sound almost serious."
"Me?! Never!!," I shouted while emitting a strong golden glow.

<Sedosa's POV>

I'd never thought I'd associate myself with humans again. Not since I'd got rid of the one who had dared to claim ownership over me. But I wouldn't say no to an opportunity to deal a fatal blow at those who had given me to her in the first place, back when most of my potential was locked in that week Eevee form. Besides, I'd be returning a favor; no one would accuse me of being dishonorable. The woman who had requested my help was the same who had once helped me get rid of my so-called trainer, back at the Dragon Games. I had to admit she was skillful, for a human. She'd even got her to believe it was me she was confronting, and had managed to get ahold of an improved version of the Dig TM which wasn't for sale at that time, just to scare the living hell out of her. And she'd succeeded. Crystal was disqualified from the tournament, and never once bothered me again. Moreover, she retired from training pokemon altogether. So now that we'd come across each other again, I thought it wouldn't hurt me to help her get the information she wanted. After all, she was going to use it against the Dragon's Guild.

She arrived at the spot we had agreed upon, a deserted clearing in the forest, in the company of a middle-aged man. I could sense his fear even before I could see his face. When his gaze met mine, something inside him changed. He tried to regain his composture.
"An Espeon?," he turned to the other human.
"Were you expecting something more intimidating?," she said with a smile. "Maybe a Seviper? Or... No, wait. Maybe Mewtwo!"
"How do you...? Nevermind, will you please tell me what's going on? What do you want from me?"
"Not much. Just the same thing I get from anyone I talk to. You see... gathering information is my job, and I'm good at it as you must have noticed by now. Don't worry, it won't hurt if you cooperate, and then you can resume your life normally. I won't reveal anything about those results you stole from Dr. Freeman in order to join the ranks of the Dragon's Guild's elite researchers."
Now he was visibly shaking. He was such a weak human. I took my chance to suck in all the information I could gather about the Guild's secret facilities, and forward it to her. Of course he tried to resist, causing himself a considerable amount of pain. But for all his alleged intelligence, his mindpower was shameful. I, on the other hand, had always been proud of my psychic abilities. He fainted from the mental stress as soon as I was done. The other human laughed.

"With any luck the shock will have removed his last memories, or he'll wake up thinking it was all a dream," she considered.
"It doesn't matter," I told her. "He won't be on to you. He doesn't know who you are and won't be able to explain what happened without admitting his guilt. As for me, even if the Dragon's Guild has files on me and he somehow recognizes me, I'll say let them come. I haven't faced a good challenge in some time."
"What will you do now?"
"Just leave and mind my own business. Which I suggest you do as well. I've given you the information you needed. Now it's up to you to decide how to use it."
"I know, and I believe thanks are in order."
"Whatever. Just go, you don't want to be here when he wakes up."
"He'll be out for a while. Anyway, I should get going. Time is priceless at a moment like this, and it's a long way to Unicorn's Gate."
"Good luck," I told her.
"Why are you wishing me good luck?"
"Because you're the only human to whom I can relate."

Those were the last words I said to her before I left the clearing, and Sector Alpha... perhaps forever.

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Post-story notes: Sedosa is a borrowed character from *Dratini*, a great writer who left TPM during the times of the EZBoard. I would have liked to asked for her permission, but I had no way to contact her. I'd still like to thank her for writing such amazing stories back in her time.
The new move Caledor used is actually the TM Karin gave him at the Goldenrod Tower. She made me want to come up with an interesting way to introduce it. I hope I have achieved that, though I'm aware that I haven't explained its presence at the store yet and I hope I'll manage to get more into details next time I write. I thought this story was long enough already. Thanks to whoever reads it for your patience.