The Children Are Hunted

Alyss sighed. There was no choice. She stood up on the branch and released Zanna. The Fox Pokemon blinked at her with a mixture of exhaustion and annoyance. "Finally decided to call me out have you?" she growled.

Alyss put a finger to her lips. "You'll wake them up." Instantly Zanna subsided and peered at her with anxious teal eyes. "You need to use your ability now. Esper, Arca, and Vulpix are in trouble."

"Who cares, aside from Arca and she'll probably be out of here in a few minutes?" Alyss frowned worriedly, chewing her lower lip. Zanna was right but if she didn't do this, the mission might fail. She couldn't take that risk.

"If we don't do this," Alyss whispered. "Mister Theo might find out and we'll get in trouble." Instantly Zanna paled, knowing that was very bad. Instantly her body turned a pale violet as she backflipped into the air, transforming quickly into Alyss' exact replica, including the injuries on her body and invisible wings on her back. Her tail was hidden by her dress. As she laid back against the tree, Zanna glanced up at her.

"What are you going to do?" she asked. "No offense Alyss, but your features are rare."

Alyss nodded. "That's why I'm not going there," she said softly. "I need to get Silas."

"That boy's here?" Zanna groaned. "Not good. So that's why-"

Alyss nodded sadly. "I doubt anybody will see me." She leapt down silently to land lightly on the soft dirt and bolted quickly. The real reason she was leaving Zanna there was because those three were sleeping and defenseless. That was not a good mix right now.

"Arca," she whispered. "Leave a patch of ice in the vent you're in, some kind of sign, so I can hurry and find Silas. Go help Vulpix and Esper, okay? Something bad's happening right now." Arca blinked and obeyed, knowing Alyss would be all right. She traced the two scents and groaned.

"Just great," she mumbled, finding Esper and jostling him. "Stay awake please." Seeing Vulpix was in trouble she sighed. "Perfect." Arca leapt out, firing a beam of ice at the Golem's head.
 
"Ugg... Sorry, Vulpix can get riled up easily," Esper said as the glaceon shot an ice attack at the Golem's head. Toni sighed.
"Golem, it seems we have more rats. Use Mega Punch," Toni said. The Golem swung his fist at the Glaceon. Vulpix wasn't having any of that, And hit it with a Flamethrower, knocking it off balance. Toni sighed. As impressive as it would be, she didn't know if she should try to beat both pokemon with only one.
"Nosepass! Use Flash Canon!" Toni said. The Nosepass came out and shot a silvery sphere at Vulpix, who couldn't dodge it. Vulpix was knocked to the ground. Esper had to do something, but he knew he was in no condition to fight. Both Arca and Vulpix wouldn't be able to do too much. They needed someone with a water type! The fire and ice types could hold out for a while, but they just couldn't cause enough damage! Alyss was on her way to help someone else. She wouldn't get there in time. That left Thomas. Esper sent out an unintelligible psychic cry. He hoped Thomas had heard him.

Thomas sat up bolt awake. TGP sat up too.
"What the devil! Pokeboy! Be on your guard!" TGP said. Thomas thought for a moment.
"Esper! Marcus, get up!" Thomas said, shaking the smaller boy awake. Marcus looked at him.
"I need you to stay here with his annoyingness and Alyss, alright?" Thomas asked.
"What are you doing?" Marcus asked sleepily.
"Someone's hurting Esper up at the gym. I have no idea what's going on, but I'm going to stop it," Thomas said.
"Ah! Let's go and assist our friend then!" TGP said. Thomas had to think before he could figure out how to phrase this so TGP would understand.
"Sorry, but this is a... Uh... A sidekick moment to shine! You were just saying that I needed a chance to shine in my own right. Let now be that chance!" Thomas said. Marcus chuckled dryly. TGP seemed to understand, and sat back down. Thomas looked up at Alyss. His mind registered that she looked slightly odd, but he didn't have time to dwell on the fact.
"I'll be back soon! Don't worry about a thing!" Thomas said quickly. He ran to the gym. There was an open air vent, but Thomas was to big to fit in it.
"Damn growth spurts," Thomas mumbled to himself. A Scizor was waking up and starting to get up off the ground.
"Draco! Use Ember!" Thomas said. The scizor was hit by the fire attack, and was knocked out again. Thomas had to find another way in. He snuck around until he found a window. He picked up a rock, and smashed the window in.
"God, I hope no one heard that!" Thomas said to himself as he climbed in the window.
 
Alyss did from deep in the Gym, but that was because she was blowing the wind to practically shout in her ears. Arca did as well, but she ignored it, avoiding more attacks. She let out a low growl and slammed her iron tail down on the Pokmon's head before doing something tame Pokemon didn't do: attacked the trainer. It wasn't too painful, just a strike to the ribs.

Meanwhile Alyss had made it to one of the Gym's lower levels. Now she could sense him,the aura of the forest all over her friend. "Silas," she whispered. There was what appeared to be a basement nearby. She shivered. One of the bad things about her powers was her sensitivity to cold. "Silas," she called out again, slightly louder now. "Leaf can you hear me?" There was a shifting nearby and sniffling. That Pokemon cried too much. "Leaf it's okay. I-I promise I won't hurt you." Now her confidence was slipping again, not that she had much to begin with.

Finally, thankfully, there was a reply. "Alyss?" This voice was human, older. She almost didn't remember it; it had been ages. "Alyss... it's you right?" Slowly, a brown haired boy made his way out. She looked him over, looked at his twelve year old face, and instantly felt time's pressure on her back. "My god Alyss... you haven't aged a day."

"Not for four years," she said softly. Silas' face, which had once been pale, colored then with joy. His green eyes glowed with that familiar childish life.

"Well that's okay," he said gently. "I can wait." He reached forward and hugged her close. She allowed it, actually attempting to return the gesture. He was so much taller and stronger now. She knew him as a scrawny five-year-old. Releasing her, he looked her over. "You're a mess. Come on, we're leaving right now."

"You have some explaining to do," she told him and the boy laughed.

"So do you Alyss," he replied, reaching out his arm for a Leafeon to climb timidly onto his shoulder. "But first, there's scuffling upstairs. Let's give them a hand." He grabbed her wrist and gently tugged her back up.
 
Toni smiled as the Glaceon rushed at her. With a practiced movement, she sidestepped the attack, and kicked the Glaceon into a wall. No matter how tough you are in battle, a kick from a pair of steel toed boots to the ribs is going to hurt. Vulpix was getting beaten by the two rock types, but he saw what had happened to Arca. He turned and shot a Flamethrower at Toni, but before he could do anything more, the Golem took him out.

Thomas swore under his breath. Two grunts had heard the crash. He hid next to the door. The two of them ran in the room. Thomas rammed the broken arm with the cast into the closer mans back. He grimaced in pain, but the man bent over backwards. Thomas grabbed his head,and threw him to the floor. Thomas stomped savagely on the mans face. He called up the light, and tossed it at the second man, Knocking him to the ground. Thomas walked over and kicked him in the head as hard as he could. He walked into the hallway. No one else seemed to be coming. Thomas called out Amber.
"Amber, can you smell Esper?" Thomas asked. She sniffed the air, then squeaked at him. He followed Amber to a large room. It was a battlefield. A Golem and a Nosepass were already there. They belonged to a woman. She was shorter than Thomas, and appeared to be about 32 years old. Her dark grey eyes were filled with loathing, and her shoulder length black hair had a few greys in it, probably from some stress she had been under. Thomas studied her manner. She held herself like someone that didn't want to be here. He looked around at the battlefield. It was very earthy and and had lots of rocks. Not good.
"So... You're the CT? Will you prove to be boring like these three have?" she sneered at him. Gathered behind her were Arca, Vulpix, and a Wynaut. The former two were knocked out.
"Won't know until I try. Give me my friends back!" Thomas said. He tried to figure out why Arca was here. He sent out a mental call for Esper, who leapt down to the ground next to him. Esper was in bad shape. His eyes were constantly going in and out of focus, and the ruby red jem on his head had a crack in it. Thomas hadn't traveled with Esper all this time not to have dealt with this before. He wouldn't be able to use any psychic type attacks until it healed.
"I think not. Come, child, and entertain me!" Toni said, calling her Nosepass back.
"Deluge! Let's take this woman out!" Thomas said.

(OOC: Up next, the impromtu gym battle!)
 
Alyss clutched Silas' hand tightly, feeling a pain rush hatefully through her veins. "Arca's been hurt badly," she hissed, anger she had forgotten she possessed rising up ferociously. She hadn't felt such furious hate in a long, long time, not since... Her head hurt thinking about it.

Silas nodded. "I understand Alyss. We'll help her; just be careful using your powers that way. You know how bad it gets when you're angry." She bit her lip and nodded, following his careful directions. He was a human map, with better memory than any normal human could say. The pair came up to a hole in the wall and shied away from it, seeing a woman and Thomas fighting. There were three injured Pokemon behind her, Arca one of them. Alyss twitched, feeling her anger and misery mix and rise. Silas squeezed her hand and shook his head, beginning to concentrate.
 
"Please... Don't interupt the battle. Thomas needs to do this. If you can, though, Try and get Arca and Vulpix and Winny out of here. They need some medical attention," Esper said. He had sensed Alyss and someone else there, charging power. He probably needed medical attention too, but nothing could have taken him from Thomas's side. Thomas was totally unaware of the conversation behind him. He was to busy with the battle.
"Golem, Rollout!" Toni said. After battling with the vulpix and glaceon, Golem wouldn't last much longer.
"Deluge, use Rapid Spin and get on top of him, then use Water Gun!" Thomas said. Golem and Deluge looked pretty funny for a moment, with the shell spinnign on top of the boulder. Then Deluge leapt off of Golem, and blasted him squarely with his Water Gun. The Golem was hit hard. One more attack ought to do it.
"Golem, Self-destruct!" Toni said.
"Wait, what?" Thomas asked. Golem grabbed the Wartorle, and blew up. When the smoke cleared, both pokemon had fainted.
"... What?" Thomas was dumbstruck.
"Golem was weak, and useless! What good is a pokemon that can't fight? If he can't beat his enemy, then the least he can do is take the enemy down with him!" Toni said. Thomas glared at her.
"There is more to a battle than winning!" Thomas said. He wouldn't let himself get angry. She was purposefully pushing his buttons, and he didn't like it. She sent out Nosepass. Thomas sent out Draco.
"Draco! Dragonbreath!" Thomas said. Toni ordered Nosepass to use Iron Defense. The Nosepass started glowing, and the dragonbreath just kind of did nothing. Thomas sighed. He would have to think of a way to get through that defense. He couldn't afford to lose.
 
Alyss said nothing in return, just tightened her hold on Silas' hand. She knew what Silas was about to do. She quietly pulled out a Pokeball and released it, revealing an Emolga. It silently flew after Leaf, going to pick up Arca and carry her away, while Leaf managed Vulpix and Wynaut. The two quickly moved back to the gap, hoping not to be noticed. Alyss thanked the higher powers that her Emolga chose today to be off her sugar rush.

Silas looked visibly upset at the Self-Destruct move. "What a hate-filled person." Seeing the three Pokemon, he took her hand again and they both hurried away, carrying the Pokemon out.
 
"Thank you," Esper said. Thomas saw the rescue and grinned. Toni got mad at that.
"What are you grinning about!" she asked. He shook his head. He had an idea. Nosepass was still using Iron Defense. That was a steel type move. Maybe a fire typ move could weaken it's defenses enough to get through!
"Draco! Use Ember, then Headbutt!" Thomas shouted. Toni's face held no emotion as Draco blasted a hole in the metal shell, then charged at the Nosepass. Draco misfocused, but that actually helped. Thomas stared in shock as the Headbutt turned into a Zen Headbutt. The Nosepass was hit hard by it.
"Nosepass, Explode!" Toni said.
"Not again!" Thomas said as both of the pokemon fainted. Granted, Nosepass had been hurt already from fighting Arca and Vulpix, but still. This was unnessecary.
"Rydon!" she said. Now this boy was getting to her stronger pokemon. Yet already he had lost two pokemon. This would be over to soon. Oh, well. She hadn't met an opponent that could beat her yet.
"Razor!" Thomas yelled. Razor trilled angrily at Toni and flew into the air.
"Rock Blast!" Toni said, sounding bored now.
"Show them your speed and use Steel Wing!" Thomas said. Razor easily dodged the projectiles coming her way and flew full force into the Rydon. That surprised Toni. Had this boy been holding his toughest in reserve as well? Not that it matters, he still had no chance!
"Fire Blast!" Toni said. The attack caught the fleeing Skarmory in the back. Toni sighed. Three down. Then Razor flew out of the smoke. She shrieked angrily.
"Razor! Are you alright? Ok! Use Air Cutter!" Thomas yelled. Razor blasted windy knives at the Rydon, who just stood there and took it.
"Now, Steel Wing again!" Thomas said. Razor flew in low towards the Rydon.
"Hammer Arm!" Toni said. Rydon brought his arm down on... Nothing?! Razor had broken off the attack, and soared over the Rydon's head. She performed a complex rolling u-turn, and smacked him on the back of the head with her wing. He swung at her again, but she had already gone back out of reach.
 
Alyss and Silas returned outside, walking past in the dark to avoid being caught by Marcus and TGP. Emolga rested herself on the back of Alyss' head, watching Silas carefully lay that Pokemon on the ground. "That kid better hurry. I'll have to heal his Pokemon too." Alyss nodded and rested her fingers near him. He needed a lot of focus to do this for many Pokemon. Silas sighed and called for healing. His voice, soft and mental, began to activate his ability. He was a healer, one of the best. His hands glowing a faint, earthy green, he placed them over Winny's wounds, working to heal them. Alyss watched warily, trying not to pass out. Her cuts were bleeding again.
 
Razor flew for all she was worth. Rhydon had gone ballistic, and was firing every projectile he could at her. She couldn't get close enough to hit him! Thomas, however, was watching carefully. He saw a pattern emerge, and slowly became aware of a time Razor could barely get an attack off. He waited for the time, then shouted, "Steel Wing again!"
Razor obeyed him without hesitation. She knew better than to question his judgement. She flew in and hit Rhydon as hard as she could. Toni had seen it coming, and had ordered Rhydon to use Hammer Arm. He caught her with the blow, and drove her into the dirt.
"Hold it there and use Hyper Beam!" Toni ordered. Thomas could do nothing but watch as Razor struggled to get loose. Then he had an idea.
"Use Steel Wing on his foot! Then get out of there!" Thomas yelled. Razor was barely abale to twist enough to hit the Rhydon with her wing. She hopped to her feet, but before she could take flight, Rhydon had blasted her with the Hyper Beam. Thomas called his fainted pokemon back. All he had left was Esper, Amber, and Volt. He was about to send out Amber, but Esper pawed at his leg.
"You want to fight? But you're hurt!" Thomas said. Esper ignored his protest and walked, slightly dizzily, out onto the battlefield. Thomas stared at him. Esper felt he could win, so that was enough.
"Use Bite!" Thomas yelled.
"Rock Blast!" Toni shouted. Esper ran toward Rhydon, barely dodging the rocks that came at him, he bit down on Rhydon's leg. Rydon kicked at him, and Esper let go, and jumped out of the way. The Rhydon turned and hit him with a Fire Blast. Esper went down. Thomas called him back. He wished he hadn't sent him out now. Volt or Amber.
"Volt! Use Double Kick!" Thomas yelled. Volt was out of his pokeball, and roaring at Rhydon. Volt charged at Rhydon.
"Use Rock Blast!" Toni yelled. Rhydon did nothing. Thomas looked at him carefully. Esper's attack had caused him to flinch! Thomas yelled in triumph as the rather large Rhydon was kicked twice in the head by Volt. Rhydon finally went down. Toni grimaced at him and gestured angrily.
"Lunatone! Use Confusion!" Toni said angrily.
"Dodge it and use Quick Attack!" Thomas yelled. Volt flew through the air and hit the Lunatone, sending it flying into the wall.
"How the hell do byou dodge Confusion!?" Toni said angrily.
"Same way you dodge Psychic!" Thomas said. He was still in deep water. This was not good. Volt wouldn't be able to take too much punishment, being an electric type and all. And Amber, well she wouldn't be able to take too many hits because she wasn't that tough. She was much stronger than before, but she was still only level 20! Everyone else on his team was level 26 at least! Esper and Razor were level 28 each!

Winny looked up at the boy healing her. Van and that glaceon he was working with were still out. Hmm, Agatha would want to know about this. She used her Destiny Bond to contact Trigger.
"Yeah?" Trigger asked. Winny shielded her thoughts so she wouldn't be overheard.
"Hey, Trigger, you at the base?" Winny asked.
"Yes. What's the situation? Trigger asked. Just like a bird of prey to be so direct.
"Well, I've got a lot of news. My mission went well. The AAPM has indeed taken over the Stonehenge gym. I have no clue what they did to Flint, but he wasn't there anywhere. I also ran into Van!" Winny said.
"Where is he? Will you bring that traitor in?" Trigger asked. Winny gave a mental sigh.
"He's under the protection of a CT. I have no way to get him alone. But that isn't the worst part. It seems that the five CTs aren't the only humans with power!" Winny said.
"What!?" Trigger asked.
"I got into a tough scrape. Van got hurt. We were rescued by two children. One of them is healing me as we speak. With a power. It resembles a move that a grass type might use. These children, they aren't CTs. They have an aura that is very similar to us. Let Agatha know, she'll know what to do. I'll report back after I find out what the CT will do next. He's a very trusting little human, you know," Winny said.
"I will do so. You have done well, Winny!" Trigger said. Winny was surprised. Trigger saved his praise for rare occasions. The Starapter was one of the highest ranking devisers. He would be listened to, then they could decide what to do with this new developement. For now, Winny let herself be healed without a fuss.
 
Alyss felt ill as she watched Silas move onto Vulpix. That Wynaut bothered her. Perhaps it was her ingrained paranoia rearing its ugly head. No matter, she'd think about it when she didn't feel so sick and dizzy. God blood loss was a jerk. Her wings fluttered anxiously, causing her to move on the grass. Silas didn't glance up as he mumbled. "Alyss be careful. They're obviously sore."

"I don't like it on the ground," she reminded him and he understood at once. He didn't mind forests and earth and nature but Alyss needed the sky. She preferred to be off the ground, even if it was on tree branches or high beds. Theo had understood that much at least about children with powers: they always had an attraction to what they were affiliated with. It was probably why Silas had been here in the first place.

"Fair enough but if you fly you'll get caught so just try to deal until that kid gets done with his battle and these guys are okay." She nodded, slightly sad, then turned to Wynaut.

"Um... you okay?"

~~~

"Zora?" The boy raised his head, having been staring out the window.

"Asha, it's way too early for you to kick my butt," he muttered, having suffered another sleepless night.

Asha rolled her eyes and planted an Adler by his arms. The Rufflet chirped a greeting. "Your Pokemon are too darn quick at growing, you know that?"

Zora raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Cause, girly-boy, I think Sparx is about to evolve again!" Zora didn't even attempt to comment on the girly-boy part because it was the truth.

"Didn't Dora evolve already?" Asha waved him off.

"Dora was going to already," she told him. "Are you influencing your Pokemon from here?"

Zora rolled his eyes at that. "I don't cheat Asha."

"Sure," she muttered. "Anyway, you're being sent off to Venice now."

"I'm still half-paralyzed," he protested.

"Mister Theo said: he can talk, he can fight." Zora groaned and nodded.

"Then let's go already." Asha helped him roll over onto Kira's back. "I'm going to enjoy physically fighting soon."

"Of course you are."

---

Doom (Houndoom) Level 27- Fire Fang, Bite, Smog, Howl
Sparx (Luxio) Level 29-Ice Fang, Roar, Tackle, Thunderbolt
Cody (Marshtomp) Level 25- Whirlpool, Mud Shot, Water Gun, Tackle
Adler (Rufflet) Level 26- Aerial Ace, Fury Attack, Wing Attack, Peck
Dora (Kirlia) Level 25- Heal Pulse, Magical Leaf, Psychic, Shadow Sneak
 
Bad News.

Agatha received rather...unhappy news. Not even her beloved Ghost Pokemon could comfort her. Apparently, there are others who possess powers, though minor to the CT's. Another piece of news, Mark has discovered his powers. The small recording piece placed on the photograph of the girl's grandmother had picked that information up. She contacted Garet through the communication system on his leg. She decided just to leave a message.

"Garet, I'm sad to say that the boy has discovered his powers. He can intensify any situation. Thank you for listening. Get that boy."

She pushed away her collar where the communication was placed. She took a sip of the cup of coffee that had been placed on her desk. She was so angry that the cup began to break. She put it down in a fit of rage. The boy's power was incredible, all of the CT's powers were incredible. The others had smaller powers, but they were nothing compared to the CT's. She sent a message to Garet again.

"Garet. Addition to the plan. Please relay this information to the boy, his father is not his biological father. Thank you." she kept her calm throughout the message. She had to somehow weaken the boy yet make him angry. Angry enough to go to that tournament and win. Soon. Soon, she would reveal herself to the others. Zoran, Thomas, Mark. Who next? Then she picked something important up on the recorder. Shauntal?
 
Should she even answer? Winny thought about it for a moment. Why not?
"I'm fine! Thank you so much for your help! I don't know what I would do if poor Van was seriously hurt trying to save little old me!" Winny said. This girl was an odd one. She turned her attention back to Van, who was stirring slightly.

Toni was livid. This damn Elektrike was making a mockery of her!
"Use Earthquake!" Toni yelled. Lunatone slammed into the ground, just as Volt landed yet another Double Kick. The battlefield shook and rocked. Volt was hit hard by the attack. When the dust cleared, both gym leadr and trainer alike were in for a shock. Volt was shining. His fur was turning blue and yellow. He was getting bigger, much bigger! He grew a fierce looking main! Volt had evolved into a Manectric!
"Manectric!" Volt yelled in defience.
"You've got to be ******* kidding me!" Toni yelled.
"Awesome! Volt, you evolved into a Manectric! Let's finish this! Use Double Kick again!" Thomas yelled. Volt leapt, and using his newfound power, kicked Lunatone into the dirt. Volt snarled at the Lunatone, daring it to get back up. It wisely didn't, and Toni called it back
"Worthless pokemon! Can't even beat one pokemon with a type disadvatage!" Toni snarled. Volt roared at her.
"To be fair, Volt kicks everyones rear," Thomas said.
"Machoke! Use Crosschop!" Toni yelled, sending out the fighting type.
"That's not even a rock type!" Thomas said.
"Deal with it, brat!" Toni said.Machoke rush quickly at Volt.
"Discharge!" Thomas said. Volt blasted Machoke, who took the punisment, and kept going. Volt was knocked into the air, and came down with a Zap Canon. Machoke caught the Manectric, after shrugging off another Zap Canon. He used Seismic Toss, and hurled Volt into the dirt. Volt got back to his feet, and was hit with Rock Slide. Volt roared at Machoke, but his leg was caught under a rock. Thomas called him back before he could get hit again.
"Amber! Use Quick Attack!" Thomas said. Amber rushed and toppled the Machoke by hitting his leg. The machoke got to his feet, and was hit with Sand Attack. He swung wildly at the Eevee. She ran circles around him, getting hit a few times, blasting more and more sand in his face. He was eventually as blind as Thomas was. Toni cusred at him.
"That's not a good way to motivate your pokemon," Thomas said reproachfully. She swore at him, and he just shrugged it off.
"Well, her team is falling apart, Amber, Use Tackle! Take him out!" Thomas said. Amber slipped through the flailing limbs, and hit him. She did this many more times, and he went down. Toni called him back. She smirked smugly at Thomas.
"Well, you've done well to get this far. But you will now face my strongest pokemon! Onix!" Toni said. The great rock snake bore down upon Amber.

My team:
Esper (Espeon): level 28, Psybeam, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Bite.
Volt (Manectric): level 27, Discharge, Zap Canon, Quick Attack, Double Kick
Razor (Skarmory): level 29, Steel Wing, Brave Bird, Air Cutter, Whirlwind
Deluge (Wartortle): level 26, Water Gun, Ice Beam, Rapid Spin, Withdraw
Amber (Eevee): level 21, Tackle, Quick Attack, Sand Attack, Growl
Draco (Bagon): level 27, Ember, Dragonbreath, Dragon Rage, Zen Headbutt
 
"Well it looks like you won't have to find out," Silas told her with a quiet smile. He could guess at her thoughts and felt that little protective urge rising up in his chest. Alyss seemed to ignore it: being way too used to being treated wrongly to bother with something as minor as that. He removed his hands from the Vulpix and went onto Arca, who groaned.

"That filthy woman kicked me," she snarled in tired fury. "I'll tear off her head next time, I swear it."

"No tearing off heads Arca, at least not while Alyss is nearby, looking, or can smell the blood staining the floor," Silas ordered coolly, reaching out to pat the albino on the head. Arca flushed and shook her head.

"Wait... Alyss, you're supposed to be back there."

"You were hurt," she said simply and Arca sighed. Of course. Alyss looked at Vulpis-Van, she thought to herself-, and decide to let the Wynaut greet the Pokemon first.
 
"Ugg... What happened!? Where am I?!" Vulpix said, getting to his feet. He looked around. He was out of that gym. Winny grabbed him in a rib-cracking hug.
"Winny! Can't breath!" Vulpix said.
"Van, I'm so glad you're ok!" Winny said.
"That isn't my name anymore," Vulpix mumbled.
"Oh, Van, you're so silly! What kind of a name is Vulpix anyway?" Winny said.
"A good one!" Vulpix said. She was as stubborn as Thomas was. Vulpix sniffed curiously at the newcomer. He smelled fine.
"So... Who's this? And don't worry. If Thomas is in a battle then he's fine. That's what he does, after all" Vulpix said politely.

Onix was tough. Amber was dodging Heavy Slams all over the place. She had tried to use Sand Attack, but that did nothing. Her attacks did nothing either. Thomas called her back after it was clear that she could do nothing to hurt him.
"Volt! Use Double Kick!" Thomas yelled. Volt kicked the rock snake, and left a crack in one of the rocks. Onix roared in pain, and Volt roared a challenge. Toni smiled.
"Use Rock Polish!" Toni said. Onix shone brightly, and his rocks were gleaming. He was also much fast, and caught Volt in an Iron Tail. Volt fought to his feet, and used Discharge. Thomas expected nothing to happen, and was shocked (yes, I know that was horrible) when Onix roared again. The Double Kick had created a weak point in the Onix!" Thomas was going to exploit it without mercy! Or he would have, if Volt hadn't been knocked out by Earthquake. Thomas sent out Amber.
"Amber! Use Quick Attack!" Thomas shouted. Amber flew straight into Onix's newly made weak point. She was causing damage, but it wasn't much. He had to win, though! Onix, even after polishing himself, couldn't hit the Eevee. She was too small! Toni ordered Onix to use Earthquake, sounding slightly paniced. Amber leapt into the air as soon as Onix slammed his tail into the ground. She had dodged that too? Thomas thought it was undodgable! Toni apperently thought so as well, for she was speechless. Thomas recovered first.
"Now! Use Tackle!" Thomas shouted. Amber ran up the Onix's rocky body, and tackled him in the head. She stood on his head and posed.
"Eevee!" she said proudly.
"Amber! Get off before he... Naver mind, you know better than I do," Thomas said. Amber leapt off his head as he slammed his tail on it trying to hit her. He rolled around and got up. There was a large dent in his head. Amber used Tackle to ram into his head. The onix went down hard, and didn't get back up. Thomas was speechless. He had won! Amber walked over to him, and squeaked st him. He picked her up. Toni recovered very quickly. She reached into her pocket, and threw something at his feet.
"As gym leader, I must tell you that you have won the Monolith badge. The next gym is in Venice. But you'll never get there!" Toni said. Thomas heard the sound of guns being prepared to fire. He smiled, and summened his power. He felt it, just as strong, and just as wild. Thomas called Amber back, and unleashed his power.
"Ah! My eyes!" was what he heard as he ran out of the room. He ran and ran as fast as he could, eventually feeling the cool night air.
"Thomas, over here!" Vulpix yelled. Thomas ran to join him. His head felt like it was on fire, and his shaky vision had faded back into the whiteness he was used to. Thomas collapsed on the ground, and shook his head. He couldn't think, not with his head pounding like that.

Toni opened her eyes and stood up. Even though she had dropped to her knees, spun around, and clemped her eyes closed, she was still blinded for a moment. The agents that had ran in were screaming their heads off. She examined one of them. His eyes had been burned out, leaving him sightless. She supposed she was lucky, but she couldn't pursue the boy now. She had no pokemon left, and wasn't about to go after him with regular weapons. Not when he had that kind of power. Instead, she signaled to the base and gave them a full report about what happened.
 
Alyss instantly hid herself behind Silas when Thomas appeared. Silas sighed and patted her head. He knew that he had to act like the older sibling- because, well, now he was older than her- she was pretending him to be. "My name is Silas and you're welcome for healing you." Arca leapt onto his head and purred. Knowing what she said, he grinned. "No problem Arca." He saw Thomas collapsed and sighed. "Let me guess: he was still under the aftereffects of using his power and used it again. Did I get that right: light user or are you still in too much pain to answer me?"
 
"No need to get so testy! But yes, I'm under the reaction. But I'll be ok. That was an intense battle," Thomas said. He forced himself to sit up. He looked around, unseeing though he was, and knew that someone was behind Silas. He could guess who it was.
"So, how are you feeling, Alyss?" Thomas asked, taking a wild guess. He put the badge he was clutching in the badge case.
"So... Anyone here know where the closest Pokemon Center is? My pokemon took quite a beating... And I need to heal them. Esper especially. I have no clue what happened to him, but he was in bad shape when we met back up," Thomas said. Vulpix remained silent. Winny looked around at him.
 
Alyss didn't speak, remaining quiet by Silas. Silas shook his head at her and carefully took Thomas's Pokeballs. "Don't attack me now, light user," the boy told him peacefully. "I'm good at some things and not requiring a Pokemon Center is one of them. Alyss, get ready." The girl nodded as he placed his hands on the ground. The Emolga placed the six Pokeballs on the grass as Silas glowed a light-green. The light spread to the objects, bathing the Pokemon in its light.
 
"Why would I attack you? Alyss trusts you, and that's enough for me. Thanks for healing my team. And my name is Thomas. Being called light user will probably get as annoying as being called Pokeboy. At least you aren't being obnoxious about it," Thomas said. He reached for the light, and though he could reach it, touching it set his head on fire. That was good. If that woman followed him, he'd be able to defend them. After Silas finished healing his injured team, Esper came out of his pokeball. He jumped in Thomas's waiting arms.
"Glad you're feeling better!" Thomas said. Esper sent his thanks to Silas. He also asked Alyss and Arca if they were alright. He made sure Thomas was out of the loop.
"So... What next?" Winny asked. Vulpix looked at her.
"Don't you have to report back to your base or something?" Vulpix asked.
"Nope! I'm not due back until morning! That means that we'll have all night together, Van!" Winny said. Vulpix sighed. Great, now there would be no escaping her.
"Well, Thomas, she has a point. What are we going to do now?" Vulpix asked. Thomas thought about it. He didn't know what to do next. He had just beaten his third gym.
"Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I'm going to Venice to get my forth badge!" Thomas said. Winny smiled to herself and relayed this to Trigger. She didn't know if they knew back at the base already, but they did now. And no one knew that she had been the one to tell them. Now, if only she could convince Van to come back with her. That would make things that much better.
 
Silas chuckled faintly before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted. Alyss whirled to catch him, looking upset. Her shoulders sagged miserably. Arca groaned. "Dumbest. Backlash. Ever." Alyss mumbled mental thanks to Esper and looked at Winny. She could tell when people were trustworthy. This person was but at the same time they were not safe either. She didn't say a word though, letting herself sigh.

"I... didn't think I'd see him again," she said softly. "We got separated... so long ago."
 
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