III

Tuesday, 12th Aug, 8:20 AM

Sunlight splashed Agatha's face as she made her way down the bustling streets towards the subway station. She'd made sure she had the right books for that day's seminar as soon as she was awake (even Pokemon Professors 101 for once, which always seemed to disappear whenever she tried to find it in her bag) and even given herself enough time to cook something decent for breakfast, rather than grabbing a slice of bread and eating it on the way to university. One thing that Agatha hadn't anticipated, however, was how normal everything seemed, despite the ominous events which had taken place around the city. People were going about their daily routines, driving to work, shopping, eating out and so on and so forth. In fact there was only one moment when Agatha caught a glimpse of anything that could count as a reminder of the situation – and that was from a man who was flicking through a newspaper, displaying little to no interest in the headline on the front page ("POLICE ISSUES MEDICAL CHECKS ACROSS CITY AS DEATH TOLL SOARS" had been printed in heavy, bolded letters, accompanied by a picture of a marquee with several people lining up in front of a police officer).

A small group of children were crossing the road just beyond the intersection, their book bags swaying in their hands. One was giggling as she spoke and the others soon broke out into fits of laughter as they passed by one of the various hotels scattered around the city. I wonder if Abby goes to the same school as they do. Agatha thought. They looked about her age, that was for sure, and the playgrounds would be buzzing with talk about the medical checks. But the air wasn't exactly charged with tension; in fact the city almost seemed quite peaceful and calm.

This idyllic peace was soon brought to a chilling halt, and it all came crashing down when she turned the corner to find a humongous herd of people gathered outside the sandy-coloured subway station. She bit down on her lip angrily – so much for being efficient today. 'What do you think happened in there?' One person was asking.

'I'm not sure,' Another said. 'But one person who made it out said something about the Security Pokemon inside going nuts, or something.'

'Do you think it has anything to do with those medical checks they did last night?' The first person asked again.

'Maybe,' A third voice replied. 'But we can't know for sure – I mean attacks like this are happening all over the place.'

Agatha weaved her way through the crowd until she could just make out what was going on at the front: barricades had been set up around the swarm of people, and several officers were securing the area. Metal sheets had been welded hastily to the entrance, preventing anyone (or anything) from getting in or out without a fight. 'Please try to stay calm!' An officer was saying in an attempt to soothe the spectators, but the look of horror on his face didn't help matters much. 'Everything is under control – just please bear with us as we sort this situation out-'

The sound of something bashing against the metal sheets cut through the rest of the officer's words. He turned just in time to see a grey, human-like hand burst through the sheets, followed by a rumbling snarl from within the building. This hand swung sideways and clipped the officer's jaw, hitting it with a gut-wrenching crack. 'Sweet Arceus!' Another officer cried and took out his gun, pointing the black muzzle at the arm while his cohorts gathered around their fallen comrade.

Several screams of terror blared out through the crowd and some were already fleeing before things got any worse. Agatha, like most of the others, was frozen to her spot, trying to comprehend what was happening. The officer aiming the gun fired, the bullet went straight through the palm of the Pokemon's hand and an ear-splitting howl rang out, then the arm went limp and slid back into the hole it'd made.

On one of the streets behind the crowd – possibly Oran Street – something exploded, resulting in more screams from the group gathered.

'LOOK OUT!' Someone cried. Agatha looked up just in time to see a car swerving onto the pavement, the driver screaming in terror as a pair of claws reached up from the seat behind and latched around his throat, then went out of sight as the vehicle smashed into the jewellery store.

The burglar alarm inside the store wailed as if it was a spoilt child who wasn't getting what it wanted.

'Let's get out of here!' Someone from the back of the crowd yelled, and it seemed that others thought likewise. The group began to scatter like a flock of birds, charging into streets leading away from the mayhem.

'People!' The officer who'd shot the hand shouted. 'People, please stay calm!' But he was drowned out by the yelps of fleeing people. The metal sheets weren't going to hold out for much longer either, they began to shudder and twitch as whatever lurked within was breaking its way out and Agatha couldn't bear to watch any more. Without thinking, she turned and bolted, from the corners of her eyes she could just see the chaos unfolding beside her. There was another explosion in the distance and more screaming, trails of purplish-grey smoke were billowing around the sky from something in the distance and Agatha hoped to Arceus that it wasn't the apartment complex.

The sound of screeching tires and yelps of terror signified another car crash, and Agatha almost halted when a window above her suddenly shattered, a body was thrust out into the air and she could hear the chunky splatters and crunches as the body hit the tarmac. Screams of horror trailed behind, pursuing Agatha as she fled, and a thundering roar bellowed from one of the shops, reducing the glass windows to shards. This is a dream, Agatha told herself. This is all just a bad dream and I'm going to wake up any second now.

But she didn't wake up. The sirens kept wailing, people kept screaming and smoke continued to blot out the sky, and Agatha Pridmore was completely powerless to stop it.

. . .

The apartment complex was surprisingly devoid of life when Agatha finally made it home, but the constant noises around the building were more than enough signs that people were clearly still alive. She managed to catch sight of a group of people, two men, three girls, running past her in the reflection of the glass, occasionally looking past their shoulders with wide, terrified eyes but nothing was chasing them. Perhaps they're heading home too, She thought. Or fleeing blindly, either one is possible.

To her relief, her apartment was completely untouched, but there was another explosion outside, barely muffled by the walls. Her legs felt like rubber, but she kept going, grabbing the TV remote and pacing up and down as the TV turned on, her hands shaking and slimy with sweat. The familiar face of the newsreader graced the screen, just as serious and rigid as he'd been yesterday. '... Tragedy struck Goldenrod today as a wave of violent Pokemon attacks ensued around the north and west areas of the city,' He began as a map of Goldenrod appeared on the screen, the western and northern areas had been coloured in red. 'People have reported seeing various Pokemon turning against their owners, attacking and, in most cases, mortally wounding or killing people and other Pokemon,' He gave the audience a stern look. 'We join David Anderson live from Goldenrod Department Store, please be aware that some of David's report may be disturbing.'

The scenery suddenly changed to a street with a bright, youthful man wearing a blue baseball cap standing in front of several barriers. Officers in riot uniforms passed by the screen as the man brought the microphone up to his mouth. 'I'm reporting live at what remains of the High Street where, at ten past eight this morning, many of Goldenrod's richest trainers gathered to purchase more of KanLabs's newest product,' He said. 'However, things took a nasty turn when people noticed that some of the Pokeballs around peoples' belts and other places began to malfunction and release their Pokemon – which then turned on their masters and started attacking both the customers and the employees,' The camera shifted, focussing on an officer beside the reporter. 'We're joined by Officer Preston, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene,' The reporter's voice was shaky. 'Officer Preston, what exactly happened when you and your men saw what was going on?'

'Well,' Officer Preston began when the microphone was held up to his mouth. 'We did the best we could to gather up as many survivors as we could,' He said. 'Then we set up barricades to make sure that nothing else can get through to the other side of Goldenrod.'

The reporter nodded. 'And do you have any advice for anybody watching at the moment?'

Officer Preston's deep, brown eyes met Agatha's. 'Stay inside,' He said. 'And stay put for as long as you can,' His voice was colder than ice. 'Don't attempt to check up on your loved ones, and if you're close enough to the city borders, get out as fast as you can and while you still can.'

'… HEEEEEELLLLLLPPPP!' A voice suddenly wailed. Agatha turned away from the screen and, without thinking, ran over to the door. She saw a brief blur of a yellow dress fly past the doorway and a rumbling, guttural growl assaulted her ears.

'Abby!' She called and burst into the corridor, whipping around to find Abby behind. 'Abby, are you okay?'

Abby didn't respond, but she continued to back away, shaking her head and whimpering. She pointed to the stairs and Agatha turned just in time to see why Abby looked so frightened.

Lumbering up the last few steps, its body swaying as it moved, was a white, bipedal feline with red markings on various parts of its body. A large chunk of the Zangoose's right shoulder was missing and even though a lot of blood had already dried to the point of looking like giant, black ticks, fresh, crimson drops were still piddling down its arm. The Zangoose looked directly at Agatha with similar eyes to the Floatzel she'd seen in the subway and gave her a gargling snarl, raising its scythe-like claws to its chest slowly. Agatha's instincts kicked in and she grabbed Logan's Pokeball. 'Logan, go!' And Logan emerged, miniscule in comparison to the beefy monster before it.

'Whis, Whismur, WHISSSSS!' Logan screeched, attempting to intimidate the Zangoose.

The Zangoose responded to this with more gargled snarls.

Agatha pointed at the Zangoose. 'Logan, use Blizzard!' And at the sound of her voice Logan inhaled deeply, then released a twister of snow built up deep in his gullet. The Zangoose dodged and leapt up into the air, aiming its scythes at Logan's face. 'Now use Protect!' Agatha shouted. Logan bunched his body together, focussing deeply, and a veil of mint-green energy covered his body. The Zangoose was caught off guard and was pushed back when its claws struck the veil, staggering back to the edge of the stairs. Agatha seized the chance. 'Finish it with Hyper Voice, go!'

Logan charged at the Zangoose, mouth open wide. 'Whis…' He inhaled again, stretching out his body as far as it would go. '… MUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRR!' The sounds which boomed from deep within Logan's throat made Agatha flinch – but she just managed to catch a glimpse of the Zangoose being thrust into the air, letting out one final howl before crashing down the flight of stairs. The silence which followed was thick and heavy.

Abby stood, mouth agape, behind Agatha. 'Wow.'

Agatha glanced at Abby. 'Go back inside and see your mother,' She said. 'She must be worried sick about you after hearing the chaos out here.'

Abby nodded. 'But what about you?'

'I'm going to check and see if that Zangoose is still alive,' Agatha replied. 'And make sure that it can't hurt anybody else if it is,' She looked at Abby. 'I'll be back in a moment.' Agatha just heard the sound of a door slamming shut as she descended and almost gagged when she saw the spatters of blood streaked against the white walls. Logan trailed behind nervously, hopping down each step swiftly, and it wasn't long before they came across what remained of their attacker.

The Zangoose had landed on its back, and though it was completely motionless Agatha and Logan kept their distance. One of its eyes had gone lopsided, but Agatha could just make out the blank, lifeless stare amongst the swollen flesh and whatever anger the Zangoose had once possessed was clearly gone. She kicked the large corpse and sent it hurtling down the next set of stairs, just in case it decided that it wasn't dead just yet and wanted to lock horns with Logan again.

She turned to Logan. 'Let's go and check on Abby.' And they returned to the safety of the floor that they lived on while the rest of Goldenrod continued to crumble in a sea of screams and explosions.