Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

Prowl Nightwolf · April 30, 2015

== Alamos Power Plant ==

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) ==

IC: Yugo gave a look to Jake as he wished him luck in his battle. "Thanks for the vote of confidence there Jake." Turning back to the battle at hand he was in a bit of turmoil as to what he could do next. While it was a bit unorthodox. He was going to have to use another of his Pokémon in battle without being able to return Airazor back to her Pokéball. Maybe Sandslash can stall long enough to for him to get that gunk out of Airazor's feathers. When Yugo reached for Sandslash's Pokéball () the Joltik was already preparing another attack. Scurrying across the floor to where Airazor was helplessly pinned as her body cracked with electricity from the Thunder Wave.

"Sandslash use Hone Claw and attack Joltik with Scratch!" Yugo called as he Threw the white Pokéball as it opened revealing Sandslash; who uncurled revealing his lengthened claws as they glimmered in the light of Spitfire's flame. With a rush of tan and brown Sandslash darted across the tiled floor and batted the small bug off Airazor. The Joltik had been busy absorbing Airazor's HP and static electricity with Leach Life to notice the oncoming attack from Yugo's Sandslash causing it to be forcibly removed from Airazor and knocked away with the tiniest of thuds. Yugo quickly moved over to where Airazor way laying on the floor and started to pull on the Spiderweb covering her feathers. "Thanks Sandslash. Keep it busy with Defense Curl then Sand Attack."

Sandlash looked over to where the Joltik had been hit only to not find it laying there. Looking around in the dark it could not see the bug Pokémon anywhere. The Joltik had climbed up the wall and was now watching the large mouse Pokémon intently as electricity crackled over its small body. Joltik fired off another Thunderwave; this time at Yugo's Sandslash. It didn't know that Ground type Pokémon were immune to its electric attacks. The Thunderwave crackled harmlessly over Sandslash's body succeeding in only revealing Joltik's location. Sandslash turned to face the tiny Pokémon and kicked up a Sand Attack to blind his opponent. Joltik fell off the wall clutching his forearms over his eyes.

Yugo for his part had most of the webbing removed from Airazor's wings and grabbed an empty Pokéball () from his belt and prepared to throw it. He was going to capture that Joltik. First it needed to be weakened just a bit more. "Sandslash use Scratch once more." Yugo waited for Sandslash to attack the Joltik before throwing the empty ball to claim his prize...

**Blessed Blade** · May 1, 2015

-==IC: Ryan/Shannon==-

The tall man stood in the doorway, his suit ruffled and his hair matted. "Thought you had won, did you?" he asked, panting with a maniacal grin. "Not by a long shot!"

Ryan felt a shiver run up his back and whirled around with a growl. "You just don't give up..."

Shannon gasped as a Shedinja suddenly appeared in front of her. The Shed Pokémon slowly backed her into a corner, unleashing a bright burst of lights -- an attack Shannon dimly recognized as Confuse Ray -- to disorient her. The world spun around her, and Shannon knew she would not be able to take a step without succumbing to vertigo.

Selena jumped out of Shannon's arms and unleashed another Hyper Voice. The attack did not seem to faze the ghostly bug, which responded with a Night Slash against the Furret.

Ryan sent out his Simisage. While the grass monkey was tired, he was still able to fight. "Be careful." Ryan warned, not wanting Shannon's room to be damaged. The Simisage nodded as he leaped forward, using Acrobatics to kick the Shedinja back into the persistent man.

The Shedinja went flying, knocked out instantly. But the suited man was not about to give up, and he wasted no time in barging into the room, trying to grab hold of Shannon while she was still dazed.

Ryan had other ideas, and dashed forward, attempting to shove the man back with a body slam, keeping hold of his Samurott's Pokéball in the process. "I don't think so, buddy. I'd give up now, if I were you." At his side, Simisage squeaked a warning as well, serious for once in his life.

The man stumbled backward, recalling his Shedinja with a growl. "You won't take me down that easily," he said. He shouldered Ryan aside and made to move toward Shannon again, but Selena Slammed him to the ground. The Furret opened her mouth, unleashing a Hyper Voice that knocked the man out. With the threat subdued, Selena ran back to Shannon, squeaking in concern.

Ryan sighed as he ran over to Shannon. "You alright?" he asked, worried about how she had taken the Confuse Ray directly.

Shannon brought a hand to her head as she heard Ryan's voice come from far away. She took a tentative step forward and stumbled, still completely disoriented from the attack.

Reacting quickly, Ryan managed to catch her before she could fall. "Easy there; don't move too quickly..." he said softly as he helped to keep her steady. "This way, just take it slowly..."

Shannon hesitantly took another step, shaking from her near-fall. "Wh-what happened...?" she asked, blinking in confusion.

Ryan backed up as he continued to support Shannon. "That guy used what looked like a Confuse Ray, directly in front of you..." Adjusting his grip, he started to gently guide her toward the chair, which seemed to be the best place for her to rest. "You're gonna be okay; just take slow steps and rest for a bit, alright?"

"O-okay..." Shannon mumbled, still trying to clear the fog that had enveloped her mind. She took a few more steps, leaning heavily on Ryan for support.

Ryan looked back carefully to make sure he himself didn’t trip. Eventually he let go of Shannon with one arm, allowing her to rest against his other arm as he reached out to pull the chair closer. "Alright, right here," he said, keeping a firm grip on her arms as he helped her sit down. Ryan frowned in concern, as he wasn't sure how to treat a human for the effects of a Confuse Ray.

As soon as Shannon managed to sit down, she put her head in her hands and waited for the world to stop spinning. Selena leapt into her lap and snuggled against her. "S-Selena..." Shannon managed a smile as she pet the Furret. She slowly lifted her head, causing her body to lean to one side as she looked up at Ryan. "I-is that guy taken care of...?"

Ryan nodded as he reached out a hand to keep her balanced, chuckling slightly. "Yeah. Selena made sure of it this time." He glanced back at the bags. "What needs to be packed still?"

Shannon scratched behind Selena's ears with a smile, the Furret crooning happily. "There should be another duffel bag in the closet," she told Ryan. "Do you think you might be able to start packing some of the books into it?"

Ryan nodded, and walked over to the closet, keeping a watchful eye on Shannon to make sure she didn't fall. He looked around for a moment, then found the bag in question and grabbed it. Walking back over to the bed, he opened the bag and began to fill it with books. Even as he packed, he constantly looked back over at Shannon with a frown, wishing her whole day could have gone better in general.

-==IC: Ray==-

Ray looked over in curiosity as Ryan stopped. "What's up-" Ray began to ask, and then followed Ryan's gaze over to where the three and Sophia were. Except Ray noticed the newcomer first, and followed Ryan quickly, a frown on his face. That guy... looked familiar to Ray. But why? Ray thought, and his eyes subtly widened, as he realized. He felt his feet suddenly grow cold, but couldn't figure out why. He wanted to speak out, but like Ryan, he recalled the last time he'd acted rash, and just stood there with a helpless scowl on his face, as he glared directly toward McKinley.

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny stayed quiet after her initial squeak of protest, her hand on her mouth. She wanted to say something to help, she wanted to to do something, but her mind was racing too much to actually think. Come on Jenny, think, think, think... There has to be something... Jenny thought with a helpless look on her face. There just had to be something she could do or say. The newcomer gave her the creeps, and Sonja was headed off with him; Hayes or no Hayes, Jenny still didn't like the idea of that. But yet, it was Sonja's decision, but yet, it was a decision that wasn't necessary, right? So lost in her mental struggle, she never noticed Ryan and Ray approach.

Edited May 1, 2015 by An/A Blade

**Franco** · May 2, 2015

IC - Esen Windred - Flying:

Esen didn't know how long they had been flying before Bat returned. It must have been several hours at least, given that the morning sun had already begun to fall; even then, Noivern and Krow had hardly missed a beat, continuing to fly despite an increasingly obvious fatigue that was beginning to set in.

It was lucky, then, that at that point Bat had returned, clearly exhausted and losing altitude. Esen ushered Krow forth, descending to meet the failing Swoobat in a clearing amongst the trees, Noivern and Cero landing several feet behind her. The trainer caught Bat, feeding the Psychic-Flying-Type a Sitrus Berry from her backpack before inquiring into his findings. It was a quick process, as Bat used his Psychic abilities to relay the information directly into her mind.

Esen sighed, turning to Cero. "We've got a problem," she said. "The trucks split up. For the most part they've all gone in the same general direction--east, toward Anistar City--but their specific destinations were all different. Bat managed to locate all three, so we can check them all out, but I don't know of a good way to hit them all at once short of getting the authorities involved. And that might take too long, itself."

IC: Cero nodded thoughtfully. There were two of them, but there were three trucks. What if his Pokémon could help?

Piedra's mini-noses were too limited to be useful at this distance. Viajero could track scents, but his legs were too stubby for it to be done quickly. Buitre's virtues--sight, and a great nose for corpses--did not apply. Both the Tympole and Aridez had no sensory abilities. And he had no idea what the Trapinch could do, let alone if it would obey him.

He stroked his chin. If we go to the right truck, he conjectured, Viajero knows Kyle from the fight. He can confirm.

But there's only one Viajero.

In the end, he decided he would have to be content with it.

"I have a Lillipup who knows Kyle's scent," he offered hesitantly. "It wouldn't take long for him to find if Kyle's in one or not. If we can get close to each subsequently, we can solve this quickly.

Edited May 2, 2015 by The Scottish Play

**Dr. Hidaka** · May 2, 2015

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan was taken aback by Sonja's declaration of wishing to leave with Hayes and the newcomer, shout of protest cut short by the reasoning. He paused to consider what he could do, with things as they were. He didn't want to act rashly, especially with not one, but two Ford Agents here, but he also didn't want to see harm come to one of his friends. He saw Ray and Ryan walk into the clearing. Ryan looked bewildered and Ray glaring at the newcomer.

"Sonja wishes to leave with Hayes and that other person.", Evan explained to Ryan, trying to hide his confusion. "She wishes to know what Hayes knows, and I don't think we have a say in the matter......"

**Blessed Blade** · May 3, 2015

-==IC: Stacy==-

"Oh, dear..." Stacy smiled at Madison, and chuckled softly. "I know you appreciate the help; but I think you might have done most of it yourself." Stacy said with a smile to the Trainer, as she recalled her Pokemon. "You have a point about them continuing to attack; but, I wonder if they'll continue to attempt to try, after this attempt..." Stacy said, as she looked across the skyline. The destruction was visible even through the smoke billowing through the air. Stacy sighed, and looked back to Madison.

"Come on, let's go inside for the moment; I daresay the others can handle themselves for a few moments; maybe we can take turns while some people keep lookout for the Rockets. I think we deserve some warmth and rest, though." Stacy said with a reassuring smile, as she turned toward the entrance back into the house, and began to walk toward it.

Prowl Nightwolf · May 7, 2015

== Alamos Power Plant ==

Yugo for his part had most of the webbing removed from Airazor's wings and grabbed an empty Pokéball () from his belt and prepared to throw it. He was going to capture that Joltik. First it needed to be weakened just a bit more. "Sandslash use Scratch once more." Yugo waited for Sandslash to attack the Joltik before throwing the empty ball to claim his prize...

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) - Joltik(Voltia) ==

IC: Yugo watched as the Pokéball() flew from his hand and struck the Joltik on its back activating the capture function. With a flash of red the energy from the Pokéball engulfed the wild Pokémon and pulled it inside. With a clink and clank the ball closed and dropped the very short distance to the floor where it shook back and forth as the Joltik inside tried to fight the restraints. Yugo held his breath as he watched the ball shake back and forth several times. The anticipation was grueling until he heard the *ping* from the ball and the flash of red from the center.

Yugo quickly hurried over to where the premier ball was resting and scooped it up into his hands. "You know for such a small Pokémon you were quite feisty. I think I will call you Voltia." Yugo took Voltia's ball and placed it in its own pouch on his belt. He then grabbed Airazor and Sandslash's Pokéballs then recalled them.

sonyaxe · May 7, 2015

IC: Jake

Having given up the search for a light switch after a few minutes of searching, Jake wandered back over to Yugo just in time to see his successful capture.

"Great job, that Joltik had you in a bit of a sticky situation for a little bit." Jake said with a grin. "Now, you said something about a door?"

OOC: I'm back, toph just responded she is busy and told me that we should just do whatever makes sense.

So did you mention something about a door? Only access to a phone so too lazy to find it now...

Prowl Nightwolf · May 7, 2015

ooc: Yeah to leave the room and enter the rest of the facility. It is electronically locked and with no power...

== Alamos Power Plant ==

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor)(50%) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) - Joltik(Voltia)(10%) ==

IC: Yugo looked over at Jake. "Very funny I was not expecting such a challenge from such a small Pokémon. I know Airazor had never battled before but that was so unexpected. You'd think she would have had no problem against a tiny bug type like Joltik. Anyway the door." Yugo and Spitfire guided Jake over to where the locked door was. "It appears to be sealed with an Electronic lock. With no power to this part of the plant you can see the dilemma." Yugo tried to open the door again but found that it was still locked. "We are not going to get any further unless we can get this door unlocked. I contemplated just breaking it down but the thought of keeping the place intact kind of debunked that idea as soon as I had it."

sonyaxe · May 7, 2015

IC: Jake

"Well, lucky for us I have the perfect Pokemon for this. Come on out, Pikachu!" Jake called, while tossing Pikachu's ball into the air. One flash of light later, and the electric type was sitting by Jake's feet, glancing around curiously. "So... oh there, they are. Pikachu, can you please run some current through those chewed up wires?"

Pikachu gave a thumbs up and ran over to the wires, before grabbing the chewed off ends in his fists and holding them to the pouches on his cheeks. With a nod from Jake, the electric mouse let a few sparks of electricity into the wires, and with a hum the door powered up again.

Jake grinned. "Great job! Now, can you hold that for a moment while we get this open?" Jake asked. There was a panel next to the door, which had what appeared to be a combination lock on it. Jake sighed in exasperation. "Yugo, do you know how to pick a lock?"

Prowl Nightwolf · May 8, 2015

== Alamos Power Plant ==

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor)(50%) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) - Joltik(Voltia)(10%) ==

IC: Yugo looked at the lock then back to Jake. "You've got to be kidding right? This task just keeps getting better and better." Yugo looked down at Jake's Pikachu who had powered up the door. "Do you think shorting out the lock could work?" Yugo knew enough about Pikachu that they could easily overload a closed circuit electronic devise. "Otherwise I guess we just start pushing buttons and see if we can figure out the code."

sonyaxe · May 9, 2015

IC: Jake

"Weeeelllll..." Jake stretched out the word nervously. "I may have read up on the subject at one point or another... let me see if I can do this without any overloads." Without further ado, Jake popped the plastic front off the lock and stared blankly at the mess of wires inside. "On second thought... no. Pikachu, can you give this panel a weak thunderbolt?"

One thunderbolt, a fried lock, and a few sparks later, the door gave a pleasant chime and slid open.

"Well... that was easy." Jake remarked.

Prowl Nightwolf · May 10, 2015

== Alamos Power Plant ==

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor)(55%) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) - Joltik(Voltia)(15%) ==

IC: Yugo watched as the door slid open. "Well that worked surprisingly well." Yugo bent down and gave Pikachu a pat on its head to thank the Pokémon. Yugo then looked back to the window where the others should be coming through. "Do we want to wait for the others to come inside or move on without them?" Yugo was asking both Jake and Ruth who were the only ones who had successfully climbed the latter and came inside at the time. Yugo looked out the doorway and noticed there wasn't any lights on in either direction. "So what way do we want to go first?"

JiMing · May 12, 2015

IC: Aspen Seaton

Despite his fury, Pride's words still chilled Aspen to the bone. He stepped away defensively, even though there was nowhere to run. This time, it appeared as if Pride's words had left him conflicted and shocked.

B-but it all makes too much sense for Shannon to be the cause... Aspen thought. The logic is sound.... But would Hannha really follow logic....?? She's evil and insane, I'm pretty sure, but then why would I believe her...?? ...What's even happening right now....??

The trainer kept opening and closing his mouth to retort, but he was too distraught and confused to do so. When he tried to, Dack attacked Pride's Rapidash, and so his train of thought was lost completely.

What do I do......?? he thought desperately, though no words came to him still.

Meanwhile, Jet saw Dack's Swellow, Bastidon, and Luxray begin attacking, and so stood up after lying down to heal some of his wounds. The war eagle then took to the air, letting out a valiant battle cry, before diving down in an Aerial Ace at the Rapidash. Aria looked at the budding conflict with interest, not taking action, as she figured it would come to her soon enough.

IC: Olivia Seaton

Olivia raised an eyebrow at the newcomer Rebecca, as it seemed the other Rocket agent also looked down on her and Zach as Draco Roberts had, but also seemed to be exasperated with.... Something.

"....All I'm gonna say, what kinda parent names one kid Rebecca, and then the other Draco?? Like, where's the consistency in that??" she muttered, before looking back down at her Pokegear.

Dune was struck by the High Jump Kick, falling down from his elevated position. The attack smarted, but the Vibrava was not yet out of the fight. The literal dragonfly sent a Rock Slide at Rebecca's Medicham, before once again flying up.

Toxin and Shade were launched by Cyndy and Ren, both of them having not really seen it coming at all. But the two Pokemon regained their composure, and decided to show that Zach's Pokemon's efforts weren't for naught. Shade landed on the ground, launched off two Icicle Crashes, one at the Donphan, the other at the Goodra. Meanwhile, Toxin used the distraction set up by Shade to run around the two, and strike the Donphan from behind using a Bullet Punch.

"Thanks so much for helping me while I was down, by the way." Amethyst said gruffly to Blade, as she walked over to him and the others. She focused on the Medicham, and used Psychic to bind it in hopes that Dune's Rock Slide would hit its mark.

Olivia looked at the message, and blinked, looked at the message again, and blinked again. "....H-Hey Zach....?" she muttered, squeezing Zach's hand slightly to get his attention. "...Y-You might wanna see this....."

IC: Dahlia Seaton

The middle Seaton paid close attention to Erika's battle plan, tentatively nodding. "I.... I think I got it." she said, breathing deeply to keep her composure. She turned to Laurel, Draco, and Gerri, repeating the plan Erika had set for them. "I think Coco's going to be done soon, but support her if more Pokemon come after her...." she said, with all three of them nodding warily. Draco slithered forward, the other two keeping up.

The Throh didn't take the Petal Dance well, and fell over, fainted. Gyarados wasn't faring much better, Erika's Venusaur having gripped it. While it roared after being flailed, Coco ran up and jumped above the dragon fish, dunking it into the ground with one final Thunder Punch.

"Argh, what the heck, like, seriously?!" a very frustrated Rocket agent growled as he recalled his Throh and Gyarados. "I trained my Pokemon hard for a moment like this, and th-this random Buneary just takes them out just like that?? Just.... How??" he said, seething with anger and confusion. In retaliation, he sent out a Granbull. "Do you see that Buneary? I want it a stain on the ground. I want it dead!" the Rocket agent screamed. "Forget the objective, I won't stop until that thing is gone!"

And so the Granbull ran forward with a Crunch at Coco, who had to leap back to avoid the attack. The Buneary retaliated with an Ice Punch, glad that she only had one opponent to deal with this time.

Parugi · May 12, 2015

IC - Maddison Hayes/Tyler McKinley/Sonja Baron - Fortree City, Ground Level:

The unexpected sound of Ryan's calls was enough to prompt Sonja to turn around, if only to watch as he and Ray emerged from the foliage. They stopped short at the sight before them, allowing Evan to quickly explain what was going on. For her part, Sonja stretched a hand out to waist height, a silent signal for her friends to stay calm.

"'Other person'?" McKinley repeated, huffing in a feigned display of offense. "Two can play at the no-name game, Hero of Space." He grinned. "Or should I call you the Zero of Space? Am I right?" He nudged Hayes, who somehow managed to roll her eyes without actually doing so.

Sonja gave him a look, before shaking her head and looking back at the others. "Don't worry about me," she gently insisted. "I'll be back."

Find Ellen.

This thought briefly echoed in the minds of Evan, Jenny, Ray, and Ryan as Sonja turned and walked away, taking a position beside Hayes. The older Baron gave her a disbelieving look, before resigning herself to the situation, instead turning her eyes toward the other group. An expectant flicker briefly appeared in her gaze.

"All right, then," McKinley said. "First thing's first." He clapped his hands together. The Fourth Child's Xatu appeared in front of Sonja, locking eyes with her before the Liberty Agent even realized what had happened. The next instant, she collapsed, falling into Hayes's arms. McKinley chuckled. "Now that that's done, time for our next stop. Xatu, Teleport."

And so they were gone, the only remnants of their presence being a lingering image of a concerned Second Child, a smiling Fourth, and an unconscious Sixth.

IC - Pride - Celadon City, Central Park:

Aspen's silence prompted only a disappointed smile from Pride. As the Sin stepped back, about to address his targets again, an explosion erupted from the ground behind him. Pride turned just in time to see a hail of attackers charging toward his Rapidash.

"Interesting."

He issued no commands. Instead, he merely watched. Watched as Rapidash was struck by a combination of Aerial Ace, Thunder Fang, and other attacks in rapid and dashing succession of color and movement. Watched as in the course of which the multiple attacks and attackers collided with their target, they collided with each other, as well. The combined onslaught sent Rapidash skidding along the icy ground, leaving a trail of water where her flames had melted the snow.

Miraculously, she pushed herself to her feet mere seconds later with hardly a display of injury.

"A valiant effort to start with," Pride said, clapping slowly. "But hardly worthwhile, I'm afraid. You've hardly made any headway in your heads and hearts, places where you are completely in control. How can you possibly expect to do anything out here?" He snapped his fingers. With an annoyed huff, Rapidash charged, coating herself in a fiery Flare Blitz as she launched herself into the midst of her opponents.

Konuju · May 12, 2015

IC: Ryan
Ryan looked at Sonja in disbelief. Is this... is this my fault? he wondered. If I hadn't almost killed Hayes, maybe Sonja wouldn't be so insistent on accompanying her...

Find Ellen.

Ryan clenched his fists as Sonja walked away. If there was a silver lining here, it was that Sonja was keeping Hayes busy, giving the rest of them a chance to find Ellen first. Even so, the thought of Sonja traveling with Ford agents left a bitter taste in his mouth. According to Evan, it was so she could gain knowledge. But Ryan knew enough about Ford -- The Shadowed Man -- to know that he would never allow someone to accompany his goons and glean insider information. There had to be a catch.

Sure enough, the golden-blond man's Xatu appeared in front of Sonja, its psychic powers sending her into unconsciousness. Ryan took a step forward, glaring at the man. "What did you do to her?" he cried.

He did not receive an answer, for the next moment Hayes and the blond disappeared, with Sonja in tow.

"Rrrgh!" Ryan kicked the dirt, shaking with rage. His eyes lingered on the spot Sonja had disappeared. "What was she thinking? She walked right into a trap!" Ryan took several deep breaths before looking back at the others. Ellen was gone. Sonja was gone. He felt completely helpless. And she didn't even acknowledge my apology...

IC: Dack/Hannah
Luxray bared his fangs as the Rapidash dashed toward them in a nimbus of fire. He growled a warning for Aspen's Braviary to hang back for a moment, then leapt toward their foe, his entire body crackling with electricity as he prepared to meet the Flare Blitz with a Wild Charge.

Unlike Luxray and Jet, Bastiodon had kept her distance from the Rapidash. She once again utilized her ability to attack from afar, grinding her teeth to produce a Metal Sound directed at the fiery horse.

From above, Swellow watched the battle begin. He cawed at the other flying-types, suggesting a series of synchronized aerial attacks in rapid succession. As Luxray launched into his attack, Swellow folded his wings and began his descent. With his agility boost, his Aerial Ace would strike as soon as the Wild Charge had finished.

Hannah's Pokémon saw the others attack, but did not follow suit. If Dack and Aspen wanted to rush into danger, that was fine by them. The Staraptor, Charizard, Noivern, and Gardevoir, however, were more concerned with their trainer. Hannah had not moved since Pride had last spoken to her, and as time passed she appeared more and more faint. Gardevoir put a hand on Hannah's shoulder, trying her best to ease the executive's scrambled emotions. A Shadow Ball subtly formed in the psychic-type's palm, ready to be launched at a moment's notice should anyone try to harm her trainer.

Dack made sure his Pokémon were able to hold their own for the time being, then turned to face Pride. "What do our heads and hearts have to do with anything?" he spat. "I'm not playing your little mind games; I've seen what you did to Hannah." He spared the shell-shocked executive a brief glance, then looked over at Aspen. "Don't listen to him, kid. He's just trying to mess with you."

IC: Shannon/Ryan
After a few minutes, Shannon shakily stood up, still holding a hand to her head. She smiled at Ryan, then frowned at the unconscious body of the suited man. "W-we should hurry," she said. "Before he wakes up."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, you have a good point... Anything else we need? I get the feeling it might not be safe to return here for a while..."

"I-if you don't mind, I'd like to visit the library one last time... see what other books we can take with us." Shannon managed a small appreciative smile.

Ryan nodded again, then grabbed the two bags and slung them over his shoulder. "That sounds alright to me, though we should definitely hurry. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Shannon said. She took a shaky step forward, but did not fall. She smiled at Ryan again. "Word of advice: never get hit with a Confuse Ray. It's not fun."

Ryan chuckled slightly. "Yeah, it doesn't seem fun from what happened to you," he said, sticking close to Shannon, just in case she started to fall.

The two made their way down the hall toward the library. When they opened the door, Shannon let out a gasp. A gaping hole stood in the middle of the room, and a Metagross and the second Rocket both lay unconscious on the floor.

Ryan blinked, as he scratched his head. "... Huh. Uh, sorry about the hole, I'd assume that's Tyranitar's fault..." He carefully stepped into the room, keeping a wary eye on the Metagross as Simisage followed behind him. "Anything in mind that you didn't get to?"

"Yes," Shannon replied, walking over to the largely intact bookshelf. Holding Selena with one arm, she reached up to grab a book off the top shelf. "I can't believe I forgot about this one earlier," she said, handing it to Ryan to place in the bag.

Ryan took the book, and smiled slightly, a bit amused at the situation. Her house is more or less destroyed, and she goes for more books...

Shannon grabbed a handful of more books, ones that she couldn't bear to part with, and handed them to Ryan. Then at long last, she took one final look around the room she had spent so many long days in. "I... I think that's everything," she said. "If we take much more, we won't be able to carry them all."

Ryan nodded, thankful for that, as it was his shoulder that had to carry them for the moment. "Alright, sounds good," he said as he placed the books into the bag. He noticed her melancholy expression and frowned slightly. However, he was mindful of the Rocket and Metagross in the room, and gently ushered her toward the door. "Come on, let's move. We have to get going before they wake up."

Shannon nodded. She had recovered from the daze of the Confuse Ray, but a new daze seemed to wash over her; one of shock at the realization that she might never return here. She hugged Selena tightly and followed Ryan, her eyes taking in everything they could. "...I hated this house," she muttered. "It served as a constant reminder of the cruel, even evil deeds my parents had done to obtain it. And yet... seeing it like this... I realize it was also the birthplace of many fond memories." She smiled ruefully. "I guess it's true what they say. You never truly appreciate what you had until it is taken away."

Ryan looked over with a knowing smile. "Yeah... I've found that out the hard way myself." He fell silent as they walked down the hall, lost in thought. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he nodded to Simisage to keep an eye out. "One moment, I think there's one more thing to bring along." With a smile, Ryan ran into the living room and quickly looked around. He sighed with relief as he found the shelf he was looking for, glad that it had escaped most of the destruction. Ryan picked up the book he had seen earlier and dusted it off before running back and showing Shannon his find.

Shannon took the book with a nostalgic smile. "Pride and Prejudice. Why did you choose this one, of all books?" she asked, stuffing it in the bag.

Ryan scratched his head with a sheepish smile. "I might have looked around the living room earlier, before the attack; had recalled seeing the book, and, well, thought it might have been one of the ones you liked."

"Thanks." Shannon smiled, and took one last look around the house. "Anything else, then?"

Ryan looked around as well, picking up a framed picture that had fallen to the ground. He looked at it, smiling as he saw it was a picture of Shannon and Selena.

Selena hopped down from Shannon’s arms and crooned happily at the sight of the photo. Shannon took the picture with a surprised smile, blinking back her tears. "Th-this was my last day in Ecruteak," she said. "I can't believe I forgot about it."

Suddenly, Ryan got an idea, as he did not think that Shannon should be living homeless as he had. "What if you stayed with my aunt?"

Shannon blinked in surprise, not seeming to understand what he meant at first. "W-what?"

"Ever since my home in Goldenrod was destroyed, I've spent my time off and on just wandering... And trust me, it's not something I'd really recommend." Ryan chuckled and scratched his head. "Plus, well, I just don't want to see that happen to someone else." He frowned, not sure if Shannon even wanted his help. "My aunt has a huge home, so I think there'd be enough rooms, especially later on when things quiet down..."

Shannon was silent for a moment as she, pushed her hair out of her eyes. "A-are you sure?" she asked quietly. "I don't want to intrude, and I'd be fine just staying at the Pokémon Center..."

Ryan fell quiet as well, unsure if he should have even said anything. After all, in the end it wasn't his call to make. "Aunt Stacy's nice," he assured her. "Besides, it'd at least be an idea to ask, right?"

"Well, you have a point there," Shannon said with a warm smile. "At the very least, we could keep my stuff there until this battle comes to an end."

Ryan chuckled with a nod. "Yeah... carrying around two duffel bags full of stuff for ages would probably be a bit tiring. Plus, I'm sure she'd be happy to keep your stuff there even if you were elsewhere, to keep it safe."

Shannon nodded and began to head toward the door. She paused for a moment, and suddenly threw her arms around Ryan, drawing him into a warm hug. "Thank you for doing all of this for me," she said. "I-I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come to my door... Those men would have taken me... and I would have been completely helpless..."

Ryan was caught off guard and just stood there for a moment in surprise. "You're welcome," he said simply, at a loss for any further words.

Shannon pushed her hair out of her eyes and gave him a shy smile. "W-we should go, then..."

Ryan nodded as he headed out the door. He wanted to move quickly, but tried to go slow enough that Shannon wouldn't get left behind, especially since the Rockets had a very annoying tendency to pop up when it was least convenient. Selena chittered happily at Ryan, thanking him as well for all he had done. And with one final glance, Shannon left the house she had loathed, and yet loved so much.

IC: George/Alexa/Colette/Jayron
George sat at his daughter's side, unable to sleep. Although he had tried to hide it, what Jayron and Colette had told him about the Unown frightened him. The doctors said that physically, Alexa appeared healthy. But there was no way of telling how she was mentally or emotionally until she woke up.

As George waited in anguish, his wife Helena comforted him. He had called her as soon as he'd gotten Alexa checked into the hospital, and she had rushed over as soon as she found a sitter for their son Phillip. She would have brought him along too, but she didn't want him seeing his sister like this.

The couple waited for hours with nothing but each other and what little encouragement the doctors could provide. At long last, Alexa stirred, slowly opening her eyes and looking around at the unfamiliar room.

"Alexa!" George cried, pulling her into a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Where am I?" the girl mumbled, continuing to look around.

"You're in the hospital, honey," George said. "You had a pretty crazy morning, but Colette and Jayron helped rescue you."

"Res... cue...?" Alexa frowned.

George sighed. "I don't want to bring back any bad memories, but do you remember what happened this morning?"

"I... I was in a cave," Alexa said slowly. "Collie was there. And Jayron. They brought me to a boat. They... they took me to you. That's all I really remember."

"Nothing before the cave?" George pressed.

The young girl twisted her brow as she struggled to remember. After a long moment she shook her head with a sigh. "Nothing."

"That's alright," George said, glancing nervously at his wife. "Why don't we head downstairs and see Jayron and Colette? The doctors will probably want to look at you one more time before we leave, but I don't think they'll mind if we just slip down to the lobby real quick."

Alexa smiled. "Jayron and Collie? That sounds like fun!"

"...Collie?" George asked. "I didn't know she had a nickname."

"She only lets special people call her that!"

"Oh, does she now?" George chuckled. "Well let's go down and see her, then."

"Yay!" Alexa leapt out of the hospital bed and followed her parents down to the lobby. There, she found Colette, Jayron, and Dandy all fast asleep on three of the couches. "Collie!" Alexa ran up to Colette. "Hey, Collie! Wake up!"

Colette blinked sleepily, as she opened her eyes. "But I don't want to train right now..." she mumbled.

The moment Colette opened her eyes Alexa threw her arms around her. "Collie!"

The sudden hug shocked the aura wielder out of her sleepiness. She didn't speak for a moment, but then smiled as she recognized who it was. "Heya, Alexa..." she said happily, as she returned the hug.

George chuckled at the exchange. "Alexa, why don't you say hi to Jayron, too?" As Alexa ran off to wake up the other aura wielder, George knelt down at Colette's side. "The doctors say she's physically healthy," he said in a low voice. "But they don't have your abilities. Do you think you can read her aura and see if there were any... lasting effects?"

Colette paused, glancing over at the girl. "Well... I can try..." she said cautiously. She wasn't entirely sure any lasting effects would be made visible in Alexa's aura. Not to mention, she didn't know how much strength she had still. Nevertheless, figuring a quick scan wouldn't be too power-intensive, Colette decided to give it a shot.

On the surface, Colette just sensed joy, sprinkled with a hint of confusion, but not enough to be cumbersome. As she looked deeper into the girl's aura, Colette found a slightly disturbed feeling tucked behind the girl's happy spirits. The aura wielder didn't want to be too intrusive, especially after what Alexa had gone through with the Unown, but she knew she had to do this for George's sake. She pressed further into Alexa's aura, revealing an uncanny emotion. The odd feeling seemed to be linked to an image of some sort, or a memory. She tried to focus. Suddenly she had an almost crystal clear image of the Unown stuck to the walls, floor, and ceiling of the Viapois Chamber. Beyond that was a vague sensation of pain and fear, locked away in the deep recesses of Alexa's aura that Colette couldn't quite seem to reach. She tried to look further, but a wave of tiredness washed over her from using her powers again so soon. Colette quickly drew back, feeling a little lightheaded from her efforts.

Colette panted slightly, and looked up at George, unsure how to explain what she found. "I... I think she's afraid of it... but doesn't quite understand it or so..."

George nodded, but kept his eyes trained on Alexa as the young girl shook Jayron awake. "...Will she be okay?"

Colette stayed quiet at that. "I'm not sure. It seems to be buried pretty deep, but..."

The police captain bit his lip with a grim expression. "Thank you," he said. "For everything you've done."

Before Colette could respond, Alexa ran back over to her couch and sat beside her. Jayron sat up with a yawn, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "She's certainly as energetic as ever," he said. He glanced over at Colette. "Sleep well?"

Colette nodded numbly. "I guess. Still sorta tired, though, but..." Her words drifted off as she looked over at Alexa, her face wrought with worry.

"What's wrong, Collie?" Alexa asked, looking up at her with her wide eyes. "You look troubled."

The girl's words pulled Colette out of her daze. She put on a smile as she ran a hand through Alexa’s hair. "Oh, nothing's wrong. I'm just still a bit tired from this morning."

Despite her cheerful front, Jayron could easily sense Colette's worry. He turned to George. "That gym leader we found, Morty. How's he doing?"

"He'll live, but it's going to take some time for him to recover," the police captain said. "He had it much worse than Alexa, from the looks of it."

"Yeah, who knows how long he was out in the open," Colette said, trying her best to keep up the charade with Alexa that nothing bad had actually happened.

George gave Colette a knowing look. "Tell you what, Alexa. Why don't you hang out with Colette for a bit while Jayron and I check on Morty?"

"Sounds good to me!" Alexa smiled as she leaned her head on Colette's shoulder. Colette nodded as she looked down at Alexa and wrapped an arm around her. She just hoped she had enough energy to keep up her happy demeanor.

JiMing · May 13, 2015

IC: Ruth Fishers

"I'll go one way, see what's up ahead. If there's anything interesting, I'll run back, alright?" Ruth offered, before tentatively walking through the hallways, her Pokemon squeezing into the corridors with her. The four of them walked around in the darkness, though it took quite some time for Ruth's eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once they did however, she took notice of machines that appeared to have been tampered with-some had dents in the covers, others had the covers flipped up, revealing wires that definitely appeared out of place, all of which suddenly filled Ruth with a sense of dread.

So the young trainer immediately started walking back to the others, looking quite concerned once she did. "....There are some machines in there... Looks like they've been tampered with." she explained, frowning. "Wonder how long they've been like that for...."

**Ehksidian** · May 13, 2015

IC: Arius Jacobson - Alamos Power Plant

"Alright...Alright...okay, gotta go in, might as well now, I've been out here long enough..." Arius muttered to himself. His eyes were closed, and he was clearly nervoud. Mostly about falling.

He hated falling quite a bit.

Making sure his Pokemon were in their pokeballs and safely stowed away, Arius climbed the ladder and into the building. He landed with a thud, thankfully on his feet. "Well. That was better than I expected..."

Prowl Nightwolf · May 13, 2015

== Alamos Power Plant ==

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor)(60%) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) - Joltik(Voltia)(20%) ==

IC: Yugo herd a thump from behind them and noticed Arius Jacobson entering the facility. "Welcome to the party. What took you so long? I was beginning to think this was just the three musketeers." Yugo turned back to Ruth who was discussing the condition of some machinery down the way. "Tampered with how?" Yugo asked as he started down the hall his Charmander in tow lighting the way. Yugo started to see what Ruth was talking about mind you a bit easier with the light from his Pokémon. "These wires look cut. Why would anyone do this?" Yugo though back to the exposed wires that Joltik was chewing on to get some energy. "Could a Pokémon have done this too?" Yugo asked aloud. They looked different than the wires his Joltik was chewing on but maybe that was because someone had already cut them...

Parugi · May 17, 2015

IC - General Emmerich Coleman/Aulus Rufius - Chapel, Communications Center:

Agent Rufius was waiting for them when they arrived. He saluted the General, falling into step behind him as Coleman moved to open the door to the Comm Center.

"Shields, this is Aulus Rufius," the General said. "Rufius, Miriam Shields. Between the three of us, this should be a simple enough task."

Aulus nodded, saluting Miriam--perhaps less enthusiastically than he had the General. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

IC - Esen Windred - Clearing:

Esen nodded to Cero. "If that's the best we can do, then I guess that's what we'll have to do," she said. "Bat, lead the way to the nearest one." The Swoobat nodded, beginning to take flight again.

As he did so, however, Esen suddenly straightened up. "Wait a second. No--there might be an even simpler way." Krow and Bat both tilted their heads at her. The trainer gestured for Bat to come near. "The truck Kyle was in--there was a specific guy in it, stood out from all the others. White coat, black hat, red hair." Bat touched her mind, reading the image in her head. "Did you see where his truck went?"

Swoobat fell silent for several moments, thinking. Then he nodded, shooting into the sky and flying. Esen nodded to Cero and Noivern, signaling Krow to take hold of her again. "We could always be wrong, but I'm willing to bet that we aren't," she said. "Cero, get ready to double-check with your Lilipup as soon as we possibly can." She took flight again with Krow, following after Swoobat.

IC - Pride - Celadon City, Central Park:

"These aren't simple tricks of the mind, Dack Majors," Pride said. "No, they are much more than that. And they are fueled by your Pride. Believe whatever you want to believe, but the fact of the matter is that your refusal to admit to your own shortcomings is precisely what is going to force me to devour you." He glanced at Hannah. "As is her inability to admit to them."

As he spoke, a shadowy phantasm began to manifest around him--a translucent silhouette of a model with Pride standing at the center, tall and bone-thin with undefined feet and cartoonish, four-fingered hands that ended in pointed digits. Pride's face again began to take on that porcelain quality, making it look as if he were wearing a mask, obscuring his features and etching into his face a grin fit for a nightmarish marionette.

The Sinner frowned through the mask, clasping his hands together and speaking more quietly now. "Of course, that wouldn't be my first preference . . . but if you're going to force my hand, then what choice do I have?" Pride chuckled, his soft laughter growing into a fit of giggling that sent his entire body into a series of uncontrolled shudders. "Oh, boy . . . 'Choice.' That's funny. That's so funny." He covered his face with a hand, briefly stifling the sound. "You ever think about it, any of you? What choices do we have, in the grand scheme of things? People don't choose to be born. They don't choose their names. They don't choose their parents. They hardly choose their friends, their enemies, their family, their jobs. They don't choose their experiences, their circumstances--when they die, their legacy."

Pride uncovered his face.

Thick purple lines had appeared, running now from the bottom of the black eyes of the mask and down its cheeks. Any semblance of Pride's face was now gone, completely obscured by the grinning mask. "Think about it. Really think about it. Because choices--real choices, ones that mean something--those are a luxury. The world's been decided for you, and now, you're being presented with a choice, an opportunity." He seemed to manage to stare at his three targets all at the same time, despite their vastly different positions in the circle. "I chose you. I chose to come after you. I chose to help you realize the extent of your own self-corruption. So now it's your turn to choose: To accept that help, to change, to fix, to live . . . or . . ."

He gestured to their Pokémon. As Luxray closed in on Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pokémon suddenly raised her head, locking her hypnotic eyes with her opponent's before slamming into the Electric-Type. Alongside the Hypnosis, the flames on her body erupted outward, completely coating her in monstrous fire that threatened to burn any who touched her--whether Luxray or Swellow. She hardly even flinched at the enemy Bastiodon's Metal Sound, responding to it in turn with another Hypnosis.

". . . to reject it, to die, and to tangle someone else in my strings."

IC - Kyle Eston - This world is indeed that which is it is a living being endowed with a soul and knowledge thus can we say it is a living force of nature and not merely a construct upon which and through which all life is built universally connected by the singular and multiple forces acting upon us at any one point in time as dictated by the necessities of the circumstances surrounding us

_Stop

Yet to say that one is all and that all is one is to forfeit the individual and accept the sameness of all given these proposals does that not mean that we are thus all the same and not unique can one rightfully judge the actions of another then bearing in mind that the responsibility of one's actions is then shared by all in presence whether guilty or innocent due to the universal connections between one human and all others

_Stop

Upon that train of thought does that not mean that the actions of those who would encourage and provoke

2. n. a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state.

are then equally reflective of what I am capable of and of what I seek?

. . .

We're above the city. We're surrounded by windows. We're surrounded by skyscrapers. Everything is cleared away. There's a hole in the floor. Desks and chairs and cubicles are all knocked everywhere, covered in debris. There is blood. There is fire. There is ash and smoke and the angered winds of a place weeping in the aftermath of a cataclysm that no one could have foreseen sweeping through the broken glass overlooking the dust-caked streets, carrying with it a chill wind that cuts straight through to the very core--

Oh my god.

No.

No, no, no, no no no no!

Why am I here, of all places!?

I want to forget. I want to block it out and never think about it again. But it always comes back. Always. The tower. The bomb. The footsteps, urgent, echoing through the stairwell. The cries for help, of frustration and desperation. "Attack, attack." The laugh, the music, the one responsible. Wasted efforts to save a doomed city. Efforts leading to what? The salvation only of those who would listen. A cascade of dominoes leading to an even larger catastrophe upon the rest of its continent.

I want to forget. But it always comes back.

You always come back.

"Me."

You're here . . .

"In the flesh, Eston."

But not. You're not you. You're different. You're gaunt--a living skeleton. A monster, looming over me, everywhere and nowhere. Your laugh is everywhere, that constant mockery of failure. And . . . you're covered in blood. Is it yours? You bled; I remember that. You overexerted yourself. Mine . . .? I bled, too. You made me bleed.

"Such narrow thinking."

. . .

"Why stop the possibilities there?"

Whose is it . . . ?

"Everyone who has died for your cause." Smile. "I know--you never touched them. Your group never touched them. You were doing your best--not to perpetuate, but to 'save.' But everything is connected. Where war begins, it spreads out. It's a disease in the heart of the world, and this one has become terminal." Smile. "Thus, your blood. The blood of many. Those who have bled . . . and those who will."

The war's . . . over.

"From a certain perspective."

From mine, it's over.

"Yet your kind continues to promote it." Frown. "To their detriment." She stands amongst the bodies of those whom I would call my friends. None of them recognizable. None of them living. They've been caught in the flames, in the blast--the fire and heat. All of them are there. No one is missing.

It's not us. It's her.

"You and yours."

I don't support her.

"Yet, you do."

I don't have a choice.

"To do, or not to do. There is always a choice."

. . .

So you had one, too.

She pauses. "Yes. I suppose I did."

And you chose to act. You chose to destroy and hurt and kill.

"All in opposition to the unjust."

All in the name of your cause. To send a message.

"To stop your war."

I lost someone because of you.

"Was that not her choice? To stay behind?"

What else could she have done . . .?

"Perhaps . . . let you die. All of you. You earned it, after all."

I haven't done anything!

"So you say."

The blood's on you. You're as responsible as I am--more than I am!

"I never touched them."

You're a hypocrite.

"So there are two of us."

. . .

When did my hands close around your throat? They're clenched so tight, fingers pressing so hard that it feels like my bones are protruding through my skin. You look so pale. This must have been happening a while. I must have snapped. What did you say? What made me this angry?

". . ."

Anger. Cold anger. When did I become so angry that this kind of thing made me feel so . . . calm? What made this seem right? What made this so . . . welcome?

". . ."

You're dying. You're not fighting back. Why aren't you fighting back? Why aren't you doing anything!? Do you want me to do this!?

". . ."

. . . what am I doing . . .?

This isn't me. This has never been me.

I hate you. I will always hate you. But I can't kill you. I won't. You made nothing better, and nothing worse. You aggravated a situation already on the brink. And in the end, who got hurt? You and me both. There was no exclusion--we both lost something. But there was a difference: I could get back what I lost. You can't. And you will have to live with that for the rest of your life.

You changed nothing that was not already in motion.

I want to forget. I want to block it out and remove it from myself. But I can't forget.

It will always come back. That's what these things do.

All I can do is let you go.

Good-bye, Hayes.

2. n. freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.

Kyle awoke, shivering, where he had been knocked out. He didn't know how long he had been out. All he knew was that his eyes burned, his entire body was sore, and he was freezing against the cold cement of the floor. Already, the shackles around his wrists were beginning to rub his skin raw. He adjusted them uncomfortably, slowly turning his head to look at the table where his belongings rested. They were so far away. Yet, he knew that if he could only reach them . . .

With a groan of pain, he tried to push himself up, only to collapse. He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head against the ground, waiting for some of his strength to return.

The sound of metal scraping against metal prompted him to open his eyes again. It was coming from behind him. The Liberty Agent dreaded the thought of what it could be, but decided to check in any case. With much effort, he managed to roll onto his back, giving him a view of the noise's source.

A woman with spiky blonde hair sat against another wall. Her hands were chained like his, their wall mount resting several feet away from the one holding him captive. She was busy doing something with her restraints, focusing intently on them as she worked.

The scraping stopped as her hands froze. She looked up at him from her work, pausing for a long moment.

"Hey."

Edited May 17, 2015 by Apears

Konuju · May 18, 2015

IC: Dack/Hannah

"You have a funny way of 'helping' us if that's what you call this," Dack said with a scowl. He instinctively took a step back as Pride's face morphed. It seemed with every minute he spent in this park, Dack became less and less convinced their accuser was actually human. "Why would you want to help Hannah when you were the one who helped her carry out her prideful desires? Who are you to decide how we should live our lives, anyway?"

As the Snowpoint trainer spoke, he spared a glance at their Pokémon, and he felt his face pale. Luxray struggled to fight off the soporific effects of the Hypnosis, and found himself helpless as the Rapidash crashed into him, sending him sprawling across the powdered snow. Although Luxray managed to escape the ailments of sleep or burn, it was clear as the electric-type struggled to his feet that he was dazed.

Swellow was not so lucky. The moment Luxray went flying, the Rapidash's flames exploded around it, enveloping Swellow in a swirling inferno. The determined bird struck the Rapidash with Aerial Ace, but as he retreated the scent of singed feathers filled the air, and Dack saw that his Pokémon was covered in burn marks. Swellow flapped his wings heavily and returned to the other flying-types, casting a bitter look on those who had refused to back him up.

Bastiodon had thought herself a safe distance from the Rapidash's attacks. She had begun preparing another Ancient Power when her eyes met those of the fiery horse. The Shield Pokémon felt her mind cloud from the hypnotic effect. A slight rumbling of the ground beneath the Rapidash's hooves was the only indication of Bastiodon's attempted attack. It was followed by a much greater rumble as the heavy Pokémon crashed to the ground, overcome by sleep.

Dack cursed. He had left Teddy with Madison, and his only other Pokémon was Servine. As confident as the grass-type was, he knew she wouldn't last two seconds against Pride's demonic horse. "Luxray," he ordered, glancing up to make sure the flying-types were all a safe distance away. "We need to stop that thing, now. Discharge!"

Ignoring the pain from his fall, Luxray curled his lips back in a snarl as his fur crackled with electricity. The attack radiated outward, although the Gleam Eyes Pokémon did his best to ensure the Rapidash took the brunt of the attack.

Gardevoir pulled Hannah into her arms, grimacing as the fringes of the Discharge whipped across her back. Pride's threats of death and consumption were bad enough, but Dack's hot-headed attitude was sowing chaos into the mix. And yet despite everything going on around her, Hannah remained motionless, her eyes glazed as she stared blankly into nothing. It was clear she wasn't going to get better any time soon. She needed to be somewhere safe.

The Gardevoir closed her eyes, picturing the street where they had found Shannon. Right now that seemed like the best place for Hannah. A rooftop would be too unstable, and a helicopter would be too risky to try and teleport into. Gardevoir knew there was no guarantee that Shannon was still in that street, but if she was, perhaps she might be able to give Hannah the comfort she needed. Anywhere was better than here. Sending a telepathic message to the rest of Hannah's Pokémon, Gardevoir focused her thoughts and tightened her grip on her trainer.

The next instant, both Pokémon and trainer winked out of existence.

IC: Zoe

"As she crouches at a corner, the brave warrior princess and her Pokémon must call upon their latent aura powers to scan the next hallway for any occupants." Zoe closed her eyes and extended a palm, listening to the distant sound of footsteps a floor or two above. She subtly peeked an eye open, and upon seeing that Merida and Esmeralda also had their eyes closed, she quickly peeked her head around the corner. "All clear," she reported, ducking her head back and quickly resuming her aura-reading stance. "But we need to move quickly -- who knows how many of The Shadowed Man's agents are roaming the other hallways."

Motioning for her Pokémon to follow, Zoe darted down the hall, doing her best to remain silent. They turned a corner, slid down the stairs, crouched past a security guard, and zig-zagged through a vast network of hallways before finally reaching the door labeled "Lost and Found." Zoe carefully reached out to twist the doorknob, her heart racing as she listened for approaching footsteps.

The door was locked.

"A warrior princess does not give up so easily," she whispered. "One of the guards has the key. But how can we get it...?" Zoe's lips curled into a smile as an idea started to take shape in her head.

***

Esmeralda sat in what looked like an office room. An oak wood desk sat in the middle, under which she could barely make out the dark shape of Zoe crouching in the shadows. The Fennekin sat in silence, facing the closed door. When her large ears detected footsteps, she began scratching on the door. The footsteps grew louder and louder, then stopped altogether. The doorknob jiggled, but Zoe had already locked the door. There was a jingle of keys.

At that moment, Merida jumped up and unlocked the door. The Meditite clung to the knob as she swung it open. Esmeralda took her cue to leap out at the security guard, knocking him to the ground. The guard cried out in surprise, but Esmeralda was already gone, darting down the hall as fast as her little feet could carry her.

"Get back here, you little fox!" The guard got to his feet to give chase, not even noticing that his ring of keys was slowly floating toward the office room, carried by Merida's psychic power. The Meditite soon lost her focus and the keys clattered to the ground, but the guard was already running after Esmeralda. With a snicker, Merida retrieved the ring of keys and handed them to Zoe.

"Good work," Zoe said with a grin. "Now we just need Esmeralda to keep him busy while we complete our mission." The girl and her Meditite ran down the hall in the opposite direction Esmeralda and the guard had gone, making her way to the lost and found. When she finally got there, she looked at the ring of keys with a sinking feeling. "There must be at least fifty different keys on here!" she cried. "Which one's the right one?" Merida shrugged. Zoe sighed. "Guess we'll have to try each one..."

It was long work trying out the different keys, especially while making sure the other keys didn't jingle and give away their location. After what felt like an eternity, Esmeralda returned, her smirk indicating she had lost the guard. Zoe tried key after key, growing more and more panicked with each consecutive failure. She would jerk her head down the dim hallway at the slightest sound, and her forehead quickly became laced with beads of sweat.

At long last, a small silvery key slid into the lock, and the knob turned with a small click. Zoe started to open the door, but stopped when it produced a loud, echoing squeak. She grimaced, glancing over her shoulders before trying again, slowly this time. Another squeak echoed down the hall. "This isn't going to work," she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she swung the door open as fast as she could. She winced at the squeak, but darted inside and flipped on the lights. "Come on, come on, where is it?" she asked as she scanned the room. Books, folders, jewelry, and other miscellaneous items lined the shelves. In the far corner hung about a half dozen different backpacks. None of them looked like Zoe's.

"Who's there?" A voice called out, as the sound of running footsteps grew louder.

"Retreat!" Zoe hissed, turning on her heels and racing out of the room. She hit the lights and slammed the door shut before running as fast as she could down the hall, Esmeralda and Merida trailing behind her.

"Hey!" the guard cried. "Intruder!"

Zoe turned down the first side hall she found, and didn't stop running until she ducked into a bathroom. The bathroom was pitch black, and she blindly felt her way to the far wall, where she crouched under a sink. "This mission is not going as planned..." she said through gasping breaths. "I... I'm not sure where my backpack could be... but..." she lightly jingled the keys she had slipped in her pocket. "At least we have the means to find out."

IC: Hannah/Gardevoir

Impact.

The world seemed to spin around them, colors swirling in a sickening dance, and they were falling... falling... falling...

Gardevoir hit the ground with a thud. She still held Hannah in her arms. The girl was shuddering, although it was hard to tell if it was from the teleport or Pride's words. Slowly and painfully, the psychic-type got to her feet, helping her shaking trainer do the same. They were not in the streets as intended. They were on a dirt path, surrounded by trees. A wooden bench laced with iron sat several feet to their left. But it was the orange glow of the giant, burning tree visible over her right shoulder that told Gardevoir what she needed to know: they were still in the park.

She should have known Pride wouldn't have let them escape so easily. Gardevoir carefully walked Hannah over to the bench and sat her down, her eyes wrought with worry. Placing her hands on Hannah's head, the Embrace Pokémon reached out with her mind, desperately trying to find some way to get through to her trainer before it was too late.

**Blessed Blade** · May 18, 2015

-==IC: Zach==-

Zach frowned, as he concentrated on the fight. Already, two of his Pokemon were down, and the rest of his team wasn't much better. There was Raikou, but that was a last resort. However, he let the battle progress, to see if it could somehow get better...

The Donphan was battered by the different attacks, slowly being pushed back in the process, until the Toxicroak punched it forward again with Bullet Punch. The Icicle Crash had done wonders to slow it down and heavily damage it, and the Leaf Tornado hadn't been too bad either. The Donphan collapsed to the ground, and struggled to get back up, however, Smugleaf launched forward with a grim look on his face, and slashed out with Leaf Blade. Eyes widening, the Donphan finally collapsed to the ground fully, unable to take any more attacks.

The Goodra wasn't really feeling the greatest after the Icicle Crash; however, he turned his attention to the Weavile, and inhaled, as he ran toward the Dark Ice type, and then attempted to launch himself at him with a SuperPower.

The Medicham's eyes widened, as she didn't expect that the sand dragon would react that quickly; and although she tried to twist out of the way as she fell, the psychic hold froze her limbs in place, leaving her to continue falling backwards; unable to right herself or dodge out of the way of the rocks, making for a very rough landing.

Blade looked over at Amethyst as if that were a silly thing, considering he had taken the other opponent so it didn't turn into a two-on-one fight. However, he shrugged, as he acknowledged that he had in fact subbed in for Aria instead, but figured his use had been at the Skarmory fight, as he closed in on the new fight, frowning as he wondered what was going on.

Zach was about to give commands to the reinforcing Pokemon, when he felt the tug on his arm. "Huh?" Zach looked over at Olivia in confusion, as he wondered what could be more important than the fight...

OOC: Subbing of Rebecca's Pokemon is next post. =P

-==IC: Ray==-

What? Ray was stunned as everything took place; first Evan tries to say that it was her idea, then Sonja herself backed it up. Ray was a lot more suspicious of the situation, however, and was about to open up his mouth to react, when the Xatu got involved. "You!" Ray yelled out, as he began to move forward; however the next moment, the Ford agents vanished with Sonja. "No! Get back here!" Ray yelled out, and then clenched his fists with grit teeth, as he recalled the thought that had crossed his mind before Sonja was taken. Find Ellen. Ray scowled, as he looked at the spot where McKinley had been, and narrowed his eyes. I'll find Ellen. And I'll find Sonja too. And when I do... Ray growled. Is this his idea of 'saving' them?

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny felt paralyzed with a semi-hopeless look. It was all she could do to take a step forward as everything happened; but even that was useless. Everything had been for nothing. They'd lost Ellen to wherever. They'd lost Sonja to Hayes and that blond kid. And they'd almost lost Ryan when he ran off... And as Jenny glanced over at him, and recalled the unfulfilled apology, she thought he even seemed different. She should be giving up; why wasn't she? Everything she'd ever done since she'd been captured, when things went wrong, she'd given up. But instead, she felt a determined feeling grow on her face. And when she realized that, she knew the answer. She was tired of everything going wrong, and was determined to help fix it. To mend this unfinished battle.

"Right." Jenny took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then glanced over the remaining members of the group, who had just returned. Ray was just fuming and looked like he had been through the fight of his life; same with Ryan. "We know what we have to do, right?" Jenny asked, a determined frown on her face. Find Ellen. She couldn't explain why she had chosen that moment to have thought of that, but she recalled the thought from during the confrontation with the enemy. "We have to find Ellen and Sonja. I don't know why, but that kid gave me the creeps." Jenny stated, but frowned further. "... But, we can't do anything more tonight; it's nearly dark." Jenny noted, as she looked up at the red sky, the sun nearly totally set.

"We need to spend tomorrow searching for clues of where Ellen went to. Maybe settle other things in the meantime, too, and if we get lucky, we can either set out tomorrow or the day after. But we can't rush." Jenny warned, as she looked over the group, Ray only giving a subtle indication that he had heard. "Rushing is what got us into this mess, as we pretty much seemed to walk into a trap, given how things ended up." Reminiscence. This situation in general seemed oddly familiar to the aftermath of Nimbasa Amusement Park, but yet different. Jenny herself noticed just how much she had changed since then, as she just felt as if she had more of an air of confidence about her, and just wasn't running away. A tragic decision had been made, but Jenny refused to believe they were unable to right the wrongs that had occurred.

"We can find them both. We must find them both... But... We have to have a game plan." Jenny stated with a calm determination, as she looked around to see whether anyone was actually listening. They had to listen. She couldn't afford the group splintering again. They couldn't afford the group splintering again. She had heard about Ray's reckless tendencies; and while she could sorta understand why, there was no way that it would work out here. Despite the situation, there was hope. There was always hope, no matter how bad a situation seemed. She just had to hold her breath, and trust that they would realize that too.

**Dr. Hidaka** · May 18, 2015

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan stared at where Sonja, Hayes, and that other person had been, his look stern. He knew that there would have been no chance of convincing Sonja otherwise. Why did he feel so angry then? Maybe it was the battle and how pointless it ended up being. Maybe it was knowing that in the end, Hayes had won out.

Find Ellen.

The thought echoed in his head, with the intensity of a tolling bell. That's right, she was the reason they came here in the first place. They may have lost Sonja, but Evan would be damaged before they lost Ellen too. As Jenny spoke, Evan clenched his fists, eyes blazing with a dim resolve.

"Jenny's right, you two.", Evan stated, his fatigue showing more now. "We can't just rush in, Pokemon blazing. We need a solid plan. So let's rest for now, and try to focus on our next move tomorrow. What do you say to that?"

As Evan spoke, a part of him squirmed in fear at the thought of sleep, especially after that last dream. He knew he needed rest, but he also didn't want to go through that again.....

Konuju · May 19, 2015

IC: Ryan
Ryan fell to his knees, still staring at the spot where Sonja had vanished. He numbly acknowledged Jenny and Evan's words. "I agree," he said in a strained voice. "I just feel so hopeless... There's nothing we can do. Especially with us all in the state that we're in." As his Pokémon approached him, the Liberty agent turned his head to look at the three trainers standing behind him. "You're all welcome to stay in my house for the night. I think we all need a good night's rest."

IC: Luke
The blackbelt glared at the Rocket Commander before turning to the Celadonians at his side. "Do we have any teleporters?" he asked in a low voice. "That's the only way I think we can get those hostages out of there."

"What about that Willows person?" a young man asked. "If she was able to fight--"

"No," Luke interjected. "We're not going to use someone's life as a bargaining chip."

"Teleporting won't work," a woman said. "You'd have to get in there, grab both hostages from their respective captors, and get out before anyone reacted. There's no way you could move that fast, especially with the disorientation that comes with teleportation."

"Then what do we do?" Luke asked. "If we let the Rockets go, they'll just keep wrecking the city until they find Willows."

"Willows is who they're after?" the young man said. "If she's so desperate to get her, why not give him what he wants? We're talking one person against the whole city!"

Luke frowned. He knew Shannon had wanted to speak with Hannah, and this whole attack was supposed to be revenge against Shannon anyway. If the Rocket Commander got his hands on Shannon, he'd likely bring her to Hannah so she could exact her revenge herself. He didn't like it, but Shannon had seemed convinced that she could talk Hannah out of her attack. He had to admit, it seemed like their best option right now. "Alright, I need you to stall him," he told the Celadonians. "I'll see what the situation is with Willows." Hating himself for doing this, Luke sat with his back to the barricade as he typed out a message on his Pokétch to Dack and Madison, briefly explaining the situation and asking if they had any info on Shannon's status.

**Blessed Blade** · May 19, 2015

-==IC: Colette==-

Alexa waited until her father and Jayron had disappeared, then looked up at Colette. "Collie?" she asked. "Are you going to stay here on Seven Island?"

Colette scratched her head at the question uncertainly. "Um, well, I might stay a day or so, but, I kinda promised my sister I'd be back, so I don't think I can stay..." She smiled gently. "But I could come visit as often as I can."

Alexa stared at the aura wielder with glistening eyes. "Wh-who will keep me safe?"

Colette was taken by surprise and smiled sadly as she hugged the little girl. "I'm not leaving yet; and you've shown you're just as strong and brave as me. And if you ever need help... I'll be there as soon as I can. Promise."

"Am I really that strong and brave?" Alexa smiled as she returned the hug. "I... I know I want to be brave like you, but..." As she let go of the embrace, the young girl's eyes grew glassy. "I don't know if I can. I'm... I'm scared. And I'm not quite sure why."

"It's alright to be scared..." Colette said softly. "I'm scared of a lot of things myself. And I mean a lot. I'm not even sure why half the time either..." She looked over at Alexa with a reassuring smile. "It'll likely take time for that feeling to fade, but believe me; you have a ton of braveness." Colette smiled wider and hugged Alexa again. "Just try not to run headfirst into danger, alright?" the aura wielder teased, ruffling Alexa's hair playfully.

"Alright." Alexa hugged Colette back. "Thank you for protecting me, Collie. I promise I'll get braver."

Colette smiled, stifling a yawn. "I'm certain you will, kiddo... maybe in the future we could make an awesome team."

Alexa's eyes brightened. "Would that mean I'd be able to travel with you and Jayron?"

Colette chuckled, happily. "Well, it wouldn't be for a long time, so we'd have to see, but I can't rule it out. I'd be totally up for that, personally."

"That sounds awesome!" Alexa grinned as she leaned back, her vague and frightening memories disappearing into the back of her mind. "You definitely have to come back and visit us again soon!"

"Don't worry," Colette said happily. "I will."

-==IC: Ryan/Shannon==-

Shannon followed Ryan as he led the way to Stacy's house. She had pulled the hood of her jacket up to hide her face from the Rockets. At least, that was the reasoning she gave Ryan. In truth, she couldn't bear to look at the ruined streets and crumbled buildings any more than she had to. She felt a sickly feeling rise in her stomach at the mere thought of the extent to which Hannah had gone to seek revenge. The hood helped obscure her vision, allowing her to focus solely on Ryan as he guided her to safety.

Ryan looked back at Shannon for a moment, wondering if there was something she wasn't letting on. He bit his lip and turned his focus back to the path ahead, noticing Stacy's place coming into view. "It looks like we're almost here."

Shannon nodded but remained silent, still lost in her thoughts. She remained focused on Ryan, only catching glimpses of the street around them.

Ryan looked back again. "You alright?"

"Hm?" Shannon glanced up at him in surprise. "I-I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"I... just don't want you distracted or unable to react, that's all..." Ryan said, slightly awkwardly, wondering if all his concern was just his imagination.

"I'm fine," Shannon insisted, managing a soft smile. "Besides, if something were to happen, you'd keep me safe. Right?"

Ryan was caught off guard, but had to smile at that as he nodded. "Yeah," he simply said, even though his track record so far hadn't been the greatest.

Shannon looked up at the house as they approached and let out a gasp of surprise. "Wow. I thought my house was big, but this is... well, huge!"

Ryan scratched his head with a slight chuckle. "Yeah... it was never really fun playing hide and seek in there; it'd take days to find someone, and you had to hope they didn't move at all."

Shannon giggled in spite of the grim situation. "That sounds amazing... It reminds me a bit of growing up in Ecruteak."

"Oh yeah?" Ryan asked curiously, as they walked up to the door. He opened it and motioned for Shannon to go inside first.

"Yeah," Shannon smiled. "My friends and I would spend hours playing hide and seek or tag in my old house." For a moment she seemed genuinely happy at the memory. Then her smile faltered. "...It was one of Hannah's favorite pastimes."

Ryan looked back, and then put his hand on her shoulder. "If there's anything I've learned over the past six months or so, it's that miracles can happen, and that things can change."

Shannon nodded sadly. "You're right, things can change. Hannah proved that to me all too well." She turned away, hugging Selena close as a lump formed in her throat.

Ryan realized that he hadn't helped her worries much, and looked away with guilt. Adjusting his grip on the bags, he walked further into the house, unsure what to do or where to go.

"I'm sorry..." Shannon mumbled as she followed Ryan to the bottom of a grand staircase. "I-I don't mean to be such a downer all the time." She bit her lip as she stared at his feet, trying to keep herself from crying again.

Ryan set the bags down and looked back at Shannon, taking a few steps toward her. "It's alright, you're not doing any harm. Honestly, I'm not totally certain where my optimistic side returned from; it was kinda missing in action for a good few years..." Ryan stood there awkwardly and scratched his head, having no clue how to actually inspire hope that things could be turned around.

Shannon gave a wry smile as she looked up at Ryan, pulling her hood back now that they were indoors. "Well, at least one of us is looking on the bright side. I just... I just don't want be a burden. I mean, you should be out there helping your friends, and instead you're here worrying about me..."

Ryan awkwardly took another step toward her. "Well, admittedly, I don't really know half the people in that group... and I don't really know if I'm even needed out there... let alone wanted..." Without thinking, he put his arms around Shannon, drawing her into a comforting hug. He recalled how most of his old friends had done that when he needed it, and Shannon looked like she definitely needed it.

Shannon was surprised by the hug, but smiled. "Th-thank you..." Selena, still in Shannon's arms, gave a squeak of discomfort as she found herself squeezed between the two. "O-oh!" Shannon stepped back to allow the Furret to hop down. "I'm sorry about that, Selena." Selena glared at Ryan and chattered angrily, not pleased at almost being crushed.

Ryan looked down at Selena in surprise and scratched his head awkwardly. "S-sorry..." he mumbled as he turned around. "Uh, should we go find my aunt, then?"

Before Shannon could respond, footsteps echoed as someone came down the stairs. "...I thought I heard voices over here," Madison said. She waved at the two of them. "How's your shoulder, Shannon?"

"Oh. It's fine," Shannon said with a smile. "All thanks to Ryan insisting I get it bandaged up at the Pokémon Center."

Ryan nodded in confirmation. "We did have a few bad run-ins, but we solved it in the end."

"That's good to hear," Madison said. The Teddiursa in her arms squirmed free and ran over to say hi to Selena. The Furret was still irate from getting squashed, but she cracked a smile at the bear cub's antics. Madison smiled as well, then looked back up the stairs. "Hey, Stacy!" she called. "Your nephew's here!"

Stacy came down the stairs, smiling at her new guests. "So, you must be Shannon...?" she asked as she held out her hand. "I'm Stacy Trilan. It's a pleasure to meet you, though I kinda wish the circumstances were better."

"It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Trilan," Shannon said, shaking her hand. "Um... I-I don't mean to intrude, but, well, you see, Ryan offered..." she glanced at Ryan, unsure how to explain what had happened.

Ryan looked back to Shannon, and then began to explain what had happened to Shannon's home and his reasoning for her staying here.

"Oh, it wouldn't be a problem at all, dear!" Stacy said with a reassuring look. "Arceus knows we've got a bunch of space, and it's just never used... Also, please, call me Stacy." The woman said to Shannon with a warm smile.

"Thank you," Shannon said as she smiled back. "I promise I won't be a burden to you, and I'll try to repay you in any way I can."

Stacy nodded in response, as she looked down at the bags. "Oh, my. A lot of stuff, huh? Well, I'll go move this to a room for now, alright?"

Shannon nodded in gratitude to Stacy. She was about to help with moving the bags when Madison put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry we had to drag you into all this," the skier said. "Perhaps we should have focused our efforts more on protecting you from Hannah than recruiting you to try and stop her."

"It's okay," Shannon said. "I know you meant well. And I did manage to talk to Hannah, although it didn't quite go as I'd hoped it would."

"Oh?" Madison raised her eyebrows.

Shannon sighed with a nod. "That Aspen kid was right. Hannah didn't want to talk. I'm so sorry I caused all this. I would've done anything I could to try and get through to her, but then Dack showed up and started fighting her, and..." She fell silent, unsure how to explain what had happened next.

"They both vanished." Ryan said with a frown. "It was weird; symbols showed up in the snow, then they just disappeared..."

Madison did a double take. "Wait, what? They vanished?"

Shannon nodded. "I wish I could tell you more, but that's all we know."

The skier's face paled. "Dack..." With a shaking hand, she hastily tried to type out a message to Dack on her Pokétch. Before she could type the whole thing out, however, the device beeped with an incoming message from Luke. Madsion quickly skimmed the text and her heart dropped even further. "This is bad."

"What happened?" Ryan had a bad feeling about this, if the fear in Madison's eyes was anything to go by.

"It's Luke... He says the Rocket commander he's fighting has taken civilians hostage and is holding them as ransom for..." Madison fell silent as she stared at a spot on the tiled floor.

Shannon felt her own face turn stark white. "For what...?"

Madison remained silent, merely shaking her head.

"It's me, isn't it?"

The skier forced herself to meet Shannon's eyes, giving her a pained look. "I'm so sorry..."

Shannon turned away and closed her eyes, the lump returning to her throat. "No," she said in a shaking voice. "No, this is my fault. This whole attack is because of me."

Ryan stayed quiet as he clenched his fists. In the next moment he relaxed, an odd air of calmness around him. "No," he said firmly as he looked Shannon's way. "It's not your fault that people have lost all rationality regarding this."

At about that moment, Stacy returned, sensing the tension in the air and the looks on the two girls' faces. "What's the matter? Did you get news?" she asked. Ryan nodded grimly before briefly explaining the situation. Stacy mulled it over for a little bit, and then nodded. "I see." The woman opened up a cupboard nearby, revealing some healing supplies, and began to heal up everyone's teams.

"We go help," Ryan said. It wasn't a question. "We're going to bring sense back to this city; and we're going to do it with no sacrifices."

Shannon nodded as she gave Ryan a determined look. "I agree. I will not stand for innocent people getting hurt because of me. I'll pay their ransom; we already know they have orders not to harm me."

Ryan shook his head with a frown. "They say that, but their actions in trying to get to you suggest that they might not agree with those orders." Ryan furrowed his brow as he tried to formulate a plan. "Let's at least hold off on that until we know what we're dealing with. We might be able to win out still."

"Whatever we're doing, we'd better decide fast," Madison said as she typed away on her Pokétch. "I don't quite understand what's going on, but it sounds like the Rockets are contained for now, but they'll spread throughout the city if we don't hurry."

"Let's go, then," Shannon said. She started to walk toward the door, turning to speak to Ryan over her shoulder. "We'll do it your way. But if things start looking bad, I will turn myself in. Don't try to stop me."

OOC: Editing in more posts at the top after this is up, or adding into next post, gotta do something quick.

**Franco** · May 20, 2015

IC: Cero nodded, cracking open Viajero's ball beneath his robes as he hopped back on Noivern. Hands holding the Lillipup, he brought the canine to his collar to peek outside as they lifted off. The Lillipup squirmed fervently, even more excited to be flying than when on Buitre, and Cero smiled slightly. He hid the Lillipup in the warmth of the robes and petted him. That energy would be needed, and certainly the abnormally-quick motions would be helpful, but Cero knew focus would also be needed. He soothed the pup.

JiMing · May 26, 2015

OOC: Only Aspen for now, but Parugi, Kon, and any others interested in this plot, hopefully it will have been #worththeweight

IC: Aspen Seaton

Pride's words echoed on, while everything else became a dull noise in the distance. There was nothing he could do but watch Pride take on an increasingly monstrous form, losing the motivation to do much else. So thoroughly was his spirit crushed that Aspen lost the will to stand. Before he could simply fall flat on his face, the young boy shakily sat down on the ground, burying his head in his knees.

So this is how it ends..... he thought, sighing. This is how I go.... Barely fifteen, and about to be wiped from existence.... Away from everyone else.....

There was no hope. All there was left to do was wait for the end........

Until something brushed against his hand.

Aspen lifted his head tentatively, looking around to find that Flare was licking his hand concernedly, with Meadow and Torrent also surrounding him. All three of his Pokemon had worried expressions, and didn't give any sign they were at all noticing the fight with Pride's Pokemon.

"G-guys....." the youngest Seaton stammered, staring in a joyful shock at his team staying by his side. Aspen slowly raised his arms, pulling all three of them into an embrace, as memories of his younger days flashed by....

At age 5, Aspen was walking back home after delivering a new flower pot to a neighbor. The day was going just swell, when a ragged Quilava came into view. Blinking, the little boy approached it, only for the Pokemon to notice his presence with a startled cry and hide beneath a dumpster. Even more curious, he approached again, only for the Volcano Pokemon to hiss, with small embers surrounding its mouth, along with the flames on its back flaring up. Startled, the young boy left in short order. But the image of the Quilava without a home stuck in Aspen's mind, and soon he returned to the dumpster, finding the Quilava had gone out from its hiding spot. When it began growling again, he quickly dropped a bowl of Poffins, and backed away. Patiently he waited, until the little boy at last saw the Pokemon emerge to eat the Poffins laid out. Aspen approached slowly again, managing to scratch the ear of the Quilava, who at first recoiled, only to slowly relax once it saw that Aspen meant no harm. Aspen managed to pull the street Pokemon into a hug, beckoning for it to follow him home, to which it obliged.

While playing on the beach, he saw an orange and red shape in the distance. Running over, it soon became apparent that it was an injured Buizel. Shocked, the little boy cried with all the strength in his lungs, and desperately tried to revive the unconscious Pokemon. However, his attempts were unsuccessful. He continued to try, until he was pushed away by adults who quickly brought the Buizel to the Pokemon Center. The little boy was not yet put at ease, and demanded his parents bring him to the nearby Pokemon Center right away. There was nothing else on his mind other than the safety of that Buizel, as he either paced inside the Center itself, or repeatedly asked the receptionist whether it would pull through. At long last, a nurse told him that the Buizel was going to be alright, but that no one had come to claim the Pokemon. And in that moment, Aspen immediately offered to take the Pokemon home, a decision he would not regret in the years to come.

Aspen was working in the garden, happily tending to a tiny sprout that would someday grow into a tall, healthy berry tree. So engrossed was he in his work that he didn't notice tiny footsteps from behind him. A lone Budew somehow found its way inside the Seaton's garden, and curiously walked over to Aspen's side, watching the sprout as intently as he did. Only when Aspen was satisfied with his work did he turn around and notice the tiny Bud Pokemon by his side. He maintained eye contact with the small Pokemon for a minute, before picking up the Budew and placing it near the garden's exit, wanting to work without distractions. Back to work he went on another sprout, until he found that the tiny Pokemon had made its way back to his side, prompting the little boy to move it away from his work yet again. From picking the berries to watering the flowers, the Budew followed and watched everything, undeterred by Aspen constantly moving it away. Aspen then wondered whether it would leave once it was clear he was done with the garden, but even when he stepped inside his house, the Budew was still following him. Kneeling, he asked whether it wanted to be friends, to which the Budew nodded happily. The little boy couldn't have been more surprised and ecstatic. The first thing he thought of was running to Mom to tell her of his new friend. And so he did, with said friend chasing after him on stubby legs.

"I would have to respectfully disagree, Pride." interjected Aria suddenly. "The choice of targeting my Master was not the right thing to do..... After all, back in Sootopolis, he risked his life to save two strangers: Ellen, and a small, ragged Eevee." she explained. "I wouldn't think such a selfless act could come from any individual so filled with pride as you claim. So it is with deepest apologies that I find your vision false."

Aria knew her plan was a gambit. Aspen would have to speak up soon, otherwise she would most assuredly be assaulted by Pride. Come on..... she thought. Alistair must have chosen you for a reason. Don't disappoint me.

"No." Aspen spoke, almost as if in response to Aria's plead. "He's correct... I am prideful." At first it took an effort for him to drag himself off the ground, then the young boy forced himself to look at the grotesque, grinning mask, with a new glean in his eyes. "I have said horrible things and acted out of line to those around me.... But here, right now? This isn't the only choice I've ever been given to make a difference."

"Flare, Torrent, Meadow.... I'm beyond lucky to have met them. I was presented with opportunities when I met the three of them.... And those opportunities have given me my friends and family, who are still sticking with me, even now...." He smiled down at each of the Pokemon mentioned, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "They refuse to abandon me... And for that, I love them."

"That's not all. I've been given more opportunities to make choices like that....." he said, clenching his fist declaratively. "Jet, Aria, Saya.... I could have walked away. But I chose not to. I chose to stay. It would have been easier if I hadn't, to be honest....." But that isn't who I am. You're right Pride, I am prideful. But that's not what defines me. What does define me is love: the love I have for my Pokemon, the love I have towards my sisters, the love I have for my friends, and for all the faceless masses shaping our world without ever being recognized for it." he declared, taking a step forward towards the form Pride had taken on. "I was blinded by anger and jealousy.... And I ended up too big for my britches. But now I look back, and there have been so many choices I have been given, and those choices have blessed me with friends and family I will cherish for a lifetime."

Aspen then looked behind him at Dack, who continued to protest against Pride. "What about you?" he asked. "Where are your choices? Your friends and family?" he asked. "Is it your anger and pride that makes you who you are, like Pride says? Or are those simply two of the innumerable facets of your being, your self?"

Edited May 26, 2015 by Toph Beifong

Konuju · May 26, 2015

IC: Dack

Dack looked at Aspen in surprise. For a bratty kid, the youngest Seaton had certainly made some very good points. When Aspen turned the question to Dack, the Snowpoint trainer frowned.

Choices...

For a long moment, Dack was silent, deep in thought. He did his best to ignore the fight with the Rapidash, the maniacal grin of Pride, and the sudden disappearance of Hannah. He took a deep breath, and when at last he spoke, it was with an unusual calmness. "My choices... You could say I chose to let my pride control me. When I first joined Team Rocket, I desired nothing but revenge, much like Hannah. I returned to my friends when an avalanche struck Snowpoint, but I left soon after with a new vendetta against Team Liberty." Dack had been looking at Aspen, but now he forced his eyes on Pride. "I may have been influenced by pride, but that was still my choice. Just like it was my choice to stay with Madison and Luke after the Ancient Darkrai were defeated, rather than return to Team Rocket. I had abandoned them for three years, trying to get my revenge. The time I've spent with them these past few months cannot make up for the time I've lost, but I chose to stay with them anyway, to help rekindle our friendship."

He glanced back at Aspen with a smile. The kid had caused Dack to take a hard look at himself. Pride's claims had more truth in them than he wanted to admit, but like Aspen, Dack found that he was defined by much more than his pride and anger.

"If Aspen is defined by love... then what defines me is friendship. Madison and Luke have been my friends for as long as I can remember... they're like family to me. And that's even more true now, after my parents died in the avalanche. Swellow, Bastiodon, Luxray, Snivy, and Teddy: they're more than my trusted partners. They're my friends, and I know they'll stick with me to the very end." Dack looked back at Pride, taking a step forward not in anger, but in confidence. "You speak to me of choices; but you were there when Hannah gave me my choice, weren't you? When she offered me a chance to join her in taking down Celadon, a chance to rise back in the ranks of Team Rocket... a chance to finally get the revenge I'd sought for so long. She made me a very tempting offer. But do you know why I turned her down? Because of my friends. Madison, Luke, Palmer; even those I'd just met, like Zach, Aspen, or Ellen. I abandoned my friends twice, and neither time ended well. I won't do it again. That's my choice. Call me prideful if you want. But if that's all you see, then you don't know me in the slightest."

Parugi · May 28, 2015

IC - Esen Windred - Searching, Compound Border:

It had become fairly dark by the time that they landed again, this time several yards from the edge of the forest. Esen patted the exhausted Bat on the head as she moved forward, as swiftly as she could, through the foliage. Noivern landed soon after her, allowing Cero to follow. Before long she came to the edge of the woods, where she dropped low and peered through the cover of the trees and bushes to observe the place.

The warehouse was certainly active. Though few lights were visible and only a dull, distant din of machinery could be heard, even from here Esen could see a handful of guards moving to and fro, patrolling the interior edge of the warehouse yard. The truck was not visible, though this did not necessarily surprise Esen so much as annoy her.

She glanced back at Cero as he approached. "How do you want to do this?"

IC - Pride - Celedon City, Central Park:

Pride froze.

Metaphorically.

The Sinner halted in the middle of the elegant, theatrical bow that had accompanied his final statement, leaving him to stare at a spot of snow several feet ahead of him. He remained still, utterly motionless, through Aspen's response, feeling the shift in spirit as it occurred within the young trainer. Something shifted inside of Pride, too, vague stirrings of memory--brief echoes of the very emotions that Aspen was feeling--that prompted his shadowy, extended self to shimmer. Rather than let it break apart, Pride willed the darkness back under his control, slowly absorbing it back into his essence. His human form gradually came into view again, leaving a few remaining wisps of black as the only evidence of the monstrous puppet that had faced the pair.

Dack's shift brought forth a result equal in measure, though much different in presentation: Rapidash neighed uncertainly, and then grimaced in a clear indication of pain as the attack struck, almost bringing her to her knees. The attack left her burnt, bruised, panting, and clearly injured. More than that, however: It affected Pride. For the first time in what felt like a very, very long while, Pride shifted his pose, bringing his left hand to his right shoulder.

The limb was slowly freezing, ice spreading from the hand up, covering even his clothes.

Yet still they stood.

"Selfless acts made for the benefit of others . . ." Pride murmured. He smiled. "I like that." The Sinner raised his head. The ice had spread up from his right side, all the way to his chin and the edge of his eye. It was slowing down, but there was no denying that the damage had been done. "Now, let's hear her story . . ."

Pride waved his remaining hand. His symbol appeared at his feet, big enough that two people could comfortably sit in it. Indeed, it seemed as if two people did: For there Pride stood, and before him, Hannah--an image of her, unfocused and fuzzy, as if a projection from an old television. Wherever she was, another symbol had appeared underneath her, and so Pride communicated directly with her upon the shared plane of their minds.

Pride looked down at her. "Are you done fighting it yet, Hannah?" he asked, dropping to his knee to speak with her more directly--as well as because he was quickly finding it difficult to remain standing. "Or are you going to continue to deny the truth?"

IC:

"A." A is Andrew W., Seventh Child, currently where I just left, where I just was. He will be here in time

"B." B is bending the rules; thus we can achieve. Bending rules and breaking barriers, creating anew and taking steps with a lack in guiding precedent.

"C." C is culling the herd, preventing imperfect nature gained via excess and unfit individuals. S, A, S, G, M, E, all culled as needed, as deemed necessary.

"D." D is determined, which I believe I am. Am I? Aren't we all?

"E." E is Eighth Child Levi Alaric, a child sans name that I am aware and yet I have it in my head. What gives?

"F." F is failure--which we can't have, can we?

"G." G is gravitating where the plan must finish--the island, the brink, the cave.

"H." H is Hayes, a missing sibling returned.

"I." I is I am, me, myself, a girl with an active and inactive mind taken away, away because I asked.

"J." J is James Pierce, First Child, an installed President.

"K." K is kings and queens--what must surely seem as the planned reward, and yet . . . is it the intent?

"L." L is Lynda--we will fix this--Lynda Grant, Sixth Child. Grant me thine strength and I shall grant thee mine, yet the exchange must be equal and in shared trust.

"M." M is Mewthree, a mimicked being. Where is he?

"N." N is Nimbasa, where my friends--different friends--were threatened, where I saved their lives by being blackmailed. Was it the right path?

"P." P is phantasm, all that remains given a particular allied sect. Which is present?

"Q." Q is Quincy Adams, Third Child, a temperamental agent--a murderer with the highest caliber.

"R." R is Reagan Garfield, planned, replacement Fifth Child. Van left us. Van is alive.

"S." S is sin, which we must partake in lest we see the plan fail. Are they related?

"T." T is the Man in Darkness, calling the plays and telling us what acts are required. Is he darkness itself?

"U." U is uncertainty. Will it save us? Will we save us?

"V." V is villain, villains, what we will be seen as if we fail--if we succeed. Is there a winning way?

"W." W is wishing that better days than these can exist. Can they ever? Have they ever?

"X." X is the Xatu that used its abilities a bit earlier, leading us here.

"Y." Y is years past when things were simple. Remember that time?

"Z." Z is zed. The line bearing twenty-six unique characters defined with like cause finds its end here, at Z.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Apears

Flipz · May 29, 2015

IC:Amelia Zann

Celadon City was having a bad day. Fortunately or unfortunately, Amelia was too focused on running to really notice it. Every fiber of her being was dedicated to a single purpose: a critically injured Carvanha currently housed in a hospital--a hospital that was one of several buildings in the city that now had more in common with an exotic hole-ridden cheese than anything structurally sound.

The spy slid swiftly beneath a battered billboard, the rooftop it had been attached to now resting ninety degrees and ninety feet from its original orientation. As she emerged on the other side, she saw something shifting the scattered detritus littering the alleyway ahead of her, a testament to the intensity of the Rockets' aerial assault on the city. Had she been in a more sound state of mind, Amelia might have made a quip about the irony of the Rockets responsible for the mess being hindered by the magnitude of their own destruction, but her focused frame of mind lent itself to a more direct approach: action.

The "something" she had seen was a group of three Team Rocket agents, likely stragglers from the earlier aerial attack, but this fact barely registered for Zann. In an instant she launched herself into the air, her brown boot barely coming into contact with the leader's head for the mere moment it took to launch her higher. The two Rockets in the rear fumbled for their Pokéballs, but the swift spy had already thrown two of their own. A moment later--a moment too late--the two Trainers realized that the twin orbs were not the prelude to battle, but the first blow itself.

Three thuds later, the trio hit the ground, their unconscious forms already left far in Amelia's fleeing wake.

JiMing · May 29, 2015

OOC: Quick IC for Olivia cuz that's all I have for now.

IC: Olivia Seaton

"A-a message..... From Aspen...??" Olivia explained, though she was confused about the situation still. Nevertheless, the eldest Seaton still showed her Pokegear to Zach. "Says he was taken to the park........ But by what??" The eldest Seaton frowned, looking at Zach with concern. "I-I don't know what could be happening...."

Shade stopped to admire his work for a second too long, and so couldn't evade in time to dodge the Goodra's Superpower. The Weavile was struck with deja vu as he was sent sprawling into the ground, face first into the dirt.

The Vibrava smiled at the fact Rebecca's Medicham had been struck by his attack, and so decided to follow up on the grounded Pokemon with a Sand Tomb to trap the Meditate Pokemon.

**Blessed Blade** · May 29, 2015

-==IC: Jenny/Ray==-

Jenny nodded at what the two others had said. She walked over to Ryan, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I get what you mean." Jenny said after a while, and sighed for a moment, before worry melted into a smile. "Your offer is nice, let's do that. Then we can sort out a plan, and do something." Jenny looked around, as Ray nodded. She noticed he still seemed abnormally upset, but she wasn't going to press the issue. She held out a hand to help Ryan up, since it looked like what he needed right then, and smiled again. "Come on, let's get going."

Later that night, Ray and Jenny were sitting around, waiting for Evan and Ryan to get back with dinner. Ray sighed impatiently at the table, drumming his fingers against the wood as he did so. "Where did they say they were going again?" Ray mumbled. Jenny teasingly mumbled 'they didn't', and Ray groaned, and leaned back again the chair. "I'm starving~.... Couldn't they have made up their mind before they left...?" Ray complained, and Jenny smiled in amusement at the fact that Ray seemed back to his old usual self again.

-==IC: Zach==-

Zach blinked as he read over the message, and listened to Olivia translate it. Zach looked up from the message, and could see the worry etched onto his best friend's face, which didn't help his own worry. Zach tried to smile reassuringly, and was about to respond-

"Are you going to do something, or what? I'll get yelled at if I take too long here!" Rebecca Roberts yelled out, which caused Zach to blink. Before he could question the order, however, a Beartic was sent out to replace the fainted Donphan. The Beartic launched an Icicle Crash that fainted Smugleaf on impact. The Medicham was battered by sand and forced to stay in one spot. Then there was the Goodra, who was about to launch more attacks, when Zach strode forward, a slightly worried look on his face, as he made a time-out sign. "... What are you doing?" Rebecca asked incredulously, as she couldn't fathom what he was doing, as he was now holding his arms out.

"Please, we need to pause the fight!" Zach called out, and the Rocket looked at him as if he had suddenly grown two heads. "I know you want to finish the fight, but please, something's happened to my best friend's brother, and we need to check it out! I don't want to waste time, we can finish this once it's settled, but please, just let us find out what happened." Zach said, his face pleading for things to go right.

It looked for a moment as if Rebecca would accept that offer, they were just kids after all, right? She paused for a moment; however, a vibration on her hip reminded her of her goal, and with a conflicted scowl, she closed her eyes. "O-out... of the way!" Rebecca called out, as the Beartic charged forward toward Dune, who Zach was standing in front of. Zach, however refused to move, and Rebecca grit her teeth, thinking the opponent was crazy for being so stubborn and wasting time. As she opened her mouth to order him to get out of the way, a heavily damaged Gallade smashed his fist into the Beartic's face with a Close Combat, misinterpreting his actions as being toward Zach.

"Sorry I'm late, are you alright?" Blade looked, by that point, like he had been put through the ringer. The recent Close Combat hadn't helped any, as the strain from the the attack had forced him to his knees, his breathing heavy. The Gallade looked back at Zach, who looked back in confusion with a nod. Zach was certain the Beartic would have avoided him, but it appeared that Blade had thought otherwise.

Edited May 29, 2015 by An/A Blade

Metal Gear Minun · May 30, 2015

IC: Miriam - Chapel

Miriam returned Rufius' salute with a greeting of her own, "Likewise Agent Rufius."

An alert came from Miriam's iPad informing her of an update on the situation in Celadon.

"Sir, there's been reports of a large explosion in the city. I suggest we hurry our efforts."

OOC: Some music for these next posts from Blade and I~

IC: "Little boy"

Swordy fended off the berserk Scizor as best as he could, but without assistance the Aegislash was being slowly overwhelmed. The only reason he was being 'slowly' overwhelmed instead of 'immediately' overwhelmed was due to the fact that his King's Shield forced the Scizor to break of his onslaught to use Swords Dance before returning to attacking. It scared the Aegislash how the Scizor did not even miss a beat before returning to his assault. Swordy's saving grace was that the Scizor seemed to lack any moves that it did not resist (the Aegislash doubted that in it's current state that the Scizor would be holding back in any way). Sadly, the only ally to come to his aid didn't have that luxury.

Dolly the Banette tried to lend a direct hand in assisting Swordy by trying to strike the Scizor with Shadow Claw, but every time he got within striking distance of the Scizor, a flurry of Bullet Punches and a hateful expression sent the ghost reeling backwards. The best he could do was to use Mean Look to force the Scizor to focus on the ghosts before him and not on his true target; the boy.

With Swordy and Dolly defending him and Balloony by his side, the little boy managed to regain enough of his courage to look back at the red-haired lady. Her question confused him; he knew the meaning of the words that came out of her mouth, but they made no sense the way she said it.

"Of course I would. Big brother told me to keep an eye on the metal containers he brought in. And big brother is always right."

He didn't know why the two ladies were looking at him with such unhappy expressions. All he did was do what big brother told him to do. He couldn't keep eye-contact with them for long; their expressions making him feel quite uncomfortable. The boy took one last look towards the brown-haired lady before looking towards the fire and let it's calming warmth wash over him. He was happy about the warmth that the fire brought him. His brother didn't give him a thick coat to wear like he normally would on cold days. So if he had known that the five Pokemon were that ran off towards the flames were water types aiming to put out the fires, he would have been disappointed.

Behind his King's Shield, Swordy had a brief moment in which he saw the Water Pokemon go, and he wished them well. He had only one priority, to protect his charge, but he never wished ill on those people.

While the ghosts that were in the boy's 'care' were focused on his protection, the one's that belonged to his brother had a different motivation. And that would be controlling witnesses. Now the boy did his job and said he was Team Liberty, but the problem was that none of the three people he had just spoken to believed that. And well, it would be a problem if they were to go out and tell people that Team Rocket, because their owner had a specific viewpoint that he wanted to get across, which was that Team Liberty was as at fault and committed as many atrocities as Team Rocket did during this dreadful affair. The one scared man they had actually let leave the Church building had been scared enough into thinking that Team Liberty was actually responsible for that specific attack. It would be... inconvenient if someone were to counteract his testimony.

Well that was the viewpoint of Death the Dusknoir anyway.

Fortunately, with those three witnesses focusing for the moment on their trainer's brother (or two of them anyway; one was focused on his injured Gardevoir), they were set to disappear and hopefully silence the trio when they reappeared. The male seemed to be stunned in mourning for his Gardevoir, which was convenient, Death would have to thank him for making this job much easier than it needed to be. As the invisible Dusknoir levitated next to the well-dressed gentlemen, he raised his invisible hand to prepare a Shadow Sneak to quickly silence him. But before he could do so, he noticed a rapid temperature increase that was in stark contrast to the snow around him. It was growing hotter by the moment, in fact he would dear say that it was heat was searing, scorching even.

I do believe I'm on fire.

A Togekiss and a Chandelure were looking right at him, both spewing flames, with the glow of the Aura on the Togekiss' eyes. Death's form materialized before the two floating Pokemon near the suit-wearing man. The Chandelure turned and fired a Shadow Ball towards where the Spiritomb known as 'The Tower' was trying to accomplish a similar goal, but targeting the dark dressed lady instead. The Tower revealed itself before the Shadow Ball could connect and used Dark Pulse to counteract the attack.

The third Pokemon that belonged to the boy's brother was the Trevenant named "The Hanged Man" (but the boy just called him 'Hang') targeted the red-haired woman. He moved closer to her, waiting for the best moment to unleash Phantom Force on her.

**Blessed Blade** · May 30, 2015

-==IC: Lucia==-

The Trevenant's approach went unnoticed by Lucia; but not by Gothara. The Gothorita leaped into action, as she prepared a Dark Pulse, and sent it spiraling around herself, sending it out toward the Trevenant. The Gothorita was not going to let her trainer get hit by the Trevenant, no matter what, and its intent was channeled into the force behind the attack, only the three allied trainers and their Pokemon spared right then.

'The Hanged Man' was forced back by the Dark Pulse, and seemed to be caught off guard, as the Gothorita glared in his direction smugly. This wouldn't do, though, not while he had an objective. The Trevenant glanced around, and noticed the two Blissey present on the field. A malicious grin crossed his face, as his eyes widened in anticipation. The Trevenant launched off two sets of Leech Seeds; one at each Blissey. Before anyone could react, they had already latched on and started to sap the energy. Taking advantage of the chaos sown, the Trevenant buried its roots, looking at the Gothorita smugly. This 'Hanged Man' was not going to be going anywhere.

Gothara wasn't entirely pleased with the situation. She flung off Dark Pulse after Dark Pulse, but the Trevenant didn't even budge an inch. The Gothorita glanced back at the Blissey, knowing that they were half of why this was the case; but Gothara kept up, and tried focusing her power into one Dark Pulse; only for it to do nothing as well.

Lucia herself looked at the boy behind the assault. Metal containers... That explained some things, and Lucia's frown deepened. "No-one is always right... And this... You've hurt people. Your brother has hurt people." Lucia wondered just what was going on, as no-one could be that loyal... could they? She hesitated for a moment, as she recalled what had been said before, and her own worries; but pushed them out of her mind - they weren't what she needed then.

Metal Gear Minun · May 30, 2015

IC: Arthurs - Celadon City

Jamie was not comfortable with the opponent, mainly because this opponent just did not make sense. That and he kept saying 'big brother' when her own big brother was a little ways over, holding her former playmate in his arms while in complete shock. So when the Spiritomb appeared before her, it was something of a relief actually. Here was an opponent that actually made sense.

"Pelleas, use Megahorn on Spiritomb. Lucan, get into position and use Ice Beam."

Pelleas who had been waiting for an order this whole time was the first to react. The Eevee on his back tossed the Heracross a Helping Hand further empowering his Megahorn. Between his earlier Poison activated Guts and this Helping Hand, Pelleas was hoping for a quick finish. However the Spiritomb Flashed a bright light that caused Pelleas to stumble and miss. The Spiritomb tried to disappear while everyone was blind to try for a second chance at Jamie. Tried and failed when he felt the stare of Palomides' Mean Look on him, keeping him from escaping. The Vanilluxe followed in the Gastly's wake by firing off an Ice Beam from his two heads at the Spiritomb.

Unable to dodge, the Spiritomb used Protect to guard himself. When the Ice Beam died down, the Spiritomb used Dark Pulse striking Lucan and causing him to flinch.

Palomides was not happy about that last attack, so he laid a Curse on the Spiritomb. But as the ethereal nail pierced him, he began to glow a bright light, which completely enveloped him. His form grew larger, and his shape became more defined. A faint gaseous scent came from the glowing form.

As the Spiritomb saw Palomides begin to evolve he prepared another Dark Pulse. But before he could complete his attack, he heard a snap from Palomides' new hand, and found his attack stopped by Disable.

While Palomides was evolving, Jamie shouted to her brother "James, get Guinevere out of here!"

It took Jamie's words to snap James out of his shock, and to galvanize him to action. "R-right. Galahad, Percival. Cover my retreat and then protect Jamie and Ms. Zyther. And Jamie... I'm sorry to have to leave you like this."

"...Get going, Guinevere needs you."

The Chandelure nodded before turning back towards the Dusknoir. The Dusknoir was currently trying to break past Galahad. The Togekiss was trying to paralyze the Dusknoir with Thunder Wave, but the Dusknoir evaded long enough to use Disable to prevent any further Thunder Waves. Floating through the Togekiss, the Dusknoir made a beeline for James, who was running as fast as he could while being careful with the damaged body in his arms, with Shadow Sneak, but was intercepted by a Shadow Ball from Percival. The powerful Ghost type attack sent the Dusknoir reeling, but the Dusknoir recovered. He turned towards the Chandelure and sapped his health with Pain Split before resuming his chase.

When Jamie looked again, James and Guinevere were unable to be seen.

----------------

"I... hurt people?" the boy said, with an odd look on his face.

That didn't sound right to the boy. His brother always said that he shouldn't hurt people unless they tried to hurt him. And Swordy took care of anyone who tried to hurt him to begin with.

Jamie was utterly shocked and appalled, "Can you not comprehend what you just did? I don't even know how many people you just killed!"

That really didn't sound right to the boy. Death was never something that he liked hearing about. He couldn't believe the words being spewed from these girls' mouths.

The boy paused. He recognized one of the ladies, but he didn't remember from where. The brown haired one.

"um... do I know you?" he asked meekly.

Jamie was surprised by that sudden question, her tone temporarily lacking the disgust she was feeling, "No I don't think so."

The boy was lost in his thoughts for a moment, his eyes shut and hands pressed against his face. Realization flashed across his face and he clasped his hands together, "Oh I know, I know! The doctor had a picture of you. He said you were like big sister to me, but that's crazy, as big brother tells me he's the only family I have."

In that moment, the reality of the situation clicked in the heads of both Jamie and Pelleas and a second later, after the Scizor realized what he heard, it clicked for Lancelot as well.

"I'm Wallace Arglos. Did the doctor ever tell you about me? He said that you're just like-"

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! Palomides... SHUT HIM UP!"

The newly evolved Haunter was so surprised by his trainer's sudden outburst that he obeyed without thinking about it, holding out his hand towards Arglos. The young Rocket was horrified as he found himself suddenly unable to speak. His eyes were dilated and he felt his hands around his neck, trying to figure why he could not speak. The only sound that escaped his mouth was a light gurgling sound.

"Wait, Jamie, what are you doing?" Lucia asked in surprise, as she ran over to where the brown-haired girl was.

"I-I.." Jamie sputtered out, not having a satisfactory way to answer that, "I can't say."

"Can't... say?" Lucia seemed utterly confused, and frowned in worry, as this just didn't seem like the Jamie she knew.

She opened and closed her mouth, as she looked from the now-mute Rocket, to the flustered Jamie. "Something's up with you, you've never been like this."

Lucia could figure how she'd want revenge; but... this seemed just weird. And... what was that about a doctor? Lucia's worry turned back to confusion, as a memory of how Jamie seemed on edge back when they were in the hospital popped back into her mind.

What... is going on here...?

"I'm sorry, I can't say why I'm so upset. Please forgive me," were the meek words from Jamie's mouth.

As Lancelot processed the situation, the anger in him towards Wallace was replaced by pity (with the anger being shifted solely over to his 'brother'). For Jamie's sake, he had to finish this battle quickly. As he calmed himself, he Roosted for a moment. Before the Aegislash before him could stop him, he zipped towards the Banette with Bullet Punch. His beat-down on the ghost was not marked by the savagery of earlier, but with cold precision as each punch was placed precisely to end the fight as quickly as possible. When the Banette stopped resisting, his punches stopped.

Lancelot turned back towards the Aegislash with cold eyes in contrast to his earlier hate-filled ones. While he was not as angry at Wallace as he was before, Lancelot had to stop him now, before he got anyone else got hurt... including himself.

**Dr. Hidaka** · May 30, 2015

IC: Gnip, Fortree City

Evan, however, before he left, had left Gnip behind. The Garchomp was lounging near where Jenny had sat, growling softly. She could tell something was wrong with her master. She didn't know what, but he seemed much more tense than she expected him to be after what had happened. She didn't want anything to happen to Evan or his friends.

Gnip raised her head to Jenny and, oddly enough, barked softly at her, a clear demand for attention. When it seemed Jenny wasn't responding immediately, Gnip barked at Ray, her tail sweeping back and forth. She wanted to play or something. Anything to distract her from her thoughts......

sonyaxe · June 1, 2015

IC: Jake

Jake bent down to examine the wires. "Let me check something... Huh. That's wierd. These wires look like they were cut by tools." The trainer looked around uneasily. "I hate to sound cliché, but I have a bad feeling about this." Suddenly, Jake swayed and nearly fell over, but Pikachu jumped forward and steadied him.
"Thanks bud..." He muttered. Once more, Jake's irises had switched from their normal green to a deep blue, and started glowing faintly. Abruptly, Jake shot to his feet, eyes still glowing.
"Something knows we're here."

**Ehksidian** · June 1, 2015

IC: Arius Jacobson

"Cut by a tool? That seems...unusual," Arius said. He tapped his chin a few times, thinking about what that could mean. "...So...someone came in here and cut the wires? Wasn't the front door...locked? Does that mean they're still in here? Maybe an inside job? Hm."

Konuju · June 1, 2015

IC: Ryan/Evan
"I never tire of these midsummer nights." Ryan smiled to himself as he led Evan across the bridges and platforms of the treetop city. The thick canopy above them blocked the glint of the stars, but moonlight sifted through the leaves and all around them Volbeat and Illumise glowed in a beautiful alternative to the hidden constellations above.

Evan had insisted on going out to get food for the small group, and Ryan had decided to tag along, not wanting his friend to get lost in the crisscrossing paths of Fortree. Ryan had spent the afternoon laying awake in his bed, his battle with Gluttony and the encounter with Hayes flashing through his mind's eye. He had not yet told Evan or Jenny about his battle with the Sin, and he trusted Ray had kept his silence. He wished things could go back to the way they had been, but the entire group had felt a sudden weariness after Sonja had left.

Ryan had intended to apologize to Sonja first. After all, she was the one who had suffered the most because of him. But with the Unovan girl gone, Ryan had simply fallen into silence. His comment about the night was the first thing he had said since leaving his house. Biting his lip, Ryan glanced back at Evan and opened his mouth to speak once more. "Did you have any particular type of restaurant in mind?"

Evan was no stranger to weariness, but after Sonja had left, it felt even heavier upon him. Knowing there was nothing they could have done amplified this feeling even moreso. He appreciated Ryan's comment about the night, but Evan could not help but feel he was hiding something. "Well, I'd like to try something new," he said, smirking slightly. "I'd like to have something that isn't Red Clawitzer, Taco Beldum, or Burger Kingdra. You're the guide. Let's see what you know, tour guide."

"Right." Ryan nodded, walking at a slightly brisker pace. "There's a quaint little mesquite barbecue place around here. How does that sound?"

"Sounds delish!" Evan said enthusiastically, quickening his pace to match Ryan's. "While we head there, mind telling me what's up? You've been silent most of the day, buddy."

Ryan paused at a crossroads and was silent for a moment, staring at the undulating light of a Volbeat. "It's... been a long day." He shook his head with a sigh. "I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all." He turned to the left, motioning for Evan to follow across another long bridge.

With those words, Evan swiftly put his hand on Ryan's shoulder, his expression that of concern. He didn't like the idea of Ryan being like this, and he certainly didn't want to see it become permanent. "You should know me, Ryan," Evan said, a note of worry in his voice. "I'm just gonna keep on asking. At least tell me now, so we don't have to worry about the food getting cold...."

Ryan chuckled. "You never let anyone hide their problems, do you, Evan?" He looked away, bringing a hand to his shoulder as he struggled with his thoughts. "You know of the Garvens, right? Melanie and Melissa?"

"Not til now, I believe." Evan said, raising an eyebrow. "Who are they? Some old friends? Did something happen to them?"

"They were part of the reason we came here," Ryan said. "I knew them growing up. I hadn't seen them in a while, not since I joined Team Liberty. But just last week, they showed up at the Alamo, under the names Lust and Greed. They fought two of our Executives... apparently two executives who displayed those particular sins."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Evan replied, letting go of Ryan's shoulder. "What happened to the Garvens afterward? Were they jailed?"

Ryan shook his head, closing his eyes as Albero's final moments flashed through his mind. "They were destroyed... When the executives managed to overcome their sins or come to terms with them, the Garvens were... consumed. They're dead."

"I'm so sorry, Ryan," Evan said. "It must have been so hard to hear that had happened. Maybe that's why you were acting so strangely?"

"Well, that's... part of it." Ryan bit his lip. "You see, Lust and Greed are only two of the Seven Sins. They were drawn by the executives' corruption. And... my actions summoned a third."

"Which one?" Evan replied, sounding a lot more worried now. "Was it while we were challenging Hayes?"

Ryan nodded sadly. "It was a man named Albero DeLargo. Gluttony. It was my desire for attention that brought him to me. In particular... Sonja's attention." The Liberty agent turned away in shame, fighting back his tears.

As Ryan turned away, Evan stopped him mid-turn and gave him a big hug. Evan could not know what was going through Ryan's mind, but he wasn't going to let his friend feel the way he did.

Ryan sniffled in surprise. "I'm so sorry," he said as he hugged back. "The things I've done... th-they're horrible..."

"But, you understand that," Evan said. "You understand what you have done is wrong. Will you stand in place and cry or wipe away your own tears and move onward?"

In spite of his worry, Ryan smiled. "Y-you're right... I overcame my gluttony. There's no use moping around. Not when we have a job to do."

"But first, let's get some food," Evan said, grinning wearily. "Can't wage war on an empty stomach!"

"Right," Ryan said with a chuckle. "Thanks, Evan. I... I was going to tell Sonja what had happened, but then she... well, left."

"I guess you will have to say it to her when you see her again," Evan said. "Now, lead on!"

"Yes, sir!" Ryan laughed as he beckoned Evan to follow him. It was his friends that had helped him defeat Gluttony in the first place, and now they were proving their support. He had nothing to worry about.

IC: Dack
Dack's eyes widened at the sight of the ice covering Pride's body. It was as if the summer snow storm had finally overwhelmed him, taking its toll and cutting off his power. As the Rapidash collapsed, Dack's Pokémon stood in front of it, ready to move should the fiery horse find any last burst of energy. Dack took a hesitant step toward Pride, unsure if the man was truly defeated. He paused when he saw the image of Hannah. "Of course," he muttered. "You summoned three of us here. So all three of us must accept our faults for you to let us go." Dack trained his eyes on the fuzzy projection. "Come on, Hannah. You can do this. You're more than his puppet."

IC: Shannon/Madison/Ryan
Ryan's frown deepened at what Shannon had said, and he shook his head after she turned away again. I get where she's coming from, but there has to be a better way than just giving into these terrorists' demands. he thought bitterly as he trailed behind her, struggling to come up with some way to turn the tides. He glanced back at the skier. "Madison, can Luke send like a picture of what's happening?"

"I'll see," Madison said as she replaced Anzu's and Palmer's Milotic's Pokéballs on their clips and hurried after the others. She gave Stacy an apologetic look. "Sorry to leave you like this, but do you think you can handle things here without me?"

Stacy nodded in response. "Certainly; if it weren't for having to make sure there's a place to return to, I'd come along with you. We can handle ourselves, you three go help."

Shannon managed a smile as she scooped up Selena in her arms. "Thank you for everything, Ms. Stacy." She waited at the door for the others. "Come on, we haven't got time to waste."

"Right," Madison said, glancing at her Pokétch and picking up Teddy. "Luke says he's in the western part of the city. If I get street names, do you think you can lead us there?"

"Not a problem," Shannon replied. As she stepped outside, she pulled her hood over her face once more. After all, she wouldn't be able to turn herself in if Team Rocket captured her first.

As Shannon led them through the city, Ryan thought about what the girl had said. She can't just recklessly rush into situations... Even if she goes with her plan, we need ideas so that she doesn't just end up another hostage like who they have now... And the people we've run into have shown just how willing they are to ignore the orders... He stared at the back of Shannon's head with an aching feeling of helplessness. He knew that once they got there, it would be impossible to talk Shannon out of her plan.

Before Ryan's eyes, the dirty-blonde-haired girl in front of him morphed into a strawberry-blonde-haired girl, one who looked several years younger. The streets of the city appeared more familiar, with no signs of the damage from the ruthless Rockets. Ryan's blood chilled as he realized where he was. Smiling confidently back at him, the girl ran up the steps to her house, nodding for him to wait there.

What is happening? Ryan wondered as his face paled. How am I back here? Why is she... His eyes widened in panic. "Jessica, no!" he cried out, wondering if it was all in vain. "Don't go in there!"

As Jessica turned the doorknob, Ryan tried to run after her. But his legs felt like jelly. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as he saw his friend disappear into the house. Moments later, a huge explosion knocked him off his feet, and he stared in horror at the house ablaze.

"Jessica... why…" Ryan shuddered as he brought his hands to his head. The image of Jessica's innocent face was seared into his memory once again. Superimposed behind her, he saw his father, laughing evilly with a sinister grin. At the time, he had thought Jessie to be dead. But now he knew the truth was far different than he had ever imagined. Ryan knelt on the ground as he stared at the ground in shock, wanting to act though he couldn't.

Madison shivered from the cold. The falling snow grew thicker, seeming less like the unnatural phenomenon in Celadon and more like the weather she used to see back home. The skier blinked as she saw Dack standing before her.

"I'm going back to Team Rocket." Dack's words echoed in her mind, unearthing a pain she hadn't felt in a long time. "I'll be sure to make every Liberty agent pay for what they've done to our home."

Madison wanted to run up to Dack and embrace him, drag him back to Snowpoint with her. But she couldn't move. She could do nothing as her best friend turned away and abandoned her, pursuing his goal of revenge. But the pain that Madison felt was worse than Dack leaving her. She could see the destructive path he was on. She could see the hatred and revenge brewing inside of him, slowly consuming him like a cancerous growth. She wanted to be there for him. He needed her. And he turned her away not because he didn't love her, but because he truly believed that he was doing the right thing.

The skier fell to her knees, her heart aching in crushing hopelessness. This was her nightmare. The one she had suffered for days without end when the Ancient Darkrai had taken over Sinnoh. And as her heart cried out, she wondered if Dack had ever truly changed. She wanted to believe he had. The past six months had been some of the happiest days of her life. But the past few days seemed to have undone all that.

Shannon saw a house at the end of the street. It was her house -- the one in Ecruteak. But seeing a home from another city wasn't the strangest part. No, what she couldn't wrap her mind around was the fact that while she was trying to walk forward, the house was getting further and further away.

As she tried to move closer, she saw Hannah's house next door. The brown-haired girl was waving at her with what appeared to be a friendly smile. It caused Shannon to stop dead in her tracks. She knew this vision -- it was the day she had moved to Celadon. The day she had later called the worst day of her life. She remembered vividly her best friend and next-door neighbor waving goodbye.

But the woman she had met earlier today, the one who had organized this entire attack, she had claimed to have never been Shannon's friend. The thought made Shannon freeze. She clung desperately to the idea that she and Hannah had been best friends. Was she only fooling herself?

Madison's Pokétch beeped with an incoming message, which managed to snap her out of her daze. She glanced at the watch, then looked at the frozen forms of Shannon and Ryan. Doing her best to ignore the images of Dack's footprints in the snow flashing through her mind, Madison gently grabbed Shannon's arm and pulled her back. "We can't go this way," she said simply. She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew that if they tried to press on, the symptoms would only worsen. With her other hand, the skier grabbed Ryan and pulled him back as well.

When they were about a block back, all three trainers felt their heads clear. "What was that?" Shannon asked with a shudder.

Ryan blinked, as he looked around in confusion as his head cleared. As Shannon asked her question, he frowned, wondering if she had seen what he had. "I... I don't know. And I don't know if I want to know..." Ryan said, as he shook his head. "N-no matter, we need to get moving..."

Shannon nodded. "I had wanted to cut through Central Park, but it looks like we may have to go around it." She motioned for the others to follow, trying to put her memories behind her.

Madison checked the message on her Pokétch. "Oh. According to Luke they've apparently set up some sort of barricade around the Rocket forces. He says we can't miss it."

Shannon led them through the streets until they turned a corner and stopped dead in their tracks. Ryan raised an eyebrow and gave a low whistle at the barricade that stood before them. "Well then. They set that up themselves? Well, uh, it definitely seems to work..."

Shannon ran up to the structure, pushing through the crowd of Celadonians and peering over the top. "Where are the hostages?" she asked frantically. She looked back at Ryan. "What's your plan?"

"First, we have to keep calm," Ryan said as he walked up to Shannon and looked over the top of the structure. "We need info before we can make a move; depending on how things go, we might have to compromise."

"Compromise?" Shannon cried. "I won't compromise when someone's life is at stake!"

"Calm down," Madison said as she joined the two at the barricade. "If you start to panic and act rashly, you'll only make the situation worse. Now, it looks like Luke is stationed further south -- as are the hostages. We should probably head there." The skier gently pulled Shannon away from the barricade, starting to lead the way south.

Ryan watched as the girls walked away, and then silently followed several paces behind them. I get it, I really do, he thought, closing his eyes and following the sound of their footsteps. But I don't want to see anyone's life get thrown away, and your idea is to just trade theirs for yours...

It didn't take long for them to reach Luke. Madison waved to her friend and ran the rest of the way. "This barricade thing you've got going is really something," she said.

"Man, I wish I could take credit for the whole thing." Luke grinned. "But this is the result of an entire city of people working together to defend themselves.

"Not the entire city," Shannon said. "Where are the hostages?"

"Ah, I see you've brought the girl of the hour," Luke chuckled as he nodded in greeting to Shannon. "You are one popular woman, Willows."

"Don't patronize me." Shannon crossed her arms with an unamused glare.

"Right." Luke scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Well anyway, they've got two hostages, a mother and daughter. The mother's being held by a Nidoking, the daughter by an Aggron. This Commander Ballard guy said he'd kill them both if we didn't retreat all our Pokémon. Although he seemed interested in trading both his hostages for you, Miss Willows."

"Something I'll gladly do," Shannon said with a hard look. "Exchanging two for one is better than I'd hoped for. Just say the word and I'll head out there. Once the mother and daughter are safe, you can resume your attacks."

"You'll get caught in the crossfire." Ryan turned to look out over the barricade, his feeling of helplessness returning in the form of a large lump in his throat. "There's got to be a better way." He clenched his fists. "I'll go."

"No," Shannon said. "If you target the Nidoing and Aggron, I'll be able to make it back to the barricade safely. Besides, I've seen your Pokémon. You'd do a much better job of keeping me safe than I would at keeping you safe."

"Sorry, man." Luke clasped Ryan on the back. "But the commander's not interested in you. He only wants Willows."

"Still," Madison said with a frown. "There has to be a way we can do this without leaving Shannon on her own."

Ryan stayed quiet for a moment, before forcing himself to look back at Shannon. "Then we go with Shannon's plan." His lip quivered under the crushing weight of his hopelessness. He hated leaving things up to fate... but Shannon had a point. He knew he couldn't stop her, but he desperately wished there could have been some way to free the hostages without putting anyone else in danger. He turned away from Shannon to hide his glistening eyes and focused uneasily on the commander and hostages.

"Alright, then." Shannon nodded and moved to start climbing over the barricade. She paused, however, and looked back at Ryan with a soft smile. "Hey." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Chin up. Don't worry about me. Just see to it that the mother and daughter get out safely."

Ryan was awed by just how brave and selfless Shannon was. He gave a tiny nod, trying to mask his worry. If Shannon was determined to get the hostages out safely, then Ryan was determined to get Shannon out safely. Stay safe... he silently pleaded as he watched Shannon climb up the barricade. As his eyes followed her, his hands reached for two Pokéballs, gripping them tightly and ready to release their contents at a moment's notice.

IC: Hannah
Through her frenzied thoughts and emotions, Hannah felt Gardevoir reaching out to her, trying to comfort her. She lifted her head, staring into her Pokémon's eyes. In that moment, an all too familiar voice called out to her in her mind.

"Are you done fighting it yet, Hannah? Or are you going to continue to deny the truth?"

Pride.

Hannah gripped her head and cried out in agony. She was nothing but a puppet. A tool. Something to be tossed aside once she had served her purpose. And what was that purpose? To become an executive? To exact her revenge on Shannon? No, those were mere consequences from playing her part in Pride's plan. What was Pride's plan? To destroy her? To declare himself the vainest of them all? If he had wanted her dead, he could have done so long ago. Hannah had no more strength to fight. Pride had been her purpose. And with that stripped from her, she had nothing. She was nothing.

Gardevoir locked eyes with her trainer. And as the psychic-type's eyes glowed, Hannah's visions of Celadon and Sootopolis were replaced with a very simple image. She saw a young girl with dark brown hair cradling a Ralts in her arms. A Starly fluttered above her, chirping in worry. Tears streamed down Hannah's face as she remembered that day. Ralts had been the first Pokémon she had managed to capture on her own. It should have been a proud moment, but Hannah's younger self had been devastated by the critical condition the Ralts was in after her battle. She had never given much thought to knocking out other Pokémon before. But when one she had ruthlessly fought ended up joining her team, her eyes had been opened.

Where is that little girl now? Hannah wondered. What happened to her? She was buried. By pride and by grief. But she's not dead. Not yet. The Rocket Executive stood up, leaning heavily on Gardevoir for support. "You..." Her voice shook as she directed her thoughts toward Pride. "You used me. You manipulated me. You fed off of me. But you are not me." Hannah clenched her fists, Gardevoir's comfort giving her strength. "I've let my pride control my life. I've let you control my life. But this isn't who I am. Somewhere deep down is a kind, patient, thoughtful girl. Not a Rocket Executive, but an aspiring trainer whose next door neighbor insists on being her best friend, despite her loathing desire for recognition and revenge. I don't deserve a friend like Shannon. I cast her aside, blamed her for her parents' actions."

In her mind's eye, Hannah stepped toward the Sin that knelt before her. Pride was half-encrusted in ice, reflecting the ice that had covered her own heart long ago. But while the ice on Pride's body was getting thicker, Hannah felt her heart melting at the memory of Shannon, her would-be best friend.

"You know what great lengths I went to in order to exact my revenge on Shannon," Hannah said as she continued to walk forward. "But after everything that's happened, I find that I can't hate her like I used to." She paused only when she was practically right on top of Pride. She gave the Sin a hard look. "Do you know why that is? It's because Shannon has taught me the one thing that will allow me to put an end to your control. She's taught me humility."

Edited June 1, 2015 by Konuju

**Blessed Blade** · June 2, 2015

-==IC: Ray==-

"What's wrong, Gnip?" Ray asked with a frown as Gnip started... barking? Ray chuckled at the sound. "Is Timmy stuck down a well?" Ray asked teasingly, only to earn a smack over the back of his head from Jenny, who shot a glare in his direction. The girl smiled at Gnip, as she knelt down beside her, and began to rub the Garchomp's belly.

"She wants attention, don't you get it?" Jenny asked with a chuckle, as she wondered whether the Garchomp could almost sense the worry... However, she then frowned, as she recalled Hayes' words, which made her worry more as well.

-==IC: Lucia==-

Lucia looked blankly at Jamie as she uttered those twelve words. Everything was just confusing her more and more. However, her look softened, as she heard the tone behind Jamie's voice. Lucia trusted in her team to keep them safe, as Lucia strode forward in Jamie's direction once again.

"Jamie..." Lucia said gently, as she paused in front of the other girl for a moment. "Whatever you're so upset about... is it worth this? Someone losing their voice?" Lucia asked quietly, genuinely worried about Jamie right then.

The Trevenant smiled at the uselessness of the Gothorita's attacks, and the growing frustration. Gothara yelled out, as she launched off a Dark Pulse point-blank. However, the 'Hanged Man' simply shrugged it off and smiled, and then launched his arm forward, unleashing Horn Leech on the Psychic Pokemon. Gothara yelled out, as she felt her energy being drained, and skidded across the floor, stunned by the attack.

-==IC: Ryan/Shannon==-

Shannon hopped over the mound, landing harder than she'd expected. The moment she breached the barrier, a dozen Pokémon locked onto her. She stood up, ignoring the pain shooting through her leg, and held out a hand as she pulled back her hood. "Let those people go," she said with an air of command. "I'm the one you want."

Commander Ballard did a double take, then laughed heartily. "What a stroke of luck! Here I was expecting the people of Celadon to betray you to save their own, but instead you come willingly! Foolish girl. Seize her!"

Shannon found herself unable to move. A faint blueish glow outlined her body as a Gothitelle stepped forward, holding her in place with its psychic energies. Shannon tried to open her mouth to demand the other hostages go free, but the Gothitelle had rendered her completely immobile.

"Hey, you've got Willows!" Luke cried from the barricade. "Now let the others go free!"

"Did I say I'd do that?" Ballard laughed. "I seem to remember saying I'd consider an exchange. That was before Willows gave herself up willingly. No, I think I'll keep my hostages. At least until my troops are all free from your little barricade. Consider it insurance to make sure you won't keep us from delivering Willows."

Ryan growled, ready to hop over the barricade after Shannon, but knew that he couldn't do anything yet. There has to be something I can do...! he thought desperately as he tightened his grip the Pokéballs. This can't be how it ends... it won't be! Ryan glared in the direction of the commander, his lip curling into a scowl.

Ballard began to walk towards the barricade with a smug grin. "Step away from the barricade." As he spoke, the Nidoking and Aggron tightened their grip on their hostages, and the Gothitelle lifted Shannon into the air. "Now."

Ryan gritted his teeth and tried to charge over the structure, but Madison and Luke grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back. "What are you doing?" he hissed at the two, struggling against their grip as he continued to glare at Ballard.

"Stopping you from doing something you'll regret," Luke said.

"If you rush out there, he'll kill those hostages in a heartbeat," Madison said. "Shannon too. You need to calm down."

Ryan snarled as he looked back. "But... if we don't do anything, he'll kill them anyway!"

"We don't know that!" Luke cried as he tried to pull Ryan away from the barricade.

"What we do know is that he will kill them if you try to stop him," Madison insisted. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. Not until we find a way to get those hostages safe."

Commander Ballard sent out a Gigalith as he approached the barricade. "Power Gem." The rock-type roared as it shot a series of rocks at the barrier, smashing the debris on the outer edges. The Gigalith repeated the attack, causing the structure to shake. It attacked again, determined to continue until the entire barricade was reduced to rubble.

Ryan growled in desperation as the barricade shook. "And how exactly are we going to do that? If we let him just go, then we'll have failed in everything."

"I don't know," Madison said as the structure shook again. She was on the verge of tears. "I hate this as much as you do. If only Dack were here..."

The barricade trembled under the weight of the repeated attacks. It had been built in a rush, with little thought given to structural integrity. Luke gulped. "Um, guys? We'd better move!"

Ryan took a small step back, then frowned. "You two go," he said, looking forward with determination. He was not about to let this end the way these Rockets wanted it to.

"You sure about that?" Luke asked with a wary look at the shaking barricade.

"When that structure collapses, you'll get crushed!" Madison cried. She desperately tried to pull Ryan back to safety.

At that moment, however, the attacks stopped. "What's this?" Ballard cried. From the other side of the barricade, Ryan, Madison, and Luke couldn't see what was going on, but Ballard seemed to be yelling at something.

Ryan frowned and walked forward, brushing Madison's arm aside.

"Out of my way, vermin!" Ballard cried.

As Ryan approached the barrier, he heard a furious squeaking sound. He smiled to himself as he readied his Pokéballs, realizing what was happening.

"Gigalith, blast that thing out of the--"

The Rocket Commander was cut off by a devastating Hyper Voice, which sent him sprawling to the ground. The Gigalith managed to hold its ground, growling as it prepared another Power Gem.

"Good work, Selena," Ryan mumbled as he dashed forward and threw a Pokéball over the barricade. Even as his Samurott emerged, Ryan hopped over the wall, wincing as he landed. Taking advantage of the situation, he threw his other Pokéball and tossed a third. His Tyranitar and Excadrill materialized near the Nidoking and Aggron, and as Samurott began to slash at the Gigalith, Ryan held out his Pokégear to summon Porygon-Z, who stared down the Gothitelle.

The Nidoking was stunned by the unexpected Hyper Voice, followed by the appearance of a very angry Tyranitar. The ground-poison Pokémon quickly realized what was happening, however, and brought his claw to the woman's neck. Aggron was in a similar daze, but when he saw what the Nidoking was doing, he quickly followed suit.

As the Gigalith fired its Power Gem point-blank at Samurott, the Gothitelle spared some energy to fire off a Psybeam at Porygon-Z. Porygon-Z took the hit and responded with a Signal Beam.

Deciding to leave the hostages to his Pokémon, Ryan dashed over toward Shannon.

The Gothitelle, focused on holding Shannon in place, was unable to dodge Porygon-Z's Signal Beam. As the attack hit, the Gothitelle's psychic grip weakened, allowing Shannon to turn her head towards Ryan, struggling to reach her arm out toward him.

Ballard brought a hand to his head as he looked at the chaos that had erupted all around him. "You'll pay for this!" he cried, reaching for another Pokéball.

Selena saw this and darted toward the Rocket Commander, chomping down on his fingers before he could call forth another Pokémon.

Behind the barricade, Luke and Madison's eyes widened at the sudden turn of events. "Alright, now that's what I'm talking about!" Luke cried, pumping his fist in the air. "Bring in the Furret Cavalry!"

"Ryan's going to need backup," Madison said. She quickly sent out Anzu and Palmer's Milotic.

"Right you are," Luke said as he leapt over the barricade. Hitting the ground, he released his Machoke and Palmer's Rhyperior. "It's time to turn the tables!"

Ryan ran forward and reached up, managing to grab Shannon's hand as the psychic grip began to weaken. Porygon-Z launched off another Signal Beam at the Gothitelle for good measure, trying to divert its attention from its captive.

Shannon gripped Ryan's hand, but felt herself rise higher off the ground as the Gothitelle struggled to tighten its mental hold. The psychic-type grimaced as the second Signal Beam struck it, but focused all its efforts on holding Shannon in place.

Meanwhile, Samurott took the Power Gem to her right shoulder, sending a seamitar spinning across the ground. Gripping her remaining sword, Samurott took the opportunity to slice out with Razor Shell against the Gigalith's hard hide. The Gigalith grunted as the Razor Shell knocked it back. It responded with a Rock Slide, aiming to knock the second seamitar away.

Spotting the hostages in danger, Tyranitar and Excadrill leaped into action. Tyranitar cleared the distance in a few steps and yanked the Nidoking's arm away from its hostage with a warning growl. The Nidoking roared in fury as its arm was ripped away from his target. The Excadrill on the other hand launched himself forward and stabbed out with his arm, piercing the Aggron's shoulder. The attack dug into the Iron Armor Pokémon's joint, bringing its arm to a halt inches away from the young girl.

Ryan grimaced as Shannon rose above his head. Porygon-Z fired Signal Beam after Signal Beam, but he knew that the longer the Gothitelle remained focused, the further Shannon would have to fall. "I won't let go!" he cried out, using his other hand to grab his final Pokéball off his belt and fling it at the Gothitelle. His Simisage burst from the capsule and pounced on the Gothitelle, Biting down with his pointed teeth.

Although Shannon was unable to move her mouth, her eyes reflected her worry as she rose even higher into the air. If Ryan continued to hold onto her, soon he would be off the ground as well. The Gothitelle was able to withstand the Signal Beams, but Simisage's attack was too much for it to handle. The psychic-type cried out as it finally collapsed from exhaustion. The glow around Shannon disappeared and she let out a scream as her stomach lurched and she fell toward the ground.

Ryan quickly held out his other arm to catch her. "I've got you!"

Shannon gasped as she landed in Ryan's arms. She took a moment to catch her breath, then turned to see what was happening with the hostages.

The Tyranitar appeared to have the upper hand in physical strength, as he was beginning to pry off the Nidoking's other arm, at least enough so that the mother could squirm free. The Excadrill kept its hand embedded in the Aggron's arm, and shot his other hand up toward the Aggron's face, trying to stun it into letting go.

The mother managed to wriggle out of the Nidoking's grasp and wasted no time in rushing over to her daughter. Her teenage son also ran up, his Rattata chomping down on the Aggron's leg. The boy grabbed his sister and pulled her free.

Ryan smiled and looked back at Shannon, helping her steady herself again. "Selena saves the day again," he said with a slight chuckle.

Shannon barely registered Ryan's words as she ran over to the family with a sigh of relief. "We need to get you to safety," she said, ushering them away from the enraged Aggron locked in combat with the Excadrill.

Parugi · June 2, 2015

IC - General Emmerich Coleman/Aulus Rufius - Chapel, Communications Center:

"Duly noted." General Coleman nodded to Miriam and Aulus, indicating that they should follow him into the Communications Center. And so they did.

The place was bustling with activity, every active terminal occupied by a Comm Tech busily doing what they did to transport messages from A to B to C and so on. For the most part the atmosphere seemed normal; however, there was a peculiar presence permeating from a certain percentage of those at work suggesting that things were not necessarily as ordinary as they seemed. And whether they knew it or not, the concerned individuals were correct, for the current situation at the current time was anything but ordinary.

Presently, anyway. It was not long ago that a city-wide skirmish would have seemed all too normal.

"Attention!" A massive shuffling filled the room at the sound of the General's call. In mere seconds the technicians had all risen from their seats, turning to face Emmerich Coleman. He moved forward, descending the steps from the door so that he was now level with them. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a question for the lot of you. Who here has been following the current situation in Celadon City?"

A significant number of technicians looked at one another, completely baffled by this question. A small group of others--four in total--raised their hands. General Coleman turned to face them, frowning.

"Then," he said. "can you explain to me just what it is that is happening there, and why this activity was not reported?"

After a moment of hesitation, one of the technicians spoke of. "Sir, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a strike against a Liberty outpost, isn't it?" she said. "Something to do with the incident in Sooto-"

"What's you name?" General Coleman asked.

The technician looked taken aback. "Maya Adrichem, sir," she stammered.

"Well, I'm afraid I have to correct you, Agent Adrichem," he said. "The initial reports of the attack indicated that damages were spread out over a rather large portion of the city, in multiple districts. Unless this 'Liberty outpost' spans throughout the entirety of Celadon, the attack was not meant for the sole purpose of destroying it." Coleman approached the remaining three. "Which of you is Howell Maurer?" One straightened up. Coleman looked at him. "It's my understanding that you're in charge of communications around Celadon. Is that right?"

"That's correct, sir, except . . ." He paused to gather his thoughts. Emmerich watched him closely, waiting. "Well, Celadon's only one of my assigned areas, sir, along with Cerulean City, and it's the four of us who are supposed to deal with communications to and from there, but Celadon's been pretty much a dead zone all day. I thought it was just a lull in activity, so at first I didn't think much of it, but then the news reports started up about the attack so I figured it was a software failure but diagnostics didn't turn anything up with that so then I thought it might be a hardware failure and none of us have been able to figure it out and I know this is going to reflect badly on us as technicians but if you can just pause for a second and really consider what good it would do to--"

General Coleman waved a hand. "That's enough," he said, cutting Maurer off. He turned to the rest of the communications unit. "I suppose it's best to inform you all of this now: The current situation in Celadon City is not Rocket-condoned. Evidence suggests that Executive Hannah Wright may have acted on her own for an as-yet undetermined purpose, organizing the attack in Sootopolis in order to then justify the currently on-going attack in Celadon City."

A wave of surprised chatter swept through the room. Many uncomfortable looks were exchanged. General Coleman pressed on. "I have no interest in seeing this mindless destruction proceed any further. Shadow Admin Bounty has authorized the issuance of a cease and desist to all forces currently within Celadon City. He will soon arrive to confirm that order, at which point the whole of this unit will have until the end of the hour to ensure that those messages reach their intended targets undisturbed." He paced through the rows of terminals. "At the end of that hour, this Communications Center will be closed down, and you will all partake in an investigation regarding your potential involvement in Executive Wright's ploy, with cooperation mandatory until such a time that your innocence has been confirmed. Is this clear?"

A resounding "Yes, sir!" sounded through the room.

"Now," General Coleman said. "Assuming these suspicions have any grounds, there is likely to be at least one technician amongst us with some degree of information regarding this business. If you are that individual, I will give you this one, singular opportunity to own up to your actions, and potentially lessen the severity of the consequences that you will receive if we are forced to locate you ourselves." He stopped at the front of the room, his cold gaze sweeping over the many faces before him. "Any takers?"

A silence swept over the men and women in the room, an uncomfortable quiet that yearned to be broken. It was, though not in the way that the General had expected: The entrance to the room suddenly opened, prompting all eyes to turn and watch as Shadow Admin Bounty entered. The General saluted him. Bounty merely nodded back. And his presence, it seemed, motivated the technicians to speak up, for one nervous-looking individual finally raised his hand.

The General looked at him. "What's your name?"

"Marcel Tos, sir," the technician said. "I was contacted by Executive Wright not long ago to . . . Uh . . ." He lowered his hand. "I'd . . . rather have this conversation in private, sir."

The General nodded, and then gestured at Agent Rufius. Aulus nodded and descended the steps, quietly prompting Tos to follow him just outside the room. When they were gone, Coleman turned to Bounty. "We're ready, sir."

"Good to hear," Bounty said. He raised his voice, speaking to the assembled technicians. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time we brought this show to an end. I don't care who's down there--Agents, Elites, Executives, all Rocket Agents without stationary orders in Celadon will stand down."

IC - Pride - Celadon City, Central Park:

And so it was done.

Pride's symbol had made many appearances up to now, confined to the snow that its bearer had summoned. Now, it appeared one final time, smaller in size, a glowing purple light situated over the Sinner's heart. It reflected as a purple glow off of the ice that was beginning to spread over the rest of his body, and then in the black, shadowy cracks that followed the formation of this icy trail. It appeared, too--briefly--upon Rapidash's body, followed soon by a dissolving effect as the Fire Horse Pokémon faded from existence, leaving no trace of itself behind.

Pride was beaten.

"Love, friendship, humility . . ." He chuckled. "Who could have foreseen these, of all things, from such proud individuals?" Pride looked upon each of his subjects for what felt like a very long time, appraising them with his final moments. Finally, he closed his eyes, smiling even as the last remnants of his figure began to encase in ice and cracks. "Then again, I did pick you all for a reason . . . so who's the real winner here, I wonder?" His mouth froze in the middle of a final laugh, Pride's voice now becoming but an echo that emanated from his breaking form. "I have nothing more to say to you. Good-bye, dear puppets. May you enjoy the freedom of severed strings for many days to come."

With that, Pride's body shattered, vanishing in a swirl of black ice and snow that swept through the air and into the vast expanse of nothingness high above.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Apears

Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

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