The Path to Light and Darkness: Rated PG 17

[Charizard_Man]

Chapter 3: Rest, Relaxation, and A Man Named Tai

The skies were a dark purple, the darkness over Kanto perverting the once crystal blue skies of Viridian. From the skies, came rocketing down an orange beast that stopped as fast as it came flying down. The suddent stop whipping up dust, the orange pokemon stood just outside the once standing Pokemon Center. Now, the Pokemon Centers accross Kanto only serve as eyesores. The rundown buildings were scared out of business once Kanto started to decline, the orange beast in front of it was a Dragonite.

From behind one of the wings of Dragonite came out a young boy, his brown hair slightly fluttering in the wind. His aviator sunglasses giving off reflections of the flickering street lights, his smile rapidly faded. He slipped on his black, leather jacket one sleeve at a time before turning around.

"Thank you very much grandma, I know you took a risk getting me here." The boy smiled up to an elderly woman,

"No need to thank me Josh, once I saw the scene at Prof. Oak's laboratory I had to make sure you got here safely. Route 1 isn't the beautiful field it once was, neither is this place..." Josh's grandmother looked around Viridian, the boy looked to and let out a soft hum in acknowledgement of her statement.

"Well I'm off." Josh waved goodbye. His grandmother waved back before jetting back up towards the sky, Josh smirked then walke down the streets after putting his hands in his pockets.

His smirk faded as he looked around the barren streets of Viridian City, the green foliage once here now dark grey pieces of barely standing ash. He remembered the small children playing with their basketballs in the streets, now cracks and the ocassional insect are all the decorate the streets.

He looked over at where the mouth of the Indigo Plateau once was, now ancient and clogged with boulders. He remembered the stories his father told him of his days there, he can picture himself as a child walking around these streets as he once did.

The picture of his younger self rand down the street with a basketball, avoiding all defenders and leaping in the air. The little picture of himself vanished as it collided with himself, the blue skies quickly engulfed in dark purple clouds. Now all that stood in these once vibrant street, is this seventeen year old just standing there.

Josh took off his sunglasses and left them to hang on the collar of his white tee shirt and looked around. A single building stood in front of him now, dark grey in color with rotting wood planks falling off of the roof. A single plank of wood, gringy fuzz sticking off of it was all that stood between Josh and the doorway. The thing that grabbed Josh's attention was the sudden flash every once and awhile, the boy suddenly walked towards the building and moved the plank out of the way. He ducked his head as the dust showered over him, he quickly ruffled his hair and dusted his clothing off.

"H-Hey! Who are you?!"

Josh looked up to see a whizzing machine, six slots each with a pokeball. Around the machine, were a group of trainers younger than him. They seemed scared, they seemed unsure, they seemed lonely...

"Hey there guys, I'm Josh. Josh Sugimori, from Pallet. I'm just passing by, soo what's goin on here?" He smiled at the group of trainers, the one girl in the group stood forward and grew a kitten smile.

She clasped her hands together and looked up at Josh, "Yewr a cute trainer! I'll tell ya!" Josh sweatdropped, that's not the first time he's gotten than comment.

"Well we kinda found this machine here in this house, we tried it out and found out it heals our pokemon! Like one of those machines from the old Pokemon Centers!" The girl smiled up at Josh who only plastered a fake smile on his face, a little creeped out by the girl not giving him his space.

"Alright, well would you mind me healing my Squirt-" Josh was interrupted by the girl suddenly barging through the group of her friends like a bowling ball and clearing the machine. Josh kept the fake smile as he placed the pokeball down and pressed the button,

"Thanks guys..." Josh looked at the faces of the other trainers, his first urge was to battle them. But, something held him back. Her expressions, just complete despair.

"Listen you guys, watch your backs out there in Kanto. It's not the safe haven it once was, if your careful everything will turn out okay." With those words, he left the trainers only to get mobbed by the younger trainers. They were...hugging him.

"Thank you..." He could hear one of the girls say, "We hope your safe too." One of the male trainers said. Josh was shocked, were they THIS scared?

"Here. We want you to have this, please take it." The girl shoved a sparkling, dark grey stone in his hands. The stone was beautiful, and felt soft with riggid edges. The center seemed to have a dark purple core, with a crescent shape.

"A moon stone?"

"Yeah, we found it going through the abondened caves up in Pewter. We're heading home now, our parents miss us. So...we hope YOU stay safe." The girl pointed at Josh, the guys nodded in unison.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be safe." Josh smiled as he began to walk backwards and waved. The trainers waved, Josh turned around and smiled before putting on his shades again and shoving the Moon stone in his pocket while walking down the streets of Viridian...

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Charizard_Man: Very good post! You captured the look of Kanto perfectly. Anyways I keep noticing every once in awhile you will call Josh, Tai. No biggie I get who you mean ha.. Josh found a moon stone!

Note to everyone: I have updated everyones profiles in the OOC thread to show what items you currently have.

 

[tim0789]

Chapter 3 Part 1: Kanto Breakdown

As Grecko emerged from the edge of the destroyed Route 1, he looked ahead and hoped to see Viridian City waiting for him. But what he saw instead was nothing like a city.

"This....this...is horrible..." he thought to himself as he looked onto the tainted city. The pokemon center burned to the ground along with practically every other building around. And if the buildings weren't torn down they were barley standing.

"How could one man cause all of this to happen to an entire region...I mean there used to be so many powerful trainers here and yet none of them could stop one man. Grrr well that's pathetic!" Grecko said as he wondered around the city, clenching his fist and grinding his teeth.

"I will do my best though...If one man can bring this much pain...maybe one could change it all back...or hopefully if we all work as a team that will help to.." he stated to himself under his breath until he looked ahead and noticed one building still in contact.

"Hmm...this could be a trap..." Grecko said as he tapped on all four walls to see if they were stable. "Well the house seems real enough..." he said as he opened the door and entered. The sight inside the building was something unbelievable, unbareable, and unmanigable.

Dozens of trainers hovered over what seemed to be a healing machine used in pokemarts, and they were so busy they didn't even notice Grecko walk in. "uh...hello?" Grecko eagerly said to the group hoping he could heal his pokemon.

An older man in about his 30's looked down at Grecko before asking him..."Your from Johto eh kid?" This comment stunned Grecko, "How did you know that?" The guy laughed before answering back, "I have a knack for knowing what trainers come from where anymore...plus it's easy enough to rule out Kanto seeing as how you don't look as worn out and tired as the rest of us."

Grecko never thought of this before but compared to actual citizens of Kanto, he looked like he just went for a walk in the park. "Well my name is Grecko Rage sir, and i'm a new recruit to the clan of hope!" Grecko shouted out hoping to encourage the Kantoians and give them some hope.

Everyone looked for a second and then went back their business. "The clan of hope eh Grecko Rage?" the man says to him. "Well yeah...i'm here to help..." Grecko quietly stuttered, hoping he didn't make a mistake by saying that.

"Ha the Clan of Hope has been no help yet so far...what makes you think a bunch of new kids from all over the world can help? Why don't you just get out of here." the man finally said as he turned around and faced the machine.

"........NO!" Grecko said in anger, because after everything he had seen already he was here to stay and he was here to help. The fact that the people of Kanto had no faith in him, the new recruits, and the Clan sparked something inside of him.

"What did you say to me kid?" the man turned around with a flaring face and stared down Grecko. "I said NO! I will not leave! I am going to make things better! Because I believe in the way things should be, and that anyone can overcome fear and darkness!" Grecko finished up his speech as everyone in the building now looked over at him and the older man.

"You've got some nerve kid...fine if you want to stay in Kanto and help our cause...why don't you battle me? If you win i'll let you continue your little escapade. But if you lose...well if you lose, i'm sending you home...you got it!?" the man angrily shouted at Grecko.

Grecko quickly healed his pokemon and the two exited the building with a crowd following them. "I'm not going to lose this one!" Grecko shouted as he stared down the guy.

 

[Underoos]

Kabir wasn't at all impressed when he got to Viridian City. It was a dull and dark place, just like the previous route. Abra was asleep again, so Kabir figured that was good. The buildings (or what was left of them) were just as dull as the rest of the atmosphere. Kabir looked at all of the rubble with a bit of a sad feeling in his heart. He blocked away the sadness though, and pressed on further into the town. As he was observing the town, Kabir noticed that one building seemed to still be there. It peaked his interest, so Kabir cocked his head to the side and headed over there. It looked firm enough, he figured, so why not try it?

Kabir lightly pushed open the doors, and was a bit surprised to find people inside. A couple were standing in front of a machine, and Kabir noticed that some of them had Pokeballs. There was one girl, only about six, that caught Kabir's eye. He saw her sort of rolling the Pokeball in her hands and staring at her shoes as she sat on the bench. He glanced at the other kids and then walked over to her. Kabir plopped down next to her easily, and he wasn't exactly sure what plagued him to do so.

She looked up at him. Kabir glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He saw that she had mud on her face and a small scrape on her knee. There was another scrape on her hand, which Kabir happened to notice while she was brushing the hair out of her face to get a better look at him. Her green eyes were wide with something akin to curiosity.

"Who're you?" she questioned in a rather blunt way.

"Kabir Bihar," he said quietly.

"Oh." The little girl looked at the ground, and then back at him. "You have dark skin. It's cool."

Kabir's eyebrow rose. "Thanks," he said slowly.

"And your eyes are like blackish. That's cool too."

"...Thanks," Kabir muttered. "What does that machine over there do?" he questioned, nodding towards it.

The little girl looked over. "It fixes your Pokemon," she declared. "You know, the ones that get ouchies in battle. It heals them right up and then you can go battle some more. Are you a battler?"

"I'm a trainer, yeah."

She flinched, and looked back at her shoes. Kabir used this as a chance to get a good look at her. Her shoes were a worn down pink color, and they had tatters and holes all over them. Kabir felt a twinge of sympathy; this girl reminded him of a younger version of one of his sisters, and he didn't like it. Her hair was put into two messy pigtails, but they were falling out. Kabir also noticed that when she talked, it was apparent that one of her front teeth were missing. Her shirt was several sizes too big, had holes, and her shorts were almost just like that. Only they were tight enough to where they stayed fit enough on her form.

"Do you think trainers are bad?" Kabir questioned.

"No. They're just sorta scary."

"Not all of us."

"You're nice," she observed. "And tall, too."

Kabir offered her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm tall, too," he agreed. "So you never told me. What's your name?"

"Amy," she stated happily.

"Is that your Pokemon?"

"Yup! My mommy gave her to me! She's a Poliwag!" Amy seemed rather proud of that fact, so Kabir allowed another tiny smile to appear on his face.

"How about I make you a deal?" Kabir offered. Amy looked up at him curiously with her big green eyes. Kabir hated the broken look in them. "How about we have a little battle, just for fun?"

"For real fun?" Amy questioned.

"Yeah. Real fun. Let me just get my Abra all fixed up, and then we'll do it, alright?"

"Your Abra's cute too," Amy declared, apparently finally taking note of the sleeping Pokemon on Kabir's head. Kabir made a soft laughing sound, but it wasn't really a laugh. It was more like a chortle. "Ok! I wanna battle you! Oh wait. But you have'ta promise. If I say we stop, will you stop?"

Kabir looked her in the eyes. She really thought that all trainers were brutes just waiting to beat her down. Kabir felt a little growl inside his head, but didn't outwardly show anything was wrong. "I promise," he said earnestly. "Why don't you go wash up while I heal Abra? That cut will get infected if you don't." Kabir gave that piece of advice, and then walked over to the now uncrowded machine. He didn't bother to see if the girl took his advice or not, but instead recalled Abra and set his Pokeball in the machine. He wasn't sure what to do, but it only took him a few moments to figure it out.

It didn't take very long, but Kabir noticed that by the time he had finished the little girl had cleaned her scrapes and some of the grime off of her face. Kabir offered her an actual smile this time, and they walked outside of the healing area. The little girl seemed rather skittish and slightly fearful of her surroundings, but finally she walked a ways away from Kabir and brandished her Poliwag's Pokeball. Amy continued to occasionally glance around, but Kabir figured he'd try to pull her into the battle and forget about being afraid. If she lived in fear, then her life would be nothing. At least, that's what Kabir thought.

He called Abra, and then moments later there was a Poliwag out there as well. Kabir told her that she could go first, if only to be polite. She was quite a bit younger than him, after all. And she apparently had a bad life, which would not bode very well with him just charging right in and having Abra attack with all he could muster. Instead, Kabir decided he'd play it low for her, because he could see that the Poliwag before him had had less battle experience than even Kabir's Abra. Kabir saw this as an advantage, but he refused to use this particular advantage. It just would be sick and wrong of him to do. That, and it would basically prove that the little girl was right and that all trainers have a giant bully inside them waiting to be let out.

"Poliwag, go and use bubble!" Amy ordered.

Abra glanced at Kabir, who twitched his head in a subtle shaking gesture. Abra simply yawned and sat there, looking rather slow instead of the intellectual being he was. The floating spheres hit Abra, causing him to twitch in slight pain, but other than that they didn't do too much damage. Kabir figured he'd just keep up with evading, and then have Abra use focus punch when he really needed to. Maybe a toned down focus punch, at that.

"Good job Poliwag!" Amy complimented, her eyes lighting up slightly. Kabir smirked; it was working. She was slowly loosing sense of the fear around her from the environment, and gaining a bit more confidence. "Now use...uhm...well, use bubble again!" Amy called, apparently deciding that offensive would be a good idea for this.

Kabir was sort of in strategy mode. He could tell that Abra could easily dodge the bubbles, because really all they did once they were released was float at a slightly slow speed towards Abra. Abra was fast enough to dodge them, so Kabir figured that he could bide his time and make it look like the bubbles were more dangerous than they actually were. He waited until it was just right, then hurriedly called for Abra to use a teleport, and for it to make it snappy. Abra disappeared and then reappeared a few feet away. He yawned again, looking more like he'd rather take a nap than battle. Kabir resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Ah darn it. Oh well, try for a hypnosis!" Amy said, getting over her slight disappointment with surprising quickness.

Truthfully, Kabir wasn't at all ready for the hypnosis. He hadn't really expected it. However, he was able to have Abra dodge last minute with another teleport. This time though, it was a real last minute thing. This put Kabir more on the alert, and he found himself being a bit more careful. He knew that if hypnosis worked, Abra could take a long nap and sustain some serious damage if it didn't wake up right away. Obviously evading wouldn't work forever, but Kabir didn't want to actually attack.

"Better luck next time," Kabir commented with a bit of a taunting smirk.

Amy's eyes narrowed and him, and she immediately went back on the offensive. Kabir chuckled internally; his little taunt had worked almost exactly like the attack. Amy ordered a bubble from Poliwag, and the Pokemon complied a bit faster than it previously had been. Kabir found himself having to actually stop his long thought process and really, truly focus on the task at hand. Abra was having to teleport more often, until finally it just wouldn't work. Abra was getting really tired, and his psychic energy was draining. Kabir looked at the determined expression on Amy's face, and stayed silent. It was a good thing, her taking charge of the battle. It was just bugging Kabir's pride a bit, is all. Finally the bubble attack hit dead on. A couple more hit in successful repetition, and it was then that Kabir figured would be a good time to act before things got tipped into her favor a bit too much.

"You're pretty strong, for a short kid," Kabir commented lightly. Amy glanced at him and stuck her tongue out, and Sabir ordered a focus punch. Amy blinked, a bit unsure of what to do as Abra's fist began to glow again. She frantically called for several bubble attacks, but before they could strick Abra put some energy into a finally teleport and disappeared.

Moments later he reappeared back behind Poliwag, and that was that. His fist smacked into the Pokemon's side, almost for sure knocking it for a loop. Poliwag tottered about for a few moments, and then fell on the ground. The female Pokemon slowly got back to her feet, using her tail as a prop. Amy bit her lip, and Kabir could tell it was done.

"That's good, Abra," he said, pretty much dismissing the battle. He didn't want Amy's pride to get walked over. "I think we should stop. We wouldn't want our Pokemon to get hurt further, right?" Kabir teased lightly. He didn't know why, but he sort of enjoyed being around this girl. It was probably because of the sister resemblence he had felt earlier, but whatever. Abra teleported on top of Kabir's head, tired and ready for a nap. "I think I'll heal this guy and then be on my way," he said softly to Amy as they headed back into the center.

"Oh! I also have something for you, because I think you're going to be strong."

Kabir cocked his head to the side at this statement and looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"It's a firestone!" Amy declared, pulling the rock out of her pocket. "I found it in the rubble of one of the buildings, and I'm not ever going to use it. I'm not a trainer like you. Maybe one day you'll use it!" she said enthusiastically. "Please take it? You know, as sort of a thank you gift?" Amy offered. Her eyes grew into puppy dog size, and Kabir sighed.

"Thanks," he muttered as he took the rock from her and slipped it into the pocket on his backpack. "Thanks a lot."

She nodded. "Do you think the bad will win?"

Kabir looked at her in slightly surprise. "The bad?" he echoed, making it a question.

"The darkness." It was a brief explanation, but it was all that Kabir needed.

"I doubt it," he said idly.

Amy grinned. "I have to go home now," she explained. Kabir vaguely wondered what she considered "home" in a place like this, but nodded anyway. Amy ran out, leaving Kabir to heal Abra and then be on his way later.

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Tim0789: Intriguing first post! I like the passion Grecko has towards saving Kanto, it will defiantly help. Anyways go ahead and move on!

FrostBite: Another great post, I have a feeling you may be seeing Amy later on down the road... (Just a hunch ;) Mwahaha) ! I like how we have almost an even balance of personalities in this RP! Anyways Abra grew to lvl 11! Kabir received a fire stone!

 

[tim0789]

Chapter 2 part 2: Who the hell is Tai?

A few people stood around Grecko and the man whose name was not known yet. The two stared each other down and Grecko couldn't stand the silence anymore. "Ok so what do you want, two pokemon each, three pokemon each?" he asked impatiently.

"He he he, I only need one pokemon to prove to you that Kanto is not gonna be saved by a kid like you." the man laughed confidently. "Grrrr fine! I'll show you, go Cubone!" Grecko said as he tossed out his starter pokemon.

"CU!" it barked as it emerged from the ball. "That little thing is gonna beat my pokemon? Haha ya right! Let's go Nidorino!" the man pulled back and chucked a pokeball across the battlefield.

"NIIDOO!" it roared as it began to stomp on the ground below it. "Alright Nidorino let's do this! Use Double Kick!" the man commanded his pokemon.
"Cubone we can do this! We have to! Use Bone Club!" Grecko then counter commanded Cubone.

"Cu!" Cubone said as it stood it's ground. The bone pokemon knew how much beating this Nidorino meant to Grecko and Kanto, so it prepared to give it's best.

"NIIIII DO!" The Nidorino called as it jumped and thrusted it's right foot into where Cubone was. "CUBONE!" the smaller pokemon said as it dodged to the side and chucked it's bone.

"DOO!" The Nidorino cried as the bone smacked it along the face and knocked it unconcious. "SAYYY WHATTTT!" the man couldn't believe his eyes. "Haha alright Cubone that was awesome! Now take a rest buddy." Grecko congradulated his pokemon as he returned it to it's pokeball.

"Well then kid...I guess I owe you an apology." the man said as he held his hand out for Grecko to shake. Grecko smiled realizing this is the first bit of decency he has seen in Kanto besides Oak.

"My name is Ralph Kildnor, and you've earned my trust." Ralph the said as the two shook hands. Grecko smiled and then entered the pokemon center with everyone else so he could heal up.

Grecko decided he didn't want to be around all of the gloominess in the Pokemon Center because he felt like it would bring him down to. So as soon he healed his pokemon he quickly shuffled out of the building undetected.

As Grecko stepped back outside into the darkness he remembered that he was supposed to go see Zeyphr at the old Viridian Gym, so he starts to make his way there.

"Hey Kid" a voice says from behind Grecko as he swiftly turns around to see an older man just in what appeares to be at one time a white cloak but was now torn and worn down. The man stands at about 5'10, with short black hair. Although he seems friendly he has an eerie smile about him.

"Who the hell are you?" Grecko smirks at the odd man.

"The names Tai Fayling, I'm here to take you to the clan of hopes base" he says still smiling and for a moment. .... A blank face comes across Grecko as he stares the man down, "Hmmm...Oak didn't say anything about a man coming to take us to the gym...and that cloak it's white just like the ones who kidnapped my dad...but if he's from the clan of hope how could he be?" Grecko was confused and was to tired to really think this one through so he decided to follow the man.

"Where are we going?" Grecko starts to wonder after four minutes of walking, only to realize that Tai is nowhere to be seen. "Ah I must have dozed off as I walked!" Grecko exclaimed until darkness began to swarm around him like in his dream the other night.

"Grr not this nightmare again!" he angrily called out thinking that this was all a dream. "This isn't a dream" a man in a black cloak says as he rises up out of the shadows. "Uhhh the Dark Brotherhood!" Grecko exclaimed with rage as he remembered what they did to Oak.

"Hello Mr. Rage, we've been watching you." he speaks softly to Grecko.

"Watching me! Like you watched my father? ARRRG i'm gonna defeat you and then with the help of the rest of the Clan of Hope we will defeat you all!" Grecko pulls a pokeball out from his coat and prepares for his second encounter with the Dark Brotherhood.


Sorry gonna have to cut this one up into another post...practice

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Tim0789: Another good post, to bad you have to cut it into another post though ha... Anyways Cubone grew to lvl 9!

 

[{Swan}]

((Return of the Metal Coat))

"This really is a ghost town isn't it?" Cain said upon arrival in Viridian. Sure she had heard the stories, but she'd never actually been there before now. She looked down at the Sableye that was now cradled in her arms. "I didn't mean anything with that," she told the ghost, even though the ghost in question was pretty fast asleep. Upon capture the Sableye had looked at her with her big diamond eyes and taken an instant liking. When she had fallen behind on the walk toward the city Cain had taken her in her arms and carried her,


"You're too cute to exist," Cain commented. It really was hard not to baby the Pokémon, she was absolutely adorable and acted like a baby. Misdreavous was floating beside them, just as taken by the little Sableye as Cain was. "I suppose I should name you guys," Cain muttered, contemplating. She looked at Sableye. "Pandora." She decided. "Because one day you're going to be the death of me pretty one." She couldn't quite come up with something for Misdreavous.


The city got her a feeling of sadness. It was so empty and full of disaster, she really just wanted to get away from it. But Pandora and Misdreavous both needed to be healed, and Cain could only hope that there might be some potions left in the ruins.


Walking through the buildings Cain couldn't help but notice the fact that none of those buildings were even close to standing. And someone did it all on his own. "Selfish," Cain murmured as she put her hand on a wall that was the only thing standing of what once must have been a house. "Someone lived here once," she continued to herself, and Pandora, who was now cradled in only one arm light as she was, stirred. "I wonder if you're an actual ghost, if you were something alive once," Cain thought about it as Pandora looked at her with the big eyes. She was so innocent in her doings, Cain almost felt a maternal instinct tugging at her gut. "I won't let anything happen to you," she promised and Pandora settled herself deeper in the crook of Cain's elbow.


She walked further into the town, looking for blue rubble that might show her the remnants of a PokéMart. She finally found one, and set the once again sleeping Pandora down on the ground. Cain spent a few minutes searching through the rubble but all she found where some plastic empty wrappings, an antidote and a whole lot of dust. "Figures," she muttered to herself again. "People must have robbed it before me."


"Excuse me, what are you doing?"


Cain whirled around only to see a girl. The girl looked very odd, with pale skin, dark eyes and very light blonde hair, almost as if the genes didn't quite mix and instead she only got certain features from very different people. She looked to be about 10 or 11 years old and was wearing a very simply white dress and to top that off she had dark circles under her eyes. Cain couldn't help staring for a big before replying. "I'm, ehm, looking for a potion so I might heal my Pokémon a little." She confessed, and the girl cocked her head to the side in contemplation.


"I don't think there's anything left there that hasn't already been taken," the girl said, confirming Cain's suspicion. "But I do know of a machine that magically heals things!" She smiled from ear to ear and motioned for Cain to follow. Cain couldn't help but notice how pretty the girl was when a smile lit her face, even if she was dirty and very sickly looking. She picked up Pandora again and called out to Misdreavous to follow her and then walked after the girl.


"Mom sais I shouldn't talk to strangers," the girl informed her, "But I thought that someone who was so thoughtful over a little ghost couldn't do me much harm either." Cain was baffled at the girl's logic. She was very naïve, but seemed to know things at the same time. She lead Cain to one of the few buildings that was still standing, though it looked like one firm push should send it tumbling down.


The girl led Cain inside and it showed to be a very old Pokémon Center. It was still very run down, the paint was barely there, more like in memory of the paint. Wall-paper on one side of the wall was flaking off and the furniture was almost all stolen. The only things that were still there were all bolted into the floor and walls, such as a few benches without any paint and a few ruined tables. The vending machines were all broken and robbed and there was a big lightened patch on the wall that suggested that there might have been a bulletin board once.


But in the very corner was a machine with 6 dents for Poké Balls. It was moved from its original location, probable in an attempt to take it, but the wires were all too complicated to reinstall and the attempted thief had just left it there. The girl pulled on Cain's sleeve pointing at that machine. "I don't know how it works, but I do know that it makes things better!" She exclaimed with a smile, proud as if the building belonged to her. "Mama says to leave it alone, but I think you might need it more than mama forbids it."


Cain nodded and approached the machine. She called both of her Pokémon into their Poké Ball and placed them in the machine. "So now what?" She asked herself, looking at the various buttons on the thing. After a bit of thinking she pushed a button that had a red cross on it. It resembled the cap on the nurse's head, as Cain recalled from the time where a nurse had come to Pallet a month after the darkness started. Cain shuddered in fear of the darkness, and was suddenly aware of all the shadows in the corners. She kept turned around to look behind her to make sure there was nothing. "Keep it together Cain," she scolded herself. "Nothing's wrong, and it isn't even dark yet."


After she pressed the button a little light turned on above the counter that read 'Please Wait' and the machine started to rumble. "It's working!" The girl exclaimed happily. "See, I told you that you could make it work!"


Cain smiled at the girl, another maternal feeling that was taking hold of her. She suddenly felt very protective of the girl. "We haven't even exchanged names yet!" Cain exclaimed. "My name's Cain Lukens."


"Cain? Like that awful boy in the bible?" The girl asked, eyes widening. "How terrible that you must be named after such a horrid person! I'm sure God won't love you any less though," she said as if she should be reassuring Cain about this. Cain wondered again at the girl. She acted like she was years younger, and she was obviously brought up very religiously to believe that she should reassure Cain just because of her name. She didn't think mentioning her brother was a good idea.


"Thank you, I hope God agrees with you on that," Cain said with a smile. "But you haven't told me your name yet."


"Lisbeth," The girl confided. "Like Elizabeth, it means God is my… ehm," she mulled over it a while. "Well it means something good with God." She was satisfied with that answer and smiled again. "But I like Lisbeth better, but don't tell Him that," she stated with a giggle. Lisbeth was definitely quite the character.


Just then a little tune sounded over in the machine and the light above the counter blinked out. "I guess Misdreavous and Pandora should be healed now," Cain said as she opened the machine and released her Misdreavous. "You still need a name, don't you?"Misdreavous chimed happily. "How about Morsmordre? Yes, I like that." She patted the ghost.


"Oh, look!" Lisbeth exclaimed and Cain turned around to see what she was pointing at. There, in a pile of rubble, was something a bit shining. Cain knelt down to pick it up.


"A metal coat…" she muttered holding the metal cylinder. "Well, I might as well hang on to this, unless you want it Lisbeth," Cain offered but the girl shook her head. "Anyway, I think I should leave now, I have something very important that I have to do." The girl looked sad so Cain quickly continued. "I'm sure your mother is wondering where you are, and I'll be sure to visit you if I'm around some time!"


With a leap the girl hugged Cain, who hugged her back. "Goodbye sweetie, I'll see you again. Until then, stay safe!"

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Swan: I very much enjoyed that post! The nicknames were awesome to! Anyways i'm starting to get a feel for the things everyone's characters really care for which is going to help me out MWAHA.. Anyway continue to post two!

 

[Charizard_Man]

All The Facts Felt False...

The withering foliage around the boy only crumbled further as he stepped on them, his grey Vans only another piece of gray in the Viridian landscape. His silver-hazel eyes the brightest thing around for blocks, aside from the flickering street lamps. The clouds above a dark purple, looming over him. He payed no attention though and sighed,

'Those kids seemed really scared, and the girl was even injured. Is this really what Kanto has become?' He thought to himself as he walke down the ruined streets of Viridian, his closed eyes shot open as the flickering street lights casted a shadow of someone behind him.

"Hey!" The alien voice yelled out.

He grunted and almost with super speed clutched his pokeball and popped it open, a blue turtle bracing itself for combat. The smoke from the pokeball's pop still lingered at their feet, the man opposite them only smirking.

"Josh Gold Sugimori, I take it." The man only chuckled deeply and opened one dark eye and looked at Josh who only nodded.

"No need for your Pokemon, my name is Tai Fayling. I know I may come off as a strange villain, but I am indeed the opposite. I am here to escort you to the Clan of Hope's Base, now come. We must hurry."

Josh could only be hesitant and let his guard down, Squirtle doing the same and scaling his trainer until he reached Josh's shoulder. Josh nodded and put his sunglasses on as he followed the man, what possesed him to do that?

The escort was silent most of the trip, only looking over and saying something when they reached a fork in the road or something of that nature. Josh looked around, the flickering street lamps completely died out. The walls getting darker and darker, the gray foliage completely died, and the glass surrounding the area began to be covered in a layer of frost. The temperature dropped dramatically,

"Hey Tai-" Josh looked over to the tap the man on the shoulder, only to tap nothing. That's when he fell to the floor, unconscious.
____________________________________________________

Rudely awakened, dark violet light blaring down on his face.


Was he awake? Was this his face?

Could he be in some other time, some other body? Some other point of existence so chosen by deities of whim and vigor? A roulette spun, blackness and blood color blurring indistinctly. Red was better than black, at least red had a hue to entertain company with, to make and stir those drinks of social being that loneliness knew nothing about but wanted to create, anyway.

That the black was loneliness, and that he was shed of it, this he realized. For there was light in this place, violet, yes, and dusky and mechanical, yes, but in the place he had once been for many felt eternities, there was no light, only depression transmitted directly to the soul.

Transmitted like so many radio waves. Tuned into the channel of the world. Tuned into everything. That was death. The lack of death, of direct images, finally let him realize his fates had changed.

For the worst.

He opened his eyes, there was a voice, soft and lilting to his ears, a voice he remembered from a time that felt far away that assuaged all his fears about being conscious, and the terror and apprehension melted away to comfort and amusement, as if this was all some huge joke.

He could still laugh, he realized, he felt vocal chords in his throat. So he did, chuckling and sitting bolt upright on the floor he was lying on.

He looked around curiously, voraciously taking it all in, and simultaneously trying to pinpoint the source of the lifting voice. He found him, the source, a young boy with a red cap and blonde hair.

"Tai...Sugimori?" Josh whispered out, the tiny 13 year old trainer only laughed at Josh. His smile rapidly turned into a wicked grin, the petite innocent chuckling turning into dark insane laughter and the image of his father young, morphed into a dark figure with a cane...a figure of death.

"Silly boy is crazy..." the twisted voice spoke, his face completely shrouded in shadows casted by his dark hooded cloak. Josh was shocked, and remembered now the world he lived in.

"My name is Alpha, I am your tester of sorts...so the master says." Josh was taken aback, master?

"So single battle, or double battle my young foe?"

"Pick your poison." Josh stood up on both legs and walked over. Alpha watched as the boy crossed the street. He walked in large strides, his head glued to only the street that was their arena. Alpha wondered why.

Was he afraid?

Was he determined?

Or was he so foolish and big-headed he thought he could win even if he didn't intake his surroundings into his battle calculations?

The older man sighed, and banged his cane on the floor. The street lamps immediately sprang to life, as did the street before them.

The walls were dark granite, covered with shredded purple banners. There were pillars of piled, ancient stone that grew moss and had dark stains on them-stains that looked suspiciously like blood. The arena was made of the same shadowy rock, though sprinkled with sand and the occasional large boulder. The most peculiar thing about the room was floating in the air. Tiny, whitish-blue balls of fire hovered suspended in the atmosphere, flying about very slowly and aimlessly.

Josh watched as he walked through one, and the fireball passed neatly through his forehead, like a ghost. A shiver of cold went through his spine as the fire emerged from the back of his head, and continued to bob up and down above the ground as if nothing had disturbed its small, solitarian dance.

"Let Begin." Alpha grabbed a pokeball, Josh letting Squirtle down. The arena suddenly grew a bright purple hew as Squirtle landed on the ground and ALpha's pokeball sprang open, the battle had begun.
________________________________

"ZUUUBAT!"

Titan yawned widely, staring at the bat pokemon fluttering on the opposite of the field.

"Titan, this is serious! C'mon." Josh reprimanded, and the pokemon shrugged and assumed a battle stance.

Alpha lowered his head, eyes staring up from under the edge of his dark hood.

"Zubat, Confuse Ray."

"Titan! Bubble to block it!"

Zubat let a ball of silent golden light shoot from his mouth, arcing in lazy loops toward the water pokemon.

Titan's Bubble attack collided with Zubat's confuse rays, and the two attacks struggled against each other before they both fizzled out, energy wasted.

"Now Titan! TACKLE!"

"Zubat, Double Team."

Zubat's copies whizzed about the room at high speed, and Titan's rapid burst missed its target.

"Bubble!" The spheres of energy and water ridding the area of the clones, one by one. Finally, only two were left, and the last clone had begun to fade slowly out of existence at the REAL Zubat's side…

"That one Titan!! The one on the right!!"

Titan's mouth erupted with water that danced on the air. The ensuing wreck tangled Zubat in painful explosions of water and energy. As the bat pokemon flapped its wings to stem the water's moisture off, Alpha tutted, his cane tapping on the floor in an annoying, busy rhythm.

"Real trainers don't communicate so loudly with their pokemon, Sugimori. In fact, they barely communicate at all…."

"For someone so old, you sure can preach." Josh spat back.

"Testy, testy." Alpha tutted again. "Zubat, Air Cutter."

The bat flew in circles, looking like it was deciding what to do, when in fact, it was stirring up the air below. When the air was moving in a tornado-like path, Zubat flapped its wings toward Titan. The tornado flattened into a blade, and sliced through the atmosphere as it made its way to Titan with blinding speed.

Titan staggered as the knives of wind slit into his moist skin. His legs were cut in various places, clean cuts that oozed copious amounts of blood. Josh watched on, biting the inside of his lip. This Zubat wasn't going down, coupled with it's speed and evasion factor, Josh would have to order something from Titan that was sure to hit.

Slowly, silver eyes widened as a small, diminutive spirit fire floated in front of his vision. A stray water drop from one of the lamps above doused the flame and it slowed down tremendously.

How had he forgotten that Bubble sharply lowers its target speed?

"Uh-oh. There's a maniacal look in his eye. Everybody run." Alpha said dully, heavy with sarcasm.

"Titan! TACKLE!" Josh shouted, and Titan smiled over his shoulder. Titan spread his feet, head lowered so that his chin barely touched the ground. He launched his tiny body, head first, towards the bat.

Golbat sidestepped the attack, but Titan circled around behind him like a homing missile. Upon contact, his body was launched. The sudden strike from the back sapped his strength, his low defense was staggering. His wings faltered, and his heavy body fell to the floor.

"Zubat! Use Leech Life attack, now!" Alpha ordered.

Surprisingly, Zubat obeyed. Despite being on the edge of defeat, barely holding on, Zubat sprung into action, swooping down on Titan's exposed neck and biting hard. He clung there, drinking blood until Titan could wrench his head around and tear the bat pokemon off.

Golbat, looking recharged, took to the sky again. Titan wasn't fooled, however. By drinking blood, Zubat was given a short burst of energy. Therefore, he was still hovering around the same state of weakness brought about by Titan's last attack.

"Illis! Let's FINISH THIS! Bubble!"

"Zubat!!! Wing Attack!!!"

Titan's ejected bubbles of water sped toward the airborne pokemon. Zubat dodged the repeated blasts, wings growing stiff and rigid as they prepared for physical contact. He was mere inches away from his target….all the bubbles had missed, his attack would surely hit…..

And then a large bubble materialized before his eyes. Water and poison pokemon collided. Zubat fell to earth, coated with drooping water and his bones vomiting blood.

"Return!" Alpha held out the pokeball as Zubat retreated.

His soft brown eyes looked across to his opponent. The boy was doubled over, breathing heavily, as if he had held something in until then.

"Sugimori? Is something wrong? Are you injured-"

"So what if I am?!" Josh's head flew up.

"That shouldn't concern you. Here, we suffer as much as our pokemon do. This is the realm of shadows, after all. Not a playpen." His voice shook. Alpha was doubtful. But the boy was right. The silver-haired man nodded.

"Yes. You're right. At one time, I had thought this place was a playpen. And I was severely punished for that."

"What….do you mean?" Josh asked, straightening. Titan waddling over to his trainer's feet. Alpha shrugged, a strange motion for an old man to make.

"I mean that I was like you at one time, only stupider. The first time I came to this place…."

His eyes fell.

"….someone died. I made someone die." With those words, Alpha released a second pokemon.

"Go, HOUNDOUR!" The Houndour appeared on the field, growling and striking the floor with its paws.

"Titan, BUBBLE!"

"HOUNDOUR! EMBER!"

The stream of fire spheres whizzed toward Titan and he, missing him by only by an inch. He opened his mouth and shot out a blanket of bubbles that danced their way over to Houndour, obviously Alpha wasn't thinking straight.

"Hahahahaha!" Alpha grabbed his head with both hands and fell to his knees with his crazy laughter, this man was off his marble.

"HOWL!!!" He yelled out. Houndour, obviously worried for its trainer, still let out the magnificent roar that shook Titan's very foundation.

Josh swore, then looked at Titan.

"We need to kill this guy quick, while he's in his crazy mode. Got it? Okay. Titan! Bubble attack, now!"

"HOUNDOUR! ROAR!"

Titan set the cloud of brilliant bubbles to hover above Houndour. The dog roared, the attack hurting the Squirtle, but afterwards, the attack engulfed the fire type and launched it in the air only to come down and crash down onto the floor.

"Now Titan! TACKLE!!!!"

"HOUNDOUR! QUICKLY USE FAINT ATTACK!"

Squirtle launched forward, as did Houndour. Most of Titan's remaining health was drained away as the two collided.

"Ozzie, FINISH HIM OFF WITH A BUBBLE!"

"HOUNDOUR! ROAR!"

The Bubble attack shot out at Houndour, and the impact left him with no stamina. As a last ditch effort, Houndour roared so loudly as he fainted that the windows shook and the street lamps nearly popped out from the ground. Titan was thrown back, as was Josh.

"Hahahahaha!" THe man clutched his head again, "You don't know what it's like to have to kill someone...your own friend..."

Josh stepped back at first, then returned Titan and started forward. Only for his eyes to widen, the man had dissapeared.

"Wha-" Josh was grabbed from his jaw and a mouth was placed near his head.

"Hehehe. This society...needs to change...Beo doesn't want you dead, this place needs a real villain. A villain who can change things for the better, it can start with your death..." The man's chilly voice left Josh paralyzed, the combat knife placed to his throat didn't help either. He was now completely frozen, only his fingers twitching. He could feel the cold metal slide across his throat,

'Your situation reminds me of someone...' That was the thought that crossed Josh's mind at this point, strange for a seemingly last thought. The man pulled the knife back and launched Josh forward, the boy turned to see the man fall to his knees in crazy laughter yet again.

"You situation reminds me of someone I know!" Josh yelled at the man, who only looked up. A single brown eye visible through the darkness of the hood, the man vanished in a shroud of crazy laughter.

Josh was back in the dank Viridian City...standing their alone...blood drenched clothes, exhaustion.

"My father..."

"JOSH! Do NOT vanish on me, Zypher will be most unpleased if you went off an died on me. I don't even want to know about your clothes, well. We must go seperate paths my friend, I must go make sure the others make it here safely. You, go inside please.

"W-Who are you again?" The man only chuckled at Josh's question and ran off, Josh smirked and tried to wipe off the blood from his clothing but he was unsuccesful.

"Welcome to Kanto..." He chuckled darkly.

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Charizard_Man: That was an epic post! I especially enjoyed how you describe the darkness! Anyways Titan grew to lvl 12! Titan learned withdraw!

 

[tim0789]

QF Pokémon Roleplay Go here to Roleplay (RP) about Pokémon. Enjoy joining and creatin

"Go! Ekans!" Grecko hollers as he tosses out Ekans pokeball. "EKKKAANNNSSS" Ekans hissed as it emerged from the ball. "Ha you'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me! Go Zubat!" the Dark Brotherhood member yelled as he sent out his first choice.

"Cic cic!" the Zubat sputtered as it flew high into the darkness. "Shall we begin?" the hooded man asked Grecko. "Your damn right! Ekans use Leer!" Grecko commanded his newest pokemon.

"EKKAA!" Ekans rose up into the air and used Leer on Zubat. "CIC CIc!" Zubat cried as it floated around blindingly. "Now Ekans use wrap!" Grecko swiftly commanded the snake pokemon.

Ekans sprung into the air and wrapped itself around the Zubat, bringing it down to the ground. "Zubat use Supersonic!" The hooded man stammered, finally giving his first command.

As Ekans wrapped up and squeezed Zubat, the bat pokemon began to use it's supersonic. "Ek?" Ekans became confused and released the Zubat. "Cic Cic!" it angrily called out as it rose into the air again.

"Ahh Ekans come back for now!" Grecko quickly yelled out as he returned Ekans to it's pokeball to stop the confusion. "Alright this ends here! Go Cubone!" Grecko says as he tosses out Cubone's pokeball.

"That's cute, but i'm afraid it won't do anything! Zubat use supersonic!" The black cloaked man laughed as ordered Zubat to attack. "Cic cic!" Zubat made a bug like noise as it zoomed down and began to use supersonic.

"Cubone stare the Supersonic down and throw your bone club right through it!" Grecko courageously ordered Cubone. "CUU BONE!" Cubone braced itself as the Supersonic attack rushed over it's body. "Now Cubone!" Grecko yelled out hoping Cubone could withstand it.

"BONNNE!" Cubone picked up its head and chucked the Bone club through the Supersonic and colliding into the Zubat. "Cic Cic..." the zubat fainted as it crashed into the floor.

"Haha way to go Cubone!" Grecko happily congratulated Cubone. "Hmmm this battle isn't over boy!" the Black cloaked man said as he pulled out another pokeball. "Come on can't we just be done with this game dude? Obviously you Dark Brotherhood lackys are no match for a bunch of kids from different regions." Grecko egged on the man hoping to get some kind of reaction, but nothing came.

"It doesn't work like that..." the man said as he walked over to Grecko and stood right in front of him. "ahhh...this guy gives me the chills.." Grecko thought to himself as the man squated down and whispered something to Grecko, "Were toying with you."

"AHHH!" Grecko was stunned by this comment as the man drifted back across the darkness. "Now let's go Houndour! Use Ember!" the man sent out his next choice and even gave it a command.

Grecko who was still stunned by the previous comment awoke when he saw Houndour preparing to use ember. "Ah Cubone drop your head and use your skull as a defensive mechanism!" Grecko yelled out as he improved a strategy.

The flames Engulfed Cubone as Houndour continued to pour them over. "Keep using Ember Houndour!" the cloaked man hollered. "Now Cubone use Bone Club!" Grecko roared out hoping Cubone could hear him from under the flames.

And he did, in an instant Cubone thursted the flames off of himself and sent his Bone Club flying for the Houndour. "Houndour use Howl!" the man countered.

The howl attack knocked Cubones bone club out of the air. "Now Houndour finish it with a close up Ember!" The man said as he gave no time for rest. "Cubone use Bone club again!" Grecko commanded.

As Houndour darted in for the close ember, Cubone threw it's bone club again only this time Houndour dodged it and appeared right in front of cubone.

"Cubone no! Lower your head again!" Grecko roared hoping it wasn't to late. But it was Houndour used ember, and Cubone was knocked unconcious.

"Cubone....good job buddy come back!" Grecko sadly called out as he returned Cubone to it's ball. "Goodjob buddy now take a rest." Grecko said as he clipped Cubone's pokeball under his jacket and pulled out Ekans.

"Looks like I still beat you and i was just toying with you. What was it you said earlier about us being lackys?" the hooded man confronted Grecko's early statement.

"Grrr what I said earlier still stands, plus this battle isn't over yet! Go Ekans let's finish this!" Grecko confidently bolstered as he sent out Ekans. "EKKKANNNS!" it hissed as it emerged from it's ball for the second time in this battle.

"Haha my fire type will destroy that in an instant." the man laughed. "Will see about that! Ekans use poison sting!" Grecko gave Ekans a command. Ekans quickly shot out a needle that was sent hurtling for the Houndour.

"Houndour dodge it and use another close up ember attack!" The cloaked man seemed to be getting impatient with the battle. "Ekans burrow under ground!" Grecko countered.

As the Houndour reached Ekans and prepared to attack, Ekans quickly burrowed under ground. "FWWWWWOOOO!" flames poured over the whole that Ekans just dug into. "Now Ekans come up from behind and give it your strongest wrap!" Grecko continued to use smart tactics against his opponent.

The ground behind Houndour was thursted everywhere, as Ekans emerged and latched itself onto the middle part of Houndour. "SQUEEZE EKANS!" Grecko shouted out. "Houndour get it off!" The man upsettingly called out. "Houn...do..ur.."the pokemon collapsed to the ground unconcious.

"Alright Ekans way to go! Now return." Grecko celebrated and returned Ekans to it's ball, before noticing the cloaked man was gone.

"Your so lucky Beo doesn't want you brats dead yet, he says your all pawns in some game but honestly I could have killed you right now if I wanted" the trainer says as he puts a knife to your neck and slowly drags it across. "OH no! How did he get behind me...well this is it..." Grecko thought to himself as he awaited death.

"There you are!" Tai's voice is heard. Grecko opens his eyes and sees that he is back in Viridian and Tai is there to. "You just vanished all of sudden it worried me, Zypher would not be happy if I let you die, but this is where we separate paths my friend I must go and make sure the other trainers make it here" He says as he waves goodbye and takes off the opposite way.

As the strange but helpful man leaves, many questions cross Grecko's mind. "Whose Tai Fayling..."

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Tim0789: Good post! Ekans grew to lvl 8! Cubone grew to lvl 12! Cubone learned headbutt!

 

[Underoos]

It took Kabir a few more moments to heal Abra, and then it was done. Abra had popped back out and was on his head again, something that Kabir found a bit amusing. Kabir figured it would be in his best interest to now head over to the old gym and meet with that Zypher guy. Kabir glanced at the number on his phone, and saw that it was growing close to three in the afternoon. Kabir stuffed his phone back into his pocket, and then headed out the door. He pushed all thoughts of his newfound "friend" out of his mind, and decided to focus on the task at hand; finding that Zypher guy and figuring out what the heck was next.

Truthfully it was a bit depressing for Kabir as he walked out of the building. Sure, it looked worn down on the outside, but on the inside it was a rather nice place. Well, it was nicer than the outside anyway. Kabir sighed and glanced at the sky. He had never much liked the sun, but now he was a bit sad that it wasn't around. It was nice to break the monotony of the same thing every day once in a while, wasn't it? Kabir shook his head, and then was about to walk away from the healing building and attempt to find whatshisface, when suddenly he thought he heard something. Kabir glanced around, and shrugged it off. Then as he was about to go, he heard the voice more clearly.

"Hey kid!" said a voice from behind. Kabir whipped around to see someone wearing a white cloak. From the looks of it, the cloak was old and had been worn quite a bit. The man looked to be shorter than Kabir (and older, for that matter) and he appeared to have short black hair. He seemed friendly, but something about him made Kabir tense. And, of course, Kabir didn't enjoy that.

"Who're you?" Kabir asked harshly. Abra was now awake and on the alert as well.

"The name's Tai Fayling. I'm here to take you to the Clan of Hope's base," he stated, still smiling. Kabir's eyebrow arched. He wasn't one to just throw his trust around, but what else was he supposed to do?

"Fine," Kabir agreed.

They had been walking for a while when Kabir began to feel more and more on edge. It was just like something wasn't right, and that something was that they weren't going the right way. Kabir kept glancing back over his shoulder and then back at the Tai guy, but finally he just looked straight ahead and kept his guard up. Abra was pretending to be asleep, but Kabir could tell from his unrelaxed breathing that he was clearly awake. Suddenly, though Kabir wasn't sure what it was, something went completely wrong.

It was like a feeling of utter and complete disdain had washed over him. Kabir felt like he was reliving all of the horrifying moments in his life. All the loneliness and anger was rushed into his head, and Kabir found himself unconsciously grit his teeth together. The area around him fell into complete black, but it wasn't normal blackness. No, it was darker than that, and it felt like all of the anger and hate and bitterness was welled up and was swirling within the blackness. There was a dark energy that was engrossed in the blackness, and it completely made up the darkness that was around him.

Kabir didn't even have to look to know that Tai was gone, but he still did. A quick sweeping glance told him that Tai was indeed gone. There was a shadow that materialized in front of him, and then maniacal laughter soon followed. Kabir sighed and stared at the guy in a black cloak in front of him. It was obvious who he was, and Kabir was a bit tired of it. Sure it had only been like the second time, but Kabir thought repetition was dull.

"I don't suppose you're the welcoming committee, are you?" Kabir asked dryly.

Kabir could see a smirk appear on the guy's hooded face. "Nope. I sure as hell am not. But I know who you are."

"Oh?"

The smirk widened. "Yeah. You're the kid who's about to get his ass kicked."

Kabir smirked at this. He nodded slowly. "I'm guessing you'd enjoy a battle then?" he asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the correct answer. The cloaked man grinned now, showing a row of white teeth. Kabir found it rather threatening as the man growled an affirmative. Abra suddenly teleported in front of Kabir, knowing what was about to go down.

As for the other guy, he released a little dog thing. It was actually a rather devilish Pokemon, reminding Kabir of a hellhound he had once seen in an old children's story in his father's library. The Pokemon enticed him, and Kabir found himself staring at the bones coming off of its back. Abra looked perfectly confident, though Kabir wasn't exactly sure why. He grabbed his Pokedex just to check, and was pleased to find that this little puppy appeared to be weak against fighting type moves. Kabir sort of hoped he would have another Houndour, just because then the fight would be easy, but figured he couldn't hope forever.

"Houndour use ember now!" the trainer called.

Kabir had to admit, he was a bit surprised. He had figured that it would use a dark move, and Kabir began to think. Abra teleported away, so it gave him time to assume that Houndour knew no dark moves. Kabir, though he was pretty sure that his assumptions were correct, wasn't going to let it bring his guard down. He didn't want any close calls; he wanted this battle finished.

"Abra use focus punch!" Kabir ordered.

"Tch! Don't let it complete the attack! Houndour, get in close and use ember!" the man practically screeched. Kabir wondered if he was insane.

Abra's fist began to turn into a bright beacon among the darkness surrounding them. Kabir, though he knew he should be focused on the main battle, couldn't help but stare for a few seconds. Luckily for him, Abra wasn't about to go drifting off in the middle of the battle. Instead, Abra teleported away, effectively dodging the ember and appearing behind Houndour all in the same instance. Kabir snapped out of it and was pleased to note this. He smirked slightly when Abra's fist slammed into the Houndour, making the puppy cry out and skid back a few paces. Houndour was whimpering and twitching, but Kabir could see that it could take at least another hit or two.

"You pathetic little..." the guy snarled at Houndour. The dog growled right back, causing the man to get even angrier. "YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" he snapped. "Use ember NOW!"

Houndour flinched at the name calling, but unleashed a ember that Kabir swear looked more powerful than the first. It hit Abra dead on, but Abra teleported away before something horrendous could be done. Kabir cursed when Abra reappeared. The psychic type had a small burn on his body, but Kabir couldn't tell if it was a major affecting burn or not.

"Abra, are you alright?" he questioned, just to see if the burn was going to impact too much.

Abra glanced back at him, and Kabir nodded. Abra wasn't burned badly. Kabir ordered Abra to finish the job with another focus punch, to which Abra complied by beginning his focusing. Kabir thought himself lucky that Abra seemed to somehow be able to use his psychic powers and focus at the same time, but he supposed that would come to an end when he evolved. Kabir watched in silence as Houndour charged head on towards Abra, preparing one of his somehow super charged embers (upon the hooded freak's command, of course) and hoped that Abra would be able to pull it off. Something told him that the second battle wasn't exactly going to bode well with Abra as far as typing went.

Abra pulled his little stunt again, and Kabir smirked at how Houndour was so easily fooled. He knew he shouldn't feel this cocky, but he just couldn't help it! Abra was doing so well, it was like he was a natural born battler or something. Kabir liked it. He enjoyed watching Abra beat down the Houndour, even though he had felt sympathy for it when the ******* of a trainer had called it a piece of crap. Kabir sighed, sort of wishing he could offer the Houndour a different life, but scratched that from his brain. It was a stupid thought.

"YOU STUPID MUTT! WATCH YOUR FREAKING BACK!" the man shouted, his voice raising so loud that Kabir's ears started ringing.

Houndour whimpered, snapping its ember attack off. The Pokemon's tail drifted lower, making it look beaten and broken. Kabir felt a jolt of sympathy rush through him, but then Abra's attack struck. This time, Houndour was slammed through the darkness. The man didn't bother to recall the little Pokemon, and it make Kabir wonder where it had went. He didn't like what had just happened, and it filled him with something akin to rage. He glowered at the man in the cloak and clenched his fists, but said nothing.

"HA! Well, I hope that mutt just hit a wall or something. That would be excellent. Maybe it died," he snarled under his breath as he grabbed another Pokeball.

"Why don't you just shut the **** up?" Kabir snarled back. His blood was beginning to boil. This was no harmless banter with his brother; this was something that just downright pissed him off. You could be powerful and still care about your Pokemon. Hell, you could be evil and still care about your Pokemon! So what the hell was this guy's problem?! Out of the corner of his eye, Kabir saw Abra giving the man a rather angry look as well.

"Oh, you won't get so lucky this time. That little wimp won't compare to my other Pokemon, no matter how you look at it! Zubat, let's finish this!" he roared, tossing the Pokeball and bringing out the bat-like Pokemon.

Kabir looked at it, but he wasn't really seeing the danger. All he could feel was anger. It was almost like the darkness was feeding his anger, telling him that he had a right and a reason to be pissed. His anger grew and grew, and for some reason, it seemed like Abra was getting angrier and angrier as well. Kabir was trying to control himself, but he just couldn't help the horrible thoughts of how he could beat that Zubat that rushed through his mind. He knew it would be so easy to break its wings and-

That was when Abra cried out in pure pain. Kabir blinked, focusing back in on the battle and cursing at what had occurred. Abra's life was being sucked out of it by the Zubat, who was currently acting like something akin to a vampire bat. Kabir glowered at the offending bat that was latched to Abra's ear, and then told Abra to use focus punch. Sure, it would hardly do anything to the Zubat, but it would get it off. That's really all Kabir wanted, because he was afraid that his anger would take hold again and things wouldn't look pretty for Zubat. Sure, he wanted to beat it...but he didn't want to freak out and kill it or something.

Abra concentrated, but it soon became apparent that the attack wasn't going to be easy with Zubat sucking on his ear. Abra made a rather uncomfortable sound and began to shake his head back and forth. Kabir knew that teleportation wouldn't work; the Zubat would simply stay latched on and with Abra. The problem was, if Kabir didn't do something soon then it would be over. His mind was going in circles as he tried to solve an almost impossible puzzle, and he began to feel that weird angry feeling again.

This time, pushing the feeling away was much more difficult. Kabir began to think of the things in his past; how his "brother" had taken his family...how he was never good enough for his parents. Kabir clenched his head and growled under his breath in an attempt to make the thoughts go away, but instead they got stronger. It was almost like voices were whispering in his head, telling him how unfair and how horrible it was. They told him he should find revenge in beating the pathetic insect that was latched onto his Pokemon. The voices said that beating it down would assure victory. They told him to remember the poor, little Houndour that had just been tossed aside by the very same master.

It was then that Kabir lost all sense of everything save for anger. He roared in something that sounded like pain, but most definitely was not. It was simply raw and bitter anger, being let out like a flood of water escaping from a broken dam. Abra let out a furious cry as well, and suddenly in a burst of black and purple energy, Zubat was knocked off of him and sent flying away. Zubat regained itself and dove towards Abra again, but paused in midair when he noticed that Abra's little slits for eyes began to glow an odd red color. Kabir felt himself spasm and he let out a groan, but Abra wasn't going to hesitate. A jet stream of power rushed away from his and Kabir's bodies, slamming into Zubat and launching the Pokemon directly into his trainer.

Luckily for the guy in the black cloak, he had seen it coming. He recalled Zubat before the Pokemon could smack him in the face, and just looked on. It took a few moments, but finally the odd glint in Abra's eyes disappeared. Kabir felt the pounding disappear from his head, as well as the odd whispers that had been there moments before. Abra fell to the ground almost completely out of it, and Kabir let out a whoosh of air in the form of a harsh pant. He walked over to Abra and picked his Pokemon up, cradling it against him.

Finally it was over. Kabir felt calm again, and he didn't know why, but it was a major relief to feel like that. Abra looked positively scared out of his mind, but Kabir couldn't blame him. The man suddenly began to laugh again, and then disappeared. Kabir had a sinking feeling, and was almost unsurprised as he appeared behind Kabir.

"You're so lucky Beo doesn't want you brats dead yet, he says you're all pawns in some game...but honestly, I could have killed you right now if I wanted," he growled lowly, putting a knife to Kabir's neck. Kabir didn't feel any particular emotion as the dagger was slowly dragged across his neck. It didn't break the skin just yet, but he had a feeling that it would soon. He sighed and closed his eyes, deciding that if he was destined to die, then he was, when suddenly he was alone again.

Kabir blinked slowly, unsure of what the heck had just happened. Abra was sitting on his head once more. Kabir looked about, and found he was standing just in front of the remains of the Viridian Gym. The once golorified gym now looked decayed and horrid, but Kabir kept that thought to himself and simply looked.

"There you are!" the man named Tai shouted. He ran up to Kabir. "You just vanished all of a sudden. It worried me! Zypher would not be happy if I let you die, but this is where we separate paths my friend. I must go and make sure the other trainers make it here," Tai said, in more of a rush than anything else. With those words, he waved goodbye and took off the opposite way.

Kabir cocked his head to the side wondering, not for the first time, just who the heck that Tai Fayling guy was anyway.

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Frostbite: You never cease to amaze me with your posts XD! Simply awesome especially the battle sequence! Anyways Abra grew to lvl 14!

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Chapter 4 Clan of Hope
Shinning hope!​

Post 1​

You and the others finally arrive inside the secret base of Clan of Hope. You look around as it really isn't anything you expected, there are maybe twenty five trainers inside the room, all of who are beaten, bruised, and look exhausted. There white robes torn and discolored. As you stand there unsure what to make of the Clan of Hope a man in a white suit comes and leads you into another room that is very bright. You look ahead to notice a man up a staircase sitting in a big chair. This man is Zypher, all though at the moment the glare from all the lights are blocking you from seeing his true appearance. The man then starts to speak and everyone quiets down to listen.

"As you can see the Dark Brotherhood has already begun toying with your young minds, trying to make you give in to the darkness. They have made a horrible decision becuase I stand here in front of you today to tell you that you are the Kanto regions new hope, as most of the other trainers and there pokemon are worn down and tired, they need rest and that is why we have recruited you. At the current moment, all of your minds can be easily presauded by the Darkness becuase it offers power, but power my friends is nothing. Becoming a pokemon master is not all about Power, that is why Beo lost to me at the finals, and that is why the region is the way it is today" Zypher said as he slowly sat back in his chair, and took a few deep breaths, and you could see something was wrong.

He then began to speak again "There is a pokemon healing device in the main lobby, heal your pokemon before you go on this first mission I am about to give you. Your first mission is going to be very dangerous and some of you may not make it back" He paused for a moment and took more deep breaths, something was wrong with him but he wouldn't let that stop him "You must go to the Virdian Forest, we have been picking up on huge amounts of energy coming from within the center of the forest, it is your job to investigate what that source of power is. If at anypoint you find it to dangerous to continue please don't risk your life and come back, so everyone on your way out, grab 5 potions each, and make sure to heal" Zypher said as he began coughing blood into his fist that was covering his mouth, he then slumped over in his chair and passed out. His guards then urges everyone to leave and you are all forced out.

Post 1: What to do:

• Talk about the clan of hopes base, members, and what there current state looks like.
• Discribe the light and what your feelings are towards Zypher when you first see him (although you can't really see his true identity.
• Listen to what he has to say
• Leave and grab the 5 potions
• then heal your pokemon outside the the area.
• Leave the base

Chapter four part 2!​

As you enter the forest you look around to swirls of dark odd looking vortex's swirling clock wise above almost every inch of the forest. Every tree is not the normal color, but instead is all black, they are twisted and spiral up into the air, and the leaves are all long and dark covered in jagged edges. You start to wonder how far away to sphere is from your current location, and you decide to not worry about it and just keep moving around with a cautious step at every corner. Like Zypher said the forest was crawling with strong dark type pokemon due to the immense power coming from this forest, as well as Dark Brotherhood members.

Wild Pokemon:
Common:

Shuppet
Lvl: 7-11
Moves: Knock Off Screech Night shade

Nirdoran (M)
Lvl 7-11
Moves: Leer, Peck, Focus Energy, double kick

Nidoran (F)
Lvl 7-11
Moves: Growl, Scratch, Tail whip, double kick


Rare

Houndour
lvl:8-12
Moves: Leer ember howl smog
What to do:

• Describe the forest and how distorted it looks.
• Catch or battle a wild pokemon.

Post 3​

As you keep moving deeper and deeper into the twisted and distorted former viridian forest, you begin to feel you are being watched once again, and you quickly turn around to see a Dark Brotherhood member standing behind you. (You can have him say anything you want in this first part)


Dark Brotherhood Pokemon

Houndoom
Lvl 13
Moves: Thunder Fang Ember Howl Smog

Haunter
Lvl 15
Moves: Hypnosis Lick Night Shade Curse

After you defeat the Dark Brotherhood member, he starts to laugh with a big grin. "The boss says it's almost time to end you" he says before turning his head around as a loud roar comes from the center of the forest.

"RA! GIR! RA!" the roar becomes louder and louder and the Dark Brotherhood member turns back to you.

"Bye bye now" he says wave sadistically before vanishing into the shadows the roars coming closer and closer… Two thoughts roll through your mind quickly.

One were the other trainers hearing this roar as well??…. And two what is making that roar??

What to do:

• Battle the Dark Brother hood member
• Describe your feelings towards what he says about Beo
• Talk about the loud roars.

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

 

[Underoos]

Finally they were there; the base of the Clan of Hope. Kabir was drop dead tired, but a look at the multiple people in the room told him that they were even worse for the wear. Most of them looked exhausted. The robes they wore were not of a pure white color, instead they were discolored and ripped in random places throughout. Kabir scratched the side of his head, careful not to disturb Abra in the process. He wasn't exactly sure what to think about this. Weren't they supposed to look strong and amazing, like all of the heroes did in the books? If so, these guys weren't that great. Kabir was still unsure of what to think or do when a man in a white suit walked over to them. He then led them away from the other members and into a bright room. Kabir was able to see without craning his neck, and he saw someone sitting in a big chair. He assumed this was Zypher, but he couldn't see the man's face.

Well, whoever the man was, he began to speak. There was complete and utter silence as he did so. "As you can see, the Dark Brotherhood has already begun toying with your young minds, trying to make you give in to the darkness." Kabir remembered the battle and had a slight struggle keeping a blank face. "They have made a horrible decision because I stand here in front of you today to tell you that you are the Kanto region's new hope, as most of the other trainers and their Pokemon are worn down and tired. They need rest and that is why we have recruited you." Kabir resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course. "At the current moment, all of your minds can be easily persuaded by the Darkness because it offers power but power, my friends, is nothing. Becoming a Pokemon master is not all about power, that is why Beo lost to me at the finals, and that is why the region is the way it is today." The man, Zypher, sank back into his chair and took a few deep breaths. Kabir knew right then there was something wrong. He didn't like it, either.

"There is a Pokemon healing device in the main lobby, heal your Pokemon before you go on this first mission I am about to give you. Your first mission is going to be very dangerous, and some of you may not make it back." He paused and took some more gulps of air. Kabir sort of thought it was for dramatic effect, but then he remembered the deep breathing just moments before. "You must go to the Viridian Forest, we have been picking up on huge amounts of energy coming from within the center of the forest. It is your job to investigate what that source of power is. If, at any point you find it too dangerous to continue, please don't risk your life and come back. So, everyone on your way out grab 5 potions each, and make sure to heal." With that, the Zypher guy began to cough up blood. It pooled into a clump in his fist that was covering his mouth, and then Zypher slumped over in his chair. Kabir could tell he had passed out just as the guards urged everyone to leave.

Is he dying or something? Kabir wondered silently as he headed toward that thing that was supposed to heal Abra up. That probably gives a good impression on some of them. A dying man telling them to go save the world. Kabir snorted softly, and it took him only a moment to realize that Abra was awake from the change in body stiffness. Kabir grabbed the five potions like the other people did, and then finally they were back in the room with the healing machine.

"I suppose we'd best get you healed up," Kabir murmured to his Pokemon. He hated talking around the other people, just because they made him tense. Kabir had people issues, and it always felt like he had to watch his back. Kabir recalled his Abra, and then set it on the little machine. While he waited for Abra to heal, Kabir leaned against the wall so his back was indeed protected. He crossed his arms and watched the weary expressions on some of the people's faces, simply observing how they acted. There was a soft ding from the machine, and that obviously signified his Abra was ready to go. Kabir grabbed the Pokeball and was about to let Abra back out again when he felt his cell phone begin to vibrate in his pocket. He glanced around, and then opened it.

"What?" he said in a soft growl. It was his "brother". Of course. Why the hell was he calling?

"How's the little baby doing in Kanto?"

"Perfectly fine," Kabir grumbled. "I got an Abra as my starter. You know, one of your favorites. So suck that."

"Tch. I got a Charmander and I've already captured an Abra. You're a bit behind, little brother."

"Little? I think you'd better shut up, Sabir."

"I'm thinking about a Growlithe next. Then a Dratini. Maybe a Gastly after that. Then a male Nidoran, just to top it all off. It would be a power packed team, and we both know you'd lose if we had to battle."

"Jeez, what've you been smoking? You sound evil as hell," Kabir grumbled, more to himself than the phone. He glanced around again, getting this weird feeling that someone was watching him. Kabir shifted uncomfortably.

"Shut up, Kabir," Sabir retorted. "It's none of your business what I do and don't do."

"What did you do, go and join some freaky organization? Team Rocket?" Kabir guessed with a dry tone in his voice. There was silence on the other end. "Oh calm down, I'm just playing around. Anyway, shouldn't you be calling your girlfriend and not me?"

"Guess so," Sabir whispered in a hoarse agreement. "Just wanted to see how far you were trailing behind me."

"Whatever, Sabir. I've got some important crap to do, so I'll talk to you and worry about beating you later. Bye." Kabir snapped the phone shut, not even realizing that anything was off. Then he yawned, stretched, and headed out of that weird base. It was making him depressed, and he kept feeling like someone was watching everything he did. He hated that feeling. Moments after he stepped outside, he brought Abra back out. Immediately the Pokemon settled to sitting on his shoulders, and Kabir began his trek towards Viridian Forest.

 

[§acred†Beo!]

Frostbite: Good post!I like how you included the conversation with your brother, it helps get a sense of his life before all of this madness.

 

[Charizard_Man]

He couldn't place the feeling because it was a very vague thing.

It was the medicine his mother gave him, perhaps, or the combination of the violet light through the smoke filled air.

Whatever the case, he felt very, very tired. Very, very drained. If, at this moment, the Grim Reaper were to spring up at his bedside and demand his soul, he would be powerless to resist. To slip into everlasting darkness, the comfort and fluid weightlessness that the void held seemed so inviting, to shed the cares of the world and become one with the hellish, ethereal wisps of nothingness was the most appealing thing the universe could offer to her now.

Josh Gold Sugimori, 7 years old, watched as his parent's Pokemon ranch burned down to the ground. The many pokemon running out, his tiny fists full of ash. Rubbing his watering eyes with his tiny fists, he was still able to make out the figures bombarding Pallet Town with chaos and violence.
​

just lie down and die.
_________________________________________
​

drip...

With that sound, he snapped out of his revere, the moist blood from his clothing dripping onto the tile floor. He looked up and remembered, he was in the Clan of Hope's base. The brilliant white base with state of the art equipment and super hero-like trainers in it was not the image that welcomes Josh. No, instead the room was filled with Clan of Hope Members, all battered.

He walked down the room, his hands shoved in his pockets and holding on to Titan's pokeball all the while. He looked around, the faces so sad and drained of life. Their robes tattered, drenched in blood much like Josh was. Their faces battered, some even lying unconscious on the couches. But amongst this crowd, he did notice another young girl trainer about his age. She stood like a magnificent tree in a sea of despair, he decided not to stare.

"Hello there." Josh turned to see a man, just about his height, with slick dark hair and gotigue greeted Josh with a bow. Josh merely smiled in return,

"I assume you've been escorted here?" The man said in a high-class accent of some sort, Josh nodded. The man chuckled deeply and held his arms out to lead Josh down a hallway. He turned around to find the girl but to no avail, he turned back around only to be blinded.
​

light reveals all.
​

Josh was left alone now, the man walking back down the hall. Josh's vision was distorted, most of it covered with a bright glare that casted shadows over tall objects. He rubbed his eyes and looked up, but it made it worse, all he could see was a large, rounded stair case leading to a throne of some sort. A man sat upon it, his face and upper body casted with a dark shadow.

"As you can see the Dark Brotherhood has already begun toying with your young minds, trying to make you give in to the darkness. They have made a horrible decision becuase I stand here in front of you today to tell you that you are the Kanto regions new hope, as most of the other trainers and there pokemon are worn down and tired, they need rest and that is why we have recruited you."

'Recruited?' Josh thought to himself, who recruits a bunch of teenagers for a job like this? He pondered as he looked besides him to see a row of trainers his age, the girl from before among this line.

"At the current moment, all of your minds can be easily presauded by the Darkness becuase it offers power, but power my friends is nothing. Becoming a pokemon master is not all about Power, that is why Beo lost to me at the finals, and that is why the region is the way it is today"

Josh nodded at the man's speech, it made sense to him. Power was futile, if not with a proper motive. The man inhaled sharply, as he adjusted himself on his chair. The man was loosing his voice, apparent by the raspy tone and deep breaths he kept taking. Josh had a high IQ, but it didn't take a genius to figure out this man was ill.

"There is a pokemon healing device in the main lobby, heal your pokemon before you go on this first mission I am about to give you. Your first mission is going to be very dangerous and some of you may not make it back"

Josh's eyes widened, he was shocked at that remark. A dangerous mission, so it begins. The man yet again inhaled sharply and Josh folded his arms, this man needed some medical attention for sure.

"You must go to the Viridian Forest, we have been picking up on huge amounts of energy coming from within the center of the forest. It is your job to investigate what that source of power is. If, at any point you find it too dangerous to continue, please don't risk your life and come back. So, everyone on your way out grab 5 potions each, and make sure to heal."

He coughed, only to cough again even more violently. A storm of sharp coughs escaped the man, a stream of blood spewing out of his mouth and onto his fist. A group of men rush to his aid, about time, only for another group of men to gently push the line of trainers through the hallway.

Josh looked around, some of these trainers were his age, some were younger. Some looked more experienced than others, while others look more frightened. As for Josh, he felt he didn't belong to either category. Rather in some sort of middle ground, but he shook these thoughts away as they entered the main room again. He looked at his hands, drenched in blood that he tried to wipe off of his clothes.

The healing machine was in the corner, of the trainers quickly formed a line to heal their beloved companions. Josh wouldn't take long, he only had, and needed for that matter, Titan.

It was finally his turn and he placed Titan's pokeball into the machine, a few moments later the machine let out a familiar 'ding!' noise. He picked up the pokeball and smiled, only stopping to check his iPhone's screen.

Should he call his parents? Maybe later...right now he's got a world to save.

Josh smirked and released Squirtle, a thin layer of smoke from the popped pokeball hovered around the Squirtle. They duo smiled as they walked out of the base with 'style', Josh putting on his aviator shades and Squirtle pulling out a pair of shades for himself.

They reached the streets of Viridian and watched as the other trainers scattered,

"Maybe we should travel together?" Josh whispered to himself, a young man walked by just as he said that.

"What?" The man asked.

"What?" Josh replied.

"You said something."

"No."

"We should travel together?"

"That was weird. Im gonna walk away now." Josh turned around and walked down the street.

"DO YOU HAVE MY NUMBER?!" The man yelled, only making Josh hurry faster towards the forest.​

 

[Underoos]

It didn't take very long for them to reach the forest, but when they did, it was obvious that something was completely wrong. Kabir glanced around in a pretty shifty way, and then proceeded into the morbid looking forest. Just as soon as he entered, Kabir felt that horrid feeling of hopelessness consume him, but he attempted to shove it away as he walked further past the entrance and into the forest. As soon as he was pretty much in, Kabir took note of odd swirling things full of blackness that covered nearly everywhere he looked. Kabir wondered what would happen if he touched one, but decided it would be best not to find out just yet. He took a cautious step to his right, and then almost bumped into a craggy old tree that was decaying. Kabir looked at this tree, and found that it was just as black and hopeless as the rest of the things in the forest. Kabir made a face akin to disgust, and then began to walk.

Time just seems to fly when one is trying to be careful, because for Kabir it felt like he had spent almost a day in the forest. Upon checking his phone, however, it proved to only be a mere fifteen minutes. Kabir sighed and shook his head as he slipped the cellular back in his pocket, and then looked around some more. He was trying to find what he was supposed to, but the task wasn't as easy as it had first sounded. Kabir occasionally heard the mutated cries of wild Pokemon, but other than that it was dead and silent in the forest. That made him feel so uneasy. Kabir glanced at his shoulder, feeling a bit more reassured when he saw one of Abra's feet hanging there as the Pokemon slept. Abra made him feel a bit better about this odd place, for some reason.

Not long after his little pause to check his surroundings, Kabir heard a rather loud cry of a Pokemon that seemed almost dangerously close. He tensed up and listened for a brief moment, and then slowly began his trek again. His feet sounded perilously loud inside his head, even though he knew he wasn't making that much noise.

"NIDO!"

Kabir whipped around, almost completely unsurprised to find that the Pokemon had found him. It was a blue Nidoran, meaning it was one of the females. Kabir felt Abra stir on his shoulders. "Abra, time to wake up," Kabir said softly, taking a small step back as the female Nidoran took a hop forward. Abra stirred more, and then suddenly his weight was gone. Kabir waited, and moments later Abra reappeared directly in front of Kabir and the Nidoran. The little Pokemon let out a rather feral growl.

"It doesn't look like we're going to get out of this without a fight first," Kabir commented dryly. "So Abra, just wait and see what she does. Then after that, focus punch would probably be your best bet." Kabir didn't know why, but he was keeping his voice to, for the most part, a whisper. Abra, however, was able to hear him. The Pokemon simply sat there, staring at Nidoran without looking the least bit scary. Kabir smirked, but didn't do anything else.

The Nidoran decided to take that perfect moment to charge. She propelled herself forward somehow, and then swung around and slammed one of her paws into Abra before he could teleport away. Abra grunted, but he was alright. Fighting type attacks wouldn't hurt him too bad, and Kabir knew that Abra was stronger than Nidoran by quite a bit. The next foot slammed into Abra's chest, and Abra simply held his ground and waited for the attack to be over. Moments later it was, and Nidoran had scurried back away from Abra, looking a bit confused. She seemed to be unable to comprehend why Abra hadn't went down. Kabir figured that double kick was probably her greatest attack, something that made him feel immensely better.

"Alright Abra, attack now!" Kabir ordered, still keeping his voice to a form of a whisper. He just didn't want to shout, for fear of a giant swarm of Pokemon going and trying to attack him and Abra.

Abra's fist soon began to glow as he focused. Nidoran looked at the light with her head cocked to the side. It was obvious that she had never seen this before. Either that, or maybe even she was attracted to shiny objects. Kabir didn't mind either way, because just moments after the attack was complete. Kabir was a bit surprised that Nidoran hadn't attacked. Abra teleported, making Nidoran thoroughly confused. She whipped her head all around, until Abra suddenly appeared right above her. He slammed his fist down right on the top of her head, careful to avoid her spikes as he did so. Nidoran's head slammed into the ground, and she gave a little shriek of pain.

Abra disappeared, teleporting back to his spot located just in front of Kabir. His tail was twitching, and he looked to be rather proud of his attack. Either that, or it was something else that Kabir couldn't describe. The Nidoran slowly pushed herself up, and immediately Abra's fist began to glow again. Nidoran growled sharply, making Abra's ears perk up. The focus of the attack was still kept, however, so Kabir didn't see it as completely horrible. Nidoran continued to growl menacingly for a few more moments, and then charged head first at Abra. Kabir glanced from Abra to Nidoran, unsure if he would be able to pull it off.

Nidoran began to scratch the arm that Abra's fist glowed in. She sort of made a form of battle cry as she did it. Abra grunted in sheer annoyance as his attack was cut off. Then he did something that Kabir had never seen. Abra actually stood up on both feet. He pressed a step forward, looking unsure and wobbly, but it was enough to get Nidoran off of him. Abra vanished seconds later, reappearing in one of the dead trees nearby. Nidoran looked around and when she finally noticed, she let out a sharp cry of frustration and stormed over to the tree. Kabir watched as the little Nidoran began smacking the tree with both feet in an attempt to get Abra down, but it didn't work.

Abra looked over and then his fist began to glow again. Kabir watched, rather satisfied with how Abra didn't need to be told what to do in this situation. Abra was just growing smarter and smarter, and Kabir was enjoying that. Nidoran furiously continued slamming the tree, but to no avail. In just a minute, Abra's attack was ready. He launched himself out of the tree, straight towards Nidoran who hadn't noticed a thing. His attack hit once more, and it seemed to be for good. Nidoran slumped over in the ground, body having completely given out. Abra teleported away and back to Kabir.

"Nice one, Abra," Kabir commented softly.

He was a bit scared when Abra replied. Thank you. Kabir looked at his Pokemon with a raised eyebrow; Abra had never been able to form complete words before.