IntSys

"...Tch! Cleffy, Fairy Lock!" Serra snapped back to reality and swiftly hurled Cleffy over the man holding what seemed to be the briefcase they've been looking for. Cleffy would then set up a Fairy Lock around the alleyways, preventing the man from running any further. "Horace, Elias, nail him down!" She then ran after the hopefully trapped man.

"Life... " The image of Poochy's wound being treated by a Glowing Branch surfaced to Emmanuel's mind. "And death... " And then, the image of the dying Sableye at the mercy of the Pixie Shard appeared. "One another... " The vivid images of the fight against the two cores and the tree flashed through. How the two cores fought for dominance over each other by changing the aspect of the tree. "The world... " At the end of it all, was a boundless, crystallized forest, replacing the greens with endless pink. "It was not a cycle anymore. It was stagnation," he muttered, "a static balance that was set on casting the nexus in a crystalline cocoon."

The Oil Devils took their moves... Orenucu obtained a Fire Sword R from the Blue Mystery Data. Mirona obtained a Firecracker F from the Blue Mystery Data... and was caught by an Oil Devil! Buzzkill obtained a Shockwave R from the Green Mystery Data. Battle Start! Axel/Mirona Hina/Buzzkill Mitsuru/Score Vlastimir/Orenucu

Serra nodded, before leading the group into the alleyways. She couldn't help but wonder if the others were having any luck.

"... Tch. Well, apologies, but I think I'll just use the free method of bringing a Pokemon's health down low enough instead," Serra remarked with disappointment, before making her way out of the alley. She then noticed Elias and Horace, appearing to be looking for her. She strode toward them. "No luck here. We can rule out the contents of the suitcase circulating around here. The vendor I just talked to seemed to have the best ball in the market. And honestly... It's probably easier for his competitors to just snatch one from him and reverse-engineer it. So, what did you find on your end?"

Mitsuru/Score Patch Notes (Modified virus patterns - Speed decreased) The Race continues... Maps Ayano "These annoying Swordies... Whatever, we're almost there." [Up x5 (Forced)] Kenji "And that's the crux of the problem. I reckon it's him. Looks like we'll be getting the lead today, GatlingMan." "The black critter's in the way. It's going to be a pain to get around it. I recommend deletion." "It'll serve as a fine warm-up. Carry on." [Right x4 / Up / Right] (Takes 100 damage from the Oil Devil. Gets 300 Zenny)

Mitsuru/Score Vlastimir/Orenucu Axel/Mirona

The Oil Devils took their moves... Buzzkill entered DungeonMaintNet2! Kenji entered DungeonMaintNet4! Score got Shockwave R from the GMD! DungeonMaintNet1 DungeonMaintNet2 DungeonMaintNet3 DungeonMaintNet4 Orange NPCs: Guard Units Black "O": ??? "Prog": Mr. Prog. Pass by to interact. (May provide information) Red Tile: Boss Tile. Triggers a boss battle if you land on it. (You can't go any further beyond this tile!) From the distance, GatlingMan could see a slender, pure black figure. He had a huge eye protruding out of his liquid-like body. He seemed to be engaging several orange NormalNavis, likely the technicians that were supposed to be working on the outage. Battle Start! Mitsuru/Score Vlastimir/Orenucu Axel/Mirona

"... I see. Anyway, I don't think you've told me the price for the balls yet. How much for one?" Serra asked once more. She figured she'd get a decent excuse to be done with the surprisingly earnest vendor by reacting to the price.

Marina bought a rather expensive camera along with tripods, before blasting out of the department store. She flew over Sendo City, across the suburbs, and finally reaching a lone town - Himawari Town. Sunflowers surrounded the town, making it look like an island floating amidst golden seas. Two roads reach out of the town, one going further south, and another leading back to Sendo City. Its landscape and its relatively-robust infrastructure made it one of the more desirable suburban areas around the city. Buses went in and out of the town every morning and evening. It was certainly a place that brought back memories. Marina still remembered when she said goodbye to Remi as she took flight from the hills where the local junior high school was located. Her destination today was Remi's house. She descended upon her doorsteps and knocked. The door opened slowly, and from it emerged a young girl with a black ponytail. A tad bit taller than Marina. She wore nothing but purple pajamas, truly suspicious. "Hey Remi! Consider your wish fulfilled!" Marina declared. Remi, on the other hand, leaped at Marina, taking the camera with one hand and grabbing her tightly with the other, "thank you, Marina!" - complete with a kiss. "C-Come on in! We'll treat you juuuust right. Lunch's on me, too!" Remi dragged Marina inside, and a butler mannequin promptly shut the door as they entered. Her parents weren't home today, likely working in Sendo City again, and that might just had been the reason why she decided to invite Marina. For the rest of the day, the rest of Remi's plans were revealed to be getting Marina to put herself in a variety of weird "disguises" that were really closer to blatant fanservice for her eyes only. She was also taking pictures with the very same camera she asked for. The excuse she went for was "you can make disguises faster than I can weave clothes!" Which was, somewhat believable. Of course, Remi did not forget to be a good host while "occupying" Marina. Her mannequins tended to the two's needs, serving them a hearty lunch. After a long day, Marina was released from Remi's clutches. She flew home in the sunset. On her way home, she checked her phone messages, finally catching her uncle's message. "Oh hey, he hasn't forgotten! Perfect," she noted in delight. She then replied with "OK. You're on your own with the phone numbers, though. I don't even know where to get them! We're also way too far from each other right now. Wish upon a star, and wish for something else."

Marina took a look at the clock. She got a day off, apparently, and it was just 9 AM. She had a day to herself... She shouldn't be lying on bed. She called Remi again. "Marina?" "Yeah, it's me again. I was just thinking if there's anything you want, like a wish list." "Aww, thank you! But, wouldn't it be inconvenient for you? You must be busy... " "Not really! I don't have work today, and Gramps' books can wait. More importantly, it's been like, an year since we part ways. I just want an excuse to see you again... " "Hee... In that case, I only want one thing now... You." "Wha-" Marina blushed slightly. "-Oh wait no, two things! The other being a camera with a tripod. My work gotta look professional, after all! Ahaha... " Remi hung up awkwardly. Marina on the other hand, thought about the presumably more serious part of the request. "Hrm... I'll just visit Mitsukoshi Mall. And then I'll fly to Remi's. It's just thirty minutes from here anyway, I think." She plucked up a sticky note and scribbled the following, then slapped it onto the door to her room. Going to Remi's! Won't be home for lunch! Call me if you need me! ~ Marina With that, she grabbed her randoseru and rushed out of the cafe, taking flight in a snap and flying toward Mitsukoshi Mall to buy a fine camera with tripods for her favorite aspiring fashion designer. (More filler later)

Brock/Vile Axel/Mirona The Race continues... Score and Buzzkill were no longer stunned! Ayano "Tch. These Swordies are getting on my nerves. Hotshot, are you okay?" "Yeah. Can't say the same about the HeelNavi, though," Hotshot smirked, as she noticed Vile getting shredded by a rogue pack of Swordies. [Up x3 / Right x5 / Up x2 (Forced)] (Takes 100 damage from a set of two Swordies and one Canodumb. Gets 200 Zenny.) Kenji "Entering Area 4." [Up / Right x3 (Forced) / Right / Up / Right x2] (Takes 50 damage from a set of a Canodumb, a Swordy, and a Mettaur. Gets a Wide Sword S)

"... Yes, we do," Emmanuel reached for Kadabra's hand. It wasn't well. A needless risk was taken... I need to see what I had wrought. The full picture. He couldn't bring himself to turn back to Sena, so he simply kept staring at Kadabra.

Brock/Vile Vlastimir/Orenucu Axel/Mirona

"Nah, you got me wrong. I thought about getting some info from your competitors for you, but I guess you're really the top dog here. Truth is, I'm cracking a case on chasing down a special Pokeball, stolen by some thugs. It's just a hitch, but, you never know if people around here would stoop as low as to stealing intellectual properties to get an edge over you," Serra said with a serious tone. "If this case goes anywhere, it'll be beneficial for you, so, which one of your competitors would you suspect?"

Guess whose house's getting a paint job?

"... Hm, is that so. That's not quite what I'm looking for, then. I'm looking for something more... general-purpose," Serra said, with a faked, yet somewhat convincing frown, "but hey, I should give you something in exchange for all that. Say, do you have a competitor or two around here?"

Hotshot got 100 Zenny from the GMD. The Oil Devils took their moves... Battle Start! Brock/Vile Axel/Mirona Vlastimir/Orenucu

Emmanuel was locked in deep thought as he paced around the bounds of the landing bay. The moment Nicaea had destroyed the Pixie Core, a strange, shadowy creature burst out of the tree. He could swear that he saw it, or at least, its outlines somewhere not too long ago. "... The Abravator," he let the words slip out of his mouth, as if realizing something. He rushed straight to the Abravator before Radovan could presumably drag him to get more ice cream. He felt responsible. Really responsible. Despite how no one so far had even considered saying a thing about it. He hoped that he could lift the weight off his heart somewhat if he could get some answers from the gallery in the Abravator, and from the eccentric duo, Abra and Kadabra. Solosis protested, having attempted to calm Emmanuel down all the way from #08 to #00, but in vain. She found herself less and less able to control the child. Either he had really grown up, or it was time for him to actually grow on people, rather than a floating psychic cell.

"... I see. How confident are you in the balls' abilities? Say, if I were up against something like a Basculin, what are my odds?" Serra decided to gauge the vendor's Pokeballs' power against one of the hardest-to-catch Pokemon in Unova. Despite how tasty they can be, they are notoriously hard to catch, sometimes compared to the Mantine in Johto in difficulty. (Catch Rate: 25)

"... No Pokeballs better than these, you say?" Then why didn't they mug you instead? "How do I know that you're telling the truth?" Serra pressed on, her eyes slowly revealing a hint of skepticism. Of course, she just confirmed that the balls didn't fit the description, but would it hurt to test the limits of the vendor?

Brock/Vile Score and Buzzkill were still immobilized! (One turn left)