The Hero of Legend: Battle of Liberty

[Jonouchi]

"But that's enough talk for now!" Charlie continues, turning to the spinning barrel and bringing it to a stop. Unlatching the lock on the side of the barrel, Charlie reaches inside and draws out a single ticket. Reading the number, he looks up at the crowd with a smile on his face. "And our lucky winner is...."

OnlineHost: Fiery Tess rolled 1 27-sided die: 11 (Jonouchi)

"Number eleven!"

Cheering and applause course through the crowd as Jonouchi takes the stage to collect his prize. Once there, he's presented with a golden Pokéball with star shaped design. "This Hero's Ball was specially designed to commemorate Connor's memory and can only ever be used to house the direct descendant of one of Connor's own Pokémon," Charlie says, handing the ball over. "Later today the non-legendary baby form of one of Connor's own team will be brought into the festival from a secret location known only by Connor's close friends and family. Simply return here, and the Pokémon will be given to you. Of course if you choose not to accept the baby for reasons of your own then you don't have to take it. A secondary prize of ten thousand coins and TM Hyper Beam has been set aside should you prefer to take that. The choice is yours, as either can be collected at the end of the day."

OOC: Accepting the Hero's Ball to obtain the Pokemon at the campaign's end.

Ricco listens to the Charlie's tale about Connor and everything else, but he wasn't too interested in hearing that legend again. He just wanted to hear the winner of the raffle. He almost dozed off until he heard...

"Number eleven!"

Ricco snaps awake and checks his raffle ticket and stares in disbelief: he won! Ricco looks down at Kain with a smile and picks him up to run over to the main stage. He cheers happily as the crowd cheers with him. Once he got to the stage, he shows him his ticket and in return, charlie gives him a Hero's Ball, containing a Pokemon from Connor's Past. He accepts the Hero's Ball happily and holds it up for all to see. The crowd cheers as he goes down with Kain following.

After a while, the parade was going on, but the two of them (two being Ricco and Kain) were too busy thinking about what could be given to them as the baby of Connor's super powerful team. They check out the Hero's Ball in a nearby alleyway where they could see the parade as well.

"This is so awesome!" Ricco said. "Who would have thought that we'd win that raffle!"

"Mawile!" Kain said.

"I just wonder what we're going to get. More importantly what kind of Pokemon does he have? I never really memorized what Pokemon he used. Some fan I am, huh?"

Ricco laughs hesitantly, while Kain points to the hero's float that was coming along. He sees numerous Pokemon. He scan the entire float and confirms his descision.

"Whatever we get, we'll be happy with it, right?" Ricco stated.

"Maw!" Kain replied with a smile.

Ricco places the Pokeball in his backpack and heads off to see what else was there for fun. Just then a loud explosion occurs nearby, shaking the ground and sending Ricco into the wall nearby, scratching his head as he holds it, screaming in pain. He looks at his head to see that it was bleeding slightly.

"Damn it!" he said.

He looks at the float that had Connor's Pokemon to see that it was suddenly up in flames. There was almost nothing left of it. He looks up to see the sky in a completely different color.

"What's happening?!" Ricco said. Ricco takes his Level Ball and points it to Mawile. "Kain, return!"

The Level ball calls him back as he goes inside. Ricco begins to see numerous army trucks taking villagers and tourists alike. He had to get on there if he wanted to know what was going on.

After they were brought to safety (and after Ricco bandaged his still bleeding head), Charlie begins to address whoever was still around that survived the sudden attack.

"I...don't know...how this has happened," he said, "...but the creature...the creature has woken!"

Ricco couldn't believe what was going on. He knew the blast was simply unusual, but he never expected this to happen. What was he going to do? He explained how this was all possible, but Ricco was in a state of shock to even listen to his words. All he was thinking was...

"What are we going to do?"

He suddenly hears Charlie asking for volunteers, but Ricco was already nervous. He feared that if the creature had this much power to break out of a prison, how would he fight against him? He looks at his hero's ball and thought...What would Connor do in a situation like this? Would he fight despite the circumstances?

"Guys..." he said to himself. He thought about this and knew, if he wanted to be like his hero, he had to live up to his respect. "I'm going!"

Ricco goes over to Charlie and taps his shoulder.

"Mr. Charlie, sir," he said. "I want to help out in your cause. I'm the one who you handed the hero's ball to. I have three strong Pokemon in my arsenal and a few others who might be of assistance. Please, let me fight alongside you. I'm a big fan of Connor, and I've been through a lot, just like this. I've learned that if I want to be brave like him, then I have to go through. Please, let me join you!"

He felt as determined as ever. His three strongest and high leveled Pokemon, Swampert, Cloyster and Mawile, would be fine for assistance, but his other team members might not be so willing. Could he win this battle at all? He was going to answer that should Charlie accept his plea.

[lilbluecorsola]

Firstly, lilblue and Rabid Squirrel receive candy each for spotting my little comment in the previous update, so here you go *tosses one candy to each of you*

And secondly, this update is a little slow in coming so I'm sorry to all involved with this campaign. I take full responsibility for my tardiness. Several incidents involving bad timing with the beginning of this campaign all rolled into one have led to a shocking start, but we'll pick up the pace from here on in. I'm sure most of you won't begrudge me having taken a couple of weeks for myself, so let's get back into this!


As the day moves on with the sun rising higher into the sky, the Hero's Festival is a buzzing hive of activity. Though thousands of people were eager to make the most of the day by getting in nice and early, more and more are arriving as the day progresses. The first rounds of contests and battles are coming to a close while many of the games have also ended, and with the drawing of the raffle about to begin, those who purchased tickets are already on their way back to watch the draw while hoping they'll be lucky enough to win something nice to take away with them when a strange event occurs. A powerful energy pulse shoots into the sky from somewhere in the distance causing the sky to turn the same shade of magenta it had a little while ago. Though the source of the pulse is hundreds of miles away, the earth shattering effects would have you think the epicentre is much closer as the ground starts to shake so violently that many are knocked off their feet. Children start to cry and Pokémon become nervous, sensing that something isn't right here. This doesn't feel like an ordinary earthquake, but within moments, just like last time, the shaking stops, the sky returning to its clear blue state, and the land returning to normal. The voice of Charles Higginbotham can be heard over the loudspeaker calling for calmness as some people in the crowd become hysterical, and several minutes later, after the initial shock of the sudden tremor has passed, the momentary panic felt by most at the festival has died down leaving everyone relieved, if not feeling any better knowing that the danger has passed. The entertainment resumes, and glad to have something to distract them from the frightening prospect of there being something seriously wrong on this day of celebration, people gladly return their attention to the festivities at hand, pushing their concerns to the backs of their minds as best they can.

By the time the raffle begins nobody wants to be reminded of the strange tremors that have shaken the land, and gather round as the barrel containing the tickets is spun before a crowd of hundreds. Even those who haven't purchased a ticket have gathered to watch the draw, curious to see what the prize will be and who will take it away with them. Again, Charles Higginbotham is present, and even though he's trying his best to put on a happy face, something in his demeanour is giving off a distinct vibe of foreboding. He's worried, and just about everyone present can sense it which fills their hearts with dread.

"Welcome, everyone!" he exclaims, a slight tremble in his voice indicating he's not feeling as cheery as he'd like everyone to believe. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this great and glorious occasion. Today we are honouring the memory of Connor, the greatest man to have ever lived! A man who, eighty years ago, fought to save our land and ensure future generations live a life of freedom! Connor and his Pokémon fought for our continued liberty, and have earned their place in our history books. Today, on the eightieth anniversary of the day they saved our land, someone present here is going to receive one of the rarest gifts Connor has to offer. Being a private man, Connor lived most of his life in seclusion but that never stopped him from giving all he had to the community. He founded many charities and organisations to help people and Pokémon alike, and was always willing to lend a hand whenever he was needed. His Pokémon were raised with love and care, given specialist training, and taught that one doesn't need to be fearless to be brave. They learned how to make intelligent decisions and strategic choices in any given situation should Connor for some reason or another be unable to make those choices for them, and to always watch the backs of their teammates. All of these lessons, and many more, were the reason Connor and his Pokémon were victorious in their battle eighty years ago, and those values were not lost when Connor passed on, but handed down through the generations as his Pokémon bred families of their own. From mother to daughter, from father to son, each aware of the role their kin played in the legendary battle. Today, one lucky person will be the proud owner of a baby Pokémon who is a direct descendant of one of Connor's original team, their specialist training passed down through the bloodline and their strong values already learned. This is an honour few will ever receive, and many have longed for. I hope the trainer who is bestowed with this special gift will raise this Pokémon with the same love and care that Connor will have shown them, and that they will never forget the bravery this baby's grandparent displayed on the day they helped to win our freedom."

Many "oooh's" and "aaaah's" pass through the crowd upon hearing what the prize will be, excited chatter passing from trainer to trainer, while those who hadn't purchased tickets for this draw now wished they had. A few people roll their eyes, sighing, disappointed that the prize isn't something more spectacularly useful, like a super powerful TM, a stack of candies, a safeload of coins, or even a rare bottle of highly sought after shiny spray. Most are thrilled with the prize, however, and eargerly keep their eyes glued to the barrel containing the raffle tickets, hoping their number will match with the one drawn.

"But that's enough talk for now!" Charlie continues, turning to the spinning barrel and bringing it to a stop. Unlatching the lock on the side of the barrel, Charlie reaches inside and draws out a single ticket. Reading the number, he looks up at the crowd with a smile on his face. "And our lucky winner is...."

OnlineHost: Fiery Tess rolled 1 27-sided die: 11 (Jonouchi)

"Number eleven!"

Cheering and applause course through the crowd as Jonouchi takes the stage to collect his prize. Once there, he's presented with a golden Pokéball with star shaped design. "This Hero's Ball was specially designed to commemorate Connor's memory and can only ever be used to house the direct descendant of one of Connor's own Pokémon," Charlie says, handing the ball over. "Later today the non-legendary baby form of one of Connor's own team will be brought into the festival from a secret location known only by Connor's close friends and family. Simply return here, and the Pokémon will be given to you. Of course if you choose not to accept the baby for reasons of your own then you don't have to take it. A secondary prize of ten thousand coins and TM Hyper Beam has been set aside should you prefer to take that. The choice is yours, as either can be collected at the end of the day."

Turning back to the crowd surrounding the stage, Charlie smiles brightly. "The Hero's Parade is about to begin, so please make your way over to Oceanic Drive! Wouldn't want to miss the fun!"

A short while later thousands of people are gathered by the long, winding, roadside of Seaside City's Oceanic Drive as the Hero's Parade begins with a live band marching along the street blaring out their own rendition of the PokéRap. The crowd erupts into cheers, most singing along to the music as floats begin to follow the band, each with a different theme. The first is brightly decorated and covered with an array of different evolutionary stones upon which are several different Eevee evolutions dancing and playing while the Eevee Dance music blasts from a large stereo. Next comes a diamond studded pink float with a large pink banner reading, "The Princess Club - No Boys Allowed" upon which a Jynx, Delcatty, Clefable, Wigglytuff, Lopunny, Glameow, and Kirlia wearing princess costumes and tiaras are all prancing around to the tune of "Dancing Queen" whilst blowing kisses to the crowd. Next comes the "Trust in Us" float upon which Officer Jenny stands surrounded by a dancing array of her various police co-workers including Growlithe, Gastly, Spinarak, Squirtle, Wobbuffet, Jumpluff, Pidgeot, Parasect, Tangela, Meganium, and Stunky. This float is closely followed by another with the "Macho Man" tune playing while Pokémon such as Machamp, Hariyama, Primeape, Medicham, and Breloom pose in various stances while flexing their muscles for the crowd. "Great Balls of Fire" is the next tune to be heard as a fire float appears carrying an array of Fire Pokémon shooting Flamethrowers into the crowd, just above everyone's heads. The Squirtle Squad are following the fiery troupe, however, standing on top of a big red fire truck while dousing the flames with their Water Guns and soaking many bystanders in the process. During the next hour, dozens more floats roll by, each with a different theme, energetic music and wonderful displays entertaining the crowd until finally the "Hero's Float" appears. At the sight of it, the crowd begins cheering louder than ever as the statue of a man surrounded by more statues of various Pokémon including a Venusaur, Blastoise, Charizard, Pidgeot, Alakazam, Machamp, Electivire, Tyranitar, Steelix, Golem, Gengar, Dragonite, Articuno, Raikou, and Heatran rolls past.

The Hero's Float containing life size replicas of Connor and his team is the main attraction, but just as the cheers of the crowd reach their peak another energy beam rips into the sky, far stronger and brighter than before. The sky changes colour and the earth rumbles threateningly, but the beam doesn't shoot straight upward this time, instead arcing through the sky and coming down, headed straight toward Oceanic Drive and the thousands of people gathered there. Excited cheers turn into terrified screams as the beam hits the Hero's Float which explodes into a ball of flames as the energy pulse emitted from the beam surges outward and through the crowd. Pandemonium breaks loose as people and Pokémon are thrown in all directions, some seriously injured, but most more shaken than physically harmed. Parents and children are separated, trainers and their teams scramble through the crowd looking for their lost teammates, those who have found their loved ones are fleeing in droves away from Oceanic Drive while others are trying desperately to shield small, displaced children and Pokémon from being crushed in the panicked stampede.

The next ten minutes are filled with hysteria as people flee the festively decorated city, and when a convoy of army trucks finally arrives the place is practically a ghost town. There are still several dozen men, women, and trainers in the immediate vicinity who are helping those who have been hurt, but most have fled for fear of another attack. Amongst the army convoy are several ambulances, the medics immediately tending to the injured before taking them away to the hospital, while those remaining are left looking around at the damage, and at each other, with expressions of hopeless disbelief. Charles Higginbotham is amongst the men arriving with the convoys, and with a heavy heart steps forward to address those who are still present. An aura of despair surrounds him, and though already an elderly man, Charlie's hopeless demeanour seems to have aged him at least ten years in light of current events. At first he doesn't seem to know what to say, simply standing there while those waiting for him to speak wait expectantly.

"I... I don't know... how this has happened," Charlie begins, lifting his hand to run his fingers nervously through his thinning hair. "But the creature... "

He looks up, his eyes filled with so much despair that everyone feels what seems like a lead weight drop into the pit of their stomachs. His last three words are enough to allow everyone present to know what he is about to say, but not a single person wants to believe it to be true.

"... the creature has woken," Charlie says simply, his arms falling to his sides despairingly. Taking a moment to gather himself, he turns his gaze to those waiting for him to finish. He realises he needs to provide some kind of explanation for what is happening, and grits his teeth, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"The creature Connor defeated eighty years ago has been trapped in slumber. It is now awake and trying to escape its prison which is what those energy pulses were about. A team of men have been monitoring the creature's prison around the clock for eighty years, and until today have not detected so much as a tremor in the energy force surrounding it. Just half an hour ago the first transmission was received from the team stating that there had been a disturbance in the ice. It was sent hours ago, but not received until recently due to the pulse the creature unleashed. Another transmission was received fifteen minutes ago revealing that the creature is fully awake and has almost freed itself of the ice. All radio contact has now been lost because the consecutive pulses have knocked out all of our electrical devices. All planes are grounded as their electronics have been destroyed, and all vessels are stranded at sea with no working instruments to guide them. The only hope we have of surviving the creature's onslaught is to make our way there across the land and sea to stop it before it finally breaks free, because if it escapes before we can reach it..."

Charlie stops speaking, too choked up to continue. Everyone knows exactly where his speech is headed though, and have no wish to hear his final words.

"We only have several small jeeps and five larger transport vehicles that were shielded from he pulses at the time of the attacks that we can use to travel to the Glacier Islands, but most of our troops were injured quite badly during the third earthquake when the base was destroyed. We need volunteers to help those of us left to fight the creature, or we're all doomed."

Charlie then looks at the crowd, his expression pleading, hoping that at least some volunteers will step forward. Three men and a woman step forward immediately, others taking a few moments to digest all they've heard before also volunteering to help.

"Thank you," Charlie responds gratefully. "This is a dangerous mission, and we're not sure how long these vehicles will be of use to us because if another pulse is released we'll have no way of getting to the islands other than by foot. We need to leave as quickly as possible if we have any hope of reaching the creature before it escapes."

Within minutes, thirty six volunteers have stepped forward. Men, women, teenagers, all have the same goal, and that is to protect their land. They're immediately ushered into three of the transport vehicles which drive away at high speed, leaving only two behind along with another two dozen trainers who have quite a life changing decision to make...

OoC - Picking up 1x Rare Candy. Again, thank you so much, Tess. And taking time off for yourself is perfectly understandable. In fact, it’s recommended. <3

Jessica craned her neck to see over the crowd that had gathered to watch the announcement of the raffle winner, barely able to catch a glimpse of the revolving barrel filled with tickets and the mayor standing grandly beside it from her position. Many of the spectators weren’t even participating in the drawing, yet were simply curious as to what the prize would be and who would be lucky enough to win it. The interest resulted in a massive audience of hundreds that effectively obstructed the girl’s entire view of the event. However, she wasn’t particularly attentive to the proceedings at the moment anyway, so she didn’t mind. Rather, her thoughts were on a different matter altogether, which concerned the troubling events that occurred just prior to their arrival at the overcrowded scene.

On their way back to the drawing, the group had been so filled with excitement and cheerfulness over their victory that none of them noticed a second bright energy pulse shoot dramatically up into the sky, turning it once again a spectacular shade of magenta. Sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere, people stopped once again to gaze apprehensively at the sky, wondering for the second time about the cause for the mysterious display.

Suddenly the earth shook again, this time with such violent force that several people fell down, including Jess. She screamed in surprise as she tripped, thrown off balance by the magnitude and abruptness of the initial shock. Her body nearly fell on top of Atzu, who squeaked loudly in alarm and managed to stumble out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by his trainer.

The earth continued to rumble angrily for a few seconds more, then ceased. The sky’s color faded away to normal and people cautiously stood up, gazing around confusedly at each other and the clear blue sky wondering what the hell just happened. All around, children were crying as their mothers tried desperately to reassure them, and the level of hysteria slowly began rising to dangerous levels amongst the frightened crowd. The loudspeaker came on and the mayor’s reassuring voice filled the festival grounds, asking people to remain calm.

As her shock began to wear off, Jessica quickly checked to see if Pippa and Atzu were all right. She had instinctively held onto Pippa tightly throughout the ordeal, and looking down she discovered the penguin clinging to her chest, whimpering fearfully. She cradled the baby Pokémon close to her, assuring her that everything was okay. She then searched around worriedly for Atzu, and saw him nearby on the ground as well, seeming unharmed. She breathed a thankful sigh of relief, and asked him if he was okay, to which he nodded and bounced immediately to his feet to prove his point.

After making completely sure they were all okay and managing to comfort Pip some, the trio decided to continue on to their destination. The danger seemed to have passed, and the mayor’s assurances had convinced most everyone that there truly was nothing to worry about. Thus the festivities recommenced, and with the rapid return to normalcy the whole ordeal seemed less frightening and more like a far-off dream.

However, looking back on it now, Jess wasn’t so sure that the danger had been imagined. The second quake had reminded her that a similar episode took place during the balloon game, which troubled her further. Both times didn’t feel like ordinary earthquakes – rather, the earth seemed like it was channeling a huge amount of anger…

Jess felt a tug on her sleeve, snapping her quickly out of her contemplative reverie. She suddenly became aware of her crowded surroundings and immediately felt slightly claustrophobic. The instinctive feeling passed as she recalled where she was, and she glanced down to find Pip pulling at her sleeve and pointing hopefully upwards. Jess smiled and lifted the small penguin up so she could see the stage, where Charles Higginbotham was standing speaking to the crowd. Pip giggled as she rose into the air, fully back to her cheerful self thanks to Atzu’s help in consoling her after the upsetting event that was still on Jess’s mind.

Jess smiled, glad to see her Pokémon smiling. However, her mind was still focused on the strange incidents that seemed to forebode something more ominous approaching. As such, she barely listened to Charles Higginbotham’s long extended speech. If she had, her suspicions might have been endorsed by the quavering in Charlie’s voice, which indicated he wasn’t quite as cheery as he’d like the audience to believe.

Jess was once again pulled out of her thoughts by the loud eruption of cheers and applause as the winner was announced. Lowering Pip down for a bit, Jess could easily tell by the Piplup’s disappointed face that the number on her ticket wasn’t the one called. The girl squeezed the penguin tight in consolation. “It’s all right, we’ll have better luck another time. How about we go see the parade, huh?”

Pip’s eyes lit up again when she remembered they were going to see the parade, and she chirped excitedly. Jess smiled and ruffled the feathers on the happy little penguin’s head, causing her to giggle uncontrollably.

“All right. Let’s go see the parade!”

The crowd around them had already begun to disperse, and the group hurried along after the large assembly headed towards Oceanic Drive. The roadside was already packed with thousands of Seaside residents and tourists eager to watch the parade up close. As the group managed to squeeze their way close enough to see the pavement of the street, they heard loud music begin to play as the Hero’s Parade commenced, resulting in exuberant cheers all along the sidewalks. Jessica found herself cheering as well along with Pip and Atzu, momentarily setting aside all of her misgivings to rejoice in the jovial occasion with her Pokémon.

The music grew louder as a vanguard live band marched down the street blaring a tune nearly every Pokémon fan in the crowd was all too familiar with. Many started to sing along and Jess joined in as well, even though she didn’t know many of the words. A line of brightly decorated floats followed, and each had its own Pokémon-related theme. Jessica had actually never seen many parades and didn’t know what to expect, but this one was so extravagant that even she was quite impressed. All sorts of different types of Pokémon rode on the floats, utilizing fully and simultaneously emphasizing each creature’s unique skills and appeal. One float even featured an array of Fire Pokémon dramatically shooting off FLAMETHROWERS just over the heads of the spectators, which were quickly doused by Water attacks discharged by the Squirtle Squad riding the subsequent float. While Jessica thought this display seemed rather dangerous, she saw that both Pippa and Atzu were in tremendous awe of the hot flames spitting impressively into the air, and the cool showers enormously delighted and refreshed the two (as they were both Water types). Jessica shrugged and managed a small smile, consenting to set aside all her concerns for once and simply enjoy the show like her Pokémon.

After about an hour, the long-awaited Hero’s Float finally made its dramatic appearance. Its arrival was signaled by the increase of the volume of cheers which traveled all the way down the streets like an electric current. Jessica again lifted Pippa up high so she could see, and the group watched with reverent admiration as a life-size replica of the Hero rolled past surrounded by the detailed figures of many powerful-looking Pokémon, including one or two Legendaries and a fearsome-looking creature that Jess didn’t even recognize.

The crowd was cheering loudly now more than ever thanks to the arrival of their celebrated Hero, and Jessica’s own heart was lifted by seeing her two friends’ elated expressions as they cheered exuberantly along with the crowd, their bright eyes dazzling intensely with reverence and joy. Jessica smiled broadly with relief, believing at last that nothing could possibly ruin this amazing day for them.

That was when disaster struck.

At first, Jessica wasn’t sure what had happened. One moment, the crowd was rejoicing loudly next to her ear – the next, their joyous shouts had all turned into terrified screams, and everyone began desperately pushing to escape from the street. She soon saw what they were fleeing from as she glanced down Oceanic Drive in the opposite direction bewilderedly, and her eyes widened as she caught sight of the Hero’s Float engulfed completely in flames surrounded by panicked onlookers rushing to get away. Before Jessica was even able to realize the impact of the horrific scene, she abruptly found herself swept away by the mob of frightened people trying to escape. Still having no idea what was happening, she didn’t think to fight the crowd and was pushed along in the same direction for a while until she realized that she needed to act to ensure her Pokémon’s safety. Instantly regaining her awareness of her surroundings, she clutched Pippa tightly to her breast and glanced frantically around for her second companion. Atzu. Where was Atzu?

Jessica ran back through the crowd, calling Atzu’s name in vain as her voice was drowned out by the screams of all the people running away in turmoil. The streets were filled with utter chaos as humans and Pokémon strove desperately to get as far away from the scene as possible, their individual terror blinding them to the safety of others as many were knocked down in the confusion. Some were even stepped on, and a few virtuous souls tried desperately to protect small children and Pokémon from being crushed by the stampede by using their bodies as a shield. Jessica struggled to even move against the flow of people traveling in all directions, her mind becoming frantic as she searched for any signs of the blue Water Pokémon through the hectic maze of panicked humans.

“Atzu! Where are you? Please, answer if you can hear me!” Just as her hope was about to run out, she heard a familiar distressed cry somewhere towards her right:

“Zu!”

She plunged in that direction and cast wildly about, searching for the source of the frantic yelp. Her heart leapt as she spotted a flash of blue surrounded by a sea of alternating people and Pokémon, trying desperately to reach her while avoiding being crushed. Jessica tried to fight against the crowd but found herself instead being pushed further away from Atzu, who was also drifting in a different direction.

Nearly in despair, Jessica grabbed Atzu’s Pokéball and fired its return beam into the crowd. “Atzu, return!” she cried desperately. Miraculously, the beam managed to barely catch the Azulmarill’s tail, and he gladly retracted inside the metal sphere which was gripped tightly in Jess’s hand. Thanking the gods/goddesses for that amazing stroke of luck, Jess then immediately pocketed his Pokéball before running as fast as she could to safety…

---

Approximately an hour later, Jess walked slowly out of the Seaside City Pokémon Center with a tired look on her face. It had taken an extremely long time to calm Pippa down after that experience; she had been crying ever since they got to the Center, even while Nurse Joy examined her briefly to see if she was injured. Nurse Joy told Jessica that both her Pokémon seemed fine but were merely shocked, then immediately hurried off to attend to her dozens of other patients who were constantly arriving in a steady stream. The waiting room was filled with trainers and some who didn’t own Pokémon but merely came seeking refuge. Jess had to wait in a long line to use the computer, all the while holding a sobbing Pippa and trying her best to comfort her. Eventually Jessica convinced Pippa that she’d be safe in the P.C., and that she’d never let anything bad happen to her. Jess promised.

As soon as Jess exited the Center, she witnessed a convoy of army trucks drive swiftly past her, headed straight towards Oceanic Drive. Looks like help had finally arrived. She spotted the mayor riding in one of the trucks, and she determinedly followed behind them, hoping to find answers as to what had caused the parade to become such a catastrophic event (although she already had a grim guess).

When she reached the site, she stopped and stared helplessly at the damage that had been dealt to the surrounding area. After several injured persons were taken to the hospital, those remaining were left gazing hopelessly at the destruction and at each other in disbelief. As Charles Higginbotham stepped forward, all eyes turned to him expectantly as he stood there for a few moments, seemingly not knowing what to say. Jessica perceived an aura of despondence around the elderly man that accentuated his forlorn, sunken eyes and wrinkles on his face, making him appear ten years older. She waited quietly for him to speak.

"I... I don't know... How this has happened," he gradually began, lifting his hand to run his fingers nervously through his thinning hair. "But the creature... "

He looked up slowly to face the crowd, his weary eyes revealing such hopeless despair that Jessica felt as if a heavy blow had been dealt to her stomach. His last three words were enough to tell everyone in the crowd what he meant to say, but still they all waited for him to give credence to the truth.

"... The creature has woken," Charlie finished simply, his arms falling to his sides as if they had completely lost strength. Taking a moment to gather himself, he turned his gaze over the crowd again, sensing that many in the audience expected further explanation. He grit his teeth, and took a deep breath that sounded like a sigh before continuing:

"The creature Connor defeated eighty years ago has been trapped in slumber. It is now awake and trying to escape its prison which is what those energy pulses were about. A team of men have been monitoring the creature's prison around the clock for eighty years, and until today have not detected so much as a tremor in the energy force surrounding it. Just half an hour ago the first transmission was received from the team stating that there had been a disturbance in the ice. It was sent hours ago, but not received until recently due to the pulse the creature unleashed. Another transmission was received fifteen minutes ago revealing that the creature is fully awake and has almost freed itself of the ice. All radio contact has now been lost because the consecutive pulses have knocked out all of our electrical devices. All planes are grounded as their electronics have been destroyed, and all vessels are stranded at sea with no working instruments to guide them. The only hope we have of surviving the creature's onslaught is to make our way there across the land and sea to stop it before it finally breaks free, because if it escapes before we can reach it..."

His speech halted in the middle of his sentence, though everyone in the audience knew the end to the scenario, so there was no need to elaborate.

"We only have several small jeeps and five larger transport vehicles that were shielded from the pulses at the time of the attacks that we can use to travel to the Glacier Islands, but most of our troops were injured quite badly during the third earthquake when the base was destroyed. We need volunteers to help those of us left to fight the creature, or we're all doomed."

Charlie gazed pleadingly at the crowd, his expression begging for at least one brave person to step forward. Three men and a woman volunteered immediately, and eventually more followed. Within a few minutes, thirty-six volunteers had been gathered.

"Thank you," Charlie responded gratefully. "This is a dangerous mission, and we're not sure how long these vehicles will be of use to us because if another pulse is released we'll have no way of getting to the islands other than by foot. We need to leave as quickly as possible if we have any hope of reaching the creature before it escapes."

The thirty-six people were hastily ushered into three of the transport vehicles which promptly began driving away at high speed. There were still two vehicles left behind, and about two dozen trainers including Jess who had not yet volunteered. Jessica remained quietly looking around at the destruction, thinking about Pippa, Atzu, the rest of her teammates, all the people who came here today to have fun, those people who were now suffering in the hospital…

She stared silently at the burnt remains of the Hero’s Float, expertly taped off by the authorities. The replica of Connor was destroyed, but the image of the Hero still lingered fresh in her mind. As she gazed on the smoldering remnants of the Hero’s replica, the tales of his feats and his nemesis’s cruelty echoed hauntingly through her head.

If that creature runs loose, people are going to suffer. I can’t let that happen.

There wasn’t any more time for thinking. She had to take action.

Without saying a word, Jessica turned around and stepped forward, standing beside the other volunteers.

I will do my best to protect everybody.

[enchantress]

Trying to ignore her unsettled nerves for her Pokémon's sake, Tess makes her way through the crowded streets with her teammates, being sure to hold Perry nice and close just in case. While she tries to put on a cheery front in order to ensure she doesn't worry her Pokémon, her instincts are telling her that she has every reason to be concerned. She's not sure why, she just is. If life has taught her one thing, it's to trust in her instincts. On more occasions than she cares to remember Tess has pushed her initial impressions aside, thinking herself being overly paranoid, or unnecessarily harsh, but each and every one of those times she's later found that she should have trusted in her gut instinct. Is she had, she would have saved herself a lot of trouble and heartache. Today she's not going to push her unease aside, but there's no reason she can't at least try to enjoy herself whilst keeping her eyes peeled. She's no sooner finished with this line of thought when another tremor rocks the festive city, this time powerful enough to send many people to their knees. She finds herself almost losing her own footing but her teammates move in close, allowing her to use their bodies as support. The unsettlingly familiar energy beam has once more turned the sky a beautiful, yet foreboding, shade of magenta, and Tess finds herself thinking about how some of the most beautiful things in nature are also the most deadly. When calm is restored, Tess looks down into Perry's large and fearful eyes, giving the little Pachirisu a strained smile, stroking the squirrel's fur coat, and promising Perry that she'll not allow any harm to come to her.

A short while later they arrive at the raffle booth, the now familiar voice of Charles Higginbotham announcing that the draw is about to begin. Her interest is perked by the raffle prize; the offspring of one of Connor's very own Pokémon. This surely is a magnificent prize, and though a part of her would love to raise one of these babies, there is another part of Tess that secretly hopes she's not burdened with such a responsibility. She's had such a wonderful experience raising and training her own team, investing years of effort and a lot of money into their education and training, that she's confident she'll be able to do a fair job, and although there are still a select few Pokémon she'd love to have an opportunity to raise, she doesn't feel she's ready to take on another Pokémon at this point in time, particularly when she has several young ones on her team at the moment who need her undivided attention. But still... it would be nice, and if Perry's excited bopping is anything to go by then Tess can tell the little Pachirisu loves the idea of another playmate to romp around with.

"You still have your ticket, don't you?" Tess asks, smiling.

"Pa-chi!" Perry exclaims, holding up her little arm and waving the crumpled ticket under Tess' nose.

"Fingers crossed then," Tess laughs, giggling further while watching Perry attempting to mimic the action.

They all turn their attention to the barrel containing the raffle tickets, even Tempest watching it spin with keen interest. Tess can't help but wonder what's going through the Houndoom's mind, especially considering the reputation already associated with the prized Pokémon, but her train of thought is interrupted when Charlie calls out, "Number eleven!"

A combined feeling of relief and disappointment wash over Tess as she realises they've not won, and she squeezes Perry tighter upon noting the sadness in the little squirrel's eyes. "Aww, not to worry princess," Tess consoles. "We still have plenty more time to find you lots of new playmates, and there's so much more to see today, including the Hero's Parade." Perry's mood lifts slightly at hearing this, but Tess can still see her disappointment. Staying long enough to watch the winner claim his prize, Tess remembers the first time she'd seen Jonouchi in Fizzy Bubbles. It seems a lifetime ago when in actual fact has only been a couple of years. He's grown a lot since then, and she's happy to see that such a worthy trainer has claimed such a prestigious reward. She's sure he'll raise the baby Pokémon well, and with this in mind leads her team away from the raffle booth and toward Oceanic Drive where the Hero's Parade is about to begin.

Several minutes later, with her Pokémon by her side, they all watch eagerly as a live band blasting out the irritatingly catchy tune of the well-known Pokérap signals the beginning of the Hero's Parade. Though she's forgotten most of the words, Tess finds herself joining in as the crowd begins to sing along, surprised by how quickly it all comes back to her. When the first float appears, Tess actually finds herself enjoying the moment, completely pushing away all of the bad feelings she'd been having over the past few hours as a sense of nostalgia washes over her. She'd always loved the Eevee Dance, and finds herself remembering the first time she'd heard it; so much has happened since then. Float after float passes by, some more eye catching than others, and for the next hour Tess and her Pokémon thoroughly enjoy watching the show. Finally the Hero's Float appears, but when it does Tess is overcome with a strange sense of foreboding. She's curious to see Connor's team lineup, the life sized statues cutting an impressive figure, but she can sense something out of the ordinary coming, and tenses, having no idea what it is that she's afraid of. Tempest is growling too, a low rumble vibrating in her throat, her eyes skirting through the crowd as though looking for something, Tempests actions only succeeding to heighten Tess' fear.

"That's it," she murmurs, reaching for her belt and unclipping Perry's Thunder Ball. "I'm not taking any chances."

It's then that all hell breaks loose. Tess feels it before she sees it, a violent tremor, much more shocking than the previous ones, causing the ground to rumble. Fumbling with the ball, she almost drops it before giving Perry a reassuring pat. "You'll be safe in here sweetheart," Tess says, triggering the balls release mechanism and recalling the little squirrel to safety. She quickly removes another two Pokéballs from her belt, the orange and red Fire Ball recalling Vixey, and Jaffa's starter Pokéball returning him in a flash. Clipping them back onto her belt, she's just reaching for Kayla and Tempest's balls when an energy beam comes crashing down into Oceanic Drive, blasting the Hero's Float to pieces, and unleashing a powerful shockwave of energy that radiates out into the crowd. "Crystal, UP!" Tess yells as she's thrown backward with so much force that all she catches is a brief glimpse of blue as Crystal streaks up and over the destructive path of the shockwave.

The next several seconds are nothing but a blur as it's all Tess can do to fight for her life. She can barely breathe under the mass of bodies piled on top of her, all of them struggling to find their feet as a panicked crowd tramples them back into the rumbling ground, and into her. Tempest... Kayla... where are they?" is the only question running through her mind. In that last split second before she was trampled, she saw Crystal make it to safety, but Tess has no idea where Tempest or Kayla are and she's terrified. Well and truly terrified. With her desperation to find her Pokémon foremost in her mind, adrenaline spurs her on, causing her to push at the crowd, but just as she feels some leeway giving her a chance to catch a deep breath, she feels a nauseatingly sharp pain as someone's foot shatters her right ankle; the same one she's broken three times before. "Son of a B****!" she cries, her agonised scream drowned out by the terrified cries of the crowd. Or so she thought... Tempest has recognised her voice, and a moment later is fighting her way through the crowd toward her trainer, snarling viciously at anyone in her way. Unfortunately even a crazed Houndoom isn't enough incentive to have everyone scurrying out of her path as the panicked crowd continues to trample those under their feet as they flee. Feeling another sharp pain, Tess swears she now has a broken rib to go with her shattered ankle, and is finding it excruciatingly difficult to breathe, let alone get up, when she suddenly feels everyone on top of her raise into the air. She's no idea what's going on, but a second later Tempest is at her side and helping her to her feet.

Confused, Tess looks around, scanning the crowd for any sign of Ralts when she catches sight of Crystal hovering several metres above with her tail curled protectively around Kayla. Smiling, Tess is relieved to see that Crystal must have grabbed hold of Kayla just before she took flight, and the same old feeling of love and affection for her beautiful Dragonair fills Tess' heart. Her smile falters when she notes the look of concentration on Kayla's face, and it's then Tess realises that Kayla is using her psychic energy to keep the crowd from trampling her trainer. Not just using her abilities, but completely straining herself. The little Ralts is still very young, and the energy she's exerting can't be good for her health considering the mountain of people she'd just shifted. Tess' eyes bulge a moment later when she witnesses a bright light surrounding the exhausted Ralts, before it fades to reveal Kirlia. In her newly evolved form, Kayla's energy rises, allowing her to help others in trouble while Tempest helps to lead Tess away from the path of the fleeing masses. For the next ten minutes the four of them do everything they can to help others lost and in trouble, the pain of her broken ankle pushed aside while Tess tries to aide those with worse injuries than she has herself sustained. Eventually the city is left almost deserted, leaving those left behind with nothing to do but wait for medical assistance. With her Pokémon gathered around her, Tess thanks the heavens for the fact that her own team have survived pretty much unscathed, as she doesn't know what she would have done had any of them been injured. Kayla had not only evolved while helping her trainer, but looks a lot stronger after her efforts to help other people and Pokémon who had been in harm's way; Tess will have to make sure to check on her when she has the chance to find out just how much Kayla has grown.

Aide eventually comes in the form of ambulances and army vehicles that arrive to tend to the injured, but it's the expression of hopeless disbelief on Charlie Higginbotham's face that sends Tess' heart plummeting. Wanting to delay the inevitable, she has her ankle tended to, discovering that she also has a cracked rib thanks to being trampled in the stampeding crowd. Finally making her way over to the group of trainers surrounding Charlie, Tess listens while the situation is explained. The creature Connor had defeated eighty years ago had apparently not been killed, only trapped in slumber. This makes sense, considering all she's heard about the hero of legend. Unfortunately, the creature is now awake, and judging from the way it had blown the Hero's Float to rubble from hundreds of miles away, then Tess is assuming it's pissed, and out for revenge. She wonders if it even realises that Connor is no longer alive, or how many years have passed, but at the end of the day she figures the point is moot because it's obviously angry, has almost gained it's freedom, and doesn't appear likely to be stopped very easily. The fact that military personnel are in short supply and that help is being asked of regular trainers at all demonstrates to her just how dire the situation is. She'd love nothing more than to return to her quiet little corner of the Stardust Fields and pretend this day never happened, but it's not in her nature to ignore a plea for help, and this is no different. Alone she doubts she'll stand much of a chance, but if several groups of trainers can stand up to the creature together then there may still be hope.

Limping forward with Tempest walking solemnly by her side, Tess speaks up. "We'll help in any way we can."

She only hopes this isn't a decision she'll live to regret.

[Aquatic Angel]

Kim glances at Absol while they walk through the crowded streets. How funny that a Disaster Pokemon be accompanying her on a day like today, a celebration of victory, when there is a cloud of apprehension drifting over what should be a special and festive event. He is uneasy, a fact that Kim is very uncomfortable with because it's gnawing at her own anxiety as the day moves on. If not for Gible enjoying himself so much today Kim would have left the festival by now, but she'd promised to share a fun filled day with him so she's going to honour that commitment.

Arriving at the raffle booth Kim finds a place to sit where they have a good view of the stage and places Gible on her lap, but before the draw begins she catches sight of another energy pulse exploding into the air. The sky turns magenta like it had earlier during the balloon game, and when the tremor begins she pulls Absol and Gible close to her until it subsides. Exchanging a worried look with Absol, they share an understanding that these preludes are escalating to something bigger.

Charles calls their attention to the draw, hoping to distract the worried festival goers with some positive commentary. Kim listens to him explain the prize, wondering what kind of baby Pokemon he's talking about. She's heard of the legend of Connor and his victory over the space creature, but other than his famous legendary Pokemon not much is known about the rest of his team. She's curious, for it may be possible that Connor had raised one of the same Pokemon she's hoping to find. When number eleven is drawn from the barrel, Gible holds up his ticket for Kim to see if his number has won. She shakes her head. "Sorry Gible, but you've not won today. Would you like to go and watch the parade now?"

His momentary sadness from not winning the raffle is quickly forgotten, Gible discarding his ticket and happily running away from the raffle booth to watch the beginning of the parade. He stops to wait for Kim, and smiling she points in the opposite direction. "That way" she laughs, hurrying to catch up with him on his sprint toward Oceanic Drive. They're soon watching the parade, enjoying the cute, funny, and sometimes dangerous antics of those on the floats. Entertaining as it may be, Kim is wary of the danger of another tremor taking place. In this dense crowd, the results could be very dangerous so she keeps her Pokemon's pokeballs in her hand in case she needs to use them at a moments notice.

The very last float to pass by is the Hero's Float. Kim studies the figures of the trainer and Pokemon on it, but Absol's urgent pawing at her leg distracts her. The warning expression in his eyes is all she needs to see it's no longer safe here and they need to leave immediately. Gible is so excited by the parade that he doesn't even notice Kim holding his pokeball out to recall him, and a second later he's tucked safely inside. "Sorry Gible, I'll make it up to you." Kim apologises before pushing the ball deep into her pocket. "Your turn Absol" she says, holding his ball out. Absol shakes his head, his eyes focused on something behind her. She turns around to see an energy beam arcing through the sky and heading straight toward them. She turns back to Absol ready to return him whether he likes it or not, but he's already on the move so she races to keep up.

Kim has no doubt that Absol's quick and decisive actions have played a very large part in keeping her safe. He'd led her to a place that was least affected by the shockwave released from the explosion she'd heard behind them. People are screaming all around her, some searching for friends, family members, and Pokemon lost in the crowd, but most trying to get as far away from the destruction as possible. The tremors are making it harder for people to run and they keep falling over each other as the ground shakes beneath them. When the earthquake subsides Kim braves the throng of people and Pokemon, doing what she can for the ones who have been hurt. Absol doesn't leave her side and she's grateful he'd evaded her attempt to recall him because his presence is reassuring, helping to keep her emotionally grounded.

It doesn't take long for the city to clear out, the only ones left behind being those who were injured and those who stayed to help. Army vehicles and ambulances finally arrive, probably delayed by the masses fleeing the city. Connor's friend Charles is among them, looking defeated. Kim exchanges worried glances with a few of the other trainers standing close by and then listens while Charles fills them in on the details. She stares at him with stunned disbelief, finding it difficult to understand how something this important could have been kept secret for so long, and something so dangerous not monitored with more care. Laying blame isn't the answer though, because the damage has already been done. Now is the time for action, and the only thing left to do is fight. She looks down at Absol, his expression telling her what she already knows. Her thoughts turn to her team. They're for the most part well trained and very strong. Perhaps not as strong as Connor's team, but formidable in their own right. She watches other trainers volunteer, and raises her hand. "Count me in."

[Inferno.]

Inferno and Houndour are on their way to the raffle when Inferno sees a light beam shoot into the sky. The ground starts to tremble and he thinks about the same thing that happened during the Raikou race, only this one is worse. He grabs his pokeball and calls Houndour back so she doesn't get hurt, and when it stops he lets her out again. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you Houndour. That quake was stronger than the last one so we have to be alert in case it happens again" he says. He's getting nervous but he doesn't want Houndour to know that and changes the subject. "Let's go and see if we've won a prize! The raffle is starting soon, I'll race you!" Houndour barks excitedly and they start running to the big crowd of people standing around where the raffle is going to be drawn.

A few minutes later they're listening to Charles Higginbotham talking about Connor's Pokemon and how a baby Pokemon that is the descendant of one of his team is the raffle prize. "That's mad Houndour" he says, looking down at her. "What kind of Pokemon do you think it is? I hope we win." She barks in agreement and watches the barrel spin, but when the ticket isn't their number she looks at him sadly. "It's ok" he says, a bit disappointed too. "It's probably better we didn't win because if it doesn't like fire types it might not be happy with us." Houndour nods, but she still looks sad so Inferno tries to cheer her up. "There's still the Hero's Parade and lots more stuff to do after that. Maybe we can even enter you in a contest.." Houndour barks happily and jumps up to lick Inferno's face. "I thought you'd like that" he says, laughing and wiping dog slobber off his face. "Let's go and see the parade!"

After making sure they have a good view of the parade, Inferno and Houndour wait for it to begin. They aren't waiting long when a live band playing the Pokerap starts it off. All kinds of different floats start to roll past after that and when Houndour sees the one with all of the fire types she gets really excited. Inferno has to leap in front of her when the Squirtle Squad use their Water Guns because he's afraid she'll get wet and he doesn't want her to be upset. They watch the rest of the parade until finally the Hero's Float comes along and the cheering crowd gets louder. He's straining to see all of the Pokemon on Connors team, wondering what he might have gotten if he'd won the raffle, but before he can see all of them a beam shoots in out of nowhere and blasts the float and the statues to pieces. A shockwave explodes out of it and he goes for Houndour's pokeball.

"HOUNDOUR RETURN!" he yells, but he's too late. Before he can grab the pokeball he's caught in the blast and grabs Houndour when he's hurled into the air. Holding her as tightly as he can he feels the air knocked out of him when he lands on the ground. Houndour yelps and Inferno loosens his grip. "Sorry Houndour, I didn't want us to get separated. Are you hurt?" he asks. She shakes her head but he thinks he might have accidentally hurt her and she doesn't want him to know. "Return to your ball Houndour, and after it's over I'll let you out." He doesn't wait for her to answer and grabs her pokeball, calling her back to it and trying to run as far away from the crowd as he can.

When the earthquake is over and nearly everyone has left the city Inferno looks around at all of the destruction. "How did this happen?" he asks himself while he looks at all of the people and Pokemon who have been hurt. He and Houndour were lucky. He told her he'd let her out after it was over but he's scared the aftershocks won't be safe for her. She's better off in her pokeball. When trucks start arriving Inferno is surprised to see army vehicles driving in with the ambulances and walks over to see what it's all about. He takes Houndour over to an ambulance and asks the medic to check her over while he listens to Charles Higginbotham talking. He can't believe what he's hearing. What kind of hero lets a dangerous creature like that live? He should have killed it when he had a chance, or maybe he's not the hero everyone thinks he was and he couldn't kill it and that's why it's still alive. If he'd done the right thing eighty years ago all these people wouldn't be suffering now.

After he finds out Houndour is ok, only a little bit bruised, he's going to put her back into her ball when she barks a warning at him. "What's the matter?" he asks, not understanding why she doesn't want to rest. When he sees her looking at Charles and the army trucks Inferno realises she must have heard everything. "You want to fight?" Inferno asks, shocked. "But you don't even like fighting." She barks again angrily, and Inferno suddenly understands that she's not afraid of fighting, she just thinks contests are more fun. He smiles, happy to know how she really feels. "Ok" he says. "But you have to stay close to me and the rest of the team. You might want to fight but you don't have a lot of experience yet so I don't want you to get hurt. You can learn from Charizard and the others, and pay special attention to Arcanine because she can teach you a lot. Do we have a deal?" Houndour barks happily in response. "Good" he replies, and walks up to join the people who have volunteered. "Because this is going to be the biggest battle of our lives."

[Arnold]

As he Glalie and Emmy take a little trip to the nearby food stalls he smiles a big hungry smile, the food out on display making him salivate at the sight, "Bloody hell, not seen this much food since..well I haven't seen this much food ever and I do damned well approve," as he finishes one great big "CHIK" emerges from Emmy in agreement, by looking at her she seems less scared now, maybe food does bring happiness he thought, "right, lets get this show under way, one of everything I assume guys?" With that he and his two Pokemon hop on to the vendors and pick out the yummy, scrummy food out on display, as they finish up and sit down to eat he looks on at the carnival, all the people happy and frolicking about, when he notices the main stage, an old man appearing on it, as he starts greeting everyone and announcing the winners of the raffle, just then as he starts to rip the flesh off of a chicken leg he sees a guy appear on the stage as charles Higginsbotom as theo ld man is named hands him a golden Pokeball, "Looks mighty cool that Pokeball, wonder what he's going to get in it when he picks up that special Pokemon, one can wonder hey guys?"

Looking at his Pokemon as they eat Emmy lays waste to a bowl of Chilli and Glalie has gone for the banna spilt sundae mocha whipped choclate and strawberry ice cream with hundreds and thousands on it, smiling he does approve of her choice of ice cream, they both look on at the stage too when all of a sudden some upbeat fast music starts playing throughout the town, "the hell is this playing...can't...stop...tapping...feet...so....da mned...catchy BAH," taping his feet to the beat he looks around as other people are doing the same thing, "by GOD what is this evil, bet it's some murderous henchmen who are planning to steal our Pokemon while we tap to this hypnotic tune, damn them, DAMN THEM ALL." With that he looks on at the road..a float with a number of different Eeveelutions are garbed across it dancing to the same beat, "POP music..I should have known, the ultimate evil, damn it to hell," shaking his fist at the Eevee float he looks on as he picks Emmy up and Glalie follows behind them to see whats going on. More floats follow suit with wacky music and dancing and costumes, the princess float grabs Emmys attention as she looks on with sparkles in her eyes at all the pink and princessy things, "We'll get you a Princess crown souvenir after all this is done ok Emmy?" With a very happy nod she nuzzles up and carrys on watching. As all the floats roll past the one that catches his eye is the heroes float, statues of the Hero and all of his Pokemon stand around the float in all directions, their appearance seemingly real as they stand in a waving postion, but admiring the pokemon themselves he looks at how powerful they all are and even one or two legendaries are sitting there, "damn, he must have been a good trainer to grab those Pokemon, i'm jealous."

As the parade continues on, he notices a strange man running frantacily towards the people on the stage, not giving it any thought he carries on watching the parade while Emmy bops up and down in his arms and Glalile mesmerised at each float, when all of a sudden a strange feeling emits through his body and Emmy starts shaking uncontrollably in his arms, "Emmy what's wrong? I think something....." getting cut off in mid sentence a terrifying scream ripples through the air as the skies change colour and a bolt of huge energy slices through the air, a few seconds later another one appears but this time it changes course and beams down to the ground and straight into the heroes float, the ground exploding in power as the people around the float run for their lives he stands their in awe at the destruction one bolt of energy has caused, as the people run towards him, knocking him about a bit he fumbles in his pockets, grabbing a Grass ball and a snow ball, "guys I think this is getting to be one dangerous day out, not what I had in mind but you know..can't help these things can we when evil decides to show up, first pop music, now bolts of energy, don't want to know what's next." With that he returns Emmy he whimpers as he returns her, "Glalie, I'll probably need you at some point so stay alert ok?" returning Glaglie to her ball, pops the two back and grabs one more from his Pocket, "at a time like this, we're gonig to need equally good power, Nidoking, lets roll," Throwing the ball into the air a huge Roar emerges from the beam of red light as his Nidoking starts to survey the area, "Ok Nidoking, a huge bolt of energy has smashed the ground, same bad **** is happening that's the short version, need you out just in case some bad **** happens," turning around he sees charles looking on from the stage, he starts talking about this monster and how he will need a team of people to help defeat him once and for all.

"The monster from legend has woken up? Oh bloody fantastic, looks like it's gonig to be another great day, alright sir, I'm Arnie and i'll be happy to help, I have a damned find team of Pokemon at my disposal and we're all ready to kick arse and chew some bubblegum, and guess what we're all out of?"

[Arc_Angel]

It wasn’t long after the destruction that the hysteria had died down leaving a smattering of young and injured trainers listening to the impassionate words of Charles Higginbotham, pleading with them for their help. 3 Full convoys had already set off on a potentially deadly mission to stop the creature prying its way out of its prison under the ice leaving 2 smaller jeeps behind. The engines remained on, ticking over with the odd puff of smoke leaving the exhaust, as the militia busied themselves prepping for their own journey. Charles seemed relieved to have received such a great response to his plea but every person counted here and he fixed those remaining with a hopeful look.

It doesn’t take long for one brave and determined trainer to step forward offering his help. Shortly after, another agrees and both walk over to the waiting jeeps. One by one trainers begin to volunteer for the proposed mission, some more hesitant than others but willing to aid however possible. A flicker of guilt flashes across Charles face at asking such a monumentous and dangerous task of the gathered trainers but manages a small smile, moved by their courage and heart. Soon Charles had all the willing volunteers he was going to receive; the rest having left in ambulances too injured to help or had refused not wanting to risk their lives or the lives of their Pokemon. There were enough to fill one of the remaining jeeps and Charles silently hoped it would be enough.

Assembling by the assigned convoy the remaining medics, a couple of army trained nurses rushed over to the gathered group assessing any injuries and treating those that needed it. One young woman nursing major injuries including a fractured ankle was advised against going on the mission for her own safety, the advice reaching deaf ears. The door of the jeep opened up to reveal a hardened looking Captain who walked along with a faint air of arrogance and importance surveying his new troops. He approaches the medic and berates her and orders her to get the ‘recruits’ patched up as best she could, informing her that they needed all the people they could get. He walked over to Charles and the two converse briefly before he turned and marched up to the gathered trainers.

“Now listen here. Let me start by saying that I am Captain Ruben Frost and I will be leading this convoy. We are very thankful you have volunteered to assist on this mission, I will admit a bunch of young trainers was not what we had hoped for to tackle this creature but a wise Captain would know when to take help when he needed it. Despite what Mr. Higginbotham may have told you, you need to understand that this mission is of the utmost importance but the chances of success are low. It will be extremely dangerous and we may not make it out of there alive. Do you still wish to proceed?” he asks the trainers, his words harsh trying to weed out the foolhardy and those with doubts. The trainers look amongst themselves but all stick to their decision and stay put, willing to take the risk.

Captain Frost smiled, “Good. I don’t want anyone who doesn’t understand what they’re getting into. You can’t quit halfway through this mission, we will see it through to the end. I also don’t need any wannabe hero’s on this mission; it’ll only get you killed quicker. Now we all must work as a team to achieve our goal which is to seal the creature back into its prison under the ice. The mission brief will be explained in more detail on the way. We will be taking this jeep south west out of Seaside City and into the Sunny Drylands. It’ll be a long drive through the desert towards the Ocean. Once we reach the ocean we will abandon the jeep and using a motorised raft will traverse the Ocean heading back up north towards our destination Magnetic Island. If another pulse hits anywhere near our convoy we may have to abandon it early and make our way across the desert on foot. Do you understand?” he asks waiting for a response. All trainers gave an answer of sorts and Captain Frost ushered them into the back of the Jeep, help given to those that needed it. A light canvas had been tied over the metal framework of the jeep providing protection from the harsh sun that always shone in the Drylands. Captain Frost turned to Charles approaching the old man.

“Good Luck Captain, the whole world is depending on you.” The Captain saluted and marched over to the jeep climbing in the front. Sitting on the provided seats you held on as the jeep reversed before carefully makings it way through the streets, the sight of Charles waving at you as you passed around a corner. The driver was careful not to damage his vehicle as he manoeuvred it through the debris. It was horrifying to see, the buildings had been damaged by the earthquakes some having totally collapsed, there were cracks in the road, traffic signs and lights broken and littering the streets. There were also the bodies of those unfortunately caught by falling debris, having not made it out in time. With the final disturbing image set in place of a broken and dead city the jeep made it out and drove along the road headed towards the Sunny Drylands.

It was a short drive that brought the convoy to the Sunny Drylands, Bowl Valley specifically. Trainers hung onto their seats as the drive began to get rather bumpy from the change of ground. The canvas flapped in the wind and protected those inside from the sunlight though it still felt hot and humid within. Looking out the view had drastically changed. The ground was dusty and arid, dry soil smattered with cacti and bushes, the sky was its normal blue colour with the odd fluffy white cloud. Surrounding Bowl Valley were large hills which spread into mountains further south and no longer could one see the road that led here. Some trainers conversed lightly amongst themselves discussing the mission and others trying to take their mind off it hoping to make the journey shorter.

An hour later, most the trainers running short on new conversation topics, the jeep falls silent the daunting mission in everyone’s minds. Captain Frost curses and the driver pulls the jeep to a stop a door opening and the stomp of feet hitting the ground sounding. Several trainers get out themselves to see what’s caused the premature stop and gasp. Wrapped around a large jutting rock was part of an army vehicle, it looks scarily like one of the convoys that had left earlier. Smoke rose from the engine that was bent up a few sparks flying into the air. The top looked like it had been literally ripped off and the driver was still in his seat … well his legs were. Holding back the feeling of rising nausea at the severed body you begin to truly notice how horrific this scene is. There were a couple more bodies within some with missing limbs and decapitated. Captain Frost walks further up finding the remaining littered corpses of the convoy strewn in a haphazard pattern on the ground. He takes off his cap and walks up to a body of a woman wearing army fatigues. He bends down sighing in regret and whispers some words to her before pulling off her dog tags and putting them in his pocket.

“We need to move on,” he announces holding back the quiver in his voice at seeing his comrade and their convoy literally destroyed. “We can’t wait around for whatever did this to them to come back for us,” he said logically. “We’re down one convoy for the mission, let us not meet the same fate and destroy all chance of sealing the beast,” he says hurrying back into the jeep the trainers who had stepped out to survey the scene following suit. The jeep sped on its tyres and roared forward wanting the leave the heart wrenching sight far behind.

Just as the trainers had started to quietly discuss what they had seen the jeep suddenly swerves to the left and you hang on for dear life, some trainers falling out of their seats from the sudden movement. The jeep rights itself and the trainers pick themselves up cursing the driver for the un-warned manoeuvre before it swerves the right causing even more chaos as more trainers fall about. One more swerve later the jeep nearly turns on its side this time causing a few panicked screams; it finally comes to a halt falling back to its tyres. Shaken the trainers try to calm their nerves and racing hearts only to hear another curse from the front of the jeep followed by a high pitched screech. Some trainers leapt out of the jeep not wanting to be in the dangerous vehicle any more and feel a shadow loom over them. Looking up, the remaining trainers peering out through the gaps in the canvas, they see a large creature, the light shining off its snake-like body. It bowed forward revealing an angry looking Steelix. It reared back and screeched again causing the trainers to cover their ears as the sound painfully rang in their heads. A roar followed and the ground shook as a large rock beast emerged looking irate and twitchy. The Rhyhorn growled at the trainers baring its teeth and spinning its horn looking ready to stampede. Thinking that things couldn’t get any worse a louder roar echoed another Pokemon approached from behind; the Tyranitar hissing and clenching its fists. Surrounded by furious yet nervous Pokemon Captain Frost opened the door to the jeep and yelled to the trainers.

“We nearly hit that Steelix, it dove right at us!” he sounding a little worried himself. The Captain looked up to notice blood on the fangs of Steelix along with a piece of uniform adhered to his jaw and glared “I think these Pokemon were the ones that attacked the last convoy,” he hissed out angrily. “We need to continue on but these beasts are not going to let us pass, we’ve seen the evidence. We have a new order: take these Pokemon out and fast. The driver will stow the jeep somewhere safe. Return we you see this signal flare” he told the driver who nodded nervously, wanting to move already. Everyone leapt out to the jeep and just as the last set of feet touched the ground the jeep sped off the Steelix lunging for it and only just missing, ripping the canvas off in its attack. It drove off into the distance and out of sight. The Pokemon all turned to face the convoy of trainers looking ready to kill all of them moving in close to surround them. They were distressed and full of anger ready to strike. Captain Frost pulled a Pokeball from his belt and enlarged it throwing to release his own creature, A Machamp that pounded its fists together ready to defend his Captain. “You’ll pay for their lives,” he whispered.

Time is of the essence, every minute that passes the ancient creature is breaking free of its prison and its chances of being resealing growing slimmer, and if it broke free … Your orders were clear, these Pokemon need to be taken out before they do the same to you.

[Missingno. Master]

The sight of the menacing Pokémon rather unnerved Missingno. Master, to say the least. However, he was determined to not let it show. He knew that these Pokemon were fierce, and that everyone needed all the help they could get. He therefore picked a Poké Ball off his belt and threw it up in the air. "Arbok, GO!" he shouted. In a flash of light, Missingno. Master's Arbok appeared. She looked at her master, expecting orders.

"OK, long story short, we need to help take down these extremely vicious and powerful Pokemon. We'll concentrate on the Rhyhorn and, OK?" Arbok nodded, then turned to face her opponent.

"Arbok, Glare now! Then use your BubbleBeam attack!" Arbok hissed her acknowelegement of these orders, then began her Glare attack. Missingno. Master looked on, fingers crossed, hoping this would work. At that moment, there was another flash of light, and Missingno. Master's Poochyena began licking his master's face. "No, Poochyena! Down, boy! Return!" spluttered Missingno. Master, holding out the eager pup's Pokeball. Poochyena was returned, and Missingno. Master resumed watching Arbok.

[Inferno.]

Inferno listens to Captain Frost give his speech explaining how dangerous it will be to fight the monster but he already knows it's going to be a hard battle. They're lucky they have a lot of trainers helping because if everyone has about six Pokemon they might have a good chance of winning. He's more worried they might not make it to the Glacier Islands fast enough and it will escape before they get there and he wonders why he can't fly over on Charizard to get there sooner, but then he thinks about how far away it is and how Charizard will need all of his energy for the fight. It won't be good for him to be tired before the battle even starts so maybe it's better to travel with the convoys. It might be safer too because if he gets to the monster before everyone else and it escapes he won't be able to beat it alone. He gets into one of the last two trucks with the other trainers and Houndour sits on his lap looking out the window. She's too excited to go back to her Pokeball and Inferno doesn't see anything wrong with her staying out with him. It's safe in the truck. The danger will come when they get to the Glacier Islands.

They watch the scenery for an hour but Inferno doesn't join in the talk with the other trainers. Everyone is scared, and he is too, but he doesn't want Houndour to know how much he's afraid of what's coming. He's battled Legendary Pokemon before but this is scarier because he doesn't know what he's going to be fighting. If he knew he could make sure his team is more prepared. An hour later they drive past a wrecked truck and he almost stops breathing when he sees it's one of the convoys of trainers that left before them. There were about twelve people on that truck, maybe more he doesn't know, and they're all dead. If it was the space creature and it's already escaped they're in big trouble, but it can't have been because if it was their truck would have been attacked by now too. Captain Frost stops to have a look then comes back quickly saying they have to move on so they don't meet the same fate as the first convoy. Inferno agrees.

Before they get far the truck swerves and Inferno holds on to Houndour so she doesn't fall to the floor. Then they hear roaring from outside and see three big Pokemon. A Steelix, a Rhyhorn, and a Tyranitar. They're probably what attacked the other truck so Inferno moves as fast as he can. The other truck had its roof ripped off and most of the trainers were probably killed because they couldn't get out quickly enough so he's not going to sit around and wait for them to rip his head off too. "Come on Houndour!" he yells, getting up and jumping out. "We're safer fighting out there than we are sitting in here!" Inferno wants to use Magcargo for this fight but Houndour is already running straight at Steelix. He's worried she's not strong enough to fight it but he knows it's not fair to stop her. He'll let her try but he's going to be ready to call her back if she's in danger. "Use Fire Spin Houndour, but don't get too close to it!" he yells. "Only attack Steelix and let the other trainers fight Rhyhorn and Tyranitar! When it's caught in the Fire Spin use Overheat to toast it!"

[*DANI*]

"This isn't a dream." Dani thinks to herself. "This is a nightmare." She's looking at the bodies around the city while the truck she and the other trainers are in drives through the streets. Fallen buildings are littering the road, people and Pokemon are lying in the streets, and she's finding it hard to believe she's still alive. So many lives have been destroyed and now they're on their way to fight the monster who did it. She doesn't want it to be real, but it is. She's glad her Pokemon aren't seeing this or they'll be even more scared than they are now. Thinking about what Captain Frost said about how they may not make it out alive Dani wonders again why she's here. She'd never wanted to raise a team full of huge monster Pokemon that are taught to battle to win, she's always raised her favourite Pokemon. Eevee's, Ponyta, and cute Pokemon. They're a team she's trained well but not for serious battles. This is something else and she doesn't know if she's ready.

For the next hour she worries about what will happen when they reach the Glacier Islands. She keeps telling herself to sleep while they're travelling so she's not worn out when they get there but she's too wound up to rest. She goes over battle strategies in her mind but she doesn't know what type of creature they're going to battle so she can make the right decisions for her team. She closes her eyes to try to rest, but just when she's feeling herself relax the truck swerves wildly and she nearly falls off her seat. When it stops she sees severed bodies of the people that were in one of the convoys that left before them and is nearly sick. Captain Frost tries to get them away as quickly as possible so they're not attacked as well but the truck swerves again a few minutes later, almost flipping over before skidding to a stop. Loud roars from outside make her heart jump and she joins everyone else rushing out of the truck to fight the Pokemon in their way. There's a Steelix, Tyranitar, and Rhyhorn, but Captain Frost has a Machamp that looks strong as well.

Two other trainers are already attacking and she glares at Inferno, wanting to slap him for not using one of his precious monsters he's so proud of instead of his Houndour who is less experienced. She'd never admit it to him, but she's sure his team can beat these Pokemon by themselves. She hopes his Houndour will be ok but she needs to take care of her own Pokemon. She needs an experienced Pokemon to battle these three and even though she's sure most of her team can handle it she thinks Meganium is the best one to use against their main types. Steelix might be a problem but she can concentrate on one of the other two. Missingno. Master is attacking Rhyhorn and Inferno is attacking Steelix, so she releases Meganium and points at Tyranitar. "Safeguard yourself against attacks Meganium, attack Tyranitar with Leaf Storm, then use Mega Drain to suck away its health!"

[Shadowshocker]

Considering his limited experience, it wouldn't be wrong to say Shadow wasn't overwhelmed by the rescue squad's newest obstacle. Depraved howls echoed all around, clashing against the medley of shouting from the team of humans. Diamondhead and Zapster stand beside their trainer, their attention divided between concern for their leader and the ominous opposition.

Meanwhile, Shadow attempts a quick analysis of the situation and resolution. The group was faced with a trio of feral mineral Pokémon, two of which were of considerable strength and size. Orders bark down the chains of command to make a concerted effort to take down the enemy as soon as possible. Running through the current state of his team, the scientist hurries a judgement to the best advantage he could provide the other volunteers with.

"Zapster, Diamondhead, I need you to fall back from this one," he says curtly, and from the tone of his voice neither Electivire nor Aggron makes an argument, only giving out gruff growls of assent before Shadow retreats them to their containment orbs. "Mango, BATTLE STATIONS!"

"Sire!" With her typical playful bound, Mango appears from her Love Ball, but a look at her surroundings immediately alerts her that she wasn't brought out for playtime, and at once she puts on her most serious face. As Shadow makes another brief assessment for tactics, he spots Mango looking towards a trainer and her Meganium -- the very same trainer whom he had received Mango from. "Alright," he thinks, "so it's decided."

"Mango, go help out Meganium! Fire Mud Bomb to the Tyranitar's eyes, then when you spy an opening, go Rock Smash the diamond on its stomach!"

[Rabid Squirrel]

Kami returned her Bayleef and Castform before getting onto one of the jeeps. She stared in silent horror as she saw the carcasses of innocent people that had been crushed underneath falling rubble. The young girl had to swallow to keep already digested food from sliding up her throat. She had never seen a dead body save for ones in caskets, but these were just littered on the ground. She almost regretted her decision to come along on this adventure, but she realized that more of the innocent would die unless this creature was forever slain. Kami sat back in silence for the whole ride, as she didn’t really know any of the people around her.

The jeep carried on for a while until they came to a destroyed convoy half of bloody bodies covered the ground. Kami nearly fainted. The jeep suddenly swerved a couple times sending Kami into the person next to her. The jeep stopped as a Steelix, a Tyranitar, and a Rhyhorn surrounded it. Captain Frost told the trainers that needed to stop this violent Pokémon who had apparently devoured the people in the convoy. Kami surveyed the scene to decide which hostile she should try to attack. A man was attacking the Rhyhorn with his Arbok, so Kami decided to help him out.

“Deidoki, let’s help take down this Rhyhorn!” She cried out as she released her Swinub. The little fluffball started bouncing around as he was released. “No, Deidoki! You need to calm down!” Kami told him, “Alright, start with a powerful BubbleBeam then follow with Rock Smash!”

[lilbluecorsola]

Jessica watched restlessly as a number of trained nurses arrived to treat the injuries of the group, her mind fully aware that the more time they spent sitting around the less chance they would have of victory against the monster, which she fearfully imagined slowly freeing itself with each passing second. She bit her lip and forced herself to remain silent during the examination, as she realized that the safety of the volunteers was just as important, for each healthy individual counted a great deal towards their probability of success.

Jessica listened inattentively as a nurse advised one of the volunteers to stay behind, as the young woman was suffering from serious injuries including a fractured ankle. Jess watched as Tess obstinately refused to budge, her inflexible determination to help others strengthening Jess’s own resolve. Jessica had always admired Tess’s kindness and strength, and the woman’s stubborn ability to persevere despite any sort of obstacle in her way. That powerful, enduring quality never ceased to inspire the young girl to strive to do her best as well, no matter the difficulty of the situation.

At that moment, the door of one of the jeeps abruptly swung open to reveal a hardened-looking Captain, whose heavy army boots crunched abrasively as they hit the ground, immediately denoting his military authority to those present without any words. He strode commandingly before the nervous rows of young trainers gathered with a slightly haughty manner of importance, grimly assessing the state of his new troops. He approached the medic and ordered her to get the ‘recruits’ patched up as best she could, informing her that they would need all the people they could get. He then walked over to Charles and the two held a brief conversation in private before the Captain turned again and marched up to the gathered trainers, his face completely stern as he addressed the company in a grave tone.

“Now listen here. Let me start by saying that I am Captain Ruben Frost and I will be leading this convoy. We are very thankful you have volunteered to assist on this mission. I will admit a bunch of young trainers was not what we had hoped for to tackle this creature, but a wise Captain would know when to take help when he needed it. Despite what Mr. Higginbotham may have told you, you need to understand that this mission is of the utmost importance but the chances of success are low. It will be extremely dangerous and we may not make it out of there alive. Do you still wish to proceed?”

As the trainers glanced apprehensively amongst themselves in reaction to those severe words, the Captain’s eyes scanned the crowd for those who possessed any doubts about the mission. In the end, no one moved or spoke - each trainer was willing to boldly follow through with his or her decision to help, in spite of the apparent danger of losing their lives.

Captain Frost nodded approvingly at the group’s response. “Good. I don’t want anyone who doesn’t understand what they’re getting into. You can’t quit halfway through this mission. We will see it through to the end. I also don’t need any wannabe heroes on this mission; it’ll only get you killed quicker.”

(Jessica flinched a bit at the term “wannabe hero”; however she realized this was not the time to consider her subconscious objectives. People needed her help. If she didn’t act at all due to self-doubt, then things could turn out even worse. Regardless of what her intentions may be, now was certainly not the time to dwell on them.)

Captain Frost continued on with his speech, hurriedly explaining the process for getting to their destination. They would take a jeep across the desert until they reached the sea, where they would switch to a motorized raft which would transport them north to Magnetic Island. Should another pulse strike anywhere near the convoy, they might have to abandon it early and make their way across the Drylands on foot. All the trainers nodded in understanding, and were quickly ushered into the back of one of the Jeeps. Assistance was provided for those who were injured. The gathered underneath a light, makeshift canvas which covered the metal framework of the jeep, offering protection against the harsh sun that always shone in the Drylands.

Once everyone was settled inside the vehicle, Captain Frost turned to Charles Higginbotham, who nodded solemnly at him. “Good luck, Captain. The whole world is depending on you.” The Captain saluted and marched over to the jeep, climbing into the front next to the driver. Everyone grabbed on as the jeep started up suddenly and began to reverse, before rapidly shifting gear and advancing carefully through the streets to the southwest. The trainers looked out the back at the sight of Charles standing alongside the ruined Hero’s Float, waving silently at them until they passed around a corner.

The driver took care not to damage his vehicle as he maneuvered it sensitively through the debris. It was a horrifying sight for the young trainers to behold: Some of the buildings had collapsed due to the earthquakes, faults and cracks lined the pavement, traffic signs and lights were completely smashed and broken glass littered the streets. Every now and then the entire group witnessed the unfortunate bodies of those buried underneath the rubble, who had been unable to make it out to safety in time. As they finally left the city and headed along the road towards the Sunny Drylands, the final image of a destroyed city remained a ghostly image in everyone’s minds, as real and indescribable as if it were a distant mirage.

A short while later the convoy rapidly approached the Drylands border, which brusquely emptied the party into Bowl Valley. Everyone hung onto their seats as the ride became rather uneven due to the sudden change of terrain. The canvas flapped in the wind and performed its job of sheltering those inside from the glaring sunlight and dust whipped up by the grinding wheels, though the extreme heat and humidity still caused a fair amount of discomfort for the group. Gazing out the back, Jess noticed that the view had drastically changed. The ground was now dusty and arid, composed of dry, brown soil smattered with green cacti and brushes. The bowl-shaped sky had returned to its normal, clear painted blue color, dabbed lightly with a fluffy white cloud here and there. Large, rolling hills surrounded the Valley, forming the supposed rim of the basin which expanded into lofty mountains further south, where the utterly barren desert stretched broadly towards the horizon. The visibly traceable road which led them here had completely vanished, and from now on the passengers could only trust that the driver knew how to navigate his way across the rough, seemingly endless sands.

As the vehicle rumbled gloomily over the jagged earth at top speed, some trainers began to converse lightly amongst themselves in an effort to make the tense journey go by faster. Jessica vaguely listened in as a few restless persons tried to constructively discuss the mission, or otherwise attempt to bring up some random topic to help take everyone’s minds away from the overwhelmingly daunting task which lay ahead. She remained quiet throughout the entire ride, watching the monotonous scenery and two sets of parallel tire tracks recede continually into the distance, vanishing into the hills encircling the north end of the valley.

After an hour had passed without much noticeable change in the landscape, the awkward dialogue had mostly died and everyone in the car had fallen uneasily into silence, the dreadful enormity of their upcoming assignment weighing heavily on all their minds. Jessica observed one girl who had closed her eyes to try to get some rest, which sounded like a good idea to rejuvenate before facing what would undoubtedly be a most demanding trial. Jessica considered trying to sleep as well, but found herself unable to for the number of insistent fears and concerns circling unremittingly through her mind.

As she attempted to lay her head down, it was instantly jerked back up when she felt the driver abruptly slam on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a stop in the middle of the desert. She could hear Captain Frost cursing and getting out, the sound of his footsteps highly urgent. Curious, she followed the other trainers as they exited the vehicle as well to investigate. As soon as she witnessed the scene, she gasped. Wrapped prominently around the center of a huge rock jutting from the soil were the damaged remains of one of the convoys that had left earlier, smoke rising from the twisted engine which occasionally still discharged sparks into the air. The hood looked as if it had been completely ripped off and the driver… Jessica closed her eyes and instinctively turned away from the severed pair of legs still sitting on the driver’s seat, a terrible sense of nausea rising into her throat. Other bodies were draped about the wreckage and on the ground, some of them missing limbs or even heads. All of them had to be dead.

Captain Frost walked grimly further up, finding the remaining corpses strewn morbidly in a jumbled pattern on the ground. He removed his cap and gently approached the body of a woman wearing army fatigues, bending down respectfully by her head. Sighing deeply in apology, he whispered some words to her before pulling off her dog tags and putting them carefully in his pocket. Slowly rising, he turned to face the group.

“We need to move on,” he announced, forcefully suppressing the quiver in his voice. “We can’t wait around for whatever did this to them to come back for us. We’re down one convoy for the mission, let us not meet the same fate and destroy all chance of sealing the beast,” he concluded sensibly, hastily ordering all the trainers back into the jeep. The jeep sped on its tires and quickly roared away, within seconds having left the painful sight of the wreckage far behind in the desert.

No one spoke for a few minutes. Eventually some people began to anxiously discuss what happened, wondering what might’ve been capable of causing such destruction and if they might soon encounter the same fate as well. Jessica cast her eyes down and said nothing. Her hands felt numb, and they were cold despite the heat. She’d seen so much death before her eyes today for the very first time in her life. What could she have done? How could she stop this from happening?

Before she could answer herself, the jeep swerved suddenly, causing many trainers including Jessica to fall from their seats, while others barely managed to grab on in time. The vehicle righted itself quickly and everyone who fell picked themselves up off the floor, cursing at the driver for the lack of forewarning. Before they could even try to stand the jeep abruptly swerved again, knocking the unbalanced trainers into each other. It then veered sharply to the left without pausing to correct itself, this time producing several loud screams of panic as the jeep nearly flipped onto its side.

A moment later the crazed vehicle finally came to a halt and everyone slowly got up, their hearts still racing rapidly due to fear. Jessica heard yet another curse from the front followed by a thunderous, horrible-sounding shriek that sent threatening shivers down her spine. Several trainers utilized the opportunity to jump out the back of the jeep, no longer wishing to stay put within the seemingly dangerous vehicle. Jessica considered joining them, but the terrorizing sound she heard from outside had chilled her body to the point where her legs were completely frozen stiff. She couldn’t move at all.

A shadow then fell over the entire group, obscuring the tears in the canvas that filtered in trace amounts of light. Jessica looked up to see a metallic twisting body, gleaming with brawn in the sun as it arched toweringly over them. The body bowed forward to reveal the head of an angry-looking Steelix, glaring down at the trainers through the holes in the tarp with a livid petrifying stare. It abruptly reared back and screeched piercingly again, causing everybody to cover their ears as the shrill sound rang painfully through their skulls. A low roar responded as the ground shook and a Rhyhorn emerged suddenly from an underground tunnel, followed by a Tyranitar who irritably approached the jeep from behind, hissing and clenching its fists in anger.

Captain Frost immediately swung open the door to the jeep and yelled out to the trainers, “We nearly hit that Steelix, it dove right at us!” As he gazed up at the iron snake, he noticed blood on the Pokémon’s fangs along with a piece of uniform still attached to its lower jaw. The captain’s eyes narrowed accusingly. “I think these Pokémon were the ones that attacked the last convoy,” he hissed in a terribly dark tone. “We need to continue on but these beasts are not going to let us pass, we’ve seen the evidence. We have a new order: Take these Pokémon out and fast. The driver will stow the jeep somewhere safe. Return when you see this signal flare,” he informed the driver who nodded quickly, anxious to get away.

Jessica hurriedly snapped back into reality and followed the others as they all leapt hastily out the back of the vehicle, and as soon as the final pair of feet touched the ground the jeep zoomed away at maximum speed, with Steelix lunging hungrily after it. Its attack just missed the metal framework of the vehicle, ripping the canvas off it instead. Without slowing down the jeep continued to drive off into the distance and out of sight. The Pokémon then all turned to face the band of trainers left behind looking prepared to murder the humans where they stood. They moved in closer to surround their prey, angrily set to strike. Captain Frost swiftly pulled a Pokéball from his belt and threw it to release his own creature, a Machamp who pounded its fists together readily. “You’ll pay for their lives,” he whispered, his eyes burning with rage.

Other trainers followed his example, releasing their partners onto the scene and assigning orders to effectively deal with their opponents. Jessica rapidly scanned her foes; her eyes settled on Steelix and the trail of blood dripping freshly from its jaws. Judging by its history, it was most likely the strongest and most aggressive of the lot, thereby making it the most dangerous. It needed to be defeated as quickly as possible. Her hand flew to her side and instantly seized the sphere that she knew belonged to her only Pokémon who was capable of facing such a creature: Rocky.

She threw the ball and her Rhydon appeared before her in a flash of light, who after taking in the situation immediately turned to his trainer to hear her orders. Jessica noticed that a Houndour was already sprinting towards the Steelix, and her trainer was loudly instructing her to use Fire attacks against Steel. Gazing at the blood on the iron snake’s jaws, Jess shuddered, realizing that these beasts would likely show their opponents no mercy. She frowned decisively and met her Rhydon’s calm, determined eyes, nodding resolutely.

“Rocky, I need you to help battle Steelix. Use HARDEN quickly followed by SWORDS DANCE to boost your strength. Wait for Houndour to finish attacking, then charge in and use ROCK SMASH. Be very careful, Steelix is extremely powerful. Don’t let your guard down against it. Also, try to help defend any teammates within range if necessary.”

We've lost enough lives today, she thought to herself sadly. From now on, she promised, she would ensure that no one else died, no matter what the cost of protection might be for her. She refused to stand by and watch any more suffering go by without at least doing something to prevent it.

[ZoraJolteon]

'You?' Zora projected the thought to the front of his mind as the other trainers around him scrambled into battle.
{If you want me too.} Slowqueen's voice trickled into his head, a telepathic whisper {But I think she'd like a turn.} Following Slowqueen's line of sight, Zora looked at his Vulpix. Really she wasn't that small, but with the more diminutive members of the team left behind in the PC and the beasts towering above them outside, she looked tinier than ever.
'You think she's up to it?' Zora asked, observing the Fox snarling at the Steelix, tiny particles of flame jumping out from between her teeth. 'Two Rocks and a Ground.'
{Now is her time.} came the simple response, as Zora noticed Slowqueen hesitating for a second. {I don't want to sound selfish, but I really should be preserving my strength for later challenges.} Reflecting on this comment momenterily, what struck Zora the most was the complete lack of any of Slowqueen's usual jabs at his own egotism. It was somewhat of a cruel motive, but it was the right choice to make. Besides, they didn't have to fight alone, and there were more than a few tricks he now had avaliable to put into employment should things go bad. And speaking of tricks, there was one he could pull out right now...
"Vulpix, Safeguard!" he suddenly called out to her, her ears pricking up alongside the corners of her mouth, her smile at finally being given some battling commands a twisted mix of cheer and sinister.
'There's still one thing you can do for her.'
{Hit her with Swagger} was Slowqueen's brief response, perfectly predicting of Zora's choice of strategy.
"OK Gal," Zora continued, leaning down to Vulpix's face. "Once you've got your power boost, lets let Steelix have. FLARE BLITZ!" he roared out, jabbing his arm out in the direction of the enemy, muscles clenced down to provide a suitable launchpad for the Pokémon.

[Arc_Angel]

Stacey leant against the remaining jeep holding her wrist gently to her chest as she surveyed the rest of the trainers make their decisions. Some were quick to offer their help their Pokemon just as keen whilst others like her were more hesitant. Some trainers though had seen the fatal risk involved with this mission and had refused their help; something Stacey almost considered herself. With all those brave (or foolish) enough to offer their help having made themselves known a pair of medics rushed over to check them over. Stacey allowed one nurse to assess her wrist and observed her fellow trainers in this mission as she strapped it up and placed it in a sling. There were boys and girls of all ages with a variety of Pokemon, she only hoped it would be enough to cope with what they were going to face. Stacey thanked the nurse for her care and turned her attention to a woman around her age receiving treatment for serious looking injuries. Upon hearing the steady pounding of boots on tarmac Stacey glanced over her shoulder watching with faint interest as a military man walked passed her. He was dressed in military fatigues had an air of confidence laced with arrogance, his hard battle-heavy eyes surveyed the gathered trainers. He quickly moved to the young nurse attending to the heavily injured woman and admonished her for concern causing Stacey to narrow her eyes; that quickly tainted her first impression of him and she listened to him address the group with reservation.

The man introduced himself as Captain Frost the leader of their convoy and was quick to let the trainers know that they weren’t what he had planned for in an army but he was happy to get what he could. He reiterated that the mission was extremely dangerous despite its importance, ‘as if it was needed’ Stacey thought, and asked for those with reservations to make them known. Stacey lazily gazed throughout the crowd noting a few murmured words but the majority stuck with their initial decision, the value of the world outweighing the high risk. She felt Rapture's innocent eyes on her and was sure she pleased with her trainer’s heart even if Stacey knew deep down it was torn.

Captain Frost appeared pleased the resolve of his new troops and quickly added that quitting once the mission had started was not an option and swerved all thoughts of those trainers hoping to make the hero category. Stacey smirked at that, she certainly didn’t want put herself in that position; she was definitely not hero material despite what some of her Pokemon may hope. He went on the explain the details of their mission and how they would arrive at their final destination, it sounded like a heck of a trek but with ships and aircraft downed from the pulse she could see the reasoning behind it. Stacey grimaced at the thought of traversing the deserts of the Sunny Drylands on foot if their convoy broke down, especially hauling their raft behind her and hoped that it wouldn’t come to that.

With his speech finished Charles Higginbotham wished the convoy luck and Stacey mentally prayed for the same whilst wishing she had refused the mission cursing her Rotom for guilting her towards her decision. She hopped into the back of the jeep urging Rapture to follow taking a seat next to a young girl with brown hair and glasses. She managed a half smile at her before taking Rapture in her lap feeling the tingles from her electricity on her skin. She felt the jeep tilt as Captain Frost retook his seat and it slowly manoeuvred its way around the rubble and out of sight of the waving Charles.

Stacey was able to see from her seat the devastation that the pulse had caused to the City and shook her head at the sight. The street was almost torn in half, buildings levelled with bricks and mortar strewn throughout making the drive tricky for their driver. Street lamps were smashed along with traffic lights leaving multi-coloured glass patterning the road but something more devastating followed. Stacey let loose a sorrowful sigh at the sight of those unfortunate to be caught in the destruction. Some bodies were buried by rubble, others looking like they were stampeded in the hysteria. Stacey felt her hope dip even further and was glad to see the make the City limits and leave the makeshift morgue behind.

It was a short drive the Sunny Drylands and Stacey slipped forward in her seat as they reached the rough terrain accidentally sending sparks up her arms from holding Rapture. Shaking the feeling back into the only good arm she had she looked out at the scenery of Bowl Valley and felt awe for a moment. She had not had chance to visit this part of Fizzytopia and despite the arid desert the jeep was now roughing she had to admit it was a pretty sight. The hills seemed to reach forever and the red-hued sands were dotted with the odd shrub and cactus that could survive the conditions. She could feel the heat even with the canvas protecting them from the harsh sunlight and was thankful for the forethought. Leaning back in her seat adjusting to get comfortable Stacey closed her eyes letting the others know that she wasn’t in the mood for conversation and let herself relax a little trying to keep her mind away from their purpose.

After what felt like several hours had passed she was jerked from her meditation by the jeep halting to a stop. She noticed Rapture looking out through the gaps in the canvas and could feel sorrow ripple off her. Furrowing her brown with confusion Stacey exited the jeep with a few other curious trainers wanting to know what they had stopped and stretched her legs a little. Upon hearing horrified gasps and half choked sobs she stopped stretching and looked up to see another jeep very similar to the one they travelled in practically torn apart. In the drivers seat was what remained of a person, their legs sat in perfect positions for the pedals, the gruesome part was it was just the legs left in the jeep. Stacey winced at the sight and moved her gaze along the jeep to see other bodies, severed and lifeless in their seats. Stacey felt a sudden exhaustion overcome her and rubbed at her face. She was tired of seeing corpses now. It certainly wasn’t something new for her, on the contrary she had seen more than her fair share of cadavers but to be honest right now she had had enough. She had hoped to spend this day with her Pokemon enjoying the festival and putting the darkness and grim nature of her past behind her yet she seemed to attract this kind of horror wherever she went. Sometimes she revelled in it but right now she felt the need for a release from the darkness. She realised that she was being selfish thinking of herself at a time like this but she was a selfish person deep down she just never normally revealed it and wasn’t about to now. She looked over to their convoy to see Rapture looking through her small hole with concern in her eyes. Stacey tore her eyes away to see Captain Frost walking up to another soldier, bending down to pull off her dog tags and place them in his pocket. He seemed to have ages 10 years within a few minutes and he quickly moved the trainers back to the jeep insisting that they carried on. Stacey hurriedly moved back into the jeep and hugged Rapture not caring about the consequence of the tender action.

The jeep moved off with great haste most trainers holding onto their chairs at the movement as they carried on with their journey. Stacey listened as some of the others began to discuss what they had just seen, a light panic forming amongst a few which only increased as the jeep swerved to one side. Stacey clung onto her chair and held onto Rapture feeling her ghostly form phase through her arm and panicked herself yelling at her to try and stay within the jeep only to feel it swerve in the opposite direction throwing her to the floor. The Jeep tilted back on the other side making Stacey slide across the floor along with a few others that had lost their seats before it fell back to its tyres. Stacey held her injured wrist and winced having knocked it in the pandemonium. Everyone was shaken by incident and Stacey found herself in the same boat. Gingerly making her way to her feet she heard a curse from the front of the jeep along with the door slamming followed shortly by an ear-piercing screech. What the hell?

With her heart still pounding Stacey contemplated leaving the jeep and again her decision was made for her as Rapture shaken and far too curious floated out of the jeep. Stacey cursed and awkwardly leapt out after her into a shadow. Looking up she saw a silver creature looming over them, a fierce and deadly looking Steelix that reared back and screeched again Stacey wincing at the sound and the headache that it gave her. A hefty Rhydon emerged from the shadows its bulky body making the ground quake with every step. From the other side of the jeep another beast emerged, a dark Tyranitar that moved with vicious intent written in its body language. Stacey found herself staring at the silver snake looming over her frozen to the spot. Subconsciously she pulled a Pokeball from her belt and whispered “Rapture return” and the young Rotom was drawn back into the capture device before she could protest. She hardly heard Captain Frost speaking but heard roar of the jeep as it tore away from the fray followed by the growl of the Ruben’s Pokemon, a strong muscular Machamp as it was released to fight.

Snapping out of her stupor she backed away from the Steelix not wanting to be anywhere near the steel beast now the barrier of the jeep was removed. Several trainers had already sent out their Pokemon to battle, their only option other than to be brutally murdered by the savage wild Pokemon. Now facing the silver snake was a small but determined Houndour, another Rhydon, this one owned by the girl Stacey sat next to on the short journey to this point and finally a small Vulpix. They seemed over powered but fought on none-the-less. Looking over her shoulder she could see yet more trainers move to tackle the Tyranitar, a young girl and her Meganium and a boy of similar age with his Quagsire. Looking to the last savage she saw an Arbok rearing back ready to attack and a much smaller Swinub strangely chirpy despite the situation.

Stacey felt her hand fall to her belt and without thought immediately pulled off a Love Ball. She had many powerful Pokemon on her team but right now she needed the calming effect of this particular one. Pressing the release a bright white light shone briefly before it was replaced by a small teal-coloured ghost. Misdreavus blinked as she took in her surroundings and quickly hovered back to her trainer. Being released in front of 3 powerful savages wasn’t exactly how she wanted her first adventure for a long while but sensing the nervousness of her trainer and spotting her injury she pushed those thoughts aside.

“Missy,” Stacey started pondering over her words, “I need you now” and Missy nodded smiling warmly before her gazed flittered back to the 3 Pokemon. Stacey instantly felt relief before a deep feeling of hatred accompanied by a slight feeling of arrogance surrounded her; she was eager to makes these beasts suffer and was sure that Missy could easily fulfil that task. Suddenly Stacey’s eyes lit up as she remembered a particular item she purchased a while back. She had intended to use it when the time was right and looking at Missy she knew that time was now. Pulling the item from her satchel she held the cold purple stone in her hand catching Missy’s attention. She eyed the stone with mixed emotions, she knew one day that she would evolve beyond her current form when Stacey obtained the Dusk Stone but hadn’t thought too much about it. Staring deep into her trainer’s eyes and seeing the trust and openness she felt reassured. Stacey would never force her to evolve and was offering her the choice now mainly because of circumstances but that didn’t change the fact that she had reached her peak. Grinning getting excited at the idea the more she thought about it Missy floated over to her trainer to touch the stone glowing a brilliant white as she did. Her form grew and changed shape as she evolved and soon after a gorgeous Mismagius was floating before Stacey. Stacey didn’t think Missy could become any more beautiful than she was but in her new from she looked enchanting. Her pointed witches hat covered her bright yellow-red eyed, her jewels were much larger shining brightly in the sunlihgt and her long skirt flapped in the breeze. She grinned full of energy and confidence. Now they were ready.

Assessing the threat Stacey and Missy found their gaze falling to Rhydon and they nodded to each other agreeing on their target. Arbok and Swinub had their orders to attack and Stacey moved to stand with their trainers Missy hovering nearby.

“Missy, as the others attack use your Curse to hopefully distract Rhydon and allow the attacks to hit, as well as making it suffer. It may mean sacrificing some health but it’ll be worth it in the long run. Set up a Light Screen for protection and then attack with Hidden Power (Grass).”

[enchantress]

Tess stands silently, her face a blank mask while watching Captain Ruben Frost stride around the scene barking out his orders. A seemingly hardened man, she scrutinises him closely and wonders if the air of arrogance surrounding him really is stemmed from a feeling of self-importance, or from years of being subjected to watching close friends die in a line of work that, quite frankly, isn't the safest of career options out there. It's not easy watching those you love die, and when you're in a position where you find you need to lock away your own grief in order to be strong for those around you, it's not uncommon for your own silent mourning process to be misinterpreted as cold, unfeeling, indifference. Over time it wears a person down, their emotionally fragile state often covered by their willingness to take on responsibilities they don't particularly want, but which help to distract them from the turmoil swelling inside. Some find that reckless duties which involve putting their own lives on the line to be a suitable way of dealing with their grief, for if they die also then the pain will finally go away. Tess isn't sure what Frost's story is, but she's going to be watching him very closely as she's not willing to put her life on the line, or that of her Pokémon, in order to blindly follow the orders of an arrogant or reckless man. Recklessness she understands so long as others aren't expected to follow without question. Arrogance is dangerous though, for sometimes a person can become so caught up in their own misplaced sense of self-worth that they don't stop to think of the consequences for those they're responsible for. Yes, she'll be watching him very, very, closely.

Before leaving, Tess is once again examined by medical personnel, this time an army trained nurse who advises her against taking part in this mission for her own safety. She knows the nurse means well, but considering the importance of numbers needed for the upcoming battle, she can't help but become quite frustrated. Closing her eyes to hide the flash of anger she knows will be visible if she were to look the nurse in the eye, she takes a few moments to calm herself. She wants to scream bloody murder, berate the woman for thinking it matters if she dies in a suicide mission battling the creature, or die here after it escapes, but restrains herself. Instead, after taking a few deep breaths, she opens her eyes and smiles. "Just give me the strongest painkillers you have on hand and I'll be fine," Tess replies calmly. It's not like the past several years of her life haven't been riddled with a neverending cocktail of meds she's been forced to endure for her own good, so a few painkillers certainly won't do her any harm. Taking the bottle the nurse hands her, Tess nods thankfully, pops a couple of pills into her mouth, and swallows before making her way over to the trainers and militia surrounding the two remaining trucks.

After listening to Captain Frost's speech, Tess waits for the other trainers to board the first truck before climbing in. Still feeling rather nauseous, she wants to make sure she's right at the back so as not to mess up everyone else should her stomach finally win the battle it's waging against her. Throwing up in front of anyone, let alone Captain Frost, is something she wants to avoid as she really doesn't want to appear weak, especially at a time like this. Tempest leaps into the truck beside her, sitting at Tess' feet while Kayla hops onto her lap and Crystal floats outside of the truck silently examining Tess with those soulful eyes of hers. "You all need to conserve your energy," Tess says, unclipping their respective Pokéballs. Without another word she recalls Kayla and Crystal, hesitating for a moment while staring into Tempest's defiant gaze. "I know what you're thinking Temp, but I'll be fine," Tess says quietly, reaching out to stroke the Houndoom's neck. "I just need some time..." she falters, "alone" seeming the wrong choice of word considering she's surrounded by other trainers and Pokémon. Luckily Tempest understands her trainer well, however, and her gaze softens. Tempest nods, licking Tess' hand, and allows her trainer to return her to her ball. Tess gives the Dark/Fire Ball a gentle squeeze, whispering "Thank you," before clipping it safely onto her belt and settling into her seat.

It isn't long before their truck finally moves, but Tess finds her eyes locked on the lone truck left behind which no trainers have boarded. She knows there were more trainers around before the last devastating attack hit who could have helped, and can't help but wonder what had happened to them. Cold feet? Fear? Self preservation? Whatever the case, she figures it doesn't really matter anymore. They'd made their choices, and those choices meant leaving it up to others to fight this battle for them. Perhaps they'll still turn up, but she doubts it. So be it. If the people on board this truck, along with the three convoys that had left before them, are all that is left, then this has to be enough. As they round a corner, the last truck disappears from view, replaced with even more disturbing images as the shattered remains of the once beautiful Seaside City roll past. Cracked roads and sidewalks, scattered debris, corpses; devastation on a massive scale. If this is the kind of damage left in the wake of a single attack against a float, what hope is there for the rest of the world if the creature escapes and begins a relentless rampage of vengeance against everyone on this planet? Tess closes her eyes and sits back, blocking out the despairing images stretched out behind her as the truck follows its predetermined course across the Fizzytopian mainland toward the ocean.

It isn't until they're manoeuvring their way somewhere through the Sunny Drylands that Tess opens her eyes again, the harsh glare of the arid desert a welcome change to the morbid city scene left far behind. Despite the uneven ground causing a bumpy ride, her nausea has settled somewhat, the painkillers she'd taken earlier leaving only a dull ache in her chest and ankle as opposed to the sharp and unrelenting pain that had jolted her body with every movement only an hour ago. She watches the dusty trail behind them as the truck's tyres plough through the desert until Captain Frost's sudden curse draws her out of her thoughts. The truck stops and she carefully climbs out, glad of the chance to be able to stretch her legs, but the gruesome scene that awaits finally gives her stomach victory after its hour-long war with her conscious mind. One look at the dismembered bodies scattered about the smoking remains of a convoy that had left before them has Tess doubled over a nearby bush, but at this point she really doesn't give a damn who sees her spilling her guts. She's fairly certain nobody has noticed though, for her current state of health is the furthest thing from their minds considering the circumstances. She turns back in time to witness Captain Frost bending over the body of a woman wearing army fatigues, and watches him with interest. Arrogant arse or not, there is feeling in his actions, and this simple fact rates him a favourable point in Tess' book. After removing the woman's dog tags and placing them in his pocket, Tess wastes no time in following his instructions when he orders everyone back into the jeep so that they're able to move on before meeting the same fate as these unfortunate people. She'd been of the same mind anyway, for whatever had done this to them couldn't be very far away considering the smell of fresh blood wafting in the air.

The moment everyone is seated, the jeep takes off at full speed, every soul on board sitting in shocked silence as the truck bumps across the uneven desert ground. After a few minutes people begin talking amongst themselves, but Tess is so engrossed in her own thoughts that she barely takes notice of what they're saying. What the hell could have done something like that? It can't have been the same creature responsible for the destruction in the city or they would have seen and felt the aftermath of the attack. No, this was something else. The question is whether or not the attack on the convoy is related to the creature, or if it's a completely separate incident. It can't be coincidence though... but then again, this isn't exactly safe territory. She has no idea at all what's going on.

Tess is once again torn from her train of thought when the jeep swerves left. She grabs onto her seat, barely able to keep her grip, and just as the truck rights itself they're suddenly thrown in the opposite direction as the jeep swerves violently to the right. This time she grabs hold of the canvas at the back of the truck, terrified she's going to be flung right out, the sharp pain in her chest returning with a vengeance while she struggles to keep hold. Trainers are screaming as they're tossed around, some more successful at maintaining their grasp on seats than others. Just when she thinks it's over, the truck veers to the left again and this time she feels it tilt so far over that she's convinced it's going to flip. Gritting her teeth against both the pain and the panic surging through her, and thankful beyond measure that her Pokémon's Pokéballs are attached securely to her belt rather than stashed away in a backpack that could very easily be flung from the truck, she holds on for all she's worth before finally coming to a hard landing on the floor of the truck when it eventually grinds to a halt and falls still. Barely able to calm her nerves after the sudden excitement, another of Captain Frost's curses breaks the silence quickly followed by such a high pitched screech that Tess instinctively claps her hands over her ears to protect her eardrums. Her mind is racing, trying to decide between leaping out of the truck or staying put should the driver suddenly take off and not notice that she'd gotten out. A couple of trainers scuttle past her, however, leaping out of truck as quickly as possible, which settles her internal argument once and for all. Leaping out after them she lands awkwardly on her ankle and stumbles, falling to her knees. It's now her own pained curse cutting through the air as the painkillers wear off prematurely thanks to the fact she'd decorated an innocent bush during their last pit stop. She reaches for her pocket to retrieve the bottle of pills, but a shadow suddenly looming over her causes her hand to stop mid-reach. Looking up slowly her jaw very nearly drops at the sight of a ferocious looking Steelix bowed forward over the truck where most of the trainers are still seated inside. It rears back and screeches again, a terrifying image of it tearing off the canvas roof spinning through her mind. The ground shakes then, a Rhyhorn rising from the earth and readying itself to ram the jeep, before heavy, thudding footsteps from behind alert Tess to the fact that these aren't the only two Pokémon in the immediate vicinity. Spinning around, her heart leaps into her throat when her eyes fall upon a Tyranitar who is pumped and ready to kick some trainer and military arse. To say they're in a bit of a pickle is an understatement, for if the blood dripping from the fangs of Steelix is any indication, then it's a pretty safe bet these three Pokémon are the ones responsible for the decimation of the people and Pokémon who had been travelling with the convoy they'd passed earlier.

"We nearly hit that Steelix, it dove right at us!" Captain Frost yells upon disembarking the vehicle. "I think these Pokemon were the ones that attacked the last convoy," he continues, to which Tess murmurs, "No shit," in response. "We need to continue on but these beasts are not going to let us pass, we’ve seen the evidence. We have a new order: take these Pokémon out and fast!" Tess barely even listens from this point for she's already getting to her feet, her mind spinning as she mentally sifts through her choices regarding which team member to use for this battle. She's happy to see Frost is helping to fight rather than fleeing with the truck which helps to raise her opinion of him a little, so with both him and his Machamp on side they should stand a better chance. Subconsciously she's taking in the rest of what he's saying regarding the driver taking the truck a safe distance away from the battle, to which she's silently thankful for Frost's quick thinking, and that they'll signal him with a flare when it's safe to return, but her thoughts are first and foremost on her team and a split second later her decision is made. As much as Tempest will resent not being allowed to take part in this fight, Tess has her reasons and she knows that Temp will understand. Perhaps not immediately, but she will eventually understand. Tess plucks Vixey's Fire Ball from her belt, the promise she'd made to herself earlier that day regarding finding the beautiful Ninetales a more elegant and fitting name briefly flashing to mind, and releases her gorgeous fire fox onto the field. Tess feels a flicker of regret as she looks into Vixey's large and innocent eyes, and wonders if she's truly made the right decision here as she's not spent a great deal of time in battle with Vixey, but this is one of the reasons she's chosen to use her now. Due to the amount of time Vixey has spent with Xander, being raised and trained by both of them, Tess needs Vixey to know that she is as much a part of her team as any of her other Pokémon. Vixey knows full well that both trainers love her unconditionally, and she trusts that Tess genuinely wants what is best for her, but Tess has never had the chance, until now, to demonstrate that she has the same faith in her Ninetales as she does in the rest of her team - including Tempest.

"Unfortunately this isn't a social get-together sweetie," Tess says in a strained tone, her eyes flitting between the three irate Pokémon. "We need to take out this lot so that we're able to continue on our journey. They've already killed all of the people and Pokémon who were a part of one of the convoys that left ahead of us so I need your help, Vixey. We need your help." Vixey takes in the scene, her gentle eyes turning hard and determined upon realising just how dangerous this battle will be, and Tess can swear that a glimmer of joy also entered the Ninetales eyes, if only for a moment, and wonders if she'd only imagined it because she wants so much for Vixey to know just how much Tess trusts in her to succeed. "It's imperative that Steelix be taken down first," Tess continues. "It seems to be the ringleader, and the most dangerous, so I need you to focus completely upon Steelix while leaving the others to battle Rhyhorn and Tyranitar. Fire up Houndour's Fire Spin with your Flamethrower, then try to make eye contact and send it to sleep with Hypnosis. If you can't, just concentrate on wearing it down by keeping the Fire Spin alive, but if Steelix escapes we'll need to target its weakness and burn the thing alive. I know it'll require using a lot of fire energy, but its our best chance of defeating it. Don't hold back with your Fire Blast, because fire attack are the quickest way of taking it out as soon as possible."

Understanding her instructions, Vixey turns tail and races straight into the midst of the battle, taking her place beside Houndour to begin her attack upon Steelix. Tess watches while a tight knot forms in her stomach, hoping to God that she's not made a mistake. It's not that she doesn't trust in Vixey to battle well, it's just her overwhelming urge to protect the beautiful Ninetales that has her so worried right now. She hates seeing any of her teammates hurt, but Vixey's gentle and loving nature makes it that much more difficult for Tess to send her into any battle, especially one as dangerous as this. Her hand hovers over Tempest's Pokéball, the urge to call her out for moral support at the very least overwhelming, but she knows that Tempest will never sit and watch while others fight, so Tess stands rigid, watching with baited breath while all of the trainers and Pokémon present take their places and begin to fight...

[Rakurai]

I apologize for the sheer lateness of this reply, but thank you for allowing me to jump back in. The last three paragraphs are for the latest update. Everything else is for the previous one.

It was only a few moments after Katsu had decided that he wouldn't let his memory of the strange pulse of energy ruin his day, that a second pulse burst through the sky. The tremors that followed almost knocked him off his feet, though the shock he got from a startled Kiba, succeeded in sending him the rest of the way, causing him to land flat on his rump. "Ow... You need to work on containing your energy in situations like this.", he said in a mildly irritated tone to the Electrike, who was looking rather embarrassed by what had happened. The crowds around them had been thrown into a panic, but it was relatively short lived, thanks to Charles Higginsbotham, who had asked for everyone to stay calm over the loudspeaker. "If these tremors keep getting stronger, there's going to be more then people and Pokemon falling over...", Katsu thought to himself, as he rose to his feet and dusted himself off before picking up Kiba, who had jumped out of his arms shortly after zapping him. For a moment, he considered getting away from Seaside City before anything worse happened, but his desire to see the rest of the festival, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of the crowd had chosen to do the same quickly drowned out the thought, as he continued in the direction of the lottery.

Katsu arrived in time to hear Charles Higginsbotham describing the prize of the lottery; a prize that many were obviously interested in winning, evident by the hopeful faces many of the participants were wearing, as well as all the chatter that had started up once Charles had finished explaining just what the prize was. "A Pokemon that's a descendant of one of the hero's own? I wonder just what kind of Pokemon it might be...", he thought to himself, as he stared at his lottery ticket, and waited for the number to be announced. "Number eleven!", Charles shouted out, the crowd bursting into cheers and applause as a single, lucky trainer made his way over to the mayor to claim his prize. "Oh well. I suppose we can't win all the time.", Katsu said to Kiba, who looked a little disappointed by the fact that they hadn't won. "Guess we'd better head over to Oceanic Drive for the parade, now.", he said, continuing on. "I know you wanted to get some food, but it's going to get crowded pretty fast, and I'd like to try getting the best view possible, if you don't mind." Kiba nodded his head in agreement to his trainer's words, and with that, Katsu rushed off.

The area towards the end of the drive was where Katsu had in mind, for he wanted to to get a good front view of the parade, and after a few minutes of searching, he managed to locate a spot right along the road, which was also relatively uncrowded, much to his relief. Kiba stared down the drive, eagerly awaiting the arrival of parade floats, as he could hear the music from them in distance. Katsu, on the other hand, had turned his eyes towards the sky, in the direction of where the pulses of energy had previously come from. He had an itching feeling that another one was going to come sooner or later, and he had no intention of being caught off guard by it like last time. In time, the parade floats came into view, and Kiba was quick to grab his trainer's attention with a bark, not wanting him to miss out on any of it. "All of those Pokemon look like they're really enjoying themselves.", Katsu said, as the first group of floats passed by. "I bet you wish you could be up there too, huh, Kiba?" he questioned, but the Electrike didn't offer a response as he usually did, for he seemed completely absorbed in the parade at the moment. Katsu smirked, before turning his eyes back to the sky, and it was there they remained, until the cheers of the crowd grew noticeably louder some time later, and tore his attention away. The Hero's Float, the main attraction of the parade, had finally arrived, and both Katsu and Kiba gazed in awe at the statue replicas of the hero and his Pokemon that adorned the float. "To be able to command such a large array of Pokemon, and such powerful ones at that... He was definitely a legend even before he saved everyone., Katsu thought to himself, as the float drew closer. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry from Kiba, who had noticed the one thing his trainer had been looking out for up until that moment.

Katsu turned to the sky, and saw the pulse of energy, but he quickly noticed that this time it was arcing, and straight in the direction of the Hero's Float. Fearing for Kiba's safety, he quickly took out his Pokeball, and recalled him without so much as a word, but that was all he could manage before the pulse struck, for it was moving at an incredible speed. He watched in horror as people and Pokemon were sent flying by the resulting blast, and the frightened screams and cries of all those around filled his ears. Fortunately for him, he was far enough away that the blast did little more then knock him off his feet, but he wasn't safe from the panicked crowds heading in his direction, and he quickly sprung to his feet, and backed up against a wall, hoping to avoid getting swept away. He remained there until there until the fleeing crowds had thinned out enough for him to safely step out into the open, and released Kiba, who had evidently been worried sick about him, for he promptly leaped into his arms, and looked as though he were on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry I had to do that, Kiba, but I wanted you to be safe.", Katsu said in a comforting tone to his companion. "I'm fine, but... The same can't be said of many others...", he continued on, as Kiba turned around, his eyes widening as he saw and became fully aware of the destruction that surrounded them.

By that time, the army and medics had arrived on the scene, and with them came Charles, who explained what was going on to those who still remained in the vicinity. A chill ran through Katsu's body as Charles uttered the words "The creature has woken...". He had just witnessed first-hand what this creature could do with presumably only a fraction of its strength, and now it was breaking free. Charles then called for volunteers to stop the creature soon after, and a couple dozen trainers, both young and old, hastily made the decision to go, while others declined at about the same speed. Katsu, however, wasn't nearly as quick to make his decision. His mind was filled with reasons both for and against going: "If this is something that concerns the fate of the whole world, then they'll probably need all the help they can get, whether it be big or small... But will we really make a difference? We could just end up getting ourselves killed. But what if they fail because we decided not to go? It's just too hard to decide... I suppose there's always that alternative, though...". Turning to Kiba, he asked him "What do you think? Should we go help?", and after taking a moment to look at surroundings, the Electrike got a determined look on his face before giving a quick nod of his head. At that, Katsu raised his hand, before voicing his decision.

Following a short briefing from the leader of the mission, a rather arrogant-seeming man who introduced himself as Captain Ruben Frost, Katsu headed for the vehicle he had been assigned, noticing that all of the other trainers had recalled their Pokemon, presumably due to a lack of space within the transports. "Sorry, Kiba, but I don't think you can come along for the ride this time. I think it's a bit too cramped in here for you to fit, but I'll let you out once we're done, alright?", Katsu said, as he took Kiba's Pokeball from his pocket, and recalled him, but not without a little grumbling from the canine, who seemed rather flustered about not getting come along. Katsu then took his seat in the truck, and waited as the other trainers entered. He saw some familiar faces among them, but wasn't in a particularly talkative mood, so he simply kept quiet, and lazily stared out one of the side windows. As the truck drove through the portion of Seaside City that had been devastated by the blast, a mixture of anger and sadness flowed through him, as he witnessed the full extent of the destruction caused by the blast. "If only the hero had decided to destroy that creature on that fateful day... Then none of this would have happened.", Katsu thought to himself. It confused him as to how anyone could be so merciful as to spare something that had taken countless lives out of seemingly nothing but cold blood, but there was no use in fretting over the past, he soon reasoned, and instead shifted his thoughts to the matter of whether or not he and the other trainers would even be able to succeed in defeating this being of unimaginable power: "There's well over 40 trainers in this group, and assuming all of them have six Pokemon, then that would give us a force potentially numbering into the 300s. But then again, there's no telling just how strong these Pokemon are compared to the ones that the hero owned, or how experienced these trainers are. Not to mention, we don't have legends on our side, like he did. I just hope this won't be a suicide mission....

Katsu continued to muse over countless different subjects as the truck continued on it's course, until the truck came to a sudden stop, and he heard the sound of the captain cursing loudly shortly after. "I wonder what all the commotion is?", he thought to himself, as he followed the other trainers out the truck, and prepared to release Kiba after getting out into the open, but what he saw made him reconsider. One of the convoys that had gone ahead of them had been completely ravaged, the passengers brutally killed; many of them torn to pieces by something, and much to his dismay, it seemed to have happened recently, meaning he and the others could be next. After gagging a little, Katsu hurried back into the truck, not wanting to expose himself the gruesome sight any further, and also wanting nothing more then to move on, in the event whatever destroyed the convoy decided to come back, and fortunately for him, Captain Frost decided that that would be the best course of action, after he had taken a moment to survey the area, and remove some dog tags from one of his fallen comrades.A slight wave of relief came over him once the truck had started up again, but it was short-lived, as mere moments later, it was swerving wildly to avoid something. After nearly falling over as a result of making an especially tight turn, the truck came to a stop, and Katsu was feeling ready to ask the captain just what was after them, but the question soon answered itself, as a deafening screech filled his ears, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw a massive Steelix looming over the truck. Mirroring the actions of some other trainers, he opted to get out of the vehicle as quickly as possible, reasoning that he'd have a better chance of surviving that way, but was rather horrified to see, that with a second screech, the Steelix seemed to have called two more vicious looking Pokemon out of hiding; a Rhyhorn and a Tyranitar.

Fortunately, Captain Frost didn't hesitate for long, as he burst out of the truck, and issued new orders, which were to take down the three Pokemon as quickly as possible, then return to the truck, which was going to be parked somewhere away from the scene of the battle. The other trainers sprung into action in an instant, releasing their Pokemon to do battle, and issuing their commands, but Katsu hesitated. He had only a few Pokemon at the moment, and of them, the only one he felt was truly prepared for battling was Kiba, the one he also valued the very most. He felt reluctant to put him into such grave danger, but he knew he had no other choice. After taking a deep breath and regaining some of his composure, he threw Kiba's Pokeball into the air, and in a flash, he appeared at his trainer's side, but was quickly gripped by fear at the sight of the intimidating Pokemon that he was to do battle against. "Please be brave, Kiba.", Katsu urged his companion. "We decided we'd come on this mission to help out, and now is the time! I want you to hit that Tyranitar with a Thunder Wave for now. Hopefully, that'll help the others to take it down." Upon sensing the determination in his trainer's voice, the fear fled from Kiba, and he quickly ran to join the other Pokemon who had grouped together in front of his target, with Katsu following close behind...

[Aquatic Angel]

"Has the world gone mad?" Kim asks herself, staring into Steelix' fearsome gaze. Their departure from Seaside City has left her with a rising feeling of dread, the death and destruction left in the wake of the earthquake leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Their discovery of the mutilated remains of the people who had left in one of the earlier convoys has done nothing to settle her nerves, and now they're faced with three Pokemon who are set on tearing them apart. She's concerned by the motives of Steelix, Rhyhorn, and Tyranitar, and why they're attacking the convoys one after another, but there is no time to think about why they're doing it or every person here will meet the same fate as the other team.

Her hand wavers over Absol's Pokeball but, as strong as he is, she needs to match the might of these Pokemon before they're all dead. Seconds later, Charizard bursts free of his Fire Ball, roaring and stretching his wings, his joy to be free of his ball quickly replaced with bloodlust when recognising he's here to fight. He examines all three Pokemon, his muscles rippling with the anticipation of battle, and impatiently awaits his orders.

"Let's take down the weakest Pokemon first so that we, and our allies, can focus on Steelix and Tyranitar who are the main threats. Fly overhead and when Rhyhorn is least expecting it, grab it and fly as high as you can before using Seismic Toss to send it crashing to the ground. If you succeed in knocking it out use Flare Blitz on Tyranitar, but if Rhyhorn is still conscious follow up with Dynamicpunch."

[Arnold]

Watching the 1st convoy go to help with the destruction that has randomly unfolded in what was going to be one hell of a nice day off he looks up into the sky, the pulses tearing through the clouds he sighs, how can something so cool be coming from some evil *******? It's ****ed up, but whatevers behind it is going to get it's *** handed to it for ruining the day. As his head moves down to the grund he looks over at Nidoking,t he brute Pokemon looking tough as nails, "we've been through a lot before Nidoking, but i've got faith in you and the rest of the team, i know you'll be able to do what must be done even if you don't approve of any orders I give, whatever did this to the town needs putting down, and if killing it is the answer to stopping it, then what must be done must be done, as I said i've got faith in you all to give it your all, as will I, so what do you say, kick ***..or kick ***?" As he finishes Nidoking stomps his foot on the ground in approval before giving off a Huge Roar, as he looks on the convoy for the remaining trainer arrives and he settles in, returning Nidoking to his ball as he is a big big for it.

Looking around the convoy he sees a numbers of faces, some very familiar, some not so familiar, seeing some scared faces and some trainers putting on the brave face, he smiles and starts humming to himself, "I'm on a highwaaaay to hell, i'm on a highwayyy to helll.....Ohhhh **** sorry guys and gals, that wasn't the best song to sing was it, sorry, i'm nervous what else am I supposed to do, ok how about after this we all go for a huge piss-up? I think we're going to need something mighty strong after the outcome of this battle no matter what the outcome is, I know i'm going to need one, but the young ones, orange juice, hell I can't even believe I said that..." Thinking to himself, he does notice that there are some young trainers here, younger than him, they must be the bravest of them all, coming onto a mission like this, but he hands it to them they got balls of steel.

As soon as he finishes his thought the convoy screeches to a halt, wondering why he looks out of the window and the sigh before him shocks him to his seat, the blood splattered around the grounds is like a mini pool for vampires to swim in, he then notices the convoy that set off before this one, the bodies of the driver and trainers scattered around ike sweets from a piñata, "jesus Christ, what the hell happened here?" Opening his door he gets into the fresh air, the smell of death hits him first which makes him retch a little, then from the corner of his eye he sees 3 figures appearing out of nowhere, huge figures appearing, turning around he sees a Steelix glaring down at them, a body part of some sort hanging from his teeth, a Tyranitar next to it growling ready to pounce and a Rhydon, his horn spinning madly.

taking a big breath in, he unclips a Pokeball from his belt, the Pokeball Nidoking resides in enlarging in his hand, throwing into the air the blast lets out a Huge Roar once again as Nidoking forms infront of him, "Didn't think i'd be needing help this early Nidoking, but remember what I said about having faith in you, lets show these *******s how much faith we have in each other shall we? See that Rhyorn? It needs putting down, so lets show it how the big boys play, ready an Ice Beam and when you see the Charizard slam it to the ground freeze the ******* in place, and then get your best first ready and fire off one beautiful Dynamic Punch into it's face

[enchantress]

The trainers waste no time in following Captain Frost's lead, for they're well aware of what will happen to them if they don't. The gruesome image of the carcasses rotting away in the desert not too far behind are still burned into their minds, and having no wish at all to be meeting the same fate as their unfortunate allies, each and every trainer is quick to react. Leaping from the truck, they choose their Pokémon, take their positions, and move into battle.

Missingno. Master, Inferno, and Dani are the first to engage, their respective Pokémon appearing on the field in a flash. Missingno's Arbok uncoils from the confines of her Pokéball with a vehement hiss, her reptilian gaze scanning over her three enemies with joy. It's been a while since she's faced a good challenge, and she's ready for it. Focusing upon Rhyhorn she rises up, gaining height to increase her intimidation tactic, spreads her ribs, and flattens her upper body to form the distinctive Arbok hood. Rhyhorn, now having second thoughts about stampeding the trainers if it means trampling straight over the toxic snake in front of it, hesitates for a moment giving Arbok just the opportunity she needs to Glare threateningly into its eyes. Meanwhile, Inferno's Houndour needs no prompting from her trainer, and races directly toward Steelix, much to Inferno's dismay. He'd not planned to use her during this battle, but the gutsy little dark/fire pup has other ideas. She's eager to prove she has what it takes and plans to at the very least trap Steelix for as long as possible with her Fire Spin so that it's unable to attack anybody else without hurting itself. The moment she's within range Houndour launches a stream of spiralling flames straight at Steelix, but can hear her trainer yelling out for her not to get too close and wisely takes several steps back to be sure she's not within striking range should Steelix break free of the flaming tornado now circling around it. While Arbok and Houndour are making their first moves, Dani's Meganium pounds into the ground as she's released from her ball, immediately summoning a Safeguard in preparation for the attacks she knows will come, and focuses her attention upon the one remaining enemy - Tyranitar. Though the monster Pokémon is intimidating to say the least, Meganium takes solace in the fact she has a distinctive type advantage here and that her trainer has a decent plan up her sleeve. Knowing she'll soon be recuperating the energy she's about to use she takes a deep breath and summons up a large amount of grass energy, unleashing it in the form of a Leaf Storm. The razor like blades of grass energy whip up a storm, the tornado like attack whipping around Tyranitar who is roaring with pain and anger as the leaves slice through its thick hide like hot knives through butter, resulting in it taking quite heavy damage. Arbok, Houndour, and Meganium have certainly set the scene for this battle, and as they each prepare to continue fighting, other trainers and Pokémon are already coming to their aide.

Shadow, Kami, and Jess are only a few seconds behind their first three allies. Deidoki is a bouncing little ball of energy as he appears from his ball, his complete lack of understanding as to just how serious this battle is having a great deal to do with his overenthusiastic approach to this fight. Swinub pays no attention to Tyranitar or Steelix, instead whizzing between the legs of the other trainers on his excited run over toward Rhyhorn. Luckily, Arbok's Glare attack is still in effect, the motionless Spike Pokémon a sitting duck for the combined Bubblebeams released by both Deidoki and Arbok. Rhyhorn doesn't take kindly to being drenched, and breaks out of its trance, shaking itself off and snorting angrily whilst pawing at the ground. A split second later Rhyhorn is on the move, charging straight toward the two Pokémon who had dared to attack it. They both move quickly, but not quickly enough. Rhyhorn tramples Arbok's tail as she tries to slither away to the side, and Deidoki is sent sailing through the air in a high arc as Rhyhorn stampedes past, ramming him with its Horn Attack. Kami runs after him, desperately trying to catch the little Swinub before he hits the ground, only just managing to save him with a running dive catch before he goes crashing into a boulder. Shadow's Quagsire bursts out of her ball, her normally playful nature now deathly serious while she takes in the scene around her. It's the sight of a very familiar Pokémon and trainer already engaged in battle that snags her full attention though, for her eyes become fixed upon them, all else currently forgotten. She wonders if the two remember her because it's been a while since she'd last seen them, and she's grown so much since then. Part of Mango wonders if they'd loved her at all considering she'd since been traded, but she remembers the good times she'd had with them and hopes this isn't true. She'd been loved dearly whilst being a part of their team, but a lot has happened since then. Now her old trainer and her new trainer, whom she loves very much, are out here in the desert fighting the same battle. Shadow can see Mango's torment and realises very quickly that the decision as to which trainer Quagsire will aide had been made the moment Mango had set eyes upon Dani. "Mango, go help out Meganium!" he cries, and a second later Mango is on the move.

Jess releases her Rhydon, Rocky, the Drill Pokémon eyeing its enemy pre-evolution furiously while Rhyhorn stampedes toward a group of trainers. Jess quickly directs his attention to Steelix, however, as the general consensus amongst the trainers appears to be that the Iron Snake Pokémon is their biggest threat. He notes the blood on Steelix' fangs and nods, a glow surrounding him as he increases his defense using Harden before moving into a rapid spin, his Swords Dance sending his physical attack power skyrocketing. Now that he feels like a hyped up version of Superman, all he needs to do is follow his trainer's instructions and wait until Houndour has finished attacking before moving in. Mango, meanwhile, has raced to her former teammates aide, and Meganium, doubletaking upon seeing her old friend appear beside her out here of all places, is so overcome with surprise and joy that she completely misses Tyranitar rearing its head back to take a deep breath before rushing headlong toward her belching out quite a powerful Flamethrower. Luckily her Safeguard protects her from taking damage from the attack, but Mango is so furious with Tyranitar for even attempting to hurt her friend that she spits forth a glob of Mud that Bombs Tyranitar directly in the eyes. Tyranitar, blinded, skids to a halt before it can hurt itself, its deafening Roar scaring the bejeezus out of Mango who belly-flops to the ground at Meganium's feet, throwing her little arms over her head. Captain Frost's Machamp appears out of nowhere at this point, its fist glowing with energy, before using Dynamicpunch to ram Tyranitar point blank to the vulnerable part of its stomach. An audible grunt is heard along with the expelling of air from Tyranitar's lungs as it's sent reeling backward. Blind and dazed, it crashes to the ground, landing on its rear, and giving other Pokémon the chance to move in. Meganium immediately begins a Mega Drain, leeching away Tyranitar's energy while it's down, and helping to recover some of her own. Mango looks up, quite pleased with this turn of events, and quite disappointed in herself for having scared so easily, but she's now recovered from her minor attack of nerves and is back on her feet, ready to party.

By this time, several more Pokémon are on the field. Some are hanging back until their allies have finished with their attacks so as not to harm the wrong Pokémon, while others race straight into the fray. Zora's Vulpix and Tess' Ninetales make a beeline for Steelix while Kim's Charizard takes to the sky. Katsu's Manectric bolts for Tyranitar with Katsu close on his tail, not wanting to allow Kiba out of his sight for a moment, and Arn's Nidoking materialises from his ball with a deafening roar. With the battlefield becoming more and more dangerous by the second, Stacey realises she's going to need to take a moment to give Missy every possible advantage available to her, and even though she's been preparing for this moment for a long time, had never expected to actually go forward with it at a critical time such as this. Removing a Dawn Stone from her satchel, Stacey holds it out in front of Missy, the two of them looking deep into one another's eyes for a few moments. No words need to be uttered, for they each understand the other on a deeper level. Missy floats over to her trainer, and while looking into Stacey's eyes touches the stone. Misdreavus begins to glow, a bright white light surrounding her, becoming taller and thinner before eventually fading to reveal Mismagius. The two exchange another look before Missy grins, ready to go into battle. Deidoki, meanwhile, isn't finished with Rhyhorn yet, and continues to squirm in his trainer's arms, eager to return to the battle and finish carrying out his orders. Kami is a little hesitant regarding letting him go though, because he's already had one close call and she has no wish to risk him another. He's a stubborn little man, though, and finally wins his freedom, leaping to the ground and racing back onto the battlefield.

Rocky is still holding back at Jess' command, eager to play his part, but until his allies are clear of Steelix he can't risk making the wrong move. Ninetales comes rushing forward, blasting a Flamethrower into the Fire Spin already surrounding Steelix which makes the spiralling flames taller and stronger. Steelix is thrashing wildly, enraged at being trapped inside of a fiery prison, but despite the fact it knows it will take heavy damage by breaking free, Steelix launches itself through the wall of the flaming twenty foot high tornado that disintegrates as it passes through. Furious with Houndour for having trapped it to begin with, Steelix surges forward digging a trench in the ground while it heads straight for Houndour who knows without a doubt that she has no chance of outrunning it at the speed it's travelling. Zora's Vulpix, watching from the sidelines, uses Safeguard to protect herself before jumping into the battle, then Swaggers out onto the field, hoping to distract Steelix' attention from Houndour. Unfortunately this isn't the case as Steelix is so focused upon Houndour that all other enemies are temporarily forgotten. Prepared to go down fighting, Houndour stands her ground, opens her mouth wide, and uses every ounce of remaining energy she has in her to pull off an overwhelmingly powerful, head-on fire attack. The little Houndour standing up to a monstrous Steelix with a heavy stream of flames shooting from her mouth is a spectacular sight to behold, but it's a kamikaze attack and she knows it. The flames Overheat Steelix' massive metallic frame, causing heavy damage, but Steelix isn't going to let Houndour win, especially when it's so very close to victory, and keeps on ploughing forward, its mouth opening wide ready to take the little pup's head off. At that very moment though, Vulpix comes charging in from the side at high speed, flames whipping from her body, ramming into Steelix with Flare Blitz and knocking it just enough off course to save Houndour's life. Vulpix yelps and falls back, the recoil damage from her attack very painful indeed. Steelix roars, partly due to pain, but mostly due to rage, and turns its attention from Houndour to the little fire fox who had foiled its plan. As it spins around on the desert floor to face Vulpix, it lashes its Iron Tail out at Houndour who is so spent of energy that she doesn't see it coming. Steelix' tail strikes downward, smacking the little pup's skull before continuing to dig down the left-hand side of her face, slicing her directly over her left eye. Blood starts spurting from the wound as Houndour howls in agony, falling to the ground and bleeding heavily.

Missy sacrifices half of her health to place a Curse on Rhyhorn who suddenly finds itself under attack from the tiny Pig Pokémon it thought it had gotten rid of earlier. Deidoki isn't so easy to get rid of however, and is out to make Rhyhorn's life difficult after having been completely humiliated earlier. He isn't some little ball that can be tossed around at will, and has every intention of showing Rhyhorn just how serious he can be. With a running start, Deidoki launches himself from the ground and straight at Rhyhorn's head, his Rock Smash stunning Rhyhorn and cracking its skull. Unfortunately Deidoki hasn't gotten off so easily with his act of revenge though, as that attack hurt like buggery and he drops to the ground in front of the Spike Pokémon who is still too stunned to fully comprehend what's just happened. Deidoki squeaks triumphantly and turns around, scuttling back to the safety of his trainers arms before Rhyhorn realises what's hit it and can stomp him into the ground. Missy's not sure just how smart or strong Rhyhorn is, but she's not about to take any chances, especially considering she's already risked half of her health to weaken it, and sets up a Light Screen for protection. Rhyhorn is already feeling the effects of the Curse as its health is sapped slowly away, and although its head hurts like hell after Deidoki's little stunt, it has no desire to make itself a target for any more Pokémon. Unfortunately for Rhyhorn, it doesn't notice Charizard Flying low, swooping in from behind. A moment later Rhyhorn is airborne, Charizard struggling with the additional weight as Rhyhorn outweighs him by roughly fifty five pounds. He still manages to gain a decent height though, holding on to Rhyhorn for all he's worth and spinning round and round in tight circles before putting all of the strength he can muster into a Seismic Toss that sends Rhyhorn hurtling for the ground at high speed. Trainers and Pokémon alike scatter in order to avoid being mulched, the impact knocking some off their feet, and felt miles away by other desert dwelling Pokémon who have no idea as to what could have caused the slight tremor they've just felt. While Charizard comes into a soft landing to witness the results of his handiwork, Nidoking steps forward just in time to note Rhyhorn begin to glow a blinding, radiant white. Not about to allow this to continue, Nidoking fires off a close-range Ice Beam in hopes of freezing Rhyhorn solid, a layer of ice forming over Rhyhorn's entire body. Unfortunately it's not enough though, for once an evolution starts it cannot be stopped, or frozen. Rhyhorn's mutating form shatters the layer of ice surrounding it as it grows larger, and with a thunderous Roar at the completion of its evolution, climbs to its feet with revenge in its eyes.

Kiba is eager to make his mark on this battle and when in close enough proximity to Tyranitar to make his move, unleashes his Thunder Wave. Unfortunately his electric attack fizzles out as it makes contact with Tyranitar's tough hide as the Armor Pokémon's half rock typing protects it against the attack. Tyranitar launches a Dark Pulse of energy in Kiba's direction causing the electric dog to reconsider his strategy for the next round as he flinches when a shooting pain passes through him. Mango is far from finished with this big, green lizard, however, and makes a mad dash for Tyranitar while it's still down. Leaping into the air she aims straight for the diamond on its stomach, using Rock Smash to ram her little fists into it as hard as she can. Tyranitar Roars again, but this time Mango doesn't take cover, instead watching with disgust while her enemy suffers an adverse reaction to the repeated attacks against its stomach. Tyranitar belches up part of its last meal which sickeningly resembles a human arm. Mango is so horrified that she forgets to move, not noticing that Tyranitar has gotten back to its feet. Meganium, seeing what is about to happen, starts running toward Mango as fast as she can in a desperate attempt to help Mango by shielding her old friend with her Safeguard, but isn't quick enough to save the little Quagsire from Tyranitar's devastating dive-bombing Body Slam. Tears stream from Meganium's eyes as her protective shield fades, and too distraught to notices that it's gone, becomes victim to Tyranitar's Ice Fang when it reaches out, grabs her by the head, and drags her into its mouth. The monster's teeth sink into Meganium's neck causing her to fall limp as Tyranitar once again rises to its feet tossing its head from side to side and shaking her around like a rag doll before tossing her away to the side, KOed, next to her unconscious former teammate.

Rocky, feeling he's waited too long to make his move against Steelix, is both distraught and enraged at having witnessed what the steel beast has done to Houndour. While it may be too late to do anything for the little pup, he may be able to save the tiny fire fox from the save fate and doesn't waste another precious moment. With Steelix having its full attention focused upon Vulpix at the moment, Rocky has the advantage of surprise as he charges in from behind. Steelix' fangs are bristling with sparking electrical energy while it bears down on Vulpix who is scuttling backward as quickly as she can, her little brown eyes now huge orbs of fear. Luckily Rocky arrives in the nick of time, for just as Steelix lunges forward to sink its Thunder charged Fangs into Vulpix, Rocky's super charged Rock Smash smashes into the base of Steelix' tail which sends a shockingly painful vibration up the metallic beast's spine. Steelix rears back, an agonised Screech ringing through the ears of every living creature within a ten mile radius. Houndour, weak yet conscious, lifts her head to see what all the ruckus is about before struggling to her feet. She tries to focus, but with so much blood in one eye she's unable to see very well. She takes a few steps forward, but is so dizzy that she stumbles. Determined to return to the battle, she struggles to her feet again but before she's taken even two steps, a bright, radiant light surrounds her. Houndour's legs, neck, snout, and tail elongate within the light, her torso growing longer and taller. Horns sprout from her head, her fangs becoming sharper and more pronounced, the tip of her tail splitting and forking into two. An additional ridge appears on her back, the base of her neck, and around each of her legs. Her puppy fat replaced with lean, rippling muscle, while the wound on her face is cauterized, sealing shut and leaving a vertical scar running an inch from the top of her left eye to an inch below it. When the light fades Houndoom stands tall with malice in her eyes, snarling viciously at Steelix while her muscles ripple with barely restrained energy as she awaits her next set of orders.

Charizard cannot believe his eyes as he stares at the newly evolved Rhydon, but his orders are clear and so he follows them. His fist glows white with energy, but as he swings his fist around to attack, Rhydon punches its arm forward, grabbing Charizard's fist in its hand. Charizard grunts with surprise, his eyes bulging in shock as the fact that he is in very serious trouble dawns on him. Before he can make any move to react, Rhydon moves to the side, twisting Charizard's arm behind his back, and then focusing its Strength into swinging Charizard up over its head and slamming him into the ground. While Charizard is down, Rhydon Stomps on his head for good measure, knocking him out cold. So focused on what it is doing, Rhydon doesn't even see Nidoking until the purple monster's energy charged fist is only inches from its face. A loud, "CRACK!" explodes into the air when Nidoking's Dynamicpunch slams Rhydon in the face, its neck snapping backward as it's sent flying. Nidoking roars in triumph while Missy calls upon her Hidden Power, summoning nature's Grass energy to her which she unleashes in the form of a powerful energy wave. Rhydon takes a damaging hit, the effects of Missy's prior Curse still wearing it down. Though it's weakening quite rapidly, Rhydon isn't going to be taken down without a fight and fires off a misty blue Dragonbreath at Missy. She doesn't take a great deal of damage from the attack, but does shudder rather violently as it passes through her. Regaining its feet, Rhydon narrows its eyes while it focuses upon Nidoking who is kneeling concernedly over Charizard. Rhydon's horn begins to spin, slowly at first, but then faster and faster until it's nothing but a blur. Distracted by its concern for Charizard, Nidoking doesn't immediately notice the incoming Rhydon until he suddenly feels the vibration of Rhydon's stampede against the earth. By the time he looks up he has no time to evade the Horn Drill aimed at this head, and if not for the quick actions of Captain Frosts Machamp who appears at the very last second to attack Rhydon from the side with Mega Kick that knocks it off-course, Nidoking could very well have ended up having his brain scrambled.

Steelix is in such a state of fury that Ninetales is having a hard time making eye contact with it at all, totally giving up on the idea of using her Hypnosis as she realises it's pointless to even try at this stage. Wanting blood, Steelix turns on Rocky who was the last to inflict it with damage when it spies Houndoom staring at it viciously from the sidelines with her teeth bared. Steelix takes a moment to examine the dark dog, and upon noting the scar over her eye, a malicious glint appears in its eye. Anyone paying attention could swear they see Steelix grin, though with its metal jaw this would not be an easy task. Rocky can sense Steelix' sadistic interest in Houndoom, as it's clear by now that it's taken a special interest in her, though it's anyone's guess as to why. He moves to block Steelix' path, standing directly between Houndoom and the mammoth steel type whose eyes then zoom in on him. That same, malicious glint appears in the metallic behemoth's eyes upon noting that Rocky is willing to take it on in order to protect his ally. Steelix rears back, its terrible Screeching indicative of malevolent joy, a sound that sends a chill up every trainer's spine and is exactly the queue Ninetales needs to strike. While Steelix is completely engrossed with Houndoom and Rocky, Ninetales Fire Blasts it from behind, the searing flames streaming up Steelix' back and causing it agonising pain. It spins around, lashing out it's Iron Tail to strike, but hits nothing. Furious, it spins rapidly on the spot, gaining momentum while its gigantic body builds up a frightening amount of speed. Ninetales, Rocky, and Vulpix, who is still close enough to be crushed by its sweeping tail, scramble out of the way, barely missing being hit when Steelix suddenly lurches out of its spin and Slams itself into the ground with a wide sweep. Quite by chance it succeeds in swiping Ninetales off her feet which sends her flying several feet backwards, skidding painfully across the desert floor on her right side. Steelix coils around and races after her, glad to add another victim to its tally when both Rocky and Machamp take action. Rocky lunges forward and grabs Steelix by the tail which slows it down slightly, but drags him across the ground with it, while Machamp leaps onto its back to deliver a mighty Cross Chop to the top of Steelix' iron head. Steelix leaps up and flips itself over, Slamming Machamp into the ground with all its might which also causes Rocky to lose his grip on the metallic beast. Stunned, Machamp is a sitting duck for Steelix who flips back over and Crunches down hard on the right hand side of Machamp's torso before rearing its head back, tearing both of Machamp's right arms out of its body.

While Steelix, Rhydon, and Tyranitar have all taken damage this round, they're certainly better off than many of the trainer's Pokémon. It's certainly apparent by now that no rules apply here, as life or death are the only options. To win, trainers and Pokémon alike are going to literally have to fight for their lives...