[Pokémon] The Resurrection's Beginning and Apocalyptic Dawn

The Resurrection's Beginning... re-done (one-shot)

A/N: This is the prequel to "Apocalyptic Dawn". It leads up to Rowan, Josephine's older brother, being revealed as TR's new leader in the sequel and explains other things which were left unclear. "The Resurrection's Beginning" is brought to life by a series of events that happens before Josephine becomes a trainer.

Disclaimer: Pokémon is © Game Freak and Nintendo, 1995-2009. All other characters are © Kyuu-chan.


Two years had passed and my family welcomed the arrival of my brother, Rowan Moreau. I was the only one who believed that something was not right with him, for I had sensed a dark aura hidden in the deepest depths of his soul. But I held my tongue, because if I had spoken out about it I would have been punished for sure.

He was always getting into trouble, always poking his nose into things that weren't his business. My mother was forever telling him off.

By the time I was five, and Rowan three, Josephine was born. According to my parents, Josephine was just as gorgeous as I was when I'd been born. Rowan, being Rowan, decided to start poking my younger sister. Mum wouldn't have any of it.

He was immediately sent out of the room, with his punishment being no dessert for a week. Being a three-year-old, he chucked a tantrum, which caused me to raise my eyebrow in disgust. I mean, come on! This was a public hospital. Patients shouldn't have to put up with a three-year-old's outburst.


Time continued to pass. I had turned ten, Rowan was eight, Josephine five and Natalie was the newest addition to the family. I'd not been interested in the way of a trainer, preferring instead to spend my time writing stories.

My lone brother, on the other hand, did want to be a trainer. But I had seen his battling style, it was callously ruthless. It had attracted the attention of a figure dressed all in black. I had my suspicions about that man, I knew nothing good would come of his meeting with my brother, but for a long while nothing happened.

Josephine was content to study as hard as she could at the Magnet School, learning all that she could about Pokémon. She had an unusual personality, not wanting to make any friends for some reason.

And as for Mum, well... she had her hands busy, yet again, with Natalie. It was around the clock care for the newest Harris. I had once heard her say to Dad that "Natalie was the last. After her, there'll be no more." I felt satisfied with that, because four children – in my opinion – seemed too much for her.



"Tara wouldn't have wanted you to be upset." My brother's voice was cold and distant that day. As we all stood at Pallet's memorial cemetery, his voice was like a gunshot in the eerie quiet as it echoed. It had been two weeks after the accident which claimed her life and, as I looked into his disinterested eyes, there was not a single shred of remorse.

The pre-teen was dressed in a red, short-sleeved polo shirt, whilst wearing light green three-quarter pants. He had inherited his father's long, pony-tailed hair – though Rowan's was crimson, whereas his dad's was brown – and his hazel eyes shone like an inferno had engulfed them.

"Shut up, Rowan!" I yelled. "This is your fault!" I was furious at him, for the blame lay squarely on him. My teeth clenched and the blood boiled inside me. If only he hadn't invited Tara to come with him and a friend, then neither my sister nor his friend would have died. The grief roiled inside me once again, seething like a maddened serpent, threatening to break free if I lost control.


I was fourteen, Rowan twelve, Josephine nine and Natalie five. It was two days before the accident which would take my life, though I didn't know that at the time. A friend of Rowan's had recently obtained a new car, and my brother asked me if I would like to come with them in it around town.

I kept saying I had other things to do, that I was busy. But on the second day, that day, he put his foot down. "Tara, come with us." Rather than requesting my presence, as he had done so previously, he now demanded that I join them. To placate him, I got in the car.

His friend chose a particularly straight piece of road and slammed his foot on the accelerator, causing the speed to increase to one hundred kilometres an hour.

The next thing I know, I see Rowan barrel-roll out of the car mere seconds before it struck a sturdy cedar tree. My spirit rose from my body and I look down at Rowan, who was just standing there, staring at the totalled car with a small smirk on his face.

I heard him say "Well, that's them out of the picture." and I instantly felt betrayed. The car ride had been a trap to get rid of us! I felt nothing but bitter, angry emotions boiling in me. I knew then that I had to warn Josephine about Rowan, but how would I be able to do it?


As it was, his friend's car had been totalled. A report from the Viridian Police Station said the driver, my brother's friend, had been speeding. This resulted in two unnecessary deaths, deaths which could have easily been prevented.

At that thought, and still overwhelmed by my loss, I turned and walked away a small distance as I felt the tears start to burn at the back of my eyes. I knelt down on one knee. Losing my sibling made my head spin around and around, as if I were dizzied by the grief. She was my sister, after all; my flesh and blood. My heart felt as though it were being crushed; the tears slipped out of my eyes.

My younger, five-year-old sister approached me quietly. "Big sis, are you okay?" she asked.

Despite all of the pain I felt right now, I smiled inwardly. That's Natalie for ya, I thought. My nine-year-old eyes looked into hers, which were showing just as much pain and suffering, for tears trickled down her eyes as well. We had both loved our fourteen-year-old sibling a lot, and for her to be taken from us in so much as a second really hurt our close-knit family.

But it seemed that one of us did not care in the slightest, that one of us had been distant to the rest of us for a while. Rowan, you might ask? Spot on. His attitude at the Academy often landed him in detention. He didn't have any friends because of the 'bully-boy' tactics and his callously ruthless battling style, in which he wasn't afraid to use the Pokémon the teachers had given him to physically attack the other students. The teachers were just as shocked as his injured classmates when they realized it wasn't an act, that Rowan was deadly serious.

A man dressed all in black had been spotted at the Academy's training grounds from time to time, silently watching my brother train, eying him as if he were worthy.

An unintentional sneeze from overhead alerted me to the fact that someone was spying on us. I shielded Natalie as I quickly turned around. Mum, Dad, Row-... My eyes widened in shock. Whoever had been spying on us had taken Rowan, and left Mum and Dad unharmed. I then narrowed my eyes. It must've been a Psychic with teleporting abilities. But who has those sort of powers? I asked myself. But just to be sure... "Hey Mum, where did Rowan go?"

"He was standing over there..." She trailed off, upon looking around the cemetery and confirming that her son was nowhere to be seen. "Oh my God! Where did he go?!" A scream burst from her mouth.

*****

"Seek out the boy and return with him. Those were your instructions. You have done well. You may stand down." The intimidating voice with a distinct accent came from a tall, mysterious man with neat black hair. Dressed formally in a black suit, he had a smirk on his clean-cut face.

The woman who had brought Rowan to her boss was a psychic. Her clothing consisted of a long red blouse and black trousers. She had long, flowing raven-coloured hair; two locks of which came down on either side of her face and the fringe just above her eyes, with the rest going down to around her waist. Scarlet eyes gazed at the boy in a calculating way and she had on a pair of long red boots.

But she was no normal psychic; she had been able to hide her spiritual powers, preventing her from being discovered. Upon hearing the order to fall back, she nodded once and knelt down.

"Boy, come here." The man ordered. The twelve-year-old hesitated, but hurried forward when the man frowned. "You seek power, do you not?"

"... I..." Rowan stammered, looking uncertain. He had heard stories about this man being the leader of a criminal organization. Though he'd kept it to himself, he actually admired him and was excited by the prospect of having a position of power one day.

"Speak up, boy!" Another voice snapped. This was the voice of Ross, the second-in-command.

"Yes, I do." The boy responded, as he stood tall in response to the order.

"Ask, and you shall receive." The man countered. He then clicked his fingers. "Boy, do me a favour and in time you shall have all the power you want."

"What sort of favour?" Rowan asked. His eyes widened and shone brightly upon hearing that statement.

"Become a trainer, and then go to the land of Sinnoh. Stay there for a few years and then come back. Once you've returned, you will have what you want."

"Okay, I will do that," came the answer. The boy's eyebrows narrowed and his eyes darkened as he thought of his future.

"Sa- Ramona! Take him back now!" The man commanded.

"As you wish, boss," she replied. The Psychic stood up and grabbed Rowan with both hands. Before the twelve-year-old knew what was happening, he had been teleported away from these beings of power and was more than likely being taken back to the cemetery.

*****

Back at the cemetery, a red-haired figure who looked very similar to my deceased older sister was watching the grieving family, while keeping hidden in the shadows. Unbeknownst to even herself, she was a product of Giovanni's cloning tests. Her growth rate had been accelerated, however. Therefore, she had reached the age of fourteen in just under ten years.

Codenamed 'Crimson Lightning', her purpose – in Giovanni's scheme – was to serve as second-in-command to Rowan when he came back from Sinnoh. By then, Giovanni would be long gone. Just then, she felt a wave of psychic power and withdrew back into the cedar tree as Ramona appeared with Rowan. The Psychic dematerialized a split second later, not wanting anyone to see her.

"WHERE have you been?!" Fiona screamed hysterically. A fraction of a smirk appeared on my face. Ever since the death of Tara, my mother was always worrying about things that shouldn't be worried about. I found the situation funny, because my brother always seemed to be getting into trouble.

Charles, my wheelchair-bound father, wheeled himself over to them. "Settle down, Fi," he said quietly, calling his wife by a nickname. With my father being the only brown-haired person in the family, I had always thought it strange that none of my siblings, not even myself, had managed to carry over the slightest amount of same coloured hair. All of us, even the now deceased Tara, had been redheads.

"I want to become a trainer." That was all Rowan said, for he did not want to reveal the reason why or his lust for power which had just been born.

Fiona blinked a few times, then... "OH MY GOD! My son wants to be a trainer! Oh Rowan, good on you!"

Meanwhile, I was stopped in my tracks as the world seemed to come to a standstill. Everything was removed from my surroundings so that only I could see the figure in front of me. A pale ghostly figure stood there in front of me.

"Josephine," the ghost began, compassion showing in its ethereal eyes.

I silently gasped when I realized who the ghost was. It was my sister, Tara.

"I see you've recognized me. But this isn't exactly a good time. I've come to warn you about the one who will defect. Beware your brother! For the one whom defects will cause more trouble than you can possibly imagine!"

Tara's ghostly outline began to fade, satisfied that she had done her job.

"Wait!" I cried out. "I miss you!"

Tara's last words were brief as the last of her spirit faded. "As I you."

As Tara's ghostly figure vanished, so had the vision.

"Okay everyone, we're going home now!" Fiona said to her family. As the group left the cemetery, I kept shooting glances at my brother. Was he really going to defect like Tara had foretold?

*****

"I know what you're up to, Rowan. I don't think you should go ahead with this," I began casually, leaning against the hallway wall the next morning.

Having already gone past me, he simply turned his head and replied to my statement. "What I do is none of your concern. Be a good nine-year-old and mind your own business."

My eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Rowan, I'm warning you. Don't do this!" I hissed.

He faced me slightly and tilted his head, as if amused. "Or what, little sister?"

As my anger level rose, a tremor ran through my body. "This!" I said loudly, as my frame became enveloped in a bright pink aura. I stood breathing heavily as my hazel-coloured eyes turned cerise in accordance with the aura I now exuded.

He faced me properly and in one brief moment I saw that he, too, was radiating an aura. His manifestation was of a lightning yellow. In that instant, I realized that both of us had been chosen, however indirectly to begin with, by Kanto Legendaries.

"Mew..." My brother's voice was static due to Zapdos' Electric abilities.

"Zapdos..." Mine was telepathic.

"So... It... Has... Come... To... This..." We spoke in unison.

"ARE YOU TWO ARGUING AGAIN?! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT ARGUMENTS BEFORE ROWAN LEAVES, JOSEPHINE?!" Fiona shouted up the staircase.

The auras dissipated and we returned to normal. We glanced at each other before Rowan continued down the hallway. "This won't be forgotten, sis." By putting emphasis on the last word, he further reinforced that he intended to head down his current path.

My heart-rate quickened as he left me and I started sweating. I feared the worst, not only for my family and the other Kantonians, but for the whole region. Deep down, I had already cast him out of the family. What's more, if my parents were to discover this they, too, would disown him.

*****

Five years had passed since my brother left Kanto bound for the Sinnoh region. He was adamant that Sinnoh would somehow give him what he needed. He has now come back, determined to wreak havoc on his homeland. When I learned that Zapdos had well and truly sided with him, that the Titan of Lightning's lust for power had caused a split in the Bird Trio, I shook my head in sorrow.

There is some good in all of this chaos, however. In those five years, I graduated from Pallet's Magnet School at the age of ten, but refused to go anywhere because I wanted to learn more about all of the different types of Pokémon. I also made friends with Pewterian-born Rachel Savina, who shares one of my traits – like impatience – and Pallet-born Paul Johnson, who quickly turned into my rival.

*****

Mew

I had chosen the girl to possess in order to get the message through to the dissenter, Zapdos, that his lust for power would not be accepted in the Bird Trinity. I knew that if he continued down that path, the Trinity would end up dispersing. It seemed as though he'd heeded my warning, but I suspected that wasn't really the case.

Years later, however, in the present, I was shocked and very disappointed that he had indeed bonded with the boy and that the Trinity had broken up.

Zapdos

I controlled the boy because the 'seeking power' aura he exuded was exactly what I wanted. Together, we would be unstoppable. Mew attempted to stop me, saying that the Trinity would not accept my thirst for supremacy. I was tempted to lunge at her, for I didn't care about the other two one little bit.

When I bonded with the human, I had to assume a similar form. I felt slightly less authoritarian as one of his kind, but I thought nothing of it as I was his advisor.

*****

The Trinity, better known as the Titans of Ice, Thunder and Fire, are no more.


Let me take you back five years.


The Trinity are meeting to discuss what trouble is brewing in each corner of the Kanto region. Articuno, who always resided at the Seafoam Islands, is the first to arrive at the rest house entrance to the Viridian Forest. She sets herself up in the best position to look out for the others who are coming from the east, i.e. the Power Plant, and the far south-west – One Island's Mt. Ember.

The young woman, tall and elegant, spots Zapdos flying in low and stopping on the outskirts of Viridian City. Her crimson eyes watched him hide behind the Gym to change into his human form of a young man with sinister black eyes, spiky yellow hair and fair skin. As Zapdos walked up to the house, Articuno could see Moltres landing.

Articuno and Zapdos were impressed by Moltres' super quick transformation. However, Alcina, which was the human name Articuno had bestowed upon herself, immediately raised her voice as the trio passed through the rest house and crossed the threshold into the Forest. "I always get to places first! You two aren't organized enough!"

It soon became clear that Articuno's bold bluntness, along with the fact that she was now unsympathetic towards the other two, had caused small rifts in the Trinity before. "Shut the hell up, Alcina!" Zapdos snapped bossily. His domineering tone quickly silenced any chance of a retort. Unbeknownst to the others, Zapdos had been training in private with Ho-oh in order to get stronger.

As they entered a particularly dark part of the Forest, the human-ized birds walked into the temple.

The temple, in another universe, may have been likened to the antiquity of the Pantheon. It had been built by a forgotten people, who had laboured for those they thought as gods, and they had dragged huge sandstone blocks from as far away as Celadon to mould into its huge bastions. The multitude of columns and sculpted colonnades were carved with the faded visages of Legendaries time forgot.

Thick vines engulfed it. The undergrowth was unpleasantly damp and chilly and smelt heavily of copper. Below the canopy, the slender light of the full moon petered out completely and the tree roots clambered over each other for space. Hidden in the undergrowth was a small, brown, round shellfish-like creature; its scratchy search for insects in the leaf litter was the only sound above the chirping of its prey.

Inside the temple, Alcina peered out of the ancient architecture's only window. It was far too hot for her and she felt faint as she brushed her sweeping, icy blue hair over her shoulder. Frost glistened off it as they did of her pale skin which radiated an eerie chill in the humid forest. Her outfit consisted of a long pale blue dress, with white and blue sandshoes.

Zenas, the name Zapdos had chosen for himself, lounged around on a stone table at the back of the sanctuary. As he ran his hand through his hair, sparks leapt like an electric cable, bright coils of yellow that made the hair of his two companions stand on end. A bright yellow shirt matched his equally bright yellow trousers. Protecting his feet were black boots.

"Stop that!" Alcina said peevishly. She seriously wanted to go over and slap Zenas, but thought better of it. One eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he continued to mess with his hair.

Moltres had picked the human name of Magnus and was quite proud of it. He was kneeling on the floor. His hair was brass red in colour, his eyes were rich brown and his skin was tanned to perfection. The Titan brushed his hand over a carving of an ancient Pokémon, and he sighed wistfully, thinking of the eons that had passed them by.

How the mighty had fallen and how the great were lost to history. Time had forgotten his brethren, who the people had once worshipped as gods amongst men. Magnus lost interest in what he was doing and rose to his feet. Then he idly clicked his fingers once and a flame appeared in the palm of his left hand. Matching each other were a reddish-orange shirt and trousers. He had on knee-high amber-coloured footwear.

Turning quickly to the other members of the Trinity, Magnus posed a question, with the fire still burning brightly in his hand. "I have recently become aware that Zenas, of the three of us, has a lust for power. Don't give me that look. I have my source, Zapdos. The question is as thus: What are we going to do about it?"

"There's nothing we really can do about it," a masculine-toned telepathic voice responded brusquely. A man had materialized out of what seemed like thin air. He had the whitest of white skin, and the same could be said for his hair. The eyes were an eerie purple. In addition, he wore a white loose business shirt with matching trousers and same colour sandshoes.

"Oh dear, forgive me, Mewtwo. I must've forgotten to drop off your invitation," Magnus joked. Neither Alcina nor Zenas laughed.

The human-ized super-clone sneered and narrowed his eyes. "There is nothing to forgive. I sensed the auras of the Trinity and came to investigate. If Zapdos wants to go his own way, so be it."

Alcina decided it was time she interrupted. "But Ho-oh will not be pleased."

"Stuff Ho-oh," Zenas answered. Proceeding to flip them off, he turned and phased back. "**** everyone!" His static voice sounded, before he flew off, crashing through the treetops of the Forest.

Magnus sighed. "Well, I guess to finish this meeting off; I'll ask the remaining Legendaries what their goals are."

"Some trainers have piqued the interest of a few of us," a soft feminine-toned psychic voice answered.

When the owner of the voice didn't appear, Mewtwo stepped in. "Mew's decided to stay invisible," he replied.

"Celebi and Articuno have become fascinated with a New Bark and Pewterian-born duo respectively. Myself? A Pallet-born redhead has me spellbound. What about you, Mewtwo?" Mew continued, as though there had been no interruption whatsoever.

"He's Pallet-born, just like yours. But he has auburn hair," he responded.

"So our goal for now is to watch over these four, am I right?" Magnus asked.

"Stupid question. What do you think?" Alcina retorted.

"Why do you have to be so unfriendly all of the time? God, it's annoying." Magnus stated.

"That's enough, you two," Mew's soft, cheerful voice tinkled. "There's no need to be fighting, not now that Zenas has caused a split in the Trinity."

"You're right. Anyway, I think it's about time we got back to our respective homes. Don't you agree, Alcina?" Magnus questioned his companion.

"Too true," was all she said. She immediately left the temple and hurried on, not looking back once.

"Well, this is goodbye. See you two another time." Moltres directed his comment at Mewtwo and the invisible Mew.

"..." Silence was his only response from the super-clone.

Whereas Mew was quite happy to telepathically say farewell to the departing Titan of Fire, as Magnus left the Forest. Upon seeing Moltres leave, Mewtwo teleported away.

*****

Since Zapdos' departure, disharmony from the Trinity's split was causing abnormal weather occurrences in Sinnoh. Why Sinnoh, you may very well ask? Because that was where Rowan had travelled to, in order to receive his first Pokémon; so, when the Titan of Lightning arrived there, the after effects of the split began wreaking havoc with Sinnoh's climate.

Four weeks ago, an icy cold wind blew in from the region's east, bringing with it dark grey storm clouds that were tinged with a shade of green. The strong chilling winds filled the frigid air in Sunyshore City with snow, and the snowfall covered the walkways of the electrically powered city.

But Sunyshore wasn't the only city affected by the freak-of-nature weather. Canalave had been completely flooded and it was reported that no-one had been spared. Twinleaf had succumbed to an earthquake, Sandgem was a ghost town, Pastoria was as though a drought had been in effect for a year, and even Snowpoint was struck hard. A passing meteor had practically obliterated the seventh city.


Having set up residency in Saffron City, the fact remained that the Kantonian royal family was not of Kantonian blood. In fact, they had escaped their homeland just in time.

Now that the noble aristocrats lived in Kanto, they would have to quickly adjust to the Kantonian way of life. It was said that they had had three children but, strangely enough, only two were with them when they arrived. Rumours began spreading that the oldest had been a royal knight who had his life taken from him in the line of action.

The queen and the next oldest child, also a male, did nothing to stop these rumours – though they knew the truth. And so the Regan clan did what they could to survive in an unfamiliar region. But as the years passed, the remaining son began to harbour a desire to quit nobility and just be a normal trainer.

Wow, I must admit that this was really good. You worked incredibly hard on this, I can see the differences when I first saw it and now. I think that you got many of the things down pat that you said that you were weak at the time. :D I can see the more personal thoughts, especially within the italicized parts.

I hope for great success in this fan fiction. Good job, KL.

I'm with Sgt Shock on this one. Much better than the original. I still feel like the part where they speak in unison is weird but that could just be paranoia. Mew and Zapdos's points of view still seem rather... flimsy but again, it's nothing too worrisome. Anyway, keep writing and enjoying yourself.

Sgt Shock and winterfell, thank you very much for the reviews. I will keep improving my skills.

Without further ado, here is the actual fic...

APOCALYPTIC DAWN... re-done

A/N: Apocalyptic Dawn's influenced by a combination of my very first fic and all of my other fan-fics. The Gyms will go back to what they originally were and all evidence of Courtney and Bonnie will be erased. I know one member in particular will be annoyed with me (won't name names, but he knows who he is... -_-), but I felt this was necessary.

Disclaimer: This fan-fiction, "Apocalyptic Dawn", is rated M for violence, character deaths and moderate language. Pokémon is © Game Freak and Nintendo, 1995-2009. All other characters are © Kyuu-chan.

*-*-*-*-*

APOCALYPTIC DAWN​

Prologue:

Saffron City, autumn, 2012…

In the centre of Kanto stands the majestic Saffron City, capital citadel to the land. Nestled deep in the forbidding region's heart and partially concealed by chilly cirrus clouds, this capital's crown jewel was a fantastic castle, not unlike those of fantasy told before. It had been built to replace the old, dilapidated Silph Co. building.

Construction of the brand-new Silph Co., on the eastern side of the metropolis, was set to finish very soon. Standing the test of five years, warfare and more, Saffron Castle was the home to the Sinnohian-born royal family of the land, the Regan clan, along with their servants and advisors.

With guards and sentries rounding the borders and walkways, it seemed that it would be impossible to enter without permission. The guards who patrolled the walkways were clad in red armour that was representative of the royal military.

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do?" the youngest girl asked from across the large, dining room table. The azure-haired princess looked to the side and at Arthur, waiting for an answer.

Her mother, Eleanor, had no reply. Victoria's uniform had largely the same scheme as her mother's; the only exception was that it was adorned with a pattern invocative of deadly beauty in bright red. It was these crimson clothes that indicated the eleven-year-old's desire to be an officer in the cavalry one day.

"There's nothing you can do," Arthur replied, his fourteen-year-old face creasing in annoyance. It was clear to see he was dressed in navy-blue clothing and an amethyst-coloured cape. An expensive gold chain held the cape together. The truth was plain and simple; he was tired of being bossed around by his sister and parent. He didn't want to do the boring political work they forced upon him. "I want to leave the castle and travel around Kanto."

"It won't be so bad, Arthur," the cerulean-haired Eleanor tried to convince him. She was determined, but not as much as Arthur was. She was dressed in a white long-sleeved uniform adorned with a cold geometric pattern that embellished an R-shape on her front, the collar scraping gently below her rather gaunt jaw. "You can not go on a journey. How many times have I expressed dislike of this idea of yours?"

Arthur had had enough. "No!" He raised his voice as he slammed his fist down on the table. He rose to his feet swiftly, his royal cape flowing around him. The other hand fished a Poké Ball from an inner pocket and he held it close to him. This is it, old friend. It's time, he thought.

Eleanor sat in her chair, upset at Arthur's behaviour. "No worries, Mother," Victoria tried to comfort her mother. "He'll come around eventually." The guards were able to overhear everything that had gone on.

"Out of my way," Arthur commanded firmly, as the guards tried to block him from leaving. "Move or else!"

"I'm sorry, Arthur, but it's our duty to keep you from leaving!" one of the guards shouted as he continued to block Arthur from leaving.

Don't make me resort to using my Pokémon, the royal teen thought.

"Did you hear that?" Eleanor asked Victoria.

Victoria stood up, looking out the window. She watched as the guards tried to stop Arthur from leaving the royal palace. It's all in vain, she thought, he'll get through.

A scream was heard then, but Arthur couldn't be bothered looking back. The guards had tried to stop him, and they had paid the price. Fragments of ice littered the palace's front grounds.

Victoria held back a slight gasp as she recognized the rhombus-shaped patches of emerald-green fur and diamond-shaped ears. He used Iceheart?! That's against palace rules! She frowned and looked down at her brother in annoyance.

"What happened?" Eleanor asked, looking concerned.

Victoria said "Iceheart," and simply walked away from the window. The guards were injured, but she knew it would happen.

A figure clad all in black appeared in the palace room in a flash of blinding light. "Your command, Your Majesty?" the person asked telepathically.

"There's nothing that I can do. Just track him. For now," she replied, looking toward the ground in deep contemplation.

The Psychic nodded, before teleporting away, with "As you wish, Your Highness." fading quickly.

"Mother… will he really be okay?" Victoria questioned, looking up.

Eleanor paused for a moment, before finally speaking up, "… we can only hope."

Chapter 1: Preparing for the Adventure

Pallet Town, the next day...

The town of Pallet was relatively small in comparison to the other cities and townships in Kanto. Most of the houses were built from wood, with the exception of a row of brick houses on the eastern boundary of town, which belonged to the families with lots of money. The sun rose steadily in the sky, lighting up and warming the town as a small breeze wafted along, drying clothes which were hanging on various clotheslines and rustling leaves on trees.

Professor Oak was one of the most highly regarded Pokémon researchers in the world. He had won the Kanto region's Indigo League – a tournament held every five years at the furthest point north-west in Kanto – twice and had dedicated his life to the study of Pokémon, their habitats, lifestyles and interactions with their trainers.

Since he was always known as the most renowned Pokémon expert in the entire world, the citizens of Pallet Town had always considered it an honour that he had continued to work in his home. Visitors felt that Professor Oak's Pokémon laboratory was the only real attraction in the town. It wasn't so much a tourist attraction, but more a place where interesting Pokémon events and discoveries occurred.

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

As the sun rose even higher, shouting was heard from within a house on the eastern boundary of town.

"Josephine! If you don't get out of bed right now and come downstairs, then Eevee will have to go up there and wake you up!" shouted a forty-one year old woman with pale red hair and hazel eyes which burned with fiery impatience. She wore a bright red sleeveless top and blue three-quarter pants. This was Fiona Harris, mother of a Pokémon trainer-to-be. She was a very kind and caring person, but she didn't want her daughter to miss out on one of the most important days of her life.

The Saffron-born Fiona's expression was always half blank, as though she was trying to recall something from her past, but couldn't do so for the life of her. It was said that, while growing up, she was childhood friends with Alexis Barrett – who later went on to become the mother of the renowned Psychic Gym Leader, Sabrina. But Fiona made a fatal mistake. When Charles arrived from Sinnoh at the age of twelve, she became rivals with him.

This act in itself completely destroyed Alexis' trust in Fiona, and the raven-haired pre-teen became very distant and cold – a trait that was clearly inherited by her daughter. Fiona tried to repair the shattered pieces of the friendship, but Alexis wanted nothing more to do with the person who had betrayed her. The relationship was non-existent, nothing but smashed pieces of a mistake gone wrong.

"Oh well! Eevee, if you don't mind, could you please wake her up so that she's not late for her big adventure?" Fiona asked the creature standing next to her, who happened to be the family pet. The Pokémon was small and fox-like in appearance; his tiny body was brown in colour with creamy coloured neck fur and his face wore a hardened, serious expression. Two long, rabbit-like ears, which emanated from the top of his head, twitched periodically as he listened to the human's request.

<No problem. In fact, I would have done it myself even if you hadn't asked,> replied Eevee. The Harris' were able to understand him because he had been with them since he'd been born, which was a few years ago now.

He swiftly sprang up the wooden staircase, bounding down the long hallway, and hurled his small body against a door at the end of the hall. He glanced up at it, rushed inside and grumbled to himself, because even after making that entire racket to come to the girl's room, she still hadn't woken up.

Josephine Harris was born into a rich family as the third child of four. Unlike other children from wealthy families, she wasn't overly spoiled. As with all of the other children in Pallet, she studied at the Pokémon Trainers' Academy – or Magnet School, as it was called by others. However, instead of beginning her journey at the age of ten – which was the minimum legal age – she had refused to go anywhere because she wanted to learn more about all of the different types of Pokémon.

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

<Forgive me for this, Ho-oh, but I've got a lazy person who won't even get off her behind. Bloody hell, Josephine, wake up!> Eevee said loudly.

Seeing that he got no reaction, Eevee's eyes narrowed and an evil sort of smirk appeared on his face, as he said <Sorry, kid, you asked for it!>

After saying that, the Pokémon jumped onto the girl's bed and tore off the covers with his paws. He then placed his fluffy brown tail in front of the girl's nose and proceeded to tickle the olfactory. Moments later, a loud sneeze ripped through the air, as Josephine sat up and wondered what sort of pollen had drifted through her open window.

Seeing the brown coloured fox sitting on her bed with his tail curled around his body, she asked "Why did you do that?" seemingly appearing to forget that today she was to leave Pallet to begin her journey.

<We have to get downstairs and you need to get ready for your journey. Remember?> the fox-like Pokémon gently reminded the girl.

"You make it sound like the Pokémon Trainers' Academy. But I know that this journey is going to be a lot better. Okay, let's go," Josephine answered, smiling at the family pet.

She moved Eevee off her and jumped out bed, as she headed towards her ensuite. The red-haired girl opened the door, closing it upon entering and then turned on the water.

*****

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

She went over to her closet and removed two hangers, one of which held a bright red sleeveless top, with the other holding a sky-blue miniskirt. The teen dressed herself, before slipping her feet into a pair of brown boots, and casually placed her black sunglasses over her eyes. In the past, she had received criticism from her peers as they wondered why she had come to classes with her sunglasses on, but she ignored them, as it was just a strange mannerism of hers to do that.

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

Heading into the reasonably large kitchen and preparing herself a bowl of cereal, she spotted her mother relaxing on the cyan sofa. After eating, she then checked to ensure that her bright yellow backpack with the imprint of a Poké Ball on the side was packed. Finding out that everything was in there, she placed the breakfast bowl in the sink, ran some water in it and headed to the door.

"Honey, wait," the voices of Josephine's parents spoke up. The girl's mother rose from the sofa as her father wheeled himself into the room. The masculine-toned voice had come from Charles, Fiona's husband.

Saying goodbye was going to be difficult and sad.

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

Though Fiona opened her mouth to speak, Charles got in first. "Jose, come with me to my room, please."

Looking more than a bit bewildered, the teen replied. "Uh... okay, dad." She followed her father to his room, which was on ground level because of his disability. Josephine noticed that her parent was staring back at her as he manoeuvred himself into the right place.

Soon, Charles gave a short laugh. "You're not in trouble, if that's what you're thinking. Rather, I wanted to give you your first Pokémon. Professor Oak gave me this responsibility, for he knew on the day of your leaving that he'd be snowed under with lots of paperwork."

He opened a drawer of his office desk and pulled out a solitary crimson and white sphere. "Release the Pokémon within!" Her father barked, reminding her that he was the cousin of Volkner, the Gym Leader of Sunyshore.

Many people admired Charles Ryder Harris, and few looked down at him in scorn. Were it not for his disability, he would stand as tall as Lt. Surge, and that's saying something. Josephine's father had naturally short, wavy brown hair, slightly judgmental azure eyes, and fair skin. The man's face was clean cut and wasn't roughened as one might have expected it to be; after all, though he'd lived in a militaristic family, he had not seen war like his cousin had.

He was solidly built, for he had undergone a different type of training after the accident occurred. However, the defining feature was that paradoxical smile that reached across the entire length of his face. The smile and the slightly judgmental eyes often lead people to wonder as to if he was mentally sane. The issue that could be answered was that he is Charles Ryder Harris; Sinnohian-born, Kantonian-raised and is the father of two very fine girls – Josephine Rosalea and Natalie Rahla Harris.

As for Josephine herself, she's an individual all to her own. She doesn't really share anything in common with her parents, except her mother's red hair and hazel eyes. While growing up, she was a loner, never wanting to make any friends because she didn't see them as worthy peers. Back when her sister died, she hated her brother for his involvement and for the path of shadows he was determined to walk. In addition to that, she often vented her impatience on Rowan, when he was being cold and distant, and few things made her hyper. My, how the times have changed.

Putting Josephine to one side briefly, Natalie shares a couple of things in common with her father. She inherited the short, wavy trim – with the only difference being that hers is crimson. Along with the short hairdo, her eyes mirror that of her dad's, but with a bit more hazel from her mother. The downside is that her mother's height will be all she achieves.

"What Pokémon are you expecting it to be?" Charles queried, seeing that his daughter was still hesitating. He had a smile on his face, but luckily the teen was distracted and didn't see the expression, as he thought back on how he'd obtained this particular creature.

"I'm not sure. I'm just hoping it's a good one," she responded.

Indecisive for only a few moments longer, the teen released the Pokémon. Emerging from the Poké Ball was a creature covered in blue fuzz. Her stout feline body and short azure fur shivered in the breeze that drifted in through the open window, while her tail and ears glowed bright yellow. That would be useful in dark places, but hardly noticeable in sunlight. Hissing, the cat leaned down on her front legs, her yellow bands gleaming in the sun's rays.

Josephine gasped loudly and covered her mouth with one hand. "It's..." She trailed off, unable to believe her eyes.

"A Shinx," her father finished the sentence. "It's no ordinary feline, either. And while we're at it, it's not an 'it. The Pokémon is a female."

It had been just yesterday, amidst the shock exit of Prince Arthur from Saffron Castle, that Mike – an Aide of Professor Oak's – had come to the Harris residency. He'd given Charles the Poké Ball and made him promise not to reveal it to anyone, except his oldest daughter and only on the day of her journey. He had also mentioned that the creature within was one of four smuggled Pokémon, but wouldn't go into any more detail.

"Are you nearly finished?" Fiona's voice called out from the kitchen.

Hurriedly insisting that she return her partner to her ball, the father and daughter duo re-entered the kitchen as calmly as they could.

"It's good to see that you are finally ready. Professor Oak rang and said he wants you to meet him at his lab," Fiona told her, apprehensive that her daughter was finally setting off. She was worried that what had happened to her husband could possibly happen to Josephine as well. Her expression showed narrowed eyes and a slight frown.

Josephine stood there with a puzzled look on her face, wondering what the researcher needed to give her, but then it clicked. "Of course!" Josephine mentally slapped herself for forgetting such a simple thing.

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

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

"All right, I'll see you later, guys."

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

Just before Josephine set off, she gave her mother one last farewell hug, allowing the tears to freely flow down her cheeks.

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

After trudging along for about ten minutes, she finally arrived at the location of the building. The lab's foundations were on top of a hill that was accessible by a long stairway, which took one to the entrance of the lab. It was a two-story ivory edifice that had a maroon roof, which, from the top, allowed one to view the landscape as far as the eye could see.

There was a lake to the east of the hill and to the south was an untamed forest with no paths. The forest was cut short by an open range, which was met in the north by rocks and boulders. There were Pokémon scattered all over the landscape.

Josephine rang the doorbell and waited, because she knew that Professor Oak wouldn't be able to rush to answer the door. The wooden door opened a few minutes later.

"Ah, Josephine! Come to collect your Pokédex and Poké Balls, have you?" Professor Oak questioned.

"Yes, Professor," she replied.

"Right this way, then," he answered, as he turned and led the red-haired girl into the lab. The first thing that was seen when entering was an array of bookshelves that were stacked against the wall, stretching from one corner of the room to the other.

To the right were small computers that blinked with all sorts of dazzling lights, with the monitors scrolling down with data that she could only guess was the research that Professor Oak and his assistants had compiled.

In the middle, between the computers, was a rather large door. It was used to go out to care for or to study the Pokémon that were kept at the lab.

To the left was a very large storage room in which the Poké Balls that contained the Pokémon were kept. One could only guess how many were amassed there.

At the top of the staircase to the right of the Poké Ball storage room, the upper level was desolate except for three bookshelves that were lined up against the left wall; an enormous computer that took up the entire southern wall and finally, a small dome which was the place where the Poké Balls were kept.

"Professor, there you are! We have everyone here, sir," one of Oak's aides appeared when they entered the large room which contained the small dome.

"Very good, John. Any news of the others?"

"Rachel Savina has already been and gone, collecting her Pokémon, Pokédex and Poké Balls along the way. You already know about Paul's hasty departure," John answered.

"Good. Now, Josephine, I have a few important things to give you. They are your Pokédex and Poké Balls."

Then, the researcher handed her a large red electronic device, which looked like a calculator and five small balls. The Professor allowed Josephine the time to register her partner's data into her Pokédex.

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

"Let me explain what I handed to you before," Professor Oak began, just as the newbie trainer recalled her starter.

"The large red device that you hold in your hands is what I call a Pokédex. A lot of research by my colleagues and I was done and we were finally able to release a small hand-held device. It will record information about any wild Pokémon, including its type and special attacks. Thus, its pages will be filled."

He then pointed to the five small balls.

"These are crucial to capturing Pokémon, so please pay close attention. If you fail to capture a Pokémon with the same ball five times, it will break. Also, note that you can only carry around six Pokémon with you at any given time."

"How much do these items cost?" Josephine asked.

"About two hundred Pokédollars for each sphere… and I think the Potions are a little dearer," the researcher answered.

"I'll keep that in mind," the red-haired girl answered. "I won't let you down, Professor. I've never been more ready for anything else."

"Very good…" he replied.

She walked back through the building and out the front door, waving goodbye to Professor Oak as she did so. Then, she looked up as she began to walk down the road, away from her house. The sun was now in plain view, almost blinding from where she was standing and the grass was glimmering as the dew dropped from each blade.

Josephine's Pokémon journey, as well as the day, was just beginning. She had her first Pokémon, and already knew where she was to go next – Viridian City. Now with determination in her hazel eyes, she continued to look at the sky. As an official trainer, she then looked down at the orb which contained her partner.

"Shinx, you are my key to becoming one of the best," the teen murmured, smiling proudly.

Very nice, quite the improvement. Be careful that your descriptions don't get too long-winded or it'll bore the reader. Either way, keep it up!

Good job on the first chapter. It really sets the stage for it all. I think your description is the perfect length. Just keep improving. :D

Thanks again for the reviews, you two.

Here's Chapter 2...

Chapter 2: An Elemental Manipulator

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

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

"How long has Rowan been gone now, Mum?" Natalie asked in a high-pitched voice, as she ran into the room. The nearly ten-year-old Nat – as Josephine called her – was the youngest Harris and often wore a purple short-sleeved polo shirt and red skirt. Being just short of the minimum legal age, she was too young to receive a starter Pokémon at the moment, but would be able to start her journey soon.

"Too long," Charles cut in.

"We last heard from him five years ago," Fiona answered, sighing thoughtfully as she turned to look out the window.

*****

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

Her mother's familiar face filled the screen, with Eevee curled up on top of her head.

"Hello, dear," the image on screen said.

"Hey, Mum," the redhead answered.

"Rachel rang me the very minute you left. She said that she'd gotten in touch with Paul, and that both of them will wait for you in the Viridian City Pokémon Centre. Both of them also have one extra partner, so try to at least catch another Pokémon yourself, okay?"

The teen sighed heavily. "I'll try, Mum. Don't worry, okay?"

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

As Josephine continued walking down the path to Viridian City, the morning air was warming up and a flock of Pidgey was still twittering the dawn chorus in their melodious way. Half an hour later, after disappearing into the tall grass of Route 1 because she was getting more and more irritated at not being able to find any Pokémon, the red haired teen decided to stop and rest.

Her impatience got the better of her and she swore. "This just ****ing sucks! Why haven't I found anything yet?!" Josephine muttered out loud, as she shook her head angrily. "Where are they…?" she added, as she reached into her bright yellow backpack for the book her mother had most likely placed there. Just as she arrived at the part on Pokémon capturing, the lone Poké Ball on her belt wriggled and burst open.

The light landed on terra firma to materialize into Josephine's first ever Pokémon.

"I need your help, Shinx," Josephine murmured, while stroking the lion-cub's soft fur.

"Shii?" The Electric type asked, saying "Me?" in her language.

The fourteen-year-old redhead looked at her starter oddly. "Did you understand me? Or is it that I can't understand you?"

"Shinx Shii!" The female Shinx answered, happy that the teen had worked out that they needed to bond and be friends before the Pokémon could be understood.

Oh well, that's one problem that's been sorted out, Josephine thought. "Can you find some wild Pokémon for me?" she asked politely, though her eyes betrayed her anxiety.

"Shii!" Shinx growled, telling the red-haired teen that she was not a sniffer dog and would not degrade herself by doing something that was meant for them. To show her irritation, she spat and hissed madly.

Josephine crouched down and put one hand on the side of the female lion-cub's face. "Please, Riley? For me?"

Shinx could see Josephine's sincerity, which through her tantrum out the window. The Pokémon even recognized that the trainer had given her a nickname. Riley hesitated, murmuring "Shii…" as she did so.

Josephine opened her mouth to speak, but stopped upon noticing a Pokémon stumble into her line of sight. It was a small yellow and white shrew, which was visibly trembling. The Ground type had black eyes, a short inward curving tail and stubby, pointed ears. As it uttered drawn out, squeaky cries of "Shrew!" Josephine noticed that the poor creature was distracted and had no idea its path had brought it to a trainer.

"That's a Sandshrew!" Josephine spoke softly while referring to her Pokédex. "According to the Pokédex, they're not even supposed to be on Route 1." She flicked the device closed and glanced at the Sandshrew, before turning to her Pokémon with a firm expression on her enthusiastic face. "We can't just leave it here. We should try and capture it and take it to the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City for a health check."

The Sandshrew heard Josephine. Glaring at Riley indifferently as if to say <You aren't worth my time.>, he nevertheless straightened his posture and held up his claws, before lunging at the Shinx.

That's a Scratch attack, the red-haired girl thought. "Riley, dodge and then use Tackle!"

<I can't let them have perished for nothing. I must remain free,> the shrew thought.

Riley agilely circumvented the emotion-spurred attack. The Electric type ran forward, with her claws outstretched. She then delivered a single strike to Sandshrew's chest. Shrugging off the Tackle attack, as if it hadn't struck him at all, the clearly troubled shrew charged forward once more. It was at this moment that Josephine realized that it was more than just emotion that had goaded the Ground type into action. She knew that he would fight to the death to uphold more than just his honour.

"Shinx, Shii! Shinx, Shirar!" Riley's speech was once again out of character for the cheeky, Kantonian-born Sinnoh Pokémon. The Electric type's speech had fulfilled its intended purpose, however. His anger rising, the emotional Sandshrew leaped up and fell onto Riley, forcing her to use her claws to defend herself.

Jeez, that's gotta hurt, Josephine shook her head slightly and winced at the sight of her Pokémon crashing into a nearby tree.

"Shin!" Riley said, winded, before recovering enough to rise to her clawed paws. Sandshrew had survived the 'crash landing' as he had curled up into a ball before impact. Uncurling himself, he marched over to where Riley was and thrust a clawed paw at the Electric feline's throat, who froze at the action.

Relatively uncommunicative as he was, his lone sentence that day would be what stood out in the Shinx's mind for many a day to come. <Don't… insult… shrews.> Sandshrew's breathing was laboured and raspy, as if just saying those three words hurt that badly.

Oh-kay, I think it's time I kicked it up a notch, Josephine believed it was time to rack up a capture and be on her way to Viridian. "All right, Riley! Let's go! Give it all you've got!" the girl yelled, before Sandshrew could muster up a counter-attack.

"Shii!" The Electric feline replied decisively. The Shinx let out a frustrated cry and let loose a ferocious lunge attack that completely caught the Ground type off guard. Riley barrelled into the sandy coloured shrew and fastened her minute fangs on his throat. Clamping down, a bit of blood spurted out.

Wha-? Whoa! I didn't think Riley had it in her! Josephine looked shocked.

<You'll pay for that,> the shrew vowed mentally, as he looked himself over after pushing the cat Pokémon away. One paw defiantly wiped away a tiny amount of blood and he was starting to weaken, thanks to the throat bite. He tensed, his arms raising his sharp claws as he prepared for another attack.

Bugger, what now? The red-haired trainer thought, panicking slightly. That Sandshrew is still going strong, he's not slowing down at all! I suppose I could make use of Scratch, but still…

"Riley! Here's what we're gonna do! Dodge Sandshrew's current attack and counter with a Tackle and Leer combination!" Josephine yelled out.

"Shirar," the female feline answered.

For what she hoped was the last time today, Riley took a step forward and widened her yellow eyes. The Sandshrew opened his mouth in a silent gasp as the effects of the Leer attack seized him and he shivered involuntarily. Then, as the shrew struggled to regain his composure, Riley rushed in and, with a few well-placed bodily shoves, managed to reduce his energy even more.

<I've failed them,> was the shrew's last thought before falling to the grassy ground. One paw was all that was supporting him as he breathed arduously.

Josephine heaved an empty Poké Ball at the yellow and white being that was doubled over on the ground. After several seconds of struggling, Sandshrew finally resigned himself to capture.

"YEAH! WE CAUGHT SANDSHREW!" Josephine cheered, reaching for her newest Pokémon's containment device and smiling widely.

At that exact moment, as if it had delayed responding on purpose, Josephine's Pokédex switched itself on and recorded Sandshrew's information. "Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Ground type. To protect itself from attackers, Sandshrew curls up into a ball. They live in arid regions with minimal rainfall."

"Shrii?" Riley asked, just as Josephine face faulted.

"SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE!" the teen screamed in annoyance. "Why the hell didn't my Pokédex tell me that before I tried to catch Sandshrew?!"

As the trainer and partner Pokémon continued on down the path towards Viridian, neither of them noticed a dark-skinned figure watching their departure, while he stood behind a cedar tree. He narrowed his icy blue eyes and reflected on whether or not he should tell his boss about the latest development.

<You know you want to, Nighthawk,> a feral snarl ripped through the air. An incredibly large, undomesticated feline padded up to the person's side. He was a being of perfection and seemed even more elegant in his untamed state. His long and slender tail trailed behind him, the tip coiling slightly. The cat's soft paws made no sound on the grassy ground. Piercing crimson eyes shone with as much brilliance as the gem embedded on his forehead and his slightly darker-furred, rounded ears picked up every sound.

"Quiet Felmare." He replied, looking down at his partner. The pre-teen appeared to be more easy-going than his bloodthirsty Persian. His Mohawk-styled hair was jet black. Though only a youngster, he had a strong physique, but was still slim. Nighthawk's outfit consisted of a matching short-sleeved black shirt and long shorts. Fluttering behind him in the wind, and fastened around his neck with a silver chain, was a black cape. Lastly, imprinted on the inside of his right wrist was the tattoo of a black hawk.

The dark-skinned twelve-year-old plucked a sphere off his belt and threw it into the air. A yellow, bipedal, fox-like creature appeared from the Poké Ball. She appeared to have two long, fur-like whiskers around her mouth that fell down to the mid-portion of her slender body. In each hand, the creature held a silver spoon. She twirled these spoons, while waiting for her master's orders.

"Scyla, follow that girl." He commanded and gazed into her brown eyes for a couple of minutes.

<Yes, Master Nighthawk.> An echoing, feminine-toned voice answered.

The Alakazam teleported away moments later, with the image and conversation about the girl still fresh in her mind.

<What are you intending to do with that girl, Ace?> Felmare spat, as he gouged his claws into the yielding soil.

Felmare had overstepped the personal boundary. Influencing the water around him by making a series of complex hand movements, Nighthawk overloaded the Persian's senses and threatened to drown him.

"Do not call me that!" He hissed through gritted teeth. His frosty blue eyes narrowed. "You know the rules! Address me as either Nighthawk or Master! Do you understand?!"

Unable to speak for fear of getting the loathed liquid in his lungs, Felmare simply nodded, his scarlet eyes wide with shock. Placing his hands together and then thrusting them down and out, Nighthawk dispersed the water that he was able to control so very easily.

For several long moments, Felmare sat crouched over, breathing heavily as if it was his last day alive. As he began to recover, he glared up at Nighthawk. <There was no need to use your spell-casting abilities on me, master!>

The twelve-year-old snorted in contempt. "I did what had to be done. You disrespected the level of my authority. Now, in response to your question, I want to analyze her abilities and see if she's as good as her mother."


Meanwhile, the red-haired teen – who was the topic of the conversation – had currently stopped. "You're such a cutie!" Josephine squealed, not even stopping to think about how Professor Oak had obtained her Shinx.

Crouching down, the teen gently rubbed the feline on her head; in response, the female Shinx purred happily and nuzzled in closer against the girl's soft touch. This moment of happy bonding continued for some time, until Josephine looked at her digital watch and exclaimed in surprise. "Look at the time! I suppose we better keep heading towards Viridian City. I don't wanna keep Rachel and Paul waiting too long."

In holding up the red and white sphere in front of her partner's face, the unspoken question of 'did she want to go back inside?' was raised. Shinx shook her head, indicating that she didn't want to return to its confines at the moment.

*****

"Mission status, Zenas?" a low voice emanated from a walkie-talkie.

A tall young man with spiky yellow hair swiftly answered. "Preparations are nearly complete. An ex-student of Koga's will move in and carry out his assigned task tonight," he responded. His voice was husky and he spoke in a hushed tone as he nonchalantly leaned against a wall.

"Excellent job, well done," the other man replied, before moving onto specifics. "Start wrapping things up and come back to HQ. Besides that, where are you?"

"I'm leaning on a wall of Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet Town."

"Just hurry up. I'll check back for your status later."

With the last command given, the walkie-talkie went silent.

*****

At the Viridian City Police Station, two police-trained Rapidash were tethered to a railing. Their fine white coats glistened in the afternoon sunlight. But what caught the eye more were the flames, seemingly leaping off of the Pokémons' haunches, from the tip of their tails to the top of their heads. The heads were held high, with the fine-tipped horns pointed straight for the heavens, while enshrouded with the tremendous manes of fire.

One of the equine Pokémon, a quiet-natured stallion, turned his majestic head and spoke rapidly to the mare in Spanish. <Tan oyó usted las noticias de nuestros dueños? El rumor lo tiene ese Cohete de Equipo ha tenido una resurrección. ¡Cómo horrorizar! A semejanza de miradas habrá mucho más patrulla de ahora en adelante.>

<Damn it, Rodrigo! Speak English, for hoof's sake!> The mare snapped back, rolling her eyes in frustration.

<As you wish, la dama Penelope,> Rodrigo replied, using his Spanish charm to get the mare to look at him. <I said, "So did you hear the news from our owners? Rumour has it that Team Rocket has had a resurrection. How horrifying! Looks like there'll be a lot more patrols from now on.">

<Indeed, there will be more patrols,> Lady Penelope countered, her irritation slowly fading. Raising her head slightly, she recognized the figures of their owners walking briskly out of the station. <Look sharp, Rodrigo!> she snorted.

"Ready the units, Officer Prius!" A feminine-toned voice commanded as the two officers mounted their chargers, after untying them.

"Yes, ma'm!" A young male answered back, in the same sharp, crisp tone befitting a member of the police force.

"You will be in charge of the Viridian and Pewter units. Failure is not tolerated!" The woman, clearly of a higher rank than the newly enlisted policeman, ordered.

"Understood, ma'm!" Officer Prius shouted, before convincing Rodrigo to set off with a flick of the reins.

*****

Hiding behind a cedar tree was a shadowy figure. He continued to observe the red-haired teen as he crept closer and closer.

"Shirar!" the female Shinx's cry was urgent, as her trainer heard a twig break and jerked herself around to be confronted by a man. Sporting black hair, he appeared to be of foreign descent. Snugly fitted on his face was a pair of black-rimmed reading glasses. He wore a long sleeved gray striped business shirt and blue denim shorts, with the whitest of white sandshoes covering his feet.

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

"Shii," Riley uttered a drawn-out growl as she expressed her intense dislike for this man. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

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

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

"Riley, Juri – get ready!" the redhead instructed, finally giving her Sandshrew a nickname. "How DARE you speak to me like that?! I'll have you know that I graduated second in my class and I could easily thrash you, you noob!" Having been insulted by the stranger, Josephine was really riled up. One hand was in a clawing position, and the other had been thrust upon her hip.

<He's in for it now…> Riley thought, tensing her muscles in readiness for battle. Weakened as he was, it appeared as though Juri had regained a small amount of strength as he burst out of the Poké Ball and took his place beside the female Shinx.

"You two, it is go time!"

Both Pokémon stepped up next to their trainer, with Riley having small sparks of electricity shoot from her azure fur as she bared her teeth.

"You want battle, hey?" the man taunted Josephine, before releasing the only two Pokémon he possessed.

A flash of red energy revealed a bipedal, tapir-shaped creature with a lazy face and appearance. It waved its four fingered hands around in a circular motion, making the air distort slightly. The bottom half of its body, other than its toes, was black and the rest of it was golden.

The other Pokémon was a black dog-like being with a tan muzzle. It snapped and barked loudly, showing sharp white teeth with drool dripping from them. Upon seeing that its opponents were the diminutive Shinx and Sandshrew, the Houndour prepared for a battle.

"The name Jin, by the way," the man finally publicized his name.

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Josephine replied sarcastically.

"Get them!" Jin commanded his two Pokémon.

"Riley, Juri – Bite and Scratch!"

The female Shinx ran towards the Drowzee and bit into his flesh firmly, while the male Sandshrew lunged at the Houndour, scratching the Dark and Fire type canine several times before a small storm of embers forced him to back away.

Drowzee's black eyes widened upon feeling Riley bite him and the Psychic type retaliated with a blue blast of mental energy that is the technique known as Confusion. The move sent the Electric type flying backwards, but her hind paws dug into the soil, which slowed her movements and prevented her from crashing into an oak tree.

"Tackle and Scratch! Keep it up, you two! You're going great!" Josephine congratulated her partners.

The redhead's two Pokémon swapped targets. As Riley rammed her head into Houndour's side, it caused the small canine to become winded. He lay on all fours, trying to get his breath back.

"Quick, Riley! Thunder Fang Houndour!" the teen instructed, not wanting to lose the advantage she had.

The female Shinx wasn't about to let that happen and she bit into the thick black fur, releasing electricity into the dog's nervous system. A choked gasp came from Houndour's mouth as an electric shock flowed through his body. Having recovered from the earlier attack, Houndour retaliated with an Ember firestorm. Riley tried to dodge it, but she ended up taking a glancing blow. She responded by unleashing another Thunder Fang on Houndour, which proved to be the final straw for the Dark and Fire type. He fainted in front of Riley, his energy completely spent.

Working as a team, albeit Juri was a bit unwilling, Riley and the male Sandshrew now advanced on Drowzee. The Psychic type was proving to be particularly difficult in defeating.

Feinting to the left, Riley was able to trick Drowzee and she quickly lunged in from the right. She used Bite on the Psychic type's arm once again, while Juri madly scratched his opponent until his eyes rolled backwards in his head and he collapsed on his back.

"WHOOHOO!" Josephine screamed happily. "I won!" she declared proudly.

Realizing Jin wouldn't give her any prize money, she continued a little way down the path. She stopped and looked back at him, as he was sitting on the side of the path, defeated. "Don't ever underestimate a Pokémon trainer on a mission," she said to him, feeling really proud of herself.

Continuing on down the path a bit more, Josephine heard a clip-clopping sound. Before she could even wonder about who Jin really was, a Rapidash came into sight, carrying a policewoman.

Dressed in a suit, which showed off various shades of blue, the woman dismounted her steed. "Good day to you. I'm Superintendent Tyler from the Viridian City Police Station. I heard that there was a suspicious person in the area. Could you tell me where they may have gone?"

Suspicious person? Josephine thought. I've only battled one person today and… of course! Jin! "I'm only a beginner trainer, but I battled a stranger who seemed very suspicious. I left him just back there," she replied, pointing behind her.

Remounting her Rapidash, the policewoman questioned the teen for her name and the red-haired girl readily gave it. Superintendent Tyler then thanked Josephine for her help and asked that she pass on a message to Paul. The message being that Tyler wanted Josephine to tell Paul, who she revealed as her son, that she would visit him soon. After Josephine agreed to be the message-bearer, the woman rode off.

An hour later, Josephine was thankfully nearing Viridian City – her already-meagre supplies were running low. She sighed when she saw the city and its lights. Josephine decided to spend the night at the Pokémon Centre and buy her supplies in the morning. The red-haired girl caught a glimpse of a building with a crimson roof and quickly ducked inside. The teen stood inside, pausing to catch her breath.

Looking around, she noticed Rachel lying on one of the red sofas, with Paul on the Internet. Who knows what he's looking up, Josephine thought.

A nurse behind the counter spoke up. She had cerise hair and wore a white nurses' uniform with pink lacing. "This is the Viridian City Pokémon Centre. How may I help you?"

Walking hurriedly over to the desk, she handed the two occupied spheres to the pink-haired woman who was Nurse Joy. "I'm Josephine and am a beginning Pokémon trainer. Could you please examine my Pokémon? My Sandshrew needs some extra care," the teen explained, and Joy nodded, before taking the two orbs out to the back room.

Hearing Josephine's voice made Rachel jump slightly. "Huh? Oh hey, it's Josephine!" She got off the sofa and hurried over to her friend. The tall girl walked forward, her long lavender-coloured hair flowing behind her. She looked relaxed and comfortable in her outfit – a bright red zip-up skin-tight jumper and navy blue shorts.

"What took so long?" the violet-haired girl asked.

"Ah, I got caught up in some adventures." Josephine answered.

"What sort of adventures?" Paul questioned, coming over from getting off the Internet. The boy was of an average height and he had spiky, auburn-coloured hair. He wore a grey shirt and baggy purple pants. On each of his wrists was a purple sweatband and cupped in his right hand were two red and white spheres.

"They were exciting enough, I'll put it that way," the teen responded, not going into too much detail.

Paul raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more.

Nurse Joy then spoke up in her trademark soft voice. "Your Pokémon are ready, Josephine."

"Thanks," she answered, taking her Poké Balls and attaching them to her belt. Yawning, Josephine turned to Nurse Joy and asked if there were any spare rooms available. At this, Paul and Rachel went to their own rooms. Upon receiving an affirmative response, Josephine struggled upstairs to room B625. She unlocked the door and the exhausted trainer merely crawled into the bed that was available, falling asleep almost straight away.

Here is Chapter 3...

A/N: Full credit goes to Blah, now known as Raaji, for his help with the Scyla VS Josephine/Sabrina battle. Thanks mate.

Chapter 3: La pesadilla en el Paraíso de Kantonian
(In English, that translates to "Nightmare in Kantonian Paradise").

That night, it was very quiet and darkness covered the land of Kanto. Very few lights illuminated the various cities and townships across the widespread region. In Viridian City especially, the Pokémon Centre was absolutely silent; so much so, that the stillness was piercing. It was thanks to this silence that a Pokémon belonging to a member of the opposition was able to make her way into the room in which Josephine and her partners were sleeping.

Her tall, bipedal form stood silently as her black eyes rested on the sound asleep form of the fourteen-year-old redhead. The Pokémon's long whiskers trembled not from tension or excitement as some might have assumed, but from mental laughter. She had been assigned this task earlier in the day and, despite knowing it would be too easy, was determined to stay on the girl's trail. This proved to be the easiest job the Psychic type had ever had. With a puff of grey smoke, the yellow fox-like creature dematerialized.

When Josephine awoke the next morning, it was not to Riley jumping up and down on the bed. Rather, it was to the belief that she was in a black hole of nightmares. The female Shinx glanced at her trainer and immediately sensed something was very wrong. Dark circles indicating sleeplessness were underneath her once bright eyes and parts of her crimson hair either were stuck in clumps or lay flat.

"Where am I?" She demanded, appearing to come to her senses.

<...> Silence was all Juri replied with.

<You're in your room in Viridian City's Pokémon Centre. There was a Psychic type in here last night.> Riley answered, rolling her eyes briefly at the Sandshrew's indifference. Being an early riser had its advantages, with the black and azure feline quickly and easily smelling the scent left behind.

Facing the Pokémon, the teen questioned the Shinx. "A Psychic type? Which one?"

<The smell was unmistakably that of an Alakazam,> came the response.

"Hmm... an Alakazam materialized in here and then teleported away? Great, it could be anyone's Alakazam," the red-haired girl exhaled heavily in frustration.

<Not just anyone's Alakazam,> Riley pointed out. <It had a hint of darkness about it.>

The cloned cat looked pointedly at her trainer.

Josephine stared back until the realization dawned on her. "No," she breathed. "I wondered why I felt as though I was being watched yesterday..."

*****

With Felmare lying as though asleep, but really just pretending, Nighthawk chose not to face Scyla as the trio hung around in Team Rocket's headquarters.

<Master Nighthawk, I have ascertained that, regardless of being a beginner, she is just as good as her mother. It appears as though she inherited the psychic abilities Lady Grey gave to her mother, but at this point in time they lie dormant. Mew can awaken them, but only Sabrina can help her control them. How should we proceed?> The Alakazam gave the results of her trailing of Josephine.

"Keep following her. Challenge her to a battle even," Nighthawk answered. "What of her Pokémon?"

<A Shinx and a Sandshrew – cloned and traumatized respectively.>

Felmare lifted his head in interest at this point. <The Shinx is cloned, you say? What was its base signature?> His questions were naturally spat out in savageness.

<Her signature links back to the laboratory underneath this city's Pokémon Mart,> Scyla replied, emphasizing the feline's gender.

Nighthawk turned fully to properly face the Psychic fox. "She was stolen, in other words?"

<Yes, but by whom I can not determine.> The Alakazam responded truthfully, as her loyalty required her to.

"Very well. I will look into this matter. Follow my instructions and challenge the girl. Go now." Nighthawk turned away once more, glimpsing only the grey smoke that signalled Scyla's departure.


Elsewhere in the building, albeit on the fourth floor, a meeting was underway in Rowan's office. The room was relatively clean. A technologically-advanced computer sat on a long table which was littered with a couple of magazines, a box filled with doughnuts and a walkie-talkie. At the other side of the room was another desk this time with many small screens stacked on one another. The surveillance system being used was superior as well.

Rowan himself was dressed in a red skin-tight business shirt, with blue denim trousers covering his lower half. His long red hair was done in a pony-tail and his hazel eyes shone with a ferocity that Pandora hadn't seen before.

The Kantonian Team Rocket leader looked at the Pokémon he'd released several minutes ago. A sleek and arrogant Glaceon turned his head to the illusion Palkia was showing them, and narrowed his opaque emerald-green eyes. His sky-blue fur started to stand on end and the azure fur on his forehead shone like frozen snow. Slightly annoyed at the expression Pandora was giving him, the Ice type fox shook his diamond-shaped ears and the rhombus-shaped patches of light green fur on his body glinted in the sunlight which was streaming in from the window.

"Now can I ask why you're here?" Rowan began, getting straight to the point. His eyes analyzed the woman's every movement.

"As I'm sure you're aware," Pandora started. "Athena left our Johto force and has sided with a group known as Johto Destroyers. They're supposedly led by Giovanni's son. What did they call him again? Ah yes, Silver."

"Hmm..." The seventeen-year-old answered impassively. "What did you want me to do about it?"

Pandora looked at her counterpart, slightly taken aback at his response. "Stop them, is what I want you to do. Because of Athena's obsession with Celebi, Silver wants to capture the Time Traveller and take everything back to before anything was created. If his first plan didn't work, then he would force her – yes, I view Celebi as a female – to fast-forward time to the destruction of all four regions."

<Master,> the Glaceon used Pokéspeech in a haughty manner. <That sounds quite treacherous. I think we should help our ->

Sighing heavily and placing a hand on his temple, the teenaged leader gazed at his partner. "Icestorm, I've told you again and again – when I'm in a meeting, don't interrupt." Turning his attention back to Pandora, he asked for forgiveness. "I'm sorry; he has a habit of being stuck-up and interrupting conversations."

The human-ized Palkia waved off the apology. "It's not anything to worry about, Rowan."

"Before creation or the destruction of the regions, hmm?" Rowan thought out loud, before nodding his head resolutely. "I've decided, Pandora. My team will help yours defeat the Johto Destroyers."

"You will? Oh, thank you!" She exclaimed, as a smile crossed her face.

"When do you want us to move in?"

Pandora had reached the doorway of Rowan's office by that point, but turned around. "As soon as possible," she answered. As she made her way out of the building altogether, she thought back to that judgment the High Legendary council had placed upon Apollonir.

After hearing the High Legendary council over-rule his position of power, Apollonir had used Pokéspeech to throw a curse at Dialga. It was a curse that made the Lord of Time forever an outcast, unable to return neither to Sinnoh nor to his place in the council. Pandora was utterly shocked when she learned of the after-effects. Ultimately, however, Dialga's curse was why she and Apollonir had moved to Johto.

Pandora suspected that Dialga was in Johto, but as to what he was doing, she couldn't be sure. She just hoped he wouldn't get involved in the wrong thing as an act of revenge on Apollonir.

*****

Twenty minutes later, our heroine emerged from the shower, dressed in a matching outfit of a red short-sleeved shirt and three-quarter pants. Her long crimson hair was specially done up in a single, braided pony-tail and she placed her black sunglasses on, after adjusting the height of her socks.

Prior to leaving the Centre, Josephine went and said farewell to Nurse Joy, which she suspected very few trainers did. She then headed in a northerly direction which would take her to the beginning of Route 2 and, ultimately, an unexpected shock. It was already growing quite cold and the teen found herself very thankful for having had the foresight to wear her grey jumper today.

For about half an hour, the teen and Riley walked without much incident. Eventually, the red-haired girl started feeling edgy and worried, as she kept glancing around at her surroundings. She found a nice patch of lush green grass and sat down, pulled off her bag and dug around for some food and water.

"What do you think, Riley?" Josephine questioned, handing her part of the doughnut. The redhead was able to understand Riley's tone of Pokéspeech, thanks to four years of living with her family's serious-natured Eevee.

<Why, thank you, Josephine. These are one of the best foods ever,> the female Shinx meowed contentedly as she ripped into the round, cinnamon-coated snack.

"Any good?"

<Of course,> Riley looked up at her trainer with flecks of cinnamon dotted all over her light blue face.

"Yeah, food is just food to me." She stood up and put everything away, before shouldering her backpack and kept walking with Riley following closely.

Without prior notice, a grey haze appeared and Josephine stopped, taking a few steps back. "Riley...?"

The only response she received from the female Shinx was a guttural growl. Hastily, she whipped around to see that her partner's yellow eyes were narrowed in a defensive way and her hackles had risen.

An Alakazam emerged from the murky smoke. <You are hereby challenged to a battle,> the Psychic Pokémon declared telepathically.

Josephine thrust her right arm to the side, in a negating manner. "Who are you?! Were you the one who was in my room at the Pokémon Centre last night, watching me sleep?!"

<If you will not bring your other Pokémon partner out, then I will bring him out for you,> the yellow fox ignored Josephine's demands.

"JUST ANSWER MY QUESTIONS, DAMN IT!"

Again, the supernaturally-aligned creature took no notice of the girl's annoying yell. Sighing mentally, her brown eyes took on a cyan glow and the crimson and white sphere was lifted off the teen's belt. Using her powers to press the ball's middle button, the indifferent Sandshrew was called forth from his containment device.

<What a weak Pokémon,> the Alakazam stood in a relaxed position, staring down her opponent. <Your go.>

"Hey, hey, hey! Not so fast!" Josephine shouted, sensing Juri would refuse to battle. "This match will be between you and Riley. You understand what to do, don't you girl?"

<I do,> Riley answered, with teeth bared and small sparks flying from her fur. She advanced on her much bigger opponent. <This is personal, fox.>

<Ha! You can't be serious. Don't you have a stronger Pokémon? Oh well, let's do this.> an aura of energy flowed between her fingertips as she readied herself.

True to his nature, Juri simply curled up into a ball and rolled to one side, out of harm's way. The teen made a mental note to try and have a talk with him later to find out what was wrong. For now, however, she focused on the battle - despite the mismatched power levels.

Riley feinted to the left, and then came in from the right to attempt a Thunder Fang on the Alakazam. Alakazam quickly teleported behind her enemy and brought a sharp slash across the Shinx's back. A Psycho Cut.

<Is that the best you got?> She taunted.

"Alakazam! Tell me who the hell you are?!" Josephine yelled, trying to determine why the Psychic fox had been observing her sleep. "Riley, are you okay?" she added, seeing her partner wince as she rose to her feet.

Scyla ignored the annoying girl as she levitated the Shinx into the air and slammed it into the ground. <Come on, do something, you can't be that weak.>

Hearing the mental laughter only made the redhead more aggravated. "That does it!" Without thinking of any consequences, the fourteen-year-old charged at the yellow creature.

<Josephine... don't...> Riley's breathing was heavy and gasping, but it was too late. Her trainer was almost upon the opposing Pokémon.

Scyla simply stopped the human with her psychic powers and levitated her; she then put pressure around the girl's neck. <And what do you think you can do?!> Scyla released the girl and threw her to the ground. <Go back to commanding your Pokémon.>

Materializing without warning, a young, raven-haired adult ran to the teen's side and helped her up. "It's you," she began. "You're the one I sensed being born in 1998. You're one of the Rising Chosen."

Shaking her head, Josephine thanked the stranger for her help. "I'm in way over my head," the girl explained. She rubbed her neck, grimacing in pain as she remembered how her throat had been telepathically constricted.

<Sabrina? What are you doing here?!>

Turning her cold crimson stare on the Pokémon, the Psychic Leader answered the fox's question. "That's none of your damn business, you traitor. If I had known Nighthawk would send you to do errands like these, I would have done something about that kid ages ago."

<Oh, now someone's hostile. I can defeat you as easily as this weakling.> She looked towards the young girl in the same direction.

Sabrina snorted dismissively. "Don't be so sure."

Scyla grinned. <Bring it. You better get that girl out of the way while you're at it. We wouldn't want anything unfortunate happening, would we?>

"My powers have grown exponentially since I last saw you," the Leader responded, matching her former partner's grin with a sadistic leer of her own. Nevertheless, she used her abilities to remove Josephine and her Pokémon from the field in which a powerful mental struggle was about to begin. They had been teleported back to Viridian City, where Sabrina would look them over when she'd finished her battle with the enemy.

<Are you gonna send out your Pokémon or what?>

"I have no need to do that," came the frosty response. It was at that exact moment that she released her full manifestation. Her eyes took on a cyan glow and her entire body radiated with an azure aura.

Scyla didn't hesitate to release a ball of psychic energy at her opponent at that instant, which she thought she should have done before Sabrina had time to prepare.

Dematerializing in a split-second and appearing behind the Alakazam, Sabrina raised her right hand and clenched her fingers into a ball. The enemy fox staggered backwards, overwhelmed by how strong her former owner now was.

<Damn!> she exclaimed, surprised. She took a sharp jump back and put up a barrier to help protect her from attacks.

"If you think that's going to stop me, think again." The Leader used a mental spear to break Scyla's shield.

Scyla realized her opening and struck, sending a sharp strike of psychic energy Sabrina's way.

"Pfft!" A sound of derision came from the raven-haired woman, as she thrust her hand in front of her and casually made a circular motion with it. This laid-back action instantly created a shield for her own uses.

Scyla charged a dark ball of energy and sent it to the ground, throwing up a large cloud of dust blocking the Leader's sight. She then focused and charged up another attack, sending the ball of energy through the dust.

Seeing the Alakazam stop in her tracks made Sabrina suspicious. Before she could do anything, it immediately dawned on her that Scyla must've received a telepathic message. <My name is Scyla and I remain loyal to Master Nighthawk's purposes,> the Alakazam stated, before intoning something. Focusing her attention back on the enemy fox, Sabrina was just in time to see the opposition dematerialize.

*****

Rowan stood in front of the other Team Rocket members in their Viridian City headquarters. "Later today," he began, "we will be moving our forces across to Johto to help our allies over there against a group known as Johto Destroyers. This new organization plans to misuse Celebi's powers to either go back to before anything was created or fast-forward time to the destruction of all four regions. I can not allow that to happen. Four of you will be left behind to watch over Kanto.

Nighthawk, Lady Grey, Crimson Lightning and Sunray Striker are now responsible for what happens in Team Rocket's name. Lady Grey, you might want to destroy any remaining evidence of Project: Psychosa you have left. Something tells me the Kantonian Police are going to initiate a crackdown on this place while the rest of us are gone.

Sunray Striker, I'm sure you've heard that our rogue Prince has a Psychic tracker on his tail. Deal with the tracker, if you please. Nighthawk, kindly rein in Scyla. Her psychic attack on a trainer – albeit a Rising Chosen – will not sit well with the girl's mentor. Last but not least, Crimson Lightning. Use that Charizard of yours to make an inferno out of the Viridian Forest. You lot have your orders. Everyone else should be ready to leave in two hours. Dismissed!"

As the un-named Commanders, Admins, and Grunts hurried off, Rowan sat down in his expensive, reclining red leather chair and relaxed. Nighthawk and his companions had left by this point and the seventeen-year-old leader contemplated on what was to come.

I will be strengthening the forces of our Johto allies, but is this really the right thing to do? Though, to overwhelm Johto Destroyers, both sides of Team Rocket must unite. This, surely, is the only way to defeat the new organization. However, I sense that Pandora's second-in-command is harbouring too much spite and it will one day rub off on her. That concerns me.

*****

With her instructions given and understood, Sunray Striker now stood in the place where Scyla had once been. It seems Scyla's revealed who she's allied with. This changes things, Lairvo.

<Indeed it does, Mistress Striker. The secrets of the Rising Chosen will be revealed,> the Psychic Pokémon responded in an accented, feminine-toned manner.

"That aside," the assassin answered. "Our mission is to find this Psychic tracker who's trailing the Prince. Find the Prince and we'll find the tracker. Simple as that."

After saying that, Sunray Striker disappeared into the shadows like the cold-hearted ninja she was.

Here's Chapter 4. Please, people. I need reviews...

Chapter 4: Secrets of the Rising Chosen

Your mother was a victim of a science experiment done unto her by Team Rocket's leading scientist, Sabrina thought as she quietly sat in the room Josephine had booked in the Pokémon Centre later that day, watching the red-haired teen sleep. A nurse of the Viridian City Hospital had examined the fourteen-year-old and announced that she was fit to travel, after only finding minor bruising to the neck. The Gym Leader's intentions were nowhere near what Scyla's had been; rather, the young adult felt the need to protect this girl and mentor her.

Josephine's partner, the Shinx named Riley, lay curled as close to her trainer as she could possibly get. It was evident that the beating that Scyla had given the poor creature was distressing her badly. Her feline body twitched and jerked involuntarily, but what intrigued Sabrina the most was the two words Riley uttered in Pokéspeech. <Skyshadow... poachers...>

Miss Barrett was no Healer, but she nevertheless placed her hand on Riley's furry head, wanting to know what the cat Pokémon was dreaming about. Instantly, she was taken back to what appeared to be a past life. Beautiful scenery, in addition to the road that lead to Sunyshore, indicated that this memory was of Sinnoh before the region was destroyed.


"Pay attention, Rachel!" A tall, older teen reprimanded the lavender-haired girl in a different room of the Centre. She fiddled with her two black, braided pony-tails as her brown eyes observed Rachel. Running one hand through the strand of hair that flopped down over her left eye, the other limb checked the position of the hair clip that was attached to the right side of her head.

The older teenager had an athletic look about her, aside from the fact that she was minimally dressed. It was a white long-sleeved shirt with an azure bow fixed to the bottom of the neck area of the top, a short brown skirt and a cobalt jumper tied around her waist. Blue-and-white striped socks had been put over her feet, which were protected by brown slip-on shoes.

"Rachel Stacey Savina, I am here for a reason!" Candice Frost raised her voice, becoming increasingly irritated by the violet-haired teen's playing with her starter.

Lorelei Winters would have been the one to visit Rachel, were it not for the fact that she was investigating something in Hoenn. But since the former Ice type expert of the Elite Four was unavailable, Candice had offered in her place.

Exhaling audibly, Rachel turned to the former Leader of Snowpoint City. "Nobody calls me by my middle name unless I'm in trouble, okay? Now what is this reason?" Her exaggerated emphasis on the word 'reason' only annoyed the eighteen-year-old Ice master even more.

"As I'm sure you're aware, your friend – Josephine – and her starter Pokémon were attacked earlier today by an Alakazam belonging to a top Team Rocket Admin, Nighthawk. The four of you will-"


A very tall, pre-middle-aged man continued in a dignified tone in a third room. The style of his amethyst-coloured hair was bobbed at the bottom and two tresses sat over the left side of his face. He flicked his head to one side, causing the position of not only his mauve-tinted sunglasses to be disturbed, but the two locks as well.

Lucian had a Coordinator look about him, contrasting the fact that he was actually an Elite Four member. His clothes consisted of a black shirt, with a maroon over-shirt that had a white triangle imprinted in the upper-left corner, as well as burgundy trousers. The trousers went all the way down to his black footwear, which prevented anyone from seeing what colour socks he wore.

"-be trained by each of us. Sabrina will mentor Josephine, Candice Rachel, Will Paul and I you. You'll be expected to have a fair amount of control over your powers before you reach Cerulean City. Is that-"


"-clear? Yes? Moving on, then. Training will start tonight, after Josephine is feeling better. I expect the lot of you to meet us at the Viridian Training Hall at 7:30 PM sharp." Will was the one who had just spoken in the fourth room. He was of an average height and in his early thirties. His lilac-coloured hair was styled to lie on the left side of his face while the other half hung limply on the right side. The Johton Elite Four member fixed the position of his black mask, which was more for show than anything else.

Will had an unquestionable Psychic aura about him, in so much that his outfit consisted of a long-sleeved mauve shirt, with a black overcoat that had four, large gold buttons sewn on in the middle, as well as lavender trousers. A smirk crossed his normally detached face when he noticed Paul staring at his pants, for it was easy to tell that the boy was wondering why he had black slip-on shoes with all of that purple on him.


Back in Josephine's room, Sabrina slowly withdrew her hand from the Shinx's head, after learning of what had happened to Skyshadow. A tear threatened to trickle from her eye, but she hurriedly wiped it away with the other limb. Until the time is right, Riley, the Leader directed her comment solely at the feline. Keep the secret safe.

<I will,> the Pokémon muttered, still fast asleep.

*****

In the reception area of the Rocket headquarters, Nighthawk faced his Psychic partner. "I heard you attacked the girl, Scyla."

<But-> Scyla tried to explain, but was interrupted.

"No buts!" Nighthawk raised his voice. "I said challenge her, yes? Challenge, but not attack."

<She->

"SHUT IT, SCYLA!" the Admin lost his temper and slapped the Alakazam. "Return to your Poké Ball, now. You will be taken to the monitoring room in the R&D laboratory. If you even attempt to break free, I will be the first to know."

The dark-skinned twelve-year-old held up the bipedal fox's sphere but, instead of returning to it like she had been told, Scyla immediately teleported away as a tear trickled out of one of her brown eyes.

"SCYLA!" Nighthawk's yell echoed throughout the near-vacant building, alerting the other codenamed members that something had displeased the young Admin.

*****

The Pokémon's miniscule ears twitched at the voices on the other side, echoes resonating through the walls. Holding her head up high, the fairy held out her short arms, glowing in a soft sea green aura. Steadily, her body stretched and curved until the bare feet touched the ground, the arms having grown into a slender shape outward, and fingers reaching gracefully for the door.

Pale green hair cascaded in soft waves down the back and over the shoulders and bosoms. A body-length dress of a stunning jade colour stitched itself into view at the throat's base, twirling around her form until frilling at the ankle, spreading outward like a skirt. The sleeves skipped the shoulders, leaving them bare as it ruffled past the wrists lengthily. When the transformation finished, the woman's eyes opened, her irises a sparkling blue. They shone beautifully, yet eerily, in the night.

It was approaching 7:30 PM and Celebi, who had consented to assume not only a human form but take a human name as well, was the second-last person to arrive at Viridian's Training Hall. Everyone else, with the exception of Josephine, had arrived earlier.

"Where is Josephine?" Sabrina's question to Mia, otherwise known as Mew, came across as short.

Mia was a slender being and her long pink hair was done up in a ponytail which cascaded onto small shoulders. She was dressed in a cherry blouse and a long cerise skirt, with the woman's elegance increased tenfold by the flowing effect of her garments. Her hands were as white as a ghost's and her lips formed a smile when she responded.

"Riley's having some issues," the human-ized Mew explained, in her usual cheery tone. "The poor creature is afraid she will get beaten up again."

In the middle of narrowing her eyes in concern that Riley had forgotten the promise she'd made to her, Sabrina gasped softly.

"That was her first loss," Mew answered, as if Sabrina had asked her another question. "But I'm sure she'll be able to recover from it."

"Should I go and get them?" the Psychic type Leader inquired, genuine worry for the Shinx showing on her face.

Mia smiled. "There's no need for that. Here they come now," she responded as the fourteen-year-old and her starter came through the entrance doors of the Training Hall.

Reading Will's mind in a split-second, Sabrina rushed to avoid a confrontation which would leave Josephine feeling even more despondent. Don't you dare say anything! You hear me?! She's experienced something that never should've happened to her, so just leave her alone!

Exaggerating an annoyed mental sigh, Will responded abruptly. Yeah, yeah. Can we get on with this already?!

We can, Sabrina answered.

Josephine went and stood beside a teenage girl whom she didn't know. The other girl's brown hair was long with blonde foils in it and the tresses blew to one side as a gust of wind came in from one of the building's many open windows. A dark amethyst shirt and cerulean shorts were her outfit. Adorned upon her left wrist was a light lavender and grey digital watch. Underneath the accessory, protecting the arm from sweat, was an indigo and yellow sweatband which had been given to the girl by her mother.

A small, auburn-coloured feline with darker patches encompassing her entire body sat in front of the girl. Her two pointy ears twitched, her sly eyes darted from left to right, and her small reddish brown nose perked in the direction of the wind as she observed her surroundings. She was obviously built for speed, with four long, strong legs just ready to recoil, jetting their owner into a pounce, a lunge, or a quick chase. And topping it off at the rear, there swayed a tail, brushing back and forth slowly but steadily, as the flame on the tip blazed with intensity.

Sabrina gazed at the trainers and decided everything was ready. "Now that we're all here, the Initiation can begin. This is the part where Mia, Matthew, Alcina and Chelsea mark each of the Rising Chosen. Josephine, step forward, thank you."

The red-haired teen ignored the command, however, and raised her right hand as she showed off the image. Etched on the back, its outlines glowing in a soft pink, was the picture of the same cat she'd dreamt about before arriving at the Training Hall. It was small, but the picture – or tattoo – showed it doing a back-flip in a circle. Where the eyes were, there came the faint colour of sky-blue, over-taken by the cerise. She had at first, grimaced at it and, before coming to the Hall, had fussily put on a fingerless glove.

Miss Barrett gave Mew an unimpressed look and obviously sent her a telepathic message, because Mia answered verbally, saying that she had wanted to get in before everyone else. The Psychic Gym Leader exhaled heavily, not looking very happy. Nonetheless, she moved on from that little delay and instructed Paul to come forth.

Matthew, the human name Mewtwo had taken on, roughly grabbed the auburn-haired teen's left hand, and thrust his right onto the limb. Almost immediately, the boy started experiencing a searing pain like nothing he'd ever felt in his life. Removing his hand from that of his Chosen's, Mewtwo looked on, satisfied as it bled slightly.

"Ohhh... gonnabesick..." Paul mumbled and hastily scurried over to the nearest bin, before sounds were heard.

Rachel walked forward next, as Alcina met her halfway. Asking the teen to lift her head, the human-ized Articuno placed the first two fingers of her right hand at the base of Rachel's throat. An icy blue light began to overtake the room.

"As per the legend, Mew and Mewtwo will fight against Team Rocket, but they will not be the only ones. The Birds will enter the clash as well, though one will be supporting the enemy. Be well advised to master your powers as soon as you can, my Chosen." Alcina whispered. As she took her fingers away from the throat's base, the bright icy blue light that had filled the room started to fade.

When it faded, Rachel acted as if she had just woken up, and instinctively felt her throat. It was abnormally cold and though she couldn't see it, imprinted there was a picture of Articuno. The picture was small, like that of Josephine's, but the tattoo showed it soaring with its wings spread wide. For the eyes, there was the faint colour of crimson, over-taken by the icy blue. Her first thought was to grimace at it, but then she felt an overwhelming sense of pride. She was now a Chosen, like Josephine and Paul and soon, the other girl would be as well.

It was now the Johton girl's turn. Chelsea strolled up to her, simply placed the palm of her hand on the teen's forehead and a bright emerald flash illuminated the room. Putting her hand back at her side, Celebi inspected her handiwork. She was very pleased with it and nodded once at Sabrina, informing her that phase two should begin.

"Before the second stage begins, I would like to let everyone know a secret," the Psychic type Leader began. At this moment, she glanced directly into Josephine's hazel-coloured eyes, before continuing. "As much as I hate looking back at my past, the four of you need to know the truth. Fiona Harris, Josephine's mother, was a victim of a science experiment inflicted on her by Team Rocket's leading scientist.

Codenamed Lady Grey, Celeste Silverini researched the effects psychic abilities would have on non-Telepath individuals. Fiona was her only 'guinea pig', for want of a phrase. However, the build-up of energy from the testing had to go somewhere. So disperse it did, changing slightly into different elements along the way. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but it clearly visited three different households within Kanto and Johto, before dissipating completely.

Genetic contact through Jillian, Superintendent Tyler and Maryanne is how Rachel, Paul and Katie inherited their ice, psychic and time-bending powers. It all points back to one scheme, started by Lady Grey and funded by Giovanni. The name of this ploy? Project: Psychosa."

"Wha-? Wait, how does this Project: Psychosa affect Josephine?" Paul queried harshly, as he challenged the young adult's evidence.

"It's like this, non-believer." Sabrina answered coldly, her crimson eyes staring daggers into the auburn-haired boy's brown ones. "Though her mother was of non-Telepath blood, Josephine herself is a pure-blood Psychic. Her powers, like each of yours, had lain dormant. It was that alone which made me suspect that Nighthawk was watching Josephine, wanting to see if she was as good as her mother. With all four of you having been through the Initiation phase, your abilities have now awakened. But only myself, Candice, Lucian and Will can help you control your gifts. Get it?"

Paul nodded silently.

"Hey, what's the time?" Katie randomly asked, looking at Lucian.

Lucian's left eyebrow twitched in annoyance but, before he could respond, Will got in first with a severe retort. "Girl, it'd be best if you learned some patience. As for the answer to your question, it is 8:30 PM."

"8:30 already?" Candice questioned, appearing stunned. "It looks like phases two and three will have to be postponed until tomorrow. Sabrina?"

Sighing and shaking her head, the young raven-haired woman agreed. "Candice is right, it's getting late. We'll continue this in-"

"Be silent." Lucian's distinguished voice directed. "Something is very wrong."

Rachel sniffed the air. "Do you guys smell that?" she asked. "Smells like a fire."

Instantly, the eight people and four Legendaries looked at each other in horror.

The Viridian Forest!

The twelve figures hurried out of the Training Hall and towards the Forest, which had clearly been alight for some time. A being who looked exactly like Josephine's deceased sister stood there, with a Pokémon by her side.

A large, orange dragon hovered over the ground with his big blue wings flapping. Slightly taller than his partner, both of his thin arms were in clawing position, and the large legs were drawn underneath him as he prepared to fly at his enemy. As his wings created powerful gusts of wind, his flaming tail swung from side to side.

*****

Meanwhile, Scyla had escaped the confines of her Poké Ball and the R&D laboratory's monitoring room for the time being. As she gazed sadly into the Saffron City Gym, she reflected on the life she had had before being given to Nighthawk.

<If only he realized the hold over my mentality he has,> she thought, as she stared at the massive building. <I wish I could have stayed with Sabrina, I wish she hadn't had to quit... oh, there's so many things I could wish for that'll never come true.>

<Don't think that, you'll get your chance to be free again.> A voice drifted past her, as if blown in on the wind.

<Who's there?> Scyla asked, turning around desperately in order to seek the owner of the voice.

<I am the North Wind,> was the only answer she received.

*****

Back on Route 2, all kinds of Pokémon were fleeing the wildfire that had consumed the Viridian Forest. Caterpie, Weedle, Butterfree, Beedrill, Pikachu, both basic-stage Nidoran, Pidgey and Pidgeotto did their best to escape the raging inferno. The four trainers were torn, for they could hardly save all of these poor creatures.

"How long were you pathetic idiots gonna stay in that Training Hall before you realized what was going on?!" the older teen snapped. "I was waiting for you lot to come out earlier, but now that you're finally here, I'll still give my ultimatum. You have only one choice, really. Are you going to go back to your ****ed up training?! Or are you gonna be heroes and save these Pokémon? You have five minutes to decide, before I bring out one of my Electric partners."

The shared look that passed between Josephine and Paul was undisputed. Our red-haired heroine whipped out two spheres and threw them at a Pidgeotto and a Nidoran male, while Paul's ball had been thrown at another male Nidoran. Rachel and Katie held back, having already planned their teams and didn't want their ideas to go wrong.

<Three Pokémon?> the Charizard rumbled throatily. <Is that all you're going to save? Hmph, well, don't say you weren't warned. I'm Wildflame, not that you'll remember my name after this.>

"NO! STOP THIS MADNESS!" Lucian uncharacteristically yelled.

Wildflame's owner laughed like a maniac. "I'm Crimson Lightning. Remember me now, won't you?" After saying that, she brought out an Electric Pokémon, like she had threatened to. Ordering it and her Charizard to combine their elemental attacks, she pointed a finger in the group's direction. The electrified flames hurtled towards them like a meteor. Seemingly before the three Psychics could put up a protective shield, the energies from the attack exploded in their faces.

Crimson Lightning as well as Nighthawk is probably my favorite two of the revived TR. Crimson Lightning for the fact she sounds really awesome with the type mix while. Nighthawk because you know why.

I'm think that you are getting the hang of your storyline. Your characters are showing much improvements through the chapters, you are really getting into them. I'm proud of you.

Keep the good work up. :)

Chapter 5: Triumph over Brock!
Part 1: Depression Stratagem

Indeed, it had seemed like they were a lost cause last night. However, with only seconds to spare before the attack struck, Sabrina, Will and Lucian managed to put up a strong enough shield to protect them from the after effects of the two elements. By the time the electrified flames dissipated, Crimson Lightning had vanished.

Minutes later, they were at the Pokémon Centre again. The four trainers staggered into the building, clutching their jumpers and jackets around themselves and shivering. Nurse Joy was proud of the bright lights and cheerful colours that dominated her Centre's interior. After all, it was a welcome change from the shocking, blackened devastation of the destroyed Viridian Forest, currently being lashed by fierce winds.

Focused completely on reaching the desk and getting their Pokémon healed, Josephine and Paul strode across the lobby – and Josephine somehow promptly tripped over a trainer's Pupitar that was slowly and laboriously crawling across the tiles. Growling, she pulled herself back to her feet and stumbled against the reception counter, already pulling the four spheres containing two injured Pokémon off her belt. Paul, however, waited on a sofa as he had since given his balls to the nurse.

"Evening trainers. You're out late," she responded in her trademark soft voice.

"Hi," Josephine began. "I'd like to have my Pokémon treated overnight, if that's okay." She handed the containment devices to Nurse Joy.

"Please come back for them tomorrow," Joy answered, smiling.

The four trainers went up the stairs and separated, going to their own rooms. Josephine and Paul felt alone without their Pokémon, but it was Josephine who sighed deeply and knew she couldn't wait to retrieve her partners the next day.

I hope my partners sleep well tonight, she thought, as a smile spread across her face, before she fell asleep. Fully aware, nevertheless, that she still had phases two and three of this training programme to complete.


"Josephine," a familiar voice echoed within the chambers of the redhead's mind very early the next morning. "Sister, focus your gift and return your body to the bed." Even in death, the figure of her sister was still recognizable to Josephine as Tara visited the fourteen-year-old in her dream.

Impressive, Sabrina mused, watching the incident unfold. Admittedly, she was an incredibly early riser and her patrol of Josephine's room in the Pokémon Centre had paid off. She had witnessed Josephine's subconscious in action, the ability of levitating while one's self was fast asleep. But enough was enough; this unintentional act had to be stopped before it developed into a habit.

Miss Barrett hurried over to the bed, placed her hand on the teen's chest and released a small psychic shockwave. Instantaneously, Josephine fell straight back into the soft bed, showing no signs that she had been disturbed by the shockwave.


Later that morning, at 6:30 AM, Josephine woke up to discover that Sabrina had left her a note on the bedside table. The message read as thus:

To the modest quartet of Rising Chosen,

I am displeased to announce our departure from your fellowship in this manner, but we have been called away on private business. So that there is no confusion regarding the two remaining phases, we would like you to practice the training together.

Katie, Lucian asked me to ask you to see if you can find a way to restore the Viridian Forest to its original state, before it was destroyed by the inferno. If you can do this, please concentrate your thoughts on Lucian's aura and inform him immediately.

Deepest thanks for the very short time together, Sabrina Barrett.

The red-haired teen entered the bathroom, made the water temperature lukewarm and began cleaning herself. After a couple of minutes, she raised her head and gazed at the shower nozzle with troubled hazel eyes. I feel bad about losing to a fully evolved Pokémon, she reflected. She had only learnt that Scyla was a member of the opposition after talking to Sabrina. I could've died! And Riley was beaten to a near fainted state. If it hadn't of been for Sabrina, I know something really bad would have happened to us.

As unwanted tears streamed down her face, she was forced to wipe them away with wet fingers. I'm so sorry, Riley. I should not have been so brazen in attacking the Alakazam.

"What's taking this GIRL so long? It's been like a century since she's been in there." Paul studied the door, waiting for some sort of ruffling behind it. The auburn-haired boy had gotten up half an hour ago and had eaten his breakfast, before going downstairs to collect his Nidoran.

Impatiently pacing back and forth throughout the hallway, Paul waited for Josephine to exit the bathroom. She'd been taking quite some time. He had begun to be worried – no; that wasn't it, it was more that he was irritated on how long she was taking. "Get out now, Josephine." Paul folded his arms.

The clear liquid still ran from the shower nozzle as the teenage girl continued to ponder her loss. From outside, she heard Riley meow in concern as Paul demanded that she get out of the bathroom.

"I'm giving you three seconds to get out of there before I pummel your Pokémon a bloody pulp. ONE!"

"PAUL! TOUCH RILEY AND YOU'LL BE SORRY!"

"IF YOU DON'T, I WILL. SO GET THE HELL OUT OF THE BATHROOM!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! GIVE ME TEN MINUTES! I'M NOT EVEN DRESSED!"

"Fine..." Paul clenched his fist. He could at least give her THAT.

Hurriedly turning off the shower, Josephine speedily dried herself and hastily got dressed. Upon opening the door of the bathroom, she glanced quickly at Riley, making sure her starter had not been harmed.

"Heh. You're such a wuss, Josephine," Paul noted. "Why do you look so down on your sorry arse?"

"You sounded like you were serious," she replied to his first statement. "You know why I'm depressed. Or in your stupidity, have you forgotten?!"

"Tsk. You just got your arse whooped. What's the big deal? I can do that to you any day."

"It's a matter of pride, thank you! But with you being oh so cocky and arrogant, you wouldn't understand that!"

"Ha. I'm much better than you so I can be as cocky and arrogant as I want. Unless you want to PROVE me otherwise."

"Fine!" she yelled, getting more and more pissed off by Paul's attitude. "If you want a battle, then so be it! Let's get our Nidoran first!"

"Brute. Do you really want that, Josephine?" Paul eyed Brute's Poké Ball. "You're asking for yet another loss on your so luxurious record. So be it."

"I'll meet you downstairs. I need to retrieve Kingpin," the teen answered.

"You're really going through with this," Paul gave light laughter. "Fine. Let's go receive that Pokémon that is just going to go back to the Pokémon Centre."


While that was occurring, another Pokémon battle had begun outside the Centre and was already nearly over between Rachel and Katie. The Pewterian-born girl stood in a battle pose, her lavender-hair still up in the ponytail that the Pharaohonian-born Johton teen last saw her in, and even in the jumper. It seemed Rachel wished to be a Cooltrainer in the style, but Katie couldn't be too sure.

Rachel had previously thrown the red and white sphere which contained her Pokémon. It was a male dog, reddish-orange in colour, who stood beside his trainer, growling angrily. A mane of amethyst hair covered the top of his head, while below his chin was fuzz of the same shade. Black stripes covered his body, giving him a feline look, and the normally fluffy appendage was actually two small, ribbon-like tails that swerved by movements known only to them. Even though he was a dual Fire and Water typed creature, Laverne was showing signs of exhaustion due to Kyga's high level of endurance.

Miss Emerson had received her starter, a Beklanite Pokémon, due to the fact that she had come in the off-season autumn period – when she was meant to come in spring. Purely attributed to the element of Fire, the Firkit had pretended to be doubled over a few moments ago, as if in pain. Exhaling deeply, and surprising Laverne in the process, the full figure of the Fire Cheetah could be seen.

"Kyga, end this match with Tackle!" Katie commanded, with determination in her eyes.

"Hang in there, Laverne! Dodge it and hit her with Water Gun!" the other girl retorted, fearing she would lose.

<Will do!> the female Firkit replied in a conceited tone.

<I'm all over that cat!> the failed Suicune experiment barked bravely, racing in to strike. At the same time, he knew he would lose to the other girl's partner.

<Come on, you violet-haired *****!> A foul-mouthed voice yelled. The owner of the voice had changed in the sense that he had grown a couple of feet, grown lime green fur and long dark green ears. He was now slender-looking, his brown eyes and feet had remained untouched although the same couldn't be said for his paintbrush tail.

It had stretched to almost three times its former size, the lower third the same colour as his body and the upper parts resembling a long, dark green leaf, thinner than his previous form's and wonkier. A leaf sprouting from the front of his neck and his forehead completed his new appearance. His face wore a cynical, rebellious expression. <What's the ****ing matter with you?! You know you're going to lose! ****, even I know that!>

"Shut up, Maverick!" Rachel screamed at the born and bred rebel.

Not disturbed in the slightest, the two Pokémon leapt into action at once: Firkit, with all of the grace and speed of the cheetah she was, ran towards Growlithe. Leaping upwards to perform an airborne Tackle, she came down towards her opponent spinning like a race car's wheel. Tearing through the Water Gun, but still feeling the effects of being hit by the watery attack, she crashed into the other Pokémon and they both fell back onto the cemented footpath.

When Kyga was the only one to rise, Rachel knew she had lost. The girl plucked Laverne's Poké Ball off her belt and returned her partner to his containment device. After placing the orb back on her accessory, she turned to her companion. "Congratulations, Katie. You did well in that battle, though I would have preferred to win."

As the lavender-haired girl's edginess started to kick in, she began bouncing up and down on the spot. Realizing this, she apologized to the other teen and stated that she was going to heal her Pokémon, before looking for Josephine and Paul.

Katie laughed, waving off Rachel's request for forgiveness. "It's nothing to worry about, mate. Though I may look like a newbie trainer, I was taught by the best when I lived back in Pharaohonia. Therefore, I am knowledgeable."

Boy this was a good chapter I must admit. It was fun seeing how the chapter progressed. I must admit, I've grown fond Paul and Josephine. Thanks a lot for sharing this. Growing day by day, you are becoming a better writer--you are helping me as well.

Here's part 2, people...

Part 2: The Forest Reborn

Watching Rachel head inside the Centre to ask Nurse Joy a favour, Katie thought back to her own mission and looked northwards, wondering how she could manipulate her powers to restore the Viridian Forest to its original state.

Upon deliberating for a few moments, an initiative came to her. She would only restore the Forest. It's a wonderful idea, she thought and immediately headed towards the blackened remains of the woodland.

Reaching the destroyed remnants of the Forest, she thrust her hands in front of her and focused her abilities. Time reversed itself as the scorched wood faded back to brown, the effects slowly and steadily creeping up the trees. Going from the bottom up, life was restored as the Forest came back to life. Vibrant green leaves uncurled from once charred branches, while lush emerald coloured grass emerged from the previously burnt ground. Tightening her muscles, as a strong gust of wind buffeted her body, Katie felt very pleased with herself.

Life in the Forest had begun again. Her job was done.


"Just because I graduated second in the class doesn't mean you'll win this time around, or any other time for that matter." Josephine retorted, referring back to an earlier comment of Paul's.

She became aware of the weird-looking organism beside her rival's feet as the two trainers headed down the staircase. Paul's starter was a seed-like creature with a rather simplistic looking face. His body was a deep forest green fading into a light grass one. Spiralling upward were two vines upon his head. This Pokémon was a Budew, the pre-evolved form of Roselia and Roserade.

"Jeez, what's with your starter? That thing is your starter, right? Why's it got an insolent expression on its face?"

"My starter is a Budew, if you're knowledgeable enough to understand that and it doesn't have an insolent expression. You should check out a mirror if you want to see one of those," Paul said roaring in the laughter of his own joke. "His name is Scarlei, remember it."

"I'm serious, Paul," the girl protested. "His expression reminds me of Mewtwo's cold-hearted features."

"Maybe that should tell you something about him, now don't it?" Paul smirked. "Things aren't always as cheery as they may appear, Josephine."

Having retrieved Kingpin and exited the Centre, Josephine faced off against her rival in a battle that Paul believed would make her happy again.

"You ready for this, Josephine?" Paul expanded the Poké Ball.

"What do you think?" she snapped, enlarging Kingpin's own sphere.

"Good. Very nice. Get 'em, Brute," Paul tossed the Poké Ball causing it to crash into the ground.

Brute the Nidoran stood his ground in front of Paul gruffly looking at the opposing party. If Nidoran could crack a smile like a human could, it would probably equal to that of Paul's right now. He waited for his opponent to emerge.

Kingpin emerged from his ball, looking relaxed and carefree. His brother, however, was fully aggressive.

<Look who joined the damn party, Paul. It's that weakling that happens to genetically be my brother,> Brute shook his head condescendingly. <What are you going to do? Cry like always, Kingpin?>

<What I do is none of your concern, brother,> Kingpin replied softly. <It appears our trainers want us to battle, so battle you I will.>

<Well, well. I guess the "conservative" one has made his point. Nevertheless, you better prepare half-pint. You're still half the Nidoran that I am.>

"Kingpin, use Peck!" Josephine shouted.

"Whoa! Starting out really strong there, Josephine," Paul mocked.

"Duh! That's a Nidoran's strongest attack at this level!"

"Then show him how a real Peck is done, Brute."

The two brothers jousted forward with their horns held towards each other. Of course, being the gentler one, Kingpin held back slightly before they could collide. Kingpin, now with the advantage, hit Brute with the Peck.

<Damn coward,> Brute skidded backwards, only slightly from the blow. <You'll pay for that.>

"Who's the coward now?" the red-haired teen retorted at the violent, lavender-coloured rabbit-like creature.

<If that girl over there won't shut the hell up, I'm going to Peck her eye out!>

"Focus on the battle please," Paul's face had hardened. "I won't allow a loss against her of all people."

<Well, ain't you the wimp to attack a trainer for no damn reason,> another's Pokéspeech interrupted. Maverick, with a fresh piece of pine straw in his teeth, walked up to Josephine's side. He looked up at her almost half-hazardously before observing the battle. <You better look at your own battle, scrub. You DON'T want to mess with me.>

Brute shook his head, realizing his battle was indeed against Kingpin at the moment.

"Double Kick, Brute!" Paul cried out.

"Dodge it, Kingpin!" Josephine countered. "Double Kick Brute back!"

<Damn.>

"Damn."

Brute and Paul spoke in unison as the two kicks were sent to Brute's underbelly. He slammed awkwardly into the ground. "Stop playing around," Paul roared. Frustration was now setting in.

Brute staggered to his feet. <Little runt. Respect your damn elders,> he said, his sides heaving.

<You speak of elders as though you're an adult, but you're still young, like myself.> Kingpin answered astutely.

Maverick sat and thought back to how he'd evolved, while watching Brute beat the crap out of his younger brother. Rachel had gotten up before the sun even peeked out over the horizon and happened to encounter this extravagantly dressed teen in royal clothing.

Explaining that he, Prince Arthur, had run away from Saffron Castle to live the life of a trainer, he handed the lavender-haired girl a fragment of a lichen-covered rock. Stating that this piece of the Eterna Forest's Moss Stone would evolve her Eevee, he shoved it into her hands before hurriedly disappearing, saying he would meet up with them again later.

Whilst training the Eevee, another trainer had roughly barged past the violet-haired girl, causing the Moss Stone fragment to dislodge itself from her hand. It fell towards the ground, coming into contact with Maverick just as his battle experience increased. A bright flash of neon green light enveloped the area and, once it had faded, there stood his new form.

Diverting her attention away from the battle briefly, Josephine questioned the Leafeon, bringing him back to the present. "Won't Rachel be looking for you?"

<Probably...> Maverick trailed off a bit as he began walking away. <You better win against him. You're too close to let this slip from your damn hands, Josephine.>

<Don't count on that, Maverick!> Brute cried out. <This is over, Kingpin. I'm your elder simply because I'm better than you.>

Uncharacteristically angered by his brother's continuous taunts, Kingpin charged the older Nidoran, determined to defeat him.

"There is an opening, Peck," Paul said almost emotionless to the fact.

<Nice blunder, Kingpin.>

Calculating the movements of the oddly enraged Kingpin, Brute moved at the last minute. Josephine, now realizing the mistake of her Pokémon, tried to cry out for him to dodge the attack yet her voice wouldn't come in time. The horn of the older brother jammed into Kingpin's belly. A trail of blood dripped from the opening – it was a critical hit; Kingpin's body suddenly collapsed with the attack. It was a victory for his brother, yet again. Kingpin closed his eyes as he drifted into unconsciousness.

"I hate losing, but I know I have to improve," Josephine stated, recalling her Nidoran to his containment device. A slightly displeased expression showed on her face, but she quickly changed it when Paul glanced over at her.

"Don't think I didn't see that...." Paul went for an insult but stopped himself as he withdrew his Pokémon. "Nice battle..." he grunted. With that he was off. "Next time, I'm going to crush you without room for success."

<Hmm... That was very careless of you Paul,> Scarlei's voice echoed almost coldly in the air. It had that similar scent of loneliness and solitude. Almost like another cloned Pokémon – the original cloned one, Mewtwo. They shared that trait. Both from the same mould of being abandoned by the very people that created them.


"We better go in," Josephine said as confidently as she could after learning that Katie managed to restore the Viridian Forest to its original state. She and Paul had healed their respective male Nidoran and met up with Rachel and Katie, who were eager to enter the Forest. As the teens and their partners entered the Forest, they were amazed at all of the plant life there. There were trees as far as the eye could see, bushes were everywhere and flowers could be seen on the ground wherever one walked. "This is amazing…" Josephine murmured, staring at all of the plant life.

<Yeah,> the female Shinx answered back. <My mistress is right. This IS amazing.>

They continued on until they noticed a young boy up ahead. He was wearing a large hat and had a net with him. He was spraying bug spray on himself and he seemed to need it, since he was wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt and baggy green shorts. As they approached, he turned around, saw them and ran over to greet them.

"Jeez… too many Bug Pokémon," he laughed and then sighed.

"My name's Dustin, I am a Bug Catcher. Do you want to battle?" As he directed those words at Josephine, he seemed eager. "I just caught a Caterpie," he grinned. Dustin took the red and white Poké Ball off his belt and started tossing it up and down.

"I'm Josephine Harris from Pallet Town. These are my friends – Paul Johnson, Rachel Savina and Katie Emerson," Josephine introduced herself and the other three. Then she informed her starter it was her turn to battle.

<Obviously I was told to battle, but where's my opponent?> the female Shinx wondered.

"Let's go, Caterpie!" Dustin raised the sphere, clicked the centre button, and a worm larger than the usual size appeared in a flash of light. The green Pokémon had two large black eyes and a segmented body. Its underside, feet, mouth and tail were yellowish, and there were yellow circles framing its body. A pink antenna ending in two tips was on the top of its head and it looked strong as it aggressively showed off.

"I'll get its Pokédex entry," Josephine said, taking out the red coloured device. "How experienced is it?" the girl cooed, wanting so much to pick the little caterpillar up and pat it.

"Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Bug type. It releases a stench from its red antenna to repel enemies. Caterpie grows by molting repeatedly," the device reported.

"I was lucky to catch it; it's quite experienced! And it hasn't evolved into Metapod either. Now, Caterpie! String Shot!" Dustin called out. Caterpie quickly listened and started shooting silk out of its mouth.

"Ohh, but it must be close. Anyway, enough chatter. Riley, use Tackle!" Josephine instructed her Pokémon, but the female Shinx just sat there, a look of reluctance on her face. The feline was unwilling to harm her opponent as it was smaller than her.

<I will NOT harm that Caterpie, unless I'm absolutely forced to,> Riley thought, looking pointedly at her trainer.

The silk quickly covered the female Shinx's face and the lion-cub still sat in one place.

"This is a great chance! Let's go Caterpie – a Tackle this time!"

Like the first time, Caterpie was quick to listen and rushed straight at Riley. Thanks to her stubbornness, Riley was hit.

<That hurt a bit,> the female Shinx grunted.

"Riley, COME on! You're pure Electric, for crying out loud – Electric types are meant to be fast. Do something! Otherwise, you're going to lose!"

"Hehe, you should call an attack. Riley is just sitting there trembling. Don't you know how to be a real trainer?" Dustin said with a smirk. "Alright Caterpie, use Tackle one more time!"

Caterpie rushed at Riley once more, but it missed. Tackle didn't have a one hundred percent accuracy rate.

<THAT does it! THAT Bug Catcher will pay for what he just said!> the female Shinx mentally yelled.

Galvanized into action by the Bug Catcher's scornful words against her trainer, Riley scratched the gooey silk off her face and lunged at Caterpie, biting it around the neck area. A thin line of blood trickled down the green exoskeleton.

"Well done, Riley. Now we're getting somewhere. Use Thunder Fang!"

"It doesn't matter now. I'll easily win this. Caterpie, use String Shot!"

Riley had been determined not to attack, but now she had no choice. No Bug Catcher was going to insult her mistress and get away with it. Her teeth tingled with pent-up electricity as she charged at the worm Pokémon and bit it once more.

"Damn it! It's a critical hit! Return, Caterpie!" Dustin sighed, unhappy with his loss. He touched his Pokémon lightly with the Poké Ball and it was drawn back into the sphere as red energy.

"Your Shinx is pretty good. Here's the money you won," Dustin tried to sound happy as he handed Josephine three hundred and fifty Pokédollars for beating him. "I hope to see you again one day, when we're both stronger."

"Me too," Josephine replied, as she shook Dustin's hand and went off deeper into the Forest, with her friends and their partners following her. It's amazing that I won that battle… she thought. "You know something? He was right – you are getting stronger Riley, as far as speed is concerned anyway."

Riley replied, <I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, but thanks, I think...>

"Let's get going before I see any other wretched Caterpie," Paul spat. "Wait... did you hear that?"

"What?" Rachel asked, looking around dumbly.

"That," Katie answered, tilting her head as she heard a faint scream.

"It's coming from this way. Follow me," Paul barked as he took the lead. Of course, he would do this. He liked being in the limelight. Paul quickly focused himself on the sound. It was coming from the northwest, it almost sound like... a Pokémon's cry. It was in pain like it was struggling for its life. He ran further into the forest.

"Paul, in case you haven't noticed, Scarlei is getting left behind!" Rachel yelled at her best friend's rival. If there was a type of person she didn't like, it would have to be cocky and arrogant individuals.

<Yeah!> Laverne barked in annoyance, as small fireballs appeared in his mouth, only to be doused by the liquid that arrived at the same time.

Paul turned quickly to allow his Pokémon to catch up with him. He hated when he got ahead of himself; however, this was urgent. That scream wasn't getting better, in fact, it was getting worse.

<Did you want to leave me here? Just like my creators,> Scarlei remarked as he stared up to his master. <You know I hate being left behind. My legs can only go so far...>

"I had no intentions of doing that, Scarlei," Paul pleaded. For a Budew's eyes, he appeared to want to wring Paul's neck. Because of that, Paul scooped Scarlei up. "Better?"

<You may continue...> Scarlei commented.

"What's the deal, mate?" Katie asked of the auburn-haired boy. "Your starter seems very distant. How did you obtain him anyway?"

"To be honest," Paul began. "I got him from the same place that Rachel got Laverne, Professor Oak. He informed us that these Pokémon were... different than others."

<Much different...> Scarlei added, realizing Paul's slight downplay of the situation. <You see, I'm nothing more than another created Pokémon that mingled its way to where we are now.> It sickened Scarlei to go any further. The rest was irrelevant by his standards. <Can we go now? Don't we want to know what that sound is?>

<Yada yada. Are ya actually worried about the Pokémon, Scarlei, or are you using it for an escape route? That's pathetic if you ask me, half pint.> Maverick was the one who said this as he leered into the eyes of the Budew. They shared this glance between the two of them. Rachel, Maverick's trainer, wished that she had the ability to control what Maverick said. Yet that wasn't a luxury that she had, so she had to watch as the two Pokémon glared each other down.

<You're really bothersome, Maverick.> Scarlei mentioned.

<You're an...> Maverick stopped the retort after a glare from Rachel. <We need to get going,> Maverick admitted.

There was another scream.

<Follow me, you lot. I know where it is coming from.>

The trainers followed Riley into a clearing, where a bird possessing murky feathers of black against its crow-like body was being whipped by a man dressed completely in black spandex with a big red 'R' on his shirt.

"Get up, you useless Murkrow!" the man shouted at the Pokémon.

"Hey, what are you doing to that poor Pokémon?" the quartet ran towards the man. "Stop it!"

<What right do you have to beat an innocent Pokémon?!> Riley yelled.

"Huh, kids? You better go and play somewhere else kids, because if you want to save this Pokémon, you'll have to defeat me in battle." The man enlarged a Poké Ball. "Get going before I get serious."

"Yeah right. Kyga, let's show this guy why he shouldn't mistreat Pokémon!" Katie declared.

Kyga ran towards the man to attack him, but he released the Poké Ball right before she reached him, which temporarily blinded her. The Murkrow's red eyes stared through the grunt's soul as it lay weakly on the grassy ground.

The next thing Kyga knew, she was being tightly squeezed all around her body by a purple snake, with a yellow stripe over the start of its neck and a yellow underside. On several points of its body, there were black rings that showed where the skin had been removed. A rattle was positioned at the tip of the tail, while the snake's thin black eyes stared cruelly at its victim.

<… This… isn't… good… stupid me… I… fell… for… it…>

"That's right Ekans; squeeze her until she suffocates." Ekans continued to squeeze Kyga, who was now starting to cough up blood.

The grunt watched closely as the bind on Kyga's throat became exponentially tighter with every breath. A sadistic smile on the grunt's face melted to the rest of his features. "Finish it, Ekans!" the grunt shouted.

"Remember your endurance training, Kyga!" the girl shouted, encouraging her partner.

Memories of the endurance training flashed through Kyga's mind. Those many hours under the beaming sun had taught her how to become stronger. Kyga wobbled to her feet with the Ekans coiled around her throat. With the remaining power that she had reserved in the confines of her body, she snagged the Ekans with her teeth. The Ekans hissed in pain as it released its grip. Kyga tossed the Ekans away to ensure she would not be poisoned.

<That... was... close...> Kyga huffed.

"Use a full-powered Ember!"

As Katie instructed, Kyga proceeded to use Ember on the Ekans. Pausing to take a breath before attacking, the feline struggled to get a better position. The familiar hot, fiery energy was soon burning through the reptilian's form, which hurt the snake slightly, making it slither back a bit.

Kyga thought, <Take that!>

"What's happening..." the grunt barked to himself.

The Pharaohonian-born teen then commands her partner to Scratch the snake, and the Fire Cheetah complied, forcing the reptile to slither back to its master.

By this point in time, the TR grunt was becoming desperate and berates the Ekans, yelling for it to go back, squeeze the Fire type again and not let an unknown Pokémon stop it.

Being a member of Team Rocket, the grunt had been taught not to be afraid but, at the moment, his heart was pounding loudly. Everything seemed to be spiralling downwards into a defeated oblivion if things continued the way that they were. Every attack that he now thought of was easily thwarted by his enemy. Fatigue and frustration instilled themselves in his heart.

"Wrap it or something!" the grunt spewed from his mouth in jumbled words. The attack missed altogether, yet the Ekans managed to make lemonade out of lemons. It coiled itself upward to try to perform another attack.

"Don't let it! Bite!" Katie screamed.

Kyga did as she was told, managing to dodge the Ekans' frivolous effort for an attack. She then countered with an attack of her own. She tore through the violet flesh of Ekans with her claws and finished it off with repeated bites. Kyga's paw kept the Ekans' tail down, as she continued to attack over and over again. The Ekans, taking enough damage, fainted. Kyga backed off.

The Team Rocket grunt returned his Ekans and ran off. Tears almost filled the man's dark eyes as he shouted, "You haven't seen the last of me or Team Rocket, kid, you can be sure of that!"

As the Team Rocket member left, Kyga made a great deal of effort to not visibly shown the signs of fatigue. It wasn't exactly easy for her. <I don't particularly want to faint right now…> was the only thought running through her head at that particular moment.

The quartet watched the man run away, before Katie paid attention to the hurt Pokémon that the man had been beating. She wanted to be sure that she wasn't going to be hit by a surprise attack.

She pulled out her Pokédex and found out that this Pokémon was a male Murkrow. Like its name suggested, the bird was a black crow with murky black feathers. On the top of the bird's head was a crest that formed something like a witch's hat. Katie thought she'd get his Pokédex entry while it was on her mind.

"Murkrow, the Darkness Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Dark and Flying types. If spotted, Murkrow will lure an unwary person into chasing it, and then lose the pursuer on mountain trails."

"Hold on Murkrow; I'm going to get a Potion out of my bag," the brunette said, as she pulled out a Potion. "Considering your wounds, this will hurt a fair bit, so be ready."

Murkrow nodded his head, while Katie sprayed the Potion. It hurt a lot, but Murkrow didn't complain, as he was glad that there was a nice human to come along and help him.

"There you go – all better." Katie said happily as she finished spraying. "I hope you can find a good home Murkrow. Good bye."

The foursome walked further into the Forest with Murkrow staring after his saviour.

"I wonder who or what Team Rocket is," Josephine thought out loud.

<Those are good questions Josephine, but I see some Pokémon up ahead as well as a few trainers, so how about a few battles before you think too hard.> Riley answered, jumping in anticipation.

"You're just a battle happy Pokémon, aren't you Riley?" Josephine laughed. "Alright, let's go."

After about two hours of battling, the trainers and their partners were exhausted. They had battled quite a few Bug Catchers and captured a lot of Bug Pokémon. Caterpie, Metapod, Weedle and Kakuna were new additions to the team. The group had travelled through the majority of the Viridian Forest and were nearing the end when suddenly they heard a scream.

"AARRGGHH!!!"

The scream had startled all eight of them.

<What was that?> Kyga questioned, turning her head in about every direction it could go.

"AARRGGHH!!!"

<There it is again. I think it came from this direction!> Laverne growled.

The trainers and their partners ran until they saw a lone Hiker and his Geodude being assaulted by a small, two-tailed aquafied weasel. With the additions that Kanto's government had made to the natural wildlife of the routes, they found themselves pleasantly surprised. Katie took out her Pokédex and recorded the Pokémon's data.

"Buizel, the Sea Weasel Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Water type. Buizel spins its two tails like a screw to propel itself through water. The tails also slice clinging seaweed."

The orange-furred creature was a Sinnoh-based Pokémon. Around his neck was a yellow flotation sac which resembled an inflatable collar. Buizel's black eyes looked determined as he kept firing off blasts of water at the Geodude. When the Hiker noticed the trainers, he pleaded with them to stop the Water type's attack.

"Kyga, we have to help them. Go!"

Kyga went towards the bird and released an Ember attack at him, but it didn't have much effect due to Kyga's exhaustion. It did get Buizel's attention, though, and he turned to face his attacker. He sent a huge burst of water towards Kyga and she was knocked out the instant it hit her.

"Kyga, NO!" Katie screamed.

Just then, a black blur flew past Katie and tackled the Buizel. It was the Murkrow that Katie had helped out earlier.

"Why are you here? Did you follow me all this way?" Katie asked, incredulous at the Dark/Flying Pokémon's behaviour.

<Yeah, I did. I wanted to repay you for what you did.> Murkrow told her, smiling sneakily. <I will repay the favour by battling for you.>

"Does this mean you want to be on my team?" Katie was surprised.

<Yes. The first thing you could do is yell out an attack, because the Buizel is back.> Murkrow said, as the Buizel came back looking very angry.

"Oh, right. Murkrow, use Wing Attack!" Murkrow flew, with his black wings glowing silver, into the Buizel, but the Water type held his ground. He sent Water Gun after Water Gun at Murkrow, nearly defeating him. "Murkrow, your wounds haven't fully healed – you should stop."

<No way – I'm not going to let a weasel beat me!> Murkrow said proudly. <Besides, I don't want to disappoint my trainer in my first battle.>

Murkrow flew as fast as he could, as Buizel was sending another Water Gun; it hit Murkrow, but he still fought on and he knocked Buizel back. Then he started an array of Pecks and eventually felled the Sea Weasel.

<Now get it before it gets back up!>

"Right, go Poké Ball!" Katie threw a Poké Ball at Buizel and it hit the target.

The Buizel was drawn into the red and white orb with a flare of red energy, and the sphere settled on terra firma. It wobbled for a few seconds, but it seemed like hours. Finally, the ball clicked shut, emitting a low tone confirming the capture.

"Alright, I caught Buizel! Well, I think that he was a real tough one, so I will call him Sinuous." Katie ran over to Murkrow and congratulated him, after recalling Kyga to her containment device. "You were amazing; I don't think I would have been able to catch him without you."

<Thanks, I'm glad I could help.> Murkrow answered exhaustedly.

"The exit is only fifty feet away, so I think I will be able to get to Pewter City and deposit the Pokémon I don't need to use."

Katie then noticed a sad look on the Murkrow's face. "By the way, I think I will call you Nightfall."

<You mean…> Murkrow began, a hopeful expression on his visage.

"Yeah, you're a part of my main team now, just like Kyga and Sinuous are." Katie said with a smile. "It's an unusual name, I know, but you certainly did your best. Welcome to the group."

Murkrow flew onto Katie's right shoulder and smiled happily.

"Are you ready to go to Pewter City and help me win my first Gym battle?" Katie asked.

Nightfall nodded.

"Well, let's go." Katie said, as she walked out with Murkrow, knowing that this was going to be an amazing journey. Josephine, Paul and Rachel followed in the brunette's footsteps, with their partners doing all that they could to remain on their feet as Riley, Laverne and Scarlei lagged behind.

This chapter was full of rather short but very epic battles. Kingpin and Brutes interactions makes them very solid characters as well as rivals--not to mention Josephine and Paul.

When you move to another setting, or time, you should separate them using a single centered * with enters before and after like this:

When you move to another setting, or time, you should separate them using a single centered * with enters before and after like this:

*

Then you won't confuse people. I understand but other people might not.

Click to expand...

Sorry about that, I sorta forgot about it. However, I will remember for next time.

Well, I must say you keep improving every time you write!
The three are really good (I won't comment on the three xD I'm lazy :P)
Its really interesting how you describe the humanized birds. Besides, that's quite original.. how did you come to that idea? Its good..

So.. keep writing!!! :D

I must admit that I haven't read all of it--I'm still on The Ressurection's Beginning--but oh goodness, this is amazing! Sgt Shock sent this to me for me to read, and I intended to check it out briefly and only read one or two sentences---I ended up reading the first few paragraphs. This story really draws you in. It's very good.

Also, if you ever need help with character interactions, just private message me and we can set something up. I like to think I'm pretty good at that sort of thing, and I'd like to help any way I can. ^_^

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your story as soon as I have time. (Ask Sgt Shock---I'm SOOO busy lately!!)

A/N: I'd like to thank Alakazam17, or A17 for short, for providing me with a description of Suicune.

Part 3: Brock's Beast

A loud roar filled the air outside of Mt. Moon. It came from a large cat-like creature, coloured yellow with black stripes on his legs. Distinguishing him as none other than Raikou was his un-naturally long claws and fangs. Combine that with the fact that his face was hidden by a black triangular plate, which covered the forehead and nose, as well as four metallic-looking whiskers which spread out from the front of his face and the beast looked very scary. As Raikou paced up and down through a long patch of grass, the creamy white tufts of fur – which were on the sides of his head – ruffled slightly in the breeze.

Snarling his annoyance at the tiger's pacing was a hefty auburn-coloured, lion-like Pokémon. An object resembling a star surrounded his face; it was yellow at the top, white at the bottom and red on the sides. A greyish-white cloak, which somewhat resembled smoke, kept changing its form on the Fire type's back. Stalking away from the creature of Thunder, Entei released a Flamethrower on some grass which instantly started a fire.

An Ice Beam doused the small fire. The third was a large, canine-like creature, with a lush coat of fur of a pale blue colour that nearly outclassed the very sky above, along with various white markings, all in the form of diamonds, seemingly emphasizing the Pokémon's rarity and value. He stood there, with his deep red eyes scanning his surroundings, as that magnificent, royal purple mane rustled with the wind, encompassing the Pokémon's three metre length. And from behind, two thin, snow-white tails waved majestically from either side of the creature, almost as if held in place by the wind itself. This could very well be the case, seeing as Suicune was said to be the embodiment of the north winds.

<It is known inter-regionally now,> Suicune stated with composure.

<What is?!> Entei snapped, quite clearly agitated.

<Do you even have ears, Entei?> Raikou's voice crackled with laughter at his joke. <Suicune said it is known inter-regionally that Team Rocket has resurrected. Our role as Legendaries is to begin the Uprising.>

<Raikou's right. As the Johton Beasts, we need to select our own humans, so that they can help the Rising Chosen.> Suicune added.

<Who do you have in mind?> Entei questioned, starting to settle down.

<Lt. Surge,> Raikou answered. <Because he's a master of Electric types. What about you, Suicune?>

<Misty,> came the response. <And you, Entei?>

Entei looked in his companions' eyes before replying. <The firebrand, Blaine.>

<It is done,> Raikou concluded. <Let us go to Cerulean, Vermillion and Seafoam Islands. There we will bond with them and battle for them if need be.>

With the meeting finished, the three Beasts raced off in different directions. Suicune headed towards Cerulean, Raikou Vermillion City and Entei bee-lined for the Seafoam Islands which was Blaine's new place of residence. It had been as such since the dormant Cinnabar volcano became active and erupted, destroying the Island.

*****

Since emerging from the Viridian Forest the previous day, the four trainers had gone their own ways.


"This place sure is... grey," I said, as I entered Pewter City.

"That's why it's known as the Stone City," a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see a girl, who appeared to be around my age, patting a Growlithe. The small, orange dog, stood beside her on all fours, growling angrily. A mane of white hair covered the top of its head, while below its chin was a large beard of the same fur. Black stripes covered its body, giving it a feline look, but the fluffy white tail was stripe-less. Its small ears drooped slightly, and its tongue was currently dry, indicating its tiredness.

The Growlithe trainer stood proudly, her long blonde hair with red foils in it flowing behind her. A red skin-tight short-sleeved top and a pair of slim-fitting grey denim three-quarter pants was her outfit. Her huge socks, almost like leg-warmers, perfectly matched her shirt, while her white sporty shoes were accented with a solitary crimson streak.

"I'm Serena, cousin of the Pewter Gym Leader, Brock Stone. This is my partner, Growlithe; I call him Pyren."

"Wow... he's an impressive Pokémon," I said. "Could you please tell me where the Pewter City Gym is?"

"It's in the northern part of town, but I recommend that you heal your Pokémon first at the Pokémon Centre, seeing as how you just got out of the Viridian Forest. The Pokémon Centre is just ahead if you follow this path," the girl pointed down the dirt road.

"Thanks for the information, Serena." I answered.

I walked towards the Pokémon Centre, arriving at the Centre and went up to the Nurse to heal my Pokémon. I noticed that the Nurse looked very familiar.

"Nurse Joy, you remember me. It's me, Josephine!"

"I'm sorry; I don't believe I've seen you before," the Nurse said, looking at me.

"You were at the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City..." I said, wondering why she couldn't remember me.

"Ohh, you must mean my cousin. She is the Nurse in Viridian," she said happily. "There is a Nurse at every Pokémon Centre in the region. We're all identical and we're all named Joy."

"Oh, okay..." I said, imagining all the Joys out there.

Just then, a tall woman with blue hair, in a dark blue police officer's uniform, walked up to Nurse Joy.

"Hello Officer Jenny; what brings you here?" Joy asked the policewoman.

"My department is trying to find Team Rocket. They've been stealing Pokémon from trainers," Officer Jenny said.

"Did you say Team Rocket?" I asked.

Both women turned their attention to me.

"A friend battled one of them in the Viridian Forest."

"She did?" Jenny became curious then. "Tell me, what did he/she look like, what Pokémon did they use..."

As soon as I had given a description of the man Katie had battled and the name of the Pokémon I had seen in his possession, she informed the officer that there was the possibility the man had other Pokémon, but I hadn't seen them.

Officer Jenny left, saying, "Thank you for helping me; your answers will bring us closer to capturing Team Rocket."

"No problem Officer Jenny," I said, and with that, Jenny left.

Nurse Joy brought me my Pokémon, and I thanked her. She bowed and I left to do some business with the PC in the corner. I deposited all of my Pokémon except for Riley (Shinx), Juri (Sandshrew), Breona (Pidgeotto) and Kingpin (Nidoran). Then, I exited the Pokémon Centre and went to the Gym.

Pewter City, Serena's home, wasn't beautiful by any standard, being dwarfed by Celadon's tranquillity, and the fast paced metropolis of Saffron. Originally a mining community, Pewter's buildings were old and constructed primarily of wood and simple materials that made the town look makeshift.

The surly, almost backwater vibe that was instilled in the atmosphere of the city was only a vibe.

A little further down the road was the Pewter City Gym. It was a large building, like all Pokémon Gyms, built specifically for housing the most intense Pokémon battles. Like every other building in Pewter, the Gym was constructed from badly cut stones that were probably quarried from the Pewter mines.

Having already seen the splendour of the Gym, she rushed inside, racing up the steps that led to the Gym's spectator stands. As she climbed, she heard chanting, which usually meant a Pokémon battle was about to begin.

"I am Josephine Harris from Pallet Town and I challenge the Gym Leader here!" I declared in a strong voice. Or as strong as I could get, considering that this was my first Gym battle and I was nervous.

"Another one from Pallet, huh? I just had one this morning," said a voice from the shadows. "Beat me pretty good too..."

"WHAT?! You battled another trainer from Pallet?!" I yelled. "Was his name Paul?!"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact it was," the leader stepped out of the shadows. A teen stood on the opposite side of the arena. He wore baggy green trousers and a brown t-shirt that covered his tanned torso. The teenager's perpetual squint hid the dark eyes that matched his spiky brown hair. With the crowd filling the dark stands above at his back, he raised a muscular arm and smiled, as he released his Pokémon.

"Paul is one step ahead of me, but that won't last for long," I muttered. "Anyway, will you accept my challenge?!"

"I do accept your challenge. Instead of the standard three vs. three, let's make it a two on two. I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Brock – I'm Pewter's Gym Leader," Brock said as he enlarged a Poké Ball. "Go Geodude!"

A small, round rock-shaped creature burst out of the red and white sphere, somehow hovering above the ground. The nose-less face was staring valiantly ahead, with both muscular arms having their fists closed. Punching the rocky floor in an attempt to intimidate, a deep, extended cry of "Dude…" was heard.

"Go Kingpin!" As I threw the Poké Ball towards the centre of the arena with precise aim, the red and white sphere hit the ground and parted, separating the two different shades of colours. An extremely bright flare of light was emitted from that parting in the ball. As the light from this flare faded, a shadow of the Pokémon could vaguely be seen. As the final particles of light disappeared, the full figure of the Poison type could be seen.

"Kingpin, Horn Attack!"

Kingpin charged towards Geodude.

"Geodude, Defence Curl!"

Geodude rolled up into a ball right before Nidoran struck. The attack didn't even faze Geodude, while Kingpin was favouring his horn.

"Now, Rock Throw!"

"Dodge it, Kingpin!"

Kingpin dodged it with ease. Geodude continued attacking. Again Kingpin dodged every one of them.

Brock saw that this was going to be a defensive battle, so he decided to end it. "This isn't going anywhere. Geodude, get close to Nidoran and use Explosion!"

Geodude hovered over to where Kingpin was and basking itself in a bright white light before triggering a massive explosion of light and smoke, the deafening sound and force of the explosion engulfing the entire Gym. When the smoke and debris cleared, no Pokémon was left standing.

"Kingpin!!" was all I could say when I saw both Pokémon on the ground, fainted.

Oh man… what am I gonna do? Kingpin's gone… and the only Pokémon who can effectively attack is Riley. Breona knows Steel Wing, but Rock types are strong against Flying Pokémon. What good is Riley against a Rock type…? I'm gonna get creamed… I almost panicked.

"I guess this is a tie, Josephine." Brock said, as both trainers returned their Pokémon. "The next one will decide the battle. Go, Omanyte!"

The creature that emerged from the red and white sphere was one from Kanto's past. A small spiral-shaped white shell rested on the Pokémon's blue body. Below its two large eyes was a mass of writhing tentacles, and hidden underneath two of the front appendages was a beak-like mouth.

I took out my Pokédex and pressed the scan button. "Omanyte, the Spiral Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Rock and Water types. Omanyte was resurrected from a fossil using modern science. It swam in ancient seas."

"Well Riley, this opponent is a Pokémon from when Kanto was newly formed, so I hope you can take him down!"

With that, I sent the female Shinx out and she looked ready for anything.

"I'm sure that you can beat him if you put your mind to it," I said this mainly to reassure myself.

Riley stepped up to face the spiral Pokémon. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, then… "Omanyte, Tackle it!" Brock yelled.

Omanyte rushed towards the feline but, at the last second, Riley only just dodged it due to her agile reflexes.

Phew, that was a close call, I thought, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Try your Thunder Fang attack on it, Riley!" I yelled, thankful that my partner hadn't been hit.

The dual Rock and Water type was still in close proximity, due to being a slow mover, so the female Shinx seized the opportunity. She bit the tentacled section of Omanyte and electricity coursed through the fossil Pokémon's body, which led to a grimace been seen on Brock's face.

My cousin won't be happy about that move! Serena thought, looking at his face.

The teenaged Gym Leader knew he would have to up the ante if he wanted to win this battle. "Rollout!"

With these words, it became my turn to look concerned. If Omanyte were to hit Riley with Rollout, especially after taking the time to use Defence Curl without anyone noticing, a fact that caused me to rub my forehead in frustration, the female Electric type would be felled like a sackful of Meowth.

Omanyte began to roll around the giant area, slowly at first, but faster and faster as he skimmed across the smooth bedrock that made up the Gym floor. Riley could only stand uncertainly and wait for him to make his move, which would undoubtedly be an attack. Rocks exploded beneath Omanyte as he circled the stadium in an effort to gain enough momentum to launch himself towards the feline and hit Shinx directly. It was only a matter of time until I would have to deal with the onslaught that was Omanyte's Rollout and I knew that.

The entire crowd watched the circling Rock and Water Pokémon with hushed silence; they were anxious to know what this promising young trainer would do to counter Omanyte's attack.

"Riley," I began, uncertainty in my voice. "Thunder Fang."

Serena shook her head at my command.

Thunder Fang would slow Omanyte's roll, but she waited too long to use the technique; for at his current speed, Omanyte could launch his attack whenever he wanted and losing the momentum that Shinx's electric-based attack would rob him of didn't change that fact, she reasoned.

As Serena predicted, Omanyte tore through the attack and lined himself up against Riley.

Seeing the opportunity Omanyte presented to him, Brock acted without hesitation. "Now!"

At the sound of his master's voice, Omanyte dashed forward, spinning dangerously close to Riley at an angle that left the cute lion-cub with nowhere to go. The entire crowd joined me in gasping when Omanyte struck the feline, knocking her backwards to the hard stadium floor.

Riley struggled to get moving after she recovered from the initial shock of being knocked between rock and rock. The black and blue feline looked desperate to get out of her current situation, aware of the ever-present Omanyte who was lining up for another Rollout attack. Since he had successfully hit with the first attack, his speed had increased even more, so hitting Shinx again would most likely result in a knockout. Both parties knew this and both were frantic to protect their interests.

It was pure luck that I protected my interests more thoroughly, as Riley somehow managed to get herself away from the rocks, narrowly avoiding Omanyte's attack, but avoiding it nonetheless. With his rhythm ruined, Omanyte had to begin again, so he made one quick circle of the room, while Riley fought for breath.

It was then a bright white glow overtook Riley.

I watched in amazement as my Pokémon started to glow! Could it be that all of the hard work finally paid off, and I was being rewarded? I could only stare as the light became brighter, and my friend grew in size.

Riley's body had elongated into something more streamlined. The blazing light faded enough for me to see. Standing roughly at a human teenager's knee, the bigger feline had slightly larger rounded ears and she now had two yellow bands on each of her front legs. The blue spike of fur that had been on top of Shinx's head was now a more pronounced black mane, her yellow eyes were half closed from tiredness and she had traded in her cute and cuddly look for a more serious one.

Wordlessly, I took out my Pokédex and tapped the scan button. "Luxio, the Spark Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Electric type. Luxio rests its forelegs on others to communicate with rhythmic electric pulses from its claws."

WHOA! Like… WOW! Riley finally evolved! I felt as though I were on a sugar high, and wanted to dance, but I became serious. I was, after all, still in a battle.

"No way… she evolved…" Brock was surprised, as was Omanyte. But neither was more surprised than me. I checked my Pokédex for a second time to discover that this was Riley's first evolution.

"Riley, use your Thunder Fang attack again!"

"Omanyte, watch out!" Brock warned his Pokémon. Omanyte tried to avoid the clone, but it was no use. Riley was much faster and stronger, as Omanyte was about to find out. She went up to Omanyte and, with her teeth crackling with electricity, bit his tentacled blue body. In a matter of seconds, Omanyte fell on his side, defeated.

Prompted into announcing the victory by the crowd's clapping, Jerry, the match official, stepped forward. "Omanyte is unable to continue. Shinx… uh, I mean Luxio… is the victor."

"I can't believe it – you won Josephine," Brock said, amazed that a Luxio had defeated his Pokémon, Omanyte.

It took a minute before I realized what had happened. "WE DID IT! WE WON OUR FIRST GYM BATTLE!" I released my other Pokémon, Kingpin, Juri and Breona. Juri and Breona stayed where they were while Kingpin ran over to me. After a little celebration, I stopped and asked Juri and Breona to come over and celebrate the victory.

Breona flew over to me, while Juri looked up, gave me the 'thumbs up' and said, <You've earned my respect, Josephine.>

I smiled at my Pokémon, knowing that our friendship was growing.

And from his pocket, Brock produced a small badge of carefully cut rock. It was grey, almost silver, and octagonal in shape. Although plain, it meant a lot to me.

I accepted it, too happy to express myself. "Well Brock, it was a pleasure to battle you, but I really must be going."

I left and went to the Pewter City Museum.

Later that night, I was in my room at the Pokémon Centre with all my Pokémon healed and sleeping, except for Riley. She and I were talking about the battle, as well as the Museum we saw afterwards.

<I can't believe that some Pokémon came from outer space!> Riley said, recalling one feature from the space exhibit.

"I'm more interested in the ancient Pokémon," I said, remembering the bones I saw at the glass display. "I wonder if I'll ever see one…?"

<Maybe in your dreams, Josephine.> Riley yawned, but I could tell that she was making fun of me.

"You evolved today, Riley, but your personality hasn't changed from when you were Shinx." I said, also yawning.

<Let's argue in the morning – I battled a tough one today, and it's taken a lot out of me.> Riley said, yawning longer this time and finally put her head at the end of the bed.

As we settled down for the night, the female Luxio's mind drifted almost unwillingly to a memory that had floated up to her relaxing mind, hidden beneath a layer of what had previously happened and the possible outcomes of what could.


She had been sleeping with her pride, which consisted of two alpha Luxray (one male and the other female), nine Luxio and seven Shinx – she was one of them. The night passed without anything major happening. It was the next day, however, that would turn out to be the most traumatic.

Her Luxray parents had just brought down a Staraptor and were ripping it to pieces, when an armoured truck pulled up alongside the hungry pride. Two men dressed in long white robes stepped out of the vehicle; one scanned the Shinx cubs, while the other aimed his rifle at the two Luxray.

"Rob, here," the first one said, picking one of the Shinx cubs up. "It's a female, she'll do just fine. Well, we got what we came for – let's go."

"Sure thing, Dave," the second man answered, returning his weapon to a neutral position and getting back into the truck.

When Dave clambered back in, he became aware of the Shinx cub meowing pitifully. He was unaware, however, that the female cub was communicating with her parents.

<Mother, Father – help me!> was what the cry said.

As the armoured truck sped away, the haunting, calling roar of her mother was to be the last thing she'd hear in regards to her pride ever again – at least, until she returned.

Summoning all of her energy, she managed a pathetic sounding roar, but it was one that said thus: <I will return one day, that much I can promise.>


"Yeah, good night Riley, and thanks for helping me win my first badge." I said with a smile, before falling asleep. Not knowing, though, that I would need it because of the perils that my path would present to me. As I slept, an entire gang of men and women could be seen near Pewter City's edge, running towards a mountain known as Mt. Moon.



While Rachel, Katie and I had gotten up before first light the next day, and despite the fact that Rachel and Katie had left immediately, I chose to remain behind for some reason. It was almost as if I wanted to keep an eye on Josephine while, at the same time, being one step ahead of her. I turned and looked at the two red and white orbs on the bedside table and thought of how valiantly Scarlei and Brute had fought against Brock, the Rock type Gym Leader of Pewter City, two days ago.

Both of my partners were nearing evolution, I was sure of that. But what I wasn't sure of was how long it would take them and where the miracle would happen. I imagined Josephine asking me "Where did you come up with the name Scarlei?" the next time she saw me. Fortunately, I had had enough foresight to come up with a reasonable excuse. The fact that I had a knack for nicknames, even though I didn't normally do it, surprised me slightly.

I also knew I couldn't stay in Pewter forever, as Rachel and Katie now had the lead badge wise. I was aware that Rachel was a born and bred Pewterian, so it naturally made sense for her to know her way around the city and the surrounding area. I attached my partners' spheres to my belt, scrutinized my backpack, and then hefted it onto my back, before leaving the Centre for good.

Just as I was leaving the place of healing, I saw Josephine having breakfast out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't be bothered going over there and saying hello to her; I just wanted to be gone from this boring old city of grey rock. I wondered how she was going to train four Pokémon but, by the time I was halfway through that thought, I'd already exited the Pokémon Centre and was headed towards Route 3.

Whilst doing so, I slowed my mind and remembered back to my successful victory over Brock.

At first, I'd had to watch some noob challenge the Rock type Gym Leader. But, fortunately for me, the battle was over quite quickly.

"Rattata, Tackle it!" A boy cried frantically at his Pokémon.

The sight of the small purple rat facing off against the giant mountainous snake of stone which was Brock Stone's Onix would have been almost comical if I did not know the dangers of the Rock Snake Pokémon.

The arena itself was made of a huge slab of slate, common to all of Pewter City. Topsoil hid the rock formation the city was built on; however, instead of constructing a battlefield, the local Gym Leader had chosen to dig up the ground, exposing the stone below and giving his exclusively Rock Pokémon an edge in battle.

"An unwise strategy." A teen, standing on the opposite side of the arena to the boy with the Rattata, advised. An orange long-sleeved jumper, which covered his trademark brown shirt, and russet-coloured trousers were his outfit. The teenager's perpetual squint hid the dark eyes that matched his spiky brown hair. With the crowd filling the once empty stands above at his back, Brock raised a muscular arm and smiled. "Onix, Harden!"

While the tiny lavender-coloured rodent charged valiantly towards its enemy, Brock's Onix remained still, conserving his energy. Although I was too far away to see the effects of Onix hardening his already stone skin, I could imagine the rock contracting, closing any imperfections on the outside of his body to leave nothing but smooth pewter in its wake.

Rattata hit Onix's side and rebounded off, leaving not even the tiniest of scratches on the Rock Snake's flank. As it darted to its feet, Onix bent low to look into the rat's eyes, then whipped his tail around and into the purple rodent. The fifty spectators in the stands met the attack with awe. Rattata's trainer, on the field below the masses – a little boy not even ten-years-old – could only sniff away his tears as his Pokémon hit the wall of the ring and slumped to the floor.

Brock withdrew Onix and consoled his opponent privately, before escorting him off the field and returning to his post across the arena. I began my mission; I had no intention of competing in the Indigo League, instead only wanting the badges to increase the strength of my Pokémon. The hushed murmur that had begun the moment Rattata was defeated died down when Brock raised his hand in a command for silence. I left the stands behind me as I made my way down to the arena.

"You have seen my power!" Brock shouted to the crowd arranged around the pit the arena was situated in. "Are there any among you who would dare challenge it?"

For a time, nobody spoke and Brock sat cross-legged at his post. Serena suspected that I had seen the ten metre long stone Onix and decided I could benefit with some training before facing her cousin.

But it was not to be.

My shadow fell on the arena from the large rock cut entrance across from the Gym Leader. Serena suddenly realized that, in her heart, she had been hoping I wouldn't face Brock, because she felt that I was too inexperienced to be capable of defeating him. To her dismay, she saw me casting the shadow, Scarlei and Brute at my side. I marched into the stadium and took up my position where a challenger should.

"You are young." Brock spoke, his deep voice echoing throughout the Gym. "What is your name?"

"I am Paul Johnson from Pallet Town."

His tone was suddenly very cold. "Is this your first Gym challenge, Paul?"

I frowned, but dared not speak against the Gym Leader. "Yes."

"Then there will be plenty of time to talk if you can best my Pokémon."

His tone indicated he seriously doubted that I stood a chance at beating the Pokémon inside the two spheres he threw to the ground. Once more, the crowd was hushed and waited expectedly for Brock's other aces, which could only be two Rock types.

The first of these Pokémon to exit was a rhinoceros-like creature which slammed into the ground upon emerging. His skin was layers upon layers of slate-coloured rock with a single horn jutting from the tip of his nose. This creature was a Rhyhorn, a predictable choice of Pokémon. His red eyes tried to stare into mine; however, I appeared to be more steadfast since he turned his eyes before I hardly blinked. Brute could handle him, I deduced.

The second Pokémon was a bit of a surprise for a person who was foolish enough to bring a Water Pokémon in the hopes of defeating me. It was a Kabuto, a Rock and Water type. His entire body consisted of a thick brown shell as well as yellow legs that pierced through the darkness of his body. The only other thing that could be seen from the inside of the shell was that he too had red eyes, circular ones that glowed when he turned his body. He was a distinctive shock for any other person; but not I. Grass will hurt him not only once but twice.

"As you can see, this is a double battle. You've seen mine..."

"And you will see mine," I answered.

"Now show me how strong you are, trainer Paul."

I yanked the two Poké Balls containing my Pokémon of choice from my belt. I stared at them; they haven't failed me to this point so they wouldn't now. I tossed them vigorously to the floor allowing the two Pokémon shoot from the white light to the ground. Scarlei and Brute was my choices and they were my key to victory. I calmed myself down. If I got too overconfident I would lose – no, I would be defeated utterly. However, that wasn't going to happen. I am Paul, and I am the best there is.

"Let the battle begin!" Brock shouted.

"Double Kick the Rhyhorn, Brute. Handle the Kabuto with an Absorb." The words just came out of my mouth. Both were super effective on their respective opponents.

"A little hasty there don't you think, Paul?"

Without any notice, Brock's Pokémon suddenly dashed out of the way of their opponents and counter attacked with a Horn Attack and Scratch from the Rhyhorn and Kabuto respectively.

Scarlei seemed to take the Scratch well, while Brute took the attack with too much damage from my haste. The Rhyhorn had achieved first blood; as seen by the red liquid on Brute's stomach. This wasn't the situation that I wanted to be in.

"You have to slow down... in your battling, Paul," Brock gave some advice.

"Don't lecture me." I couldn't help myself.

<What the HELL, Paul?> Brute spoke, already frustrated.

"Concentrate, Brute. The battle just started," I reconciled.

<Though it was obviously a miscalculation on your part...> Scarlei chastised me. He was the only one who could do that without retaliation.

"Focus on the battle both of you."

"Horn Attack again, Rhyhorn. Scratch Kabuto."

<Is he foolish enough...> Scarlei started.

<To think we will fall for the same damn trick twice,> Brute finished.

"You know what to do." I stated – they knew what I meant, it went without saying.

The Rhyhorn dashed towards Brute, while the Kabuto suddenly leaped towards Scarlei. Both of them dodged the attack effortlessly at the last moment. Brute attacked back with a flurry of Pecks as he jumped over his opponent while Scarlei stunned his enemy with yellow spores from the vines on the top of his head. Brock appeared thunder-shocked – it was a good indication that he, too, had underestimated me, if even only slightly.

"Don't look too confident," Brock mentioned.

"Because I'm in the driver's seat, I'll keep driving. Crush them. Double Kick and Absorb."
Brute effortlessly executed his attack, aiming two powerful Double Kicks to the Rhyhorn's body. In terms of defence, the Rhyhorn could best Brute. However, in speed, it was obviously lacking. I planned to milk that of all that it was worth to take this rhinoceros down – piece by piece.

Scarlei, despite the Kabuto's paralysis, missed the double super effective hit with Absorb. It was pathetic really, how the Kabuto would do anything not to take a blow from the Grass type move. However, the paralysis was a factor on how much he was squirming right now. I wasn't too worried about that outcome.

"You're getting comfortable. Don't," Brock continued.

"You're between a rock and a hard place, if you can pardon the cliché." Matter of fact, I was getting pretty comfortable.

"Confidence... I enjoy that. Let me tone you down a bit." Brock shook his head. "Stomp, Rhyhorn. Spin off the Stun Spore with a Rapid Spin, Kabuto!"

Rhyhorn's massive leg slammed into the ground sending the much smaller attacker flying to the other side of the gym. Kabuto began spinning his body in such a rapid pace that the spores that stuck to his body dissipated leaving him limber once more.

"Scratch it." Brock said blankly.

Before I could give a proper direction towards Scarlei, the Kabuto jumped towards Scarlei to strike him with Scratch. The attack was then followed by the rest of Kabuto's claws, causing blood to be seen on the outside of Scarlei's body. He now looked as irritated as I did.

<This Kabuto is... annoying...> Scarlei mentioned.

"Let's end this. Brute, can you battle?" I continued.

<Hell yeah...> the Nidoran brought his body up off the ground. His face was covered in a crimson mask of his own blood. <Let me at 'em.>

"Tough Pokémon you have," Brock complimented.

"Likewise." Respect deserved respect.

"I assume that we should finish this," Brock looked at the Gym's ceiling. "Rock Slide, Rhyhorn. Icy Wind, Kabuto."

Those were indeed the two most powerful moves that he was probably saving in his arsenal. Rock Slide and Icy Wind can be taught at an early age each to Rhyhorn and Kabuto. At this rate, both of my Pokémon would faint. I clenched my teeth at the thought of failure. Not here. Not now. I won't lose.

"BRUTE! SCARLEI! POUR YOUR HEARTS OUT!!!" I shouted.

The Rock Slide came raining down towards Brute. Brute's adrenaline began pumping through all of his veins. He began swerving in and out of the falling rock, moving as fast as lightning to avoid all of the attacks. Out of nowhere, he became empowered with speed to get close to the Rhyhorn. Once close enough, he pelted the Rhyhorn's legs with Double Kicks breaking him down to the point that the Rhyhorn fell over in pain. With one last attack, Brute hit him with a critical hit on the last kick sending the Rhyhorn to unconsciousness. One was down.

The second came soon after; Scarlei had developed a plan long before the Icy Wind had left the Kabuto's mouth. The Budew had managed to multiply the last remaining Stun Spore across his entire body. When the attack started, Kabuto's guard was down, giving Scarlei the opening he needed to infect his entire body. As Kabuto lay helpless, Scarlei stood over the Shellfish Pokémon.

"Absorb..." I said with a smile on my face.

With that the battle was over. Every ounce of the Kabuto's energy was drained from him, causing him to faint seconds later. The battle was over and I was the victor. There was no denying it.

From the stands above the arena, the crowd went wild. Despite all expectations, I had learnt a lot in just four days, which included managing to defeat Brock the Rock – the renowned student of Bruno of the Elite Four. The battle had been long and hard. In the end, my victory was a stupendous win, nonetheless.

An hour later, the Gym Leader had a discussion with me about the trainers who had come before me. "You want to know about Rachel Savina and Katie Emerson, right?"

"I figure I have a right to know," I answered. "They're friends, after all."

Brock's silence prompted me to try again. "What was the battle like?"

"Short," the Leader replied.

"Were they that difficult to beat?" I questioned tentatively.

"It was a two-on-one, but in the end only Katie's Firkit fought my Pokémon. She completely overwhelmed me, I was forced to forfeit." Brock admitted, as he strapped his tool belt around his waist. "If you truly are their friend, then I advise you to train a lot harder, because they will overpower you as well."

I played with my newly acquired Boulder Badge, as I wondered what other adventures would come my way.



At the end of Route 3, and just before Mt. Moon which was to the north, Katie and I stood together regarding our teams with pride. Katie's newly evolved Firwean sat regally in front of her trainer. The Firwean's sinister-looking scarlet eyes were studying me intensely. Kyga's eyes fitted inside the head of her lean, crimson-coloured cheetah-like body. She had black diamond-like spots on her frame and, as she growled, the flames on the back of each of her legs increased in size.

Two of my Pokémon, Laverne and Aeroc, were content to hang back slightly and converse to each other in Pokéspeech. Laverne's youthful jet-black eyes gazed deeply into Aeroc's ancient green ones before the failed Suicune experiment turned his head in my direction, wondering what I was doing, before coming to the conclusion that I was still standing around.

Large, terrifying appendages spread out from Aeroc's shoulders that seemed too big for the rest of his body. Three digits arose from the 'hand' joints of each wing, like fingers as a strong-looking triangular-shaped tail came from his rear. His beady eyes surveyed his surroundings imperiously as he opened his mouth and gave a mighty screech, showing dangerously sharp saw-like teeth. Two horns and strong-looking legs, complete with three-toed clawed feet, finished off the grey flying monstrosity.

I thought back to how Katie and I had defeated Brock.


"An official match between Rachel Savina, Katie Emerson and Pewter City Gym Leader Brock will now begin. If Rachel and Katie win, they will earn the Boulder Badge. Each trainer may only use one Pokémon each. A Pokémon is out of the contest if it faints or if the Gym Leader recalls it with the intention of forfeiting. Let the match begin!" Jerry yelled.

"Kyga, your assistance is required!" Katie shouted, as she picked a Poké Ball off her belt and threw it into the air.

"Come on out, Maverick!" I called. I could tell that Brock was watching with interest as the Firkit and Leafeon took their places on the challenger's side of the arena.

"I now select Wolrayne," the Gym Leader was clearly passionate about this battle. He called upon a hulking, slobbering lupine creature just by using a simple whistle. It prowled out of the shadows of the Gym as if the night itself had given birth to it. Its crazed yellow eyes and wicked, stained fangs bore no good will as Kyga became fixated under the glare of a pair of blood red irises. Scruffy russet-coloured fur clung to its bony form and the clicking of its dagger-like claws, which emerged from its thickly covered paws as it padded ever closer, scared the Firkit slightly.

"Are you serious, Brock?!" I practically screamed. "What the hell is that?"

"Check your Pokédex," was all he said.

"Wolrayne, the Ground Wolf Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Ground and Dark types. Further information unavailable, Pokédex upgrade needed."

Shocked at this information, I shook my head and blinked several times. I snorted disbelievingly before speaking up. "Ground and Dark typed? I thought you only trained Rock Pokémon..." I glared at the Gym Leader.

"He's a new friend," Brock answered shortly, before waving his hand in irritation. "But enough of this! Let the battle begin!"

"Stand down, Rachel," Katie called over to me. "I'll take him on myself."

"Uh, okay," I replied hesitantly, as I wondered what plan the other girl had.

As Kyga quickly launched her attack, I realized that Brock hadn't trained this Wolrayne, as the Ground Wolf showed no signs of knowing what to do.

<I can't let my mistress down... and I won't,>Kyga mumbled, still in her haughty tone. She screwed her eyes in pain as the Wolrayne snapped his teeth at her tail, and a warmth started spreading through her body as she counter-attacked.

The warmth exploded throughout her frame with a bright flash of white light as she cried out <I WON'T LET THE MISTRESS DOWN!>

Her legs elongated as her figure lengthened, with her tail growing longer as well. Four larger spurts of flame now flickered from the back of each of her legs, and the black diamond-like spots had increased to being all over her body. Last to grow a bit more were her ears, being slightly more triangularly-shaped. She had the look of a hunting cheetah and she was proud of it. With a now louder, unwavering roar Kyga shot for Wolrayne like a bullet, making out as though she would badly injure the Ground Wolf.

"I forfeit," Brock stated. He returned his newest acquaintance to his respective containment device and handed out two Boulder Badges, with a third item – a red and white sphere – being given to me.

I raised an eyebrow at the proffered Poké Ball. "What's with this, huh?" I accepted my badge, but was still wary about the orb.

"Take it, it's an Aerodactyl. He'll help you with the rest of your journey. I often referred to him as my beast," Brock responded.

Both of my eyebrows shot up. "A WHAT?!" I yelled, extremely excited. "Oh man! This is awesome!"

I speedily thanked the Gym Leader and made a quick exit out of the Gym, with Katie following closely.


Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I realized I could hear Paul at the beginning of Route 3. Returning Laverne and Maverick, I instructed Aeroc to fly over Mt. Moon and meet me in Cerulean City. Upon receiving a nod from the ancient dinosaur, who then pushed up off the ground and took to the sky, Katie and I hurried into the dungeon-like cave.

Awesome job with dividing the chapter. The three different POVs really shows the characters differences in how they work. I'm very curious on what do you have planned next.

You already know my personal favorite part of the chapter. Paul is just really awesome. I think I like his character the best. My favorite female character so far has to be Katie. It's something about her that is really awesome. Anyway good job. Keep the good work up.