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The Children Are Hunted

"I'm sure Razor would be happy to oblige. She's a sweetheart. So, Marcus, how did your training go?" Thomas said.
"It was awesome! I got Magicarp up to level 15! Clefairy is now level 13 and Magby is level 12! They are getting so strong!" Marcus said excitedly.
"As the bonds of trust between you and your pokemon grow, so will their strength," Thomas said sagely. Amber walked over to Deluge.
"Eevee?" she asked. Deluge looked at her, then at the apple he was holding. He held it above his head. She didn't like that, and started prancing about, trying to get it. Thomas laughed for a bit, but then she accidently stepped on his foot. He yelped, and sprayed her with Water Gun. She got up looking upset. Deluge started glowing. He dropped the apple, which she snapped up and ran. Deluge was enveloped in light.
"What the-" Marcus began.
"Hush!" Thomas said. The light receded, and Deluge stood still. He opened his eyes. He had evolved. He was now a bit bigger than before, and his tail had turned white and poofy. He seemed to have grown a pair of wings on the side of his head that matched his tail.
"Tortle?" he asked.
"All right! Deluge, you evolved into a Wartortle! Great job!" Thomas said. He ran into Thomas's open arms. Esper beamed at him.
"What's the big deal? Pokemon evolve all the time!" Vulpix said. Thomas looked him over.
"Oh, yeah! I have a present for you. It's a Fire Stone. The AAPM was going to use it on Amber, but I took it instead. Do you want it?" Thomas asked. Vulpix considered this.
"Think I'll pass. Becoming a Ninetails would be awesome, but if I stay small, I get noticed less. It's easier to sneak around," Vulpix said. Thomas wanted to tell him that he went out of his way to draw attention to himself, but thought better of it. He and Vulpix were getting more friendly with each other. He didn't want to blow that for a silly arguement. Thomas smelled smoke.
"Hey, you guys smell that?" he said getting to his feet. Esper hissed out a warning.
 
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Doom began to bark. He knew this scent. This kind of fire came from one of his own kind. He barked and barked, causing Zoran to roll over and look at him. "Fire?" he mumbled hazily, returning Cody and Sparx. Doom barked again and reflexively the boy grabbed his satchel and coat. He exited the room. "Doom smells fire," Zoran hissed coldly. "Houndour fire. Crap..." Unconsciously, he flared his own darkness. "Outside, someone's watching." He shook faintly. For the most part he had been hiding it but fire scared him badly.

Ash swore. "I don't have anything against this unless Lapras heals up. My fire extinguisher is currently not under my possession right now. We need to leave." She opened the door and the pair exited, waiting for the others. Zoran was pointedly ignoring the fire, staring at the other side of the building. His shadow snaked around him, growling low for him.
 
Thomas also ignored her. He felt his power building. He felt it, and grabbed it.
"You go. I'll take care of this," he said. Almost everyone listened to him, except for Esper, who had walked over to him, and Zoran, who seemed to be preparing his shadows. That was fine with Thomas. He would probably need the help. Thomas boldly walked as close to a fire as he dared. A brief exertion and a flash of light later, and the fire went out. If this hadn't been so deadly, he would have smiled.
"Zor, if you can't deal with this, then promise me you'll keep the other's safe. I can tell there is something wrong. If you can't deal with the flames, then please. I don't want you getting in the way. And you'll be the only one to keep them all safe. So promise me, if you can't do this, that you won't force yourself to try!" Thomas said. He built his power up even more, and put another part of the fire out.

(OOC: to answer your quiestion my power is light. A leader has to stand out, a leader has to shine! Get it? It was always going to be light/)
 
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(OOC: I figured. I knew they'd be utter opposites XD)

Zoran didn't even look at him, just kept walking away, the shadows growing stronger as he walked. "Get in your way?" he repeated. "Oh I do hope to avoid that" He closed his eyes and Doom began to howl. Opening them, he began to step forward, the shadows flaring toward the blaze and began to put them out. But a part was still snaked around his useless arm. "Come out," he said quietly. "You're after us right? Come out already." The shadow disappeared, falling back to swirl around beneath his feet. Thomas was likely perfectly able to do this on his own, until he overused his power. Ash could protect the others just fine, if Zaria helped. The enemy was nearby and he needed to destroy the enemy.
 
More complicated than chasing down a gazelle...

Garet had woken up soon after dawn and checked the virtual map. Upon seeing that the tracker's signal had moved, but was still on the same island, the Arcanine had made a request in the airbase for a tracker that could be hidden in his mane. It had a timer that would turn on his tracker after twenty-four hours (some sort of prototype, according to a human technician). In his mind, it was likely that, once he found Clair and subdued her, it would be easier for an RDM airplane to track him and transport them both to a base. Arcanines weren't able to hold phones, after all.

From the airbase, the running hadn't been really eventful, besides the terrain he had to traverse, and within hours, Garet was within miles of the tracker on Clair.

Another feature of the virtual map, as Garet discovered, was that it zoomed in as it got closer to the tracker itself. So, going by memory and the map, Clair was on a peninsula. The Arcanine smiled to himself as he got closer. So far, chasing Clair had been as easy as chasing a gazelle. No, the hardest part would be subduing her and keeping her in one place long enough for the plane to come.

Garet slowed to a stop as he spotted a building that stood out from its surroundings. Wait, had there been a picture of that on the pamphlet with the Tokyo Gym?...
He shook his head. In any case, the technician had told him that his tracker would send its signal after twenty-four hours of setting it, which meant tomorrow morning.

With that in mind, Garet retreated to a spot in the surrounding countryside that would serve well as a hiding place. It wouldn't use as much energy to wait until night to capture Clair. He would wait.
 
Discoveries.

Karen smiled as she witnessed the great power of the two children. Of course, one proved to have more finesse and RDM applicability than the other. The one with the Shadow Power. Incredible energy being used to control the shadows around her. Agatha would be pleased if she could kidnap him. There was a RDM base maybe within a mile of here, it shouldn't take long to transport. She heard the boy.

"You're after us right? Come out already."

Using Umbreon's concealing abilities, she walked over to Zoran without so much of being noticed. The boy was powerful, but unstable.

"We can help your power grow. Maybe...you won't be a monster anymore." she whispered in his ear before taking a small pin out of her jacket. With a twist of her fingers she jabbed it into Zoran. The pin would freeze up his body in the same state as he was in right now. She prepared to take him. After all, only the base had the antidote.

Next. Gym Battle and maybe RDM business.
 
(OOC: I didn't pick light just to be your opposite. Like I said, I was thinking of it from the very beginning. It just happened to work out that way :P )

Thomas focused on putting out the fires. He heard Zoran talk about the enemy they were undoubtibly facing. Thomas grinned.
"Yeah, you do the important stuff, and let me do the flashy stuff! I just hope it doesn't end up like last time! I wouldn't like waiting for you guys to rescue me again!" Thomas shouted to him. He focused more of the power. It was wild, and didn't listen to him, so he just unleashed it on the flames, watching them fizzle out. This is what he had done in the base, only it had been people and pokemon instead of fire. He focused his mind to the task at hand. He couldn't get distracted. It wasn't just his life on the line. Esper and Zoran were counting on him! Esper hissed and fired a Psybeam at something. Thomas turned to look. An Umbreon had just jabbed Zoran with something. Thomas walked over to them.
"Hey! What are you doing! Get away from him!" he shouted. Esper sent out distress to Zaria, and fired another Psybeam at the Umbreon.
 
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(OOC: Sorry that's kinda what I meant too :P)

Zoran stiffened just as Zaria screamed. He couldn't scream; it felt as though his very soul was being frozen. Mentally, he howled and that was what caused Zaria to take action. She could see something just past the Umbreon near her brother. "What are you doing to Zoran?" she screamed out, making sure even the non spiritual could hear her. "Let go of him! Let go!" The power was building, too much for her body. She soared forward, intending to find a way to murder whoever it was. "Leave Zora alone!" Zaria had no clue what she was doing but her brother was in pain and that was not allowed while she had a chance to try and stop it. But could she help? She entered her brother's head but the shadows were frenzied, afraid and her brother was crying, in a state of fear and disbelief. She tried attacking, not sure how, but it was sent back, terribly painful. She tried again. Zaria would not be alone now.
 
Useless in the Fight.

Karen laughed to herself as the Psybeams were redirected off Umbreon's dark power. Psychic attacks wouldn't work on her Dark Pokemon. She told Umbreon to use its own Psychic and blasted away the Espeon. When she turned to take him, she felt a ghostly presence. Something was pulling her away, then she saw her. A small ghost-like girl. She seemed to have a strong connection to Zoran. It appeared that she would have to take her too. She saw Thomas and the Espeon fight against her power. Maybe she had misjudged this situation, but it was too late. The venom had Zoran frozen and his nerves on end.

"Umbreon, use Psychic on that ghost thing. We're taking it too."

Umbreon glared at the girl. He captured her in his Psychic and they began to make an exit. The base was maybe a mile away. She left behind a small card with the base's location. Karen was more devious than Agatha knew. Maybe she would be able to get both kids or none at all. But, she would be able to observe their powers more. She took the boy under her arm and began to run, with her Dark Pokemon leaving behind an aura as black as night.

***************************************************************

The battle was about to begin and Mark had only moments to prepare for his battle. Clair and Darrell were catching up. He was in the hallway to the battlefield and was looking over his Pokemon. He had five now. Fright, Volcan, Gligar, Ducky, and Fighter. He had decided to use Fighter and Fright. But, now he needed one more. He decided on Gligar, since he had sat the last one out. Darrell looked at his Pokemon.

"Let me help you, challenger. I suggest you take some time to go catch another Pokemon. It's a decent team, but, it has a slight gap. Let me see if you know what your team is missing."

"Is there a lot of Pokemon near here?"

"Yes. Shadow Forest."

"Shadow Forest, where's that?"

"If you leave the gym and continue to west, you will certainly find it. Of that, I can assure you. Now, unless you find a suitable Pokemon in the time I've given you, I will not face you in a match. Compendre?"

"Time?"

"Yes, you have two hours, and only two. Deux! If you fail, you will prove no challenge."

Mark got up and ran towards the outside. He would do this quickly. What was he talking about, a gap in his team? He wandered aimlessly for half an hour. What would he do? Without this Pokemon, there would be no chance of battling Darrell. What a useless half hour. The only Pokemon he saw that seemed cool was a Sewaddle, one of the few Pokemon he knew by memory. The small bug crawled up a tree. He realized this would be the first Pokemon he actually battled. He motioned for Ducky to come with him.

"Go use an Aerial Ace!"

The Sewaddle watched Ducky come close and sent out a String Shot which covered Ducky'swing and fell to the ground. Ducky became angry and smacked Sewaddle with its wing before flying back to Mark. The Sewaddle sent out a Razor Leaf that scraped Ducky's sides but he continued with an Aerial Ace. Then, the Sewaddle opened its mouth and sharpened its teeth. It bit down on Ducky's bill who fell over on top of the small bug. Mark threw the Pokeball which bounced off Sewaddle's face. The red beam of light assimilated Sewaddle. Mark waited.

Female Sewaddle: (Level 19) String Shot, Razor Leaf, Grasswhistle, Bug Bite
 
Esper was knocked out. Thomas ran and picked him up, and while he did that, Zoran had been taken. Thomas stumbled around in the burning building, trying to find the exit. The smoke was blocking hid vision, and he was coughing up a storm.
"ELEKTRIKE!!" Thomas heard a pokemon yelling. A flash of green and yellow flew past him and kicked some of the rubble out of the way. It turned around and tugged on his pants leg. Thomas followed it meekly, with Esper still in his arms. He emerged into the sunlight. He followed Volt, who was the one that had saved him, far from the fire. He collapsed to the ground. He looked at Esper, who was starting to come to. Volt growled sadly at him. Thomas felt for his pokeballs. He grabbed Razor's ball, and pulled it out. The other two were missing. He then remembered that Amber and Deluge were with Marcus and Ash, as were Zoran's pokemon and Vulpix. Volt dropped a card on the ground. Thomas rubbed his eyes, and read it. He blinked and read it again. It seemed that there was an RDM base nearby. He pulled out his phone and called Marcus.
"Hey, put me on speaker phone so everyone can hear me!" Thomas said.
"Allright," Marcus said. Thomas heard the push of a button.
"Can everyone hear me alright?" Thomas asked.
"Yes! What's going on? Are you alright?" Marcus asked. Thomas ignored him.
"That fire was an RDM trick! They got Zoran! Either they want a showdown, or they were stupid, because they left me instructions on how to get to their base! It's not to far from here, and on Razor's back, I can get there in 5 minutes!" Thomas said.
"I know where that is! It's going to be tough to get in and out of there! I used to work from there, so I would know!" Vulpix said.
"I want you guys to head over there as fast as possible, I'm going to need the help. I've only got half my team, and Esper is out of comission right now! And Zor will need his team when we get there! Do you understand?" Thomas said. A plan was forming in his head.
"Yeah. I don't really want to show my face there, but we have no choice! Zoran needs us!" Vulpix said. Marcus chimed in his agreement. Thomas smiled. He had such wonderful friends. He had sworn he had seen them take Zaria too. If either one of them had been hurt, Thomas was going to tear that base apart! Thomas thanked his friends, and hung up the phone. He had an idea to work with. He pulled out the AAPM earpiece that he had. He had turned it off long ago. He wasn't going to use it if he didn't have too, but if needed to, he would. He put it back in his pocket, returned Volt and Esper, and climbed aboard Razor. He told her where to go, and let himself recover from the strain of what had been happening.
 
Zaria writhed and screamed in the Psychic grip. She was being stolen too! She remembered now why she feared the Psychic type and their moves. Still Zoran was frozen and apparently in pain. The woman was laughing as she took them away, leaving a calling card. A trap. She couldn't warn the others like this. But... at least she could help her brother, who had fallen eerily quiet. She tried mumbling to him, trying to calm the frenzied shadows. It worked, if only a little.

Ash grabbed her friend's Pokemon and Thomas', releasing her Charizard as she went. Climbing on, she held out a hand to Marcus. "Hop on kid and hurry it up." Her tone was cold but not towards him. She was ready to tear the city apart. Zoran would have done the same for her.
 
Marcus scooped up Vulpix and climbed on the Charizard. He looked over and saw a silvery blur flying through the sky.
"That's got to be Thomas! I hope he knows what he's doing," Marcus said.

Thomas did indeed know what he was doing. He continued tapping into the power, feeling it well up under his barely maintained control. His arm was hurting, and he used that pain to focus. He knew he would pay for ignoring the reaction headache, but that wasn't important right now. He knew what he had to do. He ripped the sling off and stuffed it in his bag. He flexed his arm, and grimaced at the way it felt.
"Set us down there!" Thomas said to Razor. He walked around until Ash's Charizard landed a moment later. Marcus jumped off, and set the squirming Vulpix down. Thomas didn't wait for them to ask any questions. He launched straight into his plan.
"All right! Here's what we're going to do! Ash, I need you to take that awesome team of yours and go to the other side of the base. Cause a big disturbance! It has to be you, because I'm going in and Marcus isn't quite skilled enough to handle your pokemon well," Thomas said with sorrow in his voice.
"What about me!?" Vulpix asked, still a little shaken from flying so high in the air.
"You're coming with me! You will show me around the base. We will find Zoran and Zaria. They will likely be together, but maybe not. So I need a potion to heal Esper enough to sense her. If they are together, it will bring me right to him, and if not, she will be able to find him. Any questions?" Thomas said. Marcus nodded as he handed Thomas a potion.
"What should I be doing? And what about Zoran's pokemon?" he asked.
"I'll take Zoran's pokemon with me, as well as Esper and Volt. When I meet up with him, I'll give him his pokemon, and the two of us can fight our way out if needed. You're going to stay here with Razor, Deluge, and Amber. That way, if we need to, you can fly Razor in there and get us out. If all goes according to plan, we meet back here! Got that? Anything else?" Thomas said, still flexing his arm, trying to focus the power that was at his fingertips.
 
Ash nodded at her order. "Problems: Zora got paralyzed and Zari's currently being held by psychic ability. Esper won't be able to sense her while that Dark-type's nearby either. And unless you can find a way to fix Zora's issue, we're in trouble. And..." she hesitated but plowed on. "We should switch roles. The person who took Zora likely wants you too. It'd be best if only one of you was captured instead of both. Besides, we need some sort of mole now that Vulpix is one of us. And Zora's much better at acting than you are Thomas."
 
"I've got answers to those problems. Esper is a pyschic type! He can sense the pyschic energy, and follow it. That Umbreon will have to be mantaining the power, or it will fade. It's tough, but it won't be able to take on six pokemon at once! After that is done, we can make it tell us what was used and what the antidote is. And it will be just as dangerous being the distraction as it will be sneaking around the camp! But if you want to loan me one or two of your team, I won't say no. Also, Zoran's power was being unleashed when he was taken. If worst comes to worst, I can match his power with my own. You can't. I may not be suited to this as good as Zoran would be, but he isn't here! And if needed, Vulpix can pretend he captured me, but I doubt that will be required. And I'm well aware that I'm wanted too. They won't expect me in their base, because that would be stupid! So they will be surprised if they find me, they will hesitate, and that will give me an opening. I won't hesitate. But, just to be on the safe side, give me your phone number. That way you can come blazing to the rescue. But let's hope it doesn't come to that. And I'll hide Vulpix in my bag, that way he won't be noticed!" Thomas said. He was glad she was here questioning him, forcing him to think in even greater detail. He wondered what flaws in his plan she would come up with next, and how he would solve them. Marcus had no questions.
 
Back to Base-ics!

Karen entered the base with both children, the ghost and Zoran. The ghost had shaken all the way there. Finally, she wouldn't have to deal with the constant yelling. She radioed Agatha to phone in the good news.

"I've got one of them, Zoran. The others must be on their way by now. They'll be here in maybe 10 minutes."

Agatha smiled the beautiful smile she only used when she was happy, "Good. Your mission is done. Congratulations."

"Whatever happens, I don't really care, the losers at this base will deal with it. 'Kay?"

"That sounds fine. But, those losers know where to put them."

Karen knew about that as well. It was a RDM Room of Disenchantment. In there, Pokemon would lose their abilities and the CT's as well. It was designed as a detention centers for spoiled agents. But, after the grand discovery that CT's had their power resonate the same way as Pokemon, it was designed to consider them as well. Now, she walked down the stairs with the two children by her side. They were still levitating due to Umbreon, who walked in front. On the count of three, she pushed them into the room and pulled Umbreon back to avoid the pain. Zoran wouldn't feel anything, yet. She had no idea about the ghost girl, and frankly didn't care.

**********************************************************

Sewaddle, a.k.a. Buggy, was enjoying her time on Mark's shoulder. On the contrary, Mark was panicking. What if he hadn't caught the right Pokemon? He wouldn't gt to challenge Darrell. He arrived back at the gym. He took a step inside only for his knee to shake. He was too afraid of rejection. But, Darrell and Clair found him first. Darrell stared at the Pokemon on his shoulder.

"Perfect. A Bug-type Pokemon. You see, Bugs are great against Dark-type Pokemon. Just, not mine."

Mark was curious to see what he was talking about.

Next. Gym Battle. Karen vs. the CT's.
 
Ash sighed, thought a moment, then handed him Kira's Pokeball. "He'll fight on his own, he doesn't know or care who you are. And if you can't sense Zari, he might be able to find them with Aura. But might is the key word. If I'm thinking right, these guys have a way to go against superpowers or whatever these are. And you should assume you're walking into a trap. Grunts are stupid: higher ups aren't. Another thing..." She shook her head. "I have a feeling they'll be expecting you because like Zari's been thinking: you're more of a reckless idiot. If you didn't go after your friends, you wouldn't be you. So be careful." She switched Carrie for Riley, who huffed at them with annoyance.

~~

Zaria had fallen silent. This place made her ears ring. What was it? Well, at least she wasn't frozen anymore. She immediately looked at her brother, who was very still, both physically and mentally. His hazel eyes were wide with agony and possibly terror. But he still couldn't move. Zaria peered inside his head and to her shock the shadows were also frozen. But at the same time, they were boiling and her brother was numb to it batting the tiny black needles that were stabbing him on the inside. She tried to sense Esper but... nothing. She couldn't feel him at all. The only one she could feel was Zoran and that bond was dulled slightly. Now everything began to hurt. She whimpered but forced herself to be silent otherwise.
 
"Believe me, this may be reckless, but it's the only way I can think of. I wish I could think of something more sensable, but I can't. Marcus, take Volt. I don't need two electric types, and I hate to say it, but Zoran's Sparx is better trained as well as being slightly stronger. I think you may be right, about stopping powers like that. And of course this is a trap! I would expect nothing less. If I need any help, you two will know it! I'll be very carefull, I promise!" Thomas said.

He smiled at them, and began walking toward the base. He called out Esper. Esper was looking a little rough, but not to badly off.
"Hey, can you try to sense Zaria?" Thomas asked when they reached the outside of the base. Esper tried, but something was blocking a casual sweep. He refused to do anything more, as that would tip them off. Thomas sighed, and tried to think of something else. He didn't want to use the Lucario to soon. He hoped he wouldn't have too. He had an idea.
"Doom! Come give me a hand!" Thomas said. He didn't know if the Houndour would listen to him, but he hoped it would.
"I need you to try and track Zoran's scent. Can you do that?" Thomas asked. He knew that Doom could do that, but would he? That was the question that needed answering.
 
Doom stared at Thomas. The boy would help his master? But he needed his help? Should he? It would save his master; it would save the boy who had saved his life. Doom barked in soft agreement. He sniffed the air and barked, running inside quickly. He could faintly smell where he had been and where another Dark-type had been. It was hard to smell him though: something was blocking his nose. But he could kind of do it. He didn't wait for the boy. He would find his master. Sparx leapt from her Pokeball to join him. She had been Zaria's before the girl had died and then she had become Zoran's. She would not lose him too.
 
(OOC: I'm going to assume Ash is doing something very noisy right about now!)

Thomas was shocked. Doom ran off without him! Then Sparx took off after Doom! Thomas ran to catch up. He caught sight of them as he rounded the corner. Esper used Psychic to lift them off of the ground.
"I know how eager you two are to be reunited with Zoran! You want it more than I do! But we have to be careful! I don't want you to get caught too! We need to stick together and work as a team! And don't think I want to replace Zor! You guys would rip me apart if I tried that. But until we find him, please listen to me! I need you, alright? Please, I don't want anything to happen to you guys. Zoran would be crushed if you got hurt trying to help him, especially if it could have been avoided! So I'm begging you, don't run off like that! You could run right into a trap. Zoran isn't going anywhere! I promise!" Thomas said. He hoped he got through to them, and signaled Esper to let them down. If they ran off again, he was ready to follow. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Things were already going wrong. But he had no time to worry. Zoran needed him, and his own pokemon!
 
Doom easily broke free of the Psychic and escaped them again, gone in a flash. As if you could hold a Dark-type with attacks of the mind! Sparx huffed and sniffed. Her nose wasn't as good as Doom's but she could follow the trail too. She heard the sound of an explosion and purred. Good work Ash. She started forward again, this time letting the other trainer catch up. Slow brat. Meanwhile Doom was snarling and running around anxiously. Doom had not been searching for his trainer. He had been searching for the one who had originally stolen him. That person would be killed. He would roast her with burns that could never heal. He swore it.

Outside, Ash let out a whoop of excitement as the back of the base began to burn. Had to love Carrie and Riley blowing things up. She could hear a few people heading this way and nodded to herself. This was going to get gruesome really fast.

"Riley! Volt Tackle!"
 
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