[PKMN OPEN] Dusk Til Dawn: An Orre Story [T] (IC)

[Earth Traveler]

Mick Parker - The Showdown at the Station (Pt. 2)

"Poison, Tackle him!" ordered the woman with a vicious smile. The Ivysaur threw its shoulder into Blueflame, and to my shock it sent Blueflame skidding back several feet.

"Ember!" I yelled, now very worried for Blueflame's safety. In response, he spat hot sparks all over Ivysaur. Ivysaur grunted and bowed under the attack, but after the spark shower subsided, it tossed itself shoulder-first into into Blueflame again without command, but this time, instead of a simple Tackle, Blueflame was sent skidding far away and gasping for air just to stay on his feet. The Ivysaur also seemed slightly worse for the wear, as it had bounced off Blueflame and was still wincing a bit. I suspected it was a Take Down attack, but mostly I was wondering how Blueflame would survive another one. Then it occurred to me:

"Blueflame, use Detect!" I cried.

Blueflame managed to struggle to his feet. Then his eyes glowed a hard green as the Ivysaur came for him again.

"Poison, Sh... Rush him!" yelled the woman. I cocked my head slightly. It seemed she'd started to say something but bitten her tongue. But what was she going to say? I wondered as Blueflame dodged the attack. I couldn't really think of any attacks off-hand that were named "Rush", other than maybe Dragon Rush, which I was pretty sure Ivysaur couldn't learn. But then there was that "Sh" she'd said before biting her tongue.

"Attack him!" yelled the woman. I lazily glanced up, knowing Blueflame could dodge any attack right now... and then saw the woman was pointing at me.

I was so shocked I couldn't move for a moment. It hardly mattered though, since the Ivysaur was on me in two seconds and took only one more to knock me on my back. It was everything I could do to just try to keep the thing from caving my chest in.

Luckily, I only had to try for a few seconds, because Flareon came in and Tackled Ivysaur off of me. I struggled to my feet while Blueflame and Ivysaur - Poison, I guess - wrestled. Suddenly it me like a bolt of lightning the mystery attack the woman had ordered: Shadow Rush. Now all the oddities made sense: the mystery attack, the Ivysaur's aggression, and its willingness to attack an opposing trainer.

As I pulled my bag off my back, I yelled out to Blueflame, "Blueflame, execute Doll Tail!" Another one of our special techniques from the Contest days, Doll Tail was basically waving the tail in a Pokemon's face and, while it was distraced, smashing into it and then blowing embers in its face. It really synced up well with an aerial variant of Vacuum Ember.

Anyway, Blueflame performed it to near-perfection. He didn't quite get the tail wag right, but, to my surprise, he bit Ivysaur in the foreleg and as he did, some dark energy came off his teeth. But there was no time to celebrate Blueflame learning a new move, since I still had to pull the Snag Machine out of my bag.

The Ivysaur, though, was pretty much done, laying on the ground heaving. As I got the Snag Machine on, I ordered Blueflame to back off. I grabbed a Poke Ball with my machine hand. It seemed to sync up with the ball, then a glass slide moved in front of my eye. Through it, I saw the dark purple aura surrounding Ivysaur, or Poison, as I guessed his name was.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the woman reaching for her Poke Ball to recall the Ivysaur.
Too late, I thought as I tossed the ball over to Ivysaur. Mine got there before the woman's, and in a few seconds had the Pokemon secured. At which point, predictably, the woman bolted. I raced over, scooped up the ball, and dashed after her.

I was too slow, however. She had a motorcycle waiting in the middle of town and jumped on. There were also several of her comrades running over and jumping on their motorcycles. I realized that, despite the many different colors of their outfits, all of them were actually wearing the same uniform, but I couldn't make out even a logo. One of them, a guy dressed in blue, called out to the woman, "You got beat too, Vert?"

"Yeah, some punk--" she began. She saw me coming up and pointed, continuing, "This kid coming up."

"Seems we all did," snorted the guy in blue. "Well, we'd better go."

"Got that right," replied the woman - Vert, I rebranded her - and she drove off with her compatriots.

I looked down at Blueflame, who'd pulled up beside me. "Wonder what this was all about," I asked him.

 

[Coldweather]

EPISODE 5:​

TRUTH AND ENIGMA​

*DING*

The automatic doors to the Pokemon Center slid open.

Trapped in the waiting room, Shane was beginning to feel ancy. He was tapping his foot impertinently, impatient but also fearful.

I shouldn't of let her get that hurt, Shane thought to himself.

It was dark outside.

He had been waiting in that room for what felt like an eternity. There hadn't been any news on Ashton's condition for several hours. The place didn't have the modern healing machines, so Pokemon care was much less advanced and unreliable. Unfortunately for Shane, nowhere else was open at this hour, so he was stuck wasting away there. He even dozed off at one point, but was woken by the insufferable dinging of the front entrance.

*DING*

Shane glared at the door. In walked a woman, younger than Shane but not by much. She was dressed simply and seemed fatigued. The woman approached the nurse at the front desk, muttered a few words to her, and handed her a Pokeball. The nurse nodded and disappeared in the back.

The woman came and sat down opposite Shane. He kept his head down, looking at the ball of Lilla's Venipede in his lap.

She squirmed a bit, hesitated, then finally spoke.

"Crazy," she said.

Shane looked up. Her eyes were as black as her hair.

"Huh?" he asked, tiredly.

"Those goons, coming in and trying to take over the city." she responded.

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence.

"You know," she began. "I saw you do it."

Shane froze. "Do what?"

"That machine on your arm… do you really think that people don't know what that does?" she asked, rhetorically.

Shane didn't know what to do. He knew that Snag Machines were illegal, but he had never intended to use his for malicious reasons. He only wanted to liberate it from a person who would use it for evil, and kept it as a badge of victory. Shane broke his own code snagging that Venipede, even if it seemed abused under Lilla. If this woman reported him to the authorities, he would have very little to defend himself.

"What you're doing," she started. "It's very noble."

Shane sat up, eyes wide with a blend of confusion and relief. The woman cocked her head, unsure why Shane seemed surprised.

"Saving Shadow Pokemon, like that Venipede," she clarified pointing at the ball in his lap.

Shane was still a bit confused, but decided to cover his bases and play along. He had heard about Shadow Pokemon and the Cipher Organization's involvement in them, but beyond simply the terms he knew very little.

"Yeah," he responded, smiling arrogantly and trying to be charming. "You do what you can."

The woman looked at him, unimpressed.

"You don't know what Shadow Pokemon are, do you.." she said, trailing.

Shane hesitated, then shook his head, embarrassed.

"Well I'll try to explain," the young woman started. "Shadow Pokemon are ordinary Pokemon that have had their hearts closed artificially. This turns them into violent, aggressive, and disobedient fighting machines."

"What?" Shane asked. "Why would someone do that?"

"They become stronger and more efficient, but harder to control. I guess Cipher wanted to find an easy way to grow more powerful."

"Terrible," Shane said, disgusted. "How could you tell that Venipede is a Shadow Pokemon?"

"I can just… tell. They look almost identical to ordinary Pokemon, but have this invisible… darkness to them. It.. it's… it's hard to explain," she looked off into the distance. "I'm surprised you didn't know about Shadow Pokemon. After all, you were battling with one."

Shane's eyes slowly widened. "You don't mean…"

"Yup, that Eevee of yours."

 

[PastelPhoenix]

Ryuhei Martelle​

Ex-Punk / Phenac City / Ready for Some Rest

Chapter 2: Old Scars and New Games
​

Ryu sat in one of the Phenac Pokémon center trainer rooms, absentmindedly running a small brush through Annette's fur. He could hear the low rumble of the washing machine with his clothes running just slightly in the background. He originally just wanted to give Annette a bath right now, but after she jumped out of the tub and into his lap, he had no choice but to prolong his stay further. Normally he'd like to challenge the Colosseum here, win, and be on his way, but after the events at Station Town, maybe a little rest was deserved. The Colosseum would be open tomorrow, stressing Annette out would likely be a bad idea.

Ideally he'd like to start bonding with Patrat right away, but he was too much of a wildcard to let loose in a Pokémon center right now. Luckily the nurse didn't seem to notice that Patrat was a shadow pokémon, or at the very least didn't mention it. Annette squirming in his lap broke that train of thought, and soon she was sitting up and rubbing the top of her head under his chin. Taking that as as command to brush her belly, he began his slow, rhythmic brush strokes, when something started lightly brushing past the back of his neck.

"Hey, don't do that." Ryu said, looking down at the pink cat like pokémon in his lap. "You know those ribbons really tickle."

Annette looked back up at her partner with a cocky grin and a wink. She always knew how to mess with him, not to say he didn't enjoy it from time to time. Was his face that serious.

"Okay, C'mere you little brat!" He said, chuckling and pulling her into a hug.

It was only when he looked up that he saw the nurse back in the room, smiling and holding the coffee he asked for. When did she enter? He didn't hear the door open at all, and didn't think he was that lost in thought.

"Okay, here's your coffee." The nurse said with the same large grin. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Uh... Sugar and creamer if you have it" Ryu meekly replied..".. a lot of it."

"I'll be right back then!"

As the nurse exited the room, Ryu swore he heard her chuckling. Yeah, yeah, very funny. Big guy loves his little pink fairy Pokémon and drink his coffee super sweet. While the nurse closed the door behind her he swore he saw a familiar flash of brown clothing, and his mind jumped back to the Snagem member he stole Patrat from. There's no way it's her, anyone could wear a brown shirt, I'm just overthinking it. No way she would attempt to rob an entire town, and then just go to the next one and act like nothing changed. He had let her go... why? She had a dangerous pokémon she couldn't control, no telling if she had more. Was it because he felt sorry for her? Well... a little, but that's not it. Because she was cute? Nah, that never affected his decision making before... Has it?
Trying to take his mind off the subject, he picked up the TV remote next to him and flicked it on. Some romance movie about a wealthy girl on vacation in Pyrite falling in love with a thug from the Under. Ugh, the Under. If I ever have to step foot there just shoot me now. Only halfway watching, something flickering on the screen caught his attention. Some man with a dog mask was on screen in front of a Cipher symbol instead of the movie, and it looked like he was ready to give a speech.

------

After the speech Ryu was peeved. So Cipher was up to something after all. Motioning for Annette to follow him, he quickly gathered his basic battle supplies. He has to find one of these judges so he can give Cipher a piece of his mind. Right before he left the room, he grabbed the paper cup full of coffee. It was still black, but it would have to do right now.

 

[FireSnow]

Desmond Allen

The beautiful region of Orre

Desmond sat down on a bench as he thought about what had just happened. He battled a Snagem Ranger, a branch of one of the most well-known evil organizations in Orre, who had thought to be disbanded for years. He and his crew were definitely there to steal Pokemon. The reason clearly to turn them into Shadow Pokemon. This wasan't there first rodeo though as evidenced by the Wartortle now in Desmond's possession. He looked down at the ball in his lap.

How long had these people been around? Was it 5? 10? 15 years? Was Snagem...or worse Cipher, ever really gone? Desmond shuddered at the thought of Cipher being back. Snagem was bad but Cipher was on a whole other level. These thoughts made Desmond feel uneasy so he decided to think about something else, like how he could see the aura around the Wartortle. He'd never been able to do it before...or so he thought. Sure he had worked for that organization about 5 years back or so and they talked about Shadow Pokemon but that didn't mean he ever got to see a Shadow Pokemon. He was just the guy who stole the Pokemon and then oversaw the missions for stealing Pokemon. He was never given clearance beyond the high level grunt stuff. Desmond began thinking more about his past as he sat there. He thought back to his first ever mission. It was a mission to sneak into the Kids Network HQ and steal the Program Director's favorite Pokemon, a Cacnea. This wasn't much of a problem fro Desmond, he knew every inch of the Under better than the back of his own hand. Not to mention he had his partner in crime, Daro, with him. Together they couldn't fail. The mission was so easy that it took them less than 10 minutes to break in, take the Cacnea and escape. By the time the victims realized what had happened, Cacnea was long gone and Desmond and Daro were relishing in their success.

Daro...

Desmond could feel the emotion well up inside him as he thought back to his best friend. It'd been 5 years since he had seen him. The day their location was ratted out and ambushed by more police officers than Desmond ever thought existed in Orre. Desmond was arrested but Daro was able to escape. Now he was MIA and Desmond was determined to find him. He had to save his best friend from the life of crime he was living, even if it meant traveling every inch of Orre twice, he would find his friend and bring him home.Tears began to well up in his eyes now. Home was a loose term for Desmond. Though he was from the Under, he could never go back there. Not after all that had happened. His home was wherever Hecate and Daro were. That's all he truly needed in life. He couldn't live without them.

A sudden sound of an engine interuppted Desmond's thoughts. He looked up towards his right and could see a cloud of dust heading towards him. As it got closer he could a girl with a Glaceon was driving it. Desmond quickly tried wiping his eyes and thought about what he was going to say to this new person. A minute later the girl was upon him, perched up on her bike looking down at him. Desmond struggled for words, quite the rarity for him, as he looked up at the girl.

"Um...Hi there. M-my name is Desmond and this right here is Hecate" he gestured towards the Umbreon, curled up next to his leg, "I see you have a bike and...well...I was wondering if we could hitch a ride? I need to reach Phenac City for some...very important business..."

Well that was just painful Desmond thought to himself.

He needed to learn to control his emotions better. This was the second time he had made a fool of himself today. He could only hope this stranger would be merciful and give him a ride to the next town. He needed to find answers and Phenac was his best bet to find some since it was the town closest to Station Town. Plus, he really didn't want to walk that distance. He was seriously pooped out.

 

[PastelPhoenix]

Phenac City Colosseum

​

Will walked into the small meeting room, holding the Pokéball containing the Shadow Elektrike he snagged from the young Snagem member in Yellow. One of his fellow lords, Melika, was already in the room along with the Sherriff for Phenac.

"Hell of an introduction to this work, isn't it Will?" She asked, a tired smile on her face. "Guessing that's the Pokémon in question?"

"Yup, confirmed it myself." He replied, taking a seat across from her. The smell of salt water faintly tickled his sense of smell. For some reason he always smelled the sea on her, even though he was sure she hasn't been in her Colosseum all day. Maybe I'm just imagining it, can't not think Hoenn when I see her.

"Can't believe I made fun of you for carrying that snag machine all this time, and here you just prove me wrong."

"Can't really fault you on that, you didn't live through it the first time."

"Looks like they're coming through now." The Sherriff said, motioning towards the large monitor, which flicked to life with four picture, each showing another Colosseum Lord. Vincent of Gateon, Cass of Xanth, Aubrette of Realgam, and Vander of Mt. Battle.

"Looks like we're a little short." Will commented.

"Well, we don't need all three of us from Mt. Battle, I'll just pass on what we talked about." Vander said taking the initiative. "Plus Luciano is still camping."

"Well, let's get going with it now."



"What do you mean we aren't going to do anything?!" Aubrette yelled, her bubble gum pink twin-tails shaking with her shouts.

"We had a vote, and it makes more sense not to leave everything undefended while we hunt a blind lead." Will refuted, annoyed. "And aren't you a little too old to keep up the popstar appearance."

"Aren't both of you too old to dye your hair pink?" Melika snapped, looking even more tired. "We can't even get into the event, apparently they know way more about us than we know about them. Plus, keeping the Colosseums open would help train the people actually going to the event."

"Ugh, I just hate sitting here doing nothing." Aubrette grumbled.

"I know, I know." Vincent reassured her, doing his best camera smile. "We won't just be sitting here. We'll contact Michael and see if we can get him investigating into this. And we'll try to draw these volunteers on our side, isn't that right Melika?"

"Yeah… Looks like more long hours for me. Just so you know, I'm not going to go easy on them."

"Never expected you to."

Phenac Colosseum:

Once at risk of being closed in favor of Realgam, the community rallied together to keep the Colosseum open when the games were announced. Large and overflowing with water, the Colosseum reflects Phenac better than Realgam possibly could.

The Colosseum itself is made up of a small sand island, surrounded by a simulated ocean. A small shipwreck lies close to the edge of the arena. "Sniper" Melika, the lord of this Colosseum, apparently survived a shipwreck in her home region of Hoenn, and modeled the Colosseum around her experiences.

Entering the challenger side, instructions come over speaker while you wait in the hallway.

"Welcome to the high seas. This is the first part of your challenge. Coming to Orre, I found many people who don't understand how difficult it can be to survive surrounded by water, something I intend to change. Your ship has just crashed, and the only land in site is this little one in front of you. All you need to do is make it to the island for this first part.

"Oh yeah, and you have to avoid some strong currents that can take you off the sea to contend with, If you touch the sides of the arena, consider yourself eliminated. Also, the ocean is home to many predators. While I don't expect you to deal with anything like a Sharpedo, my buddy Seaking will be trying to knock you back off to sea. If you survive this, we can get to the real fun. Good luck.

Leader:
Lady Melika, Hoenn's #1 Marksman

Despite wearing a sand colored suit that hides most of her body in every Colosseum match, she hasn't lost her deep island tan in all her years in Orre. She's a predator in her own environment, blending in with the island scenery and preferring guerilla attacks over direct battle. She prefers accurate Pokemon, and is usually not caught without one of her Pokemon making full use of the Sniper ability.

First Colosseum Pokemon:

​

 

[Coldweather]

​

EPISODE 6:​

RECRUITMENT DRIVE​

Shane felt a faint tickling against his face.

"Sir?"

Shane opened his eyes slowly. He sat up, rubbing them. Sitting up was painful, as his back was tense and his muscles were sore all over from sleeping in the waiting room chairs.

"Sir?" the voice spoke again. "Sorry to wake you."

Shane turned to face the nurse addressing him. A warm early morning light filled the drab waiting room.

"Uh," he said, rubbing his neck. "Don't, don't worry about it. How's Ashton? You know, my Eevee?"

The woman moved her gaze to the chair next to where he was sleeping. Shane followed her eyes and saw Ashton sitting there. She had been nuzzling his face trying to wake him up gently.

Shane smiled. "Hey Ashton! Glad you're okay. You scared the living hell out of me."

Ashton looked up at him, and almost seemed to be fighting the urge to smile.

Shane reached over and started petting her, turning back to face the nurse. "Thanks for everything."

She smiled and nodded, then walked away.

As she left, Shane noticed something behind her. The girl from the night before was also still in the waiting room, passed out sleeping and sprawled along several of the chairs. A Pokeball was sitting behind her head.

Shane must of fallen asleep during their conversation, which made him feel a little guilty. She had taken the time to explain to him all about Shadow Pokemon and who and what made up the Cipher Organization. She had a theory that they were making a return, and wanted to find out why and put a stop to them. Apparently, she was a trainer herself, but was rather inexperienced and wasn't strong enough to take them on yet. Instead, she was saving up money working as a waitress in the meantime. She had lived in Station Town her whole life.

She seemed like a good person, and Shane didn't want to leave her without saying thank you. He sat down next to where she was sleeping and tapped her shoulder. She stirred, then opened her eyes, yawning.

Shane looked down at her. "Hey," he said. At the moment he realized she never told him her name.

She looked up and smiled. "Hey."

"I didn't want to leave without saying thanks," Shane said.

"Oh," she responded, sitting up slowly, wincing. She seemed sore as well. "Don't mention it. Just wanted to make sure you were one of the good guys."

"I sure hope I am." Shane said with a chuckle. He started to stand up. "I'm off, it was nice meeting you. By the way, I never got your name."

"Kaiya." she said proudly, and reached her arm out.

"Shane." he mimicked, and shook her hand.

Shane got up, satisfied, and started out of the Pokemon Center. Ashton hopped up on his shoulder; she seemed to like it there. Just as the doors slid open, Kaiya called out to him.

"Wait!" She ran up. "What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'm probably going to start making my way to Phenac city. There's an import shop there that might be holding one of my Pokemon." he answered.

"Oh," she waited a moment, hesitating. "Can I come with you? I can point out Shadow Pokemon and together we can find a way to save them!"

Shane was skeptical. "I don't know, it can be pretty rough out there."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," she said, annoyed. "Besides, I have help!"

She removed a Pokeball from a pocket in her jacket and tossed it into the air, then folded her arms. A Kirlia materialized next to her, and mimicked it's trainers pose.

"Ashton, meet Eri, my Kirlia." Kaiya said.

Eri waved a smiling hello, and Ashton returned a blank gaze. Eri scoffed at Ashton, offended.

Shane chuckled a bit. "Okay sure, come along then. I'll hit the shops, and you go gather your things. I'll meet you at the train station in three hours."

"Cool." Kaiya responded, nonchalantly.

Shane nodded, then walked through the Pokemon Center doors.

He stopped a few paces away from the store, and hid behind the wall. He peered through the glass back at Kaiya.

Kaiya, thinking he was gone, was jumping gleefully with Eri. Shane could hear a muffled "We can finally leave! We can finally leave!"

Shane grinned to himself, and made his way to the market.

 

[Earth Traveler]

Mick Parker - Route 201

I walked down the dusty road of Route 201, with Blueflame by my side. But at this point, I didn't care if he enjoyed the hot sun, because I'd had enough of it.

At least I was now toting a more reasonable amount of money. I'd received a $5000 reward for helping save Outskirt Town from what were apparently Team Snagem agents. The guy behind the counter of the restaurant had given me, Blueflame, and Poison a free meal and guessed that Snagem had simply rolled into steal Pokemon for profit. Whatever the reason, me and several others had driven them out of town. I for one hoped they wouldn't be back.

While the others had left for Phenac City immediately, I had hung around for a couple days to allow my Pokemon to recuperate, since Outskirt Town conspicuously lacks a Pokemon Center.

But again, I was pretty much done with the desert heat and the sun beating down on me. I looked my map. There was a Poke Spot to the north, but that would mean going out of the way to get there, something I definitely did not want to do. The best option seemed to be to head straight for Phenac.
But after about another hour of walking across the desert, I saw a building in the distance. I immediately made a beeline for it, hoping that if nothing else, I could get some shade and rest from the heat. As I got closer, I realized that it must be a train station, since it was both right along the tracks and in the appropriate shape.

Mercifully, there was a vending machine conveniently sitting near the office of the manager of the station. Inside the machine, there was Fresh Water, Soda Pop, and Lemonade. I quickly pulled out my bankroll and fed the machine $350 for a Lemonade, and I promptly guzzled nearly all of it down. The little I didn't suck down in one gulp I gave to Blueflame, pouring the Lemonade into his mouth. Now refreshed, I decided to see if I could catch a train to Phenac.

And then everything downhill from there.

Some teenagers, around my own age, all wearing raggedy clothing, walked up to me. "Hey, you look you got a lot of money there," said one of them.

"So what?" I asked coolly. Style is all about staying calm.

"So you gotta give us some for your right to be at this train station," the punk went on. "I'd say about... two grand would do it."

"How about no," I replied.

He nodded with a smirk on his face while his buddies chuckled. "I thought you might say that," said the punk I had worked out was the brains of the operation. "So I guess we're gonna have to take it from you." He gestured to one of friends, who came forward. "If you don't pay up, me and Will are gonna have to lay the hurt on you and your Pokemon." He glanced at Blueflame. "What is this thing, anyway? Your Vaporeon get plastic surgery?"

I ignored the insult. "I have a question for you. Where's the nearest phone, so I can call the cops on you?" I asked.

"Oh, it's right over there," replied the punk.

I glanced over. It was a pay phone that had had its receiver torn out.

Funny, I thought as I turned back to face the punks.

"Here's a better question," I said. "Do you wanna have a bad time?" The punks seemed to freeze for a moment in uncertainty. "Because if you send your Pokemon out on me, you are REALLY not gonna like what happens next."

"Is that right?" said Punk Leader's right-hand man Will. He and Punk Leader drew their Poke Balls.

"Well, here we go," I said as I drew Poison's ball.

 

[PastelPhoenix]

Ryuhei Martelle​

Ex-Punk / Phenac City / Back into the Fray

Chapter 2: Old Scars and New Games - Judgement Day



Ryu stuck mostly to the back alleys, figuring that if Cipher really wanted the "best", they wouldn't be hanging around public areas where the judges could just have their Pokémon slowly worn down. Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of light gray looking armor turning into another back alley, that had to be a Cipher uniform! Picking up speed, he turned the same corner and saw himself face to face with one of the Cipher judges, corned in a dead end. The judge crossed his arms and puffed out his chest, seemingly in defiance of him actually being caught.

"So, you've finally caught me. Are you ready to prove your worth to us?" The Cipher agent started, attempting an authoritative voice.

"One second please…" Ryu asked, between deep breaths. He was in such a hurry to catch him that he may have forgotten to keep his breathing normal. Chugging down the last of his coffee, which by now was starting to turn disgustingly cold, he caught his breath and tossed the empty cup into a nearby garbage can.

"Hey… are you okay?" The judge asked, dropping his act for a moment.

"I'm good." Ryu replied, finally returning his breathing to normal. "Let's get started."

"I should warn you, I'm not going to go easy on you just because you ran out of breath running." The judge boasted, a smirk painted across his uncovered mouth.

"And I have to warn you, I tend to kick ass when it comes to battling scumbags like you."

"Ooh, I like the confidence," The judge checked, pulling out two Pokéballs. "Let's see how much of that talk you actually intend to back up. "

A flash of light revealed his first two Pokémon, a Breloom and Quagsire. Annette stepped forward, ready to fight, as Ryu pulled out Patrat's Pokéball and released his newest Pokémon. The little prairie dog Pokémon looked up to his trainer for direction.

"Okay Scout," Ryu started, "let's make this a good first battle together. Work with Annette and me to blow this guy's sense of superiority out of the water."

Taking his position behind his two Pokémon, Ryu took the initiative.

"I'll go first! Annette, use quick attack! Scout, Shadow Blitz! Wear down the same target!"

Both the Sylveon and Patrat nodded to each other and took off towards the Quagsire. The Breloom jumped out of the way in time, but both Pokémon collided with the large blue Pokémon's stomach, knocking it back.

"Ugh, why are you allowed Shadow Pokémon." The judge complained. "The boss mentioned nothing about this!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said you weren't going easy on me."

"I'll return that two fold! Breloom, Headbutt! Quagsire, get up and Mud Bomb!"

The mushroom Pokémon lowered its head and rushed towards Annette, while the mud fish finally pulled itself up and gathered a large amount of mud in its mouth and took aim at Scout.

"Both of you, try to get out of the way!"

Sylvi got into a pouncing stance, and when the Breloom drew close she jumped out of the way, leaving nothing but a brick wall behind her, which the Breloom could not avoid crashing into. Scout seemed to be having difficulty avoiding the Quagsire's aim, but when he saw the Breloom collapse to the floor, he began to make a break for it. The Quagsire spit the large glob of mud just as Scout reached grass type, and although he couldn't avoid the attack himself, the mud also hit the Quagsire's own ally.

"Okay, give them no breathing room, finish it off you two."

The Sylveon's ribbons fluttered above, generating a small batch of Fairy Wind, while Scout charged again, generating the dark aura around his paws. As soon as the Breloom finally managed to pick itself up, it was hit with both attacks. It stumbled back over and stayed down this time, fainted.

"Leave it to the boss to give us some fragile Pokémon." The judge muttered, returning the Pokémon and pulling out another Pokéball. "Well, let's turn this up. These are the actual tough ones."

Releasing the new Pokémon, a large fire type stood next to the Quagsire, a Magmar!

"Looks like you're finally making this fun." Ryu smirked.
​

 

[Earth Traveler]

Mick Parker - Trainwatching

We all stood there, unmoving for a moment, all of us waiting for the other to draw so that we could tell the cops the other guy(s) drew first. But I was happy to wait, since I didn't really want to be having this fight in the first place. The punks' will broke first, and they released their Pokemon onto the train platform. Will send out a Tauros and Punk Leader sent out a Gurdurr. I finally sent out Poison as Punk Leader ordered Gurdurr, "Mach Punch the Flareon!"

I winced as I was forced to let Blueflame eat the attack since I couldn't order Detect before the attack got there. However, Poison was now on the field, something Will seemed wholly oblivious to as he yelled at his Tauros, "Horns, Tackle Flareon!"

"Poison, Rush Tauros!" I ordered as the Tauros went for Blueflame. The Ivysaur promptly obeyed and threw itself into "Horns", knocking it off course and nearly sending it into the platform. The force of the attack seemed to shock both the Tauros and its Trainer.

"Blueflame, Vacuum Ember Tauros! Poison, Tackle Gurdurr!" I ordered after thinking on my feet very quickly. As Ivysaur knocked Gurdurr back a little - it was far too dense to really shake with such a weak attack - Blueflame darted over Tauros and scorched it with sparks nearly simultaneously. Now both Poison and Blueflame were right in front of Gurdurr. And then Punk Leader revealed that he wasn't as stupid as I'd thought as first.

"Guns, Low Kick Flareon and Pound Ivysaur!" yelled Punk Leader. I quickly yelled for Blueflame to use Detect, and he managed to only get clipped by Low Kick for negligible damage. I then ordered Poison to Rush Gurdurr and the two slammed into each other simulataneously, and were both knocked back by each others' attacks.

Will finally ordered his Tauros. "Horns, Horn Attack Ivysaur!" he shouted. The Tauros promptly speared Poison in the back with its sizable horns. Poison whipped around angrily and retaliated with a Tackle. Only not quite: he hit Tauros so hard, that he sent himself skidding back across the platform with a wince. But I didn't have time to wonder if this was some new attack, because Punk Leader had ordered his Gurdurr to "Mach Punch the Flareon!"

Blueflame was forced to eat another Mach Punch, and I wasn't sure that another one wouldn't put him down for the last time. "Ember Gurdurr!" I yelled. Blueflame spat a shower of sparks at "Guns" and forced it to brace itself. I glanced over at Poison and Tauros' scuffle. They were both breathing heavily, but Poison was still upright and Tauros was practically on the concrete. "Poison, Rush Gurdurr!" I yelled, and Poison gathered himself and smashed into Gurdurr. "Quick Attack 'im!" I yelled to Blueflame. He rushed into Gurdurr and tilted him enough to make his orders be messed up and then Poison Rushed Gurdurr.

Finally, Gurdurr was knocked off his feet, and went to the ground. Punk Leader seemed shocked at this champion going down. Now with the Fighting-type out of comission briefly, I yelled to Blueflame and Poison, "Both of you, Tackle Tauros!" Blueflame and Poison immediately turned around and bum-rushed the bull. Will finally got an decent idea through his thick skull and yelled, "Use Rage!" That would've been a brilliant idea about a minute ago, but with only two hits left in Tauros' tank, it wasn't so brilliant. Blueflame and Poison both slammed into him with brutal force, causing it to collapse to the concrete in a heap. "Vacuum Ember Gurdurr!" I ordered Blueflame, then to Poison, "Rush him!"

Gurdurr was struggling to get to its feet with that steel beam he was holding, and was definitely not prepared for the all-out assault that hit him when Blueflame burnt him with embers as he went over Gurdurr's head and Poison slammed into him with his shadowy attack, sending him to the platform again, barely clinging to consciousness.

"Blueflame, Tackle him," I ordered wearily, waiting for this thing to end.

Blueflame did a u-turn and smacked Gurdurr again, knocking him out.

Punk Leader and Will both withdrew their Pokemon and ran off along with the rest of their pals, spitting curses at me, Blueflame, and Poison the whole way.

I just smiled and waved after them.

 

[PastelPhoenix]

Ryuhei Martelle​

Ex-Punk / Phenac City / Back into the Fray

Chapter 2: Old Scars and New Games - Judgement Day Finale


Ryu looked over the Magmar, this was sure to be the biggest threat right now. Both Annette and Scout seemed to have done a number on the Quagsire, and it looked like it could go down in another few attacks. Unfortunately, his side was about the same. Annette hasn't been hit, so she was good to go, but that mud bomb seemed to have done more damage to Scout than it initially seemed. Not to mention Scout seemed to have a history of frenzying, and was only capable of Shadow Blitz.

"No more chances. Fake Tears that Magmar."

Annette's large, blue eyes welled up with tears as she faked an injury. She made, and maintained eye contact with the Magmar, really playing up the injury. It seemed the Magmar took pity on the poor Sylveon, and his guard dropped a little.

"Don't fall for that!" The judge shouted. "She hasn't even been hit yet. Ember her! And you Quasire, Mud Shot the little rat there!"

The Magmar spit out several red hot cinders in Annette's direction, a few of them making contact and leaving singe marks in her fur. The actual yelps of pain seemed to increase the effects of the Fake Tears as Annette played up her injuries even more. Meanwhile, a smaller glob of mud formed in the Quagsire's mouth, shooting out before Scout had a chance to dodge. The Mud Shot nailed Scout directly, causing the small Patrat to stumble backwards from the impact. This wasn't good, Scout was about on his last legs. He wasn't as sturdy as any of the other Pokemon, and while Annette was strong, Ryu wasn't confident in her ability to take on two enemies at once.

"We've got to end this quick. Scout, one more Shadow Blitz. Annette, give him a Helping Hand."

Scout took off once more, shadowy aura at his paws. Annette flicked her ribbons in the direction of the Patrat, sending a slight boost his way. After the flick, the aura around Scout grew larger, and the Patrat seemed to ignore his injuries, picking up even more speed in the attack.

"Finish off the Quagsire!"

At this command, Scout launched himself in a collision course with his target. The Quagsire tried to jump out of the way, but was ultimately too slow. The attack connected with the Pokemon's gut, and the large mud fish took a few step back before collapsing onto his back, finished. The Judge withdrew his downed Pokemon, but Scout was left panting heavily, a wild look in his eyes once more. It seemed like Scout was about to frenzy, and at that distance the Judge himself might be in danger. Ryu pulled out Scout's pokeball to recall him, but before he could actually perform the action, the Judge gave one more command.

"Feint Attack."

The Magmar, which Ryu hadn't even noticed closing the gap between it and Scout, suddenly launched forward. Scout turned just in time to see the Magmar's fist make contact with the side of his head. Scout finally fell to the ground, unconscious from the impact and his previous wounds.

"I'm sorry Scout." Ryu muttered to himself as he withdrew his Pokemon. "I should have noticed that."

"So it looks like we're both down to our last Pokemon, and you haven't even touched Magmar."

"Unfortunately for you I'm left with my best Pokemon. Annette, don't give him a chance to even hit you again. Fairy Wind him!"

The Sylveon whipped up another storm of pink wind above her, sending it spinning towards the Magmar. The Magmar seemed to make no real effort to dodge it, and was consequently caught off guard by its actual power. It stumbled a little, but seemed ultimately no worse for wear.

"Return the favor, Ember!"

"Don't hold back, Quick Attack it!"

The Magmar took in a deep breath before spewing another cloud of burning cinders towards Annette, who took off towards her foe. Annette was fast enough to avoid the brunt of the attack, but still took a few hits during her charge. Speeding towards her foe, she delivered a large headbutt into the Pokemon's chest, knocking it back a little more.

"You've got to stop it from moving so fast. Fire Spin her!"

Flames from the Magmar's mouth began surrounding Annette, circling and picking up speed until she was trapped in a small ring of fire. She barely had room to move, much less fight, and every now and again the flames would graze her body.

"Okay, now that she's trapped, hide yourself in a SmokeScreen."

Taking another deep breath, the Magmar let loose a thick cloud of black smoke that quickly filled the alleyway. Ryu lost all vision of what was going on inside the cloud, except for the occasional light from the Fire Spin shining through.

"Don't let him get you, Fairy Wind him!"

Blinded by the smoke, Annette could only blindly throw Fairy Winds as fast as she could make them. Although they cleared up the smoke somewhat, the Magmar was nowhere to be seen, and the temporary hole the storms created were quickly filled in by more smoke.

"Finish her! Feint Attack!" The Judge shouted once more.

"Focus Annette! Make sure you hit!" Ryu shouted, hoping she even hear him.

Inside the smoke cloud, Annette gathered one more Fairy Wind and held it over her. The small storm cleared a small pocket that she could at least see out of, but it's radius of visible area left almost no reaction time. Picking a direction, she bunkered herself down and prepared to throw the attack. If her opponent came from any other direction, she wouldn't be able to react in time.

After a few moments that felt like an eternity, she noticed something moving in the smoke. Swallowing her fear, she threw the storm at the movement.

Things were quiet for both trainers. The sound of something hitting the ground came from the smoke, but neither could confirm if it was their Pokemon or not. Both sweating in anticipation, a breeze finally rolled through the alley and began to lift the Smokescreen. After spilling the smoke over both trainers, inducing a coughing fit, their vision of the battle finally returned. In the middle of a scorched circle stood a badly burned, but still standing Annette, and just a few feet from her lie a knocked out Magmar.

Grumbling, the Judge returned his last Pokemon before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a red envelope.

"I guess this one goes to you." He muttered, shoving the envelope in Ryu's hands before shoving him out of the way and making his way out of the alley.

"Wait!" Ryu shouted after him, rushing to Annette's side. "Aren't you going to explain anything?"

"Not my job, everything should be in there."

-----------

Later that night, waiting for both Annette and Scout to be returned him, Ryu sat in the lobby fiddling with the little chess piece. He discovered the little piece of glass on the bottom of the Pawniard seemed to be some kind of fingerprint reader, and after holding it for a second the head popped off the figure, revealing a cord. It seemed that the judge hadn't lied, as the data inside the playing piece revealed some documents with a date and place. The crude map pointed out some kind of facility that apparently existed under Realgam, conveniently enough, and he still had a few days to prepare.

Unfortunately, his confidence was smashed a little by how close that match was. If this was the qualifier, he'd have to get stronger soon if he planned to make it anywhere in this game.

First of all, he needed a new member of his team.
​

 

[FireSnow]

Desmond Allen & Sasha Howlett

A New Ally

Shortly after Weiss took off, his companions seemed to have done the same; everything was quiet…for now. Looking at the situation, it was easy to see that this was not a heat of the moment invasion; these guys had planned this, and they most likely were planning a lot more invasions like it…and she cannot let that happen.

Looking at the map on her Pokegear, it seemed the next place with a Pokémon Center was a place called Phenac City. This is probably where those Snagem jerks were going to get their Pokémon healed up, and…maybe try locking Phenac down, like they had here. From the look of the place, it was fairly small, and could easily be overpowered with the number of people she saw fleeing the desert. "Think you can beat 'em there, girl?" Sasha gives her motorcycle a pat before revving the engine back up.

She was only driving for a minute or so before coming upon a human shaped figure. As she got closer she could see that he was not dressed like the Snagem gang, though he looked like he had recently been in a scuffle of some kind. Maybe he was one of the trainers that chased the gang off, one way to find out.

Sasha pulls in towards the young man, and before she can open her mouth to address him, he's already talking to her. "Hey, Desmond, Hecate." She greets with a pleasant smile and a half wave. "I'm Sasha. This is Yukina." Her waving hand gestures to the Glaceon perched comfortably in her side car. "And you're in luck. Phenac's our next stop. Hop on." She gestures towards the back of her bike with her head.

"Glay, glay!" Yukina calls to Hecate, inching towards the side of her compartment to make room for her fellow Eeveelution.

Desmond sighed in relief at Sasha's kindness, grabbing his backpack, clasping Wartortle's ball to the inside of his coat and slinging himself over the back side of the bike. He just barely fit in behind Sasha, though he supposed that would make it harder for him to fall off, which he appreciated. It was then that he noticed Sasha's blue hair.

Huh...fitting he thought to himself, looking at the pair of them. They were a perfect pair it looked like, kinda like him and Hecate, who had happily jumped in next to the Glaceon in the passenger compartment and was quickly making friends it looked like.

It was then that Desmond realized he now hadn't said anything for at least a couple minutes and probably should at least say thank you.

"T-Thank you for the ride." he coughs to clear his throat and calm his nerves, "It's very important we get there as soon as possible, I need to talk to the police. I don't know if you know but there was some trouble here today of epic proportions and its paramount that I alert my superiors."

When Sasha turns her head to make sure her new companion is secure, she remembers one somewhat important detail: Her hair. It's going to be smacking Desmond in the face throughout the ride if she doesn't tie it back, so she quickly tugs her hair over her shoulder and collects it into a haphazard braid. It looks pretty terrible, but it will keep her from strangling her new friend in a field of hair.

Between the braiding and watching the two Pokémon bond, the Snowpoint Native didn't even realize the awkward silence that had settled over them. "No problem." She smiles, turning the key to bring her bike back to life. Trouble of epic proportions? Sounds like he was there—and has a way with words. "Actually, that epic proportion of trouble is why we were headed there in the first place." Guess there's no time to lose, then. "Hold on to something."

Dust whips up under her beloved bike as the engine roars to life, and just like that the machine bursts forth into the desert.

"Did you get into a fight with the rainbow squad too?" She asks—with the two so close, they can still communicate, despite the engine being less than soundproof.

Desmond was surprised, almost too surprised. For a half second, he wasn't holding on to anything as the vehicle whipped into the desert, almost sending him flying. Guess it wasn't quite as tight as he thought back there. Quickly he grabbed the first thing he could to steady himself, which meant wrapping his arms around Sasha's abdomen. Not ideal to have to lean forward the whole time in order to steady himself but the alternative was much worse.

Now what was she saying? It sounded like she did know about the Rangers, possibly even battled one of them, though she might not have known as much as he did it seemed. This was a dangerous group, as comical as they may have dressed and it was important that Desmond keep that in mind and not underestimate these foes.

It seemed she was saying something again though Desmond had to strain just a little in order to hear her over the engine. It seemed he was correct in assuming she battled one based off what she was saying.

"That would be correct. This guy named Azzurro and his Buizel and Wartortle" He thought he said a bit loudly, "He was a tough opponent but nothing that Hecate and I couldn't handle this time. I'm sure he'll be wanting revenge though, especially since we took his Shadow Pokemon."

"As for you, would I be correct in assuming you also battled one of those criminals?"

Something about the way Desmond speaks makes Sasha smile: He's speaking like he's delivering a grand speech into a large crowd, instead of practically screaming into her ear in order to be heard over her engine. Something about it's kind of amusing, kind of charming.

"Yup, a guy named Weiss. He had a Drifloon and a Fletchinder. Nothing Yukina couldn't handle." Flying types were easy for her frosty fox, even if one of them was half fire.

Hold the phone. Did he say he took a Shadow Pokémon? "Your guy had a Shadow Pokémon? That you snagged?" Her tone is more amused than accusing. "Me, too!"

Desmond was a bit perplexed by Sasha's tone. It wasn't happy, more like intrigued really. He wasn't really sure why she would be though. Shadow Pokemon were dangerous creatures, ones that most people were lucky to survive fights with.

"Um, yeah that would be correct. It was his Wartortle. A nasty little thing really. We were lucky that we made it through the battle. Almost got clobbered by one its attacks myself but we held strong" he nodded towards Umbreon, "I'm impressed you were able to corral such a Pokemon. They don't make it very easy."

There was much more to this girl than Desmond originally thought. Clearly, she had a knack for battling and for keeping her cool in pressure situations. That was the only way she could have beaten the Ranger and snagged his Pokemon.

Wait...

She snagged a Pokemon too!? How could that have been possible!? As far as Desmond knew, only criminals and police had Snag machines. He didn't think this girl was a criminal, especially since she took down a criminal herself. Maybe she was part of the police but a different unit. That'd explain how she got the machine but he couldn't be sure. Now wasn't exactly the time ask either. Instead he thought it'd be better to not say anything and look out to his left at the dry, sandy desert pass them by, bringing them closer to Phenac and the next step in learning more about this secret organization and its plans. Feeling his exhaustion now, he rested his head on the back of Sasha's left shoulder.

"So Sasha, you know why I'm heading to Phenac. If you don't mind me asking, why are you heading there?"

Wartortle? Wartortle and Fletchinder. She had to wonder if all the Shadow Pokémon they were targeting were mid-stage evolutions, and why. Shadow Pokémon can't evolve, right? Maybe their gang isn't strong enough to go after real heavy hitters just yet, which means they have time to get in there and shake things up before this new gang gets too strong.

"It wasn't that tough. I did take a face full of sand when Fletchinder tried to dive bomb me, but Yukina's a champ at battling." The frosty fox in question glances away from her new friend in order to wag her tail towards her trainer, then goes right back to Umbreon.

Sasha finds herself smiling at the little weight that presses against her shoulder. They're not too far from Phenac, best rest up while they can…who knows what will happen once they get there. "Kind of the same reason, but…I didn't think to go to the police." She wasn't entirely sure a city so small out in the middle of nowhere would have a police force. Then again, with the crime Orre has had in the past… "I think our friends are going to Phenac to heal up, and once they're rested and ready to start trouble again…Phenac might be in trouble."

Trouble which a nineteen year old girl and an icy blue fox could, no doubt, handle single handedly.

Desmond had to admit that this girl was pretty strong. Not very many people could go up and against a Shadow Pokemon and win, let alone catch it. She could be helpful to Desmond's mission. She had the determination, the skill and the love of her Pokemon, same as Desmond. He hoped they would be able to work together at some point in the future.

Desmond's ears perked at the mention of the police. Guess Sasha wasn't part of the police either. Anyone part of police unit knows it is protocol to report any findings they made when investigating. So if she wasn't a criminal or part of the police, who exactly was Sasha and where did she get that machine? Desmond was perplexed but couldn't dwell on it. All that mattered was she didn't seem to be an enemy and was all for doing whatever she could to defeat those criminals.

She made a good point about Phenac. It would make sense they would go for the next city and maybe if they were lucky, or maybe unlucky depending on how he thought about it, there would be more of them and more answers about this secret organization.

Desmond lifted his head, "You're right Sasha, we need to get there as soon as possible. Something tells me there is a lot more in Phenac than just those "friends" of ours."

Thankfully, it seemed they were almost there. Off in the distance, Desmond could see the tip of the greatest architecture that Phenac City had to offer. The great Colosseum.


It didn't really dawn on Sasha that her machine was suspicious—at least to Desmond. She could only assume that he came across his the same way she came across hers. He's a trainer, obviously an adventurer, it makes all the sense in the world that that he discovered an old snag machine while exploring, and managed to repair it.

"Full speed ahead. Hang on." Sasha tells, allowing a few sparse seconds for Desmond to do as requested, before tightening her grip on her handle, her motorcycle roaring into high gear as the sand around them flew into the air, the foursome speeding off towards the Oasis City.

It was only about another minute or two before the city was in full view. Sasha eased her motorcycle to a stop a few feet from the city's entrance. Wow…It's really gorgeous in here.

"Do you have a phone, or a P*DA? I'll tell you if anything's going down in the Pokémon Center."

Desmond wrapped his arms around Sasha's waist for dear life as she floored the motorcycle to what must have been top speed. He could only Hecate also was holding on, flying off at the speed they were at would surely be painful, even if it was just sand around them.

Just as soon as they sped up, they were already slowing down. At last they had reached Phenac and what Desmond hoped was the next step in his mission. Both of them.

Woozily, Desmond maneuvered himself off the motorcycle. His legs had apparently fallen asleep on the ride so now he had to get the blood flowing again as he stumbled the first couple steps. As he started to head towards the entrance, he heard Sasha's voice behind him.

"Yeah, here's my P*DA info. Safety in numbers. Hopefully you won't need to call me but you never know."

Desmond recited some information to Sasha so that she could contact him, made sure she got it and then headed into the city. First stop would be the police station.

 

[PastelPhoenix]

Ryuhei Martelle​

Ex-Punk / Rocky Outcropping Pokestop / Still Reeling from the Near Defeat

Chapter 3: On the Hunt


Bringing his cycle to a slow stop before finally killing the engine, Ryu looked up at his destination, the outcropping Pokespot. Removing his helmet to finally let the gentle breeze roll through his hair, slick with sweat from the ride under the midday heat. Annette leapt from her little cradle on the back of the bike and stretched her legs, it was a bit of a miracle that she fit so perfectly in the cradle. It seemed to be a handmade addition, not matching any of the ones sold commercially. It had been there for as long as Ryu could remember, and it didn't seem made for his father's aging Donphan; plus, the scuff marks didn't seem to match anything that would be made by a Phanpy. The topic of his father's old team was a sore subject he never dove too deep into. The only thing he could piece together was that it seemed like being separated wasn't entirely by choice.

A soft mewing brought him back to reality, as Annette looked up at him with a questioning look on her face. Reassuring her it was nothing, he made sure his Pokeball were in the right pocket and approached the Pokespot with her. The difference in temperature was immediate, finally getting out of the direct sun. For being one of the few areas with wild Pokemon in all of Orre, the Pokespot was strangely quiet. It seemed that even Pokemon adapted for the desert has issues with how extreme some of Orre's heat got.

"Look like we've got to bring them to us." He said to his partner, getting a small nod in return. Looks like she didn't find anything either, at least nothing that would be easy to nab. Locating a small rock that looked flat enough to hold the bait off the sand roughly in the middle of the overhang, Ryu placed the small mound of food down and left to a corner of the spot he could wait at.

"And now we wait."

As the minutes ticked by, Ryu found himself drifting back into his thoughts again. He barely won the battle with the judge, and here he was about to walk into a Cipher base with no knowledge or the relative skill level of anyone there, and barely meeting the qualifications. As fun as that last battle had been in hindsight, he couldn't hope for too many miracles like that last attack. He needed to both buff up his current team, as well as expand it. Annette was good, but she couldn't carry him through everything. Scout seemed very strong for such a little Pokemon too, but how much of that was due whatever they tormented him to? If he could cure Scout, would he still be as strong as he currently is? The idea of relying on a shadow Pokemon to win made Ryu a little sick to his stomach, but at the same time the idea of bringing down Cipher with their own creation sounded a little sweet to his ears.

But isn't that what they want to prove, the superiority of Shadow Pokemon over normal ones? The ideas hung around his head until he was forced to concentrate on something else. He wasn't a philosopher, getting caught up in these arguments with himself was going to hurt him much more than it would help him to finding any kind of concrete answers. Right now he needed to focus on getting stronger, and that meant expanding his team at this present moment. The reason he left the comfy air conditioned Pokemon center wasn't to get into beat himself up in the heat and feed the local wildlife, it was to catch a Pokemon the old fashioned way. Taking a moment to rub his eyes, he felt a soft paw come to rest on the hand he was supporting himself with. Opening his eyes and looking back at the Pokespot, a little winged purple pokemon with a scorpion tail was gliding towards the food from the ceiling of the overhang.

"Alright, I see him. Let's wait for him to land." He whispered to Annette, looking over and confirming she was ready to go. The Pokemon landed a little way from the food, and after making sure no other Pokemon were approaching it also, started to slowly eat. Giving it another few minutes to start getting engrossed in eating, Ryu waited until the Pokemon's guard appeared down, and then gave his orders. "Okay, hit him from behind with a Quick Attack."

Annette began sprinting towards her target. By the time the Gligar turned around, it was too late to dodge, and it took the attack head on. Preventing itself from falling with its wings, the wild Pokemon turned and began shooting small purple needles from its tail in defense. The needles stung Annette and seemed to do a large amount of damage for their size, causing her to yelp in pain.

Damn, I should have guessed it was a poison type. I've got to finish it before it can do too much damage to Annette.

"Don't let him do that again. Close the gap with a quick attack!"

Fighting through the pain the needles were obviously causing her, Annette took off once again and slammed into her target as he landed his shot glide. The Gligar wasn't able to glide out of this attack, and went sliding through the sand. Seemingly injured, the poison pokemon tossed a large amount of sand at Annette with its wings, getting a large amount in her eyes, blinding her. Seeming to not think the fight was worth the food anymore, it ran over to the cave wall and began scaling it.

"Don't let it escape, try and hit it with a Fairy Wind, or anything!"

Annette stopped trying to rub the sand out and squinted towards the rough location of the Gligar, trying to make it out from the other shadows on the wall. Lifting her ribbons above her head, she began swirling them as if the create a Fairy Wind, but instead of a pink storm the ribbons seemed to produce a mass of small star shaped objects. Waving her head towards her target, the stars shot off towards the cave wall. The Gligar, unfortunately, seemed to notice the stars and jumped off before he could get hit, gliding back towards Annette.

But before the stars could hit the wall and break, they suddenly swerved out of the collision path and seemed to refocus on the Gligar. Unaware of the sudden change in direction, the Gligar was clueless when the stars finally made impact with his back, knocking him to the ground.

"Okay, now or never!" Ryu shouted as he tossed the Pokeball at the wild pokemon, now struggling to get up. The ball collided with the Gligar's back and drew it inside of itself. Keeping an eye on the shaking of the ball, Ryu rushed over to Annette's side to make sure she was okay from the earlier Sand Attack. Withdrawing a small cloth and a water bottle to flush the irritating substance out, he heard the telltale click of a captured Pokemon behind him.

"You hear that?" He said, gently rubbing the side of her teary eyes with the damp cloth. "You got him with that awesome move you just did."

A small purr of approval came from Annette.
​