[X] My Assistant

[The Rose Crusade...]

"Oh, why I do believe he is single," Melinda explained, winking at the youthful Nurse Joy. Melinda and Darck followed a good distance behind Darryn and Jaima before they disappeared into the darkness. The dark night sky was pitch black, only lighted by the glimmer of the stars and a few oddly spaced street lamps on the roads. A small breeze shivered Mindy's bones as the girl put her hands on her shoulders. Melinda hadn't thought of bringing her jacket with her and it was to late to turn back now. Anyways, the couple was just walking aimlessly through the town, so Mindy would have to pull out her PokéGear and map her way back.

The rest of Lenoilia was just as horribly nauseating as what they had seen before. Rotting garbage flowed through the streams that lead deep into the underground sewers. It was like the gang had stumbled into a toxic waste dump or something. Whenever Melinda thought she saw someone, the figure immediately disappeared into the shadows. It seemed to her that the people of Lenoilia knew better than to be walking around in the dead of night. Melinda and Darck continued around the desolate city trying to find something of interest that they could investigate. It was only when Mindy heard a small explosion amidst the cries of pokemon did the Melinda and Darck rush off in the direction of the whimpering. Their pokeballs were at hand and ready as the two prepared for a fight.

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima's disgust with the city was not well hidden, and it wasn't long before he'd recalled both Ember and Shadow into their pokeballs. Despite Darryns companionability, Jaima tended to shy away from too much closeness. He was afraid that Darryn would think he had personally insulted Jaima (he hadn't) or that the blonde trainer still didn't trust Lady (he didn't, but that wasn't why he shied away). The actual reason was much more visceral.

Jaima hadn't showered yet, and he was positive he reeked to Mt. Coronet.

The trip was uneventful, save for an occurance with a spinarak that had Jaima fighting laughter, as well as reminding him of his sister (who, until very recently, was terrified of bug-type pokemon). Though he really wanted to tell, he promised he wouldn't, "so long as you don't ever cross me," he added in his most menacing tone.

He could have sworn he heard the vulpix giggle.

When they reached their destination, Jaima's misgivings came to the front. "Maybe we should come back later," he whispered as they crossed the threshold. His further arguments were interrupted by a single voice.

"Well well well... Look what the purugly dragged in..."

((Ooc: sorry it took me so long, I've been in a networking class all week.))

[Living Arrow]

"Well well well... Look what the purugly dragged in..."

Darryn was just to reply to Jaima when the raspy voice materialised from the gloom accompanied by a shuffling of heavy feet. Even in the dim light, Darryn could make out the grizzled man that presented himself to the pair of trainers, his hands rubbing over each other with dry strokes and he dry-washed his dirty digits. The nails on those hands were so cracked and flaky that Darryn had to stop himself from coughing with disgust.

"Some trainers, yes?" The man's eyes flashed between Darry, Jaima and Lady with little flicks as he drank in the sight of them. His short stature and clumsy build put Darryn in mind of an old Politoed that had spent too much time in the sun and become shriveled and crispy. "Been quite a while since we've had any trainers, hmm? Welcome to my Rock Polish Rewards, yes?"

"Uh, yeah!" Darryn held up the flyer. "I found this and thought you might be able to help with my Pokemon?"

"A Vulpix, is it?" The man's eyes dashed to Lady and up to Darryn very quickly. "Oh yes, I've helped with a Vulpix before!"

"No, no!" Darryn hastily waved his arms and hoped that Lady wouldn't take any offense to the suggestion that she needed 'help'. "Not my Vulpix. I have an Eevee and thought maybe he could be given a hand in evolving - he's got some behavioural issues that need to be ironed out."

"Eevee, yes? Well you're in the right place, hmm? We help you here... but you?" He looked to Jaima and scanned the other trainer over. "You have a Pokemon that needs to evolve, hmm? I help you, too?"

[Master Houndoom]

"Ah... no," Jaima said, scratching the back of his head, nervously. "I'm just hear with my friend." He took a step back, hoping to put the man's focus back on Darryn. He checked his pokégear, more for a way to take attention from him than anything, since the system was still down. As he waited, smiling stiffly when the man's attention came back to him briefly, he thought of his kids, especially Tsunami, and what was happening with them.

* * * * *

Mercury gazed at the mudkip, who was currently, and patiently, enduring Fang's playful batting. She liked the little pokémon, though she noticed that the water type tired easily. But Grondii had explained that the little new one had been sick sick sick, and now was better but still had to get over being sick sick sick. It was very bad, or had been, but now it was getting better.

Trainer Jaima had left the new pokémon with Grondii, Fang, and her, to help her get used to being owned. And the new pokémon was scared for a while, but the nurse (who blushed when thinking about Trainer Jaima) was very very nice to all of them, and Mercury got to tell Tsumami all about how much Trainer Jaima was a good person, and that they hardly EVER had to go into their pokéballs if they didn't want to.

Shadow was in his ball right now, and he didn't like it, but he trusted Trainer Jaima too. Maybe she should check on Trainer Jaima.

...

Something is wrong. She floated to Grondii and tried to get him to see how wrong something was, it was wrong and bad and wrong! Grondii didn't make her go away, but also said they couldn't do anything about it. Still, something was wrong. Maybe Mindy's new friend could help...

* * * * *

Jaima waited, patiently (which was a feat, as he never liked to wait) when the idea struck him. Maybe a training machine would be good...

Grondii and Tsumami are Mercury's pet names for the two, and not mispelling.

[Living Arrow]

"Well, we help here, yes?" The man reached out and laid a crusty palm on Darryn's arm, leading him to the far side of the dimly lit room where a simple wooden table stood, covered with a dark cloth. The fabric bulged in places, signalling that objects were hidden underneath its shadowed form.

"I-er, yes." Darryn stuttered, uncomfortable thoughts danced through his mind at the little man's touch. Darryn really hated body contact from complete strangers - especially ugly old men. Lady seemed to share his worries as her little face grimaced while she followed them to the table.

"Good, good. You see, we help many types of Pokemon get stronger here but I specialise in evolution, hmm? It is all very well and good providing a power-boosting item to make a Pokemon a tad stronger but complete evolution gives us the best results, oh yes it does." He swept the cloth from the long table, revealing an array of all different sorts of items. Darryn took each one in as quickly as possible, trying to identify any of the many pieces as anything other than junk. A rag here, a cd there. Something that looked like a red box with a skull on. A yellowed old tooth. Then he saw them. At the end of the table, completely seperate from the rest of the items was an array of colourful stones. Even in the dark Darryn could make out the translucent appearance of images within the gems, encased in coloured crystal.

"We take this for example," the man plucked at the yellow stone on the table and twirled it between his fingers. An orange flame seemed to dance within the gem, marking it clearly for what it was.

"A Fire Stone." Darryn mumbled.

"Yes yes! Fire Stone!" THe man agreed, his rasping voice taking on some fitful excitement. "With this we make your Vulpix evolve!"

"VUL!" Lady screamed instantly and hissed, the hair on her back rising menacingly and her tails swaying dangerously over her head.

<Ugly. Old. EVIL.>

"Lady!" Darryn admonished her, giving her a stern look and turning back to the man. "No, I don't want Lady to evolve. Like I said, I have an Eevee - he's the one that I want to evolve."

"But a Ninetails so beautiful... rare... valuble..." The ma muttered darkly.

"Yes, but I am happy with Lady the way she is. My Eevee just needs a little boost to be the best he can be - at the moment he's struggling a bit." Darryn insisted. The man cast him a wry look and kept darting glances at Lady who had still not calmed down completely.

"Ok, I leave you to look around the shop, hmm? You let me know when you find what you need, hmm?" The man offered, backing away from Darryn and Lady slightly.

"Uh sure, thanks," Darryn smiled, secretly shuddering on the inside before looking back at the table and trying to decide what it was that he wanted to do with Eevee...

[Master Houndoom]

The commotion had caught Jaima's attention. This wasn't overly difficult, since there was nothing to look at. All the interesting things seemed to be on the long table. In truth, Jaima had no desire to force his pokémon to evolve, but he understood that some of them needed to evolve to get stronger, and needed to be made to do so, rather than doing so naturally, as Darryn's Metapod did.

Even so, by the reaction from both Darryn and Lady, she wasn't eager to change, and, more importantly, he wasn't about to force her to do it. This upped the respect Jaima had for the beautification student quite a bit.

Jaima stepped up next to his friend and spoke to him in low tones. "You know, eevee evolve in a lot of different ways... They don't all involve stones." He chewed his lip, then came right out with his reservations. "I don't trust this guy. He seems a little... off." Shrugging, Jaima smirked. "He keeps staring at my balls." Darryn blinked at him, and Jaima's eyes slammed closed. "My... pokéballs... on my belt..."

"But if you want my opinion, I suggest water, electricity, or dark. Water's tough, electricity will take advantage of the training you've given him, and... well... dark's just cool."

This post has been edited by Jaima: Mar 24 2009, 03:17 PM

[Living Arrow]

Darryn snorked a laugh at Jaima's 'balls' comment and listened to his advice on Eeveelution.

"Yeah, all those sound cool but I hear that the rarest of them all are native to certain areas of the Sinnoh region and this shop has fragments of the rocks that induce those particular lines..." Darryn frowned. "I never thought making this decision would be so hard..."

As Darryn discussed Eevee's potential pathways with Jaima and took his Pokedex to help them research the possibilities concerned, Lady began to snoop. She padded quietly away from her trainer to look around the rest of the dank room to see if there was anything worth her attention in the grotty hovel. She trotted to the far end of the room, keeping well away from the disgusting old fool near the door, and leapt up to the the nearest table top to get a better look around.

Under her feet on a yellowed piece of paper was a hastily scrawled letter, written in spider-like handwriting, that caused her to frown down at it for some time. A casual onlooker may have thought that the little fox was reading the message but anyone else would know that the once wild creature had no idea how to read the words inscribed under her nose. Her eyes glazed for a moment as a weak Extrasensory passed over it and she shivvered. The paper seemed cold and angry. Emotions were wrought through its fabric that made her want to cry and shout at the same time but she still had no idea what it said - only that it wasn't nice at all. A human, however, would have seen the message and immediately left the shop.

[Mr. Horsham,

Please find enclosed the latest list of Pokemon desired by 'the Boss'. Note that fire types are the must-have this season and fully evolved forms will be richly rewarded.]

That was how the first couple of lines read but all Lady saw was a page of ugly scribbles and ink spots. She gave a nonchalant shrugs and pounced from the table to return to Darryn as unimpressed with her surroundings as before.

<Flareon. The Flame Pokemon.> The Pokedex intoned as Darryn continued to cycle through the options. So far he had been impressed with Jaima's current favourite - Umbreon - and had loved the sleek look of the water evolution, Vaporeon.

"Flareon, yes?" The scabby old man returned to the trainers in an instant, his hunched form sneaking up to them with no warning. Darryn flicnhed and almost dropped his Pokedex altogether.

"Well, I haven't decided," he said to the man politely, "there's so much to consider..."

"Ah, I see..." The man's shifty eyes darted around the room. "Well, I have many things to benefit any fire Pokemon, hmm? Do you have any more with you? If I see them, maybe I can provide some assistance to increase their attack power, yes?"

Darryn tilted his head. "Uh, aside from Lady? Uh? Well, Jaima has a Cyndaquil, right?" He offered his friend a 'whats-the-worst-that-could-happen?' shrug and nodded towards his Pokeballs.

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima rolled his eyes and plucked the brown and tan pokéball from the bandolier. He had an uneasy feeling, but it felt almost as if it were outside of himself. He was just being paranoid, and the peddler's unclean, overeager look wasn't helping at all.

He pressed the button on the front and allowed the ball to open and dispense it's energy, which coalesced into the form of a cyndaquil. Ember blinked up and looked around the place. She looked dubious, but the peddler rubbed his hands together gleefuly.

"It does things, yes? Show me it's power, and I can help you, hmm?" He didn't look at the trainers, but rather kept his eyes flickering between the cyndaquil and the vulpix. Jaima thought he might be drooling a bit, but hid his distaste.

"She's not well trained. She's not much of a fighter at all, really. I've been lax in her training. But she's got some spark," he added hastily, not wanting to seem like Ember was a weakling. In truth, he knew his lack of training made her less likely to battle.

"Spark, is it?" He knelt down, and Jaima almost stepped forward. "With proper training, she could be a powerhouse, yes?"

"I'm sure of it," Jaima said, confidently. Ember seemed to enjoy the confidence.

"I have just the thing," the peddler said, his voice still. "Wait here, I will get it, yes?"

Without waiting for an answer, the man stepped into the back. Jaima felt his spine straighten in agitation.

"Look, maybe we should go on, wait until we get to Arasa--"

"Douse them, douse them, yes? Knock them out and bring them to me!"

From the back room burst a full team of pokémon. A machoke stepped forward, cracking it's knuckles. Behind it came a kadabra, crackling with psychic energy, and a fat golbat, leering down at them. A graveller stepped out as well, cracking it's massive stone knuckles. Leading them was a poliwrath, which swept Ember and Lady against the wall with a massive Water Gun attack.

* * * * *

Mercury had backed against the wall, her eyes wide but blank. Nurse Joy had no idea what to do, and the kind trainer's bulbasaur, the little ralts' teammate, wouldn't let her near.

nonononobadnonononoscarynonoshadowtrainerjaimanonono MIIIIIIIIIIINDDYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! MISSSSYYYY!!! The last part of her mental stream came out as a cry, and the ralts leapt into the air, and vanished, leaving the bulbasaur and the Nurse staring at each other in shock.

[Living Arrow]

"Hey, wha-!" Darryn yelled, moving towards where Lady and Ember had been thrown by the Water Gun attack. His path was instantly blocked by a large purple mass and before he could look up...

"Vital Throw!"

The Machoke hurled Darryn clear across the room where he slammed into the far wall and fell to the ground, gasping for breath. The sound of rushing feet could be heard as Jaima moved to defend him but the Poliwrath and Graveller had cornered the blonde on the other side of the room.

Darryn groaned as he blinked away his daze and strained to ignore the powerful throbbing in his back and side.

"What do you think you're-" He started.

"Air Cutter!" The Golbat was suddenly filling his view. Darryn raised his arms to defend himself at the tearing wind descended but an unanounced flash of light revealed all three of his other Pokemon screaming their defiance as they took the attack instead.

"Everyone, attack together!" He helplessly ordered, sending his tiny Pokemon into the fray with the evolved beasts that filled the room. There was nothing else he could do but watch as his Pokemon fought desperately to protect their trainer in the most dire of situations. He scanned the area where Lady had originally fell but there was no sign of the firefox amid all of the confusion.
Pidgey was thrown upwards into the ceiling by a Psychic attack, Metapod crushed under a Karate Chop and Eevee pelted by a ferocious Wing Attack all so fast that Darryn barely had time to blink. Flashes of light came from where Jaima was battling, too, but Darryn couldn't see past the large shapes around him to really see what was going on.

"Jaima! We've got to get out! Can you see Lady or Ember?!" He yelled, hoping that somehow the other trainer had managed to defend the pair that had been caught so badly off guard.

This post has been edited by Living Arrow: Mar 27 2009, 05:49 PM

[Master Houndoom]

"No!" Jaima was backed in a corner by the massive graveler, who's partner seemed reluctant to fire off any more water with the stone/ground pokémon in front of it. He couldn't see around it, so he couldn't see if Ember was OK, and his heart was pounding in his chest as he groped for the last pokéball on his bandolier. Finally finding it, he released Shadow.

The little riolu took one look at the big stone pokémon and paused. Then he grinned, cracked his knuckles, and launched himself at the rock pokémon. With a mighty kick, he managed to back it up a step, but the poliwrath behind it stepped forward and launched a punch at Jaima. Shadow leapt backwards when he heard his trainer huff, and punished the poliwrath with a kick to the... body... part... thing.

The poliwrath grabbed the riolu and flung him into the air, grabbing him and slamming Shadow to the ground. He was stunned, but not out, not yet. The Graveler converged with the poliwrath and concentrated on helping to pummel the riolu.

You stay 'way from Shadow and Trainer Jaima!

All action seemed to stop as the tiny, blue ralts appeared from nowhere. She used the distraction admirably, picking up leaves from the mulch and crud on the floor and launching it toward the two pokémon, staggering them just enough to let Shadow escape and recover, all the while, mentally howling badbadbadbadbadbadbad!.

The graveller sneered and rolled toward Mercury, who floated straight up with a gasp. He came to a stop next to Jaima, and the world darkened, flashed bright white briefly, and went black.

[Living Arrow]

"Damn it!" Darryn cursed just as his Metapod went flying past his face. Her stiff body smshed into the wall before sliding to the ground and hanging limp next to him. He was about to reach out to her when Pidgey plopped down alongside his fallen team mate, fathers filling the air as they puffed out of his body.

"No!" Darryn gasped, gathering them up in his arms and retreating to the wall, away from the advancing Pokemon. Somehow, Eevee was still on his feet. The little puppy seemed to be breathing very heavily though as the battle he had been fighting had been very tough, indeed. His tiny frame was swept up in an aura of blue light as the Kadabra used Confusion and flung him to the side brutally. The ball of brown fur tumbled end over end to lay in a heap near the opposite wall.
Darryn moved to rescue him but the Machoke made a sudden advance, blocking him off from the Evolution Pokemon. Darryn turned his body just in time to protect the Pokemon in his arms and received a Karate Chop to the back that threw him to the ground and knocked the wind from him completely. Gasping desperately for air, he rolled over to find the Machoke coming again, a massive fist drawn back for a mighty Dynamic Punch.

"Reeee!" Eevee appeared from nowhere, springing to take the blow, instead.

"Protect!"

The green bubble appeared just in time, the Machoke's fist flashing against the hard surface. Even though Eevee felt no direct pain from the impact, he was still thrown clear of Darryn once more to crash into the long table that he had been looking at before. All of the items on the table were thrown up, into the air where they rained down across the room.

"Get away from me!" Darryn yelled at the three Pokemon that were now surrounding him, malicious intent in their eyes. The way they moved showed that they had no such intention. On they came, menacing shapes in the dark that chilled Darryn right to the core.

"PIDGE!"
"META!"

The Pokemon in Darryn's hands struggled free of his grasp and leapt towards their foes with screams of defiance. With a brilliant white flash, the pair of Pokemon surged towards Darryn's attackers and began to change shape...

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima couldn't have been out for too long. The fight was still raging. His left cheek was on fire, causing all other sensations to recede to the background. There was water and pebbles on the floor around him, on top of the debris they'd walked in on. He could hear the sound of exhertion, but couldn't open his eyes.

Mercury's here. Shadow's out. Where's Ember? She was hit. Water.

No! Leave Trainer Jaima 'lone!

He could feel the exertion even as a damp hand clawed at his shoulder. He yanked away, sending a wave of dizziness and nausea through him. He pushed himself to his hands and knees and opened one eye.

Shadow leapt into, then through, his field of vision, and Jaima heard a distinctive crunch sound before the riolu flew back through, limp and out of control. He tried to follow, but his neck protested, even as the blue pokémon recovered and came back, attacking again.

A wave of confusion ripped past him, making his head swim worse, but a wet, gurgling roar behind him said that the attack hit it's intended target. Jaima tried to crawl away, only for his arms to give out.

His cheek hit something, on the side that hurt. Something round, and open. Plastic or metal. It cut his cheek, and he moved his hand to brush it away.

He opened his eyes again, and a distinctive tan met them, with steel grey above it. Ember. The thought caused his eyes to open more, hoping to see how his pokémon was.

It wasn't his pokémon. It was her pokéball. Specifically, the lower half. The metal piece was the hinge, which had broken.

Broken..? NO!

Jaima shot up, ignoring the nausea, casting about for Ember. The wet hand grabbed him again, and Jaima grabbed it, pulling it into a spin and tossing it and the body it was attached to away, in desperation.

Trainer Jaima? Mercury's psychic voice was shakey, weak, but Jaima didn't register it. Instead, he kept searching, stumbling because of his headache.

"Ember! Ember!" He cast about, but couldn't find the fire pokémon anywhere. The hand grabbed him, turning him to face an angry poliwrath, who punched Jaima in the stomach and sent him flying. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. A flash, like before, but brighter and longer in duration, blinded him, forching his eyes closed. He couldn't open them again. He was so tired...

I told you to leave Trainer Jaima and Shadow alone. Now you've really ticked me off!

The voice, Jaima thought as he blacked out again, was familiar, but at the same time, not so much. He caught a flash of blue and white, whirling around the poliwrath, before he fell and dropped into darkness once more.

[Living Arrow]

"Pidge-o-ttooooooo!"
"Freeeee!"

Darryn clapped his hands to his ears as one of his newly evolved Pokemon began to scream. Their shrieks of desperation were falling on ears that were FAR from deaf but were certainly pushing them in that direction.
With mighty beats of their wings, the two Pokemon kicked up a swirling Whirlwind that lifted up the Kadabra and Machoke, flinging them to the far wall and pinning them there like ragdolls. Darryn grinned before yelling his support for his freshly evolved pair, urging them to fight hard and strong. That was, however, until the Golbat came surging towards him, fangs glimmering like knives.

From his position on the ground, Eevee couldn't really see all of what was going on but did manage to witness his partners' evolution. He watched with awe as they battled back against their foes and turned the tide of the battle with a simple combination and envied them for their power. A flash of shadows from the corner of his eye announced the reappearance of the Golbat, this time attacking Darryn! Energy surged to Eevee's feet and he dashed to defend his master. He jumped the fragment of table, skidded to a halt between the bat and Darryn before barking a simple 'Vee!' and stamping on the stone that had fallen off the display.

Brilliant white light consumed the Evolution Pokemon as he evolved, growing larger and stronger, his fur extending out into strong points, his legs becoming thinner and firmer.

"Jolteon!" He announced his new form, spitting a lightning bolt from his mouth with alarming ferocity, nailing the flying Pokemon to the ceiling where it crackled and fried under the electrical attack.

Darryn danced for joy, punching the air with enthusiasm.

"That's right! Do it, guys! Show 'em what you're made of!"

[Master Houndoom]

There was dancing on the other side of the room as well, but not in joy. This dance was a dance of combat, a dance of life and death. Mercury whirled around the poliwrath, dodging it's swiped as she spun around and around it. As she did, leaves strewn in from the street rose in her wake, glowing with otherworldly power, forming clouds and spinning around her like her gauzy skirt-like tails. When she stopped, they continued, breaking into three distinct groupings.

One flew at the poliwrath, cutting it and sending it back. That is for Shadow!

Another whirled and flew, knocking it down. That is for Trainer Jaima!

A third, this one followed with a ripple of air as she followed the magical leaves with a confusion attack. And that is for Ember!

She landed on the ends of her legs, casting about. It was time to deal with the rock.

But the rock was being dealt with. With a screech, Shadow leapt up, slamming a paw into the rock in an uppercut almost worthy of a fighting game, sending it crashing back. The graveler tried to stand, but Shadow bounced from the wall, landing on it with a kick between the eyes.

Jaima dashed past them, heedless of their victories, and Mercury followed, feeling Shadow on her skirttails. The trainer stumbled through the curtain and hit the wall, just as Ember wailed. A bright nimbus of light surrounded her, and she was drawn into a black and green pokéball. The man, wrinkled and grinning gleefully, cackled as he saw Jaima. "Too late, yes! Caught her. You broke her ball, hmm? She's mine now!"

Jaima's lips quivered, and he charged the man, tripping and missing, but knocking a second pokéball away from the vulpix nearby. He stood to his feet, his fists clenched. Long, straggley hair hung in his face in limp clumps, and he glared at the man through a part in the vine-like hanging in front of his eyes.

"Give her back."

"Too late," the man said, scooping up the ball. "It's only fair, yes? The ball breaks, and a new catch is made."

"GIVE. HER. BACK!"

The man sneered and produced a voltorb, which quivered in his palm. Without a word he tossed it in the middle of the room. Instinct took over for Jaima, and he reached out, grabbing the groggy vulpix by the scruff and tossing her into Mercury and Shadow, diving after her when the ball exploded.

When the dust cleared, the man, and Ember, were gone.

"Dammit," Jaima whispered brokenly, and though Mercury and Shadow clung to him, he could only stare into the doorway where his first pokémon had disappeared.

[Living Arrow]

"GIVE. HER. BACK!"

Darryn's head whipped around to see the old man dashing away, leaving a stunned Jaima to stare after his stolen Cyndaquil. A massive pang of pity flashed through Darryn as he saw the pain stricken expression explode across Jaima's face - a look of utter despair as his Pokemon was stolen away from him. Darryn's attention was snapped away again almost immediately as his new Jolteon went dashing past, chasing down the Golbat to attack it once more.

<The theft.> Lady suddenly announced in Darryn's head, her proud nose pointing in his direction. She seemed to have recovered at least a little from the surprise attack that had caught her so offguard and was radiating angry thoughts towards her trainer. <Defeat the weak and ugly.>

Darryn bit his lip. Yes, he really wanted to run and help Jaima and get Ember back, but there was no way he could just leave his other Pokemon to battle with no support. He'd need to finish the battle quickly and cleanly... But he knew so little about his new Pokemon... But maybe there was one way to finish it as smoothly as possible...

"Butterfree! Use Sleep Powder!" He commanded. "Everyone else get out of here!"

Jolteon spat lightning onto the Golbat once more, shocking it into the path of Pidgeotto who threw it into the Kadabra and Machoke with a mighty Whirlwind. As one, the pair shot out through the open doorway as Butterfree began to spin, the scales on her wings fragmenting and shattering to release a heavy dose of sleep-inducing dust into the small shop. Darryn ran to collect Lady, scooping her up in his arms, and ushered Jaima and his Pokemon towards the nearest exit.

"Jaima! Go go! We can still catch him if we hurry!" Darryn urged his friend to take up pursuit as the final Pokemon fell under Butterfree's sleepy spell.

This post has been edited by Living Arrow: Apr 5 2009, 01:43 PM

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima shuddered, then surged to his feet, panting. Darryn's shout seemed to come from far away, but the message still spurred him on. They could catch him. They could get Ember back.

Trainer Jaima!

Jaima almost ignored Mercury's mental summons, but it was so full of panic that he turned anyway. Shadow was dragging his leg, determined to keep fighting, but obviously injured. Mercury floated next to him, worried to touch him lest she hurt him.

Panic welled in his own throat. "Can you teleport him back to the nurse?" He fell to his knees next to Shadow, who bared his teeth as Jaima reached for him.

He won't let me! Mercury sounded distraught.

Time was wasting. Ember was getting further away. Finally, Jaima scooped up the riolu and the kirlia. "Darryn! Shadow's hurt! See if Lady will consent to contacting Mercury if you find him, and she'll lead me back once I have Shadow situated!"

Eeeewww, Mercury mindwhined, even as Jaima dashed off, clutching her and a struggling Shadow.

This post has been edited by Jaima: Apr 6 2009, 03:19 PM

[Living Arrow]

Darryn balked for a moment. He felt so shockling honored and yet horrified all in one instant. Jaima trusted him to find Ember on his own? Darryn could see that Shadow was injured but that was what a Pokeball was for in Darryn's book. Pokemon gets hurt, put it in a ball, go to a Pokemon Center when you're ready. Simple as that. And yet Jaima was keen to get the Riolu treated as quickly as humanly possible. He really *did* care for Pokemon on a whole different level than Darryn. Maybe it was a good thing he was so close to his partners? That sort of bond would have to take quite some time to build up so maybe that was why Darryn didn't feel as strongly...

"Sure, Jaima..." Darryn called after the other trainer who was running back towards the Pokemon Center. "I'll get her back... And you'll help, won't you Lady?" The Vulpix gave a solemn nod after a brief pause. "So let's get started! Pidgeotto! Up - scout for that old guy from the air. You too, Butterfree!"

The two flying types immediately swept up into the dark sky, shadows ghosting across the stars.

"OK. Now, Lady - is there any way for you to try and track why this guy was going? Maybe using Extrasensory?" Darryn hoped for a miracle but got none.

<Ugly has no presence in my mind.> She told him, her chestnut eys ablaze with fury.

"Right... Jolteon? Do you have any techniques that might help track down Ember?" Darryn asked. His Pokemon looked extremely forlorn as he weakly shook his head and averted his gaze to the ground. "Don't worry, Jolteon - Pidgeotto and Butterfree will do their best. Try not to worry too much, OK? Let's start searching with our eyes, yeah? Looking the old fashioned way might just work. Let's split up and meet back here in about an hour. Sound good?"

The pair of canines nodded to their trainer before bounding off in separate directions. Darryn watched them go until all he could hear was the faint chime of Lady's Soothe Bell before he also ran down the nearest street, hoping desperately that somehow he could find Jaima's stolen Cyndaquil.

[Master Houndoom]

Ember's out there, Ember's out there, Ember's out there

It was a litany that repeated with every step he took. Shadow was hurt, Mercury was tired, and still all he could think was that Ember was out there, somewhere, scared, in the clutches of an evil man willing to kill people and pokémon, who had who knew what in mind for her.

He felt cold against his cheeks as he ran, and realized he must be crying.

Ember would understand. The words caressed his mind, but did nothing to calm him. The words were true. He recognized the conviction in the sentence. A hundred images flashed past him that confirmed it, from Ember stepping forward to protect one of the younger members of the team, to the time she jumped into battle against Lemonade when Fang was knocked out, to the simply motherly way she looked at them all, even Grondir.

But he couldn't get the feeling out of his mind, that he was betraying her. He could have put Shadow in his pokéball and continued the chase. But who knew how long he would languish in there? There was no evidence that being in a pokéball reduced or eliminated pain felt, in fact, poison affects lingered even while the pokémon was in the ball. He couldn't take the risk. He wouldn't take the risk.

And Ember would approve of that. If she knew, or if she found out after he got her back, she would approve of Jaima making sure Shadow was safe and healed and well before he went after her.

He set off an explosion with a pokémon in an enclosed room. A powerful one. He probably trained the pokémon not to hold back and kill itself to set off an explosion. What is that monster doing to Ember?!

Calm.

How can I be calm? How can I calm down in the face of this?

You have to calm down, you're holding us too tight!

Jaima took a breath, loosened his grip, and turned the corner. He saw the pokécenter and sprinted ahead, bursting through the door as they opened.

The Nurse behind the camera gave a startled squeak, reaching for something behind the counter before recognizing the trainer bursting into the center.

"Mr. Kuonji! What's wrong?"

Jaima put Shadow on the counter, painting, hanging off of if, trying to catch his breath. He couldn't speak, but the efficiency of the nurse willed out. She began examining the riolu, despite the fact that he was baring his teeth and growling at her.

Calm down, Shadow. Don't bite the Nurse, Shadow. Stop trying to force palm her, Shadow. CUT IT OUT, YOU LITTLE RUNT!

Mercury put her hands tro her small mouth, looking stricken, but the last outburst must have worked. Shadow stopped struggling and let the Nurse check on him. If he seemed stricken, the Nurse didn't touch on it.

I'm sorry, Shadow, I'm sorry...

"He's broken his leg. Your r- OH!" The Nurse made a double take. "This is the little ralts, right? But she's not a ralts, she's evolved! Congratulations!" When Jaima simply looked at her, as if she'd suggested he put an injured pokémon in a pokéball (as if she'd ever suggest such cruelty). After a few moments of awkward silence, she licked her lips.

"Mr. Kuonji, is something... is something wrong?" The trembling in her voice brought about a clenching of Jaima's jaw. "I-I'm sorry if I did or... or said--"

"Someone stole Ember. My cyndaquil. Someone stole her right out from under me. While I was standing there."

The Nurse put a hand to her mouth in stunned silence. She looked as if she were going to weep, but Jaima simply stared at his clenched fist.

"I'll watch after this one, Mr. Kuonji. Please go and see if you can find her." She did let tears slip down her face, then, but otherwise continued with her examination.

Jaima stood, then growled. "Fang! Grondir! We need you!" Jaima looked at Mercury, who was still watching Shadow, who was still looking away. She straightened. I'm ready..

Grondir and Fang stepped up, and Mercury looked at them, bringing them up to speed. They reacted and bristled, and, without another word, Jaima and the rest of his team dashed out the door.

Nurse Joy wept.

This post has been edited by Jaima: Apr 7 2009, 06:00 PM

[The Rose Crusade...]

Melinda and Darck stopped rushing toward the site of the commotion as they stumbled upon a peculiar scene. They had entered a decrepit junkyard: rotting garbage and old automobiles in pyramids surrounded them. The contaminated river that the couple had seen early on in Lenoilia made reappeared, this time cutting through the dump. There was a massive gathering of pokemon at what seemed to be a platform on which one pokemon was raised above the rest. Melinda hadn't recognized the particular species of pokemon they were observing. They weren't small, but certainly were not large, around two feet in length. They were like little green elves, all standing in a slow moving line, waiting for their chance to see the pokemon on the podium. It was their purple and black leaves that had initially confused Melinda, but it all became clear quickly.

Back in Floaroma Town, Melinda had many friends; both pokemon and human alike. Her best pokemon friend Combee always loved to play in the Roselia's land where she could pollinate known as the Floaroma Meadow. Melinda spent a lot of time in the Rose Grove, an extension of the Floaroma meadow, and knew some extensive information about the Roselia that inhabited it. For example, “Roselia seem to be peaceful Pokémon, but can attack fiercely with powerful poisonous attacks upon sensing danger”, was one of the many lines of information she remembered looking up in the Poképedia about Roselia. This particular species had always captured the mind and heart of Melinda. They were her favorite pokemon species. Melinda was convinced; she simply had to have one.

But these Roselia were different. The ones in the Rose Grove back in Floaroma were a more relaxed shade of green and had red and blue rose petals. The Roselia in Lenoilia town looked contaminated: their coloring had tints of yellow and their petals were purple and black. This would be expected, Melinda thought, of pokemon living in such a horrible destitute habitat. All of the pokemon must have deteriorated with the town as the pollution from Petropolis infected the once thriving city. As Melinda got up to advance towards the colony of Roselia, Darck stopped her.

“Shh,” he whispered. “Let’s see what they’re doing.” He had a point. There had to be a reason that all of the Roselia were gathered around another one. The couple stealthily made their way behind heaps of junk, trying to get closer and obtain a better view of this “ceremony”. As Melinda and Darck settled behind a few used up oil containers and observed the Roselia’s odd ritual.

[Living Arrow]

Fire burned in Darryn’s muscles as they screamed for more air, forcing his lungs to work into overdrive as he ran through Lenoilia. The darkened streets became endless corridors of black that mocked the trainer’s efforts to locate the stolen Pokemon. His ragged breaths snatched at the foul-tasting air and his teeth clamped tight as he focused on the task at hand.

I’ve got to find her! Jaima left it up to me! He told himself, sprinting to the next corner and taking a left. The hour he had given his own Pokemon was almost up but he was saving every possible second of that time in the hope that he could cover enough ground to locate the thief and rip him a new oesophagus. It was my fault we were even in that place! If we don’t get her back I don’t know what I’ll do… Jaima will hate me. Probably Mindy, too. It’s my faut!

“Free!” A shadow swept overhead as Darryn’s newly evolved Butterfree drew down towards him. He didn’t take time to notice her stunning appearance. He couldn’t see the perfect formation of the scales on her immaculately shaped scroll-style wings. He didn’t observe the way in which her delicately grown antennae bent and flexed with a mind of their own to display her emotions of fear and worry. He just saw a tool for the situation he was in. He was desperate and his tools were what he needed to fix the shattered night of ruin.

“Butterfree!” He gasped, continuing to run towards the rendezvous point. “Any luck?” The bug type’s weak utterance and shake of head nearly made Darryn spit. She had, just like him, failed. He didn’t speak to her further, focusing only on finding his other tools and finding out their progress.
By the time he reached the alley where they started, Darryn’s body was in fits of pain but he ignored it completely. Anger had taken over all control when he saw what was waiting for him. Lady and Jolteon sat at the agreed meeting place, their sides heaving with exhaustion.

“You both failed, too?” He spat. “Why are you all so weak?! We need to find that man! Jaima is counting on us to find Ember and get her back! Don’t you know how he feels for his Pokemon? Don’t you get it?!” He screamed at the collected Pokemon, restraining himself from actually hitting any of them.

“Geooh!” A black flurry of wings announced Pidgeotto’s return as he plummeted from the sky to collapse in an awkward heap on the cobbles.

“Well?!” Darryn yelled, hurrying to the bird and holding him up to the scarce light from the street lamps. Pidgeotto shook his head weakly and passed out, his eyes rolling far back in his avian skull. “Dumb bird. Get in the ball!” He held up the Premier Ball to suck the flying type back inside. “In fact, all of you get inside.” He recalled Butterfree and Jolteon with speed but as he reached for the Heal Ball, his hand grasped at nothing.

<Stop.> Lady’s voice announced in his head for the first time since his return. He whirled to look at her and found the Heal Ball under her foot. He frowned.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He snorted.

<You are become weak.> Lady intoned, her brown-eyed gaze shimmering in the dark.

“Me weak!?” Darryn laughed. “They all evolved and they still aren’t what I want them to be! If they haven’t gotten stronger then why did they even bother?”

<You. Protection.> Lady said, her tails waving menacingly over her head. <Strong now. Protect you.>

“Well why can’t they use that to protect Jaima’s Cyndaquil, huh?” Darryn retorted.

<Fastfoot. Go far and fast. Scuttleflier view many places. Featherfall go even farther. He leave hard ground and return. They weak no more. You weak.> Lady berated him, her eyes flashed with conviction. Darryn blinked.

“My Pidgeotto? Flew right out of the city? That’s impossible! He’s fat and that’s too far even for a normal Pokemon to manage.” Darryn protested.

<Now strong.> Lady insisted. <See us. Hear us. We strong for you.>

Darryn gasped. The agony of his own limbs seemed to be completely numbed by his insightful partner. While he had been so focused and harsh she, most surprisingly of all his Pokemon, understood best what had transpired that night. Ember’s theft had been out of his hands but to try and protect him three of his Pokemon had evolved. Not only that, but they had gotten so much stronger in the process and he hadn’t even noticed. If they had the sorts of feelings for him that they would go that far to defend him, why hadn’t he noticed it sooner? Because he was more focused on how they looked and how that made him look as a trainer?

Lady’s gaze seemed far away for a brief moment before she sent Darryn one last message.

<Longman return. He understand.> She said calmly. <Be strong.>