The Great NSM Pokemon Adventure!

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 15: The First Gym Battle! (Part 3)

At the Pokemon Center, the others were standing around the Pokemon that had come out of the only Poke Ball left to them. Five of them groaned in disappointment that it wasn't theirs, but one squealed with delight.

"Yes!" Roz squealed. "Charmander!!"

"We may be able to catch them!" Matt shouted. "Charmander is one of the strongest in the group!"

"What are we waiting for?" Nebu wondered. "Let's go!" So they ran out of the room to search for the thieves.

...MEANWHILE...

"I don't see why we need to go back for one Pokemon," Kelsey groaned. "The boss should be happy with 35."

"No," Eric said. "You know what the boss said. He wants the Pokemon of ALL the trainers. No exceptions."

"But, why?" Kelsey asked him.

"I don't know," Eric admitted. "But you know why we have to do this. Let's go." So they walked back toward the Pokemon Center.

...MEANWHILE...

Marty and Totodile had just finished celebrating their first victory when Dudesworth called out his second Pokemon.

"Go!" he shouted. "Drillbur!" the Ball opened and a mole Pokemon with huge, sharp claws sprang out. It looked cute, but menacing at the same time.

"Drillbur versus Totodile," the ref announced. "Begin!"

"Go Drillbur!" Dudesworth called. "Use Scratch!"

"Totodile!" Marty shouted. "Fight back!"

Drillbur ran at Totodile and slashed at it with its claws, but Totodile had gotten ready in time. It met Drillbur's attack, and they started scratching each other to no end. Finally, Dudesworth was tired of the infinite scratching.

"Drillbur!" he screamed. "End it with Earthquake!"

"WHAT?!" Marty yelled, astonished. "Earthquake?!"

"You heard right," Dudesworth told him. Just as he said it, Drillbur stomped the ground with a great force. Shockwaves rocked the Gym, and Totodile couldn't hang on. It was tossed and turned everywhere like a ragdoll. Finally, the quake stopped, and so did Totodile. It had fainted. Drillbur stood there, awaiting further instruction from Dudesworth, not seeming to care that it had just won.

"Totodile is unable to battle!" the ref shouted. "Drillbur wins!"

Marty called Totodile back and got ready for the next battle.

...MEANWHILE...

The others burst out of the Pokemon Center to search for the thieves. Roz had Charmander safely tucked away in its Poke Ball as they ran. As they were heading down the road, they ran into...

"Hey!" Kelsey shouted. "There they are!"

"Quick!" Eric whispered to him. "Start the motto!"

"Right!" Kelsey shouted. "An attempt at negative reinforcement!"
"We invade your adventure with terrific endorsement!" Eric answered.
"Agents of FoG, we're taking you out!"
"Give up your Pokemon, there's no time to shout!"
"Kelsey!"
"Eric!"
"Cease your struggle, for we have the advantage;"
"Make way for evil, that which we have granted."
"We fight to the finish, now on with the show-"
"Onward for victory, let's GO GO GO!!!!"

They had just finished their motto when they noticed that the six kids that were standing there were gone, as well as the bag.

"Dang it!" Eric yelled. "This is entirely your fault!"

"WHAT?!" Kelsey shouted. "You were dragging rythym on the motto, not me!"
The two argued about this for the hours to come.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 16: The First Gym Battle! (Part 4)

"Well?" Dudesworth asked. "Ready to admit defeat?"

"Are you kidding?" Marty asked him, shocked he would even utter that from his mouth. "Why would you even ask that?"

"That Totodile was your starter, wasn't it?" Dude asked him.

"Yeah," Marty answered. "Why?"

"I've won, then," Dudesworth proclaimed. "A Trainer's starter Pokemon is almost ALWAYS their strongest. If you're like every other Trainer I've faced, then I've won."

"Pretty arrogant statement," Marty challenged. "Let's see you uphold it!" He threw out a Poke Ball. "Go! Pansage!" The Ball opened to reveal a green monkey Pokemon with a giant bush on top of its head. It faced Drillbur with a blank smile on its face.

"You've gotta be kidding," Dudesworth said emphatically. "Drillbur will destroy that little monkey!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Marty told him.

"Drillbur! Earthquake!" Dudesworth ordered. Drillbur used Earthquake again. The shockwaves rocked the Gym once more.

"Pansage!" Marty cried out. "Acrobatics!"

Pansage nodded and leaped into the air before the shockwaves could reach it. It swung around on the poles near the ceiling of the Gym until Marty gave it another order.

"Energy Ball!" he shouted.

Pansage formed a green ball of energy from its hands and shot it at Drillbur.

"Drillbur!" Dudesworth shouted. "Dodge it!" But it was too late. Drillbur was hit full on by Pansage's Energy Ball. It fell to the ground, fainted.

"Drillbur is unable to battle!" the ref announced. "Pansage wins!"

Pansage jumped down from the pipes and began to do a victory dance. While Pansage was dancing, the other six had made their way to the Gym to see Marty's battle.

"Hey!" Matt shouted. "I think he's winning!"

"Let's cheer for him!" Nebu said to the group.

"Oh, I just LOVE the dance his Pansage is doing," Stepney said.

Meanwhile, Dudesworth was just getting ready to send out his final Pokemon.

"I must warn you," he said. "My next Pokemon is the strongest." He reached out for a Poke Ball, and threw it.

"GO!" he shouted. "DONPHAN!" The ball opened, and a black elephant Pokemon emerged. It had an overcoat of steel.

"Pansage versus Donphan," the ref stated. "Begin!"

"Donphan!" Dudesworth screamed. "Rollout!" Donphan rolled into a ball and rolled around the arena at a high speed. It was heading towards Pansage.

"Pansage!" Marty yelled. "Dodge it! Acrobatics!"

Pansage leaped around again, but it lost its balance and fell to the ground. Donphan could see where it fell, so it rolled into it. The force knocked Pansage out instantly.

"Pansage is unable to battle," the ref judged. "Donphan wins!"

Donphan was still rolling around. Marty was beginning to get worried. How am I going to win? he thought to himself. That Donphan is too strong! he thought about it for a few seconds, when it hit him.

"Go!" he shouted. "Riolu!" he threw Riolu out into the arena.

"The final battle!" the ref shouted. "Riolu versus Donphan! Begin!"

"I'm going to end this in one move!" Dudesworth declared. "Donphan! Final Rollout!" Donphan began to roll towards Riolu at such a high speed, that a trail of wind was showing behind him, and the arena was getting torn up.

"Riolu!" Marty shouted. "Counter it with Force Palm!" Riolu held out its palm and focused its aura into it. He thrust it out as soon as Donphan was in range.

The impact was intense. Shock waves rocked the Gym. An Earthquake was started without a move being called. Eventually, there was an explosion, and Donphan and Riolu blew across the arena. Riolu got up. Donphan didn't.

"Donphan is unable to battle!" the ref shouted. "Riolu wins! The winner is Marty from Ecruteak City!"

Everyone cheered, except Dudesworth. He walked over to Marty.

"Congratulations!" he said to Marty. "Here is your badge! It's the Gravel Badge!"

Marty cheered. "Yes! I got the Gravel Badge!"

Everyone ran up to him, clearly excited over his win. Davy was the first to speak up.

"Way to go!" he said to Marty, congratulating him. "You got us our first badge!"

"We're on our way to the top!" Matt exclaimed. "I can't wait until it's my turn!"

"Thanks for coming to support me, guys," Marty said, smiling. "I really appreciate it."

"It wasn't easy getting here, though," Jordan groaned. "You wouldn't believe what happened to us this morning!"

"You should tell me about it on the way to the next town," Marty told him. "Let's get out of here." He led everybody out of the Gym, and then stopped to wave good-bye to Dudesworth before going out the door.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 17: The Stone Quarry

The group had just left the Hidavel Gym when they found Jerry walking up to them.

"Hey, guys!" he called to them. "How're you all doing today?"

"Where have you been?" Davy asked.

"Yeah, you missed Marty's Gym battle!" Nebu scolded.

"Oh, darn," Jerry said sheepishly. "I actually had a couple errands to run around here, so I got up early and did them before any of you were awake."

"I see," Marty said, wondering what errands Jerry could possibly have to run in this little town.

"So you won, right?" Jerry asked him.

"Of course," Marty said proudly, holding the Badge up to Jerry as proof.

"Awesome!" Jerry shouted excitedly. "In that case, there's something I want to show you. Will you come with me?"

"Sure," Marty answered.

"But just you," Jerry said. "Because you beat Dudesworth."

The others looked extremely disappointed. "What about us?" Jordan asked.

"We won't be long," Jerry assured him. "Why don't you all head to the gate to Route 151 and wait for us there?"

"We'll do that," Roz said, ever the voice of reason. "Right, guys?"

"Yeah," Stepney answered for the group. "Let's go, everybody!" So the other six headed for the gate.

"All right, then," Jerry motioned to Marty. "Come on." He started walking towards the Gym.

"Wait," Marty stopped him. "Why are we going to the Gym?"

"You'll see," Jerry assured him. He started walking again, and Marty ran to catch up with him.

When they got to the Gym, Dudesworth was there to greet them.

"Hey, Jerry!" he greeted warmly. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has," Jerry agreed. "I've been busy, you know!"

"Of course," Dudesworth agreed. "So what brings you both here?"

"I want to take Marty into the Stone Quarry," Jerry told him.

"All right," Dudesworth said. "Come with me," he told Marty.

"All right," Jerry said. "I'll be catching up with the others, then."

"Ok," Marty said. "See you." So Jerry headed out the door while Dudesworth took him back to the arena.

"Why are we here again?" Marty asked. "I'm not giving you a rematch." He laughed.

"Actually," Dudesworth told him, "There's a secret buried underneath this Gym that only Badge holders can access."

"Really?" Marty wondered, amazed.

"Yeah," Dudesworth affirmed. "But so far, you're the first person to set foot in it."

"Haven't people beaten you before me?" Marty asked.

"Yes," Dudesworth answered, "But no one knows about this. You're lucky Jerry was with you."

Marty silently thanked Jerry a vermillion times. "So," he continued, "What's this secret?"

"When we created this Gym, we built it over a quarry of stones," Dudesworth explained.

"Stones?" Marty wondered, shocked. "Lame..."

"Not just regular stones," Dudesworth said, "but EVOLUTIONARY stones."

"Really?" Marty asked.

"Yup," Dudesworth told him. "And since you hold the Gravel Badge, you can go into it and take as many stones as you'd like!"

"Awesome!" Marty exclaimed.

Dudesworth went over to his side of the arena and stomped on a small stone by his feet. A staircase opened in the center of the arena. "Have at it," he said.

"Thank you," Marty said. He went down to the quarry and picked out his stones. When he was done, he had picked out enough stones for all the Pokemon in his and his friends' teams that needed them. He had two Fire Stones, two Leaf Stones, a Dusk Stone, a Shiny Stone, a Water Stone, and a King's Rock, just in case. He headed back up, thanked Dudesworth, and headed out to the gate.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 18: Et tu, Spitllama?

Marty was walking through Hidavel Town, on the way to the gate, when he bumped into Kelsey and Eric.

"You guys!" Marty shouted. But they didn't hear him because they were too busy arguing about why they had failed in taking the others' Pokemon.

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been so slow on the motto!" Kelsey shouted at Eric.

"That wouldn't have happened if you had just not done the motto in the first place!" Eric shouted back.

"You told me to!" Kelsey interjected.

"That's beside the point!" Eric assured him.

They argued like this while Marty sat and watched. Just then, a voice came from out of nowhere.

"You two," it said. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Who's there?" Marty shouted.

Just then, a black portal appeared in between Eric and Kelsey, and someone stepped out. He was a boy, around 18, with short blonde hair. He wore a strange gray suit with a glowing yellow orb in the middle. When he stepped out of the portal, Kelsey and Eric stood straight up, frozen with fear.

"M-master Korbin!" Eric stammered.

"How long were you two arguing THIS time?" Korbin asked.

"Um..." Kelsey trailed off.

"Hmph," Korbin grunted. He turned to Marty. Marty stood straight up, just as Eric and Kelsey had. He knew who Korbin was on NSM. Korbin was Spitllama. But that didn't make any sense. He knew Spitllama wasn't a bad person, so why would he be the leader of the FoG?

"Ah," Korbin said. "It's you."

"Spitllama?" Marty wondered aloud.

"Yup," Korbin said. "But my name is Korbin."

"How did you get here?" Marty interrogated. "Why are you talking with these crooks? Why did they call you, 'Master Korbin?' Are you leading the FoG?"

"Now isn't the time," Korbin told him. He held his hand out and another black portal opened behind him. "Come on, you two," he said to Kelsey and Eric.

"Yes, sir!" they both shouted. The three of them disappeared into the portal, and it closed behind them. Marty looked shocked. He stood there for a few minutes, but to him it seemed like an eternity. He just then remembered Kelsey and Eric as Kman and Shadowkirby. But why would they be part of the FoG? And why would Korbin be leading it? So many questions plagued his mind as he walked ever-so-slowly towards the gate.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 19: A Chance in Vermillion

Marty had reached the gate, where the others were waiting for him.

"Hey!" Jerry shouted at him. "How was the Stone Quarry?"

"It was fine," Marty said, spacing off. He was still thinking about Korbin, Eric, and Kelsey.

Nebu could sense there was something on his mind. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I just ran into spitllama," Marty began.

"Oh!" Jordan exclaimed. "Why didn't you bring him over here?"

"Actually, that would be a bad idea." Marty told the others about what had happened earlier.

"He's the LEADER?!" Stepney shouted.

"That can't be our spitllama, can it?" Matt asked.

"It wasn't anybody else," Marty assured him.

"I can't believe it," Matt said sorrowfully. "Our spitllama?"

"Don't dwell on it, guys," Roz said. "Korbin made his choice. We need to make ours now."

"She's right," Davy said. "Let's keep moving."

So the group walked through the gate into Route 151. It was a pretty straight path to Ruukisiven City, so they stopped for lunch. While they were eating, a boy around their age walked up to them. He wore a red suit with a red hat, and he was flipping a coin in his hand.

"Excuse me," he called to them, "but are you Trainers?"

"Yes," Marty answered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Atticus," the boy said. "You may know me as vermillionvermin."

So the regular introductions took place, and they invited Atticus to have lunch with them. After they were finished, Atticus stood up.

"Thank you," he told them. "Now I would like to battle you," he said pointing at Marty.

"Me?" Marty asked. "Why?"

"Because I want to," Atticus told him.

"All right, but-" Marty didn't get to finish his sentence because Matt stood in front of him.

"He doesn't want to fight you," Matt told Atticus. "But I do."

"Interesting," Atticus mused. "I'll battle you, then!"

So the two of them found a clearing near the camp and prepared for their battle. The others stood off to the side, getting ready to cheer Matt on. Jerry was reffing, as usual.

"This will be a 3-3 match between the challenger, Atticus, and Matt." Jerry began. "Challenger, are you ready?"

"Of course," Atticus said.

"Matt, are you ready?" Jerry asked.

"Yep," Matt said flatly.

"Then let the match begin!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 20: Matt versus Atticus!

"All right!" Matt shouted. "Go, Abra!"

"I choose you!" Atticus yelled. "Cubchoo!"

Two flashes of light exploded onto the clearing. One was Matt's Abra, and the other was a small polar bear with a giant drop of ice hanging from its nose.

"Cubchoo!" Atticus said. "Use Ice Beam!"

"Abra!" Matt called out. "Teleport!"

Cubchoo shot an Ice Beam at Abra, but before it hit, Abra teleported out of the way.

"Nice, Abra!" Matt praised. "Now use Confusion!"

Abra focused a weak psychic energy and attacked Cubchoo with it. It connected fairly well.

"Cubchoo!" Atticus screamed. "Blizzard!"

"What?!" Marty screamed. "Blizzard?!"

"That's impossible!" Jordan shouted.

But sure enough, the tiny little Cubchoo readied a Blizzard. A large sphere of Ice energy focused in between its hands.

"Do it, Cubchoo!" Atticus ordered.

Cubchoo prepared to fire the Blizzard, but for some reason, it exploded right in Cubchoo's face. Matt smirked.

"Don't you understand?" he asked Atticus. "I used Confusion, remember?"

"But that means...!" Atticus figured it out all too late.

"Yup," Matt affirmed for him. "Cubchoo is hopelessly confused right now."

"I won't accept this!" Atticus screamed. "Cubchoo! Blizzard!"

Cubchoo readied another Blizzard.

"He's doing it again, even though it didn't work last time?" Roz wondered. "That fool!"

"Cubchoo!" Atticus screamed. "Release it!"

Cubchoo released the Blizzard it was concentrating. This time, it released! Unfortunately, it didn't go on target. It came back and hit Cubchoo square on. Cubchoo was frozen on the spot by its own attack.

"Cubchoo is unable to battle!" Jerry declared. "Abra wins!"

"Way to go, Matt!" Jordan cheered.

"Good job!" Davy encouraged. "Keep it up!"

"Hmm..." Atticus hummed. "Not too bad."

"Thanks!" Matt said.

"It's not over yet, though!" Atticus readied another Poke Ball. "Go, Sandshrew!" The Ball opened, and a small shrew Pokemon appeared.

"Get ready, Abra!" Matt shouted.

"Sandshrew!" Atticus ordered. "Sand Attack!" Sandshrew shot some sand on the ground into Abra's face.

"Now, Slash!" Atticus roared.

"Abra! Teleport!" Matt screamed. Abra teleported, but since it couldn't see where it was going, it slammed right into Sandshrew's claws. Abra fainted instantly.

"Abra is unable to battle! Sandshrew wins!" Jerry declared.

"Oh, no!" Davy groaned.

"It's okay," Stepney said. "He still has two Pokemon."

"Stepney's right!" Matt proclaimed. "I'm not giving up. Go, Gible!" The Poke Ball opened to reveal Gible.

"Begin!" Jerry shouted.

"Gible!" Matt yelled. "Dragon Rage!" Gible concentrated a ball of Dragon energy in its mouth. "Now release it!"

"Sandshrew!" Atticus ordered. "Slash! Take that Dragon energy and use it!" Sandshrew slashed at the Dragon Rage headed straight for it. When it slashed into it, some of the orange energy from the attack absorbed onto its claws.

"Now go!" Atticus shouted. Sandshrew slashed at Gible with its claw infused with Dragon energy. Gible took collateral damage and fainted.

"Gible is unable to battle!" Jerry proclaimed. "Sandshrew wins!"

"Oh, no..." Jordan said. "Matt's done for."

"No," Nebu said. "We have to believe in him!"

"That's right!" Marty agreed. "Do it, Matt!"

"Thanks, guys!" Matt got out another Poke Ball. "Go, Treecko!" he called. Treecko exploded out of the Poke Ball.

"Sandshrew!" Atticus said, getting excited. "Slash!" Sandshrew lunged at Treecko, claws at the ready.

"Treecko! Quick Attack!" Matt ordered. Treecko went at Sandshrew with a blinding speed, and hit Sandshrew before it was ready to slash it.

"Treecko!" Matt shouted. "Follow up with an Absorb!" Treecko ran at Sandshrew and absorbed its health. Sandshrew fainted, and Treecko looked even more energized.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle!" Jerry cried. "Treecko wins!"

"Fine!" Atticus shouted. "Go, Farfetch'd!" A bird Pokemon holding a leek sprang out of Atticus's Ball.

"Let's end this in one move, Treecko!" Matt shouted. "Leaf Blade!"

"I didn't know Treecko could use Leaf Blade!" Roz shouted. But sure enough, Treecko formed a blade of green Grass energy.

"Go, Treecko!" Matt shouted. Treecko lunged at Farfetch'd with the Leaf Blade.

"Farfetch'd!" Atticus yelled. "Slash!" Farfetch'd ran to meet Treecko with its own blade. They collided and both fainted from the force.

"Neither Pokemon is able to battle!" Jerry said. "The match is a tie!"

"No!" Atticus screamed, disappointed. "That's not supposed to happen!"

"Tell you what," Matt said. "Let's have a rematch at the Pokemon League!"

"Fine, but you'll wish you would've never said that later!" Atticus told him arrogantly. Right after that, Atticus left the group.

"I think you made a rival, Matt!" Marty told him.

"Yup," Matt agreed. "I think it's great to have someone to compete against. Hopefully we can all meet rivals of our own on the way to the Pokemon League!" So the group traveled closer to Ruukisiven City, and Matt's Gym Battle.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 21: Lucky Seven

The group had just finished their nightly training session. Treecko had won it as Charmander and Riolu fought early and took each other out. Matt was especially excited for his Gym battle the next day.

"All right," Jerry said. "Before we get in town, I have to warn you. Ruukisiven City is a pretty sketchy town. Watch your step, and take extra care of your belongings."

"Yes, Mom," Marty said jokingly.

"You think I'm joking," Jerry said. "Well, you'll see." He led them to the gate.

Ruukisiven City had to be one of the biggest in the world. It had to be the shadiest, however. It was kind of like Castellia City's evil twin. Casinos, Nightclubs, and other adult buildings lined the streets. People were battling in the allies. Shady people walked past the group left and right.

"You weren't kidding," Marty laughed nervously.

"I told you," Jerry mocked. The group walked slowly and silently through the streets. Everywhere they go, people seemed to stare at them. Nebu, not watching where she was going, accidentally bumped into a person on the sidewalk.

"Oh!" she cried. "I'm so sorry!"

The large man towered over Nebu and said with a booming voice, "Watch where you're going, girlie! Or maybe I have to make that pretty face a whole lot LESS pretty?"

"I said I was sorry!" Nebu protested.

"That doesn't cut it here," the man told her. He reared back to punch Nebu, but Roz ran in front of the man.

"HI-YAH!" she screamed as she drop kicked the man in the face before he could hurt Nebu. The man fell to the ground with a thud, completely out cold.

"Woah," Stepney said, dumbfounded.

"Remind me not to mess with you," Jordan told her.

"Where in the heck did you learn that?" Matt asked her.

"I took some self-defense classes back in Ecruteak with Marty," she explained.

"Yup," Marty confirmed. "She always beat me, too."

"We TRIED to get Nebu to join, but she said she didn't want to get hurt," Roz told the others

"NUH-UH!" Nebu shouted with extreme protest. "I said it was because I didn't want to hurt anybody!"

"If that's how you remember it, hon," Roz muttered.

So the group kept walking through the city when a man walked up to them. He didn't seem as intimidating as the other people they had run into, but he was still quite tall. He had dark brown hair and wore a black pea coat with a red scarf.

"Hey," he said to them.

"Hi," Jerry replied.

"Oh, Jerry!" the man shouted, seeming to just recognize Jerry. "Nice to see you again!"

"Nice to see you, too," Jerry said flatly.

"Who're your friends?" the man asked.

"Oh, that's right!" Jerry said. "Nik, this is Marty, Nebu, Roz, Jordan, Stepney, Davy, and Matt. Guys, this is Nik. He's the-"

"-owner of this fine café here!" Nik interrupted, flashing Jerry a dirty look. "Would you guys like to come in?" he asked. "It's on me."

Just then, the group was reminded of how hungry they were. None of them had eaten since supper last night in Hidavel.

"That would be great," Davy said. "Thank you."

So the group went inside Nik's café and had coffee and sandwiches. The username introductions took place, and Nik asked them a few questions.

"So," he said, sipping his coffee. "What are you guys going to do?"

"Well," Nebu answered, "We're in the process of collecting all of the badges to go to the Pokemon League."

"Ah," Nik said, sipping his coffee again. "So, have you challenged the leader here yet?"

"No," Matt said. "I'm doing that tomorrow."

"I see," Nik said blankly, sipping his coffee again.

Wow, this guy drinks a LOT of coffee, Marty thought to himself. He's insanely calm, though! I wonder how he does it...

Nik was still talking to Matt. "I'll have to come see you battle the leader. Tomorrow, right?"

"That's right," Matt said.

"All right, then I'll see you there!" He picked up their plates and dishes and gave them to the busboy. "It's getting awfully late," he said, shocked. "I'll take you guys to the Pokemon Center. You'll need your rest for tomorrow."

So the group followed Nik out of his café and to the Pokemon Center, which was only about a block away.

"See you all tomorrow!" he called to them as he walked away.

"Bye!" they all shouted. With that, they checked into a room at the Pokemon Center and went to sleep for the night.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 22: Jackpot

The alarm woke Matt up before anyone else. He got up and prepared his team for the Gym battle. Jerry had told him last night before they went to bed that the leader had four Pokemon. So Matt picked out his favorite Pokemon. He chose Treecko, Abra (which had since evolved into Kadabra), Gible (which had evolved into Gabite), and Skarmory.

When he had finished preparing himself, he woke up the others.

"Mmph..." Marty grunted, pulling the covers over his face.

"No," Nebu said. "Get up."

"Fine..." Marty said groggily. As soon as they had all gotten up and dressed, they went down for breakfast, where Jerry was waiting for them.

"Hey, all!" Jerry said cheerfully. "I hope you all got a good night's sleep! Especially you, Matt!"

"Well," Matt told him, "I certainly did. I'll be heading over to the Gym at about noon."

"Sounds good," Jerry said approvingly. "We may want to stay another day, though."

"Why's that?" Stepney asked him.

"Well," Jerry cringed a little. "The next town is a little...dirty."

"Dirty how?" Davy asked.

"As in, it's so polluted that if you haven't lived there either all your life or when it was clean, you won't want to stay there more than the time it takes to challenge the Gym and leave." Jerry said darkly.

"Oh," Jordan said, eyes wide.

"We can stay here another night, I suppose," Marty said.

"All right," Roz said. "I suppose we should get going."

"Yeah," Matt said. "I'm so nervous!"

"Don't be," Marty told him. "The Gym Leader doesn't usually intend to make you nervous, unless they're intentionally being a jerk."

"Yeah," Nebu said. "You'll be great!"

"You'll win for sure!" Jordan assured him.

So the group headed out into the city. They noticed that it was completely different here during the day. The city completely filled with casinos and other adult buildings had seemingly transformed overnight into a hipster artist community. People walked through the streets, drinking coffee and doing other...hipster-ish things.

"Wow," Davy said, amazed. "It's like a completely different town..."

"I can't believe it," Roz said with the same amazement.

"Yeah, I- OOOF!" Nebu said as she bumped into the same person she bumped into yesterday.

"Oh, you again," the guy said. "How's it going?"

"I'm so sorry!" Nebu shouted. "Like, REALLY, REALLY sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," the guy said with a smile. "Here, have a coffee." The guy gave Nebu a cup of coffee and walked away.

"That was weird," Roz said.

"Yeah," Marty agreed. "I wanted to see you drop kick that guy in the face again!" They all laughed and continued on their way to the Gym.

After a while, Marty said, "Here we are."

Ruukisiven Gym looked exactly like Hidavel Gym on the outside. It wasn't anything super impressive. When they got inside, they noticed that the lights were a little dimmer in the lobby than the lobby in Hidavel. The referee was waiting for them in the lobby.

"All right," he said to them. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Matt said to him. So the ref led them to the arena. The arena was fairly normal, except it was very dark. The light was so poor, they couldn't see the leader in his position in the arena.

"Welcome," a familiar voice said.

"Wait a sec," Jordan said ponderously. "That's-!"

"Yup," Nik said, stepping out of the shadows. "It's me. I'm the leader of Ruukisiven Gym."

"Well," Matt said apprehensively. "I guess we should get started!"

"Yes," Nik agreed. "Ref, if you please!"

"Right," the ref said. "This will be a 4-4 match between the leader of Ruukisiven Gym, Nik, and the challenger from Cianwood City, Matt. There will be no substitution. Gym Leader, are you ready?"

"Yes," Nik said, sipping another coffee.

"Challenger, are you ready?" the ref asked as he turned to Matt.

"Yes!" Matt said confidently.

"Let the match begin!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 23: Jackpot (Part 2)

"Go, Cacnea!" Nik shouted. A green cactus Pokemon emerged from the Ball.

"I choose Skarmory!" Matt shouted, throwing a Poke Ball. The large steel Bird Pokemon came out of its ball.

"Skarmory versus Cacnea," the ref announced. "Begin!"

"Skarmory!" Matt ordered. "Drill Peck!" Skarmory flew at Cacnea with a great speed, spinning its body around to make its beak very drill-like. It hit Cacnea full on, and Cacnea fell over, down in one hit.

"Um..." the ref muttered, shocked. "Cacnea is unable to battle...Skarmory...wins?"

Everyone, even Matt, was shocked. No one could believe that a Gym Leader's Pokemon could be knocked out in one hit like that.

"That, sir, was impressive," Nik told Matt with amazement. "But, it's not over yet! Go, Sandile!" Nik threw the Ball, and a tan crocodile came out. It had features like a raccoon.

"Sandile!" Nik called. "Use Rock Tomb!" Sandile called on some energy and rocks appeared from out of nowhere. They shot at Skarmory and threw it to the ground, completely covering it.

"Skarmory is unable to battle!" the ref announced. "Sandile wins!"

"Woah," Roz said, shocked. "Two OHKO's in a row..."

"This is gonna be a quick battle," Marty added.

"Go, Kadabra!" Matt cried. Kadabra came out of its Poke Ball, ready to fight

"Sandile!" Nik shouted. "Use Night Slash!" Sandile disappeared into the darkness of the Gym, and slashed at Kadabra with its claws.

"Kadabra!" Matt ordered. "Stop it with Psychic!" Kadabra used its psychic power to lift Sandile into the air.

"Sandile, Leer!" Nik said quickly. Sandile started staring unnervingly at Kadabra, who started slowly lowering its psychic hold on Sandile.

"Don't let up!" Matt shouted. "Throw it around a bit!" Kadabra did as it was ordered and used its psychic power to slam Sandile into the floor and walls. Sandile eventually fainted after being pounded around.

"Sandile is unable to battle!" the ref shouted. "Kadabra wins it!"

"Way to go, Matt!" Jerry cheered.

"Keep it up!" Stepney shouted.

"You can do it!" Nebu and Roz yelled in unison.

Nik smiled. "At least this seems to be a challenge!" he said. "Go, Deino!" A small blue Dragon type Pokemon came out. It's hair came down below its eyes, and it looked depressed.

"Kadabra!" Matt cried out. "Use Psychic again!" Kadabra readied another Psychic attack, but before it could, Nik had an order for Deino.

"Deino, Body Slam!" Deino charged straight at Kadabra and body slammed it. Kadabra fell to the ground, not fainted, but unable to move. It had been paralyzed.

"Kadabra!" Matt shouted. "Psychic!" Kadabra, however unable to move, readied another Psychic attack.

"Deino!" Nik yelled. "Use Dragon Claw to finish it off!" Deino cloaked its claw in Dragon energy and scratched Kadabra, who proceeded to faint.

"Kadabra is unable to battle!" the ref stated. "Deino wins it!"

Matt groaned. If he gets good Body Slams on my last two Pokemon, I'm finished! "Go, Gabite!" The Pokemon that had formerly been Gible emerged. "Use Dragon Rage at full power!"

"Counter with your own Dragon Rage, Deino!" Nik shouted desperately. Both Pokemon charged their own Dragon Rage attacks and loosed them at each other. The explosion of the attacks, combined with the type disadvantage they both had to their own type, caused both Pokemon to faint rather quickly.

"Neither Pokemon is able to battle!" the ref shouted. "The battle is a tie!"

"I see what he did there!" Roz told the others.

"You mean that was planned?" Marty asked her.

"Yeah, don't you see?" Roz asked them. "He sent out Gabite because he knew Nik would try to use a Dragon type move on it! So he countered with his own Dragon move to stop Deino from taking out the rest of his team!"

"Resourceful!" Jerry said.

"The next battle ends with this!" Davy stated.

"Make it count, Matt!" Jordan egged.

"Thanks, guys!" Matt said to them. "Go, Treecko!" Treecko got ready to fight its most important battle so far.

"Not bad!" Nik said. "I haven't had a battle this good in a while! Go, Umbreon!" He threw the Ball, and the Dark evolution of Eevee came out.

"Treecko," Matt called out. "Quick Attack!" Treecko ran quickly toward Umbreon.

"Umbreon!" Nik cried out. "Quick Attack!" Umbreon ran quickly toward Treecko. They collided and both took damage.

"Treecko!" Matt ordered quickly. "Leaf Blade!" Treecko formed its Leaf Blade and slashed at Umbreon, who dodged just in time.

"Umbreon!" Nik shouted while breathing a sigh of relief. "Use Shadow Ball!" A ball infused with Dark energy shot at Treecko, hitting it square on. Treecko skidded across the Gym floor.

"No!" Stepney cried.

"It can't end like this!" Nebu shouted.

"You can do it, Matt!" Marty yelled to him. "Don't give up yet!"

"Right!" Matt shouted back. "Treecko! I know you can do this! You have to get up!" Slowly but surely, Treecko got on its feet. A green aura was surrounding it.

"Overgrow!" Roz blurted out. "Treecko should be more powerful now!"

"Go, Treecko!" Matt screamed. "Leaf Blade!" Treecko readied another Leaf Blade, only this time it was much bigger and more powerful looking.

"Umbreon!" Nik ordered. "Another Shadow Ball!" Umbreon launched another ball of Dark energy at Treecko, who now had a hint of a white glow about it.

"Cut it down, Treecko!" Matt called. Treecko ran at the Shadow Ball and got ready to Slash. It cut into the Ball, which caused an explosion. A huge cloud of dust covered Treecko.

"Oh?" Nik said quizzically. "Is it finally over?"

The ref was just about to make his announcement when Treecko shot out of the cloud of dust. Only it wasn't Treecko anymore. It had evolved into Grovyle right as it had struck the Shadow Ball that Umbreon had fired. It charged at Umbreon with two crescent-shaped Leaf Blades that now grew out of its arms and attacked. Umbreon fell over, faint.

"Umbreon!" Nik cried.

"Umbreon is unable to battle!" the ref shouted, shocked. "Grovyle wins! The winner is Matt from Cianwood Town!"

"Way to go, Grovyle!" Matt cried out to his newly evolved Pokemon. Grovyle voiced its hearty thanks.

"Congratulations!" Nik told him. "You've earned this!" He handed Matt a solid black badge. "It's the Shadow Badge!" Cheers erupted from where the others were sitting.

"Thanks, Nik!" Matt said.

"No," Nik said, shaking his head. "Thank you for an excellent battle. As thanks for this amazing battle, you are all invited to come over to the café for a gourmet meal prepared by none other than yours truly!" More cheers erupted from everybody as they headed out of the Gym to Nik's café.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 24: A Corrupted Dream

The gang followed Nik through Ruukisiven City to his café. They noticed as they approached it that it didn't look any different from what it did at night.

"Here we are," Nik said. "Are you ready for a great meal?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jordan exclaimed. "Let's chow down!" So Nik went into the kitchen and started preparing the meal.

...MEANWHILE...

Up at the top of a building in Ruukisiven City, Kelsey and Eric were talking to each other. But it wasn't their usual arguing or witty banter.

"You KNOW why we're doing this, Kelsey," Eric told him.

"Yeah, but-"

"No," Eric stopped him. "You can't think into this. You're being too analytical. Remind yourself why we joined Korbin."

"You're right," Eric caught himself. "We need to get them back."

"Get what back?" Korbin said, appearing from nowhere.

"Oh!" Eric exclaimed. "Nothing, sir!"

"We were just discussing how we were going to get those kids' Pokemon back!" Kelsey said with a cheesy grin.

"Good," Korbin said warily. "Come with me, you two." He motioned toward a portal he had made and began walking toward it. Kelsey and Eric exchanged steel-faced glances as they followed Korbin into the darkness.

...LATER...

Everyone was finishing their meals in Nik's café, and everyone but Nik and Matt began to slip into a slight food coma.

"How convenient," Nik mused.

"Why's that?" Matt asked him.

"Because I want to show you something," Nik answered. "Come with me, please." Matt followed Nik to the back of the café and up a stairwell to the roof of the café. The sun was just beginning to set.

"Why did you bring me up here?" Matt asked.

"Just watch," Nik told him. So Matt watched the cityscape as the sun set. It seemed like it took forever for the sun to go down below the ground. Matt grew incredibly bored. But his eyes widened with surprise as the moon began to rise behind them. The hipster artist community of the day began to change before his very own eyes to the sketchy, corrupt city they arrived in last night.

"What's going on?" Matt asked, shocked.

"It's the Lucky Seven Curse," Nik said.

"What is that?" Matt inquired further.

"Well, it's a long story," Nik told him sheepishly.

"I have time," Matt assured him with a smile.

"Ok," Nik said. "I moved here not all too long ago. I came from Veilstone City in Sinnoh, where I held a cushy accounting job. I had everything I wanted. Or, at least, that's what I thought. There I was, an adult, and I had never had a Pokemon in my life. I was too focused in my job to care about anything else. So I moved here after finding my Umbreon as a stray in Veilstone. When I moved here, I started my café, something I had always wanted to do. Life was perfect here. Every day went on peacefully. Then something changed one day." He looked up at the sky. "This...fog started settling over the town one evening. Something came over the people here. They all became very...different."

"Different how?" Matt asked.

"Well," Nik said. "They all acted like the man you all ran into last night. I didn't know what was happening. I had been living here for months, and nothing like this had ever happened before. It happens each night, every night, to this day. I've never found out why it happens."

"That's really weird," Matt admitted.

"Yeah," Nik shrugged. "But I've gotten used to it. I guess it just goes to show you can have a dream, but it can become corrupted."

"Yeah..." Matt trailed off.

"What about you, Matt?" Nik asked him. "Do you have a dream?"

"Well," Matt said. "I've kinda been keeping it a secret..." He took out his backpack and started rummaging through it. "But this is my dream." He pulled out a brilliantly sketched picture of the Terrari region from a bird's eye view.

"That's an amazing drawing!" Nik told him.

"Thank you," Matt said to him. "I want to be a map maker."

"That's a nice dream," Nik said with a smile. I hope you can make it come true."

"And I hope this curse you're talking about goes away," Matt smiled back.

"Thank you, Matt," Nik replied.

The two of them sat in silence on the roof while the moon continued to rise. Eventually, they went back down and woke the others so they could go to the Pokemon Center to leave for Smogoff City in the morning.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 25: Jerry's Departure

Marty's group, having finished their meals, said goodbye to Nik as they headed back toward the Pokemon Center. Matt stopped at the counter to heal his Pokemon, but Nurse Joy's speech was a bit...peculiar.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center," she said, annoyed, "where we tell your Pokemon to suck it up. Would you like me to take your Pokémon?"

"Yes, please," Matt said pleasantly to her.

"Well, too bad," Nurse Joy said as she spit in Matt's general direction. "Get out."

"Fine," Matt said. "Can we at least have three rooms?"

"We're full," Nurse Joy told him.

Matt glanced at the guestbook. "This says you don't have a single guest here!"

"Fine!" Nurse Joy snapped. "Just take three rooms and get out of my face!" She continued a big rant containing many random expletives while the others ran to the rooms and fell asleep for the night.

...MEANWHILE...

In a remote part of the Terrari Region, Korbin, Eric, and Kelsey emerged from another portal. They seemed to be in a small town, with only a few empty buildings.

"Here we are," Korbin told them.

"Yes," Kelsey said, "but where is 'here?'"

Korbin walked over to a house. "Come inside and I'll show you," he told Kelsey. They walked inside the house. Even though it was night time, the house was completely empty, just like the rest of the tiny town.

"This town is creepy," Eric muttered, shivering. "It's completely empty."

Korbin walked over to a painting on the wall. "That's because it's all a facade." He lifted up the painting and pressed a button behind it. The floor next to them began to open and reveal an elevator rising up to meet them. They stepped onto the elevator and it took them down.

"Welcome to EVille," Korbin said to them.

...THE NEXT MORNING...

The gang got up early the next morning to try to avoid the cranky Nurse Joy, but she spotted them as soon as they entered the lobby.

"Oh, hello!" she said cheerfully. "I hope you had a good night's rest! We hope to see you again!"

"Wow," Marty said, shocked. "That curse Nik was talking about really affects everybody here,"

"Except for him," Nebu interrupted.

"How convenient," Davy muttered.

"Well, guys," Jordan said. "Next is Smogoff City. We'll have to get a good start if it's as bad as Jerry says. Is everybody ready?" They all nodded.

"Well, good luck guys!" Jerry said cheerfully.

"What about you?" Roz asked him.

"Oh, I think you guys are capable of getting around on your own, now," he said to them. "I just wanted to follow you up to this point so you didn't get killed here in Ruukisiven. Now I can go back to Maron City and get ready for the Pokemon League!"

"You're going to be there?" Stepney asked.

"Of course I am!" Jerry shouted. "Along with every other Trainer in the Region, even the Gym Leaders!"

"I see..." Marty trailed off. "Well, thanks for helping us out, Jerry! We'll see you soon!"

"Good bye, everyone!" Jerry called as he left the Pokemon Center.

"Hmm..." Jordan muttered.

"What's wrong?" Stepney asked him.

"I don't know," Jordan said slowly. "But I have a feeling we'll be seeing him sooner than the Pokemon League."

"Oh, well," Davy said. "Let's get going! I can't wait for my Gym battle!"

"He's right," Marty agreed. "Let's be on our way." So the group left the Pokemon Center and headed towards Smogoff City, the opposite direction from their kind guide, Jerry.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 26: Gregory and the Purity Forest

Marty's group had just left Ruukisiven City when Roz decided it would be a good idea to check the map.

"Okay..." she started, checking her Pokenav's map of the region. "We're on Route 152 right now. We're going along the spiral, and our destination is Smogoff City, obviously." She tapped a few more buttons on the screen. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It seems we have a landmark on this route."

"What is it?" Matt asked.

"According to the Pokenav, it's called the Purity Forest," Roz answered. "From these pictures, it looks very pleasant. A nice spot for Trainers to rest..."

"We better expect some battles, then," Marty said.

"Are we all prepared?" Jordan asked the group.

"Actually," Davy interrupted. "I don't think it'd be wise to battle today if we're on a tight schedule."

"Yeah," Stepney said. "I don't want the pollution to hurt my Budew!"

"It WOULD be a good idea," Nebu mused. "But when do I get to show off my mad skills?!"

"Soon," Marty assured her, patting her on the head. "For now, let's hurry." With that, the group traveled toward Purity Forest at a brisk pace.

...MEANWHILE...

Kelsey and Eric were laying around in their room in the underground shelter underneath EVille, when Korbin came into their room.

"I need you two for something," he said.

"What for?" Kelsey asked.

"No time for questions," Korbin scolded. "Come on." He left the room with Kelsey and Eric in tow. As they walked around the large underground fortress, they noticed fellow NSM members that were in FoG, wearing their gray suits as they lingered around the base. But that wasn't all. There were also others in the base. There were some people that wore all black except for large red "R's" on their shirts, there were some wearing blue sailor outfits, and some wearing strange red hoodies. This didn't surprise either of them, because they knew Teams Rocket, Aqua, and Magma had holed up here after their failures in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. But what was strange to them was that there were two new uniforms to be seen around. There were new people wearing gray suits like FoG's, but they all wore blue wigs over their hair, to make it seem like they all looked the same. There were also new people walking around wearing knight costumes, which seemed weird to Kelsey and Eric.

After walking for a bit, Korbin stopped in front of a door, and Kelsey and Eric stumbled over themselves trying to stop behind him.

"We're here," Korbin said. He pressed his hand next to a panel next to the door, and it opened. "Stay behind me." He walked inside, and Kelsey and Eric followed closely behind. When Korbin sat down at a chair, Kelsey and Eric stood behind him, not sure what was going on. There were five other men sitting at the table with Korbin. One, a man with slick black hair and a black suit. He had four attendants behind him. Two others were sitting on the other side, one, a man with red hair and a red and black cloak, and the other a man with a blue bandana over his hair and a black jacket. They both had one attendant that was dressed similarly to them. There were two older men sitting opposite of Korbin. One had spiky blue hair and wore a uniform similar to that of the other blue haired people outside. He had three attendants, each with their own color of hair. The other man had long, blonde hair and wore a very strange cloak. He had a whopping six attendants behind him, wearing the same cloak as him, but with different colors.

"Hello, gentlemen," Korbin said. "We have important business to discuss."

...MEANWHILE...

"This is like paradise!" Nebu exclaimed. "The air is fresh and everything!" and indeed it was. Purity Forest was a thing of great beauty. The trees were white and had mint green leaves. It was very thick, so it was very shady, but when light got through the trees, it was pure and white.

"It sure is nice," Stepney commented. "But we can't stay too long."

Just then, a boy with long black hair down his back fell out of a tree. He wore gray sweats and looked like he had been hanging around the forest for quite a while.

"Ow..." he groaned.

"Oh, my gosh!" Roz cried. "Are you okay?"

"Oi!" Stepney shouted. "Get up!"

The boy got up and dusted himself off. "I'm fine," he said. "Just a minor fall."

"Who are you?" Marty asked him.

"My name is G. Z. Gregory," he said. "But you can just call me Gregory." He smiled pleasantly. "Who are you all?" he asked. So they all introduced themselves.

"Ah," Gregory said. "So, I take it you all are heading towards Smogoff City?"

"Yeah," Davy said. "Are you on your way there, too?"

"No," Gregory said. "I've been there already. I've got all eight badges already!" He took out his badge case and showed them all of his badges.

"Wow!" Nebu cried. "You're good!"

"Why are you staying around here?" Marty asked him.

"Ah, well someone told me there's a legendary Pokemon sleeping somewhere in this forest," Gregory told them. "So I've been looking for it since I got the last badge."

They all stared at him for a bit.

"Does he not realize that there's no Pokemon around here?" Nebu whispered to Jordan.

"Who knows?" Jordan said. "But whoever told him that was seriously trolling him."

...MEANWHILE...

Topside of FoG's underground base, two members of FoG were talking to each other.

"Yeah, so I got this kid to believe that there was some kind of legendary Pokemon in Purity Forest!" one laughed.

The other laughed along with him. "Oh, Akiro," he said. "You're so hilarious."

"I know," he said with a smirk. Just then, a strange man wearing a mushroom hat appeared from the shadows. He held a Poke Ball in his hand as he walked toward Akiro and his friend.

"Obvious troll is obvious," he said plainly.

"Oh, yeah?" Akiro questioned. "Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"

"Oh, rearry?" the man asked. He threw out the Poke Ball, and Akiro was instantly incinerated in a column of fire.

Akiro's friend stood there, dumbfounded. "What did you-" he turned to the man, but he was gone.

...MEANWHILE...

"Oh," Gregory said, disappointed. "So there isn't a legendary Pokemon after all..."

"Sorry you were lied to," Marty said.

"It's okay," Gregory said. "Now I can go back to Maron City and finish my training. Thank you for setting me straight!"

"No problem!" Marty said. "We'll see you later, Gregory!" Everyone waved goodbye as they headed out of the Purity Forest and on to Smogoff City.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 27: The Bulbasaur

Marty and Co. had just left Purity Forest after setting Gregory straight. As they neared Smogoff City, they could clearly tell the decline in air quality. Stepney coughed, Matt gagged, and Roz held her breath as long as she could. It got worse and worse until they finally reached Smogoff City.

"This town stinks!" Nebu shouted. "Let's hurry up and get out of here!"

"Gladly," Davy said, heading in the direction of the Gym.

...MEANWHILE...

In the underground base, the meeting between the six leaders began.

"Today we have two more teams joining us," Korbin said to the man in the black suit, Giovanni, and the red and blue men, Maxie and Archie. "Their plans have recently been foiled by Trainers much like the ones that foiled yours. FoG welcomes Teams Galactic and Plasma, and their leaders Cyrus and Ghestis."

"Thank you very much for your hospitality," the man in the strange robe said. Kelsey took a stab in the dark and assumed he was Ghestis.

"In any case," Korbin said to them all, "Ghestis has come here to help our cause."

"Indeed I have," Ghestis agreed. "Let me explain my intentions for coming here. Recently in the Unova Region, I tried to force people to release their Pokemon. They are powerful beings that we still don't fully understand, and shouldn't be kept close like pets. That's why I started trying to separate people from Pokemon. But three Trainers stood in my way the entire time and ended spoiling my plans. After my humiliating defeat, I learned of this place, where they're deciding whether or not to separate people from Pokemon!" He slammed his hands on the table. "Is this not what I have been fighting for all this time?! That's why I came. I don't want this region to EXIST. If they don't like my ideas, they shouldn't just use them elsewhere."

"That's what I believe our new goal should be," Korbin said. "This region is completely unnecessary, and will not be missed. Is there any opposition to this plan?" No one voiced or showed any concern.

"Very well," Cyrus said. "How shall we go about this?"

"Leave it to me," Korbin said as he stood up. "This meeting is adjourned. Thank you very much, gentlemen." He walked out with Kelsey and Eric close behind.

...MEANWHILE...

Davy had just found Smogoff City Gym and got ready to go in.

"You guys don't have to come in, you know," he said.

"But we have to support you!" Matt cried.

"Yeah! We're a team, and we stick together." Stepney added.

"What kind of friend wouldn't support another friend?" Nebu asked him.

"You know," Marty said bitterly, "You guys showed up at the end of my battle..."

"Our Pokemon were stolen!" Jordan protested.

"Charmander's too awesome to be stolen~." Roz sang.

"What do you want to do?" Davy asked him. "It's totally fine if you don't want to come in."

"Actually," Marty said, "I want to take a look around the town a bit before we leave, since we aren't staying. I'll catch up with you guys."

"All right," Davy nodded. "See you later." He turned around and walked in the Gym with the others in tow. Marty turned the other way and walked towards downtown.

...MEANWHILE...

"Destroy the region?!" Kelsey screamed. He and Eric had just gotten back to their room from the meeting with the other teams.

"This is really bad..." Eric trailed off.

"We have to get out of here," Kelsey told him. "Let's go back to Polo Town."

"We can't yet!" Eric shouted. "We haven't finished what we came here for yet. I'm not going to throw away everything we've worked for now."

"But they're going to-"

"Destroy the region?" Eric finished his sentence. "How? Only a legendary Pokemon would have that kind of power, and when was the last time you saw one?"

"Well..." Kelsey thought about this for a minute.

"Never!" Eric answered for him. "I have no idea how they're doing this, but it seems very improbable at this point. We have to finish what we started. We have to get our Pokemon back."

...MEANWHILE...

Marty was walking through downtown Smogoff when he saw two kids running through the street laughing.

"That stupid Pokemon!" one of them said. "It's not my fault it's so weak!"

"Let's go get our parents to give us a better one!" the other told him. They ran in the direction of some houses. Marty looked where they had been running from and saw a narrow alley. He walked into it. When he got to the end of the alley, he saw a cardboard box moving around very slowly. He picked up the box, and under it was a small dinosaur Pokemon with a green bulb on its back. The bulb was extremely wilted, and the Pokemon looked to be very sick.

"Oh my god," he said to himself. "A Bulbasaur!" He tried to pick it up, but it backed away from him. The Bulbasaur cowered in the corner of the alley. As Marty looked closer at the Bulbasaur, he noticed it was covered in wounds and bruises.

"Those kids must've hurt this poor Bulbasaur," he said to himself again. "I need to take it to the Pokemon Center." He tried picking it up again, and the Bulbasaur weakly nibbled at his fingers.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said to the Bulbasaur. "I promise." The Bulbasaur perked up a little bit at the word 'promise'. It started walking towards Marty slowly and carefully. Eventually the Bulbasaur walked into his arms. Marty walked quickly over to the Pokemon Center to get the poor creature treated for its wounds.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 28: A Quick Battle

Davy entered the Smogoff City Gym with the others where the referee was waiting for them at the entrance.

"Hello," he said plainly. "You're here to challenge the Blue Flower?"

"Blue Flower?" Davy asked.

"Yes," the ref said shaking his head. "That is the nickname of our Gym Leader here. He's never told anyone here his actual name."

"We all know who it is, right?" Matt asked everyone.

"Of course!" Stepney answered for everyone. "Now let's hurry inside."

...MEANWHILE...

Marty arrived at the Pokemon Center with the injured Bulbasaur and took it over to the counter.

"Oh my god," the nurse gasped. "What happened?"

"I found this Bulbasaur in an alleyway," Marty explained. "It was badly hurt by some idiot kids and could've died there."

The nurse shook her head. "There've been quite a few reports of those children hurting Pokemon. They should be in very big trouble for it, but they're kids so they can't very well go to jail." She picked up the Bulbasaur. "You did the right thing by bringing this poor thing here. It's too weak to even move right now. We'll take care of it, okay? You can stay here and wait if you want."

"Thank you, ma'am," Marty said to the nurse. He watched as she walked Bulbasaur to the emergency room in the back. The Bulbasaur turned around to look at him as it went back and cried out weakly. Then the door closed behind it.

...MEANWHILE...

Davy and the others reached the arena where Blue Flower was waiting for them. True to his name, he was dressed in all blue. They also noticed that he was very tall, and seemed to grow before their eyes.

"Welcome," he said quietly. "Which one of you is here to challenge me?"

"I am," Davy said.

"All right," Blue Flower replied. "But we need to make this quick because I need to be somewhere. So this battle will be one on one. Acceptable?"

"Fine," Davy agreed. "Let's get this over with."

The ref, seeming to appear from nowhere, shouted, "Begin!"

...MEANWHILE...

Marty sat and waited at the Pokemon Center, worrying about the Bulbasaur. Would it be alright? What would he do with it? He already had six Pokemon with him. He couldn't take it with him. So what would become of the poor thing? As he was thinking this, he decided to leave the Pokemon Center and go outside.

...MEANWHILE...

"Go! Crobat!" Blue Flower called. A purple bat with four all wings emerged from the ball.

"Go, Xatu," Davy said coolly.

"Crobat versus Xatu," the ref declared. "Begin!"

"Xatu, Psychic," Davy said completely blankly. Xatu quickly followed Davy's orders and released a strong Psychic blast at Crobat.

"Crobat, Air Cutter!" Blue Flower ordered. Crobat fired a sonic boom at Xatu, which didn't make it past Xatu's Psychic attack. Crobat took the full force of the attack and fell over, fainted.

"Crobat is unable to battle!" the ref said. "Xatu wins! The winner is Davy from Cinnabar Island!"

Everyone was dumbstruck. No one thought the battle would be over that quickly. Davy still stared forward at Blue Flower, steel-faced.

"Wow," Stepney said. "Just...wow."

"I can't believe it," Roz gasped.

"Did anyone time it?" Nebu asked.

"I did," Jordan answered, Pokenav in hand. "17 seconds."

"I've done a little extra training," Davy said. "I did it at night when you guys were all asleep. I wanted to make sure we didn't waste any time here."

"That was incredible," Blue Flower said to him. "You've definitely earned the Venom Badge." He took a badge out of his pocket and handed it to Davy.

"Thank you," Davy said. He turned to the others. "Let's go find Marty," he said to them. They left the Gym, leaving Blue Flower still extremely stunned.

...MEANWHILE...

Marty had gone back to Purity Forest to train. He trained and trained for hours, not knowing how quickly Davy had finished his battle. He was so focused with his Pokemon, who had all evolved, that he didn't notice the girl that snuck up behind him.

"Pretty intense training," she said to him.

Marty screamed a little bit and jumped a few feet. "You scared me," he said.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that." She pushed her glasses up and pushed her blond hair back. "My name is Taylor," she told him.

"Nice to meet you," Marty said. "I'm Marty." He looked at her for a brief moment and could've sworn he knew her somehow. He pushed it away from his mind. "So, are you a trainer?" He asked her.

"Yes, I am," she said to him. "Here are my Poke Balls." She reached into her bag and showed him five Poke Balls.

"You don't have six Pokemon?" Marty asked her.

"No," she said glumly. "My starter Pokemon got mixed up in the mail and sent to this region. I heard it was somewhere around here."

"What kind of Pokemon was it?" Marty asked her.

"Well," Taylor said. "It was a Bulbasaur."

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 29: (Re)United

"Did you say a Bulbasaur?" Marty asked her.

"Yeah," Taylor said. "Why?"

"Come with me," Marty said. "Quickly!"

...MEANWHILE...

"He's not answering his Pokenav," Nebu said.

"Do you think he went on without us?" Matt asked.

"No," Roz said. "Marty wouldn't do that. We just need to keep looking around. Where haven't we looked yet?"

"The Pokemon Center," Davy answered quickly.

"Why didn't we look there in the first place?" Jordan asked everyone. They all shrugged it off and walked toward the Center.

...MEANWHILE...

Marty and Taylor had just gotten back to the Pokemon Center as Nurse Joy stepped out of the emergency room.

"Why are we here?" Taylor said.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Marty asked her rhetorically. "Nurse Joy, any word?"

"Bulbasaur is just fine and is ready to go with you," she told him.

"Bulbasaur?" Taylor questioned.

"Yup," Marty answered. "It's your Bulbasaur, I believe."

"No way!" Taylor shrieked happily. "Thank you so much!" She ran up to Marty and hugged him. Marty blushed.

"No problem," he said. "All in a day's work and whatnot."

"I'll go get Bulbasaur for you," Nurse Joy said. "Do you have its Poke Ball?"

Marty's eyes widened. "No..." he said. "Those kids still have it, I bet." Just then, a man walked in the Pokemon Center. He wore a mushroom hat.

"Here," he said. He threw a Poke Ball to Marty. "This is what you're looking for, isn't it?"

"Thank you," Marty said. "Who are you?"

"I'm-" he started to say.

"Champion Mike!" Nurse Joy said. "Good to see you! What brings you here?"

"Heading back to Maron City," Mike said. "Figured I'd stop for a bit. I had a hunch there'd be something important to do." Just then, Stepney busted through the door.

"I found him, guys!" he said. "I knew we should've looked here first!"

"Please, Stepney," Jordan groaned. "You insisted that we go back to Purity Forest and look for him. Other than that you did nothing." Stepney's face got very red as Davy, Nebu and Roz walked in. Roz saw Mike and her eyes widened.

"You!" she shouted.

Mike saw her, turned to Nurse Joy, and said, "I have to go. Nice to see you, Joy." He turned and ran out the door.

"You're not getting away!" Roz yelled after him. She ran out the door.

"What was that about?" Jordan wondered. Marty and Nebu shrugged their shoulders.

...MEANWHILE...

Roz caught up to Mike and tackled him to the ground. She turned him around and slapped him. Hard.

"You jerk!" Roz shouted at him. "How could you leave me like that?"

"I had my reasons," Mike said to her. "More pressing things came up."

"How selfish can you be?" Roz asked him. "I thought we had something!"

"Then you were mistaken," Mike told her. "As Champion, I can't afford to get mixed up in relationships."

"So you just LEFT me?!" Roz asked him angrily.

"I had to, as I said before." Mike said flatly.

"You didn't even SAY anything!" Roz screamed.

"Look," Mike said to her. "If you want to settle this with me, do it at the Pokemon League, not here." He got up, dusted himself off, and left Roz standing there in the middle of the square. It began to rain as Roz sobbed quietly.

TO BE CONTINUED...