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The Children Are Hunted

Ash nodded and sighed. "Zora... teach him the meaning of fear." Zora sighed.

"Do I gotta?"

"Yes, since he can't believe in himself enough to stop himself. Weakness leaves a crack in the heart." For some reason, she was smiling. "A crack you exploit the best."

"True..." Zoran faded, literally, into black wisps. "Guess I don't have a choice." Zoran was gone yet there was a hollow feeling in the air, like a winter night. "Can't catch me..."

Ash chuckled. "Sorry for the lie but Thomas, watch your shadow." Zoran formed in it ,standing behind Thomas with a knife resting at the back of his neck. "One of his first tricks: Shadow Manipulation. Ever see a Gengar's move? Think like that."

"You better move or kick me back," Zoran hummed. "Or I'll just misplace this in your throat." Mickey snorted. Game start.
 
Thomas sighed and shook his head. He was engulfed in the crimson light, which then flew to the top of the RV and reformed into Thomas. He was sitting and examining his hand as though he had never seen it before. He was sitting in the sunlight so that his shadow was cast on the ground, so there was no way Zoran could pull that trick again.
"c'mon you guys. I thought you knew me better than that. If I was still scared of my power, I wouldn't be able to tap into it so well. My fear would be locking me up. But at the same time, I know I still have trouble controlling my power. It is driven by emotion, and I've lost myself in it before. Doesn't mean I'm afraid. Just that I'm not sure I can control it now. I've never used this part, not controlled at any rate. But I doubt I'll lose control. I was just warning you on the off chance I did. And just because I don't like how it feels, doesn't mean I can't use it. Now, if you would all kindly stop treating me like some kind of baby, I'd like to teach myself how exactly I can control this part of my light,"Thomas said, sounding rather bored. Thomas focused the light into a glowing red sphere about as big as his fist. The next move was theirs.
 
Zoran laughed. "How naive." Sneasel cooed from next to Thomas. He had been up there for ages. Zoran popped up and tore intpo Thomas' back, following by kicking him off the roof. "so cool," the boy mumbled gleefully. "you could die." he leapt down effortlessly to fire small black orb. It attached itself to Thomas' arm.

Ash smiled. "Didn't say you were. Just to be nice I'll warn you to leave that shadow alone. Take it off and I'm not responsible for what happens."
 
As Thomas fell to the ground, he blasted light right back at Zoran, knocking him a few feet away. He examined his arm curiously.
"Uh... You do know what my power is, right?" Thomas said. He turned into light again, causing the shadow to dissolve harmlessly. He didn't know what it was supposed to do, but he wasn't going to find out. He reappeared a little behind Zoran and engulfed him in light. Zoran would escape it soon, but it still gave Thomas time to do something. Thomas could protect himself from any lingering effects, like whatever that shadow had been, but immediate, direct attacks were tougher to deal with. Thomas blasted more light at Zoran.
 
Zoran merely smiled as the shadow returned to him. It was dripping with red.The light vanished into the blackness. "And my power is darkness. It won't work too well, especially against mine; the all-consuming kind." He flipped back and threw the shadow, not at Thomas, but at Mickey. Mickey caught it and blood dripped into his hand. He rolled his eyes. Zoran chuckled childishly. His amusement was growing. "That attack is really dumb. Is all you can do is straight-forward stuff? So silly." He reached out and vanished. "Try and catch me... come on try... Guess where I am, where the enemy is..."
 
Thomas smiled. Of course he could find him!
"You know, that isn't all I can do. But you've got to figure that I won't be able to do a lot, after all, I've never tried to make attacks before. But, here goes nothing," Thomas said. Thomas knew they would probably cancel each other out. After all, light and darkness were equal and opposite. He just had to focus... No, that would get him no where. Tightening his focus would make him trip over himself. He directed the light to seek out Zoran. He had a different kind of darkness than the rest, other than Zaria, and Thomas wasn't going to confuse the two. Zoran couldn't hide from him.
"You're right there. Now, I can do something similar, but you would be able to find me the same way. You may be the all consuming darkness, but my light is just as powerful. It's just a matter of me learning to use it as well as you use the darkness," Thomas said once he found him. Thomas illuminated Zoran so everyone could see him. He didn't strike out, just tightened his defenses a little.
"Bring it!" Thomas said with a confedent grin. This was very informative, and not just about himself. Zoran seemed to be a different person when he used his powers this much. And neither of them had even scratched the surface of what they were both capable of. This wasn't anywhere close to being over.
 
Tony Ketchum's Walking on Air!

Clair whirled around and saw Tony's eyes glow, his feet no longer touching the ground. He banished the smoke, and Clair squinted to try to see who was driving that plane. Her blue hair untangled at just the wrong moment and all she could see was a blur of blue hair. Suddenly, she felt constricted. She was in a net; she knew the feeling. She looked over at Tony who seemed to be in some sort of trance. Mark looked exasperated, as if he didn't know what to do. In his frustration, the grass began to grow around him, ensnaring him in his own power. It was up to her to figure something out.

"Mark, sharpen up that grass."

She still had barely enough time to think up a plan and worry about Tony's ability. She would focus on getting out and erase the latter from her mind. Mark stopped squirming and focused on cutting through the net. She couldn't see if the pilots had landed yet, all she could see was the open sky behind the net. Then she heard it, a strange beeping coming from her neck. In all the excitement of her journey, she hadn't noticed they had been following her. She grabbed the small blinking machine from her neck and threw it down, but when she removed her hand, she noticed there were two. Who's was that? The AAPM didn't make things like that, they weren't as cleanly manufactured.

"Thanks for the trouble you went through, but those caputrees are coming with me. AAPM rule!"

Clair tried to move her head to see who was talking, she had heard the voice before. They were from the AAPM? Johnson "Clay" Underoot! He was another Field Agent. Sure, she was happy to have someone on her side again when she remembered what she had done. She was a traitor. The AAPM would take Mark and Tony. Mark had just finished cutting through the net. Tony was still in his trance. Clair was stuck. The RDM agents, she didn't know.

Next. Super Ultra Mega Confrontation.
 
Zoran was laughing. "He doesn't get it, he doesn't..." Ash chuckled. This was Zoran's specialty; the shadows were playful creatures. Zora couldn't feel any power loss; it must have been the headband. "It's just a game; the world's a game..."

"Zora..." Ash whispered. "What's it like in that darkness where no light shines?"

The boy laughed. "It's dark." He stood slowly. "Hit me with everything you got!" he encouraged Thomas. "Or you'll die!"
 
"My light can pierce even the deepest darkness! And I'll prove it to you, but don't say I didn't warn you!" Thomas said. He summoned up all the power he had, and blasted Zoran with everything he had. He didn't waste time with physical attacks. He sped the light through the darkness itself, for a much more effective attack. Zoran would be hit twofold, once from the attack, and again from the after effect of having the light inside him. Thomas knew it was cheap, but Zoran had asked for it. And while he was fighting Zoran, he had to use all the cheap tricks he could think of. Thomas finished his attack, and fell to his knees, his vision starting to fade.
 
Zoran laughed happily, feeling the shadows roll in pain. He was so used to light from the sun but the shadows hated it and they were getting angry. The shadows boiled and bubbled. He tilted his head curiously, now starting to feel pain. Were they eating the light? They could be. Doom was awake and barking. "So cliche," he mumbled, seeing Thomas falling to his knees. "You lose," he laughed and walked forward. It did hurt, but honestly, it didn't hurt nearly as much as he expected. Raw power usually bothered him a lot, made him hurt. But... he was surprised at how little it did to him. Oh... the shadows were eating it, taking the pain. That made sense, somehow. "Sorry," he added cheerily as he walked over to Thomas. "I'm not a fair player." He kicked Thomas in the stomach, hands in his pockets. That smile was on his face, the one Ash considered his game-smile. It was contemptuous and playful, simply worn to mess with people's heads.
 
Thomas coughed a little. But he reached up and grabbed Zoran by the throat.
"Sorry Zor, but I don't play fair either!" Thomas said. He held onto Zoran, and gathered his power back up. He was almost completely blinded. He was a lot bigger and stronger than his opponent. He shoved Zoran agianst a tree. He punched Zoran in the stomach. He couldn't see at all. He sent the light he had gathered straight through his hands, blasting Zoran as hard as he could.

"I don't think you quite get me that well. You've done nothing but underestimate me since we met! You've been coddling me as much as I've coddled you! Now, you seem to think you're better than me! Hah! As if!" Thomas said, the anger he had been channeling to fight getting the better of him. His power was returning as he said that. That was one thing he was thankful for, the fact that his power came back very fast. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was standing in the sunlight. Better remember that. He threw Zoran to the ground and took a few steps back. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. Zoran was deliberately provoking him, and that was his mistake. Thomas's power, as he had explained many times before, was emotion based. The more he felt, the stronger he was. He was barely able to focus his power, but managed it.

Marcus jumped up in fright. He had never seen this side of Thomas. He wanted to do something, but didn't know what he could do. He turned to Ash, the only one that would possibly know what to do.
"Ash! What... What do we do?! They'll kill each other!" Marcus said. Vulpix had already walked away. And Robby was training his own powers.
 
Ash shrugged. "Zoran's learned a lot from Theo," she said solemnly. she could hear Zoran's innocent giggling. Thomas was in serious danger. The more Zoran got hit; the more he let go. It was hurting less, way too little. She sighed. "Thomas, I don't care how emotionally strong you push your powers, you have three minutes to stop before Zoran follows through."

Meanwhile, Zoran was laughing crazily. He'd won, even if Thomas hadn't known it. The second Thomas lost control of his emotions, Zoran had won. "Underestimate you? I don't get it!" He didn't. He really didn't believe Thomas was very strong yet; but he knew better than to underestimate his enemies. "Why would I be better than you? Why would you be better than me? I don't get it at all!" Zoran was still laughing as he disappeared. "It doesn't hurt Thomas! It doesn't! You're stupid you know! Stupid and arrogant, like all humans are! That's the truth of it! Because you can make people do whatever you want, you think you're better than them! Newsflash, you're a monster just like me! Actually you're worse! You're like Theo!"

Mickey winced. He knew this tactic. Zoran was barely using any of his power. Mickey had seen the boy at full power twice in his life. If it wasn't for the boy's self-control, Mickey had no doubt both himself and Ash would be dead. That was when Zoran reappeared on the roof of the RV. "Look Mickey!" he called, waving. "Look, look, he's going to get caught! Theo's going to catch him and we won't be able to stop it! Should I kill him first?"

"You probably should," Ash muttered. Zoran nodded at this and smiled to himself, leaping from the roof to land on Thomas' back, spinning back on his hands to kick at the back of Thomas' neck. Another shadow lingered there, beginning to drain Thomas' energy. Balancing back on his feet, Zoran moved to trip Thomas to the ground.
 
Venician Shadows.

Karen loved Venice. It was by far the best city in the world. Then again, she hadn't visited the whole world. She had merely come here to stay at the RDM luxury resort. This was RDM's main Aquatic base. The plan to push Venice into the water was going smoothly with no trepidations. Then, she saw them. The children who she had so whole-heartedly captured back near the Earth RDM Base. They had, single-handedly, brought down the entire HQ. So, now all that remained was the Secret Base, the Fire Base, and the beautiful Water Base. She smiled as a group of Blaziken walked by in full uniform. She tossed her hairand walked out of the building. She started walking behind them, without being noticed in her disguise. She had learned this tactic from her friend Will. She would reunite with him soon enough.

She continued to listen in on their discussions, wherever they went, she was right behind them. Umbreon was also keeping close watch on the three.

"They are quite the talkers, aren't they?" Umbreon whispered, careful not to alert the prey.

"Yes. So, what is our plan here?" Karen responded, pushing her sleek black glasses back to their respective spot.

"In the disguise you are in, your name is Daphne. You have traveled far and wide to collect the badges. Here are the seven the RDM has been able to get. Some of those battlers are quite tough, you know."

"I'm sure they are." Karen hid a laugh, she bet they weren't. She had practiced with Will for the longest time. He had gone off to become a stronger trainer after Karen had defeated him in the spot for RDM Field Agent of the Year. He had taken with him an Abra. That was it. A good choice for his Psychic skills. She approached the children. Her disguise was a long black dress that covered up to her knees. Gold buttons were laced down the right side, matching the brim of her black hat. Her beautiful white hair was curved into a small cut, looking as if it had all been cut off. She tore off her glasses and began to speak in her original english accent.

"Helloo. Are you children trainers? How about a quick battle?"
 
Ash turned. "One sec." The woman felt weird but at the moment, it wasn't nearly as much of a pressing matter. "Zora, battle! Switch with me!"

The boy turned and smiled angelically at her. "Okay then!" Ash went to go fight Thomas, loving how easily Zoran could get distracted when he wanted to be. His Pokemon went after him, returning to their Pokeballs without command. He saw the woman and managed a sweet smile, his power retreating to its familiar calm place, where it waited for him to want to play again. "Nice to meet you," he greeted, his voice calm and relaxed now. It was as if he had never used his power at all. "So, what kind of battle will this be?" He watched her with a vague sort of interest, adjusting the hairband around his ponytail.

~~~

In a slightly bright room, a woman typed furiously at her computer. A coffee cup sat forgotten on a coaster. The woman smiled to herself, statuses and computer code filling the screen. A creature was forming in the computer imagery, vague sharply edged and made of polygons. The woman gave a soft, sharp laugh. This creature was a new Pokemon, the first to be made with modern technology. It would be a powerful creature, especially with the new Up-Grade disc she was developing. With it, it could evolve or possibly more. It all depended on the Conversion 2 move. However, it needed to be perfected. So she kept working. What was a few sleepless nights?
 
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Thomas jumped when Zoran tried to trip him, and purified the shadow draining his power.
"Again, you didn't listen to me. I never said I was better than anyone. And yes, I'm stupid and arrogant most of the time. But I don't manipulate people into doing what I want. I never have and I never will. Now, this display is over," Thomas said, his anger fading away. He let the light fade and walked over to the RV. He leaned against it. He acted very nonchalant about what had just happened. He pretended to be comfortable leaning against it, but it was really so he wouldn't fall over.
"And if you want to kill me, all I have to say is that I won't go without a fight. All you have proven here is that you are just as stupid and arrogant as I am," Thomas said calmly. He sensed a change in the light as someone came to join them. She asked for a battle. Thomas's pokemon were in no shape to battle right now, so he let Zoran take it.

"Hi, I'm Thomas! I won't be battling for a while I'm afraid," Thomas said brightly, as though the fight with Zoran had never happened. Thomas smiled. He had lost his temper, true, but he hadn't lost control of his powers. But this woman... He didn't know where he remembered her from, but he knew he had sensed her before. Ash walked over to him, apparantly ready to fight him. He just smiled and leaned back. He would never admit it, but the light took a great toll on him, as it usually did. Still, he had to wonder just how deep his powers went.
"You got this Zoran!" Thomas yelled. He turned to Ash.
"Now, you three may be right. I may be a lot like Theo. I wouldn't know, I only met him once. But think about what makes us different. Alright? Just... think about it," Thomas said. He didn't deny that he was like Theo. He didn't know for sure if he was or not! That wasn't for him to say. All he could do was what felt right to him at the time. He leaned his head back and smiled at the sky he could no longer see.
 
Ash answered for Zoran, walking over to Thomas and whacking his forehead lightly. "Who are you talking to: Zoran or the shadows? Zora doesn't mean anything he says when he gets like that. I thought you of all people would have understood that much at least. I guess you don't listen to him either. It's just a game to them: it always has been. And if you're so damn upset you're being coddled and underestimated, get this into your thick, blind skull: we would never let Alyss within forty miles of you if we didn't think you were strong enough." She snorted and went to go inside. "And here I thought you were better than Theo was, better than Zora is. It looks like we had too much respect for you after all."

Zoran smiled silently. He didn't even hear what was going on behind him right now, but he knew he likely deserved whatever Thomas was talking about. Slowly, his head returned to the awareness it had been at before the shadows got bored and took over like they usually did on slow hours.. Must've shouted something cruel at him during that, mean shadows... honestly, what's he worried about? If I didn't think he could do it, I wouldn't have bothered making the suggestion to him. Mah, humans don't make sense at all.Idly, he wondered if Esper could hear him as he waited for the woman to speak.
 
"First of all, I was talking to the shadows. Secondly, I was talking about being underestimated when I was battling. Not anything else. Third, when did I say I wasn't strong enough? Forth, I've never had any extended dealings with the shadows like that before! But yes, I will concede that I don't listen enough. And, yeah, I shouldn't have lost my temper. I'm sorry.Also, how the heck did you know I went blind from that showing? It's not like it's made very obvious, is it? But please don't hit my head again. My brain is already under enough stress from using all that power," Thomas said. He grinned and rubbed his temples. He wondered how Zoran could do all that and not feel a thing. How had he surpressed the reaction? On second thought, Thomas decided he didn't want to know. If he knew he would have a reaction as bad as this one, he would think about it before jumping in with the light.

"This is why I prefer not to use Words. With Words come misunderstangings. And those seem to happen a lot to Thomas. He doesn't know the right Words. And he's not worried about it. He knows you didn't mean it. But he is how he is, and I wouldn't want him to change. In fact, after you finish your battle, he will probably say he is sorry to you. If he is still awake," Esper said when he heard Zoran say his name mentally. He giggled, and began purring. The two of them may step on each others toes, but they were the best of friends. Neither of them would wish anything bad upon the other. At least, that's what Esper thought.
 
Ash snorted. "Dude, I can't see either remember? It's called Aura and yours gets all funny when your backlash hits. It usually does for people. And I know what you're thinking: Zoran should be a screaming mess right now. He's concentrated his power so the shadows do more damage but use less energy. It's simply due to time. His has been awake for years so he's used to it and its... issues, sure let's try that word. You may end up like that but I seriously think you're too emotional about stuff and as you can tell, he ain't." Asha snorted. "And let me explain this: it's your actions, not your words. If you couldn't battle well, we wouldn't have let Alyss near you. Because somehow, she would have had a brief lapse of her good-hearted nature and her feathers would turn you into cheese."

Zoran laughed softly. "I just don't remember what I did," he said cheerily. "Also, you should warn your human about the shadows next time. They're bipolar or something! And...Zari's gonna be okay. It's just slow-going."
 
"Well, my light is tied to my emotions, so it works out fine for me. I didn't know my Aura changed, or even that I had one at all. Well, I guess you're right," Thomas said kindly. He slid to the ground. He couldn't stand up any longer. He leaned against the wheel of the RV. He was feeling very ill, but didn't want to sleep. He was sure he recognized that woman's, well, whatever he was sensing from somewhere before. He just couldn't place it.

"Think nothing of it. Truly, he didn't mind. And I don't need to warn him about the shadows, because he now knows. And of course Zaria is going to be ok. You and Ash would be a lot more agitated if she wasn't," Esper said, continuing to pur. Despite what he said, he had been very worried about Zaria. He stopped talking and showed his relief and joy with his mind to everyone.
"You owe me twenty bucks!" Robby said.
"You said Ash! Not Zoran! Ash didn't fight him at all!" Marcus protested.
"She just whacked him on the head, and he fell down! Shortest fight ever!" Robby said.
"Fine! It's not like I'm boing to spend it!" Marcus said forking over the cash. Vulpix stared at both of them.
"You two are nuts," Vulpix said.
 
One Super Ultra Mega Confrontation, Coming Right Up!

The RDM plane touched down a few yards away, a few seconds after the fourth human had appeared. Garet and Leo were out within two more. "Can you do that telepathy thing of yours?" the Arcanine muttered to his partner.

"Long as we don't talk a lot like this," the Lucario replied mentally. "Haven't worked on it enough yet."

Garet nodded before pushing off to run, skidding to a halt between the fourth human and the net. "Identify yourself!" he growled, his attention on the human before him.

Leo, meanwhile, was running over to the net, a bone made of Aura in hand. Noticing the boy from the Tokyo Gym, he whacked Mark on the head. That's for hitting me with the bag, he thought, kneeling down to drop something small in the boy's bag.
 
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