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MATURE: Galactic: Exposed

AceTrainer14

The acest of trainers
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WARNING: This story contains violence, coarse language, and assorted scenes that are inappropriate for the young and faint hearted. If you are upset by such things, proceed with caution or turn away before Vanessa gets you with her sword...

Prolouge: Ilex Forest
Chapter One: The Beginning
Chapter Two: Meetings
Chapter Three: The First Showdown
Chapter Four: Time of our Jubilife
Chapter Five: Ups and Clowns
Chapter Six: The Gateway to the League
Chapter Seven: Rock'N'Roll All Fight
Chapter Eight: Flight, Fight and Plight
Chapter Nine: Family Values
Chapter Ten: Gone With the Ominous Wind
Chapter Eleven: Where the Mild Things Are Part 1 and Part 2
Chapter Twelve: Eternal Hate Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6
Chapter Thirteen: The Unnatural Cycle Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Chater Fourteen: Dusk (Part 1) Parts: 1 2 3 4 5
Chapter Fifteen: Dawn (Part 2) Parts: 1 2 3 4
Chapter Sixteen: Home Is Where The Heart Is 1 2 3 4 5
Chapter Seventeen: Boo Parts 1 2 3 4
Chapter Eighteen: Club Backlot
Chapter Nineteen: The Princess of Darkness
Chapter Twenty: The Eye of the Storm
Chapter Twenty One: Stones on Fire
Chapter Twenty Two: The Cave and the Spring
Chapter Twenty Three: Reflections by the Lakefront
Chapter Twenty Four: Exposed



Welcome to what it is one of the central stories in my wider Pokemon universe. I will warn people now that you are in for a long journey with this one, and the quality of this prologue, which I have recently rewritten, is on a much higher quality than the first chapters which I have not edited for quite some time. However, if you are willing to hang on through (they will all be edited in the coming months), than I believe the journey will be worthwhile.



Prologue: Ilex Forest

January 02 2010

All was quiet within the forest. Another day was drawing to a close within the twisting corridors of trees. Ilex Forest was dark most of the time, as the trees stood so close together that their branches intertwined, and the leaves formed a thick canopy of green above the heads of all those who walked beneath, only thin rays of light managing to seep through. The sun had set now though, taking away all the glorious greens and rich browns of nature with it, and leaving everything in the dark. The change of light sent the hordes of Caterpie, Weedle, Metapod and Kakuna into their nests and burrows for the night, leaving the Oddish to emerge undisturbed and letting the number of Zubats and Paras' blossomed in the darkness.

All was quiet, except for the heavy breathing of one boy and his Pokemon.

Charles Golden knew he should head back to camp. It was already so dark that if it wasn't for the flames on his Typhlosion's neck he probably would have run into a tree by now. However, the fifteen years old was making good time with his run, and he and Typhlosion would need to be in top form if they wanted to challenge Kris any time soon. His towering starter turned to face him, a knowing look in his beady eyes, and Charles was forced to admit defeat: if Typhlosion wanted to stop, there was not a lot else he could do. He brought himself to an easy halt, and quickly realised how cold it was: his white and blue running gear was good for sprinting in, but did little to stop the icy bite of winter.

"Come on then, let's go find Lyla," Charles puffed breathlessly. Typhlosion grunted back in response, and the Eruption Pokemon lead his trainer back the way they had come, the flames providing both heat and light necessary for the journey. Charles made sure he stayed close, still uneasy about wandering about in the shadows after the things he had seen over the past few months, and he needed the flames to help fend off winter.

A tad ironic this, Charles thought sourly. I will probably get beaten by ice before I ever get the chance to do that to Lance. He was trying not to remember the battle, but as it had only happened a few weeks ago, Charles could unfortunately recall it with ease. His entire journey, from New Bark Town with Cyndaquil, rushing across all of Johto with Team Rocket hot on his tail, conquering legendaries and ending wars, had all come to nothing: within one hour, Lance had swept through his team, Charles only managing to bring down half of the Champions Pokemon. It had come down to a type disadvantage in the end, with no Ice Pokemon to aid his conquest, and Charles now had his sights set on adding one to his team, even though the Dragon trainer had currently been dethroned from his position: it was a matter of principle, and Charles was never going to let type end his dreams again – as long as he didn't spend more nights camping, that was.

The flickering light of a campfire soon emerged in the darkness of the forest, and within minutes Charles and Typhlosion were back in the clearing they'd left half an hour before, the dancing yellow and orange flames warming up the circular clearing. Charles' bitter memories faded as a battered pink tent shook, and out from the flaps emerged his girlfriend.
Lyla and Charles had embarked on their gym challenges together, beginning things in New Bark Town as friends, but their relationship had blossomed since then. Standing in the clearing, with the fire making Lyla's long brown locks shine, Charles could not believe he had not fallen for her sooner.

"There you are, I was wondering where you had gone!" Lyla said chirpily as she stepped closer to the flames, her Marill bobbing on her shoulder. "We were about to come and track you down," she added, and Charles noted she was in her running gear too: white shorts with a pink stripe, white top and a hot pink jacket that glowed in the firelight.

"I think it has gotten a bit too dark for a run, we really shouldn't have left it so late in the first place," Charles said, a sly smile creeping across his face. "But if you want to work up a sweat, I have a better idea about what we could do."

"Naughty," Lyla said teasingly, but she stepped forwards and threw her arms around his neck, and Charles beamed at her before leaning in for the kiss.

"Typhlo," Typhlosion sighed deeply alongside, and Charles and Lyla both giggled but ignored him. As their drew each other closer, Charles pushed aside all thoughts of his loss and the battle ahead, simply pleased to be with his girlfriend. He knew if he hadn't lost, then he and Lyla may not have stayed together, and they certainly would not be enjoying a brand new journey together, without all the world ending chaos they had suffered through only a few months ago.

In fact, you might say that loss was the best thing that ever happened to me, Charles thought briefly.

A branch snapped behind them, and Charles thoughts died as the two trainers froze. They both knew that none of the Pokemon who roamed the forest would be capable of breaking the branches from their previous visit, and the pair had been through too much over the past months not to be suspicious. Charles broke away from his girlfriend and cast his eyes about, searching for the source, and was pleased to note Typhlosion and Marill were doing the same. "Maybe it was just an old tree?" Lyla suggested timidly after a few tense minutes of silence. Charles had scanned every tree that surrounded them, and was beginning to wonder that there may be nothing to fear after all. However, just as he turned away, a pair of big blue eyes appeared in the distance.

"THERE!" He yelled, pointing at the culprit. Typhlosion turned and fired a roaring jet of fire towards the eyes, singing several branches and blasting the owner backwards. Charles ran across the clearing before the smoke had cleared, wanting to see who was spying on them and why, but the Pokemon sensed him coming: a small shadow rose up from the ground and, after briefly looking back at him, shot off deeper into the forest.

"COME BACK!" Charles yelled, and without a second thought set off through the trees. Lyla shouted behind him, and there was a set of thundering footsteps as Typhlosion joined the pursuit, but Charles was not sure if his girlfriend was following. All he knew was that he wanted to know who had been spying: he had to make sure there was no one else with ulterior motives watching over him and Lyla, no one else waiting to ruin another of his journeys.

He kept the shadow in his sights, leaping over fallen branches and knotted roots, a flicker of flames from Typhlosion behind enough to highlight potential risks. A stitch ran up his side, and Charles wondered if his earlier run may take its toll before he caught up, but fortunately the trees were thinning and Typhlosion was closing in, and the Pokemon was losing the chase…

"STOP!" Charles bellowed as he burst out of the trees, skidding to a halt in a wide open clearing. The grass was tall and thick, the tips tickling his exposed shins, while the branches of the trees were separated enough here to allow a thick spotlight of moonlight to shine down upon them. As Typhlosion pushed his way through some bushes, Charles stepped towards the only thing that was waiting for them: a wooden shrine, almost like a tiny house on stilts, stood alone in the middle of the clearing, basking in the moonlight. It looked familiar, but as Charles tried to place it, more footsteps sounded from behind.

"You could have waited for me!" Lyla snapped crossly.

"Sorry, I couldn't lose it," Charles replied absently as he stepped towards the shrine. He could see a space in the centre of it, an open doorway presumably for the placing of sacrifices, but was just the right size for a rather small Pokemon…

"Bee Bee!" Charles jolted as something green leapt up from behind the shrine. Typhlosion growled and stepped forwards, the flames on his neck doubling in size, but Charles held a hand out to stop him, the pieces finally clicking into place in his head.

"Don't hurt it – I am pretty sure this is Celebi," he called, looking up at the Pokemon hovering above them. It looked exactly as he had imagined it: light green skin that shone in the light, the pair of bright blue eyes that had watched them from the trees, roughly the same height and size of a child but with almost translucent wings and an oversized head.

"Celebi? You mean the legendary, the one that can travel in time?" Lyla asked, staring upwards as she reached for the PokeDex
she always kept in her pocket.

"It has to be – I remember when we were hear last time, Tia said there was a shrine for Celebi somewhere but we never found it." The little green Pokemon nodded its seed-shaped head enthusiastically at this, and Charles smiled up at it, stunned to have stumbled across a Legendary like this.

"If that is Celebi, why was it watching us before, and why has it led us to its shrine?" Lyla asked suspiciously. "Does it want us to make a donation or something?"

"Celebi Bee!" Celebi replied, shaking its head. It pointed at Charles, and then hovered down with its hand outstretched.

"It… I… I think it wants me to come with it," Charles said, turning and looking quizzically at his girlfriend and starter. Typhlosion reared forwards, cautiously sniffing the new Pokemon, and Celebi retracted its hand.

"Bee Bee Celebi Cela Bee Celebeee!" The Legendary jabbered, its cuteness fading as it began talking ecstatically and making gestures, none of which Charles understood.

"What does it want?" Lyla wailed, coming closer with Marill in her hands, staring almost angrily at the Legendary. "I don't trust it Charles, what if this thing is a trick, what if its something Team Rocket might have set on us!"

"Not everything comes back to them!" Charles huffed, turning to face her. "I think Celebi is just looking for a friend or something, nothing else! Besides, Team Rocket could never pull off something like this."

"Bee… Cela Cela!" Celebi suddenly cried, its eyes lighting up as if it had just found a solution to its problems, and suddenly it began to glow green. A harsh emerald glow lit up the forest, so intense that Charles had to shield his eyes, but through his squinted eyelids he was just able to make out something like green electricity shooting out of the legendary.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Lyla yelled. The bolts shot out and touched all four of them, and suddenly they were all encased in a shining sphere. Charles looked down and saw his body had turned green, his veins lighting up as the strange light passed through them, but he could not feel a single thing.

"CELAAAAAA-BEEEEE!" The Pokemon cried, and Lyla and Marill both managed one last scream before the light turned so bright it made the entire forest glow.

And then they were gone.


May 30th 2008

As soon as the green light faded, it became clear to Charles they were no longer in Ilex Forest. Spots still danced across his eyes and his body felt like it had been squeezed through a narrow hole, but otherwise they all appeared to be fine, and Charles turned his attention towards their new surroundings: they were standing on a dusty path in a wide valley, tall walls of rock and stone looming around them, while a small cluster of trees stood guardian around a field of flowing grass.

"Isn't this Route 22?" Charles called out to Lyla, who stared incredulously at him.

"Really Charles, really?" She snapped. "We just got kidnapped and sent through time by a Legendary, and your interested in what route we are on?"

"Well, knowing what route we are on might help us know why we are here," Charles retorted. He looked down at his watch but was dismayed to see that it was no longer working, call the numbers frozen on zero. The scope of the situation was starting to settle in now, and he looked up at Celebi, who was gazing around the route as if trying to find someone.

"Where and when have you taken us and why?" Charles asked, making Celebi turned around. The Grass type began jabbering again and pointing down the route, but it still made no sense; Charles even looked at Typhlosion for help and he simply shrugged. Confused, Charles was tempted to ask if they could be taken home, when voices suddenly echoed down the route.

"Quick, over here," he whispered, and the five moved behind a boulder a few metres away. Charles poked his head around, and could see two figures walking towards them. One was concealed by a dark trench coat and a wide brimmed hat, while their companion was shorter, with messy red hair and a pale, unfriendly face that was all too familiar to Charles.

"I think that's Silver," Charles whispered to Lyla. She peered around the boulder and uneasily nodded back, clearly wondering as well why Celebi had brought them to face their rival.

"But who is the man in the trench coat, I have never seen him before?" She asked. Celebi looked excited and began jabbering again, but they didn't understand a word. Charles instead turned his attention towards the conversation between Silver and his companion, which was getting louder and angrier.

"I don't care what you want me to do!" Silver yelled. "I want to finally start my journey, not get sucked into your stupid plans!"

"Silver, I am your father and I know what is best for you," the man in the trench coat snapped, and Lyla gasped. "Once my plans have begun, you will never need to go on a journey, I can provide you with any Pokemon you desire, and –"

"No, I don't want handouts!" Silver roared. "I am going to go to Professor Elm's and I am going to get my starter, and I will be Champion without your help!" His father remained still for a minute, and for some reason Charles expected the mysterious man to get violent. However, he simply shook his head in disappointment and turned away.

"Goodbye then Silver," the man said simply, and he walked east towards what Charles presumed was Viridian. Silver watched him leave in silence, apparently too stunned by the sudden departure, but after a few minutes turned and headed in the opposite direction.

"I didn't know Silver had any family," Lyla whispered once their future rival had gone.

"Everyone has a family," Charles said quietly, and Lyla looked ashamed. "I do want to know who his father is, and why Celebi wanted us to see this." He looked up at the time traveller, who was clearly dismayed by their reaction, and almost sighed before glowing green once more.

"What do you want from us, why can't you just explain that?" Lyla growled, pulling a frightened Marill in closer, but Celebi did not respond, and Charles merely braced himself for teleportation, hoping this next trip went better.


April 23rd 2009

They arrived on a cliff in the middle of a storm. Startled by the sudden change, Charles gazed down at the setting below: they were by the sea, the water churning and frothing in the wind, a thick grey sheet of rain disappearing into the waters. A strip of grass below was nearly invisible in the storm, while a cascading waterfall to his right was being blown into his face by the gale force wind. He could not be sure, but Charles had a feeling he had been in this storm before, just in a completely different location…

"This looks like the Tohjo Falls if you ask me," Lyla yelled, her demeanour conveying her annoyance while a curiosity lingered in her eyes. Charles figured she was right, and he stood close to Typhlosion for warmth as they looked at Celebi for guidance. The Legendary pointed inside a cave, and the quarter peered inside: a man sat alone in there with his back to them, staring intently at a portable radio relaying a familiar message.

"That's the message Archer sent out, isn't it?" Lyla asked, and Charles nodded with a heavy heart as those fateful events came rushing back to him: hadn't Team Rocket been trying to get in contact with their missing leader?

"Ma Marill," Marill said, and pointed excitedly at a black coat lying on the floor.

"Ssssh!" Lyla growled, but unfortunately, she was louder than her Pokemon. Charles tried to drag his girlfriend backwards, but the mysterious man turned around, a wide brimmed hat clasped in his hands.

"I have had enough of irritating, overly eager trainers to last a lifetime, so I recommend you leave now unless you want to be punished," Silver's father snarled.

"Not until we know who you are and why your listening to Team Rocket's message," Lyla retorted. The man's face was hidden in shadow, but Charles could tell it would not look happy, the man's hands clenching around his hat. Before he could act though, Celebi flew into the cave, its tiny fists bunched up, and the man suddenly smiled.

"Ah... the elusive Celebi," he smirked. "I have had task forces looking for you for many years now, but after I leave that all behind, you decide to find me instead…" He stepped forwards into the light, his ruggedly handsome face and dark brown hair finally coming into view, and his bright white teeth were bared as he reached towards the Legendary. Charles stepped forwards and pushed Celebi aside, reaching into his pockets for his PokeBalls.

"You never answered my girlfriend's questions," he snarled, standing tall and staring angrily into the steely eyes of his rival's father. "Who are you and why are you listening to that message?" The man looked down at Charles as though he was something disgusting blown in by the storm, but then his face spread into a smile; not one of joy, but something cruel and ill-intentioned, and Charles tightened the grip on his PokeBalls.

"I do not know who you are, child, but you certainly have the air of the trio of foul, like minded children who meddled in my last plans," the man hissed through his smile. "I was hoping to remain here in peace until the storm lessened, but if you eager little shits want to get in my way, it seems I may just have to sort you out." His hand dived into a pocket of his suit, but Charles had seen it coming and quickly threw one of his PokeBalls. The man jumped backwards as dark green energy filled the cave, and suddenly a Pokemon formed between them: the creature towered above Silver's father, turquoise wings flapping, muscles bulging beneath tight orange skin, and the Pokemon let out a roar so loud it silenced the storm.

"If you even think about hurting us, I will set Typhlosion, Dragonite and every other Pokemon I have on you!" Charles snapped, and he held out a tiny purple and white capsule with a distinctive M across the top. "Trust me, you don't want to meet who I have inside of this." Silence filled the cave, all except for the howling wind and thundering rain outside, and Charles did his best to stare down the mysterious man: Celebi had to have brought them here for a reason, and he was not leaving until he knew why that was. Silver's father was well built and tall, dressed in a fine three piece suit despite the location and the weather, the costume possibly to help generate images of power and sophistication in the mind of his foes, but Charles would not be intimidated. He had fought plenty of people like him over the past year, and he was not going to let another one get in his way.

"A Master Ball – oh, how I have longed to find a Pokemon worthy of being put inside one of those," the man said at last, staring first at the purple capsule and then looking up at Charles. "I came so close to using them last year… so close, in fact, that I really would love to see what you captured." And before Charles could even register the shock, the man pulled a gun from his pocket and fired it. Lyla screamed, and Charles felt something slam into him, the force strong enough it made the Master Ball slip from his grip. He expected pain, he expected blood, but when Charles looked down, he found no entry wound – not in his body, at least.

"Bee… Celebi…," Celebi whispered around his midriff, staring down with big blue eyes at the circular hole in its chest, thick green liquid seeping out. Everyone was staring at the wounded Legendary, even Silver's father, whose proud and angry face had sunk as he realised what he had done. Charles held Celebi in his arms, stunned and disgusted by this change of events, and at his touch Celebi stared up at him, its eyes fill of worry.

"BEEEEE!" It yelled suddenly, and its body began to glow green. The light was blinding in the close confines of the cave, and Charles had to let go as more green electricity coursed through his body. He looked fearfully around at his Pokemon and Lyla, wondering where they were going next, but realised all too late that none of them were glowing…

"CHARLES!"

"TYPHLOOOO!"

"DRAGAAAAAA!" Everyone rushed towards him, hands outstretched with thoughts of pulling him back from Celebi's powers, but already to Charles they were fading away, his body constricting and becoming weak, his vision blurring and going green. He flung his own hand out, staring at the looks of horror on each of their faces, and his eyes briefly looked down at the Master Ball lying in the corner: Lugia… no…
And with a blinding flash, he was gone.

Somewhere in the Space-Time Continuum

Charles could not stop yelling. This journey through time and space was taking longer this time, his entire body swirling and spinning through an endless green vortex. It felt as though his body was caught between two heavy weights, and Charles was certain a rib was going to crack. He couldn't breathe, a breath caught in his throat, and his head felt like it was turning in the opposite direction. Charles tried to find Celebi, he tried to call out to Lyla and Typhlosion, but there was nothing he could do.

Then, as suddenly it had begun, the green instantly faded and Charles was spat back out into the real world. There was no storm here: the moon and stars were exposed by a cloudless night, the sky black and inky. Charles desperately gulped for air, trying to focus on something so his mind would stop spinning. He felt a strong current, and his stomach was twisting as though he was falling. But that's ridiculous, Charles thought, until he looked down: there was a still, unmoving lake, bordered by a forest and an open green field, but that was about one hundred metres below his feet, though it was rapidly coming towards him.

Charles began screaming again as he hurtled towards the lake. He had only three PokeBalls left, and desperately he reached for the one that could still save him.

"Gyarados, GO!" He yelled as he threw it upwards. The ball burst open with a flash of red light and a number of golden stars, and a glowing red sea serpent formed in the skies. Gyarados roared and dived down after his trainer, but Charles knew it would be too late, his body getting closer and closer. He could see some figures standing on the edge, and there was a flash as one of them released their own Pokemon, but by that time Charles was inches from the surface. He braced for impact as he felt Gyarados' warm breath wash over him, and Charles' last thought before he hit the lake and blacked out was of Lyla, Typhlosion, Dragonite and the dying Celebi he had left behind in the cave, wondering if he would ever see them again.
 
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Re: AceTrainer14/The Blue Engines Fan Fiction: Links

Here is the first proper chapter of Galactic.

The Beginning

January 01 2010

Diamond Estate, Verity Lakefront, Sinnoh

As the sun began to rise over the small town of Sandgem, many people were only just going to sleep after a long night or partying 2009 away. The streets were silent, except for a van delivering milk and two teens on paper routes. Kids were stirring in their beds, while drunk parents tried to get some sleep before they awoke. Snow had stopped falling for the time being, and the sun was already causing it to slowly melt away.

Halfway between Sandgem Town and Lake Verity (one of the three main lakes of the region), two large mansions stood side by side, each one was 1500 acres, with a 120 acre house. Both areas used to be one large farm, but the families that owned it decided to get rid of the livestock and rebuild the houses. Large hedges surrounded the properties, and there were small houses for the gardeners, cleaners and butlers that worked for them, along with large garages and Pokemon training facilities.

At the Diamond Estate, the three storey house was a pale blue with white for the windows and pillars. A pointed, grey tile roof was on top, and a three metre wide fountain stood in front of the front steps, a large diamond on a podium in the middle. Wrought-iron gates were attached to two blue pillars at the front of the house, and a cobbled driveway stretched for nearly a kilometre past trees, bandstands, a large pond and a miniature golf course.

Directly behind the house, there was a large bandstand, an Olympic sized swimming pool, a garden that stretched one hedge to the next, with pale yellow brick paths entwining around them to make a pattern of a Ninetales, the only Pokemon currently owned by Lady Carolina, the wife and part owner of the Diamond manor. She had long, well cared for brown hair, and didn’t go downstairs for breakfast before putting a layer of makeup on. She was married to Palmer Diamond, better known as the Tower Tycoon and head of the Sinnoh and Johto Battle Frontier. They had one child, Xavier, 14. He was tall, with messy, sandy blonde hair. He generally would wear striped shirts, with a slight fascination for them, and a striped green and brown jumper with matching scarf. It was finished with plain black pants and white sneakers with soaks that matched with jumper.

Xavier had not celebrated New Year, as he didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Instead, he had gone to sleep at ten as usual, and woken up at precisely seven. He went down to a the stables in the middle of the paddock. He owned three Pokemon, Roserade, Snorlax and Ponyta. He didn’t like his Pokemon living in PokeBalls, and Snorlax slept in a giant metal shed at the corner of the property, and Roserade slept in the flowers, and Ponyta slept in a stable.

“Hello Ponyta.” Xavier said, saying it rather matter-of-factly.

“Pony.” Ponyta said, and shook her head, the fire moving with it. Xavier opened the door, and prepared her to go out for a ride. After several minutes, Ponyta was ready, and they headed off.

“I am leaving for my journey today.” Xavier told her. “Mother told me that Roserade has to stay to assist with gardening, and I don’t think I can feed Snorlax, so looks like
it’ll just be you and me on the journey.” Ponyta neighed at this, and they ran in silence for several more minutes. But as they reached the back of the property, Ponyta suddenly stumbled and fell. Xavier barely registered it was a problem, until he was thrown off, and his head slammed into the wall of Snorlax’s shed.

Pearl Manor

Half an hour later, the Pearl family sat down for breakfast.

They were a happy family of four. The parents, Adrian and Leah, were both 42, and had been happily married for twenty years. Adrian had inherited the house from his father, and kept it going by arranging numerous Pokemon competitions and several Pokemon related businesses. Leah ran a successful Pokemon breeding company, and had given Xavier the Budew that grew into Roselia. They had two children: Matthew and Peter. Matthew was 14, and had known Xavier all of their lives. He was shorter than Xavier, and had short black hair. He generally wore yellow shirts, with a dark blue jacket on top. He wore long black pants, a plain white scarf and a blue and yellow hat as well, finished with blue and yellow shoes. Peter was only 11, and was rather short for his age. He wore a variety of clothes, but they were usually bright colours. Matthew was leaving for his journey that day as well, and was impatiently waiting to hear from Xavier of when to leave. He had woken up early, along with his parents. His father was reading the paper at the dining table, but Leah was meditating with her Lucario.

“Calm down there son.” Adrian said, looking at from across his newspaper. “Professor Rowan won’t open up this early.”

“I don’t care, I want to go and get my Piplup!” Matthew huffed, ignoring his breakfast.

“What about the other Pokemon?”

“I don’t want a Chimchar.” Matthew replied.

“And Turtwig?” Adrian asked, as Leah and Lucario walked in, looking rather calm.

“Carolina has had a Turtwig specially trained for Xavier in order to keep up with his condition.” Leah said. Lucario looked over at Matthew as she said this, and the son shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Leah whacked Lucario around the head, and he grunted at her and sulked over to a corner of the room, where he sat down and began to meditate again.

“Is Peter up yet?” Leah asked.

“No, he stayed up late last night playing on his Wii.” Matthew said, always in the mood to rat on his brother. “Mum, do you think I can go over to Xavier’s and get him to go to Sandgem Town now?”

“Calm down Matthew!” Adrian snapped, and Matthew gave his father a nasty look before sitting back down. Suddenly, Lucario stood up, looking worriedly over at the Diamond Estate.

“What is it Lucario?” Leah asked, looking worried. Lucario didn’t reply, instead he opened a door and ran off. Leah followed quickly afterwards, and Adrian and Matthew exchanged looks and hurried off as well.

Diamond Estate

Lucario used Aura Sphere and blasted a hole in the hedge, and rushed over to the other property. Adrian and Matthew had caught up with Leah, and they took it in turns to go through the hole.

“Oh my!” Leah gasped. Xavier was lying by the large metal shed, not moving and very pale. Lucario was helping Ponyta get up, and a loud banging was coming from inside the shed.

“Snorlax obviously wants to come out.” Matthew said.

“Lucario, use Force Palm on the door.” Leah commanded. Ponyta was upright, and Lucario turned to the door, his left palm glowing blue. He ran up to the door, and hi-fived the padlock, smashing it. A second later the doors were flung open, nearly hitting Xavier, but Ponyta used Headbutt to stop this. Snorlax waddled out of the shed, his whole body shaking with each step. He looked around for Xavier, and let out a soft moan when he saw his unconscious trainer.

“We need to contact Carolina.” Adrian said as he ran over to Xavier, and put him in the recovery position.

“I’ll take care of that!” Matthew said, and he went back through the hole. “Chimecho, Chimecho!” He called. A few moments later, a Pokemon that looked like a blue wind chime appeared, moving slowly downwards.

“Chime Chime.” He said, and nuzzled up to his trainer.

“Chimecho, can you go and wake Carolina up for me please?” Matthew asked. Chimecho smiled, and quickly flew away towards the Diamond Manor. He came across an open window at the back of the house, and quickly flew through. He was now in a large, expansive master bedroom, with a king sized bed, doorways leading off to a walk in wardrobe and bathroom, and a large crystal chandelier. There was a figure on the bed.

“Chimecho.” Chimecho said, and the figure stirred, and turned over.

“What?” Lady Carolina snapped.

“Echo Chime Chime.” Chimecho said, and wrapped his long tail around her arm, pulling her.

“Alright, hold on.” Carolina growled, and grabbed a silk dressing gown. Chimecho led her over to the window, and Carolina gasped as she saw the scene by the shed. She turned and rushed out of her bedroom. Her feet made no sound as she rushed across the thick carpet, and but she then thundered down the curving staircase. As she headed for the back door, Carolina’s Ninetales awoke. She slept on a comfortable bed by the fire, but could see her owner was worried. She leapt up, and followed her out onto the stone patio. Ninetales looked at the sky, her eyes glowing like fire, and then fired an orange orb. It rose up to the clouds, and then burst, releasing harsh sunlight onto the garden.

“Thank you darling, it is rather chilly.” Carolina shivered. They past Roserade in the garden, who was waking up due to the change in weather, and she followed after them.

“Leah darling, whatever has happened?” Carolina called.

“I think Ponyta fell and Xavier hit his head.” Leah replied, and Carolina let out a wail, and pushed Adrian aside and cradled her child. Xavier battered an eyelid, and looked up.

“Mother, why are all these people here?” He asked, ignoring the bruise on his head. He looked up at Snorlax, who smiled back at him.

“Oh baby, you’ve hit your head. But don’t worry, mummy’s here now.” Carolina said, and went to kiss him, but Xavier stood up.

“I don’t have time for this now Carolina, I need to pack for my trip.” He said, and turned to Matthew. “Come now, I need you to assist me.” Matthew smiled, but rolled his eyes to his mother, who prodded him forwards.

“Now Leah, why don’t you have a cup of coffee while you’re here?” Carolina said, looking rather flustered. Adrian smirked, but Leah glared at him and followed her friend back to her house.

Route 201

The route was very quite at this time of morning. There were several Starlys, Bidoofs and Kricketots nestling around the grass, but none of them were being bothered by trainers, so they all seemed happy.

Suddenly, there was a burst of white light, and the Pokemon all scattered, rushing for the long grass to hide in. The light died away quickly, revealing two figures.

The first was an Abra. His eyes were closed as normal, but it seemed a bit more serious than others of its kind. However, there seemed to be a braclet on his left wrist. It was red on one side, and white on the other, much like a PokeBall.

The second figure was a girl, about 14. She had long ginger hair, which went halfway down her back. She was currently wearing a pale blue jacket over a long, flowing, sequined blue dress, finished off with loud orange high heels and long white gloves. A large, heavy, yellow backpack rested on her shoulders, nearly weighing her down. She was an average height. Her name was Vanessa Backlot, and she was heading for Professor Rowan’s as well. She pulled out a small handheld device, much like an iPod Touch, except she had built it herself.

“This seems close enough, good job Abra.” Vanessa said, tapping several buttons and bringing up a map. Her face was flashing on the screen, right next to Abra’s. “I don’t need you at the moment. If Staraptor doesn’t heal up, I’ll contact you again.” Abra nodded at this, and glowed white and teleported away. Vanessa looked at the frightened Pokemon and smirked at their expressions, before turning and heading for Sandgem.

Sandgem Town

Sandgem, which was marginally larger than Twinleaf, was already bustling. More people were moving around, heading down to the beach or up to Jubilife City. As people walked towards Rute 202, they had to move aside due to a delivery van racing down the road. It looked like a large, grey block, and the driver seemed to have little experience.

The van eventually pulled up outside a one storey, wood and brick house. It had a large garden area, covered with snow, and a low brick fence around the property. Two women got out of the van, looking inquisitively at the town. One of them was tall, with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She had half-moon glasses, with a sand coloured frame, and was wearing a black button-up shirt, a black belt with a gold buckle, and a long black skirt. Her name was Deidre, and she was 45 years old and worked as a geologist. Her daughter was the other girl, and her name was Sahara, after her mother’s passion for the Earth. Sahara had blue hair, and it went down to her shoulers. She was wearing a fluffy white cloak with pale blue buttons, and had matching boots. Her hat was white with a blue stripe down the middle, and she was wearing white stockings. Sahara’s outfit caused her to blend in with the snowy surroundings. This a motion behind her, and a Pachirisu leapt onto her shoulder,

“Looks like this is our new home Nutty.” Sahara said, and gave her mother a nasty glare.

“Oh get over yourself Sahara, you are in no condition to go on a journey.” Deidre said, and went over to the van, and began to unlock the door.

“Mother, I am 15, if I don’t go on a journey this year, I will probably lose the motivation.” Sahara groaned.

“Pachi Pachi.” Nutty replied, and Deidre rolled her eyes, and opened up the door. Within seconds, a large, long Seviper slithered under the door, smiling widely.

“S-s-s-s-seviper.” She hissed, and moved towards the new house.

“Bloody snake.” Deidre mumbled. “If you do leave, don’t excpect that bloody creature to still be here when you get back!” And Sahara groaned, and quickly picked up one of her boxes, and marched sullenly away from her mother, unaware of a teenage girl dressed in blue entering the town.

Diamond Manor

Lady Carolina changed into an appropriate outfit, and then came back downstairs, where a butler had already set out pots of coffee and tea, piles of toast, a platter of waffles and a selection of muffins. Leah had gotten use to Carolina’s extravagant meals, but she still felt a bit awkward. Lucario was behind her, looking at a number of photos, mainly of Palmer and Carolina at different events.

“So Leah, do you think the boys are ready to start their journeys?” Carolina asked, as she pondered over which muffin to have. Ninetales was by her feet, looking grumpily at Lucario.

“Of course, they have been held back quite a bit.” Leah replied. “I mean, there aren’t any blizzards or psychotic killers on the loose to stop them this time.” And Carolina nodded.

“I hope that the Turtwig I’ve had trained is going to be alright.” She said. “I wouldn’t want all that money to go to waste.”

“Of course, Xavier does need special care.” Leah nodded. There was a movement at the door, and Xavier and Matthew appeared, both carrying backpacks: a green one for Xavier and a blue one for Matthew.

“We have to go apply now.” Matthew explained, and the mothers got up.

“Oh darling, take care of yourself.” Carolina said, and hugged Xavier, who merely nodded.

“I shall see you later.” He said, and pulled out of the embrace.

“Goodbye darling.” Leah said, and pulled him into a hug. “Make sure Xavier is fine, or Carolina will blow her top.” She whispered, and Matthew smiled.

“See you mum.” Matthew said, and Xavier led him out of the house.

“Mother told me earlier that I am getting a Turtwig, what Pokemon have your parents chosen for you?” Xavier asked.

“Oh, they chose Piplup.” Matthew said, smiling and nodding.

“I think Oreburgh City will be the best gym to go to first.” Xavier said. “I mean, we could use Milotic to go to Canalave, but then we would just get defeated.” And he let out his version of a laugh: it sounded like a cat being strangled mixed with a gargle. Matthew nodded, looking ahead towards Sandgem.

Professor Rowan’s Laboratory, Sandgem Town.

It was noon when Professor Rowan arrived at his laboratory. His white beard and hair were moist with sweat after running to get to the lab. He looked around, surprised that the lab was spotlessly clean. Three PokeBalls were on a bench, one with a X on a card next to it, and there were three PokeDexes behind them. The rest of the surfaces were empty, except for test tubes and contraptions tucked away in the corners.

“Mason, I suppose you’re here.” The Professor yelled, putting his briefcase on his desk, which was empty as well, some boxes next to it. He looked around, and saw his assistant walking in from one of the rooms, a Lunatone and Solrock floating behind him. Mason was tall and skinny, with short black hair and glasses with a black frame. He was only 17, and if wasn’t for the pimples on his forehead, he would come across as a lot older.

“Hello sir.” He said. “I came in early to continue my experiments on these two.” He said, and pointed at the two Pokemon.

“That’s is good, are the at least responding?” Rowan asked.

“Luna!”

“Sol Sol!” The two Pokemon replied.

“Yes actually, I think they will be able to go into space soon.” Mason translated. He looked at his boss, and was surprised that he was sweating. “Um, sir....”

“My car broke down on the way back from the doctor, so I ran here.” Rowan replied.

“Um, what about Arcanine?” Mason asked. Rowan, who been opening up his briefcase, stopped, and sighed.

“I suppose that would have been logically, but I was stressed at the time.” He mumbled, and went back to unpacking his briefcase. There was a knock at the front door, and Lunatone and Solrock turned, and their outlines glowed purple. The doors glowed the same, and swung open.

Vanessa walked in, now wearing oversized red glasses with tinted black lenses.

“Hello there m’dears.” She said, and took her bag off and passed it to Mason. “I believe you are Professor Rowan?”

“Yes, and you are?” The professor said.

“Horny, but I don’t think that matters.” Vanessa replied, and laughed loudly. Mason’s eyes were bulging out of his sockets, and Lunatone and Solrock exchanged looks.

“Well, um....” Rowan coughed. “I guess you are here to get a starter?”

“No, I want to become the new cleaner.” Vanessa said sarcastically, and laughed loudly again. She took her glasses and gloves off, passing them to Mason, and looked over at the PokeBalls.

“Is there a particular species you wanted?” Rowan asked. “Unfortunatley, Turtwig is unavailable, but Piplup and Chimchar are both there.” Vanessa nodded, and grabbed the one in the middle. She pressed the button, and red energy came out, and quickly formed into the little fire chimp, Chimchar.

“Chimchar char chim chim.” Chimchar said, and looked happily at Vanessa, who smiled back at it.

“I’ll take this one, he seems to be an appropriate choice.” She said, and put the PokeBall in her pocket. Chimchar leapt onto her shoulder, and it looked like her hair had just grown an extra bit.

“Ok, I have to send your application in, which should take between two hours to twenty four, depending on the number of applicants.” Rowan explained. “I also need to add your details into the PokeDex.”

“Why?” Vanessa asked, putting her finger out for Chimchar to grab onto. She didn't notice as Professor Rowan and Mason exchanged a glance.

“Well, it is for..." The Professor said. "You record the Pokemon you see on it, which can be useful when you need to look something up. Lots of people have them." Vanessa nodded, absent minded.

“Well, I’ll go wander around your fair town while you sort all that stuff out.” She replied, and picked up her stuff. Chimchar leapt onto the backpack, and Vanessa put the glasses on him. Rowan and Mason exchanged looks, and then watched as Vanessa left the building.

Plattina Household

Sahara put down her last box, and then slumped down onto her bed. She looked around her room: mucus green, lace curtains, a pink set of drawers, and her uncomfortable, single bed. Nutty was by her feet, staring over at Sahara’s white and blue backpack, hoping to get some food, but Sahara was in no mood.

“I already hate this place.” Sahara huffed, and she stretched out.

“Pachi.” Nutty said, and she leapt onto the bed and patted her trainer, making Sahara smile.

“Thanks. But I am going to talk to granddad and see if we can go. He’ll convince mum, don’t you worry.” Sahara said, and she picked Nutty up and walked out of her room. She walked through the patchy hallways, and found her mother at the doorway, a sandy-cloak Wormadam floating by her side.

“Hello darling.” Deidre said. “I was about to start doing some garden work.”

“Shouldn’t you unpack the boxes first?” Sahara snapped, and Deidre rolled her eyes. Sahara smirked and walked out of the house.

“Where are you going?” Deidre asked.

“Seeing granddad of course.” Sahara snapped, and began to walk faster. Deirdre began to follow, and Sahara broke into a run. She sped along the path, barely noticing where she was going. Suddenly, a car appeared out of nowhere, racing across the road. Pachirisu squealed, and Sahara stared at the car, stunned. Something blue appeared in front of her, and forced her to the ground. The car sped past, and Sahara watched her in leave. She looked up, and found a Chimchar staring at her, wearing large glasses. There was a ginger girl on top of her, smiling widely as if this was normal.

“Hello, I’m Vanessa, and you are?”

Route 201

Matthew’s feet were beginning to hurt, and it wasn’t helping that Xavier was not shutting up. The teen decided to watch the Pokemon, interested by the Starlys fluttering about. He could also see some Bidoofs, but he found them to unattractive to look at.

“Matthew?” Xavier said, seeming to have a question to pose.

“Yes?” Matthew said, irritated.

“Did you know there was a car coming towards us?” Matthew froze, and looked back to the road. Sure enough, a four wheel drive was speeding down the road, apparently unaware or otherwise not caring about the two boys in front of him.

“JUMP!” Matthew cried, and shoved Xavier as the car edged closer.
 
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Re: Galactic

Here is the second story. If you guys have any views, feel free to say :)

Meetings

Xavier cried out as he landed in the bushes.

“Matthew, what are you playing at?” He said. Matthew ignored him, and he went to move out of the way. But his foot got caught in a pothole, causing him to trip and land face first on the concrete. He looked up, seeing the car was showing no sign of stopping. Matthew reached his hand out, and Xavier suddenly realised what was going on. He reached out and grabbed Matthew’s hand, and quickly pulled him out of the way.

The car sped past, and Xavier had a brief glimpse of a surly looking man with spiky blue hair, before it headed away towards Lake Verity. Matthew stood back up, moaning in pain. Xavier looked at his friends hands, and was surprised to see blood pouring out of them.

“I think I’ve sprained my ankle.” Matthew moaned.

“Well that isn’t very helpful.” Xavier sighed. “You can’t be treated if you just ‘think’ something.” Matthew rolled his eyes, and picked up his bag which had fallen to the ground with him.

“Let’s just head there before any other trainers take Piplup.” He said, and began to head off.

“I thought you had a Piplup booked for you.” Xavier said, confused. Matthew ignored him, and hobbled down the road.


Twinleaf Town


Deidre rushed over towards her daughter, and quickly pulled Vanessa off her.

“Excuse me grandma, but no one touches my originals.” The teen snapped, and straightened her jacket.

“HOW DARE YOU RUN OFF!” Deidre bellowed, pulling her daughter up.

“You can’t control my life mother, though I know how much you want to.” Sahara hissed. Nutty and Wormadam glared at each other, instantly taking their trainers sides.

“I can control your life as much as I want to until you are old enough to leave.” Deidre said, and pulled her back towards the house.

“I have been old enough to leave for years!” Sahara yelled, pulling away from her. “Just let me be!” Deidre was about to respond, but there was the crunch of gravel, and all three women turned to see Professor Rowan and Mason rushing to the scene.

“Deidre, Sahara, I wasn’t expecting you to until this afternoon.” He said, and kissed Deidre on the cheeks.

“Hello father.” Deidre said.

“Hi Sahara.” Mason said, blushing slightly. Sahara smiled politely, while Vanessa openly snorted.

“I heard you two arguing, is everything alright?” Rowan asked.

“Yes father, it’s fine.” Deidre said.

“No it isn’t!” Sahara grumbled, and turned to her grandfather. “Can Nutty, Seviper and I hang out in your office for a bit?” Rowan seemed surprised, and looked at his daughter, who sighed and nodded. Sahara smiled widely, and headed off towards the house to get Seviper. As they left, Vanessa stepped forwards.

“I may not be a mother, but you really need to be a better job than that.” She smirked, and walked off, leaving Deidre positively stunned, and she barely registered as Xavier and Matthew appeared behind her.


Professor Rowan’s Laboratory


Nutty and Seviper nestled around Sahara, who was spinning around on her chair, staring over at the two PokeBalls that were on the desk. Vanessa was discussing her registration with her grandfather at his desk, leaving her alone with Mason.

“So... what experiments are you doing?” Sahara asked, as Mason attached some wires together inside a large, circular machine. Mason looked at her, and instantly blushed.

“We want to see if Pokemon could survive in space.” He explained. “So we are making this machine to recreate the effects. I captured a Lunatone and Solrock last year, and we decided they would be useful.” Lunatone and Solrock nodded, and Sahara chuckled.

“Viper.” Seviper hissed, and began to circle Mason’s legs. Sahara sighed, and grabbed the sharp tail and pulled the snake back.

“Sorry, Seviper doesn’t like most people.” Sahara chuckled. “She only likes me and my fath...” And her voice trailed off, and she looked away. “She hates my mother though.”

“Seviper.” Seviper hissed, as if agreeing.

“Pachi Pachi.” Nutty added, and Sahara and Mason chuckled. Lunatone and Solrock exchanged looks, and Seviper poked he tongue out at them. There was a cling from the door, and Sahara turned to see two boys walking in.

“Hello, is Professor Rowan here?” A boy with black hair asked. Sahara smiled, and stood up.

“Yes, he is, but he is with another budding trainer at the moment.” Sahara explained. “I am Sahara, by the way.”

“Hey, I am Matthew, and this is Xavier.” Matthew said, grinning.

“I’m Mason.” Mason piped in, looking rather grumpily at the two new arrivals. Xavier walked past Sahara, and looked for his PokeBall. He saw the one with the X by it, and picked it up, pressing the button. There was a flash of red, and a small green turtle formed, with some leaves on his head.

“Turtwig.” The Pokemon said, and looked happily up at Xavier. A small smile appeared on his face, and Turtwig leapt up, landing on his trainers shoulder.

“This Pokemon seems like it will do.” Xavier said. “It reminds me of Roserade when she was a Budew.” Professor Rowan and Vanessa appeared, looking surprised.

“So, are you two my competition?” Vanessa asked, smiling at Matthew and Xavier.

“We haven’t signed up yet, but we will be.” Matthew replied confidently. Vanessa tipped her head back, laughing. She walked forwards, and towered over Matthew.

“If that’s so, the league is the bag.” And with that, Vanessa walked out of the lab, leaving Matthew stunned.

“That seemed rude.” Xavier said.

“Um... you two must be Xavier and Matthew?” Rowan asked.

“Yes, we are.” Matthew said. “Can I guess the last Pokemon is Piplup?”

“It certainly is.” Rowan replied, and tossed the PokeBall over. Matthew excitedly released it, and a small blue penguin with a cape appeared. The Piplup looked up at Matthew, and smiled.

“Piplup Pip.” She said.

“I’ll take her, she is perfect.” Matthew said, and began to cradle the Pokemon.

“That is truly excellent.” Rowan smiled. “I’ll program your details into your PokeDexes and send your application.”

“Thank you. We shall wait somewhere else.” Xavier said, and walked off. Matthew went to say something, but Xavier dragged him off.

“They seemed interesting.” Mason muttered, and went back to programming the machine. Sahara looked crestfallen as her grandfather took the two PokeDexes away.

“Pachi?” Nutty asked.

“Oh, I just hoped that I might be able to go on my own journey this year.” Sahara sighed.
Rowan heared her, but choose to say nothing. Instead, he pulled out the rulebook, and began to look something up.


Lake Verity


The car that had nearly hit Xavier and Matthew was now sitting by the edge of the lake. It was a black 2008 Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited, with a large dent on the bonnet. The four passengers were now standing by the lake, staring into the water. They were all male, but were wearing different yet similar outfits.

Two of the men, in their early twenties, had turquoise hair with bowl haircuts. They were wearing a sleeveless white vest with black sides, a white shirt with thin stripes, and black pants tucked into their white boots. A bold, yellow, italic G with black lining was on the vest, underneath the neck. The third man was old, in his late fifties.

He had pale skin, and pale purple, thinning hair, matching his rose tinted glasses. He had a large white lab coat, with a grey shirt that was black at the top, and black pants, but had smart grey shoes instead of boots. Like the other two, he had a G on his shirt, underneath the black part.

The final man was older than the two identical men, but younger than the scientist, but he radiated authority. He had spiky blue hair and a lined face, despite being in his early forties. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, a grey jacket with two black stripes going across, and black trackpants with several grey lines at the top. He had a G on the top left hand corner of his jacket. He was the man that Xavier had seen early, and was the leader of the organisation. He was staring intensely into the lake, blocking out the rest of the world. The two younger men were perfectly silent, but the scientist was getting restless.

“Come on Cyrus, we really need to head back.” He snapped, pulling out a laptop and starting it up. The man called Cyrus turned to him.

“Charon, if I didn’t need your assistance on this operation, I’ll blast your brains out.” He snapped, and then smirked. The two men exchanged nervous glances, and Cyrus stared at them.

“I was hoping Draco would have you trained up a bit better than to crack.” He growled. “I expect the grunts to act better than this.” He gave another look into the lake, and then stared towards the small cave in the middle of the lake, and let out a furious roar. The two grunts stepped backwards, while Charon rolled his eyes.

“Stop being such a drama queen sir and get back in the car.” Cyrus breathed deeply for a few moments, before heading towards the passenger seat of the Jeep. Charon smiled happily, and clambered into the back.

“We’ll come back tomorrow, and hopefully Mesprit will want to come out and play.” Cyrus said.

“Ok, I’ll call the base, have them send us some more grunts as back-up.” Charon said.

“Is that necessary?” Cyrus grunted.

“There are going to be more trainers in Sandgem due to the training year starting.” Charon explained. “I think it is good to be precautious.” One of the grunts started the car up, and Cyrus remained quiet, thinking things over.


January 02


Lake Verity


The water at the lake was crystal clear and calm. There was little wind, leaving the grass still, but there was still a chill in the air. Only a single person stood by the lake, staring into the water, hoping it would answer his problems. The man was in his late forties, and his black hair was going very grey, matching his wrinkles. He was wearing a big brown trenchcoat, perfectly protecting him from the cold.

“Looker, come here.” The man looked away from the water, looking around for the voice.

“What do you want?” Looker growled.

“The boss wants me to be your shadow.” The voice replied. There was a rustle, and Looker approached the trees.

"I don’t need anyone to shadow me; I have been doing this job for years.” He snapped, and the voice laughed.

“Don’t I know it.” It replied. “If you were any good at this job, you would have gotten a promotion a long time ago. But, you have been stuck as a simple agent for twenty years.” Looker seethed with fury, and whipped out a PokeBall. A fist appeared out of the trees, and sent it flying into the air, and then kicked Looker to the ground.

“Watch it, or I’ll pull you from this case.” The voice said viciously. There was a beeping sound, and Looker pulled a Blackberry out of his pocket.

“Cyrus is on his way back.” Looker said, and looked worried. There was another rustle, and Looker realised the voice had left, leaving him on his own.


Sandgem Town


As the sun rose over the small town, Matthew and Xavier woke up, lying on cushy inflatable mattresses inside their expansive tent. Their parents had cashed out, and they would soon have a chilly bin, cooking utensils and a portable DVD player. They were waiting for their registrations to be accepted before they would head home to bid their parents and Pokemon goodbye for the time being.

“That wasn’t that bad of a sleep.” Matthew yawned.

“I was very pleasant.” Xavier said, and stood up, revealing to have already dressed.

“When did you do that?” Matthew asked.

“I wanted to start training Turtwig, so we went and battled several wild Pokemon.” Xavier said. “I believe it has learnt a new move.” Matthew was surprised.

“Could you battle Piplup, see if you can help her out?”

“Possibly, maybe in an hour.” Xavier replied, and went to walk out of the tent, when black leather burst through. He stood back as Vanessa walked in, her hair in a ponytail, and now wearing a gothic red trenchcoat and knee high boots.

“Morning twigs.” She said, and smirked as Matthew pulled his sheets up over his body. “Oh please, like I care what you look like.”

“You implied that you did by calling us twigs.” Xavier said. “Are you referring to our thinness?” Vanessa raised an eyebrow, but ignored him.

“I heard you talking about battling. I would gladly take one of you.” She said, smirking.

“Piplup and I will take you down!” Matthew said, and put his dressing gown on before dramatically standing up.

“Bring it on then pasty.” Vanessa grinned, flashing her shiny teeth and red lips, before walking out of the tent.

“Get out, I must change.” Matthew ordered, and Xavier unwillingly left.


Plattina Household


Sahara had awoken early, and struggled to get back to sleep, and eventually gave up, and put her thick purple dressing down on and went into the living room. It was rather large and spacious, but there was a hole in the ceiling, and only one of six lights worked. The carpet in this room was thick and shaggy, and their single couch has bad scorch marks. They had no TV, so Sahara merely jotted down her dream Pokemon team, and contemplated moves she’d like to teach Nutty. After an hour of doing this, she went into the cramped kitchen, and nearly broke one of the cabinet doors as she pulled it open, and groaned at the rusty hinges.

“This house is crap.” She snapped.

“Hey!” A voice said, and Sahara turned, only to find Deidre leaning across the door frame. “It is the best I can afford until I pay off the damages on our last place.” She finished with a scowl.

“That wasn’t my fault, it was Jakis!” Sahara protested.

“It still comes back to you.” Deidre snapped, and turned the toaster on. There were several sparks, and it died. “But don’t worry, I’ll touch the place up once some money comes in. Now, can you go and check the mail?”

“You don’t have to ask me, you’d just force me anyway.” Sahara snapped. As she turned to leave, Nutty and Seviper appeared, looking eagerly at her.

“Come on, let’s go check the mail.” Sahara smiled, and Nutty leapt onto her shoulder.


Sandgem Town


Vanessa and Matthew, now fully dressed, were standing several metres apart, with Chimchar and Piplup next to them respectively. Xavier was referee, standing near Sahara’s fence,
with Turtwig by his feet.

“It is a one-on-one battle.” He boomed. “The first Pokemon to faint will lose, now begin!”

“Chimchar, use Scratch!” Vanessa yelled.

“Piplup, counter with Pound!” Matthew said. Chimchar and Piplup ran forwards, and scratched and punched each other. As they fought, Sahara walked up to the letterbox, and smiled.

“Have you just started?” She asked Xavier.

“Oh, yes yes, their first battle each.” Xavier replied, as Chimchar Leered at Piplup while being Pounded.

“Please, physical moves aren’t the only important thing.” Vanessa snorted.

“Physical moves are better.” Matthew replied indignantly. As they spoke, they were unaware of five Jeeps entering the town.

“Ok, use Scratch!” Vanessa yelled. Turtwig turned, and noticed the cars were coming towards them.

“Twig!” He exclaimed, and bit at Xavier’s pants. He looked over, and Sahara followed his eyeline.

“Oh bloody hell, not more cars!” Sahara screeched.

“Pachi!” Nutty exclaimed, and Seviper hissed. Matthew turned, and ran forwards, pulling Piplup aside. Vanessa pulled Chimchar’s PokeBall out, just as the first car came. Chimchar’s fingers touched the front right wheel, slashing it open. The Jeep began to skid, and came to a halt. The second Jeep smashed into the left side, and a pile-up quickly began.

“Get in, quickly!” Sahara gasped, and opened her gate. The three trainers ran in, holding their Pokemon, just as the first passenger got out.

“Look at his outfit, I have seen that on the news!” Matthew spluttered.

“Galactic Grunts.” Vanessa whispered, and the grunt smiled.

“One of you has interrupted our plans, and I am not leaving until I get some answers.” He growled, and pulled out a black machine gun, which made Matthew and Sahara scream loudly, just as a dozen more men approached them, holding identical weapons.
 
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Re: Galactic

The First Showdown

The grunts all smiled, enjoying the trainers torment. Vanessa stood in front of the others, a twisted look on her face and her fists clenched.

“You can take me down first.” She said.

“No.” Sahara said weakly, but Vanessa turned her head, and winked slightly.

“Killing you won’t stop me from killing them.” The first grunt said, and lifted the machine gun. He was about to shoot, but a bang of a different sort sounded nearby, and the grunt turned, distracted as a figure appeared. Vanessa smiled, and she bent her body backwards. Her legs came up, and she knocked the gun out the grunts hand. It cluttered onto Sahara’s property, and Vanessa spun and picked it up.

“I love it when things go the way I want it.” She smiled, and shot the grunt in the shoulder, sending him tumbling backwards. Matthew gasped, and Sahara rushed forwards, but leapt back as Vanessa emptied the round, smashing several car windows and causing the grunts to duck for cover.

“You know how to work a machine gun?” Sahara gasped.

“You don’t?” Vanessa asked, as if it was normal. Chimchar leapt onto Vanessa’s shoulder, looking determined for a fight. “Good idea, use Scratch if someone comes near us.”

“Send out your Pokemon you fools!” The injured grunt shouted. The other grunts nodded, and pulled out their PokeBalls. Within seconds, dozens of Zubats were flapping in the air, along with several Spinarak. The injured grunt managed to move his other arm, and sent out a Skarmory and an Ariados.

“Bring them down!” He yelled, trying to pull himself up.

“Skarmory!” The Skarmory squawked, and it flew into the air, and led the numerous Zubat forwards.

“Aria!” Ariados said, and scuttled across the ground, the Spinarak following him.

“I think they are about to attack.” Matthew whimpered.

“No shit Sherlock.” Vanessa growled. Chimchar leapt into the air, and scratched at Skarmory’s face. Skarmory shook her face, and then fired a number of stars, sending Chimchar crashing into the fence. The Zubat began to fire Leech Life attacks, and Turtwig, Piplup and Nutty ran to avoid them.

“Nutty, use Quick Attack!” Sahara yelled. Nutty zoomed forwards, and leapt into the air, and slammed into a Zubat’s middle, knocking it backwards.

“Come on you two, at least try and help!” Vanessa snapped, glaring at Matthew and Xavier.

“Ok then, Turtwig, use Tackle on that weakened Zubat.” Xavier commanded. Turtwig quickly obeyed, and slammed into the Zubat before it could take off again, knocking it out.

“I don’t want to hurt Piplup.” Matthew huffed, but screeched as Ariados fired a String Shot, followed by the Spinarak. Chimchar became entangled, and Vanessa threw the machine gun at the advancing spiders.

“Nutty use Spark!” Sahara boomed. The Pachirisu’s blue line glowed, and then a small ball of bolts was fired towards a Zubat, instantly frying it.

“Wow, it must be highly advanced!” Matthew said, impressed.

“Thanks, no time for flattery now, we need the big guns.” Sahara said.

“I thought they had the big guns.” Xavier said, looking confused. Sahara sighed, and quickly threw a PokeBall and Great Ball onto her lawn. Vanessa leapt out of the way as a Floatzel emerged from the PokeBall, and an Electivire emerged from the Great Ball.

“Guys, met Aqua and Virus.” Sahara smiled, as Vanessa and Matthew looked stunned, along with several grunts, while Xavier looked relatively impressed.

“How long have you been training with Pokemon?” Matthew asked.

“Again, now isn’t the time!” Sahara snapped. “Ok, Aqua use Ice Fang on Ariados and Virus use ThunderPunch on Skarmory!” Aqua leapt over the fence, white teeth now icy blue, and bit on Ariados, making the spider squirm and fire several Poison Stings. Virus lifted a glowing yellow fist, and punched Skarmory, instantly knocking the metal bird out.

“We still need to get rid of the rest of the others!” Matthew said, as the Ariados fought Aqua back with a String Shot, and the Spinarak and Zubat were still approaching, along with the grunts. Just then, there was the clang of a door, and Deidre ran outside, followed quickly by a very large Camerupt. Matthew looked frightened by the camel, but Sahara rolled her eyes.

“Do you have to use the retarded one?” She snapped, and Deidre shot her daughter the evils.

“Camerupt is feeling under the weather, don’t be mean!” She snorted. “Now, I think we should all attack, agreed?”

“Gladly.” A grunt smirked, raising a machine gun. The trainers all exchanged looks, and nodded.

“Nutty use Bite, Aqua use Aqua Tail, Virus use Shock Wave!”

“Turtwig use Tackle!”

“Piplup use Pound!”

“Chimchar use Scratch!”

“Camerupt use Eruption!” The Pokemon all ran forwards to attack. The three starters each went for the grunts instead of Pokemon, and Chimchar scratched one’s face, Piplup hit one over the head and Turtwig knocked one to the ground. Nutty bit a Spinarak, as Aqua flipped Ariados into the air, showering it in waves, and Virus released a powerful burst of electricity, frying the other Spinaraks. Camerupt let out a low grunt, and then two towers of flames from his humps. Several Zubat were toasted, but the other jet went in the wrong direction, curved, and smashed into a Jeep. Everyone covered their eyes as it exploded, instantly killing two grunts and knocking the rest over.

“Well, this has certainly become an eventful day.” Xavier said with a smile, as he bent down and picked Turtwig up. The Zubat had given up on the battle, and went back to the grunts. The car continued to burn, but the flames were suddenly sucked away. They turned, and saw an Arcanine standing there, looking very proud.

“What exactly is going on here?” Professor Rowan, followed by a shaking Mason, walked onto the scene, looking disgusted.

“Oh father!” Deidre said, and rushed forwards, explaining what she had witnessed. Sahara huffed, and went to congratulate her Pokemon.

“Nice job guys, we haven’t had a decent battle in ages.” She grinned. “Well, at least you haven’t with me.” Her voice began to trail off, and Vanessa and Matthew exchanged looks.

“Well, I think we should go and see our parents now.” Xavier said. “We don’t seem to be needed here anymore.”

“We really should wait until our registrations have gone through.” Matthew said, holding Piplup.

“I don’t want to wait, I want to go and say goodbye now.” Xavier huffed, and he and Turtwig walked past the other trainers and the injured grunt, and heading back towards Twinleaf. Matthew sighed, gave the others a depressed look, and followed off.

“Both of those kids are very weird.” Vanessa sighed, patting Chimchar on the head. She looked down at the grunt she had shot, and was surprised to see he was smiling.

“Why is he so happy?” Sahara asked, noticing as well.

“You obviously don’t know what is going on down there.” He said. He looked, and the two girls saw several grunts getting up, creeping behind Rowan and Deidre.

“OI, DO SOMETHING!” Vanessa yelled. Rowan turned, but another grunt began to fire his machine gun. Vanessa ran forwards, leapt off the fence and landed on the grunt, her boots perfectly on his throat. The machine fire stopped as the man stopped breathing, and Vanessa then pulled father and daughter out of the way.

“Arcanine, use Fire Fang!” Rowan said, and Arcanine bit on a grunt with a fiery mouth, pulling him from the car.

“Get inside!” Sahara whimpered, and Rowan and Deidre rushed towards the lab.

“Keep fighting!” Deidre yelled to her Camerupt, who was lazily eating grass.

“Virus, use Low Kick!” Sahara said, watching two of the Jeeps as they started up. Virus nodded, and ran forwards. A Jeep came towards him, and the hairy Pokemon kicked the car’s front, causing it to flip skywards. It tipped backwards, and landed on the bonnet of the Jeep behind it. Arcanine fired a Flamethrower, causing the two Jeeps to burst into flames and exploded several seconds later. There was a cloud, blinding the two Pokemon up front. Sahara went to rush forwards, but the final working Jeep burst out of the smoke, and raced down the road. The Zubat’s began to follow, and they were too high up for Nutty’s Spark attack.

“Camerupt, would you mind being useful?” Sahara snapped. Camerupt rolled his eyes, as if he didn’t think he should be attacking, and fired several rocks out of his humps. There soared towards several Zubat for a second, before crashing down onto the Jeep with the burst tyre. Vanessa and Sahara watched the Jeep disappear.

“How are we going to help them now?” Sahara said. Vanessa let out a sigh, and pulled a PokeBall out of her pocket.

“Staraptor, use Twister!” She yelled. There was a burst of red light, and Sahara briefly glimpsed a Staraptor before it shot off into the distance, spinning rapidly.


Route 201

Xavier was power-walking, swinging his arms stupidly as Turtwig walked alone side him. Matthew was running along behind, panting and trying to keep up, Piplup bobbing on his shoulder.

“Xavier!” He called. His friend turned around, and came to a halt.

“You really should be fitter.” Xavier said. “I have a schedule to keep to.”

“What schedule? You just randomly decided to head off.” Matthew grunted, as he finally caught up.

“Don’t judge me! And we should keep moving, it seems another car is coming.” Xavier said, and began to walk off again. Matthew groaned, and turned around, and groaned even louder as
he saw the Jeep approaching them.

“Get off the road Piplup.” He said, and moved towards a bush. But Piplup was staring into the sky, amazed. Matthew looked into her eye line, and was surprised to see a Staraptor, flying through all of the Zubat.

“Star-APTOR!” Staraptor called. The trees along the route began to shake and quiver, and even Xavier stopped as the long grass began to move. Suddenly, around a hundred Starlys burst into the air. Matthew saw the Staraptor smile, and moved out of the way as move Starlys moved into the air, slamming into the Zubats two at a time. The Staraptor soared down towards the ground, nearly knocking Xavier over with its wide wings, and began to spin around madly.

“It is heading for that car!” Xavier yelled. The grunt driving the Jeep could see the Staraptor, and tried to turn. But the Staraptor suddenly became covered in a blue tornado. Matthew clenched onto Piplup, trying to have some balance himself, as the tornado went past, heading straight towards the car. Before the grunt could even blink, the Twister smashed through the widescreen. The car was sucked into the vortex, and began to spin violently around. The Staraptor then released the energy, blasting the car to bits and sending them flying around the route. Turtwig tackled Xavier to the ground, narrowly avoiding a car tyre.

“Let’s get out of here!” Matthew whimpered.

“Pip Pip!” Piplup nodded, and the two began to race ahead, leaving Xavier and the Staraptor behind. Xavier looked at the large bird, which smiled back at him before speeding off. Xavier looked quizzically at Turtwig, who began to led the way.


Lake Verity

Several minutes earlier

Another Jeep Wrangler was at Lake Verity, parked in the exact same spot from the previous day. Cyrus was the only one to have gotten out of the car, and was on his knees, staring into the water. Several Surskits moved happily towards him, but he shot them an evil look, and they moved away, frightened. Cyrus put his hand into the water, and felt suddenly more relaxed and happy, as if nothing was wrong anymore.

“Sir, I believe there is someone nearby.” Cyrus snapped out of the feeling, and turned, finding Charon standing behind him, holding a handheld heat detector.

“Someone else?” The leader growled.

“Yes, I just said that.” Charon replied. “I believe it is a man, somewhere in the trees.”

“The International Police.” Cyrus whispered. He stormed past his head scientist, straight past the car and whipped out a PokeBall.

“Houndoom, battle position!” He yelled, and released the fiery dog. Houndoom stared into the trees, and then fired a Flamethrower. A tree burst into flames, many leaves instantly incinerated. A man leapt out from behind the tree, blowing on his hands which had nearly been burnt.

“Ah, you must be Looker.” Cyrus smiled. “I have heard a lot about you.”

“Good to know I am well known.”

“Yes, for being a bumbling idiot.” Cyrus added, and burst into laughter. Looker growled, especially as Houndoom and Charon were smirking as well.

“I am here to arrest you for suspected terrorism.” He said, and pulled out a set of handcuffs. Houndoom fired a blue ball of fire, which hit the handcuffs and melted them.

“What are you going to do now, detective?” Cyrus smirked. Looker was stunned, and Cyrus and Houndoom went to turn. Then, Looker suddenly realised something, and pulled out a PokeBall, throwing it in front of him. A burst of light later and a Lickilicky rose up, smiling broadly and licking her lips.

“Now, use Muddy Water!” Looker commanded. Cyrus turned back, and then turned to the lake, just as a brown wave rose up. Houndoom knocked both Cyrus and Charon over, and the wave crashed down, causing the Jeep to turn over.

“Dark Pulse!” Cyrus yelled, dripping mud.

“Rollout!” Looker cried, and the battle begun.


Diamond Manor

While the destruction rained around the area, Lady Carolina had her feet up, sipping away at a cup of Earl Grey, wearing a glamorous blue dress with a leather black belt. Adrian and Leah were sitting on the couch opposite. Leah was having a glass of orange juice, and Adrian was greedily eating a chocolate chip muffin. Lucario and Ninetales were sitting opposite each other, glaring at each other.

“Ah, I am so sad about seeing Xavier going.” Carolina sighed.

“I know, I hope they’ll be alright.” Leah added, reaching for a banana muffin.

“Oh please, they’ll be fine, whats the worst that could happen?” Adrian chuckled, spraying bits of chocolate onto the table, getting him a look from Ninetales.

“Mum, I’m bored.” The adults turned, and Matthew’s brother, Peter, was standing there, holding his Mime Jr.

“Ninetales, could you show Peter to the Xavier’s Wii please?” Carolina smiled. Ninetales looked cross at this, but sighed and headed off, making Lucario smirk. Carolina sipped more of her tea, when a loud bang in the distance made her drop her cup.

“Goodness, what was that?” She gasped.

“It came from the lake.” Adrian said, and stuffed a cookie into his mouth before rushing off towards the front door. Carolina and Leah exchanged looks, nodded, and followed as well.


Lake Verity

Houndoom let out a howl, moaning as Lickilicky initiated a Stomp attack.

“Sir, would you wish for my assistance?” Charon asked absent-mindedly.

“Not now, I can take him.” Cyrus growled. “Use Thunder Fang!” Thunder appeared in Houndoom’s mouth, and he leapt forwards.

“Brick Break!” Looker cried. Lickilicky waited until Houndoom was closer, and then both fists together and hit Houndoom on the back, instantly knocking him out.

“Now, are you coming to come quietly?” Looker said, and pulled out a Glock handgun. Charon suddenly came forwards, and threw an Ultra Ball onto the field. A burst of yellow light later, and a Magnezone appeared, stars fluttering around it.

“It’s a shiny.” Looker said, staring at it with awe despite the situation.

“I know, now use Magnet Bomb.” Charon said, smirking.

“Use Rollout, quick.” Looker gasped, and Lickilicky curled up and charged forwards, but was blasted back by a small silver ball.

“Halt!” Came a yell, and the three men turned as Adrian ran into the lake area, throwing a Great Ball. There was blue light, and a Zangoose formed.

“Zan Zan.” He snarled, showing his claws.

“Yes Slash on the Magnezone!” Adrian yelled, and Zangoose sped forwards, and swiped at Magnezone with a long, glowing left claw. Magnezone emitted a strange buzz-like groan, and Charon looked furious.

“Signal Beam!” He boomed.

“Detect!” Adrian said.

“Continue with Rollout!” Looker added. Charon and Cyrus exchanged looks, as Zangoose raised its hand, blasting the rainbow beam aside, and Lickilicky hit Magnezone, sending him falling to the ground and skidding towards the lake. There were more footsteps behind, and Leah, Carolina, Peter and their Pokemon appeared.

“Oh bloody hell!” Cyrus snapped, and whipped out another PokeBall, releasing a Weavile.

“Vile Wea.” She said, and Zangoose glared at her.

“Ah, I haven’t had a good battle in years.” Carolina said. “Think you’re up to it Ninetales?” The fox nodded, and Lucario seemed pleased it was there.

“I love the help of good Samaritans.” Looker grinned, as Lickilicky continued to roll alongside.

“This could be bad sir.” Charon whispered.

“Shut up.” Cyrus snapped. “Weavile, use X-Scissor

“Magnezone, use Iron Head!”

“Continue with Rollout!”

“Zangoose, use Night Slash!”

“Ninetales, absorb in the sun and use Fire Blast!”

“Aura Sphere Lucario!”

“I think we should stay back here.” Peter said, as the Pokemon all charged for their attacks. Zangoose slashed Weavile with his left claw, which was now black, and then Lucario fired the Aura Sphere to finish her off. The Fire Blast hit Lickilicky, and turned into a giant Flame Wheel. Magnezone stood now chance, and crash landed into its trainer, knocking the balding man over.

“I am getting to old for this.” Charon moaned, as he brought his Pokemon back.

“The jig is up Cyrus!” Looker snarled. Lickilicky had finished the Rollout, and now stood by his trainer, tongue rolled out fully, blocking Cyrus from moving further down the lake.

“Lucario, don’t be afraid to attack them.” Leah whispered, and Lucario nodded, and lifted his fist up. Cyrus let out a sigh, and reached into his pocket, about to pull out a grenade, but a thin bolt of lightning shot out of the sky, smashing into the Jeep. The water was the perfect conductor, and the whole car exploded, blasting Looker and Lickilicky backwards, and covering the parents in smoke. Cyrus smiled, and brought Weavile back and ran forwards, Charon limping behind. Adrian could see them approaching, and went to order Zangoose when Cyrus punched him in the head, knocking the father out. Peter and Mine Jr cowered as they ran past.

“I have sent the message out for the helicopter.” Charon said, tapping into his laptop. Cyrus was about to respond, but he ran straight into something, and fell backwards.

“Excuse me!” Cyrus looked down, and saw two grumpy teenagers with a Turtwig and Piplup.

“Oh great, more brats!”

“We aren’t brats!” Matthew huffed, rubbing his head. Charon sighed, and pulled out his taser, and zapped the two.

“I love doing that.” He chuckled, side stepping Turtwig’s Tackle. Moments later, they heard whirring, and a green and white helicopter appeared overhead.

“Let’s leave before the do-gooders wake up.” Cyrus yelled, as a ladder was rolled down. Charon began to climb, and Cyrus grabbed onto the bottom rung, and the helicopter headed off. Xavier watched them leave, his hair standing on end, and looked up as the parents all rushed forwards.

“Mother, whatever is going on?” He asked, as Matthew stirred.

“Those people were doing something at the lake.” Carolina said, hugging her son. “They were about to be arrested, but then he turned up.” She added spitfully.

“Who did?” Xavier asked.

“Your darling father.”


Diamond Manor

It turned out that Palmer had been flying back on his Dragonite to wish Xavier good luck on his trip, but had spotted the commotion below. Dragonite had fired a Thunder Wave to distract Cyrus, but hit the car by mistake.

However, most people were pleased to see him back. Palmer and Adrian sat side-by-side on one of the couches, laughing and swapping stories, while drinking a foaming glass of beer each. Leah was chatting to Xavier and Matthew about their adventure so far, with Peter listening on eagerly. Carolina had dropped her usual glamorous demeanour, and was leaning against the wall, her dress looking crumpled and a ugly look upon her face.

“So son, I see you choose Turtwig.” Palmer boomed suddenly, eyeing the green turtle.

“Well actually, Mother chose it for me.” Xavier said, and Palmer looked over at his wife, his broad smile drooping a bit.

“Did she know?” He muttered. “How lovely.” Carolina looked away, and Ninetales moved
forwards, her tails rising slightly in anger.

“Matthew, I think we should go and say goodbye to Chimecho and Milotic before you go off.” Leah said, looking nervous.

“Oh, yes, of course, great idea!” Adrian added, standing up. “Nice to see you again mate.” He added, patting Palmer on the back, and then grabbed Peter, pulling him away.

“Thanks for the food Mrs Diamond.” Peter squeaked as he left.

“See you in a few minutes.” Matthew said, smiling awkwardly. Leah smiled weakly at
Carolina, who forced a smile in reply. The Pearls left, leaving the door askew. Snow was beginning to fall, and Xavier saw that Roserade was looking chilly.

“I’ll go and say goodbye to my Pokemon.” Xavier said, unaware of his parents tension.

“Good idea son.” Palmer boomed, and Xavier and Turtwig rushed outside.

“Don’t worry Roserade, you’ll be alright.” Xavier said, and patted her.

“Rose.” Roserade said, smiling. There was a soft sound, and Ponyta came up, followed by the thunderous booms of Snorlax, who was waddling up behind.

“Ponyta, you could make a fire for us.” Xavier said, and Ponyta nodded, and fired an Ember onto a dying bush.

“Snor-LAAAAAAAAAXXXXXX!” Snorlax boomed, happy about making it up to the house.

“If Ninetales was here, she could make some sun.” Xavier said, shivering slightly. He looked towards the house, and the Pokemon did as well.

The site was shocking.

Palmer was bellowing at Carolina by the glass cabinets, and Xavier heard his name mentioned. Ninetales’ tails were fully raised, and she looked vicious. Carolina seemed frightened, and Palmer slapped her. Ponyta and Turtwig seemed shocked, but Roserade leapt forwards, raising her blue hand. The snow was building up, forming a white ball. As Ninetales leapt at Palmer, Roserade fired the Ice Weather Ball. Carolina heard it coming, and ducked as it zoomed past. It smashed into the cabinets, instantly shattering the glass and several shelves. Palmer yelled out, falling to the ground, along with numerous photos and several of Carolina’s PokeBalls.

“What the hell is this?” Palmer roared.

“Roserade seemed to be distressed by you hitting Mother.” Xavier said. He looked at Carolina, whose right cheek was bright red.

“Bloody Pokemon.” Palmer hissed.

“I think I should go now.” Xavier said. He rushed back outside, and quickly hugged his Pokemon. “I promise to see you all again soon.” The three Pokemon looked very upset, and Turtwig muttered something to them, and they nodded. As Xavier went to pick his backpack up, he noticed a PokeBall was lying by it.

“Must be Turtwigs.” He said, and pocketed it. Palmer and Carolina stopped giving each other the evils, and patted their son on the back and hugged him.

“See you around.” Palmer grinned.

“Good luck, make mummy proud.” Carolina said, tears in her eyes.

“Goodbye Mother, goodbye Father.” Xavier said, and picked Turtwig up and headed towards the Pearl Estate.


Pearl Manor

“Oh, I love you both so much, I can’t wait till I can use you both.”

Matthew was nearly in tears, hugging Chimecho and his Milotic, who he had gotten as a Feebas along with Chingling. She lived in a large water area, that stretched out into an aquarium like area underground.

“Milo Milotic Lotic.” Milotic said, and patted Matthew with a wet tail.

“Chime Chime Chimecho Cho Chime.” Chimecho added, and used his tail to pat as well. Piplup was watching nervously, watching the snow stopping to fall.

“Matthew, Xavier is waiting!” Leah called, and Matthew struggled to pull away.

“See you guys soon, I promise!” Matthew whimpered.

“Piplup Pip.” Piplup said, and Milotic and Chimecho grinned. Matthew and Piplup ran back towards the house, and brushed the little bit of snow. Xavier was tapping his foot impatiently, and he put his bag on. Leah, Adrian and Peter hugged him, and Xavier rolled his eyes. Piplup and Turtwig began to chat, and the family eventually pulled out.

“I will see you all soon.” Matthew promised.

“We’ll try and meet you at the next contest.” Adrian said.

“Good luck with the first gym battle.” Leah added, tears streaming down her face.

“We need to leave.” Xavier yelled.

“Bye.” Matthew said hoarsely, and hurried off. His family waved him goodbye, and Xavier sighed with relief. Turtwig and Piplup marched off behind them.


Professor Rowan’s Laboratory (Night time)

Sahara and Mason sat in swivel chairs, watching as Vanessa, Xavier and Matthew stood in a row, their starters standing by their feet.

“I am here to present your PokeDex to you.” Professor Rowan said, a small metal trolley by his side.

“First, Vanessa, um...” Rowan stuttered. “You didn’t give me your last name.” Vanessa scoffed at this, and put her hands on her hips.

“Do I need one?” She scoffed.

“Oh, I suppose not. Anyway, here is your PokeDex.” Rowan said, and passed over the 2010 Sinnoh model. Vanessa and Chimchar nodded, and stood backwards.

“Secondly, Xavier Diamond.” Rowan said, and passed the second PokeDex over.

“Thank you.” Xavier said, snatching it up and stepping backwards.

“And lastly, Matthew Pearl.” Rowan finished, sounded irritated by the last two recipients.

“Thank you very much.” Matthew said, bubbly, and shook Rowan’s hand. Vanessa coughed, muttering something about ‘nerd’ as she did so.

“Congratulations, you are now all eligible to take part in the Sinnoh Pokemon league.” Rowan beamed. “I have a number of cases over there you can choose from to put your badges in, along with different covers for your PokeDex. And, you can stay in here for the night if you want to.”

“We have a tent thank you.” Xavier said instantly, and Matthew sighed obviously, making Sahara and Mason exchange looks.

“Odd couple much?” Sahara whispered, and they sniggered. Sahara watched as the three choose their new accessories. The badge cases were small, only twelve centimetres long and six centimetres wide. There was a picture of the three starters surrounding a PokeBall, and a
plain background or a border. Matthew choose light blue, Xavier dark green, and Vanessa a violent orange one with a fire border. They each choose a skin that matched their case for their PokeDexes, and then they bid the Professor goodbye, and left, heading out into a snow-free night

“I better leave as well.” Mason said, standing up and yawning. “I’ll be in around 6:30 Professor. Bye Sahara.”

“Bye.” Sahara replied, and she got up as well.

“You should leave as well.” Rowan said, looking at his granddaughter.

“I wanted to talk to you about something first.” Sahara said, looking a bit nervous. Nutty looked a bit confused, and Sahara stepped forwards. “Mum said that I can sign up for the league, so, could you put a registration through?” Rowan was stunned, and scratched his head, thinking.

“I believe that Pachirisu can be a starter in a certain region, so I could sign you up.”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” Sahara, Nutty and Professor Rowan turned, and Deidre stood at the doors, looking shocked. “HOW DARE YOU TRY AND DECIEVE YOUR GRANDFATHER!” Deidre snarled. Nutty leapt onto Sahara’s shoulder, hoping to protect her trainer, but Sahara ran past her mother, nearly shoving her into a filing cabinet.

“SAHARA!” Rowan yelled, as Sahara ran out into the night.


Lake Verity

Running at full speed, Sahara had cleared Route 201. She had considered going to Twinleaf, but her mother would look there. Instead, she ran past two large mansions and towards Lake Verity.

“Deidre would never think to look here.” Sahara wheezed. She looked around, and was surprised to see a burnt out car, a scorched tree and several holes in the ground.

“Pachi?” Nutty said.

“Yeah, it looks like there was a battle here.” Sahara replied. She was about to investigate the car, when there was a loud noise above her. She looked up and nearly fainted in shock.
The sky seemed to have split open. Green light was emerging from a growing hole, and a figure appeared.

“What the hell?” Sahara gasped as the hole closed up, the light disappearing. Then, she realised the figure was a boy, wearing a white outfit. He was screaming, and seemed to be feeling for something.

“Pachirisu!” Nutty gasped.

“Good idea!” Sahara nodded, and reached for Aqua’s PokeBall. There was a burst of light, and a red Gyarados appeared above their heads. Sahara sent Aqua out anyway, who formed inside the water. The boy’s Gyarados had grabbed his trainer inside his mother, but crashed into the lake, sending waves. Sahara ‘s eyes widened as the wave came towards her, but Aqua stood in front of her. Both Pokemon looked at Sahara, worried, when the Gyarados burst out of the lake, holding the boy in his mouth.

“Well, this side of Sinnoh definitely is interesting.” Sahara sighed, looking from Nutty, Gyarados, the sky and the boy’s body, and collapsed, desperately having to think things through.
 
Last edited:
Re: Galactic

Time of our Jubilife

January 3rd 2010

Plattina Household

Charles let out a loud groan: his whole body aching, especially his back. The last thing he could remember was falling towards a lake, but he had no idea where the lake was, whether he was still in Johto, or what had happened before and after that. He was also feeling very cold. Struggling, Charles managed to sit up and took in his surroundings.

He was lying on a thin mattress in the middle of what was obviously a girl’s room. There was a pink set of drawers, purple bed sheets and a number of posters stuck to the walls, showing male models and several television personalities. A number of boxes were stacked against the walls, and Charles presumed whoever lived here had recently moved. He suddenly realised that someone had taken his jacket off, and he was only wearing his running shorts and a white shirt.

“This is seriously weird.” He moaned. He stood up properly, and looked around for his bag.

“Must still be in Johto.” He muttered to himself. All of a sudden, he remembered what had happened: Lyla running up, Celebi appearing, suddenly watching Silver and a man, being back in a cave, battling Giovanni, Celebi getting shot.... Charles let out an angry grunt, and kicked out at the boxes. They all fell to the ground, and their contents spilled out. There were footsteps, and a young girl burst into the room.

“Will you please not make so much noise?” She hissed, slamming the door shut. Charles noticed a white squirrel had come into the room with her. He recognised it from TV, but couldn’t remember its name.

“There was someone at the lake, and they had some Pokemon.” Charles muttered, rubbing his head.

“Yes, Nutty and I were there when you fell out of the sky.” The girl said, as she bent down in order to pick up the boxes.

“Ok, who are you and what is going on?” Charles snapped, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. The girl sighed and stood up.

“My name is Sahara Plattina. My mother and I just moved to Sandgem and we got in a disagreement about me signing up for the league, so I ran away. I went to Lake Verity and watched as you fell out of the sky. I sent my Floatzel, Aqua, out to rescue you, but then you Gyarados caught you. However, you were knocked out when you hit the lake and your Gyarados brought you over to us. I took you two to my house and snuck you into my room. As we just moved, everything is all over the place so I was able to get the spare mattress.” Sahara explained. Charles was thinking: Sandgem Town, Lake Verity, Floatzel, they didn’t make any sense.

“What region is this?” He asked.

“Sinnoh, why?” Sahara asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I come from Johto!” Charles said, and stood up and began to pace the room. “This is really bad, I can’t be in Sinnoh.”

“Well, you did fall out of some green hole in the sky, I think anything is possible at the moment.” Sahara said. Charles shot her a nasty look, and she turned angrily to him. “Hey, I rescued you from that lake! I brought you back to my warm-ish home so you wouldn’t freeze to death, as you might not have realised it’s winter, and I am trying to distract my vicious tart of a mother from finding out I’ve got some boy in my room!” She shrieked. Charles backed away, half frightened.

“Ok, sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped.” He replied. He moved past her and sat down on the mattress again. He felt inside his pockets, and pulled out four PokeBalls, a Safari and a Master.

“I checked your Pokemon when I had to bring Gyarados back.” Sahara said. “You only have three Pokemon on you.” Charles nodded, a single tear coming down his cheek. Sahara saw and went to comfort him, but he stood up, and brushed it off.

“I need to get to a Pokemon Centre and contact Professor Elm.” Charles said.

“There is one by Route 202.” Sahara said.

“Thanks. I’m Charles by the way.” Charles replied.

“Nice to finally know your name.” Sahara chuckled. “How old are you?”

“16, you?”

“15.”

“I see. Could you lead me to the Pokemon Centre?”

“Sure, I’ll just go and distract my mother.” Sahara said.

“Pachi.” Nutty said, and the two rushed off. Charles looked at his empty PokeBalls, and stifled a sob.

“Don’t worry guys, I’m coming for you.” He whispered, and put them back in his pocket and followed Sahara.


Route 202

It had snowed lightly over night, leaving a sprinkling of snow on the grass. Matthew looked at the snow, shivering slightly as he put his jacket on.

“Come on Piplup, we have to go.” He whispered.

“Pip Piplup Pip Lup Lup.” Piplup huffed, and looked over at Xavier and Turtwig, who were sleeping. Matthew sighed, and knelt down.

“I know it may seem mean, but we have to continue, and we can’t progress properly if we hold their hands every step of the way.” He said. “We will still meet up with them occasionally, but at the moment, we need to head off. Besides, he isn’t designed to care anymore.” Piplup was about to argue, but then gave up, nodded, and the two began to walk out into the snow. Matthew had left half the stuff behind, and had made sure he had packed a spare tent before he left home. With one last look at the grey and blue tent, he and Piplup headed towards Jubilife City.

Xavier opened his eyes.
The tent was empty, except for Turtwig, who was waking up as well, seemingly responding to his trainer’s actions.

“Turtwig, have you seen where Matthew went?” Xavier asked, standing up. Turtwig shook his head, and then ran outside, and looked around, but snow was falling again, and visibility was low. Xavier came and checked as well.

“Well, maybe Matthew had to go on ahead. We’ll move out after breakfast.” Xavier said. Turtwig looked up at his trainer, and could tell that he was upset about his friend’s disappearance. The two were rather quiet while they ate their breakfast, and then they got ready to continue onwards.

“I think you should go back inside your PokeBall, I wouldn’t want you to get caught in the snow.” Xavier said.

“Twig.” Turtwig said, and stood back as Xavier felt inside his pockets. He pulled out, not one, but two PokeBalls.

“Turtwig Tur?” Turtwig asked, staring at the two.

“I think I picked one of these up from Mother’s house.” Xavier said. He opened one up, and it was empty. He then pressed the button on the next, and pointed it outside the tent. There was a flash of red light, and a Pokemon began to form. It was large, with a yellow front and a blue back, though she had a large grey shell.

“That is Mother’s Lapras.” Xavier told Turtwig. Lapras noticed that someone had spoken, and turned towards the tent. Her eyes were pink, and the tent suddenly rose up into the air, Xavier and Turtwig still inside.

Tell me who you are and I may let you down A female voice echoed inside Xavier’s head.

“Is that you Lapras?” He asked

Yes, it is me. Your voice sounds familiar.

“You are one of my Mother’s Pokemon, Lady Carolina Diamond.” Xavier said. The tent full with a soft thud on the snowy ground, and Xavier tumbled out of it, landing right in front of Lapras’ front flippers. She was smiling warmly now, and looked down at him.

Ah, I remember you know. Xavier, isn’t it?

“Yes, my name is Xavier.” Xavier replied, standing up. “How are you talking?”

I was taught Psychic many years ago. It allows me to communicate with humans, though I usually don’t let people know of this added effect. Lapras added, smiling.

“I am very sorry for have taking your PokeBall. If you would like to, I will transfer you back at the next Pokemon Centre.” Xavier went to pick up her PokeBall, but Lapras gave him a sad look.

I have been sitting on a shelf, trapped inside my PokeBall, for many years now. I only get to go out once or twice a year. I beg of you, please me go on your journey. I will be very useful for your upcoming gym battles, as I also know Waterfall, Blizzard and Dive. Lapras explained. Turtwig rolled his eyes, and then looked at Xavier, who nodded.

“It seems you will be a welcome addition. I will still put you inside your PokeBall though.” Xavier said. Lapras went to say something, but turned into red energy and was pulled inside the PokeBall. Turtwig was visibly shocked, but Xavier didn’t register the expression as he began to pack things up. Six minutes later, with the tent and supplies inside his bag, Xavier picked a still shocked Turtwig up, and the two headed towards Jubilife.


Jubilife City

Skyscrapers, so tall they were touching the sky, quaint little buildings that had been there for decades, and people, bustling about everywhere, talking and laughing, sucking in the hype of the city. Vanessa loved being in the centre of cities, they made her feel so alive, so free and happy. There were so many buildings to go to: Poketch, Jubilife TV, the Global Trading Station, the Pokemon trainer’s house. Plus, there were tons of shops to go to as well. The only thing Vanessa loved more than shopping was making stuff. She had made the outfit she was wearing today from scratch: giant, squiggly hoop earrings, a large jacket made from rainbow fabric, with some wires to make the sleeves wide and stick up, and a long gold hoop dress, finished off with ocean blue high heels. Many people were staring apprehensively at her outfit, and several old ladies asked her if this was some sort of publicity stunt. Vanessa just ignored them, and skipped happily down the footpath, humming loudly to herself.

“Ah, what a beautiful morning!” She said loudly, talking to no one in particular. Vanessa did a little twirl, and noticed a sign, reading POKEMON TRAINERS SCHOOL. She smiled brightly, and sent out Chimchar.

“Chim Chim?” He said, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“We’re in Jubilife City now Chimchar.” Vanessa said. “First, we are going to pop into the school, and then we’ll take a look around.” Chimchar nodded, and followed after Vanessa. The snow was starting to pick up, and people were rushing past, their collars up and their heads down to avoid the breeze. People stared at her more, as she was wearing a dress and walking slowly, accepting the cold breeze. After waddling through the snow, the two reached the bright blue wooden door, and thrust it open.

It was very warm inside the single storey building. There were lots of children inside, most of them around 10 and 11, and they were talking, reading books and guides, battling or watching the Sinnoh Now Network.

“... many young people are today starting their journeys as Pokemon Trainers. People register to compete in the Sinnoh League and battled eight gym leaders. Upon defeating all eight, they are automatically entered in the Sinnoh League Championships, where they will battle each other, and the top people go onto to battle the Elite Four and the current champion. The current champion, known as Cynthia, was able to talk to our reporters earlier today....” Vanessa turned away from the screen, wishing to look at something else. But as she walked forwards, someone appeared from behind a bookshelf, and walked straight into her. Chimchar rushed away to avoid Vanessa falling on him. Her flaming hair went everywhere, and she rolled to avoid hitting a desk as she stood up.

“You should have watched where you were going, stupid cow.” A voice grunted. Vanessa turned around and looked down. The boy she had walked into was wearing a thick leather jacket, which had some sort of family crest stitched onto the right side, black leather gloves, ripped denim jeans and black leather boots with silver buckles on the side. He had brown hair, which was quite long and looked like it hadn’t been watched in about a decade. A black spike was protruding through his earlobe. He looked about fifteen, and seemed to be trying to hard to be cool. Vanessa gave him a quick look, and then started to laugh.

“Nice fashion choice,” She smirked, arms crossed. “It looks really good, if you want to look like Metallica threw up on you.” The boy growled, and he stood up, and was about fifteen centimetres taller than her.

“Well... well... at least a rainbow didn’t throw up on me!” He replied, smirking slightly. Several teenage girls at the next table laughed, and the boy smiled.

“You do realise they are laughing at you, not with you?” Vanessa said, and the boy looked at her.

“Oh, what would you know? You’re nothing more than a stupid red head.” He said. He went to turn, but Vanessa grabbed his hair, and pulled him back. She completely lost her airy, happy nature that she had had outside, and looked very vicious.

“Listen here you prick.” She hissed. “You may be wearing enough leather to fit in perfectly at a furniture store, but in the real world, you look like a completely dickhead. Take it from me, and find another style and lose the tough guy attitude, otherwise next time we meet, you are going to find my left heel wedged some place where the sun don’t shine, alright?” And Vanessa let him go. But the boy leapt up, and quickly wiped out a Dusk Ball. But Chimchar quickly leapt up, and fired a small ball of fire. It hit the boys jacket, and it quickly caught alight. The boy stood backwards, and stared down at the flames, transfixed by them. The girls that had laughed screamed, and one of them threw their glass of water onto his jacket, ceasing the fire. The boy shook his head, and then stared angrily at Vanessa.

“Bloody bitch, that was my best jacket!”

“If that’s your best, I’d hate to see what the others look like.” She smirked. Just then, a short, rather stout woman with long grey hair rushed over.

“No fighting outside of the battle arena!” She squawked. “If you want to settle a dispute, than go and wait for your turn to battle.” And she pointed towards a large field, which took up the whole right side of the building. There was a short cue, and two boys were currently battling with a Starly and a Bidoof. Vanessa and the boy exchanged looks, and nodded.

“See you in a few then.” She said, and walked away. The woman rushed off, muttering about misbehaving kids, and the boy walked towards the other cue, placing the Dark Ball back in his pocket and contemplating his first attack.


Sandgem Town Pokemon Centre

The small Pokemon Centre was very quiet. Nurse Joy was talking to a young trainer, a group was heading up into the union room, and an older trainer was flicking through a book, a Dragonair coiled up on the seat next to him. Charles wandered quietly over to the PC box. He grabbed the special pen and tapped the “PC Access” box on the screen. A password screen popped up, and he quickly tapped in his password. A list of options then came up, and he tapped the “Withdraw Pokemon” box. The list disappeared, and a wide screen popped up, with small pictures of lots of his Pokemon. He quickly scanned them, and couldn’t see any small pictures of Lugia, Dragonite or Typhlosion. He knew that they wouldn’t be there, but he had been hoping. He looked through several other boxes, but no luck. Charles went back to the first box, and tapped the first three pictures: Gligar, Tauros and Poochyena. A message popped up, telling him his party was now full. Three small circles, composed of grey circles, then appeared on the screen. They spun around, and Charles heard a whizzing sound as the three PokeBalls were transferred over. The circles disappeared as a Poke, Safari and Great Balls flopped into a slot. He quickly scooped them up, and turned around. He noticed the old man’s Dragonair as well, and remembered an instance from about six months ago....

Charles and Lyla had decided to have a break from their work. They had found a small pond, and had stretched out towels and were lying down, wearing swimming gear and soaking in the sun. Typhlosion and Lyla’s Meganium were absorbing the heat in as well, and Charles’ Dragonair was diving in the water with Lyla’s Marill. An Eevee egg lay beside Charles’ bag, shaking every now and then.
“Ah, I wish we could do this all the time.” Lyla said, adjusting her glasses.
“I know, it is so peaceful.” Charles added, and rolled onto his right side, and stared at her. She noticed after a few seconds, and smiled.
“What?” She giggled.
“You just look really pretty in this light.” He said. Lyla giggled again, and the two leaned towards each other. For a minute, they stared into each other’s eyes, and then they leant in, and kissed. Their Pokemon all turned to watch as their trainers sat there, their lips locked together in a tight embrace....


“You alright there sonny?”
Charles blinked his eyes, and looked around curiously. He had completely forgotten where he was, what he was doing, and what had happened to Lyla. He just wanted to be back on that bank, touching her, being near her....

“I am fine, just remembering something.” Charles replied, smiling weakly. The Dragonair looked up at him, and Charles struggled to stop himself from crying, as it looked almost exactly like his. The man, who was still smiling, looked slightly familiar as well. Charles found himself getting creeped out, and quickly moved away. The man and the Dragonair watched Charles go, and didn’t stop staring until he had disappeared from view.


Professor Rowan’s Laboratory

The glass doors rebounded off the stopper, nearly hitting Charles in the face as he rushed into the lab. Sahara, along with an old man he recognised from TV as Professor Rowan, and a rather nerdy looking kid, all stared at him as he entered.

“Charles, I want you to meet my grandfather, Professor Rowan, and his assistant, Mason.” Sahara said. Charles smiled, and noticed that Nutty the Pachirisu was next to a Solrock and a Lunatone.

“Nice to meet you Charles.” Professor Rowan smiled. “Professor Elm has mentioned you several times when we have chatted.”

“Nice to know I am being talked about.” Charles smiled weakly.

“So.... Sahara tells us you’re an alien.” The boy called Mason snapped.

“Mason!” Sahara gasped. “I just said he fell from the sky.”

“Yeah, from green light!” Mason grunted. Charles rolled his eyes.

“I fell through some sort of time rift.” He snapped, and Mason scoffed. “Oh, and like alien activity is more realistic?” Charles added, and raised a fist. Mason dodged, but he landed onto a bench and knocked over a number of test tubes.

“Calm down!” Rowan gasped, going to block them, but Mason pushed his bosses hand aside, and pulled out a PokeBall.

“Nidoking, front and centre!” He boomed, and tossed the ball onto a tile. Sahara pulled Charles backwards as Nidoking emerged, and let out a roar. Charles stared at the purple Pokemon, and smiled.

“Gyarados, make this quick.” Professor Rowan stared in awe as the infamous red Gyarados emerged, many stars encircling him.

“Nidoking, use ThunderPunch.” Mason roared.

“Hydro Pump, quickly now.” Charles commaned. As bolts of electricity began to cover Nidoking’s right fist, Gyarados lifted up his head (with difficulty, as he had to curl up to fit inside the lab) and then fired a large jet of water. Nidoking was hit in the chest, and was instantly blasted backwards. His large body smashed into a bookcase, and all the shelves broke, as well as the back of it.

“Don’t give up yet, use Strength!” Mason yelled, his voice cracking.

“Dragon Pulse!” Charles boomed. Nidoking’s eyes glowed a white, and white energy wrapped around his hands. He charged forwards, and slammed them into Gyarados. The giant sea serpent flew backwards. His tail smashed the roof, bringing down bits of plaster and a light, before he crashed through the double doors.

“Wouldn’t that hurt?” Sahara asked.

“It doesn’t hurt anything except my bank account.” Rowan snapped. “Gyarados have exceptionally strong skin.” The two watched as a lime green light formed inside Gyarados’ mouth, and then a beam was blasted out, hitting Nidoking in the jaw and flipping him, before knocking him into the bookshelf again. Nidoking collapsed to the fall, leaving behind a large gap in the wall. Mason quickly brought him back, and before Sahara or Rowan could stop him sending another Pokémon out, Mason brought out another PokeBall.

“Golduck, it’s your turn!” He said.

“Gyarados, return!” Charles said, as a large blue Pokémon, that resembled a human with a duck head, known as Golduck formed. “And Ampharos, make your mark.” Charles finished, as he pulled out a ball with a little lightning bolt above the button. There was the familiar red light, but a number of lightning bolts appeared around Ampharos as it formed together.

“Just give it up Mason, you have no chance of winning.” Sahara snapped, as Mason stood there, his mouth open wide in shock.

“Just like you have no shot of ever going on a journey!” As every eye turned towards the source of the voice, Sahara let out a loud sigh, before turning to face her mother.


Jubilife City

The snow was falling thick and fast now. The skyscrapers were blending into the grey sky, and the streets were empty, except for several trainers and a number of clowns, all dressed in brightly coloured orange and cream costumes.

“Hello there young trainer.” They were saying. “Would you like to take our quiz?”

“No one thank you.” One grunted.

“But if you get the questions right, you can win coupons to exchange for a Poketch, the latest gadget all the trainers....”

“I said NO!” Matthew snapped. Piplup grumbled as well from inside his coat, and the clown stepped away, looking very cross. Matthew was about to apologise, but an icy breeze struck his face, and he quickly rushed away. He looked around for the Pokémon Centre, but the first building he came across had a bright blue door. The sign, which was covered a lot by snow, had “Pokémon Trainers” on it, so he rushed inside.

“Smart idea.” A teenage boy said, smiling warmly. “It definitely looks very freezing out there.”

“Definitely.” Matthew smiled, opening his jacket up so Piplup could come out.

“Piplup Pip Pip.” She said, and then pointed excitedly towards one side of the building. Matthew looked over, and saw a familiar head of red hair.

“Vanessa.” Matthew muttered.

“You know that girl?” The boy said, laughing slightly. “That girl came in here about an hour ago. The guy had been sulking around here for a bit, and they bumped into each other and started fighting. Her Chimchar set his jacket on fire, it was rather furious.” He added. “Anyway, they have been waiting to fight, and they are about to begin. And everyone is looking forward to it.” Matthew nodded, and quickly rushed over.

“Can you stay out of trouble for one minute?” He muttered, and Vanessa turned around and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t need to deal with some pasty nerd at the moment, thanks.” Vanessa growled. “Besides, you owe me.”

“For what?” Matthew scoffed.

“Because, dickhead, I saved your arse yesterday.” Vanessa snapped, turning around and towering over him. “If I hadn’t stepped in, you would have become Galactic Grunt brand road kill, so show me a bit of gratitude or you can pay the debt of in other ways.” Matthew’s eyes widened, and Vanessa smiled brightly and turned back towards the field. The short stout woman was referring, and the boy was on the other side, holding two Dark Balls.
“The double battle between Emerson Hesas, from Pallet Town, Kanto, and Vanessa... um...” The lady turned towards Vanessa.

“My last name is on a need to know basis, and definitely don’t need to know.” She replied, giving the lady a smirk as she pulled out her PokeBalls. The lady grunted, and waved a green flag.

“Machop, Magmar, come on out!” Emerson yelled, and threw the balls onto the field.
“Staraptor and Shinx, make this snappy!” Vanessa yelled, as she threw her balls. There were two bursts of dark purple light, and two bursts of red, as the four Pokemon formed. Magmar was the tallest Pokemon, and his fiery body and wicked smile made him more intimidating. Staraptor was shorter than him, but taller than Machop, but gave them both a wicked look. Machop eyed up Shinx, who was low to the ground and was smiling slightly.

“I didn’t know that you had either of those.” Matthew whispered, a she flipped out his PokeDex and scanned the Pokemon excitedly.

“Just sit down and shut up, I’ll explain later.” Vanessa snapped, as Emerson began the battle.

“Magmar, use Fire Punch, and Machop use Karate Chop, and aim for Shinx.” He yelled.
“Staraptor use Aerial Ace on Machop and Shinx use Tackle on Magmar.” Vanessa boomed. Magmar and Machop ran forwards, their right fists covered in white and glowing white respectively. Machop jumped up, his hand straight and raised to chop down, but Staraptor flew forwards, her wings glowing white, and slammed into him, knocking him backwards. Magmar aimed his punch, but Shinx dodged it, and then slammed into him, but Magmar merely stumbled backwards.

“You’d have to do better than that.” Emerson smirked. “Machop use Bullet Punch on Shinx and Magmar use Fire Spin on Staraptor.

“Staraptor, use Close Combat on Magmar, and Shinx use Charge.” Vanessa ordered, her left eye twitching. Machop set off like a rocket, his left hand now a glowing silver fist, and he punched Shinx, blasting him backwards. Shinx’s smile faded, and he looked a bit upset.

“Shin Inx Shi Shinx.” He said, looking sadly up at Vanessa.

“Keep it up.” Vanessa encouraged, smiling. Shinx nodded, and glowed a light yellow as he charged up. Meanwhile, Staraptor and Magmar were deep in battle. Magmar was leaping and dancing, trying to avoid Staraptor’s talons and beak, while still trying to produce a circle of flames.

“Sta-RAPTOR!” Staraptor yelled, and slashed down Magmar’s body, and then whacked him backwards with his wing. Magmar fired some flames, which tried to encircle Staraptor, but she managed to avoid becoming trapped.

“We need to get some good hits!” Emerson snarled. “Machop use Focus Energy, and Magmar use Smog on Staraptor.”

“Staraptor use Twister, and Shinx use Thunder Fang, but wait for my cue.” Vanessa commanded, looking serious. Staraptor quickly began to spin rapidly, a tornado forming around her.

“She must be the one who saved us.” Matthew whispered to Piplup.

“Pip, Lup!” She replied, as if it was obvious. Machop was glowing white, the floor shaking
slightly around him. Magmar inhaled a deep breath, and purple air began to waft out.

“Shinx, NOW, bite the Twister!” Vanessa yelled. The Twister was fully raging now, and Shinx ran forwards, and quickly bit the bottom of the Twister. His electricity filled mouth transferred onto it, and the Twister turned a bright yellow. Staraptor then turned the Twister horizontally, and two long bolts fired, resembling a mouth, and Machop and Magmar were both blasted. Magmar accidentally fired the Smog towards Machop, who gasped for breath, turned purple, and collapsed onto the ground.

“Machop is unable to battle.” The fat lady announced, waving the red flag.

“Magmar, bring Staraptor down with Fire Punch.” Emerson roared, his face distorted into a hideous look.

“Staraptor, use Twister and Shinx use Tackle.” Vanessa commanded, talking smoothly and smirking openly. Staraptor continued to spin, and moved towards Magmar. He became covered in the Twister, and both were made invisible. They could make out some fire from the heart of it, but it disappeared quickly. Shinx watched the Twister, his eyes moving, and then ran forwards. He jumped into the Twister, and a few seconds later Magmar fell out, landing with a thud against the floor. The Twister stopped, and Staraptor landed, Shinx resting on her back.

“Magmar is unable to battle, Vanessa is the winner!” The lady boomed, and people whooped and cheered for her, including Matthew. Emerson brought Magmar back, and looked at Vanessa. She grinned and winked, and he let out a grunt like an elephant and marched off. Vanessa’s eyes followed him for a second, but a number of people were surrounding her, and she had to stop to answer their questions.


Plattina Household

Sahara had never seen her mother this angry, even when half of one of their old houses was flooded in the space of five minutes. But Deidre was pacing around the room, bellowing out a lecture every few minutes. Charles sat awkwardly in a corner, watching the proceedings with Nutty and Seviper on other side of him.

“This is probably the most stupid thing you have ever done!” Deidre was saying, pacing backwards and forwards. “You ran away last night, and then brought a boy back! This is so stupid.”

“He could have died out there.” Sahara snapped. “He was freezing when he appeared, I wasn’t going to leave someone out there to freeze to death.”

“I don’t really care about him!” Deidre roared, facing her daughter. “I only care about the fact that you have disobeyed me, again! And what would you have done if you’d been struck by water?”

“I didn’t plan on going to the lake, I just ended up there.” Sahara said, a bit quieter, and Deidre growled.

“You really need to grow up! You are still acting like you are ten and can get away with everything.” Deidre growled, and slapped her daughter across the right cheek.

“HEY!” Charles said, standing up and looking horror struck.

“You have to get it through your head that you can’t get away with anything anymore.” Deidre said, leaning down over her daughter. “You are reasonable for their actions, and from now on, you aren’t going to leave this house, and your Pokémon will be looked up.” Sahara let out a sob, and tears began to roll down her face.

“You can’t do this.” She whispered.

“Watch me.” Deidre said, smirking. She turned around, and found Seviper at near full height, smiling widely. Before Deidre could react, Seviper opened her mouth fully, and then clamped her fangs around her throat. Sahara stood up, wiping away tears, as Deidre choked, and Seviper let go, and swung her tail. Charles gasped as Deidre was sent flying across, and smashed into a wall, and slumped down, landing quite perfectly into an armchair.

“What the hell?” Charles mouthed.

“Good job Seviper.” Sahara said, and hugged the snake, who hissed with delight.

“Viper.” Seviper added. Sahara then ran towards her room, with Seviper following behind.

“I am confused.” Charles said.

“Pachi.” Nutty said, shrugging. A minute later, Sahara come downstairs, a blue-lined white bag over her shoulders.

“Come on, we have to go.” She said.

“Wha-?” Charles said.

“I locked Seviper in my room, and left the window open so she can still hunt.” Sahara said, and picked Nutty up.

“What about your mother?”

“Oh, Seviper always does that, she’ll be fine.” Sahara smirked, and ran out the front door. Charles was partially stunned, but followed after. They soon reached the lab, and found Professor Rowan contemplating how to block the door.

“Oh, hello.” He said as they approached.

“Granddad, guess what?” Sahara piped.

“What?” Rowan asked.

“Mother has finally agreed, I can start my Pokémon journey now!” She said excitedly. Both Charles and Rowan looked stunned, but Sahara stood there, smiling widely.


Jubilife City

It was still snowing badly, but Vanessa and Matthew were sitting on a bench, with Chimchar providing them with warmth.

“Well, it is lucky you sent her after us, those Galactic people seemed serious.” Matthew was saying, smiling.

“Rowan nearly caught me when she came back, so I had to rush away.” Vanessa added.

“Well, at least you saved us.” Matthew said, and couldn’t stop grinning. Vanessa rolled her eyes, and watched as a Poketch van went past, and parked a few metres down the road.

“Char Char.” Chimchar said, and he appeared to be shivering slightly, his flame decreasing.

“We better head off then.” Vanessa said. Before Matthew could reply, they heard footsteps. They turned, and saw Xavier wandering around behind them, muttering to himself and looking around.

“Oh bugger!” Matthew gasped. “I can’t let him see me.” Vanessa watched as Matthew ran off, and looked back at Xavier. The boy looked up, and noticed her.

“Hello Vanessa, who are you?” He called, and walked towards her.

“I am fine.” She replied. “Managed to win a battle today.”

“Oh, that is always good.” Xavier replied. “Have you seen Matthew anywhere?” Vanessa considered for a moment, and then smiled.

“Yeah, he went over there.” She said, and turned to point, and gasped.
Matthew was being dragged across the snowy road, obviously been knocked out.

“What are those clowns doing to him?” Xavier asked.

“OI, PAEDOS!” Vanessa boomed. The two clowns looked up, and quickly tossed Matthew into the back of their van. Vanessa ran forwards, Xavier and Chimchar following. One of the clowns pulled a gun out, and fired. Vanessa dodged, and stumbled backwards, hitting Xavier. The two fell to the ground, and they heard doors slam and a car engine start up.

“What is going on?” Xavier asked.

“I am not quite sure on this one Wattson,” Vanessa said, looking up as the car disappeared. “But I think Matthew may have been kidnapped by a couple of clowns.”


Route 202

Professor Rowan had managed to contact a good friend, who had put her details through. She had got a quick approval, as she was a Pokémon Professors relative, and had already been approved. Sahara and Charles had then raced off, and had pitched a tent on the side of Route 202.

“Finally, I can now battle in the league!” Sahara said, rolling out a sleeping bag.

“Yeah, it’s a good feeling.” Charles said, forcing a smile. “What are the gyms like here?”

“Alright, Nutty should work well at some, and Aqua can cover the first.” Sahara smiled. “What are they like in Johto?”

“Oh, very reasonable, nice spread.” The voice issued from outside the tent. The two looked around, frightened. Nutty whimpered, and began to glow with electricity. The tent flap was zipped opened, and a man stuck his head in. He had spiky turquoise hair, and was wearing a more advanced uniform of the Galactic grunts.

“Who are you” Sahara said, covering her and Nutty with her sleeping bag.

“Oh, my name is Cyrus, and I think we are going to get to know each other very well.”
 
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Re: Galactic

Oh right, sorry. I keep forgetting about it :p I'll double space when I have the chance, but it takes a really long time with these stories
 
Re: Galactic

You can't use the Writer's Workshop to link to other works that you're not posting here. Posting a link to the full version of Galactic is fine, but the others shouldn't be posting unless you're posting them here as well.

I haven't read this yet because it's very long and as TGM said not brilliantly spaced, I'll try and read it over the next week or two and let you know what I think.
 
Re: Galactic

One of the admins spoke to me about the links, and said it was alright as long as I had a story in there as well. And I will go back and edit them so that they are double spaced.

Here is the next story:

Ups and Clowns

Charles leapt up, and quickly whipped out a Safari Ball. However, Cyrus raised a fist and punched him, sending the PokeBall flying.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sahara screeched, as Charles moaned.

“Oh be quiet you stupid little girl!” Cyrus snapped, and went to punch her as well, but Nutty leapt forwards.

“Pachirisu!” She cried, and fired a Spark attack. Cyrus was blasted back out of the tent, and Sahara instantly rushed over to tend to Charles.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“I am fine.” Charles said, but there was blood trickling down over his lip.

“Your bleeding!” Sahara said.

“I don’t care, just pass Tauros back.” Charles growled. Sahara looked around and saw the Safari Ball nestled next to her sleeping bag. She grabbed it and passed it over, and Charles stood up. He was about to speak, but something suddenly made a hole through the fabric, adn then whooshed over Charles’ shoulder.

“They must have guns, like the other day!” Sahara cried, and pulled Charles down. More bullets were fired, and they could hear footsteps and many flapping wings. Sahara looked at the top of the tent, and she could make out a mass of Zubat above them. Charles looked through a small gap at the bottom of the tent, and he could see two cars and about a dozen people.

“That weirdo has brought a small army!” Charles hissed. Sahara had a look, and gasped.

“What are we going to do?” She whimpered.

“What we have to do!” Charles replied, and threw the Safari Ball behind him. There was a flash of green light, and it turned into a Tauros. Sahara looked at it and gasped. It was about a head and a half taller than Charles, and looked like he weighed more than 250 pounds.

“Taur Os Tauro.” Tauros said, looking angrily around.

“This is Tauros. He is a bit big for his size, but that makes him extra handy.” Charles smiled. Sahara was still staring at the huge Pokémon, which was towering over her, and Charles laughed. “Quick, hold that flap.”

“This one?” Sahara asked, as she grabbed the left flap.

“Yep, now wait for my cue before you tear it open.” Charles said, as he grabed the other.
Cyrus was waiting impatiently outside the tent, and was staring at his watch. Several of the grunts were reloading, and Charon was standing nearby, tapping away at his laptop.

“Jesus, doesn’t anyone know how to do anything around here?” Cyrus snapped, as he kicked out at one of the Jeeps tyres.

“Oh calm down Cyrus.” Charon sighed. “We have found both Ceres and the key together, what could be better?”

“If we actually had them!” Cyrus snarled, and he raised a fist, but his shoulder hurt from where he had landed after the Spark attack. Charon chuckled, and continued to tap away.

“Tauros, HYPER BEAM!”
Everyone looked towards the tent, just as the tent flaps were pulled back. A powerful, orange beam of energy was blasted out of it, and it hit three grunts, blasting them backwards into the other Jeep. One of the windows shattering, impaling a grunt in the back of the head, while the others groaned with pain, glass in other parts of their bodies.

“Little bastards.” Cyrus snapped, and reached inside his pocket for a PokeBall. As he pulled it out, Sahara and Charles leapt out the tent, and dodged the bullets that came their way.

“Pachirisu, use Spark!” Sahara bellowed. Sahara fired another ball of electricity, which blasted a machine gun out of a grunts hand.

“Houndoom, finish them up!” Cyrus yelled. He threw the PokeBall, and the devilish Doberman formed. Tauros came running out of the tent, his horns ripping the tent flaps as he came out.

“Tauros, use Water Pulse.” Charles boomed.

“Houndoom, counter with Flamethrower.” Cyrus yelled. A ball of water formed inside Tauros’ mouth, and then he let out a loud moo, releasing a number of blue shock waves. Houndoom opened his mouth wide, and then fired a jet of fire. The jet and the shock waves collided, causing a large amount of steam to form. Sahara looked over, and Nutty had to tackle her to stop some bullets smashing into her chest.

“Charles, keep a look out!” Sahara yelled.

“I think you should be careful!” Charles replied, and pointed at the sky. Sahara looked up, and screamed as all of the Zubats dived down, firing Poison Stings and Leech Life attacks.

“Nutty, use Spark, and do it as many times as possible!” Sahara yelled.

“Pachi Pachiri Risu.” Nutty cried, and fired a Spark, knocking one of the sky. Sahara was very puzzled: they seemed to be a lot weaker than last time. And they all seemed to be flying in a giant mass, as if trying to block her way...

“Charles, this is a trap!” Sahara bellowed. Charles looked away, shocked, and looked back to the smoke. Cyrus was standing there, holding a hypodermic needle.

“Oh fu-” Charles began, but Cyrus jabbed his upper arm, and pushed it down, injecting him with a clear liquid. It was fast working, and Charles’ legs instantly gave way. He looked up at Cyrus, but then his eyes rolled and collapsed, his eyes out of focus. Tauros began to paw at the ground, and Cyrus had to jump out of the way to avoid a Horn Attack.

“Houn Doom!” Houndoom cried, and fired a Will-O-Wisp, which Tauros avoided and then lowered his head, and lifted his glowing horns up, and jabbed Houndoom in the jaw, lifting him into the air and tossing him onto the already damaged Jeeps bonnet.

“Charon, take care of this thing!” Cyrus snarled, as he brought Houndoom back and lifted Charles’ limp body up. Charon walked forwards, pulling out a white spray can.

“I have been looking for a test subject for my Whirlwind Spray.” The scientist smiled, and he pressed the button. A spray came out, but it made a wind whistling noise, as Tauros suddenly turned to red energy, and zapped back inside the Safari Ball. As more Zubats fell, two grunts ran inside the tent. Twenty seconds later, they emerged, holding a small brown canister with a white top: a pill bottle.

“What shall we do with this?” The grunt asked, as the other helped Cyrus toss Charles’ body into the back of the better Jeep.

“Put them behind the tyre.” Cyrus replied, as Charon climbed in with him.

“You won’t get away with this!” Sahara screamed, as Nutty blasted down more Zubats. Cyrus smirked, as the grunts quickly brought the Zubats back. Sahara ran forwards, but the Jeeps had already started.

“SPARK!” Sahara yelled. Nutty fired another burst of electricity, but it smashed into the wrong Jeep. It exploded, and Sahara and Nutty were blasted backwards, crushing the tent.

“NOOOOO!” Sahara screeched, and she tried to run after the Jeep, but something caught her eye. Next to the flaming wreckage of the Jeep, small bits of brown plastic were lying there, a white powder underneath. Sahara stared at it, and collapsed.
She had lost the battle.
She had lost her friend.
And now she would lose her mind.


January 4th 2010

Jubilife City

“Matthew!”

“MATTHEW!”

“Matthew Pearl!”

“MATTHEW!”

“Would you keep it down; people are probably trying to sleep.”
Vanessa turned towards Xavier and slapped him. The boy’s face turned a bright red, but he didn’t seem annoyed about that.

“That seems like a mild overreaction, I was just thinking about the city’s residents.” Xavier replied, and continued walking. Vanessa, who was today wearing a jacket with purple scales, a ruffly orange dress, blue high heels and rainbow coloured tassels on her fingernails, let out an annoyed growl and followed after. She and Xavier had been searching for Matthew for most of the night, trying to locate where the van and the clowns had gone. Staraptor was flying in the skies, looking around for any obvious sign of the van, and Chimchar, Turtwig, Shinx and Lapras had assisted with the search, looking in low windows and blasting aside barriers, but they were having no success.

“I don’t really care about the snobs in this city, I am just looking out for a friend.” Vanessa snapped, catching up to Xavier.

“I am trying to look for Matthew, but I remember him going missing on a number of our families outings and turning up hours later after taking the wrong route.” Xavier explained.

“He hasn’t just wandered off down the lane!” Vanessa growled. “Some possibly paedophilic clowns have kidnapped him, and we need to find him!”

“Then we have been wasting our time.”

“What?”

“Well, if he had just gotten lost, than we could have found him.” Xavier said, sounding irritated. “But if he has been kidnapped than he would probably be locked deep underground, and wouldn’t even be allowed to respond if he heard us anyway.” Vanessa thought about this for a second before she slapped Xavier again. This time Xavier stumbled slightly, and he grabbed onto a nearby pole for support.

“Think what want, but we need to find him.” Vanessa said, poking Xavier in the chest with one of her tasselled fingernails. She turned on her heel and stomped through the snow. She pulled out her touch screen device and tapped a button, and then held her left arm out straight. As the snow began to fall, and Xavier stood there, rubbing his face, he watched Staraptor landed onto Vanessa’s arm, and then the two disappeared into the snow.


Jubilife Condominiums

Lucinda Large awoke with a groan.
She always woke up at seven due to a tiny crack of light seeping in through her curtains. She didn’t have to wake up until nine thirty, but she could never get back to sleep after the first pinprick of light. With a loud grunt, Lucinda swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up. The springs on her bed gave a sigh of relief, glad to have her large weight off.

Lucinda weighed around 200 pounds.
Ever since she was six, Lucinda had to put up with jokes with about her weight and her last name. She became considerably larger as time went by, mainly due to her insecurities after being teased, and by the time she turned 13, Lucinda weighed more than most of the 18 year olds at her school. Lucinda, who was now 22, was currently on her twelfth weight lose program, and as she tucked her feet inside a pair of woollen slippers, she stared into the mirror. There was a large tear in a grey nightgown, and her skin was sticking out of it. Lucinda prided herself on the rest of her body, and long pink fingernails, short black hair that was well kept, and she generally spent her money on fancy clothing (though she did have to pay to have the measurements changed.)

“Give it another week, just one more week.” Lucinda muttered to herself, as she poked the . She waddled over to her kitchen, but it didn’t take long. She lived inside one of the cheapest apartments of the Jubilife Condominiums: a giant room for her bed and living room, a dingy bathroom with a cramped shower and disgusting toilet, and a small corner for her fridge, freezer, and several benches. She grabbed a box of cereal, which had a picture of a Tropius on it and several different types of fruit on the box, and poured herself a large bowl. She then filled it to the brim with Miltank milk, grabbed a spoon and went over to her squishy armchair. It groaned as she plopped down, and Lucinda turned the news on. A beautiful, blonde, tanned woman was on the screen, interviewing a group of small children. Lucinda let out a nasty growl at the appearance of this woman: Clarisse Miller was her rival at the SBC: Sinnoh Broadcasting Company. She always got to interview the hottest celebrities, meet the coolest trainers, won all the awards and even hosted two reality shows and a talk show. All the fashion designers wanted her to wear their latest outfits, and Clarisse was today wearing a spotless white suit. As Clarisse spoke, Lucinda continued to growl: her own voice was rather nasal, while Clarisse’s was the perfect tone and pitch for a journalist.

“And while the trainers school is the perfect stop for all beginning trainers,” Clarisse said, walking around the spacious room. “It is also a place where trainers can battle. We have some footage taken yesterday, showing a fantastic double battle between a young male trainer, Emerson Hesas, and a powerful female known only as Vanessa. She took out the battle, using her Staraptor and Shinx to counter Emerson’s Machop and Magmar.” The screen now cut away to some grainy footage of the battle. It had obviously being recorded on some sort of phone, as the sound quality was bad, and you couldn’t make much out due to the heads. But then the screen showed a Staraptor using Twister, and swallowing up a Magmar. A Shinx than used Tackle to finish up the match.

“Wow, that girl is good!” Lucinda gasped. The footage stopped, and cut back to Clarisse.

“I am sure that, however this Vanessa girl is, that she is feeling very happy about her victory.” Clarisse said, and flashed her pearly white teeth. “Back to you in the studio.” The scene now cut back to the hosts of The Morning Show with Allie and Stan. Lucinda finished up her cereal as she listened to the mornings headlines, which included the usual dribble about the bad weather and something about a burnt out car found on Route 202, and then she got up and tossed her bowl in the sink. It clinked loudly as it landed on top of her dishes from yesterday. Lucinda didn’t particularly care, and she went to her pile of clothes and searched for a good outfit for that day.

“Matthew! Matthew! MATTHEW!”

“Will you shut up!” Lucinda snapped, looking out of her window. She then gasped as she looked at the girl who was yelling. She was wearing different clothes, but the girl calling for someone was obviously the Vanessa from the battle. Lucinda shook with excitement and did a little dance, causing some dust to trickle down from her dilapidated roof. She rushed over to her cell phone, and she grabbed it up and pressed the 1 button and dialled.

“Harrison, hey, were you watching the news?” Lucinda blabbed. “Yes, I know, she is a slut. But did you see the battle? I know, her outfit was great, must be from Hoenn. Well, anyway, I was just looking out my window and guess who is still in town?” There was an excited screech for the other end of the phone, and Lucinda. “I’ll put something on and then I’ll look for her. I think she would be perfect for Showdown.”


The residents of Jubilife were soon awake and bustling, racing around to their jobs. A number of trainers were moving around as well, looking at maps or heading to the trainers school for more tips. None of them registered as Sahara wandered into the town, shivering slightly and clutching Nutty in her arms. She had not slept longer than five minutes last night, and her eyes were showing the consequences. Nutty, who had managed a proper sleep, was wide eyed and looking around. They were both trying to find the Pokémon Centre, and Sahara also needed to tend some bruises she had received after the blast.

“After we’ve got you recharged, we are going to find a hotel or something, I need to sleep!” Sahara fumed.

“Pachi.” Nutty agreed. She looked around, and suddenly gasped.

“What is it?” Sahara asked, raising a hand to stifle a yawn. Nutty leapt out of Sahara’s hands and raced across the icy ground. “Hey, come back!” Sahara yelled, and she ran after. The crowd parted, allowing them to continue moving. Sahara began to feel tired, and her coat was feeling exceptionally heavy. Nutty had disappeared in the snow, so Sahara quickly took her coat off, revealing a black sleeveless vest over a white, a bright blue skirt and a blue scarf.

“That feels better.” She puffed, and continued to run forward, kicking snow aside.

“Pachi Pachirisu!” Sahara turned, and saw Nutty waving from a park bench. Sahara rushed over, and was surprised to see Vanessa sitting alongside.

“Ah, now I know why.” Sahara said, panting.

“Know what?” Vanessa asked, and she let out a yawn, and Sahara knew that she wasn’t the only one that had spent the whole night awake.

“Nutty must have seen your hair, it really stands out against the white.” Sahara chuckled, but stopped as Vanessa glared at her.

“My hair is to be admired, not mocked.” She said huffily, and she
shook her hair magnificently and stood up.

“You look really tired.” Sahara said, scooping Nutty up.

“Hey, you don’t look like no Sleeping Beauty either.” Vanessa replied, and they yawned simultaneously. “Well, some clowns kidnapped Matthew last night, and the Android and I have been looking for him all night.”

“Oh my goodness, really? That is just so bad!” Sahara gasped, and she looked around, but then froze. “Who is the Android?”

“Xavier, duh!” Vanessa grunted, and she began to walk, and Sahara followed after.

“Do you guys have any leads of where he might be?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be here talking to you, would I?” Vanessa replied. Sahara groaned, and tried to run after, but Vanessa had stopped, staring at two people in front of her.
One of them was a rather large girl, who had short black hair, and was wearing too much makeup and a black cardigan over a purple dress with matching purple heels. Standing next to her was a skinny man, about a head taller than the stout woman. He looked muscular and had a deep tan and sandy brown hair that came down to below his ears. He was wearing a blue shirt, a green jacket, jeans and white sneakers, and a red cap that was turned backwards. The woman was holding a microphone, and the man had a large camera. They looked the same age, about

“Hello there, I am Lucinda Large.” The woman smiled.

“She can say that again.” Vanessa muttered out of the corner of her mouth, and Sahara stifled a laugh.

“This is my cameraman, Harrison Maude.” Lucinda said, and pointed towards the man.

“Pleased to meet you.” Harrison said, grinning and talking with a flamboyant tone. Vanessa and Sahara exchanged a look, silently agreeing he was gay.

“Well, is there something you want?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes, we saw your news report today and want you to come on Showdown.” Lucinda said. Sahara let out an excited squeal, and Vanessa stared at her, her orange eyebrows raised.

“Showdown is the best thing on the SBC, asides from the soaps, of course.” Sahara explained. “It is just a battle thing, except it is one trainer in quick fire rounds against all these different trainers. If they get past all the trainers, than they face off with a randomly selected trainer, and then they win a cash prize, though they go home empty handed if all their Pokémon faint.” Everyone looked, slightly stunned, as Sahara stopped, and giggled nervously.

“Yes, the psycho girl is correct.” Lucinda said, talking nervously. “Anyway, only three people have ever won, and none of them have ever won with all their Pokémon conscious.”

“However, we saw your battle on The Morning Show and we think you have what it takes.” Harrison beamed, as he put the camera into position.

“Give me on reason why I should do this?” Vanessa growled, and pushed Lucinda’s microphone away.

“I heard you yelling Matthew outside my window this morning.” Lucinda said, whispering slightly. “And I heard you were looking for him all of last night as well, along with some weird guy. Now, I am the heiress to the Adeim Empire, and I have access to all the money in my father’s accounts. If you agree to do this and do your best to win, I’ll provide you with any assistance you need in finding him.” Lucinda backed away to discuss things with Harrison, and Vanessa turned to Sahara.

“Find Xavier and look for Matthew, I’ll meet up with you later.”

“Are- are- are you going to do the Showdown?” Sahara giggled, and she did a little dance. Vanessa nodded, and then gave Sahara a little push before turning back to the camera.

“And before we end our show this morning, I believe Lucinda has a last minute story...”

The words seemed strange, almost alien like. Matthew tried to let out a groan, but he had some sort of liquid in his mouth and spat it out. His eyes hadn’t properly refocused, so he had no idea what colour it was, though juding by the taste in his mouth, it was blood.
Matthew no recollection of what had happened to him. He could faintly remember talking to Vanessa and rushing away suddenly, but the rest was a blur. He might have witnessed a battle, but he wasn’t sure. His last clear memory was of him and Xavier heading to Route 202.
Desperately looking for answers, Matthew tried to look around. There were sharp pains in his neck, and the rest of his body felt numd and weak. However, his eyes had properly focused now. He seemed to be in some sort of basement: the walls were grey, and they were lots of pipes around him. It also smelt faintly of sewage and it was very moist and chilly. Matthew looked in the other direction and saw his bag. He suddenly thought of Piplup: was she safe?” He tried to move his hands, but he was either to weak or he were tied to the back of his chair, though he could feel something on his belt, and he smiled in relief, though stopped due to the pain.

In front of him was a doorway, though the door was lying on the floor next to him. There seemed to be a set of stairs opposite the door. A small desk was by the door, and an obese figure was in the seat, watching the TV. Matthew strained to listen and watch, and could make out Lucinda, the fat reporter his father always mocked. And, standing next to her, was Vanessa. Her flaming thing was the clearest thing he had seen, and Matthew felt more relief. It must be morning, as the Morning Show was live, and it seemed to be light.

“... and Vanessa will be joining me in the SBC Battlegrounds to start her Showdown challenge!” Lucinda was saying. “Are you feeling nervous at all?”

“Not in the slightest.” Vanessa replied, though Matthew could tell she was worried about something. But the pains in his body were fighting against him. He spat more blood onto the floor, and then allowed to pain to take over.


High above Jubilife, a large flock of Starlys and Staravias were flying towards Lake Verity, struggling to fly through the strong wind and snow that battering them. They were desperate to reach their destination, hoping to find a safe place to land, so they rest and recharge.

However, a magnificent creature appeared through the clouds, halting their process.

Articuno burst down from the heavens, its magnificent blue plumage glittering, despite the sun being entirely blocked out by the clouds. Blue snowflakes were being emitted with every flap of its long, graceful wings. The Starys and Staravias flapped their wings but didn’t move, as they allowed the legendary to pass. Articuno stared at them as it passed, and smiled in acknowledgement.

All of a sudden, a giant airship materialized in front of the birds.

It was a giant mass of glass and steel, and resembled a slightly inflated oval. The windscreen was frosted over, though it seemed like there would be dozens of people onboard, as the ship was the length of six Wailords and the width of two lying sideways. The Starlys and Staravias all began to squawk loudly, and Articuno rushed in front.

“Artic!” It cried and its eyes flashed an icy blue. A ball of the same colour formed in Articuno’s beak, and it fired it into the clouds, releasing a wave of the same colour. The snow began to fall more heavily, and splattering against the ship, causing into the move slightly. Articuno was able to catch a logo embedded on the roof.

A giant yellow G.

A large panel at the bottom of the ship slid aside, and a long black gun was lowered. It turned towards Articuno, and fired a small yellow and black ball. Articuno instantly recognised it: many trainers had tried to use Ultra Balls on it, but Articuno was very reluctant to be captured, and quickly fired an Ice Beam, shattering both the ball and the gun. Then, with a ferocious cry, a pure white ball formed in Articuno’s beak. It fired a giant snowstorm, freezing the bottom of the ship. The Starlys and Staravias moved forwards, preparing to fight, but the airship disappeared, having turned invisible again. The Starling Pokémon all looked around, searching for Articuno, but a giant blue blur was flying back to the clouds, leaving only heavy snow and blue snowflakes behind.

The sound of the battle awoke Charles.

Unlike Matthew, he was completely paralyzed. He couldn’t move his arms, he couldn’t move his finger, he couldn’t even open his mouth. His body felt like it was made out of lead, except for his head: the feeling was far too strong. His vision was blurred and short sighted; there was a loud ringing in his ears, and a throbbing headache to top it off. A bright light was flashing down on him, so he tried to look around. All Charles could see was a head of long black hair. He let out a grunt, and the hair swished, and Charles could tell that the dark skinned human was a woman, before she rushed off. Charles let out more grunts, trying to free his jaw, but it just made his ears hurt more. He shut his eyes, trying to fall back asleep, and put himself out of this misery. But something moved near him, and Charles couldn’t resist taking a peak.

A woman’s face loomed over him.

She was pale, with large brown eyes that seemed to be staring into him. Her hair was a vivid red, and was shaped so that she had a triangular fringe, and points were styled on either side of her cheeks, with another point on her head.

“What a cutie.” She giggled, with a slightly high British accent. “I could do soooo much to you. Nothing like that, though.” She added, as Charles let out strangled cries, his eyes wide. “The boss has forbidden us from falling for you, but you are just so adorable.”

“Leave the boy alone, Mars.” The woman, seemingly called Mars, backed off, revealing that she was wearing a dress. It was mainly white, though was black on the arms, at the top and between the breasts. A yellow G was there as well, and Charles gasped: the same symbol had been worn by the people last night. However, a man moved in, blocking Mars from view. He had deep blue hair, which seemed to match his suave voice. He had a long fringe, and his hair had been shaped so that it looked like he had devil horns.

“Cyrus will want to see the boy, but I think he’d prefer it the sedative wore off first.”

“Oh, you always think you know everything Saturn.” Mars snapped. Saturn rolled his eyes, and quickly tapped something out of Charles’ view. Charles suddenly felt shooting pains throughout his body, and he shut his eyes, and instantly drifted off to sleep.


Sinnoh Broadcasting Company HQ- Jubilife Division.

Vanessa was looking grouchily around the crowded ground floor of the SBC headquarters. There were about five dozen people, varying from six to about sixty. Some of them usually waited on the fluro yellow seats, hoping for a showdown to occur. Others had rushed down quickly after seeing the report, and were ecstatic about seeing how it would unfolded. About two thirds to the left of the reception desk was reserved for the battles, though several pot plants were had to be cleared away first. The first trainer, a different cameraman, was waiting, a PokeBall ready in his hands. Vanessa was thinking more about Matthew, and how Sahara and Xavier were doing with their search, but the loud noise was very distracting.

“So, Vanessa, how are your nerves at the moment?” The girl turned, and saw Lucinda and Harrison standing there, awaiting her reply.

“I am perfectly calm.” Vanessa snapped back, and pulled out her first PokeBall.

“That is good to hear, and any comments on your opponent?”

“He looks like he thinks he is the best trainer around, but his ego will be easy to deflate.” Vanessa said, and Lucinda gave a big smile.

“Thanks for your comments, and good luck.” She said, and turned to the camera. “Now, we will go over the rules again quickly for you all at home. Vanessa will take part in three battles, battling one Pokémon, then two, then three. If she still has two or more Pokémon left then, Vanessa will take part in a double battle with an unknown opponent, before facing off in a one-minute battle to the finish against one of our talented reporters.” The crowd all whooped and cheered, and the intensity of the lights over the field grew, while the crowd’s lights dimmed.

“Let the Showdown begin!” Lucinda cried, to more cheers from the crowd. The cameraman stepped forwards.

“The name’s Cam, and don’t worry lil’ lady, I’ll go easy on you.” He said, smiling widely and showing his filthy yellow teeth.

“Eww.” Vanessa muttered. There was a loud bell, and the battle began.

“Zubat, come on out!”

“Chimchar, get this over with.” Vanessa said enthusiastically, but she tossed the ball to make the crowd smile more. There were two flashes of red, as Cam’s Zubat formed, along with Chimchar.

“Zubat, use Poison Sting.” Cam cried.

“Ember.” Vanessa said. Chimchar seemed to represent his trainer’s annoyance, and lazily dodged the attack, before firing a small ball of fire. Zubat let out a cry as he was blasted into the sky.

“Leech Life!” Cam yelled, still sounding confident.

“Ember again.” Vanessa said, and yawned. The crowd gasped as Chimchar leapt into the air, dodging the HP sucking particles and firing a second ball of fire. Zubat was engulfed in flames once more, and both Pokémon landed on the field at same time, though only one was conscious.

“I hope that was too tough on you.” Vanessa beamed, as she bent down and patted Chimchar’s head, while Cam stood looking astonished, as the crowd all cheered with delight.


Jubilife City

“Matthew, Matthew, MATTHEW!”

“Now really Sahara, do I have to explain the pointlessness of that again?”
Sahara let out a loud groan, unable to contain herself any longer. After only fifteen minutes, Xavier had lectured her twice on calling for Matthew. She was dreading being stuck with him for more than five minutes, but Turtwig and Nutty were in deep conversation, and Sahara didn’t want to leave until then.

“So sorry Xavier, I keep forgetting.” Sahara said, through gritted teeth.

“That is quite alright.” Xavier replied, and gave her a strange smile.

“Have you captured a Starly or any other flying type?” Sahara asked.

“No, do you need to borrow one?” Xavier asked, looking perplexed.

“I was just wondering as then we could use it to help search.” Sahara explained, talking slowly, though that seemed to make Xavier look move confused, and Sahara gave up.

“We just have to look for the van Matthew was taken in, and he’ll be nearby.” Xavier said.

“I highly doubt that we will find Matthew if we find the van, they probably dumped it somewhere random.” Sahara scoffed.

“The Poketch Building doesn’t seem random.” Xavier said, and he stopped walking. Sahara stopped, and turned. The second tallest skyscraper, after the SBC Building, was the Poketch Building, where the Poketchs were manufactured and distributed. The logo, which consisted of a Poketch with a giant red P over it, was attached above the door. A number of vans were in the carpark, and Xavier made a beeline for one.

“Twig?” Turtwig said, following after.

“Yes, I am certain it is this one.” Xavier said, and approached the closest van.

“How can you be certain?” Sahara asked, rushing to keep up.

“It is the same number plate, I remembered seeing it before falling over.” Xavier explained, and pointed at the plate: PKTCH8. Sahara seemed doubtful, but Nutty was open to it.

“Pachi Pachirisu.” She said, and jumped onto the bonnet. She glowed yellow, and transferred a Spark attack into the engine. The lights briefly flashed, but the engine was successfully cut, and the doors were unlocked.

“Good job.” Sahara said, and Xavier went into the back, and slid the rolling door up. Turtwig clambered inside, and quickly leapt about. As Sahara and Nutty joined, Turtwig leapt out, holding a small piece of fabric.
It was identical to Matthew’s jacket.

The ground floor was empty, except for a stern looking receptionist behind a long orange and red desk, with a lift on either side of her. Matching seats covered the blue tiled floor, in six rows of ten. A small space was designated for press conferences, with a plain wooden podium in front of a widescreen television. The walls were cream, and they made the tropical pot plants pop out. Turtwig instinctively went towards, lighting up as he went.

“No Turtwig, stay here.” Xavier said, and picked up the small turtle.

“Turt Turtwig.” Turtwig grumbled, and the receptionist looked up.

“Yes?” She squawked, with a nasal voice, causing Sahara to giggle.

“Yes, we believe some clowns in your employment may have captured my friend.” Xavier said calmly. Sahara sighed loudly and the woman looked like she had just swallowed a bunch of lemons.

“What did you just say?” The woman snapped, clutching the desk very tightly.

“Pardon my friend, he is a bit on the weird side.” Sahara chuckled, shoving Xavier aside. “He is referring to this thing he saw on TV.”

“No Sahara, Matthew was kidnapped by several clowns last night, and we found the van right outside.” The woman continued to look very cross, but then they heard a slight buzzing sound, emitting out of the receptionists ear. She relaxed a bit, and then forced a strained smile.

“Pachirisu Pachi Risu Pach.” Pachirisu scoffed, and Turtwig chuckled.

“I never get it when they tell jokes.” Sahara huffed, as the woman stood up.

“Our chairman understands what has happened, and would like you to go upstairs.” She said, and directed towards one of the lifts. There was a dinging sound, and the doors opened automatically.

“I would rather stay downstairs.” Xavier said, and he moved towards a seat.

“But the chairman wants you upstairs.” The receptionist said through clenched teeth. Sahara noticed her fingers moving towards a button, and she clutched onto Nutty.

“Get ready.” She muttered. And sure enough, several seconds later, the other elevator opened door up. Three clowns came out, with something bulging under their arms.

“I recommend you go up to the chairman’s office.” The receptionist growled.

“Over my dead body!” Sahara roared, as she threw out a PokeBall and Nutty leapt into the air.


SBC HQ

For the past ten minutes, Vanessa had managed to easily beat the other two trainers. There had been a junior trainer with a Starly and a Bidoof, and Shinx had used a mixture of moves to bring them both down. Staraptor then brought down a cameraman and his army of Geodudes with a succession of Close Combats, leaving behind three large holes in the wall.

“Well Vanessa, you definitely seem to be a very able trainer.” Lucinda said, as she and Harrison manouvered through the crowd for an interview. She was obviously shocked and annoyed about the easy wins, but was managing to keep a professional attitude.

“Seriously, isn’t this meant to be a challenge?” Vanessa said, and several people nearby chuckled.

“I guess you are just too good.” Lucinda laughed, and slightly kicked Harrison, who turned away to to get shots of the crowd. Lucinda lowered her microphone and looked furious.

“Did you have to say that?” She growled.

“What, the truth?” Vanessa said, grinning.

“You are making the station look bad.” Lucinda explained. “I may dislike Clarisse, but I will get in trouble if you stuff up her ratings.

“Damn straight!” Vanessa and Lucinda turned as Clarisse marched through the crowd, wearing an elegant blue dress and blue nail polish, pushing the crowd aside. Vanessa recognised her as the host of Chatting with Clarisse as it was was advertised all over Sinnoh.

“You, little lady, have been interrupting my interview with Chad Britt.” She snarled.

“Sorry, little lady, but I didn’t mean to cut into your precious tea party.” Vanessa said, smiling wickedly.

“Oh, it is more than that you idiotic little bit-”

“Wow, it is true.” Vanessa interrupted.

“What is?” Clarisse said, stopping her rant.

“It is true that you’ve had botox, you are showing no emotion.” Vanessa said bluntly. Lucinda and Harrison exchanged looks as Clarisse fumed.

“You have to admit it darling, your face is tighter than spandex on a fat man.” Harrison said. Vanessa and Lucinda cried with laughter, and Clarisse looked like she had been kicked in the gut.

“Rot it hell!” She said, and slapped him across the face.

“Ok, ow!” Harrison huffed, as Clarisse’s fingernails had drawn blood.

“Suck it up!” Clarisse snapped, and looked at the stunned Lucinda.

“You’d better fix this up, or I’ll ensure you’ll pay.” She whispered.

“What do you expect me to do?” Lucinda muttered back. “People love her!”

“Just listen to me. Battle her in the next round and let her beat you. Then I’ll mop the floor with the stupid bitch and get the ratings I need.” Lucinda looked shocked at this, and tried to ask Harrison for advice, but Clarisse was smiling widely, and Lucinda realised there was nothing she could do. Even though she was the heiress to the Adiem Empire, Clarisse was still senior, and if Lucinda stuffed up her ratings, she’d have to pay.


Poketch Headquarters

Aqua quickly formed on top of the reception desk. The clowns glared at Sahara and whipped machine guns out.
“Nutty use Bite, and Aqua use Water Gun!” Sahara bellowed. Xavier stood up, pulling out Lapras’ PokeBall, but Turtwig tackled him to the ground, just as bullets began to smash into the seats. Nutty and Aqua successfully dodged them, and Nutty bit down onto a clown’s foot, making him yell out, as Aqua’s Water Gun knocked another over. Sahara went to dodge the next lot of bullets, but the receptionist clutched onto her neck.

“You aren’t going anywhere!” The receptionist said viciously.

“Turtwig use Tackle!” Xavier yelled, as he searched for the PokeBall he had dropped. Turtwig dashed across the tiles, jumped up to avoid a bullet and landed on the desk.

“Turtwig!” He cried, and slammed into the woman’s head. She yelled out and stumbled backwards, hitting her head on the desk as she did so.

“Cow.” Sahara growled, massaging her throat. “Thanks for that guys.” She added, and Turtwig smiled.

“No problem.” Xavier said, as he found the PokeBall and threw it across the room. Lapras formed behind the men, momentarily distracting them.

Oh good, a battle. Haven’t had one of these for years. Lapras thought, and her eyes flashed as she used Psychic to disarm the clowns.

“This is really unfair!” One of them grunted, as the Pokémon surrounded them.

“Just deal with it!” Sahara smiled. “Aqua use Water Gun, and then Nutty use Spark.”

“Float Zel Zel!” Aqua cried, and fired a large Water Gun, splashing all the clowns with the thin jet of water.

“Pachirisu.” Nutty yelled, and fired the ball of electricity. The water was the perfect conductor, and all the men yelled out and collapsed, their clothes smoking slightly. Sahara breathed a sigh of relief, but there were footsteps overhead.

“We need to move.” Xavier said, standing up. “I doubt that this unorthodox battle went unnoticed, and I don’t want to get shot at anymore before we have found Matthew.”

“Good idea.” Sahara said, as she brought Aqua back. “We’ll take their lift, it might go down.” Xavier nodded, and the two picked up their starters.

Hold on a second. Lapras thought, as a white ball formed in her mouth. Sahara and Xavier stared as Lapras fired a Blizzard across the whole foyer. The tiles turned to ice, and the lift doors were frozen shut.

“Nice Lapras you have there.” Sahara chuckled, as she ran into the lift. Xavier smiled at Lapras as he brought her back, and then rushed into the lift. The doors closed, and they quickly descended.


SBC HQ

“Wailmer, use Whirlpool, and Miltank use Icy Wind.”

“Shinx use Thunder Fang on Wailer, and Chimchar use Scratch on Miltank.”

The crowd all gasped as the final moments of Lucinda and Vanessa’s battle took place. Shinx and Chimchar quickly dodged the whirlpool and blast of wind as they initiated their final attacks. Lucinda’s Wailmer and Miltank were looking defeated, and didn’t care as they took on the attacks.

“Wail!” Wailmer moaned, before rolling onto her back. Miltank could muster a thing, and collapsed forwards, causing Chimchar to run out of the way.

“Chim Chim!” Chimchar smiled.

“Shi Shinx!” Shinx added, and they rushed towards Vanessa.

“Really Lucinda, I thought you’d do better than that.” The red head called, as the crowd all whooped and cheered. Lucinda, who was red in the face and hoarse from yelling, looked around for Harrison, who brought water over while another cameramn took over.

“Wasn’t that a great battle?” Clarisse called, and the crowd all cheered again. “Vanessa certainly will be difficult to beat. Luckily, I haven’t lost a Showdown battle yet!” The crowd was stunned for a minute, but then screamed louder, while Vanessa looked like she had been slapped. Chimchar and Shinx exchanged looks, but suddenly turned into red energy as Vanessa brought them back.

“I don’t want to battle you!” She huffed, rushing forwards.

“Tough luck.” Clarisse spat, replacing the hand held mic for a clip on one. “I am battling you whether you like it or not.” She smirked, and then moved over to where Lucinda had been standing a minute ago. “Are you ready Vanessa?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Vanessa snapped, but put on a smile and the crowd cheered. As she moved back, Vanessa pulled her hand held device out, and tapped away at several buttons. She put it away, and
then pulled Staraptor’s PokeBall out.

“Staraptor and Abra, I choose you!” Vanessa yelled. There was a flash of white along with the red energy, as Abra teleported in front of Vanessa. Staraptor formed, and the two nodded their heads to acknowledge each other.

“Star Staraptor Tor Aptor Star.” The giant Starling mumbled, filling Abra in.

“Abra.” Abra replied, and the two turned to Clarisse, who looked a bit shocked about the entrances, but then pulled out two Great Balls.

“An Abra, I don’t think Teleporting will be very helpful. Now, Marowak and Kingdra, bring her down!” She yelled. Two blue flashes later, Kingdra and Marowak had formed. Kingdra seemed to not care about the lack of water, and curled her tail to make a stand.

“Staraptor use Close Combat on Kingdra, and Abra use Ice Punch on Marowak.” Vanessa cried.

“Kingdra use Ice Beam on Staraptor, and Marowak use Boomerang on Abra.” Staraptor flew forwards, as Abra teleported towards Marowak.

“King Dra!” Kingdra yelled, and fired the ice blue beam. Vanessa gasped as Staraptor flapped her wings furiously, trying to stay up, and then swung a wing, driving it into Kingdra’s jaw, knocking the over sized seahorse over. Meanwhile, Abra’s teleporting had allowed him an easy hit at Marowak, but Marowak swung his bone around.

“Maro.” He muttered, and threw it. It knocked Abra away from Staraptor, and then slammed into the back of his head.

“Going to give up?” Clarisse called, and Vanessa cackled with laughter.

“It’ll take more than that to bring my down, you wretched old hag.” She grinned. “Staraptor use Twister, and Abra use Zen Headbutt on Kingdra.”

“Kingdra use DragonBreath, and Marowak use Earth Power, both on Abra.” Clarisse growled. Staraptor soared towards the roof, spinning rapidly. Abra ran forwards, as Marowak smashed his bone onto the floor. Yellow energy burst through the tiles, blasting Abra into the sky. Staraptor to avoid, and then turned into a Twister. Abra’s head became covered in blue energy, and then dived towards Kingdra, just as Staraptor got between them. Marowak and Kingdra were picked up, and the DragonBreath attack was spread out. It still struck Abra, but the Psi Pokémon managed to hit Kingrda in the stomach, causing the two to sprawl onto the floor. Staraptor stopped spinning, and Marowak landed painfully onto the damaged floor, the bone rolling away.

“Staraptor use Close Combat on Marowak, and Abra use Knock Off on Kingdra.” Clarisse’s eyes bulged out, and Vanessa smiled.

“I knew you Kingdra would have some boosting item.” Vanessa smiled.

“No matter! Kingdra use Dragon Rage on Abra and Marowak use Bone Club on Staraptor.” Staraptor flew high into the air, as Marowak ran and scrambled for his bone. Kingdra remained where she was, waiting for Abra to approach. Abra had his left hand raised, and rushed to and slapped Kingdra in the middle. An X-Attack that had been wedged underneath her scales fell off.

“Kingdra!” Kingdra cried, and fired a ball of orange fire from her mouth. Abra was blasted backwards, just as Staraptor swooped down.

“Star!” She yelled, and slammed into Marowak. Marowak groaned, but raised the bone and swung it like a club, knocking Staraptor backwards onto the ground.

“Staraptor use Aerial Ace on Kingdra, and Abra use Zen Headbutt on Marowak and get him down here.” Vanessa said, trying not to look scared.

“Kingdra use Ice Beam and Marowak use Bone Club, both go for
Staraptor.” Clarisse said, looking happy. Vanessa looked towards the timer, and saw that they had been given more time. Obviously, this was doing well for the ratings, but Vanessa fell bad for her Pokémon as they rushed forwards. Staraptor was speeding towards Kingdra, but the two opponents attacked at the same time. Staraptor cried out as she was hit on the head with the Bone Club, and was then hit with the Ice Beam. The crowd all gasped, and muttered to each other, wondering how Vanessa would pull through. But Staraptor flapped the attacks away and slammed into Kingdra. Abra then teleported behind Marowak and slammed his head into Marowak’s back, knocking him down towards Vanessa’s feet.

“Staraptor use Fly on Kingdra and Abra use Ice Punch on Kingdra.”

“Finish this with an Ice Beam and a Bommerang. Try and get them before they can move!” Clarisse screamed. Staraptor was looking very tired, and Abra wasn’t moving. Marowak and Kingdra stood on either
ends of the field, preparing to attack.

“Move NOW!” Vanessa cried. The crowd all gasped as Staraptor suddenly sped towards the roof, shaking off the pain and disappearing from view. Kingdra and Marowak then faced Abra, and each initiated their attacks. Abra looked as the ice blue beam and the bone came towards him, and then teleported. Clarisse let out a strangled scream as her Pokémon’s attacks hit each other. Marowak was instantly frozen, before collapsing to the ground with a loud thud. Kingdra dodged the Boomerang, and smiled, but then Abra appeared in front.

“Abra Ra Ra.” Abra said, and slammed an icy fist into Kingdra’s stomach.

“NOOOOOO!” Clarisse roared, as Kingdra dropped to the ground. There was a loud ding, and the crowd erupted into a giant cheer: Vanessa had won, and become the first trainer to win without a single one of her Pokémon fainting. Staraptor flew down for the roof, and Abra teleported back over. The crowd poured onto the field, whooping and cheering. Tears streaked down Clarisse’s face, causing her mascara to run, and she quickly brought her Pokémon back to stop them getting trampled. People wanted to hoist Vanessa into the air, but she slapped her hands away and pushed through.

“I believe you owe me some resources.” Lucinda and Harrison were cheering with the rest, and hadn’t expected Vanessa to come over.

“Of course, of course, but how about an interview first?” Lucinda asked, smiling widely. Harrison lifted his camera up, but Vanessa grabbed it and threw it across the length of the hallway.

“I need to find my friend first.” She snarled. Lucinda and Harrison exchanged looks before nodding, and Vanessa sat down on a seat, and waited for what she needed.


Poketch Headquarters

The lift doors opened up, and Xavier, Sahara, Turtwig and Nutty found themselves inside a long corridor, with few doors and lots of holes in the roof.

“What sort of stuffed up place is this?” Sahara grunted, as Nutty cautiously moved over the concrete floor.

“Mother would most definitely dislike this place.” Xavier said, as he sniffed and burst into a coughing fit.

“I wouldn’t do that, there is probably a ton of icky mould in here.” Sahara said. “You wouldn’t expect this after the flashy foyer.” She walked up to one of the doors and listened. “I don’t think anyone is down here.” But Nutty and Turtwig were walking ahead of them.

“I think they may have heard something.” Xavier said.

“Turtwig Tur Twig Twig.” Turtwig said, and rushed forwards.

“Wait!” Sahara gasped, but Nutty followed as well.

“Pach Pachi Risu Risu Pachirisu.” Nutty called. Xavier and Sahara raced after, their feet thudding against the concrete floor. They turned a corner and quickly froze. Nutty and Turtwig were staring down a staircase, and gave their trainers serious looks to make them quiet. Sahara took her bag off and bent down and looked down as well.
A very fat man, wearing a stained singlet and too small shorts, was sitting on a small chair, watching a small, old television. Sahara thought she could see Vanessa on it, but ignored the thought when she saw a clown suit on a hook behind him.

“It’s a clown!” Sahara whispered, and Xavier bent down as well. There was also a room opposite the staircase, and a figure was inside, but they couldn’t see who it was. There were footsteps, and they ducked further out of sight. A man in a suit was walking, and the fat man quickly stood up and saluted him, his gut knocking the television over onto the floor. It shattered, and the man in the suit stopped and turned to him.

“You clumsy fool!” He snarled. “Why are you guarding the child anyway?” Sahara stifled a gasp, while Xavier moved cautiously forwards, and was able to see Matthew’s handmade jacket.

“The others went upstairs, there was some sort of disturbance.” The fat man replied. The man in the suit pondered for a moment, and then sighed loudly.

“I knew that someone would come looking for him.” He growled. “I’ll go deal with him now.” He marched into the room, and his back blocked him from view. They heard him slap Matthew, obviously to wake him up.

“What are we going to do?” Sahara asked.

“We have Pokémon, and they don’t seem to be armed.” Xavier said, and Sahara hit her head.

“Of course, sorry, this is just intense.” She said. “Maybe we should call Vanessa, get her Pokémon to help.”

“I believe I am as capable as her.” Xavier said, and pulled Lapras’ PokeBall out.

“Ok, hopefully she has finished her Showdown and will be here soon.” Sahara said, and rolled a Great Ball behind her. Virus formed from the blue light, and came quietly over. Xavier seemed to be ready to send Lapras out, but Sahara put a finger to her mouth, and then pointed towards the door.

“Wake up you worthless slime, WAKE UP!” Matthew let out a groan, mainly due to an unbearable pain on his cheek. He didn’t feel as numb anymore, and his vision came back to him as soon as he woke up. A main wearing a black suit and black tie was looming over him, clutching a small handgun. Matthew let out a yelp when he saw it, and the man smirked.

“Hello there Matthew.” The man said. “My name is Mr Ivan, and I own the building you are being held in.”

“Which is?” Matthew asked.

“The Poketch Company Building, I thought the clowns would have given it away.” Mr Ivan said, grinning.

“Clowns....” Matthew muttered. “Is that why you brought me here, because I got snippy with one of them yesterday?” Mr Ivan boomed with laughter, and the fat man joined in as well.

“Son, I do not kidnap people because they snap at my clowns.” He said, wiping away tears of laughter. “I kidnap people because they have angered me, or have-”

“How have I angered you, I only just met you!” Matthew cried, raising his voice, but gasped as Mr Ivan pistol whipped him, knocking Matthew and the chair over. Matthew felt the ropes around his hands loosen, and gave them a pull: they came loose.

“Don’t you think I know that, idiot child!” Mr Ivan hissed, as he aimed the gun between Matthew’s eyes. “I am doing this because of something that happened many years ago. Sadly, I am not in the mood to tell it.”

Xavier and Sahara could hear what he was saying clearly, and Sahara was clearly horror struck, especially as Mr Ivan had shifted his body, revealing the gun.

“I can’t take this any longer.” She said, and looked at Virus. “Use Shock Wave, and aim for the gun!” The Electivire nodded, and lifted up his fist. Electricity flowed to his arm, and then a bolt of lightning shot out. It skimmed through the air, past the fat man, and then slammed into the gun, knocking it out of Mr Ivan’s hand.

“SHIT!” He cried, as it bent his finger backwards and broke the bone. Suddenly, Matthew lifted his arms into the air and swung them, hitting Mr Ivan in the knees. He buckled and collapsed, landing on the chair and breaking the legs. The fat man was looking around, trying to find the source of the electricity, and then spotted them.

“Come here you little brats!” He said, with the voice of a smoker.

“Virus, go and deal with the suit.” Sahara said. “Nutty, use Quick Attack on Jumbo down there.”

“Turtwig, assist with Tackle.” Xavier said. The three Pokémon nodded and headed off. The fat man reached into the clown suit for a small handgun, but Nutty leapt down the stairs and hit him in the gut, pushing him backwards. As Virus rushed past, Turtwig tackled him in the chest, and he fell backwards, smashing the desk into splinters.

“Get off me, you... you.... idiot!” Matthew moaned, failing to find an effective insult as Mr Ivan’s weight crushed his legs. Mr Ivan went to lash out, but Virus appeared, and used Low Kick and aimed between the legs. Matthew laughed out loud as Mr Ivan rolled across the floor, clutching his groin.

“Matthew, are you alright?” Sahara cried, as she thundered down the stairs. Matthew weakly stood, rubbing his legs from the rope burn, and smiled weakly as Sahara hugged him.

“I’m fine, I am more concerned about Piplup.” He said, and rushed over to his bag. Everything was in there, and he quickly pulled out the PokeBall and sent Piplup out.

“Piplup Pip Pip!” She cried, and hugged him.

“I missed you too!” Matthew said, and hugged the little penguin. There was a groan behind them, and they all stared as Mr Ivan rested his back against the wall.

“The rest are coming.” He said.

“What is he talking about?” Matthew asked.

“The other clowns, the ice couldn’t have stopped them forever.” Xavier said.

“Quick, we need to leave!” Sahara yelled, and Matthew hoisted up his bag and they all rushed for the stairs. Turtwig and Nutty were waiting at the top, and they all ignored the fat man, who was gurgling on the floor. Sahara reached the corridor first, and grabbed her bag. However, she screamed and leapt back down the stairs a second later, bullets skimming over her head.

“What’s going on?” Matthew cried, as Virus caught his trainer.

“It’s the clowns, they must have been hiding behind the corner!” Sahara yelled.

“Don’t worry, I can handle this!” Xavier said, and threw Lapras’ PokeBall onto the corridor.

“Wait, isn’t that your mothers?” Matthew asked, as Lapras formed, but Xavier ignored him.

“Lapras, use Psychic to clear the corridor.”

With pleasure. Lapras said, and used her flippers to move around the corner. There was a large amount of gun fire, but Lapras didn’t get hit. Her eyes flashed pink, and there was the sound of metal being bent, and cries from the men. Xavier and Turtwig rushed forwards, followed quickly by the others.

“AHHH!” Sahara yelled, as water cascaded onto her.

“What the hell happened?” Matthew asked.

“Pip Pip!” Piplup cried as they rounded the bend. All of the clowns had collapsed, having been thrown across the entire length of the corridor before smashing into the concrete walls. The Psychic had also damaged a number of pipes, and water was pouring down, and gas was leaking out. Xavier and Matthew turned, as a blue light had flashed before them.

“I think Mr Ivan sent out a Great Ball.” Xavier said.

“He didn’t seem to have any before.” Matthew said. They both looked at Sahara, but she had collapsed onto all fours, her soaking wet hair hanging down.

“Electivire Vire Electivi.” Virus said to Nutty, who nodded. Virus then picked Sahara up and hoisted her over his shoulder.

“Sahara, what’s going on?” Matthew yelled, but all he got was a drunken giggle.

“Pachirisu Pachi.” Nutty said, and then ran off.

“Pip Piplup Plup!” Piplup gasped.

How very interesting, very interesting. Lapras thought.

“Lapras, what is going on?” Xavier asked, but Lapras just looked at him and winked. Xavier and Matthew exchanged looks, but then they heard a grunt behind them. The two stared down the stairs, and saw the clown standing up, and reaching towards his clown suit. A packet of cigarettes and a lighter fell out, and Matthew gasped.

“If he tries to light a cigarette, the flame will probably blow this building up.” Matthew said, shaking slightly.

“We can’t yell out to him, than Mr Ivan will probably try and shoot us.” Xavier said.

Don’t worry, lets just get to the elevator and I’ll deal with the rest. Lapras growled.

“Let’s get up to the foyer, Lapras can use Psychic to protect us.” Xavier said. Matthew seemed reluctant, but it was their only option, so he nodded. Both trainers picked up their starters and rushed towards the lift, Lapras sliding along behind them.

“Pip!” Piplup cried, and rushed forwards and used Pound on the lift button. By the time the others arrived, the doors were open and the lift was waiting.

“What about Sahara?” Matthew said, as his finger rested above the G button.

“There is no time to wait.” Xavier said, and pressed the button. The doors slammed shut, and the lift quickly rose up. Matthew was feeling increasingly worried: what if the building started to explode before they could get out? But as the lift doors parted, they all saw that the foyer was still frozen.

“Grab onto Lapras.” Xavier said. “Lapras, I need you to slid across the ice.”

If you insist. She grumbled. Matthew and Piplup had barely clambed onto one of the knobs on Lapras’ shell when she began to propel herself along the floor. She expertly dodged the unconscious clowns from earlier, swiped past the bullet stricken chairs and towards the front door. Matthew and Xavier could both see an Electivire standing on the other side of the road. It turned around, and Matthew and Xavier exchanged looks. But suddenly, the glass doors were right in front of them.

“Lapras, Blizzard!” Xavier yelled. As the doors parted, Lapras fired another snowstorm from her mouth, freezing the car park. Matthew let out a whoop of delight, and Turtwig and Piplup did a little jig.

“We did it, we survived the killer clowns!” Matthew yelled.

And then the building exploded.

They all heard a loud, echoing boom, before an orange fist burst through the ground, forcing them into the sky.

Hang onto your hats. Lapras thought, and quickly covered them in a Psychic barrier. She utilised the force of the blast to allow them to blast into the sky. Xavier looked back, and saw the top floors of the building exploded, glass and concrete getting sent into the air as the roof collapsed into a mass of orange flames, before Lapras titled, and they began to descend. They could hear people screaming and saw them rushing away, as the explosion ripped apart the street. Lapras finally landed onto a fountain, breaking the Psychic barrier, causing Matthew to land into the water. Xavier gave a demented snort of laughter, and Piplup dived into the water and splashed, while Turtwig took a big drink, and the leaves on his head straightened up.

“Matthew, Xavier!” The two boys turned, watching as Sahara and Nutty rushed forwards.

“How did you get out?” Matthew asked. They looked around, and watched as the black smoke began to clear slightly.

“Your hair, it isn’t wet anymore.” Xavier said.

“Oh, yeah. I always carry a towel with me.” Sahara said quickly. Just then, Vanessa raced over. Sahara could see Lucinda and Harrison standing a little way away, reporting on the explosion.

“Jesus Christ, were you guys involved in that?” She asked, puffing slightly.

“You could say that.” Matthew grumbled. The black smoke had cleared, revealing a giant hole in the ground, stretching for about twenty metres.

“That is one huge hole.” Sahara gasped. Xavier was going to say something, but the sounds of sirens quickly filled the air, as numerous police cars came onto the scene. Vanessa swore loudly, and Matthew’s eyes bulged in shock.

“Wow, would really love to stay and chat, but I have to go.” She said quickly, and turned, waved one of her tasselled hands, and ran before any of them could say a thing. They watched as an Abra teleported in front of her. She grabbed his arm, and with a flash of white and one last glimpse of her fluro outfit, Vanessa was gone.

“I can’t stay either, I don’t want the cops to question me and call my bitch of a mother.” Sahara said, and picked Nutty up. “Bye!” And she rushed off. Lapras stared at Matthew, who gulped and got out of the fountain.

“I have to go to the... er... Pokémon Centre!” Matthew spluttered, and grabbed Piplup and ran.

“I have very odd friends.” Xavier said.
You don’t say. Lapras smirked, rolling her eyes, as Xavier sat on her back, staring into the giant hole where a building had been only three minutes ago.


Charles let out another groan, and tried to keep his eyes closed, desperate to try and put off more time paralyzed. He tried to curl his fingers again, and was surprised to find that he could, though it was quite painful. Charles could hear footsteps and voice all around him, and couldn’t help but open his eyes, and found the old scientist from the battle standing nearby.

“Oh good, your awake.” He mumbled.

“What is going on?” Charles grunted, managing to open his jaw enough to make sound.

“There has just been an explosion below our airship.” He replied matter-of-factly. Charles was shocked, but was still to numb to show it. “Don’t worry, we’ll be out of here soon and back at headquarters.”

“Headquarters?” Charles said, his voice high pitched. The scientist grinned menacingly, and Charles shut his eyes, leaving only the noises.

“Yes, headquarters. You are going to be with us for a while, whether you like or not.” The scientist whispered. Charles tried his best to stop them, but tears began to stream down his cheeks. He heard the scientist cackle with laughter as Charles realised he no longer had a choice what was going to happen to him.
From now on, he belonged to Team Galactic.
 
Re: Galactic

The Gateway to the League

January 5th 2010

The wind was howling louder than it had ever howled before. Charles was looking around desperately, as the ground beneath him began to shake. The sky was pure black, except for a single, bright, unbearable light, flashing down upon him. It was as if Hell had opened up, unleashing all of its fury onto the world. There was a loud roar, and blue electricity crackled across the sky.

“HELP, SOMEBODY HELP!” Charles yelled. He looked around, and saw a Pokemon lying at his feet, but it was glowing white, and he was unable to make of its figure. He looked back up, and leapt backwards, as Sahara stared into his eyes.

“Why Charles, why did you have to?” She said, her face pale and her eyes black.

“I…I…. I… I didn’t do anything.” Charles stuttered. Before he say anything else, Sahara emitted an ear-bleeding scream, and Charles could only see green. Celebi suddenly flashed before his eyes, and he awoke, sweating pouring down his face.


“My my, you seem to have had a nasty little dream there.” Charles looked around, and saw a man sitting there, the same man who had captured him several nights ago. “Hello Charles, my name is Cyrus.”

“Wh-wh-what are you doing here?” Charles said, panting.

“What am I doing here?” Cyrus let out a dry laugh, giving Charles a chance to look briefly around the room. It was very small, about the length of two cupboards. It had plain brown walls and a wooden plank floor. The bed was a single, with white sheeting. There was a chair that Cyrus was sitting on, and Charles’ PokeBalls, shirt and shorts were by it. Charles suddenly realised he was only wearing his boxers, and couldn’t help but flush.

“My dear boy, I am here because I own this building.” Cyrus said. “You are here because of the trouble you caused us the other night.” Cyrus stood up, and Charles glared at him.

“I don’t want to be here!” He huffed.

“Well of course you don’t, no one ever wants to be here.” Cyrus smirked. “But that isn’t up to you in the slightest.” Charles leapt out of the bed, but gasped and picked up his clothes, shielding his shame.

“Oh Charles, I have dealt with similar situations like this before.” Cyrus said, rolling his eyes.

“Are you some sort of paedophile?” Charles growled, as he went to put the shirt on, but Cyrus slapped him across the face and he stumbled.

“It would be wise not to insult me.” Cyrus said, but regained his calm nature. “My scientist, Charon, and Head of Training, Draco, examine the potential recruits, or ‘grunts’, as they are commonly called. If they are unfit, we shoot them. Thankfully, you are very fit for a sixteen. You have good definition, and should be easy enough to train.”

“Train for what?” Charles asked, rubbing his face. Cyrus smiled, and
then turned towards the door that blended into the walls.

“You’ll find that out when the time is right.” The blue haired man said. “Someone will be over soon to give you your new clothing. You also must choose one main Pokemon to train, preferably unevolved. Goodbye.” And Cyrus walked out of the door, closing it quietly. Charles picked up one of his PokeBall’s and rolled it. After the usual red light, an Eevee formed. Unlike most female Eevee’s, Elle, as she was known, was quite the tomboy, and liked to play with Charles’ other Pokemon, despite them generally being larger than her.

“Eva Eve!” She said, and bounced onto Charles’ chest, knocking him backwards. He smiled weakly, but Elle gave him a look, and he sighed.

“This place seems like hell, but together, we’ll get through it Elle.” He said, and gave her a hug.

“Eevee?” She asked, but when a tear splashed onto her brown coat, she knew not to question, and rested her head on his bare shoulder.


Oreburgh Gate

Despite the tunnel not being that long, Sahara was still highly worried about the Oreburgh Gate. The wind was whistling through, echoing in a ghostly manner and sending chills down her spine. Nutty was wrapped tightly in her coat, but was emitting a Flash, helping to guide her trainer.

“I hate going through tunnels.” Sahara muttered. “I can never see where I am going.”

“Pachi.” Nutty said, nodding in agreement. The light was showing a clear path up ahead, and Sahara felt slightly more confident. There was a small amount of light up ahead, and all the trainers seemed to have not bothered coming through, making the trip far more enjoya-

“ARRRGHH!”
Sahara’s left foot collided with a rock, and she sprawled forwards. Nutty let out of the coat, and tried to position herself to save her, but Sahara splattered onto a rock, her face narrowing missing a sharp point.

“Ow.” Sahara moaned; her hands were grazed, and she was winded.

“Pachirisu?” Nutty asked, looking worried.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Sahara said, clutching her side.

“Do you need a hand?” Sahara turned around, and nearly cried out again.

Vanessa was standing over her, her left arm outstretched. But Sahara was focusing more on the fact that her dress appeared to be made out of light. Yellow light was emitting from her chest and legs, causing the rest of her body to glow. She was also wearing a black headband and black heels, both with a small light on them. Her yellow bag hung loosely from her shoulder, and something was poking out.

“Thanks.” Sahara said, and clamped her less injured right hand around Vanessa’s wrist, and hoisted herself up. “I’ve heard of loud outfits, but I think this is ridiculous.” She let out a laugh, but Vanessa scowled slightly.

“I decided to put LED’s on my dress today, I’ve lost my torch.” Vanessa explained, clambering over the rocks. She seemed to have been sitting behind two large boulders with cracks in them.

“Where did you go yesterday?” Sahara asked, as she pressed dust off her coat. Vanessa looked at her a bit shiftily, and then forced a smile.

“I had to do some work on a few inventions, and design my dress.” She said quickly. Nutty leapt onto Sahara’s shoulder as she stood away from the rocks.

“You invent stuff, that’s pretty cool.” Sahara smiled, and Vanessa nodded, and Sahara decided not to pursue. “So, are you going to battle Roark, he’s the first gym leader, isn’t he?”

“Well duh.” Vanessa scoffed. “I am in the league, aren’t I?” Sahara rolled her eyes, and went to ask anything question, but suddenly let out a scream. Vanessa was puzzled, but all thought left her as something smashed onto her head.


Oreburgh City

While the sky was grey and cloudy around the rest of Sinnoh, the sun was shining down upon Oreburgh. Most of the town seemed to be asleep, leaving the rocky ground empty and the dusty undisturbed. The buildings were all low compared to Jubilife, so they cast little shadows, and seemed microscopic when compared to the museum, which liked like any typical museum on the outside, with cold grey walls and large pillars over the steps.

Then there was the gym.

It was on a hill that had been shaped flat. There were many boulders and rocks scattering it, and a roughly carved staircase. The gym itself was brown and white, like most gyms, though there were no windows, as the walls and roof could retract, opening it up on
beautiful days.

Matthew looked up at the glass doors, and then to Piplup, who was on his shoulder.

“I am ready to go in when you are.” He said, his voice shaking slightly.

“Piplup Pip Pip!” Piplup said sternly, and hit him over the head.

“Your right, I just need to do this. We are prepared, we can’t lose.”
Piplup smiled, and Matthew, feeling increasingly more confident, began to walk towards the gym. But he had barely put a foot on the first step when the doors opened, water gushing out.

“ARRGH!” Matthew yelled, as the wave rushed towards him. He tried to run, but wasn’t fast enough. Several second later, he was submerged in water, trying to keep his mouth shut as he knees and shins hit the ground, and Piplup disappeared from his side. After rolling over numerous times, the water began to subside, and Matthew landed on his back, soaked to the skin.

“Piplup!” Piplup cried, and Matthew opened his eyes, blinking out the water as he heard splashes. Piplup then loomed over him, looking forward.

“I am fine.” Matthew said, smiling as he brushed hair out of his eyes, but as he got up, he coughed, spluttering water down his front. Piplup use Pound on his back, and more water came out.

“That was a bit unnecessary.” Matthew moaned. He managed to stand up, just as a shadow cast over him. Matthew looked up, and found Xavier in front of him, sitting on the back of Lapras.

“Sorry about that.” Xavier said. “I just had a battle with Roark, and our attacks accidentally flooded the field.”

“I figured.” Matthew said, as he took his jacket off, and found his shirt now completely see through. “Did you win.” Lapras beamed at this, and Xavier pulled out his green badge case, and flipped to reveal the Coal Badge, which looked light a misshapen brown PokeBall, with a flat bottom.

“It was quite an easy battle, I presume you are going to battle?” Xavier asked.

“Of course.” Matthew nodded. “Was he easy.”

“I can’t compare him to anyone, he is my first major battle.” Xavier replied.

I have battle much tougher opponents. Lapras thought. Matthew looked around, wondering where the voice had come from, but Piplup was rushing up the steps.

“I better go.” Matthew said. He paused for a second, waiting for a ‘good luck’, but Xavier just stared blankly at him. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Matthew rushed up the steps for his first battle.


Galactic Headquarters

Jupiter considered herself to be a strong woman. People generally mocked her due to her purple hair, which she had styled so that most of it rose into the air, shaped like an oval. She usually had luscious purple lipstick, which stood out on her pale skin. Her was like a jumpsuit, as the shirt and pants were joined together. The shirt part had black striped arms and a black upper, but it went to white after the breast. The white mingled into the right leg, stopping at two grey stripes. The left leg had a top black bit, and then a large black ring around her knee. She topped it of with knee high socks and white boots. Jupiter loved her life and herself, and made everyone else know that she was number one.

But this morning, Jupiter was highly unimpressed. She had been given the remedial task of delivering the uniform to a new grunt. ‘It’s a special grunt’, Draco had said, when he forced it into her hand.

“What would that swine know?” Jupiter huffed, as she clunked through the grunt sleeping quarters. Several men were moving personal items out of a room, which amused Jupiter. The grunts were always getting themselves killed, they were such idiots. She reached the room, and flung the door open. Charles was lying on the bed, still only wearing his underwear, with Elle nestled against his shoulder.

“What do you want?” Charles asked, as he realised Jupiter was there.

“I am meant to deliver your uniform, but I think you’ll look better without it on.” Jupiter smirked, as she tossed the white and grey outfit on a stool. Elle let out a giggle, and Charles gave her a look before grabbing the clothes.

“Can’t I have some privacy?”

“Oh, of course, silly me.” Jupiter said, laughing fakely. She closed the door, and then walked over and sat on the bed, watching Charles intently. He sighed, and quickly pulled a white singlet on and the black pants. He was about to pull on the socks and boots when the door was flung open. Mars, the British woman from the previous day, walked in, smiling widely. Charles looked at the bottom of her outfit. The dress was up quite high and stuck out, and would have been revealing if she hadn’t been wearing black pants and the usual boots.

“I was right, he is a cutie.” Mars said, and gave him a little curtsey. “It is such an honour to finally have an available attractive man around here.” And she wrapped her arms tightly around Charles’ arm.

“Mars, would you live the grunts along for one minute.” Jupiter scoffed.

“At least you’ve got someone.” Mars said, leaning on Charles’ shoulder and gave him puppy dog eyes. “I wouldn’t come near the admin quarters if I were you, she and Saturn are always going at it every other night.”

“Urm… interesting, I really didn’t need to know that.” Charles muttered, as he wrenched his arm free. Elle leapt off the bed and stood between him and Mars.

“Eevee Eva Vee!” She said, her fur standing up on end. Mars looked down at her, before tipping her head back and cackling.

“Look at this Jupiter, the little fox thing thinks she can fight me.” She said, dancing slightly. However, Eevee’s eyes suddenly flashed pink, and a heart appeared in front of her.

“I recommend you move.” Charles said, smiling and backing away. Mars raised an eye, but the heart was getting bigger. Suddenly, after it had become twice the size of Eevee’s head, it collapsed, turning into a pink orb.

“EEVEE!” She yelled, and a pink beam was fired. Mars was hit square in the chest, blasting her backwards. She smashed into the back wall, causing it to crack. Jupiter was shocked, but Charles happily put the jacket on and turned to her.

“Now, I believe I have to go some sort of training?” Jupiter seemed shocked, but she looked over at the stunned Mars and smirked.

Let the boy think the ball’s in his court, he’ll learn soon enough. She thought, before heading towards the door.


Oreburgh Gate

“HELP, SOMEONE HELP!” Sahara screamed, as the mysterious figure approached her.

“I recommend you stop screaming.” The person said, stepping over Vanessa. Sahara looked, and saw that it was a teenage boy, around their age, wearing lots of leather and with filthy long brown hair.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Sahara said, as Nutty began to glow.

“I am Emerson, and I am here to deal with this bitch.” He said, glancing at Vanessa.

“What did she do to you?” Sahara asked.

“She highly embarrassed me the other day, and I vowed to myself not to let her get away with it.” Emerson fumed. “I consider myself to be a very good trainer, and she went and ruined my reput-” Emerson froze in mid sentence, his face distorted in pain. Sahara was about to ask why, but he fell forwards, one of Vanessa’s heels jammed into the back of his pants.

“I warned you about wearing leather again.” Vanessa grunted, as she stood up and removed her shoe. Sahara looked stunned, but Vanessa didn’t seem to fussed about it. Nutty stopped glowing and went over, and prodded Emerson in the cheek.

“Um…. what is going on here?” Sahara asked.

“Oh, I battled this guy the other day, easily creamed him.” Vanessa said, wiping dust and temporarily blocking the light. “He seemed like the type to hold a grudge, but it takes more than a punch to the head to bring me down.” Vanessa said, laughing. Sahara just nodded, feeling slightly nervous. This was made worse when Vanessa bent down and grabbed a rock.

“What are you doing?” Sahara asked, but was answered a second later when Vanessa smashed it into the side of Emerson’s face, knocking him out cold.

“That is a bit unnecessary.” Sahara muttered.

“If you say so.” Vanessa sighed, and then grabbed his long hair. “Are you going to stand there and judge, or will you help me carry him?” Sahara was uncertain, but she didn’t want Vanessa to do anything wrong, so she grabbed Emerson’s legs as Vanessa pulled him by his hair, and the two carried him deep into the gate.


Oreburgh Gym

The Oreburgh Gym looked like a mountain landscape. There were a number of rocks rising out of the sandy ground. There were several thin bridges stretching along several of the formations, where several Hikers and a junior were sitting, along with Xavier and Turtwig. Matthew felt very nervous, as he clutched a PokeBall in his hand and tried not to think about crashing and burning. He mumbled constantly to himself about winning, hoping it would help. He didn’t realise when a man walked on from a door at the opposite end.

Roark was only in his early twenties, and had a smooth face, though it was covered by his long, red-brown hair and large glasses. He was wearing a grey jacket with yellow and black striped cuffs over a black shit. His pants were grey, and were tucked into his black gumboots. A helmet was on his head, with a light at the front.

“You must be Matthew.” Roark said, smiling warmly.

“Y-y-yes.” Matthew stuttered, nodding.

“The rules are pretty simple. I am using three Pokemon, but you can use any amount.” Roark explained, pulling a PokeBall out of his pocket. “The match ends when one of us loses all our Pokemon. If you win, you get the Coal Badge. If you lose, you can try for it again later.”

“Okay.” Matthew said.

“You start.” Roark said, and Matthew nodded, his hand shaking.

“Pi-pip-pip-Piplup, I choose you!” He said, and threw the ball onto the field. It burst open, and the red light formed into Piplup, who stood up straight, showing much more confidence than her trainer.

“Geodude, come on out.” Roark said, and threw his Pokemon onto the field. Geodude flexed his muscles menacingly, but Piplup didn’t budge.

“Start off with Bubble!” Matthew ordered.

“Geodude, use Tackle!” Roark said. Piplup fired a small amount of bubbles, but they managed to cause Geodude great discomfort, before he charged and tackled Piplup backwards, causing the penguin to roll.

“Pip.” She moaned. Matthew was worried, but Piplup gave him a stern look, and he knew to continue.

“Piplup, use Bubble again!” Matthew said, trying to keep his cool.

“Geodude use Rock Throw.” Roark cried. As Geodude grabbed a rock from the field, Piplup fired more bubbles. Geodude was blinded, and when he threw the rock, it skimmed over Piplup and smashed into the wall.

“You are going good Piplup, use Bubble again.” Matthew said with a beam.

“Tackle.” Roark said bluntly. He seemed to know what would happen, and sure enough, the bubbles had weakened Geodude enough: he landed with a thud, emitting a disgruntled ‘Geo’ before fainting. Matthew punched the air, smiling broadly.

“Yeah!” He said.

“Piplup!” Piplup added, doing a little jig. Matthew heard a ‘Turtwig Tur’ from above as Turtwig edged Xavier onto cheering.
“Um… that was a strong Bubble Piplup.” Xavier said at last.

“That’s a compliment in his books, take it.” Matthew muttered, and Piplup giggled.

“Good job, you did alright for a beginning trainer.” Roark said, as he brought Geodude back. “However, you must always be prepared for what your opponent has in store next.” Matthew’s joy quickly left him, as Roark switched PokeBalls.

“Onix, show him what you’re made of!” Matthew gasped as the PokeBall opened: it was the most light he had ever seen. Then, the giant rock snake formed, his head touching the top of the roof. There was a whirr, and the roof began to slide apart, giving it more room. The Onix opened his mouth wide, as Piplup stared at it blankly.

“Oh fu-” Matthew began, but Onix emitted such a loud roar that he and Piplup were blasted backwards, as Roark smirked with triumph. Matthew stood back up, rubbing his shoulder, but Piplup was staring at Onix, positively frightened.

“I don’t think you should battle him if you feel too uncomfortable.” Matthew said.

“Piplup Pip!” Piplup said, and rushed towards her trainer. Matthew smiled and pulled out the PokeBall, brining her back.

“Ok Milotic, look’s like it is up to you!” Matthew said, and he threw out another PokeBall. Milotic formed, coiling herself up.

“Interesting choice.” Roark said. “Let’s see how she deals with my Onix’s Bind!” And with another echoing roar, the battle continued.


Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division

The Galactic Grunts had to be trained in a secure area, away from prying eyes. So Cyrus had brought a large field behind Veilstone City that was surrounded by trees, completely blocking out the building.

There were four sleeping huts in the corners, and then there was a large, three storey building, that was a plain white, in the centre, surrounded by pathways, courtyards and training courses. The first floor of the building was the home to the uniforms and weapons, a healing centre, a kitchen, a gym and a recreational facility for both Pokemon and humans, with a pool, tennis court and games room. The second floor had a variety of different changing fields (water, mountain, cave, snow and grass) to battle on, along with more courses. The final floor had an open roof, and was a large training area, with an obstacle course around the sides, and the biggest battle field of the complex was in the centre, with a large G replacing the PokeBall symbol.

Charles and Elle were quite silent as the lift rose up, classical music playing overhead. Jupiter had showed Charles the way to go, and had then gone to deal with Mars. Charles felt awkward inside the pristine white building. He didn’t belong in this world, he belong back in Johto, with Lyla. There was a bell, and the lift doors parted, and Charles looked down at Elle.

“Well, here we go.” He said.

“Eevee.” Elle replied, and they stepped out.
Despite his initial reactions for Team Galactic, Charles was amazed at the top floor. There was a large obstacle course that looked like an oversized playground, with large wooden walls to climb, bars to swing from, rope bridges, a variety of platforms to leap onto and more stuff Charles couldn’t even see. However, in the middle of the battle field, about a dozen grunts were standing a line, each with a Pokemon by their sides. All of them were male, but on the end was a very tall, stunningly attractive black girl. She looked over at Charles and signalled for him to come over.

“You look familiar.” Charles muttered, as he stood next to her.

“I was on the airship when you woke up.” The girl said. Elle walked over to the Beedrill that was by the girl, and they began a conversation, which made the girl smile. “I am Roshonda, by the way. And I know your Charles.” She added before he could reply.

“So, why are we all lined up?” Charles asked.

“Draco is on his way.” Roshonda whispered. Charles was about to ask if Draco was who he thought he was when there was a ding. He turned and saw a man walk out of the lift.

He looked like he was in his late teens, with long, shaggy blonde hair that covered his thin, tanned face, a large, dark blue trench coat with turquoise lining, and black leather boots. A large metal contraption was on his left wrist: it looked like an enlarged computer mouse, and even had several buttons on it. A Glalie was floating above his shoulders, staring menacingly at the other Pokemon.

“Glalie, Icy Wind!” Draco snapped, his voice rough and hoarse. Charles seemed surprised, but the others trainer were prepared.

“Granbull, use Hyper Beam!”

“Skarmory use Sky Attack!”

“Omanstar use Surf!” Some Pokemon attacked, some used successful evasion moves, but the Glalie was able to dodge most of the attacks.

“Beedrill use Sludge Bomb!” Roshonda yelled. Beedrill leapt into the sky, a purple ball forming between his stingers.

“Bee Bee!” He yelled, and threw it. It hit Glalie, erupting and showering the field with purple sludge.

“Well done Roshonda.” Draco said, as he whipped out a Full Heal and sprayed Glalie with it. “You have learnt well.” He then looked towards Charles, and smiled. “Welcome, new recruit. My name is Draco, and you are probably aware that I am the trainer for the grunts.”

“I heard something like that.” Charles replied.

“Ok, in today’s lesson, we will be battling inside the tunnel, and – Powder Snow!”

“Shadow Ball!” Charles roared. He had been expecting another attack, and Elle leapt forwards and fired the black-purple ball, just as Glalie fired a snow ball between his horns, and then rolled and tossed it. The two collided, causing snow to be scattered around.

“Very good, you are very sharp on your feet.” Draco said, nodding. “I looked in your file, it said that you competed in the Johto League.”

“I have a file?” Charles asked, but the comment was brushed aside.

“It also said that you lost out in your last battle against Lance.” Draco added, smirking now. “Why was that, exactly?”

“I did my best, using my six best Pokemon at the time: Ampharos, Tauros, Typhlosion, Dragonair, Gyarados and Lugia.” At the mention of Lugia, several grunts looked shocked and muttered to each other, and Roshonda’s eyes widened. “But he pulled out all the moves, and I ended up losing spectacularly, only knocking out one of his Pokemon.”

“You should have used an Ice type, they are very effective.” Draco said.

“I’ll obtain one in the near future than, if that suits you.” Charles snarled back. His mild excitement about the third floor had quickly evaporated, and he was now furious with the trainer. Roshonda had noticed, and turned to him while Draco explained today’s practice course.

“I wouldn’t get on his bad side, he can get nasty.” She muttered. Charles nodded in thanks.

“You each need two Pokemon for this course; you’re normal Pokemon and a dark or ghost type.” Draco was saying. “Your team will enter the tunnel through different entrances. The first three to reach the end will be given easier tasks on tomorrow’s mission, while the losers will be on the front line. You may battle each other, and must use your Pokemon to get past certain obstacles.” Everyone seemed to be getting tense, but Charles was a bit perplexed. He didn’t quite get what he meant by mission, and the obstacles didn’t sound too great.
But there was a whirr, and holes opened up in front of them.

“Eee Veva.” Elle huffed, as she moved backwards. Draco waited into the holes were fully opened, and then grinned.

“Ok, go!”


Oreburgh Gate- Basement Floor

It took ten minutes to carry Emerson down to the lower section of the tunnel. There was a Veteran meditating by candlelight, but the two groups ignored each other.

“You have a water type, don’t you?” Vanessa said suddenly. Sahara stopped as well, and looked downwards. Nutty moved forwards, and her flash illuminated the large stretch of water.

“Um, why?” Sahara said, nervous.

“There is an area over there; I want to dump him there.” Vanessa said, smiling deviously. Sahara gasped, and took a step backwards, accidentally dropping Emerson’s legs.

“That seems rather nasty!” She gasped.

“Hey, he punched me and probably would have hit you too.” Vanessa snapped, dropping Emerson’s upper body. “I just want to put him there and slow down his revenge, ok?”

“He does seem like an idiot, but I think trapping him is unfair.”

“I agree.” A voice croaked. Sahara gasped, but Vanessa drew a PokeBall from her pocket as Emerson began to stand up.

“Gave me a right bump on the head there, you little tart!” Emerson said, and he spat onto the rocky ground, blood in with the spit.

“What goes around comes around.” Vanessa replied. Emerson reached into his pockets and pulled out two Dark balls.

“I think that we need to settle our score.” He said.

“Funnily enough, I had the exact same thought.” Vanessa smirked, and pulled another PokeBall out.

“Magmar and Larvitar, bring the bitch down.” Emerson said, and tossed the two Dark Balls. The black light blended perfectly into the dark cave, and it was only when Magmar released some fire that they were noticeable.

“Chimchar and Shinx, make this quick.” Vanessa said. The red light was much brighter, and Chimchar’s tail lit up the scene.

“I think we should just sit and watch.” Sahara whispered to Nutty.

“Pachi.” She said in agreement, and they rushed and sat down on a rock.

“Larvitar use Sandstorm, and Magmar use Barrier.” Emerson said.

“Shinx use Charge and Chimchar use Ember on Magmar.” Vanessa ordered, and the battle began. Shinx began to glow yellow, and Magmar waved his hands, a thin white wall forming between the two sides, and reflecting light on Emerson’s Pokemon. Chimchar fired a small ball of fire, and it went through the barrier. Magmar barely registered as the fire hit him, leaving Vanessa mildly puzzled, but Larvitar suddenly fired a ball of sand into the sky. It burst, showering them all with sand. All of them, except for Larvitar, winced in pain.

“Excellent! Now use Bite and Fire Punch on Shinx and Chimchar respectively.” Emerson said ecstatically.

“Shinx use Thunder Fang on Larvitar, and Chimchar use Ember on Magmar again!” Vanessa bellowed. Shinx leapt forward and clamped electric covered fangs onto Larvitar, who cried out and retaliated by biting Shinx’s tail. Meanwhile, Chimchar and Magmar were firing their fiery attacks. Magmar slammed his flame engulfed first, but what he had thought was Chimchar’s tail was the Ember, and it went of course.

“GAH!” Sahara said, leaping out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack.

“Pachirisu Pachi.” Nutty huffed. The sand was starting to blind them, and they were oblivious to where they were going.

“Larvitar, AncientPower, and Magmar, use Fire Spin, both go for Chimchar.” Emerson growled.

“Shinx use Spark and Chimchar use Ember, both on Magmar!” Vanessa
cried. Sahara and Nutty looked around, and saw yellow, orange and brown attacks forming near them.

“We’re on the field!” Sahara yelled, and she ran forwards. The four attacks were fired, and rocks, a ball of electricity, a ball of flame and a line of fire all moved forwards. They collided in the middle of the field, exploding and releasing a powerful shockwave.

“Someone help ME!” Sahara screamed, as she was lifted off her feet. Nutty was crying out as well. Sahara hoped they wouldn’t hit the ground too hard, but as her head left the sandstorm, she realised the water was right in front of her.

“Crap.” She hissed, and she shut her eyes as she plunged into the pool.


Oreburgh Gym

“Milotic, use Whirlpool!”

“Onix use Tackle!”

The battle between Matthew and Roark raged on. The field was moist again, due to Milotic’s powerful Surf, but Onix was managing to hold on. He charged forwards, about to charge into her, but the sea serpent glowed blue and began to spin rapidly around. A giant Whirlpool formed, and began to float towards Onix.

“MOVE!” Roark yelled, but Onix was too slow. He was trapped, and was being spun around rapidly.

“Watch it!” Xavier gasped, and he picked Turtwig up and moved, just as Onix’s head smashed into the bridge he was sitting on.

“Sorry about that!” Matthew cried, as Onix landed with a loud thud to the ground.

“Milotic.” Milotic said, in her sweet, airy voice.

“You are proving yourself a strong competitor.” Roark huffed. “But let’s see how you handle my toughest Pokemon!” He brought Onix back, and then threw his final PokeBall onto the field. A human sized dinosaur, by the name of Cranidos , formed, and stared wickedly at Milotic. This creature seemed to have an evil smirk about it, and Matthew felt uncomfortable. However, Milotic nodded, and Matthew decided to proceed.

“Ok Milotic, use Surf!” Matthew cried.

“Cranidos use Take Down!” Roark yelled.

“Crani!” The dinosaur growled, and then charged forwards, moving at top speed.

“Accept it.” Matthew said, and Milotic didn’t move, and took the attack. The recoil caused Cranidos to move backwards as well, but Milotic recovered first. She let out a wail, and water rose out of the ground, forming a giant wave that blocked out Matthew’s view of the field. But Xavier, Turtwig, Roark and the crowd watched as the wave began to crash down, knocking asides what remained of the bridge, and slamming down onto Cranidos. The water went over Milotic, causing her no damage, but it swept Cranidos down the field, and the unconscious Pokemon floated up to Roark’s feet. Matthew didn’t realise what had happened, but he smiled in delight, and then rushed forwards, leaping up and hugging Milotic’s neck.

“We won, we won!” He yelled in delight.

“Milo.” Milotic said softly, and curled her body around Matthew, hugging him in return. Roark walked across the field, having return Cranidos, and smiled warmly as he pulled out another Coal Badge.

“Congratulations Matthew, you have earned this.” Matthew stretched a shaking hand out and picked it up, and his smile stretched even wider. Xavier and Turtwig came over, with Turtwig looking far more excited.

“Tur Tur.” He said, smiling.

“That was an excellent battle, a good choice of moves.” Xavier said.

“Thanks mate.” Matthew said, still grinning.

“Yes, it was a great job.” Came a voice from behind them. Matthew and Xavier turned, and found Palmer standing there, the sun shining onto him spectacularly.


Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

Several of the grunts quickly whipped out their PokeBalls, releasing out Gastly’s and Haunters, Duskulls and Houndours. Roshonda quickly pressed the button on another PokeBall, sending out a large Sharpedo.

“Sorry, but you have to go on land.” She whispered, and the shark nodded. “Good luck.” She added to Charles, and then leapt into the hole, followed by Beedrill and Sharpedo.

“We better get a move on.” Charles muttered, as more trainers took the leap. He pulled out a Great Ball, quickly releasing his Poochyena.

“Poochy!” The black wolf barked, panting.

“Nice to see you, now jump in the hole.” Charles said. Poochyena looked confused, so Charles picked both Pokemon up, gave Draco one last look, and then leapt.

He travelled down a sort of metallic chute, but it was painted black. The light from the third floor quickly disappeared, so Charles had no idea what to expect. After a twenty second drop, he suddenly hit something, and then curved up and flew through the air.

“WOAH!” He cried, as he landed onto a muddy ground. Elle and Poochyena moaned, and Charles quickly stood up. He was obviously inside some sort of makeshift tunnel. The ground was very real, but he tapped the wall, and it was hollow.

“I guess we have to get through this.” Charles mumbled. There was a small yellow light up ahead, and decided to head for that. “Come on, let’s go.” He said. Elle and Poochyena nodded, and they moved forwards, staying close to Charles’ feet. After walking a few metres, there was a crack, and a beam came their way.

“Elle, Shadow Ball!” Charles yelled. But another beam was falling. “Poochyena, use Sucker Punch!” Elle fired the purple-black ball, and Poochyena ran and used his right front paw to hit the beam. The two beams cracked, but the roof began to creak ominously.

“RUN!” Charles cried, and the two pounded down the track. Behind them, the roof continued to cave in. The light was getting closer, and Charles smiled with relief, but suddenly white arches shot towards him, and Poochyena tackled him out of the way.

“Thanks.” He said, spitting mud out. “Elle use Secret Power!” Elle formed a small white ball, which sparked with electricity due them to being inside, and then fired it. The opponent dodged, and it fell into the light.

“Beedrill!” Charles gasped. Roshonda stepped into the light, slightly hunched with the weight of Sharpedo.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it was you.” She said.

“It is alright.” Charles smiled, nodding. “Your Beedrill has some alright moves.”

“Same with yours.” Roshonda grinned. The two fell into an awkward silence, though their Pokemon jabbered to each other.

“Maybe we should team up; there are three good spots available.” Charles said at last. The thought had been floating in his mind since before he had jumped, but hadn’t had enough time to ask. Roshonda seemed taken aback, but she looked down at the bonding Pokemon, and then nodded.

“I never work with a partner.” She said. “The other girls have their own little groups, it is like school. It’ll be nice to do one of these courses with a friend.” Now it was Charles’ turn to be taken aback; he hadn’t expected to find a friend in the midst of this evil organisation. However, Roshonda seemed like a nice enough person, so he gave her a warm smile, and then turned to continue the journey.


Oreburgh Gate- Basement Floor

The splash was echoing in the cavern, and Vanessa realised what it was straight away.

“We have to stop!” She yelled, and rushed to the water’s edge. She couldn’t make out anything in the deep, dark water, and the blinding sand wasn’t helping.

“So, are you giving up?” Emerson sniggered. Vanessa wheeled around, leapt up and rammed her fist into his nose, causing blood to pour down his face. The Pokemon had stopped to stare at them, and the Sandstorm slowly subsided.

“This is far more important that a battle with low-life scum like you!” Vanessa hissed. She then rushed to the waters edge and pulled her dress up over her head, revealing a black singlet and orange boxers. Emerson went to say something, but Vanessa gave him the finger and leapt into the water.

She was instantly surrounded by darkness, and Vanessa wasn’t even sure how deep the pool was, and she didn’t want to hit her head or run out of breath. However, there was a bright flash, and Vanessa shielded her eyes from the white light. Nutty was kicking and screaming, swallowing water and pointing towards Sahara’s limp body. Vanessa nodded, and then kicked forwards, grabbing her friend’s cold arm. She instantly felt the strain of the extra weight, and it didn’t help that Nutty had clung onto her. Vanessa kicked upwards, trying to reach the surface, but her lungs were straining, her eyes were stinging, and water was creeping into her mouth. She cried out, causing bubbles to fly upwards. But the wait on her arm had disappeared: Sahara was floating around, smiling in a wicked yet goofy sort of fashion. With a devious grin, she moved upwards, leaving Vanessa behind. She was momentarily stunned, but then remembered the water pressing down on her and kicked upwards, Nutty swinging wildly. Vanessa gave one final kick, and her head burst through the water. She gasped with relief, and heard Nutty do the same. She doggie paddled towards the edge and pulled herself up, Chimchar and Shinx rushing over. Emerson was nearby, dabbing his nose and brining his Pokemon back. Sahara lay nearby, dripping wet and looking extremely goofy.

“You should have stayed out of the field.” Vanessa grunted. Sahara looked out, and then she cackled stupidly.

“Sahara has never been that bright.” Sahara said, and she giggled loudly. Vanessa looked shocked, and Chimchar and Shinx began to babble to Nutty.

“Chim… Chimchar Chim?” Chimchar asked.

“Pachi Pachi Pachirisu Risu!” Nutty replied.

“Shinx Inx Shi Shi!” Shinx added, but Nutty ignored the last comment.

“Did Sahara just refer to Sahara as being someone else?” Emerson asked.

“Yes, because I’m not Sahara.” Sahara said, standing up. She walked a few paces before toppling over, let out an overdramatic wail and then laughing loudly. “Whoopsie daisy!” Vanessa approached her, but Sahara batted her helping hand away.

“If you aren’t Sahara, who are you then?” Vanessa asked, moving back towards her dress.

“I am Eden.” Sahara said. “I have not been out to breathe for a while.” She looked towards her bag and stumbled over, making Emerson back away. She opened it up and pulled out a large glass bottle. The label had been pulled off, but VODKA was written quite messily around it. “Eden” took the lid off and tipped her head back, pouring half the bottle down her throat. She put it back down and shook her head, smiling.

“Pachirisu!” Nutty said, rushing forwards.

“Oh goody, my AA sponsor is here.” “Eden” grunted, and then giggled loudly.

“This has been really fun and all, but I think I am going to leave.” Emerson said. Vanessa gave him a look that made it clear that had cheered her up, so he turned and began to walk. “Until next time bitch.” He added, before breaking into a run. Meanwhile, “Eden” had stood up, and was heading after him.

“Where are you going?” Vanessa asked.

“I have seen you enough times to know you’re… a … cow!” “Eden” whispered, and then cackled again. Vanessa was startled, but was even more so when Nutty charged forwards, using Quick Attack. “Eden” tried to run, but stumbled again. Nutty hit her square in the back, and she stumbled to the ground.

“Chimchar?” Chimchar said, looking at Shinx. Vanessa left to their conversation and rushed forwards. A blue flash appeared on Sahara’s back, and it seemed to move. A second later, there was a groan and Sahara turned, rubbing her face. She looked up at Vanessa and smiled weakly.

“So, I guess you met Eden?”


Oreburgh City

The sun was at its peak, and Xavier and Matthew could feel the heat. Palmer noticed them sweating and took them to a sheltered café.

“So, have you guys caught any Pokemon so far?” Palmer asked, as a waitress delivered them their lemonades.

“Not yet, unfortunately.” Matthew said, blushing.

“I discovered that I have Mother’s Lapras.” Xavier said, swirling his straw around. Palmer looked shocked.

“Really, how do you get that?” He asked.

“It rolled across the floor when you hit Mother.” Xavier said bluntly. “I thought it was mine and pocketed it. Lapras has been quite helpful though.” Matthew’s eyes had bulged at the mention of hit, and Palmer tried to ignore the disapproving glare from the fourteen year old.

“That is very interesting. But you should give her back when you see Caro next, alright?” Xavier nodded and sipped his drink. Matthew continued to look shocked, so Palmer reached into his pockets and pulled out two boxes.

“I received these the other day, after I saw you two off.” Palmer said, and slid them across. “They are Poketchs, they have all these handy features for trainers. Anyway, I don’t need them, so I thought I’d pass them on. They were some of the last made, the headquarters blew up yesterday.”

“We know, we were in the explosion.” Xavier said calmly, opening up his box. Palmer gasped and stood up, knocking over his drink and shattering the glass.

“Are you alright? How did you get involved?” He said, looking pale.

“Oh, some clowns kidnapped Matthew. He was about to be shot but Sahara and I saved him. The building exploded as we left, but Lapras protected us.” Xavier said, putting his green watch on. It blinked into life, and revealed the time.

“Why were you kidnapped?” Palmer asked, curiously.

“I don’t know, the guy, Mr Ivan, said something about years ago.”
Matthew said quickly. His stony silence had been broken by the Poketch, and he quickly put his blue one on. Palmer sat back down, looking shocked. He rubbed his fingers through his hair and muttered 'Adrian'.

“Isn’t that your father’s name?” Xavier said, staring at Matthew. Matthew hadn’t noticed, but looked up, his face distorted. Palmer realised they had heard, and stood up.

“I have to go and make a quick call. Wait here.” He said, and turned.

“But what about my father?” Matthew yelled, standing up. He watched Palmer run off, and then collapsed back into his chair, the euphoria from his win slowly evaporating. Xavier looked at him, slightly puzzled, but Matthew shot him a glare, and Xavier knew enough to know that meant bad news.


Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division

“Hydro Pump and Twineedle!”

“Poison Fang and Quick Attack!”

The grunt, who had a Haunter and a Krabby, let out a gasp as a powerful jet of water, Beedrill, Elle and Poochyena charged for him his Pokemon. There was a large wave, flashes of white and purple, and then load moans as the Pokemon collapsed. Charles and Roshonda cheered with delight and gave each other a high-five. The grunt grumpily returned his Pokemon and then turned and walked towards the failure exit.

“Have we defeated everyone?” Charles asked, as they continued down the passageway.

“Sharp!” Sharpedo interrupted, as another beam cracked.

“Bee Bee.” Beedrill drowned, and fluttered his wings, firing an Air Cutter to strike the beam.

“I am pretty sure, there weren’t that many of us up there.” Roshonda continued, nodding.

“Poochy!” Poochyena cried, and suddenly tackled a wooden human that had slid out of the wall. It smashed to bits, and Elle jumped backwards to avoid a splinter.

“Let’s just run there, in case someone else shows up.” Charles said. Roshonda nodded, and clasped tighter onto Sharpedo as they sped forwards. The eight pairs of feet thudded against the ground, as Beedrill fluttered quickly alongside. A small light appeared in the distance, and gradually got larger. The walls began to shake, dust trickling down.

“It must be the final test.” Roshonda yelled. The floor was began to shake, and the walls were now starting to crack.

“SPRINT!” Charles screamed. Poochyena and Elle use Tackle and Quick Attack to give them extra speed, and Beedrill’s wings were invisible at the speed.

“Sharpedo is weighing me down.” Roshonda puffed, as another beam cracked loudly behind them.

“Keep trying, I have an idea.” Charles said. The light was bright enough for them to make out each other properly, and they could see the cracks in the walls were getting serious. Elle, Poochyena and Beedrill rushed through the exit. There was a splintering crash behind them as the roof caved in, a dust cloud chasing the two as they sped.

“Throw him!” Charles said.

“WHAT!” Roshonda cried, and Sharpedo bared his teeth at him.

“Just do it!” Charles yelled. Roshonda gave her Pokemon an apologetic look, and then threw him into the air. Charles then jumped forwards, and he fell out of the exit and onto a tiled floor. He raised his hands and caught the shark, though its weight landed onto him, winding him. Roshonda leapt out as well, narrowly avoiding the roof but getting struck by dust.

“Jeez, that seemed overly realistic.” She spluttered. She picked Sharpedo up and rested him against a wall. “Smart move, didn’t see it coming.”

“No problem.” Charles smiled, standing up. There was a movement and Draco appeared, his coat swishing and Glalie bobbing above him as usual.

“Congratulations, you two performed very well.” He said, though he didn’t seem too pleased. “The recreation room is available for you two, and you’ll be given cushier jobs at the job tomorrow. I recommend you have a good rest tonight, there is another training session tomorrow.”

“What are we doing?” Charles asked. Roshonda gasped, and Charles was confused until Draco towered over him, looking fierce.

“No one gets to know what it is, you can just guess based upon the training.” He turned and marched off, leaving being a tense atmosphere. Roshonda shook her head, before brining back Sharpedo and Beedrill and walking slowly off. At the door, she stopped and spun around.

“Meet me down by the pool, it is always really nice there.” She said, and then opened the door and pranced off. Charles was taken aback by this, but could feel his cheeks burning and knew that Team Galactic may not be that bad in the end…


Oreburgh City (Outskirts)

Vanessa and Sahara walked in a tense silence out of Oreburgh Gate. It was exceptionally hot, so Sahara took her white coat off. Vanessa turned her dress off, leaving her with a number of small bulbs. Nutty followed alongside, looking just as awkward.

“So… going to explain this.” Vanessa asked suddenly. Sahara looked at her grumpily, as if hoping she had already forgotten, but let out a sigh and froze. “Well, we can’t just pretend that didn’t happen. I want to know who or what ‘Eden’ is.”

“If you must know-“

“Yes, I must.”

“- I have Multiple Personality Disorder.” Vanessa froze as well, looking shocked.

“Oh… really?” She said, stunned.

“Yes, I do.” Sahara nodded. “I had been suppressing them with an experimental medication for a while, but it got crushed a couple of days ago.”

“Anything major happen?” Vanessa asked. Sahara pondered for a moment: she forgotten to mention Charles or his kidnapping.

“Er, no, just got crushed. I am a bit clumsy.” Sahara said, laughing slightly.

“So, is it just Eden, or are there others?” Vanessa asked. Sahara pulled an awkward face.

“Well, there are two others, both female though.” She said quietly.
“Names, personalities, other oddities?” Vanessa asked.

“The other two are Crystal and Jaki, but I don’t want to discuss this now.” Sahara said, and she began to walk.

“You can’t walk out of this, you have me interested.” Vanessa said, strutting forwards. “I need to know this stuff if we are going to be friends.” Sahara turned and slapped Vanessa, causing her red hair to fly.

“I don’t want to talk about it at the moment.” She said, tears swimming in her eyes. Vanessa looked up at her, about to make a catty reply, but the sight of the distressed Sahara touched the empathy in her heart, and she nodded.

“Ok, I’ll drop it, for now, that is.” Vanessa added. “I want all the juicy details as soon as possible.” Sahara smirked, and nodded.

“Pachi.” Nutty said, and leapt onto her shoulder. She turned and used her tail to brush away the tears.

“Thanks Nutty.” Sahara smiled.

“Sahara, Vanessa, over here!” The two girls turned and saw Xavier and Matthew walking towards them.

“Hello there.” Xavier smiled.

“Have you guys battled Roark yet?” Matthew asked.

“Not yet, only just got out of the tunnel. You two?” Sahara asked.
Matthew whipped out his blue badge case and showed them the Coal Badge.

“I easily creamed him.” He said.

“Well, not that easily.” Xavier said. “I thought I did much better.” Matthew gave him a short scowl, giving time for Sahara and Vanessa to exchange smirks.

“Oh, and we also got some Poketchs!” Matthew said, trying to distract from Xavier’s put down, and pulled his sleeve down to show off his.

“You are so lucky, I’d die for one of those!” Sahara shrieked.

“Really?” Vanessa said. “I found one at the SBC building yesterday and it wasn’t that great.” Sahara turned to her and smiled widely. Vanessa took a step backwards, slightly put off by this behaviour.

“If you don’t want it, I’d gladly take it.” She said, nodding her head with excitement. Vanessa looked slightly repulsed, but she reached into her bag and pulled out a white one. Sahara let out a squeal of delight, and clapped happily.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Sahara squealed, Nutty shaking dangerously on her shoulder.

“Anyway…” Vanessa said, as Matthew chuckled at Sahara’s happiness. “Should we go to the gym? This town is far too dusty for my liking, my clothes would be ruined.”

“Good idea.” Xavier said. “I’ll go with you, I could give you some tips.”

“Wonderful.” Vanessa and Sahara said sarcastically in unison. The four all began to walk towards the gym, chatting merrily and putting up with Xavier’s comments, enjoying the sunshine and trying to ignore the bothers of that day.


Galactic Headquarters

Even though it was a beautiful day outside; Cyrus had decided to stay inside. He was dwelling over the mission tomorrow, and had gone inside a quiet room. It was the same size as Charles’ room, though slightly bigger. The walls were a plain white, and a window was behind him, open enough to let breeze but not noise in. He sat on a cushy white armchair, but a notepad and pen on a stool beside him, in case he had ideas. Cyrus usually listened to classical music or soft pop, but today had decided to sit in peace.

That was, until, there was a loud knock at the plain oak door.

Cyrus let out an agitated groan, as he had just thought of a brilliant attack strategy. The door opened and Charon walked in, holding his laptop.

“What do you want?” Cyrus snapped.

“Oh, you know me, I just wanted to come in here and have you shout at me.” The old scientist replied, and passed over the laptop. “Here are the recordings from today’s grunt test. As you can see, Charles utilized the moves of both his Eevee and Poochyena to overcome all boundaries, and quickly bonded with Roshonda.” Cyrus stared intently at the screen, as it cut from a shot of Charles and his Pokemon running to one of him and Roshonda battling two other grunts.

“He won, of course?” Cyrus asked.

“Obviously.” Charon replied. Cyrus nodded and closed the laptop.

“I want him by my side for every minute of tomorrow’s mission.” Charon nodded and went to walk off, but he stopped at the door.

“I have been examining that Sahara girl since our encounter the other night.” He said. “My readings indicate that Eden arose today.” Cyrus looked up, exceedingly interested. “And, just for the cheery on top, she will most likely by around the Oreburgh Mines tomorrow night.” Cyrus’ face lit up with delight, and he quickly grabbed his notepad.

“This is excellent… excellent!” He said, and began to write furiously as he paced around the room.

“See, if was worth my ticking you off.” Charon smirked, and left the room this time. Cyrus didn’t even register this, he was too absorbed. Eden had appeared, Charles was finally within his grasps.

If the next few days went according to plan, the world would be his within weeks.



Sorry for the delay in double-spacing the previous stories. I just hope you guys are enjoying this series. If you have any comments about the series feel free to say so :D
 
Re: Galactic: The Gateway to the League

Rock and Roll All Fight

January 6th 2010

Oreburgh City

The sun was beginning to set in Sinnoh, and the sky was an amber colour, while the last shadows of the day were stretched out, as the light needed for their survival vanished. There was very little light left in Oreburgh City, as the whole city was surrounded by mountains and rocks. Most of the town was either heading in or preparing for their night out, but four young trainers were sitting on the sandy gardens outside the museum, taking in the last of the light.

There was Sahara on the end, her head resting on her white jumper and Nutty curled up on her chest. Next to her was Xavier, who was looking thoroughly bored about this and was flicking through a novel. His Turtwig sat to his left side, enjoying one of the lavish green plants. Matthew sat next to him, flicking through his PokeDex while Piplup yawned at his feet. Vanessa was at the end, with all her Pokemon out and a large bag of Pokemon food. Today she was wearing a purple sports bra like top, with long sleeves and gloves attached on the end. It was a rather bulky and pointy top, and looked like a large rock. For a dress, she was wearing numerous strands of rocks attached together and put around an elastic band, and she had slipped on a pair of grey high heels with rocks for heels. The four had spent most of their day at the museum, as Sahara and Vanessa won their gym battles yesterday, and there isn’t much else to do in Oreburgh.

“Are we going to Floaroma soon?” Matthew said.

“I’m not travelling at night.” Sahara said. “I am far too tired.”

“If you’re tired, go to bed.” Xavier said bluntly, as always. “Complaining about it won’t wake you up, but it puts everyone to sleep.” Sahara sat up, and she exchanged a look with Matthew over Xavier’s shoulders, and they both smirked. There was a disgruntled sigh from Vanessa as she stood up.

“I am really bored, I want to do something.” She said.

“We could train our Pokemon.” Matthew suggested, shrugging.

“I don’t believe we have an equal spread of Pokemon.” Xavier said. “You only have one, and Sahara and Vanessa both have highly trained Pokemon, and-”

“Oh shut it!” Vanessa snapped. “We might as well go back to that hotel; there is nothing else to do.”

“Good idea.” Sahara said, standing up and picking up Nutty and her jacket. She moved forwards and peered behind the museum to make sure the road was clear. No one cars seemed to be coming towards them, but there was a loud growling noise coming from somewhere.

“Can you all hear that?” Sahara said, looking around at the others. Xavier walked forwards and peered around as well. There was still nothing nearby, but the noise was getting louder and louder.

“It sounds like a car.” Xavier said at last.

“I know that!” Sahara snapped. “But where is it coming from? I can’t see any cars around.”

“Staraptor, take a look.” Vanessa said, as she, Matthew and the other Pokemon walked forwards. Staraptor flapped her wings and took off into the sky, and peered over the entire city. In the distance, five black cars were moving down a mud banker on the outskirts of town.

“Star!” Staraptor exclaimed, floating back down and pointing towards that area with her wing. The whole group moved out onto the road, and cautiously moved past the museum. Suddenly, headlights appeared and a Jeep Wrangler appeared behind a corner.

“Up here, quick!” Matthew yelled, and he grabbed Piplup and moved up. Sahara, Xavier and Vanessa grabbed their small Pokemon and they moved up the stone steps. They hid behind a pillar and watched as the five cars moved up towards the gates to Oreburgh Mine.

“Don’t those Team Galactic people own Jeep Wranglers?” Matthew hissed.

“Yes.” Sahara replied with venom. They watched as all the cars came to a stop right outside the gates. There was distant mumbling, and someone shouted. Then there were several red flashes, the clunk of something hitting metal, the creak of rusting joints, and then a loud, sneering laugh. The four exchanged confused looks just as there was a gunshot. The sound echoed across the entire city. They all looked back and saw the black cars moving down into the mine, and could see a patch of red forming.

“Should we call the police?” Xavier said, recovering first.

“The hell with them.” Vanessa said, and she moved forwards and jumped onto Staraptor’s back. Chimchar and Shinx followed and clung onto Staraptor’s neck.

“You can’t go after them!” Matthew said, looking thunderstruck.

“Just watch me.” Vanessa replied. Staraptor stretched out her wings and took off again, arching into the sky and heading towards the mine.

“I don’t see why she didn’t just walk.” Xavier said, as if that was the most pressing issue.

“Vanessa seems like the sort for dramatic exits.” Sahara said, before turning to Matthew. “Shall we go and help her?” Matthew looked at her with an uncertain expression, and he shifted his feet nervously.

“I am not sure. I don’t really want to get shot or anything.” He said. Sahara rolled her eyes and turned away.

“I’ll go and give her some back up, I am sure she’ll need it.” And she rushed away, with Nutty scampering after her. Matthew sighed and clutched Piplup tighter and followed. Xavier looked down at Turtwig, who was waiting for orders.

“I don’t cave under peer pressure.” He said. “Just because everyone else is going on this suicide mission doesn’t mean I have to!”

“Tur Turtwig.” Turtwig said, giving him a look. Xavier looked back at him before let out a groan.

“Fine, let’s follow the murderous loonies into the dark cave.” He said, as he began to walk down the steps. “I don’t see how this could end badly.”


Several hours earlier


Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division, Third Floor


“Return!”

“Flamethrower!”

Charles and Elle were completing their days training against a male grunt, Zane, and his Magcargo. Elle formed the pink heart and the pink beam, and then fired it towards the fire snail before it could
respond.

“Mag!” Magcargo cried, as it was blasted across the field. It landed right at Zane’s feet, and he let out a growl as Draco blew a whistle, signalling the end of the match.

“Charles wins, congratulations.” The long haired boy said, sounding thoroughly unenthused. There was a smattering of applause, and Charles beamed as he picked Elle up.

“Good job.” He said, smiling. “We’ve won three battles today.”

“Eva Eve Eevee.” Elle replied, beaming. Charles grinned wider and he walked over towards the other grunts. Most of them moved to console Zane, but Roshonda remained seated, smiling widely. Beedrill was next to her, and he and Elle started up one of their usual conversations.

“That was some great work.” Roshonda said, beaming.

“Thanks, I thought we did pretty well.” Charles chuckled. “But I would like to give some of my other Pokemon some chances to level up as well though. I haven’t battled with Gligar or Ampharos in ages, and I would like to give them a go.”

“Well, you never know what may happen tonight.” Roshonda said. “You could use them if we come across anyone.”

“Have you ever been on one of these missions before?” Charles asked.

“I have been on two missions. The first one was only a week after I got here. I had to stand guard with this other girl outside a library. Then some guy from the International Police showed up. I battled him and my Lileep won, and evolved in the process. The guy went to shoot me but Saturn got him first.” Charles looked rather stunned at this, but Roshonda shrugged it off. “It happens. My next mission was mid-last month. I had to go down into this cave to look for some sort of orb thing. Mars made us go underwater and we thought we saw something, but then someone electrocuted the water. I was knocked out, but Sharpedo pulled me back up to land and we fled. I got punished afterwards for being reckless and abandoning the others, though everyone survived.”

“I don’t see why you got punished, it seems like you did a sensible thing.” Charles said.

“Sensible isn’t something they like here.” Roshonda said warningly. Charles went to reply, but there were footsteps behind them and he looked around. A woman was walking into the room, and she wasn’t like most women you’d expect to see.

Her skin was the palest shade of white in the world, and it gave her an unhealthy look. Her fingernails were about two inches long and were a dark green. It matched the makeup she was wearing: green lipstick, green eye shadow, even green blusher. She was wearing a black leather trench coat that had a snake pattern to it, and was wearing matching knee high boots. And her hair was highly bizarre. Like the rest of her, it was green, and it was plaited, except for the end, which looked like a large bun that was swinging from a rope. Charles stared at the woman, his eyes wide in shock.

“That’s Ursilla, but everyone calls her Medusa.” Roshonda whispered. “She’s a poacher.”

“A what?” Charles muttered back.

“She steals Pokemon that other grunts use, or we use them as bargaining tools, to practice against, that sort of thing.” Roshonda explained. Charles was a bit shocked, but figured that it was something Team Galactic would do. Ursilla walked past the steps, shooting Charles and Roshonda a quick glance before walking up to Draco. The trainer seemed to be staring in awe at Ursilla, while everyone else tried to avoid looking at her.

“Apparently, Draco respects her as they both make tons of weapons.” Roshonda muttered, and Charles nodded.

“Draco,” Ursilla said, in a highly fake sounding posh tone. “I am here to collect the grunts going on this mission.” It took Draco several seconds to process what she said.

“Oh, well, most of them are here.” He said, and swept his hand to indicate all the grunts there. “I’ll send a message for Group C to meet you down at the garage.”

“You can take them; I don’t have that much room.” Ursilla said, and she walked over towards the grunts. “Stand!” She boomed, and the grunts all stood up straight. She walked along and past them, glaring down at those that were shorter than her. Then, she dramatically stamped her left foot, so that it left an echoing ring.

“We are going to the Oreburgh Mine. It will be a long drive, but it will be shorter if you all keep your traps shut! I don’t want to be disturbed. You will each receive a mission briefing shortly before arrival, but I recommend you all bring your full teams, preferably Pokemon that suit rocky areas, emit light or can use dig. Now MOVE!” And with the scraping of stands, the group moved, with Charles, Roshonda, Elle and Beedrill forced into the lead.

“What is her-” Charles began, but Roshonda hit him.

“Don’t talk, walk!” She hissed, and walked faster, so that Charles moved so quickly he was at the lift before he knew it. As he waited for it to arrive, he looked down at Elle, who was just as curious as he was.

No matter what he had initially thought, this mission seemed like it was going to be rather dodgy.


Ursilla had been correct; the ride from Veilstone to Oreburgh was long and tiring. Charles and Roshonda sat side-by-side in one of the Jeep Wranglers, which had four other grunts in it, with Saturn driving. Everyone was silent, as they were all anticipating what would come next. There other four jeeps had Mars, Charon, Jupiter, Draco, Ursilla, Cyrus and the other grunts. About ten minutes before reaching Oreburgh, Saturn pressed a button on the radio. Instead of music coming out, a large picture appeared on the windscreen. It showed a number of cross sections of a mine: it appeared to have a large staircase sort of entrance, and there was a large, reasonably flat basement floor with a large rock face in the middle.

“Oreburgh Mine is a hive of activity.” Came a voice from all sides. Charles recognised it vaguely as being Cyrus’ and leant back in his chair to listen.

“It has been open for several decades, and serves as the main coal source in Sinnoh and in several other regions. Our mission today is to bring down the mine. It supplies will undermine the effectiveness of Operation Overcast, so we must destroy all of its production. I will work on destroying the centre structure with the admins and selected grunts. Draco will man the basement floor with the grunts who will be destroying up supports and fuel tanks. Ursilla and other grunts will mind the front. If you have a black band on your uniform, you will be allowed into the admin area.”

Charles and Roshonda looked at their clothes and saw that a black band had been put on the uniforms at some point. They exchanged looks, as they did not remember that happening. But their confused pause had distracted them, and they had missed the last of the message. There stomachs suddenly lurched as the Jeep went down a muddy hill.

“We are a minute away.” Saturn said, and he pressed his foot down on the accelerator. The car, which had been passing through mountains and forests for the two hour drive, was now going past numerous buildings. Charles looked around, and as they passed a museum, he was certain he saw someone standing behind a pillar, peering at the passing cars. But as he turned to have a better look, the car braked and Charles lurched forwards. Massaging his neck, there were the clunks as the doors were opened. Roshonda opened the boot door and the two climbed out, as Mars’ car pulled up behind them. Charles and Roshonda stood to one side as the other Jeeps stopped, and Saturn and Mars had a brief discussion.

The other grunts began to gather together, and then Jupiter, Draco and Ursilla swept past them. Draco had his right hand clasping the machine on his left arm, and Ursilla had two thin mechanisms attached to her back. One was a lot wider than the other, and the other had a large sort of metal pouch at the opposite end. The three went and stood over with Saturn and Mars, as Charon walked past, tapping away at his laptop. There was some sort of bird’s eye view of the city, and a blue dot was signifying something behind them.

“She is nearby.” Charon said.

“EXCELLENT!” Cyrus said, a little too enthusiastically. His face looked very alive with delight, and he was practically prancing forwards. He stopped in front of the gate and smiled. He pulled out a PokeBall and pressed the button. A large Crobat appeared, and it fluttered around above his head.

“Crobat is very useful in caves, especially with all those darn Zubats in there.” Cyrus said adoringly, and then looked over at Saturn. “Would you?”

“Of course sir.” Saturn said, and pulled out his own PokeBall. There was a flash, and then a tall Toxicroak formed. It stared menacingly around at the grunts, who backed away. Cyrus chuckled as Toxicroak moved forwards to the locked gate. He swung his right arm, and the large spike protruding from his knuckle smashed the lock. It fell to the ground, and the gates began to creak open.

“Go to your positions!” Cyrus said. “I want this to be quick.” A majority of the grunts moved forwards, with Draco and Ursilla flanking them, leaving Charles, Roshonda and two grunts behind. Cyrus looked over the three grunts before walking in. He nodded at Charles, Roshonda and another grunt called William, who was looking overly proud about being allowed into the special room. But the other grunt was shaking frantically, staring apprehensively towards the mine as the grunts split up, half going into the mine and the others spreading out with Ursilla.

“You aren’t meant to be here.” Cyrus snarled.

“I-I-I-I don’t want to g-g-go.” The grunt said. Mars cackled with laughter at this.

“Look at the little baby squirm.” She said, clapping her hands with delight.

“Quiet!” Cyrus hissed. He looked back at the grunt and smiled. “It’s alright; you won’t have to go in.” And he whipped out a hand gun and shot the grunt between the eyes. The gunshot echoed around the city, and Roshonda looked horrified as the body collapsed to the ground. But none of the admins seemed to mind, nor did William.

“Get into a car; we need to get in there, quick.” Cyrus said, and he marched back towards a Jeep. Jupiter ushered Charles and Roshonda, and the two climbed back into their Jeep with Saturn and Toxicroak. He started the engine up, and the car shot forwards, and several seconds later, it plunged into semi darkness.


Sahara and Nutty ran across the dirty ground as the last Jeep Wrangler disappeared out of sight. She tried to ignore the corpse at the entrance to the mine and she quickly entered, with Matthew and Xavier close behind.

It was obvious just how important the mine was, as the conveyor belt that carried coal in from the mine was still whirring high above her. In between the red metal supports were a number of orange trucks with caterpillar wheels. To the right there was a large mound of coal and dirt, and on the left were a small staffroom and a large white building that the conveyor belts led into. There were white fences dividing up the area, but otherwise, it was just dirt.

“How disgusting.” Xavier said behind her as he passed the corpse. Matthew was retching slightly, but Sahara had seen dead people before, it didn’t bother her that much.

“I don’t know where Vanessa went, but I imagine she would have tried to follow them.” Sahara said, walking cautiously forwards.

“So, are you saying we need to follow her in?” Matthew stuttered, looking horrified.

“Pip Pip Pip!” Piplup said sternly, and nudged Matthew’s leg. He groaned and followed after the others.

“I think we are being watched.” Xavier said, looking around curiously. Even though the mine seemed silent, the air was thick with the presence of others.

“It is probably just workers.” Sahara said.

“But we just saw Team Galactic enter. It seems more logical that it could be them.” Xavier said.

“Too right you are, boy!” Matthew let out an over dramatic scream as a hideous woman stepped in front of them. There were dozens of red flashes as the grunts released Zubats up in the sky, and more as they sent out a number of Aron to block both ways.

“Who are you?” Sahara snapped. The woman cackled at this and began to walk forwards, unhooking one of the pipe-like weapons from behind her. This one looked like a handle had just been attached to a pipe, though the front seemed a bit separate from the rest of the mechanism.

“My name is Ursilla, and I work for Team Galactic.” She said. “Usually I am on the road, stealing Pokemon from stupid trainers like you. But I decided to come along to this mission. I thought it would be fun.” Ursilla than aimed the gun at her. “Now hand over all of your PokeBalls and no one gets hurt. Well, maybe.” She added with a giggle.

“I will never pass my Pokemon over to you!” Matthew roared, though the Aron began to step forwards, and the grunts all looked ready to fight, and several were clutching more PokeBalls.

“Turtwig, you don’t want to go with the ugly woman, do you?” Xavier said. Turtwig shook his head, but Ursilla’s eyes bulged.

“What did you just call me?” She roared, and marched forwards, prodding Xavier with the gun.

“I believe I called you ugly.” Xavier said politely. “I was merely stating my opinion.” Ursilla let out a horrific scream and went to press the trigger of her gun. However, a ball of fire came flying down out of the sky. Ursilla leapt out of the way as she pulled the trigger. A wave of some sort of orange energy shot past Xavier, causing him to fall over. The energy hit a grunt instead, and he was picked up and tossed into the sky. Sahara watched him go and saw a Staraptor up there, managing to avoid all the Zubats due to Ember and Spark attacks coming from its back.

“Thanks Vanessa!” Sahara yelled. A distant ‘No problem’ came in reply, and then the Staraptor swooped down, heading towards the mine.

“I’ll make sure you pay for this!” Ursilla snarled. But she had barely moved before something else fell from the sky, this time it was large, pink, and spinning rapidly. Ursilla was knocked even further back, and several of the Aron were struck.

“What the hell was that?” Matthew said, looking shocked.

“I think you’d find that was me!” Everyone looked up and saw a man standing on top of the coal pile, looking very smug.

“Isn’t that the strange man from Lake Verity?” Xavier said to Matthew.

“My name is Looker.” Looker replied, rolling his eyes. Behind them, Lickilicky halted Rollout and stood up straight. She extended out her tongue and wrapped it around Ursilla, who screamed and squirmed.

“Now, I think it is time we wrapped this up.” Looker said. He walked forwards, but overstepped and skidded down the mound. Sahara let out a gasp as Looker lay sprawled on the ground.

“Fight!” Ursilla yelled. The grunts all went to throw PokeBalls, but the three trainers had been anticipating this, and whipped their own out.

“Lapras, Waterfall!”

“Milotic, Surf!”

“Aqua, Aqua Tail!” Three flashes of red later and the three water types were there, forming a triangle around their trainers. For a moment, there was a tense silence, and then the three Pokemon attacked. Milotic blasted a wave down towards Ursilla. Lickilicky spat her out and leapt out of the way. Aqua swished his tails and knocked aside the Aron on the right, scattering them and causing them to hit numerous grunts. Lapras blasted herself forwards on a Waterfall, smashing into one of the orange machines. It cartwheeled a few metres before bursting into flame.

“I’ll go down into the mine, you guys stay here.” Sahara said, and climbed onto Aqua’s back.

“You can’t leave, you have experienced Pokemon!” Matthew whimpered.

“Wake Looker up, you’ll be fine.” Sahara said. “Can you take me into the mine.”

“Float Zel Zel.” Aqua said, and he dived into what remained of the water and sped through, spinning his tails and inflating his sac as Sahara and Nutty clung on.


Onix was not very happy tonight.
The rock snake usually didn’t mind the miners working nearly twenty four hours a day. He usually coiled up in a particular corner and slept, or went through a stroll underground, eating large boulders and sometimes the gems he found deep under Sinnoh. However, tonight, there was a lot of noise. Several cars had come in, bringing in lots of trainers in strange clothing. They had started to smash up the place, destroying boxes of supplies and barrels of fuel. Some people had entered into the main digging area, and Onix was tempted to go in after them and fight them. But lots of Pokemon were being captured by a boy with long hair. He had a strange object on his arm and was firing out beams. Onix watched as a Geodude was zapped and the rock snake growled before diving into the Earth.

Meanwhile, up on the crafted rock staircase, a wave of water cascaded down the steps. Aqua leapt up, making sure that Sahara didn’t fall into the water.

“Cheers.” Sahara said, stepping carefully onto a dry patch of Earth.

“Pachirisu Risu Pachi.” Nutty said, pointing down the chamber. Sahara could see flaming red hair a little down the way, and she smiled and moved downwards, with Nutty and Aqua following close behind.

“Psst… Vanessa!” Sahara whispered. Vanessa turned rapidly and pointed an umbrella into Sahara’s chest. Sahara raised a confused eyebrow and Vanessa lowered it.

“Sorry, I thought you might have been an enemy.” Vanessa replied, and she leant the umbrella against the cave wall. Aqua stood next to them, while Nutty went over to Chimchar and Shinx, all of them whispering to each other.

“Why were you threatening me with an umbrella?” Sahara whispered.

“I told you the other day I invent stuff.” Vanessa replied.

“You invented the umbrella?”

“No, I just added some, well, extra attachments.” Vanessa said quickly. “We need to be keeping watch; I want to find the right time to strike.” Sahara peered around the corner as well, and she gasped at the destruction. The grunts were torturing miners, shooting them in the knees and shoulders and stealing their Pokemon. They were destroying smashing boxes, tipping over barrels off fuel and capturing Pokemon. A teen with long blonde was shouting orders.

“This is disgusting.” Sahara said.

“I know, and we have to stop it.” Vanessa said.

“How exactly?” Sahara asked, taking a step back into the darkness.

“We simply cause a distraction and get all the grunts attention in one place. While that is happening, our Pokemon place the fuel barrels inside the Jeep Wranglers. We blow them up and this mine will start to fall down.” Vanessa explained, smiling.

“Oh cool, what is the distraction?” Sahara asked. Her chirpiness disappeared as Vanessa gave Sahara a bemused smile. “What- me? I can’t be the distraction!”

“I don’t want you to be the distraction; Eden is a much better option.” Sahara looked positively shocked by this.

“I don’t want to bring her out!”

“But she is loud and out there, she is the perfect distraction!” Vanessa insisted. Sahara went to walk away, but Nutty grabbed her leg.

“Pachi Pachi.” She said, looking up at her trainer with a sad expression. Sahara bent down and patted her head.

“If you want to help save the day, then I’ll bring her out.” She said. She pulled out a Great Ball and pressed the button, releasing Virus. “You help Vanessa out with whatever she needs.”

“Electi!” Virus replied.

“Aqua, you come with me.” Sahara said. Aqua nodded and waved a hand in farewell to the others. Vanessa gave Sahara the thumbs up, as she took a deep breath and walked onto the battlefield.


In the middle of the mine was the giant mound. The coal was mined from the outskirts, and was then taken up by Pokemon. It was placed onto one of two conveyor belts and taken into the building. There were usually three miners on patrol, with a number a Machamp helping each of them. But that had changed.

All three miners were laying dead, large gashes on their heads and
necks. Cyrus’ Crobat had knocked all of three Machamps out with Air Slash attacks, and Saturn’s Toxicroak had dragged them out of the way. All four admins now stood there, with Cyrus, Charles, Roshonda, William and their respective Pokemon. Elle, Beedrill and William’s Omastar stood poised at the entrance, while Charles, Roshonda and William held machine guns. Roshonda looked a bit apprehensive about it, while William looked very nervous. Charon was tapping into a machine, while his shiny Magnezone floated about them, providing a Thunder Wave to power the machine.

“The bomb is nearly in place.” Charon said.

“Why is it only nearly in place?” Mars pouted.

“These things take time.” Charon snapped. “Why don’t you go and sleep with another grunt whilst you wait?”

“Oh, I have already slept with enough for one day.” Mars said with a giggle, and winked over at William, who looked down.

“Putting asides Mars’ weird love life,” Jupiter said, holding her head up high to show more dignity. “Shouldn’t we be paying attention to down below? If that girl is in the area, she and those other brats might try and disrupt us.” Cyrus nodded briefly for a second and turned towards Charles.

“Boy, don’t you have a Gligar?”

“Um, yes sir.” Charles said, nodding.

“Send it out to spy for us.” Cyrus replied. Charles nodded and pulled out a PokeBall. He pressed a button and there was a flash as Gligar formed.

“Gligar Gligar!” Gligar said happily, waving at Elle and hugging Charles’ leg. But then he noticed all the other people and looked frightened. “Gli?”

“They are… friendly enough.” Charles said. “We need you to go down below and make sure that there isn’t anyone bad down there.” Gligar stared over at the others, but nodded and leapt upwards and dived back into the ground.

“Good good.” Cyrus said, and looked back over at Charon.

“I can’t seem to get enough power to override the system.” The scientist said, and looked grumpily up at Magnezone.

“Magne Magnez Zone!” Magnezone replied grumpily.

“Out of Thunder Waves.” Saturn said, scanning the Pokemon on a
PokeDex-like device. Cyrus growled and stared over at Charles again.

“Your Ampharos, NOW!” Cyrus cried. Charles dropped his gun as he fumbled for the PokeBall, and quickly sent out his Ampharos. She stood up straight and looked over at the Galactic admins.

“Ampha Ampharos.” She said, looking over at Charles.

“Eevee Eva Eevee Eve.” Elle quickly explained, and Ampharos smiled, but didn’t lessen her smile.

“Ampharos, could you use Thunder on that machine please?” Charles asked, bending down to pick up the machine gun. Ampharos knocked it into his hands with her tail, and then glowed yellow and sent out a powerful thunderbolt. The machine let out a loud whirr and began to glow. Charon and Cyrus smiled, and the conveyor belt stopped briefly.

“All the electricity is under our control now.” Charon said.

“Excellent, now send the bomb out.” Charon nodded, and placed a small device that resembled a PokeBall onto the conveyor belt. It began to move, and was swallowed by darkness in seconds.

“Perfect.” Cyrus said, beaming. “Now let’s destroy the rest of this mine.”


Will you get out of my way!

A furious Lapras blasted out a Psychic attack to clear away the last of the Arons, who had been gathering around her. They flew into the air and landed, unconscious, at the feet of several retreating grunts. Ursilla was struggling once again against Lickilicky, who was using all the water to fire Muddy Water attacks. Another machine had exploded due to the excessive water damage, while others had been moved around the field.

“I think we should go and wake Looker.” Matthew said, as more Zubats dive-bombed them.

“Pip!” Piplup growled, and pounded another one, who skidded to the ground.

“Good idea, he needs to command his Lickilicky.” Xavier said, and he rushed forwards. The two leapt over a fence, with Turtwig in front using Tackle to get rid of a Geodude. But two grunts jumped in front of them, holding up handguns.

“MILOTIC!” Matthew screamed, his voice going pitchy.

“Milo!” Milotic said, and fired a Whirlpool. The spinning top of
water formed, sucking up several grunts, including the two holding the guns, and numerous Zubats and other Pokemon.

“Thank you.” Matthew called. Milotic nodded, and then fired a combined a Surf to double up Lapras’ Waterfall, causing a giant tower of water that struck half the Zubats. Matthew smiled and he and Xavier rushed over to Looker, ducking under the Whirlpool as it hung in mid air. Looker was let out soft groans as they approached.

“Turtwig, Tackle!” Xavier commanded.

“Why Tackle?” Matthew said, looking shocked.

“I thought you woke people up using force.” Xavier said. Matthew sighed and put his foot, stopping Turtwig but causing him to topple over. He landed on Looker, who opened his eyes straight away.

“Well, this is interesting.” He said, pushing Matthew off. “Your faces look familiar, but I just can’t place them…”

“We were at Lake Verity when Team Galactic was there.” Matthew said.

“Ah, I see, your parents were there as well.” Looker said, nodding. There heard the crash of a wave as a Surf and Muddy Water collided, sending out more waves which hit the Whirlpool, causing it to crash.

“We require the use of your Pokemon.” Xavier said quickly. Looker grabbed his PokeBalls as he stood up, but he then ducked again as a Zubat flew towards him.

“Jolteon, Gallade, assist!” Looker boomed, and threw out his two PokeBalls. They flashed as they opened, and a Jolteon and a Gallade stood there, looking ready to battle.

“Pin Needle and Psycho Cut!” Looker commanded. Jolteon skin stood up on end, and thin green beams shot out of his white mane, striking down a number of Zubat. Gallade turned towards a grunt rushing towards them and slashed his right arm, which was glowing blue. Despite being several metres apart, the grunt collapsed, and his clothes had been ripped diagonally.

“You need to leave, get your Pokemon and scram!” Looker said, pulling out a handgun.

“Our friends are in that mine, and we can’t just leave them th- Piplup, just use Bubble!” Matthew shouted. Looker looked behind as Piplup fired some bubbles, striking down one of the Zubats.

“If you aren’t going to leave, than stick with your Pokemon, don’t let Ursilla injure them!” Looker commanded.

“What about you’re Lickilicky?” Xavier said, and pointed towards the
fence. Lickilicky was lying unconscious, and Ursilla had her other gun out. A strange red bubble was growing out of it, heading towards Lickilicky.

“Turtwig, Absorb!” Xavier yelled. Turtwig fired the small green ball, which struck Ursilla in the chest. Instead of draining energy like it did with Pokemon, the ball burst and blasted her backwards. Looker quickly brought Lickilicky back and rushed forwards, with Matthew and Xavier following. A grunt tried to halt them, pointing a machine gun towards Matthew’s chest. Looker raised his arm, and a second later the grunt lay on the ground, a bullet wound in his throat. The three jumped over the fence, and when Jolteon and Gallade joined them, each of the men had two Pokemon with them.

“Looks like I’m outnumbered.” Ursilla hissed as she struggled to stand up. Looker raised the gun and his finger was steady on the trigger.

“Come quietly Ursilla, I don’t want to have to shoot.” He said, and Ursilla gave a deep, manly laugh.

Oh Looker, we’ve battled each other, what, nearly thirty times, I think I know what you are like.” Ursilla said, taking very careful steps. Looker was looking a bit nervous, and Matthew looked over at Xavier, who was not sure about these new emotions. Suddenly, Ursilla lifted the gun up and swung it, knocking aside the handgun. But before she could fire her own though, Lapras sent out a Psychic, causing Ursilla to fly backwards and the gun to set off again, and it released a wave of energy. It struck one of the machines, blowing it up. Milotic and Lapras were hit with the full of the blast, and they were sent flying, smashing into Matthew, Looker and Piplup. They all got caught into a big pile, but Turtwig had tackled Xavier out of harm’s way, and Gallade and Jolteon had moved. Ursilla threw out a PokeBall. It burst open and an Arbok formed.

“Ar-bok-bok.” She said, rising up onto her tail, giving her considerable height.

“Jolte!” Jolteon cried, and fired a Thunderbolt, but Arbok dived down onto the ground and dodged.

“Hyper Beam!” Ursilla bellowed. Arbok sucked in orange energy, and then quickly released a powerful beam. Gallade tried to use his arms to protect them, but both he and Jolteon were blasted back, landing on top of the pile-up.

“That seemed unnecessary.” Xavier said, staring over at them. He looked back to Ursilla and found her right in front of him. She wrapped her left hand tightly around his throat and lifted him upwards.

“Tur!” Turtwig said, and went to tackle her, but Arbok slid over and chomped down hard using Fire Fang. Turtwig cried with pain as Arbok held him there, blasting him with fire.

“Put… him… down!” Xavier said, gasping for breath. Ursilla let out a loud cackle, and began to stroke her hair with her right hand.

“Right after I have done this.” She hissed, and brought down her right hand. Xavier watched as he hair began to rise into the air. It wasn’t hair at all, not even a hair piece. It was metallic and green, and the plaited part of the hair was moving, and it seemed to resemble scales now. The bun part of it was now high in the sky, and two slits suddenly opened, while a wider one opened near the bottom.

“S-s-snake.” Xavier whispered. And sure enough, Ursilla’s green hair was now hissing, moving and staring at him with red eyes. The eyes were very hypnotic, and Xavier found himself getting lost in them. They were just so beautiful and entrancing, and he wanted to reach out and touch them…

“NOW!” Ursilla bellowed. The snake opened its mouth and a cold, silver forked tongue shot out. Ursilla had pushed Xavier’s head down so his chin touched his neck, and the tongue struck his spine. Instantly Xavier’s body went limp, unresponsive. Ursilla smiled and began to walk towards the conveyor belt.

“It is a simple paralysis.” She explained, as she approached a dip in the structure. “It’ll wear off, but by that time, you’ll be dead.” Ursilla cackled and placed Xavier’s body onto the conveyor belt. He blinked at her, but he couldn’t even open his mouth to complain. Xavier just lay there, his body unwillingly frozen, and was carried up the belt. Ursilla watched him go and turned, thinking of how to deal with the rest.


Sahara and Aqua were moving quickly, ducking behind boxes and sliding into the shadows. None of the grunts were paying much attention; a group of Pokemon had banded together, and were beating up the more weak grunts.

“I think we should act now, before that guy comes over.” Sahara said, signalling over at Draco, who was scolding a grunt for nearly shooting him. “He looks like he is in charge.” She turned back at Aqua and looked very serious. “If Eden starts getting to out of hand, or they look ready to fight, just use your attacks to get them out of the way and bring me back, ok?”

“Floa Float.” Aqua said, nodding. Sahara nodded and turned around, breathing deeply and preparing to slip away.

Meanwhile, back at the top of the basement, Vanessa and Virus were carrying a barrel of fuel towards one of the Jeep Wranglers. They had successfully placed one, and Nutty and Shinx were helping to spray the fuel around the car.

“One-two-three!” Vanessa said, and she and Virus lifted the second barrel into the second car.

“Elec.” Virus said, and smashed open the lid and lifted the barrel up, and did a much better job of emptying the contents. Nutty and Shinx huffed, but they rushed back and knocked over a barrel and rolled it back.

“Cute.” Vanessa said, and picked up the next one and passed it to Virus, who strained to hold it by himself, but carried it back towards the third one, as Nutty and Shinx got theirs next to the fourth, but the barrel clanged into the edge of a tyre, letting out a soft bang, but it could still be heard in the echoing cave.

A grunt looked up, staring up towards the source of the noise. The Machop he had been about to catch rushed away, disappearing in the dim light.

“What is the meaning of this slackness?” Draco snapped, marching forwards.

“I heard something up there, something metallic.” The grunt replied. Draco looked curious, and peered around and stared up the tunnel. There was some sort of flickering fire up there. He was about to raise his gun and move towards it, but a beam of blue light struck his gun, and it was pulled away.

“Naughty naughty, you shouldn’t be playing with guns.” Said a sing-song voice, and it was followed with a drunken laugh. Draco turned, and saw that the others grunts had lifted their guns, and were pointing it towards a girl, wearing a long white coat and had her hands raised, one clamped around Draco’s machine gun.

“Well, well, well, you must be Eden.” Draco said, smirking and giving a slight bow. Eden giggled at this and threw the gun aside.

“I haven’t heard of you, but you don’t look that interesting anyway.” She said in a mocking voice, and then laughed again before reaching down towards Sahara’s bag. She rummaged inside and pulled out the label less vodka bottle.

“I don’t think Sahara is at the age limit.” Draco said, walking slowly forwards.

“What makes you think that I care about what that tart thinks?” Eden said, her voice suddenly changing and becoming deep. Draco looked shocked, but continued to walk forwards. Eden opened up the bottle and began to drink it.

“If you aren’t of age, why do you drink it then?” Draco asked, reaching towards the machine on his left arm. Eden stopped drinking and smiled.

“It’s my spinach.”

“Your spinach?”

“Yes, because it makes me stronger.” Eden said, and waved her hand. Draco was suddenly wrenched backwards; a blue beam had connected his machine to one of the fuel barrels, and, like a magnet, it was pulled towards it, dragging Draco with it. The grunts all raised their machine guns, and pulled the trigger.

Vanessa and Virus had just finished emptying the last fuel barrel when they heard the gunfire.

“Pachi Pachi Pachirisu!” Nutty wailed, looking shocked. Chimchar, who had been keeping watch and trying to avoid his tail touching fuel, rushed over, gibbering away.

“Let’s just start moving these out!” Vanessa commanded. She and Virus began to push the one they had just drenched. It rolled smoothly, though they had difficulty moving it around the bend. Once the bonnet was facing towards the fight, Virus gave it a hearty Low Kick, and it began to move forwards.

“Ember!” Vanessa commanded.

“Chimmm-CHAR!” Chimchar cried, and fired the ball of fire. It lit up the tunnel, and revealed the car about to smash into a grunt before the fire and the car collided. The windscreen shattered, the upholstery instantly caught alit, and than the car exploded, lighting the entire mine up and blasting numerous grunts aside.
The explosion caused lots of dust to trickle down inside the cavern.

“What the hell is going on down there?” Cyrus roared, as he heard shouts from down below. Charon pulled out his laptop and tapped away at it.

“Eden has come out.” He said, and Cyrus stopped his rage. Just then, Gligar burst through the ground, looking very horrified.

“Gligar Gar Glig!” He wailed, punching his purple pincers into the ground.

“It is alright, we heard the explosion.” Charles said, patting him.

“I need you three downstairs, right now!” Cyrus said, signalling for the three grunts to move down. Crobat, who had been hiding up in the shadows, fluttered down, looking ready to fight.

“Are we taking our Pokemon?” Roshonda said stupidly, her voice nervous.

“Of course you take your Pokemon!” Jupiter growled, and Roshonda looked nervous. Cyrus picked up a machine gun and led the way. Ampharos followed behind, and joined Elle and Gligar behind Charles, and the three grunts and their Pokemon quickly moved out.

“How long until the bomb goes off?” Mars said impatiently.

“Soon enough my darling.” Charon sighed, and Mars went and sat down on a rock, looking grouchy. Saturn and Jupiter exchanged looks and simultaneously rolled their eyes, and plopped down on either side of her.

Half the grunts were on the ground, some bleeding, others with their guns lying beside them. The others were either checking on Draco, who was slumped over many broken boxes, or they were standing up, staring in awe towards Eden. Her hands were outstretched in front of her, and about a hundred blue bolts of electricity were coming out of them, each one connected to a bullet.

“If you people had actually heard of me, you would have known that you can’t hurt me with metal.” Eden said, giggling with delight. She moved her hands around, and the bullets moved around with them. “I haven’t been able to exert my powers for a while.” Eden moved her right hand and positioned it in front of three grunts. More bolts suddenly shot out and attached themselves to the grunts. She flicked her index and middle fingers, and the bolts from her hand disappeared, and the bullets zoomed out and smashed into the grunts.

With a burst of blood, the three were sent flying across the mine, and they landed and rolled towards the flaming wreckage of the car. Suddenly, three of the boxes against a wall moved, revealing a stone staircase, and Cyrus, Charles, Roshonda, William and their Pokemon came out.

“Sahara!” Charles gasped. Eden looked over and smiled, as she transferred half the bullets to her right hand.

“You’re that boy she likes, aren’t you.” She cackled, and clapped her hands, causing the bullets to collide.

“What is wrong with her?” Charles asked.

“Do you know her?” Roshonda said, surprised.

“He doesn’t know me, he knows my body.” Eden said, and she laughed
even louder as Roshonda looked surprised.

“This is Eden, one of Sahara’s alternate personalities.” Cyrus explained. “I have waited a long time to meet you.” Eden stopped laughing and looked surprised.

“What are you, some kind of paedo?” She said.

“No no no, I have just heard about you.” Cyrus said, walking forwards.

“GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU PERVERT!” Eden screamed, and she clicked her fingers.

The world around them exploded.

All the bullets shot towards Cyrus, who leapt out of the way, but one hit his shoulder, making him scream. Ampharos, Elle and Beedrill fired attacks, but Eden dodged them. The remaining bullets nearly hit the grunts, but Charles pulled Roshonda to the ground. Crobat made several clicking sounds, and hundreds of Zubats and Golbats flew down from the ceiling, and Crobat led them in Supersonic attacks. Vanessa heard the commotion, and tried to see what was happening, but it was too dark.

“Let’s send the next one down!” She ordered.

“Elec.” Virus said, and he pushed the Jeep, and Shinx used Tackle to get it to move. Virus gave it a kick, and Vanessa narrowly avoided getting hit. Chimchar moved and fired the Ember.

Eden looked up just in time to see the Jeep exploding, and an orange fist of flame sent her flying, and she crashed into the back of the tunnel. There was a muffled roar from beneath them, and a creature suddenly smashed through the ground, and it collided with the ceiling, and rocks began to fall.


Matthew groaned and tried to stand up, but found that a gun was in front of him.

“So, are you going to be a good little boy and hand over your Pokemon?” Ursilla said.

“What happened to Xavier?” Matthew asked, as he gently shoved Jolteon off his legs.

“He is taking a little trip to find some coal.” Ursilla said, smiling evilly. “Now hand over that Milotic, or I’ll feed your Piplup to my Arbok.” And Arbok slid onto the scene. She hissed loudly, and Matthew leapt up in fright. He looked around and saw that Milotic was being crushed by Lapras, who was too weak to move. Piplup had gone to console Turtwig and hadn’t noticed, and Jolteon and Gallade were using their last strength to check on Looker.

“No.” Matthew whispered, and he felt the gun getting jabbed into his stomach.

“No?” Ursilla repeated.

“No!” Matthew said, more determinedly. Ursilla stared into him, and was tempted to release the snake onto him, but decided to do something slightly different.

“Wrap!” Before Matthew could blink, Arbok had wrapped her entire body around his torso, and was quickly crushing his ribs. Ursilla smirked and walked over towards Looker, replacing her energy gun for the capture one.

“Time to get down to business.” She smirked, and she pointed the gun. But before she could move, there was a blast of electricity and Ursilla was thrown backwards. Matthew looked up in time for a Dragonite to swoop down, and slash at Arbok with a Dragon Claw. Arbok released Matthew and went to fight with the dragon, but it blasted her with a powerful Hyper Beam, and Arbok was tossed backwards, along with Ursilla. The beam also struck one of the supports for the conveyor belt, causing the metal to twist and creak.

As Matthew gasped for air, he looked around and saw Palmer, who was spraying all the Pokemon with Full Restores and was waking Looker up.

“Where is Xavier?” Palmer asked.

“I dunno, I think he is on the conveyor belt, Ursilla wasn’t clear.” Matthew said.

“Piplup Pip?” Piplup said, looking concerned for her owner’s safety.

“I’m fine, we have to worry about Xavier.” Matthew said.

“I’ll get him.” Palmer said, and he turned to his Dragonite. “Are you recharged?” Dragonite nodded, and Palmer clambered onto his back. Before he could take off though, there was a shout and several grunts appeared, and Zubats began to descend from the skies.

“I thought those belonged to the mine.” Palmer cursed.

“I think the grunts backed off so Ursilla could have her way.” Looker said, as he stood up. Jolteon fired a Thunderbolt, knocking down a Zubat, but they seemed to all be regrouping.

“You lot bring them down, I’ll get Xavier.” Palmer said, and Dragonite lifted off. Matthew was momentarily stunned, until Piplup knocked him away from a Zubat, and he was brought back to his senses.

Xavier could feel the gears working underneath him, the metal whirring and moving. He was being lifted upwards, and could hear the coal falling into some sort of container inside the white building. If he fell in, there was a chance he would become buried with coal. He could suffocate, and probably die. It wouldn’t be that bad though, Xavier thought. It is better than a slow and painful death. And if he could have done anything, that would have made it slightly worse. As he couldn’t do anything, then he didn’t really mind it that much…

Get ready. Lapras’ voice echoed inside his head, and Xavier tried to look around for it, but, of course, his neck was frozen. Suddenly, a large orange hand grabbed his jacket, and Xavier could make out that it was a Dragonite that was saving him, and the messy blonde hair of the rider must be his father’s. Well, at least he wouldn’t die yet, Xavier pondered, as he was lifted up into the sky.

“Hello there son.” Palmer boomed, as he gave Dragonite a little tap, and he turned and dived back towards the ground. Looker was firing his gun left, right and centre, though only several of the bullets struck. Jolteon and Lapras were combining their attacks to exploit the Zubats weaknesses, and they were dropping like flies. Matthew was locked in combat with several grunts, and Piplup and Milotic were using powerful water attacks, while Gallade got rid of the actual trainers.

“Where has Ursilla gone?” Palmer boomed, as Dragonite gently landed, swiping at a grunt with Dragon Claw as he did so. Looker looked over and realised that Ursilla and Arbok had disappeared, leaving a semi crater behind.

“Must have buggered off when I wasn’t looking.” The agent replied. A grunt leapt and him and he pistol whipped him. “Fool.”

“What are going to do about these grunts?” Matthew cried, Milotic blasted them away with Surf. Looker pondered for a minute, and then smiled.

“Lapras, will you use Psychic around my Jolteon’s attack?” He said.

Is it fine with you? Lapras thought, staring over at Xavier.

Of course. Xavier replied. Lapras looked at Looker and nodded.

“Good good. Now Jolteon, use Last Resort!” Looker said. A small white ball began to form in Jolteon’s mouth. Lapras’ eyes flashed pink and the ball stopped growing and began to spread out. Palmer grabbed Xavier, who was still frozen, and rushed behind Jolteon and Lapras, and the others and the Pokemon did the same. The grunts, the Zubats and their Pokemon all charged for them, hoping to easily attack while they were all collectively together.

But Jolteon and Lapras both relinquished their attacks. A wall of white energy was blasted forwards, destroying the fence and one of the orange machines, and sending all of the Team Galactic team flying. Several smashed into the conveyor belt, another skidded along the ground, and all the Zubats began to fall to the ground. The flash of light cleared after half a minute, and the group parted, staring around at the limp bodies.

Good job.” Matthew said, and Lapras smiled.

“Let’s hope that is the last of them.” Looker said. “Now, we should move inside the mine, and then we could-” But what they could do was cut off. Only seconds before, the small bomb Charon had put on the conveyor belt had finally completed its journey. Along with several pieces of coal, it fell off the moving metal and landed amongst the mass of coal. The force of the land triggered a small device, and it exploded.

They all turned and watched as the white building was completely annihilated. The cloud of orange tore the two conveyor belts apart, forcing the metal away from it. The small staff room was crushed, and what remained of the orange machines was blown up. Palmer tried to get them to move, but the force hit them. Lapras and Gallade fired up psychic barriers, managing to protect Xavier, Matthew and the Pokemon, but Looker and Palmer were sent flying. Lapras struggled to hold on and there were engulfed with flame.

Oh frick. She cursed, and collapsed. The wall went down, and Lapras, Xavier, Turtwig and half of Milotic were covered. Gallade tried to hold on, but he too collapsed. Matthew clung onto Piplup and screamed, shutting his eyes and letting himself be picked up and get thrown across the ground.


As the dust cleared, Aqua rushed out, jumping over bits of the fallen roof. He could see Sahara’s body lying over her bag, covered in black dust.

“Floatzel!” Aqua said, shaking her. Sahara groaned and opened her eyes.

“My throat is killing me.” She moaned. She looked around and saw all of the broken rock and grunts. “Jesus, what did she do?”

“Flo Zel!” Aqua said, and pointing upwards. Sahara turned and gasped.

A huge Onix was right in front of her, staring down at her. It was the one that had been disturbed earlier, and had finally cracked after all the gunfire and explosions, and he burst out. He hadn’t intended to destroy the ceiling, but it gave an added effect of fright.

“That thing is tall!” Sahara whispered.

“ONNNNN-IXXXXXX!” Onix cried, and more rocks and dust trickled down. He lunged forwards, and Sahara squealed and raised her bag to cover herself. Aqua rushed forwards and Onix halted. He looked down at Sahara’s frightened look and moved backwards.

“On.” He said apologetically, and went to move off. Sahara stood up and suddenly had a brain wave.

“Wait!” She called, and Onix turned. Sahara pulled a PokeBall out of her bag and lifted it up. “Would you like to come on my journey with me?” Onix looked a bit stunned, but then broke into a rough smile and nodded. Sahara grinned and turned to Aqua.

“Water Gun please.” She said. Aqua grinned and fired the jet of water. Onix doubled over and Sahara threw the PokeBall. The rock snake turned into red light and went inside the ball, which closed and flashed. Sahara and Aqua watched as it flashed red, shrunk, and flew into her hand.

“Yeah, I just caught Onix!” Sahara said, smiling. “I think I’ll call him…. Smash. I think the ceiling would agree that.” There was a groan, and Sahara turned and saw one grunt, William, stirring. “Run!” Sahara whispered, and she and Aqua rushed off.

“OI!” William yelled, and he and his Omanstar followed after. There were muffled cries from behind the slide, as it had caved in, trapping in Charon and the admins.

Vanessa hadn’t bothered to check on the added noise, as she presumed it was from the Jeep. Instead, she was preparing to send the next one out.

“Ok Virus, on my mark!” Vanessa said, as Nutty and Shinx moved well back. “One…. Two….”

“VANESSA!” The red head turned, and Nutty looked up happily as Sahara and Aqua rushed forwards. “Vanessa, we need to leave, now!”

“Why, what happened? Did Eden do something?” Vanessa said, sounding worried. Her question was answered as Aqua let out a groan, large orbs of energy being sucked out from him. William and Omanstar were standing right behind.

“You nearly killed me!” He hissed, marching forwards with his machine gun swinging from its strap. “Now I’ll kill you!”

“Oh bugger off!” Vanessa snapped, marching forwards. She clicked her fingers and Shinx followed her.

“You won’t fight me?” William smirked.

“Of course.” Vanessa said, and she grabbed her umbrella. “THREE!” Virus kicked the car and Chimchar fired the Ember. William was distracted, giving Vanessa the chance to run. She held the umbrella handle in one hand, and wrapped the other around the fabric and twisted. The tip of the umbrella parted and a long sword came out.

Vanessa swiped down and sliced the strap of the machine gun. Shinx rushed forwards and fired a Spark at the Omanstar. It cried out and rolled backwards, and Shinx then initiated a Thunder Fang, just as they heard the car explode. Sahara rushed forwards, planning to hold Vanessa back, but she had to dodge a near miss from the sword and let her continue.

“I’ll still kill you, you ugly bitch!” William snarled. Vanessa let out an angry growl and ran forwards.

“Rot in hell!” She said, and twirled. The sword came flying and swiped diagonally down William’s chest. He didn’t even have time to register the blood pouring and turning his uniform red before he collapsed. Sahara gasped.

“That seemed unnecessary.”

“He would have killed us if I hadn’t.” Vanessa said.

“SHINX!” Shinx cried, and fired a final Spark. Omanstar was sent flying and smashed into the opposite wall. It fell to the floor and fainted.

“Good job.” Vanessa said, smiling.

“Shinx Shinx.” Shinx replied, and suddenly burst into white. Sahara gasped as Shinx began to grow, his tail and body growing. The white light dimmed, leaving behind a Luxio, Shinx’s evolved form. He had more black fur, giving him a mane and a spiky bit on top. He also looked a bit more serious than Shinx and was marginally taller, but still looked very playful.

“Luxio Lux Lux!” Luxio said, smiling.

“Oh cool a new evolution!” Sahara said, and pulled out her white and blue PokeDex.

“Congrats.” Vanessa said, patting Luxio, who smiled.

“Chim.” Chimchar said, coming over to congratulate.

“Let’s just get out of here.” Vanessa said.

“Agreed, I think it is caving in.” Sahara said. Sure enough, the ceiling was cracking, and dust was beginning to pour down. Vanessa, Sahara, Virus, Aqua, Nutty, Chimchar and Luxio began to run, and managed to avoid a falling rock. As they disappeared up the tunnel, footsteps sounded and Saturn and Jupiter ran up, looking around.

“They’ve gone.” Saturn whispered, and stared down at William’s body. Jupiter let out a screech and fired her machine gun into the roof. The bullets smashed in, and Saturn gave Jupiter a look before turning and leaving her to fume.


Vanessa, Sahara and their Pokemon rushed out onto open land, and found it completely devastated. There were huge crates everywhere, the white building was now a flaming pile of rubble, half of the conveyor belts had been destroyed and the mound of coal was on fire. Sirens were sounding in the distance.

“We have to leave before the firemen get here.” Vanessa said.

“But what if Matthew and Xavier are still here?” Sahara said, and she ran forwards, looking for them.

“They have probably left.” Vanessa said, sounding increasingly nervous. But there was a muffled grunt, and the two turned and saw Xavier lying, completely stiff, near the flaming wreckage of a machine. Piplup was with him, firing out a Bubble attack to stop the fire. Xavier’s jaw seemed to be stiff, as he was letting out cries through clenched teeth. Sahara rushed over, while Aqua put the fire out, and the other Pokemon searched for the others.

They found Matthew lying unconscious, with blood dripping out of his mouth, near the entrance. Lapras was lying near the fiery pile and Turtwig was trying to stir her, and Milotic was looking a bit sleepy but otherwise fine.

“What the hell happened up here?” Sahara said, as she ensured Xavier was fine.

“There was a blast.” Matthew groaned, as Vanessa gave him a hand.

“Tell us later, let’s just run!” Vanessa cried, and she and Sahara quickly brought back all the Pokemon, and then helped one of the boys each and ran. Matthew looked around as they went, hoping to see the corner or a brown or green trench coat, but no luck.
Looker and Palmer had fled and left them.


January 7th 2010


Oreburgh City Pokemon Centre


It was three in the morning. All of the Pokemon were being treated by the nurse, who was making sure they were at full health. Matthew, Sahara and a fully recovered Xavier sat around some seats, waiting to receive their Pokemon back. Vanessa had disappeared as soon as they had gotten back, and they were too tired to question where she was.

“Excuse me, I have your Pokemon for you.” The three turned as the nurse walked over, and passed around the PokeBalls and one Great Ball.

“Why do you only have one?” Sahara asked Matthew.

“I sent Milotic back, I thought she’d need the water.” Matthew said. “Why do you have four?”

“Oh, I caught an Onix.”

“Oh cool!” Matthew said.

“Where is Miss Vanessa?” The nurse said, holding out three PokeBalls.

“I am right here.” Vanessa walked towards them, and looked like she had tied a piece of rainbow silk around her body, making it look like a multicoloured snake was trying to crush her. Vanessa grabbed the PokeBalls and nodded in thanks, and the nurse left.

“I’m off now.” She said brightly, and turned to the door.

“It’s three in the morning, won’t it be rather dark?” Xavier said.

“Meh, I don’t care for the dark.” Vanessa replied, and waved a hand and trotted off.

“Well, I might as well go to sleep.” Sahara said, standing up. “See you two later.” And she walked off towards her room.

“If everyone else is.” Matthew said, and he stood up, with Xavier following.

“Excuse me, Mr Pearl, I have a note for you.” Matthew looked over and saw the nurse rushing over, holding a bit of paper.

“I’ll see you in our room.” Xavier said, and he walked off. Matthew opened the bit of paper and read it.

Dear Matthew

I am sorry for leaving you and Xavier at the mine, but my Dragonite was very injured and I hastened to cure him. You had both left when I went back, so I sent this note to the Pokemon Centre.
You may recall my sudden disappearance yesterday when we were at the café. But what you had told me reminded me of something, and I couldn’t let it slip out. But I also can’t keep something like this quiet. All I can say is this; next time you see your father, mention the kidnapping and maybe mention the Johto trip, 1993.

Enjoy the rest of your trip,

Palmer Diamond.


Matthew read the note twice, not sure of what to make of it. He considered throwing it away, but that wouldn’t be very productive. Instead, he slipped the piece of paper inside his pocket and walked off towards his room, desperate for sleep.

But as he left, another two people entered. A large woman and a tall man holding a camera came in and sat down, keeping their voices low.

“I can’t believe what we witnessed!” Lucinda whispered.

“I know, you don’t see an explosion like that every day.” Harrison replied excitedly.

“Wasn’t that red head we saw leaving that Vanessa girl from the other day?” Lucinda asked.

“I am certain it was.” Harrison said, nodding. “But who could believe some simple story about a museum piece could lead to this?”

“Whatever this footage means, I am pretty sure we could get a promotion for it.” Lucinda said, and the two giggled happily before rushing off to their room.


Galactic Headquarters


Charles and Roshonda held out tightly as Gyarados swooped down and landed on the courtyard. The moon was making his red scales shine, and Charles had been pleased to have given him a good run.

“Thanks Gyarados!” He said, as he and Roshonda jumped off.

“Gyara.” Gyarados said smiling, and Charles brought him back. Around them, a number of Zubats and Golbats were coming in too land, dropping of what remained of the grunts. Cyrus and the admins had landed several minutes earlier, and Charles could think of nothing else than to go to sleep.

“Did you know that Eden girl?” Roshonda said. Charles looked at her and sighed. He hadn’t wanted to discuss this yet.

“I know her as Sahara. I don’t know what that was about.”

“She seemed really freaky, especially how she fired those bullets at you.” Roshonda said. Charles nodded, and his face filled with glum. “Oh sorry, did I upset you?”

“Oh no, of course not. I just thought she was a friend.” Charles said, and sighed again.

“I don’t think friends fire bullets at each other.” Roshonda said, and Charles nodded. “Looks like I’m your only friend in Sinnoh then. Night!” And she walked off, her hair dancing. Charles stood still, alone and depressed, for a minute before finally heading off towards his room.

Roshonda turned around and watched him disappear. She felt a bit guilty and went to walk off, but found Cyrus in her way.

“Excellent, very nice.” He said. “You did a fine job.”

“Can I please go to bed now?” Roshonda huffed.

“Of course my darling.” Cyrus said, grinning. “But ensure that he feels alienated but the others, and I’ll make sure you are rewarded in the end.” Roshonda nodded, and she quickly walked off. Cyrus continued to grin as he walked back towards his house.

If things went to plan, by the time they struck the Windworks in a few days, Charles would hate Sahara, and with any extra luck, Jaki would come out. And then the end of the world could begin.
 
Re: Galactic: Rock'N'Roll All Fight

Flight, Fight and Plight


January 8th 2010

Route 204 (South)

It was early morning in Sinnoh. The sun had barely risen into the sky, and was casting a golden glow over Route 204. The snow that had fallen overnight was shining yellow in the sunlight, and the peace and quiet had not yet been disturbed. Most of the Pokemon were still enjoying their rest, but two Wurmple, a male and a female, were amongst the few who were awake. The two were sliding along the branch of an oak tree, nudging each other and grinning. They wanted to spend all their time together, and wouldn’t let anything get in the way.

“Bubble!” The two Wurmples heard the cry, but only had a few seconds to dodge, avoiding a variety of bubbles.

“Wurm!” The male Wurmple huffed. The two looked down, and saw a boy and his Piplup standing under the tree.

“Come on Piplup, get up there and use Pound!” Matthew instructed.

“Pip.” Piplup nodded, and ran forwards and jumped, trying to get close enough, but was half a metre away from the tree. The two Wurmples bent low over the branch and fired a String Shot each. One hit Piplup square in the face, and the other wrapped around Matthew’s legs. With a shared smirk, the two Wurmple turned and scurried along the tree.

“I told you not to do it.” Matthew looked behind and saw Xavier and Turtwig.

“There were just Wurmples, I didn’t expect this.” Matthew snapped, pulling away the string and helping Piplup get hers off.

“I don’t believe in catching Pokemon just to capture them.” Xavier said, heading back towards their tent. “I think that if you catch a Pokemon, you should keep it on your team.”

“Yes yes, whatever.” Matthew grunted, irritated at being defeated. Xavier had already packed up the tent, and the two boys picked up their bags.

“I’ll catch the next Pokemon!” Matthew said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Xavier gave his demented laugh, earning him a scowl from Matthew. As the two turned to head towards the Ravaged Path up ahead, they saw someone sitting on the white fence in front of them.

“Morning there fellas.” Vanessa said, putting on a Southern belle accent.

“Hello Vanessa, what are you doing here?” Xavier asked.

“Why, I am just a poor, sweet, innocent little girl, why would you be suspecting me?” Vanessa said, continuing with the voice. Today she was wearing a fluro yellow breast plate, with matching wrist guards. She had a flowing orange dress to match her accent, and bright pink high heels. As she walked towards them, Vanessa opened up her umbrella and slung it over her shoulder.

“I imagined that you’d be in Floaroma Town by now.” Matthew said.

“I let that bitch sleep get the better of me.” Vanessa explained, twirling around them. “I fell asleep for a little bit, than did a spot of training. None of these trainers are any good, so either of you two up for a battle?”

“Matthew still only has one Pokemon, he wouldn’t be very good in battle.” Xavier said bluntly, making Matthew growl and blush at once. Vanessa smirked and then sighed.

“Fine, I suppose I’d be on my way, know where Sahara might be?” Before Matthew could answer, there were two exclamations from Turtwig and Piplup. They bowled their Pokemon over, smacking into Vanessa as well. Suddenly, a burst of orange energy flew through the air and smashed into the roots of a tree a few metres behind them. They were blasted apart, causing the tree to topple, landing on the ground very close to where they had just been.

“It’s Ursilla!” Matthew gasped, standing up and grabbing Piplup.

“She’s Galactic’s hunter, isn’t she?” Vanessa huffed, helping Xavier up. There was another explosion, and they turned as the lane in front of the was struck, leaving a deep crater.

“Jubilife is our safest option, let’s go.” Matthew whispered. Xavier and Vanessa nodded. Matthew went to run, but Vanessa grabbed the scruff of his shirt and pulled him back. She pulled out her handheld device and pressed the screen. Several seconds later, an Abra appeared in front of them, fast asleep.

“Teleport, Jubilife.” Vanessa whispered. Matthew and Xavier clutched onto Turtwig and Piplup, and the three trainers grabbed Abra. There was a white flash and they all disappeared, just as another blast of orange narrowly missed them.

Behind a low bush, Ursilla stood up and cursed.

“Bastard children!” She hissed. She put her energy gun back into its sling and turned towards Jubilife. “They must have doubled back. Idiots, I’ll have their Pokemon by the end of the day.” And Ursilla began to walk briskly towards the city, continuing to mutter and stepping calmly over the flaming tree as she did so.


Ravaged Path

Sahara had been moving quickly since she had left the Oreburgh City. She hadn’t bothered to linger around anywhere, mainly due to her past experiences in Jubilife and the Oreburgh Gate. However, upon entering the Ravaged Path, Sahara and Nutty, who was using Flash to provide extra light, found that a number of rocks blocked their way.

“Nutty, can you use Spark?” Sahara asked.

“Pa-chi.” Nutty replied, shaking her head. Sahara sighed and stared at the rocks blocking her way. Then, she had a brainwave.

“Smash, help me out!” She exclaimed and threw a PokeBall along the ground. It burst open and a mass of red energy came out, forming into Onix.

“Ok Smash, I found this Hidden Machine when I went back through the Ravaged Path.” Sahara said, and pulled out a small disc. “I think it teaches Rock Smash, and hopefully, you are able to learn it.” Smash nodded, and Nutty backed away as Sahara went to attach it. But
suddenly there was an explosion from outside.

“What was that?” Sahara gasped, and she and her Pokemon rushed towards the cave entrance. As the entered back onto Route 204, they saw a giant crater up ahead, and there was a distinctive white flash, though Sahara could make out a head of red hair before it disappeared.

“I think I saw Vanessa.” Sahara said.

“On!” Smash exclaimed, and indicated towards a bush. Sahara turned and saw someone walking towards Jubilife.

“That’s that Ursilla woman!” Sahara gasped. “Come on, lets follow her.”

“Pach?” Nutty asked, looking apprehensive.

“The other three might be over there, I don’t want them to get hurt.” Sahara said, and she climbed onto Smash. Nutty sighed and climbed on as well. Smash lowered down his neck and began to slid over the ground, swishing his rock tail and gathering speed, heading, like the others, for Jubilife City.


Galactic Headquarters- Grunt Training Division

Even though the sun had barely risen, there was lots of activity for the grunts. Draco had made all the grunts go for a two kilometre run to raise fitness. They had started at their huts and run around the perimeter of the training facility. Charles, who went for runs regularly, wouldn’t have found this difficult, but he was sore from hand-to-hand combat yesterday, and was lagging behind a bit. As two Pokemon had to do the training, Tauros had joined Elle, and with each step, the ground cracked and Elle had nearly been stood on several
times.

“Just- a little- bit- further.” Charles puffed.

“Eva.” Elle panted. But Tauros was still full of energy.

“TAUROOOO!” He mooed, and charged ahead, head down low.

“Wait up!” Charles puffed, and he rushed forwards, with Elle scampering alongside. Tauros was continuing to moo, and was getting close to knocking the people ahead out of the way. Charles was pushing himself to the limit, and Tauros was getting closer.

Suddenly, a blast of blue white beams struck the ground in front, freezing it over. Tauros’ front left hoof touched the ice, and the bull instantly began to slip. Elle managed to come to a halt, but Charles didn’t notice and smashed into Tauros, causing him to topple over.

“You need to learn better control.” Charles looked up and saw Draco, glaring down at him. A Froslass was floating above him, looking a bit dreamy and bored.

“Where’s your Glalie?” Charles mumbled.

“I don’t always have to use the same Pokemon, do I? And don’t change the subject!” Draco snapped. “You shouldn’t have chosen such a large and dangerous Pokemon for this challenge.”
“Tauro Tauro!” Tauros growled, and orange energy began to form. Draco raised his arm, his finger ready on his wrist contraption, but Charles put his arm out.

“No need to fight.” He said. “We’ll finish running the course.”

“Don’t bother, just go back to your room.” Draco snapped. Charles sighed and stood up. He had his back turned, and he didn’t realise Elle had been forming a Return. As Charles moved out of the way, Elle fired the pink beam. Draco leapt out of the way, and Froslass moved into position.

“Fros.” She said in a deep, wicked voice. She raised one of her hands and swung forwards, preparing a Wake-Up Slap. Tauros leapt up and a blue ball formed in his mouth. He mooed, firing out rings of water. Froslass was blasted backwards, smacking Draco in the face.

“Elle, Tauros!” Charles said, gasping. Froslass floated back up, looking shocked. But when Draco stood up, he looked furious. He pressed a button on his invention, and a red laser shot out. Draco swiped, and the laser slashed Charles’ shirt.

“There is a training exercise this afternoon.” Draco hissed. “You have to be there, but if I see your hideous face, I will do something a lot worse than cut your shirt. Now get to your room, NOW!” Charles stood up and scampered away, with Elle and Tauros wandering behind. Roshonda, who had been running with her Beedrill and Nidoqueen, looked shocked by this. Draco saw her and let out a furious roar. Roshonda, horrified, continued running. Draco stared at her for a minute, before storming off, Froslass floating dreamily behind him.


Jubilife City

As usual, the streets and pavements were packed in Jubilife. Lots of trainers were heading towards the school or Pokemon Centre, while adults were rushing to get to work. Amongst all of this madness, there was a flash of white, and the crowd parted as Vanessa, Xavier, Matthew and their Pokemon all formed.

“Cheers Abra.” Vanessa said.

“Abra Ab.” Abra said sleepily, and teleported away again. Vanessa stared at the spot where Abra had teleported from, before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.

“Vanessa!” Matthew yelled, running after her. Vanessa sighed and
turned around.

“What?”

“If psycho snake lady is after us, shouldn’t we stick together?” Matthew said, as Xavier followed up behind.

“I think it will be easier if we split up, head onto the skyscrapers. I’ll have Staraptor keep lookout from the top of the SBC building.” Vanessa explained. “You take Global Trade Station Matthew, and Xavier, there is a hotel over there, you take that.”

“The Poketch would have been a good building to use.” Xavier said, examining his own one and there staring towards the large, gaping hole on the other side of town. It had been fenced off, though there was a small crowd staring down into it.

“Ah, I love our lives.” Vanessa said, chortling. “Well, see ya!”

“Wa-” Matthew began, but Vanessa was skipping off, obviously to Matthew’s cries. He sighed and stared down at Piplup. “Let’s go to the Global Trading Station then.”

“Pip Piplup!” Piplup said, and the two walked off, not bothering to farewell Xavier.

“Let’s go towards that hotel than Turtwig.” Xavier said.

“Tur.” Turtwig said, agreeing, and the two headed off towards the Jubilife Condominiums. The crowd was thinning slightly now, and the snow was dying down a bit, making the trip much easier. Turtwig feet were getting cold, but he thought it better not to bother Xavier, and they travelled in silence. But as they neared the ugly building near Route 203, Turtwig gasped and rushed into shadows.

“Turtwig, what is wrong?” Xavier said, sounding thoroughly unconcerned. But out of the corner of his eye, Xavier saw someone being shoved aside. He turned, briefly catching a glimpse of Ursilla, her face contorted with rage, before a hand appeared over his mouth and he was dragged backwards. Xavier went to question the situation, but the mysterious person hushed him.

“If you want to live and keep your Pokemon, be quiet.” The person, a man, hissed, and he dragged Xavier backwards through the door, with Turtwig following after. As the door closed, Ursilla turned around, looking for the source of the noise. She could see nothing, except for the curious looks of people around her.

“What are you looking at?” She snarled, and rushed away towards the fountain. Ursilla reached inside her trench coat and pulled out three PokeBalls and threw them into the air. As they burst, two beams of red energy formed at her feet, while one formed in the pool. Seconds later, her Arbok stood there, towering above her, while a Linoone stood next to her, scratching at the ground, and a Huntail splashed and slithered around the fountain.

“Go and look for the children. I trust you to know which ones!” Ursilla said. Arbok turned and jabbered to the others.

“Li.” Linoone said, and turned and rushed off. Arbok dived into the grass and slid away, and Huntail prowled around, looking curiously around. Ursilla nodded, satisfied, and began to head off in the opposite direction.

From the side of the SBC building, Vanessa watched as Ursilla and her Pokemon disappeared. She smirked and walked out onto the pavement, with snow instantly striking her. Vanessa cursed under her breath and didn’t realise where she was going, and didn’t hear the glass doors sliding open as she passed. Vanessa looked up at the sound of voices, but was suddenly hit by something, causing her to stumble.

“Vanessa!” A familiar voice said, and Vanessa looked up and saw Lucinda Large, today wearing a blue dress suit, and Harrison standing nearby, wearing jeans and a neat grey shirt.

“Oh, hi.” Vanessa said, smiling ever so fakely.

“Fancy seeing you here, I’d thought you’d be far ahead by now!” Lucinda said.

“Yes, so I’ve heard.” Vanessa replied.

“Let’s get you inside, you look freezing!” Harrison said.

“No really, I’m fine.” Vanessa said, but Lucinda and Harrison grasped an arm each, and dragged her inside the building, and seconds later, Arbok skidded along the icy ground, searching for the red hair she had just missed.


Galactic HQ- Air Hanger

Charles had passed by the hanger before. It looked like practically any other: a huge curved roof, corrugated iron, and painted. The Galactic one was white with turquoise lining, and had big green doors, painted turquoise, which were currently open. However, Charles had to enter through the back door, just like all the grunts. He noticed Roshonda standing on her own and went up next to her.

“Hey.” She said, smiling. “I saw Draco being nasty to you earlier, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I sent the uniform away to be fixed.” Charles aid.

“I don’t care about your uniform, are you fine, you know,
emotionally, physically?” Roshonda said.

“I am doing fine!” Charles said, a little too loudly, and many heads turned. Roshonda looked shocked, and Charles felt guilty. “Ok, I am not really enjoying it that much here, but I can’t do anything about it, can I? It doesn’t really seem you can just hand in your resignation.”

“I know it is tough, but at least nothing seriously bad has happened to you yet.” Roshonda said, and Charles scoffed.

“Yeah, I don’t think the cave-in or nearly being shot quite count as ‘serious.’” Charles said. Roshonda went to reply, but another door open and Cyrus walked in, Charon at his heels as usual. Everyone quickly stood to attention, and Cyrus stopped in the middle of the room.

“Today, we are flying our airship once more, to continue our tests before we begin construction on our other models.” Cyrus explained. “You will be split up in to groups: Control, Armament, Admin or Maintenance. When you enter the ship, Draco and Minerva will split you up. Now, move quickly, we must be back before nightfall and we have a long journey.” The grunt at the end of the line began to walk forwards, and the others began to follow.

“What do you do in these groups?” Charles whispered.

“Control is at the front of the ship, helping to direct it and navigate. Armament is for the top battlers and people who can control machine guns. Admin is doing small jobs and helping out the admins, and Maintenance is keeping the ship fuelled and making sure it is running smoothly behind the scenes.” Roshonda explained. Charles had more questions, but they walked through the door and into the main part of the hanger.

Charles gasped at the sight of the airship. It was massive and looked like something out of a storybook, and Charles was stunned to think he had actually been onboard it. To the left of the airship, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars were standing by a large steel staircase, watching as the grunts went onboard. More grunts were in front of them, having come from different briefings. As they walked past, Charles noticed that Mars was winking and waving to numerous male grunts, who all looked away, apparently ashamed. Roshonda smirked at this, and Charles smiled at her.

The two climbed up the staircase in a single line, and soon entered a plain, steel hallway. The shoes of grunts clanged as they walked along. Charles saw Draco standing to the right, and quickly moved towards the woman Cyrus had mentioned, Minerva. He had heard several grunts mention her before, but had never seen her.

The woman looked up, and she had long, bright blonde hair, dark brown eyes the same shade as his, and a healthy tanned complexion. Her outfit was a simple white dress, which looked elegant compared to all the plain outfits of the surrounding grunts. Her eyes were wide as if in shock, but she forced a smile.

“Hello there deary, you must be Charles.” Minerva said, in a nice, soft voice.

“How did you know?” Charles asked, a bit stunned.

“Oh, I am Cyrus’ personal assistant, I know all the new grunts.” Minerva said, smiling. Her expression looked a bit forced, but her eyes softened this strained look. “Now, let me see where you are working…. You are in the Armament section. Keep walking down the hallway and turn right, there will be a sign.” Minerva said.
“Thank you.” Charles said, and he walked off. He could feel Minerva’s eyes on him, but when he turned, Roshonda was blocking her from sight.

“I’m on Armament as well.” She said.

“Great.” Charles said. The two turned right at the right spot, and behind them they heard a whirring sound. Charles poked his head around the corner and saw the steel staircase, slowly rising up. The admins were talking to each other, ignoring the staircase as it closed, and the steps whirred and became flat, making it invisible. Charles continued walking, and caught up with Roshonda. They went down a flight of steps and across another hallway, entering a small room, in the middle of the ship. About two dozen grunts were in there, and a number of machine guns were attached to poles, pointing out of the glass windows, and a number of other weapons were on the walls.

“What a fun place.” Charles mumbled. Above their heads, there was a
whirr as a loudspeaker was turned on.

“GAL001, Bulba, will be taking off in ten seconds. Prepare yourselves.” The voice of Charon said. Charles was going to ask how they would leave, but the ship began to rise up, and more sunlight was beginning to pour in. As the airship rose upwards, Charles realised the roof of the hanger had retracted, and now they were floating above the ground: one metre… two metres… four metres… ten metres… Charles wanted to continue staring out over the fields, but Roshonda nudged him and pointed towards a machine gun, and he unwillingly went and stood besides it. And ten seconds later, the airship let out a bang and began to move rapidly forwards, and the outside quickly turned invisible.

Jubilife City

The streets and pavements began to clear, only for ice and snow to take their place. At the bottom of a flight of stairs, leading towards Route 204, Smash came slid up, coming to a perfect halt.

“Thanks for the lift.” Sahara said. As she got off, she stumbled a bit, as she was rather dizzy after the ride. Nutty jumped off and Onix arched up to full height. Sahara noticed lots of cracks in the ground, and let out a soft sigh.

“Hopefully they’ll think a wild one did it.” She said, and pulled Smash’s PokeBall out. “Time to get you out of the cold.”

“On!” Smash said, smiling, and turned into red energy. Nutty scampered ahead, looking around.

“Pachirisu Pach Pachi Risu Risu.” Nutty said, having checked the coast was clear.

“I think we should head for the Pokemon Centre first, see if they are there.” Sahara said, starting to walk forwards, hoping her white coat would help her blend in.

“Pachi Pachi!” Nutty said, rebutting the idea. Sahara looked down at her, smirking.

“Fine then, what would you suggest?” She asked. But Nutty had stopped, and was staring into a nearby flower bed. Sahara walked over and peered in, and a Linoone walked out, whimpering slightly from the cold.

“Awwww!” Sahara said. “What a cute little thing, and he’s freezing, I should give him my coat.” But the Linoone suddenly leapt forwards, knocking Sahara over.

“Ooon!” He said, and raised his right front claw, which glowed white and extended, preparing for Fury Swipes.

“Pachi!” Nutty said, and fired a Spark, blasting Linoone aside.

“Lino!” Linoone growled, and quickly rushed off.

“It could be Ursilla’s, we need to move!” Sahara said, and she scooped Nutty up and ran at full speed, not caring where she went, as long as was away from that spot.


Jubilife Condominiums

Xavier was sitting on a small wooden chair, Turtwig sitting in his lap. The two had been forced into a dark room and made to sit down by the strange man, and were now waiting for something to happen.

“Are you going to tie us up?” Xavier asked.

“What do you mean, tie you up?” The man said from the shadows.

“Don’t kidnappers generally tie up their captives, I have seen it happen on numerous television shows.” Xavier explained. Suddenly, the light turned on, casting murky yellow light across the room, which appeared to be some sort of closet: there were a number of shelves, filled up cleaning products, and a mop and broom were to one corner. Turtwig looked around, searching for the man, but he stepped in front of them, blocking out everything else.

The man had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and his features made him look very handsome, even his slightly crooked nose. A large scar stretched from his forehead, curving down around his right eye and coming close to his lips, resembling a crescent moon. His eyes were a bright shade of blue, standing out against his slightly bronzed skin. He was less than six foot, but had the air of a very intimidating man. Under his black and red vest, his muscles were bulging and made him more frightening. His pants were long and black, and covered his legs down to his black sandals.

“I did not kidnap you, I attempted to save you.” The man said. “I know of Ursilla and what she is capable of. She captures Pokemon using one of her guns, and it causes them a great deal of pain, a pain that they would never feel in a battle. Her other gun can shatter all of your bones at once. I would rather take being kidnapped to that pain.”

“Having your bones shattered does sound painful, but I do not feel pain that much.” Xavier said.

“You’d be killed straight away, you wouldn’t have time to feel pain.” The man said.

“Your outfit, it is similar to the environmental rangers I have seen on television.” Xavier pointed out, staring at the man’s clothes. He stopped pacing and stared down at Xavier.

“Yes, I am an environmental ranger, my name is Niles.” He said.

“Niles is a strange name.” Xavier said airily, and Turtwig chuckled. Niles scowled and stared down at him.

“Niles isn’t my really name, of course, it is a code name.” He explained. “I recommend you keep your mouth shut, I am going to go out and check if the coast is clear. Get your Turtwig to stand guard.” And with that, Niles walked over to the door and opened it, leaving Xavier and Turtwig behind.

“What a very odd man.” Xavier said.

“Tur Twig.” Turtwig agreed.


Sinnoh Broadcasting Company Headquarters

A cameraman and a junior trainer were having a battle at the same place that Vanessa had had her showdown, but the junior was being creamed, his Doduo being attacked repeatedly by the Magnemite.

“We haven’t had anyone come in here that’s up to your standards.”
Lucinda said.

“That’s obvious.” Vanessa said, and Lucinda and Harrison laughed loudly, though it was too obvious that it was false.

“You’re too clever.” Harrison said.

“I know that, I don’t need you two to tell me that.” Vanessa replied. Lucinda and Harrison stopped laughing, a bit affronted, and didn’t realise that Vanessa was now walking towards the staircase.

“Wait!” Lucinda said, and she scurried after as fast as her legs would carry. But Vanessa had started walking up the yellow carpeted floor. By the time Lucinda and Harrison had caught up, Vanessa had entered the first floor, and was staring around at the number of reporters, television hosts, technicians and cameramen moving around. She stared into one room and saw that the talk show, The Morning Show with Allie and Stan, was being filmed, and the crowd was chuckling at a joke Stan had just made.

“You shouldn’t be up here; it is for authorised personnel only.” Lucinda said, panting slightly.

“I have never really been one to follow the rules.” Vanessa said, closing the studio doors, and walking towards the other ones.

“Vanessa, we need to ask you about something.” Lucinda said. Vanessa stopped walking and turned around. Harrison walked over and lowered down his camera.

“We took some footage over at Oreburgh Mine the other night.” He said, as he got the tape to the right moment. Vanessa watched the tiny screen as Harrison pressed play. They had managed to record footage of her, Sahara, Matthew and Xavier fleeing the mine. Thankfully, they hadn’t gotten close enough to catch their faces, but it was clearly them.

“I wasn’t sure if it was you or not, as you always change your outfits, but that red hair is pretty distinctive.” Lucinda said, pursing her lips knowingly.

“There are lots of gingers out there, I am not the only one.” Vanessa said, and she pressed stop.

“Someone’s got their knickers in a knot.” Harrison laughed.

“So anyway, we wanted to talk to you and convince you to talk my
father, Mr Adiem.” Lucinda said. Vanessa raised an eyebrow at this: everyone knew that Arnold Adiem was probably the richest man in Sinnoh, and owned numerous companies, though was most famous for owning the SBC and his messy divorce. Lucinda smiled at Vanessa’s expression.

“Yes, he is my father.” She giggled. “He usually does what I want, but he won’t play this footage for some reason. We have more shots of an explosion, and some people fleeing the scene. I think he thinks we faked it, so I was thinking that if someone could convince him it really happened, he’ll show it on the news.” Lucinda explained. Vanessa looked surprised at this.

“He won’t show it, why?”

“I just explained!” Lucinda said huffily. Vanessa rolled her eyes and began walking again, this time heading towards the other staircase.

“I knew she’d agree.” Harrison said happily.

“Oh, I am seeing him on my own, I don’t need help from you two.” Vanessa replied. Lucinda and Harrison stopped following her, and looked shocked.

“You can’t, he won’t let you in!” Lucinda said. Vanessa ignored her, and Lucinda marched forwards and threw a Luxury Ball. It burst open, releasing silky purple energy, and a Miltank formed. “Stop moving, or I’ll have to attack!” Behind her, Harrison opened up a Heal Ball that was inside a Seal, and it released pink energy with large bubbles. They all burst, and the pink energy formed into a Vaporeon. Vanessa looked down and smirked. Suddenly, she threw her three PokeBalls out. Staraptor and Luxio formed near Miltank, while Chimchar formed upstairs.

“Close Combat and Spark!” Vanessa called. “And Chimchar, make sure the coast is clear.” Chimchar nodded and scampered off, and Staraptor and Luxio initiated their attacks.

“Vaporeon, Aurora Beam!” Harrison said.

“Miltank use Stomp!” Lucinda ordered. Miltank jumped into the air, ready to stand on Staraptor, but the starling punched her in the stomach with a wing, sending her flying backwards and smashing through the studio door. Vaporeon had a bit more success: the multi coloured, mashed up rings struck Luxio, who cried out.

“Luxi!” He said grumpily, and fired a Spark attack.

“Vapor.” Vaporeon whimpered as she rolled towards Harrison, who bent down to nurse her. Luxio leapt onto Staraptor’s back, and she flew off up the staircase. Vanessa stared down at the scene and smiled. She pulled her umbrella out of her bag and opened it. Than, she twisted it, but instead of a sword blade coming out, a tongue of blue flames was fired onto the staircase, causing the carpet to erupt.

“Have fun putting that out!” Vanessa yelled, and quickly ran up the stairs to join her Pokemon.


Hearthome City

Charles was growing increasingly bored. He had been standing by a machine gun for nearly an hour, as the airship moved slowly above Sinnoh. They were required to have three Pokemon out, so Elle, Poochyena and Ampharos were standing on either side of him. Roshonda was a metre away, with her Beedrill, Nidoqueen and Cradily around her. Charles stared around at the other Pokemon: the person next to him has a Pinsir, Graveller and Haunter surrounding him, and he could see lots of others around. Saturn was in charge of this section, and was marching up and down behind them, making sure they were behaving. At the doorway, his Toxicroak stood guard, staring menacingly at them all.

“Poochy.” Poochyena said, staring huffily over at Saturn.

“I am sorry, but I can’t play at the moment.” Charles said apologetically.

“Poochy Poochy Ena.” Poochyena groaned, and slumped onto the floor, staring down onto the large city below them. Ampharos and Nidoqueen moved towards each other, and began jabbering away happily.

“Ampha Ros Ros Ampharos Pharos.”

“Nid Nido Queen Queen Nidoqueen!”

“Would you two mind keeping your Pokemon under control?” Saturn growled, as he walked past.

“Sorry, aren’t they allowed to talk?” Charles said, as Ampharos’ tail crackled with electricity.

“Your Pokemon are here to work, not for a social gathering!” Saturn said, and he tried to stand over Charles, but he was only have a head shorter than him, making it useless.

“Come on Nidoqueen, you girls can talk later.” Roshonda said, and Nidoqueen waved a thick hand in farewell and walked back over. Saturn, satisfied, walked away, going to tell the boy next to Charles off for sleeping.

“Eva Eevee Eve Eva?” Elle said to Ampharos, turning towards Saturn and forming a Shadow Ball.

“Ampharos Pharos.” Ampharos said, chuckling, and Elle stopped the attack. Charles smiled and went back to staring out the window, and was bored again within seconds.

Meanwhile, up at the front of the ship was the control room. Dozens of computers were placed in an arch, right below the giant windscreen. At the back of the room, Cyrus sat on inside a raised area, with a touch screen in front of him. Charon was at a special computer in front of him, and Minerva in a small booth, drawing a picture, while her Leafeon sat by her feet.

“Are either of the creatures in the airways Charon?” Cyrus said, as he pressed a random button on his screen, causing a hail of bullets to be fired into the air.

“There might be a chance.” Charon said, tapping at his screen as well.

“Are any of them out there or not?” Cyrus said angrily.

“No, not at the moment.” Charon replied coolly.

“So this trip was a waste of time then.” Cyrus sighed. Minerva rolled her eyes and gave Cyrus a look, and he stared at her briefly before growling and punching his touch screen.

“Turn this ship around!” He bellowed. But Charon ignored him, and was instead excitedly pressing a button on his screen. “CHARON!”

“Calm down, sir!” Charon said, and pressed another button. The windscreen was replaced with grainy video footage. Charon pressed a button, and the image zoomed in. There, in the distance, was a large yellow bird, gliding through the skies. Cyrus’ rage evaporated quickly as he stared at the image, smiling widely.

“Don’t turn around, use full power and head north east.” Cyrus bellowed. “I want to catch Zapdos and make this trip worthwhile.”


Global Trading Station

Matthew had been a bit grumpy about being forced to go to the skyscraper, made out of blue tinted glass and steel, but as soon as he stepped in, he lost all his grumpiness. The foyer was amazing: glowing blue tiles, an amazing model of the globe, showing everything from the Sevii Islands of Kanto to the corner of the Resort Area, and hundreds of trainers seemed to be inside, as they scrambled around the sapphire blue reception desk, all trying to get into the room that would allow them to trade with any trainer around the world. Matthew and Piplup, however, were trying to push past them all, desperate to find a staircase and reach the top floor.

“Excuse me…. Coming through…. Would you mind….. Oh for goodness sake!” Matthew huffed, as he stood on the outskirts. There were no visible ways, as people were even surrounding the globe.

“Piplup Pip!” Piplup cried, and fired a Bubble attack. Several people turned around, agitated, but otherwise there was no change.

“Let’s just give up Piplup, I am sure there is another skyscraper around here.” Matthew said, and he went for the door. But as they slid apart to let him in, he recognised a familiar white coat over in the corner.

“Sahara, hey!” Matthew said, and he went over. Sahara looked up, shocked, but her expression relaxed as he approached.

“Hey. What brings you here?” She asked.

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Matthew said, and explained about Ursilla’s appearance.

“I saw Vanessa on Route 204, I thought you and Xavier might have been with her.” Sahara said, nodding. Piplup and Nutty sat on a seat nearby, talking animatedly to each other. “Ursilla seems a bit nasty, I think her Linoone got me.” Sahara said, and quickly recounted her own attack. “I came here to hide, I thought it would be difficult to spot me amongst all these people.”

“Good idea, but if she knows you are in Jubilife, she might follow you, and this would be one of the top places to check after the Pokemon Centre.” Matthew said. Sahara stood up, looking shocked.

“Your right, we could be putting these people’s lives in danger!” She said, and picked Nutty up. “We need to leave, come on!” Matthew nodded and picked up Piplup, and the two ran for the door.

On the other side of the street, Ursilla stood impatiently against the wall of dingy motel. Her energy blaster was pointed towards the glass doors, waiting for any of the brats to appear. She watched with delight as Sahara ran into view, along with Matthew.

“Bingo.” She hissed, and pulled the trigger.

Sahara stood by the sensor, and watched as the doors slid open, and quickly voiced a plan to Matthew.

“There is a gatehouse to the west of the city, we should-”

“WATCH OUT!” Matthew roared, and pulled Sahara out of the way. He had noticed the orange energy shooting towards them, and began to run in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, his roar was inaudible over the collective talking from the crowd, and no one noticed as the orange energy shot through the open doors, slamming into the globe. The globe exploded, sending out a force wave that smashed into the glass, sent people flying, causing blue and green metal to fly across the room. The force struck both Matthew and Sahara, and they were picked up and tossed across the room. Matthew hit the wall and slumped to the ground, his bag lying next to him. Nutty and Piplup landed under the seats, while Sahara landed on top of them, and she too slipped away into sleep.


SBC HQ- Top Floor

Four guards, each with a Bagon, ran out from behind two polished desks. The men raised their machine guns, and the Bagons prepared to fire Dragon Rage attacks. They had received call about a red headed girl heading for Mr Adiem’s office. She was on the floor below but had been overpowered, so they were ready to bring her down.
Suddenly, a large blue tornado shot up the stairs, and it sucked in the machine guns.

“What’s going on?” One of the guards cried. Then, two balls, one of fire and one of electricity, shot up and struck a Bagon each. A Chimchar and Luxio then ran up, and began to fire more attacks, while the Bagons fired numerous Dragon Rages and Headbutt attacks. Than, the red headed girl walked up, holding an umbrella in her right hand, and had her left closed to hide something else.

“We don’t want to have to fight you!” Another guard said, and Vanessa halted.

“That’s a pity, because I want to.” She said, and smashed one of her fluro yellow wrist guards into the mans head, knocking him out. The Twister stopped, allowing the other three to charge for her. Vanessa quickly kicked one between the legs, and narrowly dodged a punch to the head.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to fight a lady?” Vanessa said, putting on her Southern accent again as she twisted her closed umbrella, causing the sword to come out. She swished it, cutting one man across the shoulder. The fourth guard got his hands around her neck, but Staraptor came in and used a Close Combat, smashing a wing into his chest and cracking a rib.

“Cheers.” Vanessa said, and she ran forwards. “Come on, leave them!” Chimchar and Luxio knocked out the last Bagon and ran forwards. Vanessa opened up tall wooden doors at the end of the corridor, and her three Pokemon rushed in. She then retracted the sword and bent down in the middle of the corridor. She opened up her left hand, revealing a green ballpoint pen. The guard with the cut shoulder looked up. Vanessa noticed him and smiled.

“I haven’t had the chance to try this out yet.” She said. “Hope it goes well.” And she pressed the pen to the carpet and pressed down on top. Green ink began to come out of the pen, but it didn’t stain the carpet: it ate it. Vanessa smirked and skipped over towards the door. The injured man tried to move, but the ink quickly spread, making an increasingly large hole. The guard moved out of harms way, and turned to see it had stopped just before the desk, and that a large hole now revealed the pipes and electrical wires underneath.

Vanessa closed the door and turned around to examine the room she was in. It was very spacious, taking up three quarters of the floor. The carpet was a rich cream colour, while the walls were dark red. Numerous paintings covered the walls, ranging from detailed pictures of legendary Pokemon to unrecognisable blotches and boxes. One wall was just glass, revealing Jubilife in all its glory. There was a long cabinet, full with sculptures, vases, pictures, newspaper clippings and awards. A single door to the right lead to another room. Vanessa nodded as is improving, and turned to the last wall, where an aging man was standing, looking thoroughly relaxed about the proceedings.

He had black hair streaked with silver, and was wearing a striped grey suit, white shirt and red tie, and looked highly stereotypical. He was leaning on a polished walking stick, right next to a large drinks cabinet. Chimchar sat in a hardback chair, while Staraptor perched on the immaculate tidy desk, and Luxio stood out of the way.

“Would you care for a drink?” The man said at last. “I have beer, wine, gin, vodka, or some cold water, if destroying my building has tired you out.”

“I am not thirsty, though if you whip up a Cosmopolitan, I won’t say no to it later.” Vanessa said, and the man smiled.

“I presume you know who I am?”

“Mr Adiem, owner of this building and network.” Vanessa said. “I don’t need to ask if you know who I am.” Mr Adiem smiled at this as he poured himself a glass of brandy.

“You are Vanessa B-” He began, but Staraptor growled and Vanessa held her umbrella menacingly. “Sorry, I forgot you prefer not to speak of your heritage.” Mr Adiem said, bowing in apology. “But you are Vanessa, and have lived on your own for four years, are nearing your 15th birthday, like to modify objects to turn them into weaponry, and make your own outfits.” He paused here, and stared at her mumbled up outfit.

“How do you know so much about me?” Vanessa growled.

“I know a lot of things.” Mr Adiem said, and he walked back over to his seat, and shoved Chimchar out.

“Chim Chim!” The little monkey growled, and fired to fire Ember, but Mr Adiem pressed a button on his cane. A small section of the wall opposite Vanessa slid aside, and an Absol trotted in, looking grumpy.

“I would control your Pokemon, Vanessa, unless you want them to lose spectacularly.” Mr Adiem said. “I did watch your battle against my daughter and Clarisse, quite the fight, one of the best in years.” Vanessa didn’t reply, and instead stared at the man opposite, very stone faced. Mr Adiem smirked at this and patted Absol on the head.

“I presume you now have a lot of questions for me. I will answer them shortly, but first, I must test you. Please stand by the window at the end of my room, and select one of your Pokemon.” Mr Adiem said. “I will explain as much as I can if you defeat me in battle.”


Route 208

“Ok, try not to shoot Zapdos, we just need to distress it. Certain Pokemon will be told to attack at certain points to weaken it. Listen up for further instructions and the call to attack.” Saturn explained, facing all the grunts. He had just received a message that they were approaching Zapdos, and everyone was to be ready for a big fight. He ended his speech, and the trainers all turned back and stared. They could all see the yellow bird now, flying peacefully towards Mt Coronet.

“I don’t feel right about harming a legendary.” Charles whispered to Roshonda.

“Didn’t you capture Lugia?” Roshonda said, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes, but I go in guns blazing.” Charles said, staring down at the machine gun in front of him.

“I am sure Zapdos will be fine.” Roshonda said.

In the front of the ship, Zapdos was so close now that Cyrus could make out the black under its wings.

“In ten seconds, I want the front guns to fire.” He said, and Charon nodded. The people in the arch quickly tapped away at their screens, and below them, guns began to slide out of the bottom of the ship, pointed directly towards Zapdos. Charon then pressed another button, and a countdown began to play on the speakers.

“Ten… nine… eight… seven…”

Charles looked up, as the monotone voice sounded. Elle and Poochyena exchanged looks, and Ampharos stared out the window to where Zapdos was flying.

“four… three… two… ONE.”

In the main room, the grunts all pressed a button on their touch screens which said ‘Fire.’ The machine guns began to fire bullets, the tiny pieces of metal flying towards Zapdos.

“Zap.” Zapdos cried, and dived to avoid being shot.

“Fire again!” Cyrus cried. More bullets were fired, and Zapdos flying vertically downwards to avoid them. Charles and Roshonda watched as Zapdos spun and flew, narrowly being shot on numerous occasions.

“It is putting up a fight.” Saturn said, sounding unimpressed. “That will not save it in the end.” As more bullets rained down upon it, Zapdos flew up so that it faced the windscreen.

“Zap-DOS!” It cried, and released a powerful Discharge. The bolts of electricity engulfed the airship. Minerva and numerous grunts yelled out as the windscreen shattered, sending glass flying. Down below, the bolts caused glass all over to shatter. Ampharos used her body to protect Elle and Poochyena, and Charles ran and tackled Roshonda out of the way. She screamed as a piece of glass sliced her arm, made more painful as she landed on it.

“Are you alright?” Charles said, and then saw the cut. “I’ll get you a bandage.”

“It is fine, it isn’t too deep.” Roshonda said, but her outfit was becoming stained with red. Charles gave her a look and rushed over to the medical cabinet, being careful to avoid the fallen glass.
Cyrus looked up from his enclosed area, and saw Zapdos staring into the room. Lots of the grunts were lying on the floor, either unconscious or dead, Cyrus didn’t care. He looked down and saw that Minerva had received a cheek, and Charon had bruised his forehead, but were otherwise fine. Cyrus stood up to full height and smiled at Zapdos.

“Zapdos, my name is Cyrus, and my organization would be honoured if you allowed me to capture you.” Zapdos stared at Cyrus for a few seconds, making the boss look excited. But then Zapdos fired another blast of electricity. The bolts smashed into the computer screens, causing the doors at the far end to fly away.

“Leafeon use Razor Leaf!” Minerva yelled.

“Leafe!” Leafeon cried and swished her tail, sending out a number of leaves, but Zapdos merely twirled to dodge them. Behind it, dust suddenly rose up, forming large rocks covered in a purple glow.

“It’s AncientPower, watch it!” Charon yelled. Zapdos swished its wings, firing the rocks. They flew off in all directions, with two flying into the control room. Cyrus leapt out of the way just in time, and watched as one of the rocks smashed his seat. Angrily, he went to pull out three of his PokeBalls, but Zapdos fired another Discharge, and Cyrus rushed for cover instead.
Down in the battle area, Charles was finishing tying up the bandage.

“Thank you.” Roshonda said, standing up. All six Pokemon had gathered around, and were watching intently.

“Get back to your posts now, we may need to fire at any moment.” Saturn was yelling, as many other grunts had abandoned their guns, taking care of injured friends or Pokemon.

“I don’t think we should go back.” Roshonda said, and pointed. Charles and Saturn looked and gasped. Three of the AncientPower rocks were heading for them, and as this bit jutted out of the airship slightly, there was the risk that it could be entirely destroyed.

“MOVE!” Saturn yelled, but none of them had time to run before the first one hit, smashing straight in the side where the windows had just been. The machine guns were destroyed, though one went off and fired bullets around the room.

“Cradily!” Roshonda’s Cradily cried, and used her rock hard body to protect them. Several grunts were hit, causing them to double over. The second rock hit the front, smashing up the floor. Three grunts and their Pokemon were pushed aside, falling seconds later as the floor disappeared.

“Come on, we have to go!” Charles yelled. He, Roshonda, Saturn, their Pokemon and the remaining grunts all ran for it, just as the last rock struck. It tore apart what remained of the area, and more trainers and their Pokemon fell. Charles made sure that Roshonda got away first, but the rock smashed the floor behind him.

“AMPHA!” Ampharos cried, as she toppled backwards.

“NOOO!” Charles yelled, and he instinctively grabbed her arm, trying to grab her ball. But her weight was too much, and he slipped off as well. There were cries of ‘Eevee’ and ‘Poochy’, and Charles turned as Elle and Poochyena leapt down.

“You shouldn’t have.” He said, but smiled all the same. He quickly pulled out a PokeBall and sent out Gyarados, and the four of them landed safely on his back.

“I think we should go back and save Roshonda.” Charles said.

“Gyarados Gyara.” Gyarados said, and moved his red body to help him fly. But suddenly, Zapdos flew over their heads, crackling with electricity.

“Use Return, Signal Beam and Poison Fang!” Charles instructed. Elle fired a pink beam, Ampharos sent out a multicoloured beam of light from her tail, and Poochyena clamped his mouth shut and a long distance Poison Fang was released. None of them reached as Zapdos had turned, now facing the turbines of the ship. It fired one last Discharge, and the turbines exploded in a ball of flame. The airship froze for a moment, as if in shock about this attack, and then suddenly began to fall downwards, having received too much damage to keep up.

“Gyarados, down, quick!” Charles screamed. Gyarados dove down, and Charles clung onto Elle and Poochyena, and Ampharos wrapped her arms around him. They drew up with it, and Roshonda saw them and smiled, her hair flying upwards. She had returned her Pokemon except Beedrill, who she had planned to fly away on, but the two jumped, landing just behind Ampharos.

Golbats, Skarmorys and a mixture of birds all flew out. A Scyther dove off with Saturn clinging to its stomach. Gyarados remained in the air, and they watched as the airship crashed down, half on the side of Mt Coronet, half submerged water. As the last Pokemon flew off, including a Gyarados, Honchkrow and Crobat that Charles knew belonged to Cyrus, another countdown sounded from the ship. It was inaudible, but seconds later the ship exploded, the force wave destroying a small wooden bridge, making cracks form in the mountainside and causing Gyarados to be forced further upwards. They all cried out as Gyarados fainted from the pain, and they fell down towards the river.


Jubilife Condominiums

Xavier had just been about to doze off when the door slammed open, nearly hitting Turtwig. Niles was back, and was looking very anxious.

“We have to go, now!”

“Why, what has happened?” Xavier asked.

“There has been an explosion, and I am pretty sure Ursilla did it.” Niles said.

“How inconvenient.” Xavier said, standing up and grabbing Turtwig. Niles rolled his eyes and led the way out of the building.


Global Trading Station

As the smoke began to clear; Ursilla decided it would be safe to walk in. She stared around at the destruction she had caused: bits of the globe lay scattered around the room, some crushing people. The base of the globe had remained relatively intact, and lots of wires were still sparking. There were a number of injured bodies around the room, though Ursilla didn’t care if they lived or died. She stared around for the two she wanted, and saw Matthew’s blue bag by a wall. Ursilla grinned and marched forwards, and found Matthew and Sahara, with Nutty and Piplup cowering under a seat.

“Pathetic.” Ursilla hissed, and she clicked her fingers. There was a hiss and Arbok slid into the building, smiling with delight.

“Pachi!”

“Pip!” The two Pokemon said, and went to attack, but Arbok swung an Iron Tail, sending the two flying across the room.

“Now, I need to collect my trophies.” Ursilla hissed, and she bent down and picked Sahara up by her hair and pushed her over to Arbok, who pushed her down to join Nutty and Piplup. As Ursilla picked up Matthew, Sahara rolled and landed against the base where the globe had been.

“What’s going on?” Sahara moaned, rubbing her head.

“Your coming with me.” Ursilla said, marching over and dragging Matthew, who was still unconscious. Arbok hissed at them, and Piplup and Nutty cowered. “You were foolish to battle my Linoone, we were able to track you after that.

“Thanks for the tip, I’ll remember that next time.” Sahara said determinedly, forcing herself to stand up. Ursilla laughed and punched the teen in the face. Sahara cried out and fell backwards, landing amongst the wires.

“Pick her up and bring her out, we need to leave before the cops get here.” Ursilla said, and stared down at Sahara, who was twitching slightly. She smirked and began to walk off, kicking Nutty and Piplup to get them to move. Arbok went to dive into grab Sahara, but something strange was happening. Sahara’s eyes were half closed, revealing only a tiny bit of them. But the white was now a pink colour, and Sahara seemed to be rapidly recovering from her injuries.

Suddenly, Arbok was picked up and tossed out through the smashed window, smashing into a streetlight. Ursilla turned around, pushing Matthew aside and whipping out her energy gun. Sahara stood up, looking very happy with herself. She took her jacket off and tossed it aside, and then hitched her skirt up and undid some buttons on her blouse.

“Sahara is such a square.” She said, and began to walk forwards.

“Freeze!” Ursilla said. Sahara looked up and smiled. “Are you Eden?” The smile disappeared as quickly as it had came.

“I don’t take kindly to be referred to as the others.” She said.

“Who are you then?”

“Why, I am Crystal, of course. I am the better looking of the four.” She replied, and walked forwards again. Ursilla pulled the trigger on the gun, but Crystal swished her hand and the energy blasted away, smashing into a bench on the other side of the street.

“Hello squirrel.” Crystal said to Nutty, who was jabbering away to Piplup. Crystal looked down at Matthew and smiled. “I love it when they are like that, so vulnerable.” There were footsteps behind. Crystal sighed and clicked her fingers, causing Ursilla to fly back into Global Trading Station.

“Bitch.” Ursilla hissed.

“Why thank you.” Crystal said, giggling. She walked over to a fire hydrant and put her hand out. Though she could not control the metal, the water inside began to pound against the sides, desperate to get out. Nutty, Piplup, Ursilla and Arbok watched as the water burst out, and rose into the air, not uncontrolled, but as calm as a soft flowing creek.

“I could so easily telekinetically kill you, but this is so much more fun.” Crystal said, and she waved her hands. The water expanded and turned, changing into a giant Kyorge of water. Than, with a click of her fingers, Crystal sent the creature heading straight for Ursilla, as sirens began to sound in the distance.


SBC HQ- Mr Adiem’s Office

Vanessa stood with her back to the calamity behind her, and didn’t even blink as a Tropius flew past, with Xavier and Turtwig clinging onto the back. Her attention was on Staraptor, who floated in front of her, and the Absol that stood in front of the desk. Mr Adiem had sat down and was surveying the scene. Chimchar and Luxio stood behind Vanessa, waiting for something to happen. Finally, after ten minutes of standing completely still and silent, Mr Adiem spoke.

“You go first.” He said politely.

“Close Combat!” Vanessa bellowed, cutting through the silence like a knife.

“Absol, please use Night Slash.” Mr Adiem said calmly. Staraptor flew forwards, preparing the attack, but Absol shot off faster, and spun in the air. Vanessa gasped as Staraptor was slashed by the scythe-like attachment on Absols head.

“Staraptor, try and use Aerial Ace.” Vanessa said.

“Superpower.” Mr Adiem said. Absol sucked in air, and a ball of white energy appeared, with flames enclosing it. Absol fired it before
Staraptor had even gotten off the ground.

“Star!” She cried weakly, and landed at Vanessa’s feet, looking very weak.

“Staraptor, are you alright?” Vanessa said, looking concerned.

“Will you forfeit the battle?” Mr Adiem said. Vanessa looked up, sadness and anger showing on her face. “I know how sick your Staraptor is, I think it would be wise if you gave up.” Vanessa went to ask how, but Staraptor was groaning slightly. With a deep sigh, Vanessa inclined her head downwards in a nod. Mr Adiem smiled and pressed a button under his desk. The drinks cabinet suddenly sunk into the ground, and the back wall began to rise into the air. Vanessa was giving Staraptor a Full Restore, and didn’t notice the wall until it came stopped with a thud. She looked up, and out of the shadows came a large, long, wrinkly Salamance.

“Unfortunately darling, you have lost the battle, and must face the consequences.” Mr Adiem explained, as the Salamance stepped further forwards, looking weaker with each movement.

“What are you going to do?” Vanessa said, standing up quickly. Chimchar and Luxio rushed forwards, but Mr Adiem merely smirked, and pressed another button, this time causing the glass to slide down.

“I merely am going to dismiss you.” He said, and the Salamance opened her mouth wide and fired the most powerful Roar Vanessa had ever experienced. She was blasted backwards, and her Pokemon all turned to energy and followed after, going inside their PokeBalls. Vanessa cursed and whipped out her umbrella. She turned it around three times, and then opened it up. She stopped moving as quickly, and instead floated in the air. Lots of fire engines and police cars were heading towards one particular area. With nothing else better to do, Vanessa swung her umbrella around and floated over to the scene of destruction.


Jubilife City (Global Trading Station area)

The water Kyorge exploded, sending water everywhere. A wave pushed Matthew, Piplup and Nutty further down the road, and Matthew coughed violently and woke up.

“What happened, is everyone alright?” He said. “Where’s Sahara?”

“Piplup Pip Pip!” Piplup said, and hugged her trainer.

“Pachi Pachirisu Pach Pach.” Nutty said, and pointed towards Crystal, who had begun to twirl around a streetlamp. Matthew stood up and approached her, ignoring Arbok, was trying to stir Ursilla.

“Is now really a good time to be pole dancing?” Matthew said. Crystal stopped and looked at him, grinning.

“There is never a bad time to pole dance.” She said, hopping down.

“I see…” Matthew said, and began to stare around at the destruction. “Jesus, that gun of hers really is powerful. Where did all this water come from?” Crystal just laughed loudly and approached Matthew, wrapping her arms around him.

“Who really cares about all that? Why waste your brain power on such insignificant matters, when we could be doing something far more exciting.” Matthew gulped nervously, and was glad when three fire engines and five police cars showed up on the street. Police men in black and blue uniforms swarmed the scene, each with either a Growlithe or a Hoothoot. As the firemen, in red and yellow uniforms, pulled out hoses, and three Blastoise ran after them, Nutty and Piplup rushed over.

“Pachi!” Nutty said, and used Quick Attack and slammed into Crystal’s back.

“You cow!” She hissed, before collapsing to the ground. Matthew gasped and bent down, wandering what he could do, when her eyes flashed with pink electricity and they began to turn to the left. Nutty gave Matthew a look to be patient, and moments later, there was a deep intake of breath and Sahara sat up, looking pale and slightly sick.

“Who was it?” She whispered, and looked over towards the Global Trading Station, where police men were trying to lead Ursilla away. “Was it Jaki?”

“What are you going on about?” Matthew said, sounding worried. Sahara looked up, registering him and Piplup for the first time.

“Oh, it is really nothing, over active imagination, that sort- LINOONE!” Sahara leapt up and pointed past the police cars. Matthew turned and saw a Linoone rushed onto the scene. There was a crashing sound, and seconds later a wave appeared, a Huntail on top. Everyone froze, staring at the new arrivals, and Ursilla used the chance to rub her snake hair. It came alive, and quickly bit the two men restraining Ursilla. They collapsed, and Ursilla whipped out her energy gun and fired it. One of the fire trucks exploded, causing a police car to overturn. She fired it again at the ground, and this time three police cars were sent flying.

“Nutty use Spark!”

“Piplup use Bubble!” Ursilla turned as the attacks flew towards her. She dived to the ground and pulled out her PokeBalls, bringing back her team. Than, she dived into one of the craters she had caused earlier. Sahara and Matthew rushed towards it, but the sky was darkening, and all they could make out where a number of pipes.

“She’s escaped, again.” Matthew huffed. They turned back towards the scene, and were surprised to see a Tropius land. Xavier and Turtwig slid off, and Sahara and Matthew rushed over to meet him.

“Hello there, were you two involved in the explosion?” Xavier said calmly. “A lot of buildings seem to blow up around us, have you noticed?” Sahara and Matthew exchanged looks and laughed, and then turned towards the ranger that owned the Tropius.

“Hello, my name is Niles.” He said, staring over towards the police officers, who were giving him weird looks. “I’d love to chat, but I am in a rush. We will meet again soon though, I expect.” And with that, his Tropius took off into the air.

“He is a very odd man.” Xavier said.

“We can figure that.” Sahara said, and she picked up Nutty. “Shall we go and bunk up for the night?”

“Good god yes, my neck is killing me!” Matthew said, and he picked up Piplup. And leaving the chaos of the trading station behind, the three friends began to walk towards the Pokemon Centre, doing their best to avoid the police officers. Up above them, Vanessa stared down and smiled, knowing her friends were safe, and decided to fly off and meet up with them in the morning.


Water was wrapping itself around Charles, strangling the life out of him. He struggled to move, struggled to breathe. A creature was roaring with pain above him, and he tried to swim back up to the surface, to help the legendary he had come to save, but a cold, pale hand was dragging himself down, pulling him towards the bottom of the Whirl Islands. Charles let out a scream, and watched as purple beam was fired above his head, and the creature let out another roar…

“Charles… Charles… CHARLES!”

Charles awoke with a start, and felt like he had run a mile. He looked around and saw Roshonda standing over him, tears streaming down her face.

“You were screaming, I thought something was wrong.”

“I was dreaming… well, not dreaming.” Charles replied, rubbing his head. “I was remembering something that happened in Johto.” He looked around, and saw he was in a white room with about fifty single beds, nearly all of which were full. There was a turquoise lining, and he knew he was in a Galactic hospital.

“You swallowed tons of water when we fell, you nearly died.” Roshonda explained, sitting back down.

“What happened to my Pokemon?”

“They are safe, I put them back in their balls.” Roshonda explained. “Your Ampharos shocked us a bit, but we are all fine.”

“What happened when the airship crashed?” Charles asked, adjusting himself in the bed to get more comfortable.

“Nearly everyone survived, but lots of people got struck by the blast like us, and that caused most the injuries. All these helicopters were brought in, though there is a rumour Zapdos got rid of some of them.” Roshonda replied. Charles nodded, and looked at some of the other injures. Lots of people had bandaged heads or limbs, and some people’s faces were cut and bruised, and it seemed that swallowing too much water was getting off lightly.

“I have to go back to my room now, I really need some sleep.” Roshonda said.

“Ok, thanks for staying by my side.” Charles said.

“Happy to do it. We all need a good friend by our sides, don’t we?” Roshonda said. Charles smiled and watched her leave, and then slid back in his bed. He would need a good friend during this, and as he hadn’t seen Sahara since she had tried to kill him, it looked like Roshonda would have to be his new best friend, until he got back to Johto.

Cyrus stood at the end of the ward, watching Charles from the shadows.

“He is a good boy, isn’t he?” Cyrus turned around and saw Minerva, smiling in an airy fashion.

“Yes, I think he’ll make a great grunt.” Cyrus replied, and Minerva rolled her eyes.

“That’s not what I mean.”

“I know.” Minerva sighed and went to walk off.

“Oh, sorry about not getting Zapdos.” Cyrus’ face twitched at this, but he managed to control his anger.

“It is fine, the birds are not the major part of it. There are a dozen other Pokemon out there we can use as bait.” He said.

“Yes, but the birds are the best.” Minerva said. “Goodnight.” And she walked off. Cyrus watched her leave, similar to how Charles had watched Roshonda, but he was feeling more hatred than love, as Minerva’s brutal honesty and love for torturing him had gotten the better of Cyrus once more.


January 9th 2010

Route 204

The two Wurmples in love had slept in that morning, so when they awoke, the sun was bright and cheerful, though a light shower of snow was falling.

“Wurm Wurmple Wurm?” The male Wurmple said.

“Wurmple Ple Wurm Wurm.” The female replied, very happy. The two smiled at each other, and they moved off, planning to climb an undamaged tree to get food. Suddenly, there was a cry. They turned as a Spark struck the male, knocking him to the ground.

“Wurmple Wurm!” The female cried. A Net Ball flew out and hit the male, and he turned into turquoise energy and went inside the ball. It shook for several seconds, but then flew into the hands of a red headed girl standing several metres away.

“You have to be more sly with your attacks.” The girl said. She was wearing an outfit of shaggy white fur, and a hat made out of black leather in the shade of a scythe head. The boy was wearing mostly blue, and nodded at the girl’s words.

“Piplup, use Pound!” The female Wurmple hadn’t noticed the Piplup standing behind her until the penguin lashed out, knocking her over.

“Bubble!” Next, a collection of small bubbles were fired.

“Wurm!” Wurmple moaned. Another Net Ball flew through the air, and Wurmple was sucked in.

“Yes, my first capture!” Matthew said excitedly, catching the ball as it went back to him.

“Pip!” Piplup said, equally as happy.

“Reasonable work.” Vanessa said, pocketing her latest capture. “I recommend you train both of them up a bit more for your gym battles.”

“I am not too fussed about gyms at the moment.” Matthew replied, picking Piplup up. “I’d much rather focus on the contest in a few days at Floaroma Town.”

“I pegged you for a coordinator.” Vanessa said, as she began to walk towards a white fence. Behind them, Sahara was showing Xavier a proper way to clean Lapras, who’s shell had been getting dirty. “I don’t really care what I am doing in a few days, as long as someone isn’t trying to kill me.” Matthew laughed, and he and Vanessa sat down on the fence and watched their friends. They had already forgotten most of the previous day, storing the bad memories away with the rest of them. All any of them cared about at the moment was reaching their next destination in one piece.
 
Re: Galactic: Flight, Fight and Plight

Family Values

January 11th 2010

Floaroma Town

As the sun rose over the small town, dozens of Combee fluttered from flower to flower, transfer pollen around. The flowers formed fields large that most buildings, and a rainbow of colours seemed to be sprouting out of the earth. And a very big flower seemed to be moving through them. Vanessa was prancing through them, wearing green skinny jeans, brown leather shoes, and a shirt that was made of two giant plastic flowers, with smaller ones running down the side.

“Isn’t this just lovely?” Vanessa said to her Wurmple, cutting flowers by swiping them with the sword part of her umbrella.

“Wurmple Wurm.” Wurmple agreed, and sniffed a daisy that Vanessa held up. Behind them, there was a cry.

“Oi Vanessa, get back, he’s about to test out!” Sahara yelled. Vanessa groaned and put the daisy’s in her pocket. Then, she pranced back over towards the others. Xavier and Sahara sat on a picnic blanket with Turtwig, Nutty and Matthew’s Wurmple. Matthew was standing a few metres away, with Piplup in between them. Vanessa grouchily sat down amongst the bags, her Wurmple hopping down to join Matthew’s, and Matthew smiled.

“Ok Piplup, use Water Sport.” He said.

“Piplup!” Piplup said, and fired out a spray of water above her head. It fell down, and Piplup spun gracefully, allowing the water to fall on her.

“Now use Bubble.” Piplup opened her mouth again, but this time released bubbles. She leapt up, and the bubbles clung to her. She then stood in the direct sunlight, and the bubbles reflected the light, and the addition of the Water Sport made Piplup’s head shimmer as well. The bubbles popped, and Matthew and Piplup took a bow. Sahara, Vanessa and Xavier gave a little round of applause, and the Pokemon went off and jabbered to Piplup.

“Who are you going to battle with?” Sahara asked.

“I am not sure yet.” Matthew said, a bit sheepishly.

“The contest starts in an hour, this isn’t very good behaviour.” Xavier said, and Matthew ignored him.

“Just call your parents and ask for one of your spares.” Vanessa said, juggling her PokeBalls and Net Ball in her hands.

“What a good idea.” Everyone turned at the source of the voice. Four people were walking towards them: two women, a man and a young boy, carrying a Mime Jr.

“Mum, dad, Peter!” Matthew said excitedly, and rushed forwards, Piplup and his Wurmple following behind. The Pearl family were all wearing blue T-shirts that said “MATTHEW FOR CHAMPION”, though Adrian had a black jacket over his.

“Hello Mother.” Xavier said, glancing over briefly. Lady Carolina, who had looking very unimpressed about all the flowers grazing her purple dress, looked up and smiled.

“Hello there darling, how are you doing?” She said, prancing over slightly, and gave him a quick hug. “And these must be your friends. Hello, I’m Lady Carolina, Xavier’s mother.”

“I’m Sahara.” Sahara said, and shook hands.

“Vanessa.” Vanessa said bluntly, but ignored the handshake. Carolina looked a bit affronted, but quickly recovered.

“So darling, have you caught any Pokemon?” She said to Xavier.

“No, though I have your Lapras.” Xavier said. Lady Carolina looked shocked, but before she could answer, Matthew came back, followed by his family.

“You should have told me you were coming up!” Matthew was saying, evidently ecstatic.

“Well, I had to come up to host the first contest.” Adrian replied. “And your mum thought it would be a good idea for us all to see you.”

“And, we brought your Chimecho up for you to use as well.” Leah said, smiling. Matthew grinned and grabbed the PokeBall as she pulled it out. He caught Sahara and Vanessa exchanging strained looks, and he stepped aside.

“Sahara, Vanessa, this is my dad, Adrian, my mum, Leah, and my brother, Peter.” Matthew said. There was a chorus of hellos, and for the next five minutes, Matthew and Xavier caught their parents up on their tales as they got to know the girls. Matthew was halfway through describing Ursilla, to a very horrified Leah and Carolina, when Adrian exclaimed loudly.

“Bugger, look at the time! We have to get the contest hall now.” He said, and looked over towards a circular orange and yellow building in the distance, with a large domed ceiling.

“Oh no, I have to get dressed and prep Chimecho!” Matthew said, and picked up Piplup and Wurmple, who looked mournfully at

“We’ll take the car, come on!” Adrian cried, and he rushed over, half pulling Peter with him.

“Xavier dear, are you coming?” Lady Carolina said, as she turned to leave.

“We’re going later, we are going to the flower store first.” Xavier said firmly. Lady Carolina looked a bit hurt, but Leah called out for her to hurry, so the socialite waved goodbye and hurried towards the silver Santa Fe. Sahara packed up the picnic blanket, and Xavier and Vanessa picked up their Pokemon.

“Tur Twig Twig!” Turtwig exclaimed, and signalled towards the entrance to the town. A black Jeep Wrangler was moving slowly in.

“Get down!” Vanessa hissed, and she pushed Xavier to the ground. Sahara gasped and ducked down as well. They watched from between the flowers as the Jeep moved around the outskirts, heading in the direction of the Valley Windworks, but it revealed another one, which moved very quickly near them. Thankfully, it stayed close to the trees, and rushed past them, disappearing off through a clearing behind them.

“Team Galactic, definitely.” Vanessa said, standing up.

“What should we do?” Sahara said.

“I think we should split up, than we can cover both areas.” Vanessa said. “Sahara, your slow, you go to Valley Windworks. Us two will make sure that person isn’t too dodgy, then defeat him, and we’ll catch up.” Sahara give Vanessa an agitated look, but nodded.

“Come on Turtwig.” Xavier said casually, and walked towards the trees, Vanessa walking alongside.

“We’d better go as well Nutty.” Sahara said. “At least we know the way.

“Pachi.” Nutty replied, and the two headed off towards Windworks, leaving their old town behind.”


Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

“Ampharos, Discharge, let’s go!”

“Purugly use Shadow Claw on Dusknoir.”

“Dusknoir use Shadow Punch on Ampharos!”

“Skuntank use Crunch on Ampharos.”

Nearly everyone who worked for Team Galactic had come to watch the tag battle. It was initially meant to be Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Draco, but Saturn was still bedridden after the airship crash. Cyrus had decided that a grunt would take part in the battle, fighting alongside Mars.

He decided to go with Charles.

Charles was now watching as Ampharos ran forwards, dodging Draco’s Dusknoir and Jupiter’s Skuntank, and then glowed yellow and released a field of electricity.

“Jump Purugly!” Mars squealed. The giant cat leapt upwards, avoiding being hurt by the attack, and dived downwards, slashing as Dusknoir with a glowing purple claw.

“Dusk!” The ghost Pokemon exclaimed, falling backwards.

“Now Ampharos, use Thunderbolt on Dusknoir!” Charles exclaimed.

“Skuntank, get in there with a Headbutt and stop his Ampharos.” Jupiter said. Skuntank charged forwards, head down and aiming straight for Ampharos.

“Purugly use Slash!” Mars said, smiling deviously. Ampharos fired the electric attack, blasting Dusknoir even further backwards. Draco seethed with fury, and looked delighted as Skuntank went to strike Ampharos, but Purugly leapt up, slashing across Skuntank’s stomach.

“Skun Tank Skun!” The skunk fumed, and rolled over.

“Thanks.” Charles said to Mars.

“You can thank me properly later.” She replied, winking at him. A shiver went down his spine, but he watched as Dusknoir got back up.

“Destiny Bond!” Draco roared. Dusknoir lifted up his dark hands and held them apart, a small glowing white ball forming.

“Dusk-NOIR!” Dusknoir cried, and released it. Ampharos ducked out of the way, and the ball struck Purugly. Mars let out a gasp of shock, and glared angrily at Draco, who smiled slightly.

“Purugly, Aerial Ace on that freak of a ghost!” The red head growled, and Purugly leapt into the air. Her tail uncoiled, and it glowed, seemingly turning into a wing.

“Ampharos use Discharge again!” Charles commanded.

“Dusknoir use Shadow Punch on Ampharos.” Draco said.

“Skuntank, use Double Edge on Ampharos!” Jupiter yelled. The four Pokemon all seemed to be moving closer together. Dusknoir punched Ampharos with a ghostly fist. Ampharos released a burst of electricity, which Purugly fell into. Skuntank rushed into it as well in order to attack Ampharos. They was a sudden explosion, and bolts of electricity blasted across the room, several smashing lights and knocking grunts backwards. Charles looked around, trying to see what had happened, and found all four Pokemon lying around each other.

“What happened, how is this possible?” Draco fumed, as he brought Dusknoir back.

“I guess that Ampharos’ Discharge would have knocked out Dusknoir. Due to Destiny Bond, Purugly fainted as well. Skuntank then used Double Edge, causing Ampharos to faint, and the recoil knocked her out as well.” Mars suggested. Charles and Jupiter exchanged looks of shock, while Draco turned and stormed off.

“Plausible enough.” Jupiter said, and brought back Skuntank and walked off. Charles did the same, leaving before Mars could do anything creepier.

At the back of the room, behind a one way window, Cyrus and Minerva stood there, watching as everyone left.

“He is an excellent battler.” Cyrus said. “It is a surprise he didn’t manage to defeat Lance.”

“I don’t think he owns an Ice type.” Minerva said.

“That’s not the point.” Cyrus said, and he turned away. “I need to fully test him.” He continued, and he began to pace the room. “And I know just how to do it. Minerva, make sure he is back up here in half an hour.”

“May I ask why?” Minerva said, though she already knew the answer. Cyrus smirked at her as he opened up the only door in the cramped room.

“I’m going to battle him of course.”


Floaroma Contest Hall

The anticipation in the hall was building. Nearly every seat was filled, and they were in a ring, facing down towards the arena. Lights were flashing, loud pop music blared out of the speakers, and the four jumbo television screens showed clips from previous contests, and different areas of Floaroma. The judges sat on a covered, raised platform, giving them all a perfect view of the stadium. Matthew stared up at the table as Adrian pushed him forwards, and could make out a woman and two men.

“Dad, who are the judges?” Matthew asked. He had learnt several years ago that the Pokemon Contest Board consisted of his father as the head, and then the six judges, who all did different contests.

“They announce all that later, just go in and get changed, it is about to begin!” Adrian replied, and opened up the changing room door and pushed his son in. “Good luck!” And he slammed it. Matthew rolled his eyes as he put his bag down. He opened it up and pulled out his contest outfit: a deep ocean blue jacket, a black T-shirt, a red tie and black pants. As he went into one of the stalls to get changed, he heard other voices.

“I am telling you Harrison, you’ll do fine! You are a great coordinator.” A woman was saying, and the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

“I know I am, but did you see those people out there? That guy’s Slowking won the Smart Rankings last year, and that ace trainer won four ribbons last year!” A slightly hysterical man was saying.
“Your Vaporeon and Skiploom will do fine, trust me!” The female said. Matthew put the jacket on and stepped out the changing room. He registered the two people in the room: there was a stout woman wearing a pink jacket and skirt, and a man, wearing an extremely loud orange and red striped suit, with matching pants.

“Your Lucinda Large.” Matthew said, and remembered seeing her doing a report a couple of days before he started his journey.

“It’s always nice to be recognised.” Lucinda chuckled, and shook his hand. “This is my cameraman, Harrison. I am guessing your entering the contest?”

“Yes, my first one.” Matthew replied.

“The Floaroma Contest three years ago was my first.” Harrison said. “I remember that this was this one person who-” But he was cut off by a loudspeaker, which let out a loud beep before the voice said ‘Contest is beginning in one minute. Will Harrison Maude, Jenna Smith and Michelle Ryder please come to the front gate.’ Harrison let out a gasp and rushed forwards without saying goodbye.

“We can watch the opening on the television.” Lucinda said, and she pressed a button on the wall. The wall length mirror turned blue, and then crackled slightly before an image appeared. Matthew sat down next to Lucinda, and they watched as the lights dimmed. A PokeBall rolled onto the field. It burst opened, and as the red light formed, a number of orange-pink and purple flower petals rained upon the ground. A spotlight shone down, revealing a Sunflora.

“Sun!” She cried, and released a swallowed a Power Herb. She shut her eyes, and everyone stared in anticipation. A powerful Solarbeam was released, signalling for the lights to come back on, and the music played again. The crowd whooped and cheered, and a girl with shoulder length brown hair, wearing a purple dress walked onto the arena, waving with her Sunflora.

“Hello everyone! My name is Felicity, and welcome to the Floaroma Contest!” The girl cried into her microphone.

“Felicity hosts all the Sinnoh contests, and she hosts the SBC lotto as well.” Lucinda explained. Matthew nodded, but was barely listening, all his attention focused on the screen.

“Before we continue, let me introduce today’s judges!” Felicity said, and the spotlight pointed towards the judges table, were a woman and two men were sitting. “Firstly, Madam Florence, champion of the Sinnoh Grand Festival from 1996-2001!” Madam Florence had golden blonde hair, and was wearing large tinted glasses, covering most of her face. She was wearing a pale white poncho, and didn’t acknowledge the crowd’s cheers, merely looking a bit bored. “Secondly, Mr Holmes, Chairman of the Sinnoh Pokemon Fan Club!” Mr Holmes was wearing a brown suit and red tie with a brown hat, and waved cheerfully to the crowd, though he was getting a bit less applause then Madam Florence. “And finally, we have Dr Orson, acclaimed scientist working at the Oreburgh City Museum.” Dr Orson was bald, and his head was shining in the light. He was wearing glasses, and had a grey suit with blue stripes, and a matching tie. He nodded to the crowd, and the spotlight left them, going back to Felicity and her Sunflora.

“Ok everyone, let’s get the ball rolling with Harrison Maude, a cameraman for the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company and resident of Jubilife City. Let’s give him a big round of applause!” And Felicity ran out of the arena. As Harrison walked in, there was a quick shot of everyone applauding while workers placed a large rock in the centre of the field.

“Vaporeon, go!” Harrison exclaimed, keeping his cool. He threw out a Heal Ball. A variety of pink and blue bubbles popped open, and Vaporeon formed. There was a smattering of applause, and Vaporeon went and stood on the rock, facing the judges.

“Surf!” Harrison commanded.

“Vapor.” Vaporeon said, and a giant wave burst out from the arena floor. It descended, but it began to crash against the edges of the arena, and the people in the front row looked a bit shocked. The lights had dimmed and the music had stopped, so all anyone could hear was the waves. Harrison ordered two more Surfs, and the arena was soon practically flooded, except for the rock.

“Now use Aurora Beam on the water.” Harrison said, smiling as the crowd watched in awe. Vaporeon fired the multi coloured beam into the water. Instead of freezing, the water began to glow, making a rainbow of colours. The crowd began to applaud, but Harrison wasn’t done yet.

“Jump into the water.” He commanded, and Vaporeon leapt off the rock, diving in. The water suddenly began to move in towards Vaporeon thanks to Water Absorb. Vaporeon leapt out of the water after thirty seconds, and was now glowing a rainbow colour like the water. Harrison then raised his arms to show the end. Everyone clapped and cheered, and Vaporeon released the water through an Aqua Tail. Felicity ran back on, but what she was saying was barely audible over the crowd’s cheers.

“That was great, wasn’t it?” Lucinda said, clapping enthusiastically. She looked towards Matthew, but he had turned white and was looking thoroughly depressed.
He didn’t have a shot of winning now.


Floaroma Meadow

The Jeep Wrangler came to a halt outside a quaint cottage. The doors opened up and Roshonda stepped out, along with four other grunts, though all of them were male. Roshonda stared around at the field of flowers nearby.

“Hideous.” She hissed, and walked over to the cottage. As she walked, she released her Beedrill, who fluttered beside her. The other grunts released their Pokemon, and soon a Stunky, Ekans, Geodude and Haunter were out, along with the usual amount of Zubats. Roshonda smiled, and stood up to the front door and knocked. No one answered her, but she heard someone gasp inside.

“Tut tut, how very rude.” Roshonda smirked. “I’ll give them one more chance, they when go in. Space yourselves out in case they run for it.” She said to the grunts. They all nodded, and moved around the tiny area. Roshonda rapped her fist on the door again, but still, no one answered.

“Ok then Beedrill, use-” Roshonda began, but there was a crash, and the front door was knocked down. A giant pink ball smashed into Roshonda’s face, knocking her backwards.

“What’s going on?” She wailed, and turned around as the pink ball stopped spinning, and a Lickilicky stood up.

“Nice work.” A voice said. They turned as Looker walked out, bouncing two PokeBalls in his hand.

“I’ve heard of you, your that clumsy agent from the International Police!” Roshonda said, and several grunts sniggered. Looker glared at her and pulled out a gun.

“I am a perfectly capable agent, thank you very much.” He said, and walked over towards Lickilicky. “I heard from a source that you may be in the Valley Windworks area. I thought I would provide some security to the head caretaker here.” And he signalled towards the door, where a middle aged man was peering around, looking a bit frightened.

“We are not leaving until we have the all access key!” Roshonda said firmly. “And I am prepared to fight you to the death.” Looker and his Lickilicky laughed at this.

“You are forgetting I am the one with the gun.” The agent reminded her. “It seems that Cyrus doesn’t trust you all enough with one.” Roshonda was practically fuming at this point, and Looker grinned as he lifted up his arm, his finger ready on the trigger.

“AAAHHH!” They all turned as the grunt nearest the entrance was sent flying by an invisible force. His Ekans turned around, hissing, and was blasted by an Ember. Xavier and Vanessa ran in, followed by Turtwig, Chimchar, Lapras and Wurmple.

“’Ello, ‘Ello, ‘Ello, what have we here?” Vanessa said, pulling her umbrella out of her bag. Looker stared at them, and Roshonda used the time to kick him in the stomach. Looker doubled over, coughing and spluttering, and the gun fell to the ground.

“KILL THEM!” Roshonda hissed, as she picked up the gun and pointed it at Looker.

“Wurmple, String Shot!” Vanessa yelled.

“Wurmple!” Wurmple said, and fired the attack at Roshonda. The string wrapped around her eyes, forming a blindfold. She screamed and dropped the gun as she tried to pull it off. The other grunts rushed forwards, and the battle began.


Valley Windworks

Sahara and Nutty were wondering down Route 205, staring at the nine giant wind turbines positioned around the are, which were spinning rapidly, the three points merely blurs.

“I know people think they are ugly, but I think that they are quite nice looking.” Sahara said, as she paused, staring mesmerised by them.

“Pachi Pachi Pachi!” Nutty gasped, and pointed towards a building. Sahara turned around, staring at the two storey structure that was the power plant. It was painted grey, and had simple sign with bold black writing read its name.

“I remember visiting here!” Sahara said.

“Pachirisu Pachi!” Nutty said irritably, and pointed near the entrance. The Jeep Wrangler was there, along with a man in a white coat and three grunts, which were standing guard with Zubats, Geodudes, Machops and an Onix captured from Oreburgh Mine. Sahara rushed and ducked behind the long grass.

“I kind of recognise the guy in the lad coat from when Charles was captured.” Sahara whispered. Nutty nodded, and the two looked up over the grass. Two of the grunts were using the Pokemon to capture a number of Pokemon in the fields: several Bidoofs tried to flee, while a group of Electrike were trying to fight back, but the Geodudes were too strong. The scientist turned around and sighed.

“Where is that blasted girl with the key?” He growled. “Cyrus specifically said not to leave traces of us being here before Mars gets her.”

“I cannot see her anywhere in the distance Charon.” A grunt said, as he tossed back a range of PokeBalls into a bag, and went after the Good Rods. Another grunt went off towards the nearby Honey Tree, which was shaking slightly.

“These people are monsters!” Sahara hissed. The remaining grunt was having the Onix towering over three tiny Pachirisus, who were whimpering.

“Pachi!” Nutty said angrily, and leapt up and fired a Spark before Sahara could stop her. It hit the grunt and blasted him backwards, smashing into the one doing the fishing. The toppled back into the water. Charon turned around and threw out an Ultra Ball, which burst open in yellow light and twinkling stars, and his shiny Magnezone rose up into the air, along with the Onix.

“Show yourself!” Charon cried. Sahara sighed and stood up. Charon’s look of anger turned into shock, and then he smiled. “Ah Sahara, how lovely it is to meet you.”

“What?” Sahara said, sounding appalled, and she took a step backwards.

“Try and run and I’ll kill you.” Charon said, taking a step forwards, Magnezone following him. “As I was saying, it is lovely to meet you. I heard of what your darling friends Eden and Crystal did at Oreburgh Mine and the Global Trading Station, and-”

“Eden and Crystal are not my friends.” Sahara hissed, and she slowly reached inside her pocket. Charon was staring at her face and didn’t notice this.

“So sorry my dear, I merely presumed.” He said, bowing in apology. “But I would love to meet them, if you would just come a bit closer.”

“Rot in hell, creep!” Sahara snarled, and whipped out two PokeBalls and a Great. They burst open, and Aqua, Virus and Smash all formed.

“Spark, Aqua Jet, Charge Beam and Tackle, let’s go!” Sahara screamed, and her Pokemon rushed forwards. Smash and the Galactic Onix charged for each other, but Smash hit this one straight in the middle, and it toppled backwards, falling into the stream nearby. Several dots of electricity spun around Virus’ mouth. Electricity then formed in the middle, and Virus roared, releasing a beam which smashed into Magnezone. Nutty fired constant Sparks at the Zubats, who began to drop like flies. Aqua rushed forwards and struck the Geodudes, causing them all to scamper.

“Magnezone use Magnet Bomb!” Charon boomed.

“Magnezone Magnezone.” Magnezone said, and a fired a ball of steel from between its magnets. Sahara screeched and tried to run. Suddenly, a fist of electricity smashed into the attack, causing it to explode in mid air. Sahara looked around for her saviour, and saw Mason rushing towards her, his Nidoking and Golduck racing behind.

“What are you doing here?” Sahara gasped.

“Nice to see you too.” Mason smiled. “Professor Rowan and I are doing some research. I was across the stream looking for some berries and I saw you, so I figured I could help.”

“Cheers, I don’t think I can really combat Steel moves.” Sahara said. There were several flashes behind her, and Sahara turned as Nutty, Aqua, Smash and Virus rushed back to her, as Charon and the grunts released all their captured Pokemon. Around two dozen Electrikes, Mareeps, Bidoofs and Buizels joined the Geodudes and Machops. Charon stepped forwards, grinning.

“Quite a few familiar Pokemon around here, wouldn’t you say?” He said, smiling. “It must be so nice to be back in your home town, right?” Sahara’s eyes bulged, and Mason looked at her curiously. “Ah, you haven’t told anyone you used to live here, have you? Of course, you wouldn’t want anyone to possibly track down your past, would you, give them a chance to find out about your charming father.”

“Shut up, just SHUT UP!” Sahara roared, and Mason looked shocked. Charon grinned deviously, and nodded at the grunts. They all barked out orders, and the Pokemon around began to release their moves. Sahara was too furious to move, and stood there, her face frozen in a twisted rage.

“Virus, use your ability!” Mason said. “Nidoking use Sludge Bomb and Golduck use Psybeam.” Sahara looked around as Virus raced forwards. He dived in front of all the electric attacks, allowing himself to be hit.

“You idiot, your letting my Pokemon get hurt!” Sahara hissed, while Nidoking fired a giant purple ball of slime and Golduck fired an attack of multicoloured rings

“Electivires all have Motor Drive as their ability.” Mason explained. “Electric attacks cause their speed to rise, look!” Virus was now racing around, a mere yellow blur.

“Wow!” Sahara said, and she suddenly had an idea. “Bring your Nidoking back and send out your Lunatone and Solrock, quickly!” Mason nodded and brought back Nidoking, while sending out Solrock and Lunatone. Sahara meanwhile whipped out her PokeBalls, and Nutty, Aqua and Smash all turned into red energy and went inside their metal containers. Lunatone and Solrock formed, looking around the new area.

“Have Golduck use Surf and those two use Psychic on it.” Sahara said, as Virus rushed over.

“You heard the girl.” Mason said.

“Gol Gold Duck!” Golduck said, and lifted a webbed hand. A giant wave rose out of the stream, and it moved over towards Charon and the grunts.

“Psychic!” Mason said.

“Luna!”

“Sol!” The wave froze as Lunatone and Solrock’s eyes glowed pink. The wave turned into a giant barrier, protecting them from attacks for the time being.

“Grab Virus and run!” Sahara said, and wrapped her arms around the Electivire. Mason did the same, and Lunatone and Solrock followed after, keeping the water in form.


Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

Charles had been anxious when the nurse told him Cyrus wanted to see him back on the top floor. So unwillingly, he left Ampharos behind to continue treatment, and went up in the elevator. As it opened up, the third floor was very quiet, and all the grunts were sitting in the stands, perfectly still, though several eyes flickered towards him. Cyrus was standing at one end of the battlefield. Minerva was nearest to him, and she gestured towards the other spot. Charles took his place, feeling rather anxious.

“What is going on?” He said, and Mars, who was in the front row, cackled, while Draco smirked. Jupiter and Minerva didn’t react, but merely looked bored. Cyrus smiled, and pulled out a PokeBall.

“We are going to have a battle. Five rounds, a different Pokemon in each round.” Cyrus explained. “I will choose my Pokemon first in this round. Whoever wins a round chooses their Pokemon first.”

“Why are we doing this?” Charles said, a little apprehensive.

“It is a mere test.” Cyrus said. “I want to test your abilities in a proper battle. Now we begin!” And he threw out his first PokeBall, and Charles was a bit surprised by the sudden start. He watched as Houndoom formed, breathing flames out of its mouth. Charles pondered, and grinned as he threw out his first choice. Tauros burst open with a loud moo, and pounded the ground.

“Interesting choice, let’s see if it works out for you.” Cyrus smirked. “Flamethrower!”

“Hyper Beam!” Tauros released a burst of orange energy, blasting aside the tongue of fire and Houndoom was sent flying.

“Get up and use Dark Pulse!” Cyrus snarled.

“Good job.” Charles said, as Tauros recovered.

“Tau.” The bull replied, and withstood the dark energy Houndoom fired from his mouth.

“Now get in there with a Will-O-Wisp!” Cyrus said.

“Water Pulse, but wait for the attack.” Charles said.

“Hound!” Houndoom cried, and fired out a ball of blue flame. Tauros formed a ball of water in his mouth, and then mooed loudly. The rings blasted the Will-O-Wisp aside, and struck Houndoom, bringing him to his knees.

“Get up and use Thunder Fang!” Cyrus roared. He was not enjoying this crushing defeat. Houndoom stood up, though was obviously very weak. He began to run forwards, thunder in his mouth. Charles was staring at the dog, waiting for the right moment…

“Earthquake!” He boomed. Cyrus’ eyes bulged, and all the grunts and admins looked equally as surprised. Tauros lifted his front legs into the air, just as Houndoom came close enough to see into his eyes.

“TAU-ROOOOSSS!” Tauros boomed, and smashed his legs back onto the floor. The whole building began to shake, and Houndoom was hit with the brunt of it. After all the hits, Houndoom couldn’t take anymore and collapsed onto the ground. Charles gave Tauros a pat before brining him back. Cyrus let out an angry sigh before brining back Houndoom.

“Good job, I didn’t expect you to be able to combat him so easily.” Cyrus said.

“I’m full of surprises.” Charles smiled. “Now Gligar, I choose you!” And he threw out a PokeBall. Gligar formed and stared around curiously.

“Gli?” He said. Cyrus smiled and pulled out his next Ultra Ball.

“Crobat, destroy him.” He said, and released out his four winged bat. The two purple Pokemon stared at each other, and Gligar sprung into the air, so that they were both flying.

“Gligar use Metal Claw!” Charles exclaimed.

“Crobat use Confuse Ray.” Cyrus said. Charles cursed as Crobat fired a small glowing ball. Gligar froze in mid air as the ball circled around him.

“Liga Liga!” Gligar said, and dove straight into the ground.

“Come on Gligar, you can shake it off!” Charles said. “Try another Metal Claw.”

“Sludge Bomb!” Cyrus boomed. Gligar weakly tried to get back up, but Crobat fired a ball of purple slime. It exploded, coating the field with the purple sludge. Gligar didn’t notice, as he was now hitting himself on the head with a glowing right claw. It stopped when Gligar’s whole body turned purple.

“Looks like you flying scorpion friend has been poisoned, what a pity.” Cyrus said. Charles ignored the jibe, but he was not enjoying this.

“Wing Attack, come on!”

“Cross Poison.” Gligar was seeming to gain control, and jumped into the air.

“Cro Crobat!” Crobat said, and raced forwards and slashed Gligar with both wings.

“Gar.” Gligar said weakly, and smashed one of his wings into Crobat, knocking the bat down. But Gligar glowed purple a second time, and suddenly began to fall backwards. Charles raced forwards and caught him in the nick of time. He stared down and saw Gligar had fainted.

“Tough luck.” Cyrus snarled, and he brought back his Crobat.

“Nice work.” Charles said, trying to sound nice, but it came out sounding very vicious. He went back to his spot, brining back Gligar, and prepared for the next round.


Floaroma Contest Hall

Matthew watched in awe as a Slowking used Psychic to send heavy iron balls flying around the room, a Dewgong formed a giant ice sculpture of her trainer and a Parasect used Stun Spore and Sleep Powder to make beautiful spores. As one of the last trainers had their Electrode explode, there was a call for his name.

“Good luck!” Lucinda said.

“Thanks.” Matthew said, and he rushed down a brick corridor, pass a girl crying about her stuffed up performance. Matthew rushed up to end of the corridor, and peered around as a boy stormed off, carrying a depressed Bulbasaur.

“And now for our final contestant of the day!” Felicity announced. “Making his contest debut, give a round of applause for Matthew Pearl, aged 14 and a budding Pokemon trainer, who recently obtained the Coal Badge.” There was a lot of applause, and as Matthew walked out towards the stage, he noticed Dr Orson muttering something to Mr Holmes, who nodded.

“Good luck, I am sure you’ll do fine.” Felicity said. Matthew nodded, but his mouth was dry and he was shaking a bit. As he stepped into the spot, the applause stopped, and the spotlight focused on him.
You can do this, you can do this, just throw the PokeBall and say a couple of words. He thought, and picked up his PokeBall.

“Piplup, I choose you!” He exclaimed. He suddenly realised as he threw it that he had no seals, and felt a bit ashamed as Piplup formed.

“Use Water Sport.” Matthew commanded. Piplup lifted her head and released the sprinkling of water, which coated her body.

“Now use Bubble, and spread them out!” Matthew said.

“Piplup Pip Pip Pip!” Piplup said, and released as many bubbles as possible. They floated around the room, and the spotlights began to hit them, reflecting off others until they struck Piplup, causing her body to twinkle and flash. There was some polite applause, and Matthew was going to bow, but he didn’t feel that it was enough.

“Now form one giant Bubble!” Matthew said. Piplup looked a bit surprised and turned around, but Matthew gave her a look and she nodded. She concentrated, and a giant Bubble began to grow out of her mouth, rising up above them. It was glowing brighter than any of the others as it was directly under the spotlight, and Piplup shone bright than ever as well. Satisfied, Matthew bowed, and the crowd clapped. Matthew smiled, and stared around, and saw his parents cheering, and feeling extremely relived, he and Piplup walked off stage as Felicity came back on.

“Great job Piplup, thanks a lot!” Matthew said.

“Pip Pip.” Piplup replied, and the two rushed back to the dressing room. Lucinda and Harrison was watching the screen eagerly.

“They are about to announce who is going through!” Lucinda said. Matthew and Piplup joined in on watching the screen. Four people had already been announced: the people with the Slowking, Dewgong and Parasect included. The next person came up, and Harrison let out a squeal as he stared at his own face.

“Congrats.” Matthew said, as Lucinda gave her friend a hug. The next two people were revealed, and the girl who had been crying appeared. Only one space remained, and Matthew crossed his fingers. He watched, and grinned as he saw himself.

“Good job!” Lucinda said. Matthew smiled and hugged Piplup.

“Looks like we could be battling each other.” Harrison said, and Matthew looked up at him.

“Don’t worry, I am sure we will in the finals.”


Floaroma Meadow

There was a burst of fire, a blast of electricity, a spray of poison and the slash of a wing cutting through the air. Chimchar, Luxio and Staraptor’s attacks collided with those from Ekans, Haunter and Stunky, while Turtwig battled the Geodude and Lapras and Beedrill were locked in combat. Xavier stood there, shouting commands to the Pokemon, while Vanessa slashed and stabbed at the grunts, Wurmple clinging to her shoulder. Looker and Roshonda continued in their armed combat, and Lickilicky was trying to get the caretaker out of the way.

“This is insane!” Vanessa hissed, as she wedged her umbrella into a grunts shoulder. He howled in pain and Vanessa grinned, and then lashed out against an oncoming one.

“Ember, Spark, Close Combat, Psychic and Absorb!” Xavier yelled. “My goodness this is tired, I am going to sit down.”

“This is no time for sitting down!” Looker yelled, as he dodged a kick from Roshonda aimed at his head, and rammed his left fist into her gut.

“Dick!” She snarled, and doubled over in pain. Looker chuckled and rammed his palm into her nose, knocking her aside.

“The gun, where is the gun?” He cried.

“Up your arse.” Roshonda yelled, and swung her right leg, smashing into Lookers legs. He cried out and collapsed over, and Roshonda grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back.

“Find it before any of them can!” She yelled. Lapras looked over while she dodged Beedrill’s Twineedle attacks.

What a very unladylike position. She thought, and her eyes flashed pink. Roshonda yelled out as she was sent soaring further down the meadow.

“Nice work Lapras.” Xavier said.

Why thank you, now get up and do something helpful! Lapras scolded, but then let out a soft cry as Beedrill used Bug Bite.

“Staraptor, get over here and deal with this thing!” Vanessa yelled. She pulled out her green pen and clicked it and jabbed into the nearest grunt. He was left breathless as his uniform shirt began to melt away and his skin burned.

“Star Staraptor Star.” Staraptor said, and tried to fly, but the Zubats swarmed down, firing a number of Leech Life attacks.

“Luxi!” Luxio cried, and fired Spark, frying several, but didn’t realise Ekans was closing in.

“Ekans-s-s-s.” The purple snake hissed, and began to wrap around him.

“XAVIER, DO SOMETHING!” Vanessa yelled, and swung her umbrella around, and blood was thrown into the air as the grunt with the burning chest was slit in the throat. Xavier ran forwards.

“Ekans, please get off Luxio!” He said firmly, but nothing happened, and Luxio gasped as Ekans closed around his neck.

“Chim Chim Char!” Chimchar said, rolling his eyes. He ran forwards, using Scratch on the Stunky to get it to move, and then fired an Ember.

“Ek!” Ekans cried, and slid away, but Luxio collapsed. Xavier bent to down examine, and Turtwig rushed over, energy being sucked away from the Geodude as he went.

“Tur Turtwig Twig!” Turtwig said, signalling for the exit. Vanessa ran over, leaving the three remaining grunts severely injured.

“Back off, shoo, shoo!” She snarled, swiping her sword at the Zubats, but as they moved, Staraptor collapsed.

“Star.” She said weakly, and passed out.

“Bastards.” Vanessa hissed. “Luxio, Spark!” But the Zubats all dived down, and fired more attacks upon them.

“Chim!” Chimchar cried, and fired a powerful Ember. It exploded against several of the attacks, blasting Xavier and Vanessa backwards, but left their Pokemon trapped. Looker rushed over, looking concerned.

“You need to leave here, now!” He said. “I can deal with Roshonda.” He then ducked as Beedrill zoomed over his head, chased by Lapras on a Waterfall.

“She is unconscious, why don’t you just let me kill her?” Vanessa suggested.

“How very crude.” They all looked as Roshonda stood up, pointing the gun towards them and smiling deviously.


Route 205

Virus was pounding down the route, Sahara and Mason struggling to hold on. A pair of trainers battling with a Budew and a Cleffa had to dodge to avoid being trampled.

“Watch where your going!” One of the girls yelled. Sahara tried to apologise, but was already moving too far away, and Lunatone was blocking her view from the girl anyway.

“How long do you think it’ll hold them off for?” Sahara yelled to Mason.

“Hopefully long enough.” He replied, and looked nervously over towards the Windworks. Sahara copied him, and saw that the wall of water was still holding strong, but it was shaking.

“They are breaking it down! Faster Virus.” Sahara said. Virus nodded, and picked up speed, but Lunatone and Solrock were struggling to keep up.

“Stop!” Mason cried. Virus turned and skidded to a halt, nearly toppling over. Sahara fell off and rolled away. Mason rushed down towards Lunatone and Solrock, who were falling closer towards the ground, their eyes turning back to their normal colours.

“Sahara, you get out here, fast. I’ll Surf on Golduck.” Mason said. Solrock collapsed first, followed almost immediately after by Lunatone. There was the sound of a crashing wave in the distance, and Sahara looked and saw that the barrier had fallen.

“I can’t just leave you, put them back in their PokeBalls!” Sahara said, sounding a bit desperate.

“I have to heal them though, they are good battlers!” Mason said, and scrambled inside his pockets for some medicine.

“Use your others, just hurry up!” Sahara said. “I’ll carry them if I have to!” And she went to pick up Solrock, they heard the screech of tyres in the distance. Mason muttered and pulled out two PokeBalls, and the two Pokemon disappeared. Sahara smiled, and they rushed and latched on Virus. But before they could move, an orange blur raced towards them, coming to a halt alongside.

“Mason, where have you been?” Professor Rowan said, getting off his Arcanine. “Oh Sahara, how lovely to see you, how are you doing?”

“I’d be absolutely spiffy if we just get off this route straight away.” Sahara said.

“What is going on? Has Jaki done something?” Rowan asked. Mason was about to ask who Jaki was, but the sound of screeching tyres was getting closer, and they could all see a Jeep Wrangler heading for them. There was a clatter, and they all ducked in time to avoid the bullets fired from a machine gun. The two girls Virus had nearly crushed were running away, screaming loudly.

“Granddad, we have to stop them!” Sahara said, sounding almost hysterical. “The people in that car are trying to kill me!”

“Well, I won’t let that happen to my granddaughter!” Rowan said. “Arcanine, Fire Blast!”

“Arca.” Arcanine said, smiling at the opportunity for a fight. The giant wolf stared towards the car and fired out five balls of flame. As they moved through the air, they spread out, forming a giant star.
Inside the Jeep, Charon could see the attack coming from the drivers seat and cursed.

“Well boys, its been nice knowing you.” He said.

“Aren’t you going to fight?” The grunt in the passenger seat said. He looked towards the drivers seat and saw that Charon had jumped out. The grunt looked towards the window, and let out a scream as the Fire Blast smashed into the windscreen. Sahara watched the carnage with glee. The front window was smashed, and the car was veering out of control as the interior burst into flames. The car went to the right, and left the road, smashed an Oran Berry plant before exploding, sending metal everywhere, most of which landed into the water. The remains of the car and the grunts inside sunk to the bottom of the lake, which began to turn black from the ash.

“Good, now lets leave and call the cops!” Mason said.

“Oh crap.” Sahara said, and watched as green avocado shaped object flew towards them. Virus leapt up and forced her and Mason to the ground, while Arcanine shoved Rowan aside and leapt up as the grenade exploded. Charon watched it go off from the side of the road, and then grinned before passing out.


Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

Cyrus pulled out his third Ultra Ball, and threw it without speaking. The yellow light and energy formed into a Gyarados, which rose above the field, staring menacingly down.

“Pity your only electric type is down for the count.” Cyrus said.

“Don’t worry, I know how to counter them.” Charles said, and he threw out his PokeBall. It burst open with a variety of stars, and his shiny Gyarados rose up to equal height. The two Pokemon glared at each other, but neither refused to back down.

“Gyarados, use Ice Fang.” Cyrus said.

“Dragon Pulse when it gets close!” Charles yelled. Cyrus’ Gyarados flew forwards and clamped its ice filled mouth down onto the red Gyarados. He retaliated by firing the turquoise beam at him, sending the Gyarados smashing into the ground.

“Nice work.” Cyrus fumed. “Waterfall!”

“Hydro Pump!” Charles yelled. The blue Gyarados rose up, being propelled by a giant waterfall. He became consumed by it and then crashed into Charles’ Gyarados.

“Gyara-DOS!” He boomed, and fired out the powerful jet of water. But the other Gyarados remained airborne this time, though looked very angry about the attack.

“Ice Fang, but make it long distance!” Cyrus growled. He stared towards the crowd, and saw that people were muttering, unimpressed about their leaders performance.

“Hyper Beam!” Charles yelled. His Gyarados began to absorb in the orange energy, but Cyrus’ released the Ice Fang. Charles gasped as his Gyarados was struck and quickly began to freeze before falling to the ground.

“Wish to give up, or would you like to wait for it to defrost?” Cyrus said nastily. Charles glared at him, and wanted to run up to him and punch him with all his might. But if he even tried it, he would probably be shot down a few seconds later.

“I’ll wait.” He said at last. Cyrus rolled his eyes and smirked.

“If you insist. Giga Impact, now!” Cyrus yelled. The blue Gyarados flew up towards the roof, and then dived down. A yellow ball had formed in front of him, and it spread out and covered him, and purple energy mixed in. Charles shut his eyes, now wanting to see what happen. One Gyarados smashed into the other, releasing a powerful force wave. Charles was tossed across the room, smashing into the back wall. He groaned and tried to stand up, and saw Cyrus triumphantly bringing back his Gyarados, while Charles’ lay unconscious on the ground.


Floaroma Contest Hall

The battle rounds of the contest had commenced, and they had been intense. Matthew had seen Harrison’s, and his Skiploom had won in only a few turns, using a powerful Solarbeam to knock out the rivals Starmie quickly. Matthew’s first round had been a lot longer. He had unfortunately gone up against a Shuppet. Thankfully, Hypnosis and multiple Dream Eaters allowed him to tear down its health, and a Psywave sealed the deal. The judges had given him high marks as well, which could earn him a ribbon at the end.

“Great work!” Matthew said as he went off stage, Chimecho wrapped around his arm. “We’re in the semi finals now!”

“Chime Chime!” Chimecho cheered. Matthew turned a corner, about to step into his dressing room, but found his father standing there.

“Hey there.” He said. “Great work.”

“Thanks a lot, I think I’ve done-” Matthew began, glowing with happiness, but his father cut across.

“Listen, I just received a phone call, and some people know you’re my son.” Adrian said. “They think the judges gave you high marks for your appeal because of that.”

“What, that’s ridiculous!” Matthew gasped. “Can’t you just tell them you didn’t?”

“The media would just think I am covering.” Adrian said. “To get them off my back, you will have to lose.” Matthew looked horrified and stepped away.

“I am not throwing this away, I could win!” He said, and Adrian laughed. Matthew was crestfallen, and couldn’t stop a tear rolling down his cheek.

“Sorry son, but you just aren’t as good as the other people here.” Adrian said. “But if you at least know that you intended to lose, then when you do, it won’t be as bad.” Tears were now streaming down Matthew’s face, but his father didn’t seem to care. Satisfied, he began to walk away, but Chimecho blocked his way.

“ECHO!” He said, and releasing a powerful Hypnosis. Adrian looked a bit shocked, before his eyes shut and fell to his side, smacking his head on the wall. Matthew stared down at his father, and kicked him in the leg.

“Thank you.” He said, and Chimecho smiled. Matthew then turned and went to open the door to his dressing room, but it was flung open before he could. Harrison grabbed Matthew’s hand and dragged him, followed by Lucinda.

“Isn’t that Adrian Pearl?” Lucinda said, staring down at Matthew’s father.

“Probably, but no time to check.” Harrison said. “We’re battling in the semi finals, so go and get yourself ready!” And he and Matthew walked out of the tunnel, and there was more applause. Matthew quickly put Chimecho inside his PokeBall and rushed over towards his spot. Leah, Carolina and Peter stared down from the middle of the stands. The two mothers were arguing.

“I am sorry Leah, but I have to go and find Xavier!” Carolina said, standing up.

“But you’ll miss Matthew’s battle!” Leah huffed.

“I’ll be back before it begins, I promise!” Lady Carolina said, and she quickly walked off.

“It’s about to start!” Peter said, and pointed towards Matthew. Leah was shocked he was back out already, but began to cheer with everyone else.

“Welcome to the first semi finals battle!” Felicity said to the crowd. “This battle will determine the first person to battle in the finals. We have Harrison Maude and his Skiploom and Matthew Pearl and his Chimecho. Harrison won three ribbons last year, including the Floaroma Contest, and this is Matthew’s first contest. Now, let the battle begin!”

“Skiploom, lets show him the true meaning of a contest battle!” Harrison said, and released his Heal Ball. Flower petals covered the field as Skiploom formed and floated happily around the arena. Matthew was still angry with his father, and it took him a few seconds before he released the battle had begun.

“Chimecho!” He said, and threw out his PokeBall. Chimecho spun around when he formed, before turning to face Skiploom.

“Use Sunny Day.” Harrison said.

“Hypnosis.” Matthew ordered. Chimecho released a soft melody, but Skiploom knew to avoid it before firing a ball of sunlight, bursting open and blocking out of unnatural light in the hall.

“Now use Stun Spore.”

“Get in there with Psywave, quickly!” Matthew said.

“Skip!” Skiploom said, and moved so quickly Chimecho didn’t see where it went. Then Skiploom stopped underneath him, and released tiny yellow spores. They clung to Chimecho, who had been about to release his attack, and he froze.

“No!” Matthew said, and Harrison grinned.

“Energy Ball, now!”

“Use-” Matthew began, but looked towards the tunnel and saw his father walking out. Matthew froze, and Chimecho stared around desperately, but was hit by the green ball of energy Skiploom had just fired.

“Oh, um…. Hypnosis!” Chimecho released another soft sound, but Skiploom moved high above, directly into the sunlight.

“Solarbeam, NOW!” Harrison yelled.

“Um…. um….” Matthew was completely shocked: he couldn’t remember any of Chimecho’s moves. Chimecho was too paralyzed to move anyway, and was struck by the powerful attack, sending him crashing into the ground at Matthew’s feet. There was lots of applause, and Matthew realised the battle was over. He had completely forgotten about the judge’s scores, but looked up and saw he had been given very low marks.

“Sorry buddy.” He said to Chimecho, and pulled out his PokeBall and brought Chimecho back, before walking slowly back towards the tunnel.


Floaroma Meadow

Roshonda was looking utterly mad as she walked slowly forwards, pointing the gun towards Xavier, Vanessa and Looker. Luxio had fainted, and Turtwig and Chimchar were struggling to fight the Zubats. Lapras had run out of Psychics, leaving her unable to call Xavier for help or send the gun flying, and instead having to take Beedrill’s hits. Lickilicky had disappeared long ago with the caretaker, and two of the surviving grunts were busy trying to stop the other from bleeding to death, not caring about anything else.

“I should haven just shot you all the first chance I got.” Roshonda was saying. “But I just love the looks on your faces. They are positively delightful!” Vanessa’s hands were clutched to the umbrella, waiting for the right moment, and Wurmple was curled up in her hair. Looker’s face was losing all colour, while Xavier merely looked bored with the proceedings.

“Now, who should I shoot first?” Roshonda pondered. “The agent, the android, or the freak?” She spun around wildly, preparing to shoot whoever it pointed at when she stopped. Vanessa lifted her umbrella, and went to stab her, but a jet of flame erupted from some trees on the edge of the field. Roshonda screamed as she was sent flying backwards, smashing into the Jeep Wrangler. The gun fell from her hand as Lady Carolina rushed up, followed by Ninetales.

“Oh darling, what ever is going on here?” Carolina exclaimed, and looked around at the Zubats, the dead and dying grunts and Lapras and Beedrill’s battle. “There’s my Lapras!” She shrieked, and everyone turned to see the more intense battle happening. Lapras had got up the strength to fight back, but the Blizzard attacks kept missing.

“Chimchar, get in there!” Vanessa yelled as she brought back Luxio.

“Chim!” Chimchar cried, and fired another Ember towards Beedrill.

“Bee!” Beedrill gasped, and collapsed, finally unconscious. Chimchar looked very happy, which turned to shock as it suddenly turned white. His whole body was growing: his arms and legs became longer, he grew taller, and tail suddenly started to grow. The white light disappeared, and a Monferno stood their in its place.

“Wurmple!” Wurmple said happily, and Turtwig beamed at his friend.

“Monferno Mon Mon Ferno.” Monferno said, and jumped on the spot. Lapras gave him a nod, but then keeled over sideways.

“I need to go and check on Lickilicky and the Caretaker.” Looker said. He pulled several yellow diamond-like objects out of his pocket and gave them to Xavier and Vanessa. “They are Revives. Use them on your Pokemon to heal them, though it won’t heal them fully. Thank you for your help once again.” He smiled to the three of them before turning and running off.

“Was he the same man from Lake Verity?” Carolina said.

“Yes Mother. Now what should we do about those three?” Xavier said. The three grunts looked at them. Two of them stood up, fists raised.

“MON!” Monferno rushed forwards, his right fist glowing white. He punched one of the grunts, sending him flying through a window of the caretaker’s house. The other one was stunned and didn’t notice as Vanessa stabbed him in the gut with her umbrella. He gasped and she shoved him over. Ninetales fired another Flamethrower, but this time towards the Jeep Wrangler, and the upholstery burst into flames.

“Let’s get out of here, quick!” Vanessa said, and she ran out, grabbing Monferno’s arm and dragged him out. Xavier walked over to Lapras and gave her the Revive. She blinked rapidly before her neck straightened up.

Much better. Oh hello Carolina, surprised to see me out of my PokeBall?
Lapras smirked. Ninetales smiled warmly at her old team mate, but Carolina looked a bit cross.

“Let’s go darling, come on!” She said, and ran out.

“Tur!” Turtwig added, and he followed.

“Let’s go Lapras.” Xavier said. Lapras went to follow, but saw Roshonda stirring.

I’ll just take care of her.
She said, and her eyes flashed pink. The caretaker’s house suddenly collapsed as the beams all shattered, and the building caved in, some of the rubble landed everywhere. Lapras then turned towards the Jeep Wrangler, and her eyes flashed once again. Suddenly, the car rose into the air, did a 360 degree flip, and then landed right on top of Roshonda, along with the fire. Lapras nodded and moved along with Xavier, leaving the scene behind. But as they disappeared, the car was suddenly tossed aside, and Nidoqueen picked Roshonda up, who coughed took off her jacket as it was on fire.

“Thanks.” She mumbled, and quickly brought back Beedrill, who was still lying near a tree. One of the grunts groaned and Roshonda walked over. He was being crushed by some rubble, but when Nidoqueen moved it off, his ribs were crushed and he stopped breathing. Roshonda rolled her eyes and went to leave: the mission had failed. But as she walked away, the sunlight she had been blocking reflected off something.

“Nido!” Nidoqueen said, and bent down and picked it. It was a small, plastic key card. Roshonda’s face lit up and she snatched it out of her Pokemon’s hand.
Maybe she hadn’t failed after all…


Route 205

The grenade had gone off, but Arcanine’s Flash Fire prevented it from doing major damage, as he absorbed most of it in. But the shock wave knocked Virus aside, and Sahara rolled down a small embankment. Her coat buttons were ripped off and the coat came off. She rolled over a small rock, and her blazer and shirt were badly ripped.

“Sahara, are you alright?” Mason yelled, and ran down after her, but froze as he saw her exposed back.

The giant tear was exposing her back, which was milk white. But it was covered with a giant tattoo. Firstly, there was a large red circle, covering almost of her back. There were also three circles: steel blue, pale pink and a rich gold, which were positioned like a triangle: the blue by her left shoulder, the pink around her right shoulder, and the gold by her right hip. There was also a Pokemon face inside the red circle. It was pink and blue, but Mason couldn’t work out who it was. Suddenly, a large yellow hand grasped his shoulder, and Virus threw him back onto the road.

“Elec!” He roared, and picked up Sahara. She hadn’t noticed, and looked a bit groggy.

“Where did it come from?” Rowan asked.

“Who cares, just take me to Floaroma!” Sahara moaned. Virus nodded, and he began to ran, carrying her in his arms. Rowan and Mason climbed onto Arcanine and they followed after.

Behind a bush, Charon began to stir, and watched as they left. There was a beeping sound, and he picked up his cell phone. The plastic was severely cracked, but he was able to see Roshonda was calling.
Hopefully, she would have better news.


Galactic HQ- Grunt Training Division

“Weavile, go!”

“Elle, I choose you!”

The Ultra and PokeBalls burst open, and Cyrus’ Weavile and Elle stood there, staring angrily at each other.

“If I win this round, I have won the battle.” Cyrus said.

“Well I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” Charles replied, and Cyrus simply smirked once more.

“Weavile, Night Slash.”

“Elle use Return.” Charles boomed. Weavile raced forwards, lifting up her left claw which was glowing black. Elle waited for her to get close before forming the pink heart in swallowing it. Weavile was only inches away, about to swipe, when Elle released the pink beam. Weavile cried out as she blasted towards the roof, smashing into the lights and falling back to the ground. Jupiter looked shocked, and Draco and Mars exchanged confused looks. They had never seen an un-evolved Pokemon have such a powerful attack.

“Get up!” Cyrus growled, sensing some disturbance. “Use X-Scissor.”

“Wea.” Weavile moaned, and struggled to stand up.

“Use Secret Power.” Charles said.

“Eva Eve.” Elle said, and her body suddenly glowed white. Than, it changed to yellow and Elle ran forwards, leaping up when she reached the middle of the field. Weavile was moving slowly forwards, both claws glowing green, when Elle landed on her. Weavile collapsed and was unconscious before her head hit the ground.

“Oh no, it looks like you didn’t win.” Charles smirked as Elle turned into red energy.

“Not yet anyway.” Cyrus replied, and he stored Weavile’s Ultra Ball away. “Come on, hurry up and send your next mutt out.” Charles rolled his eyes, but was glad that Cyrus was losing his cool. He threw out a Great Ball, and Poochyena formed.

“Honchkrow, end this!” Cyrus said, and the giant bird formed, and flew high above Poochyena.

“Poison Fang, quickly!” Charles said.

“Drill Peck!” Cyrus said. Honchkrow dived down, spinning rapidly. Poochyena was running forwards with a mouth full of poison.

“Jump onto her back!” Charles yelled. Cyrus gasped as Poochyena bent his legs and leapt up, landing right between Honchkrow’s wings, and then he clamped his teeth onto feathers.

“HONCH!” Honchkrow cried in pain.

“Stay on with Bite!” Charles proclaimed.

“Get it off with Psychic!” Cyrus snarled. Poochyena bit down again, and Honchkrow flinched, unable to initiate the attack.

“Poison Fang once more!” Charles called.

“Psychic!” Cyrus yelled.

“Poochy!” Poochyena said, and clamped down again. But this time, Honchkrow’s whole body flashed purple, and Charles punched the air happily at the bird’s poisoning. But Honchkrow’s eyes flashed pink, trying to get him off, but Poochyena resisted.

“Did you forget that Dark is immune to Psychic?” Charles teased. “Jump and use Sucker Punch, now!”

“Heat Wave, do whatever you must to defeat him!” Cyrus yelled. Poochyena leapt up into the sky, and soared back down, punching his right front paw into Honchkrow’s stomach. The birds eyes bulged and she fell to the ground, landing with a soft thud. Minerva ran up to the edge of the field and stared at Honchkrow as Poochyena landed.

“It has fainted!” Minerva exclaimed. “Charles has won!” Charles beamed and Poochyena barked happily. The grunts began to clap, but Cyrus shot them all an evil look and they remained silent.

“Pooch Poochy!” Poochyena said, and he suddenly glowed white. Charles watched in awe and happiness as Poochyena’s body grew until it was about twice its original height and length. The white light disappeared, and Mightyena let out a loud howl before jumping happily
onto Charles, knocking him over.

“How adorable.” Minerva said, and she stroked his black fur. Cyrus stared over at Charles before storming off. He had just reached the lift when an the loudspeakers suddenly turned on.

“Urgent message from Admin Charon and Grunt Roshonda.” The emotionless, genderless voice said. “Valley Windworks have been unlocked. Mission 7 Phase B has begun. Require back up, the Dex Holders are in the area.” Cyrus stared up towards the ceiling where the message had come from and he beamed.

“Get your worthless arses downstairs straight away!” He yelled. “We must get there urgently.” The grunts all stood up and began to stampede. Mars led the way, barking orders to anyone she could boss around. Charles sighed and gave Mightyena a pat before bringing him back and following the others down towards the helicopters.


Floaroma Town

Vanessa was leaning against the Contest Hall, watching as everyone left. Xavier had seen Sahara come in and had gone to check on her, leaving Carolina with Vanessa as they watched for the Pearls to show up.

“So what’s the deal with Xavier?” Vanessa blurted.

“Excuse me?” Carolina said, sounding confused.

“Why does he has about as much emotion as a brick?” Vanessa continued, and turned towards the woman. Lady Carolina took a deep breath before continuing.

“As you may now, my family and the Pearls live between Twinleaf Town and Lake Verity. We always use to have picnics by the lake. Lapras and Leah’s Mantine would take the kids across, they always loved it. But one day, when the boys were about eight, Matthew and Xavier started having an argument. We got them some Goldeen to take care of for when they became trainers, and unfortunately, some of them had died. They were arguing about who was supposed to have fed them, and they started fighting while riding Mantine. Matthew pushed Xavier off and he fell into the lake. Palmer went to dive in, but Xavier was suddenly blasted out of the water. He hasn’t shown any emotion since then and I still don’t know why.” Tears were streaming down Carolina’s cheeks, making Vanessa uncomfortable. Suddenly, a piece of white string shot out and grabbed her. Vanessa was pulled forwards, through the crowd, and suddenly she was by a disgruntled looking Matthew and his Wurmple.

“We have to leave, now!” He said.

“Why, what have you done?” Vanessa said.

“I’ll explain on the way, I just need to escape my family.” Matthew said, and he began to run. Vanessa looked towards Carolina, who was now joined by Leah and Peter, and shrugged and followed after.
Meanwhile, Sahara, Xavier, Nutty and Turtwig were walking out of the Pokemon Centre. Rowan and Mason had to do some work, and the two had decided to head off. The nurse had sewn up Sahara’s coat for her, so her tattoo was covered up.

“Sounds like we both had pretty eventful days.” Sahara smirked, as Xavier finished explaining his run in with Team Galactic.

“This Team Galactic seems to be following us.” Xavier said. “They are always at the exact same location that we are at.”

“I know, it’s like their watching us.” Sahara said, shivering slightly with repulsion. The two continued to walk forwards for some, not noticing Vanessa and Matthew running ahead of them. Suddenly, there was a whirr over their heads, and the two looked up and saw a dozen helicopters flying over them.

“What is going on, where are they all going to?” Xavier said. Sahara looked in the distance and saw a wind turbine near several small black dots that could be cars. She rolled her eyes and groaned before turning to her friend.

“Feel like a trip to the Windworks?”
 
Re: Galactic: Family Values

Been reading this story on Fanfiction.net and I'mma likin' it here as much as there! :ksmile:
 
Re: Galactic: Family Values

I'm glad your enjoying it :)

Galactic has been nominated for two awards at the 1st Quaterly FanFic awards: one for Best Dark Fic, and Sahara has been nominated for Best Original Character. If you think they are deserving, please cast your vote :)

Gone with the Ominous Wind

January 12th 2010

The sun was rising slowly above the mountains surrounding Floaroma Town. Starlys woke up and took flight, switching places with dozens of Hoothoots coming in to rest. The number of cars, bicycles and trainers began to increase, and the general noise of the day began to increase.

In a small field around one of the mountains, a sole Drifloon began to wake.
“Dri-Floooon!” She said, stretching her body. The Drifloon looked around, and realised the rest of her pack wasn’t there.

“Drif!” She huffed. The purple balloon had a slight problem when it came to wind. Most Drifloon could control themselves when the wind picked them up, tossing them into the air, but this one always got blown off course. Everyone mocked the way she flailed around, trapping to wrap her string-thin arms around a branch or pole to stop herself floating away. But Drifloon couldn’t worry about being teased again: she would have to get back to her pack quickly. Drifloon moved upwards, pushing air out of her body and moving her arms as if underwater. As she flew over the field, Drifloon was surprised to see a number of berries scattered on the ground.

“Drif Drif Loon!” She gasped, and dived down and scooped them up. This Drifloon had a curious love for berries, and carried them with her wherever she went.
Drifloon floated over more fields and trees, staring around for her pack. She saw one of the wind turbines over in the distance, and over a dozen of her fellows were heading near the area. Excited, Drifloon rushed over, and was only a few metres away when something jumped up in front of her. A human hand tried to grab her arms, and Drifloon dropped her berries on the woman’s head. However, the change in weight caused Drifloon to take off, sending her flying away.

“Frick.” Sahara hissed. “I was hoping to catch one and see what they are doing.”
“Violence against Pokemon is not the answer.” Xavier scolded behind her. Sahara growled and turned around, but had to stop herself from walking off the cliff and facing a drop similar to falling out of a fifth storey window.

For nearly twelve hours, Xavier and Sahara had been staking out the Valley Windworks, watching as Team Galactic moved in. There had been the first few helicopters and Jeep Wranglers at first, bringing in grunts to assist Charon. Roshonda arrived by foot soon after, and as they unlocked the doors, a much more frightening figure walked in: Ursilla. Two figures were on either side of her, their faces hidden by sacks. Charon and Ursilla had a quick debate, before they all went in together, except for around a dozen grunts. Another helicopter landed fifteen minutes later, and Mars walked out, followed by numerous grunts carrying crates, and then… Charles. Sahara had let out a sob at this point. Even though Eden had seen Charles, Sahara didn’t know about him being part of Team Galactic, and she began to sob hysterically. She was glad Xavier didn’t register emotions, and he didn’t bother her while she wept, though Nutty and Turtwig both moved over to console her. Sahara now wanted more than ever to go into the Windworks and get Charles out of there, but they didn’t know what was happening. Twenty minutes ago, Charon had brought a small machine out, and the Drifloon had started to move down towards them.

“I just want to know why they are going down there.” Sahara said, sitting down next to Nutty.

“Turtwig Tur Tur Tur Twig?” Turtwig said to Nutty.

“Pachi Pachirisu Risu Risu Pachi Pachirisu Ri.” Nutty replied, shaking her head.

“What are you two saying?” Sahara said, smiling.

“If you don’t understand what they are saying, how do you expect them to reply?” Xavier said, as his eyes followed the Drifloon. Sahara rolled her eyes and watched the balloons as well.

“We have to get down there and get in.” She said. “I just don’t like what they are up to.”

“I believe that we would need reinforcements.” Xavier said. “Turtwig isn’t up to scratch yet, and I don’t think Nutty and Smash would be either.”

“Pach!” Nutty huffed, but Turtwig merely shrugged. Sahara nodded, and then her eyes lit up with excitement.

“I know just who we can get! Wait here, I’ll be back as soon as possible.” She cried, and quickly ran off towards the rocky slope they had climbed up yesterday afternoon. Xavier watched her run off briefly, and then turned back towards the Windworks.

“She is a very strange girl.” He said.

“Tur.” Turtwig agreed, and they both watched as the Drifloon formed a circle at the bottom, with one last straggler speeding towards them.


Route 205

Far away from the noise, Vanessa and Matthew strolled along the rocky route, high above the grassy plains below. The sun was heating their necks, and Matthew was already tired, as he held Piplup in his hands. Vanessa wasn’t even hot though, as she strutted further ahead in thigh-high hot pink stilettos. She had decided to go for a mushroom theme for her outfit today, and had a yellow beanie, shirt and skirt, each with red spots sticking out. Matthew was trying to catch up, but had his legs still hurt after fleeing from his family the previous day.

“Vanessa… can you please… wait up?” Matthew puffed. Vanessa twirled around, the end of her hair flying and wrapping around her face.

“Not until you answer my questions.” Vanessa sang back, and skipped ahead. Piplup looked up at her trainer and scolded him.

“Pip Pip Lup Piplup Lup.” She said.

“Fine!” Matthew groaned, and he ran forwards, catching up to Vanessa as she began to cross a bridge. “I don’t even see what I should say, Lady Carolina told you what happened.”

“Yes, but I want to hear it from your point of view.” Vanessa said. “Did you push Xavier into the lake?”

“We were both fighting, and Mantine was rather slip-”

“Answer the question.” Vanessa snapped. Matthew stared at her, before sighing and looking down at his feet.

“I think I did push him off. I can’t really remember, the only thing I properly remember is glowing lights and then him being blasted out of the water.” He explained. Vanessa stared at him, curious about the mention of lights, but as they left the bridge, several shouts
greeted them.

“What is happening over there?” Vanessa said, and the two rushed over. The noise grew steadily louder, as they ran through grass and avoided several angry looking Buizels. They turned a corner, and a curious sight met their eyes.

There was a large circle of people , all wearing green or brown, marching around a row of diggers, bulldozers and flash looking cars. A number of men in hardhats were having arguments with the people nearest, while a series of news reporters were spaced out nearby.

“What are they protesting about?” Matthew said. Vanessa stared at one of the picket signs, and saw mention of a forest. At closer inspection, Vanessa could make out the trees of Eterna Forest behind them.

“I presume this is some hippy environmental thing.” She said, and walked forwards. The protestors were all shouting the same chant:

“Save our Trees, Save our Future! Save our Trees, Save our Future!” The person not saying this was a figure with knee length blonde hair, standing amongst the builders and shouting into a megaphone.

“THE PLAN TO TEAR DOWN ETERNA FOREST, JUST TO BUILD BRIDGES, IS OUTRAGEOUS!” The deep, hoarse voice screamed.

“Oh my god, it’s a guy!” Matthew gasped.

“Now that is just wrong.” Vanessa said, half laughing, half repulsed. No one seemed to notice the two, so they continued walking across the ground. There were deep tyre tracks in the mud, and all grass in the surrounding area had been crushed, leaving a rich brown texture behind.

“This is frankly revolting.” Vanessa grumbled. “Someone needs to tidy this place-” But before she could finish talking, Vanessa walked right into one of the numerous reporters. The tanned, blonde woman turned around, and both Matthew and Vanessa both recognised her.

“That’s Clarisse Miller!” Matthew said, staring in awe at the beautiful reporter. She was wearing a stylish green jacket over a red flora paint dress.

“Do you mind, I am trying to film…. Oh, it’s you.” Clarisse snarled, looking at Vanessa, who was rubbing her head.

“And it’s you.” Vanessa said, mocking her tone. Clarisse went to reply, but her overweight cameraman was smirking, and she turned around and shoved him aside, nearly knocking him
over.

“Head back to the car and send the footage over; I need to talk to my old friend here.” She hissed, and turned away from him.

“Miss Miller, I have been admiring your reporting since I was-” Matthew began, but Vanessa stepped in front of him.

“I won our battle fair and square, you can’t hold that against me.” She said, straightening her to back to reach full height.

“Your win has destroyed my ratings.” Clarisse snapped. “I could soon be out of a job!”

“Not my problem, is it?” Vanessa replied. The two women stared into each others eyes with such fury that Matthew expected lasers to come out. After about a minute of this, Vanessa blinked and looked over at the protestors.

“Care to say what is going on here?” Clarisse backed away as well, and a smirk formed on her face.

“Work it out for yourself, it’s not my problem, is it?” And she turned and walked away, but her exit was ruined as her black boots sunk into the mud. Vanessa laughed and walked away.

“What was that about?” Matthew said, rushing after.

“Piplup Pip Piplup!” Piplup said, looking over Matthew’s shoulder as Clarisse struggled to free herself. But the little penguin was ignored as Vanessa answered.

“When you were kidnapped, I tried to get an announcement out on the news.” She explained. “But I got roped into doing this Showdown thing, and I left after I won due to the building exploding.”

“Oh my god, you won Showdown!” Matthew said excitedly. Vanessa rolled her eyes and continued walking, and narrowly missed walking into another person. The man turned around, and stared at Vanessa with bright blue eyes.

“Pip!” Piplup exclaimed, as she recognised the curved scar on his face and the red and black jacket.

“Hello there, I believe you were at the Global Trading Station the other day.” The man said to Matthew.

“Oh yeah, Niles, isn’t it?” Matthew said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“Nice name.” Vanessa smirked. Niles looked at her, his face twisting into a frown.

“I would prefer not to be mocked, especially if you want information out of me.”

“What do you mean?” Matthew asked. Niles pointed towards the protestors, who were becoming louder and rowdier as more people joined the circle.

“That lot are protesting how the trees are being cut down, and been shipped around the regions to build bridges.” He explained. “I am an environmental ranger, so I am here to try and convince them otherwise. However, the protestors are giving us all a bad reputation, and the foreman is completely ignoring me.” Matthew and Vanessa watched the shouts and cries, and Vanessa looked a bit disgruntled.

“Do you think they are going to do something drastic?” She asked.

“I believe they will.” Niles said. “If it is not too much too ask, could you assist me in preventing whatever they are going to do?” Vanessa and Matthew exchanged looks, while Piplup looked very excited about the idea.

“I suppose we could spare an hour or two.” Matthew shrugged. “But I would like to get moving at some point, there is another contest in a few days times.”

“You can forget about your contests, this is a bit more important.” Vanessa said, and she looked back at Niles.

“So boss, what are we doing first?”


Valley Windworks

Since the Valley Windworks had opened seven years ago, it had always been a quiet place. There were only ever one hundred staff there at one time, as the system was easy to operate, and many Pokemon controlled the machines.

But today, it was over crowded.
Galactic Grunts were running all over the place, taking over the computers, setting up machines, capturing as many of the working Pokemon as possible. People that fought back were quickly shot, and more people came in to remove them. The noise coming from the spinning turbines was nearly being stifled by all the commotion, though nearly a dozen people could hear it.

Mars stood on the raised platform overlooking the turbines, and stared down as they spun rapidly. A three metre long, black leather whip rested in her hands, and she playfully smacked the air with it. Behind her, Charles, Roshonda and Ursilla stood perfectly straight, along with a set of twins, Josh and Jerry, who were much shorter than Charles, though were several years older. Charles was slightly disturbed by the whip, but couldn’t let it show without getting hit himself. Charon was sitting at a desk that had been brought in, and stared at his laptop while two other grunts attached numerous cables to a metal sheet of blinking lights and knobs. Charon was planning to hack into the main system, and would redirect fifty percent of the power to fuel Team Galactic’s need for free energy.

“Are you nearly done?” Mars asked, as she turned away from the turbines.

“No, this is rather difficult.” Charon replied, as he stared at the screen. Mars looked at it, and saw that the scientist was playing a game of Solitaire while he waited. She groaned and walked past Charles, and approached several people tied to the railing behind them.

There were the three workers who had been up there when Team Galactic had arrived, and were being kept in case something went wrong. One of the men’s daughters, who Sahara and Mason had passed yesterday whilst fleeing from Charon, was there as well, to ensure they behaved. And Looker and the Caretaker had been captured by Ursilla as she entered the town, and they were kept in order to be killed at a later date.

“Don’t you just love what I have done with the place?” Mars sneered, holding her whip. All the Windworks workers stared at it, but the daughter began to cry and buried her face, and Looker stared defiantly up at Mars.

“You can’t intimidate us!” He said. “Someone will realise what is happening, and someone will put a stop to your pathetic little scheme.” Mars’s eyes bulged slightly in shock, but she quickly regained her composure and bent down, her nose only a centimetre away from Looker’s.

“I thought your lot would have learnt your lesson, especially after what I did to that friend of yours.” She said, smiling widely. Looker tried to form a smirk, but his body was shaking, and Mars grinned triumphantly. She stood back up, and kicked Looker in the stomach. He let out a cry of pain, and slumped forwards as far as he could go. Charles turned around slightly, but Roshonda swiftly hit him in the elbow.

“Stand straight!” She hissed, barely moving her lips. Charles nodded, and turned back around as Mars walked back. She walked over to the other railing, looking down at the white tiled floor, numerous desks and machinery, and around four dozen grunts. Mars raised her whip up and smashed into against the metal. It causes a giant echoing crack, and left a dent in the metal. Everyone down below stopped talking, and looked up towards the red head.

“Glad to have everyone’s attention.” Mars said, her voice echoing. “Today’s mission is very important, and we can’t allow any slip ups. To make sure nobody gets in, Ursilla will take ten of you and numerous Pokemon to guard the outside. Jerry, Josh and Roshonda will watch things down there. Charles, Charon and I will remain up here with the hostages. Now get to
work!”

“Yes sir.” The grunts all boomed in unison. Ursilla headed towards the staircase as soon as Mars finished talking.

“Do I have to permission to kill?” She said, pausing by the weeping little girl. She turned around and looked at Mars, and the two burst out laughing. Charon let out a chuckle as well, and Ursilla headed down the stairs, unhooking her energy gun and holding onto the railings to stop her collapsing from laughter.

“Ah, I love a good joke.” Mars said, and grinned over at the girl, who cried even harder.

“Shall we go and rally the troops?” Roshonda said.

“Of course, get on with it!” Mars snapped, and held her whip threateningly. Roshonda nodded, and turned and rushed away after the twins.

“What do you want me to do?” Charles said.

“You can get your Ampharos and Gligar out for a start.” Charon snapped. “We’ll need a ground type for protection if things go nasty, and Ampharos can help Magnezone when we need it.” And he unhooked his own Ultra Ball. Mars pulled out a PokeBall as well, and she threw it. Charles looked as the red energy formed close by, but as it fully formed, the giant figure knocked him asides.

“Purrrrrrr.” Charles looked up, and saw Mars’ giant Purugly, calmly licking a paw.

“Wow, I didn’t realise how big she was.” Charles said.

“PUR!” The Purugly hissed, and raised her paw.

“Now now Purugly, don’t make me bring you back, you naughty kitten!” Mars said, prancing forwards and hugging her Pokemon, shooting Charles a nasty look as well. Purugly purred proudly, and lay down on the floor. Charles anxiously walked over to Charon.

“Whatever you do, run away as soon as it uses Body Slam.” Charon said, moving more cards across in his game.

“Why?” Charles asked.

“The last time that thing landed on a grunt, all of his ribs cracked and his left shoulder dislocated.” Charon continued, as he won the game and the cards shot across the screen.

“How long did it take for him to recover?” Charles said, but quickly realised it was a stupid question. Charon raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“Cyrus only heals the ones who can put up a good fight. We just check the rest in the incinerator.”

“Are they dead first?”

“I’ll leave that one for you to figure out.” Charon said slyly, and Charles shivered and moved over the sides, making a mental note not to upset Mars ever again.


Valley Windworks (Outside)

Xavier was still staring down at the Drifloons, as they circled around a small machine. They were all moving in rhythm, bobbing up and down like a merry-go-round, though there was one that seemed to be quite confused.

“Can you tell why it is like that?” Xavier said to Turtwig.

“Twig Tur Twig Tur Tur?” Turtwig replied.

“No, it can’t be that.” Xavier replied, shaking his head. “I’ll check on my PokeDex.” But as he whipped out the green machine, there were footsteps, and both trainer and Pokemon turned.

“Don’t worry, it is only me.” Sahara said, as Nutty rushed in front. The two looked out of breath, but less so than Mason, who staggered behind them, red in the face and clutching his side.

“Hello…. there…. Xavier.” He said, before collapsing onto his side, wheezing. Sahara rolled his eyes and looked down towards the Windworks.

“We had to sneak up, I am pretty sure I saw Ursilla down there.” She explained.

“I believe I saw her enter quarter of an hour ago, but I am focusing on the Drifloons. Their behaviour is most peculiar.” Xavier explained, staring at them with interest.

“There isn’t time to study the behaviour of some balloons!” Sahara snapped. “I didn’t walk all the way back to Floaroma to get Mason, just so we can watch them! We need to get inside the Windworks and put a stop to whatever is going on.”

“I just find them more interesting.” Xavier replied, and Sahara shrieked with rage, before clamping her hand over her mouth and diving into the grass.

“Crap, they probably heard me!” She hissed.

“It was rather loud.” Xavier added. Mason had regained his breath and stood back up.

“I can see some of the grunts looking up, but I don’t think they’ll investigate us.” He said, smiling warmly.

“But they’ll be suspicious, and I don’t want to get blasted by that stupid gun of Ursilla’s.”

“Who is Ursilla?” Mason asked.

“I’ll explain later. I just need to think of a plan!” Sahara groaned, rolling onto her back.

“Pach Pachi.” Nutty said, patting Sahara on the shoulder. She smiled, but it quickly faded as frustration sunk in.

“What did you and Vanessa do at Oreburgh Mine?” Xavier said thoughtfully, as he checked Drifloons details on his PokeDex. “Matthew and I were under the impression that you two did something that led to the mine collapsing. Could it work here?” Sahara sat upright, a weak smile forming on her face.

“That is a great idea, but it is risky.”

“Pachirisu Pachi Pachi.” Nutty said, and Sahara nodded.

“Turtwig Tur Tur Twig?” Turtwig said, shocked.

“Risu Risu.” Nutty said quickly, as Sahara stood up, looking very determined. She whipped a PokeBall out and threw it behind her, so the red energy wouldn’t be visible down below. Aqua formed, and stretched his body.

“I need you to bring Eden out, and then knock her out as soon as the time is right.” Sahara explained. The Floatzel looked a bit uncertain, but nodded.

“Who is Eden?” Mason asked.

“Matthew and Vanessa said that she goes crazy on certain occasions and thinks she’s someone else.” Xavier said, standing up. Sahara let out a growl.

“I don’t go crazy, they are real personalities.” She explained. “But I don’t have time to explain it now, I’ll tell you about them later. Aqua, use Aqua Tail as soon as we reach the bottom of the hill, I don’t want anyone getting hurt. Now let’s go!” And Sahara started walking before anyone could stop her. Aqua and Nutty walked close behind, and Xavier, with the two backpacks, Turtwig and Mason crouched behind some trees. As they got further down, Xavier pulled out his other PokeBall and released Lapras.

We’re crouching, that’s a change. She thought, as she quickly examined Mason. Sahara looked around for the voice, before shrugging and reaching the bottom of the hill. She spied behind the tree, and saw that there were about a dozen grunts spaced around the area, each holding a machine gun. Ursilla stood with two grunts in the middle of the Drifloons with Arbok and Linoone, and she was looking around, clearly expecting trouble. The grunts had begun to send Pokemon out while they climbed down the hill, and numerous Zubats filled the air as always, while Geodudes and Electrikes wandering around.

“Ok, you two cover with Lapras, Lunatone and Solrock’s Psychics, but only if Eden stuffs up, alright?” Sahara said.

“Yep.” Mason said, and he sent out Solrock and Lunatone, who joined Lapras and their eyes flashed pink as they communicated. Sahara grinned, and then nodded at Aqua.

“Floa.” He said, and swung his tails around, smashing Sahara in the back with a wave. She smashed into the tree behind her, and everyone watched as her eyes glowed a vivid blue. Mason stepped forwards, looking concerned, but the blue light disappeared, and Eden let out a demented laugh.

“Be quiet!” Xavier said.

“Ssssshhhhh!” Eden said, and then giggled hysterically.

“Um….” Mason said, very confused by this. “Sahara had this plan, and, um….”

“I know what Sahara wants.” Eden said huffily. “I’ll do it in a minute, but first, I want a little drinky.” And she walked towards Xavier, stumbling slightly, and trying to grab her bag. There was the crack of a twig being stood on, and they turned to see a Galactic Grunt, pointing his machine gun towards them.

“I don’t want to have to shoot you, so just bring your Pokemon back and come with me.” He said slowly. Eden turned around, and lost her balance and fell forwards. She burst out laughing, and the grunt stood backwards and pointed the gun towards her.

“Get up!” He said. Eden looked up and him and continued to laugh.

“You’re really ugly.” She said, smirking slightly. Then, a beam of blue electricity pulled the gun out of his hands. Eden used the beam to pull herself up, and she pulled the trigger and shot the grunt through the heart. As he slumped forwards and Mason gasped, Eden took a deep breath in and looked around. Her loss of balance and hysterical laughter disappeared
as she grinned manically.

“I smell more metal.” She said with glee, and marched forwards.

“She is going to get shot.” Xavier said, and he ran after. Turtwig, Nutty and Aqua raced after, and Lapras moved along with her flippers. Mason looked petrified, and Lapras turned back towards him. She rolled her eyes and communicated to Lunatone and Solrock.

“Solrock Sol.” Solrock said, and followed. Lunatone moved towards Mason, and shuffled him out of the trees.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Mason huffed, and he ran onwards. As the group turned around the trees, Eden waved her hands and shot out more blue bolts. The grunts and Ursilla hadn’t noticed their arrival, and were shocked as their guns were lifted into the air.

“Eden!” Ursilla growled, as Arbok hissed and went to move forwards.

“That’s my name.” Eden said, before a look of shock appeared on her face, and she bent down and vomited onto the grass.

“What a bad smell.” Xavier said. Eden coughed a bit, before standing up straight and wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

“Now, Sahara wants me to her dirty work, but I am not sure how to do it.” Eden said, as she stared around at the patrolling Pokemon, the shocked grunts, and the ever circling Drifloons.

“Why don’t you come over here and we can sort this out.” Ursilla said, taking a step forwards. Eden let out a malicious cackle, and lifted the machine gun up.

“Just because I’m drunk doesn’t mean I’m stupid, ugly!” Eden said. She shut her eyes and sniffed the air. “I can sense something… different.” She clicked her fingers, and Ursilla’s energy gun zoomed towards her, and she caught it and opened her eyes.

“Very classy.” Eden said, and stroked the machine.

“It is very dangerous.” Xavier warned, as Lapras and Turtwig stood on either side.

“That makes it even more fun.” Eden grinned. Ursilla muttered to the grunts near her, and they grabbed the machine raced off, the Drifloons following after. Eden aimed the gun towards Ursilla, and grinned happily.

“Let’s all take a look at the lovely bang.” And she pulled the trigger, and all hell broke loose.

Unbeknownst to them, Lapras, Solrock and Lunatone had discussed using Psychic, and as soon as the orange energy was released, they released the wave of telekinetic energy, knocking the grunt Pokemon aside. Ursilla, Arbok and Linoone leapt out of the way, as a huge crater formed where they had been standing, dirt and grass sent flying into the sky. Eden threw the energy and machine guns aside, and Xavier caught the machine gun.

“I am going in, one of you stay out here.” Eden said, and she ran forwards, stumbling as always. Nutty and Aqua raced after her, and Mason looked at Xavier.

“You have a gun, you stay here.” He said, grinning nervously, and ran after Eden. Xavier looked at the gun, and then towards Lapras and Turtwig.

“Tackle and Psychic.” He said, and turned towards the grunts and pulled the trigger, causing several to dive out of the way.
Eden reached the entrance, and she fired a blast of her magnetic energy to smash the doors, and tossed them behind her.

“Float!” Aqua huffed, as one of them nearly hit him.

“Sorry.” Eden said, before stepping onto the white tiles, and raising her hands and firing more electricity. She shut her eyes and listened to the screams and smashing glass.

“This is heaven.”


Route 205

The circle of protestors had grown to nearly a hundred, and it was now impossible for anyone to get passed them. A group of trainers stood in the corner, several being interviewed about their opinions. Three diggers had been trying to reach the site, and now were being bombarded by people unable to join the giant circle. Matthew, Vanessa and Niles circled the area, shouting out words of encouragement, while trying to catch snippets of conversation. Matthew and Vanessa had their Wurmples with them, and Niles was holding a smiling Furret, who looked very happy about the proceedings. It was very tiresome, and all they were ending up with were bad earaches.

“Wurmple Wurm Wurm!” Matthew’s Wurmple huffed, as the sun blazed down on them.

“I know Wurmple, I’m sorry.” Matthew panted, as he took of his blue jumper. “I promise that this won’t be for much longer. As soon as we see Vanessa and Niles again, I’ll ask if we can stop.” As Wurmple nodded in agreement, someone tapped Matthew on his free shoulder.

“Did you say Niles?” Matthew turned around, and was surprised by the woman towering over him. She had waist length hair, but it looked cleaner than the protest leader, and was plaited nicely. Her dress was green with some white, and she had a friendly face, though looked older.

“Oh yeah, do you know him?” Matthew asked.

“If you are referring to the one with the curved scar,” the woman said, “then he is over near the forest entrance, standing with a red headed girl. And I do know him; we have met
on several environmental protests.”

“Thanks a lot.” Matthew said with a grin. “I am Matthew, by the way.”

“Cheryl.” The woman replied, and shook his hand, and she led him towards Niles. Matthew thought that she seemed very friendly, even though she was part of a protest fill of what his father referred to as “redneck hicks.”

“Cheryl, I thought I’d see you here.” Niles said as they approached, and walked forwards and gave her a hug.

“What are doing, making kids do your dirty work?” Cheryl joked after introducing herself to
Vanessa and patting Furret.

“I have reason to believe that some of the protestors will take things too far.” Niles whispered, as some of the protestors were looking at them curiously.
“You always think something is up.” Cheryl said, smiling nervously. But she looked both ways, double checking no one was listening, before beckoning them all closer. “One of my friends said that she saw Redwood and some friends brining a large box in earlier on.”

“Who is Redwood?” Vanessa asked.

“The guy with the megaphone.” Niles explained, pointing towards the man with the too-long hair. “If it is a large box, it could contain explosives or a bomb, or a variety of weapons.”

“A bomb!” Matthew gasped, a little too loudly. More people began to stare at them, and Vanessa hit him on the head.

“Proclaim it to the world why don’t ya!” She snapped. Matthew raised his hands in apology, and Vanessa smiled before turning towards the crowd.

“I vote on going in now.” She said, and threw a PokeBall into the air. It burst open and Staraptor formed, still a bit weak from yesterday, but looked fine as she landed on Vanessa’s arm. Her Wurmple smiled, and began climbing up his comrades talons.

“Why are you going to do, just fly on in there and grab it?” Matthew said.

“No, I can be the distraction.” Vanessa said, and gave Staraptor a pat.

“Wait, I haven’t agreed!” Niles snapped, but Staraptor had taken off, Vanessa swinging bizarrely from her claws. Vanessa had her bag on one shoulder, and ruffled through the contents until she found a blue bottle. The crowd all looked up in shock, and Vanessa saw the television cameras turn towards her. The man, Redwood, stopped shouting from on top of a yellow digger, and turned as Vanessa landed on the roof next to him.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR PLAYING AT, GIRLIE?” He screamed through the megaphone. Vanessa merely stared at him, grinning broadly as Staraptor flew overhead.

“Oh, you hair looks a bit dirty, so I thought you might appreciate this.” She said, and raised the blue bottle. Redwood looked at the label, which said “Bubbly Berry-Scented Shampoo”, and he let out a gasp as Vanessa squeezed it, spraying the clear liquid straight into his eyes. The man screamed, but was silenced as Vanessa kicked him between the legs, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the digger, much to the shock of the now silent, unmoving crowd.

“I’d take it that’s our distraction.” Niles said, and he rushed forwards. Matthew sighed and followed after. Vanessa picked up the dropped megaphone and pressed a button on the handle. A horrible, screechy alarm began to sound, and the crowd all cried out in protest.

“What a wonderful sound.” Vanessa cried, and tossed the megaphone into the crowd. Everyone began to run, but people were going in different directions. Most of the crowd ran back in the direction of Floaroma or Eterna, trying to get out of the way and trampling trainers and reporters as they went. The more die hard crowd ran in to take up Redwood’s place, but a fight broke out over who could take over. More builders and operators came out, looking for the source of the noise, and found themselves under attack by the protestors. Vanessa grinned gleefully, and ran over towards Matthew and Niles.

“Where’s Cheryl?” She asked.

“Probably caught in the crowd. Nice distraction, by the way.” Niles said.

“So, are we going to find this bomb or not?” Matthew asked.

“Keep your voice down!” Vanessa said again, and reached into her bag and pulled her umbrella up. Matthew hadn’t seen its effects before, and was stunned when Vanessa turned the handle and a sword came out.

“I’ll keep quiet, but I don’t think anyone will hear us in this noise.” Matthew said.

“Fur!” Furret cried, and they all turned as a yellow Solarbeam came towards them. Staraptor swooped down, knocking them all to the ground. The attack went over their heads, but hit a digger nearby. There was an explosion, and the shockwave and flying yellow metal sent them all flying, just as they heard several guns being loaded.


Valley Windworks

Mars, Charon and Charles had all jumped out of the way to avoid the blue beams, and they watched as one of the grunts was pulled into the slowly moving generator by his watch. Charles shut his eyes and covered his ears, but couldn’t cover up the high pitched scream as the man was killed.

“This is Eden, isn’t it?” Mars whispered to Charon.

“What do you think?” Charon snarled back, as he slowly got up. Charles raced over to the railings, and looked down at Eden, who walked into the middle of the room, surrounded by Nutty, Aqua, Mason and his team. There were grunts everywhere, some attached to computers, others lying injured from flying glass.

“Sahara!” Charles gasped, and Eden looked up. Mars rushed forwards and pushed him out of the way.

“Are you the leader of this establishment?” Eden asked, grinning slightly.

“I am in charge of this operation.” Mars said. “My name is-”

“You sound stupid.” Eden said, and snorted loudly. Mars went red in the face and looked
highly embarrassed.

“What are you doing here?” She shouted.

“Stopping you, what are you doing here?” Eden said.

“Our mission is top secret, and I shan’t be sharing it with low-life scum such as you.” Mars snarled. “And there is no chance that you can stop us. Team Galactic’s army of grunts and Pokemon surpasses all of you and your friend’s teams put together…” As Mars ranted, Eden pretended to nod, but a thin blue beam snaked its way out of her hands, and picked up a machine gun, lying abandoned by a grunt. It lifted into the air, and with the click of her fingers, a single bullet shot out. Mars gasped as the skimmed the top of her shoulder, but Mars was always one for dramatic effect, and collapsed into the fur of Purugly. There was a loud bleep, and Charon turned as his laptop lit up, a number of figures scrolling from bottom to top. The cables were all plugged in, and a light was flashing on top of the machines.

“It is ready!” Charon exclaimed, and quickly tapped a code in, just as Purugly leapt off the metal stand and down towards Eden, Aqua and Nutty.

Outside, Xavier, Turtwig and Lapras were facing the full might of Ursilla and the grunts. Lapras was fighting with all her strength, sending an onslaught of Psychic and Blizzard attacks, while Turtwig used Absorb to the best of his abilities, trying to take down the giant Onix and the surrounding Geodudes. Xavier was aimlessly firing the machine gun, feeling nothing as the bullets tore through the grunts surrounding him, killing them instantly or leaving them in extreme pain.

“Why won’t you just stop, you idiotic little brat!” Ursilla screamed, as Arbok and Linoone tried to get close, but kept getting hit by flying Electrikes and falling Zubats. There was a ringing sound from her pocket, and the woman pulled a pager out of her snake jacket. A single message was on it: THE SYSTEM IS UP, GET THEM GOING.

“We have the orders, send the Drifloons up!” Ursilla yelled. The two grunts with the machine nodded, and one pressed a button on the boxy machine. A red light began to flash, and the Drifloons suddenly rose up. Than, in pairs, they went towards one of the wind turbines. The grunt pressed a different button, and now a blue light flashed. All except one of the Drifloons spread their thin legs out, sucked in air, and began to spun around, firing out ghostly looking wind.

“Excellent!” Ursilla, and walked slowly forwards, admiring the spinning balloons, as the three points began to turn, slowly at first, but quickly turning into blurs. Then, Ursilla’s foot hit something, and she looked down and saw her energy gun, having been discarded by Eden. Grinning even more broadly, Ursilla picked it up, and saw her capture device lying nearby as well.

“Arbok and Linoone, Gunk Shot and Thunderbolt, quickly!” She yelled, as she aimed her energy gun and fired.

“Lapras, stop them!” Xavier said, as he fired the gun again. But Lapras was trying to avoid a number of Rock Throws from the Geodudes, and gasped as the orange energy, yellow electricity and purple poison all came flying for them.

Inside, Purugly and Aqua had collided, a wave of water shooting out over the grunts. The two Pokemon smashed into a table, crushing the computer and knocking a grunt aside. There was silence as everyone stood at them, and then there was a whirr as the generators began to move. Mars grinned and turned around, and Charles stared down as he saw the generators move much faster than they had earlier.

“Ok then people, we have to stop them from breaking our machine for about an hour.” Mars
boomed. “So let’s kill them!”

“Eep.” Mason gulped, but Eden raised her hands and fired more blue bolts.

“Bring it on!” She yelled.

“Gladly!” Roshonda hissed from nearby, and she threw out three PokeBalls. This was the key for everyone else to start, and PokeBalls began to fill the air, and other grunts lifted their guns up and fired.

“Psychic!” Mason yelled to Lunatone and Solrock, who protected their trainer from several bullets while he sent out Nidoking and Golduck.

“Squirrel, get up there and try and stop Madam Tight-Arse.” Eden said.

“Pach!” Nutty said, and quickly scampered away. Eden fired another round of bolts, stopping some bullets nearby, and then lifted a computer up and dropped it onto a grunt, the glass smashing as it landed on his skull.

“Now, let’s see who else Sahara has.” Eden said, and lifted her bag onto her front.

“Nido!” Eden turned, and was surprised to see a Nidoqueen standing over her.

“What do you what?” Eden scoffed.

“Nidoqueen!” The Nidoqueen screamed, and lifted a glowing fist. She punched, but released a blast of white energy from her fist before impact. Eden screamed as she was sent flying, and smashed into the staircase, just below Nutty.

“Pachi?” Nutty said, hoping down a few stairs. Sahara’s eyes glowed blue, as she shook slightly before gasping and looking around.

“I guess Eden did her job.” Sahara said, as she saw the carnage all around. Grunts were either firing guns, shouting orders or trying to do work on laptops and computers. Mason seemed to be the sole fighter, his four Pokemon firing numerous attacks to the Pokemon, while Aqua fought with Purugly.

“I think we should head upstairs, get out of the way.” Sahara said. “But first, let’s give them some help.” And she threw out a Poke and Great Ball. Smash and Virus formed slightly down the stairs, and looked up for instructions.

“Battle the grunts Pokemon, listen to Mason for instructions. Oh, and get rid of that Purugly for Aqua.” The two Pokemon let out their cries, before diving headfirst into the fight.

“So, what exactly is going on?” Sahara said. Nutty sighed and began to fill her in.
Up on the metal balcony, Charles was pulling out several of his PokeBalls when a bullet smashed into the floor. He jumped, and his head hit the desk that Charon was sitting at.

“Please jump somewhere else next time.” Charon sighed.

“Sorry.” Charles huffed, as he stood up and rubbed his head. He walked over towards the railings, and looked down into the fight below. Most of the grunts were running for cover, shouting orders at their Pokemon. Roshonda was twisting Mason’s arm back, while Jerry and Josh punched him in the stomach. The two twins suddenly flew as Lunatone and Solrock tossed them aside, and there was an explosion as Virus and Aqua’s attacks collided with those from Cradily and Beedrill. Mars was still lying down, watching the action from the corner of her eye, her hands clamped onto her whip and a small handgun.

“Are you looking for Sahara?” Charon smirked, as he tapped out a word. Charles blushed as he turned around and nodded.

“I am really worried for her. We only knew each for a short time, but we really bonded and she saved my life. Seeing her fire those blue beams scares me, and I want to know what it is about.” He explained. Charon nodded, and then beckoned the teenager forwards. Slightly surprised, Charles walked forwards, and looked into Charon’s eyes.

“Sahara is an evil, evil little girl.” He said, and Charles gasped. “She may come across as sweet, but if she was so caring, why didn’t she save you several nights ago? Why did she attack us at Oreburgh Mine? Why did she blow up my truck yesterday, and send her friends after Roshonda? I can tell that you like her, but Charles, if you want to continue living with us, you are going to have to dispose of her.”

“Dispose…” Charles whispered. Suddenly, they heard footsteps behind them, and Charon shoved Charles aside and threw an Ultra Ball. It burst open and formed a Bronzong, and it turned and faced Nutty, who had climbed up the stairs seconds before Sahara.

“Spark!” She commanded, as she stared in shock at the hostages.

“Gyro Ball.” Charon boomed. Glowing spheres formed on the tip of Bronzong’s arching arms, and it spun around rapidly.

“Pachi Pachi!” Nutty cried, and fired the Spark. It struck Bronzong in the middle, and it let out a metallic roar, before spinning rapidly around, smashing into the railing.

“Now Nutty, use Bite on the handcuffs.” Sahara said, pointing towards Looker and the others. Nutty rushed over, and repeatedly chomped down, freeing the five people.

“Thank you Sahara.” Looker said, smiling as she pulled out his three PokeBalls. “I am Looker, by the way.”

“I’ve heard of you.” Sahara smiled. Looker rolled of his PokeBalls forwards, and Lickilicky burst out. He then threw the other two down into the battle, and Jolteon and Gallade quickly got caught up, firing attacks towards Jerry and Josh’s Poliwrath and Politoed.

“Thank you kind girl.” The caretaker said.

“We owe you our lives.” The worker that was the father said with a smile. Looker went to send out a command, but Mars had leapt up during the commotion, and fired several bullets. The first missed, but the other two struck the other two workers. They smashed against the wall, blood dripping from their hearts, and the little girl screamed. Mars smirked, and raised the gun again.

“Move, quickly!” Looker yelled, as Lickilicky rolled forwards, smashing into Bronzong, causing sparks and Charon to yell as they endangered his laptop.

“Pachi!” Nutty cried, and ran forwards. Mars stared down, and raised the gun, but was bowled over by the Quick Attack.

“Bitch!” She hissed, and fired the gun.

“NUTTY!” Sahara screamed, and she ran forwards, unaware the bullet had missed. The balcony was swaying slightly, as three Pokemon and around five people were on it, and upsetting the unsupported middle. There was a burst of red light, and a Gligar formed.

“Gli!” He cried, and went to hit Sahara with a Metal Claw, but missed due to Nutty being kicked by Mars. Sahara crawled to the ground, and her head collided with some feet.

“Hello there.” A familiar voice said. Sahara froze and slowly looked up. Charles smiled and bent down slightly, raising a friendly hand. Sahara clasped hold, allowing herself to be pulled up. She went to say hello, but Charles pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. A strange sensation of delight spread through her body, and Sahara kissed back, shutting her eyes and blocking out the fight, just enjoying his warm lips on hers. She felt them move, and then felt his breath on her neck. Charles wasn’t sure about what he should do. He thought he had known Sahara, but Charon’s words were stuck in his mind, and he wasn’t sure what to do. Without even thinking, Charles decided to act

“Do you seriously think I am going to save you, monster?” Sahara’s happiness evaporated as Charles placed two hands on her shoulders, and then pushed her towards the railing, but the force of an explosion by Bronzong and Lickilciky’s attacks caused the effect to be worse, and Charles knocked her over the side. Sahara let out a scream, even before she saw the grey blur of the generators, and felt the wind, felt herself being sucked into a black hole that would obliterate her…


Route 205

As the explosion cleared, Vanessa, Matthew and Niles looked up, and saw that a group of people, with Redwood in the centre, were surrounding them, along with a Sceptile.

“Filth.” The long haired man hissed, and lashed out, kicking Vanessa in the stomach. She winced slightly, but refused to show more pain.

“That all you got?” She growled, as she swung her umbrella, the handle hitting his legs and
knocking him over. As he sprawled to the ground, the two Wurmples and Furret, who had been sent flying by the blast, began to attack. Staraptor had been injured by the explosion, and Vanessa thought it be wise to bring her back.

“Wurm!” The two bugs said, and fired a String Shot and Poison Sting each. The protestors yelled at the attacks, and several stumbled due to their feet being tied.

“Scep!” The Sceptile snarled, and began to absorb in sunlight./

“Furr!” Furret cried, and ran forwards, surrounded by white energy. The Double-Edge hit, and Sceptile was knocked backwards.

“Let’s get out of here, quick!” Niles yelled, as he picked up his confused ferret. Vanessa and Matthew grabbed the Wurmple that belonged to them, and they quickly began to run.

“Stop them, I must have my revenge!” Redwood screamed. As the three ran, they noticed a number of builders, lying bleeding from stab wounds.

“Help…” One tried saying, before the blood came over his lips, and he shut his eyes one final time.

“So much for a peaceful protest.” Vanessa said.

“No time for wise cracks, let’s find a safe place to hide and reconsider our options.” Niles cried, as he ran between a digger and an excavator.

“Why don’t we go into the forest?” Matthew puffed.

“Too obvious. Besides, they probably know every inch of it.” Niles shouted. Vanessa froze as they passed another corpse, and grinned and pointed.

“There’s a building right there.” She said, and pointed towards a single story, square structure.

“Good idea.” Matthew said. “They might look, but we can easily ambush them.” The two rushed towards it, forgetting to alert Niles, who was running towards a company van. Clarisse stepped out from behind, and was shocked by his appearance.

“Excuse me, what do you think you are doing?” She huffed. “I don’t take kindly to strangers sniffing around my van.”

“So sorry.” Niles said, and quickly pulled out his rangers badge: a gold, oval shaped badge, with a tree and the word SED (Sinnoh Environmental Department) Ranger printed. Clarisse looked flustered at her mistake, and forced one of her trademark smiles. Niles rolled his eyes and turned around, looking for Vanessa and Matthew, and cursed as he realised they had disappeared.

Vanessa whipped out a green ball point pen. Matthew went to ask why she had, before gasping as she plunged it into the locked door, causing smoke to rise and a soft hissing sound.

“Hey presto.” She announced, and kicked the door, causing it to fly open.

“Let’s just get inside.” Matthew said, and shoved her slightly. Vanessa rolled her eyes and moved forwards, trying to make out a good place to hide. The first room seemed to be a cross between a laundry and waiting area, with filthy overalls, pants, shirts and boots mixed in with armchairs and a coffee table.

“Close the door and keep on moving.” Vanessa snapped, and ran into the next room. This one was more open, and there were lots of cluttered dusks, along with a huge one in the middle. A map of Eterna Forest and the surrounding areas went the full length, and had scribbles and toy diggers on it.

“This must be the worker’s building!” Matthew gasped.

“No shit Sherlock.” Vanessa sighed, as she examined a whiteboard. She looked up, and saw a crack in the ceiling. “Wurmple, do you think you could get up there and looked around?”

“Wurmple Urm.” Vanessa’s Wurmple said, nodding, and he fired a String Shot into the crack.

“Wurm Wurm Pull.” Matthew’s Wurmple cried, and they all looked at her sad expression.

“I guess you want to go up and help?” Matthew said warmly.

“Wurm.” His Wurmple replied.

“Up you go then.” And she fired a String Shot, and the two Wurmples climbed up. While Matthew cooed, Vanessa walked around the other side of the table. A large, steel box was there, with a heavy padlock keeping it shut.

“Crap.” She gasped. Matthew rushed around, and ducked as Vanessa swung her umbrella, the sword easily slicing the padlock off. She kicked the lid, and the two stared inside.

“Oh god… it’s the bomb!” Matthew gasped. It was currently a steel box, with an LED screen and wires poking out of the sides.

“We have to leave, now.” Vanessa said. “It looks badly constructed, and could easily-” But she was interrupted as five thousand volts was zapped through her. Several protestors had snuck in, and one had fired a stun gun. A second injected Vanessa with a mild anaesthetic , and the third fired a second gun at Matthew, who screamed in pain as he was zapped. As he slumped forwards, Vanessa’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she was dead to the world.


Valley Windworks

Sahara’s deadly scream filled the entire building, and nearly everyone turned towards her. Mason’s vision was blurry and his lips bleeding, but Lunatone and Solrock could see what was happening.

“Luna/Sol!” They cried, and their eyes flashed pink. Sahara froze, suspended in mid air only a few feet above the generator. The Psychic attack prevented her from being sucked in,
and the two Meteorite Pokemon moved her towards a maintenance platform several feet away.

“ONNNNNNNNNN!” Smash roared, and angrily thrashed his tail, sending Purugly flying. Virus and Aqua were equally enraged, and combined a Charge Beam and Water Gun to knock Cradily across the room.

“Cradil!” She yelled, and fired a Spit Up. The white energy smashed into the roof, demolishing a light and sending some plaster down.

“Look’s like your little bitch has been narrowly saved.” Roshonda hissed, and smashed Mason’s face onto a desk. Up on the balcony, Looker and Charles were both staring down, watching Sahara, who lay on the cold steel below.

“Go and kill her!” Mars roared to the grunt who had helped Charon. He nodded and ran off.

“Now, it is time for us to get rid of the pesky little International Policeman.” Mars
growled. Charles moved over towards her, and Gligar and Bronzong stood together, while Lickilicky limped back to Looker.

“What are you going to do to me?” Looker asked. “Hit me with your whip?”

“I only save my precious for special people.” Mars snapped. “But I liked the boys idea of utilizing the generator. Why don’t you do the same thing to him?”

“I don’t really want to kiss him.” Charles smirked, and Mars and Charon laughed. “Gligar, go and block him from using the stairs.”

“Gli!” Gligar said, and leapt up and began to glide over the battle below, narrowly missing
a Water Gun from Aqua. Just as Gligar reached the other side, Looker smirked and opened his mouth.

“MUDDY WATER!”

“NOOO!” Charon screamed, but it was too late. There was the sound of crashing waves, and they all watched as a wave of brown water smashed through the wall behind Looker. Half of it caved in, and grunts and Pokemon alike ran for cover. It cascaded down, forcing Gligar to smash into the floor below, and Purugly hissed and ran towards a table. Smash fell backwards, and the point of his head smashed through the other wall.

“Lickilicky, jump!” Looker said, and leapt over the side of the railing.

“Licki!” Lickilicky said, and slapped them all with his tongue before following his trainer, and the two landed softly on the dying water near Gallade and Jolteon.

“Bastard!” Mars screeched. “Boy, get down there!” She snapped at Charles, and smashed her whip near his feet.

“I’m going, I’m going!” Charles retorted, and he quickly raced off down the stairs.

The Muddy Water was now beginning to flood outside, and Ursilla hissed as it soaked her boots.

“Don’t let it touch the machine!” She shouted, as she began to walk over towards Xavier, Turtwig and Lapras. Arbok had Lapras held tightly in a wrap, and Linoone was squashing Turtwig. Xavier had been stripped of his gun, and two grunts were holding him, but he wasn’t fighting them.

“Are you going to kill me now?” Xavier asked.

“What do you think, sweet cheeks?” Ursilla sneered, and she unhooked both of her guns. “But first, I believe Cyrus would enjoy the use of such a powerful Lapras, and the Turtwig can be forced to evolve.” Turtwig began to squirm, and Linoone raised a claw.

“Li No Oone!” He snarled, and pushed Turtwig’s face into the now muddy grass.

“I think I’ll start with the golden oldie.” Ursilla said, pointing her capture gun at Lapras. “She has caused our side a lot of hardship.”

“But she is my Pokemon, you can’t take her.” Xavier said.

“No one wants me to take their Pokemon, but it doesn’t stop me.” Ursilla said, grinning widely, and she began to point the gun.

High above them, the Drifloon were continuing to spin around, firing the Ominous Winds to the wind turbines. Only one Drifloon, the same one who had trouble staying still, wasn’t participating. She was worried about her friends: they all seemed to be under a trance.

“Drif…. Floooooon! Drif Drif…. Drifloon Floo!” She cried, as she propelled herself around the wind turbines, making sure not to get to close. But no one noticed her. Instead, Drifloon turned her attention towards the strange machine they had been near earlier. Drifloon could sense something was coming out of it, but for some reason, she wasn’t being affected. With newborn determination, Drifloon swooped down towards it. Everyone’s attention seemed to be towards a group near the valley entrance, so Drifloon wasn’t disturbed as she approached the black box. A man with green hair stood nearby, but he was eagerly looked at the crowd, and was shocked as Drifloon dived down.

“FLOOOOON!” She cried, astonishing the grunt. He screamed and fainted in surprise.
Unfortunately, the cry had alerted all the people in the surrounding area. Ursilla had just pulled the trigger on her gun, and a pink bubble was beginning to enclose Lapras.

“Don’t touch that machine!” Ursilla screamed.

You really should pay attention to what your doing. You never now what could happen within a few seconds. Ursilla turned back around, and watched in shock as Lapras blasted through the half pink bubble, and then sent Linoone flying off of Turtwig. The grunts all drew guns, but the leaves on Turtwig’s head spun around, and a Razor Leaf was unleashed. The guns were sliced, and Lapras then knocked them backwards.

“I told you not to take my Pokemon.” Xavier said.

“Up yours!” Ursilla snapped, and she stroked her hair. But before the snake could come alive, there was a snapping sound. Everyone looked over, and saw Drifloon constricting the machine, crunching it up into bits.

“NO!” Ursilla screamed, but the damage was done. The Drifloons high above were waking up, and they were beginning to stop performing Ominous Wind. Ursilla screamed, which matched with the hissing coming from her hair.

“KILL THEM!” She screamed, and fired her energy gun. Lapras knocked Xavier aside, and then picked Ursilla up and tossed her across the field.

“Ar Bok Ar!” Arbok hissed, and leapt towards Turtwig.

“Razor Leaf, quickly!” Xavier commanded, and he pickled up one of the discarded guns. “Lapras use Blizzard on the Pokemon, and then get the Drifloon to help us.” Both Pokemon nodded, and quickly fired their attacks. Arbok was bombarded with leaves, and was
pushed right into the line of Lapras’ Blizzard. She screamed and collapsed, and the rest of the Blizzard struck all the others. Several froze, while others fainted and landed in the
grass.

“Turtwig Tur!” Turtwig said happily, and fired more Razor Leafs at the giant Onix, causing it to collapse.

“Good work both of you.” Xavier said. Turtwig and Lapras nodded, and Turtwig suddenly glowed white. His body began to grow to about three times his size, and he doubled in height. His tail elongated, stuff began to grow on his back, and his feet and legs became thicker. The white light died down, revealing a green, yellow and brown Grotle.

“Gro Till, Gro.” He said.

“Congratulations.” Xavier said. The sun suddenly disappeared from their faces, and Xavier looked up and saw that all the Drifloons had gathered.

“Dri Floon Drif.” The Drifloon who had destroyed the machine said.
They want to help. Lapras said. Some grunts took a machine to the field, and put them under a trance. The one hear was to continue it and make it more powerful. Now it is broken, they can assist us.

“If you would like to assist, then please use Ominous Wind on everyone else in the area.” Xavier said. The Drifloons weren’t fazed by this, and they all turned to face Ursilla, her Pokemon and the grunts>

“Dri....” The head Drifloon said, and they all moved so their legs faced the grunts. “Flo…”
They spread their legs. “FLOON!” The Drifloons all sucked in air, and then fired out the Ominous Winds. The combined use of the whole pack smashed all the remaining windows on the Valley Windworks, and picked up all others humans and Pokemon, and sent them flying into and through the wall.

“Good work.” Xavier said approvingly, and all the Drifloons nodded.

Inside, it was complete mayhem. The area was still flooded, and Roshonda had sent her Sharpedo out. Smash had been knocked out, and had crushed many desks as he fell. Mars had added to the chaos her Tentacruel and Drapion, and they were having furious battles against Nutty, Aqua and Virus. Nidoking and Nidoqueen were having a gigantic brawl, and Lunatone and Solrock were trying to protect Mason, while Cradily and Beedrill battled with Golduck. Charles was searching for Gligar through the muck, but had sent Elle out, who was firing attacks at Nutty from behind. Charon was desperately tapping at his laptop, trying to work out why the power was shutting down, and Mars smashed her whip angrily against the metal.
In between the two, Sahara was stirring, rubbing her aching head, when she realised someone was standing over her.

“Get up, you filth!” The grunt said, pointing a machine gun. Sahara groaned and struggled to her feet.

“You know what?” Sahara said. The grunt was taken aback by this, and stood back a bit.

“What?”

“I really don’t have time for this shit.” She said, and kicked her between the legs. The grunt gasped and collapsed, and Sahara rushed up the metal stairs he had climbed down. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and she looked in time to see Smash’s giant body fly towards her, having being blasted by an explosion. Sahara screamed and tried to run, but the giant rock snake hit her, sending her crashing into some loose electrical wires. The sparks shot through her body, causing her eyes to turn body. Sahara’s body shook violently, before she collapsed onto the ground. As her hands hit the ground, pink energy was emitted, and Smash was lifted off the ground, before landing with a sickening crash. Crystal looked upwards, her eyes flickering pink and a malicious look on her face.

“Time for fun.”


Route 205 (Inside the workers hut)

Matthew let out a soft groan as his eyes flickered open. His vision was blurry and there was a sharp pain in his chest where the stun gun had hit. He tried to move, but something him back.

“Morning Sleeping Beauty.” Matthew looked around, and was surprised to see Vanessa was right by his side, her left and his right arm tied together.

“Wh-wh-what’s happening?” Matthew said, as he fought against the ropes.

“They’ve tied us to their bomb.” Vanessa explained. Matthew looked around, and was horrified to see that they were indeed tied to the metal box. The lid was open, and the bomb had been activated: the screen informed him that only six and a bit minutes remained. Matthew fidgeted more, but there were ropes tied around his chest, and he felt a sharp pain when he tried to move.

“But… but…. Where’s Niles? Where are our Wurmples? Where’s Cheryl, why is nobody trying to-”

“Oh will you just shut your bloody trap!” Vanessa growled, and head butted Matthew with her mushroom hat. “The hippies are guarding the outsides, so I don’t think Niles can get in, unless he has special weapons or anything. Our Wurmples are still up in the roof, and I tried calling for them, but they must not be able to hear me.”

“What about our other Pokemon, can you reach your PokeBalls?” Matthew asked, and Vanessa let out a hissing sound.

“Of course I have bloody well tried, but my arm is stuck due to this ropes.” And she demonstrated by twitching her left arm, and her fingers barely went past the rope.

“Your umbrella?”

“On the table only a few feet away, along with our bags.” Vanessa said sadly. Matthew sighed, and the two leaned against the cold steel, waiting for their time to be up. There was an awkward silence, broken only by Matthew’s sighs and sobs.

“Oh, I can’t take this.” Vanessa said. “I need to do something, I can’t just sit here.” And she turned to look at Matthew. He looked at her, and she leant forwards and planted her lips on his. Matthew’s eyes bulged in shock, but he didn’t part, and he savoured the moment: he had thought Vanessa to be pretty, but hadn’t acted on it. But now that she seemed to feel the same way, he could leave the world happy. Matthew tried not to think too far ahead, and just let himself enjoy this wonderful feeling.

“Grab my hand.” Vanessa whispered seductively. Matthew was surprised, but figured that if he wanted to keep kissing, he should do what she says, and he moved his hand and grabbed
hers.

“Pull.” Vanessa said. Matthew obliged, and gave her hand a soft tug. Vanessa broke apart,
grinning broadly.

“Cheers.” She said, and reached into her pockets. Matthew gasped at the betrayal, but was more surprised when Monferno formed.

“I didn’t know your Chimchar had evolved.” Matthew said.

“I don’t tell you a lot of things. Now Monferno, grab his Piplup’s PokeBall.” Vanessa commanded. Monferno nodded, and raced over and reached into the blue bag, and pulled out a PokeBall. He passed it to Matthew, he pressed the button, allowing Piplup to form.

“Pip Pip.” Piplup smiled.

“Ferno.” Monferno replied.

“Piplup, use Peck.” Matthew said. Piplup faced towards the ropes, and her beak glowed white and slightly grew. Then, she slashed the ropes with it, causing the ones around their waists to tear. She repeated this, this time freeing their arms.

“You guys go out and make sure it is safe to go, I’ll look for our Wurmples.” Vanessa said, racing over and grabbing her bag and umbrella.

“Vanessa, we only have two minutes and forty seconds left, I don’t think there’ll be time.” Matthew said, as he pointed at the bomb.

“So you are happy to let one of your Pokemon die?” Vanessa said, a look of utmost rage upon her face.

“Of course not, but I think that it would be safer for us to get out, and then we can come back-” Matthew never finished his sentence, as Vanessa strutted forwards and punched him in the mouth. Matthew stumbled backwards and spat blood onto the ground.

“What the hell was that for?” He yelled. Vanessa went to hit him again, but the whole building shook as a white van smashed through the back wall. The door slid open, and Niles and Clarisse climbed out.

“Get in, now!” Niles yelled, and ran forwards to help them. Matthew picked up Piplup and jumped in, and Monferno looked at his trainer.

“Monferno Mon No Fer Mon.” He said, and ran to her, and extended one of his human-like hands. A tear began to stream down Vanessa’s face, and she reluctantly extended her own. Monferno pulled her forwards, and Niles helped her run.

“WURMPLE!” Vanessa screamed, looking back at the building. But she was bundled into the van, followed by Niles and Monferno, just as Redwood and Sceptile appeared around the corner.

“Flaw it!” Clarisse yelled to her cameraman, who reversed them backwards as quickly as possible. Tears were now streaming down Vanessa’s face, and Matthew went to pat her to comfort her, but was batted away.

Then the building exploded.

The bomb was more powerful than expected, and all of the wood was disintegrated. The top of the roof remained intact, while the rest of the tiles were blasted into the sky. Several protestors, including Redwood, were struck by the shockwave, and one of the remaining diggers was blown up.

“It’s a good thing all the workers fled with the protestors.” Niles said.

“Stop the car!” Vanessa yelled. The cameraman was surprised, but braked anyway. Vanessa
opened up the door, and leapt out and ran towards the flaming ruins.

“Wurmple, Wurmple, where are you?” She yelled, kicking roof tiles and flaming wood
aside. “WURMPLE!”

“Vanessa, stop yelling!” Matthew said, as he and Monferno ran up behind. “I know it isn’t nice to hear, but maybe-”

“Ssh.” Vanessa said, holding her umbrella up. They fell silent, so only the sounds of injured protestors and the crackle of flames sounded. Matthew was getting hot, and wanted to move from the flames, but then he heard it.

“Coon.” Vanessa began to walk forwards, listening for the sound. There was another “coon”, followed by a softer one. Vanessa excitedly ran forwards, and Matthew put Piplup down so she could use Bubble. The fire began to die down, and Vanessa was able to push more stuff aside. She approached towards the entrance, and the very front hadn’t been as damaged, with only a few flaming clothes.

“Coon!” Vanessa looked at a pile of dirty overalls, and she shuffled them asides. There, nestled at the bottom, where a Cascoon and a Silcoon.

“Cascoon Cas!” Cascoon said, and smiled at Vanessa, while Silcoon looked over at Matthew.

“Your alive!” Vanessa yelled, and pulled Cascoon into a hug.

“Coon.” He said, and Monferno moved forwards and hugged them as well. Matthew bent down and picked Silcoon up, before wrapping his arms around her as well. Niles walked over and patted Matthew on the back.

“I presumed they evolved to save themselves.” Niles said. “Silcoon and Cascoon can only learn Harden, which increases their defence.”

“Awesome.” Matthew smiled, as he pulled out his PokeDex. Piplup jumped up and hugged Silcoon, and the two began to gossip to each other. “Aren’t you so happy they evolved Vanessa?” Vanessa stood up and turned around, eyeing Matthew with pure fury.

“Don’t talk to me you bastard.” She hissed. “You were willing to let them die, just to save your own arse. I am happy the two evolved, but I don’t give a crap about your happiness.” Matthew went to step forwards, but Monferno moved first, and the flame on his tail grew in size.

“Come on, let’s leave.” Vanessa said, and she turned and walked off through the ruins, Cascoon in her hands and Monferno following behind.

“Hypocrite.” Matthew mumbled, as he looked down at his Pokemon. Silcoon looked a bit upset, and Matthew stifled a sigh as he held her softly.

“I had better comfort her.” Matthew said, and Niles nodded and pointed towards some shady trees. As the two began to walk over there, they didn’t notice Clarisse or her cameraman filming them.

“Did you get it, all of it?” Clarisse said excitedly.

“Yeah, so what?” The cameraman grunted. Clarisse stood up from behind the digger they had hidden behind, checking neither Matthew or Niles was watching.

“We have just caught on tape a Dex Holder.” She said. “You may not understand, but this is going to change our world.” The cameraman raised an eyebrow, clearly not knowing what she was on about. But Clarisse merely giggled in an obnoxious fashion, as she turned and headed towards the van.


Valley Windworks

Team Galactic’s presence in the Valley Windworks now seemed futile, as no power was being brought in. As the Drifloons had fallen, the wind blowing through the valley was not enough to get the energy required. Charon angrily closed his laptop, furious at the 23% energy they had received. He looked over the railings, looking for Mars, and found her battling furiously with Mason. Mars, Ursilla, Roshonda and Charles had Looker, Mason and all of their Pokemon and Sahara’s Pokemon cornered. Nidoqueen and Linoone had fallen, but Ursilla had added her Huntail, and he and Sharpedo battled against Lunatone and Solrock. Nidoking and Nidoqueen continued their punch up, while Virus, Aqua, Nutty, Lickilicky, Gallade, Jolteon and Golduck attempted to bring down Elle, Purugly, Tentacruel, Drapion, Arbok, Beedrill and Cradily. The other grunts stood back, watching the drama unfold.

“PACHI!” Nutty cried, and fired a devastating Spark at Tentacruel.

“Tent.” The jellyfish said, before keeling over and landing on Cradily.

“You people aren’t going to win with so many Pokemon out.” Mason yelled, as he dodged a diving Beedrill.

“The attractive nerd is correct.” Mars pondered, as she carelessly swung her whip.

“What do you suggest on us doing then, Mason?” Charles snapped. Mason recognised the voice and turned.

“Charles! I didn’t recognise you in that hideous outfit. What are you doing on their side?” Mason asked. Charles smirked and looked down at Elle.

“Shadow Ball, quickly.” He said. Elle went to fire, but she froze.

“Eva Eve Eevee.” She said, and stepped backwards. Charles’ eyes bulged as he stared down at
her.

“I told you to fight.” He growled. Elle shook her head, and ran backwards. Charles scowled
and ran through the water.

“If he is out, then I’d better step up my game.” Ursilla said, and unhooked her capture gun. She aimed it towards Virus, who had his back turned. Mason screamed out a warning, but Nidoqueen had just thrown Nidoking, and he had to dodge. The pink fluid began to enclose Virus, and he screamed in pain. Mars and Roshonda brought all but one (Purugly and Beedrill) back, and took a steep backwards. Huntail and Arbok circled around, preventing Nutty, Aqua or any of Mason’s from helping. No one noticed as Crystal walked down another staircase, brining Smash back and throwing the Great Ball into Sahara’s bag.

“Now what’s going on here.” Crystal said, smirking. She walked slowly forwards, swirling the water around with her hands. As she got closer, she heard the cries of pain. Crystal moved quicker, and could see that the pink bubble had fully enclosed Virus. He was screaming and roaring, trying to break the bubble. Ursilla grinned, and she pulled the trigger again. Virus screamed a violent roar, before turning into energy and being sucked inside the gun.

“Finally, I have one of those little runts Pokemon.” Ursilla said, holding her gun up with glee. Blue energy was flowing through a container near the trigger, and Mars and Roshonda clapped.

“BITCH!” Crystal screamed. Everyone looked towards her, and Mars grinned cheerfully at her presence.

“Oh Crystal, I have been dying to meet-”

“Shut it!” Crystal screamed, and she waved her hands. A fist of water formed, and it slammed straight into Mars’ stomach, sending her flying backwards. Crystal waved both her hands in a circle, and everyone except Ursilla was sent flying backwards.

“Now now, there’s no need to get violent.” Ursilla said.

“I am not getting violent, I am just getting revenge.” Crystal said, and her eyes began to glow pink.

“Float Zel Zel.” Aqua said. Crystal looked over and saw the terrified looks on Nutty and Aqua’s faces.

“We wouldn’t want to upset your Pokemon, now would we, tart?” Ursilla screamed.

“SHUT UP!” Crystal roared, and she stuck her hand out. Ursilla flew backwards, and crashed into the staircase.

“Arbok, Huntail, return.” She said, and quickly summoned back her Pokemon. Crystal took the time to bring back Nutty and Aqua, and Mason brought back his team as he crept along the side. Jerry and Josh seemed to think that now was a good time to attack Crystal, and they ran forwards. Crystal looked at them and clicked her fingers. There was a snapping noise as both boys necks were broken, and the two crumbled to the ground. A female grunt screamed, and they all began to race up the stairs behind Mars and Ursilla, with Roshonda and Beedrill leading the pack.

“Don’t run from me, come back down here and fight!” Crystal screamed. But everyone was ignoring her, and Crystal couldn’t take it. She waved her hands around again, and the water began to rise up as a giant column, heading towards the grunts.

“Air Cutter!” Roshonda screamed high above. Crystal tried to keep the column steady, but Beedrill’s Air Cutter sliced through it, causing it to collapse. Crystal moved her hands, and the water flowed to the sides. There was a whirring sound that had been added to the mix, and Crystal released a wave of energy to blast through most of the roof. It seemed Team Galactic had gone up the fire escape, and were fleeing the scene on their helicopters.

“FIGHT ME YOU COWARDS, FIGHT ME!” Crystal screamed. Up in the main helicopter, Charles sat at the open door, staring through the hole down at Crystal, still thinking she was Sahara. He felt sorry for her, especially as Ursilla had just taken her Electivire. But her violent and strange powers only highlighted what Charon had said earlier. He felt someone elbowed him, and Charles had to move as Ursilla appeared, holding a giant rocket launcher. The helicopter was beginning to take off, but Ursilla had one last thing she wanted to do.

“Are you going to blow her up?” Charles said, sounding shocked.

“I’m going to blow the building up.” Ursilla said, smirking. “If she gets hit by it, then so be it.” And she pulled the trigger. The rocket shot out, and the energy it made knocked Charles backwards. The tiny pointed black missile moved expertly through the hole, and headed straight for Crystal.

“Oh fu-” She said, as the missile hit her in the stomach. Ursilla slammed the helicopter door closed as it exploded, setting off a chain reaction with all the machinery and electrical equipment inside. A fist of flames burst through the roof, narrowly hitting one of the other helicopters.

“Onward to headquarters.” Mars yelled from nearby. Charles stared out of the window one last time, and felt sad as he watched the roof and back wall collapse, as he realised he had lost his first friend from Sinnoh.


Route 205

Matthew and Niles stood at the entrance to the forest, Niles’ Tropius standing by him, and Piplup and Beautifly in Matthew’s arms. Nearby, a number of police cars and ambulances stood with their lights blinking, while their owners arrested and cared for the protestors.

“It was a miracle that no innocent person got injured.” Niles smiled, and Matthew nodded.

“I have to go now and report to my boss. Thank you for your help, and I hope we are able to meet again.” Niles said with a smile.

“Thanks for getting us out of the building.” Matthew laughed. Niles smiled and climbed onto Tropius.

“Until next time, goodbye.” Niles said, and patted Tropius on the side.

“Trop!” Tropius cried, and flapped his giant leaf wings and began to take off.

“Pip!”

“Sil!” Matthew’s Pokemon said, and they watched as Tropius and Niles took off over the Eterna Forest trees. Matthew saw something orange out of the corner of his eye, but as he looked around, Vanessa had already walked off into the trees. Matthew wanted to go after her and try apologising, but he was still rather sour about how she had tricked him back when they were tied up, and decided to just forget about her.

“Come on guys, let’s go into the forest.” Matthew said, and Piplup and Silcoon agreed. But before he could walk, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hello again.” Cheryl said, smiling.

“Oh hi.” Matthew said as he turned around. “I thought you left with the other protestors.”

“I did, but the forest is pretty dark, and I heard it is best to go with a friend.” Cheryl said.

“You want to travel with me then, I presume?” Matthew asked, and Cheryl nodded.

“I know I sound silly, but there is a Pokemon Contest in Eterna City in a few days, and I wouldn’t want to miss out.” She explained. “I can also heal your Pokemon if they get hurt.”

“I am sure that’ll be alright.” Matthew grinned, and the two began to walk into the trees. Matthew decided it would be best not to tell her he was entering as well until they had made it through the forest, which already looked very frightening.


Valley Windworks

Xavier, Grotle, Lapras and the Drifloons watched as the power plant fell to the ground. What had been the main power source of Sinnoh only a few hours ago, now lay as a pile of rubble, which was already falling into the water. They had ignored the black helicopters, deciding it would be too risky to try and take on all of Galactic.

“I wonder when someone will clean this up.” Xavier said.

Shouldn’t you be worrying about your friend? Lapras asked.

“I am sure Sahara will be alright.” Xavier replied. “Look, I can see Mason coming out already.” Over near where the entrance had been, Mason and Looker were crawling out, with Gallade walking behind, bashing rubble aside.

“Thank you for using Protect.” Mason said to Gallade.

“Ade.” He replied.

“I have to get back to my headquarters and report this. Hopefully they can track the helicopters to their hideout.” Looker said, and he brought Gallade back and began to walk quickly. He nodded to Xavier as he passed.

“Where is Sahara?” Xavier said to Mason. A tear began to form in his eye, and he shook his head.

“Dead.” He whispered, and began to move toward Floaroma. Grotle gasped, but Xavier merely looked over at the Windworks.

“Oh well.” He said after a few moments, before looking at the Drifloons, who were beginning to head back towards their field. Xavier tapped the one nearest to him. She dropped all her berries and zoomed forwards, hitting one of the wind turbines. The other Drifloons giggled, leaving her behind.

“I was wondering if I could catch you.” Xavier said, holding out a PokeBall. Drifloon rubbed her head with one of her legs, and stared at Lapras and Grotle, and then up at her friends. They always teased her, and never made her feel welcome. Several looked back at Xavier’s comment, but tears filled Drifloon’s eyes as they all floated away.

“Floon Drif.” She said.

“Very good. Grotle, Razor Leaf.” Xavier commanded.

“Grot Grotle.” Grotle said, and fired a number of leaves. Drifloon accepted the attack, and was blasted back into the wind turbine.

“Lapras, use Blizzard.”

Very well. She replied, and fired the powerful snowstorm. Drifloon let out a soft cry, before the attack caused her to freeze and fall to the ground. Xavier threw a PokeBall, and Drifloon turned into red energy and was sucked inside. The PokeBall landed on the muddy grass, and shook several times before flashing, signalling the capture.

“Excellent.” Xavier said, as the PokeBall flew to his hand and he began walking. “Now, we shall begin our quest towards Eterna City. I do not know where Matthew and Vanessa have gotten to, but I believe they’d be interested to know of Sahara’s death.”

“Who said she’s dead?” A voice boomed, and there was a blast of purple energy, sending lots of the rubble soaring into the sky. Xavier, Grotle and Lapras turned around as Crystal stood up, Sahara’s white coat in tatters and a slight graze, but otherwise no injuries.

“Oh, hello Sahara. Mason said you had died.” Xavier said. Crystal laughed, as she began to walk towards them.

“I’m obviously not dead, and I’m not Sahara. The name’s Crystal.” Crystal said.
Looks like someone’s been doing a bit of experimentation. Lapras smirked.

“You look like Sahara though.” Xavier said, thinking. “Are you by any chance a multiple personality? I read an article in the paper about it once.” Crystal shrugged as she got even closer.

“Something like that.” She said. Grotle and Lapras stared at her and she walked up to Xavier, put her arms around his neck and jumped, wrapping her legs around his hips. “Your quite the cutie, aren’t you? I’m surprised Sahara hasn’t pounced you already.” And Crystal leant forwards, opening her mouth wide and licking the side of Xavier’s neck. She then began to move her tongue onto his cheek, and began to move towards his lips.

“Please stop Crystal, you are acting very strange.” Xavier said. Crystal froze and leant backwards.

“Excuse me?” She snarled, and slapped Xavier before jumping off. He stumbled slightly due to the force of the slap, but barely recovered before Crystal blasted him backwards. Xavier landed face-first into the mud, nearly hitting the path.

“No one turns me down.” Crystal boomed.
Oh put a cork in it. Lapras said, and her eyes flashed pink. Crystal was sent flying, her back smashing into a wind turbine ten metres away.

“Grotle, Grot Gro.” Grotle said, using his larger jaw to pull Xavier by his collar. He stood up and looked over at Crystal, whose eyes were alight with pink.

“Let’s leave her to calm down.” He said, and headed towards the wooden bridge. Lapras gave Crystal one last look, before sliding through the mud. Crystal looked over towards them, before letting out a gasp and transitioning back to Sahara. She rubbed her head, before looking around her. It was eerily quiet, and the site of the ruined power plant seemed a bit spooky.

“What the hell happened in there.” She said, and pulled her Poke and Great Balls and PokeDex. She held each ball up to the PokeDex, and saw that Smash had fainted. Nutty and Aqua seemed fine, but nothing happened when Virus’ Great Ball passed by. Sahara raised an eyebrow, and tried again. Still nothing. Now getting very worried, she pressed the button, and pointed the Great Ball towards the grass. Nothing. Sahara grabbed Nutty’s PokeBall and threw it. The white squirrel formed, and looked sadly up at Sahara.

“Nutty, what happened, where’s Virus?” Sahara said. Nutty looked down at the grass. “Tell me! Was he killed, or kidnapped, or…” Sahara froze as Nutty nodded at the mention of kidnap. Sahara collapsed to her knees, her eyes wide in shock. “No…. no…. no…” And she fell fully to the ground, instantly crying and wailing. Nutty patted her on the head, but she knew that there was no comforting a loss like this.


Galactic Headquarters- Pokemon Storage Facility

It was only a few hours after Mars’ helicopter had touched down, but it was only now that Cyrus had called a meeting over the mission. Cyrus, Mars, Charon, Ursilla, Charles and Roshonda sat at a long table inside the bright room. The plain white room had racks of all the Pokemon used by the grunts, along with special Pokemon stored inside giant glass capsules, fill of a clear liquid. Virus was in one, with a Dewgong and shiny Swellow on either side.

“What exactly went wrong, tell me now?” Cyrus said. Mars had her whip in her hand, and was looking very nervous.

“It was Madam Multi-Mind and her hot scientist friend.” She said.

“Not to mention the android.” Ursilla added.

“Sahara, Xavier and Rowan’s assistant, I presume?” Cyrus said, and Charles nodded. “Very well then. I was hoping you were all trained enough to be able to defeat them, but obviously not.” Cyrus said and leant back in his chair. “Here is what is going to happen. Ursilla, once you have replenished your supplies, I want you to head towards Eterna Forest. Our friends are bound to be heading for the Eterna Gym. Mars, I want you to spend more time training up your team, along with Saturn, Jupiter and Charon’s Pokemon. Charon, you need to work on getting us more energy. Charles and Roshonda, you to go into training as well. I’ll have another assignment for you in a few days.” Everyone nodded, and there was the sound of scraping chairs as everyone stood up.

Cyrus watched as everyone headed towards the double doors at the end. As Roshonda passed through and the doors swung shut, Cyrus pressed a button underneath the table. The table and chairs slid backwards, taking part of the floor with it, and revealing a giant black space. A giant glass tank began to move upwards, filling in all of the space. Nothing was inside the tank except for a Castform, which had about thirty different wires and pipes attached to him. These lead to a number of tanks and machines on the outside of the glass. On Cyrus’ side, there was a small control panel about the size of a laptop. There was only a red dial, the numbers 0 to 9, and a bar like on a calculator along the top. Cyrus turned the red dial, and the bar at the top flashed yellow, before dying back down again.

“Just a little bit more my old friend, just a little bit more.” Cyrus said, and he pressed
down on the red dial. He watched as the tank slid back down the hole, and the table slid back. Once it was completed, Cyrus slowly began to make his way out of the room, carefully thinking of what his next move could be.
 
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Re: Galactic: Gone With the Ominous Wind

I will split this story into two parts because it is very very long :p Remember to vote for Galactic and Sahara Plattina in the fan fic awards :D

Where the Mild Things Are

January 16th 2010

Eterna Forest
“Hurry up Piplup, we aren’t going to get out of this bloody forest if you don’t keep up!”
“Piplup Pip!”
It was the middle of the day, yet the thick branches and numerous leaves protruding from the tall, towering trees blocked out the majority of sunlight. This made it seem like the day never ended and night never began. Pokemon moved in pairs, unnoticed by passing trainers due to the dim light and long grass. When a trainer unwillingly ventured in, they were attacked by two Pokemon, and many were left too startled to act, and were swiftly attacked. There was dark energy in the forest, and it seriously effected the time, space and the Pokemon.
Matthew Pearl was running through the forest, his starter Piplup and new friend Cheryl running behind. They had been lost in the forest for four days after fleeing from deranged eco-terrorists, and the confusing layout of the forest made it difficult to travel through. They had passed many trainers who had given up, and had simply collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, madness, and if they had been stuck long enough, illness and death.
“I wish you weren’t so snappy!” Cheryl said in a motherly voice, and picked Piplup up.
“Pip!” Piplup said happily.
“Of course I am snappy: this stupid bloody forest is driving me mad!” Matthew said, and wheeled around. His jumper was torn, his hair was a mess, and he didn’t smell particularly pleasant, but Cheryl was used to it.
“I swear that if we go into another dead end, I am going to kick something!” Matthew huffed,
“Pip Pip Piplup!” Piplup said, and pointed towards a road of trees up ahead.
“Thanks Piplup!” Matthew said excitedly.
“I am sure this will be the one!” Cheryl said happily, and the two ran forwards. Matthew liked travelling with Cheryl: she was optimistic, friendly and good with Pokemon. It was better than the emotionless Xavier, or the foul, nasty, horrible….
“WATCH OUT!” Cheryl yelled. Matthew looked, and briefly saw the orange thing he was about to hit, before colliding and falling over backwards.
“Watch were you are walking, dickhead!” Matthew moaned in pain from the pain, but froze when he heard the snappy remark and instantly recognised it. He looked upwards, and his eyes moved over a green tiered dress that resembled a tree, before finally making contact with Vanessa.
“Oh, it’s you.” She said. Matthew stood up, and the two stood a few centimetres apart. There was a lot of tension following the worker’s shed explosion, and there was silence between them. But Cheryl was running forwards, and Monferno was walking behind Vanessa, with Cascoon swinging from his hands.
“Don’t run off like that again!” Cheryl scolded. “Oh, hello there Vanessa. I like your dress.”
“Thanks, I’ve spent the last two days making my outfits for the next three weeks.” Vanessa said happily, before turning back and glaring at Matthew. Silence fell again, and Cheryl, Piplup and Monferno exchanged awkward looks.
“Maybe we should try a different route.” Cheryl suggested.
“Brilliant idea.” Matthew said through gritted teeth, and slowly turned away from Vanessa. He walked forwards, and went to stand over a bush, when it moved and growled at him.
“What the hell?” Matthew cried, leaping backwards. A Grotle glared up at him, and thumped awkwardly over to Piplup and Monferno.
“Grotle Grot Grot.” He said.
“Piplup Pip Pip!” Piplup said happily.
“Ferno.” Monferno said, and nodded. There was the sound of more footsteps, and everyone turned as Xavier appeared. His face looked rather twisted, like it was trying pull an emotion it didn’t know.
“There you are Grotle.” He said, and moved swiftly over and patted him.
“I see it evolved.” Vanessa said.
“I’d believe that is obvious.” Xavier said, and looked around. “Your new.” He said to Cheryl, but turned before she could reply. Xavier stood up, and Grotle muttered to Piplup and Monferno and moved with him.
“How long have you been lost?” Matthew asked.
“Oh, I am not lost.” Xavier explained. “I purchased a map from a stand outside. There was a very large crater there as well.” Vanessa and Matthew smirked, but they heard the other and stopped.
“Hello, my name is Cheryl, and we need some help to-” Cheryl began, but Xavier was already walking out.
“See you all later.” He said, and marched into the distance. Grotle looked apologetically at the others, before rushing off after him.
“Strange child.” Vanessa said. She then pulled her umbrella out and faced Matthew. “I am going to follow him: don’t come after!” She snarled with pure venom. “Bye Cheryl, bye Piplup.” She said, and skipped away in her lime-green high heels.
“Mon Mon!”
“Coon!” Monferno and Cascoon said, and ran after. Matthew was growling with anger, but breathed in, calmed himself down and picked Piplup up.
“Let’s just head this way then.” He said, and turned around. Cheryl nodded, but her happy nature had been sucked out by the past few minutes confrontation.
It seemed they would never get out of the forest.

Sahara was feeling close to death.
She had hidden inside her tent for three days, curled up in a ball and letting the tears stream down her face. She had lost one of her dearest friends, and had no idea where he had been taken. Nutty, Aqua and Smash were also sad to have lost Virus, but they knew that if Sahara remained how she was, she would never have any hope of finding him. It had taken much nagging, pulling, pushing and roaring to get her to move. Eventually, snow had forced Sahara to move spots, and Nutty was preventing her from getting down again.
Now the two were hopelessly lost in the forest. They had entered late last night, and had wandered hopelessly around, trying to find where to go. Nutty was worried about what would happen, but Sahara didn’t care. All that was on her mind was what had happened to Virus. She didn’t know where Mason was, Xavier hadn’t been inside the power plant at the time, and Team Galactic seemed to be laying low for the time being. There was no way she could tell what had happened to Virus, and could only presume the worst.
“Pachirisu Pach Pachi!” Sahara looked down, and saw Nutty pulling her backwards. Sahara had been about to walk into a sharp branch at neck height.
“Why did you stop me?” Sahara whispered. “I can’t take this pain anymore.”
“PACHI!” Nutty said in rage, and whacked Sahara with her tail. She repeated this, hitting her shins, hips and once in the gut.
“Ok, I get it!” Sahara said, and turned and walked faster. Nutty chased after: this technique seemed to be working. Sahara ran faster, and soon the two were chasing each other. Sahara felt some of her stress fly off her, and let her feet move for her, and let her mind drift away. She could hear Nutty running, and the rustling of the grass and leaves, but she was enjoying the warm feeling the run was giving her, and the sense of happiness was something that she couldn’t remember feeling since capturing Smash…
Sahara came to a stop. Thinking back was making her feel depressed, and she felt like she was running away from the truth.
“Pachi?” Nutty said, stopping as well. Sahara looked down and picked her up.
“Thanks for making me feel better.” She said, stroking her head. Her shoulders ached from running with the bag, so Sahara moved towards a large rock to sit down. But she had barely touched the surface before Nutty gasped with shock.
“Risu Pachi Pachi!” She exclaimed, and pointed in the distance. Sahara looked over, and couldn’t see anything at first. But then she realised that some of the green was darker than the trees and grass, and didn’t think trees had snake prints. And as the human figure walked off, a head of green hair swayed, and one of the thin beams of sunlight hit it, causing a metallic shine.
“Ursilla.” Sahara hissed. Her depression evaporated in one second. Nutty fell to the ground as Sahara stood up, eyeing her in the distance. Ursilla hadn’t seemed to have noticed her, and turned to her left towards a treeless area.
“Pach!” Nutty huffed, but Sahara was marching forwards. Nothing else was on her mind asides from bringing her down. Nutty ran alongside, and Sahara picked up speed, and reached the right spot and turned left. The two then froze at what was in front of them.
A huge house stood in front of them. It had a wine red wooden frame which covered most of the house. Cream coloured concrete walls took up what space remained. The majority of the windows were boarded up, and purple shutters hung from rusted hinges. The grass around a cracked concrete path was mixed up: half was green stubble growing out of the earth, while the rest was at thigh height. A lawnmower was nearby, between two sections of a broken white picket fence. Ominous wailings and angry shouts were emitted from the house, and several Gastly and a Haunter passed over the wooden roof.
“Talk about haunted.” Sahara said, and moved forwards. Nutty seemed less willing, but Sahara nudged her with her foot. The two walked along the path, keeping an eye out for Ursilla, when suddenly a Misdreavus leapt out from one of the tall areas of grass.
“MISDREEEEEAVUSSSS!” She wailed.
“Pachi!” Nutty cried, and jumped behind Sahara.
“Keep moving, I’m not in the mood.” Sahara snapped. The Misdreavus was affronted, but turned and flied off. Nutty was shivering, and Sahara chuckled and bent down to pick her up. But Nutty squealed in fright and ran forwards, smashing into the front door a few metres away.
“Silly.” Sahara sighed, and rushed forwards. Nutty was looking rather dazed, but there was no injuries. A small crack was on the door’s surface, and Sahara realised that the door was locked from the inside.
“Nutty, you are going to have to Spark this door down.” Sahara said.
“Pachirisu.” Nutty nodded. She glowed yellow and fired the ball of electricity. The doors were blasted off their hinges and fell to the ground. Sahara smiled and rushed inside.
The entrance hall was a very grand area. The carpet had once been purple, but it had faded over time and been eaten away. The walls were cream coloured like the outsides, and they were plastered with holes. Several paintings and tapestries hung above dead pot plants and small tables, and there were two doorways to the side. A grand staircase was in the middle of the large room, with a dusty chandelier dangling over it. Sahara looked across the room, astounded by how huge it was, but Nutty had noticed something. She jabbered and pointed up the staircase, and Sahara looked around. Ursilla was standing at the top of it, cackling as she sucked a Gastly into her Capture Gun. Arbok stood by her, grinning and hissing with glee. Sahara grinned: she would soon have her answers.
“Oi bitch!” Sahara yelled. Ursilla turned around, and her gun fell to the floor as she gasped with shock. The last time she had seen Sahara, Ursilla had fired a missile at her chest. But there she was, standing determinedly at the bottom of the staircase, not a single scratch on her.
“What brings you to this fine establishment?” Ursilla asked, trying to keep her cool.
“Cut the act you street corner hooker!” Sahara hissed. “Tell me where Virus is!” Ursilla was surprised by this reaction, but just grinned with twisted pleasure.
“I should have known.” She replied. “Don’t worry, your Electivire is in a safe place, for the time being.”
“JUST GIVE HIM BACK YOU WH-”
“Such foul language!” Ursilla said in mock surprise. Sahara saw her hand move: it slid over her snake hairstyle, and then wrapped around the energy gun. “You must be punished for it.”
“Ar Bok Bok!” Arbok roared, and leapt down the stairs.
“Pachi!” Nutty said, and ran forwards. The two collided, and Arbok’s thrashing tail destroyed part of the banister. Ursilla pulled the trigger on her gun, and Sahara leapt for cover, while throwing two PokeBalls and preparing for war.

Route 219

Charles envied normal humans.
He stood on the edge of the beach, peering through the trees. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining, and several families and couples were enjoying the brightest sun of the year. Kids were playing in the water, parents flicked through ragged books, while people in love made out or sucked in the sun, simply holding hands. Charles remembered a time he and Lyla had found a small, away from the rest of Johto. Quilava covered by Charles’ chest, while they watched Lyla, Chikorita, Marill and Charles’ Wooper dance in the waters. He could remember the sea breeze, the warmth from the sun, Quilava’s cute whimpering sounds…
“Charles… Charles… CHARLES!” Charles jumped, and turned around in shock. Roshonda was standing behind him, arms crossed and tapping her feet impatiently. A Jeep Wrangler was parked in a clearing, and two speedboats on a trailer were outside of the trees.
“Sorry, I was visiting Memory Lane.” Charles said.
“I don’t care.” Roshonda snapped. “We need to get those boats in the water ASAP!”
“Why can’t we back the Jeep down?” Charles moaned. “It’s easier!” Roshonda sighed and slapped him.
“Are you crazy boy? Everyone has heard of Team Galactic, and most people know what our signature car is!” She explained. “We can’t wander out in our uniform, waving to the public as we prepare a national disaster.”
“Fair point,” Charles said as he rubbed his cheek, “But can’t we use our Pokemon?” Roshonda hadn’t thought of this, and huffed before sending out Nidoqueen.
“Get those boats in the water.” She said.
“Nido.” Nidoqueen replied, and stomped off to perform the order. As she walked, Roshonda took of her jacket, shirt and pants, revealing a black bikini. Charles flushed and looked away, but Roshonda caught this and laughed. She clipped a fluro orange life jacket on, and Charles stripped down to deep blue board shorts.
“Sexy.” Roshonda said, and Charles flushed harder, and rushed clipping his jacket on in order to hide his chest. The two then bent down and picked up a black box. They staggered over branches and twigs, and then dashed down the sandy seas. Nidoqueen had got the speedboats into the water, and had shoved the trailer back up with one powerful push.
“Good job.” Roshonda said, and quickly brought her back. Charles loaded the black box into a container on the back of his speedboat, and the two climbed onto their vessels.
“GPS says to head North West towards Route 220 and 221.” Roshonda said. Charles nodded, and he started up the engine, and within a few seconds, he and Roshonda were racing along the water. But as they left the beach, another person walked onto it. She had seen them briefly, but had recognised Charles’ face.
“Seviper, does he look familiar to you?” Deidre Plattina said. Seviper merely hissed, and slid through the sand, looking for a meal. Deidre shrugged, and continued pushing a small trolley of supplies. She kept looking over at the retreating speedboats, but she heard Seviper’s jaw snapping, and instinctively rubbed the bite marks that stretched across her throat.
Eterna Forest
Vanessa happily skipped through the grassy surroundings, staring at all the trees around her. She quite liked nature, and enjoyed being near so much of it. And it was very peaceful compared to the dangers that remained outside. Matthew had disturbed her thoughts, but as long as Monferno, Cascoon and her other Pokemon were near, she was happy.
“Isn’t the day just glorious?” Vanessa said to Monferno. Monferno raised a curious eyebrow, and examined the surrounding area. There was little light, numerous Murkrow swooping above them, and strange creaking sounds sounded around them.
“Monferno Mon Mon.” Monferno replied sarcastically, and Cascoon giggled. Vanessa glared at them, before continuing to skip forwards.
“Well I think it is lovely.” She said.
“So do I.” Vanessa froze as she recognised the voice, and turned around in shock. Emerson was leaning against a tree, bouncing two Dusk Balls in his hand.
“Look what the Miltank coughed up.” Vanessa growled.
“Pardon?” Emerson snapped, annoyed he’d already lost the edge.
“Your outfit.” Vanessa smirked, pointing at the leather ensemble. “How many Miltank did you kill to get that fashion atrocity?”
“It’s fashionable!” Emerson said defensively.
“Yes, along with fig leaves and togas.” Vanessa beamed. Emerson growled and marched forwards.
“Putting my clothing aside, I saw you walking through here and I want to get my revenge!” He boomed.
“You mean you think you can beat me, after losing twice?” Vanessa said.
“I have been training especially to destroy you!” Emerson replied. “So how about it: a four on four double battle in two rounds?” Vanessa looked at Monferno and Cascoon, who shrugged, so she did the same.
“Excellent!” Emerson said, and scampered away a few metres. “Phanpy and Nosepass, come on out!” He threw his first two Dusk Balls, and the small blue Phanpy and the giant nosed Nosepass formed.
“Monferno and Cascoon, make this quick.” Vanessa said. Monferno placed Cascoon opposite Phanpy, and then stood opposite Nosepass. Emerson laughed with joy.
“This will be much easier!” He said. “But let’s start off defensively: Harden and Defence Curl.” Phanpy curled up into a ball, and Nosepass glowed a dim white.
“Mach Punch on Nosepass, and Iron Defence Cascoon!” Vanessa ordered. Cascoon flashed silver as his defence was raised, and Monferno ran forwards. His right fist glowed white, and he smashed it into the bridge of Nosepass’ nose.
“Nose!” He cried, and fell backwards into the grass.
“Nosepass, use Earth Power on that monkey!” Emerson huffed. “And Phanpy use your boosted Rollout on Cascoon!”
“Mach Punch again on Nosepass, and Cascoon slow down Phanpy with String Shot!” Vanessa boomed. Monferno rushed forwards, and rammed his fist into Nosepass again. But the Pokemon took the attack, and landed on the ground.. He slammed his body onto the earth, and yellow light burst from below, blasting Monferno backwards. Phanpy, meanwhile, was rolling forwards rapidly, about to squash Cascoon.
“Cas Cas.” He said, and fired a String Shot. It wrapped around Phanpy, causing the attack to slow. Cascoon used his needles to push himself aside, and Phanpy narrowly skimmed past.
“Tough luck.” Vanessa said with glee. Emerson’s eyes twitched, but he had to keep going.
“Earth Power and Rollout again, same Pokemon!”
“Mach Punch and String Shot again, my darlings.” Vanessa beamed.
“Ferno!” Monferno yelled, and ran forwards once again. Nosepass had no time to react before being knocked out cold. Phanpy had slowed down following the String Shot, and Cascoon happily fired more. Phanpy was now moving at walking pace, and Cascoon could easily dodge.
“HEAD SMASH ON MONFERNO!” Emerson yelled.
“Mach Punch and Poison Sting!” Vanessa said. Phanpy ran forwards, the red parts of his body glowing yellow. But he was moving too slowly, and Monferno ran forwards and punched him, knocking him backwards. Cascoon then fired a purple sting, which struck Phanpy below the stomach.
“Py.” He said pathetically, and collapsed to the ground. Emerson roared with rage, while Vanessa happily hugged her Pokemon.
“Take a rest: the others can deal with the rest of this loser’s team.” Vanessa said, and quickly brought them back inside their balls, before pulling her next two out and preparing for round two.

Matthew’s rage towards Vanessa had transformed into energy: he was walking madly through the trees, not looking where he was going, and crushing leaves and twigs as if they had personally insulted him. Cheryl and Piplup struggled to keep up, and were having to run for every stride he took.
“Matthew, slow down!” Cheryl yelled after nearly ten minutes. Matthew still didn’t slow, and Cheryl ran up. She kicked out, and Matthew tripped over her outstretched leg. He toppled over, and landed with a soft thud.
“Matthew, stop being such a pathetic, immature little brat!” Cheryl fumed.
“I am not being pathetic or immature!” Matthew hugged, as he struggled to get up due to his bags weight.
“Yes you are!” Cheryl said. She held a distressed looking Piplup out. “Look at her. She is upset about your attitude, and you have been ignoring both her and Silcoon since what happened in the worker’s shed.” Matthew looked into Piplup’s eyes, which were indeed tinged with sadness. “Now, something between you and Vanessa has gone down, that is obvious. But don’t take it out on your Pokemon.”
“Your right.” Matthew said, and he stood up and hugged Cheryl and Piplup. He then pulled out his Net Ball and sent Silcoon out, who formed on his shoulder.
“Sil?” She said, and Matthew pulled her and Piplup into a hug.
“I love you both, and I am sorry if I have been grumpy.” He whispered. Cheryl smiled with pride, but Piplup and Silcoon looked like they were getting squished.
“Piplup Pip!” Piplup huffed, and jabbed Matthew with her beak. He laughed and loosened his hold.
“I am glad to have you two, I wouldn’t let anything bad happen!” Matthew said. “And is something di-”
“Ssssshh!” Cheryl said. Matthew, Piplup and Silcoon looked at her, and watched as Cheryl wheeled around, looking for something.
“I heard something.” She whispered. Matthew listened out as well, and he could hear faint whispering, coming from nearby.
“Sil!” Silcoon said, and twitched towards two trees. Matthew and Cheryl crept over, and they peered between two thick trunks.
Two men were standing by some trees, slathering the bark with a rich amber liquid. A rusted red pick up truck was between them, and several crates were stacked up in the hold.
“I didn’t no cars could come in here.” Cheryl whispered.
“They are just trying to catch Pokemon, nothing wrong with that.” Matthew said, and he turned away. But Cheryl gasped and grabbed his arm. He looked back, and saw several grass-cloak Burmy climbing down the tree towards the honey. The two men stood back and watched them greedily. Neither of them pulled a PokeBall out, or even tried to catch them. But suddenly, one of the Burmy froze. The others looked around curiously at their friend, and watched as he toppled backwards. Then, this happened to another one, and then a third, and then the fourth. The men yelled in glee, and then picked the Burmy up and threw them into one of the crates.
“Thieves!” Cheryl gasped. “Stealing innocent bug types!”
“Oh god, what should we do?” Matthew whispered.
“We have to stop them, of course.” Cheryl said, and she pulled a Net Ball out from one of her pockets. “And I know exactly how we are going to do it!” Matthew exchanged worried looks with his Pokemon, but moved closer to here what Cheryl’s plan was.

Unlike the other two, Xavier was making excellent time. His map was telling him the right places to turn, gave helpful hints about Pokemon in the area, and he would hopefully be out within half an hour. Grotle was enjoying the natural air in the area, and kept stopping to eat berries and leaves, and caught some in his bushes for Lapras and Drifloon.
“Come along Grotle.” Xavier said, as they walked out a corridor of trees. “The map says we are nearly at Eterna City.”
“Grotle Grot!” Grotle said happily, and thumped through the trees towards Xavier. The two had bonded greatly over their time together, and the special training Grotle had undergone as a Turtwig meant he was able to put up with Xavier. Lapras merely ignored his comments, and Drifloon was always too busy eating berries or flying away to notice. But they all got along, which is the most important thing.
“It says that we have to turn here at this rock.” Xavier said, and he glanced up briefly to double check the rock, and then turned right. As they made their way down this area, they noticed that lots of Pokemon were fleeing from an area to the left. Gastly, Haunter and numerous Misdreavus and Murkrow flew up into the sky. Wurmple scuttled along the grass, followed by their Beautifly and Dustox parents.
“I wonder what is going on here?” Xavier said.
“Grotle.” Grotle said anxiously, and the two walked towards a white picket fence. An old house was in front of them, and a quarter of the front of it had been blown to pieces. The lawn was on fire, there was rubble everywhere, and several Caterpie and Weedle were trapped due to fence and flames surrounding them.
“Grot!” Grotle said, and fired a Razor Leaf. They cut through the wood, and the fence fell away. The bugs all squealed with happiness and worry, and scuttled through the space that had been created. Grotle looked anxious about entering through the fire, but Xavier was peering through the hole in the house.
“I think Sahara is in there.” He said, and walked forwards, ignoring the flames licking the sides of the concrete. Grotle examined them nervously, before sprinting after Xavier. The two walked up towards where the doors would have been, and looked in to see what had caused the destruction.
The first thing that was visible was an Onix, roaring and thrashing about. He was whacking his back with his tail, and Xavier could see a Linoone clinging to the Rock Snake, and Onix was trying to get it off. The Onix let out a roar and toppled over, hoping to squash it, and narrowly missed the chandelier. As he landed, over Pokemon became visible. A Floatzel and Huntail were firing water attacks at each other, though they kept missing. Ironically, none of them made it out of the door. A Pachirisu and Arbok were also battling, leaping around a grand staircase and firing Electric and Poison attacks.
“These are the exact Pokemon that Sahara and Ursilla own.” Xavier said. Grotle had already worked this out, but merely nodded and rolled his eyes.
“DIE YOU BLOODY BITCH!” The two looked around at this cry, and they saw Sahara and Ursilla standing at the top of the staircase. Ursilla’s snake hair was snapping at Sahara, who was batting it with a vase while kicking at Ursilla.
“I wonder what has happened.” Xavier said, and walked straight into the house. Grotle had been shocked by the battle that he didn’t notice his trainer wandering off, and quickly rushed after.
“Hello Nutty.” Xavier said as he climbed over Arbok’s tail. Arbok and Nutty both turned around, but Grotle suddenly ran up and tackled Arbok, knocking her backwards and over the banister.
“Pachirisu Pach.” Nutty said in gratitude.
“Till.” Grotle said, and the two ran up after Xavier. They were close to Sahara and Ursilla, and could see both of Ursilla’s guns lying behind them, along with shards of broken glass and torn paintings that had hung in the corridor.
“I would sooner die than tell you where your precious Electivire is!” Ursilla yelled, and slashed at Sahara’s face with her long green, snake patterned fingernails. Sahara snarled as they drew blood, and smashed the vase down. It shattered over the snake’s head, and china rained down upon Ursilla.
“Have you two caused the fire in the garden?” Xavier asked. The two women looked at him, including the snake, surprised to see him there.
“Probably, her aim with that gun is bad enough.” Sahara said, breathing deeply from the fight.
“Shut it!” Ursilla snapped, and her snake hissed.
“Why exactly are you fighting? You are worrying the wild Pokemon.” Xavier said. Ursilla cackled with laughter, and emitted power and strength as she marched towards him.
“I don’t give a crap if a couple of bugs are getting upset.” She hissed. “I have bigger things to worry about. I have to find a very special Pokemon for Charon, and I can’t let you two stop me.”
“How do you plan on stopping us?” Sahara snarled, and bent down and grabbed one of the broken vase pieces. Ursilla simply laughed again, and then clicked her fingers.
“BOK!” They turned as Arbok leapt up from below the stairs, and flew through the air towards them.
“Nutty use Spark!” Sahara yelled. Arbok was getting close, and Ursilla stood backwards as she headed for Xavier. Nutty charged up, but Grotle jumped into the air to protect his trainer. Arbok smashed into him, who then hit Xavier, and they fell and toppled down the hall. Nutty fired the Spark, and Arbok swerved so that it hit Grotle. He and Xavier were sent further down the hall, and their combined weight caused them to crash through a door at the end of the hall.
“That’s the room!” Ursilla whispered, and she darted forwards.
“Over my dead body!” Sahara snapped, and stuck her leg out, causing Ursilla to trip. As she fell, Sahara stabbed her in the thigh with the piece of china. Ursilla yelled with pain as she landed on Arbok and her guns.
“Nutty, let’s finish this off with Spark!” Sahara said. Nutty nodded, and fired the electric attack. As Ursilla and Arbok yelled, Sahara heard another roaring in the distance, and turned and saw Smash being hit by water attack, but could hear cries from Ursilla’s Pokemon and knew she had an even chance of winning.
Grotle groaned as he climbed off Xavier’s stomach. Xavier didn’t seem to mind flying through a door and landing inside a dark, dusty room. He stood up, and could see Sahara and Nutty attacking Ursilla and Arbok.
“Pleasant.” He said, before looking around the room. There were white lace curtains drawn, and a single bed was to the side. The pink sheets and pillows were coated with a thick layer of dust. Several boxes were also there, and Xavier considered opening one, but something was catching his eye. A small television was between the two windows, and it was flickering slightly. This seemed very strange in a house with no electricity, so Xavier slowly approached it.
“Grotle, do you think something is in here?” Xavier said.
“Grot.” Grotle said in agreement, and the two peered at the screen. The flickering light seemed to be taking shape, and it was changing from white to blue.
“Grotle Till.” Grotle said nervously. Xavier peered closer, and could definitely see something now. He reached out to touch the screen, somehow entranced by what was happening.
“GROT!” Grotle cried, and knocked Xavier aside as something burst from the screen. The two looked upwards to see what had happened. A floating orange bulb, surrounded by blue electricity, was floating in front of them. It had somehow burst out of the television, but it had remained fully intact. The Pokemon was illuminating the room, showing the rich purple of the walls and the flower patterned carpet.
“What Pokemon is this?” Xavier said.
“ROTOM ROT ROT!” The bulb said in a robotic sort of voice. It glowed fully blue, and electricity bounced around the room. Xavier and Grotle had no time to find cover, and simply covered their heads.
“ROTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!” The Pokemon said, and fired the electricity directly into the floor. There was a cracking sound as the floorboards were destroyed, and Xavier watched as the carpet became torn and sagged, and suddenly he and Grotle fell head first through the hole. Grotle screamed as the two disappeared into the darkness, and the strange electric Pokemon released sparks before chasing after them. The rest of the room remained the same. But the bed started to shake, and suddenly the dust rose up and formed into a little girl. She had long brown hair, a pink dress with matching shoes, and large black eyes that took up too much of her face. There were strange marks around her neck, as if something had clamped around her neck.
“I was hoping to play with them.” The girl said in a strange, high pitched voice, and her whole body shook as she spoke. Next to her, more of the dust roomed up, and it formed into a man who was clearly a butler: glasses, white hair, a black suit with grey pants and polished shoes. There was a red patch on his white shirt, and his eyes were also much too large for his face.
“There are more living things outside for you to play with.” He said in a booming deep voice.
“Let us go and find them then.” The girl said. The butler nodded, and the two turned back into dust and disappeared through the sheets.

Route 220

The sun was shining gloriously down onto the ocean, and the Pokemon were thoroughly enjoying the unseasonable weather. Finneon and Lumineon dived in and out of the surf, and Wingull did the same up in the skies. A pack of Tentacool and Tentacruel floated ominously, trying not to show their elation at the warm weather. A Gyarados sped through the water, trying hard to avoid the schools of Finneon that surrounded him, but nearly smashed into a silver chain. The Gyarados froze and examined it, and realised it was attaching an anchor to a boat above. The Gyarados huffed, before quickly speeding off again. The tip of his tail whacked the hull of the boat before the Gyarados disappeared off into the distance.
“What was that?” Lady Carolina huffed from up on the boat’s deck. The sleek, modern white boat was co-owned by Adrian and Palmer, and the warm weather was a great excuse to take it out after months of it being locked in a shed. Gyarados’ tail had caused the boat to rock, and a small table with several of Carolina’s things had fallen, rolling along the polished deck towards Leah, sitting in a deckchair opposite. Ninetales and Lucario briefly looked up, before meeting each others eyes and glaring.
“Pass the tanning lotion over please Leah.” Carolina said. While Carolina wore a bright red bikini, Leah didn’t have quite the same figure as her friend and wore a blue sun dress.
“You’d better be careful you don’t get skin cancer.” Leah said as she threw the bottle back, and the two chuckled. They were interrupted by a sudden banging sound, and the double doors leading inside the boats dining area blasted open. An Espeon and Umbreon, twin brothers belonging to Adrian, rolled out of them, play fighting as usually. Lucario leapt up, Ninetales scampered away and Peter followed after them, laughing and cheering while Mime Jr. tried to copy them.
“Watch out!” Carolina gasped, as they hit her feet.
“Adrian!” Leah shouted. Her husband quickly rushed up the steps, wearing green board shorts and a white shirt.
“Come on, break it up you two!” Adrian said, and stamped his foot. Umbreon and Espeon stood fighting and rolled apart.
“Um.”
“Esp.” They said, and nodded that they would stop.
“Aww.” Peter sighed. “I’m going to go and play inside.” He sighed. Adrian chuckled, before moving to sit in the deckchair by his wife. But before he could, he was covered in water as a Mantine froze out of the water.
“Hello Mantine.” Leah said to her Pokemon once she stopped laughing.
“Man.” Mantine replied, and shook to get several Remoraid off his wings.
“Why are you back from your swim?” Leah asked. Mantine turned and pointed in the distance.
“Tine Man Man Tine.” He explained. Everyone looked around, and saw two speedboats racing along the surface of the water.
“Outrageous!” Leah huffed.
“Isn’t there a speed limit in these waters?” Carolina scoffed. They watched as the speedboats came to a stop, and the faces and bodies of the two people were visible. Carolina gasped as she saw one of them.
“That black girl!” She exclaimed. “She is a member of Team Galactic, and fought against Xavier and that Vanessa girl at Floaroma Town.” Leah gasped and Adrian leapt up.
“Shall we head towards Route 221 and call the police?” He said, moving toward the doors.
“No, we should go and see what they are doing!” Carolina said.
“What, you mean go and battle them?” Leah gasped.
“I thought that girl had died!” Carolina said. “But she is alive, and could be doing something disastrous. If we go towards land, it could be ages before the police get here! We must stop these terrorists!” Adrian and Leah were surprised by this outburst, but they exchanged looks and nodded. Carolina smiled, and she moved towards the deck with Ninetales, a fang necklace swinging from her neck. She hadn’t had a proper battle in years, so she would ensure that this one went well.

Eterna Forest

Marcel and Darren had been good friends for several years. Both always got beaten to the league registrations, and had decided to take a more unconventional way to get Pokemon. They lived in a small house between Eterna Forest and City, and made a living by slathering poisoned honey onto trees. Any Pokemon that licked it got knocked out, and the two would then shove them in crates and sell them to trainers, other dodgy dealers or to suppliers who used the Pokemon to make their products. The majority of the time, they got Wurmples or Burmy, but there were the odd occasions they got Aipom, Heracross and the elusive Munchlax. These three always got them big bucks, and they were hoping for them today.
“Any sign of any Pokemon?” Marcel said. He was tall and look intimidating, but was rather weak when forced into confrontation.
“None yet.” Darren said. He was shorter, fatter and much weaker than his friend, and had a sort of hunch about him. It seemed unlikely at first glance that these two would be friends, but they got along well enough.
“None yet, eh!” Marcel snapped, and pointed upwards. A Silcoon and a Mothim were crawling along a nearby tree branch.
“Sorry, I didn’t see them.” Darren said, and he ran towards the tree, grabbing one of their honey pots. A brush was inside, and he quickly slathered honey over the base. The Mothim and Silcoon smelt the sweet scent, and they began to head straight towards it. Marcel grabbed a crate, and he rushed forwards to catch them as soon as they fell asleep. He and Darren watched greedily as the two Pokemon got closer. But suddenly, something white and oval shaped flew through the air, and landed right between their feet.
“It’s… an egg!” Darren proclaimed. He went to touch it, but it suddenly flashed white, and a shockwave blasted the two backwards. The two smashed into a tree trunk opposite, and both groaned in pain. The white light disappeared, and Marcel and Darren found two people and four Pokemon opposite them: Matthew holding Silcoon and Piplup, Cheryl with her Mothim on her shoulder, and her Chansey standing alongside, pocketing her egg.
“String Shot!” Matthew ordered.
“Sil.” Silcoon said, and fired them silky string. It wrapped around Marcel and Darren, tying their hands and legs together.
“Who are you?” Marcel snarled, as he began to struggle against it.
“Plain old good Samaritans.” Cheryl said, and took Piplup and climbed onto the pick up truck. Matthew, Silcoon and Chansey headed over to guard their captives.
“Mothim, Psybeam!” Cheryl said, and pointed at the locks on the cages.
“Help out with Peck!” Matthew called.
“Moth.” Mothim said, and fired rainbow coloured circles from his eyes. They blasted the locks right off the hinges, while Piplup pecked at the wood around them. Cheryl opened up the lids to see who was inside. The crates mostly had Burmy and Wurmple inside, but one had three Aipom, another had a snoring Munchlax, and the last had a Misdreavus and Murkrow that had flown past.
“Matthew, I’ll need help waking them all up.” Cheryl yelled, as she pulled Awakenings out of her bag.
“Will your Chansey be alright on her own?” Matthew asked.
“Chansey Chanse.” Chansey replied, and stood threateningly over Marcel and Darren. Matthew rushed back to the pick up truck, climbed onto the back and placed Silcoon down. He grabbed two Awakening and sprayed them on the Misdreavus and Murkrow.
“Come on, wake up.” Matthew said.
“Murk…” The Murkrow said quietly.
“Quickly!” Matthew said urgently.
“They need time!” Cheryl said. Matthew sighed, and stood up to grab some more Awakenings. He looked around as Piplup smashed more wood, Silcoon used String Shot to help heave the Munchlax up, and Mothim observed Cheryl waking up some Wurmple. But then Matthew smelt something strange, and wheeled around. The smell reminded him of the fireplace at his family’s old winter lodge, and then it struck him what is must be.
“Cheryl, I am pretty sure I can smell wood burning.” Matthew said. Cheryl gasped and leapt up.
“So can I…” She said anxiously. Piplup and Silcoon both gasped, and Chansey turned in shock.
“Im Mothim!” Mothim exclaimed, and signalled in the distance. They all looked, and saw orange and yellow flames flickering from between two trees.
“Chansey, get onboard!” Cheryl shouted. “Matthew, hold onto the crates.” And she jumped off the end and raced around to the front, where she climbed into the driver’s seat. Chansey ran up and jumped onto the truck as it roared into life. Lots of the Pokemon were in panic, and Matthew tried desperately to calm them, whilst Marcel and Darren.
“What are we going to do?” Darren asked.
“Well I’m getting out of here.” Marcel said with a smirk, and stretched and broke the string. Darren gasped as his best friend stood up and moved towards the truck.
“What about me?” He screeched in desperation. Marcel froze and looked around. He had known Darren for years, but their friendship had been diminishing, and if Darren died and Marcel survived, he would get lots more money from their line of work, and a house all to himself.
“Sorry bro, but it looks like I’m going solo!” Marcel bellowed back, and he rushed up to the truck. Matthew gasped as he saw Marcel approaching.
“DRIVE!” Matthew roared, and clung onto the sides as Cheryl flawed the accelerator. But Marcel leapt athletically on, and bowled head first into Matthew. The Pokemon all gasped as the two teens fought, not realising that the fire had burst out of the trees and onto the open land.

Old Chateau

It took nearly two minutes for all the dust to settle, but Xavier and Grotle coughed violently longer after this. None of them were injured from the fall, and they simply stared around at their new environment. The strange Pokemon, who was buzzing above their heads, highlighted grey stone walls, a number of pipes, lots of moisture, and a washing machine and a dryer.
“I wonder what sort of Pokemon this is.” Xavier said, and pulled out his PokeDex. It quickly scanned the strange Pokemon, who buzzed excitedly around their heads. A list of details appeared on the screen, and Xavier quickly scrolled through them while Grotle tried to see them.
“It says that this Pokemon is called Rotom, and that it is extremely rare.” Xavier read aloud. “It inhabits electrical objects and can destroy their circuitry, but Rotom can also control them to learn new moves and have boosted strength.”
“Grot.” Grotle said in agreement. Rotom made several more buzzing sounds, and dived low towards Grotle. He hit him on the head, and fired a ThunderShock. Grotle growled as he was blasted backwards, but Rotom simply giggled and fired more ThunderShock attacks. Xavier jumped aside, and quickly reached into his bag.
“Lapras and Drifloon.” He said, and threw them out. His two Pokemon formed, and Rotom backwards in surprise.
What? Lapras sighed.
“The Rotom has attacked us, we need to defeat it.” Xavier said.
“Floon Flooooon!” Drifloon said, shaking her head.
That thing is clearly Electric. Drifloon and I are part Flying and Water. Sending us out is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Lapras explained.
“I need you to fight.” Xavier said. Grotle rolled his eyes and muttered to the others, who merely shrugged and nodded: they were getting use to Xavier’s attitudes. Rotom was bored with all the talking, and quickly fired another ThunderShock. It hit the rubble from the fallen roof, and Grotle jumped backwards, Drifloon cried out and Lapras huffed.
“Absorb, Psychic and Astonish.” Xavier ordered.
“Grot!” Grotle cried, and fired the small green ball from his mouth. Lapras’ eyes glowed pink and rubble flew up from beneath Rotom. He saw the two attacks coming, and quickly dived into the washing machine behind. The attacks hit the wall above, but there were far more shocking things at hand. The washing machine was turning orange and it glowed an ominous blue. Two strange pincer-like arms came from the blue glow, and a pipe came out of the wall and was pointed towards Xavier and his team.
“Rotom Tom.” Wash-Rotom said in a deep voice.
Oh joy, a demon washing machine. Lapras sighed.
“Drif!”
“Grot!” Grotle and Drifloon rushed behind Xavier and Lapras, frightened by the haunted machine. Rotom grinned mischievously, and opened his door and fired a Hydro Pump. Lapras moved forwards and took the attack using Water Absorb. Rotom was appalled, even more so when Lapras used Psychic to throw more rubble. Rotom tried another Hydro Pump, but Grotle fired a Razor Leaf which cut through them. The rubble smashed into Rotom-washing machines side, and he toppled over. Rotom quickly phased out, leaving the dented machine behind. It looked at shock at Xavier, Grotle, Lapras and Drifloon, and then flew through the wall.
“Drifloon, go after him.” Xavier said. Drifloon looked shocked by the suggestion, but knew that she had to. She sighed and followed after, her berries falling to the ground as her feet disappeared through the stone.
“Grotle Till Grot Grot?” Grotle asked.
“We’ll look for a door.” Xavier said, and began to rummage around in the darkness, searching for a wall. Grotle and Lapras did the same, but Lapras began to notice the moisture in the walls.
This is a leaky house. She thought. I could travel through the moisture in the walls.
“Good idea, use Dive.” Xavier said. Lapras nodded, and her whole body turned blue. She turned into water and disappeared inside the wall. Grotle watched the water going, before whacking the wall with his chunky paws to try and find a door.
Out in a corridor, Rotom was buzzing around, searching for another electrical object. The corridor was wide but rather short, and had the same colour scheme as the rest of the. Glass windows and doors had been boarded up to the right, and several paintings covered most of the other wall. As Rotom buzzed past a portrait, Drifloon floated through a wall behind him. She was partially afraid of him and his attacks, but knew that surprise was a great advantage.
“FLOON!” Drifloon cried, and blasted out an Ominous Wind. Rotom turned around and got hit with a face-full of the attack. He smashed into a portrait, and released sparks in anger. He sucked in air and then roared loudly. The Uproar shattered glass in the photographs and blasted the wooden boards apart. Drifloon cried out as she was struck by the echo, and sucked in air to release Gust. But Uproar continued to sound, and Drifloon was distracted and the attack went off course. Rotom chuckled and dived towards a small table, just as Lapras seeped out through the wall.
Where is it? Lapras asked.
“Drif!” Drifloon exclaimed, and pointed at the table. All that was on it was a vase of dead roses and a fan, which was surprisingly dust less. Rotom smiled deviously, before diving into the fan. Lapras and Drifloon gasped as the fan began to grow and turn orange. The two blades extended and curved, and the fan began to glow orange.
“Ro Ro Ro!” Spin-Rotom said in a high pitched voice, and began to hover due to the spinning blades.
Drifloon, can you use Ominous Wind or Gust on the ceiling? Lapras asked.
“Floon.” Drifloon said, and turned so she faced the ceiling. She fired out the black wind of Ominous Wind, and it struck the ceiling. As it fell down, Lapras used Psychic and redirected it towards Rotom. Spin-Rotom gasped, and the blades stopped spinning. Instead, they glowed white and he slashed the air. The Air Slash forced the rubble backwards, and they sped towards Lapras and Drifloon. Lapras bended her long neck and they flew over head, but Drifloon wasn’t fast enough to dodge, and they smashed into her face.
“FLOOOOOOON!” She exclaimed, and smashed through a wooden door behind her. The rubble caused her to crash to the ground. But instead of hitting flat land, Drifloon bounced down several wooden steps, before smashing onto Grotle.
“Hello Drifloon, you found a door.” Xavier said.
“Drif Flo.” Drifloon huffed, and rubbed her head.
“Grot Grotle Grot?” Grotle asked.
“Drifloon Floon.” Drifloon said, and quickly grabbed her berries lying on the ground and floated back up.
“Let’s go and find Rotom.” Xavier said, as a roar and a crash sounded from above. They all rushed up the staircase and into the corridor. Lapras and Spin-Rotom were facing off. More of the corridor was damaged, and several portraits and photo frames lay scattered on the ground. Lapras and Spin-Rotom were completely destroying the hallway: Uproar was causing the unstable roof to shake and Waterfall was causing the hall to flood.
“Psychic, Razor Leaf and Ominous Wind.” Xavier called, and he ran forwards so his Pokemon would all be in a line.
If you say so boss. Lapras thought, and used Psychic to throw the table the fan had been on to Rotom. Spin-Rotom deflected it with his blades, and then blew the leaves and black wind towards Lapras. Grotle and Drifloon gasped as Lapras was hit in the throat, and she slumped up against a cracking wall.
“Ro Ro Ro!” Spin-Rotom said in triumph, but was silenced by an Absorb from Grotle. Xavier walked briskly over to Lapras, who was breathing deeply.
“You appear to be weak.” Xavier said, and pulled a Potion out of his bag.
You can tell I am hurt? Lapras said weakly.
“It is quite obvious you are upset, you have a rather large face.” Xavier said, and sprayed the healing liquid. Lapras and Drifloon exchanged looks of shock: they had no idea Xavier could register their expressions.
“Grot!” Grotle yelled in shock. Everyone turned to see Spin-Rotom fired a screechy Uproar at the ceiling. The booming noise hit a large crack, and half the ceiling began to tip. Lapras looked at Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon and fired a Psychic, knocking them all backwards. The ceiling crashed to the floor, causing a lot of dust and barrier between Lapras and Spin-Rotom and Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon.
“Lapras, what did you do?” Xavier asked.
Saved you! Lapras huffed. Go and find another exit, I’ll chase after Rotom.
“Good idea. Come on Grotle and Drifloon.” Xavier said, and ran off down the other end of the corridor. Lapras turned towards Spin-Rotom, who was shocked that his plan hadn’t worked. He phased out of the fan, causing it to fall to the ground, and then turned and buzzed down the hallway. Lapras smirked before using Waterfall to propel her down the hallway. Rotom tried desperately to get away from Lapras, but Lapras was high levelled and very skilful, and easily turned around a corner and sped for Rotom. In his desperation, Rotom fired a ThunderShock and succeeded in blasting her backwards. He phased through a wooden door and arrived just beside the grand staircase.
Aqua and Linoone were still battling, firing attack after attack at each other. Huntail had fully faint, and lay limply at the bottom of the stairs. But Smash still had some energy left, and leant against the wall, gasping for breath and staring around. The fire from the garden was beginning to move onto the carpet through the holes in the walls, and soon the ancient house would be ablaze. Not wishing to go between fighting and fire, Rotom raced through the double doors directly opposite. As he phased through, the door was psychically blasted off its hinges, and Lapras squeezed through.
Where is he? She hissed, and looked around. Lapras shut her eyes and used Psychic, and was able to detect movement from behind the double doors. She smiled and moved towards them, just as the double doors at the opposite end of the hall swung open. Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon had gone through a large dining hall, and now arrived just as Linoone smashed into the wall near them.
“Lin!” He snarled, and leapt forwards to Slash Aqua.
“How violent.” Xavier said. Smash looked at them, and then pointed with his tail towards the other double doors. Xavier could see he was in pain, so he pulled a Potion out and sprayed him.
“Onix.” Smash said in happiness. Xavier and his Pokemon went to walk forwards, but Aqua and Linoone were blocking the way, and they were forced to come to a stop.
Behind the double doors, Lapras found herself inside a kitchen several years out of date. The counter and doors were all painted purple, and the electronics looked like they had been time travelled from the mid nineties. There was a thick layer of dust over the surfaces, and there was no light except fro a strange red glow glowing from the right. Lapras turned towards it, but found balls of flame rushing for her. She quickly blasted them aside with Psychic, and revealed Rotom. He had now inhabited a microwave oven: it had a curved top and square bottom, and two claws had come out from around the side. The door was open, and Heat-Rotom was preparing another Fir Blast.
You can’t defeat me. Lapras snarled, and used Psychic to blast Rotom backwards. He phased out of the microwave oven, and it fell and smashed onto a stove. Rotom then fired a ThunderShock, causing Lapras’ head to smash against the back wall, and he used the opportunity to flee inside a nearby two-door fridge. Lapras moaned slightly as she straightened up, and looked towards the fridge to see it transformed. It turned orange and expanded, and began to glow purple. But Lapras realised something it seemed Rotom had not: the fridge had been between a cabinet and the wall, and was now too wide to get out. Frost-Rotom tried to thump out, but was unable to.
Cornered. Lapras said triumphantly.
“Tom Tom Tom?” Frost-Rotom boomed.
Bring it. Lapras replied, and she opened her mouth wide as Frost-Rotom opened his doors. Both Pokemon fired a powerful Blizzard attack, and both attacks collided in the middle. The temperature in the kitchen suddenly dropped to 0 degrees, and the two snowstorms began to spread out across the surfaces. The double doors banged open, and Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon ran in, having finally got across the hall.
“Good job Lapras.” Xavier said, as the snow began to form ice along some of the benches.
“Dri-Dri-Dri-FLOOON!” Drifloon sneezed, and propelled backwards.
“Till Grot Grot!” Grotle said with a shiver, as snow began to form in his bushes.
“I want to watch this.” Xavier said, and stared into the determination inside Lapras’ eyes, and the worry inside Rotom’s. A bench nearby was so cold that it was started to crack, and the dead light bulbs above their heads burst.
“Grot!” Grotle said, and began to pull Xavier backwards.
“We’ll wait outside for Lapras then.” Xavier said, and nearly slipped on the ice as he turned around. Drifloon happily went to move forwards, but suddenly a lot of dust appeared from under the cracks.
“Where do you think your going?” The ghost of the girl said as she formed, her arms outstretched to stop them leaving.
“FLOOOOOON!” Drifloon cried, and began to fly around the room in shock as the butler formed, and the two ghosts loomed over them all.

Outside of the kitchen, the battle between the Pokemon raged on. Aqua and Smash repeatedly struck Linoone, who got his own back with Thunderbolt and Grass Knot attacks. The carpet was torn up in dozens of places, most of the banister was destroyed and the chandelier was shaking ominously. The fire from the garden had set the front of the house on fire, and it was spreading across the carpet.
On the upper storey, Nutty had successfully knocked Arbok out with a powerful Spark and Bite combination, though she had been poisoned in the process. The Pachirisu now sat on Sahara’s bag, watching as her trainer and Ursilla fought to the death.
“Tell me where Virus is!” Sahara screeched from the umpteenth time, and slashed at her throat with a jagged piece from a vase. Ursilla simply laughed and kneed Sahara in the stomach, before hitting her across the face with the butt of her energy gun.
“I would never tell an evil little girl like you anything!” She said, while her snake hissed with pleasure. “Now, it is time to finally end this!” And Ursilla aimed her gun towards her.
“Run Nutty, take Smash and Aqua and RUN!” Sahara yelled. She tried to stand, but there was too much pain in her stomach.
“You can’t escape me now!” Ursilla hissed, and put her finger on the trigger.
“PACHI!” Nutty yelled in horror. Sahara looked at her, tears streaming down her face, and reached out a hand. Ursilla hissed and stood on her wrist, crunching it. Nutty had tears streaming down her face as well, and moved obediently backwards. She planned to fire a Spark, but she was in to much shock to know what to do. Sahara watched her trusted friend leave, and went to turn back and accept her faith. But then she noticed something lying on the ground: the jagged vase piece. If she could grab it, Sahara could use it to jam the gun. It was unlikely, but Sahara had to do something. She turned painfully onto her front and grabbed onto the piece.
“NO!” Ursilla roared, and she pulled the trigger.
“PACHIRISU!” Nutty yelled, and watched the orange beam of energy smash into Sahara’s back. She expected something horrible to happen: her back to split open, all her bones to explode, the world to end. But Sahara began to shake and twitch, her limbs flailing madly. Ursilla was shocked and stepped backwards, and only Nutty could see Sahara’s eyes turn black. Then, a shockwave emitted out of Sahara. It blasted Nutty, Ursilla and the unconscious Arbok along the hallway and dented the wall. Sahara then slowly stood up, taking extra and unnecessary time to do so. She stretched her arms and legs, and shook back her hair which suddenly looked a lot darker. Then, she turned around and faced Ursilla, who was lying horrified on the ground.
“Who are you?” She whispered. Sahara smiled sweetly and raised her hands up.
“My name is Jaki, and I am going to claim back a world that is rightfully mine.” She explained, and then burst into high pitched, malicious laughter. The chandelier exploded, glass and gold flying everywhere, and then Jaki kicked Ursilla in the stomach. The kick sent the women flying down the hallway, where she smashed through a wall. Nutty watched in terror as this unfolded, and eyed a glowing golden light coming from Jaki’s back.
This was much worse that her back exploding.
 
Re: Galactic: Gone With the Ominous Wind

Route 220

The GPS on Roshonda’s speedboat beeped loudly at the two of them, signalling they had arrived at the right spot.
“Our instructions from Charon said to slowly lower the device onto the seabed.” Roshonda explained as the two cut their engines.
“What is this device anyway?” Charles asked as he turned and opened up the hatch of his container.
“Ask no questions and get told no lies.” Roshonda smirked. “It’s Team Galactic, so I am sure Charon doesn’t want to research the live patterns of Magikarp.” Charles laughed and nearly toppled off his boat.
“Good point.” He said, beaming from ear to ear. He hoisted the black box out of the container, and rested it on his knee. Roshonda pulled one of her PokeBalls out and sent out Sharpedo. Charles reached into his board shorts and pulled out the one containing his Gyarados.
“Gyara!” Gyarados roared as he formed, and he dived into the water, nearly capsizing the two speedboats. Roshonda pulled a square of fabric out from her bag and threw it to Charles.
“Attach it to the box: it is a mini parachute so it’ll lower to the floor slowly.” She explained. Charles nodded and attached the ends to the top of the box. He double checked everything was secure, and then threw it into the ocean. The clear surface of the water allowed them to see the parachute deploy, and Sharpedo dived underwater to make sure it floated down safely.
“That was relatively easy.” Charles said. “A bit of a waste after driving for nearly two days.”
“You get that sometimes.” Roshonda smirked. “I once was on a helicopter trip for a whole week, only stopped to refuel. And we got to our destination, we found out the coordinates were incorrect and we’d have to go back!” Charles laughed, and went to ask where they had meant to go, but Gyarados poked his head out of the water. He looked rather distressed and was looking over Charles’ shoulder.
“What is it?” Charles asked, and looked around. A white boat was heading towards them, and it’s speed seemed to say it wasn’t casually passing by.
“Maybe we got recognised.” Charles suggested.
“I don’t care why they are coming for us.” Roshonda hissed. “If they look to dodgy, then this will turn into a red sea.” To emphasise her point, she pulled two handguns out of her pocket and threw one to Charles. Sharpedo came back up to the surface alongside Gyarados, and the two Pokemon stood strong as the boat approached. As the vessel slowed down, two people on the deck where clearly visible: both women, one looking anxious and uncertain, while the other was determined and elegant.
“YOU!” Lady Carolina yelled, and pointed dramatically at Roshonda. “You tried to kill my Xavier!” Roshonda was stunned by this, but she quickly recognised the face.
“Lady Carolina Diamond.” She said. “It would be a pleasure to kill you!” And she lifted the gun up. Leah screamed, but Ninetales leapt up so she perched on the railing and fired a Fire Blast. Charles and the Pokemon gasped, and Sharpedo tried to fire a water attack, but the flames hit the speedboat. Roshonda had jumped off, but the explosion caused her to fly before smashing into the waves. The shockwave caused Charles’ speedboat to tip and he jumped onto Gyarados.
“You’ll pay for that!” He snapped, and reached into his pocket as Gyarados rose into the air.
“Ninetales, Iron Tail if they attack.” Lady Carolina ordered.
“Lucario use Aura Sphere and Mantine use Hydro Pump.” Leah said, and rushed towards her bag to grab another PokeBall.
“Dive down and use Dragon Pulse!” Charles cried.
“GYARA!” Gyarados yelled, and he swooped down towards the ground, a ball of turquoise energy forming. Lucario fired an Aura Sphere, Mantine opened his mouth wide and fired the powerful jet of water, and Ninetales raised her glowing silver tails in preparation for attack. Gyarados fired the Dragon Pulse, and it collided with the Hydro Pump and Aura Sphere. There was a miniature explosion which struck Gyarados in the middle, and the force caused Charles to bounce off and fall.
“HELP!” He cried. Charles fell through the smoke, and was expecting to hit water. Instead, he hit something rather soft. He opened his eyes and found he had landed on the soft cushions of a deck chair. Carolina, Leah, Ninetales, Lucario and Mantine all turned towards him, and Charles realised that it was a bad move. But he felt the reassuring bulges of the PokeBalls inside his life jacket, and reached in and pulled them out.
“Mightyena, Gligar, Elle!” Charles yelled, as they all burst open. Mightyena looked towards Ninetales, and both wolf-like both bared their teeth before running forwards and beginning to fight. Lucario leapt forwards to fight Elle, who fought back with Shadow Ball. Gligar flew up to scare Leah and Carolina.
“GLI!” He cried. Leah screamed and dropped the PokeBall in her hand. But Lady Carolina stood strong and sprayed tanning lotion in Gligar’s face.
“Hey, that’s uncalled for!” Charles yelled over the fighting.
“So is destroying our region!” Carolina snarled, and lunged forwards. Charles hadn’t expected this, and suddenly found one of her hands around his throat, while the other slashed at his cheek.
“Eve!” Elle cried, and fired a blue Secret Power at her. But before it could hit, the boat suddenly shook violently. Carolina fell over, along with nearly everyone else, and Charles rushed to the side to see what was going on.
Gyarados was now below them, yet still in mid air.
A huge wave had formed, and the boat had been picked up and being forced towards the coast. Charles had a funny feeling he knew who was behind it, but before he could spend any more time wondering, another explosion rocked the boat, and Charles fell backwards. He saw flames, wood from the deck flying and Gyarados flying up to fight Mantine, before his head hit the deck and he was consumed with darkness.

Eterna Forest

“Machop, Geodude, come on out!”
“Staraptor, Luxio, it’s your time to shine!”
The four assorted Poke and Dark Balls burst open, and Emerson and Vanessa’s respective Pokemon all formed.
“There is no way either of yours are going to survive my Geodude!” Emerson smirked.
“Well, we’d just have to see about that.” Vanessa replied simply, and smiled at Staraptor and Luxio.
“Is that the Shinx from our first battle?” Emerson asked.
“Congratulations, you’re a genius.” Vanessa snapped sarcastically, and Staraptor and Luxio chuckled. Emerson turned red with anger and embarrassment, and Machop and Geodude exchanged looks.
“Machop use Seismic Toss on Luxio, and Geodude use Rock Throw on Staraptor!” He roared.
“Aerial Ace and Bite on Machop.” Vanessa yawned. Machop ran forwards, one of his fists raised high. But Staraptor and Luxio raced forwards, and simultaneously bit and slashed at him. Machop toppled over, giving Geodude a clear shot for Rock Throw.
“Star!” Staraptor screeched as the rock slammed into her chest. She fell onto her back, and Vanessa rushed forwards in shock.
“Are you alright?” She asked.
“Star Aptor Star.” Staraptor replied. Vanessa beamed and Luxio rushed over and smiled warmly as well. Machop and Geodude were slightly confused by this interruption in the battle, and looked up at Emerson.
“Geo Dude Dude?” Geodude asked.
“We can take them down while they are distracted.” Emerson said. “Geodude get over there and use Self-destruct! Machop, you wait and see if they can attack and then use Revenge.”
“Ma Ma!” Machop said, shaking his head.
“Just do it!” Emerson snarled. Geodude sighed before slamming his hands into the ground and forcing himself forwards. Vanessa, Staraptor and Luxio turned, and saw the rock flying straight for them.
“Staraptor, Close Combat it backwards!” Vanessa yelled.
“Luxi!” Luxio whimpered, and ducked behind Vanessa. Staraptor quickly stretched her wings and got up. Geodude was only metres away, and Staraptor swiftly punched him on the head.
“DUDE!” He yelled, and flew backwards towards Emerson and Machop. Emerson yelled as Geodude slammed into Machop, who then slammed into him. There was a white flash, a loud bang, and a shockwave that knocked Vanessa and her Pokemon backwards. As it cleared, Vanessa heard a loud yell getting more and more distant, and she looked into the sky and saw three black dots flying away.
“Oh well, looks like he’s going and blasted off.” Vanessa said.
“Staraptor Star.” Staraptor said huffily.
“O Luxio Lux!” Luxio added.
“Well put.” Vanessa said. “Come on, let’s keep finding our way out.”
“Staraptor!” Staraptor said, and she stretched her wings and took off into the sky.
“Great idea, look out for any possible exits!” Vanessa yelled. She stroked Luxio’s head, who purred with happiness, while Staraptor landed on a high tree branch and peered through the leaves. She could hear the roar of an engine motor, and the grey smoke from the fire was clearly visible over the treetops.
“Star!” She explained as she flew back down, and pointed nervously into the distance.
“What is it?” Vanessa asked. But her question was answered as the car engine sounded from nearby. Confused, Vanessa and her Pokemon ran to the end of their row of trees to investigate the noise.
A black pick up truck was driving madly through the grass, sending numerous bug Pokemon fleeing. Vanessa stared through the window and saw that it was Cheryl driving erratically behind the wheel. Some sort of scuffle was going on at the back, and Cheryl was trying to end it.
“What the hell is this?” Vanessa gasped. She stuck her hand out and waved, and Cheryl gasped as she recognised her. She slammed onto the brakes, and the car screeched and turned around. Vanessa could see Matthew slumped over the sides, while a taller, fitter man tried to fight a Chansey that was repeatedly using DoubleSlap on him.
“Get off me you stupid egg!” Marcel snarled, and shoved Cheryl’s Chansey backwards. But this only angered the other Pokemon more, and they all charged.
“Pip!” Piplup cried, and rammed a Peck into his stomach. Marcel gasped and collapsed to his knees. Silcoon then tackled him in the face, making his head smash against the sides. Cheryl opened up the car door as Vanessa ran forwards.
“What the hell is going on?” She asked. She reached into her bag and pulled out her umbrella.
“This guy is a poacher and we caught him in the act.” Cheryl said, pointing at Marcel. “We tied them up and tried to free their Pokemon, but there is a forest fire and we had to flee. And, unfortunately, he followed.”
“This is my truck!” Marcel snarled, but was silenced by another Peck in a more sensitive area.
“Did you say there was a forest fire?” Vanessa said. Cheryl nodded, and Vanessa looked towards Staraptor, who nodded knowingly. “Well, we need to leave then!”
“But I don’t know the way out!” Cheryl said.
“Oh, why let that stop you.” Vanessa scoffed. She climbed into the driver’s seat and adjusted it to her liking. Luxio ran up, jumped over his legs and curled up on the passenger seat. Staraptor flew up and landed on the roof, and Cheryl was left slightly confused.
“I thought you were fourteen.” She said.
“Do you think that has ever stopped me with anything?” Vanessa laughed, and emphasised this by grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniels from the drinks holder and taking a swig out of it. Cheryl gasped, and looked up at Staraptor. She looked back down and merely shrugged.
“Come on then Cherry, let’s get out of this giant oven.” Vanessa said, and slammed the door shut. Cheryl sighed and clambered onto the back. Matthew was unconscious, Marcel was clutching his genitals in pain and all the Pokemon were looking worried. The captured Pokemon had woken up and were thoroughly confused.
“We’ll be out of here soon.” Cheryl said with a smile, though she was rather nervous. Vanessa floored the accelerator, and the pick up truck sped off towards the end of the forest.

Route 220

“Eva… Eevee… EVE!”
Charles groaned and slowly opened his eyes, blinking as he adjusted to the harsh light above his head. Bits of wood were on his chest, and an unconscious figure lay nearby. Charles looked over and realised that, by its length, it was the Mantine belonging to Leah.
“Elle, di… did I get knocked out?” He asked.
“Eve.” Elle replied. Her left front leg was bent slightly, and Charles went to hold it, but she leapt aside. This revealed the battle that was half heartedly being fought. Lucario and Gligar exchanged Force Palms and Metal Claws, Mightyena and Ninetales rolled around on the damaged deck, and a Raichu belonging to Leah fired attacks at Gyarados. Charles looked around for the two mothers, but they seemed to have disappeared. Instead, he dragged himself towards the edge and peered over the sides. Roshonda was riding her Sharpedo, who was indeed controlling the wave. Roshonda saw Charles and smiled and waved. He reciprocated before moving back towards Elle.
“Why is the sun so hot?” Charles asked.
“Eevee Eva.” Elle said, and signalled towards Ninetales, who was blasting Mightyena with a Fire Blast.
“Let me guess, Sunny Day?” Charles questioned, and Elle nodded. “Fantastic. Well, I can’t be stuffed staying on this stupid boat. Roshonda can crash it, but we are leaving.”
“NOT SO FAST!” Lady Carolina boomed dramatically, and she pranced out from behind the glass door. Her fanged necklace made her look slightly menacing, but not enough to worry Charles. Leah and Peter stood nervously behind her, and Umbreon and Espeon walked out with her. The fighting stopped, and Mightyena and Gligar rushed to their trainers, while Ninetales, Lucario and Raichu did the same.
“You can’t stop me from leaving.” Charles snapped.
“Gli!” Gligar added, though Lucario growled and he backed away behind Mightyena. Gyarados flew down near Charles, and lowered his tail to be climbed upon.
“You can leave, but first tell us what your doing, put a stop it and get our boat down!” Carolina barked.
“Wow, you rich people really do demand a lot.” Charles scoffed.
“JUST TELL ME!” Carolina growled, and Leah had to hold her back
“Go shove it you old bag!” Charles snapped, and walked determinedly towards Gyarados.
“You tell her Charles!” Roshonda yelled from down below. Carolina hissed with anger, and the five Pokemon stepped forwards, visibly outnumbering Charles’ five. Umbreon and Espeon whispered to each other, staring towards a nervous Elle.
“I am leaving.” Charles said, pulling out several PokeBalls. “See you all around.”
“Don’t let them leave!” Carolina cried to the Pokemon. Umbreon leapt forwards, his eyes glowing black and staring towards Elle, who Charles was preparing to bring back.
“Um.” He said, and a black beam was fired. It quickly smashed into Elle, causing her to yell in pain. Before anyone else could react though, a blast of white light shone down upon them all. Everyone stared towards the light, but the black Pursuit suddenly exploded, firing out hail, rain, sand, balls of sunlight and fog. They began to enclose the boat and spin rapidly around, causing a multi-weather tornado. All the Pokemon roared in pain at all the weather, while strong wings merely blew their trainers over.
“It’s Acid Rain!” Leah yelled. “When Pursuit is used during any Pokemon-caused weather, the speed and increased power of it causes an explosion that upsets the weather system.”
“That means nothing to me!” Carolina cried. Leah simply rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the sand and hail hitting her. Gyarados and Gligar were spiralling around, and the boat was starting to turn as well.
“Rai Rai!” Raichu said, and patted his trainer’s foot. Leah looked down, and Raichu pointed with his tail at Gyarados, who kept batting Charles accidentally with his tail. There was a lot of rain surrounding him, and the long water snake was soaked.
“Brilliant idea Raichu, use Thunder!” Leah said happily.
“Chu Chu!” Raichu said, and flashed yellow and fired the powerful beam.
“GYARA!” Gyarados roared, and collapsed towards the boat, smoke flying emitting from his body.
“Might!”
“Gli!” Charles’ Pokemon cried, and they leapt away from their impending doom.
“Return!” Charles cried, and pulled out his PokeBall. But Gyarados smashed into the end before Charles could act, and the whole boat tipped backwards. Gyarados turned into energy and was sucked away, and the boat tipped forwards. The upset in balance was causing the boat to tip backwards and forwards, and Charles yelled out as the boat suddenly began to fall. Elle, Mightyena and Gligar clung to him, but Charles heard a scream, and suddenly Roshonda’s Sharpedo smashed into his face, followed by the girl herself. Mightyena and Gligar were sent flying, and the wind pushed Gligar down towards Carolina.
“Gar!” He exclaimed, and clung onto her in surprise.
“Get off of me you vile beast!” Carolina yelled, and batted Gligar across the head.
“Gligar Gli!” Gligar growled, and lashed back with a Metal Claw. It wrapped around the fanged necklace around Carolina’s neck, and she shrieked with shock and shoved Gligar backwards. The cord snapped, but the fang remained in Gligar’s claw as he flew backwards, not stopping until he hit Charles’ face.
“This is just ridiculous!” Roshonda was saying, as she cradled Sharpedo.
“We have to get off here soon!” Charles said.
“Might Mightyena.” Mightyena whimpered, and covered his head with his paws. Charles and Roshonda brought their Pokemon back, and Leah and Carolina did the same. Moments later, only Charles and Roshonda remained on the rocking, spinning deck, while Espeon, Umbreon and Mime Jr huddled behind the glass door.
“ADRIAN, come bring your Pokemon back!” Leah yelled to her husband as if asking him to do the dishes.
“Shall we take a few of them down before we leave?” Roshonda asked deviously, pulling out her hand gun. Charles shook his head and went to elaborate, but the boat suddenly tipped forwards dramatically. The weather tornado was the only thing keeping it up, but it didn’t seem to be doing the job, and the whole boat was tipping dramatically forwards. Charles and Roshonda fell forwards, and they bounced down the damaged deck towards the doors. Carolina went to close them, but was too slow and was bowled over. Leah screamed as she was hit, and the human snowball soon hit Peter, Mime Jr and the twin brothers. They rolled along the blue velvet carpet and narrowly avoided a dining table.
“What is on this commotion?” Adrian said as he walked down the stairs from the cabin. His eyes widened, he tried to run, but he was bowled over by all the rolling humans. Everyone smashed up against the wall, and the pressure caused Adrian’s other two PokeBalls to activate. Zangoose and his Blaziken formed, joining in on the commotion. Carolina slashed at Charles, Leah raised her arms in defence from Roshonda’s punching and Peter simply cried, and they all could do nothing as the ship began to spiral away.

The beach had begun to clear quickly after Deidre arrived. She was researching and comparing the soils of Sinnoh to abolish the ancient myth of how the land was made. Three Diglett that Deidre owned were burrowing below the ground to collect a number of different samples, but they were releasing vibrations from their movements, upsetting those who had been on the beach. So Deidre was now along, and she flicked through a battered romance novel she had never quite finished. Camerupt ran towards the water, but then rushed back as it burned his skin. Seviper happily coiled around nearby tree trunks, snapping at Starly and Chatot in the tree tops. Deidre was used to her reasonably boring life that had happened since Sahara had left, and today was no different.
“Camerupt Camer!” Deidre looked up briefly, and saw Camerupt running around in circles.
“Yes, I can see you Camerupt.” She said and waved. Deidre was use to Camerupt’s insane antics: she had to stop taking him for walks after the moon spooked him and he burnt down an orphanage. But Camerupt seemed to keep staring towards the ocean, and Deidre was getting rather curious. Her suspicions were confirmed when Seviper sped past her and stared into the sky. Deidre followed their line of eyesight and gasped.
A white boat was spiralling through the air, and ti was getting closer and closer towards the beach. A strange tornado was surrounding it, possibly causing the spinning. But all Deidre could think about was the giant vessel heading straight for her.
“RUN!” She yelled, and run towards the trees for cover. Seviper wrapped her tail around Camerupt’s back left leg and pulled him backwards, and the camel began to move at his own speed. The tornado was disappearing, and the boat spun rapidly for the beach. Deidre jumped behind the trees, and Seviper pulled Camerupt behind. They watched the boat fall, and then the bow headed straight for the sand.
There was a loud, echoing crunch as the boat snapped in half. Glass and metal flew everywhere, and large pieces scattered across the sand. The back half flipped over twice, spilling its contents and passengers along the beach, before ending up on its roof, smoke billowing everywhere and a huge crater in the sand. Two black solar panels were embedded in the sand, and a dining table leg, the door of a microwave and half a bookcase were amongst the destroyed items. Deidre’s three Diglett all fled from the scene, very frightened by the pieces of glass, metal, plastic and wood enclosing them. Deidre ran out to greet them, but looked over at the humans and Pokemon scattered around the beach.
No one had been killed in the crash, but there were multiple bruises, cuts, Peter was unconscious and Leah’s right arm was in unbelievable pain. Charles moaned, his face buried in sand, and he struggled to push himself out. There was a nasty cut down his left arm, and sand was in his eyes and mouth.
“Charles, are you alright?” He looked around and saw Roshonda rushed towards him. She had grazed her forehead and sprained her ankle, causing her to hop slightly as she came towards him.
“I am fine, but you don’t look too good.” Charles said.
“Cheers.” Roshonda smirked. “But we need to get out of here quickly while they are all distracted.” Charles nodded and stood up. Umbreon and Espeon were lying unconscious nearby, but Blaziken and Zangoose were both up and ready to fight.
“BLAZE!” Blaziken cried, and ran forwards, his right leg on fire and ready for a Blaze Kick.
“Goose.” Zangoose added, and his claws glowed white and grew. Charles and Roshonda cried out and ran forwards, leaping over a broken section of the boat. Blaziken and Zangoose were catching up fast, and Charles could feel the flames behind him. Not wanting to get kicked by the Blaze Kick, Charles pushed Roshonda aside and went with her, so that Blaziken and Zangoose tripped over their fallen bodies.
“Nice idea.” Roshonda laughed, and the two watched Blaziken and Zangoose try to untangle themselves from each other. They heard footsteps, and Roshonda reached for her gun, but then Charles recognised the woman walking towards them.
“Charles, is that you?” Deidre gasped. “What are you doing here, where is Sahara?”
“Dead last time we saw her.” Roshonda laughed. Deidre gasped in shock and stumbled backwards.
“What do you mean?”
“Our people blew her up. They fired a missile at her Crystal form and now she is dead.” Roshonda explained, enjoying egging on the older women. Deidre seemed surprised at the mention of Crystal, and her shock seemed to disappear from her face. But before Charles or Roshonda noticed, there was a loud hissing noise from nearby. They all turned around and saw that Zangoose had gotten away from Blaziken, and he now stood, his claws ready to Slash, directly opposite Seviper. The two Pokemon were staring at each other, making hissing and growling noises.
“I forgot that Sevipers and Zangooses are natural enemies!” Deidre gasped
“Viper.”
“Zan Zan.” And then the two leapt towards each other. Their claws, tails and fangs collided, and their hisses and roars got louder and louder as they both tried to kill the other. Deidre was in shock at the sight, with the long Seviper wrapped fully around Zangoose and trying to tear his head off. Charles and Roshonda exchanged looks and began to sidle along the upturned hull of the boat, hoping to head for freedom. They could see Carolina and Adrian rushing to investigate the commotion, and Blaziken was still very absorbed in the fight. No one seemed to know how to react to this violent battle, giving Charles and Roshonda perfect cover to flee. But then, Deidre suddenly had an idea.
“Camerupt, break this up with Eruption!” She called. Camerupt was stunned at being asked to battle, and happily ran forwards. His large feet collided with a piece of metal, and the giant Pokemon tripped and fell onto his face. But he still fired the blast of flame and rocks from his humps, and they shot over the duelling Pokemon, burnt through the trees and hit the Jeep Wrangler in the clearing. Charles and Roshonda skidded to a halt, and watched as their getaway vehicle went up in smoke.
“What now?” Roshonda growled.
“We’ll go into town, that’s our only option.” Charles said. Roshonda scoffed and pointed at her ankle. Charles rolled his eyes and picked her up, like how a superhero holds the damsel in distress. And then he ran towards Sandgem, leaving behind the wreckages and thinking of how he was supposed to get all the way back to Veilstone City.

Old Chateau

Grotle and Drifloon pulled Xavier backwards in fear, trying to ignore both the cold and the ghosts approaching them. The girl and the butler had somehow made the frozen kitchen even colder, and their distorted faces were scaring the Pokemon. The snow phased through their dust bodies, splattering against the wall behind.
“You have been destroying my house.” The girl said angrily.
“Master and Mistress won’t like that.” The butler added. They stretched their hands, making out that they would strangle Xavier. But Xavier merely stood there, rather unaffected and bored with the proceedings. The two ghosts froze and exchanged looks.
“He doesn’t cower like the others.” The girl hissed.
“I don’t find you particularly frightening. I have never found dust particularly scary.” Xavier said simply. Grotle and Drifloon stared at him as if he telling him off. But the two ghosts seemed shock by this defiance.
“If you’d excuse me, I need to wait outside. My Pokemon are getting cold.” Xavier said. The ghosts backed away as Xavier walked forwards, slipping slightly on the frozen floor. The girl and the butler looked at each, then at Xavier, before exploding into dust with an ear-wailing screech. Grotle and Drifloon moved forwards and stared at the places where the ghosts had exploded. But then they felt the chill of the nearby battle, and stared over towards it in wonderment.
The snow had frozen ever surface in the kitchen, from the hinges on cabinets to the cracks in the walls. The temperature was below 0, and Drifloon was to freeze and sink towards the ground. Between Lapras and Frost-Rotom there was a single area of pure white snow, and it was impossible to tell who’s attack was which. But Lapras’ years of experience and power were overpowering Rotom and his newly acquired attack.
“Tom Tom.” Frost-Rotom groaned.
Can’t handle an experienced women, eh? Lapras laughed. She unleashed another Blizzard, and the added power blasted through the opposing snow and struck Frost Rotom. The orange and purple glow was taken over by a pure white one, and Frost-Rotom began to boom with pain.
“Keep it up Lapras!” Xavier said.
“Gr-Gr-Grotle!” Grotle added.
“Floooonnnn!” Drifloon shivered. There was a loud, shuddering sound from Frost-Rotom, and then sparks flew as the fridge broke down and Rotom flew overhead. Lapras stopped attacking and slumped against a cabinet, and Xavier, Grotle and Drifloon rushed to join her. They all looked up at Rotom, who glared at them with sadness and annoyance. He then fired a ThunderShock at the frozen wall, blasting it to bits and revealing the flaming garden. He flew off through the fire, and moments later they heard a revving noise. The lawnmower that had been in the garden sped through the flames and off into the distance. Silence fell upon them all, and the Pokemon all exchanged different looks.
“Let’s go find Sahara.” Xavier said and turned towards the doors. His Pokemon all collectively rolled their eyes and went to follow. But suddenly, the double doors were blasted off their hinges as Aqua and the unconscious Huntail flew through them. Aqua skidded along a frozen bench and fell onto the floor.
I have a feeling something strange is about to happen. Lapras sighed, and Grotle and Drifloon nodded. Aqua struggled upwards and pushed Huntail out of sight.
“Flo Zel.” He said, and beckoned the others towards the wall. Xavier and his team followed, and they all peered around the wall.
Sahara, as Jaki, stood under where the chandelier had been, cackling loudly. Black wind was spinning around the hall, and pieces of rubble and destroyed ornaments were caught up in it. Ursilla’s two guns were strapped to her back, and the women herself was standing on the staircase, her unconscious Arbok wrapped tightly around her. Smash was coiled up by the staircase, with Nutty resting on his head.
“Why are you out?” Ursilla growled. Blood was dripping down her chin from her mouth and nose, and her snake skin jacket was badly torn.
“I am out because you made Sahara very, very angry.” Jaki explained, and threw a small golden trophy at Ursilla’s leg. “There is also a lot of dark energy inside this house, and those factors pulled me out.” Jaki then began to twirl around, firing balls of black flame at the ceiling. Ursilla sniffed slightly: she wanted to remain tough, but she was in pain and was very afraid. Cyrus had warned them all about Jaki’s capabilities several weeks ago, and Ursilla did not want to be killed in any of her ways. There was a whimper from the corner of the large hall, and all eyes turned towards Linoone, who was trying to find a way out.
“Stop your whining you miserable animal!” Jaki snarled, and directed one of her attacks towards him.
“Noon!” Linoone squealed, and rushed away. He ran through the hole where the front doors had been and along the concrete path. Ursilla gasped at this abandonment, but she then realised that it was better Linoone had a good life. Jaki was enjoying her torment, and blasted off sections of the banister.
“Power is a funny old thing Ursilla.” Jaki said. “You love inflicting yours on people, but you don’t like me forcing mine on you.” And to prove this, Jaki sent glass flying towards Ursilla, and the tiny pieces tore at her cheek. A single tear begin to fall down Ursilla’s cheek, and Jaki cackled with glee.
“Your crying, your crying, your crying!” She called.
“I know I am, but I am glad.” Ursilla hissed, stopping Jaki’s dancing. “The snake on my head can is programmed to detect my emotions via my brain waves. If I show any emotion of worry, it will automatically activate.” And Ursilla smiled with great pleasure as they all heard a snapping sound. Jaki’s eyes widened with shock, and she quickly used her wind to pick up a half damaged mirror from across the hall. The snake rose up and stared towards Jaki, the paralysing beams about to be fired. But Jaki grabbed the flying mirror and put it in front of her. The beams reflected off the surface, and Ursilla gasped as they bounced back and hit her in the eyes. As all her muscles seized up, Ursilla toppled face first down the stairs, rolling with a clunk at each step. Jaki cackled with glee as Ursilla rolled to her feet, unable to do anything but blink. Jaki got down on one knee and bent over her ear.
“I am going to show you what power truly means.” She hissed, before leaping upwards and waving her arms wildly. Ursilla was picked up by the wind and sent flying out the door, above the concrete path before disappearing by the flames. Jaki went to march forwards, but froze as she neared the doors. She closed her eyes and listened for some unknown sound, before clicking her fingers behind her. The dust figures of the girl and the butler formed, and Jaki wheeled around to stare at them.
“I felt your presence.” Jaki said. “Why do you haunt here?”
“Ghosts began to inhabit this building over a decade ago.” The girl said. “They drove my father mad and he killed our entire family before killing himself.”
“That’s absolutely lovely.” Jaki grinned deviously. “I need some dark energy when I go outside, come with me.”
“As you wish.” The butler said, and he and the girl bowed before her. Jaki grinned and began to walk out of the house. She raised her hands as she got to the bottom of the steps, and all the flames began to be absorbed inside of her.
Behind her, Smash raised his head slowly, Nutty clinging frantically on. Xavier and the others ran out, and stared towards Jaki and the ghosts.
“We’ll follow her after she has cleared the path.” Xavier said, and the six Pokemon all nodded and waited for them to move.
Jaki finished absorbing all of the flames in, and began to glow with the power she contained.
“This is just what I need.” She hissed joyfully, and marched down the concrete path, the ghosts following behind her.

Vanessa was a purely bizarre driver, and Matthew, Cheryl, Marcel and the Pokemon were being thrown around in the back. Crates fell over, Chansey rolled around, and Cheryl had to hold onto several different Pokemon. Staraptor and Luxio were fine with it, and remained perfect still while their trainer drove madly through the forest. Staraptor was peering around, trying to see where they were, and when they turned a bend she saw Ursilla and Arbok lying by a tree.
“Staraptor Star!” She exclaimed. Vanessa stamped onto the brakes, and the speeding car skidded to a halt. Cheryl toppled over, along with Piplup, Chansey and several crates.
“Why did you brake?” Cheryl yelled.
“Staraptor spotted something, and I think it is Ursilla.” Vanessa replied, and opened up the driver’s door.
“Who is Ursilla?” Cheryl asked. Vanessa looked towards the limp figure by the tree and laughed.
“That helpless cow over there!” She said, and pointed towards Ursilla.
“Pip Pip!” Piplup cried, and pecked at the moaning Matthew. Silcoon waddled over and the two prodded at him until he began to open his eyes.
“What happened?” He groaned, rubbing his head. Vanessa scoffed at annoyance of him, and she reached inside her bag to find a weapon. Cheryl, Chansey and Mothim stared with interest over at Ursilla, but they didn’t notice Marcel slowly rising behind them, a piece of broken wood in his hands, raised like a knife. But Matthew gasped at the sight, and quickly tried to get up.
“Look out!” He yelled. Cheryl turned and screamed as Marcel stabbed down.
“I am going to get revenge on you scum!” He snarled.
“Put a sock in it.” Vanessa snarled, and pulled her green pen out. She clicked it and stabbed, jabbing Marcel in the eye. He roared with pain as the corrosive acid burned through his skin, and he stumbled and toppled over the other edge of the pick up truck.
“That was disgusting.” Matthew said, as he grabbed Piplup and Murkrow and climbed off the truck, quickly followed by Cheryl. The Pokemon in the crates all scrambled off, rushing away into trees or down the corridor of trees. Vanessa put her pen away and walked, followed by Staraptor and Luxio, towards Ursilla.
“I think we should bring our Pokemon back, just so Ursilla can’t attack them.” Matthew whispered.
“If you say so.” Cheryl said, and the two trainers pulled out their respective PokeBalls and brought their four Pokemon back. As Matthew put his away, he noticed someone walking in the distance. At closer inspection, he realised it was Sahara. He signalled for Cheryl to follow and walked forwards, but he noticed something evil in her eyes, and saw two strange figures floating behind her. Than, Sahara raised her hands, aiming for Ursilla with Vanessa nearby.
“VANESSA!” Matthew yelled, and ran forwards. Vanessa turned just as Matthew grabbed her bag and pulled her backwards. Staraptor and Luxio moved as well, and they narrowly avoided a jet of black fire Sahara fired, setting the tree behind them on fire.
“It isn’t powerful enough yet.” Jaki snarled, staring with anger at her hands. “But I have enough energy around me for what I really have to do.” And she walked quickly towards Ursilla, her hands together. Matthew, Vanessa, Cheryl, Staraptor and Luxio backed towards the ute, watching Jaki with wonder and worry. Ursilla stared up at Jaki, who was now looming over her. The demonic girl grinned, and her hands suddenly flashed black. A sleek, black sword formed between her two palms, and Jaki grasped the handle with her right hand. Ursilla shut her eyes, not bearing to look, and Matthew and Cheryl did the same. Only Vanessa watched as Jaki slashed the sword, the black metal cutting through the skin on Ursilla’s neck, instantly killing her. The sword travelled through muscle and bone, completely severing Ursilla’s head and causing it to flip slightly and land on the ground. Jaki laughed, and the sword turned into flames and disappeared.
“I love doing that.” She said, and fired flames at Ursilla’s decapitated body and head. As she turned, Jaki noticed the other humans standing in the distance and smiled.
“Vanessa and Matthew, how lovely it is to finally meet you face to face.” She said, and walked slowly forwards.
“You must be Jaki.” Vanessa said slowly. “I have heard about you.”
“Who hasn’t, I’ve been around for a while.” Jaki smirked. “Did you like what I just did then?” She unhooked the two guns hooked to her back. She turned the capture gun into hot plastic, but through the energy gun to Vanessa. “Have it if you want, I have no need for it.” Jaki turned to leave, the ghosts waiting patiently for her, but Cheryl stepped forwards, fighting back tears of horror.
“Who are you?” She said, her voice cracking. Jaki froze and turned her head. Her smile was very wide, and her eyes were fill with glee.
“My name is Jaki, and I am the real big bad bitch in this region.” She replied, and raised both her arms: her left pointed at the ghosts, her right at the others. “I recommend you start running.” She added, and clicked her left fingers. The girl and the butler shrieked as they were suddenly sucked into Jaki, who was muttering a strange incantation under her breath.
“Run, get out of her quickly!” Vanessa said to Matthew and Cheryl. “Luxio, you go with them for protection.
“Lux.” Luxio said.
“What are you going to do?” Matthew asked. Vanessa held up the energy gun, her finger on the trigger.
“Stop her of course.” She replied. Staraptor hovered over head, waiting for the fight, while Luxio led Matthew and Cheryl towards a patch of light in the distance. A ball of fire was growing in Jaki’s hand, and her incantation was getting louder. Than, she shut her eyes and the ball flew off, passing between Vanessa and Staraptor and into the trees in the distance. Jaki let out a loud laugh, but suddenly gasped for breath, her eyes bulging and collapsed to the ground. There was a flash of golden light from her back, and Vanessa could tell Jaki had left. There was the sound of mixed movements, and Vanessa turned to see Xavier and all of his and Sahara’s Pokemon come out. Nutty gasped and pointed at Sahara, and they all rushed for them.
“Xavier, bring your Pokemon back and get out of this forest right away!” Vanessa yelled. She picked the unconscious Sahara up and passed her to Aqua, who put her on Smash and held on. Nutty leapt on as well, and Xavier quickly brought his team back.
“Care to explain what is going on?” Xavier asked as he climbed onto Smash.
“Just leave.” Vanessa yelled. There was an explosion in the distance, and Smash quickly sped off with his passengers.
“Ready Staraptor?” Vanessa asked, facing towards the sound of the noise.
“Star.” Staraptor said, and she waited for what would happen. There was a strange rushing sound, and Vanessa could make out something moving through the trees. The smell of smoke met her, and Vanessa realised it was something made of fire. And then it burst through the trees.
A gigantic, black fire Charizard was speeding towards them, flapping its wings and roaring loudly. Trees caught on fire as it passed, and many Pokemon screamed and yelled. The creature was purely demonic, and Vanessa and Staraptor exchanged looks.
“Oh well.” Vanessa sighed, and pointed the gun upwards. “We may as well give this a shot before we are incinerated.”
“Aptor.” Staraptor said nervously, and she shut her eyes. Vanessa grounded herself as the Charizard got closer and closer, its mouth open wide and its fiery claws raised. Pokemon were screaming and fleeing deep into the trees, their wholes turned to ash as they fled. Charizard got so close to Vanessa that she could feel the heat sucking moisture from her body, and she had no choice but to pull the trigger. There was a blast of orange energy and it struck the Charizard in the centre. Vanessa shut her eyes, expecting the worse.
But suddenly the orange energy turned into a beam being pulled out of the gun. Vanessa yelled out as the whole clearing became engulfed with orange light. The Charizard let out a furious roar as he disintegrated, turning into tiny wisps of fire. Staraptor flew forwards and grabbed onto Vanessa’s shoulders, both fearing the worse as the orange energy struck the car.
“FLY!” Vanessa screamed. Staraptor shot forwards, Vanessa dragged with her. The orange beam continued to fire, but the faster Vanessa moved away, the less powerful it became, and Vanessa began to make out the trees again. But there was a major explosion, combing all the light and black flames into one big shockwave. The Old Chateau was destroyed, and Staraptor wasn’t fast enough, causing the two to be hit. They began to spin, and Staraptor’s hold on Vanessa loosened until her green dress tore. The teenager was sent flying, the gun clutched to her chest and her bag clunking on her back. Vanessa felt a warm feeling, quickly taken away as she smashed into a pool of water. Her eyes and injuries stung, her dress began to drag her down, but Vanessa kicked upwards and her head broke the surface.
She was surrounded by a vast lake of water, along with a wooden bridge and green fields of grass in the distance. There were trees nearby, but the smoke coming out from them was blocked by Staraptor flapping her wings happily. Vanessa looked at her and laughed.
They were finally out.

Sandgem Town Pokemon Centre

Charles felt a bit nostalgic as he sat down inside the Pokemon Centre, staring around at the building he had been inside only a few weeks ago. Roshonda, who was still wearing her swim gear like Charles, was dealing with healing their Pokemon, leaving Charles to try and contact Team Galactic. However, the number was blocked and no one answered, so Charles gave up and sat down. He looked around the room and saw the computer where he had retrieved Gligar, Poochyena and Tauros. This reminded Charles to check on his others, and pulled out the Safari and PokeBall containing Tauros and Ampharos. Charles stared at them for a few seconds before letting out a long, sad sigh. How had he gone from travelling with a new friend to witnessing her murder a week later? Charles’ life had changed dramatically and nothing was there to hold him back. Lyla, Typhlosion, Lugia and Dragonite had all been forced out of his thoughts, and there wasn’t any chances for him to call Professors Elm or Oak or get his other Pokemon. Nothing was going right, and Charles tipped backwards onto the other seats and groaned.
“Funny seeing you back here.” Charles opened his eyes and looked for the source of the voice. He recognised the elderly man sitting next to him as the one who spoken to him when Charles had last visited. A Dragonair had been beside him then, but now a Flaafy sat on the seat, waving her legs happily.
“Flaaf.” She baaed, and Charles gasped as his whole world turned white…
The building around him was collapsing, dust falling from the white ceilings onto the tiled floors. Explosions sounded from every possible area, completely blocking out the self destruct warning blaring over the loud speakers. Charles looked over a balcony into the large hall beneath, where two trainers were battling dramatically with all their might next to a large, whirring machine.
“Flaaf!” Charles turned around and saw his Flaafy, limping slightly towards him. Charles beamed and rushed forwards, wrapping his arms around her middle.
“I am so relieved, I thought I had lost you.” He said to his old friend. Flaafy briefly hugged him, but pushed him away and pointed behind her. Charles looked down the corridor and into a doorway. A cloaked man was standing there, watching the proceedings. His face was shadowed by a hat, but Charles saw the man smile before he turned and ran, his cloak flapping behind him. Charles wanted to chase after him, and reached for a PokeBall. But he quickly remembered the rest of his team had fainted, leaving only the injured Flaafy behind.
“Lyla… Hina… Lance… Silver?” Charles yelled in desperation, but knew no one would hear him even if they were alive over the blasts. He looked down at Flaafy, who stood tall and smiled at him.
“I’m ready if you are.” He said.
“Afy Fla.” Flaafy said, and the two began to run, their feet clunking on the metal balcony. They were nearing the doorway when suddenly the machine exploded. The shockwave struck Charles in the back, sending him flying and smashing into the wall. His head hit the metal and Charles slumped into unconsciousness…
“Wake up your lazy arse!” Charles snorted and opened his eyes. Roshonda was standing over him, holding his PokeBalls above his face.
“Sorry, I must have dozed off.” Charles said, rubbing his head. The elderly man was sitting perfectly still, stroking his Flaafy’s head.
“Well, everyone is healed now, so let’s go.” Roshonda said. Charles nodded and pocketed the PokeBalls, but as he stood up, the elderly man coughed.
“You dropped your other two on the ground.” He said. Charles saw the Safari and PokeBalls on the ground, and bent down to pick them up. Suddenly, the elderly man moved, putting his mouth near Charles’ left ear.
“Don’t give up on yourself yet, the time to prove yourself is coming.” He whispered. Charles stood up quickly, stunned by this. But Roshonda was tugging on his arm, and Charles was forced to leave.
“What did he want?” Roshonda asked.
“Just an old man wanting company.” Charles said irritably. The glass doors parted and the two walked out into glorious sunshine. The lights from police cars were glowing in the distance, so Charles and Roshonda turned and rushed towards Route 202. Without even stopping to make a plan, the two ignored their injuries and simply ran. They had a lot of land to make up before they got home.

Route 205

Everyone watched as Vanessa swam to the edge of the lake and clambered out. She threw her soggy bag and the energy fun aside before collapsing to the grass, landing alongside Sahara. Staraptor and Luxio stood by her, and Xavier, Matthew and Cheryl gathered around.
“Are you alright?”
“What happened in there?”
“Should we call the police?”
“I am fine, and there is no use getting the police involved.” Vanessa sighed, as she sprawled out her limbs and let the sun dry her off. “What exactly are we going to tell them? That our friend turned evil, beheaded an evil cow and created a black beast of fire?”
“It is a very unbelievable story.” Xavier added, with nods from all the Pokemon.
“If you are absolutely certain you are fine,” Cheryl said, and Vanessa nodded vigorously. “Than I will head into Eterna.” And she pointed into the distance, and everyone looked towards the large city nearby.
“How come?” Vanessa asked.
“I have to register for the Eterna Pokemon Contest, if it is still on.” Cheryl said.
“Are you going to register as well?” Xavier asked Matthew. Vanessa chuckled as Cheryl gasped and turned towards Matthew, who glared at Xavier.
“You never told me you were a coordinator as well!” Cheryl gasped.
“I know, but it never really came up.” Matthew said sheepishly. “And I didn’t get the chance to tell you either, so-”
“Never got the chance?” Cheryl shrieked. “We were in there for four days!” Cheryl raised her hands in rage and let out a groan.
“I am sorry, I truly am!” Matthew said. Cheryl just growled and stomped away towards Eterna. Matthew sighed and ran after her.
“He could have said goodbye.” Xavier said.
“Who really gives a damn.” Vanessa replied, and pulled out her PokeBalls to bring Staraptor and Luxio back. “Come on Xavier my man, come ly besides me.” Xavier nodded and lay down as well, his body becoming rigid. There was a groan from besides Vanessa, and Nutty, Aqua and Smash rushed forwards. Sahara coughed violently and sat up, rubbing her head and hands.
“Hey there…” She sighed. “How the hell did I get out here?”
“Your good friend Jaki came out.” Vanessa said. Sahara groaned and lay back down.
“Please tell me she didn’t do anything bad.” She said. Vanessa, Xavier and the Pokemon all exchanged looks and Sahara got worried.
“Wait, where’s Matthew? Did she kill him?”
“No, but she killed Ursilla.” Xavier explained. Sahara was stunned, but merely shrugged and patted Nutty.
“For the better than, I presume.” Sahara said quietly. “But what else did she do?”
“Just ly down and relax.” Vanessa said, stretching out ‘relax’. “The sun is beautiful, we are outside of that stupid forest and we have one less murderous maniac to worry about, can’t we enjoy ourselves?” Sahara nodded and laid down. Aqua happily jumped into the water, Nutty curled up on Sahara’s chest and Smash coiled up in a ball. The three trainers stared up at the sky, putting the days dramas behind them and enjoying themselves. None of them even noticed the lawnmower speeding through the grass alongside them as they had their first break in weeks.
 
Re: Galactic: Where the Mild Things Are

Galactic is looking to be a very interesting fanfic. It isn't just a straight port of Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, and Team Galactic seem even more evil than they were in those aforementioned games! Well done.
 
Re: Galactic: Where the Mild Things Are

Thanks a lot :D

I am writing up the new one (finally). I was wondering if shorter parts like with Kris vs Gold would be easier to read, or just put all together in one
 
Re: Galactic: Where the Mild Things Are

Eternal Hate

January 18th 2010

Eterna City

Matthew Pearl was almost out of breath.

The Pokemon trainer was running through the sprawling streets of Eterna City. Thankfully for him, it wasn’t as big as Jubilife City, though it seemed to be bigger than Oreburgh. There was a mixture of large towering skyscrapers, and small one storey shops and houses. Matthew also noticed that nature feel that there was too the city: trees were growing naturally, unlike in boxes at Jubilife, and there was even a forest surrounding a secluded tower at the top of the city. He had noticed a lot of the nature around the Eterna Contest Hall, a little bit south of the Dialga statue. Matthew quite liked the change of scenery, but he had other issues at hand.

Following on from his dreadful contest performance, Matthew was desperate to prove himself, to both his friends, family, rivals and himself. It hadn’t been the best performance, so he was ready to redeem himself. And one of the Sinnoh gyms was located right in Eterna, and Matthew was running there right now. He knew his friends were in the city, and could be heading towards the gym as he ran, and wanted to get the Forest Badge first. His feet pounded the pavement, and a group of hippies parted to let him pass. Matthew turned a corner, and ran down a street. But before he reached the end, which was a wall of rock, Matthew skidded to a halt.

“Woah.” He whispered, and stared at the Eterna Gym.

The roof of the gym was a giant, pink flower bud, which rose up higher than the surrounding mountain cliffs. A pleasant aroma was coming from it, and Matthew imagined it as a real flower. Four, ten metre long petals were rotating around, made from green glass. They hovered over a giant garden: there was a rainbow of colours to rival Floaroma Town. Cherubi, Budew, Oddish and Bellsprout danced around, playing a tag-like game.

“Awesome.” Matthew mumbled, and walked along a cobbled walkway, and threw a set of glass doors.

There was a smell of pollen in the air, and Matthew sniffed at the number of pot plants and flower beds in the lobby. The carpet was green, and soothing music played. There was a reception desk shaped like a Torterra, and a slightly overweight man, with brown hair and black glasses, sat behind it.

“Umm… hello.” Matthew said, a bit unsure about the building. “I am here to battle the gym leader, Gardenia.” The man nodded, and pointed out a door shaped like a daisy.

“Miss Gardenia is battling at the moment, but you are welcome to watch.” He explained.

“Thank you sir.” Matthew replied, and walked up to the door, and slowly pushed it open.

The first thing Matthew noticed was how forest like the gym was. There were rows of trees covering the walls, with flowers and bushes scattering the middle, and real grass crunched under his feet.
Then he noticed it was raining.

Water pelted down, instantly soaking him, but Matthew realised it couldn’t rain inside… unless a Pokemon had moved. And, sure enough, two Pokemon were fighting in the middle of the gym.
The battlefield was a miniature version of the building: a pink flower bud, with four rotating green leaves. A circle of grass and flowers enclosed it and went underneath, making a giant flower clock. A Roserade, who caused the rain, was battling furiously with a Monferno.

The gym leader was a young women, with a ginger bowl cut hair style, and a black band keeping it in place. Her face was pointed at the chin, but still had a warm smile. She was wearing a green shrug, tied over a black singlet, and an orange mini skirt, though it had a more earthly colour than her hair. And another redhead was opposite, and Matthew’s face dropped: she was wearing an bright white dress, which somehow wasn’t wet, and it went up at the bottom, with a yellow underlining. Only one person would wear something like that.
Vanessa.

“Come on Gardenia, I was hoping for a challenge.” Vanessa snapped snarkily, as Monferno fired an Ember. Gardenia simply smirked, while Roserade absorbed water to make a Weather Ball.

“You haven’t seen how I plan to end this.” She replied, and Roserade smashed the ball of water on Monferno, smashing him into the flowers.

“Rose Roserade.” The Bouquet Pokemon sneered, and Monferno growled with rage at her.

“Use another Weather Ball!” Gardenia commanded. Roserade nodded, and the rain formed into a ball in her flowers, and she leapt off the leaves.

“Mach Punch!” Vanessa shouted. Like a rocket, Monferno leapt up, his left fist glowing white.

“Ferno Mon Mon!” He shouted, and rammed the fist into Roserade’s face.

“Rose.” She moaned softly, and smashed into the pink bulb. Roserade landed in the flowers, while Monferno landed on a leaf, and poked his tongue out at Gardenia as he rotated past. The gym leader quickly brought Roserade back, and switched her for a Grotle, who landed onto the same leaf as Monferno.

“A battle of starters, interesting.” Vanessa murmured. “An associate has a Grotle, so I know how to fight back.”

“We’ll just see about that.” Gardenia smirked. “Start off with Headbutt!”

“Hit him with Ember!” Vanessa ordered. Monferno opened is mouth wide, a ball of flames forming. But Grotle ran forwards, whacking Monferno with his head, and the two rolled off the leaf, landing in the flowers. Monferno blasted the Ember as they fell, but it’s power was stripped by the rain, and it only singed his soaking bushes.

“Monferno, return.” Vanessa said bitterly, and Monferno disappeared, leaving Grotle along in the flowers. Staraptor was then sent out, and she flew around the bulb, ignoring the rain pelting her.

“The aerial advantage won’t save you!” Gardenia boomed. “Grotle, bring her down with a Bite!”

“Twister!” Vanessa shouted. Grotle jumped up, using the leaves for extra spring, and opened up wide.

“Till!” He boomed, and clamped onto Staraptor’s talons.

“AP!” She squawked, and began to spin around rapidly. A blue tornado formed, and Grotle was spun around, finally letting going and hitting the pink bulb. Gardenia gasped, but thankfully for her, Grotle landed on a leaf, barely conscious.

“Razor Leaf, end this!” The gym leader shouted, but Vanessa tipped her head back and laughed.

“It’ll take more than leaves to bring her down! Finish this with Aerial Ace.” Vanessa cried. Grotle’s bushes glowed green, and leaves shot out of them. Staraptor covered her face with her wings, causing her to drop, but she opened her wings up, both glowing white.

“STAR!” She cried, and slashed Grotle, blasting him backwards on his shell. A leaf snapped as Grotle smashed through it, and he fell, unconscious, onto the soaked garden. Matthew knew the battle was over, as the rain cloud was disappearing. It revealed a hole at the top of the bulb, showing the cloudy sky outside.

“That was a good game.” Gardenia said, smiling brightly, but Vanessa was too busy hugging Staraptor to care. Matthew stepped forwards, and Gardenia swiftly saw him.

“Hello there.” She called, and leapt over one leaf, and then landed in front of Matthew. “I am Gardenia, the Eterna Gym leader.”

“I’m Matthew Pearl, and I’d like a battle.” Matthew asked. Gardenia sighed, and looked over at her field.

“It will take about an hour or two to fix things up, are you able to come back later?” Matthew was a bit shocked: his battle against Roark had happened soon after Xavier’s. But he supposed that it would be better to wait.

“I suppose so.” He said, and Gardenia smiled.

“Well well well.” The two turned, and Vanessa walked over, a smile on her face and Staraptor on her shoulder. “I thought you would still be hung up over your loss.”

“I get over things quickly.” Matthew replied stiffly, and he stood up as straight as possible, and was thankfully a few centimetres taller. Gardenia looked between the two steely eyed trainers, unsure what was going on. The two were still harbouring emotions from the protest a week ago, and it had been made worse at the contest hall yesterday. After two minutes, Matthew looked away, making Vanessa smile brightly.

“I’ll be back later.” Matthew muttered, and storm off, squelching through the mud. Vanessa watched him go with glee.

“We did good Staraptor.”

“Star!” Staraptor agreed. Gardenia coughed, and held up a small green badge: it was triangular shaped, and had three green trees outlined in white.

“Your Forest Badge, congratulations!” Gardenia said with a beam. Vanessa snatched it, and held it up to her eye, as if checking if it was fake.

“Excellent!” She proclaimed. “Thanks for this! See you around.” And Vanessa walked off, smiling brightly. But as she got closer to the door, she began to hear shouts, a major commotion. Staraptor took flight, and she flew up to the door, listening. Vanessa grabbed her yellow bag, which was lying by the door, and pulled her umbrella out. She raised it, preparing to strike, when she recognised the voices: one was Matthew’s, and the other’s was…

“LOOKER!” Vanessa exclaimed, and she kicked the door. It swung open, and revealed Looker standing there, dragging Matthew away.

“I don’t want to get involved, I hate battling them!” Matthew was protesting.

“I need your Silcoon and Piplup’s powers!” Looker insisted.

“Sure, if the boy doesn’t want to go-” The receptionist said, but Vanessa glared at him, and then walked forwards with Staraptor.

“Looker what’s going on?” She asked. Looker turned to her, and smiled brightly. Matthew tried to walk off, but the spy held him closer.

“There is a possible terrorist attack in the works, and I need major assistance from the Dex Holders.” He explained, but that only confused Vanessa more.

“What’s a Dex Holder? And whose planning a terrorist attack?” Looker
raised and eyebrow, and looked seriously at her.

“Team Galactic, of course.”


Xavier was having another plain, perfect day. He was spending the day roaming around Eterna City, waiting for news from his friends before carrying on with them. The weather was clear enough for winter, and was perfect for him and Grotle to examine the buildings around Eterna.

The two had been roaming around for half an hour, but Xavier still wasn’t very interested by the city: it was very plain and bland compared to other cities he had been too. However, up ahead, there was a pleasant, old fashioned, building, complete with wooden walls and a triangular roof. A sign was hanging inside the window: RAD RICKSHAW’S CYCLE SHOP.

“I should buy a bicycle, it will be useful.” Xavier said aloud. “What do you think Grotle?” Xavier turned, and saw Grotle sniffing a nearby tree, and happily eating leaves from the lowest branch.

“Grotle, come here.” Xavier called. Grotle froze, his mouth clamped on a leaf. His reluctantly swallowed it and waddled over. Xavier pointed towards the bike shop.

“I am thinking of getting a bike, what do you think?”

“Grot Till Grot.” Grotle replied, shrugging. Xavier nodded, but still continued to walk forwards. Grotle trotted after, but began to notice something strange. People that were walking past seemed to be double taking, and staring curiously at Xavier. Some people got out camera phones, some people began to dial numbers, or mumble to a stranger, both of them intrigued by the situation. Xavier didn’t notice, but Grotle had been trained specifically for Xavier, and didn’t want him being laughed at. He was about to Razor Leaf the crowd, when suddenly a man jumped in front of them. He had greasy blonde hair, charming good looks, and was dressed casually in a blue shirt and jeans. He was holding a notebook and a pen, and was smiling wickedly.

“Hello there, my name is Ritchie Jones,” The man said, his voice slick and cool. “Head Columnist for the Sinnoh Star Times. I was wondering if I could have a quick interview?”

“Why do you want to interview me?” Xavier asked, side stepping past him. Grotle moved up, baring his teeth, but Ritchie ignored him, as he was laughing.

“Have you looked at a paper over the past week?” He cackled, and reached into his jeans pocket. Xavier froze, and stared towards the folded up newspaper. But before Ritchie could pull it out, the ground began to shake. The people gawping at Xavier toppled over, along with Ritchie, but Grotle stopped Xavier from falling. Before he could thank him, a rough hand grabbed Xavier’s collar, pulling him into an alleyway.

“GROTLE!” Grotle shouted. He ran forwards, but froze, and fired leaves from his bushes. Ritchie’s notebook was sliced up, and Grotle smiled before running into the alley. He could make out Xavier in the middle, letting himself be pulled by a mysterious figure.

“GROT TILL GROTLE!” Grotle shouted, and bit on Xavier’s trouser leg, holding him back.

“Leave it, you have to come with me.” The figure grunted, his voice as rough as his hand. Grotle wanted to fight, but there was a hissing sound. He looked, and a Swampert appeared, his eyes narrowed and glaring.

“Let’s go inside Grotle, see what he wants.” Xavier said. Grotle sighed and nodded, and let his trainer go. The figure nodded, and opened up a door inside the alleyway. Swampert slid inside, and the figure followed, and turned a light on.

Xavier and Grotle examined the room as they walked in. One wall was completely covered with shelves, and they were all fill: fossils, a rainbow of jewels and shards of glass, different sized rocks and pearls, sections of dirt and a several long, pure white bones. The next wall had an array of photos of different men and women, sketches, maps of what appeared to be a subway system, diagrams for different machines, and a variety of pictures of rock and ground Pokemon. There was also a cluttered wooden desk, a strange purple box, and quite a lot of dirt. The Swampert was standing beside the figure, who was now in focus.

His face was nearly completely covered with white hair: a long, tangled up white beard, filthy white hair that ran past his ears, and big tufty eyebrows. He was wearing a brown, holey cap, a thick brown jacket over a badly stained shirt, and shorts that showed off his thin legs. A pair of clunky sandals and a green hiking bag completed the look, and Grotle stifled laughter.

“Who are you exactly?” Xavier asked. The man stared seriously at him.

“My name is Arthur, and I am here to help you.” He growled, and quickly grabbed the purple box.

“Why do you have to help me?”

“Because, thanks to one Clarisse Miller, it isn’t safe for you anymore.” Arthur explained, whilst checking over the purple box.

“Doesn’t she work for the Sinnoh Broadcasting Company?” Xavier inquired.

“Right you are, and she made a story that has endangered you and your friends.” Arthur explained, and looked satisfied with the box. His face was very wrinkled, dirty and pale, and reflected the rest of his body and clothing, and his chapped lips were hidden by his beard. “I am going to give you a possible option to help give you freedom.” And he moved outside, placing the purple box on the tarmac. Swampert ushered them out, and Grotle glared at him. Arthur pressed several buttons on the box, and it made a bleeping sound. The ground shook slightly, and a rainbow light appeared on the centre.

“Follow my lead.” Arthur said, and he stood on the light. There was a flash, and suddenly he was gone. Xavier walked forwards, curious, and
reached out.

“Grot!” Grotle cried, but Xavier touched the light instinctively.

All of a sudden, all Xavier could see was darkness. He was falling, moving through a narrow tunnel. It was perfectly circular though, and light was coming up, getting larger and larger. Xavier registered nothing, except the fact he was falling. Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, he landed, though seemed to float the last few centimetres, landing in a cloud of dust. He coughed, and Arthur put out a hand, pulling him up.

“So, what do you think?” Arthur asked, pointed around them.

They appeared to have landed metres, possibly kilometres, underground. The floor was made of dirt, rock and sand, and they walls were definitely woven from the Earth: brown, jagged, and muddy. Xavier and Arthur stood in the middle of a crossroads, with four possible paths on either side, and more could be seen in the light of oil lamps. Some of the walls seemed to be glittering, and wooden posts held everything in place. The ceiling of this underground subway was too high up to see, but there was a cry, and Grotle suddenly materialized from the black. He landed with a thud, and
Swampert squashed him a few seconds later.

“Are you alright?” Xavier asked.

“Grot.” Grotle moaned. Swampert smirked and climbed off, and went obediently towards Arthur.

“What is this place?” Xavier inquired, while he brought some potions out to fix Grotle up.

“This is the Underground!” Arthur boomed, and his voice echoed. “Me, my sister, and a team of experts dug all the tunnels, and then carved it out properly, put supports in, and voila!” He cried. “It took five years, and we discovered a lot of rare objects: jewels, pearls, fossils from here and abroad. However, after only three years, things got a bit… bad.” Arthur sighed. “Black market dealers and thieves began to use it to escape the authorities, and several murders have been committed in far corners.” Arthur looked a bit depressed, but quickly recovered. “Despite that, this is still the safest place for you!”

“I don’t want to be murdered though.” Xavier complained.

“Grot!” Grotle added, nodding with agreement.

“Trust me, it is safer down here than it is for you up there.” Arthur insisted. “Sit down, I’ll explain everything to you.” He sat down on a rock, and Xavier sat down alongside, and prepared to listened to what Arthur had to say.


Eterna City Pokemon Centre

“Owwww.”

Sahara moaned, and slowly raised her body up. Her head was throbbing, her mouth was dry, and her back and neck were stiff. She groaned with every tiny movement, wheter she moved her arm, her leg, or even breathed too deeply.

Her room was completely trashed: a mirror lay shattered on the floor, the metal bunk bed was twisted badly and appeared to be rusted. There were holes in the wall, the light bulbs had burst, and her entire bag had been emptied. PokeBalls lay over the soggy carpet, along with spare changes of clothes, a book, and a shattered vodka bottle.

“Eden… Crystal… bitches.” Sahara hissed, and stood up. She quickly realised she was lying on the wall, entangled in her sheets, with lipstick and mascara smeared on them. Sahara quickly grabbed a shard of the mirror, and saw that she looked like a hooker, with thick black mascara, ruby red lipstick, yellow blush and glitters all over her face.

“Frick!” Sahara shouted, and stood up, though she struggled with this part. Quickly, she gathered up the balls containing Nutty, Aqua and Smash, put her jacket on, which was rather torn, and scrambled out of the roof, into the hallway of the Pokemon Centre. Sahara had some faint memories about the past days: most of them involved her being in pain, though she recalled Xavier and Vanessa bringing her into the centre, where she had collapsed from exhaustion. Whenever Jaki came out, it drained all of Sahara’s energy, and seemed to give it all to Sahara and Crystal. They got stronger and more powerful, and Sahara just got weaker and weaker.

She stumbled down the hallway, keeping her head low so no one looked at her. The bathroom should be up ahead, like most Pokemon Centres, and felt her way using the wall. Suddenly, she collided with something, and nearly fell over, but someone caught her.

“Woah, sorry about that… SAHARA!” And the person shrieked girlishly, and Sahara did fall to the floor this time.

“Ow….” She groaned, and looked up, trying to make out the person. “Hello… Mason?!”

“I thought you were dead!” Mason exclaimed, and helped her up.

“Why did you think that?” Sahara grumbled. “Just because a building collapsed on Crystal doesn’t mean I’m dead.” She joked, though Mason didn’t laugh.

“You really shouldn’t be here… Oh, let’s go see your grandfather!” And Mason pulled her down the hallways, leading towards a room near the medical rooms.

“Why’s he here?” Sahara asked, disgruntled about being dragged down the hallway

“During our research into space, we discovered something important, and he decided to come here.” Mason explained. He stopped outside a door and opened it, and Sahara followed cautiously inside. Two men were inside the room, which was bare except for a long table. Two men stood in there: one was Professor Rowan, the other was a shorter man, with light grey hair, sun damaged skin, and was wearing a red shirt, brown trousers and a lab coat. Sahara recognised him as Professor Oak, the top Pokemon Professor in Kanto, but she wasn’t sure why he was here. But her grandfather thrust some papers under his nose, looking very grim.

“Look at these statistics, look at the evidence!” Rowan was booming. “These prove there is a rift in the continuum.” Professor Oak frowned at the facts.

“Yes, this is very disturbing news.” He sighed at last. “Any number of Pokemon could be causing this.”

“I told you the story about Sahara’s friend, didn’t I?” Rowan said, and looked for a piece of paper.

“Charles isn’t my friend.” Sahara growled. Rowan and Oak turned, and Rowan dropped the papers he had been holding. He ran over, and Sahara opened her arms and the two embraced. Mason stepped aside, letting the two be with each other.

“I have been so worried.” Rowan whispered. “We tried looking through the rubble, but no body was found. We presumed you’d be blown to pieces.”

“A missile can’t stop me.” Sahara said quietly back, and Rowan laughed.

“That’s my girl!” He boomed, and stood up straight, looking a bit teary. “We will have to call your mother, she’d want to know.”

“Do I have to?” Sahara groaned.

“Your mother has the right to know.” Professor Oak said, and he stepped forwards. “I may have been married to your great aunt for some time, but we have never actually met.”

“I have heard Agatha talk about you, she is always complaining to Bertha.” Sahara giggled, though stopped as the two professors pursed their lips at the mention of the ex-wives. “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Rowan sighed. Mason and Sahara exchanged
looks, smirking.

“Mason, get a paper towel so she can clean her face.” Oak ordered.
Mason didn’t look happy about being ordered by another professor, but he rushed off to grab them for Sahara. She walked forwards, and stared at some of the papers. There were pictures from space, showing different stars and planets, graphs with squiggly lines, and pictures of different scenes she had seen on the news: huge storm clouds over Johto, smoke rising from Sootopolis City, explosions occurring from the Goldenrod Radio Tower, and an avalanche around Cerulean Cave.

“What are you guys researching?” Sahara asked curiously. She looked, and saw Rowan and Oak tense up.

“We are looking for the legendary birds of Kanto.” Oak said quickly, and looked wide eyed at Professor Rowan.

“Oh yes, yes we are.” Rowan said, nodding. Sahara raised an eyebrow, as she knew they were lying, but decided not to press it.

“Can I come with you on your research? I don’t know where the others are.” She asked. Rowan and Oak looked a bit uncertain, but Sahara put
on a pout, and the two folded.

“I suppose we can catch up.” Professor Rowan mumbled.

“Excellent! I can tell you everything that’s happened over the past few weeks!” Sahara cried happily. Professor Rowan nodded, and began to put papers back in their boxes. Oak pulled a small black device out of his pockets, and tapped away at it, looking a bit grim. Sahara came over to help with the papers just as Mason returned.

“Here you go.” He said, and passed over some wet towels. Sahara smiled, and began to wipe the makeup off her face.

“So, where are we off to research first?” Sahara asked. Professor Oak passed over an aerial photograph. It showed an area just outside Eterna City, with a hill in the middle and a giant statue.

“We are looking at the Dialga statue, as it could give us-” Mason began, but Oak cut him off.

“It could give us a good view of wheter the birds are in the area.” He finished explaining. Sahara raised an eyebrow and smirked: she knew she was being lied to, but she was interested to see how the day went out.


Route 204 (South)

The small route was very quiet, as most people had already entered or left Jubilife City, leaving the route bare. A single car with a holidaying family drove along, and several Kricketot were dancing along the footpath. It had been recently repaired, following Ursilla’s attack a few weeks ago, and there was a nice new tarmac.

And, sitting on the side, was Charles and Roshonda.

The two had been travelling since fleeing from Sandgem two days ago. When they arrived in Jubilife, they had tried desperately to call Team Galactic, but the number had once again been blocked. The two tried to take their minds off things, and looked around the city. But it was very depressing: the Global Trade Station was still closed, and there was a gaping hole where the Poketch Company Headquarters had been. Giving up all hope, the two made their way down the route.
After a rough night’s sleep, the two had managed to rob several trainers, but hadn’t got very much.

“Shouldn’t this dicks carry more food?” Roshonda snarled, and angrily threw away some bacon sandwiches. Charles whacked her on the shoulder.

“We need the food if we are going to walk all the way back to Veilstone!” He snapped. His stomach then let out a growl, obviously agreeing with him.

“I keep telling you, we just have to get to Eterna, there is a small base there.” Roshonda sighed.

“I know, but we aren’t in uniform, they might not recognise us.” Charles said. The two of them stared huffily at each other: being stuck on the road, with little food, no money, and no possible end in sight, the two were very tense and angry. Charles cradled the supplies he had brought with him: his six PokeBalls, a change of clothes, and his PokeDex: it was a blue touch screen model, which he had received from Professor Elm at Christmas. He didn’t really use it that much, but it kept him connected to his old life: his friends, his family, his Pokemon, and Lyla especially. Charles wanted to be back with her, even if it went battling Giovanni. But he was stick in a bush, with a moody Galactic grunt at his side.

“Does this spot look fine to you?” A new voice had suddenly appeared, disrupting the silence of the route. Roshonda and Charles stuck their heads out of the bush, and saw that a hot pink VW Beetle had pulled up, and two people had gotten out: one was female, wearing a purple dress suit, and the second was male, holding a camera.

“It’s picturesque enough.” Harrison Maude replied, and Lucinda Large nodded in agreement.

“I don’t even see why we have to cover this stupid story!” Lucinda fumed. “So the road got repaired, big whoop!”

“Your father is still annoyed about how Vanessa got passed us.” Harrison pointed out, as he began setting up his camera. Lucinda pursed her lips and huffed, and clunked down the road in her purple stilettos. Roshonda stifled a gasp, and she pulled Charles back into the bush.

“They know something about carrot-top!” She hissed. “And they look rich!”

“I think they work for the SBC, I recognise them from a news report back in Johto.” Charles whispered.

“I don’t give a shit about that,” Roshonda growled. “They are rich, so they’ll have cash, and they can give us information!” And before Charles could stop her, Roshonda leapt out of the bushes, throwing Beedrill’s PokeBall.

“STOP!” Charles shouted, but it was too late. Beedrill burst open, and buzzed above Lucinda and Harrison, who stared at the bug-type, startled by his arrival. Then they looked at Roshonda, who was drawing a gun out of her pockets. The Kricketot that had been dancing on the road now cowered in grass, shocked by what was unfolding.

“Hello there.” Roshonda hissed. “I require the usage of your car and money, so kindly hand over your keys and wallets.” Lucinda and Harrison exchanged looks, and they began to reach into their pockets. Charles came out of the bushes, still putting his PokeBalls in his pockets, and he walked up to Roshonda.

“You can’t do this, these people are influential!” Charles hissed.

“And?” Roshonda snapped.

“They could easily report us, and if we stole their car, we’d be followed!” Roshonda sighed, and put her gun down. But it was a mistake.

“Go Miltank!” Lucinda yelled.

“Help her out Pidgeot!” Harrison added, and he threw a Heal Ball to join Lucinda’s Luxury Ball. With a blast of light, a Miltank and Pidgeot formed.

“Beedrill, stop them!” Roshonda shouted, and reached for her gun.

“Mil!” Miltank said, and opened her mouth. An Icy Wind hit both Charles and Roshonda, knocking them backwards. Charles moaned as he fell, and his PokeDXi fell from his hands. Pidgeot flew upwards towards a diving Beedrill.

“BEE!”

“PIDGE!” The two Pokemon cried, and both of them fired Air Cutters. There was a blast of energy as they connected, and both Pokemon fell back to Earth.

“Send someone out!” Roshonda hissed, as she reached for her gun which had fallen away. Charles nodded, and began to pull out Elle’s PokeBall, when suddenly there was a gasp.

“It’s a PokeDex!” Lucinda gasped, and stared in awe at Charles’ blue PokeDex. Charles quickly grabbed it, but not before Harrison took a picture with a camera phone.

“So I have a PokeDex, so what?” He snapped. He looked at Roshonda for support, but sae that she looked very grave.

“Have you two been living in a cave for the past fortnight?” Lucinda scoffed. Harrison pressed several buttons on his phone, and tossed it over.

“This is a news report form July 13th.” Harrison explained, and all four trainers, and the three Pokemon, crowded around the phone. “You may find the report very interesting.” Charles was confused, but pressed the play button. A man was sitting at a table, and the SBC six’ o’clock news was about to begin.

This one will be in shorter parts: tell me how you feel about it :)
 
Please note: The thread is from 6 years ago.
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