Whale Island - The Hydro-Electric Zone

[xXKratosAurionXx]

::Rainbow Reef::

xXKratosAurionXx: Staring straight into the face of danger, you go all in on your instincts and decide to firmly hold your ground against the ferocious predator; a decision which you transmit to your partner as you try to calm her down. You knew that if something went wrong, either of you could come out with life-threathening injuries. Despite your heart bertraying your thoughts, you try your best to look fearless and assertive. You practically hold your breath as the enormous Sharpedo comes within your hand's reach until it suddenly sways off course, now slowly circling around you from up close as it carefully observed you. Surely, a thrilling experience to be so near such an umpredictable monster, and at the same time, quite an enthralling one as you locked eyes with it, both feeding off each other's energy as you engaged in what felt like several eternal seconds of silent conversation. Observing the massive shark, you notice a wide array of scars scattered all over its rough skin. It surely must've held a long life, and if anything, one could be certain it wasn't lacking any in life experiences. And then... it was gone; the Sharpedo finally swimming away and vanishing off into the deep blue as subtly as it had come.

Had it acknowledged you or did it left because of some other reason? You could only but wonder, but what mattered now was that you were safe from danger... or were you? You just couldn't be given a moments rest as once again it is Brunhilde that warns you of possible danger approaching. Turning to the opposite end from which Sharpedo had left, and looking beyond the rainbow field of coral and into the void of the horizon, you notice the undistinguishable silouette of what could be a very large Pokémon, if not something else altogether. Nothing that you could instantly identify. How mysterious... the question was, would you even want to find out?

What will you do?

As the Sharpedo continued to circle around our Trainer and his faithful companion, he realized his instincts must have been on the right track. Hetried to keep his mind calm, and his body perfectly still as he let the SHarpedo inspect him and grant him passage into his underwater domain. The deep sea warmaster, clearly a veteran of the eternal battle for survival, as evidenced by his countless scards, eventually swam away, seemingly satisfied with the information he had managed to gather from the visito who had entered his reign, deep below the waves. Sighing in relief, he was certain the danger had passed, and he was finally fre to explore to his hert's content the mysteries of the deep. However, the Fates had other plans for our young explorer. Just as he readied hmself to desend further into the endless basin of the kingdom of azure, he realized Brunhilde was calling to him. "What is it , my dear? The danger has passed.", he declared in an attempt to calm her down. However, what his eyes gazed upon next was something far greater than he could ever had imagined.

...

His eyes were fixed upon this great shadow that seemingly materialized from the horizon and slowly approached the explorer, who stood there, seemingly frozen, floating, and left to the tide's whims. His mind drifted away, as he tapped into his memories, trying to figure what exactly had appeared from the deeper ends of the azure divide. His mind continued to speed through his memories and throught the countless books he had read and explored during his time at the Academy. "The Temple of the Sea? The Ruins of the Undella? The Drifting Castle of Azure...? " His mind continued to drift across the seemingly endless stream of pages he had memorized... And no solution to be found. No sense could he make out of this shadow as it continued to drift on his direction. He knew this feeling. The feeling of his blood flowing, his cold heart thawing, and adrenaline entering the bloodstream... It was all how he could have imagined it... And even better. This was his chance. He was prepared to unravel the mystery that had appeared before him, this could allow him to carve his name into the annals of Fendelian History. Adventure was what he craved, and his partner, certain of his intent, stood there, frim and prepared alongside him, ready to follow him to the depths in order to shed light upon the mysteries of the past. The flames of passion had been lit, and they propelled our heroes towards the unknown,. Not a shed of fear. Not a moment of hesitation. Not a single afterthought passed through their minds as they marched on towards the unknown shadow, perhaps the answer to an ancient mystery, perhaps a piece of a puzzle far greater than he could have ever imagined. His eyes shining in expectation, he continued to swim, ever firm and resolute, towards whatever may lie ahead...

[Rotom310]

Seaside City

Rotom310: It's good to have you back since I have quite a good adventure planned

Caught in a busy district of Seaside City in rush hour, you figure using one of the many modes of city transport would get you to the where you wanted in a hurry. You check your watch as you rush toward the newly-built subway station, several commuters ducking out of your way as Salazar glared in frustration. Spotting a signpost indicating the subway was just a stairwell below, you break off from the crowd and toward the station. A set of doors swoosh open automatically welcoming you into a vast ultra-modern railway station. The main hub was chock full of commuters and trainers like yourself, busily making their way to the platforms which branched off in all directions. A recorded announcement plays from several speakers around the station, warning you to mind all luggage as the subway was coveted for thieves and pickpockets. You stop foot at an electronic map with each network colour coded. Whilst it takes you a good while to decipher which train would take you to the photo shoot you notice the words ‘CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE’ scrawled electronically where the timetable would be. Sighing in despair, you catch the eye of an adolescent trainer who had caught your eye. The dark-skinned trainer looked cool in every way, sporting a yellow hoodie which semi-concealed his thick cornrows. Beside him was a Scrafty, who shared his hooded trainer’s sense in fashion and bravado as they approached you with a smile. “Hey, you’re a trainer right?” the boy asks, looking at your Ekans which hisses warily at the trainer’s lizard, “My name’s Tyrone. I’m reigning champ of the battle subway. If you’re interested in trying out the preliminaries start in five minutes. It won’t be easy but there’s a big prize pot for the winner!”

After plunging into the traffic it didn't seem too long to Drew until they found a subway entrance. Thank goodness; the way the various commuters weaved in and out around him was quickly getting on Salazar's nerves. He was already on the bad side of a few police forces scattered around due to his snake's short temper; Seaside City didn't really need to be added onto that list. Seperating from the crowd, Drew trotted down the steps, slowing down to let the mechanical door open as he neared the bottom.

Stepping into the station, Drew was once again assulted by the noise accompanying large sums of people. Hearing a hissing-groan near his right ear, Salazar clearly let out his displeasure at that fact. "Heh," he chuckled, reaching up to stroke the snake's head as he made his way over to a map, "don't worry 'Zar. Just a little bit more and we'll be at the beach, and then you can just bask in the sun." The Ekans still gave an irritable hiss, but feeling his coil loosen Drew knew he got the message.

Happy one problem was somewhat solved, Drew turned his focus to the electronic map in front of him: a large mess of colored lines for each individual network under the city. Ugh, he thought idly as he matched colors to names, I really don't have time to deal with this sh- He stopped. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something flashing where the timetable would be. Three words: "CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE."

Almost immediately Drew groaned and pulled out his cell phone. Punching in the number of his employer, he thought about how he was going to explain this. Of all the... ugh. Of course this has to happen now. God this is like Castelia all over again... Drew thought, remembering the first time he had arrived in the city he now called home.

"You've reached the phone of Bonde. Jim Bonde. Obviously I'm not here right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can," the recording said through the phone, followed by a single beep.

"Hey, I'm sure you've probably noticed I'm not there yet. Stuff's come up, like 'the-frickin'-subway-system-is-closed' kind of stuff. So, yeah, I probably won't be getting there anytime soon. Real sorry 'bout it, but crap happens y'know? Anyway," Drew continued quickly, spotting a nearby adolescent staring at him, "call me back sometime and we'll try to work things out. Talk to ya later." As he finished talking Drew saw the youth make his way toward him, and had just hung up and slipped the phone back into his jean pocket when the guy was standing feet away. Up close, Drew could tell guy wasn't the type of person he'd normally chose to be around just from his composure, and his Scrafty standing alongside him didn't help much. While he didn't really have anything against the species, Drew had been around enough to know that more often than not Scrafty weren't exactly the best company to strangers.

“Hey, you’re a trainer right?” the boy asked, eyeing Salazar, who gave a short warning hiss at the youth's Scrafty. “My name’s Tyrone. I’m reigning champ of the battle subway. If you’re interested in trying out the preliminaries start in five minutes. It won’t be easy but there’s a big prize pot for the winner!”

A tournament...? Oh, yeah, I remember that bellhop mentioning something like that. Drew turned and glanced at the map, where the "closed for maintenance" message still showed tauntingly. It's not like I'll be able to get to the shoot anytime soon anyway, especially with the subways down... Plus it's for money, so it's not like I'd be just wasting my time.

"Meh, I'm game," Drew said, reaching up to calm Salazar. "Where do I sign up?"

[uhhhhh]

uhhhhh: Alarmed by the situation in front of you, you're quick to issue instructions, Foster going invisibly floating through the door while the waitress sprints out running, screaming like a madwoman for help.

"I always carry my Pokémon with me," Kim replied to you as you asked for her help, her demeanor changing radically as she did; sure enough she intented to do something about this even if you didn't. "Lola, we need you!" She yells, taking a Love Ball out and throwing it into the air, the ball bursting with bright, lovable colors as the light within materializes into a Lopunny.

Taking a brief look at the Weavile, you could appreciate the differences between the them; the apparent leader standing in the middle of the three, with a face that denoted an highly calculating and malicious mind. In sharp contrast, the Weavile to its right sported a wide open grin and constantly twitched and foamed from its mouth as if it were on drugs. The third one, in comparison, seemed practically emotionless, looking at you all with an impenetrable gaze.

Quickly getting into formation, the Weaviles take the initiative as they all simultaneously leap into the air, charging large black orbs between their claws before they're launched into your Pokémon's general direction. Taffy steps in in your defense however, putting forth a Light Screen against the incoming barrage of Shadow Balls. You can hear the screen shatter to pieces as the attacks combine and explode into a single dome of Ghost-energy. As your field of vision clears up, you can see your Pokémon mostly unharmed, but Taffy wasn't looking all that well however.

Starting the counter-offense, Humphrey stomps hard into the ground, investing significant energy to summon a Rock Tomb from underneath the concrete while Gaspard and Lola both dash forward to meet their opponents head-on. The Weavile too rush onwards to meet them, their leader nimbly dodging the rising grave from the much slower and inexperienced Rock-type, and in turn zig-zagging towards Gaspard with amazing agility, creating illusory copies of itself with its Double team. The monkey Pokémon is surprised at the sudden increase of targets, and takes a wild-guess as he leaps; his Fire-cloaked tail Punching nothing but air as his fist goes right through one of the clones. He isn't quite done however, as he starts glowing a bright green, dashing to another of the images as soon as he lands on his feet, and this time effective nailing the proper target before U-turning to safety with a backflip. The Weavile is clearly not amused as it spits out to the side in disdain, taking a deep breath before howling out a ferocious Blizzard; the ice-cold winds chilling Gaspard greatly, and more so it did to the lower-leveled Humphrey; he will not want to be taking many more of those.

On Kim's side, Lola swiftly closes the gap between herself and the stern weavile with a pair of long steps while spinning her right arm in the process. As she swings her Dizzy Punch accross the Weavile's face, it is sent flying a few feet back, spinning like a top, but surprisingly, it is able to land on its feet, skirting back a little bit with its expression still unchanged. Dashing towards Lola, it lets loose a quick and astonishing jab which she immediately tries to Protect against in reflex. Woe to her, however, it turned out to be Feint, Weavile suddenly cancelling its attack and whipping its arm against her jaw with a backspin. Before she could even react, the Weavile clenches his cyan-glowing fist before slamming its Ice Punch deep into the Lopunny's gut; a thin patch of ice forming in her midriff as a result. "Lola, now!" Kim commanded, keeping her focus, and the bunny diligently acts on cue, getting hold of the Weavile's arm before spinning it round overhead, launching it against the rocky formation with her Circle Throw.

Taffy seemed to be having her hand full as she dealt with the final Weavile who howled and laughed hysterically as it hacked and slashed like a beast with its Fury Swipes while Taffy only endured the assault by Curling up in Defense; an action that only fueled the Weavile's insane and disturbing state. Looking to finish off Taffy with stylish overkill, the Weavile's fist shimmers intensely with fighting spirit as it now thrusts a potentially devastating Focus Punch. It failed to notice Taffy's body glowing with a red aura in response however, and just as its fist made contact with her body, she suddenly bursts outwardly like an airbag upon collision, paying the Weavile back in spades with her Counter. You could almost hear the sickening noise of the Weavile's arm being crushed to a pulp in a fraction of a second before it got cannonballed straight into a wall; falling to the ground into complete uncounsciousness though still twitching like a half-dead bug. Taffy doesn't look good at all either after that exchange though, having already taken a beating before your arrival and now only hanging tight out of sheer willpower and desire to see her trainer safe and sound.

At least one Weavile was down now, though the leader still looked impecably healthy in comparison to everyone else, and as you saw the other one incorporate back to its feet, you could see a change in its expression alright; eyes fixated on Lola as it was apparently affected by her Cute Charm. Unlike how a regular enamoured Weavile would look though, this one now seemed to display extreme bloodlust and excitement. It would seem the kind of love this Weavile has is the kind that kills.

With all things going on right now, it is hard to relax and think straight if only for a bit, and just as your thoughts turned to Foster and Alice, you're shocked to see the ethereal figure of the Sjuppet being sent flying out of the restroom. As the door opens you see a man clad in black clothing come out from within, his face covered by black bandanas. Perched on his shoulder sat a Murkrow, glaring at you ominously. Behind him you could see Alice's body laying on the floow, and wether she was simply unconscious or worse was something you could not verify yet, but feared the possible answer, and more so did Kim who completely looses her cool and starts breaking down, too shocked to speak.

"So it was yours... I'll be taking that now, boy." He addressed you while taking a step forward, and it seemed to you that he limped as he did. "Thief." he then simply said, and in an instant it was made very clear what he meant as his Murkrow starts flying towards you, surrounded with an aura of darkness.

What will you do?

"I always carry my Pokémon with me," Kim said to Connor as her demeanor changed. It seemed that even without Connor telling her what to do, she was planning to do something anyway. She lets out a Love Ball to release her Pokemon, "Lola, we need you!" she called out as the light that emerged materialized into a Lopunny. "A Lopunny huh..." Connor said as he pointed the Pokedex at her.

Lopunny, the Rabbit Pokémon. The ears appear to be delicate. If they are touched roughly, it kicks with its graceful legs.

"Well, we'll need those kicks right now," Connor said as he looked at the three Weavile. A closer inspection notes that there seems to be a great difference between the three: one of them looked as if he was on drugs, the other one looked emotionless and was just staring at them and lastly, the one on the middle looked cunning and calculating, "The middle one's obviously the leader of the bunch," Connor remarked. The three Weaviles then took the initiative as they leaped into the air to attack the four Pokemon. "So it begins... get ready guys!" Connor shouted to everyone.

..........

So many things had happened in a few moments as Connor saw the outcome of the battle so far. While he was glad that they managed to take out one of the Weavile with Taffy's help and another one completely immobilized due to Lola's Cute Charm, he was still concerned because there was still one more Weavile to take down and while Gaspard wasn't hurt too badly, he saw that Humphrey took heavy damage due to the Blizzard earlier. "Taffy and Lola... they're very powerful. I can see how Angie and Kim could win a contest," he said with a sad smile, "Compared to them, I'm not strong enough... I hate to admit it, but I'm the weakest link right now," Connor knew that his current team can't take out one strong Weavile, let alone three of them. He then took out a pokeball to recall Humphrey, "Humphrey, come back. Take a good rest," he said as he recalled the shiny Roggenrola. Gaspard turned back to face Connor and the little monkey looked concerned for Connor, "Aipopom?" Gaspard asked Connor. The photographer shook his head, "No, it's nothing. I'm fine," he said to Gaspard though he could see that what he said wasn't fooling him.

Connor then suddenly remembered why they were here in the first place, "Wait, that's right! Is Angie safe? What about Foster?" he said as he looked at the restroom door and as if on cue, Foster came out of it though he was knocked back by whatever was in the door, "Foster!" Connor called out to his Shuppet. The door then opened as a man in black came out of the door, his face covered in black bandages. Behind him was Angie who was unconscious and was laying down on the floor. "No... please don't tell me she's...!" Connor stopped as he couldn't bring it in him to say the last word. He remembered that Kim was still around and hearing him say that would make things worse for her as she was already starting to freak out. "You... who are you? What did she do to you huh?!" Connor said to the man.

"So it was yours... I'll be taking that now, boy." the man said as he stepped forward towards Connor. "Taking what...?" Connor thought as he was thinking what this man could possibly be after. "If he was targeting Angie and was looking for something which belongs to me, then it definitely has to be... but why?" Connor instinctively clutched his bag which held his camera. "No, I can't let him have it... this thing's too precious to me!" he thought as he remembered his mentor who gave him her old camera, before leaving to the Ransei Region...

"Here, I want you to have this," a woman in her mid-20s said to a child while handing him her old camera. The boy was confused at what the woman was doing, "Huh? But isn't this your..." the boy looked at the camera before looking back up at the woman, "No miss, I can't! It's yours right? You should keep it!" he said to her. She shook her head and forced the camera on his hands, "No, I insist! Besides, I already bought myself a new one anyway," the woman winked at him. "That one though, brought lots of good luck to me. Hopefully, it should do to you was well. Take good care of it okay?" The boy was about to say something but stopped and didn't object any further, he knew that once she has done something, there was no way to convince her to change her mind. "You're really stubborn, you know that miss?" he simply said to her as she chuckled in reply. The woman started to approach the ship that was departing soon before she stopped for a bit, "You know kid, I hope that one day you'll be able to go out there and see the wonders of the world," she said to him, "This place isn't as bad as you think it is. There's lots of beautiful places out there, and I'd really like for you to see it. I do hope we meet again someday. Take care, alright?" she said before she walked away from the boy and towards the ship.

"Thief," the man simply said and a Murkrow flew towards Connor, who was clearly intending to do so. "Listen mister, I don't know why you're after it, but I can't let you have it! Marco, I need your help!" he said as he let out his shiny Remoraid into battle. He knew that Marco wasn't suited to battle on land, so he had to compromise on the situation, and he an idea as to how to. As soon as Marco materialized, Connor quickly held him as if he was a gun, "I hope you're okay with me holding you like this, I need you right now! Marco, fire two Ice Beams at the Murkrow! Gaspard, Fire Punch and U-Turn at the Weavile!" he said as he aimed Marco towards the Murkrow. While there was the Murkrow in front of him, he still remembers that there was one more Weavile left who's still able to battle and he wasn't going to let it take advantage of being distracted.

[Charminions]

::Seaside City::

Charminions: With Apollo in a bit of a bind, you quickly issue your orders in an attempt to turn around the situation. Bubbah roars and pounds his chest euphorically before throwing himself against the downed Combusken with a Body Slam. Apollo wasn't having any of that however, as he thrusts himself upwards with a rapid but strong kick-up, latching unto Bubbah mid-air and rotating sideways, using gravity to his advanatage to faceplant the Vigoroth hard against the matt; the sloth's legs painfully bending over his back upon impact like a scorpion's tail. The crowd was certainly wowed by Apollo's amazing Reversal, and you figured your opponent wouldn't recover from that easily. You're soon proved wrong however, as you see Bubbah get back to his feet just as Apollo did. Unbelievable! What was that thing made of anyways?

Following up on the offensive, Apollo seeks to bring in some more pain as both of his fists now start bursting with lightning. Quickly stepping in a flash, Apollo hooks a Thunder Punch right into Bubbah's ribcage; the Vigoroth letting out some spit from his mouth as he bends over from the liver blow, right before being slammed overhead with a second electrifying dose of Thunder Punch. It was an attack combination that would be enough to knock out anyone, and indeed the Vigoroth seemed to be falling into unconsciousness; the fight was pretty much already over. Being suddenly staurated with vitality out of nowhere however, Bubbah quickly stretches his arm to get hold of Apollo's face before viciously Scartching across his vulnerable eyes. How dirty! The Fire-type shrieks in pain as his vision is so brutally impaired, and can nary do a thing as Bubbah gets ahold of him, launching Apollo with ridiculous Strength against your very own corner.

Bubbah's face seems to fade out for just a second as his body is now aware of the damage it has sustained, but he then shakes it off vigorously, slamming the matt with both arms to regain focus before thrusting himself full on towards your cornered companion. He seems to be putting all of his spirit on this attack, and Apollo certainly won't want to be victim of it.

What will you do?

Trapped like a bird in a cage, Charm desperately shouts his orders for Apollo to escape the wrath of Bubbah. The Vigoroth gives off a loud roar before pounding his chest like a monkey. Bubbah then jumps up and slams himself down at Combusken with a Body Slam, but Apollo wasn't going to take that. He pulls a Reversal, forcing himself up and latching onto Bubbah while they're in mid air. He then twists them around so their positions change with Bubbah meeting a hard mat when they land on the ground. The impact of the slam was enough to suprise the onlookers who were impressed by Apollo's performance. "Nice one, Apollo!" Charm compliments. Charm's cheerful smile soon turns blank when Bubbah gets back up, even after taking such a wild hit.

"That wasn't enough? Alright, Apollo give it to him!" Apollo does just that. His hands begin crackling with lightning before the Combusken quickly steps towards Bubbah and gives him a Thunder Punch in the rib cage. The impact causes Bubbah to bend over in pain as lets out some spit. Clearly showing the power of Apollo's speed and strength, causing Charm to crack a smile once more. But that was not all, with the Young Fowl's other lightning hand, he gives another Thunder Punch over the Vigoroth's head. The thunderous double punch seemed to be enough as Bubbah looks to be close to fainting, but he suddenly surges with energy.

The now even more hyperactive sloth then gives a Scratch across Apollo's eyes. Apollo yelps out in pain as his vision worsens and leaving him open for Bubbah to pick him up and throw him to the corner of the ring with all his Strength. "Oh boy, now we're in a pickle," Charm notes. The Vigoroth stops for a moment, noticing the damage he has taken, but shakes it off angrily before charging towards the cornered Apollo. Charm contemplates the situation, figuring out his next orders before shouting, "We definitely can't let you take that hit, so quickly pull up a Protect to block the strike. Your vision may be impaired but maybe you'll know the general area of the Vigoroth, so give a Cross Fire before ending with a Flamethrower!"

[-Hayward-]

::The Black Swan::

-Hayward-: You sure were astonished by the sudden sight of a lonely wisp bolting momentarily before your eyes. While a part of you felt the nearly unresistible urge to follow after it and investigate, you think better of it and decide to stay in and more carefully explore the cabin instead. You had the feeling that if you left you might forever lose the chance to come back, and missing out on whatever shinies the crew might've hoarded for themselves over the yearts simply wasn't an option for you. You ask your partners to get ahold of themselves and start helping out with the scavenge.

Ever wary of your surroundings, you carefully inspect the large room in sarch of long forgotten treasure. Dissapointingly, it seemed like pretty much nothing was left behind. Perhaps most was lost at sea when the ship stranded. Perhaps the surviving pirates took the loot themselves before hiding it somewhere on Pirate Isle. Perhaps other treasure hunters had already gotten ahead of you long ago. All theories seemed equally likely and neither was exclusivee to each other, but there just had to be something left of value, right? And then, as if by mystical coincidence, you struck gold; a rotten wooden plank suddenly lifting under your feet as you stepped on it, revealing 3 Golden Dubloons underneath, covered in a thick layer of dust and stained a dark brown with what could'vee been at one time someone else's blood. Your partners too seemed to have found something on their end; Medéo feeling drawn to a Crystal Eye of sorts, which gave you the impression that it stared straight into your soul, whereas Hynéo on the other hand picked up a strange scent coming from an out-of-place Black Feather, likely belonging to a rather large bird. The feather itself looked like it had fallen recently, and yet, one couldn't help shaking the feeling that it had been there for a long, long time. All in all, the collected items didn't seem all that valuable, save perhaps for the dubloons, but perhaps they might be of use somehow.

As you reflect on the fruits of your endeavor, the atmosphere around you now turns even heavier as you could almost feel the entire ship "breathe"; all walls expanding and contracting while strong gusts of wind blew in and out; the resulting sound resembling the deep, guttural growl of a diabolic beast. You hear a booming noise coming from the opposite far end of the ship, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps, at first coming at decently paced intervals but then exponentially accelerating more and more as they closed in on you. It sounds like danger is fast approaching, and though your Pokémon were certainly strong and nearly at the peak of their abilities, perhaps a valiant escape now was in order.

What will you do?

In the crew chambers of the abandoned pirate frigate known as the Black Swan, the young treasure hunter Will Hale wanders around the place in search of ancient artifacts, rare relics, and long-lost loot while his Pokemon, Medeo the Medicham and Hyneo the Mightyena, happily lend their assistance. However, after a brief inspection of the cramped confines, the trio have only managed to unearth a few minor trinkets - three golden dubloons, a black feather, and a crystal eye - a far cry from the vast riches Will was seeking.

Tucking the items into his grey side-strap courier bag nevertheless, Will remarks that though they didn't find anything valuable, and the wreckage appears rather ordinary on the outside, he feels that the place is definitely shrouded in an eerie atmosphere and perhaps hides a "mystery-greater-than-treasure" worth uncovering within its rotted hull. Medeo agrees, nodding his head sagely, and Hyneo gives a cheerful bark of consent as Will goes on, wondering aloud about the ship's infamous history and the fate of its former crew.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind causes the old ship to give a violent shudder and the threesome sense a malevolent presence all around them, radiating through the walls. They quickly spin around, but find nothing there except the empty room. Will begins to tremble a bit with apprehension and confesses that he was feeling slightly uneasy when they were ransacking the place, almost as if someone was watching them. Just then, Will and his Pokemon get the same sensation again and rapidly glance around the cabin, but just like before, there isn't anything unusual.

However, moments later, when Will suggests they continue their search elsewhere, the trio hear a colossal Boom! coming from the ship's far opposite end, and they immediately cry out in terror. The next thing they know, they hear the sound of heavy footsteps rushing down the corridor in their direction, and Will exclaims that the ship must not be abandoned after all.

"Look sharp, mates!" he warns his comrades. "We're gonna have company!" Hyneo lets out a low growl as Medeo nods and quickly adopts the defensive Kung fu stance known as Invincible Kricketot Defiance.

As the footsteps draw nearer, a sweat trickles down the side of Will's face, and the lad wonders to himself if the rumours about evil spirits haunting the derelict vessel might be true after all. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." he mutters to himself, before turning to his companions and issuing instructions.

"Odor Sleuth, Hyneo. Medeo use Foresight," Will directs, hoping one of the techniques might give them a clue to the identity or motives of their approaching visitor. "Medeo, follow up with Meditate, and Hyneo, Hone your Claws. Let's be ready for anything!"

[Marion Ette]

::The Lighthouse::

Marion Ette: You figure the reason the man suddenly asked for your hand was likely for assistance going up the stairs given his blindness. Seeing that Gastly gave no sign for distrusting him, you kindly comply with his request, placing your hand within his reach. The old man chuckled, and it was hard to tell if he was moved by your kind gesture, or simply amusemed by something you just had said.

"Oh, do not worry, young missy, even the way I am now, I know this place as well as I know the palm of my hand. You however..." he said as he gently held your hand, stroking his bony fingers over your palm as if trying to read it. "Ah, so that's the kind of person that you are. It must be providence that brought you 'ere this evening. Maybe... naw..." he started chuckling again, letting go of your hand before carefully going upstairs while singing some melody:

[...]And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light,
with strange, unearthly splendor in the glare![...]

He muttered, at times uttering unintelligible lines, and at others only humming to himself. "What an interesting fellow. Looks like he's lacking a few screws in his head, but I've always felt the insane know more about the secrets of this world than anyone else. I like that old man already!" Gastly commentated, looking a bit marveled by the scene that unfolded before him.

Once inside the Lighthouse, you're faced once again with the same different choices. You could very well follow the old man upstairs as he did, or check out the basement once again. Either way, the keeper of this lighthouse didn't seem like he would mind at all, as he alreday gave you his blessing to spend the night within. Something else immediately caught your attention though, and it was the very feel of the air around you. How odd, it was no longer saturated with spiritual energy as before. Ominous? Yes, slightly, for any other person that is, but perfectly normal for your standards; nowhere near as aggresive and overwhelming as a few moments ago. Just what had happened, or will happen, in this place? The turth can only be revealed, once again, by the decisions you make.

What will you do?[/color]

As the old man appears to read her palm, Marion can't help but wonder how the lines in Kikyo's palm differ from Marion's. What do those lines say to this man? Could they even be trusted? Do they reveal the personality of Kikyo... or Marion... or both? The questions that swim around Marion's mind are overwhelming, and she decides to return her focus to the present for now. After all, if she remains locked in reverie, she may miss something important.

The man begins to sing a song based on a bit of poetry by Longfellow, which "Kikyo" respectfully listens to, eerily reminded of her own little poem-song that she had hummed to calm herself earlier when traversing the lighthouse... Gastly makes a comment about the man being insane, which may very well be true, though the statement makes Marion wonder. "Is the love of poetry madness? I suppose I must be quite mad, then, too... it is such a pretty song." Kikyo giggles slightly. "I like him, too."

Marion is suddenly struck with the realization that the strong negative energy that saturated the Lighthouse when in her own body now seems strangely absent. Marion figures that this is not the result of her new body, as Kikyo seems to be similarly sensitive to ghostly energies... It seems as if whatever caused the Lighthouse to be haunted has not occurred yet at this moment in time. Marion already had a feeling this would be the case before she stepped into this role, but the actual confirmation of her suspicion really hits the point home that she needs to be careful about what she does, for her actions have the potential to change the fate of the Lighthouse forever, should they have an impact on her own native time.

Certainly, she could go searching around the basement; Marion was definitely interested to see if she would find generators in this version of the Lighthouse, or some other power source, or even nothing at all. A decoded version of the note might be waiting for her, or even some explanation of those symbols that she saw in the "modern" Lighthouse. That said, despite her curiosity surrounding the basement, Marion is strangely paranoid at the thought of leaving Gastly. After all, if she were gone, and something happened to the Gastly, how would Kikyo/Marion ever forgive herself if she was not there to defend him? Marion decides that, whatever actions she decides to take, she will take them with Gastly by her side. Abandoning a friend for the sake of curiosity was not something that Marion was about to do. Of course, Marion could be worrying for nothing, though she sincerely doubts that to be the case...

As Marion calls out to Gastly to wait for her, she quickly searches her robes for any Pokeballs, potions or other objects on her person After all, this Priestess may have other Pokemon or items of which Marion is not currently aware. After this quick search, Marion joins Gastly on the ascent up the stairs, preparing herself mentally to expect the unexpected.

[King Ghidorah]

Suicune Effigy:

Coolz8: Caught between the warring factions, you decide to attempt to play peacemaker. From your collection of mysterious possessions, you pull out a box which in itself leads to a door to apparently another dimension. From within this door, you pull out an elaborate picnic meal and present it as a way to discuss the conflict between the groups.

The problem is…you scare the hell out of the religious fanatics.

“WITCH! WITCH! GET HIM!” shouts one of Cozbi’s female followers.

“FOLLOWERS! DESTROY HIM!” says Cozbi himself.

In a sudden frenzy of commotion, the blue-and-white clad crowd begins to charge toward you. Cozbi, however, stands in the center as they pass, his eyes closed, apparently deep in prayer. The group inches closer and is about to strike. You pull back to avoid being assaulted.

“GET BACK!” shouts the young man with eyes like Cozbi. Suddenly, he releases a Donphan on the ground in front of him who stomps and blares it’s trunk-trumpet loudly. “TAKE CARE OF THEM, DONPHAN!”

The Donphan rears back onto it’s thick hind legs and slams it’s body down with full force creating great Magnitude. The ground cracks and trembles, bringing the crashing to the ground. The followers quickly retreat behind their preacher, who comes out of his prayer.

“This is not the last you’ve seen of us. May Suicune have mercy on your soul,” he says. He turns abruptly, ushering his congregation away. The young man with the blue eyes recalls the Donphan and turns to you.

“Deceitful, lying pig,” he says, referring to Cozbi. “Allow me to discuss this with you. Let us break bread together.”

You approach the picnic you’ve set. A broad variety of foods and treats lay in front of you, their delicious scents wafting into the air. Several of the young man’s posse sit around a large sandwich ring, while the young man enjoys some sort of chicken. He invites you to sit across from him.

“That man…Cozbi…he is my father,” the young man explains. “And my name is Raphael. He is the founder of the “Church of Suicune.” They claim to do good works in the name of Suicune, but in reality, they prey on the weak, the lost, the downtrodden and brainwash them into doing their dirty work and attempting to control people and Pokemon alike. He once had me under his evil spell, but I managed to distance myself and break free. And now I refuse to let him ruin anyone else’s life.

My father has a knack for trying to go after those who are lost. Tell me, friend, what is it that you’re searching for?”

What will you do?


OkikuMew: Max is in trouble. Big trouble. It pains you to see him being brutalized by this much larger, more experienced, more aggressive Dodrio, and it’s gone off on a rampage that it can’t seem to stop.

You plea for Max to hang in there, and rather than run off, you think it’s best to put up a valiant fight. The dog Pokemon stumbles to his feet, growling at the Dodrio, who as you predicted, seems to have forgotten what it’s doing or where it is. The three heads begin squawking and pecking at each other causing a bit of damage, allowing Max to catch his breath. On your command, your little gray ball of fur launches himself at the Dodrio with a big Tackle attempt, colliding with the Dodrio’s abdomen. Max, however, simply bounces off, allowing the Dodrio heads to refocus it’s attention on Max.

Uh oh.

Dodrio begins whipping up a powerful Tri Attack to put Max away, but suddenly out of nowhere, a Swellow suddenly appears on the scene, slashing across Dodrio’s throats with a powerful Aerial Ace. Dodrio falls to it’s knees and Swellow moves in assaulting the Triple Bird up close, showing what a Brave Bird Swellow really is. The Swellow relents, and Max sees his opportunity to land one last Tackle. Dodrio has fainted.Level up for Max. You smile and begin to go for one of the Pokeballs from your waist to make a glorious capture, but suddenly, an Ultra Ball comes flying from over your shoulder and hits Dodrio, sucking it up into a ball of light. Being unable to fight, the capture is complete. Somebody stole your capture!

In a furious rage, you turn to try and capture your scavenger. You see this young lady.

“Sorry,” she says. “You look like you needed some help.” She walks up to Max who is still banged up from the battle, and she sprays him with a Super Potion, instantly perking him up.

“My name is Skyla,” she says. “I’m kind of a Flying-type expert. I’ve been tracking this Dodrio for days now. I hope you’re not angry.”

What will you do?


Crater Lake:

Thrain: You do your best to make amends with Mr. Leonardi and the ranger, and try to thwart the situation from escalating even further than it already has. However, regardless of your sincere apology, it appears to fall on deaf ears. Rather than make things a bigger deal, you decide it’s best to just go put your tail between your legs and go about your trip, laying low.

The ranger leads you and your group out through the lodge and onto a dirt path leading toward a large wooded area. You hear the various calls of Pokemon living in the trees as you walk along the path, enveloped in dense green foliage.

“At Crater Lake,” the ranger explains, “we do our best to preserve nature’s pure and undisturbed beauty. We feel it is our responsibility to assure that guests enjoy the lake, but do so in a respectful manner. I implore you not to veer from our path at any time unless instructed to, for your own safety and for the safety of the group.”

The ranger’s words resonate with you. You look up and notice Mr. Leonardi not paying attention, his chubby fingers tapping incessantly as he texts somebody on a cell phone, apparently too cool to have to pay attention.

Finally, you arrive at a large rock formation. It’s large, rocky crags intrigue the adventurer in you, and you notice the path winds up to the peak where a red flag blows in the wind.

“All right, group,” the ranger says. “As part of our nature hike, we’re going to have a few partner challenges. These are meant to be fun and are meant to be done safely. Whichever team reaches the top of this mountain and grabs the red flag first wins.
This is a race. As you can see, various paths lead to the top of the mountain, and each team will start at a different path. Each path presents it’s own challenges. I’d like you all now to choose partners.”

The group goes off in a buzz. You turn in excitement to try and befriend one of the other seven hikers, praying that you don’t get paired up with Leonardi. But each time as you turn, you hear the other hikers making agreements to partner up. Turning every which way, you finally lock eyes with Leonardi.

“Oh no! No way!” Leonardi protests. “I refuse to partner with him!”

“Calm down, Alex,” says the ranger. “Maybe this will be good for you. You and Eric will start at the Western Path Entrance.”

Your heart sinks a bit. Not only is Leonardi a jerk, but he doesn’t really appear to be very valuable in a race. Amidst his continued protests, the ranger escorts you both to the Western path.

“Look, just listen to whatever I say to do,” Leonardi commands. “You’re obviously incapable of intelligent thought, so just stay out of my way.”

Once everyone is in place, the ranger raises his starter gun and fires it into the air. You take off running, ignoring Leonardi, who jogs behind you gasping for air. After running a few meters, you come across a crevice in the earth. It’s a bit too far to jump across, and there’s no way around it. You notice some wood and tools lying near by and a few trees with long, dangling vines stand near by. You could use some of these things to your advantage, or you could try to come up with a solution on your own. Leonardi eventually catches up with you, but thankfully can’t speak as he gasps for air. You both need to get across.

What will you do?


Energos Quarry:

allishinca: You’re right in your assumption about the Light Screen, but it appears with Pluto’s typing, the Voltorb is trying everything and anything to attempt to cause damage and protect itself.

On your command, Pluto lunges towad the Voltorb, easily passing through the Light Screen. Pluto grabs the Voltorb and startles it, Leering eerily into it’s face before slashing across it with a big Scratch. The Voltorb panics and blasts Pluto off with a Charge Beam, sending Pluto flying.

Pluto gets to his feet, only to find the Voltorb headed directly for him with a Rollout. However, Pluto dives out of the way, and the Voltorb collides with the broad side of a large boulder, sending it ricocheting off stalagmites and stalactites like a pinball in a pinball machine. Finally, the Voltorb comes to a stop, taking a considerable amount of damage.

The thought of capturing this Voltorb undoubtedly crosses your mind.

What will you do?


The Lighthouse:

extroph: See here.

[Extroph]

[b]Crater Lake:

The Lighthouse

extroph: Getting caught up in the heat of the battle, you neglect to consider the Qwilfish’s ability and now have a very sick Spearow on your hands. Thinking quickly, you switch out to your Electrike.

“HEY! WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA!?” yells the sailor, apparently upset about your switch. On cue, the other two sailors grab you and take your remaining Pokeballs away from you!

“Don’t worry, lad” laughs Captain Correia, who has taken an interest in the match. “I’ll see to it that you get your Pokemon back after the fight. But this be one-on-one battlin’!”

Well, looks like your stuck with Electrike. He has the type advantage and is very eager to go to bat for you, but you have to be wary about it’s Poison Point. On your command, the Electrike fires a Wave of Thunder at the Qwilfish, which winces in pain at the electric shock.

“That ain’t nothing, Qwilfish!” yells the sailor. “Use Aqua Tail and then Tackle!”

The balloon Pokemon turns it’s tail toward Electrike and slams it down hard on the ground, sending a large wave of water crashing over Electrike. While it does some damage, Electrike is largely unaffected and shakes off the water like dogs do. When the Qwilfish goes to use Tackle, however, it can’t move. Paralyzed.

“Aye, lad! There you go!” says Correia as he cheers you on. You examine the Qwilfish planning your next attack and you notice that the spikes on the right side of it’s body are no longer secreting poison due to the paralysis! Electrike has sustained a little damage and, while it is paralyzed, the Qwilfish remains undamaged. You have an opportunity here.

What will you do?

"Go Rey!"

As soon as Vernon took out his Electrike, the sailors found out about his switching plans, and took away his Pokeballs. "This'll be a one on one battle!" Vernon frowned at the decision of the sailors, but good thing Electrike is at an advantage. He isn't poisoned from Qwilfish's thorns yet, but the opponent is paralyzed.

"Aye lad there you go!" the old man cheers Vernon on, which makes him smile a little bit. Then, Vernon noticed the lack of poison secreting out of the right side of Qwilfish, as it struggled to move its muscles. This was the time to strike.

"Electrike! Tackle Qwilfish twice on his right side, then get out of there!" Vernon hoped that Electrike is quick enough to do this, especially since the opponent is paralyzed.

[MarbleZone]

MarbleZone: Carefully thinking about your next orders, you command your Minccino to make use of hit-and-run tactics, exploiting the most of her overwhelming speed advantage over the slow, living blob of sludge. Being such a technical fighter, Min seemed more than happy with this plan. It was your intention to conserve energy while you gauged the Grimer's strength, which you figured would probably not be much considering its likely low intelligence and limited movepool. This was a serious battle however, and it was better to be safe than sorry, you thought.

Springing into action, Min practically dances around the Poison-type, dazzling the poor thing with her quick movements as she looked for the perfect opening. The Grimer tries in vain to protect all flanks, and then, in a moment of confusion, it finds itself being Pounded hard accross its slimy face; the chinchilla Pokémon nimbly stepping back in time to avoid a widely slugged hook from her opponent as the Grimer tried to Pound in retaliation. Grimer looks really annoyed now, and it seems to take the offensive, intent on getting up close and personal with the Normal-type as he slowly sled towards her. Min on the other hand looks slightly grossed out as she tries to wipe a bit of the residue slime off her paw; for a Pokémon almost obsessed with being clean and tidy by nature, facing a Grimer was probably the worst of the worst. She still looks motivated for battle however, having only just warmed up.

Meanwhile, over at the barricade, you notice sludge oozing out from the extremely narrow creavace underneath the metallic door. Whatever this means, it may be that you don't have enough time to be overly careful and methodic.

What will you do?

Even though the first batch of orders was a complete success, it lead to a rather troubling conclusion: Minccino wouldn't work here. Sure, she could brush off a couple of sludge drops, but if she was forced into direct contact with Grimer too many times, the stench and filth was going to get to her eventually and she'd panic. She wasn't exactly a mentally strong Pokémon, and her obsession with cleanliness wasn't going to help in this match at all.

Still, the round had served its purpose. Grimer was on the offensive now, and Levin had it scouted - slow as molasses, as he had hoped, and apparently with a preference for short-ranged attacks.

As he processed the information, something caught his attention. More sludge was seeping into the storage room through the metal door's crevice at the end of the hall. A second Grimer no doubt... Screw planning, there's no time for this. Out with the big guns!

He recalled Minccino and, in her place, two other PokéBalls were thrown, unleashing Crix the Elekid and Gaius the Gible.
The two rivals, born on the same day, stared at each other before turning their attention to their trainer.

- Okay guys, there's no time to waste. We have one Grimer to take down, and another about to enter the battle! Crix, go for a Quick Attack to stun this Grimer, then Gaius, you follow it up immediately with Earth Power to bring it down! We can't let it join forces with the one that's coming in!

[Coolz8]

Suicune Effigy:

Coolz8: Caught between the warring factions, you decide to attempt to play peacemaker. From your collection of mysterious possessions, you pull out a box which in itself leads to a door to apparently another dimension. From within this door, you pull out an elaborate picnic meal and present it as a way to discuss the conflict between the groups.

The problem is…you scare the hell out of the religious fanatics.

“WITCH! WITCH! GET HIM!” shouts one of Cozbi’s female followers.

“FOLLOWERS! DESTROY HIM!” says Cozbi himself.

In a sudden frenzy of commotion, the blue-and-white clad crowd begins to charge toward you. Cozbi, however, stands in the center as they pass, his eyes closed, apparently deep in prayer. The group inches closer and is about to strike. You pull back to avoid being assaulted.

“GET BACK!” shouts the young man with eyes like Cozbi. Suddenly, he releases a Donphan on the ground in front of him who stomps and blares it’s trunk-trumpet loudly. “TAKE CARE OF THEM, DONPHAN!”

The Donphan rears back onto it’s thick hind legs and slams it’s body down with full force creating great Magnitude. The ground cracks and trembles, bringing the crashing to the ground. The followers quickly retreat behind their preacher, who comes out of his prayer.

“This is not the last you’ve seen of us. May Suicune have mercy on your soul,” he says. He turns abruptly, ushering his congregation away. The young man with the blue eyes recalls the Donphan and turns to you.

“Deceitful, lying pig,” he says, referring to Cozbi. “Allow me to discuss this with you. Let us break bread together.”

You approach the picnic you’ve set. A broad variety of foods and treats lay in front of you, their delicious scents wafting into the air. Several of the young man’s posse sit around a large sandwich ring, while the young man enjoys some sort of chicken. He invites you to sit across from him.

“That man…Cozbi…he is my father,” the young man explains. “And my name is Raphael. He is the founder of the “Church of Suicune.” They claim to do good works in the name of Suicune, but in reality, they prey on the weak, the lost, the downtrodden and brainwash them into doing their dirty work and attempting to control people and Pokemon alike. He once had me under his evil spell, but I managed to distance myself and break free. And now I refuse to let him ruin anyone else’s life.

My father has a knack for trying to go after those who are lost. Tell me, friend, what is it that you’re searching for?”

What will you do?

"Your relation seemed quite noticeable..." Frinth replies, partaking of another slice of blueberry cheesecake, with a few complementary éclairs to help nurture a person's sweet tooth.

"Want some?" He hands over some delectable cream puffs which only resembled them yet not exactly. "This sounds familiar. His mind may be somehow deluded and he probably uses those ideas to entrance other victims into following his crimes. Am I correct?" He takes a look into his pack, and spots an explosive-type weapon. He hesitates as he remembers another part of his pledge, concerning the safety of all inhabitants of that world.

He was only new to that universe, and the guide he stuck with was probably in anothe adventure now...

He briefly reminisces about his first weeks in this dimension.

It was a simple, bright day at Snowpoint City, though scheduled snowfall followed throughout the final month of the year, december. Another person who appeared to be about his age approached him. "So, would you like to join Fizzy Bubbles?" Frinth looks at him in confusion... He saw him once, in an advanced modified Pokemon arena, one who also invited him just for fun. "Rey? Hmm... What do you usually do there?" They simply conversed in front of the nearest Bar, and Frinth couldn't help but play with surrounding snow, while trying to absorb each phrase coming towards his memory.

Though he may have somehow missed his company, he still patiently smiled, waiting for a reply in turn.

[Balmund]

Kakatua Lagoon

Balmund: Rather than head for the exit and walk out on your newfangled soul mate, you decide that to your better judgement the siren might have had her reasons for taking you prisoner. Determined to find some good underneath her velvety smooth skin you apologise earnestly for slaying her pet and start to probe her about the fate of your own monsters. She avoids your question, swooning at the sound of that four letter word at the tail-end of your sentence. The mermaid’s tail coils as she glides through the crystal clear blue lost in her own world - “Ahh, he really does love me”. Opening her eyes that she’d squeezed tight wishfully, she faces you again with an embarrassed giggle.

“Your friends?” she pauses for a second, her finger on her lip as she stares into space, “I remember! I let out your Kingdra and we had a little chat while you were sleeping...” The siren’s face suddenly grows pale and worried, trying her best to avoid your attentive glare. This becomes impossible however as she seems to suspect an air of suspicion “He kept telling me you didn’t love me. He tried to stop me from changing you... so I locked him away... Don’t worry, I’ll set him free as soon as he stops telling those vicious lies! I can take you to him right now if you don’t believe me” You catch a glint of malice in her eyes for the first time, she actually looked a bit frightening. With tensions high the siren quickly changes to subject back to you. The mermaid had a knack for manipulating conversation; one bat of her eyelashes was spellbinding, enough to steer your mind away from the growing warning signs.

“So Bal... Tell me some more about yourself”, she says casually “I want to know every- last- naughty- detail.” With each word the maid takes a lunge forward until your noses are almost touching. Her seductive glare from a hair’s distance was enough to send any merman weak at the tailfin, and you were no exception. What will you say?

The mermaid seems to swoon as Balmund calls her "his love". If he had any doubt about her having a crush on him, they were quickly dissapearing by now. Perhaps he could play around with this. She mentiones having freed Ephraim, only to imprison him again as he tried to stop her from transforming him, her demeanor turning dark as she recounted this. It certainly was troubling to know how she single-handedly trapped the Kingdra; Ephraim was certainly no pushover, but at least he was safe, and Balmund could count on him later on.

"Surely, he must've misunderstood. He knows nothing about us two..." Balmund responded. "I too can play that game, hun." He thought to himself. He could tell she was manipulating the conversation to go in favor of her flow, but he was no stranger to such tactics. It was no easy task by a longshot however. While his mind was set, his body pleaded otherwise. Her beauty was simply too captivating; her gestures completely spellbinding. He could for once empathize with how it was like to fight under the influence of attraction. He wondered how long it would take before he completely lost his mind to lustful desire.

She then asks him to tell her more about himself, lunging forward ever so seductively until their noses were practically touching each other. Balmund's heart was racing, and he could almost feel the spines along his tailfin stiffen. "I want you, isn't that more than you need to know? To feel you, smell you, taste you, be with you." He smiled a naughty grin. "You tell me more about yourself." He said, edging even closer to her. He could almost feel her lips pressing against his', but he didn't want to go beyond that, no, not by his own initiative, but oh did it hurt so bad. Her reaction would be invaluable though. He needed to know how much he could influence her if he had any hope of doing something about this situation.

[allishinca]

allishinca: You’re right in your assumption about the Light Screen, but it appears with Pluto’s typing, the Voltorb is trying everything and anything to attempt to cause damage and protect itself.

On your command, Pluto lunges towad the Voltorb, easily passing through the Light Screen. Pluto grabs the Voltorb and startles it, Leering eerily into it’s face before slashing across it with a big Scratch. The Voltorb panics and blasts Pluto off with a Charge Beam, sending Pluto flying.

Pluto gets to his feet, only to find the Voltorb headed directly for him with a Rollout. However, Pluto dives out of the way, and the Voltorb collides with the broad side of a large boulder, sending it ricocheting off stalagmites and stalactites like a pinball in a pinball machine. Finally, the Voltorb comes to a stop, taking a considerable amount of damage.

The thought of capturing this Voltorb undoubtedly crosses your mind.

What will you do?

Luckily enough, Alli was correct in her assumptions of how Light Screen would effect battle. Pluto lunged forward through the glorious light wall and managed to grab hold of the Voltorb. He quickly glared the Voltorb in the eyes and gave it a frightening Leer before raising a furry paw and Scratching it across the face. The cave was suddenly alight with a blinding light as the Voltorb shot Pluto off of him while a flashy Charge Beam. Alli had been caught off guard, and rubbed her eyes due to the bright light. Pluto was blasted across the cave, where he collided with a large boulder, and then slowly slid to the ground. Pluto got up with his fur spiked and smoldering from the electricity.

"You okay Pluto?"
Alli shouted to him after regaining her eye sight.

Pluto had no time to respond, as he noticed the Voltorb heading straight for him with a Rollout attack.
"Watch out!" Alli yipped, aghast.

Pluto dived out of the way, leaving the Voltorb to smack directly into the large rock that Pluto had just hit. This in reaction caused the Voltorb to go ricocheting off to the cave walls. Alli dived out of the way just in time as the Voltorb when flying above her head. The humorous appearance of the Voltorb acting as a pinball made Alli roll around in laughter, despite their desperate situation. Nothing could cheer her up faster than the fond memories of her toys.

Pluto let his face fall into the palm of his paw, and wished that his trainer would stop embarrassing him.

While Alli was still on the ground laughing, the Voltorb had stopped its pinball act and now spun around slowly in the corner of the cave. Alli noticed it was clearly dizzy and disoriented and an idea sprang to her mind. She quickly hopped to her feet and pulled out Pokeball [2/5] which she chucked at the muddled monster.

Pluto watched through his claws as the ball flew through the air and collided with the Voltorb, causing him to disappear into the ball with a flash of light. Pluto looked irritably over at Alli, as he was feeling fairly confident in that battle and didn't appreciate her intervention. Alli did not noticed Pluto's look of annoyance, as her eyes were firmly fixated on the jiggling Pokeball.

Profile

[OkikuMew]

[b]Suicune Effigy:
OkikuMew: Max is in trouble. Big trouble. It pains you to see him being brutalized by this much larger, more experienced, more aggressive Dodrio, and it’s gone off on a rampage that it can’t seem to stop.

You plea for Max to hang in there, and rather than run off, you think it’s best to put up a valiant fight. The dog Pokemon stumbles to his feet, growling at the Dodrio, who as you predicted, seems to have forgotten what it’s doing or where it is. The three heads begin squawking and pecking at each other causing a bit of damage, allowing Max to catch his breath. On your command, your little gray ball of fur launches himself at the Dodrio with a big Tackle attempt, colliding with the Dodrio’s abdomen. Max, however, simply bounces off, allowing the Dodrio heads to refocus it’s attention on Max.

Uh oh.

Dodrio begins whipping up a powerful Tri Attack to put Max away, but suddenly out of nowhere, a Swellow suddenly appears on the scene, slashing across Dodrio’s throats with a powerful Aerial Ace. Dodrio falls to it’s knees and Swellow moves in assaulting the Triple Bird up close, showing what a Brave Bird Swellow really is. The Swellow relents, and Max sees his opportunity to land one last Tackle. Dodrio has fainted.Level up for Max. You smile and begin to go for one of the Pokeballs from your waist to make a glorious capture, but suddenly, an Ultra Ball comes flying from over your shoulder and hits Dodrio, sucking it up into a ball of light. Being unable to fight, the capture is complete. Somebody stole your capture!

In a furious rage, you turn to try and capture your scavenger. You see this young lady.

“Sorry,” she says. “You look like you needed some help.” She walks up to Max who is still banged up from the battle, and she sprays him with a Super Potion, instantly perking him up.

“My name is Skyla,” she says. “I’m kind of a Flying-type expert. I’ve been tracking this Dodrio for days now. I hope you’re not angry.”

What will you do?

Well, things goes kind of according to plan, at least for the start: the Dodrio got confused, which gives Max a break and a chance to hit him hard. ...But what I didn't expect the flying-yet-non-winged Pokémon snap out of its confusion prepare a horrible Tri Attack, which I know it is not pweety...

But before he got the change to let go his attack, a wild Swellow appeared and hit it right into its neck with an Aerial Ace, followed by a Brave Bird! Finally seeing light at the end of that dark tunnel, I order my dog Pokémon launch one last Tackling hurrah... And it works! K.O.! I jump for joy, until I stop all of a sudden: Wait a minute, this is my chance to catch that thing! I quickly search in my backpack for one of my Pokéballs... But then I saw I black and yellow one, that I reconize as an Ultra Ball, flies right to the three-headed bird, opens up to gobble it up... What!? How... I could try to do something, but Max's too tired... and it's too late: Dodrio is captured by not-me. I turn around to see who in the world stole my capture...

"Sorry," a familiar young woman says, "you looked like you needed some help."

Hey wait a minute... I know her! Her being here really caught me by surprise, enough to take over the anger I had! Well, the fact she came up and healed Max back on his feet kinda helps too... Although I could've healed him myself.

"My name is Skyla," the gym leader continues, "I’m kind of a Flying-type expert. I’ve been tracking this Dodrio for days now. I hope you’re not angry."

"I-I'm fine," I mumble as I nervously scratch the back of my head, still a bit surprised and embarassed, "I did needed some help, thanks." I pause a bit, thinking what to say next. "In a way I'm glad you caught it, I don't think I wouldn't be able to handle that wild crazy thing... You say it took you days to find it? You should've used beef jerky as bait!" I laugh.

Max lowly growls, feeling a bit snarkly about my joke.

"I know you, you're the flying-type Gym Leader in Unova. I'm Okiku, believe it or not, at my age, I'm just starting being a Pokémon trainer; This is actually our first adventure... and our first battle. Oh," presenting my Poochyena with my hand, "and this little guy is my best friend Max."

He looks at me with those eyes that if he could talk, he would probably told me he wants his piece of dried meat back and some revenge on the side, even if the Dodrio ate it a good while ago and he defeated him (although with some help). I put my hands on my hips and shake my head, smiling.

"...And he's still angry about his stolen piece of jerky."

I secretly grab the bag of the leftover jerky, ready to throw him one to cheer him up.


And in related news...
...Tink! Dadadadaaa! First level up ever for Max! He's now level 6! Yay!

[kaisap112]

Cascade Waterfall

Kaisap: If you had known being at one with nature meant this, you might have ventured to the urban metropolis of Seaside City instead – your heart racing in panic as the gargantuan tire veered into the tree trunk with tremendous force. Bark splintered off in all directions, the branch Kitty was desperately fastened to bending on her weight as she mews in distress. Still not liking your odds of a brawl with the big momma, you try one last time to win her over and show her you have no bad intentions. You frantically wave your arms to grab its attention, plucking a clove of berries from your backpack. It’s only when the eldest of the Phanpy brood joins in trumpeting and stamping its feet that the mother decelerates. The elephant untucks from its Rollout, eyeing you warily and furrowing its trunk to catch a scent of the berries. The Donphan grunts, ramming one of the Phanpy toward you signalling its trust. The calves start pawing at your legs eagerly as you offer out the berries. A feeling of deep relief washes over you, until you realise you’d forgotten someone.

“Wrowwwww” Kitty cries in despair. The feline had managed to hoist herself onto the branch that she was now hugging for her life. It looked like she was too far up to climb down and needed a helping hand. The Donphan seems to have caught sight of this dilemma and grunts again to catch your attention. She’d lowered her trunk for you to stand on - it looked as though she wanted to crane you up with it. Before you could make a decision, another sound starts racketing from above. Inside a tree hollow a small Hoothoot’s amber eyes flickered on like a pair of flashlights. It hops onto the Skitty’s branch, bags under its eye markings as it clips its beak grouchily. It looked as though the Donphan’s ramming had woken it up, and it was looking for a scrap with Kitty! You quickly have a lot more on your plate than a cat stuck up a tree, but at least this fight was evenly matched. What will you do?

The mother Donphan slammed at the tree Kitty was hanging from, making splinters fly, but luckily enough Kitty didn’t fly with them. Instead, Kitty hung on for her dear life, meowing helplessly. Noriko decided to try her last trick, offering the baby Phanpy berries. The little Phanpy seemed to have a better understanding of others than his mother, loudly stomping his feet and trumpeting at the mother to stop harassing the guests. Finally the Donphan gave up, uncurling from her attack before ushering one of the Phanpy at Noriko with her big trunk.

The Phanpy weren’t shy about their interest in the berries, pawing at Noriko, who started handing out the berries. All of a sudden the calm moment was interrupted by a loud meow from the tree. Noriko quickly remembered her partner in distress, gently attempting to push Phanpy away in order to get to Kitty. Mother Donphan was quick to catch on, offering her trunk for leverage.

Unfortunately, Kitty wasn’t alone on the tree. A small Hoothoot, apparently woken from a deep sleep, hopped on the tree branch with eyes wide open. Noriko noticed the similarity between those eyes and huge flashlights, but her thoughts were interrupted when the Hoothoot started snapping its beak in a threatening manner. Kitty had to get down to safety from that branch, fast!

Noriko swallowed, thinking hard. “Kitty, let go of the branch and use Bullet Seed toward the ground to slow down your fall!” While giving the command Noriko started running toward the tree. “Donphan, could you help Kitty by catching her with your trunk?” She could think about battling Hoothoot after Kitty was safely on ground-level.

[Thrain]

Crater Lake:

Thrain: You do your best to make amends with Mr. Leonardi and the ranger, and try to thwart the situation from escalating even further than it already has. However, regardless of your sincere apology, it appears to fall on deaf ears. Rather than make things a bigger deal, you decide it’s best to just go put your tail between your legs and go about your trip, laying low.

The ranger leads you and your group out through the lodge and onto a dirt path leading toward a large wooded area. You hear the various calls of Pokemon living in the trees as you walk along the path, enveloped in dense green foliage.

“At Crater Lake,” the ranger explains, “we do our best to preserve nature’s pure and undisturbed beauty. We feel it is our responsibility to assure that guests enjoy the lake, but do so in a respectful manner. I implore you not to veer from our path at any time unless instructed to, for your own safety and for the safety of the group.”

The ranger’s words resonate with you. You look up and notice Mr. Leonardi not paying attention, his chubby fingers tapping incessantly as he texts somebody on a cell phone, apparently too cool to have to pay attention.

Finally, you arrive at a large rock formation. It’s large, rocky crags intrigue the adventurer in you, and you notice the path winds up to the peak where a red flag blows in the wind.

“All right, group,” the ranger says. “As part of our nature hike, we’re going to have a few partner challenges. These are meant to be fun and are meant to be done safely. Whichever team reaches the top of this mountain and grabs the red flag first wins.
This is a race. As you can see, various paths lead to the top of the mountain, and each team will start at a different path. Each path presents it’s own challenges. I’d like you all now to choose partners.”

The group goes off in a buzz. You turn in excitement to try and befriend one of the other seven hikers, praying that you don’t get paired up with Leonardi. But each time as you turn, you hear the other hikers making agreements to partner up. Turning every which way, you finally lock eyes with Leonardi.

“Oh no! No way!” Leonardi protests. “I refuse to partner with him!”

“Calm down, Alex,” says the ranger. “Maybe this will be good for you. You and Eric will start at the Western Path Entrance.”

Your heart sinks a bit. Not only is Leonardi a jerk, but he doesn’t really appear to be very valuable in a race. Amidst his continued protests, the ranger escorts you both to the Western path.

“Look, just listen to whatever I say to do,” Leonardi commands. “You’re obviously incapable of intelligent thought, so just stay out of my way.”

Once everyone is in place, the ranger raises his starter gun and fires it into the air. You take off running, ignoring Leonardi, who jogs behind you gasping for air. After running a few meters, you come across a crevice in the earth. It’s a bit too far to jump across, and there’s no way around it. You notice some wood and tools lying near by and a few trees with long, dangling vines stand near by. You could use some of these things to your advantage, or you could try to come up with a solution on your own. Leonardi eventually catches up with you, but thankfully can’t speak as he gasps for air. You both need to get across.

What will you do?

Profile

Leaving the dining hall and ascending the stairs to the lobby, Eric trailed behind the group of seven other hikers in hopes that they'd ignore him. The earlier scene with Blaze had been quite embarrassing, and he could not quite wipe away Mr. Leonardi's remarks as if they were nothing. It was Blaze's fault, after all, Eric thought to himself. Of course, Leonardi could have refrained from responding in that manner. Eric was interrupted from his thinking when the hikers stepped out into the clearing. Turning left, the throng started walking down a dirt path that meandered away from the lodge and up the mountain. Trees of all shapes and sizes lined the trail, draping their arms over the tourists as if to shield them from the blazing sun. Pokémon twittered and chirped throughout the underbrush, breaking the silence with a nice undertone of noise. Eric walked a short distance behind Leonardi, noticing that he was texting on his cell phone and ignoring his surroundings. It's a miracle he hasn't fallen already.

"At Crater Lake," the tour guide ranger began, "we do our best to preserve nature's pure and undisturbed beauty. We feel it is our responsibility to assure that guests enjoy the lake, but do so in a respectful manner. I implore you not to veer from our path at any time unless instructed to, for your own safety and for the safety of the group." Nodding that he understood, Eric couldn't help but notice that Mr. Leonardi was still distracted, crunching numbers on his phone.

After another ten minutes of hiking, the group finally arrived at what looked to be their destination: a large formation of rock that rose to a peak high in the air. From Eric's vantage point, he could just make out a shimmer of red stuck at the very top. Noticing his confusion, the ranger explained that this part of the tour consisted of a partner challenge. "Whichever team reaches the top of this mountain and grabs the red flag first wins. This is a race. As you can see, various paths lead to the top of the mountain, and each team will start at a different path. Each path presents it’s own challenges. I’d like you all now to choose partners."

Swiveling around quickly after hearing the ranger's final request, Eric walked over to the nearest hiker and was just about to ask to be partners, when someone else beat him to it before he had the chance. Looking around, Eric found that everyone else had found a companion excluding... Mr. Alexander Leonardi. Groaning inwardly, Eric locked eyes with the man, walking over to stand next to him. Leonardi argued heavily the he could never be partners with Eric after the little escapade back at the lodge, but the ranger disagreed. "Calm down, Alex," he said. "Maybe this will be good for you. You and Eric will start at the Western Path entrance." This little statement did nothing to calm down the wealthy man; he argued incessantly as the ranger led them over to their path.

Once the ranger left them to commence the race, Leonardi turned his attention to Eric. "Look, just listen to whatever I say to do. You're obviously incapable of intelligent thought, so just stay out of my way." The words stung, but Eric bit down his angered reaction and just smiled at the man knowingly, which obviously enraged him even more. Just then, a shot rang through the air.

"Oh, that's our signal. Let's go!" Eric said, running up the path. Maintaining a fast jog, Eric continued his pace for a minute or two, but then stopped dead in his tracks when he came to a large crevice gouged out of the earth. Glancing behind, Eric found Mr. Leonardi several yards behind him, gasping for air as he waddled up the side of the rock formation. Hmm, this must be the challenge portion of the race. It's obviously too wide to jump, and it'd take us too long to find an alternate route. Eric looked down and noticed several tools and wood gathered in a pile. Aha! We can use this to our advantage, Eric thought, holding up a nail gun. Leonardi finally arrived by Eric's side, glancing down in horror at the chasm as he gasped for air. "Alright, Mr. Leonardi. I know you don't really like me very much, but we're going to have to work together to win this race. Let bygones be bygones for right now; we can do this, but you'll have to listen to me. Please load the nail gun here while I go chop down some vines from those trees," Eric ordered. He motioned to the nails at his feet, then ran over to the bank of trees lining the crevice, and pulled out Blaze's Poké Ball. "Come on out, buddy!" he called.

Blaze barked in excitement as he materialized in front of Eric; the excitement quickly grew to confusion as he looked upon the scene before him. "I'll explain later," Eric said. "Right now please jump into the tree and Bite down some vines." Blaze had the job finished in no time, and Eric collected the vines and ran over to Leonardi. Taking the nail gun, Eric tied the vines together, nailing the knots to keep everything in place. At the very end of the last vine, Eric tied on a lasso. Picking up the newly created rope, he ran over to the side of the chasm and threw it, lasso-end first, towards the bank of trees on the other side of the crevice. Eric pulled and felt the rope snag onto something. "Let's hope my plan works!" he called behind him to Leonardi. "As soon as I'm across, I'll throw the rope back over and you can repeat the process." Eric returned Blaze to his Poké Ball, took a deep breath, and then jumped across the gap in the earth...

[Arc_Angel]

::Ancient Ruins::

Arc_Angel: You thoroughly enjoy yourself standing at the border edge of the northern shores and bathing yourself with the warm sunlight while the cool, foamy waves washed over your feet. You had to let this moment last for where you intended to go was deep down into the icee cold ocean depths, looking to further explore the long forgotten and ancient underwater ruins. You decide its time to go, and you look inside your waterproof bag for the proper equipment, making sure no peeping toms were present before stripping and changing into the tight wetsuit. Taking a Dive Ball out, you release the monster within, the Tentacruel emerging into the water and growling as he takes a look at his surroundings. Noticing the way you were dressed, he knew you were going for a swim. How wonderful!

You swim towards the jelly fish Pokémon before explaining your intentions. You needed a Pokémon that could help you dive deep down where the ruins now rested, and who better for the job than Oblivion himself? Besides, that the ruins hadn't been fully mapped yet reeked of danger, and you needed a strong beast to fend off whatever threats layed ahead. Oblivion seemed all too happy about the idea of literally dragging some unsuspecting creatures into oblivion. This was turning out to be one of those great surprise adventures for him already! Wrapping his tentacles around you a bit too tightly as you held on to him, he then proceeds to Surf at top speed towards the designated spot. It must've been almost an entire mile off shore before you decided to stop. Luckily, no annoying and random Tentacools had popped up along the way to ruin the pleasant conversation you had with your Pokémon, though Oblivion perhaps would've very gladly disposed of them in a split second if they did. You equip yourself with the appropriate goggles and breathing apparatus, and Oblivion takes this as a cue to suddenly Dive underwater, dragging you along in the process. You could only claw unto his jelly flesh tightly as if your life depended on it, wishing for the deceptively calm Tentacruel to eventually behave. His partners were such a bad influence...

He does seem to slow down the deeper you both got however. It was only necessary lest the sudden pressure increase completely destroyed your lungs. This was going to be a long dive afterall, and the further and further you went, the colder and darker it got. Reaching deep into the bottom, you wondered if you were at the right place as you saw nothing but naked underwater ground. The lost city of Atlantis was reported to be found in remarkably fine conditions - it wouldn't be hard to recognize once found. They just had to be around here somewhere... one would just have to explore further and look for hints that revealed the presence of man-made constructions. Down at the bottom of the ocean, it is hard to figure where to even start without a concrete clue to follow. Following the ocean current might lead someplace useful. Looking for some sort of trail on the ground could also do the trick. Back then, there must've been some sort fo road leading into the city, and perhaps there still is, though you might end up following false trails leading into territory unknown. Asking other resident Pokémon would probably be the smartest thing to do, if Oblivion could in fact be civilized towards them, though your immediate surroundings looked remarkably deserted. Looking off into the distance you see small but bright flickers of light; perhaps a sign of life that you shouldn't overlook.

What will you do?

Stacey's eyes adjusted to the waning light as they submerged beneath the surface of the water. She peered up to see the sunlight teasing her with splashes of light rippling on its surface. It wasn't long before that was becoming a speck in the distance and she tilted her head towards the direction they were headed. She felt Oblivion's strong grip around her waist as they swam to the depths of the ocean. She felt a strong pressure grip her chest and wondered if the Tentacruel's tentacles had slipped but not, the pale limb was around her waist where it had always been. She tried to take deep breaths through her respirator thankful she had a good supply of oxygen in her tank but her lungs were screaming at her. It felt like they were on fire and Oblivion felt his mistress dig her nails into his flesh ... she was in pain! He looked behind to see her struggling to catch her breath and slowed down in his descent forgetting that the pressure this deep was not suited to frail little humans. Soon the pressure evened out and Stacey felt the vicegrip around her chest loosen replaced only by the cold the engulfed her from the icy depths they had reached. She managed a weak smile at Oblivion who growled letting loose bubbles as they continued on eventually reaching the ocean floor.

Stacey peered into the darkness unable to make out a single point of reference, only knowing they were as far down as they could go by the feel of the hard rocks beneath her feet. She let loose her deathgrip on her Pokemon and twisted a device around her wrist letting a bright beam of light that illuminated a couple of metres before her. She was glad she had chosen this suit with is built in flashlight otherwise she would be totally reliant on her Tentacruel's perfect vision to guide her. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, no not at all, she had wanted to witness the glorious ruins with her own eyes, when they found that is.

She shone the light along the ocean floor not noting anything of interest before raising her arm to a 90 degree before her not able to see much more than the water in front of her. Frowning she wondered if they arrived at the right location, she was sure her co-ordinates were correct.

"See anything out there?" she asked Oblivion her voice sounding muffled through the respirator and the Tentacruel gave negative growl scouring the ocean for some signs of what his mistress was searching for. Well they were best to start looking around this area, perhaps there were signs that were close by but just out of reach in the darkness. She wondered if there would be any trail on the ground but so far could see nothing but rocks. She could feel the water moving quicker off to her side, perhaps the currents would provide a route to their discovery? Suddenly Oblivion looked up his tentacles moving up in a match to his movement obscuring Stacey's vision for a moment but soon she saw what caught his attention. In the distance there were tiny flickering lights, a sign of life perhaps or maybe a sign of danger? Either way it was a sign and Stacey felt a smile tug at her lips. She caught Oblivions gaze staring at her bright expression and he turned back to look at the lights knowing instinctively what his trainer was thinking.

"I think following those lights are our best option for now. While we go if happen across a wild Pokemon do you think you could hold off crushing it to death for a moment for us to ask it for directions ... so to speak?" If it was possible Oblivion looked to be smiling and he roared filling the space around them with bubbles. Stacey stroked his head affectionately as he flexed his tentacles imagining all the pain he could cause with them and how much he ached to do so. She couldn't prevent his nature but as he began to swim off towards the lights that twinkled teasingly in the distance she felt a dark part in her mind wondering if she wanted to.

[Emp]

Sorry for the delay folks. Expect further delays down the line too, since I'm in another country for a week starting tomorrow!

Raine’s Wildlife Park

Son of Shadows: The pressure was on and the heat was really starting to get to you as you were posed with more challenges than an rookie was normally expected to handle. Jets of water from the outer pool where gushing into the tunnel, letting loose an angry Sharpedo who circled the coaster cart snapping its jaws feverishly. The cool water was knee deep now, and steadily rising – you’d need your wits about you to squirm out of this one. Unfortunately your wits are lost somewhere in the panic and wailing of your underage partner. Sheepishly recalling Livewire and making no attempts to stun or fend off the Sharpedo, you wrestle out of your seat with one arm, yanking billy by his Pikachu-tail with the other. With the flatfish gone, the shark’s beady eyes lock onto your bare ankles with a sense of abiding hunger - the Kyogre-shaped vehicle the only thing wedging you a safe distance from harm.

Eventually the rising flood reaches your waist, and then your neck. A sharp splinter of glass signals more leaks are bursting up and down the cylinder, the pressure reaching dangerous highs. With the salty tang spraying up your nose and you take one long breath of air and signal the child to follow your lead. Your eyes force shut for a split second as your ears block with the low hum of ocean. You strain your eyes back open, the hole in the ceiling no longer pumping water with a clear view of the sun several dozen meters above. With Billy fastening to your waste you switch into a breast stroke, attempting to kick your legs with some struggle. Looking over your shoulder your bloodshot eyes widen at the sight of Sharpedo - locked onto your leg and trying to tug you back down! What will you do?

Rainbow Reef

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: I must say, for a joint adventure you two don’t make a great deal of effort to converse. DS asked Andy some questions which he completely ignored... Remember you have to work as a team or I may as well just split you up!

With the Fishing Contest drawn to a satisfying close, the Scuba Expedition gets underway. You decide to pair up, a joint toss of Pokéballs revealing your diving partners. With a flash of light Chinchou flops back on the deck, the newly dubbed Delilah blinker her anglers eager to tour Hyrem around her former habitat. Kray the Corphish clicks his pincers, resisting the urge not to pinch his new master and scurrying sideways to the hem of the boat. Giving each other a hand zipping up the jet black wet suits you each find a pair of fins your size, wrestling them on like a great pair of Empoleon flippers. You heave on the oxygen tank which tugs at your back like a rucksack full of bricks, the strap of your masks snapping against your crowns as the deck suddenly looks a whole lot blurrier. A small air gauge dangles from the tanks fastening to your waist, its dial fixed on 100% giving you ample time for marine exploration.

As the crowd of trainers starts to break off in groups of two, you make your way to the small waterslide on the edge of the cruiser. The two Pokémon skid past your ankles unable to contain their excitement as they leap off the hem and with a splash. Kray bobs on the rocky surface gently kicking his legs to stay afloat, Delilah swimming circles around him happy to stretch her fins. With a nod to one another, you both in turn amble onto the slide bracing yourself against its sides. With a final breath of fresh air you both take off, slipping off the boat and into the deep blue. Bubbles rush off the rubber wetsuits as water quickly fills your ears, muffling the sound of the far-off beachgoers. However your goggles gave a perfect view of the reef below. Your eyes widen at the pastel of colours, the coral painting a rainbow of the sandy seabed. The suns rays refracted flecks of golden light on the carpet of exotic corals and sponges. Wanting to get a closer look you give your flippers a kick, turning your head in awe at a school of Mantine on your marine decent. One of the Mantyke brushes past Kray who was straggling in tow, the crab shaking his claw rowdily as the stingray glided out of site. Closer to the seabed you make out a few well-camouflaged Corsola marching in a line. Briney was holding onto his Slowpoke like a float, the two suddenly Diving into the deeper trenches. Before you could decide whether to follow - Delilah ducks ahead - hovering over the technicolor seaweed and toward the same fissure. Her anglers flicker on like small lightbulbs, leading the way like a bright beacon.

Kicking your flippers as fast as you can to keep up, you find the vivid and colourful atmosphere of the Rainbow Reef quickly replaced with complete darkness were the sun couldn’t reach. You often catch bits of wilted coral and fish bones in the patches of light illuminated by Delilah, sending shivers down your spines as you look at one another cautiously. Maybe you should head back? Kray seemed to agree, pinching at Andy’s ankle impatiently as you continued to submerge. Finally Chinchou came to a standstill, her bulbs refracting light on the dirty sand below. She moves her anglers up the field like small searchlights until she uncovers another diver... It was Briney! The adolescent twists his head in surprise, looking somewhat shifty before beaming enthusiastically. Slow to cotton on, his Slowpoke eventually releases a dim wave.

“Perfect”, the sound of Briney’s voice echoes nebulously through the trench - the scuba masks must have been installed with built-in walkie talkies. “I think we’re not far from a hoard of lost treasure, perhaps your Chinchou could help us find it, Hyrem...” You share looks once more, Kray’s apprehension shifting as his eyes light up with greed. Before either of you can move a muscle, a bright yellow blur veers into view. Bubbles rush in the blur’s wake as it rapidly grabs a hold of the captain’s slowpoke and whisks it back out of view. For the split second it was caught in Delilah’s spotlight, the eel-like creature latching ahold of the dopey Pokémon’s tail with its sucker mouth. The captain’s eyes widened, “That was an Eelektrik! We need to stop that thing before it gets away with Slowpoke! Damn I can’t see a thing down here!”

Seaside City

Rotom310: Slightly put out that you wouldn’t be making the photoshoot, you find yourself presented with a far more thrilling way to spend the day. “Sweet!” Tyrone nods, his Scrafty fistpumping with his eyes set on Salazar, “We’re always looking for new blood. C’mon!” Tyrone turns on the heel and ushers you to follow, expertly meandering through the tight swarms of commuters. After some bumping and jostling it couldn’t be clearer you weren’t used to big city crowds, struggling to keep up with the kid who was now just a head in the distance. Your Ekans hisses irritably every now and again as groups of rail users shove past, her glare striking fear into several passersby. Struggling to keep a lock on the hooded teen you finally wrestle between a pair of overweight tourists blocking the route, finally breaking out of the mob and facing a tunnel leading to a platform out of use. There were several traffic cones barricading the way, draped with yellow tape scrawled with the words ‘PLATFORM UNDER CONSTRUCTION’. Tyrone smiles at your look of bewilderment.

“Don’t worry kid, this is just to stop anyone else getting in”. With that, he ducks under the yellow construction line with the rest of your party inconspicuously in tow. As you break through the threshold the shabbiness of the platform only adds to the growing sense of unease. Most of the lights were out, barring a few that flickered erratically, causing you to jolt back as a set unseen of turnstile jab you in the waist. You make your way over the turnstile, then cautiously down a set of escalators that were also out of order. Ekans is on high guard by now with her neck arced forward cautiously and the idea of turning back starts to race through your mind until- a bright light flickered vividly at the end of the tunnel. Cheering and bartering could be heard just a beeline ahead.

“We’ve reached our destination”, Tyrone announces. Breaking through to the conversely pristine platform, you can’t help but awe in enthusiasm. There were several groups of teens and young adults congregated up and down the platform – from super nerds tucked into their laptops, lasses gossiping and flicking their hair from side to side to rockers strumming their guitars wildly. They all seemed to wave as Tyrone greeted them - with a great air of respect for the reigning champ. Newcomers must have been common as only a few people bothered to ask your name, no doubt used to dozens of amateur trainers trying their hand at the battle subway. Tyrone shuffles you toward one of the nerds, his spectacled eyes switching from his laptop to Tyrone, to you. He smiles and begins drumming wildly on the keyboard.

“Another new guy?” He asks, “What’s his name?”

“Drew”, Tyrone replies, forcing you to smile awkwardly, “Drew, this is Adlai – He’s a computer genius and the brains behind the battle subway”. The geek nods uninterestedly, taking a picture of you before you have time to pose and continuing to type on his keyboard.

“Okay... Drew.... You are up against...” Adlai was typing so fast it was a wonder his laptop didn’t combust, “Clarissa”. You look over at the switchboard which would usually show the times of the next train. Instead it showed a headshot of a stunning lass with bleach blonde hair VS. Your impromptu picture which had turned out horrendous. Everyone looks over at the railtrack as a cart screeches into the platform, hot wind blowing in your face as the doors slide open. Two trainers emerge, a rocker looking triumphant and a super nerd who was holding his battered Magnemite with tears streaming down his face. Tough break.

“You’re next!” Tyrone exclaims, pushing you encouragingly from behind. With one last gasp of air you step onto the subway, its doors whisking shut behind your back. The makeshift arena was just an ordinary subway cart. There were rows of red seats dotted either side of the cart, each with its own window – leaving a narrow clearing from your side of the cart down to Clarrisa’s. The blonde bombshell waves politely as she emerges from a set of sliding doors on the other side of the carriage. She then brandishes a red-white sphere and volleys it against the cream floor. With a flash of light a bushy Tangela emerges with a cantankerous shudder. The sound of a loud piston suddenly breaks through the air as the cart starts wheeling into motion. Looks like the preliminaries are under way, your move!

Kakatua Lagoon

Balmund: Trying your best, and failing, to resist temptation you decide on fishing up as much about the mermaid to see if her beauty was only scale deep. Narrowly avoiding her question, you manage to turn the conversation back onto her – edging a hair’s distance away with a seductive retort. She pauses for a moment, her thin eyebrows furrowing in bewilderment. As her scarlet eyes light up and she releases a small squeak - you imagine she must not have been used to guys taking an interest in her life. Her eyes dart around in all directions, as though she was struggling to think where to begin. She finally shakes her head decisively, grabbing your hands and locking eyes with you once more.

“Yes”, she nods, “It’ll be much easier if I show you...” Before you can ask any questions, the siren’s eyes start to glaze over a misty blue. You struggle to cling hold of your better judgement as her Hypnotising glare clears your brain of any thought, whisking you out of consciousness... The crystal catacomb swims in front of your eyes, and vanishes. Image after image was racing through your mind like a flickering film, so vivid it blinds you to your surroundings...

Finally your mind settles on the familiar surroundings of Kakatua Lagoon. It was not as you remembered it though. The secluded paradise was overcome with autumn, the outskirting trees coloured a mottled auburn. Red and yellow maple leaves fell from the branches like feathers, bobbing on the water’s clear surface and swirling into its windswept currents. Everything had the appearance of a distant memory, a dreamy mist veiling the lake and the bathing Ducklett’s quacks far more muffled and echoey than usual. You look around for other signs of life, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary when the significance of the memory suddenly pans into view. It was a beautiful serpent, a slender cream body coiled tentatively, its scarlet eyes of striking familiarity. Its blue-pink mosaic patterned tail fin was identical to your new lover’s, albeit longer. Whilst still submerged, its reddish eyebrows stroked against the lagoon’s surface as though it was listening for something in the wind.

Your ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s are quickly stunted as a young figure breaks through the trees. It was a girl with shiny black hair, draped in an auburn kimono. She was holding a small wicker basket under one arm, beaming as she crouched down at the gravelly bank, water gently weaving between her toes. To your surprise, the usually timid species of Pokémon glides toward the bank, until they were just a foot apart. The girl released a cute giggle “Nice to see you again!” The Milotic purrs, nuzzling the girl’s hand affectionately. The bond was beautiful to behold, the girl prizing a few raw fish from the wicker basket and tossing them skyward. She giggled into her hand as the magnificent serpent leaped skyward, catching several fish in her mouth as she twisted suspended in the air. Water ran off the serpent’s scales, refracting the sun’s rays like a dazzling strobe light before summersaulting back into the lake. The Milotic u-turns back toward the girl for another helping of kipper – until. The serpent falters, pausing timidly before withdrawing back to the depths warily. The girl looks incredibly confused, waving a fish in her hand to no response.

“Huh?”

You quickly catch sight of what scared off the Milotic. A scruffy old man with a hunch and a maniacal twitch was limping oddly from the shrubbery. Any screams of warning as the man creeps closer are lost at your throat, she was just an illusion and this was just a memory... “What’s a little girl like you doing all alone in the woods?” he says with a sinister smile. Your heart sinks as the man rounds on the dark-haired girl. Her attempts to escape cut off as the man lunges forward – his dirty fingers rasping around her throat to muffle her desperate screams. You could only look in horror as he started to tear at the girl’s kimono, ripping the hem of the skirt with a triumphant smirk. His insane laugh made your spine contort... this was sick...

Suddenly! A huge swell forms in the water, water running off the Milotic’s craning neck as it releases an uncharacteristically bloodlusting shriek. The rapist recoils from his victim, his eyes widening and his laugh much feebler. “Wait! that wasn’t what it looked like... She’s my daughter you see...” The man’s desperate plea was cut off. The Milotic had cast her judgement, and the once tranquil lake was swirling violently. Spits of draconic energy sparked about the swelling whirlpool, the man frozen in fear as the wind whistled fiercely. A huge Twister was starting to take shape, gathering orange leaves and swigs of water in its wake. The stalker was finally able to break into a run, but it was too late. The typhoon swallowed him whole, uprooting several large trees which clubbed and speared him to a gruesome demise. You feel a sigh of relief, until getting a closer look at the girl who wasn’t spared of the twister’s rampage...

“Thank you”, she whispers solemnly, clenching her blood-stained kimono where she’d been lanced by a large chunk of wooden debris. The girl collapses, the Milotic’s eyes no longer filled with anger, but deep mourning. The serpent bows over the dying girl, tears streaming from its beady scarlet eyes. A moment passes were you feel deep sadness for the Pokémon, who had not intended to kill an innocent girl. But it wasn’t over yet. The serpent’s neck arced further down until its nose was kissing the bloody wound. The Milotic then ignited in a flash of blinding white, as though evolving. Its head was disappearing into the girl, whose hair suddenly started to fade from black to red. Her legs contorted and merged into a singular fin, by this point the glowing Milotic’s tail was all that was visible. As corpse completely absorbed the serpent the transformation was complete. There was a moment of tense silence, until a gasp of air revealed she was alive. Her eyes widened, revealing the hypnotising scarlet iris you’d grown so infatuated with. She was alive...

You quickly jolt back into consciousness, the mermaid gazing at you patiently. She didn’t look as chirpy as before, reliving her most painful memory couldn’t have been easy. “So, the Milotic gave her life to me and I inherited her powers. But it’s also a great curse... I’m bound to this lake forever and ever, watching couples from a distance...” Before you can comfort the mermaid she breaks into a flood of inconsolable tears. You’d taken on a girl with a lot of demons, and for a split second you wonder if her she’s not so lovesick after all as she whisks away from you in a spiral of sobbing. Suddenly – as though she’d been hit with a new personality, the siren fixed eyes on you again “I’m so sorry... you must be starving, should we dine?” Taken slightly aback, you were faced with your first date with the mysterious mermaid, or alternately, you could demand to see Ephriam. What will you do?

Hydro-Electric Dam

Myahoo: With the battle in full swing you gaze ahead apprehensively at the pillars of billowing smoke covering the arena. You could vaguely make out a twinkle of the zebra’s electric blue eyes as it neighed in bewilderment – Cyndaquil’s backside igniting like a gasfire as he readied himself for another round. You spur the echidna on with a fresh set of orders, your ears straining as both Pokémon fell out of view. With a flash of Embers you catch sound of the Blitzle cantering rearward in pain, another successful hit! The feeling of confidence is short lived though as yellow sparks break through the smokescreen, a Wave of electricity erupting from the equine’s position and Shocking the fire mouse. Wildfire squeals as he tumbles toward you, quickly ricocheting forward and letting off another jet of smoke from his back. The Smokescreen, which had been dying away, was restored to a thick black – the foal coughing as the voltage it’d been Charging diffracts into thin air. Fuelled with determination, Wildfire finally veers back into the smoke toward the Blitzle, its fur bursting into Flames. Charging at full speed he rams into the foal’s saddle causing it to stumble sideways. Neighing defiantly, the zebra lets off a Thunder Wave in return, sparks flying up and down the echidna and locking up his muscles. What will you do?

Crater Lake

Itzatrap: With your decision to work on breaking the juvenile Blitzle, the old farmer nods gruffly. Flannery beams, her fists tightenting with a sense of adventure as you make your way toward the back door of the ranch. The sun washes over you again as you break through the threshold, dirt tracks snaking off to several farming pastures – Amos escorting you down one of the furthest ones. The rancher stops at a great wooden corral at least twice the size of a standard battle arena. The surrounding grass worn and scarred, you could only assume many tame Blitzle and Zebstrika had been given free reign over these pastures. Directly adjacent to the corral was an oblong stable easily matching its length. By first impression it looked as though it’d hold a couple dozen stallions at least. The oldtimer pauses at the stable’s entrance, its interior too dark to make out at dawn. He passes you a lasso, “Bolt is jus’ ahead. He’s one of ar more unruly foals but he’s sure to tame under the firm hand of a trainer like yerself”. You nod reluctantly, only half sure what you’re doing as Flannery scooches beside you again.

“If you get to work on the farming, it’ll give me and Biscuit a good chance to look for the deed”, she mutters under her breath. Before you have time to ask who or what on earth Biscuit was, the gym leader brandishes a cherry-red Pokéball. Tossing it in the air, it splits open against the straw-covered terra, revealing a Growlithe pup that bounds circles around you both eagerly. “Biscuit, Odor Slueth!” The canine yaps obediently as Flannery tosses it a doggie treat. Catching the bone-shaped snack in its mouth, Biscuit nuzzles the floor of the mucky stable and starts sniffing around for the lost deed, his tail wagging high in the air. Flannery nods, it was time for you to get to work! The farmer hands you a rope to lasso the adolescent zebra, assuming you’d be capable without assistance. Your grab ahold of the lasso and press on, entering the dimly lit stable which was in tatters. The narrow dirt path was strewn with bales of hay and wooden crates. You check past each pen in the stable: empty, empty, empty. Beside the occasional horse shoe the space appeared vacant. You could only assume Bolt had gone walkies himself until a gruff neigh proves otherwise. At the far end of the tattered stable, a stripy steed attempted to go unnoticed.

Sparks fly up and down its body in warning as it fixes its lightning blue eyes on yours. In light of your advances Bolt rasps a second hee-haw, his body language more hostile. He was warning you to keep distance. Now nearing feet from the Blitzle’s pen he kicks his forelegs aggressively. The Blitzle could smell your determination, matching it as he hurdled over his steeple causing an instinct within you to back off into the corner barely inches from the rowdy zebra. He was headed straight out now and you’d need to stop him!

Here’s the Stable which has become a makeshift obstacle course. You’ll need to pick a Pokémon who can reach the exit the fastest way possible and draw out the quickest route via MS Paint. Upon beating Bolt to the finish, your Pokemon will be able to lasso the Blitzle into the corral. From there you’ll have to battle it using a Pokemon of your choice to prove yourself a worthy trainer. You have to navigate around obstacles. Your Pokemon can only go forwards, left and right – it cannot go from one tile to the diagonal tile.

Pokemon with the following Performance stats will have the following advantages:

Pokémon with Speed get a head start of 7 tiles.
Pokémon with Jump can effortlessly hurdle over bales of hay. This means tiles with bales of hay are treated as though they are a normal tile.
Pokémon with Power can punch their way through boxes. This means tiles with boxes are treated as though they are a normal tile.

Note: These advantages do not stack. So if you used a Sunkern for example, you’d have to choose which stat to use. PM me if you're having any trouble. Best of luck!

Cascade Waterfall

Kaisap: Just as you’d settled the pandemonium on the bank, all hell was breaking lose high up on forest canopy. The grouchy Hoothoot hops down the branch on, hooting wildly as Kitty’s claws sink deeper into the bark. You looked to get the feline down from the tree as soon as possible, letting out another set of orders. Attempting to coax the Skitty onto the safety of Donphan’s trunk some twenty feet below, she weighs up this option. The ground below seemed like miles away as vertigo kicked in, the Kitty not looking to release her grip any time soon. You sigh in despair, she was stuck and you’d need to rescue her yourself. The cat’s desperate meows however are quickly drowned out by the loud screeching of the Hoothoot’s Uproar. Waves of sound reverberate from the owl’s beak down the tree causing all of Skitty’s hairs to stand on end. This outburst of noise doesn’t bode well at all with the pink feline, who seems to forget about her fear of heights and peppers off a barrage of Bullet Seeds – only at the Hoothoot instead of the ground. The greenish shower of bullets send the bird tumbling off balance and ruffle up her feathers, although not wholly effective. The Hoothoot, no longer tired looking, quickly regains its footing and shoots off a Confusion in return. The bluish ray of psychic energy pelts Kitty for a nice hit, whilst not causing any confusion. The cat unfastens from the branch now, balancing on it like a trapeze artist and looking to unleash some fury on the owl. Will you let her?

[FlashFusion]

The Caverns

Celebii: With the bard of the cutthroat pirate still fresh in your mind you boldly press forward, Neptune’s eyes flashing into dollar signs as he rubs his hands greedily at the fast unfurrowing fable of a pirate’s trove. Taking a deep breath and preying this isn’t a trap, you clutch onto the now-inanimate Duskull knocker and attempt to pry the door open. The rusty hinges make it difficult to budge, but with the Wartortle’s combined effort it’s not long until you hear a noisy creek. As the towering oak door cracks open a yellow light is cast down on the shoaly beach from the room ahead. It can’t be? Can it? As you push further your speculation is confirmed as mountains of gold lay glistening ahead!

Neptune’s jaw drops to the floor in disbelief. Endless hills of gold, precious gemstones and treasure chests filled the dome-like cavern ahead – all unspoilt and yours for the taking. Neptune doesn’t need telling twice as he clambers on one of the gold mounds, shoving handfuls of coins into the gaps of his shell. Boing springs over to a chest brimming with pearls like the one on his crown with great interest, looking to see if they had any that could augment his psychic abilities. Not so quick to fill your pockets with gold, you apprehensively stroll around the trove searching for booby traps. After the knocker’s warning about the pirate’s spirit you can’t help but feel like there’s more to this pirate’s booty than meets the eye. Whilst you spot plenty of treasures from across the world, such as lamps and goblets and even a sarcophagus that looked like it’d been hauled from one of Talas’s pyramids, about a half a dozen stout suits of armour strike you as eerie. You can’t help getting the feeling you’re being watched as you finish your inspection of the cove. It looked safe to touch...

TRRRRRRR

A racket similar to six jumbo jets starting up breaks through the air, coins spilling out of Neptune’s carapace as he bowls over in surprise. Turning on your heel you watch in horror as the suits of armour’s eyes all light up like yellow flashlights. They weren’t armoury at all, they were Pokémon. The bluish coloured golems all had spiral like insignias strapped to their round bellies by brown belts. In a matter of seconds the half a dozen Pokémon started marching forward as though programmed to exterminate any unwanted trespassers and swindlers. What will you do?

"Neptune, Boing, let's do this!" Cele exclaimed with fire in his eyes. "We're going to be the ones to find that pirate treasure, and become rich beyond our wildest dreams!" Cele yells while he tries to open the wooden door, though with it's age and rust, it proves to be a bit of a challenge, until Neptune helps him. Cele can't help but wonder about that song that the Duskull emitted. Was it warning him about something to come? Everything else was erased from him mind, when he finally causes the door to budge. As it begins to open, a brilliant shaft of yellow light shines through, reflecting on the shallow waters of the underground beach. Cele, Neptune and Boing couldn't help but gasp in unison at the light, as they opened the door fully.

Cele nearly fainted at what he saw next. There, right in front of him, were massive mountains of gold, jewel filled treasure chests, and precious gemstones. Neptune was the first to take actions, diving into a pile of gold and waving his arms and legs as if he were swimming. He then began hoarding them into the gaps in his shell, trying to squeeze in as much as he can. Boing hopped over to a chest full of shiny pearls, and tried each one on, though none were as powerful and precious as his original pearl. Cele, however, was more cautious, and took his time to look around the room for traps and anything else dangerous. He saw a variety of treasures, from goblets to sarcophaguses. However, he passed six suits of armor that he thought had an ominous feel to them. Cele decided that this place was safe, and so reached out to grab a few gold coins...

TRRRRRRR

All of a sudden, a terrible and loud noise noise broke through the air. Boing bounced higher than normal in shock, while the coins in Neptune's shell flew in all directions, as he fell back in surprise. Cele quickly turned around and saw the armor suits' 'eyes' light up as if detecting an intruder. "Wait, armor suits don't have eyes!" Cele thought. "Which must mean..." Cele whipped out his Pokedex, and scanned an armor suit. The device instantly whirred to life. "Golett, the Automaton Pokémon. Ancient science fashioned this Pokémon from clay. It's been active for thousands of years." Cele grabbed a Pokeball and let Larry loose once again. He grabbed another one, a Druddigon emerging from this one, letting out a fierce roar. "Larry, sorry to let you out again so soon, but we need your help taking down these Golett. Nahkriin, youhelp out too. Maybe we can also catch one in the process..." "Anyway, Neptune, try and Scald one of them, followed by a Metronome for fun. Boing, try two Energy Balls, at the same Golett. Larry, Water Pulse at then same Golett, then Flame Charge the same target. Nahkriin, Hone Claws, then Shadow Claw the same Golett. Hopefully our gang up tactics will work..."

[Trainer Andy]

Rainbow Reef

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman:

With the Fishing Contest drawn to a satisfying close, the Scuba Expedition gets underway. You decide to pair up, a joint toss of Pokéballs revealing your diving partners. With a flash of light Chinchou flops back on the deck, the newly dubbed Delilah blinked her anglers, eager to tour Hyrem around her former habitat. Kray the Corphish clicks his pincers, resisting the urge not to pinch his new master and scurrying sideways to the hem of the boat. Giving each other a hand zipping up the jet black wet suits you each find a pair of fins your size, wrestling them on like a great pair of Empoleon flippers. You heave on the oxygen tank which tugs at your back like a rucksack full of bricks, the strap of your masks snapping against your crowns as the deck suddenly looks a whole lot blurrier. A small air gauge dangles from the tanks fastening to your waist, its dial fixed on 100% giving you ample time for marine exploration.

As the crowd of trainers starts to break off in groups of two, you make your way to the small waterslide on the edge of the cruiser. The two Pokémon skid past your ankles unable to contain their excitement as they leap off the hem and with a splash. Kray bobs on the rocky surface gently kicking his legs to stay afloat, Delilah swimming circles around him happy to stretch her fins. With a nod to one another, you both in turn amble onto the slide bracing yourself against its sides. With a final breath of fresh air you both take off, slipping off the boat and into the deep blue. Bubbles rush off the rubber wetsuits as water quickly fills your ears, muffling the sound of the far-off beachgoers. However your goggles gave a perfect view of the reef below. Your eyes widen at the pastel of colours, the coral painting a rainbow of the sandy seabed. The suns rays refracted flecks of golden light on the carpet of exotic corals and sponges. Wanting to get a closer look you give your flippers a kick, turning your head in awe at a school of Mantine on your marine decent. One of the Mantyke brushes past Kray who was straggling in tow, the crab shaking his claw rowdily as the stingray glided out of site. Closer to the seabed you make out a few well-camouflaged Corsola marching in a line. Briney was holding onto his Slowpoke like a float, the two suddenly Diving into the deeper trenches. Before you could decide whether to follow - Delilah ducks ahead - hovering over the technicolor seaweed and toward the same fissure. Her anglers flicker on like small lightbulbs, leading the way like a bright beacon.

Kicking your flippers as fast as you can to keep up, you find the vivid and colourful atmosphere of the Rainbow Reef quickly replaced with complete darkness were the sun couldn’t reach. You often catch bits of wilted coral and fish bones in the patches of light illuminated by Delilah, sending shivers down your spines as you look at one another cautiously. Maybe you should head back? Kray seemed to agree, pinching at Andy’s ankle impatiently as you continued to submerge. Finally Chinchou came to a standstill, her bulbs refracting light on the dirty sand below. She moves her anglers up the field like small searchlights until she uncovers another diver... It was Briney! The adolescent twists his head in surprise, looking somewhat shifty before beaming enthusiastically. Slow to cotton on, his Slowpoke eventually releases a dim wave.

“Perfect”, the sound of Briney’s voice echoes nebulously through the trench - the scuba masks must have been installed with built-in walkie talkies. “I think we’re not far from a hoard of lost treasure, perhaps your Chinchou could help us find it, Hyrem...” You share looks once more, Kray’s apprehension shifting as his eyes light up with greed. Before either of you can move a muscle, a bright yellow blur veers into view. Bubbles rush in the blur’s wake as it rapidly grabs a hold of the captain’s slowpoke and whisks it back out of view. For the split second it was caught in Delilah’s spotlight, the eel-like creature latching ahold of the dopey Pokémon’s tail with its sucker mouth. The captain’s eyes widened, “That was an Eelektrik! We need to stop that thing before it gets away with Slowpoke! Damn I can’t see a thing down here!”

Andy smiled slightly as the two Pokemon, Kray the Corphish and Hyrem's latest addition Chinchou, caught whom he seemed to have named Delilah, sped towards the side of the boat and dived into the sea.

"Looks like they can't wait to get back into the water," Andy chuckled, "Although, knowing my luck, I think Kray may actually be trying to escape..." A quick glance over the side of the boat eased Andy's paranoia as Kray bobbed slowly on the waves, swimming round in small circles as he waited for his Trainer to join him.

Returning to the task at hand, Andy continued getting himself ready for his watery plunge, assisting Hyrem with his heavy oxygen tank, and recieving the same assistance back. "I hope we're going to be ok down there," Andy said to his fellow Trainer, "I mean, who knows what to expect?"

Now fully suited Andy made his way back to the side of the boat, along with his diving partner. "After you." Andy said, moving aside to make room at the water slide for Hyrem, which was very polite of him but it was mostly so he had more time to collect himself before entering the water, which Andy didn't always feel entirely comfortable around.

As he heard the splash of Hyrem entering the water, Andy took a deep breath and literally took the plunge himself. It took a few seconds for him to be able to open his eyes, but when he did he gasped at the sight that awaited him. The reef stretched out before them as far as they could see, all shapes and sizes and colours mingling together to form this idyllic living home for aquatic Pokemon. A group of Manta-like Pokemon floated past, their long, wing-like fins cutting through the water majestically as they passed by. Andy could have sworn he heard the sound of Kray pincers snapping as their tails as they went by, although Andy's attention was more on their surroundings.

"This is amazing." Andy said out loud, following the shape of Briney that was illuminated by the light of Delilah's atennae as they went deeper. Eventually the ground seem to open up into a fissure in the sea bed, Andy and Hyrem watched as Briney made his way into it, disappearing into the darkness. Casting a look over to the other Trainer, Andy felt unsure whether or not to follow, a quick look to Kray showed that his Pokemon was thinking the same thing. Suddenly the Chinchou dashed forwards, as if making the decision for them, it took Andy a second to realise what was going on before he instinctively followed behind the Pokemon and its Trainer.

As they slipped into the crack, the bright, colourful reef disappeared, their surroundings becoming darker, it wasn't look before all they could see was what got caught in the light emitted by Delilah.
"This... is not so amazing." Said Andy, rethinking his earlier comment. He made sure to stick close to Hyrem, as getting lost down here was something he didn't really like the thought of.
"I hope we see the Captain again soon..." Andy muttered to himself. Almost as if on cue, Delilah anglers illuminated a shape in the distance, as they got closer Andy was relieved to see it was Briney, although for a second Andy could have sworn something looked a little off about him.

As the Captain noticed the approaching light he looked up, his face breaking into a friendly smile, his Slowpoke giving a small wave moments later. “Perfect”, the Captain's voice seemed to echo from nowhere, the scuba masks obviously fitted with some kind of communication deivce, “I think we’re not far from a hoard of lost treasure, perhaps your Chinchou could help us find it, Hyrem...” Andy was sure at that moment, with the mention of lost treasure, Kray eyes would have lit up far more than Delilah anglers, he could imagine the little crustacean's mind ticking over at the thought of dubloons, jewels and other assorted trinkets one would associate with sunken treasure. Andy cast another look to Hyrem, waiting to see what would happen next, but before and kind of decision could be made yellow blur whizzed passed them, a low yelp is heard and the blur vanishes. “That was an Eelektrik!" Came the Captain's startled voice, "We need to stop that thing before it gets away with Slowpoke!" With how quickly the events had unfolded, Andy had only just noticed that Briney's Pokemon was nowhere to be seen. "Damn I can’t see a thing down here!" Came the Captain's voice again as the search began, although Andy was finding it hard to see anything in the gloom.

"Normally, i'd say split up and cover more ground," Andy said into his built-in walkie talkie, "But without Delilah we won't be able to see a thing, so we'll have to stick close." He said, making his way to Hyrem's position. "First thing's first, we should head in the direction the Eelektrik went." If only they weren't underwater, Andy would have called out Tsar to try and pick up on Slowpoke's psychic energy, but in their current location the little Steel-type would have probably sunk like a stone.
"I guess this is mostly going to be up to you for now, Hyrem," Andy said, cast another look across, "But i'll do whatever I can to help."

[Dark Searchman]

Rainbow Reef

Trainer Andy and Dark Searchman: I must say, for a joint adventure you two don’t make a great deal of effort to converse. DS asked Andy some questions which he completely ignored... Remember you have to work as a team or I may as well just split you up!

With the Fishing Contest drawn to a satisfying close, the Scuba Expedition gets underway. You decide to pair up, a joint toss of Pokéballs revealing your diving partners. With a flash of light Chinchou flops back on the deck, the newly dubbed Delilah blinker her anglers eager to tour Hyrem around her former habitat. Kray the Corphish clicks his pincers, resisting the urge not to pinch his new master and scurrying sideways to the hem of the boat. Giving each other a hand zipping up the jet black wet suits you each find a pair of fins your size, wrestling them on like a great pair of Empoleon flippers. You heave on the oxygen tank which tugs at your back like a rucksack full of bricks, the strap of your masks snapping against your crowns as the deck suddenly looks a whole lot blurrier. A small air gauge dangles from the tanks fastening to your waist, its dial fixed on 100% giving you ample time for marine exploration.

As the crowd of trainers starts to break off in groups of two, you make your way to the small waterslide on the edge of the cruiser. The two Pokémon skid past your ankles unable to contain their excitement as they leap off the hem and with a splash. Kray bobs on the rocky surface gently kicking his legs to stay afloat, Delilah swimming circles around him happy to stretch her fins. With a nod to one another, you both in turn amble onto the slide bracing yourself against its sides. With a final breath of fresh air you both take off, slipping off the boat and into the deep blue. Bubbles rush off the rubber wetsuits as water quickly fills your ears, muffling the sound of the far-off beachgoers. However your goggles gave a perfect view of the reef below. Your eyes widen at the pastel of colours, the coral painting a rainbow of the sandy seabed. The suns rays refracted flecks of golden light on the carpet of exotic corals and sponges. Wanting to get a closer look you give your flippers a kick, turning your head in awe at a school of Mantine on your marine decent. One of the Mantyke brushes past Kray who was straggling in tow, the crab shaking his claw rowdily as the stingray glided out of site. Closer to the seabed you make out a few well-camouflaged Corsola marching in a line. Briney was holding onto his Slowpoke like a float, the two suddenly Diving into the deeper trenches. Before you could decide whether to follow - Delilah ducks ahead - hovering over the technicolor seaweed and toward the same fissure. Her anglers flicker on like small lightbulbs, leading the way like a bright beacon.

Kicking your flippers as fast as you can to keep up, you find the vivid and colourful atmosphere of the Rainbow Reef quickly replaced with complete darkness were the sun couldn’t reach. You often catch bits of wilted coral and fish bones in the patches of light illuminated by Delilah, sending shivers down your spines as you look at one another cautiously. Maybe you should head back? Kray seemed to agree, pinching at Andy’s ankle impatiently as you continued to submerge. Finally Chinchou came to a standstill, her bulbs refracting light on the dirty sand below. She moves her anglers up the field like small searchlights until she uncovers another diver... It was Briney! The adolescent twists his head in surprise, looking somewhat shifty before beaming enthusiastically. Slow to cotton on, his Slowpoke eventually releases a dim wave.

“Perfect”, the sound of Briney’s voice echoes nebulously through the trench - the scuba masks must have been installed with built-in walkie talkies. “I think we’re not far from a hoard of lost treasure, perhaps your Chinchou could help us find it, Hyrem...” You share looks once more, Kray’s apprehension shifting as his eyes light up with greed. Before either of you can move a muscle, a bright yellow blur veers into view. Bubbles rush in the blur’s wake as it rapidly grabs a hold of the captain’s slowpoke and whisks it back out of view. For the split second it was caught in Delilah’s spotlight, the eel-like creature latching ahold of the dopey Pokémon’s tail with its sucker mouth. The captain’s eyes widened, “That was an Eelektrik! We need to stop that thing before it gets away with Slowpoke! Damn I can’t see a thing down here!”

Hyrem and Andy both suit each other up while Delilah and Kray wait for their trainers. Hyrem's new Chinchou was certainly eager to show him just what kind of world she came from. It took them some time, especially with Hyrem's foot still throbbing a little from the Basculin bite, though the pain wasn't nearly as in force as it was before. He looked at his oxygen tank; fortunately, it was full, so they could afford to be diving for quite some time. Delilah and Kray lead the way toward the water slide and slide into the ocean with excitement. Andy lets Hyrem slide before he does, and once they were all in the water they headed beneath the waves. No longer able to hear anything above the surface, all they could hear was the water and any sea creatures rushing past them.

Beneath the surface lay a complete spectacle. Corals of every color surrounded them, and Hyrem was reminded of Sera again, as if each coral was Sera relaying him those colors. As they went in closer, a school of majestic Mantine catches their eyes. Kray shook his claw at a Mantyke that bumped into him, which actually looked a little cute when Hyrem thought about it. Hyrem could also see Corsola walking midst the coral beds in a line before Briney and his Slowpoke started to Dive into the trenches. Delilah became excited and was ready to bring the trainers and a Corphish into her world, so she swam forward, dragging Hyrem along with her and turning on her antennae brightly so they could see. Hyrem was certainly grateful for her light; without it, they would be blind to everything around them, including the... bigger things that might be roaming the deep.

The scenery completely transforms as the bright, vivid coral that could be seen for miles is exchanged for whatever could be illuminated by Delilah... which included dead coral and fish bones. Hyrem could see Kray nearby, pinching Andy's ankle, afraid of the murky waters that surrounded them and wanted to get back into a brighter sea than this. It didn't look like any of the other divers could be seen either... Maybe Briney lead the pair of trainers the wrong way? Finally, Delilah spotted Briney in front of them and stopped, while Briney turned around in surprise. Something wasn't right about Briney's behavior, but Hyrem didn't have much time to think about things as Slowpoke waved just now and Briney smiled.

"Perfect," Briney says through the walkie-talkies installed into the suits. “I think we’re not far from a hoard of lost treasure, perhaps your Chinchou could help us find it, Hyrem...” He could see Kray showing some interest in the treasure, and to be honest, he was kind of interested too. There may well be some sort of big treasure down here, and they wouldn't know unless they started looking.

"Sure, I think we can-" he started to say before a yellow blur of light whisked away Briney's Slowpoke in a flash. Only Delilah's light showed any real idea of what it was. “That was an Eelektrik!" said Briney as Hyrem's Pokedex gave the needed information through the walkie-talkie:

Eelektrik, the EleFish Pokemon. With insatiable appetites, anything that moves in front of them is considered food. Once they spot prey, they coil around it, shock it, then latch on with their sucker mouths to swallow it whole.

"We need to stop that thing before it gets away with Slowpoke! Damn I can’t see a thing down here!” If the Pokedex was any indication, Slowpoke might already be running out of time.

"Normally, i'd say split up and cover more ground," Andy said as he swam towards Hyrem, "But without Delilah we won't be able to see a thing, so we'll have to stick close. First thing's first, we should head in the direction the Eelektrik went." Hyrem agreed, though if Eelektrik went in a different direction from there, they might not know where it went, and then it'd be too late to save Slowpoke from the eel's dinner plate.

"I guess this is mostly going to be up to you for now, Hyrem, but i'll do whatever I can to help." said Andy.

They did need a strategy for if- hopefully, when- they caught up to the eel. But, once again, he had to think of it fast. "All right, let's go where Eelektrik went," he said. Along the way, he relayed his ideas to Andy and the Pokemon. "Delilah, we'll need you the most since you can take Eelektrik's electric attacks using your Volt Absorb. But Kray's probably going to be better at getting Eelektrik to let go of Slowpoke. Andy, we'll act as backup until you get Eelektrik away from Slowpoke, then we'll try to paralyze and confuse it so we can team up on it from there!"

"Chou!" nodded Chinchou, acknowledging her understanding of the plan. Of course, this all depended on the four finding Slowpoke's assailant. They just had to hope they got lucky.

{Andy, if you're allowed to reply, go ahead and do so if you want to give your own ideas so we can come up with a better strategy. If you see flaws in my strategy, go ahead and let me know either in your reply or a PM.}