[X] My Assistant

[Toogee]

“Well, I didn’t find everything here,” Pan clarified to Lyla. She was being modest about her work, though having it displayed in a big museum was kind of a big deal. “There are plenty of other researchers out there- hey, is that…”

Pan quickly walked to the center of the room, dragging Lyla with her. Lima mimicked her human by taking the smoochum along for the ride, though she stopped to pick up a stray pecha berry off the floor. Fully distracted by the fruit, the cleffa decided to sit down on the floor to enjoy the delicacy, all while still holding Ume’s hand. Meanwhile, Pan was looking at a particular display: one with a dazzling rainbow feather.

“Ho-Oh’s feather,” Pan read aloud. “I found this in Arasam.” Then she whispered into Lyla’s ear. “Did Daz tell you the story behind this feather?” Even though the group was warned not to mention anything about Ho-Oh’s existence back at Castle Vonmoto, no doubt someone spilled the beans at some point. The fact that the feather was on display in plain view would mean she’d be getting a lot of questions that day. In fact, it seemed to be one of the highlights of the event: tables were being arranged to surround the rainbow feather. The party organizer, a young woman with ginger hair and a black mini-dress, was hounding waiters to arrange the tables in the circular pattern. Donors were to have front row seats to see this find and convince them to donate more money for more spectacular items.

“Beautiful!” said one woman as she pressed her face against the glass. “Who found this sample…Pandora Gibbs.”

Suddenly, the eyes of a load of rich people closed in on Pan, no doubt ready to barrage her with questions on the feather.

“Where in Arasam did you find it?”

“Did you see the legendary bird itself?! Surely you have pictures!”

“Uh…I think I have to get ready for my presentation. I’m sure Prof. Stone will have all the answers about this.”

Pan nudged Lyla as a hint to get her out of questioning, preferably before a rather large man with a monocle (who looked way too happy to see Pan) came up to them.

[Douken Sota]

Hearing the commotion, Douken and Rufus looked over their shoulder to see the center display: the Ho-oh feather Pan obtained. Since Douken had his parents take it home from Starfall Field, there was good chance that they too could be talking about it, as well as the Regis. Knowing his luck, they were even preparing where they would be placing the tattoos for being in such events.

A shiver ran down his spine just thinking about that Smeargle.

Still, Douken couldn't help himself but pardon him from Dr. Kath's present to head over to Lyla's other side, telling Pan, "And here I thought bragging against Otis was a bad idea," before looking at her, a but of a smile on his face. "Guess I wasn't the only one who felt like bragging now?" Still, such a statement in the open would only throw more questions at the trainer.

"You got one too?!"

"Were you in the same place?"

"What was it like meeting such a legendary being?"

Note to self: talk about these things in private, came through Douken's head as the monocle man appeared. "Exit stage left?"

[Living Arrow]

“No… Daz didn’t tell me anything about it…” Lyla whispered back, still unable to take her eyes off of the shining feather. How could something like that be even real!? It looked almost as though it was made of sparkling glass and gemstones that caught the tiniest of motes of light only to turn it into a bright shimmer. She would have certainly remembered it if this feather had ever been mentioned. And the fact that it came from a legendary Pokemon!? Who knew what properties it might have!?

That’s when the questions started. Pan began to usher Lyla away as a little crowd began to draw near and Lyla could feel herself getting more than a little uncomfortable with all of the attention directed their way. Lima and Ume clung to each other in a similar fashion near their feet but Lyla dared not let go of Pan to pick them up lest she get separated from her by the fanatics surrounding them. A rather large man with one of those specs-on-a-chain… monocles!... approached them but there was something that Lyla didn’t like about him which she couldn’t put her finger on. In any case, she wanted to get out of there ASAP – the warmth of the hall was rapidly becoming stifling and even her revealing dress did nothing to cool her.

“Squir, squir!” Victor lifted the pair of baby Pokemon next to Pan and Lyla onto his shoulders and disappeared between some guests’ legs. Lyla relaxed a little since they’d probably not get stepped on now but became more concerned that she didn’t have her eye on them anymore. Just then, a second wave of relief came with her cousin.

“They’re selling replicas as souvenirs back at the entrance, look!” Darryn slid through the crowd (and rather more conveniently between the guy with the monocle and the girls) and brandished his own Ho-Oh feather quickly before tucking it back into the inner pocket of his jacket. “But there’s not many left!” The crowd almost instantly thinned with the fake information but there was still a considerable ring around them. Even so, Lyla felt that she could breathe a little more easily. He nodded to Lyla and she blushed.

*He could tell I didn’t like having all those people around me, couldn’t he? Did he read my mind or was I, like, being obvious?*

Lyla was about to thank him but he was already moving past them, his eyes on Pan. Lyla couldn’t hear anything but she bet something else was going on. With all the ease of someone who had moved through crowds many times before, Darryn disappeared.

Directed towards Pan: <Potential perv incoming - I'll be literally four feet behind you.>

[Toogee]

Pan gave a brief glare to Douken after he divulged more details about the feather. It wasn’t necessarily an angry glare, but a “not now” look as her eyes pointed towards the eager crowd. Fortunately, Darryn was there to distract the crowd with an erroneous souvenir sale. There was only the matter of the portly man coming towards them. Strangely, a misstep caused the man to stumble over before things could get awkward. Some friendly patrons helped him up, but by then, Pan and her friends were gone. The group was quickly joined by the cleffa-smoochum-squirtle trio as they continued across the ballroom.

“Thanks”, Pan thought silently as she looked at Darryn. She still wasn’t sure whether Darryn could “hear” her, but it comforted her in at least trying to communicate. As she led the group to a table up front, Pan finally confided to Lyla about her escapades with Darryn.

“So, what brought you all the way to Petropolis and to Darryn? You two look like you’re doing pretty well for yourselves.”

Before Pan could get a proper reply to Lyla’s response, she was a silent cue by Professor Stone. A quick tap on the shoulder was enough for Pan to excuse herself from her company.

“Watch Lima for me,” she told Lyla as she exited behind the red curtain that adorned much of the northern wall. Soon, one of the museum staff asked for the audience’s attention and quickly introduced the professor. After the applause, Stone began his speech about the future of science and the importance of contributing to its further study. He went with an example from Pan’s report on absol behavior during the Starfall Field event. Pan was too busy to listen, for someone had approached her from behind the curtain.

“Ms. Pandora Gibbs,” said a robotic voice behind her. She quickly turned around and gasped at the figure draped entirely in black. An eyeless ski mask revealed no distinguishing facial features and adorned with a hat often seen on old detective shows. The black trench coat reeked of suspicion, though the man was speaking with benevolence (at least, for a creepy robot voice). Behind him was his alakazam, which seemed to have teleported him here to speak with Pan.

“My apologies for my image. My condition doesn’t allow me to dress lightly. Ms. Gibbs, I am Reginald Deimos, representative for Dai Research Corp. We provide skilled researchers such as yourself to private companies to perform their studies. Your portfolio with the museum is quite impressive. If you don’t mind me asking, what would it take to get you to join our team?”

“Um, could this wait another time? I’m about to give a demonstration.” Pan was kind of creeped out by the rep, but she held her feelings back. He was likely a burn victim getting back on his feet.

“Of course,” Deimos replied, “I should note that your work schedule would be flexible and your pay significantly higher. Should anything change in your life and you need a new career, do not hesitate to call.” As he said this, a business card floated out of his pocket and into one of Pan’s. With that, the man teleported away with the aid of his pokemon.

“That was kind of random,” Pan thought to herself. She paid no more heed to the encounter and drew her attention to the professor.

“And to enhance our study of Furoh’s ancient past, the Petropolis Museum of Science, in association with Daioh Technologies, proudly presents our very own cloning machine.”

The red curtain was pulled back to reveal a large machine the size of the wall. Various screens and buttons covered its metal surface, their proper use only known by a few. In the middle of the screen was a giant plasma screen monitor. Currently, the monitor was showing a pokemon match between the Petropolis gym leader and a young blond girl Pan had recognized as Tuesday. With a buizel and a krokorok the only pokemon on the field, that match was going down to the wire. What happened next was anyone’s guess, for the professor quickly changed the channel to the “Stand By” screen.

“Er, sorry about,” Stone apologized as several chuckles came from the audience. “Anywho, this device will allow us to clone fossils without having to go up north. If you would like to see the results of our work, turn to your right. All of the tirtouga you see were revived right here in Petropolis. And now, a live demonstration of our work with one of our rising stars. She assisted with the tirtouga revivals, and much of her research is on display in this room. Please give a warm welcome to Ms. Pandora Gibbs!”

The audience applauded as Pan and the professor switched positions. They gave each other a high five as they passed by. Two lab assistants also took to the stage, one carrying the old amber from the lobby and the other carrying some sort of thermos. Each item was set on a table on stage. Finally, Professor Stone ran back on stage and put a lab coat upon Pan as well as a microphone headpiece. Now that she looked the part of a scientist, Pan continued with the presentation.

“Thank you everyone,” she began, flashing her smile. The researcher seemed pretty excited about her presentation. “Now, as Professor Stone said, we’re going to show off what this machine can do. We have this piece of amber. It looks very pretty, but we’re more interested in what’s on the inside. Right in the middle is a mosquito, a very old one at that. Millions of years ago, this little bug fed off some of the ancient creatures of the past. Earlier in the week, we extracted that ancient blood from the insect. As luck would have it, there was a small amount of viable DNA. After a bit of PCR to replicate the genetic code, we now have a large enough sample for the machine to read.”

Pan then opened the thermos, which turned out to be a miniature fridge. She pulled out the small test tube that contained the valuable DNA. The researcher then explained the next step as she walked to the machine.

“Now I just insert this tube in the slot for analysis.” Pan did just that, turning back to the audience. She was about to explain the roles of the assistants on stage when a large outburst interrupted the presentation. Pan and the rest of the audience turned their attention to the back of the room to see a man in a pure black suit, a red scarf, and platinum hair that draped along his back. Though the man was unfamiliar to Pan, his choice of wardrobe reminded her of the encounter with a group at Loch Ranch.

If they were here, trouble was sure to follow.

“HERETICS!” the man shouted. “While you applaud your science, you are blind to the laws of nature that keep you from discovering your true potential! You obey them like sheep following a shepherd. But there is a world where such rules do not apply, where you are bounded by no one. Such a place can only be brought by Lord Darkrai. But in order to release him from his chains, we must gather all of his disciples. We must have the Odd Keystone.”

The man pointed towards one of the display cases containing the item. Almost instantly, security guards gathered at that point, unleashing various species of pokemon to guard the item in question. Their pokemon ranged from a giant snorlax to a tiny pichu that simply shook his fist at the intruder and growled. The man merely smiled.

“Ever reluctant to heed the call,” he told the people in attendance. “Then, for the sake of us all, we will take it BY FORCE!!!”

Just as he said that, his hand shot into the air. By reflex, Pan looked up to the ceiling. The first things she noticed were the skylights that revealed the night sky. The second thing she noticed was the crowd of dark figures gathered around the skylights. It didn’t take long to see what happened next: an explosion shattered the glass. Ropes quickly dropped down to the floor. Human members quickly slid down the ropes, each wearing dark robes, red scarves, and platinum hair of various styles. They were quickly followed by their pokemon members, also wearing similar attire. A large rhydon fell from the ceiling, its weight shattered the surrounding display cases and knocking several people off their feet. The crowd of donors was sent into a panic by the coordinated assault, people began running for the exits. In all the screams and confusion, the man shouted once more to issue a command.

“Disciples of Darkrai! Retrieve the Odd Keystone! Do not let the blasphemers stand in your way! ATTACK!”

[Douken Sota]

Rufus let out a low growl at the sudden noise. which seemed odd for him. Normal, he was stuck in happy dandy land, but it seemed he had enough police training to know when something bad was going to happen, or at least it was a natural instinct that let him know something bad was going to happen, either way, it wasn't long to see why he was angry: Black clothes, red scarf, platinum hair: the Disciples of Darkrai. Sure, they hadn't had a lot of contact from them, since they only met at Loch Ranch, but they knew how to stir trouble, along with give speeches.

What was strange, through, was that they were after the Odd Keystone. Why would they - His mind flashed back to the Ranch, the image of the egg in his hands, but the doctor's voice echoing in his head, "This keystone is said to have a connection to the Pokemon, Spiritomb." That's where he head it from! So, it seemed they were intentionally after that Pokemon, not just a random robbery. Either way, they seemed to of had a big plan do deal with that Pokemon if they were this desperate for one.

The earth shook from the Rhydon falling from the ceiling along with his combat in arms, causing Douken's feet to shake, but instantly reached into his vest for another Pokeball. With an army of Pokemon to deal with, they need some extra forces. "Ready Rufus?" With a bark from his pup, Douken called out to the Disciples, "You will not get Spiritomb. I stopped you last time, and I will again! Reep, show them why!" With a strong toss, he released his Requiem Pokemon to the battlefield. "Hold them back! Bite! Shadow Sneak!" And in an instant, he went after the towering Rhyhorn, attacking anyone that got in their way. However, it was not like he was willing to simply fall.

Even with the two moves, the towering Pokemon seemed to of been unphased, bostering an amazing defense. Only thing better was his attack power, which was shown with a Bulldoze, sending both into a spin into the floor. Sure, Reep didn't feel much because of Levitate, but being trampled by such a large body would still knock her back. Rufus, however, took quite a hit. "Rufus! Reep!" Seemed that move was strong enough impede their speed. Sure, Reep could easily take advantage with Trick Room, but with so many Pokemon in here, he wasn't sure how used to the move they would be, or how adept the enemy was.

"Rufus, helping hand! Reep-" AS Reep got up, a glow began to surround her body. She knew that asgainst an enemy, they needed a bigger strength. "Reep?" Shining bright, she began to grow arms and legs.

This post has been edited by Douken Sota: Feb 13 2012, 03:36 PM

[Living Arrow]

It was a bizarre sight seeing his old high-school friend [s]and sweetheart[/i] giving a formal presentation to the massed crowd in the ballroom but to Darryn it marked the end of an era. Yes, he was aware that he and Pan had both come a long way from the kids they had been at Celadon High but here they were – climbing their respective career ladders and actually getting the recognition and reward that they deserved. It was really inspiring and the glow of pride and satisfaction that came off of his latest travelling partner’s Emotaglow was a brilliant sight to see. Well, for as long as it lasted, anyway.

“What the-!” Darryn had seen a lot in the time he had spent on his Pokemon journey but nothing had been so crazy! He’d been chased through the woods by murderous thieves and even set upon by villainous Pokemon but never had those criminal-types been so outwardly obvious in their methods. This fanatical attack was simply insane!

Powerful Pokemon descended from above with robed trainers with platinum blonde hair that screamed ‘terrible taste’ to Darryn’s ears and the gathered crowd went wild. Civilians piled towards the exits in panic waves and Darryn was jostled heavily in the throng that surged past him. Near their feet, Victor tottered precariously between legs with Lima and Ume clinging to one another atop his shoulders.

“Lyla!” Darryn cried over the crowd as his cousin began to drift away from him in the current of bodies. Her face turned his way and they locked eyes for a moment before she disappeared from sight with a squeak.

“Squirtle squir!” Victor’s equally surprised cry was elicited as a fleeing patron kicked the Tiny Trutle across the ground, releasing the baby Pokemon that he had been protecting. Darryn’s eyes flashed to a pink blob that was spinning across the ground and he dove towards it instinctively.

“LIMA!” Darryn’s hands snagged the Starshape Pokemon and clutched her tightly to his chest as he dodged and weaved between the obstacles that were becoming more sparse as the ballroom dancefloor cleared.

“Ume!” Lyla’s scream was blood-curdling. Darryn’s eyes scanned the nearby area and, sure enough, the Smoochum was in big trouble.

“Smooooo!” An intense blue aura surrounded the baby Pokemon, holding back the falling foot of a very large and angry-looking Aggron. The little Smoochum’s psychic powers were evidently waning as the aura around her flickered and waved under the pressure of the fully-evolved Pokemon on top of her. Darryn drew back an arm.

“Go, Zulu! Hammer Arm attack!”

The co-ordinator’s Rampardos charged free of his Pokeball as though already sensing that an important battle was afoot and descended upon the Aggron like a very literal ton of bricks. With a mighty punch, the Aggron was catapulted off Lyla’s baby Pokemon and sent sliding across the polished dancefloor. With a guttural snort, Zulu leaped over Ume and after his target with a scream of rage.

“Ume!” Lyla’s protective hands wrapped around her Pokemon and squeezed her tight. “Like, don’t ever worry me like that again!”

“Victor, Bubblebeam, now!” Darryn’s command came just in time to defend the unprotected back of his cousin as the striking shape of a Scizor was repelled from her blank spot. Lyla screamed and ran, taking refuge at the base of the stage where she sank to her knees and squeezed back into the little overhang created by the stair leading up to the platform. From there, the breeder watched on as her friends battled the maniacs that had ruined the evening.

[Toogee]

It all started happening so very quickly. As soon as the man in the back told everyone to attack, the formal event quickly turned into a Ballroom Blitz. The few patrons that decided to bring their pokemon were participating in battles scattered across the room. Unfortunately, most of those pokemon were there for show and had little in the way of battle experience. In fact, it was likely that the most experienced trainers in the room were Darryn, Douken, Pan, and even Lyla. Pan darted her head to her right: the professor was already on the phone to get police help. The interns were scrambling to protect the artifacts on display, all the while avoiding battling pokemon and people. She quickly darted her head back into the crowd: Lyla was screaming bloody murder as an enemy aggron threatened to crush her smoochum. Fortunately, Darryn was around to save the day. As Lyla ran to the safety of the stage stairs, Pan jumped down to meet her.

“Hey.” Pan looked over the poor girl, hugging her pokemon in both fright and relief. The researcher took off her lab coat and covered Lyla with it in case she went into shock. Pan then sat down next to Lyla and started gathering pokeballs from the hidden strap upon her leg, which she lowered down to just above her knee for easier access.

“Listen, I gotta go help our boys,” she told Lyla. “You’ll be OK here, but just in case…”

Pan placed one of her pokeballs into Lyla’s palm, specifically that of her arcanine. It wasn’t so much for protection as it was for peace of mind. Knowing that there was giant dog around had certainly put Pan’s mind to rest a number of times.

“Fenrir will protect you if you need him. Don’t worry; I’ll be back for him!” And with that, Pan rushed off into the fray.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ballroom was packed with people running and fighting. Projectile attacks were flying through the air above. Pan could not tell who was who without getting to a better vantage point. She quickly climbed up upon one end of a long table and summoned her pachirisu. With Chi-Chi on her shoulder, they were able to scan the area with greater coverage. Sure enough, Pan soon spotted Douken engaged with a powerful rhydon. Chi-Chi spotted a more pressing problem: Darryn was taking on both an aggron and a scizor. Worse, One of the disciples, armed with a dagger, was stalking the trainer. Being a coordinator, he shouldn’t have had any problem dealing with a surprise attack. However, Pan didn’t want to see how his skills fared against an armed assailant.

“Droid, Dynamic Punch on that guy!” She pointed the pokeball’s beam to Darryn’s backside, releasing the golett directly in front of the disciple. The surprise caught the man off guard, allowing Droid to land a successful punch into his gut. The man stumbled over, confused by the attack’s side effect. The little gollett kept guard for the opponent’s next strike.

Immediately afterwards, Pan threw Turnip’s pokeball towards Douken’s side of the battle. The venusaur appeared in mid-air, crashing down with a powerful vertical vine whip attack upon the enemy rhydon. The attack would hopefully buy the Amazon time to prepare another attack.

Pan’s attention was drawn towards the Odd Keystone display. Fighting was intense all around it: everyone had resorted to fist fights rather than pokemon battles. The glass around the keystone had been broken, leaving the item up for grabs. Strangely, the disciples backed off, pulling their robes over their mouths and noses. Their methods were quickly explained when a butterfree soared over the defending patrons. The bug pokemon sprayed those below with sleep powder. Many scrambled to mimic the disciples and cover their airways, but it was a bit late for most. Several guests were collapsing into unconscious heaps. The researcher had one last trick up her sleeve.

“Chi-Chi, I need you to get up there! Get ready!” The pachirisu released a maniacal chirp as Pan grabbed her tail. She spun the pachirisu several times over her head before swinging the electric squirrel into the air. Chi-Chi crashed right into the butterfree unleashing a powerful discharge attack. The powerful attack instantly knocked out the butterfly pokemon, sending both of them crashing into the ground. Amidst the fighting however, the keystone had disappeared!

“The keystone!” Pan cried, attempting to get others attention about the missing relic. She started scanning the crowds for the culprit, but with all the enemies wearing the same outfit, it was difficult to find the exact culprit. In all the chaos, Pan wasn’t watching her own back.

“This is for Loch Ranch, blasphemer!”

The researcher never saw who addressed her. All she saw was a machoke slamming his fist down upon the opposite side of her table. The table acted as a catapult, sending Pan flying into the air. The surprise of it all took her breath away, leaving her none for screaming. As she ascended skyward, she was still in shock as to what was going on. Only as she slowed at her peak did she realize what was happening. She would fall soon. She’d likely be seriously hurt upon landing.

She might die.

“That is not your fate, Pandora Gibbs. There is much for you to do.”

As she descended towards the floor, Pan found herself slowing down rather than speeding up. The landing was still quite rough: she rolled a couple of times before resting upon her side. She lied underneath a table with little more than a carpet burn.

Pan looked up to peek from underneath the table cloth. It was the man in black, the one who spoke to her back on stage. His alakazam had his hand up, as if he had performed some psychic attack. So, it was he that saved her, that spoke to her. A crowd of escaping guests passed in front of them and after they passed, the two had disappeared.

Pan pulled herself up with the help of the table, leaning against it to catch her breath. Those were a hectic few seconds that she would rather not repeat anytime soon.

[Douken Sota]

"Nice timing, Turnip," he complimented as the white light grew in size. The evolution delayed him and made him open,, but it seemed Pan was on top of that. However, numbers were still not all on their side,since most guests didn't seem as battle ready as the enemy. It only needed more numbers. Two at a time, he reached into his jacket, pullingout Pokeballs and unleashing them out, first Koldo and Maya. Then Rusty and Sabre. Then, a thud came in front of the trainer, where a new ghost stood in front of them.

"So, Reep evolved into a Dusclops." Legs seemedto of been an issue, since she could now be hit with Ground attacks, butanother issue came up (for the enmy, at least). With her red eye staring at the Rhydon, Douken could see the Drill's Pokemon knee's shook.Panic filled his eyes. Sure, Rufus was Intimidating in a sence, but never like this. No, it was more like the air around him seemed thick. Something that he had to get rid of quickly. Her presence was actually Pressuring the Rhydon!

"Alright then," Douken muttered before looking at his team. "We get the key stone! Do whatever it takes! Keep the guests safe and kick the asses of those disciples. Do it however you see fit! They lost at Loch Ranch, and they will lose here as well!" With their cries, each of them dispersed into their own battles.

Koldo was the first to find battle, jumping in with a Sucker Punch to the Machoke, chuckling as if he wanted to see who was the stronger Fighting Type. No Guard seemed to of been actve as blows were fleshed out between each other, beating themselves senseless with brute force.

Maya hobbled over to Lya's side, nuzzling her cheek to try to comfort her. She didn't know what the human thought, but she was going to protect her as well, firing a chunk of ice at a Fearow who was trying to swoop on in at them.

Reep was not done with the Rhydon. With a nod to Venusaur, she wanted to make sure the plant was out of the way, which was shown by a cold steam rolling off of her fingers. Her hands kept getting colder and colder, only meaning one thing: and Ice Punch to the Drill Pokemon's stomach.

Rusty went to stall duty, setting magnets to Stun and firing off wave after wave of Thunder wave. It was strange, really. Seemed like the magnets was enjoying it as it blasted Pokemon one by one. Maybe one of the Betas took over again...

Sabre got into conflict with a Swalot in a different form of battle: eating. Both at the concession stand, they seemed to of been fighting over who would eat more. It wasn't until the bigger mouth threw an entire cake into his mouth did the Skarmory call the Poison Bag Pokemon a cheater, and decided it should eat some Swift stars.

Rufus turned his attention to the Scizor, joining in Victor into combat. With a growl, he felt a ball of fire formed inside of his jaws. It was a new feeling, so might as well try it. The new feeling, however, was a Flame Burst, which after impact, exploded into smaller fireballs hitting anything around them, like enemy Pokemon enemy cultists, and an important device which was harboring an ancient Pokemon.

With his shoes thrown off and jacket thrown across the room(badge removed beforehand), Douken let off a bit of a sigh. "Much better." The shoes were killing him and the jacket felt heavy, and man did he want to burn that tie! He went down to remove his shirt entirely, baring the markings of his tribe. "Now then, let's go!"Running into combat himself, he went over to the first man in the uniform he saw and punched in straight in the face. Lifting him up from the collar, he yelled. "What is so important about Spiritomb?! Why do you need one so badly to have to try twice?!"

[Living Arrow]

“Woah!” Darryn stumbled back from the guy who had been approaching him, allowing Pan’s Golett to act as a Pokemon shield between the Co-ordinator and the knife. Being threatened with a gun had been bad enough but that guy had nearly stabbed him in the back! What the hell was going on?

<Zulu, Victor – keep it up.> Darryn urged his Pokemon silently as he jumped free of his body. Things were getting too serious and there was no way he was going to allow his journey to end before it truly began just because some psycho said so.

Inside the head of the Disciple of Darkrai, Darryn swam through the darkness with relative ease and pursued the pulsating darkness of scarlet malice that was running through the man’s Emotaglow. Without Lady to guide him, Darryn faltered several times in his hunt for the mind behind that sea of emotion but when he found it there was no escape. He’d done this once before – to a woman in the Arapet forest who had intended to do terrible things to his young friend Tuesday – and had sworn then not to do the same again… But it was necessary. Lady had taught him it was eat or be eaten and in that moment, he was ravenous.

“Hold still…” Darryn grimaced as he locked his Empathic hands around the ethereal man in the void and drew on the dark hatred that was consuming him. Removing the bad intentions and strong emotions that bolstered harmful thoughts and cruel intentions was simple enough after practicing on his own Pokemon to get them to get over their failures and focus on their successes was easy enough but replacing them with something else was completely different. “You’re going to think about these other cultists…”

Images flashed around them of white-haired men and women all wearing the same cloaks and intoning a chant towards a distant dark figure. As each one came, Darryn turned the hate and anger that he had taken from the man and put it back in.

“They make you sick. You want them to pay for hurting people and Pokemon. Hate them more than anything.”

And with that, Darryn fled from the man’s mind.

*****

Zulu’s rage went uncontrolled as he locked claws with the Aggron and engaged in what could only be described as a monstrous game of “Mercy” as they charged back and forth across the ballroom.

Metal Claw dug deep into the Rampardos’s wrists and he wailed with both anger and pain, clearly outpowered by the more experienced Aggron. The opponent was not only strong but larger and heavier – a formidable opponent by any Pokemon’s standards. Zulu grimaced and sank to his knees, unable to force the Aggron back onto the defense. With a roar, he slammed his head forward with a Headbutt attack. The Aggron flinched, tossed his head and slammed its own right back.

Stars burst in Zulu’s eyes as he dropped further, completely dazed by the stunning blow. His strength was waning and there was nothing he could do to stop the enemy on top of him…

“Zulu! Endeavour attack!” Darryn’s voice called over the din and, for once, the Rampardos took notice of his trainer’s order and let loose with everything he had.

With shocked eyes, the Aggron was thrown clear of the ground and Zulu’s legs, fists and tail were all on top of him in moments. SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM… BOOM! The Aggron crashed down, a pile of rocks and metal that gasped desperately for air to fill its lungs. Instead, an exhausted Rampardos, back on its feet, filled its vision.

“Now, Zulu! Hammer Arm!”

And the lights went out for the Aggron.

*****

“Water Pulse!” Victor gathered the swirling vortex between his palms and fired.

“Zor!” An X-Scissor slashed through the attack, negating its effects and showering only the ground with water.

Victor’s efforts were concelled yet again and not for the first time he cursed his stupid body. Unable to move as fast as his team mates, Victor had always felt that he had a distance to catch up to the rest of Darryn’s Pokemon and yet again a faster opponent was getting the better of him. An Icy Wind – dodged. Bubblebeam – deflected. Skull Bash – evaded.

“Squir!” Victor gasped as a Slash attack struck directly into the front of his shell – throwing him into the far wall with a dull thud as he struck and fell back to the floor. Wiping a hand over his eyes to clear the dust, Victor got back to his feet and ran back at the Scizor.

“Stay down!” The bug Pokemon buzzed angrily at him.

“Not on your life!” Victor yelled back. Suddenly, flames erupted in the Scizor’s chest and the red mantis began screaming erratically. A Growlithe nearby must have been the source. Victor nodded to him. It was Rufus – Douken’s fire Pokemon. Victor didn’t know the puppy but he was thankful that someone with an advantage had stepped in when they did. In fact, if Lady had been let out of her Pokeball just then he’d be free to go and take a rest but it didn’t look like old Dazzler was going to hear his thoughts over all the noise.

“Hey, thanks!” Victor began walking over to Rufus. “That was just what I- HEY!” With a leap, Victor threw himself in the path of the incoming Metal Claw that was aiming for the Growlithe. Pressure impacted from all sides and Victor knew immediately what was happening – he was getting crushed like a walnut.

“I said stay down!” The Scizor taunted but Victor wasn’t listening – he was using Withdraw to escape the immediate impact of the attack. “Don’t be so stubborn!”

“Nnnnnn…” Victor’s voice strained from inside his shell as the Scizor piled on the pressure between its claws. “Nnnnn…. Nnnnnn…. HYDRO PUMP!”

With a spin, the Tiny Trutle’s shell fired powerful jets of water from every orifice, blasting the foe Bug/Steel Pokemon again and again with the sheer ferocity of a waterfall. With the grip on him loosened, Victor span free and landed, pushing his limbs free and focusing all of the attack out of his mouth. The raging torrent sent forth blasted into the Scizor’s chest and carried it straight up to the ceiling where it crashed hard, cracking the plaster and paintwork all around it. Then, as the attack subsided, the red mantis plummeted to Victor and Rufus’s feet in an unconscious heap.

“You stay down.” Victor snorted over the unmoving body.

*****

Pokemon crashed from side to side in raging torrents that made her yelp and squeak as they went by but the most horrific thing to Lyla’s eyes was the fact that the humans that had arrived were also attacking Pokemon and people. It was just barbaric.

“C’mere, my pretty.” A white-haired man of around forty years reached towards Lyla intently, his crazed eyes glistening with malice. Lyla flailed a free arm while she held Ume protectively at bay, trying to stave off the man’s advances but the sweet Dewgong that Douken had sent to protect her was too pre-occupied with a flapping and scratching Fearow that she was left completely exposed. Lyla gripped the hot okeball in her hand tightly. Whatever Pokemon was inside, it was sure to be a strong one if Pan had left it with her…

“Aaaiieee!” Lyla screamed, slamming the Pokeball directly into the side of the man’s head. He folded like a stack of cards, elicting more screams from the blonde Breeder as he toppled onto her.

[Toogee]

With the battle raging to protect the Odd Keystone, another sinister plan was afoot. As projectiles shot around the room, several ice shards came from underneath a table, but these were aimed specifically at the surrounding security cameras. Once that was done, a sneasel emerged along with its trainer: the ginger-haired party planner. This party planner commanded the sneasel to use cut, not on an enemy, but on the adjacent glass case. She had arranged the tables perfectly, creating a barrier to protect from interference from the battles beyond. No one would be watching as the dark pokemon cut a neat circle into the glass. She reached in and grabbed the treasure inside, inserting it gently into an aluminum suitcase. While everyone was fighting over the keystone, Sable Verada would walk away quietly with the rainbow feather. By the time anyone found out what had happened, she would be long gone.

As a crowd of guests rushed towards the exit, Sable ducked under the table barrier and blended into the group. Soon, she passed Deimos just as assisted in saving the girl named Pandora. She grasped onto the alakazam’s arm and together the three teleported away from the building. The next moment, they were within a helicopter hovering over the museum. Deimos gave the signal to the pilot, beginning their flight away from the scene.

“The item, Ms. Verada,” Deimos buzzed through his voice box. Sable obliged, opening the suitcase. With the aid of the alakazam’s powers, the feather floated out of its resting place and into the hands of Deimos.

“And the other half of your reward…” He passed on another suitcase, this one filled with money. As she counted the contents within, Sable addressed her employer.

“Everything’s in order here. It is quite a piece for your collection. Gotta hand it to those fanatics. It would have been a bit trickier trying to nab that feather without them. Not that I couldn’t have done it without them of course.” Sable smirked as she reminisced about her recent success. “May we do business again.”

“Indeed,” Deimos replied. “Your success here and in Gigarte will most certainly earn you future propositions with our organization. But for now, your stop is here.”

The helicopter lowered to the rooftop of one of the skyscrapers that dotted the landscape of the city. Sable exited the vehicle, leaving Deimos to conduct further business. With the on-board telephone, he proceeded with the plan.

“Dr. Mondo. I have a sample for you to analyze,” the dark-clothed man stared intently at the floating rainbow feather. “If your shadowfication process proves successful here, you will be provided with the entire specimen in due time…”

After catching her breath, Pan examined the battlefield. She saw Turnip, Droid, and Chi-Chi rushing to her side after witnessing her airborne journey across the room. Even Lima wobbled in the same direction, narrowly avoiding being trampled. Pan took the pachirisu and cleffa into her arms, while the venusaur nuzzled her from behind.

“Really guys, I’m fine,” Pan said as she looked over her surroundings. Her eyes darted over to Lyla, who was having trouble with an attacker. Granted, said attacker was unconscious, but it certainly was quite uncomfortable to have him lying on top of the poor girl.

“We’re coming, Lyla!” Pan rushed across the ballroom, her pokemon in tow. Turnip rolled his eyes. The girl had already been in one life threatening situation today; must she rush into another?

“My sensors indicate an 85% probability that Mistress Pandora will not encounter any enemies during her walk...,” the golett remarked. Turnip was a bit taken aback; he didn’t know Droid could even communicate. Though he was still wary, the golett stopped him from using his vines to pull her back. After all, much of the enemy forces were on the other side of the room.

Even so, the flame burst attack from Douken’s growlithe had managed to shoot across the room in several directions, one fireball hitting the cloning machine. Though the attack didn’t seem to do too much damage on the outside, the delicate machinery within was certainly affected by the sudden high temperature. Just as the process was about to be complete, a blaring siren went off. It wasn’t like a police siren (though those could be heard just outside); it was in short bursts of sound, much like that warning of a radiation leak. Whatever was wrong, the machine continued the process of transferring the revived pokemon into the placed pokeball. Unfortunately, the machine was shutting down in the process, unable to stabilize the pokeball to keep the contents within. For a few seconds, the pokeball shook violently, more than Pan had ever seen in a wild capture. The tense moment finally culminated with the pokeballs bursting wide open, releasing the long extinct pokemon.

Materializing right in front of the researcher, the fossil pokemon had its massive leathery wings folded around itself. It slowly stretched them out to reveal its form. It was one of the ancient errors of the sky, a large female that could put fear into the hearts of its prey. Her devilish tail swung menacingly behind her, threatening to trip up anyone that attempted to sneak up from behind. The elongated jaws snapped through the air, anticipating a pokemon within them. Furthermore, her skin sparkled with the lighting of the room. It was a purple sheen, with bright blue within the wings. She was beautiful, but no less deadly for it. Her unveiling ended with a shrill cry of her name to Pan and her pokemon.

“AEEERROOOODACTYL!”

“There is also a 15% possibility that an ancient predator could appear out of thin air in front of Pandora.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Disciples of Darkrai were beginning to disperse; the objective was complete. The Odd Keystone was already out of the building. With this in mind, the disciple in Douken’s custody simply laughed off his questions.

“Ha Ha Ha!” he laughed, even with his long hair a mess. “Even now you are blind to our goals. Rest assured that with the final keystone in our hands, our master will rise once more and with him utopia!”

Just then, several police officers finally entered the room. A couple took the laughing disciple out of Douken’s hands, forcing the robed figure to the ground. He continued laughing amid his cries.

“He’s coming! He’s coming to redeem us all!”

Still the majority of the officers were busy rounding up the disciples trying to escape through the main hall. This left none to deal with the situation across the room…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pan was shocked that the aerodactyl emerged from the machine; she had totally forgotten about the demonstration. She was still trying to process what was going on when Turnip charged into battle. He lunged forward with a powerful Take Down, but the aerodactyl was far more agile. Even after its recent revival, she managed to leap over the attacking venusaur with a simple thrust of her wings. Though he had missed, Turnip wasn’t done yet. A pair of vines shot from his back, wrapping around the aerodactyl’s legs. This kept the ancient pokemon from flying off too far. More vines emerged to handle the beast’s might. Turnip swung the aerodactyl to the ground, attempting to wear it down. The fossil pokemon’s tough hide protected it from the blows, though it was a bit irritated from the vines. The aerodactyl was not going to take this lightly and promptly changed tactics. Rather than fly away from the venusaur, the aerodactyl chose to fly towards him. The fossil pokemon latched onto Turnip’s back, the vines proving useless at holding her back. The aerodactyl bit down on the venusaur, causing the vines to retract as Turnip roared in pain.

“Turnip! Seed Bomb!”

The command was issued too late. The attack was not a simple Bite but Ice Fang. A blue shade quickly spread over Turnip, restricting his movements. In a matter of seconds, the venusaur had been frozen. Before more damage could be done, Pan summoned Turnip back to his pokeball. Shaken from her shock, she did what should have been done before Turnip charged in.

“Chi-Chi, use Discharge!”

The pachirisu leaped from Pan’s shoulder, charging towards the aerodactyl. The ancient predator simply turned to the attacked and bellowed a mighty roar. The piercing sound shattered nearby wine glasses and sent Chi-Chi fleeing in terror. Pan fell to her knees, attempting to block out the sound with her free hand. The roar also had the effect of scaring Lima, who panicked and ran away from her human. The cleffa recalled her days within caves and decided to find a dark place to hide in. Her tiny legs weren’t built for running however. Combined with her weight, Lima tripped in the middle of the floor. The aerodactyl saw the vulnerable plump pokemon as a nice meal and walked towards Lima. The cleffa struggled to get up and turn around; she should never have left Pan’s side! Lima was still tripping as she tried to get away, the aerodactyl taking its time walking towards her hapless prey. Just when things looked dire for Lima, a white shawl wrapped around the fossil pokemon’s neck.

Pan could have easily summoned her claydol, but she would later rationalize that the pokemon was far too bulky to make it to Lima’s aid in time. In what seemed like a good idea at the time. Pan was hanging off the back of the aerodactyl, using her white shawl to hang on. The ancient creature was surprised: a human challenging her? Such bravery would have to be tested, with some very high stakes involved. The aerodactyl started swinging around to get Pan off, snapping at her with its large jaws. Pan kept holding on, giving the cleffa a chance to run off. Unfortunately, she waited too long, as was surmised by Professor Stone.

“Dear lord Pandora, get off before it- !” The professor tried to warn her that the beast was taking off, but by then, the aerodactyl was in the air. All Pan could do now was to tie the shawl tightly and hang on as her steed flew in circles around the room. She looked down below: Lima was still on the floor, wailing even with Chi-Chi by her side. The pachirisu was staring upward, regretting running away from the battle. Droid was standing by, calculating the probability of another flying creature coming out of nowhere. Professor Stone was there, but only briefly: he was running backstage, perhaps with a plan in mind. Finally, she saw Darryn and Douken (who had removed much of his outfit during the fight). They were OK, especially since the disciples were either captured or on the run. There were officers in the room as well, contemplating how to best deal with the situation.

“I’ll have my raichu use thunderbolt,” said one officer.

“Are you crazy?! You’ll hit that girl up there! Jenny will have both our heads for that!”

[Douken Sota]

Douken was tempted to hit the guy in the face again. Talking as if they had won the game in world domination when they only had a single piece that needed to be prepped before use. Still, though, he seemed too confident, which made Douken worry. Darkrai must be powerful if he can get an army of people do do his bidding, he thought as he watched the police take the man out of his hands.

Hitting his fists together, he let off a sigh, as if trying to relax himself as Pokemon and humans were being rounded up or escaping the scene. Since it seemed they got what they were after, there was no more reason to be around. This left everyone else to get themselves calmed down as well, all of Douken's Pokemon quickly returning (except for Maya who, after seeing the man on Lyla, tried to roll him off). They only had a second of piece before more chaos arose. However, this one was in the form of a purple dinosaur... with wings.

Turning back around, he was able to see Pan try to handle the situation herself, but that did not seem to be the case. Turnip became a block of ice, Chi-Chi was scared away, and Lima was nearly dinner. Pan... well, she was starting to experience what Douken did getting there by being airborne on a Flying type: just not riding her back. Either way, Driod's calculations could be off. "Sabre, get Pan!" So, with the steel bird flying in, it seemed a major aerial battle was about to get started.

[Living Arrow]

“Victor, Zulu, return.” Darryn recalled his exhausted Pokemon and clipped them back to his belt. Both had fought long and hard and managed to defeat their opponents but only just. Luck may have had a lot ot do with it but the Co-ordinator could only blame himself for letting his teammates battle without him there to command them. Instead he had been…

The man that Darryn had violated was currently locked in combat with another white-haired fanatic on the side of the ballroom, trying to get a grip around the younger goon’s throat. Darryn switched off his own feelings as he turned away from them, convincing himself that the right thing had been done once again. *And I’ll keep doing it to protect people I care about…*

“AEEERROOOODACTYL!”

The screech of the fossil Pokemon was deafening to most in the hall as it screamed its defiance to the crowd, making short work of Pan’s Pokemon. Darryn could only watch on as his friend leapt atop its back and was instantly taken airborne in a circling flurry of purple leathery wings. It was inSANE.

“Pan!” Darryn yelled, unable to move at first as he stared in shock at the creature swooping above them.

“Sabre, get Pan!” Douken’s command for his Skarmory was issued and the great metal bird soared upwards to meet its opponent. Darryn could hardly see what good such a hardy Pokemon would have against a faster, larger, foe like that Aerodactyl but maybe something hardy to take the Aerodactyl’s attention would allow for a faster attack…

“Bravo, let’s go!” Darryn’s Premier Ball span free of his hand and the Pidgeotto within burst forth in a spray of golden feathers that cascaded behind like a shimmering train. “Use Featherdance!”

*****

“Oh… oh no!” Lyla wimpered from her hiding spot, unable to do a thing. Ume squirmed in her arms but could find no escape from those tight clutches that denied her freedom. “Oh, Pan!”

High above, Douken’s Skarmory and Darryn’s Pidgeotto circled the frantic flying dinosaur but down below, Lyla flet as though she was already attending the young researcher’s funeral. Such a waste of a life! But Lyla had seen why it had happened – Pan was in Death’s clutches all because of her natural mother instincts to protect Lima. Lima!

“Ume, use Confusion to, like, get your friend over here!” Lyla held up her Smooochum as the Psychic energies within her activated and snagged up the Cleffa from the middle of the ballroom and into Lyla’s arms alongside the Ice-type. “Now, you two keep your eyes totally closed and stay close to me – everything’s going to be, like,…O…K?”

[Toogee]

The aerodactyl watched as people scattered below at the sight of the prehistoric menace. Pan held on for dear life as the fossil pokemon attempted to buck her off, the aerodactyl twisting through the air. The researcher wrapped her arms around the creature’s neck for greater support. She clenched her teeth as her body was thrown to and fro. It was only when two flying pokemon engaged the aerodactyl that the pokemon stopped focusing on Pan.

“AEEERROOO!”

As the skarmory drew near, the aerodactyl snapped at him with fangs bathed in fire. The prehistoric rushed through the air with incredible speed as it headed towards the pidgeotto. A cloud of feathers fell down upon them, but the aerodactyl had another countermeasure. The fossil pokemon spewed out a purple fire known as Dragonbreath, turning her head left and right to aim at the feathers. Few landed upon the pokemon, though Pan’s hair was riddled with down. It was becoming quite apparent that within the room, three was indeed a crowd.

“Watch out!” Pan cried as they headed straight for the pidgeotto. The aerodactyl swatted at Bravo with a wing attack, paying no heed to her foes as she promptly headed for the broken skylight. Pan looked behind her to see if everything was alright. She was filled with a mix of adrenaline and uncertainty as to what would happen after this. On one hand, she was riding upon a prehistoric beast, a rare coloration at that. It was amazing, especially after seeing a sampling of the beast’s arsenal of attacks. One the other, the serodactyl was attacking her pokemon (not to mention those of her friends) and it wasn’t particularly happy to have her as a rider. Things would be great…if she made it out in one piece.

Pan looked back down towards Darryn and Douken and gave a small smirk, hoping to transmit one last message to the only one who could detect it.

“Don’t wait up for me tonight…” It was sort of tongue in cheek, an attempt to keep things lighthearted despite everything that was going on.

With that, Pan’s face disappeared as the aerodactyl ascended through the skylight and into the night sky of Petropolis. People in the crowd gasped: the creature was now loose in the city! This could turn into some modern day King Kong tale. Many were rushing outside to see if they could catch a glimpse of Pan’s harrowing journey. As the patrons pulled out cell phone cameras to record the flight, the roar of an engine filled the room.

Out of another broken skylight, a red convertible descended downward towards the ballroom floor. Instead of wheels, the vehicle wielded a set of four jet-like devices that propelled it through the sky (or safely park in this case). The shiny red exterior looked well waxed, while the white leather seating appeared quite comfortable. The maned professor didn’t bother to get out of the driver’s seat; he would have to give chase soon.

“Loaner from Daioh,” Professor Stone casually remarked. Though there were plenty of people looking at Stone, it was clear that he was speaking to Pan’s companions. “Now, my researcher, admired mentee, and your dear friend is off on an unexpected tour of the city. Let’s say we go pick her up, shall we?”

The first in the car was an enthusiastic Chi-Chi, who helped herself to the front passenger seat. She spread herself out upon the giant seat to take full advantage of the comfiness. The golett followed, taking a seat behind the pachirisu. This still left a couple of unoccupied seats for the others to climb in. The professor looked at the humans to see what they intended to do.

[Douken Sota]

Douken was amazed at the flying car. I mean, yeah, sure his friend flew off on the back of an ancient dinosaur, but this tech was weird. I mean, yeah, balls that fit in your pocket something can hold a being bigger than a house, but a flying car! That was just odd.

"Thanks, but i think i will pass on the ride," Douken said, returning his Pokemon two at a time except for Sabre, "I got a friend to catch, and I doubt my armored bird wants to be outmatched in speed to something older than his great-great-great-great-great grandpa, right?" Even from the burning injury, Sabre seemed ready to fly. Looked like Douken was able to play off a competitive nature. "Thought so." Getting on the bird's back, he said, "Lyla can have my seat. As for me, I will get a head start. Sabre, Agility."

With Sabre's wing's glowing white, he launched himself faster than expected of a metal bird (unless you include the fct that the wings are actually hollow and lighter than seems). Zooming high above the skyscrapers, the duo looked about in the sky for whatever chaos brought forth and gave chase to the collecting crowd, getting the dinosaur soon in sight. "PAN!!!!!!!"

[Living Arrow]

“Pidgeooooh!” Bravo plummeted through the air, the force of the Aerodactyl’s powerful Wing Attack knocking him clear from the battle and right back to the ground. With a strangled squawk, the flying type hit home in a shower of golden feathers and in a flash, Darryn was at his side.

“Bravo!” Scooping up the bird was harder than the Co-Ordinator had initially thought. It turned out his once-fattened Pidgey had evolved into a larger-than average Pidgeotto with heavy muscles that, no doubt, lent him the power to propel himself into rapid flight. Once in the trainer’s arms, Bravo’s feelings of anger and helplessness leaked into the Empath and the bird instantly began to struggle for release.

“Hold it, Bravo!” Darryn restrained the bird’s wings and locked his starter with a meaningful stare. “We’ll get Pan, just calm down.”

Looking up to the screaming fossil Pokemon, Darryn could see his friend’s face peering over its neck as they swept towards the shattered window. She smiled at them as she was dragged away and Darryn could practically feel the bubble of glee that was in the girls chest. In danger, twenty feet overhead, being swung around like a Tauros-rider and yet she was still able to feel excitement through all of the desperation and glimmer of fear. Darryn rolled his eyes. What was she thinking!?

The timely arrival of Professor Stone came with the disappearance of Pan and there was so much going through Darryn’s head that a flying car didn’t seem so out of place anymore. Douken was fast to take flight upon the back of his speedy Skarmory but somehow Darryn was doubtful that Lyla would be taking anybody’s seat…

“Right!” Lyla plomped herself into the seat alongside Prof. Stone. “Let’s, like, get Pan back!”

“Lyla!” Darryn blinked at her. “You’re not serious, right?”

“She’s, like, our friend, Darryn!” Lyla protested, Ume and Lima nodding furiously in her arms. “Even, if it means flying in a totally awesome spaceship, then I’ll, like, totally do it.”

Darryn was nothing short of amazed. Lyla wasn’t the type to actively throw herself into an adventure and had less battle experience than the rest of them so her sudden revelation was something of a surprise to him. But then again, it was Lyla. If she cared for her friends as much as she did her Pokemon, Darryn was sure that her claim was only the tip of the iceberg. Her fear was close to overwhelming but determination to see Pan OK and back on the ground was the guiding light at the head of her actions. He nodded.

“Fine, but keep away from the edges of this thing.” He slid in next to her, Bravo still in his arms, and watched the ground fall far below and away as Prof. Stone put pedal to the metal.

*****

“There!” Lyla cried, their speeding red ship tearing through Petropolis. Ahead, the glittering form of the rampaging Aerodactyl was visible with the smaller shape of Pan in her purple dress could be seen swooping past a massive skyscraper, closely followed by Douken on his Skarmory.

Prof. Stone swerved to shoot through the nearest buildings and out onto the main street where Pan was being taken and soon enough, the red car was catching up to the flying Pokemon.

“PIDGEOH!” Bravo screamed, kicking free of Darryn and beating his wings powerfully to sped up to the other Pokemon.

“Bravo, don’t!” Darryn yelled, irritated that he hadn’t recalled the bird back sooner – he wasn’t in any condition to fight that dinosaur monstrosity. “Return, now!”

“Geoh geoh!” Bravo barrel-rolled out of the path of the recall beam and shot for the Aerodactyl.

“Damn it!” Darryn swore, squeezing the Premier Ball in his palm.

In hot pursuit of Pan, Bravo zipped higher, climbing to gain some height on the flying rock-type. Timing it just so, Bravo folded his wings and plummeted into a stooping Quick Attack for the Aerodactyl’s head.

*Thud*

“PIDGEOOOH!” Bravo was knocked out of the air by a Wing Attack just before he could make contact and, in a stream of golden feather, the Pidgeotto began to plummet towards the streets below…

“BRAVO, NO!” Darryn screamed, leaning over the edge of the car as they raced after him. “Return!” The recall beam fired off but could not reach the bird as they were too far away. “BRAVOOO!”

<Bravo! Snap out of it! I believe in you!>

*FLASH*

A burning white light consumed Bravo’s falling body, illuminating the falling feathers around him like shards of a broken disco ball. His body grew within that light, wings growing longer and more streamlined, claws extending and thickening, the plume on his head fading from brilliant pink to one long banner of sparkling gold.

“PIDGEOOOOOH!”

A Pidgeot burst out of the light and rocketed upwards, breaking apart the remnants of his scattered feathers and showering the people on the streets below with gold dust. Darryn threw himself back from the edge of the car as the evolved Pokemon swept past them and rocketed for the Aerodactyl.

[Toogee]

The night sky of Petropolis was truly a sight to behold. Skyscrapers were framed with neon lights, appearing like giant rectangular prisms in the dark. Their walls were dotted with white lights, where people remained working through the night. A sea of cars lined the roads below, the whites and reds of their lights glistening off the glass windows of buildings. On one of the taller buildings was an amusement park with a rollercoaster running along the rounded top of the skyscraper. It was lit like a beacon for all to see.

That would have been the most awesome sight of the night had a girl riding a dinosaur not entered the sky, followed closely by a giant bird, another made of metal, their two riders (one a tribal warrior, the other a famous coordinator), and a flying car.

Pan could see faces pressed against the windows as office workers watched her pass by. She would have waved had she had control of her ride. With the aerodactyl’s high speed, she had to lie on her front and put her arms around the pokemon’s neck just to hang on. The ancient pokemon took notice of this and attempted to get rid of her. The aerodactyl flew closer to one of the skyscrapers, trying to scrap her passenger off. The pokemon could not get close enough however: its wingspan would hit the building. Though the danger was becoming quite apparent with every passing second, Pan couldn’t help but feel excitement, as if riding a thrill ride. She was actually enjoying this.

Not too long after, the researcher heard her friends behind her. Douken was flying above upon his skarmory. Darryn however was coming from below on his newly evolved pidgeot. Directly behind, the professor and Lyla were riding in…a flying convertible? Where did that come from? It didn’t matter at this point. What did matter was that her friends were here to back her up.

Though, that car was pretty awesome.

The aerodactyl, however, saw enemies coming at her from all corners. Being the dominant predator of her time, she was not used to challengers within the skies. Rather than resort to all out violence, the aerodactyl sought clearer skies. The pokemon made a sharp turn to the right, through the labyrinth of streets of the city. Indeed, this was a test of endurance: how long could her pursuers keep up? How long could her passenger hang on?

The aerodactyl began by diving directly into oncoming traffic, which happened to have a significant amount of big-rig trucks. Their trailers full of cargo were much higher than the surrounding cars. The pokemon weaved between the trucks with little effort as it made its way towards a concrete tunnel. The tunnel was to allow cars to pass under it and little else. Pan ducked down as far as she could to avoid getting her head torn off. She could just make out the faces of children staring at her from the vehicle rooftop in amazement. They appeared inspired as a purple dinosaur flew above their heads. Perhaps they would one day follow the footsteps of trainers so they too could fly upon pokemon through their howmtown?

Pan could only bathe in the moment for so long: the tunnel was an arduous journey. One wrong move could send the two into the ceiling and crashing into traffic. Just as she was thinking this, the aerodactyl made a sharp shift to the right to avoid a street light. Pan gasped; the move had almost sent her off her steed.

She was really hoping the others didn’t follow.
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The professor was caught off guard by the pokemon’s sudden turn. His vehicle was not exactly agile, so it took several crucial seconds to turn around and follow. Stone cursed under his breath as the car group fell behind the others. It did not help that Chi-Chi was screeching in his ear to move faster.

“Give a moment!” Stone told the pachirisu. “We’re going to head underneath and catch Pandora in the back seat…ideally. But first, we’ll need to catch up.”

With that, the professor put his foot on the metal. The vehicle zoomed forward, street lights blurring right by them. Chi-Chi dug her claws into the headrest to hang on, her hind legs and tail flailing in the air.

“CHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!”

Rather than follow Pan into the tunnel, Stone kept speeding ahead, traveling over it to make it to the other side. Hopefully, that would give them a head start over the beast.

[Douken Sota]

Seemed as if the Pidgeot and SSkarmory was throwing the donisaur for a loop in its mind, seeing a new tactic born: sharp turns and high speeds. "Looks like she's trying to play aerial dominance," he told Sabre, "Think you can keep up?" A sure challenge to the bird, taking each movement with his own. However, being so close to traffic, using attacks would be a lot more dangerous than normal, since innocent bystanders could be shanked with stars if he tried to use Swift: which included Pan.

Zooming right by the woindow of an oncoming bus, they headed into the tunnel. In a small space, size was going to be an advantage, which Sabre held better than the Aerodactyl. Zomming by the oncoming cars, the armored bird started to slowly catch up, the bare-chested trainer following behind. "PAN!" he tried to call out. "Hang in there!" Right now, he jsut had to wait for the end of the tunnel. After that, he really had no idea what was going to be done. Hopefully, the professor and others had a plan.

[Living Arrow]

Dodging vans and trucks simply was not what the doctor ordered. Well, that’s what Darryn told himself anyway as he pulled up on his Pidgeot’s shoulders to guide him away from following the crazed fossil Pokemon into the traffic of Petropolis. Instead, he led him slightly higher where he was able to keep an eye on Pan’s flight along with Douken’s pursuit while getting accustomed to his position on his own Flying-type’s back.

Flight was, for one thing, terrifying. Quite simply, trying to grip onto soft feathers forty feet off of the ground was an experience that the Co-Ordinator never wanted to wish upon anyone else and he didn’t care if that made him a wuss along as he was alive. Then again, the sheer exhilaration of flight coupled with the floating sensation of free-fall was something that everyone he knew should try at least once – it was awesome!

“Bravo! Go!” Darryn yelled to his partner as the speeding Aerodactyl plummeted towards one of the great ring-road tunnels of Petropolis. The move was an extremely risky one for the large dinosaur Pokemon as the underground passage would only hinder its movement as its wing span was so large but, then again, Darryn’s new Pidgeot would have a similar problem - for Bravo to be able to carry Darryn in flight, his natural larger-than-average state had transferred once more with his evolution. Even so, with a lump in his throat and a jackhammer in his chest, Darryn pressed Bravo into a chasing stoop.

Lights flashed by in dazzling streaks of brilliant orange, white and red that threatened to distract Darryn from his hold around Bravo’s powerful neck but with his experience of the irrational nature of Emotaglows behind him, the Co-Ordinator didn’t have too much to worry about there. What he did need to worry about was the street lamp directly in his path.

“Bank!” Darryn pulled up on Bravo’s right wing, sending them left, while Douken and Sabre dodged right ahead of them. Several long golden feathers clipped the light and flickered away towards the ground but thankfully no-one was hurt.

“PidGEO!” Bravo screamed up to his rider and Darryn instantly felt ashamed. The Pokemon under him was becoming irritated that his trainer was ‘piloting’ him and not leaving trust in the Flying-type’s abilities. The red in Darryn’s cheeks wasn’t seen but he felt the sting of it loud and clear. Softly, he slowly loosened the death-grip that he had taken on Bravo’s shoulders and lowered his chest into the bird’s back.

“OK, Bravo.” He said loudly enough for the Pidgeot to hear. “I trust you – go get ‘em!”

“GEOOOOH!” Bravo’s cry was accompanied by a swirling of wind from behind him and the Skarmory gliding ahead as his Tailwind attack was unleashed. The pressure from behind them was like someone giving Darryn and his Pokemon a hard shove in the back as their speed was enhanced and the cars around them began flashing by at an even more alarming rate.

Darryn ducked his head low as they began to gain on the Aerodactyl and the exit of the tunnel approached.

[Toogee]

The honking horns of cars in standstill rang through Pan’s ears as she continued to speed through the tunnel. The aerodactyl took note of the pidgeot chasing after her and increased her speed. However, increased traffic made the cramped quarters even more so. Rather than maneuver through the air, the ancient pokemon opted to run across the roofs of the cars. Occasional flaps of her wings allowed her to leap from car to car, even those on opposite side of the tunnel. Agility became an important move: the car platforming reminded a few onlookers of a speed run through a Mario game. This also made for a rougher ride for Pan. The researcher was jostled up and down like a bull rider, flinging one of her shoes towards Darryn. Luckily, she didn’t join her footwear; Pan continued to lay forward to keep hanging on. The string of “oompfs” and “umpfs” indicated that the ride was becoming quite the struggle.

Pan looked behind her to see that she was not alone in the dark tunnel. “Darryn?!” Before she could continue, traffic started moving once more. The aerodactyl’s platforming sped up. As soon as she reached a big rig truck, the pokemon flapped her wings to leap over the vehicle. She ran across the roof of the trailer, just inches from the roof. But the creature had not forgotten about her passenger, who was slowing her down. A small leap caused Pan to hit the tunnel’s ceiling, eliciting a pained gasp. This caused her to let go, almost tumbling off the pokemon’s side. One arm remained around the aerodactyl’s neck, allowing Pan to pull herself back up as the beast took flight once more to the tunnel’s exit.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily!”
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Back at the other end of the tunnel, Professor Stone hovered over the passing cars. As he waited for the aerodactyl to approach, he proposed his idea to both Lyla and Douken.

“When the aerodactyl exits, we’ll hold her off here. With Darryn covering the rear, we should be able to hold her off from flying away. Douken, we’ll need your skarmory and Darryn’s pidgeot to bring her down to a clear area. I’ll get Pan in the car.”

It was a rough plan, but it was something. It would have worked far better if they had more flyers on their side. Still, two strong flyers could distract the aerodactyl long enough for Stone to get Pan out. This would free the others to use attacks for assistance.

There was just one problem with the plan: it assumed that the aerodactyl actually cared that anything stood in her way. Quite the contrary: the aerial predator charged forward with a headbutt for a devastating collision with Stone’s car. “Holy karp, brace yourselves!” Stone shouted, holding on tightly to the steering wheel, hoping the seatbelts would help them survive a nasty midair flip over incoming traffic.

Or at least, that’s what would have happened had the aerodactyl not pulled up at the last second. Pan had used the silk scarf to pull up upon the pokemon’s neck, forcing her upward and higher into the sky. The car only suffered a minor clip, though it did lose a side mirror as a result.

“Good thing I sprung for the insurance,” the professor thought to himself. He looked over to the side to make sure Lyla and the other pokemon were alright.

Meanwhile, it was quite clear to the aerodactyl that Pan was becoming an obstacle to her freedom. The ancient pokemon sought to get rid of Pan once and for all: she started flying upside down. Pan let out a small scream as her body slipped off the aerodactyl. Her feet were dangling hundreds of feet in the air. Though she was hanging off the silk scarf, silk wasn’t exactly the best of materials for this sort of thing. The aerodactyl was choking under Pan's weight. This was becoming a battle of endurance between Pan's upper body strength and the aerodactyl's supply of oxygen.

“Distract the aerodactyl! I’ll swoop underneath!” As Stone issued the commands, the car sped forward. The speedometer was maxed out as he raced to rescue Pan before it was too late.

[Douken Sota]

It seems that combining Agility, Tailwind, and a small body, Douken was able to zoom right past the dinosaur as she was just about to run like Mario on the roof of cars. Oh, how much he wished that none of them crashed from the dino's feet. Still, he was able to meet up with the professor and Lyla way before they got out, which gave him an idea on how much longer it would take them to get out of the tunnel, as well as catch his breath from the open Gs he took.

"Professor! Lyla!" Douken called, seeing the bird decided to speed up and got out sooner than he expected. Still, they seemed fine: car took the most damage. However, now the Aerodactyl was flying upside down above the city streets. "Why does that remind me of our first flight?" he asked Sabre, who gave out a silent chuckle. ""I hope you can save your life, cause i am sure she has some friends out there who would kill you if you let her die. Sabre, lets get above her belly."

With another strong flap of his wings, the bird soared quickly in the air, Douken immediately feeling the pressure on his chest before they quickly saw the targeted region. "Sabre," he struggled to say from the speed. "Use Swift on the belly. Try to avoid the neck." With a battle cry ringing in the air, the Armor Bird Pokemon's wing flaps brought out waves of stars, bombarding the upside down bird. Hope this counts as a good distraction.