Hidden Rage

[Kayoss]

Hi everyone, new guy here :) I've been working on this fic for some time on a different forum, but i'd like to share it here. I'll post the first three chapters up right now, and if I get enough positive feedback, i'll keep posting them up here as I continue.

Edit: I just noticed as my chapters went up, that some words got censored. Rest assured that in this point in time, i'm not using any hardcore profanity, even though it might sound like that at first, lol.

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The sun shone brightly on this particular day on the dusty outskirts of Fallarbor town. The two eager and young Pok?mon trainers prepared themselves for the battle to come. On one side, was a bright looking fellow by the name of Jason. He wore a green jacket over a plain white shirt, as well as black jeans with a pair of plain-looking white tennis shoes. The glasses that adorned his straight and smiling face were glaring in the bright sun, so that his eyes were barely visible. The other trainer, a darker-skinned boy wearing a gray t-shirt and brown, loose sweatpants, faced Jason about 10 feet away from him, forming something of a makeshift arena between them. Both of them held two Pok?-balls: small, round objects with a red-colored top half, a white colored bottom half, and a small button in the center, in each hand, which meant they were ready to face off.

"C'mon out, Lombre and Mightyena!" the dark-skinned boy shouted as he threw the Pok?-balls into the center of the ring. A burst of light came forth from each ball, forming the shapes of two Pok?mon inside the ring. One was a small, hunchbacked creature called Lombre, with green, slimy skin, and a large green leaf on top of its head. The other light formed a creature known as Mightyena, a fierce looking canine with shaggy black fur. With his two Pok?mon in the battle arena, the boy waited for his opponent to make his selection.

Grinning, Jason tossed his Pok?-balls into the ring. "Lets go, Breloom and Wobbuffet!" he shouted confidently. Just as before, bursts of white light came forth from both Balls. One light formed Breloom, a bouncing creature with a mushroom-shaped top, a long, thick tail with 3 large seeds adorning the end, and something of an facial overbite. The other light formed a Pok?mon known as Wobbuffet, a rather simple shaped, slender body that got bigger as it got closer to its stout and proud face, as well as four rather stubby and short legs, and a peculiar black tail that seemed to bear two bright eyes of its own.

"Wait a minute, something isn't right here!" Jason thought to himself as he looked down at the two Pok?mon that had just entered the ring. The Breloom which had just appeared was looking rather sick. Its normally bright green and beige body had turned a deathly gray, with patches of a darker black moss growing on various spots of its body. The Breloom itself had started to crouch on the floor using one of its long claws, panting and drooling as soon as it appeared. Right next to him, the Wobbuffet that had just been called out, was still standing and facing its opponents. However, the typical bright blue that normally covers Wobbuffets body, had turned into a deep, olive green. The Wobbuffet seemed to be sweating a whole lot as well.

"No!" Jason called out to his Pok?mon as he ran toward them. His grinning face from earlier had turned to one of great worry and sorrow for his Pok?mon. He knelt close to his dying Pok?mon, putting his hands on both of their shoulders. "Breloom, Wobbuffet, are you alright?!" he pleaded. The Breloom's panting had turned into loud choking, and soon, black ooze started to vomit forth from its mouth. Jason had really begun to worry now: he jumped back as soon as Breloom started throwing up. Right next to Jason, the still proud and stern-faced Wobbuffet had just collapsed onto the ground, its face still not changing expression, but the breathing stopping entirely. "Please, oh no! Please!" Jason pulled out the two Pok?balls from before, and, with a small red beam shooting forth from the center, engulfed the two Pok?mon. Jasons opponent, the grey-shirted kid, looking nervous, shifted back and forth across the open area. "Listen, I better go!" he said anxiously, and called back his Lombre and Mightyena in the same fashion as Jason had done with his Pok?mon, however Jason ignored him entirely. He then made a dash back toward the nearby Fallarbor town, but the entire background seemed to had shifted into complete and utter darkness...

"Ahhh!" Jason screamed as he leaped out of his bed, beads of sweat completely covering his unkempt brown hair, as well as his lighter face. He began panting heavily as he looked around the dark room. It was still nighttime, and he had awoken from the same nightmare he had been waking up to for the last seven years. Seven years ago he had witnessed the trumatic death of his two first Pok?mon, and it had haunted him ever since. Though it happened such a long time ago, he could not remember it any more clearly. Jason had just finished his gym battle with the leader Flannery of Lavaridge town, and recieved his fourth gym badge. He had made a quick stop in Fallarbor town, so he could stock up and head past Meteor Falls and return to Rustboro City, where he had planned on meeting his younger sister, who called him the day before, and had also begun her Pok?mon journey the same day he did. That was the day one of the locals challenged him to a battle in that same town, the dark-skinned kid in the same nightmare. It was that same day Jason, horrified by the deaths of his close friends, Breloom and Wobbuffet, completely gave up on himself and his dreams of competing in the Hoenn Pok?mon league, and chose to hide in the deeper forests of the Hoenn region.

Jason sat still, alone in the dark bedroom of his small treehouse. Although he was not quite alone, across from the room sat two other Pok?-balls on top of a small desk. The Pok?mon inside were most likely quite resting as well: they contained the two other Pok?mon that Jason had caught seven years back, and strangly enough, had evaded the strange disease that took the lives of his Breloom and Wobbuffet.

Jason felt tense: He had no idea how he planned on falling asleep again. It was around 1:00am in the morning, and he felt as if someone shook himself out of his sleep. Just then, a calming, crystalline blue aura began to form in all the corners of the room. Jason yawned and crawled back into his small bed. "Alright...maybe it wasnt sleeping after all..."

The morning came soon enough. Jason came out of bed, and feeling quite refreshed, helped himself to a breakfast of oatmeal topped off with chopped Tropius fruit. The older looking Jason, who does not look too much different from the younger Jason from the dream, had a slightly broader frame, as well as slightly thicker glasses and longer, but well-kept brown hair. Although he lived alone in these woods, he was still concious of his looks and hygiene.

Jason finished eating and placed the dishes into a small bucket of water in the corner of the room. He immediately grabbed the two Pok?-balls sitting on the desk, and with a quick dash into the main room, slid down and out of the treehouse via a long vine coming down and reaching the ground. Although his aspirations of Pok?mon competitions had long died, he still felt it necessary to remain close to his remaining Pok?mon, and to keep them trained and fit, so that they could remain to live long and healthy.

Gripping one of the Pok?-balls and smiling, Jason tossed it into the air with a loud and confident command, "C'mon out, Kirlia! Its time to begin!". A burst of light came forth from the Pok?-ball and formed a small, rather human-looking figure with a slender white body, and long, green hair topped with two red horns. The Kirlia stood there, smiling at its trainer, on two graceful looking, greenish legs. "Kirlia!" it said brightly, as it curtsied toward its master, which told him that it was ready to begin.

Jason pulled what looked like 3 golden rods out of his green jacket. With a thrust of his arm, he tossed them spinning into the air, "Alright Kirlia, Will-O-Wisp attack!". The Kirlia focused its mind, and with a twirling of its arms, tossed three bluish fireballs at the airborne rods. As the Wisps floated gently toward the flying rods, they eventually collided. Two of the wisps engulfed the rods with a dark blue flame, while the other, center wisp flew right past its target rod. "That's good, but we need to work on your aim a bit more. I know Will-O-Wisp is a tricky attack to use, but it will probably save you when the time comes and we need it." The Kirlia listened intentively and nodded, "Kirlia!" it said, ready to begin another round.

As the training session between Jason and Kirlia continued, a shadowy figure had been watching. The figure smiled devilishly, as if it had found what it was looking for. Softly and calmly, a sinister and feminine voice spoke into a small communications device lodged behind its hood, "Come in, Base 3. Over".

Seconds later, a second voice spoke. "We hear you, Agent Stacey. Have you found the target then?".

The feminine voice began again, "Yes, i've found what the Boss has been looking for. One Kirlia, and a hapless fool who's about to lose said Kirlia."

"Good." the device spoke again. "Secure our prey, and return to us swiftly. Our boss has plans, which he wants have started shortly."

"Roger that. Stacey out" The figure smiled evilly, and began to emerge from the bushes in which she had been hiding. She began to walk toward the trainer and Pok?mon to introduce herself.

"Hey there! Like...that's a nice Pok?mon you've got there!" Stacey called out to the duo-in-training. "I've been looking around these woods for a good challenge! Wanna have a quick battle?"

 

[Kayoss]

"Who are you exactly?" Jason asked the young girl who had emerged from the nearby bushes, and challenged him to a battle. "Name's Stacey!" she had said in a perky, high pitched voice. Stacey stood around four feet away from Jason now: She looked somewhat young, maybe around fifteen years of age, with flowing, dark brown hair and a light complexion. She wore long, black boots, along with a small white skirt, a white tanktop shirt with a black vest, and a crimson red scarf around her neck. She never seemed to stop smiling. "Oh, ive been wandering this woods for a long, long time. No one seems to come out here much! Its really quite out of the way!". Jason smiled back at the girl, "I actually live here." he said as he pointed toward his treehouse home nearby. Stacey simply continued smiling at Jason "So then, you up for a battle?"

Jason looked down at his partner, the Kirlia. It had been watching this conversation the whole time, and looked rather eager to battle. "Kirlia! Kirlia!" she exclaimed. Jason smiled at Kirlia and nodded, and then looked back at Stacey. "I think my Kirlia's up for it."

"Great! Lets get started!" Stacey said as she increased the distance between herself and Jason. "The small clearing in the middle of these woods will be so perfect." Stacey thought to herself, a hidden and sinister smile crossing her face. She turned back toward Jason, now ten feet away from him, forming the battling ring. "Ready when you are!" she shouted.

Jason looked back down his eager Kirlia and said, "Dont worry, this is as good a training as we can get.". "Kirlia!" it said in its enthusiastic voice.

"Alright then, I choose Kirlia!" Jason shouted at Stacey as he pointed toward the ring. Kirlia heard this and danced right onto one side of the ring.

Stacey pulled out a tiny Pok?-ball from her black vest. With a small click, the Pok?-ball grew larger. Stacey then tossed the Pok?-ball into the ring with a shout, "Go, Zangoose!". A burst of bright white light came forth from the ball, which formed the shape of a Zangoose, a fierce looking, hairy white creature with two sets of very large and wicked claws, a bushy white and long tail, and the most notable feature, a long red scar across its face and reaching down to its chest. "Zaaannnngoose!" it screeched as it entered the ring.

Jason shouted confidently toward the ring, "Kirlia, Will-O-Wisp attack!". Kirlia began to spin her arms in a ritualistic fashion, and a small blue fireball formed in her hands, which launched itself toward Zangoose. Stacey countered with a command to her Zangoose, "Zangoose, Swords Dance!". Zangoose nodded and its whole body began to spin rapidly for a few seconds. As it began to spin like a whirlwind, Kirlias fireball continued its course. It soon collided with Zangoose, and engulfed its entire body in a flash of blue fire, which dissapeared as soon as it appeared. Zangoose stopped its dancing and raised its claws in defiance toward Kirlia. It looked ready to strike, though Zangoose's perfect white fur had now been charred black on most parts of its body.

Stacey would not stand around while this happened. "Zangoose, Quick Attack!" she commanded with confidence. Zangoose knelt down on all fours and began to charge toward Kirlia. Jason saw this coming and responded with, "Kirlia, Psychic!". Kirlia nodded and focused its mind. With blazing speed and agility, Zangoose had closed the distance between itself and Kirlia, and had charged straight into the psychic type. Kirlia took the force of the blow head on and was thrown back a few feet from its standing position, but managed to stay on its feet. Kirlia continued to concentrate and, after it recovered from the force of the blow, Kirlia began its attack. It opened its eyes, which revealed a bright white glow, and at the same time, Zangoose's body began to glow as it was lifted into the air. Effortlessly, Kirlia used its mind to throw Zangoose into the trunk of a nearby tree. The shock of that blow seemed to do considerable damage to Zangoose, though it managed to get back on its feet.

"Kirlia, finish it with a Thunderbolt!" Jason shouted as the Zangoose attempted to recover. Kirlia nodded once again and with a small twirling of her arms, it seemed to engulf itself in electrical energy, which she directed toward the dazed Zangoose. The fierce Thunderbolt attack seemed to make even the very ground rise, and had hit Zangoose with a great powerful force. Zangoose's charred and unconcious body fell to the ground.

Stacey grinned at this sight. She pulled out her Pok?-ball, which she used to call back the fallen Zangoose. A bright red beam came forth from the ball and toward Zangoose, and seconds later the Pok?mon had been gone. Jason knelt down and smiled toward Kirlia, "That was more than impressive! Great battle!" Jason had congratulated his Pok?mon, and at the same time ignored the presence of Stacey. Kirlia seemed to be impressed with itself as well. "Go ahead and rest for a while". Jason drew forth Kirlia's Pok?-ball, and recalled Kirlia as Stacey had with Zangoose.

Jason stood there, smiling and proud of his Kirlia, now inside its Pok?-ball. Just then, Stacey had run right past him and snatched the Pok?-ball from his hands. Stacey then whistled toward the forest, and in a heartbeat, another Pok?mon had emerged from the safety of the forest, a large and firey horse known as Rapidash. Jason, shocked at this sudden development, yelled at the thief, "What're you doing!?". Stacey pulled her scarf over her head, which formed a crimson red hood with two black horns adorning its top. She then mounted her Rapidash effortlessly, and smiled evilly at Jason, now holding his Pok?-ball.

Jason looked even more shocked, "You...You're Team Magma!" he shouted as he pointed angrily at Stacey.

Stacey continued smiling, "Good job, Genius". She then mentioned toward her Rapidash, "Lets go!" and in a flash, they had both dissapeared into the thick forest.

Jason stood there, dumbfounded at the whole event. He then came to his senses, and within him, formed a new resolve. He then drew the remaining Pok?-ball from his green jacket, and sternly vowed to himself, "I've lost two Pok?mon, and i'll be ****ed before I let it happen again!" Valiently, he tossed his second Pok?-ball into the air and shouted, "C'mon Skarmory, lets go get our friend back!"

 

[Kayoss]

The lab was dark, filled with the aura of mystery and intrigue, as well as wall to wall computers and lab equipment. Dr. Vorkov paced around nervously, waiting for the conformation that the mission had been successful. Dr. Vorkov himself was a tall and well built man, reaching six feet high, with a long, thick black beard along with short and shaggy hair. You could not be able to tell that he was a scientist, if not for the white lab coat he was wearing.

"Any word then?" a mysterious figure spoke in the shadows.

"No! No! Will you stop asking me that! We expect her to call shortly!" Dr. Vorkov exclaimed in his deep, Russian-sounding voice.

"She had better be safe, for your sake..." the figure responded coldly. With that, the figure raised a curved, green tinted, wickedly sharp blade from out of the shadows.

"Put that away, you fool!". Dr. Vorkov was obviously angry now, likely frustrated at having to submit to this...freak. "Dont forget who gave you that."

"Yes..." the shadowy figure spoke again. "With this...with all of this...my revenge shall soon be complete."

As the two spoke, a small red light on one of the computer panels started to noise. "That must be her." Dr. Vorkov spoke calmly. He then pushed a large green button near one of the speakers, "Stacey, come in".

"Yes, its me." The speaker spoke with a sinister and feminine voice, but with a slight mix of static. "I am on route toward the base with my capture."

Dr. Vorkov looked relieved. "See, she's fine. One of our most skilled agents". The figure however, spoke nothing in response.

The speaker began again, "But tell me, why must we, the great Team Magma, resort to becoming common Pok?mon thieves? It just feels so...so sleazy."

"We will do as ordered and nothing more." Dr. Vorkov said. "Master Maxie specifically ordered that a Kirlia be found and secured. Those were his explicit instructions. He has plans for it, as well as his worthless daughter."

"Roger. Understood. I will be returning shortly. Stacey out." With that, the speakers turned off on its own.

Just then, two other Magma agents stepped into the control room. They wore the typical uniform of Team Magma agents: long, crimson red pants with black shoes, a sleeved, crimson red shirt bearing its logo (which looked like two mountainous peaks with a large circled space in its center), as well as a red, black horned hood similiar to Staceys.

"The preparations are complete, Dr. Vorkov." one of the Magma agents spoke sternly. "The Boss' daughter has been drugged and subdued, we await only the specified prey."

"Good! Let us go then." Dr. Vorkov said, grinning. "Hakon, welcome your 'girlfriend' back into the compound."

"Yes..." the shadowy figure spoke.
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Stacey rode through the forest, atop her gallant Rapidash mount. Inside her black leather vest, contained the Pok?ball with Jason's Kirlia inside. As she rode throughout the forest, she surveyed her surroundings, "Nothing can stop me now" she thought to herself. A few minutes later, she had exited the forest and entered a clear, open meadow. Various wild Pok?mon were roaming the plains. Grazing Tauros, frolicking Furrets, as well as swarms of Beautifly searching food were among the wild Pok?mon. Stacey however rode past them all and continued her course.

A great gust built up in the airspace above Stacey. She looked up and was being pursued by a small man atop a large, silver bird. "**** that man. Well at least this shall be slightly interesting now."

Jason continued to pursue Stacey atop his loyal Skarmory. Skarmory was a large, metal bird with a sharp and shiny beak. It flew on wide and sharp wings, with crimson feathers that streaked across the sky. "Good job Skarmory!" Jason yelled as they raced through the air. Pleased with its swiftness, it screeched at the sky, "Skaaaaaaaar!".

Stacey herself felt a little startled by the loud screech. "These guys mean business" she thought to herself. "Rapidash, Flamethrower attack!" she commanded. Rapidash continued its blazing run across the plains, but at the same time, its head turned toward the pursuing pair and unleashed a long stream of flame. "Skarmory, dodge it!" Jason said. Skarmory lifted one of its wings slightly in order to change its flight pattern, which allowed it to dodge the Flamethrower just in time. Due to the distraction, Stacey gained a little extra distance from Jason and his Skarmory.

"Oh no you dont!" Jason said to himself. "Skarmory, Agility!" Skarmory heard the command and focused its mind. Skarmory felt its body grow much lighter, and as it did, its speed increased dramatically. They were almost above Stacey now. "Now Skarmory, Swift Attack!". With that, a long stream of bright stars burst forth from Skarmory's open beak and toward Stacey. The Rapidash swearved to the side, dodging the Swift attack.

The exchanging of these blows went on for a while, until they crossed into another forest. The battling pairs soon came across a rustic grey and sinister looking building. Jason saw that one of the gates had opened from a wall of the building, possibly for Stacey to enter. "At least we've got her trapped now!" Jason's predictions were correct. Stacey and her Rapidash had entered the dark compound though the rusty, upward gates. Jason and Skarmory then made a beeline as the gate began to close itself downward just as quickly.

Jason and Skarmory made it inside the compound just in time. It was rather dark, though light enough to see. This rundown building almost looked like some sort of garage, greasy streaks ran its walls, although there was a potted plant (possibly to make the building less dingy-looking) straight ahead of Jason, in the corner of the long hall, which turned sharply to the left. Stacey and Rapidash had already dissapeared, though Jason knew for a fact that they were inside somewhere. Skarmory stood by its trainer on its two sturdy and sharp talons, its wings now folded into its body. "Skaar?" it asked.

"We've got no choice." Jason answered. He knew Kirlia was inside, taken prisoner by the vile Magma agent. "We shall press on and rescue Kirlia." And with that, Trainer and Pok?mon began to cautiously tread on into the long and dark halls.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

Oooh - this is interesting. And it's not an OT fic! YAY! o.o Anyways... to review:

It's a very good start. The idea of living in the forest is pretty original, and with only Kirlia and Skarmory, it soudns like it's like a Pokemon version of Castaway XD Nah... but it feels very original to say the least. The idea of Maxie having a daughter, and this Russian (who exploded the cliche-ometer) doctor. It all adds the the aura of mystery and eerieeness! :D

The only thing I really didn't like was how you described Breloom and Wobbuffet's death. Firstly, a dream at the beginning of a fic also makes cliche-ometers explode. Secondly, they just seem to die. They came out of their Pokeballs and died. Wouldn't he have at least known about this when they first came out, or taken them out of battle straight away? It seemed that it took ages for the trainer to realise that his Pokemon were dying...

But... since you can't change that, keep up the good work for the rest of the fic ^_^

 

[Kayoss]

Wow, thanks. That was probably one of, if not the most detailed review i've ever gotten. I wish more people were like you, Mr Cat Dog, and not afraid to tell the truth.

I'm still deciding whether to maybe, post one chapter per day, or post them in larger intervals. I already have the first twenty chapters done, and once they get on here, i'll make this an ordinary stop whenever I write a new one (which is every few days or so at the most).

In response to the critique: The deaths of Jason's Pokemon should make a little more sense later on, when the actual details are revealed. I mostly meant for the first chapter to reveal insights on Jason's base character, his personality, and why he chose to do what he did by living alone.

But in either case, your sig makes you sound like the Simon Cowell of Pokemon Fanfiction, and frankly, im very glad to see someone like you taking the time to review like that. Thank you :)

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

But in either case, your sig makes you sound like the Simon Cowell of Pokemon Fanfiction, and frankly, im very glad to see someone like you taking the time to review like that. Thank you :)

Oh please... I'm not Simon Cowell. Frosty's bloody Simon Cowell :D But... yes - it's just there are some people who don't seem to like a little bit of criticism, and even give me bad reputation and stuff.... so I just don't care ;D

 

[Kayoss]

The dark corridors seemed endless. Jason and Skarmory continued to tread down the long, dim halls. "No traps, no agents, nothing to slow us down..." Jason thought to himself. "This seems almost too easy, unless you count the sheer boredom". Skarmory continued to walk alongside his trainer, its sharp, steel talons making ringing noises as it scratched along the metal floor. "They know we're here, they cant possibly miss all of that banging".

The duo traveled further down the many twists and turns of this makeshift labyrinth. If it werent for the various bits of broken debris that littered the floor, and the strange, crimson markings that covered the dim walls, Jason would have sworn that they had been traveling in circles. Soon however, they came to a crossroads. Facing the T end of the wall, they had two directions to choose from. To the left, they saw only more darkness. But to the right, they could see a door, as well as bright light coming through the creaks lining the door.

"We'll try right." Jason said. The pair moved toward the door. At that moment, Skarmory heard something sneaking up behind them. Though it was rather silent to Jason, Skarmory managed to pick up the vibrations using its slightly superior hearing.

"Skaaaaaar!" Skarmory screeched as it seemed to hop right in front of Jason. "What the...?" Jason asked. Skarmory then began to spread its wings in a wide arc, covering Jason's entire line of sight. "Whoa!" Jason yelled as a long stream of flame came toward them. Skarmory took the complete brunt of the force: the flame hit the Pok?mon square in the chest. The continuing flame seemed to spread across its entire body as it continued toward them.

"SKARMORY!" Jason yelled. A moment passed, and the flame ceased. Skarmory stood there, paralyzed, its charred and smoking body completely shocked into submission. Without even a twitch, Skarmory crashed into the floor, smoke puffing from its nostrils, now unconcious. Jason knelt beside his fallen friend and held the Pok?mon's beak close to him. "Thank you my friend...I wont let your sacrifice be in vain". "Skar..." it said weakly, and then fainted. Jason pulled its Pok?ball from the green jacket, and with the push of a button, the red beam shot forth from the Pok?ball, engulfing Skarmory and calling it back.

"Alright then, show yourself!" Jason yelled straight into the dark hall from which the flame had come at them from behind. The bright door now faced Jason's back as he prepared to meet his enemy head on. Jason himself felt a little intimidated: If whatever that was wanted to finish him off too, it would have done it now. There was then a slight banging coming from the hall opposite of Jason, which grew slightly louder with each step. The corridor began to glow brighter...and brighter...and then...

"Rapidash!" Jason yelled. The same Rapidash which they had been pursuing, emerged forth from the shadows, looking angry at Jason. Its bright and fiery mane, as well as its flaming tail, flowed endlessly from the gallant Fire Horse Pok?mon. As it got closer, Rapidash stopped in its tracks, and its head knelt down toward Jason, signaling its intention to charge.

With Skarmory knocked out and Kirlia still a prisoner in this base, Jason had no choice but to rely on his own skills from here on. Jason bent himself into a fighting stance, ready to counter the Rapidash's imminent charge. He then pulled open the right side of his jacket deftly, and withdrew a short, shining and curved blade. The blade itself was dusted a crimson red, with a long, rustic leather strap wrapped around at the end to serve as the handle. It looked otherwise very similar to one of the Skarmory's wing feathers.

"This is where my practice pays off." Jason thought to himself as he lowered the sword toward the kneeling and flaring Rapidash. "This shouldnt be too hard, although i've never anticipated my first real opponent would be an angry horse. But without its trainer nearby, its going to have to think for itself". It was true, Jason liked to craft solid steel objects from the shed feathers of his Skarmory as a hobby. One of his most magnificent pieces of work, was his "Skarmory Featherblade" as Jason had called it. To add to that, Jason taught himself how to fight with it, alone in his secluded treehouse home.

"Bring it..." Jason whispered toward the Rapidash.

Wasting no time at all, Rapidash raised its head and galloped into the air. With a great burst of speed and fury, Rapidash began to charge, its head lowered, intending to strike Jason's chest with its small but deadly horn. The narrow passageway offered Jason little room to dodge, however Jason had already analyzed that, and had come up with a plan as to how to strike back. Closer and closer the Rapidash charged. Jason continued to stand his ground. Closer and closer...and closer until...

*SHING!* Jason's blade came spinning upward, past its legs and toward its neck, just as the Rapidash nearly collided with him. At the same moment, Jason used what little room he had to swerve to the open space on his right. Although Jason still took quite a hit from the charging Rapidash's shoulders, the searing pain he felt in his entire upper body was nothing compared to what he had inflicted on his opponent.

Jason's blow had thrown Rapidash completely off course. Rapidash, nearly cut off from its own hooves, slid recklessly while galloping in tremendous pain, into the door that had been standing behind Jason all along. With a great crash and bang, the door had completely come off its hinges, and started to slide on the floor along with the Rapidash. Inside the brightly lit room, Jason heard even more crashing as whatever had been standing inside peacefully was now being destroyed, shattered by the uncontrollable, sliding Rapidash.

A few moments later, the crashing and banging had stopped. Jason stepped cautiously inside the room that had been broken open by the Rapidash. Inside lay turned over tables with sheets now moved aside, as well as burnt papers littering the floor. Broken test tubes and glass beakers now littered the floor, as if to create a sea of pointy, broken glass. The Rapidash, now completely unconcious, had appeared to have finally stopped into a tall bookshelf, now turned over and completely crushing the Rapidash's back. The head of the Fire Horse laid peacefully onto the floor. Whether it was unconcious or even dead, Jason did not know, although its naturally flowing flames continued, which most likely meant it was still alive.

Jason stood in the middle of the shattered laboratory, surveying the surroundings while almost ankle deep in shards of broken glass. There seemed to be nothing else of interest, until an interesting sight caught Jason's eye.

Behind Jason, to the left of the open door, stood a long and tall shelf. Adorning the shelves itself, sat a great many Pok?balls. Each one stood uniform along the shelf, nearly perfectly. None of them seemed to have tipped over from the commotion either: they continued to sit peacefully.

Jason walked toward the shelf and surveyed the Pok?balls. "Wonder what these are for?" Jason thought to himself. "They could be for experiments, or they could be standard issues for Magma agents". Just then, a certain Pok?ball caught his eye. What separated this one from the others, was that it was bound to a wooden panel along the wall of the shelf by four small chains, each coming across from four corners of the Ball. "This one seems...special" Jason considered to himself. Jason then decided, "Well they did take one of mine...why not return the favor to these bastards?". With that, Jason raised his Featherblade high above his head, and struck down upon the chains that bound the Pok?ball. The chains came apart nearly effortlessly with loud *clinks*. Jason then drew his hand toward the free Pok?ball, grabbed it and brought it close to his face.

"Wonder what it could be then...I'll get acquainted with it later." With that, Jason placed the Ball inside his jacket pocket, and raced out of the lab.

Because the lab seemed to be a dead end, as there were no other doors to continue through, Jason ran down the hall from which the Rapidash had attacked from. The halls, strangly enough, have now been lit up: the strange darkness which had haunted Jason before had been lifted, and now Jason strode confidently as opposed to cautiously as he had done so earlier.

Five minutes of running had passed, as Jason was stopped by loud and striking voice from behind. "Jason!" it blared. Jason slowly stopped in his tracks, and raised his Featherblade toward his chest, ready to defend himself. He then turned his shoulders to see what it was that had stopped him.

Yet nothing could prepare Jason for the horrible sight that awaited him. It was a tall, lithe figure, with green plates lining its legs, chest and head. Clear wings were folded behind it. Its arms, however, were the most notable part. Rather than arms, the creature bore two, long crossed and green tinted sickle blades. To Jason, it almost looked like the Pok?mon Scyther. However, its Human features had been all too apparent. It had black, short and spiked hair, as well as a Human-like face bearing dark and sinister eyes, and cruelly coiled lips. "I've been waiting for this...for a long, long time" it said as it raised its blade arms, ready for the inevitable blood.

Jason finally managed the words out of his mouth, while still gasping at this creature. "Hakon...what the **** happened to you?"

 

[Kayoss]

"Do you honestly think you can defeat me?" Hakon said coldly as he continued to glare at Jason, his blades-for-arms still crossed in a swordlike fashion.

Jason looked around him. Nothing but the hallways of the cold, metal compound stretched across and and behind him. And judging how long he had wandered this maze, it would be quite a run toward the exit. And even if he were to make it that far, the gate from which he had entered from was closed shut behind him. With no able-bodied Pok?mon to aid him, and no escape route in view, Jason had no choice but to stand his ground against this...thing.

"Thats right Jason, no way out!" Hakon said, grinning. His Scyther-ish wings opened rapidly and begin to flap themselves at high speed, forming a whirlwind directed toward Jason. Jason planted his feet firmly into the ground in order to prevent himself from being blown away. Seconds later, the winds stopped, and Jason stood back up, with his Featherblade still raised, ready to strike back against Hakon.

"Gah ha ha ha ha!" Hakon bellowed loudly, his vile laugh echoed througout the hallway. "You're pathetic, Jason. You always have been! Wretched coward! You put my father away! You sent him to jail. Now I will send you to the graveyard!"

"Hakon." Jason said, smiling. "Your father was an evil man who deserved everything he had coming to him. Even if it was not me, it would have been someone else in the end. And you, truly your father's child. I dont know exactly what you did to yourself, likely some sick Magma experiment." Jason said as he looked up and down at Hakon's Human/Scyther frame. "And frankly, I dont wanna know. But apparently you've been living with nothing but vengeance on your mind for the last seven years. Well here I am, freak! Bring it on!"

With that said, Jason and Hakon began charging toward each other, both battler's weapons in the air, as well as fury and rage in both of thier eyes. Jason made first contact with his Featherblade, striking from above toward his head. Hakon countered by deflecting the strike with his right arm, and using the left, stabbed toward Jason's chest. The blow forced Jason to his knee, although he ignored the small bleeding and the current pain that just shot forth into him. Immediately after, Jason swept Hakon off his feet with a sweeping kick around his bulky, plated legs. With Hakon on the floor, Jason readied a thrust of his blade into his chest. Hakon once again blocked the strike with his right blade-for-arm, and with a stunning show of reflexes, used it to spin Jason's sword in a loop. While Jason attempted to recover from the strike, Hakon jumped back onto his feet, back to his battling position.

Both combatants stared at each other for a few seconds, thier blades raised readily in the air. Hakon then grinned, and without moving the rest of his body, his wings began flapping at an uncontrollable speed. From its wings, beams of white light began to shoot forth toward Jason. Jason protected by covering himself with his sleeved arms, although he could still feel the slight, burning pain of that peculiar attack.

"Silver Wind..." Jason thought to himself. "So he can use the abilities of Pok?mon too"

Hakon kept up his Silver Wind attack, which eventually forced Jason to his knees. Hakon then quickly stopped the attack and dashed toward the covered-up Jason, his blade-arms ready for a final strike. At that same moment though, Jason swung his jacket around himself and at the same time, had tossed his Featherblade straight into Hakon's flight path.

"No!" Hakon finally realized what Jason had done, but it was too late. The blade collided with Hakon in his shoulders, causing him to stop in midair, which now brought Hakon to his knees as well. The Scyther creature groaned in pain as crimson red blood began to gush from his pained shoulders. Jason then took the opportunity to rush toward Hakon, and Hakon, too weak to counter, took a hard swinging kick toward his green tinted face.

Hakon scrawled on the ground, looking for some way to strike back. A mix of anger, pain and numbness coursed though Hakon's body. As he weakly moved about on the floor, Jason walked over to where his Featherblade had landed, and picked it up. Jason then smiled to himself, "Like a Pok?mon, caught for the very first time...". Jason then walked over to his facedown opponent, and pinned him down to the ground using his foot. He then pointed the Featherblade toward the fallen Hakon. "Any final words then?" Jason asked.

Uncontrollable rage moved through Hakon. "This fool, this is impossible! Vorkov promised me that I could not be beaten by any mere human!". Hakon yelled.

"Vorkov? "Who's tha-"

Just then, Hakon pushed Jason's blade to the side, and with his last bit of strength, stood up. "We will finish this one day, count on it..." he said weakly. His wings carried him up to the ceiling of the corridor, and with a quick slash, ripped apart a small vent cover. Wasting no time at all, he crawled through, never to be seen again.

Jason stood alone once again, in the cold, metal corridor of the compound. He then sheathed his bloodied Featherblade into his jacket pocket. Although he felt a bit weakened, first from the Rapidash attack, and then Hakon's stab to the chest, as well as the stinging Silver Wind attack, Jason's resolve had not been broken. "Kirlia, i'm coming! Just hang on!" he said with determination. He then continued down the hall, ready to strike down anything dared to stop him.

 

[Kayoss]

Jason hurried along the passageway within the base of Team Magma. He could only think of the grim things they could possibly be doing with his Kirlia. "I could never forgive myself if I lost it too." he thought to himself.

The rest of the run seemed to be relatively peaceful. He encountered no hidden traps or Magma agents patrolling the base. Turn after turn within the maze, Jason hurried along. "What kind of base is this anyway?" he thought. "How could they move around with nothing but mile-long hallways?" In his mind however, Jason knew they had their ways.

After what seemed like forever, Jason found himself at a bright metal staircase. He dashed up it, finally glad that he had discovered something besides more hallway. The stairway brought him outside, onto a large pad which resided on the roof of the base. Behind him, the stairway seemed so small: you would never guess that there was nothing but a large labyrinth.

Jason paused to catch his breath. He surveyed the surroundings. Past the roof and below, the beautiful and lush forest surrounded him. Ahead of him, in the center of the pad, lay a bright and perfect circle, painted yellow among the dull grey of the building. Within the center of that circle, was the Team Magma symbol, again painted in a bright yellow. It was quite obvious to Jason: this must be the helipad that drops off and removes troops from the base. "Guess that explains the maze downstairs then, only meant to confuse intruders." he thought.

Jason looked around some more, trying to find a different way back into the base. Opposite of him, past the helipad, Jason could see a staircase. Wasting no time at all, he ran toward it and climbed downward. He emerged forth into what seemed like yet another hallway. "Argh, not again!" he said to himself, obviously sounding very annoyed. However, Jason continued to tread on, knowing that his Kirlia needed him.

Moments later, Jason came across a small room, plainly decorated room with a brown, wooden door in front of him. The walls surrounding him were painted a bright white, and the room itself contained two desks to the right and left of Jason. It looked very neat and tidy. He walked up toward the door and prepared to turn the knob. He then halted as he heard a great commotion on the other side of the door. He kneeled and put his ear close, trying to hear what they were saying.

"We've got a traitorous morph somewhere in this building. It managed to destroy our communications systems, so rule out the possibility of reinforcements. Yet the worst of his crimes involve the cold murder of Dr. Vorkov. Fan out, men!"

"Yes sir!" Jason heard about four other men speak loudly.

Jason then heard the rumbling of footsteps behind that door, each spreading out in different directions. They grew quieter and quieter, and eventually Jason could not hear them at all.

"Good." Jason thought to himself. "At least the guards are distracted."

As Jason stood up and prepared to open the door again, he heard two other voices speak. Quickly again, he kneeled against the door and pressed the side of his face against it.

"Was that truly necessary, my love?" a soft and feminine voice spoke from behind the door. Jason knew this voice immediately: it was that of Stacey, the agent which had swiped his Kirlia.

"Yes. Vorkov lied to me...to us." another voice spoke, a colder and masculine voice. Jason knew this one as well, it had been Hakon's voice, the foul Human/Scyther creature he had fought with just moments before. "Lets go...the gases are threatening to flood this base momentarily, and with no working communications, no one else will know what has been done today."

"Alright then." Stacey had sighed. "Lets take our leave."

"And Jason will soon get his." Hakon spoke one last time. Then they both raced toward the door where Jason had been kneeling. Quickly, Jason hid behind the door as it crashed open, and watched silently as Hakon and Stacey raced passed him, completely unaware of his presence.

Jason stood up as soon as they were both completely out of sight. "If what Hakon said was true, then I dont have much time left!" Jason dashed through the door and into a small crossroads, which branched into three different directions. To his right and left, Jason could see nothing but a long stretch of hallway. In front of him, he saw a rather badly damaged wooden door. Charred spots and slash marks covered the door as it creaked on its hinges. Jason then ran toward it, and with one mighty thrust of his foot, swung it open.

Jason stepped inside the large laboratory. Everywhere he could see nothing but destruction. A long computer panel stretched along the wall to his left, completely ripped open, sparking wires stretching out of the board, soot stains covering it all over. Straight ahead of him, he could see a neatly decorated desk. A tall human sat hunched over the desk, completely lifeless and cold. Jason could see a large, bloody wound adorned the back of the man, very visible even with his long, drooping labcoat. From his guess, Jason believed that he had been impaled on the long sickle arm of Hakon. "Vorkov..." he whispered to himself.

Jason however, ignored the sight of the dead man. Looking to his right, he could see a large, glass wall seperating half of the room. The crystal clear door of that wall had already been opened. Looking through the glass, he could see two stretchers, both with white, clean sheets covering them, along with a small table full of various medical and scientific instruments.

Atop one of the stretchers, he noticed something struggle underneath a sheet. Jason ran through the glass door. As he got closer, he could hear faint sounds coming from the stretcher. "ia..lia..lia!" it kept saying as it tried to break free of whatever was holding it down. Jason then lifted the sheet...

"Kirlia!" he said happily. Kirlia immediately stopped its struggling and turned its head toward Jason. "Kirlia Kirlia!" it replied in a very delighted and happy tone. Jason knelt toward the stretcher and pulled his arms around Kirlia, giving it a great big hug. Jason then stood up, and noticed that Kirlia had been bound to the stretcher by its legs and arms with black leather straps. Jason then drew his Featherblade, now crusted with dried blood, and swung at the straps. With a great act of precision, Kirlia's bonds had been removed, and immediately Kirlia stood atop her former prison, twirling around with joy.

"Are you alright?" Jason said, relieved that his Kirlia had been found at last. "Have they done anything to you?"

Kirlia shook its head. Jason looked even more relieved. Just then, he could hear a slight moaning coming forth from the second stretcher. Kirlia spun around to face the stretcher itself. Kirlia then mentioned toward Jason, and with its small and delicate white hand, pointed toward the stretcher.

Jason walked up toward it. For a second, he hesitated to lift apart the sheet which had covered this one as well, believing that for a second, he might uncover some hideous creature, like the one he had fought earlier. The groaning continued to come forth. Finally, with a deep breath, Jason quickly pulled apart the sheet...

"Huh?" Jason looked slightly dumbfounded at what he had seen. It was a young woman, who looked around nineteen years of age. She had a long, sharp and purple ponytail atop her head, as well as fair complexion on the rest of her body. She wore a tight, black tanktop shirt along with a pair of loose, green-tinted jeans. To complete the outfit, she wore plain, white sneakers and a small, black leather vest. The woman continued to groan and move around only slightly, for she had been bound to the stretcher in the same manner that Kirlia had been to its stretcher.

Jason raised his Featherblade once again, and with a few quick strokes, broke the woman's bonds. "I think she looks drugged." Jason said to the Kirlia. He then said calmly toward the lying woman. "Are you alright?"

The woman stopped its moving and opened her eyes, peering at the rescuer standing above her. "Ugh..." was all she could manage to say. She then sat up on the stretcher, albeit slowly and weakly. She then took her hand and gripped her forehead. "My head...what happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Jason replied. "But we can talk about that later. Right now, this chamber is about to flood with gas and kill us all."

The young woman then came to her senses. "We'll never get out of here in time." she said. She then pointed toward the other end of the glass-walled chamber. "My Pok?mon...over there." Jason faced himself in the direction that she had pointed. He saw a small, glass pod, with swirling mist covering any possible view inside. He then ran toward it, and pushed a small red button that had stood below the pod. To his amazement, the glass immediately lifted itself, and the cold mist escaped, revealing six neatly arranged Pok?balls.

Jason scooped them all in his hand, and ran back toward the woman. He then placed the balls beside her where she had been sitting. Without a word, she picked out one of the Pok?balls and with a weak thrust, tossed it into the air. The ball opened up with a burst of white light, which formed a large figure in front of Jason. The light then dissapeared, revealing a ferocious and intimidating dragon-like Pok?mon. Its skin had been tinted a deep orange, its bright indigo wings stretched almost too widely for the small room to contain. Its thick and powerful looking tail had been tipped with a burning flame.

"Charizard...melt down that wall with a Fire Blast." she commanded, although weakly, as she mentioned toward the nearest wall. With a great roar, Charizard turned toward the wall, and a super-heated blast of flame burst forth from its mouth and against the wall, causing smoke to fill the entire room. After the smoke had cleared, a great hole stood where there had once been a solid steel wall.

"Wow, impressive!" Jason said as he looked quite shocked at that Pok?mon's powerful attack. Charizard ignored his comment as it began to lay on its chest, mentioning toward everyone else to get on its back. Jason helped the woman to her feet and onto the Charizard's back, and he himself sat at the front end, holding Charizard by the neck. "C'mon Kirlia! Lets get out of here!" Jason told his Kirlia. With a graceful leap, Kirlia sat itself down in between Jason and the woman. "Fly, Charizard." the woman commanded. With a great gust from its mighty wings, Charizard lifted itself and its passengers into the air, and they had dissapeared into the forest though the hole they had just created.

Moments later, they had dissapeared over the forest and out of sight of the Magma base. They flew over various parts of the Hoenn region, although Jason kept checking behind him to make sure Kirlia and the woman had been alright. Eventually, they landed on a small, grassy plateau overlooking one of the largest cities in the Hoenn region: Lilycove City.

Jason, Kirlia and the strange woman dismounted Charizard, who immediately stood back on its tightly muscled legs. They all gazed up at the sky, where dark clouds have been forming. "Looks like its going to rain." the woman said. "Guess we better go." Charizard grunted and nodded at that last statement. "And once again, thank you all." She then walked over toward Jason and faced him. Although she was two years younger than Jason, she was still quite a bit taller, by at least a foot, although Jason himself had been short for his age as well. "My name is Maxine." she introduced herself as she moved her hand toward him. "Jason, glad to meet ya." he said as he shook his hand with hers. "Are you sure you will be alright?"

"Of course" she replied. "The effects of their drugs have just about worn off. All we need to do now is find a safe place to rest for the night."

"Yes...I think i'll pay my sister a visit before I head home." Jason said as he mentioned toward Lilycove City, which stood below them atop that grassy and secluded plateau.

"I have the feeling...that we will meet again one day." Maxine said as she prepared to mount her Charizard once again. "I wish you the best of luck." she said. "Likewise"

Maxine flew off into the distance, as the rainclouds continued to form. "Ready Kirlia?" he asked down toward his Pok?mon, which had been standing and listening intentively the whole time. "Kirlia!" it said with a bright tune. Just as they were about to begin their journey, Jason suddenly halted, and Kirlia, noticing this, stopped in her tracks as well as it looked up at Jason.

"I almost forgot. I got a little...payback as you will, against Team Magma, for stealing you of course." Jason said. "Kirlia?" the Pok?mon asked. Jason then drew forth the Pok?ball he had taken earlier within the base. "Looks like we'll have a new partner now. C'mon out!" he shouted as he tossed the Pok?ball into the air. With the usual burst of light coming forth from the ball, it formed a small creature onto the ground. Once the light dissipated, Jason quickly studied the new Pok?mon: It was small and grey, with two small scars forming over its eyes. Its peculiar tail had been spread apart, forming something of a bowl shape behind him. On the center of its small belly, was a lighter shade of its grey skin-tone formed in the shape of a diamond.

The small Pok?mon blinked a few times, while staring up at its new trainer. "Lar?" it finally asked. Jason smiled down and kneeled before his new Pok?mon. "So its a Larvitar." Jason said. "Lar?" it asked again. "C'mon Larvitar, how'd you like to come with us? Im pretty sure its much better than being a prisoner among a foul gang anyway."

The Larvitar, pleased with this warm welcome, smiled and jumped happily into Jason's folded arms. "Lar-vi-tar!" it said with glee. At that moment, heavy raindrops started to poor down. "Uh oh, better return you to your ball. Wouldnt want a rock-type like yourself to get wet now would we?"

Larvitar nodded, continuing to smile. "Larvitar!" it said again, happily. Jason then pulled out the same Pok?ball, and a beam of red light burst forth, engulfing Larvitar. Moments later it had disappeared. Jason smiled at the new Pok?ball. "I think it likes us." "Kirlia!" the Pok?mon, Kirlia said as it stood next to its trainer.

"Ah, lets go!" Jason said to Kirlia as raindrops started coming down even harder. And so they both moved toward Lilycove City, where his younger sister had lived.

 

[Valmordian]

Sounds good so far. Keep 'em coming. :D

 

[TTYO]

Wow Nice work on the Double battles. And I loved the human/Pokemon hybrid. but I think there should be room for pity for Harkon having Scyther DNA. Keep up the good work

 

[peekachoo]

nice fic there!
keep up the gd work!
moremoremoremore:p

 

[Spirit of the Moon]

It's very cool! I like it very much!

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

Contiuation well I see [/Yoda] XD But anyways - nice to see some more more chapters to this original fic. The description was very vivid like before, and not real cliches like last time (apart from when Hakon was speaking to Stacey about the gas). The action was kept nice and spread out, instead of rushed - which is also good. Well done ^_^

There were times when you put a period at the end of some speech. If you're going to explain further... say "?????" said blah blah, then it needs to be a comma, question mark or exclamation mark. Nothing else. Also, some of the words you used destroyed the atmosphere. When describing blood, you used crimson. That's not exactly the best colour to use. Something like scarlet, or a bold sort of red. Crimson seems to define love more than bloodlust XD

Well, keep up the good work from this original fic. ^_^

 

[Kayoss]

Thanks for the nice comments folks :)
----------------------------------
By the next hour arrived, the rain had turned to a great downpour. Jason and Kirlia moved grudgingly through the thick forest, on their way toward Lilycove city. They were both cold, tired and muddy, and all they really wanted to do was rest.

"I'm sorry, Kirlia." Jason said down toward his Pok?mon. It was because, in the chaos and rush of escaping the Team Magma base, Jason had forgotton that Stacey still was holding the Kirlia's Pok?ball. While Kirlia had indeed been saved, its little sanctuary had most likely been long gone by now. "Once we get to Lilycove, i'll try and find a nice new Luxury ball for ya."

The ground beneath them had turned soft and muddy, and both Jason and Kirlia started to feel their balance in jeapordy as they continued to tread on. Finally, they came to the edge of a great cliff. "Lets move along here, it should be safe, and if we continue along here, we'll reach the main path that will take us directly to Lilycove."

"Kir!" it shouted as she slipped on a wet puddle of mud, causing the Pok?mon to fall chest-first into a bigger mudpuddle. Jason walked over to Kirlia, extended his hand and helped it up. "I really think we should find a place to rest for the night." Jason then began surveying his surroundings, and spotted a small cave which rested straight ahead of him on the cliffs edge.

Jason and Kirlia began racing toward the cave, eager to dry themselves and to rest. They reached the small cave, and hurriedly crawled in. Fortunately for them, the cave had not been populated. "Wouldnt it be our luck if it were home to some angry Ursaring." Jason thought to himself. Normally the thought of that would not frighten Jason, but his only assets at this point in time were a badly hurt Skarmory, a baby Larvitar, a worn out and soaked to the bone Kirlia, and of course his rusted Featherblade.

A short crawl through a narrow passageway later, they had found themselves at the end of the cave, into a room that had just appeared big enough for himself and his Pok?mon. Jason sat himself in the middle of the room and prepared a fire by gathering small twigs and leaves that have been scattered nearby. Kirlia sat itself right beside its trainer. They could both hear the rumbling thunder continue outside of them, and both had been very thankful for this discovery.

With the fire started, and the small cave brimming with heat and light, Jason pulled off his soaking jacket, and drew forth the two other Pok?balls from his pant pocket. A burst of light burst forth from each one, taking the shapes of both Skarmory and Larvitar. Jason then lay himself alongside of the fire, and dozed off. "Rest up guys, we'll be heading out in the morning." The Pok?mon chirped their acknowledgement, and began to take thier positions in the cave. Larvitar lay itself in front of Jason, lovingly inside his arms. Skarmory folded its wings and took its sleeping position behind Jason, near his legs. Kirlia sat itself across from the rest, and seemed to have put itself into a deep meditative trance.

In no time at all, the cave had been very peaceful and warm, the fire continued to flick and crackle through the night. Jason immediately fell asleep, his aching wounds from before seemed like nothing but a memory.

"Im really sorry Jason...there's nothing we can do." the plainly dress, pink haired Nurse Joy said down at a sobbing, younger Jason. Past them both, two depressed looking Chansey's: strange, rotund, pink colored Pok?mon, pushed two stretchers down the hall. Jason slowly looked up at the Chansey's, and then at the two stretchers. "Rest in peace...my best friends." he slowly said to himself. Nurse Joy sat down next to Jason and began to comfort him.

The scene immediately switched into darkness, which then shaped into a large, formal-looking courtroom. A serene but stern looking judge, with a shiny bald head and a long, black robe, sat upon the center of a large pedestal. Jason himself sat to below the judge, at his side. Across from Jason, stood the Plaintiff's table, where Nurse Joy and a finely-dressed, intelligent-looking lawyer stood. Opposite of that table, were the Defendants: one spike-haired, sharply-dressed boy, who had looked about Jason's age. That boy continued to do nothing but glare coldly at Jason as he sat upon the witness stand. Sat next to the boy, was a tall, evil looking older man with a darker complexion, who wore a clean-business suit as well as a dignified, clean haircut.

The Plaintiff's lawyer walked himself up toward Jason's sitting position, and after a few seconds have passed, began speaking calmly toward Jason. "And on that morning, what did you see as you passed through the base of the Great Volcano, and toward Fallarbor town."

Jason summoned the strength within him to call forth the words. "There was, a smoking factory, and around it, there was lots of dead grass, and I even saw lots of dead Spinda scattered around it."

The lawyer then spoke. "Let it be said then, that this man's factory had been causing great problems for life in that general area, as well as putting the health of the residents of Fallarbor at risk. Furthermore, that factory was built with the purpose of supplying both criminal syndicates, Team Magma and Team Aqua, with high-tech and dangerous weapons."

The people among the courtroom began to whisper amongst themselves, apparently directed toward the man sitting on the Defendant table. The judge next to Jason then declared. "Randy Bachman, because of your reckless endangerment of life, both Human and Pok?mon, as well as your dealings with two very dangerous criminal orginizations, I have no choice but to sentence you to fifty years in Mauville prison. Guards, take him away!"

Without a further word, two tough looking policemen grabbed the man in the business suit, and started to drag him away. "Finish this, Hakon, avenge me..." the man said to the boy sitting next to him. The boy continued to glare coldly at Jason as he said that. Moments later, the policemen and businessman were gone.

Immediately the scene began to shift into complete, swirling darkness, leaving nothing but the boy and Jason as they stood across from each other, ready to face off. The boy began to rage within himself, and to Jason's horror, large, clear wings began to grow forth from the boy. His hands began to mutate themselves into long, curved blades. His own skin began to form hardened, green plates. The boy's frame then grew slightly larger as if it grew seven years older.

The creature crossed its blades with a loud clang. "Dont forget me, Jason, i'll never stop hunting you..." was what the creature said, echoing through the blackness...

Jason slowly awoke. Around him, his Pok?mon had still been sleeping. A blinding light shot forth into the cave, indicating the rise of the dawn. Where used to be a fire, was nothing but a charred circle and ashes. Kirlia remained in its sitting position as it "slept", Skarmory, wings and talons folded into its body, continued to sleep as well, with nothing but its beak seeming to move. Larvitar, cute as can be, lay close to Jason's chest, with Jason's arms still wrapped around it.

Questions began to race through Jason's mind. Why was Kirlia taken from him? What did Team Magma plan to do with it? Did it involve Maxine, the girl he had recently rescued? Who was this Maxine anyway? What kind of twisted experiment transformed Hakon into that Scyther-ish creature? And most of all, when would they meet next?

Jason then thought to himself. "No, this isnt over. In fact, it may only be just beginning."

 

[Kayoss]

The dawn broke, the fresh smell of morning as well as the dew which lined the forest filled the small cave in which Jason and his Pok?mon had slept for the night. The storm that raged the previous night had cleared up, revealing a bright and sunny day that covered the entire forest.

Jason stood up from his slumber, and withdrew the Pok?balls from his now dry jacket, and used them to return Larvitar and Skarmory to their respective homes. "C'mon Kirlia, its time to go!" he said with a slightly groggy voice. He had not slept well that night, haunted by the chilling vision of the future. Kirlia then snapped out of its meditative trance. "Kirlia!" it said with its usual perky voice. "At least Kirlia managed to sleep." Jason thought. He was concerned for Kirlia, that the ordeals it faced within the Magma Base would traumatize her, but he was relieved that his fears were groundless.

They crawled out of the narrow passageway which connected thier cave to the whole of the forest. The forest was surprisingly calm and beautiful, and although Jason was quite used to this sight, it still brought peace and calmness within his heart. Wild Pok?mon had already awoken to begin their daily rituals, including gathering food and water, as well as some of them tending to their young.

Jason and Kirlia continued down thier planned course: to move alongside of the cliff and eventually reach the path which led straight into Lilycove City. The rest of their journey was rather uninterrupted, which was a good thing, for they thought of nothing other than reaching Lilycove safely and quickly.

An hour later, they had emerged from the forest and straight onto the well-worn main path. It was the road that many trainers and travelers had gone down before Jason, since Lilycove meant a major stop for their journeys. Even more so recently, ever since Jason's sister, Cassie, had opened up her own Pok?mon Gym in Lilycove City just a few years ago.

Memories began flooding within Jason's mind: They had both begun their Pok?mon journies at the same time, Jason at Fourteen years old, Cassie at Eight years of age. They had both decided to travel in different paths, but eventually wanted to meet each other at the Hoenn Pok?mon League competition. Jason however, never made it, for he was torn apart by the death's of his first two Pok?mon, Breloom and Wobbuffet. Jason then spent the remainder of that year trying to bring down the factory which caused the disease. The factory was owned by a vile entrepreneur named Randy Bachman, who used it to build illegal, high-tech weapons for both Team Magma and Team Aqua. The chemicals that the factory released into the air poisoned both the wild Pok?mon in the area, as well as the residents of the nearby Fallarbor town. Eventually, Randy was caught and placed on trial, and due to the amount of people Jason had gathered, all whom had been affected in some way by the disease, had enough evidence to put Randy in jail. His son Hakon however, already a very troubled boy, had turned to complete madness, and desired nothing but to taste Jason's blood.

As all this happened though, Cassie earned the eight Gym Badges she needed to compete, and much to everyone's surprise, became the Hoenn League Pok?mon Champion. Jason, although he heard the news of his sister's victory, was never heard from again as he dissapeared into the forests of Hoenn.

By now, Jason and Kirlia had reached the outskirts of Lilycove City. "Been a while since i've been in a real city." he thought to himself. Although he had occasionally visited the Pok?mon Center in the nearby Fortree City, he did so in secret, and only to get annual checkups for his Pok?mon. But now, his first destination in Lilycove was also to be the Pok?mon Center, and this time it was for much more than a mere checkup.

Jason and Kirlia had crossed the gates into the lush, beautiful Lilycove City. This was because of the fields of grass which lined the rather simple cobblestone roads. To the right of him, he could see the famed Contest Hall, where he could also see a huge crowd of people gathering. Straight ahead and to the left, he saw the Pok?mon Center, and immediately head toward it.

As Jason and Kirlia walked through the automatic sliding doors of the Center, he could see the usual gathering of Pok?mon Trainers, as well as the computers lined up to the right wall. In front of him, stood a great counter, and behind it, stood the most prominent and common sight of any Pok?mon Center: the plainly dressed and serene Nurse Joy.

Jason approached the counter. "Greetings, Nurse Joy." he greeted with a slightly relieved smile. Joy turned around and greeted him back. "Oh hello there, what can I do for you?"

"Well..." Jason began. "I have three Pok?mon here." he then drew his two remaining Pok?balls. "One of them got pretty badly hurt, this other one is a...new acquisition." Jason paused silently to come up with those words. "And my precious Kirlia here..." he mentioned downward toward Kirlia, who curtsied gently toward Nurse Joy. "...had its Pok?ball taken recently, and I was wondering if you had a spare Luxury Ball I could replace it with. I'd be willing to pay of course, and..."

"Dont worry about it at all." Nurse Joy said, smiling. "I'll take your Pok?mon and make them good as new. She then took Jason's two Pok?balls as Jason lifted Kirlia onto the counter. "And you're in luck my friend, one of the trainers left this behind recently as well." Nurse Joy then drew from behind the desk, an empty Luxury Ball. Jason seemed more than pleased as the stared longingly into the shiny, black sheen of the Luxury Ball. "Thanks very much Nurse Joy." he said. "If it's alright with you, im going to head out for a while and visit the Gym." He looked out the nearby window as he said this. Past the window, he could see a lone cliff facing out to the sea. On top of the edge, he could see the newly built Gym over the horizon.

"Be back for you in a bit, Kirlia." Jason said as he emerged from the Pok?mon Center. Wasting no time at all, he began moving through the downtown part of Lilycove, which seemed like a shortcut to the Gym alongside the cliff ahead of him, although he had not inticipated the large crowd of passer-bys he would have to fight through to get there.

Jason grudgingly moved through the downtown Lilycove, which was indeed very packed with people going here and there. Jason felt slightly uncomfortable around all these people, due to the fact that he lived alone nearly half of his life. He continued on nonetheless, and eventually passed a large electronics store, with many large television sets lined up against the wall. Jason walked by, ignoring the typical show that played on those TVs: a show about some spiky haired boy shouting something about cards, dueling and egyptian stuff. Just as Jason was almost away from that store, however the show stopped itself, and was replaced with a female news reporter. Jason immediately turned around to see what had brought the sudden change.

"We interrupt this program with a special report. We've just recieved word of a third wave of kidnappings, this time occuring within the small town of Verdanturf. Our camera crews caught this disturbing event on tape. Be advised, as this may not be appropriate for children." The scene on the TVs then shifted into a grim sight. Men wearing the Team Magma uniforms had been racing around the city on motorcycles, snatching up the residents as they desperatly sought to escape from the criminals. The camera began to focus on another sight, as a small, black-haired boy, wearing a red and black cap, was snatched up by one of the criminals, as well as a small beige haired girl wearing a red bandanna was snatched up by another. Even more strangely, a Pikachu, Corphish and Torchic had been chasing after those same Magma grunts, likely in an attempt to save thier trainers.

Jason stood still for a moment as new and disturbing possibilities raced through his mind. "What could Team Magma be up to now?" he thought to himself. He then continued toward the Lilycove Gym, pondering these new developments.

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

Jason reached the Lilycove Gym, and stepped through its large, wide glass doors. The first sight he saw, was the great, marble Gym Floor. Jason then observed the two Pok?mon which had already been battling. To his sides, were the bleachers which sat at least a few hundred people, already cheering on the competitors of the battle.

"Meganium, Vine Whip!" the female trainer on the left side had shouted. Jason then ran toward the edge of the arena, hoping it was who he thought it was, and sure enough, it was his sister Cassie, already in the midst of a heated battle with another trainer, a small brown haired boy wearing a purple shirt and black pants. He then looked down toward the battling Pok?mon: a large, four-legged grass-type called Meganium, who had just unleashed two large Vine Whips toward the opposing Pok?mon, a sharp clawed, white furred monkey, who tried to swipe away at the vine whips, but was eventually overwhelmed and knocked out.

The referee, standing in the center, raised his flag toward Cassie and declared to the audience "Vigoroth is unable to battle! The gym leader, Cassie, is the winner!" The crowd began to cheer at the victor, Cassie and her Meganium.

Jason, pleased at this sight, ran down toward the lower levels of the Gym, in order to meet his emerging sister, now leaving the arena as well. He ran down a couple of halls, and came across his sister, and stood, awe inspired, at the sister he had not seen in seven years.

Cassie stood tall, although she was around the same height as Jason was. She had short, light brown hair. She wore a long, green Trainer's outfit, complete with a matching skirt. She also wore a long, yellow towel around her neck, likely something she wore after long battles. To her side, was her proud Meganium. Jason remembered her Pok?mon as well: Jason had started with a Shroomish, while Cassie started with her beloved Chikorita.

"Cassie, its been a while." Jason said, grinning. Cassie looked up and down at the short, slightly rotund man in front of her. "Yes? Do I know you?" was all she said. Jason, although slightly dissapointed, replied with "C'mon, dont tell me you dont recognize your own brother!"

Cassie took another good look "J-Jason!?" she said with a great shock. Jason simply smiled and nodded. "Jason! It's so great to see you!" she yelled as she ran toward Jason to give him a hug. Jason responded in turn with the same thing.

The two came toward Cassie's personal locker room, and sat down at a small table. "Jason...I never thought i'd see you like this" she then said after taking a drink of a nearby water bottle.

"Like how?" Jason asked.

"Well...I had always dreamed, you know, of battling with you in the Pok?mon League." Cassie said. "When you didnt show up, I just got so, so...worried."

"Dont feel bad sis. I had my...reasons. Although I have to congratulate you on becoming champion, despite me." Jason said as she mentioned toward the great, golden trophy which sat atop a large shelf.

"Thanks! Although i'm not champion any longer." Cassie said, not sounding dissapointed at all. "I lost my title last year, to a wickedly powerful trainer, who called himself Steven Stone."

"Ahh, thats too bad." Jason said.

The two sat into long hours, talking and catching up. Finally, Jason emerged from the room they had been conversing in, but not without a last comment "Yeah i'll be here first thing in the morning, to referee your next battles!"

Jason smiled to himself as he walked back toward the Pok?mon Center, to reclaim his Pok?mon. The trip back seemed much shorter than the trip to the gym. Nonetheless, Jason arrived and emerged into the Center. Nurse Joy greeted him, as with all trainers, with the usual cheery smile. "Here you go!" she said. "Your Pok?mon are healed and fighting fit!" She then handed him two fresh Pok?balls, along with the new, shining Luxury Ball which contained Kirlia.

Jason grinned heavily. "Nurse Joy, you are truly a credit to this world!" he thanked her. "Say, can I ask one more thing?"

"You'd like to stay for the night, right? I thought you might ask, so i've already prepared one."

"Wow thanks!" was all Jason said. Jason was led to a small room by one of the Chansey's of the Pok?mon Center, who just as quickly left him to his business. Jason then plopped himself onto the bed and fell asleep, eagerly awaiting the next day.

The next day never came however, because a couple hours later, his sleep had been interrupted by a very nervous looking Nurse Joy. "Jason, come quick! There's big trouble outside!"

Jason quickly got up from his sleep, and pulled his jacket on. After double checking to make sure his Featherblade and Pok?balls were ready, he ran outside. All around him, with the night sky shining brightly above him, chaos began to envelop the city as houses were set ablaze, and people running through the streets, screaming in terror. Just as he had seen on TV, agents from Team Magma had begun snatching up people as they had attempted to flee. Across to the sea, he saw ships making landing at port. New agents began to swarm out, this time wearing black and white striped shirts, as well as blue pants along with blue bandannas. "Team Aqua..." Jason said to himself. The Aqua agents however, were doing the same thing the Magma ones were: kidnapping as many people as they could get thier hands on.

"Looks like a war has broken out. Well then..." Jason drew his Featherblade and one of his Pok?balls. "Here we go again!"

 

[Kayoss]

"Lets go, Larvitar!" Jason threw his Pok?ball into the air with a great shout. A burst of white light came forth from the ball, and seconds later formed itself into a small, grey, gutsy Pok?mon called Larvitar. Jason grinned down at Larvitar as it looked around the battlefield curiously. "Ready for your first battle, my friend?" Jason said. Larvitar looked up at Jason, smiling even as the whole of Lilycove city was drifting into chaos. "Lar!" it said eagerly, and nodded.

Jason surveyed his current surroundings. Magma agents to the right of him, Aqua agents to the right, as well as screaming, fleeing citizens on every side. "Where to start..." Jason thought to himself. Looking over the horizon, toward the Aqua agents already massing on the shoreline, Jason noticed smoke rising over the Lilycove Gym. "Cassie!" he said anxiously as he pointed toward the gym. "C'mon Larvitar, that's where we're heading!". Larvitar responded with a nod and "Lar!"

Jason barely moved a single step, when one of the Magma agents had grabbed Jason from behind. "Yer comin' with me, dude!" he said with a grunt. Jason responded with a kick to his shin, which knocked him off balance. Jason immediately took the grunt by his arm and tossed him over his shoulder. As the grunt hit the ground hard onto his back, Jason's Featherblade then found itself into the grunt's chest just seconds later, ending the struggle.

"Aiiiiieeeeeeee!" Jason heard a piercing scream coming from his right. Near the gates of the city, he could see a young girl struggling against another Magma grunt. Jason quickly raced over to the scene. As he got closer, he could also see a Pok?mon accompanying each of them: Near the girl, he could see a fainted, red mushroom-like Pok?mon with claws coming forth from under itself. As the grunt attempted to carry her off, Jason noticed the Pok?mon accompanying him: a peculiar, fiery duck-like Pok?mon called Magmar.

"Larvitar, Leer attack!" Jason commanded. The Magma agent, stunned by this sudden development, turned toward Jason just as the girl slipped free from his grip. Larvitar then glared at the Magmar as its eyes began to glow a bright red. The Magmar looked slightly nervous as it stared at the gutsy Larvitar. "That's enough" Jason said calmly. "Finish it with a Rock Slide attack!"

Larvitar lept into the air, and as it flew toward the Magmar, stones began to form itself around Larvitar's small body. Magmar, dumbfounded, continued to stare at Larvitar as it began its decent toward the Fire-type. In no time at all, Magmar felt the crushing blow of a hundred rocks. Magmar, unable to take such punishment, especially from a Rock-type attack, collapsed onto the floor.

"Urgh...Return Magmar!" the grunt said as he angrily drew a Pok?ball and used it to envelop Magmar with it's red beam. Using his free hand, he then drew a small, black handgun which he then pointed toward Jason. "So, you think yer so tough eh?!"

"Breloom, Mach Punch!" a voice shouted. Jason and Larvitar turned thier heads slightly toward the left: it was the same little girl that had struggled against this grunt. From out of nowhere, the Breloom sped toward the grunt, and with a closed fist, slammed hard against his chest. The grunt fell to the ground, having the wind knocked out of him, as well has having the gun fall out of his hands. "Breloom, end it with Spore!" the girl commanded. Breloom then began to shake its mushroom-top wildly, and from it, a cloud of spores began to float toward and attach itself to the fallen grunt. Though he tried to struggle against it, soon the grunt was knocked out cold by the spores, and sleeping soundly like a child.

"Whoa..." Jason stood speechless as he, in turn, had just been saved by this small girl whom he had also saved just moments before. Jason examined the girl before him: she wore a simple green dress along with white socks and black sandles. Her hair was light brown in color, along with two braids going down from her sides. To Jason, she looked rather young, perhaps around twelve years of age.

"That's a fine looking Breloom you've got there." Jason said as he shifted his gaze toward the bouncing Breloom. It had looked very similar to Jason's deceased Breloom. Sad memories began to flood into Jason's mind as his face seemed to shift to the verge of tears, but immediately Jason's sense stopped it before it started. "The city is burning, people are being taken, no time to get mushy now."

"Hi there...um thanks..." the girl said with a shy voice. "Nah, I should really be thanking you." Jason replied with a smile. "I'm Jason, its good to meet you." he said as he extended his hand.

"I'm Kiru." the girl replied as she, in turn, shook Jason's hand. "The way you commanded your Breloom out there, pretty darn impressive." Jason said.

"Yes, i've always loved Mushroom Pok?mon. My master is teaching me how to make useful potions using thier spores." Kiru said, although quietly. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she then drew forth a Pok?ball from her front dress pocket, and directed it toward the fainted red Pok?mon Jason had noticed before. "Parasect, return!" she ordered as the red beam shot forth and engulfed the fainted Parasect. "I was trying to get out of here, when that man tried to take me." Kiru then pointed down toward the sleeping Magma grunt. "You know how grass-types are weak against fire-types, and..."

"No need for apologies. We've really gotta get you out of here, an-" Jason and Kiru both fell to the ground as the roof of a nearby house exploded from close behind them. "...its really dangerous here."

"Wait...let me help you." Kiru said, softly. "Those men might come after me again, and if I travel with you, i'll be much safer."

Jason pondered this. He could not leave her alone here, nor was there any real way to escape with Magma and Aqua agents pooring into the city from almost every entrance. Even more so, the forest beyond the city was a danger in itself, especially during the nighttime. "Alright, you can come." Jason finally decided. "Say, where do you live anyway?"

"Petalburg City." Kiru said. "I came here to take lessons from my master, Mr. Yokou the Herbalist, and I was just on my way to visit him when all of this started to happen."

"Ahh, so you're an apprentice learning a trade. That's seriously great." Jason said. "C'mon, we better get going. Just standing around like this is begging to be found out again."

"Jason, you dont know how right you are..." a voice from above said.

"What!?" Jason turned around, and just as he saw who had said that, he was hit hard in the face by an incoming green object, which threw Jason back at least a few feet. Jason sat on the ground, stunned by the force of the blow, rubbing his head, which pulsed with great pain. "Urgh...Hakon..." was all he managed to blurt out.

"That's right, you fool! Oh, and I do believe you've met my girlfriend, Stacey?" the Scyther-creature said as he pointed one of his blade-arms toward the frightened Kiru.

Kiru, watching in horror as she not only saw this hideous creature for the first time, but had just witnessed it attack her newest friend, Jason, started to back away into the shadowy trees behind her. The shadowy figure then darted from underneath the trees, and struck Kiru's Breloom in its head, and immediately after, grabbed Kiru from behind. "Gotcha, girly!"

"Another one?" Jason asked as the figure emerged from the shadows, holding Kiru as she tried to struggle her way out. "Wait...Stacey?"

It was indeed Stacey, but something seemed different about her this time. She wore the same garb as when they had last met, but nstead of human skin, brown feathers covered her body. In place of hands, wide, brown feathered wings were wrapped around Kiru. In place of her usual, human face, a long, pointy beak stretched out. To top it off, Stacey bore a long, pink mohawk on top of her head.

"Lemme guess, Fearow?" Jason asked toward Stacey. Stacey, now a Fearow-creature, grinned and nodded toward Jason, still holding Kiru tight in her grasp. Jason closed his eyes and turned away, disgusted. "Yeah, that Pok?mon does suit you, Stacey. A dirty bird, always squawking about. But what i'd like to know, is how the hell your team is doing this?! And to what ends?!" Jason yelled as he stood up and drew his Featherblade. "Let Kiru go, or I swear you'll pay!" Jason said forcefully, pointing his Featherblade toward Stacey.

Both Hakon and Stacey began to laugh loudly at this. "Oh please, do you really think you're in any position to make threats?" Hakon said. "You may have gotten lucky back at the base, but now you're out in the open, with nowhere to run." Hakon then walked over toward the struggling Kiru, and placed the tip of his right blade-arm on her neck. "And we've got this pretty little hostage too. Any final words, little girl?"

Jason and Kiru looked at each other nervously. "Let's just hope this works." they both seemed to think at the same time. "Just a few." Kiru began to say. "Breloom, Spore attack!" she shouted, her eyes tightly shut with fear.

"Huh?" Hakon and Stacey both said in unison.

Just then, clouds of spores from beneath the lush, forest canopy came forth and floated toward the creatures. Stacey began to swipe at her new beak, likely trying to bat the spores away. Kiru took the opportunity to free herself from Stacey's grip, and ran toward the battle-ready Jason. Both looked at the creatures as they choked on the Spore attack.

"Larvitar, go!" Jason pointed at the two creatures as he ordered. "Rock Slide attack!"

Just as before, Larvitar lept dilligently into the air, and had seemed to summon rocks from thin air. Seconds later, it crashed into both Hakon and Stacey with a rock-hard blow that, coupled with the Spore attack, knocked them out cold.

"Well...it seems they follow the cardinal rules of Pok?mon type, too." Jason thought to himself. The Rock Slide seemed to do the trick, as Hakon was transformed into a Scyther, and Stacey a Fearow, both of them were vulnerable to Rock-type attacks.

Jason and Kiru looked down at the knocked out bodies of the two creatures, Hakon and Stacey. "Good job, Larvitar! Excellent first battle!" Jason yelled as he took Larvitar into his arms. "Lar-Lar-Vitar!" it said, happily. Next to him, Kiru was doing almost the same thing. "Thanks Breloom! You really saved us." she said as she hugged her loyal Breloom.

A great explosion was heard from across the other side of Lilycove city. "The Gym!" Jason shouted. "C'mon, my sister needs us!" he said as Jason and Kiru, as well as Breloom and Larvitar, began to run toward the Lilycove Gym.

 

[Kayoss]

"We'll never get past all of these guys!" Kiru shouted as the pair raced through the burning Lilycove City. Chaos still reigned as buildings were being bombed by the Team Magma agents, and the innocent peoples of the city being carried off in armored wagons by the dozen. "Why dont we just hide? They cant be here forever, right?"

"No Kiru, we cant." Jason said as they both took cover beneath a large boulder which faced the downtown part of Lilycove. It was in this part of the city that the Magma and the Aqua agents who had recently arrived began thier usual gang war. Both sides began to riot as well, breaking down windows of the buildings, stealing various valuables, while others faced off against each other, both in fistfights as well as Pok?mon battles.

"This part of the city is off limits to us..." Jason said. "C'mon, we gotta find another way."

Jason and Kiru abandoned the downtown entrance and raced toward a small clearing. They both looked up at the Gym, which had suddenly stopped burning. "****, we might be too late!" Jason thought. They then crossed the open clearing, and into an alley which brought them into the residential part of town, with the houses crumbling and burning as the criminal thugs began to grab and carry them out into thier armored wagons.

"We have to save them! They need our help!" Kiru shouted as she saw the grim atrocities herself. "There are way too many, we cant fight them on our own. Get ahold of yourself, or every living person in this city will hear you!" Jason said as he scolded Kiru. Just then, four of the gun-toting Magma members approached and surrounded them. "C'mon now, get in the van!" one of the brusque-looking thugs commanded as they all pointed thier rifles at Jason and Kiru.

"How about...no!" Jason said confidently. Kiru looked up at Jason, a wave of fear crossing her face. "What does he think he's doing!?" she thought. Jason then drew the shiny black Luxury Ball from behind his jacket, and quickly opened it. "Kirlia, c'mon out!" he said as the usual burst of light came forth, which seconds later, took the form of Jason's Pok?mon Kirlia. Kirlia stood there, not saying a word, as it fixed its gaze toward the surrounding Agents.

"Bah! Just kill 'em, you rogues!" the same agent yelled to his comrades. The agents raised thier rifles and began to open fire. "Kirlia, use Reflect!" Jason ordered. Kirlia then began to raise its arms, and as its eyes began to glow a bright blue, a protective barrier formed around Jason, Kiru and Kirlia. They could all see the thick, translucent shield absorb the bullet fire, as if they were surrounded by thick glass. "Keep firin! They cant hold out forever!" the lead agent shouted. Jason grinned as he said, "Kirlia, Maximum Power Reflect".

As the Agents continued to fire, the thick barrier began to change color, from the translucent blue to a thick, cloudy purple. The bullets, instead of being absorbed by the shield, were now being shot back at the same agents at an angle. One agent screamed in pain as one of his bullets landed into his right shoulder. At that point, all the agents began to stop their shooting.

"Bleh, lets just get out of here!" the lead agent commanded as they all split off in different directions, the wounded agent moving slower than the rest, and eventually collapsing onto a nearby yard.

"Thanks Kirlia, that'll be enough." Jason said calmly as the barrier began to dissipate. Kirlia spun around toward Jason, and gave a gentle bow. Jason, still holding his Luxury Ball, withdrew Kirlia using the same beam of red light. "Just remember Kiru, gun-users are always cowards at heart. They lack the skill and steel to push thier own ends, and so these guns give them a false sense of power." Jason said. Kiru simply nodded and smiled. They both looked down the horizon of the residential street they were standing on. The Magma wagons, which lined the entire road, now carring dozens of innocent victims, began to start up. Jason knew they were coming this way. "We really gotta get out of here." Jason said as he drew forth another Pok?ball. "Your turn, Skarmory!" he yelled as the tossed it into the air.

As the form of Skarmory began to take shape, Kiru interrupted, "Wow Jason, you really know how to use your Pok?mon." she said. "Not really, its only that we've been friends for so long..." Jason never finished that sentence. Skarmory landed onto the ground, ducked its beak and spread its wings, signaling the pair to get on.

"You look a lot better, my friend." Jason said as they both mounted Skarmory. "Skaaar!" it screeched as they began to take flight. Jason and Kiru looked down at the city. The city seemed to glow in this endless night as the war raged on. It seemed that no part of the city was safe from the calamity brought by Team Magma and Aqua. Jason pointed toward the ruined Lilycove Gym, hanging over the cliffside like an old, forgotten mansion. Skarmory then screeched into the sky, and quickly made its way toward the Gym.

Moments later, they had landed in front of the burnt doors of the Gym. Jason pulled Skarmory's Pok?ball from his jacket pocket. "That'll do Skarm...we might need you again later, so rest up." he said as he withdrew Skarmory. "Ready, Kiru?"

"Yes..." she said meekly.

"You know, I wont force you to follow me." Jason said.

Kiru's expression changed suddenly, from scared to forceful. "No! I have to go in!"

Jason stared and asked, "Why?"

"Because I have to face the danger! If I dont, i'll never get stronger as a person!"

"You sure have a lot of guts, and an unnatural amount of resolve..." Jason said. "You can come, if you really want to."

"I wont let ya down!" Kiru said bravely, now determined to enter the Gym.

They both pushed thier way into the Gym. They looked around, and saw nothing but charred wood and metal. The bleachers which surrounded them were completely turned to ash. Metal and wooden debris surrounded thier feet. Jason and Kiru ran toward the edge of the stadium. The Arena looked torn apart as well. Glass littered the floor as Jason could see, the stadium lights have been blown apart. Dust and ash covered the normally white, marble floors of the floor like a blanket. As they looked around, a small figure came forth from the stadium entrance.

"Hey, you!" he yelled as he pointed toward Kiru and Jason. "Come down here, and humor an old man would ya?!"

Hesitant at first, Jason hopped over the stadium railing and landed on the gym floor. He then extended his arms, intending to catch Kiru as she did the same thing. Jason, Kiru and the strange man began to walk toward each other, toward the center of the ring. As they got closer, Jason noticed the man, wearing the garb of a Team Magma member. Beneath his crimson and horned hood, he could see a shaggy grey beard coming from his face, as well as small strands of stringy white hair. Jason then drew his Featherblade, but immediately stopped in his tracks as the agent himself drew a small handgun, which he pointed straight at Jason's face.

"Cant you guys find another weapon besides guns?!" Jason said, standing still. "Yeah, and why do you fools have to go around, pretending to be heroes, waving swords that'll break under the first sign of stress?" the old man responded.

"Fair enough." Jason said as he sheathed his Featherblade. "Now then, where's my sister?"

"Who?" the old agent responded. "The Gym Leader, my sister!"

"Ahh...they took her away, bout an hour ago. I'm the only one left."

"Where'd they take her?!" Jason demanded, still standing in his position.

The old agent sighed, either out of frustration or lack of breath. "I'll tell ya, if you can beat me in a battle." he finally said.

Jason groaned, frustrated at the sudden development. He stood there, frozen, as any sudden movements could mean his death. "Look son, I know a little of honor, myself. I'll keep my word that i'll help ya out, if you can beat me. Just humor me, would ya? I've always dreamed of one day bein' a gym leader, then my life took a turn and I ended up with Team Magma, 'k? But now, Team Magma's goin to the dogs, and im gettin' out while I can! Just let me battle ya once, on this gym floor, just so I can live the experience once in my life."

Jason still stood, frozen, "And why should I? After all you and your ilk have done, why?"

"Well..." he said. "I could just shoot you now."

Jason gulped. "Alright, old man, you've got a deal."

"Perfect!" the old agent said. "By the way, i'm Caninus, Lieutentant of Team Magma's Demolition Force!"

"Jason..." Jason said as he began to take his position on the challenger's floor of the arena. Magma Admin Caninus took his place on the floor as well, the spot normally reserved for Cassie, the true leader of the gym.

"This'll be a three on three battle, young man!" Caninus yelled to Jason. "You win, and i'll tell ya everythin' you wanna know, got it!?"

"Fine!" Jason yelled. The dark ruins, lit only by the moonlight of the starry sky, began to shed some of the ash which lined the walls, due to the intensity of thier voices. Kiru began to sit on a small bench which lined the gym floor. "Good luck, Jason!" she shouted.

"Lets get started then! Lets go, Mightyena!" Caninus shouted as he drew out his Pok?ball, his tattered red cloak flowing through the cold air. The white light from the Pok?ball formed the fierce, black canine known as Mightyena, who looked ready for battle on the dusty gym floor.

"C'mon out, Skarmory!" Jason yelled as he threw his Pok?ball into the arena. Skarmory formed once again, hoving above the arena, its sharp, silvery wings shining in the moonlight. Jason deftly caught the Pok?ball as it flew back toward him once Skarmory came out.

Caninus nodded toward Kiru. Kiru, confused, turned toward both Jason and Caninus. "Hey little girl, you're supposed to say 'Begin!'"

"Hey, she's not the referee ya know..." Jason responded. "I think that..."

"It's alright, Jason!" Kiru said. "Begin the battle!" she yelled as she raised her hands, giving the illusion that she was supposed to be holding the red and green flags that a normal referre holds during a gym battle.

"Skarmory!" Jason yelled as he pointed toward the ring. "Mightyena!" Caninus responded.

"Go!"

 

[Kayoss]

"Iron Tail!" Caninus shouted to his grizzled Mightyena, who had just entered the ring. Fiercely, Mightyena crouched and lept up toward the hovering Skarmory. Its shaggy tail began to glow, and with a great force, spun himself around and hit Skarmory square in the chest. Skarmory, with its body protected by pure steel, hardly felt the attack at all. It kept hovering over the battlefield, flapping its wings occasionally, waiting for Jason's command.

"Shadow Ball!" Caninus ordered. Mightyena then planted its feet into the floor, and inside its sharp jaws, a sphere of dark energy began to form. A couple of seconds later, Mightyena released the Shadow Ball in Skarmory's direction. Skarmory took the Shadow Ball head on, which exploded and formed a cloud of dust around Skarmory, which dissipated just as quickly. Even that powerful attack hardly put a dent into the metal bird. Skarmory continued to fly in place, seemingly ignoring the best Mightyena had to dish out.

"Alrighty Skarmory, time for a Spikes attack!" Jason finally shouted into the ring. Skarmory then began to flap its wings rapidly, and from them, small, metal spikes began to fly and hit the ground. Seconds later, the battlefield was smothered in these pointy objects. Mightyena looked around the battlefield nervously. It had nowhere to run, as it was trapped in place by the spiked field.

"Not bad, sonny!" Caninus said. "Mightyena, Swagger!"

"Swagger?" Jason thought. "What's that?"

Mightyena began to glare at Skarmory with glowing, red eyes. Skarmory simply stared right back. Just then, a great fit of anger washed over Skarmory. It began to screech loudly into the air, flapping its wings at a great rate. The tantrum seemed to make Skarmory almost uncontrollable. Jason looked up at the raging bird: Skarmory's eyes had begun to glow a bright, crimson red, just like the Mightyena's had done.

"Skarmory, finish it with dri-" Jason command had been interrupted as the enraged Skarmory began to make a fearsome dive toward Mightyena. As it had been trapped by the now spiked field, Mightyena braced itself and took a direct hit to its shoulders by the pointed, shining beak of Skarmory. The blow pushed Mightyena a few feet backwards as Skarmory rose back into the air and prepared another attack. The force of that blow however, had been too much for Mightyena to endure, and the humbled black Pok?mon had collapsed and fainted.

Kiru stood up, and raised her right hand in Jason's direction. "Mightyena is unable to battle! Skarmory is the win-" As she began to announce the winner, Skarmory's fits of rage grew louder, its screeches and metallic roars shaking the already crumbling gym. "Skarmory, return!" Jason said, fearfully, as he quickly drew the Pok?ball and called it back with the same red beam. Caninus then followed suit, "Mightyena, return!"

"Good one." Jason said. "I've never seen my Skarmory so pissed!"

"Swagger, my friend." Caninus explained. "Brings out the Hyde in yer team o' Jekyll's!"

"Uh huh." Jason replied. He then whispered toward his Pok?ball "Take a break my friend, and for goodness sake's, calm down."

"We aint done yet!" Caninus declared. "Vaporeon, c'mon out!"

Caninus then tossed a second Pok?ball onto the Gym floor. Due to Skarmory's tantrum, the spikes which had covered the field had been spread out a little, giving enough room for Caninus's second Pok?mon, Vaporeon, to materialize. Vaporeon was a slick, blue Pok?mon, with a wide fin for a mane around its neck, and a long, fishlike tail.

"Kirlia, lets go!" Jason shouted as he tossed his shining, black Luxury Ball onto the field. In no time at all, Kirlia had appeared onto the floor, which gave a slight bow of respect toward its new opponent. "Begin Round Two!" Kiru shouted.

"Kirlia, Thunderbolt!" Jason commanded. Kirlia then began to spin its arms, and as it did, electrical energy began to form around it. Kirlia then directed the bolt toward the hunched Vaporeon. "Vaporeon, Quick Attack!" Caninus commanded. Vaporeon, in a flash, avoided the Thunderbolt and tackled Kirlia with the full strength of its body. Kirlia was then thrown back, and though it had not fallen, showed signs of pain from the attack.

"Kirlia, Psychic!" Jason shouted. Kirlia regained its senses and using the power of its mind, lifted Vaporeon into the air. Vaporeon continued to fix its gaze upon Kirlia, even while being levitated. "Ice Beam!" Caninus said. A blue beam of ice shot forth from Vaporeon's mouth and toward Kirlia's legs. Because Kirlia was focused on its own attack on Vaporeon, it was not able to dodge the Ice Beam. The beam itself had engulfed both the floor and Kirlia's legs, and a seconds later, both were encased in a hard block of ice.

Kirlia then started to shiver from the burning pain of the ice, and in doing so, lost its concentration on Vaporeon. "G'job! Finish it with Hydro Pump!" Caninus ordered. A great, pressurized blast of water shot forth from Vaporeon's mouth and straight toward Kirlia. Kirlia strugged to break free from its icy prison, but instead, took the water attack head on, which seemed to cover its entire body. The Hydro Pump dissapeared seconds later, leaving a fainted Kirlia in its place. "Kirlia is unable to go on! Vaporeon is the winner!" Kiru declared.

"Ugh! Kirlia, return." Jason said with a hint of sadness as he called back Kirlia with the shiny Luxury Ball in his hands. He then looked toward Caninus' direction, who was patting his Vaporeon on the head for a job well done. Caninus then withdrew Vaporeon in the same fashion. "One and One, sonny! This next one'll decide the match."

Jason simply nodded. "You're my only hope now." Jason said to himself as he drew his third Pok?ball. "Larvitar, Go!" he yelled with a shout as the Pok?ball was thrown into the ring, immediately forming the shape of the small grey Larvitar.

"My pride and joy! C'mon out, Arcanine!" Caninus shouted as his Pok?ball flew into the air. A large burst of light came forth, forming the shape of the terrifying Arcanine, a large, red dog with bristled fur and a growl that seemed to intimidate the impish Larvitar.

"Dont let it scare ya!" Jason called to his Larvitar. "It's all bark, and no bite!"

"Bleh! You'll take back them words, son!" Caninus responded.

"Begin Round Three!" Kiru shouted toward the ring as she raised both of her arms.

"Arcanine, Bite attack!" Caninus shouted. Arcanine then dashed toward Larvitar, intending on swallowing the tiny Larvitar in one bite. "Larvitar, Screech!" Jason countered. Larvitar then stood its ground, and gave off a piercing, bellowing cry toward the charging Arcanine. Both Kiru and Caninus covered thier ears in pain as the Screech attack continued, while Jason simply stared toward the arena, determined to win this. Arcanine, just two feet away from Larvitar, stopped in its tracks as it flinched in the presence of the ear-piercing cry.

Jason would not waste this valuable opportunity. "Larvitar, Sandstorm!" he yelled. Larvitar stopped its intense cry, and with a waving of its arms, the arena itself was engulfed in a whirling tornado of dust and sand. Caninus, Jason and Kiru could no longer see what was going on in the arena. "Err...Arcanine, Flamethrower!" Caninus shouted toward the sandstorm. "Larvitar, Earthquake!" Jason responded. The gym floor began to shake wildly, and at the same time, the air temperature seemed to rise. Jason and Caninus, both sweating heavily due to the sudden heat, eagerly stared at the arena, waiting to see who got out of those attacks alive.

Many moments later, the sandstorm slowly died down, and finally cleared up. Jason and Caninus both stared at the arena in disbelief, as they finally saw what had happened.

Larvitar stood proudly, staring at the buried Arcanine. Arcanine, with half of his body buried in the ground, struggled weakly to get itself out. Caninus groaned in frustration as he drew his Pok?ball, ready to admit defeat. "Arcanine is unable to battle! Jason wins the match!" Kiru said happily as she raised her hand toward Jason.

Caninus quickly withdrew Arcanine. "Ya did good, old friend." he whispered toward the beaten Arcanine's Pok?ball.

Larvitar, now very happy, ran toward Jason and lept into his arms. Jason countered giving his Larvitar a small hug. "Thanks, and great job." he said as he withdrew Larvitar seconds later. "Affectionate little one..." he thought to himself.

Caninus, Jason and Kiru met each other in the center of the ring. Caninus extended his hand toward Jason, which Jason shook with his own. "Thanks, Jason, fer making an old man's wish come true. Yer pretty **** impressive, I must say."

"Thanks. Now then, i'm hoping you'll answer some of my questions then? I've got more than I can count..."

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

"Lemme start by saying, I dunno the exact location of yer sister." Caninus began to explain to them. The three had now been sitting in the Gym Lounge, over a dusty and charred table. "It all began bout five years ago..." Caninus continued. "The boss, Maxie, ordered us to start buildin' bases all over the place. None of us really knew what'd been goin on, but now that i'm thinkin of it, she's probably at one of 'em now."

Jason nodded, hanging on to Caninus's every word. His thirst for answers was starting to be quenched, but his supply of questions continued. "Yeah, I think i've been to one of them." Jason said. "Strange thing is though, Team Aqua was doin' the same thing." Caninus explained. "Base after base, we just kept findin' new places to make em. Just the actual buildin's themselves...we never knew what was being put in 'em"

"Even so, we started hearin' rumors, that our boss and the Aqua's boss were actually workin' together! Most o' my friends didnt believe it, I mean, who would? Then others..." Caninus started to hesitate as he looked nervously toward the floor. "Others...they've been saying, a new guy came into the middle of this, and started fixin' our leaders up, gettin' them together and such..."

"Fixing them with what?" Jason asked curiously.

"Information." Caninus said. "Somethin' bout a lost Team Rocket project, that they abandoned many years ago. This new guy began showin up and fed the bosses of both teams." Caninus sighed. "Team Magma aint what it used to be. That's why I started considering leavin...but then, just a few weeks ago, things really started to take a turn for the worst..."

"How?" Jason asked.

"Outta nowhere, Maxie ordered us, every single one o' us, to start kidnappin' people. Full raids on small villages at first, then the bigger cities, like this one. Now most of my friends went along with this without question. Some o' them started questionin' the boss, askin them what this had to do with the grand mission. You know, expandin' the land and such. Those friends..." Caninus said, sadly. "I've never seen 'em again."

"Mister Caninus..." Kiru interrupted, although meekly. "Do you know...what they're doing with those people?"

"Little lady..." Caninus said, softly. "That, I dont know..."

"Hang on." Jason said. "I've been in one of those bases, like I said. One of their agents swiped my Kirlia from me, so I went in after them. Things happened, and at the same time I had found Kirlia, I had found myself saving some girl who-"

"Wait." Caninus interrupted. "Was she tall, purple hair, lots o' well trained Pok?mon and such?" Jason nodded. "How'd you know? Well anyways, she did have a pretty fierce looking Charizard, which saved us all in the end."

"Thought so." Caninus nodded as well. "That's Maxie's only daughter, Maxine. She was one of, if not the best, warrior trainer for Team Magma. Soon as this started happening, she went against the boss himself, and unfortunately for her, she slipped up and got caught along with the rest of the innocents."

Both Kiru and Jason listened intently to Caninus. "And finally myself, I chose this mission only to live out my final dream. I've always wanted my own Gym. A Kennel gym, i'd have turned it in to. Dog Pok?mon are man's best friend, ya know. Soon as we're done, i'm leaving. Perhaps one day i'll see ya again. Jason, Kiru, I wish ya both the best of luck. I dunno what's going down exactly, but frankly, I think it best that you both stick together." Caninus sighed. "In this battle about to come...you'll need all the friends ya can get."

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

Moments later, Jason and Kiru emerged wearily from the ruined gym. As they looked over the cliffside toward the rest of Lilycove, the fires of chaos had been finally put out. Military personnel had now swarmed the city, and managed to put peace in its place. The survivors were now being shipped off and escorted to the more heavily guarded cities in the Hoenn Region. "Things are officially a crisis..." Jason said. Kiru sadly nodded, and agreed.

They both trudged on toward the Pok?mon Center, which thankfully was spared the destruction by both Teams Magma and Aqua. Jason greeted Nurse Joy, who thanked him for his small bit of help. Jason and Kiru were escorted to a small, well kept room with two beds by one of the resident Chansey's, and were just as quickly left to thier business. Jason removed his long, green jacket and folded it neatly, and plopped himself onto the bed. Kiru wearily climbed onto her own bed across from Jason's. Jason then began gathering supplies from within the room and put them in a small, leather pack, preparing for the journey to come.

"First our Pok?mon can rest up, then we should head toward Petalburg City." Kiru suggested. "My Grandfather might be able to help us out, maybe he knows something that Caninus didnt."

Jason nodded and agreed with the suggestion. "You dont have any flying Pok?mon, do you?" he asked.

"No..." Kiru said. "Breloom and Parasect are my only ones."

Jason cringed at the mention of a Breloom, but it quickly passed as he said, "Alright, then we'll both travel on my Skarmory. It should be faster and safer, plus Skarm's quite strong, it shouldnt be a problem for it."

Kiru yawned and began to doze off. "Good night, Jason."

Jason sat himself onto his bed. "Night, Kiru." Jason then turned out the lights, and seconds later, Kiru had fallen asleep.

Jason stared at the window, the starry, night sky still shone above this ruined city. Wearily, Jason pulled a small, red can out of his leather pack, and grinned to himself. The can, made of light aluminum, read in small, fancy letters, "Bleiz-iken Ale"

Jason pushed open the can with a loud click. "Heh heh..." he grinned to himself as he began to drink. "I've definately earned this..."

 

[Kayoss]

The cave was warm and dimly lit, with only a single light hanging down from the middle of the ceiling. The room itself was small, but rather cozy as well. Boxes of supplies were scattered throughout the room, and two crude, foldout beds lay alongside the right wall. A loud humming filled this room, as throughout the whole complex.

Stacey awoke in one of the beds, her long beak opening wide as she gave a great yawn. She sat herself up and stretched her brown feathered, wing-like arms. She then looked around the room, hoping that breakfast waited for her in one of the many cardboard boxes.

They were in New Mauville. It was unknown why this place was built many years ago. It was a secret, underground sector below Mauville City. It was suspected that New Mauville was built in case the city above ever faced a crisis, but that didnt matter. All that mattered was what lied below, which was shelter for the two transformed humans.

Hakon sat, crosslegged, in a small, foldout chair facing the one exit for the room. His blade-arms was crossed across his chest, as if he had expected someone to come bursting through thier door, who would immediately face the wrath of the Scyther-human.

Hakon said, without moving an inch, "Sleep well, Stacey?"

"Yes." was all Stacey said.

Hakon continued to sit in his lookout chair. "Good. Go ahead and eat up, we'll move out soon after."

"Hakon, can I ask you something?" Stacey asked as she rummaged through a large, pink box. Hakon said nothing, but simply nodded.

"Do you think...this was worth it?"

"Was what worth it?"

"Well this..." Stacey said as she mentioned toward her new form. "Its not until now, but i've just realized that up until now, i've taken my humanity for granted."

"Stacey..."

"I mean, look at us, hiding like a couple of scared rats. We're not human anymore, we cant fit in with a normal, human city." Stacey continued to talk as she took a bite of a jerky sandwich she had found within the box. "Up until yesterday, I thought it would be great, us two, flying among the clouds, taking and doing anything we want. That's the only reason I agreed to go through with this."

Hakon spoke in a cold voice, "The time is soon coming. If you hadnt noticed as we entered, the city above us is completely militarized. That's because the people are scared, the kidnappings have forced them to migrate to the larger cities. But soon, all the weapons in the world wont save them. That's because..." Hakon raised his right blade-arm in front of him. "They're creating a perfect soldier of those fools. Soon, Humans will be the minority. And...we are the fortunate ones..."

"Fortunate ones, how?" Stacey asked.

"We, unlike those yet to come, get to keep our minds. We can live, and breathe, and think under our own power. A reward for our service to Team Magma. The powers at our command..." Hakon slashed at the air as he said that. "Human and Pok?mon combined. We are unstoppable, and its only a matter of time before the world is ours."

"Yes..." Stacey interrupted. "I was one of Team Magma's best spies, and you were the son of The Merchant." Stacey started to look sad, her feathered body drooping along the small bed on which she sat. "But, Jason beat you twice..."

"Aarrggghh!" Hakon stood up and threw his chair against the wall. Stacey flinched at his sudden mood change. "Jason will die next time we meet!" he then hurried over to Stacey's seat and sat close next to her. "Jason is nothing now...what matters is getting my father free. Which brings me to my next point, as to why we're here."

"And why is that?" Stacey asked, her brown feathered and beaked face close with Hakon's green plated and spiked head.

"Somewhere in here, an old generator. We'll use that and overload the prison's security system. Then afterwards..." Hakon grinned. "A cold, hard slap of reality to the people above."

Stacey blushed and grinned at the same time, "I cant wait to see the looks on those people's faces, when they get attacked by their own former kind..." Hakon then pulled out a bottle of champagne, as well as two dusty, crystal glasses, "To us Morphs..."

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

It was a bright, sunny day above the Hoenn Region. The skies were peaceful as a silver streak shot itself across the wind. Jason and Kiru looked down at the land below, the forests, cities, plains and mountains flew by like a beautiful piece of art. Skarmory continued its course, who hardly seemed concerned that he had two passengers mounted on its back.

"Hey Kiru, you alright?" Jason yelled as the wind flew by his face.

"Yeah...it kinda hurts though." Kiru said as she tried to adjust herself on Skarmory's sleek, metal body. She was clearly unused to flying on any Pok?mon, much less a flying steel type.

"It takes a little getting used to." Jason yelled as his voice fought with the rushing winds.

"Do you fly on Skarmory often?" Kiru asked, her meek voice fighting to reach Jason's ears.

"Not much, about every two years or so. These are special circumstances though, I normally dont force Skarmory to carry me on its back."

"Every two years?" Kiru asked.

"Yeah...have you ever heard of Metalo Valley?" Jason asked back. Kiru only shook her head.

"Its a hidden vale, over the Fallarbor Mountains. Skarmory from all over migrate there every two years to shed their battered wings. It's sort of a haven for Steel-type Pok?mon, not too many people know about it." Jason looked down at his Skarmory and smiled, its shining, metal body gliding effortlessly among the wind, its beak stretched as far as it can as its eyes gave a determined look. "It's interesting really. Skarmory shed their wing feathers, Magnemites and Magnetons then come and drain the electrical energy the feathers might have absorbed. Then the wild Aron and Steelix come and devour them. In turn, they provide protection for the Skarmory as they take time and regrow new wings."

"Wow." Kiru said, listening intentively. "Can you take me there sometime?"

"Sure. My Skarmory's time should be coming in another year or so though, so not for a while. I try not to abuse the privilage though...its a great piece of unspoiled nature, I only take a few of the shed Skarmory feathers, to make things like my sword. The miners that hear rumors of it..." Jason giggled as he said that, "They go off to find it, only to get lost in the canyons and not come out many years later. Then they speak of a Giant Metagross that chased them out."

"Is that Metagross real?" Kiru asked.

"Nah..." Jason said. "It's probably a story they made up to guard the fact that they failed to find the Valley. It's hard enough to get there by air, and even moreso on foot." Jason smiled up toward the sky. "Good thing too, i'd hate to see that wonderful place despoiled by other humans."

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

About an hour later, they had finally reached Petalburg City. They continued flying above the city until the reached the residential area of the city. Landing in a small street, they climbed off Skarmory as its hard, metal talons seemed to scratch along the floor. Jason got off first, and afterwards helped Kiru off, as she rubbed her bottom, likely sore from the ride.

"Thanks a lot Skarm!" Jason said as he rubbed his hand against Skarmory's beak in an affectionate manner. Jason then pulled out his Pok?ball, and called Skarmory back.

"Huh..." Jason looked around the area. There were houses and beautiful, well kept lawns lined up. It would normally seem peaceful, if not for the disturbing lack of people around. "You'd think there'd be more people in a place like this." Jason said.

Kiru started looking around as well. "Yeah..." Kiru then looked down the street to her right, a very familiar street to her. At the end was a small, deserted playground. "I'd usually meet my friends there around this time." she said as she pointed toward that playground.

"Lets go talk to your grandfather then." Jason declared. "This way!" Kiru said enthusiastically as she led them both down the street.

Moments later, they had arrived at a small, quaint, blue house. The yard outside had been clipped, as well as a small bed of flowers at the foot of the door, which looked as if it had been tended to recently. They both approached the door, as Kiru attempted to turn the knob. "Locked..." Jason said. Kiru then began knocking on the door. After a minute of that, there was still no answer.

Kiru began to panic. "Grandpa! Grandpa!" she shouted as she knocked louder. Just then, they could hear large, uneven footsteps inside. The sounds then grew closer. Jason pushed Kiru behind him, and began to grip his Featherblade. Just then, a small slot in the door slid open as two squinted eyes looked through them. After a second of that, the slot closed itself as the door opened.

The door was opened by a rather large Pok?mon. It's large, beige colored belly almost covered the whole doorway. It's huge, bulky legs grounded itself into the floor. It's arms were even more noticeable: they were large, fingerless arms that looked like pincers. Very large pincers that seemingly had trouble opening the door. A long, blue ponytail hung behind it, as well as giving the illusion of a scarf covering its mouth. A sumo wrestler's skirt covered the bottom half of its body. "Yama?" it said with a deep voice.

Kiru looked at the Pok?mon, and gave a sigh of relief. Jason still stood in front of her, about to draw his Featherblade. "Dont worry, Jason. It's just my grandpa's Hariyama!" Jason then relaxed as he heard that, and took his hands off his Featherblade.

The Hariyama let the two in. The house inside was rather nice looking, if not a little old fashioned. They passed a small living room with a rather comfortable sofa lined up against the wall, with a dark brown coffee table standing between it and a 20" TV. Jason and Kiru were led down a hall as Hariyama had a little trouble moving its large body through the halls. Finally, they had reached a door with a staircase behind it. Jason and Kiru opened the door and head down, Hariyama lumbering behind.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the stairs and into the basement. There were large boxes scattered around, as well as a small, dirty table lying in the middle, surrounded by four, antique chairs. In one of the chairs sat a jolly old man, wearing loose, brown pants strapped up to a blue and white flannel shirt. The basement itself looked sort of cozy, if not a little damp. "Not as good as the other rooms." Jason thought.

"Kiru!" the old man shouted as he extended his arms toward Kiru. "Grandpa!" Kiru said happily as she ran over toward her grandfather. Jason and Hariyama walked slowly toward the table in which they were sitting and laughing.

"Ooooh! I see you brought company with you." Kiru's grandfather said with a hint of joy.

"Yes. Grandpa, this is Jason." she said as she extended her hand toward the standing Jason. "He saved me back in Lilycove."

"Ooooh! Come Jason, sit down!" he mentioned toward Jason. Jason sat himself in the seat across from Kiru's Grandfather. "Jason, this is Grandpa!"

"Hi there. Should I call you Grandpa, or..."

"Ahh, go ahead! Everyone else does."

They began talking amongst themselves, mostly about small, family matters amongst themselves. Jason sat there, pretending to listen, although his thoughts drifted toward the lifelessness of the city. Finally, he interrupted, "So, where is everyone?"

A nervous look crossed Grandpa's face. "Well...I er um-" Finally, he broke down and said everything. "They came! They came and took them all away!" Grandpa began to shed tears as he said this. "Team Aqua! They tried to come in here, but Hariyama and I fought them off. But everyone else..." Grandpa's tears were uncontrollable. Kiru tried to comfort her Grandpa, Jason looked upon him with pity. "It's not your fault ya know, its called Survival of the Fittest. You were just trying to protect yourself, and-"

"When did this happen?" Kiru interrupted.

"About a day..." Grandpa said. "After I sent you away to Lilycove, they came, and it only took a night."

"Hmm..." Jason thought.

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

On a hill, overlooking Petalburg city, a lone Aqua agent lied in wait. She had long, black hair, wore the typical blue bandanna, along with a white and black striped shirt and loose, blue pants. She lay on the hill, watching the city with large, black binoculars. A phone began to ring in her pant pocket, which she stood up and pulled forth.

"Come in, Agent Annashi." it spoke.

"Commander Straha." she said. "The city has been cleared, it's now ripe for the test to begin."

"Good." the phone spoke. "But remember, this is only a test, to gauge the strength of the first batch. Meet any resistance with quick force, they are only here to bring down the city itself."

"Roger. Annashi out." she said as she put the phone away.

Over the distance, Annashi could see as three armored cars moved through the gates of Petalburg City. Annashi however, looked at them in disgust. "Lets just hope they make this quick..." she said to herself.

"Aww, no time for fun then?" a masculine voice said behind her.

Annashi yelped up in surprise. "Smoke! You scared me!"

Another Aqua agent came from behind her. He wore the same, typical uniform, but instead he wore sunglasses along with a small, spiked ponytail in the back of his head.

"Its just that, the sight of those creatures just sickens me." Annashi explained.

"Dont worry. It's just get in, get out. All they wanna do is find out how fast it takes them to burn down the city." They then sat close to each other, on the grassy hill. "Should be a nice show of fireworks..."

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

A few minutes passed beneath the basement of Kiru's Grandfather's house. As the three sat in thier hiding spot, a small commotion could be heard outside. Hariyama charged down the stairs of the basement, and began to shake its arms wildly. "Yama! Yama! Hariyama!"

Jason, Kiru and Grandpa ran quickly up the stairs and onto the porch of the house. To their horror, they saw as strange creatures released long streams of flame from thier mouths. Like locusts, they moved from house to house, scouring everything in thier path.

The three ran onto thier lawn, which lined the street. As they looked around, they were assaulted by three of the creatures.

They towered above the small humans, ferocious glares in thier eyes. They bore purple spines and skin along thier body, except for thier chests, which were colored a dark grey. Thier ears were wide, which stretched from thier heads. They each bore a large horn on thier head, as well as shaggy, black hair, which made that and thier frames the only parts still resembling humans. They were quite muscular, and wore only tattered brown shorts. Thier eyes made them look quite mindless, as though they would not respond to any reason.

"Do my eyes decieve me, or are they Nidokings?!" Grandpa yelled.

"Wha-wha-wha." was the only noise that came out of Kiru's mouth.

Jason stepped in front of the cowering pair, and drew his Featherblade. "C'mon!" Jason taunted. Just then, one of them pulled back his fist. Before Jason could respond, the fist flew upward toward Jason's chest, causing him to fly effortlessly back into Grandpa's house, crashing through the window with a large grunt.

"Jason!" Kiru screamed. Both Kiru and Grandpa backed away as the Nidoking-men advanced. Grandpa clumsily tripped backwards, onto his bottom. The Nidoking-men simply kicked him to the side as the three of them kept advancing toward Kiru. Finally, the backed her against the fence of one of her neighbors houses.

"Umm...umm...umm..." Kiru kept mumbling to herself. The Nidoking-men had cornered her. She had nowhere to run. Looking toward her house, she had hoped Jason was not unconcious. Her Grandpa was, however, knocked out from the large, muscled feet of the Nidoking-men. All around the rest of the neighborhood, various other Pok?-men continued thier rampage.

Finally, she came to her senses, and stared angrily into the blank eyes of the Nidoking-men "It's up to me then!" Kiru then drew forth a Pok?ball from her green-dress pocket. "Alright, i'll show you what I can do!"