The Children Are Hunted

Zaria lost her fear of Psychic types for a moment as she burst into helpless giggling at the sight. Deciding to try and be visible again, she waved at Ember. "Hi! Don't go easy on Zoran when you fight him! He's too silly!"

"Says you," her brother grunted good-naturedly, observing the battle with one open eye. Doom was examining the Charmeleon, looking for its weak points.
 
Just before Thomas could call his first attack, he glanced over at Zoran. He sputtered, which he quickly turned into a cough as Zaria flickered into existance for about a second. This was not lost on Esper, who turned and hissed loudly at her.
"Maybe we should have this battle another time. I swear I saw a little girl over there. She vanished right in front of my eyes! Maybe I should lie down..." Ember said.
"No! C'mon! I want to battle!" Thomas yelled loudly. Ember smiled at him.
"You've got some real fire there, kid! Let's go then!" Ember said. Thomas called out Shadow Ball.
"Block it with Metal Claw, then couter with Flamethrower!" Ember shouted. Charmleon did just that. His calls shone as he swiped at the ball of dark energy. It exploded, and out of the smoke came a jet of red fire.

"Not as hot as MY Flamethrower! I have the hottest Flamethrower on this side of Pangea!" Vulpix said, as Esper leapt out of the way and retaliated with a rainbow colored Psybeam. It hit the Charmleon, who got back up instantly.
"And you have more hot air than anyone else on this mountain!" Marcus said to the Vulpix, who turned a deeper shade of crimson.

"Esper! Use Psychic!" Thomas yelled. The Charmleon was lifted into the air just before he began running at Esper. Ember smiled. She had something up her sleeve.
"Charmeleon! Use Feint Attack!" Charmleon' got a black aura around him. He swung his claws about. Black streaks appeared on Esper's flanks. Esper Shrieked in pain, and flung Charmleon into the rail. Esper was hurt badly and Thomas knew it. Charmleon roared in victory. Volt burst out of his pokeball and roared a challenge.
"You want to trade places with Esper?" Thomas asked. Volt just stared at him as if to say please. Thomas laughed, and recalled Esper. Volt eagerly took his place.
 
Zaria blinked. "Did I do something wrong?"

Zoran shook his head and laughed. "No sis you didn't but Thomas is in trouble it seems. Hmm, we'll see what happens here. Go Volt!" Zaria nodded and went over to Vulpix.

"You're silly," she declared to the Pokemon, making sure the Pokemon could hear and see her. "It doesn't matter if one species is better than the other. In the end, they both want to live, have families and all that stuff. Humans do bad stuff, Pokemon do bad stuff, humans do good stuff, and Pokemon do good stuff. They're equal and trying to separate those that have been together for a long time always has bad effects, like... when families die."

"What she's saying little guy, and you don't have to believe her," Zoran translated. "Is that what you're doing will cause more harm than good and that goes for all those extreme groups. The RDM, AAPM, and whoever else just want power is all, they don't care for the little people in the end, as long as they got the world in their pocket." Doom barked his agreement.
 
Volt advanced toward the Charmleon. His fur was poofing out, and he was sparking more than a little bit. He let out a deep menacing growl.
"Volt! Use Discharge!" Thomas yelled. Before Ember could react, Volt let loose a tremendous shock of blue electricity. Charmleon was caught in the blast and flattened. Volt let out a proud bark.

"What do you know! Nothing! Now back off, before I call in Merin to banish you!" Vulpix snapped at Zaria. Apparently she touched a nerve. Marcus stood there un able to think of anything to say to take the zeal away from those words.

Charmleon got shakily to his feet. Thomas could see that blast had hurt a lot.
"Allright! Way to go, Volt!" he yelled. Ember smiled at him.
"Quite an Elektrike you've got there. I don't want to battle it right now. Charmleon! Use Roar!" she said. Thomas didn't have to to ask. Volt let out a roar of defiance. Charmleon simply Roared. Volt crouched low, flattened his ears and smoothed his fur. He was trying to make himself small and less threatoning. Thomas could feel the power of that roar. It made him want to turn and run. The pokeball on his waist activated, calling back Volt. In his place, Esper was sent out. Esper struggled valiently to his feet. Charmleon grinned at him, and motioned his claw in a 'come and get me' kind of way. Esper ignored him.

"Why'd he send back out Esper?" Marcus asked.

"Esper! Psybeam then Shadow Ball! He won't be able to block both!" Thomas said. So, Charmleon knows Roar? Two can play at that game! Thomas thought to himself. As he predicted, Charmleon was caught by the Psybeam. Charmleon rushed in to use Metal Claw.
"Bite his tail and don't let go!" Thomas cried out. Esper bit down on Charmleons tail as hard as he could. The two of them pranced around, Charmleon trying to Metal Claw Esper and knock him out. Esper was doing his best, but he was hurt to bad. Thomas had an idea.
"Esper! Use Psybeam until he stops!" Thomas said. Esper wouldn't even have to let go. Charmleon was getting blasted over and over and Esper was clawed over and over. Charmleon then used Feint Attack, at the same time Esper threw him onto the ground with Psychic. Charmleon had fainted. Esper struggled to his feet, but he dropped again, unable to go on.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle! Please send out your next pokemon!" the ref said. Thomas hadn't even seen him! The man was a ninja!

"Go, Chimchar!" Ember said, sending in the monkey!
"Razor! Let's make the score 2 to 1!" Thomas said.
 
OCC: Capped internet sorry
Ventus woke up to see a dark dampy cell, his leg was chained and the only source of light came from the moon light. Charmander was no where to be seen of course it would be too easy to break out if he had Charmander. "Where am I?" he said to himself, a raspy voice replied to Ventus "So newcomer they get you aswell?" Ventus turned around to see an elderly man with very long white hair and to see another Miracle or a Pokemon next to him. "I see in your eyes that you want to get out... But I'm far too old for that." The old man laughed. "Hey is that a Pokemon." Ventus asked, "Oh Oshawott my first partner...." The old man sighed, "Even though he could of escaped all those years ago from captivity he came to my cell and became my compay. But now go and take Oshawott with you. He needs to see this world..." The old man's voice started to weaken. "You are going to go far kid." The old man's last word were. Ventus felt a tear drop roll down his cheek as he bowed his head in repect for his new found campainion, "Ohawatt?" it questioned trying to shake his partner awake, "I'm sorry about him but we got to get out now." Ventus ordered, "Oshawatt!!" It yelled iin approval and launched an Ice Beam to freeze the locks on Ventus's chains until they broke, "Now do the same with the lock." Ventus commanded. "Ohsawott!"
 
Zaria normally would've backed down but she didn't think she could. All she was good at was talking with people now, so she had to try her best, even if it meant treading on toes. "Yeah," she agreed. "I don't know anything. I'm just a kid and I haven't been very many places until now. Not even sure I'm supposed to be here right now..." She frowned and then smiled again. "You've been to lots of places right? Can you tell me one?"

Zoran smiled. This was his sister's favorite thing to do. Seeing she would likely be all right, even with the angry Vulpix, he turned back to Marcus. "Roar forces the opposing Pokemon back into their Pokeball and drags out another one. And now that they're tied..." He smiled faintly. "This would be good, if Skarmory wasn't weak to fire moves. Hope Razor can dodge."
 
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(Goodness, I woke up early! Time to continue the battle!)

Thomas smirked at Ember.
"You know, that Chimchar looks tough! I don't want to battle it yet! Razor, use Whirlwind!" Thomas said. Razor flew high and flapped her wings, sending out a fierce and steady stream of wind. Chimchar held on as long as he could, but was ultimatly sent back into his ball, being replaced by a Torkoal. Thomas smiled. Torkoal was very powerful, but easy to dodge. Especially now that Razor was in the air.
"So, you use my own stratigy against me? What other tricks do you have?" Ember said. Thomas snickered at her. Torkoal let out a tremendous Fire Blast. Razor deftly dodged it. She retaliated with Brave Bird, flying straight at Torkoal, But breaking off her attack when she almost flew headlong into a Sludge Bomb.

"I've been to lots of places. Working for the RDM always bring s me to new sights. What's your point?" Vulpix asked carefully. He didn't mean to blow up like that. But after everything that had been happening, he was a lot angry. Now, to top it all off, he was chatting with Casper!
"What have you seen in those places?" Marcus asked, eager for a good tale.

"Man, this is getting rough! Razor, use Brave Bird again!" Thomas yelled. Torkoal blasted out another Sludge Bomb, and this one couldn't be dodged. Razor fell to the ground, covered in nasty black slime. She got back to her taloned feet, and shrieked. Thomas got worried about her. She had been poisoned, and that would steadily weaken her. He had to end this battle fast.
"Torkoal! Rapid Spin!"
Thomas watched as Torkoal flew directly into Razor as she tried to take off. She hit the ground and rolled a bit. She climbed back to her feet. Thomas noticed how close to the edge she was. He smiled.
"Jump over the edge! Let the hot air carry you up really high, the use Air Cutter!" Thomas shouted. Ember gasped in surprise as Razor hopped off. Then she grinned as Razor soared high into the air, out of reach of any of Torkoal's attacks.
"Torkoal! Withdraw!" Ember shouted. Torkoal hid in his shell as incredible blasts of wind rained down on him.
"Allright! Brave Bird again! Go into a dive and get some speed!" Thomas yelled. Torkoal poked his head out, and yelled. The Skarmory was glowing pure white as she came into view. And she came fast! Almost too fast, but she controled her dive, and rammed into the Torkoal at full power, taking a powerful Fire Blast in the process. Torkoal was flipped onto his back.

"Torkoal is unable to battle! Leader Ember, please send out your last pokemon!" the ref said. Ember smiled, and sent out Chimchar.
"You're going great hun! Keep battling like this, and you'll go far!" Ember shouted. Thomas beamed at the praise. He had n't expected it to come from his opponent! He had to be careful, as this was far from over.
 
(You and me both.)

Zaria shrugged. "I just think that... when you went lots of places, freeing those Pokemon... did you meet all kinds? Did everyone want to be free? Did you consider how other people felt? Did you ever feel happy? Or are you always angry and sad?" She frowned to herself. "Zoran's a silly person, who doesn't really seem like someone you'd count on at first... but..." She fixed Vulpix a firm, pitying look, eyes intense. "I think he's a lot stronger than you are! We may not be able to use superpowers like you but that doesn't make you any better than us! We may be really smart but that doesn't make us better than you! You've gone to lots of places and seen stuff but you haven't grown at all! You're just a selfish kid like us!"

"Zaria," Zoran hummed. "Is all right girl. Chill." He went back to the fight. "Nice work Thomas! Keep it up!" Doom barked again, looking excited.

The girl nodded, looking slightly apologetic. "I'm not gonna make you change," she told the Pokemon. "I don't know what your life was like or anything... but if you do this and make this world only for Pokemon, it better be a good world. It better be one where people get along and don't cause wars for no reason. 'Cause if not..." She floated over their heads, turning back to the battle. "You haven't changed anything at all."
 
vulpix just sat in silence. These people may be right, he thought to himself. Between the lecture he just got, to the crazy tangled images that Espeon put in his head, and even what he was seeing with his own two eyes right in front of him! They were a stark contrast to what he had seen.

"Chimchar! Use Rock Throw!" Ember shouted. Chimchar picked up a rather large and heavy locking rock, and casually tossed it on top of Razor. It landed on top of her as she struggled to gain altitude, and pinned her to the ground. Thomas closed his eyes and waited for the ref. Instead, he heard Razor shrieking. His eyes snapped open, and he saw her trapped on the ground with a rock on top of her. She was flapping her wings as hard as she could and kicking up all kinds of dirt all over the place. He smiled.
"Razor, return!" Thomas said. He then sent out Volt, who predictibly yelled out a challenge. Chimchar responded with a friendly greeting.
"ELEKTRIKE!!!!!!!" Volt shouted, bristling all over, and sparking quite a bit. Chimchar jumped in surprise.
"Chimchar! Mach Punch!"
Chimchar blasted toward Volt, who tried to bite him. Volt got knocked in the face, and Chimchar ended up behind him.
"Fury Swipes!" Ember shouted. Chimchar started clawing at Volt, who kicked at him as hard as possible. Chimchar was Double Kicked in the chest, and went flying. He landed gracefully, which angered Volt. At Thomas's request, Volt used Discharge, which Chimchar was barely able to dodge.
"Volt! Zap Canon!" Thomas yelled. Volt charged the blue ball of electricity in his mouth, and shot it at Chimchar.
"Chimchar, block it with Rock Throw, then use Fury Swipes!"
Chimchar hurled a rock, which intercepted the Zap Canon, causing it to explode harmlessly. Then He ran toward Volt, who used Discharge. Chimchar got shocked, but continued on and clawed up Volt's side. Volt kicked at Chimchar, who jumped back. Volt was getting tired, and Thomas knew he wouldn't last much longer.
"Chimchar! Finish him off with Flame Wheel!" Ember said happily. Chimchar surronded himself with fire, and rolled at Volt.
"Dodge it!!" Thomas yelled. The tired Elektrike lept to the side, as the Flame Wheel came inches from running him over.
"Keep going! Don't let up!" Ember yelled.
"Catch up with Quick Attack!" Thomas said. Chimxhars attack missed again, and he rolled in another direction. Volt snarled at him and set off right on his heels.
"Now, jump on top of him, and use Double Kick!" Thomas said. The same thing had worked on Blitz, after all. Volt lept over Chimchar, and kicked him into the dirt. But he was burned by the attack, and fell to the ground. Instantly he was back on his feet.
"Elektrike!" Volt roared in trimuph. Then he fell on his side.

"Elektrike is unable to battle! Challenger Thomas, please send out you final pokemon," the ref said, as Chimchar got shakily to his feet. Thomas called back Volt.
"Great job, Volt. You fought really well!" Thomas said. He sent out the already weakened Razor, who took off immediatly.

"Chimchar! Use Rock Throw before she gets away!" Ember shouted. Chimchar threw yet another large rock, which barely clipped Razors leg.
"Someone needs to teach you that throw rocks at people isn't nice! Razor, Use Air Cutter!" Thomas said. Razor folded up her damaged wings, and let several blasts of wind go. Chimchar used Flame Wheel to dodge them, then lept skyward with Mach Punch. Razor did something epic then. She adjusted her wings, and streched out her talons and caught Chimchar! She was holding him by the shoulders and circling the battlefield, trilling happily.
"Wow... Didn't know you could do that! Allright! Fly higher, then come down using Brave Bird, just like you did with Torkoal! Plant that monkey into the dirt!" Thomas yelled. Razor did just that. She flew high into the air, the plummeted, gaining the blue-white glow of Brave Bird. However, due to all the damage she had taken, she couldn't control her dive, and ended up crashong both of them.
"Razor!!" Thomas yelled.
"Chimchar! You allright?" Ember asked worriedly. The dust settled, and Razor was standing alone. She took one hesitant step forward, and trilled happily. Thomas laughed at the sound. Her trill had a distinct sound, not at all like a bird. More like the chime of a bell.

"Chimchar is unable to battle! Leader Ember is out of usable pokemon, so the victor is Thomas!" the ref said. Both trainers walked out onto the field. Thomas ran to Razor and hugged her neck.
"Razor! You were magnificent!" Thomas said. She chirped at him, and nipped playfully at his arm.
"Great job! I haven't had a battle that explosive in a long time! You've earned the Magma Badge!" Ember said. She fished a badge out of her pocket and handed it to Thomas. Thomas broke out into a rather large smile.
"My second badge! Awesome! It's not going to be the last!" Thomas said with a smile.
 
Zaria let out a soft, merry cheer and Zoran sighed as he got up. "My turn," he said happily. "Doom, you ready?" Doom nodded, pawing forward. "You're just gonna have to wait though," he mumbled. "All righty Thomas, now it's my turn to show off. Whenever you're ready ma'am." As he passed by the Vulpix, he poked its nose. "Stop thinkin' man. Just watch, listen, and then decide. You overdo it and you'll never find your answers."

(I'll take control of her next post if that's all right. I haven't really decided what team she's going to use.)
 
Carlson sighed as the boss hung up the phone. It was better than having to sit around for a few weeks. So he was to go to Mt. Saint Helens? And the two kids there had teamed up, according to the boss.

It could be a challenge. Which was better than sitting around and watching for some RDM agent to come through. Carlson gathered up the few things he'd brought with him to replace the real attendant, whom he'd heavily bribed to take a break, then left. There was a plane to catch.

~~~~~

Garet slowed to a halt within the outer reaches of Tokyo. He'd noticed that humans were staring at him as he ran by. And he didn't need to be stared at. The Arcanine found an alleyway and hurried in, lying down in the middle of the alley and facing the only way out.

How was he going to find the boy in time? If he was indeed headed for the Gym, then the boy very likely wouldn't stick around once he was done there. And Garet, who couldn't read any kind of human words and didn't know Tokyo's layout, could waste time looking for birds who knew the way. Besides, what if the AAPM got to the boy first?

Garet's thoughts were interrupted as the messenger-Swellow flew down, landing on the handlebar of a nearby garbage bin. "How can anyone stand the stink of a city?" she muttered. "Anyways, the Shanghai base wouldn't answer your question, TruthSeeker. They did agree that the Tokyo Gym was the most likely place for the boy to go to, and they've found out from...Merin, was it? that the boy rented a room in Lavaridge Hotel. I have a map here for you to look at." The bird indicated her mini-satchel.

Garet shook his head. "What's wrong with asking birds around here for directions?" he asked.
"The base feels that this mission of yours is taking too long already," the Swellow answered, bending her neck to pull out a map with her beak. She dropped it on the ground before fluttering down after it. "And there's a general feeling that you need to work more with other Devisers anyways," she added, flipping the map open with her talons and beak.

After a minute or two, the section of map with a highlighted route was revealed. Garet spent a few minutes memorizing it before saying, "Thank you. You need to let the base know that the AAPM knows about the boy. They had a man in a bridge toll booth that had the boy's scent on a camera."

"They do?" The Swellow was agitated. "I'll let the base here in Tokyo know, it's faster to fly there. Bye!" She then flapped her wings before flying away over the rooftops.

Garet returned his attention to the map, mentally making sure he knew the way to go, then blew a spot of fire onto the paper. After the map had burned up, he stomped on the remaining embers with his paws to make sure it couldn't spread before leaving the alleyway. Time to run.
 
"Don't touch me!" Vulpix huffed as Zoran walked past. Thomas grinned at his friend.
"Sure, you can show off all you like! I hope you learned something from this battle! I look forward to seeing your battle style! Razor, return! You've earned a good long rest!" Thomas said.
"If you'd like to heal your pokemon, follow Kevin, my assistant. He'll show you where the Pokemon Restoration Machine is. It's an older model, and can't take more than four pokemon at a time, but it should be fine. As for you, get ready to battle," Ember said. (That was my last post as her, she's all yours!)

Thomas thanked her, and followed Kevin. He was about 16 years old, dressed in a similar outfit as Ember. His hair was the color of soot, and was in a ponytail. He sighed.
"What's up?" Thomas asked.
"It's just... I'm a little jelous of you trainers! You get to go wherever you like, and I'm stuck here!" Kevin said.
"Well, it's not like you are forced to stay here," Thomas said. Kevin smiled at him.
"Where would I go? I may already have to Magma Badge, but I'm not that good. What would I do?" Kevin asked.
"Whatever and wherever you like. And there's more to pokemon than the gym challenge! My friend Marcus isn't taking the gym challenge. You don't have to either!" Thomas said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Here's the machine. You just put your pokeballs here, and hit this switch. I'll be back soon, I've got to go pack my stuff!" Kevin ran off then. Thomas sighed as he placed the pokeballs on the machine. A few moments later, they were done. He walked back and stood naext to Marcus. The battle had already begun.
"We may have another companion! Who's winning," Thomas said. Marcus looked at him and smiled.
"Nah, I'm not coming with you! I'm going on my own, because you'd make me look bad. I was planning to go down the mountain with you, then head for the coast! Maybe we'll meet up again someday after that!" Kevin said. Thomas jumped. He hadn't heard Kevin coming up behind him.
 
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Ember grinned at the challenger. "You haven't gotten any badges right?"

"No ma'am," Zoran replied cheekily. "I'm a hermit from the mountain peaks and have been in bitter cold and heat, making sure we were all set."

"In that case, this will be a two on two. Does that sound fair?"

"Sounds just fine to us," Zoran replied, patting Doom's head. "Next time then buddy." Doom nodded, looking slightly put-out. Zoran grinned. Truthfully, fire scared him, but eh, whatever worked. THis would b a good chance to try and go against that fear. "All right Sparx, time to show some aggression. Take revenge for your fur!" Tossing the Pokeball, the Shinx burst out with a fierce growl, glaring at the spot where her opponent would be.

"Another electric-type? Well, that's good for later. Let's go Torchic!" Ember released a little chick Pokemon, who bounced on his talons as he landed. "We'll start things off with Ember!"

"Charge up buddy!" Sparx obeyed, running straight into the fireballs. She winced but kept going. Torchic dodged the Tackle but a bright light burst from Sparx's body, blinding the arena for a moment. When the light was gone, Sparx bit into Torchic's side and clung. The Pokemon squawked in surprise and ran around, the Shinx still clinging on stubbornly. Her body was still glowing yellow.

"Looks like you have a plan," Ember commented to Zoran, who smirked.

"No I don't. I just have ideas... now Sparx! Spark!" Sparx's body exploded with electricity and Torchic screeched in pain, releasing embers directly into Shinx's stomach. Sparx flew off, yelping in pain. "Don't evolve yet Sparx, not until this is over!"

"Why are you waiting? Won't she be stronger?" Zaria mumbled.

He nodded. "Of course she will. But that's why we're waiting. Sparx Ice Fang!"

"That move won't work," Ember pointed out as her Torchic engaged Sparx in a miniature wrestling match. They were moving all over the field, crashing into rails and debris.

"Yeah it won't... but that's the idea! Now Sparx!" Sparx pounced and leered at her prey as she bit again into his flank. Torchic shrank back then kicked her over to the ground.

Ember grinned. "Got you. Focus Energy and Rock Slide!" Torchic concentrated and hit the ground hard. From high in the cave, rocks fell. Sparx, dazed, was slow in rising as the rocks were aimed for her.

"We aren't losing yet, are we Sparx?" The Pokemon blinked then shook her head no. She ran with all her might, barreling into Torchic to avoid the attack. "Lucky for us, it has limited accuracy," Zoran commented.
 
"I think Ember is winning," Marcus said.
"Only because your friend was dumb enough to send out an Electric type against a trainer who is just as good with ground attacks as she is with fire attacks!" Vulpix said. Thomas looked at Vulpix.
"What's your problem? And besides, it worked for me!" Thomas said.
"You got lucky! Or you cheated!" Vulpix said at last. Thomas bristled at that.
"I don't cheat!" Thomas said angrily. Voly burst out of his ball and shouted his anger at Vulpix. Thomas turned his attention back to the battle.
"Go get her, Zoran! Show the gym leader who's boss!" Thomas yelled. Marcus and Kevin joined in the cheering. Thomas looked at Volt. He was staring at the Shinx on the battlefield, but thankfully he wasn't in attack mode.
"Are you going to be good?" Thomas asked Volt. Volt barked out his agreement, and sat still. Thomas decided to leave him out for now, but kept the pokeball in his hand.
 
"These two don't seem to need us, do they?" Ember asked as their Pokemon began wrestling again, Torchic Pecking at Sparx's direction. Sparx was bouncing back, dodging some of them and ignoring the others. "I gotta say, your Shinx is nimble."

"She likes gymnastics, I dunno why." He laughed, before watching Torchic attempt to divebomb Sparx. The Electric-type rolled out of the way, causing the Fire-type to get stuck in the floor for a moment. Flying out, he began to glow red.

"Well, there it is," the woman commented cheerfully. "Ember!" The fireballs were a lot stronger this time, Sparx flying back a fair bit. "I'm impressed you activated Blaze, knowing what it was."

"Oh I did? Whoops. Anyway..." Zoran chuckled. smirking. "I think it's time." Sparx glared again and this time, Torchic reacted, scrambling backward. Sparx's whole body was sparkling with electricity and the Pokemon ran forward, slamming Torchic against the rails. She used Bite menacingly at the air and Torchic flinched, still frozen in fear. Grinning, Sparx's whole body burst with blue electricity and Torchic screeched, surprisingly passing out.

Ember blinked. "How did you..." She saw Sparx's battered body still sparking slightly. "You've been using Charge this whole time haven't you?" Zoran nodded as his Pokemon ran back to him. "You said you didn't have a plan," she accused playfully.

Zoran grinned. "I lied." Sparx cheered as she began to glow, her body growing larger, like a young lion's, with a black mane around her head. "Good girl," Zoran told her, pulling out her Pokeball. "All right Cody, here we go!" The Marshtomp bounced out, grinning exuberantly.

"Looks like I underestimated you," Ember chuckled. "But all right! Slugma, time to turn the tables!" Out came the lava creature, bubbling softly.

"Cody, Whirlpool!" Cody spun, gathering water around his top fin. He fired the spinning water into the battlefield, making the ground a muddy mess and missing Slugma. "That's better huh?"

"This will definitely be more difficult," Ember muttered. "All right then! Smog!" Slugma exhaled a cloud of purple smoke, which Cody shook off, looking confused.
 
"My, that was shocking! Get it?" Marcus said. Thomas and Kevin groaned at him.
"Was that supposed to be clever?" Vulpix asked.
"It was supposed to be, but it wasn't," Thomas said.
"I think this is the first time we've agreed on anything!" Vulpix said. Thomas smiled at him, which he ignored. Volt growled at the Slugma and the Marshtomp that were on the battlefield. Thomas looked at him. Volt started walking towards them, making himself look bigger and more threatoning.
"Volt! They are trying to have a battle! Get back here!" Thomas said firmly. Volt barked back at him angrily, but returned to his side. Vulpix was laughing, as usual.
"Gee, you really know that one!" Vulpix said with glee.
"Oh, shut up!" Thomas said. He spotted Kevin texting someone.
"Who you texting?" Thomas asked. Kevin snapped his phone shut and hid it in his pocket hastily.
"Oh, no one you know. I'm going to take a quick hike around the mountain, you know, to say goodbye," Kevin said. He left the arena. Thomas got a funny feeling. But there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, so he ignored it. (Epic foreshadowing? Or mindless details? Hehehe.)
 
(Only you know, haha.)

"Cody, Mud Shot!" Cody fired a blast of mud from his mouth, blasting Slugma's face. Slugma countered with Rock Throw and Cody winced, his head hurting. Shaking off the dizziness, Cody charged, faster than usual.

"Slugma, Double Team!" Slugma clones were everywhere in the stadium and Cody blinked in confusion. His fin twitched and he sat there. "All right, Ember!" Slugma fired many fireballs, the clones disappearing. Marshtomp fired back with a Water Gun and overpowered it, slamming Slugma into the ground. Marshtomp kept up the attack, charging forward and releasing water on Slugma. Zoran blinked as the water disappeared.

He stared at Ember. "Um... I guess that's over?" Cody ran back, looking pleased at the sight of of his opponent unconscious. "Great job buddy... I guess?"

Ember stared a moment. "I don't think either of us were expecting that... your Marshtomp's strong. You should have used him from the start."

Zoran grinned sheepishly. "If Sparx hadn't needed to evolve I would have to be honest."

"Well regardless... Thomas' battle was intense... and you simply overpowered me in the end. Great job!" She held out the badge to him. "I guess that's what I get for underestimating you right?"

Zoran shrugged. "I think I just got lucky with Cody and with my fight. We'll have to keep training just in case." He returned Cody and Doom let out a cheerful howl. Zaria hugged her brother lightly as he left the bridge. "That was a fluke," he told her and she rolled her eyes. He grinned at Thomas. "So what now buddy? Aside from healing these guys?"
 
"The machine is upstairs, to the right. I'll show you in a minute. Ember, I need to say I'm sorry. I may have convinced your assistant to leave on a journey," Thomas said.
"Don't worry about it. He's been up in his room pining away to join some peace coalition or something. Anyway, Zoran, the closest gym for you would be New York! Thomas, I'd recomend the Stonehenge or Amazon gyms. It's up to you. Good luck boys, you'll need it!" Ember said. Thomas waved for Zoran to follow him, and began leading him to the PRM. Marcus was right on his heels.

"Ha, I was right! These are no ordinary humans! I'd best keep an eye on them until help gets here," Vulpix said after they had gone.
 
"Peace coalition?" Zoran repeated then he grinned. "Sounds good ma'am. Thank ya!" He waved at Vulpix. "If you're gonna stalk us, you might as well hang out. Come on!" Zaria was rolling her eyes at Doom, who grinned. Zoran went after Thomas, Zaria watching Vulpix. Zoran quickly healed his Pokemon and released Sparx again, who began to bounce around, proud of herself. Then she sat down, eyes demanding she be brushed. Zoran chuckled and obeyed. "We should wait for your friend."
 
"No need to wait, I'm right here!" Kevin said. He had reappeared almost magically as the group walked toward the cave they came inthrough. He looked like he had been working out, which wasn't surprising considering the fact that he was saying goodbye to a mountain. Vulpix had joined the group a little reluctantly, and was lagging behind everyone. Thomas and Kevin walked back out into the sunlight, ready to go. Marcus was right behind them.

"Hey, I know a shortcut down the mountain! It'll get us back at ground level by tonight! Isn't that awsome?" Kevin said.
"Yeah! Anything to get me off this rock!" Marcus said enthusiasticly.
"Hmm, you sure? It took us two days just to get this far," Thomas said.
"Well, you guys were noobs and took the harder path. Almost everyone does, and they are worn out by the time they reach Ember. That's how she usually wins. Then I take them down the easy path just to make them feel stupid. Hehehe, it's a bit funny, isn't it?" Kevin said, his voice a little distant.
"No, not really. It's quite mean spirited," Thomas said. Kevin made a pouting face at him.
"Allright! I'm sick of this mountain too, so I'm going with Kev! You guys can come if you want," Thomas said, turning to the others.
"I want off as soon as possible!" Marcus said.
 
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