Chapter One
 She was having that nightmare again.

 "You think that's funny, you son of a bitch?!" Uiru bellowed. "Hitmonchan, Ice Beam! Blastoise, Ice Cannon!!"
 Hitmonchan charged up it's Ice power and unleashed a beam of pure frosty power at the evil beast. Blastoise summoned all the cold energy surrounding the place and the temperature actually rose several degrees, then plummeted as it launched the chunks of pure Ice, straight at it's adversary. Each cannon fired a large jagged ball of frozen hydro in turn, so cold that Blastoise's back went numb for a quick second.
 Genoryu, as the beast called itself, roared. It looked like a dragon so Uiru assumed it was Dragon-type, and apparently it was. It summoned it's power and discharged a bolt of Bleak Eternal right at Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan's spritiual energy defended it from most of the assault, but it was still visibly shaken.
 "Starmie, Star Freeze!" Uiru now ordered. "Machamp, Tornado Throw!" Starmie used it's Star Freeze on itself, becoming a star of razor sharp, icy spikes, except for one. This remained blunt so Machamp could grab it. The four armed Fighting powerhouse took it and began to spin at unnatural speed, it's Agility ability adding to it's power. It released Starmie, flying like a diamond saw, as Genoryu struck Machamp with Night Shade. It tore along the bone dragon's side, causing giant cracks to rupture along it's flank. Although the wounds closed instantly, Genoryu had taken incredible damage from the assault.
 Hitmonchan chose this moment to charge the monster with Ice Punch. It struck Genoryu straight in the face. It let out a deafening scream, and turned and stomped away.
 Uiru had successfully driven the beast away, for now. The adreneline rush drained away, and his emotions surged back into place. "Oh, SHIT!!" he swore. "Jessica!! Are you okay? Answer me!!"

 It was a really bad combination of Toxic and Bleak Eternal that had slammed into her that night, weeks ago. Poisoned, confused, and temporarily paralyzed, the doctors weren't sure she'd even wake up.
 That thing has done enough to me already, she thought. Why does it have to torment me every time I sleep? Jessica was alone in her apartment in Turquoise Lake. There wasn't anything the doctors could do for her, besides prescribe Antidotes and painkillers. Although Toxic was technically a Pokémon attack, to be cured by Pokémon medicine, it was rarely used and almost never affected humans. Genoryu's powers were incredible.
 Jessica's Marowak plodded into the room. In it's hands were some pills and an Antidote to wash them down with. She sat up and looked at them. Some painkillers, some pennicilin and a few things to help her fever. I'm not even 18 and I'm taking more medicine then my grandparents.
 At the thought of her grandparents, she remembered her parents and the day they had come to visit her in the hospital. When Uiru told her they were coming, she had actually thought that they wouldn't bring up what they brought up within five seconds of their arrival.
 "This is all those awful Pokémon's fault," her father declared. "It was a Pokémon that did this, wasn't it, boy?"
 "We told you to leave them alone, dear," her mother scolded. "Especially those horrid Ghost Pokémon!" Apparently they had read the newspaper report.
 Jessica was still dizzy from the medication and the fever. She started crying when she realized they were yelling at her again.
 Uiru, of course, wouldn't stand for this. "That's it!" he shouted. "Both of you, get the hell out!"
 "Who do you think you are?!" her father demanded.
 "This is your fault as well," her mother stated. "What were you doing on that mountain?"
 It's a good thing he was red from anger already, or he would have blushed slightly. "That's none of your business!" he shouted at her. "Jessica's dying here and all you can do is yell at her! That's the last thing she needs right now! Now shut up or get out!"
 Jessica's mother glared at him for several seconds, then quickly turned and left. Her father followed.
 Uiru stepped into the hall and gave their leaving backs the finger. "I honestly didn't think they'd leave," he stated as he reentered the room.
 Marowak got Jessica's attention. It pointed at the pills she was idly staring at.
 "Oh..." she said softly. "I was just thinking... Thank you, Marowak." She took some of the pills and a swig of Antidote, then the rest and finished the bottle. Marowak took the empty bottle to be thrown out.
 Jessica lay down again. She had gotten used to the fever and the artificial heat it caused, as well as the dizzyness and disorientation. She had gotten used to the knawing pain inside her. She had gotten used to the tender purple marks the poison had left on her weakened, pale body. All she couldn't take was reliving the experience again, and again, and again, whenever she drifted off to a feverish sleep.
 She looked to the calender on the wall. Every other week or so, Uiru had to go to the PLM headquarters on business. Although he hated leaving her alone there, he was a Champion of the PLM and the royalties he got were keeping them going, for now. He'd be back tomorrow.

 Knock knock.
 Electabuzz opened the door. It was Uiru! "Hey, Electabuzz," he greeted. "How's Jessica?"
 It waved it's hand in a flat line. Same old, same old.
 Jessica had heard him come in. She carefully got up, donned a robe and slowly walked out to see him.
 "Uiru..." she greeted quietly. "Catch any new Pokémon today?" This had been a long-running ritual of theirs.
 "Yep," he declared. "A Rhydon, an Electrode and a Chansey. How are you feeling?"
 "All right, I guess..." She hugged him. "What's up at the PLM?"
 "Nothing spectacular. Especially nothing worth wasting days of my time, that I should be spending here."
 They sat down. Machamp was in the corner, meditating. Scyther was asleep. Uiru was pretty sure it was hibernating. Starmie was in the shower, as usual. Marowak was puttering about the kitchen. Uiru noticed it already had Jessica's next dose ready. There's a Pokémon with it's head on straight. Marowak had been taking excellent care of Jessica when he wasn't there.
 "Is there something wrong?" Jessica asked. She sensed there was something on his mind.
 "Yeah... I've been hearing rumors of a dude in Fuchsia City who used to dish out Toxic powers to people who beat him. I've heard he's got a special anti-Toxic thing. I want to go get it."
 "But isn't that whole area in civil war?" Jessica asked. "The Pokémon League will never let you enter."
 "They won't know I'm there," Uiru declared. "The normal Antidotes aren't working. I've got to get the cure from him."
 "Uiru..." Jessica coughed, then continued. "Uiru, it'd be too dangerous. Not even you could beat the entire Pokémon League if they found you."
 Machamp stood up. At a whopping nine feet tall, Machamp was easily the largest of it's kind. Luckily, the apartment had a spacious living room. It came around the couch and said something to Jessica.
 "Oh... Machamp wants to go with you... If you're going to go, at least take my Pokémon. They'll help you."
 "All right. I'll leave Marowak and Electabuzz to take care of you though."
 Jessica nodded. After a moment, she looked at him. "Can you stay here for a while...?" she asked softly. Uiru nodded.

 I should be back in a couple of weeks, Uiru had said. He felt terrible about leaving her alone for so long, but at least there was a chance of healing her. He had ten Pokémon now: Butterfree, Blastoise, Raichu, Alakazam, Sandslash and Hitmonchan, as well as Jessica's Machamp, Scyther, Gengar and Starmie.
 Turquoise Lake was on the water, of course. It wasn't hard to find a ship that was just heading out. After the ship reached Magenta Park, on the eastern continent, all he had to do was pass through Mt. Moon and head south for a while. If he timed it right, he wouldn't even pass through any cities on the way.
 The ship was no luxury liner, but it served it's purpose. Uiru went to his room and settled in for the lengthy voyage.

 "Hey, kid!" a boy of about fifteen sneered. "Aren't you a little old to be playing with stuffed toys like that?"
 Uiru looked up. On deck, a boy was bugging a girl a little younger then he was.
 "It's not a stuffed toy!" the girl declared. "It's stronger then anything you'll ever have!"
 "I think not!" he laughed. "How about a little match?"
 "You're on!" she shouted. "How many?"
 "Four on four!"
 This was an incredibly short match. The boy sent out Vulpix, Seel, Voltorb and Bellsprout, and all were soundly trounced by the girl's 'stuffed toy'.
 The girl stuck out her tounge. "You lose!" she declared. The boy recalled his Pokémon, glaring.
 Uiru went over to the girl. "I thought I recognized you," he declared. "Still training that ol' Jigglypuff?"
 "What's it to you...? Uiru?!" The girl recognized him. "Wow! It's been ages!"
 "Heidi, and Jigglypuff," Uiru stated. Jigglypuff shrilled. It was happy to see him too. "What's been happening in Cinnibar lately?"
 "Awful things," she answered. She looked around, making sure nobody was in earshot. "The Pokémon League are arresting people all over the place. Their soldiers are in every town, forcing powerful trainers into their ranks. Something bad is happening so we all got off the island and headed up to Magenta Park."
 "Ah..."
 "Yeah. Leah instantly wanted to fight. She managed to convince the others that we had to strike back against them, just like you guys did." She was referring to the legacy that was Fire Strike. "So they sent me to Turquoise to pick them up some Ghost types."
 "How many did you get?"
 "Eight Gastly and three Haunter," Heidi declared. "And I bet you're wondering how I did it with only Jigglypuff."
 Uiru laughed. "That was my next question, yes. How did you do it with Normal types?"
 "I had to evolve my Eevees," Heidi replied. "I'll show them to you!" She summoned her two Eevee evolutons. Uiru gasped. They were unlike anything he had ever seen before.
 Tranquileon was a Water-Grass hybrid, created from a Water Stone and Leaf Stone. It's blue-green body mimiced that of Vaporeon (without the fin-tail) but it's mane was short, leafy vines. These were blue and green also. All that really worked on Tranquileon was Electric and Poison attacks.
 Sparkeon was the exact opposite. Combining the powers of Fire and Electric Stones yielded one of the most powerful Pokémon known. Resembled a Flareon but had the jagged collar of a Jolteon. It's powers were effective on most and it's only real weakness was Ground and Rock attacks.
 Both of the new Eons used their elemental abilities to shield themselves. If Sparkeon was attacked with Water, it would generate electricity to block it. If Tranquileon was assailed with a Fire attack, it would raise Water around it.
 "Cool, aren't they?" Heidi asked.
 "Definately," Uiru replied.
 A group of people were looking at the Eons in awe. Heidi called them back.
 "Incidentally, what are the Ghost types for?" Uiru asked.
 "To sneak around. We can use their Hypnosis powers to pass through places. We havn't decided whether we're going to attack directly or generate support from the surrounding cities first."
 "So we have our own missions, then."
 "I guess so. Why are you here?"
 Uiru looked around. "Jessica's sick," he told her. "I think there may be a cure in Fuchsia City. So I've got to get there as soon as possible, and get back. Otherwise, I'd stay and help you guys."
 "That's all right," Heidi said. "Do you need a Ghost type? The guys wouldn't mind if I lent you a Gastly."
 "That's very kind, but I have Gengar," Uiru stated. "Jessica lent me some of her Pokémon."
 "Ah. I hope she'll be okay!"
 Uiru nodded. "Me too."

 The days were getting shorter and the air was getting colder. Uiru decided that a big heavy cloak would not only be functional but look really cool too.
 "There's been lots of tunneling under Mt. Moon lately," Heidi had told him. "And the place is completely unguarded, as opposed to the top. It's how we get back and forth."
 "The League doesn't know about it?"
 "The League doesn't think anybody is stupid enough to try to get through it. So there are none of their soldiers there. However, there are a few of ours. Just tell 'em I sent ya."
 "Is it dangerous?"
 "No more dangerous then trying to get over it. There are at least three bases and hundreds of soldiers."
 Uiru laughed at this point. "So if I ever need some stress release, I'll go there."
 Heidi laughed as well. "Don't underestimate the League though," she warned. "They've gotten a LOT stronger lately."
 "I'll keep it in mind. See you later Heidi."
 "Bye Uiru!"
 Uiru had a quick supper at a nearby restaurant then decided to get out of there before any of his friends found him and guilted him into staying. He wanted to help but he wasn't sure how long he had. All he knew was that he had no time to waste.
 Magenta Park wasn't far from the base of Mt. Moon. Heidi had told him about a few signs they had put up- a knocked over tree with the roots sawn off, a plank of wood jammed in branches. Uiru was standing on one such sign before he saw it. It was a really large depression of an arrow in the ground. He laughed.
 He followed the 'signs' until he reached one of the entrances. Looking around, he entered when he was sure nobody was nearby.
 Shortly inside the tunnel, he happened across three guards.
 "Halt! Who're you?" one asked.
 "A traveler," Uiru replied. "Did Leah stick you on guard duty, Pittman?" He laughed at his bewildered look. He pulled down his hood.
 "You're not... Uiru?" Pittman asked. "Where have you been? We could really use your help out here!"
 "Save it," Uiru stated. "I'm really sorry but I've got no time to waste."
 Pittman nodded. "Look, this is one of the longer ways through Mt. Moon but there are only a few branches. Just keep to the left and you'll do fine."
 "And watch out for the Clefairy," one of Pittman's buddies stated. "They're usually harmless but don't get them mad."
 Uiru nodded. "Thanks. Later Pittman."
 The guards watched him leave. "Who's that guy, Pittman?"
 "One of the greatest trainers alive," Pittman replied. "He wrote the book on liberation."
 

Chapter 2
 "And in the news today, a colony of Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee appear to have gone berserk. The recently discovered tribe of Fighting Pokémon suddenly charged down the slopes of Mt. Cobal and attacked Cobalton, at the base of the mountain. Some Psychic Pokémon and their trainers drove off the group but it's unknown if they'll ever be back. The PLM is taking every precaution in dealing with the wild Pokémon. In addition to sending teams to investigate the disturbance, a recall has been placed on all Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. I repeat, if you have a Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee, take it to the PLM center in your city."
  Patrick turned off the TV. "Disturbance my ass," he swore. "I can't believe they'd try to get people to hand over their Fighting types. Something caused that group to go nuts..." He grabbed his belt with his six Bug Pokémon on it. "Do they actually expect people to just hand them over at their say-so?" Persimmon wasn't far from Cobalton. "Better check this out."

 Uiru emerged from the caves of Mt. Moon quite rattled. Although he liked cute things, the chanting of hundreds upon thousands of Clefairy for hours on end was where he drew the line.
 He was cutting across Route 4 when a group of League soldiers stopped him. "Hold it, buddy. Where are you headed?"
 "South," Uiru replied. "Is there a problem, sir?"
 "We've been having trouble with a group of trainers from the other side of Mt. Moon," they replied. "Just show us some ID and you can go."
 Uiru realized he couldn't show them his PLM card, because they'd know he had gone through Mt. Moon. And he couldn't tell them about the tunnels. "Um, I'm sorry, I must have forgotten it."
 "Not good, pal," the guards informed him. "Where'd you leave it, on your dresser, in your other pants, or your other cloak?"
 "See, now we've got to take you to the base in Cerulean to get you checked out," they said.
 "Oh, I don't have time for that," Uiru stated.
 The guards laughed. "And you think we have time to bother with guys who think they're Masters? Come on, pal."
 "Not a Master," Uiru declared. "A Champion. Of the PLM." Uiru leapt high in the air and landed a short distance away.
 "Grab him!" they shouted.
 "Butterfree, go!" Uiru shouted. "Bug Saber, now!"
 Butterfree glowed a sparkling green, then it's body morphed into a sword. The Butterfly Edge was so named because of the two small butterfly wings on the back of the blade. Uiru took the weapon and charged.
 There were four guards. The two that had ran after him were cut down instantly. The others summoned a Kabutops and Scyther after seeing the blade.
 Scyther swung at Uiru but he stepped back, just dodging the blades, and the Butterfly Edge sang as it found a new home in Scyther's heart. Pulling the Edge from the savage Slashing mantis, Uiru parried an attack from Kabutops and slashed up it's body. Kabutops' trainer recalled it.
 Uiru turned to the two guards. "That's the difference between a Champion and a Master," he announced. "A Master has mastery over a preticular element. A Champion has six." The Butterfly Edge reverted to Butterfree. Uiru called it back. "Would you like me to show off my Sandslash's Rock Slide attack?"
 The two guards looked at each other and ran. Uiru laughed. Walking around the dead Scyther, he headed into the woods towards Celadon.

 A few hours later, he passed through Celadon and was on his way to Route 16 when he noticed groups of Grass apprentices closing in on him.
 "News travels fast," he said to himself as he sprinted out of the city.
 Unfortunately, at the end of Route 16 he had a little surprise. Route 17 was gone.
 "Oh, this is really good," Uiru muttered to himself. Turning, he saw about twenty Grass apprentices behind him. "All right, what do you want?" he asked them.
 "You're under arrest for killing League soldiers," they announced.
 "They got in my way," Uiru declared. "By the way, before we go on, what happened to Route 17?"
 "It got bombed," one of them replied. "The League wanted it out of the way."
 Uiru nodded. "Has it ever occured to any of you that the League has been getting it's way too often lately?" he asked. "Anyway, I'll give you a chance. Get out of my way right now and I'll be out of here within a week. The League will never hear from me again."
 Thirty five Grass type Pokémon were summoned in responce. Uiru sighed.
 Uiru's anti-Grass squad was one of the best a trainer could have. Hitmonchan, Alakazam and Butterfree appeared and attacked with Fire, Ice, Bug and Psychic attacks while Blastoise and Sandslash stayed back out of the way and used Blizzard and Earthquake.
 Butterfree fired multiple shots of PSY Beam at a Vileplume and Victreebel crew, then charged an Exeggutor with Nature's Pin. Hitmonchan charged up Fire power in one glove and Ice power in the other, and let loose with an Antipode Beam, frying and freezing a Venusaur and a Parasect behind it. Alakazam let it's power build, then crushed a large group of Pokémon and trainers with it's powers.
 A Weepinbell and Ivysaur assailed Butterfree with Razor Leaf attacks. Although they slightly damaged it's wings, Butterfree barely felt the attack. A Psychic blast shut down the two Grass-Poison types.
 The chunks of Ice raining down on the Grass troop were bothering them. A Gloom dodged the attacks long enough to fire a Solar Beam at Blastoise. These guys must have been more powerful then Uiru had thought, because Blastoise couldn't take the assault. He recalled it and Sandslash, then looked to the battle.
 "Halt!" Uiru ordered. Alakazam, Hitmonchan and Butterfree instantly stopped their attacks. Most of the Grass Pokémon were defeated, some appeared mortally wounded. Their trainers were the same way.
 "You three never know when to quit, do you know that?" Uiru laughed. The eight and a half foot tall Alakazam swatted him in the back of the head. Hitmonchan laughed along with Uiru.
 "As for the lot of you..." The Grass trainers were staring at Uiru and his three Pokémon which had creamed their entire troop. He pointed at some trainers and Pokémon who were in serious condition. "Alakazam, Recover." Alakazam glowed blue, then moved the energy over the wounded. "There. You should be able to get back to Celadon now."
 As Uiru walked away, one of the Grass trainers shouted at him. "Why would you almost kill us then heal us?"
 "What are you here for?" another asked.
 Uiru turned. "I can't tell you that. But I'm not here to cause trouble. Soon I'll have what I want and I can go home." Uiru headed back over Route 16, cloak flapping dramatically behind him. Alakazam, Hitmonchan and Butterfree followed.
 Someone was waiting for him at the gates to Celadon, however.
 "Hold it!" he shouted. The figure was clothed in a dark green robe, and the hood covered his face.
 "Look, I'll tell you what I told the last 20 guys I defeated," Uiru snapped. "Move it and I'll let you live."
 "Quiet, Uiru," the man ordered.
 "How do you know my name?"
 "Well besides the fact you identified yourself as the Champion of the Pokémon Liberation Movement, there's only one guy I know with both a Hitmonchan and a giant Alakazam." He removed his hood.
 Uiru glared. "Hm. Havn't seen you in ages Matt."
 "And you."
 "So what's going on?"
 "I've got to take you in, Uiru. The League isn't happy with you."
 "Tell the League to stuff it."
 Matt sighed. "What are you doing here Uiru? Going out for a walk and killing soldiers totally isn't like you."
 "I'm here for a cure for Toxic."
 "It's called an Antidote," Matt snapped.
 "Let me finish. I'm here for a cure for a combination Toxic-Bleak Eternal attack from a giant Ghost Dragon named Genoryu that put Jessica in the hospital a few weeks ago."
 Concern flashed across Matt's face. "Is Jessica all right?"
 "No. She's dying as we speak. And I'm here for the cure. I'm really sorry, Matt, but if you don't get out of my way I'm coming through."
 Matt looked up at the sky. "It had to go and get complicated." He turned to Uiru. "I can't just let you by. You've killed League soldiers."
 Uiru sighed. "Okay, let's look at this realistically. You're a Grass trainer."
 "Master. I've been training with Master Erika for some time now."
 "All right, fine. You're a Grass Master. I'm a PLM Champion. You'd never defeat me in a Pokémon battle. All that would happen is you would get killed, and I really don't want to be responsible for that. Afterwards, I'd get the cure and go home, and the League wouldn't be able to touch me."
 Matt laughed. "If that's what you're counting on, think again. I've heard Booster is at the Palace of the Elite Four right now."
 "Doing what?!"
 "Negotiating a merger. Basically involves the PLM being absorbed into the League. They say it's for global unity but it's really just to solidify their own power."
 "Oh, perfect. I wonder what that'll make me."
 "Well, if they don't arrest you for murder, they'll probably make you some kind of Master. What's your best element?"
 "I don't have a best element. That's why I'm champ."
 "They might let you keep your title of Champion then. Actually, if you prove your strength to them, they probably will let the charges slide. There aren't enough evenly balanced Masters."
 "Good to know." Uiru then slapped himself in the head. "What am I doing? I couldn't care less about any of this. I need that cure." He headed for Celadon's gate. When Matt didn't move, he called Butterfree. "Bug Saber," he stated simply, keeping his gaze on Matt. Butterfree morphed into the weapon and Uiru took it.
 Matt sighed again. "What's the point," he muttered as he stepped aside. "Bug is strong on Grass."
 "That's right," Uiru declared. "I'm really sorry about all this."
 Matt nodded. "I know anything that gets between you and Jessica is on a oneway trip straight to hell. I hope she recovers."
 "Thanks, Matt."
 "And I hope you don't get busted."
 Uiru laughed as he set off for Route 7. "Well, I've defeated the Grass Gym without breaking a sweat. I'm sure the rest will be no problem." Alakazam and Hitmonchan followed.

 Patrick was walking up Mt. Cobal when he ran into someone tearing down it.
 "Dude!" he shouted to Patrick. "Get off this rock, quick!"
 "Why? What's wrong?"
 "A giant bone dragon is on it's way! Come on, move!"
 The freaked young man led Patrick down the mountain he had been climbing for the past 20 minutes. Then he stopped. "Listen." Patrick listened. "Silence. We must be outside it's territory by now."
 "Well, that's good to know," Patrick declared. "I'm Patrick. Who're you?"
 "Name's Ed," he replied. "I'm here to check out why all the Fighting types went cracked."
 "That's wierd, so am I. What did you find out?"
 "Nada. I just got here. All I found was the big bastard. I think it's a Dragon type."
 "Damn, all I have are Bug types," Patrick informed him. "Parasect, Butterfree, Pincir, Venomoth, Scyther and Beedrill."
 "I'll tell you right now, only Venomoth and Butterfree have an attack that'll work on the beast. Physical attacks just don't hurt it."
 "Like a Ghost type?" Patrick asked. "That's all we need. A Ghost Dragon type."
 "Hey, why don't you come with me? Two is always better then one."
 "Sure, I was about to suggest that."
 "Great! I've got Rapidash, Dewgong and Electrode, just so you know."
 Patrick nodded. "So, what do we do now?"
 "That dragon is guarding something. We should wait until it's asleep and find out what."

 Uiru made it through Saffron City easily. Apparently, Matt hadn't reported him. Somehow, it didn't surprise him at all. Uiru headed down Route 8.
 Why would he do that? I don't think Matt really gives a damn about the League. He's just doing his job. Besides, he has been my friend for the longest time.
 It was odd how Matt used to teach Uiru the ins and outs of Pokémon training. Now Uiru would be the one doing the teaching. But that was to be expected- from the beginning, Uiru wanted a balanced team, while Matt was only interested in Grass types.
 Uiru knew Matt had headed to Celadon City after Fire Strike had disbanded. In the peaceful period following their last great victory, they all talked it over and decided. They were young- enough of their lives had been eaten up in the constant battles. They decided to just go home.
 Uiru had gone to Champion Island, to try his skills against the world's best. Jessica had gone with him, but only to cheer him on. He had full confidence in his Pokémon's abilities, and as it turned out, that faith would be rewarded. Uiru had blown through the tournament like a tornado.
 Upon gaining the title of Champion Trainer, Uiru was given the Bug Saber relic. It was a mystical tool that Butterfree wore around it's neck, allowing the use of the Butterfly Edge.
 At the east gate of Saffron, someone called his name. "Uiru."
 Uiru turned and found himself looking straight into the face of Sabrina, the Psychic Master.
 "Hmm... You're Sabrina, correct?" Uiru asked.
 "Yes. I sensed your aura from my Gym. It's stronger then that of many Masters I know."
 "I've been feeling more uneasy then usual passing through Saffron," Uiru stated. "I'm assuming that was you."
 "That's right. Uiru, please come to my Gym for a moment. There are things we must discuss."
 "I'm sorry but-"
 "Uiru, I have information that will interest you. About Genoryu. I will not take long."
 Uiru sighed. "All right." Sabrina glowed blue and suddenly both were standing in her arena. Two torches at one end of the room flickered ominously, providing the only light in the room.
 "Your aura is so powerful..."
 Uiru crossed his arms. "So what do you know about Genoryu?"
 Sabrina nodded. "Genoryu is a Ghost Dragon Pokémon. It is from another realm, and there are only a select few places in our world from which we can access it. I'm not sure how it got here but it is creating an army of Pokémon from the other realm."
 "That makes sense," Uiru stated. "Do you know where it is?"
 "It is still on Mt. Cobal, where you returned from the other realm."
 "Pardon?"
 Sabrina stepped closer to him. "You don't remember?"
 "There is kind of a blank in my memory."
 Sabrina nodded again. "You were on Mt. Cobal with your friend. In a cave, you both fell into a rift between the realms. Luckily for you both, you fell out of it soon after, but Genoryu followed you, along with some of it's followers."
 "There are more Genoryu?"
 "It is not clear. But there are other beings like it on Mt. Cobal."
 Uiru turned to the door. "Well... I have to get going. Thank you for telling me all this."
 "Wait." Sabrina walked up to him. She took a small blue pellet from her pocket. "This is an ability stone called White Flame. It is a Dragon type attack. I'd like you to have it."
 "I can't take that," Uiru replied. "It must be rare."
 "Yes, but I'm not the one who'll be battling Genoryu. My League duties keep me here, and besides, Genoryu's Ghost attacks would defeat me. Please, take it."
 Uiru took the small pellet.
 "Think hard about who you teach it to, because it'll only last once. I would recommend something that has high defence and endurance, which isn't Dragon type of course."
 "Thank you, Sabrina," Uiru nodded.
 "Let me help you on your way." Sabrina glowed blue again. "Good luck, Uiru."

Chapter Three
 There was a knock on the door. Marowak answered it.
 Two suits from the Pokémon Liberation Movement stood there. "We're here to speak to Uiru," the black guy stated.
 Marowak shook its head.
 "You mean he's not here?" the white guy asked. Marowak nodded. "Is anybody here?"
 "I am," Jessica stated. She had heard the conversation. "Please, come in."
 The three sat down in the living room.
 "If you don't mind me asking, miss..." the white guy began.
 "...are you okay?" the black guy finished. He wasn't sure how to ask the question, because she definately did not look okay. Her robe didn't cover the marks on her legs, and the rest of her seemed just plain sickly.
 Jessica nodded. "I'll be fine."
 "Where is Uiru?" the white suit asked.
 "He's gone out to find something to help me," Jessica answered. "Is there something wrong? I can get him to call you when he gets back."
 "That won't be nessessary," the black suit announced. "There's been a recall on many Fighting Pokémon. We were wondering if he had already sent his Hitmonchan to the PLM."
 "Hold on, back up," Jessica said. "What recall?"
 "Havn't you heard the news?" the white suit asked.
 Jessica looked at him. "Do I look like I spend all day watching the news?"
 He held up his hands. "Point taken."
 The black guy informed her of what was going on in regards to the Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.
 "So, would you know if he's sent it in yet?" the white suit asked when the black suit was finished.
 Jessica was starting to feel dizzy. "Has Uiru sent in his Hitmonchan... Are you crazy?"
 The men looked at each other.
 "Uiru's had his Hitmonchan for years. He values it both as an incredible Pokémon and a great friend, just like his other five. Uiru will never just hand over any of them, especially over something as stupid as some unfounded paranoia!"
 "The city of Cobalton is in great danger from the Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee," the white suit explained.
 "Then deal with them," Jessica stated. Her head was starting to pound and that didn't help her mood one bit. "If you want Uiru's Hitmonchan you're going to have to throw heaven and hell at him to get it. Save yourselves the trouble and leave him alone. Now if you're finished, I have to deal with the migrane you both just gave me." Electabuzz came and helped her back to bed while Marowak grabbed some medicine.
 "What do you think?" the black guy asked.
 "I think she's right," the white guy replied. "I never was for this stupid recall thing anyway."
 "But we have to get his Hitmonchan."
 The white guy sighed. "Only if we find him. She never said where he was."
 The black suit looked down the hall towards her bedroom. Quietly, he said, "What do you think happened to her?"
 "Havn't you heard? She got nuked by some dragon attack. Uiru's been in a piss about it ever since."
 "Man... If she was my girlfriend I'd have torn apart whatever did it." The black guy snapped his fingers. "Wait a second! Uiru said the dragon attacked them on Mt. Cobal, right?"
 "That's right...!" The white suit knew where he was going with this.
 "And that's where the Hitmonchan went cracked. There might be some connection."
 "Let's move." The two quickly hurried out of the apartment.

 Uiru hadn't been in Fuchsia City very often, so it took a few minutes before he realized Sabrina had teleported him there. Teleporting is the ultimate form of transportation.
 He did remember where Koga's Gym was, however. Uiru headed up towards the woods.
 "There he is! After him!" More League soldiers spotted him. This time, forty or fifty soldiers were alerted to his presence.
 "I should have seen this coming," Uiru complained. "Can't waste any more time in this Godforsaken country." He ran into the woods.
 Uiru was almost to the door when someone pulled him into the bushes. "What the hell?!" Uiru hissed.
 "Shhh!" Someone shushed him. "Be quiet, you'll let the guards know you're here."
 A light went on in Uiru's head. "Erin?" he asked. "Is that you?"
 Uiru could see the person nod. "So you remember me too?"
 "Of course."
 "What are you doing here?" Erin asked. "Most of the League is after you. PLM Champions don't come around every day."
  "I really need to talk to Koga," Uiru replied. "I need a cure for Toxic. Jessica's really sick."
 Erin gasped. "You mean she's got Toxic? Didn't you give her an Antidote?"
 "It's not that simple." Uiru told Erin the whole story.
 "All right, Uiru," Erin declared. "I'll take you right to Koga. You'll be safe there, he doesn't let League personnel enter. He really hates them, you know?"
 Uiru stifled a laugh. "We have something in common then."

 "Genoryu?" Koga asked. "Are you sure that's it's name?"
 Uiru nodded. "Yes, Master Koga. That's what it said."
 Koga waved his hand. "There's no need to address me as 'Master'. A simple 'Sir' would suffice. The League and everything that comes with them can suck an Ekans for all I care."
 "All right," Uiru agreed. "We're pretty sure the thing is a Ghost-Dragon type. Sabrina told me it was from another realm."
 Koga 'hmm'ed. "I'd be careful about what you believe from Sabrina," he warned.
 "Well, she did give me this." Uiru took the White Flame stone from his pocket. "It's a Dragon type attack I can use on Genoryu."
 Koga nodded. "Then you're going to go after the monster?"
 "Of course, after I cure my friend."
 Koga turned to the wall. "Uiru, I have the cure to the poison in your friend's body. But not just anyone can use it."
 "Can you teach me how?"
 Koga nodded. "Erin, get me the small box in my study."
 "Yes sir." Erin went to get it.
 "Uiru, Heaven's Light is the ultimate healing ability that a Pokémon can use. It is a Psychic type attack that will cleanse your friend of all the poison within her. But the power is extremely dangerous."
 "How is it dangerous?" Uiru asked.
 "First, you must teach it to a Pokémon of hers that is pure in heart and spirit."
 Before Uiru could respond, however, Machamp's Poké Ball opened. At the sight of the nine foot tall powerhouse Pokémon, Koga gasped.
 "It's a big one, isn't it?" Uiru asked. "I think Machamp wants to learn Heaven's Light." Machamp nodded vigorously.
 Uiru understood why Machamp was so eager to help Jessica. The Toxic-Bleak Eternal blast had been meant for it, and it had dove out of the way. It didn't know Jessica was behind it. Although nobody believed it was it's fault, Machamp took it hard. Feeling it was responsible, it didn't talk to the other Pokémon very much. It thought they all blamed it, which of course wasn't true.
 "But it's a Psychic ability," Koga explained.
 "That's no problem," Uiru stated. "Machamp here has a few Psychic abilities. It's surprisingly strong against Psychic power, too."
 Koga looked up- way up- at Machamp. "Are you sure you want to learn this? Heaven's Light involves many powerful forces of this world and the next. If anything were to go wrong, the results would be catastrophic, especially for you."
 Machamp nodded, and thumped itself on the chest with it's right hands. "It's ready," Uiru declared.
 Erin came back with the small box. Koga took the very light blue pellet from the box.
 "Machamp, this is Heaven's Light. It is a forbidden power, so do not use it except in circumstances like this one. Using the power will drain all your energy, and it'll be a couple of days before you wake up again. It requires intense concentration. And it would really help if you didn't use it inside a building or something."
 Machamp nodded, and held out it's lower left hand. Koga gave it the pellet. Machamp closed it's hand, and the stone disappeared.
 "Now Machamp has Heaven's Light," Erin announced. "You should hurry back, Uiru."
 Koga laughed. "I have one more thing for you Uiru. I'm going to let you borrow my repairman."
 Erin leaned into the next room. "Hey, Nick!" she shouted. "Get in here!"
 "What's up, Erin... Uiru?!" Nick, the dirty-minded mechanic, entered the room and immediately recognized his former leader. "Man, it's been ages!"
 "Good to see you," Uiru greeted. They shook hands.
 "Hah. What's the big shot PLM champion doing all the way out here?" Nick laughed.
 Uiru told him the story.
 "WHAT?!" Nick shouted. "Some stupid dragon fried the cutest girl ever to walk the earth?! I won't stand for it! I'm coming with you!"
 Uiru laughed. "Are you sure about that?"
 "It's a Dragon type, right? Some of my Water Pokémon are learning Ice abilities. Horsea has a mean Ice Beam on it."
 "I guess so, if you want to. I assume you'll be flying me home?"
 "You got it." Nick looked to Erin. "Coming?"
 Erin sweatdropped. "Um, I'm not sure. Poison attacks don't work on Ghost types, so it'd kinda be pointless. Besides, I'm still training to be a Poison Master."
 "I think this would be a great learning experience," Koga laughed.
 "Besides, we'll be fighting other Pokémon besides Genoryu," Uiru stated. "There are supposed to be a load of those monsters there."
 "There, see?" Nick asked.
 Erin thought about it. "Oh, what the hell," she decided. "But if I die, I blame you Uiru."
 "Me? It's his fault!" Uiru laughed, pointing at Nick.
 "Come on, let's go!" Nick declared. "Man, this feels like old times."

 "You havn't painted over that yet?" Uiru asked when he saw the chopper.
 "Are you cracked? Him paint over his baby?" Erin asked. The helicopter still carried the name 'Fire Strike' on both sides, lovingly handpainted by it's owner, Nick.
 "The name is half the charm, man!" Nick declared as they climbed aboard.
 Uiru looked around the inside of the chopper, and the memories flooded back. Most prominent were those of the entire crew heading off to battle, or returning triumphant from an incredible victory. Most of them were victories, now that I think about it.
 "So, where are we headed?" Nick asked.
 "Turquoise," Uiru replied.
 "I've been tinkering with the engine," Nick announced. "Got double the milage on it now. We can make it all the way to Magenta Park from here before we have to refuel."
 "We don't fly around much, because gas is so expensive," Erin explained.
 "It's getting worse back home," Uiru informed them. "But it's not as bad as here." He lay down in the back. "I'll be asleep."
 "Dreaming of what, I wonder?" Nick asked, with a grin.
 "Silence," Uiru stated.
 "Oh, he won't tell us. Too bad," Erin grinned.
 "Silence!"
 "I'd tell you what he'll dreaming about, but we kinda gotta keep the story at a PG-13 level," Nick said to Erin.
 "It's not too late to put you through the windshield," Uiru jokingly threatened.
 "But we're really high up now."
 "Exactly."

 Oblivious to the events occuring on Mt. Cobal, a young man leaned against a tree on the far side of the peak.
 "This sucks," he complained. He pulled a sandwich from his backpack. "This is my last sandwich. Sigh..." He bit into it.
 An odd creature scampered out of the woods. The boy noticed it.
 "Hey, what are you?" he asked. It responded in a high-pitched, friendly voice. "I guess you're a Pokémon. Is Genocide your name?" It shook it's head up and down. Actually, it shook it's entire body up and down. All it was was a skull.
 Genocide looked at the sandwich with hope in it's eyes. "Hungry, aren't you?" he stated. "Well, here, have some. It's my last one though." He threw the walking skull a chunk of his sandwich, and it gobbled it down. Down to where is unknown at this point.
 Genocide was, for all intents and purposes, a skull. It had tiny insect-like legs sprouting from the base. A blue aura surrounded it, and it's eye sockets had a deeper blue glow in them.
 "You're an odd one," the boy stated. "My name's Kyle. Do you know a way off this rock?"
 Genocide nodded. It pointed with it's forehead up a path.
 "I guess going straight over the peak would be fastest," Kyle stated. "Come on then."

Chapter Four
 "Into the cave!!" Ed shouted. Ed and Patrick charged towards the cave, Genoryu right behind them. The dragon had found them, and it was spitting Night Shades all over the place.
 "But it'll have us trapped!" Patrick tried to protest as they ran.
 "Okay, it can either trap us and eat us or just eat us. There might be some place to hide in here!"
 Patrick drew three Poké Balls from his belt. "Butterfree, Beedrill, Venomoth!" he shouted. "Make a web out of String Shot!"
 As they ran, the three flying Bug Pokémon sprayed the sticky goop all over the walls, forming a huge net. Patrick didn't expect it to slow Genoryu down much, but he hoped having to walk through the slop would aggrivate it and it would go away.
 A loud crash from behind them announced the fact that Genoryu had charged at a section of String Shot and hit the wall behind it.
 Ed pointed ahead of them. "Look! It might not be able to fit in there!" He pointed to a fork in the road. One branch was narrow, one was wide.
 Patrick nodded. He called to his Pokémon. "Spray the wide tunnel with String Shot!" After doing so, the three were recalled and Patrick and Ed booted it down the narrow path. A second later, Genoryu could be heard charging through the String Shot trap they had left.
 Ed sighed. "We should wait here a while until it's deeper down."
 Patrick nodded. He leaned against the wall. "Another day saved by the might of Bug Pokémon- WHOA!!" His gloating was cut short as he fell right into the wall!
 "Patrick!" Ed shouted. "What the hell? Where'd you go?" Ed examined the wall closely. It seemed to be... shimmering? "Okay, this is too wierd for me." He sat on the floor. "Dragon dude's got five minutes, then I'm outta here!"

 The girl looked at the condemned mansion and sighed. It used to be in such good condition, kept clean and tidy by it's young inhabitants. But time and vandals had taken their toll on the once grand building.
 She opened the door. It squeaked noisily and fell off it's hinges. Stepping over it, she walked down the hall into the living room. Looking up and around, she never saw the lines of footprints in the years of dust.
 In fact, her first clue that someone had been there in the time since she had left was the young man sitting on the couch in the living room.
 "Ahhh!" she screamed.
 "Ahhh!" he screamed.
 "What the hell...? Geoff?"
 Geoff stood up, beating the dust off his jacket that had been accumilated on his sudden trip over the back of the couch. "Hey, Allison!" he shouted. "What are you doing here?"
 Allison looked around. "This place is a mess!" she complained.
 Geoff nodded. "I'm sure the lightning bolt didn't help much."
 "Lightning bolt?"
 He pointed up. That explains the sunbeams, Allison thought. There was a large hole in the roof.
 "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Geoff asked.
 "Yeah... I got so bored at home, I just had to come up here."
 Geoff laughed. "You think you're bored. At least you're in the city. I'm up here all the time."
 Allison laughed. "Doing what?"
 "Nothing. Mainly sitting on the couch, wondering if the whole thing is gonna collapse while I'm in there or not." He looked around. "This is a real shame, you know."
 "I know. I've half a mind to round everybody up and fix the place."
 Geoff laughed. "You'd have to find them first. All I know is Erin's gone to Fuchsia."
 "Yeah, to train under Koga. That dude's like, what now? Fifty?" Allison laughed. "I would have thought Erin was a bit young for him."
 "That's disgusting!" Geoff shouted. "Besides, she wouldn't do that."
 Allison nodded. "I know, I know."
 The clatter of the other door falling off it's hinges was now heard.
 "Was that someone coming in?" Allison asked.
 "I dunno. Stuff falls off things a lot nowadays."
 In walked a very shaken Patrick.
 "Hey, Patrick!" Geoff shouted.
 "What the hell happened to you?" Allison asked. Patrick looked like he'd been through the wringer a few times.
 Patrick pointed. "I was on Mt. Cobal... Now I'm on Charteruse Peaks. Am I high on anything? I don't think so..."
 "Dude, slow down," Geoff laughed. He sat him down on the couch. "Getting to be a regular reunion here."
 Patrick took a deep breath. "Okay... I was on Mt. Cobal, and this evil dragon thing chased us into a cave. Then-"
 "Who's us?" Allison inturrupted.
 "Allison," Geoff complained.
 "A guy I met on the mountain, Ed. We were checking out a dragon named Genoryu when it chased us into a cave. We hid from it, but everything past that is a blank." Patrick took another breath. "Then I wake up and I'm here! Well, not here exactly, but in a small cave a short distance from here."
 "What happened to Ed?" Geoff asked.
 "I dunno. I hope he got out of the cave safely," Patrick stated.
 Geoff looked at Allison. "You look like you're thinking of some crazy plan."
 "Aren't I always?" Allison grinned. "Maybe there was some kind of warp thing that Patrick fell in. Should we go check it out?"
 Patrick whined, "Do I have to?"
 Geoff laughed. "Yes, Geoff, you have to. We really should check this out."
 "All right!" Allison shouted. "Finally something exciting happens!"

 Uiru, Nick and Erin had made it to Magenta Park with no problem. Everything was going according to plan.
 Until, of course, Booster showed up with about five zillion soldiers.
 Uiru was heading to the chopper to see how refueling was going when he saw his old commander heading towards him. "Uiru!!" Booster bellowed.
 Uiru spun. "What the... Booster!" he shouted. "What's up?" Uiru hadn't seen his old boss in ages.
 "Uiru, you're under arrest," he stated simply.
 The color drained from Uiru's face as he realized Booster wasn't there to pat him on the back. "What?!"
 "We're trying to bring the world together," Booster continued. "The Pokémon League was right ready to accept our proposal when you went and hacked your way through their men. How do you think the PLM looks in the eyes of the League when one of our own is running amok in their territory?"
 Uiru knew if he had any hope of talking his way out of this encounter, he'd have to fire off on a different tangent altogether. "Why are you even trying to ally with the League in the first place?!" he exploded. He REALLY wished Leah was there to back him up. "Don't you know what they're like? This entire country lives in fear of them! They're powerhungry dictators who lie, cheat, steal and manipulate to get whatever they want! Has the PLM sunk so low that they'd dare be assosciated with evil despots like them?" Well, I seem to be doing pretty good by myself.
  "Uiru, part of the deal involves the PLM straighting out the League," Booster stated. "With the entire world connected under one general leadership, this country will be drastically improved and people everywhere will benefit. That is of course if we didn't have loose cannons like you rolling around blasting everything to pieces!" The last part was more of a roar then an explanation.
 Erin and Nick appeared behind Uiru.
 "Um..." Nick said slowly as he looked at the phalax of assembled troops. "We're ready to leave when you are."
 "What are all the troops for?" Erin asked.
 "I think they're here for me," Uiru stated. "Apparently they believe in fair fights. I think there's only two hundred or so."
 "Oh, is that all?" Erin asked.
 Uiru pulled something out of his pocket. "Nick," he hissed.
 "What?"
 Uiru handed him a Poké Ball. "If things go sour here, take Machamp and get back to Turquoise."
 "But with my Water types I'd be able to-"
 "Quiet!" Uiru whispered. "If he catches the three of us, we're screwed and Jessica is too. You're the only one who can fly the helicopter."
 "All right Uiru, enough is enough," Booster shouted. "Come along, now!"
 Uiru turned to glare at his former comrade. Reaching behind him, he pulled his cloak off, over his head, and flung it aside.
 "I figured this would happen," Booster stated. He shouted to his troops. "Do you all remember what he's got?"
 A shout. They did.
 With a flourish, Uiru summoned forth his nine Pokémon. "Bug Saber!" he declared.
  Erin and Nick also summoned their groups. Nick held back on Machamp though. "I guess it's party time," Erin sighed.
 Four dozen Pokémon were called against them. Erin's Nidoking and Nidoqueen charged into battle like juggernauts. Punching, slashing, poisoning and Tail Whipping, the two were quite the sight to behold. Nick's Omastar and Tentacruel launched Hydro Pump attacks, then engaged the enemy directly. Uiru's Alakazam stood back and charged it's Devistation Wave move while his Sandslash sent Rock Slides smashing into the crowd. Starmie flew through with it's Point Razor water attack while Scyther went ballistic all over the place.
 Suddenly, a gigantic explosion and a loud 'JIGGLY!!' erupted off to one side.
 "Damn!" Booster cursed, recalling his Magmar. "You lot, get over there and deal with the Antileague!"
 In moments, most of the soldiers were off battling Leah, Heidi and the others.
 "You against the three of us?" Erin asked.
 Booster laughed. "No... You against the three of us!" From the shadows stepped two more familiar faces out of Uiru's past- Alex and Thunders.
 "Hey, Uiru!" Alex hailed. "Good to see you again!"
 "What are you at Alex?" Uiru shouted.
 "Oh..." Alex looked around. "Oh, that's right. That unfortunate technicality. I'm really sorry, but I kind of agree with Booster on this one."
 "Stuff it, Alex," Erin snapped. "How much is Booster paying you to think that?"
 "How dare you?!" Alex bellowed. "I happen to believe this way will benefit many people- isn't that what you used to preach Uiru? Do what is right for everybody, even over yourself?"
 Uiru shook his head. "I'm on my way to Cobalton. If the PLM would take it's head out of the League's ass for a few minutes, they'd realize what kind of shit is flying over there."
 "We know about the wild Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee," Thunders stated. "We aren't stupid."
 "I'm not talking about that, you blazing idiot!" Uiru shouted at him. "I'm talking about the evil demon Pokémon running loose on the mountain that-" He caught himself. No sense getting sappy on the battlefield.
 "Evil demon Pokémon?" Alex asked. "Sounds like a job for me."
 "I agree," Nick stated. "Personally, I think it would be fun to see you get eaten. Promise you'll call me."
 "Enough!" Booster bellowed. Since everybody present was once under his leadership of Fire Strike, shutting up was an automatic reaction. "We don't have time to discuss this! Uiru, you either give us your surrender now or we'll beat it out of you!"
 Uiru raised the Butterfly Edge. Several Pokémon were summoned. In the tenseness of the moment, nobody noticed the sun rising, several hours early.
 "Die, traitor!!" somebody screamed. Uiru looked up to see Showers, Booster's other lieutenant, high in the sky brandishing the Wave Trident! Apparently she had found the Water Saber.
 "Shit!" he cursed. No time to defend against it-
 From nowhere came a blue-green beam of pure sunlight power! The energy crashed right into Showers and she fell to the ground. "Solar Beam," came the voice of Matt and his Venusaur. Stepping into the action, the Grass Master made his dramatic entrance.
 "You son of a bitch!" Thunders bellowed. Jolteon charged at Matt, Electric energy crackling. Venusaur used Vine Whips to tangle the big spark plug and beat it silly, but with a Thunder attack the big plant regretted the move.
 Erin's Arbok powered up a giant Poison Sting and sent the attack flying at Alex's Dewgong. Dodging the blow, it sent an Aurora Beam flying. Weezing sent out a Smokescreen and the attack dissapated.
 Nick's Squirtle raised a Withdraw circle around Booster, then Omastar dropped a Hydro Pump on him. Being extinguished did not please the Fire Master. Nick had to dodge several Flamethrowers before blocking one with Horsea's Bubblebeam, then attacking with the same.
 Having untangled itself from the vines, Jolteon fired Chain Lightning all around the arena, striking Nick and his troop but also nailing Showers and hers. Magmar rushed at Nick with a Fire Punch but Hitmonchan got there first and hit it with Body Slam.
 "Guys, cover me for a minute!" Uiru shouted. He held up the Butterfly Edge and concentrated. Weezing sent Smokescreens all around to confuse and aggrivate the enemy. Matt's Vileplume struck with Petal Dance from all directions, and Nick's Kingler just threw huge Bubble attacks everywhere.
 "Gust of Wind!" Uiru shouted. Bug energy erupted from the Edge as a terrible windstorm kicked up in the arena. The cyclone picked up Booster and his subordinates and threw them dozens of metres away!
 "Right, let's get out of here!" Uiru shouted. They headed for the chopper.

 "Well, now that that's all over... Hi Matt!" Erin greeted.
 "Hey guys," Matt started. "I figured I'd find you here."
 "Nice to see you!" Nick shouted from the cockpit. The ol' Fire Strike heli was streaking across the sky towards Turquoise Lake.
 "Good to know you're on our side," Uiru declared.
 "Well, old habits die hard," Matt told him. "Besides, I'm kinda getting sick of the League myself."
 "Me too," Erin agreed.
 Uiru looked out the window. "I hope Leah and the others can handle Booster."
 "I'm sure they can," Matt stated. "The Antileague has hundreds of soldiers in Magenta Park. Booster only has two hundred, remember? They'll have no problem."
 "Besides, they used to train with the great Fire Strike," Nick announced. "Those were the days..." Uiru, Matt and Erin agreed with him.
 Something outside got Matt's attention. "Yo Uiru! I don't think Booster is done yet!"
 Uiru looked out the window. He recognized the attack instantly. The large symbol of eternal raging flame- Fire Blast. And it was coming right at them.
 "Oh, shit!" Uiru cursed.
 "What's going on?" Nick shouted.
 "Booster's Arcanine fired a Fire Blast at us!" Matt shouted.
 "We're boned," Nick stated.
 One of Erin's Poké Balls opened and everyone present was hit with a paralyzing stench. It was Muk!
 "Muk, why did you come out?" Erin asked through pinched nose. She could take it's smell better then most but in the small confines of the chopper...
  Muk reached up and opened the door. It saluted it's trainer before leaping out of the helicopter!
 "What are you doing?!" Erin shouted. "Muk, return!"
 It was too late. Muk used it's Acid Armor attack, melting into a strange liquid. Up in the chopper, above the whirring blades, the four trainers heard the loud hiss of fire striking water.

Chapter Five
 "It's... gone..." Erin said softly. "Muk..." She shut the door and sat down.
 Uiru and Matt exchanged glances. They knew what Erin was going through right now- even the thought of losing one of their Pokémon was painful.
 Nick put the heli on auto and came into the back. "...Are you okay Erin?" he asked. The question was kind of unnessesary- of course she wasn't.
 "It looked at me," Erin stated softly. "Muk looked right at me... And the last thing it saw before it died was it's trainer holding her nose!"
 "Erin..." Matt started.
 "What did it think?" Erin asked. "What did it ever think?" she realized. "I never took it out just to play with. I never hugged it after a great victory. I just called it back whenever it was finished battling!" She started to cry. "It must have hated me..."
 "That's not true," Uiru told her. "They may be loyal but Pokémon only give their lives for trainers who really care about them!"
 "And you believed in it too," Nick added. "Lots of people don't like Poison types because they think they're weak. But you showed a lot of people that Poison Pokémon aren't to be messed with. You trained Muk and the others with expert care."
 "There are some Pokémon you just can't get close to," Matt declared. "Magmar, for example. You can get second-degree burns just from touching one! But trainers with Magmar love them just as much as their others."
 "And Scyther," Nick stated. "Their wings are just as sharp as their scythes and their teeth to match. But Jessica's Scyther knows she cares about it anyway, even though she can't get near it."
 "Muk knew how you felt," Uiru finished. "That's why it saved us."
 Erin shook her head. "I don't know..." she said, wiping her eyes.
 Nick didn't like the autopilot on the helicopter, so he went back to steering. "We'll be in Turquoise in a few hours," he announced.

 Finding a place to land a helicopter in the middle of a city is tricky. Nick finally got fed up and landed on the roof.
 "Nick, this is the wrong roof," Uiru stated. "We live in the building across the street."
 "Well, you can't land properly on your roof," Nick lied.
 "It's bigger and flatter then this one!"
 "Well, Koga said not to use Heaven's Light inside, right? So we'll have to do it on the roof, and if there's enough energy flying around as Koga said, we should leave the chopper here." That was some quick thinking on my part, I must say.
 "What are you guys talking about?" Matt asked.
 Uiru headed for the door. "We'll tell you on the way down."

 Elevator rides are usually uneventful, except when they jam up or fall or something. But that really wouldn't suit the story very well. This preticular ride was typically boring. Uiru, Erin and Nick filled Matt in on the preticulars of Jessica's condition and how to use Machamp's healing power.
 Crossing the street took longer then expected, but before too long the four were back in another boring elevator.
 "You know," Nick stated, "we don't need the satirical edge with the writing. It doesn't fit the rest of the story very well."
 "Pardon?" Matt asked.
 "Oh, nothing."
 Upon reaching the apartment, Uiru went to open the door and stopped. "Will you guys wait here for a second?" he asked.
 Nick and Matt exchanged glances. "Sure," Matt replied.
 Uiru quietly entered and made his way to the bedroom. Looking her over, Uiru determined that Jessica's condition was deteriorating. Many of the purple marks had deepened in color, in contrast to her ever-paling skin. "Jessica," he whispered. "Hey, Jessica!"
 "Huh...? Uiru?" Realizing it was him, she reached up and hugged him. "You're okay! I was getting worried..."
 Uiru grinned. "You were worried?" he smiled. "Anyway, I got the cure!"
 "Great!" Jessica coughed, and went on. "Well, where is it?"
 Uiru pulled out a Poké Ball. "Machamp volunteered to learn a special Psychic healing power. We have to use it on the roof though."
 "Why?"
 "I don't know. Koga said not to use it inside." Seeing Jessica reach for her robe that she had left on the floor, Uiru stopped her. "Nick, Matt and Erin are waiting outside," he informed her.
 "Really? That's great! How are they?" Jessica caught sight of herself in the mirror. "God, I look awful!"
 "You have an excuse," Uiru stated.
 A few minutes later, the five were on the roof. Marowak and Electabuzz had followed them.
 "Well, let's do it," Nick stated.
 "I sure hope this works," Matt declared.
 "Machamp, come out!" Uiru shouted. Machamp appeared on the roof. Nowadays, Machamp usually sulked around if it wasn't in a big battle. At the sight of Jessica, however, it's face lit up. It looked at Uiru.
 "Yep!" Uiru confirmed. "We're going to cure Jessica now!"
 Marowak and Electabuzz cheered. Machamp cheered louder. "Okay!" Uiru shouted. "Machamp, Heaven's Light!"
 Machamp flexed it's four arms, and for several seconds absolutely nothing happened. It seemed that the cars on the streets below had stopped. Nothing made any noise, and nothing moved.
 Nick looked at the city. The city seemed to be caught in a wide-scale power outage. Nick didn't think it was a coincidence.
 When Matt looked up, he involuntarily took a step back. Large dark clouds were rolling in, directly over their heads.
 Machamp raised it's arms slowly. It's eyes were shut and it seemed to be concentrating heavily. It took a moment, but from the sky directly above them a beam of pure light shone on the entire building.
 The white beam tightened, and focused directly on Jessica. For a moment all was still, then the light suddenly expanded into a giant pillar that encompassed half the city. Then it faded, and the clouds rolled away. Moonlight shone on the five people and three Pokémon on the roof, all knocked unconscious and all lucky to not have been blasted off.

 Electabuzz woke up first. Annoyed at having been sleeping on the hard, cold roof, it let out a Thundershock as it yawned grumpily. Everyone else woke up pretty quick after that.
 "Well, that was something," Matt complained as he dragged himself to his feet. "Every Poison and Fighting type Pokémon in the city is dead now."
 Nick slapped him for being so insensitive. "It's a healing move, dumbass. Is Jessica okay?"
 "I think so," she moaned, sitting up. "Hmm..."
 "Feel better?" Uiru asked.
 "Yeah... I feel great!" She leaned over and hugged him again. "Thank you Uiru!"
 Something dawned in Nick's head. Two people... one apartment. "Wait a minute!" he shouted. "How long have you two been-" Uiru shot Nick a glare that would cause a block of granite to shatter. It effectively shut Nick up.
 Marowak woke up from the noise. Seeing Jessica was in perfect health again, it hurled it's Bonemerang straight up in the air and caught it.
 Jessica looked at the fainted superpower Pokémon. "Uiru... Is my Machamp dead?"
 Uiru laughed. "No. It'll wake up in a few days. That's what Koga said anyway." Uiru gave her the four Poké Balls he had borrowed. "They helped me a lot."
 Erin got Matt and Nick's attention. "I think we should go to the Pokémon Center," she quietly told them.
 "Why?" Matt asked.
 She arched an eyebrow at him. "Why do you think?"
 Nick realized what Erin was getting at. "Yeah, we should go."
 "What are you guys muttering about over there?" Jessica asked as she recalled Machamp.
 "Oh, nothing!" Nick replied with a giant Anime-style grin on his face. "We'll just leave you two alone for a while."
 "I'm sure you've got a lot of catching up to do," Erin added, sporting a similar smile.
 Matt finally got it. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Um... Er... I guess we'll meet you at the Center, say noonish?"
 Uiru sweatdropped while Jessica laughed. "Okay, noon should do," she replied. "Bye guys!"
 Nick, Erin and Matt headed for the stairs leading off the roof. "Bye!"
 Marowak and Electabuzz suddenly broke out laughing about something.
 "What's so funny?" Uiru asked. Maybe Pokémon could understand wordplay as well as English.
 Marowak shook it's head and the two went back into the building.
 Uiru looked up at the moon. The sky was totally clear now. "I havn't been able to just look at it for a while," Uiru said.
 Jessica looked at it. "Hmm...? That's strange."
 "What?"
 "It looks like... some of the rocks are a different color," Jessica stated. "I dunno, maybe it's just some kind of light trick."
 "No... I think I see it too. Kinda roundish, near the middle?"
 "Yeah."
 Uiru turned towards the stairs. "Well, it doesn't matter that much. We can't get to the moon and the moon can't get to us."
 "That's right. We should go in, it's getting cold."
 They headed for the stairs. On the way, Uiru quietly said, "Isn't noon cutting it a little short?"
 "Well we can't make them wait forever."

 "Oy... Is this the cave?" Geoff asked.
 Patrick sat up. "I havn't been through many dimensional warps, but this one has to be one of the worst." He looked around. "Yep, this is the cave."
 Allison took out a Poké Ball that held her Kabutops. "Should we look for the dragon now?"
 "No way!" Patrick declared. "We gotta hope we don't run into it. Let's go to Cobalton and look for Ed. He might have found something."
 They squeezed out of the small chamber in single file, then quietly exited the cave. It was mid-morning, and the sun was shining. The three silently headed down the hill.
 A giant scorpion's stinger suddenly embedded itself in the ground four inches from Allison's nose.
 "Aaaaaaaahhhhh!" she screamed, and jumped back.
 "What the hell?" Geoff shouted.
 Into the clearing stormed a giant scorpion, intent on making the humans that were in it's way it's dinner. It pulled back it's tail and struck a dramatic pose, and with that the battle was on.
 "Kabutops, I choose you!" Allison shouted.
 "Pincir, go!" Patrick shouted.
 "Arcanine, attack!" Geoff finished.
 "Kabutops, Razor Wind!" Allison ordered. Kabutops began the battle by sending a cloud of shrapnal straight at the beast. It apparently went straight through it!
 "That's not gonna work!" Geoff stated. "Fire Spin!" Arcanine launched a firey tornado at the scorpion. It seemed to do some damage.
 "It must be a Ghost-Bug type!" Patrick declared. "Pincir's no good... Venomoth, Butterfree, I choose you!" Patrick recalled Pincir, since it could only use Normal and Fighting attacks- totally ineffective on Ghost types.
 Butterfree flew in and shot the monster with PSY Beam while Venomoth hung back and slammed it with Disable. After Fire Spin disappated, the monster apparently tried to Crabhammer Butterfree but Venomoth locked out the attack just before it hit.
 Kabutops parried an attack by it's tail and tried it's Absorb attack, but it didn't work very well. Geoff suggested recalling it, and she sent Magneton instead. Magneton flew above it and nailed it with Thunderbolt attacks.
 Arcanine, wary of the butterfly and moth Pokémon, had to be careful where to shoot it's Fire attacks. It also had to dodge the constant movement of the stinger on it's tail. The scorpion looked like it would take up a two-lane street, and it held it's tail about three metres above it, but it could go much higher.
 Butterfree fluttered up next to Venomoth and the two unleashed a W. Psychic blast which made the beast dizzy. It shook it off and pointed it's open claw at Butterfree. Black tendrils shot from it and grabbed Butterfree!
 "Venomoth, Stun Spore!" Patrick shouted. "Scyther, cut the vines!" Venomoth's Stun Spore appeared to actually paralyze the monster! The savage mantis Scyther appeared and, flying like a snowblower, hit the tendrils. It then went postal on the monster but the attacks either didn't hit it or didn't hurt it.
 "Is it saying... Cacoscorp?" Allison asked.
 "I think it is," Patrick replied. "Maybe that's it's name."
 "Who cares what it's called, we have to get rid of it!" Geoff declared. "Fire Blast!"
 Arcanine reared back and fired the symbol of searing flame at Cacoscorp. It crashed into the beast and the power slammed it against the trees! Butterfree and Venomoth wound up and delivered an awesome Whirlwind that picked up Cacoscorp and sent it flying. Fire Blast disappated before it could do any major damage to the forest.
 "Woo!" Patrick shouted.
 Scyther, Magneton, Butterfree, Venomoth and Arcanine were called back. "That wasn't the dragon, was it?" Allison asked.
 "No," Patrick stated. "The dragon was huge. It could barely fit in that cave we just left."

Chapter Six
 "So, what's the deal?" Jessica asked the next morning.
 "Pardon?" Breakfast this late in the morning should be called brunch, but there was no cantelope at the end.
 "Something's going on, and I want to know what," she stated. "You've been preoccupied all morning."
 Uiru sighed. "I'm not sure how to say this."
 With that, she knew. Jessica looked away. "You're going after Genoryu aren't you?"
 "Yeah-"
 "And you're going to tell me to stay home, aren't you?"
 Cue sweatdrop. Uiru knew he was on thin ice right now.
 "No, of course not," Uiru told her. "I'd prefer it- BUT-" He cut her off as she started to voice another argument. "But, I didn't want you to think you had to come if you didn't want to."
 "That's all?" she asked.
 "No." He got up. "The PLM is really pissed off at me. I don't think I can stay here much longer."
 "So, we'll go somewhere else," Jessica said simply.
 "We can't go anywhere else!" Uiru said, a little louder then he had intended. "The League wants me dead and the PLM wants me dead because Booster thinks I might screw up their merger. Between the two of them, that's the whole world covered. What it all boils down to is this: Right now I'm more trouble then it's worth. I don't want to ruin both our lives if you'd rather just stay here."
 Jessica was quiet for a moment. "You know one place is the same as another to me, Uiru," she said quietly. "How can you even think I'd rather just stay here?"
 "I didn't want to push it on you," Uiru stated. "I wanted you to make up your own mind."
 "Well, it's made up,"  Jessica replied immediately. She went over to him and hugged him. "I just want to be with you."
 He put his arms around her. "I know... I feel the same way."
 After several moments in this comfortable silence, Jessica looked at him. "Well, we should go," she told him. "The others are waiting."
 Uiru nodded.

 Uiru told Jessica everything that had happened on the way to the Pokémon Center. When they got there, they found Matt, Erin and Nick in the lounge, just hanging out.
 "Hey!" Matt hailed.
 Jessica went up to Erin. "I'm so sorry, Erin!" she exclaimed. "Uiru told me what happened..."
 Erin looked away. "It's all right," she stated.
 "Muk saved all our lives," Nick mentioned to Jessica.
 "Are you okay?" Jessica asked.
 "I'll be fine," Erin replied. "Just... don't talk about it right now."
 The others understood. Uiru changed the subject. "Hey Jessica, go see if the nurse can speed up Machamp's recovery." She nodded, and went to find her. Erin got up and followed her. "So... Are we going to deal with Genoryu right now, or what?" Uiru asked. Matt and Nick were looking at him. "What?"
 "What do you think?" Nick replied. "We want details, man!"
 Matt slapped him in the back of the head. "That's not the most tactful way to get juicy info, you know."
 Uiru laughed. "I'll confirm nothing. In fact, I'll deny everything!"
 "Oh, come on!" Nick whined. "Just a little?"
 Matt laughed. "You're pathetic," he told him.
 "I know."
 "Go get your own girlfriend," Uiru told Nick.
 "He's too pathetic for that!" Matt cracked.
 "I guess so," Uiru grinned.
 "Hey!"
 Uiru laughed. "Anyway, can we get to business now?"
 "Yes, we're leaving right away," Matt told him. "Nick was up all morning preparing the heli while you were... um..."
 "Sleeping in," Uiru finished.
 Nick was counting on his fingers. "We left at nine last night... Now it's eleven." A few quick calculations later... "Damn, man!" He whispered his conclusions to Matt, who had a similar responce.
 "If you don't mind," Uiru inturrupted, "can we get off this topic now?"
 The girls came back. "Machamp burned all it's energy out," Jessica reported. "The nurse can help it, but it'll take several hours."
 "I know!" Nick declared. "Instead of waiting around here, we can go to Cobalton and have the nurse transfer Machamp. It'll save time."
 "Hey, Nick had a good idea for once," Matt teased.
 Jessica cleared this with the nurse. "Well, I guess we'll be going," Jessica declared.

 Kyle went up to the nurse. "Excuse me... Could you tell me what kind of Pokémon this is?" he asked. He presented Genocide.
 "Oh!" the nurse exclaimed. "It scared me. I don't know what it is! Where did you find it?"
 "On Mt. Cobal," Kyle replied.
 "What were you doing on Mt. Cobal?" the nurse exploded at him. "Don't you know what's been going on?" Kyle didn't. "Where have you been? Horrible monsters have been attacking people on the mountain. They're all Ghost type, like that thing!"
 "What? Genocide wouldn't hurt anyone," Kyle stated. "It's so friendly." Genocide Licked the nurse. She fell over, paralyzed.
 "Oops!" Kyle stated. "Genocide!"
 After recovering, the nurse told Kyle that if the little Genocide was in their town, the others might come after it and attack the city. She said that if he was going to keep Genocide he had to get it out of there until the monsters were dealt with.
 "I can handle that," Kyle declared. "I don't know much about training but Genocide will protect me." He started walking out of the Center.
 "Hey!" someone shouted. "What are you doing with that?"
 "Who're you?" Kyle asked.
 "I'm Ed," the boy replied. "What is that?"
 "This is Genocide," Kyle replied.
 "It's one of the monsters from the mountain! And it's your friend?" Kyle nodded. "This is great! The best thing to use on one of those freaky monsters is another freaky monster!"
 "Genocide isn't a freaky monster!" Kyle shouted. Genocide barked it's agreement.
 "Well, you know what I mean. I'm investigating the monsters on the mountain. Want to come with me? You can't stay here, so..."
 "Yeah, I guess so. I'm Kyle," he introduced.

 "It's a... walking cactus?" Patrick stated.
 "Where?" Allison asked.
 Patrick pointed. "Down there, on it's way to Cobalton!"
 Geoff pulled out a Poké Ball. "Better hurry then! Gyarados, come out!" The three trainers jumped on and flew down the mountain.

 Kyle looked at it. "Okay, this one just looks wierd," he stated. Looking like a cross between a ghost and a cactus, the 20-foot tall plant was headed straight for the city.
 "Well, let's go!" Ed declared.
 "Go where?" Kyle asked.
 "Go fight the cactus, obviously!" Ed informed him. "Which Pokémon do you have?"
 "Just Genocide," Kyle admitted. "I'm no trainer, you handle it!"
 "I can't do it by myself!" Ed shouted. "Your Genocide will do fine against it. Now come on!"
 Ed and the reluctant Kyle soon engaged the cactus, which called itself Genothorn.
 "I think I'm starting to notice a theme with these names," Kyle stated.
 "Who cares? Rapidash, Dewgong, Electrode, go!"
 Kyle looked at him. "Um... Genocide, go!"
 "Rapidash, Fire Spin! Dewgong, Aurora Beam!"
 Ed's first attack froze and fried the demon plant. Kyle looked on in confusion. I don't know any of Genocide's attacks! What am I supposed to do?
 "Use Night Shade!" Ed shouted. "Do something! Electrode, Sonic Boom!" Electrode's noise attack went right through Genothorn.
 "Night Shade!" Kyle shouted. Genocide whipped up a beam of Ghost power and let it loose.
 Genothorn used a ghostly version of Vine Whip to ensnare Dewgong and slammed it on the ground! Rapidash used it's Flamethrower attack to burn the vines, but Genothorn fought back with Spike Cannon. Coming from a cactus, Spike Cannon was a devistating move. All but Genocide were badly injured.
 "Damn!" Ed shouted. "Those are my only Pokémon! Hold it off for a minute while I heal them!"
 As Ed pulled out Potion bottles, Kyle looked at Genothorn. "Night Shade!" he shouted again. Only one attack? This feels so lame...
 Genothorn, realizing Genocide was a Ghost type, ceased it's Spike Cannon attack and launched a blast of Bleak Eternal. "Do what it just did!" Kyle shouted, hoping it would work.
 It did. The diminuitive Genocide sent a giant blast of Ghost power at Genothorn. Both Ghost types took heavy damage from the attack.
 "Good job!" Ed shouted. "I think that attack is called 'Bleak Eternal'."
 "Good to know!"
 "Electrode, Thunderbolt! Dewgong, Ice Beam! Rapidash, Fire Blast!" The triple elemental attack slammed into Genothorn.
 From nowhere, a giant blast of Hydro Pump crashed into Genothorn from behind. Annoyed, it launched a Spike Cannon at the incoming Gyarados. Allison, Patrick and Geoff landed.
 "Dragonair, I choose you!" Geoff shouted. He recalled Gyarados lest it get pounded by the ghost plant.
 "Arcanine, go!" Allison added.
 "Parasect, I choose you!" Patrick finished.
 Dragonair charged the ghost plant with a Tail Whip, but the attack passed right through it. Arcanine shot a Fire Blast at the beast while Parasect started blasting it with Leech Life.
 Genothorn charged up the quickest Solar Beam any of the trainers had ever seen, and shot Dewgong and Electrode with it. "Dammit!" Ed cursed. Rapidash used Fire Spin, encasing the creature in flame for a few seconds.
 "Butterfree, Venomoth, Beedrill!" Patrick shouted. "Nature's Pin attack! Leech Life!" Beedrill got toasted by Genothorn's Night Shade attack and Venomoth got Licked, but Butterfree managed to nail the monster with the sparkling Bug power.
 Dewgong fired a last Aurora Beam at the cactus before it opened up with Petal Dance, finishing off the weakened Dewgong and Electrode as well.
 Genocide belted Genothorn with Bleak Eternal. Dragonair used it's Dragon Rage power, wrapping Genothorn in raging wave power. Butterfree and Venomoth used Psychic attacks and Beedrill used Pin Missile. Arcanine launched the finishing Fire Blast at Genothorn. It shriveled up and disappeared!

 "What happened to you?" Ed asked Patrick at the Pokémon Center.
 "I fell through a warp," Patrick replied. "That's how we got back here."
 "What IS that?" Geoff asked Kyle.
 "It's Genocide," Kyle answered. "It may have a violent name but it's really sweet."
 "Put it in a Poké Ball or something," Ed snapped. "You're not allowed to have that here, remember?"
 "I don't have one," Kyle stated.
 "Here, I'll lend you one." Allison handed him a Poké Ball. Kyle called Genocide into it.
 "Look, if I'm going to be any help, I need to know some more attacks," Kyle announced.
 "That's no problem," Patrick said. "We've got tons of books at what's left of our base. We can use the warp to go there if you want."
 Geoff pointed out the window. "Hey, look!"
 Patrick saw the helicopter landing. "Our chopper!"
 "You never said anything about a helicopter," Ed said to Patrick.
 "It didn't seem relevant. Come on!" Patrick and Geoff took Ed and Kyle out to greet the heli.
 Allison remained at the table, suddenly seething with rage. After a moment, she got up and stormed outside.

 Uiru caught sight of her at the exact same instant Allison caught sight of him.
 "What's the matter Allison?" Patrick asked after a moment of silence. "Aren't you going to say hi?"
 "Uiru, what's up?" Matt asked.
 "Uh oh..." Jessica moaned to herself.
 The silence erupted in an instant.
 "Bug Saber!" Uiru shouted. He summoned Butterfree, and it instantly morphed into the Butterfly Edge.
 "Poison Saber!" Allison shouted. Her Beedrill appeared and transformed into the Poison Stinger. In less then a second the two trainers were locked in deadly combat in the middle of the street.
 "What the hell?" Nick asked.
 "Cool!" Ed cheered.
 "They're going to get killed!" Matt exclaimed. "Shouldn't we do something about this?"
 "There's only one way to stop them," Jessica announced. "Electabuzz, go! Thundershock!" Electabuzz charged up and shocked the two, who fell over, fried. Jessica grabbed the Butterfly Edge while Patrick scooped up the Poison Stinger.
 Allison got up. "What'd you do that for?" she asked.
 "Hello to you too. What's wrong with you?" Jessica asked.
 "It's not me, it's him," Allison snapped.
 Uiru laughed. "I'm not the one still moping over getting pounded." He looked at Jessica. "Can I have my Butterfree back?"
 "First get out of the middle of the road," Jessica stated. "You two are holding up the traffic." Everybody crossed the street. "If you're both still mad about what happened, try to solve it without killing one another."
 Nick looked around. "Look, I know I only came in a while ago, but what the hell is going on?"

Chapter Seven
 Back at the Pokémon Center...
 "You can sum up what got Allison in a piss in one sentence," Uiru announced. "I smashed her hard at the tournament, and she's still sulking about it."
 "You barely won!" Allison shouted at him. "You only won anyway because you got Kabutops so covered in String Shot it couldn't move."
 "Thus being the point of String Shot!" Uiru barked back.
 Patrick shook his head. "Okay, so why are you so mad Uiru?"
 "Because somebody slipped Hitmonchan some tranquilizers before the last battle!"
 "I can't believe you'd think I needed to cheat to pound you! Besides that, you got your Alakazam to weaken my Primeape before the match started!"
 "I can't believe you could 'accidentally' spill water on Sandslash twice!"
 "That was an accident! You tried to give Arcanine Pokénip!"
 "I dropped it! It's not my fault the stupid mutt has to sniff everything!"
 "Settle down!" Geoff roared. The two were quiet. "Right now it doesn't matter who beat who or who did what to who. I imagine you guys are here for the same reason we are, and if you aren't going to shut up you both might as well go home."
 "I'm going to smash that bitch up on the mountain," Uiru declared. "And THAT bitch better stay out of my way!" He thumbed at Allison. She gave him the finger.
 "This is going to be a pleasant experience," Nick moaned.
 "Together again," Erin sighed.
 "I thought they were bad when they were kids," Matt stated.
 Ed looked at Kyle. "Well, I'm lost," Ed stated.
 "Well guys!" Patrick announced, trying to change the subject. "It's everybody's favorite time of the fanfic!"
 "Oh, no," Erin moaned. "Do we have to?"
 "Yes, we have to," Nick stated. "Even though I really don't want to."
 "Yeah," Matt declared. "Maybe people forgot, or maybe they just don't know. Either way, we have to go through what Pokémon we have."
 "Ugh," Allison moaned, trying to ignore Uiru. "I always hated this."
 "Anyway... I have Venusaur, Victreebel, Vileplume, Parasect, Tangela, and Exeggutor," Matt declared. "I'm a Grass trainer."
 "I'm a Water trainer," Nick said. "I have Omastar, Horsea, Squirtle, Kingler, Golduck, and Tentacruel."
 "I train Poison types," Erin stated next. "I have Weezing, Arbok, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Hypno."
 "I've got Butterfree, Beedrill, Venomoth, Pincir, Scyther, and Parasect." It was Patrick's turn. "I'm a Bug trainer."
 "I use Hitmonchan, Alakazam, Blastoise, Raichu, Butterfree and Sandslash," Uiru stated.
 "I've got Gyarados, Arcanine, Alakazam, Dragonair, Scyther, and Nidoking," Geoff announced.
 "My Pokémon are Scyther, Starmie, Marowak, Electabuzz, Gengar, and a comatose Machamp," Jessica said.
 "And I've got Arcanine, Beedrill, Kabutops, Primeape, Dugtrio, and Magneton," Allison declared.
 "Wow," Ed stated. "All I have are Rapidash, Electrode and Dewgong."
 "And my only Pokémon is Genocide," Kyle finished.
 "Hang on a second..." Patrick said, counting. "Hey Erin, what about-" He got kicked by Nick.
 "Shh!" he shushed.
 "What happened to Machamp?" Allison asked.
 Jessica looked at Uiru. When it became clear he had no intention of explaining anything to Allison, she told her all about what had happened.
 "Are you all right now?" Allison asked when she was finished.
 "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm going to go see if Machamp is feeling better." Jessica went to find the nurse.

 Later that night, Erin, Matt, Geoff and Kyle were still up.
 "What's the deal with Uiru and Allison?" Kyle asked. "I've never seen anybody fight that much." They had gotten into not one, not two, but three full fledged all out Pokémon battles that night. Each won once and the third battle was a draw. The nurse then took their Pokémon, telling them they could have them back when they grew up.
 "I hope they don't cause trouble if we're in danger," Geoff stated. "It would really suck if somebody got hurt because of some stupid argument."
 "This isn't a stupid argument," Matt declared. "This has been going on for years. They've always been rivals, but I guess after Allison lost it got really serious."
 "I don't think they'll let their personal differences interfere with their fighting," Erin said to the others. "And they can both be pleasant enough as long as they don't have to actually converse or anything."
 "I guess some random accidents and coincidences convinced them that the other was cheating," Matt mused. "I seriously doubt either of them would actually do it though."
 "Is there any way we can convince them that the other didn't cheat?" Kyle asked.
 "Not now," Geoff told him. "They'd never believe it. They have to learn to trust each other on their own, and until then, we're all in for some auditory discomfort."

 The ten trainers were on their way out of the city to the mountain when someone hailed them from behind.
 "Hold it!" came a voice. Turning, they saw it was Booster and company, as well as a few trainers they didn't recognize. "So, you're all together again, eh?"
 "Shut up Booster," Uiru replied. "Can't you see we're busy?"
 "You don't have to worry about that anymore," Booster declared. "Fire Strike... Meet the Elite Four. We're going to clean out the mountain, after we wipe the floor with you."
 The trainers knew what this meant. The Elite Four were the League's most powerful trainers. Booster, Showers, Thunders and Alex were no rookies either.
 "Hi," Nick said flatly. "My name's Nick, I'll be praying for a miracle now."
 "Oh, be quiet," Jessica told him. "The Elite Four may be the League's best but we're the PLM's best! Well, we used to be anyway."
 "Besides, we outnumber them," Geoff stated.
 "If you're counting on us, forget it," Ed stated. "We don't have the power to keep up with you guys."
 "I still only know two attacks," Kyle admitted. Jessica leant over and whispered a few more attacks to him. He nodded.
 The leader of the Elite Four, Lance, looked at Booster. "These chattering children were your best troops?"
 "Don't underestimate any of them," he whispered. "Half of them have mixed teams. I wish you guys did too- Bruno and Agatha are going to get pounded by Uiru's Alakazam and his Raichu will deal with Lorelei."
 "We'll see about that, Booster," Lorelei declared. "I'll have frozen them long before they can shock my Pokémon."
 "You're one to talk, Booster," Agatha added. "None of you have mixed teams either."
 "It's obvious how we have to go about this," Alex spoke up. "Unless we cover each other's weaknesses they're going to win."
 "That's not a very good attitude to go into battle with," Showers snapped at him.
 "They weren't formerly the PLM's best for nothing," he replied.
 Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield...
 "Showers and Alex use mainly Water types, so we should go after them with Electric," Allison stated.
 "Lorelei does too," Matt declared.
 "How do you know?" Ed asked.
 "I trained with Erika, I know how the League works," he declared. He pointed at the four trainers in turn. "Bruno has Fighting types but uses Rock too. Lorelei has Water and Ice. Agatha uses Ghost types but has a few Poison. And Lance has all Dragon type Pokémon."
 "If he's got Dragon types we need Ice attacks," Jessica reminded.
 Uiru pulled something out of his pocket. "I still havn't used this TM yet."
 "What is it?" Kyle asked.
 "White Flame. I can use it on his Dragon types. I just havn't decided who to use it on yet."
 Allison noticed Erin pulling out a Poké Ball. "Erin... What are you doing? It's not time to fight yet."
 "This might be my last chance," she replied.
 "Last chance to do what?"
 "You'll see." Erin walked towards Booster! "You son of a bitch!" she shouted. "I challenge you to a match!"
 The League's trainers laughed. "Do you want me to take care of her Booster?" Lorelei asked.
 Booster waved him off. "No... I'll take care of her." He stepped forward. "Is there any preticular reason you want to be the first to die?"
 "Save it, blowhard."

 Thunders picked up the megaphone. "This will be an all out match between Booster, the Fire type trainer of the PLM, and Erin, the Poison type trainer of Fire Strike. Each trainer can use up to three Pokémon simultaneously. One will be the victor, and the other will be dead. In this match, the use of items is allowed."
 It was a good thing there was plenty of room. Fire Strike sat on one side of the makeshift arena and the PLM/League trainers waited on the other.
 "You mean she could get killed?" Geoff asked. "It's too dangerous, call it off Uiru!"
 "Can she beat Booster?" Jessica added.
 "I can't call it off," Uiru stated. "She started it. Besides, if her Pokémon are as pissed off as she is, I wouldn't want to get in her way."
 "Booster, I don't need to tell you about the incredible amount of respect I'll lose for you if you're beaten," Thunders stated.
 "None of your Pokémon are strong on hers," Alex reminded.
 "But none of hers are strong on his," Showers informed him.
 "I think this'll be an interesting battle," Lance stated. "Just make sure you don't lose, Booster."
 "Will you guys shut up?" Booster asked. "Of course I'm not going to lose."
 "Don't get cocky," Bruno warned. "Your own arrogance could lead to your destruction."
 Booster took his place. Thunders picked up the megaphone again. "Let the battle begin!"
 "Arcanine, Charizard, I choose you!" Booster shouted.
 "Arbok, Weezing, I choose you!" Erin shouted.
 "Arcanine, Take Down!"
 "Weezing, Smokescreen!"
 Arcanine dove at Weezing but the blob of poison floated out of the way and covered the puppy Pokémon in smoke. Then it dove down and smacked it with Double Edge before floating back and firing Sludge attacks.
 Charizard flew at Arbok, who let out a deafening Screech before diving underground. Charizard stopped itself before crashing into the ground. As it awaited Arbok's return, the devil snake burst from the earth and slammed Charizard before Wrapping it!
 "Magmar, I choose you!" Booster sent his third Pokémon to battle.
 "Hypno, go!" Erin sent her Poison using Psychic type.
 Arcanine nailed Weezing with a Flamethrower attack but Weezing weathered the attack surprisingly well. It slammed Arcanine with Smog before using repeated Body Slams to sap it's strength. Charizard Seismic Tossed Arbok off it, but the snake fired Acid and Poison Sting attacks at the dragon while it prepared to charge again. Meanwhile, Hypno had met up with Magmar. Magmar opened with Confuse Ray and Hypno used Confusion at the same instant, and both were confused!
 Weezing Double Edged Arcanine away and landed on Hypno's head. The blow caused Hypno to shake off it's confusion and it powered up it's PSY Yoyo move, and commenced beating Magmar senseless while it stumbled around. Weezing then got blasted by Arcanine's Take Down but responded with Tackle.
 Charizard caught Arbok in a Fire Spin attack, but Arbok let out the longest, loudest, most painful Screech attack any of the trainers had ever had the misfortune to hear. By the time the flames disappated, Arbok was medium rare but Charizard was visibly shaking. With a nasty Glare, Arbok added to Charizard's growing list of problems.
 "I think Arbok's gonna beat Charizard," Ed stated.
 "Will Weezing win?" Patrick asked. "It's taking a hell of a beating."
 "Arcanine is too," Nick stated. "And Arcanine's main attack damages itself."
 When Charizard couldn't even manage a decent Slash attack and got a mighty Tail Whip for the effort, Booster decided to call it back. "Rapidash, I choose you!"
 Erin couldn't make up her mind whether to give Arbok a break or let it keep fighting for a while. The snake Pokémon looked at her with fire in it's eyes- not literally, of course. It wasn't done yet.
 Magmar, taking quite the pounding from Hypno, finally shook out of it and attacked with a savage barrage of Fire Punches. Hypno pinned it off in the forehead with it's PSY Yoyo but when Magmar lit Hypno up with Flamethrower, the power disappated.
 "Skull Bash, Magmar!" Booster shouted.
 Magmar charged at Hypno. Hypno charged at Magmar with Head Butt.
 CRACK.
 The two battling Pokémon stood there with their heads smashed into each other, then both slowly fell to the side. They were obviously out of it.
 Both were recalled, but the two trainers decided to hang on to their next Pokémon for a while.
 Arcanine finally succeeded in defeating Weezing, but was extremely weakened as well. Erin wasn't done with Weezing yet though. "Explosion!" Weezing laughed, then floated between Arcanine and Rapidash and went up like the Fourth of July. Arcanine was knocked unconscious and Rapidash took heavy damage. Erin recalled Weezing while Booster called back Arcanine.
 Rapidash took an Acid attack to the right flank but retaliated with a Smash Kick that sent Arbok to the turf. It tried to give it one last Screech but fainted. Erin called it back.
 For a moment, Rapidash was alone on the field. "Flareon, I choose you!" Booster shouted. His last and favorite Fire type, Flareon, appeared next to Rapidash.
 "Well?" Booster taunted. "Why don't you send out Muk?"
 Erin fought down an insane urge to claw out his eyes and rationalize for a second. He was curing his other Pokémon with Potion and Antidote balls. So much for a fair fight. I better do the same. First, though...
 "Nidoking, Nidoqueen, I choose you!" Towering over all the trainers present, the seven foot tall Nidoking and Nidoqueen were Erin's champion Pokémon. Physically omnipotent and strong against Booster's Fire types, it seemed this contest would soon be over. Erin worked fast to administer the nessessary Burn Heals, Hyper Potions and Revives to her Pokémon.
 "Nidoqueen, Toxic attack!" Erin shouted. Rapidash got nuked by the strongest Poison attack. It responded with Fire Spin but Nidoqueen laughed through the assault.
 Flareon launched a Flamethrower at Nidoking but with surprising agility, it dodged the blast and slammed it with Skull Bash. Flareon fought back with a Jump Kick but Nidoking grabbed it's paw and Mega Punched it.
 Rapidash used Take Down on Nidoqueen, but it bounced right back and opened up with Comet Punch. Using it's incredible speed, Rapidash managed to dodge most of the punches and leapt out of the way, just in time to get slammed by Toxic's debilitating effects. Nidoqueen was after it with a bone snapping Tail Whip. Beaten, the fire horse let out one more Fire Spin which Nidoqueen valiently stood through.
 Flareon was almost gone as well. It used Leer to temporarily freeze Nidoking then bounced out of the way and launched a Fire Blast! The blazing attack came up on Nidoking!
 "Watch out!" Erin shouted.
 Nidoking concentrated and actually caught Fire Blast! It threw it up in the air, and as it raged down on it once more, Nidoking slung around and smashed it into embers with a fantastic Tail Whip. Before Flareon could generate another one, Nidoking pounded it into a coma with it's Thrash attack.
 Booster called them back, then resent Charizard and Arcanine!
 "This is going to go on forever," Lorelei complained. "When are we going to get to play?"
 "That kid knows how to fight 'em though," Agatha declared.
 Showers pointed. "Look. Booster's getting ready to finish her off. This won't take long."
 Booster healed Flareon and Rapidash, then sent the five out. "Heat Wave!" he shouted. "Burn that little shrimp and her rot Pokémon to cinders!"
 The five Fire Pokémon began summoning their flame power. Erin could tell something bad was about to happen. Sending forth her five Poison types, she prepared her grand finale.
 "Okay, everybody!" she shouted. "Show him the power of Poison!"
 Above the five Poison types, a huge disc of black energy started to form. The sky darkened considerably as the evil power began to take shape.
 Across the field, the grass was starting to shrivel up and die as Heat Wave gained energy. Booster had to take a few steps back to get out of the intense heat.
 "Okay, do it! Bio Hazard!"
 Hypno used it's Psychic power to form the black energy into the biohazardous substance symbol.
 Weezing breathed Poison Gas into the icon of pure deadly force.
 Arbok spit Acid into it.
 Nidoqueen grabbed the disc by the middle and sent it into a spin.
 Nidoking got ahold of the spinning symbol and charged at Booster, and let the power fly!
 "Heat Wave!" Booster shouted. The burst of raging Fire power launched itself right at Erin!
 Everybody on both sides were holding their breath. Which one was more powerful?
 As the giant fireball came upon the slashing poison blast, a low rumbling could be heard.
 Erin gasped. "It sounded like... Muk...?"
 The rumbing was heard again, and this time everybody heard it.
 Muuukkkkk...
  As the rumbling moan echoed through the field, Heat Wave disappated, as simple as that. Bio Hazard flew right through the Fire attack which had gone up in smoke, and came upon the team of Fire type Pokémon which were now freaking out.
 "Unbelieveable!" Booster roared. It was the last thing anybody heard him say as Bio Hazard crashed into his team and exploded in a fantastic blast of Poison rage. Booster and his five Pokémon went flying. Crashing to the ground almost three dozen metres away, the group were obviously unconscious and probably dead.

Chapter Eight
 "You little bitch!" Showers shouted. "Vaporeon, go!"
 Uiru got up. "I guess the battle royal begins. Raichu, attack!"
 Bruno sighed. "Onix, go!"
 "I'll get it! Golduck, go!" Nick declared.
 "Jolteon, fry the duck!" Thunders ordered.
 Understandably, this went on for quite a while.
 Showers' Vaporeon, Alex's Starmie and Lorelei's Slowbro were in a really bad place- right in Raichu's way. Letting loose with a Chain Lightning attack, Slowbro got toasted and the power jumped to Vaporeon and Starmie.
 "It'll take more then that to defeat me!" Lorelei declared. "Slowbro, Recover! Amnesia!"
 "You taught that thing Recover?" Uiru asked.
 "Wouldn't you, boy?" she replied.
 "Don't 'boy' me, whore!" Uiru shouted at her. "I'm probably older then you are! Thunderbolt, Raichu!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kyle attack Starmie with his Electrode while Jessica engaged Vaporeon with Electabuzz.
 "Slowbro, Water Gun!"
 "Raichu, Stasis Field!" Generating a small bubble of electricity, Raichu defended itself against the surprisingly strong Water attack.
 "Perhaps you're better then I thought," Lorelei declared. "Most of my opponents are dead by now! Head Butt!"
 "Better? I'm one of the best," Uiru responded. "Raichu, Quick Attack! Thunder Whip!" Using a trick Uiru saw on TV, Raichu slammed the incoming Slowbro's midsection then twirled around and slapped it in the head with a charged up Tail Whip.
 Slowbro got up, awaiting Lorelei's next order. "Mega Punch!" Slowbro charged up it's energy, took two steps forward and fell flat on it's face.
 Uiru couldn't help but laugh. "I think it's had it," he declared. Raichu laughed too.
 Meanwhile, Bruno was having quite the humbling encounter with Patrick.
 "Hitmonlee, Hi Jump Kick!" he shouted. Hitmonlee leapt high in the air and nailed Venomoth with one of it's most powerful attacks. Venomoth barely flinched! It floated back up to where it was and laughed at Hitmonlee.
 "Venomoth, Psychic attack!" Patrick shouted. Venomoth belted Hitmonlee with waves of mental power.
 "Focus Energy!" Bruno ordered. Hitmonlee concentrated, and suddenly the Psychic attack didn't seem to be working! "Double Kick!"
 This time, Venomoth took moderate damage from the assault. "Venomoth, Spin Ring!" Venomoth began twirling in circles, and seemed to be accomplishing nothing.
 Patrick was waiting for Bruno's attack. "Well?" he asked.
 At that point, Bruno knew Patrick was up to something. Hitmonlee wasn't going to stand around and wait, however. It leapt at Venomoth with a Mega Kick!
 "Hitmonlee, what are you doing?" Bruno shouted. "It's a trap-"
 Venomoth swooped out of Hitmonlee's way, and Hitmonlee fell right into the Psychic net Venomoth had been weaving. With a few quick swoops, Hitmonlee was all tied up.
 "All right, light it up!" Patrick shouted. Venomoth flew away, and the net exploded! Hitmonlee fell to the ground, fried and quite unconscious. Patrick grinned at Bruno. "Physical strength is no match for the strength of the supernatural," he stated solumnly.
 "If you're so big on Psychic attacks why are you training bugs? Onix, go!"
 "Venomoth return! Because they're always good for a few surprises. Nobody ever suspects the butterfly! Butterfree, I choose you!"
 "Onix, Rock Throw!" Onix lunged at Butterfree with an attack that would probably crush the little bug, if it hadn't flitted out of the way just in time.
 "Mega Drain!" Patrick shouted. Butterfree glowed green and Onix did too. The giant Rock snake roared in anger as it's stamina was sucked away!
 "Damn... Machamp, go!" Bruno recalled Onix.
 "You call that a Machamp?" Jessica taunted from the next fight over. Showers' Jynx managed to take out Electabuzz, so she was giving her a proper beating with Gengar. "Mine's at least three feet taller!"
 "I'll deal with you later!" Bruno pointed. "Machamp, Submission!" Machamp grappled Butterfree and used it's submission hold!
 "Aww, look Butterfree. Machamp wants to be your friend," Patrick laughed. "Moon Wave!" Butterfree emitted a spherical pulse of Psychic energy that blasted Machamp right off it. "Don't you know Fighting types can't touch Bug types?"
 "Machamp, Karate Chop!" Bruno knew he was in trouble and wasn't sure if he could get out of it.
 "First a Super Hug and now a Handshake. PSY Beam, Butterfree!"
 Lance was finding out the hard way how positively bitchin' a Nidoking and Nidoqueen could be. Both his Dragonair were out, fighting Erin's Poison juggernauts. Nidoqueen grabbed one by the throat and throttled it before swinging around and smashing it with a Tail Whip. Nidoking just went completely postal on the other one with it's Thrash move.
 "Dragonair, Dragon Rage!" Lance shouted. The problem with having two of the same Pokémon is that they tend to fight in synchro. Both Dragonair launched Dragon Rage attacks which only proved to aggrivate the Nido smashers. However, Nidoking was suffering the aftereffects of it's Thrash move, so Dragonair Wrapped it up! It raised it's head high, preparing a devistating Bite attack, when Nidoqueen decided to Seismic Toss the other one. Dragonair skull met Dragonair skull in an incredibly lucky shot from across the battlefield. The one Wrapping Nidoking fell to the ground, dazed, while the other continued on it's flight. Nidoqueen stomped over and smacked Nidoking in the back of the head, helping it out of it's confusion before the Dragonair attacked anew.
 Lance decided to test a theory he heard once. "Gyarados, go!" he shouted. "Hydro Pump!" The raging water dragon fired giant pillars of water at Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Both were incredibly weakened, proving Lance's theory that the two were part Ground type. Seeing his Dragonair wouldn't be fighting anytime soon, he called them back.
 "Hypno, go!" Erin shouted as she waited for her Nidos to recover. "Sleeper!"
 Hypno charged up it's PSY Yoyo, then blasted Gyarados with it's damaging Sleep move. Although it didn't go under, it was looking rather dazed, so Nidoqueen Mega Punched it in the head. Although it took significant damage, Gyarados snapped out of it and washed Nidoking and Nidoqueen away with it's Levia Wave. Turning it's attention on the diminuative Hypno, it shot first a Hyper Beam and then a Hydro Pump that Hypno had to scramble to avoid. Counterattacking with a Psychic attack, Hypno showed the much larger Gyarados that size really doesn't matter.
 Meanwhile, Geoff's Dragonair was making short work of Thunders. Although they tried valiently, Thunders' Electric types just couldn't cut it against the elementally-strong Dragonair. His Electrode and Raichu had fainted, so he decided to attempt physical attacks until Showers could lend him a hand.
 "Jolteon, Double Kick!" he ordered. Dragonair took the first real damage it had taken all day, even though it wasn't much. Jolteon had kick ass Electric power but it's attack wasn't as high as it could be. Responding with a Slam attack, Dragonair gave Jolteon a smack that would leave a bruise for a week.
 Thunders decided to triple team him. Summoning Magneton and Electabuzz, he hoped Geoff didn't decide to get funny with his Nidoking. The same properties that made Erin's Nidoking weak against Water made Geoff's strong against Electric.
 Luckily, Geoff didn't see any reason to use Nidoking. Dragonair golfed Electrode out of the way and Wrapped Electabuzz.
 "Hit it, Electabuzz! Horizon Tear!" Thunders knew Dragonair was strong on Electric but only a Ground type would be able to withstand what was coming.
 The midmorning sky darkened- again- and directly above Electabuzz, a dazzling white streak appeared. A thin bolt of lightning shot down and hit Dragonair in the head, then the full force of the attack hit. A giant pillar of electricity landed on Dragonair and Electabuzz, damaging Electabuzz but toasting Dragonair. It fell off it's adversary, unconscious.
 Now that Dragonair was out, Geoff sent forth Nidoking. Any chance Thunders had was now shot. Nidoking's Ground Punch finished Electabuzz.
 On the end of the field, Allison had Agatha all to herself. Although Fighting types like her Primeape were at an extreme disadvantage against Ghost types, most Fighting types hadn't stolen a Marowak's bone. Primeape beat Haunter to a pulp with Bone Club then smashed it off the ground waiting for Agatha's next move.
 "Golbat, I choose you!" she crowed. "Confuse Ray!"
 "Bonemerang, Primeape!" Allison shouted. Primeape hurled the bone but Golbat swooped out of the way, then launched Confuse Ray! The bone nailed Golbat on the way back, doing heavy damage, but since Primeape was now completely messed up, it bashed it in the head.
 "All right, Wing Attack!" The Flying type attack scored a major hit on Primeape. Primeape's rage shone through it's confusion, and forgetting the Club lying next to it, it leapt up and flattened Golbat with Comet Punch.
 "Primeape, get the Club!" Allison shouted. It wasn't listening, however. When Gengar appeared, Primape charged valiently but without the Ground type Bone Club, it couldn't touch it. Allison recalled it and sent Arcanine instead.
 Showers had gotten lucky and had frozen Jessica's Gengar, rendering it useless until it could be healed. Electabuzz was out so Jessica decided to take a major chance with her Marowak. "Marowak, I choose you!"
 "You're using a Ground type? Are you some kind of idiot?" Showers asked. "Dewgong, Ice Beam!"
 "Marowak, Stone Barrage!" Marowak leapt up in the air, dodging the Ice Beam, and unleashed a rain of boulders on Dewgong! The Rock type attack scored heavy damage. "Don't forget, Rock is strong on Ice too!"
 "Go, Poliwrath! Hypnosis!" Showers was beginning to run out of Pokémon. Marowak fell asleep!
 "Scyther, attack!" Since all of her Ice types were gone, Scyther was in no danger now. Spinning like a tornado, it fired Insect Cutters straight at Poliwrath. It jumped and dodged to avoid being chopped up, but that proved to be futile as Scyther changed tactics and charged like a snowblower, blades going full speed. "They'll be serving frog fillet in the city tomorrow."
 Glaring, Showers recalled Poliwrath and sent Gyarados. "Dragon Rage!" Scyther took to the air to avoid the watery blast, but it was catching up on it. Thinking quickly, Scyther flew over Lance and Erin's little space and caused the attack to crash into Lance's Gyarados just as it was getting the upper fang over Hypno.
 "That's just irony," Jessica stated as Lance's Gyarados fell unconscious. "One ugly dragon snake gone, and one to go! Scyther, Swords Dance!" The last thing Shower's Gyarados saw before being blown off the planet was a mass of shimmering steel coming straight at it.

 Lance and Bruno found themselves within normal conversation limits.
 "I think it's time to get out of here," Bruno