Pokemon Battle Island Finale!

[Jay star]

POKEMON BATTLE ISLAND FINALE
The Rpg





Ding dong, ding dong ding. The notes chimed as the machine in the Pokémon centre healed someone’s Pokémon, they thanked the nurse and left through the sliding doors which were propped open since they had been damaged in the events of last night. Jamie sat in one of the seats of the waiting area between the entrance on his left, the Pokémon centre in front of him and the miniature hospital to his right. His head rushed with everything that had happened so far on the island and he had only been here 9 days now, he had only realised it had been a week already when he woke up this morning to find just one poke ball on the bed side table in his hotel room. He had performed his morning routine ins silence and was in the lift when just one floor down the doors opened an a pair of old rich woman had entered the lift, they looked like identical sisters except one was wearing a dress of blue which matched her makeup and jewellery perfectly and the other was wearing the exact same outfit but in red.

“Oh Indina dear sister can you believe we have been on this island for only nine days and something like this happens” The woman in red had said.

“Oh I do no Crimsina dear what an awful thing to happen on such a wonderous holiday” Indina had replied, the lift stopped now on the ground floor and the two ladies got out the lift and entered the doorway to the restaurant area of the hotel.

So it had been 9 days, time really did fly, especially it seemed when you was in danger. It was just last night that something strange had happened which had caused many guests to the island to have left on a ship this morning, some people believed Mr Regal Bryant when he said that the “Beast” wouldn’t attack again, but a lot of people on the island knew from the way he was continuingly wiping his sweaty forehead with the sleeves of his expensive looking jacket he was more terrified than any of us. I guess he does have more to lose Jamie thought to himself and this was true, not only could Mr Bryant lose his life staying on the island but he could also lose his money and his reputation if word got out about some mysterious shadow creature thing was attacking his guests on Pokémon Battle island.

Last night at about 9 pm a mysterious shape had flown over the trees of the forest on Wild Island and had made its way towards Home Island, it took note of the amount of Pokémon trainers which seemed to be around the beach so late in the evening and it attacked, smashing itself through one of the street lamps which was standing tall outside the hotel it crumpled the mettle causing it to collapse and smash through the glass sliding doors to the Pokémon centre. The weird shadow then condensed its shape and it took the form of a Rhyperior, it charged forwards towards the trainer’s who all seemed to react instinctively. The air was filled with pokeballs as each trainer sent out their first Pokémon to battle against such a strange creature, Jamie had chosen to start with his Sneasel, the Rhyperior had used Earthquake it seemed, stomping one foot down a shock wave passed through the ground in front of it and wherever a Pokémon touched the ground it was hit by up cast rocks.

The Rhyperior at one point had knocked a Pokémon which it was fighting alongside Jamie’s Sneasel and was now hammering Sneasel into the ground, punch after punch in rapid succession, it wasn’t until a nearby trainer sent out a new Pokémon which turned out to be a Kecleon which had used Water Pulse, this was enough to make the Pokémon stagger back giving Jamie enough time to call back his Pokémon to its pokeball. The strange Rhyperior had then faded into shapelessness again before condensing itself into a terrifying shape of the legendary pokemon Zapdos, it flew around shooting bolts of electricity down at the ground, and one of the bolts hit a tree which immediately engulfed in flames. Dr Vines from the hospital inside came out at this moment, running towards the trainers and releasing his own Wobbuffet from its pokeball he yelled at people on the beach his plan, and he had to yell over the screeching noises the faux Zapdos was making. The Dr told them all to wait until the Zapdos had hit his Wobbuffet with one of its thunderbolts, at which point it will use Mirror Coat and aiming so that all their attacks hit it at the same time as the rebounded Thunderbolt it should be enough to defeat it.

They waited, Pokémon at the ready, Jamie by this point had both his Hippopotas and his Torkoal out of their balls, deciding to keep his Shroomish in its pokeball thinking it to be too small and weak to cope with the battle that was going on. A thunderbolt hit Wobbuffet it yelled seemingly in a great deal of pain and Jamie noted a look of something deeper than depression on the doctor’s face. The attack rebounded and all of the Pokémon which could attack from a distance used their projectile attacks. The attacks all hit on target and Jamie could have sworn that he saw a small piece of Zapdos’ wing detatch from the rest and wisp away, at that exact moment a deafening screech filled the air which wasn’t that of Zapdos or any Pokémon they had ever heard before, the Zapdos faded back to shapelessness and it drifted swiftly away over the trees and behind the mountain of wild island.

And so the danger had subsided, for now and Mr Bryant had put out a message on the televisions and the radio speakers on the island that no one was to worry and it was just a Pokémon getting up to no good. Try and tell that to Sneasel Jamie thought as he heard the announcement. He was even more astonished when he heard Mr Bryant state that the Pokémon Battle Island tournament was still to take place according to schedule.

“Mr Tanaka your pokemon are ready” Jamie heard the nurses voice and he let out a long sigh of relief, he could finally leave the pokemon centre and get out there to do some training and to see if he could find a strong pokemon to help protect himself and the others on the island. Walking over to the counter where the nurse held a tray with 3 pokeballs on it he thanked her and took the balls and put them back where they belonged, then without a moment’s hesitation he half walked half jogged to the doorway and stepped out into the early morning sun where the clock told him it was 8 am.

[alteredegoX]

Sophi's head was still in a rush. She hadn't physically witnessed the event of last night, but she definatly heard it. She had avoided the area simply due to her baby Mantyke shaking with fright after only a single glance at the creature whilst it was only flying, but Sophi had the gut feeling that the shadow did more than just fly. She had struggled to sleep that night and had got up and out of the Pokémon centre before the sun was even rising. For hours she had just sat up in a tree near the centre with her Pokémon around her, with the exception of her Mantyke who was still sleeping in it's ball; her Doduo was asleep at the foot of the tree, it's two different gendered heads curled up together, her Kirlia was also asleep and using Doduo as a makeshift pillow, and her Rattata was running around, continuously building up an aura of fire and charging into a single rock that stuck out from the ground. Sophi watched her rat, curiousity growing as to just how the rat could know such odd attacks, but she wouldn't tell or show anyone the secret attack Bubblebeam until the time needed.

As she looked back to the centre, she saw the doors slide open as a boy stepped out. She faintly recognised him as being in the tournament too, but she couldn't remember anything about him. She may have wanted to know as much about her opponents as possible before a battle, the reason she constantly kept her Pokémon out as much as possibly was that then it would be fair, but she was far too comfy up in the tree to go and talk to him. Besides; her Pokémon were relaxed, except Rattata of course but the Pokémon still didn't like Sophi too much, so she didn't want to really disrupt the Pokémon or the other trainer in case he was busy.

[Stabberz]

Ven growled angrily to himself as he paced around the Pokémon Centre. All three of his Pokémon had been knocked out during the previous night. He curled his hands up into fists and punched a wall in annoyance. So far during the tournament he'd thought of himself as one of the stronger looking competitors. Taking out every opponent with his Tyranitar and not losing a single battle be it unofficial or official.

Then last night they'd been training up on the mountains. when some sort of shadow passed over them. The shadow seemingly switched its form and appeared to be a Machamp.

Sabakumono, Arashyuu and Suiryomeijin had all gone to fight but were overwhelmed by the Shadow switching forms between a Rhyperior, Zapdos, Machamp and Chairzard. Ven could still see the image of Sabakumono finally falling against the Machamp.

With another growl he moved over the the desk and addressed the Nurse. "Can I go now." He demanded as she placed three Pokéballs on a tray.

"Yes, you're Pokémon are fine to leave. Just don't overdo it, 'kay?" The pink haired woman replied handing over the Pokéballs.

"...Yeah." He muttered taking the Pokéballs and heading out for the door.

They had to do more training.

[Jay star]

Jamie was taking deep gulps of fresh ocean air to try and settle himself. His head was still racing with the events of last night but no more would he let them effect him. They had had an effect on him and he knew no matter how much he tried not to think about them, they would have an impact on how he was going to train and chose his Pokémon. He would have to be more proactive, thinking about not just the potential of a Pokémon but also what power they seemed to already have and in other words, he would have to aim to just catch powerful pokemon.

Looking around the beach he noticed a girl sitting in a tree on the beach with her Pokémon all sleeping around her, all except a rather eager purple rat Pokémon he knew to be called Rattata which was currently running around the base of the tree and running into a small bolder, he thought he imagined it at first but blinking rapidly he realised that the Pokémon kept getting sparks of fire around him. That was not an ordinary Rattata, but before Jamie had decided to go over to it he heard a slight splash come from over the hill to his left where he knew a small beach was and he also knew that almost as soon as the sand hit the water the sand disappeared into a deep drop which was why so few people went over there. So if hardly anyone went over there for a paddle or a swim who was there now? Curiosity getting the better of him he jogged over to the hill and looked down, the water surfaced was rippling, thankfully the sea was rather still today so he noticed a small patch of something pink before he noticed a large something was moving just beneath the surface. It was blue and white in colouring and it seemed to be wiggling slightly but perhaps that was the effect the slight water ripples gave it. Quickly running through what Pokémon could live under water which was blue and white he took note that the size of the blue and white mass was getting larger and larger.

Before he had much of a chance to do anything there was a GIANT SPLASH and a wave of water hit the side of the hill at Jamie’s feet, smaller splashes hit him making him more wet than he would like to be but realising that a large Gyarados stood before him the thought of his wet clothes leaked away like water.

[Blivsey]

8:05
Day 10
Competitors' Hotel


Ngh... Sun bad... need... sleep.

Kyle rolled over in his infirmary bed an pulled the sheets back over himself. He was still sore from the previous night. It had been so bizarre - some moments he remembered so clearly, but most of it had just passed by in a blur. He had only been on the island nine days, and already they had been attacked by that thing twice. That battle had really taken its toll, even after all of his training...




21:02
Day 9
Forest Island Waterfall


"Again!"

The purple, spherical shell sitting at the shore of the lake made some sort of muffled noise, then opened up to show a completely black inside, with only eyes and a mouth visible. A glowing orb of light began to form in front of it, between the two larges spikes on its shell, flashing in various bright, pulsing colors. It took only a second to gather enough energy before the Pokémon released the energy, directing a beam of multicolored light at the bottom of a nearby waterfall and slowly aimed it further up, freezing the falls in place and damming up the mouth with a thick wall of ice. The second that water had stopped falling, a mammalian Pokémon with flames erupting from its neck and rear hips dashed across the frozen lake, melting only slight spots where its paws touched the ice. In a flash, it jumped into the air, burst into flame and rammed through the frozen waterfall, melting a hole at least three times its size, then just as quickly snuffed the flames surrounding it and landed on the icy lake again, running to shore without ever falling in the water. As soon as it had safely on the shore, a bird darted out of a tree in a burst of green light, slamming into the ice wall, shattering what was left of the ice, then returning perfectly to its perch as the falls once again continued to roar.

The three Pokémon turned to the young man standing in the shallow water, grinning widely and nodding his head. "That was nearly perfect, guys," he commented, satisfied. Then, addressing each of his teammates accordingly, he added, "Cloyster, the dam could've been a bit thicker, but cutting corners did save you time. Quilava, your control is getting a lot better, but you're still leaving pawprints. Swellow, hitting a little higher could've broken the dam better, but otherwise it was a brilliant U-Turn. Overall, though, you guys are getting really good. You've earned your rest for tonight." Then, patting each of them on the head, he stepped out and sat on a nearby rock to put on his clothes. Though he kept feeding them all criticism to keep them working hard, Kyle could tell that his Pokémon really had improved. They wouldn't be having any problems keeping up with the competition.

Just as Kyle had finished throwing on an unbuttoned blue shirt with a Latios pattern, he heard a sound from overhead that made him impulsively reach for his Pokéballs - a garbled cry that sounded like a mix between Zapdos and several other Pokémon. Turning his gaze to the sky, Kyle saw a shapeless mass flying over the trees, heading straight for the beach. He had seen this Pokémon - if that was what it was - only once before, and that time had ended with a hole in the Pokémon Center wall and several dozen Pokémon severely injured. Acting now on whatever ideas jumped to mind, Kyle threw his shoes on and recalled Quilava and Cloyster, stuffing their Pokéballs into his bag and slinging the backpack over his shoulder.

"Swellow, grab me and follow that thing!" Kyle ordered, already running along the lake bank. Swellow gave a strong cry in response and swooped down from his perch, grabbing Kyle's shoulders and carrying him upwards in a tight grip, clearing the treetops and giving chase to the blob that was now heading into circles above the beach. It took only a few minutes for the pair to reach the band of trainers that had already gathered, trying to fight off the Ryhperior form that the creature had taken. Landing, and remembering that close-range attacks were impossible against this monster, Kyle threw out his two remaining Pokéballs and started giving orders.

"Cloyster, hit it with Surf! Quilava, try Swift! Swellow, use Double Team until you can't anymore, then make passes at it with Steel Wing!" Wiping the bangs and sweat out of his eyes, Kyle could tell that Cloyster was doing the most damage, just adding to the amount of water being thrown over the Rhyperior. Quilava's Swift was doing next to nothing compared to the Pokémon like Sneasel and Vibrava that were using much more effective attacks. In an instant, the Rhyperior let out an Earthquake, upturning the earth and sending several Pokémon including Quilava out of commission. Just as it was finishing the attack, Swellow and five of its copies came diving out of the air, hitting the fake Pokémon with glowing silver wings, enough to make the Pokémon flinch a little. On the second attempt at an attack, though, Swellow was knocked out of the air by a lucky swing of the arm from the beast, knocking it to the ground, where it could easily be trampled on. Thinking quickly, he recalled both of his fallen team members.

As he was about to give an order to Cloyster, the Rhyperior lost its shape and turned into a black, formless mass, flying upward and slowly turning into a Zapdos, heading out over the main island. Kyle recalled his immobile Pokémon and began to chase after the creature, and then...

Nothing.

He had woken up in the hospital wing of the hotel later that night, nor remembering anything after giving chase to the Zapdos. He had been told he had been nearly hit by lightning and subsequently caught under a fallen tree, then brought to the infirmary. He also was informed that Joy had personally made sure that Quilava and Swellow were properly healed, and that his personal injuries had amounted to bruises, slight burns and internal bleeding, which would likely heal on their own enough for him to be released the following morning. After being assured that the situation had been handled, he had finally been able to get some rest.



8:08
Day 10
Competitors' Hotel


Kyle shook his head. It was all so surreal... and yet between the burns on his lower back, the soreness in his abdomen and his scorched and shredded shirt on the pile of his belongings, it was obvious that his memory wasn't failing. From the chatter around him, Kyle could hear murmurings that the tournament schedule hadn't been altered in the slightest. He chuckled to himself and shook his head. Of course they wouldn't cancel a tournament. This was a gathering of strong-willed trainers like himself. There was no way that some experiment-gone-horribly-right would be able to put their battles on hold. After all, they had obviously fended whatever it was off twice already. With all the trainers on the island, they could do it again, no problem.

Giving in to the fact that he was now awake, Kyle sat upright in his bed, groaning slightly. Now to see about getting released from this hospital.

[Hyuu]

On one of the taller hotel patio stood a demure figure, leaning heavily on the wooden rails, inclining her head on her fist to spy at the portion of the beach visible in her vantage point. Beside the poorly presented female, who’s tawny hair was a mess and clothing had been rushed on, was an equally unruly Machop, taking a scarlet crayon and spamming “Princess” in pretty cursive letters on the otherwise pristine painted white columns of the patio, ignoring the pensive mood of her trainer, content with her calligraphy. At Revi’s morose sigh, Princess did pause to glance at her trainer briefly… before shrugging dismissively and resuming her artwork, distant from the fact that yesterday, everything had changed for Battle Island.

It was plainly sighted by a reduction of people on the beach. Though her view was largely shrunken and she had to squint to distinguish any shapes of color dotting the otherwise expansive stretch of rich golden sand, with her limited range, Revi could estimate that more than half of the Island’s residence were staying away from the seafront. Weirdly enough, nature recovered from the mysterious creature’s attack easily, now a beautiful plain of sand, illuminated by the sun above, rays free to fully stain the ocean with a slight strip of its warm hue. The beach was gorgeous without clumps of people and Pokemon erecting volleyball games, goofing off on the surface, or, otherwise, marring the divots that the waves would have to recover overnight.

The beach looked pretty as a vast gold shape, touched and shaped only by the ocean and the sun.

Too bad not a lot of people saw this, all fleeing in terror at the mention of yesterday’s event. Revi hadn’t been there, spending last night in the mountains, but the lack of tourist on the beach was a tip off to the inevitable hysteria affecting the whole population of Battle Island as she returned to the hotel. People were pushing and shoving to get out, packing their luggage en mass without regard for Mr. Bryant’s frantic claim that it was just a rogue Pokemon. His assurances that this was a unique occurrence that would not repeat under his watch went ignored and Revi could not, in good faith, believe Mr. Bryant’s words while half of her hotel was pleading to be on the next boat out.

Originally, she thought the whole lot cowards, but Revi was quickly put in her place by another ex-competitor who she’d knocked out recently.

”It’s just another Pokemon… One Pokemon. Why’re you guys so afrai-?”

“********!” Her words caught in her throat and she choked on them, giving a curious glance to the outraged sailor who’d cut her muses off. She’d been talking and the man had been struggling with his suitcase, negotiating with the door who’s frame was too narrow to allow passage of such a cumbersome item. He huffed and puffed and gave it a few more tugs before, in frustration, releasing the handle, turning fully to address the outspoken trainer, eyeing her plain jade outfit, mouth heavy with a weary and worn frown. “You weren’t there!” His stubby index finger shot out, aimed at her nose, and Revi looked down at it, cross-eyed, before taking a calm step back.

Despite the outburst, her mouth was still running. “No, I wasn’t… But it’s one Pokemon, even if it’s a 494th unknown or the wrath of God, as rumor has it. It’s one against a lot and odds are we’re on the winning side, if you guys would stop running and face it!” Conviction dripped from her voice and Revi was very confident with her answer, but the sailor flared his nose and she took another hesitant step back as he dropped his outstretched arm, utter disgust painting his expression.

“You weren’t there!” He repeated angrily and she nodded in agreement, more as a way to comply with the (now that she noticed) large, bulky, 5’11’’ sailor that towered her in both size and weight then actual agreement (though it’s, all the same, accurate.) Seeing the small girl draw herself up with a worried glance at his fist, the sailor took a few calming breaths, knitting his brows as he visibly released the tension from his body. After adjusting his nautical hat, fluffing the ribbon, the man continued, restraint rendering his baritone taunt but pleasant.

“Mr. Bryant is talking out of his ***. He doesn’t know what’s there. Nobody does! We’re all running because we were there for the destruction. We saw it, some of us,” Unconsciously, he fingered a Pokeball on his belt, a painful expression crossing his face, “We participated. I, and a lot of others, don’t want to go through it again and it’s our right to hightail it when we deem it’s not worth the trouble. I’m not in the tournament anymore and I’ve way more reasons to leave then to stay.” Spoken with a tone of finality, the sea-goer returned to his luggage, struggling again. A sense of silence enveloped the two, with a background of chaos beyond them as other people in the floor rushed and crowded for elevators.

Finally, she asked, “Was it that bad?”

The fellow stopped his pulling, resting a bit, as if the memory of the beast was a bit too much for his physical body. “It’s like nothing you’ve seen before, anywhere, sea or land. If is a Pokemon, like Mr. Bryant said, then it’ll be one for the records.” Ending that, he grunted, putting all of his weight into pulling his suitcase from the hold of the door, smiling triumphantly as the frame relented. The wood creaked momentarily before it sent the luggage flying backwards, sailor attached, landing painfully on the carpet of the hallway with a mute thud. And thus, like a herd of other people, he made way to the elevator doors.

Not before leaving these parting words though, after examining her face thoroughly and recognizing, “You’re still in the tournament, right? Got a chance to win it. You’ve gone far for a first-timer but remember, you’re talented and you’re young. Don’t waste it here if it’s too dangerous. Think about the risk and rewards ‘cause I think you have a high spot in the league someday. If you get knocked out, leave and you won’t regret it.” With that, the metal door of the elevator was closing and he left a chaste “G’luck” before being obscured by silver, looking forward to the next boat out of the island.

Groaning, Revi shifted so her back was resting against the rails, frowning, her elbows hanging off the edge, perplexed. “Hey Princess?” She asked, waiting for the scratches of wax crayons to halt. “If we get eliminated, would you like to stay on the Island?” Tilting her head, she looked at Machop and was pleasantly surprised to see her shaking her head, “no,” quite ferociously.

“Really?” She wondered, raising her eyebrows incredulously, “We should go if we get knocked out? Who is this and what have you done with Princess?” Now, the stickered fighting-type was shaking her head faster, crossing her arms. Again, “no,” but more like “No!” There was an exclamation to her body language which served to confuse Revi.

“If we lose, you… don’t want to stay on the Island but you… really don’t want to go? Huh?” Machop tried recovering, frantically shouting her name, a language Revi didn’t understand. She hoisted herself onto the railing ledge, feet beside Revi’s lazy elbows, three fingers raised and stuck in front of her trainer’s wide hazel orbs. Impatiently, she jabbed the gesture a few times in the air, waiting for her trainer’s answer. “Uhhh… Three words?” Machop frowned, dropping her hand immediately, disapproval evident in expression. The fighting-type tried again, raising one stubby finger, and Revi lifted both brows.

“… First word?” The trainer waited expectedly, quite proud of her answer, until… “Ow!” Grasping her sore forehead with both hands, Revi was sure that would leave a mark tomorrow, “What? First wor-Ow! I get it. Not first word. Try again.” Now with two bumps to addle her mind, Revi had enough of this game, slighted in favor of strong Pokemon with a fondness for insubordination, obviously created to torment confused trainers “I-It-It can only be a combination of so many words. Either ‘Leave the Island’ or-OW! ‘Stay the Island,’ which really isn’t grammatically correct but I didn’t teach you grammar and-Ow! Ow! OW! Will you stop that?! I don’t understand!” What was now a sure headache, Revi’s palms hovered over her scalp, wincing delicately, trying hard not to move her forehead and aggravate her pained head.

She’d hardly noticed Machop had left until she heard a frustrated grunt from the (oh-so-girly) Princess but it was that thud that really prompted her eyelids to fly open, confirming her suspicion that her starter had just attempted suicide or, for some other reason, decided jumping from the patio balcony was a good idea. “Princess!” Revi shouted, at this point flustered and in pain, narrowing her eyes first on the concrete dent in front of the hotel doors (which would probably come out of her bill,) than staring at Machop’s retreating running form. “What’re you-? Why’re-?! Uh… Zubat!” Revi reached for her sliding door, opening it to be greeted by an obedient leech-lifer, floating aimlessly in the air.

“G-Go follow her! Ow…” At the sound of “her,” the female pronoun, the poison-type smiled lecherously, sliding closer to the patio, searching for his intended target, “Princesss.” And the smile turned upside-down, “I don’t know what she’s doing, but keep in the air, high up so I can see you, a-and keep her in your sight. G-Go now. I’ll be there in a… in a very long minute… Soon as the room stops spinning…” Zubat was off without another hitch and Revi followed his trails soon after, grabbing her Chinchou, resting it on her head as a makeshift ice bag, and snatching her cap from a hat stand, making crooked paths towards her bat Pokemon.

“W-Why… would you… possi…bly… do that?” Winded, flushed, with a pounding headache and a ridiculous Chinchou resting on her scalp, Revi was quite a sight, but she was standing on the beach and her starter was in front of her, on her knees, bent over the sand and drawing something in the formerly admired unmarred sand. She collapsed on her tailbone, taking shallow breaths, eagerly switching Chinchou around to try to soothe all the aches pulsing against her scalp, well-aware her water-type’s blubber had warmed but still seeking some sort of relief. Entirely, she ignored Zubat, who was leering at a lady with a hyperactive Rattata.

And she rested while Machop drew… until Princess was poking at her head, inciting little stings of pain, apparently trying to draw Revi’s attention (and sufficiently pissing her off.) “What? What do you want?” Opening her lids tiredly, using her forearm to block the sunlight, the trainer turned to see Machop’s drawing, brows knitting as she attempted to decipher the odd contour. If she cocked her head to the left slightly and jut out her chin, she could kind of make out a… a trophy? With a neat number one scribbled a little off-center. Then, realization dawned. “Oh. You’re saying 'don’t get eliminated?'” Gratefully, Princess nodded, dusting her fingers off with Revi’s jeans, smiling proudly to herself.

“You couldn’t have done that with the crayon on the patio? At all?”

[Shadowfaith]

The night before had near enough been a nightmare for the residence of the island. All Riley could remember was riding her Ponyta along the sands when a large bang had caught her attention. In the distance she could hear piercing screams and a hell load of commotion, turning her head swiftly she spied a large dark figure hurtling towards the small town from within the forest. The rest of the night was a complete blur. The sky filled with the red and white colours of multiple Pokeballs and Riley remembered hurtling into the heart of the battle, dismounting Jake swiftly and sending him into battle.
A boys Sneasel got itself pummelled into the ground by the shape shifting Pokemon and Riley began to worry that the poor thing would actually die if no one did something soon. Fortunately it didn’t get that far as a water Pokemon stepped in with enough force to startle the unknown enemy enough for the Sneasel to escape.

It was then that the shape shifter took on a more sinister appearance.

The legendary Pokemon Zapdos is both majestic and menacing in appearance and fake or not, this Pokemon’s strength is not to be underestimated. Unfortunately for the gathered trainers and their Pokemon, they had no other choice but to engage it in battle. Jake shot a powerful flame wheel at its masters orders, successfully mingling with the rest of the projectile attacks and causing the outnumbered Pokemon to flinch, a piece of its abnormally frail body detached from the wing and it was with this harsh blow that the ‘Zapdos’ returned to its shadow form, disappearing over a distant mountain.

Riley as well as multiple other trainers, released a breath they did had not realised they had been holding.

The threat was gone for now, but Riley knew it would return. Something like that does not just up and vanish after one failed attack.

Never the less life went on the next day and Riley found herself laying, exhausted, up against the stone wall which ran along the beach. Jake had curled up along side her providing warmth with its flame. Riley had awoke surprisingly cold that morning and was of the belief that she was coming down with something. A sneeze escaped her and Jake jumped a little in surprise at the harsh outburst.
“Sorry, Jake. Aint got a clue what’s up with me.” She ruffled her nose and swiped a hand across it to get rid of the tingling feeling. “Guh, think the weather did me more harm than that shapeshifter.”

The Ponya snorted and nudged its master hard in the stomach with her snout causing the young red head to double over more in shock than pain with an audible “oof!”. She clutched her stomach and glared daggers at the horse. “I know I know, all I did was give the orders, but there aint no need for that kinda treatment to your pardener now is there?”
The Pokemon simple snorted and turned its head to the side.
Riley raised a delicate eyebrow and rest her head back up against the wall, adjusting her glasses and tipping her hat. “Now aint that just plain rude…”

Riley had been all set to fall back to sleep under the sun when a woman dripping wet from an obvious dip in the sea walked past unknowingly splashing her with the drenched towel she carried in her grasp. “Gah!“ The red head gasped in surprise at the coldness and shot up to her feet, wondering what in the hell had just happened.
“Oh my God I am so sorry!” A voice bellowed as pink nailed hands ran along her waistcoat trying (and failing) to remove the beads of water that were slowly seeping through onto Riley’s skin. She stared in bewilderment at the hands for a few seconds, not having registered what had happened. She then proceeded to grasp the tanned hands in her own and smile shyly at they’re owner. “D-don’t worry about it. T’aint nothing but water.” She released the hands and tried to rid herself of the water the other had failed at. “There, a little cold but no harm done.” She grinned.
“I am so sorry! I didn’t realise you were sitting there when I walked by.” The woman apologised, for some reason completely flustered by the whole ordeal. “How can I make it up to you?”
Many witty replies flashed through her head at that moment and she gave a light smirk but decided against any of them. “Aint no sweat, hun. Like I said, just water.”
“You sure? I mean your shirt is soaked.” Her eyes drifted towards the white shirt Riley wore under the open waistcoat and Riley all but blushed when she realised it was going see-through. She immediately grasped the waistcoat and did the buttons up and to her complete embarrassment the young woman had begun to laugh, causing a blush to form on Riley’s face.
“Eheh, Guess a trip back to my room is in order.” Riley stuttered, climbing atop Jake’s back and tipping her hat to the other woman. “Buy me Lunch next we meet and we’ll call it even, eh?” and with one last smile Riley rose off down the beach, taking the long way back to the hotel.

[Lufiji]

OOC: I decided to have Raymond be in a different area at he time of the attack. If this isn't ok, tell me and I'll edit it.

Raymond was still rather confused as to what had gone on last night. He wasn't in the area of this attack he heard about at the time. Apparently there had been an attack made by a shadowy being that was able to change forms. Sadly he wasn't there to see it though, instead, at the time, he was at his favourite part of the island, the lake next to the forest, which he would always go to when he wanted to relax. He had seen some sort of shadowy figure fly over the area he was in, however he ignored it thinking he was seeing things. When he had got back to the hotel area, the monster had apparently just left, and it was all that the people in the area were talking about afterwards.

Despite this mystery monster's attack, Raymond was still able to get a good nights sleep. He then woke up early in the next morning. He looked up at his clock, which told him it was 20 minutes until 8 AM. He got out of his bed and got dressed. He then released his Grovyle, Komodo, from it's Pokéball. He would've let his Feebas out of it's Pokéball as well, however he didn't as he knew how much it didn't like being seen, so he put it's Pokéball in his trouser pocket. He then looked down to his Grovyle, who seemed to be looking at him expecting something.

"Good morning Komodo," Raymond said with a small smile on his head as he patted the Grovyle a couple of times on top of it's head. The Grovyle gave him a small smile after Raymond had done. Raymond then walked out of his hotel room with Komodo following him, and eventually went outside the hotel. He looked around the area for a few seconds, and then noticed that there were quite a few people on the beach. He then walked over to it, once again with Komodo following, and then sat down with his Grovyle next to him. He then sat there for a couple of minutes, thinking about the tournament and thinking if he could actually stand a chance at winning it. His thoughts were then interrupted by a Gyarados springing out of the water. He then immediatley stood up and noticed that there was another trainer, who's clothes had been wettened by the waved that formed when the Gyarados came out of the water, standing near the behemoth.

"Need a little help?" Raymond yelled, not getting near in case the trainer didn't want it.

[Skillfulness]

Kim Staar: Battle Island Beach: 7:50 am

Kim let a little yawn escape her mouth. Last night was a little hectic. At the time of the attack, she was here, at the beach, but she hadn’t stayed there for long. As soon as she heard what was going on, Kim raced to the Pokemon Center only to find the beast gone and destruction left over. Though she missed that action, Kim and her Pokemon stayed to help clean up the mess. There were injured trainers that needed to be attended to and the Pokemon Center itself was damaged. They stayed to help until every trainer was taken care of and the nurses had the center running again. It was a long night.

So why am I up so early again? Kim thought. Her gaze fell upon Beaches, her Minun. He was sitting at the water’s edge, innocently splashing and smiling. He was the one who woke her up and whined until they left for the beach at almost six in the morning. Kim wasn’t the only one unhappy. Sear, her Growlithe, was curled up beside Kim, silently pouting. Ace, the Scyther had gone for a walk, come back, and taken another walk. Everyone wanted to be in bed.

“But it is nice out,” Kim mumbled. The sun was up enough to light the beach and add its warmth. The sand’s texture always felt refreshing and at least Beaches was having fun. Kim suddenly had a brilliant idea and it came with a huge grin. She quietly stood up and snuck over to Beaches by the water. Trying not to laugh, Kim gave a little shove which caused her Minun to face plant into the shallow water.

“P-HAHAhahah!!” Kim cracked up! The look on Beaches’ face was priceless! Kim fell over and laughed herself silly on the sand. In another second, her face was soaking wet. She stood up and gasped in shock, as the water was cold. Now Beaches was the one to laugh.

“Oh you’re gonna get it now!” Kim scooped up her small Pokemon and trudged into the water. The Minun struggled, but laughed along with his trainer. They started to play in the water, catching the attention of Sear. Her ears perked up and she opened one eye. She feinted disinterest, but couldn’t for long. The Growlithe got up and casually strolled closer to water to watch her trainer and partner Pokemon play. Kim and Beaches took notice of Sear’s arrival and they looked at each other. With one big splash, Sear had joined them. They were all having some good fun until Ace showed up.

“Scy-scyther SCY!” Kim, Sear, and Beaches stopped to see what was up. Ace was frantically motioning towards the east end of the beach, clearly upset about something. Beaches and Sear also got worried and Ace led them all to a secluded part of the beach. It was a small pit at the bottom of a hill. From the water was an extraordinarily huge Gyarados, towering over a boy standing at the top of the hill. There was a shout from the other side of the hill.

“Need a little help?” Another boy was looking at the whole scene rather nonchalantly. That Pokemon was unnaturally HUGE! Of course he’d need help! But, the boy wasn’t doing anything.

“HEY! Don’t just stand there! There’s a wild Gyarados right in front of you!” Kim was prepared to order an attack. With what happened last night, who knows what that beast could turn into?

[Blivsey]

After a bit of negotiation with the medics and secretaries, Kyle finally was released from the hospital ward under the condition that he would return at specified intervals to get a checkup and have his bandages properly changed. Grumbling and temporarily topless save for the bandages across his abdomen, Kyle dragged his bag back to the elevator. He passed many people setting out for morning training or getting their breakfast in, reminding him that the day was just starting, despite his already being worn down.

Good grief.

Kyle returned to his room at last, dropping to his bed in relief. After allowing himself just short of five minutes to rest there, he rolled back over onto his back, wincing slightly from the pain in his lower back that it had caused. Then, pulling himself into a sitting position, Kyle pulled off yesterday's dirty clothes and threw them to the side, now putting on a pair of dark brown shorts, short socks and a dark blue shirt with the shadowy profile of a Lugia on the back. After loading up his belt and pulling on his hiking boots, he pulled himself into a standing position and rolled his neck, trying to loosen up. He gave himself a quick splash in the face with water from his sink and left back through the door and down to the main level.

There he approached the Pokémon Center lobby, eying over the room at the small group of trainers that were already in need of service. Kyle sighed and approached the counter, thinking that the Center lobbies had always seemed a bit like waiting rooms at doctors' offices, only with the benefit of access to public computers and a nearby trading terminal. In a sense, though, that's what they were. The nurse at the counter gave him a faint smile and nodded her head as Kyle approached, having become familiar with him over the past few days.

"So, how're Swellow and Quilava?" he asked calmly.

"What, not even a 'good morning'? Such manners..." the nurse responded jokingly. "Your Pokémon are fine. Not too much worse than the tournament matches will rough 'em up, at least."

"Thanks, Emily," Kyle said as the nurse headed into the back room. He was hoping that his Pokémon weren't harmed too badly, and they were just as safe as he would have liked. Without them, he wouldn't have a chance in the tournament - not to mention his personal want to see them healthy again. He hardly had a chance to take a seat and wait before Joy returned carrying all three of his Pokéballs on a tray. Luckily enough, she seemed to have taken care of Cloyster, as well.

"Thanks again," Kyle said, clipping the devices to his trainer's belt. Then, thinking of something else to say, he added, "So, how's the Center been since last night? A lot of Pokémon got taken down by that... whatever it was." The nurse frowned slightly and typed some notes into the PC on her desk, likely for record-keeping.

"You have no idea," she said flatly. "We were booked for a few hours, but it's calmed down since. It's almost entirely automated now besides the couple that needed intensive care. Machines are wearing down, but otherwise we're fine. You could've picked a better time to get hit by a burning tree, though," she jabbed, mostly kidding.

Kyle rolled his eyes, going along with it. "Well, excuse me. Next time I'll ask it politely. I can still take a look at whatever machines are giving you trouble, though."

"Thanks," the nurse said, turning her attention to another monitor. "Now if you don't mind, I've got other things to attend to."

"So do I, then," Kyle replied with a laugh. He turned around, then added over his shoulder, "Oh, and good morning." He could practically hear Emily rolling her eyes at him as he left, heading back out toward the front door.

Time to get working.

"Mister Kyle!"

Or not.

[treespyro]

Last night seemed so long ago and will stay in people's memories however in the red haired Stella's case, it wasn't. She woke up looking at an old clock on a dresser table. "Wow time has really gone fast" she thought as she got up from her bed and started well absolutely groggy, it felt to her like a massive hangover but she knew she didn't drink but it was like a blur but she knew something must have happened last night. "Was it a party?" she questioned herself "Doubt because I do feel pain in my shoulders", decided to wander outside after doing her normal morning routine. She changed into a brown sleeveless dress and black ballet style flats, added a little makeup as well as her jewelry, straightening her long light red styled hair and finally got her handbag but something didn't feel right to her. Stella surveyed the room and spotted her Pokeballs in the corner, "why are they there?" she asked herself as a vague memory of a Rhyperior and a stressed out Stella came into mind.

"I wonder but well I don't have time" she thought as she picked up her Pokeballs and walked outside her room. She locked the door, pulled out a mirror from her handbag and checked her hair but Stella didn't want to do anything. She had this feeling she couldn't shake off, "What really happened?" she thought trying to figure out answers to questions she asked herself about last night.

She noticed a little coffee cart and a dark green bench adjacent to the cart. Stella decided maybe some coffee would do the trick. "One Latte please" Stella ordered as the barista took her order and started to make it for her. "Looks like you had a hectic night" he said making conversation with Stella "It was a very dangerous night, I mean it is not every night were you have something major happened but I'm not sure what happen but I think you were part of it huh, beautiful" he explained handing the coffee to Stella who replied back "Thanks...Wait so you don't know either, that is not cool" she sighed paying for the coffee.

Stella wandered closely to the dark green bench, sitting down, she sighed wondering that happened to her and what happened last night. "If only someone knew" she thought as she looked around trying to at least fit a few things together but to her she knew what happened wasn't good but wished that someone could at least give her company and explain. "That will be a long shot" she scoffed as she started to drink her coffee while piecing last night together.

[Jay star]

Blinking no more than twice he looked up at the giant mouth which was now humming a low growl at him, he took a couple of steps back after the sudden appearance of the Pokémon and tripping over a large rock on the floor the Gyarados roared at him.

“Need a little help?” He heard someone yell which was quickly followed by another voice sounding considerably more panicked than the first.

“HEY! Don’t just stand there! There’s a wild Gyarados right in front of you!” the voice had called, these words sort of clicked something in Jamie’s brain and clutching at his pokeballs he tossed the first one he could into the air and with a burst of white light a tiny green Pokémon appeared which slightly resembled a mushroom. Thinking quickly Jamie yelled his command.

“Shroomish leech seed!” He called and Shroomish wasn’t hesitant in obeying its command, scrunching up his beady little eyes a small seed appeared out the small opening at the top of his head and in a second it had shot at the Gyarados landing between a couple of it’s scales the seed suddenly flourished into a small area of vines which covered a small patch of the Pokémon’s body around the seed and started flashing red periodically. Te Gyarados roared again as the seed to a hold of it, thrashing its head back and forth it fell forward towards Jamie and Shroomish, grabbing his Pokémon Jamie lept to the side as Gyarados thrashed around on the ground hitting the earth hard and shattering the small boulder Jamie had tripped on.

As Jamie hit the ground there was another flash of white light and another of his Pokémon joined the battle. Standing with her right arm held close to her body was his Sneasel and catching site of her Shroomish got a stern look on his face and leapt from his trainers arm’s and ran forward, before Sneasel had managed an attack Shroomish had shot an energy ball towards the thrashing body of its enemy. Sneasel looked at its team mate as if he had disobeyed her, as if to say that because she was out of the pokeball now she was in charge of the battle. She swiped her foot under the mushroom pokemon’s body and watched as it face planted into the ground, sneering at this Sneasel leapt over Shroomish and rushed at Gyarados. Taking another leap into the air she raised her right arm and brought it slamming down on the Gyarados’ head, this was her brick break attack. Shroomish got back to its feet and looked at Jamie expectantly.

Jamie knew that his Sneasel had never waited for instructions in battle but he thought maybe after her massive defeat last night she would have behaved a little friendlier towards him and the members of her team. Deep in thought about the events of the previous night Jamie didn’t notice right away as the Gyarados got up and took a deep breath. A giant serge of water was shot from the Pokémon’s mouth and at a guess Jamie would think that this was a hydro pump attack.

“Quick both of you, dodge it!” Jamie called and it almost seemed as if Sneasel listened to him for once because at that exact moment Sneasel still holding its right arm to its chest dived and rolled out of the path of the water, Shroomish who wasn’t as agile as Sneasel didn’t move in time. The attack hit him full blast and as a shudder of fear shot up from the base of Jamie’s spine he ran forward as he caught a shot of where Shroomish now was.

As he ran towards his Pokémon which was struggling to stand he felt something rush past his ear and it caught his eye as it landed in the small hole on the head of the grass Pokémon, a faint red glow emanated from Shroomish for a moment before it suddenly disappeared and with it so did some of the Pokémon’s wounds.

“Oh Yeah” Jamie said aloud as he realised “The leech seed you used earlier, awesome Shroomish do you think you can use stun spore on that Gyarados?” he asked his pokemon politely and as Shroomish nodded and ran forward, jumping up into the air his body started to shake releasing from it a large amount of golden coloured dust. The glittering mist moved towards Gyarados who was currently being distracted by Sneasel attempting to use furswipes with one bad arm un able to swipe, the dark pokemon swiftly moved back as the gold mist closed in and encased its target’s body with itself.

[Stabberz]

After storming out of the Pokémon Centre, Ven had gone to the beach to do some form of training. He'd sent out his entire team upon arriving and looked them up and down. Sabakumono, Arashyuu and Suiryomeijin all ignored his gaze as he decided on their training. He had to work on their weaknesses, as well as evolving Arashyuu and Suiryomeijin.

Unfortunately he didn't have time to work on anything as right behind him a Gyarados suddenly rose up and attacked a boy who Ven recognised from the Pokémon centre. His name was James, or Jake or Jamie or something. He couldn't remember.

Regardless of that he was doing well and with superior numbers on his side it appeared he was going to actually beat the Gyarados. Shrugging to himself, Ven looked at Sabakumono and recalled one of its moves.

"Sabakumono, use Stone Edge." He muttered as he walked past his Pokémon.

It knew what to do instantly and surrounded itself in three brilliant blue rings that rotated it around it at sand moving speeds and then with a growl from the Tyranitar the rings split and instead three rings of stone surrounded Sabakumono. With another growl the stones were sent hurtling straight towards the Gyarados.

With his back still turned, Ven gave commands to Suiryomeijin.

"Go over and help that guys Pokémon, just use Water Pulse and Ice Beam to defend his Pokémon from Gyarados' attacks."

His Squirtle gave a nod and ran towards the ensuring battle whilst Ven leaned back against his Tyranitar his arms folded.

[TheSequelReturns]

Azusa awoke to the sound of the alarm clock on the small nightstand. By the looks of it, it had been ringing for a little while now considering that it was currently twelve minutes after the time it was supposed to go off. She struggled to move her arm over to the nightstand, and after a few failed attempts managed to hit the alarm button on the little digital clock. The alarm was instantly silenced, and she nearly put her head back on the pillow before forcing herself to climb out of bed. Last night had been a long night, and she was still tired, even after a night of sleep, granted it certainly wasn't a full night.

She had learned of the incident after returning from training over near the beach. She had been so frustrated that she had missed it, that she had stormed off into the woods for hours, trying to find any sign of the mysterious pokemon that ha caused so much damage and fuss. And as a result of her little late night adventure, she was currently still worn out even after she had overslept by ten minutes.

She hastily got ready to go, grabbing a small bite to eat as she left the room. Once she left the center, she opened one of pokeballs, revealing Kuroi. The Duskull gave a half attempt at a yawn, obviously more for show than as a sign of actual drowsiness, and spun a few circles in the air before settling down over Azusa's shoulder.

"Morning." she said.

Kuroi responded with a little cry and patted her shoulder with his strange cloth-like hand.

"Ready to train some more?" she asked as she fought back a yawn.

Of course, she knew what the ghost's reaction would be. He was never tired. Kuroi did as expected and gave a swift nod, his mask-like face attempting to show a determined expression to limited success. Azusa laughed a bit, his "determined" face always manged to make her laugh.

"Alright then, I was thinking we head out to the beach again today. Mizu looked like he really starting to get the hang of his Water Pulse."

Kuroi nodded again and took of towards the beach, his "determined" face back on.

Azusa laughed and chased after him, glad that he was so energetic. It certainly kept her awake in the mornings.

[Jay star]

The Gyarados was now paralyzed thanks to the attack of Jamie’s grass Pokémon, Shroomish. It was clear to Jamie that he either had to try and catch the pokemon soon or let it make its escape, thinking quickly he thought that one more attack would be good.

A sudden shot of rocks were shot towards the Gyarados hitting it and causing alot of damage, Jamie turned swiftly to the area the rocks had come from, he noticed a Tyranitar and its trainer further down the beach, scrunching his face in irritation he yelled at the trainer and the Pokémon.

“Hey keep away, this pokemon is mine!” He turned back and saw the Gyarados looking at the water “Sneasel use Icy wind!” Jamie called but the black Pokémon still holding its injured arm close to its body ran forward and deciding as usual to ignore its trainer jumped up into the air and raised its left arm; bringing it down with a loud cry it hit the Gyarados squarely on the head. The Gyarados roared out in pain and then turned to go back to the ocean, now was his chance to catch the Pokémon or to not catch the Pokémon that was the question.

Deciding without a moment’s hesitance he grabbed a pokeball and tossed it at the water pokemon, the ball span through the air and hurled towards its target. The Gyarados dived head first into the water’s edge and began to disappear, feeling worried that the red and white ball wouldn’t make it to the Pokémon in time Jamie closed his eyes urging the ball on with his mind.

He heard the splash that meant the Gyarados had made it to the water followed by a smaller splash which must have been the pokeball entering the ocean, he opened his eyes and didn’t see anything for a moment, then there was a small flash of red and then the pokeball he threw floated to the water’s surface. As the waves pushed it towards the shore it started shaking from time to time while making a little bobbing noise, Jamie was staring at the pokeball frozen to the spot where he stood and as he watched the pokeball made a small ping noise and stopped moving.

“No way, I just caught a Gyarados?” Jamie asked himself, it took about 10 seconds for this fact to sink in and then he ran down to the beach, leaping over the shattered pieces of rock which he had tripped over before and picked up the pokeball. “This is going to be a great addition to my team!” he shouted as he looking into the button of the pokeball, using his other hand he grabbed two balls from his belt and holding them out towards his two pokemon he thanked them for their help and their efforts and recalled them to their balls, luckily for Shroomish it was just in time as Sneasel was about to kick him from behind. After this he started walking rather happily towards the Pokémon centre still looking at the pokeball in his hand which he thought contained a Gyarados....

[Double-oh-Platypus]

]Alice Jerkins]

"Pikachu, Quick Attack! That should pretty much finish this little guy off," Alice chanted from the edge of the small grove that she stood in. Circling off in a battle in the middle was a small electric mouse that was her Pikachu and an auburn fox that was the Vulpix she had been furtively been trying to catch for the past day and a half. She finally had the darn thing cornered and wasn't going to let it slip away from her this time.

Her Pikachu dashed out, knocking the small Vulpix backwards and without so much as a blink, Alice tossed a Poke Ball onto the field, watching it turn and whirl through the air before it tapped the sprawling fox Pokemon and sucking it inside. One. Two. Three. Done. With a cry of happiness, Alice scooped up the Poke Ball and her Pikachu and danced around the clearing. She had cleared the first battles with just Pikachu but having a second Pokemon would help her greatly. She had already showed she and Pikachu were a force to be reckoned with, but with the right training her Vulpix would surely be unstoppable as well.

As Alice strode out of the forest with her head held high and a trademark smile plastered to her face, she couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to those darker times of the previous night. She had only been there for the very end, but the thought of the mysterious Pokemon was over-whelming. It could clear the field so easily, just like that. It was unnerving.

The smell of the salty sea air alerted Alice that she had made it to the beach near the Pokemon Centre and she inhaled deeply, letting the air wash the discouraging thoughts from her mind. Alice wasn't programmed to work that way, really. Everyone on the island knew her as bubbly and charismatic, and that's who she would be.

A figure up ahead caught her eye and after dropping her orange sunglasses onto her face and gazing steadily at the person she realized it was Jamie. She couldn't wait to show him her new Pokemon because she knew he'd love the Vulpix. He seemed to be fond of all sorts of Pokemon and Alice especially loved his Shroomish (but perhaps it was because it was the only one she could hold).

"Jamie!" Alice hollered, tucking Pikachu into her arms and racing to catch up with her friend. "Jamie, you'll never believe what I finally caught!"

[Skeith]

(OOC: Yeah wanted to try something different and interesting to see how I could ease myself back into rpging. Anyway hopefully now that I’ve gotten my legs back I should be able to post more frequently.)

In a small dankly lit shop in a back corner of the island, a Hoothoot chirped out the time, 8’o clock. As it did, the shops sole customer, Shagg, continued to browse through the shelves lined with the usual items you’d expect as well as tat such as Banette dolls with tags that proclaimed they’d achieved their revenge. All the while the shop keep sat behind the counter not looking up from his newspaper, Shagg eventually found what he was looking for and made his way over to the counter, he placed down two aqua-lungs and held out a note for the cashier who looked up from his newspaper and took the money.

“Swimming for it ay? Can’t say I blame ya.” He grunted as he returned his gaze to the paper “After last night you’d be lucky to get a boat off this island.” The youth put on a smile before replying.

“Oh I have no intention of leaving, just yet.” The man’s gaze diverted from the paper for a second, long enough to give Shagg an odd look, before returning to the paper. “Yer still in the competition ain’t ya?” Shagg let out a sheepish laugh.

“That obvious huh? Yeah, oh do you have any lure balls?” He asked, the gentleman grunted before folding his newspaper and getting up to collect the balls from a box at the back of the store. He gave Shagg ten that the boy promptly paid for receiving a grin off the gentleman.

“So yer seein’ off teh competition ay?” he jutted, Shagg laughed again and nodded even though this wasn’t what he was planning. Well it was, he was planning on catching a bunch of water Pokémon that people could use to leave the island but he wasn’t going to be quite as generous as that. People were desperate to leave the island and were willing to pay through the nose to leave. Good-sized water Pokémon could fetch a pretty price and given the shadows appearance, anyone left in the tournament would only get tougher. He might as ensure he got monetary reward for participating in this tournament.

Transaction complete, Shagg headed towards the door “So why aren’t you running like the rest of them?” Shagg stopped; he hadn’t expected this question from the gentleman but it was one that the answer came from all to quickly.

“Because I’m not afraid of it.” He replied, prompting a disbelieving snort from the gentleman. “So what do you think it is?”

“A legendry Pokémon.” This prompted the cashier let out a long hollow laugh, before raising his temper. “Get real kid, have you heard the reports? They’re calling this thing a demon!” Shagg turned to the gentleman, with a confident smirk upon his face.

“Yes but when has a legendry Pokémon been nothing short of intimidating?” The gentleman looked stunned at the boy’s confidence before returning to his paper. “Alls I can say is good luck, kid.” Shagg nodded his thanks before walking out the door and down towards the beach.

[Blivsey]

Kyle turned around to stare at the girlish voice addressing him and saw a familiar head of wavy silver hair smiling up at him, half pulled to one side with a black bow. She recognized this girl - more energetic than a Growlithe pup, and she typically was followed by an older sister ready to bite off anyone and everyone's heads. Looking around quickly, he couldn't see the sister, so he relaxed a bit and decided to entertain the girl with a little conversation.

"Can I help you, Katie?" Kyle asked the girl, politely but curtly. She frowned back up at him and crossed her arms.

"It's CATHY. Cathy Jo. You can't even remember my cute little name?" she asked, pouting. Kyle rolled his eyes, but Cathy must have missed it because she just sprang back into a cheerful demeanor and continued, "That's okay, though. I forgive you, mister."

"Quit calling me that," Kyle said, now a bit annoyed. "I'm not that old. Besides, you're what, fifteen?"

"Sixteen."

"Even better. You're plenty old enough to just call me 'Kyle,'" he explained. Cathy Jo nodded and smiled up at him.

"Sure!" she responded enthusiastically. Then, having just remembered something, she said, "Oh, yeah, that thing! What was it..." She put her hands on her heads and looked upward intently for a second, thinking, then put one finger in the air and declared, "That's right! There was a strong trainer out down by the bridge to the forest looking for you. I think she wants a challenge!" The instant she had said this, Kyle's blood was already moving. A battle in the morning was just what he needed to psych himself up for the day.

He took off through the doors and said over his shoulder, "If you wanna keep talking, then tag along." Cathy Jo giggled behind him and followed Kyle down the road toward the bridges to the other islands. She didn't say much, and it didn't take long for the pair to reach the crossing that she had mentioned. When he got there, though, he could only see a few trainers milling around, and they were all walking as though they had some objective that morning. Kyle creased his eyebrows and looked again, just in case he had overlooked somebody.

"So, is this who you got to 'play' with us?" came a cool, feminine voice behind him. Kyle tensed up and turned to face the speaker, confirming his thoughts at the sight of a short-but-intimidating woman of around twenty with dark skin and short blond hair. Surely enough, Cathy Jo had led him right toward her older sister.

"Jenna? This is the trainer that wants to battle?" Kyle asked, dumbfounded. Jenna raised one eyebrow and stared at Cathy Jo.

"Oh? Is that what you told him?"

"Well, the word I used was 'challenge,' so it wasn't exactly a lie," the younger sister said defensively.

"Okay, great. What's this about, then?" Kyle asked, much less angry than he was curious.

"Oh, we were going to go out and catch some Pokémon while we're still out here on the island. Cathy Jo here" - Jenna knocked a light fist against her sister's head - "got all the way to the bridge and had to run back to the hotel and get her bag. Apparently she saw you on the way and decided to drag you down here," she explained. Kyle shook his head.

"Well, I guess that's fine. I could use another addition to the team, anyway, if I'm going to stay in the game," he reasoned. Then, remembering the wording Cathy had used, he asked, "Didn't she say something about a challenge or summat?" Now both of the two older trainers were looking at Cathy Jo, expecting an answer. She blushed and waved her arms.

"W-well, I... I thought... maybe... we could make it a catching contest?" she stammered, seeming as though she was trying to come up with an explanation on the spot. Jenna shrugged.

"That could work. Tell you what: we'll each go off on our own and meet back here in an hour. We'll decide for ourselves who wins when we get back," the elder sister decided.

"Wins what?" Cathy Jo asked, curious.

"Nothing. Bragging rights. It's for fun," Jenna explained. "Unless you have some prize planned?"

"Um... no..." Cathy admitted.

"Hey, how will we know we aren't just showing off something we've already caught?" Kyle asked, trying to get into the conversation. Jenna stared at him.

"Because ladies can be trusted," she said coarsely. "Besides, we know each other's Pokémon. You've got a point, though," she mused, giving Kyle a once-over. Then a lightbulb went off in her head and she motioned to her sister. The two turned their backs to him for a moment and whispered, causing Kyle to **** his head to the side and stroke his chin, puzzled. Then, the two girls turned around and inched toward him.

"What are you-" Kyle started, but he was quickly interrupted. In a single deft move, the sisters swooped past him and removed the three Pokéballs from his belt. Kyle tried to make some exclamation, but found that he had seemingly been shocked into speechlessness.

Jenna eyeballed the ball containing Swellow and began to say as though she had the final word, "There. Now whatever you catch will be all you can show us."

"Sorry," Cathy Jo apologized, still smiling innocently as she dropped the Pokéballs containing Quilava and Cloyster into her tote bag. "We'll give them back when this is done, promise."

Jenna nodded and turned toward the desert island, already running as she shouted back, "Time starts now!" Cathy Jo took this as her opportunity and took off across the bridge and into the forest before Kyle could even form a response. In an instant, he was left without his Pokémon, tasked with going into wild habitats and making a successful capture. He would probably be sent to the hospital again very quickly if he couldn't pull it off. Kyle heaved a sigh and headed across the bridge into the forest, shaking his head the whole way.

Good grief.

[Skillfulness]

Kim Staar: Battle Island Beach: 8:06 am

Yeah, yeah. You can do it!!! Kim was mentally cheering on the boy who was trying to catch the Gyarados. He led with a Shroomish and Leech Seed which was clever if the battle was going to last a while. The wild Pokémon thrashed and caused the boy to get knocked back. As he hit the ground another Pokemon, his Sneasel, appeared and glared at the Shroomish who used Energy Ball. Then it rudely tripped Shroomish and charged the Gyarados.

“Well that wasn’t nice at all! Dude needs to work on his Pokémon’s teamwork,” Kim mumbled. After Sneasel used Brick Break, the Gyarados prepared a Hydro Pump. Kim’s heart started to race as the battle heated up. Sneasel was using Furry Swipes and Shroomish was using Stun Spore. Not smart! The Stun Spore could paralyze his own Pokémon! Another trainer had sent his Pokémon to help, but the boy wasn’t going to let him. With his back turned, the Gyarados was looking to escape.

“Sneasel use Icy Wind!” The Pokémon ignored its trainer and jumped up to hit Gyarados on the head, really hard. Then the wild Pokémon dove into the water and the trainer threw a Pokéball in after it. From her point of view, Kim could see the sphere hit the surface and continue. It hit the shadow of the Pokémon and there was a red flash. The Pokéball floated back to the surface and made the ever familiar *ping*.

“That was a pretty sweet catch,” Kim said as she walked away with her Pokémon. She still wasn’t sure what she was going to do today, probably train again. But she wanted to do something different and she just had an idea.

“Hey guys, what do ya think about skipping training for a while and seeing if we can learn anything about this ‘beast Pokémon’? Just for a while though!” Kim noticed that her Pokémon liked the idea of a no training day. “Besides, I’m sure there’ll be some wild Pokémon we can battle anyway. So we’re in agreement?” Sear, Ace, and Beaches all gave an enthusiastic cry so Kim lead the way back to the hotel so they could pack up for a day of exploring.

___________________

“Okay, if I were some mutant Pokémon imitator, where would I be?” Kim stood at the forests edge, pondering on which path she should take. Hmm... I could start by heading straight towards the mountain, where all clichéd monsters live, or I could try and cover as much ground as I can. Deciding she would wander the forest for the moment, she released her Pokemon.

“Let me know as soon as you see something suspicious.”

[treespyro]

After spending time relaxing and thinking thoughts and memories from a blurry last night while drinking coffee, Stella decided to go to the beach and well just train her Pokemon in a different method for stress removal and just to have fun. She always used it on the rare occasions of either time difference or laziness but it was fun nonetheless.

Stella went back into her room and took off her jewelry off and also changed into a dark green bikini as her mindset was "Even though I am going to train my Pokemon, at least have fun and show off yourself" she smiled as she checked herself out in the mirror. "I like good" she thought as she checked herself in all angles. "Like I said, I look really hot" she smiled after listening to her thoughts but realizing that being narcissistic, Stella was going to waste a lot of time. She grabbed her Pokeballs and packed her stuff with her to enjoy a day of fun at the beach.

While she was walking to the beach, she got a lot of attention well both in her mind and reality but it wasn't much of a walk considering the vicinity of the island. In no time, Stella reached the beach, the weather was perfect for a time on the beach as she looked at the sun and heard the ocean waves crash into the rocks. "Ahh this is great, go figure after last nights events" she said in a very relaxed tone as she released all four of her Pokemon which included her Roselia, Starly, Pineco and Skitty as they all played with each as Stella put on her sunglasses placed a beach towel on the ground and stuck up an umbrella.

"Time to relax" she muttered as she laid down on the beach towel as her Pokemon played near her. "Remember guys, run around get fit, this is your warmup and Pineco jumped around I guess" she explained as she looked at the inside of her green umbrella that she stuck on the beach. The wind blew around as her Pokemon ran, bounced or flew around her warming up for her special style of training which was very unique and helped to add flair to her Pokemon's style.

After a certain amount of time, Stella finished relaxing her sunglasses and green bikini which worked with her dark red hair. "Alright guys, basically this style is amount relaxation and mental strength and then you will fight the rocks and let the water in towards the sand, that is your target however the rocks can't completely break" she added as she explained her first aspect of training, "Second, is mental training where we battle in our minds against each other as we listen to the waves and fight in our minds, so basically meditation in a way" she stated as she smiled.

"Are we ready guys" she exclaimed happily trying to boost her Pokemon's mindset. "You're helping the elements, not battling and show off with your attacks, be proud of them" as Stella explained this, her Roselia launched a poison attack. "Good job you guys" she said as she watched all her Pokemon battle against the rock, 'freeing' the elements which was water in this case. Her Starly used Flying attacks, Pineco attacked it using physical moves, Skitty followed suit while Roselia focused on her grass and poison special attacks.

"I swear I see someone" Stella thought as she watched what look liked a male slowly walking down the beach "I must be imagining things...alright come on guys keep on at it, you are doing a great job" she encouraged as she watched her Pokemon training while glancing at the figure of a human near the top of the beach which did intrigued the red haired Stella.

[holy_lucario]

“Come on Kiki, let’s get a move on!” cried Sy as he was leaving his hotel room, as his best friend, his navy blue Flaffy followed closely behind.

Sy made his way out of the hotel, riding the elevator down to the lobby and picking up a few Pokeballs from the mall. This morning he was planning on capturing the fourth member of his team. He figured it would be nice to have a little more help when the next round of the tournament started. He wasn’t sure what Pokemon he would find, but since the island was crawling with all sorts of different Pokemon, Sy figured it would be a piece of cake finding a cute one.

Sy made his way into the forest, on his way to the beach. He didn’t bother looking too hard in the forest, since a majority of Bug type Pokemon weren’t adorable in the least. He did want strong Pokemon, he just wanted ones that were cute looking too. He started hearing a buzzing noise that had started when he entered the forest, but it was getting louder.

“Kiki, be on your guard. We might have to battle something,” muttered Sy to his Pokemon as he looked around the forest, his eyes darting from tree to tree.

Suddenly, a white flash zipped by Sy and Kiki, knocking the unusually colored Pokemon to the ground.

“Kiki, Signal Beam!” cried Flaffy’s trainer as the white blur rushed in again for an attack.

Flaffy stood up, opened it’s mouth and fired a beam full of color straight from it’s mouth, stopping the thing in it’s tracks. The creature floated back up into the air, revealing it’s true form. It’s body was black, with a blue belly and face, a few yellow stripes, and some kind of red scarf looking thing around it’s neck. Sy recognized this Pokemon as Volbeat. Though it could have been an Illumise, as he always got the two mixed up.

Suddenly, the Bug type put it’s hands together, gathering energy into a small black and purple ball, getting ready to fire at Sy and Kiki.

“Kiki, I think it’s about to use Shadow Ball. Whenever it get’s close enough, hit it head on with Iron Tail!” called Sy.

“Volbeat!” squeaked the small bug.

Kiki braced herself, her tail now glowing strong with steel type energy, waiting for the attack to get close enough. Once it was about four feet away, Kiki jumped toward the attack, swinging her tail at it, causing a small explosion the blew Kiki back a bit.

Volbeat rushed in again, a white trail behind it, obviously using Quick Attack. He rammed into Kiki, sending her to the ground again.

“Kiki must still be tired, she won’t be able to do much more. Kiki, return!” yelled Sy as he pointed her Pokeball at the injured Pokemon.

Sy began reaching for his Pokeball, planning to send Vi out so he could paralyze the annoying bug, but just as he did, another Pokemon shot out of the Pokeball on his left side. Now, before Sy, stood his powerhouse, Jurin the Poliwhirl. The only problem with Jurin was that he didn’t always obey Sy.

Jurin shot an evil look at the Volbeat who was making faces and teasing the Poliwhirl. He had no idea what a huge mistake he just made. Poliwhirl charged, his fist glowing, and slammed down on the bug. Even though Volbeat resisted Fighting types, the Brick Break did a load of damage, and left the Volbeat struggling to get up.

“Jurin, I didn’t give you any commands yet!” cried Sy hopelessly as he watched Poliwhirl wail on Volbeat.

“This is hopeless, he won’t listen. Couldn’t hurt to try though, Ice Beam Jurin!” yelled the frustrated trainer.

Jurin crossed his arms as charged the attack, then once Volbeat charged in with Quick Attack, he let it all out.

Volbeat fell to the ground, a good majority of his chest frozen. He was considering trying to catch the little guy, but he wanted it to be more fair. H saw that it’s antennas were both red, instead of yellow like the normal Volbeat. Sy would remember this and find it again. He’d then capture it in a fair fight, using Kiki of Vi, instead of Jurin who could pummel the life out of it.

“Jurin return,” sighed the annoyed trainer.

“Looks like we’ll have to visit the Pokemon Center now,” he thought aloud as he walked through the forest.

[Razor Shiftry]

Jack Mariner

The Sun hung lazily in the empty blue sky as Jack casually walked his way along the beach back to the hotel. It was just coming up to midday and forseeing the rest of the afternoon to be a hot one, he had already changed into his orange shorts and sandals previously, giving him a very laid back summery appearance.

He had been out most of the night Training his new Houndour, Hound, whom he recognised due to his young age as the weakest member of his current team. The Dark Pokémon was still out of his pokeball, still full of youthful energy as he playfully scampered this way and that, sniffing out random objects in the sand. Jack smiled approvingly at the progress the canine Pokémon had achieved in training in the dark. His boisterous nature meant that his physical prowess was good but his fire attacks were very much out of control, especially after nasty plotting. By training in the dark, where he was most comfortable himself being a dark Pokémon, Jack hoped to show Hound how erratic his fire attacks were – and it was successful. Within the early hours of the morning on the rocky coastline by the forested isle, Hound had successfully hit 5 targets in a row with his flamethrower, admittedly, unboosted by Nasty plot.

Jack yawned as the hotel came into view. I really shouldn’t stay up most of the night, he thought as he rounded the corner with Hound at his heels looking around inquisitively. As he walked into the courtyard, he couldn’t help but notice the signs that a battle, a very rough battle judging by the scorch marks from fire and lighting. Hound whimpered slightly as he sniffed some of the damage caused.

Jack reached down to give the frightened Pokémon a comforting scratch behind his right ear. “Come on Hound, let’s get inside, I need a nap or some coffee or something...” As they walked up the steps into the lobby, Jack noticed a large crowd of people with all their bags, looking like they were setting out to leave the Island.

And the tournament wasn’t even finished yet! Thought Jack in surprise. Jack headed over to the receptionist and asked politely what all the fuss was about.

The receptionist, a youngish guy in his middle 20s looked at Jack like he was an oversized Muk for a moment before letting his mouth drop open slightly. “You don’t know? Where have you been sir?” he said incredulously. “Last night, the Hotel was attacked by a strange shadow like Pokémon which defeated many of the trainers here last night. Everyone’s a little scared, some, as you see sir more than others and are heading home rather than staying, especially the ones who are already out of the tournament.”

“What Pokémon did you say it was again?”

“No one knows sir. It seemed to be made of some dark gaseous substance so I’m told. Eventually the combined force of the trainers here managed the send it on its way but it kept changing shape from what I’ve heard...” The Receptionist paused with a slight worried frown. “Will you be leaving as well sir?” Jack looked slightly bemused and shook his head and the receptionist gave a look of relief. “Well, if you want sir, would you like your room to be upgraded for free? We have a lot more spaces now if you would like to...?”

Jack grinned. “Sure, that would be cool”

“Ok then sir, We shall move all your luggage for you, if you just come and ask me later on what your new room is, I’ll give you your new key.” Jack handed over his old key before setting off for the cafe.

“Since I currently don’t have a room at the moment Hound, I think a Coffee on the Beach is in order?” Hound barked playfully and followed after his trainer.

[Jay star]

Jamie was walking cheerily towards the Pokémon centre and he noticed that there were 3 men all working on fixing the electric glass door’s which was the entrance to the Hotel and all of its facilities. It took him no more than one extra second to then notice one of his best friends on the island was running over to him, she was wearing her orange sun glasses which Jamie loved and he smiled to her as she came closer.

“Jamie, Jamie you'll never believe what I finally caught!" She was yelling as she tucked her Pikachu up in her arms, she seemed to be extremely happy and the glowing smile of excitement shun from her face. Jamie was glad that she had caught a Pokémon as she was the last competitor in the tournament who had not already caught at least two new Pokémon by the end of round one of the tournament. He held up the pokeball in his hand and winked at her.

“That’s awesome Alice! But hey check this out too, I caught a new Pokémon as well” He told her and deciding that he would show her his new Gyarados and she could then show him her new Pokémon he decided to let the Pokémon out of its pokeball. “Alice let me introduce you to my super awesome new water Pokémon, come out!” As he called the last two words he threw the ball into the air and a big flash of white light shot down, but it didn’t seem to be the size Jamie expected from a Gyarados, it seemed a lot smaller than he remembered. The beam of white light condensed itself into one small shape on the floor at Jamie’s feet, this surprised him since he remembered the Gyarados to be at least 5 times as tall as him.

“Luvdisc!” the Pokémon called out as the light finally faded to reveal the Pokémon in its original form, standing on the floor in front of Jamie was his new water Pokémon, a tiny Luvdisc. Jamie took a second to think of how this could happen, he had definitely battled a large blue and white Gyarados, then he remembered that before the battle started he did see a small pink patch under the water and that was about where his pokeball was when he opened his eyes, he had shut them when he threw the ball urging it forward so he hadn’t actually SEEN the Gyarados go into the ball but he had assumed.

“Luvdisc!” The little Pokémon happily cried as it smiled up at Jamie and Alice and it made a few little bounces.

[Double-oh-Platypus]

[Alice Jerkins]

Alice stood, slightly stunned at the appearance of the small pink Pokemon before chancing a glance at Jamie, who seemed to be avoiding her gaze a little.

"Er, Jamie," she said slowly, popping the sunglasses onto the top of her head. Was this a trick of the light? She had to make sure. But no, even with her own eyes the Pokemon in front of her was still a Luvdisc. "I don't know about you, but I think our opinions on 'super-awesome-water-Pokemon' are a little different, because this doesn't exactly fit my description, no offense or anything of course. I mean, it's adorable, but..." She trailed off, watching as the Luvdisc bounced around their feet.

Jamie definitely had an odd assortment of Pokemon at his disposal, nothing Alice had never seen before, but definitely not the typically strong Pokemon that were often brought to competitions such as this. She knew there was one kid on the island with a growing team of soon-to-be powerful Pokemon and could easily wipe her out (although perhaps with her new Pokemon things would get better).

"Oh, that reminds me, Jamie," Alice said, snapping her eyes back up to her friend and pulling a Poke Ball off of her charm bracelet. It had been a bought in the gift shop and the multi-coloured beads matched perfectly on Alice's dress. It was designed for holding the Poke Balls of those who did not wear belts or other means of carrying Poke Balls. The sales clerk had assured Alice that the Poke Balls could not simply fall off and if they did she would receive a full refund and then some (which was good because Alice's stash of money had definitely dropped some after the purchase of the bracelet).

With a smile, she tossed the Poke Ball high into the air, watching as it snapped open and let lose a torrent of bright white light. As the light took form it began to distinguish the figure of the Vulpix Alice caught; the split tail, the curled hair on its head, the dainty paws. As the light faded and returned to the auburn colour of its hair, Alice's new Vulpix yawned sleepily and looked around, taking in its surroundings carefully.

"And there you have it," Alice said proudly as her Pikachu clambered onto her shoulders. "The newest addition to my team."

[Blivsey]

Damn girls. I'll show that I don't need Pokémon to make a good capture!

Kyle raced through the forest, vaulting over fallen logs and branches, keeping a close eye out for Pokémon as he did. The sisters' actions had angered him, sure, but that had just made his blood boil. It presented him with a challenge, and there was no way that he could turn that down! Now he just needed to find some spectacular Pokémon to catch that would not only blow those two out of the water, but also give him a leg up on the competition. To do that, he needed to go deep into the forest, where the strongest Pokémon in the area lived.

It didn't take him long; just as he was slowing down to a jog, Kyle saw a rustle in a nearby tree, cuing him to dive behind a bush to observe. Staying as concealed as possible with his bright red-orange hair sticking out, Kyle watched as the tree continued to shake, dropping a handful of purple berries with each vibration. It rustled twice more, then a greenish-blue, round body fell from the branches above, bouncing off the ground once before coming to a thudding landing on the ground. The Pokémon then picked itself up, showing stubby arms and legs and a very round head, and gathered up the berries on the ground in its arms before moving away slothfully.

A Munchlax! Kyle thought to himself, praising his luck. That would do great! Munchlax were pretty rare in the wild, after all, and when it evolved, a Snorlax would be a solid addition to his team. This was a perfect opportunity! Smirking to himself, Kyle crawled around the foliage on the ground and walked carefully after the Munchlax, making sure not to snap anything under himself and keeping the young Pokémon in his sights at all times. Soon enough, the Munchlax quit moving, sitting down at a spot right near the edge of a ditch and laying out the pile of fruits and nuts it had gathered. Thinking this to be as good of an opportunity as he was going to get, Kyle leapt out from behind the bushes, lobbing a Pokéball at the creature as he did. The Munchlax had just enough time to turn around and face him before being sucked into the ball as red light. The ball dropped to the ground and began twitching erratically. Kyle clenched his fists as he watched it wobble once...

It was no good; the ball burst back open, now unusable and releasing a very noisy Pokémon, who proceeded to dash down the slope and out of view. Kyle muttered a few choice words and chased the Munchlax, but stopped short as he reached the edge of the ditch. He stood, mouth agape as he saw why exactly the Munchlax had chosen to retreat there; it was already whining very loudly and tugging at the arm of a fully-grown Snorlax.

Its mother?

Nope. Father. Given the depth of the growling it was giving off, it was definitely a male Snorlax. And now it was sitting up on its own, slowly turning to look down at the Munchlax. It was odd; Snorlax really didn't wake up that often; only when the got hungry, or if they or their cubs were under threat. Either of the last two would make a Snorlax dangerously grumpy.

Oh. Hi there, Grumpy.

Kyle stood frozen to the spot, his mind blanking out in a moment of shock as over 450 kilos of angry Pokémon approached him, swinging its paws blindly. As it got nearer to him, something clicked in Kyle's mind.

That's right. I should probably run.

With that instinct shouting in his mind, Kyle scrambled backwards, barely dodging a swipe from the raging beast and breaking into a sprint directly away from the danger. He could still hear the massive Snorlax roaring and stomping after him, snapping branches and cracking logs with ease. He kept running as hard as he could, but as he hurdled a fallen tree, he heard the rumbling suddenly grow much louder. Daring a glance over his shoulder, Kyle saw a massive ball of blue and tan rolling at him at a high speed. He leaped to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Still on his guard, Kyle stood himself up and watched carefully where the Snorlax had disappeared. If he knew this move right, it was Rollout, which meant that it would be coming back...

Surely enough, the Snorlax returned, this time with greater speed, but Kyle was prepared and jumped out of the way again, causing it to miss and collide with a tree. In turn, in the middle of his dodge, his foot caught on a limb and sent him crashing to the ground, causing the wounds on his lower back to erupt in pain. Kyle rolled over to get a better view above, only to see that the Snorlax was literally pushing trees aside, bending them out of shape just to reach him. He scurried away from the tree that had caught his leg, but couldn't stand before the Snorlax bought a paw down, leaving deep gashes on the log next to him and missing his face by less than a foot. Kyle tried as hard as he could to squirm away, but he could see the blows coming. Snorlax reared up to take another swipe at the trainer, then...

The massive Pokémon stopped, apparently having heard something. Kyle looked around frantically, his eyes finally catching on a small bell that had fallen out of his backpack in the struggle. A Soothe Bell, if he remembered correctly. Yes, that could be just what he needed! Without hesitation, Kyle snatched up the bell and threw it as hard as he could away from himself, making sure not to hit the Snorlax. It fell to the ground a good twenty feet away, making a chiming sound again. The wild Pokémon's ears twitched, and it immediately stopped its assault, instead now investigating the source of the calming noise with a great curiosity. Kyle sighed with relief, finally able to stand again. Then he realized something.

This was his opportunity.

Kyle quickly stuck a hand in his bag, feeling around for the right item. He didn't have to rummage long before pulling out a Pokéball with a dark gray top rather than red, and lined just above the opening with dull blue hemispheres. The Heavy Ball was the perfect tool to capture something as enormous and heavy as a Snorlax. Taking careful aim while the massive Pokémon was still distracted, Kyle threw the ball, hoping that this capture would work - if it didn't, the Snorlax was probably going to come charging back at him. He watched intently as the ball shook violently, then slowly came to a shaking halt, offering a satisfying "click" to confirm his capture.

Relieved, Kyle approached the ball and picked it up, waiting for the thought to sink in. He had just narrowly avoided another trip to the hospital, managed to subdue a raging Snorlax and even caught the darned thing. Worst of all, it was all because of the off chance that he had been carrying something as trivial as a Soothe Bell with him. Whoever said those things were only useful for happiness-based evolution? Chuckling to himself, Kyle attached the Pokéball to his belt and began strolling back toward the forest entrance at a leisurely pace.

That'll show 'em.