Pokébook

Kisa/6:00pm/Azlea City

I hopped of Poni and grinned at my group mates. After chasing a couple Team Rocket Grunts, I was left alone, staring up at the action from below. But, I had decided to follow them... I didn't want to be lost again. So I hopped on Poni's back and, well, here I was.

They had just piled out of Slowpoke cave.

"You can ride that thing?" Kent said, his eyes open wide.

I smiled and fed Poni a berry I had swiped along the way. I had also picked up a few Apricorns. I remembered Azlea was very important to my mother, and thought that she might be here, waiting for me. I also remember that Kurt, the acorn man, lived here also. He made wicked pokeballs out of Apricorns. And I wanted some.

"Uh, I'm not sure of other's can," I said, stroking the fireless hair on her stomach. They were all watching, waiting for an explanation. "But my mother trained Poni ever since she was a little baby to be ridden. Isn't that right baby?" I said, stroking her silky nose. I looked up. "What did you guys do, anyways?"

"Oh, I just handled a huge pack of Rocket Grunts all by myself."

"Pfft," Max groaned and folded his arms.

"So every thing's cool?"

"Why else would we be here?" Max said, looking off towards the town.

I looked across the familiar faces and noticed a new one. He was a tall boy - taller than me - and had an adorable small pokemon at his feet.

I also noticed two were gone. Sam and Tyler? Where did they go...?

"You're a new trainer, huh?" I asked the new boy as we walked into town. I was the only girl...

"Uh, yeah," he responded and scratched behind his ear.

"So how'd you get stuck with Ke-"

"Hey, if you don't mind, I have some pokemon to heal. Hurry up!" Kent called back to the rest of us. I sighed and quickened my speed. But, as soon as we were a few feet in front of the poke center, I paused. I needed to visit an old friend.

"Hey, I'll meet up with you guys after..."

Kent shrugged, "'Kay."

I turned and walked south, towards Kent's house. He was an old friend of mother's, maybe he had seen her.

Tyler Cohen | Rocket's Makeshift Warehouse Above Slowpoke Well | 5:25PM

"Aaaaand..."

Crawdaunt slammed the last Weezing against the rocks, leaving the final Rocket without Pokemon. "Y-Y... Wow..." He recalled Weezing and backed away, leaving the few Pokeballs he had stolen.

I held out my hand, pulling Crawdaunt back inside his tiny home, and just in time. I braced myself on a rock, feeling the earth shake beneath my feet. And as I carefully looked over the ledge to the area below, I saw the entire gang running out of the cavern where the bags were tossed. "Hmm..."

I looked at the balls I had gathered into my bag and easily picked out Ghastly's. I stowed him on my belt and took one last look at the group below before settling it all in my mind.

After all, I wasn't like the rest. The idea of being a ruthless trainer, doing anything to win a battle... It just seemed wrong. But then again, maybe my philosophy sustained itself just as unorthodox and snide.

But that's where the decision had to be made.

So am I a loner, or a follower?

I wrestled it around in my head for a minute, droning out the sound of the talking below. The police had already arrived and would no doubt search this area, finding the bash marks on the high walls of the cliff.

So pressurized, I had to make a decision.

Red button or blue button.

Enter or leave.

Right or left.

I set my bag down on the ground, pulling out the Pokeballs that didn't belong to me. The police would find them and sort through the entire mess, and hopefully Tyler Cohen wouldn't come up in the investigation.

I'd leave the limelight to Kent and the others.

So I picked up my things and took one last look at the group below. I figured they'd be celebrating, but they were arguing. And Sam... Sam was gone.

"You're leaving, aren't you..." she asked, watching the group arguing below. Without thinking, I nodded. She waited, just watching me until I turned to look back at her. And somewhere in our blue eyes, someone drowned.

"Kent and I... Our methods differ."

Sam smirked, sitting on a boulder. "So? No one's the same."

"So you like Kent..."

"I hate him."

I nodded. "I don't like the idea of going off alone..."

"...and I don't like the idea of finding your corpse on the side of Route 40."

I smiled hesitantly, looking back up at her. "Then let's go."

Sam grinned eagerly, nodding again. "Alright. We'll have to work our butts off,"

"...but we can..."

"...we will beat Kent"

"...and the others to the Pokemon League."

Sam held up her hand and I clasped my hand against hers and the deal was set.

And as dramatic as the moment was, a Policeman's motorcycle was revving up the path to the high cliffs where we stood. "We should am-scray before the cops get here." Sam nodded in agreement, but lost the train of thought there.

Then an idea hit me. "Do you trust me?"

She blinked, curiously.

"Do you trust me?!"

She nodded and I took her hand, throwing Crawdaunt's Pokeball over the ledge and into the river below that led to Azelea Town. Before she could refuse, I tugged her after me over the cliff and safely onto Crawdaunt's back.

"Crawdaunt, let's go to Azelea!"

Kent: Azlea Pokemon Center| 6:10pm

Kent sat sat, twirling his new Pokeball in his hands. He was wondering weather or not to keep the thing. it had tried to eat him, but it seemed really strong too. In the end it only boiled down to one thing. Fang. Fang was lost, somewhere between route 32 and Azlea. Kent was running out of light to look, and energy to walk. Gliscor was his only chance.

"What are you waiting for?" Jack plopped down next to Kent, smiling as he placed his dinner down. "Why don;t you let it out?"

"I'm a bit... afraid," Kent said, it took a lot for hi to say it. Kent was superman, or at least in his own mind. To admit he was afraid, was like stabbing himself. Jack didn't speak, he sense Kent wasn't in the mood to talk. "When I caught it, I wanted to protect us...but now that I need it...well...I don;t think I can pull it off again if it attack me."

"Then don;t let it out? Release it or something."

"Wel...I need Fang back...its like my only hope," Kent got up slowly. "I promised my dad I would take care of it. I promised him I would treat it like my own son..I know its cheesy, but I did."

Jack awkwardly shifted in his chair. Kent was talking personally, to a guy he barley knew. Anyone would be awkward in this situation. Kent didn't blame him."Bye."

Ken t ran out of the Pokemon center. He didn't care if he was afraid at this point. All he needed to know was that Fang was out there somewhere, and he needed to find him. It was his fault. He had been an idiot, and he wasn't going to let Fang pay for it.

With a bright flash of red, the massive bat emerged. It was still a bit loopy and so it rocked a bit on its tail. It glared at Kent when it finally came too. "Scor!" The beast jumped into the air and made a wild jab at Kent. He knew it was coming, and knew far before it would happen but Kent still fell flat on his ass.

The Pokemon landed on Kent pinning him down. His fang began to glow bright, sparking into fire. Its head looked at Kent with disgust, as if thinking he was not good enough for food. It decided he was too hungry to care though, and lunged right for his neck.

Only to have Gliscor lick him. Yes LICK him. Kent looked at Gliscor through tight eyes, and saw it smiling at Kent. It popped up into the air, and did a flip of excitement. Kent didn't care to know what had happened, he only needed to know one thing. "Hey Gliscor, think you could fly me around a bit."

With that Kent was off to search for Fang.

Samuelle Park - Day 2, 5.35 PM, Cliff Near Rocket Hideout

"Do you trust me?"

Sam blinked at Tyler. What? That question was asked way before its time.

"Do you trust me?!"

The roar of the officer's motorcycle grew louder, demanding for more attention with each second that passed between them. Finally Sam gave a small nod.

It wasn't as if she had any other choice anyway.

Tyler grinned and threw his pokeball over the ledge, much to Sam's horror. Then, he grabbed her hand and jumped off the cliff. Sam squeezed her eyes shut as the wind crashed into her face. Beside her, Tyler screamed, but it wasn't a girly shriek. He sounded thrilled.

Oh God, oh God she shouldn't have trusted him -

But they were fine. They landed on something, and water splashed gently onto Sam's face. Tyler laughed behind her. "Were you scared?"

"N-No," Sam replied. Her weak voice betrayed everything. That and the fact that she was clinging onto the Crawdaunt for dear life.

It was a river under them. A river required a person to know swimming if she wanted to survive it. And Sam would never tell anyone the truth, but she didn't know how to swim at all.

But it was okay. She could keep calm. Keep calm. She just had to keep talking. That was right. "D'you think we'd get to Azalea before them?"

"Pretty sure of it. We're almost there. And you're sure you're all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Honestly. How long before we reach Azalea?"

"Maybe ten minutes."

Sam peered over the Crawdaunt's head to stare at the raging waters beneath them. Her stomach churned. Was that her lunch she tasted coming back up? She didn't dare speak another word. She might vomit, and that would confirm whatever suspicions Tyler had about Sam and water. She couldn't have that, no.

When they finally arrived at Azalea town, Sam scrambled off the Crawdaunt and onto solid land. Good solid land.

Then she froze. Up ahead on the main road, Kent and the others were making their way into the town as a group. No one seemed to have noticed their disappearance. Sam backed away from the road, ducking back into the little trail that led to the riverside and crashing into Tyler as she did so.

"They're here," she said.

"Who?"

"You know. Kent and the others." And horrifying as it was, Sam realized she didn't have a plan this time, and that she'd actually have to learn to trust Tyler if this journey of theirs was going to work out. So she swallowed her pride. "What do you think we should do? We need to get to the Pokemon center, but they're probably headed there too."

Tyler Cohen | Stalking Outside Azelea | 5:58PM

"It'd be nice," I said, rummaging through my pack, "if we could get a bit ahead of them." I pulled out a bottle of super potion that had nearly twenty sprays left in it. "Here." I handed her the bottle and she pulled out Kite, Blaze, and Pinplup, and we all just sat there in the grass by the river, healing our Pokemon.

Sam and her little penguin started playing around. Pinplup would make bubbles and Sam would pop them as quickly as possible. I smiled and let my eyes drift off towards the river. There was something...

...floating down the river...

So I stood up and ran to the riverbank, pulling out Ghastly's Pokeball. I released him into the air around me and pointed to the blue oval floating downstream. "Casper, can you go grab that and bring it here?"

Ghastly nodded and flew out over the water, preparing his mouth as a trap for the mystery bobble.

Ghastly swallowed it up and floated back to the shore, sticking out his tongue with a wet blue egg on it. I arched an eyebrow and took it into my hands. It was mostly sky blue with a small patch of yellow on the front. Sam ran over to me to check it out and arched an eyebrow.

"An egg?"

I turned my head to her, nodding, though still unsure. "I guess someone chucked it into the river upstream..."

Sam bit on her lip. "Well, then... You found it, so it should be rightfully yours, right?"

I nodded again and pulled out a towel from my bag to dry the egg off with. When it was completely dry, I felt a kick and almost dropped it out of shock. "Jesus..."

Sam grinned and returned her Pokemon to their tiny spheres, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. "There's no way the others are going to travel tonight after such a long day..."

"Which leads me to wonder why we're traveling after such a long day."

Sam shrugged, giving me a half-wink. "You rolled me down the river all the way from the Slowpoke Well, Tyler. I get to call a shot now." She pointed to the Pokeball with the purple rim at my side. "Bring Ghastly out." She had something in her hand... Something tiny and white.

"Ghastly, come on out." The fiery black ball floated out of his Pokeball and lazily hovered, half-asleep.

"This," she said, "is a TM90. Flash." She took a step towards Ghastly and he opened a huge, ghostly eye in suspicion.

"Ghaas?"

And before Ghastly could make another move, Sam threw the tiny machine into Ghastly's eye, making him blink like he had just put in new contacts. He squirmed around in the air before opening his eyes again, which were colored a magnificent gold. "Ghaaaaaa?"

"Now he'll be able to light up the area around us at night." She grinned and waited for me to make the command.

"Ghastly, uhh... Use flash."

Ghastly's eyes lit up like flashlights, projecting light in a cone ahead of him. Sam was holding back laughter, but I wasn't that strong. So to the ground I fell, laughing in spurts until I couldn't breathe.

Jack Preston
9:00am Friday
Azalea Pokemon Centre

"GIIIIIIH!"
Jack awoke with a yell. Something appeared to be eating his face. He shook his head wildly, the thing dropping to the floor. Larvitar's head poked out from the blankets and Rotom floated idly out through the television screen as Jack's gaze fell to the floor.

"A Gible? What the hell..." Jack grumbled groggily. A second later his eyes snapped open. "Wait a minute... Fang, is that you?"
"Gii gi!" it shouted, jumping up and down. "Giiiih!" Larvitar listened closely to Fang's Pokespeak and jumped down from the bed to nudge the sleeping Swinub in the far corner.
"Oh, duh Jack," Jack said to himself, "he's looking for Kent." He got down on his knees and faced Fang as Snout waddled over to his old friend.
"Fang, listen. Kent's not here." Fang stared at Jack. "It's true. He's gone out to find you."
Fang made for the door, but Larvitar and Snout held him back. "No, listen! Why don't you wait here?" Fang glared at Jack. "Look, he has to come back sometime. Just wait for him. Better than you going out and getting lost again."

Fang stood still for a second, then yawned and fell asleep on Snout's back. Jack sighed with relief and hit the button for room service. Within a few minutes all except the sleeping Gible were noshing on dishes of food - not quite as good as Kent's cooking, but still a welcome sight for an empty belly.

Kent: 10:00 PM| Over Route 32

"Where the heck is he!" Kent screamed to nothing. He had been looking for Gible for four hours now, and had nothing to show for it but some scratched and dirt. Gliscor, or Glide as Kent had nick named him, was flying above, screeching softly as he hunted and searched.

"Gliscor, come on!" Kent gestured to Gliscor to pick hi up, so they could fly to the next area. "Okay, wake me when we land." Kent's eyes shut instantly, and he slowly drifted off. When Glide landed, Kent rolled off in a heap. Gliscor haunched over him. its primal instincts told him to attack, to eat. Kent was a piece of meat...but for some reason he couldn't. He liked Kent, a rare thing.

Kent stayed like that for the next twelve hours. He had somehow survived on two hours of sleep in the last two days. He told himself he didn't need sleep it was for the weak. Glide was able to make a fire, with his fire fang and by slicing some lumber, and they stayed there.
10:00pm

Kent shoot up from his sleep. It took him a while to register where he was. When he was. Gliscor was napping next to him, in the shape of a large Oak. "What the heck happened to the night?" Kent yawned. "Glide, you awake?" Kent called for his new Pokemon, who stirred a bit, but stayed stationary. It was used to being asleep now, be tricky to switch its sleep schedule. "Glide, want a Poffin?" The bribe didn't work. A) He was full B) he was too tired and C) he had no clue what a Poffin was.

"I guess I'm walking," Kent sighed, and returned Gliscor to his Pokeball. Kent was glad he was hungry, and tired, and sore. Oh sorry, I meant to say hated, sorry.

"Hey, its you! Guys its him!" Kent turned his ahead. And was sorry he had. Behind him were a group of Rocket members, in torn rags called clothing, panting and mad."That's the guy who got us caught."

Kent went wild eyed. Not wasting a moment, he turned tail and ran for the hills. "Get him!" A huge flash of red erupted behind him, as about 13 Pokemon came out to attack Kent. Kent dove down the hill top, just dodging the first round of attacks. He spun down the slope, the bushes acting like nets. Painful nets, painful, breakaway nets.

"Kazam!" A bright light sudden;y popped out of nowhere, stopping Kent. Slowly it turned solid, forming a Alakasam. Kent was no anatomy expert, so when he made a wild kick, he hoped Pokemon had their nuts in a hurt able spot. They didn't. But Alakasm have weak legs, and fell backwards.

"Glide, you better wake the fuck up!" Kent threw released his Pokemon as he ran, running into it where it formed. Gliscor fell belly down from Kent's weight, and began to fly down the second hill. "Glis?!?!?!?" The Pokemon was utterly shocked in so many ways, but didn't try and make sense of it at the moment. Kent didn't give him the chance, yanking his ears he pulled them away from the surface, and into a current to the sky.

"Krow!" It still wasn't over. A rocket's Honchkrow was trailing behind them, ready to strike at any moment. Kent had to act fast. He yanked his Pokedex out, and pressed it to Gliscors back. First step, know his Pokemon's attacks.

"Gliscor, do an Ariel loop, and get behind Honchkrow," Kent braced himself for the tug of gravity, which was likely being tugged by a Ryhorn, that was tied to your gut. Glide gracefully monovered himself above and Behind Honchkrow, while Kent threw up. "Use..Blergh..use ThunderFang!"

Glide picked up seed on command, and latched onto Honchkrow. The electricity blasted through Hinchkrow, and it was only kept up in the air through Glide's teeth. "Now, follow up with Metal claw, and chuck it to the ground!" His claws glowed bright white, and hardened into a metallic shine. It clamped onto the wings of the weakened Honchkrow, and aided it fall to the ground.

"Now then, let's get back to Azlea," Kent said with a weak chuckle.

Azlea Town Pokemon Center, 11:50

"One order of everything, and all the berries you got, please." the Nurse nodded, and took off to the back. Kent collasped onto a chair, and waited for his food to arrive. Jack appeared behind him. "Kent!"

"Hi Jack..." Kent dragged on, too tired and too sad to speak normally. "No luck with Fang."

"Yeah, I know," Jack said happily.

"What are you so happy about?" Kent asked. He figured Jack was laughing at his misfortune.

"This," Jack said, holding up a sleeping Dragon's head.

"FANG!" Kent jumped up and grabbed his Pokenom. "How the hell did you find him.

"He actually found us. I found him in my room last night, with Lax and Snout."

"Well then, I guess its time,"


"Time for what?" Jack was confused.

"To challenge the gym of course!"

Kisa/6:10pm/Azlea

I opened the thick wooden door and peered in. His house was always dark.

"Kurt?" I whispered, hoping I wasn't waking him. It was early in the night, anyways.

"Kisa?" A light flicked down the hall of the house. I heard a few quiet footsteps and finally, holding a half-carved pokeball, Kurt stepped out of the darkness. "It is Kisa! Kisa... there was something I had to tell you..."

"There's something I have to ask you. Where's my-"

"Your-"

"Mother," they both said at the same time.

"Do you know where my mother is?" I shrieked.

"Do you know that she's looking for you?"

I sighed. "Is she here?" I was a bit frustrated.

"..." He opened his mouth like he wanted to answer, but didn't know what to say. "Your mother, well... she did a bad thing."

"What do you mean by a bad thing?"

"Well, you know your mother better than I. You know how she can be a bit... obnoxious, but in the good sense." I nodded and laughed, remembering all those times she would yell at others because they weren't respecting their pokemon enough. "Well... Team Rocket used to be here, they have recently left, I've heard. Anyway, when she saw them dragging Slowpokes off in bags, she yelled and caused a ruckus. They, well Team Rocket, they..."

My heart was beating so fast. "What did they do?" I said through my teeth.

"Well... at first they told her to stop, but they wouldn't listen. Eventually they ignored her and kept on with their business. But, at night, when she went to sleep... well she was supposed to come back here to pick up her pokeballs but she never came back. I don't know where she is."

"They took her?"

He held up his palms. "Not necessarily. She could have just left..."

"Don't beat around the bush. I'm going to kill those bastards!"

I turned to run out the door, but Kurt caught my hand. "Kisa... your mother gave me something to give to you, if you came by here and she had already left."

He walked back into his carving room and returned with a leather pack. I looked inside, marveled at what I saw. There was a pokedex, a handful of berries, and three carved balls. I looked up at Kurt. "She really misses me."

"You should have heard her; more scared than she'd ever been in her life. And I grew up with her! But... you look like you're doing fine. Are you alone?"

"No," I said, wrapping the bag around my shoulder. "I'm with friends.

12:00pm

I had slept on Kurt's couch, since neither Kent or Max... or the new guy was around. But, now I was walking towards the pokecenter, no doubt where they would be. Sure enough, when I strolled in, they were all sitting. Kent had a happy grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked, sitting down.

"Fang's back," the new guy said, nodding to the ugly Pokemon that Kent was snuggling.

"Where did you disappear to, anyway?" Max said, eyes closed. He always seemed to be tired, or bored.

"I talked to Kurt... asked him if he knew what happened to my mother."

"Your mother?" the new guy asked.

"Yeah..."

The three of them looked at me, confused. "Oh God, I never told you guys. The reason I stole the food-"

"You stole food?"

"Yeah... that's how we met. Anyways, the reason I did it was because I didn't choose to be on my own. Me and my mother were travelers. We traveled all across the Johto. But, one night, a large flying creature, one that had stalked us many times before, disrupted our sleep. It scared us out of camp, and me and mother were split up from running away.

"And my mother was here, but... I think Team Rocket did something to her; took her or something. I need to find them. And take them down."

Tyler Cohen | Northern Route 34 | Day 3, 10:00AM

Bzzzzt...

Bzzzzzt!!!

I blinked awake, my aching neck propped up against an apricorn tree. Letting out a groan, I shuffled until I sat straight up, brushing the dirt and fallen Apricorn shells off my pants. But the buzzing... Oh, the buzzing. That's right.

I reached into my bag, pulling out my Pokegear which, until now, had been inactive. On the screen it broadcast a red alert for the Goldenrod area. I guessed it was normal for alerts to be flashed in such a huge city. I rubbed my eyes and turned the sound on for the radioman's voice.

"This is an alarm affecting your area! At 3:00AM this morning, police reported a breakout from the Violet City jail. The fugitives are believed to be associated directly with Team Rocket and are a threat to any unwary Pokemon trainer!"

I wondered if the goons who had escaped were the ones I had taken out with Crawdaunt... No, they couldn't have been... Crawdaunt dumped them into the river. I smiled and checked my belt for my Pokeballs, making sure they were both there. 1...2...Good.

Looking around, I noticed the obvious lack of Sam around me. Great, I thought, I've been ditched on the first day apart from the group.

I took a quick look around, just to make sure I didn't miss her... Nope... She was gone.

So I reached into my bag and pulled out the egg, making sure it was okay. And...it was. Just as blue and yellow as ever.

"HEY!" An old man's voice echoed from up the road and I jerked my sore neck around to see who it was. But it was just...an old man. Nothing threatening about him.

He walked with a cane and hobbled down the road to our makeshift campsite and glared at me with the egg. "You're the thief!"

I arched an eyebrow and figured he was senile. "Uhh... What did I steal, sir?"

He stretched out a shaky finger and pointed at the egg. "That's one of my prized Kingdra eggs!"

And with wide blue eyes, I looked down at the egg, imagining how a Kingdra could come out of it. "B-But... I rescued it from the river..."

"The river?"

I nodded and pointed to the east, towards the sound of faint rushing water. "I found it floating south down by the Slowpoke Well."

He pondered this for a moment and shook his head, holding out his hand. "I'm sorry. Only well-seasoned trainers are allowed to take one of those eggs."

I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to just give up a Kingdra. "What... What if I proved to you that I'm worthy?"

He put his hand down, resting it on his cane. There was obviously only one way to prove myself...and that was a battle.

"Sure, kid." He took out a Pokeball and held it out, ready to cast the Pokemon out. "If you can beat one of my Pokemon in a battle, then I'll let you keep the egg."

I grinned and nodded, pulling Ghastly's Pokeball from my belt. It had been a while since I'd battled with Ghastly, and after the few new moves Sam helped me teach him the last night, he was sure to win.

"Now, just head down the road and we'll battle from here to there."

I nodded and took off running a few dozen yards down the road. When I stopped and turned around, the old man was walking back up the road with the Horsey egg. "Hey!" I caught my breath and ran after him, stopping right in front of him in the road. "We had an agreement!"

The old man chuckled and pulled out his Pokeball again. "You really want this egg, don't you?"

I nodded, Ghastly's ball still in my hand.

"Alright, then. We'll battle in my back yard."

It was settled, then. I didn't care to leave a note for Sam since she had left anyway, so I just gathered up my things and followed the old man to his house which... Wow. It was the famous Goldenrod daycare.

The Day-Care Battlefield | 10:30AM

"The name of the game is 1on1!" The old man's grandson had come out into the back yard to proctor the fight and to hold onto our spare Pokemon in case either of us--meaning me--felt like cheating.

The old man tossed out his Pokeball and released a flash of white light which quickly took the form of the fabled underground-dragon, Flygon.

I took a deep breath and released Ghastly onto the field. The old man grinned and nodded. "You may go first."

But I shook my head, already clicking a strategy together in my head. "No, sir. It's your home, you can go."

Ghastly turned and looked at me, giving a ghostly chuckle as he turned back to look at his opponent. The old man nodded and cleared his throat, giving quick orders. "Flygon, let's start this game off with a dragonbreath!"

The green dragon took in a breath of air and released a plume of green fire much larger than the one Fang mustered. I waited and timed it until the flames were almost at Ghastly before shouting, "Ghastly, Mirror Coat!"

The black ghost opened his mouth and swallowed the fire, blasting it back at Flygon with, magically, double the force. Flygon braced itself for the impact but took it head-on, getting forced backwards several yards in the process.

"God..." I mumbled, amazed at how much dexterity that dragon had. But it was no time to be amazed. "Ghastly," I shouted again, "Use Flash!"

Ghastly chuckled and blasted his flashlight eyes at the dragon, but Flygon apparently was done playing games.

He flew up without a command and circled around Ghastly, blasting it with a flamethrower.

Ghastly flew around, phasing through the ground and back to extinguish the flames. When he rose from the ground again, he had a gimp in his hover--burned.

I grimaced, watching him cringe whenever he felt the burn. But more had to be done to win the fight.

"Flygon," the man gave out a clear and flat order, "Seismic Toss!"

Even though the Flygon knew better--he had to--he made a full on charge at Ghastly and tried to lift him up to slam him, but he phased right through.

Is he really using fighting attacks on Ghastly? I bit down on my lip and pointed at Flygon. "Casper! Pull a Houdini!"

Ghastly vanished from clear sight, leaving the Flygon to hover around in search of his invisible prey. When Ghastly appeared back in Flygon's face with a Hypnosis already launched, Flygon couldn't dodge or counter. He just fell to the ground in one huge, dragonic lump.

"Now, Ghastly, give him a Nightmare..."

Ghastly began to shrink down until he was the size of Flygon's head. Slowly, like a snowflake, he fell down into the dragon's skull and vanished.

There was a grumble and a snarl before Flygon began to sleep-fight, terrified by the images he saw. For a minute, I thought he may snap out of it, but when he used Dragon Claw on himself, well, I felt pretty good.

Ghastly flew out of Flygon's head and watched the fun as he continued to blast and claw at himself, finally slamming his body down on the ground in a Self-Seismic Toss.

There was a moment of dead silence before the old man's grandson threw out his hand hesitantly and declared, "Flygon... Wow, he's... Uh, he's unable to battle, gramps..."

The old man grinned and nodded, returning Flygon to his ball. But he pointed at Ghastly right after and pointed out something that was odd. Part of his normal purple fire was red, and the black sphere of his body was beginning to chafe under the fire. "Let's get him inside and healed up."

I nodded and Ghastly slumped into a sad oval, hovering after us until we all sat around a medicine grinder.

And I mean... Pestal and Mortar medicine grinder.

The old man's wife began grinding up some red leaves, mixing in some Apricorn juice with the bitter plant for taste and nutrition. And after she was finished, she put the bowl in front of Casper. "Drink up, ghostie..."

Ghastly smiled a fanged smile at the old woman and drank the juice, smacking his lips in enjoyment as the burn vanished. "Ghaaaastlyyyy!" He grinned and floated outside to play with the other Pokemon while the old man and I talked about the egg.

"Well, son..." I bit my lip, anxious and ready for my reward. "You fought well in that battle." He grinned and took a sip of his tea, looking at the egg in my lap. "But you know, it makes me wonder why a ghost trainer like yourself would want a Horsey to raise." He shook his head. "It takes a lot of patience."

I nodded and pulled out my Pokedex, showing him the lineup of my dream team. And after a close examination, he nodded. "So that Ghastly won't be with you forever."

I slowly nodded, saddened at the thought of parting with him. "He's a really good friend of mine, that Ghastly..." Out the window, I watched him Flashing a Zigzagoon. The little raccoon Pokemon ambled around aimlessly.

"But as soon as I find a good home for him," I bit my lip, not really wanting to say it, "I'll leave him there. Maybe as a trade."

And that peaked the old man's interest fully. He chuckled and put his cup on the table, nodding. "Well, your Ghastly is welcome here whenever you're ready to part ways with him." The old man chuckled and nodded at the Horsey egg. "And one day, when that egg is a beautiful, powerful Kingdra, I want a rematch with you."

I grinned, nodding eagerly. "I'd love that."

"But I have to ask..." His voice droned on and I channeled him out as I saw Sam passing by the house. My eyes widened and I almost choked on my tea. "Your hair..."

I ran off from the table and wrestled with the lock on the front door, calling out just before Sam was out of sight. "Sam! Sam, over here!"

She turned and looked, glaring in my direction. "Tyler Cohen, you're a lousy sonuvabitch if you think you can just ditch me..." She droned on as I noticed the old man coming up behind me.

"A friend of yours?"

I nodded. "And a great trainer."

He nodded. "I'm tempted to find out for myself after that battle with you."

I smiled brightly, turning back to see Sam, a bit cooled down in the presence of other people. "Oh... You're with company." She chuckled softly and nodded. "I'm Sam, and I'm pleased to meet you."

The old man grinned and held out his hand, shaking hers with a nod. "The pleasure is all mine, little missy."

Lumi, due to the fact that is basically three posts in one, and awesome, I'm giving you extra points.

Kent|12:05 pm, Day 3| Azalea Pokemon Center

"I actually just saw some team Rocket goons," Kent said casually, as he began to mix some fresh Apricorn Juice. "I took out two of their Pokemon before I got away."

Kisa's jaw dropped. "Think you could take me there?"

"I guess," Kent said, while he spoon fed the juice to Swinub. "I doubt they're still there They might be dumb, but not that dense."

"Even the General area. I know how to track decently enough."

Kent nodded. "Kay, but if you don't mind...think I could beat Bugsy first?" Kisa shot him a death glare. "Okay, Play, Rocket first We'll do your mom first." Jack chuckled to himself followed by Kent. "Let's just get some supplies, and then I can lead us all up there."

Kisa agreed to that. Kent gave a list of things for Kisa and Jack to pick up, while he went to the Poffin stations, and began to mix up some energy bar like Poffins."You almost done?" Max called, everyone else was sitting around, Kisa was pacing.

"And..." Kent sprinkled the last bit of Berry into the mix, and siled. "Done." He poured them all into the case, and then hopped up to start their side adventure.

"Gliscor, come on out!" Kent threw the ball into the air, and watched the friendly giant emerge. "I need you to find where we were earlier, think you can remember?" His stubby hands attempted its best imitation of a salute, followed by a cheerful "Score!"

1:20 pm

"Okay, and here it is!" Kent collapsed down onto a patch of grass upon their arrival. Gliscor flew down to meet him. "I was around here when they saw me, and my camp was that way...so they were over there." Kent pointed in a vague direction and then shut his eyes.

"KENT!" Kisa screamed, sending her Vulpixie at him. Kent was brought back to life from the burning ember.

"Fine! Fine!" Kent sighed. "Sorry, I'm tired. It was a long day, night, and other shit."

Kent trudged off to where he thought he was chased off from. "They were all over here, then they sent their Pokemon on me, and I ran the way we just came." Kent walked over to the hill's sloop. "After that me and Glide flew into the air, beat up a HonchKrow, probably landed two miles from here." Kent sat back down. "I say the best bet is to have me and Gliscor check the area from above, while you guys scope around for nooks and crannies."

Kent didn't wait for an answer, and hopped onto Glide's back. "That's my Pokegear number, call me if you need me. I'll find you guys if I find anything."

Glide took into the air, Kent holding on to the tail.
2:10pm

"Nothing," Kent sighed as he landed next to the others. "searched everywhere, but I got nothing."

"Same," came the harmonic disappointment of the others.

"I guess we should go back--what is he doing?" Jack points to Glide, who was hopping nervously, ears up and searching the skies. He let out a loud screech after a minute of observation. "Scor! Scor! Gliissss!" Gliscor shot up, and urgered for everyone to follow him. Flying low, winding through the trees.

"Whatever the heck it is, we should check it out," Kent said and chased after him.

"Wow..." was all they could say the second they stopped. After winding through the dense of the forest, up some craggy, steep hills, they were landed in front of a beautiful lake. Gliscor didn't slow down though. It shot right over the lake, now it was clear why. Above was a small group of Gligar, following two Gliscor. The sight of Gliscor at day time alone was rare, something was up.

"I think we might have found their base," Max said.

"Where?" Kisa asked, shooting her ahead all around.

"The waterfall, the water, if you look closely, there's something behind it."

"Of course, the classic hide out hidden in the falls trick." Kent said. "Ladies first."

EDIT: Thanks for pointing out the mistake, Matt.

Samuelle Park - Day 3, 10:15 AM, Route 34

The sun blazed in all his glory and the birds chirped their lungs out on that morning. Green leaves cradled Sam as she stretched her arms out. It was a wonderful morning, to be sure. Kite, who refused to stay in his Pokeball for more than a few hours at a time, was snug asleep on a thick branch slightly above Sam.

She yawned and smiled when she thought of how much fun the others must have been having, dealing with Kent and all. A slight breeze toyed with Sam's short hair as she reached down to push a few leaves and branches away. She had to check on Tyler, who slept way before she did.

The ground below her tree was empty, void of life and trash and any sleeping blue-haired weirdos.

Sam swore and dangled herself upside-down from the branch, keeping her legs tight around it so she wouldn't fall off and hit her head. Kite did it often and survived, but Sam was no Bagon.

"Tyler? Tyler, where are you?"

Eventually, Sam came to a rather depressing conclusion.

She had been ditched.

She was left behind by her travel buddy.

She was unwanted.

She was forgotten.

She was going to kill that freak when she found him.

Sam righted herself and crawled down the branch until it became thick enough for her to stand on. Then she reached out to the humongous branch Kite was sleeping on, poking her favorite Pokemon on its side.

"Kite, wake up. It's time to go."

Kite opened one eye sleepily before raising its arms up at Sam as if it wanted her to carry him. Sam rolled her eyes.

"You're heavier than I am, Kite. You can't possibly expect me to -"

"Baagon!" And with the Kite threw himself off the tree. Again.

Sam sighed and clambered down the tree. Kite had smashed a boulder under the tree. The boulder that Tyler had tried to use as a pillow at first. Sam swore under her breath as Bagon greeted her with a huge grin, seemingly clapping with little hands.

Sam couldn't help but laugh at her Bagon, though, and she eventually scooped him up into her arms. He was heavy, but she could manage for a while.

Sam looked towards Goldenrod. Well, it was time to go after Tyler.

Samuelle Park - Day 3, 10:45 AM, Daycare Center

Kite walked alongside Sam, who made sure to check on him every other minute or so. No telling when Kite would find a cliff to jump off of.

A queer little house sat by the road, and it was almost odd. Sam never heard of anyone living by routes. They were terrible places to live on, with battles going on everywhere and wild Pokemon jumping into your house or nesting on your roof.

But who was Sam to criticize them?

She walked right past the house, intent on catching up with Tyler before he got too far away. She was going to clobber him, then leave him for dead in the tall grass. She pushed on, bypassing several trainers yelling at her, asking for a battle. She didn't have time to waste on trainers who had nothing to do all day but stand around waiting for people to pass by and battle them.

"Baaaaaaaaaaaa-"

Sam glared at her Pokemon. "Don't even try, Kite."

The Bagon dropped its head in shame, but not before giving the cliff one last mournful look.

Normally Sam supported Kite's attempts to fly unless they woke her up. But today, she wasn't in the mood. How could he ditch her? After asking her to come with him? That wasn't just unfair, or rude. It plain sucked. Had she really acted so mean to him?

"Sam, over here!"

At first she ignored the voice in her head. What the hell was Tyler doing screaming in her head anyway?

"OVER HERE!"

Finally she turned around and saw what seemed to be a trainer looking for a battle running straight for her. ...Oh God. One of those runners. She just about got ready to chuck Kite at his head when she realized why the runner looked so familiar.

It was Tyler, waving his arms around like crazy.

Dear God. That slowpoke left before her in an attempt to get rid of her, but he was so damned slow she actually overtook him. And now he was afraid she was going to kill him, so he was probably going to make up some crap story about her disappearing.

"Tyler Cohen," she began, feeling her blood rise. "You are one stupid son of a bitch if you think I'm must going to forgive you after ditching me back there. You left me alone in that tree without saying anything - you didn't even have the guts to tell me you didn't want me to stick around anymore! You're gonna regret this you stupid pile of turd -"

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGON!" screeched Kite.

Sam then realized that Bagon was still in her hands and that her nails were digging into his sides. She gasped and pulled him into a hug instead. Kite relaxed and when Sam looked up there was already an old man standing beside Tyler, beaming at Sam.

...What the hell was Tyler's grandpa doing here?

"Oh...You're with company." Sam forced a grin onto her face. Old people liked her better when she smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sam."

The old man stuck out his hand. "Pleasure is all mine, little missy. Your friend here is a wonderful trainer."

"Erm." Wonderful trainer her ass. More like cowardly.

The old man didn't seem to notice her hesitation though. "And he says you're just as good."

...He did? Well. He was probably trying to save himself from a beating. But it was the truth. She was a good trainer. Sam did her best not to puff up in pride. She hugged her Bagon closer to her chest.

"I'm curious to know if he's telling the truth." The daycare man smiled at Sam. "Would you grace me with a Pokemon battle?"

Sam choked out a laugh. "Ahaha...now?"

"Yes, now."

"Uhm, okay." Sam laughed nervously again, setting Kite down on the ground. "Let's get him, Kite," she whispered.

The old man motioned for Sam to follow him. "Now, but not here. Follow me."

What? Sam gave Tyler a quizzical look, but he was already following his grandfather back to the house by the road. Sam sighed. Weird guy, weird family.

Samuelle Park - Day 3, 10:55 AM, Daycare Center

"Espeon, the sun Pokemon. Espeon are able to read air currents allowing it to predict the future as well as its opponents' next moves."

Sam tensed. This was an evolved Pokemon. Hopefully Kite would be able to take it on.

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

Kite jumped to the side to avoid the multicolored beams the espeon sent off, barreling into a huge boulder and crushing it in his wake. "Bagon, use strength!"

Kite dove for the Espeon and threw a punch. The Espeon ducked just in time, slipping away from Kite.

"Espeon, quick attack!"

"Dragon breath, now!"

Bagon released bluish flame in Espeon's direction. Espeon tried to skid to a stop, but its momentum prevented it from doing so and it crashed headfirst into the flames.

"Finish it off with crunch," Sam yelled. Bagon jumped at the weakened Espeon and bit down on its neck before leaping away.

The Espeon collapsed to the ground in a bruised heap. The old man didn't say anything at first, and Sam was afraid she offended him.

"Is your grandpa mad?" Sam whispered to Tyler, who stood beside her.

He blinked at first, then his eyes widened into a incredulous stare. "Grandpa?"

"Here. You deserve it." An old woman had come out of nowhere to offer Sam a egg. It was the weirdest egg Sam ever saw. For the most part it looked like a giant brown egg, but it had this jagged white stripe in the middle which almost made Sam think it was broken.

"N-no, I can't possibly -"

"You deserve it," the woman insisted, pushing it into Sam's arms. "Keep it safe and it'll grow up to be a great Pokemon."

The old man beamed at Sam and Tyler. "I expect to see you both on the news one day. And I want your Pokemon to be by your side when that happens. Are you planning to keep your Bagon, Sam?"

"O-Of course!" Sam snapped somewhat defensively. She was never going to give Kite away.

"Then it'll be a magnificent Salamence when you're on the news. Make sure to take good care of that egg, and of your Bagon." The old man seemed quite cheerful for someone who just lost. "I assume you're in a hurry to get to Golderod?"

"Thanks so much for everything," Tyler murmured to the old man. "We should get going now -"

"Nonsense! You should stay for lunch." The old woman took Sam's arm and led her back into the house. Behind her Sam could hear Tyler protesting that it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

Tyler was right. They shouldn't stay here for long. Sam began to try and explain this to the old woman, but she was hearing none of it. She was already talking about how great an Eevee would be for Sam, and how to take care of an Eevee.

She sat Sam down at the kitchen table. The kitchen was a neat little room, cozy enough for a few people but not really the formal type Sam was used to back home. Still, it felt nice and warm and welcoming, even though it was her first time here. The linoleum tiles shone and Sam couldn't help but smile at the whistling kettle in the corner.

"Your Eevee will love you, I just know it -"

Sam cleared her throat. It was time to tell this woman the truth."I-I don't have an Eevee-"

The woman laughed. "Yes, you do. You're holding one in your arms now." The old woman pressed a few small stones into Sam's hand. "Your Eevee can become a lot of things, like you. You can choose to evolve it as soon as it hatches...or you can wait."

Great. Another choice. Sam stared at the egg in her arms. An Eevee. It could evolve into seven different Pokemon, one of which was an Espeon.

But the woman only gave her three stones, and Sam knew enough to say that Espeons didn't come from any elemental stones.

"Uhm, how do you get an Espeon?" Sam asked.

The old woman was stirring the pot, which smelled of tomato sauce. Sam's stomach growled. It had been quite some time since she'd eaten pasta.

The old woman glanced at Sam over her shoulder with a knowing smile. "Just take care of your Eevee, m'dear. You'll find out for yourself."

Sam stared at the Eevee egg in her arms. Evolved pokemon were much stronger, and it would be good for her if she had an evolved pokemon before her next battle with Kent. She should evolve the Eevee at once - that was the smart thing.

But it seemed almost wrong to do so.

So when Sam thought the old woman wasn't looking, she slipped the stones into a drawer in the kitchen. She'd wait for her Eevee. And if it never evolved, then so be it.

Samuelle Park - Day 3, 6 PM, Goldenrod City

The city lights shone brighter than diamonds ever could, and the sky probably envied Goldenrod for her beauty. The stars couldn't even compare with Goldenrod at night.

Sam and Tyler stood gawking at the city, and all of Sam's anger melted away. A minute ago she was furious because their little afternoon nap had stretched for quite a bit, but now...

It seemed as if the gods made sure they slept too much so they could step into Goldenrod while she was most beautiful.

"Oh my God," was all Sam could muster.

"This is gorgeous," Tyler said.

They were in a town, and they could actually get some sleep at a hotel tonight. No more trees. The smell of cologne was heavy in the cold night, and Sam could tell it came from the giant department store to their right. A few cars slunk down the road, rarely honking. The casino dominated the night's music; jazz spilled out of its door and into the city streets.

"We can go to the gym tomorrow, Tyler. We're staying here tonight, and we're visiting every one of these places," Sam declared.

Maybe the day wasn't ruined after all. Maybe everything bad that happened a while ago happened so that this moment would be all the more priceless.

Tyler Cohen | Goldenrod City | 6:30PM

With the way Sam was having at the city, I made it a point to keep her away from the game corner. She drug me--by the wrist, of course--into a department store that had to rival the Olivine Lighthouse in height, but not beauty.

And floor by floor, overpowering smell by overpriced product, we ascended the gargantuan tower until we hit the top floor, where a sales clerk waved his hands at us, flagging us down. Sam stayed back, checking out a display that swore its product enhanced a Pokemon's power.

I walked over to the clerk and raised an eyebrow. He gave me a weird feeling, but I didn't like to judge...so I didn't. He had light brown hair that was swooped back like a dude from the sixties, he wore a black shirt with something red written on the back (but I couldn't see what it said unless he turned around, which he rarely did) and sunglasses, even though he was inside.

"You sir!"

"Me, sir?" I followed my dad's business advice: Be skeptical, cynical, and stoic.

"Yes, you, sir!" He flashed a great big yellow smile at me and I felt the soft revenge of the old woman's pasta in my throat. "How would you like to be the proud owner of your very own..." He wrestled around beneath the counter, heaving out a huge sphere. "...Dratini egg!"

My jaw dropped and I heard the clank as Sam dropped a roll of Protein tablets to the floor.

"Dratini egg? As in a Pokemon egg?"

The man grinned wider, nodding quickly. "Yes! Imagine being a Pokemon master with your very own, one-of-a-kind... Uhhh... Err... BLACK DRAGONITE!"

"You stole these eggs..."

"How is it black, you ask?"

"You're a thief!"

"Well, it's quite simple, really..."

Before I could follow my dad's second piece of business advice--never hurt a business partner--I reared back and slugged the fool across his jaw, sending him reeling back. He scowled and dropped the egg, scrambling over the counter; but he slipped and fell flat on his face, and I finally saw what was on the back of his shirt...but Sam beat me to the punch.

"ROCKET!" Before the guy could do anything, Sam had Kite on the floor, ready to torch him. "How could you steal from those nice old people?"

"I'm a thief! I steal things!"

The door to the storage wing of the store opened and a few Rocket grunts filed out, Pokeballs in hand. "Trouble, boss?"

Yellow-teeth nodded and pointed at me. "She accused me of stealing from old folks and he," he pointed at me, "He just gets on my nerves. Torch 'em!" The coward ran behind the other grunts, into the back room where there had to be other Pokemon eggs. The grunts ran in front of the counter and released their pokemon--two Sandshrews and an Arbok--onto the linoleum floor.

I took several steps back beside Sam and held out Ghastly's and Crawdaunt's Pokeballs. In a flash of blinding light, Casper, Gumbo, Blaze, and Pinplup were on the floor, all ready to blast them off.

The rockets backtracked a moment, analyzing the odds. It was five against three. "That's not fa-..."

"Dragonbreath!"
"Night Shade!"
"Flamethrower!"
"Water Pulse!"
"Bubble!"

The rocket Pokemon grew wide-eyed and tried to run as the armada of attacks blasted them back through the wall and, surprisingly, outside the building.

"Oh shit..."

Sam looked at me, unnerved. "What's wrong?"

"We just blasted all six of them out of the twentieth floor!"

Sam's eyes widened and we ran to the hole in the wall, watching as a balloon rose with all three rockets and their Pokemon inside. "Nyeh!" The rockets stuck out their tongues and waved as they floated away. I clenched my fist and pointed at the balloon.

"Crawdaunt, chuck something at the-..."

While we had been watching the rockets fly off, yellow-teeth had come back from the storage room and sneaked up behind us. Before our Pokemon or Sam could do anything, he shoved me forward, out the side of the building.

That... That's the part where I saw my life flash before my eyes.

Twenty floors is a long time to think about how you'd die. Face-down on the cement, splattered into a blue-haired puddle... None of it seemed amiable. And before I could hit the ground, I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

"Clefairy, use metronome!"

And suddenly, my body stopped moving. I was sure that I was in heaven, so I didn't open my eyes. Little did I know that I was being suspended three floors above the city ground by an imitated Psychic attack.

But when my feet hit the ground so softly, so gently, I opened my eyes, prepared to see God or Satan or Allah or whoever it was I was supposed to meet.

To my surprise, God was a girl.

A red-haired girl.

Whoa-...

Wait.

"Whitney?"

The girl laughed and nodded and approached me, but that's where I blacked out.

It was all just too much.

Kara, when you say Day 2, do you mean Day 3? *confusion*

Jack Preston
2:30pm Day 3
Rocket Waterfall HQ

The group silently made their way through the tunnel that the waterfall cave had led into. It was becoming less rocky as they progressed; eventually the uneven stone walls were replaced with a polished steel arch.

"I think," Max said bluntly, "that we're on the right track."
No sooner had he spoken than voices came echoing from the hallway. Thr four trainers looked frantically for somewhere to hide, eventually ducking behind a large set of boulders nearby.

"... and you didn't hear it from me, but apparently the boss has his eye on that ruin in Ecruteak City -"
"You're shitting me! Isn't that where those three elementals are meant to live?"
"So the legend goes... I don't believe a word of it myself, but then I didn't believe some prepubescent punks could actually foil our tournament scheme. I swear to Arceus, if I ever find that kid with the Gible..."

Jack heard Kent's gulp. The voices faded, and the group slinked further down the hallway.
"Which way now?" Jack hissed as they hit a T-bend. "It looks pretty much the same in both directions."
"I, for one, would like to know why we're sneaking around." Kisa's voice was close to a snarl. "We should be shaking down every Rocket we find for information about my mother."
"Get real," Kent retorted. "You have a Ponyta and a Vulpix. That may be enough to take on a Rocket in a fair fight, but you've already seen that these guys don't play fair."
"He's right," Jack added. "If they find out we're here we'll be surrounded and captured before you can say Agility."
Kisa glared at the wall across from her for a few seconds before muttering, "Let's go right, then."


3:00pm

It had become obvious long ago that the base was not well guarded, and the group had not only managed to avoid Rockets, but had come across wild Pokemon that had wandered into the base. Pokemon such as Zubat, Geodude and the odd Paras littered the halls, providing decent cover for the small sounds the trainers were making as they made their way through the halls, not really knowing where they would end up.

"You'd think they'd put in directories or something," Jack muttered. "From what I've seen of these goons, they're nowhere near smart enough to remember this labyrinth on their own."
"Heeta, heeta, heeta..."
Jack turned to the other trainers in surprise. Who'd said that? It didn't sound like any of their voices. Next thing he knew a fat yellow Pokemon waddled into view. Not paying much attention to the group, it strode past them, and after a few moments' hesitation they continued along their path, following the tubby thing. The relief lasted only a moment as much more rapid footsteps were heard from the corner ahead.

"Down here!" hissed Kent, and the four of them ducked into what seemed to be a storage room, leaving the door ajar to watch and listen from. The Pokemon stopped at the door, apparently trying to decide whether to follow the trainers or continue along the hallway. Before it could make a decision, Jack's fears were answered as two more Rockets stepped into view.
"Hey 62, check this out," one said to the other in a bored voice. "What's up, fatty?" he drawled at the Pokemon.
"Maku?" the Pokemon said, confused.
"You think you're a big man?"
"Makuhita."
Without warning the Rocket's leg swung forward and kicked the Pokemon square in the face. It bellowed in pain and fell backwards as both Rockets laughed sadistically. Their laughter was cut short as Jack, suddenly blind with fury, slammed the storage door open and tackled the one that had kicked the Pokemon.

"What the fu-" the other Grunt began before Fang flew into his chest with a Dragon Claw. The impact sent the Grunt flying into the wall where he crumpled, unconscious. The other Rocket had hit the ground when Jack tackled him. Rotom hit him with Discharge and he fell silent. Jack rushed to where the yellow Pokemon lay.
"Hey... are you ok?" he asked. The Pokemon sat up groggily as Kent pulled his Pokedex out.
Makuhita, a Fighting Pokemon. Lives in caves and mountainous areas. Evolves into Hariyama. Knows Arm Thrust, Sand-Attack, Focus Energy and Endure.
"Heeta." Makuhita muttered as it rubbed its face: there was a big bruise in the centre. Jack turned to Kent.
"Got any berries that might help him?"
Kent rummaged around in his pocket. "Think I got an Oran or two left - here you go," he said, tossing a big blue berry to Jack. Jack handed it to Makuhita and watched as the Pokemon ate. Before the trainers' very eyes the bruise seemed to shrink a little.
"Heeta!" it cried out with a wide grin. Its joy was cut short as a groan was heard from the recovering Rocket behind the group.

"You little bastards!" he shouted. He reached into his unconscious colleague's pocket and pulled out two black Poke Balls with red Rs printed on them before taking another two out of his own pocket and hurling the lot at the trainers.

Kent|3:10pm Day 3| Rocket Base

Victreebell, Sneasle, Shiftry and Hippowdon emerged in the heavy lights.

"Uh-oh," Kent said. Fang ran behind Kent, tearing his shorts in fear. "Its okay Fang, we can do this." Kent let his Pokemon out as well, not bothering to remove the from his belt. Jack followed suit with Larvitar, the Max, and lastly Kisa. It was 11, if one counted Makuhita, against four. The odds were against them still.

"I would try and argue that this is unfair," Max said. "But I doubt you would care."

"You're right I don't care," he said with a chuckle. "I'll leave this to you guys, I'm gonna go drag this lug head down to the infirmary."

The Pokemon sat, smirks across their evil faces. Waiting for Kent and co. to make the first move. "Glide, you fire Fang on Sneasle! Lax Rollout on Victreebell! Fang Dragonbreath on the all, and Snout use Ice Shard after Fang. "

The other followed Kent's lead. "Lasy, psybeam Hippowdon, MilkDud follow Munclax up with a stomp!"

"Poni, Ember, Pxie fire spin on Shiftry!" "Um...Rotom, Ominous Wind, Larvitar Screech! Hita, Arm thrust!"

The hall exploded with bright list. The trainers retreated away fro the scene, waiting for the results before they followed up their attacks. Snout rolled out, un-conscious, a sweet Pokemon, but it couldn't take a hit for its life. The smoke slowly spread, soon Shadows could be made out, and the grunts and roars from with-in were being matched. The next Pokemon to fly out was Sneasle, which no once bothered to tend too. "Gible, Dragon claw! Gliscor, use Fire Fang if you can make out the enemy!"

Two loud, painful cries came, the smoke was building again.

"We have to clear this shit," Kent screamed.

"One sec," Max said and he can into the storage room. "Here, help me with this plug." Kent ran in, and tanked as hard as he could to wrench a cable from underneath the crated. "What's it for?" Kent asked, oblivious to the two foot fan next to Max.

Max figured he was joking and ran it outside. The fan's gust blew all the smoke away, revealing the battle scene Pokemon were good fighters on their own, but lacked strategy a lot of times.So, everyone was saying a silent prayer that their Pokemon were in one piece.

Max|3:08pm Day 3| Rocket Base

I tried to stop Jack from attacking but before I could he had tackled the team rocket member and knocked him unconscious. While Jack was taking care of the abuse Makuhita another team Rocket grunt cursed at us and pulled out two black pokeballs. The grunt summoned some pokemon and we got into a fight.

The dust from the battling became too much for us to see the battle. If we couldn’t see it then we couldn’t call orders out to our Pokémon what to do effectively. Kent reflected my thoughts in a rather blunt way.

“We have to clear this shit," Kent screamed.

"One sec,” I said and he can into the storage room and grabbed a fan.

I called for Kent to help and we carted the fan outside to blow away the smog to reveal the fight again. Once I could see I ordered MilkDud to attack his Sneasle with a stomp.
Kisa made quick work out of the Victreebell by using Fire spin. “One down,” she said.
I looked around to see the grunt smile.

“Shiftry use hyperbeam on that boy,” he said pointing at Jack.
“Look out,” I yelled.

It was too late for any of us to do something but the Makuhita that Jack had defended jumped up and blocked the beam with its body. It stood its ground and was only partially pushed back by the torrent of the Shiftry’s attack. The beam died when Kent ordered Snout to ice shard the creature paired with Lady’s psybeam and a ember from Pony. The Shiftry collapsed to the ground unconscious.

I looked around to see am even more injured Makuhita in Jacks arms.
The four of use double teamed the remaining Pokémon and took them out leaving the grunt to stare at us.

“You meddling kids will never bring down Team Rocket,” he tossed down a black ball that exploded in black smog. I used the fan to blow away the fog again and he was gone.