Valyrian_Reforged

Chapter Three: The Demented Mentalist After clearing a secondary Vileplume and venturing through a secret pathway alongside of Connor, Myriad found and rescued Lyra's husband. Introducing himself as Noel, the man went on to explain that he used to be a villager within Sheridan Village. One day, he had spoken out against Kuiki and had been locked within this hut, just outside of the village temple. Noel explained that had he not have feigned compliance via fake hypnosis, he would have fared far worse than he had done. That having been said, Noel couldn't remember much else about his ordeal, although he did ask after Lyra. "The password for the guards is 'Messiah,'" Noel divulged, before he handed over TMX7 Rock Smash. Myriad placed the TMX7 into his Key Items pocket and Noel promised to wait within the hut until it was all over. A fight with the two guards at the temple's entrance yielded their passage into said temple, where they confronted Kuiki. "Hey, Myriad! How did you find us here? It's dangerous, especially for someone that has no Pokemon," Ava called up from the pit. Connor and Myriad stood upon a raised balcony that faced Kukui and the pit cages. "Myriad has Pokemon now! Kuiki, you old geezer, your time is up," Connor called heatedly. “Blast and burn, my dear, just how did Myriad know to find me here?,” Kuiki asked Ava. “You tried to have your Donphan impale us with its tusks. Your right to question me has been nulled and voided,” Ava snapped severely. Scarlett chimed in, metaphorically lunging to the defence of Ava’s character. “Awwwww, snap, failed assassin! Ava’s seen right through you and her words have incinerated you. Hope you have more Burn Heals than you know what to do with on hand. You’ll be needing them aaaaaall, Murder Cultist,” Scarlett said, in a singsong tone of voice that made Myriad’s heart swell with pride to hear it. Ava drew herself up with the regality and pure pride of a proper queen in response. “I have to agree with my friends, Kuiki. It’s not customary to mistreat your visitors so. Hadn’t your mother taught you that as a teen, or are you so old that you can’t remember back to that point in your life?,” Myriad replied, as he pulled out his first Poke Ball. “The insolence within this child! We shall battle. I shall take you down,” Kuiki screeched, withdrawing his own first Poke Ball. Myriad smirked, his expression one of snide superiourity. “You can’t take me anywhere, savage madman – not even to the cleaners. I’ll crush you,” Myriad replied. Kuiki appeared extremely apathetic, standing with his arms crossed. "You'll do no such thing," Kuiki growled. “Even your minions of murder couldn’t eradicate me from existence. What makes you think that you can succeed where that team has failed?,” Myriad advised. "Why don't you show your people your Drowzee. The one that you've been using to hypnotise them into the worship of you?," Connor posited. Kukui blanched, even as he tried to appear unconcerned. "What Drowzee? I have no Drowzee," he replied snidely. "Oh, you crafty old liar, Kuiki. You have a yellow and brown Drowzee. You'd additionally used it to spread propaganda about yourself to look even more like a hero. Give up your pretences. Why don't you tell your flock how you've been lying to them for years on end? You're a flagrant, selfish con-artist with an unhealthy narcissism and I will shut down your schemes for good," Myriad opined harshly. Ava yelled encouragement to Myriad from the sidelines, barely restraining herself from joining the battle and teaming up with Myriad for a Double Battle against Chief Kuiki. “You tell that good for nothing, sanctimonious grass-hole. Myriad, you glorious specimen of decency and of humanity! You be sure to call me when you’re of age, I wish to adopt you. You let me know if that proposition interests you, yeah, foster son-to-be? Now go and obliterate that kook. Villagers, Connor and Myriad are right. Kuiki's been manipulating you all of this time,” Ava yelled. Myriad awarded Ava the same look that his Alolan cousin’s Rowlet had given him within its first rival battle, a quizzical and keen-eyed look that did not fail to convey his bafflement toward its intended recipient. “I’m intrigued by the prospect that you raise, Ava, but I really have to find my feet in this world first. I've got to find my parents,” Myriad replied. “I’ll take that as an ‘I’ll put some serious thought into your once in a lifetime offer, Ava.’ OK, battle prince, you’re on,” Ava replied cheerfully. Her eyes never let the duplicitous Kuiki. Chief Kuiki scoffed. “Rather pre-emptive and self-indulgent of you to even entertain the possibility of that wishful thinking, reprehensible witch. Who would wish to become such a vacuous, carbon copy of a reprobate such as yourself?,” Chief Kuiki pitched in virulently. “No-one here asked for your unwanted opinion, you crusty old crustacean! Myriad, send that smarmy ruffian and his pack of Pokemon packing, you slayer of all types of critters, you,” Ava fired back, glaring glacial daggers that could have caused a Scald effect at Chief Kuiki. Myriad had never been in the prescence of two people who detested each other as much as Ava and Kuiki despised each other. The raw tension and menace within the room was starting to make him feel very much supercharged and on edge. Unsettling didn’t even begin to cover his swirling emotions right now. "This isn't looking great for you, is it, Kuiki? You'd best hope that this journal does not exist. It will seal your fate if it does. The truth is coming out," Shiv said from the balcony to the pit's upper right hand side. "Shiv's here? What the Helioptile?," Connor said, confused by the renewed prescence of Shiv. "You promised me, Shiv! You swore that you would not do this," Kuiki yowled. "I had my fun while it lasted, Kuiki. They really did get the better of you," Shiv said unapologetically, his tone the epitome of casual. The villagers began to chant that Kuiki was a liar, which served to further rile the village chief and make him act rashly. "There's no point in further deception. I have been hypnotising these villagers with my Drowzee. It was so that they could do my bidding and worship me. Do you think yourselves to be the first to try to wrest away my control? You are truly most arrogant. I do not fear loss of control, because I can simply seize it back," Chief Kuiki said. "Drowzee, go! It's too late for you now, Myriad. Hypnosis," he added. His Drowzee hypnotised almost everyone. Somehow, Myriad and Connor were not hypnotised. "Hero up, Myriad! Get GOING," Connor yelled brashly. Myriad was telekinetically shotput over the balcony railing, landing in front of Kuiki as Connor tumbled into the pit. Connor managed to remain on his feet as he stood before the Donphan. Myriad targeted Kuiki. Connor attacked the Donphan. "Your aura! It's just like...but it just can't be. I'll clobber you with the strength of my Pokemon. Dustox, go!," Chief Kuiki yelled, sending forth his Level 16 Dustox. Myriad's Wingo took care of the Dustox with a few Gust attacks. Kuiki sent out his Level 15 Komala. Myriad recalled Wingo. “Daenerys, commendable work! Use Bite and put your all into it,” Myriad commanded, sending out his shiny white Poochyena as he spoke. “Ooooh, how kinky,” Connor said, just loud enough for Myriad to hear it. As much as he disliked Connor, Myriad had to award the Fire Leader a hearty guffaw at that. Daenerys materialised and bit Komala into unconsciousness. Kuiki sent in his Level 17 Drowzee. "Bite that Drowzee, Daenerys, my queen," Myriad commanded, sending out his Level 18 Poochyena as he spoke. The Drowzee tried to Headbutt Daenerys. It landed its attack. Shrugging off the weak strike as she bit the Drowzee once more, Daenerys barked a sharp, satisfied bark as the Drowzee hit the wooden deck at Kuiki's feet. It did not get to its feet. "How could this even be possible?," Kuiki drawled, staring down at his downed Drowzee in shock. "I've lost. Truly inconcievable," Chief Kuiki said dully, his tone sullen as he returned his fainted Pokemon. Daenerys evolved into a shiny Mightyena. Shiv wore an expression of pure elation. "Bravo to you, Myriad! Most fascinating, indeed. The villagers of Keneph are in your debt. What will they do now?," Shiv called and enquired. The villagers seemed to awaken as if from the deepest and darkest of nightmares. "Our village was on its last legs since before Kuiki's arrival here. We will elect a real and natural leader, as we had before! Someone with true depth and integrity," a villager said firmly. "We won't let this be the end of us," the other villagers shouted. Shiv blinked. "Well, good for all of you," he said flatly. “Fridge you, Kuiki, you monster trucker. I freaking loved seeing Myriad wipe every single existing floor with you and your Pokemon,” Scarlett said mutinously, impressing everyone present, friend and foe alike, with the vehemence within her unguarded and embittered tone. “Daaaaaaang, now look who’s setting up to become a badgrass! And the award for Most New and Improved Savage goes to…,” Connor called from the sidelines, his expression suffused with an admiration and an approval that was well and truly rare for him. Scarlett beamed in response, a blush that matched her name suffusing her face. Myriad felt a renewed sense of kinship toward Ava and Scarlett, beyond appreciative and proud of his friends for never ceasing to have his back. Kuiki flushed pure crimson as well, filled with anything but a combination of flattered yet mortified. “I’ll make you eat every one of your blatantly offensive words, Witch Duo! Villagers, attack,” Chief Kuiki roared, incensed beyond composure. Connor interjected his take from the sidelines. “An ‘In your dreams, you insufferable excuse for a Hypno reject’ is in order and is directed to you, Chief Crazypants. I do not churn to discover the content of your actual dreams. No doubt anything goes there. No judgement here. What I do judge you for is the abhorrent rejection of your Vileplume. You spout a crock of spit about the cruelty of Pokemon mistreatment while you neglect your own Grass Pokemon. Pot, meet kettle. While you’re there, kettle, Stomp upon pot’s foot and call it a hypocrite,” Connor called angrily. Chief Kuiki blanched as everyone present gave him glares of silent yet extremely violent death. “You miscreant! I respect and cherish every single one of my Pokemon. How dare you try to instigate a riot within my ranks, within my house of worship. Guards, seize and eject this blight upon my every sense,” Chief Kuiki screeched like a banshee. The guards looked at each other, looked at Connor, looked at their boss…and remained at their post. “What do I pay you for? Do good work for me, your boss. Do as I command,” Chief Kuiki shouted, discomfited at his lackey’s sudden lack of deference to him. Connor tilted his head to one side, glanced at the guards, then glanced back at Chief Kuiki. “You’re not going to bounce me so easily, Creepy. Your influence isn’t worth a damn since Myriad swept the floors with you. Good luck with alternate employment,” Connor sneered. Myriad was glad to hear that Connor could not only be counted upon in a pinch, but that he was as quip-happy and quite snappy as always. “You’ll be friendless and fearful in no time, Chief Kooky! Connor, I just might revise my initial character assessment of you,” Scarlett said thoughtfully. “Initial assessment of moi? You must be referring to my dashing good looks, my indomitable will, my uncurtailable witty banter and my stunning, fiery quiff. I don’t blame you for being an admirer of mine,” Connor said, without missing a beat. Scarlett smiled a slow, mischievious smile. “If you say so. Those are your self-descriptors,” Scarlett replied. Connor wore a look of all-encompassing curiousity and undivided interest as he sized Scarlett up with his steady gaze. “You don’t say. Damn if you don’t intrigue me one minute and then tick me off the next minute. You’re not already taken? I throw my hat in the ring if you’re not,” Connor said, flat out and with a staggering sincerity. Scarlett remained silent, hedging her bets. Connor sulked. “This is Jerry Springer: Rejuve Edition, not Deerling Dateline. Cut to the chase, Myriad. Nice work!,” Ava opined from the sidelines. Downtrodden and dismayed, the defeated Chief Kuiki handed over the battle victor’s prize money and then he spoke in a hoarse croak. “You, a grass-roots Trainer from a nothing place, managed to defeat me, a battle veteran of peerless prestige and a spotless victory record. I call hacks. Treachery, I tell you. I demand a rematch,” Chief Kuiki snapped. Myriad shook his head slowly, recalling Daenerys as he did so. “I decline your rematch request, which was more of a demand. Defog the hypnotized minds of your village underlings, Kuiki, or prepare to spend a permanent allotment of time in prison,” Myriad said. Connor spoke before Chief Kuiki could. “And if you refuse to comply with Myriad’s command, know that I will remain within this place forever to plague you twenty-four-seven with incessant show-tunes from every era. I can make it so that you get no peace and quiet, Captain Creepshow. Is that what you would prefer? Is that your choice?,” Connor said, in an utterly disturbing, level tone. Chief Kuiki grimaced. “Hex, no. That would be awful. Just so that you can memorise it, my title is Chief and my name is Kuiki,” Chief Kuiki said crossly. “Oh, right. Colonel Kooky, yes? Or is it Commander Creepypasta, Counselor Killjoy, Crazy Lazy or Human Hypno? All of these apply to you,” Ava said smoothly. “No, those monikers do not suit me. Nor do they apply to me,” Chief Kuiki refuted. Myriad folded his arms and watched the drama unfold, wishing that he had a large bucket of popcorn on hand that he could pop while he witnessed the battle of belittling unfold. “Crazy Lazy? How DARE you. You have zero idea about how much mental exertion I must endure daily. Only I ensure the smooth operation of my village,” Chief Kuiki rattled off in retaliation. “I do believe that we have a confession, Your Honour. Permission to approach the accused?,” Connor asked Myriad. “Permission granted, Counselor,” Myriad said loyally. Connor grinned. “Brilliant. I suggest that you do not resist. You’re under arrest, Kuiki, for coercion, obstruction, dereliction of duty, psychological manipulation, entrapment without just cause and no doubt many other crimes that I have yet to uncover. Mark me well, I will find out your deepest, darkest secrets and I'll bring them to bear against you. Guards, you’re up,” Connor said sternly. The guards that Myriad had passed in order to get here approached Chief Kuiki. However, before they could seize the chief’s arms, drag them behind his back and marched him into a free prison cell, Shiv intervened. "Kuiki, we're done here," he said before he vanished. Shiv reappeared in front of Chief Kuiki, who wore an expression of absolute terror. "N - no! Shiv -," Kuiki whined. Shiv gripped Kuiki's biceps and teleported them both out of the village. Myriad sighed. “That can lead to nothing at all copacetic,” he said idly. Connor and company swept the place and located Ava's and Scarlett's Poke Balls. They returned these Poke Balls to Scarlett and Ava. "You've honoured us greatly, Myriad. We will not forget this," the villagers said gratefully. "With our clouded minds, we forgot who we were. If we can ever of later service, please call upon us. We will repair and restart. Our village will close temporarily. Upon our grand reopening, you will be welcomed back with wide-open arms," the villagers continued. Myriad, Ava and Connor showed the villager's Noel's journal, which further proved the validity of their assertions against Chief Kuiki. Noel's name and reputation were cleared and he was free to return to Lyra. The husband and wife thanked Myriad, Ava, Scarlett and Connor profusely. They assured them there would always be a place here for them all if they so desired it. The young heroes and heroines were then permitted to leave the curse-free village uncontested. Myriad and company left the village immediately after multiple Damp Rocks were embedded into the prison cells to dampen Chief Kuiki’s psychic powers, should he ever seek to return. Once Chief Kuiki was found, Myriad felt confident that until the League and the authorities would recapture him and place him within a suitable, Damp Rock-inset prison cell. Myriad’s journeying took him to the temple entrance. Scarlett, Ava and Connor awaited him at the foot of the entrance staircase. "We don't have time to dawdle here. If they're taking their time, then -," Connor began, but Ava interrupted him. "Shut it, Four Eyes, we'll simply wait for them!," Ava snapped. "Four Eyes? Reaaaally? I'll have you know that I just took part within your rescue. That means - ah, Myriad. You're finally here," Connor fired back, looking past Ava at Myriad as he addressed them both. "Myriad, our hero! We were waiting for you. Bearhug!," Scarlett said contentedly. She bestowed a bearhug upon Myriad as he approached Connor, Ava and Scarlett herself. Accepting Scarlett's bearhug with a spontaneous laugh, Myriad returned Scarlett's hug and then released his hold as soon as she released her own hold around his middle back. "Great job back there, Myriad. Welcome back. I really hoped, but didn't think, that you had it in you. Battle me someday?," Ava said to Myriad. "You bet, Ava," Myriad replied. "I'm a Gym Leader, too, you know, Myriad. You must battle me soon," Connor said, keen not to be left out of a Myriad battle. Ava tilted her head slightly, her expression intrigued as she looked at Connor. "So you must be Connor. The cocky Leader of Fire types, yes?," Ava enquired. Connor half-smiled at Ava. "I prefer 'confident,' but that'll do. You can only ever trash-talk me like that if I ever got beaten by a total noob someday. I take it that you are Ava?," Connor responded. "I am she of whom you speak," Ava said calmly. "Myriad has no Badges. I'd say that he counts as a novice," Scarlett opined. Ava clapped her hands gleefully, making everyone present award her the side-eye. "Connor could battle Myriad! If Myriad wins, I can trash-talk Connor indefinitely. In fact, we al can," Ava said merrily. "Let's battle, Connor. Are you genuinely worried that I will defeat you?," Myriad said, feeling fired-up for further battles. Connor pursed his lips, folding his arms as he spoke. "Let's high-tail it to the next town. After we heal up our Pokemon, you are absolutely on for a Gym battle with me, Myriad," Connor acquiesced. "Specs here finally says something that I can agree with. Let's rustle our muscles and hop to it," Ava said breezily. "Could you cut it out, Ava?," Connor asked tersely. "Cut what out?," Ava asked innocently, as they all began to travel away from the village. "You know what!," Connor said in a brittle tone. Scarlett burst into unbroken gales of amused laughter. They all soon arrived at Redcliff Town, which was just across a series of nearby bridges. "I want to see you wipe the smirk off of Four Eyes Flint over there, Myriad. Don't let me down," Ava said. Further battles resulted within Wingo's evolution into a shiny Pidgeotto. Just after Myriad passed through the end gate and into Redcliff Town, a familiar figure, unseen by him, reached the bridge that overlooked the end gate. "Unbelievable. Kukui did not pay off as expected. That group of kids are exactly what and whom I've been searching for. Time. Will. Tell," The Woman said. Meanwhile, the odd green gates of Redcliff Town loomed before Myriad, Scarlett, Connor and Ava. "Myriad. We're in quite the to-do," Ava greeted, the moment that Myriad approached her. "Hey. Let me in - it's only your Gym Leader, Connor, here. I'm not some boujee nobody!," Connor called to the gatekeeper. "I've never heard of a Connor Gym Leader," The Gatekeeper said innocuously. "This isn't funny. It never had been," Connor grumbled. "Oh, I disagree. This is a laugh riot. This couldn't be more brilliant," Ava said chirpily. Connor glowered at Ava. He then aimed an even more charged scowl up at The Gatekeeper for good measure. "Please can we enter Redcliff?," Connor asked, making a supreme effort to be nice. "No can do. We'd be foolish to allow anyone entrance after the natives' attacks. We've really had to ramp up security. A Gym Leader named Connor? More like Con Artist! You can't hoodwink me," The Gatekeeper said shrewdly. Ava chuckled into her hands for several minutes, but then she sobered up. "OK, this has gone on far enough. I've had my fill of this fun. Excuse me, Gatekeeper. I'm Ava, the Grass Leader of Darkroot Town! Will you please permit us entrance?," Ava called to the Gatekeeper placidly. The Gatekeeper visibly appeared to leap out of her skin, such was her absolute astonishment. "Lady Ava? Oh, my. But of course. Please accept my sincerest and deepest apologies," The Gatekeeper said, in a tone of unconcealed and blatant admiration. "A Gym Leader is here! Permitting her entrance to Redcliff. Stand by!," The Gatekeeper announced. She then opened the gate, allowing Myriad and company to pass through it and truly enter Redcliff Town. Connor wore a look of deep, wounded pride, his face blooming a deep and mottled red from pure outrage. "Do come on in, Lady Ava. Once again, permit me to extend my profuse apologies," The Gatekeeper said obsequiously. "All is forgiven and forgotten. Thank you. Farewell," Ava said graciously, gesturing for Myriad to lead the way into the town. Myriad entered the town first, closely followed by Ava, Scarlett and then finally, a very outraged and humiliated Connor. After healing up and then buying some Poke Mart Poke Balls, Myriad backtracked to the waterfall and invited a Croagunk to join his Party. After many soft resets, a shiny Croagunk joined his team. Making his way back to Redcliff Village, Myriad prepared to take on Connor in his first no holds barred Pokemon Gym Battle.

Hi, Mindlack, Hmmm. This critique veers away from constructive and lands in "write the exact opposite of how and what you feel that you should write." Some of your points, I agree with. I'll take onboard that which I feel will strengthen rather than detract from my writing. As for word count, breaks can and should be taken during any read through, not just a read through of my own work. I highly encourage this practice. I may shorten my chapters in future. Some dialogue choices will be tweaked as I deem necessary. My use of 'The', usually written at the start of a fresh sentence, serves to take a break from repeated usage of 'Alisa' this or that (for example, Alisa said/did this.) Your closing statement strikes me of more of a hostile attack rather than an incentive to inspire me to continue further. All errors that you have specified will be corrected immediately. Perhaps it would be more beneficial for you to focus more upon what you like about my writing rather than what you don't like about it. Thank you for your critique/constructive feedback. As for editing, I had lost count of the ammount of times that I had edited so that readability would be accounted for and catered to sufficiently for my readers. Words skips and repetitions. Would you mind giving one or more examples, at the risk of opening myself up to more shots fired? At the end of the day, this is my work and while I do appreciate any given feedback and will take it all onboard, I will write this fanfiction my own way, to the best of my creativity and writing ability. Valyrian_Reforged. E.D.I.T.: Done. Nicknames and snappy character dialogue? They come easily to me. They always have and I'm darn grateful for that. Writing Pokemon battles has become somewhat of an art form for me. It's been a great learning curve for me. It's not always easy to get them written just right. Thanks for your compliments. They mean alot to me. Making each character soar upon their own is important to me. Each character is distinctly unique. I always strive to portray them as such. As for large and impressive vocabulary and words, I'll add them sporadically. They add further polish and pizazz to my works.

Chapter Two: Destination Known: Funky Factory, Etcetera I swept through the entrance of The Abandoned Factory. Upon my entry, I immediately took note of my garish surroundings. It was evident, at first glance, that no-one sane could have been in residence here. The floor tiles were a horrid mixture of neon fuschia, ghastly mint green and virulent to the eye bright yellow. I had to focus not upon the tiles underfoot for fear of a brain hemorrhage that could be inflicted upon me by sense of sight alone. They left an undesired imprint upon my mind due to the toxicity of their garishness. "Okay, this is it. According to official reports, a Xen Admin is using this place as a lair. We take him, her, them, or any other non-binary prefix down and voila, any remaining Xen Grunts should panic and book it from East Gearen," Karrina said confidently. "We've got one shot at this, Seal Team Ampharos. Let's make it count. Keep your wits about you, though. Stay calm, stay close and for Gearen's sake, follow my lead. I may not be a gang leader, but I'm going to sweep this League and take you all by storm," I said, brimming with charisma and contained confidence. Karrina's brows narrowed even further, draping over her eyes like a makeshift cowl. She mercifully held her tongue, which was more than I could hope for at this point. A dominance battle during an already tense situation would be far from ideal. Gladdened that I had added a new member, a shiny Litleo, to my team, I smiled to myself. I was ready for anything. My team were all Level 21 Pokemon, four levels away from the level cap that I was keeping a keen and beady eye upon. There was no way in Hail that I would allow my Pokemon to disobey me. They were too important to me to let them become unruly. Constantly assailed by an unsettling feeling of deep and dark foreboding, I noted that nothing within this place looked natural. Repulsed more upon principle than anything else, I soon made my way to the source of the erratic, staccato, echoing and unhinged maniacal laughter and hoped that she hadn't wandered onto a new and unopened site of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Although I had enjoyed reading the novels, I did not relish nor cherish the possibility of a real-life encounter with the murder-matronics. We met up with Venam just inside of the building. She seemed surprised to see us. The relief upon her face was like a balm to soothe my mid-level concern toward her and I released a breath that I hadn't realised that I'd been holding. "Hi, guys!,' Venam said guiltily. "Don't 'hi, guys' us as if it isn't anything. Do you have any idea how worried we've been? We're your friends," Karrina said gruffly. Tempering the bite within her response with a fierce and unforseen hug of Venom, Karrina stared combatively at me over Venam's left shoulder as Venom returned her hug. "You were unwise to run off before we could regroup, Venam. This place isn't one to taken on lightly, nor alone. I -," I contributed firmly, holding Karrina's eye contact until she was the first to break eye-contact. An intruder alarm blared an obnoxious, klaxon-like and repetitive shriek that threatened to wrench our eardrums from their resting-places, cutting me rather rudely off in midsentence. Venam and Karrina drew back from their hug and sprang to vigilant attention, their shoulders back, head held high and their posture impeccably upright. Venam sighed. "That can't be good," she said, stating the Absol-ute obvious. Biting back the "You think!?" that was just itching to launch itself at Venam from the tip of my tongue, I revised Plan A. "Plan one change. We've been made. Let's confront the mad piece of Trubbish. This ends now," I said bravely, with such force of magnetism and indomitable will that even Karrina looked impressed with me. As I fanned out with Karrina and Ren in hopes of not catching a flash of garish paint and a flicker of metallic movement that would herald the end of my thus far short life, I gathered every remnant of my calm composure and held it close. Certain that this was the place where nightmares screamed themselves speechless and curled up to die, I cobbled together Plans A, B and C into a new and improved Ultimate Plan. I hoped like hell that I hadn't led us all into an inescapable place. I was not at all desirous of being forced to live here for all of eternity. The heir apparent of said trash heap of an establishment greeted Ren, Karrina and myself with a hauteur that was astonishing to see from an individual who looked as this one happened to look. Wearing a butter wouldn't melt in my mouth grin, the grin's purple-haired owner peered down the end of his nose at their unexpected visitors. "To wHat do I oWe this uNfOrTuNaTe visit, hMmMm, future lAb-rAtS? I aM in tHe middle oF a vErY delicate oPeRaTiOn. I mUsT strongly suGgEst that yOu take yOuR scandalous lEaVe," The Maniac said with relish. His tone was one of scientific curiousity, mixed with a liberal dash of hostility and sprinkled with a pinch of fervent hope that his will would be done. The seeds of a fresh new plan sprouted within my mind and I hoped that it will bear the sweetest of fruit. Judging by the Musharna that was trapped within a machine behind The Maniac, whatever experiment operation he was conducting stood no chance of being good. "Xen Admin! What are you doing to that poor Musharna? Stop your experiments at once," I commanded imperiously. The Maniac's unhinged grin broadened all the more and he spoke. "Xen AdMin? I aM Dr. JeNkel. No mAtter, you've aLl seen tOo much. My eXperimEnt will dispOse of eAch and eVeRy one oF you," The Maniac said gleefully. Clapping his hands with sadistic relish, The Maniac - Dr. Jenkel - cackled maniacally and sent his experiment out in battle against me. "Alto," Karrina said hurriedly, "defeat this human monstrosity and I'll admit you into my gang." Ren pitched in his two Pokedollars. "Save Musharna! It can't be held accountable for the things it has been made to do," he said vehemently. Finding it very difficult to argue against their combined logic, I drew out my first Poke Ball and sent out my Level 15 Noibat. It was the most underleveled member of my team at present, but I knew that if I put in the hard yards in this early stage of the game, it would grow to become a behemoth worth keeping as a permanent fixture within my Party of Pokemon. "Noibat, Bite that Munna!," I commanded. My Noibat swooped forward and bit the left-hand, Level 17 Munna. It crashed to the factory floor, knocked utterly senseless by the critical and suppereffective hit and Venam's Level 23 Grimer put paid to the remaining Munna with Knock Off. Dr. Genwunner Jenkel sent out his Level 18 Musharna and I struck like a Seviper. "Noibat, Bite!," I shouted, as Venam simultaneously shouted, "Grimer, Knock it all of the way Off!." Dr. Jenkel's Mega Ring transformed the Musharna into a tanky Mega Musharna that Noibat's Bite grazed, but Grimer's Knock Off slapped slapped like a backhander from the blue. It shrieked with immeasurable pain before it hit the floor. It lay motionless upon the factory floor alongside of the Level 16 Munna that a now unsmiling Dr. Jenkel flung out with extreme malevolence. "MuNna, Fairy WiNd!," Dr. Jenkel called and a sense of trepidation flooded through me before my Noibat was knocked unconscious. I recalled it, sent in my shiny Litleo and a further Knock Off from Venam's Grimer knocked the Munna into next month. "GaH! She's gOing to kiLl me. FliNg me inTo a frIed malamari pOt and sTew me aNd my PoKeMon alive. I'm doOmEd!," Dr. Jenkel roared, recalling his fainted Pokemon. Venam and I followed suit with our own Pokemon and I vowed to revive and restore Noibat upon my first available opportunity. The Musharna was revived by Dr. Jenkel and it twitched where it levitated, then began to shake belligerent and ceaselessly. It seemed enraged at my team-mates and I, although I wasn't clear why this was. "It's really angry with us. Wait, whaaaaat? We saved its ungrateful grass! We saved it from its pain," I said, confounded by this latest development. Dr. Jenkel guffawed with laughter and then slapped his knees with childish, manic glee. "Of coUrse not! My mAcHiNe modifications hAd caused a sYmbiOtic effect. MuShArna does nOt apPreciAte its liNk being sEveRed. YoU sHoUlD fEar it. MuShArna was nEver in aNy harm...prObaBly," Jr. Jenkel said ambivalently. He spoke in an offhand tone that made me want to slap that goofy grin off of his smug approximation of a face. "Are you malfunctioing, you self-serving knock-off of Magnemite? I sincerely want to know," Ren said, mystified. I laughed out loud and Dr. Jenkel glared at me. I laughed even harder and his expression promised me a swift execution. I was unphased. I knew that I wouldn't let it come to that. "You LaUgH now. YoU will rEgrEt that laTer," Dr. Jenkel said in a soft tone made all the more menacing for its nonchalance. "Why would you help Pokemon and not harm them? It's been experimented upon. That's grounds alone in favour of you're lying!," I said heatedly. "Ding dInG ding, we hAve a WiNneR!," Dr. Jenkel said glacially. Venam gasped, Karrina clenched her jaw and Ren snarled at Dr. Jenkel. I could scarcely believe my ears when Dr. Jenkel added, "I nEeDed someone to tEsT out mY machine. CoMe back fOr chips aNd drinks! GeT out NoW." I didn't move a muscle. "First you engage us in battle. Then you threaten us, only to invite us back for food and drinks? I'm not going anywhere, Gen LOL, until I get some answers," I said seriously. "Uh, no, we're good. Let's leave while the leaving's too good to pass up. Alto, I swear, if I have to drag your stubborn grass on out of here, so help me, Helix, I will. Try me, bucko," Karrina growled warningly. "Go right ahead. I'll just Wring Out my answers from this brazil nut next chance I get," I vowed. Karrina grabbed my left arm, an apologetic-looking Venam grabbed my right arm and they frog-marched me out the factory at double-time speed. "ByE, fReiNdS! Don't DiE now!," Dr. Jenkel called pleasantly. Once outside of the factory, I was released with a shove from Karrina and I kept my balance. I turned back toward Karrina and I couldn't recollect having seen her look so livid. "We're not his friends. And way to throw a Stench into the pipeworks, Alto. What got into you back there? We're supposed to be a team!," Karrina snapped. "Way to let a perfect interrogation opportunity slip through our fingers, Karrina. We are a team. I'm its leader. I did say to follow my lead," I replied waspishly. "And what a lead it had been! You would have imprisoned us all there to simply satisfy your precious personal pride. I am not down to indulge your nonsensical grudge against all villains! You could have gotten us killed," Karrina said, getting right up into my face as she spoke. "Get. Out of my. Face," I said, in a deceptively-composed and level tone. "Make. Me," Karrina fired back. My first and secondary Pokemon were in my hands and held at my sides before I had even been aware of having drawn them. "Oh, you've asked for a world of plentiful pain. I'll be sure to provide it," I replied humourlessly. Karrina's expression turned pinched as she mimicked my actions and threw hands by revealing her own held Poke Balls. Before I could attempt to send out my first two Pokemon and punch the smug smirk off of Karrina's pretty but life-hardened face, Ren spoke. "Stand down, soldiers. It wasn't a complete waste of time. What have we learned so far, Venam?," he asked of Venam. His laconic enquiry diverted my attention inasmuch as my ears metaphorically perked up. Karrina was the first to return her Pokemon to her belt-clips. After a moment had passed, I responded in kind. Venam spoke. "We have learned that Team Xen are conducting Pokemon experiments. That is worthy of continual personal investigation. We have learned that we could have spent this time, instead, by using it to rescue Melia from Team Xen's dark intentions," Venam said coldly. "I was leading a team to tell you that! When did you learn that?," I enquired, only turning toward Venam when Karrina did. "Ren told me so during your battle. We were the battle bystanders, yeah? To the Batmobile! Er, to the Train Station," Venam said, flustered. She then rushed off toward the East Gearen Train Station, leaving Ren, Karrina and myself staring after her, flummoxed. "Um. Sorry that this didn't turn out as planned, Alto. I'm unused to being challenged. I don't like being anyone's subordinate. Here, accept this as an olive branch of sorts," Karrina said grimly. She handed me a TM94 Rock Smash and kept her hands casually by her sides. She was struggling to not reach for her Poke Balls. I appreciated the effort that she was making to resist her murkier, mobster-like tendencies. Well, if she could be civil, then so could I. My dislike of her had been downgraded to a tolerance of her. "Apology accepted. Thank you, Karrina. I'm equally sorry. Two alpha wolves such as you and I are bound to clash with frequency," I said lightly. "As you say. Good luck with the rescue of Melia. I do hope for the best possible outcome. Do pay a visit to my crib when you are done. Good day," Karrina replied flatly. She hurried off. If I had to hazard a guess, Karrina was on her way back to her gang's headquarters. I had to wonder what she had meant by the best possible outcome - did she still truly wish me to be harmed? - as I made good time to the pink-roofed train station. Her house? Why does Karrina wish for me to visit her personally? I don't know whether she wants to boa-constrict me to death or make good upon her word to induct me into her gang, She sends very mixed signals, I thought as I stepped forward to meet my team. Maybe she has a personal mission that would suit me down to a Tympole. I hope so, I thought, continuing along this train of thought which I had boarded, sight unseen. OK, Noibat would clearly have to serve as switch-in material until he caught up to my team's current maximum level. He'd prove himself worthy of me in future and so I considered this to be an investment within my battle future. Noibat wouldn't evolve for quite some time, but when he did, he would become pretty much unstoppable. I endeavoured to take the next available Route 2 train and explored the station's interiour. Amethyst Cave, I learned, had been a series of underground tunnels before the tragedy that had befallen this region had struck it. The sequential earthquakes had caused the tunnels to collapse, only to be painstakingly be uprooted and developed into a series of caves that were made accessible to the people aboveground. I zipped through the turnstile and met Ren and Venam upon the Route 2 platform. As soon as I approached them, Venam and Ren nodded to me. I boarded the train, listening to the sound of falling footsteps as Venam and Ren followed suit at my heels. The train journey was uneventful, filled with filler dialogues concerning Venam's fears over what might possibly have befallen Melia. I wasn't too concerned. Melia had been raised by Professor Jenner. As such, her Pokemon knowledge and skills were second only to my own at this point of our Pokemon journey. I'd been able to best two Gym Leaders thus far. I was no slouch in the power department. "Listen. There's no good reason why we should all sit here all depressed. This is an ordeal for us all, but we can and we will get through this together," I said encouragingly. "Right on!," Ren said loyally. Venam scowled, throwing her splayed fingers up in aggravation. "Easier said than done! If this slug-slow train does not haul grass to Route 2, I am going to unleash my Screech," Venam said viciously. "So, do you have a plan for this mission of ours?," Ren enquired sheepishly. Venam had only just gathered the requisite intake of air to do just what she had promised to do when Ren spoke to me. Venam slowly deflated her bated breath as she awaited my response. I arced a brow lazily, my stare pinning Ren to the metaphorical wall by the force of my willpower alone. "Does a Fearow fall to a Raichu?," I asked rhetorically. "Yeees. That would be your rhetorical question and answer," Ren answered falteringly. I gave a short, sharp nod in response. "What plan do we even need? Find Melia, bring her back to her home, mission possible," Venam interjected sullenly. "Yeah, but it can't possibly be as simple as that. We have got to apply some Adaptability so that if anything goes wonky at any point, we do or die," Ren argued. "Preferably, we get things done and stay alive. We should also hunt down those responsible and make them pay for their attempted abduction of our friend. Take them out, once and for all. It's what Karrina would do in my place," I said vengefully. "OK, but will we even be capable of that? They're an evil organisation. We're scrub Trainers at the start of our Pokemon journey," Ren pointed out. Venam growled deep within her throat and then she unleashed her banshee screech, which resulted within all hands covering all ears and all eyes glaring daggers in their absolute direction. "Alright, I get it. You're a Gym Leader of this region. Alto's a double-Badge victor and League challenger and I'm a single-Badge holding challenger. What makes you both think that we've got the Stone Edge for this?," Ren added. He looked justifiably unnerved in the wake of Venam's screech and this made me feel secretly awed by Venam. I would never admit it, though. "Tales have told of child prodigies eliminating evil villains before. Let me list them all. Red and Leaf decimated Team Rocket, Gold and Lyra devastated Team Rocket, Brendan and May dismantled Team Aqua and Team Magma within their alternate timelines, Dawn and Lucas dissolved Team Galactic and - yes, Ren, what is it?," Alto reeled off, momentarily distracted by Ren's seat-bouncing and his raised left hand. "Hilda and Hilbert pummeled Team Plasma, Calem and Serena obliterated Team Flare, Elio and Selene crushed The Aether Foundation, Team Skull and Team Rainbow Rocket and their league of alternate dimension evil team leaders," Ren added, enthused. Venam rolled her eyes. "Aaaand Victor and Victoria shut up the shops of Chairman Rose, Sordward and Shieldbert. They'd all managed to catch Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. Our teams aren't a patch upon theirs right now. We need to strengthen them further," Venam said. "We will. All of the aforementioned Trainers had been kids like us once. One, Ash Ketchum, still is a kid. An immortal one, at that, but still a kid. Our potential is just as strong as theirs. We'll only know if we try," I concluded. I raised an imaginary glass. "To never giving up! One day, we may even surpass them," I said, pouring a strength that I was brimming with into my level tone. "Alto - a goofball one moment, then a lone wolf the next. To never giving up!," Venam seconded, raising an imaginary glass of her own and clinking it against my own imaginary glass. Ren shook his head with a smile. "You oddballs. To never giving up," Ren said happily, mimicking Venam's actions and clinking his own pretend glass against Venam's and my own glass. My pep talk managed to raise a few snickers and cursory glances, but at least the vast majority of the passengers that we had previously irked had simmered down to a slow burn. The train reached Route 2. After an announcement stating their current location, Venam leapt up from her seat and ran to the train doors. "Venam! I know you're eager to get to Melia, but we've got to stick to -," Ren called, but Venam darted, solo, through the opening train doors. "Well, that went well," Ren said dismally, rising to his feet. "Definitely suboptimal," I agreed. "Let's catch up to Venam before she says or does something too rash, even for her," I added. Ren nodded and then we both stuck together. We left the train, performed a lengthy reconnaissance of the route and found Venam talking to a mysterious, black-hooded figure. The figure told them that Melia had not gone to Sheridan Village, but had instead ventured down to the mines. This made Venam metaphorically lose her head and take off yet again. Ren and I ran after her and soon found her battling a Team Xen Grunt. Once she had won the battle, Venam informed Ren and I that a Team Xen Admin was chasing after Melia. They then ventured to the Amethyst Cave Depths, where they found Melia, the Xen Admin and a Xen Admin with spiky blonde hair. He reminded me of Matt Ishida from Digimon, with that outlandish mop of his. "What have you done with Melia Jenner?," I asked, injecting an unstoppable confidence and hostility into my challenging, authoritative tone. The Admin turned to face my team and I, a bemused grin upon his otherwise neutral face. There was a swirling vortex of whirling, circular energy that I recognised as being yet another infernal Dimensional Rift. It seemed that we were to have the dubious honour of a Dimensional Rift Pokemon battle repeat. Ren grimaced. "Who are you, anime protagonist wannabe?," he enquired of the figure. "If only you hadn't seen fit to interfere within Goldenwood Forest...Alto. All of this could have been prevented. I see that your cavalry has arrived here with you this go-around. For the sake of your team-mates' elucidation, I am Xen Admin Zetta," Admin Zetta said in a brittle tone. "Prevented, how? We could do without your coded rhetoric, Zetta. Tell us what you refer to!," I said, my voice rising with the steady lifting of my ire within me. "We were all too late. Melia...is dead," Admin Zetta said simply. You could have heard a pin drop within this rocky cavern. Venam was the first to react. "NO, you sorry EXCUSE for a sad-sack LIAR! That's not true. That CAN'T be true!," Venam shouted, her response torn from her throat as if unbidden by her. "This is just a trick that you've devised and employed to get us to leave, but WE WON'T!," Venam added, as Ren placed a consoling hand upon her left shoulder. Venam jerked her shoulder free of his grip with a subtle shift upon her spot and then shook her head fiercely. Admin Zetta shook his head slowly and sadly, his expression somber as he spoke. "If only that were so. I rushed down to the depths, brought down here by a massive crash. All that I saw upon my arrival here was a broken bridge...and a Galvantula, gnawing upon the remains of this," Zetta said, flinging Melia's satchel bag down upon the floor in front of our feet. "You expect us to believe, in all possible seriousness, that this is all that remains of Melia. I'm not going to ask you again. Where. Is Melia?," I all but snarled, trying my best to keep my burgeoning rage in check. "Alto. Stop," Venam said hollowly, the defeat within her tone making me glance sharply at the Gym Leader. "I kn - know that bag. I would know i - it anywhere. It's Mel's. My friend's," Venam said, falling to her hands and knees before the battered and venom-drenched bag. She grabbed it and hugged it against her chest with both hands, rocking back onto her heels as she did this. Scrunching her eyes shut, Venom rocked inconsolably to and fro where she knelt, unreachable in her deep-seated grief. Ren shook his head swiftly. "A bag does not constitute firm grounds for absolute death. You could have snatched it from Melia to use it as sullied and planted evidence, as a misdirection so that you could escape with Melia. I don't believe you one bit, Cheddar Cheese. The jig is up for you," Ren said savagely. After what seemed to have been the longest possible time, Venam opened her eyes, looked up at me and spoke. "That bag can be no-one else's but Melia's. Professor Jenner bought it for her last year, as a birthday gift to her. Melia valued it as she had valued her very life. She would go nowhere without wearing it slung over her preferred shoulder. It has a custom Hapi embroidery upon its side. There's no mistaking it," Venam said hoarsely, "although I dearly wish otherwise." Ren's shoulders slumped where he stood. "No...it can't be," Ren muttered coarsely. "It's all your fault, Xen, that Melia is gone! You'll pay severely, ever so dearly for this. I swear it...upon my friend Melia's restless and wandering soul," Venam snapped at Admin Zetta. "You're understandably distraught right now. Believe me, I empathise. The failure is utterly my own. She had been my main target. I'll return to HQ and accept my consequences. My punishment. This is my end as well," Admin Zetta said grimly. "Oh, no, you don't! I will be your executioner. Alto, let me take point. For Melia!," Venam yelled viciously. Admin Zetta's remorseful expression hardened into a mask of cold indifference. His hands slipped to the Poke Balls that were clipped to his leather belt and so my own hands drew my first two Poke Balls from my own white-leather belt. "Don't misunderstand me. I will be your Reaper, Venam of Gearen City Gym," Admin Zetta said smoothly. "Bring it on, pin-cushion psychopath! Show me what you've got," Venam said with relish. She drew her first two Poke Balls from her jacket's inner-left pocket and stood ready to launch them into battle. "Venam will not face you alone. I'll battle alongside of my comrade. Go, my Pokemon team," I called, about to send my first two 'mons into battle. Admin Zetta gave a deeply disturbing laugh that set my whole being on tremendous edge. "Oh, I'm not going to be your opponent. The Rift at my back will provide the means to your obliteration. You asked what this energy blob is? Alto can tell you that," Admin Zetta said snarkily. Without wrenching my gaze away from Admin Zetta's, I cleared my throat and spoke. "That is a Dimensional Rift. The Pokemon within it has been warped into a more powerful version of itself. I had fought a Rift Pokemon before. It was a Gyarados of immense size and strength. But this one may contain a different Rift Pokemon," I explained, somewhat patiently. Admin Zetta aimed finger guns at me, shook them a few times in the fashion of taking shots at me, then blew upon the tops of his pointer-fingers. He pretended to holster the pretend guns as he nodded. "Exactly! It's a Dimensional Rift, of the gargantuan Galvantula that I'd mentioned earlier. Let it further gnaw upon the three of you!," Admin Zetta said, with a derision that emanated with a caustic, palpable bite. "Follow me to my grave, if you please. Galvantula, have at them. Eat your fill, you've earned it," Admin Zetta continued ominously. Ren, Venam and I tried to fight the pull of the Rift, but it proved beyond our internal strength and we were vacuumed into the Rift. After a feeling of extreme queasiness, we were deposited, upon our feet, within The Rift. The air itself was crimson red. The trees that surrounded us brought no consolation. They were the same cherry blossom trees that were a staple of the forest itself, but they looked unnatural. Their new locale had nothing upon the bleakness of Venam's current mood. "It's all so ducking hopeless. Melia had been dead long before we'd set foot within that damn cave. So what. Is. The POINT?," Venam snapped. "What's the point, you ask? I'll tell you. We're the point. Us. Me. Alto. Without us to run defence, all worlds will be dominated by Xen. Run by Team Xen. Run by that trash heap of Garbodor, Zetta. Is that what you want, Venam?," Ren replied gravely. All of the bluster seemed to drain out of Venam at once as she considered Ren's response. I decided to chip in my own two cents, for whatever they were worth. "Ren's right. If we roll over and let Team Xen kick us to oblivion while we are down, we would only lower ourselves to their level. We're not them. We're so much better than them and we cannot let them defeat us. To never giving up, right? Let's bounce back from this setback and knock their villainous behinds down like ten-pins. It's not over. It'll never be over. Not until we rain Hell, high water and everything else in between those things and extremes down upon their skulls," I pitched in rebelliously. It wasn't in me to concede nor admit defeat. I could see that I'd given Venam alot to consider. I waited, with bated breath, as Venam slowly adapted to the taste of my response, then steadily digested my response as though it were the treasured last half of a hand-rolled sushi roll. Finally, Venam spoke. "That's fine and all, but...I don't care anymore," Venam answered in a monotone. "That's it, then? You'll stay here and let this place kill you? Venam, it will grant your death wish, but it won't give you a swift and worthy of you death. It will wear you down gradually until you'll have nothing left to give to it but the last remaining shred of your humanity, of your sanity. Melia wouldn't want that for you. She would want you to carry on," Ren said curtly. "How dare you even PRESUME that YOU would even KNOW what Mel would have WANTED for me? My friend is DEAD. Kaput. No longer of this or any other world," Venam replied cuttingly. "You're just going to let her killer go unpunished, then? Just go on living while Melia cannot?," Ren posited. "WHAT!?," Venam shrieked, glaring absolute daggers and all at Ren. "While we sit here," I interjected, trying to defuse the heavy tension, "Zetta is strolling out of Amethyst Cave, scot-free, with no-one to oppose him. Shouldering no regret at all. He's walking away." Venam seemed to be visibly regathering the very last vestiges of her composure and banishing the very last of her gloom and melancholy. "You're both right. I - I've been such a self-centred idiot. I can't give up here. I want my revenge. Melia's revenge. I want to be the one to extract the fullest measure of retribution and repayment from Zetta. He put Mel into the crossfire and he must PAY!," Venam shouted. She then winced and rubbed soothingly and carefully at her throat, having singed it with her earlier yelling. "You'll recover, trailblazer. Now let's go, while the going is great," Ren said sensibly. "Absolutely. I'd rather that we all not die here. Not at all. We have a job to do. A mission to accomplish to the letter. Extraction to get to. Melia and I encountered a Rift earlier. It had been my ticket out of itself. It'll be no different here," I contributed. "How exactly are we to escape this sorry place?," Ren asked. "Simple. We defeat the Rift Pokemon that's a part of it. In this instance, the Rift Galvantula. It's unavoidable and cruel...that Galvantula had no part in this. I refuse to believe that it had. I refuse to believe Zetta, full stop," I answered. "It's as much to blame for Melia's demise as Zetta had been," Venam said stubbornly, "and as such, it deserves to share his fate." Ren sighed. "It's just a wild Pokemon. It probably sought to protect its progeny from Melia. It has that right, Venam," Ren replied. "Cool evildoer defence, bro. Whose side are you on, anyway? Ours or Xen's? Because as far as I am concerned, it's a Xen Galvantula," Venam said loftily. Ren appeared truly taken-aback by Venam's character questioning. "Ours. It has no-one to spring to its defence. I guess we have no other option. It;'s Galvantula or us and I choose our team," Ren replied grouchily. They ventured North and soon stopped not far away from a giant-sized pink egg. The egg was surrounded by black-furred Joltik with magenta, unblinking and beady eyes. Their legs were tipped with magenta and they were miniature in size, but they more than made up for their lack of intimidation with their focused, glossy stare. "Rift Galvantula is in that egg. We have to hatch it somehow. A single knock should do it," I said. Approaching the egg with the utmost of deep wariness and foreboding, I knocked once upon the egg, then hurried back to stand in front of my team-mates. The egg cracked, then split open completely. The massive Rift Galvantula that I had been envisioning within my mind up until now emerged from its egg. My approximation of its size had not even scratched a dent within the reality of it, especially up-close and deeply personal. It was an absolute behemoth. Venam spoke first. "D - do normal Galvantula grow freaky, scorpion-like tails?," she asked, her voice quavering as she spoke. "No, they certainly don't. I'll take point again because I've experience with Rift 'mons. Stay where you are and give me secondary cover. Ren, be my doubles partner. Let's defeat these obstacles and be gone from here!," I commanded bravely. Ren nodded and then we flung out our Pokemon. The battle began with my Level 22 Brionne and Ren's Level 22 Frogadier. Our opponents were a Level 17 and 18 Joltik duo. Round one began in earnest. "Brionne, Disarming Voice!," I commanded, betting the metaphorical kit and kaboodle that these Pokemon were twisted Dark types. Ren followed my lead. "Frogadier, Water Pulse, NOW!," Ren commanded instantly. Frogadier and Brionne burst into action. Frogadier's Water Pulse blasted the left-hand Joltik into a watery oblivion, while Brionne's Disarming Voice dealt a hefty ammount of damage to the other Joltik, taking its health down to yellow range. Three quarters of its health, gone in a singular turn of battle. I cracked a broad and brilliant grin, proud of my Brionne. Ren glanced at me, noticed my good cheer and gave a brief smile of his own, which he let drop fairly quickly. "Battle's ongoing, my friend. Keep upon the attack. Don't get too cocky," Ren advised. "Brionne, Disarming Voice as needed! Marvelous work," I called to my dual type Pokemon. She barked in response and continually blasted the Level 20 Joltik that had joined the fray, as well as the already-damaged Joltik. "You got it, Lieutenant Ren. You sure you weren't named for Kylo Ren?," I enquired of Ren, in an aside that I had intended to lighten the atmosphere and the pressurised mood. "Icy Wind, Frogadier!," Ren bellowed at his water frog. Frogadier complied as I recalled Brionne and sent out my Level 22 Geodude. "Smack Down!," I demanded. My Geodude performed one of its more powerful moves and the damaged Joltik fainted. Ren's Icy Wind dealt alot of damage to the other Joltik as the main attraction, the Rift Galvantula, skittered forward to battle us upon its own turf. "It's time for you to send us to our homes! Geodude, Smack it Down until it's out for the count," I commanded with certainty. Geodude gave a roar of approval and then it surged toward the pink and purple, scorpion-esque Rift Galvantula. The monstrous Pokemon took the hit, which broke its shield, but otherwise did no damage to it. The sneaky critter then Mega Evolved and Sucker Punch-ed my Geodude until it fainted. Recalling my Geodude as the secondary Joltik took Frogadier out with Electroweb attacks, I sent out my shiny Level 20 Litleo. Two shield removals later and the Galvantula took down my Litleo and Ren's Corvisquire with Electrowebs, necessitating my switch-in of my Feebas and Ren's swap-in of his Cacnea. I started to wonder if Venam would have been a better double type match to have gone with, but I set my jaw and carried on. "Feebas, Dazzling Gleam!," I ordered boldly. "Faint Attack, Cacnea," Ren commanded. Our attacks dealt more damage to Rift Galvantula, but it was chip damage. The Rift Galvantula took down our Pokemon with Cross Poison attacks, moving with an almost blinding speed. I scowled and then slung out my Level 22 Streamline, my shiny Fletchinder. Ren cursed and sent out his Level 23 Growlithe. "Streamline, Ember attack!," I called forcibly. "Growlithe, Bite," Ren ordered immediately. Streamline's Ember hit for decent damage and inflicted Burn status upon the irritating tarantula Pokemon. Ren's Bite dealt decent damage, sending it into the red. "Quick Attack, Stream!," I drawled to my Fire/Flying bird. Streamline squawked in response and performed those actions and attacks, moving like liquid quicksilver across the field. The Galvantula landed a two-hit Sucker Punch - I KNEW that it was cheating, Sucker Punch was ordinarily a one hit strike - before Streamline could get to it, but Ren's Growlithe ended the battle with a Flame Burst that consigned that oversized spider into an early grave. The egg and its spiders disappeared and we recalled our Pokemon. "Did we do the thing?," Ren asked, "and about my name, that's for me to know...and you to maaaybe find out in future. If I want for you to find that out." Venam rolled her eyes with a theatrical sigh. "If you two are quite finished," she said grimly, "we'd best get out of here." The Rift inexorably Hoovered us all back into its roiling depths and we found ourselves back in Amethyst Cave Depths. "How extraordinarily perplexing. We're back home...ish," I said, amazed by our greatest escape to date. Venam's gaze was focused upon the dwindling Rift. "Zetta! He's escaped. Damn it all, we're too late," Venam said gloomily. "I wouldn't make assumptions if I were you. Alto, if you would kindly step aside?," Admin Zetta said, speaking from some point behind Ren, Venam and I. My jaw clenched as I grudgingly stepped aside for the man to pass me, I turned as my team-mates did and watched Admin Zetta bolt forward, then get propelled forward by some jettisoning force. He landed face-down upon the ground and lay there, immobile, as the same Gothitelle from Jenner's laboratory and a young woman whom I presumed had to be her owner materialised swiftly at Admin Zetta's feet, standing before us all. "Excellent! You've all emerged relatively unscathed from the Rift. Far faster than I had expected for you to have escaped its grip, too," The Woman said evenly. "Just grand. Now who is this person?," Venam grumbled. "I remain within the shadows," The Woman said mysteriously, "and strike when need be. Those who are unfortunate enough to make contact with me known me...as Crescent," The Woman said enigmatically. "Wait a minute. That Gothitelle, that voice. You're the voice that Alto and I had heard back at Jenner's lab!," Ren called to Crescent. Crescent smiled a thin smile that was void of all emotion. "That had, indeed, been me. To see the three of you here is disappointing to me. It's ignorance when perfectly good advice is not adhered to. Especially when said advice was meant...to protect a certain individual," Crescent added maliciously. Admin Zetta slowly regained his footing, swaying unsteadily as he clambered to his feet. "Argh, this is not my day. Idiots plague me from all corners, Trainer scrubs manage to get the best of my Rift spiders. It's. Not. Fair," Admin Zetta hissed. "Zetta, you repulsive animal. Must you never contribute anything of substance to any given conversation?," Crescent said unfeelingly. Admin Zetta was silent. "Good, stay quiet. You will now learn that animals that can't behave cannot remain in public. You will be placed into a place where you'll be unable to wreak any harm at all. Gothitelle, if you would?," Crescent said malevolently. Her Gothitelle, with its strange pink and black colouration, prepared to do Crescent's bidding. "Wait, what are you doing? No. NOOOO!," Admin Zetta wailed, as he popped out of sight, transported via magic to only Crescent knew where. "Where did you send him?," I asked, as peaceably as I could, given the circumstances and my rising horror. "Somewhere inconsequential. He will be dealt with later. I warned you two that this path would lead to ruin and despair. Yet you ignored my warning and continued upon this pointless endeavour," Crescent said sternly. "We didn't ignore your words on purpose! We just had to rescue our friend - we had to do something worthwhile," Ren replied. "What Ren said," I added, Venam nodded. Crescent expelled a rapid, weary and heavy sigh. "And what exactly, pray tell, did that achieve? What did that bring?," Crescent demanded icily. We all said nothing. "Exactly. You've endangered your own lives for a girl that was killed far before you could even have a chance to save her life," Crescent said. Her tone of snide superiourity made Ren and I bristle and made Venam remain silent. "You three were waaaay over your heads. All that you'd set yourselves up for had been failure. Alto...no, all three of you. Return to East Gearen City and stay there," Crescent continued. "Involving yourselves within the affairs of things that don't pertain to you will result in nothing less than tragedy. You'll find ample proof of that within these last few events. Remember that this has been the price of your being weak," Crescent concluded. The Gothitelle and its master disappeared with the sound of water whirling down a drain. "Let's go back home," I said wearily, not wanting to think too much about the ghoulish Gothitelle and its supercilious master. Mistress, was it not? I couldn't find it within me to much care about proper title designation. We all returned to East Gearen City, as per Crescent's request. Venam gave us temporary accommodation within her home and we took her up upon her offer. For the past several days, Ren and Venam had been silent. I found myself opening my mouth to say something, to say anything, but it was to no avail. A sudden and sharp look from Ren and Venam made me slowly close my mouth. I gazed out over the Oceana Ward's left-hand pier after a walk one of those days and Ren was the one to find me here. "So this is where you'd gotten to, Alto. Venam's finally leaving her house. I don't think that's a good thing, but she's acting like nothing at all has happened. Which isn't healthy, really. I hadn't known Melia for too long, but I noticed something straight away," Ren said conversationally, striding forward to stand by my left shoulder. I hadn't been consulted as to whether or not I would have liked his company, but in the grand scheme of things, I supposed that it mattered little. "You and Melia clicked almost immediately. It was spooky, as if you'd both known each other for years. It's OK to be sad. It's fine to not be sad. People handle grief differently, as I'd been told as a child," Ren continued. Although I really didn't know where Ren was going to with this meandering conversation, I allowed him to get to his point eventually. "Several days have elapsed. I'm done crying. I won't forget Melia and I want to fight for her. I will extract unspeakable pain from Team Xen as payback for what had been done to her. What they had done to her should never have been done to her," Ren said pointedly, finally getting to the tail end of his point. "If I stay here in Gearen City, I won't grow any stronger. If I can't get stronger, I can't avenge Melia. So...I'm leaving Gearen City," Ren said solemnly. "Where will you go? You will be missed," I said, speaking from my heart. Ren has been a good friend to me. Ren pressed his lips into a thin line. "I'm going back home to finish what I had started. And once I get strong enough, Team Xen will stand not even a sliver of a chance against me. I am going to annihilate them all. I don't think that you should stay here, either," Ren confessed. "And why do you think that?," I asked lightly. "Team Xen kidnapped your mother, attacked you, left you to potentially drown and killed a friend of ours. You need to get stronger also. Complete the Gym Challenge," Ren said firmly. "Where do I go next?," I asked at once. "Heh. Eager to get there? I'm unsurprised. The next Gym that you should tackle is Sheridan Village's Gym. You can get there by a run-through of Amethyst Cave. It's a nice and peaceful place. I've passed through it a few times. It'll be a clear your head place for you, Alto. You'll able to Purify your Shadow Pokemon once there," Ren said. "It's a place of purity and tranquility, yes?," I enquired tonelessly. Ren blinked, surprised by my correct guess. "It is. How did you know that?," Ren asked gently. I shrugged. "You made it sound just like it would have been that kind of Zen space," I answered honestly. It sounded like an 'Oooooooom' haven. Ren chuckled and then he turned as though to leave. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way, then. Good luck out there, Alto. We're pulling for you," Ren said earnestly, giving my left shoulder a tight squeeze before he walked off along the pier. "Bye, Ren. Thanks and likewise. I hope to see you sometime soon," I called to my friend. Ren lifted his left hand in an airy wave of farewell and then left it there for a moment before he lowered it back to his left side. "Likewise, mate. Cheers," Ren called back over his left shoulder. He then faded into the middle distance, moving further away. I decided to first go and pay a certain mobster a visit. "Hit girl better have my mission," I murmured, setting off to visit Karrina. Why anyone would choose to build their home near the Abandoned Sewers, I thought distastefully, I will never know. Upon entering the house that I had first seen Karrina stand in front of, I was met by the sight of a black and gold entrance carpet and a staircase that I hoped did not lead to literal Hell, or to Karrina's best approximation of it. "Here goes perhaps nothing," I grumbled. I descended the silver staircase. ********************************************************************************************* "The abandoned factory. I can't remember ever having seen this place's interiour," Ren said pensively. Judging by its exteriour, Arpeggio had to admit that the glass and steel facade looked innocuous enough, but the maniacal laughter from within it dispelled that image right proper. He led the way, sweeping past Karrina in order to try to assert his dominance of the situation. Once within the factory, Arpeggio turned to face his comrades. Immediately rewarded with a look of extreme disgruntlement from Karrina, who seemed to clearly detest having to take her cue from a 'green' kid, Arpeggio beamed at Karrina, who merely rolled her eyes in response. This elicited a small, amused chuckle from Ren. Karrina whipped her gaze toward Ren, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Ren returned her look with one of undaunted innocence. Karrina heaved a protracted sigh and then returned her gaze to Arpeggio. "Let's get one thing stick-straight, Fearless Leadfoot. We're here to trounce some Admin, not go in guns blazing and turn it all to rack and ruin. Get it? Got it? Superb," Karrina snapped, getting into Arpeggio's face as she ground this out. "Got it, Gangster Gwen Stacy. Now let's Rollout while the rolling's good," Arpeggio said, in a level tone. He held Karrina's gaze until she was the first to look away. Striding forward over the neon tiles effortlessly and elegantly, Arpeggio made his way toward the maniacal laughter that ricocheted off the walls around them. Whatever this place had been, it was clear that it had been repurposed recently. The ragtag remnants of machines littered the periphery of the eerie vicinity. Venam stood within the room's centre, her back facing away from Arpeggio and company. "Hey, Oh Venomous One. What in tarnation are you doing, messing about here solo? You could have trusted us to have your back," Arpeggio called. Venam spun to face him, an expression of bemusement upon her face which served to temper her surprise. "Arpeggio! Your name is quite the tongue-twister. I'm going to call you Gio from here on out. You will dig it," Venam said decisively. Before Arpeggio could chip in with an "I couldn't more highly doubt that," Karrina sprinted forward and hurled herself at Venam in a bearhug which stole Venm's breath completely. "Venam, you minx and miscreant! I was so worried about you. How could you dart ahead like that? You KNOW that where you go, we all go. Don't do that again," Karrina howled, drawing back as a mortified Venam awkwardly patted her repeatedly between her shoulder-blades. Arpeggio started to speak, but a full-bodied alarm's banshee shriek interrupted him at full blast. "Might I suggest that we leave admonishments for after the Admin's defeat? Let's GO!," Arpeggio ordered. Everyone fell into line as the group ventured ever deeper into the factory. They soon encountered a purple-haired man who stood before a creepy machine. Connected to the machine was a massive Musharna. An abundance of flowers wreathed the arch of the machine that held it. Whether or not its current accommodations suited it was yet to be determined. "You there, Admin Atrocious! What do you think you're doing to that poor Musharna?," Venam yowled, ignoring the look of censure that Karrina flung her way. "XeN AdMiN? WeLp, nO MaTteR, yOu HaVe SeEn tOo MuCh!," Purple Hair said, momentarily flummoxed. He recovered remarkably well and with an admirable swiftness as he continued to speak. "I gUeSs I'LL hAvE tO tEsT oUt My ExPeRiMeNt oN aLl oF yOu. YiPpeE kI yAyzA!," Purple Hair added, unfazed. Venam looked positively monopolised by monotony. "You'd skipped out when they'd been handing out intelligence, hadn't you. Figures. You still haven't answered my question, though, Dr. Imbecile. Answer me!," Venam snarled. She was in no mood for games and Arpeggio was of that same mind. They weren't here to make nice. They were here to shut this Admin and this place, preferably, down with him. Purple Hair glared at Venam, his tension-locked body supremely inconducive to her high level of malevolence. " "Arpeggio, defeat this man and you can roll with my Gang. Save Musharna and it'll be a done deal," Karrina said hotly, clenching her fists as she stood at tense attention beside Arpeggio. "We wIlL sEe aBoUt ThAt, yOu pIlFeRiNg pAcK rAtS! MuShArNa, Go," Purple Hair hissed rebelliously. He sent forth his Munnas. Partnering with Ren to take down Purple Hair and his monstrous Musharna, Arpeggio sent out his Level 21 Buizel and the battle was on. With clear sightlines to both of Purple Hair's Level 16 and Level 17 Munnas, Arpeggio feared not this stingless fight. "Buizel, Pursuit! Take that left-hand Munna down," Arpeggio commanded, as Ren yelled to his Pokemon. "Frogadier, Water Pulse that right-hand Munna. You've got this!." Their combined attacks swept the left-hand Munna into the oblivion of unonsciousness, necessitating Purple Hair's switch-out of the fainted Munna and his switch-in of his Musharna. The Musharna immediately Mega Evolved thanks to Purple Hair's Mega Ring - Arpeggio called hax - and then it used a Mist Ball, which hit for major damage. A final Level Munna stood no chance when Arpeggio switched out Buizel. Sending out his Padfoot, Arpeggio brought the battle to its inevitable close. "Padfoot, Snarl!," Arpeggio shouted. His Padfoot snarled at Musharna and Munna and dealt damage while dropping their Special Attack stat. Ren's Water Pulse finished them off. "RuH-oH, I aM AlL kInDs oF rOaStEd tOaSt! MaAm wIlL dEcImAtE mE eGrEgIoUsLy," Purple Hair whined. He recalled his Pokemon, leaving the disgruntled Musharna to bellow its indignation. "Moo SHAR nuh!," Musharna grumbled, filled with incandescent wrath. "That Musharna is angry with us? How Farfetch'd!," Karrina opined. Arpeggio rolled his eyes with a drawn out sigh. "You've had your fun. We've saved Musharna from pain, so relinquish it into our trust and care," Arpeggio said to Purple Hair, who merely scoffed in response. "OF cOurSe I WiLl NoT! DoN't bE sO CeRtAiN. My mAcHiNe MoDiFiCaTiOnS hAve WrOuGhT a SyMbIoTiC eFfEcT uPoN tHiS sUbJeCt. HuEheUhEhUeHeUhEhUe!," Purple Hair sneered. Karrina folded her arms, rolled her eyes and then spoke. "Man's nuttier by far than ten million boxes of nuts and bolts. This man's not helping Pokemon, he is harming them! He wouldn't be experimenting upon them otherwise," she advised. Purple Hair nodded and grinned. "YeS, gIVe ThAt wOmAn a PrIzE! AlL ScIeNtIsTs gEt PrOfIlEd aS a GrOup, bUt YoU hAvE aLl pAsSeD mY tEsT. ToP mArKs aLl aRoUnD! Oh, jOy," Purple Hair replied. After a moment had passed, Purple Hair spoke. "YoU gUyS aRe RaDiCaLlY cOol mCGhOuL! CoMe BaCk aNyTiMe fOr SnAcKs aNd DrInKs," Purple Hair concluded. Arpeggio gave his best approximation of an appreciative smile. "Er, thanks, we're good for now. We'll just leave. Bye, Geek McGeekface. We'll probably not be seeing you. Laters!," Arpeggio said. With a pointed look at his team, Arpeggio turned and took swift strides out of the factory. "ByE, I aM Dr. JeNkEl!," Purple Hair called. Arpeggio was relieved to hear the answering footfalls of Ren, Karrina and Venam as he emerged into the clear skies of Gearen City, Aevium Region. "That was more of a bust than I'd initially hoped that it would not be. A false alarm for the ages. We could have been on our way to Sheridan to check upon Melia," Arpeggio said, the moment that he had been joined by his cohort. Venam nodded, her teeth clenched as she did so. Unclenching her jaw, the Poison Leader spoke with quiet menace. "Gio's right. Waaaaait...what's that, now? Melia's in Sheridan? Explain," Venam snapped. "We'll explain it on our way to the station. Move your Grass, Venam! Time's a-wasting," Ren said. The group then made their way to the East Gearen Train Station, leaving Karrina and Arpeggio at the Factory entrance. "Well, shucks. This didn't turn out as expected, but whatevs, Trevs. Take this, it's the very least that I can do," Karrina said, handing Arpeggio a TM94 Rock Smash. Placing the TM94 within the Key Items pocket of his backpack, Arpeggio spoke. "Thanks, Karrina. I'll need to get going now. Got to hustle on through to meet Ren and Ven at the Station," Arpeggio said. Karrina nodded empathetically. "Right on. Good luck with saving Melia. And when all that's said and done, do visit me at my tricked-up crib. I have a mission for you, Gio-dude. Hah! Catch you on the flip-side," Karrina said. She then turned and made haste back to her place. "Gio...actually, as nicknames go, I don't hate Gio-dude. It's better than Giovanni, at any rate," Arpeggio muttered to himself, even as he began to venture away from the factory. Given the choice, he would much rather go and receive his mission details from Karrina, but first, he had a Melia to track down and bring back. Arpeggio met Ren and Venam upon the train station platform and they boarded the train to Route 2. (A/N: EDITED. Alot to see and read here right now. Knock yourself out.) ******************************************************************* Upload Schedule: Three current works upon this site necessitates a lot of time spent writing and editing, switch-ups of dialogue and so on. I will Endeavour to upload new creative content here with regularity. I'll try to not let too much time pass during uploads. I play each game as I write my take upon their story and scenes. This can be a blessing and a curse at times as I multitask between gameplay and writing. There exists this pesky little thing called muse. It strikes when it strikes and as soon as it does, it must be acted-upon. We all also have a life to live in the meantime and so that compounds matters all the more, but we all do what we can, as best as we can, when and where we can. Reviews: I cannot stress the fact more that reviews are key. I'm not trying to be salty or a gaslighter, but reviews are what make our content here well worth the effort and dedication of writing and uploading them here. In my honest opinion, leaving a critique or even just dropping a "Hi, I like your content" does and would go a long way to pay it forward to your fellow, hardworking writer/content creator. I can lead a metaphorical horse to water, but I can't make it drink. It's up to you to review if and when you're moved to do so. Writing without reviews feels more like journaling to me. It is isolating and frustrating at times, but it is ultimately worth doing to chronicle your thoughts, feelings and take upon these games.

Nicely done! I agree, the Nidoran lines have been served the ultimate in justice in Rejuvenation. :) They are spectacular.

Alright, alright, alright! Thank you to everyone whom has taken the opportunity to read this story of mine thus far. Over 200 views and counting? Man, that does impress me very much. xD I'm hoping that you'll enjoy this next chapter just as much as I hope you had enjoyed my previous chapters. Writing this is great fun and I hope that you all find it to be an entertaining page-turner now and in future. Enjoy. V_R. * Chapter Three: The Flo of Brains and Brawn Alisa smoothly entered the final battle room, her eyes clashing with those of Florinia as she did so. She could feel the rattle of the Poke Balls within her Bag with every step that she took. Hoodlum hugged his paws around her neck in a swift, encouraging embrace and Alisa lightly scratched the spiky scruff of his neck on auto-pilot, never faltering as she did this. Reaching Florinia as she stood upon the white square upon the ground that reminded her of a baseball diamond, Alisa silently drew her Backpack from her shoulders. She withdrew her first team member’s Pokemon Ball from its main pocket and then held it ready to throw. The square that stretched out between Florinia and herself contained sand the colour of melted butter and a few rocks that looked weathered and scratched from Pokemon attacks. A smattering of moss green plants rounded out the desert themed décor. It was a very pretty picture indeed. Florinia spoke, her own first Poke Ball held at the ready within her favoured hand. “A clean sweep…or so you seek. Initiate battle,” Florinia said, deploying her first Pokemon. Alisa sent out her first Pokemon, Rider, to counteract the Level 22 Maractus. “Air Cutter!,” Alisa shouted, and Rider buffeted a strong and sudden gust of air toward Maractus. The Maractus screeched in pain as the super-effective move dwindled it down to a quarter of its health points. “Sand Tomb, Maractus. Counter it!,” Florinia called. Her Maractus span several times upon the spot, whipping up a sand cyclone in response. Rider winced in pain as the sand grains struck his leathery bat-wings and skin. He tanked the attack like a pro, receiving minimum damage from it. In his second turn of battle, Rider took down the Maractus with another Air Cutter. Florinia recalled her fainted Maractus, then sent in her Ferroseed. Calling back her Rider, Alisa sent in her Level 23 Hoodlum. A few Headbutts took out the Ferroseed, which led to the send-in of Florinia’s Level 23 Cradily. Calling Hoodlum out of the battle, Alisa sent in Noxious, whom she had Poison Gas the Cradily. The Cradily roared in pain as the poisonous gas attack poured forth into its personal space. Breathing it in an unwary inhalation, Cradily was rendered poisoned upon first contact. Alisa let the Poison sap away at the Cradily’s health points, the chip damage from Sludge resulting within Cradily's steady decline and defeat. Florinia sent in her Level 22 Cottonee, which Alisa dealt with using Rider’s speed and Air Cutter attacks. Level 23 Cacnea was next up. Retrieving Rider, Alisa called out Daenerys and took it down with help from her Moxie Ability. “Challenger receives The Canopy Badge. Conclusion foregone,” Florinia said. She strode forward and handed Alisa her Gym Badge. “Thank you, Florinia,” Alisa said, humbled by the experience and immensely proud of her Pokemon. She recalled her relieved-looking Mightyena. “Amazing job, Dany. I couldn’t have won it without you,” Alisa praised her white dog Pokemon. Daenerys wuffed. She wagged her tail in response before the crimson light-beam zipped her back into her temporary home. “Pokemon will obey you up to Level 35. Please accept this TM,” Florinia said, handing over TM96 Nature Power. Alisa packed the TM96 away into her Bag’s TMs and HMs pocket. As Alisa thanked Florinia for her new TM and then turned to leave, Florinia spoke up. “The Jasper and Beryl Wards remain besieged by Meteor. In my stead, I ask that you purge them for me. Take this,” Florinia added, and handed Alisa the PULSE Dex. “Data input can now be read by your PokeGear. Tangrowth's data comes pre-installed. Future subjects require separate data acquisition. Passage to Jasper is granted. Watch for surrounding data readouts,” Florinia concluded. Alisa healed up her Pokemon and then she left the School. Backtracking to Opal Ward, Alisa made her way to Lower Peridot Ward. At Grandview Station, Alisa encountered a Numel who was standing numbly in the rain. Alisa fed the baffled Pokemon some Pokemon Snax and it then, after several soft resets, joined her Party. She nicknamed her new camel Pokemon Inferno, because she liked the sound of it. Soon after bypassing a fountain and trekking down a side-street within the upper half of Peridot Ward, Alisa finally reached West Peridot ward and the Jasper Ward gate. Alisa continued her journey, determined to not stop until she reached the very peak. She found a petrified Mareep making sharp and sudden tracks through an otherwise-abandoned house. One GourmetTreat and several Soft Resets later snagged Alisa a shiny, ethereal-looking Mareep who would become a trusted and invaluable part of her Party. Alisa eventually ventured through the mishmash of ruined buildings and into The Beryl Ward. While the vegetation within Malchous Forest had contained the deceptively-friendly, waving tentacles that would lash out at the unwary, the forest had fared much better than the concrete, Reborn City jungle. Its vegetation had only ragged, raw and untamed at the edges of the forest itself. Although the plant tentacles had been plentiful, there had still been enough wiggle room enough to have gotten around them. This had involved timed bursts of stop and start sprints from point to point that had felt like they were the suicide runs that Alisa had performed during basketball practice. Beryl Ward fared about as well as could have been reasonably expected. Her newly-evolved Flaaffy, which had previously been her Level 15 Mareep, flourished ever more so within this ward due to its boosted experience points. Alisa felt a twinge of guilty conscience at the thought of Alan, its former Trainer, who would forever wonder what had befallen his Electric sheep. Her conscience was eased by the fact that Alan had not pushed aside his fear and ventured in pursuit of his cherished Mareep. Alisa had to wonder how long the hysterical Mareep had been waiting within that abandoned house for Alan to reclaim her before her common sense and practicality had overruled her loyalty to her Trainer. Winding her way to the far East of the Beryl Ward led to an Abandoned Power Plant, Alisa entered the Plant. Its interiour was pitch-black. As it seemed that nothing could be achieved there at present, Alisa exited the Plant and made her way due West. She wandered past dilapidated buildings. Picking her way quickly yet carefully over badly cracked paved concrete pavement and dodging past slap-happy plant tentacles, Alisa reached Rhodocrine Jungle. Decibel sliced down a tree that was blocking their path. Alisa recalled her trusted shiny Kricketot back to its Poke Ball. Sending Decibel out to slash down trees as needed, Alisa threw caution to the wind and dashed through the forest. Pump-faking past plant tentacles as necessary, Alisa reached a staircase. Slowing her pace to take the stairs two at a time, Alisa felt the floor give out beneath her and she fell through an unnoticed pit trap. Alisa landed upon the leafy undergrowth of a secondary forest level. Unfortunately, an intricate cage made of interlaced bamboo, secured with strong ropes of forest vines, trapped her within it. Outside of the conical cage stood a Pokemon Gang of wild Nuzleaf, the leader of whom folded his arms. Wearing an expression of extreme satisfaction upon having been the one to capture his quarry, the Nuzleaf Leader chirped at length at Alisa, no doubt informing her to sit tight until otherwise released. The Nuzleaf Leader signalled to its surrounding gang and the Nuzleafs left Alisa to her own devices. Alisa stared morosely at the cage lever that the Nuzleaf Leader had indicated and tripped. He had shut and locked the bamboo cage door before he had left. She resigned herself to the fact that, situated to the cage's left-hand side as it was, the lever was out of her reach. The unwanted happened. Fern ambled through The Jungle and happened upon Alisa. He briefly left the immediate vicinity, only to return after some time had passed. "Sorry, Alisa. I couldn't help but pitch a giggling fit upon seeing your predicament. Seeing you trapped by Nuzleaf is a bit too much, even for my liking. Guess you didn't know to watch your every step," Fern said. After a moment had passed, Fern continued. "You look so helpless that it suits you. The Gym Leaders of Reborn are super easy. I swept the floors with two of them already," Fern said jovially. "Blast you, Fern. Let me out of here!," Alisa snarled, losing her patience with this upstart. "Hard pass. That is no way to speak to your would-be saviour. Pledge that you'll never be able to beat me. Concede a few rather choice compliments and descriptors to me and I will free you," Fern suggested. "It would depend upon the choice descriptors," Alisa said equably. "Listen closely. They are: 'I, Alisa, admit that I am an inferiour Trainer, battler and person to Fern. I, Alisa, -," Fern prattled on, but Alisa interrupted him in midsentence, her upper lip curled in a wintry sneer. "I vote no, Scrub Lord," Alisa said frostily. "No? You try to help a Street Scrub. Later! You won't be there to watch me crush the League," Fern snarled. He then immediately left this area. Alisa was left to her own devices yet again. What felt like an era passed before something strange happened. A Chatot flew through the sky and spoke. "Release Alisa! Chatot, Chat," Chatot said benevolently. With a singular screech, he landed next to the lever, wrapped his beak around it and dragged it into the left unlock position. The cage door flipped open and upward, colliding with a slight bang as it slapped the cage's upper-middle bamboo wall. Chatot let go of the lever. "Chatot. Bye, Alisa!," Chatot squawked. He fluttered off in a heartbeat, flying back to his Trainer. A Chatot that was able to mimic human speech and that knew Alisa's name? It had to be Taka's Chatot. But as to why Taka would release her from her captivity, Alisa couldn't currently fathom. Setting her uneasiness aside, Alisa made a mental tally of life-debt to Taka. Rushing out of the cage, Alisa backtracked and took the staircase. Alisa's exploration of the right hand side of the forest revealed a spike floor trap and a nearby lever upon a raised ledge. Betting the metaphorical house that the lever would partially open the first layer of spikes, Alisa wandered down the nearby staircase and along a forest path, turning right at its end. She then ventured East beneath a wooden bridge and exited the forest via its central exit. The exit revealed a Meteor Grunt standing beside a tall, ancient-looking and stately library. Cutting through the tree to the Grunt's right hand side, Alisa strode through a building that led to a secondary Grunt and a small clearing with yet another pit lever inset within its upper corner. Tripping this switch flattened one layer of the spike floor trap, leaving some more to go before she could travel over it safely. Alisa took down the Grunt's Pokemon with Sludges and Headbutts, rendering them unfit for battle. Accepting the Grunt's prize money, Alisa made her way back to the library-guarding Grunt. He challenged her to a battle. "Pignite, go!," The Grunt yelled, sending out his Level 24 Pignite. "You really want your Pokemon to be overwhelmed today. Daenerys, Bite that Pignite!," Alisa commanded. Daenerys gave a sharp bark and gave a deep and rumbling growl before she lunged at the Pignite and bit it harshly. The Pignite squealed in pain and outrage as it twisted out of Daenerys' grip. "Shake it all of the way off, Pignite. Ember!," The Grunt called. His Pignite landed its Flame Charge, wreathing itself in fire and increasing its Speed by one stage. "No problem, Daenaerys! Sand Attack," Alisa called and Daenerys deluged the Pignite in a layer of thick sand. "Flame Charge times two, Pignite!," The Grunt commanded. Pignite repeated its charge attacks, increasing its Speed by two further stages. Alisa recalled Daenerys, sent in Noxious and had Noxious Sludge the Pignite into unconsciousness. Alisa and The Grunt recalled their Pokemon. The Grunt handed over a little above two hundred Pokedollars and Alisa continued past him. Entering the Pokemon Library, Alisa encountered a fellow Reborn citizen who healed her Pokemon. Alisa then investigated every inch of the library that she could. Fully-grown trees and yet more plant tentacles speared up through the red carpeted library floor. Venturing her way past the library's reception desk, Alisa noted the staircase to her left, the trees blocking her pathway to the right hand side of the Library and the room to the North of her. Entering the room before her, Alisa found two towering bookcases that flanked a tree that had impaled the room's centre. Next to the tree rested an item. The tree fenced it into a natural enclosure. Exiting the room while making a mental note to return here after she had restored the Beryl Ward, Alisa ascended the staircase. The Library was packed to the metaphorical rafters with brightly-coloured and varied books. The second floor curved around to the right in a wraparound style that led to a tree. This tree blocked access to the South-East side of the library, as well as to a first-floor room that was currently inaccessible. Backtracking to the Library's entrance, Alisa vowed to perform more than a cursory and obligatory Library return search. She returned to Rhodocrine Jungle. The malignant growth and mass of the plants had infested the interiour of buildings as well as the exteriour of them. It was the state of the side-toppled building that flabbergasted Alisa the most. The strength of the malignant vines that had brought it down truly struck awe and dismay within her. Alisa made her way back to the staircase that was next to the Nuzleaf cage. She ventured down its central pathway, making her way beneath a wooden bridge and up to a central tree. To the left of this tree was a cave and Alisa entered it. The cave's narrow entrance corridor led left, then down and then into a clearing. Within this space's top left side was a secondary Nuzleaf cage. A policeman was trapped in its centre. Alisa tripped the cage lever and spoke to the policeman, who had frozen warily where he stood. "I fell into some random pit trip. I must have blacked out. I woke up to find that Nuzleaf had imprisoned me here! I'll get back to the station lickety-split. Thanks, kid. See ya!," The Policeman said briskly and then he skedaddled on out of the cave. This left two out of five policemen to track down and rescue. Alisa left the cave, cut the outside central tree down and entered the cave upon the clearing's right-hand side. Its nowhere near straightforward path led to a new lever. Alisa flipped it to flatten spike layer two. Heading outside the cave and to the central exit/entrance's right, Alisa dashed due North, flipped a lever at a wooden bridge's end, then returned to the now-flattened spike trap. Exiting via the right hand exit, which was the highest situated exit of the three forest exits, Alisa emerged onto a paved pathway. Two trees and a Meteor Grunt barred her path forward. Alisa sent out her Level 21 Flaaffy and The Grunt sent out his Level 22 Timburr. As it wasn't an advantageous type match-up in her estimation, Alisa recalled her Flaaffy, sent in her Level 26 Noxious and took it down with a Sludge. The Grunt growled, sending out his Steenee. Alisa kept Noxious in. A Sludge not only critically hit the Steenee, but it poisoned it as well. The Poison damage took the Steenee to red health points. A Pound put the final nail in its metaphorical coffin. To the victor went the battle spoils and Alisa recalled her Pokemon. Moving past the Grunt at a brisk clip, Alisa found another police officer, a policewoman, in the basement of the first building in this street. "Thank you, I'm saved. The gathered Meteors up ahead are definitely up to no good. I'm off. You take good care," The Policewoman said warmly. She then left the building and returned to her police station. With one police officer left to rescue, Alisa was feeling confident. She would be the one the resolve this Meteor crisis. One Grunt later and then a straight path down led to yet another PULSE Tangrowth. Alongside of it was Taka and someone else that belonged to Team Meteor. "Ah, Alisa. Hello again. I am glad that you had emerged unscathed from the Nuzleaf trap. I would like you to meet -," Taka began, but he was interrupted with extreme prejudice. "Taka, ZeL, deal with Alisa and protect the PULSE. I will deal with Heather," The Newcomer said scathingly. It was then that Alisa noticed the pink-haired girl who had flown in upon the back of a Salamence that radiated with power. "Ah, Heather. Daughter of the Beryl Ward Gym Leader and...well, that's classified," Taka said helpfully. Leave the girl to me," The Newcomer commanded. Taka shrugged. "Alright. Sorry, Alisa. I can't let you interfere any further," Taka said regretfully. "It's payback time!," ZeL snarled. The duo teamed up to have a double battle with Alisa while Heather fought The Newcomer. Alisa had her team worked together, in pairs, to the best of their abilities. With some chance misses of her opponents' attacks, Alisa emerged victorious. Everyone recalled their Pokemon and Taka sighed. "The PULSE has been deactivated. Our purpose here is now moot," ZeL said. Taka put his hands in his pockets and shuffled from foot to foot. "I'll take my leave. Will you accompany me, ZeL?," Taka said to ZeL. The mysterious ZeL nodded. Taka and ZeL made themselves scarce. "Tch. If that's how it is to be, then Crobat, return!," The Newcomer said sourly. He recalled his Crobat. The Newcomer then rushed out of this section of the Beryl Ward. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? Salamence!," Heather snarled, recalling her Salamence as she hurried off after The Newcomer. Alisa caught up to Heather at the forest entrance to Beryl Ward. She seemed preoccupied as she stared at the spot where The Newcomer had last been seen. "Damn, he got away. Ugh, whatever, I'm going home. Yeah, my Dad's this ward's Gym Leader. Sounds great, huh? If only. Dad's no fun at all," Heather said with vitriol. "What makes you say that?," Alisa prompted. Heather gave an angry shrug that seemed to be an instinctive defense mechanism for her. "I'm stuck under his Gym's roof. He never lets me do anything at all. Drop by his Gym and beat him up for me, OK? Thanks," Heather said. She furrowed her brows before she spoke once more. "I'd totally do that myself, but he doesn't even want me to Pokemon battle yet. If not for battle, what even are Pokemon for? I'm serious," Heather said. After a moment in which she gave a long, drawn-out sigh, Heather rolled her eyes. "One of these days...I'm just going to Fly away and never return," Heather said dismally. She walked away. Alisa ran after Heather, but the young woman had vanished without a trace. Suspecting that Heather had summoned her Salamence and flown away yet again, Alisa returned to the Pokemon Library. At the right hand staircase, she walked along the top of a bookcase, wandered down onto the first floor hallway that the tree had blocked off pre PULSE-defeat and she entered the previously-blocked room. An Ill-Fated Doll lay upon the floor and Alisa snagged it, packing it away within her Key Items Pocket. A lone Growlithe stood beside a large crack in the floorboards that ran from bookshelf to wall-end. Approaching the Growlithe, Alisa watched as it barked lengthily and stared meaningfully and intently at the cracked floor. Alisa peered over the lip of the floorboards and saw an unmoving policewoman. The officer of the law was lying flat upon her back far below, illuminated only by the torch that she still clutched with her left hand. The Growlithe stood stoically beside Alisa, its anguished gaze never leaving the policewoman's deathly-pale face. It was difficult to say for how long both Fire dog and Trainer in blue had remained within this place. Growlithe flung back its head. It howled a long, mournful howl of sorrow, farewell and devotion and then it bolted out of the Library. Alisa hoped that it would return to the police station, so that the police would identify it and its previous owner. After she had collected the previously-inaccessible TwistedSpoon, Alisa left the Library. She hustled over to the Beryl Ward gym for her Poison battle with Corey. First, Alisa had to solve a gym puzzle. It involved hitting a switch until every water-bound pipe within the main hall turned a freaky-looking shade of pink. Once Alisa had solved the puzzle, a door behind the pipes slid open and Alisa was free to confront its sole occupant, Corey. Once Alisa had determined that the door would stay open even if she left the Gym right now, she left the Gym and trained her Pokemon within the nearby grass. Once they all were Level 30, Alisa smiled to herself. The blonde Trainer then re-entered the Gym, determined to metaphorically cut Corey down to size with her veteran slayers. Once approached, Corey wouldn't let Alisa exit the room without subjecting her to an oppressive and deeply cynical monologue. "One had locked oneself within a room. That one would think that others would respect that fact and leave that one alone. This world is void of care. Alisa, right? I understand that you have met my daughter, Heather," Corey said. Alisa nodded. Corey took as his cue to continue. "She's an unruly, ten year old child who has no respect for the way that I have raised her, without hope. She cannot see that hope is a weakness that can and will be exploited to the hilt. It's a superfluous illusion that is meant to sugarcoat this reality. Life is nothing more nor less than a nightmare. Do you truly disagree? Then prove me wrong in the arena. I will show you true misery," Corey said indifferently. He left the room. Alisa followed along in the jaded Corey's wake, entering the arena room not a moment after he, himself, did. Corey took his place within the battle square across from Alisa and when she approached, he sent out his first Pokemon, a Skrelp. Alisa sent out her Level 30 shiny Ampharos and the stage was set. "Body Slam!," Alisa commanded and her blue Ampharos lunged toward its aquatic yet corrosive opponent. "Take the hit, Skrelp. Use Toxic Spikes," Corey yelled, resting his arms behind his back. He clasped his left wrist with his right hand, his grip of the white-knuckled variety. His pitiless dark eyes seemed to drill holes into Alisa's impassive gaze. Alisa fought the urge to loose the shudder that longed to sizzle like a livewire down her spine. A gaze like that which could only have been gained by an event so life-altering that there would be no return to joy after that division of heart and soul pinned Alisa upon the spot upon which she stood. A gaze like that would have followed Heather everywhere, haunting her every dream and watching her every movement. It would have sliced so deeply into the young girl that Alisa was astounded that the girl had been able to find the courage and independence necessary to escape from it. It was a gaze that would forever put both Glare and Leer to shame. The gaze looked both at you and straight through you. It was a stare that spoke of having seen and done it all. A stare that said that it was just waiting for the very last straw to break. Alisa mistrusted it intensely. "Ampharos, dodge it. Use Thunder Punch!," Alisa called, staring down the opponent Skrelp alongside of her Pokemon. Her Ampharos baaaa'd its affirmative, dodging the secondary sling of the poisonous shards as they were fired at him. Corey whipped his left hand free of his right hand's grip and swept his left hand forward, as if to show off the ring upon it. The silver ring appeared to be plain, but it emanated a power that was stronger than any that Alisa had yet felt. The band of metal seemed to have a hypnotic pull to it that drew the gaze, that demanded and commanded the attention of the one that beheld it even though it was facing away from Alisa. Corey held his hand still, as though to telekinetically push at Alisa. Just for a split second, Alisa's attention slipped. It was enough for Corey's secondary Pokemon to land an unexpected hit upon Ampharos and make him flinch. Alisa shivered, shaking herself free of the sickening compulsion. "I'm flattered, Corey. Don't flash your magical ring at me, I'm seventeen. Far too young to get married and far too smart to be trapped by that maneuver," Alisa snapped. She recalled Ampharos back to his Poke Ball and then sent out her Level 30 Swoobat without missing a further beat. "Swoobat, Heart Stamp!," Alisa commanded. Wrong-footed by Corey, she was beyond ready to inflict Hell and the highest of water upon him in retaliation against his psyche sneak attack. Swoobat gave a small screech of confirmation and then inflicted a supereffective strike upon Corey' Skrelp. The opposing Skrelp snarled in pain and in rising rage. Corey set about turning the tide of this battle toward himself. "Skrelp, Poison Spikes!," Corey yelled, then clenched his jaw. His expression was unrepentant as he slowly lowered his left hand, returning it to rest casually against his left hand side. Corey wordlessly pointed the right pointer finger at Alisa's Pokemon and his own Pokemon responded by fighting fire with a shocking savagery. It set up with Poison Spikes and then was recalled by Corey, who subbed in his Level 27 Dark/Poison Skuntank. "Bring it on, knockoff Pepe Le Pew. Ampharos, Thunder Wave!," Alisa commanded shrilly. Her Ampharos smirked and then shocked the Skuntank with a weak charge that left it paralysed. "Don't you DARE freeze due to paralysis, Skuntank. Attack with extreme malice!," Corey shouted, leaning forward out of an interest within the battle that he didn't want to feel. His Skuntank scowled and dug its feet against the battlefield floor, its eyes locked hatefully upon Ampharos' sheep eyes. Unfazed, Ampharos swished its tail slowly from side to side, indicating that he was still awaiting further battle instructions from Alisa. "Thunder Punch, Ampharos," Alisa called with purpose. Ampharos' eyes glinted with pure purpose and he pounced upon Skuntank, delivering a powerful and swift uppercut to the underside of its jaw before he sprang back into position opposite the tanky skunk Pokemon. "You may gift me a battle worth a damn this day, Alisa. Skuntank, shake it off, you're better than that! Strike," Corey called across the purple battlefield. His Skuntank stopped its unsteady swaying and then attacked with renewed malice. Ampharos dodged the attack, firing off a Confuse Ray which made Skuntank grunt with pain and stagger where it stood. It was recalled by Corey and replaced by his Level 27 Croagunk. The Fighting/Dark frog leered at Ampharos eerily. "Thunder Punch until it hits the mat, then Thunder Wave his next best Pokemon!," Alisa called to Ampharos, who readily did just that. Corey switched his Skuntank back in once Croagunk had fainted, then recalled his fallen Croagunk. He used a Super Potion to recover his Skuntank's depleted health, but Alisa had Ampharos inflict more confusion. ParaHax, as well as its self-inflicted wounds, soon downed Skuntank. Corey's composure visibly cracked. As he sent in his Level 26 Mareanie, he clenched his teeth as well as his left hand, which he then angrily shoved into his pants' left front pocket to match his right front pocket concealed right hand. "Your team's at the halfway point. Don't think that I haven't put any serious forethought into this and any battle. Ampharos, excellent work, now return!," Alisa called. She then recalled her Ampharos and sent forth her strategy 'mon, her Numel. Corey almost buckled from the pressure of his hysterical laughter. "You send a camel to menace a sea monster? Not what I would do," Corey said, amused. "I'm going to make you eat those words. Inferno, Flame Burst," Alisa ordered. The purple and red camel 'mon bayed his affirmative and then blasted the field with fireballs, transforming the Corrupted Field into a Burnt Field in a heartbeat. "That's what I'm talking ABOUT! No more increased Poison damage and the likes of that. I'll receive residual heat damage, but that's manageable. Inferno, Iron Head. And Corey? How do you like me now?," Alisa commanded. The shiny Numel charged forward and slammed its forehead against the enemy Mareanie, shattering its Telluric Seed enforced barrier and rendering it susceptible to further attacks. "Not at all. Nonexistent ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a strategist and an aspiring comedienne! How refreshing. How do you find the time?," Corey trash-talked. "A burnt field is slightly problematic, but don't count me out just yet. Mareanie!," Corey demanded. His Mareanie bared its miniature fangs in a sneer that looked adorable rather than threatening. The Brutal Star Pokemon then launched its attack against Inferno. Having made the battle alot easier for herself, Alisa capitalised upon her current battle advantage. "Inferno, Return! Daenerys, you're up!," Alisa commanded, returning Inferno to his Poke Ball and sending her shiny Mightyena out onto the battlefield. Daenerys barked fearsomely at Marenie. It blinked slowly in response, wearing an expression of supreme monotony. "Cute. Mareanie, finish our onslaught!," Corey snapped. Mareanie chirruped in response and then it attempted to maul Daenerys as best it could. "Daenerys, keep on the move and continually damage it as best you can. Give it no chance to land a move upon you," Alisa ordered. Daenerys gave a yap of acknowlegement, wagged her tail once and then darted around the battlefield. Honing in upon Mareanie, she damaged it with bites and nips of her chomping canines. Neither could forget about the changed Field. With every passing second, every non-Fire Type Pokemon was getting just that little bit more scorched than they had gotten within their previous battle turn. It was a little uncomfortable for Alisa to watch every minute wince of her steadfast Mightyena. Daenerys sped around the field, finally taking Mareanie down. Alisa recalled Daenerys, sent Inferno back out and had him use Magnitude upon the next Pokemon in line, Corey's Level 26 Nidorina. The Poison 'mon did NOT enjoy the unsubtle slap of a super-effective Ground type attack and she got blasted into the next two weeks, sustaining critical injuries from the attack. "This Field, Corey? It's finally level, as it always should have been," Alisa called to her adversary. Corey sneered. "Enjoy your advantage while you can, Alisa. You'll not be employing it upon my battlefield twice. Nidorina, Venom Drench!," Corey responded grimly. His Nidorina used Venom Drench upon Inferno, but was taken down by Inferno's Earth Power. Corey sent out his Croagunk. It, too, was devastated by Earth Power. Corey flung out his Level 30 Crobat, his team's ace bat. Alisa recalled Inferno, sent out Ampharos and Ampharos Thunder Punch-ed the Crobat. eventually felling it thanks to the application of many more electric jabs. Finally, Corey was out of Pokemon and he recalled Crobat. "Salt in the wound of my defeat only adds insult to injury. Disappointment is a two-way street. Memorise that for posterity. To the victor go these spoils," Cory said dismally, handing over 690 Pokedollars and some further dialogue. "You're here for the Badge. Take it and go. I'm sick of -," Corey sniped, but he was interrupted. "Hey!," Heather shouted, rushing forward toward the battlefield. Alisa swiftly recalled her Ampharos and stood aside as Heather took her place opposite Corey. Corey took his hands out of his pocket and folded them across his chest, still clutching Crobat's Poke Ball. "Oh, hi, Alisa," Heather said, as if only just realising that Alisa was also in the arena. "I'm leaving. Bye!," Heather continued, her eyes glued upon her father's own. Corey appeared unaffected by his daughter's words. Heather made to leave, but then just as she was just about to left the room, Corey spoke. "Heather. Where do you think you are going?," Corey enquired. Heather whirled back toward her father. "I am L-E-A-V-I-N-G. For good, thank dog. You KNOW you can't stop me," Heather sneered caustically. "Heather, you will stop this right now. Your behaviour is unbefitting any daughter of mine," Corey said coldly. "Make me, old man! You can't. I'm done listening to YOU and your stupid, nonsensical rules. I'm just done. Bye!," Heather replied. Alisa was shellshocked. "You can't just fly away and hope that all of your problems will be solved," Corey snapped impatiently. "Oh, can't I? Watch me," Heather yelled. Two more steps toward the door gave Corey pause. "Heather!," Corey called. "What?," Heather snapped, sounding like she could care less about anything more that her father had to say to her. Alisa felt more than a bit like a third wheel as she listened to the rest of the familial dispute. "You stole your mother's ring," Corey said. He made it sound like a foregone conclusion. "So what? Are you going to citizen's arrest me?," Heather replied calmly. Corey snickered in response. "Funny. No, just don't lose it," Corey replied. Heather then left the arena and the Gym and did not return. Alisa walked briskly toward the Gym's dual entrance and exit, but Corey's additional words stopped her in midstride. "Alisa. Ten years of torment, just for her to vanish just as rapidly. No...I'll be at your side real soon," Corey said gloomily. He sounded like a rejected member of Evanescence. Alisa hated to hear him sound that way. "I'm in no place to ask a League Challenger for favours. If you want a spectacular show, meet me at Beryl Bridge. It's due West of this tomb," Corey said negatively. He then left the Gym. Feeling as though her actions had been decided for her, Alisa followed Corey's direction and exited the Beryl Ward Gym. As soon as Alisa exited the Gym, an Absol upon its roof yapped at her twice, assuming the pounce position before it bared its teeth. It turned its head to the right and then left the scene. Absols heralded imminent and unavoidable disaster. Alisa shook off the lingering sense of urgency and melancholy that the Disaster Pokemon had left in its wake and hurried to Beryl Bridge, hoping to avert said catastrophe. She found Corey facing away from her, his Pokemon arrayed expectantly before him. "You've served me well. Roam freely. Get lost," Corey grumbled. Skuntank turned tail and scuttled off first, followed by Croagunk and Skrelp. Nidorina turned and walked a few steps away, but then turned back toward Corey with a heartbroken facial expression. "That means you and Crobat, too. You're not special," Corey snarled. With a wounded whine of hurt and grief, Nidorina spun around with a guttural growl and bounded away. Her departure left only Crobat fluttering at Corey's left side. "Move it!," Corey sneered glacially. Crobat gave a loud screech of protest, but Corey was not swayed by it. "You're not wanted here, Crobat. Beat it! You're pathetic," Corey called to it. Crobat finally turned and left, flying off across the desert that was fenced-off by the bridge wall that Corey and Alisa stood upon. "Finally. I no longer require these items of critter captivity," Corey said. He tossed his emptied Poke Balls over the bridge wall that Crobat had flown over. Alisa glanced down over the bridge wall's lip in time to watch several puffs of grainy sand indicate the Balls' landing upon it. Alisa then turned back toward Corey, moving to stand nowhere near the bridge walls as she did so. "So, Alisa. What do you burn to know? Why I mistreated Heather so? Child's play. It's because I abhorred my own weakness. I was terrified of losing Heather like I lost her mother," Corey said bleakly. He turned to stare out across the desert vista. "Heather's mother was a beautiful, fiercely intelligent woman. Her equal does not exist. This, I am sure of. With her, I was complete, happy. Without her, I'm but a husk of my former self. I was naïve. In exchange for the sparing of Heather, my beloved traded her own life and left this cold, cruel world," Corey added. Alisa seized her chance to speak. "May I ask what had claimed the life of your wife?," Alisa enquired, her tone empathetic. Corey turned around. "You may. A chance mechanical error claimed my wife's life. In that instant, I learned how cold reality truly was. I'd found everything in this life that one could ever hope to seek and find, yet my reason for existence was torn so irrevocably from me for all of eternity. I never let Heather believe anything different. By raising Heather with this in mind, I'd sought to save her from my constant torment. But all that I ended up doing was hurt her myself. She, too, is now gone," Corey said, approaching the bridge wall opposite Alisa and himself as he spoke. "Don't do it! You can still salvage your relationship Heather. You have my condolences," Alisa shouted, rushing forward and standing in front of Corey. He climbed onto the lip of the bridge wall. Corey faced Alisa, ignoring the hands that she raised to offer to him to take. "Thank you. Alisa. Heather holds a certain Ruby Ring. She will be hunted for it. Please watch over my daughter for me. Tell her that I don't blame her. I no longer have any right to call myself her father," Corey said, trying to snatch his hands back as she lunged forward to grab them. She caught his hands within her own and only succeeded within the slip of Corey's ring from that particular ring-finger. "You'll need that. My team deserve the best. You can't save me," Corey said unfeelingly. "My love, I'll join you soon," Corey said. He stepped backward off the bridge, his arms swept wide as though to accept his beloved's and Death's embrace. "No!," Alisa screeched. She leaned over the bridge and reattempted a snatch of Corey's hands, but Corey fell too far, too fast. He was lost to the whipping wind. Alisa gripped the bridge wall as she fell to her knees before it, closing her eyes so that she would not have to watch the acceptance upon Corey's face, would not bear witness to his brutal collision with the floor of the ward below this one. Corey didn't have to die so horrifically. "Damn it!," Alisa snarled, slamming her right fist down upon the bridge wall. Pain radiated from her white-knuckled right fist, but it was better to feel some pain than to feel utterly numb. Alisa curled her left hand's fingers around Corey's Silver Ring, lowering her left hand to rest against her left thigh. She placed it within the Key Items Pocket of her backpack. She would return it to Heather's safekeeping. "I couldn't save him. Heather is going to kill me," Alisa said tonelessly. A voice spoke and Alisa froze, then applied pressure upon the wall. "Oh, hey, Alisa. You're still dragging your feet here," Fern said. The hardened Trainer shoved off the wall with her palms and rose to her feet. Alisa then turned to face the voice's owner. Her expression was closed-off in preparation of further verbal onslaught. Fern was not known for his compassion and nor would he ever be. "Fancy encountering you here. Had you dropped something? You will kneel so before a stone wall before you will ever deign to kneel at my feet. I see how it is. I'd trekked all the way up here to challenge that weak excuse for a Leader. That dumb-grass really hurled himself off of a bridge? Sucker's toast. What a waste," Fern said callously. "That man was far from a waste, Fern. Corey was worth more than you'll ever know to the only daughter that he had left behind, which is more than I can say about you. I have earned Corey's Poison Badge. Speak no ill of the departed," Alisa snarled. Fern's jaw dropped before he could stop it. He stared at Alisa for what felt like half a century before he clamped his lips shut and spoke. "Huh, no way. You beat him, but then he offs himself before he can gift you his Gym Badge. What a Leader! You probably view me as heartless. I hadn't known the guy, but it's natural selection. Some guy tops himself...big deal," Fern said snidely. "You're all heart, Fern. To Heather, it's the biggest of big deals. Corey could have survived. It's a long shot through the dark, but you never know," Alisa opined. Fern smirked. "You don't have a clue. And you never will. The dead man fallen hit the deck of the Lapis Ward, waaaaay below us. It's North of Opal Ward Bridge. Check it, see if Humpty lives. I don't see the point, but -," Fern replied. There was a thunderous cacophony of sound. A gigantic explosion. A massive tremor shook the Bridge. Alisa and Fern swayed, but kept their feet, turning to peer down at the ward below them. "What the WaiLORD was that?," Fern demanded. "It is a secondary explosion. It's a common occurrence within this Region, I can attest to that," Alisa answered, in the tone of a smart-aleck. "Har-de-Froakie-har, Alisa. But yo, over there! That rising plume of smoke. It appears to be wafting up from North Obsidia Ward. Right beside The Grand Stairway! Something's gone down. I'm going to find out what it is," Fern said. He sounded deeply-shaken by having been so close to the explosion's point of impact. With a breezy "Later, loser!," Fern turned and darted away, leaving a now-silent Alisa to gather her thoughts and follow in his footsteps. "Arceus help us, now and always. Fern, you insensitive jackal, you'd best believe I'll make you pay for your disrespect.," Alisa said to no-one at all. She ventured back down to The Jasper Ward and spoke to the police chief. "By Jove, you've done it, lass! You've recovered all of our missing police force. There is the matter of our dearly-departed force member. You found her Growlithe? Our officers are issued a standard-issue Growlithe as their partner Pokemon," The Chief said. After a sombre pause, The Chief continued. "This Growlithe...its partner is dead. Gone. I feel it to be an insult to the memory of its Trainer, my former officer, to hand that Growlithe off to yet another new recruit. Please take it. You were its finder. Consider yourself an honourary member of Reborn Police Department," The Chief said gruffly. Alisa soft reset for a shiny Growlithe and definitely added her to his Pokemon roster and team. "Growr-roooooowr, rowlithe!," Growlithe barked, chasing her tail multiple times before she dashed forward and rested her forepaws against Alisa's hips. As Alisa crouched down and gently ruffled the fur upon her vibrant orange scalp, Growlithe placed her paws upon Alisa's knee-caps. She liberally licked Alisa's face, covering it with dog saliva. This made everyone in the precinct chortle with rumbling, incessant laughter and mirth. "You're each other's perfect match. You'll always have a permanent place within this precinct. Within our midst. Take care," The Chief added benevolently. Alisa thanked The Chief and left the precinct with Flannery, her nicknamed shiny Growlithe. She wiped the dog drool from her face. From there, Alisa walked to the Peridot Ward and then to The Lower Peridot Ward. She traveled up the staircase beside The Grand Hall, made her way back to Obsidia Ward and walked through Obsidia Park. Walking North of Obsidia Ward, Alisa made her way to the large crowd that had gathered at the foot of the deeply crack-ridden Grand Staircase. To the left of the Staircase was another stone staircase that led to The Lapis Ward. Alisa spoke to everyone present to ascertain their opinion upon the matter at hand. Two policemen who served as a North Obsidia Ward entrance honour guard were surprisingly forthcoming. "The blast type was controlled. The radius was contained to the Stairway. I would say that a municipal demolition device was used. Only peripheral structures were minimally damaged," the policemen said gravely. "Judging by the rubble's landing," another policeman upon the Staircase said, "the detonation device had been placed beneath the seemingly solid Staircase." Bypassing the detonated stairway, Alisa ascended the left-hand staircase and entered the Lapis Ward. It was reputed to be the richest ward in Reborn. As such, it was a prime target for gang activity. Alisa was aware of two Reborn Region gangs, Aqua Gang, whose ace Pokemon was the Dark/Water type Sharpedo and Magma Gang, whose ace Pokemon was the Dark/Fire type Houndoom. After making her way up through the Ward, her journey made difficult by the handful of Trainers who refused to let her pass without a battle, Alisa finally reached the foot of the Beryl Ward wall. Corey's lifeless body was shielded by a ring of onlookers, the worse of his injuries currently concealed from view. Victoria and a purple-haired young girl stood staring sadly at Corey's battered body. Alisa spoke to Victoria, drawing her attention away from the macabre vista before her. "Oh, hey! Alisa, you're here. This is horrifying. Shelly, honey, step away from there. You don't have to see that," Victoria said, first to Alisa and then to the purple-haired girl, who was staring, to the exclusion of all else, at Corey's prone figure. "I - is that Heather's dad? Why did he leave Heather alone?," Shelly said, and then she started to sob. "Please don't cry, Shell. It's going to be OK. Let's get you inside. I'll make you a warming cup of tea," Victoria suggested maternally. Shelly nodded. The two started to head toward a building that was right beside Corey's fallen form. "I can't b - breathe," Shelly confessed, beginning to hyperventilate. "Tea will help. Draw in a deep breath and hold it for a count of four. Release it, slowly, to a count of four," Victoria advised, her tone soothing and melodic. Shelly listened to Victoria's advice and her shaky breathing sluggishly returned to normal. Before she could turn her back upon the grisly evidence of Corey's death, Alisa saw the same weird phantasm that she had seen just before her train to reborn had crashed. The corporeal spectre appeared to consist of a copious ammount of dark fog that revealed a humanoid shape that wore a fedora hat, a trenchcoat, the vague outline of shoes and no discernable facial features. Red eyes, set deeply within a hazy approximation of a murky face, stared at everything and at nothing. Alisa shuddered. Where the figure's mouth should have been, there was now a fixed and mirthless grin that bared every single tooth at its recipient. Victoria noticed the wraith. "Shelly. That's the Shade that you'd mentioned? What do you want, Shade?," Victoria said. The shrouded figure said nothing. Ever so slowly, it faded away. "Shade's here? Isn't that...?," Shelly asked. The figure took Corey's body away with it before it drifted away completely. "Oh, he's taking Heather's dad away? How strange," Shelly said, thoroughly flummoxed and also, Alisa noticed, stutter-free. A movement within the vicinity made Alisa look up and notice two nearby Meteor Grunts. The duo were standing upon the rooftop of the appartment building that was directly to the left of Corey's body. "Aster and Eclipse with a fresh, eyes-on report. Agent Beryl confirmed deceased. Over," the duo said into a walkie-talkie and then they cut communication. "Meteors! Are you the ones to blame for this? If you are, I will -," Alisa began, but Aster interrupted her. "As if! That was -," Aster blurted out venomously, but Eclipse rapidly clapped her hand over her colleague's lips, sealing them shut with her palm. "Aster, shut your trap! Listen, girly. You'll do nothing. Keep your nose out of Team Meteor's business. Aster," Eclipse demanded curtly, pivoting upon her heel as she removed her hand from Aster's face. Aster nodded, his eyes locked upon Alisa's own. "Subject confirmed. Mission clear. The Stairway awaits," Aster said peaceably. The duo left the scene. "You were behind the Stairway blast! Why does that not surprise me," Alisa said, before they could get too far away. "How dare you accuse us of that! Of course we were, you nosy brat," Aster snapped. "Tell her everything, why don't you," Eclipse said sarcastically. "OK. Underneath the Stairway, there is apparently a -," Aster began. Eclipse gave a snarl of frustration and then sighed heavily. Alisa almost felt sorry for Eclipse. It couldn't have been easy to have a co-worker like Aster. "That was sarcasm! Come on. I need a vacation," Eclipse said harshly. "Can I vacay with you, Clipsy? I can be tight-lipped. You won't even know that I'm there," Aster said, giving Eclipse a puppy-dog-eyed look. "Oh, no, you can't. Meteors, out," Eclipse replied, "and those eyes don't affect me. Do not call me Clipsy." She then rushed off across the rooftop, leaving Aster to mutter, "Of course it was sarcasm" and scamper off after his colleague. Alisa followed Victoria and Shelly as they entered the green-roofed building beside the point of Corey's impact. She arrived at the head of this building's staircase in time to enter what could only have been Shelly's room and overhear Victoria consoling Shelly. "I'm so, so very sorry that you had to see that, Shelly," Victoria said gently, her gaze glued upon Shelly's own even as Alisa moved to stand in front of a nearby bookcase. Victoria then turned to face Alisa. "Hi. I'd come here to challenge Shelly, this Ward's Gym Leader. However, I'm really concerned about her. We had only just squared off to battle when a movement outside of the nearest window caught our eye. Our battle paused. We saw Corey's falling form. He landed right outside and - Shelly's twelve," Victoria said, distressed. "Now she just seems so remote. Downhearted and traumatised. Something is going on. First the Stairway is blown up, then Team Meteor arrive to inspect a dead man? Had Corey been a Meteor agent in disguise? I'm going to find out," Victoria said charismatically. "The Grand Stairway. Let's search it. I'll be your backup," Alisa said courageously. Victoria immediately flung her hands in front of her body, as if she was preparing to physically stop Alisa in her tracks. "OK. I will meet you there," Victoria said adamantly. "You don't know what may await us there," Alisa said. Victoria nodded. "A valid point. Still, it's worth our trip," Victoria said. She turned back toward Shelly. "I'm going now, but I'll be sure to come back later. Is there anything that you'd like while I am away?," Victoria asked Shelly. "No. Thanks. I'm s - sorry. For making you w - worry," Shelly said shakily. Her rocky emotions brought about the return of her stutter. Alisa felt her heart metaphorically reach out to Shelly in empathy. Victoria's mystified expression cleared up immediately and she shook her head slightly. "No worries. I may not know you well, but I still want to help as much as I am able to. Take it easy. I'll return in no time," Victoria said to Shelly, who slumped within the couch that she was sitting upon and closed her eyes wearily in response. Alisa turned to leave. Before she could, Shelly spoke. "Heather is one of my only friends. I hope that she's OK," Shelly said, without once opening her eyes. Alisa exited Shelly's room, ascended the staircase and rounded its foot. She was met with the sight of a gym attendant in a distinctive lab-coat. He was standing in front of a long hallway. At the hallway's end was a ground-floor door, beyond which Alisa suspected was Shelly's Gym. Swiftly making tracks to the Grand Stairway, Alisa ascended The Grand Stairway's steps. Her way hindered by the gigantic, Z-shaped split within the stairs, Alisa finally reached the gaping maw's centre. A singular ladder led all the way down to what Alisa assumed were the Staircase depths. Victoria was nowhere to be seen. Alisa descended the ladder carefully, trying to push aside her worry toward Victoria. As Alisa had feared, Victoria was in the entrance cavern of the Staircase. Two Meteor Grunts that surrounded her had her fenced-in. "Alisa, help me!," Victoria implored, her eyes wide saucers inset into her fear-drawn face. The Meteor Grunts turned to face Alisa, grabbing Victoria by her forearms in a punishing grip as they did so. "Well, if it isn't Miss Smarmy herself, Alisa," Aster said savagely. "There'll be no help for you this time, Miss Academy. You're trespassing upon our territory of operation. The Boss Man wants a word with you, Alisa. Aster, roll out," Eclipse said meanly. Aster shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat pointedly. "Shouldn't we also capture Alisa?," Aster said. Eclipse cast her gaze skyward and closed her eyes. She kept them shut for several seconds, only to snap them open unexpectedly and speak. "No, lackwit. We would then be outgunned and overwhelmed. Let's lock Miss Brawler here up and then lure Alisa to us," Eclipse said, spelling it out for her loose-lipped colleague. Aster's eyes gleamed with sharp and rapid comprehension. "Nice! Hear that, Alisa? One wrong step and your friend here will pay for it. Try to stop us and you'll fall into our trap. Bye!," Aster said. The two then dragged a struggling Veronica along with them as they ventured further into the underground labyrinth. Veronica was given little choice but to descend a ladder. Sandwiched between the duo so as to prevent her escape, Victoria and the Meteors slid out of sight. Alisa shoved her hands into her pockets and heaved a protracted sigh. "Well, Shinx on a battlefield. It is on," she grumbled. ************************************************************************** Upload Schedule: Three current works upon this site necessitates a lot of time spent writing and editing, switch-ups of dialogue and so on. I will Endeavour to upload new creative content here with regularity. I'll try to not let too much time pass during uploads. I play each game as I write my take upon their story and scenes. This can be a blessing and a curse at times as I multitask between gameplay and writing. There exists this pesky little thing called muse. It strikes when it strikes and as soon as it does, it must be acted-upon. We all also have a life to live in the meantime and so that compounds matters all the more, but we all do what we can, as best as we can, when and where we can. Reviews: I cannot stress the fact more that reviews are key. I'm not trying to be salty or a gaslighter, but reviews are what make our content here well worth the effort and dedication of writing and uploading them here. In my honest opinion, leaving a critique or even just dropping a "Hi, I like your content" does and would go a long way to pay it forward to your fellow, hardworking writer/content creator. I can lead a metaphorical horse to water, but I can't make it drink. It's up to you to review if and when you're moved to do so. Writing without reviews feels more like journaling to me. It is isolating and frustrating at times, but it is ultimately worth doing to chronicle your thoughts, feelings and take upon these games.

Chapter Two: Shiv-er Me Timbers! And The Temple of Gloom Myriad sent out his Level 17 shiny Rockruff. Shiv countered Myriad's instinctive action by sending out his first Pokémon, a Level 14 Aipom. "Rockruff, Rock Throw!," Myriad commanded. Rockruff immediately flung a huge rock at the Aipom, which did a hefty ammount of damage to the purple monkey Pokémon. "Aipom, Tail Slap!," Shiv demanded. His Aipom obediently lunged forward and tried to slap Rockruff across her face with the hand upon its tail, but it overshot its mark and missed its attack. It then landed a secondary Tail Slap, which hit four times for chip damage that made Rockruff recoil with a startled yelp, but rally beautifully and keep her balance. Rockruff launched a secondary Rock Throw attack at the Aipom, which knocked Aipom unconscious. A secondary Roselia was sent out, so Myriad recalled Rockruff and sent in her shiny Pidgey, Wingo. "Gust attack, Wingo! You can do this," Myriad called encouragingly and Wingo chirped before she launched a powerful gust of wind at her opponent. The Gust hit for supereffective damage. Roselia took alot less damage than Myriad would like before it inflicted paralysis status upon Wingo, who then was unable to land any hits for two turns before she struggled on through the static. She took down the Roselia with multiple Gust attacks. Shiv then sent in his Level 15 Sneasel, which Rhaegar the Poochyena brought down with several Bite attacks. Shiv took a shocked step backward, visibly shellshocked in light of his surprising loss. "I knew that I was right about you, Myriad! Go on, then, you have earned this key," Shiv said in a grudging, gravelly tone. He then handed Myriad a Gate Key, which Myriad then placed within his Bag's Key Items pocket. "That gate key unlocks the gate beside this hut. Beyond it, you will find a secondary lever that will unbar the way to Kuiki's home, his temple. To get onto that path, you will need to find another entry to this village. Try the surface," Shiv added. He then handed over some Spice Powder, which Myriad stowed safely away within his Key Items pocket. "You'll need that to move the Vileplume. Happy trails and smooth sails!," Shiv said, with feeling, and then he simply vanished. Connor blinked several times, then voiced what Myriad was thinking. "Uh, what the literal Hail!? He certainly seemed keen to only speak to you, Myriad. Shiv's singular focus upon and interest in you is unsettling. Well, let's hit the metaphorical road out of this village of creeps and freaks. After you," Connor said abrasively. Myriad nodded. He inspected the book that Shiv had been so frantically scribbling within. Judging by his refusal to immediately stop his journaling within it, this book had to hold some significance to Shiv. The book read, "Under the crashing water's gaze, inside of the crystal cave, may you find the beginning of something truly strange." After he had memorised the book's riddle and made a cursory inspection of this hut, Myriad left the opened book where it lay upon the wooden desk and left the hut. "I'll just pretend that I hadn't seen some grown-grass man up and Teleport like an Abra on the run. That way, it won't be the icing upon the weirdness cake that has been this entire portion of this somewhat grueling journey adjacent to you," Connor said decisively. He seemed content to not put serious thought and speculation into Shiv and his escape method, which Myriad understood, but very much did the polar opposite of. Shiv seemed like just the sort of enigma that sparked Myriad's sense of intrigue. It would take some time before Myriad set aside his desire to do some intrepid investigative research into Shiv and his methods, means and motivations. After approaching the gate and using the Gate Key upon it, the gate unlocked and Connor exited the hut. "You ready to ditch this wacky place? Let's hit the surface already," Connor mused. Myriad was still thinking about the scary battle that he had just endured and had with Shiv. That Aipom had been so overpowered in that battle. A Tail Slap that hit five times in one turn, which Shiv had spammed twice, via verbal command, to inflict a first turn strike of fifteen total hits. Aipom's held Oran Berry added further insult to malicious injuries. It was absurd to the nth degree. That damned Roselia had been a minor headache, with its Mega Drain spamming. The final Sneasel had been a little bit tanky, but its Icy Wind attacks had been endured with a breeze by Rhaegar. Shiv's Pokémon definitely deserve the nerf hammer treatment at this journey point. Connor and Myriad headed topside and made their way to back to the Vileplume that was just south of the wooden bridge near Lyra's hut. Using the Spice Powder caused the Vileplume to move aside, allowed the two Trainers passage past its stomping ground. "Feels good to finally bid adieu to that deep-set circus sideshow. Let's part ways for now. Never fear, I'll back you up when it's time to venture below-ground again and clear the brain fog from those brainwashed natives and their shaman. I'll meet you by the Vileplume," Connor said, his tone making it clear that yet again, his offer of assistance was not caused by a fear of the darkness. Myriad made his way back through Lyra's house and soon met up with Connor once more. The duo made their way past the Vileplume with the use of the Spice Powder that Shiv had given to Myriad upon his defeat in battle. Lost in thought about how extensive the psychological trauma that had been inflicted upon the robotic and mind-controlled villager would be once he freed them from their cursed state of being, Myriad sighed. No-one who mistreated Pokémon so deserved the right to be a Trainer of Pokémon. They deserved no Pokémon at all. Myriad encountered a male, shiny Level 10 Numel, which he caught and nicknamed Heatwave. It had the Own Tempo ability and it had great eggplant purple and crimson red colouration. Myriad immediately began to level it up to his team-mates' level. Once Myriad had done so, he redoubled his concerted and concentrated efforts to find the ever so elusive shiny Grubbin, which seemed, to him, to have a legendary Pokémon’s high capture rate as its shiny variation encounter rate. Nevertheless, Myriad was not the type to give up, nor avoid a challenge and so he continued this shiny hunt. The blue-jacketed young Trainer evolved his shiny, un-nicknamed Caterpie into a shiny Metapod and then into a shiny Butterfree. Myriad also evolved his shiny Weedle into a shiny Kakuna and then into a shiny Beedrill. Half of the fun and joy for Myriad was discovering which colour variation would greet him with each new discovery, capture and evolution of each of his shiny Pokémon. It was a major drawcard in regard to his enjoyment of and passion for Pokémon shiny hunting. Patience, consistency, perseverance and steadfastness were key when it came to the hunt of shiny critters. The same scene was had, albeit in a more natural fashion. This is what was said and done. Within Kukui's part of the village, a great gathering was held. "Upon my orders, I deem these two outsiders witches. They are to be given the ultimate punishment! They seek to defile our way of life. They pose a danger to us all," Chief Kuiki bellowed to his subordinates. "You deem us to be witches? Why, because our hair colour so offends your delicate male psyche? Are you five hundred, not fifty? We demand a fair trial. How dare you look your suckers in their eyes and still call yourself their superiour," Ava said wryly. "Our Lord, may he forever reign from on high, demands that these two must face justice! What better justice can there be, save for our ring," Chief Kuiki shouted, speaking over Ava. "Ex-SQUEEZE me? We're innocent. Please spare us our lives," Scarlett said pleadingly. Chief Kuiki rolled his eyes Heavenward. Ava glanced at Scarlett and minutely shook her head. "Scar, you can't reason with the insane. Take my sister, for example. Chief Crazy Frog, are you going to at least tell us the rules? If this is Fight Club, we deserve at least that," Ava said gruffly. "There are no rules. There is no escape. Firstly, we will unlock your prison cells. Secondly, we will watch you fight for your lives. Sound like fun for the whole family?," Chief Kuiki replied gleefully. "No. That sounds like the exact opposite of family fun," Scarlett said unhelpfully. "It's a suicide move, but it won't be your life on the line, Kuiki, it'll be our own. Give me my goddamn POKéMON first. Then we'll see who'll be the last one standing!," Ava sniped. The gathered crowd gasped, held in the thrall of Kuiki as well as in the grip of his outrage in the face of the defiance of the insolent ones before him. "No. You will serve your justice alone, without the crutch that you had been using up until this point. The crutch that had been your Pokémon," Chief Kuiki said venomously. "Un-be-freaking-lievable! You want us to fight your Donphan, unarmed, while you bid it to fight us with its tusks and fangs. HOW IS THAT FAIR?," Ava snarled. Chief Kuiki gave an infuriating, nonchalant shrug. "You'll rarely find that life itself is fair, twisted one. This is true justice," Chief Kuiki said soothingly. "Again with your justice bulldust. Does your precious Lord demand justice from us for us our mere existence? This is a miscarriage of JUSTICE, Your Honour. And you can shove your sanctimonious BS up your Feebas. If you even have one, that is," Ava added. Scarlett bounced up and down upon her toes as she spoke. "I agree with Ava. We've done no harm. We're innocent. Let us go freely!," Scarlett yowled. "Enough of this bothersome babbling! Let the death battle commence!," Chief Kuiki commanded. The cell doors were opened. "Turn, go forth and face your doom with dignity, honour and grace, foul Witch Duo. With the luck of our Lord upon our side, we shall soon be well rid of you and your deplorable magics," Chief Kuiki said, undeterred from his course of action. "Well, Scatterbug. This is so damn far from blooming brilliant," Ava said, stating the fracking obvious. The scene faded to black. Venturing past the impoverished villagers that he had fought the Pokémon of with his own Pokémon as well as Connor's own Pokémon, Myriad ventured past the Vileplume and due West along a grassy pathway. Stumbling upon a waterfall at the end of one particular path, Myriad discovered a door hidden behind its crashing deluge. A strange tablet upon the wall, after he had claimed a nearby Nugget, drew his eye and sparked his interest. Myriad approached it. Upon his inspection, it read: 'Expected a puzzle? Maybe not. You will just have to wait and see. Leave this poor sign alone, at least.' Within the centre of this rocky and secluded cavern was a pool of water. Further interaction with the stone tablet, eleven tablet presses later, made the tablet shift to one side. This revealed a fresh passageway. At its end was a loitering Croagunk and a blue PokeBall. The blue sphere contained a note and a Blue Piece. Myriad placed the Blue Piece within his Key Items pocket, then read the note. 'Great find, Myriad! However, by itself, this object is likely useless. Perhaps it is one piece within a larger puzzle?. Your benefactor, Shiv.' Myriad gave a mental groan. Shiv and his mind-games. No matter what, he could not extricate himself from their influence and from their grasp. After befriending the bored Croagunk and adding it to his team, Myriad exited the cave with the shiny, soft reset Croagunk. Making his way downtown along another pathway that was to the right of a staircase led Myriad to another Villager, a Paralyze Heal and a secondary sachet of Spice Powder, all of which he stowed away within his Items and Key Items pockets. Beside the waterfall, the Pansage that had taken him on a merry go round goose chase awaited Myriad. He battled it. After several soft resets, it showed up shiny and he captured it. Myriad deliberately nicknamed it Elm after a certain Pokémon Professor of the Johto Region. It seemed that his name had been spread like wildfire through the village populace, because as soon as he ventured due North at this path's initial split and then reached the penultimate two villagers, within the cave, that were guarding the raised path beside Shiv's hut, those Villagers hailed him, greeting him by name. "Myriad, The Bright and Fiery Warrior. You are expected, Bright Heart. Good fortune to you,” the villagers said. They spoke with a chilling and robotic synchronicity. Reaching the end of the South path after battling several Villagers, Myriad finally entered a clearing, leapt down into the village’s next part and then steeled himself for anything. A Poké Ball and a healing unit were nearby and Myriad made use of both. Two more battles later, Myriad reached a small temple. He collected Technical Machine X7 Rock Smash from a nearby hut, memorised the temple’s password within it, grabbed a nearby Potion to his left and then entered the temple. At long last, Myriad and Connor reached the ring. Myriad was immediately challenged to a battle by Chief Kuiki. With the fate of his friends resting upon his shoulders, Myriad accepted the challenge. Both sent forth their first Pokémon. The battle began in earnest. ********************************************************************* Meanwhile, in her own Pokémon journey, Merlot prepared to face Shiv. She continued to train her current team, adding a shiny Meowth that she nicknamed Giovanni to her current squad. Along with her trusty shiny starter Rockruff and her spirited shiny Poochyena, Cersei, Merlot felt that her starter team was finally starting to cobble together perfectly. Her beloved shiny Grubbin and her desired shiny Numel continued to elude her, but she felt that it would be only a matter of time before they made an appearance. They needed only to show up once and she would ensure that they would become hers to love, hers to train and hers to utilise in battle. This village of the indoctrinated, this hive of brainwashed and belligerent people could not be left to their own devices. It was Merlot's sacred duty to lift the veil from their shuttered and hostility-drenched eyes and lead them all to the resumption of their previous lives. Their thoughts, feelings and very being had been held at ransom for far too long a time for Merlot's comfort. It was time to bring an old way of life for them to an end and usher them all into a new and uncorrupted way of life for these pitiable people. Once all was said and done here, Merlot hoped that the villagers could process and transmute the evil that had been inflicted upon their psyche into a greater good. Entering the last hut upon the village's ground floor, Merlot encountered the very same black-haired and cryptic man that Myriad had. The exchange began with only a slight variation from Myriad's exchange with Shiv. "If it isn't Merlot and that fiery loudmouth. Why am I unsurprised," the man said evenly. Connor glanced at Merlot, a glint of suspicion within his eyes. "Do you know this creepazoid, Merlot? Please say no," Connor enquired drily. The man answered before Merlot could. "Merlot doesn't know me, but I know her. One Gate Key in return for one battle with Merlot. Take it if you wish to lift this place's curse. You may call me Shiv." Merlot sent out her level 17 shiny Rockruff. Shiv deployed his Level 14 monster Aipom and the battle was on. "Throw your Rock, my Rockruff!," Merlot commanded, and Rockruff assumed the pounce position and wagged his fluffy tail before he straightened up, bared his small canines and threw a massive rock at Aipom. The Aipom screeched in pain as the thrown rock pelted it, dealing a sizeable chunk of damage to its health. "Great job, Rockruff! Now Rock Throw and keep up this momentum," Merlot yelled. Rockruff, not wanting to lose any of the momentum that she had just gained, hurled another bulky rock at Aipom. "Attack now, Aipom! Tail Slap," Shiv demanded, his demeanour tense and his fists tightly clenched at his sides. The amnesiac man looked electrified with a passion for battle that he shared with his current opponent. "Rockruff, dodge it!," Merlot yelped and her Rockruff barked once in acknowledgement and leapt to one side. Aipom's tail hand missed slamming into Rockruff by a millimetre and Rockruff immediately capitalised upon this sudden and fresh advantage, throwing yet another rock at her opponent. "AIPOM! No," Shiv shouted, supremely dismayed to see his Aipom faint upon the battlefield. Shiv immediately sent out his next Pokémon, a Level 12 Roselia that shook its bouquet hands menacingly at Rockruff. "Return, Rockruff! Neville, show me what you've got," Merlot commanded, recalling her beloved Rockruff back into her Poké Ball before sending her Beedrill into the fray. "OK, Neville, Pursuit, then Twinneedle attack!," Merlot ordered. Neville gave a loud, affirmative buzz and then implemented the attacks that he had been directed to use. The Roselia was brought swiftly down by Neville's attacks and was swiftly and sullenly recalled by Shiv. "You're my last hope, Sneasel! Don't let me down, buddy. Go!," Shiv snarled, and sent out his Level 14 Sneasel. "Icy Wind!," Shiv commanded recklessly, seeming to have been somewhat deflated due to having thus far been cut down to size by Merlot's battle prowess. "Easy money, Shiv. Thanks in advance. Rockruff, decimate this clown of a 'mon! Go," Merlot responded, recalling Neville and sending out her Rockruff. Her shiny puppy Pokémon snarled at Sneasel and then awaited further instructions. "Rock Throw!," Merlot commanded and Rockruff decided to put on a show. She flung a gigantic rock at her opponent, dodged the blast of icy wind and then watched as the Sneasel was blasted into a faint state. Merlot beamed down at Rockruff with pride for a moment, having watched Sneasel plummet to the ground and get flung metaphorically into next week. She then recalled her rock puppy and then stared expectantly at Shiv. Connor smiled a small, reluctant and grudging grin. Shiv stared at Merlot for the longest time indeed, absolutely speechless. Finally, he spoke. "My hypothesis was correct about you, Merlot. You're one to keep a very close eye upon. A deal's a deal. Here's the key to the outside gate," Shiv said gravely. Handing over a Gate Key to Merlot as well as a little over 200 Pokédollars, he seemed to internally debate something for a moment before he next spoke. "And here's some Spice Powder. It'll be your ticket past the nearby Vileplume, which you'll need to get past to reach the village path to Kuiki. Head to the surface. Find his temple. Put a stop the evil being perpetrated here. I'll no doubt encounter you again, when least you expect it. Never forget your purpose. You'll regret it if you neglect it," Shiv said eerily. The enigmatic amnesiac then vanished from the hut. Just like magic from an Abra's Teleport move, Shiv was there and then he was gone. Merlot put the Gate Key within her Key Items pocket. "Welp, that will be my nightmare fuel for the next couple of nights at least. That's some Houdini-level shizz. OK, I'm going to catch my breath here for a few secs. Open that side gate already, Merlot, you unexpected battle beast. I'll meet you there and then we'll surface," Connor grumbled. Merlot took a gander at the book within which Shiv had been writing and noted the clue upon its cover. Its faded lettering read 'Under the crashing water's gaze, inside the crystal cave may you find the beginning of something truly strange.' Merlot made a mental note of the cryptic clue. Without further ado, Merlot left the hut, ventured to the gate in question and used the Gate Key. The gate opened, leading to a secondary switch. Merlot flipped the switch and then Connor met her outside of the hut. "Feels good to be topside. That riddle, that 'as above, so below' type of hogwash? I sincerely hope you uncover its mystery. Hop to it. We've got nutzoids to un-mind wipe. But first, I'mma do some solo stuff. I'll return to help you sweep the evil from this nightmarish wonderland, Not because I'm afraid of the dark, but because...my reasons are my own," Connor said, once Merlot met him in front of the barricade-like Vileplume. Before she meandered anywhere else but here, Merlot roamed the wild grass. She found a wild shiny Lotad and captured it. Nicknaming the Lotad Two-tone for the time being, Merlot raised Two-tone to level 14 and she evolved into a shiny Lombre. Sprinkling the Spice Powder upon the Vileplume revealed it to not only move from the path, but to be terribly neglected. Connor bet that it was a Trainer's Pokemon, most likely Kuiki's that had been left to guard the path that led to him. The Vileplume ran away, leaving Merlot with the sense that it longed to return to Kuiki's side, but knew better than to do so and risk his wrath. The Vileplume's dejected expression and the slump within its shoulders made Merlot's blood begin to boil. Her hands bunching into involuntary fists, Merlot felt a renewed desire to meet Kuiki and show him, in battle, that it was better to cherish your Pokemon and work with them instead of abuse their faith and trust in you. Meanwhile, in Kukui's part of the village, a congregation was held. "Upon your greater Chief's orders, I deem these two outsiders to be witches! Worse still, they are witches who seek to defile our way of life," Chief Kuiki bellowed to his subordinates. "Witches? Because our choice of hair colour does not match your own? What are you, five hundred years of age? We demand representation, a fair trial. Dusty old prune! How dare you," Ava said wryly. "To appease our Lord, these two must face justice! And what better justice can there be, I ask you, save for our ring," Chief Kuiki shouted, speaking over kk. "Ex-SQUEEZE me? We haven't done anything wrong. Please spare us that fate," Scarlett said pleadingly. Chief Kuiki rolled his eyes Heavenward, making Ava glance and Scarlett and minutely shake her head. "Scar, you're wasting your breath. You can't reason with those that are insane. Take my sister, for example. Hey, Chief Crazy, are you going to at least furnish the pair of us with the rules? We deserve at least that," Ava said gruffly. "Oh, certainly. You'll never leave this place. First, we will unlock your prison cells. Then we will watch you fight for your very lives against my Donphan. Good plan?," Chief Kuiki replied gleefully. "That sounds like a good plan's polar opposite," Scarlett said unhelpfully. "It's a suicide move, but it won't be your life on the line, Kuiki, it'll be our own. Give me my goddamn POKéMON first. Then we'll see who'll be the last one standing!," Ava sniped. The gathered crowd gasped, held in the thrall of Kuiki as well as in the grip of his outrage in the face of the defiance of the insolent ones before him. "No. You must serve your justice alone. You have used your innocent Pokemon for your own cruel purposes long enough," Chief Kuiki said venomously. "I see. You want us to fight your Donphan, unarmed, while you force it to fight us with its tusks and fangs. HOW IS THAT FAIR?," Ava snarled. "Life itself is unfair, twisted one. This is true justice," Chief Kuiki said soothingly. "Again with your justice baloney. Justice for what? For merely existing? We're innocent, Your Honour. I vote for a mistrial. A miscarriage of JUSTICE," Ava added. Scarlett bounced up and down upon her toes as she spoke. "I agree with Ava. We have done no harm. Let us go freely!," Scarlett yowled. "Enough talking! Release my Donphan. Let the fight to the death commence!," Chief Kuiki commanded, and the cell doors were opened. "Turn and face your doom with dignity, honour and grace, foul Witch Duo. We shall soon be well rid of you and your despicable magics," Chief Kuiki said, undeterred from his course of action. "Well, Shinx. This is not looking blooming brilliant," Ava said, stating the fracking obvious for all to hear. The scene faded to black. Merlot made her way to the temple. Soon, she encountered two villagers blocking the path ahead of her. It took some doing and some time, but Merlot eventually surged on through, winning her way past the stupefied villagers who then handed over her prize money. Merlot mimicked Myriad’s path through the forest, discovery of TMX7 and of the temple’s password. After entering the clearing and undergoing its final double battle, Merlot entered the temple. Chief Kuiki did not ignore this slight to his personage and Merlot's intrusion. He challenged her to face him in a Pokémon battle that would determine the fates of Ava and Scarlett. It was time to face the big enchilada. The big kahuna. Chief freaking Nutso, Kuiki. Merlot accepted. The battle began. *********************************************************************** Upload Schedule: Three current works upon this site necessitates a lot of time spent writing and editing, switch-ups of dialogue and so on. I will Endeavour to upload new creative content here with regularity. I'll try to not let too much time pass during uploads. I play each game as I write my take upon their story and scenes. This can be a blessing and a curse at times as I multitask between gameplay and writing. There exists this pesky little thing called muse. It strikes when it strikes and as soon as it does, it must be acted-upon. We all also have a life to live in the meantime and so that compounds matters all the more, but we all do what we can, as best as we can, when and where we can. Reviews: I cannot stress the fact more that reviews are key. I'm not trying to be salty or a gaslighter, but reviews are what make our content here well worth the effort and dedication of writing and uploading them here. In my honest opinion, leaving a critique or even just dropping a "Hi, I like your content" does and would go a long way to pay it forward to your fellow, hardworking writer/content creator. I can lead a metaphorical horse to water, but I can't make it drink. It's up to you to review if and when you're moved to do so. Writing without reviews feels more like journaling to me. It is isolating and frustrating at times, but it is ultimately worth doing to chronicle your thoughts, feelings and take upon these games.

Agreed! I really like this Nuzlocke so far. :) It's well-crafted and it's really entertaining. :)

Hi! New to this, but here are my Interviewee votes: 1. Mindlack 2. Dreamy 3. Shing Do I wait to pose my questions, or do I do so now? O.o

Ooooookay, so, hi! I am here to read and to review your Reborn story for two reasons. One is because you have read and critiqued one of my own fanfiction stories (which I still appreciate and respect.) Two is because now that I know that you've written a story of your own, or perhaps more than one that I have yet to become aware of, I feel that the time is ripe for me to repay the metaphorical favour and do so. Please note that I'll edit my review into this response because I am preemptively leaving my initial reply post here before my read through. Thanks again. :) EDIT: I have now read up to Part 1, Chapter 23. I quite like your character dialogue, your battle style and the way that you write your scenes. In particular, I had really enjoyed your math solution entry into The Onyx Trainer's School, your Mosswater Factory battles and your Taka battles. I would like to see more instances where rests between battles are required (either by Pokemon Center rest area rooms, as Gabriel had used previously) or via town and/or city inns or hotels. Also, I feel that the small but everyday things like morning routine requirements (daily showers, hair brushing, teeth cleaning, bathroom visit/s, breakfast) should be addressed every now and then, as well as essential item replacements and change/s of clothing and haircut/s. It is my hope that Gabriel and his team/s will gain confidence in himself and in their own selves and grow and develop to their fullest possible potential throughout this story.

Alright, thanks for breaking this down for me. I will continue trying to encounter a shiny Grubbin and a shiny Numel after I have defeated Shiv, reached Redcliff Town, brought more Poke Balls and ventured back to the cave to do some more shiny hunting. :) I'm stunned to hear that I'd managed to get the lowest encounter chance 'mon, Meowth, first, but that's how the cookie crumbles, I would say. I am undeterred. I will find the shinies that I seek and I will catch them, no matter what. * EDIT: I encountered and caught a shiny Numel! It's Level 10, nicknamed Heatwave and it has Own Tempo. 1/2 complete. xD

While I was searching for a shiny Grubbin (which I still haven't found) and a shiny Numel, I had encountered 5 shiny Poochyena and 1 shiny Meowth, but 0 shiny Grubbin and 0 shiny Numel. Can someone please explain? Are there shiny variation percentage rates between wild Pokemon and event Pokemon, and Pokemon in general? I have found most of the shiny variants of the Village cave within that cave, but not the ones that I've spent hours hunting for. Something does not add up here. Why would one Pokemon show up, more often than not shiny, more frequently than the others around it? I'm flummoxed and irritated by this.

OMG, I love every single one of these sprites - y'all are hella talented, just stop making me feel so jealous already! xD I would love nothing more nor less than to see this project reach unprecedented and god-tier (Hail Helix and Hail Lord Peeko!) heights with the help of this incredible community of Pokemon fans and Pokemon players. I could never hold even a modicum of a candle to the art that is spritework and I am not even going to attempt it, as my sprite attempts would be doomed to Doom Desire even before they have a chance to crystallise within my creative mind. Again, brilliantly done and I'll certainly keep close tabs upon this topic. Valyrian, Teleport! xD. I'm out.

Hi. Just looking for some fanart to hopefully save to my PC for my personal perusal. I was of the mind to create a personalised PowerPoint presentation of the art of Desolation and/or Reborn and/or Rejuvenation (but mainly Desolation, because that's most relevant to this particular part of the forum). Can anyone please PM me a link or multiple ones to the official Desolation fan artwork? Would this be OK? Thank you in advance. I appreciate your doing so. Cheers. I really am enjoying Pokemon Desolation thus far. I am up to the Shiv battle in both of my save files. #Grind Hard #No Shame #Both Saves.

Chapter One: The Best Laid Plans "How about we beat you in battle? If we win, you'll disarm your explosive. Scared, lady? You should be!," the red-haired Trainer demanded archly. Myriad shuffled from foot to foot, standing beside the green-haired Ava and the unknown and bespectacled redhead. Wide-eyed and quite a bit anxious, Myriad straightened his electric blue headband and prepared to pitch in and assist however he could. He had just gotten his Trainer Card, but he felt like he was destined to become Main Character Material. He was a hero, he just knew it. He burned to prove it to himself, to prove it to everyone aboard this cruise liner. He wore an electric blue jacket, The woman in black garb, wearing a mask, seemed unfazed by the double-battle threat before her. "You won't report what was done here. It's a deal. You won't obliterate me in battle, little boy. You may as well turn tail and rush back to cry within your cabin...while you still can," The Woman snarled, flinging out her Pokemon as she spoke with an idle wrist flick. She sent out Blaziken. "Come on, little miscreant. Send out your own Pokemon, unless they had been so pathetic in previous battle that you'd wilfully released them. If so, send out your new team. I'll crush them all," The Woman trash talked brashly. Red Hair sent out Growlithe, while Ava sent out Cradily. They tried to, rather, but they failed in their attempt to do so. "Ugh! My Poké Ball is stuck. It won't open!," Ava exclaimed, anguished as she stood to lose the battle before it had even begun. Red Hair shook his head, stunned, as he saw that his own Poke Ball was stubbornly closed off, as well. "My one won't open, also! What's the deal, Crazy Hair? What have you done to our Poké Balls?," Red Hair growled ferociously. "Aw, they won't work? Pity. See, I knew that aboard this ship were two capable Gym Leaders. As such, I couldn't allow such an easy sweep attempt upon my team to even have the slightest chance to occur. Enjoy your useless Poke Balls...and you're welcome," The Woman sneered, looking very much like the proverbial cat who had gotten the cream. "You won't get away with this!," Red Hair snapped, looking quite murderous. The Woman shrugged one refined and sculpted shoulder, managing to convey boredom, elegance and eloquence within that one action than most could within a lengthy paragraph of dialogue. "I don't see how you can stop me now. Your means of doing so have been oh so decadently tampered with. No one else has the gumption nor the capability to stop my plans and I now. Run along and meet your doom with dignity. It's all that you now have left to comfort you," The Woman said heartlessly. Her expression was focused, her eyes shuttered and merciless as she gazed upon those that would thwart her if they could only discover an alternate means of doing-so. She seemed supremely confident of their inability to do so. Seemed to enjoy their discomfort. "Scarlett! Get off the ship - NOW! If all is lost, then I won't lose you, as well. Live to fight another day, remember me well and know this. I'll be benevolently watching over you from wherever I will go next. No arguments, no tearful goodbyes, my friend, just please LEAVE!," Ava implored her pink-haired friend. Scarlett jumped upon being addressed this sharply, but then a resolute expression slid over her dismayed and frazzled features and she nodded, her gaze locked upon Ava's own gaze. "My associates and I are The Black Foxes. I hope that you can memorise and memorialise our eminent name in your afterlives, if you have them. If you believe in such a laughable thing as that and those," The Woman said harshly. All faded to black as chaos reigned supreme. *************************************************************************************** Myriad finally awoke, scrambling into a sit up as The Woman ordered her Blaziken to get to work. There was a noxious smokescreen all around him and all that he could hear, in echoed aftermath, were the screams of those around him, the sounds of destruction and devastation and the boat fracturing apart as though it had been made of balsa wood. Everywhere that Myriad turned, in the hazy remnants of his dream, figures that he couldn't clearly discern dashed to and fro. Some tried to assist those injured and in need before the ship met its watery end, carrying all onboard with it. Others attempted to rush the woman and attack her by physically grappling with her fearsome Blaziken, who retaliated with a vengeance and left heartbreaking ruination within its wake. He could still see the smoke around him, still smell and taste the tang of char upon the air, still feel mired down by the seeming sluggishness of his own movements as he raced to do anything, to say anything, that could have even a modicum of a chance to save all onboard. Myriad shook off the remnants of his dark dream and took a series of slow, deep and calming breaths. He did four repetitions of box breathing, folding his legs in lotus position upon his bed as he ignored the bunched bedcover that graced his lower body. His eyes were closed as he drifted consciously and carefully out of his impromptu meditation and when he did, Myriad felt calm, centred and focused, not mired down in fear, doubt and uncertainty, as he had been then. Myriad slowly uncurled out of lotus position and then got up from his bed, eyeing his pyjamas with slight distaste as he ran his gaze along the length of his teenage body. He blinked...and then he really woke up, from this secondary dream that had felt as real as real could feel to him. Myriad lay flat upon his back upon the sands of a beach. He could hear roiling waves lap at the nearby shoreline with a ravenous hunger and he could almost feel the patience and the inevitability within the water that could turn upon a dime from calm to tempestuous. A voice spoke, shattering the sense of tranquility within the storm that was raging in this moment. "Oh, come ON! Of everyone aboard that sinking ship, I had to find YOU within its wreckage? It's not fair. I demand a reroll of this situation, of this discovery, life. Kowtow to my wish," a snarky-sounding and masculine voice said insistently. A slap to Myriad's face sent the young Trainer sitting up with a glare that left murderous in the dust by a long shot. Red Hair met his level gaze, returning it with a disgruntled yet understanding look of his own. "Yeah, sorry. I usually don't do casuals well. But hey, hooray, you survived - thanks in no small part to me. So don't ever forget it, kid. Who are you, anyway? Thanks for gathering that ship intel. That explosive wouldn't have been found in not for you," Red Hair said nonchalantly. Myriad picked himself up to his feet and then listened as Red Hair continued to speak. "I'm Connor. You might remember me from the ship, or its disturbing remains. This storm will be a force, and I'd rather not be caught within its infinite grip. Move it! Let's get to cover," Red Hair - Connor - said bossily. Myriad followed Connor to the nearest forest opening, keeping in mind Connor's bleak and foreboding, not to mention menacing, assertion that they were not friends. The incessant pelting of the rain and the thundering boom and crash of the thunder and lightning around Myriad hurt far less than Connor's assertion, but Myriad fought to shake off the feelings of dejection and rejection as he raced after Connor. He passed through a leafy canopy that formed a roof of sorts over his head, entering a dark forest in Connor's wake. The sound of Connor's fleet footsteps acted as Myriad's compass as he darted after the irascible young man who had rescued him from an early grave. Myriad caught up to Connor at the forest's end. Connor gathered some nearby driftwood and started a controlled yet merry little campfire within the central clearing of the forest. "It looks like I'm stuck with you, at least for the time being. I'll try to catch you up. What's your name?," Connor grumbled, speaking a little less belligerently than he had beforehand. "I am Myriad," the new, brown-haired and blue-headbanded Trainer said. "Myriad? A unique name. I'm Connor. You'd best not forget my name. I'm one of this region's Gym Leaders. The Fire-Type Leader, as a matter of fact. Because I've been training a new team as of late, my strongest are at home. It's not advantageous. My current team won't be able to handle this type of action," Connor admitted grudgingly. "I've a rough idea about our current location. It's not far from a town that I know. I usually don't like being nice," Connor added. Myriad nodded and then when Connor stated his intention to call it a night, Myriad let the irritable Gym Leader sleep by the fireside. Once the next day dawned, the duo dashed their campfire and then made their way toward Redcliff Town, which Connor had made a passing reference to. In the meantime, Ava and Scarlett had, upon surviving the sinking ship by methods as yet unknown, washed up upon the very same beach that Myriad had been discovered upon by Connor. "ScarLETT, run!," Ava implored exasperatedly, while Scarlett huffed in response. "I'm not as fit as you. Can't you give this girl a break?," Scarlett drawled, as she reached the forest's entrance. "If you don't haul a - s - s, Scarlett, they'll be onto us like sniffer dogs. Move. It," Ava said unfeelingly. "I cannot run like you can. Let's just hide...please?," Scarlett suggested meekly. Ava sighed. "I promised Myriad that I would catch up with him later. Poor teen must be at his wit's end, wondering if he's the sole shipwreck surviver of the liner. Scar, let's hustle, or else we'll be caught by those goons," Ava relented, and the duo then ran across the beach as though their lives depended upon how fast they could outpace their pursuers, which it did. The Black Fox Grunts bolted forward, stopping just in front of the forest entrance. They spoke to each other briefly before they continued their pursuit. The Woman from the ship spoke, her eyes narrowed as she did so. "Persistent little pests, aren't they all? We will dominate regardless. There's no much further, so let's step to it. "The villagers here will come in handy," one of the Grunts said nastily. "They had better hold up their end of the deal," the secondary Grunt said brusquely. The Woman appeared supremely unconcerned. "The villagers won't, but their boss man has no other alternative but to co-operate with us. If he doesn't, then on his own head be it. Things are falling into place. Slowly but surely wins this race." "It's taking long enough," Grunt One complained in a needling tone. Grunt Two rolled her eyes and said nothing, but within her racing mind whirled layer upon layer of measures and counter-measures. Her game was the long con and she hadn't gotten this far without toeing the line and holding her peace. "How can you be sure that it's them?," Grunt One asked The Woman. She tilted her head slowly to one side, this one action of hers scaring the daylights out of the first of her subordinates because it was seconded by a slow and sinister smirk. "Those kids? Call it a hunch," The Woman said laconically. "You blew up the boat upon a hunch? You do realise that's insane, yeah?," Grunt One said feebly. The Woman gave no response, performing the thousand yard stare as she calculated the odds of her location and subsequent recapture of her prey. "We have been searching for quite some time now, with naught to show for it. I suggest that if we wish to corner our quarry, we need more ground cover. More Foxes on the prowl," Grunt Two said meaningfully. The Woman awarded Grunt Two a look of rare respect before she resumed her mask of aloofness and competence. "Bingo. It's time for The Foxes to make ourselves known again. Feared, unrivaled and respected again, as we had once been. Hence, the boat. You might have a point. Let's get to work," The Woman said seriously. "You first, Boss," Grunt One said, while Grunt Two acknowledged The Woman's praise and her colleague's response with a slight smile and a nod. The Woman's faint smirk broadened as her inferiours stood aside. All faded to black. The next day, Myriad and Connor set off after Myriad activated Connor's nearby Healing Machine. It looked like a silver claw from an arcade claw machine and it had a red handle. Upon being booted up, it sparkled with a luminous red and green glow. Connor moved on ahead and Myriad caught up with the impatient upstart of a redhead immediately after he had done so. Returning to the beach, Myriad met up with Connor and listened to Connor speak. "Check it. Debris everywhere, yet no people. Where did everyone go? Looks too boring for me to explore. Since I'm losing brain cells just talking to you, get a wriggle on and meet me when you're done here," Connor sniped and then he handed Myriad seven Poké Balls. Without further ado, Connor rushed off once more, moving toward the East at an impressive and brisk clip. Myriad kept Connor's Healing Kit in mind as he explored the beach, picking up what he could as he explored the area of impact. He checked out the Poke Balls that littered the beach, finding that each contained a different Pokemon within them. The selection was: Rockruff, Pancham, Electrike, Pancham, Skiddo, Venipede, Spheal and Doduo. The Rock-type Rockruff was a serious contender for first choice, because it was a strong 'mon and it had the Rock-type move Accelerock, which was a Rock-type Quick Attack and great for chip damage and Pokemon knock-outs. Pancham was the next best contender, because it was Fighting Type and quite strong if one caught one with the Mold Breaker and/or Defiant Ability. Skiddo, a Grass type and Electrike, an Electric type, were good Pokemon. Each had proven themselves to be ready and reliable in and out of a pinch. Spheal would help out handily at a moment's notice, as it was an Ice/Water 'mon. Being a Bug/Poison type, an early Venipide seemed to be a very tempting choice for Myriad to select. Rockruff was a pure Rock type, while Pancham was a pure Fighting type. Both would distinguish themselves within most early Pokemon battles. The Flying type Doduo, however, appealed to Myriad the least. He had never been a fan of the land bird 'mon and he wouldn't start stanning it now. Spheal, Venipede and Rockruff were looking desirable AF as first team members and so Myriad chose these three first of all. He was certain that Pancham, Skiddo, Litleo, Doduo and Electrike could be obtained at some point later within his Pokemon journey. After some deliberation, Myriad chose a Rockruff that he had shiny hunted for quite some time. She was a female Rockruff with the Vital Spirit Ability. Her EVs and IVs (Effort values and Individual Values) were good in some areas and not so great in other areas, but she was shiny and so that went a long way toward making up for these values. Making his way due East upon this route of sorts, Myriad was confronted by a villager who leapt down from the trees before him. The villager challenged Myriad to a battle that Myriad did not refuse. Myriad sent out Rockruff. The villager sent out his own Level 5 Poochyena, a Dark type Pokemon. "Rockruff, Tackle!," Myriad instructed. Rockruff bared her fangs and snarled at her opponent. With a sharp yelp, Rockruff launched itself at the Poochyena and sent it flying a decent distance away from herself. "Howl, Poochyena!," The Villager yowled and the Poochyena threw its head back and howled as if at the moon, raising its Attack stat sharply. Rockruff returned the favour by attacking the Poochyena with another Tackle and the Poochyena was knocked out for the count. The Villager sent out a Level 4 Yungoos, a Normal type. "Bite!," Myriad commanded and his Rockruff bit the Yungoos, landing a lucky Critical Hit and knocking her opponent into the eerie embrace of temporary oblivion that was known as the state of unconsciousness. The disgruntled Villager handed over the requisite victory prize money and Myriad continued past the dour Villager. Myriad fought a secondary Villager, who sent out a Flying type, Level 5 Starly. A swift Bite attack and a Tackle attack took the plump little bird out of the battle and the Villager sent in his secondary Pokemon, a Level 4 Sentret. It was a Normal type, which Myriad had Rockruff take down with Bite for a landslide victory. The Villager sent forth his secondary Pokemon, a Level 5 Dark/Poison type Stunky, which Rockruff then took down with Tackle attacks. Fortunately, the Stunky's attempt to poison Rockruff with Poison Gas missed, which helped to speed up the battle and sealed the 'mon's fate. The Villager handed over less than the right prize money (16 Poke Dollars, unlike the 20 Poke Dollars that the other Villagers had conceded to him) and then allowed Myriad to pass by him. After yet another Pokemon battle with a third Villager, in which two Tackles to a Dark type Alolan Rattata leveled Rockruff up to Level 10 and two Tackles to a Level 5 Normal/Flying type Hoothoot ceded the battle to the new Trainer, Myriad, he was awarded 20PD and allowed past this Villager. He made his way ever onward, finally reaching an unimpressed Connor, who was standing in front of another forest entrance. "You took your sweet time, but at least you seem semi-battle competent now. This opening is the only way that we can go. I'm quite certain that it will lead to Keneph Jungle, the villagers' reservation. I haven't been there, but I've heard tell of travellers who get lost within the upcoming route. Unless you want to swim, though, it's our only option," Connor ventured. After a slight pause, Connor continued. "Redcliff Town is at the jungle's North exit. I'll meet you there," Connor added. To no-one's shock, least of all Myriad's own, Connor surged ahead, leaving Myriad to beat feet in order to meet Connor as necessary. Myriad ventured into the secondary forest entrance and then located and captured a Level 6 Caterpie, which he nicknamed Luna after the Harry Potter character. Once he had encountered Connor standing in front of a pile of rocks, Myriad met Connor back at the forest entrance and once Connor's Vulpix incinerated the path-blocking tree nearby, the two male Trainers swept on through the remainder of the forest. Myriad raised Luna to first Level 7, at which point she evolved into Metapod and then Level 10, which promptly triggered her final evolution into Butterfree. Her Ability metamorphosed into Compound Eyes and she would provide much-needed additional strength to his Party. Myriad encountered his first wild shiny Pokemon, a Level 7 male Scatterbug, which he then captured. He nicknamed it Venom after the comic book character and decided to alternate it with Luna so that he could make adequate usage of both. In the forest, Myriad encountered, then captured, his second shiny, a Level 7 Caterpie. He did not nickname it and he kept it in his party to later box within his PC. Perhaps he would replace this Caterpie with Luna at some point, or not. This remained an option for him to consider at length. In any case, Myriad would evolve this Caterpie into its final form in future, if only to see what its shiny forms would look like. Upon encountering a shiny Weedle, Myriad whittled its health down to the yellow halfway point and then caught it. He chose not to nickname it. Myriad stood idly by as Connor attempted to defuse the village woman's ire within the hut at the back of the forest. "We don't want a fight, lady. We're not here to steal from you. We merely wish to get through this jungle. That's all. Your Vileplume blocks the way," Connor said tersely. "Oh, is that all? Why didn't you lead with that? You need a special powder to make the Vileplume move out of your way. You can get some from the village," The Village Woman said. "I'll get some, then. I'm not just going to hang about here - I have got a Gym to get back to," Connor responded. "Before you go, I have a quick favour to ask of you," The Village Woman said. "Rescue one water rat and look where it's gotten me. Now I'll be expected to be Mister Generosity until the end of time itself. What would you ask of me?," Connor replied warily. "My home is the gate to our village. I am its gatekeeper. My name is Lyra. I have been sentenced here by our Chief. My husband and I have been labeled traitors to our kind and to our cause. They hauled him away. I was sentenced to this job and to this hut," Lyra explained sadly. Lyra went on to explain that she trusted the Chief's reasoning and judgement, which led to Connor storming off toward the Village. Myriad vowed to at least check upon Lyra's husband and house, per Lyra's request, thanks in large part to his purity of heart and his unusual largesse of integrity. Following after Connor, Myriad descended into a cavernous cavern within which was situated a village of vast size. Taking Connor up upon his suggestion of a temporary team-up, Myriad made swift tracks through the village with Connor. A battle against the first two Villagers resulted within a match-up of Myriad's Neville and Connor's Fletchinder versus the rival Level 9 duo of Burmy and Poochyena. Fletchinder's Aerial Ace made short work of Poochyena, while Neville's Twinneedle attack cut Burmy and a secondary Bidoof and Rattata well down to size. They then questioned a villager in a nearby, rope-like hut about The Black Foxes and the villager confirmed that there were suspicious looking people in black within the village, but that he was meant to not speak of them. More villager interrogations revealed that everyone here respected and trusted the Village Chief Kuiki to such a degree that it was as if they had been compelled, through some subtle subterfuge or mind manipulation, to remain here and to view Kuiki as some ancient and revered deity. A further villager, another woman, asked if Connor and Myriad were here for some kind of 'cleanse.' This immediately struck Myriad as something to be unnerved and suspicious of and about. Too many people here had metaphorically drank every last drop of the proverbial Kool-Aid and all was not at all right here. The more that Myriad heard about this place, the more that he wished to tear it all of the way down. He felt a that a surge of injustice had been dealt here and he was determined to right every wrong that had been done here to everyone. It was soon revealed, after yet another battle, this time within the hut of a villager, that speaking out against the Chief would result within harsh reprisal, judgement and imprisonment. There was a mention of a 'ring', but it didn't sound like an engagement or a wedding ring, nor a promise ring. It sounded as if it were an arena in the vein of the gladiatorial arena within the Coliseum. After learning that Lyra's husband was imprisoned within 'the top hill,' Myriad and Connor made their way there and eventually to Lyra and her husband's hut. The hut visit revealed a kooky journal penned by Lyra's husband, within which his suspicions about the weirdness and wrongness of this village was written. The last journal entry trailed off erratically, perhaps via an interruption of some sort. A trip to a ledge with a lever upon it opened a door which led to a hut. Before going into this hut, Myriad trained his Pokemon until they were all level 17-18 and caught and raised a Numel from the village cave to Level 17, also. He evolved Rhaegar into his final form, Mightyena, in preparation for the boss battles ahead of him. Myriad caught a shiny female Sentret, which he left un-nicknamed for now. He evolved her into a shiny Furret. Myriad also found and caught a shiny Silcoon, which he nicknamed Dumbledore. He nicknamed it thusly because he knew that as a final evolution Beautifly, Dumbledore would be the epitome of fabulous. Myriad evolved him into a shiny Beautifly, naturally. Myriad found and captured a shiny Poochyena, which he nicknamed Rhaegar for the pallour of his fur. This would become a staple member of his team. Further training yielded a shiny Pidgey, which Myriad nicknamed Wingo after Voltsy's own, non-shiny Pidgey, Wingo. Myriad trained said shiny Wingo up to Level 17 in preparation of the battles ahead. At this point within the game, having everyone be at Level 17 was a huge boon. The second highest hut contained a black-haired man who seemed to know Myriad. However, Myriad had no recollection of this man at all and the man called himself Shiv. It seemed that he had forgotten what his own name was and so had decided upon a macabre pseudonym to put in its place. Myriad had to wonder what kind of traumatic event or injury could make anyone forget their own name. Shiv proposed a trade of one key to the locked gate for the price of one solo battle against Myriad. The bargain struck, the battle began. ********************************************************************************* What Myriad was not to know was that in an alternate universe, therein lay his counterpart. His polar opposite was Merlot, a brown-haired Pokemon Trainer that had undergone the exact same trials as he had, but whom had differed in only the variation within their Pokemon Party. Merlot had chosen a soft resetted shiny Rockruff as her Starter Pokemon, as Myriad had. Her shiny Rockruff was also female, but it had a different statistic spread to Myriad's own Rockruff. Once Merlot had finally caught up to Connor in front of some rocks that looked to be either accidentally or deliberately caved in, she met Connor at the clearing entrance and his Vulpix burnt down a tree at the top of the nearby stairwell with Ember. They then continued onward. Merlot caught, then leveled up through battle, a Weedle which she nicknamed Neville after the Harry Potter wizard. He was the unknowing counterpart of Myriad's Luna and Neville soon evolved into Kakuna and then into its final stage, Beedrill. It possessed the Sniper Ability. Due to having this incredible Ability, it was close to Merlot's heart. Vowing to capture more Pokemon (especially shiny ones) every step of the way through her adventure, Merlot continued through the forest and eventually reached a cabin at the very back of the forest. Within in, she and Connor encountered a hostile village woman, who immediately ordered them both to leave her home. Connor attempted to calm this woman down. Merlot observed from nearby. She, too, decided to check out the situation at the Village and fulfil Lyra's request while she was there. Merlot followed in Connor's wake and soon found herself at an underground village that was remarkably built within and situated within a huge cavern. Merlot spoke to Connor and after some dialogue with him, she set off with Connor as a temporary team. After questioning all of the villagers that Myriad had, Merlot and Connor continued through the creepy cave. They eventually reached kk after learning that two girls, one of them with bright green hair, had dashed through this village. They had promptly been seized and put into the ring. It would be Kuiki's bloodthirsty Donphan against two Trainers. Myriad vowed to stop further carnage from occurring. It was said that Chief Kuiki had once had a Legendary Pokemon. Myriad and Merlot didn't know how true or false this was, but they both leant more toward utter falsehood than whole truth. Through trials but nary an error, Merlot and Connor found themselves at Lyra and her husband's home. They stepped into the hut after grinding to Level 17. Merlot's capture of two great Pokemon (Pidgey and Caterpie, one of which she had evolved into Butterfree) would help to make this battle much easier than it otherwise would have been. This, she felt, was the penultimate battle at this point in time. This was her first true trial.

Thanks, Faint and Gentleman Jaggi, I'll certainly catch and train Caterpie into Butterfree, Stun Spore the Aipom, get the Numel and absolutely profit. :) Your team member suggestions are noted and valued. Which other five 'mons would help here? Yes, I'd thought so about Rockruff and still do. I will definitely get a Spheal first chance that I get (I, too, want the Rolly Boi. xD) Ice/Water typing is a great typing. I'd considered every potential Starter at length before I chose Rockruff, but every single permutation of team combination rerolled as Rockruff-led in my mind. It's the ideal Starter, in my opinion. I'm glad that. we were given the chance to have it in our early-game team. Rock Throw is going to help out so much in my playthrough. I'll make sure to have several alternate teams that I can switch up and alternate when I most need to. It'll mean more training, but honestly, I'm part of the #Grind Hard Squad already, battlewise. It'll fill out the Pokedex, for sure. I don't even mind. More shinies for the win! Shiny hunting is love, shiny hunting is the grind, shiny hunting is ultimately worth the hassle. EDIT: Shiv is down. I repeat, SHIV is down! Metaphorical shots fired. Two out of three of my protagonists have dealt with this miscreant, leaving but one individual only that is due to wreak havoc upon said shady and cryptic individual. I sense that he has more importance and value than I am currently aware of and look forward to learning more about said apparent nutzoid. That battle had been far too difficult for a first boss battle. I suggest the heavy application of a nerf hammer to the heads of Shiv and his team - particularly to his Aipom's Tail Slap (it never seemed to miss and it always hit five times) and to his Mega Drain spamming Roselia. Its Sneasel was the easiest to deal with. Only one of his Pokemon should have been given an Oran Berry, not two and certainly not one after the other, in my opinion. Rodger, dodger. Over and out.

Righto. Thanks again and I'll do as you've advised. I'll pick up a Hoothoot from the forest and Numel and a Grubbin from the cave and train them, as well as a Scatterbug (hopefully all shiny) and see if, at Level 17-18, these can help me with the Shiv and Kuiki battles. :) I'm feeling better about my chances already. that Tail Slap really is the bane of my playthrough at present. Rock Throw should hopefully become its bane.

OK, noted and thank you. Is there any Type or Pokemon advice at this stage of the game that you could recommend or advise to me? I agree. I must have seen a level 17 level cap within one of the other Pokemon fangames that I'm playing in alternation with this one and confused it with that fangame. That would explain my level cap misconception.

I am seriously contemplating a whole new save file so that I can a) not shiny hunt so much and therefore catch 'mons that are better suited to destroy that foul Aipom than my current save file and team, b) not stress so much about this and c) not drive myself batty via grind overlevel, which would only risk Pokemon disobedience. A Level 17 level cap is not appreciated - in my opinion, it should have been set to Level 20. The upcoming Kuiki battle immediately after that nightmare fuel Shiv battle is not at all appreciated, as well. Can anyone please advise as to which Pokemon and Types would be great to utterly annhilate both Shiv's team and Kuiki's team? Thanks in advance. This is such a demotivator to me and I'm trying to not let it put me off my continuance of this game. Any additional tips, advice and tips would go a long way to set my churning mind at ease.

Hi, everyone. So, I'm at many crossroads here. My choices are Rockruff, Litleo, Venipede, Doduo, Electrike, Pancham, Skiddo and Spheal. I'm thinking Rockruff (ACCELROCK, hail, yeah! xD), Spheal (Ice coverage, plus imo Walrein is strong), Pancham (Fighting boi) plus possibly Venipede (Early Poison 'mon) and Skiddo (Grass goat cute and strong later on) if possible. Are there any alternatives or suggestions that anyone here can give to me, because I want for my first playthrough to run as smoothly as possible? I am taking into account my own personal opinion here and others' own POV here. I also lean toward an Electrike team-mate. If you could please give me your thoughts, it would be very much appreciated. Decisions, decisions. Every second, every moment counts. Can I pick more than one? Please advise. Valyrian. * EDIT: Never mind - I can only choose one. So I choose Rockruff. Shiny hunted shiny Rockruff, hands down.

This is really helpful! Thank you very much. I will use this guide asap. I have yet to start playing Pokemon Desolation, but as soon as I alternate my playthrough of it with my playthroughs of Reborn and Rejuvenation, not to mention Empyrean and Xenoverse, I will do my best to locate and shiny hunt every one of these Pokemon and all Pokemon, in general. :) * EDIT: I now have Pokemon Desolation v5 and am enjoying this game immensely. I have beloved shiny Pokemon within it that I do not wish to lose. With this is mind, when I update to v5.1, should I still keep my older Desolation versions once I have the latest version, or should I delete them? I don't want to break and/or lose my saves.

Chapter One: The Gear Shift No longer could I stand to wear the clothing that I had almost perished within while aboard the ill-fated S.S. Oceana cruise liner. I changed my clothing. In my adventurer’s clothing – white and blue arctic combat-pants, black shirt, Pokemon Gear, black socks, light blue Nike running-shoes with their white shoelaces and white tick and my sky-blue bandana, which I wore around my neck – I, Alto, am finally ready to take on the world and the people of Aevium. My bubblegum-pink hair and warm brown eyes marked me as different at first glance. I had inherited my pink hair from my mother and my eyes from my father. They said that I wouldn't survive their clutches. Then they said that it mattered not that I had survived, when I had survived, because they would see me again. I, Alto, swore that not only would they meet me again, but that I would reclaim my captured mother from them and that I would also repay their savagery in kind. After recovering from my shock, I made my way past Oceana Pier, chose my first Pokemon, a Rowlet that I didn't nickname. I sought to fill out my team. I encountered, and caught, several nearby Pokemon, which I incorporated into my first Pokemon Party team. My heart and soul were set upon defending the defenceless, catching every worthwhile Pokemon that I could and taking step by calculated step toward my mother's captors and tormentors. I had been informed that their group's name was Team Xen. Filing this away for later analysis, I made my way to the Abandoned Sewers. With the help of a fellow Trainer, Ren, I fought off many Pokemon in double battles with Ren, then faced off against a Pokemon gang, which was led by a wild, shiny and unobtainable Garbodor. These Pokemon were in the final room with Melia, Professor Jenner's daughter, and with Venam. My team of Dartrix, Padfoot (my Dark-type Mightyena), Feebas (my Fairy/Poison fish), Buizel (my Water 'mon), Hermione (my Bug/Poison Dustox) and Fletchling (my Normal/Flying bird) handily defeated the Garbodor gang and saved the day. By the time that I raised my Pokemon to Level 19, I swept the first Poison Gym and bested Venam in battle to claim my first PoisonHeart Badge. I went upon a jaunt through Goldenrod Forest with Melia, where I faced a battle against Xen Grunts Eli and Sharon and their Zen Executive, Zetta. My capture of several Shadow Pokemon (Cacnea, Snorunt, Meowth and Finneon) aided me with these battles and I lived through them to get vacuumed through a dimensional rift. Within the rift, I encountered a Magikarp, which then proceeded to evolve into a startling Shadow Gyarados. It was intimidating and strong, but it was ultimately no match for my team and for my strategies. I persevered and prevailed to journey ever onward. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snag Shadow Gyarados before its inevitable defeat. I don't know why this was the case, but it was. I healed up my Pokemon and returned to East Gearen City, where I managed to soft rest, after two days of major reset struggles, for my latest team member. This Pokemon was the queen of my heart, a shiny female Nidoran whom I nicknamed Khaleesi, after the Mad Queen Daenerys Targaryen. I returned to the Sewers to train Khaleesi up to my team's current top level of nineteen. Some time later, Khaleesi leveled up to sixteen, evolved into Nidorina and then, through more battles, adavnced to reach level 19. I headed out of the Sewers and ventured forth to continue my Pokemon adventure through this vast and wondrous region. Not only was I determined to soft reset for every gift and wild Pokemon that I possibly could, but I was also determined to hunt down and soft reset for every available gift and quest Pokemon that I possibly could. I hadn't always been a shiny hunter, but I had caught the shiny hunting bug from ORAS and beyond and I couldn't shake it. The moment when I had managed to SR for my first shiny mythical 'mon had been the highlight of that year for me. I still am yet to top that moment in time and I still have that Pokemon that I have made sure to cherish. I also make a point of soft resetting in my other Pokemon playthrough and adventure of Pokemon Reborn, just as an aside. Once I had shiny hunted several more Pokemon (a shiny Trubbish, a shiny Rattata that I nicknamed Khal Drogo, a shiny Shuppet which I nicknamed Wraith, and a shiny Gulpin, which I nicknamed Vile). I found a wild Nidoran Male in the rain, beside a factory to the right-hand side of the Oceana Pier Gate. One Gourmet Treat offering from me and the Nidoran indicated that he wished to battle me and have a chance to join me via capture. I welcomed him onto my team after many soft resets and a capture. This ensured that he was shiny and that he was a part of my team. I nicknamed him Drogon, after the red and black dragon of Daenerys Targaryen. Seeing a flock of Fletchling nearby, I decided to shiny hunt for a shiny Fletchling, which proved immensely time-consuming and problematic, as one would not show up without a fight. However, once I had encountered a shiny Fletchling, I nicknamed it Ventilate and added it to my party. This team member was a replacement for my non-shiny Fletchling. It evolved, through leveling up, at Level 17, into a shiny Fletchinder. Once I had leveled my newest team members up to Level 19, I confirmed that there was nothing left for me to do in and around Gearen Laboratory. I backtracked to the Gearen Help building, entered it, met Ayumi and underwent Help orientation. After that, I undertook some requests, namely Save Starly!, Wretched Music, The Hidden Library and Love Letter. I don't want to undertake too many quests on at once and risk overleveling above the max level that I could level-up to safely, Level 23, which was just beneath the Level 25 secondary Badge level cap. Having one's Pokemon disobey one was never a great occurrence and idea. While leveling up, I encountered a wild shiny Weedle, which I caught, but did not nickname. While leveling to Level 20, I encountered and caught a shiny Pidove, which I nicknamed Aerate. I then encountered a shiny Pidgey, which I caught and nicknamed Skywalker. A Whismur in the Forest waited hungrily for a passerby to offer it a Gourmet Treat. Several battles and soft resets later, I encountered and captured a shiny Whismur, which I nicknamed Subwoofer. I leveled up my shiny Nidoran Male to Level 16. He evolved it into shiny Nidorino. I found a Zygarde Cell, during the day, just South of the Goldenwood Forest entrance, which I immediately added to my Bag. Doing so netted us both a shiny Pichu, a shiny Litleo and a shiny Growlithe, among other things. It was time to locate Route 2 and then...Sheridan Village. I backtracked to the Gearen Laboratory, walked into a room beside the Pokemon Center and immediately met Team Xen Executive Madelis, who sent out her ace, Houndoom, a Dark/Fire type, to battle Melia's shiny Togepi. After a short battle in which Melia won/lost, her Togepi teleported Melia from the building, necessitating a search and rescue mission. When I finally found Melia after countless Xen Grunt battles, I met Ren and Karrina at The Abandoned Factory at Junction Bridge, got some stuff done there and then continued onward. ************************************************************************************* In an alternate universe, Alto's alternate self, a red-haired boy of her own age, Arpeggio, did all of the things and saw all of the turmoil and things that Alto did. There were key differences in his Pokemon journey, though. His Pokemon were slightly different from her own and he had managed, unlike her, to be gifted, after several soft resets, with a Poison/Fairy type shiny Feebas. His Party consisted of Brionne (Water type), Gulpin, Beautifly (Bug/Flying type), Geodude (Rock/Ground type), shiny Rattata (Dark/Normal type) and his new shiny Feebas. He had also, unlike her, managed to capture a Rockruff within the Goldenwood Forest cave. He had later bred it to then trade one of them, many soft resets later, for a different form shiny Rockruff with Own Tempo. This was something that Alto vowed to do once she was able to. His journey varied slightly to her own and it was unknown as to whether or not it would be easier than or more difficult than her own journey. He had also caught multiple shiny Pokemon that I had also caught, namely shiny Fletchling, (Normal/Flying type), shiny Rattata (Dark/Normal type), shiny Nidoran (Male, Poison type), shiny Nidoran (Female, Poison type) and shiny Whismur, (Normal type) thus far. He, just like she, would record the journey for posterity, detailing everything that would be encountered, captured, battled and endured so that these details would not be lost to the ravages of time. After he completed a variety of Help Quests from the Help Plaza, so did I. He was my equal. My rival. He was almost exactly like me. At times, my alternate self seemed super lucky. He managed to encounter, then catch, a shiny Sentret, a shiny Trubbish and a shiny Noibat which appeared right after that. He nicknamed the shiny Trubbish Pungent and the shiny Noibat Boombox. Arpeggio's Fletchling leveled up to 17 and evolved into Fletchinder. Arpeggio promptly raised the shiny Sentret, Draco, one level and he evolved into a shiny Furret. * Current shinies that Arpeggio and I have found, thus far:

Hi. I'm really interested within trying this game out, but it does appear as if the vast majority of the legendaries, starters and mythicals are unavailable. Can anyone please tell me which of these may be available in Episode 5? Thank you in advance.

That's pretty lucky. I'm onto Day Two of normal Nidoran-F, with no shiny luck thus far. Hopefully, this changes for me asap. * HOLD. THE. PHONE. Look what I finally found! It wasn't shiny locked after all, just extremely difficult to SR for. I just had to name it after my queen. :) Thank you for your responses. One hundred million percent worth my time investment.

Alright, I will keep trying to SR it. Thanks for your rapidash response. Here's to not getting "dumb unlucky" from now on. *Sighs.* I hope that it's not a glitch. Also, should mention that I'm playing version 13.0.5. I hope that it hasn't been shiny-locked in this version, nor that other Pokemon like it may have been, because I'm going to SR every 'mon that I can in this Rejuvenation playthrough.

This is my second day of soft-resetting for the Gearen City female Nidoran and it stubbornly refuses to shift into its shiny via countless soft resets. If this Pokemon is shiny-locked, can someone please let me know, and I will then attempt to locate and catch or be gifted a Ditto so that I can shiny-breed for this Pokemon. I had expected that with the lowered shiny odds (which I happen to adore), it would have been a much less arduous attempt to attempt, but thus far, it has proven otherwise. Please advise. Thank you. Valyrian. PS: Please move this topic to wherever is most applicable, as I am unsure where an On The Hunt section is in this Rejuvenation discussion forum. Thanks.