Pok?mon Anthology

Shadowchaos1010 · Feb 8, 2016

Hello, fellow users of Pokécommunity. I have started writing a story called "Pokémon Anthology". I want it to be a five part series (perhaps six). Like the title suggests I want it to be more mature than most things in Pokémon. I think I have some good ideas to help achieve this goal, but would like some advice on how I could do that better.

As a side note, I submitted an RP called Arcaea Chronicles, which will take place in the first region of Anthology. I think at this point it'll count as a prequel to the story, taking place a few years before. There are a lot of things I added to this version of the Pokémon World, which I've called Arcaea.

If you want to read about the things I've added, you can go here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Qg...Z_Q_S2FEutA_fA

If you want to see a map of the first region of the story, you can go here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5w...FmRWt3YnM/view

And I guess that if you're interested in the Arcaea Chronicles RP, you can go here: https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=362688

I've posted a thread, asking for help in forming a team to make this story into a manga. For anyone interested, please go to this thread: https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?p=9178859#9178859

I hope you'll be able to help me accomplish my goal of making a more mature Pokémon story that's enjoyable to read.

Here is the first chapter of the first part of Pokémon Anthology, and the over all first chapter.

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins!

The world of Pokémon, called Arcaea by those who walks across its green earth, is a large and wonderful place. Far and wide, Pokémon roam, the kings of the earth. For millennia, humans and Pokémon have lived together in harmony, playing together, working together, and battling together. Starting at the tender age of ten, people are allowed to begin journeying around the world with a Pokémon at their side. For some, their goal is to simply travel and see the world, while others seek for glory through Pokémon Contests and their regional Pokémon League. Being side by side like this helps Pokémon and their trainers grow into better individuals, the best examples being Top Coordinators and Pokémon League Champions.

Kinsei is one of the five regions in the world, with the others being Monteir, Regulus, Natura and Heiwa. From the small town of Mira, in southern Kinsei, hails the champion of the Heiwa League, Tison Mathers. In the coastal town, his thirteen year old son, York, is preparing to set out on his own Pokémon journey, inspired by his father's actions.

In the Mathers family's beachside house, the teenager stood in front of his mirror, looking over himself. He stood in black jeans and a red short sleeved shirt. On the dresser that was next to the mirror lay a two tone white and blue vest as well as black fingerless gloves. A belt with a single Pokéball latched to it was there as well. He slipped them all on and nodded contently. He reached down and picked up a pair of black and blue boots, sitting down on his bed before putting them on.

The door swung open slowly. A Pawniard hung on the knob, and hopped off once the door was fully open. It happily cried at York and ran over to him. It began excitedly pointing at the open door, and was met with a slightly quizzical look. It groaned and shook its head.

"What's the matter, Colonel?" He asked, head tilted.

A girl a few years younger than York walked into the doorway. "Bro, Sydney's here! And she's not happy."

York stood and ruffled his dirty blonde hair. "What is she upset about this time?"

"You're late. it's 4:30 now. You were supposed to meet her at noon." The girl looked at him with disappointment.

"What?!" He quickly turned towards his clock, which indeed read 4:30 PM. "Why didn't she call me?!" He grabbed a blue and black one strap backpack off of his bed and ran past her, down the stairs with his Pawniard following closely behind.

"Your Pokégear is broken and you never told her about it! She couldn't get in touch with you!" Called his sister.

He reached the ground floor of his house and saw his mother standing with a girl of his age in the dining room. The girl's hands were stuffed in the pockets of a black zip up hoodie. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail and underneath a baseball cap. A Pink Pokégear was peeking out of the pocket of her blue shorts.

Upon hearing his footsteps, the girl turned and glared at him. "There you are, you idiot. What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry." He meekly said. "I didn't mean to get so sidetracked. Why'd it take you four hours to come check up on me?"

"Our rendezvous point was an hour away from our houses. I got on the bus but the like, fifteen minute ride, turned out to be nearly three hours because of a stupid accident and a huge traffic jam!" She stomped over to him and grabbed his collar. "I lost so much of my time because of you! You'd better be ready to make up for it one day!"

"Y-yeah, I'll make it up to you!" He told her. She let him go. "So, you're ready to go?"

She took a red and white messenger bag off of a chair in the dining room and slung it over her shoulder. "Of course I'm ready, you idiot! Because of you, we might not make it to Emeras City before we're forced to book a hotel room! I wanted to look around the city a bit." She walked to her door and put her hand on the doorknob. "Hurry up!"

He followed after her and his mother tossed a wallet over to him. "Be safe, honey!" She called. "If Nancy gets upset again, I'll be sure to calm her down, so don't worry!"

"Thanks, mom!" He caught the wallet and put it in his pocket. He took the Pokéball off of his belt and pointed it towards Colonel. The red beam of light enveloped the small Pokémon, storing it inside of the capsule. York followed Sydney out of the door and closed it after himself. Sydney was waiting for him on the sidewalk, tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm really sorry about that, Syd! I meant to get there on time, I swear!"

"Whatever." She continued to walk as soon as he reached her. "I don't know what else I was expecting. After all of these years, I should've known you'd be late. You're never on time, ever."

He sped in front of her and turned around to face her. "I know, I know! There's just so much other stuff going on and I get too excited to pay attention to the time!"

"That's the same excuse you always give me," She said, punching his arm and walking ahead of him. "You'd better change that, or else you'll die alone. You're not likely to find a girl that won't hate that about you."

He rubbed his pained arm. "Since when did you care about my love life?" He asked, jokingly.

"I won't be able to babysit you forever. Your mom can't, either. If you can't find a woman to help you later in life, I'm almost afraid to imagine what would happen. Almost." Her voice was flat and uninterested. "And one more thing." She looked over her shoulder. "This is going to be the last time in a while I ride a bus, so just shut up and let me enjoy it."

"Yeah, sure. You sure you didn't forget anything?"

Sydney nodded. "I got all of my clothes, money, and tech. Brush and Copy are more than ready, and I have my equipment as well."

York stared at her messenger bag in wonder. "You fit all of that in there?"

She groaned and remained silent for a moment. "I sent it ahead to the Emeras Pokémon Center. I'm picking it up when we arrive. Did you find us a hotel?"

He nodded. "The Emerald Sky Hotel is one of the most popular in Southeastern Kinsei! Some of the reviews compare it to the ones in Dawnseal!"

"Impressive." Sydney chuckled. "Now, assuming that you get all eight badges before the next Kinsei League Conference, you might be able to confirm that. Will the place bleed us dry?"
York's eyes widened and he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Sydney stopped and faced him, causing him to stop in his tracks as well. "York? How expensive is this place?" She was glaring daggers at him.

"A one night room is about 20,000 Pokédollars." He answered nervously. When Sydney didn't answer he gulped and stepped towards her. "Syd…?"

The girl was breathing heavily and clenched her fists. She lowered the brim of her hat over her eyes. "You're lucky you're my best friend. Or else I'd sock you again. That's a decent chunk of our supply fund."

"Don't worry, Syd!" He said, full of energy in an attempt to cheer her up. "It's ancient tradition for trainers to reward the victor of a battle! I'll make up for that in no time!"

"There are a few holes in your plan. I'm not pointing them out for you." She continued walking and he lagged behind, sorry for angering her.

The streets were crowded with beachgoers and tourists. The congested streeted slowed the two down a bit, and they eventually reached the Houndoom Bus Station, a national bus service. The pair boarded the 5:30 PM bus and sat next to each other. Sydney looked outside of the window, while York sat in silence, looking down at his cupped hands.

"Are you nervous at all?" Sydney spoke once the bus had left Mira Town. "About going on this journey."

"To be honest, I am a little bit. Leaving home for so long to go all over the place seems a little crazy, but we'll get used to it."

"Even if we do, there are still all sorts of things that could go wrong. We could get lost in the woods, mauled by a Pokémon, scooped up by some creep in a city…"

"It's not like you to get so worried about something, Syd. What's up?"

"I've already had to leave behind one home. It's a little tough to do it again." She sighed.

"Y'know, you don't have to stick with me the entire time." York's father had traveled through five regions before he became the champion of Heiwa. He had planned to do the same. Sydney volunteered to go along with him.

"I'm going to!" She said forcefully. "Like I said, you need someone watching you or else you'd probably just walk into a pit! Besides, when else would I get the opportunity to travel the world? There are so many photographers that want to do that but just can't!"

"You're actually worried about me, aren't you, Syd?" York teased. "That's why you're sticking with me."

She blushed faintly and lowered her hat over her face. "I said to let me enjoy this last bus ride in peace! Just shut up already!"

York laughed to himself and reclined in his seat.

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Darkness had fell upon Emeras City when the Houndoom Bus pulled into the station. It was now 11:30 at night, and the passengers began to file out through the doors. Sydney vigorously shook York, who had fallen asleep.

He stood slowly and followed her off of the bus, rubbing his eyes. "We're finally here." He looked at Sydney, who was frowning. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I might be able to take a few pictures before we leave tomorrow, but I'm not sure." She began to leave the station. "Come on, you're the one who knows how to get to the hotel."

The streets of the biggest city in Southeastern Kinsei were lit by black decorative street lamps. The streets were mainly empty, with only a few people wandering them. Emerald green lights were emanating from one of the buildings, signaling the Emerald Sky Hotel. Sydney looked up at it and sighed in relief. York joined her and did the same.

She took a step towards her, but York grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem, York! We're finally here! And check in time is nearly over!"

"I just thought I heard a scream." He told her. He gestured to across the street, near an alleyway. "Let's check it out quick."

She ripped her hand free from his grip. "You can go! Just hurry up! I'll tell them I'm waiting for you. Be sure to tell that that you're York Mathers and that you came with Sydney Collins, alright?"

"I'll be sure to do that." He ran across the street, leaving his friend to enter the hotel. He found a woman on the ground, motionless. "Hey!" He called. "Are you okay?"

The woman moaned and looked up at him. "Who…?"

"What happened?" He asked. "Are you alright?"

She held her head. "Some man robbed me." She pointed to the east. "He went that way."

"I'm on it!" Cried York as he stood. "You can make it to the Emerald Sky on your own, right?" She weakly nodded. "Okay, get them to call the police. I'll be back with the crook soon enough!"

He ran off in the direction she indicated, but the woman called out to him. "Wait!" When he didn't answer, she sighed and stood, using a wall as a support. "What is that kid thinking? I hope he'll be alright." Still holding onto her head she trudged across the street to the Emerald Sky.

York ran east like the woman said and turned the corner, thinking the purse-snatcher would have in hopes of getting out of sight. He sent out Colonel and ordered him to help him search as well. The two silently searched the area, looking into alleyways as well as out in the open. The only sound was that of Kricketot and Kricketune, chirping through the night. It did not take long for the Pawniard to signal his trainer, who rushed to his side. The two saw a man climbing a fence in an alley, a pink purse slung on his shoulder.

York knelt next to Colonel. "Try to knock him down, okay?"

The Pokémon nodded and took off, when he had nearly ran to the end of the alley, he leapt and slashed at the man's arm, knocking it off of the fence and making him lose balance, falling down onto the ground. Colonel ran to the middle of the alley, facing the man.

He got up and cursed. "You stupid little Pokémon!" He saw York standing in the back. "You're its trainer?" He chuckled. "A kid like you? This is weak! Isn't it a little past your bedtime, small fry?"

"Hand over the purse!" York commanded. "If you do, this will go over more smoothly for both of us."

"You think I'll listen to a kid like you?!" He took a Pokéball out of his pocket. "I'd just kick the crap outta you, but on the off chance I get caught, that would make things worse for me. So I'll crush you in a Pokémon Battle instead." He tossed the ball, and a Drowzee emerged. "Alright, Drowzee, let's take this kid out!"

York chuckled. "Normally, I'd be nervous, since this is one of my first actual battles, but I'm fine!"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Barked the man.

"Unless you taught your Drowzee a T.M, the only moves it can learn that can harm Dark Types, like Colonel, are Pound and Headbutt. It that's all you have, you might as well give up." He sounded quite smug. "So, what're you gonna do?"

"Drowzee, Poison Gas!" The Psychic Type inhaled deeply and exhaled a gaseous purple mist that drifted towards Colonel.

"Just in case it lands a hit, use Iron Defense! Follow it up with Night Slash!" Colonel focused and the metal on it's body began to shine and harden. It then immediately began charging towards Drowzee, going right through the gas.

"Swagger, Drowzee!" The Pokémon began waving it's arm and emitting a hypnotic wave, which caused Pawniard's orange eyes to tint red.

It continued to charge, but ran right past it. Drowzee began to headbutt Pawniard, but York watched from the sidelines, knowing full well the attacks had little effect on Colonel. Eventually the confusion wore off, and while Drowzee was going to attack, it's two blade arms became enveloped in a dark aura and it slashed, dealing massive damage to the psychic type Pokémon, causing it to fall over.

Colonel turned to the man and began walking towards him. He began backing away, until he was against a wall.

"Get Drowzee back in it's Pokéball and come with us." York ordered.

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The police had arrested the purse-snatcher, and the woman thanked York for getting her purse back. Colonel was back inside of his Pokéball resting and York was tired himself. He approached the counter and the young woman working their addressed him.

"Welcome to the Emerald Sky Hotel. Will you be staying with us today, sir?"

"Yes. I'm York Mathers. My friend Sydney Collins stopped by earlier and booked us a room."

"Ah, yes." She handed him a card key. "This is the extra key to your room. You are in #225 on the second floor. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you."

"I must say, your girlfriend is quite cute."

"Huh? Oh, no, she isn't my girlfriend."

She gestured for him to come closer and she leaned over to him. "Our hotel is quite popular among young couples. There's a secret compartment on the right side of the nightstand that has plenty of T.M17 if you need them!"

York blushed and pushed the up button on the elevator. He proceeded to his room with nothing but sleeping on his mind, doing his best to purge the employee's comment from his mind.
He entered his room to find it pitch black. He walked in without turning on the light and noticed a lump on the right bed. He threw his backpack and vest onto the ground and threw himself onto the left bed, allowing himself to drift into sleep.

As a note, I personally pronounce Arceus "Ar-see-us", but the planet's name, Arcaea is pronounced "Ar-kay-a" with the 'kay' being like 'chaos'.

Shadowchaos1010 · Feb 8, 2016

Pokémon Anthology

Here is chapter two of the Kinsei Saga, and second overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 2: Setup

Sydney awoke to the sound of running water. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, leaning against the headboard of her bed. "I slept really well last night…" She stood and stretched. The door to the bathroom opened, and York emerged with a yawn. "Hey."

He sat on his bed. "Morning. We got a little time before check out. Wanna grab some breakfast downstairs, or do you wanna go buy something?"

"We spent 20,000 Pokédollars on this!" She exclaimed. "I'm not spending money on something we could get here!"

"Syd," She looked over at York. He looked towards the ground. "Do you think that we'd make a good couple?"

Sydney narrowed her eyes. "You have three seconds to explain yourself before I pummel you." She quietly warned.

"The receptionist said that yesterday." He awkwardly explained. "She even told me to check the right side of the nightstand." Sydney reached towards it, and York reached out towards her. "Hold on, Syd!"

She opened it and looked inside for a moment, her face growing red. She slammed it shut and looked over at them. "Why did she tell you about those?!"

"What kind of question is that? She thought we were going out! Why else would she tell me about them?"

"L-let's just eat breakfast and get out of here! I want to get all of our stuff as soon as possible! I'm going to take a shower, so get me something to eat when you're down there!" She rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door.

York sauntered over to the nightstand and opened the secret compartment. Something immediately caught his eye. He rummaged through the compartment's contents and took out a cased CD. "There's an actual T.M for Protect in here." He closed the compartment and slipped the T.M into his bag. "No reason to leave this here. Now, time for some breakfast!"

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Sydney took the final bite of the donut that York had brought her from the Emerald Sky's breakfast bar. The two teens were en route to the Emeras City Pokémon Center, where Sydney had a package waiting. From there the two would go to the local Pokémon Lab where the owner, Professor Archer Richards, had something for them.

The two buildings were close to each other and the two reached their destination in a short amount of time. Sydney approached the counter, where a blonde woman in a nurse's uniform stood.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" She asked.

"I'm here to pick up a package for Sydney Collins." The woman went to the back room of the Pokémon Center and returned with a box, handing it to Sydney. "Thank you." She walked over to one of the couches that was in the Pokémon Center, resting the box in her lap.

York sat on a bean bag chair next to her. "That box seems a bit small." He said. "Is everything you need in there?"

"I made sure that everything was here. Just because the box looks small doesn't mean there's not a lot in it." She opened it and pulled out a large black bag. Inside of the bag was a professional camera. A wide smiled crossed Sydney's face. "Perfect!" She set it next to herself and took a charger attached to a small solar panel.

"What's that for?" Asked York, leaning in for a better look.

"It's a solar charger. Since we're gonna be hoofing it the entire time, I'm going to need a way to charge the camera outdoors. That's what this is for." She set that aside and pulled out several SD Cards. "Nice! With all of these, I'll be able to take a bunch of pictures!" She put everything back, except for the camera. "Get comfy, York. It might take a while for me to get used to this thing."'

It wasn't long until Sydney announced that she was ready to go. She slung the camera bag over her other shoulder, now carrying two bags. York stood from his seat and followed her out. While the lab was quite far from the Pokémon Center, it was a distinct building and hard to miss.

Mira Town was crowded when the two had left because of the plethora of people who visit during the summer. Emeras City was even more crowded, but there was no reason for many people to visit the city that time of year. It was simply that crowded.

The lab resembled a mansion, with two gargoyle-like statues out front. York stood in front of the lab, smiling up at it.

"Why're you standing there like a doofus?" Asked Sydney at the top of the steps leading to the door. "You're the one who wanted to come here!"

York ran up the steps and through the doors. Sydney walked in after him. All of the aides turned their attention to the young people who walked in, but only for a moment. One of the scientists approached the two.

"Hello, there." He said. "Can I help you kids?"

York beamed. "Yessir! We're looking for Professor Acher Richards!" He took an ID card from his wallet and handed it to the man. Sydney did the same.

"I see. He was expecting you two." The man handed them their cards. "Follow me."

As he guided them, they saw a few experiments being conducted on Pokémon, and others being cared for. They all seemed calm and happy in the lab. On the second floor, there were nothing but people. In the back was a set of three large monitors, and a single man sat before them all, typing swiftly.

A young woman stood next to him, looking up at the monitors. Her outfit contrasted greatly with that of the lab workers. Rather than business clothing covered by a lab coat, she wore casual clothing. She had on a black and white skirt and a white wool sweater. When the three approached and the footsteps grew louder, she turn to them, her curly pink hair spinning with her.

"Professor, you have guests." Said the aide. "It's the children from Mira Town that you were waiting for."

The man continued typing. "Thanks for bringing them in. You can get back to work."

Once the aide left them, he turned in the large swivel chair and crossed on of his gray khaki clad legs over the other, folding his hands in his lap and smiling at the two. The top buttons of his light blue business were undone and his black tie was loosened. His black half rim glasses were slightly crooked.

He fixed his glasses. "It's a pleasure to meet the two of you." He said. "Tell me, was your trip from Mira Town alright?"

"Yes, it was!" York happily replied. "There weren't any complications!"

Sydney put a hand on her hip and scowled at him. "What about the thing you wanted to check out last night? I heard police sirens outside the hotel."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Some woman got robbed and I caught the guy."

"Impressive!" Said the professor. "Have you had much experience battling?"

"No sure. To be honest, I think I just got lucky. His Pokémon was a perfect match for Colonel."

"Colonel? I assume that's your partner." York nodded. The professor leaned forward in his chair and looked at York's cheek. There was a small scar on it. "Did it have something to do with that?"

He touched his cheek and chuckled. "Yeah, he did that. It was a long time ago, though."

"What was it that you had for us, professor?" Sydney asked.

"Ah, yes." He turned to the young woman who was standing next to them. "Melanie, could you go fetch the supplies?"

"Sure thing." She began walking away from the three.

"Is she another one of your assistants?" York asked. "She does exactly looked dressed for this job."

"Melanie is a med student who training with IHPHA. She was assigned to a mission with the KDDF. Her companions are out right now."

Sydney bit her thumb. "The International Human & Pokémon Health Association… and the Kinsei Domestic Defense Force. I can kinda understand IHPHA sending someone to scope out a lab to make sure they aren't doing anything sketchy, but what about the KDDF? What do they want with you?"

"I'm just helping them out with something. There's absolutely nothing sketchy going on."

"If you say it like that, then it sounds a little sketch…" Sydney grumbled under her breath.

Melanie returned with a tray that held two PokéNav Pluses and a Pokédex*. While there were five different models of the Pokédex, the one on the tray was like a handheld video game console, red and black with two green buttons on the right side.

"Here are the things I wanted to give you. Go on, take 'em." Said the professor.
The two reached for the PokéNavs, but didn't touch the Pokédex, and looked at each other instead.

Melanie looked at the two with a perplexed look. "Is there something wrong?"

"Actually, there kinda is." York looked back at the professor. "There's only one Pokédex here."

"I'm well aware. While PokéNav Pluses are pretty expensive, they can be bought. Pokédexes have to be made, and contain information on nearly all 719 known Pokémon. We can't give them out all willy nilly. We can only spare one for you two. That's the protocol that the higher ups gave us."

"Nearly all of them?" York inquired. "What do you mean?"

Melanie answered his question. "Pokémon like legendaries don't have concrete scientific information that people like Professor Richards can put in a Pokédex."

"And I swear that some of them are urban legends. Cubone's is complete nonsense, to name a few."

"You're the one going for the league." Sydney said. "You take it."

"You're looking to enter the Kinsei League Conference next July, right?" Asked Professor Richards as York picked up the Pokédex.

"Yeah."

"Then the Emeras Gym should be your first stop." He told them.

The two trainers looked at each other in silence for a moment, then to the professor.

"I'm busy here, so I can't show you where it is. Could you do that for me, Melanie?"

"Of course." She returned to plate and waited for York and Sydney by the elevator.

Once outside, Sydney punched York. "I can't believe you didn't know there was a gym here! I thought that we'd have to leave as soon as we arrived!" She patted the camera bag. "Now I'll be able to take some pictures of the area before we leave."

"Well, I'm sorry!" He retorted. "I always paid attention to my dad's battle during each League Conference, not the gyms he went to before then!"

"I'm not too sure that the Gym Leader is prepared at the moment." Melanie told the two. "The gym is supposed to be open right now, but she might have had something come up."

"Does she have another job or something?" Sydney asked.

"All Gym Leaders have second jobs. Most of the time, their gym acts as their workplace, too."

"Melanie, could you mark down the locations of the other gyms for me?" She nodded, and York noticed a red cross badge on her left arm. "Oh yeah, the professor said you were with IHPHA and that you were working with the KDDF. Where are the guys you came with?"

"Looking into the Hundred Eyes." She calmly told them.

The Hundred Eyes was the name of a notorious gang that operated worldwide. The name comes from a rumor stating that there are only one hundred members in the gang, with much of the work being done by hired thugs. They've operated for several decades, avoiding being completely snuffed out by authorities.

"Why do they need IHPHA and a Professor to deal with them?" Sydney asked. "Are they not confident in their own abilities? That's a little sad for the organization that exists for the sole purpose of protecting our region's citizens."

"It's not that simple. I barely know why they asked for me, actually. I'm doing this because once I return, I'll become an official IHPHA nurse." She looked up into the sky, speaking softly.

Some time later, she stopped in front of a building that had two Pokémon Statues. The building looked quite normal, but with the international Pokémon Gym symbol resting on top of it.

York looked up at the building. "What does the gym leader do, exactly?"

"She's a pet trainer. If a Pokémon is misbehaving, people bring them here and she disciplines them so they behave at home." Melanie explained. "Can you two handle yourselves from here?"

"We'll be fine." Sydney replied. "We'll just use our PokéNavs if we get lost or anything. They'll help us find our way. Thanks for brining us."

York thanked Melanie as well, and she left the two. York took a breath and walked towards the gym. He paused in front of the doors and pushed them open.

"Hello? If the Emeras Gym Leader is here, I'd like to battle her!"

Sydney punched his arm. "You don't go barging into a gym and ask for a battle like that, you dweeb!"

A young man approached the two. "Welcome. The gym leader, Aera, is here. She's busy though. Will the two of you be able to wait?"

York rubbed his arm. "Yeah… could you bring us to her? I'd like to see what she does."

The young man complied and brought the two past the lobby. Past it was a large room that seemed like a bit of an obstacle course or a playroom. There was various equipment set up all over it. In the center, a young woman with deep blue hair held a bone shaped treat high up. On the ground, a Growlithe was eagerly wagging it's tail, barking and jumping up towards it.

"Calm down Growlithe!" She ordered. Her voice was forceful. Upon hearing it, the small Pokémon calmed down a bit, but was still eager to get the treat. "If you sit, you get the treat. Roxie!" A slightly larger Growlithe who was resting stood up and walked over to her. "Sit, girl!" The Growlithe sat down and waited. She knelt down and gave the Pokémon the treat, patting her head. She then looked looked at the other Growlithe expectantly.

It hesitated for a moment and then sat down itself, looking quite nervous. She patted it's head and fed it a treat of it's own.

"That's a good boy! The treat was good, right?" It gleefully barked. "Exactly! Listening to your owner is a good thing, so do that, and you get a tasty treat, okay?"

York took Pawniard's Pokéball off of his belt and let him out. "There she is, Colonel. The first step in our journey to the top. Watch her closely." Colonel nodded and began focusing intensely on her.

Sydney sighed. "And how will seeing her train that pup help you in battle? Pokémon battling isn't anything like this. She might've gotten her Pokémon to obey her every word through something like this, but I don't see how that relates to battle tactics."

The two stood off to the side, watching as the small Growlithe was tested with basic commands and rewarded with a treat each time, occasionally having to have the older Growlithe set an example. After a few hours, the Growlithe and it's owners left. York and Colonel approached her.

"Ah, hello." She said. "Are you here because of your Pawniard?"

"No, miss." York replied. "Are you Aera?"

"Yes, I am." She smiled at him. "You're looking to challenge me to a battle, aren't you?" York nodded. Aera looked at him quizzically and circled around him. "How many Pokémon do you have, exactly?"

"O-only Colonel." He replied, a tad uneasy. "Is that a bad thing?"

Her expression grew a bit disappointed. "Gym Battles are three-on-three matches. You could take me on with your Pawniard alone, but it would be tough. I'd recommend picking up another Pokémon or two. There aren't many more discouraging things a new trainer can go through than losing their first gym battle."

"I-I see. I'll see if I can catch another Pokémon then. Thank you for your advice." York turned to leave, but Aera stopped him.

"I specialize in Flying Types, by the way. You're going to want to keep that in mind when you look for your next team member."

"Thanks again!" Sydney followed him out and he let out an exasperated sigh. "Great. I was hoping I could get the badge already."

"You could try. She never said you couldn't. But this is probably for the best. You wouldn't last with just Colonel. I'm sure of it."

"Don't you have any faith in me?"

"Not really." She grabbed his arm. "Now that that's done, I'm going to go take some pictures with my new camera!"

"D-do I have to go with you?"

She tightened her grip on his arm significantly. "If you can break free, you don't have to."

"Ow, ow , ow! Alright, alright! If you wanted me to go along, you could just say so, Syd!" She twisted his arm. "Ow!"

Shadowchaos1010 · Feb 12, 2016

Here is chapter three of the Kinsei Saga, and the third overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 3: A Star is Born!

Sydney dragged York to the outskirts of Emeras city to the north. When they were outside, she released his arm and he began rubbing it. Small grassland Pokémon were frolicking off in the distance. Young Deerling chased each other as a pair of Sawsbuck watched nearby. Wurmple, Weedle and Caterpie crawled in the tree branches, while Metapod, Kakuna, Silcoon and Cascoon hung from the branches on silk strings. Flying types circles overhead of the trees in the area, likely looking for food. Sentret and Furret carried food out from a hole in the wall leading into Emeras.

Sydney looked at all of the Pokémon in awe. She excitedly rushed over to the grass and ducked down to avoid being noticed and startling the Pokémon. She opened her camera bag and readied the equipment. York was off to the side, kneeling slightly in the grass, watching his friend work.

"She's really into this." York said with a smile. "I know that we're kinda on a time limit, but I'll try not to leave a city before she can take her fair share of pictures."

"York!" She quietly called over to him. "Let's see if we can get a closer look at the Deerling!" He nodded and the two began creeping towards the Deer Pokémon. "Do you think they'd be okay with Brush or Colonel joining in?"

"If it was just the Deerling, maybe. Their parents might not be too keen on the idea of some weird Pokémon playing with their kids."

Sydney frowned slightly, but her smile quickly returned. "Oh, well. Just having them in the shot is sure to be really nice!"

The two were now very close to the family of Pokémon. Sydney had previously focused on the playing Deerling, but now took pictures of the resting parents. While she was doing her best to stay undetected, one of the two Deerling grew curious of the sound of the shutter and began walking towards it.

"Syd!" York kept his voice down to avoid startling the Pokémon and potentially making the situation worse. "Get outta there!"

'I'll be fine!" She replied, keeping her eyes on the approaching Deerling. "Keep your cool, man!"

York reached into his pocket and took out his new Pokédex, pressing one of the buttons. The screen flashed and brought him to a menu with several options: National Pokédex, Search and Status. "I've heard that these things are only for biological and behavioral information. Maybe… Pokédex, how will a wild Sawsbuck react to a human it doesn't know?"

The button for the search option glowed and a short chime played. A circle began rotating and several seconds later, the circle disappeared. A circular, featureless blue face appeared in the corner and a picture of Sawsbuck appeared in the center of the screen. Various information filled the rest of the screen.

"Like most Pokémon, Sawsbuck care greatly for their children. However, they are more docile and don't attack a mysterious figure unless it shows reason for them to act."

"Good." York looked back at Sydney. "She should be fine. Unless they react badly to the camera." He heard the same chime he did after asking his first question. He looked down, but the same screen was present.

"Sawsbuck occupy areas that are full of nature. Their opinion of technology such as cameras varies on how much they see them. Sawsbuck near highly industrialized areas avoid the city and thus see technology less and will react more aggressively."

"This thing is really cool…" He looked at Sydney once more. "This place is right outside the city. I would guess that they won't mind."

One of the Deerling nudged the camera with it's nose and jumped back, caught off guard by such an hard feeling among grass. Sydney slowly rose up and the Deerling stared her down for a moment. The Sawsbuck did the same. After seeing that Sydney simply stood and showed no sign of acting, they cried. Afterwards, the Deerling began approaching her.

"They must have given their kids the okay to come near me." Sydney pointed the camera at them and took a picture. The two young Pokémon shook their heads after the flash met their eyes. Curious, the two began walking towards her again. As they did, she continued to take pictures of them.

York stood himself, having seen that Sydney was fine. "She should be okay on her own. Hey, Syd! I'll be in the area! Be sure to call me when you want to go back!"

"I'll do just that!" She ran over to the Sawsbuck and began talking to them as York went off on his own.

As he grew farther and farther from her he looked down at his Pokédex once more. "Are wild Pokémon capable of understanding human speech?"

"All Pokémon understand human speech, wild and domesticated."

"Hey, what Pokémon can I find out here?"

"Pokémon that inhabit Route 2 north of Emeras City include the Deerling family, Caterpie and Metapod, Weedle and Kakuna, Wurmple, Silcoon and Cascoon, the Sentret family, Starly and the Spearow family. This applies to Route 3 east of Emeras City as well."

"I'm left with only a few options for more party members to take to the gym. There are a lot of bug-types. I won't have much use for both of them on my journey. Same with Sentret; they're not the most dependable in terms of battles. I'll decide on either Starly or Spearow. Which one will be more useful on my journey?"

"Species is often irrelevant, since enough hard work and dedication can make up for lack of strength. However, Spearow is known to be marginally stronger than Starly. Staraptor is marginally stronger than Fearow according to experiments conducting across the globe."

"Hm… I'll keep an eye out for a Starly then. If species is irrelevant, then I'm fine with a Spearow too." York looked up in the sky near the trees where Flying-types had been before. They had disappeared since then. "Aw man…"

He began walking towards the trees in hopes of finding a Flying-type. He looked into the branches in hopes of finding a nest, or to see a Pokémon pecking at one of the bug types.

"Hey!"

Along with Sydney's scream, York heard a few cries from the Deerling. He turned to see Sydney running after something. He looked in the air and saw a Starly with her camera in it's beak.

"That's weird. What would a Starly want with a camera?" He took off after her and the Starly.

The other Pokémon in the area simply stared at the humans in awe. The Starly perched itself in a tree and set the camera on a branch. Sydney stood at the base of the tree, glaring up at it. York stood next to her, looking at the two.

"What do you think it wants?" He asked. "It took your camera for a reason."

As if it heard the two, the Starling Pokémon patted it's stomach with one of it's wings and pointed to it's now open beak. It glanced down at the two as it did this.

Sydney stomped the ground yelled. "You've got to be kidding me! You stole my camera because you wanted some food?!" The Pokémon nodded. "York, do something!"

"Starly are birds of prey. Why would it resort to getting a human's help for food?"

"Maybe it's just lazy. But then again, a Pokémon that relies on hunting for food being lazy doesn't seem likely. Is there some food we have that it wants?"

"I could think of a few." York took a step closer to the Starly. "Hey! If we get you some food, how about you come with us? You could eat all the nice food you want!" The Pokémon perked up but quickly pouted and turned away. "Huh? What happened?"

"So, we've established that's it's jealous of the food domesticated Pokémon eat. What else could it want?" Sydney looked around again. "There are some nice Pokémon around here. I'm sure plenty of trainers have tried to catch them. I think it's angry that you want it to come along for just food. No other Pokémon caught out here go that easily."

York nodded and looked up at the Starly again. "Alright then, how about we get you food and you give me a battle? And Sydney's camera?"

The Pokémon looked back at him and nodded, sitting closely to the camera as if to protect it.

"Now what?" York walked back over to Sydney. "What kind of food would a Starly want?"

"Who do we know that might have something?"

"The professor, most likely. But what about Aera? She gave that Growlithe treats for doing good. She must have those for all kinds of Pokémon, Starly included!"

"Good idea! You go get the food and make sure Colonel is ready for a fight." She looked up at the Starly, eyes full of anger. "I'll stay here and make sure it doesn't pull anything."

York sped back towards Emeras City while Sydney stood below the tree, eyes glued to the Starly. Sitting snugly next to the camera, the Starly did the same. The two of them watched each other without making a move or a sound.

"I knew that Pokémon were intelligent beings, but I didn't know they'd go so far as to take advantage of humans to get what they want. York better not screw up and catch you. Other people don't need something like you in the wild ruining their day." The Starly began flapping it's wings, working up a violent gust in an attempt to knock Sydney over. She stood her ground and gave it a cocky grin. "A little thing like you will have to work a lot harder to take me down!" It took the camera strap in it's beak and dangled it over the branch, one simple movement away from a drop guaranteed to damage if not break it. "W-whoa! Calm down a bit! Remember, you break my camera, you don't get your food!" It put the camera back on the branch, and Sydney let out a sigh of relief. "Geez..."

The Starly waited on the branch, keeping its eye on Sydney. As she took two Pokéballs out of her bag, it began moving away from the camera and spread it's wings, ready to dive bomb her at any second. From the balls came a Minccino and a Ditto. It took off from the branch and flew towards the three at a great speed.

The Ditto waddled in front of its path and transformed, taking on it's form. The Starly stopped in it's tracks, perplexed at the Pokémon's sudden change in appearance. It tilted it's head to the right, and Ditto mirrored it. It tilted it's head to the left and Ditto mirrored it again. Each and every move it made was imitated by Ditto. It's fascination made it forget all about Sydney and the Minccino.
"That's enough, Copy." Sydney ordered as she put her camera around her neck. The Minccino stood on her shoulder, waving. Starly stared at them, dumbstruck, and turned it's gaze to Ditto as it returned to its original form. "You did good." She patted the Minccino's head. "You too, Brush. And you, don't look so down! You'll still get food."

The Starly retreated to its branch and angrily turned around, back facing Sydney and her Pokémon. She took two containers out of her bag and opened them. The smell caught Starly's attention and it saw her holding two small confections, both white. Her Pokémon happily took them from her hands and stuffed them into their mouths. The Starly looked on jealously, but turned away from them again.

"Syd! I got the food!" Upon hearing these words, the Starly eagerly turned around and saw York with a container of his own in his hand. "You… got your camera? Brush and Copy help you out?"

"Yeah. Hey, bird, dinner's here!" The Starly landed in front of them and opened it's mouth wide. "Why do you have a full container?"

He took out two white confections and knelt down towards the Starly. "If I was going to catch this little thing, I'd need a whole container of Pokémon food. That's what Area said." Holding them in front of the Starly, it plucked them from his hand and gobbled them down. "Satisfied?" He gleefully nodded. "Ready for the battle you promised me?" The Starly flew away from him and flapped its wings confidently. York put the container in his backpack and took Colonel's Pokéball off of his belt. "Alright!"

He pressed the button on the ball, and his partner emerged, brandishing the blades that were its hands.

"Let's start things off with Night Slash, Colonel!"

A dark aura surrounded his arms and it charged the Starly. Copies of the Starly began appearing and surrounding Colonel, making him stop dead in his tracks. The Aura on it's arms faded and it appeared to have moved slightly. All of the copies disappeared and the real Starly flew back.

"What?" A shocked Sydney chuckled and smiled. "I've never seen Aerial Ace used against something that used Double Team. I wouldn't have expected it to work like that."

The Starly got up and charged towards Pawniard at full speed. It rammed into him and pushed him back a ways, shaking it's head and wobbling a bit afterwards.

"Let's try Night Slash one more time!"

The dark aura surrounded his arms once more and ran. Starly took to the sky and made a u-turn, speeding towards the ground. Before it touched down, it made a sharp turn and made it's way right for Colonel.

"Brave Bird, huh?" Murmured York. "That's quite the attack, but for a Pokémon like Colonel, it shouldn't be too bad. Tank it and finish the job with Night Slash!"

"Finish the job?" Sydney bit her thumb. "Aerial Ace, the Take Down recoil and the Brave Bird would have taken a toll on it. It might be enough for a Night Slash to take it down, but…"

Starly crashed into Colonel and sent him flying. It landed on the ground with a large thud and got up shakily. Colonel stood and looked at the Starly for a moment before looking back at York.

He took a Pokéball off of his belt and threw it at the Starly. The capsule absorbed it in a red light and began shaking. The ball ceased it shaking a few moments later.

"Awesome!" York ran over to Colonel and gave him a high five, then the two hurried over to the Pokéball that was in the grass. "A new team member! This is pretty exciting!" He immediately let the Pokémon out and it fell over onto its rear. "Pretty tired, are you?"

Sydney joined them all, Brush and Copy still with her. She held a potion in her hand. "Hold still." She sprayed the potion and Starly winced as the spray enveloped it's body. "Feeling better? "It stood and did a few stretches. "I'll take that as a yes." She looked at York. "Make sure she behaves."

"She? What makes you say that. It could be a guy." Once again he took out his Pokédex. "What gender is Starly?"

The same searching screen appeared, and was followed by a picture of two Starly.

"Male Starly have more white on their foreheads than their female counterparts. Judging by this Starly's appearance, it is a female."

"Alright, it's a girl." Said York as he put the Pokédex away. "In that case, I'll call you Star."

"A little too general, don't you think?" Sydney returned her Pokémon to their Pokéballs. "I mean, it could be a more unique name."

Star hopped onto York's shoulder. "Says the person with a Ditto named Copy. If you're done taking pictures, let's head back."

"I'm not done yet! I was only able to get pictures of the Deerling and their parents! We'll have to stay out a little longer!"

York sighed and sat against the tree Star was perched earlier. "Alright, then. Have fun, Syd. We'll be waiting for you over here."

'Fine then. Just sit tight, I'll try to wrap things up soon." Sydney went off, leaving York with his two Pokémon. Star playfully pecked at York while Colonel began attacking the tree.

Shadowchaos1010 · Feb 16, 2016

Chapter 4: Vs. Emeras Gym Leader Aera

York sat outside if the Emerald Sky Hotel with Sydney. He intertwined his fingers and looked down at the ground. Sydney was looking up at the sky. Star was perched on the edge of the bench, and Copy turns into various Pokémon it saw walking by.

"This… Is a problem." York finally said.

"I mean, there are other hotels and stuff in the city."

York looked over at his friend. "You really want to stay in some crappy motel?"

"If it comes down to it." She said with a sigh. "If you didn't decide to stay at such an expensive hotel yesterday, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, Star," She looked at her. The Pokémon looked at her and then turned away. Sydney glowered at her. "Stubborn bird. You'd better help York win so we can leave today."

"To make it worse, we have to buy camp supplies."

"You're right." Sydney looked into the road. "At least we have Colonel. He'll make this easy."

Upon hearing her words, Star sat down next York, an angry look on her face.

Her trainer rubbed her head. "There's nothing to be upset about, Star. You'll do just fine." He stood and stretched. Star flew onto his shoulder. "You wanna go get our camp stuff so we can leave as soon as I'm done?"

"Nah, I'll watch. It's your first gym battle after all." She got off of the bench. "Copy, we're leaving." It stopped transforming and leapt onto her hand, sliding up her arm until resting on her shoulder.

"Hey, Syd?"

"What is it?"

"When we went in earlier, you got angry at me for shouting out. What should I do this time to avoid that?"

She crossed her arms. "Do you have to ask? Go up to someone and ask like a civilized human being!"

"Okay, I'll do just that."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

York stood nervously in front of the gym. Sydney looked at him and sighed. "What's the matter? Nervous? Or maybe you think you're going to screw up the battle request again."

"Actually, I am."

She rubbed her temples. "Come on!"

She grabbed his wrist and marched inside. She pushed him towards the young man who was working behind a desk. York walked up to him and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, sir. I'd like to battle the Gym Leader. Is she available at the moment?"

"Of course." He stepped away from the desk. "This way, please." The two followed him to the back of the gym, where Aera was on the ground playing with her Growlithe. "Gym leader, you have a challenger."

"Oh?" She stood up. "I see you're back. That was quick."

"I know, but we're kinda in a hurry." He explained.

"Okay, then. Let's head to the battlefield then."

The group of four went to the back where a large battlefield was. York stood at one end of the battlefield. Sydney sat down on a bench, and the man stood between the two.

There was a number pad on the wall and Aera inputted a code. A panel opened, with 12 Pokéballs on it.

"How many badges do you have right now?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, this will be my first one!"

"Got it!" She took three of them from the rack and inputted another code. The rack closed and she walked over to the opposite side of the field.

"This battle will be three on three!" Announced the man. "It will end when either side is out of usable Pokémon or one side resigns! Both sides can substitute Pokémon as they please! Begin!"

York glanced at Star. "Want to give it a try?" She nodded eagerly and flew off of his shoulder.

"Come on out, Swablu!" Aera tossed a Pokeball and the small blue pokemon emerged, flapping its white cotton wings. "Let's start this off with Round!"

The small pokemon opened it's mouth and began singing at an extreme volume. Star stopped flapping to cover her ears and fell to the ground. York and Sydney covered their eyes as well. Copy was busy dancing on the bench.

When the singing stopped, Aera and the referee seemed unfazed.

"Ah…!" Exclaimed Sydney. "That hurt! How are you two okay after that?"

"After you hear it so much, you get used to it." Replied a proud Aera, a hand on her hip. "Swablu, now use Fury Attack!"

The pokemon dived towards her and she took to the sky. It reared up and began pursuing her.

"Star!" Called York." Double Team!"

At his command, several shadows formed around her. She circled around and went straight for her opponent. The Starly that Swablu collided with vanished and she rammed into it from behind.

"Brave Bird!"

She turned sharply and began to dive. When turned sharply toward the ground and sped towards Swablu, which remained on the ground. It took a deep breath and used Round once more. The high pitched shrill made Star lose her focus and fall onto the ground. Swablu flew over to her and used to Fury Attack it had missed previously.

York shifted on his feet. "Star!" She swatted Swablu away and shook her head. "Are you alright?" She put up a wing in reassurance. "Good! If you can keep going, use Take Down!"

"You too, Swablu!"

The two pokemon rammed into each other and knocked each other back. Swablu charged again, but Star used Double Team again. All of the Starlys dove down towards Swablu, which stood in fear of the mass of pokemon heading straight for it. Upon impact, there was a large cloud of smoke.

Aera called into the cloud. "Swablu!" There was no response. When the cloud cleared, Star stood next to Swablu, which lay unconscious.

She held a Pokéball towards Swablu and the red light enveloped and returned it to its capsule.

"You did good. Togetic, let's finish what Swablu started!" She tossed her second pokeball and as she said, a Togetic emerged. "Use Fairy Wind!"

Togetic began waving it's arm, and a breeze began blowing. It grew stronger and stronger, until it blew her back. She hit the ground hard and laid unconscious.

"Star!" York returned her to her pokeball. "You did really for for your first battle." She sent out Colonel, who brandished his blade arms. "It's up to you, pal."

"It's your Pawniard." Noted Aera. "It might be a problem. But Togetic might be able to handle it. Sweet Kiss, Togetic!"

The Fairy-Type Pokemon began flying towards Colonel, who dodged out of the side. His arms began shining and he lunged at Togetic. His strike threw it to the ground. It got up and gave Colonel a charming look, stopping him in his tracks.

"Ignore it, Colonel! Keep using Metal Claw!"

He shook his head and kept up his attack on Togetic. The flying Pokemon used it's ability to fly to it's advantage. As Togetic showed signs of defeat, Aera sighed.

"I wasn't expecting a novice to use a Steel-Type. Togetic wasn't too effective. Alright, Togetic, use Yawn! We'll take him out while he dozes off!"

Togetic flew in front of Colonel and opened it's mouth. A large yawn enveloped Colonel and it began wobbling. He lashed out and Togetic was sent flying back.

"You did good, Togetic!" Aera held the unconscious Togetic's pokeball and returned it. "Butterfree, let's finish this!"

The butterfly pokemon emerged from its capsule and began flapping it's wings, looking down at its opponent from the sky.

"This is it." Said Aera. "I hope you won't mind when you lose."

"I won't! Colonel, let's- huh?" York looked towards Colonel, who had fallen over onto his back. "Oh, crap. Colonel, wake up, buddy!"

York's calls did nothing, and Colonel lay on the ground, continuing to sleep. Butterfree landed on the ground and walked over to him. When it arrived, it began nudging him.

"Come one!" Shouted York. "Now you're just rubbing salt in the wound!"

"York, calm down!" Called Sydney from the sidelines. "You have a Pokédex, don't you?! Use it!"

York pulled out his Pokedex as she said. "What moves can Butterfree use are harmful to Pawniard?"

Like earlier outside of Emeras, the Pokédex searched, and eventually a picture of Butterfree appeared, the blue featureless face in the corner and a list off to the side.

"All of the moves Butterfree can learn naturally are rather harmless to Pawniard. Silver Wind and Bug Buzz are the most dangerous. Moves learned by Technical Machines are also rather harmless."

"Hear that?" Sydney asked. "There's nothing to worry about!"

"I feel better. Colonel!"

Butterfree flew up into the air and began flapping it's wings. A silver colored wind began battering Colonel, pushing him around.

"Colonel!"

The Pokémon opened his eyes and jumped up before shaking his head. He stared Butterfree down, and appeared to have teleported, having moved slightly. His opponent fell out of the sky with a pained yelp. When it landed, he began charging towards it.

"Night Slash!" A Dark Aura surrounded his arms and he lunged at Butterfree.

Butterfree flew up and used Silver Wind again. In retaliation, Colonel used Aerial Ace again, and Butterfree plummeted. He followed up with Night Slash, and Butterfree fainted.

"The battle goes to the challenger!" Yelled the referee.

Aera returned Butterfree. "You just weren't ready for him, I guess. I'll make sure to reward you all later." She returned to the number pad and returned the pokeballs. She closed the rack, and a small panel ejected from the wall.

"Your reward." She handed him a badge shaped like a butterfly. "It's the Highfly Badge. Your first step towards the Kinsei League."

"Thank you!" He looked At Colonel. "We did it!" The two high fived. "The Highfly Badge is mine!"

"You know where the other gyms are, right?"

"Yeah, I do. Thank you for the battle."

"Anytime. It's my job after all." She noticed York glancing at the wall. "There's no need to worry. IHPHA installed healing machines into our walls to heal our pokemon whenever we return them. Well, York, good luck on your journey."

"Huh?" He chuckled. "You know my dad, right?"

"Yeah, we both work for the IPCTA. Don't be surprised if other people recognize you." She told him. "Good luck on the road."

Sydney stood from the bench and the two left the gym.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They exited the Pokemon Center, each carrying an extra bag. These bags were full of camping supplies that the two would use on their trip to their next destination. According to Melanie,
the closest gym was in Aeren Town, to the east.

"I'm going to try to get Star some training while we're on the road." York said.
"Good luck with that, man." She looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set. "We should start going. We could get out of the city a ways and set up camp."

"Alright." He began walking towards the east gate. "Let's get going!" Sydney followed after him.

Aisu · Feb 16, 2016

You know, I saw "mature Pokemon story" and the kid in me was like YES BLOOD SEX YES. I'm sorry lol, but I don't regret clicking on this, as I do enjoy your story. I personally don't do my own regions because I have terrible memory but you did it and made it work very well so kudos to you sir! I have some constructive criticism on the story if you would please take it too? although feel free to respond if something I say doesn't make sense, I don't know.

Chapter One

The world of Pokémon, called Arcaea by those who walks across its green earth, is a large and wonderful place. Far and wide, Pokémon roam, the kings of the earth. For millennia, humans and Pokémon have lived together in harmony, playing together, working together, and battling together. Starting at the tender age of ten, people are allowed to begin journeying around the world with a Pokémon at their side. For some, their goal is to simply travel and see the world, while others seek for glory through Pokémon Contests and their regional Pokémon League. Being side by side like this helps Pokémon and their trainers grow into better individuals, the best examples being Top Coordinators and Pokémon League Champions.

I reeeallly like this exposition here. Describes the world things take place in perfectly.

The door swung open slowly. A Pawniard hung on the knob, and hopped off once the door was fully open. It happily cried at York and ran over to him. It began excitedly pointing at the open door, and was met with a slightly quizzical look. It groaned and shook it's head.

I just wanna correct your "it's" as "its." Also, I prefer Bisharp over Pawniard; looks waaay deadlier.

"What's the matter, Colonel?" He asked, head tilted.

Mustang? lol Just had to say that

"Your Pokégear is broken and you never told her about it! She couldn't get in touch with you!" Called his sister.

When stuff like that happens in real life it's so uuugh. I feel you, York.

A Pink Pokégear was peaking out of the pocket of her blue shorts.

Peeking?

"Whatever." She continued to walk as soon as he reached her. "I don't know what else I was expecting. After all of these years, I should've known you'd be late. You're never on time; ever."

Well damn, he could be my brother. Also, I think a comma or hyphen would fit better than the semicolon.

"That's the same excuse you always give me." She said, punching his arm and walking ahead of him.

Here, the way the sentence is written, you should use a comma instead of a period, because it's not exactly a full stop.

Sydney nodded. "I got all of my clothes, money, and tech. Brush and Copy are more than ready, and I have my equipment as well."

What, a Smeargle and Ditto named Brush and Copy? Those're what I thought of first, at least.

The streets were crowded with beachgoers and tourists. The congested streeted slowed the two down a bit, and they eventually reached the Houndoom Bus Station, a national bus service.

i see wut u did thar

She took a step towards her, but York grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem, York! We're finally here! And check in time is nearly over!"

When Syd said what's your problem, that was actually a question, so question mark instead of exclamation point.

The only sound was that of Kricketot and Kricketune, chirping through the night. It did not take long for the Pawniard to signal his trainer, who rushed to his side.

Ew Sinnoh

You stupid little Pokémon!" He saw York standing in the back. "You're it's trainer?"

Because the robber's speaking possessively, it's "its", 'cause that's York's Pokemon. "It's" with an apostrophe means "it is."

"You think I'll listen to a kid like you?!" He took a Pokéball out of his pocket. "I'd just kick the crap outta you, but on the off chance I get caught, that would make things worse for me. So I'll crush you in a Pokémon Battle instead."

This had me about to go into a Yu-Gi-Oh rant but whatever

"Unless you taught your Drowzee a T.M, the only moves it can learn that can harm Dark Types, like Colonel, are Pound and Headbutt. It that's all you have, you might as well give up."

Did he learn that from his dad? because otherwise, buddy must really love Pokemon. I know I don't memorize that crap.

The police had arrested the purse-snatcher, and the woman thanked York for getting her purse back. Colonel was back inside of his Pokéball resting and York was tired himself.

This legitimately bugs me, not just in Pokemon but in Yu-Gi-Oh and Digimon too. Do they get tired from shouting or what?

She gestured for him to come closer and she leaned over to him. "Our hotel is quite popular among young couples. There's a secret compartment on the right side of the nightstand that has plenty of T.M17 if you need them!"

Oh shit I actually Googled T.M. 17. Bro, I love that line though.

I promise to finish this though, but right now I got chores so :P

Shadowchaos1010 · Feb 16, 2016

Thanks for the feedback, Aisu. I'm glad that you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm actually working on the story right now actually. Almost at chapter 30 currently.

Aisu · Feb 18, 2016

Spoiler:

That's really great. Personally I've been slacking on doing, well, anything lately, so I applaud you for your motivation, sir!

Chapter Two

"Syd," She looked over at York, who looked towards the ground. "Do you think that we'd make a good couple?"

See, this right here's a misuse of a comma bro. From what I've heard, you use a comma when continuing with a sentence related to the dialogue, i.e. "he said" or "she sighed" or "she shouted." It should be a period instead.

Sydney narrowed her eyes. "You have three seconds to explain yourself before I pummel you." She quietly warned.

York you need some backup bro?

"L-let's just eat breakfast and get out of here! I want to get all of our stuff as soon as possible! I'm going to take a shower, so get me something to eat when you're down there!" She rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door.

For how abusive she is with York, this is awfully bashful.

He rummaged through the compartment's contents and took out a cased CD. "There's an actual T.M for Protect in here." He closed the compartment and slipped the T.M into his bag. "No reason to leave this here. Now, time for some breakfast!"

That's actually a pretty lucky find. Also, I find it curious how you actually referred to a T.M. as a CD, because with fan-fictions you're applying Pokemon concepts in real life, like how you used that "we have some T.M. 17 in a secret compartment" analogy. How would a Pokemon, except maybe Porygon, use that CD?

Sydney took the final bite of the donut that York had brought her from the Emerald Sky's breakfast bar. The two teens were en route to the Emeras City Pokémon Center, where Sydney had a package waiting. From there the two would go to the local Pokémon Lab where the owner, Professor Archer Richards, had something for them.

Personally I think you're doing more telling than showing. I mean, even exposition has some limits.

York beamed. "Yessir! We're looking for Professor Acher Richards!"

You forgot the not-so-conspicuous tree cognomen lol

Once the aide left them, he turned in the large swivel chair and crossed on of his gray khaki clad legs over the other, folding his hands in his lap and smiling at the two. The top buttons of his light blue business were undone and his black tie was loosened. His black half rim glasses were slightly crooked.

Spoiler:

Melanie returned with a tray that held two PokéNav Pluses and a Pokédex*. While there were five different models of the Pokédex, the one on the tray was like a handheld video game console, red and black with two green buttons on the right side.

Remember how before the Nintendo new 3DS, 3DS, DSi, and DS Lite, we had the DS?

"Well, I'm sorry!" He retorted. "I always paid attention to my dad's battle during each League Conference, not the gyms he went to before then!"

Honestly I haven't met a person yet that knows every single Gym Leader of any region. Dunno, guess we're just not big nerds like that.

Her expression grew a bit disappointed. "Gym Battles are three-on-three matches. You could take me on with your Pawniard alone, but it would be tough. I'd recommend picking up another Pokémon or two. There aren't many more discouraging things a new trainer can go through than losing their first gym battle."

I had to stop for a moment as I remembered when Pokemon games became hard enough that you actually had a decent chance of losing on the first Gym ;-;

Chapter Three

Spoiler:

Chapter Four

Spoiler:

[/S-HIGHLIGHT]

Desert Stream~ · Feb 19, 2016

This is a decent story.
also,
"Honestly I haven't met a person yet that knows every single Gym Leader of any region. Dunno, guess we're just not big nerds like that."
I know every gym leader of every region :p

Shadowchaos1010 · Feb 19, 2016

Here is chapter five of the Kinsei Saga, and the fifth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 5: Legend Chasers

York stared up into the starry sky in his red sleeping bag while Sydney slept. It was really late at night, with the occasional hoot from a Hoothoot or Noctowl and the chirping of Kricketot and Kricketune.

He reached over to his bag and took out his new badge case. He opened it and stared at his Highfly Badge. A small smile creeped onto his face.

"The first step in my journey. It's only a matter of time until I beat you, dad…"

"What're you going on about?"

"Oh, Sydney!" He rolled over and looked at her. She was bundled up, glaring at him. "Did I wake you up?"

"Of course you did. Why couldn't you wait until morning to fawn over your badge?"

"I'm sorry, I just got really excited."

Sydney rolled over again. "I'm excited about being taking all sorts of pictures, but I won't let it interfere with my sleep!"

"Sorry…" He put the badge case away. "I'll go back to sleep. G'night, Syd!"

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York slowly opened his eyes and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. The sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance, leaves crunching and twigs breaking underneath. He looked towards the sound and saw a ground of people marching.

"Huh?" He got up. One of the people in the group noticed him, and called out in a foreign language. "I think they noticed me."

He shook Sydney and she looked up at him. "Now what is it?" He pointed at the group that was now coming towards them. "Who're they?"

"Good morning!" Called one of the men. "The two of you are alright I assume?"

"Um, yes, sir." Replied York.

"That's good. You're on your way your Aeren Town, correct?"

"Yeah."

York looked the man up and down. He had tan skin and copper hair. Several of them, the man included, wore tribal clothing, while the others wore clothing seen all over the region.

"Did you see any ruins or something of the sort on your way from Emeras City?"

"Ruins?" York scratched his head. "Don't remember seeing anything like that, sorry. What are you all looking for anyway?"

"We're Legend Chasers." Said the man. "These ruins could be related to a legendary Pokémon in some way." York gave the man a blank stare. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not know what Legend Chasers are?" York slowly shook his head.

"You're hopeless, you know that?" Said Sydney.

"What, do you know what Legend Chasers are?"

"Yes, I do! Legend Chasers are people who go around trying to uncover the mysteries of Legendary Pokémon!"

The man nodded. "Basically. More specifically, their effect on ancient civilizations like ours."

York tilted his head and crossed his arms. "Ancient civilization?"

"We're Kraos." He said. "My name is Kamijo."

"Kraos?" Asked York. "I've heard of them! I think I remember reading about people like you, these Legend Chasers, and all of them were Kraos!"

A girl with emerald green eyes walked by Kamijo. "All Legend Hunters are Kraos." She was one of the people who wore casual clothing. She was wearing brown flats, a frilly white skirt and a pink blouse. "It's been that way since ancient times."

"Wait, I think that I heard most Legend Chasers live all the way in Pegas Town. Are you from here?" Asked Sydney.

"Yes, we are. My name is Iria Copperfell, by the way." Said the girl.

"I'm Sydney." She then gestured to York, who smiled and waved. "This is York. You've all come a really long way."

Iria put on a proud smile and put her hands on her hips. "It's the duty of us Legend Chasers to face any sort of challenge to find out all we can about Legendary Pokémon. Whether it be extreme weather, long distances, or wild Pokémon."

Kamijo put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's supposed to be that way for people like me, anyway. Children like Iria are supposed to stay behind. At the very least, not stray that far from the town."

"Hold on." York pointed at Iria. "How old are you, anyway?"

"I'm eleven."

York's eyes widened. "Whoa. I think Kamijo is right. Should you be out here?"

"If I could aid the group, then I'm going to aid them." She said. "I've been fine up to this point, so I'm going to press on."

York looked at his traveling companion. "Do you want to help them look for these ruins?"

Sydney crossed her and looked at the ground. "I could take some nice pictures of these ruins. Let's help 'em."

Kamijo waved his hand in front of himself. "That's not necessary. You don't have to go out of your way for us."

"We want to." York said. "Like Sydney said, we might learn something from them."

He bowed. "I thank you. But please, stay towards the back in order to remain safe."

After packing up their campsite, York sent out Star. "Hey, Star, could you go look around for some ruins?" She looked at him skeptically. "I'll feed you plenty of treats if you do it!" She smiled and flew off.

Sydney looked at him, an unamused look on her face. "Pokéblocks?" He shook his head. "Poffins?" He shook his head again. "Poképuffs?" One final time, he shook his head. "You just lied to her."

"Shall we continue on our way?" Asked Kamijo.

"We're ready to go!" Announced York.

"So am I." Sydney had her camera around her neck.

"Iria, stay with them."

"Okay." She joined the two in the back as the group began moving once more.

"So, are Legend Hunters like historians, then?" Asked York.

"You could say that. No one's really made that comparison before, so I haven't thought about it."

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After the group had been wandering for a time, they heard the cry of a Pokémon in the distance. A Solosis descended from above, stopping in front of Iria. The girl smiled and took the Pokémon in her hand.

"Caitlin, you're back! Did you find something?" The small white head within the green gel-like substance nodded. "Could you show us where it is?"

It lifted off from her hand and began flying again. The group followed after it. They soon arrived at a ruins. There were piles of rubble surrounding broken walls. Moss had begun to grow on the walls. Some of the buildings were in better shape than others, being mostly intact.

"We're finally here!" Cried an excited Kamijo. He turned to the other people in the group. "Alright, everyone, let's start our search!" Everyone began to go about the ruins. Kamijo turned back to the three. "You three stick together." He then left them.

Star flew onto York's shoulder and let out a disheartened sighed. In response he rubbed her head. "It doesn't matter if you didn't find it. You tried, and that's what counts." She perked up and opened her mouth. "Huh?" A perplexed look appeared on his face.

"You promised to feed her, remember?" Teased Sydney. "Better pay up." York chuckled nervously, and Star glared at him.

Iria took a small container out of her bag. It was pink with several small jewels decorating it. It had two little drawers. Iria pulled one of them and produced a pink Poffin. She held it towards Star.

"Here."

The Starling Pokémon nabbed it and wolfed it down. She chirped at Iria in thanks. She then gave her trainer a disapproving look.

"I'm sorry, Star. I only have normal Pokémon food. Doesn't exactly count as a 'treat'."

"What's done is done." Said Sydney. "Let's get looking. We didn't come here to chat."

"Hey, now that I think about it, don't people say that Unown is a Legendary Pokémon?" York inquired.

Iria answered his question. "They do, but according to both us Legend Chasers and the Church of Arceus, a Legendary Pokémon is a divine being meant to protect and guide mortals and thus cannot be tamed by them. Not only do people own Unown, the only real thing we know is that they inspired an ancient alphabet."

"Hey, I think I see something!" Sydney ran ahead and knelt by something she saw on the ground. "Speaking of Unown…"

Iria and York knelt next to her. In front of them was a stone slab with something etched into it, written in Unown.

Iria's eyes scanned the slab. "What?"

"Can you read this, Iria?" Asked York. She nodded. "What does it say?"

"It's… about the church and scientists." She said. "Something about them understanding each other."

York reached towards it. "We should take this to Kamijo."

"Hold it! This thing just might crumble when you touch it!" Warned Sydney. "We should bring him to the tablet."

"Good point." He rose to his feet. "Let's go get him."

The three of them went off to fetch Kamijo, leaving the strange slab behind.

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I made the Unown text with this scratch program by vwn754h:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1771224/

Shadowchaos1010 · Feb 26, 2016

Here is chapter six of the Kinsei Saga, and the sixth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 6: Hundred Eyes First Contact

"Kamijo!"

Iria ran towards Kamijo, York and Sydney in tow. The older man was inspecting a wall painting that appeared to feature people and some sort of Pokémon. At the sound of her voice, he turned from his work.

"Ah, Iria, is something wrong?"

"I found something that might be really valuable!" She happily announced. "It's over this way!"

When they returned to the tablet, Kamijo looked down at it.

"Interesting." He said. "I wonder what this means. Iria have Brain pick it up."

He rummaged through his bag and took out a small container. It was about the same size as the slab. Iria took out a Pokéball, and out came an Elgyem. At her trainer's command, the Pokémon began to lift the tablet off of the ground. It carefully lowered it into the container, and Kamijo closed it.

"That should do it. Thank you, Iria, Brain." He put the container in his bag. "Good work. Keep searching. We'll be leaving tomorrow evening."

"Iria, isn't this one of your first expeditions?" Asked Sydney.

The girl nodded. "It is! I've been really looking forward to it. I appreciate you two being here, but you're busy, right? We can't keep you until tomorrow night."

"We could spare a day or two," York looked at Sydney. "Right?"

He shrugged. "I think we can. What other kind of things should we look out for?"

"Just general things." She said. "Poke around until we find things that could be useful, like murals, tablets, cups. Anything that would help us learn more about Legendary Pokémon. The kind of place these ruins used to be would affect what we can find."

"Well, there was that tablet and the mural Kamijo was looking at." Noted York. "Could you tell what this place used to be from that?"

Iria put a finger on her chin and looked up at the sky. "You see murals quite often nowadays, like in schools and museums. But in ancient civilizations, I only heard about them being in palaces, temples, and tombs. I highly doubt this is a palace, but it can't be a temple either."

"Why not?" Inquired York. "The slab mentioned the Church, didn't it?"

"It did, but it mentioned the church and scientists coming together. If it was a temple, then whoever wrote it would've acted on what they wrote."

Sydney nodded, signaling that she understood. "Meaning this is a tomb. It's out in the open though. I thought tombs were supposed to hidden away and full of traps."

"I could just be forgetting something. If it is a tomb, then whose, I wonder?"

The three young trainers were looking through the ruins when they came across a building without any doors. They had circled it, but no entrance was visible.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What could this be?" Asked York, feeling around the structure.

As he walked around, his foot moved and fell through the ground. He let out a yelp, and the other two rushed to his side. York stared into the hole he uncovered, and the drape that concealed it, now falling partially into the ground.

"A hole?" Sydney knelt down and looked at it. "Iria, did one of your friends dig this?"

The girl shook her head and picked up the drape. "They wouldn't try to hide it."

York hopped into the hole. "Come one, you two, we have investigating to do!"

"York!" Sydney sighed. "You're an idiot, you know that?" She hopped down as well. "I'm only coming to make your you don't get yourself hurt. Iria, you stay there, alright?"

"Alright!" As the two made their way into the tunnel and disappeared from her view, Iria glanced over at the others, but didn't move from her spot.

"Geez, this is dark." Said your as the two crawled through the tunnel.

"What would you expect? We're underground. Are we almost out?"

"Yeah, I think I see something." He crawled to the end of the tunnel.

The space was large enough for him to stand in, and the path up had ladder-like dirt protrusions to help with climbing. He began climbing up, and Sydney followed right after.

York peaked his head out of the hole and climbed out. When Sydney joined him, the two were looking at a trio of men looking at the walls with a flashlight. While their view was obstructed, bright colors could be seen on the wall, contrasting the gray brick of the building. A Drilbur was with them, and turned when it heard the two exit the hole. It tugged one of the men's legs and pointed at them.

"There's something over there." He said. "Flashlight." His comrade shone the flashlight in the direction Drilbur specified, but it found nothing. "Drilbur, you sure you're not paranoid?" It nodded and pointed to the corner. "It moved, huh?" He looked at the one with the flashlight. "You saw him point."

As he moved the flashlight, a shape sped across the light, slamming him into the wall and making him drop the device.

"Crap! We're blind! Drilbur!"

The mole Pokémon lunged at the flashlight, but it moved away and was flashed right in Drilbur's eye's. The mole covered its eyes and yelped. The light moved to the roof, preventing those on the ground from seeing on another. When it moved back onto Drilbur, there were two of it.

"What...?" Whispered it's trainer. "Must be a Ditto." He took out a Pokéball. "Whoever you are, I know you think you're clever, but you're not."

He pointed it at the Drilbur on his left. The red beam enveloped the Pokémon, but disappeared.

"Found you, phony! Drilbur, Metal Claw!"

The light disappeared again and then returned, but instead of from the flashlight, it was from the hole in the wall Drilbur made by using Metal Claw. With the light now pouring in, the three men could assess their situation. Colonel was holding a broken flashlight; Copy was moving about at random; York and Sydney were together in the corner, now glaring at the three.

"Look at this." Said the men. "Just a couple of kids. There are better places to make out then here, you know." He looked at his comrades. "Kids these days, am I right?"

"What was that!?" Sydney stomped forward, seething. "Are you trying to say that we look like a couple or something!?"

"How cute, she's getting all defensive." Said one of the other men.

"Drop it, Syd." Said York. "Who are you guys anyway?"

"Like we have to tell you." He began walking to them. "It wouldn't matter pretty soon, anyway."

A bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of him. Everyone present looked towards it, and saw a Shieldon. Next to the Shieldon was a young man with messy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing sneakers and jeans, along with a checkered button up shirt and a black vest.

The man who stopped gave him a look of disbelief. "A Shieldon using Thunderbolt?" He sighed. "Technical Machines are weird."

He took out a badge and held it towards them all. "I'm Wallace Jet of the KDDF. We received reports of odd men in the area that might be related to the Hundred Eyes. I'm going to have to take you all in for questioning."

Yorks eyes moved from Wallace to the man. "The Hundred Eyes? That's who you are?"

The glanced back at one of his comrades. He threw a Pokéball.

"Weezing, Smokescreen!"

The Poison Gas Pokémon spat out a gray orb that erupted into a huge cloud of smoke, obscuring everyone's views. The three men and their two Pokémon rushed past Wallace and away from the ruins.

"Shoot! Shieldon, I'll be with you in a sec!" The small Pokémon ran off after the trio. "Are you alright?"

York and Sydney left the ruins with their Pokémon, coughing.

"We'll be fine." Answered York.

"Good. Be sure to get somewhere safe soon." He then ran off.

York's eyes followed him closely, an intense look in them. Sydney looked at her friend, and rubbed her temples.

"Think about this, York. This is the Hundred Eyes were talking about. They're thieves and murderers!" She gripped his shoulder. "It's way too dangerous!"

He swatted her hand away. "There's only three of them! My and that Wallace guy would be able to handle them. If you're worried, stay with Iria and the others alright?"

A concerned look dawned on Sydney's face. She lowered her gaze, and now York put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

"I'll be okay, I promise. We'll meet up in Aeren Town, okay?"

She shook her head. "I went with you into the building, so I'm going with you here! If I can't convince you to stay out of it, I have to keep an eye on you!"

"Thanks, Syd. I'm sorry about this."

"There's no use apologizing anymore."

The two ran around the ruins for a short time until they found Iria.

"Sorry, but we have to go." Explained Sydney. "Thanks for showing us around. See you later!"

The two began running towards the direction that Wallace went is as Iria waved to them, wishing them good luck on their journey.

They eventually found him, climbing into a red convertible's passenger seat. There were two others in the car. One was Melanie, who York and Sydney met at Professor Richards lab, and a man.

He was wearing black shoes, black khakis, a white business shirt with a black tie, which was covered by a gray vest, and a black long tail coat. He had short brown hair and brown eyes.

"Come on, Jason, I saw them heading towards Aeren Town!"

"Alright."

"Hope you got room for two more!" York and Sydney jumped over the doors next to Melanie in the backseat.

"And just who are you?" Jason asked, looking back at the two.

"We have more important things to worry about!" Retorted York. You can question us after you get those guys."

Without another word, he began driving off. Back in the ruins, Iria could see the car speed away. She smiled slightly as it grew further away. Kamijo walked up to her.

"Are you going to miss them?"

"Yes, but, I'm sure that I'm going to see them again soon. We're both traveling the world, so our paths will cross one day."

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On the road to Aeren Town, Jason caught up with the three alleged Hundred Eyes members. They were each riding a motorcycle, Weezing following behind one and Drilbur sitting with another.

Wallace took a Pokéball out of his pocket. "Pidgeotto!" The bird Pokémon emerged from the capsule and began flying next to the car. "I need you to do something about those guys. Knock them off of their bikes or slash their tires!"

York sent out Star and had her assist Pidgeotto. The two bird Pokémon flew towards the trio. The Weezing's trainer glanced back.

"Weezing, Sludge Bomb!"

Weezing spat a large glob of purple goo at the two Pokémon. They dodged the attack, and Star flew ahead of the man. She looked at the front tire of his motorcycle, and began to descend. It began to speed up, until she was about to ram into the bike. She turned at the last second and cut the tire with her wing. The man's bike began veering and he was flung off of it.

"One down!" Exclaimed York. "Question: What do we do with him?"

"Pidgeotto!" Called Wallace. "You can handle him, right?"

It nodded, and flew towards the man on the ground. His Weezing went to intercept, but Star rammed into it.

Sydney took two Pokéballs out of her bag. "Brush, Copy!" The two Pokémon landed on the windshield. "Are you two alright?" They nodded at her. "Okay. Brush, use Swift and help Star with the Weezing! Copy, transform and use Swift on the other two!"

As they were ordered, Brush began waving his tail, and flurries of star began flying towards Weezing. As much as it tried to dodge, the stars would follow and hit. With Star's help, it went down quickly. Copy transformed, and it's stars flew towards the tires of the other motorcycles. When the second motorcycle went down, the final one went off of the road into the woods.

"Damn!" Exclaimed Jason as the car screeched to a stop. "We'll just have to keep going, see if we can find him." As Jason began driving again, Wallace tossed another Pokéball, and a Gardevoir landed near the second man and the Weezing.

"Meet up with us in Aeren Town, okay?!" The Psychic type nodded.

Sydney looked at him as they continued to drive. "Wallace, right?"

"What's up?"

"Are you the only Pokémon trainer out of you three?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't that make work a bit more difficult?"

"We manage."

Jason sped towards Aeren Town, hoping that the final man would still be passing by, even if he had temporarily lost them.

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I made the Unown text with this scratch program by vwn754h:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1771224/

Shadowchaos1010 · Mar 2, 2016

Here is chapter seven of the Kinsei Saga, and the seventh overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 7: Lost Lillipup

Jason entered Aeren Town and parked by one of the streets.

"Okay, you two, this is where you get off. I appreciate the help, but we can handle it from here."

The two young trainers got out of the car, as did their Pokémon.

"We were glad to help. We hope you run into that last guy." York said as he stretched.

"It was nice meeting you, Wallace, Jason." Sydney then looked at Melanie. "It was nice seeing you again too. Best of luck with work, everyone!"

The car drove away from the two, and they looked around the town. It was much smaller than Emeras City, but was still very lively. There was a very happy feeling around the town, but something in particular caught the pair's eye.

A group of children were looking up at a telephone pole, more specifically, a piece of paper that was attached to the pole. They walked over to the group. York knelt down next to one of the kids.

"What's up?"

They looked at him, then the poster and pointed. "Someone's pet went missing. We want to help."

"The poster says it's a Lillipup that was last seen in the forest outside town." Said Sydney. She crossed her arms. "What do you say; wanna help?"

"Yeah. We should try to find the address on the poster."

Sydney took her PokéNav Plus out of her bag. "Time for this thing to see some use!"

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The pair stood on the front porch a house. They looked at each other, then York raised his hand to knock on the door. After a short wait, a man came to the door.

"Excuse me, we don't mean to disturb you." Said York. "We heard that you lost your pet."

"We'd like to help you look for it." Added Sydney.

The man smiled at the two. "Ah, thank you. Please, come in, my son would like to speak to you, then."

He led them into his living room. A man, a woman, and a boy were sitting on the couch. They looked up when they returned. While the woman and boy were wearing casual clothing, the man was dressed in white and gold robes. He was wearing a necklace with a charm that resembled the ring around Arceus' body.

"Hmm?" The man tilted his head. "Good afternoon. How may we help you?"

"I'm York."

"And I'm Sydney. We're here about the Lillipup. We wanted to learn a bit about it before we started looking."

The boy lit up. "Thank you, really!"

"Before we begin…" The man closed his eyes, bowed his head, and put his hands together. Everyone followed suit, with York and Sydney being last.

"Arceus, lord, your son has lost his friend, Lillipup. I know that you are a kind and merciful God, so you wouldn't separate them without reason. If your son or his parents have wronged you, please find it in your heart to forgive them and return their beloved Lillipup into their lives. Amen."

"Excuse me, sir, are you a father of the Church?" Inquired Sydney.

"Indeed I am. My name is Daniel."

The boy got off of the couch and went over to them. "I'm Kyle. I was out with my Lillipup on Route 4, when I got distracted. When I went back to where he was, I couldn't find him."

Sydney put a finger on her chin in thought. "When did this happen?"

"Last week."

She nodded. "If he hasn't turned up, then he's somewhere on Route 4, or he got all the way to Millstone City."

"I doubt it went all the way there. But if he did, then we can look when we go there. He got a name or collar?" Added York.

"His name is Roger. And our address is on his collar." Explained Kyle.

"Okay, we'll look out for him. We'll call as soon as we learn something." Sydney smiled at him. "He's fine, I-"

"We should get going." Said York. He took Sydney's hand. "Let's go to Route 4."

"Huh? He began dragging her away. "There's no need to pull me!"

When they were outside, York let go of her hand, and she glared at him. "The heck is wrong with you?"

"You were about to say ' I promise', right?" York's usually optimistic tone was absent, replaced by a grim voice.

Sydney eased up and gave him a confused look. "What's up with you?"

"Kyle said he went missing a week ago. I hate to say this, but I'm not sure the little guy is with us anymore."

She glared at him again. "York! Don't say that!"

"We're talking about a domesticated Pokémon. It wouldn't know how to survive in the wild! An entire week out there-"

"Just shut up! You're making an ass out of yourself!"

"I know that I'm making assumptions, but don't you think it's likely. I know it's Father Daniel's duty, but trying to convince a kid his pet isn't dead after this long seems a bit wrong."

"A member of the Church would never say that someone is dead until they're sure of it. It's not just because it's his duty. It's just how he thinks."

"There might be hope." York took out his Pokédex. "Are there any canine Pokémon living on Route 4?"

"The Pokémon native to Route 4 don't include any canines." Responded the Pokédex.

"That isn't good. There goes all hopes of some of the wilds taking him in."

"You said that we should go to Route 4. Let's not waste anymore time."

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Route 4 was a route full of greenery. Many trees were around the route, housing all kinds of Pokémon. There were many flying and bug types, with normal types running along the ground and the occasional Geodude or Sandshrew. Ekans slithered across the ground as well.

Looking at his PokéNav's map, York inspected the map of the Route. "This is a pretty large route. He could be anywhere." York let out Star and Colonel. "We're looking for a Lillipup named Roger. He has a collar with his name on it. Could you two help us look for him?"

The two Pokémon went off into the route, and Sydney asked Brush and Copy for their assistance as well.

"Kyle didn't mention where he and Roger were separated." Noted York. "I don't think he'd be able to describe it anyway. This place looks like it's nothing more than trees."

"Should we stick to the path or go into the woods?"

"What do you think?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I think he'd stay near the path to stay out of the woods and get lost, but if something scary got to the main road, he might've ducked into the woods to save himself. We saw Ekans, so there are probably Arbok around. Seeing one would definitely freak me out, so a Lillipup…"

"If there are Arbok, he's screwed. If he did see one and ran into the forest, there are sure to be even more. It'd be an endless cycle of seeing one on the road and going into the woods then going back to the road after seeing them in the woods."

"Let's walk together up the main road a ways, then split up and search each side of the route." Sydney suggested.

The two went down the route towards Millstone City, calling out Roger's name as they did. They received no response. They got very close to the metropolis that lay in the center of Kinsei, and stopped. As Sydney had suggested, they split up to cover more ground.

Just as he had before, York didn't have much luck calling out for Roger. Instead, he found Colonel.

"Hey, buddy, did you find anything?" He shook his head. "Crap. Let's keep looking.

As the two were searching, York's PokéNav began to ring. He opened it to see Sydney on the other side, a forlorn look on her face.

"What's wrong, Syd?"

"You need to see something. I'll be on the main road, so just look for me."

York closed his PokéNav and sighed. Once on the main road, he called for Star. The Starly eventually made her way back to him and perched herself on his shoulder. He found Sydney standing on the road, leaning against a tree. She was looking at the ground, her hat pulled down.

"What's up, Syd? Are you alright?"

She looked up at him with sad eyes. "I found him, but…"

York wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright." He released her, but kept her hand in his. "Where is he?"

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Night had fallen on Aeren Town. York, Sydney and Father Daniel gathered with Kyle and his parents in their backyard. A larger group had gathered as well. A mound of dirt was in the middle of the yard, and Kyle was kneeling in front of it as he wept silently.

Father Daniel stood in front of them all.

"Friends, at the request of Kyle, We will see Roger off here rather than a formal funeral. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to return home. It is a great shame, but a part of life that we all must go through at one point in time. Our lord Arceus has brought his child Lillipup back to Paradise. May he rest in peace, reunited with all lost friends and family."

At the end of the small service, many of the attendants gave Kyle and his parents their condolences. The boy was able to break away from the crowd and go over to Sydney and York. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve.

"T-thank you for bringing Roger back. It means a lot to me."

"There's no need to thank us." Said Sydney.

As the pair was about to leave, Kyle's father gave the two the reward that would be given to whoever returned their pet. Even though he had passed, he said that the pair had to be compensated.

From there, the two went to look for a hotel to stay the night.

Shadowchaos1010 · Mar 11, 2016

Here is chapter eight of the Kinsei Saga, and the eighth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 8: Which is Our Priority?

York sat on his bed, looking at the map of Aeren Town on his PokéNav. Sydney was in the bathroom, the sound of the shower coming through the door. He looked over at the nightstand by his bed. Remembering what he was told in Emeras City, he checked the side of it. Like there, he found "T.M 17" in a small compartment.

Closing the compartment, he let out a sigh. "Second time. No wonder love hotels are getting shut down left and right; normal hotels are trying to steal their jobs."

He went back to his PokéNav, looking for places that he and Sydney could visit while in Aeren Town. As he was doing so, he saw the gym that was in the town.

When Sydney emerged from the bathroom, she sat down on the bed once more.

"What're you doing over there?"

"Looking for places for us to check out. Have anything in mind?"

"No. I'm just hungry. Ready for breakfast?"

"If you are, I am."

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The two were walking through the streets of Aeren Town later in the day. The town had people all throughout the streets. Even though it wasn't as populated, there weren't as many people inside using electronics, whether it be for leisure or work, so the percentage of the population that was out and about was on par with that of Emeras City.

"I like this place." Said Sydney. "I'm not all too fond of taking pictures of cities and towns, but I might take some here."

"The PokéNav mentioned the the Kinsei Sports Center was here. Want to check it out sometime?"

"I'd love that! The Sports Center seemed pretty cool to me."

York began looking around as they walked. "I wonder where the gym is…"

"What's it matter to you?" She asked.

"I'm only here for the gym."

"The gym can wait, y'know."

"What do you mean 'it can wait'?"

She stopped walking. "What're you talking about? I mean what I meant. You can wait a little bit before going to the gym."

"I want to get all of the badges as soon as possible. We only have so much time until the next League Conference. I can't afford to waste time."

"I know that you don't have all the time in the world, but you don't have to rush us out of a town as soon we get there! If you were here on your own, you can do that, but I have other things to do!"

"I know that, and I don't rush us out! We'll leave a few days after I get my badge, so you'll have plenty of time!"

"How much time is plenty, anyway?! We left Emeras City right after you got your badge! I didn't care then, but now that I think about it, I must've missed out on a ton of cool shots!"

"Well, I'm sorry for trying to be careful with our time!"

"Careful?! We have an entire year! If you call leaving that early careful, then you have a really weird definition of the word." She began stomping away from him. "You can rush around the region by yourself, see if I care when you're done with half a year left to go and missed out on a ton of stuff!"

"What's wrong with her? It's not she had to come with me on this journey."

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"Screw him…" Sydney sat on a bench in the park, tapping her foot angrily. Brush and Copy were playing together nearby.

"Excuse me, miss."

Sydney looked up and saw a young man that was dressed very similarly to Father Daniel, with white and golden robes. He had platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. Around his wrist was a necklace of beads. It was wrapped several times, like a bracelet, but hanged loose a bit.

"Are you okay? You seem troubled."

She turned away from him. "I don't see why I'd have to tell you my business."

"I understand why you wouldn't wish to tell me. However if I could assist in anyway, I would do so. Doing that would be rather difficult unless I knew what was wrong." He took a seat next to her. "Won't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"..."

She looked away from him, but when she looked back, she saw the eyes of a caring person that truly wanted to help. She sighed and, hesitantly, began to tell him what recently transpired.

"I see. What he did could easily be seen as rude."

"Seen as? It just was."

"From his point of view, it wasn't. I suggest that he's simply paranoid. He wants to allow you to take your pictures, but fears that doing so will take up too much time. To avoid running out of time he rushes, thus angering you."

"York is just an idiot. I doubt he was thinking something like that."

"You appear to be clouded by anger, miss. This York is your friend, is he not?"

"Yes." Brush and Copy stopped in front of the bench. "What's up you two?"

Brush drew six tally marks on the ground. Realizing that he had dirtied his paws, he wiped them clean with his tail.

Sydney grimaced. "I know that we've known each other for six years. The fact that he'd do something like that after so long is ridiculous." Brush facepalmed. "What?"

"If he is at fault for saying that after knowing you for six years, can't it be said that you are at fault as well?"

She didn't respond. Brush wiped away the tally marks. Copy transformed and made a new illustration. It was of a heart with an S and a Y. It then drew a crooked line down the middle of the heart, as if it had broken. It then returned to its original form and made an 'X' with it's arms.

"It would appear that your Ditto says it would be foolish to risk your friendship over something like this." Said the young man. "I agree with it. You care about him, don't you? You mustn't let this make you forget that."

"What should I do then, apologize?" She scoffed.

"Maybe. Even if it isn't really your fault, you should swallow your pride if it means fixing things between the two of you."

Brush and Copy nodded in agreement with him.

"You two are really on his side? I'll think about it, then."

"That's nice to hear." The young man stood up. "I do hope that things end well between you and your friend. I didn't catch your name earlier. I'm Gabriel Raife, it's a pleasure."

"Sydney Collins."

"Good day to you, Sydney. May our paths cross again in the future." Gabriel went on his way, leaving Sydney with her Pokémon and her thoughts.

"Hm… Maybe what he said is true." The two climbed up onto the bench with her. "About York wanting to give me time. That, and swallowing my pride." She pulled one of her knees to her chest. "He is really important to me."

There was a ringing in her bag, and she took out her PokéNav. Even though she hadn't answered it, only York had her PokéNav contact information. She put her hand on it but hesitated. Shen eventually opened it..

"Syd! I thought you were going to ignore me! Are you still angry at me?"

"A bit. What do you want?"

"I want to apologize. I shouldn't have said those things. Where are you?"

"...The park."

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"Hey, Syd!" York eventually joined her on the bench. "Like I said, I wanted to say that I was sorry. You decided to come with me, but I guess I didn't really understand how important that was since we've been together so long."

"I didn't either. This is your journey. I shouldn't have tried to make you change your schedule. I'm sorry too."

"You can take as long as you want with your pictures, okay? Even if I miss the next conference, there's always next year."

"Don't say that! You said you wanted to be Industra Champion before you were 20. Thanks for that, but I won't take up too much time, I promise."

"Whenever we get somewhere new, the gym will be our last priority. After you've taken your pictures, I've done my training and we've seen the sights, we go to the gym before leaving. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, sound good. Say, what made you want to apologize anyway?"

"You could've stay in Mira Town, but you decided to come with me. You left behind another home for my sake."

"All on your own, huh? I needed a member of the Church to talk some sense into me. Brush and Copy, too."

He smiled. "You were always pretty stubborn. Doesn't surprise me that you'd need some convincing." His smile faded. "I know that I already said this, but I'm sorry. Kyle and Roger were separated, and we both know how that went. If I got you angry and you left, I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself, or look at your parents again."

"Don't say that. We were just being stupid. From here on out, nothing will separate us, so there's no need to worry."

"Yeah." He pulled himself off of the bench. "Want to go get some lunch? I'll pay."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Shadowchaos1010 · Mar 23, 2016

Here is chapter nine of the Kinsei Saga, and the ninth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 9: Mankey Madness

York and Sydney had gone to Route 4 the next day. York was training his Pokémon, while Sydney was taking pictures of the scenery and Pokémon. Despite being good friends, Colonel and York didn't train together often. Colonel was a very independent Pokémon, and capable of handling his own training. Today was one of those days, and York worked with Star instead.

"Hm…" Currently, York sat on a rock, and Star sat nearby. "I think we should work on Brave Bird a bit." He said to the Starling Pokémon. "What do you say?"

She aggressively shook her head and glared at him.

He gave her an amused look. "Not too fond about the recoil thing, huh? Makes sense. But I was thinking that the more you do it, the less damage you'll take since you get used to it."

His bag began beeping and he went over to it. He pulled out his Pokédex, its screen flashing blue.

"What's up with this thing?"

The blue circle that appeared when it search appeared, and then an image of a Staraptor using Brave Bird along with the same blue face in the corner.

"Multiple studies have been conducted, and none of them have found any evidence that continued use of recoil moves lessens recoil damage. IHPHA has shut down all of these studies rather early on, saying they were cruel to Pokémon. They then released a statement saying that doing such a thing is illegal. Anyone found to be forcing Pokémon to use such moves in such a manner could have the Pokémon taken away."

"That's a mouthful." York sighed. "But we're just training!"

"Unless I am mistaken, you said you hoped Starly would get used to the pain inflicted by Brave Bird and make it possible to use it more often with less repercussions. That is exactly the practice I just described."

"Fantastic." York said. "It's become self-aware." He looked towards Star. "In that case, what should we do?"

She spread her wings and began duplicating herself. York looked on as the number of Starly grew.

"You want to do something with Double Team? What could we do?"

"Pokémon battling has been a sport for centuries. In that time, many different martial art styles have been created to make it more strategic." Announced his Pokédex. "If you'd like, I could look up some styles that work well with avian Double Team users. However, you must give me a name."

"What's up with you?"

"The professor and several of his colleagues have made an update for us Pokédexes to make us our owners personal assistants rather than just digital encyclopedias. While the PokéNav Plus acts as a map, phonebook and PDA, we now act as search engines and coaches."

"This is what these renown researchers are doing?" He smiled at it. "Alright, then. How about… Dextera? You're a Pokédex, and it's like a female version of Dexter."

"That name is satisfactory. Just a moment." The blue circle appeared momentarily.

When it disappeared, four images appeared: one of a Machamp about to punch another Machamp, one of a Blastoise hiding in its shell from an intense flamethrower from a Charizard, a Raichu running circles around a Golem and a Pikachu using Double Team to surround an Alakazam.

"There are four main schools of martial arts that were created after the IPCTA was formed and Pokémon battling became a sport. Originally from the Heiwa region and named 'Ryujutsu', they are depicted here. The Machamp's image represents 'Jōjustsu', or 'Iron Fist', a martial art focusing on overwhelming the opponent with brute force. The Blastoise depicts 'Morijutsu', or 'Earth's Shell', soaking up attack to exhaust the opponent and then strike. Raichu shows 'Jisokujutsu', or 'Fleet Foot', in which one uses speed to overwhelm their opponents. Finally, Pikachu is demonstrating 'Sarawajutsu', or 'Illusion Fang', which prioritizes status effects to cripple the opposition. Illusion Fang has some techniques relating to avian Pokémon and Double Team. Would you like to look into that?"

He nodded. The other images faded, and the one of Pikachu moved to the center of the screen. It moved to the corner of the screen and a long list appeared.

"The information I've accumulated says that one can use the doubles not for decoys, but for scare tactics. Have them all rush the opponent, and the appearance of a mob will likely make them freeze, terrified."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." He looked at Star. "Want to try it out?" She and her copies nodded. "Alright. Let's try using Aerial Ace on Colonel!"

She gave him a surprised look then shook her head to compose herself. Once again, all of her doubles mimicked her. She and the others took to the skies and began to descend, heading right for the lone Pokémon.

He stopped hitting one of the trees and looked up. His eyes widened at the sight but he narrowed them. He stood firm and the metal on his body began to shine. Each of the Starly slammed into him, but turned into a cloud of smoke. The final one hit him, pushing his back a bit. She landed on the ground, her head spinning.

"Whoa!" York ran off towards Star. "Are you alright?" She gave him a dazed, but positive response. "That's good. We might want to put the Double Team stuff on hold, though. Whenever Colonel uses Aerial Ace, he moves so fast it's like he didn't move a muscle. I think you'd be able to get that good." He paused for a moment and looked down at Dextera. "Unless that's illegal too."

"That is perfectly fine."

"We did it once during your battle with Aera." He said to Star. "Is that why you want to get better with this?" She nodded. "Alright, then. We'll keep working at it until we perfect this technique!" York waved to Colonel. "Thanks for the help, buddy!" The Pawniard waved back.

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Sydney was off in another part of Route 4, taking pictures of the local Pokémon. Rattata, Raticate, Zigzagoon and Linoone skipped through the grass. The Zigzagoon and Linoone weaved through the grass in the zig-zag pattern they are known for. A pair of Hawlucha were sparring with each other. Ekans slithered through the grass, inching towards a group of Rattata. A Wigglytuff and Jigglypuff were singing by a watering hole , surrounded by Ponyta, Kricketot, Plusle and Minun. There was a Kricketune in the crowd who soon left the crowd and joined the singers, rubbing its blade like arms together, producing a soothing melody. A Buneary joined in, hopping around the trio as if it were dancing. Poochyena and Mightyena watched over their fellow Pokémon from the shade of trees, resting.

The scene that Sydney paid the most attention to was the musical performance going on by the watering hole. Not wanting to interrupt, she stayed far back. Moving around, she captured the event from several angles.

As she was moving, she kept her eyes on the group. She stopped when she heard a small screech and felt something underneath her foot. She looked over and saw a large, round cream colored creature.

She moved her foot and it jumped its feet. A seething Mankey glared at her. It was breathing heavily, steam blowing out of its nostrils.

"Oh crap…" She began backing away, a mixture of nervousness and fear on her face. "Sorry, Mankey. Let's just forget this and go on with our lives, okay? I never saw you and you never saw me."

The Mankey stomped the ground several times and leapt towards Sydney.

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York heard a high-pitched shriek and saw flocks of Bird Pokémon take off, filling the sky.

"That scream… It's got to be Syd!" He looked over at Star. "Go find out what's going on! Help her however you can; Colonel and I will be there as soon as possible!"

She took to the skies and began to fly in the direction of the scream. The other two began following on foot.

York and Sydney met halfway. Sydney ran towards York followed by a horde of angry Mankey. York stopped in his tracks when he saw them.

"Geez! What did she do?" York put his hand in his pocket, but felt nothing. "I put Dextera back in my bag! She might've been useful. Well…" He looked at his friend and her pursuers as they drew closer and closer. "Mankey are Fighting-Types. Colonel, I need you to use Aerial Ace."

The usually calm Colonel gave his trainer a look of disbelief and made an X with his arms. He tapped them together, making a clinking sound.

York stared at him for a moment. "I get it. Going up against a Fighting-Type isn't exactly a good idea for you. But there's no way Star can handle them on her own." He clenched his fists. "We should try to do something!"

Colonel hesitated, but nodded regardless. Sydney ran behind York and gripped his sleeve.

"This isn't like you; grabbing onto me." He joked. "That scared?"

"Of course I am! Those things are crazy!"

"What happened to your attitude? Normally, you wouldn't just let someone chase you like that."

"Just shut up and do something!"

"Okay." He looked at the mob, and then the sky. Star was hovering overhead, awaiting orders. "Star, Double Team and then use Aerial Ace. Have your copies scatter! Then use Double Team again and lead them on!"

The single Starly multiplied, until their number equaled that of the Mankey. They dove down towards the Pig Monkey Pokémon and then, as York ordered, scattered.

Seeing the attempt to interrupt their rampage, the group broke apart and began chasing after the Starly. Each of the copies crashed into one of the Mankey and exploded in a puff of smoke, except for the actual Star.

When all of the copies were gone, she began duplicating herself again.

"How does this look, Colonel?" Asked York.

The Pawniard nodded contently and ran off into the field. One of the Mankey took its eyes off of a Starly and saw Colonel. It began running towards him.

Colonel disappeared, and the Mankey fell onto the ground. Colonel reappeared behind it, and when turned to him, he disappeared again.

Sydney eased her grip on York's sleeve and let out a sigh of relief. York gave her a coy smile, and she glared at him, not unlike how the Mankey did at her.

"This is actually pretty smart for you, York." Sydney said. "Do you think they're going to be alright, though?"

"I hope. Brush knows Dazzling Gleam, right? And Copy could transform into one of the others and help out."

"You're right." She took out two Pokéballs and out came her own Pokémon. "Copy, stay back and use Dazzling Gleam. Copy, transform into someone; doesn't matter who."

Brush rubbed his tail with his little hands and patted them on his stomach. He opened his mouth and began shining his teeth rapidly with his tail as he headed for one of the Mankey. Copy transformed into a Minccino and did the same.

Colonel appeared behind a Mankey, panting. The tried to use Aerial Ace again, but stumbling. The Mankey jumped at him, but Colonel got shoved out of the way.

A Minccino turned to the Mankey, its tail still sweeping across its teeth. It moved the tail and showed off its brilliantly shining teeth. The Mankey recoiled and covered its eyes. Colonel ran over to it and grabbed its arm, throwing it across the field.

This continued for some time: Star and her copies, leading the Mankey on a wild goose chase, Colonel using Aerial Ace, or using the moment of immobility the Mankey suffer from after being exposed to the lustrous teeth of Brush or Copy to throw them.

After all but one of the Mankey lay in the grass, unconscious, the group was exhausted. Their trainers hurried to their sides, proud of their teammates' efforts.

"Good job, you guys!" York gave Colonel a high five and patted Star on the head.

Sydney had pulled her two into a group hug. Brush hugged her back, until he noticed that one of the Mankey was still standing. He pointed it out and let out a cry.

"You think it still wants to fight?" Asked York.

"Maybe. Everyone might be tired, but it is too, and it's still four on one."

The Mankey let out a loud screech, and fell over into the grass. York walked to the front of the group, scanning the area.

"I don't get it. What did that Mankey do?"

The group began trembling, and a shape similar to a Mankey appeared in the distance. As it grew closer, the trembling grew more and more violent. The approaching creature was a Primeape, and it looked even more angry than the crew of Mankey.

"Crap!" Shouted York. "I wasn't expecting this!" He looked back. "Do you think everyone could handle it if we work together?"

Sydney hugged her Pokémon tightly. "I don't know!"

York gulped and rubbed his throat. "This isn't good. It's not like we can run back to Aeren Town. It'll follow us."

A blue shape ran from behind the group and stood in front of York as the Primeape closed in. It held up its hand and blocked the punch. The Pokémon was a Poliwhirl. With its free hand, a brown orb began materializing and it pushed its hand forward. A stream of mud pushed it back.

"Good job, Poliwhirl!" A tan young man walked next to Sydney. "You're all okay, right?"

"Now we are!" Exclaimed York. "Thanks!"

"We're not in the clear yet." He took out two Pokéballs from his pocket. From one of them was a Slowpoke. The third produced a Chinchou, which rested in his arm. "Slowpoke, Water Pulse! Poliwhirl, Bubble Beam!"

An orb of water formed in Slowpoke's mouth and it launched it. It exploded on Primeape, dousing it. From Poliwhirl's palms came two streams of bubbles, making Primeape even wetter.

"Now, Chinchou, Spark!" He flung his arm, launching Chinchou into the air.

It began crackling with electricity and landed on Primeape, electrocuting it. When Primeape toppled over, Chinchou hopped off, and Poliwhirl caught it.

"Now we're in the clear." Said the young man.

"Thank you." Said Sydney. "You saved us."

"You're travelers, right?" When they told him they were, he said, "Now you know about them. Be more careful when you leave the town. Try to get a cab or something; you'll be able to out speed them that way."

"One second!" Called York. "Who are you anyway?"

"Harvey." He replied. "If you're travelers, you might be looking for the Gym Leader." He pointed at himself with his thumb. "In that case, I'm your guy. Hope to see you two around."

He left the pair and headed further into the route. York watched him with a wide smile on his face.

"Let's get back to the town. We all need to rest." Sydney said, still holding her Pokémon.

"Of course. Come one, you two." Star landed on York's shoulder and Colonel walked alongside him as the group made their way back to Aeren Town.

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Thank you to everyone who's taken a look at the story and given me some feedback. When I came to the forum to add this chapter, I saw 'HOT' next to it. I've seen it a few times but never really paid any attention to it. Might someone tell me what it means?

Also, I would imagine there are some people curious about the various forms of Ryujutsu I mentioned earlier. I got the definitions from wordhippo.com

Ryujutsu came from Ryu, for method, and jutsu, for art. Basically, I meant the different methods of battling each style allowed the Pokémon to use.

Jō meant power, which is why I used it for Iron Fist.

Mori meant charm, defense, protection, safeguard and talisman. Being Earth's Shell, I used defense when referring to Morijutsu.

Jisoku meant speed, again making it obvious why I used it.

Finally, I used Sawara for Illusion Fang. According to the site, it means affect, be harmful, do harm, hamper, hinder, hurt and interfere. I used words like hinder and hamper in regards to the various status effects.

Shadowchaos1010 · Mar 27, 2016

Here is chapter ten of the Kinsei Saga, and the tenth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 10: The Almighty Dollie

York and Sydney were walking through Aeren Town towards the exit that led to Route 4.

"Why are we going to Route 4 again?" Sydney asked as the gate out of Town came into view.

"Harvey uses Water Type Pokémon. I wanted to come up with some strategies to use during the battle."

"Whatever you say. How is this going to help you, anyway?"

"I'm not entirely sure." He stopped for a moment and took Pokédex out of his bag. "Dextera, are there any Grass or Electric-types on Route 4?"

Sydney raised an eyebrow. "Dextera?"

"The professor released an update for the Pokédex. That's what she says, anyway. I had to give her a name. At least I think it's a her."

"I am sorry to say, but there are no Pokémon matching your criteria on Route 4." The small blue face that appeared whenever York used his Pokédex frowned.

"That's unfortunate." A lightbulb lit up in his head. "Oh, yeah, about those martial arts you mentioned yesterday, could you find a good one for Colonel?"

"I could, assuming you provide me a sufficient amount of information about the Pokémon in question."

"Like a quiz or survey?" York asked. "Sure, I'll give it a try."

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York stared down at Dextera's screen after completing the survey. The image of the two fighting Machamp was present.

"Iron Fist, huh?" He looked over at Colonel. "I can see it."

"Well," Sydney patted his back. "You can get to work. I'll be back in a bit."

Before Sydney left, Colonel ran off. The eyes of the two trainers followed him, and he was heading towards a Mareep that was being chased by a pair of Poochyena. Colonel stepped in between the two species. One of the Poochyena responded by growling at him.

"Star!" York sent out Starly and she landed next to Colonel. One of the Poochyena turned tail and ran. The one that growled at Colonel followed after it.

"What was that about?" York walked over to the three Pokémon. As he got closer, the Mareep ran away and ducked down in the grass.

"It looks like it's shy." Sydney noticed a fancy red and blue ribbon tied around it's neck. "Take a look at that. This one isn't wild." She carefully inched closer to it. "Hey, there. Do you think you can show us to where your trainer is?"

It stayed still for a short while and began leading the group somewhere.

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A short while later, a farm came into view. A flock of Mareep was grazing nearby with a young woman and a man. The man was scanning the area and had a forlorn look on his face. It lit up when he saw the group. He began running towards them.

"Dollie!!!" He came towards them with open arms.

Sydney sent out Copy and told him to use Dazzling Gleam. Like the day before, he cleaned his tail and then used it to whiten his teeth. As the man drew closer, he jumped up and flashed his teeth. The light made the man slip and fall flat on his back, groaning in pain.

"What was that for?!" York gaped at his friend.

"A grown man came running towards a teenage girl yelling 'Dolly'. What would you do?"

York gestured to the Mareep. "He was clearly talking about her."

The man got up and rubbed his eyes. "It's quite alright, children!" He ran to the Mareep and wrapped his arms around it. "Dollie, you're back!"

"Excuse me, sir." Said York. "Are you having problems with the wild Pokémon around here?"

"Actually, Poochyena and Mightyena- excuse me." He covered the black and yellow protrusions on the side of Mareep's head. "The Poochyena and Mightyena like to snatch up our Mareep."

Sydney leaned close to York. "Those are its ears?"

"I don't know."

"It's a shame, truly it is." He continued to hold onto Mareep's 'ears'. "We have a few Ampharos around to help fend them off, but it doesn't always work. I have to thank you for saving my Dollie."

The two young trainers looked at each other and then at the man.

"Excuse me, sir." Began Sydney. "Would you like us to help you out?"

"You would?"

"I'd like to help too, but I'm not sure what we could do." Said York. "What do you have in mind?"

"It's kinda crazy." Sydney looked away from York, smiling nervously. "You remember those Mankey from yesterday?"

"No." York said sternly. "You don't want to see those things again, do you?"

"I don't want to, but what would be a better way to fend off Dark-Types than with Fighting-Types?"

"I'm sorry." Said the man. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Gill. I run this farm with my friend Maria. You should come inside; have some tea or something."

He led them inside, and Maria had joined them. Dollie was sitting on an expensive looking pet bed. Tea and biscuits were laid out on the table.

"So, Sydney, right?" Began Gill. "What would you do to get the Mankey to help us with the Poochyena and Mightyena?"

"I'm not too sure, entirely." She responded. "York, you can help us with this, right? You have Dextera, after all."

"Alright." Fishing it out of his bag, York took out his Pokédex and asked how to tame Mankey.

"While Mankey are known for their anger issues, they also have very large appetites. With enough food, Mankey will repay the one who fed it by serving them for a short while."

"So we bribe them with food." York bluntly stated after hearing it. "Do you know where you can get that much food?"

Gill nodded. "Luckily, we also run a berry farm." He looked towards Maria. "Don't we, Maria?"

"We do. We should have more than enough to buy off some Mankey." She set down her teacup. "I'll go get some berries."

"Not now, Maria. After we're done with tea." She sat down again at his word.

"Hey, Gill." Started York. "How come you treat Dollie differently than all of your other Mareep?"

Gill gave her a dreamy look. "Dollie is my little darling; my princess."

"Really now?" York looked at the sleeping Pokémon.

"What's with that look?" Asked Sydney.

"Nothing. Hey, Gill. I know that this might be kinda selfish of me, but if this works out, would you mind lending me one of your Mareeps?"

"Hmm?" Gill finished his cup and laid it down on a coaster. "You mean to challenge the Gym Leader Harvey, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"There are plenty of my Mareep that want to see the outside world." The sleeping Dollie looked up groggily at them. "They'd be delighted to go with you."

The young trainer perked up. "Really? Thank you, honestly!"

"It's alright. Like I said, some of my Mareep want to see the world."

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The four humans carried large baskets of berries away from the farm. They came to a large group of Mankey and Primeape, with several stick huts around. They set the baskets down, and Gill stepped in front of the largest Primeape, who was resting on a bed on leaves.

"Pardon the intrusion! I have a request to ask you and your fellow Mankey and Primeape!"

The Pokémon, which was lying on its side, sat up and crossed its legs.

"I run a Mareep Farm here on Route 4, but the Poochyena and Mightyena are acting as if it's a place for them to come and get something to eat!" He pushed one of the baskets forward. "If you would help us with our Pokémon problems, all of these berries will be yours. And as long as you continue to protect our farm, you will berry offerings at regular intervals of your choosing with one month being the shortest amount of time between each one. We need time to grow them, after all."

One of the Mankey leapt out of the group as if to attack Gill, but the large Primeape held out a hand, ordering it to stop. It got up and walked over to the basket. It picked up two berries and devoured them.

York lightly elbowed Sydney. "Did you see it eat them; like, it's mouth?"

She shook her head. "I didn't."

After eating the berries, it held out one of its hands. Gill smiled and shook it. It began communicating with the other Pokémon around, and they began to carry the baskets. Some time later, they returned with empty baskets.

"I never would have thought that Pokémon diplomacy would be like that. It was pretty easy." Said Maria.

The Primeape sat down on its bed of leaves and shouted some more orders. A group of several Mankey with a single Primeape stepped forward.

"Alright." Gill began to head back towards his farm. "Let's get going everyone!"

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Dollie was walking around the house when she heard an odd sound from outside. She ran outside and saw the Dark-Type Pokémon that have been causing her farm trouble for some time now. The few Ampharos that had been left behind to guard the farm were fighting them to the best of their abilities. The Dark-Types who weren't fighting were chasing the Mareep around the grounds.

Dollie looked around and raised her tail. The yellow orb on it began to glow with a rainbow light and a beam fired from it and blasted one of the Poochyena. It whined and was flung into another Poochyena.

The two got up and closed in on Dollie. The orb on her tail began glowing again. They continued to draw towards her. She fired the beam once more. It leapt out of the way and rebounded, heading straight for her.

A large field of electricity appeared around her, electrocuting the Poochyena. The other Poochyena let out a low growl. Despite having seen its fellow Pokémon defeated, it lunged at her, only to have the same thing happen.

A Mightyena walked over and looked at the two unconscious Poochyena. One of them tried to get up but fell back over. The Mightyena glared at Dollie and lunged at her.

A Primeape grabbed the Mightyena's tail and slammed it into the ground. The Mightyena let out a weak growl. The Mankey that had come back with the group were fighting the rest of the invaders.

Eventually, they began to flee, and the attack on the farm had ended. All of the Mareep had been gathered together and were resting.

Gill leaned against one of the fence posts, holding Dollie in his lap and hugging her tightly. "Oh, Dollie, I was so worried!" He looked over and noticed Sydney and York feeding the Mareep. He then looked down at the one he held. "I'm proud of you, going out to fight like that. I have to reward you somehow. You want to get off of this little farm, don't you?"

She looked up at him and nodded. He sighed and set her on the ground before calling York over.

"Dollie here has been on this farm her whole life. She's always wondered about what's there in the world beyond Aeren Town and Route 4."

York began waving his hands out in front of himself. "No, Gill, there's no need to give me Dollie! You said that she was really important to you!"

"I know. It's because she's important to me that I want you to take her. She wants to see the world, and it wouldn't be right to keep her here."

"But Gill…"

"I…" He wiped away a tear. "I won't take no for an answer, you hear?"

A small, albeit sorrowful smile crossed the boy's countenance. "If that's what you want." He took a knee and held his hand out towards Dollie. "Do you want to come with me and Syd, Dollie? If you want to see the world, I guarantee that you'll do just that."

She took a few steps towards him, then looked back at Gill. She put on a smile and nodded. She continued to walk and put one of her feet in York's outstretched hand, and gave him a small handshake.

Gill gulped. "I'll be right back with her Pokéball." He went inside of the farmhouse. When he emerged, he handed York a Pokéball with a small blue lightning bolt on it. "Here it is."

"Thank you again." Said the young man.

"You'd best head back into town." Gill looked up at the sky, as the sun began heading west. "It'll be dark before long."

"Y-yeah." York began walking towards the main road, and Dollie followed.

When they reached the road, York and Sydney waved to Gill and Maria. Dollie cried out towards her owner as well.

"It was nice meeting the two of you!" Maria called.

"Take good care of Dollie for me!" Added Gill.

"She's in good hands, I promise!"

The Pokémon in question was the first to turn and begin walking towards Aeren Town. Sydney followed next. As York trailed behind them, he looked back one last time and saw the two seeing them off. He turned towards Aeren Town and quickened his pace to catch up with his new Pokémon, the Mareep Dollie.

"The world's a big place Dollie. I'm going to help you see as much of it as I can."

She let out a happy cry, and the three kept on walking west towards the sunset and Aeren Town.

Shadowchaos1010 · Apr 8, 2016

Here is chapter eleven of the Kinsei Saga, and the eleventh overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 11: Rising Star

York and Sydney walked outside of the Route 4 gate once again. York was ahead of Sydney, who was stopping occasionally to take pictures. He was holding the Pokéball that had the small blue lightning bolt.

After a few minutes of walking, York tossed the ball into the air. The small sheep Pokémon landed on her feet, still wearing her ribbon. York knelt down next to her and gave her a look of confidence.

"Listen up, Dollie: my next gym challenge is against a Water-Type trainer! You're going to be a huge help, so we have to work really hard!"

She gave him a happy reply, and blinked several times when a flash went off. York looked over his shoulder to see Sydney behind him.

"Sorry about that. I just thought that would make a nice shot." She approached them. "Think I could take some more while you train?"

"I don't mind." York took his other two Pokéballs off of his belt. "I'm going to have you go up against Colonel and Star so you can practice your attacks okay, Dollie?"

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Star soar up in the air, duplicating herself while Dollie darted around underneath, keeping her eye in the sky. York and Sydney sat in the grass, observing the two from afar.

"You okay with this?" Sydney asked as she watched the two Pokémon.

"Pokémon are smart. I can trust these two to battle each other." He glanced towards Sydney's camera. "How're your pictures coming along?"

Her eyes fell on it as well. "Huh? They're going pretty well, I'd say." She took it in her hands. "Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to take them."

York flicked her cap. "Don't thank me. Your parents gave you permission to come with."

"Yeah, you're right. But still, thanks. I'll make it up to you someday, alright?"

"Be careful with those words. There are some guys that would hold that against you in the future." He teased.

"Like you'd do that." She scoffed. "You're too dense to think about something like that."

He playfully shoved her. "I am not dense!"

"Stop lying to yourself!" She turned back to Star and Dollie. "Might want to check on them, York."

Several of Star's copies were diving towards Dollie, who dodged each of them. One of them caught her off guard, and the panicked Mareep used Discharge, generating a large, electrical field. The Starling Pokémon smashed into the field and exploded into a puff of smoke.

Shocked by disappearance of her opponent, Dollie began looking around. York and Sydney scanned the area as well, and their eyes fell on a black wisp creeping through the grass.

"See that?" Sydney asked. York nodded. "Aren't you going to warn her?"

He hesitated for a moment, until the wisp was really close to Dollie, who still hadn't noticed it.

"Dollie, behind you!"

She spun around and noticed the shape. Her tail's gem began glowing white, and several gem shaped lights shot towards it.

Star leapt out of the grass and used Double Team. Power Stone hit several of the copies, and the remaining Starly began speeding towards her.

Dollie cowered in fear like when she was caught off guard, but shook her head and used Discharge. All of the Starly ran into the field. All but one of them exploded into smoke, and the remaining one fell into the grass.

York ran from his seat and over to his Pokémon. He knelt down and took Star in his arms.

"You okay?" She nodded. "That's good." He turned to Dollie. "Good work out there."

Sydney looked over her shoulder. "You're next, Colonel." She looked over to where the Pokémon was training, but saw nothing. She looked around the general area, but still saw nothing.

"York, Colonel is missing!"

York looked over and hurried to her, Star still in his arms. "He is?" He looked around as well, but couldn't find him either. "Crap."

Before the two could start looking, they heard his cry far off. They turned to its direction, seeing Colonel. However, he had two people with him.

"Hey, it's Iria!" Exclaimed Sydney. "And Kamijo too!"

The two Legend Chasers they met on their way to Aeren Town were alone now, without the rest of their group.

"York, Sydney!" Exclaimed Iria. "It's good to see you two again!"

"I hope you two have been well." Added Kamijo.

York smiled at the pair. "Yeah, we've been just fine!"

"And it would appear with a new friend." Kamijo looked over at Dollie, who trembled within the grass. "Is she shy?"

"Actually, I don't know." Admitted York. "She seems fine around us."

"What're you two doing here?" Asked Sydney.

"The others took what we found on Route 3 to Pegas Town. We were on our way to Mortz City right now." Iria Explained.

"Mortz City?" York chuckled. "You've got a ways to go then, huh?"

"We do, but we don't mind." Iria looked up at Kamijo. "Right?"

"Pegasus Town is all the way in the northeast, and Route 3 the southwest. We made that trip, so this isn't too bad." He looked at York's three Pokémon. "Mind if we rest with you two?"

Sydney shook her head. "Not at all; go ahead."

They joined Sydney on the grass, and York returned Star to her Pokéball.

"Colonel, you're up." He called. "I hope you're ready for round two, Dollie!" She slowly moved away from her hiding spot as Colonel approached her. "You two are on your own! Act however you like!"

Colonel got into a battle stance and waited for Dollie to make her move. When the gem on her tail began to glow, Colonel sprung into action. A ray of rainbow light struck him but he charged on.

He vanished and appeared behind Dollie, who stumbled, her wool crackling with electricity. She regained her footing and began staring him down. Her tail began glowing again, and once again she used Signal Beam.

Like before, Colonel charged through the attack, but leapt into the air, arm up. Before he struck her, he was knocked out of the way by a flying Pokémon. It wasn't necessarily flying, but was flung. When Dollie used Discharge, the Pokémon was hit instead of Colonel.

It fell into the grass, twitching. It was a Hawlucha. Colonel got off of the ground and ran over to the Hawlucha, and Dollie did as well. When it got up, Dollie stepped away.

The wrestling Pokémon got up and glared off into the distance. Far off, a Mankey could be seen glaring back.

Seeing it prompted York to facepalm. "Mankey, again? What's up with them?"

"They're infamous for their anger issues." Answered Kamijo. He got up and had the others do so as well. "We should get going before they target us."

"Kamijo, duck!"

He quickly lowered his head and Colonel flew past.

The Mankey and Hawlucha were fighting, and Dollie had run away. Colonel stumbled to his feet after being thrown.

Kamijo began ushering the three young trainers towards Aeren Town. "Even more reason for us to get out of here."

The group began running back, until York looked back. He noticed Dollie running off, but not towards the town. He turned around and began heading towards her.

"York, you idiot!" Sydney turned to go after him, but Kamijo grabbed her arm.

"The Mankey aren't interested in him. He should be fine."

However, one of Mankey drop kicked him. After landing it pounced at him and began scratching him. The impact of the kick made Star's Pokéball come undone from his belt. It landed on the ground, button first, releasing her. She looked around to see a group of three Mankey surrounding York.

She leapt to her feet and began running at them. She rammed into one of them and caught the attention of the others.

"Iria, could you handle this?" Asked Kamijo.

"Of course." She took two Pokéballs out of her bag. Her Elgyem, Brain, and Solosis, Caitlin, came out of them, levitating. "Brain, try to separate the Hawlucha and Mankey! Caitlin, go help York!"

They went off to their assorted tasks. Before Caitlin reached York, Star took the skies and blocked her. She shooed her away, surprising the Solosis. She turned to the Mankey and dived bombed them. She hit one of them, but failed to get out of the way before the others attacked.

She pushed them back and glared at them. She stood tall and spread her wings wide, letting out a loud cry. As she did, she began to glow. The Mankey stopped in their tracks and stared at her in awe.

The glowing Starly grew taller and large, and changed its general shape. When the light faded, a Staravia stood where the Starly once had. She used Double Team, forming a circle around the Mankey.

The Mankey leapt at the Staravia around them, and they moved in as well. The group of Pokémon became shrouded in smoke, but their cries could be heard from within.

Kamijo crossed his arm, looking at the smoke. "Evolution?"

"York and Star have been training pretty hard." Replied Sydney. "It makes sense that she'd evolve soon."

Caitlin, who was pushed away by Star, took her eyes off of the smoke cloud and floated down next to York. She began nudging him.

He moved slightly, and pushed himself off of the ground. His vest was covered in scratches and he was as well. Sydney noticed him moving and ran to his side.

"Hey, are you alright?" She helped him sit up. "Not hurt too badly, despite being covered in scratches and all?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I think." He looked over and saw Star emerge from the smoke cloud. It dispersed and only a few of the Mankey remained standing. His eyes widened when he laid his eyes on her.

Caitlin turned towards the few remaining Mankey and picked them up using Psychic. She hurled them across the route.

Now that the Mankey were all unconscious, Star turned to York and scurried over to him, giving him the closest thing to a hug a Staravia could give.

She examined him and his scratches, a worried look on her face.

Brain returned to her trainer's side. Kamijo looked at Star with a hand on his chin in thought.

"Interesting. She seems more concerned than when she was a Starly. I observed her behavior a bit when we were on Route 3, and there's clearly a change."

"Do you think evolution changes a Pokémon's behavior?" Asked Iria.

"Maybe. Let's help them out."

He began walking towards them, and Iria followed after him.

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York sat in a local clinic, having the scratches wrapped in bandages.

When the doctor was done, he thanked them and left the office. The other three were waiting for him.

"Feeling better?" Iria asked.

"Much better. Are my Pokémon alright?" He asked.

"Colonel and Star are all healed up." Sydney said. "Dollie's still a little spooked, but she's okay."

"That's good to hear." He patted his sides, now without his vest. "Feels a little weird without it on."

Sydney playfully punched him. "Get over it. Let's hurry back to the hotel, get some room service while we rest."

"Sounds good." He looked over at Kamijo and Iria. "Thanks for the help, guys. You might be worried, but I'll be fine. You can get going again."

Iria gave him a concerned look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't want to hold you up."

"Besides," Started Kamijo. "He has Sydney to look after him. We should get going, Iria. Sydney, York, good luck. Hope to see you again soon."

He walked out of clinic and Iria followed after him. Sydney and York left just after them. They headed in the direction of their hotel while Iria and Kamijo headed towards the Route 4 gate.

Shadowchaos1010 · Apr 19, 2016

Here is chapter twelve of the Kinsei Saga, and the twelfth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 12: Vs. Aeren Gym Leader Harvey

York and Sydney walked through Aeren Town towards the Gym. York's vest was scratched when he was attacked by the Mankey, and it was being fixed. He walked around only with his red short sleeved shirt, his arms bandaged. Like Harvey had told them when they met, they were pointed to him simply by asking around. He worked as a lifeguard, and his gym doubled as a pool. When they reached the area of town they were told the gym was in, it was easy to find. Like Aera's gym, it had the same gym symbol above it.

They entered and looked around at the lifeguard towers. When York spotted Harvey, he asked one of the employees to ask him for a battle. They watched as Harvey got down from his tower and walked over to them.

"Finally here for a battle huh?"

"You got that right!" Exclaimed York.

The young man tilted his head slightly. "What happened to you? You're covered in bandages."

"Mankey again. They were fighting with a bunch of Hawlucha then turned on me for no reason." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why am I not surprised? Anyway, follow me." He began leading them towards a door near the back of the pool. "Just a warning: don't be surprised if the other people in the pool start crowding into the battlefield. They like to watch my battles."

"I thought I wouldn't have to worry about crowds watching my battle until the League." Said York, jokingly.

"Think of it as practice." Replied Sydney.

The battlefield he led them to was another pool, with several circular, white platforms in it. Harvey went over to his side of the field, and York his. Like Aera, Harvey opened a panel in his wall using a number pad. It had 12 Pokéballs.

"How many badges you got?" He asked.

"This will be my second." York replied.

"Alright." He picked up three of them and closed the panel.

Like Harvey had said several people began coming into the room with the battlefield, and sat in the bleachers with Sydney.

"Since this is your second gym battle, you know how these work, right?"

York nodded. "Three on three. Whoever has all three of their Pokémon faint loses."

"Good. Kinda sucks that this is your second badge, though."

Huh, why?"

Harvey threw one of the Pokéballs into the air, and a Slowpoke landed on a platform. It opened its mouth wide and yawned.

"I get it. The Pokémon you helped us out with these, weren't they?" He took one of his Pokéballs off of his belt. "Colonel, you're up!"

He landed on a platform in front of York and brandished his arm blades.

"A Pawniard…" Harvey crossed his arms. Now that both Pokémon were on the field, the crowd was beginning to get louder and louder.

"Slowpoke, Water Pulse!" An orb of water formed in Slowpoke's mouth, and it launched it. The orb exploded on the platform and Colonel leapt off of it.

"Night Slash, Colonel!"

While he was still in the air, his arms were enveloped in a dark aura. It struck Slowpoke, who seemed unfazed.

A cocky smile appeared on Harvey's face. "Disable, then use Water Pulse!"

Slowpoke yawned in Colonel's face, dazing him. The same orb of water began forming in its mouth.

"Colonel, Metal Claw!" He struck Slowpoke hard, nearly knocking it off of the platform.

Slowpoke hit him with Water Pulse, blasting him into the water. There was a round of gasps from the crowd, but he quickly resurfaced.

Colonel leapt over to Slowpoke again, slamming it with his arms. Once again, it
used Water Pulse. From the bleachers, Sydney observed the two.

"Slowpoke must not have many moves that can affect Colonel. But Harvey might have something else he could be useful against. It might be better to switch, but…"

Just as she said that, Colonel was enveloped by the red beam of his Pokéball and disappeared from the field. Star replaced him in the battle.

"Star, let's start things off with Double Team!"

At his request, she began duplicating herself.

Slowpoke used Water Pulse once more, but the orb hit one of the copies. It flew right towards the bleachers. Sydney scattered off of the bleachers before it made impact. The crowd, all in their swimsuits, remained and squealed in delight when it splashed them.

"Brave Bird!" All of the Staravia dove towards Slowpoke. Slowpoke leapt off of the platform, headfirst. It landed on another one of the platforms, having went through one of the copies.

Star and the rest of her duplicates crashed into the platform Slowpoke stood on. Star fumbled around after getting up.

"That didn't work. Star, try Aerial Ace!"

She ran off of the platform. When she used Aerial Ace while sparring with Colonel, she didn't move as fast as he did. Now, she disappeared, just as he does, and reappeared behind her target. Slowpoke flew into the water and surfaced.

"Let's try Brave Bird, one more time!" She attempted to use the move once again.This time, the move connected. Slowpoke was thrown into the water again, but when it resurfaced it was unconscious.

"Slowpoke, return!" Harvey put the Pokéball away. The second Pokémon he sent out was Chinchou. "Chinchou, Confuse Ray!"

The bulbs on Chinchou's head began to glow, and Star's eyes began to spin. She began to walk in circles on the platform.

"Star!"

"Now, Spark!"

The Angler Pokémon bounded off of its platform, its body sparking.

Oh, crap!" York Panicked. "Star, Double Team, quick!"

While she was still marching in circles, she duplicated herself. Chinchou landed on one of the copies.

"Brave Bird!"

When Star attempted to use her attack, she slipped and hit her head on the platform.

Once again, Harvey put on a cocky grin. "Nice try, kid! Chinchou, Spark again!"

Star had no time to react, and the attack connected.

"What're you going to do? Hope your commands go through or switch? At this rate, your Stravia is going down."

York clenched his fist. "It's not over until it's over! Star, Double Team!"

She got up and shook her head. She began to fly, the air around her being filled with clones. She began diving towards Chinchou.

"Chinchou, use Spark! If you go down, it goes with you!"

Chinchou jumped off of the platform again, headed right for the cluster of Staravia. The large group of clones produced a huge cloud of smoke. From it emerged two shapes that landed on platforms on two opposite ends of the pool. Both Star and Chinchou lay on the platforms motionless.

Both trainers called their Pokémon back and sent out another. Harvey's last Pokémon, Poliwhirl, landed and pushed the platform into the water, making a ripple. Dollie landed as well, but with much lighter feet.

"A Mareep?" Harvey put his hands on his hips. "Where'd you get it? They don't live around here."

"Another story that has to do with Mankey. I might tell you later if I get the chance. You can have the first move."

"Are you sure about that? You saw what my Poliwhirl can do. You knows it can use Mud Shot."

"You can go ahead and use it. I'm prepared."

"Whatever you say. Poliwhirl, you heard him."

A brown orb began forming in Poliwhirl's hand. From its palm a stream of mud sped towards Dollie.

Her tail's gem began to glow. She pointed her tail upwards and a green light shot from it. It stopped and a green, glassy box with white lines that formed a lattice pattern around her. When the Mud Shot connected, the box glowed. Dollie took the hit head on,and the box disappeared.

Poliwhirl held its hands on its sides, and two orbs of mud formed. It fired both off, and Dollie hopped onto another platform.

"Dolly, use Discharge!" Ordered York.

"What's that about?" Asked Harvey. "Poliwhirl is too far for that to have any effect."

"I know." This time, York was the one sporting an arrogant grin.

The usual field of electricity formed around Dollie. The resulting dome spanned the entire length of the platform, and reached the water. The water began crackling with electricity.

When this happened, both Harvey and Poliwhirl understood why York opted to use an attack that wouldn't reach. If Poliwhirl fell in, it'd take massive damage. Dollie, being an Electric-Type, would be relatively unharmed. All Poliwhirl could do is run across the platforms while Dollie tries to catch up. Escaping into the pool wasn't an option.

"Don't stop with the Mud Shot, Poliwhirl! Show no mercy!"

Over and over, Poliwhirl used Mud Shot, hopping from platform to platform. Dollie pursued, and the battle had reduced to a wild goose chase.

After watching them for a while, York took two Pokéballs off of his belt. He called Dollie back and released Colonel. The Pawniard landed right in front of Poliwhirl.

"Knock Poliwhirl into the water, Colonel!"

Being caught off guard by Colonel's sudden appearance, Poliwhirl was unable to react in time. It was forced into the water, where it was electrocuted. York called Colonel back and sent Dollie into the battle once again.

"Stay alert, Dollie!" He called. "If Poliwhirl tries to move, use Discharge!"

Harvey cursed under his breath. He attempted to maintain a confident air, but his unease was clear to see.

There was a ripple in the water, signaling to Dollie Poliwhirl had moved. Like she was told, she used Discharge. Poliwhirl turned over in the water, unconscious. From the crowd, there was a mix of cheers and boos. Poliwhirl was returned to its ball and Dollie jumped over to York.

Harvey placed the Pokéballs back into the wall, and came back to York. He handed him his reward. It was a small red cartoonish buoy.

"As you can probably guess, that's the Buoy Badge."

"The Buoy Badge." He knelt down next to Dollie. "See here? I have this because of your hard work, Dollie. I'm proud."

She replied with a happy bleat. Sydney appeared next to him.

"Let's get going." She peeked over her shoulder. "Unless you want some of our spectators coming up to you and asking you advice on being a trainer or something."

He stood up and returned Dollie to her Pokéball. "I'm ready to leave. Thanks for the battle Harvey."

"Just doing my job. I'll cheer for you when the League comes around."

Once outside, York held his new badge up to the sun. A large smile was on his face.

"Before we leave, there's somewhere we've got to go." Sydney pointed towards a huge dome off in the distance.

"The Kinsei Sports Center." York smiled at her. "Excited?"

She smiled back. "Of course. I just hope you're ready to lose; whatever it is we play!"
"I'm not going to go down easily, Syd! You'll have to work hard if you plan on beating me!"

Shadowchaos1010 · May 28, 2016

Here is chapter thirteen of the Kinsei Saga, and the thirteenth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 13: Millstone City*

York and Sydney had been on Route 4 several times, but each and every time they've stayed close to Aeren Town. Now that their business was done, they moved on, towards Millstone City in the center of the Kinsei region.

The two had been traveling along the main road for several days, taking occasional breaks, either allowing York to train, or allowing Sydney to take more pictures.

As they were walking near the end of the route, both young trainers noticed the metropolis growing closer and closer, it's huge buildings reaching high into the sky. They picked up their pace and began running.

Passing through the large city gate, York and Sydney were met by huge crowds, busy streets and booming voices. The two looked around in awe.

"You can tell, right?" Began York. "This place is bigger than Emeras!"

"We just got here, but I can tell, alright." She took her PokéNav Plus out of her bag. "This is the biggest city in the region, after all."

"What's that for?" York put his hand on her, preventing her from opening it. "We just got here, we can look around a bit."

"Yeah, you have a point." She lowered the device and smiled at him. "Want to just walk around for a bit, see the sights?"

He gave her a thumbs up. "Sounds like a plan." Planting his hands on his hips. "Now, where should we go?"

"I don't have anywhere particular in mind. Let's just go with the flow."

York walked through one of the many streets in Millstone City. He was holding a cookie with several berries chunks baked in.

"These are really good!" He finished the cookie and patted his hands on his pants to get rid of the crumbs. "Don't you think so, Syd?"

When she didn't respond, he turned around, but Sydney wasn't there.

"Sydney?" He looked around, calling her name. "Crap, how'd I lose her?"

He took out his PokéNav Plus and called her. It only rang twice before she appeared on the screen. She wasn't happy.

"I told you to slow down,York! Didn't you hear me?"

He bashfully scratched his cheek. "No, sorry. Are you okay, Syd?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Her look of disatisfaction disappeared. "Now what do we do?"

"Let's just meet up at the hotel, okay?"

She nodded. "You know the address, right?"

"I got it."

"Good, I'll see you there."

"Be careful, Syd."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine!" She gave him a look of assurance, and hung up.

York put the PokéNav Plus away and continued to walk. While he and Sydney agreed to meet at the hotel, he decided to keep on exploring the city.

Sydney and York, despite having their own separate supply of money, check each other on what they buy, in case they must pool their money to buy something big. York and Sydney were together when they bought the cookies, but now that they were separated, he refrained from buying little things.

Thus, he wandered around aimlessly, looking at the city. The skyscrapers, schools, and shops.

As he was walking, he got a call from Sydney. It was then that he realized that he was walking so long, the sun had began to set. He had expected her to be upset, like their earlier conversation, but she looked concerned when she answered.

"Where are you, York?"

"Oh, uh… I'm still taking a look around the city. Sorry to worry you, Syd."

Her concern turned into slight anger. "You could've told me you were going to make me wait."

"Sorry, sorry. Just wait a bit longer for me, okay?"

"Just don't make me wait too long, okay?"

"Yeah, I won't. Thank for caring about me, Syd." He teased.

Sydney blushed and glared at him. "We're best friends, it's only natural I'd worry! There's no need to say anything about it. I'll see you soon, okay?"

He gave her a nervous smile. "Yeah, I'll be there soon. Just sit back and relax."

"You'd better get here soon, York." With that, Sydney hung up.

York immediately went to his PokéNav's map and entered the address of the hotel.

As he approached a corner, he glanced down to check his PokéNav and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground. He heard his PokéNav fall to the ground . He reached over for it, and noticed the person who fell in front of him.

He had bumped into a young woman. She was wearing blue jean shorts, a white shirt, and a burgundy leather jacket. She had long black hair, and looked over at York with her blue eyes. She possessed an ample bust.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah." York quickly stood up. "I'm just fine, see?" He held out his hand. "Need some help?"

She took his hand and he helped her up.

"Thanks for your help." The young woman glanced back and took off.

York looked back at her , and then was shoved aside by a pair of men. York looked down at his PokéNav for a moment before shoving it in his pocket and taking off after them.

He pushed his way through the crowds, keeping up with them as best as he could. With the dense crowds, it was difficult, but he kept them in his sights. He noticed one of the men turn left into an alley and followed after them.

The young woman ran to the back of the alley and hopped on a fence, beginning to climb. One of the men took out a Pokéball and from it emerged a Houndour.

"Houndour, Ember!" Ordered the man.

The man with him raised a brow. "Ember? Why not Flamethrower?"

"We can't bang her up to much. Get on it, Houndour."

A fire began forming in the Houndour's mouth. It released the small flame, striking her in the back. She fell from the fence, landing on her back. She got up and reached into her pocket.

The Houndour let out a pained yelp and fell over. A Pawniard appeared before her, glaring at the men. The men turned around and saw York standing there, holding Colonel's Pokéball.

"Who's the kid?" He turned back to the young woman. "You getting kids involved?" He laughed. "Shame on you. I thought you were a good girl."

She clenched her fists. "Leave him out of this." She said sternly. "He isn't involved."

"Let him talk for himself." He looked at York. "What do you say, kid? You involved in our little affair?"

"I might not know what's going on," Began York. "But I'm not going to let you hurt her. She didn't do anything to you."

"Awful nice for someone like him. But she's a complete stranger." He looked over at his friend. "Think the lad's got an ulterior motive or something?"

"He must." He turned to her. "You ought to be proud of your… assets. Whenever you need help, some poor sap like the kid will be there in a heartbeat."

"Her assets have nothing to do with this." York put Colonel's Pokéball away and took out Dollie's. He tossed it high into the air, and she emerged above the men. "Discharge, Dollie!"

"Houndour!"

Before it could react, Dollie, shocked all of them, and they slumped over onto the ground. The Houndour shook it off.

The young woman looked at York. "Thanks... again." She turned and resumed her climb.

Houndour tried to apprehend her, but Colonel kept it occupied. York returned Dollie to her Pokéball and ran after her.

"Colonel, be sure to catch up with us soon!"

He pushed the Houndour with great force, throwing it across the alley. He then began to jump on the walls of the building they alley was between, easily getting over the fence.

Once on the other side, the two began walking. When out of the alley, she turned to York.

"Why did you help me?" She asked.

"I couldn't just leave it alone when I saw those guys chasing you." He replied. "What was that about?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. You should go before more of them show."

"More of then?" He looked back. "It's not just those two after you? Oh, yeah!" He turned back to her. "Is your back alright?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

York's eyes diverted their course and looked behind her. She noticed his gaze and turned around, letting out a small gasp.

Outside of the alley was a street light. With the sun going, it was on. Underneath it was a young man with tan skin and white hair. He had a Seviper tattoo running along the right side of his face. He was wearing black jeans and a brown leather jacket. There was a wide grin on his face. Two more men stood at his sides.

"Krystal Whitman." He said. "It's good to see you again. Miss me?"

The two humans, and the Pawniard stood, the mysterious men in front of them, and the fence to the back.

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I know that it's been a long time since I last updated this thread. For everyone who was waiting for this chapter, sorry for the wait. I'll try to update this more often. I have a lot more chapters that I finished in advance. Once I'm caught up, I don't know how long regulars will have to wait until more chapters are prepared, but that won't be for a while.

Shadowchaos1010 · Jun 24, 2016

Here is chapter fourteen of the Kinsei Saga, and the fourteenth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 14: Fifth Eye of Chaos*

York and Krystal, as her name was revealed to be, stood in the alley along with Colonel. The young man who cornered them stood with two others, grinning at them deviously. Krystal looked at him apprehensively.

"What's the matter, scared?" He asked. York stepped in front of her. "What's this? Have a little knight in shining armor?"

"Please, step back!" Krystal pleaded.

"I'm not moving!" He cried. Colonel ran in front of York, shaking his head. "I know that Sydney is waiting, but…!"

"Have a honey waiting for you somewhere?" Asked the young man. "Not very smart to be here putting yourself in harm's way, then. I'm with the Pawniard. You should get going."

York clenched his fists and glowered at the ground.

"Please, listen to him." Krystal pleaded once more.

"Maybe this will help you."

He spread his arms, and one of the men took the jacket off. He was wearing a white muscle shirt underneath. He showed York his right tricep. On it was a tattoo on an eye with a roman numeral for five inside of it.

A toothy grin appeared on his face. "You know what this eye means, kid?"

A drop of sweat ran down York's face. "All members of the Hundred Eyes have that tattoo."

"Smart." He said. "And do you know what the five is for?"

Krystal spoke up. "The leaders of the Hundred Eyes call themselves the 'Five Eyes of Chaos'. Their rank is determined by the numeral in their tattoo. This man is Koh Ives, the Fifth Eye."

He began chortling. "That's right! Having second thoughts now, kid?"

York gulped, and wiped the sweat off of his brow. "Doesn't matter if you're one of the 'Five Eyes of Chaos' or whatever! I'm not leaving!"

"You're going to regret that, kid." Said Koh. He took out a Pokéball and a Houndoom emerged. "Fire Blast!"

"But boss, we need Krystal!" Protested one of his lackeys.

"And? Doesn't matter as long as she isn't fried to a crisp."

An intense flame was forming within the Houndoom. A huge stream of fire shot from its mouth, straight at York and Krystal.

York closed his eyes and braced himself for the attack, but it never made contact. He opened his eyes to see an Empoleon standing in front of him. He reached inside of his pocket and took out Star's Pokéball.

"What're you doing?" Asked Krystal. "I can handle them."

"I'm going to help you, Krystal." The Staravia appeared in front of him. "Star, Double Team."

The Empoleon moved out of the way and the horde of Staravia flew at the three men. The panicked and got out of the way. The people on the street had a similar reaction, screaming and scattering when the Staravia emerged from the alley.

"Let's get going!" Krystal ran, and York followed. Colonel and Empoleon went with them. Star kept up with them, high in the sky.

"What Koh said is right." Said Krystal. "You should really get back to your friend."

"I can't just let him chase you like this!" He replied.

"You're a civilian, you shouldn't get involved with them!"

Koh's Houndoom bounded over them and landed on the sidewalk. It growled at them furiously.

Empoleon, Colonel and Star stepped in front of the two trainers.

"I didn't appreciate that." Koh was standing behind the two, a pistol in his hand.

"Of course a member of the Hundred Eyes would have something like that." Said an irritated York. "At the very least, can't you respect the gun ban?"

"We do, only the Five Eyes are allowed to carry these." He pointed it at the pair. "Now, unless you want your journeying days to end, you'll hand over Whitman."

"What do you want with her?!" Shouted York.

"She went AWOL. More than enough reason to go after her, right?"

"AWOL?" York gaped at Krystal, and then back to Koh. "There's no way she was one of you!"

"She was, boy. But she got her hands on some very important important and then ran. I need that info."

Empoleon turned and took off of the ground, spinning at Koh. He dove out of the way. In response, Houndoom charged at Krystal and York. The two of them dodged.

"Star, get the KDDF!" She took off.

Colonel struck Koh, knocking the gun out of his hand. Using Metal Claw, he crushed the firearm.

Koh gripped his pained hand and looked at the men who were with him. "What're you doing?!"

They sent out their own Pokémon, which were both Mightyena. Along with Houndoom, they surrounded Krystal and York.

"Now what do we do?" York asked.

"I need to get out of the city. Once we make it to the gate, we'll be in the clear."

"The citizens will be, but-"

"Like I said, I'll be able to handle them." She took a Pokéball from her jacket. A Sawk came out of it. "I need you to hold them off, Sawk."

Krystal and York ran towards Houndoom. The Mightyena lunged, and Sawk kicked the two of them. Houndoom did as well, but Empoleon knocked it away. Colonel trailed behind the three. Sawk backed up a bit and faced the three men and their Pokémon.

The Mightyena jumped once again and one of them brought its teeth down on Sawk's right forearm. While the hyena Pokémon was still on his arm, Sawk grabbed its front leg and twisted, slamming it into the ground. Sawk spun around and kicked the second Mightyena. Koh and Houndoom raced past him, but the Mightyena kept him occupied.

"The west gate isn't too much farther." Announced Krystal.

"Will your Sawk be alright?"

"He'll be fine; Sawk knows how to handle himself." Krystal stopped and York did as well. She looked around. "I think we might have lost him."

York rested his hands on his knees, panting. "Can we take it easy then?"

"I'd like to, but I don't think we can." She looked away from him. "Thanks, really. You should get going. Your friend must be really worried."

Colonel nodded in agreement. Sawk came running to the pair, and Star flew over and landed next to York.

"You're back." Krystal noted. "What happened to them?"

Sawk formed the letters 'KDDF' on the wall of a building.

"And Koh?" She asked. Her Pokémon shook his head. "Then I'll deal with him later." She looked at York. "Again, thank you. I never caught your name."

"I'm York Mathers." He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. "What that guy said about you being with them… I don't care. If you ever happen to see me around and you need help, don't hesitate to ask."

"That's a kind offer, but I can't. It'd be best if you didn't have to deal with them again." She planted a kiss on his forehead. "Stay safe." She turned to leave, and her Pokémon followed her.

"You too!" York called, blushing fiercely. He took out his PokéNav. The GPS was still open, and he continued to head towards the hotel. "Krystal Whitman. That's what he said her name was." He glanced over his shoulder, but she was out of sight. "Used to be one of the Hundred Eyes. I wonder what information she was hiding from them? And why it's so important that one of the leaders had to get involved?" He dropped his gaze. "I wonder if I'll get to see her again. I hope she'll be alright."

York had finally arrived at the hotel, and quietly opened the door. Sydney stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed, glaring. York smiled nervously and waved.

"Hi, Syd…"

Without a word, she firmly pointed to one of the beds, and York walked over to it. Hee sat, hands in his lap and hung his head in shame.

"Where were you?" Sydney's voice was full of venom.

He looked up at her. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Oh, really? You must've had a reason for staying out so late. What's the story? I'll decide whether or not it's a bunch of crock."

Sydney joined him on the bed, and York told her what had happened, from when he bumped into Krystal to when they parted. She listened attentively, nodding occasionally. After he was done, she sighed.

"Normally, I'd hit you for making me worry so much."

York goggled at her. "You believe me?"

"You tend not to think. Of course you'd help a stranger when you know someone is worried sick about you." She walked to the other bed and laid down. "But that was reckless. You could've gotten hurt."

"I'll keep that in mind. Sorry to worry you, Syd."

She turned onto her side, away from him. "Just don't do it again, alright?"

"Yeah, I won't."

"At least take me with so I can keep an I on you. Promise me that."

York reached towards the switch on the lamp in the room. "I promise. Good night, Syd."

"Goodnight, York."

He flipped the switch and the room went dark.

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To those reading this later, this will be irrelevant, but I'll be posting several chapters a day until I'm caught up with what I currently have.

Shadowchaos1010 · Jun 24, 2016

Here is chapter fifteen of the Kinsei Saga, and the fifteenth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 15: Millstone Studio Holdup

Sydney shook York vigorously as the sunlight streamed in through their hotel room's window. The boy groaned and slowly opened his eyes. His friend loomed above him, a buoyant grin on her face.

"Syd?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What's up?"

"The Millstone Studios!" She exclaimed.

"What about them?"

She gave York a disappointed look. "What is that supposed to mean? Don't you want to see them?" Her grin reappeared and she continued talking, not allowing him to answer. "There's a tour today! Want to go?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"No, you don't!" She pulled him out of bed. "Hurry up and take a shower! I'll go and get you some breakfast!" She shoved him towards the bathroom and dashed out of the door.

York and Sydney were among a group of people on a large vehicle that was like a golf cart. It had several rows of seat, with the driver and tour guide up in front. York and Sydney were in one of the first rows, each wearing a visitor tag.

Sydney was excitingly bobbing back and forth in her seat.

"And on our left," Began the tour guide. "Is Set 23, where the majority of the critically acclaimed 'Riolu Kid' was filmed. As you can likely guess, most of the sequel will also be filmed here as well."

The driver pulled over by the set, and the tour guide got down. Everyone present followed. She led them inside of the set. The set was a typical city block, and there was a lot of people around. Others were dressed more professionally than others, but they all seemed to be rather relaxed.

"As you can see, everyone is just relaxing. The filming is yet to begin, so there's no reason for people to overdo it. Now, we have about fifteen minutes before we must be on to the next part of the tour. You can look around or ask questions. We'll warn you when we're almost out of time. While you might be excited, please give the stars and staff their personal space."

The tour group broke apart and began spreading around the set. The most people headed for a table of refreshments, where some of the stars of the aforementioned 'Riolu Kid' were.

"This is so cool!" Exclaimed Sydney, taking in the environment. She made a full turn, her eyes darting all over.

York smiled and put a hand on his hip. "You need to calm down. Are we going to walk around, or are you going to just swivel and be astonished the entire time?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry! Let's go talk to the cameraman; I want to ask him some questions." She took his hand and began dragging him towards a man that sat next to a large camera.

At the refreshments table, a brunette boy around York and Sydney's age ate a crepe while talking to some fans. A blonde woman in a blue dress was also talking to her fans, holding a glass of water.

"Excuse me, Luke, can I have your autograph?" A girl handed the boy a piece of paper and a pen. He took them and handed them back to her a few moments later. "Thank you, so, so much!"

"What's it like, being so popular?" Asked the woman. "Not too much for a kid like you?"

"Eh, I can handle it." He replied.

"I know a few people who said the same thing." She scoffed.

"Everyone is different, Veronica." He finished the last few bites of his crepe. "I won't let stardom get to me." The crowd dwindled, and Veronica gasped. "What's up?"

Over by the camera, York stood behind Sydney as she interviewed the cameraman, taking notes with her PokéNav. He nudged her with his shoulder.

"So, Syd, want to move on?"

"Why would I want to do that?" She glanced back at him, and he was looking around anxiously.

"Yorkie!" Veronica ran over to York and pulled him into a tight hug. "I missed you sooo much!"

Sydney stifled in a laugh. "York, what is this about?"

York pried the woman off of him. "It's good to see you too, Veronica…" He was forcing a smile.

"This is Yorkie?" Luke followed right behind her, his arms behind his head. "I thought he was a little kid!"

"I'm a kid to her." York said.

"Personally, I'd be really happy if a woman like Veronica treated me like that." Said Luke with a smile.

Veronica stood behind York, her arms around his waist. "Luke is right! Is something wrong, Yorkie?"

He blushed and looked towards the ground when he saw the other people in the tour group looking at him. "You baby me too much…"

Sydney put her hands behind her back and put on a big smile. "So, Miss Meliotta, how do you know 'Yorkie'?"

"Not you too, Syd!" Whined York.

"I know his father. We worked together a few times." She hugged him tighter, and his face grew redder. "He's such a cutie! The baby brother I never had!"

"His father?" Luke tilted his head and tapped his foot. "What's your dad's name?"

The embarrassed trainer tried to pry her off, but to no avail. "Tison Mathers…"

The young star gaped. "The Heiwa League champion's son? Dude, do you have any idea how lucky you are?!"

"I guess…"

"Come on, Veronica, let go of him, already." Luke insisted.

"I don't want to! It's been so long since I last saw him!"

A siren went off in the set and red lights began flashing. Everyone began looking around worriedly, and many of them began talking amongst themselves.

"Red alert, red alert." Announced a robotic voice over the intercom. "There has been a security breach. Any and all personnel and tourists report to your nearest set and remain until further instructions are ordered."

The cameraman and the other staff members began ushering the tourists to a corner of the set behind several props. As they were doing so, a gunshot went off. A masked man held one of the staff and a pistol. Upon seeing him, the tourists began to panic. Another gunshot quieted them down.

"Nobody make a move!" He shoved his hostage towards the rest of the group. Several other armed men, also masked, began patrolling the set. "Nobody move, and everyone will get out of this in one piece."

Veronica sat next to York, her hand on his. He could feel her shaking, but she had on a brave face. Sydney and Luke also seemed calm, but the others were distressed.

A young man with platinum blonde hair stood as another man fired a gunshot towards the sky in another set. He was wearing gold and white robes, and had a bead necklace wrapped around his wrist like a bracelet. It was Gabriel, the person who Sydney spoke two after her argument with York.

The gunman stared at him with wide eyes, who was unfazed by the shot.

"What're doing?" He fired another shot and pointed the gun towards the group of people in the corner. "Get over there with them. Now!"

He smiled at him. "I'm terribly sorry, sir, but I will not follow the orders of a criminal."

"Say that to me again, I dare you!"

"And if I do? You'll 'pump me full of lead'? Is that it?" He used air quotes while speaking.

"You're really testing my patience."

"Like I said, I will not follow your orders."

The man fired the gun. The bullet never touched Gabriel, but fell in front of him. The man looked at it in awe. He fired several more times, but all of the bullets ended up on the ground.

"Guys!"

All of the gunmen fired at Gabriel simultaneously, but each and every single bullet
missed their mark.

The man dropped his gun. "What are you?"

Gabriel tilted his head. "You really want to know? If I show you, you'll end up in prison."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Gabriel held up his hand. "Watch closely."

He snapped his fingers and his hand became engulfed in flames. He threw the fireball and it flew past the man who asked the question. He screamed in terror and fell onto his rear.

"This guy ain't human!"

"Oh, I'm human." He snapped his fingers again, and once again his hand ignited. "Have you ever heard of the 'Way of One', gentlemen? It's a philosophy that graces its practitioners with this power. Now you have a choice, gentlemen: surrender and wait for the authorities or have me melt down some of this metal equipment and make makeshift handcuffs. I doubt sitting around with molten metal on your wrists would be pleasant."

The men dropped their guns and held their hands behind their heads. Gabriel rounded them up and placed his hand on the ground. A circle of fire erupted from the ground, taller than any of the men, making it impossible for them to get over.

He looked towards the hostages. Some of them looked fearful, others full of hatred, and the rest amazed.

He walked over to the director and asked for a key. "Everyone, please wait here. I'll be right back." He walked outside of the set and locked the door, preventing anyone else from coming in and endangering the tourists, cast and staff.

Sydney looked carefully at each of the masked men as they walked around the set. She reached over and tapped York's shoulder. He glanced at her, and she nodded at him. He hesitated, but shook his head. Sydney shot him a disappointed look and went back to observing.

"This is Jason Tenma of the KDDF, Millstone City Division!" The loud, booming voice came from outside. "We are willing to cooperate; list your demands and we'll see what can be done!"

"Listen here, copper!" Said one of the men. "It's not too complicated. "We need ten million Pokédollars, the Spirit Cycle…" He glanced back at the group, specifically Veronica. "And Veronica Meliotta!"

"Your final request is absolutely out of the question!" Shouted Jason. "We will not hand over another human being!"

"It'll just be for the weekend, copper! She'll make it home safe and sound!"

A light went off in Sydney's head and she took one of her Pokéballs from her bag. She waited until the men had their backs turned and pressed the button. Copy emerged; before it said anything, Sydney clamped her hand over its mouth. She pointed at Veronica, and then a billboard cutout of a bodybuilder. She tapped Veronica on the shoulder and guided her to a secluded corner where she wouldn't be seen.

"What's the problem?" Asked the man. "Not willing to comply?"

"If it means that you'll let these people go, I'm... willing to spend some time with you." Veronica emerged from the group, walking towards the man making the demands. "That's all it's going to take, right?" She wrapped her arms around his waist like she did with York earlier.

The man chuckled. "Heh heh. Yeah, that's all it's going to take."

Veronica ran her hand along the man's neck. The next thing he knew, his windpipe was being crushed. The actress had transformed into the bodybuilder from the cutout. His accomplices trained their guns on the shapeshifter.

When the man went limp, the bodybuilder turned into a pink, blob shape and sped along the ground to another one of them. The blob turned into the bodybuilder again and punched another one of the men square in the face, slamming him into the ground. The process was repeated until all of the criminals was on the ground.

The bodybuilder reverted to their original form: Copy the Ditto. Sydney stood front the group and let out a triumphant laugh. She ran over to her Pokémon and hugged it. The group in the corner stared in awe at the scene. Sydney had the director open the door and the police rushed in, putting the men in handcuffs.

Jason walked over to her. "It's you." He looked a the unconscious men. "You really did this?"

"Yeah, just a little technique I came up with."

"Good job, kid. Come by the station later, we'll have a reward for you." He walked past her. "You should get back into the corner. Until we confirm all of the troublemakers are rounded up, you're safest here."

"That was a good idea." Said York, congratulating Sydney. The studio was evacuated, and all of the men arrested. Veronica stayed with York, and Luke tagged along as well.

"Thanks." She replied. "Just wanted to see if that worked. Copy's done that before, but never in that kind of situation."

"That's really cool." Said Luke. "You might be able to make something out of that technique." Veronica clung onto York's arm tightly. "I think we should go. These two must be busy." She refused to release him.

"Veronica, please, let me go." Pleaded York. "You're a really important person; a lot of people will worry!"

"But you're really important to me, Yorkie!"

"I know, I know!" He began awkwardly stroking her hair. "I'll keep in touch, so get on home, alright?"

"Promise?" She looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Promise."

She kissed him on the cheek and left with Luke.

"After seeing her on the big screen, who would think that she's like that in real life?"

"Ah, Sydney!" Gabriel walked over to the two. "It truly is a small world, isn't it?"

"Hey, Gabriel."

"Is this the friend you had that argument with?" He looked over at York.

"Yeah. York, this is Gabriel, he's the guy from the Church I mentioned."

Gabriel waved his hands in front of him. "Oh, no, I'm not with the Church. I just haven't had the heart to discard these clothes."

"But you were with them?" Asked York.

"Once upon a time, yes. Were the two of you caught up in the Millstone Studios holdup?"

"We were." York wrapped his arm around Sydney. "Syd went and saved the day, though!"

"Very impressive!" A small frown appeared on his face. "As much as I'd like to stay and chat, I must be going." He bowed to the two. "May our paths cross again in the future."

He left the pair, who sat on a curb near the studio.

"Sorry that your tour was ruined."

Sydney playfully punched York. "It's fine. We should leave for Viel City soon, yeah?"

"Yeah, I think we should."

Shadowchaos1010 · Jun 24, 2016

Here is chapter sixteen of the Kinsei Saga, and the sixteenth overall chapter of Pokémon Anthology.

Chapter 16: Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover

York and Sydney walked through the gates to Viel City, the city west of Millstone and the site of York's third gym battle. It was the third largest city in Kinsei, after Millstone City and the capital, Dracos City. It looked a lot like Millstone, being such a large city.

After coming in through Route 5, the two headed right for the Pokémon Center. After healing their Pokémon, they sat down to rest. There they saw a group of trainer's talking.

"You tried too, didn't you? I told you you weren't ready!"

"I thought I'd be fine! I didn't know it'd be like that!"

"Maybe I should leave Viel, come back after getting a few badges."

The mention of the word 'badges' caught York's attention, and he went over to the group.

"Hey, guys. Did I hear something about a badge just now?"

The trainers all groaned.

"Yeah. This city's Gym Leader is brutal! Never seen a trainer so powerful!"

"How many badges you got?"

"I got two." York held up two fingers.

"This'll be your third, huh?" The trainer looked at his friends. "What do you guys think; should he try it?"

"I dunno. Just cause we got crushed doesn't mean it'll happen to him."

"If you do fight her, good luck. You just might need it. "

York left the trainers and returned to Sydney. "This is going to be an interesting Gym Battle." Reported York.

"What're you up for? Just want to head for the gym now?"

"You okay with that?"

Sydney rested her head on her hand. "Yeah, I don't mind. I'm up for lunch. How about you?"

York's stomach growled, and he patted it. "I'm game!"

York and Sydney entered a local cafe and were quickly seated and served. As they ate, they noticed something odd. One of the patrons was being treated very differently.

It was a young woman wearing pink and white pants. Her leather jacket was the same colors. Under the jacket was a turquoise shirt. She had navy blue hair, and wore gold rimmed sunglasses. When she sat down and took off her glasses, the pair saw that she had navy blue eys, with a mole underneath her right one.

The staff treated her like a princess. They pulled out her chair, and acted much more proper with her than any of the others. The way she acted would make others think she was high class as well.

"Miss Mari, how has work been today?" Asked one of the waiters.

"It's been well. Another trainer came by today. Didn't stand a chance." She sounded extremely bored.

"Trainer?" York and Sydney looked at each other.

"Think she might be the leader?" Asked Sydney.

"Aah!" Mari, as the waiter had called her, leaned back in her seat and let out an exasperated sigh. "Aren't there any trainers out there that won't disappoint me?" She began rapping on the table with her fingers. "Being a Gym Leader become so taxing!"

"And there's your confirmation." Said Sydney.

"I don't see why those guys were scared. She seems like she doesn't take her job seriously."

Mari patted the table. "Come on, sit down! It's been awhile since we last sat down and had a nice talk!"

"I'm sorry, miss, but I can't." He bowed. "In fact, I must attend to the other customers right now."

She sighed and rested her head in her arms. "This is horrendous! I just want to have some fun!"

Sydney groaned. "She sounds like a spoiled rich girl to me."

"Like I said, I don't understand why those guys were scared."

York and Sydney observed the young Gym Leader as she appeared generally miserable and either complained or attempted to get the waiter to join her whenever he came by.

York and Sydney stayed at the cafe until Mari left. That way, there'd be a good chance of her being at the gym when they visited.

Appropriate for the city, and the Gym Leader's behavior, the gym was a large, fancy building that looked like a mansion. The interior was also extravagant, the walls decorated with classic paintings and the floor covered with red velvet carpet.

Once inside, York and Sydney requested an audience with the Gym Leader. They were led to a battlefield that had the same aristocratic air was the rest of the gym. There were already three people present sitting on fine wood benches that were off to the side. There were two men and a woman, all of them dressed like members of the upper class.

"Huh?" York stared at one of the men. "Mr. Liston?"

One of the two men had a cane. He stood up and walked over to York, a wide grin on his face.

"York, my boy, it's good to see you!" He put a hand on the young trainer's shoulder. "Finally started your journey, I see."

"Yes, sir. So, you finally retired?"

"That's right. My niece took over." He returned to the bench. "She'll be here in a moment, just be patient." Sydney sat on the benches as well.

Mari soon entered the room. When she saw York, she lifted a brow.

"You're the boy from the cafe! I wouldn't have expected to see you here." She walked over to the same panel that Aera and Harvey both used. "Which badge are you going for?"

"My third."

Unlike the others, she only took two Pokéballs from the panel. She clipped them onto her belt. Her previously bored look disappeared, and a wide smile replaced it. She knelt down and clapped her hands.

"Schwarz, sweetie! I need you!"

York and Sydney watched as a Deino ran out of the hallway and into Mari's arms. She began stroking it's head.

"You don't plan on disappointing me, do you?"

"Not at all!" York took out one of his own Pokéballs. "I'm ready to start when you are!"

Mari let the Deino out of her arms and it ran onto the battlefield. York sent his own Pokémon out. His first choice was Colonel.

"Colonel, Metal Claw!"

The Pawniard charged towards Deino, who stood firm and glared at him. Colonel stopped in his tracks, but continued to run. He slammed his arms into Deino, sending it flying. Mari let out a frightful gasp.

"Schwarz, are you okay?" She sounded and looked very concerned.

Deino got up and shook its head. It stood on its hind legs and stomped, letting out a roar. It then ran at Colonel, who easily dodged and countered.

"Schwarz, use Scary Face again!"

Deino turned around and glared at Colonel once more. It ran forward again. Colonel tried to evade, but failed. Deino bit down on his arm. Colonel shook him off, and threw him onto the ground.

For a third time, Colonel used Metal Claw, sending Deino flying.

"That's enough! Schwarz, come back!" Mari knelt down again, and Deino ran back into her arms. "You poor thing…"

"What's with her?" Sydney watched as the Gym Leader comforted her Pokémon, but for a second noticed a devious grin. "Huh?" She looked at York, who was grinning. "Don't be so calm!" She called. "Be more alert!"

"I'm fine, Syd!" She gave him a thumbs up. "This badge is as good as mine."

"Oh, really?" York looked over at Mari, who was wiping tears from her eyes. "That's not very nice!"

"Huh?" York scratched his cheek. "Um… sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"You hurt my Schwarz and called me weak!"

The woman who was watching the battle smiled. "The battle is basically over." She looked over at the man next to her. "Hiroshi?"

"I won't talk until the battle is over, Yvonne." He looked over at Mr. Liston. "You'll save your comments until after the battle as well, Franklin?"

"If I have any comments, that is."

Mari finished wiping her tears and patted Deino's head. "You know, what? To pay you back for being so mean…!" She pointed at him. "I'm going to defeat you with me next Pokémon and nothing else!"

"What?" York laughed. "With how you battle?! I dare you!"

She kissed her next Pokéball. "Best of luck!" The Pokémon that came out of the ball was a Vibrava.

York's confident look disappeared in an instant. "A Vibrava?!"

She wiped her eyes again. "Vibrava, this boy was mean to me and Schwarz! Teach him a lesson, okay?"

The Vibrava nodded and faced Colonel. It let out a loud cry, and the ground began to shake. A spire shot up from the part of the floor underneath Colonel. He was launched into the air.

It flew to Colonel and grabbed him, throwing him into the battlefield. Colonel had barely gotten up when another spire shot up and tossed Colonel. He landed on the field, unconscious.

York stared in disbelief at his partner who lay defeated. York returned him and stood for a moment.

"This isn't good." Sydney said from the sidelines. After contemplating, Star was sent into the battle next.

Without being ordered, the Vibrava let out a deafening screech. York and Sydney covered their ears to protect themselves. Star fell to the field. When she recovered, she used Double Team.

Vibrava flew into the air and slammed into the ground. The ground around it broke and flew up. It struck the rocks with its tail at breakneck speeds. The rocks hit only the copies, and Star hit Vibrava head on.

Vibrava used screech once more. Before Star could recover, It broke even more of the ground and hurled them at Star. Each of the rocks hit her dead on. She landed in front of York, defeated by a single attack.

"It's over…" Sydney looked at York, who was frozen again. He returned Star and sent out his final Pokémon. Dollie landed on the field, staring Vibrava down.

"Dollie, Signal Beam!"

The gem on her tail began glowing, and the rainbow light shot towards Vibrava. It shook the attack off and shook the ground. Dollie began to panic and run around. The spires missed her each and every time. As she got close to Vibrava, it took a deep breath and exhaled, stopping her. When she stopped, one of the spires caught up and struck her. She stumbled, and Vibrava used Dragon Breath once more. After the second attack, she fell over.

Mari jumped up into the air. "Hooray! Good job, Vibrava!"

Both Deino and Vibrava celebrated with her. York returned Dollie to her Pokéball and stared at it, dumbstruck.

"I'm sorry, Dollie."

"And rightfully so." Mari had put a hand on her hip and glared at York. "You made a rookie mistake."

"Rookie mistake?" He took his eyes off of the capsule and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"At the cafe when I was whining, and right before the battle started when I acted like a clod. You thought I was really like that, despite being a Gym Leader?" York looked down at the ground. "And when you saw Vibrava, you were surprised. You thought I used Dark-Types, just because Schwarz is part Dark-Type, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Your name is York, right? Don't judge a book by it's cover. Remember that. You never know what the opponent might be hiding. And think of a Pokémon like Schwarz as ambiguous; having two meanings, or in this case types, and try to plan for both of them."

He looked her right in the eye. "I'll remember that! And after I train some more, I-"

"You're coming for a rematch?" A small smiled creeped across her face. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure that Schwarz wants some payback. He was forced to humiliate himself to lull you into a false sense of security."

York turned from her and began to leave the gym. Sydney was right behind him.

Mari began waving to him. "Best of luck with your training, York! Don't keep me waiting too long!"

He held up a fist. "Don't worry! It won't take long!"

"What's your plan?" Asked Sydney when they left the gym. "Her Vibrava alone has the right moves to take down your entire team."

He still had a smile on his face. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know. As of right now, my plan is to just train, train, and train some more." He looked over at her. "I know that's a crappy battle plan, but it's a start, right?"

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, it is."

Pok?mon Anthology

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Desert Stream~

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