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Roleplaying Olympics: Virus

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"Ali…" Julia began to speak after watching the dreadful forecast that had just been presented,

"Would they do this to water pokemon?" She asked him, pulling the bouncy Marill from beside Ali, over to herself.

"I guess so… It's nothing to get worked up over, really… It's not like all water pokemon are going to die… And if they do, they'll die knowing that they're saving a human. Not that bad, is it?" He asked Julia, watching as Raichu, still very tired, pulled himself onto the wooden dinner table, and curled himself up in a corner.

"What do you mean!? It's not THAT bad!? It's horrible!" Julia now sat cross-legged on the sofa, poking her dainty, delicate toes. Ali's face developed a sympathetic look for Julia,

"It's something that will be handled on it's own. We were never really involved with it… We should just leave it be, like I said… It's nothing to get worked up over…"

"But why the water pokemon? Why only water pokemon!?" Julia threw her long hair over her shoulder in front of her, running her fingers through it. Ali began to recall the many memories when he was younger, of Julia staring at himself and his father with shame, as they dragged water pokemon from the sea onto the ship in great nets. He was very much aware that Julia was always against the discrimination of water pokemon, and it was partially because of him that she was. He felt a strong guilt within himself, but pushed it aside.

"Listen, things will be fine! Just be glad that you aren't being raised by those Aqua grunts anymore! If you were with them for long enough, you know just as much as I do, that you'd have a hideous future ahead of yourself!" At that moment, Ali began to realize that he had tempered Julia a great deal.

"What do you mean by that!? What are you trying to say!?" She shouted, viciously throwing a cushion at Ali, knowing that it wouldn't hurt him anyways. Marill swiftly curled down her ears, and hid under the sofa as Ali's Raichu did the same.

"It's not about the title of a member of Team Aqua, and it never was! It was about giving water pokemon the respect that they deserve, and making the earth a better place by creating more aquatic environments, how in the world is that a bad thing!? If I stayed with Team Aqua until I was old enough to be an official member, maybe I could help find a way to stop this virus!"

'Yeah, and let the human race suffer…' Ali thought to himself, giving Julia a distant, cold stare…

"What makes you so sure that you'd be able to discover a new antidote for the virus!? You're doing terribly in Science, what makes you thi-" She briskly interrupted him,

"Well then maybe I could've still protected the water pokemon! You're just ignorant! You don't understand at all!" She stood up, thinking of what she could have done, and what she could do now.

"It isn't too late for me either, and you know it! Maybe I should leave right now!"

"And where do you plan on going?" Ali asked her, trying to keep his cool.

"Well… I still have an SS. Tidal ticket, and the next ship is coming in at noon!"

"Mhmm… The same ship that had it's cruise cancelled because of the virus, right?" Ali stood up now, walking over to the dining table, and picking up an apple from the colorful fruit basket laying on top of it. Julia, now very depressed, dropped quietly back into the sofa, thinking of what she could do to protect the water pokemon. Ali took a bite of his apple now, leaning against the chair.

"Y'know… You might be full of spunk, and what-not, but… You're only one kid… A pretty young one, at that!" He started to speak again, pausing to see if Julia would attempt to rant at him again, but she continued to listen.

"It would be kind of hard… You were trained as a member of Team Aqua since you were what-4? 5? It may seem like a lot, but really… All that 'training' was nothing but exposure to the lives of Aqua Grunts, what training did they really offer you?…" Julia continued to listen, now thinking of the many encounters she had with Fox and Ali when they were still on Team Magma.

"… Well I'm sure you were no better…" She muttered under her breath, looking out the window behind the TV, hoping that a ship would come rolling into the harbor out in front of their home.
 
Catriona washed quickly, frame perched at the edge of the fast-flowing stream?s rocky bank. Yawning slightly, she wandered unhurriedly back to the flattened patch of grass where she?d spent the previous night. Her Arcanine?s slumbering form was curled around the trunk of a flowering Oran berry tree. Nearby lay a battered Miltank-hide backpack, most of its seams having been repaired several times before after tearing on thorns or low-hanging branches in the forests its owner frequented. Cat roughly pulled apart the rusted clip-fastenings of her rucksack, only to find a small, dusty-yellow ground Pok?mon half-asleep inside it. Picking it up by the scruff of its neck and holding it at arms length, she rolled her eyes and the used her other hand to pick out a faded pair of jeans and a white tank-top, while the Sandshrew struggled against her grasp and eventually managed to free itself, falling to the earthy floor heavily. Amused, Cat watched him scurry away into a more sheltered area, then turn and narrow its large, accusing eyes to glare resentfully at her. She shrugged and pulled on her daywear; Sandshrew?s anger towards her never lasted for long, it having been one of her most pampered ?Mon in better times. After taking out a highly polished Pok?ball, she re-fastened her bag carefully, slung it over her back and ruffled the reddish-brown fur covering the top of Arcanine?s head to wake him. He growled softly and shifted under her hand, opening his eyes slowly.

?Come on, we?re headed to Blackthorn today, remember? You?ll need to stay awake for me to ride you.?

Arcanine swayed sleepily as he got to his feet and gave a huge yawn, displaying every one of his fearsome teeth. Cat shivered at the sight of the needle-sharp canines lining his mouth, and looked away into the sky, which was now completely clear of clouds. Perfect for travelling, although a little more wind wouldn?t go amiss, she thought. Suddenly, her steed tensed beside her. Cheery voices could be heard through the towering vegetation around her ? trainers hunting for rare Pok?mon, likely as not. Next second, Sandshrew came skittering out of bushes to her right, panicked. The trainers sounded to be heading straight for them, and from the very direction they were to travel in to reach the near-deserted Dragon?s Den. Travelling by land was a no-go, then. In one fluid movement, Cat snatched two Pok?balls from the ground, returned Sandshrew and Arcanine to them, and threw the white-and-yellow ball already in her hand a metre away, for an impressive Aerodactyl to emerge and spread its reptilian wings wide. Wasting no time, she leapt upon its back, scanned the surrounding area for mislaid items, and urged the ?Mon upwards. Remarkably, all of this took place silently and without the knowledge of the trainers now fighting their way through plantlife below.

Catriona had evaded other humans successfully for years, almost never having been sighted since leaving home as an ambitious child. She?d never seen any need to question her avoidant nature, though in reality there was little reason for a young woman as she was now to flee from any sort of human contact. Now, astride her own majestic flying Pok?mon, she saw no reason to change this unusual habit. What good could communicating with others of her own kind do her now, with a deadly disease raging throughout the nations? Even if its methods of transmission were unknown, she wasn?t going to make any risks regarding catching a generally fatal infection. It was just more reason to keep well away from ?civilisation? as far as a loner as herself was concerned. She shuddered at the thought of having to kill to save herself. Obviously, in the event that she did contract whatever this ? thing ? was called, it would be necessary to sacrifice to save her own skin. It still wasn?t a remotely pleasant thought, though.

She shook her head, trying to clear it of such depressing thoughts, and her hair billowed out behind her in the moderate wind, as Aerodactyl soared over yet more trainers and hikers, trudging over the harsh uphill slope below, battling among themselves, picking berries from the many-coloured trees and bushes dotting the mountainside? They were drifting slightly off-course. She leaned to the right, muttered directions in Aerodactyl?s ear, then straightened up to enjoy the view. As they flew, she fingered the charm bracelet on her wrist. A gold chain, constructed entirely from fragments of charms usually found on Meowths? foreheads that she?d found in various places she?d resided in over the last half-decade. Not that she believed in luck, as a rule, but the feel of the cool gold against her skin was reassuring, wherever she was. And the Dragon?s Den was reputed to be filled with dark magic. Probably just a modern myth, but all the same? She continued to turn her only piece of jewellery nervously. If that was a false tale, then what she had heard about the cave being deserted might also be. After all, it was only a short surf away from Blackthorn town. Well? She?d see when she arrived. Again, she shook herself and stared at the rocky terrain below. A small, brown-shirted boy was gazing at her and her ?Mon, open-mouthed. Frowning slightly, she nudged Aerodactyl, prompting it to increase its speed in order to avoid the eyes of those below. The area was becoming flatter, less rocky, and small, slate-roofed houses loomed closer on the bright horizon. They were approaching Blackthorn. Cat dropped her hand from the bracelet adorning one arm, and flattened herself against Aerodactyl?s roughened back so as not to be observed from below. The wind was now considerably stronger, whipping her face almost painfully, so she lowered her head to press her face into the bird?s hard, cold neck. Flying over the town, she raised her head a little, eyes peering at the typical quiet morning scene below. Hardly anyone was around, even though the warm weather was practically perfect for taking a stroll or exercising Pok?mon in. Lazy Sunday, she thought. All the better for travelling unnoticed in this way.

The derelict buildings below started to thin, becoming shabbier as they flew over the city?s outskirts. Now there was only the odd hut, or run-down log-house to see. Cat rose atop her ?Mon?s back after they?d passed over the sparkling blue water of a small lake, aquamarine eyes focused on the ground below, scanning it intently for any sign of an entrance to the famed Dragon?s Den. Quite quickly she found what she had been searching for; a sign perched precariously on a long, wooden pole, and, next to it, a rounded crevice roughly the same size as a manhole. She kicked Aerodactyl?s side lightly with her bare foot to get his attention, pointing towards the hole below. His eyes snapped wide open with the concentration needed to land as he circled closer to the cave entrance, and eventually alighted onto a large, oddly shaped rock near to it. Cat, relieved to see that the area around was just as plainly deserted as rumour had brought her to hope, swung herself onto the earth, creating a small dust-cloud around her feet as they touched the dry, sun-baked soil. The cracks in the hardened soil joining and branching off each other told exactly how much rain this area had received recently. It was almost too hot to walk on. Hopefully the cave interior would be cooler, having not been exposed to the harsh conditions that the land overhead obviously had. Cat grimaced as yet more cracks formed under her naked feet, patting her Aerodactyl on the head before returning it to its somewhat tarnished great ball. The moisture-deprived soil continued to split beneath her as she picked her way over to the nearby cave entrance. As she drew closer, she noticed that there was wire netting stretched tightly over the opening ? had the superstition surrounding the Dragon?s Den reached new heights, or was someone in residence down there who wasn?t too fond of surprise visits? Odd?

ENTRANCE TO THE DRAGON?S DEN

Well, the sign certainly didn?t offer any kind of explanation of why the cave it announced had been sealed off to the public. Most likely some idiotic vandals causing trouble, she sighed. Though why they?d go to such great lengths as to padlock the wire was a mystery. She frowned slightly, thinking this over, but it was uncomfortable just standing here, and she hadn?t flown up to this drought-ridden mountainland for nothing. Withdrawing a Pok?ball from her pocket, she called out Arcanine and instructed him to melt the metal barrier, certain it would be impossible for her to remove it with her bare hands. The canine obliged, the wires were gone in a flash, and Cat returned her ?Mon, tiptoeing lightly over to the entrance to peer into the darkness. From where she was, she could just about make out the cave floor only a couple of metres below. Hoping that it was uninhabited, she gulped and disappeared into the Den.
 
Deep inside the Dragon's Den, a small electric rodent was scrounging around for food. By the light of sparks coming from his cheeks, he looked and looked. Beep hadn't eaten for days and was starving. Nothing was in this cave but loneliness. He needed a companion, someone to talk to. Failing in his search for food, he went back to his little burrow with a sigh. He silently went to sleep.
 
James was thinking again as he trudged through the rugged desert that covered most of the Orre region. Dr. Henry, this was a man that was said to be ruthless and determined. It had also been said that he created his own laboratory near the lab where Cheif Ein had once made shadow pokemon. However, this was all just rumor and could not be proved as true. After all, James had never met this man in person, but he was apparently high in the ranks of Team Snagem. If the rumors were true, perhaps he had created this disease that had been plagueing the world. The question was why. Why on earth would someone purposely create a deadly disease to kill the very land on which they lived?
Before he could contemplate this any more, however, he made a few realizations. In seeking Dr. Henry, he would likely be in danger of catching this disease himself. This is something he would prevent, but how would he do so? This was obviously a highly contagious disease, but there was only one way to cure it and no known way to prevent it. It seemed that for now he should just continue on towards the Shadow Pokemon Lab. Henry's lab was rumored to be near there, so it would only make sense to start looking from there.
As James continued to walk, he considered something. One of his pokemon was a Qwilfish, a water pokemon. Would he need to give him up? It would be worth it if he was already infected, but should he try and make some sort of immunity for it using Qwilfish? After all, the Shadow pokemon lab had lots of equipment for just about everything you could imagine. He had been there before. Then agian, perhaps he would not need Qwilfish to make an immunity. James was not an expert at medical science, but he did know that immunities involve infecting yourself with a small, harmless dose of a disease so your body can build up an immunity to it. Still, he figured there was more to it than that, but if he was lucky, perhaps he could develop an immunity shot for it once he got to Dr. Henry's lab. Still, this was something he could not do alone, and it may not even be possible. He would need someone with scientific knowledge in order to pull this off.
James decided to put the immunity idea off for now. His first priority was to get to the shadow pokemon lab and find out how to get to Dr. Henry's lab from there. Luckily for him, he was finally nearing his destination.

(OOC: I think Catriona and Raichu Tamer are gonna beat my butt.... O_o; )
 
Julia rubbed her feeble arm, as she continued to look out the glass window of the house, even though all she truly saw was her own reflection… She wildly began to think of what she could do, then considered her resources. It was evident that Marill was no good to her… And her Feebas would never be of any use to her until she were to evolve into a Milotic. Vulpix seemed to be great with battling, but Julia knew completely, that battling was going to get her no where in this situation… Pandora, her Beautifly, seemed to be very modest and frivolous, Pandora was going to be no help to Julia right now… She then began to think of her Kadabra, Merlin… Would he be able to teleport Julia to another place? Would he maybe be able to read the minds of the creators of the virus, and discover an alternative to water pokemon? Merlin always seemed to get Julia out of tight places, and this was no exception… But where would she go? An abrupt aroma of sweetness began to fill the air. Ali poured the smooth batter of pancake mix into the frying pan. It fizzled on contact, but then cooled after a few seconds. Not thinking, Julia got off of the pearly white sofa she was sitting on, and walked over to the closet to her right, digging through a pile of boots and sandals for her running shoes.

"Where are you going?" Ali asked, as he watched Julia's Marill come out from hiding under the sofa that she was sitting on.

"Marill Mar!" She questioned Julia, running over to her. Marill jumped onto the shoes, causing the pile to fumble beneath her. Julia was able to eye out her own running shoes, and grabbed them from under Marill.

"Well I'm definitely not staying here!" Julia shouted, not looking back. Her silky blue hair fell over her thin shoulder. She felt her pockets to see if she had her pokeballs, and walked up the stairs back to her room in realization that she didn't have them at all. She took 5 pokeballs from her wooden, pastel pink book-shelf, and 1 friend ball, in the shadow of a black, digital clock, from her oak-wood bedside table. It seemed pointless to her to have 2 clocks in her room, but just as she was thinking that, she heard blunt foot-steps coming up the stairs.

"Julez, where in the world are you going!? The least you could do is tell me!" Ali said, loudly, but trying to keep his voice soft enough so no one else in the house could hear. Raichu looked concernedly towards Marill, wondering what was going on.

"Chu rai chuchu!" He cried to the Marill, but she shook her head from side to side in response, implying that she didn't know what was happening. Julia twisted around now, walking vigorously to her wardrobe.

"Answer me!" Ali repeated, grabbing her by her shoulder. She refused to turn around, clipping a black belt around her waste, just above her hips. She clipped her 5 pokeballs and her 1 friend ball into he belt, then turned around. Not realizing how close Ali was to her, she took a step, then bumped into him. The two of them both fell to the ground, facing each other.

"I don't know where I'm going!" She grunted into Ali's face, immediately standing back on her feet, her running-shoes leaving prints in the plushy carpet as she walked out the door, and back down the stairs. Ali ran ahead of her, blocking the door.

"Well I'm not going to let you go anywhere until you tell me where you're going!" Ali didn't know what else to say, it wasn't often that he had to stop his sister from running away. The one time that she did, he was too young to attempt to stop her anyways, and he felt obligated now as an older brother. Julia tried pushing Ali to the side, but he stood still and stiff, not moving. She tried pushing him a bit harder, but she still didn't exert enough force to move him completely out of the way. At this point, Julia was furious. She charged into Ali, blasting him into the door. He let out a grunt, and fell to the ground in pain. The pancakes were now burning, and the smell sifted throughout the atmosphere.

Slowly nudging Ali to the side, Julia was able to get him out of the way of the door. She opened it up, having Marill follow behind her, then stepped out of the door, closing it behind her. Around her was the fresh smell of sea salt, she stood on a set of cement stairs. Walking down them, she ended up on a brick pavement. To her right were the markets, where random merchants would gather to sell their items that they had discovered on their journey. Down her left, was a row of other households, and just a few meters ahead of her was the sea, with nothing but a low, wooden fence restricting her from jumping in. Julia took in a deep breath, then walked around the market, to the other side of the wooden fence, where the harbor soon approached. After reaching it, Julia sat at the dock, thinking of what to do… Where to go… She ran her fingers through her soft hair, behind her ear, trying to keep it out of her eyes.

"Marill… Mar, rill," Marill said softly. Julia looked over at her house. She knew she wasn't very far away from it, and at any moment, Ali could come up behind her… And just as her door opened up with a soft smog spewing from it, he did. He poked the back of her head, then sat at the dock beside her, admiring the fresh morning breeze.

"So…" He began to speak.

"You really want to do this, huh?…" Julia looked at him, deciding that he may actually begin to understand the pain she was feeling.

"Yeah… But I don't know how… I think Team Magma made the virus… But that's just a thought, maybe it wasn't created at all! Maybe it was just a random virus that developed over the years through other diseases! I could be WAY off… But I think if we can stop the virus from spreading… We can save the water pokemon, and they are one of the only things in this world that I actually care about…" Julia looked off into the distant ocean, as it stretched over the rest of the world. Julia giggled now, setting a thinner atmosphere.

"So, were you able to handle the pancakes?" She asked Ali, now turning her head to see that the smog coming out the doorway had settled.

"Yeah, I took care of it… But let's get back to you, maybe if you…" Julia now seemed a bit surprised. Instead of preventing her from leaving, Ali was helping her! She smiled, and continued to listen.

"If you can figure out exactly who created the virus-if anyone, then you can try to locate them, then surf there with Lapras… Merlin won't be able to get there unless he's already been there, right?" Ali said, dipping a bare foot into the water.

"Right… So first… We need to find out who created the virus…" Julia concluded.

"Yep, we can take care of the rest after you find out the main location of the virus, but until then, you might want to keep yourself from getting the virus on your own!" Julia and Ali both scoffed at each other,

"But how do we figure out who?" She asked Ali. Ali stood up now without answering, and walked into the house. Julia followed, and Marill trailed behind them. They both sat at the wooden dining table, with their mother, looking fairly young, wearing a white night gown, with her blue hair tied up, and her other brother Fox, wearing clothes similar to Ali. He had red, spiky looking hair, and pale blue eyes. The two of them had already began to eat.
 
The clear nighttime skies were accompanied by the soft moan of the wind whistled around the dank alleyways of Lavaridge. The moon hung in somber silence above, casting an eerie glow about the clutter of dulled aluminum trashcans and trickles of water in the path. As silent as a hunter, she moved from shadow to shadow towards her intended target: a small apartment complex farther down the alley with one window cracked open on the third floor. The whole of Hoenn was in an uproar over the virus outbreak and Rhia wasn?t about to take sides in the affair. Stopping momentarily, she blended in with her surroundings. Deftly she climbed the old rusted fire escape ladder, hoping she could hear the sound of a TV from inside the house.

She reached the third floor landing, adjusting her bare feet to maximize the effect of her gray and black camouflaged clothing under her jet black trench coat. Listening intently, hardly breathing, she moved to hear the latest news of the virus outbreak. The reporter discussing the latest on the virus outbreak, somehow a cure had been found then the developers went missing along with the information. Whoever was watching inside moaned at the news, even though it was the same thing everyday on every news channel. The sudden sound of a trashcan being dumped over from within the alleyway alerted her back to her surroundings. She shifted attention from the repetitive news to the latest disturbance to her. However, in doing so she lost her balance, announcing her presence on the fire escape landing.

?Huh, who?s there?? an apprehensive voice from inside called. The sounds of shuffling could be heard and Rhia knew she?d be in trouble if she stayed much longer. As quietly as she could she made her way towards the ladder, but not before the apartment renter caught sight of her. ?Thief!?

Rhia turned to get a good look at the person. It was a woman somewhere in her twenties with long auburn hair. That was the only thing she could see in the dark before she made her way down, with the woman yelling at her to never come back again.

?Thief? What does she think I am? Doesn?t matter anyway, the virus will eventually spread here, and when it does I won?t be here,? she grumbled, dusting herself off. She reached for one of her of her Pokeballs lining her belt. She selected one of the red and white orbs, divided by a black band at the equator. Without a word, she threw it to the ground and in a swirl of bright white light, an equestrian form appeared. Cream-white fur covered the horse along with a long horn protruding from its forehead. Great red-orange flames created the mane and tail of the magnificent creature. Some of the flames licked the back of the horse, often reaching all the way to the tail.

?Rapidash, I?m going to need you to carry me once more. Something isn?t right here and if anything comes up, I want to be able to get away quickly,? Rhia quietly said to her flaming equestrian as she stroked the beasts gleaming fur, glancing around the alley. Giving a small neigh, the horse knelt down a little to allow her master to get onto her back. Rhia quickly mounted, still looking for whatever caused the trashcan in the alley to tip. Rapidash picked up a slow walk as the wind began to pick up its speed. No sign of whatever caused the disturbance could be seen and Rhia relaxed a bit. ?Let?s go Rapidash; I sense a job might finally be coming our way.?

With a shake of her flaming mane, Rapidash picked up the pace, eager to help her trainer find that job, knowing full well treats would be plentiful the sooner a job was found. The equestrian picked up some more speed after they left the town limits of Lavaridge in search of greener grass. Rhia couldn?t help but wonder what people would offer her for her services. All she knew was which ever gave her the better deal, she?d choose that option, but if the other offered more after she picked the other?

?A mercenary holds no loyalties to anyone,? she grinned as she thought of the possibilities. ?Rapidash, let?s first find a place to sleep for the night. Can?t go looking for a new job looking tired and skuzzy.?
 
OOC:

Forgive the intrusion. Allow me to explain. I was supposed to be a representative of Gengar and Haunter's Pokemon Forum. However, I was not informed the Olympics were starting and only now just found out. I was wondering if you would allow a late entry in my case. I will read all previous posts to understand what's going on. Thank you for your time.
 
OOC-Interesting. According to others, you had a schedule collision of sorts. But I don't see why not. Anyways, I can see that this'll be tough. I've just come from exam period, so I'll be able to post more frequently. For now, though... Here goes. For Pokeschool! W00t! Also, I've just been told that this is too long a post! Ha! Oh well, I'll split it into two; sorry for the double posting, but due to the nature, it wouldn't really make much sense (or move the storyline any) if it were in two posts. OH, I just realised something. There are several censored 4 letter words in my post. Those stand for h e l l. I can see why it may be censored, but my use of it is in no way blasphemous or anything like that. Just to make it clear for judges. Also, I apologise for the spacing between paragraphs-as you might have guessed, I wrote this on Word first, so yeah; it's a little wonky. Sorry for any inconveniences caused. EDIT: Changed that.

BIC-
Foxy stood atop the tallest tree in town. It was one of those trees that boys simply loved top climb, yet none could reach the top. It was perhaps a hundred metres in height. Branches thick and thin covered it, making it almost impossible to climb directly. Yet Foxy had done so by jumping, branch to branch. Even so, it had taken a little while to get to the top. Now, she stood at the pinnacle of the tree, playing a tune on her flute. It was a light tune, similar to one she had played not long ago.


Very harmonious, it had a light feel to it. The rain danced to her rhythm as it splashed on her silky red hair; her rosy cheeks; her red lips. She did not care a bit, as she played softly. Her fingers were moving automatically as she closed her eyes. She continued playing now, letting her heart guide her. This was not a pre-written tune, but came with her emotions. As the sound of thunder and the familiar flash of lightning flashed, still, Foxy played.


Wind lashed out at her, as her longish red hair was blown about, covering her eyes and her face. Now even messier than before, strands were blown into her eyes, on her ears, her nose, her chin. The clouds darkened still around her as if in a trance. Icy weather ate at her skin, yet she did not feel the cold. No, she was too used to it to feel such a feel.


Still, the tune continued.


Foxy's eyes opened slowly, and blinked; once, twice, three times, as her beautiful red pupils saw the light again from this miserly day. Her dark eyelashes were curled slightly. They looked, and were in reality, light and soft as though she had spent a week doing it. The branches of the tree shook with the wind also. The uppermost branch on which Foxy was perched shook ferociously, but Foxy did not lose her grip. Though she was connected to something solid by only her feet, it was as if a force was binding her, stopping her from falling. All this Foxy appeared not to notice; or at least, she cared not.


One could see a lot from her position, she reflected.


The tallest building in the city was the old museum. Old antique walls stood around it, protecting it from the very elements Foxy commanded. Inside, countless valuable artifacts stood, guarded only by glass as machines. The gym, with its brown tiled roof, was set aside from the rest of town; it was a symbol to all beginning trainers that their journey would be hard, and that they'd have to take it alone at some point. It was all too true, Foxy thought sadly. Going alone. She had had it tougher than most. One could say that it had hardened her. And she knew it.


Few understood this message from the gyms. Few kids understood. Really understood, not just the maths they did in class. Life, and the miracles in it. The way things were meant to be. Few did, until it was too late; then it was all too often but a flicker, a dream from the past long gone. Kids, naively setting out on their journey, believing nothing would hurt them, that they could do anything if they tried. Throughout her life Foxy had done and tried much, with little success. She knew now that not all was meant to be.


Something that was meant to be was her becoming a Neo Crescent Mage. After helping to save the world, and being offered that title... It had given her powers a new scope, a new dimension which she had only begun to dream about. She was cool enough not to let it get to her head though; no, she was far too experienced for that. She sighed, realizing how much it had changed her life since then.


She had been a wandering girl, lost, cold, and angry. Gifted with the powers to control nature. For a time she had walked around the lands aimlessly, catching pokemon, meeting and leaving people, and all the rest of it. But now? Now, Foxy had been given something to do, an objective; a purpose.


She sighed as she looked outwards.


The ocean was present far, far away near the horizon. One could but catch a glimpse of it here, a narrow streak. The dark blue waves pounded at the rocks Foxy could not see, but knew were there. She could hear the water from her position. Waves came and went, rising, and crashing back down. In many ways it was a metaphor to life. You were born, reached your prime, and inevitably died. As another bolt of lightning flashed, and the sound of thunder came soon after, a deafening roar, the waves seemed to intensify. Waves, she knew, had gotten bigger, faster, and stronger, half-crushing the rocks as they pounded them with all their might.


By listening intently, she could tell everything from here. Waves pounded at the rocks and cliffs as they grew still more with the darkening of the clouds. Sea birds could be heard by Foxy calling into the sky as a wave made them lose their dinner. Foxy thought she saw a whale even, popping its head up to breathe, and then dive back under into the depths. What it was doing so close to shore Foxy did not know; maybe it had been swept in by the current, which was very strong at this point.


A speedboat, still on the water surface zoomed for safety and shelter. Danger was knocking on their doorsteps, and the people on the boat seemed to know it. Joy became edginess, edginess became alarm, alarm became fear, fear? became panic. Danger. Vulnerability. None of these were good in the real world. She shook her head at the stupidity of the people on the boat at not noticing the storm sooner.


These things Foxy knew, and thought of as she continued playing her everlasting tune.


In the far distance, the whale could be seen surfacing again, and could be heard, ?singing? as such with its mind. Man could not hear these things, yet Foxy knew they were present. The whale cried out to the world to hear from the loss of its baby. It cried out for its pain. It cried out for its suffering. Perhaps that was why it allowed itself to be dragged along roughly by the current.


Yet that majestic, weeping voice was drowned out by the waves, the sea, the ocean. And man continued living... unaware.


All this Foxy thought and reflected as she played her beautiful and elegant song.


Foxy, disturbed, now thought of the new virus that had begun to sweep the towns, cities and lands of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Orre, and everywhere in between. She had been glad when a cure had been found, but upon finding out what it would mean? She had a water pokemon, Lanturn. It was her second pokemon too. At once she knew that she could not allow water pokemon to die.


She had recently used Lanturn less and less; now, it was to the point of not using him at all. There was another water pokemon, Mudkip that was in her PC box. She could smell the fear that came from everyone. All were scared of catching that virus; those that had were either running around, or strolling aimlessly. It was now a case of the scared, the infected, and the neutral.


Of these Foxy was a member. She had yet to see the virus manifesting itself with her own eyes, nor did she wish to. She wished not for all the water pokemon to be killed, but nor did she want everyone else infected. It was a dangerous situation. People were afraid. They were overly cautious. That led to fear. Fear led all too often to anger. Anger lead to hate. Hate lead to suffering, something Foxy had seen too much of in her still short lifetime, both before and during this most recent crisis.


Yet she, unlike the majority of people, had not lost hope. She believed there was another way to cure the virus, to combat it, and rid the world of it for good. Few things were so black and white; it would not be completely untrue to say that nothing was black and white, and this, Foxy believed, was no exception.

She had so far escaped the angry mobs of people which had been surfacing recently, looking for water pokemon. The same people had burned down small fishing villages along all the lands of the world.

It was terrible, this destruction. From village to village she had gone, helping the wounded, putting out the fires. Her eyes flared. She knew she could not keep this up forever; always on the run, patching up old wounds, and rushing to seal new ones. No, there had to be a better way, she old herself.


She knew herself very well; well enough to know that often, she was cold to people, most people, and would kind of edge away from truly thinking about it. She?d push it to the back of her mind, or immerse herself in something else. But this time, she believed herself. There was a way. Not because there had to be a way, but because she?d find a way. And she knew that this time, she?d get what she wanted.


She sighed, still thinking. Many water pokemon had already been captured. Some killed. It was a tragic loss of life that Foxy mourned. She had even, for a time, felt helplessness creep its dark tendrils up in her veins. But she had realised that, and quickly dismissed the thought. She no longer felt it now.


She had also yet to be an active member in either group. Though her loyalties lay only to herself and the Neo Crescent Mages, and one or two people outside that, she definitely felt a stronger attraction towards the side that did not want the water pokemon to be slaughtered. So why had she not joined?
 
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OOC-Part two of my post...

She sighed, knowing full well the answer. It was the idea of a group, working together. Things that her mind still, by nature, did not want, and fought against. Though she knew it well, she could not control this reaction fully. Never had been able to. Foxy knew she couldn?t blame herself for her past. What had happened had happened. Life still went on; it stopped for no man; nor woman.


Recently, the rival groups had clashed. The result of that melee was terrible. An entire city had been destroyed. People had been killed, as had their pokemon. Foxy knew to that she could not be one of those.


In fighting the demons, she had killed many. There, she had been fighting on the front lines. She had collapsed, risen again, and fought. She knew the terrible and harsh realities. Though fighting against humans such as those in the factions were by no means the same; how could they be? The demons were full of hate, wanting to destroy man, to conquer man. No battleground could compare with that of **** itself; she could never forget the hellfire, roaring and blazing around her. The demons, whose hatred she could smell; Nemesis, and the depth of his power? No, nothing about **** could and would ever be forgotten. Those memories were too deeply engraved into Foxy for that.


No, it was not the same; the brutality she had felt in **** would forever go unmatched most likely; but this? Though this pointless slaughter and righting was nothing compared to demons, it was still brutal and terrifying. Only one such clash had happened; both sides had been seemingly stunned by the death of so many.


In truth, Foxy had been relieved when she realised the reluctance of mankind to go any further in bloodshed; the tens that had died were enough. Man could be brutal, Foxy reflected. It was something she plainly would admit she wouldn?t have thought of that before; not while ?man? regarded the whole population; or at least, a large proportion of Mankind.


It was not to say that she did not understand the fighting. Lives were at stake on both sides; from the poison and the restorative. Foxy smiled bitterly at the irony in that realization, that fact.


But despite all this, Foxy had not given up hope for peace, just as she had not whilst in ****. No, it never did hurt to hope, as long as one knew the borders between thought and reality. Too often too had Foxy seen man get engulfed by thought; they dreamt, they hoped, they thought, and lost contact with reality. Engrossed with the could be?s, and the might be?s or the possibly?s. Foxy knew that to an extent it was good to think about them. The trick was not taking it too far. Many a man had not seen the thin border and had been engulfed as a result.


Foxy thought sadly about the many that were infected. They were part of the angry ones too, wanting the lives of the water pokemon. Indeed, this foxy could understand too. No-one wanted to die, nor see someone else die. Most didn?t anyway. But in their anger, they did not realise something potentially important. Not much was known about the virus. There had not been much time before the outbreak and the global panic. They did not realise that much could be discovered to help them.


Instead, as mankind seemed to have a tendency to do, the majority went into a complete panic. They had been turned into mindless fools. Man was not this, Foxy knew. After all, man, a comparatively physically weak species, especially compared to Pokemon, had taken over this world and become the dominant species. This was not by luck, nor chance, but because of intelligence. Foxy had now seen first hand how quickly that could break down into mindlessness; and how much chaos that could cause.

Often, she had wanted to tear her hair out, but had not been that desperate. The sight of her, bald, helped too. After all, she had told herself, doing something as irrational as that would make her one that had lost control too. And that was something that could not happen. Nor would it happen.


Instead, she had sighed, and told herself not to judge man too harshly. After all, actions, all of these, were governed mostly by fear; one of the only things man seemed not to be capable of handling that well. It was an impulse? No, Foxy had known then she could not blame anyone, and that her breath would have been wasted had she done so.

Foxy sighed sadly, knowing that if a cure was to be found, it would have to come quick. So far, man had been able to control its instincts, and not fight. Logical thinking was so far still in command for the most part. But soon, Foxy could see, that would break, and all out anarchy would ensue, as it had been demonstrated before.


Then again, maybe man wasn?t so weak, if he could cause so much trouble.


Foxy's red lips stopped blowing. She held her breath. The waves continued pounding. The wind continued lashing. The rain continued falling. The lightning continued flashing, and the thunder booming. But Foxy had stopped playing. Her eyes fully opened for the first time in many hours.


Something was up, Foxy knew immediately. And this thing had disrupted her mind, her rhythm, her line of thought. Leaping from the tree silently, Foxy somersaulted from branch to branch, descending the tree. Partly, the somersaults were to show off, though to no-one in particular. Partly, it was something for her to do. Finally, she leapt straight to the ground from a height of around thirty metres, her skill and training allowing her to absorb such impacts with ease. She landed on the grass softer than anything had before from such a height, crouching, one soft hand softly on the ground.


Foxy got up, and began walking; to nowhere in particular perhaps... but that was up to the winds to guide her.


Suddenly, she stopped, and held out a pokeball. ?Gengar!? she called loudly. The large, smiling ghost pokemon appeared, the grin wider than ever. Gengar knew well this tragedy that was going on in the human world, more than it would?ve liked. But it too shared Foxy?s stance.


?Gengar, you wanna come out and walk with me?? she asked. Gengar nodded wand emitted a low sound in reply. Foxy smiled. ?This is terrible huh? The way people are just panicking. I can see why though? Death in seven days??


Gengar nodded vigorously.


Foxy thought for a second, then finally spoke. ?Gengar, we?re gonna take a trip to see Gary,? she said quietly. Gengar, who had obviously been able to read her thoughts, did not appear surprised. ?Hey, you?re teasing me!? she exclaimed. Gengar didn?t reply, but Foxy could?ve sworn the grin widened just a little.


?As I was saying, Gary?ll know a bit more about the virus. We?ll be of more use there. And besides, I?m tired of putting out fires everywhere, y?know?? Gengar nodded again.


?Pidgeot, go!? The majestic bird pokemon appeared, preening its feathers. ?You up for a flight? It?s only to Pallet Town-one town away from here. I need to talk to Gary, and that?s where he?s most likely to be. Actually? She glanced up at the sky. It was still raining, and lightning was still occasionally striking. Pidgeot looked up towards the sky dubiously too.


Foxy smiled. ?Never mind, Pidgeot, return!? she called, and Pidgeot disappeared as it was engulfed by the usual bright red light. ?Well that was smart of me,? Foxy murmured. Gengar nodded vigorously. A thin smile crept onto Foxy?s lips as she shook her head silently.


She sighed, looking around. Not a soul was in sight, here at Pewter City. It was eerily quiet. ?No water pokemon?d live here,? Foxy commented. ?Most likely why this town seems almost deserted,? she added, more just to be saying something than anything else really.


?Alright? I?d call Gary, but I don?t have his number?? Gengar rolled his eyes, and made no effort to hide it. Foxy acknowledged it with a small smile. ?I know, I know? she muttered good-naturedly. ?Listen, Gengar, can you get in tough with Gary via your powers? He?ll no doubt have a psychic pokemon with him, so he can answer back from there,? she reasoned.


Gengar nodded. Closing its eyes, Gengar searched the land with its mind, looking for any sign of Gary?s presence. After less than half a minute, Gengar nodded. This was also Foxy?s cue. ?Hey, Gary? This is Foxy. I need to talk to ya; I?m doing so right now with my Gengar. Can you get to Pewter City, or would you like me to come to you? And if so, where are you?? she asked. ?It?s about the virus by the way,? she added quickly.


Foxy paused and looked around. It was still deserted. Foxy sighed, and waited for Gary?s reply.


OOC-That was a long post... *Scrolls up* Man, that was a long post! o_O
 
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"Get out!" Gary's feet snapped into the dark-haired man's face with a roundhouse kick as he fought back just one member of a group of crazed fanatics who were surrounding his home, his grandfather's laboratory. For days people had been attacking the 'safehouse' for Pokemon, bursting to try and get in and take the precious water Pokemon within it's walls. Only a week and a half before all the Pokemon had been free to frolic in the large, extensive ranch that was born off of the back of the Lab... but now...

Gary slammed the door back in the man's face, the resounding smack and yell from the man indicated Gary had hurt him badly, most probably broken his nose.

With his back against the door, Gary was beginning to get more and more angry with the amount of people trying to get to him and the Pokemon that lived in the labs. They were getting more violent, more daring... more terrifying.

His leather jacket fell from the coatstand it had been hanging on near to the door when a window smashed and a brick landed with a smash only a few feet away from Gary. 6 small Pokeballs rolled out of the jacket's pocket along with a few small items Gary had been keeping in it for general use.

He used one of his hands to sweep through his silver hair as he groaned. He didn't know how much longer he could hold the mob back. He knew he was sooner or later going to be left with one option... he'd have to fight back. Gary's power was huge... a mage with one limit he had ammassed so much power it had once nearly brought an end to the world he had fought countless other times to save. The limit was healing magic... something he'd never been able to control and something he'd found to be his greatest weakness more than once.

Rage welled up within the mage, his hands glowing silver, tendrils slipping out from his magically burnt white finger-tips and his pupils beginning to turn white to match the iris. The changes within his body had been made by silver magic, just as the changes that were happening now as rage tapped into that awesome power.

Without even thinking about it a huge blast of magical energy errupted from him, sending shockwaves throughout pallet town and blasting the mob outside his home away... for now. A glance out of his shattered window showed that some had been knocked out, some winded and some were simply rather annoyed. Luckily, for them more than Gary, none had been killed.

"... This is becoming more than hysteria... these people are becoming bloody insane..." He muttered to himself as he picked his coat up from the ground, replacing the items into it's pocket as he did so.

Whilst straightening back up a thought shot through his mind... but not his own thought. A dark, twisted voice began to resound within his head but with a tinge of recognition within it. Foxy... A fairly new acquaintence of Gary's, but a fine warrior and trainer. Hearing a friendly voice was reassuring, even if it was distorted by Gengar's means of communication.

"Pewter, pewter...pewter..." He muttered mindlessly to himself as he reached around for something on the desk near to the door. The jingle of metal on metal on plastic made Gary smile as he picked up his keys from under a set of notebooks. "**** things always hiding on me..." He muttered to himself again.

Grabbing his bag he headed out the door, tapping the door knob once with a silver glow as he closed it behind him. He knew that mob would take advantage of his leaving, he had no option other than to magically lock the lab from any sort of intrusion.

Pokeball in hand he began to run past the mob that had noticed he had come out. They shouted so loudly that no-one heard Charizard's arrival and no-one noticed Gary returning the pokeball to his pocket. Jumping onto his Pokemon's back as he ran, he took a quick glance back to the mob.

"Something has to be done... That much is certain..." Gary muttered quietly as Charizard escorted them to Pewter City. "... What can be done... even I'm at a loss there..." He lowered his head a little before bringing it back up to keep an eye on where he was heading.

OOC: Whee
 
Catriona?s feet hit the cool cave floor soundlessly, the rest of her petite form following easily and equally as silently, bringing her into a crouched position against the bluish-grey rock she now rested upon. The darkness here was absolute; she could hardly make out even an outline of anything more than a foot out of the pool of light streaming down from the wide opening she?d just dropped noiselessly through. A steady drip of water sounded from further down what she could only presume was a passageway leading into the main area of the cavern. Well, if this place was in any way similar to the Unknown Dungeon?s tangled maze of underground paths, that?d contradict all she?d read about it as a pampered child. Using the wall as support, she rose to her feet, making as little noise as possible. She was mildly surprised to find that the surface was damp to the touch, and felt more like earth than stone. The pathway she?d fallen into was definitely sloping downwards, though how far underground it led was anyone?s guess. Liquid eyes wide in an attempt to adapt to her pitch-black surroundings, she began to edge cautiously along the narrow, low-ceilinged tunnel, still taking care to make her steps barely audible, which rather hampered her progress. Still, there wasn?t any great urgency to reach the actual cave before nightfall. In fact, it?d be practically impossible to tell night from day down here, she mused, unable to distinguish any movement in the gloom ahead. There was no indication of what she could be walking into; if she wasn?t about to plummet into an underground chasm with her next tentative step. She paused for a second to mull this over, then fumbled with her belt and removed Sandshrew?s Pok?ball.

?It?ll be best to play it safe,? she half-mouthed, half-murmured under her breath. ?Go, Opalis.?

She threw the ball, and with a flash of red light that illuminated the tunnel enough for Cat to see the path continuing to slope further downwards as it ran south under the lake she?d passed over on Aerodactyl?s back, her Sandshrew, ?Opalis? emerged. It appeared that he?d been intending to cry out into the darkness, but Cat gave him a heavy cuff to the head to prevent him giving her away (not that she was sure there was anyone around to be given away to anyway), and he squeaked once, then fell silent. Cat held her breath, hoping that the sound had gone unnoticed, and though Sandshrew couldn?t see her, he knew enough to stay silent, for his own sake if nothing else. His owner could hit pretty hard when she wanted to. A scowl crossed his face as he massaged the side of his head where her hand had struck.

Cat emptied her lungs in a small sigh of relief; no-one seemed to be on her tail, then nudged her ?Mon to start making his way along the passage. She hung back for a few moments, letting him get ahead before continuing herself. Safety reasons, naturally. Besides, he could see in underground areas like this, which was more than she could in the jet-blackness below the surface of the Earth. She began to tiptoe over the unseen cavern floor somewhat more briskly than before, gaining confidence from the faint sounds of Sandshrew?s sharpened claws on rock. As long as that soft clicking could be heard, she was on the right track. Not that she was entirely sure of where it would lead her? She smiled wryly. Whatever she found at the end had better be worth the trouble she was taking to reach it.

A drop of moisture fell onto her shoulder and the water ran down a slender arm, making her shiver and draw closer in on herself for warmth. The air around her was now considerably cooler, and the ground beneath her feet was damper with every step she took. Without warning, the clicks of Sandshrew?s claws came abruptly to a halt. Cat quickly whipped out an orange cigarette lighter from her pocket and flicked it with her thumb. Smoking, in her opinion, was a disgusting habit, but it was handy to keep one of these around. A flickering flame flared at its tip, illuminating the area around and causing Cat?s pupils to contract rapidly. When her eyes had adjusted to the sudden light, she could see her ?Mon staring apprehensively towards a sparkling strip at its feet. Upon drawing closer, Cat realised with a jolt that his eyes were fixed on a wide underground river that the rocky path they?d been following disappeared straight into. Good thing she had a water Pok?mon with her?

Still gripping the cigarette lighter in her right hand, she used her left to pick out Sandshrew?s and yet another discoloured Pok?ball, returning the ground-rodent to his and tossing the other to release a spike-shelled Lapras into the relaxed flow of water. She struggled to replace them both, but eventually managed to re-attach the balls to her belt, and straightened up, the ghost of a smile imprinted on her features. She guessed that heading towards the water?s source would most likely return her to the surface, and so decided quickly she?d have to let it carry her deeper into the cavern.

?Alright, Finne, we?re going to head downstream with the current, OK??

Her ?Mon nodded in recognition, and allowed Cat to clamber onto her back and perch there, legs to one side and feet skimming the surface the clear running water they were afloat of. She put the flame out as they started moving and swung the leather bag off her shoulder to rummage inside it for a longer-lasting light source, stowing the now only half-full lighter back in her pocket to use another time. It didn?t take her long to find a torch, using her thumb to flick it on while she slung the shabby rucksack onto her back. The yellowish light it gave out was reflected in the dank walls as yet more water trickled slowly down to join the flow carrying them further underground. Various cracks and crevices lined the stone a metre or so either side of her ?Mon. The occasional splash aside from the plashing of Lapras? fins, and the momentary glimpse Cat caught of the end of a light-blue tail disappearing from sight into the depths told of other Pok?mon inhabiting the area. She found herself beginning to wonder when exactly she?d find somewhere to rest as the tunnel twisted and turned, the river they rode wending its way through hairpin bends and sharp corners.

The current started to slow, its pace becoming leisurely as the path it followed widened and bends straightened out, creating an almost linear waterway for the river to flow along. Cat snapped her torch off; even though she was quite sure by this point that there was no human life ahead, she?d learned over the years that it never hurt to apply extra care, especially in enclosed areas such as this. ... The strange thing was, she could swear that a ?light? was appearing at the end of the tunnel. She was just about able to make out outlines of abscesses and jutting rocks ahead, and as the torch was turned off? How very peculiar! And it was certainly growing brighter the further they were carried. ?Finne? seemed to have noticed this too; she was wearing a puzzled expression that didn?t at all suit her intelligent features. The light was reflecting from a wide bend ahead, the damp walls creating a periscope effect on it.

As they rounded it, Cat let out a gasp that would have given her away to any form of life within a 2-mile range.
 
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Having still found no food, Beep wandered around with his cheeks lighting the way. He had heard the soft sound of a surfing Pokemon. Suddenly thirsty, he went to the river for a drink. He heard the sound come nearer and nearer. Maybe this was his chance for food. When the object came around, he yelled "Food!"
 
Julia and Ali sat down at the wooden table. Beneath them were two, empty, beige, ceramic plates. Ali flipped a pancake from the middle of the table onto his plate, and gently did the same for Julia, beside him.

"So… What were the two of you doing outside?" Their mother asked, as she finished chewing a piece of her pancake. Ali and Julia gave each other a grim look, but Julia quickly recovered.

"Well, mom… I was thinking…" Julia began to speak, wiping the maple syrup from her mouth.

"I was thinking that… Maybe it would be a good idea if I went on a gym leader challenge!" Ali, Fox, and their mother all seemed quite bewildered by this abrupt statement. Ali ran his masculine fingers through his hair, wondering if Julia was actually catching onto a good idea.

"Sure… I've got my pokemon trainer card last year before you guys found me… And I've got six pokemon too! It would be SO much fun to go out and battle all the cool gym leaders and all that stuff, y'know?" Now Fox gleamed over towards Julia.

"You do realize that a Gym challenge takes a long time to complete, right?" Fox stood up, and walked over to the sink, beginning to clean his dishes. He had previously taken part in the Jhoto gym challenge, and it took him many months to complete. Thinking about his younger sister doing the same thing was like a dream to him, considering Julia's nature… She could never manage, especially on her own! She couldn't have been serious… Their mother continued to listen. She put her metal fork onto her plate with a small plunk, and rested her head upon her hands. She waited for Julia to continue, but she continued to eat, ignoring the fact that everyone around her was staring in surprise. Ali coughed to get Julia's attention. She looked up, then continued to speak once she saw everyone's eyes glaring at her.

"Oh, well…What else do you want to hear?" She asked the others, in a slight confusion.

"Well, you could start with telling us which gym challenge you'd like to take part in, like the Kanto gym challenge, Jhoto, what about Hoenn?" Julia sat silently, realizing that she hadn't done much research… Seeing how she was in Jhoto, she assumed that the most convenient Gym Challenge for her to take part in would be the Jhoto Gym Challenge.

"Uh… I want to do the Jhoto Gym Challenge…" She said with a slight tone of confusion in her voice.

"And what do you intend on doing about the virus? It's much too dangerous right now to go out there, especially on your own… I'd definitely be very concerned if I were to let you travel throughout Jhoto on your own…" Her mother replied. Julia finished up the rest of the pancake on her plate, and handed it to Fox as he collected her plate, along with the other's. She now looked at her mother with a peeved stare.

"I was on my own for 6 years, and I turned out fine!" Julia exclaimed. Fox scoffed,

"That's what you think," He muttered under his breath, as he lathered the rest of the dishes with the dish soap standing on the counter.

"Besides, what difference would it be?" Julia asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Well for one thing, there is a killer virus spreading throughout many regions, Jhoto included! There weren't any of those 7 years ago, were there!" Her mother stated, tying up her hair. An unexpected silence quickly smeered itself throughout the room. Julia looked very disappointed. The only reason Julia's mother would consider letting her go out on a Gym Challenge would be if that pesky virus had stopped spreading. She was always a very cautious mother. Ali walked up to his room, and gestures Julia up the stairs. She walked into his room. Looking around, she saw a fairly stiff bed with green sheets on it, and the walls were covered in a brown wallpaper. A brown computer desk stood straight and proudly in the corner of his room, as a black computer stood atop it, beside a black digital clock. In front of it was a red computer chair, which looked fairly comfortable. Against the wall to Julia's right was a small TV, with a small seat in front of it. Ali sat on his bed when Julia closed the door behind her, and sat on the computer chair.

"What was that about!?" Ali asked Julia, seeming confused.

"Well if I could just GET out there, then maybe I can protect the water pokemon until we can directly get rid of the source! But it's BECAUSE of the virus that I CAN'T do any of this!"

"Well maybe you should tell mom what you want to do then? Maybe she'll understand?…" Ali said, kicking his legs into the air. Julia sat in one place for a few seconds, then laughed hysterically.

"Are you kidding!? Mom wouldn't understand, she'd probably just think of me as any other person! She still wouldn't let me go, she'd be too concerned!" Ali laughed along with Julia now,

"Hehe, think of it as the way she expresses her love!" He now turned over onto his back, thinking of a way to get Julia out of the house, as she did the same. Julia began to remember the many hours she would spend with her old partner, talking about their next victim… Which was usually Fox and Ali, they would always try and prevent them from succeeding on their missions.

"…Maybe I could tell mom…" She said, now thinking of the many possible outcomes. Maybe her mother would understand… Then again, maybe her mother would simply become more protective… After many minutes, She finally decided that she would tell her mother the next time she saw her… which would probably be in the next few minutes. She walked out the door, and down the creeping stairs, then sat down on the sofa beside her mother. The sunlight now peered through the window, it was close to noon.

"So…" She began to speak. It was as if her mother were expecting another explanation…
 
Character Profile
Name (Required): Skyla Branek
Gender (Required): Female
Age: 18
Personality: Skyla is a very serious young woman that has not had an easy life, this led to her forcing herself to harden her heart. But this shell only hides the vibrant, intelligent, and strong individual she is. Constantly fighting to maintain her natural individuality, her profesion does little to help this.

Physical Description: Overall average build with curves and slightly short, she has emerald green eyes set in a creamy thin face. Her hair is midnight blue with a loose, large curl to it. She wears jeans and a simple dark red shirt that has sleeves that go down to her elbows.

Pokemon: Rapidash (Dash) and Mawile (Chomper).

History: Her mother died in child birth, and her father was a poor shopkeeper in a small village of Hoenn. Often unable to buy little more than food, Skyla got used to taking jobs around the village from a very young age. She quickly realized that certain, often not incredibly legal, jobs gave her better pay and got her in with a crowd that would continue to get her paid. By thirteen she left her home to make money by doing almost anything anyone would pay her for, including stealing, spying, and sabotage among the people of the underworld. At seventeen, she saw that she hated her life, and that although she could send money back to her father, she would never dare tell him where she got it from. So, Skyla turned to more legitimate means of making money, although you wouldn't call any of her generally unsavory employment 'office work.'

Forum: Gengar and Haunter's Pokemon Dungeon (GHPF)

NOTE: I'll start RPing tomorrow. I have to work a couple more things out with this character. I've only RPed her once before and that was set in a medievil time frame. Sooo, I'll be exploring the way she interacts in a modern world. ^_^'
 
OOC-AK, a question: HKim said that he'd allow you to post on the condition that there was a second RPer representing GHPF. Who would that be?

BIC-
"Ungh..." Foxy muttered as she looked around, half bored to death. The brick wall she was sitting on was cold and hard. Then again, Foxy didn't really expect anything else from a red brick wall. This night, the bright stars were twinkling to no end, sad and unwilling witnesses to this tragedy that was ravaging the planet.


The moon was beautifully full this disturbed evening too; the clouds that had plagued Pewter and rained down bolts of yellow fire were by now beginning to part. Craters which had been formed near the start of the solar system could still be seen, which nothing to hide it. Now a perfect circle, it glowed as if its life depended on it, giving light to the entire planet.


The wind had ceased; as had the rain now. Not a single leaf on a single branch of a single tree was moving. The air was still, stark contrast to that of but a few minutes ago. Yet still, not a single person or pokemon was in sight. This disturbed Foxy slightly, but thought nothing of it.


"Geeeengar!" called Gengar softly. Foxy looked up. She knew that Gary had gotten her message, but he didn't reply, so she'd sat down anxiously on the hedge and waited. Now, as she stood up, stretching her legs, she hoped that Gengar had some news. Indeed, Gengar looked like it did; it was bouncing around, smiling more than usual. Foxy couldn't help but grin too in reply; Gengar had the skill of being able to make anyone laugh.


"What is it, Gengar? Is it Gary?" Foxy asked eagerly. Gengar stopped bouncing, and nodded. "So what's the deal?" she asked, looking around the place once more. There was something that wasn't right this now peaceful night, and she was beginning to become edgy.


Gengar, perhaps sensing Foxy's thoughts, looked around too. Both trainer and pokemon looked around silently for a minute, not saying a thing. Finally, Foxy sighed. Gengar shook its head as well, noting Foxy's uneasiness. Gengar could be very perceptive when it wanted to.


Gengar projected an image into Foxy's mind. She smiled. It was indeed Gary, and it seemed he had indeed gotten her message. "So, Gary's on the way to Pewter huh?" she asked quietly. Gengar growled an affirmative. "Good... Things are really getting out of hand. We need to talk," she stated.


Foxy was also looking to talk to her old friend again; it had been a while now since last they met; she missed his wisdom, courage, and power. She respected him as one of the original Crescent Mages, and a valued ally. Gengar cocked his head, asking a question, and Foxy got the message, loud and clear. "This panic..." Foxy began, not yet addressing the question, "it's almost unbelievable... Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," she added grimly. "I have an idea, but only Gary will be able to test it... I just hope his lab ain't overrun by these mobs," she said sadly. Gengar agreed.


"And if necessary, I can infiltrate Magma's base," she added pointedly. "Of course, they most likely created the virus, but then again... You never know anything for sure these days," concluded Foxy. Gengar nodded glumly. "My espionage training may just come of use again," commented Foxy, a smile forming.


"Well, I guess we should wait for Gary here," she said slowly. "He knows where we are..."


A loud bang was heard from the centre of the village. Foxy's ears pricked up, listening to the sound. Chants could be heard too. Foxy stopped. A mob. Foxy sensed they were getting closer. Gengar obviously did so too. Now, the cries were loud and clear: "Capture the water pokemon! We must get them! Kill them, kill them!" These shouts were accompanied by many more cries by men who seemed to be shouting simply to let off some steam. One thing was certain; they were after blood. Instinctively, Foxy's hand went to Lanturn's pokeball.


Foxy could see too now that they had torches. Just like the old witch hunts, thought Foxy grimly. She had no idea what they were planning to do if they got anyone, but Foxy wasn't about to stay for much longer. She was on the verge of heading towards Cerulean City; she could probably escape. But then what would happen? She'd have to call Gary again, he'd have to change his course and the whole thing would start again. No; and besides, what she was thinking was urgent; with a 7 day fatal virus, every hour counted.


Suddenly, a continuous series of loud bangs were sounded, followed by flashes from the mob. "Holy **** Gengar, they've got pistols! Why the heck does the Government allow people to keep pistols in their houses, just like that?" growled Foxy rather unhappily. Frankly, she wasn't exactly impressed at the way the government was handling this... Then again, she rarely was. Another thing to sort out later. Now, survival was most important.


"Okay, Gengar, we can't let them see us. I've got an idea," she said, smiling. "You're a ghost pokemon; normal attacks go straight through you... That includes gun shots, right?" she asked. Gengar nodded, beginning to see where Foxy was going with all this. "Unfortunately I don't have the same protection from bullets... Gengar, when they come close, can you appear, and pretend to run to your imaginary trainer near Mt. Moon? Only then, you'll go underground and come back here," said Foxy.


Gengar nodded, and smiled. One of its favourite pastimes was to scare humans, which it did so with skill. The voices got closer. "One other thing, be careful of the torches; they can hurt you," she added pointedly. She did not want her pokemon to be hurt as a result of protecting her. Gengar nodded confidently. "Scare them to death," she said smiling.


Turning, Foxy headed in the other direction, looking for someplace to hide. She found a decent hiding place in a stack of cardboard boxes next to a somewhat larger house. Curling herself up into a ball, Foxy became very small indeed thanks to her flexibility. She was close enough, however, that she could hear, with her heightened senses, the mob closing in, looking for blood.


Foxy waited for Gengar to strike. She waited. And waited. What on earth is keeping Gengar?! she thought. Finally, she got up from her hiding spot and crept to the corner. Carefully, she poked her head out, and then dashed back behind cover again in a split-second. This was a rather useful technique she'd learned as part of her training long ago. She had but to look at something for a second, before memorizing it. That way, she didn't have to keep herself exposed to take in everything.


Quickly, she built up the image in her mind of what she saw. Perhaps 15 men were there, some with torches, some with guns. At the head of the party, One man, probably the leader, was holding a larger than normal gun. And... was it? thought Foxy quickly, searching her memory. It was! Gengar was there, next to them, only waiting for the time to strike. Foxy hoped it'd be soon. Then again, she knew Gengar wouldn't needlessly put her life at risk. So what was Gengar waiting for?


Foxy reviewed the image again. Wait, is that... Holy! A Kadabra! This could mean trouble Foxy thought. That could've been one reason Gengar had yet to attack. Gengar would do so if need be, but only when they got close, Foxy knew. These many long months training Gengar from a little Gastly had paid off. Foxy knew all of her pokemon; how they would think and react in a given situation.


Suddenly, Gengar attacked, a powerful ball of darkness hitting Kadabra. Foxy knew that it was shadow ball; a move she had trained endlessly with him to perfect; it was often used, and good against psychic pokemon. It was times like these that the endless hours of training really paid off. Come to think of it, Foxy wouldn't change a thing.


She could tell by the cries that Kadabra had fainted; testament to Gengar's power. Of course, she also suspected that the Kadabra was not at a very high level. Either way, Gengar had succeeded in both tasks; he now had the mob's attention. "It must belong to a trainer! Don't let it get away!" yelled the man at the head of the group.


Foxy bounded out of her hiding place, again calling on her previous training to sneak up to the group of men undetected. Gengar pretended to squeal in fright, and floated off; not at top speed though, just fast enough so that the humans could follow.


And follow they did; with a roar following one from the leader of the mob, the 15 men ran after the seemingly cowardly Gengar, obviously having no clue as to his power. Gengar himself played the role well; indeed he looked very scared, as if he was a baby. Several gunshots were heard, followed by cries of anger as the bullets went straight through Gengar.


They did not notice that two of their comrades were not following them; for one was felled by an elbow in the head, the other by a kick to the place no man should ever be kicked-unless of course they were hunting a pretty young girl. Foxy smiled.


A few seconds later, Gengar reappeared before Foxy, zooming out of the ground right in front of her, no doubt attempting to frighten her. Foxy was too experienced to be startled by her own pokemon however, and merely smiled, knowing from his face that Gengar's mission had been a success. Gengar looked down at the two men. One was simply out cold, a red mark on his face and some blood bleeding freely from his nose. The other was still curled up in a ball, groaning, clutching where he'd been kicked.


Gengar's eyes opened a little wider; it was his equivalent of raising his eyebrows, of which of course he had none. He saw the expression of Foxy's face, and smiled an exasperated smile too. "Truly a shame Gary missed out on the fun," commented Foxy. Gengar rolled his eyes dryly.


Foxy sat down to wait once more.
 
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Charizard's wings smashed the night air as it and it's rider rushed through the skies in an attempt to get to Pewter as fast as possible. Pallet Town was a speck in the distance now, Viridian City slowly moving away behind them, the Pewter City Museum standing out like a sore thumb as the two came closer to their desination.

As Pewter came into full and proper view Gary couldn't help but notice the mob moving over in the east. It seemed that the trouble was getting more widespread, who knew how much longer it would be before the lynch mobs actually acheived their deadly aim.

Gary's face straightened into one of determination as he looked back and continued the final part of the journey on Charizard. "... They wont acheive any aim... I wont let them..." He muttered, his voice lost in the buffetting air that was generated by both Charizard's speed and massive wings. The gust was so strong that Gary's hair and coat were both flapping about behind him and his face felt like he was being blasted into space. He ignored it all though. He had one thing on his mind, finding Foxy and starting to put an end to this virus and the deadly mobs that came with it.

It was Charizard with it's keen eyes that noticed Foxy, Gengar and two crippled men over in the near distance first. When Charizard pulled a sharp turn mid-air and began to head in their direction, Gary then noticed them. His mind asked him why there were two men on the ground but he guessed he needed no real answer told to him.

The wind struck down hard against Foxy and her surroundings as Charizard began to make a vertical landing, it's body straightening out and Gary already begining to make his way off it's back.

When the massive beast's wings stopped beating up the air, Gary walked slowly out behind them, his coat and hair still flapping in the wind but to a much lesser extent.

He nodded to Charizard who took a few steps back before putting itself on guard, keeping an eye out for more mobs, before walking over to Foxy and smiling as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Things are getting much worse. The mobs are getting more daring, i'm only after fighting a huge crowd out of my home." He pulled his hand away and placed both into his deep jacket pockets as he began to look around just like Charizard.

"Something must be done... and fast. The longer we wait, the more damage these thugs will do... and the more Pokemon that will be hurt." Gary wondered for the safety of the water Pokemon in his lab, more than a few of them being his. Blastoise was his most treasured water Pokemon but he deliberately had kept all his water types locked away for safety until something could be done. Now all he had in the way of water attacks was his Glalie...

"I hope you've got some idea cooked up for all the travelling I had to do to get here tonight..." He said grinning. For some reason, even in the darkest of all situations, Gary had a joke to keep the tone up. Considering all that Gary had been through in just seventeen years, most specificly the last three... it was unsurprising that he had brought about a habit that helped him survive in the worst of all times.
 
((BEP, as in your previous post you 'fell asleep', I'm making the assumption that you were dreaming. :P))

Lapras blinked rapidly, and Cat almost followed suit, pinching her arm viciously. This couldn?t be right ... Well, it certainly explained the light she?d observed, but if it wasn?t an illusion, it sparked many more questions than it offered answers. ?Finne? stopped in her tracks, allowing Cat to gaze in wonder at the scene before them. It may have been a cave, but completely unlike any cavern she?d ever set foot in before ...

It was like they?d stumbled upon the bizarre reverse of some sort of fish tank. The walls of the main chamber were the only part appearing anything like she?d expected: navy stone, with a slight glimmering quality. Though it wasn?t cracked, naturally influenced rock as was to be found along the path she had trodden to reach the chamber; it was cut into square, even slabs, flat and most definitely shaped by man. The floor and ceiling?s surfaces were composed of thick, transparent glass, above and below which swam all manner of aquatic Pok?mon. Cat watched Goldeen, Dratini, Magikarp, Remoraid and even an elegant Dragonair emerging and disappearing into waterways at each edge of the curious, outsized aquarium hanging over the room. The slow-paced river they were afloat of flowed into the lower reservoir, where yet more fish circled and weaved amongst each other, lit by a mysterious, seemingly source less blue light, the same Cat had observed from the tunnel that was one of two entrances to the area. On the far side of the watery foyer from her, a thin ladder could be seen poking out of a perfectly round glass-walled hole that presumably led to a different layer of the remarkable ?Dragon?s Den?. A strong smell of chemicals permeated her nostrils, causing her to stifle a small sneeze before cautiously hopping off her Lapras? back onto the transparent flooring, still struggling to fully take in the surreal surroundings they?d been issued into. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, she plucked a Pok?ball from around her waist and recalled her awestruck Lapras. What is this place, she pondered, struck dumb by the sheer magnificence of the surrounding surfaces. Who would go to such trouble, even for such a beautiful result? Well, at least she now knew by the paper-laden, transparent desk in an obtuse corner, and various test-tube lined ledges around the room, that the place was in no way deserted. Evidently, far from it ...

She padded carefully over the glass separating aqua from air towards the desk, eager to discover what information the many papers scattered haphazardly over its surface held. Without touching anything, she leaned over to peer curiously at a pink-and-white document topping the mess. Science ... Experiments were crowded onto the page, scrawled into every space. The substances involved appeared to be written in some sort of numerical code. Cat frowned, lifting the paper to see if those below read anything different; but experiment after experiment was crammed into each page. She didn?t understand the processes, but it all looked very complicated ? whoever dwelt here was most likely more than a match for her in intelligence. Letting the paper fall from her fingers to where it had been found, she left the table and tiptoed over to the ladder that she presumed would lead to another part of this ?lair? ? living quarters, perhaps? Curiosity overcame her instincts to keep out of trouble, leading her to shin feet-first down the ladder?s narrow, cylindrical rungs into the blackness below. On reaching the bottom of the ladder and parting from it, the now-blackened soles of her feet once again met cold stone. She flicked her torch on ? it was considerably dimmer than it had been when she?d first taken it out, on the lazy river that led her here.

Expecting more lab equipment, or at least a room man-made in appearance, Cat was surprised to find herself in a spacious, naturally formed rock chamber featuring several streams flowing into a large hollow to create an underground lake. She could see nothing out of the ordinary by the fading light of her torch; in fact, this room was the exact opposite of the one she?d just descended from. Yet another surprise. She shrugged, and turned to ascend the ladder.

This time she climbed more slowly, thinking through all she?d seen. The entrance to the cave blocked off ... Underground aquariums? Lab equipment? Experiment notes? Whatever this was about, it seemed pretty suspicious. What was a place like this doing underground in a place rumoured to be heavily associated with dark arts? What exactly were the experiments being performed here in aid of? Why did they need to be kept confidential? Who was behind it all? Hm ... It?d be stating the obvious to voice her conclusion that whatever all this meant, something wasn?t right about it. As her head re-entered the glass-room, she sighed. The most reassuring thought she?d had all day was that, fortunately, whoever was behind all this, they at least weren?t present now.
 
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Julia curled herself up in the sofa against the arm – rest, and kicked off her shoes, assuming that she wouldn't be going anywhere at any time soon. Before she could speak, her mother interrupted.

"I just got off the phone with Jasmine…" Her mother stated, with a touch of sincerity. Julia's mother and Jasmine both grew up together in Ollivine. Despite the fact that her mother was a few years older than Jasmine, they still grew up together as very good friends. When her mother was 13, she moved to Verdanturf with her sister and her parents, where she met Julia's father. They lived there happily for many years, often going out on picnics, until Fox was born. Deciding that the house they lived in was too small, they ended up moving into a condo in Goldenrod City. They ended up living there for 4 years, until Julia was born. That's when they moved to Ollivine, because just like before, they needed a larger house to live in. Finding out that Jasmine was a Gym Leader only thrilled Julia's mother, and since then, they had rekindled their friendship. Julia looked a bit confused towards her mother. Why would she call Jasmine? And what would they have anything to do with her?

"And…?" Julia asked her mother, waiting for a reply.

"I was talking to her about you wanting to go out on a Gym Challenge… She thinks you have potential," Her mother paused, expecting a response. Fox ceased the connection between his mother and his sister,

"Of course she does, she's just like dad, everyone on our dad's side of the family has potential!" He remarked. Ali walked down the stairs, snickering.

"And I suppose you're referring to yourself as well?" He commented, walking behind the TV, trying to reach to window to open it. The room had begun to feel a bit stuffy, but considering the weather, it was something to be expected…

"Well I'm obviously not referring to you!" Fox exclaimed, laughing. Him and his brother often had senseless arguments about things that never really mattered. Ali began to remember when Fox completed the Kanto Gym Leader challenge. The entire family had gone to the Indigo Plateau to watch him battle. Unfortunately, his Espeon was injured in the 12th match, and without his Espeon, he ended up losing the 13th match horribly.

"Aside from that, she definitely thinks that you should go out and collect Gym badges, and seeing how you have 6 pokemon, you should have an easy start!… But she did mention that you should be careful, especially considering this virus that's been spreading! Would you really want to risk your life for a few badges?…" Julia looked disappointed. She'd be making herself look pathetic if she backed down now… But if she agreed to her mother's statement, then it would be as if she were stupid, not knowing what she was getting herself into… She felt an urge to tell her mother the real reason she wanted to leave her house, but did she really want to risk it? Before Julia could think any further, her mother continued.

"Why don't you go to Jasmine's Gym and battle her? If you earn a badge from her, maybe I'll consider letting you go on the rest of the Gym Challenge…" Now it was official, It was Julia's chance to run! All she had to do was say she was going to Jasmine's Gym, and run off to a different city! Ecruteak wasn't far, and if she was planning to go to a different region, the easiest way to do that would be by using the Mountain path in Blackthorn to get to Littleroot, which wasn't too far away from Mahogany. Everything was finally coming together…

"Alright… That sounds great!" Julia said, with a huge grin on her face.

"I'll be back in an hour or two, ok?" She said, getting her running shoes back on, carefully tying up the laces. She walked up the stairs to her room, and grabbed a green and grey bag from her wardrobe, shoving a long, grey coat into it, a brown cloak she used when she was still on Team Aqua, her Team Aqua Junior's uniform, and finally, a change of regular clothes. All of this barely fit into her bag, but it was the best she could do. Running over to her side – table, she took her black wallet beside her digital clock, and pushed it into her pocket, making sure there was enough money to last her a long while. Charging down the stairs, excited as ever, she opened the door, and bid farewell to her family before she left. She walked out the door, closing the door behind her, to the same dock she found Ali and herself earlier that day… Deciding it was much too close to her home, she walked into the Markets of town, looking around at the fascinating items they had on sale. Tents were set up everywhere, with anything from potions, to tarot cards, to even pokeflutes beneath them! Marill closely trailed behind Julia, not wanting to get lost. She found herself browsing through the merchandise, rather than trying to protect the water pokemon. Under an unusually bright tent, near the exit of the city, there were two people, selling various medicines. Julia decided to start her self – proclaimed mission by seeing if they were selling any of the antidote for the virus. Sure enough, there were many unlabelled medicines, but none of which Julia suspected to be the antidote to the virus… Finally, one of the merchants approached her.

"Do you need anything?" He asked, looking down at the medicines.

"Yeah, um… You wouldn't happen to have that antidote for that virus that's been spreading… Would you?" The merchant serving her looked at her with a touch of peculiarity.

"Yes, but… It's not for sale… unless of course, you would be offering a good price…" At the moment Julia was about to ask how much it would cost, a young woman tapped Julia's shoulder. Julia twisted around to see Jasmine, wearing a lovely beige-white dress, and 2 circular hair-clips.

"Your mom called, she said you'd be over at my gym soon, and it's been a while, I was wondering where you were!" She said, bending down to Julia's height. Julia looked quite embarrassed, she didn't realize how much time had gone by while she looked throughout the market for random items.

"Um-yes, that's right, I was just getting a bit side-tracked, there were so many nice things for sale, an-"

"Yes, that's fine. My gym is just around the corner, you still up for a battle?" A rush of excitement fluttered in Julia's heart. Without realizing that it wasn't the main reason that she had come outside, she instinctively responded with a quick nod, filled with adrenaline.
 
OOC: Well, Alk SHOULD be here. (His full username will probably be Metabolist.) I don't know where he is. If he doesn't show, IDL might. He's supposed to be a judge, though, and he said he's busy right now. BIC:

The woman grunted as she helped pull in a net from the water onto the boat. Salt water splashed on her, making her skin even stickier every time. Wriggling in the nets was a school of Magikarp flailing about pointlessly, gasping for breath in the unfriendly air that now surrounded them.

"How many you think are in that batch?" asked a man with a clipboard on the other side of the boat. He wore a basball cap and tattered jeans and a T-shirt.

Eyeing the Magikarp in the net she replied, "About two dozen, maybe more."

He frowned. "Skyla, that's not good enough. We'll need to stay out all night at this rate if we're gonna meet our quota!"

"Well forgive me for not being able to control the Pokemon's swimming patterns," Skyla said in a sarcastic voice.

Glaring at her, the man walked away.

"Come on," she said to her companion, another man similarly clothed. "We need to get these with the rest." They both strained dragging the net to the stern of the vessel. There, hundreds of water Pokemon were strewn across the deck, writhing and gasping for oxygenated water. Skyla's stomache turned at the horrible sight, but threw her catch in with the rest. 'It is for the people of the world,' she sternly reminded herself. "Let's go to the next one," she said.

The two went to a net on the starboard side, and pulled it out of the sea. She gasped at the strain as the net was pulled back farther into the sea by the force of its prisoners. "We need help over here," she yelled to the seamen in general. "This one's full!" Two more strong young men quickly jumped to their aid. The four of them pulled with all their might, and the top of the net came out of the water. Sea Pokemon were packed inside it, their eyes wild with fear. She could taste the sickened vomit rise in her throat as they continued to pull the creatures from their home.
 
Jasmine and Julia both walked towards the fairly new looking Gym, just around the corner of the tent that Julia had just observed. The air smelled salty with the sea, the sun had completely risen, and the weather could not have been better. Jasmine opened up the door to the Gym, holding it open for Julia. Julia entered, seeing a very plain, linoleum path, leading to an arena shaped completely out of stone. In the arena, were large rocks, placed randomly between the 2 sides where the trainers stood. Jasmine flung her hair behind her, walking to the far end of the dusty Gym.

" You ready?" She asked Julia, as Julia struggled to keep up with Jasmine. She stood on the side of the arena, opposite to Jasmine, awaiting her to reveal her pokemon.

"It'll be a 2 Versus 2 battle, 1 pokemon battling at a time, no time limit! Items are allowed, and you can back down at any time, ok?" Jasmine explained, trying to sound as polite as possible. Julia agreed with a nod. Jasmine reached for a red and white sphere, and threw it gracefully into the arena. A bright spiral of light was released from the sphere, revealing a metallic pokemon. On both ends of it's body, which was made up mostly of an eye, were magnets, and it tended only to speak in one tone. Julia thought for a moment, thinking of what type of pokemon it was first. She remembered that one time, her aunt in Verdanturf had a similar pokemon at her breeding centre… And it had 2 types, electric and steel. Julia grabbed her pokeball from her belt once she had confirmed that, and threw it vigorously into the arena. After a similar light to Jasmine's had faded, a red Fox pokemon appeared. It seemed to be well groomed, with curly fur open her head, and 6 tails.

"A fire pokemon," Jasmine chuckled.

"I see you've done your research! Magnemite, attack that Vulpix with sonic boom!" She ordered, pointing a finger at it. Magnemite replied with a dull beep, and immediately sped beside Vulpix. Attempting to dodge it, Vulpix jumped out of the way behind a rock, but she was attacked by an unknown force, as she descended into the air.

"What was that!?" Julia asked, stomping a foot onto the ground.

"That's w hat sonic boom does, it creates a powerful energy using swift movements, think of it as an airplane splitting through the air…" This barely made any sense to Julia, but she stood her ground and called out to her beloved Vulpix anyhow.

"C'mon Vulpix!" She called,

"You can do it!" Sure enough, her Vulpix stood to her feet. A bit shaky, but confident, regardless. Her eyes were filled with a burning passion, she was growing with Julia, learning, just as she was. Without paying attention to Julia, Vulpix jumped onto the peak of a stone, and spit out an eruption of flames which directly hit Magnemite, turning it's shiny metallic body, into a dull, darkened body. Although Vulpix hadn't waited for orders, Julia was pleased with Vulpix's tactics,

"Good job!" She shouted, now calmly twisting her hair around her finger.

"Now take it out with an ember!" Vulpix jumped down from the rock, just as Magnemite was directly attacking her. She was able to jumped out of the way, and the sonic boom that was created ended up shattering the rock she was hiding behind.

"That'll cost me money!" Jasmine yelled out at her Magnemite, playfully. Before Magnemite could turn around to attack Vulpix again, she was able to spit out an orb of fire, finally burning the Magnemite to a crisp.

"Return, Megnemite…" Jasmine recalled her pokemon, while it disappeared in the same swirl of light that it had appeared in.

"You may have beaten my Magnemite, but you won't be able to defeat this pokemon as easily… Go Steelix!" She threw a great ball into the air now, and the moment it touched the ceiling, a huge snake pokemon made of steel came tumbling down from it, creating a small quake. Julia looked up at it in awe,

"How do you expect my tiny Vulpix to defeat that huge beast!?" She asked, now furious, as she was earlier.

"I don't, that's the thing!" Jasmine scoffed at Julia, patting the tip of Steelix's tail. Vulpix glared at it in fear, not knowing what to do. It had never come face-to-face with a creature so huge! Now awaiting for directions, she heard Julia's voice.

"Vulpix, try taking it out with an ember!" Vulpix began to think of how to execute that attack. Julia had always given orders, but the strategy of battles were usually executed by her pokemon, giving them a source of freedom. Vulpix hid behind a rock, Steelix's tail glistened in the light of the fluorescent rays, and it smashed into the same rock Vulpix was hiding behind. Just at the right moment, with fire brimming her lips, Vulpix jumped onto Steelix's tail, climbing up it's body. She released the ember right at the front of it's face, but was shaken off the moment the fire had hit the Steelix. Vulpix fell to the ground with a loud THUD, not able to stand back up. The Steelix grunted with satisfaction, waiting for Julia's next pokemon.

"Return, Vulpix…" She said, recalling her only fire pokemon. She began to think, deciding that in this situation, size really did matter.

"Come out here Lapras!" Julia shouted, throwing out a great ball, releasing a beautiful blue pokemon, with a spiky purple shell atop it. The elegant Lapras hummed in reply, signaling it was ready.

"Lapras, attack it with an ice beam!" Jasmine swiftly responded with,

"Steelix, go under ground!" Digging viciously at the stone, Steelix dug into the ground, it's tail the last to reach the bottom. Lapras, being a water pokemon with fins-not legs, was finding it hard to move, leaving herself horribly vulnerable. Julia looked around Lapras,

"Just cover the whole arena with ice!" She yelled. Lapras took in a deep breath, and blew her breath throughout the whole arena, covering it in ice. Steelix attacked Lapras from beneath her, pushing her onto the part of the arena that had been covered in ice. Almost the whole arena had been covered in ice, except for the place where Lapras was previously standing. She could n ow slide from side to side, freely. Satisfied, it attempted to freeze Steelix, but although it damaged the surface of Steelix, it wasn't quite powerful enough to freeze it.

"Lapras, try using confuse ray!!" Lapras agreed with this, thinking of it to be very useful, especially with a pokemon as large as Steelix. Purple rays of light began to radiate from Lapras, and spread throughout the whole room, confusing Steelix, almost confusing Julia as well! After a few moments of recollecting her thoughts, Julia demanded Lapras use Ice Beam again on Steelix, but it was still not effective enough to freeze it.

"Steelix, use your Iron tail!" Jasmine shouted. Steelix looked from side to side, not knowing what to do, very confused. He attacked the Gym itself, recklessly bashing into the walls, not only hurting Lapras with the falling debris, but itself too. Steelix finally fell to the ground, to tired to move, and Lapras was barely able to move herself as well. Jasmine continuously called out Steelix's name, but it wouldn't respond. Trying to lift it's tail, Steelix grunted, then fainted into the icy ground it laid on. Julia stood in silence for a moment, not knowing what to do, until Jasmine finally nodded to her, implying that she had won. A grin took over Julia's face, she completely forgot about the virus, and jumped onto the ice with Lapras, praising her for her accomplishment, Marill doing the same. Julia tried sliding Lapras over to where she had been standing, but she ended up slipping herself, her bare shoulders freezing cold. Once she reached the hall of the Gym again, Jasmine awarded her with the mineral badge… Something that Julia hadn't even been looking for in the first place. Before Jasmine could congratulate Julia, she ran out the door, giggling, only looking back once to say bye to Jasmine,

'Better leave before she asks…' She thought to herself, now finding herself jogging to the pokemon centre.
 
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