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