Lady Vulpix

Well, now this was a good change! No mentally controlled pokemon, no unexpected agressors... only a trainer who wanted to test his talent and mine in a battle. I, of course, accepted the challenge.
I sent out my first pokemon:
"Sylvan, go!"
My opponent sent out his.

"A Staryu?!," I asked, surprised. He merely smiled.
Both pokemon had exactly the same level. I knew he was hiding something, but I was sure I would find out what that was in time.

And so, the battle began.

The Staryu Tackled Sylvan, but since my Ivysaur defense had been doubled by the 4-leaf clover tied to her necklace, she barely even noticed the attack. She hit the Staryu with her Vine Whip, and then waited to see what happened. The Staryu didn't wait; not anymore. Things were getting ugly for the Water pokemon, so its trainer instructed it to show its little secret. I finally got to know why he was so confident about his Staryu; and I learned it the hard way. The Staryu knew Blizzard!
Sylvan was severely injured by the Staryu's attack. Fortunately, she didn't freeze, but I knew she wouldn't resist another Ice attack. So, I did the only thing I could do: I told Sylvan to use Sleep Powder. The tension grew inside me as the powder came out from Sylvan's bud and began to float in the air. The Staryu started moving from one side to another, trying to shake the Sleep Powder away, but its efforts were vain and it finally fell asleep. I sighed in relief.
Now Sylvan was free to use her Vine Whip again, and so she did. Unfortunately, she got to whip the Staryu only once, and the strength of the impact woke it up! I was scared. But then again, this time Sylvan and I already knew what was coming. While the Staryu prepared for another Blizzard, all I could say was "Run!" The Staryu aimed its Blizzard at a spot slightly ahead of Sylvan. Fortunately, my Ivysaur was smart enough (or at least lucky enough) to turn around and run the opposite way, and so she managed to evade the attack just in time.
As soon as the Blizzard stopped, Sylvan turn around again. Her bud inflated, which made me think she was going to use Sleep Powder again. (It could be Poison Powder too, but she must have known she couldn't wait for the poison to make effect). "Don't push your luck!," I shouted at her. "You might miss! Use your Vine Whip again, the Staryu is already weak enough!" Actually, that was only my bet. I thought that it was weak enough for a Vine Whip to make it faint, but there was no way to make sure... other than trying. Sylvan's vines stretched and whipped the Staryu once more, and then... the Water pokemon contracted its segments and prepared for another Blizzard! I began to think Sylvan would loose the battle, but before the Staryu could perform its attack, it fell! Only a snowflake came out of it, floated in the air for a few seconds and then fell on the Staryu's lightless jewel.

Sylvan grew to level 18! Keep that clover, Sylvan. I think it's bringing you good luck!

"Phew! That was really close!," I exclaimed while I tried to get my breath back to normal. I looked at my opponent and said: "You're a very good trainer. Your Staryu was in excellent shape!"
"Yeah, well... I'll get it back in shape soon," he replied. "But I still have another one. Care to see it? I think I'll win this time."
"Well, what kind of trainer would I be if I didn't give you a second chance?," I said. "But my Ivysaur is too tired to battle now. Would you mind if I chose another pokemon?"
"Is it the same level as your Sylvan?"
"Half a level higher. Well, actually, half a level lower now."
"Ok, go ahead. It will be an interesting challenge."

Each of us sent out a new pokemon. In his case it was...

A Staryu again.
In my case it was...

Ventura, my witty Venonat.

My opponent spoke to me as soon as he saw my pokemon.
"I hid a little secret before because you had type advantage. But now that you don't, I want you to know what you're up against. You may want to change yours. You're still in time."
"What do you mean?," I asked.
"This Staryu doesn't know Blizzard. It knows Psychic."
"Psychic?," I repeated as I looked at Ventura. "Ok, we'll keep that in mind."
"So you're not going to change your pokemon."
"Ventura wouldn't forgive me if I did," I replied. You've told me your secret, so I'll tell you mine. Ventura has always been one of my smartest pokemon, she has some very good attacks and she has never lost a battle."
"Ok, I'll keep that in mind," he said, mimicking me. We both smiled, and decided to start the battle.

"Let's see how smart your Venonat is," my opponent muttered. "Alpha, use Psychic!"
"So, the Staryu's name is Alpha," I thought to myself. Alpha obeyed, and its attack caused Ventura some serious damage. Still, I didn't fear. "Ventura, you know what to do!," I shouted. Of course, we knew each other enough to make further indications unnecessary in a case like this. Ventura Disabled the Staryu's Psychic attack immediately. And that was not all! As soon as she made her move, the glass Koffing statue she was (and still is) carrying began to glow. I was amazed! I'd never seen it function before!
"What's that?," Alpha's trainer asked.
"That's a glass Koffing and that glow means that your pokemon is poisoned."
"Oh, no! Why didn't you tell me about that thing before?"
"Actually, I forgot. This is the first time I see it work. But anyway, I guess this makes us even."
He looked at me showing that he didn't understand me. I explained myself:
"For the Blizzard thing, I mean."
"Oh, ok," he replied, but the tone of his voice showed he didn't like this situation. And who could blame him? I don't like it when my pokemon get poisoned either.
Unable to use Psychic, the Staryu used its Water Gun. The attack wasn't very powerful but, since Ventura was already quite weak, it put her in danger. I knew she'd be able to take 2 more hits at most, so I'd have to think of something fast. Then I remembered. Of course! Ventura could heal herself and take much of the Staryu's energy at the same time! "Ventura, use Giga Drain!," I commanded.
"Hey, you hadn't told me about that!," my opponent complained, as my Venonat fed on his Staryu's energy.
"I told you she knew some very good attacks," I answered.
Ventura regained some health and, when she was done, she was better than she had been before the Water Gun. I was sure she'd be able to keep up with this until the Staryu fainted. The Effectiveness of her Grass attack combined with the poison wouldn't let the Water pokemon stay up for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, my opponent asked me to stop.
"I give up!," he said. "I recognize when I've lost. My Staryu doesn't know any powerful attacks besides Psychic, and with the poison and everything your Venonat would take it down with her next attack."
"Are you sure?," I asked. Perhaps it can resist one more attack and then it may be able to use Psychic again."
"Believe me, I've been training Staryus for a long time. I know how much they can take. I don't want to make Alpha suffer like this. There's no reason to do that. You've proven to be a better trainer than me."
I shook his hand and called Ventura back to her pokeball.

Ventura grew to level 18.5.

"There's no way to prove who's a better trainer with just one or two battles," I said. "And actually, I don't think there's need for that. I think both of us have learned from this, and so have our pokemon."
He smiled.
"I guess you're right. I'll have to train my Staryus harder, though, and teach them some new moves," he commented.
"I'd like to meet you again after you do that. This was a great experience and I'd be glad to repeat it, with or without secrets."
We both laughed.
"Talking about secrets..." he said. "Is your name a secret too or can I know it?"
"Of course you can!," I laughed. "My name is Gabriela. What's yours?"
"Eric," he replied.
"Nice name," I said with a smile. "And what's your first Staryu's name? The last one was Alpha. Was the first one Beta, or something like that?"
"Nice guess!," he said. "But you're wrong. It's name is Orion. I like to name my Staryus after stars and galaxies."
I smiled once again. Eric and I said goodbye, hoping that our path would cross again some day. If that happens, I know that his pokemon will be much stronger and even more well-trained than now. But then again, so will mine. It would be a formidable challenge.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

We were surrounded. The Rockets were as many as us. One of them confronted me. Luckily, he hadn't seen me put the Psionic Wave Emitter in my bag. I would have been in serious trouble if TR had known I had it. The Rocket didn't stare at me for a long time. He just took two pokeballs from his belt and shouted: "Grimer! Weezing! Attack!"
Just a second later, 2 evil-looking pokemon were ready to pounce on me. I reacted instinctively, sending out the 2 pokemon in my team who were most used to working together. Their level was lower than the attacking pokemon's, but they were my best hope.


<Pidgeot>

I was glad to be fighting alongside Water Angel again, but I'd expected not to see Team Rocket ever again. I'd never seen the Rocket Grunt nor his Grimer, but I recognized that Weezing. We'd both been caught on the same day, (when he was a Koffing and I was a Pidgey) and we'd been put though the same tortuous training. But, unlike me, he seemed to like it! He was eager to pass all the tests and evolve quickly and get out to cause some massive destruction! Well, he seemed to have got what he wanted, but I wouldn't let him cause any more trouble.
The Weezing recognized me too, and talked to me. "You look bigger now," he said. "But you're as week as ever. I heard you'd been abandoned. Now I see it was true. You were never up to Team Rocket. Now you got yourself a lame trainer and you mean to fight us? I'm about to laugh! But wait... I think I do want to battle you after all. It's high time you learn some lessons and I'll be the one to teach you."
The Weezing's words made me furious. I wanted to slice him into small pieces, but I remembered that he was physically stronger than me. So my only chance was to outsmart him. "That won't be too hard," my mind said; but deep inside I knew that I'd have to be careful.

<Water Angel>

I was surprised to know that Pidgeot had met the Weezing before. They seemed to have been rivals, and he'd never told me about it. Of course, he didn't like talking about his past with Team Rocket and I hadn't asked him much about it. What was evident at that moment was that my friend was barely able to contain his rage. He'd try to protect me, as always, but this time I felt it was him who needed protection. Besides, Pidgeot wasn't paying any attention to the Grimer, which was clearly a strong pokemon. I decided to go against the Grimer and let the rivals fight until my help was needed.

<Lady Vulpix>

The battle hadn't even started and Pidgeot already looked furious. I knew that something was going on. I wasn't thinking about his history when I opened his pokeball, and now I was starting to wonder if sending him out against a Rocket had been a good idea. I feared I might be putting him under too much pressure. Water Angel looked as worried as I was. But now it was too late to call him back. I'd have to do my best to support him. Then I thought that this might be good for him after all. Winning this battle would help Pidgeot be at peace with his past.
In spite of the level difference, Pidgeot turned out to be faster than the attackers. He used his Mud Slap on the Weezing, who was hurt and blinded but also became furious!
The Weezing and Water Angel attacked at the same time, with Blizzard and Sludge respectively. But Pidgeot moved fast enough to evade the venomous liquid, and only the Grimer got hurt.

<Water Angel>

I'd managed to deal some damage to the Grimer... well, a lot of damage, actually. But the oozy creature was still after me. I suddenly felt a strange energy around me, and the next thing I knew was that I couldn't use Blizzard anymore. Things were getting quite ugly. I used a brief moment to look around and check how Pidgeot was doing... but I couldn't find him! I worried for a moment, but then I realized that his absence was a good sign. I knew exactly where he was and what he was going to do. And, what was even better, the Weezing hadn't even noticed that Pidgeot was away! The 2-headed monster dumped its sludge again, but the liquid dissolved in the ground.
I knew it was time to act. I concentrated and used my Hidden Power against the Grimer. It didn't hurt it as much as Blizzard, but it was not bad either. But then I felt my luck was ending, as I found myself sorrounded by the Grimer's Poison Gas. I tried to escape, but I couldn't move fast enough on the ground. Luckily, Pidgeot saw what was happening, and came in my aid.

<Pidgeot>

Water Angel had been poisoned! I had to punish the pokemon who did that to her. I instantly changed my target and plunged into the Grimer at high speed. Water Angel was more important to me than my issues with that stupid Weezing. Water Angel smiled when I squashed her attacker. "You're always coming to my rescue," she said. "I'm glad to have my personal hero." I didn't know if she was being serious or not, but I didn't get the time to reflect about it. My Rival's sludge did hit me this time, and all of a sudden I was poisoned too! I felt like I was on fire. I didn't know if it was the poison or my rage. I could hear the Weezing's laughter, and I couldn't tolerate that.
I'd been poisoned one too many times, and what made matters worse, now I'd been poisoned by him! I was going to make him pay.

<Lady Vulpix>

My 2 pokemon were poisoned, but they weren't lost yet. They had a good chance of defeating our attackers if they acted like the great team they'd always been. I could see that the Weezing wasn't tired at all; it was angry and the mud was causing it trouble, but it would probably stay up for a long time. The Grimer, on the other hand, was already quite weary. So I told both of my pokemon to focus on the Grimer. Once it was down, going after the Weezing alone wouldn't be that hard. Water Angel used her Hidden Power again. Fortunately for us, the Grimer proved to be even weaker than I'd predicted, and the force of my Horsea's Dragon attack was enough to make it faint.

<Pidgeot>

I knew Pix had told me to focus on the Grimer, but, as my target had turned into a puddle of mud, I decided to attack the nastier one. I didn't have time to waste by flying up again or throwing more mud, so I opted for a Wing Attack. The Weezing acted as if I weren't even touching him, and that made me really mad. Water Angel had to shout at me to get me out of her attack's way. As soon as I moved, she fired an Aurora Beam. The Weezing cried... He cried!! The Ice attack seemed to have hurt him as much as it would have hurt ME! "How did you do that?," I asked my friend. "I was mad at him," she answered. "I couldn't tolerate the way he treated you. But don't get too confident. That was a Critical Hit. We won't be so lucky next time."
The Aurora Beam hadn't touched me, but it had brought me back to reality. Only after all that time I came to realize that I wasn't the only protector in the team. We both protected and helped each other. We always had. And it was the balance of our forces and the way we cared for each other which made us practically unstoppable. "Come on, my friend," I said, smiling. "Let's finish this fool."

<Water Angel>

I felt relieved when I saw my partner's smile. It made me feel that everything would be better from that moment. The Weezing spoke some stupid taunts; something like... "Feeble birdie, you have to rely on a female to defend you, and you couldn't even find one of your own kind." But Pidgeot was already beyond that foolishness. He even looked like he felt pitty for the Weezing, who knew nothing but violence and had never trusted anyone nor been cared for by anybody. The Weezing tried to create a smokescreen around one of us (probably Pidgeot, since his hate was directed to him), but he couldn't find us and the smoke faded away. I wonder if I'll ever take part in a battle where no smokescreens are involved.

<Pidgeot>

I used my Wing Attack again. I wasn't causing him much damage, but I knew that he'd fall in the end. I then noticed that I didn't have that burning feeling anymore. But I did feel pain. The poison was hurting me. I drew back to clear the way for Water Angel. Her Hidden Power hit right in the center of the Weezing's main sphere. Together, we were starting to bring him down.

<Lady Vulpix>

Weak, the Weezing abandoned his Smokescreen strategy and shot a Psybeam at Water Angel. She was badly hurt! Her Special Defense was the lowest of her stats, and she wouldn't resist another attack like that one. Anyway, I knew Pidgeot wouldn't let get another blow. He'd even act as a shield if it were necessary. He may have a volatile temper, but I've seen few pokemon as noble as him.

<Pidgeot>

I knew that the Weezing would faint soon, so I decided to talk to him before attacking again. I knew that whatever I said wouldn't change him, but at least I'd give him something to think about. So, these were my words. "You may be strong, but I have something that you lack. Something very important. And as long as you don't have it, you'll never win." The Weezing responded, of course! He said "that's stupid. I don't lack anything. You're the weak one here and I'll teach you not to mess with me." I let him talk while I temporarily vanished to perform my faint attack. I remembered he used to like it when I used my Dark move. Of course, he didn't like it when I used it on him. But he didn't stay up long enough to give me his opinion.

<Water Angel>

The Weezing was finally down. The poison was still consuming me, but I was happy. Pidgeot had just passed a very hard test and we were now closer than ever. We'd actually proved how strong we are when we work together. As for me... well, something VERY important happened to me at that moment, but I'll let Gabi tell you what that was.

<Lady Vulpix>

The defeated Rocket Grunt shouted "You won't get away with this!," and ran away. I hugged my two pokemon. I was very proud of them. I healed their poisoning, and was about to call them back and take them to a Pokemon Center when Water Angel started glowing!




Yes! Water Angel evolved into Seadra!
I gave my aquatic friend a big hug (she likes hugs as much as I do), and then I took the unstoppable duo to the Pokemon Center. I decided to take Water Angel to the sea to celebrate her evolution once she was fully healed. But before that, I'd take the now inactive PWE to Celdor in order to study it. We may get some knowledge from it which could help us stop TR's future plans.

Pidgeot is now level 31.5.
Water Angel is now a level 32 Seadra.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

We were both stronger than before, though I'd grown a bit more than he had. He didn't recognise me when he saw me come running. I don't blame him. I'd changed a lot... grown a lot. But I still had so much to learn! He gently offered himself to help me master my skills. I was afraid of hurting him too much, but he told me he was strong enough to resist my blows. I asked him not to hold back this time. I knew he'd held back before. I needed him to give me his best shot so that I could find a way to react to that. I needed to get over my contradictions before they put me or my friends in danger. I started the battle with an Ember attack. My friend's face changed. He looked serious now. He talked to me. "If you don't want me to hold back, don't you do it either," he said. I won't wait for you to use 15 Embers and, what's more important, your future opponents won't wait for you either. It feels horrible when someone does what you're doing to me. How weak do you think I am? I can win, you know!"
"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't think I want to do this. You're my friend."
"Then I won't force you to battle me. There are other Charmeleons out there. Go battle one of them. But one day you will probably have to battle a friend, and if you lose on purpose you'll hurt him more than any of your attacks could. It's a pity. I really wanted to see if I could beat you this time."
His words shook me. I'd never looked at things that way. Suddenly, I wanted to finish that battle. He saw that I was prepared to continue, and hit me with Dragonbreath. I was impressed. I didn't know he could do that. He must have learned it during the past month. I bit him, and he headbutted me. (Does that word even exist?)
"I'm winning," he said. "Can't you do anything better?"
"Yes, I can," I replied, and I lifted him up and hurled him into the molten rock. He looked hurt, so I ran to see if he was ok.
"I've taken worse," he told me. "I thought you'd never get to do that. But will you do it again?" Right after he said that, he opened his mouth and started exhaling black smoke. "That didn't work before. Don't you learn from the past?," I commented. And he laughed: "now you are teaching me?"
I acted immediately upon hearing his voice, using my Strength again. "Lesson learned," he said, and then I felt his Dragonbreath again. I tried to respond but... I couldn't! Then he attacked me once more with Dragonbreath. That left me quite weak. I had to make an effort even to breathe! Once more I was unable to attack. Then I felt something hot in my chest, and I realized his flame was touching me. I grabber his tail and asked him what he was doing. "I'm returning the favour, he replied."
"You... shouldn't... have done... that," I managed to say, and I pulled his tail and picked him up again. As soon as he hit the ground, the smoke around me disappeared. I wanted to run and help my friend, but I could only walk slowly. I got to him in the end anyway. He was opening his eyes when I arrived. He made an effort to talk, and said: "I guess... you're stronger than me... after all. I'll have to... get stronger." Then he sighed and his eyes closed again.

I shouted, expecting that Gabi would hear me and help him. I needed help too, but I didn't care at that moment. Gabi came and tried to pick him up, but he was too heavy for her, so I decided to help her. I wasn't a great help anyway, since I was still paralized. Luckily, one of the workers came in looking for hurt pokemon to heal, and found us. He put my friend in a pokeball and took him to the pokemon center. (That's how I got to know that the workers had the pokeballs of all the pokemon in the rooms; the thought of my friend having a pokemon hadn't even come to my mind! But then again, it was obvious that someone had trained him.)
Gabi called me back to my pokeball too. She took me to the Pokemon Center, so that my friend and I would be healed together. Once there, she told me she'd get in the Lava Room again to have Ninetales battle, and then come back for me. I liked the idea. That way I'd get to spend some more time with my friend. I used that time well. We had a long conversation, which I won't report right now. Then we thanked each other for the experience we'd shared, but I told him I didn't want to battle him again. "I don't like hurting my friends," I told him. "And I respect that," he answered. "Next time we meet, we'll settle for some friendly talking. I don't think I'd ever get to beat you anyway." I was flattered, but I didn't want to prove if he was right or not.
Now I knew I didn't care about which of us was stronger. I wouldn't fight him again, not because I was afraid of my power, but because he was my friend and it wouldn't feel right. Not for me, at least. I was finally getting to know myself better, and I felt happy for that.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

I finally made it to the Dark Cave where, for what I'd heard, many pokemon were looking for battles. The place was dark indeed. I sent Caledor out and asked him if he could help me light it up. He looked at me, not understanding what I wanted him to do. I asked him if he could control his glow at will. I ddn't know if he could, and I guess neither did he; but he wanted to find out. He took some time to concentrate, and then a soft golden light started glowing around him. It wasn't strong enough to light up the cave, but it helped us find the hole which lead to the secret passage. I thanked my Eevee for his help, and he smiled, making his glow grow a bit stronger. I was beginning to understand how that worked.
We walked along a narrow tunnel which was even darker than the rest of the cave, and no pokemon came to our encounter. I feared that all of them might be already gone. We had already started going up when a Misdreavus finally made his entrance. I could see it was too strong for Caledor, so I sent out Tsunami to battle it.


The Misdreavus attacked Tsunami with a Psybeam, but it didn't hurt my Vaporeon much. I think the only reason why Tsunami used Surf was that he was tired of saving it for a better moment. The tunnel went from quite humid to flooded in a matter of seconds, and then changed back to its normal state once the colossal wave had blasted into the ghost. The Misdreavus didn't seem to like that at all, since it responded with a very powerful attack: Zap Cannon! Tsunami was caught by surprise and was unable to escape. Not only did the attack paralize him, but it hurt him badly too!
Tsunami was so furious that he condensed all his anger in a big Shadow Ball and hurled it right at the Misdreavus. The Ghost type pokemon was severely hurt, and it was evident that it wouldn't resist another attack (not even Water Gun). But then all of a sudden, things changed: the Misdreavus used Pain Split! Tsunami's energy was drastically lowered, while the ghost regained much of its strength. Tsunami growled with rage. It was the first time an opponent took advantage of his high HP. He made his best effort to form another Shadow Ball, but his body wouldn't even allow him the little mobility required for a Ghost type attack. All he could do was watch the Misdreavus glow. I knew what that glow meant, since I'd seen it in Caledor and even in Lagi. I warned my Vaporeon: "Tsunami, watch out! It's going to use Thunder!"
Tsunami's eyes opened wider than ever as he made a desperate effort to move away from the Misdreavus's attack. He managed to hide behind a rock in the last second! Then I saw his head come out.He was still having problems to move, but he seemed to be starting to overcome his paralysis. The Misdreavus floated to the point were he was standing, so that no rocks would interfere with its next attack, but that only helped Tsunami, since the ghost had involuntarily become a clear target for my Vaporeon's Shadow Ball. The spectral energy consumed the Misdreavus, who vanished within a second.

Tsunami grew to level 34!

"You did well," I said to my friend as I called him back to his pokeball. I'd have to take him to a Pokemon Center to get rid of his paralysis and heal him. I thought I'd get to the surface soon, since the place where we were was not as dark as those we'd left behind. I turned out to be right, since after waking for a couple of minutes we saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Caledor and I climbed up until we got out, but just then another pokemon came to challenge us: a Noctowl! This one was much stronger than the Misdreavus, so it was obvious that I'd have to send out one of my strongest pokemon. Since the Noctowl was a flying type, I thought the best choice would be Lagi.


<Lagi>
The Noctowl didn't even wait to see what kind of pokemon I was. She attacked me with her steel-hard wings as soon as I came out of my pokeball. I had many ways of easily beating a bird, but I wanted to see what she was capable of doing, and I also meant to understand why she and the other pokemon in the cave liked attacking trainers. I felt she wouldn't take me seriously if I stayed idle, so I started performing my Rain Dance. I knew the rain wouldn't hurt anyone nor damage the ground, which was naturally humid and fertile. When I was done, I asked the Noctowl whether she liked battling for fun or she had something personal against trainers. She didn't reply. Instead, she used her Hypnosis attack.
The next thing I saw was a beautiful forest. The sky was clear, and all around me was brimming with life. At that moment I didn't know how or why I'd got there, but I didn't really care. I let my heart be filled by the beauty of that place. But then, everything got dark. Humans came from all coordenates and started destroying the forest with their evil machines. Many of them were carrying pokeball, from which eventually came out strong and mean looking pokemon who added to the destruction. I couldn't bear that horror! I tried to help the pokemon who lived there... scare the humans away and heal the forest somehow. But I couldn't. I was only a spectator to that scene, condemned to watch helplessly as nature and life were devastated.
Some pokemon were captured; some even died fighting, and a few of them managed to escape and found shelter in a well hidden cave. It was the Dark Cave! Then I saw a strange object which I somehow knew was a seal that protected all the pokemon in the cave, and finally I saw almost the same scene but the seal was gone. Then all images disappeared and I felt a terrible pain. I woke up.
Rain continued to fall, and the Noctowl was still in front of me. She looked satisfied. Did she know about my dream? Was that real? And if so, how long had it been since that happened? I looked around and saw there were few trees around me, and hardly any pokemon. But the soil was rich, and small plants were thriving. Nature was finding its way to recover. The Noctowl was leaking her beak, as if she'd just finished eating. Then she looked at me. "We're protecting ourselves and these lands. You trained pokemon and humans have nothing to do here."
"Not all humans are alike," I told her. I respond for my trainer. She's a good and caring being. And I don't mean this place nor its pokemon any harm."
"Then why did you come here?," she asked.
"We came to see what was happening here. We'd heard that many angry pokemon were here. We wanted to find the cause."
"Well, now you've found it. We were looking for peace and you disturbed that. Now go away."
"I won't. I want to help. Peace can never be achieved by hiding."
"GO - AWAY!!," the Noctowl shouted, and she soared into the air at a high speed, ready to attack. I waited for her to start descending, and I flew up high too. I had to calm her down somehow, so I asked the skies for assistance. The rain became stronger, and it started hurting the Noctowl. I came down and began to flap my wings in order to form strong gusts of wind, which also affected her. Still, the damage I was causing her was not great. She attacked me with Steel Wing, and I knew that I'd have to bring her down or else I'd be the one to fall. Anyway, I didn't have to worry yet. Tempest had already been cast, and the part of it which was strongest against a flying pokemon was coming. First, hail started freezing her feathers. Then the lightning, made flawless by Rain Dance, stroke right at her. I heard the electricity run though the Noctowl even after the lightning disappeared, and so I knew she was paralized.
The ran was stopping. I knew had a clear shot at the Noctowl, but I didn't want to hurt her. I talked to her again; asked her if there was any way to solve this problem through reason. But all she said was "you are the problem." She was trying to attack me again, so I decided to finish the battle once and for all, and shot an Ice Beam at her. The Noctowl fainted immediately. I got closer to her, and said that I'd find a way to help her and her friends somehow; that she'd understand me someday.

Gabi said nothing. She looked as thoughtful as I was. She couldn't have understood or conversation, but most of it had been spoken without words, so she probably got the essence. I knew she'd do her best to find the other pokemon and help them regained their trust, both in humans and life in general. I also knew she'd deal with whoever started this if she managed to find them, and I knew I'd be by her side all along.

<Lady Vulpix again>
I didn't understand the Noctowl's words, and not even Lagi's, but I noticed, I'd started developing some kind of empathic bond with her. I'd come to know and in many cases understand my other pokemon, but it was different with Lagi. For some reason I shared her feelings and I had an idea of what had just happened. I also knew that a new mission was in my hands, and I was determined to fulfill it.

Lagi grew to level 48.5!

__________________

Lady Vulpix

It started as a normal day. Normal for the kind of life I'm leading, at least. I had a lot of paperwork to do at the White Mountain and, when I finally got down, the first thing I found was trouble. I came across a group of people who seemed to be running for their lives. I managed to intercept them and ask them what was happening, and that's how I knew the Arcade was under attack. I tried to tell those people I would help, but they ran so fast that when I opened my mouth they were out of my voice's range. My pokemon and I rushed to the arcade to see what was going on and what we could do to help.
The whole place was a mess. Many were running madly from one side to another, some were trying to hide and some others were fighting. I could see some trainers I'd never met before finding their way against Grimers, Pichus, Magnemites, Beedrills, Zubats and Drowzees. I got through the crowd and saw my friends Alex and Ryan; they were occupied in their own battles against some really mean-looking pokemon. It wasn't the right moment to talk to them, or to ask anyone what I'd missed. I had to help somehow. Once calm had returned, I'd worry about what was causing that chaos.
I managed to make it to the drawer where prizes were kept, only to see that a Golbat was grabbing the items with its huge mouth and putting them inside a bag. It didn't have any marks on its forehead, but I couldn't discard Mewtwo being involved. It could also be Team Rocket's doing, or maybe someone completely new. Anyway, as I said before, it wasn't time to make questions. I wanted to save the Arcade and I could well start by stopping this thief. I sent my ultimate team to battle it.


The Golbat saw my friends coming, and immediately used its Confuse Ray on Water Angel. All of a sudden, Pidgeot faded from sight. I heard a striking sound and saw the Golbat cry. That had been good, but this was a strong Golbat, and it would take more than just a Faint Attack to take it down. Water Angel was trying to make her thoughts clear. In her eyes I could see the fear of hurting Pidgeot with one of her attacks, but if she didn't do something he would get hurt anyway. She wouldn't use any of her Ice attacks in her condition, so I told her to use her Hidden Power, remembering how it has brought her out of her confusion previously. Unfortunately, she didn't react in time, and the Golbat sunk its teeth under her scaled skin and started draining her!
Pidgeot used his Faint Attack again. When I could finally see his face, I saw he was extremely furious. Then Water Angel opened her eyes widely. She looked at the Golbat, who had just turned round to see its attacker, and she gave the best she had. At the sight of the perfectly aimed ice storm, which chilled the Golbat without even cooling Pidgeot down, I could easily deduce that my Seadra had overcome her confusion. The Golbat turned round again and tried to use Giga Drain on her once more, but Pidgeot got it its way and his energy was sucked instead of hers. Even knowing his noble nature and his feelings for Water Angel, I was impressed. What happened next was very fast: Pidgeot used his Faint Attack once more, and Water Angel did her part with an Aurora Beam. After that, the prizes were safe... from that Golbat, at least.

Water Angel grew to level 36 and learned Agility!
Pidgeot grew to level 36!

<Water Angel>
I was extremely grateful for what Pidgeot had done, but I felt a bit guilty too. He'd saved my life more times than I could count, and now he'd even got hurt in order to protect me. Of course, when I told him this he said that I would have done the same for him (and he was right), and that he couldn't have won the battle without me (that, we'll never know). But I knew I needed to improve. I'd grown a lot and have become quite strong in the inside, but I still had many physical weaknesses and many could take advantage of that, just as the Golbat had done. Unless I did something to change that, history would repeat itself and I'd be putting Pidgeot in danger, even if he'd never admit that. I promised I'd do all that was in my power to prevent that from happenning ever again. Pidgeot didn't understand me at that moment. Of course, he'd never had to take this decision: others took it for him. I made myself clear.
"Your path and mine started at opposite ends," I said to him. "You evolved too fast, and then you started looking for your inner strength. I know you didn't want things to happen like that, but that's how they turned out. And you're reaching your goal, which is also mine. I did things the other way around: I've already found the power of my spirit, but I won't be at my best until I'm fully evolved. We're reaching the same point now. You've just reached the level at which you would have normally evolved, and you're now as strong as the best of Pidgeots, and greater, more noble and more caring than any other I know." (He blushed when I said this!) "So now it's time for me to do my part," I continued. "I'll ask Gabi for her Special Stone. She won't deny it to me. She must know how I feel. Then we'll both be at our best, and we'll be the greatest team this world has ever conceived!"
Pidgeot giggled. I couldn't tell if he was happy for me or laughing at the way I spoke, or maybe both (he always says I use too many words to say simple things). But I could tell he approved my decision. I was about to ask Gabi for the Special Stone she'd been holding for about 3 months (the one Connor gave her shortly after we first arrived in Caledor). I knew it was a big thing I'd asking for, but I had the feeling that she was keeping it for me, waiting for the moment I was ready for it. Caledor didn't seem to have thoughts of evolving any time soon, and no one else in the team needed a stone or other items for that purpose anymore. But something stopped me from making my request at that moment... or, rather, someone. A Houndoom came out of nowhere and attacked us!

<Lady Vulpix>
A powerful and evil-looking Houndoom came to replace the Golbat, just when Water Angel and Pidgeot seemed to be having a very important conversation. Both Lagi and Ninetales jumped to its encounter immediately. Both!! Ninetales gave an annoyed glance at Lagi, but she wouldn't draw back. I understood her look as a way of saying they were supposed to battle the Houndoom, not each other. That didn't fit Ninetales's scheme of battling any high level fire pokemon he encountered, but I told him that teamwork would do him good, and reminded him he "used to be good at it" a long time ago. I think I touched a nerve with that phrase, and all of a sudden Ninetales had assumed combat position with a defying smile on his face and fire in his eyes.


Everything got dark for a moment as Ninetales fired a dark purple sphere of energy. It looked better when it was him who used it, and not my opponent. The Houndoom started spinning! Perhaps it was looking for Ninetales and couldn't find him anyway, or maybe the Confuse Ray had affected him more than usual and it was in panic. In any case, it ended up crashing into a wall, where it became a perfect target for Lagi's Surf. Ninetales took advantage of the Houndoom's confused state to bury himself without being noticed. He succeeded, but nothing could prevent the Houndoom from using Crunch on Lagi. This time, my precious dragon didn't use Surf, and somehow I knew the reason: she'd seen Ninetales dig, and she knew he'd come out soon, right where the Houndoom was. She tried to attack the dark pokemon with Slam, but it moved too fast and evaded her attack. It was evidently no longer confused. Ninetales did hit his target, though, being much fatser than Lagi and even faster than his creepy opponent.
The Houndoom emitted a loud scream like I'd never heard before, except in videogames. Then, it fainted.

Ninetales grew to level 50.5! I decided to give him a TM he'd like: Double Team. I think that was a good reward for his good teamwork. ;-) <- Note I intentionally broke this smilie for my message to fit in the board.
Lagi grew to level 50.5 and she learned Outrage! She had also earned a TM, so I decided to teach her Fire Blast. Now she has her biggest weakness covered. :-) <- Same here.

Fortunately, all the trainers were being victorious over the evil pokemon, and order was gradually returning to the arcade. I talked to them as soon as we were out of danger, asking if anyone knew the cause what had just happened. Some blamed Team Rocket, while others were sure Mewtwo was the mind behind this. Many had no idea, and were just glad that the immediate danger was over and their prizes were safe. I added another unsolved mistery to the list, wondering what the destiny of Caledor would be. Whatever was going on, it was clear that it was only beginning.

All of a sudden, Water Angel took me out of my dark thoughts. She was jumping and pointing at my bag with her snout. I took my bag off and put it on the ground. "You want something from here, right?," I asked her. "Sea," she replied. I started taking everything out to find out what she was looking for, and then, near the bottom, I found a shining multicolor stone. I stared at it. I'd almost forgotten about it, having it buried under so many daily-use items. Water Angel started jumping higher and faster when she saw it. She looked really excited. "So this is what you want!," I exclaimed. "I've longed for this moment to come ever since Pidgeot gave me this stone. You must know I was keeping it only for you. I wouldn't have used it on anyone if you hadn't wanted it." Water Angel blushed. I could see she was flattered.
"Haven't you realized what you mean to me?," I asked her. "I felt your doubts and worries during the second Eagle Games, and before them, whenever I gave you advice or pointed out your mistakes. You must know this: the only reason why I did that was because I knew you had great potential, and I wanted you to discover it. Now you've done it. You're much stronger and wiser than you were when we first met, and so am I. You've helped me a lot, and I've also learned a lot from you. You've never disappointed me, Water Angel. You've exceeded my best expectations. You can't imagine how proud I am of you!" Water Angel leaped on my knees and I embraced her. The Special Stone, which was still in my hand, shone brighter than ever, and my friend started shining too. All my other pokemon were watching with interest, joyful witnesses of Water Angel's final evolution and her transformation into a real Dragon pokemon.



Water Angel evloved into Kingdra!
Whatever problems were coming could wait. For now, celebration was in order. It was one of the most memorable days in the history of my team.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

<Tsunami>

We went down Glacier Peak without having even touched the water. Of course, there was a good reason for that: Sylvan needed help. Poor girl, whenever she battles, she ends up in an emergency room at the Pokemon Center; even with that clover protecting her and everything. I think she wasn't born for battling. But well, can't blame her for trying. She does what she thinks is right, and that's a good thing. So, we were in the right place at the right time: while we were still at the Pokemon Center waiting for Sylvan to rejoin us... Team Rocket attacked!
Well, we didn't know it was Team Rocket at the beginning. We only knew that a lot of bird pokemon were invading the waiting room and trying to take the trainers' pokeballs. Those birds were being handled by the trainers, but some others got past the waiting room and scattered all over the Pokemon Center. The birds weren't interested in my Gabi's pokeballs (they were all empty, 'cause we were all out at that moment); so I thought we could go outside and see who was sending the bird pokemon in. Then we'd defeat them and end the threat. But Amber had different thoughts. She was worried for Sylvan and the other injured or ill pokemon. "We can't let them hurt the pokemon!," was all she said before she broke into the patients' section Ninetales' style.
Everyone's attention was fixed at the birds, so nobody tried to stop the fiery protector of the weak. Well, actually, though I was stunned by the way Amber was handling things, I knew she was right: those pokemon needed more help than the nurses could offer. So I followed my teammate down the corridors and into a room where water pokemon were resting in aquariums of various sizes. A Fearow was in the room too. It had just caught a Magikarp in its long beak. The poor fish could so nothing but shake and wave its tail.
"Let go of that pokemon!!," Amber shouted. "No act shows more cowardice than attacking those who can't defend themselves. Want to attack someone? Come and get me, then."
She kept on surprising me with every passing second. For a moment I wondered if she'd been taking speech lessons with Water Angel, but then I realized it didn't matter. The only important question was if she'd be able to back up her words. And by the looks of the Fearow and the room we were in, it seemed that she'd spoken too fast.
"Amber, are you sure you can do this?," I asked her. "That Fearow looks much stronger than you and, to make things worse, there's water everywhere! Let me handle this."
"I won't draw back, Tsunami," she replied. "I MUST do this." Then she looked at me with her heartmelting smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. And if I get in trouble, you can always finish my job," she added. Too bad that, while she was talking to me, the Fearow attacked her from behind!


//Escribirla de nuevo para que sí parezca una batalla de Amber y no una de Trickster.
Things were ugly from the start. The Fearow used its Rage attack from the beginning, and dealt a Critical Hit! Amber was so furious that she could have answered with a Rage of her own, but she used her mind and blew smoke at the Fearow instead. I'd never seen such a local Smokescreen. The Fearow started coughing, and became disoriented, but all he other pokemon were unaffected. Actually, I think they were enjoying the show. The Fearow tried to use its Rage again, but Amber evaded it and attacked with her Hidden Power. Hard metallic spheres materialized around Amber and shot themselves at the Fearow. That didn't cause much damage to the bird, though, being as strong as it was.
Then the Fearow pursued Amber and managed to catch her and hurt her, but then Amber used her Fire Blast and... it was incredible! The Fearow was caught in the biggest fire formation I'd ever seen! Both its wings were on fire, and also its 2 legs and its long neck. It was as if the Fearow and the fire symbol were the same thing! Still, the flying pokemon managed to shake the flames away and kept on attacking, this time using its Rage again. Amber looked scared, but she wouldn't give up. She bit the Fearow's neck and fortune grinned at her: her Bite was critical too! I was really amazed at what had just happened, and the Fearow was in shock. Amber could have taken advantage of the Fearow's astonishment to bite again, but instead she stood in her place and asked the Fearow if it would stop threatening weak pokemon. Naturally, the Fearow's only response was another attack: this time, it was Steel Wing!
I wonder why the Fearow hadn't used Steel Wing before. It may have thought it would get better results with Rage. Or, considering what I came to know later, it may have thought nothing at all. Amber bit it again twice, and the Fearow fainted.

Amber grew to level 25 and learned Scary face!


"Those pokemon are safe for now," Amber said.
"Yes, but those birds must have come here for some reason," I told her.
"I know," she replied. "But now I'm too weak and tired to battle whoever sent them here. Will you please do it for me?"
"You're weak? You didn't look weak at all a minute ago. You were incredible!"
"Really? Thanks. That's a great compliment coming from you. Yes, I think I did well. Oh, I was so furious! But I... I don't know what I did... channeled my anger into something positive, I think. I'm exhausted now! Tsu, will you please save the Pokemon Center?"
"Oh, yes, I will! The attackers will never know what smashed them! Hey, wait a second! ...'Tsu'?"
"Oh, sorry if you didn't like it. It's just that you have a long name and..."
"It's ok. You can call me Tsu if you want. Sounds good."
"I call Water Angel 'Angel'."
"You don't wanna know what I call her. Ok, wait here. I'll get to the bottom of this problem."

I ran along the corridors, past the Waiting Room and through the entrance gate, and the first thing I saw was... an Eevee! As I got closer I realized it was none other than Caledor.
"What are you doing here, kid?," I asked him.
"Same as you, I think, old guy," he answered.
"Hey, what's with the 'old guy' thing?!"
"Well, you said you wouldn't stop calling me 'kid', so now I get my revenge."
"You know no respect, do you?"
"I respect many. Sometimes even you. Anyway, have you seen that?"

I looked in the direction Caledor pointed at, and saw a really big Kadabra! He seemed to be using his psychic powers for sSorry. The file was broken here.


When I looked down to see the ground, it was really far away. Then it rushed to me at an incredible speed and hit me really hard. Even though my HP were probably still higher than his, I knew not to be overconfident. If I played around he would take me down easily just like Ninetales did the Poliwhirl at the Griffon Games. So I gave him my best shot with an effective Shadow Ball. The Kadabra was badly hurt, but he proved he wasn't a fool at all: he used Disable! "Great," I thought. "How am I going to win now?" At that moment some sort of electric field sorrounded my opponent, who suddenly stopped moving. For a moment I didn't understand what was going on, but then I remembered I was not battling alone. I looked back and saw that my Eevee friend was glowing golden. I couldn't believe both the Kadabra and I had totally forgotten about him!
"Thanks," I told him.
"You're welcome," he replied. "It will be easier for you to get to him if he's paralyzed."
"Yeah, nice trick," I said. But it wasn't a good moment for talking, so I got back to my objective: the Kadabra. I attacked him with the move which made me famous. The Kadabra was smashed by a really huge wave, but it managed to get up and used one of the most annoying moves in the world: Recover! I was steaming with rage, but Caledor asked me to hold on until he finished what he was doing. He was making a lot of funny moves. I didn't know what his plans were, but I found out as soon as he started glowing blue and clouds began to cover the sky. Being used to Lagi's grace, I hadn't recognised Caledor's rough but effective Rain Dance at first. Smart kid! He knew he had no chance at hitting the Kadabra himself, but he was helping me a lot! As soon as rain started to fall, I gathered that whole lot of water and formed the most gigantic Tsunami in history! It was so enormous that even I was amazed! That's why I couldn't believe what happened after my wave drew back.
The Kadabra looked beaten, but all of a sudden it started to glow! It was trying to recover again! Fortunately, his paralysis prevented him for regaining his strength before Caledor's Thunder hit him. The attack wasn't very strong against a level 40 pokemon, but the Kadabra was so weak from my tsunami that the Thunder made it faint. I would be grateful for that if only the rain hadn't driven the electricity to me too!

I grew to level 36 and learned Focus Energy and Aurora Beam!
Caledor grew to level 26. He was glowing golden and had a sorry child's smile on his face.

"When will you learn to watch your aim?!!," I shouted. "This is the second time you've zapped me! And you've done that to the love queen too. Do you get some sort of twisted pleasure from hurting water pokemon?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered. He looked not just sorry, but also afraid of my possible response.
"It's ok," I calmed him down. "You were a great help. I don't know if I could have done it without you."

We saw the whole flock of bird pokemon come out from the Pokemon Center and fly away. They were finally free from the Kadabra's mind control. Gabi was at the door, watching us. The rest of our teammates were with her, including Sylvan and Amber.
"The nurses have done a great job," Gabi said. "All the pokemon are fine now, including the birds. But that wouldn't have happened if you two hadn't set the flying pokemon free. You've turned out to be wonderful partners! I've always believed you could do amazing things together, but I feared you may be unable to stop competing with each other."
"Competing is what makes us strong!," Caledor exclaimed. I didn't think Gabi could understand that, though. I wasn't sure if I agreed or not, but I was finally beginning to understand my friend. It wasn't as hard as I'd thought: he was a lot like me! Well, more impulsive and careless, but otherwise just like me. I began to think I'd get on well with my adoptive "brother". And some day I'd return his favour with an Aurora Beam just like W.A. had done. For now, it was time for me to get back into the Pokemon Center. I wanted to be completely fresh and healthy for the next time I saved the day.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

<Tsunami's POV:>

Gabi had a strange look since she heard about Aglandiir, and what happened in the lab didn't help. It was as if she were not the same; I looked carefully, but I couldn't find any traces of the joyful trainer who had once travelled all the way to New Bark looking for an Eevee who wanted to go with her on a trip, eventually become a Vaporeon and stay by her side for life. She looked ok to other humans, but I'd been with her long enough to know something was wrong with her. My teammates knew that too. She talked too little and her eyes showed she was lost in deep thoughts.
Lagi said she needed some time to reflect. She said Gabi was strong and would come out of it. Water Angel said the same, but she didn't sound as confident as Lagi did. Ninetales tried to convince Ventura to push her out of that state, but the Venonat said there was nothing she could do. Caledor and I kept on looking at each other, waiting for one of us to find a clue. Amber and Sylvan did the best they could do: stand by our treiner's side and keep her company. And Pidgeot... well, he looked as shady as Gabi. I can only begin to imagine what he was thinking and feeling. No wonder why Water Angel didn't leave his side in all that time. For the first time I felt tere was something good in the bond those two shared.
This went on for a day, but it seemed like weeks to me. I hadn't realized how important Gabi and the team were for me. But now I was glad I knew. Then, as an answer to all our hopes, Gabi spoke: "I guess it's over... for now at least," she said. "We must move on. There are still lots of things to do. Oh, I just wish I could take a long rest! A vacation would be great." It seemed Lagi was right after all. Light returned to everyone's faces, and we all resumed our normal roles. In Ninetales's case, sarcasm was in order. He got closer to me and commented: "she always says that, but she never takes one. Maybe we should just push her to one... start running and make her chase us to the jungle or something."
"Someone else may think you'd do that, but I know you wouldn't," I responded.
"Yeah, you know me well, right?"
"Well, you and I do have a lot in common."
"I guess so. As much as a strong fire pokemon and a water pokemon who thinks he's the best can have."
"I don't think you're the best. I just want to be the best, and I think that's what you want too."
"So does that make us equals?"
I knew Ninetales wasn't expecting an answer from me. He was looking for it himself. That was a big question for both of us, especially with all that had happened between us ever since I was adopted. The little Eevee who wanted to get strong and challenge the team leader had grown a lot; but then again, so had Ninetales. And so had the rest of the team too. Everyone had grown so much that there wasn't need for a leader anymore. So yes, I guess Ninetales and I had become equals after all.

I had just arrived to that conclusion when something started ringing. I didn't recognize the sound at first, because it wasn't the one I'd been used to hearing. Then I remembered that Gabi had upgraded her mailbox during the Pegasus Games, due to the huge amount of mail she'd been sending and receiving. So that was it. We'd got mail. When Gabi opened her mailbox, she found a round package with a label on it. She read it, and then told us: "hey, look at this! I've got a mystery gift!"
"What are you waiting for? Unwrap it!!," shouted Caledor. I guess that must have sounded like a lot of noise to Gabi, but she could clearly see Caledor's excitement. She opened the package and took out... a ball?! A multi-coloured, striped ball, apparently made of rubber or plastic.
"Wow, this is great!," Gabi exclaimed. I was intrigued. I had no idea of what could make a ball seem great to her, but if it made her so happy I figured it was more than it appeared to be.
"It's a special Beach Ball," she said, Broken file again. Sorry.s I think Water Angel deserves having an item too, so I was thinking... do you think you could both share the two items? Take turns, or something? I'm not sure if that would be ok with you, since you don't seem to get on so well with her, but I think it's the best choice."
"Are you kidding? I'm the queen's best friend!," I exclaimed. I knew she wouldn't understand my words, but I also knew I'd make Ninetales and Caledor laugh. Gabi took that as a yes, which, in some way, it was. Actually, I have nothing against Water Angel. It's just that her big words and her romantic heroine behavior get to irritate me sometimes, and the bond she shares with Pidgeot is something I could never dream of (especially in battles, they're like one incredibly powerful pokemon with two extremely mismatching bodies), so the fact that our tag team is formed by those 2 and me makes things quite difficult for this Vaporeon. But all in all I think she's a good pokemon. I may even consider her my friend, I'm not sure yet. And she does have a golden heart, no one can deny that. So I don't mind sharing with her.

Well, Water Angel was extremely excited with our new item. It was strange, at least for me, that being already a Kingdra she still acted like a kid sometimes. Then a miracle happened: Gabi decided to actually go out and have fun to celebrate! Well, it wasn't the first time we celebrated something: we had a celebration for each of water Angel's evolutions, one when Ninetales won the Griffon Games, one when Amber and Sylvan evolved, and one for Lagi, of course. I don't remember having a celebration over my evolution, though. Gabi was very happy, that day, true, but we didn't do anything special... why could that be? A lifetime seems to have gone by since that day. Anyway, Gabi has cheered me in all my battles and she's never stopped telling me how impressive my waves are, so I don't think she has anything personal against me. Maybe she just interrupted the celebration the day I evolved because she was too busy stopping me and Ninetales from battling each other.
So, we went to a remote beach to have some fun, test the ball and leave our worries as far behind as possible; for a few hours, at least. As soon as I saw the sea, I began to understand Water Angel's child-like joy, since I, too, was filled with it. We both dived into the deep water, and started passing the ball to each other and making tests. I'd left my bottle of Mystic Water with Gabi. Water Angel shot a tremendously powerful Water Gun, but then in my turn I made such a huge wave which made a Tsunami pale in comparison, proving once more that I was the only true Wavemaster! Then we both tried our Aurora Beams, aiming them at the clear skies. This time, hers got much further than mine. But I wasn't upset for that: she'd been using Aurora Beam all her life, while I had just learning and was only beginning to master it.
All of a sudden, I felt something furry bump into me. I looked round and saw it was Caledor. He'd decided to join the fun and swam all the way to us. We let him borrow the ball and he created a wave while holding it, but it wasn't any bigger than his average wave. "I'm afraid that won't work," Water Angel told him. "The Beach Ball only powers up the attacks of Water Pokemon, so unless you evolve into a Vaporeon you won't be able to use it." Caledor opened one of his eyes wide and closed the other a little. He looked funny. Then he opened his mouth and let us know what he was thinking. "Me a Vaporeon?... Nah, we have enough with one Vaporeon around."
"What do you mean, little rat?," I inquired.
"Nothing..." he replied. "You're good enough, we don't need a new Vaporeon in the team. Just please never use that ball against me."
"Do you think I'd hurt you?"
"I just wouldn't like to risk a Thunder accidentally popping out in your direction if I get hit."
I laughed. The kid always had a good answer for everything. I respected that, so I decided not to continue our word battle. There was no reason to fight, after all.
"So what are you planning to evolve into?," I asked him.
"I don't know. I'm not even sure if I want to evolve at all. I like being an Eevee. It has some advantages: ghost attacks can't touch me and most of my opponents tend to underestimate me. So I guess I'll stay as an Eevee for now, even if that means you'll keep on calling me 'kid'."
"You don't get it, do you? I'll keep on calling you 'kid' EVEN if you evolve! You're stuck with the nickname."
"Then I guess there's nothing I can do, is there, old guy?"
"Actually, there IS something you can do. You can shut your mouth for your own good."

We were having this warm and friendly conversation when rain came to spoil the fun. Not that I minded getting a shower, I was already wet from head to paws and I loved water; but the rain was certainly a problem for Ninetales and Amber, and we had to think about our teammates, not just ourselves. I don't think they would have enjoyed spending the rest of the day inside their pokeballs waiting for me to have enough. Besides, Gabi didn't seem to feel like getting soaked at that moment either. Conclusion: our short vacation was cut even shorter. Whoever said good things don't last was probably right. So we packed our things (in my case, I picked my Mystic Water while the queen kept the ball) and left for Caledor.
Lady Vulpix called us back to our pokeballs, as she always did when we had to travel a long distance. I didn't mind that; it was comfortable to be in my pokeball for a while, as long as I didn't spend the whole day inside or something like that. It was a practical way of travelling, and I like the challenge of refining my senses to discover what's going on outside. That's how I knew we were crossing the last and longest bridge when we stopped moving. I heard the sound of bycicle chains and some loud human voices. For what I picked up, I made out that they were a gang and they were stopping all the trainers who tried to cross the bridge and challenging them to pokemon battles. Of course, one of them challenged Gabi. The voice was a woman's. A 2 on 2 battle, the challenger said. "You must know they call me Shadow, and I'm the best ghost trainer there is."
A ghost trainer! I was super against ghost pokemon. Since I heard those words, all I wanted was Gabi to pick me. I started shaking inside my pokeball. All of a sudden, I felt I was moving. Something was grabbing me. Then I heard the most desired words: "Go, Tsunami!"
I was transported by a warm beam of light, and soon I was standing on the bridge. I looked at Gabi's opponent. It was a tall young woman with long, dark purple hair who wore tight black leather clothes, typical in a member of a bycicle gang.
"A Vaporeon!," the women exclaimed, stating the obvious. "Nice, but it doesn't seem to have a high level. I think my Haunter will easily win this battle."
I took that as an offense. What did she mean?! I'd fought hard to reach level 36, and I'd be getting even stronger once I'd beaten her pitiful Haunter! It couldn't be much better than all the Haunters I'd beaten before! Soon, "Shadow" picked one of her pokeballs and out of it came the infamous ghost. The sight of it made me think I'd been rather overconfident: the spectre was huge! A closer look at it made me realize that, though its level was higher than mine, the difference was not that great. "I'll just have to be careful," I thought to myself. "I'll win this battle."


The Haunter started the battle with a horrible Night Shade, so I decided to pay him with the same coin (a ghost-type attack, I mean). My Shadow Ball hurt the Haunter much more than his attack had hurt me. If we kept on like that, the battle would be over soon. Well, those were my thoughts, but the Haunter had other plans: it used Hypnosis! When I realized what the ghost was doing and tried to escape, it was already too late. I don't know what happened next, it was as if I had been away. Either I had no dreams or the Haunter ate them, the thing is I woke up in pain; BIG pain. Now I was determined to make the Haunter pay. I hurled a second Shadow BaDon't you hate broken files? sleeve: a Misdreavus. The species was not the problem; I'd already beaten a Misdreavus once. It was its level what made it so scary: it was level 60! That was 9.5 levels higher than the strongest members of or team. It was a great challenge, and I knew well that only one of us was fast, tricky and evasive enough to have a faint posibility of winning that battle. This was a call for the big one. As he came out from his pokeball, I began to wonder where we had got the idea that he and I could even dream of being equals.

vs

[i]The Misdreavus made things hard from the beginning. It was the first time I found a Rain Dance really annoying. Ninetales didn't flinch, though. He'd already got wet once that day and he wouldn't draw back at a little drizzle. Actually, he wouldn't draw back at anything! He used his Confuse Ray. Now the Misdreavus might even help him. Well, he was out of luck at the beginning, since the Misdreavus did reach him with a Thunder attack. What's worse, he was paralized! Even so, he managed to hit the Misdreavus with his Iron Tails and lower its defense. The Misdreavus threw a Shadow Ball at Ninetales. It was still confuse, but its aim was incredible. Ninetales put all his effort in changing that. He didn't move, but he didn't have to; being confused, the Misdreavus would be unable to figure out which the real Ninetales was among all the copies which were appearing all over the place.
I could see Shadow was getting nervous. I feared for Ninetales when she pointed at him and ordered her Misdreavus to "aim at that one", but the ghost didn't seem to understand which one she was pointing at, since her Thunder blew one of the copies; one which was close to the original, but a copy all the same. Ninetales took that chance to use his Iron Tail attack again. With 70 tails moving in its direction, the Misdreavus would never know which ones were hitting it. The Misdreavus threw a Shadow Ball at one of the attacking Ninetales, but it turned out to be a hologram too. Ninetales tried to attack again, but... he couldn't! The strain of attacking continuously in spite of his paralysis was wearing him out. What made matters worse, at that same moment the Misdreavus managed to shake its confusion away! It used a Psychic attack and... it hit Ninetales! My friend was in trouble, but then something happened which gave him a chance at winning: the rain stopped!
When I saw my teammate's grin it was clear to me that he'd been waiting for that moment to arrive. He took a deep breath and 2 seconds later the Misdreavus was caught in the flames of a Fire Blast. Once the fire went away, the ghost was so furious that it tried to finish my friend off fast with a Thunder, but Ninetales was able to move just in time to evade the attack. Then he hit the ghost with his 7 iron-reinforced tails, and the ghost was history!

Ninetales grew to level 52.5!

"You've proved your worth," Shadow said, expressionless. "You can go ahead."
Gabi looked surprised at the way Shadow talked to her, showing no emotions at all. Actually, I was surprised too. Maybe she was too upset for having lost and didn't want to show it, I don't know. Ninetales and I returned to our pokeballs and, for the rest of the journey, I kept on thinking about that last battle, impressed at how Ninetales had managed to defeat such a strong pokemon. My own victory was nothing compared to his.
When we got to Caledor, we all came out from our pokeballs. Then I saw we were standing at the door of the Pokemon Center. Gabi made some comments which I don't remember right now and then she told Ninetales and I that we had been great. Then we walked in and she asked the nurse to heal the two of us. The nurse led us to a room and we were left alone for a few minutes, before someone came to check us. In those minutes I told Ninetales everything I'd been thinking since I saw him battle on the bridge. I was completely amazed and I just had to tell him. His reply shocked me: "don't sweat it, kid. You'll do even better when you reach my level. Now, if you don't mind, will you please stop talking? I need to rest."
I was grateful for the fact that the 2 of us were alone at that moment. If Caledor had been there, he'd still be laughing by now!

__________________

Lady Vulpix

The following is an epilogue for this scenario, which leads into the next one and introduces my newest team member.
After healing my pokemon, I returned to the Power Plant only to see it almost deserted (except for a few workers and their pokemon) and partially blown up. At least the main system was working now. They sure had a lot of work to do, but they were handling well. I couldn't stay to help them: my place was in Caledor and I'd left it for too long.
Too many bad things had happened lately, the worst of them being the death of my friend John. I hadn't been there when it happened, and I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. Now I was barely starting to get over that, pushing myself to go on and swearing to do as much as I was capable of so that no more tragedies occured. I wanted to bring Caledor back to its old glory; it would be a really hard task, but I was determined to achieve that goal, and I knew I could count on my friends and all those who were close to me.
As with all big projects, I'd have to start little by little. The first step would be doing something good; anything that was positive would be a good start. I went for a walk while trying to come up with a good idea, and the universe seemed to be listening: the idea came to me. My wandering had led me right to the door of Kanga's Hatchling Rescue Center. "That's it!," I thought. "I can start by giving a Pokemon a new home. That way I'll be not only helping that pokemon, but also bringing new life to my team."
I went in to see what pokemon were looking for new trainers, and came out with a cute level 8 Stantler. Misty, the co-director, was very nice when she gave it to me. It was a male one, so now my team was completely balanced (5 females and 5 males). I decided to name my new Pokemon Iael. Iael looked happy to have found a trainer. As Misty told me, he'd been waiting for one for a long time. I promised to take care of him, and told him I expected we became good friends. I sent out the rest of my team to make the proper introductions.
Iael was welcomed by all my pokemon, but Caledor seemed to be the most excited one, probably because he liked the idea of having someone younger than him in the team. Sylvan stretched out one of her vines to greet the new member, but Iael didn't seem to know what to do with it. Iael looked nervous; I figured he hadn't expected to meet so many Pokemon at once. I didn't worry. I knew they'd get to know each other soon. They'd get used to being together. It always takes time to adapt to changes, especially big changes like adding to a team which had settled a long time ago, but I felt this would be good for all of us.
Once all the introductions were made, I decided to go home and show Iael around. Then I could let him rest while I did my boring paperwork (I'd have to get down to that sooner or later, and that was for the good of Caledor too). Then maybe we could go for a walk in the forest or something, if my pokemon felt like it. Or maybe we could visit some friends, but that would probably add even more to Iael's anxiety, so maybe the following day...
I made lots of plans but, as usual, circumstances ended up changing them. I did get home, but I hadn't even finished showing Iael where everything was when I had this strange feeling... the feeling that something was wrong, that the darkness which had enveloped Caledor wasn't gone, nor even taking a rest. I felt that evil had taken a new shape, and then I stopped listening to those feelings and started wondering where they'd come from.
I knew myself: I'd always been intuitive, and I could usually feel energy around me, even detect psychic connections every now and then, and eventually (though very rarely), I'd been able to predict when something good or something bad was about to happen, or the thought of an old friend ha [...] close friend!
I turned round, 80% sure of what the answer was. There were only 2 beings, among those I held close in my heart, who had shown strong empathy with me in the past. And out of those two, one seemed to express mainly general ideas (like "there's a tunnel comming out from the left wall"), while the other clearly transmitted her feelings to me: Lagi! When I thought of her, I knew I'd finally found the source. Then, when I looked at her, everything became clearer: the feeling was of sorrow, sorrow for those who had become enemies out of fear.
Then I remembered: the Dark Cave! Not the one in Johto, the one in Caledor. I'd never got to understand what had happened in there, but I knew what Lagi had felt. Through her I got to know that Nature had been devastated once, and that the Pokemon in the cave were afraid of humans because of that. Lagi had cried out to my heart the day we went to the cave; she was determined to do as much as she could to help those Pokemon. I guess that's why she could feel they were in danger now. And through her, I was feeling it too. We had to do something for those poor pokemon. We had to go to the Dark Cave.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

The surroundings of the Dark Cave were gloomier than ever. Black clouds were covering the area, and in the distance I could see several shining spots. Eyes, as I got to know through Ventura. Beings full of evil, as Lagi informed me. The creatures started closing in; had they found us? I knew my team and I wouldn't be able to take on all of them on our own, so I called out for all the trainers in Caledor (just like I used to do in the old times). I prepared for battle, hoping to be able to hold on until the others arrived.
Only a few minutes later, the creatures were close enough for me to identify them. They were all Pokemon, but they looked more threatening than ordinary Pokemon. They looked evil, Lagi was right. And if I could see them, it was obvious that they could see me too. They were probably expecting me to run away, but I wouldn't. I was going to fight them. We all were! We'd stop their plans, whatever they might be, and help the Pokemon who were hiding inside the cave.

I could see Iael was shaking. I called him back into his pokeball; he wasn't ready to face unknown evil forces yet. "I'll wait for a better occasion to start training him," I thought. "If I live to see a better occasion, that is." Then I scolded myself for that dark thought. "Stop that! Of course I'll live! I've been through worse... well, maybe not, but I will get through this. I'll get to the bottom of this and emerge victorious. My friends count on me. Everyone in Caledor counts on me! I won't disappoint them. I won't become one more reason for mourning."
While I was trying to give myself courage, something cold ran through me. It felt horrible, and I thought I might freeze in fear, but it went away as fast as it came. It had passed... in the direction of my group C*! I turned round to see the 4 pokemon who were behind me. Sylvan was trembling and the others were inmobile. Then, Ventura's eyes lit up and the attacker became visible. It was a Haunter! Ventura stepped forward, ready to battle the ghost. The Haunter was 6 levels stronger than her, but she didn't seem to be worried about that. She must have had a plan. She always has one.


The Haunter seemed to know what it was doing: it used a Confuse Ray on Ventura. My Venonat managed to respond, anyway. She used her Psychic attack, dealing great damage to the ghost. Then the Haunter cast a Night Shade on Ventura. I hadn't thought the place could get even darker than it was, but it did! To make matters worse, Ventura was unable to find the Haunter this time and she fell, victim of her own attack. The confusion seemed to have wrecked her natural radar. I knew she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer in those conditions: the Haunter was MUCH more powerful than Ventura and, if it got to use a psychic attack of any kind, she wouldn't be able to resist.
"Amber, please help her!," I cried out. I don't know why, among all my pokemon, I chose Amber. It was an instinctive reaction. And so was hers, I guess, since no sooner did I call for her than the Haunter was trespassed by an amount of steel spheres: Amber's Hidden Power. The Haunter got furious and threw Toxic at Amber, seriously poisoning her. But Amber got her revenge by clutching her teeth on the spectre. Her Bite was super effective, but she didn't have much time left. Fortunately, the ghost cried so loudly after being bitten that it became a perfect target for Ventura. My Venonat used her Psychic attack again, and sent Haunter back to the shadows it had come from.

Ventura grew to level 27!
Amber grew to level 27!

I wondered if Ventura had asked me to call for Amber, or if it was my own idea. It had happened so fast that I hadn't had time to think about that. Had it? How long had the battle lasted? I had no idea, I'd lost the sense of time. The darkness was so creepy! It was not a mere absence of light, it was the essence of evil around us. I had the feeling that if someone, human or pokemon, let those shadows in his/her heart, s/he'd never be the same. Those whose spirits were not strong enough, even if they weren't overtaken by evil, might be haunted by it forever. I hoped with all my strength that I, my pokemon and all the others were able to get through this with our spirits intact. I could say I prayed, though I didn't give a name to the recipient of my prayers. "If we get through this in one piece, we'll be stronger than ever," I said to myself.
I could hear the sound of battling around me. That meant others had answered my call. We were not alone. That thought gave me strength to keep fighting. And I was, indeed, going to need that strength, for a terrifying Houndoom had come too close to me, eager to attack. It was at level 60, much stronger than any of my pokemon, and its eyes glowed with desire of destruction. "Is there a way to escape from this monster?," I wondered. But then I remembered the pokemon in the cave. Even if I got to escape, they wouldn't. I had to help them, and the only way to do that was defeating the Houndoom. Those must have been Lagi's thoughts too, for she rose from her place and descended right between me and the demonic hound.
Ninetales stepped back. I don't think he did it out of fear: he never said no to a tough challenge, especially if it came from a fire pokemon. I think he had a reason for stepping back: he understood that this was Lagi's call. Trapped in the cave were the pokemon she'd sworn to protect. Now she was about to prove she was up to her word.


The Houndoom didn't waste its time. It used Crunch on Lagi as soon as she touched the ground. Lagi was seriously injured. I could feel her pain. She didn't have time for a Rain Dance, so she did the only thing she could do: she flew away. The Houndoom must have thought she was escaping. It tried to chase her with its Faint Attack, but she was out of reach EVEN for that. She was way up in the sky, getting in touch with the elements... casting a spell.
The Houndoom was about to settle for an easier target, but soon Lagi came down and rain started to pour heavily on the evil creature. At the same time, Lagi's wings blew sharp gusts of wind at the Houndoom. The second stage of Tempest was the strongest against a fire pokemon. She'd have a small chance of hurting her opponent during the third stage. If she made it through the third stage, she'd have a good chance of triumphing. But she'd have to resist 2 more blows. I wondered if she'd be able to take them.
Good thing: the Houndoom didn't know what was coming. It protected itself, probably expecting the last part of Tempest to be worse than the previous one. Lagi was playing her part well. Of course, for a Flying pokemon the 3rd stage of Tempest would be fatal, but that was not the case when the opponent was a Houndoom. Lagi's enemy shielded itself from a dounpour of hail which would have barely touched it. Tru [...] ond its flames lit up the sky.
It looked as if the beast was about to explode. Even more so, when Lagi increased her speed and hit it with another Surf attack, catching the hound off guard. The Houndoom's roar made the earth and the sky tremble. I bet all the other trainers heard it. But it turned out to be the cry of a defeated pokemon. The Houndoom tried to attack again, but the fire in its eyes faded away and the dark pokemon fell to the ground and fainted.

Lagi grew to level 52.5!

**

All around us, the rambling of battles went on. No other pokemon came to attack me; all of them must have been busy fighting other trainers. I had to take Amber to a Pokemon Center fast, but I also had to get to the cave and make sure the pokemon in there were safe. I asked Pidgeot to take Amber to the nearest Pokemon Center. I knew she'd be safe with him. Ventura and Lagi were very weak from their battles, but they could still hold on, and I needed them with me. I needed Ventura to guide me through the dark, and I needed Lagi to talk to the pokemon in the cave and make them understand we were trying to help them. So I followed Ventura to the Cave and the rest of my pokemon, except Lagi, returned to their pokeballs. That way we'd reduce the chance of being found by other evil pokemon.
We made it to the Dark Cave, but then the sky cleared. I looked around and got a relieving sight: the evil pokemon were down. All the trainers had won! Still, I knew the danger was far from over. As far as I could tell, this was only the beginning.

*Note: for those who don't know this, my pokemon are divided in 4 groups, according to their levels.
Group A = Lagi & Ninetales
Group B = Pidgeot, Water Angel and Tsunami
Group C = Amber, Ventura, Caledor and Sylvan
Group D = only Iael for now.

**Note 2: all battles take place at the same time as these ones.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

<Lagi's POV>

I crept through the cave following my instinct. I had to find the hidden pokemon and tell them that the danger was over, at least for now. I also hoped that they'd be able to give me some information about what had just happened. It would be much better if we knew what we were up against. Each tunnel was darker than the previous one. I would have got lost if I hadn't been able to feel Gabi's presence at the entrance of the cave. She was my anchor. I could also feel the pokemon I was looking for. I knew I was getting closer. I knew where I was going and I knew how to go back. The only thing I didn't know was where I was at that moment. The tunnels got narrower and I felt some rocks cracking at my touch. One of them was sharp, and it cut through my skin. I tried to hold myself from crying, but I guess my voice came out anyway, for as soon as I left that rock behind, an old acquaintance appeared right in front of me.
The Noctowl's eyes were shining, and her voice was harder than the rocks around me.
"You again?!," she yelled. "Will you never leave us alone?"
"I'm here to help you." I said with the thread of voice that was left in me. I was too weak from my last battle. "I probably shouldn't have come down here," I thought. The Noctowl noticed I was hurt.
"Help us? We'd be much better without you. You're only getting yourself in trouble," she told me. "What does that human do to make you follow her everywhere? And where is she now?"
"She's outside. She's staying there to help me find the way out."
"I'd think she's afraid of us, if I hadn't seen what she did. But she can't be helping you. Humans never help. They only think of themselves. Wherever they go, they leave a trail of destruction."
"That's not true," I replied.
"How dare you deny it?! You've seen what happened! Ever since humans arrived, we haven't been able to leave our lives in peace!"
"So it actually happened. I believed so, but I thought it might have been just a dream. You never stopped to explain it. You just hurled it to me. You left no room for reasoning."
"Reasoning? What reason could come out of that?! There was no reason in what they did! They destroyed our homes! And then they broke the seal that protected us! Where's the reason in their actions?!"
"There's none. No reason could be good enough for destroying your homes, and for that I understand you."
"You'll never understand us."
"I do." The Noctowl became silent for a few seconds. She was beginning to discover the true meaning of my words. She realized I could feel her pain, and that brought her closer. Finally, she was beginning to listen.
"As for the seal, it was an accident. Squirtle_flame didn't mean to break it. He's a good person. Not all humans are alike. You should know that if you saw what just happened out there. All those trainers came here to help you."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Anyway, there's no point in arguing. I know you mean to help, Dragonair, but we'll be better apart. Go protect your own, and I'll do the same."
"I can't believe you're saying this after..."
"You have no idea what you're dealing with," she interrupted me.
"Do you? If you know something, please tell me."
"The pokemon you've just battled... well, some of them were my friends. They lived in this cave, but they went out when they felt something strange was going on. Then the black mist took over them, and they turned evil. I could do nothing to save them. Then the others came. Hords of rotten-hearted pokemon who wanted to claim this lands for the Dark Gengar."
"The Dark Gengar?"
"That's what I heard. I don't know who he is nor what he's up to, but if he managed to manipulate my friends like that... I can't begin to imagine what else he's capable of doing, or what he will do now that some of his followers were defeated. I'd like to think he'll leave us alone from now on, but I'm not a fool; I know better than that. I fear the Dark Cave may be doomed. Maybe the whole world. There's nothing I can do to stop him, and neither can you. Go home and be safe while you can."
"I don't believe that. There's always something we can do. Things can't be as bad as you see them. There will always be hope if we work together... if we don't give up."
"I wish you were right."
"I know I am. I don't know who the Dark Gengar is, but he won't win if we don't give him power over us. Don't give in, Noctowl. I won't. And you know that if you need any help I'll be here."
"Whatever," she replied. She was tired of having that conversation. She didn't know what to think, and I could feel she was terribly scared.
"Don't give up hope," I told her. "It's the best gift we have."
"Go home and heal your wounds, dragon," she replied. "We'll see what happens. As unbelievable as your words seem, I hope they're true. I don't want everything to end this way."
I smiled. I didn't even know the reason at that moment, but I felt I had achieved something important. It wasn't just the information I'd gathered; it was something better... I felt I had planted a seed of hope in the Noctowl's heart. "Thanks for everything," I said to her as I turned back and started crawling to the exit. The time for words was over for now, as we both understood.
Once outside, Gabi embraced me. She knew something good had happened, but she didn't know what it was. Somehow, I'd find a way to let her know everything I had just learned.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

The world seemed to have gone mad. Wherever I went, I could see order had been shattered. The words "Dark Gengar" and "Oracle" where in everyone's lips; even in mine, when I called for the other trainers to help contain the crisis. I didn't know who had said those words first and, actually, I didn't care. I knew this had happened before, probably many times. And it was likely to happen thousands of times in the future. Who learned about this first was of no importance. All that mattered was what we had to do. We had to minimize the damage caused by the Dark Gengar until the Oracle arrived. Those words sounded too cold, especially when we could see that damage all around us: places which used to be peaceful were being ravaged, people and pokemon were being hurt.
It would probably take the world a long time to rGRRRR!!!!e important. If we didn't stop the evil pokemon, the losses would be much greater; the Dark Gengar would have no bounds to extend his influence and the world might already be lost by the time the Oracle appeared. Or maybe he wouldn't be able to appear at all if we didn't prepare the way for his comming. So yes, we could make a difference after all.
Still, the idea of waiting for the Oracle didn't please me. He was too similar to the Dark Gengar in my mind; the opposite side of the same coin. It would have helped if I'd know when he would arrive, or where he'd be comming from. Uhmm... I've noticed I'm always interrupted when I'm in the middle of a thread of deep thoughts. That may be the way things work, or perhaps my deep thoughts would never end if they were left alone, who knows. In any case, something always happens, and that moment wasn't an exception.
I was wandering through Caledor looking for something useful to do and somehow I ended up in the forest. Don't ask me how, my mind was miles away from my feet. But then I was brught back by the cry of an Oddish. The poor pokemon was being bullied by an evil Scyther. Its body was full of scratches and its leaver were being torn into pieces. The Oddish couldn't defend itself and, the louder it cried, the angrier the Scyther got. It looked as if the bug was going to slice the Oddish at any moment. I wouldn't allow that to happen. My hand reached for the nearest pokeball and it turned out to be Iael's.
For a moment, I hesitated. Iael had never battled before. He'd had a long talk with some of my other pokemon, but even after that he'd looked scared. Still, if I waited for more peaceful times to come before beginning to train him, he might never get to battle. And his fear would grow if he didn't prove himself. So, I decided to send him out. Iael looked at me, asking for instructions, or maybe for an explanation. I told him the only thing I could at that moment: "Iael, please save that poor Oddish. I know you can do it." There wasn't time for more words. The Scyther has raised its scythe and was about to deal a fatal blow at the Oddish. Something in Iael changed when he saw that. He wasn't completely confident yet, but he was burning with rage. The sight must have touched something inside him. He ran as fast as he could and tackled the Scyther. The bug pokemon left its prey for a more interesting target. So, the battle began.


The Scyther hit Iael with a Quick Attack. Being only level 8, Iael was hurt badly. The Stantler was frozen in fear. I had to do something. Then I remembered what Misty had told me when she gave Iael to me. He knew Disable. That move worked wonders when Ventura used it; it had to be useful this time too.
"Iael, disable!," I shouted. Iael reacted to my voice immediately, and froze the Scyther in mid-air. The Scyther had tried to use Quick Attack again. Now Iael had bought himself some time, but he'd have to use it wisely. His tackles weren't strong enough and there was no way he'd get to use Leer as much as he'd need to get a decent efect. So there was only one chance. He'd have to dodge the Scyther's attacks and at the same time hit it with as many tackles as possible. That's what I told Iael to do.
Iael still looked scared, but that wouldn't stop him. It would only help him run faster. He tackled the Scyther and the evil pokemon started pursuing him. But Iael did his job well. He was always one step ahead of the Scyther, and ready to tackle whenever his opponent appeared. It was as if he'd been born to do that. The scene repeated itself about 15 times, but then Iael found himself in front of a wide tree. The Scyther had led him into a trap. Iael had nowhere to run. He couldn't make it round a tree fast enough and he got hit by the Scyther's Pursuit attack.
Now Iael had very little energy left. One more blow and he'd be down. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes started glowing (not like Ventura's when she spots a ghost pokemon, more like Ninetales's when he's really mad). Then, like Ninetales, he gathered strenght from somewhere and attacked so fiercely that he dealt a Critical Hit. The Scyther was as hurt as it was astonished. Its eyes were wide-open when it fainted.

"You did it!," I exclaimed as I ran to embrace Iael. "I trusted you, but even so you've impressed me. You're great!"
My words and the physical contact we were making seemed to comfort my new friend. But now I knew, or at least suspected, something important about him. For the way he battled, and for the way he reacted to each of the Scyther's actions, something really bad must have happened to him in the past. That could explain his shyness. I'd have to learn more about him and, most important, I'd have to help him get over his pain and fears. It would probably be a hard task, but I knew I could do it. I'd helped 2 shy pokemon before (now no one would imagine they used to be shy) and a pokemon with a traumatic past, and besides Iael seemed to be very strong. Not pshysically yet, but spiritually. And I knew he'd become stronger in both ways. He was indeed a great pokemon.
I knew the time for battling wasn't over. I'd get back to that as soon as I could. But first, I needed to go back to Dragon Tamers Central to get Iael a reward.

Iael grew to level 10 and his reward will be a TM: Earthquake!

__________________

Lady Vulpix

<Sylvan's POV>

We were all back home and things seemed to be going back to normal (or at least they were quiet enough for us to pretend they were). Iael was grateful for Gabi's teaching him Earthquake and was beginning to get used to being with us. Ventura helped him gain confidence when she started commenting on how well he had handled the Scyther back in the forest. In the meantime, Lagi and Ninetails were having an argument because the insatiable warrior wanted to learn how to detect the presence of other pokemon and Lagi simply couldn't tell him how to do it (I think she doesn't even know how she does that). Iael was a bit nervous when he saw them argue, but I told him that everything was ok and that Ninetales has a habit of getting at the first pokemon he sees when he doesn't like the way things are going on, but he never hurts anyone when he's in that mood.
"Now that I think of it..." I reflected, "Tsunami's been too calm lately. You'd think he would have tried to have a brawl with Ninetales again by now, or at least teased Caledor. I wonder what's keeping his mind busy these days."
"So is that how things work here?," asked Iael, who had been listening to my loud-spoken thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... do all of you get at each other all the time?"
"Oh, no, of course not!," I exclaimed, laughing at the idea, but worried that I'd made him think that. "No, Ninetales has a very hot temper when he's nervous (and in moments like this he has every reason to be so), and Tsunami and Caledor are just a bit too competitive, but that's the way they are and they like it. The rest of us are not like that, so if that noise disturbs you stay with us. You'll never see me trying to compete with anyone."
"Then Ninetales is mad because things are going wrong outside?," he asked. It seemed he'd only paid attention to the first part of my speech.
"Well... yes," I answered. I noticed Iael was worried. "We're all anxious right now. But things will get better. Trust me."
Iael made a gesture with his eyes which almost looked like a smile, and at that moment, for the first time in my life, I felt I had someone to take care of, someone who actually needed me.

It wasn't long before Scott rang. He'd been absent for an eternity, but I hadn't forgotten him. Who could have? Gabi turned on the vid-phone and I was as glad as I was surprised to see the face of the first human who had done something for me; the one who had found me, lost, lonely and helpless as I was, a young Bulbasaur who wanted nothing in life but to have friends who cared for her and eventually grow up and be able to take care of myself, and gave me the chance to get exactly what I was looking for. By taking me to the Adoption Center and leading me to Gabi's side, he'd granted me all my wishes and also the chance to find new wishes and new goals.
Still, the joyful meeting I was expecting would have to wait: this wasn't a social call. He looked worried, and I soon learned why. There was trouble at the Dragon Spine mountains. Evil pokemon again! Gabi offered her help, as usual. "I knew I could count on you," Scott said. Yes, we all knew that. He could count on her, and on us too. We'd do whatever was necessary to bring peace back becauYet again!!ome moment we got there and we all came out and saw the mountains for ourselves. At first I couldn't see any other pokemon around, but I could hear a rumbling noise. We started moving in the direction of the sound to see what was going on, and we got our answer sooner than we expected: two Gravelers were running down the mountain... and they were coming our way! I could see they wouldn't change their course to avoid us, so I stepped aside to let them pass. So did the others, but as soon as the Gravelers got past us they turned around and started charging toward us again. They wanted a battle and they would get one. I expected to be called to action since I had type advantage against the Gravelers, but Gabi's decision surprised me anyway. She paired me up with Caledor for that battle!
I didn't know what to think. I'd always trusted Gabi, but I wasn't sure if she knew what she was doing. Caledor and I had never battled together and that wasn't like that by chance: both Ventura and Amber were excellent partners in a battle, keeping an eye on me, knowing exactly what to do and saving me from all major threats; but Caledor was completely different. Caledor was a good friend, but I couldn't trust him as much in a battle as I did Amber or Ventura. He hadn't learned to meassure his own power yet, and there was no guarantee that he wouldn't end up hurting me instead of helping me. Besides he'd never occupied the role of a protector like Amber, nor that of a field leader like Ventura. He was more independant, and even used to hang up with Tsunami more than he did with us. At that time I wondered why Gabi would ever choose to send us together.


Both Caledor and I stood in front of the Gravelers. They were moving faster than I expected, or maybe I was too nervous and that made me feel they were faster. I had to stop them somehow... at least one of them. I had to think fast, and I used the first attack that came to my mind: Vine Whip. It worked! The Graveler who got hits tarted falling down the mountain. The fall wasn't long, though, since we were very close to the base, and the Graveler soon started comming up again. And the other was comming my way too! "I wish Gabi would tell me what to do now," I thought. "Why doesn't she?"
I knew Gabi wanted us to be independent and able to look after ourselves, and that for that reason she only gave us commands when we needed them. So she must have considered I didn't need help at that moment, but I thought I did. There were 2 Gravelers trying to run over me and I didn't know what to do. Even Ventura was silent. I'd expected at least she would guide me. At one moment the Graveler who was still close to me curled up and prepared a Rollout. It was on the point of hitting me, but then something threw it off its course. A Water Gun! From Caledor! I sighed and then smiled. "So he can protect me after all," I thought. Then Caledor spoke to me. "Come on, this is not that hard," he said. "How much can those Gravelers hurt you? You have an amazing defense! And you can bring them down in a second. Both you and I know attacks which are mega-effective against Ground/Rock pokemon."
The word Caledor had just invented made me laugh, and it was the first time I laughed in the middle of a battle. Caledor smiled. I realized he was right. There was nothing to be afraid of. Even if I hadn't had my clover with me, I'd have still been able to beat those Gravelers easily. I was no longer the weak little Bulbasaur who could do nothing but tackle my opponents and hope they'd tire out before I did. I was strong. I really was strong! "So that's why Gabi's not talking to me!," I concluded. "She wanted me to find this out!" I also realized she'd only sent Caledor for backup in case I was to scared to move, or maybe just because he needed some training. On second thought, this was an easy battle. The Gravelers were big and at a higher level than us, but in the end that would mean nothing.
The Graveler who was climbing up finally reached me and connected a Fire Punch. I won't lie: it hurt like hell. But then I gave it a taste of my razor leaves and the Graveler was down for the count. Something similar happened to Caledor: the Graveler he had hit was both furious and astonished at the Eevee who had shot a Water Gun and who was now glowing blue. It hit Caledor with a Headbutt and threw him down, but my friend got up before he started sliding down. Caledor began to run up the mountain and went past the Graveler. Our opponent didn't understand what he was doing until it was too late. It started chasing Caledor, but soon the Eevee turned around and faced the Graveler. "Sylvan, step aside!," he warned me. He seemed to have learned his lesson: he was preventing me from getting caught in his attack. I did as he told me and soon a big wave formed out of thin air and began to fall down the mountain, in the direction of the Graveler.
I could see panic in the pokemon's eyes just before the wave caught it and pushed it down to the base. Once the water faded away, I could see the Graveler had fainted.

I grew to level 27!
Caledor grew to level 27!

As soon as the battle was over, Gabi told us we'd done an excellent job. "I felt this could be a good chance for both of you to learn something," she said. "I see I was right. Thanks for trusting me."
"See? I can be careful if I try," Caledor told me. He was still glowing blue, but that didn't look as strange to me as it used to. "And you..." he continued, "you did great. Do you realize how strong you are?"
"Yes, I do. Thanks to you," I answered.
"You're welcome. I just thought you needed to know that. You can be great in battles if you focus."
"I think so, but I still hope that one day we won't have to battle. At least not for any reasons other than training. I'd love to spend a whole day in a peaceful forest, smelling flowers and listening to the sound of leaves shaken by the wind."
"You're a poet, you know? Yes, I think I wish for peace too. But I also have some more immediate wishes."
"More immediate than peace? What can that be?"
"Don't get me wrong, if I could have peace now I'd take it. But I know it's not comming any time soon. I'll reach level 30 before that happens."
"And so?"
"So... what I want is to have complete hold of my powers by then. Make sure I won't hurt my friends anymore. I know what will happen when I'm 3 levels stronger. I'll recieve the gift of fire. And that's a very dangerous gift if you're not careful enough."
I understood his concern. I would have had the same thoughts if I'd been in his place. But seeing what he had done in the recent battle, I knew there was nothing to worry about. "You'll be fine," I told him. "You were careful today and I know you'll be in the future too. It's just a matter of keeping an eye on the others and you've proved you can do that. You've learned a lot and grown a lot. We both have."
"Thanks," he said, and an exchange of smiles ended the conversation. We continued walking for a while, but we didn't see any more pokemon nor hear any unusual noises. The crisis was probably over. Then, Gabi's gear-phone rang. Gabi picked up the phone and, after a few seconds, and a few 'hm's, 'yes's and 'right's, she ended with an "I'm on my way" and put the phone back in her gear. "Well, it seems we have a new mission," she told us. The words "will this madness never end" came back to my mind, but for some reason I was calmer this time and I felt I'd be able to take battles and even evil a bit more lightly from then on.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

I wondered what Scott had called me for. He wouldn't tell on the phone. All he said was that e wanted me and the rest of the trainers at 22:00. It was getting late, so I asked Pidgeot to take me to the meeting point. He kindly accepted, and I called the rest of my pokemon back into their pokeballs to make the flight easier (actually, to make it possible, since there was no other way Pidgeot could take everyone on his back).
We were in the middle of our flight when we were attacked by another Pidgeot. I didn't even see it comming before it hit my Pidgeot with a Faint Attack. So this was no common Pidgeot either. It knew the same bred-on move as mine, but it was clear this Pidgeot wasn't good and caring like my friend. "If Team Rocket had found it, they would have kept it," I thought, but I kept myself from saying it out. I didn't know what had made this Pidgeot attack for no reason (it could have been the Dark Gengar or something completely different), but my friend and I wouldn't let it keep on hurting innocent pOk, this has gone too far. I didn't know the file was so broken.ed a Whirlwind to try and blow us away, but I held firmly to Pidgeot's neck and he used his Agility to break through the whirlwind. Then he used his Wing Attack on his opponent.
Then the other Pidgeot gained altitude, and so did mine. I knew I was about to experience a Fly attack from a 'privileged' seat. I held Pidgeot as tight as I could while both bird pokemon kept on flying higher and higher. I thought they wouldn't stop until they got to a height at which there wasn't enough oxigen to breathe, but fortunately I was wrong. The other Pidgeot finally got higher than mine and plunged onto us in a Fly Attack. But my friend hadn't finished ascending yet, and he easily dodged his attacker. In his turn, he used his Fly attack too, but the other Pidgeot used Protect, so the whole thing was a big loss of time.
Pidgeot tried Swift again and his opponent responded with a Faint Attack. Then it was the other who used Swift and my friend responded with a Wing Attack. I noticed that both pokemon had the same speed. Agility had leveled the scores and it was impossible to predict who would win if thinks went on like that. Anyway, things changed soon. Our attacker decided to try Fly once more. I predicted another waste of time and attacks, but I thought of a way to prevent that. "Pidgeot, use Gust," I said. My friend followed my advice and used one of the few attacks which could reach the opponent even when it's up in the sky. Then Fly did hit us (I took some of the impact too), but once Pidgeot used his Wing Attack again he regained the advantage.
Our opponent desisted from using Fly and went back to its old strategy with a Faint Attack. But then Pidgeot managed to hit it with a Wing Attack and even managed to use Swift before it could strike again. That was too much for that Pidgeot. It lost balance and started falling down. My friend rushed to catch it and stop it from hitting the ground at a high speed. He reached it, but it was too heavy for Pidgeot to carry it, especially since he was weak from the recent battle. I sent out my only other lfying pokemon to help. Lagi managed to grab the Pidgeot and take it to the ground smoothly.[/i]

Pidgeot grew to level 40 for winning the most even battle in his life! He has earned a TM, so I'll teach him Steel Wing!

We were about half way to the meeting point and it was night already. Pidgeot was tired. I couldn't ask him to fly the rest of the way with me on his back. So I did something I'd never done before: I asked Lagi to take me. I expected her to be more surprised, but she accepted to carry me as if it were a natural choice. Pidgeot got in his pokeball to rest. "Thanks a lot, Lagi," I said as I sat on my incredible Dragonair. Lagi shook her wings and soon we were up in the sky. Her flight was so smooth... it was as if she were dancing in the air; and my weight didn't bother her at all. I thought we'd reach the meeting point in no time, but things didn't work out as I expected: we were attacked again! It was another Pidgeot, but this one looked much stronger than the previous one. I wondered what reason they could have to try to stop me from meeting Indraugnir and the others.


The Pidgeot came down from the clouds and hit Lagi with a strong Fly attack. I wonder why Lagi hadn't detected the Pidgeot's presence before. Maybe she was not paying attention; she must have been concentrating only on reaching the meeting point just as I was. We should have been more careful after what had just happened. Lagi tried to stop the Pidgeot by wrapping it up, but it wouldn't desist from attacacking. It used a Steel Wing attack to cut through Lagi's skin and break free, but Lagi managed not to lose the grip. She then realized the Pidgeot wouldn't stop attacking unsless she defeated it in a battle. So she decided to stop being soft and used a Thunder. The Pidgeot used Mirror Move and hit Lagi with Thunder too. Fortunately, being a dragon, Lagi was not weak to Electric attacks as the Pidgeot was. Even so, she was seriously injured. I don't want to imagine what would have happened had she used Ice Beam.
The pain forced Lagi to release the Pidgeot. Being in direct contact with her, I got hurt by the Thunder too. I'd once receive a discharge from Caledor while he was battling in the water, but that had been nothing like this. I felt as if my whole body were burning, and I knew Lagi felt the same. She wouldn't resist another Thunder. Probably none of us would. Moreover, Lagi was so weak that she wouldn't resist ANY attack from the imponent Pidgeot. The only chance she had was to use an attack which was super effective and completely accurate, for if she missed we'd both fall. We'd fall even before starting whatever mission Scott had for us... just on our way. We couldn't afford that, so there was only one thing we could do. I instructed Lagi to attack the Pidgeot with an Ice Beam. We had nothing to lose, since in these conditions being hit by an Ice Beam ourselves wouldn't be different from being thrown down by another Steel Wing.
As the gelid beam burst out of Lagi's mouth, I prayed that it would be strong enough to bring the Pidgeot down. It was. The cold took all of the Pidgeot's remaining energy in the end. Lagi rushed to catch it and take it to the ground slowly.

Lagi gained 2 levels!

I felt a strange energy running through Lagi's body. I could neither explain it nor understand it, but I felt as if something inside her was about to burst out in an explotion of light and illuminate the nocturnal sky. Lagi shook her head. She was too tired... to weak... Too weak for what? I wished she could talk to me in words; emotions are usually too imprecise. In any case, it was clear that she wouldn't be able to take me to the meeting point. She and Pidgeot had done their best but I'd have to continue on my own for the rest of the way. Luckily, we'd made it quite close to our destination. I offered Lagi her pokeball, but she didn't want to get in. She decided to watch out for other Pidgeots or attackers of any kind. Being on the ground, I had no need to ask either her or Pidgeot to battle again. My other pokemon would be able to handle any eventual obstacles.
However, no one came to attack us while we made our way to the meeting point. Perhaps because they knew they wouldn't be able to catch us by surprise anymore, or maybe because, in spite of her weariness, Lagi's presence was stronger than ever and they were afraid of her. Or just maybe no one else was longing to stop us or we'd passed a test or something; I guess I'll never know.
When I left the mountains on Pidgeot's back, I thought I'd have plenty of time to get to the meeting point and wait for the rendezvous to take place. But I ended up arriving late. Everyone was already there and Scott was about to start explaining the mission to the trainers. Most of the present people directed their looks at Lagi as she came in.
"Sorry I'm late," I apologised. "My journey here got... complicated."
"It's ok. We all had problems getting here," Scott replied. I was surprised at his answer, and worried too. If we had all been attack, then there had to be someone who was really interested in preventing these meeting from taking place. Who or whatever it was, we'd have to be very careful. At that moment I had the feeling that something VERY important was about to happen.

__________________

Lady Vulpix

<Ninetales's POV>

We were all released from our pokeballs before Indraugnir explained our mission to us. I glanced at Lagi. She looked really exhausted, but there was something strange in her (more than usual, I mean); I couldn't tell exactly what it was. Pidgeot had had some rest, but he was still too weak to battle. I could tell this was a call for the 7-tailed marvel, so I listened to Indraugnir's speech carefully.
Everyone had heard of the Tower of Hoeth, but not many knew about the secrets that it held. I hadn't known until that day, and there was probably a lot that was still hidden to me. With this information, the place sounded like something that would be very dangerous in the wrong hands, equipped with the most powerful of both technology and magic. I wondered how a group of thieves could have broken in. They had to be really smart and full of resources. I doubted Team Rocket could have done that, they didn't have what it takes; it had to be someone else.
This whole situation kept me very intrigued, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to meet those who'd taken over the tower. This would be a greater challenge than most I'd faced before. I wondered if those men or creatures or whatever they were had anything Guess what. Yes, broken file.enetrated the enchanted forest. It was all dark and gloomy. I could smell fear around me. We had only just entered the forest and some of the newer trainers and younger pokemon were already shaking. Iael was moving like a robot, probably pretending not to be afraid.
Of all my teammates, the only one who seemed to be doing something useful was Caledor, who was lighting the way with his golden glow. I was right behind him, and behind us were Lady Vulpix, Lagi, Tsunami, Amber, Sylvan and Iael. Further behind were other trainers and pokemon, and in front of us were a few more. Pidgeot had decided to go back to his pokeball and Water Angel had returned to hers when we parted from the river. But I couldn't see Ventura anywhere!
"Where's Ventura?," I asked, turning to the others.
"She's ahead of us, checking the perimeter," Amber said, calmly.
"You mean she left before us? How irresponsible!"
"She didn't leave before us, she just got past the others. And she's not irresponsible. She's looking after us and she told me where she was going."
"I don't need to be looked after."
"I know. You're invulnerable, omnipotent, and perfect."
"Where did you get that from?"
"Well, that's what you seem to want everyone to believe."
"That's ridiculous! I don't want anyone to believe that stuff and you'd have to be really stupid to do so, which I know you're not. Besides you should know me well enough to know that I don't think I'm perfect or anything like that. I'm just a pokemon, and I... want to do things well."
I was annoyed. Why had Amber said that? And why had I responded? Normally, I would have let everyone think whatever they wanted; but Amber is someone with whom you have to make things right. Always. I don't know why, it may be because she's so plain good; she even avoids battling pokemon that are weaker than her, and I've seen her hold back more than once.
Anyway, I kept on moving until something told me to stop. We all stopped moving at the same time, so I deduced everyone had got the same message. Then, an image of spikes came to mi mind; spikes under the ground. There was only one pokemon who could and would warn us that way.
"Ventura, stop that!," I shouted as loudly as I could. "Why don't you speak like all other pokemon do?!"
"Sorry, Ninetales," a distant voice said. "It was more effective this way, and I needed to warn the trainers too."
She was right, so I stopped bothering her. I realized I was in a very bad mood, probably because things were escaping my control. I was about to run to where Ventura was and jump over the spikes so that I could keep moving forward, but this time it was my trainer's voice that stopped me. "What's happening?," she said. I hadn't noticed anything strange yet, so I looked around to try and find out what was troubling her. That's when I realized we were all alone. All the other trainers and their pokemon had disappeared. Ventura came to me.
"I don't understand it!," she complained. "Where's everyone? And why are the spikes gone?"
I'd never actually seen the spikes, but I could get an idea of what was going on.
"They aren't gone; we are," I told her. "Someone or something has transported us away from the group. It's probably forced the others to split up as well."
"Divide and conquer, the oldest strategy in the world," she reflected. "Well, we won't be conquered!"
"We must stick together now," I said. I was even more nervous than before. We had obviously been spotted, and by someone who possessed great powers.
"Are we still close to the tower?," I asked Ventura.
"Closer than before," she replied, and she showed me the direction in which the tower was.
"Why would our enemies bring us closer?," I wondered. "They must be leading us to a trap." No sooner did that thought form in my midn than I heard Lagi's warning: "Ninetales, look out! Fly attack!"
Only a split-second later, I heard the air shake. I jumped back instantly. Then I looked up and saw a Pidgeot comming down at a high speed: the third one to attack us that day. "I still want to know how you do that!," I told Lagi.
My fast reaction caught the Pidgeot by surprise and now it was shaking its wings to create a cushion of air which would stop it from hitting the ground. I prepared to attack.


First, I caught the Pidgeot in a Fire Spin in order to disuade it from using Fly again and test its strength. I could see it was not as strong as the one who had attacked Lagi earlier that day, but stronger than the one Pidgeot had fought. I didn't want to grow overconfident, but I felt I had the advantage, since the Pidgeot would have to come close to the ground if it wanted to attack me. It did, finally. It came closer than I expected and hit me with a Mud Slap, which deflected the flames I was about to throw at the bird. I realized the Pidgeot knew its business. I'd have to be very careful.
The Pidgeot started moving in circles. I had no way to know what its next move would be nor where it would come from. I wished it would use a Quick Attack, so that I could predict its next location and give it my best shot, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. The Pidgeot finally decided to hit me from behind with Take Down. I turned around quickly and fired a Confuse Ray which hit the Pidgeot straight on. Now I did have an advantage, however small; and I was going to struggle to widen it.
My opponent's circles turned into an irregular spiral. It tried to attack again, but the sahking of its wings only made the flames around it grow and burn it more. I used my chance to direct a Flamethrower at the bird, with stunning effect: the Pidgeot got burnt! The pain made my opponent react and its confusion was no more; even the flames of the Fire Spin faded away, but now the burns would continue hurting the Pidgeot until it fainted. I just had to make sure that happened as soon as possible, since I still had to reach the tower and confront whatever dangers awaited inside.
I shouldn't have got distracted with thoughts of the tower. The Pidgeot used that to its advantage, hitting me with another Mud Slap. It was really furious, and I knew it would be using strong attacks for the rest of the battle. And I didn't have a good chance of hitting it with any of my own strong attacks. So I decided to play a new game. I used Double team and then started running in an 8 course. I didn't run in circles because that was the Pidgeot's strategy, and it surely knew it well enough to follow my moves in a circling course. This way, I got the battle out of the Pidgeot's schemes.
My plan seemed to work, since the Pidgeot took its time (about a second or so) to decide what to do. That time wasn't long enough for me to attack again, though. When the Pidgeot decided to play it safe and used Swift, hitting me and all of the holograms at the same time, I had only started powering up the flames inside me. Still, that somehow helped me, since I was preparing a Flamethrower and all I had to do was fire just a little to the left of the direction the stars came from (predicting the Pidgeot wouldn't have time to change its course while attacking). That made it for me. The Pidgeot fell to the ground immediately.
I grew to level 55.5!

One more down and... who knew how many to go? I had about half of my energy left, which was more than Lagi had and much more than Pidgeot had. I had a slight chance to win another battle, but definitely not two. Would I make it to the tower? I decided not to allow doubts to trouble me, and I kept moving forward. So did Lady Vulpix and the rest of the team. We stuck together, keeping an eye on each other to make sure no one vanished without our knowledge. Suddenly, Ventura froze in her place. We all gathered around her.
"What's wrong?," Amber asked Ventura.
"I don't know what it is, but something's terribly wrong. My radar isn't working!," she replied.
"What do you mean it's not working? That's not possible!," Sylvan questioned, scared.
"I thought so too," answered Ventura. "But I can't sense those trees over there, nor anything around me. What can be causing this?!"
It was the first time I saw Ventura on the brink of despair.
"We'll find out and sort out everything," I promised. "You'll be fine."
"It may be the magic of the forest," Amber considered. "I think the effect will go away once the tower is free. For now, just walk with us."
"You don't understand how I feel," Ventura complained.
"It's like losing one of your senses all of a sudden," Lagi pointed out, getting involved in the conversation. "I understand you, Ventura. Let us guide you now. You've guided us so many times... it's the least we can do."
"We will get to the tower and back, right?," interrupted Iael, the only one who wouldn't pretend to be optimistic for the sake of the others. He needed someone to sustain his hope.
"Yes, we will," said Amber. She seemed to mean it. "We have to, and I trust we will. We've been through a lot and faced all kinds of terrible enemies. Even if we never got a full victory, I know this won't be the time we get beaten."
Amber's answer seemed to confort Iael. I couldn't believe she'd become so mature. Where had that happened? I'd missed it! The last thing I'd known was that she was struggling to control her strength, which was all of a sudden too much for such a kind soul. But that was when she was level 19, and she was already level 27! Lots of things had happened to all of us since then. Had I not been paying enough attention to my teammates?
"Hey, I've found something!," Caledor's shout tossed me away from my reflections.
"What is it?," I asked.
"I don't know, there's a red glow comming from behind that bush."
My eyes followed the direction of Caledor's, and I saw the red glow too. Caledor was slowly walking toward the bush.
"Get away from there!," I shouted. Caledor was scared at my reaction. He froze immediately.
"Why? What is it?," he asked in a thread of voice.
I ran to the bush and saw it. It was exactly what I had suspected: a Fire Stone. It was the second time I'd found one lying on the ground in a forest. What was the chance?
"If you had touched this, you'd be a Flareon by now," I told Caledor. He remained still. He was probably shocked at the possibility of evolving by accident. I understood him, it was shocking when it happened to me. Especially since my evolution was not perfect. This stone looked better than the previous one: its glow was stronger and it was a pure red (the first one had been slightly orange).
For a moment, I fantasized about what would have happened if I'd found this stone in the first place. But in the end, I didn't like the possible outcome: I would have gone back to my pack and probably been the leader (since I was the first one to evolve), I would have never started wandering and the Dragon's Guild would have never found me, I would have never met Lady Vulpix and the others, never won a tournament, never wrecked the plans of Team Rocket or saved the Radio Tower, the Dark Cave, Mewtwo's Slaves and so many others. I had become some sort of a Hero! And that definitely beat being the leader of a Vulpix pack. Besides, I was very close to achieving my old dream of being the strongest fire pokemon in Caledor, and it was clear I didn't need those extra tails I used to long for during the first moths after my evolution.
I realized it was the first time I'd thought of my pack ever since I was adopted. None of them had been a very close friend to me, and they probably wouldn't miss me now that so much time had passed. But I thought it would be great to know where they were, if they were still together, and if they were all fine. Why hadn't I ever had those thoughts before? Something was changing inside me, and it shook me, but I liked it. It felt like evolving, but in the inside. It was as if I'd already achieved an important goal for myself, climbed up a step in my life, and now I was opening up to the world. That had to be it. Anyway, I wasn't planning to tell the team about it, and I knew Lagi would be discreet if she happened to find out.
I decided to pick up the stone and give it to Gabi. I knew Caledor didn't want it, so she could put it in the Reward Center or something. But as soon as my teeth touched the stone, something happened. I was surrounded in a blinding light and my tails began to split; not just into two more, but lots! Then they started growing and wrapping me up. I couldn't control them! I was suffocating!
I wanted to cry for help, but I couldn't. My mouth was trapped in my tails. Why weren't the others helping me? I could hear their voices, but I couldn't make up their words; not until Lagi shouted.
"Ninetales, break free! You're caught in an illusion!," she warned me. I don't know how her words managed to reach me. It was clearly not telepathy, since she doesn't have that ability and besides her voice came from outside, not from my mind. She must have made a connection somehow. In any case, she saved me. Once I knew what was going on, I tried to relax and I realized I could still breathe normally. Then the illusion faded away and my tails went back to normal. I'd never been so glad of having only seven tails. I wanted to ask Lagi what had happened, and I noticed I was still holding the stone in my mouth. I decided to bury it. If it was enchanted, I didn't want it to cause more problems to anyone. Once I'd made a deep hole, deposited the stone inside and covered it, I went back to my question.
"What was it?," I asked Lagi.
"I don't know exactly. You started shaking and I could feel your despair. And then I felt... I still feel... we're being watched. The one who did that to you is still here. I think it's a psychic pokemon."
"Then I'll make it pay!," I shouted out. "Wherever you are, stop playing those low tricks and show yourself! I challenge you! Are you afraid?"
It clearly wasn't, since it did as I said immediately. It was a Hypno, and it looked very strong. It was calm, as if I was no threat for it. I began to doubt that challenging in my conditions had been a good idea.
The Hypno didn't make a single move, but I heard his voice in my mind (it was a male voice). "I challenge you both," he said. I knew who the other one was immediately. It was Lagi. He must have been mad at her for finding him and spoiling his mind trick. But Lagi wasn't ready for a battle. Her injuries were worse than mine!
Lagi came forward and faced the Hypno. "I accept your challenge," she said. I thought she had to have a plan. I seriously hoped she had one.

Luckily, Hypnos aren't the fastest pokemon around. I managed to fire a Confuse Ray before being attacked. But the Hypno was still able to stay focused enough to disable my Confuse Ray. I hoped its confusion lasted long, since I wasn't likely to have another chance. Lagi shot an Ice Beam at the Hypno, but the effect was not as good as we would have expected. The Hypno's resistance was impressive. I decided to do my part with a Fire Blast, expecting he wouldn't resist the combination of great cold and then greater heat. My Fire Blast did more damage than Lagi's Ice Beam, but it was still not enough. How could that be?!
The Hypno glowed for a moment, but did nothing. Though not even his lips moved, I had the feeling that he was laughing inside. Then he fixed his eyes at me and I realized he was no longer confused. My Confuse Ray had been useless and I couldn't try it again. To make things worse, Lagi cast a Thunder, but the Hypno simply deflected it. I was getting furious. I charged at the Hypno and tried to use Iron Tail, but he tossed me away with his telekinetic power. Then he used a Psychic attack which made me feel I was about to be torn apart. But I knew most of the pain was due to the wounds I already had; the attack itself hadn't been much stronger than my own, and so I still had a chance, especially with Lagi on my side. All we needed was to do something the Hypno couldn't predict. I went back to Lagi's side.
"Can he sense us? You know... like you do?," I asked her.
"No, his powers don't work that way," she responded. "I'm an empath and he's psychic, it's not the same. I think he just knows we'll be directing all our attacks at the same point because he's not moving."
"Then he doesn't have to know where our attacks are comming from," I deduced. "Lagi, do something that Hypno's never seen before."
By saying that, I realized I was using Caledor's strategy. I didn't mind, and I didn't think he would either. Wise is someone who learns from everyone, and if this worked, I could add one more strategy to the list. I started digging and hid under the ground, trusting that Lagi would know what to do. As she told me later, the Hypno used Hypnosis one her, but she broke free. Nothing would stop her from reaching to the skies. From my underground hideaway, I heard the shaking of Lagi's wings. I knew it would take some time before rain started falling, so I used that time to jump out and hit the Hypno from the left (I thought he'd stop me easily if I came from the front, and he'd probably excpected me to come from behind, but the sides were a tougher guess). I didn't hurt him much, but at least I got to hit him this time.
Then the Hypno started glowing golden (just like my Eevee friend when he's about to use an electric attack). I could tell what was comming, so I waited until the glow was most intense and jumped away just before the Zap Cannon came out. Then Lagi came down and her Tempest unfolded. While rain and wind were hitting the Hypno, I used Double Team to get a better chance to use a stronger move than Dig on him. (Since Dig had worked, this made sense). The Hypno wasn't looking at me. He was obsessed with Lagi. He used Hypnosis again, and this time it did work. But what he didn't know was that Tempest can't be stopped once step 2 has started. Both the hail and the lightning bolt fell right on their target.
Taking advantage of the Hypno's astonishment, I hit him with an Iron Tail attack. I hurt him, but his Psychic attack hurt me even more. The holograms didn't fool him, or maybe he was just lucky. I hoped it was the latter, since the pain I felt was so strong that I knew I wouldn't resist a third psychic attack. And as if things weren't bad enough, a yellow beam came out of nowhere and hit Lagi, waking her up, but also hurting her and throwing her away. I finally understood what the Hypno's glow at the beginning of the battle had meant. He had used Future Sight. The beam pushed Lagi to the place where Lady Vulpix was, and our trainer was carried away too. All of a sudden, they both disappeared. "I'm lost!," I thought. That was a thought I'd never expected to have.
I gave the Hypno my most powerful Fire Blast, and I was so mad that he was unable to stop me. The Hypno screamed. He actually let his voice come out. I thought I'd made it, but then I saw it was ready to attack again. He seemed to be invincible; I wouldn't get the time to beat him in any case, and I couldn't see Lagi or Gabi anywhere. Gabi... it was the first time I called her by her real name, even in my thoughts. I hoped it wouldn't be the last one. Then, all of a sudden, the most incredible thing happened: a Dragonite came out of nowhere and took the Hypno down with an incredible Outrage attack!

I couldn't believe what had just happened. One moment, I was lost; the next one, I'd been saved by a Dragonite and the Hypno had fainted! It looked like another illusion; I thought the Hypno could have used Hypnosis on me just to prolong my suffering and make fun of me. But then why would he create such a beautiful illusion?
I waited for a Dream Eater attack, but it never came. The Dragonite was still at my side, trying to clear its mind and slow down its breath. It was just as exhausted, relieved and astonished as I was. But how did I know that? I knew it because the Dragonite was sharing her feelings with me. Suddenly, everything was clear.
"Lagi!," I exclaimed. "Is that really you? I can't believe this!"
"What... can't you believe... Ninetales?," she asked. She was still agitated.
"You... you're a Dragonite now!"
One more deep breath and Lagi was finally able to speak normally.
"That's what Dragonairs evolve into," she told me.
"Hey, don't make fun of me! I know that! It's just that I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
"Soon?," she said, looking at me. "I'd been a Dragonair for longer than I expected. I would have evolved after my previous battle, but I needed more energy, or at least a purpose which was strong enough."
"And what was that purpose? Saving me?"
"Yes, I think so. You, and everyone else. If we hadn't made it to the tower, who knows what danger the world would be in. It still is, but now we have a chance of saving it."
"Wow, I hate you! Now I'll never be able to pay you for what you did today."
"You don't have to pay me. Firstly because we're friends, and second because I wouldn't have made it without you. You won this battle, I only helped. And you've helped me more times than I can count. I've never had your speed and reflexes, and I would have lost many battles if you hadn't been there. Besides, I know I can always count on you, because that's the way you are; and it's the way I am too, no never mention paying anymore, ok?"
"All right!," I said, laughing. "Hey, where's Ga... Lady Vulpix? I thought she was with you."
"She's right behind you. And you can say her name."
I looked back and saw her.
"Ok, ok, she's fine. Great. I know I can say her name. Hey, wait a minute! Did I hear you say we'd made it to the tower?"
"Look to your left," Lagi told me. A huge white tower was standing just a few meters away. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before! Ventura came to me.
"The Hypno was hiding it with his power," she explained, guessing my thoughts. "The trees we saw before... they weren't real. They were part of the Hypno's illusion and that's why Gabi and Lagi seemed to disappear when they went past them. He was the one who was interfering with my radar too. I'm fine now. Thanks for defeating him, both of you. And Lagi, you look great!"
"Thanks," Lagi said, smiling.
We were all silent for a second, and then Gabi came to us and spoke.
"You were both amazing," she told us. "I'd never imagined you could work so well together, even when you were both weak from previous battles. And Lagi, you've finally evolved! You're a wonderful Dragonite, just like I'd always thought you'd be. You've both made me prouder that I could have imagined, and you deserve to go home, get well, rest and celebrate. But I'm afraid we can't do that now. We still have to save the tower. I won't ask you to battle anymore tonight, but I need you to come with me."
I expected her to say that. I would have been disappointed if she hadn't. She'd got hit more than once that day and she wasn't feeling much better than me, but this was a mission none of us could turn back from. The fate of the world might depend on our being able to free the tower (us and the rest of the party, wherever they were now). Still, it was true that I wouldn't be able to battle until I was healed, and Lagi was still very weak too, though she'd regained some of her health when she evolved. If we were attacked inside the tower (and I could bet we would be), it would probably be up to Tsunami and Water Angel to protect us. (Pidgeot was still in his pokeball, recovering from his wounds). I hated the whole situation, but I knew I'd done my part with respect to battling. I'd have to trust the others. After all that had happened that night, I could tell I was up for a few more surprises.
I just hope the other trainers and pokemon made it to the tower safely. We'd need as much help as we could get.

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