Rose Isle Royale

Annalyn was heaving, her emotions were overtaking her normal collected personality. Abanow was her longest lasting partner. Her had been there at her first contest victory, in her Grand Festival championship, and through all of her gym battles. Annalyn couldn't lose him now.. No... not now... not after all this time...

Then, she felt her Pokemon shift. His breath began to return to normal and his eyes began to grow wider. He coughed and attempted to stand up. But he was weak. His strength had been sapped from his body. When Abanow heard that zombie Ekans, it woke him up. He growled, wishing he could stand up and look at his trainer. "Relax Abanow. That THING must of just stunned you. Thank god. I couldn't lose you," Annalyn said, a smiling growing on her face. She stood up and looked at her companions. "Its too bad none of you had a Revive. Then, maybe he'd have the strength to stand up. But... this is a competition. I guess it would of been worthwhile to let my Pokemon suffer while you guys furthered your chances. Maybe I would of done the same in your situation." Her eyes met Tim's. It looked as if he was being consumed by guilt. She looked down and found a Super Potion and Full Heal, which was left by Roisin. She smiled at the young girl.

Annalyn heard some shuffling around behind her. She smiled and turned to find Abanow barely standing. "I think its best you rest Abanow. Thanks bud. I really appreciate it." She raised the Pokemon's PokeBall and returned it to the sphere. "Well, I'm going in. I'm going to find this fiend. If you're coming, fine! It's not safe to stay in one spot for too long in here. That.. thing... I'm sure he's watching us right now. Bye bye." She turned and started down the nearest corridor, hopefully finding the path the fiend had disappeared into.

OOC: I feel really evil now, nobody else gave you any revives

Oh god, why did she have to look at him like that? First Langley eyeing him up and now this, it was like everyone could see how flimsy his selfish lying had been. He shifted uncomfortably to and fro, fiddling awkwardly with his ring, trying to avoid her gaze. She looked away, back to her recovering Abomasnow, thanking it before returning it to its pokeball. There, don't worry, the Abomasnow was fine he thought, but a competing voice also told him, you could have given her the revive, it would have been fine anyway, and then you wouldn't look like such a selfish idiot.

"Well, I'm going in. I'm going to find this fiend." She seemed very determined, especially after the 'fiend' took down her strongest Pokemon without even breaking a sweat. "If you're coming, fine! It's not safe to stay in one spot for too long in here. That… thing… I'm sure he's watching us right now. Bye bye." She ran off down a corridor, her footsteps dying away gently as he stood, trying to figure out what to do next. If he followed her, he could redeem himself, and she was a skilled trainer, so he probably had a good shot at winning. He took off after her, Nabe hot on his heels, happy about getting to fight, even if it was against some demented zombie Pokemon, and pleased with the fact that he was now going to be Tim's main battling Pokemon. She seemed to be following the path that the 'Guardian' had taken, and he wondered what she planned on doing once she found him… her… it.

"Annalyn!" he shouted after her as she sprinted down the corridor, "Annalyn! Slow down! I hate to tell you this, but I don't think you can take on that… person on your own!" he didn't like crushing her enthusiasm, but it was true "And Nabe's only got stubby legs" he added, chuckling. The Charmeleon punched him in the knee, knowing he was being talked about. If she let him help her, he could hopefully make up for leaving her Abomasnow to die. As he chased after her, he began to wonder something; could the crowd see this? Was this just another set up by Moonjoy and his weird comrades, all part of the show, the competition? He stopped in his tracks, glancing around the corridor, but he couldn't see any cameras, or any recording equipment whatsoever. He couldn't even hear the crowd anymore, and he was barely inside the labyrinth, so either they had quietened down amazingly or the walls were very good at stopping outside noise. He stood there, in the strange, and now seemingly guarded, labyrinth, and suddenly felt extremely vulnerable. Nabe had been able to handle that Ampharos, but that 'Guardian' thing; it took down an Abomasnow, a strong one at that, in a single 'move', if you could call it that. He reached nervously for another of his pokeballs, calmly letting his Mightyena out. It growled and shook its fur, not liking the place instinctively. With his two strongest Pokemon by his side, Tim was less scared, but still terrified of the whole place.

OOC: Me no post good no more.

chomp said:

OOC: I feel really evil now, nobody else gave you any revives

Click to expand...

You bad bad person!

IC:
"Gah!" Roisin shouted as she chased after Tim an Annalyn, it seemed more sensible to run after them as she didn't know "Langley" or "Miss Life" at all. As she dashed round the corner, Crawdaunt and Heracross in tow, she had lost the sound of Tims footsteps. There were three hallways separating her path. As she reached them she groaned. "How generic," she thought to herself. "Yanma I need your help," she chirped. She was a lot less nervous with Crawdaunt and Heracross standing with her, Heracross was overprotective and Crawdaunt, as he 'newbie' of the team wanted his chance to prove himself.

"Yam?" came the high pitched voice of he bug Pokémon as she burst out of her trainers' deep bag, which contained everything but the kitchen sink.
"Yanma, I need you to use Supersonic. We need to find Tim and Annalyn..." upon noticing Yanmas sudden confusion she grudgingly added; "They ran off without me," her eyes twitched as Yanma suppressed a laugh, Roisin then smacked her on the back of the head playfully; Yanma became silent for a moment. Roisin was wondering whether she'd accidentally hurt Yanma, either way Yanma got to message. Yanma started to beat his wings in such a way it delivered a sort of... sound pulse wave energy...Or something. Yanma was trying to detect human movement within the temple. Her eyes closed, she was at deep focus...

"Not to break the focused moment Yammy, but... HURRY UP!" Roisins hurry up echoed thought the labyrinth and had also deeply annoyed Yanma at the same time. Roisins' expression was that of the common internet smiliey 'XD' Yanma indicated towards the middle passage way and together the 4 of them set off Crawdaunt in front and Heracross behind, just in case that the 'human' presence that Yanma sensed was not a human. I.E maybe a zombified Mr. Mime. Sure enough within a couple of seconds Roisin could hear footsteps echoing down the corridor. She hoped to Arceus that they were Tims, and she pressed onwards, ignoring a rotting Caterpie that seemed to be hissing at her, in search of her friends.

Langley rushed forward, as Tim protested to the lady that going after the phantom guardian would be impossible on her own, using her first name. Annalyn. Langley smiled. The only other Annalyn he knew was his own mother, and if his new aquaintance was anything like her, he didn't want to be in that guardian's place if she ever managed to find a way to get on even footing with him. Then his grin turned sour as he realized that not only was he about to walk into a deep, dark, drippy area, but he was probably going to encounter more zombies. Somehow, the idea of breaking off the rotting, germ-ridden limbs of undead Pokemon didn't exactly appeal to him. On the other hand, if he didn't go in any further, he would be abandoning this Annalyn girl to what might well be her demise, and even if he had missed the chapter on how to treat girls in his gentleman's manual of etiquette, he was fairly sure that letting a lady walk into a dangerous situation, even one as independent as this Annalyn girl seemed to be, was somewhere in the list of "don'ts". But then, this was life or death. Was he really prepared to risk his life, and the life of his Pokemon, for the sake of appearing polite?

I am such an idiot. Langley thought to himself as he stated "I also am going. I don't know about tangling with that phantom guy again, or even continuing through a competition where I might die, but I can't let a young woman, even one older then myself, go out to face danger alone." He paused a moment for effect, then added, "Besides, I want to get to the bottom of this. I smell something fishy about this whole affair, and I don't mean the stench these half-rotten corpses are giving off."

Aaliyah narrowed her eyes. Slowly, she got up, looking down the corridor before dashing off after the others. Her mind was in turmoil. What the heck was going on? Where WERE they going anyway? Huh.. Aaliyah thought, still dashing.

She wasn`t exactly paying attention to where she was going, so she almost bumped into Langley. "Sorry!" Aaliyah called, running around Langley only to trip on something-a rock, most likely, and fall to the ground and land on her rear. "Crud.."she thought.

Annalyn was torn by two conflicting emotions. She felt happy, now that her Pokemon were all safe, and it seemed she had passed her first "test" inside this labyrinth. But then she felt guilt. She had let her Pokemon act on its own and because of it, Abanow almost died. With all that precision training she had done for contests, you would think that she could control her Pokemon. Don't kill yourself over it. A voice told her in her head. All your Pokemon was doing was protecting its trainer. You were in imminent danger and he reacted. Annalyn sighed. The voice was right. Hmm... She listened closely and heard footsteps behind her. "Uhh... they must be following me. Oh god, I hope so. I can't deal with another attack yet...."

"Haha... my dear. In this labyrinth, you can't expect a moment's rest. This wouldn't be a competition, now would it?" the Guardian's male voice echoed throughout the labyrinth in response to Annalyn. "Pinsarrrrr..." She turned and found a rotting Pinsir standing about fifteen feet away from her. "Purrr..." Slinking into the scene right behind the Pinsir was a decomposing Persian. The Pinsir itself was missing a half of one of its horns, and there were numerous areas of damage to its exoskeleton. The Persian was missing its left eye, its skin was tinged the same green color as the Ampharos, and its entire front right leg was completely skeletal. Nevertheless, the two looked intimidating and powerful.

"Ollery! Syter! Let's go!" She pulled off two of the PokeBalls off her belt and tossed them into the air. Her two smaller Pokemon bursted from them in a flurry of red energy and stood in battle position. Upon spotting the rotting Pokemon in front them, the two recoiled and looked at their trainer in disgust. "I know! They're disgusting. But it's our duty to put them out of their misery. At one point I'm sure they were happy Pokemon. But now, they're slaves to come cruel freak. So, let's go! Ollery, use Fire Blast on Pinsir! Syter, use Slash on Persian!" Ollery was the first to move. Her eyes turned a malignant red color as she took in a deep breath. Upon exhaling, Ollery released a torrent of flames that morphed into a man-shaped fireball. Pinsir reacted quickly and set up a Protect that caused the flames to bounce off the shield harmlessly. Syter used her blinding speed to rush forward, her scythes read to slash at the zombie Persian. However, the Persian was just as fast despite its skeletal leg. It leaped up on to the wall, causing Syter to miss. Then, it took another leap and landed on Syter's back, and sunk its fangs into the Mantis' back. Syter screeched in pain and began to do barrel rolls to attempt to get the feline off her back. Meanwhile Pinsir was charged forward, its two pincers leading the way. It gripped onto one of Ollery's tentacles and with one fluid motion, threw the octopus into the nearby wall.

"Oh damn it. Ollery, Flamethrower! Umm... Syter, smash the Persian into the nearby wall. Maybe that'll get it off your back," Annalyn ordered frantically. Once again, Pinsir was charged at Ollery at full speed with its pincers leading the way once again. This time Ollery quickly charged up the fire attack and released it in a stream of intense fire. The Pinsir could not react in time, and was soon engulfed in a blazing inferno. The heat was intensifying and the Pinsir's rotting appendages were falling off. Annalyn turned to Syter, to find it slamming the Persian repeatedly into the wall, which caused slabs of rotting skin to fall from the feline's body. Though these Pokemon were powerful, their body's were fragile. The key was to attack their weak points. Soon, their two attackers were disabled; Pinsir lay in a heap of burnt body parts and the numerous collisions with the wall had dislodged the rotting Persian's head from the rest of its body.

Annalyn sighed. She had been able to fight off the two Pokemon on her own while releasing them from their tortuous bondage to the Labyrinth Guardian. Now, she hoped her colleagues were alright. They hadn't appeared yet and she hoped they weren't being attacked as well...

Tim heard the sounds of battling, and ran up the passageway to try and help Annalyn. His Charmeleon and Mightyena were hot on his heels as he sprinted up the desolate hallway. He was nearing Annalyn when something caused him to skid to a halt on the stony floor. In front of him was what looked like a Zangoose, but it had been given the zombie treatment. One of its ears was half its normal length, clumps if its dulled fur were missing, and it only seemed to have one eye. It slashed out at Tim, growling and spitting. Tim took a few steps back, both repulsed and scared by the Zangoose advancing on him.

"Nabe, Fire Punch!" he whispered to the Charmeleon, who wasted no time in leaping forwards and delivering a flame-tipped jab square to the jaw of the Zangoose, which staggered back in pain. Its lower jaw hung uselessly from its face, only held on by a few pieces of putrid skin, swinging gently as the Zangoose advanced once more. Tim had to use all of his self control to prevent himself vomiting, and Nabe was furiously brushing his claw off, trying to remove all of the clumped fur and rotten skin. "I think we're going to have to kill it." Tim told his Charmeleon, who nodded gently, still scrubbing at his claw, trying to dislodge a piece of fur and flesh that had become jammed between two of his claws, "Worry about your personal hygiene in a second, right now we are being attacked by a zombie. Focus Nabe! Flamethrower!" he commanded, edging further away from the undead Zangoose. The Charmeleon began to charge up its attack, but the Zangoose began to just charge, clawing at Nabe with its rancid paws. It struck the Charmeleon, scratching down its face with great pleasure. Nabe growled in pain, losing concentration, and its attack.

"Hev, use Sucker Punch" he told the Mightyena, who had been lurking in the background somewhat. On hearing the command, she tentatively stepped forwards, utterly repulsed by the sight of the Zangoose. She leapt forwards; one of her paws outstretched, striking the zombie on the side of the head. It staggered, shaking its head to dislodge the unattached skin created by the attack. Most of the fur, and skin, from one side of its head fell away, as well as one of its ears. The Mightyena barked at this, disgusted, and the Charmeleon, who had succeeded in getting its claw free of the rotting skin, let loose a flamethrower. The Zangoose was engulfed, slashing out at the fire as it was slowly disintegrated. By the time Nabe felt safe to finish barbecuing the Zangoose, not much was left besides a charred skeleton. Tim couldn't hold it in any longer, he clutched at the nearest wall desperately, retching violently. He emptied his stomach of what little contents it had, while mostly just spattering the floor with bile and phlegm. He groaned, taking a step forwards; he would be fine; it was just the smoldering corpse that had pushed him over the edge. Nabe and Hev were careful to avoid the puddle of thin vomit, stepping over it slowly before returning to their positions by their trainer's side. Nabe had a long, shallow scratch up one side of his face from the encounter with the thing-that-was-once-a-Zangoose. Tim hoped everyone else was okay, especially that Langley guy, his only Pokemon that Tim had seen was a Spinarak, and these zombie Pokemon were very powerful, even if their bodies were flimsy (and flammable).

Hmmm.. that sounds like battling? And that was Tim's voice! I hope he's okay. Annalyn turned towards the sounds and listened closely. She thought she heard the roar of a Charmeleon and a growl of a Mightyena. That must be Tim's Nabe and Hev. He must be under attack. She quickly returned Ollery to her ball and with Syter at her side, she started back down the corridor towards the source of the noise. As she strode down the hall, the smell of burning, rotting flesh began to overtake her. Annalyn's stomach began to ache, so she wrapped her arm around it in an attempt to soothe it. She took deep breaths and soon the urge to vomit had disappated. This distraction aside, she set forth once again. The smell of fire now took over while the sounds of battle had ceased.

Then, in the distance, she saw a group of shady figures. She held her breath. Please let that be Tim... As she slowly walked forward, she did recognize it was her old companion, standing with his two Pokemon at his side. She looked down and noticed a small pool of vomit. The urge returned for a brief second, but she turned her attention to Tim's Charmeleon Nabe. It appeared the small lizard had a large gash in the side of its head. Apparentally there a struggle did actually just occur. Annalyn's doctor instincts cut in and she immediately went to work without saying a word to Tim. She reached into her purse for the first time since taking care of Tim's poisoning. She pulled out an assortment of essentials: rubber gloves, antibiotics, a Hyper Potion, and a large bandaid that could cover the cut. First, she pulled on the gloves to prevent any contact with the patient with her hands. Then, she sprayed Nabe with the Hyper Potion to cure the lizard of any damage it may of sustained. After that, she squirted a small dab of the antibiotic cream on her fingers and slowly massaged the cream into the Pokemon's gash. Nabe growled a little; it obviously hurt to stick a finger into a fresh wound. Finally, she carefully placed the bandaid on the cut to prevent any foreign germs from entering the Pokemon's system.

As Annalyn stood, she pulled off the rubber gloves and placed them in plastic bag she had pulled from her purse. Then, she looked at Tim. She remembered the guilty expression he had on his face earlier. Tim would have had this expression for two reasons; either he had held back giving her a Revive to further protect his chances at winning or he felt guilt because he didn't have one to give to her. She hoped it was the latter reason. Annalyn had grown fond of Tim and wouldn't want anything to tarnish her image of him.

Then, she spoke coolly to him, "I think we should wait for the others. It appears it'll be too dangerous to go on our own. It was foolish of me to run off like that. If any of us got overwhelmed on our own, we would be finished. At least in a group we'll have numbers. Then, once we finish off that Guardian, we can resume this competition. Do you agree Timothy?"

OOC: Why must you all pick at my character's one moment of weakness? [/melodrama]

IC:

As he stood there, recovering from his rather unpleasant experience with the charred Zangoose, Annalyn appeared from down the corridor, and without speaking a word, bent down to Nabe. He watched as she sprayed him down with a Hyper potion, before rubbing some kind of cream into the cut, and giving him a band-aid. Although it made the Charmeleon feel better, it made Tim feel a whole lot worse; here she was, using her own supplies to help his Pokemon, to help him, when not five minutes ago he was willing to let her Abomasnow die just so he had a better chance of winning this stupid competition. He guessed that the snowy goliath was her starter Pokemon, as it was clearly her strongest, and the way that she had reacted when it went down showed a deep bond. What was he going to do now if he needed to use the tainted revive, still nestling evilly in his pocket, if he and Annalyn were going as a group? With hindsight, that was the worst decision he had made since agreeing to come to this weird island in the first place. She had finished with Nabe now, packing the things away into her bottomless purse.

"I think we should wait for the others. It appears it'll be too dangerous to go on our own. It was foolish of me to run off like that. If any of us got overwhelmed on our own, we would be finished. At least in a group we'll have numbers. Then, once we finish off that Guardian, we can resume this competition. Do you agree Timothy?" She called him Timothy. Nobody ever called him Timothy, unless they were being really formal, really serious, or uncharacteristically affectionate. He hoped to Arceus that it was one of the first two, as he still felt he had really wronged her, and she seemed completely oblivious to this, probably trying to see the best in him.

"Yeah" he mumbled, still a little woozy from being sick, "And thank you for helping Nabe, if there's anything I can do to repay you…" Don't say that, what will she think now when you tell her about the revive? Tim stood awkwardly, scritching Hev's head, waiting for the other trainers to arrive

OOC: I tried to post this way before chomp did. But I forgot to press post and nealy lost it! Thank Jebus for History! Oh well I suppose it can fit chronologically after his post.

IC:
"Hurry up you three, we're nearly there!" yelled Roisin as she charged down the long damp corridor in which she had just heard Annalyns smooth voice echoing of the enclosed and dank walls. Following closely were the large crustacean Pokémon, Crawdaunt. The muscle bound amour clad Hercules beetle, Heracross; who was running as the corridor was to claustrophobic for him to fly, and just in front of the two goliath Pokémon the faint buzzing of Yanmas' wings hummed in an effort to keep up with her trainer. It wasn't long until the unlikely quadruple had caught up with the two trainers for whom they had been searching for. There stood Tim and Annylyn, Tims' Charmander, Nabe; who had a band aid stretched across his face, a Mightyena who Roisin wasn't sure who it belonged too, more than likely Tims and Annalyns' Syther, named Syter, who was standing next to its' trainer. Next to Tim was a small heap of vomit, and Tim himself was looking a bit pale. But more interestingly was the smouldering ashes on the floor. As she reached the gang she slowed down to a halt and before saying anything she was bending over, clutching her knees, breathing heavily and unable to catch her breath after the run. Her Pokémon had caught up with her.

"Whew- that- was- a-long- a long run," she panted as she stood up straight. She felt a dripping on her head which reminded her she had forgot to put her bandanna back on, as she reached into her bag for the aforementioned head wear there was a slight hiss. The hiss was coming from above Roisin, from where the water had landed on her head. She quickly and nervously tied the bandanna before reeling her head upwards. And just as she expected there was yet another zombified Pokémon hanging above her. This time it was a Yellow Pupa Pokémon, known as Kakuna. One of its' eyes were missing. The usually electric yellow was now grey with the slightest hint of its' usual bright and stunning colour. It also had a bit of its' shell missing, and inside there was no Weedle or Beedrill. It was an empty shell. But where did the hissing come from? She stepped from underneath the Kakuna and looked quizzically at her friends. "Did any of you hear that hiss?" she asked them. From behind she heard a noise coming from Crawdaunt and Heracross, there was something bothering them both as they stood side by side, they were getting edgy, getting agitated, getting... Angry.

"HERACR!" the beetle yelled as it delivered a super effective Megahorn to Crawdaunts' chest. Crawdaunt then smashed it in the gut with a Crabhammer which smashed Heracross against the wall.

"Stop it, now!" Roisin yelled. And no sooner as she yelled, they stopped, turned around and looked at her. "Good, now don-AHH!" she screamed, her two strongest Pokémon were charging towards her!

"Yam yam!" screeched the little bug Pokémon as she flew in front of her trainer and generated a beautiful green orb of energy, known as Protect, to stop the attacks.

"Thanks Yanma, what's up with you two?" yelled Roisin, it was only then she noticed heat Crawdaunts' and Heracross' black irises had lost their colour and had been replaced with a very deep shade of crimson. "Heracross, Crawdaunt, return!" she yelled as she held up their Pokéball and LureBall respectively. And as quickly as they had charged, they were sent straight back to their spherical homes.

"Thank you Yanma," she sighed as she put the Pokéballs away. "The temple must be getting to them, either that or something had been controlling them or something," she articulated to everyone present. Whatever it was, why didn't it affect Yanma, Syter, Nabe or the Mightyena, and would it affect them in the future? What if it started to affect one of the Trainers in the temple, who can't simply be retreaded to a Pokéball? She repeated her thoughts into words and then shot two worried looks that shifted from Tim to Annalyn. Yanma landed on Roisins re-bandannad head. "Either way we've gotta prepare for the worst." she sighed grimly. Maybe the hissing sound and stranges happenings between Heracross and Crawdaunt were connected, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen today.

"Oh and watch out for a zombie Beedrill" she added joyously as she ginned ear to ear and indicated to the ancient Kakuna above her.

OOC: It's what you get for making him more human. Mwhahahaha... anywho... Time for a happier moment in these troubled times...

IC:

Annalyn smiled. She didn't know why, but she smiled. Standing there with Tim, she didn't feel alone. She had her parents and her grandmother, and she cared for all of them very deeply. But, since she left home twelve long years ago, she had been on her own. Even at the family practice, she had her own wing on the building to herself, away from her family. Her Pokemon were always at her side, but she longed for human contact. Though their last hour or so had been very troublesome, she felt a bond growing with not only Tim, but also with Roisin, Aaliyah, and even the newcomer Langley. They all seemed honest and caring, unlike her rivals on the Contest Circuit. Though they put on a friendly face, they all seemed to want to sabotage her efforts, even when she was a lowly novice. So, she forgot others and went on her own and then showed them up in contests. For this brief moment, without zombies or androgynous eccentric 'Labyrinth Guardians,' she felt happiness. It was as if...

"Bat..." She turned her head to the source of the noise. Was it another zombie? Annalyn looked up and down, but couldn't find the source. Once again, she heard, "Battt..." It was coming closer. In this damned labyrinth, you could barely see twelve feet in front of you. Perfect for ambushes by zombie Pokemon who had probably been suffering under the cruel hand of the Labyrinth Guardian for numerous years. Annalyn then heard the quiet flapping of wings. Oh great... she thought a FLYING zombie. She placed her hand on top of Syter's head, ready to give the mantis orders just in case they were attacked. At the same time, Roisin had rejoined their group and had just fought off her Heracross and Crawdaunt.

"I'm really starting to hate this labyrinth," she said while still listening for the wings or the 'Battt...' Annalyn walked over to Roisin and wiped the liquid that had dripped onto the girl's head with a hankerchief Annalyn kept in her pocket. She smiled at the girl and turned. "Oh god! Its a zombie Golbat!" As she said, the large bat Pokemon emerged from the shadows. Its appearance, however, was not that of a zombie. It still had its blueish purple body, oversized mouth that consumed the majority of its body, and large wings with red webbing. It didn't seem to be attacking, but rather running away from something. It flew right to Annalyn's shoulder and landed on it. It looked back in direction it had flown from and it wore a frightened expression on its face. Annalyn took a huge gulp. What had it been flying away from...

"Don't worry Golbat. Stick with me and I'll protect you," Annalyn said, looking at the bat with a grin on her face. She had always been fond of Golbats and was more than happy to protect the Pokemon. Annalyn reached into her purse and pulled out a Poffin block. She held it out for the Golbat, who happily wrapped the block with its large tongue and snapped it back into its mouth, where it happily munched on it. The Golbat nodded as its happily ate the blood flavored Poffin Block. "Maybe you can join my team and then you'll always be protected?" The Golbat nodded. Annalyn was happy to find a living Pokemon here in the labyrinth and it was an added bonus that it was one of her favorite Pokemon. She grabbed an empty Great Ball and held it up. It opened suddenly and absorbed the Golbat inside of it. The bat put up little fight and the ball clicked closed. "Hey, I'm going to call you Golat. I love giving my friends nicknames?" she said as she placed the minimized ball on her belt. "Thank god it didn't want to battle because my Pokemon are tired as is. I just hope we don't run into whatever was chasing Golbat anytime soon. Whatever it was, it had Golat here frightened..."

"Thanks," Roisin uttered as the seemingly happy and sentimental looking Annalyn wiped the liquid off the top of her bandanna with a handkerchief. She smiled at Annalyn and again at Tim, the ominous atmosphere had seemed to temporarily lift for a while. Seemingly out of nowhere a huge blue-purple bat had landed on Annalyns' shoulder Roisin was ready to screech. Surely a zombie -or whatever they are- Golbat would deplete Annalyn of her blood supply within seconds! But wait, it doesn't look the same as the 'zombie' Pokémon. It looks completely different, a regular Golbat! So maybe there's more regular Pokémon hiding somewhere in the dark walls of the Labyrinth! Roisin was getting excited by the thought of new friends, it calmed her nerves, not every Pokémon they saw had to have their brains hanging out of their eye sockets! And after a touching moment Golbat decided to join Annalyns' team. Roisin wasn't a big fan of Golbats, she absolutely adored the cuteness of Zubats and Crobat was one of her favourite Pokémon, but Golbat she saw as the black sheep of the evolutionary line. But she didn't exactly hate them, in fact she quiet liked them.

"Congratulations on your new Golbat, I mean Golat," Roisin whispered encouragingly too the taller girl as she patted her on the back. It was a time like this when she wanted to let all her Pokémon out of their Pokéballs for a stretch and a run around. But this was not the place to do so, especially after what'd happened to Crawdaunt and Heracross just now. Annalyn seemed as baffled as Roisin was and didn't answer her question. "You getting hungry Yanma??" she asked her Pokémon who had re-perched herself upon Roisins' head. Yanma smiled and nodded as Roisin whipped out a PokéBlock from its' case and fed it to Yanma.

"Yaaaam," she chirped merrily, approving of the PokéBlock.

"I can't wait 'til this is over, then we get special training by Sinnohs' own Grand Champion!" she exclaimed to Yanma who seemed to agree, while still happily eating the PokéBlock. "But I wish Langley and that other girl would hurry up, I wouldn't mind to get to know them a little better too, and then we can carry on after the cliché 'guardian'" she added, as she petted Yanma on the head.

OOC: I have a horrible feeling that I will have to use that revive at some point...

IC:

Tim had always liked Golbats, it was just something about their huge mouths in relation to their small bodies appealed to him. He was also happy to see a Pokemon that was still normal, in the sense that it didn't have pieces falling off it. Annalyn had been looking at him strangely, fondly almost. He had known her for only a few hours, but already she seemed a better friend than some people he had known for years. She was very pleased with her now Golbat, 'Golat'. He had noticed that about her names for her Pokemon, she seemed to just drop syllables from the name of the species; like her Scyther, 'Syter', her Octillery, 'Ollery', or her Abomasnow, 'Abanow'. Tim just tended to name his Pokemon random things, but he liked to think that their names reflected their personality, to him anyway. Roisin had appeared with her seemingly possessed Heracross and Crawdaunt. He was a little confused by the whole situation with them; was it the labyrinth getting to them, because he had not noticed Nabe doing anything out of the ordinary. The Charmeleon stood to one side of him, surveying the corridor they were in with interest, occasionally pausing to look up at the Kakuna, which had apparently opened, letting a zombie Beedrill out. Tim hated Kakuna, so he stood as far away from it as possible, without looking strange to the rest of the group. Annalyn had become convinced that the 'Guardian' was not part of the competition, and made reference to getting them before going on with the proceedings. She obviously didn't share his thoughts that the whole thing had been set up by Moonjoy or his superiors, and that the 'Guardian' was indeed the competition itself, the first trainer to defeat… it won.

What did they win though? He had never found out what the actual prize was, besides the 'Rose Cup', and the fame so obviously associated with it. Would there be a monetary prize or some kind of rare item for the victor? It seemed strange to him that no one had ever mentioned what they were to win when the competition was completed. Why was he bothering to pick over this now, when there were countless undead Pokemon lurking around a mysterious labyrinth, in which he was conveniently placed? He turned to Annalyn and Roisin, the other members in the unoriginally named 'Group Red'

"What now?" he wasn't exactly a born leader of men, and he had a bit of trouble making important decisions under pressure, so he felt that maybe one of the two women with him would have a better idea than his, which was basically; keep going down corridors until they found the center of the labyrinth, where the 'Guardian' presumably was, and just to hope for the best

OOC: You crazy people and your dedication to roleplaying. I go to bed for the night, and here I come back and everybody's posting. Thank goodness the plot hasn't moved too far along!

IC:

Langley had been following Tim and Annalyn from the rear, hoping to make sure that nobody sealed off the exits. His older sister had gone to a military school, so he had picked up a few simple things about group strategy. When you know the territory and your opponent doesn't, if you cut off their exits then the battle was halfway done. Unfortunately, that rule applied even more so to the current terrain, where there was only one exit leading back, and if it was cut off, there was no way out. Digging into his vest pocket, Langley removed a small flashlight and switched it on, illuminating the darkness in front of him. In the distance he could just make out Tim and Annalyn talking with the girl he had landed on when he had first arrived. He was about to run forward and regroup with them when a sudden hissing noise interrupted him.

With a sigh, Langley turned, coming face to face with a tall, serpentine Pokemon with glinting eyes. Slowly it spread its once-majestic purple hood, which was now mottled with the puse and green colors of decay. Along its tail, parts of the spinal cord were just visible, and the skin around its throat was almost completely gone. It stood there, waiting for Langley to make a move, its sickly blue tongue flicking in and out.

Langley's nose wrinkled as he slowly began to back away, his arms held out in front of him. Steady, steady.... he reassured himself, Just a few more steps and I'll be out of his range... Just keep moving... steady...

The serpent noticed what he was doing, unfortunately, and began to slowly slither forward, its slimy remains dragging along the floor. Its eyes opened wide, and Langley just barely managed to shut his in time, remembering that eye contact with an Arbok almost certainly meant temporary paralysis. His hand began to wander around his belt as he fumbled for a Pokeball as he moved, praying that the snake wouldn't notice and strike early. He took one step backward, and three things happened at once.

First, Langley's hand found the Pokeball he had been searching for, and he hurled it outward in front of him.

Second, he tripped over a rock, and fell flat on his back.

Third, the Arbok struck, its hood folding back and its eyes glinting with malice.

Langley shut his eyes, expecting to feel the pain of zombified serpent venom entering his system at any moment. To his surprise, however, all he felt was a slight tickling. He slowly, tentatively opened his eyes, and curious sight met his gaze. A long, creamy yellow tail was tickling his face, and around it, eight other tails were waving. The appendages in question were attached to a large, creamy yellow, fox-like creature with gleaming red eyes. "Clytemnestra?" he asked, confused.

The Pokemon nodded, before turning back to the zombie Pokemon, growling and baring her fangs. Arachne stood beside the beast, hissing her dissaproval. Clyte, so good you could make it to fight for master Langley! the tiny Pokemon squeaked in her own language, waving her legs excitedly.

Slowly, the Ninetales shook her head. You misunderstand my purpose, little bug. Unlike you, I bear no love for that sorry excuse for a trainer. I follow his orders because I have respect for him as the trainer who was able to capture me, no more, no less.

Arachne glared fiercely at the older Pokemon. But Langley is our trainer! Even if he wasn't my friend, it's my sworn duty and responsibility as his Pokemon to protect him from harm!

The Ninetales rolled her eyes. And who told you that? Your precious mother, born in captivity?

Arachne's eyes narrowed. And so it all comes down to that again, hmm? My mother was just as noble as any of your wild born Pokemon, and-

"Um, ladies, I hate to interrupt your argument, which I'm sure is of great importance even if I can't understand it, but we happen to be having a situation here!" Langley interrupted as he dodged another blob of acid being fired by the serpentine monster.

Arachne nodded. Here it comes! she screeched, firing a sticky blob of webbing into the Arbok's face, effectively blinding it and forcing its venomous jaws shut. Blinded, the undead Pokemon screeched as it thrashed about, trying furiously to remove the impediment.

Clytemnestra stared at the thrashing Pokemon. Pokemon who are now zombified, eh? Interesting...

Langley stared. Up until this point, he had been mostly relying on his instincts and those of his Pokemon to fight, but now it was time to give some serious thought. What did he know that would certainly dispose of this zombie? A thought raced through his head as he remembered an old horror movie he had watched once. Though this particular tactic probably wouldn't do anything, it was still worth a try. "Clyte, use safeguard!" he commanded.

Growling, the kitsune began to glow with a pale white light as a circle appeared on the floor beneath her, surrounding herself, Langley, and Arachne. The Arbok managed to free its mouth from the web gag and lunged forward, just as a wall of white light erupted from the circle. The zombie may as well have bitten an electric fence. It screamed as a burst of white light burned through its skin, reducing its body to ashes.

Langley stared at the charred spot on the ground, the only thing remaining to show the zombie had ever been there. "I can't believe that actually worked."

Turning, he noticed that Annalyn and the others were only a few meters away. With a quick nod to his Pokemon, he raced up to them, joining the group. "Is everyone okay?" he panted.

OOC: Mustn't... let... RP... die... but... lacking... any... inspiration... at... the... moment... *gasp*

IC:

Annalyn turned when there was a bright flash of light further down the corridor from where Roisin, Tim, and Annalyn were standing. Then, it was followed by a flurry of footsteps coming in their direction. This might be the perfect time to test out Golat's skills... Annalyn thought as she gripped the Bat's PokeBall. Langley burst out of the shadows and with his appearance, Annalyn's body relaxed once again. She smiled at the boy and nodded her head signaling that she was okay when he asked how they were doing.

"Well, where in the world is Aaliyah. I'm getting a little worried. We can't just leave her in here on her own. I'd suggest we go back to get here, but--" Annalyn said, but she was interrupted by the sound of thumping footsteps. She listened, but it sounded like they were coming from a different corridor. Then, without warning, the nearby wall exploded into a plume of stone, debris, and dust. Annalyn began to cough as she inhaled the cloud. What in the world...

"King..." A voice sounded from behind the facade of the cloud. "Rhydoooonnnn!" said another voice from nearby. The cloud settled and standing in front of the group were a duo of zombified behemoths. One was a rotting Nidoking, whose skin was a tainted purple color, his horn was missing a large chunk, and its tail was skeletal and bare. Its partner was a large Rhydon, whose body was scarred and torn in numerous parts and it was missing a large chunk of its horn as well.

"Oh god. They're huge and they're zombies. How unfortunate for us..." she said, gripping the PokeBall of the only Pokemon she knew could stand up to this giants. I hope you're ready Abanow. You're the only one I know who can handle them. She pulled the ball off her belt and threw it into the air, releasing the Pine Tree Pokemon from its captivity. Abanow stood with renewed vigor. It seems its long rest in its PokeBall had rejuvenated its health. "You three, I can't take on these giants on my own. Tim and I will handle the Rhydon while Roisin and Langley, you take care of the Nidoking." She said to her companions, and then looked at her opponent. "Abanow, Ice Punch! Aim for its head!" Abanow gripped its fist which began to emanate a frigid energy. It charged forward whilst throwing its fist at the large Rhydon.

Rhydon reacted quickly. It leaned forward, aptly dodging the Ice Punch and bore its horn directly into the abdomen of Abanow. Abanow let out a screech of pain and flew backward, smacking into the wall behind it.

"Are you okay Abanow!?" Annalyn cried. It shook its head trying to regain its focus and then pushed itself off of the wall. It barely had time to react as the Rhydon once again charged at Abanow, this time striking the Pokemon in the arm. Abanow flinched and fell to the ground. "Abanow, watch out!" Rhydon turned and once again charged at Abanow. Annalyn didn't have time to give an order. "NOOO!"

OOC: 'Sure, we get stuck with the Nidoking? xD

"Holy Jebus!" screeched Roisin as a huge smashing sound from just in front of her left a big chunk of wall completely demolished. There was a huge dust cloud from where the wall had seemingly exploded. Trying to stop herself from choking she ordered a Gust attack from Yanma, and after she beat her little wings hard enough to sweep away the cloud of dust, that Roisin wished she hadn't given the command. Standing in the rubble and debris were two giant Pokémon. Never mind zombie Pokémon but it had to be two really powerful Pokémon that had chosen to ambush the gang.

In one corner with a sickly grey-purple colour stood a huge Nidoking, a large chunk of its' horn missing, half a tail (and the other half being completely skeletal) his claws were large, yellow and unkempt and his eyes, well eye in this case as he only had the one, were yellow and extremely bloodshot. In the other corner stood a huge rocky Pokémon, also with a chunk of its' drill like horn missing, it was scarred all over and there was even rips in its' rocky skin.

"Ow," Aaliyah muttered, picking herself up off the ground. Only after she had gotten on her feet, she heard the explosion. She wasn`t too far from everyone else, so the explosion was loud and clear to her ears. "What?!" she exclaimed. Next, she heard the call of a Rhydon..the other of a Nidoking..but she wasn`t sure.

She quickly broke out into a run, while taking out a Pokeball that contained her bold little vaporeon, Dream. Aaliyah smirked when she felt her hand touch something round in her pocket. It was Dream`s Pokeball! She knew this because she always kept Dream`s pokeball in her left pocket, whilst Dante and Memory were kept safe in her right pocket.

Once the calm trainer had neared the group, Aaliyah quickly pulled out her Vaporeon's Pokeball and summoned Dream out. Once Dream was out, the Vaporeon looked very confused, but then became startled at the sight of two, large, zombie pokemon. Dream gave Aaliyah a questionable look. A look that pretty much asked if Aaliyah was crazy.

"Dream, just work with me, here," Aaliyah mumbled to her Vaporeon slightly irritated, knowing how hard it was to work with Dream in situations like this. Dream only nodded, understanding the situation. "Okay, now go and use Water Gun on that Nidoking!"

Dream ran up to get a more precise and clear aim of the Nidoking. Then, the vaporeon opened her mouth and let out a shot of water at the large, rotting, purple-tainted pokemon. Aaliyah seemed concerned. What if that large pokemon isn`t effected by Dream`s watergun? Then what? Aaliyah`s thoughts once again sent her into turmoil.

The Nidoking was effected by the hit of course, but not enough. Instead, it just decided to swat Dream away like a bug, sending her flyng straight to Aaliyah. Aaliyah quickly caught her Vaporeon. Dream seemed winded. "Oh, great," Aaliyah muttered to herself.

( OOC: I`m so lazy. C: )

Langley came incredibly close to using a word he had picked up from a passing sailor before he caught himself. "Coward!" he yelled into the darkness. "Stinking coward! You send your lackeys after us but don't fight yourself? Come out on face your doom! I, Langley Antechronos, son of Alfonse Antechronos, and champion trainer challenge thee!"

Clytemnestra shook her head. Does he ever get tired of giving those speeches? she asked Arachne, who was positioned on the back of yellow fox at the moment.

Arachne shook her head. Never. I think that he's under the impression that just because you challenge someone, they have to fight you fairly.

Clyte nodded. I'm sure on some planet that holds true. The weak link of our dear trainer is that this is-

"Could you two stop gossiping and back me up!?" Langley yelled, dodging a swipe from the Nidoking's decaying right arm. "Clyte, just use safeguard again! That stopped them last time!" he commanded, waving his arms frantically.

The Ninetales nodded as she roared, once again causing the shimmering silver veil of light to erupt from the floor.

"Um... Clyte?" Langley asked, pointing. The circle was a good three feet behind Langley and the others, and where it stood now it did no good.

The Ninetales rolled her eyes. You just told me to set it up! I had no reason to leap into the path of a partially decayed creature of the night!

For once, Langley was glad that he couldn't understand his Pokemon. Mentally, he began running through his options. Since Clyte could only produce one safeguard circle at a time, that option was gone. He would have to do this the old-fashioned way. "Arachne, use spider web to contstrict his movements! Clyte, once that's done, charge up a heat wave and don't hold back!" he commanded, before leaping backward to avoid getting between his Pokemon and their intended target.

Arachne obeyed beautifully, firing a net of silken threads from her mouth that covered the Nidoking's body, making it appear as if he was trapped in a dense cocoon. Then it was Clyte's turn. Straightening up, the Pokemon waved her tails elegantly, whipping up a frenzy of wind behind her, before roaring and releasing the equivalent of a compressed drought into the tunnel in front of her. To Langley's surprise, the blast missed the Nidoking completely, instead whistling down the tunnel a good two feet to the beast's left. He stared at his Pokemon. She could be annoying when she wanted to, and she wouldn't do a thing unless he told her to, but rarely did she miss an attack on purpose, unless she had something to gain from it. He turned to the fox, staring at her accusingly. In answer, she pointed one of her tails to the side.

Langley turned. The zombified Rhydon was staggering about, its body charred but not destroyed. Directly next to it stood Annalyn's Abomasnow. It didn't take long for Langley to realize what had happened. With a sigh of relief, he wiped his brow. That was the one good thing about having Clytemnestra. Whenever a Pokemon was in imminent danger, she'd usually race to the rescue without being told.

It was then that Langley heard a curious sound, something like a great sheet of fly paper being ripped in half. He turned to see the Nidoking Arachne had trapped pulling apart its cocoon as if it were so much rice paper. "Oh, crumbs." he muttered under his breath as the Pokemon advanced.

It was at that moment that a jet of water struck the Nidoking, knocking it to the ground. Turning, Langley saw one of the girls behind him, standing next to an attacking Vaporeon. "Many thanks, my dear!" he called over his shoulder, before turning back to his undead assailant.

OOC: I might not post for a while, I just got HP, and my internet's freaking out. Treat Tim as an NPC, but no overly important things if I don't post regularly

IC:

Tim was thrown to the ground by the force of the exploding wall. A Nidoking and a Rhydon stood, looking menacing as they slowly decomposed. Everyone but Tim immediately leapt into the battle, fighting odd the two zombies effectively. Annalyn's Abomasnow had taken another beating, and had been somewhat impaled by the Rhydon's horn, or what remained of it. It was saved from further injury by Langley, who had appeared out of the shadows just in time to engage their two rotting assailants. Roisin exclaimed that she and Tim would take care of the Rhydon, even though it was the Nidoking that was attacking them.

"Charrrr!" Nabe screamed as he tried to charge at the Nidoking, but Tim held him back, looking down at the salamander worriedly

"Don't! Let it make the first move Nabe" he stated simply, reaching for his Slowbro's pokeball

"Brooo" Johan yawned absently, unaware of his surroundings. He was shocked out of his stupor by Langley's Spinarak encasing the Nidoking in webbing. He stumbled backwards, shocked by his first sight of the putrid Nidoking. As it tore it's way out of the cocoon, like it was nothing more than a paper bag, it was hit by a jet of water, emanating from a Vaporeon he recognized. The powerful Nidoking swatted away the water type with ease

"Johan, use Psybeam!" he told the Slowbro, who flinched a little before opening it's mouth and letting a beam of energy escape it, beating into the chest of the Nodoking. The zombie roared,, turning its attention to the Slowbro which it easily outpowered, "Hev, Shadow Ball!" he turned to the Mightyena, who was growling at the undead Pokemon, both afraid and angered as they rampaged through the group. On hearing the command, it shot a ball of dark energy from it's mouth, still unmoving from it's position at the back of the group. The attack exploded on contact with the Nidoking, knocking it backwards, but not stopping it. It stood, its body smoldering gently, before charging at Johan. The Slowbro dived out of the way, growling at the Nidoking's yellowing claws scraped along the Shellder attached to its tail. "Hev, Shadow Ball again, Johan, Iron Tail!" Tim wasn't sure that he could overpower the Nidoking on his own, he looked to Roisin hopefully. She seemed torn, clutching a Lure Ball in her hand. The Crawdaunt had tried to attack her before, seemingly possessed by some unseen force. Surely it would have worn off by now? Meanwhile, the Rhydon had started on the girl, who was now holding her Vaporeon as it recovered from the Nidoking's assault.

The Nidoking shielded itself from the Slowbro's attack with one of its partially skeletal arms, which only resulted in the heavy shell tearing it from the body of the decaying Pokemon. Another Shadow Ball slammed straight into the face of the zombie, catching it somewhat off guard. It stumbled, almost tripping on it's rotted tail, before composing itself and jumping at Johan. The Slowbro screamed as a powerful Headbutt smashed into the wall of the labyrinth. The Nidoking wasn't finished however, as it used its remaining arm to slash repeatedly at Johan's face, until it was an unrecognizable bloody mess. Tim looked on in horror as the Nidoking relentlessly attacked his Pokemon

"Fire spin Nabe, Hev, Hyper Beam! Destroy it!" he shouted, rage slowly building inside him. Johan slumped to the ground as the Nidoking was simultaneously struck by the Hyper Beam, and engulfed in flames. Tim ran to the fallen Slowbro, searching through his pockets frantically as he fell to his knees beside the unconscious Pokemon.Where is it? Where is the Revive? There! He grasped the crystal in his hand, drawing it from within his suit, and placing it on the chest of the Slowbro gently. He fumbled for a potion in another of his pockets, spraying Johan's bloody face with it until it was empty. He threw the container down, looking anxiously at his Slowbro. He did not know what had happened to the Nidoking, and he didn't care. He could hear the battle continue, but it was distant, barely audible over his heart thumping in his chest as he looked down on Johan, waiting for the Slowbro to open it's eyes. The Revive was taking effect, and relief covered him as the Pokemon stirred. He didn't care what anyone thought of him, the safety of his Pokemon ranked far higher than other trainer's opinions of him.

Aaliyah gasped as the Rhydon charged towards her. Dream, her vaporeon, shook away the pain the Nidoking caused her, and jumped out of Aaliyah`s arms. "Quick, Dream, used Aurora Beam!" Aaliyah commanded.

The vaporeon seemed glad to use the move. Opening her mouth, she shot out a beam of many different colors. The beam had hit the Rhydon, knocking it over, but not defeating it. As a matter of fact, the decomposing pokemon picked itself up as if the move had only grazed it. Then again, the move wasn`t that strong, so it couldn`t have done much damage.

"Oh, geez.." Aaliyah sighed. The Rhydon charged towards the girl and the vaporeon. As a last minute resort, Aaliyah commanded the vaporeon to use water gun. The shot of water caught the Rhydon off guard, thus, knocking it over.