Spliced... version 3 (PG 13/T)

Spliced… version 3

Here is the third re-write of my fic. Once again, it's influenced by a combination of my very first fic; all of my other fics and FR/LG, but it's technically in its own right as a fan-fiction and involves various game characters. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: This fan-fiction, "Spliced", is solely mine. It contains some mild language, violence and mortal peril, but nothing too bad. Pokémon is © Game Freak and Nintendo, 1995-2007. All other characters are © Saphira_Thorn.

A/N: I'd like to thank Marmalade for providing a description of a science lab and to Maze for suggesting the much needed change of title.

Between the two of us, Zet (or should I say Zetta Despair) and I came to the conclusion last night (9/11/08) that Kanto needed to be massively remodelled. Hence, the major cities and townships – with the exception of Viridian City and the towns of Pallet and Lavender – will have new names and descriptions. In addition, there will be new badges and Gym Leaders. Thus, this is why I've provided a full 'sneak peek' of all the chapters I plan to write.

==Spliced==

Table of Contents:

Book 1: The Beginning

Prologue (This Post)
Chapter 1: Preparing for the Adventure
Chapter 2: A Long Planned Escape and an Observer
Extra 1: A Tragic World
Chapter 3: The Viridian Forest (Part 1: Attacked! Part 2: Journey through the Forest)
Chapter 4: The First Badge
Chapter 5: Speed of Lightning, Roar of Thunder
Chapter 6: Leviathan City – Anarchy and the Frost Badge (Part 1: Bianca. Part 2: Teamwork)
Chapter 7: Departure
Extra 2: Turning Point
Chapter 8: Arrival in Asobibi
Chapter 9: Trainer Vs TR – Who will win?
Chapter 10: A Teleportation and a Ghostly Encounter

Book 2: Separated

Chapter 11: Back to Leviathan and Onto the Rock Tunnel
Chapter 12: The Mental Struggle Begins
Chapter 13: Spectres in the Mist
Chapter 14: Spirited Away
Chapter 15: Trouble Returns
Chapter 16: Captive… but Trouble's Brewing
Chapter 17: Recovering Paul
Chapter 18: Arrival in Moroi
Chapter 19: Rebecca Vs the Trio

Book 3: The Evils of TR and the AOC

Chapter 20: Back to Lavender
Chapter 21: Rematch with Rebecca
Chapter 22: Setting out towards Turehu
Chapter 23: The Blue Furred Tiger
Chapter 24: Bite of the 'ray
Chapter 25: Resurrection
Chapter 26: Outnumbered?!
Chapter 27: Victory at Last!
Chapter 28: Rompo City

Book 4: The Path to Greatness

Chapter 29: Fly
Chapter 30: Another AOC Encounter
Chapter 31: Danger on Route Seventeen
Chapter 32: Yet more Friends
Chapter 33: Hunting a Pokémon
Chapter 34: The Eevee Diverseness of Shedu

Book 5: Saving Rompo

Chapter 35: Rompo under Attack (Part 1)
Chapter 36: Gathering of the Chosen Trio (Part 2)
Chapter 37: Rompo City – Barrier (Part 3)
Chapter 38: Rompo City – Floor # 1 (Part 4)
Chapter 39: Rompo City – Floor # 2 (Part 5)
Chapter 40: Rompo City – Floor # 3 (Part 6)
Chapter 41: Rompo City – Outside (Part 7)
Chapter 42: Rompo City – Zombie (Part 8)
Chapter 43: Rompo City – Power and Ambition (Part 9)
Chapter 44: Rompo City – Eleven Floors (Part 10)
Chapter 45: Rompo City – Mind Games (Part 11)
Chapter 46: Rompo City – Zet (Part 12)

Book 6: The Night that Got Out of Control

Chapter 47: Rompo City – Mewtwo's Pawn (Part 13)
Chapter 48: Rompo City – Betrayal and Redemption (Part 14)
Chapter 49: Rompo City – The Night that Got Out of Control (Part 15)
Chapter 50: Rompo City – Metang (Part 1)
Chapter 51: Rompo City – It's Bond Badge Time (Part 2)
Chapter 52: Pallet Town – A Time to Breath
Chapter 53: Viridian City – Hyper Battle (Part 1)
Chapter 54: Viridian City – Kanto's Fate Hangs in the Balance of Three (Part 2)
Chapter 55: Viridian City – Earning the Earth Badge (Part 3)
Chapter 56: Viridian City – Rowan's Redemption (Part 4)
Chapter 57: Outside the Leviathan Cave – The Almighty Clash (Part 1)
Chapter 58: Outside the Leviathan Cave – A Chosen Weakens (Part 2)
Chapter 59: Outside the Leviathan Cave – A Chosen's Death (Part 3)
Chapter 60 (Epilogue): A New Life Brings Echoes of the Past

PM List:
Shiny Mightyena
Lord Darkrai
4th Gen Matt
Zetta Despair
Blizzard Master
Alakazam17

Prologue:

Spring, 2007…

If one was to step down the stairs without knowing what was held down below, all they would see, to their great horror, was a row of narrow tubes lined up against all four sides of the large underground area. The tubes spawned from the ground to near the ceiling, their contents inside would seem like nothing but dark, lifeless objects huddled in the clear water to minimize their size. Several bubbles would float up from time to time from the oxygen tanks installed down below, and at the very back of the cave, a large monitor attached to the rugged stone would flicker every once in a while with long streams of coded characters running one after the other.

If one was to know what the area really held, however, they would take four certain steps to the left and flick on the switch hidden behind a panel of stone, watching the lights hung down from the ceiling light up to illuminate the environment below. Sterile equipment, glistening white in the bright light of the room, would lead up to the many laptops sitting innocently on the countertops, their screens black as they hummed in sleep. Thick wires attached to the backs of them would slither over the tabletops to the cylinders against the walls where many Pokémon rested, floating in their drugged sleep, before separating to join up with the main screen at the back of the room.

Beside at least five black, thin computer screens rested a silver platter of tools that lay beside each other one by one, as clean as the day they were made, the metal almost having a malevolent feel to them as they glinted off their reflections under the lamps. Several cabinets stood tight against each other, one either side of the large screen that served as the main database, each handle locked tightly with its other by small, golden lockets.

Deep in an underground facility, experiments were being conducted and Pokémon were being cloned. Due to the processes involved, they gave off lots of gamma radiation (Gamma was at the far end of the electromagnetic wave spectrum – it was an even longer wave than ultraviolet). Because they gave off Gamma radiation, these facilities had to be deep underground. The cloning was normally done at level seven and the average depth was around five thousand, six hundred metres. Professor Robert Jones, the head scientist, was currently working on an Arcanine-Suicune clone. As it was at the Growlithe stage, the process had been successful so far.

He waited for a few minutes and smiled faintly to himself when a Growlithe – exactly as he had imagined it – appeared in the cloning tank beside him. The small reddish-orange dog slept serenely. Its front and back legs were curled underneath it in a foetal position. Locks of amethyst coloured fur covered the top of its head, while below its chin was a large beard of white fur. Black stripes covered its body, giving it a feline look, and what used to be the fluffy white, stripe-less tail was now two small, ribbon-like tails that swerved by movements known only to them.

The cloning tanks themselves were circular glass tubes and connecting the Pokémon to the tanks were thin, flexible wires. Each cloning tank – there appeared to be several dozen – had a screen in front of them that displayed vital statistics in bar graphs and pie charts. Percentages flashed across the screen, slowly rising.

Stopping work to have a well needed break, he strolled over to have a look at the work of his colleagues'. In one tank, that looked exactly the same as the one which the cloned Growlithe lay sleeping in, was a sound asleep Meowth. Like the Growlithe, this was no ordinary Meowth. The tiny blue feline had various purple spots on its fur and a gold trinket on its forehead. Its small front legs and huge hind paws were curled underneath it in a foetal position, not unlike the Growlithe pup's position.

Adjusting his glasses, Robert spoke to his colleague. "How is the progress of the Meowth clone?"

"It's going well, sir," the junior scientist replied, trembling from a little excitement. "Its vital statistics are slow to rise, which is worrying. Other than that, everything is going according to plan."

"Very good," the head scientist answered back, placing a hand on his colleague's shoulder. Dressed in a white laboratory coat and black boots, with the traditional glasses that scientists wore, he had a look of power about him. "It doesn't really matter that its statistics are rising a bit too slowly, as it will reach one hundred percent sooner or later."

Turning away from the junior scientist, he faced the other cloning tanks and observed the rest of his team working on the other cloned Pokémon. "As you definitely know, thanks to a very generous offer from our boss, we all decided to create cloned Pokémon. In saying that, we lost a couple of clones in the very beginning; but, we'll learn from our mistakes and will continue to improve." Whilst saying this, he was gesturing madly with his hands.

An hour later, the scientists had finished their work on the cloned Pokémon. Taking in each of the experiments' features didn't take long, and Professor Robert Jones nodded slowly. "This Ponyta," he began, "what's the progress report on it?"

The Ponyta, like all of the other clones, was unique. It was a small grey-haired pony with thin legs and a small, yet thick, tail. Its indigo-coloured flaming mane was rather long on the top of its forehead, shrinking as it followed its spine, before increasing once more for the tail. Black hooves, brown eyes and four small bursts of bluish-purple flame which emanated from the back of the legs completed the cute animal.

"It was one of the last to reach one hundred percent, sir," another scientist answered.

"I see," Robert replied.

"Sir," the junior scientist started off. "How will we know how strong these Pokémon are?"

"I'm not sure, Blake," Jones responded. "But I hope we find out soon enough."


*****

Later, the ageing Professor Oak was having a conversation with an aide who had just come back from a secret mission. The Professor was old, and the aide young, but Oak still insisted that he was young-spirited.

Oak's greying hair was trimmed neatly, as it came down just short of his ears; whereas the aide's long brown hair came down to his shoulders and he also had the beginning of a goatee. Both Oak and the aide wore long white lab coats, but Oak's fell down to his black boots; the aide's stopped in between the knee and the ankle. The assistant also wore a short-sleeved grey v-neck jumper over a blue business shirt.

"How was everything? Were you able to smuggle a few of them away, Mike?" Professor Oak asked quietly, his voice a bit hoarse.

"It went perfectly," Mike the aide answered. "And yes, I have got a few of them with me. But being a double-crosser isn't easy. If they find out, we're history."

Mike paused and drew four gleaming, red and white Pokéballs from his pocket. "The majority of them were Kanto-based creatures, but there were others – from Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh – who weren't native."

"Are these specimens ready for battle?" the researcher questioned, his grey eyes appearing to glint for a moment.

The Aide looked at his mentor and nodded silently. He handed the four spheres over to Professor Oak, who placed them in the small dome. Mike looked away briefly, thinking of the scientists he had deceived, but was jerked out of his reverie by an expectant Professor.

"Did you not hear me? I asked which ones they were," the researcher repeated.

"…" Mike hesitated, wondering what to say, but then decided not to answer.

"Thank you for your time," Professor Oak replied, with a genuine smile on his face.

Since no-one bothered to review the revised prologue, I will say I'm disappointed. But anyway, here's hoping someone will review chapter 1.

A/N: I'd like to thank my friend Kadjaft for helping out with the Glaceon description.

Chapter 1: Preparing for the Adventure

Autumn, six months later…

The town of Pallet was relatively small in comparison to the other cities and townships in Kanto. Most of the houses were built from wood, with the exception of a row of brick houses on the eastern boundary of town which belonged to the families with too much money.

Professor Oak was one of the most highly regarded Pokémon researchers in the world. He had won the Kanto region's Indigo League – a tournament held every five years at the furthest point north-west in Kanto – twice and has dedicated his life to the study of Pokémon, their habitats, lifestyles and interactions with their trainers. Since he was always known as the most renowned Pokémon expert in the entire world, the citizens of Pallet Town had always considered it an honour that he has continued to work in his home. Visitors felt that Professor Oak's Pokémon laboratory was the only real attraction in the town. It wasn't so much a tourist attraction, but more a place where interesting Pokémon events and discoveries occurred.

Pallet Town was hardly ever bustling except when the newest Pokémon trainers graduated from school – the Pokémon Trainers' Academy – usually at the age of ten. The school taught traditional classes such as maths, science, history, reading, and so on, as well as courses involving studies of Pokémon, which ranged from raising, training, breeding and battling of Pokémon. Their journeys would usually start by travelling north to Viridian City, as it was the closest city to Pallet, and the only city accessible by going on foot. Nothing but deep forest lay to the east and west, and the south was a large stretch of water where Cinnabar Island resided.

Night lay upon the region of Kanto. As the stars were beginning to glitter in the night sky, Professor Oak was working in his laboratory.

Tonight, however, was going to be very different for Professor Oak. As he sat in his office, busily working, he failed to take note of the front door being slammed. Continuing to read the research papers that Mike had given him that day, surprised variational mutterings of "Ahh, so that's how they ended up with special attacks!" were heard.

"It all makes sense now. The Shinx's father was a Hippowdon; that's how she ended up with Thunder Fang. For Squirtle to have Aqua Jet, there must have been some chain breeding involved. And for Bulbasaur to have Grasswhistle, a Roselia must have been her father. But why would the Team Rocket affiliated scientists want to single these three Pokémon out by making them more special than the others…?" Professor Oak mulled over these thoughts.

In doing so, he was oblivious to the presence of a figure standing in the room's doorway.

"Hello, Professor," the figure spoke. The person's slow and deliberate tone indicated that they were familiar with the Pokémon researcher. Professor Oak turned to face the figure, disappointment etched on his face.

Once the Professor had turned around to face the person, a small figure made its way across the wooden floor of the laboratory and exited through the door, thankfully unseen by either of the two men.

The young man was dressed in a red skin-tight business shirt, with blue denim trousers covering his bottom half. His long red hair was done up in a ponytail and his hazel coloured eyes shone with a ferocity that the researcher hadn't seen before. Yet, in all of this disorder, he recognized him for who he had been three years ago. He stood before Professor Oak with his hands on his hips.

"Rowan," he began, standing up. "You disappoint me. By becoming who you are today, you've betrayed your family; you've even broken the law. What do you have to say…?"

"Spare me the small talk, Professor!" Rowan snapped, wanting to get to the point. He enlarged the Pokéball that was held in his right hand. "Hand over those research papers, or else."

Rowan released the creature that was contained within the red and white orb. A sleek and arrogant Glaceon materialized at his master's feet, turning his head to the Professor and narrowing his opaque emerald-green eyes. The Ice type's sky-blue fur was starting to stand on end and the azure fur on his forehead shone like frozen snow. The Sinnoh-based Eevee-lution shook his diamond-shaped ears and the diamond-shaped patches of emerald-green fur on his body glinted in what little moonlight there was which streamed in from the window.

"Or else what, Rowan?" Professor Oak asked.

"Glaceon, it's time to let the Professor chill out, don't you think?" Rowan ignored Oak's question and gave his partner a command.

Despite the darkness, Professor Oak could not only easily see the Ice type Pokémon, but could also hear minute snapping noises as the icy fur kept regenerating itself. "Glaaaaceon..." the fox Pokémon growled, before advancing on the elderly researcher with fangs bared and ice forming on them.

It took a few moments before Professor Oak realized what move the Ice type was going to use and he began backing away, desperately looking for a way out. But it was too late for that; by this time, Glaceon was upon the researcher and bit into the lower section of his left leg. Instantly, the limb started becoming encased in ice and now escape was useless.

"Well now, I'd have to say our work is done, hey Glaceon?" Rowan asked his Pokémon.

"Glaceon," the Pokémon answered shortly.

Seeing that the sun was just starting to show its face, Rowan said "Let's go." And after saying that, he casually walked over to the desk, picked up the research papers and left.

In a large brick red, two-story, city-style house towards the entrance of Pallet, a fourteen year old teenage girl named Josephine Harris woke up yawning, completely unaware of what had happened in the Pokémon researcher's lab.

Josephine was a medium-sized, red haired girl who was impatient, yet kind, caring and hyper at the same time. She has a tendency to think things out more carefully than her Saffron City born friend, Rachel Savina. She has also had to assume the responsibility of the oldest child in what was a family of four children and two adults. Her deceased older sister, Tara, died in a car accident and no-one knows what happened to her older brother, Rowan. Her younger nine year old sister, Natalie, and herself are the only children left.

The girl had been born into a rich family as the third child of four. Unlike other children from wealthy families, she wasn't overly spoiled. As with all of the other children in Pallet, she studied at the Pokémon Trainers' Academy. However, instead of beginning her journey at the age of ten – which was the required legal age – she chose to hang around Professor Oak's lab for four years, studying about the different types of Pokémon and learning more which would, in the end, help her a lot in her upcoming journey.

Three walls of her room were made of brick – which had been painted a light green colour – and were completely devoid of anything, with the exception of a wooden framed unicorn picture on the wall opposite her bed and a painting of a girl feeding some ducks in the country on the right-hand side wall. On the third were posters of her favourite Pokémon. The last wall consisted of a security grill protected sliding door.

It was behind the sliding door that an oddly shaped grey table was positioned with the girl's laptop and story writing material on it. She had only one laptop – a HP Compaq nx9005; but she badly wanted the internet on it, so she wouldn't have to keep going down to the local library. A reasonable sized TV and DVD/VCR combo (the combo of which was currently kaput and needed to be looked at) rested near the Canon Pixma ip4200 printer she owned, with a lone Nintendo DS console – with a Pokémon Pearl game in it – sitting on top of a spare old-styled school desk.

As the sun rose over the small town, Josephine got out of bed and she headed towards her en suite. She opened the door, closing it upon entering and then turned on the water.

*****

After showering herself, Josephine proceeded to dry off her thin frame. She then rubbed the moisture out of her hair, allowing the wet strands to fall to her shoulders, and then dried and brushed it until it was in a suitable enough position for her to wrap a hair tie around it, creating a pony-tail look.

She went over to her closet and removed two hangers; one of which held a sky-blue sleeveless top, with the other holding a bright red miniskirt. She dressed herself, before slipping her feet into a pair of brown Blunderstone boots, and casually placed her black sun-glasses over her hazel coloured eyes. She had been born with black hair, which had gradually lightened to brown, but she had coloured it red when she was ten, and had kept it like that ever since.

Placing her digital watch on the wrist of her left arm, she headed down the hall.

Josephine put her right hand on the railing as she descended the stairs, admiring the wall to wall maroon coloured carpet. Heading into the reasonably large kitchen and preparing herself a bowl of cereal, she spotted her mother relaxing on the cyan coloured sofa. Eating the cereal as fast as she could without making herself sick, she then checked to ensure that her yellow backpack was packed. Finding out that everything was in there, she placed the breakfast bowl in the sink, ran some water in it and headed to the door.

"Honey, wait," the voices of Josephine's parents spoke up. The girl's mother rose from the sofa as her father wheeled himself into the room. The masculine toned voice had come from Charles, Fiona's husband. Charles had been an Indigo League Champion at the age of twenty, but after having an accident in the Safari Zone at twenty-three, he ended up in a wheelchair, as a paraplegic.

Saying goodbye was going to be difficult and sad.

"Yeah?" The teen turned and looked at her parents as tears started to form in her eyes.

"It's good to see that you are finally ready. Professor Oak rang and said he wants you to meet him at his lab," the woman told her, relieved to see that her second oldest living child was finally setting off. She was a forty-one year old woman, with pale red hair and hazel eyes which burned with fiery impatience. She wore a bright red sleeveless top and blue three-quarter pants. This was Fiona Harris, mother of a Pokémon trainer-to-be. She was a very kind and caring person, but she didn't want her daughter to miss out on one of the most important days of her life.

The pale red haired woman was also an inventor who worked for Silph Co. in Saffron City. She had been designing a device for years that allowed trainers to understand what their Pokémon were saying, but it was only this year that she had perfected it and wanted her daughter and her daughter's friends to test it out, as this was her first real success.

Josephine stood there with a puzzled look on her face, wondering what the researcher needed to give her, but then it clicked. "Of course! My Pokémon, Pokédex and Pokéballs… how could I forget…?" Josephine mentally slapped herself for forgetting such a simple thing.

As she was about to run to the lab, she remembered that this would be the last time she saw her parents before she left. She turned around and looked at them. "Mum, Dad… this is goodbye for now. I'll miss you."

Her father stared desperately at her, while her mother placed a hand on her shoulder and answered, "Yes, we'll miss you too. You have grown up incredibly fast Josephine, and we understand that you want to go on this journey."

"Alright, I'll see you later guys."

"Goodbye dear, and know that whatever happens, I'll always think of you as a Pokémon Master, because you went and attempted to accomplish your dream," Fiona said, as she smiled at her daughter. Charles manoeuvred his wheelchair backwards, determined to talk to Fiona in private once Josephine had left.

Just before Josephine set off, she gave her mother one last farewell hug…

… This resulted in the tears flowing freely.

Wiping away the tears, Josephine started walking towards the research facility that was run by Professor Oak.

After trudging along for about five minutes, she happened to see a Shinx run after a Pidgey. The Shinx was an Electric type feline covered in blue fuzz. Her stout feline body and short azure fur shivered in the wind, while her tail and ears shone bright yellow; useful in dark places, but hardly noticeable now that she was outside. Hissing, the Shinx leaned down on her front legs, her yellow bands gleaming in the sunlight as she chased after the Pidgey.

The Pidgey was a Normal and Flying type bird with a yellow beak and a pair of yellowish feathered eyebrows, while the eyes had black feathers surrounding them. The top of the head and most of the body, including the main part of the wings and tail, was brown, while the front, bottom and the ends of the wings were yellowish. The taloned feet were small and ended in three claws each.

The Shinx must have seen the Pidgey slow down, and she quickened her pace. However, a passing car drove by where the Shinx was heading and the Electric type hit the side of the car.

Josephine gasped in shock. "Oh no! I wasn't expecting that to happen!"

The red haired girl hurried over to the injured Pokémon. "Good, it's still breathing. But I should get it to Professor Oak's right away!"

Professor Oak's place was now only another five minutes down the road, and Josephine ran as fast as she could to get to it. When she finally arrived at the lab, she knocked but got no response. It was only then that she noticed that the large wooden door was somewhat open, and she entered.

"Professor?" she called out, hoping to get the researcher's attention. "Professor Oak?!"

"Coming!" a hoarse voice called back, and soon Professor was standing in front of her with a mop in his right hand.

Josephine looked the researcher curiously, wondering what on earth he was doing with a mop, of all things, in his hand. The red haired girl had come to receive her Pokémon, Pokédex and Pokéballs from the Professor, but now was not the time for chitchat.

"Hello Josephine, what can I do for you today?"

"This Shinx got hit by a car. It needs help right away!" she panted, slightly out of breath from the running.

The Professor looked distressed. "I've never worked on something this big before, but I'll do my best." He turned to Josephine and said, "I'll call your parents and tell them that you're here. Rachel and Paul are here as well, by the way." He then took the Shinx from Josephine's arms and went into his office.

Rachel and Paul came out of the office, and Paul was walking with his usual swagger.

The boy was of a reasonable height and he had spiky, auburn coloured hair which was currently fluttering from side to side in the light breeze. He wore a black shirt, baggy purple pants and on each of his wrists was a purple sweatband. To sum Paul up, cocky and arrogant would be one's best bet to describe him. His mother died in a car accident when he was ten and his father abandoned him, leaving him to live with his older sister, Daisy, and his grandfather, the Professor.

Rachel walked forward, her long purple hair flowing behind her. She looked relaxed and supple in her outfit – a bright red zip-up skin-tight jumper and navy blue shorts. Her huge socks perfectly matched her jumper, while her white sporty shoes were marked with a solitary crimson streak. For those not acquainted with Rachel Savina, they would ask what drove her and the answer would be simple; impatience and impulsiveness. As an only child, she grew used to being spoiled by her parents and is obsessed with capturing only the best of the best Pokémon.

"So… the loser's finally arrived, hey?" Paul questioned his rival in a cocky tone.

"Shut up, Paul. I'm worried about this Shinx," Josephine muttered, indeed looking worried about the poor Pokémon. She exhaled heavily and began pacing.

The trio waited an hour before the Professor came out with Shinx.

"She's as good as new. I scanned her and discovered that she had a microchip, meaning she's a starter Pokémon," Oak explained, before seeing weirded out looks on the three trainers' faces and adding, "I microchip all starters; it's to prove they belong to me and, once given to their respective trainer, I update the database with the trainer's Pokédex number so that the microchip number changes to match that of the Pokédex."

"That's good," Josephine simply said, ignoring the long-winded explanation, before getting up to pat the Shinx, whose gender had been revealed to be female.

"Watch out, she might bite you," Oak warned, but to everyone's surprise, the Shinx didn't bite the red haired girl. In fact, the female lion-cub seemed to like being patted.

"Hey, she… she's actually enjoying it," Rachel noted. "Maybe you will be able to pick her as your starter Josephine."

"Yeah; can I, Professor Oak?" Josephine's hyperness soon showed itself as she started jumping up and down and squealing "I want Shinx!" over and over.

The elderly researcher smiled warmly and nodded, recalling the Electric type into a Pokéball. "But first," he began, keeping the orb for the time being. "I'd like for Rachel and Paul to choose their starters if you don't mind, hmm Josephine?"

"Yeah," she shook her head, understanding what Professor Oak meant. "That's okay with me, Professor."

As the researcher opened the remaining two spheres, out popped a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle.

The Grass and Poison type was a small lizard-like quadruped with a large bulb on her back, about half the size of her body. Her face was flat and had several markings on her forehead, as well as two triangular ears and a pair of crimson eyes. When her mouth opened slightly, fangs could be seen. The body was mostly spotted with those markings, but the two front legs were more marked than the back ones.

The pure Water type was a small turtle with blue scales covering the fleshy part of his body. His mouth had a slight curve below his nasal orifices, and his paws were more like hands than flippers. A brown shell with a white border held most of his body, the underside of it being a very clear brown and, from the bottom of it, a somewhat fluffy tail sprouted.

"I'll take that one," Rachel said, pointing to the Bulbasaur, as the impulsiveness took hold. "It looks feminine, and I like female Pokémon."

"It has a name, you know, Rachel. Its name is Bulbasaur," Paul spoke in an arrogantly sarcastic way. "As for me, gramps, I'll take Squirtle."

Before the Professor could return the two Pokémon to their containment spheres, it seemed like an all-out verbal brawl between Rachel and Paul was set to begin. Josephine had already thought of a plan and mouthed it to Professor Oak, who was not exactly good at lip-reading but got the gist of the message anyway.

As Josephine recalled Bulbasaur and Squirtle to their Pokéballs, Professor Oak tried valiantly to settle the growing dispute between Rachel and Paul. Knowing that the Professor needed help, she thrust the two orbs into the respective trainer's hands and yelled, "You've got your Pokémon now, so just SHUT UP!"

That got their attention.

"Don't tell ME to SHUT UP!" Paul yelled back.

"I will TOO tell you!" Josephine retorted, before speaking normally. "Professor Oak would just like to upgrade the microchip number, and then the two of you may leave."

"What about you, Jose?" Rachel asked her friend. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"Nah," she replied. "I need to talk to Professor Oak about something. I'll make my own way."

"Who said anything about us, Rachel?" Paul interrupted. "I'm going by myself; Josephine's got the right idea."

The red haired trainer rolled her eyes as another all-out verbal brawl seemed ready to explode. "That's enough," she said exasperatedly. "I need to talk to the Professor about something, so if you two want to leave, go right ahead."

"Okay, well… bye Josephine," the lavender haired girl said as she walked out of the building.

"I'm so outta here. Later gramps," Paul snapped as he, too, marched out of the laboratory.

"Now, Josephine," the Professor began. "How can I help you?"

The red haired girl let out a short, fast sigh as she got straight to the point. She asked the elderly researcher why he had had a mop in his hand when he had met her in the foyer of the lab earlier. There was silence as Professor Oak considered his response. Eventually, he explained the situation.

"I had a bit of trouble with the new leader of Team Rocket last night. He barged into my laboratory… uninvited, may I add… and demanded that I give him the research papers I had collected earlier that day. When I refused, he sent out his Glaceon and ordered it to attack me. It did so, using Ice Fang to freeze my leg. He then grabbed the papers and left the building, leaving me to suffer and wait as the sun rose and thawed the ice."

"Ah, so that explains the mop," Josephine answered. "Well, until next time Professor, this is goodbye."

"Have a safe journey, Josephine. By the way, the Shinx sometimes will refuse to return to the Pokéball. If that happens, don't worry," the researcher called out.

The teen walked back through the building and out the front door, waving goodbye to Professor Oak as she did so. She then looked up as she began to walk along Route One. The sun was now in plain view, almost blinding from where she was standing. The grass was glimmering as the dew dropped from each blade.

The day was just beginning, as was Josephine's Pokémon journey. She had her first Pokémon, and already knew where she was to go next – Viridian City. The teen, now with determination in her hazel coloured eyes, continued to look at the sky. She then looked down at the orb which contained her partner and opened her Pokédex.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Electric type. Shinx's forelegs have a muscle-based system of generating electricity. Their bodies shine if endangered," the device reported in a flat feminine toned voice.

1st comment xD

Well i like this new revised version, it's a bit darker and more well thought. It also explains a few things that the older version lacked in the 1st chapter. Well, keep up the good work and really, don't get down for the reviews.

The first two paragraphs of the prologue, I must say, are masterfully written. I really enjoyed reading them. :D The rest of the prologue is also flawless - I cannot suggest anything for it. Very interesting that Oak is acting suspiciously, and you have presented it in a way in which I do not know which side I should be rooting for yet - a skill which I admire.

Chapter One is also superbly written, with an excellent, just-at-the-right-pace introduction of Shinx's features. I do have a few tiny nitpicks, though:

Saphira_Thorn said:

Josephine put her right hand on the railing as she descended the stairs, admiring the wall to wall maroon coloured carpet.

Click to expand...

I realise this is a way to insert imagery of the surroundings, but it seems odd that she would admire carpet in her own house, which she would see every day. One way of getting around this would be to say "new carpet", rather than "carpet", so her admiration would be more plausible.

Saphira_Thorn said:

"I had a bit of trouble with the new leader of Team Rocket last night. He barged into my laboratory… uninvited, may I add… and demanded that I give him the research papers I had collected earlier that day. When I refused, he sent out his Glaceon and ordered it to attack me. It did so, using Ice Fang to freeze my leg. He then grabbed the papers and left the building, leaving me to suffer and wait as the sun rose and thawed the ice."

"Ah, so that explains the mop," Josephine answered. "Well, until next time Professor, this is goodbye."

Click to expand...

It seems that she is awfully nonchalant about the story of the leader of team rocket assaulting him. You might want to add some concern or surprise.

All-in-all, an excellent fanfic, one of the best I've read. :D

A/N: Once again, I'd like to thank my close friend – dear ol' KP – for helping out with a description of the Grovyle hybrid.

A big thanks goes out to Marmalade for helping to put a bit more "oomph" into the Growlithe pup's flashback.

Just letting everyone know that there is a new Author's Note in the first post. For those of you who can't be bothered scrolling up to see it, be grateful that I've provided a link. Link: http://www.pokecommunity.com/showpost.php?p=4032384&postcount=1

Chapter 2: A Long Planned Escape and an Observer

(Rating = PG 13; specifically for the blood.)

*****

The night before the trio had begun their journeys, there was a commotion in the main area of the lab which was situated underneath Viridian's Pokémon Mart. Clouds of dark grey smoke were billowing from a destroyed high-tech machine, and further up towards the entrance of the underground laboratory were a group of Pokémon, fighting for their lives.

They were experiments, created by the scientists. But, in the same vein, they weren't all just clones. There were some hybrids – as in, Pokémon with two types – as well. Having had enough of being examined by the scientists', the Pokémon were not only causing a distraction, but fighting back.

The skirmish, however, wasn't exactly going in the group's favour.

A few of the scientists had forced the rebelling Pokémon into a corner, where a mechanized door was set to automatically come down and crush a couple of them. A scientist screamed in agony when a silver curved leaf sliced into his wrist deeply. Blood gushed out forcibly from the gash, and he dropped the syringe from the weakness in his hand. The frightened creatures turned to face the oldest of the clones, their saviour, and felt hope rise in their spirits. With eyes of a harsh blue glaring at the man, the greyish green gecko stood his ground, with the leaves on his head, arms and tail shimmering in the fluorescent light, or what little there was from the commotion.

The throat and belly were of a darker red, much like the vital fluid flowing from the scientist's hand to the tile floor, and when the creature moved, indentions were seen in the skin. They were like cuts, incisions from previous tests, but the lines were only scratches, not deep enough for it to have bled like the others. The Grovyle lowered his head in a rage, extending claws of brilliant steel from his slender fingers. He growled deeply and threateningly.

<ANDARE!> the Grass and Steel hybrid shouted at the others in a reedy Italian voice. "Go, my friends…" he thought, as he valiantly fought off the scientist.

<But-> the Normal and Psychic typed Meowth hybrid began, but was cut short.

<No buts; just GO!> Grovyle insisted, this time speaking English.

The group of cloned and hybrid-ized Pokémon ran out the door, wishing that their saviour had come with them, knowing that he had bravely made a sacrifice for them.

BANG!!

The slam indicated that the door had closed, therefore ending the life of their friend. Not wanting to look, and continuing sadly on their way out of this godforsaken place, they had no idea they were being watched…

As the group of escapees continued to flee, dodging through the hallways blazing with wailing alarms signalling their breakout, the Growlithe pup's mind drifted almost unwillingly to a memory that had floated up to his panicking mind, hidden beneath a layer of what had just happened and the possible outcomes of what could.

~Flashback~

He didn't know why he was sleeping. The sleeping part didn't even really describe what he was feeling right now – his senses were going haywire, registering the liquid encasing him in a lukewarm cocoon, brushing up against his fur in an almost gentle caress of a loving mother. The animalistic part of him was struggling to take control over his body to escape from the clutches of the water, screaming at him to getaway getaway now! before the water managed to rush into his sensitive nose, filling up his lungs with the substance and burning away at his soft fur.

He thought he could almost feel the fire inside of him burning bright, fighting against the natural instinct to flee from his weakness, but another strange – new – part of him calmed his racing heart, and his ears picked up on instinct the quiet flow of conversation breaching through the glass.

He blearily opened his eyes, his mind not bothering to be surprised when the water burned away at his irises, trailing after the hazy shapes of white blurbs standing before him. Humans, if he remembered what his mother taught him right.

"…Experiment…" The word drifted through to him, and he wondered what it meant – his knowledge of humans was sparse, and the word was not one he had heard of.

"…Failed…? …You… think?"

The stream of words meant nothing to him, and his eyes began to close as his resistance against the strange call for the non-sleep began to fail, his chest falling and rising as his mind slipped off into the black abyss where dreams had not managed to reach him.

"Suicune…"

He gave one last gentle exhale, too tired to bother with the curiosity that sprung up to his mind at the mention of the Pokémon he had heard of from his mother only in tales, and fell into the drugged unconsciousness.

~End Flashback~

<Will we ever be free of this torment?> The Normal and Psychic typed Meowth asked.

There was an awkward silence, for it seemed no-one really knew how to answer this question. A swooshing sound suddenly made itself known to the group. The escapees stopped abruptly and looked around, fearful that their movements were being observed.

A figure landed in front of them, his greyish green form straightening up as he stood with folded arms. Sensing that they were going to celebrate his return, he placed one three-fingered hand out. <Now is not the time to celebrate, my friends,> he spoke English for the sake of the clones who couldn't understand his Italian. <We need to be free… we need to live new lives. Now… let's get out of here.>

The Grovyle hybrid requested some fiery assistance from the Growlithe pup. As the small embers flew from the other hybrid's mouth towards the wooden barrier, the Grass and Steel type – along with a couple of other clones – helped out with their attacks. Once the timber had burnt through enough to let them pass, the group were finally able to breathe fresh air.

Turning back to view their former home in disdain, one of the other clones – the grey haired Ponyta – thought to herself in English "Instead of being turned into freaks, we all should have led perfectly normal lives. What will others – human and Pokémon alike – think of us?"

*****

Charles turned his wheelchair around so that it faced Fiona. "Let us hope that she does not make the same mistakes as her brother," he stated, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Fiona placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. Rowan had been a trainer before his younger sister had and, unfortunately for him, had become involved with evil people. He hadn't been heard from since. She wanted to believe that Josephine would not get mixed up in that sort of stuff, but couldn't be sure.

"How long has big brother been gone now, mummy?" Natalie asked in a high-pitched voice, as she ran into the room. The nine year old red haired Nat – as Josephine called her – was the youngest Harris and often wore a purple short-sleeved polo shirt and a red skirt. Being only nine, she was too young to receive a starter Pokémon at the moment, but would be able to start her journey next year.

"Too long," Charles cut in.

"We last heard from Rowan when he was fourteen. That was exactly three years ago," Fiona answered.

*****

Not that long after Josephine had left Pallet Town, her Pokédex began to vibrate, indicating an incoming video message. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket and peered at the sender's number in the video messaging list. The word 'mum' flashed on and off with an unopened envelope next to it. She played the message.

The familiar face of her mother filled the screen.

"Hello dear," the image on screen said.

"Hey mum," Josephine replied.

"Professor Oak rang me just after you left. He said that he'd given you a Shinx as your starter, and that he has high hopes for you when you compete against the Gym Leaders. He also told me that you told him a while ago that you were quite sure you didn't want to participate in the League challenge. Honey, why didn't you tell me that?"

The red haired girl sighed heavily. "I just didn't, mum. I didn't want to live up to dad's expectations of me."

Fiona frowned slightly. "Okay. Oh, that must be the postman. I have to go now, dear. Take care!" The message then cut out, leaving the red haired teenager wondering what her mother could be so excited about.

Suddenly realizing that she wanted to get to know her starter better, she unclipped the red and white sphere from her Pokébelt.

"Come on out," she said. The red haired teen raised the orb into the sky and from it came the young she-cat called Shinx.

<Where am I?> she meowed, looking around at her surroundings in confusion. The light breeze ruffled her short azure fur as she gazed up at the human who had saved her life.

"You're such a cutie!" Josephine squealed, not even stopping to think about how Professor Oak had obtained her starter. "You're on Route One," she added, finally registering that the Electric type had communicated with her via Pokéspeech.

Crouching down, the red haired girl gently rubbed the feline on her head; in response, the female Shinx purred happily and nuzzled in closer against the teen's soft touch. This moment of happy bonding continued for some time, until Josephine looked at her digital watch and exclaimed in surprise. "Look at the time! I suppose we better be heading towards Viridian City. I'd like to get there before nightfall…"

In holding the orb in front of her partner's face, the unspoken question of 'do you want to go back inside?' was raised. The female Shinx shook her head, indicating that she didn't want to return to its confines at the moment.

Turning her head sharply, the she-cat saw a lone Pokémon wearily standing by itself. Poking her trainer in the leg with one claw, the Electric type feline brought Josephine's attention to the fatigued creature as well.

The Pokémon was the small, grey-haired Ponyta. Its head drooped alarmingly from exhaustion and its grey-haired body was slowly turning black from dirt.

Josephine walked up to it, with the female Shinx by her side, and spoke softly to it. "You're an unusual Ponyta. What Rapidash foaled you?"

<Yo no nacía de un Rapidash; vine en este mundo gracias a humanos malos. ¿Usted es malo también?> the Ponyta snorted in a feminine tone, before raising her head valiantly and stamping her hoof defiantly.

The red haired teen was not expecting to be answered in a foreign language and stood there, in shock, with her mouth hanging open. Eventually, after regaining her composure, she turned to her partner and posed a question. "What… did she just say?"

<She said, quote "I was not born of a Rapidash; I came into this world thanks to evil humans. Are you evil as well?"> The female Shinx answered.

<¿Ella? ¡Qué es esto acerca de ella? Tengo un nombre, usted sabe, el humano. Ies Calibre!>

"Me? Evil? God, no! Far from it!" Josephine defended herself. "Now what did she say?" she added.

<She's basically just letting you know that her name is Calibre, not she,> the feline responded, sighing at her trainer's lack of knowledge of the Spanish language.

It seemed that Calibre, too, was quickly becoming frustrated at the trainer's lack of knowledge of her native language. <If you're not evil, prove it!> she spoke English, as if to prove to the trainer that Spanish wasn't the only language she knew.

"What?! Uh…" the red haired girl stammered.

<¡Combátame, el humano! ¡Mande su Shinx contra mí y pruebe usted no es malo!> Calibre pawed at the ground in anticipation of the looming battle.

One look at Josephine's bewildered face was all the female Shinx needed and readily translated. <She said, quote "Battle me, human! Send your Shinx against me and prove you're not evil!">

The red haired girl momentarily closed her hazel coloured eyes and a look of determination appeared on her face. Opening her eyes quickly, she mentally went over her plan once more, before making an announcement to her Electric type partner. "Shinx, Riley will be your nickname from now on. Let's do this! Approach Calibre slowly and use Thunder Fang when you get a chance."

The female Shinx nodded, and then the small feline Pokémon warily advanced on the Ponyta, with her teeth already bared, waiting to bite down into the Fire type's leg. However, before she could strike, Calibre – weakened, though she was – slammed into Riley at full force, knocking her aside.

"No!" Josephine recoiled as her starter fell back on the grassy meadow, narrowly avoiding hitting an old oak tree.

The Ponyta shook her head wildly, and a barrage of small grey fireballs were released from her flaming mane at Shinx, who wasn't able to move in time.

Then the experimental Pokémon did something astonishing; she trotted over to the injured feline, lowered her head and gently bit into the fur on the back of Riley's neck. Helping the hurt cat up onto her paws, Calibre then released her grip and turned towards the Electric type's trainer.

Speaking English, the female Ponyta addressed Josephine. <The battle was merely a test, it was not meant to carry on like a normal fight. I wanted to analyze your loyalties, both yours and hers. You've both passed… and as such, you may now capture me.>

It was at this exact moment that Josephine's Pokédex decided to activate itself. "Ponyta, the Fire Horse Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Fire type. Its legs grow strong while it chases after its parents. It runs in fields and mountains all day. Your Pokémon is at level ten," the flat, feminine toned device reported.

"Are you sure you want to join us? Won't those evil humans come looking for you?" the red haired teen questioned, looking unsure.

<Even if they do come looking for me,> Calibre began, <they'll be no match for me once I've matured…>

"Okay, if you say so…" Josephine thought, still concerned for her safety. She quickly brushed aside her worry, took out a Pokéball and positioned it in front on the female Ponyta. With a flash of red light, the grey-haired Fire type disappeared into the red and white orb.

"YEAH!! We caught a Ponyta!"

<Very impressive,> Riley stated, before briefly grooming herself and quickly zapping her trainer with a small amount of electricity.

"AARRGGHH!!" Josephine screamed, more in shock than in pain. "Why did you do that?!"

<I felt like being mischievous,> came the lively reply, as more electricity began sparking on the feline's body.

"No…" the girl muttered. "No, no, no, no!! Ril-… AARRGGHH!!"

*****

Having gotten over being zapped a second time, Josephine continued on down the dirt path, with a cheeky and slightly vain Shinx in tow and a Spanish speaking spoilsport Ponyta in an orb on her Pokébelt.

Hidden behind a nearby cedar tree was a shadowy figure. He continued to observe the teenage girl as he stole up behind her.

<Look out!> the female Shinx cried out, as her trainer heard a twig break and jerked herself around to be confronted by a man. Sporting black hair, he appeared to be of Asian descent. Snugly fitted on his face, enhancing the vision of his brown eyes, were a pair of black rimmed reading glasses. He wore a long sleeved grey striped business shirt and blue denim 'paranada' shorts, with the whitest of white sandshoes covering his feet.

"Who are you?" Josephine asked suspiciously. "And why are you stalking me?"

<Josephine,> both Riley and Calibre warned in unison. <Don't go there. This guy's bad, I can feel it.>

"My name not important to you," the man replied. "Neither is reason why I observe you. But what you know anyway? You just young girl who not know anything."

"Like hell, your name is important!" Josephine thought angrily, as her hazel coloured eyes widened to hear how disrespectfully the foreigner spoke of her.

"Get ready, you two," she instructed. Her left hand reached down to her Pokébelt and plucked Calibre's sphere off it. She then enlarged the red and white orb, the process of which transformed the Pokéball into something resembling a baseball.

"Oy, he's in for it now…" Riley thought to herself.

LOL! Woot, I enjoyed this chapter very much, especially the Ponyta battle part. At 1st I got lost and confused, I was kinda expecting to continue from where it eft off in the last chapter, but yea read a bit threw it you get back on track. I'll be waithing for chapter, sounds likes its going to be one heck of a chapter!

Yes, I agree with my fellow commentators in that this fic is going quite well. I noticed a few minor spelling errors, but as I said there were few. I like how you are describing things, in a way I'd eventually like to master myself. I had trouble imagining Rowan the way you described him, but that was just because I'd never thought of him like that. XD

Keep it up! :D

Here's the first extra, everyone. Enjoy!

Extra 1: A Tragic World

It was a couple of days into autumn in Kanto, and the rain was falling hard today.

The sky was filled with thick grey clouds, blacking out all of the sun's light. From them fell the rain, in thick droplets which splashed as they hit the ground, trampling the long grass that usually concealed rodent Pokémon like Rattata and Sentret, who were now being forced to hide away from the water pouring from the sky.

The leaves of the trees which stood tall over Route One, as if watching over it, were soaked with water, the branches sagging from the weight. The ground was wet; the rich red soil now a bunch of muddy puddles. Thunder crashed in the distance, and lightning lit up the scene far below on the ground.

Suicune, a legendary from Johto, stood on four slender legs facing Raikou. Covering her thin body were white diamond-shaped spots. A crown-like crystal shape could be seen growing backwards out of her head as she turned, snarling viciously, and bared her pearly white fangs at a pure grey canine that had four black stripes on each leg and three heads. Pools of water lay around the dying Pokémon and parts of its fur were covered in bits of ice. The dying Pokémon was a male Mageberus from the region of Beklan, a region still unknown to humans.

A loud roar filled the air. The roar came from a cat-like creature, coloured yellow with black stripes on its legs. Distinguishing it as none other than Raikou was its un-naturally long claws and fangs. Combine that with the fact that its face was hidden by a black triangular plate, which covered the forehead and nose, four metallic-looking whiskers which spread out from the front of its face and the beast looked very scary. The Dog of Thunder pushed Suicune out of the way and committed the final act. The tiger-like Pokémon's long fangs sank into the male's throat, and he pulled backwards, severing the major vein. This, Raikou knew, would inevitably bring death that much faster.

The male Mageberus shuddered, and drew his last breath, as his once bright sky-blue eyes glazed over.

The female lay on the ground, squirming in agony; Raikou had broken her pelvis, rendering her unable to escape. Her ribs had also been cracked by Entei's massive paws.

<It's time to finish what we started, Raikou,> Suicune stated, upon hearing Entei's distant bellowing roar, calling for them to hurry up.

<Entei always was the impatient one,> Raikou laughed, but then turned serious.

Suicune threw back her head and started forming an Ice Beam in her mouth, while Raikou's yellow fur began crackling with electricity.

The Dog of Thunder lunged at the female Mageberus, as a well aimed Thunder attack coursed through her veins, killing her instantly. Suicune delayed the release of the Ice Beam until Raikou had moved out of the way, and then fired the attack. While ninety percent of the ice reached its target and froze the body, the other ten percent misfired and crept up the bark of a nearby cedar tree.

<Oops,> Suicune blinked. <I didn't mean for that to happen.>

<What's done is done,> Raikou growled, somewhat amused at what had happened. <Let's get back to Entei.>

*****

While travelling back to Entei, Raikou posed a question to Suicune. <They'd have to be shades by now, wouldn't they?>

<Of course,> Suicune replied, shaking her long flowing purple mane.

Fear suddenly crept over Raikou. <Ho-oh and Celebi won't approve of this. You do know that, don't you?> For the first time in his life, Raikou was very scared. He had every right to be. And then, there was this feeling that they were being watched.

<Of course I know that,> Suicune snapped.

Suddenly, the two Dogs stopped short, as they stared at a figure in front of them who was dressed in a blinding white dress. It was a tall, slender woman who had brown hair with red and yellow streaks in it, with a pale face and deep, powerful eyes.

Massive amounts of energy radiated from her body, and the Dogs knew immediately who they were dealing with.

<Ho-oh,> Raikou whispered, trembling all over.

"You have done the wrong thing," she spoke in a mysterious, echoing voice. "And so you will be punished."

She raised her hands and began making movements in the air. Her hands were then lowered until they reached eye level with Suicune and Raikou. Drawing strength from the world around her, she withdrew two energy orbs – one yellow and the other blue – from the two Dogs.

"Mimicking Mewtwo's destructive behaviour won't earn you brownie points. Reflect on what you are doing or you will most assuredly pay the price later on," Ho-oh spoke in a calm voice, despite her raging anger.

*****

Meanwhile, a small, green fairy-like creature, with a very pale face and shoulders had come across the two dead Mageberus. Her shiny wings were flapping rather lazily, as if she was just doing the necessary effort to stay up, and she seemed to have a childish grin on her small mouth. Both of the large eyes were closed, the black circles around them looking much larger than normal, while two antennae that had sprouted sensed her surroundings. The bottom half of the body was much greener than the top half, and an odd shape of 'hair' that was similar to grass emerged from the back of her head.

She shook her head sadly and thought of what might have been had they not been killed so brutally. She heard whimpering and peered around to see a white pup sitting dejectedly in front of a bush.

<No, this can't be happening,> she said quietly. She flew over to the pup and looked at it curiously. It didn't take her long before she realized that Suicune and Raikou might just come back.

<What matters to me is this pup's safety,> Celebi thought and, using her psychic powers, she moved the pup a little bit backwards, further into the bush.

*****

Suicune and Raikou walked away from the scene, their bodies mostly bruised from Ho-oh's attacks. For a period of time, there was complete silence, until Suicune gathered enough courage to ask a question.

<Why did we kill those Pokémon?>

<Because they were foreign Pokémon from a region that no human knows about, that's why!> Raikou snapped.

Suicune was silent until she thought of another question.

<And why were we mimicking Mewtwo's behaviour?>

<He may call upon us as allies, don't you think? Besides, Entei believed that, like before, the Burnt Tower would go up in flames again.> Raikou was becoming more annoyed.

*****

Staying out of sight, a small, pink cat-like creature floated in the air gently, not letting the winds around her affect her trajectory. Her blue eyes were downcast, showing some sadness and a bit of hopelessness as well, and her long, pink tail flowed around her, seemingly lacking its natural excitement. The small arms and large feet were by her sides, and the rather large head moved around as she watched her son create havoc.

<The war that you end up causing will be no-one's fault but your own,> she sighed deeply, and then turned away.