Chapter One
 Night had fallen on Cinnibar Island. All was silent, except for the occastional footsteps of a Sunder Force guard making his rounds.
 A young girl sat across the street from the Pokémon Center, hiding in an alley.
 "Look, Jigglypuff," the girl said to her musical Pokémon. "That's where the Boss keeps all the Psychic Pokémon." Jigglypuff softly cooed back at her. "We gotta get Eric's Poké Balls back so we can all get off the island."
 Jigglypuff nodded. At the little girl's signal, their plan began.
  Jigglypuff bounced into the street. The two guards at the door of the Pokémon Center noticed it at the same time. Jigglypuff hailed a friendly greeting.
 "Hey, look at that," the first guard pointed. "What do you suppose that is?"
 "I'm not sure," the second replied. "Looks harmless though."
 Jigglypuff laughed.
 "I suppose it's a Pokémon," the first guard stated. "Maybe I should catch it. Would make my little girl happy."
 "Is she still bugging you about working so late?"
 "Yeah, and her mom too."
 "Well, let's catch it then. Do you have a Poké Ball?"
 "Of course." The guard drew a red and white ball with a small button on it. "All right, whatever you are," he said to Jigglypuff. "Let's keep this quiet, all right?"
 Jigglypuff just looked back at it.
 "That's a good Pokémon," the guard stated. He threw the ball!
 Jigglypuff leapt back. It vehemently shook itself 'no'.
 "It doesn't want to get caught," the second guard told his buddy. "And if you try to weaken it, you'll wake up half the island."
 Jigglypuff laughed again. It's eyes started to twinkle as it opened it's mouth and began to sing.
 "Wow," the first guard declared. "That's a nice song."
 "So relaxing," the second guard added. "I wish things like this happened every night."
 It didn't take long before the hypnotic powers of Jigglypuff's Sing attack had rendered the two guards completely unconscious.
 From the alley, the girl saw that the guards were asleep, and removed her earplugs. Although she could stay awake longer then most people could, this wasn't the time to take chances.
 "Great job, Jigglypuff!" she congradulated. Picking it up, she quietly made her way into the Pokémon Center.
 The girl knew that there was only a skeleton crew left on the island. She also knew that Sunder Force was after something on the far side of Mt. Moon. Her older brother Eric had friends who got him all sorts of information.
 It had been a couple of months since Sunder Force had invaded their peaceful island. The mostly Fire and Poison Pokémon of the Island trainers were no match for the Water and Psychic types used by Sunder Force. Many of the older trainers had been forced into joining the ranks. Eric had avoided being pressed into service by just not 'happening' to be at home when the guards made their rounds. However, his Psychic Pokémon, as well as everybody else's, were locked up in the Pokémon Center.
 There were very few guards inside the Center, because the few that were left were defending the island from outside interference. The girl and Jigglypuff had no problem sneaking past most of them.
  She tripped in something. The loud clang of some metal object alerted a guard to their presence.
 "Sing, Jigglypuff!" the girl whispered as she ducked into a shadow, covering her ears.
 A guard came around the corner and was greeted by Jigglypuff, standing innocently, starting to sing.
 "Hey, cut that out," the guard hissed. "You'll wake up everybody." This guard obviously didn't know what a Jigglypuff was either, and the girl had to fight down the urge to laugh at him.
 "I said stop..." the guard insisted. "Oh, what the hell..." He sat down. "Such a nice song... Might as well listen... to... it..." Within seconds he was asleep.
 The girl came out of hiding and patted Jigglypuff. "Let's go," she whispered. Making their way down the corridor, they came to the room that held the captured Pokémon. Jigglypuff's song must have had a longer range then she had thought, because the two guards here were asleep as well.
 This is too easy, the girl thought to herself. Then again, most of the guards were Cinnibar residents, and weren't about to exert themselves to serve the Sunder Force. She carefully opened the door and they slipped in.
 The feeble moonlight from the window presented row upon row of Poké Balls. Eric had told her that his four Poké Balls had a purple eye painted on them. Although it was hard to see, she soon found the four eye Poké Balls. The girl put them in her backpack.
 She was about to leave when she looked around the room again. Fifty or sixty Psychic Pokémon had been stolen from the Cinnibar residents. Was it right to just take Eric's and leave the rest here?
 Jigglypuff senced her hesitation. It looked out the window, and quietly called her over. Right outside the window were many packing crates and trolleys. In fact, one large open crate was sitting on one.
 Opportunity knocked. The girl climbed out the window and quietly pushed the trolly over. Then, in seven minutes, she and Jigglypuff had emptied the room of Psychic Pokémon.

 "Did you get them?" Eric asked.
 "Sure did!" the girl answered. She gave him his four Psychic Pokémon: Mr. Mime, Staryu, Abra, and Butterfree. "Got a few extras too!"
 "Extras?" Eric asked. "What do you mean? I hope you didn't take anyone else's Pokémon."
 "Yeah, I did," she replied. "I got every single one of them in a crate behind our house," she declared. "Before we go, you can put out an EMail telling all your buddies to come and get them."
 Eric nodded. "That would be best." He flipped on his computer. Although the Sunder Force controlled most types of communication, they still couldn't get EMail. Eric sent a message to all the people he knew telling them their Psychic Pokémon had been rescued, and to forward the message to everyone they knew. He added at the bottom that they were leaving that night, and urged them to do the same.
 "All right, Heidi, come on," he said. "Where's Jigglypuff?"
 It came out of the kitchen holding a banana.
 "Time to go?" she asked.
 "Yep."

 Most of Cinnibar Island's coastline was beach, but there was one rocky part. It was at this rocky part that Eric's friend Robert was waiting for them with his motorboat. Four other trainers that Eric didn't know sat in the boat waiting for them.
 "I hope you appreciate this," Robert snapped at him. Robert wasn't exactly friendly at the best of times, and having to wake up early really set him off.
 "Sure do," Eric replied. "Don't drive too close to the island, or the guards will hear the boat and we'll all be screwed."
 Robert nodded.
 The rocky side of Cinnibar pointed into the ocean, so after about 15 minutes Robert turned towards Pallet Town. Eric and Heidi introduced themselves when they were out of earshot.
 "My name's Leah," the older girl replied. "This is Thomas, Lauren and Pittman."
 "Pittman?" Eric asked. "Sounds like a last name."
 "It is," Pittman replied. Eric nodded.
 "What is THAT thing?" Thomas asked, pointing at Jigglypuff.
 "It's my Jigglypuff," Heidi replied.
 "Ugly, isn't it?" Robert asked.
 "It is not!" Heidi shouted. Jigglypuff shrilled it's agreement.
 A gunshot rang out!
 "Oh, damn!" Robert cursed. Spotlights lit up all along the coast.
 The seven trainers paniced. Robert pointed the boat straight away from the island.
 A shotlight shone on them, and a second later a rifle shot sounded.
 "We're hit!" Robert shouted. "Eric, we should turn back. We're better captured then drowned."
 Water started coming on board from the round hole in the bottom of the boat.
 "No way!" Eric shouted. "We've gotta try to make it. How else will we save Cinnibar Island?"
 Jigglypuff finished eating the banana it had taken, and jumped to the hole! With a triumphant shout, it jabbed the banana peel into the opening!
 "That thing is pretty smart," Leah stated.
 "It may look harmless, but Heidi's been training it extremely well," Eric told her. "Just now, it helped Heidi recover ALL the Psychic Pokémon from the Pokémon Center."
 The others were impressed.
 "How's that hole?" Robert asked.
 "Jigglypuff's got it!" Heidi answered. She was mopping up the water that had gotten in with a blanket.
 Soon, they were out of the range of the spotlights. But they weren't out of danger yet. The sounds of many motorboats firing up could now be heard.
 Lauren had been silent until now. "If we trash a few of their motorboats, they might give up," she suggested.
 "All right," Robert agreed. He could see one of them advancing on their escape boat. "Scyther, come out!"
 From Robert's Poké Ball came the fearsome Scyther, a ferocious Bug type that boasted two wicked scythes on it's arms. "Scyther, fly over there and take that boat out! Double Team, Slash attack!"
 Scyther's wings opened and it half flew, half leapt towards the other boat. Using it's Double Team move, it appeared to split into two! The two images of Scyther landed on either side of the boat, and began hacking it to shreds. The soldiers on board jumped and dodged to avoid being flayed apart. At the front of the large boat, the two Scyther became one again, and it actually carved it's name in the side of the ship before jumping up and plunging right through it into the sea. That, coupled with the huge chunks taken out of the side, ensured the ship wouldn't be long in sinking.
 Scyther burst from the water and landed next to Robert, careful not to accidentally decapitate anyone. Robert recalled it.
 "Are they turning around yet?" Thomas asked.
 "Not yet!" Robert declared.
 "Then it's my turn!" Pittman declared. "Golduck, go!"
 The sleek Water fighter dove into the water. "Golduck!" Pittman ordered. "Take out those boats with Whirlpool!" Nodding, Golduck swam underwater and began it's unique attack. It soon caused a large whirlpool which sucked in three of the enemy's motorboats.
 "Showoff," Robert scoffed.
 Golduck returned to the boat. Pittman recalled it.
 "They're turning around!" Heidi cheered. Jigglypuff shrilled. It was sitting on the banana peel.
 Robert changed course. "They're going to start looking for us in Pallet," he declared. "We should head for Viridian. I think I have enough gas to get there, as long as Jigglypuff keeps the boat plugged."
 Eric nodded.

 "Does ANYONE wanna tell me what we're doing on this godforsaken mountain?" Geoff shouted.
 "Calm down," Nick told him. "Getting all worked up won't find the way out of here."
 "Be quiet," Geoff snapped. "I feel like bitching at something. Uiru!"
 "What?!" Uiru shouted back.
 "What are we doing wandering lost on this dumb mountain?"
 "We are not wandering lost! I know exactly where we're going!"
 "Then tell me how to get off it!"
 Jessica sighed. The three of them had been in foul moods for the past week.
 "Boys, boys, boys," she inturrupted. "Would you like me to explain what's going on for you?"
 "Be my guest," Geoff replied icily. "I sure as hell don't know."
 "Should have been paying attention," Uiru muttered to Nick.
 "Shut up Uiru!"
 "Quiet!" Jessica shouted at them. In a much more civil tone, she began. "All right, about a week ago, we gave Sunder Force a good thrashing at the Battle of Magenta Park, at the base of this mountain. Although we royally beat them down, before we could catch Sunder, their leader, he had made off towards this mountain. The locals call it Mt. Moon, and many of the world's legends have their origins here.
 "Anyway, it was only after we cleaned up Magenta Park that we realized our friends Erin and Patrick were missing. Reports indicated that two of Sunder's lieutenants had grabbed them and had taken them to their base, not far from the town. And right now, while we chase Sunder, Matt and Allison are attacking Sunder Force's base."
 "Where I should be," Geoff growled. "I'm only here because he's the leader." Geoff thumbed at Uiru. "But next time, I do as I please."
 "You don't think I'd rather be taking down their fortress too?" Uiru replied. "Right now, catching Sunder is more important then trashing their base. The base can't escape and plot against us in private."
 "But Sunder isn't holding your best friend captive!" Geoff shouted at him.
 "Hey- We're all worried about them," Nick inturrupted. "Patrick's been my friend for ages. But you don't see me getting all pissy about not being there."
 "Mustn't be very good friends then."
 "Geoff!" Jessica shouted at him.
 "That's low, man," Nick informed him. "What you need to understand is that this isn't playtime during recess- this is war! Uiru leads Fire Strike now because he puts the cause before himself. He knows that stopping Sunder will save a lot more lives then trashing one of his many bases."
 "That's right," Uiru agreed. "I like crushing enemy bases just as much as everyone else on Fire Strike. But right now this is more important."
 An awkward silence fell. Uiru and Nick exchanged glances as Geoff stared at the ground.
 "It's getting late," Jessica stated after a while. "Are we going to stay here for now, or keep going for a while?"
 "I'll tell you what I'm going to do," Geoff announced. "Arcanine, come out!" He hopped onto the back of the big puppy Pokémon. "I'm tired of walking."
 "Good idea," Uiru admitted. "Sandslash, I choose you!"
 "Let's go, Starmie!" Jessica called out her big starfish.
 Nick stood there. "None of my Pokémon are ridable," he said.
 Geoff nodded. "Nidorino, come out!" Nidorino appeared next to Nick. "You can borrow my Nidorino for a while."
 Nick hopped on.
 Uiru pointed southeast. "From what I've heard, there's a path that goes more or less straight around and then down the mountain. It's in this direction."

 A few hours later, the four Pokémon were getting tired, and it was really late. However, they had covered a lot of ground.
 "Hey, look over there!" Nick pointed towards a plateau. He got off Nidorino and went over to it. "You can see for miles from up here!"
 Uiru rode up on Sandslash. "Mt. Moon seperates this part of the world from the area we're familiar with," he explained. "The PLM has no power here; this place is run by the Pokémon League."
 "Never heard of that," Jessica stated.
 "Not many people have. There's very little contact between this country and our own."
 "Do they at least know about the PLM?" Nick asked.
 "Some of them," Uiru answered. "However, the PLM has absolutely no influence here. So if we screw up, Booster can't come bail us out."
 Above, a Pidgeotto started cawing noisily.
 "What do you suppose that thing's problem is?" Geoff asked.
 "Who knows?" Jessica replied. She called back her Starmie. Arcanine, Nidorino and Sandslash were recalled as well. "Another night of sleeping on the ground. Uiru, when we get home I'm gonna max out the PLM's credit rating at the biggest, fanciest hotel in Charteruse."
 "Good idea," Nick replied.

Chapter Two
 Pidgeotto returned to it's trainer- a rather evil looking person by the name of Jeremy.
 "Hey, Sunder," he called. "Pidgeotto found Uiru and his buddies."
 Sunder had taken his first lieutenant into the hills. "All right," Sunder answered. "Stop Uiru, understand?"
 "Yes, sir," Jeremy replied. "Are you going to the Tower, sir?"
 "Yes," Sunder answered. "I think we have enough Fire Pokémon collected for our little project."
 "Are you going to unleash it on Uiru?" Jeremy asked. "You'll burn the whole forest down."
 Sunder shrugged. "I'm sure they have a few Water Pokémon, the little goodie-goodies will probably try to fight the fire as well as our little pet. Try to keep them on this mountain as long as you can. Even if they beat what's coming for them, which I seriously doubt, they might get caught in the fire."
 "Yes sir."

 The next morning, the four awoke, stiff and uncomfortable.
 Geoff stretched. "Well, that sucked," he declared.
 "Guess we'd better head out," Nick declared. "Can I borrow your Nidorino, Geoff?"
 "I think it might still be tired," Geoff stated.
 "Let's just walk for a while," Jessica suggested. "Stretch a bit."
 Uiru pointed. "Path's this way," he declared.
 As they headed down the path, a loud stomping was soon audible. From around a turn stomped a Kanghaskhan! Atop it was Jeremy, Sunder's 1st Lieutenant!
 "Hold, Uiru!" he shouted. "You can't go past..." Jeremy's attention was drawn elsewhere. "Geoff?!"
 "Jeremy!" Geoff shouted. "You son of a bitch! I'll smash you hard!"
 "Need some help, Geoff?" Nick asked.
 "No. I can handle this guy." Geoff thought of the Pokémon Jeremy had the last time he'd seen him, and chose Scyther. "Come out!"
 "Kanghaskhan, go!" Jeremy declared.
 What was a narrow path through the forest was a large clearing seconds later. Scyther's incredible speed and destructive power was matched by Kangaskhan's rocky hide and powerful punches. Several trees were unfortunate recipients of missed shots, however, no tree took more then one hit.
 "Kanghaskhan, Dizzy Punch!" Jeremy ordered.
 "Scyther, Double Team!"
 Kanghaskhan wound up and gave one of the images of Scyther a mighty blast that WOULD have sent it flying, had it been the right Scyther. Scyther ended the attack and gave Kanghaskhan a viscious Slash from behind.
 "Kanghaskhan, return! Graveler, go!"
 "Scyther, Slash!"
 Scyther wound up and brought it's blades down on Graveler's head. CLANG. Graveler delivered a Body Slam, sending Scyther flying.
 "It can't fight Graveler, it's too hard!" Jessica shouted.
 "I know that! Scyther, return! Go, Gyarados!"
 Graveler whipped up a Rock Slide attack at the same time Gyarados delivered a Hydro Pump. Amazingly, the rocks went through the water and smashed Gyarados! It wasn't beat yet though, and the next Hydro Pump did Graveler in for good.
 "Clefairy, I choose you! Metronome!"
 "Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"
 Clefairy dove out of the way of the powerful concentration of pure physical energy and struck back with Thunderbolt! The very lucky result of Clefairy's Metronome attack was enough to knock out Gyarados.
 "Return! Arcanine, attack!"
 Arcanine charged and struck with Take Down. The small creature couldn't take much more after that. Jeremy recalled it and sent out Kabuto.
 "He's got a Kabuto?" Uiru asked. "The only other person I've seen with a Kabuto is Allison."
 "The only person I know with an Omanyte is me," Nick replied.
 Arcanine could Flamethrower and Take Down until it was blue in the face, it wouldn't affect Kabuto one bit. It's Hydro Pump attack finally beat Arcanine. Although Kabuto was at a much lower level then Arcanine, Kabuto's Rock-Water heritage ensured that no Fire type would be able to beat it.
  "Go, Kadabra!" Geoff shouted. His fourth Pokémon was the mighty Kadabra, one of the most powerful Psychics known to the world of Pokémon. Kabuto charged, but Kadabra glowed a brillient yellow, and Kabuto bounced right off it. Then Kadabra started glowing purple, and Kabuto was blasted repeatedly from all sides by it's Psychic Attack.
 Jeremy could see Kabuto couldn't take much more. "Kabuto, return!" But before he could decide which Pokémon to use, a loud rumbling was heard.
 "What's that?" Uiru asked.
 "An earthquake?" Jessica asked.
 "You'll wish it was," Jeremy stated. "Uiru, do you remember the giant Gengar you fought?"
 "I sure do, you bastard," Uiru snapped back. A few weeks ago, they had battled a huge Gengar at the Battle of Ivory Lake. The giant Gengar used a special Ghost attack that quite nearly killed many of their Pokémon.
 "Did you ever wonder how Sunder came about it?"
 "Yeah," Nick replied. "How did you do it?"
 "Well, I can't tell you that, but I can tell you one thing," Jeremy replied.
 "What's that?" Uiru asked.
 "LOOK." Jeremy pointed behind them.
 Geoff looked. "Oh, frig," he stated simply.
 "See you later!" Jeremy waved. "Enjoy playing with Ninetails, our new giant Pokémon!"

 Ninetails was, like the Gengar before it, averaging 50 feet in height. It caught sight of the four and moved towards them, breathing fire.
 "I'll distract it!" Jessica declared. "You guys better come up with something, fast! Starmie, come out!" Jessica jumped on Starmie. Flying up near the monster's head, Starmie fired repeated blasts of Hydro Pump.
 "Uiru, is she always that spontaneous?" Nick asked him, trying hard to conceal the half-grin.
 "Yeah, most of the time." Uiru didn't catch what Nick had meant right away, but when he did, he hit him.
 "Guys. Plan," Geoff stated. "We need one. Dragonair, go! Use the Bubblebeam!"
 Being a marine dragon Pokémon, it was quite simple for Dragonair to learn Bubblebeam. It fired the stream of powerful soapy bubbles straight at the beast, which was trying to Flamethrower Jessica and Starmie. It suddenly changed tactics and used Fire Spin, but wasn't aiming at anyone in preticular.
 "It missed," Nick stated.
 "No it didn't," Uiru answered. "It's set fire to the forest!" Behind them, a whole row of trees had burst into flame, effectively blocking off any conventional escape. It started using Fire Blast to clear away the trees left between the four and itself. Fire Blast was strong enough to just incinerate whatever it hit, without setting fire to it.
 "Getting mad now," Nick declared. "Everybody, come out! Hydro Pump on the big bastard!"
 Nick's six Pokémon, Kingler, Tentacruel, Horsea, Omanyte, Squirtle, and Golduck appeared. Although it seemed odd having three unevolved Pokémon in his crew, Omanyte wasn't ready to evolve, and Horsea and Squirtle just didn't want to. They were just as powerful as their evolved companions, however.
 The six reared back and launched powerful Water blasts at the giant Ninetails. It didn't seem to be damaging it much.
 Uiru summoned his anti-Fire squad, Blastoise and Sandslash. "Blastoise, Hydro Pump! Sandslash, Earthquake!"
 If Ninetails and Gengar were any indication, these giant Pokémon were very slow to attack. Like Gengar before it, the fighters got in a few rounds of damage first before it made a move against them. Now, however, it launched a Flamethrower at Nick and his team.
 Squirtle raised a Withdraw circle around it so large it encompassed Nick and Horsea as well, effectively blocking out the fire. The others recieved a fair amount of damage- although strong against Fire, from something this big, it didn't matter anymore. Nick was soaking wet.
 Jessica flew down next to Nick. "Give me Horsea," she demanded.
 He handed it over. "What do you need it for?"
 "Gonna slow down Ninetails," she declared.
 Behind them, the fire was burning away the forest in all directions, and slowly moving towards them.
 Jessica flew up near Ninetails with Horsea in her hands. "Smokescreen, Horsea!" she shouted. To maximize the effectiveness of the attack, Starmie hovered all around Ninetails while Horsea deposited it's cloud of inky smoke around it. Ninetails now could not see. Horsea was pooped, however- generating a cloud that big took a lot out of it.
 Jessica returned Horsea, who went back to it's Poké Ball, and then flew up to fire Hydro Pumps into the cloud. Uiru's Blastoise lined up with Nick's five and fired continual Hydro blasts at the murky darkness.
 Ninetails started launching Flamethrowers and Confuse Rays in all directions. An unlucky shot of Confuse Ray nailed Golduck and Tentacruel, requiring them be returned.
 "Sandslash, Rock Slide and Earthquake!" Uiru ordered.
 If the fire hadn't done enough damage to the land already, this next combo of attacks would. While the ground under Ninetails shook and cracked, huge chunks of it flew up and smacked into the giant fire fox.
 Unfortunately, the Smokescreen wore off right about now. Ninetails attacked anew with Fire Spin and Flamethrower. Jessica barely dodged a searing blast by leaping straight up off Starmie while it dodged low. She landed on it and almost fell, but it balanced out, then fired at Ninetails again.
 The ground under Ninetails crumpled and shattered a second time as Uiru had Sandslash use it's destructive attacks again.
 Jessica landed, then ordered Starmie to use a new attack she had been working on. "Starmie- use the Water Cyclone move!"
 Starmie flew up directly above Ninetails and fired water blasts from each of it's eight points. It pointed these blasts straight down, and began to spin! The raging column of watery power very soon became exactly what it was named- a cyclone, formed from pure water. It blasted Ninetails repeatedly, and it couldn't escape the cyclone's grasp. Sandslash used a third Earthquake, adding to Ninetails' problems, and the others continued blasting away at it. When the water tornado finally disappated, Ninetails stood for a moment, then collapsed. Within a few seconds, it faded and disappeared.
 "All right!" the four shouted. "We beat it!"
 "We're not done yet though," Jessica reminded. "Half the forest is burning!"
 Ninetails' repeated Flamethrowers had started huge fires in many places. Although the Pokémon were tired, they started spraying the flames without being told. Starmie went to a preticularly large blaze and Water Cycloned it.

 In the end, the PLM wound up waterbombing the fires out. Matt and Allison showed up along with Patrick and Erin.
 "Hey guys!" Uiru shouted.
 "How'd it go at the base?" Jessica asked.
 "Totaled," Allison replied. "It was so pathetically easy. I think that's where all their rookies were training."
 "Me and Allison fought with Arctic Point and like nine other units. I'm sure we could have beat them with half that," Matt informed them.
 "There, see?" Nick said to Geoff. "Aren't you glad you came with us now?"
 "You two alright?" Uiru asked Patrick and Erin.
 "Yeah, we're fine," Patrick answered. "Allison's Dugtrio burrowed right into our cell, and we got out that way."
 Nick looked over across the clearing. "Hey! Who's been at my helicopter?!" Fire Strike had it's own helicopter. Nick was the only one who had any idea how to fly it.
 "Well..." Erin started. "It was fast, and a lot better then most of the PLM's fleet."
 Nick nodded, and laughed. "I remember overhearing the Boss chew out Booster for letting us have it. That was one of the funniest things I'd ever heard. But who flew it?"
 "It's not as hard as you'd think," Matt explained. "One of the Arctic Point guys knew how to fly, so he took off and landed it. But I got it here."
 "Yeah, that's why we're late," Patrick stated. "Anyway, what happened?"

 This was big news on the unfamiliar side of Mt. Moon. Pewter City and Cerulean City, the towns at the base of Mt. Moon, were abuzz with the news of a giant Pokémon rampaging through the mountain forest. As well as the news of the four trainers who took it down.
 As it turned out, the nurses in this country were just as stubborn yet kindhearted as the ones Fire Strike were used to back home. And they STILL looked identical. When she saw Uiru and the others being dogged by reporters, she managed to singlehandedly clean out the entire place.
 "I don't think real mosquitos suck as much blood as those people," the nurse declared as she threw the last of them out.
 Fire Strike were seated on some of the many couches littering the Pokémon Center's living space.
 "So there's another giant Pokémon?" Patrick asked.
 "Yep. This one was a Ninetails," Jessica replied.
 "You know, this is a really big problem," Uiru began.
 Nick sighed. "Here we go, the long depressing plotline-revealing speech about the fate of all humanity."
 Uiru ignored him. "Sunder Force apparently knows how to spawn giant Pokémon monsters, which they probably have at least some control over. Gengar was the first, which we tanked, and now Ninetails."
 "This is where one of us has to ask why, right?" Matt asked.
 "Yes."
 "Okay. 'But the question is, why?'" He said it with such fake enthousiasm that the others couldn't help but laugh.
 "That's a very cliché line, you know," Erin stated.
 "Could have been worse. He could have done it in a Spanish accent," Uiru stated. "ANYWAY. Why is it. Do they use these monsters against us or just to smash things?"
 "It looks like they use them against us, but there've only been two so far," Allison replied. "It might just be coincidence we're around when they unleash them."
 "So what do we do now, O Great One?" Geoff asked, looking at Uiru.
 "Will you stop that? It's getting annoying. And I'm not sure. Sunder could be a thousand miles away from here by now."
 "Maybe the PLM has some information," Erin suggested.
 Uiru nodded. But before he could reply, a very upset nurse came into the room. She went to where Uiru and the others were seated. "You're Fire Strike of the PLM, correct?" she asked. Uiru nodded again. "My cousin just called- there's a giant Arbok attacking Viridian City!"
 "Bastards!" Nick cursed. "I'll fire up the chopper."

Chapter Three
 "What in God's name...?" Eric asked.
 "Let's go back to Pallet," Thomas suggested. "I'd rather take my chances with Sunder Force."
 The huge Arbok was slithering towards the town, a rather annoyed look on it's face. The giant snake Pokémon was intent on trashing Viridian City.
 "It just looked at us," Leah announced.
 "It's coming!" Heidi shrieked. Jigglypuff shrieked as well.
 "I'll deal with this!" Lauren declared. She disappeared inside a nearby building. She came out a moment later on the roof. "Ditto, go!"
 "That pink thing against that giant snake?" Pittman asked. "Are you crazy?"
 "Just watch! Ditto- TRANSFORM!"
 It took a few seconds, but Ditto successfully mutated into the giant Arbok!
 "Ditto, Skull Bash! Knock it out of here!"
 Ditto charged at the enemy Arbok and smashed it in the underbelly. Attempting to keep it out of Viridian, Ditto blocked the way, and whapped it with it's tail.
 Arbok opened up with Poison Sting, but the poisonous needles were like mere pinpricks on Ditto's giant snake hide. Ditto dove for it's middle with a giant Bite move. Arbok howled, but chomped down on Ditto's neck.
 "Ditto, Counter!" Lauren shouted. Ditto ripped itself away from Arbok and gave it a head butt from below. Both giant snakes were wounded. Black poisonous blood ran down their bodies.
 "Will Ditto be okay?" Heidi asked.
 "It should," Eric told her.
 Arbok smacked Ditto across the head with it's tail, then dove at it with Bite again. Ditto dodged the move and Wrapped the snake up, then bit it again!
 "You know, it would be funnier if Ditto bit itself," Thomas stated.
 Leah hit him. "This is serious!" she scolded.
 "Ditto might be winning," Robert announced as the imitation snake gave it a thrashing.
 As he spoke, however, Arbok managed to shake Ditto loose and actually threw it! Landing with a crash, Ditto quickly righted itself and spat a blob of burning Acid at Arbok. While normally the Poison attack would be ineffective on a Poison Pokémon, Ditto managed to nail Arbok's body wound. Arbok Screeched in pain.
 The trainers on the ground had to cover their ears.
 While Arbok was recovering, Ditto grabbed it with the end of it's tail and Slammed it on the ground repeatedly. It Wrapped it again, and with one final Bite, bit the evil demon snake clear in half! The two parts vanished as they struck the ground with a crash.
 "Ditto, Reform!" Lauren shouted. Again, it took a moment, but Ditto became it's old self again. However, it was extremely weak. "Return!"
 A helicopter landed nearby. Uiru jumped out of it. "Hey!" he shouted. "Where'd the Arbok go?"
 "I defeated it!" Lauren shouted back.
 "You mean we're too late?" he asked.
 A crowd was forming nearby. "These guys over here just beat the Arbok," someone shouted to the masses. "And those guys over in the helicopter kicked the crap out of a titanic Ninetails this morning!"
 The rest of the trainers filed out of the chopper. "Okay, I'm confused," Uiru announced.

 The two groups of young trainers didn't get a chance to properly introduce themselves until much later at the Viridian Pokémon Center.
 "You're from where?" Leah asked.
 "Charteruse City," Allison repeated.
 "The seven of us are all from Cinnibar Island," Eric told Uiru.
 "That's the island a ways south from here, right?" Uiru asked. He had been looking at a map of the area. Eric nodded.
 Jessica picked up Jigglypuff. "I've never seen this Pokémon before. It's so cute!"
 Heidi laughed. "It's my Jigglypuff! It's really powerful!"
 "Really? What can it do?"
 "It can put anybody to sleep with it's song! It can also lock out enemy moves, shield itself from magic attacks, and has some really strong physicial attacks!"
 "Wow, it sounds like you've a great trainer."
 "I am! But Eric helps me a lot."
 Robert looked at him. "You help train that pathetic balloon?"
 "It's not-" Eric started.
 "It's not a pathetic balloon!" Heidi shouted. "It could beat any of your wimpy Flying Pokémon into the ground!"
 Silence fell as the challenge was issued.
 "Okay, outside!" Robert shouted. "Nobody insults my Flying Pokémon."
 Leah laughed. "Don't you think you're overreacting slightly? She's just a kid."
 "No," Robert replied. Heidi and Jigglypuff stomped outside. Robert followed her.

 "One on one!" Heidi shouted. "My Jigglypuff against your 'best' Flying type!"
 "All right then! Farfetch'd, attack!"
 "Jigglypuff, go!"
 The others sat back to watch the battle.
 "Farfetch'd, Sky Attack!" Robert shouted. Farfetch'd ultimate attack would destroy Jigglypuff. Although it was incredibly difficult teaching it to Farfetch'd, for some reason.
 Farfetch'd began to glow!
 "Jigglypuff, Disable!" Heidi ordered. Jigglypuff glowed pink, and then Farfetch'd squawked in surprise. It couldn't finish the attack!
 Both Robert and Farfetch'd were temporarily stunned, so Heidi launched an all-out offensive. "Body Slam, Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff tackled the confused bird Pokémon. Then it jumped up in the air and delivered a Jump Kick! Farfetch'd landed with a crash, and Jigglypuff finished it's killer combo with a Mega Punch from the air.
 "You're getting pounded by a nine-year-old," Eric reminded Robert.
 "Shut up! Farfetch'd, you okay?"
 Farfetch'd knew if it lost, it and it's trainer would be horribly disgraced. It pulled itself to it's feet and squawked a battle cry.
 "All right! Swords Dance, Farfetch'd! Counter!"
 "Jigglypuff, Pound!" Jigglypuff ran at the powered-up Farfetch'd, but it smacked it with it's leek twig, knocking it away. Farfetch'd went after it, giving it a severe thrashing.
 "Low Kick!" Heidi shouted. Jigglypuff hit it with a sweep kick, knocking it over. Then, rearing back, it delivered a Mega Kick to the bird's backside!
 Farfetch'd was getting mad now. It caught itself in midair and dove at Jigglypuff, Slashing with it's minisword. Jigglypuff tried to Counterattack but Farfetch'd was too fast.
 "Jigglypuff, Agility!" Heidi ordered. The next time Farfetch'd dove at Jigglypuff, it jumped back. Then, showing it's newfound speed, it rolled under the swooping Farfetch'd and struck it with a Rolling Kick! Almost in the same instant, it was after the duck with a Jump Kick. Farfetch'd parried the attack and pounded Jigglypuff with the stick while it delivered power punch after power kick.
 Jigglypuff dodged a terrific swing from Farfetch'd and rushed in with Double Edge. The attack was powerful enough to finish off Farfetch'd but Jigglypuff was severely weakened as well.
 The tired Jigglypuff returned to Heidi, who scooped it up with a shout of joy. "Still think it's a pathetic balloon?" she taunted.
 Seething with rage, Robert recalled Farfetch'd and stomped into the Center to heal it.
 "I said it was strong," Eric said as he passed.
 "Shut up."

 Jigglypuff got some food and went to bed early.
 "Doesn't it sleep in your Poké Ball?" Allison asked Heidi.
 "No," she answered. "Jigglypuff doesn't like it in there. It stays with me all the time."
 Matt and Patrick were trying to cheer Robert up.
 "Your Farfetch'd fought really hard," Matt told him. "Most Pokémon couldn't take half the beating it took."
 "And you almost blasted Jigglypuff away!" Patrick added. "I've heard they've got a ton of health. Draining their power takes a lot of effort."
 "She's still a little kid," Robert scowled. "Eric will never shut up about this one."
 "So challenge him," Patrick suggested.
 "Nah, all his Pokémon are masters of attacks Jigglypuff used. He did help train the stupid thing."
 Matt nodded. "Disable is a very useful attack. Agility is very powerful as well."
 Robert nodded as well. "Eric's Pokémon have those powers and more. With their Psychic power, my Flying types can't get close to them, and even if I did land a hit, he'd use Recover."
 "What do you have?" Patrick asked.
 "I've got Farfetch'd, Scyther, Pidgeotto and Fearow," Robert replied.
  "Cool. I've got Venusaur, Victreebel, Vileplume, Exeggutor, Tangela and Parasect," Matt stated.
 "And I have Butterfree, Beedrill, Scyther, Pincir, Parasect and Venomoth," Patrick finished.
 "Might as well get this over with now," Matt stated. He pointed around the room. "Geoff over there has Dragonair, Kadabra, Nidorino, Scyther, Gyarados and Arcanine. Jessica uses Machoke, Haunter, Marowak, Starmie, Scyther and Electabuzz. Erin has Weezing, Arbok, Muk, Nidorino, Nidorina, and Hypno."
 Patrick continued. "Nick has Omanyte, Horsea, Squirtle, Golduck, Tentacruel, and Kingler. Allison has Arcanine, Kabutops, Beedrill, Primeape, Magneton and Dugtrio. And Uiru has Butterfree, Sandslash, Blastoise, Raichu and Kadabra."
 "Only five?" Robert asked.
 "Yeah. He hasn't decided what he wants as his sixth yet," Matt replied.
 "Ah," Robert said. "Pittman has Golduck, Ivysaur, Graveler and his pet Meowth. Leah has Cubone, Sandshrew and Onix. Eric has Mr. Mime, Staryu, Abra and Butterfree. Lauren has Ditto, Charmeleon, Kadabra, Exeggcute, Electrode and Vaporeon. Thomas has Wartortle, Rhyhorn, Victreebel, Dodrio, Kaunter, and Primeape. And Heidi has Jigglypuff."
 "Well, now that the exposition's over..." Patrick started.
 Matt noticed Uiru holding the door for Jessica. "Oh, there he goes again."
 "What?" Robert asked.
 "Uiru's going out with Jessica again." Matt laughed. "If you think you have it bad with Eric now, it can't be worse then the hell Nick puts them through. He doesn't let up."
 "I aim to please," Nick spoke up. He came up to them. "I'm taking a poll. If you think Jessica is the cutest thing in all creation, say aye."
 "Aye," Matt and Patrick answered.
 Robert shrugged. "She's all right," he replied. "She seems too nice for my likings though."
 Matt laughed again. "You've never seen her on a bad day," he informed Robert. "She almost killed Nick with a broken broom handle once, after she missed trying to crack it over his head."
 Robert's gloom finally cracked, and he laughed. "What did you do?" he asked.
 "Made one too many remarks about their... personal activities," Nick grinned.
 "OOH... Really?" Robert asked.
 "No, of course not," Patrick replied. "They're like fifteen."
 Across the room, Leah, Erin, Lauren and Allison sat looking at them.
 "What do you think they're talking about?" Erin asked.
 "Girls," Allison answered. "At least Nick is, the dirty minded perv."
 "It's a well known fact," Leah started, "that when four or more males gather, they talk about women."
 Eric poked his two cents worth into the conversation. "And when four or more females gather, they talk about men, correct?"

 A few hours later, Uiru and Jessica were on their way back to the Center when Lauren ran up to them. She was clearly upset about something.
 "Uiru!" she shouted. "Sunder just called the Center. He's in the middle of Viridian Forest, and wants to battle!"
 "Take us to him!" Uiru declared.
 "Uiru!" Jessica intrrupted. "All our Pokémon are being recharged at the Center, remember?"
 "Oh... right."
 "You guys run back and get your Pokémon. I'll go start the party, okay?"
 "Okay. Be careful!" Uiru warned.
 On the way back to the Center, Jessica looked at him. "You're starting to sound like Booster. 'Be careful' this, 'Be careful' that."
 "Oh be quiet."
 The other twelve trainers stampeded up to them. "Did you see Lauren?" Thomas asked.
 "Yeah, she's on her way to battle Sunder," Uiru replied.
 "What kind of crap did she feed you?" Eric shouted. "She's not on her way to battle him- she's probably going to give him our Pokémon!"
 "What?!" Jessica's eyes lit up like fire. "She's got our Pokémon?!"
 Allison handed her four Poké Balls. "Here," she said. "Machoke and Haunter are gone."
 Matt gave Uiru his four. "She took Kadabra," he reported.
 "Into the woods!" Uiru declared. As one, the fourteen trainers charged into Viridian Forest.

 Lauren laughed as she ran through the woods. What a haul! Twelve Pokémon from those idiots. It wasn't just random though- Sunder had instructed her specifically to get Uiru's Kadabra, Geoff's Dragonair, as well as Robert's Scyther and Pittman's Golduck. And, of course, as many others as she could carry. She would have gotten the Jigglypuff as well, but it wasn't in a Poké Ball and she didn't have time to look for one.
 Since it was nighttime, it was even more difficult to navigate Viridian Forest.
 "No time to guess! Abra, come out!" Eric shouted. His Mr. Mime had been pinched. "Lead us to that little bitch!"
 Abra's PSY powers quickly detected her, and it ran down the path. The others followed. It wasn't long before they caught up with the young girl.
 "Lauren, stop!" Leah shouted. She ignored her.
 "She's not getting away with my Pincir! Butterfree, Venomoth! String Shot!" Patrick called his butterfly Pokémon to stop Lauren. The sticky goop hit her, causing her to drop some of the Poké Balls. She quickly grabbed a few and continued running.
 "Who owns these?" Nick asked as he grabbed them.
 "We'll figure it out later!" Thomas shouted.
 Butterfree and Venomoth flew ahead of Lauren, then turned and dove straight at her. The agile little thief dodged both Tackles, but the others were catching up.
 Lauren burst into a clearing. In the middle of the small field was Sunder, sitting in a helicopter. She jumped in. The engine started and the rotor blades began turning. It began to take off!
 "They're not getting away!" Matt swore. "Venusaur, Victreebel! Vine Whip that chopper!"
 While Venusaur grabbed it with it's many vines, Victreebel sent one around Venusaur and one around a nearby tree.
 "Sandshrew, Cubone!" Leah shouted. Her Onix was gone. "Climb the vines!"
 The helicopter suddenly discharged an electric shock! The jolt ran through the vines and zapped Venusaur and Victreebel. Cubone and Sandshrew fell to the ground.
 "Shit! Marowak, go! Bonemerang, quick!" Jessica called her evolved form of Cubone to try to stop the chopper. It threw the bone straight at the heli, but it was stronger then it looked. It resumed course!
 "God DAMMIT!!" Uiru roared. "Raichu, come out! Thunder!" Although Raichu tried valiently, it missed the chopper.
 By now it was out of range.
 "DAMMIT!!" Jessica cursed. She fell to her knees. "Haunter... Machoke..."
 Uiru tried to comfort her. "Lauren dropped lots of Poké Balls," he told her. "Maybe you got them back."
 Jessica shook her head. "I know they have them..."
 Of the twelve Poké Balls Lauren had stolen, six were recovered. Haunter and Machoke were not among them, however. Uiru's Kadabra, Geoff's Dragonair, Pittman's Graveler and Nick's Omanyte were also gone.
 The Pokémon that were still out were returned. A painful silence fell.
 Heidi looked around. "What are you all standing around here for?!" she suddenly shouted. "If you want your Pokémon back, then let's go take them back! There's 14 of us and only one Sunder!" Jigglypuff shouted it's agreement.
 "That's right!" Nick agreed. "Robert, that chopper headed east. What's east from here?"
 "Celadon City and then Saffron City," Robert answered.
 "They're probably headed for Celadon," Eric announced. "There's an abandoned base there. Not many people know about it."
 "Back to the chopper!" Nick declared. "We'll have our Pokémon back by this time tomorrow!"

Chapter Four
 Unfortunately, before that happened, they had a little problem to deal with first.
 "Well, look on the bright side," Matt stated. "At least it's only a 40 foot tall Vileplume." Vileplume was short, but it was also rather wide.
 Unlike the others, Vileplume made the first move. It unleashed a cloud of Poisonpowder over the trainers!
 Choking, Uiru shouted, "Don't breathe it in!" That was proving exceedingly difficult, however, as there was nothing else to breathe.
 "Pidgeotto, Fearow!" Robert choked. "Whirlwind the powder away!" Within a few seconds, the two birds had cleaned out the air.
 Coughing, Uiru summoned Sandslash and Butterfree. "It's part Poison, right?" he asked Matt. He nodded. "Okay! Sandslash, hang back and use Earthquake! Butterfree, Psychic!"
 Leah called out Cubone, Sandshrew and her reclaimed Onix. "Don't get too close," she warned them. "Grass attacks will heavily damage Rock and Ground types."
 Vileplume shot out green orbs of energy. They struck Sandshrew and Sandslash! In an instant, it had sapped all their energy dry! They fainted!
 "Ground is no good!" Uiru shouted as he recalled Sandslash. "Water isn't either!"
 "I don't think Fighting would work," Allison said, referring to her Primeape.
 "Fire should though!" Geoff shouted. "Arcanine, go! Fire Blast!"
 Vileplume definately did not like Fire Blast.
 "Grass attacks are ineffective on Bugs and Flying, as well as other Grass," Matt announced. "So send them out!" Matt deployed his six: Venusaur, Victreebel, Tangela, Parasect, Exeggutor, and a normal sized Vileplume. He ordered them to attack with their Powder moves.
 Patrick summoned all six of his Pokémon: Butterfree, Beedrill, Pincir, Scyther, Venomoth and Parasect. "Butterfree, Venomoth, Psychic! Everyone else, attack!"
 Robert sent Pidgeotto and Fearow to peck at Vileplume. It hit them with it's Mega Drain attack but didn't do that much damage.
 "If Dragonair was here, it'd smash this thing," Geoff complained. "Hey, wait... Robert! If Flying types are strong against Grass, what about my Gyarados?"
 "I think it'll still be ineffective!" Robert replied. "Pidgeotto, Wing Attack! Fearow, Drill Peck!"
 Geoff called out his Gyarados and Kadabra. "Gyarados, Bite! Kadabra, Disable!"
 Using it's incredibly powerful Psychic strength, Kadabra actually managed to lock out Mega Drain! It then opened with a PSY Beam attack.
 Seeing Patrick's Scyther taking chunks out of Vileplume's body, Jessica, Geoff and Robert summoned theirs as well. With all the bugs flying around it, though, Geoff's Arcanine had to be careful where it aimed the Fire Blasts.
 "Leech Life, Parasect!" Matt shouted. The Bug attack was Super Effective on the Grass-Poison giant.
 Pittman chose Pincir and Thomas called out Dodrio. Both leapt high in the air and Scratched and Slashed at Vileplume.
 It released a second Powder attack! The orange Stun Spore showered over the party. Robert quickly called Pidgeotto and Fearow to Whirlwind it away again, but some of their Pokémon were Paralyzed and had to be returned.
 "Is Arcanine all right?" Leah asked Geoff.
 "It'll be fine!" Geoff declared. "Arcanine! Ninth Hell, now!"
 "Ninth Hell?" Uiru asked.
 "Watch!" Geoff replied.
 Arcanine glowed an unholy shade of red, then began running around the giant flower. Soon, only a red ring could be seen circling Vileplume. The many Bugs attacking Vileplume suddenly decided to vacate the premises. It was a good thing too, because the intense fire energy exploded in a brilliant eruption of pure magma! The pillar of molten rock solidified, and sank back underground. Vileplume was fried, and it disappeared!
 "Yeah!" the trainers cheered.
 "And now, with no further ado... To the chopper!" Nick repeated.
 "Wait!" Eric shouted. "Heidi's unconscious!"

 At the hospital, it was determined that Heidi was sick due to the poison. Leah and Robert were poisoned as well, and Matt and Erin weren't moving properly due to the allergic reactions caused by Stun Spore.
 "I've got to stay with Heidi," Eric told Uiru. "Can you guys handle it?"
 "Yeah, we can do it," Pittman declared.
 "Let's go, quick!" Geoff shouted. "I want my Dragonair back!"
 "We'll be back to see you guys when we catch Sunder," Patrick promised.
 Matt nodded- sort of.

 At Uiru's suggestion, they didn't go inside the Pokémon Center. He knew very well that the nurse would march them all off to bed. It was past midnight already.
 "Ever been in a really good chopper?" Nick asked Thomas. He shook his head no. "Well, you're in for a treat then."
 "Does your PLM give helicopters to all it's teenage units?" Pittman asked as they boarded.
 "Nope," Allison replied. "We happen to be one of the Boss's personal favorite units."
 "We worked really hard to build up our rep," Geoff added. "Smashing bases, defeating enemy empires, and now taking down supersize Pokémon hellbent on mindless, wanton destruction."
 Pittman nodded. "Evil enemy empires... The only thing that even closely resembled an evil empire on this side of Mt. Moon was Team Rocket."
 "But they were destroyed like a decade ago," Thomas stated.
 "What kind of stupid name is that?" Patrick asked. "It's almost as bad as 'Sunder Force'."
 By this time the helicopter was in the air.
 "You know I'm one of the PLM's youngest pilots?" Nick shouted back.
 Thomas nodded. "Show me how to fly this thing later, okay?"
 Nick laughed. "I'm not training rookies on my baby."
 In the back, Uiru held up a Poké Ball. "I think... I'm going to have Butterfree here dump every powder it has right down Sunder's throat. Just because."
 Jessica nodded. "If he's hurt our Pokémon, I'm going to rip out his intestine and strangle him with it." Uiru suppressed a laugh. Jessica was one of most seemingly harmless people he knew. "What are you laughing at?"
 "I'm not laughing."
 "You think something's funny. What is it?"
 Uiru shook his head. "Not a thing."

 The helicopter flew over Viridian Forest and soon the trainers could see Cycling Road. Even at this hour of the night, bikers tore up and down the steep slope.
 Nick landed the chopper just outside Celadon City.
 "I havn't been here in years," Pittman announced. "Place has gotten bigger."
 "You do know where the hidden basement is, right?" Thomas asked.
 "Of course. All we have to do is find the pool in the middle of the city."
 Forty minutes later, it became apparent that the pool not going to be found.
 "Dammit!" Pittman cursed.
 Nearby was a newspaper stand. Allison looked at the headlines. "Major Renovations to Celadon Grand Casino Halted," she read.
 Pittman picked up a paper. "I think that might be the site of the old Rocket Game Corner," he declared. He read the story.
 "Hey, buddy!" the vendor shouted. "That'll be 45 Pokéyen."
 "Oh... right. Sorry." Pittman tossed him some cash. "Anyway... Yep, this looks like the place. Apparently, the removal of the 'expansive' basement was halted. Some rich guy wanted to rent the basement for an undisclosed reason."
 "I didn't know Sunder was rich," Jessica stated.
 "He IS the leader of Sunder Force," Patrick reminded.
 "Oh, right." Jessica looked at the paper. "So where is it? I say we go blow the place to pieces and get our Pokémon back."
 "The casino part is legitimate, as legit as casinos get, anyway," Pittman declared. "The owners and patrons probably have no idea what the basement is used for."
 "Man..." Geoff complained. "I havn't destroyed a building in ages! Uiru, after we pick up the others, we're finding one of their bases and smashing it flat out of principle."
 Uiru laughed. "I know what you mean."
 "I like you guys. You're so destructive," Thomas stated.
 "Fire Strike built it's reputation on flattening enemy bases," Allison informed him. "So, where is this casino?"
 Pittman pointed. "Should be down this street a ways."

 "Sorry, you can't come in," the guard repeated.
 "Why the hell not?!" Patrick demanded. "This is important!"
 "This is a casino," the guard said. "All of you are underage. Nobody comes in!"
 "We're not here to gamble," Nick told him. "We want to clean out the scum infesting the basement!"
 The guard shook his head. "There's no evidence of anything going wrong in the basement. Now you're not coming in and that's final. Do I have to call the police?"
 "No, that's quite all right," Uiru said with a big fake smile on his face. "We'll be on our way now." He pushed the others around the corner, out of earshot.
 "Okay, any ideas?" Uiru asked.
 "A bomb," Geoff suggested. "Right in front of that guard. During the chaos and confusion, we slip in, grab all the cash and escape before they know what's going on!"
 The others sighed. "Geoff, we're trying to get into the basement, not rob the place," Allison informed him.
 "Oh."
 "Would disguises work?" Jessica suggested.
 "No," Nick replied. "We'd never be able to make you look 18."
 "And why not?!"
 "Well because. You're so short and... well... young-looking!"
 Jessica arched an eyebrow at him. "Young-looking?"
 Uiru motioned to Pittman and Patrick. "Fifty bucks says she hits him soon," he whispered. They nodded.
 "Yeah, young-looking," Nick answered. "Not to insult you or anything, but you'd need some kind of enhancement just to pass for a teenager."
 Jessica nodded, then punched him. The others laughed.
 "How ladylike," Geoff remarked.
 "Come on Uiru! We're going to dress up and get in there." Jessica grabbed his arm and stormed off to the nearest designer fashion shop.
 "This should be good," Allison declared.
 "I have a feeling I'm going to want a camera," Thomas stated.
 "I have a feeling they're going to spend a fortune in there," Patrick added.

 It soon became apparent that Jessica was serious about sneaking into that casino. After spending 40 minutes shopping for clothes, she went to the shoe store and then to the hairstylist, dragging the helpless Uiru with her.
 "How long do you think it'll be before she spends all the PLM's money?" Patrick asked Allison. The waiting six were seated on one of the many benches in Celadon's commercial district.
 "At the rate they're going, it'll be any minute now," she replied.
 "It's a good thing Celadon City stays open all night," Pittman added.
 "It would be so funny if the casino closed just as we got there," Thomas stated. Nick agreed.
 "You got a wierd sense of humor. And it's open all night," Pittman informed him.
 Uiru and Jessica emerged from the hairstylist. "Help," Uiru moaned weakly as they passed.
 "Aren't you finished yet?" Allison asked.
 "One more place to go!" Jessica announced. "He needs a tie."
 "A tie?" the others echoed.
 "You didn't say anything about a tie," Uiru tried to protest.
 "Stop whining. Here we are." Jessica took him inside a small specialty store nearby.
 Nick and Geoff laughed. "A camera," Geoff declared. "My kingdom for a camera. I know this is going to be worth it."

 At long last, they were ready to try their luck at the casino doorway.
 Uiru was apparently locked inside a black tuxedo. "I have never worn one of these before," he stated, "and after tonight I am never wearing one again." His longish sandy hair was cut much too short for his liking, and darkened considerably. And although the fake mustache didn't really suit him, it did add years to his face, which was the whole point of the exercise.
 "Very good," Allison congradulated. "You look almost 20 now." She grinned.
 After trying both the long blue satin dress and the two inch heels on at the same time, Jessica determined that walking would be a rather difficult experience. "Stop complaining, you look great," she said to Uiru. "And older. Which is good." There wasn't much they could do with her hair except give it a more ladylike trim.
 Before Nick realized what he was saying, the words 'You look great too' had escaped him. The others laughed as he turned red.
 "See, Nick?" she asked. "We'll have no problem getting in now. Let's go, Uiru... Slowly."
 "We'll let you guys in from the kitchen, after we find out how to get to the basement," Uiru told the others. "Now stay out of sight! If the same guard is there, you'll blow our cover." He pulled at his tie. "I can't breathe in this stupid thing!"
 They headed for the casino.
 "Matt and Erin will be sorry they missed this," Patrick declared.
 "They'll never believe it," Geoff added.

 Uiru and Jessica headed down the street to their destination. "If only my parents could see me now," Jessica muttered to herself.
 "Pardon?"
 "Nothing."
 The guard looked at Jessica suspiciously when they presented themselves at the door. "Weren't you just...?" The guard shook his head. It looked like one of the girls he had sent away earlier, but there was no way a bunch of scruffy kids could have gotten the money for disguises this elaborate. Besides that, she was on the arm of someone who could have been that girl's father. "Never mind. Enjoy yourselves at the Celadon Grand."
 Uiru nodded and they entered the casino.
 "Son of a bitch," Nick declared. "She actually got them in."
 "Okay, around back," Pittman announced. "We can't go past that guard, so we'll have to take the long way around." They scampered off.

Chapter 5
 The casino was richly furnished on the inside. There were many large wall mirrors, making the already large casino look huge. Uiru noticed their reflection in a nearby mirror. Damn, she looks good in that dress, he thought. I don't look so bad myself!
 "Now what are you smirking about?" Jessica asked him.
 "Nothing."
 "No, come on. What is it?"
 "Nothing! Look, there's a staircase over there. Probably leads down."
 Before they could check it out, however, one of the baccarat dealers hailed them. "Nothing down there but a half-trashed old basement," he told them.
 "Thank you, sir," Jessica responded sweetly.
 When they were out of earshot of the dealer, Uiru whispered, "You sound way too young."
 "Ugh." She rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't we buy some tokens or something?"
 "I guess." They headed for one of the many clerks at the front. "Four hundred thousand Pokéyen's worth, please," he asked.
 "Do you have a Coin Case?" the clerk asked him. "They cost 250 each."
 He didn't, of course.
 "I didn't mean that much," Jessica told him after. "Booster will never let you touch another credit card again."
 Uiru suddenly noticed an old rival at a nearby blackjack table. "There's Jeremy," he stated. "He looks drunk. I might be able to get some info out of him."
 Jessica agreed. "I'll go check out the kitchen. The restaurant is over there." She pointed. Uiru nodded.
 Uiru sat down next to Jeremy. Two other guys Jeremy's age were also playing. Although they weren't as far gone as Jeremy was, they weren't very good players. Uiru was blowing them away.
 "So, how's it going?" Uiru asked Jeremy between hands.
 "Just great," Jeremy replied. His words were slightly slurred. "My shtupid boss... Yeah, hit... My shtupid boss cut our pay, again. And he's a coward. All he does is run from this kid... Hit again..."
 "24," the dealer announced.
 "Damn," Jeremy cursed. Uiru landed on 20. Dealer had 19, and the others had 17.
 "I'm outta here," one of the other guys declared. "Lost enough money at this table tonight."
 "What kind of work do you do?" Uiru asked innocently.
 "Oh... Experiments..." Jeremy replied in a drunken stupor. "We take the life energy of a few pokamons, put them together, and make really big pokamons."
 "Do you mean Pokémons?" Uiru asked. Although he hated people saying 'Pokémons'. The plural of Pokémon was Pokémon.
 "Yeah, them," Jeremy answered.
 This time, Uiru got 25. Jeremy won for what seemed to be the first time in a while.
  "Shtones," Jeremy suddenly stated.
 "Stones? What kind of stones?" Uiru asked.
 "Special shtones. Power shtones," Jeremy continued. "You need them to evolve a pokamon into a giant pokamon."
 "And where can you get these?"
 "Blackjack," the dealer announced.
 Jeremy looked at the two cards in front of Uiru. "How'd you do that?" he asked.
 "A Jack and an Ace," Uiru replied. With the lucky turn of the cards, Uiru had won a ton of money.
 Jeremy took another swig of his drink. The other guy left the table.
 "So, where do you get the power stones?" Uiru asked nonchalantly.
 "Certain places," Jeremy answered. "There are 12, I think. I only know one's in Sheafoam."
 "Seafoam?"
 "Yeah, there. There's a special rock there, but we don't have enough Ice pokamons yet."
 Uiru had 18, Jeremy had 28. Dealer went over as well.
 "I gotta go," Jeremy said. "Gotta get back to the base. The paranoid bashtard has the shtupidest password set up."
 Uiru couldn't believe that this drunken idiot was about to give him the password to the base. "How stupid is it?"
 "Knock three times, then you gotta be quiet for 15 seconds," Jeremy answered. "Isn't that the dumbest thing you've ever heard?"
 "The dumbest," Uiru nodded wisely. Jeremy got up and left.
 The dealer looked at Uiru. "Do you have any idea what he was rambling about?" he asked.
 "No clue. I don't think he had a clue what he was talking about. It's usually best to go along with them though."
 The dealer nodded.

 Apparently there was some fancy reception going to take place soon. Jessica could see that the kitchen would be cleaned out as the cooks helped run the reception- perfect time to let the others in.
 Jessica leaned against the wall and looked around. Getting them to the door, however, would be slightly more difficult. She'd only have a moment before the kitchen filled up again, and there was no telling how many people would be left in the casino.
 "Excuse me, miss..." She almost jumped. It was one of the waiters. "Is everything all right?"
 Jessica realized it must have looked odd, just leaning on the wall. "Oh, yes, thank you. I'm fine."
 He looked at her. "You look kind of young... May I ask how old you are?"
 Cue Animé sweatdrop.
 "I'm, er, 21. People must seem young where I come from. Yeah, that's right. I'm not from anywhere near here. I just got here a few days ago. Do you know where Turquoise Lake is? Everybody looks younger there then here. It's only a small town on the water, lots of sun, really nice! Everyone's short though. Midgets maybe. Well, not midgets but short compared to you people. Oh geez... I'm rambling, aren't I?" Smooth.
 "Yes, miss, you are."
 Jessica sighed. "Great." Okay buddy, go away so I can die now.
 "And I have no idea where Turquoise Lake is."
 "Well, I could show you if I had a map. A big map, though." I say that like I expect him to have one in his back pocket.
 The waiter nodded. "I'll take your word for it. Enjoy your evening, miss."
 "Thank you very much." I hope Uiru's having more fun then I am.

 Uiru was just getting up when Jessica returned. "How'd it go?" he asked.
 "Perfect," Jessica lied. "I found the door where the others are waiting, but I don't know how to get them to the basement. You?"
 "Got a password, some data, and the location of one of Sunder Force's possible next moves."
 "All from Jeremy?"
 "Alcohol stupifies people."
 "Tell me later. There's some kind of reception planned. It'd be the best time to get the others in, while the cooks are distracted."
 Uiru nodded. He went back to the blackjack dealer, who was waiting for more players. "Hey," Uiru asked him. "What's the reception about?"
 "You don't know?" he replied. "It's in honor of some benefactor to the casino. It'll be starting any minute."
 Uiru nodded. They started walking towards the kitchen. "Incidentally, I made a killing tonight."
 Jessica looked at him. "Since when did you play blackjack?"
 Uiru shrugged.
 The PA system came to life. "Would the patrons of the Celadon Grand please move to the dining area now. Thank you."
 Everyone started moving out of the casino area. The Maitré D's were busy helping organize the dinner. "Okay, stay here," Uiru said as the kitchen emptied. "I'm gonna go get the door for the others."
 Uiru quickly snuck into the kitchen, and made it to the door without incident. He opened it. "Psst! Guys!" he whispered.
 "Took you long enough!" Geoff complained. "We've been out here for an hour!"
 "Be quiet!" Uiru hissed. "Everybody's going to the dining room now, so it should be easy to get you in. Wait here a sec."
 Amid bitter protests, Uiru went to the other side of the kitchen. Nobody could see what was going on right in the back. He waved them to come in.
 "Okay. After I go into the casino, carefully come up and follow me, okay?" Uiru looked up and, seeing nobody was there, nonchalantly strolled out. To Jessica he said, "They're coming."
 "The casino is almost empty," she reported. "Hey, there they are."
 Uiru wordlessly pointed at the door. The others scampered towards it. Uiru and Jessica looked around and slid in after them.

 After falling into Geoff, Uiru and then Allison, Jessica had had enough. She kicked off her high heels and carried them.
 "Why don't you just leave them?" Patrick asked.
 "Are you nuts? These things cost a fortune."
 Patrick nodded.
 They heard footsteps! Uiru opened a door and shoved the party in. He made sure his mustache wasn't crooked while Jessica put her heels on again.
 "Excuse me... But what are you doing down here?" the man asked.
 "I'm sorry," Uiru replied. Jessica noticed he had taken on a British accent. "We must have gotten lost. Could you direct us to the lavatories please?"
 The man sighed. "The johns are on the second floor, not down here. Do you know how to get back?"
 "Yes, we can make it," Jessica answered. "Thank you so much."
 The man grunted. "If you'll excuse me, I'm in a hurry." He quickly took off.
 When he was out of sight and earshot, Uiru opened the door.
 "Hey Uiru," Nick asked. "How do you fit six people in a broom closet?"
 "How?"
 "You don't." Uiru got hit in the head with a broom.
 "Hey, watch it. I just got my hair done."

 After checking all the rooms, with no avail, only one door remained. Uiru went up to it. "Locked," he whispered. He knocked three times. "Shh!"
 Fifteen seconds passed. The door opened.
 The brightly lit room was sparcely furnished. A large open space stood between the team and Lauren.
 "Oh, it's you," Lauren stated. "I would have thought you guys would just break down the door."
 "Not in my brand new suit," Uiru stated.
 "Uiru?!" Lauren asked. "Well, that explains how you got in here. That mustache is hideous, by the way."
 "I know. Anyway, to business. Give us our Pokémon." Uiru and the others stepped into the room.  "Oh, I'm sorry," Lauren grinned satanically. "Sunder has already moved them to one of his new bases. He seems to like that Kadabra, and the Machoke was quite a catch. He's considering using them on his new team."
 "Machoke is mine," Jessica declared, "and as sure as these heels will eventually kill me, I'll get it back."
 "I thought you looked a bit too tall." Lauren stepped to the far side of the room. "So, who's going to challenge me?"
 "How about we all crack you in half?" Geoff suggested.
 "I could go for some of that," Nick agreed.
 "I'm in," Pittman agreed.
 Lauren faked surprise. "Uiru. Are you really going to let those brutes gang up on me? You aren't teaching your troops how to behave honorably."
 "No- I'm going to take you down myself!" Thomas stepped forward. "You snaked my Wartortle, bitch. I'll let it grind your bones to dust after I beat your sorry ass."
 "Charmeleon will have flambéd your troop to ashes long before then," Lauren declared.
 It's a good thing I know her Pokémon, Thomas thought. Charmeleon, Kadabra, Ditto, Exeggcute, Vaporeon and Electrode.
 Pittman stepped forward. "So it's come to this, has it? We were friends, Lauren! We trusted you!"
 Lauren shrugged. "Like that matters. I'll smash you hard, Pittman, after I deal with Tommy Boy here."
 Pittman stepped back, disgusted. This will be an even fight. Thomas has Wartortle, Rhyhorn, Victreebel, Dodrio, Haunter, and Primeape. They used to train so well together...
 Thomas knew she would open with her favorite Pokémon, Charmeleon. "Rhyhorn, go!"
 Lauren knew that he knew that. Expecting Wartortle, she sent out Electrode! "Oops!"
 "Rhyhorn, Rock Throw!" Rhyhorn dove at Electrode from across the room. It zipped out of the way, and responded with Thundershock. It bounced right off Rhyhorn's rocky hide, and it lunged at it again! The speedy ball dodged the attack again, and opened up with Sonic Boom. Everyone present had to cover their ears, but Rhyhorn took little damage. The third time, Rhyhorn's attack smashed Electrode. It was too weak to even Self Destruct.
 "Return! Vaporeon, I choose you!"
 "Rhyhorn, return! Victreebel, attack!"
 Vaporeon launched a watery blast at Victreebel. The big plant laughed at Vaporeon and grabbed it with Vine Whip, then pummeled it with Razor Leaf! The twin Grass blast was too much for Vaporeon.
 "Kadabra, go!" Recalling Vaporeon, Lauren sent forth her own Kadabra.
 "Watch it Thomas!" Uiru warned.
 "What?"
 "Victreebel is weak against Psychic type attacks!"
 "What!"
 "Kadabra, Psychic Attack!" Kadabra glowed purple, then Victreebel was slammed from all directions by waves of powerful Psychic energy. Thomas recalled Victreebel, and sent Haunter.
 Now Lauren was on the offencive. Haunter tried to use Hypnosis, but Kadabra stared it down and pounded it with PSY Beam. Then Thomas resent Rhyhorn!
 "What are you doing? You called it back already!" Lauren shouted.
 "So?" Thomas replied. "Fight 'til they faint! Rhyhorn, Take Down!"
 Rhyhorn's Take Down move is like getting hit by a train. Kadabra's puny defence couldn't take it, and it fainted.
 "Exeggcute, go!" Lauren shouted. "Hypnosis attack!"
 Now, Rhyhorn was out of it. Unlikely to awaken, Thomas recalled it. "Dodrio, go!"
 The squawking bird Pokémon charged at the clump of eggs. Pecking and Scratching with an unrelenting fury, it sorely squashed the Grass type. "Charmeleon, attack!"
 Charmeleon opened up with a Flamethrower, then charged at Dodrio. It Drill Pecked in responce but it eventually fainted. Charmeleon was badly damaged, however.
 "Return! Wartortle, go!"
 Charmeleon had no chance. "Return!"
 "Well?" Thomas asked. "Aren't you going to send out your Ditto?"
 "I... I... I don't have it right now," Lauren admitted. "Sunder took it."
 "Why?" Pittman asked. "Is it because you beat the Arbok?"
 "Why the hell did you do that, anyway?" Thomas asked.
 "Part of the scenario," Lauren replied. "Sunder took it because he said he wanted it. He signs my cheques, so I couldn't really argue."
 "Some trainer you are," Pittman declared. "Now, where's Sunder hiding?"
 "I'd love to tell you, but I really can't. All I'll say is, you'll kick yourselves if you ever find out where. See you later!" Lauren dropped a Smoke Bomb! When it cleared, she was gone.
 "Did she take any of our Pokémon?" Patrick asked. A quick search revealed that nothing had been taken, except for-
  "My new earrings!" Jessica shouted. "That bitch stole my earrings!"

Chapter Six
 Through sheer luck, they all managed to sneak out of the Celadon Grand without getting caught. Uiru and Jessica went to change.
 "So now what?" Allison asked when they got back.
 "Go back to Viridian, I guess," Uiru replied. "Unless something comes up."
 "Something's up there," Pittman pointed. "Isn't that the Fire Strike helicopter?"
 Nick looked. "Hey! Who's flying MY helicopter?!"

 It was Matt, who was trying his very best not to crash the thing. It was all over the news that the Sunder Force was on the move from Vermillion City to Saffron City. Heading up Route 6, it wouldn't be long before they were at the gates. Saffron was well defended by a large city-encompassing wall, but if Sunder Force did get in, it would be extremely difficult to get them out. In addition, their defence force wasn't all that it should be.
 "Everyone's all right, right?" Eric asked. The medicine they had recieved was very effective.
 Leah nodded. "We're just gonna block the gates, right?"
 "Yep. Havn't done this for a while, eh Matt?" Erin asked.
 "Nope. Usually we liberate towns, not defend them. Oh well. I'm just hoping I don't crash this thing into a building when we get there."
 "Nick will kill you," Robert stated.
 "I know."
 They landed at the southern gate. "Who're you?" one of the Saffron guards asked.
 "We're Fire Strike," Erin replied.
 "And we're friends of Fire Strike," Leah added.
 "I've never heard of Fire Strike," the leader informed them.
 "It doesn't matter," Matt replied. "The important thing is, Sunder Force is on their way with a ton of new Electric Pokémon. And we're here to help defend Saffron."
 The guards murmured. "You look a little young," one of the guards declared.
 Matt arched an eyebrow. "If you've ever helped take down a 40 foot tall Vileplume, raise your hand." The six raised their hands.
 "The little girl?" the guard captain asked.
 "You bet!" Heidi declared. Jigglypuff shrilled.
 "Okay, there's two ways we can do this," Thomas declared. "You guys can meet the main force head on, and we'll clean up whatever breaks through. Or, we can switch."
 "We'll defend the door," the guards decided. "If you're as good as you say, go out a little ways and hold them. Don't worry if some get through, we aren't novice trainers either."
 Eric nodded.

 A group of Electabuzz, Raichu and Magneton were on point. The team of about 20 were told to jump in and start the party. As they charged, they came upon Saffron's first line of defence... a Jigglypuff standing in the road. It started to sing!
 The Electric Pokémon knew what was about to happen. They opened fire with their electrical attacks, but they bounced right off Jigglypuff's Light Screen. They started to drop!
 To add insult to injury, Jigglypuff danced as it sang. Most of the Pokémon had fallen asleep! However, one Electrode had other ideas. It charged Jigglypuff, and used Explosion!
 Light Screen was useless defending against Explosion. Jigglypuff was blasted backwards!
 "Jigglypuff!" Heidi shouted. "Are you okay?" It cooed weakly in responce.
 "Okay Heidi, get out of the way," Eric stated.
 She nodded. "Good luck!"
 "Yo, Heidi," Robert hailed.
 "What?"
 He tossed her a Super Potion. "Here."
 "Thanks!"
 The group of Sunder Force guards passed their comatose Pokémon and the fainted Electrode. It wasn't long before they came upon the others.
 "Mr. Mime, Abra, go!"
 "Venusaur, Exeggutor, attack!"
 "Weezing, Muk! I choose you!"
 "Onix, Cubone, go!"
 Eric looked at Robert. "Flying," he said. "Electric is strong on Flying."
 "Oh."
 Onix started the attack by diving into the middle of the fray. Several Electrodes tried to go kamakaze on the giant rock snake's ass, but it didn't work. Sunder Force knew they could never beat the Onix, so they decided to just avoid it. Onix was rather slow, after all.
 "Exeggutor, Hypnosis!" Matt shouted. Exeggutor opened up with it's Sleep inducing waves. Some Pokémon fell asleep, but not many. An Electabuzz and Raichu charged up their power and shot it with Thunderbolt.
 Leah's Cubone dived right in and started Bone Clubbing left and right. However, the smaller Pokémon was vulnurable to the physical attacks of the Electric types. A Jolteon Quick Attacked it, but Cubone Bonemeranged it and it left it alone.
 Mr. Mime started shooting blasts of PSY Beam into the enemy ranks, often hitting trainers when the Electric Pokémon dodged out of the way. They attacked it but it wasn't very effective.
 It was about now that the enemy trainers decided to use Fire Strike's (and friends of Fire Strike's) own tactic against them. The trainers were assailed by blasts of Thunderbolt!
 "Damn! Onix, get back here and defend us!" Leah shouted as she jumped clear of a thunderbolt. "Cubone, Bonemerang!" With a skillful toss of the bone, Cubone belted many of the attacking Pokémon.
 "Vileplume, go!" Matt shouted. "Stun Spore, now!" The cloud of paralyzing spores drifted over the Electric Pokémon, adding to their problems.
 A few guards decided to run the barrier. Sending Electrodes straight at the party, they ran through the gap created when they dove out of the way.
 "Should we go after them?" Matt asked.
 "No, the others can handle them. There's not many," Leah replied.
 "I'll slow them down though! Pidgeotto, Fearow, attack!" Although the bird Pokémon were weak on Electric types, the Electric trainers didn't have that attribute. When they summoned their Electrics to fight the birds though, Robert recalled them.
 Abra began Teleporting into the enemy ranks, trying to confuse them. When the enemy fired at it, it would Teleport somewhere else. Often, another Electric type would get hit. Although it didn't do much damage, the Pokémon were greatly annoyed, and some Electabuzz started punching each other.
 Onix, annoyed at the speed at which the little creatures evaded it, unleashed an Earthquake. Although it devistated the enemy line, many of the defending Pokémon had to be recalled as well.
 The few Electric trainers which had gotten through came upon Heidi and Jigglypuff. "That's the girl that was with the others!" one of the trainers declared. "Grab her, we can force a surrender!"
 Jigglypuff jumped in front of Heidi! It slammed the man with Disable! He couldn't move!
 "Blast that imputent balloon!" the guards shouted. "Jolten, Electabuzz, Raichu! Thunder, all together!" a guard ordered.
 The sky darkened, and a continuous bolt of pure lightning power shot from the heavens and stopped a foot from Jigglypuff's head. It's Light Screen was blocking out all the thunder!
 "That's impossible! How can that Jigglypuff block so much power?" the guards asked. The Thunder attack ended.
 "Jigglypuff!" Heidi shouted. "Show the bastards how it's done! Thunder Ball!"
 Jigglypuff had absorbed enough Electric energy to power it's unique Electric attack. Rearing back, Jigglypuff launched a giant beam of electricity at the group of Pokémon. It didn't matter that they were Electric Pokémon- they got fried just like their trainers.
 "Good shot Jigglypuff!" Heidi congradulated. However, Jigglypuff was extremely weak now. Heidi picked it up and ran towards the city.

 Meanwhile...

 The taxi holding the rest of Fire Strike tore up to Saffron's west gate. "Thanks so much," Allison told the taxi driver. "How much do I owe you?"
 The driver shook his head. "No need. I've heard of Fire Strike," he replied. "I know exactly why you're here."
 "Are you sure about this?" Patrick asked. "It was a long way to go."
 "Hey, don't worry about it. All my buddies know about Fire Strike. I can tell them all I drove them to the battle!" The trainers looked at each other. "Now what are you standing around here for? You've got a shitkicking to deliver!"
 "Thanks a lot!" Thomas replied.
 "Later!" The taxi driver tore away.
 "All right," Uiru announced. "The news said they were attacking from the south gate. Which is that way."

  Saffron was built like a cross. The main roads ran east to west and north to south. Fire Strike and company were in the middle of the city and about to head down when Allison caught sight of something.
 "Yo... Are Poliwraths usually that big?" she asked.
 Uiru looked where she was pointing and cursed. "They probably sent it from Lavender Town to take the defences from behind," he announced. "We'll have to stop it before it gets there! Raichu, attack!"
 "Magneton, go!"
 "Electabuzz, I choose you!"
 Nick, being the Water expert, shared his knowledge with the others while Uiru, Allison and Jessica shocked the giant tadpole. "Poliwrath is unique among the Water Pokémon of the world because it is the only Water-Fighting type in existance," he announced. "Not even Poliwhirl, which evolves into Poliwrath, is a Fighting type. Therefore, it is weak against Psychic and Flying, as well as Electric and Grass. In addition, it's Fighting powers are ineffective on Bug and Poison types."
 "Hang on a second..." Pittman started. "This one looks even smaller then Vileplume did. What's the deal?"
 "I don't know," Nick replied.
 "Anyway, shall we give them a hand? Ivysaur, go!" Pittman shouted. "Vine Whip!"
 "Victreebel, go!" Thomas added. "Razor Leaf attack!"
  "If it's weak against Psychic..." Geoff began. "Kadabra, attack!"
 Kadabra appeared and shot Poliwrath up with Psychic power.
 However, Nick had forgotten to mention that Poliwrath possessed strong mental powers. It used it's Hypnosis ability to put Ivysaur under, then reached down and Slapped Victreebel! The big plant slammed into a nearby wall.
 "Victreebel!" Thomas shouted. "Return!"
 "Allison, Jessica!" Uiru shouted. "I think it's time for the new Electric attack!"
 "Raichu, Electabuzz, Magneton!" Allison shouted. "You guys ready?" The Pokémon shouted in confirmation. Raichu jumped on Magneton and Electabuzz grabbed onto it from below. Magneton floated up above Poliwrath, awaiting orders.
 "Triple Team, Raiden's Gate!" Jessica shouted. "Let it rip!"
 Raichu leapt off Magneton, and Electabuzz swung in the other direction. When the three Electric Pokémon formed a perfect triangle above Poliwrath, they summoned all their Electric power, and a ball of pure lightning appeared over Poliwrath's head. Kadabra used it's Psychic power to keep Poliwrath pinned under the orb of lightning. Suddenly a gigantic bolt of Thunder shot down from the clouds and pierced the ball, causing it to explode in a pillar of pure Pika power. The three Pokémon landed, and kept up the blast until Poliwrath vanished from view. Then they fell to their knees.
 "Wow! What a blast!" Pittman declared.
 They recalled their Pokémon. "The Pokémon Center awaits," Allison declared.
 The others ran up to them. "We just beat back Sunder Force," Leah declared. "We were getting worried because Onix was doing most of the pounding and it's about to rain."
 "What the hell was that pillar of light?" Erin asked.
 "Not light, lightning," Geoff told her. "We'll tell you later."

Chapter Seven
 The team had finally regrouped at the Pokémon Center.
 "You guys took down another one?" Matt asked. "You gotta start calling me when this happens. I've only beaten like one."
 "Two," Uiru reminded.
 "So, what's the score?" Heidi asked. "How many have we beaten?"
 Eric laughed. "As strong as Jigglypuff may be, it didn't help us do squat yet." Jigglypuff kicked him.
 "We've defeated five," Uiru declared. "Gengar, Ninetails, Arbok, Vileplume, and now Poliwrath."
 "How many do you think there are?" Allison asked.
 "I got some info from Jeremy," Uiru answered. "He said there are 12 Power Stones. That means they can breed 12 giant Pokémon. Meaning there are seven left."
 "You know, I think they use them just to fight us," Jessica announced.
 "How do you figure?" Patrick asked.
 "Think about it. Sunder Force had all the time in the world to breed Ninetails, and it was huge. Arbok was a little smaller, and Vileplume was a lot smaller. Then that puny Poliwrath we just pounded was the shortest of the lot. They're stepping up production trying to stop us, and as a result they're getting smaller, because they don't give them enough time to grow!"
 "That almost makes sence," Nick declared.
 "They do use other Pokémon's energy," Uiru said. "Jeremy told me they take life energy from a large number of Pokémon and then use the Power Stones to evolve them."
 "But how do they-" Geoff started.
 "That's not all," Uiru continued. "Each stone requires a specific element. Jeremy told me that the Ice Power Stone, in Seafoam, required Ice type Pokémon. It's a fair assumtion to say that there's only one stone to an element."
 "We've defeated Fire, Water, Grass, Poison and Ghost," Matt added. "So it's not unlikely that we'll be assaulted with Electric, Ground, Bug, Dragon, and Psychic types as well."
 "Ground is MINE," Nick declared. "If their Ground Pokémon is small, I'll let Horsea defeat it, just because."
 "Then I call Electric," Leah added. "Against my Ground and Rock types, it'll be no contest."
 Uiru looked at the group from Cinnibar. "Are you guys sure you want to get involved in this?" he asked.
 "Sure!" they replied at once.
 "We've already helped beat Vileplume and Poliwrath," Pittman declared. "Besides... We need a favor from you guys."
 "What is it?" Jessica asked.
 The group looked at each other. "We'd like you guys to help us liberate Cinnibar Island," Eric asked. "We were going to do it ourselves, but if Sunder Force has a monster bred on the island, we'd be in big trouble."
 Now it was Fire Strike's turn to fidget. "Look... Under normal circumstances we'd pack up and head over there right now," Uiru told them. "But there are politics involved now."
 "Politics?" Robert asked. "What the hell?"
 "Uiru, I never thought I'd hear that out of you," Erin added.
 "Listen," Uiru stated. "I KNOW this sounds corny and stupid, but we can't openly attack Cinnibar Island. It would be different if we were home, because we're part of the PLM. But out here, we're renegades."
 "I think I understand," Leah answered. "The Pokémon League aren't the friendliest of people. A band of renegade trainers could be seen as a threat, which they'd squish as soon as possible."
 "Right," Uiru told her. "And Booster couldn't help us at all, because we're outside the range of the PLM's influence."
 "That's stupid!" Thomas shouted. "You fought Poliwrath in Saffron!"
 "Poliwrath attacked us," Uiru declared. "And I know it's stupid. I said that already."
 "This is retarded!" Robert shouted. "Just because you're not at home doesn't mean you can't kick Sunder Force out of our town! Matt, Nick, talk to him!"
 "Nothing we can do," Nick replied. "He's the boss."
 "Listen," Eric began. "Sunder Force has taken over most of the southern part of the world. Cinnibar, Fuchsia, Vermillion, Lavender... If we didn't keep them from getting to Saffron, they'd be practically unstoppable by now."
 Uiru was silent for a few moments. "This is war," he announced after a minute. "And in war, soldiers gotta play by the rules, or else they could get themselves in deep trouble. However, I've always said rules are made to be bent." Eric, Robert and Thomas brightened up slightly at the last comment. "All we need is the Pokémon League's authorization to give Sunder Force a merry boot in the arse."
 "It would take forever to pull that off," Leah interrupted. "The Pokémon League isn't the straightest of organizations. They take forever to make decisions, and they're never the right ones."
 "Then we'll have to scare them into listening to us," Uiru declared. "And what better way to bully a big organization then to use a bigger one?" He asked the nurse if he could place a long-distance call. She asked him to keep it quick.
 "Who's he phoning?" Pittman asked. The others shrugged.
 "Hey, Booster!" Uiru greeted. "Uiru here. I need your help for something big."
 "He's calling Booster?" Jessica asked.
 "Of course! He's going to get Booster to get the PLM to get the Pokémon League to let us liberate the southern cities!" Matt shouted.
 "Tell Booster I said hi!" Allison shouted at Uiru.
 Uiru nodded. "Really?" he asked. "That bad, huh... Well, we're about to do some liberating here, but that damn politics thing came up." A pause. "No, no, we havn't gotten arrested yet. We need you to get us authorization from the League to do some asskicking."
 "For a bunch of soldiers, you guys are awfully informal," Pittman said to Allison.
 She shrugged. "Booster likes Uiru."
 "It'll take THAT long?" Uiru half asked, half shouted. "Okay... Yeah, I'll send you the number here. Half hour, right...? Okay, thanks a lot!" Uiru hung up. "Oh, my..."
 "What?" Jessica asked.
 "He's going to get us authorization, but it could take up to a week," he replied. "He's phoning the PLM HQ right now to straighten it out with his boss. He'll call back soon with some news."
 Thomas shook his head. "All this politics crap," he cursed. "We should be on our way there now."
 "I know," Uiru almost shouted at him. "Havn't I been saying I want to go clean them out too?!"
 "So, how are we going to kill a week?" Geoff asked.
 "We can't openly attack them," Uiru began, "but we sure as hell can slow them down. I say we go after the Ice Power Stone."
 "And do what with it?" Leah asked.
 "Keep it," Uiru replied. "One less giant Pokémon we have to fight."
 "I've got an idea!" Heidi shouted.
 Everyone looked at her. "What is it?" Eric asked.
 "Seafoam Islands is where a lot of Ice Pokémon live," she began. "And the Ice Power Stone is there. Wouldn't it make sense that the Electric Power Stone is in the Power Plant, where there's a lot of Electric Pokémon?"
 Nick nodded. "Yeah... That actually makes sense!"
 "Perhaps we should go after both," Jessica suggested.
 "But we don't know how many they have," Thomas replied. "They might already have the Electric Power Stone."
 Uiru unrolled a map of the area. "Okay," he announced. "There's 14 of us, so that means seven for each Power Stone. We'll need the helicopter to get to Seafoam Islands, because it's right in the middle of enemy territory. However, it should be relatively easy to get to the Power Plant."
 "A bus leaves Saffron for Cerulean every 45 minutes," Leah informed him. "From there, we just head down Route 9." She pointed at Route 9 on the map. "However, we need a Water Pokémon to get through the river."
 "Why?" Erin asked.
 "Because there's a landslide the League's been too lazy to clear up blocking the way," Leah answered. "So you need to go by water, and the current's a bit fast for normal swimmers."
 "There's no point in me going," Nick announced. "None of my Pokémon are good to ride on even in the water, and inside the Power Plant they'd get fried. And besides that, I need to fly the chopper."
 "I could fly it," Matt declared.
 "No way! I'm hiding the keys from you," Nick almost shouted at him. "And if there's Ice Pokémon there, your Grass types would be at risk."
 "But the Water types are weak against Grass," Matt told him. "I think I should go to Seafoam."
 "I'm going to the Power Plant," Leah announced.
 After some discussion, the teams were assembled. At Heidi's insistance, Eric would take her to the Power Plant. Uiru, Thomas, Leah, Erin and Jessica were also going.
  Nick and the others were heading out right now, however.
 "You're waiting for Booster to call, right?" Allison asked. Uiru nodded.
 "Where will we put it?" Pittman asked. "Assuming we can lift the thing, of course."
 "It can't be that big," Robert declared.
 "It might be."
 Uiru scratched his head. "I dunno. If it's small enough to hide on the helicopter, then hide it there. Otherwise... I guess you'll have to bring it back here."
 "We'll be flying right over enemy territory," Matt stated. "If we have to tow it, that would be a really stupid idea."
 "Well what do you suggest?" Uiru asked. "You can't just throw it in the ocean. Sunder could have a sub hidden somewhere. And breaking it wouldn't be any good either, even if you could."
 "What do you mean?" Jessica asked.
 "Did you ever try to shatter one of those evolution stones?" Uiru asked. "I nearly put a hole in the floor with one of those once. And these Power Stones are like bigger versions of the evo stones. And Nick, if you fly high enough nobody will be able to tell the difference. Now come on, you gotta get it before they do!"
 Nick nodded. "Fine, fine. Let's go, guys." The seven headed for the chopper.

 Booster called a good 45 minutes later.
 "And the verdict is?" Leah asked when Uiru got back.
 "He said the PLM agrees with him, but they're having trouble contacting the Pokémon League authorities. Apparently, they don't think Sunder Force is a threat."
 "Now THAT'S stupid," Thomas replied.
 "Booster managed to get a ton of info about the League. Apparently, they don't even know about the attempt on Saffron, and they know nothing about Vileplume or Poliwrath. And Arbok and Ninetails vanished for 'unexplained reasons'."
 "It's official- the League sucks," Leah scoffed. "At this rate Sunder Force will have taken them over before they realize something's wrong."
 "Yeah," Uiru agreed. "And their opinion of Sunder Force makes it even more dangerous for us to attack them head on. They think they're a harmless organization that's protecting the cities from outside interference. I'm betting Sunder has been paying them handsomly to look the other way."
 Jessica laughed. "Uiru, I think the PLM should take over this place for it's own good."
 "Agreed," the others replied.
 "So, let's go," Eric declared. "Can't keep the Electric Power Stone waiting."

 On their way out of Saffron, a local Pokémon trainer was yelling at his Pokémon.
 "You pathetic weaklings!" he shouted at them. "You havn't won a match in months! Get out of here!"
 Heidi recognized the Pokémon he was shouting at. "Eevees!" she shouted. "Two Eevees! Hey, you! Leave them alone!"
 "Why should I?" the man snapped back. "They're pathetic! Anything with an elemental attack creams them!"
 "That's so mean!" Heidi shouted. "If they can't fight it's because their trainer isn't skilled enough!"
 Robert laughed. "That girl will attack anything, won't she?" he asked Eric. He nodded.
 "Listen you little brat," the man growled. "I'm a damn fine trainer, and don't you forget it! These two can't keep up! If you want them, take them!" He threw two Poké Balls at her. "Now get out of here, all of you!"
 Heidi knelt by the frightened Eevees. "Oh, you poor things," she cooed at them. Jigglypuff patted one on the head while Heidi picked one up. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Do you want to come with me instead?"
 The Eevees shrilled at each other, and then at Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff nodded vigorously. Turning to Heidi, the two Eevees nodded.
 "Great!" Heidi grabbed the two Poké Balls. "I'll get you healed up in a little while, then we can play. Okay?" The Eevees nodded again. Each entered it's Poké Ball.
 "Yay!" Heidi shouted.
 "It's almost like she understands them," Uiru stated as she picked up Jigglypuff.
 "Anything Normal type, she gets along with," Eric replied. "She's not interested in battling them, although she does a damn fine job of it for her age."
 "I've noticed," Erin stated.
 "As touching as this all is, we're going to miss the bus," Leah announced. "The station is just over here."

 Uiru was half expecting to trip over a 50 foot Raichu or something, but surprisingly the ride to Cerulean was totally uneventful. Realizing they hadn't slept in days, the group were quickly comatose on the bus.
 The driver looked back to see seven sleeping trainers in the back. "Oh geez," he sighed.
 After being awoken, the crew marched down Route 9  towards the Power Plant. Climbing aboard their Water Pokémon, the crew quickly sailed down the river and entered the Plant.
 "Why the hell aren't the lights on?" Eric asked when they arrived.
 "This place was abandoned years ago," Leah replied. "The cities all have their own sources of power now, except for Lavender. They pay Saffron for their electricity."
 Uiru thought for a minute. "Isn't Lavender under Sunder's control?"
 "Yeah," Thomas confirmed.
 "Hmm... What would they do if we shut down their power from Saffron?" Uiru asked.
 "I don't think they'd like it," Eric declared with a nasty grin on his face.
 "They'd have to come up to Saffron to get them to turn it back on," Thomas stated.
 "And then we attack!" Leah finished.
 "Right, but AFTER we get authorization," Uiru said. "Heh heh..."
 "Oh, look! A Magnemite! Isn't it cute?" Heidi ran to look at it. It looked up at her.
 "Allison has a Magneton, doesn't she?" Leah asked. Jessica nodded.
 "Don't touch it, it could shock you," Eric warned. Of course, as he said it, she tapped it. And then it shocked her.
 "OW!" she shouted. "Magnemite! Why'd you do that?"
 Magnemite looked at the ground, then slowly flew away.
 The trainers walked down the hall.
 "You know, this place doesn't seem this big from the outside," Uiru stated.
 "It's built into the mountain," Leah replied. "It's pretty big."
 "Ah, damn."
 The group had wandered around for almost an hour when Heidi saw something glowing from behind a stack of debris.
 "Hey, there might be something over here!" she shouted as she ran towards it.
 "Heidi, don't go off alone!" Eric shouted.
 "But it might be the Power Stone," she replied. She looked behind the rubble. It was a Voltorb! "Crap!" she shouted as she ran back to the group.
 The Voltorb growled menacingly, then spontaneously blew up! Heidi was lucky not to get hit by any flying shrapnal.
 "You okay?" Eric asked. She nodded. Jigglypuff pointed. There was a passage behind the rubble!
 "It's REALLY dark in there," Erin stated. "Does anyone have a Fire Pokémon we can use?"
 "Nope," Uiru replied. "But my Raichu can cover it. Raichu, come out!"
 "What can Raichu do?" Thomas asked.
 "Flash!" A brillient flash of light later, and the place was lit up like it was the middle of the day. The trainers enterted the tunnel.
 A loud squawking and a gigantic discharge of power later, and the seven ran out of the tunnel.
 "Holy shit!" Thomas cursed. "How are we going to get past that thing?"
 "Well, it's obviously an Electric type," Leah stated. "So my Ground types should work on it."
 "But if it can fly, you'd never hit it with an Earthquake," Thomas replied.
 "Only you would try to use Earthquake in a building that's ready to collapse anyway, you moron," Leah stated.
 "At least we found the Power Stone." Heidi tried to sound optimistic.
 Uiru looked back in the tunnel. "Okay... My Sandslash's Rock Slide attack should work fine, given all the junk in there. Leah, you can use your Cubone's Bonemerang and Onix's Rock Throw. Jessica, you can use Marowak's Bonemerang too."
 "What'll the rest of us do?" Erin asked.
 "Simple," Uiru replied. "While we distract the thing, you grab the rock. Then we get the hell out of there."
 "You better stay here, Heidi," Eric declared.
 "Oh, come on!" Heidi complained. "I want to see it again."
 "Well stay in the tunnel then! It's way too dangerous for you."
 Heidi sighed. "I'm almost 10 you know! I can handle being in danger!" Jigglypuff nodded.
 "Okay, call 'em out! Sandslash, come out!"
 "Cubone, come out!"
 "Marowak, I choose you!"
 "What about Onix?" Thomas asked.
 "You aren't very bright, are you?" Leah asked. "If Onix tried to get through this tunnel, it'd bring the whole thing down on itself."
 Uiru explained the plan to the three Ground types. They nodded.

Chapter Eight
 The legendary Zapdos growled menacingly as it heard voices in it's tunnel. Those puny bugs were on their way towards it again. Probably after it's treasure. The glowing yellow rock made Zapdos feel much stronger then usual.
 Cubone marched into the room fearlessly, followed by Marowak and Sandslash. Zapdos screeched and flew at them, striking with Thundershock!
 Absolutely no effect, of course.
 Sandslash summoned it's power, and a pile of scrap rock and metal rose into the air! It hovered and then shot straight at the Thunder bird. Zapdos flew straight at Sandslash, and Cubone and Marowak threw Bonemerangs when it got close.
 "Okay, go!" Uiru shouted. Erin, Eric and Thomas ran around the far side, away from Zapdos.
 "Onix, go!" Leah shouted. Onix emerged from it's Poké Ball and lunged at Zapdos.
 Sandslash threw another ton of scrap at the bird. However, it noticed Eric grabbing it's treasure! It squawked in rage and flew at him!
 Onix literally jumped on the charging Zapdos, and while it was down Cubone and Marowak pounded it with Bone Club attacks. Zapdos quickly recovered, however, and slapped the two away with Wing Attack.
 "Okay, we got the rock!" Eric declared.
 "We'll meet you outside!" Erin added. They ran down the tunnel.
 Zapdos finally sighted the three trainers responsible for distracting it. It flew up above Onix's range and dove at them, preparing a Thunder attack!
 "Shit! RUN!" Uiru shouted.
 Standing at the entrance, Heidi knew they'd be fried in seconds. "Jigglypuff, go!" she shouted. "Light Screen!"
 Jigglypuff bounced in front of the three and summoned it's power. As Zapdos hurled a giant Thunder bolt at Jigglypuff, it threw up it's strongest wall yet. While Zapdos fought Jigglypuff, the others rallied to it's aid. Onix struck with Rock Throw while Sandslash used Rock Slide, and Cubone and Marowak threw their Bonemerangs into the mix.
 Zapdos fell to the floor, weakened.
 "Okay, let's go!" Heidi shouted. Leah, Uiru and Jessica recalled their Pokémon, and they tore out of the tunnel.

 Outside, however...
 Lauren pointed a gun straight in Eric's face. "Give us the rock," she demanded.
 "Oh, come on!" Eric complained. "We had to battle Zapdos to get this thing."
 "And we had to fight Moltres for the Ground Power Stone," Lauren retorted. "Now give us the rock or else."
 "Might as well give it to her," Thomas stated.
 Eric held up the stone.
 "Take it, Doug," Lauren declared. A short little man a bit older then Lauren took the stone from Eric. "Now, back on the chopper!"
 As Lauren and Doug moved towards their helicopter, a loud crashing was heard. As all trainers present looked around, a line of Magneton headed by a Magnemite flew in front of the helicopter!
 "Dammit!" Lauren cursed. "What do they think they're doing?"
 "Out of our way!" Doug shouted at the wall of Electric Pokémon.
 The Magneton had no such plans. Glaring at the two theives, they combined their Thundershocks and blasted them!
 "Now!" Eric shouted. "Mr. Mime, Abra, go!"
 "Nidorino, Nidorina, attack!" Erin shouted.
 "Rhyhorn, Haunter, I choose you!" Thomas shouted.
 "Get that rock!" Eric ordered.
 By this time, Lauren had recovered. She fired a few shots at the wall of Magneton, causing them to scatter. "Kadabra, Charmeleon!"
 "Onix, Haunter, go!" Doug summoned two of his Pokémon to battle.
 Onix lunged at Nidorino and Nidorina. Leaping clear, they retaliated with a double Double Kick!
 Thomas's Haunter and Doug's Haunter started scrapping it out, Night Shading constantly in an effort to prove superiority.
 Kadabra fired waves of Psychic energy at Nidorino and Nidorina. They weathered the attack surprisingly well and charged with Horn Attack and Fury Attack.
 Abra tried to use it's Teleport routine to confuse Charmeleon, but it had it's heart set on Slashing Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime brought up a Barrier to protect itself and used Confusion on Charmeleon, then Doubleslapped it while it was still woozy.
 "Electrode, go!" Lauren sent her Electrode into the middle of the party. "Explosion!" Friend and foe Pokémon alike were blown away by the gigantic blast. "Get in the chopper!" she shouted. "Electrode, Charmeleon, Kadabra, return!"
 Doug jumped on, still holding the Electric Power Stone. "Onix, Haunter, return!" It's a good thing Doug's Poké Ball knew which Haunter was which, because they both looked identical.
 "DAMN!" Eric shouted.
 The door opened. "What happened?" Uiru asked. "We heard a big bang."
 "Where's the stone?" Jessica asked.
 "Lauren took it," Eric admitted. "We'll tell you on the way back."

 Nick and the others weren't having much luck either. Although they had quickly found the Ice Power Stone, they had also disturbed the Stone's owner, the legendary Articuno. And unlike the Power Plant, the spacious Seafoam caves allowed Articuno to chase them just about anywhere.
 "We gotta try to fight it!" Allison shouted as they ran.
 "With what?" Nick asked. "I left my nukes at home!"
 "You got nukes?" Pittman asked. Matt reached over and slapped him in the back of the head.
 "Electric and Fire Pokémon should work," Geoff declared. "I'll use my Arcanine!"
 "I've got Arcanine and Magneton!" Allison added.
 "That's it!" Robert announced. "Everything else we have is weak against Ice!"
 "Okay! While you guys fight, we'll go back and get the Stone!" Nick declared. "Good luck!" Nick, Robert, Pittman, Matt and Patrick ducked out of sight, and then when Articuno wasn't looking, ran past it.
 "Arcanine, Magneton!" Allison shouted.
 "Arcanine!" Geoff declared.
 Spinning like a top, Magneton flew up at Articuno and unleashed a Thunderbolt straight in it's face. Squawking with indignation, Articuno blasted it with a Wing Attack, then shot an Ice Beam after it that Magneton barely dodged. Geoff's Arcanine opened up with Fire Spin while Allison's used Fire Blast. Magneton shocked Articuno with Thunder Wave, which slowed down the beast considerably.
 However, Articuno began beating it's wings! Crystal chunks of ice rained down on the Pokémon and their trainers.
 "OW! What's it doing?" Allison asked.
 "Looks like Blizzard, Articuno's ultimate attack!" Geoff declared.
 Although the attack technically didn't damage the Arcanines very much, the sharp shards still cut them up.
 "We should recall them!" Geoff shouted.
 "Wait! What's Magneton doing?" Allison asked.
 Magneton flew in front of the two Arcanines and unleashed a powerful thunder wall! It used it's Electric power to form a barrier that caused the icy chunks to turn into harmless snow upon contact. The Arcanine pair unleashed dual Fire Blast attacks which went right through Magneton's shield and melted most of the ice, then blasted Articuno!
 Nick ran up to them, holding the basketball-sized Ice Power Stone. "Okay, we got it!" he shouted.
 Both Arcanines launched Fire Spin moves that would slow Articuno down for a moment, allowing them to escape.
 "Where's the exit?" Patrick asked.
 "Up ahead!" Geoff replied. "I think..."
 "Yeah, there it is!" Nick pointed.
 In a few moments, the trainers were safely aboard their helicopter with the Ice Power Stone. Rising high, Nick piloted them back to the Saffron Pokémon Center.

 A few hours after Uiru and pals arrived, Nick and the others made it back.
 "How'd it go?" Jessica asked.
 Nick held up the Ice Power Stone. "Check it out!" he declared.
 "Cool!" Heidi looked at it. "It's so cold!" she exclaimed when she put her hands on it.
 "We didn't notice until we got back in the chopper," Matt stated. "It was freezing in there anyway, and we had to deal with Articuno!"
 "You too?" Uiru asked. "We fought Zapdos."
 "So...?" Pittman asked. "Where is it?"
 "Where's the Electric Power Stone?" Allison asked.
 "Was it there?" Robert asked.
 "It was," Eric admitted, "but Lauren took it."
 The Seafoam adventurers cursed.
 "She mentioned they had the Ground Power Stone as well," Uiru stated. "They battled Moltres for it."
 Pittman nodded. "That means they've been to Victory Road," he said.
 "Where's that?" Jessica asked.
 "It's the final training ground for budding Pokémon masters," Pittman explained. "After collecting the eight Badges from the eight Gym Leaders, you go to Victory Road. If you can get through it, you go on to battle the Elite Four. Defeat them, and you become a Pokémon Master of the Pokémon League!"
 "Is it like that where you guys are from?" Leah asked.
 "Sort of," Uiru answered. "Except you don't NEED to collect Badges. The more you have, though, the better your chances of getting into the PLM's Arena challenge. Three times a year, the PLM holds a tournament on an island. Trainers are tested first in their knowledge of Pokémon, then their ability to battle. After that, though, the trainers pool all their Pokémon together and pull out six, and THEN they battle. Of the three or four hundred applicants, twenty five are chosen as the finalists, then they have one more sudden death tournament with their own Pokémon. The winner of that tourney becomes a Champion Pokémon Trainer."
 "I didn't know that," Jessica stated. "When's the next tournament? I want to give it a shot."
 "We just missed it," Uiru replied. "I think the boat left about a week ago."
 "You two KNOW that if you made it, you'd both battle for the crown right?" Nick asked.
 Jessica paused. "Hm. I never thought of that..."
 "As if we'd even make it to the island," Uiru stated. "I've seen some of those battles on TV. Those trainers have dozens of Pokémon, and they change their teams every time so their opponents never have any idea what's coming. They're all incredibly powerful- one Electrode that used Explosion left a crater 20 feet across. Their Onix are so strong their skin has turned black. Gravelers are the size of small trucks. Dragonites 10 feet tall! A few years ago, they had to set up a ring of Mr. Mimes to use Light Screen to protect the audience! A Charizard's Flamethrower actually lit a boulder on fire! A Dugtrio's Earthquake caused giant cracks to appear throughout the arena, and because of it Earthquake was banned from all but the final matches! You aren't allowed to use Fissure at all! A Jynx's Blizzard caused the ground to be completely frozen! They only have matches 3 times a year because they're constantly replacing the dirt on the arena floor!"
 "Sounds like fun!" Jessica declared.
 "I say we try it when we get back!" Geoff declared.
 "We probably won't get very far, but at least we'll get in some training!" Matt announced.
 Uiru fell down animé style. "Nobody listens to a word I say, do they?" he muttered to himself.
 "Nope," Eric replied.
 "Excuse me," the nurse inturrupted. "Are you Fire Strike?"
 "Yes," Uiru answered, getting up.
 "I just got a call from the Pokémon League," she informed them. "They want to hear your case regarding the Sunder Force."
 "Amazing, they managed to do something right for once," Leah declared.
 "We might be getting somewhere with this!" Robert added.
 "They want you to fly over there right now," the nurse replied. "They said to land on the No. 3 Helipad."
 "How do they know we have a helicopter?" Nick asked.
 "Maybe Booster told them," Allison suggested.
 "Or maybe the six of us are really Pokémon League spies, sent to gather data on your movements and activities," Eric stated darkly.
  "Eric!" Heidi kicked him. "That's mean. We aren't spies."
  "It would be an interesting plot twist though," Nick said to himself.
 "Thanks for telling us," Uiru said to the nurse. "Well, shall we go?"

  The Pokémon League HQ was built on the plateau of a large mountain. Helipad 3 wasn't hard to locate as it had a giant '3' on it.
 Upon landing, the fourteen trainers were instantly met by a suit with dark glasses. "Are you Fire Strike of the Pokémon Liberation Movement?" he asked. Uiru nodded. "Come with me. The League supervisor is waiting." The man led them through a complex maze of corridors and staircases.
 "This is what I mean," Leah hissed to Matt in the very back. "Their building is as crooked as they are."
 "Shh!" Matt hissed.
 After a few minutes, the group finally reached the chambers of the current Pokémon League champion. "Please step inside," the man stated simply. Uiru and the others thanked the man and entered.
 Inside sat the biggest bimbo of a secretary they had ever seen. "Um, hello," Uiru greeted. "We're here to see the supervisor."
 "Oh, you must be Fire Strike," the obviously blonde girl exclaimed. "Mr. Oak is right in here. He's been expecting you."
 Uiru could see that Leah was making a concentrated effort not to look completely disgusted. Uiru thanked the girl and they entered Oak's office.
 Oak looked up from whatever he was doing. Surprisingly, he was their age. "Oh, hello," he hailed. He got up and came around his desk. "My name's Oak, Gary Oak. You must be Uiru." He shook Uiru's hand.
 "Yes, I'm Uiru," Uiru replied. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."
 "Hello everybody," Oak said to the rest. "I'm sorry there aren't enough chairs, it's not every day we get a group of internationally famous trainers in here."
 "Internationally famous?" Allison asked.
 "Yes!" Oak exclaimed. "A surprising number of people know about Fire Strike, and Booster of the PLM had nothing but praise for you guys."
 "Excuse me," Jessica inturrupted politely, "but how is it that you came in charge of an entire country?"
 Oak smiled at her. She's a cutie, he thought. "Quite simple, um..."
 "Jessica," Jessica answered.
 "All right. Quite simple, Jessica. It was pretty much luck, and my own incredible skill. Most trainers who defeat the Elite Four are older and more experienced. However, I was lucky to catch an incredible team of Pokémon, and with them I hammered through the Pokémon League's best." He pulled a Poké Ball out of a drawer. "Me and Flareon have been together for years. It's one of my best!" He put it back. "Since I'm still just a teenager, the Elite Four act as my advisors."
 "How long do you stay in office?" Matt asked.
 "Whenever I get beaten. However, it hasn't happened yet and I don't think it will for a long time! However, every year I have to defend my title at the League championships." Oak sat down behind his desk again. "Anyway, to business. The PLM has informed me that the Sunder Force has taken over many of the towns in the southern region."
 "That's correct," Eric confirmed. Beside him, Leah was doing her very best to not yell at him.
 "We'd like your permission to throw them out of your cities," Uiru requested.
 Oak nodded. "I've heard Fire Strike has quite the reputation when it comes to liberating towns," he declared. "I believe most of the western continent owes their freedom to you."
 "Well, I wouldn't say that," Uiru replied. "We are just a unit of the PLM."
 "And I've heard that many of the giant Pokémon seen in the area were defeated by you," Oak continued. "That's quite a feat." Oak pulled out some business cards. "Just flash these and anyone who asks will know you're under the authorization of the Pokémon League." Uiru took the cards, and distributed them to his friends. "And that's about it! Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?" he asked.
 "No, that's about it," Uiru declared. "Thank you very much."
 "Thank you," Oak replied. "Good luck!" Uiru and the others left.
 Oak put his feet up on his desk. This job is pathetic! he thought. He paged his secretary. "Linda, get me Sabrina on the phone."
 "Right away sir," she replied.
 I can see the headlines now... Pokémon League saves world from Sunder Force. The people will love me! Those guys will clean out my domain, and in the peacetime that follows... Oak leaned back and laughed.

Chapter Nine
 "Hey Uiru," Pittman asked when they got back to the chopper. "Where was Sunder when the lights went out?"
 "In the dark," Uiru replied. "Nick, let's go back to Saffron."
 "We might need help," Thomas inturrupted. "Lavender's been under their control for a long time. It may only be a small town but they've got a big base there, and a bunch of soldiers. In addition to that, since Lavender is so close to the Rock Tunnel, they hide backup troops in there, both as a guard and as means for a sneak attack."
 "Maybe we could... No, that woudn't work," Jessica remembered.
 "What is it?" Pittman asked.
 "Well... I was going to say we get Haunter to get some of it's Ghost buddies to help us out, but..."
 "How would it do that?" Geoff asked.
 "The Pokémon Tower," Jessica answered. "It's where all the Ghost Pokémon in this country live."
 Leah snapped her fingers. "Of course. Ghost Pokémon have no real weaknesses, so they'd be the perfect ally."
 "Not nessessarily," Jessica replied. "Gastly, Haunter and Gengar are weak against Ground and Psychic attacks. They're part Poison."
 "Really?" Robert asked. "They aren't just Ghost?"
 "No."
 "Wierd."
 "Well, none of the trainers in Lavender use Psychic or Ground type Pokémon," Leah continued.
 "So we need to get Haunter back," Uiru declared. "And the others as well."
 "Will you guys make up your minds about where you want to go?" Nick shouted. "I'm going to run out of fuel soon, and it's so expensive over here!"
 "Land at Viridian," Uiru said. "We need to come up with a plan."

 Fire Strike and company were discussing their next move at the Viridian Pokémon Center.
 "Sunder could be on the next planet over for all we know," Erin stated. "How are we supposed to find him? He usually finds us."
 "Well, where was he going last time we saw him?" Eric asked.
 "Celadon. But he had left by the time we got there," Robert replied.
 "Maybe we could go look around Celadon," Matt suggested. "Something could turn up."
 "Celadon is huge," Pittman complained. "We'd never be able to find anything on him."
 "Do you have a better idea?" Matt asked.
 The table was silent for several minutes.
 Allison brought her fist down on the table. "OF COURSE!!" she shouted. The others jumped.
 "What?" Nick asked, holding his ear.
 "Think about it. Lauren said that if we ever found Sunder's new base, we'd kick ourselves," Allison explained. "So where's the last place we'd expect to find them?"
 "One of their old bases?" Uiru asked.
 "The Flame Force's old place?" Jessica asked.
 "One of Flame Force's old bases?" Patrick asked.
 "No no no- our old base! We left it completely unguarded when we came after Sunder!"
 "What?! All our stuff is there! They've been at all our junk for a week!" Nick complained. The others voiced similar complaints. "Okay, we gotta go right now! There's enough juice in the chopper to get us over Mt. Moon. From there we can refuel and get right to Charteruse."
 "I never thought we'd have to storm our own base," Geoff declared.
 "You guys are going to tell us what the hell you're talking about, right?" Pittman asked.
 "Later," Matt said.
 "I have an idea," Uiru declared. "While we go rescue Haunter and the others, you six go to Saffron and prepare for the attack."
 "Can you drop us off first?" Heidi asked. "It's really far from here."
 "And don't forget my Graveler," Pittman reminded. Uiru nodded.
 "It'll take us at least a couple of days," Nick announced. He handed Eric a PLM credit card. "Here. Use this to get yourselves some transport to Saffron."
 "There's a business in Pewter that flies people back and forth by heli," Thomas stated. "We can use that, right?"
 Uiru nodded. "Set everything up, but don't make a move until we get back," he instructed. "But if they attack, give 'em hell."
 "You bet!" Heidi shouted. As Fire Strike headed out, Jigglypuff waved.

 Neither group of trainers noticed the short little man grinning at the earful he had just recieved. Doug smirked to himself as he snuck out of the Center.

 "Well, shall we go?" Robert asked. "I think the bus leaves for Pewter soon."
 "Sure," Eric decided. He looked at the card. "Do you think the PLM would mind if they bought us dinner?"
 "We shouldn't waste it," Leah scolded. "They're probably going to get in trouble for giving it to us anyway. We should just use it to get to Saffron. Now come on, let's go!"

 At Magenta Park, Uiru phoned Booster while Nick refueled.
 "Hey, Uiru!" Booster shouted. "I've been trying to get in touch with you for a week!"
 "We've been real busy," Uiru replied. "Anyway, we're on our way to our base. We think Sunder might be there."
 "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Booster shouted back. "Those sons of bitches just dropped right in and made themselves at home. When we tried to retake it, they sprung a trap on us. He's taken Ivory Lake too, it's where his soldiers are coming from."
 Geoff heard this. "What!?"
 "Is it safe to just fly up and attack?" Uiru asked. "They took Jessica's Haunter as well as a bunch of our other Pokémon. We need them back so we can liberate Lavender."
 "For you guys, maybe," Booster replied. "I'll order my troops to draw as many of their men away from your base as I can. When will you be getting here?"
 "All done!" Nick shouted.
 "Not long," Uiru answered. "We're on our way now."
 "All right, good luck!" Booster hung up.
 Uiru headed back for the chopper. "Uiru..." Geoff started.
 "Save it 'til we're airborne," Uiru replied. "We don't have much time."

 "I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no," Uiru answered the next time Geoff spoke.
 "Why the hell not?" Geoff demanded. "This time it's my hometown you aren't letting me fight for?!"
 "Geoff, what did we tell you on the mountain?" Jessica asked.
 "And what did I tell YOU on the mountain?" Geoff retorted.
 "Geoff, think about it," Uiru inturrupted. "Booster can handle Ivory Lake. But right now, Fire Strike and the guys are the only hope that country has. If we stay to save Ivory Lake, they might take Cerulean or Saffron or something. We have to get Haunter and get back over there as fast as we can!"
 Geoff glared at him. "Erin, you aren't buying this load of crap are you?" he finally asked. Erin was also from Ivory Lake.
 "Uiru's the leader," she answered. "Besides that, he's right. The PLM is getting stronger every day. They can handle Sunder Force here. We're needed back at Saffron."
 "Unbelieveable," Geoff snapped.
 "We fly in, grab our six, and fly out. That's all there is to it," Uiru declared. "We won't be staying long enough to even secure our base. You want to do some Sunder thrashing, you can do it when we meet up with Eric and the others."

 "Look, I don't care if you're with the Pope- you aren't shutting down any city power without the President's say-so." The power plant manager was adamant.
 "Okay, fine, where's the President?" Eric asked.
 "On the top floor of Silph Co., where else would he be?" the manager replied. "It's about 20 minutes on foot down the street."
 "What a bitch," Robert complained when they got outside.
 "I hope these stupid cards work better at Silph Co.," Eric stated.
 "You can't really blame him," Leah stated. "It's not every day a group of kids marches in and tells them to turn off a city's power."
 When they got to Silph Co., the receptionist was quick to show them to the elevator after they flashed their cards. "As luck would have it, the President isn't meeting with anyone right now," she informed them, "so you can just go right up. I'll tell him you're coming."
 "Okay, great," Pittman acknowledged.
 The ride up was uneventful. It is an elevator, after all.
 It didn't take as long as they had thought to shoot up to the top of the building. When the door opened, they were presented with the President's spacious office... as well as Doug and Lauren!
 "You! What are you doing here?" Lauren demanded. She whacked Doug in the back of the head. "You told me they were all headed for Charteruse!"
 "They must be here to tell the President not to listen to us," Thomas reasoned.
 "Yes, that was the general theme of what they've been telling me," the President replied. "If you six are trainers, could you please remove these ruffians from my office? I believe we have something important to discuss afterwards."
 "That's right," Pittman declared.
 "Okay, we don't want to trash the place, so pick them carefully," Leah declared. "Cubone, go!"
  "Ivysaur, go!" Pittman called out his Grass type.
 "Charmeleon, go!" Lauren used her favorite Pokémon.
 "Tentacruel, go!" Doug summoned his giant jellyfish.
 Charmeleon opened up with a Flamethrower attack on Ivysaur, which Cubone blocked with it's Bone Spin shield. Tentacruel shot Acid at the two but missed.
 Ivysaur generated a Razor Leaf attack, which Charmeleon spat fire at and was disappated. Cubone threw it's Bonemerang at Charmeleon, but Tentacruel shot it with a Water Gun, knocking it off course.
 "This battle is going nowhere," Leah stated.
 "Eevees, go!" Heidi shouted. She summoned both Eevees at once, and ordered them to attack Charmeleon! They jumped on their target, Biting and Slashing away, while it flailed at them. While Charmeleon was distracted, Ivysaur lashed Tentacruel with Vine Whip and Absorb attacks. When Charmeleon finally knocked the Eevees away, it charged Ivysaur only to be intercepted by Cubone. It soundly thrashed it with Bone Club.
 "Return! Electrode, go! Explosion!"
 "Oh crap! Onix, go!" Leah shouted. "Wrap Electrode, quick!"
 Lauren's plan for escape was stymied by Onix when it covered Electrode's body with it's rocky shell. When Electrode popped, Onix took little damage.
 "Now, Wrap them up!" Onix grabbed the two, crashing them together. They couldn't escape.
 "OW! Let us go!" Lauren demanded.
 "Well, that battle's over," Eric declared. "The cops should be here soon, right?"
 The President nodded. "Yes, thank you for capturing them. Now, I believe you're here to discuss shutting down the power in Lavender."
 Leah nodded. "We aren't doing it right now, we're just setting things up."
 "All right. Call me at this number when you're ready," he said, giving Leah a sheet of paper. "I'll call the power company and they'll turn it off."
 "Thank you, sir," Leah replied. They turned to leave.
 "Wait a second," the President continued. "You lot saved my office. Stop by R&D3 for a little gift from me. It's two floors down."
 "Okay, thanks!" The police were there to arrest Doug and Lauren. Leah recalled Onix, and they headed for the elevator.
 "What do you think it is?" Heidi asked.
 "I have no idea," Eric answered.

 In the spacious lab area, the President's order had already come through. One of the workers presented them with a Poké Ball.
 "Pokémon, come out!" the worker shouted. The Pokémon appeared on the table. It was Porygon!
 "What is it?" Thomas asked.
 "This is Porygon," the man replied. "I've been told to give it to you."
 "What kind of attacks does it have?" Eric asked.
 "Psychic attacks, as well as a few odd ones."
 "It's a Psychic type then, I should take it," Eric said to the group.
 "Go ahead," Pittman declared.
 Heidi looked at it. "I've never seen a Psychic type like this before."
 "Well, technically, it's not," the man answered. "But it learns moves like PSY Beam and Recover, so it's close enough. Here, read this." He handed Eric a clipboard.
 "What's this?"
 "It's details outlining Porygon's Conversion attack. It's hard to use, so you should learn how."
 Heidi looked at another clipboard. It seemed to be a report about evolution stones. She apparently read something very interesting, because she quickly put the clipboard back and pretended to have done nothing.
 "Porygon, return!" Eric declared. Porygon returned to it's Poké Ball.

Chapter Ten
 "It's way too quiet," Matt declared as they closed in on their base. "I thought they had taken it over, shouldn't it be swarming with guards?"
 "Maybe they know we're coming," Allison suggested.
 "How could they?" Geoff asked.
 "Maybe Booster managed to draw most of the guards away," Uiru suggested. "At any rate, the door's unguarded."
 A few Poké Balls were drawn in preparation for a sneak attack as they crept up to the door. None came. One by one, they entered the base.
 Although it was pitch dark, the trainers knew their way around. They soon reached the living room.
 Without warning, the lights flashed on. Looking frantically around, it was quickly determined that the room was empty.
 "Someone knows we're here," Jessica stated.
 "Hey, down there!" Geoff pointed. "Our Pokémon!"
 On a table sat six Poké Balls. The trainers ran down the stairs and opened them up. They were empty.
  "What the hell?!" Jessica shouted.
 "Looking for these?" Fire Strike whipped around. It was Sunder, standing on the mezzanine. He was holding a Poké Ball.
 Fire Strike had their Pokémon drawn in an instant. "Give them back, now!" Uiru demanded.
 "Oh, I'll give them back," Sunder laughed. "Kadabra, Machoke! I choose you!"
 Kadabra was the evolved form of the Fighting Abra- one of the rarest breeds of Abra in the world. It's powerful body was protected by armor which shone with an adamant light. Nearly seven feet tall, Kadabra had it all, but it's Psychic powers were slow to charge. It's physical attacks were swift as always, however.
 Machoke was the same way. As a Machop it would fight with Abra, and the constant exposure to Psychic energy eventually taught it Psychic attribute enhancing moves. It was also extremely fast and powerful, and was much more resilient to Psychic attacks then other Fighting types.
 "Let's see how you like being crushed by your own Pokémon!" Sunder laughed.
 Uiru looked up at him. "You obviously have no idea, do you, Sunder?" he asked.
 "No idea about what?"
 "Kadabra, Machoke! About face!" Uiru and Jessica said in unison. Their power Pokémon turned, and leapt up to the mezzanine.
 "Machoke, grab him!" Jessica shouted. Machoke grabbed Sunder's arms and shook him. The other four Poké Balls rolled out of him.
 "Kadabra, PSY Beam!" Uiru added. Kadabra shot Sunder with a beam of pure Psychic energy. He went flying through a window on the far side of the room, and kept going.
 Uiru, Jessica, Nick and Geoff ran up the stairs to reclaim their Pokémon.
 "Dragonair!" Geoff shouted.
 "Omanyte!" Nick added. He picked up his sea snail Pokémon. "How are you? Are you okay?"
 Jessica hugged Machoke, then called out Haunter and tried to hug it. After a few tries, the three laughed.
 "Hey, Kadabra," Uiru said. "Are you guys okay? We were really worried about you!"
 Kadabra nodded. It pointed at the Poké Balls strewn on the floor. "Oh... What happened to your Poké Ball?"
 Nick looked at one. "It seems Sunder altered their balls," he explained. "Not like that, of course."
 "Maybe we should transfer them to new Poké Balls," Allison suggested. The other four had made their way upstairs.
 "Yeah, I don't want my Pokémon in anything Sunder corrupted," Jessica declared. "We'll transfer you guys out of there in just a minute," she promised as she recalled her Pokémon.
 "My trading unit is still here," Nick announced. "One of the modifications I made to it is that we can just transfer them to an empty Poké Ball."
 After a few minutes, the six were out of Sunder's Poké Balls and sitting pretty inside fresh ones. Uiru put Pittman's Graveler in his pocket.
 After calling Booster to tell him the operation was successful, Fire Strike headed for their helicopter. It wasn't going to be that easy, however.
 "Pidgeot, Gust!" Jeremy shouted.
 "Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" the man next to him ordered.
 The trainers dove out of the way. "Raichu, go!" Uiru shouted. "Thunderbolt the two of them!"
 Pidgeot got tagged by the explosive power of Thunderbolt, but Gyarados dodged it.
 "Stephen, use Hyper Beam!" Jeremy ordered. "Pidgeot, return!"
 "Hyper Beam!" Stephen shouted.
 Gyarados coiled up and fired it's rainbow beam at Erin and Jessica! As she braced for the impact, Jessica felt one of her Poké Balls open automatically. Machoke emerged and blocked the beam!
 "Machoke!" she shouted. It had taken the entire blast! Breathing heavily, Machoke glared at Gyarados, and started to glow!
 "What's happening?" Erin asked.
 "Machoke's... evolving!?" Uiru asked. "But Machokes don't evolve!"
 "This one is!" Jessica shouted happily.
 Machoke evolved into Machamp!
 Towering over the trainers, the nine foot tall Machamp certainly looked like it had been eating it's Wheaties. Four muscular arms flexed, giving a clear message to any who dared to challenge it- 'You're Dead'.  The powerhouse Fighting type charged at Gyarados like a guided missile.
 "Wow! It's so cool! Look at it go!" Jessica cheered. Uiru could practically see the stars in her eyes.
 "Kabutops, I choose you!" Jeremy shouted. "Slash attack!"
 Before Raichu could shock it, Kabutops blasted it with a Slash attack. Uiru recalled it, and sent out Kadabra!
 "Kadabra, Psychic attack!" Uiru ordered. Kadabra started charging it's attack, but Kabutops got there first and began Slashing away at it's armor!
 "Kadabra, counter!" Kadabra's retaliation had no effect on Kabutops' rocky shell. Like Machoke before it, Kadabra began glowing!
 "I don't believe it! Kadabra's going to evolve too!"
 The still glowing Kadabra blasted Kabutops with a bolt of purple PSY power. It wanted some room.
 Kadabra evolved into Alakazam!
 Most Kadabras reached a maximum of six feet in height. Alakazam beat them all at eight and a half. Although not as muscular as Machamp (and still only having two arms) Alakazam would make a physical force to be reckoned with. An additional spoon proved that it's Psychic power had almost doubled as well. It's tail was gone, but that was okay- it'd be easier to kick the crap out of things now.
 "Alakazam, PSY Sword!" Uiru shouted with glee. "Hack Kabutops to bits!"
 Alakazam gripped it's spoons, and blades of pure Psychic energy emerged from them! It started battling Kabutops! It's blades were no match for Alakazam's short swords, and was quickly overpowered.
 Gyarados was not having a good time on the other side of the battlefield. No matter what it attacked with, Machamp just kept coming. It grabbed Gyarados by the tail and slung it into a tree head first.
 Stephen looked at Jeremy as the two undiscovered evolutions advanced on them. "I believe a strategic retreat would be in order," Jeremy suggested.
 "Indeed," Stephen agreed. The two took to their heels.
 Alakazam's swords disappeared. Uiru reached up and clapped it on the back. "Congradulations!" he stated.
 Jessica hugged Machamp again. It picked her up and sat her down on it's left shoulder. She laughed. "Great job, Machamp!" she congradulated.
 Alakazam and Machamp exchanged a high-five.

 Uiru and Jessica didn't shut up about their new Pokémon for the whole trip back.
 "Hopefully they'll fall asleep soon," Allison said to Matt. He nodded.
 "But how did they evolve?" Patrick asked them. "Machoke and Kadabra don't evolve. Why did yours?"
 "I'm not sure," Jessica answered.
 "Maybe... Maybe it was the trading unit," Nick suggested. "Maybe my modifications altered them slightly, and they evolved."
 "Hmm... So when they're traded, they evolve," Uiru said. "That sort of makes sence."
 "Does that mean Dragonair will evolve?" Geoff asked hopefully.
 "I'm not sure," Nick replied. "Dragonair evolves into Dragonite, but it takes forever. It might have to happen naturally."
 "Haunter evolves into Gengar, but nobody knows when," Jessica declared. "Nobody has been able to make a Haunter evolve. Only a few wild Gengar have been caught."
 "Maybe Haunter will evolve when you let it out," Matt suggested.
 "What about Graveler?" Uiru asked. "Pittman would be thrilled if it evolved too."
 "Let's try it out when we get back to Saffron," Allison suggested.

 Uiru and Jessica silently crept up Route 12 towards Lavender. Their mission: to get the newly evolved Gengar into Pokémon Tower and recruit the help of the Ghost Pokémon.
 Dressed as local Bird Catchers, Robert had loaned them Pidgeotto and Fearow to help complete their disguises. Both felt rediculous in the pure white shirts and shorts.
 "Why do we always wind up doing the espianage?" Jessica asked.
 "I have no idea. I hate this outfit though. It's almost as bad as the tux."
 "Oh, but you look so cute." Jessica pointed. "There's the checkpoint. Will they let us through?"
 "Why not?" Uiru asked. "We look like idiots, they'd never recognize us."
 With Pidgeotto and Fearow on their shoulders, the two got into Lavender Town with relative ease. Then they casually headed straight to Pokémon Tower.
 Although the door said 'CLOSED' the door was open anyway. After a quick glance around, the two snuck in.
 "From what Thomas told me, most of the ghosts are on the upper floors," Uiru stated. "Better call out Gengar."
 Jessica summoned her new Gengar. The six foot tall demon showed that Alakazam and Machamp weren't the only ones whos expert training reflected their larger size. Gengar just met Uiru's height and was still taller then Jessica.
 The two climbed the stairs into the darkness. "Is it supposed to be this dark, Gengar?" Jessica asked. It nodded. Gengar's carefree attitude was unwavering, even in this pit of darkness that Uiru and Jessica could sense was a very dangerous place.
 They reached the second floor. They couldn't see a thing.
 "This is rediculous," Uiru declared. "We can't do this if we can't see. We should go back and get a light."
 Jessica turned to go down the stairs. "Uiru... Where'd the stairs go?!"
 "What?" Uiru looked around. "Hey Gengar, get us out of here!"
 Gengar looked around and shook it's head. It didn't know where to go.
 Uiru threw up his arms. "Great."
 "There has to be a way out. The stairs didn't just vanish." Jessica looked around. "Uiru? Where are you?"
 No answer. Jessica heard only the laughing of a group of Gastly before their Hypnosis power put her and Gengar to sleep along with Uiru.

 Did I fall asleep? Uiru asked himself. "Jessica!" he shouted. "Gengar! Where'd you two go?"
 Although he still couldn't see, he senced he was in a small room. His feeling was confirmed when he found the wall and traced it. He found only two things in the pitch dark room- the door, which was locked, and what seemed like a king size bed.
 After slamming against the door for a moment, he found out the hard way that it was too sturdy to break. He sat down on the bed, then decided to blast his way out with his Pokémon.
 "Sandslash, go... Huh?! Dammit! Where'd my Pokémon go?" Uiru searched all his pockets, then started feeling around the room. "Did I drop them? Damn!"
 He heard the door open. "Who's there?" he asked.
 "Uiru?" a voice asked. It was Jessica. "Is that you?"
 "Yeah," Uiru replied. "Where were you? What happened?"
 "I don't know," she answered. She must have followed his voice, because she ushered him to his feet. "Come here, Uiru."
 Uiru had no idea where she was taking him until she sat him down on the bed. She sat down next to him. "You know, Uiru, we're all alone here..."
 The Animé sweatdrop made an appearance on Uiru's head.
 "Pardon?!" he asked.
 "Can't we take a break for just a little while?" she asked. "Just you and me all alone in here?"
 "This isn't like you," Uiru stammered. The internal conflict between what he wanted and what he WANTED was making communication difficult. "This really isn't a good time, and we've got a lot of work to do!"
 "Oh, why not?!" she snapped at him. "All you ever talk about is work, work, work. You deserve a break, and I want you to spend it with me."
 "And besides that, we're both way too young. ...And where's Gengar?"
 "Outside," she snapped. "Geez, since when have you been so conservative?!"
 Uiru stood up. He went to the door, which Jessica had left unlocked. "Hey, Gengar!" he shouted down the hall. No reply. "Just as I thought. This really isn't like you. In fact, I don't think it IS you. This is some kind of ghost trick. I'm outta here." He took off down the hall, with one hand on the wall next to him, and one outstretched in case he crashed into something.

 "Where'd Uiru go?" Jessica asked Gengar. It shook it's head. "Were we hit with Hypnosis or something?" Gengar nodded. "Damn."
 Jessica wandered lost for a good 20 minutes before she heard a voice. "Allison?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"
 "Oh, Jessica, hi. I'm looking for your boyfriend." Allison smirked at her.
 "What?"
 "Where's Uiru?" she asked simply. "I'm looking for him. I want him."
 "Excuse me?!" Jessica was getting annoyed. "Cut that out Allison. I don't know where Uiru is. We got seperated a while ago."
 "Oh, there he is!" Allison pointed behind her. "Hey, Uiru!"
 "Uiru!" Jessica and Allison moved up to meet him. "Where were you?"
 Uiru ignored her. "Hey, Allison," he replied. "Glad you could make it."
 "What? What's going on?!" Jessica demanded. "Uiru... What are you doing?"
 "What I've wanted to do for a long time," Uiru replied. He smiled at Allison, then kissed her.
 Jessica took a step back. "Uiru...?" Tears sprung to her eyes.
 Gengar got her attention. Through clouded eyes, she saw it vehemently shake it's head 'no'.
 "What are you saying...?" she asked. Then it dawned on her. "Of course! This isn't real!" She wiped her eyes. "This is an illusion. Allison is back in Saffron," she declared, glaring at the girl, "and Uiru would never do this to me! This is a trick!"
 Gengar laughed. "Let's go, Gengar," Jessica stated. "We have to find Uiru."

 Miraculously, the two bumped into each other not long afterwards.
 "Is this really you this time?" Uiru asked.
 "Yeah, is it the real you?" Jessica answered. She hugged him. "It was awful..." Jessica told him about what she had seen.
 "What? That's incredible," Uiru stated when she had finished. He told her about his encounter.
 "And you walked away from that?" she asked. "Pretty good, Uiru."
 "It just didn't seem like you," he replied. "You're much too shy- which I find adorable, by the way."
 She laughed. "Oh, shut up."
 Gengar patted them both on the back. "Did you happen to see a way out?" Uiru asked.
 "No..."
 A loud chattering drew their attention. A group of Gastly and Haunter appeared a few metres away from them.
 "Hey, do you guys know the way out of here?" Jessica asked.
 Yes, we do. The Ghost Pokémon communicated directly with their minds. We see you broke through our little deception.
 Gengar growled. How dare you toy with my master like that?!
 Great Gengar, we know why you are here, the ghosts replied. We tested your master because we must gauge their character.
 "Why?" Uiru asked.
 We cannot decide on facts alone which way is right, the ghosts answered. All things can be seen in two lights, depending on the point of view. But a noble heart fights a noble cause. You have proven that you are worthy of our assistance. How may we help you?
 Uiru grinned. "We plan to clear Sunder Force out of Lavender Town," he replied. "We're going to cause a blackout. When they attack Saffron to get the power back on, we'll ambush them."
 We understand. You wish us to battle them from behind, correct?
 That's right, Gengar answered. Sneak up on them.
 "Will you help us?" Jessica asked.
 The ghosts agreed. We will keep a lookout. When the battle begins, we will assail them with all our forces. Good luck, Uiru and Jessica.
 The next instant, Uiru, Jessica and Gengar wound up outside. Uiru's Poké Balls were back in place.
 "We made it!" Uiru almost shouted. Jessica shushed him. "We have to get back to Saffron," he declared.
 "And as luck would have it, the bus leaves in eight minutes," Jessica announced, checking the schedule. "Hey Gengar, thanks for helping us out up there." It laughed uproarously.

Chapter Eleven
 "Shut the power," Uiru declared.
 "Shut the power," the President ordered.
 "Shut the power?" the plant boss asked. "Okay, if you say so. Shut the power."
 "Shut the power!" the workers enthousiastically responded.
 "Power's shut," they added.
 "Power's shut," the plant boss reported.
 "Power's shut," the President informed Uiru.
 "Power's shut," Uiru said to the others.
 Power's shut, the ghosts said to themselves.
 Uiru hung up the phone. "Well, that was a rediculous scene. Let's get into position."

 "This is as good a time as any to storm Saffron!" the leader bellowed. "Our main target will be the power plant in Saffron City! Once the power is restored, we'll take on Silph Co and the Pokémon Center!"
 The main assault force headed down Route 6 towards Saffron. They were almost there when they encountered Fire Strike.
 "In the name of the Pokémon League, the PLM officially places you all under arrest," Uiru declared grandly.
 The two groups stared at each other in silence for about two seconds, then everyone present threw a Poké Ball.
 But this battle was not to be. From literally nowhere, dozens of Gastly and Haunter appeared and charged the soldiers. Some just ran at the sight of all the ghosts. Others tried to fight back, but it would prove to be useless.
 "Quick, while they're distracted," Uiru called to the others. There were a ton of trainers being terrorized by the Ghost Pokémon. When a half dozen Haunters lined up together and used Night Shade at the same time, Uiru knew the Sunder Force would never reach Saffron. They'd be lucky to make it back to Lavender.
 In the span of about four minutes, Lavender's main attack group were taken out, and while they were away, the city came under attack. Fire Strike quickly reached their first target.
 "What'll we do about the reserve troops in the Rock Tunnel?" Leah asked.
 "I've already thought of that." Uiru shouted so the rest could hear. "Leah and Jessica, come with me. The rest of you, take the Pokémon Center."
 "Where are we going?" Jessica asked.
 "To Rock Tunnel."
 "Just the three of us?"
 "You'll see. Come on!"
 The few soldiers left in the city attacked as Uiru, Leah and Jessica scampered off.
 "Golduck, go!" Pittman and Nick called their Water fighters at the same time. It was a good thing because a Rhyhorn charged the party.
 "Water Gun!"
 "Bubblebeam!"
 The twin water attack shut down Rhyhorn.
 "Magneton, go!" Allison shouted. "Thunder Wave attack!" Allison Paralyzed Pokémon and trainers alike with the electrical pulse of energy. "To the Center, quick!"

 Uiru, Leah and Jessica soon reached the entrance to Rock Tunnel. "So, what are we going to do?" Leah asked. "There's like two hundred soldiers in there. Not even we could beat that many."
 "Actually, I'd like to see how far we got," Uiru stated. "But that's not my plan. Sandslash, I choose you!" The four and a half foot tall slashing monster of a Pokémon appeared. "Rock Slide the top of the entrance!"
 Sandslash summoned it's energy, causing the ground around it to buckle and crumble. Chunks of solid stone floated up from the ground, then flew straight into the wall above the opening. Boulders fell in front of the opening.
 "I get it," Leah declared. "You're going to trap them inside."
 "Yeah," Uiru replied.
 "Isn't that a bit cheap?" Jessica asked.
 "They can get out the back way," Uiru stated. "If not, too bad for them."
 "Yeah. They ARE the enemy," Leah added. "Cubone, go! Bonemerang that door! Seal it tight!"
 "Sandslash, Rock Throw! Plug that hole!"
 Cubone and Sandslash quickly piled enough rocks in front of the opening to ensure that none of Lavender's surprise attack forces would be able to make it.
 A voice came from behind them. "Oh... You're back already?" It was Jeremy.
 Uiru and the others spun around. "How'd you get back here so fast?" Leah asked.
 "We just got in," Stephen declared. "Sunder has a job for us. If you'll excuse us..." Stephen made it a point to uncover the basketball-sized rock he held in his hands.
 "What's that?" Jessica asked.
 "The Fighting Power Stone," Jeremy announced. "Atop Rock Tunnel is a Fighting Pokémon bonanza. And we're on our way to create our biggest Pokémon yet!"
 "No way!" Uiru shouted. "Sandslash, Rock Slide!"
 "Pidgeot, go!" Jeremy responded. "Sand Attack! Blind all of them!"
 Pidgeot's Sand Attack was faster then Rock Slide. The stones flew harmlessly out of the way. When the sand cleared, Jeremy and Stephen were well on their way up the small mountain.
 "Leah, go back and tell the others," Uiru ordered, "to get up here as fast as they can. Sandslash, come!"
 "Starmie, come out!" Jessica added.
 Leah headed back into town as Uiru and Jessica chased after the Fighting Power Stone.

 Pittman somehow managed to get into a two-on-one battle with the enemy.
 "Graveler, go!" he shouted. He threw out his newly reclaimed Graveler.
 "Weepinbell, go!"
 "Jynx, attack!"
 "Graveler, Rock Throw!" Graveler rolled itself up into a ball and slammed into Weepinbell! Jynx attacked with an Ice Punch but missed, and Graveler Tackled it. Weepinbell recovered and grabbed it with it's Vine Whip!
 "Graveler! Break away!" Pittman shouted. But the vines held fast. Jynx prepared a Blizzard attack!
 Graveler started to glow!
 "What's going on?" Pittman asked.
 "Oh, we forgot to tell you," Nick stated. "Graveler might evolve because we traded it from Sunder."
 Graveler evolved into Golem! The five foot half ton Pokémon stuck out a lot more then Geodude and Graveler did. It stomped over to Jynx and smashed it with it's Rock Rush punch! Then it literally rolled over Weepinbell, blasting it unconscious.
 The two trainers recalled their Pokémon and ran.
 "That's quite a Pokémon!" Pittman declared.
 "Are we done yet?" Eric asked.
 "I think so," Nick stated. "Most of the troops are being pounded by the ghosts. Uiru, Jessica and Leah are dealing with the Rock Tunnel forces, and almost everyone in town's been beaten. I think we're done."
 "Not yet," Leah shouted as she ran up to them. "Huff... Jeremy and Stephen have a Power Stone and they're about to make a giant Fighting Pokémon! Uiru and Jessica are chasing them... puff..."
 "Where are they?" Geoff asked.
 "They're up the mountain, above Rock Tunnel," Leah replied. "Whew... Well, are you coming?"

 Jeremy was right. Uiru and Jessica passed dozens of Machops and Mankeys on their way up the mountain.
 "They've got to have a base up here if they're going to create a giant Pokémon," Uiru stated. "So where is it?"
 "This mountain isn't exceptionally large, but the forest is really thick," Jessica answered. "It could be anywhere, as long as it's small."
 Uiru stopped. "This is why Flying types are handy every now and then. Butterfree, come out!" Butterfree came out. "Fly up and tell us if you see anything interesting," Uiru told it.
 Butterfree hovered up and saw a small clearing ahead of them. There seemed to be something going on. Flying low, it led Sandslash and Starmie to the scene.

 "Hey, is that Uiru's Butterfree?" Allison pointed. "I thought I saw it for a second."
 "It's as good a direction as any to go," Thomas stated. They headed up that way.

 Butterfree led them to the clearing. A dozen unconscious Fighting Pokémon had been put under by two Hypno, and Jeremy and Stephen were stealing them!
 "Butterfree go!" Uiru declared. "Nature's Pin, now!"
 Butterfree flew straight at one Hypno and seemed to dissolve into energy. The ball of butterfly-shaped power smacked into the Hypno and went right through it! Butterfree reformed on the other side, and kicked Hypno for good measure. Uiru's new Bug type attack was just the thing to use on Psychics. The Hypno was heavily damaged and the other one was next.
 "Hypnosis!" Stephen shouted. "Put it under!" No such luck. Butterfree was strong against Psychic power. It slammed Hypno with Nature's Pin.
 "It hammered right through our Psychics!" Stephen stammered. "I have to get me one of those."
 "All right, Butterfree! Whirlwind them right out of here!" Uiru ordered. Butterfree wound up and sent the two theives flying far into the forest.
 "You know," Jessica said to him, "there's something really familiar about you just Whirlwinding the bad guys away."
 Uiru shrugged. "We gotta release the Fighting Pokémon," he declared. "Hope they don't get mad at us."
 From behind a tree, a figure cloaked in shadow watched them release the Fighting types.

Chapter Twelve
 "Well, that's all of 'em," Jessica declared. "We better find them soon, before they just go and do it again."
 "Butterfree knocked out their Hypnos," Uiru stated. "It'll be a while before they can do it again." Butterfree chirped in agreement.
 Sandslash and Starmie were resting in the shade. Butterfree landed on Starmie. Starmie shook it off. Sandslash swatted Starmie and let Butterfree land on it's head instead.
 "Aww, isn't that cute?" Uiru asked.
 "Sure is. We're going now," Jessica told them.
 A voice came from the forest. "Hitmonlee, Jump Kick!" Stephen shouted. He appeared from behind a tree and called his ultrarare Fighting Pokémon, Hitmonlee. It blasted Jessica!
 Uiru caught her. "You son of a bitch!" he shouted.
 Stephen laughed. "Hi Jump Kick!" he ordered.
 Hitmonlee leapt high in the air!
 From the forest behind them came a flash of brown. In an instant, Hitmonlee landed on it's head with a crash. The mysterious creature proceeded to pound Stephen into a bloody pulp.
 "Are you okay?" Uiru asked.
 "Yeah... I think... OW! Maybe not." Hitmonlee had gotten her in the side, and her arm hurt like hell.
 "Try not to move. I'll deal with this bastard." Uiru looked at Stephen. "I think something's already dealing with him though."
 Jessica looked. "Whatever it is, it's strong," she declared.
 Graveler and Pidgeot appeared on the other side of the clearing, accompanied by Jeremy. "Graveler, Earthquake!"
 Before Graveler could unleash it's pent-up Ground type energy, the brown figure practically flew across the clearing and pounded Graveler. It froze!
 "What kind of punch freezes like that?" Jessica asked.
 The moving blur finally stopped long enough to let Uiru, Jessica, Jeremy and a pounded Stephen see what it was. It was five feet eight inches tall, and was the shape of a human, even though it was a Pokémon. It had large brown shoulder pads and wore a light blue tunic. Large red boxing gloves adorned it's hands. It was Hitmonchan, easily one of the rarest Pokémon in the world. The only known Pokémon who learned Fire, Ice, and Thunder attacks, on the open market a Hitmonchan could bring a seller millions upon millions of Pokéyen.
 Electric sparks seemed to pop from it's gloves, and Hitmonchan nailed Pidgeot with the power of it's Thunder Punch.
 "Wow! It's so powerful!" Uiru exclaimed.
 After Hitmonchan blasted Pidgeot into a coma, it pounded Jeremy as well. Once that was over, however, it stood in front of Uiru and bowed.
 "And so polite, too," Jessica said. "Ow..."
 Allison and the others found them. "Hey, what happened?" Allison asked.
 Uiru pointed at the unconscious Hitmonlee. "It kicked her," he answered.
 "Is it broken?" Patrick asked Jessica, looking at her arm.
 "No, I don't think so. It just really hurts."
 Leah looked at the two unconscious Sunder Force lieutenants. "So where's the Fighting Power Stone?" she asked.
 "They might have put it in their base already," Uiru suggested. "Of course, that would mean it would have to be really close by."
 Hitmonchan nodded. It pointed down a path.
 Uiru helped Jessica up. "Allison, Geoff... Can you take her back to the Pokémon Center?"
 "Sure, we can handle it," Geoff replied. The three headed back the way they had come.
 Uiru turned to Hitmonchan. It was almost as tall as he was. "Can you take us to the base, Hitmonchan?" Uiru asked.
 Hitmonchan nodded. Then it pointed at the Poké Balls on Uiru's belt, and pointed at itself.
 "Are you saying you wanna come with me?" Uiru asked, trying to keep the eager hope out of his voice and failing miserably. Hitmonchan nodded. "All right!" He pulled out a Poké Ball, and Hitmonchan entered it. "YES!!" he shouted, jumping four feet in the air. "I got a Hitmonchan!"
 The others applauded. "Congradulations, Uiru," Matt stated. "You finally got your sixth Pokémon!"
 "Call it out now!" Heidi asked. "I want to see it again! It's cool!" Uiru complied. Hitmonchan appeared in the clearing. It wasn't surprised at being called out so soon- it knew it was going to lead them to the Sunder Force base.
 "It's so cool! Hi!" Heidi greeted. "I'm Heidi, and this is Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff hailed a greeting as well. Hitmonchan laughed, and shook her hand.
 "Aww," Eric muttered to himself. "How cute."
 "Anyway... Can you take us to the base now, Hitmonchan?" It nodded, and led them down the path.
 Uiru turned to Eric. "So, how'd it go at Lavender?"
 "Fine. My Abra finally evolved."
 "Great!"
 Jessica was right. The base was very small, and unguarded. Peeking inside, they saw the Fighting Power Stone on a pedistal.
 "Should we break it or take it?" Nick asked.
 "I say we break it," Leah answered.
 "I don't think we can," Uiru told her. "Hitmonchan, can you break it?"
 Hitmonchan shrugged, then went up to the Stone and hit it with Mega Punch! The stone flew through the air and bounced off the wall, and Hitmonchan caught it with Comet Punch. The incredibly fast attack sent the stone into a spin, and when Hitmonchan Mega Punched it again it took a few inches out of the wall before crashing to the ground. There wasn't a scratch on it, of course.
 "I guess we take it," Thomas declared. Hitmonchan picked it up and tossed it to Uiru.

 "Nidorino, I choose you!" Geoff shouted.
 "Primeape, attack!" Allison added.
 With her good arm, Jessica chose Machamp's Poké Ball. "Machamp..."
 "Hold it! We can handle this," Geoff said to her.
 There were five Sunder Force guards at the base of the mountain. Each sent various Ground and Fighting types against them.
 An enemy Marowak tried to Bone Club Primeape, but the psycho savage fighter actually took the bone and beat Marowak to hell with it! A Machoke flew at it with Low Kick but Primeape jumped the attack and cracked Machoke in the head.
 Nidorino Double Kicked a Rhydon out of it's way and used Horn Attack on a Mankey. Mankey hammered it with Fury Swipes but Nidorino fought back and pounded the pig monkey with Fury Attack.
 When the boneless Marowak's trainer recalled Marowak, Primeape still had the bone! "Dammit! Give the bone back!" the female soldier demanded.
 "Come and take it!" Allison shouted.
 "Machop, go!" the girl shouted.
 "Primeape, Bonemerang!" Allison ordered. Machop got clobbered.
 From behind the front lines, Jessica laughed. The thought of Primeape using Marowak's attacks with it's own weapon was hilarious.
 "Dragonair, go!" Geoff shouted. It Slammed a Poliwrath, then Wrapped an enemy Primeape and Thunder Waved it. Nidorino finally succeeded in Double Kicking the Rhydon into a coma but not before taking a few Horn Attacks. It had a few minor cuts, and Geoff recalled it.
 The fourteen foot long Dragonair was certainly a sight to behold. In addition, the attacks of the Sunder Force soldiers were totally ineffective on it. Only Ice could slow down a Dragonair, and very few enemy trainers had an Ice user. So it wasn't long before the five trainers- including the girl who had lost her Marowak's bone- ran.
 Seeing Primeape take practice swings with the bone club it had stolen caused the three trainers to crack up. "Primeape is pretty good with the bone," Jessica stated.
 "Yeah. Natural talent," Allison agreed. She recalled Primeape, and the bone went with it.
 "You know," Geoff stated, "I think you should both be happy Nick isn't here."
 "Why not?" Allison asked.
 "Because he'd comment on what you've been saying." Allison and Jessica looked at him. "Think about it," he said.
 Five minutes later, when the three had reached the Pokémon Center, the girls got it. They hit him. "Ow!" Geoff complained.
 "Ow!" Jessica complained. "Dammit." She had moved her arm too quick.

 Uiru put the Fighting Power Stone in the hidden compartment that held the Ice Power Stone, then locked the two of them up tight. Then he climbed out of the chopper and went into the Lavender Pokémon Center to discuss their next move.
 "Where's our next target?" Uiru asked, unrolling a giant map.
 "Either Vermillion or Fuchsia," Eric stated. "After that, it's on to Cinnibar Island!"
 "Vermillion's got lots of Electric Pokémon," Robert stated. "I don't want to go there."
 "Nick, I've got a job for you," Uiru stated.
 "What is it?" Nick asked.
 "Those trainers we locked in Rock Tunnel. Soon they're going to come out the other end, and might attack Cerulean. I want you to fly to Cerulean and get their defence to arrest them."
 "All by myself?" Nick asked.
 "Don't worry," Leah stated. "Most of the trainers in there use Rock and Ground types. Your Water types, as well as the Water types of the Cerulean force, will be strong against them."
 Nick nodded. "I guess I can handle that."
 "Just make sure you have your League card," Pittman suggested.
 Uiru pointed at Cycling Road. "For our attack on Fuchsia..."
 "Aren't we attacking Vermillion first?" Allison asked.
 "Yeah, but I wanna discuss this first. Leah, you seem to know a lot about Sunder Force's type preferences. What do they use in Fuchsia?"
 "Grass," she answered. "Mostly Tangela and Exeggutor. As well as Normal type Pokémon like Tauros and Kanghaskhan."
 "Great," Uiru replied. "That means we should try to recruit the help of the Bikers on Cycling Road. Their Poison types would help a lot."
 Thomas laughed. "What makes you think they'll listen to you?" he asked. "They aren't exactly the brightest of people, and they follow nobody's rules but their own."
 "The Sunder Force makes the Fuchsia Police arrest them," Uiru stated. "I don't think it'll take too much to talk them into an organized attack. Besides, Erin is a Poison trainer. I'm sure she can talk to them."
 "What?!" Erin asked. "You're sending me in to deal with a bunch of hygene-deprived Grade 1 intelligence Bikers?! I can't do that. They'd eat me."
 "Not alone, obviously," Uiru laughed. "Anyway, we can worry about that later. We should probably focus on Vermillion first."
 "Flat out attack?" Matt suggested.
 "Pretty much, yeah," Uiru stated.
 The nurse inturrupted at this point. "Excuse me... I just got a call from my cousin in Vermillion City. She said that the Sunder Force is beefing up their defences right now."
 "Great," Uiru sighed. "Thanks for telling us." He pointed to Route 11. "So much for a sneak attack. Should we attack from Route 11 or Route 6?"
 "Diglett's Tunnel," Thomas stated. "It comes out inside Vermillion's territory."
 "No, they'd be expecting that," Pittman replied. "It'd be way too easy to trap us inside."
 "Besides, we'd have to fly all the way to Viridian," Nick stated.
 "Hang on a sec!" Leah announced. "I'll go into Diglett's Tunnel, and get the Diglett and Dugtrio to help us! Ground types would kick the crap out of their Electric Pokémon!"
 "You can communicate with them?" Thomas asked.
 "No, but Cubone and Sandshrew understand what's going on. They'll be able to convince the Diglett to help!"
 "There's no sence going all the way to Viridian," Uiru stated. "We'll battle in from Route 11, then you can get in and talk to them."
 "Wouldn't it be better," Heidi asked, "if a bunch of us caused a distraction on Route 6, then Leah sneak in?"
 "I couldn't do that by myself," Leah said. "I'd need a few people to help me."

 The battle plans went on for quite a while. It was decided that Nick would drop Leah, Matt, Eric and Pittman on Route 11, then dump everyone else on Route 6. Then he would fly to Cerulean and deal with the Rock Tunnel troops. When Nick was finished, he would return to Vermillion and they'd prepare to attack Fuchsia.
 "Is the store still open?" Heidi asked when the discussion was finished. "I want to buy some evolution stones."
 "Have you decided what you're going to make your Eevees?" Leah asked.
 "Yep!" Heidi declared. "It's a surprise though."
 "I think they are," Eric said, looking at the clock. "You'd better hurry though."
 Heidi tore out of the Pokémon Center.
 "Something's got her all excited," Matt said.
 "I hope she makes them Jolteon and Flareon," Allison stated. "We have enough Water Pokémon, but almost no Fire or Electric."
 Uiru got up. "I'm going to fill Jessica in on the mission," he stated.
 Nick waited until he was out of earshot. "I could say SO many things to that one," he cracked. "Oh, the possibilities are endless."
 Leah slapped him in the back of the head. "Just wait until you get a girlfriend- IF that ever happens," she told him. "You'll be sorry then."
 "Okay. Wanna go out with me Leah?"
 "No."
 "All right then."
 Matt, Patrick and Robert laughed. "Shot down!" Matt stated.
 "Yes... I'm going to go cry for a week now," Nick laughed.
 Allison and Erin sighed. "Boys," they moaned.

 "How's your arm?" Uiru asked. Jessica was lying down in the dorm area. Since it was only early evening, they were the only ones there.
 "It sucks," Jessica replied. The nurse had determined that it wasn't straight out broken but there could be a fracture of some kind. So she sprayed it with Super Potion and put a brace on it. "What's the battle plan?"
 Uiru gave her the specifics. "Leah's going to get the Digletts to help," he explained. "So it shouldn't be too hard."
 "I liked it better back home," Jessica stated. "We could just attack, because the PLM would be backing us up." She sat up, careful not to jostle her arm. "I don't know about you," she grinned, "but after this is over I'm taking the biggest, longest, most expensive vacation the PLM has ever paid for."
 Uiru laughed. "I could go for some of that," he agreed. "Oh, did I mention? Hitmonchan wanted to come with me!"
 "So you got it? That's great!" Uiru had taken out the Poké Ball that had Hitmonchan in it. She took it. "Hitmonchan is incredibly rare and extremely powerful. It's only weaknesses are Psychic and Flying attacks." She handed it back to him. "You said you wanted something special for your last Pokémon. Well, you got it!"
 Uiru put it back. "The team's complete, at last," he declared.
 Jessica remembered something. "Oh, the wierdest thing happened today. On our way back, we got attacked by some trainers. One of them had a Marowak, and Allison's Primeape stole it's club!"
 "Did Marowak get it back?"
 "No! Primeape still has it! Primeape beat the hell out of Marowak with it's own weapon. It was hilarious."
 Uiru laughed.

Chapter Thirteen
 With Leah on Route 11, Fire Strike's main defence against electricity was gone. Luckily, they still had a few Ground and Rock types to work with.
 "Sandslash, go!" Uiru shouted.
 "Marowak, I choose you!" Jessica almost wasn't allowed to go, but Uiru had convinced the nurse that you only needed one arm to throw a Poké Ball.
 "Primeape, go!" Yes, it still had the bone.
 "Rhyhorn, go!" Thomas shouted.
  "Dugtrio, I choose you!" Allison had her own Dugtrio, in addition to the ones that would (hopefully) be joining them soon.
 The ground was shaking even as the first wave of defenders ran out to meet Fire Strike head on. The electric trainers tripped and stumbled up to them.
 "It's Fire Strike!" they shouted. "Get them!" A wave of Electric Pokémon appeared.
 The ground shook again as the Ground types used Earthquake in tandem. Magnemites and Magnetons flew up out of the way and shot Sonic Booms down into the party. The explosive attack damaged Pokémon and trainers alike.
 Marowak and Primeape sent their Bonemerangs flying into the flying magnet cloud. Most of them dodged it but a few were struck down. They landed with a loud clank and were struck by another Earthquake.
 Strangely, the Electric trainers had Flying Pokémon with them. A Raichu jumped on a Pidgeot and flew at them. Pidgeys and Spearows held Voltorbs in their talons, dropping them on the Ground types and causing them to explode.
 "What works on Flying types?" Uiru asked Robert.
 "Rock!" he replied.
 "Great. Sandslash, use Sandstorm!"
 Sandstorm was a version of Rock Slide Uiru had been perfecting. It started out the same- the ground around Sandslash crumpled. However, instead of large boulders of solid stone slowly rising from the earth, Sandstorm caused a ton of fist-sized rocks to fly straight up at high speed. Many of the Flying Pokémon were caught inside the Sandstorm, and pounded by the rocks. The Electric Pokémon took heavy damage as well.
 The Sunder Force guards were not thrilled when they saw Sandslash walking towards them, Sandstorm in full swing. The few magnet Pokémon that had evaded the attack were brought down by Primeape and Marowak.
 Their Electric Pokémon fired everything they had into the middle of the cloud of flying rock. No effect, of course. The Pokémon and their trainers were caught in the storm, and beaten to a bloody pulp. When Sandslash finally stopped Sandstorm, all the guards were bloodied and many were unconscious.
 Sandslash was totally wiped out, however. After keeping up such an attack for so long, it needed to recuperate. Uiru recalled it, and they headed into Vermillion.

 The Lavender nurse wasn't kidding when she said they had fortified. Fire Strike didn't take three steps into Vermillion before being assailed by dozens of Electric Pokémon.
 Jigglypuff formed a large Light Screen to shield the party from the Thunderbolts being directed at them. The Ground type Pokémon had their own defence against lightning.
 "Gengar, go!" Jessica summoned her ghost. "Hypnosis!" Gengar laughed and sent it's hypnotic waves bouncing down the street, disabling many Pokémon and their trainers. Her next attack was Scyther. Patrick and Geoff summoned theirs as well, and the three psychotic Bug types ripped down the lines, disabling anything they slashed. Unfortunately, they were weak against Electric attacks and were soon brought down.
 "Weezing, Muk, Arbok!" Erin shouted. "Smokescreen, Sludge, Poison Sting!" Erin started cleaning out the street with her Poison Pokémon. Retaliations were useless because the enemy couldn't see where they were aiming.
 From out of nowhere, however, a ton of water dropped on the Ground types, knocking out every single one of them. The supercharge of Electric energy from the enemy Pokémon finished off Primeape and weakened Gengar.
 Uiru summoned Alakazam and Hitmonchan. "PSY Sword and Chi Slam attack!" he shouted. Alakazam's twin short swords appeared while Hitmonchan fired bolts of spiritual energy into the crowd of Electric types.
 "Arcanine, go!" Allison shouted. "Fire Blast!" Arcanine sent blazing rays of fire lancing through the enemy lines.
 "Venomoth, Pincir!" Patrick summoned more of his Bug types. Pincir grappled an Electabuzz from behind and Seismic Tossed it while Venomoth shot a Raichu with String Shot and Disabled it's Electric power.
 By now, the Water Pokémon that had dumped on Fire Strike earlier made their appearance behind the Electric types. A very lucky shot of Hydro Pump rendered Arcanine unconscious. Allison recalled it and sent Magneton. Uiru's Raichu and Jessica's Electabuzz hitched a ride on Magneton over the Electrics and dropped in on the Water Pokémon. Electabuzz started the party with it's Electric Piston attack, combining it's great strength with it's shocking power. Many Water Pokémon felt the effects of Electabuzz's Electric power slamming into them repeatedly. Magneton sent a Thunder Wave over the entire Water regiment while Raichu simply opened up with Thunder Bolt.
 "Dragonair, go!" Geoff called out Dragonair. It was strong against Electric Pokémon and had powerful physical attacks. Dragonair used Head Butt and Slam moves to clean out the area.
 Alakazam seemed to be doing fine cutting down Electrics and their trainers with it's swords and Hitmonchan was pounding away with it's Ice Punch. Uiru looked to Raichu. Although Magneton was shielding Electabuzz and Raichu with Thunder Wave, they were heavily outnumbered. A Vaporeon Quick Attacked Raichu and when Raichu turned to shock it, a Wartortle Skull Bashed it.
 "I think Raichu and the others could use some help," Uiru mentioned to Jessica.
 "Okay. Machamp, go! Go help Electabuzz over there!" Machamp charged the enemy lines. Most of the Electrics jumped clear of the giant pounding Pokémon, and those that didn't were swiftly beaten and thrown out of the way. It wasn't long before Machamp had cut a line straight through the Electric Pokémon and their trainers, and engaged a Blastoise.
 "Gengar, warp over there and put the Water types to sleep!" Jessica sent Gengar to back Machamp up. Gengar vanished, and reappeared next to Machamp.
 Jigglypuff was getting very tired blocking out all the energy. Geoff summoned Kadabra to restore Jigglypuff's health with Recover. Then it shot Psychic blasts into the fray.
  "This is taking longer then I thought," Uiru muttered to himself.

 Leah, Pittman, Matt and Eric successfully snuck into Vermillion City from Route 11.
 "There's Diglett's Tunnel," Leah pointed.
 "But there's guards in the way," Eric informed her.
 "I'll handle that," Matt declared. "Vileplume, come out!"
 "What will you do with Vileplume?" Pittman asked.
 "Watch. Sleep Powder!" Vileplume sent a cloud of blue spores over the guards. Hacking and wheezing, they all fell asleep.
 Inside Diglett's Tunnel, Eric's Mr. Mime used Flash to light the place up. Leah summoned her Sandshrew and Cubone.
 "All right guys, we gotta find a Diglett," she declared. It wasn't hard- Digletts were the only thing down there, besides the occasional Dugtrio.
 Four Diglett popped out of their holes as they approached. Cubone sent a friendly greeting, and the meeting was underway.
 It wasn't long before the Diglett understood their predicament. The naturally friendly Diglett agreed to help, and three of them burrowed underground to tell their friends. The other looked at Leah, then chirped at Cubone and Sandshrew.
 "What's it saying?" Eric asked.
 Cubone put an arm around where Diglett's shoulder would be, if it had them. Sandshrew nodded.
 "Oh... I think Diglett wants to come with me!" Leah declared. The three Ground types nodded. "Okay Diglett, climb aboard!" Diglett entered Leah's Poké Ball.
 The other three Diglett reappeared.
 "When this Diglett comes to get you, we'll attack, okay?" Leah asked. The three nodded. "Wow, that was easy."

 Fire Strike had gained a lot of ground. All the Water types were gone, so Raichu, Magneton and Electabuzz were returned to prevent confusion. Machamp, Hitmonchan, Gengar and Alakazam strongarmed their way through the enemy trainers and Erin's Poison types cleaned up whatever was left. However, Vermillion was a large city, and there were a ton of trainers left to be dealt with.
 Electrodes started appearing in large numbers, and only Alakazam's Reflect shield prevented most of their Explosion attacks from scoring mortal damage. All their Rock types were unconscious so they had no natural defence against the powerful kamakaze attacks.
 Uiru decided it was high time to take the Pokémon Center- partly because the trainers were getting tired and mostly because they were running out of Pokémon. However, to get there, Fire Strike would have to battle through a glut of trainers while defending from back attacks.
 Luckily, Leah and the others showed up right about now. "Diglett, go!" she shouted. "Ultimate Dig, now!"
 Diglett dug underground. A moment later, four dozen Diglett all used Dig in the same area. Although the street would never be the same, most of the Electric Pokémon were knocked unconscious. Leah would have prefered to use a multiple Earthquake attack but that would do more damage to the city then to the enemy.
 With Leah's Diglett army leading the way, the trainers quickly made it to the Center. Leah, Pittman, Matt and Eric guarded the doors while the others recharged their Pokémon.
 "This might take a couple of minutes," the nurse told Fire Strike. "There are a lot to be cured."
 "That's all right," Patrick said. "The Diglett troop should buy us some time."
 At the vending machine, Uiru was chugging a can of juice. Then he bought another one and chugged it too.
 "Thirsty?" Jessica asked.
 "Yep," Uiru replied as he bought a third one.
 "Can I have one?"
 Uiru bought her a drink.
 Robert sat down on the couch. "Sorry guys," he stated. "I'd love to help but my Flying types are weak against Lightning."
 "That's okay," Heidi declared. Jigglypuff was being rejuvinated. "Your bird Pokémon are strong against Grass so you can fight when we attack Fuchsia."
 Robert nodded.
 Outside, any Electric Pokémon that tried to attack was hit by Dig, and anything that could hover was hit by Bonemerang. Just for good measure, Leah summoned her Onix to terrorize the Sunder Force soldiers.
 "Mr. Mime, Kadabra, go!" Eric shouted. "Defend the Center with Light Screen and Reflect!"

 As it turned out, the Digletts wore out the Sunder Force guards, and Vermillion City was liberated. Fire Strike emerged from the Pokémon Center to see the exhausted soldiers heading for the hills.
 "Well..." Uiru said. "I guess that's that."

 Meanwhile, Nick had quickly enlisted the aid of the Cerulean defence force and the Cerulean Gym. Several dozen trainers headed down Route 9 towards Rock Tunnel, and the Lavender reserve force was just exiting when they got there.
 "In the name of the Pokémon League, you're all under arrest," Nick declared.
 Five seconds later, a half dozen Onix and Rhydon appeared and charged. The group of Water trainers summoned their Water Pokémon, and the Rock types were beaten to a pulp in an instant.
 "Omanyte, go!" Nick shouted. Omanyte shot a charging Graveler with Water Gun. It fainted immediately.
 This battle was extremely short. The Rock trainers of Lavender Town were soundly beaten, and Nick's Omanyte evolved into Omastar!
 The defence captain congradulated Nick. "Whatever that thing is, good job!" he stated.
 "Thanks," Nick declared. "Okay, you all did great!" he shouted. "All we gotta do is drag their carcasses off to jail." The Cerulean trainers rounded them up and brought them home to face charges.

 "Where's Nick?" Patrick asked. "I wanna go to Fuchsia."
 "It's a few hours both ways," Thomas told him. "So give it time. We'll probably attack tomorrow."
 The nurse hailed them. "Reports are coming in from all over the city," she declared. "Although you guys trashed our main street, the Sunder Force is gone!"
 A great cheer came up from Fire Strike and the other trainers in the lounge.
 "Well, that's that. I'm going to bed," Uiru announced.
 "Wait, Uiru," the nurse said. "Come with me."
 Uiru was led off to the hospital area. "Yeah, what's up?"
 "I thought I should tell you. Your Hitmonchan was electrocuted pretty badly during the battle."
 "What? Will it be okay?"
  "Of course, I just thought I should tell you because it's not a case where we can just spray it with Parlyz Heal and be done with it. It'll be all right in a few hours."
 Uiru sighed. "Great. Where is it?"
 "Right in here," the nurse declared. She brought him into Hitmonchan's room. "It's asleep. We neutralized the excess voltage and now it's recovering." Uiru nodded. "Incidentally, your Hitmonchan probably didn't let you know it was in trouble out of pride."
 "Fighting types tend to be like that," Uiru stated. "Are my other Pokémon okay?"
 "They're fine, but I'd let your Raichu take it easy for a few days," the nurse suggested. "It had a few nasty bruises."
 Uiru nodded. "I don't think I'll be using it in the next battle."

Chapter Fourteen
 "What did the nurse want?" Leah asked when Uiru got back.
 "Hitmonchan got shocked a few too many times," Uiru replied.
 Across the room, Eric and Allison were shouting at each other.
 "Psychic types are NOT the ultimate power!" Allison declared. "They have weaknesses just like everything else!"
 "Yeah, themselves!" Eric responded. "The only thing their attacks don't beat the living crap out of is their own type."
 "Their defence sucks," Allison stated, "and their offence in most cases is pathetic."
 "Guys, guys, guys," Pittman inturrupted. "There's only one way to solve this argument, right?"
 "Right," Allison said, brandishing a Poké Ball. "Outside."

 "Five on five!" Eric shouted, drawing a Poké Ball.
 "Works for me!" Allison replied. "Kabutops, attack!"
 "Kadabra, go!"
 The other trainers from Cinnibar gasped. Weren't Kabutops extinct?
 Eric was so riled up he didn't even notice. "PSY Sword, now!" he shouted. Kadabra copied Alakazam's energy blade attack, but instead of twin short swords, Kadabra produced a long katana.
 "Kabutops, Swords Dance!" Kabutops already had it's weapons- the giant scythes on it's arms. The two Pokémon charged at each other.
 Although Kadabra was faster then Kabutops, it didn't have the training Uiru's Alakazam had. It fought a good fight but Eric could see it couldn't take much more.
 "Kadabra, Reflect!" Eric ordered. "Recover!"
 Kadabra glowed yellow, during which time Kabutops' blades bounced right off it. Then it glowed blue, and recovered most of it's health.
 "Kadabra will be hard to beat with powers like that," Uiru declared.
 "Kabutops, Fury Swipes!" Kabutops' savage slashing salvo knocked Kadabra's sword from it's hand, causing it to revert back to a spoon. Kadabra took heavy damage from the attack.
 "Recover!" Eric shouted again.
 Kadabra picked up it's spoon, but before it could finish healing itself, Kabutops charged with a Skull Bash. Kadabra flew.
 "Return! Mr. Mime, attack!"
 Mr. Mime just stood there. Kabutops attacked with Fury Swipes again, but the attacks bounced off an invisible barrier. Mr. Mime reached out and Doubleslapped Kabutops. Although it barely damaged it, the attack enraged the fossil Pokémon. It continued to hammer at the invisible wall while Mr. Mime calmly powered up a Psychic blast and sent Kabutops into orbit.
 Landing with a crash, Kabutops had had it. Allison recalled it and sent Dugtrio. "Dig attack, Dugtrio!" Tunneling under the streets of Vermillion was easy, since fifty billion Dig attacks had already passed through that way. Mr. Mime never saw it coming and Dugtrio struck it with Dig, then Slashed it from behind. That was it for Mr. Mime.
 "Return! Butterfree, go! Mega Drain!"
 Now Dugtrio was in big trouble. It tried to dodge the blast of Grass energy but couldn't. It couldn't reach Butterfree to attack it, so the next Mega Drain did it in.
 "Arcanine, go!" Allison summoned her giant fire puppy. "Fire Spin, now!"
 Butterfree evaded the tornado of flame and shot Arcanine with a PSY Beam. However, the attack struck it when it paused to fire the Psychic energy and quickly pounded it to a pulp.
 "Porygon, attack!" Eric called his new cybernetic Pokémon. "Conversion!"
 Porygon glowed white, and a bright flash signified the attack was over.
 "Flamethrower!" Allison ordered. Arcanine fired beams of flame at the odd crystalline beast but it took no damage from the flames. Porygon was now a Fire type, impervious to flame attacks. It then glowed brown, signifying the use of Harden, and finally glowed a bright red.
 "What is that thing doing?" Geoff asked. Patrick shrugged.
 "Sharpen," Eric answered. "Tackle attack!" Arcanine got slammed by the razor sharp edges of Porygon. If it couldn't flame it and couldn't touch it, Arcanine would never win. "Return! Beedrill, go! Poison Sting attack!"
 Although it was a Fire type, Porygon couldn't attack with Fire. It also had trouble aiming it's PSY Beams, since Beedrill was incredibly evasive. Beedrill cocked it's stingers and sent dozens of purple spines flying at Porygon. It was easy to see Porygon was poisoned. It slammed Beedrill with a PSY Beam but the attack didn't do much damage since Porygon wasn't a Psychic type.
 "Go, Staryu!" Eric was getting annoyed now. He was down to his last Pokémon.
 Allison laughed. "Okay, time to finish this. Beedrill, return! Magneton, go!"
 "Oh crap!" Eric cursed.
 "Magneton, Thunderbolt!"
 "Staryu, Light Screen!"
 Incredibly, Staryu managed to block out Magneton's thunder. However, Magneton Body Slammed Staryu, and Thundershocked it while it was still reeling from the attack. Eric cursed and recalled it.
 "Ah, damn!" Eric shouted.
 "Hey, don't worry about it. Uiru used to lose to me all the time." Allison laughed.
 "What?! I beat you almost every time we fought!" Uiru shouted.
 "Did not!"
  "Did too!"
 Matt laughed. "Let's go inside," he said to the others. "Before this does one of those 'Did not' 'Did too' jobs."
 "Shut up," Uiru and Allison said at once.

 Nick got back later that night. It was decided that the next day they would fly up to Celadon and try to recruit the Biker's help, then attack Fuchsia. Most of the trainers headed off for bed.
 Jessica was heading down the hall when she saw Uiru outside. What's he doing? she thought.
 Uiru was leaning on the railing of the porch, staring off into space. "Uiru?" she asked. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing." It was unnaturally cold in Vermillion tonight.
 "Oh, Jessica... I'm just, um, thinking." She had surprised him.
 "About what?"
 "Oh... nothing."
 "Oh, come on, it's something," she stated. She went over to him. "What is it?"
 "Well... I was thinking about what the ghosts said. About me only caring about the mission. Am I like that?"
 "No, of course not. You're dedicated, no doubt about that. But... I know what else you care about." She moved in and hugged him. He returned the embrace.
 He grinned and blushed slightly. "Good. Load off my mind." His feigned indifference struck Jessica as funny.
 "Can we go inside now? I'm freezing," Jessica stated. They headed inside, and went to the dorms.
 Uiru noticed her arm. "Hey, you took off the brace."
 "Yeah, it was bugging me. My arm's okay, as long as I don't jerk it. The nurse gave it another dose of Super Potion."
 "You know what that means." Nick's voice drifted over to them from the bunks. "Gotta take it easy Uiru."
 The two gave him the finger in the darkness. Jessica whispered, "Why is he always awake at times like this?"

 Erin, accompanied by Uiru and Eric, headed to Route 16 to find the Bikers. Actually, they found them first and things were about to get ugly, but Uiru calmly said they were recruiting 'brave warriors' to attack Fuchsia. Appealing to the ego of the mob usually works wonders, and in no time at all Uiru had enlisted their aid.
 "We're heading down to Route 18 right now," Uiru announced. "Just follow the helicopter and attack when we do." The Bikers cheered and tore down Route 17 to get ready. Uiru, Eric and Erin headed back to the guard station where the others were waiting.
 "Let's hurry," Eric suggested. "I hope Fuchsia's citizens are all inside."
 "You're quite the orator, Uiru," Erin stated on the way.
 Uiru shrugged. "The mob exists to be manipulated."
 "The mob... I hope they don't hear that," Eric laughed.
 Uiru looked around. "Nope! No Bikers here."

 Night was falling in Fuchsia City when the Sunder Force soldiers in the Fuchsia guard station saw an army of Bikers headed their way. Worse yet, the Fire Strike chopper was leading the charge.
 One of the guards grabbed the speakerphone. "Attention soldiers! Evacuate the city, now! Fire Strike and the Cycling Road Bikers are on their way from Route 18!" Then the soldiers tore out of the building and headed for Route 15, on the eastern side of Fuchsia.
 Fire Strike landed in the middle of the city, and the Biker leaders drove up to them. "What the hell?!" he shouted. "You said we'd get to fight them!"
 "Looks like we scared them away," Uiru stated. "We can't let them go though. You all got bikes, go after them!"
 "All right!" the biker boss shouted. "After them!" Cheering and hooting, the Bikers thrashed through the city and onto the normally peaceful Route 15.
 Before Fire Strike could decide where they were going next, a man hailed them. "You there. There's a group of soldiers on their way back to Fuchsia from Seafoam Islands."
 "All right, thanks," Uiru stated.
 "They'll show up on the beach," he told them. "The canyon south of here is the only way off Route 19 and into Fuchsia. It would be the best spot to stop them."
 Uiru nodded, and the group headed down to the canyon. They could see the soldiers on their way back.
 "What'll we use?" Matt asked. "If they're coming back from Seafoam, they'll probably have lots of Water and Ice Pokémon."
 "But if they're Fuchsia guards, they'll have Grass Pokémon," Leah stated.
 "Maybe they'll have both," Allison suggested. "Either way, Fire seems like a good way to go. Arcanine, come out!"
 The soldiers returning from the Islands now recognized Fire Strike. "Oh geez! We're dead!" some of them were heard shouting.
 Erin stepped forward. "Let me try something," she stated. "Weezing, Muk, Arbok, Hypno!" Her four Poison using Pokémon appeared before her. "All right, Muk, Hypno! Poison Gas attack!" The two spewed a cloud of noxious fumes over the enemy party. "Arbok, Screech!" The deafening roar from the cobra Pokémon caused most of the trainers to fall to the ground, covering their ears. Unfortunately, so did Fire Strike. "Weezing! Explosion!" Weezing flew straight into the cloud, and a gigantic blast of Poison power eminated from within, knocking out most of the trainers and the few Pokémon already summoned.
 "Everybody, return!" Erin ordered. Muk, Arbok, Hypno and the fainted Weezing returned to their Poké Balls. "And that's how you take care of a bunch of soldiers," Erin declared.
 The others couldn't help but applaud.
 "That was great!" Geoff declared. "You beat them all with three attacks!"
 "Never underestimate the power of Poison Pokémon," Erin announced. "Eh, Uiru?"
 It was well known that Uiru wasn't especially fond of Poison types. "Hey, I get it," he laughed. "Weezing might get annoyed if you do it too often though."
 "Speaking of which, you better cure it," Allison stated.
 A slow clapping was heard. "Very good," came the voice of the man. "Skillful use of the Poison element."
 "Thank you, sir," Erin replied.
 "My name is Koga, of the Fuchsia City Gym. I'd like to speak to you, young lady. If you all could spare a few minutes..."
 Everyone looked at Uiru. "Well it's too late to fly to Cinnibar now," he stated.
 Koga laughed. "I take it you are the leader of this group?" Uiru nodded. "Good, good. Anyway, please come with me."

 Koga took them to his Gym- a very fancy, traditional-looking place that Matt described as a 'Japanese restaurant'.
 "How many other cities have Gym Leaders?" Uiru asked Koga. "We've been all over the place and we havn't seen any until now."
 "I saw one in Cerulean," Nick stated. "Didn't meet the leader though."
 Koga nodded. "This country has become a strange place. Each city, except Lavender Town and Pallet Town, have Gyms. But the Leaders are becoming as corrupt as the League themselves. Many are actually considering passing a law that will allow Gym Leaders to charge money for the chance to fight them."
 "That's stupid!" Leah inturrupted. "The point of Pokémon training is to test skill, not make a profit!"
 Koga nodded. "In addition, many Gym Leaders seem to be amassing their strongest warriors. Members of Gyms who cannot keep up with the Leader are kicked out. I sense drastic changes in the wind..."
 "That doesn't happen here, does it?" Allison asked.
 "No, of course not. The building isn't the only traditional thing about the Fuchsia Gym. Not many keep the old ways, however." Koga opened a screen and the party entered what looked like a training room. "Enough of this. Young lady, your name is...?"
 "Erin," Erin stated.
 "Ah. Erin, I would like to challenge you to a match with me." Koga stepped to one end of the room. "Usually it is the trainer who challenges the Gym Leader, but I believe you'll put up a very good fight."
 "Well... I have to cure my Pokémon."

 Koga let her use the healing unit in the Gym. Then, it was time for battle in the courtyard of the Gym. The sun had gone down, and the moon was rising. There was just enough light to see.
 "How many Pokémon do you have?" Koga asked.
 "Six," Erin replied.
 "Then we shall battle six on six. Are you ready?" Koga drew a Poké Ball.
 "Sure am! Nidorino, I choose you!"
 "Golbat, I choose you! Wing Attack!"
 Golbat swooped down on Nidorino and swung at it, but Nidorino struck it with Double Kick. The attack didn't faze Golbat very much, and it swooped down with a Leech Life attack.
 "Watch it! Bug moves are strong on Poison Pokémon!" Patrick warned.
 "Got it! Nidorino, Horn Attack!"
 Nidorino shook off Golbat and jumped into the air, flailing wildly with it's horn. Then in midair, it Tackled Golbat, sending it to the floor.
 "Golbat, return! Beedrill, attack!"
 "Nidorino, Horn Drill!"
 Nidorino's horn glowed and began to spun as it charged at Beedrill. Beedrill zipped out of the way at the last second and opened fire with Pin Missile, another Bug attack. This time Nidorino couldn't take any more, and fainted. "Return! Arbok, go!"
 Arbok leapt up at Beedrill and tried to Bite it, but it responded with Fury Attack. The move knocked Arbok away from it but with a fantasitc Tail Whip as it fell, Arbok took out Beedrill.
 Calling back Beedrill, Koga now sent out Haunter. "Hypnosis!" Koga ordered. "Dream Eater!"
 Arbok was put to sleep, and Haunter drained most of it's energy away. "Return!"
 Erin wasn't sure which Pokémon to send out next. Poison wouldn't work and her Pokémon's physical attacks wouldn't touch Haunter. Then she remembered the best way to deal with Ghost Pokémon. "Hypno, attack! PSY Yoyo, now!"
 "PSY Yoyo?" Uiru asked.
 Hypno's pendulum suddenly glowed a very deep purple as Psychic energy flowed through it. With a snap of the wrist, Hypno had it in it's hand like a yoyo.
 "I sense copyright infringement," Uiru laughed. "Alakazam's not going to like this."
 "Consider it a compliment," Allison stated. "Imitation is the highest form of flattery."
 And Hypno's attack seemed to be working. Haunter was taking quite the pounding from the Psychic type weapon. To finish it off, Hypno used it's Sleeper attack, which put Haunter to sleep as well as damaged it greatly, then slammed it with Dream Eater. The few Night Shades Haunter had gotten in were cured.
 Koga clapped. "Very interesting," he stated. "Haunter, return. Venomoth, go! Stun Spore, now!"
 Hypno's PSY Yoyo attack dissapated when it became Paralyzed. It shot a PSY Beam at Venomoth but it easily dodged it, then used Disable to lock out Hypno's Psychic powers.
 "Ah, damn," Erin complained. "Hypno, return. Nidorina, go! Body Slam!"
 Although Venomoth dodged the first tackle, the second time it got crushed. Venomoth tried to Tackle Nidorina after it got off but it fainted.
 "Tentacruel, go! Wrap Nidorina!" Koga's next Pokémon was the giant squid, Tentacruel. It Wrapped Nidorina up and started pounding it. Nidorina managed to strike it with a few Horn Attacks but Erin called it back.
 "Go, Muk! Rage attack, now!" Tentacruel tried to Wrap and Slam Muk but they just slid right off it and made Muk even angrier. It charged Tentacruel in a rage, slamming it's giant sludgy hands against Tentacruel's weak body.
 "Return!" Koga was down to his last Pokémon. "Arbok, go!" Koga also had an Arbok.
 Muk's Rage kept up and for a while Arbok had trouble scoring hits. Koga finally slowed it down with a Glare, then Arbok Skull Bashed the pile of sludge until it fainted.
 "All right, Weezing! Tackle attack!" Weezing slammed into Arbok, sending it flying. It bounced right back with a Bite move, drawing black poisonous blood. Weezing shot it with Sludge and used Double Edge. Arbok had had it.
 Fire Strike cheered. Koga recalled his Arbok and laughed. "Congradulations," he stated. "You've earned this." He pulled something from his pocket and tossed it to Erin. "This is the Soulbadge. Only a select few who have defeated me can have this."
 Erin took it. She pinned the heart-shaped badge to her jacket. "Cool!"

 The nurse scolded them when they entered the Pokémon Center. "What are you trainers doing out so late?" she asked. "I was about to lock up."
 "We were driving Sunder Force away," Patrick stated. "And then Koga invited us to his Gym."
 The nurse noticed Erin's badge. "Oh, congradulations," she said. "Koga doesn't invite people to his Gym very often. I guess I can excuse you this time, but get straight to bed!" The trainers handed over their Pokémon to be healed, then went to sleep.

Chapter Fifteen
 Cinnibar Island was the last stronghold of the Sunder Force, and they were worried because there still weren't many soldiers guarding it. However, Fire Strike were alone this time. In the chopper, Leah had told them that they used Water and Ground types here.
 The wide open streets of Cinnibar allowed plenty of room for battling. There was enough room for each of the 14 trainers to line up single file and face the enemy. Sunder Force was gathering ahead of them. About fifty trainers in all were grouped there, and the first wave of mostly Ground types attacked.
 "Blastoise, go!"
 "Starmie, attack!"
 "Kabutops, I choose you!"
 "Kingler, attack!"
 "Dragonair, go!"
 In an instant, Fire Strike's first line of defence was out. Blastoise charged at the enemy with it's Geyser attack- with hydro cannons at full power, Blastoise slammed into an enemy Sandslash, finishing it off. Starmie used it's Point Razor attack, spraying water from each of it's points over the enemy. Kingler sidled up to a nearby Marowak and grabbed it with Crabhammer, clutching it with one claw and beating it senseless with the other. While the others attacked head on, Kabutops used Hydro Pump and Dragonair used Bubblebeam.
 The enemy's best tactic was to attack with other Water Pokémon. A Vaporeon leapt up and Quick Attacked Starmie while a Wartortle team attacked Dragonair with their Bite and Skull Bash attacks.
 Fire Strike called back their Water types and sent out their Electric and Grass Pokémon. Matt's Venusaur and Victreebel lashed out with Razor Leaf while Vileplume fired bolts of Mega Drain.
 A Rhyhorn with an attitute appeared out of nowhere and used Earthquake, damaging the Grass-Poison types. When they turned to blast it, it dug back underground, and the Water Pokémon got in a free hit before being blown into orbit.
 Matt's Tangela and Nick's Squirtle jumped down the hole created by Rhyhorn, intent on catching it. Jessica's Electabuzz appeared and began Thunderpunching anything arrogant enough to come near it.
 Just when it seemed they were about to win the battle, however, Eric got their attention. Coming out of the water behind them was a gigantic Mr. Mime.

 "It figures," Uiru sighed.
 "Well, we havn't fought one of these in ages," Allison stated.
 Mr. Mime sent waves of Psychic energy blasting down the street. Although this Mr. Mime was full-sized, they were kinda short to begin with. However, that didn't stop it from causing all Pokémon that had Poison in them from fainting instantly.
 "Venusaur, Victreebel, Vileplume, return!" Matt cursed.
 "Bug attacks work on Psychic types," Patrick declared. "So let's send some of them!"
 Four Scyther and two Pincir appeared, ready for war. The six savage Bug Pokémon used Swords Dance before charging Mr. Mime like a wrecking crew.
 Allison considered sending Primeape, but decided against it. "Magneton, attack! Thunder Wave!"
 Unfortunately, Magneton was quickly swatted out of the way by Mr. Mime. Then it took to swatting at the many Bug Pokémon assailing it.
 "Butterfree, go!" Uiru shouted. "Use Nature's Pin!" Butterfree charged Mr. Mime and slammed it with the only attack that was truly effective on the beast. As Mr. Mime swung at Butterfree, the Scyther and Pincir team continued to hack away at it's degrading armor.
 "Porygon, go!" Eric shouted. "Conversion, Harden, and Sharpen!" Again, Porygon let off a light show, and when it was over it was ready for battle.
 "Pidgeotto!" Robert shouted. "Drop Porygon on Mr. Mime's head!" Pidgeotto carefully picked up Porygon and flew straight at Mr. Mime's face. Releasing Porygon, it struck the thing right in the forehead, where it Tri Attacked with a savage fury.
 At this time, however, Mr. Mime unleashed a Psychic blast that sent everything attacking it flying away. The Pincirs crashed to the ground but the Scyther caught themselves in midair and charged again.
 Patrick and Eric summoned their Butterfree and had them attack with Nature's Pin as well. Mr. Mime raised it's arms, then spread them wide. The Pokémon attacking it were frozen in place. It brought it's arms together, sweeping all the pesky Bug types into one place. Then it started slamming them with Psychic!
 "Jigglypuff, Light Screen!" Heidi sent her musical Pokémon to shield the bugs, but even it couldn't block Mr. Mime's power. Alakazam and two Kadabra appeared and backed it up. Mr. Mime began pounding on the invisible wall formed by the Psychic defenders.
 "All right, Pincir! Scyther! Butterfree!" Patrick shouted. "Prepare to blast this thing! Forest Spirit!"
 Dragging themselves to their feet, the army of Bug types began to let their power flow into one another. The light green sparkling of their energies caused Mr. Mime to panic, and it brought up Barriers and Light Screens to protect itself.
 No good.
 The Scyther suddenly jumped straight up in the air and dove at Mr. Mime while the Butterfree flew straight at it. On the ground, the two Pincir charged it like a train. Still glowing, the eight Bug Pokémon went straight through Mr. Mime, causing a giant explosion of sparkling green energy. When it disappated, Mr. Mime had vanished.
 "All right!" Patrick shouted. The Bug types cheered. They were worn out, however.
 At that moment, a cloud of purple smoke fell over the Pokémon!
 "What the hell? Return!" Uiru recalled his Butterfree. The others were recalled as well, but some of them were poisoned.
 It was Sunder, with his Venusaur. "That's it, Uiru," he growled. "I'm taking this whole place out. Come and get me, if you dare..." His Hypno appeared from behind Venusaur, and the three disappeared.
 "What does he mean?" Eric asked.
 Leah gasped. "The volcano. He's going to blow up the volcano!"
 "Oh, shit!" Pittman cursed.
 "What's the quickest way up there?" Uiru demanded.
 "The air!" Robert declared. "Pidgeotto, Fearow, Farfetch'd!"
 "I get it," Geoff declared. "Gyarados, I choose you!" The large flying dragon Pokémon could carry anyone who couldn't fly up themselves.
 Eric grabbed Staryu and Jessica jumped on Starmie. Farfetch'd latched on to Heidi's backpack with it's talons. Robert grabbed Pidgeotto's talons while Fearow clung to Leah.
 "If you don't mind..." Thomas called out his Dodrio. "I'd rather hoof it."
 The trainers filed on Gyarados. Pittman was the last to get on. "It looks overloaded," he stated. "Can I borrow your Dodrio Robert?" Robert called out Dodrio and the trainers flew towards the volcano at the center of Cinnibar Island.

 Sunder looked around, and realized that his base was perfectly visible from the air. "Ah, damn," he swore. Things were not going his way at all. All his subordinates were in jail. Fire Strike had singlehandedly cleared his forces out of every city they had worked so hard to obtain. And on the other side of Mt. Moon, his forces were taking a severe beating. He had lost, and he knew it. And now, those damn teenage trainers were on their way to capture him as well.
 Knowing full well how unstable the Power Stones were, he pulled out the Bug and the Flying stones. "I was gonna make a Scyther with an attitude out of these," he muttered to himself. "Oh well. At least they'll be able to pop the volcano for me. I'll do some damage before they catch me."
 In the air, he saw the incoming Gyarados and pals. "Shit," he cursed. He ran into the cave that led straight to the interior of the crater.
 He soon realized he didn't have a light. Only the light from outside and the faint glow of the Power Stones kept him from falling into a crevise. He still couldn't see very far, though, and it took him a little while before he found the ledge overlooking the volcano's lava pit.
 "All right," he declared. The ledge was rather large, but was tilted slightly down towards the lava. It was a good 200 feet down, however.
 "Sunder!" Leah shouted. He turned. Fire Strike and the others were standing there.
 "You're too late," Sunder declared. "When I drop these stones into the volcano, the resulting imbalance will cause one hell of an eruption."
 "You'll destroy Cinnibar!" Eric declared. "We won't let you do it."
 A small earthquake shook the inside of the volcano. Sunder dropped the Bug Power Stone! It bounced towards the edge!
 "Oops," Sunder said.
 Jigglypuff ran down the slope and grabbed the Power Stone! It cried out in alarm, however, when the weight of the Stone pulled it over!
  "Jigglypuff!!" Heidi shouted.
 "Pidgeotto, Fearow! After them!" Robert declared. Since Jigglypuff was extremely light, Fearow had no problem catching it and bringing it back up to Heidi. Pidgeotto, however, had to dive into the increasing heat to catch the heavy rock. It had a simple solution for that problem, though. It evolved.
 Pidgeotto evolved into Pidgeot!
 The Bug Power Stone was almost in the lava when Pidgeot swooped down and caught it in it's talons. It didn't have a very good grip, but it was fast. The next instant, it was delivering the Bug Power Stone to Robert.
 "Damn! Give it back! Venusaur, I choose you!" Sunder sent Venusaur to grab the Rock back.
 "You fool! It's way too hot in here for Venusaur!" Matt shouted. "It'll fry!"
 Matt was right. Venusaur was in pain and couldn't battle properly. "Return."
 "Don't try to call out Pincir, either," Patrick reminded.
 "Why are you giving him tips?" Thomas asked.
 "His Pokémon don't deserve to fry," Matt stated. "Just because he's an idiot doesn't mean his Pokémon should suffer."
 Sunder raised the Flying Power Stone. "One stone'll have to do!" He hurled it down the slope!
 One of Nick's Poké Balls opened, and a small blue figure leapt out of it. Bouncing down the slope, it managed to block the Stone!
 "Horsea!" Nick shouted. "Come back, it's way too hot for you too!"
 "Cubone, go!" Leah shouted. "Get the Stone!"
 Cubone slid down the slope and literally golfed the Power Stone back up to Leah. Then it grabbed Horsea and brought it up. Nick hugged the little sea horse then returned it.
 "You're out of options, Sunder," Uiru declared. "You'll never defeat all of us, especially with four Pokémon."
 "And there's nowhere to run," Jessica informed him.
 Sunder looked around, then looked up. "No..." he breathed. "I'm not going to be taken in again. I'm not going to be disgraced like that again." He pulled his six Poké Balls off his belt. Sunder rolled them towards Uiru. "Release them outside. And tell that son of a bitch Booster that I'll see him in hell."
 "Wait a second..." Pittman said.
 "Sunder, don't!" Uiru shouted.
 He did. Sunder ran down the slope and jumped.
 "Pidgeot, Fearow, go!" Robert shouted. The two Flying types tried to catch him but Sunder swatted them away.

 "Well, look on the bright side," Eric stated as they walked down the mountain. "He's probably happier where he is now then here. Evil despots bent on global domination usually aren't the happiest of people."
 "And we don't have to deal with him anymore," Nick declared. "We won!"
 Uiru shook his head. "I dunno... Booster's not going to like this." He had Sunder's six in his pocket. "I'll release them when we get back to the mainland."
 "Good. Now will you lighten up?" Jessica asked. "We didn't push him, he jumped. It's not our fault. Now, we can either sit around and mope about it or go celebrate."
 Nick slapped him on the back. "You know what that means," he laughed.
 Uiru laughed, then hit him. "Will you give it up?"
 "Yeah. I meant all of us," Jessica replied. "No, wait a second- Oh, never mind."
 Nick looked at Leah. "All of us, eh...?"
 "What?! No way!" she shouted.
 "Besides, she's Pittman's woman," Thomas informed them.
 "Hey, shut up!" Pittman barked at him. Leah kicked him.
 Nick turned to Patrick. "This is two stories now, and we still don't have girlfriends."
 "Tough life," Patrick nodded.
 "Hey Heidi, what did you make your Eevees after?" Allison asked.
 "I havn't evolved them yet," she admitted. "I don't think I will either. They're just too cute right now!"
 "Speaking of cute," Uiru stated. "How's Horsea, Nick?"
 "I think it's got heat stroke or something. I think it'll be okay when we get it to the Center. I gave it a Hyper Potion and a Burn Heal."
 "Horsea was really brave!" Matt declared. "It saved the whole island."
 "And Pidgeot and Fearow were brave too," Jessica stated. "They had to fly in the heat. If you thought it was hot up where we were, imagine what they went through."
 "And don't forget Jigglypuff," Robert declared. "Little puffball caught the first stone."
 "So, what are you guys going to do now?" Eric asked.
 "Go home, most likely," Uiru stated. "I like this country, but you can't beat your own place."
 "Yeah, did we tell you about our base?" Geoff asked.
 "It's on a mountain and you can see for miles," Jessica stated.
 "When people pass by, we heal their Pokémon for them," Patrick stated. "And we're about to open a Gym there too."
 "Cool. Maybe we'll come visit some day," Leah decalred.
 "How do you get there?" Heidi asked.
 "Just go to Magenta Park and tell them you wanna go to Charteruse," Allison stated. "They'll be able to tell you how to get there."
 By this time, they had gotten off the mountain. The group headed for the Pokémon Center.

 Finally, it was time to go.
 Heidi ran up and hugged Uiru. "Goodbye Uiru!" she said, a slight waver in her voice. "Goodbye everyone!" Jigglypuff waved.
 "Later, Robert," Patrick stated.
 "Guys, we really appreciated all your help," Uiru said to the others. "You can consider yourselves part of Fire Strike."
 "Cool!" Leah declared. "Here, better give you this." She gave Uiru the PLM credit card.
 "Oh, thanks," Uiru stated.
 "Time to go!" Nick shouted from the cockpit. Fire Strike boarded the helicopter and waved, then it lifted into the air.
 Pittman watched it fly away. "Well, that was wierd," he stated.
 "That was a blast," Eric stated. "My Kadabra evolved... Hey, maybe I should trade it like Uiru did so it'll evolve."
 "Yeah, I've got a Haunter," Thomas stated. "We'll trade them and then trade back."
 They went back into the Pokémon Center to evolve their Pokémon. The nurse ran up to them. "There's a giant Lapras attacking Vermillion City!" she told them. "Have Fire Strike left yet?"
 "Yeah," Pittman said. He turned to the others. "Hey! Do you think we can deal with this ourselves?"
 "I think we can!" Eric declared. "Let's go!"