"LOOK OUT!!" Sparky bellowed, jumping aside as a shadow ball flew past him and into another tree. Brimstone sent a fire blast in the direction of the Gengar army, managing to kill a few of their number.

The Gengars wasted no time in attacking back, and pretty soon, all of them were running and jumping around, firing shadow balls at Brimstone and Sparky.

In all the fighting, Colors was in danger of being hit by the shadow balls flying everywhere.

"We gotta protect Colors!" Brimstone shouted, Using Strength to toss a tree into several incoming Gengar.

"But how!? Theirs to many of them!" Sparky shouted back, Thundering several incoming Gengar, all the while doing his best to avoid the many shadow balls flying in their direction. He was forced to do some stupid sort of spin in mid-air to avoid an incoming attack.

The two fought with all their might, taking out a large portion of the Gengar they were faced with, but there's only so much a single Charizard and Pikachu can do. One of the shadow balls managed to hit Colors wing, causing him to roar in agony.

Brimstone and Sparky gasped loudly, turning to make sure Colors was alright. This was a mistake, however, as they both got hit by a shadow ball, knocking them into the ground.

The Gengar cackled with laughter, then advanced on Colors. The Braviary did his best to stand, but ultimately failed and slumped back down against the tree. Sparky and Brimstone watched as the Gengar, sensing an easy kill, surrounded Colors. The elderly Gengar stepped forward and raised a hand.

"READY!"

They all prepared shadow balls to fire at Colors. Brimstone and Sparky gasped, quickly climbing to their feet.

"Colors!" They both shouted in union.

"AIM!"

The Gengar all took dead aim at Colors, who gazed up and let out a gasp.

Sparky, acting on pure instinct, used Quick Attack, trying to get to Colors before they could finish him off.

Too late.

"Colors! NOOOO!!"

"FIRE!!"

Colors watched, as though in slow motion, as the dozens of shadow balls flew in his direction. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for what was coming.

But it never came. Brimstone managed to fly in and grab Colors just in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding the shadow balls, which all hit the tree, blasting away the bottom of it.

"Alright, Brimstone!" Sparky cheered. The Gengar all turned to look at him. One of them pointed at him.

"There's the chosen one! Get him! Get him NOW!!" He shouted.

"Oh yeah? Have a taste of this!" Sparky shouted, before charging forward and Iron Tailing the tree, causing it to fall in the direction of the Gengar, who all screamed in terror.

"SCRAMBLE!!" One of them shouted, before diving aside. Seconds later, the Gengar had all scattered like cockroaches, just as the tree flew into the ground with a thundering crash, crushing several Gengar below it who weren't fast enough to get away.

"Nice job, Sparky! Now let's get out of here!" Brimstone said, flying down low enough for Sparky to hop onto his back. Holding Colors, Brimstone then rose high into the sky, dodging more shadow balls along the way. One shadow ball came close to hitting Colors again, but Sparky was able to deflect it with Iron Tail.

The elderly Gengar who had fired it grunted in disbelief as he was hit by his own attack, knocking him stupid. Sparky laughed out loud.

"Tell Darkmoon that Sparky sends his worst!" Sparky shouted at the surviving Gengar, before Brimstone sped off at incredible speeds toward the opposite side of the forest. They were gone in seconds. The Gengar below howled in rage. Their target had somehow managed to elude them again.

High in the sky, Sparky then noticed they were heading away from their village.

"Brimstone, where are we going? The village is back that way!" Sparky said, pointing back toward Mt. Squirtle. Brimstone adjusted his grip on Colors in order to make sure he didn't drop him.

"We're to close to Alpha's village. If we go back there, they'll just follow us and attack our home. We gotta head somewhere else until the heats off. No pun intended." Brimstone replied, though he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. That battle WAS pretty heated!

"But where are we going?" Sparky asked, curious about where they were going with their wounded passenger.

"Tribe Delta. They're closest." Brimstone answered, lowering his altitude so he could follow the river, which lead straight through the entire region all the way to the ocean, where Tribe Delta was located.

Colors groaned in pain. This was going to be a LONG trip for him.

"Sir Brimstone, could you kindly not leave me hanging here like a salami?" The old Braviary asked through gritted teeth, to which Brimstone just shook his head.

"No can do, Colors. You're to banged up to fly by yourself. Just enjoy the ride." The Charizard replied.

"I would, if I wasn't getting light headed from blood loss..." Colors replied, who was beginning to look slightly pale. Sparky noticed that his feathers were also losing a lot of their color.

"He's got a point, Brimstone. He's not gonna last long in his current condition. You better pick up the pace!" Sparky warned, keeping a firm eye on Colors.

"I'll try, but no guarantees!" Brimstone replied, as he tried to fly faster, narrowly avoiding a wooden bridge with several people on it.

Back in the forest, many of the Gengar were attempting to evaluate the situation, while several of them turned to the elderly Gengar who have been hit by his own move. One ran up to him.

"Lord Nightside! Are you OK!?" He asked the elderly Gengar, helping him to his feet. The elderly Gengar, Nightside, threw him aside.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M ALRIGHT!? THAT BRAT JUST KNOCKED ME STUPID WITH MY OWN ATTACK!!" Nightside bellowed, causing all the other Gengar to cower in fright. If he was well-known for one thing, it was getting other Pokemon to shut up.

He observed the scene around him. Many of his number were dead, and the area looked as if the world's biggest fire blast had hit it. Trees laid scattered all over the place.

Then he spotted the dead Pokemon Trainer. He grinned evilly, an idea forming in his mind. Pokemon raised by Trainers were usually very powerful, weren't they?

"Get her Pokemon. We'll take them back to Darkmoon and use them against our foes." Nightside instructed. Two Gengar quickly ran over and grabbed her bag, searching for her Pokemon team. One Gengar approached Nightside.

"How can Darkmoon convince her Pokemon of anything? They probably saw their Trainer getting murdered!" He asked, clearly confused about what Nightside was planning to do. The old Gengar just chuckled.

"Believe me, I've got some plans for how to convince them. And if I can't, Darkmoon probably will." He said darkly, clearly pleased with this new plan of his. And if he was correct, and if he played his cards right, Darkmoon would have six powerful generals for his army very soon.

"What about the body?" Another Gengar asked. Nightside grinned again.

"Bring her, too. I got something EXTRA special in mind for her. Something that, at least, will keep the humans off our trail for awhile." He instructed. His henchmen wasted no time in doing their job, picking up the young Trainers limp body and carrying her behind Nightside.

- TRIBE DELTA'S VILLAGE -

It had been at least a month since Sparky was last here at Tribe Delta's village. Located in a large cove within a cave next to the sea, it was truly a beautiful place. A large waterfall from the river that led here from Tribe Alpha fed water into a sparkling lake, which ran out through an underground tunnel into the ocean. An opening in the top of the cave provided light for everybody on the ground floor, which was roughly the size of an SUV. Brightly lit crystals, preserved, collected and brought here by Hydroman, provided light for everywhere else. The cove itself was 3 stories tall and as big and wide as the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball stadium, meaning it was perfect for the construction of Tribe Delta's village. Like Tribe Alpha, many of the buildings resembled various objects, such as Pokeballs, or the heads of famous Pokemon. Rocky walkways along the walls allowed for more buildings to be built along the villages second and third floors, or "levels", as they were often referred too, with level one being the ground floor. The main entrance could be sealed in the event an attack or a human happen to show up, and two Gyradose usually stood guard in two locomotive-size lakes on either side of the entrance. A flower garden with several palm trees was positioned on a small alcove next to the waterfall, which was where Tulips house was built. A wooden stage similar to Brimstone's was positioned in the middle of the villages ground level, where Tulip gave speeches and the morning news. Overall, it was a very beautiful place.

Brimstone flew in though the overhead opening, casting a large shadow over the ground level of the alcove. Everyone turned to look up, and cheered when they saw it was Brimstone, Colors and Sparky. Tulip immediately noticed that Colors was badly injured.

"Brimstone, down here!" She called. Brimstone quickly flew down to where Tulip was standing. She had been in the middle of giving a speech to the village when Brimstone interrupted.

"Sorry to barge in unannounced like this, but we've got a problem." The old Charizard quickly explained in a highly upset tone, cutting right to the chase. He motioned to Colors. "Darkmoons at it again. He triggered a gigantic explosion in the forest near Tribe Alpha. It crippled Colors here, killed a Pokemon Trainer, and lured us into a heated battle."

Tulip gasped in shock, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. The assembled Pokemon, who couldn't hear what Brimstone was saying, started whispering among themselves, wondering what was happening.

"WHAT!? You're sure!?" She asked in surprise. She had heard of Trainers being killed by this war before, mainly due to their curiosity. But she had never before heard of an organized attack such as this.

"It's true. And I'm pretty sure their intentions for doing it were to lure me out into the open." Sparky said, turning away from Tulip. He was trying his best to forget about that gruesome sight. That poor young girl, cut down before her prime by Darkmoons madness...

Tulip hung her head in sorrow.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Sparky. It seems Darkmoons willing to do anything to get to you. Even hurting innocent humans..." She said to Sparky, before turning her attention to Brimstone and Colors. "Take Colors to the infirmary, Brimstone. I need a word with Sparky."

Brimstone nodded, before flying off toward the infirmary, taking Colors with him. Sparky turned to Tulip, a confused look in his eyes.

"What do you mean, you need a word with me?" He asked, to which Tulip just shrugged.

"I just needed an excuse to hold you back. I need to address the village on this subject, and I would like for you to say something as well." She replied, causing Sparky's eyes to widen slightly.

"W-What!? Say something to t-them!?" He stammered. Speaking to hundreds of Pokemon on a speech and news platform, or podium, always made him horribly nervous, him being the chosen one and all.

Tulip just smiled at him.

"It's alright. You'll be fine. Just follow my lead." She said. She then turned to face the crowd, who had finally stopped whispering among themselves. Tulip cleared her throat.

"Everyone, it has come to my attention that something terrible has happened. I have just received word from Brimstone and Sparky of Tribe Alpha that Darkmoon is once again on the attack." She began, earning light gasps of shock from the crowd. "A massive explosion, triggered no doubt by Darkmoon, tore a large hole in the ground of the massive forest south of Tribe Alpha's village, causing the deaths of many innocent Pokemon, the destruction of countless plant life, and the crippling injuries of that Braviary you just saw. But most shockingly of all, a young Pokemon Trainer was caught in the explosion, ending her life." There was a massive reaction from the crowd. Many let out loud, horrified gasps, while some Pokemon screamed in terror. Tulip had to call for silence. Once the crowd was quiet, she continued.

"Brimstone and Sparky, upon witnessing the explosion from the outskirts of their village, went to investigate, and were attacked by a hoard of Gengar, under the command of Nightside, one of Darkmoons most trusted and powerful generals. They managed to escape, but there is no doubt that Darkmoon is up to something again. And he's obviously after Sparky again." She explained, motioning to Sparky, who was standing next to her. He just looked around nervously.

"And now, I would like Sparky to come forward and say a few things." She concluded, before backing away from the podium, motioning Sparky to take her place. The crowd cheered as he stepped forward. He cleared his throat nervously. He was not comfortable doing this at all.

"Wow. Just wow. That's all I can say right now." He started, doing his best to keep his voice straight. He looked back at Tulip, who gave him a firm nod of approval, encouraging him to keep going. He let out a breath and looked back at the crowd.

"Today's just been crazy, you know? First my best friend ends up in the infirmary for misusing Volt Tackle, then my childhood rival gets in over his head and tries to fight me, almost getting himself killed in the process, and then this craziness!" He exclaimed, sawing the air with his hand to emphasize his points. He then let out a sigh. "Some days, I swear being the chosen one isn't all it's made out to be. Especially on days like today."

The crowd was silent. Then a young Eevee in the crowd spoke up.

"But it isn't like you ASKED to be the chosen one." She said, to which Sparky just sighed again.

"That's true. I never did ask to be put in such an important role, to be the one who would defeat Darkmoon and bring peace back to our world. But here I am. And I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life." He told the crowd, who, again, remained silent. Tulip wished they would do something aside from stand there and watch Sparky in silence.

He wasn't sure if it was the words of the young Eevee, or the nervous feeling he had in his heart that did it, but at that moment, Sparky had some unpleasant memories flashing back to him. The night he lost his parents, which was very brief and vague in his mind due to his age at the time. The night Brimstone told him what happened to his parents. The night he learned he was destined to destroy Darkmoon. The day he first fought with Chopper. His first encounter with Darkmoons minions. The time Foredawns friend was murdered before their very eyes.

It made him want to cry. To break down and run away. He never wanted any of this. It was all dumped on top of him like ugly on a Garbodor.

But then he remembered the many good parts of his life. His first time meeting Zappa. The day he learned just how powerful he was. The day he waited in pure excitement at the training grounds to learn his moves of choice. His first time bringing down one of Darkmoons generals, and discovering he was very good at it. The day he joined up with the village patrol to help defend his home. Or the day Brimstone told him that he would like him to take his place as village leader after his death, much to Sparky's shock and surprise.

He couldn't deny that he was, in fact, the chosen one of legend, a title handed to him unwillingly, rather forced upon him, and he would have to live with that forever looming over his head. But that didn't mean he couldn't have fun along the way to help ease the burden.

Besides, nobody could argue with just how powerful he was at his age, which was the stuff of legends!

Sparky then raised his head, feeling the nervousness disappearing, to be replaced by sheer determination.

"I've experienced things many Pokemon haven't. I've suffered losses many haven't at very tender ages. And I know just how powerful Darkmoon and his army is." He said boldly, his voice growing more confident. "But I'm not afraid. I'm not the same helpless child I was all those years ago, when I lost my parents."

The crowd could see the Pikachu's confidence growing.

"I'm grown up now, and I've grown strong. And I'm positive that very soon, sooner then many of us think, I'll be strong enough to face Darkmoon fairly! And I'll make him pay for all the suffering he's put us through, and all the evil he's unleashed upon our world!" He declared proudly, raising a fist into the air. The crowd exploded in cheers and applause. Tulip just smiled in joy. Sparky had gone from the little infant Pichu she had seen fifthteen years ago to a competent fighter who was ready to bring peace back to their world. And she was proud of him.

Brimstone must have been, too, for Tulip saw him standing in the doorway of the infirmary, smiling happily. He obviously had overheard Sparky. He then motioned for Tulip to come over, before disappearing into the infirmary again.

Tulip tapped on Sparky's shoulder and quickly told him Brimstone wanted to see them. He nodded to her as she stepped forward to address the crowd.

"Brimstone of Tribe Alpha has requested an audience with myself and Sparky. Rest assured, this situation will be dealt with. I will have more to say later when we learn more about this newest attack. And three cheers for Sparky, the chosen one!" She shouted, causing the crowd to cheer again.

"Sparky! Sparky! Sparky!" They chanted loudly, causing Sparky to blush as he and Tulip left the podium and made their way to the infirmary.

Brimstone smiled at them as soon as they entered. He patted Sparky on the back.

"Nice job, Sparky. Way to keep their spirits high after this latest attack. Goodness knows if we let the four tribes moral fall to far, we'll end up with more trouble on our hands then we already have." He told Sparky, who was looking over at Colors. The Braviary was fast asleep on a bed nearby, his injuries bandaged up and his wing in a sling.

"How's he doing?" He asked, worried about Colors condition. He had taken an awful beating. Brimstone just smiled.

"Don't worry. The nurse fixed him up really good. Though he's going to have to stay out of the sky for a while. His wings busted up to high heaven." The Charizard explained. Tulip smiled as well.

"He's more then welcome to stay here until he's ready to fly again. We've got to look out for each other, after all." She told the two. Brimstone nodded to her, as if saying "thanks".

Sparky looked up at Brimstone again.

"Brimstone, I know this is going to sound crazy, but after this latest attack by Darkmoon, I don't know if we can keep the four villages safe for much longer. This one happened WAY to close to home for comfort, and I'm afraid next time, we won't be so lucky with the outcome." He told the Charizard, causing him to stop and think a moment. Tulip paused to think as well.

"You got a point there, Sparky. If this war keeps up much longer, one of the villages is going to end up deep-fried. And I'm willing to bet you guys anything we haven't heard the end of that Trainers death. The FBI launched a huge investigation the last time a Trainer died to our war, and it was half a mile from Omegas village. We had one heck of a hard time trying to keep the village secret with those humans sniffing around for clues." Brimstone said, remembering last month's death of a Trainer near Lavender Town. "Trying to cover up this one's going to be a nightmare."

"No kidding." Sparky replied. What he said next, however, neither of them were prepared for. "I think it's about time we started taking the fight right to Darkmoon himself."

Brimstone and Tulip weren't expecting that. They both gave him perplexed looks.

"Sparky, are you sure? Do you really think you're strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Darkmoon?" Brimstone asked. Sparky just nodded at him firmly.

"The longer we delay, the more time he has to find us and destroy us. I say the sooner, the better." The Pikachu replied. Brimstone thought about that for a second, then chuckled.

"Your something else, you know. Darkmoon makes legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo quail and quiver in fear, and here you are, claiming your ready to face him head-on. Not many Pokemon nowadays can make claims like that, Sparky." He told Sparky, who just scratched the back of his head and laughed. Tulip laughed, too.

"What can I say? I'm speechless! He left that crowd cheering his name the whole way over here." She said to the others, making them both smile. Sparky really left an impression on the tribes this time. And amid his usual nervousness when it came to speaking to large crowds, to, no less.

Brimstone then frowned, as something came to mind.

"That's right. None of us know where Darkmoons lair is. He keeps it top secret." The Charizard mentioned. But Sparky knew they couldn't just wait around until Darkmoon decided to unleashed more mayhem on the world. They had to start tracking down his lair now, while his suspicions of their plan slept.

"We'll have to start looking right away, then. The only way we're going to find that Rayquazas lair is to search high and low for it. It's gotta be out there somewhere." Sparky told the two leaders. They looked at each other and nodded in approval.

Tulip then cleared her throat.

"I'm way ahead of you there, Sparky. I've been assembling a team of Tailow scouts to search for Darkmoons lair for a while now. I think they're just about ready to start looking." She told them, before taking a sideways glance at Colors. Seeing that he was fine, she then continued. "With any luck, they'll be able to find a lead on Darkmoons whereabouts. Then we can destroy that monster and bring peace back to our world."

"That's good. At least we have a plan on how to find him. That's a start." Brimstone said. Tulip then turned back toward the entrance.

"I'm off now to send a message to the other tribe leaders, and to send out the Tailow to start the search. Be safe, friends." She told the two, before leaving the infirmary and heading off in the direction of her house.

Brimstone and Sparky watched her go, then looked at each other.

"I think we better get back to Tribe Alpha now. The villagers need to know what's going on." Brimstone told Sparky. The Pikachu nodded.

Sparky then climbed on Brimstone's back, and within seconds, they were out of the village and on their way back to Tribe Alpha. They had to get home and see how everyone was doing. And now that those Gengar were more then likely long gone, they could see just how much damage Darkmoons forces had inflicted.

- TRIBE ALPHA, NEAR THE VILLAGE -

On the way to Alpha's village, Brimstone and Sparky stopped at the battle site once again. All the Gengar were now gone, so the pair could survey the aftermath of the battle.

It was pure destruction. Trees everywhere were badly damaged or toppled over entirely. Craters the size of motorcycles littered the ground. The spot where the Koffing had exploded was charred black. A large pool of blood was all that remained of the poor Pokemon Trainer. Dead Gengar littered the ground every which way, among several variants of bird-type and bug-types that had gotten caught in the conflict.

Wait a minute...

"HUH!?" Sparky exclaimed, running over to where the Trainer had been lying an hour ago.

Her body was gone.

Disappeared.

"Hey, Brimstone!" He called, getting the Charizards attention, who had been surveying a row of five collapsed trees. He came over to where Sparky was calling him.

"What is it?" He asked upon reaching Sparky, who just gave him a most bewildered look.

"That Trainer from before. Her bodies gone!" Sparky quickly explained, causing Brimstones eyes to widen.

"What!?" He asked, bewildered himself, before stepping over and taking a look for himself. No dead body. Just a pool of crimson liquid.

"Where did she go?" Sparky wondered. Brimstone had suddenly turned slightly pale.

"I don't know, Sparky, but I don't like this one bit." He said, suddenly finding himself wishing he was still in Tribe Delta's village.