A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this, I got bored and suffered a massive case of writer's block. In any case, I have fresh ideas and motivation, so let's get started again, eh?

No Way Out

"Alright! Listen up!" Roxanne bellowed to her collected forces. At least 20 Rustboro Gym members listened with rapt attention. Some were strapping on armor, or Pokeballs, or eating, or just getting ready in their own way. "We have word that a Team Aqua force is in Rustboro. We also know, that they're going to go after Birch. Even though he's holed up in Devon Corp. they could still break through and get to him; but that's where we come in. We're going to help Devon Corp. defend their building and their scientist. We can't let them get to him or his plans. Any questions?" One Gym member raised his hand. "What?" Roxanne pointed at him.

"Why are we mobilizing now? Can't we just wait until they strike?"

"The problem with that, is they know we know they're hear. They're going to move fast, so we need to be faster. Alright, we're moving out in five!" They all started to hustle even faster.

However, not even two minutes later, a resounding boom sounded through the Gym. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and looked at each other, confused expressions on their faces. Some of them were former Rangers, and had seen combat in the Regional War thirteen years prior*.

"C'mon! Team Aqua is attacking! Move it!" One of them, a grizzled veteran, shouted. "Let's go!" The entire force of Gym members, 22 in strength, trooped out of the door and started heading off down the street, Roxanne in the lead.

The sight that greeted them was chaos. People were panicking in the streets, and in the distance they could see Pokémon advancing towards the Devon Building.

"C'mon!" Roxanne shouted. She released all three of her Pokémon. "Let's move it!" She started to sprint towards the building. All her comrades followed suit by releasing their Pokémon as well. Suddenly, the space was filled with Gravelers and Geodudes and Linoones and Nosepass and Rhydon, and even an Onix lumbered through.

The Rustboro force started to run down the street, weaving their way through the panicked civilians. Most of them had the common sense to get out of the way of the good guys, but some of the more hysterical ones had to be forcibly removed from the path.


"Kato sir! Look!" Kato turned around from watching the battle in the courtyard between his boys and the security force, to see a large group of people and Pokémon advancing towards them.

"Is that…" Kato muttered to himself.

"Roxanne, sir? Yes it is." Kato nodded. He turned back, to notice his boys had killed all of the guards, and were busy breaching the doors to get in. He looked around for a certain few, and when he saw them his face lit up in a smile.

"Hey! Twins!" They ran over. "You still have your fishies?" He pointed at the approaching Rustboro gym force and smirked. The two identical Team Aqua members smiled grimly and nodded in unison. "Hold 'em off please."

"With pleasure." One of them darkly said. His face contorted in a dark mockery of a smile. He had a scar running down his cheek, and that made the sight even worse.


Roxanne reached the Devon Corp. building first, and she first noticed that A.) It was devoid of living things, and B.) Why was no one there? The bodies of the security guards and their Pokémon littered the courtyard, but other than that there was nothing. The rest of her force fell in behind her, spreading out around the courtyard. Roxanne started towards the doors, which were splattered in blood. But before she moved three feet, an earth shattering bellow called out through the courtyard. The sound was enough to stagger Roxanne, and suddenly a massive Gyarados burst out through the doors, bellowing a challenge towards the assembled force.

The trainer's Pokémon were staggered for a split second, but that's all it took. The Gyarados let loose with a powerful Hyper Beam, which engulfed half the Pokémon and trainers. It exploded, scattering everyone. Some of the more powerful Pokémon, such as Roxanne's Pokémon and the massive Onix, withstood the blast, and charged at the enormous sea serpent.

The Rhydon lowered its horn and sprinted at the Gyarados. Its horn pierced through the thick hide of the Pokémon, which bellowed in pain. It reared its head up to build up force to bite the Rhydon, but the Onix slammed into it just in time, wrapping its jaws around the Gyarados' neck. The two gargantuan Pokémon started to duel in the courtyard, each one striving to get the upper hand on the other. Suddenly, another roar sounded out, and another Gyarados burst through the outer wall of the courtyard. Roxanne's Pokémon charged at the Gyarados, and started to engage the massive beast.

The Kabutops bounded forward with tremendous speed, and crawled up the side of the massive serpent Pokémon. It tried to shake it off, but Kabutops held on doggedly and kept climbing. The Golem rolled up its arms, and engaged with a Rollout attack. It smashed into the enemy Gyarados with massive force, sending it reeling. The Gyarados retaliated by shooting a Hyper Beam at Golem. It struck Golem square on it, shooting it backward. The rocky Pokémon barely withstood the tremendous assault. It tried to stand up, but collapsed unconscious.

Roxanne stood up weakly, just as her compatriots started to order their Pokémon to fight back. The two Gyarados were starting to be slowly swarmed by the assault of Pokémon . Even though the gigantic serpents put up a tremendous fight, they were eventually overwhelmed.

The Onix killed one of the Gyarados by chomping down on its neck and twisting. The Rock Snake broke the massive serpents neck. It crashed to the ground with a massive thud, sending dirt and dust around the courtyard.

The large group of Gym Pokémon overwhelmed the other Gyarados. Roxanne's Kabutops sliced away at the massive sea serpent's neck, while the other Pokémon hammered away at it with various forms of attack. Eventually, it fell, dead.

Roxanne and her group of trainers gathered themselves and their composure. The twin Gyarados has caused a large dent in her small force. She had started this fight with 20 loyal trainers, and now 4 lay dead in the courtyard, along with several Pokémon. Roxanne turned away from looking at her force, and stared at the Devon Corp. building. She grimaced, and knew they were in for a long fight ahead of them.


"Ugh! I hate just sitting here!" Jack whined, pacing back and forth in the crew's guest room. Zippo, whom Ron had let out of his ball, huffed in an agreeing fashion. Cinder and Xylem sat near each other, fast asleep. Lauren was sitting on her bed, reading a tourist's guide to Rustboro. Ron was lying down in his bed, absent-mindedly staring at the ceiling.

"Don't worry about it Jack." Lauren said. "Just think. If we were out there, fighting Team Aqua, we could get hurt… or even killed!" She glanced at Jack with a worried expression, but he failed to notice. "I wouldn't want that to happen…" She trailed off, staring at the floor. Jack humphed.

"I know, but still! Why do we have to sit here! We can help! We can-" He was cut off by the sound of large pounding, coming from the main foyer of the Gym. Everyone listened intensely to the sounds. The Pokémon shot up, and started to growl. All three trainers looked at each other, and without another word they took off towards the lobby, their Pokémon racing ahead.

When they got there, there was still thudding on the locked doors. They heard muffled voices behind them, and they sounded angry. The three young trainers knew it wasn't any of Roxanne's trainers. Each of their respective Pokémon took a position in front of their trainer. From behind the door, the distinctive noise of a Pokeball being opened, and muffled roar sounded behind the door. The three teenagers grimaced and got ready.