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Old 12-09-2017, 01:04 AM   #26
EpicSquirtle
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SS: A Daring Escape

Drip drip...
Drip Drip...

This is just not my day... Mudkip thought, watching from his cage as water droplets continued to gently fall on the floor from a half open window.

It had all started the night prior, when the mud fish Pokemon had been taken from his home at the nursery, and sent to some remote village.
He hadn't been the only one though. A Torchic and Treecko he had know during his stay had also come to the small village.
But then, during an event in the village, he had been snatched by a Pokemon poacher. And while the others were saved, the mud fish Pokemon could only watch as he was taken away, and thrown into some sort of ship.

Lamenting on the past twenty four hours, Mudkip nearly jumped as the door to the storage room flung open. Stepping in the doorway was a man, who wore a black lab coat, a large yellow x stitched onto the left sleeve.

The strange man paid no attention to the caged Mudkip, instead tossing a new cage into the room. Upon making impact with the floor, the Pokemon inside the cage cried out in surprise, but then fell silent.

The man then turned and exited the room, slamming the door behind him.

Mudkip couldn't help but stare at the Pokemon inside the cage. He had never seen anything like it before! It looked to be....a spiked balloon?

As the mud fish Pokemon continued to stare, the strange looking Pokemon began to rise, before locking eyes with the Mudkip.

"Hello!" The balloon Pokemon greeted, startling Mudkip and causing him to backup into the corner of his cell.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The strange Pokemon said, looking a little sad.

"My names Hannah by the way, what's yours?"

"It's Mudkip." The mud fish Pokemon replied.

"I really don't know why you sound so happy. You do know where we are right?" Mudkip added, tilting his head slightly.

"Umm yeah...I mean..I think. The people who took me had an x on their uniforms....which means they must be with Team Catalyst!" Hannah exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Team Catalyst? You know what...I don't wanna know." Mudkip said. Just the way that Hannah was talking reminded him of another Pokemon..one that frequently got on his nerves.

"What I'm trying to say...is there's no way out for us...so there's no use being happy." The mud fish Pokemon added.

"Nonsense. I'm sure we can figure someway out." Hannah said, her expression just as bright as before.

"I....I can't tell if you're dumb....or just overly optimistic." Mudkip murmured. "We're too small...and too weak to do anything. It's pointless."

"I'm not weak, and I bet you aren't either!" The Qwilfish exclaimed.

"You know, most people think Qwilfish are weak...but they're wrong. My brother is one of the strongest Pokemon I've ever known, and he's not that big! So if we just put all our effort into it, I'm sure we can escape." Hannah added.

"Cool story...I guess." Mudkip said, before letting out a small yawn.
"Look, if you want to...give it all you got. I'm going to be here having a nap."

Ignoring Mudkip's comment, Hannah dove towards the metal bars with a Tackle. But the attack seemed to do little to the bars, and the Qwilfish couldn't help but cry out as she was sent tumbling back to the floor.

"What did I tell you? Useless." Mudkip scoffed.

"It's not. I'm sure this will work." Hannah said, before Spraying Acid out of her mouth, and towards the metal bars.

But much like last time, the attack seemed not to damage the bars at all.

"What...what is this cage even made out of?" Hannah questioned, looking rather distressed for the first time since she had arrived in the room.

"Beats me. All I know is there's no use wasting your energy." Mudkip replied, letting out another small yawn.

"Then you try! I'm sure you have what it takes!" Hannah exclaimed as she bounced up and down on her tail.

"I already told you....no." The mud fish Pokemon responded.

"Come on! Please? Just once!" The Qwilfish begged.

"Are you deaf? No." Mudkip replied.

"Yes! We won't get out if we don't do something!" Hannah exclaimed.

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No. Final answer!" Mudkip barked, his patience with the Qwilfish worn out entirely.

"Please! I won't stop asking until you do it!" Hannah replied.

"Fine. I'll try once. That's it." Mudkip said.

"After that, you'll leave me alone, deal?"

"Deal!" Hannah smiled, happy that her words had gotten through to the water type.

Letting out a small sigh, Mudkip approached the metal bars that formed his prison. Placing his head onto the cold metal, the mud fish Pokemon began to push with all his might, his four feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Whoa, you're doing it!" Hannah exclaimed, much to Mudkip's surprise. It seemed that he had unlocked a power hidden within him, and had managed to fully bend one of the bars with it!

With plenty of room to escape, Mudkip quickly slipped out between the bars, happy to have escaped his prison.

"Now it's my turn. It'll be a snap for you!" Hannah called out.

Hesitating for a moment, Mudkip realized that he'd feel guilty for leaving the rather loud Qwilfish behind. Instead, he began to push on the bars on Hannah's cage, and soon the balloon Pokemon was free to leave.

"Thank you! I just knew you had it in you." Hannah said as she hopped out of her cell.

"Yeah whatever. It's not like I had much choice." Mudkip replied, letting out an audible sigh.

"Let's just get going. I'm sure we can get out from there." Hannah said, glancing at the open window nearby.

Without waiting for a response, Hannah began to bounce on her tail, before leaping into the air and through the window. A moment later, a loud splash could be heard, signaling that the Qwilfish had made a safe landing.

"Come on out, the water is super nice!" Hannah called out to Mudkip.

The mud fish Pokemon let out a sigh upon hearing the Qwilfish's voice. A few more minutes with her, and Mudkip knew he would go insane.

Better then being in here though. The water type reasoned, looking around for a way out.

Spotting a few boxes, the mud fish Pokemon scrambled up on top of them. From here, it was a small jump to freedom.

Smiling for the first time all day, Mudkip leaped out of the window, before splashing into the cloud, salty ocean.

"See? I told you it was nice." Hannah said, once Mudkip had emerged.

"Yeah....I guess it is." Mudkip replied.

"We don't have much time to relax though. We need to get to Cloud Garden as soon as possible." Hannah said, already starting to swim off towards her destination.

"Whoa whoa...wait!" Mudkip called after the Qwilfish.
"Who said I was going with you? And why do you need to be at Cloud Garden anyway?" The water type questioned.

"I'm looking for my trainer. We live in Cloud Garden...so I'm sure I'll find them there." Hannah replied.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to. But I figured we make a great team. And you don't seem like you need to be anywhere anyway." The Qwilfish added.

"You're right...I don't..." Mudkip murmured.

The mud fish Pokemon was unsure if he had already lost it...but part of him wanted to go with Hannah. To help the Qwilfish find her trainer.

I'm really going to regret this, aren't I? Mudkip thought, before flashing Hannah the smallest of smiles.

"Fine. I'm in." The water type said.

"Yay! That's awesome!" Hannah exclaimed.

"But! I reserve the right to leave at any time. Ok?" Mudkip asked.

"Of course. Whatever you say." Hannah replied, before letting out a small giggle.

With Hannah leading the way, the pair swam past the ship that had taken them prison, and towards the shore. Wherever the Qwilfish took him, Mudkip knew he was in for a bumpy ride.
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Old 12-19-2017, 05:15 PM   #27
EpicSquirtle
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Of Dreams and Nightmares

"I apologize for being late today" A Munna said, placing a small flower at the foot of a gravestone.

The dream eater Pokemon then paused, waiting to see if anything would happen. All he received for his patience was the falling of a few snowflakes, and the howl of the wind.
It was foolish of him to think anything different would happen. His trainer had been gone for a few months by now....so why was he expecting a response?

"I....I've just been thinking about what you told me...your last request. It's definitely been weighing on my mind." The Munna continued.

Once again, the Psychic type's words were met with silence, prompting a small sigh from him.

"I just....I don't know if what I'm doing...if it's the right choice. I wish...I wish there was a sign. One to tell me...that what I'm doing is right."

The dream eater Pokemon stopped, letting the words he had spoken cling in the air. As he waited, the Munna couldn't help but tear up slightly.

"I'm sorry. You probably didn't want to hear this." The Munna spoke up after a minute.

"I just......I hope I can keep my promise to you. I don't think I could forgive myself otherwise."
----
Crunch crunch.
Crunch crunch.

The sound of crunching snow was the only thing that could be heard as a trainer and Pokemon made their way towards a large mountain.

"I...I think we're almost there." Roxie said as she continued to march through the snow covered path.

"P-Poliwag...."Blues murmured, trying his best not to fall over then and there. Poliwag weren't exactly known for being the greatest walkers....and the freezing cold certainly didn't help things.

It appeared that now wasn't the greatest time to explore a mountain, but Roxie didn't seem to care in the slightest. She was on a special mission after all, one that even Blues didn't know the details of.

But the Poliwag was never one to complain, especially when he got to explore the vast world around him, and so Blues continued to follow his new trainer.

Though the rest of the trip had only taken a couple more minutes, to Roxie and Blues, it felt like hours. Once the two had finally reached the base of the mountain, they each let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright. Now all we've gotta do is reach the top." Roxie said, turning her attention to the Poliwag at her feet.

"W-wag..." Blues murmured in response. Though he had managed to make it all this way, the tadpole Pokemon doubted that his feet would carry him much further.

"Come on. You can't tell me you're giving up already!" Roxie exclaimed in frustration. Despite the girl's words, it seemed that the cold was getting to her as well.
She was constantly rubbing her hands together now, only stopping to cup her face with them every so often.

"Poliwag..." Blues responded, refusing to meet his trainer's eyes.

"It's not like there's a place to stop, even if we could afford a rest." Roxie said, glancing around the frozen landscape.

Though much to the young trainer's surprise, there did seem to be a place to stop. Not to far from where they stood, was a small cabin.
Roxie had to admit....it did look rather cozy. Besides..she really could use a rest.

The blue haired girl gave a glance at the tall mountain beside her, before scowling.

"Fine. We can stop by that cabin." Roxie relented.

"Poliwag." Blues nodded, trying his best not to sound too happy.

"But only a quick stop. We've got to make it to the peak before nightfall." Roxie added.

"Poli." The tadpole Pokemon responded. This was a fair compromise, at least in the Poliwag's eyes.

"Then let's go." The blue haired girl said, before marching as quick as she could towards the wood cabin. Blues followed his trainer shortly behind, careful not to fall face first into the snow.

Once the two had arrived at the modest abode, Roxie wasted no time in knocking on the door.

After a moment of no answer, Roxie began to knock even louder, and with more urgency.

"Poliwag." Blues spoke up, grabbing his trainer's attention.

The Poliwag was looking at something on the ground. A note. Judging by the piece of tape stuck to it, the paper must have been attached to the cabin door. Fairly recently as well, considering the condition the note was in.

"Now what's this." Roxie murmured as she bent down to pick up the note.

"I'm out visiting my trainer. I'll be back soon." Roxie read the note aloud.

"Out?! That would have been great to know sooner!" The young trainer yelled, before tearing the paper to bits.

"Wag..." Blues murmured.

"You know what? It doesn't matter. Let's get going Blues. We have somewhere to be." Roxie grumbled.

"Poliwag..." Blues replied. He had really been looking forward to that break.
----
The next few hours were grueling to say the least. With little breaks up the mountain, the pair of explorers began to grow more and more tired. But no matter how far they walked, it seemed the mountain continued to spiral higher and higher.

It wasn't all bad news though. Much to the relief of Blues, the journey had mostly consisted of treks through various small caves.
Though the pair was basically blind when walking through the caverns, they were also warm. Well, at least warmer then they were outside.

But besides the total darkness the caves brought, they also presented another problem to the pair.

"Poliwag!" Blues cried as yet another Zubat crashed into him, sending the Poliwag tumbling back.

"What the- oh come on!" Roxie exclaimed in frustration as she noticed the bat Pokemon.

During their travels through the mountain, Roxie and Blues had encountered Zubat after Zubat, so many that the two had started to lose count.

There was one thing to be thankful for with this encounter. AT least they could see their opponent, thanks to the light from the nearby exit.

"Ok Blues, looks like we're getting some more practice in. Again." Roxie grumbled.

"Wag." The Poliwag replied as he rose to face his opponent.

Eager to start things off, Zubat flew towards the intruding Poliwag, it's wings glowing with energy.

"Blues, dodge and use Body Slam!" Roxie barked.

Heeding his trainer's orders, Blues leaped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the Zubat's attack!

With the bat Pokemon now left wide open, Blues seized the chance to strike by throwing all his weight at the Zubat!

"Alright. Now Ice Ball and Psychic!" Roxie ordered.

Since Zubat was still recovering from Blues last attack, the Poliwag was left with the perfect opportunity to let off another attack.

Gathering freezing cold energy in his mouth, Blues formed a small ball of ice in front of himself. With a look of determination in his eyes, the Poliwag launched the icy sphere at his opponent, causing Zubat to cry out as the attack made contact!

Now it was Zubat's turn to attack! Wasting little time, the bat Pokemon descended towards Blues, before sinking it's sharp fangs into the Poliwag's flesh!

"Poi!" Blues cried out in a mixture of shock and pain.

The Poliwag then began to shake, trying desperately to throw the bat Pokemon off of him.

After a short struggle, the Zubat finally let go of it's opponent, allowing Blues to prepare his next attack.

After amassing psychic energy into his body, Blues let out a wave of the purple energy.
The wave flew towards Zubat at an astonishing rate, giving the Poison type almost no time to react as the super effective attack crashed into it, sending the bat Pokemon flying into the cave wall.

"Let's end this Blues. Bubble Beam!" Roxie barked.

Eager to finish off the annoying pest, Blues leaped into the air.

With a proud cry, the Poliwag released a stream of bubbles from his mouth. The water bubbles rapidly flew towards Zubat, causing the bat Pokemon to let out a shriek as each bubble painfully popped on it's skin.

Once the bubbles were gone, it was clear that the Zubat wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Alright. Finally." Roxie said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Poliwag." Blues added, eyeing the fallen Poison type.

"Well? Let's not just stand there. We have places to be!" Roxie barked, before exiting the cave and back into the freezing conditions outside.

"Poli...." Blues murmured, rather reluctant to return to the bitter snow.

But return, the Poliwag did, though not without a surprised yelp as his feet met the icy slush beneath him.

"Oh come on, stop being a baby." Roxie chided. "We're nearly there anyway."

The blue haired girl was right. They were close, or so it seemed. Just up ahead Blues could spot a strange looking building, towering ominously over them.

Was this what Roxie was looking for? Just why was she keeping this a secret? The Poliwag wasn't exactly sure, but he hoped he'd get his answers soon.

"Stop." A voice called out to the pair, causing them to look around in confusion.

All of the sudden, a strange figure dropped down in front of them.
The figure was wearing a brown cloak, covering their body entirely. Their face was hidden as well, thanks to a white and red mask they were wearing.

Beside the strange individual was a Sceptile, who glanced at the pair with mild interest.

"Who the hell are you?" Roxie questioned, looking rather cross.

Blues was wondering the same thing. Was this some sort of ambush? Or were the two in front of them friendly? And who would be brave enough to wait on a mountain in this weather...on the off chance someone showed up?

"That is none of your business." A woman's voice replied.

"All that you need to know, is that I cannot allow you to pass."

"Well I guess that's too bad for you then. I don't know who you think you are, but I'm going in there, and that's final." Roxie replied.

"Such youthful arrogance." The cloaked person scoffed.

"So be it. If you want to surrender your life to me, then I have no objections. Sceptile, to battle!"

"Tile!" The forest Pokemon exclaimed as it stepped in front of it's trainer, a small smirk plastered on it's face.

"Shit." Roxie murmured.

This was one of the last things she wanted. Not only was Sceptile a fully evolved Pokemon, it also had a type advantage against Blues!
To make things worse, the Poliwag appeared to be quite tired, both from the walk, and from the various Zubat encounters.

But what choice did she have? Roxie knew that she had to make her way past the pair. She couldn't let her mother down!

"Alright then. Blues, use Ice Ball, then Double Slap!" Roxie ordered.

Determined to give it his all, Blues began to collect energy in his mouth, forming a icy sphere with it! Without hesitation, the Poliwag fired the compacted ice ball towards his opponent, with enough speed to make a Raichu blush.

"Dodge and use Bullet Seed!" The cloaked figure bellowed.

Heeding it's trainer's orders, Sceptile leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the oncoming attack!

Now it was Sceptile's turn to attack, and the forest Pokemon didn't intend to waste it! With a proud cry, Sceptile fired a barrage of green bullets from it's mouth, prompting a sharp shriek from Blues as each one struck his body.

But Blues wasn't about to give up, not yet anyway. For his next attack, the Poliwag leaped towards Sceptile, his tail at the ready.

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" The mysterious woman called out.

After giving it's trainer a brief nod, Sceptile flew towards Blues at a blinding speed, it's right two blades glowing a bright green.

Upon reaching the Poliwag, Sceptile swung it's blades towards him, causing Blues to be sent flying back, while also rendering his attack completely useless!

"Now Sceptile, circle the Poliwag with Double Team." The cloaked figure ordered.

Wasting no time at all, Sceptile began to circle around Blues over and over again, until suddenly there wasn't just one Sceptile circling the tadpole Pokemon, but five!

"Shoot! Quick Blues, spin and use Bubble Beam!" Roxie ordered.

Though he was mildy confused at his trainer's orders, Blues still began to spin around on the spot, before spewing a stream of bubbles from his mouth.

The bubbles weren't aimed at anything in particular, but they did manage to cover a wide area, thanks to Blues spinning.

Once a single bubble popped on any of the Sceptile's, they began to disappear in a poof of smoke.

Soon, the amount of Sceptile's left reached....zero? That couldn't be right, where had the real one gone?

Both Blues and Roxie began to look around in confusion, until the cloaked figure spoke up.

"That was some smart thinking, I must admit. Unfortunately for you, I'm one step ahead. Sceptile, now!"

Right on cue, the forest Pokemon emerged from the ground, before striking Blues with it's arm, sending the tadpole Pokemon tumbling backwards.

This was bad. Blues hadn't gotten even a single hit on Sceptile yet, and the Poliwag was already struggling to continue. And with tricky moves like Dig, Roxie was at a loss of ideas.

"I warned you. It's a pointless struggle." The cloaked figure spoke up.

"I...I won't lose to you. This isn't over yet!" Roxie exclaimed.

"You're as stubborn as always." The mysterious woman replied, shaking her head slightly.

"No matter. There's no amount of stubbornness that can save you from this. Sceptile, Frenzy Plant."

"Sceptile!" The forest Pokemon exclaimed, before slamming it's palm into the ground.

After a moment of shaking, giant, thorny vines erupted from the earth as they made their way towards Roxie and Blues.

But despite the oncoming attack, the blue haired girl found herself unable to move. Was it fear that betrayed her, or something else entirely...

The last thing that Roxie saw was the spiked vines approaching....and then everything went to black.
----
"W-where am I?" Roxie murmured, her eyes suddenly opening.

She was alive, at least. That was a good thing. But her body ached, and now she was....in a house?

"It's good to see you're awake, I was worried about you." A voice rang in the young trainer's mind.

"Wha-" Roxie murmured, glancing around until she spotted Blues....and a strange pink Pokemon with a floral pattern.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to think when you were dropped off here."

"Who are you exactly?" The blue haired girl questioned, slowly rising up off the lumpy couch where she had been placed.

"The name's Yume, I'm a Munna." The dream eater Pokemon chimed.

"And where the hell are we? What is this dump?" Roxie questioned, glancing around at the dirty living room.

"This dump, as you call it, is my home." Yume replied.

"A really nice man and his Pokemon found you on Akumu mountain. So they brought you to me. I'm a medic in training after all."

"Neat." Roxie murmured, slowly making her way to the door.

"Honestly, I don't know what you were thinking. The mountain has that name for a reason. There's countless Pokemon that live there. One's that could kill you in a second flat." Yume chimed.

"Look, I'm not really here to be lectured. Come on Blues, let's go." Roxie said, ushering the Poliwag over.

"Wag.." Blues murmured, glancing back at Yume.

"Wait! You can't just leave!" Yume's voice rang in the pair's heads.

"Why's that?" Roxie asked, sounding rather annoyed with the Munna already.

"Because...umm.....because..." Yume said, glancing around the room in a rather desperate attempt to come up with something.

"Because, I wish to join you on your quest." The Munna finished.

"Join us? Now why would you want to do that? And what's in it for us, for that matter?" The blue haired girl questioned.

"Poliwag.." Blues added, looking rather confused.

"Well...I have my reasons. Let's just say I'll be very useful to you.I'm very knowledgeable when it comes to medicine. My old trainer used to be a doctor, so I learned a lot from him." The Munna explained.

"Oh! I can also see and eat people's dreams! For example....I know Blues dreams of traveling the world, and evolving into a powerful Poliwrath. I've read your dreams as well Roxie, and they're certainly intriguing, to say the least."

"What?! You've been going through our brains?!" Roxie exclaimed, her face flushed red.

"I apologize, I only ever wanted to help you." Yume replied. "I might have gotten a bit carried away though, but it was with the best intentions."

"The best intentions?! You can't be serious!" Roxie yelled.

"Please.....I didn't mean to-" Yume began, but stopped himself once he heard a knock on the door.

A moment later, the door swung open, and in walked a man and a Reuniclus.

Despite the cold weather, the man was wearing a black suit, and a fancy looking tie.

Roxie nearly gasped upon seeing the man. Of all the places to run into someone like him....

"Zack?!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Hello Roxie, it's been a while." Zack smiled.

"Poli...." Blues murmured. It had taken him a moment, but now he too recognized Zack. But this left the Poliwag all the more confused.

"Just what exactly are you doing here?" The young trainer demanded.

"Oh, Zack and Reuniclus are the ones I was talking about. They were the ones that found you on Akumu mountain." Yume spoke up.

"Don't think I don't know what you did. Mother told me. You....you're a traitor!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Poliwag!" Blues exclaimed. He still wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he was backing his trainer all the way.

"Traitor? Are you really that stupid? Did you hit your head or something?" Reuniclus questioned.

"Reuniclus, quiet." Zack said, before turning to Roxie.

"I don't know what your mother told you, but I'm no traitor. I deeply regret what transpired back at the tower....and I hope to avenge anyone who had to lose their life that day."

"I-I know what happened. Mother...she told me you were with the invaders." Roxie replied.

"Maybe you misheard?" Reuniclus questioned.

"Roxie. If Zack was truly your enemy, then why would he save you on the mountain?" Yume asked, his voice ringing in everyone's heads.

"That's true. If we wanted to kill you, we could have left you to die on the mountain." Reuniclus said.

"But....I..." Roxie murmured.

"Roxie. I know you've been growing through a lot. But I promise you...I'm on your side." Zack said, giving the girl a small smile.

"I promise you. The CPA won't get away with what they've done. That's why I've gotten Team Catalyst regrouped." The man added.

"Huh? You've regrouped Team Catalyst?" Roxie questioned, wondering if she'd heard the man correctly.

"That's right." Zack nodded.

"With people like you...the remaining Team Catalyst members who have lost their loved ones to the CPA's needless violence."

"That's the reason we came back here actually." Reuniclus added.

"That's right. Once you woke up, we planned to ask you a question." Zack smiled.

"What is it?" Roxie asked. Already, the blue haired girl seemed a bit less standoffish.

"I was wondering if you could join us, and help get back Project X." Zack said.

"As a member of the new Team Catalyst, yeah?" The young trainer asked.

"Not just any member, as an admin." Reuniclus replied.

"Yeah. I've long been impressed by your skills. Your mother was one of our best, and I think you'll do well to continue her legacy." Zack added.

"Continue her legacy..." Roxie murmured.

She had always looked up to her mother, even as a little girl. She was nice...always put others before herself. She even dedicated her life to saving Ryuu Town....and maybe even Fizzytopia.

Was she worthy of following in her mothers footsteps? Could Zack's words even be trusted. Roxie wasn't sure. Everyone was looking at her now, and she wasn't even sure if she had an answer! Just what could she say?

"Roxie." Yume chimed, his voice only heard by the young trainer this time.

"For what it's worth, I think you should accept. I know you might not value my opinion, but from what I've seen, Zack seems to be a fine person. And....I think your mother would be proud of you."

Proud of me? Roxie thought.

"Yes, I'm sure of it." Yume replied.

Ok, I'll do it. I guess you can come along as well. Roxie thought, before turning her attention back to the rest of the world.

More specifically, her bag, which had been placed right by the door.

The rest of the group didn't seem to mind as Roxie dug around in her bag, before producing a single Pokeball.

"Poliwag?" Blues questioned, seemingly very confused on just what Roxie was doing.

"Ok Yume. If you want to come along, then I'll let you. Just make sure to pull your weight." The blue haired girl said as she approached the Munna.

"I won't let you down." Yume chimed.

Without another word, Roxie tapped the ball onto Yume's head, and the dream eater Pokemon was instantly absorbed inside. A moment later, the device made a small ping sound, signifying a successful capture.

The blue haired girl then pressed the center button of the Pokeball, allowing Yume to return to the outside world.

"Poliwag." Blues greeted the Munna, who in turn gave the Poliwag a brief nod.

"Alright Zack. I've made my choice. I'll go with you." Roxie said.

"Excellent choice!" Reuniclus exclaimed.

"Indeed. Now, we should head to the base. I'll get everything started for you once we get there." Zack explained.

"Ok. Then let's go." Roxie said, before following Blues and Zack outside.

Roxie was still a little hesitant about the whole thing, but what was there to lose? The CPA and Project X was still out there....something her mother had given her life to try and stop.
So if she didn't help....it was as if she was disrespecting her mother's wishes.

On the plus side, now that Team Catalyst was back, there was no need to climb Akumu mountain. That was something Roxie was grateful for, at the very least.

Watching as everyone else left the cabin, Reuniclus glanced at Yume, a smile on his face.

"You did the right thing." The multiplying Pokemon said, before swiftly exiting the room.

The right thing...Yume wasn't so sure. But why? He had followed his late trainer's wishes, after all.

Roxie...I'm so sorry. Yume thought, glancing at the girl, and then back at his home for the last time.

I hope you'll find it in yourself to forgive me.
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Old 01-10-2018, 07:55 PM   #28
EpicSquirtle
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SS: Lingering Guilt

It was a dark and stormy day in Isshin village. With the constant downpour of raindrops, it was no surprise that most residents were hidden inside their homes. Many of the people were using the extra time to spend with their family, warm and cozy in the indoors.
But it seemed a pair of trainer and Pokemon had an entirely different idea for the horrid weather. This pair was none other then Robin, and her Emolga, Voltaire.
Though they were completely soaked, the young trainer and sky squirrel Pokemon had taken the time from their day to visit the local graveyard.

"Do you really need to see his grave everyday? Even in this kind of weather? If he is watching, I think he gets the point." Voltaire said, letting out a heavy sigh. At this rate, the Emolga was sure he was going to catch a cold!

"I-I...umm..." Robin murmured, her eyes starting to tear up. She wasn't quite sure just how to respond to the Emolga's rather rude comment, and so opted to ignore him as she approached the grave she had been looking for.

One of the first things Robin had done once she had set up home in Isshin village, was setup a gravestone for him...one of the few she couldn't save.

Kneeling down in front of the grave, the girl removed the old flowers from the vase nearby, replacing them with a few roses.

"Telpo..." The young trainer murmured, a look of sadness on her face.

"It's been almost a year...s-since you left us...and...and I still miss you so much."

Voltaire simply nodded at his trainer's words. Christmas in particular had seemed to hit Robin particularly hard. Even when they had hung out with Anna and her family, the Emolga could tell Robin was clearly bothered by Telpo's absence.
It did make sense, Voltaire reasoned. It would have been the first Christmas without the Abra since....well, since Robin had first obtained the Psychic type, just over five years ago.

It was then that the sound of squishing mud caught Robin's attention. It was hard to notice over the sound of the heavy rain, but it was enough to pull the young trainer's attention away from the gravestone, and to the person approaching behind her.
She recognized the young man almost instantly. It was Anna's brother, Lukas.

"I figured you'd be here." Lukas said as he continued to approached the pair.

"Must have been some Pokemon for you to come out here in the rain like this." The young man added, glancing at Telpo's gravestone.

"He was....a-and I come here every possible day. Rain or shine." Robin explained as she slowly rose back up.

"I see. Quite the routine you have going." Lukas replied.

"W-why are you here anyway? Someone you visiting?" Robin questioned.

"Huh? No. Just here to check on you." Lukas said, shaking his head.

"Don't get the wrong idea though. I don't give a shit what you're up to. Anna was just worried where you were. You didn't show up for practice with her, apparently."

"O-oh right. I forgot." Robin replied, looking rather sheepish.

"To be fair, I also forgot about that one." Voltaire chimed in.

"Well how about you keep your head screwed on next time. I'd rather not waste any future time finding your forgetful ass." Lukas retorted.

"Right." The girl murmured. She was used to Luka's rather crude language towards her by now, but she'd be lying if it didn't hurt a bit.

As Anna's brother began to take his leave, a strong gale of wind washed through out the area.

"Ack!" Robin cried out in surprise, for her vision was sudden blocked by a large piece of paper.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Lukas demanded, turning back around.

Upon noticing the paper, the young man scowled.
"More litter. Just what this place needs."

"It seems to be some kind of note." Voltaire said, noticing the black writing as his trainer grabbed the paper off her face.

"Y-you're right, it is a note." Robin repeated, mostly for Luka's benefit.

"Yeah? What does it say?" Luka's asked, his interest piqued.

"Let's see...." Robin murmured as she scanned the paper.
The writing was rather hard to read, as if whoever had written it was in a rush. Despite the rather sloppy black letters, Robin was able to decipher the entire note.

"The note was addressed to me. W-whoever wrote it want's me to go the Ruins of Old Tempus. Tomorrow." Robin explained, once she had finished reading the paper.

"Addressed to you? Are you sure it wasn't just some random trash?" Lukas questioned.

"P-positive." Robin nodded.

"Considering the letter seems to be in ok shape...whoever wrote it must still be here then. Yeah?" Voltaire piped up.

"Good thinking!" Robin exclaimed, glancing around at the various tombstones. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no one in sight. Whoever had left the note must have slipped away in the confusion.

"Ok, let's say it isn't a piece if garbage. Do you even know where these ruins are? Or why they want you there? Sounds like some shitty scam to me." Lukas said, letting out a small chuckle.

"I do. The note says it's not too far from Tempus Village, which I've had the misfortune of visiting once." Robin explained.

"A-as for why the person wants me there...Well, apparently there's going to be some kind of attack, or robbery going on. I-I'm supposed to help stop it. Save whatever is waiting there."

"Right. Well have fun with that one. I'm going to be going now." Luka's said, already turning his back to the pair.

"Wait!" Robin called out after the young man.

"What now?" Luka's asked, his tone revealing just how fed up with the woman he was at this point.

"The letter said I should be prepared for anything. I could use you as a backup." Robin explained.

"B-before you ask. I don't want to ask Anna because....well, I don't want to put her in any danger, in case this is a trap."

"Oh, but you're fine if I'm in danger?" Luka's questioned.

"Umm...w-well.." Robin murmured, unsure of just how to answer.

"Relax, I'm teasing you." The brown haired man replied, before letting out a loud chuckle.

"But sure, I'll go. You'll probably need a strong trainer to save your ass anyway."

"You're just backup. That's all." The younger trainer insisted.

"Sure sure. I'm assuming you'll grab me when we need to leave?" Lukas asked.

Receiving a nod from Robin, Luka's gave the pair a final wave, before leaving the graveyard. Voltaire had to admit, he was a little jealous.

"W-we can go now, Voltaire." Robin said, noticing the Emolga's discomfort in the awful weather.

"Finally!" Voltaire exclaimed, a bit too enthusiastic for his trainer's liking.

With the pair on the road back home, the Emolga had just one question left in his mind.

"Hey...why are we going to those ruins anyway? Just because a letter told us to?"

"That's not it." Robin shook her head as she turned away from the graveyard.

"Not all of it anyway. As I was reading the letter...I could have sworn I saw something."

"Care to elaborate on that? Saw what?" Voltaire questioned.

"I'm.....Maybe it's best if I explain it later." Robin mumbled.

Voltaire couldn't help but let out an audible sigh at his trainer's response.
The Emolga couldn't stay mad for too long though. He was sure Robin had a good reason for waiting to tell him.

If not, he was bound to have at least a few of his questions answered. He just had to wait until tomorrow.
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Old 01-12-2018, 03:05 PM   #29
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SS: A Lucky Break

"Just where are we now?" Mudkip questioned as he continued to walk down a small cobble path, passing several small homes as he did so.
Beside the mud fish Pokemon was a Qwilfish, who managed to keep up by bouncing on her tail, springing her forwards each time.
It certainly wasn't the most ideal way to travel. It seemed that they were making very little progress, considering how often the Qwilfish had to stop and rest.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen something like this before." Hannah replied, stopping occasionally to examine her surroundings.

"Well...do we at least know how close we are to the Cloud Garden?" The mud fish Pokemon asked.

"Nope!" Hannah exclaimed, not sounding the least bit worried about this information.

"A-and you don't seem to mind? You're unbelievable at times." Mudkip said, letting out a rather loud sigh.

"Hey, it's ok. I'll just ask someone from around here." The Qwilfish replied, glancing around for a suitable candidate.
After a moment of searching, the Poison type eyes fell on a Dewott, who appeared to be completely alone.

"One moment." Hannah said, before bouncing over to the discipline Pokemon.

"Hi there! My name is Hannah, it's nice to meet you." The balloon Pokemon greeted the pure Water type.

"Uh, hi? Did you need anything?" The Dewott questioned.

"Yep! I was wondering if we knew where we are? Me and my friend are kind of lost." The Qwilfish explained.

"That all? Why didn't you say so? We're in Tempus Village." Dewott replied.

"Ok. Thank you very much!" Hannah exclaimed, before bouncing back over to Mudkip.

"So? What did they have to say?" The mud fish Pokemon asked.

"Apparently this is Tempus village! Pretty cool name, right?"

"I was more concerned on how far the Cloud Garden is." Mudkip replied.
"Did they know? Is it nearby?"

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot to ask." Hannah said, giggling at her forgetfulness.

"You really are a lost cause." Mudkip replied, letting out another loud sigh.

"It's not a problem, I can just ask them again, I'm su-" Hannah began, but stopped upon realizing the Dewott had disappeared entirely.

"You were saying?"

"Well, I can just find someone else to ask. No big deal." Hannah smiled, her eyes already looking around for said Pokemon.

It didn't take long for another Pokemon to catch her eye. Running towards the pair as fast as it could, was a strange, roly-poly Pokemon. As it grew closer, the sounds of distress coming from it grew more and more clear to the Qwilfish.
Glancing at Mudkip, Hannah was shocked to see that Mudkip appeared to be in his own little world, completely oblivious to the oncoming Pokemon!

But before Hannah could give a single word of warning to Mudkip, the oncoming Electric type crashed into him, prompting the mud fish Pokemon to yelp in surprise.
Once he had gotten up off the ground, Mudkip turned to face his attacker with a rather mean looking glare.

"What was that for?!" The Water type demanded.

"Sorry! Sorry!" The Electric type squeaked, before rushing off, just as quickly as they had arrived.

"What was up with them?" Mudkip questioned.

"I'm not sure. But we have to follow them!" Hannah exclaimed.

"What?! Why would we do that?" The mud fish Pokemon asked.

"Because they might be in trouble! It looked like they were trying to run from something. Or get somewhere in a hurry." The Qwilfish explained.

"But, don't we have our own problems to worry about?"

"I mean...yeah. But come on! We can't just leave them! Especially if they actually are in danger." Hannah replied.

"I'm guessing there isn't anyway to convince you otherwise?" Mudkip questioned.

"That's right." Hannah replied. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Mudkip couldn't help but let out another sigh as he watched the Qwilfish bounce off in the same direction the Electric type had went.
This wasn't exactly what he had signed up for, but the mud fish Pokemon knew he couldn't just leave Hannah behind. With a groan, the Water type began to chase after the Qwilfish, trying his best not to fall too far behind.
----
As Mudkip continued to give chase to Hannah, he found himself traveling further and further away from Tempus, until the village was no longer in sight!

Just when the mud fish Pokemon was about to give up the chase, he spotted the strange Pokemon, right across the field!

Hannah had also spotted the Electric type, and refused to give up her bouncing, no matter how tiring it was for her.

Despite their rather slow speed, the pair eventually reached the strange Pokemon, who seemed to be in quite the situation. Surrounding the Electric type was three Drilbur, who seemed quite agitated.

"Just cough up the money bub! We know you were cheating!" One of the Drilbur exclaimed.

"Yeah, don't make us have to pry it off." Another of the mole Pokemon added, brandishing his claws rather threateningly.

"I told you...I don't know anything!" The Electric type squeaked.

"Can you believe it? He thinks we're stupid!" The third Drilbur exclaimed.

"Yeah. You're going to pay for that one." The second Drilbur said with a nod.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Hannah exclaimed, turning everyone's attention to her.

"Huh? What do you want pipsqueak? Can't you see we're busy?" The first Drilbur questioned.

"I said...leave him alone." The Qwilfish repeated.

"Or what? You going to fight us, bub?" The second Drilbur asked.

"If I have to! I'm much stronger then I look!" The Qwilfish replied.
Oh, and Mudkip here will help me too! Umm, right?" Hannah added, turning to the other Water type for confirmation.

"I-I guess so..." Mudkip murmured. "Just don't expect too much from me."

"So, that's how it's going to be then." The first Drilbur scowled.

"Let's save the Togedemaru for later. We need to teach these punks a lesson for crossing us!" The third Drilbur exclaimed.

Without another word, the three Ground types charged towards Hannah and Mudkip, their claws at the ready.
----
"Ack!" The third mole Pokemon cried out in surprise as a powerful Bubble Beam attack sent them tumbling backwards.

Glancing to the side the Ground type noticed that the other weren't doing much better. The two Water types were simply too strong for them to overpower. The only option left was to retreat!

"You won't get away with this!" The third Ground type exclaimed.

"Yeah...you may have won this time, but next time will be different." The second mole Pokemon added.

With that, the three Drilbur began to burrow into the ground, before disappearing entirely.

"We did it!" Hannah cheered, happy that the fight was over.

"Yeah...somehow." Mudkip murmured, before letting out a small yawn.

"Oh thank you so much! I guess my luck saved me again." The Togedemaru smiled.

"It was no problem." Hannah replied. "Oh, I'm Hannah by the way, and this is Mudkip."

"I'm Jack. It's nice to meet you both." Jack said, his face still stuck with a bright smile.

"What was up with those Drilbur anyway? Why did they want to attack you?" The Qwilfish questioned.

"Right...that's a long story." Jack sighed. "Let's just say my I managed to win a bit too much money from the casino here. They weren't too impressed with me, so they sent that gang to get their money back."

"That's awful!" Hannah exclaimed. "All that because you got really lucky?"

"That's the thing, I'm always lucky. It's kind of crazy." Jack explained. "I should have known not to try the casino, but it was just too tempting, you know?"

"I see...you're really that lucky?" Mudkip questioned.

"Well, you guys found and saved me all the way out here, right? That's pretty lucky I'd say." The roly-poly Pokemon replied.

"Hey Hannah, maybe we should ask him where we could find Cloud Garden?" The mud fish Pokemon suggested.

"Good idea!" Hannah replied, practically beaming.

"Hey Jack, me and Mudkip are trying to get to Cloud Garden, to look for my trainer. You wouldn't know where that is, would you?" The Qwilfish asked.

"Well, I guess it's your lucky day too! I just so happen to know this place super well. I could walk to Cloud Garden from here blindfolded." Jack said.

"So then, are you going to tell us the way?" Mudkip asked.

"I'll do you one better. I'll take you there myself!" The Electric type exclaimed.

"What?! Why?" The mud fish Pokemon questioned.

"Well I mean...it's not like I have anywhere left to go. I can't show my face back home anymore, not unless I want those Drilbur beating me up." Jack explained with a sigh.

"Besides, you have to go through some really creepy ruins to get to Cloud Garden. I'd be quite worried if I let you two go there by yourselves."

"I think it sounds like a great plan." Hannah smiled.

"Of course you do." Mudkip grumbled.

"Oh come on Mudkip, there's always room for one more!" Hannah exclaimed.

"..Fine..I guess he can come..." Mudkip murmured, before turning to the Electric type.

"So, are you going to lead us there, or what?" Mudkip questioned.

"Of course! Just follow me." Jack smiled, before slowly marching off to the west. Hannah was quick to follow him, while Mudkip lagged behind.

With the three of them together, Hannah felt unstoppable! But Mudkip had a hunch that they weren't out of the woods quite yet.
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Old 01-18-2018, 09:34 PM   #30
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Blinded by Darkness

"So this is Tempus village, huh? Doesn't look very impressive." Lukas said with a frown.

The young man had a point. Tempus village wasn't the best looking village around. Even before it had been attacked, many buildings stood out like a sour thumb.
This place had always been known for it's Celebi statue, and not much else.

"Yeah well...a lot of this place was destroyed last year. I-I'm actually surprised it's doing so well, all things considering." Robin replied.

"Destroyed? What happened?" Cayenne questioned, the Torchic following right by Robin's foot.

"A strange Pokemon attacked, about this time last year. Most buildings were swallowed whole by the beast." Robin explained.

"I've got to hand it to you. You sure know your stuff." Lukas said, possibly his first time ever praising the younger trainer.

"Yeah!" Cayenne exclaimed. "But, how exactly do you know that? Were you there?"

"I was there, you're right." The Electric type specialist nodded. "I-I think that story is best saved for later though."

"Well yeah, are we going to get to the Tempus ruins or what?" Lukas questioned. "I don't think we have all day."

Once again, the older trainer made a good point. They had originally come here to get to the Tempus ruins, a request they had received from a strange letter.
If the letter was truthful, the ruins were about to be attacked by....something.
Whoever had wrote the note had decided against sharing that part of the problem.

Regardless, standing around was certainly not going to help. With this in mind, Robin began to glance around, before spotting a vast field in the distance.

"So, how exactly are we getting to these ruins anyway? Did you happen to check them out last time you were here?" Lukas asked.

"No. But I think I know where we need to go." Robin replied, before pointing a finger to the nearby field.

"See that there? Then see that slope further on?"

"Yeah, I've got eyes." Lukas scoffed.

"W-well the letter said...it said that the ruins should be around that area somewhere." Robin explained. "At the very least, it's worth checking out."

"I suppose so." Lukas muttered.

"We should definitely see what's there!" Cayenne chirped.

With that decided, the trio quickly made their way out of the village, and through the field close by.
At one point, Robin could have sworn she heard cries for help coming from behind, but Lukas was quick to set them back on track.

Finally, the three came to a stop upon reaching the slope Robin had pointed out earlier.

"This is it all right." Lukas said, gazing down at the scenery below.

Resting below the plateau was building after building, sprawling as far as the eye could see. Most of the structures were crumbling, a major exception being the few in the center.
Those ones seemed as if they had been kept from the same fate, as if they held a greater purpose.

"You suppose what those robbers are after is in there?" Lukas suggested, pointing to a large building of rather high quality.

"I....I think so. We better check it out." Robin said. "Carefully."

While it was true that the trio couldn't see a single soul from up high, it wasn't impossible for someone to be hiding among the oak trees, or even the countless debris.

Luckily for the group of three, there was a small dirt path nearby, which seemed to wind down to the old structures.

Taking the lead once more, Robin could feel her heart racing as she descended the man made path. Though she had insisted on going, she couldn't help but feel rather nervous. Just why were they contacted to come here?
Was it some kind of trap? And what she had seen in the graveyard...did it really-

"Are you ok?" Cayenne asked, snapping his trainer's attention to him.

"Huh? I-I'm fine. Just thinking." The girl replied.

"Oh, ok! You looked pretty worried is all. Glad it's fine!" The Fire type chirped.

"Yep, fine." Robin repeated, before turning her attention to the ruins sprawling in front of her. In front of the path rested what appeared to be some kind of archway. Or at least, what was once an archway. The center of the structure was completely missing, the only sign of it's existence being two slightly curved pillars.

After walking through them, the group of three glanced around for something, anything, to signal that they weren't alone.

"M-maybe they were wrong?" Robin questioned, referring to whoever had written the letter.

"Well well well, look what we have here." A voice suddenly spoke up, suggesting that Robin had spoken much too quickly.

Emerging from behind a broken stone wall were two men, looking roughly the same age as Lukas and Robin. Each of them were wearing black pants and white lab coats, a black x stitched on the left sleeve.

Taking one look at the attire the two men , Robin let out an audible gasp.

"You....you really didn't see this coming?" Lukas asked. "I knew this was a trap from the beginning."

"It's not that, I had my suspicions too." The girl replied. "It's...I know these people. Team Catalyst..."

"Oh, I see someone knows her stuff." One of the grunts said, before letting out a light chuckle.

"Idiot! They're obviously with the CPA!" The second grunt exclaimed.

"The boss did say they might be after Project X as well." The first grunt murmured.

"Well then let's get them! Graveler, let's go!" The second man shouted, before tossing a regular Pokeball in the air. From the ball emerged the rock Pokemon, who let out an intimidating growl upon noticing Cayenne.

Following in the second grunt's footsteps, the first man summoned a Pokemon of his own, the Fire and Ground type, Numel!

"I may not about this Team Catalyst, but they seem like bad news to me, yeah?" Lukas asked.

"Y-yeah." Robin nodded.

"Then let's save the explanations for later, and take these fools out!" The older trainer exclaimed, before tossing a plain Pokeball in front of himself. From the ball materialized a Treecko, who glanced at the pair in front of him with mild interest.

"Alright. Treecko, Bullet Seed and then Mega Drain on Graveler!" Lukas barked.

"Cayenne, use Bounce, then Scratch on Numel!" Robin ordered.

"Think you can take us?! Graveler, Rock Throw on Torchic, then use Tackle on Treecko!" The first grunt shouted.

"Numel, go with Ember on Treecko, and Mud Bomb on Torchic!" The other grunt bellowed.

Now that everyone had received their orders, it was time to attack! The first to act was Treecko, who bolted towards Graveler at a lightning quick pace!
As the Grass type closed in on the rock Pokemon, he leaped into the air, before firing a barrage of green bullets down upon his opponent!

Following shortly behind Treecko was Cayenne, who began to charge his legs with flying energy. After a moment of preparation, the Torchic jumped high into the air, higher then even Treecko had a few seconds prior.

With an energetic cry, the Fire type flew back downwards, before landing right on top of Numel!

Now it was Graveler's turn to attack! Gathering rock energy between it's four hands, Graveler managed to create a large boulder and proceeded to hurl it at Cayenne!

Unable to react in time, the Fire type let out a shrill cry as the boulder made impact, sending the Torchic flying backwards.

But Cayenne's had only just begun. As the Torchic began to rise up from the ground, he was smacked down once more, thanks to a timely Mud Bomb from Numel!

Still feeling fresh, Treecko began to prepare his second attack! After gathering up some grass energy, the Grass type fired a beam of it out at Graveler!
Upon reaching the Rock type, the green beam wrapped itself around Graveler, before turning red a it began to absorb the health from it, returning the vitality to Treecko.

Angered by the Treecko's assault, Graveler began to charge towards the Grass type, before slamming it's entire body into the wood gecko Pokemon!

After finally recovering from the previous attacks on him, it was now Cayenne's turn to attack! With his feet growing white, the Torchic charged towards Numel as fast as he could.
Upon reaching the numb Pokemon, Cayenne hopped upwards, before slashing at Numel with his feet!

Unfortunately for Cayenne, Numel was fully prepared for the attack, and stepped to the side at the last second, causing the Torchic to fall uselessly to the ground.

With no fear if being attacked, Numel took the time to collect fire energy in it's mouth, before spewing a small flames out at Treecko!

As the flames made contact with his flesh, Treecko couldn't help but let out a pained cry. While the embers hadn't burned him, the flames had done a decent amount of damage to the Grass type!

"Come on! This is going too slow." Lukas grumbled as he continued to watch the battle unfold.

"It's not like we have much choice." Robin replied, before turning to Cayenne, ready to instruct the Torchic on his next actions.

"Yes we do. These guys...they're just stalling us out. One of us needs to get by them." Lukas explained.

"You know we can hear you, right?" Asked the first Catalyst grunt.

"Yeah, you won't be going anywhere under our watches." Added the second grunt.

"That's what you think. Treecko, use Bullet Seed on the grunts!" Lukas barked, before turning to Cayenne.

"Can you help Treecko out here? Use Ember on the grunts a well." The young man instructed.

"Alright!" Cayenne exclaimed with a nod. While Lukas wasn't his trainer, Cayenne couldn't say no to helping Treecko out.

"Whoa that's not fair!" One of the Catalyst grunts began to protest, just before a Bullet Seed attack swept past his left ear.

"I guess that's too damn bad. Treecko, Cayenne keep it up!" Lukas barked, before turning his attention to Robin, who had been watching in a mix of amusement and horror.

"Now's your chance, run for it!" Lukas exclaimed.

"N-no you don't! Graveler, stop them!" One of the grunts bellowed, in between attempts at dodging the rogue attacks.

"Numel, we can't let them get away!" The other grunt yelled.

"Cayenne keep it going! Treecko, stop those two Pokemon!" Lukas ordered.

As Robin began to run deeper into the ruins, Graveler and Numel began to give chase! Despite how slow the two had seemed before, they were now right on her heels.

Fortunately for Robin, Treecko still proved to be faster, and managed to catch up to the group in seconds. With a hearty cry, the Grass type delivered a powerful Pound attack to Numel, causing the Fire type to fall to the ground, and allowed Robin to gain a good distance from the numb Pokemon!

It seemed Graveler was still determined to catch Robin, though Treecko knew it wouldn't take much to stop the Rock type. Gathering Grass type Energy between his palms, Treecko managed to create a large Ball of it, before firing it towards Graveler. Upon making contact with the rock Pokemon, Graveler let out a sharp cry, before falling to the ground.

With both Pokemon far behind, Robin began to grow smaller and smaller, until she was entirely out of view.

Satisfied with his job, Treecko glanced behind him, to where his trainer had been. It seemed that the grunts from before were approaching, with Lukas and Cayenne right behind...
----
Reaching a rather high quality wall, Robin stopped against it, taking the time to look behind her. It seemed their plan had worked....somehow. But with all that running, Robin was feeling quite exhausted. She didn't have time to rest though, the young trainer realized. It was only a matter of time until someone else found her, if not the original grunts themselves.

Peaking out from behind the wall, Robin noticed the building Lukas had pointed out earlier, off in the distance. Was what Team Catalyst was after inside there? Or had the letter been lying entirely? Robin wasn't quite sure. But why was she doubting it? Even Lukas, who seemed to have no trust for the note, had allowed her to go deeper into the ruins. That must mean...that he believed it, right?

Regardless, Robin figured the building was worth checking out. Even if the letter had been lying, she figured that Team Catalyst had to be up to something. They always were.

Having recovered a bit more of her energy, Robin was about to make a break for the nearby building, but stopped at the sounds of voices, coming from the other side of the wall.

"Be on your guard, we've gotten reports of the CPA entering here." A Pokemon's voice explained.

"Apparently the guards were completely useless. I'll be sure to report them after." The voice added, a moment later.

Taking another peak from behind the wall, Robin spotted the owner of the voice. It was a group of four Pokemon, patrols, she figured. The group consisted of a Reuniclus, along with a Mawile, Gardevoir, and Whimsicott.

With only three Pokemon on hand, Robin knew she'd be at a disadvantage if she took the group head on. Besides, fighting all those Pokemon was sure to be a time sink, something she couldn't afford. Glancing around, the wall seemed to stretch around either side of the area, and it was much too high to climb. To make things worse, there wasn't a single tree between Robin and the strange building ahead.

She needed to create a distraction, Robin realized. Something to take the groups attention away from the building for a while.

With this in mind, Robin reached into her bag, before grabbing a regular Pokeball, and a gold-plated one. With both Pokeball's in hand, the young trainer quietly released each of the Pokemon inside.

"W-where are we?" Hazel questioned looking around in confusion.

"Shh." Robin whispered, putting a finger to her mouth.

"I'll explain later. I need you two to distract those Pokemon for me." The young trainer explained, pointing to the group circling the vicinity.

"Think you can handle it?"

"I'll umm...try my best." Tessa whispered.

"Y-yeah. Leave it us." Hazel added.

With their orders given, Tessa and Hazel emerged from behind the wall, and slowly made their way towards the group of Pokemon.

"Stop right there!" The Reuniclus exclaimed, upon noticing the pair of Electric types.

Instead of following the Psychic type's orders, Hazel decided to make a break for it, running to the left side of the building. Realizing what Hazel was planning, the Cosplay Pikachu also made a break for it, this time to the right side of the building.

"Split up and find them!" The Munna barked.
"They are not to escape, am I clear?" The Psychic type added.

Receiving nods from the rest of the group, the patrol Pokemon split into groups of two, each rushing to check one side of the building.

Once she was sure the group of patrols had left, Robin sprinted towards the strange building as fast as she could. Just what would she find in there, the young trainer had to wonder.
----
"We're here." Jack said as he approached a nearby slop, giving him a look of the Tempus ruins.

"This is what you worried about?" Mudkip questioned, before letting out a loud yawn.

"It's so cool!" Hannah exclaimed, her eyes scanning all the buildings below.

"Yes well, it might cool, but it's also dangerous. Bandits are known to hide out there. Not to mention-" Jack began, before being cut of by a sharp cry from Hannah.

"Bandits! I see them!" The Qwilfish exclaimed, watching as one of the bandits commanded a Numel to attack...something. The trees seemed to block just what the bandits were attacking, but Hannah knew it couldn't be good.

"Over there too." Mudkip added, pointing his fin at a strange building. Wrapped around it was a large wall, with a girl hiding right behind it.

"Maybe we ought to wait." Jack replied.

"We can't! People are in danger!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Hannah, we can't save everyone we come across." Mudkip said, letting out a sigh.

"Of course we can! We have to!" The Qwilfish exclaimed a she continued to bounce on her tail.

"I'm ok with it. I mean, I'm sure with my luck we'll be fine." Jack said, a look of confidence on the Togedmaru's face.

"That's more like it." Hannah replied with a large smile.

"Fine, guess I'm in too." Mudkip sighed.

"Perfect! Now, Jack, Mudkip, you to should check out those bandits with the Numel. I'll check out that strange building."

"Sounds good." Mudkip replied, looking rather thankful that he didn't have to go alone.

"Alright, let's move out!" Jack exclaimed, before leading the group down the winding dirt path, and towards the ruins.
----
"Treecko, get it together! You too Cayenne!" Lukas hollered.

After Robin had made her escape, the two Catalyst grunts had turned their attention back to the battle with Lukas. And despite his earlier success at keeping the grunts at bay, the young man was now struggling to keep both Pokemon in the fight.
The type advantage seemed to be too great...

"Treecko, use Dig on Numel! Cayenne, go with a Bounce on Graveler!" Lukas barked.

Springing into action, Treecko immediately began to dig into the earth, before becoming completely hidden!

"Numel, dodge it and use Flamethrower!" The first grunt bellowed.

Continuing to dig through the soft earth, it wasn't long before Treecko emerged from underneath Numel! Or rather...where Numel had been. In truth, the numb Pokemon had leaped out of the way, just in time to avoid the Grass type's attack.

With Treecko now left wide open, Numel spewed a current of fire from it's mouth, prompting a sharp cry from the wood gecko Pokemon as the orange flames washed over his body.

On the other side of the battlefield, Cayenne began to charge towards Graveler, before leaping high into the air!

"Graveler, grab the Torchic and Seismic Toss it into Treecko!" The second grunt ordered.

Though Cayenne had heard what was going to happen, he was unable to stop himself as he fell towards the rock Pokemon.

With a smirk on it's face, Graveler snatched the Torchic midair, before swinging the Fire type right into Treecko, prompting a cry from both of them as they tumbled to the ground!

"Not so tough now, are you?" The first Catalyst grunt questioned.

"It's almost too easy! Is this really all the CPA is made of? Pathetic." The second Catalyst grunt scoffed.

"I don't know what you fools are going on about...but this battle isn't over!" Lukas exclaimed.

"Don't kid yourself. Your Pokemon can barely stand!" The second grunt exclaimed. "Why don't you just give up already."

The grunt was right, watching as both Treecko and Cayenne rose to their feet, neither Pokemon looked as if they could withstand even one more strong attack.

"Looks like you could use some help." A familiar voice said, prompting Treecko and Cayenne to turn around.

"Mudkip!" Cayenne exclaimed as he rushed over to his old friend.

"Torchic...didn't expect to see you here." Mudkip replied.

"Oh. I go by Cayenne now, isn't that neat? Like the pepper!" The Fire type exclaimed.

"Yeah..." Mudkip murmured. It had only been a few moments, but Cayenne was already starting to get on his nerves.

"So you two know each other? That's neat." Jack smiled.

"Yeah, we kind of grew up in the same place! Treecko did as well." Cayenne explained.

"Look, I'm not sure what's going on, but we don't have the time to chat right now." Lukas said, addressing the trio. "So if you're going to help, then I suggest you do so!"

"Right, we're with you." Jack nodded, before assuming an attack stance. After letting out a small sigh, Mudkip did the same. Just why did everything come down to fighting?

"What?! No fair! You can't use four Pokemon!" One of the Catalyst grunts exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter." The other Catalyst grunt replied. "No matter how many Pokemon the CPA throws at us, we will succeed!"
----
Upon reaching the strange building, Robin took hold of the door handle and swung the door open, before steeping inside.

Once inside, the young trainer glanced around the entrance way. She had never seen anything quite like it before. It looked like as if she had stepped through time, to more then a few decades past.

As Robin left the comfort of the door, she turned around, before frowning. It seemed the door was locked open, and even after much fiddling with it, the wooden door stayed firmly in place.

"Must be jammed." Robin murmured, before turning her attention down the long hallway. As she had her way further into the building, she couldn't help but wonder just what sort of purpose it once served. If she had to guess...maybe it was a church of some kind? The pristine white walls, along with the regal atmosphere sure made it feel that way.

As Robin made her way into another room, the young trainer paused for a moment. She could hear something, and it wasn't the sounds of the creaking floor underfoot. It sounded like...yelling?

Continuing on her quest, Robin continued to look at her surroundings. Painting after painting...all of which had something to do with nature. It seemed to be the only sort of decoration the place had, minus some glass windows, the only way light entered the building.

Checking each room...it seemed like she had made her way back to the rest of the ruins. While the hallway seemed to be in fine condition, any of the rooms seemed to have fallen to pieces years ago.

Finally, after what felt like ages of walking, Robin finally stumbled upon a staircase, heading deeper into the building. From what she could hear, whoever or whatever was yelling wasn't too far either. Already, she could make out a few words, such as "lock", or some profanity.

Taking a deep breath, the girl slowly made her way down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom Robin had to squint just to see. This floor was much darker then the last, the only source of light being a few candles on either wall.

That was odd, lit candles? Whoever was down here must have lit them, right?

Deciding not to ponder it too much, Robin stumbled down this new hallway. It seemed there was a rather bright light at the end, and she intended to find out just what it was.

Ignoring any of the other rooms, Robin continued to head for the room at the end of the hallway, it's light growing brighter as she grew closer.

Upon reaching the room, Robin was quick to find the source of the racket. In the room was a large door, with some kind of strange imprint on it. In front of the door was a figure, dressed in a black lab coat, with a white toque on. From the size of the person, Robin guessed that they were quite young.

But she knew better then to underestimate them. Based on the stitching on their lab coat, the person was with Team Catalyst. And considering the colour of the outfit....they were probably one of the higher ups....if not an admin.

"Stupid door, open up already!" A girl's voice exclaimed, and the figure proceeded to kick at the door, to no avail.

As the girl had her fit, a Munna continued to float beside her. Though the Munna said nothing, Robin had a hunch that it was speaking to it's trainer via telepathy. Most Psychic types she knew had the ability to do so, anyway.

"Stop right there." Robin finally spoke up, causing the girl to turn around in confusion.

Upon seeing the girl's face, Robin recognized her almost instantly. She had been one of the many grunts she had fought back in the Catalyst Tower.

"I suspected as much. Zack told me that the CPA might show up and try and stop us." Roxie frowned.

"I'm not part of the CPA!" Robin exclaimed. "I just want to know what you're doing."

"And why would I tell you that?" Roxie sneered.

"B-because....I know what happen at Catalyst Tower." Robin replied. "I know...I know that Team Catalyst is aiming to stop Project X, a-and the CPA too. But, the CPA doesn't exist anymore! Zack created that to make us fight! It's him you should be after. N-not anything or anyone else."

"You really think I'm going to believe that? Zack already told me everything. So while I don't know how you know about all that stuff, I can tell you I'm not going to be fooled." Roxie said.

It was at that moment that Robin realized it was pointless. Zack already gotten to the Team Catalyst member standing in front of her. It was more proof of her failures at the Catalyst tower. Because she wasn't able to stop Zack...now he was able to manipulate even more innocent people.

"T-then I have no choice but to stop you. I don't know what Zack's put you up too....b-but I can not allow it." Robin stammered.

"Fine with me. Yume, let's show these trespassers what a Catalyst Admin is made of!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Right." The Munna said with a nod, before floating in front of his trainer.

"My apologies. I did not intend to bring more innocents into this mess." The Munna's voice rang in Robin's head, and her head alone.

Gritting her teeth, Robin began to rummage through her bag, before pulling out her last Pokeball. If the girl really was an Admin for Team Catalyst, then this wasn't going to be easy, especially with only one Pokemon.
Her only regret was sending Hazel as the distraction...

"Ok Voltaire, you're up!" The young trainer called as she tossed the ball into the air. From the Pokeball emerged the Emolga, who gently floated down to the ground, before turning to his trainer, ready for orders.

"This might be tough, but I know we can do it Voltaire. Start with Aerial Ace, then Metronome!" Robin ordered.

"Yume, use Defense Curl, then go for Psywave!" Roxie barked.

Starting the battle off, Voltaire leaped into the air, before gliding towards Yume as quickly as he could. As the Emolga approached the Munna, he continued to gain more and more speed, until he was practically a blur!

But Yume wasn't just going to float idly by! Preparing for the oncoming attack, the Psychic type curled up into a ball the best he could! With this formation, the Munna's defense was raised!

Unfazed by the Munna's actions, Voltaire flew right past the dream eater Pokemon, before changing directions at the last moment, causing him to crash into Yume and send the Munna flying back slightly.

Now it was Yume's chance to strike! Concentrating on his opponent, Yume fired seven blue rings towards Voltaire, which pulsed with psychic energy.

Still recovering from his last attack, Voltaire wasn't quite able to dodge the Psychic type attack, and let out a pained cry as five of the energy rings crashed into him!

Taking the opportunity to attack once again, Voltaire began to wiggle on of his fingers back and forth, in order to summon a move at random!

With the knowledge of this new move in his mind, Voltaire began to coat his hand in a Metallic energy, before rushing towards his opponent.

Upon reaching the Munna, Voltaire began to Claw at him, causing the Psychic type to cry out. The Emolga's attack seemed to have left quite a mark on Yume!

"Yume, go with Psywave twice!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Voltaire, start with Quick Attack, then Thunder Shock!" Robin called out to the Emolga.

Voltaire was once again the first to act! Leaping into the air, the Emolga began to glide towards Yume, though much faster then he had before!

This time, Yume wasn't given the opportunity to even react as Voltaire sped towards him, before striking the Munna with a light blow.

In retaliation, Yume fired off several more rings of psychic energy, which swiftly floated towards Voltaire!

Unlike last time, Voltaire was much more prepared for the oncoming attack, and managed to hop out of harms way, causing the blue rings to uselessly crash into the nearby wall.

With Yume now a sitting Ducklett, Voltaire took the chance to unleash his second attack, a small wave of electricity! As the tendrils of electricity zapped Yume, the Munna couldn't help but let out another pained cry.
While the Munna wasn't against fighting, his inexperience to the art was starting to show. He was much more suited to medical care then he ever was battles.

Despite his difficulty with the match, Yume wasn't about to give up! After gathering up more energy, the Munna unleashed several more psychic rings towards his opponent.

Fortunately for Yume, Voltaire wasn't quite as ready as he had been before, and was sent tumbling back as six of the energy rings crashed into him.

"Hang in there Voltaire! Let's use Iron Tail this time. Then another Metronome!" Robin ordered.

"Defense Curl then Psywave Yume!" Roxie shouted.

Starting the round off, Voltaire began to coat his tail in a metallic energy, before rushing towards Yume! Upon reaching the Munna, Voltaire jumped into the air, before swinging his tail down on top of Yume!

While the attack proved to be quite effective, it seemed Yume had managed to curl himself up just in time, causing the Emolga's attack to be weakened by Yume's superior defense!

Taking the chance to attack, the dream eater Pokemon sent seven more rings of energy out at Voltaire! And while the Emolga tried his best to dodge the attack, his efforts proved mostly futile as four of the rings crashed into him!

But Voltaire wasn't about to let that discourage him! With one of his fingers glowing white, Voltaire began to wiggle it back fourth, taking a gamble on just what move he would summon next!

With his new move decided, Voltaire began to gather up the remainder of his energy, all for his next attack! As the Emolga continued to do this, he began to glow black, and soon too, did Yume!

After several seconds, Voltaire let out a pained cry, before toppling over in defeat!

"Voltaire!" Robin cried out, before rushing to the Emolga's side.

Yume watched on. Though he didn't feel any physical effects from the attack, the Munna felt what little will he had to fight slip away, a Memento from Voltaire's sacrifice.

"Pathetic. Is that really all you're made of?" Roxie scoffed.

Robin didn't quite know how to respond. It was pathetic. If she hadn't relied on such silly gimmicks...

As Robin began to contemplate her next choice of action, a rogue Signal Beam flew past, striking Yume and causing the Munna to let out a pained shriek as he fell to the ground in defeat!

Rather shocked at this turn of events, Robin turned to see an energetic Qwilfish bounding her way.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help!" Hannah exclaimed, though the Qwilfish had no idea that she was understood by the trainer in front of her.

"Hannah. Good to see." Robin smiled, forgetting that the Water type wouldn't recognize her for a brief moment.

"You know my name, what a coincidence!" The Qwilfish exclaimed as she bounced over to Robin's side, before hopping directly in front of the young trainer.

"Outside interference huh? No matter. I've still got more Pokemon up my sleeve." Roxie said as she withdrew Yume to his Pokeball. Once the Munna had returned to his ball, the Catalyst Admin snatched a Dive Ball from her belt, before tossing it into the air.

From the ball materialized a Poliwag, one that was all too familiar to Hannah and Robin.

"Blues?!" The two exclaimed almost simultaneously.

"Hello Hannah, fancy meeting you here." Blues replied, a frown on his face.

"Blues, what are you doing here? With the enemy?" Hannah questioned.

"The enemy? That's kind of harsh. You may be against her, but Roxie is no enemy of mine." Blues explained.

"Blues...what's that supposed to mean? Look we don't have time for this! Just come with me and stop harassing this girl!" Hannah exclaimed.

"I've already met a bunch of friends...and we're going to find our trainer together! So there's no need to stick with Team Catalyst."

"You're still going on about that? Still trying to find your trainer? When are you going to learn that he was only holding us back?" The Poliwag questioned.

"It's only thanks to Roxie here that I got where I am today. If I was still with Jake? I'd still be the pathetically weak Poliwag I once was."

"Blues..." Robin murmured as she watch the two Water types talk. It hurt to see how the Poliwag truly felt....but at the same time, she had no choice but to remain on the sidelines. Neither of them knew who she was, after all.

Roxie was also watching as the pair continued to argue. Though she didn't know what they were saying, she figured it was something important.
Blues wasn't usually much of a talker, at least from what she had seen, so Roxie figured it was worth it to wait and see what happened.

"Blues, you can't be serious! Are you really going to turn your back on our trainer? On our teammates? On me?" Hannah asked, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"If that's what it comes down to, so be it. My loyalty stands with Roxie...and Team Catalyst as a whole." The Poliwag said firmly.

"Was our time together worth nothing to you then? Answer me!" Hannah exclaimed.

"No. My time with you and Opal...were some of the best times I had in recent memory." Blues replied. "But it's time to move on Hannah. We're no longer fighting for the same goal...it's time to accept that."

"B-but-" Hannah stammered.

"No buts. Whether you intend to fight me or not, I will strike you down." Blues said, before turning to Roxie and giving her a nod.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Blues use Body Slam, then Psychic!" Roxie barked.

"W-we can do this Hannah. Let's start with Acid Spray, then Shock Wave!" Robin exclaimed.

Starting things, Blues began to charge towards Hannah, before throwing his entire weight at the Qwilfish, prompting a sharp cry from her as she was sent tumbling back!

Now it was Hannah's turn to act! After collecting poisonous energy in her mouth, the Qwilfish spewed a wave of green acid out at Blues! As the poisonous attack made contact with his skin, the Poliwag couldn't help but yelp in pain! Though the attack didn't leave him with a burn, it sure felt like it had! Not only that, but the corrosive nature of the attack seemed to have weakened Blues special defense, something the Water type definitely didn't enjoy.

After recomposing himself the best he could, Blues began to prepare his second attack! After gathering a large amount of Psychic energy, Blues released it all in the form of a wave, which quickly flew over towards Hannah.

Watching as the wave continued to grow closer and closer, Hannah began to prepare herself, before leaping right over the energy wave, causing it to dissipate in the air.

With Blues now wide open to attack, Hannah began to gather electrical energy creating a blue orb of it in front of her. From the orb, a wave of electricity shot out towards Blues, before striking him with a powerful shock!

"Let's keep it up Hannah! Use Acid Spray, then Acid Spray again!" Robin called to the Qwilfish.

"Blues, Double Slap, then Scald!" Roxie exclaimed.

Blues was once again the first to act! With a look of determination, the tadpole Pokemon sprinted towards Hannah, as fast as his legs could carry him! After reaching the Qwilfish, Blues spun around, before repeatedly slapping Hannah with his tail, reaching a total of four hits.

Angered by the assault, Hannah began to collect more toxic energy in her mouth, before spraying a wave of acid out at Blues, prompting another cry from the Poliwag as his special defense was lowered further.

For his second attack, Blues started to gather water energy in his mouth, before releasing a stream of boiling hot water at Hannah!

Unable to react in time, the Qwilfish let out a sharp cry as the hot water scalded her body. Despite this, Hannah was rather lucky, for the attack hadn't so much as left a single burn!

Following the orders for her next attack, Hannah collected even more poisonous energy in her mouth, before spewing the green acid out at her opponent!

No matter how many times the tadpole Pokemon was struck by the corrosive acid, nothing quite prepared him for the agonizing pain that swept over his body, one that caused him to let out another cry.

"Come on Blues! Hurry it up already!" Roxie barked. "Use Psychic then Ice Ball!"

"Hannah, dodge it and use Shock Wave! Then Shock Wave again!" Robin ordered.

With the third round underway, Blues was still determined as ever to win!
After collecting more psychic energy in his body, the Poliwag sent another wave flying towards Hannah!

Despite how prepared the Qwilfish was to dodge the attack, it seemed the wave was too fast this time! With a shout, Hannah was sent tumbling backwards, but managed to quickly get back up on her tail.

In retaliation for the earlier assault, Hannah summoned another blue orb in front of herself, using more of her electrical energy. From the orb, a wave of electricity shot out towards Blues! After chasing the Poliwag, the wave of electricity managed to strike the tadpole Pokemon, delivering a powerful shock, enough to knock Blues off his feet!

"Blues, please stop!" Hannah exclaimed. "You're in no condition to fight! You're barely standing!"

Blues frowned at Hannah's words. The Qwilfish was right. Thanks to his lowered defense, the shock wave had been enough to push his health to dangerously low levels.

"I already told you, I'm not giving up! I will stop you. I have to!" Blues bellowed.

To show Hannah how much his words meant, Blues began to collect frosty cold energy in front of himself, forming an ice ball with it.

With a loud cry, the Poliwag fired the ball of ice towards Hannah, causing the Qwilfish to fly back upon impact!

Unlike Blues though, Hannah had much more health to spare, and quickly got back up to face the tadpole Pokemon.

The Qwilfish then summoned another blue orb, using the last of her electrical energy. After a moment, a wave of electricity shot out of the orb, and quickly homed in on it's target.
Upon reaching the Poliwag, the wave of electricity delivered a massive shock...one that would surely fall the Poliwag.

But much to Blues surprise...he didn't fall over at all! He didn't know where it was coming from, but the Water type felt a rush of energy instead.

On one side of the battlefield, Robin and Hannah watched with a look of horror, as well as surprise.

Roxie, on the other hand, seemed rather pleased at Blues, who was now surrounded in a bright white light.

Blues was evolving!

As the white veil continued to glow around him, Blues started to grow taller, and his tail smaller, until it disappeared entirely! One of the most notable changes though, was the fact that Blues had grown arms!
Finally, once the light faded, Blues was no longer a Poliwag, but a !

"Now that's more like it!" Roxie exclaimed as she looked at her new Poliwhirl.

Blues nodded at his trainer's statement, before turning to face Hannah with brand new vigor.

"W-we can still beat them Hannah!" Robin called to the Qwilfish.
"Start with Sludge Wave, then Hidden Power!"

"Blues, Ice Ball again, and then use Body Slam!" Roxie barked.

Eager to test out his newfound power, Blues started to collect freezing cold energy between his hands, forming a ice ball, even larger then the one before!

With a proud cry, the tadpole Pokemon threw the compacted ice ball towards Hannah, causing her to be sent tumbling backwards upon impact!

Despite her friend's recent evolution, Hannah refused to give up! Even with her electrical energy pool gone, the Qwilfish knew many more powerful special moves, and she was happy to prove it. From her mouth, Hannah spewed a large wave of sludge, which prompted a sharp cry from Blues as the poisonous attack washed over him. It seemed even after evolution, the effects of Hannah's Acid Spray's had stuck!

Now on much stricter time limit, Blues didn't want to waste a moment, and so rushed his opponent as fast as his legs could carry him!

As the Poliwhirl drew close to Hannah, he threw all his body weight at her, slamming the poor Qwilfish into the hard ground!

Angered by the assault, Hannah began to drew fourth a special energy, one hidden deep within her. After a few moments, three blue orbs began to circle the Water type, orbs that seemed as light as the wind itself!

Once the orbs had circled Hannah for a moment, they soon flew out towards Blues, causing the Poliwhirl to shriek as each orb struck him.

Even with his newfound power, it wouldn't be long before Blues fainted. He had to do something, and quick!

"You better not lose this for us Blues! Go with Bubble Beam, then Body Slam!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Hannah, use Sludge Bomb, then Signal Beam!" Robin ordered.

Starting the round off was Blues, who let out a proud cry as he fired a beam of bubbles from his hands, and out towards Hannah! As each bubble made contact with the Qwilfish, they popped, sending wave after wave of pain through out Hannah's body.

Now it was Hannah's turn to attack, and the Qwilfish didn't plan on wasting it! After gathering up some toxic energy in her mouth, the balloon Pokemon spewed a barrage of harden sludge, strong enough to knock Blues over as the sludge made contact with the Poliwhirl.

While he had very little energy left, Blues managed to get up and face Hannah once more. Determined to win, Blues charged towards Hannah as fast as he could! Everything had to go into this next attack, Blues knew. He couldn't disappoint Roxie...he couldn't let Hannah prevail!

Watching as the Poliwhirl drew closer, Hannah began to prepare her next attack! After collecting some bug energy in her mouth, the Qwilfish used the energy to fire out off a rainbow beam!

Unfortunately for Blues, he was going much to fast, and was unable to move out of the way in time, and was forced to take the Signal Beam head on!

This proved to be too much for the Poliwhirl, who let out a final cry, before toppling over in defeat!

"Blues!" Roxie exclaimed, hoping that the Poliwhirl would get up. After a few seconds, the tadpole Pokemon still hadn't responded, and so Roxie grabbed the dive ball off her belt, before withdrawing the Water type.

"Now that that's over....I suggest you and the rest of Team Catalyst leave." Robin said, slowly approaching the Catalyst Admin.

"What? Is that supposed to be some kind of threat? Don't make me laugh." Roxie scoffed.

"It's not a threat, just a suggestion." Robin replied.
"I just don't think you'd appreciate a Sludge Bomb to the face." She added, gesturing to the Qwilfish beside her.

"Then do it. I know you won't." Roxie said, a small smirk on her face.

"Wha-I..I..." Robin stammered. She hadn't expected the young girl to call her on her bluff. The truth was...she still had hope...hope that she could change the Admin's mind...and the rest of the new Team Catalyst. Had the young girl been able to see that?

"Roxie, we need to leave." A voice called out from behind, one that Robin instantly recognized as the Reuniclus from before.

"What? But why?" Roxie questioned. "We haven't even finished our investigation."

"I'm aware. But it seems that most of our units have been wiped by the CPA. Zack has ordered us to retreat." The Psychic type explained.

"Fine, guess we have no choice." Roxie said with a sigh, before turning to Robin.

"You win this time. But don't think this is over. If we meet again....I will defeat you."

With that, Roxie and Reuniclus quickly retreated from the room, leaving just Robin and her Pokemon.

"Wow, I can't believe we did it! We beat a Catalyst Admin!" Hannah exclaimed, a large smile on her face.

"Yeah, we really did." Robin replied. She found it odd how quickly the Qwilfish had moved on from Blues. She wasn't going to mention it though, no use opening up old wounds...

"Wait, you can understand me? I never realized!" Hannah exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Yeah, I can." Robin nodded.

"Wow, that's great. The only other person I know who can do that is my trainer." The Qwilfish smiled. "Speaking of, I'm actually looking for my trainer right now! Do you want to help look? I can give a description if you want."

"Umm...actually Hannah, there's something I need to tell you." Robin began. She always hated this part of meeting her old Pokemon....the explanation. It made her feel exposed...and more then a little awkward.

Luckily for Robin, she didn't have to tell the story at all! For at that moment, Voltaire began to awaken from his slumber. With a yawn, the Emolga began to look around with a mild look of confusion.

"W-what happened? The last I remember is using an attack...and then-" Voltaire began, but was quickly cut off my Hannah.

"Voltaire! I didn't realize you were here." Hannah smiled as she bounced over to the Emolga.

"Hannah? What are you doing here?" Voltaire questioned.

"I'm looking for our trainer. Oh, and I also managed to take out a Catalyst Admin." The Qwilfish smiled. "But, what are you doing here?"

"It's....a long story." Voltaire said with a sigh.

"One that you should probably tell, yes?" Robin suggested.

"What? Why me?!" Voltaire exclaimed.

"Because....I have to investigate this room. Yep." Robin said.

"Flimsiest excuse ever." Voltaire murmured, before turning to Hannah.

"Alright, this might be a bit shocking, no pun intended. So, just bear with me, ok?" Voltaire asked.

After receiving a nod from the Qwilfish, Voltaire hopped right into the story...

With the story now started, Robin tried her best to distract herself. It wasn't just telling the story that made her uncomfortable. Even just listening was enough to make her want to vomit. After a moment, the young trainer turned her attention to the strange door, the same one Roxie had tried to open earlier.

As she approached the door, Robin couldn't help but run her hand along it. The wood was surprising smooth, and cool to the touch. Whoever had made, was obviously quite skilled. What intrigued her most though, was the fact that there was no handle at all! The only thing interrupting the smooth wood, was a stone imprint in the center. It looked as if it fit a hand, and Robin couldn't help but place her hand in it.

Unfortunately, the placing of her hand seemed to do nothing, the door remained firmly shut. Just how did this door work? Robin was baffled.

"And, we're done." Voltaire said, approaching his trainer.

"That was quick." Robin smiled, turning to the pair.

"Yes well, I just covered the basics." The Emolga replied, before gesturing to Hannah.

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before. You look so different now! In a good way." Hannah smiled.

"Uhh....thanks." Robin murmured.

"I guess Jack's luck really did rub off on us!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Jack? Who's that?" Voltaire questioned.

"Oh yeah, you don't know! Jack's one of the Pokemon that was helping me look for...Robin." Hannah explained. After a moment her eyes widened, having just remembered something.

"That's right! They were fighting off some Team Catalyst goons! We've gotta find them!" Hannah exclaimed, a look of worry on her face.

"No need to worry Hannah, we're safe and sound." Jack's voice called from behind, prompting the trio to turn around.

Right in front of them was none other then Jack. Not too far behind the Togedemaru was Hazel, Tessa, and Luka's group.

"Lukas, Cayenne, Tessa, Hazel...I'm so glad to see you're safe." Robin said as the group grew closer.

"Sorry we're late, those Catalyst grunts would just not give up." Lukas replied.
"Luckily for us, these two offered there help. I've gott a admit, it would have taken us a lot longer without them." The young man added, gesturing to Mudkip and Jack.

"Aww, it was nothing." Jack replied, though he Lukas wouldn't be able to understand.

"Hazel, Tessa!" Hannah smiled, bouncing over to her old friends.

While Hannah started to chat with the two Electric types, Jack began to look around, before spotting Voltaire. With a smile, the Togedemaru approached the Emolga, looking rather eager to talk to him.

"Robin, Robin look who I found!" Cayenne exclaimed as he rushed over to his trainer. Trailing behind was Mudkip, not looking all that pleased to be there.

"Huh? This Mudkip?" Robin questioned, looking rather confused. After a moment though, her eyes widen slightly.

"Oh! The Mudkip from the festival. I remember you." Robin smiled.

"Yep, that's him!" Cayenne exclaimed.

"Yeah..." Mudkip murmured.

"Hey, I know! How about you join our team?" Cayenne suggested. "It'll be lots of fun, and we can see each other all the time!"

"Sorry, I'm kind of busy at the moment." Mudkip replied. In truth, he wasn't the least bit sorry. He was glad, even.
The last thing he wanted to do is spend all his time with Cayenne, probably the most annoying Torchic in the world.

"Busy? With what?" The Torchic asked.

"I'm actually supposed to be helping that Qwilfish over there look for her trainer." The Mudkip said, pointing to Hannah with his fin.

"It's a good thing I'm Hannah's trainer then." Robin spoke up.

"What? You are? And wait, you can understand me?!" Mudkip exclaimed.

"I can." Robin nodded. "You can ask Hannah, if you don't believe me."

"No..I believe you." Mudkip replied. "Hannah said her trainer could understand most Pokemon. The odds of finding someone else with that gift is kinda low."

"So you'll join us then?" Cayenne questioned.

"I'm...not sure." Mudkip murmured.

"Maybe we should get Hannah in here first." Robin suggested.

"Right here." Hannah said as she bounced over to Mudkip. The two immediately began talking. With Robin no longer distracted by the mud fish Pokemon, Jack began to walk over, a smile on his face.

"Hey I just wanted to let you know, Hannah told me that you're her trainer. That right?" Jack questioned.

"It is." Robin confirmed, nodding her head slightly.

"Perfect. That Qwilfish hasn't told me much about you...but I can already tell I'm going to like you. I mean, charging in and taking out all these baddies? Awesome!" The Electric type exclaimed.

"I wouldn't describe it as awesome..." Robin murmured.

"Modest too? You really are something. I feel like I'm going to have a lot of fun sticking around with you, so do you mind if I join?" The Togedemaru asked.

"Of course." Robin smiled. "I don't really know much about you either...but if you're a friend of Hannah's, you can't be too bad."

The young trainer then began to dig through her bag, before pulling out an empty Pokeball.

"Welcome to the team...umm..." Robin stopped herself. She had only just realized she hadn't gotten a name for the Togedemaru.

"It's Jack." The Electric type said.

"Well then, welcome to the team, Jack." Robin said, before tapping the roly-poly Pokemon over the head with the Pokeball. In a flash of red light, the Electric type was instantly pulled inside. After shaking once, the capture device made a ping sound, confirimg the capture.

With that over with, Robin tucked Jack's ball back in her bag, before turning to Hannah and Mudkip.

"See? If Jack's coming with us, you should too!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Fine..I guess I have no choice now." Mudkip replied, letting out a small sigh.

"Yay! The Qwilfish exclaimed, before facing her trainer. "We're ready!"

"Glad to hear you're coming with us..umm..." Robin stopped herself again. Much like Jack before, Robin had no clue what Mudkip's name was!

"It's just Mudkip. Nothing fancy." The mud fish Pokemon replied.

"Nothing fancy? But you've gotta have some kind of name. Right?" The young trainer questioned.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Cayenne exclaimed. "How about the name Bell? As in Bell pepper! Then we can both be named after peppers!"

"I'm...not sure.." Mudkip murmured.

"I like it. It sounds kind of sweet." Hannah smiled.

"Alright...I guess I'll take it then." The mud fish Pokemon said.

"I'm happy to hear it. Welcome aboard, Bell." Robin said as she withdrew another Pokeball from her bag.
After tapping the ball on the Water type's head, he was pulled inside by a red light, and once the ball had shook several times, it made a small ping sound, confirming the capture.

"Two captures back to back, impressive." Lukas said, before glancing at the strange door.

"What's behind that?" The young man questioned. "Seems kind of odd."

"I'm not sure." Robin replied as she slowly began to withdraw her Pokemon. They had all worked hard today, the least she could do was give them a nice rest.
But Robin hadn't gotten too far, only having managed to withdraw Tessa and Cayenne, before she stopped herself. She heard...footsteps, ones that suggested someone was coming there way.

"More grunts?" Lukas suggested, his hand on Treecko's Pokeball.

"M-maybe it's ghosts." Hazel said, already shaking at the thought.

It turned out that both Lukas and Hazel were wrong. Approaching from the dark was a strange figure, wearing a large brown cloak, which covered much of their body.
The person's face was also obscured, thanks to the red and white mask they were wearing. Beside the strange individual was a Sceptile, who gave a curious glance at the people in front of them.

"Who are you?" Robin asked. Her heart was racing. Just who was this person? Were they with Team Catalyst? Or were they on her side? And just did they want?

"You may call me the guardian of this shrine." A woman's voice replied.

"This place has a guardian? That's neat." Hannah smiled.

"A guardian? What's here to guard? It's nothing but rubble." Lukas scoffed.

"It is said by the people of Tempus village that this place was once the home of Celebi. It is my job to wait here, in case of it's return." The masked figure replied.

"Alright, another lunatic. Perfect." Lukas said with a sigh.

"I think they're telling the truth." Robin replied.

"What? How can you sound so sure?" Voltaire questioned.

"It's about what I saw at the graveyard yesterday. I thought maybe I was hallucinating before...but I could have sworn I saw Celebi." Robin explained.

"Come again? You claim to have seen the legendary time travel Pokemon? Where?" The masked woman questioned.

"Umm.....it was in Isshin Village." The young trainer answered truthfully.

"Isshin village? Interesting. I'll be sure to look into it." The masked figure said with a nod.

"Great. Excellent. Glad we had this talk. But we've got to be going now." Lukas said, before turning to Robin. "Come on, we don't have time to listen to crazies."

"You can leave. I needed to talk to Robin here alone." The cloaked figure explained.

"I'll catch up." Robin said, giving Lukas a reassuring smile.

"Suit yourself." Lukas sighed, before swiftly exiting the room.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Robin asked, once she was sure Lukas had left the room.

"I wanted to give you a warning to stop sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong." The masked woman said rather harshly.

"What?! A-are you planning to hurt my trainer? Because I-I won't let you!" Hazel exclaimed as he rushed in front of Robin.

Though Voltaire and Hannah said nothing, each began to prepare themselves, just in case a fight broke out.

"Hazel relax. I've got this." The Electric type specialist said, trying her best to reassure the Jolteon.

"What's that supposed to mean? Sticking my nose where it doesn't belong?" Robin questioned.

"I mean Team Catalyst and Project X. They're my prey. Mess with them again, and we're going to have issues." The masked woman explained.

"I-I don't understand...just who are you?" Robin asked.

Instead of replying to the young woman, the cloaked figure simply turned around, before walking off down the hall. Robin though briefly about chasing after her, but quickly discarded the idea.
She couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible would happen, if she so much as tried.

"Well, that was certainly something." Voltaire said, a puzzled look on his face.

"Y-yeah." Hazel murmured. "Maybe we should get out of here while we can."

"Good idea." Robin nodded.

With nothing more needed to be said, Hazel and Voltaire began to walk back through the dark hallway. Hannah began to follow them, but stopped at the sound of her trainer's voice.

"Hannah wait."

"Yes?" The Qwilfish asked, turning herself around.

"I-It's about Blues...can I ask that you keep quiet about him?" Robin asked.

"Sure." Hannah smiled. "But how come?"

"It's just...I'm not sure how well the others are going to take it." Robin explained.

"I get it. They might think that Blues hates them, right?" Hannah asked.

"Ummm...yeah, that could be it." Robin replied. In truth, that was only a small part of her worry.
If Blues could leave her behind, how long until the others realized that they too could leave? They might maybe even be better off for it.

"Oh, well there's no need to worry about that! I know Blues doesn't hate any of us, not even you." Hannah smiled.

"You, did hear what he said, right? How can you be so sure?" Robin questioned.

"Because he was going easy on us, I could tell. It was really obvious!" The Qwilfish exclaimed. With that, the balloon Pokemon began to bounce down the hall, and after a brief moment, Robin began to follow.

The young trainer wasn't sure if she truly believed what Hannah had said. Just from the look of sheer determination in his eyes, Robin found it hard to believe that the Poliwhirl was holding back at all.
On the other hand, the fight with Blues had been a little easy...almost too easy.

But if Blues really had went easy on them, then a whole new question popped into Robin's mind.

Why?
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Old 02-07-2018, 12:27 AM   #31
EpicSquirtle
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Clash at the Lutum Wetlands

It was yet another quiet and peaceful day in the village of Isshin. With little to do, many of the villagers spent their time casually walking about, all while a soft wind washed over them.
But while the slow and sleepy atmosphere might be perfect for some people, there was one trainer in particular who wasn't having any of it.

"I don't know how she does it!" Anna exclaimed as she tossed a book across her room.

"With all due respect Anna...I'm pretty sure miss Robin spends more then a few minutes reading." Benny piped up.

"Sewaddle..." Leif sighed from his trainer's shoulder. If he knew anything about Anna from his time with her, it was that she hated sitting around.

"I don't care how long she spends reading, I can't just lay around doing nothing. We've got to do something today." Anna replied as she got off her bed and began to slip on her backpack.

"What do you suggest we do?" Benny questioned. "Or have you not decided yet?"

"What? Of course I have a plan! It's umm...I umm..." Anna trailed off.

"Right. Well how about we come up with something first?" The Snover suggested. "Probably better then walking around blind."

"Waddle." Leif nodded in agreement.

"Well then....oh I know!" Anna exclaimed, an idea popping into the Grass type specialist's head.

"How about we go see Owen? I'm sure he's working on something cool right now."

"Owen?" Benny questioned, tilting his head in confusion.

"Oh right, you haven't met him yet. Owen's one of my friends here in town. He's often conducting experiments in his parents lab." Anna explained. "He's really smart like that. Always has been."

"Sew, Sewaddle." Leif nodded.

"I suppose it's worth checking out then." Benny replied.

"Better then staying cooped up here." Anna smiled.

With this in mind, Anna and Leif were quick to exit the room, and then the house entirely. Benny was a bit slower then the other two, but tried his best to keep up as they started down the road.
----
Considering how small the village was, it didn't take long for Anna and her Pokemon to arrive at their destination. The white building looked rather small for a laboratory, not much bigger then Anna's house.
Then again, considering the size of the area around it, the lab might just be a perfect fit.

As she reached the door to the lab, Anna gave a couple quick knocks, before stopping to adjust her sun hat.

A moment later the door to the lab swung open, revealing a blonde haired man, sporting a white lab coat, as well as some protective goggles.

"Anna, just who I wanted to see." Owen smiled.

"Hey Owen, can I come in?" The Grass type specialist asked.

"Certainly." Owen said, pulling the door open further, allowing his friend to enter.

Once inside the lab, Anna couldn't help but let her eyes wander around. There was so many devices that she had never seen before! Though it wasn't her first time in the lab, the brown haired girl never ceased to be amazed at something different every time she entered.

"Just make sure not to touch anything." Owen was sure to remind his friend. "You remember what happened last time."

"That was an accident! Besides I already apologized for that." Anna replied.

This exchange was enough to raise several questions for Benny, but the Snover opted to keep them in his head. Instead, the Ice type decided it would be best to ask a question less likely to offend his trainer.

"Owen, you said you wanted to see Anna? What for?" Benny asked.

"A-a talking Snover?! Anna, why didn't you tell me about this?!" Owen exclaimed, completely ignoring Benny's question.

"Huh? I thought I already told you." Anna replied. "Are you sure you didn't forget with all this research on your mind?"

"I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that." The blonde haired man murmured.

"Anyway...what brings you here? I thought you'd be off on some adventure with Robin again."

"No...she's out somewhere. Lukas is gone as well. Neither of them even bothered to tell me." Anna explained.

"Oh ouch, that's got to hurt." Owen said, giving his friend a sympathetic look.

"No, it's ok...I get it. They're both much stronger trainers then I am, they have places to be." The brown haired girl replied.

"Waddle..." Leif murmured. It wasn't often that the Sewaddle heard his trainer talking like this.

"Nonsense, you're plenty strong yourself. Which is why I wanted to see you." Owen said.

"You see I need some special herbs for an upcoming experiment. The only problem is that they only grow here in a place called the Lutum Wetlands."

"Never heard of it." Anna replied.

"I thought not. It's not too far from south from here. The only problem is that it's rather dangerous place to go without a Pokemon." Owen continued to explain.

"So you want me to go there and get some plants for you?" Anna asked.

"Sew..." Leif muttered. He already wasn't liking the sound of this.

"Not exactly. These plants might be hard for the untrained eye to spot, so I'll be coming with you." The blond haired man said.

"Sounds like fun, I'm game." Anna smiled. "It's not like I have anything to do anyway."

"Just the words I wanted to hear." Owen replied. "Now let me just get some supplies, and we'll be off."

Anna simply nodded in response, before turning her attention to Leif.

"Are you going to stay here, or are coming with us?" She asked.

"Sewaddle. Sew Waddle Sew." Leif replied.

"Leif says he supposes he'll go. Though he's not too happy about it." Benny said, translating the Sewaddle's words.

"I figured as much." Anna said, before letting out a small chuckle. While both her Pokemon were usually quick to follow along where ever she went, Leif had always made his distaste of adventures known.

"Alright then, now we just need to wait for Owen."
----
A few hours later, and Anna was already starting to regret her decision of accompanying Owen. While the Grass type specialist had been looking for something to do...this wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

Then again, it was kind of her fault for misunderstanding just what "wetlands" would entail.

Despite these set backs, Anna pushed on, her shoes continuing to squish in the mud.

"How much longer are we going to be looking for these plants anyway?" Benny asked as he continued to push himself through a puddle of murky water. It wasn't like the Snover to be so impatient, but the conditions of the Lutum Wetlands were enough to change this in the Ice type.

"I'm not sure. Until we stumble upon them, I guess." Owen smiled in response.
Out of the group of four, he was probably the only one happy to be there. As such, the young man had taken to leading the rest of them around, stopping occasionally to observe any Pokemon they would find.

"So what does this plant even look like?" Anna questioned. "I'd rather not keep wandering around with mud up to my knees."

"Yes well, that's what you get for wearing a skirt to a place like this." Owen quipped.

"As for your question...it's umm...it's green. Kind of plant-like as well."

"Sewaddle! Sew Sew Sewaddle!" Leif exclaimed.

"Leif says that everything here is green and plant-like, and that your description sucks." Benny said, translating the Bug type's words.

He did have a point, Anna had to admit. Looking around, all she could see was water, mud, and tall grass. It wasn't exactly the most beautiful of places, and finding just one type of plant was going to be more then a little difficult.

"I agree with Leif. Got anything else on this plant?" Anna asked.

"You know I'm not good with descriptions, ok!" The blonde haired man exclaimed in response. "Look, I'll know it when we see it....just trust me on this."

"Sew Sew Waddle." Leif said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Leif is suggesting you bring a picture or something next time." Benny explained.

"I was planning on it, but someone was rushing me to leave." Owen replied, shooting a glare in Anna's direction.

"Well you were the one taking forever. We could have already gotten your herbs if you hadn't wasted so much time." Anna retorted.

"How about we stop blaming each other?" Benny suggested. "We're never going to find these plants if we keep arguing among ourselves."

"You're right. Sorry." Anna was quick to apologize. She had to try and remain optimistic, or at the very least not pessimistic.

While everyone's attention was now turned to their search for Owen's herbs, it wasn't long before they became distracted again. Not by bickering this time, but a distressed cry, coming from up ahead.

"Wha- what was that?!" Owen demanded as he glanced around in confusion.

"It sounded like a Pokemon's cry, from up ahead." Benny replied. While the Snover couldn't see anything with all the tall grass, he was confident in his hearing. The sound had definitely come from in front of them.

Leif let out a loud sigh. He already knew what was about to happen, and he also knew he would have little choice in his involvement.

"Then what are we waiting for? We've got to check it out!" Anna exclaimed, confirming Leif's suspicions.

Without even waiting for an answer, the young woman charged forwards, allowing herself to be soaked in a wave of brown water. She didn't seem to care though, for she had one goal in kind at that moment, and that was pressing forward.

It wasn't long before Anna would find the source of the cry. Lying in the mud was an injured looking Pokemon. Above it was another, who seemed to be attacking it. While Anna recognized the first Pokemon, a Weepinbell, the second was entirely unknown to her.

"Hey! Get out of here! Leave them alone!" Anna hollered as she approached the mysterious Pokemon, trying her best to scare it off.

For her troubles, the Pokemon let out a cry, before swinging it's barbed tail at the young woman, narrowly missing her shoulder.

"Anna, watch out!" Owen called, turning Anna's attention to her side. Approaching from a much less water logged route was the blonde haired man, along with Benny.

"That's a Gligar! One poke with that barb, and you're as good as dead."

"Mind telling me what type it is?" Anna called back to her friend.

"It's a Ground and Flying type. If you're planning to fight it, you'd best use some Ice type moves." Owen said.

"Roger. Benny, can I get your help?"

"Of course." The Snover nodded in response, before rushing in front of his trainer.

"Gligar! Gar!" Gligar exclaimed, looking rather eager to attack.

"Ok Benny, use Razor Leaf, then Powder Snow!" Anna ordered.

After giving his trainer a brief nod, Benny turned to face his opponent. With a cry, the Snover swung one of his branches in front of himself, sending several sharp leaves flying towards Gligar!

But the fly scorpion Pokemon was much too fast for Benny, and was already in the air before the leaves reached it's previous location!

With it's wings glowing a bright white, Gligar proceeded to glide towards Benny, before Attacking the Snover with a strike of it's Wing.

In response, the Ice type let out a pained cry before stumbling backwards, nearly falling into a large puddle in the process.

For his second attack, Benny began to gather icy energy in his mouth, before exhaling a sparkly blue wind, which quickly drifted towards Gligar.

As the freezing wind washed over it, Gligar let out a shriek and began to flail about in a desperate attempt to dispel the feeling of cold clinging to it's body.

Now in a rage, the fly scorpion Pokemon lunged towards Benny, it's tail cloaked in a poisonous energy. Upon reaching the Snover, Gligar Jabbed the Ice type with it's Poisonous barbed tail, prompting another pained from him.

"Let's hang in there Benny. Use Powder Snow, then use it again!" Anna called to the Snover.

This time it was Gligar who made the first move! Wasting little time, the fly scorpion Pokemon began to coat one of it's claws in an energy as dark as the Night. It then leaped into the air, before gliding towards Benny at an astounding speed. Upon reaching the Snover, Gligar let out a loud cry, before Slashing at Benny, causing the Ice type to fall back into a nearby pool of water.

"Benny! Are you ok?" Anna asked, looking rather concerned.

"I'm ok, just a little water." The frost tree Pokemon replied as he stumbled back up onto shore.

Now on dry land, Benny began his next attack. After gathering up some energy for a moment, the Snover exhaled an icy blue wind, which quickly flew towards Gligar.

Once the frosty wind wrapped around the fly scorpion, it couldn't help but shriek and flail around once more! After finally calming down, Gligar shot Benny with a nasty glare, one that revealed just how much it despised the Snover!

Now on the offensive, Gligar began to coat it's Tail in an Iron coat, before swinging it at Benny. Unable to react in time, Benny was sent stumbling backwards once the super effective attack had made impact! Luckily for the Snover, he managed to stay on solid ground this time, allowing him to prepare his second attack much quicker!

Once Benny had gathered up the necessary energy, the Snover exhaled another gust of frosty blue wind, which quickly drifted towards Gligar rather quickly.

This seemed to be the last straw for Gligar, who let out one final cry upon being blasted by the freezing wind. Glancing back at the Weepinbell it had been attacking, Gligar leaped into the air, before flying away. If Anna had to guess, the fly scorpion Pokemon was off to find a new Pokemon terrorize.

"Impressive. You managed to scare that one off rather fast." Owen said as he approached the rest of the group.

"Thanks to your advice. I don't think it would have given up so easily without Benny's Ice type attacks." Anna replied, before drawing her attention to the Weepinbell on the ground.

Approaching the Grass type, it appeared to be unconscious. It seemed Gligar's attacks had also left several cuts all over it's body, though there was no blood.

"Poor thing." Anna murmured. She wasn't quite sure what she could do to help, but in her mind, Anna already knew she couldn't just leave the flycatcher Pokemon behind.

"Anna! Come over here, I think found it!" Owen exclaimed.

"One moment." The young woman called back, before turning to Benny.

"Hey, can you and Leif see what you can do to help Weepinbell here?" Anna asked the Snover.

"Of course, just leave it to us." Benny smiled.

"Sew! Sewaddle Sewaddle." Leif nodded in agreement, before hopping off his trainer's shoulder. This was something he was happy to take part in, for once.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it." Anna said, before walking over to where she had heard her friend.

"Right here, look!" Owen exclaimed, pointing to the plant he was crouching in front of.

The plant in question, looked....just like how Owen had described. If the young man hadn't informed her of what it was, Anna would have mistaken it for any other plant she had seen in her life time.

"Umm...how can you tell?" The Grass type specialist questioned.

"Easy, it's the smell! Here try." Owen said as he broke a leaf off the plant, before handing it to his friend.

Taking a quick sniff, Anna nearly vomited. It was like a mix of dirty socks, and spoiled milk.

"Heh. Maybe I should have warned you first." Owen said, letting out a small chuckle.

"Anyway, did you want me to help pick some? It's said that they grow in clusters, so there should be some more nearby." The blonde haired man continued, already pulling out several bags from his backpack.

"I'm good. I have to....check on that Weepinbell." Anna said, before glancing around.

"Eh, suit yourself." Owen shrugged, before getting right to work.

After a few moments of searching, Anna spotted the Weepinbell, along with Benny and Leif. It seems that they were resting by a nearby log.

Approaching the trio, Anna was rather surprised to find that the area was rather dry, compared to its surroundings. But perhaps more surprising, was the fact that the Weepinbell was now awake and talking.

"Oh Anna, the Weepinbell is awake....as you can see." Benny reported, upon noticing his trainer.

"Yeah, that was fast." Anna nodded, her attention on the flycatcher Pokemon as it continued to talk with Leif.

"Turns out she wasn't in any real danger. Just a few scratches." Benny continued. "A good rest and I think she'll be fine."

"Wow. You really know your stuff." Anna said, sounding rather impressed.

"It was actually Leif who told me. He's no doctor, but apparently he knows a few basic things. He even made her some make-shift bandages." The Snover explained, gesturing to the Weepinbell's arm, which had been wrapped in several layers of silk.

"I see. I'm just glad that Weepinbell's going to be all right." The young woman smiled.

"Uh there is one problem though." Benny said, glancing in the Weepinbell's direction. "Apparently she's suffering from memory loss, doesn't even know who she is."

"What?! That's awful!" Anna exclaimed.

"It's true, you can ask her yourself." Benny replied.

Giving the Snover a nod, Anna began to walk towards the flycatcher Pokemon, before kneeling down in front of it.

"Hello, I'm Anna. I'm Leif and Benny's trainer." The Grass type specialist greeted the Weepibell.

"Bell! Weep Weep Bell!" The Grass type replied. "Weepinbell Bell!"

"She's thanking you for helping her." Benny translated.

"You're welcome." Anna smiled. "I'm just happy you're ok."

"Benny here was telling me you lost your memory...is that true? Do you even know your own name?"

"Bell Bell...Weep Weepinbell..." The Weepinbell murmured, sounding much less cheerful then before.

"She says it's true. She doesn't even know if she's a wild Pokemon or not." The Snover said, translating the Grass type's words.

"Sewaddle..." Leif muttered, giving the Weepinbell a sympathetic look.

"Well in that case....how about you come with us? I'm sure it'll be better then wandering around here by yourself. And hey, maybe we can help restore your memory while we're at it." Anna suggested.

"Bell? Weepinbell! Weepinbell!" The Grass type exclaimed.

"I'll take that as a yes." Anna chuckled. She didn't need Benny to tell her how happy the Weepinbell was.

"But we need a name for you first....how does Amelia sound?"

"Bell Bell Weep." The Grass type nodded in agreement.

"She says that she likes it." Benny translated.

"Alright then, welcome to the team Amelia." Anna said, before taking a regular Pokeball from her bag and tapping the flycatcher Pokemon with it.

Only for nothing to happen. Mildly confused, Anna tapped Amelia with the Pokeball again, only for the same thing to happen. Nothing.

"Maybe the ball is broken." Anna murmured, before taking a different Pokeball from her bag, and tapping the Weepinbell with it. Still nothing.

Maybe I'm not hitting it hard enough? Anna questioned. The young woman proceed to smack Amelia with the ball much harder then last time.

"Bell!" Amelia cried out in pain, a red mark appearing on her head.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Anna exclaimed.

"Weep Weep." The Grass type murmured in response.

"She accepts your apology." Benny said, translating Amelia's words.

"Sewaddle. Sew Sew Waddle?" Leif suggested, tilting his head.

"Leif is suggesting that Amelia might already has a trainer." Benny said. "I think that's probably it as well."

"Already has a trainer..." Anna murmured, her gaze fixed on the Weepinbell in front of her.

"Maybe she should come along anyway?" Benny suggested. "At least until we find her trainer. I doubt Amelia will be able to find them by herself."

"Good idea! We can probably ask Robin for her help. She knows everything." Anna smiled.

"Bell?" Amelia questioned, looking rather confused.

"Oh right. Robin's a friend of mine. She's super experienced, probably the best trainer in the region." The young woman explained to the Weepinbell.

"Sewaddle..." Leif murmured. It always seemed that his trainer was giving her friend way more credit then she deserved.

"Seems we've got that all sorted out." Benny smiled. "Now...where is Owen? We probably don't want to lose him."

"Right here." Owen's voice came from behind the group, causing everyone to turn around.

"Did you mange to gather your herbs?" Anna asked.

"Did I! You wouldn't believe it, there was so many of them! I didn't even bring enough bags to carry them all." Owen said, practically beaming.

"Sewaddle? Sew Sew Sew?" Leif questioned, the Bug type already back up onto his trainer's right shoulder.

"Leif wants to know if we can go home now." Benny translated. "I'd be glad if we could as well, if I'm being honest."

"Of course we can. With all these samples, I should be set for months!" The young man exclaimed.

"Good to hear." Anna replied. "Now let's get going, to Isshin Village!"

"Sorry chums, I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere!" A strange voice called out.

From the tall grass emerged a young man, looking to be in his earlier twenties. He was sporting short black hair, with a long black jacket and black dress pants, which were mostly brown due to being caked with mud. In his right hand was some sort of...Pokemon? Or was it a sword? Anna wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry, who are?" Owen questioned, looking rather confused.

"My name? I am Xander, one of the greatest swordsmen in all of Fizzytopia!" The man exclaimed.

"Xander? With all due respect, are you alright? In the head, I mean." Benny said.

"All right in the head?! Just who do you think you are?!" Xander demanded. "My mental state is perfectly fine, thank you very much."

"Ok...Xander. Just how long were you hiding in there anyway?" Anna asked. She didn't know if she should laugh at the man...or feel very concerned for him.

"Oh umm...only a minute or two. I had to make a dramatic entrance, that takes time!" The man exclaimed.

"Sewaddle Sew Sewaddle...." Leif murmured.

"Leif here wants to know why you're here. I think we all do." Benny said, giving the man a rather confused look.

"That's simple! I'm here for the girl!" Xander exclaimed, pointing his sword at Anna.

"Me?! What for?" The young woman questioned.

"Simple. My lady has ordered that I bring you to her, no matter the cost." Xander explained. "So, how about you save your friends here some time and come along now."

"Your lady? You're not really making any sense." Owen said.

"Besides I'm not going with a creep like you anyway." Anna added. "So how about you go home now?"

"Very well....then you leave me no choice. If you won't follow me with your own free will, then I'll take you by force!" Xander exclaimed.
To prove his point, the man began to swing his sword around several times, trying his best to look intimidating, though he failed miserably.

"Uh Anna....I'd actually watch out." Owen said, suddenly looking rather concerned. "That blade he has...it's actually a Honedge, the sword Pokemon."

"Really?" Anna questioned, taking her Pokedex out of her bag and scanning it.

"Honedge, the sword Pokemon. A Steel and Ghost type." The device droned.

"This Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force."

"A Steel type? I don't think Benny or Leif has any moves good against those.." Anna murmured.

"Aww, that's too bad. If only there was a way out of that." The man snickered.

"I won't surrender to the likes of you. Benny, let's go!" Anna exclaimed.

"On it." The Snover nodded, before steeping in front of his trainer.

"Leif, I need your help to." Anna added.

"Sew." The Sewaddle replied, before hopping onto the ground.

The Grass type specialist then glanced in Amelia's direction. The Weepinbell seemed much too tired to fight in her current condition.

"Ok then, Benny use Razor Leaf and Powder Snow! Leif, Tackle then String Shot!" Anna exclaimed.

In response to Anna's orders, Xander simply stood around, waiting. He gave no orders to his Honedge, nor did he even let the sword Pokemon out of his grip. Just...waiting.

It seemed like Benny was being given the opportunity to attack first! Determined not to waste this chance, the Snover quickly swung one of his branches in front of him.
From the branch several razor-sharp leaves flew out towards Xander.

As the super sharp leaves grew closer, the man smirked, before swing his blade forward. Upon impact with the sword, each and every leaf was cut in two, now uselessly drifting to the ground.

"He....cut through Benny's attack?" Anna murmured.

"I'm impressed, that takes some good reflexes." Owen said.

Next, it was Leif's turn to attack! The Sewaddle began to crawl through the mud as fast as he could, his body glowing white with energy. Upon reaching Xander, Leif let out a cry, before throwing his entire body at the pair.

In response, Xander simply held his Honedge in front of himself, blocking the Normal type attack entirely.

"Honedge is a Ghost type, so Normal type attacks won't do anything to it." Owen scolded his friend.

"I know I know. I forgot, ok?!" Anna exclaimed.

With Leif now being a sitting Ducklett, Xander swung his sword at the Sewaddle, deliver a powerful Slash to the Grass type's body.

But the man wasn't done yet! Now focusing on Benny, he began to Charge towards the Snover, his blade covered in wispy blue Flames.

Xander was much too fast for Benny, the Snover could barely blink before the man was upon him. With a cry, Xander slammed his Honedge into the Ice type, prompting a shriek from Benny as he was sent tumbling back.

"I've never someone fight like this before!" Owen exclaimed, his eyes filled with a look of amazement.

"He's putting himself in danger, in order to make his attacks completely unpredictable! It's pretty risky...but totally genius!"

"Can we save that stuff for later? I need help here!" Anna shouted.

"Right right. Hold on." Owen said, glancing at the battle just in time to see Xander cut right through Leif's String Shot. String Shot, that was it!

"I've got an idea. How about bind the guys legs with String Shot? That'll force him to let only his Honedge do the fighting."

"Sounds like a plan." Anna replied, before turning to Leif and Benny.

"Ok Benny, I need you to distract Xander with two more Razor Leaf attacks. Leif, while he's distracted, use String Shot on his legs." The young woman ordered.

"You know I can hear you right? You really think a dinky old strategy like that's going to stop me?" Xander questioned.

"I uh...umm.." Anna murmured in response, clearly caught of guard by the man's comment.

Much like last round, Xander simply waited for one of Anna's Pokemon to attack. It seemed he liked to play rather defensively...

Taking the chance to attack, Benny swung his right branch in the air, summoning several sharp leaves in the air. After a moment, the leaves shot out towards Xander at a blinding speed, eager to reach their target.

Giving Anna another smile, Xander leaped into the air, dodging every single leaf as they continued to fly past.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Owen gushed. "How does he do it?!"

Landing back onto the ground, the black haired man didn't waste a second in sprinting towards Benny. With his Honedge's blade coated in a draconic energy, Xander swung at the Snover, causing the frost tree to cry out in pain as the sharp metal clawed at his flesh!

With Xander wide open to attack, Leif seized his chance by spewing a thread of silk at the man's legs! One step, and the man would surely come toppling down!

But Xander was already prepared for such an outcome. Glancing at the sticky silk for a moment, the man simply slashed at it with his sword, cutting through it like tissue paper!

"Sewaddle?!" Leif exclaimed, completely caught off guard by how easily his opponent had escaped.

Now wide open to attack, Xander simply Slashed at the Bug type before him, sending Leif tumbling back with a shriek.

"Umm....Benny how about Powder Snow this time. Leif, keep using String Shot! Anna exclaimed.

Once again Benny was the first to act! After collecting enough energy, the Snover exhaled an icy blue wind, which quickly flew over towards Xander.

With no way to counter the move, Xander simply sprinted through the wind, trying his best to ignore the stinging sensation as the cold air nipped at his skin.

Once he was upon the Snover, the black haired man delivered another Slash to Benny, causing him to stumble backwards.

With a look of determination, Leif fired yet another string of sticky silk out at his opponent. This time had to work, right?

But if Leif had thought his previous attempt of the move had been disastrous, he hadn't seen anything yet.

His reflexes as fast as lightning, Xander hopped to the side, narrowly avoiding the string of sticky silk as it flew past.

But instead of stopping, the string shot continued it's journey forward, before wrapping itself around Benny, completely immobilizing the Snover.

Watching this, Xander couldn't help but grin, before taking a couple steps backwards, his blade already starting to glow with energy for his next attack.

"I'd suggest you give up now, because I'm just warming up!" The black haired man exclaimed, before thrusting his Honedge forward.

From the tip of the sword Pokemon, a Blast of blue Fire emerged, quickly racing to meet anyone foolish to enter it's path!

Completely stuck, Benny could only watch as the flames grew closer and closer, before engulfing him entirely!

"Benny!" Anna cried out in worry for the Snover's safety.

Once the flames had flickered out, all could see the Ice type lying flat on the ground, with no signs of getting up.

"Benny, return!" Anna called as she returned the Snover to his ball, before tucking it neatly back into her bag.

"I've never heard of a Honedge using Fire Blast before...let alone one as fast as that. Simply amazing." Owen said as he continued to observe the man and his Honedge.

"What can I say? They don't call me the best back home for nothing." Xander replied, a large smile on his face.

"Best or not, some fancy fire isn't going to stop us!" Anna exclaimed. "Right Leif?"

"Waddle..." The Sewaddle murmured. Unlike his trainer, Leif wasn't feeling all too confident in winning against the swordsman.

"Fancy fire?! I'll have you know that I trained years to perfect that technique!" Xander shouted.

"Years? On one attack? That's some dedication." The Grass type specialist said, looking rather shocked.

"Maybe, but it's not like I had much choice." The black haired man replied.
"Regardless, it seems to be paying off quite well. You have no foot left to stand on!"

"How can you be so sure?" Anna questioned. "Maybe I'm saving my secret weapon for now?"

"Of course you're not, what kind of fool do you take me to be?" Xander asked. "Your only Pokemon can't even harm my blade, it's game over."

The man was right...Leif couldn't harm them, not with his pitiful move set.
Benny had been there only hope. The only choices she had left was to go along with Xander...or attempt to flee.

"Bell! Weepinbell! Bell!" Amelia suddenly exclaimed as she bounced in front of Anna.

"Amelia...you're in no condition to fight. Not after that Gligar attack." Anna said, looking rather solemn.

"Weep Weep! Bell Weepinbell!" Amelia replied, trying her best to shake her head the best she could.

Anna didn't need to have Benny's translation to know what the flycatcher Pokemon was saying. Like it or not, she wanted to fight, and Anna couldn't say she blamed the Weepinbell. It's not like they had much options anyway.

"Very well then, let's try our best then Amelia." Anna smiled, before retrieving her Pokedex from her bag.

"Weepinbell, the flycatcher Pokemon. A Grass and Poison type." The device droned, once Amelia had been scanned.

"The leafy parts act as cutters for slashing foes. It spits a fluid that dissolves everything."

"Whoa! That's...a lot of moves." Anna murmured as she looked at the Pokedex screen. It seemed even after losing her memory, Amelia had managed to retain memory of all her moves. Or had she known even more before hand? Anna wasn't quite sure, but she knew now wasn't the time to ponder it. They had a battle to win!

"Alright Amelia, let's go with Stun Spore, then Power Whip!" Anna ordered.

With Xander playing defensively as ever, it fell to Amelia to make the first move, not that the Weepinbell minded.

After collecting the necessary energy, Amelia exhaled a large cloud of yellow spores, which slowly began to drift towards her opponent.

In response, Xander drew a circle in front of himself, using his sword. Once he had finished, a large green dome was erected, Safeguarding the man and his Honedge from the damaging spores.

Once he was sure the attack was finished, Xander dropped his shield, before starting hisCharge towards Amelia, his blade once again glowing with blue Flames.

Though Amelia tried to dodge the attack, the Weepinbell found herself moving much too slowly to react as Xander swung his sword into her body, causing the Weepinbell to cry out in a mixture of surprise and pain.

Now it was time for Amelia to retaliate, and the Weepinbell was eager not to waste the opportunity!

With the vine on her head glowing purple, the Weepinbell began to extend it towards her opponent as quick as she could. As the vine homed in on Xander, Amelia let out a loud cry, before swinging the vine right at him.

Though Xander managed to dodge the attacks of Benny many times over, Amelia seemed to be a bit too fast for him. Crying out in surprise, the man was sent flying to the ground, though he managed to quickly get back onto his feet.

"Impressive. I didn't expect a Pokemon like that to move so fast." Xander said in between breaths.

"You ok? You seem a little warn out." Anna said, giving the man a confused look.

"Why do you care? I'm here to take you away! I'm your enemy, remember?"

"I'm....not sure." Anna replied. It was the truth, she didn't know just why she cared. Maybe...maybe because she took pity on him?
For some reason, she couldn't help but feel that Xander wasn't all that bad...not really, anyway.

"But if you must know....I might have tuckered myself out a bit before our match here." Xander explained.

"Really?! You mean you're not even fighting at your strongest?!" Owen exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the thought.

"If that's the case...then why don't you call it quits now?" The young woman suggested. "I'm sure you and your Honedge could really use a rest."

"No can do." Xander replied, shaking his head. "My lady has ordered me to take you to her, and so that is what I must do."

"Alright then....Amelia! Start with Sunny Day, then Power Whip!" Anna exclaimed.

Eager to begin, Amelia began to prepare her first attack, only to be completely off guard as Xander began to charge towards her! Unable to react in time, the black haired man was able to score a direct hit on the Weepinbell, prompting a shriek from her as the metal blade of Honedge Clawed at her flesh with a Dragon like energy.

Now determined as ever, Amelia began to collect some red hot enErgy in her mouth, before firing it up into the sky!

While Xander might of looked tired, the man seemed to show no signs of giving up! As quick as ever, the black haired man began to draw another circle in front of himself, summoning several sharp Edged Stones in the process!

With a thrust of Xander's blade, the sharp rocks flew towards their target, prompting another pained cry from Amelia as they dug into her body.

In response, Amelia flung a purple vine forwards, before smashing to into Xander upon reaching the man!

"I've got to say...I never predicted this kind of power from you...not yet anyway..." Xander muttered, his voice barely able to be heard by Anna over the sounds of the wind.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Anna asked, looking rather confused.

"Its nothing. It doesn't matter anyway." Xander replied. "You've already given me what I need to end you here and now." The man added, glancing up at the sky.

While it had been a somewhat cloudy day before, the surrounding area was now covered in a harsh sunlight, which began to beat down on anyone unfortunate enough to be underneath it.

"Keep it up Amelia. Use Growth first, then Weather Ball!" Anna called to the Weepinbell.

Under the intense sunlight, Amelia felt an intense rush of energy, and she felt as light of a feather! This of course, was all thanks to her ability Chlorophyll.

But this wasn't enough for Amelia, the Weepinbell wanted even more! After a moment, her leaves began to glow, and Amelia began to absorb the energy from the strengthened sun, boosting her attack and special attack power by two stages!

As this happened, Xander did nothing, save for flash Anna another grin.

"A shame it has to end like this." The man spoke up, once Amelia's energy gathering had finished. "You see, under this harsh sunlight, all fire attacks have their power increased twofold. Perfect for my Fire Blast!" Xander finished, before thrusting his blade forward, sending a lightning quick star of fire spinning Amelia's way!

But Amelia having any of it! Staring at the wispy blue flames, Amelia used her new found speed to dash to her left, causing the flames to explode upon making impact with the ground.

"How th-ack! Xander exclaimed, before falling to the ground. The man hadn't been defeated, but for some reason, that last attack had taken the wind right out of him!
Now panting on the ground, the man and his Honedge were sitting Ducklett's!

"They've exhausted themselves! Now's your chance!" Owen called to his friend.

"Right." Anna nodded in response. "Go for it Amelia!"

"Weepinbell!" The flycatcher Pokemon exclaimed, before launching a glowing white orb out of her mouth!

As the ball of energy raced towards Xander, it began to change colour, as well as grow in size! It seemed that the attack had absorbed the energy from the sunny day, now taking on the power of fire!

Still much too tired to move, all Xander could do was brace himself as the powerful Fire type attack crashed into him and Honedge, sending them both flying!

But much to evetyone's surprise, Xander managed to rise to his feet once again, though he seemed ready to fall over at a moment's notice.

"I...admit defeat." Xander began, in between heavy breaths. "But...don't think this is over. I will capture you Anna. My lady...no..this future demands it."

With that, Xander turned away from the group, before making his way back through the tall grass, until he was entirely out of sight.

"That...was interesting." Anna murmured, once she was sure the man was gone.

"I know, it was awesome! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!" Owen exclaimed.

"I couldn't even tell who's side you were on half the time, if I was being honest." Anna replied.

"I'm sorry, I'll stop now if you want." The blonde haired man said, looking rather sheepishly at the ground.

"It's ok. But now that that's all over, let's say we head back home?" Anna suggested.

"Sew Sew Sewaddle." Leif nodded in response, the Sewaddle now back on his trainer's shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan." Owen nodded. "Let's head out."

Anna smiled, before glancing at both Leif and Amelia.

"Yeah, let's head out."

With her experience in the Lutum Wetlands now behind her, Anna couldn't help but wonder about the events that had unfolded. Who was Xander working for? Why had they wanted to see her in question?
Just how had Amelia lost her memory? Was the Weepinbell ever going to find her original trainer?

Anna wasn't quite sure she was going to find all the answers, but that was ok. As long as she kept on with her travels...everything would eventually fall into place.

Last edited by EpicSquirtle; 02-07-2018 at 12:34 AM.
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Old 02-07-2018, 05:09 PM   #32
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SS: Amelia's Secret

The quiet and peaceful atmosphere of Isshin village from earlier that morning hadn't changed as the sun began to set, soon to be replaced with the glow of the moon.
It was perfect really, considering just how chaotic of a morning it had been for one trainer...

Sitting at a chair in the living room of her secret base was none other then Robin Eclair. In her hand was a mug of orange juice, which she sipped at periodically.

Her adventure to the Tempus Ruins earlier that day had been enough to leave the Electric type trainer feeling more then a little exhausted. So what better way to unwind then read a book?

But as the girl continued to flip through the pages of her book, she found herself losing focus. It wasn't that she hated the book, on the contrary.
This book was one of her favorites..so why was she having trouble concentrating on it?

Robin already knew the answer to that...she couldn't stop thinking about Blues. Though she hated to admit it, the Poliwhirl's decision had rattled her, at least a little bit.
It wasn't just that though, her mind was also plagued with thoughts about the masked woman she had encountered earlier. Something about her, it seemed so-

"I've had it!" Voltaire exclaimed, stealing Robin's attention away from her thoughts.

Glancing the Emolga's direction, Robin watched as the Emolga kicked several cards across the floor in a fit of rage. His opponent seemed to be rather amused by this, chuckling as his teammate stomped about.

"Calm down Voltaire, I'm sure you'll win next time." Jack said in between laughter. "You've just got some bad luck is all."

Watching the two squabble, Robin couldn't help but let out an audible sigh. She would have thought that Voltaire would have learned not to gamble with the Togedemaru by now.

Turning back to her book, Robin had barely read more then a line before she heard a loud knock at her door.

"Robin, you home?" Anna's voice called out.

At the sound of her friend's voice, Robin smiled, before getting of her chair. If anyone could put her in a good mood, it was Anna.

After approaching the door, Robin quickly swung it open, revealing the brown haired woman behind it.

"It's about time you were home, I've been looking for you all morning you know!" Anna exclaimed.

"Oh..I'm sorry, I had to do something for someone." Robin replied.

Technically not a lie.

"That's ok, I'm just teasing. Mostly." The Grass type trainer said. "I actually got to go on my own adventure because of it."

"Really? Come on in and you can tell me about it." Robin said, gesturing to the table inside.

It wasn't like she had much of a choice. Last time Anna had went out on an adventure, she had sure to tell Robin about it in great detail. The younger girl figured it would be no different this time.

Nodding in response, Anna quickly stepped inside, before making her way to the nearby table and chairs.
Following right behind the older girl were two Pokemon. The first, was Benny, Anna's Snover. The second was a rather energetic Weepinbell.

A very familiar Weepinbell.

It took some restraint for Robin not to say anything as the flycatcher Pokemon bounced past her, before stopping right beside Anna's chair.

"Huh? Oh, you noticed her, huh?" Anna asked, noticing her friend's gaze on the Weepinbell.

"Her name's Amelia. I found her when I was out today. Poor thing is looking for her trainer."

"Oh...I see.." Robin murmured as she approached the table, though she didn't sit down.

"You ok?" The Grass type trainer questioned. "You seem kind of out of it all the sudden.

"I'm ok." Robin replied with a nod. "Just thinking about something."

Amelia? Was the Weepinbell really different from the one she knew? No, that was impossible. It was definitely Sprout, Robin was sure of it. But just why was she using a different name now?

"Did she tell you anything about her trainer?" Robin asked after a moment. "Just curious."

"Sadly no. The only way we even know she has one is because I couldn't capture her." Anna explained. "It's a shame really, I think she'd be a great fit for the team."

"Yeah..." The younger girl murmured, lost in thought once again.

Why hadn't Sprout told Anna anything about her trainer? There had to be a reason, right? It wasn't like the Weepinbell to keep secrets.

"Hey umm Anna, can I talk to Sp-err..Amelia for a moment?" Robin asked. "It's important."

"Of course." Anna smiled in response. "But what for?"

"I'll explain later." Robin replied, before turning to the Weepinbell on the floor.
"Just follow me."

"Of course!" Amelia chirped, bouncing along as the Electric type trainer guided them down the stairs...
----
It only took a few moments, but soon Robin and Amelia had entered the pool room, the smell of chlorine filling the air.

Swimming in the body of water was Hazel and Hannah, the latter with a large smile on her face as she jumped out of the water, before diving right back in!
Robin couldn't help but smile at the sight. When she was having her base built, the girl had been debating if she should have a pool at all, what with the sea being right outside.
But seeing the Qwilfish so happy...it was totally worth it.

"Hey Hannah, can you come here for a minute?" Robin asked. "I think there's someone here you want to see.

"Huh? What is it?" The balloon Pokemon questioned as she hopped up onto land, using her tail to move around like a Spoink.

"Oh, Sprout! I'm so glad you're ok!" Hannah exclaimed upon noticing the Weepinbell, before quickly hopping over to greet her friend.

"Sprout? I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I'm Amelia actually." The Weepinbell replied.

"What? No, your definitely Sprout, I can just tell." Hannah smiled.

"Well....maybe we knew each other from before then? I'm sorry, I have no real memories of anything besides today." Amelia explained.

Upon hearing this revelation, Robin's heart sank. So this was why Sprout hadn't said anything to Anna. It wasn't that she was being secretive, it was that she just didn't remember.

"I don't even remember trainer. Though I think if I can't remember them, they must not have been that great in the first place." The Weepinbell said.

"Oh umm...y-yeah." Robin murmured, trying her best not to show any emotion.

"Y-you can go back to Anna...I-I just need to grab something."

"Ok, thanks!" Amelia chirped, before bouncing out of the room, in search of the older girl.

"Robin....I'm sorry." Hannah said, giving her trainer a sympathetic look.

Robin didn't respond. She was already leaving the pool room, and down the hall. But instead of returning to the stairs, she instead made a right turn, entering another room entirely.

Her room.

Once inside, the girl went straight for her bed, stopping just in front of it. Resting rather lazily on top of the unmade bed was her bag, a few of it's contents spilling out.
Reaching a hand in one of the pockets, Robin began to pull out a few Pokeballs, before eventually stopping with one. A pure white Pokeball....Sprout's.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Flashback (Adoption Center, February 2013)
Pushing through the doors of the Adoption Center, a young trainer entered. They appeared to be in their early teens, with unkempt brown hair, and a black jacket at least one size too big.

"Welcome to the Adoption Center, let me know if you need anything." One of the clerks said, smiling at the teen.

"Thanks." They replied. It had only been a few months since they had last entered, but it seemed the place was much more lively then it had been before.

For one, there was actually a decent selection of Pokemon, the brown haired trainer noted as they looked around. A Ledyba and Shroomish seemed to be talking among themselves, and a Slugma seemed to be resting just nearby.

They had always wondered just how the lava Pokemon stopped itself from burning everything around it. Perhaps they could find out now?

"Hello!" A cheerful voice called, snapping the teen's attention from the Slugma, and to the source of the voice.

Looking down, the young trainer spotted a rather happy Bellsprout. For the flower Pokemon to be so happy...things must have definitely changed from last time.

"Hello." The brown haired trainer waved in response to the Grass type.

"What's your name?" The Bellsprout asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I'm Jake, it's nice to meet you." The young trainer replied.

"Nice to meet you too! Wait, you can understand me?!" The Grass type exclaimed, looking rather shocked.

"I can." Jake nodded. "Don't ask how I can though....it's kind of a mystery to me."

It had only been a month since said ability had surfaced, but Jake had the feeling that they were going to have to explain that a lot. It was one of the few downsides to such a quirk.

"That's so cool! I think this is the first time I've seen a human understand me before!" The flower Pokemon exclaimed. "You've got to adopt me! Please? Please!"

Jake couldn't help but chuckle at how enthusiastic the Grass type was. It was definitely different then any of their other Pokemon...a nice change of pace.

"I like your attitude. I'd be happy to have you along." The brown haired trainer smiled.

"Yay! Thank you!" The Bellsprout exclaimed. "I've already came with a name and everything, how does Sprout sound?"

"Sprout? I mean...if you like it, how can I say no?" Jake asked.

"You can't!" The flower Pokemon chirped.

"Ok, now I just need to pay for you..." Jake murmured, before making there way to the counter. But they quickly stopped themselves, an idea suddenly popping into their head.

"I actually got this at the Pokemart this morning...but if you're coming with me, I think you should have this." The young trainer said, before pulling out an amulet from their bag.

"Here take it." Jake said, offering it to Sprout.

"Oh wow, it's so pretty!" The Bellsprout exclaimed as she examined the necklace. It was a glass Bellsprout, which sparkled in the light cast down from above. Attached to it was a black string, to put around one's neck.

"I don't think it'll fit me though." Sprout said after a moment, pointing to her tiny neck.

"Oh...I guess not." Jake said, before returning the necklace to their bag. "Sorry."

"No it's ok, I still want it. Just keep it safe for now." Sprout explained.

Nodding in response, the young trainer turned their sights back to the counter, only to be stopped as something grabbed their leg.

It was Sprout, the Bellsprout having pulled her soon to be trainer's leg into a hug.

"Thank you. That charm...it's a sure sign of our friendship." Sprout said with a smile. "One that I hope can last a long time!"

"Me too Sprout. Welcome to the team."
After a long silence, Robin finally took her eyes away from the Premier Ball in her hand, taking the opportunity to dry her eyes her sleeve.

She was being selfish. At this point...Sprout was as good as dead. So why was she still holding onto these memories?
The Weepinbell deserved a better trainer...one that could raise her properly...one she would always remember. Amelia didn't deserve to suffer because of Sprout's trainer....the trainer who had failed her.

After glancing at Sprout's Premier Ball one last time, Robin carefully placed it onto the ground in front of her.

I'm sorry Sprout...this is all my fault. I never deserved to be your trainer. You're only in this mess because of me. I've failed you. Just like Blues.

Just like Telpo.


Without hesitation, Robin stomped her foot onto the Premier Ball, shattering it instantly.
----
"I-I'm back." Robin said, upon reentering the living room.

"Glad to see it." Anna smiled as her friend took a seat at the table.

"Anna was actually rather worried. She was wondering what was taking you so long." Benny piped up. "I'd like to know as well, if that's ok."

"It's....it's nothing." Robin replied shaking her head.

"Actually...that's not true. I did find something." She added, before revealing Pokeball in her hand.

"Huh? What's that for?" Anna questioned.

"You said you couldn't capture Amelia earlier. I-I think I figured it out." Robin explained. "This Pokeball should work just fine." The younger girl added, sliding the red and white ball across the table.

"Oh....thank you." Anna smiled, happily accepting the Pokeball.

"I actually have something to ask you though Robin." The older girl added a moment later, her smile fading somewhat.

"Amelia was actually telling me that you took her to see one of your Pokemon. One that apparently recognized her. I was just wondering...do you know Amelia? From before today?"

Robin froze as the words exited Anna's mouth. It was unusual for her friend to be this perceptive. Maybe Benny had helped her reach that conclusion.

After pondering for a couple moments on just what to say, the Electric type trainer finally shook her head.

"No...s-she just reminds me of one of my old Pokemon. H-her name was Sprout, and she was a Weepinbell too." The younger girl explained. "S-She's gone now though. But seeing Amelia...I-I'm still reminded of her."

"Robin...I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to be ok?" Anna questioned, looking genuinely worried for her friend.

"I'm fine...it's ok." Robin replied, wiping her eyes with her shirt sleeves. "Just...take good care of Amelia alright?"

"Of course." Anna nodded, before turning to the Weepinbell. "Are you ready?"

"Born ready!" The flycatcher Pokemon chirped enthusiastically. It was nice to see that some things didn't change.

With a small smile, Anna took the Pokéball in her hand, and tapped it on the Weepinbell's head. In a flash of red light, Amelia was immediately sucked inside the ball.

*Shake* *Shake* *Shake*

*Ping*


OOC:
Spoiler: show
Transferring Amelia the Weepinbell to this Pokéball (#3/5, last was used here.)

Last edited by EpicSquirtle; 02-07-2018 at 06:16 PM.
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Old 02-18-2018, 05:02 PM   #33
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SS: Under the Moonlight

It was a cold, dark night in the Cloud Garden. At a time like this, many trainers and Pokemon had already fallen into a deep slumber, not a worry on their mind as they dreamed of just what awaited them tomorrow.
But for some unfortunate souls, a good night's rest didn't come so easily. Once such trainer had gotten so sick of tossing and turning, that she had decided to take a walk in the pale moonlight.

Clutched in her left hand was an odd badge, a small hole carved into the center of it. In her right...a fortune, one that Roxie had obtained earlier that day.
The blue haired girl didn't have a goal in mind, her concentration fixed on the strange purple badge in her hand as she continued to walk.

"Roxie?" A voice suddenly rang in the girl's head, causing her to glance around.

"Yume? What the hell are you doing here?" Roxie asked, folding her arms as she laid eyes on the Munna in front of her.

"I could ask you the same." Yume replied. "It's nearly midnight."

"That's...that's none of your business." Roxie said, before glancing back at the orange tent behind her.

I didn't even notice he was gone.

"I understand. I was just curious." The Munna explained. "You've been acting weird all day, is all."

"All day? As if." Roxie scoffed.

"No, it's true." Yume chimed. "From the short time I've known you...I've learned that you hate festivals...so just why did you insist on going to the Lunar Festival?"

"Not only that, but you've been acting distant all day. More then usual, I mean." The Munna added.

"Says you!" Roxie exclaimed. "I think this is the most I've heard you speak in a day!"

"Yes well....I have my reasons." Yume replied.

"And I don't?" The blue haired girl questioned.

"I...I'm sorry. You're right, my questions are out of line." Yume responded. "It's just....it's in my nature to help. So...please tell me if anything's wrong."

"You know what? Fine." Roxie sighed. "I don't know exactly why I'm doing this...maybe I just need someone to talk to."

"That's ok." Yume chimed. "I'm here."

"It's...well...it's about my mother." Roxie began.

"She always worked really hard to take care of me...so I didn't get to see her a lot."

"But she always made sure to take the time off to celebrate the Lunar festival. We'd get our fortunes read...watch the fireworks...and even eat all the goods from the vending stalls.
I never really liked the dumplings...but they were her favorite."

"So that's why you insisted on going today." Yume chimed.

"Mhmm." Roxie nodded, her left hand clutching the strange badge she held rather tightly. Her eyes were also starting to water, but the blue haired girl was quick to wipe them away.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I-I'm such a fucking mess."

"No, don't apologize to me. I understand. Really." Yume replied, before floating closer to his trainer.

"I used to do things like that with my trainer too you know. My old one, I mean." The Munna explained.

"His wife died before I joined his family....so it was just me, him, and his two sons. We used to do everything together. From festivals to days at the beach..or even just exploring outside."

"But it wasn't long before they both grew up...and soon it was just the two of us. It wasn't the same after that. Both his children rarely came to visit, and my trainer no longer started to leave the house. It was heart breaking."
The Munna continued.

"Yume....you don't have to tell me this." Roxie murmured.

"But I do." Yume insisted. "Because I want to let you know...that I get it. It's hard sometimes to keep a brave face on...to keep going. And even though you know they're gone...you can't help but miss them.
To wish you could see them...just one last time."

"Yume....I had no idea. Roxie muttered.

"I wouldn't expect you to have known." The Munna replied.

"What happened to your old trainer's children though? Do you know?" Roxie asked.

"Now you're the one prying for answers huh?" Yume questioned.

"Sorry." Roxie apologized, eyeing the ground in shame. "That was out of line."

"It's fine, I don't blame you for your curiosity." Yume chimed.

"His youngest died not long before his father. But his eldest is still alive." The Munna said rather matter-of-factly.

"I see him every so often...but things have definitely changed. We're much more distant then before."

"I..I see..." Roxie mumbled.

"Yeah." Yume nodded, before glancing up at the moon. After a moment, the Munna shifted his gaze, this time to the tent in the distance.

"It's rather late, we should probably get some rest. It wouldn't look good if we were all sleepy when we get back to the headquarters tomorrow."

"Right." Roxie nodded in response.

With that, Yume began to float off towards the tent, leaving his trainer behind in the cold winter night.
What just came over me? Roxie thought.
It wasn't like her to open up to anyone....so why had she said those things to Yume? It was something about the Munna...something that told her that she could trust him.

With a sigh, Roxie gave the fortune in her right hand a quick glance.

The person or thing you are waiting for will arrive within the next day. The young trainer repeated in her head.

Such bogus. Why had she always been so sure of these things as a kid? It was just writing on a piece of paper.

With a huff, the blue haired girl tossed the slip of paper onto the ground, before quickly making her way back to camp.
She wouldn't find who she was looking for tomorrow..no matter how magical that paper was. No matter how hard she wished for it to be true. No matter how hard she cried.

The person she was waiting for was already dead.

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Old 03-15-2018, 11:10 PM   #34
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SS: Roxie and Marisa

Roxie let out a small yawn as she took a seat at an empty table, far away from any sort of company she could find in the room.

The morning had been exhausting, something that Roxie blamed entirely on her lack of sleep earlier that night. But now was her one of her favorite parts of the day...lunch.
No training new Catalyst recruits...no field research...just herself, and the food she had packed. For just once in her life, things were peaceful.

"Excuse me....do you mind if I sit here?" A rather timid voice asked, drawing Roxie's attention away from her sandwich and towards...a rather young looking girl.
Roxie didn't know what was more surprising, the fact that the girl looked to be even younger then her...or that she had the nerve to disturb her quiet time.

"Fine." Roxie sighed. There was no use causing a scene, she supposed.

"Oh...thank goodness. For a second...I thought you were going to be mad at me," The blonde haired Catalyst grunt said as she cautiously took a seat opposite of Roxie.

"Hmm." Roxie murmured in response, trying her best to maintain focus on her sandwich instead.

"Oh! I nearly forgot to introduce myself. I'm Marisa, and this is my Ledyba, Spots." The grunt smiled, gesturing to the Bug type on her shoulder.

Glancing in Marisa's direction, Roxie's eyes widen as she noticed the Ledyba.

"Pokemon aren't supposed to be in the cafeteria you know." The Catalyst admin said, her voice rather firm.

"Really? Oh, I'm sorry...I-I didn't know." Marisa stammered as she tried her best to withdraw the female Ledyba as quick as she could. Once Spots had been returned to her ball though, Marisa's attention was back on the older girl.

"So...what's your name? I've seen you around before...but I've never gotten your name."

"It's Roxie." Roxie replied, already looking rather annoyed with the grunt. Could she not take a hint.

"Roxie...that's a nice name" Marisa smiled. "So umm...what are you eating?"

"Peanut butter and honey." The blue haired girl answered. It seemed that there was no escaping talking to the grunt. If that was the case, then their would be no harm in asking a few questions of her own, Roxie figured.

"Marisa was it? How old are you exactly? I mean...I always thought I was one of the youngest around here, but you look a few years younger then I do."

"Oh...umm....I just turned thirteen recently." Marisa replied.

"We...we hire that young?" Roxie questioned, trying her best to hide just how surprised she was.

"Zack said that I'm an exception. Something about me being really special or whatever." The blonde haired grunt explained.

Special huh? Roxie wasn't seeing it. As far as she was concerned, Marisa looked like just about any other thirteen year old girl. Zack probably hadn't been talking about battle strength either...considering the blonde girl had a Ledyba of all things.

"Oh...neat." Roxie murmured, unsure of what she was supposed to say.

"Yeah. All the training has been super tough...but I'm not going to give up, especially if Zack thinks I can help." Marisa continued. "He even said that I'll be able to go on my first field assignment soon. I'm excited...but also a little nervous."

"Yeah..." Roxie muttered, still unsure of how to contribute to the conversation, one that still wasn't too pleased to be in.

Luckily for the Catalyst admin, it wasn't long before a ringing sound could be heard coming from her bag. The sound of her Pokegear.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Roxie turned her attention to her bag and began to rifle through it until she pulled out the blue Pokegear.

"Hello?" Roxie answered. In her haste to pick up the Pokegear, she had forgotten to see who had been calling!

"Roxie, it's me Zack. Where are you right now?" The sound of Zack's voice questioned.

"Cafeteria. On my break. Can it wait?" Roxie asked.

"Absolutely not. I need you to get to my office right away." Zack explained.

"I'll be right there." Roxie said, before quickly hanging up. Once she was sure Zack was gone, the Catalyst Admin couldn't help but let out a slightly exaggerated sigh.
While her time with Marisa hadn't been particularly enjoyable, it was sure to beat whatever Zack wanted from her.

"Who was that?" Marisa asked. It seemed the grunt had a question for everything.

"It's none of your concern." Roxie replied as she flung her bag onto her back. "Bye."

"Goodbye." Marisa said, making sure to wave to the blue haired girl as she slowly disappeared out of sight.
----
"Zack I'm here, what did you need?" Roxie asked as she swung open the door of his office and stepped inside.

"Roxie! How many times do I have to tell you to knock before entering?!" The man demanded from his spot behind his polished desk.

"You're probably going to have to tell her forever. She isn't exactly know for her intelligence." Reuniclus spoke up from his corner of the room.

"Reuniclus, you're no better! How many times have I told you not to insult our employees?" Zack questioned.

"Sorry." The Psychic type quickly apologized as he shrunk back into his corner.

"Anyways...the reason you're here." Zack continued, his focus now on Roxie. "It's recently come to my attention that there's a rather important location not to far from here. Have you heard of the Cliffs of Saigai?"

"Never." Roxie shook her head in response.

"I see...well. As the name suggests, it's a rather dangerous road, home to many terrifying Pokemon...but also home to some valuable minerals."

"Minerals? I suppose you want me to bring some back?" Roxie questioned.

"You'd be correct. But not just any old rocks. You see, in order to continue with one of our projects, we need a certain mineral, one that isn't found anywhere else in Fizzytopia." Zack explained.

"Is that it? Surely you don't need me to do something like that?" The Catalyst admin asked.

"There's a catch. You see, this mineral is rather yellow looking, almost identical to another stone found at the cliffs. The difference? One is highly toxic to humans, the other is the mineral we need."

"And just how am I supposed to tell the difference?" Roxie asked.

"You won't have to. You see...there's a town not too far by the cliffs. It's tradition for almost everyone who lives there to learn the differences between the stones at Saigai." Zack said, before glancing at the door behind Roxie. "Marisa, you can come in now!"

Suddenly the door behind Roxie swung open and the blonde haired girl from before entered, her Ledyba back on her shoulder.

"Oh! Roxie, I'm going with you?" Marisa asked upon noticing the older girl.

"Yes. I've already explained your task, correct?" Zack questioned.

"Yeah. Help guide Roxie to the cliffs and find the Urutora stones once we're there." Marisa replied.

"It seems that's everything. Provided there isn't any further questions, you two are to leave immediately." Zack said.

"No questions sir." Roxie replied. While she wasn't that keen on going out on the field with Marisa, she knew better then to question Zack's plan. Besides, it wasn't like she could find the Urutora stones on her own.

"Ok. Roxie just follow me, I'll take you right to where we need to be." The blonde haired grunt smiled, before exiting the room.

Roxie nodded in response, even though Marisa couldn't see her. The blue haired girl quickly followed the grunt as she lead her senior down several white halls, before eventually exiting the Catalyst headquarters.
During this time, Marisa couldn't help but continue from where their conversation had stopped earlier at lunch, much to Roxie's annoyance.

Both of the Catalyst members were so distracted, that they didn't even notice as a small mound of dirt began to follow behind them. It wouldn't be long before the four of them made it to the cliffs.
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Old 05-08-2019, 12:44 AM   #35
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The Stones of the Saigai Cliffs

Spoiler: show
This story is meant to be a sequel to the last story I wrote before I left, and as such takes place on February 17th, 2018.


Roxie shivered, a cold winter breeze washing over the area. She had never been one to fear the cold..and yet, there was no denying how chilly it truly was up on the cliffs.

"I-it's so cold." Marisa stammered, shaking as she glanced to her superior. "C-can we take a break soon?"

The older trainer closed her eyes, a visible scowl on her face. "D-did you not prepare for this? You're supposed to be the guide."

"I-I just didn't expect this is all." The young girl frowned, still shaking as fast as ever. "It's just....so cold."

Roxie sighed. Of all the people to be stuck on the field with, it had to be one of their least competent members. She hadn't exactly signed up for babysitting. No. Now wasn't the time for complaints. All she had to do was get through the mission. After that, she'd never see Marisa again.

Opening her eyes, Roxie took the time to glance around the landscape once more. Zack had tasked her with collecting some sort of yellow mineral here, but so far she had spotted nothing upon the cliff face. Was there a special place here that they had to go? Or had they already passed it? The blue haired trainer glanced to Marisa. The only one who would could truly answer her questions. Unless she was too distracted by the cold.

Roxie began to curse under her breath. Like it or not, it seemed a break was what awaited the two trainers.
"Fine. W-we can have a break."

Marisa's eyes lit up. "R-really?! Thank you!" Roxie suspected the grunt would be jumping up and down if she could.

"See that large rock up ahead? We'll stop there." Roxie explained, pointing. "Briefly."

This was apparently the only thing that Marisa needed to hear. Before her traveling companion could so much as blink, the blonde haired girl sprinted towards their planned resting point, not seeming to slow down for anything as she continued down the dusty trail.

Roxie couldn't help but chuckle, shaking her head as she kept at her moderate pace. It seemed the grunt did have it in her. The problem was getting her motivated.
----
"As fast as a Rapidash if you want to be." Roxie grumbled to the grunt, her back already to the boulder. "Now if only you had such commitment to our actual mission."

"M-maybe after our rest." Marisa giggled, before patting the ground beside her. "Come sit. You can hardly f-feel the breeze behind here."

Not one to be bossed around, the Catalyst admin leaned against the rock instead. Obviously she was proving some kind of point to the younger girl. Comfort was irrelevant, as long as this....lesson...was learned.

"H-hey..Roxie. You don't happen to have a fire type do you?"

The blue haired girl frowned. "What for?"

"I was just thinking....if you did, it could heat us right up. Like a portable furnace!" Marisa exclaimed.

"No." Roxie replied, shaking her head. "My Poliwhirl and Munna...those are all I need."

"Oh. I-I see..." Marisa murmured. "If I was strong like you, I'd try and catch all sort of Pokemon."

"Quantity over quality then."

"Huh?"

The older trainer gazed off into the distance, seemingly distracted by something. "I....would rather have a few Pokemon that can get the job done. Then many that will fail me when I need them most." She sighed. "You should think of them as temporary. Like business partners. Like...you and I." Roxie turned to Marisa. "Once this mission is over, we will part ways. Much like with my Pokemon someday. Trust me when I say it's best not to get attached."

"Roxie..."

The blue haired girl shook her head, her focus now turned back to the mission at hand. "That's enough rambling from me. I'd say that's a long enough break. We should be off."

Marisa nodded in response, her face one of worry. Did her superior...truly feel that way? About Pokemon and trainer? Business partners? No..that wasn't right. It couldn't be. One way or another, she would teach the older girl the true meaning of the bond between human and Pokemon.

"Marisa?"

"Huh?" Her thoughts are broken as she turns to the blue haired girl.

"Where are we headed? Surely you of all people know where these minerals are?"

"Oh umm...right." Marisa nodded, peeking around the area. "I..uh." She paused, thinking. "If I remember right...there should be a rather large cave on the cliff wall..up ahead?"

Roxie sighed. "You don't sound very certain."

"I......I am. It is up ahead. I'm positive!" The younger trainer exclaimed, nodding her head. "I'm sure we'll find lots of those crystals there."

"Then lets going." Roxie smiled, more then a little happy at the thought of finally finishing this mission. Only a little longer..and then this would all be over, the older trainer reminded herself as she continued along the trail of the Saigai Cliffs.
----
After what felt like another hour of the walking, the pair reached what appeared to be some sort of out look. The path was much wider here then it had been before, large enough for a couple of Steelix to rest comfortably, if Roxie had to guess.

"A-almost there." Marisa stammered, her shaking having returned.

"Good. T-the sooner we get out of this the better." Roxie replied, having somewhat dropped her act at this point. There was no use hiding it, the harsh winds were starting to get to her too.

She glanced around, noticing what appeared to be carvings of some kind, decorating what appeared to be a small shrine, resting along the wall of the cliff.

"A..shrine?"

"Offerings." Marisa replied. "F-for the great battle..that took place here. She shivered. "We're very close."

Great battle? Roxie wanted to question it...and yet..she had a mission. Now wasn't the time for such curiosity. She would ask her boss later if she had to.

"Roxie! Come quick!" The blonde haired girl waved her hands rapidly, ushering the blue haired girl over. There in the cliff wall, was a large crevice. And no wonder they hadn't spotted it sooner. Covering the area was a layer of vines. But...something was off. Roxie frowned. Laying on the ground near the entrance was several dead bushes, vines too. Had someone been here recently?

"W-what are we waiting for? L-let's go!" Marisa stammered.

Roxie nodded, taking a flashlight out of her backpack. Whatever, or whoever had been here...it mattered not to them now. To find the Urutora stones for Zack..that was the only thing on her mind as Roxie stepped into the cave, pointing her flashlight ahead.

She had only taken a few steps inside, but her eyes soon widened. The walls of the cave were...shimmering. Small yellow lights flooded the cavern as Roxie pointed her light towards them. It was..beautiful.

"W-well I think we found them..." The older trainer said, glancing all around. "I..never thought they'd look like this."

Marisa giggled, before shaking her head. "N-not quite. These...are only small fragments. There...should be some..bigger ones up ahead."

Roxie sighed. "Very well." If there were larger crystals up ahead, then that was what they'd gather. Better several of them then a bag of dust.

As the pair continued through the cold, dark cave, Roxie's heart was beginning to grow heavy. This..would be the perfect place for Zubat, Woobat, and other Pokemon to rest. So why is it that they hadn't noticed a single one? It was...so oddly empty.

The older trainer shook her head. Why was she complaining? The absence of any hostile Pokemon only made her job easier.

Soon, the admin and grunt found themselves in the belly of the cave. A large room, filled with even more glowing crystals. Several pointed out of the ceiling. The walls. Even the floor. They were so pretty, Roxie had the urge to reach out and grab one. The only thing stopping her were Zack's words. There were two varieties of stone here. One apparently of which, was toxic. By touch, the blue haired girl guessed. If not, just being in this very cave was a rather bad idea.

"Well...time to do your stuff, Marisa."

"Right" She nodded, pulling out a small rock hammer from her bag. he blonde haired girl hurried around the room. Glancing at many of the crystals. To Roxie, they all looked the same. But to the grunt...well...there was a subtle difference.

After about a minute of searching, and tapping with the hammer, Marisa smiled. "Found one!"

Roxie smiled, continuing to point the flashlight near her partner. "Good. Lets get a few of them and then we can go home."

So happy were the pair, that they failed to noticed an abandoned lantern, left to the side of the room. Perhaps forgotten by the last visitors? It was no concern of theirs. In but a few minutes, several of the stones had been pried off the wall, and placed within a small bag.

Feeling rather proud of their job well done, Roxie and Marisa exited the cave, bag in hand. The bright winter sun was there to greet them as they returned to the cliffs, as well as the rather strong breeze.

"See? Now..if we hadn't taken a break, we m-might already be almost back at the base." Roxie sighed.

"Oh come on, we didn't stop that long. Besides..don't tell me you didn't enjoy it."

The older trainer crossed her arms, looking away, trying her best to hide a smirk. If Roxie could be described in one word, it was definitely stubborn.

"...How many did Zack want anyway?" The blonde haired trainer asked, glancing at the bag.

Roxie turned. Come to think of it, her boss hadn't exactly mentioned any. Would the eight they gathered be enough? She sure hoped so. There was no way she was working with Marisa again.

"I'm sure it's fine. If not, he can send someone else." She sighed. "Just don't lose them, all right?"

But lose them...she did. For not more then a few moments after the words had left Roxie's mouth, did someone slam into Marisa, knocking the plastic bag into the air.

The younger girl cried out as she was thrown to the ground, the sharp rocks scrapping her legs and arms, spilling a red liquid upon them.

Roxie spun around, her eyes locking with the culprit. A dark haired man, who appeared to be in his early twenties. He was wearing all black, and seemed to be holding some strange blade in his right hand, the bag of stones in his left.

"Oh..so close. What a shame. It seems you'll be heading back home..empty handed." The mans voice was calm, cool and...strangely ominous. His gaze fierce.

"And just who might you be?" Roxie growled, her hand floating towards her belt. She had a feeling this wasn't about to end well.

The man smirked, glancing between the two. "You may call me Xander."

"Alright...well Xander..I'll be taking those stones back from you. So how about you save us some time and hand them over nicely."

"Y-yeah!" Marisa chimed in, slowly rising to her feet, tears in her eyes. "T-those are ours! You can't just take them!"

The man chuckled. "I can and I will. These stones don't belong to scum such as yourself."

"What do you plan on even doing with those anyways?" Roxie scowled. "Sell them? Do you even know what they are?"

"Oh I'm plenty aware of what these are." The man held the bag up high. "The locals call them Urutora stones. Shards left behind from the great battle that their ancestors fought. A war against a beast their legends describe as not man nor Pokemon." Xander shook his head. "With such power in the stones, many could be considered toxic. Yet even the ones that aren't...hold such power. Power no one has the right to."

"Alright I didn't need a history lesson." Roxie scoffed. "You..have no right to decide if we should have them or not."

"That's right!" Marisa added, holding a Pokeball in front of herself "I-It's time to teach you a lesson, go Spots!" The younger girl chucked the ball forward with all her might, and from the red and white sphere emerged the Fiver Star Pokemon.

The older trainer sighed, wondering just how much of a hindrance Marisa was planning on being.

"Ok Spots, I need you to get that bag back!" The blonde haired girl exclaimed, pointing straight at Xander.

"Ledyba!" The bug type cried as it flew forward, it's eyes locked on the bag in the mans left hand.

Xander smirked, making sure to tuck the stones into his jacket as he pointed the blade towards the oncoming Ledyba. With his sword coated in a draconic aura, the man swung forwards, hitting the poor bug type with a powerful Dragon Claw attack!

"Ba!" The five star Pokemon cried as it flew back, crashing into the ground. It was clear to anyone that the bug type had been knocked out!

"Spots!" Marisa exclaimed, rushing to her Pokemon, tears still in her eyes. Roxie wasn't focused on that though. She was much to focused on Xander, a look of recognition clear on her face. That technique...even the pose the man was holding...she had seen it before. Her heart ached, painful memories flooding all through her mind. Now was not the time. Her time was in the present. She had to stop this man...and take back those crystals. For Zack!

"To fight alongside your Honedge...I don't know where you learned to do that..but it doesn't frighten me." Roxie declared, plucking a dive ball off her belt. "In the end my strength will shine through."

Nodding to Marisa, Roxie tossed the dive ball into the air. "Blues, lets go!"
In a flash of light, the Poliwhirl had been summoned. Pumping his fists, the tadpole Pokemon let out a cry, showing that it was ready to fight.

The blue haired trainer smirked. After stubborn, confident would be another word to describe Roxie. She almost never doubted her abilities in battle, and this was no exception.

"Ok. Blues, Bubble Beam and then Water Gun!"

"Poli!" The Poliwhirl exclaimed, leaping forward. From it's belly a stream of compact bubbles shot out, flying through the winter air and towards Xander.

Smirking, the black haired man jumped to his right, narrowly avoiding the beam. With his speed, it was almost as if he had foreseen the attack long before it had reached.

The man dashed forward. With Blues now on the ground, it was the perfect time to strike. With the Honedge covered in that purple energy again, Xander performed a side swing, landing a powerful Dragon Claw upon the Poliwhirl.

Staggering backwards, Blues managed to catch his footing after a moment. But a moment is all Xander needed. With another swing of his blade, Blues was caught with a Slash, causing him to grunt.

"Hang in there!" Roxie called, receiving a nod from her Pokemon in response.

Though he was heavily wounded, Blues wasn't about to give up yet! From his belly, the tadpole Pokemon unleashed a small jet of water towards his opponent! Unlike last time, Xander was not able to react in time, and both him and his blade were left soaked.

"Ice Ball, then Bubble Beam!" Roxie ordered.

With his hands covered in frost, Blues began to shape a small ball of ice between them.

"Poliwwhirlll!" The tadpole Pokemon exclaimed, shoving the icy ball outwards.

Watching the small ball of ice fly towards him, Xander simply held out his sword, blocking the attack. It seemed the ice had barely any effect on the Honedge either, to make matters worse!

"It's going to take a lot more then that to stop me." Xander chuckled, spinning his blade in a circle. After a moment, several sharp stones began to orbit around the sword. And with a simple thrust, they flew forward, crashing into Blues and digging into the poor Poliwhirl, causing the water type to fall to the ground.

Roxie gritted her teeth, hearing Marisa gasp as Blues hit the ground. But Roxie knew the Poliwhirl better. Even with the strength of her opponent, Blues wasn't going to give up, not yet.

Sure enough, the Poliwhirl was on his feet in a matter of moments, though at a glance it seemed he wouldn't be for much longer.

"Get in close! Make sure they don't have a chance to dodge."

"Poli." The tadpole Pokemon agreed as he rushed forward, attempting to close the gap between him and his opponent.

"Your mistake." Xander announced plainly, the Honedge by his side crackling with electricity. After a second, the man charged forward, leaving Blues with little time to react as he was swung at wildly! A single strike, that was all it took for the Sword Pokemon to topple it's opponent. With a last cry, the Poliwhirl fell to the ground, defeated.

"No!" Marisa cried.

Roxie herself gave much less of a reaction. Holding a dive ball out, she simply returned the Poliwhirl to it, before clipping the ball back to her belt.

Such a technique..Roxie knew it's strengths. She had seen it before after all. And yet...this man..his power. His resolve. It was much stronger then something she had seen. Did Yume stand a chance? She scowled. There was no other choice.

Snatching a Pokeball from her waist, Roxie quickly tossed the sphere into the air. Emerging from the ball was the Munna, Yume. The dream eater Pokemon glanced to his opponent, his eyes holding the same pain they always seemed to.

"If you're getting me to battle, I'm guessing things are pretty dire." His voice rang out, causing Roxie to nod. Usually she'd be one to make a witty remark to such a question...but now definitely wasn't the time for such things.

Xander sighed. "You should know when you're beaten. One Pokemon. Five. A hundred. It doesn't matter. My lady sent me here to stop you and your plans, and I don't intend on failing."

"Your...lady?" Roxie tilted her head, but only for a second. "Look. Doesn't matter. We can still defeat this nut job. Yume, I want you to use Psybeam. Twice."

"Munna!" The dream eater Pokemon replied, this time for all to hear. With his sights locked on Xander, Yume unleashed a beam of psychic energy, which was quickly met with a Shadow Ball. With little struggle, the shadowy glob of energy cut through the beam, slamming into Yume and sending the psychic type flying right into Roxie!

"Yume!" The blue haired girl cried out, a mixture of fear and surprise in her voice.

"M-munna..." The psychic type mumbled, slowly floating away from her. But it seemed after just one attack, the Munna was struggling not to fall over.

"Too...strong. We should...retreat." Yume's voice echoed in his trainers mind.

Retreat? No. That wasn't an option. It couldn't be. After all this...they were to fail?

"R-roxie." Marisa stammered, holding her Ledyba close.

"You're through. Just admit it." Xander smiled. "And..since I'm feeling generous, I'll allow you to leave. After all, I already have what I need."

As if to taunt them, the black haired man pulled out the bag of crystals from his jacket, shaking them around.

Roxie might be stubborn, confident..even to a fault. But she definitely wasn't stupid. She had no Pokemon left to battle with. There wasn't anything she could do. To try and fight her opponent now would be..stupid.

Scooping her Munna up, Roxie glared to the man, her hands slightly shaking. She then turned to Marisa, the blonde haired girl looking as if she was about to burst into tears.

"It's time to retreat." The older trainer conceded. As much as it pained her to admit, they had no other choice at this point. Not sparring the terrible man another glance, Roxie raced down the cliffside trail, Marisa right behind her.
----

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flashback (Catalyst Tower, September 2016)

Roxie sat on the bench in the training room, tears streaming down her face. It had been another day. It had been another failure. The newly recruited catalyst grunt glanced down upon her uniform. Her mother had said it was a symbol of pride. Pride in being part of something dedicated to help the world. But pride is the last thing she felt in that moment. Sorrow confused Roxie so much, that the young girl failed to notice as the doors to the room swung open. Not even the sound of approaching footsteps caused her to stir.

"What seems to be the matter?" A soft voice questioned, causing Roxie to look up. Standing there beside her was a young woman, with dark purple hair and brown eyes. She seemed to be sporting a black lab coat, the sign of one of Roxie's superiors. An admin of team Catalyst.

"H-huh?" The young girl sniffled, wiping at her eyes as she did so.

"I asked what's wrong. It is not all too common to see someone crying in here."

The blue haired girl nodded slowly, though almost immediately sprang out of her seat as she finally noticed the black coat being worn by the woman.

"M-my apologies miss! I-I-"

"Calm yourself." The young woman said calmly. "I have no intention to punish you. I wish to figure out is wrong." She smiled. "So I can help. Let's start with your name."

"R-roxie." The grunt murmured.

"Roxie... Well it is nice to finally meet you. I am Olivia. I believe your mother has mentioned much about you."

"S-she has?" The young girl wasn't quite sure if she could believe it.

Olivia nodded. "We talk more then you'd think. She..tells me you are kind, smart and helpful. And..rather strict on yourself. Does this have anything to do with that?"

Roxie turned away, feeling slightly embarrassed now. It was true she was strict with herself, but...she had to be, right? She couldn't disappoint her mother. Disappoint everyone...

"Hey..it's okay." The catalyst admin smiled once again, patting the girls hand gently. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She glanced suddenly to the arena in front of them. "Say, how about we have a training match? Just to take your mind off things."

Roxie was unsure of what to say. She did like battling, that much was true. But...did she really stand a chance against the woman? Probably not. Still...the thought of a battle against an admin, even if only a practice one, sent her heart racing with excitement. After several seconds of hesitation, the young trainer nodded. "O-ok."

"Perfect. Lets get started." Olivia said, offering a hand to the grunt.
Taking it, Roxie followed as her superior guided her to the arena. With her on one side, and Olivia on the other, it was almost time to begin.

Wait. What was that Olivia was holding? A...sword? Roxie furrowed her brow. Why did she have a weapon? And why hadn't she noticed earlier?

"Ready whenever you are!" Olivia called.

"Shouldn't you send out your Pokemon first?"

"I already have."

Roxie's confusion continued to grow. Was the Pokemon her superior was using invisible? That couldn't be it...could it?

The older trainer smirked at the visible confusion of the grunt. "Perhaps it's time for a lesson."

She gestured to the weapon in her hand. The strange sword with the eye on it's hilt. "This here is a Pokemon known as Honedge. It is a blade that has become possessed."

"Really? Whoa..." The blue haired girl eyed the sword, her eyes almost sparkling.

"I intend to fight alongside Honedge. Together. That is why I am waiting for you to select your Pokemon."

"T-together?" Roxie frowned. A human fighting alongside a Pokemon? She'd never heard of such a thing. "But..won't you get hurt?"

"I might. I'll be careful though." Olivia chuckled. "Besides. To fight alongside your Pokemon...is it not a wonderful thing? I'd like to think so."

The younger trainer nodded, though she was unsure if she truly understood the words. No matter though, it was practice time. With a small smile on her face, Roxie grabbed a Pokeball from her belt and tossed it into the air.

And with that, the battle was on.
To fight alongside your Pokemon. A..wonderful thing. Roxie frowned, the memories of her time spent in the Catalyst tower flooding back to her. The one who had first shown her the technique of fighting alongside a Pokemon.

"Olivia" The blue haired girl murmured. Despite how unlikely it was, she really did hope the former admin was doing ok... Wherever she was.

"Roxie?" Yume's voice rang through her mind, interrupting all train of thought. Glancing around, the Catalyst admin soon frowned, remembering where she was. The base of the cliffs. With no crystals in hand. All because of that man...Xander.

She turned to Marisa, the grunt having since returned her Ledyba to it's ball. "Are..you ok?"

"Fine." The blonde haired girl nodded. "I was...more worried about you. You've been oddly quiet."

"And murmuring stuff." Yume added.

"Oh." Roxie's face grew red for a moment. "I-I was...just thinking."

"About the stones?" Marisa replied glumly. "I-I'm sorry."

"No need to worry. It was...my fault." Roxie sighed, gazing off into the distance.

"No matter who is to blame, no isn't the time. We should report this to Zack." The Munna's voice rang to the group. "He may still have a plan to salvage this."

Both trainers nodded. With no where else to go, they started for base, but didn't get very far before a voice cried out from behind them. "Stop!"

Glancing over her shoulder, Roxie came face to face with...no one. Not a trace of any who the voice could belong to.

"Down here!" The voice squeaked, causing everyone to fully turn around. Turning her attention downwards, the catalyst member spotted...a Diglett. With three golden strands on it's head. The mole Pokemon seemed rather happy at being noticed, for as soon as all eyes were on him, he let out a rather cheerful "Hello!"

"A-a talking Pokemon?!" Roxie and Marisa exclaimed almost completely in unison, their eyes almost bugging out of their face. Only Yume was perceptive enough to spot the real prize. There lying in front of the ground type was a rather dirty looking bag. But the yellow glint shining through confirmed it for the Munna. Somehow...someway..this talking Diglett had gotten ahold of some urutora stones.

"Are those?" The Munna began, his voice clear for everyone to understand.

"Yep! The yellow crystals you mortals were looking for! How lucky for you all that you had me watching over you."

"I-I don't understand" Roxie stammered. "You can...talk. And you have...the stones. What is going on?"

"Well allow me to clear it up!" The Diglett exclaimed. "The name is Papahānaumoku! Incarnate! As such it is only fitting that one such as I is bestowed with the ability to communicate with those of the land."

"Paph-what?" Marisa questioned.

"Pa for short I suppose. Moving on! I found your rag tag group emerging from your base, and decided to follow you on your quest for the stones! Through all of your complaining! How generous of me." The Diglett paused, noting the still very much confused expressions the three held. "Truth be told, I was simply bored. But then...I watched as the blue one took on that legendary swordsman! I-I just had to help! So when the legendary swordsman let his guard down, Papahānaumoku stole the gems!"

Once Pa was finished, Roxie took the opportunity to wipe at her eyes. Still there. Was the strange Diglett perhaps not an illusion then?

"Well I...." The older trainer shook her head. "I still don't understand any of this but..I suppose we're...in your debt?"

"Think nothing of it!" The mole Pokemon chirped, watching the blue haired girl scoop up the bag. "Actually...maybe you should think something of it. I do have a request."

"A request?" Yume chimed.

"Mhmm. It's simply really." The Diglett said, burrowing closer towards the catalyst admin. "I just....please let me go with you!"

"W-what?!" Roxie stumbled backwards, clearly caught off guard by such a question. "W-why?"

"Because...you're so...awesome!" The mole Pokemon began to dig around as he continued to talk. "I had another friend once. An Emolga. He was sooooo boring though. No fun at all. But you..you're scaling mighty mountains...taking on legendary swordsmen in fights to the death! You're a hero!"

"Is that so?"

"It is! So..please! I promise I'll be a big help!"

Roxie frowned, turning to Yume. "This one is nuts." She whispered. "How about we run."

Yume turned to his trainer. "I think you should take him up on the request." His voice rang in only her head.

"W-what? Why? Did you just hear the thing?"

"Roxie. It is no secret that you need more Pokemon then just Blues and I. Considering your struggles today...and considering your duties in the future, I think you'd be foolish not to accept." The Munna replied. "He's already proven himself capable, has he not?"

She frowned. Yume was making a good point. The ground type had managed to snatch the stones right from under Xander. Even she couldn't have done that. It was only thanks to Pa that she was even able to report back to Zack with the crystals she had in hand. Such a sneaky Pokemon..no matter how crazy. Perhaps she couldn't be picky.

Grabbing an empty Pokeball from her bag, the older trainer turned to Pa.
"Alright. You can come with me. But just...tone down on the craziness. Or so help me."

"Yay! You will not regret this! With the power of Papahānaumoku on your side, you will be undefeatable!"

Roxie growled, before tapping the mole Pokemon with the red and white sphere. It was best that she did it before she had any second thoughts.

Upon being tapped with the ball, a red light emerged, absorbing the Alolan Diglett into the capture device. Not so much as a shake was to be had before the Pokeball let off it's signature *ping* sound, a sign that the capture was successful.

"Yay. I...got myself a Diglett." The blue haired trainer murmured, sounding not all too happy with the outcome.

"Congratulations!" Marisa exclaimed, sounding much happier then her superior had.

"You made the right choice." Yume reassured her. "Now then, lets get those stones back to the boss."

Roxie nodded, glancing to the grunt beside her, who also nodded. Things hadn't exactly gone as the Catalyst admin had planned. Still..by some miracle she had completed her mission. And she had obtained a new Pokemon too. A crazy one, but a new tool none the less.

The three began to set out, walking through the spruce forest as they made their way towards base. Towards home.

Last edited by EpicSquirtle; 05-08-2019 at 02:55 AM.
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