The water ran over her hands as Scarlet dipped the flask into the cool stream. The grass glittered from the morning dew about her, and a Butterfly flitted about the trees in search of food.

The scene was a calm one, and a change, Scarlet thought to herself, from the hectic day she had endured previously. She had left Xavier and Red to talk of whatever it was that boys talked of, taking their flasks and her own to fill up for the journey to Cianwood. They had stopped to rest by the road side, and that was when Scarlet had left the company to find a stream.

Scarlet clipped the lids back down and took the three flasks back to the road, and made a great deal of noise trampling through the undergrowth to make sure that if they had been talking about her, they would stop and change the subject before she got close enough to hear.

She smiled as she remembered what her mother would say about her insecurity. “If you go about life worrying about things, you won’t set foot out into the open world!” Scarlet had proven her wrong, for here she was, in a different region, miles and miles away.

“You alright?” Red asked as Scarlet came through the bushes.

”Yeah, I was miles away,” Scarlet said, before tossing the flasks over to the two boys.

Xavier stood up. “Let’s be on our way then,” he said. “we need to get to Olivine pretty soon if we’re to get the ferry.

“We’re getting a boat?” Red asked nervously.

Xavier nodded, “Sure, why…” he trailed off. He hadn’t anticipated Red’s fear of water after what had happened.

Scarlet frowned. “Is there no other way over there, like a plane or something?”

Xavier shook his head, slowly. “Not that I can think of…”

The three continued walking. Scarlet decided against voicing what a waste of time it was if they were only going to go back, for she didn’t want to disturb Red’s thoughts. He looked pale from the idea of having to go over water again.

The harbour was much quieter, Scarlet found when they got there, and Xavier informed her that it was due to there being no market on.

A sudden commotion caught Scarlet’s eye, and she saw a young girl come running out of the house, tears streaming from her eyes. A woman followed her, and tried to embrace her.

“Look,” Scarlet said to the other two, and began walking over.

“Honey, I know you’re upset about Flaafy but-“

”No! I’m going to find him!” They were within hearing distance, and the woman looked up.

“We came to see what the matter was,” Scarlet said to the woman and the girl. She looked about eight, but her eyes and speech told them that she was somewhat older, perhaps twelve.

The woman sighed. “Really, it’s nothing, my daughter-“

The girl pulled herself away from her mother and looked up at the three with pleading eyes. “A group of men came and asked me for my Flaafy, and I said no, but then Flaafy disappeared. I bet it was them who took them! I want to go to Cianwood, but my Mum won’t let me.”

Again, the woman sighed before sinking to the girl’s level. “Jasmine, I would let you go, but you have no one to go with. I can’t let you just go off on your own-“

”But I’m strong enough!” she retorted. “I could find Flaafy, please, just let me go!”

Scarlet put up her hand tentatively before speaking to the young girl. “Why are you so desperate to go to Cianwood though? We’re intending on going there too,” she voiced.

“Because that’s where they said they were going to take Flaafy,” the girl replied, giggling at the simplicity. “If you’re going, can I come with you?”

Red stepped forward. “We have no way of getting there, so it’s not like we could take your daughter anyway.” He glared at Scarlet for inviting the girl along.

“No,” Jasmine said. “I can take you there, can’t I Mum?”

The woman surveyed the trio, deciding on whether or not they were trustworthy.

“Okay,” she finally said. “You may go. But be very careful!”

Jumping for joy, Jasmine took hold of Red’s hand, then Scarlet’s, and began running, dragging them westward. Xavier jogged to keep up with them, leaving the woman worrying about her daughter.



“So tell me,” Red said, annoyed that he now had a fourth person accompanying them. “How do you intend on actually getting us to Cianwood? Do you have a flying Pokemon, one large enough to take us there?”

Jasmine shook her head as she walked a little further ahead of them. “Nope,” she said cheerily.

Scarlet laughed a little at Red’s angered face. She guessed that he wasn’t fond of children.

“So how the hell are we going to get there?!” he yelled, exasperated.

“Magic!” she yelled happily and skipped on ahead.

Xavier leant over to Scarlet and whispered, “Is it me, or is Red not a fan of kids?” Scarlet stifled a laugh, earning herself a look of pure poison from Red.



<center>**************************</center>


When they reached the beach, Jasmine finally stopped, and turned to face them. “Here we are!”

Red rolled his eyes. “What, we’re going to swim across?” he asked sarcastically.

“No,” she said frowning, before laughing at Red’s stupidity. “Watch!”

She took out a Pokeball, and opened it. The shape grew out of it, and within seconds, a gargantuan Pokemon appeared, a metallic monster.

“This is my Steelix!” she announced, and the big Pokemon “grinned” down at them. “Isn’t he cute?”

Red didn’t have a reply. Xavier spoke instead. “How on earth did you…?”

”Traded him with my Uncle from Kanto and he evolved after. I was pretty pleased!”

Red had finally gained his wits about him, before voicing his concern. “Jasmine, you do realise that Steelix can’t swim. It’d sink.”

She giggled. “I know that. Get on, I’ll show you.”

Scarlet climbed onto the Pokemon’s body immediately, and found a large, metal spike to hold onto. She pulled Xavier up, but Red stayed on the ground.

“You can’t stay down there,” Scarlet yelled, but Red just glared up at her.

“Steelix can’t swim,” he repeated, but this time, he began to climb up, repeating the fact over and over, as if by doing so he might be able to reverse the Pokemon’s misfortune.

Throwing another Poke Ball, Jasmine called out her next Pokemon. It appeared and made a whirring noise.

“Magnemite!” she called to the metal Pokemon. “Use Electrolevitate!” With a great deal of effort, Magnemite began spinning, and as it did so, Steelix began rising into the air. Jasmine reached out and grabbed Magnemite out of the air, before holding the magnets on each side of his body with each hand. The effect was as if she had a steering wheel, and Scarlet’s mouth dropped as the girl used it for just that. She tilted Magnemite forward, and Steelix began moving fairly quickly, hovering just over the water.

“I found out I could do this when I was pretending out on the beach,” Jasmine said over her shoulder as they whizzed across the waves. Red’s face could have rivaled a sheet of paper in a competition for whiteness, and Jasmine continued.

“Magnemite knows which way I want it to go when I turn it, and makes Steelix go that way. Clever?” she asked.

Scarlet agreed. “That’s really cool Jasmine, you have neat Pokemon.”

Jasmine grinned before looking over at Scarlet. “That’s why they made me the Gym Leader of this town!” she announced.

At this, Red regained colour. “In which case…” he began. “Can I challenge you when we get back?”

Jasmine nodded, but Red hadn’t noticed, for he was trying to contain the nasty feeling of queasiness in his stomach and had shut his eyes in deep concentration.



The journey was quick, and before long Steelix touched down on the sandy shores of Cianwood Island. Jasmine grinned at Red, pleased that he had been proven wrong and that she was right.

No sooner had she recalled her two Pokemon, a boy of about eight came running up to them. “You haven’t seen my Pokemon have you?” he asked, breathlessly.

“What Pokemon is it?” Xavier probed.

“My Shinx, I only got it for my birthday.”

The three shook their heads, and Jasmine shrugged. “My Pokemon went missing too, a Flaafy, so I came here to look for it.”

The boy said his thanks and then ran a little way off, asking another stranger.

“That’s odd,” Scarlet said. “Two Pokemon having gone missing in the same day…?” She looked over at Red, but received no reaction. He was bent double, hands resting on his knees, breathing heavily.

“Come on, my friend might know some things,” Jasmine began running down the beach, leaving the others to chase her again.

Cianwood was a peculiar place, for it was enclosed by sea on one side and mountains the other. In between were sand and houses, and nothing else save for people and bicycles. The place was not large enough for cars. It was the middle of the day and the sun was shining brightly down, though hunger hadn’t set in on them yet, for breakfast at Xavier’s had filled them up.

After following Jasmine along the beach, they had finally come across a large hut, into which they ventured. A boy, about the same age as Red, sat at a big table, with large bottles of coloured liquid in them. He held up a finger as they entered, and were silenced. He tipped a little of an electric blue liquid into a dish, and then dropped a small sliver of metal in with it. It began fizzing, before he added a couple of mashed up green herbs.

Scarlet thought of ancient wizards doing spells trying to find gold, and the boy seemed to read her mind. “Magic is only science that not everyone understands.” He looked up from his experiment, or whatever it was he was doing, and smiled at them. “I imagine you are Jasmine’s friends. I’m Michael, I make remedies for Pokemon along with other little bits that are useful.”

The mix he had made now shone a brilliant yellow, and smoke started pouring out of the dish. Blowing it away, Michael picked up a small blue and yellow stone that shone brilliantly in the day’s light. He smiled at the success, and gave it to Red.

“I’m sure you’d find it more useful than I,” he remarked.

Red frowned. “What is it exactly?” He turned it over, and the stone seemed to act as more of a capsule holding liquid light.

“It’s what’s in those little sprays that you can buy from supermarkets, X attack, X defence and so on.”

”Which is it?” Red asked.

”All of them,” Michael said simply.

Scarlet liked this guy very much indeed. His hair was wild, untamed, but not in a bad way. His eyes seemed knowing, and his smile was wonderful. She found herself blushing and remarked on how hot the weather was. Xavier smirked, and she slapped him before looking at him sternly.

“Mike, my Flaafy’s gone missing,” Jasmine said. A slight furrow appeared in Michael’s forehead.

“Odd,” was all he said. He began tidying up his experiment equipment, but his mind was still on the matter, for his frown was still there. “I suppose you want my Magnet?” he asked.

Jasmine nodded. “Yes please, I know it might not be that strong, but even a faint reaction would help.”

”What is this Magnet?” Red pondered aloud.

”I made an item that would detect Electric Pokemon,” Michael said. “Just a simple project I worked on for a while. It turns to face where an electric Pokemon is…” he opened and closed drawers rapidly, before finally plucking something out of the clutter from a cupboard that threatened to explode.

“Here we go,” he said, before handing it to Jasmine.

Flicking a switch, the Magnet suddenly powered to life and spun immediately North.

”Wow, it’s pretty good,” Scarlet remarked, attempting to show Michael how much she loved his gadgets.

“No,” he said, shocked. “That’s reacting rather strongly, either a Pokemon with a large static build up is near, or there is a cluster of Electric Pokemon nearby…”

There was a sudden beeping and Michael turned to a computer that had gone unnoticed by the group due to its camouflage of clutter. “This isn’t good,” he said, and tapped a couple of buttons on the keyboard. “There’s a massive storm warning, and it’s going to be on top of Cianwood soon.”

Red frowned, and took out his Pokedex. It creaked as it opened; he had neglected capturing new Pokemon for quite a while… “My Pokedex gets weather updates from Hoenn,” he said, “and it doesn’t tell of any storms…”

Michael arched an eyebrow and smirked. “Not wishing to cause offence, but the Hoenn Weather Institute has a staff that is made mainly of Castform. They only know of a weather crisis when it’s upon them. The system I created tells me everything I need to know and oddly enough…the storm will be forming right over Cianwood.”

Xavier looked a little nervous. “Storms don’t form this far west, they usually form in the sea in Jhoto, don’t they?”

Michael nodded. “Yes, they do, which is why this is so odd, unless…” He suddenly stood up, causing the chair to fly backwards, cushioned by a mess of wires. “There may well be a mass of electric Pokemon that is causing the storm to build up. When lots of electric Pokemon gather, the static they can form can cause blackouts in many regions…”

Scarlet decided to show off. “That’s what the Pokedex said when I captured an Electabuzz,” she said.

Michael nodded, impressed. “Mm, you’ll have to show me your Electabuzz later, I’d be interested in seeing it.”

”Oh, erm, I left it at home with my Mother,” she lied, for she had never actually captured one, but had read it off of a free gift that she had got in a cereal packet.

“Shame,” Michael replied, and winked at her. Scarlet thought she would faint there and then.

Xavier sighed loudly, “Enough with the flirting, why don’t we go and follow the direction of the Magnet and find this build up of electric Pokemon.”

Michael nodded. “yes, and if we can split them up, we may well be able to avert this storm.”

The group went outside, and Jasmine looked up at the sky. “It’s getting darker faster,” she noted.

“It’s the clouds,” Michael replied. “They’re building up fast. Come on.”

The five of them set off along the beach, following the direction of the Magnet. As they walked, they saw numerous leaflets that had been blown about by the rising wind, telling of vanished Pokemon. “Guys,” Scarlet suddenly said. “The Pokemon that are going missing are all electric types,” she said, showing them a picture of a Chinchou that had gone missing. “They might be related.”

”Oh yeah!” Xavier exclaimed, and Jasmine grinned at the breakthrough.

Michael, however, frowned. “I thought we’d reached that assumption back at my house.” He smiled at Scarlet, and she felt that if he had said anything more, she would have been exceedingly annoyed. Lucky he didn’t, she thought, for if he had, she might still not like him…

With this unknown blackmail threatening to end their friendship, Scarlet took comfort in the fact that he would be less likely to upset her again, and carried on walking.

<center>**************************</center>

Chapter Six:

The storm in the air was growing thicker, and the rain began falling in great sheets. Red pulled his cap down tighter, and pressed on. Michael noted that the storm seemed to be gathering over the Pitch Cave, and the company of five carried on in that direction.

Scarlet was engaging in conversation with Michael, asking many questions about his past, though getting no where. Xavier and Jasmine ****** behind them. Red found it a nice distraction from the hectic events since his battle with Lance…

Remembering the fight that had dragged him into this latest adventure of his caused a shiver to snake down Red’s back. The laughter had long since faded, but if he concentrated hard enough, Red was sure that he could hear a faint sound in his mind…

“This is Pitch Cave,” Michael said, and Red looked up at the towering cliff before him. “The hole was man made,” Michael explained, indicating to the dark entrance, “but Pokemon took over it and now it’s their home. Come on.”

The group marched into the darkness.

All that could be heard inside was a high pitched sound that ricocheted off the walls.

”Zubat,” Xavier exclaimed, as one dropped low, close enough to touch.

“I hate Zubat,” Scarlet whispered, and edged closer to Michael.

Xavier laughed. “You’d hate any Pokemon given the environment if it meant getting close to-“

A quick shove from Scarlet silenced Xavier, and Jasmine giggled loudly, causing a flock of Zubat to fall from the cave ceiling.

“Hm…” Michael announced as they got deeper into the cave. “This is odd…”

The group huddled about the rock face that Michael was intently feeling. “What is it?” asked Scarlet.

“This part isn’t rock, it’s metal. Look.” Michael walked on, following the wall with his hands. There was a little light, though they had long since been swallowed by the darkness that had engulfed them after they had rounded the first corner.

The rock face began smoothing out, until Michael was running his hands over flat metal sheets that formed a wall. There was a bend in the tunnel, and light beckoned, though it was clearly not natural…

Rounding the corner, Red was met with a breathtaking site. The cave had been hollowed out and was now a great warehouse. A colossal glass cube lay at the great cavern’s center, and inside was a host of Pokemon…
“Flaafy!” Jasmine cried as she saw her pink Pokemon, and ran forward. The Flaafy pushed forward to the front of the cube, and the two, Trainer and Pokemon, put their hands together, separated by the glass.

The other Pokemon milled about inside. Some brayed, others attempted to blast the glass with electrical attacks. An Electabuzz could be seen repeatedly smashing its head against the glass, doing nothing but increasing the Pokemon’s determination.

“What is all this…?” Michael wondered aloud.

“This is the future!” came a cry.

Stepping seemingly out of nowhere, the man in black released his Salamence. He laughed at the company, and Jasmine turned her back to Flaafy, and held out her arms, believing that such an act could protect her Pokemon.

“Who are you?!” Red demanded.

“I am the Black Cardinal,” the man announced, his eyes completely obscured by the hood. He wore a great black cloak that seemed to hide any of his human features, save for the white chin that jutted out of the darkness of the hood.

“I am a Zoroastrian, a member of the Doom Project. You will bear witness to the emergence of an ancient artifact, one that will bring the Zoroastrians great power!”

Red released his Poliwrath, and the Pokemon took up a fighting stance. “What does this have to do with the Pokemon you have stolen?!” he yelled at the man.

The Black Cardinal walked towards the group, and lowered his voice, the melodrama fading entirely, and a hateful whisper emerging as his tone.

”Tell me trainer,” he began. “What is your purpose in life? What is it that you strive for, and, more to the point, why do you endure all the pain and suffering that life throws at you only for the inevitable ending of death?”

Red started and found that he had no answer.

”I will tell you,” he continued. “You endeavor to become greater for a worthless cause. Throughout your pointless life, death chases you, and it is futile to run. Death is an inevitability and you can never escape it. Why suffer the pain that is caused by our lives, when the Doom Project can end it all now? Think of the misery that we can avoid!”

Scarlet stepped forward before releasing her Dragonair. “What are you saying, that you’re going to destroy the world just because people die?!”

The Black Cardinal’s mouth became visible, and the group could see a thin smile cross his lips.

“Exactly.”

Jasmine cried out in horror, as Flaafy suddenly fell to the ground. “What’s the matter Flaafy?!” she yelled, as the other Electric Pokemon began falling in a similar fashion.

The Black Cardinal’s smile widened. “It is working wonderfully.”

“What do you intend on doing with these Pokemon?!” yelled Michael.

Gesturing to the great glass cube that held the Pokemon, the Black Cardinal began to explain. “The Doom Project intends on gathering together the ancient artifacts to bring about the Dark Age. Each artifact can only be found by searching for it with the corresponding Pokemon.”

Turning to the Pokemon and walking towards the great cube, he continued. “The artifact that I believe to be buried on this island aligns itself best with the Electric variety, hence the Pokemon you see before you.”

He began tapping buttons on a terminal that was situated just near the cube, and an eerie light began to glow from within the holding cell. “If I transfer their power into searching for the artifact, I will be able to get a reading from the computer, and it will tell me where it is.”

Michael began running towards the Black Cardinal, detaching a Poke Ball as he ran. “You won’t get away with harming these Pokemon!” he yelled, before throwing out a small red shelled Pokemon.

“You hope to beat me with a Shuckle?” The Black Cardinal gloated, and laughed, before releasing his Salamence. The great dragon roared at the small Pokemon, and blocked their way.

“Follow me,” Scarlet whispered to Xavier, before running round the other side of the cube.

Upon seeing their plan, Red quizzed the Black Cardinal further. “And what happens when you get this artifact?”

“I will search for more. I have a large number already, only a few left before I can realise the dream of the Zoroastrians! Then, when they are together, I can summon it…”

“Summon what?” Red asked, no longer asking in an attempt to stop the Black Cardinal from seeing the two running around the other side, but out of a cold fear of what it was that would be called…

The Black Cardinal didn’t get to answer, for Michael ordered an attack from Shuckle. “Power Trick!” The Pokemon begun to glow a mysterious purple, before returning to its original red.

“Ha!” the Black Cardinal cried. “A Shuckle is no match to the power of dragons! Dragon Claw!”

Salamence lifted its bulk into the air, but Michael smirked.

“There’s more to a battle than pure fighting, there’s the logic of the mind too! Rock Slide!”

A surprisingly strong attack emanated from the little Pokemon as a barrage of massive rocks collided with Salamence, knocking it out of the air.

“How-?” The Black Cardinal was paralysed with shock for a second, and Xavier and Scarlet managed to sneak behind him unnoticed.

“Power Trick swapped Shuckle’s massive defence with its attack, increasing the power of Rock Slide,” Michael said with a smirk. “Your Salamence didn’t stand a chance.”

A whirring noise pulled the Black Cardinal from his daze, and the glass cube began to unfurl, and the electric Pokemon began to wake up.

“No!” he cried. “The Doom Project must survive!” He whirled round and took out a gleaming dagger. He took a swipe at Xavier, and just caught his arm. He cried out, and fell back. Scarlet pulled him clear of the Black Cardinal, but the charged man was already hitting codes to reverse the opening cube. With a jarring noise, the four panels began sliding back into place…

“Poliwrath! Dynamic Punch!” Red’s Pokemon pulled back its fist and, as it punched the tough glass, the now-woken electric Pokemon blasted the crack, and the cube exploded in a shower of glass.

The off shoots of electricity hit the overhanging wires, and a large explosion caused a shower of rubble to fall from the rocky ceiling. The great slabs of metal that formed the walls began bulging as the cave’s structure began shifting and realigning, and an anguished cry from the Black Cardinal signaled that even he realised there was little hope of rectifying his tyrannical plan.

“Come on!” Michael called, recalling his Shuckle. Scarlet helped Xavier up, who cradled his gashed arm as he ran. Poliwrath picked up Jasmine as she recalled Flaafy, and followed Red as he ran towards the exit with a host of electric Pokemon milling about his feet, following the path of the tunnel.

As he rounded the first corner however, the mechanical voice of the computer could be heard saying:

”INFLUX OF ENERGY REVEALED LOCATION OF ZAP-“

A great explosion stopped Red from hearing the last part of the computers message, but Red was pleased to have escaped alive. His glee was short lived, for rocks began tumbling about him.


Jasmine screamed as the fighting Pokemon that carried her leapt about the cave, smashing rocks that blocked the path. Rounding the final corner, Red saw that the others had not made it out of the cave, but rather, they had been stopped by a great tumbling of rocks that had sealed the entrance. Still, more boulders fell, and the great number of electric Pokemon began sparking with a mixture of excited terror and fear, and they began to cry.

“Poliwrath! Break the rocks and get us out of here!” Red yelled. Placing Jasmine down on the floor, Poliwrath began punching through rocks, clearing the exit. More rocks fell, and behind them, a new wall had formed due to the crumbling cave.

A grunt from Poliwrath told them that he had succeeded. It now had a small space cleared, and it was holding up the great structure of rocks entirely on its shoulders. The electric Pokemon surged through the hole, followed by Xavier, and then Scarlet. Michael pushed Jasmine through first, before following, leaving Red.

Poliwrath closed its eyes tightly, the weight beginning to cause a great sense of cramp on its shoulders. Red crawled through, inching past the Pokemon, before the water type dropped the structure and leapt out of the cave.

The five of them lay on the sand, panting. Jasmine held the poke ball close to her, as a mother would a young child. The sky had returned to normal, and now only a slight breeze cooled them from the heat that the terror from the cave had brought about. The electric Pokemon bounded off to find their trainers, and distant whoops of joy could be heard by the company.

“You guys certainly saved me a lot of trouble,” came a voice. Red pulled himself to his feet to see a stout man come walking over to them. The others followed suit, and Michael shook the small man’s hand. “The town’s been harassing me to get their Pokemon back for a good few weeks now,” he explained, “and you five have done it for me.”

He extended a hand to Red. “I’m Chuck, the Gym Leader of this town.”

Red smirked. This had played out perfectly. “I’m Red, I’m collecting the Gym Badges of Jhoto.”

Chuck let out a hearty laugh. “Well, that works out well then, I’ll meet you back at my gym for the battle.” He winked at Jasmine before smiling at Michael, and then walked off down the beach.

Michael whistled. “You got praise from Chuck, that’s a rare thing, I must say.”

Red blushed. “I didn’t do what I did without help. You guys all helped me with saving those Pokemon and you know it.”

“And it wasn’t without danger either,” Scarlet said, oddly cold. “Xavier’s really hurt, Red,” she said, indicating to the blood running down his arm.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Red said to Xavier, before turning to Scarlet. “You can’t put the blame on me, it was the Cardinal that attacked him.”

Scarlet turned her hands, palms facing the sky, and shook her head. “Red, if we hadn’t gone to this stupid cave, we wouldn’t now have been blacklisted by this bloody Doom Project crap! That, and Xavier’s really hurt!” she repeated, enraged.

”This isn’t Red’s fault,” Michael said calmly. “If anyone, I led us here after discovering the coming storm. I’m sorry that you were hurt Xavier, but I’m certainly not sorry for saving the Pokemon.”

Scarlet and Michael stared at one another before Jasmine piped up, oblivious of the fiery atmosphere.

“Well, I am really glad that I finally got my Flaafy back!” She hugged her Poke Ball before skipping off down the beach, in the direction of the Pokemon center.

After a moment, the tension seemed to recede. “It was no one’s fault other than the Black Cardinal’s,” Xavier finally said. Scarlet looked down, the rage had died and now she was left feeling mildly embarrassed.

”I’m sorry Xavier.” Red smiled at him, and the four of them began walking towards the Pokemon Center in the distance, the sun beginning to fall behind the Pitch Cave.

Chapter Seven: Proof of Identity

It wasn’t him, it couldn’t be…

The same idea kept running round Xavier’s head. That man couldn’t have been his Father. He had attacked him, and must have seen who it was. If it had been his Father, surely he wouldn’t have attacked Xavier so menacingly, but Xavier couldn’t help but wonder if the dagger had been drawn for reasons other than Xavier’s interference, reasons that could lie closer to the idea of…family?

Xavier hated the situation he had fallen into. He was now following two trainers around his country, determining whether or not a possible terrorist was his father. And, truth be told, he didn’t know what he hoped the answer was. If the Cardinal was his father, then how could Xavier live with knowing his Father was a murderer, one that terrorized and maimed his victims? But on the other side of the coin was the fact that if it wasn’t, then his search would start over again. Granted, life had been peaceful at the farm without him, but that void still remained. His Father, however cruel he may have been when he had been mourning for his Mother, was still a person whom he should love. Still, Xavier was unnerved by the idea that if the Black Cardinal was not his father, then he would have to start anew…

He thanked the Nurse as she tied off the bandage. “It’s only for Pokemon, but it should work just as well for you,” she said, before taking his Poke Balls and exiting the waiting room.

“You alright?” Red asked as Xavier looked over, and he nodded.

“The Nurse says it’ll heal pretty quickly, as it was just a large scratch really.”

”That’s good,” Red replied. There followed an awkward silence that was broken by the occasional cooing sound as Jasmine stroked her Flaafy after its ordeal.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Scarlet voiced, who had been sitting, hugging her legs. “I was just…angry with the Black Cardinal. We have so many questions unanswered, and we endured all that…for what?”

Michael managed a slight chuckle. “Perhaps there is some truth in what the Doom Project says. What we’re doing, there really is no point. We’ll all die some time or another.”

He had attempted a tone of light heartedness, but something in his voice or mannerisms had failed to carry it effectively, and an awful silence clung to the group.

The light outside was waning, and Xavier was overcome by a great sense of exhaustion. His eyelids felt heavy and, though it was barely eight o clock, fell into a deep sleep and dreamt of his father’s face being covered by a black cloak, uncannily similar to the Black Cardinal’s…

<center>**************************</center>

Xavier woke slowly, and for a moment, he thought himself still at home, and reached out to his bedside table. Instead, he put his hand in air and pulled himself out of dreamland to see who had taken away his table.

It was with mixed feelings that he suddenly realised he was not at home. Excitement at the adventure he was on, but sadness, for he had left all that he had loved at home.

Not everything, for there was his Father…

He got up off the chairs he had been laying across and saw that Scarlet and Jasmine still lay asleep. Looking out the window, he could see Michael and Red battling, framed against the rising sun.

“Remember Red, there is more to a battle than just brute force. Even Chuck doesn’t understand that, despite his status, and you must use that to your advantage.”

Xavier pulled on his jumper as he walked across the sand towards the sparring pair. He chuckled a little, for Michael’s advice seemed wasted, as he was using his Shuckle against Red’s Venusaur.

“I know that, but there is little else that my Pokemon can do!” Red replied. “Watch: Venusaur, Sludge Bomb!” A spout of purple liquid shot out of the top of Venusaur’s flower and fell about Shuckle, splattering on its shell.

“No Red,” Michael said. “Your Pokemon knows other techniques, ones that can help it recover energy during the battle. Shuckle, use Ingrain!”

Shuckle stuck its limbs into the ground, and a green light told Xavier that it was recovering energy from the earth.

“Oh, hi Xavier,” Red called, seeing his friend approach. “How are you doing?”

”Alright,” he replied. “I see you’re training for your match against Chuck later on.”

Michael nodded. “Yes, but if Red goes up against Chuck with the idea of out-muscling him, he will fail. There’s more to Pokemon than-“

”Just power,” Red finished, “I know! Venusaur, Razor Leaf, followed by Solar Beam!”

The powerful white light incinerated the leaf attack before it hit, and Shuckle maintained minor damage. With that, Venuasaur’s eyes rolled into the back of its head and fell over, fainted.

“…what the hell?” Red recalled his Pokemon.

“Toxic.” Michael said simply. “I used it at the beginning of our match.”

Red groaned. “Hell, I may as well not even challenge Chuck, I’m destined to lose.”

Michael laughed. “With that attitude, I agree!”

The two went back inside to heal their Pokemon, leaving Xavier on the beach.

For a time, he watched the sun retrace its path, crawling up into the sky, intensifying the light on Cianwood. Soon, people began to come out of their houses, doing whatever it was that they did on such sunny days as this. Xavier got up and went back inside to the other four.

Jasmine and Scarlet had got up, and the two boys were healing their Pokemon from the early battle. Scarlet flashed a smile at Xavier as he sat down, before she stopped Jasmine from stroking all of Flaafy’s fur away.

The Black Cardinal wandered into Xavier’s thoughts, and he found himself remembering his Father again. What was it he truly wanted? His Father to be the Black Cardinal, meaning that Xavier was the son of a murder, or to discover that his quest had been pointless?

”Xavier?” Red asked in a somewhat impatient tone.

“Oh, sorry, what?” Xavier said, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

“I said that we are going to the Gym now, are you coming?”

Xavier got up. “Yeah, of course,” and left his thoughts in the Pokemon Center as they made their way to the gym.


<center>**************************</center>

On the outside, the gym looked tiny. Xavier noted that instead of being just a building, it didn’t seemed to have a back, and rather it just ran straight into the rock. Inside, he could see that this was true, and there were a great many Pokemon and trainers in a vastly long hall.

It was well lit, and there was a humid smell of sweat about the place, with strong men taking it in turns with their Pokemon to throw or be thrown, training, regardless of whose turn it was.

“This is certainly not my kind of Gym.” Xavier voiced quietly, keeping his voice low so as not to invoke the anger of one of the already pumped up men or their Pokemon.

Michael laughed, though it didn’t sound as if he agreed. “Chuck’s power is very great. There is a lot more to see than these mindless people.”

Red grimaced. “As a trainer, I should be hoping that my opponent is strong so that I have a good match, but…”

”But what?” Scarlet pressed.

“I really want this badge,” he replied, somewhat sheepishly, “so I hope he’s weak.”

Chuck stood, waiting, at the other end of the hall. Beside him was a large boulder, and on the other side of that, a Machoke glared at the oncoming trainers.

”Hah!” Chuck roared. “I want to see the power that you used to defeat that man in the Pitch Cave!” he demanded. “Here, let me show you my power!” He lifted the rock, and hurled it over Machoke’s head. The Pokemon didn’t flinch; he was clearly confident in his master’s technique.

“…what does that have to do with Pokemon?” Red asked, a look of confusion evident on his face.

“True,” Chuck said, and laughed. “In which case, there is nothing but a Pokemon battle that can show you my true power!”

Xavier admired the man’s vitality. He judged that this would be a difficult opponent for Red to defeat. He noted that he had yet to see Red in a serious battle. Not like the one he had outside the Pokemon Center with Michael, that had been a practice. Xavier couldn’t wait to see the real skills that Red supposedly possessed.

“I’ll be using Machoke first, and then a second,” Chuck announced. “One on one, then a second Pokemon to decide the match, agreed?”

Red nodded, before choosing his Venusaur. The great grass type roared as it stared out its opponent. Machoke lent forward on its knuckles, somewhat like a gorilla, before stretching and flexing its muscles.

“Then let’s go!” Chuck called. “Machoke! Go with Take Down!”

Xavier saw a flash of a smile cross Red’s face; he must have anticipated this.

“Venusaur! Meet it with your own attack! Tackle!”

The two Pokemon charged at one another, but, somewhat surprisingly, Machoke was the stronger of the two despite its lack of bulk. Venusaur was thrown backwards, where it struggled on the ground, before pulling itself up.

Red seemed shocked that it was so strong. “Venusaur! Vine Whip!” Two strong vines, that Xavier noted were more the thickness of branches, lashed through the air. Machoke evaded each swipe, breathing heavily.

“Now Machoke! Mega Punch!” Ducking just as a vine went for its head, Machoke yanked at the vine that aimed for him, pulling Venusaur toward him. Noting the speed at which Venusaur flew towards the fighting type, Xavier assumed that Machoke would be flattened. Instead, Machoke pulled its fist back and smashed Venusaur with such power that the grass Pokemon actually flew up into the air.

“Damn it!” Red cried.

”Red, remember what I was telling you!” Michael ordered.

Red nodded. “Venusaur! Ingrain!” Small brown roots appeared underneath the grass type’s flower, and stabbed into the ground. “Now, Leech Seed!” Gripping the floor with its roots, Venusaur used the stability to fire a round of seeds at Machoke. Each one hit him, exploding with a shower of green energy that navigated their way back to Venusaur.

Xavier was impressed with the technique. Both Ingrain and leech Seed would recover its health, while sapping away Machoke’s.

“Machoke!” Chuck called. “Do another Mega Punch!”

”Venusaur! Go with Solar Beam!”

Xavier frowned. He didn’t think that this was the best of tactics, as Solar Beam would take time to charge and by then, the attack would have been delivered…

Unable to move due to the roots, Machoke slammed into Venusaur hard. But the damage was nullified when Venusaur sapped more energy from its roots and Machoke, and it fired the white beam with shocking force. Machoke flew back towards Chuck, and he recalled the Pokemon.

“I suppose I’ll have to use my strongest Pokemon!” He announced, throwing another Poke Ball. “Hariyama!”

It was not a Pokemon that either Red or Xavier recognized. Red took out his Pokedex, and it announced that it was a fighting type from another region. Xavier anticipated that this meant that Red wouldn’t know the level of Hariyama’s statistics either…

“Bulk Up!” Chuck called, and the large Pokemon clenched its great palms together, and stuck its chest out impressively.

“Venusaur! It looks slow, go with Solar Beam again!” Red was taking a high gamble at guessing the Pokemon’s speed, but it appeared to pay off. Hariyama didn’t even bother to move as Venusaur powered up the attack.

“Hariyama! Force Palm!” As Solar Beam was fired, Hariyama held out its palms, and the white light hit. The fighting Pokemon was pushed back a little, but the majority of the attack had been deflected into all other directions.

Xavier gasped at the Pokemon’s defence. It must have been exceedingly powerful in order to have withstood Venusaur’s strongest attack…

“Venusaur! Go with Leech Seed again!” Taking heed from his successful tactic from the last round, Red ordered his Pokemon to sap Hariyama’s energy. Though the fighting type was slow, there was little hope of Venusaur moving out of the way of an attack due to being rooted to the ground, so it needed all the energy it could get.

“Whirlwind.” Chuck smirked as he ordered the attack. The round of seeds was blown back toward Venusaur as Hariyama waved its great palms to create a strong wind.

The energy sapped from Venusaur and went to Hariyama. “Dude, you didn’t even lose any energy yet, why did you nick mine!?” Red yelled.

Chuck laughed. “Better safe than sorry! Hariyama! Double Edge!”

Xavier shared Red’s panic as the challenger ordered Venusaur’s attack. “Hyper Beam!”

The massive attack did little to Hariyama; if anything, it made it stronger. The beam glanced off Hariyama as the fighting Pokemon cut through it. He connected with Venusaur, tearing its roots from the ground and causing it to roar with pain.

“Now! Vital Throw!” Hariyama lifted the downed Pokemon and hurled it across the room. Red recalled the Pokemon and attached the ball to his belt.

“It’s strong…” Red muttered to himself, and Chuck grinned.

“I trained my Pokemon to be the strongest it could possibly be!” he boasted. “Nothing could ever be that strong!”

Red tossed a Poke Ball into the air, and Poliwrath appeared. “Strength can be increased to the maximum!” Red suddenly yelled. “Bulk Up!”

”Bulk Up!” Chuck repeated, and the two Pokemon mirrored one another.

“Again!” Red called, and Chuck followed suit.

“Again!” They yelled at the same time, and Xavier feared that if either Pokemon landed a blow on the other at this stage, they may well do permanent damage. Xavier looked over and could see Jasmine and Scarlet, both biting their lips. Michael had a deep frown on his face.

“Last time,” Red called, “Then Mega Punch!”

”You too Hariyama!” Chuck yelled. The two Pokemon began running at one another, and the force with which they struck was explosive. Xavier felt the shockwave hit his face as the two Pokemon collided, and they were thrown backwards with so much force that they left two great marks on opposite walls.

Hariyama recovered quickly, but Poliwrath struggled to get up. It panted heavily, and a smirk crossed Hariyama’s face.

“Tired already?” Chuck said. “I expected something better from you Red.”

Red chose to ignore the comment. “Poliwrath! Hydro Pump!” The great blast of water hit Hariyama, but the effect was minimal, and Chuck laughed again.

“Hariyama, use Body Slam!” Hariyama ran toward Poliwrath, and Red took advantage of the attack.

“Poliwrath, use Vital Throw!” Sidestepping the Pokemon just as it was about to hit, Poliwrath grabbed the Pokemon’s arm, pivoted, and hurled Hariyama across the floor.

“Keep going! Mega Punch!” Poliwrath slammed into Hariyama just as the Pokemon had got up, and even then, Red kept up the momentum.

“Seismic Toss!” The water Pokemon jumped into the air and hurled Hariyama toward the ground.

For a moment, there was a look of worry on Chuck’s face. But it vanished as Hariyama got back up again, and assumed a fighting stance.

“You’ve got energy, I’ll give you that,” Chuck laughed. “Now, let’s finish this! Giga Attack!”

Xavier hadn’t heard of this attack before, and it seemed Red hadn’t either. Hariyama stormed across the arena and crushed Poliwrath with such force that it didn’t look like it would get back up.

Red seemed paralysed at the prospect that he could lose this Gym Battle. He didn’t move for a moment, looking at Poliwrath’s crumpled body with wide eyes.

“Don’t give up,” Xavier whispered, more to himself, as Red wouldn’t be able to hear. “Don’t overpower him, use intelligence.”

Despite talking so quietly, Red seemed to wake from his daze, and as he did so, Poliwrath got up.

“Mind Reader.” Red ordered. Poliwrath closed its eyes and focused. Chuck didn’t order an attack, for Hariyama was recovering from the power of the previous one.

“Now use Dynamic Punch!” Michael clapped with joy that Red had created such a combination, and Poliwrath smashed into Hariyama.

The Pokemon flew back and Chuck recalled it before any further damage was sustained.

“Well done!” Chuck congratulated. “That was a most marvelous battle, here’s your prize!” Taking a small badge from his pocket, he handed Red the token.

“Thank you,” Red said, grinning. Xavier clapped along with Scarlet, Michael and Jasmine, and Red turned his attention to them.

”You battled really well!” Xavier laughed. “I’m glad to have seen you in action!”

“Thanks!” Red replied, and carefully affixed the badge onto his jacket.

Poliwrath, however, stayed on the arena. It was weary from the fight, but looked like it was still filled with energy. Red turned to the Pokemon. “What’s up?” he asked.

Poliwrath looked at the ground, as if it was ashamed, before pointing at Chuck, and walking over to him.

Xavier watched the colour drain out of Red’s face.

Poliwrath wanted to stay with Chuck.

“I…” Red couldn’t say anything.

“Red, I think your Poliwrath has made a decision based on its victory today,” Michael said slowly. “From what I can tell, you have trained Poliwrath so well that it considers itself in a state of perfection. As a result I think…it wants to stay with Chuck and help him with the Gym.”

Poliwrath nodded furiously, before walking back over to Red, a sorrowful look in its eyes.

Red breathed heavily. “If that’s…what you want, I suppose I can’t argue with you.” He looked up, a defiant expression on his face. “Thank you for your help with my Gym Battles in the past, and today.” He was chillingly formal. Red extended a hand to his Pokemon.

Poliwrath hesitated, sensing his trainers’ sadness. Then it took Red’s hand, pulled him close and squeezed him. Xavier assumed it was supposed to be a hug, but its shortness made the whole affair exceedingly awkward. Red laughed, and hugged his Pokemon back.

”You have a good time here, okay?” Red said, his voice wavering a little. Poliwrath nodded. Red tossed the Poke Ball underhand to Chuck. “You better look after him,” he said with a laugh.

Chuck nodded. “I intend on learning a lot from your Pokemon,” Chuck replied. “Thank you Red.”

Red smiled. “I’ve been blessed by having Poliwrath for this long, it’s only fair for someone to share his power.”

The five of them walked out of the door, Poliwrath waving furiously as they pulled the door shut.

“Where to, Olivine?” Xavier asked, trying to pull the attention to him, so that the others wouldn’t see the tears in Red’s eyes.

“Not for me,” Michael announced. “I’ll stay on the island; stop this sort of thing from happening again.”

Scarlet went to protest, but blushed. “It was nice meeting you Michael.” She said sheepishly.

“And you too Scarlet,” he replied, before taking her hand and pulling her close. He kissed her on the cheek, and her already crimson cheeks flushed and she giggled slightly.

”I hope you won’t be offended if I just accept a handshake,” Xavier laughed, extending his hand.

Michael took it, before bending down to hug Jasmine goodbye. “You keep safe, and look after Flaafy.”

Jasmine nodded defiantly. “Yup, he’s not getting out of my sight ever again!”

“Poor thing,” Red remarked under his breath.

She released Steelix and Magnemite, and the group clambered on. They took off and left Cianwood, Chuck, Poliwrath and Michael behind them, backs to the sun, and flying towards the coming night.

Red was silent during the whole of the journey back to Olivine, save for an “okay,” when Jasmine offered to battle him when they got back. He had left Poliwrath behind at Cianwood and though he knew that it was what Poliwrath had wanted, he couldn’t help feel guilty for leaving him, and upset at his loss…

When they landed, Jasmine and Scarlet walked off in front, but Xavier stayed with Red. “I know you’re upset with this whole Poliwrath issue but come on, it’s what it wanted to do now. Cheer up.” He winked before following the girls, and Red managed a smile. He was going to get his second badge in just one day.

Jasmine ran into her house to tell her Mother about Flaafy and that she was okay before coming back out, catching hold of Red’s hand and dragging him to the gym.

Pulling open the door and rushing in, Jasmine flicked a couple of switches and the inside of the gym was illuminated. The arena was a rocky landscape with large boulders that seemed erratically scattered.

“This is my gym!” Jasmine announced as she bounded up the rocks to the other side of the arena. Scarlet and Xavier sat in the seats on the other side, eager to watch Red’s next battle.

“We’ll battle under the same rules as Chuck!” Jasmine announced. “One on one, two Pokemon each! Go! Magnemite!”

She threw her Pokemon into the arena and the little Magnemite whirred as it span round in the air.

“I’m not going to be forced into a corner like I was with Chuck,” Red proclaimed as he threw his Poke ball. Arcanine appeared and roared, sending a plume of fire into the air.

“Let’s not waste time Magnemite!” Jasmine called. “Thunderbolt!” The magnet Pokemon sparked and a blast of yellow energy hit Arcanine. The fire Pokemon was thrown back, much to Red’s shock.

“Arcanine! Go with a Flamethrower attack!” A stream of fire incinerated Magnemite, and it’s body turned a dark grey.

”No! Magnemite!” Jasmine called, her eyes widening. She went to run towards Magnemite then stopped herself as if remembering her Leader status. “Magnemite! Use Lock On!”

Red had used a similar technique in his battle against Chuck and knew what was coming. He ordered his Arcanine to respond accordingly. “Overheat!”

”Zap Cannon!” Magnemite fired a sphere of black energy, surrounded by white lightning, and it was met with a great orb of fire from Arcanine. The two attacks exploded, but Red didn’t give Jasmine a chance to react.

“Extremespeed!” he called, and Arcanine darted through the blast’s smoke and head butted the metal Pokemon.

“Now use Thunderwave!” Jasmine called shrilly. A pulsating yellow light emanated from Magnemite and Arcanine paused as it bounded backwards, causing it to fall over. “Now use Thunder!” Magnemite charged up energy, not worrying about a quick attack from Arcanine, for it lay paralysed on the floor. The blast never hit the Pokemon, for Red recalled him before the attack landed.

“I can’t believe you’re so strong Jasmine,” he said.

Jasmine smirked. “Size isn’t everything!”

Red shook his head as he chose his next Pokemon. The little he knew about Steel Pokemon told him that any one of his choices would be pure failure. The only Pokemon that had any chance against the Steel type would be Poliwrath, but he was back at Cianwood. Arcanine had fainted, Moltres had left him, and the last three had a severe type disadvantage…

“Go Alakazam!” If type trumping wouldn’t work, pure power would have to. “Psybeam!”

The colourful beam hit Magnemite hard, making up for the type disadvantage.

”Magnemite! Thunderbolt!” The yellow blast was deflected by Alakazam’s mind at Red’s behest.

“Alakazam, Teleport, followed by Zen Head butt!” The Psychic Pokemon vanished, and reappeared behind Magnemite, delivering a powerful head butt that sparked with purple energy. Magnemite’s single eye closed as it fell to the ground, fainted.

Jasmine pulled a sad face before giggling. “When I said size didn’t matter, I might have been joking a little.” She laughed again as she released Steelix. The gargantuan Pokemon glared down at Alakazam.

“Steelix, show Red your own Head Butt!” Grinning savagely, the giant Pokemon lunged for Alakazam.

“Teleport!” Red ordered, and Alakazam vanished as the steel type smashed into the ground. “Now use another Psybeam!”

“Flash Cannon!” Jasmine called. Steelix reared its head round as Alakazam fired off the beam. It opened its mouth and a silver blast connected with the other beam and caused a great explosion. Steelix winced as the blast washed over it, and Alakazam struggled to maintain a shield that it had created around it, a pulsating blue.

“Teleport again,” Red called, “Then follow it up with Shadow Ball!”

Steelix went for Alakazam, mouth open, but closed its jaws around air. Then it was thrust forward from a dark ball of energy that smashed into the back of its head.

”Steelix! Iron Tail!” Jasmine could see that the end was getting close, and Red knew that this attack may spell the end for his Alakazam…

“Psychic!” Red called, just as the attack connected with his Pokemon. Alakazam was thrown into the air, but it righted itself telekinetically. Then it aimed its spoons at Steelix, lifted it off the ground, and hurled it into the wall. Then it drew back its right arm, and threw out a barrage of Psybeams. The effect caused a great plume of smoke to rise from Steelix’s crumpled body…

“Wow, you really are strong Red.” Jasmine congratulated. “That means I get to give you this!” She recalled Steelix before bounding over to Red and affixing her badge to his jacket, next to the other one that he had obtained earlier that day.

“Well done Red!” called Scarlet and Xavier from where they sat. They cheered and clapped as Red recalled Alakazam.


<center>**************************</center>


“Thanks for a great battle and for helping me find Flaafy,” Jasmine said to the trio as they prepared to leave Olivine. They had spent the night in the Pokemon center, and the sun was just peeking over the horizon. Red shook Jasmine’s hand.

“Don’t think I’m leaving a Pokemon with you too,” he joked, and Jasmine laughed.

“If you change your mind, your Alakazam is always welcome,” she said, with a look of mock pleading on her face.

They waved to Jasmine as they walked towards the rising sun, onto Ecruteak, where Red’s next badge waited.

Scarlet smiled softly as the light wind pulled the hair out of her face. Her Ninetales walked beside her, stopping occasionally to either sniff a plant or to pounce on a passing Ratatta and toy with it, before letting it run away, terrified.

“Scarlet, you really should tell your Ninetales off for doing that,” Xavier voiced.

“Why don’t you grab one of its tails?” Scarlet replied in a mock-sweet voice, “and I’ll laugh at your soul a thousand years later.”

Red laughed as Xavier backed off.

Despite the bright sun, Scarlet could see a bank of black clouds that threatened to burst at the slightest excuse. It lay thick and heavy to the east, the direction in which they were walking…

“That looks nasty,” Xavier commented, tipping his head to the looming clouds in an effort to change the subject. Scarlet nodded.

“If we speed up a little, we might be able to get to…” Red trailed off, for lack of knowing the name of the town they were heading to.

“Ecruteak,” Xavier said with a smile. “We should get there before the worst of the rain falls.”

The trio continued.

Before long, Xavier announced that they were nearing Ecruteak. “The last time I came here was when my Father was thinking of traveling to become trainer. He wanted to – “

He cut off short. Scarlet looked over at him, and figured that he had said too much, more than he had meant. She didn’t press him further, for he was evidently worried about the topic that he had been talking about.

Red’s logic, however, didn’t extend this far. “What actually happened to your father Xavier?” he asked intently.

Despite mentally scolding Red, Scarlet was actually intrigued.

Xavier hesitated. “I…well…he sort of left…” He bit his lip, and looked away, apparently finding a cluster of bushes more worthy of his attention than the topic at hand.

“I see…” Red said, frowning, evidently not.

A cry from Ninetales pulled Scarlet’s attention away from Xavier and to whatever it was that her Pokemon was looking at.

While the three of them had been preoccupied talking about Xavier’s father, they had failed to notice the tall structure that they had been walking towards. It was a shining gold, and it must have been at least sixty feet high. Scarlet wondered how they hadn’t noticed it all the way back at Olivine, it was so tall…

“We are *so* going inside,” Red said, beaming. He rushed up to the door and pushed it open, creaking in the way that brought memories of old horror movies to Scarlet’s mind. Ninetales vanished into its Poke Ball of its own accord.

“Coward,” Xavier laughed, earning a playful slap from Scarlet.

Red edged inside, followed by Scarlet and Xavier. “Wow…” Scarlet sighed as she looked up.

The sun shone through the windows and lit up the interior, showing that the structure was hollow, tapered by a set of stairs that spiraled upwards, clinging to the walls of the tower.

“This is place is creepy…” Xavier whispered.

“Coward,” Scarlet retorted, with a laugh. At that moment, the two froze. Red turned to them and put a finger to his lips.

“Did you hear that?” he whispered. The two nodded, for they had also heard the shuffling sound. It sounded like it had come from the top, and whatever was moving had a very large bulk, for as the trio stood there listening, trails of dust fell from the highest part of the roof.

“It’s beginning to rain,” Xavier whispered as they heard the faint hiss of water on metal. “We really need to get going.”

Scarlet welcomed an excuse to leave the place, and Red apparently did too, for he was the first to leave the tall, daunting tower. Despite being frightened of what lay at the top of the tower, Scarlet couldn’t help but wonder what beast had taken root in the upper chambers of the tower…


**************************

The three arrived at the Pokemon Center, soaked straight through. Scarlet was pleased that Ninetales had vanished when she had done so, for it would not have been a well Pokemon after the recent downpour.

The Pokemon Center was filled with people. Many were taking shelter from the rain, whereas others had emergencies where their fire Pokemon had become severely weakened due to the downpour. One trainer held his Charmander in his arms, wrapped in a towel with his barely-lit tail sticking out the end.

Scarlet left the boys in the waiting room, talking of what could have brought about this rainstorm and went to the girl’s bathroom. After squeezing as much water out of her clothes as possible and scolding herself for not bringing an iron on her travels, Scarlet released Ninetales and went over to the Charmander and his young trainer.

”Do you need my Pokemon’s help?” she offered. The boy looked up and nodded. Ninetales breathed on Charmander’s tail and the flame grew steadily brighter.

“Thank you,” the boy said as he stroked his Pokemon’s head.

“How did you get caught in the storm?” Scarlet asked.

”We were playing near the Brass Tower when we saw a massive Pokemon land on the top,” he described, Charmander nodding in agreement. “Then the Pokemon sort of went inside, and then it started to rain.”

Scarlet sat back and thought for a moment. “Brass Tower? Is that the one just off the route to Olivine?” The boy nodded. Upon seeing the Charmander’s tail fire burning brightly, Scarlet recalled Ninetales and hurried over to Red and Xavier, recounting the boy’s story to them.

“Hm…” Red pondered. “You reckon the Pokemon made it rain? That’s not really that difficult, if it knows something like Rain Dance-“

Scarlet cut him off, shaking her head. “No, but the thing is the speed at which it started raining. I mean, those clouds were not there when we set off from Olivine this morning and it must have been within the hour that they formed and then opened.”

”The Black Cardinal again?” Xavier suggested.

Scarlet shook her head. “Unlikely, if he had a Pokemon that could summon storms, why bother stealing all the electric Pokemon from Cianwood?”

Red nodded in agreement. “So we can safely say it’s not a related incident. I wonder if-“

The doors of the Pokemon Center burst open and a man ran in, dripping water onto the already soaked Center floor.

”Everybody! You need to leave Ecruteak, this is an emergency! Make your way south, get to Goldenrod, you have to leave, now!”

The storm outside began throwing down lightning and the crash of thunder that followed spurred the people into motion.

“What’s happened?” Red yelled above the mass of moving people. The question was aimed at Scarlet, but the other man heard.

“The two Pokemon of Ecruteak have taken to battling once again.” As he said this mysterious statement, he began herding people outside.

Scarlet pulled the two boys with her, out of the Center and into the ferocious rain. The panic-stricken people could be seen making their way to the route leading out of Ecruteak to the south, glancing over their shoulders, terrified looks on their faces.

“What the hell are they all running from?!” Red shouted over the combined noise of the storm and the people.

A piercing cry wrenched the attention of the trio to the skies, and they were met with an amazing sight.

Two gigantic beasts soared in the skies, battling with one another ferociously. One was a cool white, with dark blue ridges along its back and framing its eyes. The other was a multitude of colours, with a golden crest atop its head.

“No way…” Scarlet breathed.

The rainbow coloured Pokemon blasted fire at the other Pokemon, but it was met with a blast of water. The two tore after one another through the skies, and as they did so, the rain suddenly stopped. The clouds parted, and the sun burned through. The fire breathing Pokemon then blasted a great beam of white light, a Solar beam.

Taking her eyes off the battle, Scarlet noticed the tower that they had stopped at earlier. Directly to the east lay another tower, this one a glinting grey. Two towers, two Pokemon, fighting.

A beam of purple suddenly erupted somewhere from the ground and struck the fire Pokemon in the chest. It barely noticed, but the trio scanned their surroundings to find the third attacker.

“There!” Scarlet called. The man who had ushered everyone from the Pokemon Center stood in the shadow of the Brass Tower. The man had a shock of white-blonde hair, and a sash tied around it. He stood with a Gengar, ordering attacks into the air.

The trio ran over to him, and he turned as he saw them coming. “Why have you not left with the others?” he yelled.

“Why haven’t you?!” retorted Scarlet.

“Because I’m the Gym Leader of this town, Morty, and it’s my responsibility to hold off any threat! Gengar, again! Ominous Wind!”

The purple Pokemon fired a pink haze to the skies, but again, it did nothing to the fighting Pokemon.

“What are they?” Xavier asked Morty.

“They are Lugia and Ho-oh,” he explained. “The two towers of this city were created to honour them and act as a place where they can rest. The people of old thought that if they built the towers high enough, the two legendary Pokemon would be able to see them wherever they were in the world, and would know that they had a place to rest.”

The white Pokemon, Lugia, blasted another spout of water at Ho-oh, and the rain began to fall again.

“They used to visit often, but the dawning of this age saw them leave, and they hadn’t returned for a long time. But they are back, here and now, and for some reason, they are fighting so furiously that I fear for the whole of Johto…”

The Pokemon continued to war, and Scarlet noticed that Ho-oh, when tired, would retreat to the tower to the west, whereas Lugia would use the Brass Tower that they stood under to regain health.

“Gengar, Hypnosis!” Gengar fired a blast of purple spheres into the air and they hit Ho-oh, causing the Pokemon’s eyelids to droop. It opened them and pounded its wings harder, making up for the height that it had lost. It shot a blast of fire down to the ground, and Gengar fought to keep the flames back.

Lugia commanded the phoenix’s attention by firing off a blast of wind from its mouth. With a screech, Ho-oh fell to the ground, felling a couple of trees as it scraped across the forest that lay to the north of Ecruteak.

Scarlet shook her head. What could have made these Pokemon attack one another so ferociously? It seemed such a waste to her. The two towers had been built for the Pokemon to honour them, and yet they were using them as territories to win from the other.

“We’re not close enough to perform a Hypnosis attack,” Morty muttered. “We need to be closer if it’s to work…”

“The tower?” Xavier suggested.

Morty clicked his fingers. “Perfect. If we can get to the top, the Hypnosis may well be close enough to put them to sleep. Then we can resolve this matter later.”

The three trainers followed Morty into the tower, and they began to run up the stairs. As they passed the small slits of windows, Scarlet could make out Ho-oh, picking itself up and taking to the skies once again.

“Why do I get the feeling these things always go wrong when I’m around?” Red muttered to himself as he took the stairs two at a time. Scarlet put a hand to his shoulder, and he turned and smiled at her.

The trainers were tiring, but Morty seemed to have a limitless amount of energy. He bounded up the stairs, leaving the three of them to struggle upwards, clinging onto the railings. Scarlet heard a soft moan as Xavier peered over the edge and looked down the spiral staircase. She chuckled a little at his fear of heights.

When they got to the top, they clambered out onto the roof. It was enclosed by a wall, but it barely got up to the waist, so Scarlet kept quite close to the center of the structure.

Morty was standing sickeningly close to the edge, with Gengar by his side, working its arms, building up a Hypnosis blast.

“The timing is crucial,” Morty said to his Pokemon. Lugia soared over their heads, followed by Ho-oh. The displacement of the air around them caused Morty to rock slightly, and Scarlet’s stomach lurched forward, as if it wanted to break out and stop him from toppling. A small grin passed over Morty’s face, as if he had enjoyed the triumph over the temporary danger that he had faced, and he ordered the attack.

”Gengar! Now!” Gengar spun around and hurled the sphere of dark matter at the two Pokemon. Ho-oh saw the attack coming and banked hard, allowing the attack to smash into the unwary Lugia. The effect didn’t work immediately and Lugia turned to the trainers on the tower. It roared, flapped its great wings and began to fly directly towards them. Scarlet screamed, Xavier swore, and Red just stood there with his mouth open, eyes wide. Morty, however, smiled.

The attack took effect, and Lugia fell asleep, mid flight. It lost altitude, and fell. Morty’s smile vanished as he realised what was about to happen. He jumped away from the edge and pulled the three trainers to the ground.

Though asleep, Lugia still had the momentum of its dive. Its exhausted body caused the entire tower to rock as it crashed. The building had been designed well, for it held, and Lugia’s body fell to the ground.

The trainers at the top felt the shuddering, and Scarlet knew what had happened. When the rocking receeded, she got up, carefully.

“Watch we don’t move too rapidly,” Morty warned, his cool demeanor still present, but faded. “we don’t want the whole building toppling down, do we.”

A screech from Ho-oh told the trainers of its apparent victory. It circled the tower, crying loudly. The trainers gingerly stepped back into the tower and began to descend. They moved slowly, so as not to allow the tower to entirely crumble. Scarlet felt worried for Lugia. It hadn’t deserved what had happened to it, but she knew that if Morty hadn’t stopped it, worse things may well have happened.

She sighed and looked out through the slit of a window. An overwhelming sense of fear hit her and she grabbed Xavier, and pointed.

Ho-oh was flying towards the Brass Tower, opening its beak as it did so.

“RUN!” They both yelled. Scarlet pushed Red, and he in turn pushed Morty and they began to run down the stairs.

“What is it?” Red yelled, but she needn’t have answered, for a plume of fire tore through the side of the building. Scarlet could feel the heat of the attack, and as she passed underneath the stairs she had just been descending, great flaming parts of timbre fell about her and the others.

“That!” she yelled in answer to Red. The fire was spreading quickly, and they had only a couple more flights to go. With a heart wrenching crack, the platform beneath them gave way. Morty grabbed hold of Red and leapt forward, whereas Xavier stopped entirely. The floor beneath Scarlet’s feet vanished, and she fell.

She grabbed hold of a piece of wood that had jutted out after being ripped from its brackets in the wall, and screamed.

Morty watched as Red got on his hands and knees and clutched her hand. Xavier, still on the other side of the gap, stood, fearful for Scarlet. The flames drew closer and fiery cinders singed their clothes.

With a heave, Red pulled Scarlet up and onto his side of the gap. “You’ll have to jump!” he yelled to Xavier.

”I can’t! It’s too far!” he protested.

“It is actually,” Morty agreed placidly. “You might have to jump on that bit of wood, then walk over it to this side.” He indicated to the straight of wood that Scarlet had just dangled from.

Xavier’s face went white.

”It’s alright, we’ll catch you!” Red reassured him.

Taking a deep breath, Xavier took a running jump. He leapt over the gap, and landed with his left foot on the straight of wood. Scarlet knew it wouldn’t go exactly to plan, but hadn’t wanted to voice her concerns. When the bit of wood gave way under his weight, however, she decided that now was a good time. “It won’t hold his weight!” she cried.

“Yeah, thanks for that Scarlet!” Red yelled over his shoulder as he caught on to Xavier’s hand. “God, I have to save both of you, you’re useless, the pair of you!”

He hauled Xavier up, and the four trainers started descending the stairs that led to the exit. The building creaked as the timbre that had once been the spiral staircase fell about the Pokemon trainers.

Once outside and a fair distance from the building, they turned and looked at Brass Tower. The fire was throwing out large quantities of smoke, and Ho-oh flew about its new nest, adding to the fire with its own breath. Lugia struggled to get up, for it had now woken up. It flapped its wings a couple of times, before taking off and flying westward, towards the sea…

Scarlet noted that Ho-oh had vanished from the chaotic scene, and assumed that it had gone inside to watch the spoils of its victory burn.

“Is it over, then?” Xavier asked. Morty nodded.

“Still, I don’t know what it was that set those two battling like they did,” he pondered. The sun came out to full strength and lit up the burning tower even more. “I need to get this place repaired. I can’t save the Brass Tower, but I can certainly try and preserve some of it.”

He begun to walk towards it, and Red yelled after him. “No chance of a Gym Battle then?” he called.

“Come back to me in a couple of weeks,” he responded without turning his head. “You’d be no match for me at the moment anyway.”

Scarlet smirked at Red’s face, but felt sorry for him. Then she looked down, and decided that her pity would be best reserved for herself, for she was wearing clothes that had been soaked through, and then burned. The other two were similarly drenched and singed.

Morty released his Gengar once again and began ordering commands to protect the building. Scarlet sighed at the waste of such a beautiful tower, before pulling the boys to the Pokemon Center.

“Come on, we need to get washed and get some new clothes on,” she demanded, adopting a motherly role. She pulled them into the Pokemon Center, leaving the ruin of the Brass Tower to smolder.

Chapter Ten: The Frozen Path


”Whoa, look at this, Bulbasaur!” Red had cried, as he approached Mt. Moon. A small purple Pokemon sat at the edge of a stream, a tuft of brilliant green leaves sprouting from its head. An Oddish.“Let’s capture it!”

Red’s Bulbasaur had bounded forward and flicked out its vines, reaching them above its body, taking up a menacing stance.

********************

“Red, are you alright?” Scarlet asked.

Red nodded, pulling himself out of the memory. They had left Ecruteak far behind and, after meeting a few of the fleeing villagers, were told that the path to Goldenrod was very long. As a result, they had been walking the majority of the day, and the weather was pleasant, a nice change from the storms and burning heat that they had endured in the previous week.

As if reading his mind, Xavier voiced his opinion. “Man, we really are lucky to have no Legendary Bird or Black cardinal to muck up this day,” he said. Then he ran over to a nearby tree, touched the bark, and added, “Touchwood,” with a wink.

Red laughed, and drew the memory out of his mind of when Oddish had evolved.

They had been sitting under a tree, much like the one that Xavier had just touched, Bulbasaur and Oddish playing in the long grass, hiding from Growlithe. The three Pokemon suddenly stopped; they had heard something. Oddish clambered onto Bulbasaur’s back for a better view. Growlithe let out a deep growl. Red called his Pokemon back to him, and stood up. He could see a trainer walking towards him, Poke Ball in hand.

The battle that they had shared was ferocious, for the enemy trainer didn’t want to lose and was prepared to put his Pokemon in severe danger for the sake of a win. He had used a powerful Beedrill and it had already knocked out Red’s Bulbasaur. Growlithe had already fainted due to the first Pokemon that the enemy had used, a Spearow, and that left Oddish to take out Beedrill, and whatever Pokemon the enemy trainer had left.

“Oddish, use Absorb!” Red had yelled, for lack of knowing the other moves his young Pokemon knew. The green energy attack did little to Beedrill, and its trainer had ordered his own command.

“Twineedle attack!” the Beedrill slashed ferociously at the small Pokemon, and Oddish fell repeatedly, being struck down each time it tried to get up.

“Oddish! Use…use…” Red couldn’t order an attack. Absorb was the only attack that he knew Oddish had, save for Poisonpower. Even that wouldn’t affect Beedrill…

The bug Pokemon swooped in for another attack, and as it did, Oddish stood up, and took the attack. But as it did so, it jumped, span round, and kicked the Beedrill in the head. Red whipped out his Pokedex, for he knew that his Oddish couldn’t know Mega Kick…

“Bide,” the mechanical voice stated. “This attack will absorb damage, and then double it back upon the foe.”

The trainer swore as he recalled his fallen Beedrill, and then again, for Red’s Oddish had started to glow…

Xavier turned and looked at Red. “What?” he asked, for his friend had laughed aloud.

“Just remembering stuff,” Red said vaguely. That battle had ended with the enemy trainer choosing a Wooper, which the newly evolved Gloom had made short work of with a powerful Razor Leaf attack.

“No way…” Scarlet said, with an amazed smile on her face. She put out her hand in front of her, palm upwards.

“What?” Red asked, intrigued, but he needed no answer. The path in front of him was covered in ice. The trees lining the walkway were laden with snow, and as he stepped forward, Red was enveloped in a blanket of freezing cold air. It was as if someone had drawn a line, causing one side to stay warm, and the other to freeze.

”This is just….odd.” Xavier said, catching a snow flake and feeling it melt. “That tree back there couldn’t have been made out of wood,” he added, jokingly.

“This must be caused by a Pokemon,” Scarlet said. “The ice type are more adept at weather control than other Pokemon.”

Red bit his lip. “Is there no other way to get to Goldenrod?” he asked.

Xavier shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

None of them said anything, for they were all thinking the same thing, that they had no choice but to go through this peculiar frozen path.

“Better get going then…” Scarlet said, but none of them moved.

Then, with a deep breath, as if he was about to dive into a body of water, Red walked headlong into the cold, with Xavier and Scarlet following.

The temperature plummeted severely. There wasn’t a gradual decline in temperature, it was just warm one moment and freezing the next. Red’s breath came out as a mist, and he pulled his gloves out of his bag and jammed them awkwardly on his hands. Xavier put his arm around Scarlet as they walked, for she was shivering uncontrollably.

“What sort of Pokemon could make the cold drop so much?” Xavier stuttered.

“I don’t know,” Red said. “But it would have to be either exceedingly strong, trained by a powerful trainer, or both.”

”I’m opting for the third option,” Scarlet voiced, shivering.

Red nodded, “It really must be, I mean-“ He broke off. In the distance, he could see a figure. It was too far away to define properly, but what he could make out of the person was that she was a woman, and she had a Pokemon hovering next to her.

“She must be mental to stand out in this cold,” Xavier exclaimed.

The group edged closer, and as they did, Red could make out the woman’s features.

Despite standing outside in the freezing weather, she was wearing little. Her knee length skirt was black, the same colour as her thick rimmed glasses. Her red hair was swept into a loose ponytail, so that ringlets framed her pale face. She gazed directly at the coming trio, a hint of a knowing smile barely visible on her face.

The Pokemon next to her, Red identified as a Cloyster. Its eyes were shining a cool blue, and Red realised with a jolt that this was the Pokemon that had caused the snowstorm.

“Red,” the woman stated as the trio approached.

Red stopped, frowning. “How do you know my name?”

She smiled, but her eyes didn’t change. They remained cold, icy. “I’ve been sent by Lance to find you.”

Though the weather was freezing, Red felt it drop a fraction colder at his nemesis’ name. “Why?” he asked.

“To battle you, and kill you.” She answered simply, with the same cool, emotionless smile.

“What?” Red blurted out. “Why?! Who are you?!” He could feel his heart speeding up, and he was sure that everyone could hear it in the silence of the snow.

“My name is Lorelei and I am one of the Kanto’s Elite Four.” She tucked a ringlet of hair behind her ear and her smile grew wider, as if she anticipated Red’s next question.

“But I defeated them, and you certainly weren’t one of the people I –“

”I had other business to attend to, business that was far more important than the petty battles I endure at the League.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Modest, isn’t she?” she remarked to Xavier. He didn’t react, for this woman seemed deadly. Scarlet seemed to have forgotten the part about killing Red…

“I enlisted the help of Sidney of Hoenn to battle you,” she continued. “Had I been the one that you faced in the first round, you wouldn’t be here now.”

Red shook his head, holding his hands up to stop the overload of information. “Wait, why is it you want to kill me again?” he said with a slight laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

Lorelei’s smile vanished, and was replaced by an icy glare. The Pokemon by her side suddenly charged forward a distance, before stopping and screeching at Red. As it did, the snow began to fall harder, and a powerful wind caused Red to draw a sharp breath. The rapidly falling snow felt like needles, attacking every part of bare flesh.

“Battle me, and I will grant you the explanation regarding your imminent death.”

The cold stopped Red from whipping out the Poke Ball as he would have done had this been a normal battle, and instead he fumbled with his belt, detaching Arcanine’s ball and calling his Pokemon into battle. The fire Pokemon shivered in the snow, and lifted up its front paw off the icy ground.

“You’re insane…” Red muttered.

“Cloyster, Aurora Beam.” Her Pokemon reacted swiftly, and Arcanine was sluggish to move. The colourful beam threw Arcanine backwards, and the fire type squirmed on the floor. “Now, use Iron Defense.” The Cloyster slammed shut its shell and the emotionless smile reappeared on Lorelei’s face.

“Arcanine! Get up and use Flamethrower!” Red chattered as he ordered his attack, and the Pokemon issued a blast of fire. The flames licked around Cloyster’s shell, but did not penetrate.

“Cloyster, Take Down.” Cloyster flicked open its shell, dissipating the fire, and causing sharp spikes to resurface from the innards of its shell. Then it charged into Arcanine and knocked it down. Red recalled his Pokemon.

“Lance chose me personally for this mission,” Lorelei stated. “My skills are renowned in Kanto, there were no others who could execute this task as masterfully as I.”

Red chose his next Pokemon, and threw Vileplume into the arena. It flapped its petals, a shocked expression on its face from feeling the cold arena it had entered. “That doesn’t explain why you’re so intent on attacking me!” Red yelled over the roar of the ice storm.

“Killing you,” Lorelei corrected. “It’s all to do with your meddling in the affairs of Legendary Pokemon,” she continued.

Red ordered his attack. “Vileplume, Petal Dance!” He looked up at Lorelei. “If you’re talking about Ho-oh and Lugia, that had nothing to do with me!”

”Iron Defence!” Cloyster slammed shut as the petals whirled about the ice Pokemon. “Actually, it has everything to do with you. When you captured Moltres, you caused a massive imbalance in the climate of Kanto. Even before you left on your journey, the weather was displaying signs that something was amiss.”

Without taking heed from a command, Cloyster started powering up for an attack. Red hesitated. “But I don’t have Moltres anymore, things should have gone back to normal!”

”Wrong,” Lorelei stated. “After your loss to the hands of The Dragon Master, Moltres fled.”

”Don’t remind me,” Red whispered in the rush of the snow. A cruel smile surfaced as Lorelei watched the boy’s internal torture.

“It became severely depressed, and withdrew from the region entirely. As a result, the two other climate-controllers, the Bird of Ice, and the Bird of Lightning became more dominant. In doing so, their respective weather counterparts, snow, sleet, and hail and rain, storms and flood exponentially increased.”

Vileplume waited for a command from its trainer, but Red was too shocked to speak.

“Cerulean City has been ravaged by the worst hurricane in history, the Sevii Islands are no more, they lay under the water, as does the Safari Zone. The sea surrounding Vermillion has frozen entirely and now faces destruction from a coming storm.”
She flicked her hair back. “All because of you.”

Red opened and closed his mouth, like a fish gasping for water.

“You said that Ho-oh and Lugia had nothing to do with you? Well, they too sensed the imbalance, hence the battle for dominance that they waged at Ecruteak. You, Red, have put every Region in a state of chaos. The Legendary Pokemon are awake and feuding in an effort to restore the world back to order.”

“But…it can’t….surely I can stop it somehow?!”

Lorelei nodded, and arched an eyebrow. “You can. I will appease Moltres by removing that which caused its suffering.”

Red frowned.

“In other words,” she elaborated. “I will kill you, removing the sins that humanity has inflicted upon the Bird of Fire. We will be forgiven for your failings, and the climate will be restored.”

Xavier, who had been listening to this intently, spoke up. “There are surely other ways to appease Moltres than the slaughtering of Red?”

“Sadly not,” she stated, clearly finding no sadness in the matter at all. “Lance was quite clear on that matter, Red’s death is the only way that this can be resolved. If Moltres is appeased, the climate will be restored, and any future battle between Legendary Pokemon will be avoided.” With that said, she ordered the next attack. “Icicle Spear.”

The power that Cloyster had been storing was now unleashed. Cloyster fired a bolt if ice into the ground, and the earth shook. For a moment, there was nothing but Vileplume looking around, terrified. Then a spike burst out of the soil, followed by another, and another. Within moments, Vileplume was trapped in an icy prison, a circle of frozen spikes separating Red from his Pokemon. He ran forward, but row after row of gleaming stalagmites forced him back. He reached out to Vileplume, and his Pokemon cried as it pressed itself up against the frozen wall, stretching. For a moment, their hands touched, but a last row of spikes formed the final division between Red and the grass type.

“Vileplume! Get out of there!” Red’s cry pitched as panic took over his mind. Xavier ran forward, trying to push the wall of spikes away, but they were stuck fast.

Cloyster’s eyes gleamed an icy blue as it edged closer to Vileplume. The grass Pokemon looked at the Pokemon’s sadistic smile, and backed up, away from its attacker.

Vileplume bent its head forward and issued a spray of purple dust. Cloyster jolted backwards at the Poison Power attack, and Lorelei’s eyes narrowed.

“Cloyster. Sheer Cold.”

The ice Pokemon closed its eyes, and Red stopped trying to break through the ice. He started as Vileplume cried out in pain. Looking down at its feet, Red could see a build up of frost, holding the Pokemon to the ground. Vileplume cried again and reached out to Red. He watched as the ice crawled its way upwards and with a yell, Red realised that his Pokemon was being frozen.

“Vileplume!” he yelled, and stretched through the icicle pillars to his Pokemon. The ice moved up, it cracked sickeningly as it froze the lower part of Vileplume’s body. The grass Pokemon’s scream was cut short as the frost covered its mouth. Cloyster’s attack was relentless, and Lorelei’s eyes flashed as Red cried out to her.

“Stop it!” he yelled. “For God’s sake, you’re killing her!”

Lorelei said nothing; her smile only grew wider.

For a brief moment Red caught onto Vileplume’s hand, and held on, whispering to his Pokemon, “I’ll avenge you Vileplume. I promise,”

He remembered the day his Gloom had finally evolved. They had been battling Giovanni and his Pokemon were proving too powerful. His Rhydon had thrown Gloom so hard into a wall that Red feared the damage after may be permanent. It was at that point that he used the Leaf Stone, causing his Pokemon to sparkle and evolve. His new Pokemon, Vileplume had made short work of Rhydon from there, disposing of it with a powerful combination of Razor Leaf and Petal Dance. Red could not have been happier.

The ice crawled over Vileplume’s eyes, and Red felt the life fade from the Pokemon’s body. He screamed in anguish, and clutched onto his dead Pokemon’s hand tighter, as Xavier and Scarlet pulled him away. As Vileplume’s hand slipped free from Red’s grasp, he clenched his fist so tight that pain streamed through his palm.

“Destroy it.” Lorelei’s Pokemon charged toward the frozen Pokemon and thrust its sharp spike straight through the sides of the icicles and smashed into Red’s grass Pokemon.

Vileplume shattered, a sparkling shower of ice particles falling about the malicious Cloyster.

At that moment, Cloyster fell to the ground, exhausted. The poison powder had taken effect, and Lorelei frowned.

“Good work Cloyster,” she said. “I’ll be back to finish you off, Red,” she stated. Lorelei turned and walked down the path towards Goldenrod. “That was just a taste of my power.” Then the blizzard enveloped her, and she was gone, leaving Red, weeping uncontrollably with Scarlet holding him, and Xavier with a hand on his shoulder.

Emotional?

The twinkling lights of Goldenrod were deceptive, leading any person new to the city into thinking it would be a peaceful, serene place. Having lived, and operated around the area for over ten years, Jack Dawson was more than accustomed to the city’s ways. He stood in the dark of an alleyway, waiting for the opportune moment. His Pokemon, Hypno, Haunter and Magneton stood with him, silent as their master.

The dark of night hid them well, his black and grey jacket and jeans blending in well with the black of the alley.

Jack looked at the building opposite. It was a large tower, a radio station that beamed its message all over Johto. A guard stood sentry outside the building next to it, torch in hand, looking about the unusually quiet street for signs of trouble.
In the past few months, the mayor of Goldenrod had announced that they would be building a park, just to the north of the city, where people could battle, or just use as a recreational ground. While laying the foundations, however, they had stumbled upon many an artifact, from ancient times, used by whatever archaic people lived on that ground in the distant past. The artifacts had become so numerous that they had turned the adjacent building to the Radio Tower into a museum, and in that short time, its galleries had grown considerably in size.

The guard outside of the museum turned his back to the street, flicking his lighter to try and ignite his cigarette. Jack nodded his head, and he and his Pokemon approached.

Seeing that there was no one about the street, he crossed the road and tapped the guard on the back. Startled, the man turned around, only to look into the deep, black holes of Hypno’s eyes.

Jack smirked as the guard fell to the floor, locked in an inescapable slumber, before stepping over him and trying the door of the museum. Not surprisingly, it was locked.

“Magneton,” he called. “Open the door.” His steel Pokemon hovered forward and its eyes flashed blue. The lock on the door shuddered, and a click told Jack that his Pokemon had succeeded. “Good work,” he said, pushing open the door.

The museum did not have the typical smell of old museums that Jack had visited in the early years of his career. In fact, he judged that this one was rather modern. He took off his hat and put it into his bag, before half jogging up the stairs to his left, his Pokemon following.

On the first floor, Jack passed numerous artifacts that would suit his already-vast collection nicely. But he had come here for a particular item.

He had already memorized the map of the museum he had obtained earlier, so the main gallery was fairly easy to find; his effort was also cut by the numerous “Main Gallery” signs with large arrows pointing him in the right direction.

Before long, he was faced with his prize. A pedestal stood in the center of the large gallery, and on top, covered with a protective glass case, was a slab of some purple material. It looked like it had no value whatsoever, but this time, value was not what Jack was after.

Instead of rushing towards the artifact, he ordered his Haunter to perform an attack. “Use Haze,” he said and the Pokemon breathed a cloud of black smoke. The gas revealed the intricate crisscross of infra red beams, threatening to sound an alarm if broken. Jack nodded; he had anticipated this.

He slipped his hand into Haunter’s and felt the icy grip of his Pokemon’s grasp. Then he looked at his Pokemon. “Go on, I’m ready.” Haunter nodded and it closed its eyes. When it opened them, Jack felt all the weight vanish from him, and it felt as though he had ripped himself from his own body. As always, Jack expected to look behind him and see his shell of a body, but all that Haunter had done was make him transparent, both to the eye and to any physical obstacles. Taking a deep breath and silently asking for luck, he stepped forward and into the red maze of wires. He looked at his own body and could see the faint line of light through his stomach. He grinned, before continuing, still holding his ghost Pokemon’s hand.

The two of them managed to set no alarms off as they passed through and before long, Jack stood in front of the purple cuboid. He turned to Hypno, and called over to it. “Use Psychic.” The Pokemon held out its arms, and the pendulum began swinging, emitting a purple light. The casing lifted off, and onto the ground.

“Excellent,” Jack breathed and lifted the artifact from its pedestal.

As he did, a piercing alarm split the silence of the gallery, and Jack nearly dropped the item. He looked at the pedestal, and could see a light flickering; another sensor, one that he had just triggered.

“Come on!” he yelled to his Pokemon, and began running back the way he had come. He had the image of the museum’s map imprinted on his mind, and he knew that he only had to get down the stairs before he was free.

Rounding the corner, he stopped dead. A number of black clothed people, each carrying guns, were running up the museum’s stairs. They called out to one another, and Jack could hear vague “spread out!” commands and “use the tranquilizers!”

He doubled back before they caught sight of him and ran back to the main gallery. Inside, he chose the corridor to his right and hurtled into the next gallery, his Pokemon in pursuit. It had no other exit. This new gallery was filled with old paintings, and there wasn’t a window out of which he could jump.

He turned again, but Jack was met with the chilling sight of about ten gun-wielding men forming a line, blocking his escape. His three Pokemon drew close to him, and the men trained their guns on him.

“Recall your Pokemon and get down on the floor!” one of them yelled. Jack did not know which, until one of them advanced, and repeated the command. “Get down on the floor then call back your Pokemon.”

Jack shook his head. “No. Sorry.”

At that moment, Haunter grabbed onto Jack, and the man pulled the trigger. A flash from Magneton caused the bullet to stop, quivering in midair. It fell to the floor, and silence filled the room.

Then the man yelled. “FIRE!” A torrent of darts flew through the air, bouncing off a faint shield, upheld by Hypno.

”Now Haunter!” Grabbing hold of his other Pokemon, Jack was dragged through the floor by his Ghost, and fell. He hit the ground, and he winced as he struggled to get up. He laughed, unable to keep it in, as he heard the leader of the gunmen swearing. He heard a great clambering as the men ran back from the gallery, looking for the stairs leading out.

Jack knew he was clear; they would have to cross the length of the entire building before they would get to the stairs, whereas Jack was already at the exit. He recalled his Pokemon, charged out of the door and sprinted up the street towards the forest, the artifact safe in his bag.

********************

The hooded man was waiting for him. His Salamence glared down at Jack as he approached, panting and out of breath.

”You have the Plate?” the hooded man asked. Jack nodded, recovering from his escape. “Then hand it to me.”

Jack shook his head. “Show me you have it, or you won’t get your precious plate.”

The darkness of the hood left Jack to only imagine the twisted smile that crossed the man’s face as he drew out a Poke Ball and held it out to Jack. The young man snatched the ball away, before handing over the artifact.

”You have been most helpful,” the man said. “I doubt we will need to meet again and I’m sure we both prefer it that way,” he elaborated.

Jack’s mouth was taut as he walked away, leaving the hooded man to fly off on his dragon.

********************

“I put his Poke Balls back into his bag.”

”Thank you Nurse Joy. You’ve been a great help.”

”Well, I’m just upset that I can’t do more for the boy himself…”

Red kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep while listening to their conversation. He clenched his fists tightly. He didn’t need their pity now, definitely not now.

The previous day was a rushed blur, images of that woman, Lorelei, Cloyster, Moltres, a flooded Kanto and the stern, yet sad expression on his mind’s picture of Moltres, vanishing in a flash of fire.

Could it really all have been his fault? Could his battle against Lance really have caused all of Kanto to fall prey to destruction? Questions raced through his mind, and the tears started falling again as another, sadder image passed through his mind.

Vileplume’s eyes, wide in desperation as the frost covered them.

“Red?” Scarlet had seen him shaking, and the young trainer hadn’t realised he was doing so.

He opened his eyes, the tears staining his face. “Is it really down to me?” he whispered.

Scarlet sighed, knowing that whatever she said could not compare to the raw feelings she wanted to express. She squeezed him tightly, their short and awkward embrace somehow giving Red strength. The tears stemmed, and he pulled himself up from the bed.

He could remember how they had arrived at the Pokemon Center late at night, and now the morning sun shone steadily through the window.

“Where are you going?” the Nurse asked as Red strapped his belt around his waist.

He looked at her, but didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, he looked down at his belt and at the four Poke Balls. Moltres had gone, Poliwrath was with Chuck, and Vileplume…

And yet he still had four Poke Balls, despite only having Venusaur, Arcanine and Alakazam. He took the empty ball from his belt and dropped it on the bed.

“To capture another Pokemon,” he replied.

********************

The busy town’s rhythmic bustling lulled Red into a state of being able to forget all that had happened. He wandered through the streets, past houses and markets, stopping to buy items for his journey. He caught signs of posters, warning people to beware of a certain thief. Red stopped to look at one of the posters, and saw that the guy was pretty young, about the same age as him. The picture depicted him running with a purple flying Pokemon.

As he reached the outer edges of the city, he was met with a forest and an entrance, black as moonlight, yet chillingly welcoming. He advanced, and was soon enveloped by darkness.

The dark of the forest seem to remind Red of the evil within his mind, and suddenly, it began talking to him.

Had you forgotten about me, Red? the dark thing said, and Red almost fell over from fright. He steadied himself against a tree.

”No,” he said aloud.

The voice laughed. How could you? Evil will always be within you, Red, you can never escape it.

Red shook his head, as if doing so would not only prove the creature wrong but also shake it out of him.

How could you deny me, Evil, when you have caused so much havoc? Your hometown is ruined, Red, the entire region is ravaged by chaos.

“I…I…think you’re lying,” Red breathed heavily.

I am not, the voice replied. In fact, I’m not even touching the surface. Your actions have caused so much harm. Only your death can reverse this.

“No…” Red whispered, holding his head in his hands. “No…”

Yes. It replied. Take a knife, raise your hand and end your life now!

”No!” Red suddenly cried. He opened his eyes and saw someone looking at him, an expression of bewilderment on his face.

“Dude, were you…talking to yourself?” the boy asked. It seemed that Red had stumbled across him and hadn’t noticed him sitting there.

“I…um, I-“ Red stopped tripping over his words as recognition crossed his face. “Wait, you’re that guy on the poster, Dawson- hey, come back!”

At his name, the boy had leapt from the floor and broken into a run. Red had anticipated this though, and chased him. Red was taller and faster and soon he was close enough to stop him. He reached out and grabbed a strap of his bag. The boy tumbled and the two of them went veering off into the shrubbery.

The boy, Jack Dawson, rolled and leapt to his feet, whipping out a Poke Ball. “Go! Venemoth!”

Red struggled to get up, and pulled on a nearby branch. He chose Alakazam.

“Venemoth, use Sleep Power!” the boy called.

“Alakazam, use Psychic!” The bug Pokemon scattered a green powder through the air, but the psychic attack stopped it and discarded it.

“You’re that thief they want so badly!” Red yelled at him. “Psybeam!”

Jack laughed. “So what if I am? I haven’t stolen from you! You too Venemoth!”

The two beams mixed and cancelled one another out.

“Icy Wind!” Jack called, and a chilly gale swept through the trees, followed by a flurry of snow.

Red froze. Vileplume’s scream split through his mind, and the dark voice resurfaced, laughing manically.

Alakazam fell backwards.

“Hey, dude are you alright?” Jack asked. Red held himself up against a tree as the onslaught faded. Jack helped him to sit onto a fallen trunk, and he took a seat on the floor. The two battlers recalled their Pokemon.

“You’re not running this time?” Red said, still holding his head in an effort to stop the headache.

“Nope, there’s no point. You’ll only catch me and then you’ll lose again.” He grinned, but assumed a serious face when he realised his upbeat personality was not called for.

“So…” Red began. “You steal for a living.”

Jack squirmed a little. “You could say that I’m like a modern day Robin Hood.”

”You give the money you steal to the poor?” Red inquired.

Jack bit his lip. “Well, I steal from the rich,” he said, “but keep it. I said I was “like” a modern day Robin Hood, not that I was one.”

Red couldn’t help but laugh, but then he stopped. “But what about your Venemoth? Doesn’t it treat you differently as a trainer for your misdeeds?”

Jack’s face darkened. “I would do anything for my Venemoth, and she would do anything for me.”

Red was taken aback by his change in mood. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“What I’m saying is that I have had to do things for Venemoth that I wouldn’t have done voluntarily.”

He described how, a couple of weeks ago, he had been approached by a man whose face was covered by a dark hood. He had wanted Jack because of his renowned thieving techniques, and wanted to hire him to steal something from the new museum. Upon telling him that he didn’t steal for people, the man had stolen his Venemoth, saying that he would only get it back if he stole the Mind Plate from museum. Jack had no choice but to agree, and that’s how he managed to reclaim his Pokemon.

“I think I might know who you met…” Red said. “That man is…pure evil. You’re lucky to have seen him and not been killed,” he elaborated further.

“What about you?” Jack asked, dismissing his close call with a potential death. “What do you do? And why were you acting so weird then?”

It was Red’s time to feel the pressure of questions. “It’s something of a long story…” he began.

He gave Jack a brief outline of how he had lost a battle with the Champion and had pretty much ruined the eco system of Kanto, earning him the right to be assassinated in an effort to restore peace. He told him how his Vileplume had been ruthlessly murdered and that he had come to find a new Pokemon.

“Dude, can I give you a word of advice?” Jack said, after hearing Red’s story.

“Sure,” Red replied.

”Don’t replace your Vileplume. You lost this battle because you were still upset about what happened to your Pokemon.” He sighed, and continued. “I’m no use at this sentimental sort of stuff, but if you capture a new Pokemon to replace Vileplume, you’ll remember that day every time you use it in battle.”

Red nodded, thoughtfully. “I suppose you’re right…”

”I am,” Jack said forcefully. “What you need is a darn good battle that’ll kick you right into shape, and I think I know just the person.”

********************

Navigating their way through Goldenrod was no easy task. Jack insisted on taking the back streets so as to avoid anyone else that might recognize him. Before long, they arrived outside a large, plain looking building. Jack hurried in doors, followed by Red.

“Here we are,” Jack announced. “This is the Goldenrod Gym!”

“Jack!” came an excited voice. A girl came running towards them. Red judged her to be a little older than the both of them. Her beaming smile was suddenly wiped from her face. “What the hell are you doing here in broad daylight!” she yelled at him. “They’ll find you!”

He smirked. “Calm down sis,” he replied. “They won’t find me, not with you looking out for me.” He winked at Red. “This is my sister and the Gym Leader of Goldenrod, Whitney.

The girl smiled. “It’s always nice to meet a friend of my little brother’s!”

“Anyway, sis I need you to battle Red for me,” Jack explained. “He’s collecting the Gym badges of Johto, and needs a good battle to get back in the swing of things.”

Whitney’s face blossomed into a broader smile. “That’d be great! We can battle right now, two on two!”

Red nodded. He hoped this would work, and a portion of him, the darker side, he judged, hoped it wouldn’t. Red had convinced himself that he would avenge Vileplume, not forget her…

“Clefairy, Miltank! Let’s go!” she cried when the two trainers had taken up their positions. A small pink Pokemon appeared, followed by a larger, stronger looking one.

“I’ll use Arcanine and Venusaur!” Red yelled, throwing his Pokemon into the arena.

“I’ll act as ref,” Jack announced. “It’ll be a Double Battle, first trainer to lose both Pokemon is kicked out! Begin!”

“Arcanine, Flamethrower! Venusaur, Razor Leaf!” Red’s offensive strategy caught Whitney off guard, but her Miltank took the battle into its own hands. It threw itself in the way of Clefairy.

“Good work!” Whitney congratulated. “Clefairy, Metronome!” Unfazed by the opponent’s attack, the small pink Pokemon began shaking its arms. Suddenly, a silver beam shot out and sliced towards Venusaur.

“Flash Cannon!” Jack gasped. “Cool!”

Venusaur absorbed the hit, and fell back, clearly damaged. “Arcanine, Sunny Day! Venusaur, Synthesis!” Forced to go on the defensive, Red ordered his grass Pokemon to recover the damage away, but the attack left Arcanine open…

“Now! Miltank, Rollout attack! Clefairy, use Metronome again!” While the pink Pokemon waggled its arms, Miltank charged towards Arcanine.

As Arcanine was thrown into the air, Clefairy issued a wide blast of water.

”That was a Hydro Pump, I think,” Jack noted. The attack, Red realised, would be exceedingly effective against his fire type.

His Arcanine fell to the floor, and he held out his Poke Ball to recall the Pokemon. Red was suddenly struck by the memory of Vileplume, and rage built up inside him.

“Venusaur, Solar Beam!” he yelled suddenly. The Sunny Day’s effects still lingered, and the white blast shocked Whiteney’s Pokemon. Miltank was thrown back, and it stayed on the floor, unmoving.

“Miltank, return, Clefairy, Metronome again!” Whitney recalled her Pokemon, and the Clefairy powered up for its next attack. As it waggled its fingers, the air in the room began circulating, causing a great whirlwind to formulate. It culminated to a point in front of Clefairy, before the energy was unleashed in a crackling blast of grey plasma.

”What on earth was that?!” Jack cried out, but Red had seen it before; it had been used by Lugia against Ho-oh. Aeroblast.

“Venusaur, Solar Beam!” The two attacks collided and exploded. Being the weaker of the two Pokemon, Clefairy was thrown backwards, while Venusaur struggled to keep its bulk attached to the ground.

“Return!” Whitney recalled her last Pokemon, and Red followed suit.

He had a beaming grin on his face, and he walked over to Whitney. She handed him a badge. “This is the Plain Badge, I hope you use it wisely.” She winked at him. “Good battle by the way.”

Jack walked over to Red, and said quietly, “The rage that you felt during this battle; leave it here. Vileplume would not want you to be continually sad; if it did, then it died in vain.”

Red nodded solemnly. Jack returned to his bouncing self and addressed his sister. “Whitney, can you help me lie low for a while?”

Whitney chuckled. “Little brother, I’ve stopped the police from finding you so far, haven’t I?”

Red made his way to the door, and looked over his shoulder. “Thanks Jack,” he said. “You really have helped me today.” Jack smiled.

“We’ll see each other again in the future,” the trainer replied.

Red closed the door and left the Gym and his memories behind. He was going to find Lorelei one day, and when he did, all the fiery rage would be unleashed upon her.

There was the soft sound of a Hoothoot, cooing somewhere in the distance, as the sun blurred the ground by throwing its light through the slightly moving branches of the trees of Ilex. The day was hot, and the sun was at its highest, bringing all manner of Pokemon out of their nests and grazing in the lush grass that pushed through the leafy ground, forming a green carpet, broken only by a winding trail that was used both by trainers and Pokemon alike.

Xavier noted, with a certain degree of happiness, that the Black Cardinal hadn’t hindered their progress through the forest. They had been walking for the best part of the day, leaving Goldenrod earlier that morning. Red walked a little way ahead of Xavier and Scarlet, and he remembered the different atmosphere that had encompassed the group after Red had left the morning after the incident with Vileplume. When Xavier had enquired as to where he had been that day, Red only smiled and revealed the square badge of Goldenrod, before winking at Xavier.

As they passed beneath the shadow of a towering oak tree, Xavier felt a twinge in his stomach that there had been no guilt after thanking fate for not allowing the Cardinal to intervene and hinder the group. Xavier felt the familiar problem of who the Cardinal was rise in him again: A murderous Father, one that followed his son about, causing mayhem, or an insane madman that would render Xavier’s current journey pointless.

“We may as well stop here for a while,” Red decided, letting his bag drop at the base of the oak tree he had stopped under. The shadow that they stood in threw out much shade, and Scarlet remarked on how it would have been perfect for a picnic. Xavier shot her a sideways look, and she added, “if you were into that sort of thing,” in an attempt to reassert her apparently tough character.

Xavier took out a bottle of Moomoo milk and realised that it was his last. He had set out with many reserves, but he hadn’t intended on traveling this long. He flicked the lid off and began drinking.

“I’m famished,” Red voiced, “Have you got anything else in that bag of yours?”

Xavier shook his head. “No, sorry, I didn’t realise Azalea would be this far.” He offered the bottle to Red, who accepted. “When the Nurse said it was ‘just’ through Ilex Forest, I was expecting to follow a path and be out within the hour.”

Scarlet agreed. “There’s only so much forest you can walk through before it gets boring.”

Red frowned. “Oh, I don’t know, I love exploring new places. It’s why I started my journey in the first place.”

“You’re from Pallet,” Xavier stated, more as a matter of verification rather than a question. Red nodded. “Hm, that must have been a long time ago, when you first started out.”

”It was,” Red said, “Nearly one and a half years ago, if I’ve kept the dates right. It’s all been worth it though.”

Scarlet frowned slightly. “Even having all these problems?”

She regretted it as soon as she said it, for as she started casting doubt in his mind, Scarlet realised that images of Vileplume would soon follow.

”Both me and my Pokemon would be more content with…what’s gone on…than with a life of sitting back at Pallet, waiting to battle every rookie trainer that comes out of Oak’s laboratory.”

Scarlet nodded, before adding quickly, “Sorry Red.”

He shook his head, brushing the apology away. “Don’t be, I need to get over this. I can’t spend my life moping, or I’ll never get rid of this.” At that, he raised his eyes, and Xavier realised he was remarking on the thing that he had been informed lurked in his mind.

“Once I have all eight badges of Johto, I’ll have enough badges to get to Mount Silver. When I do that, I’ll be able to find out what Sabrina meant, and what this thing actually is.”

Xavier nodded, thoughtfully. “You don’t think that the thing in your mind and the Black Cardinal are somehow related, do you?”

Red opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, the soft atmosphere of the forest was ripped apart as a piercing scream echoed around the glade.

Xavier looked in Scarlet’s direction first, but she arched an eyebrow, confirming that it wasn’t her that had screamed. “I don’t scream,” she said bluntly. “I fight back.”

Red pulled himself to his feet. “We had better go and find out what made that noise,” he said, starting to march into the deeper parts of the forest. “Something might be in trouble, and judging by this forest’s size, we may be the only ones who heard it.”

Xavier got up and pulled Scarlet to her feet. “Let’s go then.”

Straying from the path was harder than first thought. Brambles snagged their trousers and bags, and it was difficult to continue traveling in one direction due to the geography of the wood. Fearing that they were losing the trail, Xavier suggested splitting up.

“That might be a-“ Red’s words were cut short as another scream, closer, permeated the quiet of the forest.

“There!” Scarlet cried. Her hand pointed towards a small clearing, whereby a large purple Pokemon stood opposite a smaller beige one. The two faced one another, and the larger Pokemon, a Nidoking, lashed out. The Larvitar, the smaller of the two, leapt out of the way, but found that it was now in a corner, backed up against a tall bank. The little Pokemon’s eyes widened with fear and it began shaking. Nidoking lifted up its arm to pummel the Pokemon into the earth, and Scarlet gasped.

The sudden noise caused the Nidoking to stop and turn towards the source of the sound. It happened so quickly, that Xavier nearly missed it; the Larvitar’s demeanor shifted rapidly. Its posture became straighter, it stopped shaking, and a cool arrogance surrounded the Pokemon. Nidoking started towards the trio, but the little Pokemon’s eyes flashed blue and an aura enveloped Nidoking. With another cry, the Larvitar hurled Nidoking to the right. The Poison Pokemon smashed into a thick tree and Xavier couldn’t tell whether the sickening crunch heard was the tree splitting, or Nidoking’s bones…

The Larvitar’s glowing eyes became normal again, and it seemed to be hit with the realization of what it had done only then. It scampered away into the bushes, leaving the trio with the moaning Nidoking.

“No Larvitar should be able to do that…” Red whispered.

“It doesn’t know its own power,” Xavier added, almost vaguely. “Red, you stay with the Nidoking, I’ll go and get it.”

Red looked up, shocked. “You’re going to capture it?”

Xavier nodded, then to Scarlet, “you coming?”

********************

Xavier had only a direction with which to chase the Larvitar, and so released his Combee and Mareep. He and Scarlet had been following the two Pokemon as they tried to pick up the scent of the Larvitar.

“That Larvitar…” Scarlet began, shaking her head. “That’s near impossible. It shouldn’t have those sorts of powers.”

Xavier nodded. “Why do you think I want to capture it?”

Having searched for the scream of the Larvitar, and then the Larvitar itself, the trio had wasted the rest of the afternoon and now the sun was sinking below the hills.

A sudden cry from Mareep told the two that it had found Larvitar. Recalling Combee, Xavier broke through the bushes to reveal Mareep and Larvitar engaged in a fierce battle.

Larvitar psychically lifted a cluster of pebbles from the ground, before hurling them at the Electric type.

“Counter with Thundershock!” Xavier called. Scarlet grabbed his arm.

”No, Electricity isn’t good against Ground types!” she told him. The attack had already been ordered, and the electricity glanced off the Pokemon, resulting in Mareep feeling the full force of the Ancient Power attack.

“Okay! Use Signal Beam!” A multicoloured beam, with stronger streaks of red and green blasted into the small Larvitar, knocking it backwards. Before it could get up, Xavier hurled a Poke Ball. It absorbed the Pokemon, and rocked on the ground for a moment.

Then it burst open and Larvitar bounced out. It levitated Mareep and threw it backwards. The electric Pokemon scraped across the ground.

“Damn, wasn’t weak enough…” Xavier muttered. “Mareep, use Cotton Spore!”

A white blast of fluffy material seemed to shed itself from Mareep. Larvitar was covered in the stuff, but managed to struggle free.

Suddenly, Mareep began shining a pure white. Scarlet and Xavier both gasped as the evolution, Flaafy, emerged. Its pink body was decorated with white ruffs.

“Again!” called Xavier, thrilled. This blast was stronger and managed to knock Larvitar off its feet. Xavier chucked another ball, this one being black with yellow markings.

This time, it didn’t open.

********************

Back at the clearing, Xavier and Scarlet found Red, alone. “Did you capture it?” Red asked, and was met with a triumphant grin from Xavier.

“Where’s the Nidoking gone?” Scarlet asked, looking around. “Did it run off?”

Red shook his head and held up his own Poke Ball. “Its arm was broken, I thought that I could take it to the Azalea Pokemon Center and get it healed.”

Xavier nodded. “That’s really good, we both caught a new Pokemon! That, and my Pokemon evolved.”

”Which one?” Red enquired.

”Mareep,” Xavier said, a proud smile on his face.

Red looked at his friend, before continuing with mock hesitancy. “You do realise you are now going to become as annoying as Jasmine.”

The three laughed as they proceeded toward Azalea town, new additions hanging from their belts.

Yeah you're right; I did find it kind of bland, compared to the rest of the story. Eh, there's got to be some filler, doesn't there? Anyway nice job all the same.

- DNA

Chapter Twelve:

Juliet closed her eyes, but knew that sleep would not come. A heavy weight occupied her mind, and they opened again as she glanced furtively around the room, praying that nothing had changed in the short time that she had not been looking.

The doll still sat on her desk, looking out the window. She dare not move her eyes away from it, for fear of looking back later and finding it gone.

It wasn’t that Juliet loved the doll to the extent that she would not be parted with it; quite the opposite. That doll, Marion, filled her with fear.

She remembered the day that Mother had found it. Juliet had been excited when her Mother had come through the door, claiming that she had a present for her. Taking her hands from behind her back, her Mother revealed to Juliet a small doll. It’s face was a simple oval, with two vertical stitches for eyes. It had no nose and no mouth, and it’ hair was made out of a coarse wool, platted so that they fell down across the doll’s plain red dress. Its hands were just lumps of material with a stitch overlapping the edge, so that it would appear to have only two fingers.

Juliet’s mother told of how she had been walking back from Kurt’ house, the family’s friend, and she found the doll in the middle of the road. There were no children about, and so she picked it up, feeling sorry for it.

Juliet thanked her mother and had taken it upstairs immediately to introduce her other teddies and dolls to it. But the voices she gave them didn’t deceive Juliet in hiding the fact that something was wrong. Mr. Bear’s gruff voice betrayed him, her other doll, Angela, had a note of jealousy of in her voice when she greeted the new doll, and even the most polite of all her teddies, The Mankey, couldn’t bring himself to greet the doll. In truth, Juliet hated it.

She opened her eyes again, a stab of terror clutching her as she realised she’d unwittingly closed them, and scanned the room once again for any difference. Finding none, she looked back at the doll and a sinking feeling washed over her. Its head was now slightly to the side, no longer looking out the window, but up at the other bears, on the shelf.

This was why Juliet did not like it. It did things. It moved, caused other things to move, and Juliet would not let it have a spot on the other bears’ shelf. One time she had gone in to find Marion, motionless on the floor with an old doll that she had misplaced some weeks before lying next to her. This older doll, Helen, was greatly favoured by Juliet, as they had the same, golden hair. Helen’s, however, lay on the floor about her, strewn across the carpet. Marion’s dull brown hair was intact.

Juliet was distraught, and at first she blamed her brother, Benedict. He had argued that he had been out, training with his Father, and Juliet ruled that her Mother would never do any such thing, leaving only one possible explanation: Marion. Curiously, the scissors had not been found.

Throwing the bed covers from her, Juliet strode over to the desk and picked the doll up. She slipped on her shoes and tiptoed quietly down the stairs. She did not look at the doll, for fear of looking into its dark slits for eyes, and seeing something different to the pitiful look it once had. She ran out of the front door and began running the half-mile to Union Cave.

As she ran, a light drizzle of rain began falling, and she moved faster. Juliet wanted to get back before her parents woke…

She saw her goal, the Slowpoke Well, just outside of the cave entrance. Ancient lore had told of how a king among the Slowpoke had commissioned the well to be built, so that their evolution would be helped along. For a time, people dismissed the myth, saying that Shellder, the Pokemon necessary for Slowpoke’s evolution, was a sea-dwelling creature, and would not make a habitat in the well. In recent times, however, people had gone down into the well, seeing as it was empty, and discovered a long tunnel running under Azalea, and down to the ocean…

It was here that she stopped, breathless. Juliet held the wretched doll by the hair, and held it up to the moonlight. It stared back at her, blankly. Juliet stepped toward the lip of the well, held the doll over the gaping hole, and loosened her grip.

The strands of hair slipped from her grasp, and Marion fell. Juliet turned immediately and ran, not waiting to hear the doll’s soft thud as it hit the bottom.

In the well, Marion landed on her back. She looked up at the hole from where she had been dropped, and saw the moon, framed by the penny-piece gap, like a portion of the dark sky had been punctured, causing a stream of light to fall down onto Marion. A cloud passed over the moon, and the doll was plunged into darkness.

********************

Scarlet smiled as the two boys next to her argued.

“You’ve got it completely wrong!” Xavier yelled. “Tate and Liza of Mossdeep are much stronger!”

Red shook his head. “No, you’ve never battled them.”

“Neither have you,” Xavier retorted.

“Ah, but I have battled Sabrina, which lets me decide this argument by saying that she is stronger than them.” He smirked, triumphantly.

“There are two of them, and one of Sabrina,” Xavier continued. “They’d destroy her in battle!”

“Well then, they cheat. Making Sabrina stronger, and more noble.”

Scarlet laughed. The arguments of who the better Gym Leader was had been going on ever since they had left Ilex Forest. She remembered the odd feeling she felt, just as she had left, almost like a profound feeling of de ja vu, and she could not find it within herself to determine what it might foretell.

“Ah, here we go,” Xavier said, pointing. There was a large house in the distance, followed by smaller ones, dotted along a country lane. “This must be Azalea.”

Red frowned. “I don’t see a Pokemon Center.”

Smiling, Xavier explained. “Azalea wasn’t ever a battling community until the landlord died, leaving his son to take over the estate. This man, named Bernard, is an avid Pokemon fan and battler. He set up the Gym here.”

”I don’t see a Pokemon Gym, either.” Red said, scowling.

“That’s because he battles outside. Azalea doesn’t have a Gym or Center, because they don’t have the money, and have only recently accepted that Pokemon Battling is becoming a worldwide trend, as opposed to the “fad,” or “craze” that they dismissed it as to begin with. Many were content with keeping Pokemon as pets, but competitive battling caught on quickly.”

“Still, we have the problem of there being no center,” Scarlet voiced.

Xavier pointed at the large house they were walking towards. “That’s where Bernard comes in. He and his family have turned the extension of their house into a small center and a place to stay for the night, for challengers and travelers.”

”How do you know so much about this guy?” Red asked, cautiously.

Xavier smiled. “Because he’s my Uncle.”

***

He knocked at the door, and within a few moments, a small kid opened the door, a mess of green hair covering his eyes. He swept it out the way, and looked up. The child’s eyes lit up when he saw it was Xavier. “Come in! Dad! Mum! Xavier’s come over!”

The child took Xavier by the hand and pulled him inside, leaving Red and Scarlet to follow. A tall, burly man stepped into the hall, and grinned. “How’s my nephew then?” he said. “It’s been a long time, Xavier.”

Xavier nodded, before realizing he wasn’t alone. “Oh, these are my friends, Red, and Scarlet.” The two of them shook Bernard’s hand. “And this is my Uncle, Bernard, and my cousin, Benedict.”

The boy scowled. “Bugsy,” he corrected. “Benedict’s a stupid name.”

The trio laughed, but stopped when a small girl came walking down the stairs. “Hello,” she said shyly.

“This is Juliet,” Xavier said, “my niece.”

“Come through,” Bernard said, and the group followed him into the sitting room. “I imagine you’re trainers?” he asked Red and Scarlet, and they nodded. A woman came in, with similar hair to her daughter’s, a light blonde, and smiled warmly at the trio. She embraced Xavier in a hug.

”I’m Harriet,” she said. “I’ll take your Pokemon for healing,” she said, putting each of their Poke Balls in a little bag.

“Oh, my Nidoking’s arm is broken,” Red said. “I didn’t do it by battling him too much,” he added quickly, “I captured it when it was hurt, so that I could heal it.”

Harriet winked and laughed, before taking the balls out of the room.

“Now, Xavier,” Bernard began. “Has there been any news on your Father?” Xavier shook his head. “It’s been a long time since we saw you last,” he continued. “You must have been ten, eleven when you came here?”

“Eleven,” Xavier said. “A few days before my father left me. I celebrated my twelfth birthday here, remember?”

Bernard clapped his hands. “Ah! How could I forget! And you two, you are both collecting Gym Badges, I gather?”

Red nodded. “I am, I recently obtained the eight badges of Kanto, and am now trying to go for the eight of Johto.”

Scarlet joined in. “Yeah, but that’s only because you lost at the league.”

Red shot her a look of disbelief before laughing. “Well, you’re not even getting the damn badges!”

“Nope,” she said. “I’m just along for the ride.”

The company chatted long into the afternoon, with Xavier telling his Uncle of what he’d been doing the past four years. Red and Scarlet recounted the story of the S.S.Anne, both of them taking it in their stride not to mention the Black Cardinal. They decided that the little said about him, the better. They described the scene of Ho-oh and Lugia engaged in a fierce battle, but Red was grateful when Xavier declared that the “journey between Ecruteak and Goldenrod was so void of excitement, that it need not be discussed.”

Later on, Harriet returned to the room, an odd expression on her face. “Did you say your Nidoking’s arm was broken, Red?” she asked. Red nodded. “Hm…it was fine when I checked him over. It either heals exceedingly quickly, or something odd must have happened in the Ilex forest…”

Benedict, or “Bugsy” as he insisted on being called, later told them how he wanted to take over his Father’s job of Gym Leader one day, and that he wanted to train Bug types, just like him.

“Now don’t go giving away my strategy, Bugsy,” Bernard said with a chuckle.

When night fell, the three of them were shown to their room. It was a large room with eight beds, each one with a bedside table and a lamp. Red was put in mind of the orphanages he had read about and seen on television.

“I’ll battle you tomorrow,” Bernard said. “I’ll look forward to it.”

The three of them laughed and joked as they got ready for bed, and by the time the darkness had fallen enough to let the moon shine to its fullest potential, they were all in bed, their Poke Balls balancing on their bedside table.

Scarlet slept soundly, while Red shifted, apparently in some distressing dream. Xavier, however, remained awake. His Uncle, his Aunt, nephew and niece; they could be the family to him that his Father had never provided. Xavier wished that he had been the son of Bernard and Harriet, and that his Father had never even existed. He was suddenly faced with a question; why was he searching for his father? He hated him, and the only reason he wanted to find him was so that he might have changed into the father that Xavier always wished he would be. Xavier could remember the night of his twelfth birthday. Benedict had been a baby, and Juliet had been a toddler. Bernard and Harriet brought the cake in, complete with twelve candles, singing. His father sat on the sofa, elbows on his knees, looking into space, singing nothing.

That night, Xavier had quizzed him on it and, being young, had lacked tactfulness. “Dad, you weren’t singing earlier on? Why not?”

Xavier could remember the look on his Father’s face as he had delivered the crushing answer.

”Why would I want to celebrate the day that you killed my wife?”

Xavier squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to stem the tears. His Mother had died in childbirth, leaving Xavier with the wreck of a father that had plagued his youth. He wanted to find his Father, but not the father that he had all those years ago. He wanted a new one, and Xavier realised that if he continued searching for him, he might well find a changed man. That was his hope, at least.

Xavier was pulled from his thoughts by an odd scratching sound. It sounded hollow and desperate. Xavier pushed the covers back and raised his head. He flicked the lamp on, and the night outside stopped him from seeing what exactly was at the window. But he could see something…

Suddenly, the scratching stopped. Xavier frowned, and got up and walked cautiously towards the window. The wind was blowing heavily outside, and Xavier prayed that there was a tree outside that he could attribute to the noise. He pushed the window open, but there was just the freezing air, blowing noisily in. Xavier pulled the window shut, and turned. As he did, a Poke Ball thudded onto the ground. It rolled from Xavier’s bedside table towards him, before stopping at his feet. It was Flaafy’s Poke Ball. He bent down to pick it up, wondering why it had fallen from the table. As his hand closed around the ball, the lamp went off.

Xavier’s heart missed a beat, and he took a short intake of breath. He reassured himself, saying aloud “it’s a power cut, nothing more.” He quickly marched over to his bed, and flicked the lamp on again. Light filled the room once more. Xavier frowned, shaking his head.

Behind him, a rushing noise caused him to turn again, and was met with an open window, a cold wind blowing in. “This is impossible…” Xavier ran over to the window and slammed it shut. The bang of the window hitting the sill was followed by the lamp turning off again.

Xavier was beginning to get scared. Lights do not turn themselves off, and windows do not open and close. He ran over to the lamp to turn it on again, but turned his body so that he could run back over to the window to close it if it opened again. He flicked the switch on the lamp once more, eyes facing the window. This time, the lamp shone for a split second and died once again. In the short burst of light, however, Xavier could have sworn he saw the haunting face of…something outside the window. Cold hands raced down his back, and a cold sweat covered him. His eyes widened as he took a step back into the darkness. His foot kicked the bedside table, and the Poke Balls went rolling.

In the hall, a light was turned on, and the bedroom door opened. Bernard stood in the way of the light, a bug silhouette. “What’s going on?” he demanded. “Xavier?”

Xavier opened his mouth and closed it, not sure what to say. Red and woken too, and looked bleary eyed at Xavier. “What are you doing?”

“My lamp…the window…” he stuttered. Bernard frowned.

“What’s wrong with your lamp?”

Xavier pointed at it. “It won’t turn on. It keeps turning itself off…” He realised how stupid he felt saying this, and felt even worse when Bernard came into the room, pressed the switch and drenched the room in warm light.

“You had a bad dream,” Bernard said. “Go back to bed, we’ve got a lot to –“

A scream cut him off. “Juliet!” Bernard cried, and ran from the room. Xavier followed, failing to keep up with his Uncle as he took the steps three at a time.

Bernard rushed into Juliet’s room, Xavier following. Juliet sat up in her bed, covers wrapped round her, shaking. “What is it?” Bernard asked his daughter. She said nothing, looking straight in front of her.

Xavier turned and looked in the direction that she stared. On the wall was jagged writing, written in red. Xavier did not want to imagine what substance it could be, and the words filled him with terror.

“THERE IS DARKNESS WITHIN HIM”

“Dear God…” Bernard began. Red and Scarlet suddenly joined them in the room, closely followed by Harriet and Bugsy.

“Bernard…” Harriet whimpered, clinging onto her husband’s arm. “What is it?”

Bernard shook his head. “I…I can’t say. I don’t know…”

Juliet broke into tears and fell into her Mother’s arms. Bugsy looked from his sister to his Father, before walking out of the room.

Xavier looked at his two friends. Scarlet was shocked, but Red…Red was acting oddly. He looked at the ground, saying nothing, revealing nothing.

********************

None of them slept. The three of them sat on their beds, each of their lamps on, with Poke Balls in hand. Xavier told them what had happened before the scream, and they all agreed that they would not sleep. They needed to protect one another from whatever it was that had caused the terrifying events…

Chapter Thirteen:

Juliet shook as she prepared for bed. Her mother had offered to sleep on her daughter’s floor, but Juliet had rejected it. She wanted to face this evil head on. The bravado that she wished to feel, however, did not translate into reality.

She pulled the bed covers up high, and lay in the darkness, waiting. At every sound, Juliet reached out to her lamp and turned the light on, only to realise it was the wind outside, or the creaking of the house.

Juliet did not know what time she fell asleep, but when she was woken by the scratching noise coming from her window, she judged that she had only just started to drift off.

She gazed fearfully at the window as it began to slide upwards. She yanked her covers over her head and quivered.

Through the thin duvet, Juliet saw a light appear where her open window was, and it moved closer. Her breathing became quick, shuddery, and she clenched the covers tightly.

Then the light vanished. It was not a gradual change, but sudden, as if someone had switched off a light. Juliet summoned the courage to gently lower the duvet, and peek over the top. Her curtain billowed from the wind that was flying through the open window, and she shivered, from cold now, rather than fright. She decided it may have been an overly-realistic dream and got up, and closed the window. Juliet glanced through the pane, looking out at the garden below her. Shadows were thrown by trees in the guise of monsters, waiting until she slept, and she hurriedly drew the curtains.

Turning, she made her way back over to her bed, but stopped short, an icy hand tracing down her back.

“Marion!” she cried! The light receded and the doll’s figure took form. It looked up from its low position on the floor. Where Juliet’s old doll had two slits for eyes, this being had circular, piercing red needles of light for eyes. It still had no mouth, but this merely added to the curious, yet menacing and malevolent look in its soulless eyes…

Juliet screamed, and her Father burst into the room within a matter of seconds. The doll, feet not touching the floor, span round and, upon seeing him, reverted back to its bodiless form, a pure white light. It rose and sped out of the open window, before slamming it shut.

“Are you okay?” Bernard gasped as he ran over to his daughter. She nodded, looking about the walls for any sign of writing.

“Bernard…” Harriet had appeared at the door, along with the trio of friends. “I think it’s time we called Eusine in to deal with this matter.”

Bernard turned to look at his wife, sighed, and nodded.

********************

Red soon discovered that Eusine was the town’s eccentric. Having gathered information from snatches of conversation between Bernard and Harriet, Red found out that Eusine had long been seeking to discover the mysteries of the world, but had learnt nothing else.

Just before lunch, the three of them saw a cart, dragged by two Ponyta, draw up outside the house. The door opened and a man stepped out. He had semi-long hair that lay loose on his shoulders, its glossy black melting into his black cloak that billowed in the strong wind. He wore a pair of white gloves that he removed as he marched up to the house, and knocked twice.

Xavier, Scarlet and Red moved away from the window and quickly made their way to the hallway to see his entrance.

“Really, why he can’t use a car like everyone else…” they heard Harriet mutter as she pulled open the door.

“Madame! I have, with haste, rushed to your aid in your most dire hour of need!” Eusine swept dramatically into the hall and put the back of his hand to his forehead. “I must say, my pity for you and your family, for it to have been visited by a most malevolent force that does inhabit your home, great sorrow is felt by me…for you,” he added, frowning as the melodrama faded a little.

“Thank you, Eusine,” Harriet said, smiling. “Lunch is about to be served, do join us.”

Eusine smiled at the three as he passed them in the hall, before declaring how “he was sorry to have been delayed by the hands of fate,” and how they’d dragged at his heels in an effort to stop the peace and justice that he felt this family so needed.

********************

There were eight of them around the table, and Red considered himself most unlucky to have been placed directly next to Eusine, who felt it his duty to make a lengthy, gratifying remark about every item on his plate.

“Eusine,” Bernard cut in, interrupting the man mid-sentence about how the “gravy had the texture of fine silk that one could only obtain in the outer regions that, sadly, he had yet to travel.”

“As you know, we have a problem of sorts.” Bernard began. “We thought that you might be the man for the job of helping us out, as you know the most about this sort of thing.” Eusine nodded vigorously.

“Tell me,” he said between mouthfuls of roast potato “that must have been cooked with the fire of every flame-typed Pokemon, they were so good.” “What is the problem that plagues your family with misery and misfortune?”

Bernard gave him a detailed account on how Xavier had been tormented with the lamp and the window, how blood had been written on Juliet’s walls, and the doll the night before.

Eusine leant back on his chair, before casting a thoughtful gaze over Juliet. “You have the look of someone who holds back a secret, yet wishes to tell.”

Juliet blushed, giving herself away.

”Do tell us,” Eusine continued. “What is it that you know?”

Without warning, Juliet suddenly sat up straight in her chair, and looked directly into Eusine’s eyes. Bernard began to get up, but Eusine, without breaking the stare that he held with Juliet, motioned for him to sit down.

After a couple of minutes of the two having some kind of struggle with the locked gaze, they broke off, panting.

Eusine leant back, before lacing his hands together. “I think that what we have here is some kind of spirit, that has come from The Other World.”

“What did you just do?” Harriet asked, her voice betraying her worry.

“I looked into your daughter’s mind. It was a trick I learnt from my Pokemon,” he said simply.

Red thought he might have imagined it, but there was a look of pleading on Juliet’s face, one that implored Eusine to refrain from saying something, but the moment he saw it, Red blinked and it was gone. The only thing that hinted toward the fact that Red was not imagining things was the slight nod Eusine directed toward Juliet…

Red pushed the question that everyone was desperate to hear the answer; “What do you mean by ‘spirit’ and what on earth is the other world?”

Eusine smiled; this was clearly a subject he excelled in. “The Other World is a world that runs parallel to ours, one that occasionally intersects with ours. Sometimes, when it does, beings from their world can find holes in the barrier and can climb through.”

Bernard’s frown deepened. “How is this relevant to the happenings here?” he asked.

“You have heard of ghosts, am I correct?” Eusine asked, and everyone nodded. “They are the beings from The Other World that are trying to get in to this one. However, the only way they can do that is to get through a hole between the two worlds, and these holes are awfully small.” He took a long draught of water, enjoying the fact that everyone was listening to every word he was saying.

”However, the size of these holes merely allow the beings, or ghosts, to look through, for they are too big to climb through.”

Juliet started to talk. “But surely a ghost can go through the-“

”My dear, do not interrupt me, it sends my train of thought flying from the tracks and whirling into some dark abyss,” he interjected, with a cool smile. “Anyway. They seek to widen this whole by using their primary weapon; fear. The beings on the other side of our dimension have powers that allow them to control inanimate objects. It is my belief that this is what is happening; whatever being it is from The Other World, it is taking control of things, like a window, or a doll, and using them to invoke fear. Each time it does this, the hole widens.”

Bernard nodded slowly. “I suppose that makes sense…but still, how do we resolve this problem?”

Donning a wicked grin, Eusine leant forward. “My friends, I have a most cunning and, if executed correctly, beautiful plan…”

********************

Once again, Juliet found herself in her bedroom, wrestling with sleep, trying desperately to keep her eyes closed, while remembering the terror that could face her if the being were to visit her again.

All too soon, the familiar scraping at the window could be heard, and she began to shake. She opened her mouth to call for her father, but no sound came out.

The window scratched open, and the eerie light filled the room once again. The doll took its form once again, and looked up at Juliet’s terror-stricken face.

“Mr. Mime! Light Screen!” With a blinding flash, the room was illuminated as a sparkling barrier surrounded the inside of the room. The doll turned to see Eusine, Red, Xavier, Scarlet and Bernard standing at the door, with Harriet already inside, in case their plan failed and she needed to protect her daughter.

The doll turned back into its light form again and tried to escape, but the wall of light caused it to bounce back into the room. Harriet dragged her daughter over to the company of people and Red and Xavier stepped forward.

“It’s trapped, just like we intended!” Eusine cried. “Now, we must destroy the evil being!”

The two boys nodded and each released their Pokemon. Red released his Alakazam, while Xavier chose his newest Pokemon, Larvitar.

The doll’s eyes flashed red and a ball of darkness appeared and was hurled at Alakazam. The Pokemon struggled with the attack, before forcing it to dissipate.

”What?!” Red cried. “That was a Pokemon attack! Alakazam, use Psybeam!” The Psychic type blasted the doll, and the plush figure fell to the ground, leaving a white light, hanging in the air. It began to dim, to turn black, before taking on a new form. This one had no legs, the same red eyes, and a cruel mouth, that looked oddly like a zip.

Red took out his Pokedex, and it whirred into life. “Banette, the Marionette Pokemon. This Pokemon will inhabit any object and “give it life” in order to scare opponents.”

There was an audible gasp from Eusine. “I see now!” Before he could explain what it was he had realised, the Banette whirled out another Shadow Ball, this one knocking Alakazam out.

“Xavier, you’ll have to carry on. Alakazam can’t contend with a Ghost type Pokemon!” Red cried.

Xavier nodded, before ordering an attack. “Larvitar! Ancient Power!” Appearing seemingly out of no where, a barrage of rocks were hurled at the Ghost Pokemon. It retaliated by firing a blue orb, that burned with a cool green.

“That’s Will o Wisp!” Xavier yelled. “Larvitar, move out of the way!” His Pokemon, however, did not obey. Instead, it held out its arms and a blue shield slowed the attack. Then it rebounded onto Banette, setting the Ghost Pokemon alight.

“No!” Eusine cried. “The doll! You need to aim for the doll!” Xavier turned, frowning. “Don’t question me, just do it!” he ordered.

“Larvitar, use Psychic to attack the doll!” Larvitar lifted its arms, and the fire spread from the pained Banette onto the fallen doll. With a shriek from Banette, the doll burst into flame. The Ghost Pokemon’s eyes widened, not with fear but with hate, and it reached out to Juliet.

As it did, it seemed like the wall behind it had been ripped open, a great tear in the universe. The Ghost Pokemon was sucked in, followed by a cruel wail.

The rip, however, did not close. It lingered for a moment, and as the rushing noise grew, Red cried out, and fell to the ground. Xavier turned just as his Larvitar used a powerful Psychic attack to seal the rift. It took great effort from the little Pokemon, and it too fell down, but from exhaustion.

The group ran over to Red, and the young Pokemon looked up at their crowded faces. The images he could see of them were like oil on water; blurred, with colours in the wrong places. Then darkness engulfed him and he lost conciousness.

I do; you can be sure of that.
And also, your rendition of Eusine made me lol; he's like an overconfident guy who gratuitously uses adjectives. Although, Eusine is originally from Celadon City, not Azalea...unless of course he is temporarily staying there.

- DNA

Really? Well, I didn't specify where he's from, I like to make him seem like more of a traveller as opposed to being in one particular place at any time. I didn't know he was a Celadonite.

In Crystal version (which is the only game he's in), he'll appear at Celadon Pokecenter saying that "he's visiting his hometown". He'll remain there until you capture Raikou and Entei, then he'll be at the Tin Tower, where you catch Ho-Oh etc.
And, traveler sounds fine. After all, he does travel the lands in search of Suicune.
- DNA

After all, he does travel the lands in search of Suicune.