Disclaimers: Pokemon is owned by Satoshi Taijiri. Doctor Who is owned by the BBC.


"Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air." – Henry Anatole Grunwald


Vast White and Deep Black: Reunification

Chapter 7: A Battle for the News!


(Nuvema Town, Professor Juniper's Laboratory, Presentation Room, December 29, 2010, 9:05 a.m.)

For a few seconds, the Doctor's facial expression did not change, and he stood as still as a statue, prompting Miri to wonder if he had even heard her request for a battle. The Time Lord took another sip of tea before deftly placing the teacup on its saucer. His Pokemon companions perked up, waiting to hear his answer. Even though he was not technically their Trainer, they would eagerly battle for him if he wanted them to. The Doctor turned his back to Miri, and walked towards a chair in the middle of the room, calmly taking a seat.

Setting his cup of tea down on the steel table on which Professor Juniper used to line up starter Pokemon for beginning Trainers to choose from, the Doctor crossed his arms, and raised his head to look Miri in the eye. "A battle? What's the occasion?" Miri gritted her teeth slightly, misinterpreting the Time Lord's honest question as a cheeky comment. He should know better than to rudely walk out on her when she was halfway giving him an interview. Little did she know, the Doctor had an inkling of why she might be approaching him for a battle. He knew full well that what he did was rude, but that was an aspect of his past he was not too keen on revisiting just yet. Besides, three young Pokemon had run off and someone needed to find them.

Miri straightened her features and took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully so as not to come off as confrontational. "I'm profiling Trainers, and I just think that your battle style would make for a good article. Oh, and how about we make things interesting? If I win, you tell me about your history with Zekrom." Miri tried to hide a sly smile, confident that had the Doctor right where she wanted him. He did look like someone who would step up to any challenge.

The Time Lord uncrossed his arms, closing his eyes. "Incidently, I don't have any Pokemon." Slightly irritated at the way Miri approached the Doctor, and wanting to defend the his honor, Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott left their dishes of Pokemon food behind and rushed over to the chair he was sitting at, gathering at his feet. Snivy and Oshawott waved at the Doctor, while Tepig jumped up and down repeatedly, quickly getting his attention. "Oh, you guys will battle for me?" The Pokemon nodded. "Why, thank you very much!" The Doctor turned to Miri. "Assuming that I accept your challenge, what do I get if I win?" Miri suddenly found herself tounge-tied. She had not thought to plan this part out. The Doctor simply shrugged. "No matter, I'm not the sort to demand any form of tribute from a losing party should I emerge the victor. Why is my past with Zekrom that important to you?"

Miri felt like the Doctor was deliberately driving her in circles. "I'm a journalist, coverage of this would be a great scoop."

"Oh, so that's just it, huh? My past, my personal history, printed out on newsprint for the whole world to see? What happened to privacy? Or does that word not exist in the volcabulary of journalism?"

Miri huffed, walking in closer to the Doctor's personal space, forcing the starter Pokemon to move aside to avoid getting kicked by her feet. "It's what I do." The tension in the room began to rise.

"Who will believe you? You're painting a picture of a man that claimed to have encountered Zekrom, of all Pokemon, before."

"Zekrom doesn't simply attack any random person out of the blue."

"And you would be right. But what will you write? Will you twist words around to make me look less dignified?"

"I never lie, I just add more spice."

"A euphemism to say that you won't write the article exactly with my words, am I right? What will you change, be blunt about, exaggerate? From what I see, I have things to lose by agreeing to your challenge."

"The people deserve to know what is happening around them."

"Oh do they now? Well then, there's just one thing left to do."

"And what would that b-..."

The Doctor gazed sharply into Miri's eyes, and they glazed over, stopping her from finishing her sentence. The Time Lord placed his left index and middle fingers on her forehead. Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott looked up in surprise at the Doctor's actions. "You will drop any pretense of challenging me to a battle to gain knowledge of my past with Zekrom. This battle will be strictly so you can evaluate my battling style and write an article about it. Additionally, you will write an article about my encounter with Zekrom yesterday, how I diverted the Deep Black Pokemon from the laboratory by demanding that it leave, and that is all I did, since it recognized me from a past encounter. Any relevent details to my past with Zekrom will be excised from the article, since you decided that your publisher would reject them as nonsense." The Doctor snapped his fingers, and Miri's eyes returned to normal.

Miri shook her head for a few seconds. "What happened?"

The Doctor reached for his cup of tea. "You were asking me about a battle?"

"Oh, that's right, so I can look over your battling style for the 'Trainer's Corner' of the papers."

"Writing about Zekrom?"

"Yeah, you just ordered Zekrom to leave, and it listened, that's right."

"Anything else?"

"You met Zekrom at least once before, that's how it knew you. But I don't think I can write that without being fired by my editor. There's just no proof, especially since you seem to be new to Unova. Sorry. At least Professor Juniper can vouch for you on what happened yesterday."

The Doctor nodded. "Alright then. Go get ready, and tell Professor Juniper, Rory, and Amy. I'll see you outside in a bit." Miri gave the Doctor a nod and walked out of the presentation room. The Time Lord took a sip of tea with a sigh. Noticing the questioning looks of his Pokemon companions, the Doctor sighed again. "Yeah, I hypnotized (1) her into thinking that my encounter with Zekrom yesterday was simpler than it actually is. I didn't demand that Zekrom leave, I commented on how I stood in its way sometime in the past. And Zekrom didn't simply go away, it tried to fry me with its lightning bolts four times beforehand, and then damaged my TARDIS. Well, Oshawott knows what I'm talking about, I'll explain what it is to you two later, Snivy and Tepig. Look, I'm not particularly proud of what I just did, and I try not to do this sort of thing to others at all, but she was starting to pry too deeply, and I'm just not comfortable with it. It's likely that I may have to deal with this information becoming public later, but for now, I just want as few people to know as possible. Please try to understand." The Pokemon lowered their heads in sympathy for the Time Lord.

The Doctor then decided to see if he could soften the impact of his hypnotism of Miri in the eyes of the Pokemon. "Oh, and if this eventually becomes public, Miri will know the truth. Don't worry about her losing her job because she wrote an article that turned out to be untrue. No other journalists knew what really happened, since Professor Juniper assured me earlier this morning that she didn't say anything about me in her phone interview to the news. Makes sense, since I'm new here and most people in the world have no idea who I am. If and when the truth does come out, it will be from my mouth, and Miri will be the first journalist to get a full sense of what really happened. I'll give her the information personally. She can write another article, and the only person that can be blamed for this absense of information before, will be me, since I did everything in my power to ensure that it stays hidden, for now at least." The Doctor finished his tea, and gestured to the half-eaten bowls of Pokemon food. "Finish up your breakfast. Beginning the day on a less-than-full stomach is one of the most common mistakes kids these days make." The Pokemon dashed off to obey the Doctor's request. The Time Lord was allowed a brief moment of contemplation. "Zekrom attempted to attack me four times, he couldn't be back, could he?" The Doctor shook the thought out of his mind and got up from his chair. "Done already? Let's go."

The Pokemon moved to follow the Time Lord out the door. The Doctor did not get very far down the corridor when he collided head-first into another person walking in from an adjoining passage.

Rubbing his head to get over his slight disorientation, the Doctor saw that he had bumped into Nathen, the boy he only saw twice the previous day, due to his absenses from the laboratory. "Oh, sorry about that, mate. You must be Nathen. I'm the Doctor, whom I'm sure you've heard quite a bit about. Hmmm... You weren't at breakfast earlier. Slept in?"

Nathen took a moment to steady himself against a wall before acknowledging the Doctor. "That's alright. Yeah, I went to bed later. Nice to finally meet you properly, Doctor. Is that your real name, or do you have an actual one?"

"John Smith, but I prefer just being called the Doctor." Nathen noted the name, and wanted to question the Doctor about his unusual behavior the previous day, but decided that it was an issue he could deal with later, not wanting to unintentionally offend the Time Lord with any further probing.

"If you say so. Nice to see that you found those Pokemon. Had a good morning?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I've had better. Now, I accepted a challenge from Miri for a Pokemon battle. Interested in watching it?"

Nathen nodded. "Sure, but I haven't had anything to eat yet."

"Oh, just grab a breakfast muffin and some hot chocolate or something. We'll be battling in the yard outside." After leaving the boy behind, the Doctor headed to the prearranged battlegroundwith his Pokemon companions, knowing that the other occupants had been informed.


(Nuvema Town, Professor Juniper's Laboratory, Yard, December 29, 2010, 9:30 a.m.)

"So you're just going to keep the Pokemon?" Amy seemed indignant at the Doctor's intentions. "Those Pokemon are meant to be for beginning Trainers!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "And you're implying that I'm not one?"

"You certainly don't act like one."

The Doctor sighed. "Well, you got me there (2). I already talked it over with Professor Juniper and she said that it was fine with her as long as the Pokemon are happy with me. I even asked the Pokemon myself to make sure of that."

Amy's expression suddenly shifted to a cheeky one. "I guess Professor Juniper was right about the Pokemon sticking to you like flies on flypaper."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, appearing to be rather offended. "Couldn't you come up with a better analogy? That doesn't exactly reflect well on the bonds most people have with their Pokemon."

Amy ignored the Doctor's comment. "So you really are keeping the Pokemon? Like you kept those clothes you looted from the hospital (3)?"

"What? I've saved the universe, for about a million times, no charge. Yeah, shoot me, I'm keeping the Pokemon (4)."

"That has nothing to do with it."

The Doctor shrugged. "Say what you will. But if you want to do well for youself in this world, I recommend that you pay attention. And that goes for Rory as well. Pokemon battling does form the backbone of mostly everything here, you know."

"So you know how to battle then?"

"Of course."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not a beginning Trainer?"

The Doctor huffed slightly. "Didn't we just go over this?"

Amy chuckled. "That we did." The woman walked off to join her husband, Professor Juniper, and Nathen on the sidelines, where some chairs were placed to accomodate them. Adam was called upon to referee the match.

The Doctor huffed, relegated to his thoughts. "Sometimes, I think that woman gets a kick out of driving my blood pressure up. Hope she isn't too much for my two hearts (5) to take. I really don't want to regenerate before my prime." Looking up, the Time Lord noticed that his opponent was nowhere in sight. "Where's Miri?"

Rory called out to the Doctor. "Weren't you paying attention? There was a knock on the door, and she volunteered to answer it, since you were busy talking to Amy and obviously won't battle then." The Time Lord shrugged. Just then, Miri returned with a thirteen year old girl in tow. She had sky-blue eyes, and kept her light brown curly hair tied in a ponytail. The girl was fair skinned, quite short, and had a rather skinny build. She wore long white lab-coat which concealed a light-blue T-shirt and jean shorts underneath. Set on her forehead was a pair of black sunglasses with orange-tinted lenses, and slung across her body was a beige shoulder-bag.

Walking over to Professor Juniper, the girl reached into her bag and pulled out a letter. "Professor Juniper? Hi, I'm Skylar DeVienne. Professor Rowan sent me from Sinnoh to come and help you with some research, and so I could gain some experience doing field work in Unova. Here's the letter he asked me to give you."

Professor Juniper took the envelope from Skylar. "Oh that's right, Professor Rowan told me over the phone that you would be coming, but you arrived earlier than expected. I like that in a researcher. You're just in time to watch a battle, if you're interested. That man, over there, is a researcher like you, and he's about to partake in his first Pokemon battle." Overhearing the professor's words, the Doctor kept a straight face, knowing that her statement was far from the truth. The professor turned to the people on the sidelines. "Everyone, this is Skylar. She's a researcher from Sinnoh here to do some field work in Unova under my supervision."

Skylar walked over to join the observers with a spring in her step. She raised her right hand in greeting. "Hello." The observers slowly muttered out their greetings.

"Hey there, I'm Nathen.

"I'm Rory."

"Amy. We're assistants to that guy over there, our researcher, John Smith. Or, as he prefers to be called, the Doctor."

Rory decided to speak up. "And that's Miri. She's a journalist who's evaluating the Doctor's battling style for an article she's writing."

Skylar nodded and took a seat. "This would be interesting to watch."

Adam cleared his throat. "This will be a 3-on-3 battle with no substitutions. The battle will be over when all three Pokemon on one side are unable to battle. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" replied Miri. The Doctor simply gave a slow nod.

Miri: 3

The Doctor: 3

"Then begin!" declared Adam.

Miri took out a Pokeball and hurled it. "Come on, Lopie!" Miri's Pokeball opened to reveal her Lopunny, who landed squarely in front of her Trainer.

The Doctor grinned. "Nicknames, huh? Well, I'll be. Alright then, guess I'll choose Tepig." The Time Lord simply took a Pokeball from his belt and silently tossed it. It opened, and out leapt Tepig, small flames emitting from his snout. The Fire Pig Pokemon turned to stare at Adam, giving him a nasty snarl before returning his attention to the Lopunny in front of him. "You may have the first move."

Miri smiled. "Gladly, Lopie, let's start things off with Dizzy Punch!" Lopie complied, charging at the Fire Pig Pokemon with the ends of her ears glowing.

The Doctor looked calm. "Hmmm... That'll be hard to dodge... Tepig, Flame Charge!" Tepig cloaked himself in fire and began running at the Lopunny, hitting her head-on. The Loppunny shook off the hit, and continued to preservere, knocking Tepig backwards. Tepig stumbled to his feet, his movements suddenly erratic, with stars for eyes, and Torchic circling his head.

"Looks like Tepig's confused, this could cost the Doctor." remarked Skylar.

The Time Lord tried to order an attack from his Pokemon. "Tepig, Ember." But the Fire Pig Pokemon stumbled around in a confused daze.

Miri smirked. "Lopie, use Dizzy Punch again!" Lopie moved forward with her attack, scoring a clean hit on Tepig. The stars in Tepig's eyes disappeared as the Fire Pig Pokemon was cured of his confusion.

"Tepig, get in there for a Tackle attack."

"Dodge it, Lopie!"

"I was counting on that."

"What?"

"Tepig, Ember, and then use Flame Charge." As Miri had ordered, Lopie jumped gracefully out of the way from Tepig's Tackle, but the Fire Pig Pokemon fired a stream of fire bolts from its snout, nailing the Lopunny when she landed. Tepig then took advantage of his opponent's distraction to slam into her with Flame Charge.

"Lopie, while Tepig's in close, Jump Kick."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Dodge it!" Lopie swung her leg around in a roundhouse kick, which Tepig attempted to flee from.

"Interesting situation." remarked Nathen.

Rory looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"If that Jump Kick attack misses, Lopunny would wind up hurting herself with crash damage. If it connects, it could do serious damage to Tepig." replied Nathen. Unfortunately for the Fire Pig Pokemon, he was unable to escape the attack's range. Tepig was knocked flying several feet from the strike. "TEPIG!" The Doctor ran forward to catch his falling Pokemon, revealing Tepig to be out with swirly eyes.

Adam gazed at the Doctor. "Tepig is unable to battle, and the winner is Lopunny."

Miri moved to congratulate her Pokemon. "Good job, Lopie."

Miri: 3

The Doctor: 2

"Tepig's out, and it seems that Lopunny is still fired up to battle." remarked Nathen. The Doctor returned Tepig, and reached for another Pokeball, sending out the Pokemon inside without a word. The Pokeball opened, revealing Oshawott, who turned to Adam with a distinct glare, before returning to face Lopie.

The Doctor did not hesitate in issuing a command. "Oshawott, try for a Tackle attack." Oshawott nodded and began charging at Lopie.

"Lopie, get out of the way with Bounce." The Lopunny jumped high up into the air, avoiding Oshawott completely, before slamming down on the Sea Otter Pokemon.

The Doctor did not look impressed. "Oshawott, Water Gun."

"Mirror Coat." The Doctor narrowed his eyes. While still under her weight, Oshawott fired a stream of water at Lopie, but the Lopunny glowed in a reflective color. The Water Gun struck Lopie, but also reflected back and hit Oshawott, who suddenly looked weak.

Skylar whistled. "Oshawott was tricked into dealing doubled damage to himself due to Mirror Coat. This does not look good."

The Doctor kept a calm face. "Try this then, Razor Shell."

"Jump off Oshawott, quickly!" At Miri's command, Lopie hastened in removing her body weight from the Sea Otter Pokemon, while Oshawott removed his scalchop, and elongated a pillar of water from it. He swung the scalchop, and struck Lopie hard, before replacing the scalchop on his chest.

"Tackle, Oshawott!"

"Use Bounce again." Lopie leapt into the air, once again avoiding Oshawott's Tackle.

But the Doctor was prepared this time. He pointed at the descending Lopunny. "Razor Shell!" As the Lopunny moved in for a strike, Oshawott knocked her away with his attack. "Tackle!"

"Dizzy Punch, Lopie." As Oshawott's Tackle made contact, Lopie socked him twice with the ends of her glowing ears, knocking off Oshawott's scalchop.

"Get that scalchop back, Oshawott!" Oshawott nodded, and began running towards his fallen weapon.

Miri smirked. "Big mistake. Jump Kick, Lopie." The Lopunny pursued Oshawott, before swinging around and kicking the Sea Otter Pokemon. With a shriek, Oshawott flew through the air, before crashing in an unconscious heap.

Adam raised his right hand. "Oshawott is unable to battle. Lopunny is the winner." The Doctor calmly walked towards the fainted Oshawott and picked up his scalchop. With a small smile, the Time Lord gently placed the scalchop on Oshawott's chest before recalling the Sea Otter Pokemon.

Miri: 3

The Doctor: 1

"Now the Doctor has one Pokemon left. But that Lopunny looks really tired out." remarked Skylar. "He's not going to throw in the towel, is he?"

Amy shook her head. "The Doctor wouldn't be the Doctor if he did."

Professor Juniper nodded. "That's the kind of attitude I'd like to see. I find myself quite admiring this man."

Miri looked a tad disappointed at the battle's progress. "Not giving up?" The Doctor's only answer was to reach for his third and final Pokeball, tossing it in the air, and sending out Snivy. The Grass Snake Pokemon looked at Adam, giving him an angry hiss, before staring at Lopunny.

Miri moved to issue a command. "Dizzy Punch!"

The Doctor was fast on his feet. "Dodge it, spin around, and use Tackle." As Lopie charged in with her ears extended, Snivy jumped gracefully out of the way. While still airborne, she flexed her body, and shot towards the Lopunny's back like a missile. Extending her right leg out, Snivy landed a hit on Lopie's back, sending the Rabbit Pokemon to the ground with swirly eyes.

Irritated at the refereeing position, Adam decided to give his two cents, displeased that the Pokemon he tormented did not go down like her two friends. "Lopunny is unable to battle. Snivy wins."

Rory was amazed. "Lopie went down in one hit?"

Professor Juniper ran a hand through her hair. "Well, she was tired out from fighting Tepig and Oshawott. That, and Razor Shell has a chance of lowering the opponent's Defense. Lopie took two such attacks."

Miri: 2

The Doctor: 1

"Good job, Lopie, take a good rest. Now, let's show 'em what we got, Candy!" After recalling her Lopunny, Miri took a second Pokeball and hurled it, revealing the Castform inside. "Now Candy, use Hail." The Castform complied, causing the skies to darken, and small hailstones began to fall.

Professor Juniper frowned. "Had I known Miri would be using Candy in this battle, I would have brought an umbrella. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to bear with the weather." This was met with groans from several of the onlookers. Candy shifted to its Snowy Form.

Amy was surprised. "What happened to that Pokemon?"

Nathen decided to explain. "It's Castform's special ability, Forecast, which allows the user to change type and appearance based on the weather. Since it's hailing, Candy took on her Snowy Form and became an ice-type Pokemon. A good choice, since all Pokemon except ice-types are dealt damge in this weather. Plus, as a grass-type, Snivy is weak to ice-type attacks."

The Doctor wasted no time. "Vine Whip!" Snivy extended two vines from her shoulders and began viciously whipping Candy with them.

"Get out of there, and use Weather Ball." Candy glided away from Snivy and charged a white ball of energy with streams of ice from her mouth, which she shot at the Grass Snake Pokemon. Slowed down and slightly disoriented by the hailstorm, Snivy took the hit full on, the type advantageous attack causing her to pant slightly.

Calm as ever, the Doctor thought quickly. "Snivy, use Leaf Tornado." Snivy complied, creating a green, leaf-filled tornado she sent whizzing towards Candy.

But Miri had an answer to that. "Dodge it and use Weather Ball."

"Keep up the attack, Snivy.

"What?" Despite Candy gliding away from Snivy, she continued to spin, preventing the tornado from disappearing. The Weather Ball attack the Castform had charged and fired in the meantime became caught in the vortex of air created by Leaf Tornado, and stayed suspended, preventing it from hitting Snivy.

The Doctor grinned. "Now!" Snivy lunged forward, her attack sucking Candy into it. Caught within Snivy's Leaf Tornado, Candy was forced to endure the leaves inside battering her frame. But the worst of it was her Weather Ball attack, which the tornado had previously ensnared. The ball of white energy spun around inside the tornado and slammed into Candy, forcing her to take the brunt of her own attack. With a smirk, Snivy hurled the tornado at the ground. The hail disappeared, causing Candy to revert to her Normal Form. The Castform was struggling to get up from the ground.

Miri looked alarmed. "Quick, use Shock Wave!"

"Don't let Candy recover, Snivy. Tackle and Vine Whip!" As the Castform began to charge her attack, Snivy dashed over and slammed into her with a Tackle, before lashing out with her vines, breaking Candy's focus, and causing an explosion, catching Candy in the blast. Winching slightly from the Shock Wave she took, Snivy leapt out of the dust cloud created, and landed neatly on the ground a short distance away, dusting her hands off. The cloud dispersed to reveal an unconscious Castform with swirly eyes.

Adam looked at the unconscious Pokemon. "Castform is unable to battle, and the winner is Snivy." The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief.

Miri: 1

The Doctor: 1

"Now they both each have one Pokemon left." remarked Rory.

Skylar nodded. "Snivy seems like she's really tough to stick it out like that."

The Doctor casually shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. "I would assume that you won't be giving up either now?" Miri reached for a third Pokeball, trying to decide between Marie the Azumarill, her strongest battler, or the highly disobdient Sonia the Swellow, which had a type advantage, but tended to do things on her own volition, which could cost her Trainer dearly, since the Doctor appeared to be very capable of strategizing on the fly. Then again, Snivy took quite a bit of damage battling Candy.

Miri quickly made her decision. "You did well, Candy, rest for now." Recalling her Castform, Miri turned to face the Doctor. "You got that right, let's go Marie!" With a throw of the Pokeball, Miri's Azumarill emerged. Marie bounced on the ground a few times, her expression warning Snivy not to underestimate her because she had a type disadvantage to the Grass Snake Pokemon. Snivy simply crossed her arms and closed her eyes with a confident smirk.

The Doctor decided to start. "Snivy, use Leaf Tornado."

"Dodge it." Marie leapt out of the way as Snivy's tornado attempted to suck her into its confides. "Now, use Ice Beam!"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Dodge it!" Snivy leapt and somersaulted several times, as the Ice Beam struck the ground in multiple places where she was standing a few seconds ago, forming several small ice pillars. "Use Leaf Tornado on the ice!" Snivy complied, reversing her direction and causing her tornado to travel along the newly-formed ice, breaking it to several pieces. The shards of ice whirled around in the tornado much like Candy's Weather Ball did. "Now, reverse the polarity (6)!" The Doctor looked flustered when he realized what he had just said. "Er, I mean reverse the spin!" Snivy did as she was told, sending fragments of ice flying from the tornado at the Azumarill.

Miri called out an order. "Marie, use Whirlpool!" Marie raised her arms, creating a giant whirlpool above her head. The shards of ice made contact with the vortex of water and were sucked into it, spinning rapidly around inside. "Now, toss it!" Snivy quickly found herself on the receiving end of an ice filled Whirlpool.

"By the way, what happened to the laboratory?" asked Skylar, as she decided to start a conversation.

"Zekrom struck it twice." replied Professor Juniper.

"I've heard Zekrom has been appearing in Unova since this year, but attacking this location?"

"Hard to believe, isn't it?"

Skylar nodded. "Yeah."

The Doctor's eyes widened slightly as his Snivy was sucked into the Whirlpool. "Oooo... That could be a problem..." Snivy was tossed straight into the air after being swirled in the Whirlpool and pelted with ice.

Miri made her move quickly, pointing at the airborne Grass Snake Pokemon. "Ice Beam!"

"Hang on, Snivy! Use Leaf Tornado!" Acting quickly on her feet, Snivy formed a tornado just as the Ice Beam reached her, causing it to swirl around the vortex of air, harmlessly away from Snivy for the most part. Within the Leaf Tornado, Snivy slammed down on Marie hard. She leapt out of the dispersing tornano, down on one knee.

"Snivy may have averted much of the damage from Ice Beam, but she still clearly felt some of that." remarked Nathen. Forcing herself to stand, a green glow surrounded Snivy's body. "That's Overgrow!"

Amy looked confused. "Overgrow?"

Skylar decided to answer for Nathen. "It's a special ability Snivy has that increases the power of her grass-type moves when her health is very low. Of course, that's something the Doctor has to watch out for, since Snivy is evidently quite weak now."

The Doctor clicked his fingers. "Overgrow, huh? Well then, use Vine Whip, Snivy!" Snivy smirked, then seemed to disappear. Marie looked frantically around for her opponent.

"Snivy's behind you, Marie!" The Azumarill turned around, only to receive a couple of lashings from Snivy's vines.

The Doctor crossed his arms. "Leaf Tornado." Snivy smirked, and engulfed the Azumarill in a tornado.

Miri thought quickly. "I'll take advantage of Huge Power, so use Waterfall!" Within the tornado, a shower of water surrounded Marie, and shot upwards, engulfing Snivy.

"What's Huge Power?" asked Rory.

"An ability of Azumarill that doubles their Attack, and thus doubling the power of any moves that make phsical contact with an opponent, such as Waterfall." replied Professor Juniper.

An explosion emitted from the tornado with Waterfall inside, flinging both Pokemon far from the attacks. Strong winds blew forth, causing everyone to try and shield themselves from being blown away. Marie was thrown away from the tornado, and landed with a hard thud a few meters behind her Trainer.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he saw where Snivy was headed, just as Skylar was making a comment. "So Zekrom has been showing up here lately. I haven't heard any news of the other dragon. Has it been appearing as well? You know, Reshi-"

"EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" ordered the Time Lord. Eyes widened, the observers quickly evacuated their seats, just as Snivy crashed into them hard.

When the dust settled, Adam looked over the scene, noticing that both Marie and Snivy were out cold.

Miri: 0

The Doctor: 0

"Both Azumarill and Snivy are unable to battle, this match is a draw! And now I need some coffee." With his job complete, Adam walked off to do as he had just mentioned. The Doctor turned around, and walked to the chairs, most of which were knocked askew from the Grass Snake Pokemon's impact. The Time Lord scooped up Snivy in his arms, and took out her Pokeball, recalling her. Miri did likewise with her unconscious Azumarill.

Professor Juniper turned to Skylar. "And to answer your question, Skylar, no, the other dragon has not been seen or heard from, though Zekrom has."

Skylar nodded. "I see."

The Doctor walked over to Miri, who stood up with her Pokeball in her hands. "Thanks for a great battle, Doctor. You've given me quite a bit to write about."

The Doctor nodded. "Glad I could be of assistance." He turned to the onlookers. "Well, sorry about that. Completely an accident. Yeah, that's right, an accident. Well, unless there's anything else, I would suggest going inside now."


(Nuvema Town, Professor Juniper's Laboratory, Infirmary, December 29, 2010, 10 a.m.)

"So you found that Lillipup under a bench, and brought it here, Amy?" The Doctor looked at the sleeping Pokemon, while his and Miri's Pokemon were getting treatment of their own. Amy nodded. "I'd say you did the right thing. Wouldn't have done anything different in your shoes. So, how is he?"

"Professor Juniper said that he should be fine enough to be discharged tomorrow."

"I see. Well, looks like we're staying here tonight as well. I think that Lillipup needs a Trainer, and lucky for him, he found one in you."

Amy blushed. "You think so?"

"Oh, absolutely."

Rory perked up. "That's what I told her. Told you the Doctor would approve, Amy."

Professor Juniper walked toward the group, a number of Pokeballs in hand. "Your Pokemon are all fully recovered. Not too bad for your first battle, Doctor."

The Time Lord gave a slight bow. "Why, thank you."

Miri nodded and took her Pokemon back. "Well, I've got to write the first draft of that article now, I'll be in the library if anyone needs me. Nathen said he has some strategies to show me.

The boy blushed. "Sure." The two left the room.

Professor Juniper turned to the Doctor, Rory, and Amy. "Any idea on what you three plan on doing now?"

The Doctor smiled. "Considering that we'll be here for quite a while, I figued that I'd challenge some gyms, maybe take part in the Unova Conference. It'll be a great opportunity to further research in Unova Pokemon, maybe catch more of my own" Rory and Amy shrugged, unsure of their plans in Unova.

The professor nodded. "Alright. You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you? Best of luck to you then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to show Skylar here the lab." Professor Juniper and Skylar exited the room.

The Doctor looked at Rory and Amy. "Right then, since we'll be travelling through Unova, we'll need to pack some supplies for the road. And some camping and survival gear if we need to stay on the road. Oh, and I need to hide the TARDIS. Hmmm... That might take a while. Let's go then."


(Nuvema Town, Outskirts, December 29, 2010, 11 a.m.)

"Seriously, Doctor, that's your idea for hiding the TARDIS? Burying it?" Amy huffed as the Doctor handed them each a shovel, even giving Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott miniature versions, after everyone had finished packing a large backpack each with survival items from the TARDIS.

"Oh, shut up. I don't see you coming up with a better idea, Pond. Don't worry, I locked the TARDIS securely. Nothing should be able to get in or out. Besides, we have what we need, and the Pokemon even chipped in to help. The TARDIS is quite something, eh, Snivy? Tepig?"

The Pokemon nodded after having seen the interior. "Sni."

"Te."

Amy huffed. "That's not what I'm worried about."

The Doctor smiled. "What, the manual labor? A little effort doesn't hurt anyone, I'll say."

Rory shrugged. "I feel like an undertaker. Or a murderer trying to dispose of a body."

The Doctor chuckled. "Nothing like a little humor to lighten the mood, eh, Rory? Now, this might take a few hours, so I suggest we get started. Snivy, use Leaf Tornado to bore into the ground for a bit. Might give us an idea of a good spot for the hole." As Snivy began boring through the ground with her tornado, the Doctor began to think. "Good thing these backpacks work like the TARDIS and my jacket pockets, so we can store a lot of things in them. I took my outfit from the closet and packed it in my backpack, and lucky no one saw me do it. I even took the claymore and the crown, though that might be a bit over the top. That's weird, I could have sworn that the claymore was strapped to the wall of the closet when I last saw it. Wonder why it was lying on the floor. That was a valuable memento of Reshi- Nevermind. Oh well, at least nothing is damaged. I put the outfit in a secure compartment in my backpack and locked it. Hopefully no one will get any ideas and look there."

The Doctor shook himself from his thoughts. "That looks like a good spot. Alright everyone, let's start digging. And Rory, make sure that egg of yours is in a safe spot. Don't want to get dirt on it". Rory nodded, while Amy groaned at the work she was being made to do. The Pokemon began doing the assigned task with gusto, despite the fact that their shovels were small and did not lift that much dirt. The Time Lord and Rory soon followed suit, with Amy reluctantly grabbing her shovel.


Author's notes: If anyone is curious, I rolled a die to determine the result of the Doctor and Miri's battle. Hope you all liked it anyway. Anyways, here is the glossary.

(1) Apart from hypnotherapy, the Doctor is capable of conducting the more aggresive form of hypnotism, consisting of instructing people, which he rarely does due to his own discomfort in tampering with the minds of people. His skill with this is such that he can put most people under his spell with a single gaze.

(2) Amy is known for her ability to outwit the Doctor verbally, sometimes leaving him struggling to find a proper response to her comments.

(3) Following his regeneration, the Doctor's eleventh incarnation obtained his new wardrobe by stealing clothes out of the closet in the hospital where Rory worked, in the episode "The Eleventh Hour", echoing similar behavior by his third and eighth incarnations.

(4) The Doctor's comment is a reference to what he told Amy when he revealed that he was keeping the clothes he took from the hospital.

(5) Time Lords have two hearts and two cardiovascular systems, and can often survive in a greatly weakened state with one heart injured or destroyed. Even if all the blood were removed from one cardiovascular system, the Time Lord could still survive. A Time Lord in total cardiac arrest would need CPR on both hearts. The fact that Time Lords have two hearts also accounts for their increased stamina when compared to humans. If both hearts burnt out simultaneously, the Time Lord would be unable to regenerate and would die permanently.

(6) An often quoted statement by the Doctor's third incarnation, "reverse the polarity" is a simple piece of techno babble which implies that a mechanical problem can be solved if power is routed backwards through the machine in question. The Doctor's tenth incarnation has also used the statement on occasion.

I'm still taking OCs for this story, if anyone is interested. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome. Flames will be deleted.


For credits:

Adam Colt belongs to WolfSummoner93.

Miri Olean belongs to Windy Rain.

Nathen Pierce belongs to Final Heir.

Skylar DeVienne belongs to Jigglypuff's Pillow.