The Uprising: Fighting the Pokémon Extermination

Burr's body met with Bon's face and the two fumbled back in midair. Again, the attack wasn't that hard, but it sent a twang on pain from where Burr had bitten Bon on the snout. She whined a little but left her mouth shut.

"Quick, Bon, while he's near you face, get him with a Fire Fang!" Josh shouted out. He could hear the Raichu on the other side, cheering, but he wasn't sure on who it was cheering on and what it was saying; he didn't speak Pokémon. Something yellow caught his eye, and Josh turned his head. It was that pikachu that was with that guy before. He seemed to be enjoying the battle.

<Sorry if this hurts too much,> Bon growled before she clamped onto Raticate's body and hesitantly let out flames, which engulfed her teeth and started to burn Burr. She tried to hold back the flames as much as possible, afraid to hurt Burr to the point he would be knocked out.

<Sorry if this hurts too much,> Bon managed to say before biting down onto Burr's body. Flames spilled over Burr, and he struggled to get away. He instinctively didn't like flames. It was no use, however - Bon's grip was tight. And his head couldn't reach Bon's, so a Hyper Fang was out of the question.

<It's alright,> he whimpered, scrabbling weakly. Well, that was fun, anyhow. In a way.

"Alright, enough. If Bon had been trying, Burr would've fainted several minutes ago," Sar called out. Bon gently let the Raticate go. She smiled, picking his limp form off the ground. She gave him a look that said 'you did well, buddy,' and 'are you okay?'. Burr understood, calling out in the affirmative a little sleepily.

<Yeah, you bet...> He yawned. He hurt everywhere. Being slammed forcefully down into concrete hard enough to crack it, and being rather badly burnt in some places could do that to a Pokemon.

The Raichu jumped up and down excitedly. <That was cool. I could've done better, though,> he said, puffing his chest out. Sar ignored him, thinking that if she did so for long enough, he would lose heart and go away.

"Josh, aren't you treating us to the Potions, then?" Sar asked. She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

Bon trotted back to Josh, looking a little nervous. At least she hadn't gravely hurt him, that was her original plan anyways and she was glad she stuck to it. Josh patted Bon on the head and threw her a Sitrus Berry. She scoffed it down and sat obediently next to her partners.

<That went well,> Knight nodded. <Good job.>

<Thanks. I hope Burr got what he needed out of it,> Bon sighed.

<I'm sure he did,> Alex chirped. Stone merely scoffed and Lee was staring at the battlefield still, smiling. He blinked a few times and turned to the others, who just laughed at him.

"Josh, aren't you treating us to the Potions, then?" Sar asked from the other side of the field. She raised her head and Josh could just see her raise her eyebrows. He laughed back nervously, pushing his glasses up his nose and fishing through his bag. He pulled out several Oran and Sitrus Berries and a Super Potion. He passed them to Knight who sped across the field gracefully, almost as if he was dancing.

<For you, ma'lady,> Knight bowed, handing over the healing materials. <Make sure she saves some for the war. Don't worry, Josh has plenty more.> Knight nodded to Burr and danced back across the field to stand beside the others.

"So, is Tock having a go?"

Ikiji made his way outside, where once again, snow was falling. He stared up at the white flakes.

Does it ever not snow here?

He looked at the ground, where at least a foot of snow had piled up. He looked to the horizon, but was unable to see anything. He scowled, and donned his grey cloak. He set out to find a good place for the delivery.
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It was a quick battle. Sar and her raticate had put up a hell of a fight, but the other trainer and his pokemon had won. It seemed Sar's pokemon weren't very powerful, a fact which may complicate things in the upcoming assault.

Matsuko noticed the Raichu again. He was trying hard to get Sar's attention, but she seemed to be going out of her way to ignore him. A hint of a smile on her face, Matsuko called out to him.

<Having some difficulties with our new trainer, are we? Need a little help, perhaps?>

Josh's Gallade, Knight, leapt gracefully across the field and handed her a few healing materials. He bowed, saying something in Pokemon, nodding to Burr, before dancing across the field back to his master.

Wasting no time, she sprayed Burr a few times with one of the Super Potion bottles. He seemed to get better almost instantly, dropping to the floor and giving himself a shake.

"So, is Tock having a go?" Josh called out, still standing across the field. Sar thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. I'll let her sleep. She is nocturnal, after all.

She and her Pokemon may not be very powerful in a fair fight, but she would be damned if she was going to put up a "fair fight" with PXS. Sar crossed her legs and sat down, leaning back onto her hands and staring at the ceiling. She sighed when a Pikachu seemed to call out to the Raichu that had been hovering beside her.

<Having some difficulties with our new trainer, are we? Need a little help, perhaps?> The Pikachu called out. The Raichu turned towards him eagerly.

<Yes please! Did you see that fight? The Raticate, Burr, is really weak in level, but managed to keep going for a lot longer than I thought he would!> His cheeks were emitting sparks due to his excitement, and he was waving his front paws around.

Sar narrowed her eyes, finally recognising the Pikachu. It was that Ikiji's - the one with the burnt fur that Ikiji seemed to understand, according to their conversation. She sighed.

"Hey, tell that arrogant owner of yours that he's not impressing anyone, even with his lies or deceit," she said quietly, before turning back to examining the ceiling.

<Deceit? Huh?> Raichu stared at his pre-evolution questioningly.

<Yeah, well, Kij isn't exactly what you'd call trusting. We;ve had more than our share of problems, and he seems to think they all stem from being too trusting of strangers. Whenever he meets someone new, he usually tries to find a way to control them, before they, or so he thinks, try to control him.

<But...I've seen it. He's changing, even if he won't admit it. He's becoming warmer, more...open. Trusting. Nothing good ever comes from war, but I really think he might walk away from all of this a better person.

She sighed loudly. <Not that any of this matters. I'm afraid Kij may have pretty much spat on any chance of a positive relationship with Sar, there. Speaking of which, if you want to impress her, how about showing her your fighting skills?>

"Okay, sure," Josh nodded. He walked back across the field, his Pokémon following closely behind. It was funny to see how they walked, as if they walked in their own unofficial way of 'who was the most respected'. Knight walked in front, his head held high, with Bon and Alex close behind, walking in step with eachother. Stone crunched his way across the floor slowly, sniggering and Lee slowly trotted, his eyes elsewhere.

"Hey, tell that arrogant owner of yours that he's not impressing anyone, even with his lies or deceit," Josh heard Sar faintly as he was only a few metres away from her. Josh looked around to see who she was talking to, and saw the Pikachu he had noticed before, still there. He took a spot next to Sar and pulled out an Oran Berry and chewed it slowly.

"Want one?" Josh offered Sar, holding the berry out. Bon shoved her head into her trainer's bag and pulled out another Oran Berry and chewed and swallowed it, thanking Josh with a bark.

<If you want a fight,> Knight said to both the Pikachu and the Raichu, <I'm sure everyone except Bon would be more than happy.>

<Not so much a fight as a ...demonstration. Kij just finished patching up my wounds from my last fight, and I really don't think it'd be smart to re-open them with another battle so soon.>

She turned to the Raichu. <But, if you want to show off your skills, how about a one-on-one with one of those pokemon? I can coach you on your fighting, and hopefully, Sar will notice how strong you actually are.>

She turned to the one called Knight. <So, any of you willing to try him in a one-on-one?>

Sar gave Josh a grateful smile, taking the proffered berry from him. She looked around at the crowd of Pokemon, seeming to have a conversation with each other. It seemed to center around the Raichu. He was smaller and more slender than most other Raichu, with large ears, Sar noticed, excited about something. He was looking at the Pikachu with awed admiration mingled with despair.

<You mean they're not going to be friends?> Raichu was horrified at the idea. The guy who saved him, and the girl she chose... were going to hate each other? The thought evaporated when Matsuko spoke again. <Oh, really? You think that'll work?> Raichu asked eagerly. <'Cause, I mean, I am quite a bit stronger than the Raticate, no offense. I'll blow her away!> He decided, nodding to himself and pumping himself up even more.

Burr looked at him sympathetically. It wasn't going to work, because Sar really didn't quite care about that. She was convinced that the Pokemon was going to get killed if it hung around; especially since it had nothing to do with Sar before.

<None taken,> he said jovially. <Oh, and, by the way... what's your name again?> He asked the Pikachu. <I wouldn't say he had no hope of ever being Sar's friend. She's not all that picky, although I have to say, she now has, pretty much, only three friends. I'm one of them. Tock's the second, and that Josh kid is the third...> Burr trailed off. He could've done a happy dance - Sar had another friend apart from Tock and himself! It was amazing news.

<If he doesn't try to act like something he ain't, and whatever he is get's Sar's respect... then it's a smooth ride the rest of the way,> he said eagerly. He really wanted Sar to make more and more friends. That way, he wouldn't feel as bad if he did, too. And she would be happier. The Raichu looked at him, hope shining from his eyes like a beacon.

<Well, I'll fight first, then I'm gonna make those two make up,> he proclaimed, grinning. Sar looked up at Josh to see what he made of the conversation they both couldn't understand. I have this strange feeling Burr's talking about me behind my back, she thought.

(OOC: It was called the attack on Shadow Valley :P)

"Look, I don't dislike you, personally, although I'm well on my way there after that speech. And, obviously, I'm trying to put aside my 'own, petty arguments' if I'm talking to you. However, there are some people in the world that can't manage to hide every single emotion they feel. I assure you that I'm not stupid enough to let any of my emotions hinder me or your team on the battlefield," Sar said, voice tight. Here was another person who thought that they knew everything about everybody. If this went on for much longer, she'd ditch them despite the wishes of her Pokemon and try to find a way to survive this screwed-up region.

"Besides, I have no choice to fight whether I'm in your team or not, and anybody can tell that there is more chance of surviving if there are other people looking out for me. Obviously, you aren't interested, so I'll just go and leave you to find and reprimand Ikiji and... Kensai, I think it was, for 'provoking' the PXS," the girl said.

Before Isabel could reply, she was interrupted by Chris.

"Isabel," Chris said, walking over to her. "We need to prepare for this now. I don't want another disaster, do you?"

"First off, Chris," Isabel said sharply, anger flooding fiercely over her at the mention of Shadow Valley, "we know this time that PXS is coming, and we will prepare. The Guardians are working on the walls as we speak and are coordinating the first strike against PXS. Secondly..." Isabel hesitated. "I'm not David. Remember him? The original leader of the Uprising from whom I received leadership by default? PXS still has him and, to my understanding, he is still alive. I'm not sure if I'll be able to take care of the Uprising as well as David always did, but now we have Frosty Gorge on our side. We need all the help we can get, that's the first step. The Guardians are warning the people of Frosty Gorge of PXS's approach, but he asked me to go back to his gym to speak with him so that we could organize our retaliation. I would appreciate it if you would join me. I'm not sure this is something I can do on my own any longer."

Matsuko grinned at the Raichu's optimism. <Call me Matsuko. And as for Kij, well...he's off in his own world right now, preparing for the upcoming battle. If I'm going to convince him to patch things up, it'll have to wait until after the assault.

<He's not the kind to pretend he's something he's not. And as for what he is, well, as long as she can put up with a ruthless, ambitious, and reserved killer, they'll get along just fine. Child or not, he can be...difficult to communicate with.>

She grinned idiotically. <Though, to be honest, I'd love to see him thrown off, just once. Maybe you could convince Sar there to go flirt with him...I'd kill to see the reaction on his face at that...nah, they already hate each other, best not to further complicate things with a cheap joke.>

At the Raichu's boast, her eyes widened. <Force them to make up? My friend, if you can do that, I will truly be astonished. That's something even I haven't been able to do.

She turned back to the other trainer, the Josh, and his pokemon. <So. Any of you volunteer to help me show off his,> she indicated the Raichu, <strength?>

"Right." Paul said after Kez told him he had no work to help out with. Paul turned to see Bolt dragging his bag across the room towards him.

"Thanks girl." Paul said running over to her and stroking her, Bolt purred. He pulled from his bag the scope lens and fastened it on to Slash, Bolt already had the band on her because it was comfortable enough for her to keep on all the time. That was it they were ready, not a lot left for them to do but wait, maybe I should get to know some people while I wait.
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"What now?" Graham asked the guard who had dragged him out his tent.

"Du'no, s'pose you'l find out when you get there. Was just told to bring you, thats all." The guard replied, he was really begining to get on Graham's nerves. "Ere we are this is the tent." The guard stopped out side the tent and allowed Graham to enter. Inside was the officer who took Grahams Pokemon away for storage.

"The plans have been advanced you will need your Pokemon back now. Your key." The officer said to Graham. Graham handed over the key and the officer unlocked the case infront of him handing the Pokeballs to Graham.

"Prepare your Pokemon we leave soon you will be in with the other Pokemon users.

Beo had fallen asleep in one of the rooms at the pokemon center.. When he awoke he checked to make sure his pokeballs were there and they hed decided to look for Kez.

"Ahh I wonder how long I slept for?" Beo asked him self as he saw some of the memebers throughout the pokemon center but there was no sign of Kez. Beo then sat down in the main lobby and decided that Kez would eventually come through here.

(OOC: This is short but i'm just trying to get back into the rp)

"First off, Chris," Isabel said sharply, "we know this time that PXS is coming, and we will prepare. The Guardians are working on the walls as we speak and are coordinating the first strike against PXS. Secondly..." Isabel hesitated. "I'm not David. Remember him? The original leader of the Uprising from whom I received leadership by default? PXS still has him and, to my understanding, he is still alive. I'm not sure if I'll be able to take care of the Uprising as well as David always did, but now we have Frosty Gorge on our side. We need all the help we can get, that's the first step. The Guardians are warning the people of Frosty Gorge of PXS's approach, but he asked me to go back to his gym to speak with him so that we could organize our retaliation. I would appreciate it if you would join me. I'm not sure this is something I can do on my own any longer."

Chris took a step back as the crowd behind him was hushed. Maybe the stress was getting to her, but she seemed a tad... frustrated but at the same time humbled. She seemed scared also, and from Chris experience with her, that was usually not good.

"Sure," Chris managed to say, still shaken by Isabel's behavior. "Let's go."

Chris quickly returned Char, Silver, Screech, and Ivy to their Pokeballs as Sakura and Dile jumped onto his shoulders, then he followed Isabel out the door and into the fridged air. As a cold wind blew across the street, Chris looked around. Some of the locals were rebuilding the snow wall that guarded the Town with the help of some Mamoswine, others were running around in somewhat of a panic, making sure the news was heard that the PXS was here. Chris shuddered as another cold wind blew through the street and throwing his scarf into his face. <Maybe if we're lucky, they'll freeze to death..> Chris thought to himself, rolling his eyes and re-wrapping his scarf back around his neck. Sakura and DIle shiver on Chris' shoulders as they followed Isabel through the snow covered streets.

"Is." Chris said, getting Isabel attention as he walked up to her. She slowed her pace to allow Chris to catch up. "Look, is something wrong?" As soon as Chris said it, he realized how stupid it sounded, and the look Isabel gave him confirmed it. "I mean, besides the PXS attacking thing and the fact that half of the Uprising has gone missing." Chris hastily said, catching his mistake.

(OOC: Short, Yeah... but I wasn't sure where the gym was or what the gym leader was like etc... Finish up. Mira)

Ikiji finally settled on a small clearing for the landing zone. He removed his radio and began broadcasting the right frequency, then decided to kill time by looking around.

He found a small shed nearby. Out of curiosity, he picked it oped. It was filled with dust and cobwebs; clearly, it hadn't been used in a very long time. But, at least it was warmer than being outside. He sttled down and waited.
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Sometime later, he heard a voice. Startled, he looked around for the source, before realizing it was his radio. He picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

"Come in Alpha Charlie, this is Santa Claus. Come in, over."

"What the-?! Toyo?! What the hell are you doing on this channel?!"

"Got a sack of presents to deliver, ho ho ho. Over."

"Toyo. Stop. Just stop."

A pause, then, "Ah damn Kij, can;t you let me have any fun at all? Bad enough my pilot cancelled at the last minute an' I gotta come out to this Arceus-forsaken town...er, not that it's bad, or anything."

Ikiji stopped for a moment. "Oh, no, by all means continue your pointless rambling. Not like I'm waiting for a delivery or anything."

"Geez, keep yer pants on, alright? These stealth transports are a pain in the ass to fly, an' I gotta land one in the middle of a blizzard, no less. Ah, hold on, I've got your location. Be there shortly."

"Fine. Be quick about it."

"Roger. Ho ho ho."

Ikiji angrily shut off the radio. He sat down and resumed waiting. A few minutes later, he was aware of something approaching outside. He ran out of the shed, and saw the chopper flying overhead. A hatch on the bottom opened, revealing a wench that lowered several crates to the ground. Ikiji dragged them off one by one, then saw a small digital pad attached to the wench. A voice emerged from it.

"Right, now if you'll be so kind as to sign?"

He reached for the electronic pen next to the pad, but froze when he saw the figure on the screen.

"Toyo, I think you've made a mistake. This is almost twice what I owe."

"Oh, yeah. That's my personal delivery fee."

"Toyo! For the love of Arceus!!"

"Hey, I'm a businessman, alright? I gotta do whatever I can to make money."

Toyo paused, then resumed speaking in a lower voice.

"Alright, I'll level with ya. Business has been slow lately. Seems no one's interested in black market goods what with the government crackdown an' all. I'm barely makin' ends meet. I'm losing money, Kij, an' I don't like it. I like money. It buys nice things."

"Allow me to play a sad song for you while I freeze my ass off in this goddamn blizzard listening to you ramble about how you have to settle for tips insteaf of ribeye!"

He signed the pad, then shouted into the panel.

"Fine. I've signed. Now get the hell out of here, you greedy bastard."

"Sheesh! Try to do a guy a favor...right. This is Santa Claus, going up the chimney. Ho ho ho, over."

By this point, Ikiji had stopped listening. As the chopped lifted off and flew away, he dragged the many crates inside the shed for safekeeping. When he was finished, he re-locked it and set off for the gym again.

Along the way, however, he encountered the Uprising leader, Isabel, and another trainer he didn't recongize. (With a suppresed chuckle, he noticed a Pikachu on the other trainers shoulder, and thought what Matsuko would do to him if he tried to get her to do that.)

He followed them at a distance, taking care not to be noticed amongst the crowd of people.

Kez was confused, here they were, a war looming and no-one needed help

Paul had offered to help Kez but he realised there was no need, and so Paul moved on, probably to train or prepare.
Kez wandered into the main lobby, and saw Beo sitting there looking lost.

"Beo, Have you heard?" Kez took a deep breath, he didnt want to tell beo he didnt want him to fight but if he must, then Kez would be with him "PXS are on their way..Here!"
Beo Stood up started panicking He rushed to get a glass of water leaving his bag behind
Kez reached into his pocket and retrived a pokeball
"I'm sorry, but if i can't protect Beo you must"
With that he slipped the Custom ball into Beo's bag, Beo returned and asked "when are they due?"
Kez replied with but one word..."Dusk"

<He's not the kind to pretend he's something he's not. And as for what he is, well, as long as she can put up with a ruthless, ambitious, and reserved killer, they'll get along just fine. Child or not, he can be...difficult to communicate with,> Matsuko explained. Burr thought for a moment.

<Ah... Well, as long as he stops trying to control her and doesn't actually act like a coward, then all's well. Sar can be difficult too... trust me, it took me years to decipher her grunts - and her looks; oh don't get me started.> Burr shook his head in a mixture of exasperation and amusement. He looked back up at Matsuko's next comment and burst out laughing. He really couldn't stop.

<Flirt? Sar?> He said, trying to calm down. He failed. <We're talking about the same girl right? The blue-haired one? Flirt?> This set him off onto a new round of chuckles.

The Raichu sniffed, alarmed. <Force them? No! I didn't mean it like that!> He said, horrified. <I just meant... I dunno... help them in the right direction or something?>

Burr sobered up after the comment. <Better not. If she finds out you're trying to manipulate her, she'll shoot you herself. And trust me; she will find out.> Burr added. Then his nose twitched, and he was back to rolling on the floor in laughter. <Flirt! Sar! I'd like to see that!>

Raichu looked hurt before turning back to Matsuko eagerly at her question. <Oh, please! I'd be very grateful!> He told them. He still needed to gain some confidence since Matsuko defeated him in one shot. He would never forget that, but he would also forever be in their debt for freeing him.

Knight bowed slightly. <Any of us, except Bon, would be happy to fight.> Knight glanced back at his companions. <Well, I don't know our new partner Lee for very long, so I'm not sure about him.> The Leafeon shrugged in reply.

<I don't care. Last time I was out of that PokéBall was two days ago. It's good to stretch my legs.> He yawned, stretching his spine out.

<Well, then, all of us are prepared to battle then. Except Bon. Raichu, if that is what you like to be called, you may have your pick out of me and my fine fellow partners.> Knight bowed his head again.

<Lee, I have a question if you don't mind,> Alex said to the Leafeon, <why did your trainer throw you away?> Lee shrugged again.

<It was a matter of me being too weak,> Lee said. <Although Rorn, my trainer, was a guardian, he was short tempered and didn't think of me much. See, I escaped from the PXS and they had tagged me. Not with GPS or anything, just a tag that said I was with them. Rorn found me but just thought of me as a backup rather than a friend. It's complicated.> Lee shrugged.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Josh turned to Sar slowly, glancing back to his Pokémon every so often.

Greg thanked the nurse for giving one final checkup to King, Krow and Blade.

The three all looked fighting fit ,as they hadn't really done much that day. Blade seemed to stand a slight distance away from the other two. Greg noticed this, then remembered that he hadn't really introduced himself.

"Blade, or Grovyle, I'm Greg, Greg Jarvis." he crouched down to meet the pokemon, "I'm from here and just recently decided to stick with The Uprising. At this Blade's head tilted upwards, "Wha? Wait, do you know about PXS and these guys?" Greg asked. Blade nodded.

"Ah, well basically, we're about to fight them right now..." Krow and King both looked surprised, "I know guys, it's a little sudden - I mean, only yesterday did my journey begin. But we agreed: that we'd do no matter what it takes to restore peace in this land, right?" Krow gave a kaw and King grunted, "Awsome, Blade, these are Krow and King: your partners."

Blade looked at the Honchkrow and Nidoking. He walked over a little and King gret him. Krow hopped over too and each of the pokemon all introduced themselves.

"Thanks guys..." he said, "Now in you go. I'll call you when your needed."

With that Greg returned his 3 pokemon.

(OOC: Let's get this thing on already! XD)

"Dusk" Kez said as he muttered the word... Beo sat back down in the chair, and unclipped Blaze's pokeball from his bag... He then reverted back to spinning the ball in between his fingers.

"Well then Kez I guess we better rest and relax.. go make some coco" Beo said as he sat there and thought about how the moment was almost there when it could be his final battle.. He had waited for this moment since the uprising arrived.. A chance to prove his worth to the world.. a chance to show his parents he become something great... But then other thoughts came.. thoughts of Blaze being killed or taken away.. How would he live with that.. Another thought rushed through his mind.. what if kez were to get killed, along with blaze.. he'd have no one left after that..

After a few minutes Kez returned with the coco and the two sat there drinking and bareley saying anything..

"You know i'll have your back the whole time Kez" Beo said softly..

"Yeah I know Kid.. and i'll have yours" Kez said back.