Author's Note: I finally managed to complete this chapter (yay!) :D. I think it would've come out at this length in any case, but I think you all deserve a longer chapter for waiting for so long. Hope you enjoy it! I'll have more to say at the end.

Chapter 13: Curse of the Annes

"Ack! Not again… Darn it, Eevee, why can't you cut that out?" I asked, grudgingly rubbing the stinging patch of skin on my arm. The Normal type Pokémon flicked an ear at me in annoyance, but otherwise ignored me as he usually did. I sighed, halfheartedly wondering why I even bothered with him. At the very least, the Evolution Pokémon had started to reduce his assaults on me, but even still he was completely disobedient.

"Still no good, eh?" Lance observed, walking over with his hands laced behind his head.

"Nope," I agreed, and raised an eyebrow at the singed hole in his shirt that still had smoke trailing from it. "I'm assuming you haven't getting anywhere either." Lance made a notion that suggested likewise before sitting down on a nearby bench. I suppose I was fortunate enough not to have gotten the only demonic, fire-breathing Eevee in the trio, but that didn't make training mine any easier.

I sank down into the bench that I sat on, lazily watching the clouds pass by overhead. We were currently at the training grounds in Vermillion City's Pokémon Center, having defeated the Vermillion Gym just yesterday with utmost ease, thanks to the Pokémon that we had caught on Mt. Moon. Rhyhorn turned out to be a great battler, despite the grim circumstances under which I had caught him. Now we were simply waiting for Riley to return with our motive of transportation to Celadon, since none of us had felt like taking the traditional route through Rock Tunnel and Lavender Town to get there.

What does it take to get a ride around here? I muttered, glancing at my watch. It's been almost two hours...

"Hey!"

Lance and I glanced up to see Riley sprinting towards us with an excited look on his face, his Ivysaur keeping pace beside him with a walloping stride.

"And you always complain about me being late," Lance remarked, stretching as he rose to his feet. "What took you so long?" Riley came to a halt before us, bending over on his knees to catch his breath. The blond strands of his hair were wet with sweat, like he had just run a marathon.

"You won't…believe…what I…got…for all of us," he panted, straightening. His hazel eyes were literally sparkling—not a very common characteristic for Riley.

"Food?" Lance guessed wistfully, but Riley shook his head.

"A free ride to Celadon on a rickety old train?" I mumbled. Riley was the kind of person who also loved to save money, but still he shook his head.

"I'm not that cheap, " he asserted with an offended look. "I've got something much better." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three pieces of paper with the picture of a large, white boat on it.

"What is that?" Lance queried curiously.

"Can't you tell?" Riley asked, grinning once more as he shoved the pieces of paper in our face. "They're tickets to the S.S Anne II."

I never would've thought that they would build a second S.S Anne, considering that the first one had been sunk due to the criminal activities of Team Rocket around ten years ago. Ash Ketchum had been on that ship, if I recall, and had barely managed to make it out of there alive after it went down. The knowledge didn't bother me much, since the S.S Anne II was destined for Celadon via sailing upriver. The tickets had been free, too, in order to promote the grand opening of the cruise ship.

The workers on the ship quickly ushered everyone into the ballroom (assuming that it was the ballroom), where we we were to stay and relax during our voyage. It was quite spacious, with rich, wine-red carpeting and elegant beige wallpaper streaked with complex golden designs. Several chandeliers illuminated the room, casting light unto the numerous tables covered in white tablecloths. The larger tables were piled high with food, while the rest simply had a small vase of flowers and numerous chairs surrounding it. Many had already been occupied by the numerous people that filled the room.

Lance sniffed the air, eyeing the platters of food hungrily as Riley and I took in our surroundings.

"That…...smells good..."

"Knock yourself out," I said, an amused smile spreading across my face. The S.S Anne II had been built to withstand Pokémon battles–as many cruise ships were nowadays–and seeing as the majority of the passengers appeared to be Trainers, I couldn't wait to get some decent training in.

"Not bad huh?" Riley mused. "You and Lance should thank me every now and then." Lance was already pigging out at a table with an overloaded plate of food. If that wasn't a sign of his gratitude, I didn't know what was.

"Just make sure that ego of yours doesn't grow too big," I laughed, slipping into the crowd just as his cry of protest rose into the air. I knew Riley wouldn't take it too personally.

It had always fascinated me as to how Pokémon could be so different from one another, even if they were the same species. The entire ship was full of a variety of Pokémon, including those from other regions that weren't as common around Kanto. Maybe in the future I would apply for a PokéDex and try to "catch 'em all", as they put it. I'd love to travel around the world and meet all different kinds of Pokémon—which I would probably do anyway.

"Hey you!"

I swiveled around, finding myself face-to-face with a teenage boy accompanied by a Girafarig. He had dark, chestnut hair and piercing green eyes above a small nose and thin lips curved into a small smile.

"Are you looking for a battle?" he asked. His Pokémon gave a high-pitched bleat in agreement, cocking its head at me curiously. The four legged Pokémon was about my height (which was a bit startling since I'd always thought that Girafarig were smaller), with thin legs and shiny black hooves for feet. Its head extended a good distance from its body courtesy of its long neck, and had two antenna-like horns protruding from the top of its skull. The front half of its body was golden yellow with a line of dusky brown spots along its spine, while its rear was colored the inverse.

"Yeah," I replied, a bit surprised. "How did you know?"

The boy pointed with a thumb at his partner, saying, "Two heads are better than one, eh?"

At first, I thought he was referring to himself with Girafarig, but then I remembered that Girafarig had two heads—one on its neck, and one on the end of its tail. It was the reason why I had always been fascinated by their species…until I realized that, being a Psychic Pokémon, it must've been poking around my head.

"Two heads, huh?", I echoed, wrenching a Poké Ball off my belt and enlarging it with the press of a button. "Let's see just how good those two heads are, shall we? Go, Rhyhorn!"

I hurled the Poké Ball into the air, releasing a large, rugged form that materialized on the floor before me. The Rock Pokémon was covered in large, irregular-shaped plates that served as its armor, with a short horn protruding from the tip of its nose and a line of flat, narrow spines running along its back. Rhyhorn pawed the red carpet eagerly, uttering a low bellow in challenge that alarmed many of the people nearby. I had specifically chosen Rhyhorn because of the fact that (according to researchers) their species was well-known for their small brains and not-so-smartness. Apparently, my opponent knew of this as well, and seemed amused by my choice.

"I've heard that Rhyhorn are pretty dumb—if they charge, they can't even remember why they started charging to begin with. How're you going to win against two heads?"

Rhyhorn stomped once and growled in warning, causing a small vibration to go through the floor. At that point, people began to realize that a battle was about to take place, and wisely backed out of the way to make room. "Are you afraid?" I taunted, smirking. Despite my confidence, I realized that people would probably be spectating our battle, and started to feel slightly nervous.

"Why would I be afraid of you?" he challenged with a contemptous laugh. "In fact, I think I'll make the first move: Girafarig, Psybeam!" The Normal and Psychic type Pokémon trotted out to the field with an enthusiastic whinny, firing twin, multi-colored beams at Rhyhorn.

"Brace yourself, Rhyhorn!" I ordered. I knew that with his bulky body, Rhyhorn's speed wasn't going to be top notch, and if he had dodged the attack, the chances of him evading another onslaught would be slim to none. The Rock Pokémon lowered his head obediently, gritting his teeth as he took the attack with a grunt. Otherwise, the Psybeam had little effect on him. "Good—now use Take Down!" The Spikes Pokémon snorted as he shot forward, breaking the Psychic attack and causing the floor to quake violently. I stumbled as the crowd around us cried out in alarm, the chandeliers above us trembling ominously. I guess I'd forgotten that we were on a cruise ship.

"Counter with Zen Headbutt!" yelled Girafarig's Trainer, tottering slightly. His Pokémon leapt forward on command, its forehead acquiring a slight blue glow as it did so. A loud smack filled the air as both Pokémon collided head-on, attempting to overwhelm the other through sheer force. The Psychic Pokémon's legs quivered, unable to withstand Rhyhorn's strength.

"Now quick, use Horn Attack!" Rhyhorn let out a roar, bowing his head even further before abruptly tossing it upward and throwing Girafarig into the air with his horn. "Rock Blast!" Mid-sized boulders suddenly materialized around the Rock Pokémon, launching themselves at his airborne enemy.

"That's not nearly enough to defeat us—use Double Hit!" Girafarig's skull contracted a lavender glow, as did its tail (aka its second head), and as I watched, the Long Neck Pokémon swung its tail, smashing the majority of the oncoming rocks before crushing the rest with quick rams of its head. It then landed on the ground with all fours, looking a bit battered but still capable of fighting.

Battles are no fun if they're easy, I thought. My challenger didn't look like he was going to go down without a fight, and I wasn't going to either. "Horn Attack, once more!

Rhyhorn proceeded to charge once more, lowering his head as the ground resumed its shaking.

"Charge and use Crunch!"

The Long Neck Pokémon took off at a gallop towards Rhyhorn, and I actually stopped to wonder how exactly a Girafarig could go about performing that move—I was almost positive that they were herbivores. But then I remembered—it had two heads. The Psychic Pokémon pivoted on its front hooves at the last second, and its round, alternate head opened its mouth to reveal two rows of large, dazzlingly white teeth.

"Look out!" I warned. The Spikes Pokémon tried to avoid the attack, but it was too late. The tail's head had closed its mouth over the side of Rhyhorn's rocky skull, causing a crack to form. A deafening roar filled the room as the Ground Pokémon began to buck. Meanwhile, Girafarig's Trainer smiled cockily.

"Not bad, huh?" he asked. "Girafarig's tail can bite through just about anything."

"Tch," I scoffed, gritting my teeth. He sounded just like Riley when he was trying to be irritating.

I watched as my Pokémon continued to struggle, my mind working frantically even as Girafarig toiled to anchor Rhyhorn in place. There had to be a flaw in its attack...

"Rhyhorn!" I called. The Rock Pokémon ceased his tantrum, his wild eyes flicking in my direction as he awaited his order. "Take Down—full speed ahead!" Rhyhorn lowered his head once more and pushed off mightily from the ground. The Psychic Pokémon had been so focused on retaining its hold on the Rock Pokémon that it didn't even have time to consider the situation. The next thing I knew, Girafarig was flying through the air, its Trainer crying out in alarm.

"Girafarig!"

Girafarig landed with its legs sprawled out from its body, emitting a high-pitched squeal of pain. Taking a direct hit in the rear probably didn't feel too good. The Psychic Pokémon attempted to rise, but after a few shaky tries, it collapsed and fainted on the spot.

"So much for two heads," I observed, bending down next to Rhyhorn to avoid the numerous gazes that burned into my back as a light applause filled the air. "Good job, pal." The Rock Pokémon growled happily as I scratched the softer skin beneath his chin, careful not to touch the crack in his head.

"Nice battle," commented my challenger with a friendly grin, holding out his hand. "I guess maybe Rhyhorn aren't that stupid."

"Of course they're not," I asserted. "You know, all Pokémon can be great at anything if you work hard with them. They're strengths and weaknesses are just a part of the training process, but it's not like it determines their potential." I coughed, feeling like I'd said too much. I had always felt the need to defend Pokémon against Trainers who thought that some were naturally weak or strong because of their abilities. Wasn't that the purpose of a Trainer, to train Pokémon to become the best that they can be?

I shook the boy's hand before he walked off into the crowd, suddenly feeling a chill run down my spine. I looked up out of pure instinct, and for a moment, I thought I had seen Kai moving about among the dispersing crowd. But when I looked again, my eyes confirmed that he wasn't there at all. I could've guaranteed that I saw him, but it was just like the first time I had seen him—Kai seemed to have melted into the shadows.

The sword pendant tingled against my skin, and I scratched at it, reluctant to expose they mysterious object when there were so many people around.

"How 'bout we take a look at that crack, hm?" I asked, turning my attention to Rhyhorn. And as I examined the fissure in his skull (despite his loud protests), I tried extremely hard to ignore the feeling that something wasn't right.

For the next hour or two, the three of us simply enjoyed ourselves on the cruise. Lance managed to stuff himself until he was full (which was rather rare), and fell asleep for the remaining majority of the ride. Riley, like me, found a few Trainers to battle with, and thus we occupied ourselves that way.

After two hours of being on the S.S. Anne II, we had almost made it Celadon...almost. By then I was starting to get a bit impatient, since I was eager to get my hands on the fourth Gym Badge and the ship seemed to be moving at a Slowpoke's pace.

The chatter in the room died as the loudspeaker crackled to life overhead, and I perked my ears to hear what was about to be said, not bothering to conceal a yawn.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be arriving in Celadon shortly within the next half hour. Thank you!"

"About time," Riley muttered, slouching grudgingly in his seat with a bored expression on his face. "I feel like I've been here for days."

"It's only been two hours," I said pointedly. Riley mumbled something incoherent that was blocked out by a loud snore from Lance, who was asleep next to him with his head on a table. Hopefully we would arrive before Riley's patience wore out.

Suddenly, I was aware of an odd sensation about the room, like something was moving about in a rather eerie way. Objects that were on the tables began to slide subtly back and forth with a hypnotic rhythym.

"Do…you…feel that?" Riley asked, glancing around with a perplexed expression on his face. The other passengers apparently felt it as well, since the hum of conversation that previously filled the air gradually turned into surprised, curious murmurs. Lance picked up his head with groggy looking eyes, his eyebrows creased into a slight frown. This was concerning for two reasons: one, I'd never seen Lance frown during a serious situation, and two, Lance could sleep through a hurricane if he wanted to, and if he woke up now...

"Attention all passengers, we are currently experiencing some difficulty navigating these currents. We ask that you'll remain calm as we attempt to resolve this issue. Thank you."

"Something's not right," Lance said, sitting up straight and looking rather alert.

"Obviously. Didn't you hear the announcement?" remarked Riley, rolling his eyes. "We're probably sailing against the current." But Lance didn't seem convinced.

"It's not that. The way the ship is rocking back and forth feels unnatural, like something's causing it move this way..."

Riley and I exchanged looks. Since when was Lance the one to know about these things? For the majority of our lives he had always been the slacker in our class.

The sword pendant around my neck began to tingle violently, and my instincts told me that following the announcement's advice and remaining calm was not a very good idea. But could the sword be reacting to something that was about to happen? I glanced over at my friends, who apparently were having a similar occurence.

No one could have predicted what happened next. Within the next split second, the air felt like it had exploded, thickening in such a way that I might as well have been suffocating in it. The atmosphere thrummed with energy, and I could almost detect a presence behind it...a presence that could kill just by being near it.

What…what is this? I suddenly found that I was unable to move my body, collapsing involuntarily to the floor even as the people around me fell, completely knocked out. Why is it so hard to breathe? My friends dropped to the ground as well, just barely being able to remain conscious as the air threatened to crush our minds through sheer force. I tried to call out to them, but the pressure only increased the more I tried to resist it. Darn it…why can't I move?

My mind must've started hallucinating, because after a brief moment something unusual began to occur. The three of us watched as rivulets of water crawled swiftly across the floor seemingly of their own will, merging together into a single entity in the center of the room. Even as I watched, the formation grew larger and larger until it soldified into a slender, humanoid form.

"Well! That was certainly interesting."

I found myself staring up at a young woman around her early thirties. She had pale, baby blue hair that cascaded down to her shoulders in waves and the most vibrant, azure eyes that I had ever seen. She wore a sleeveless cerulean dress, which was rather simple with its flowing design and a knee high skirt that parted at the front. White ribbons had been tied around each of her biceps, while tight-fitting, silver cuff-bracelets adorned her forearms. The pressure around us had stabilized at her arrival, and I realized that the force had been coming from her.

"What's this?" she asked, cocking her head at us as she took a step forward with her sandaled foot. The woman looked down at us with a mischievous spark in her eyes, her mouth curled in an amused smile. "There's actually someone here who can withstand my power."

Power...? I echoed. What kind of powers did this lady have?

She stretched out her arm as she approached, and small particles of water gathered around her hand, materializing into a life-sized trident with silver patterns engraved into its length. Lance, Riley, and I cringed at the sight, suddenly realizing that the weapon resembled the ones that we possessed as well; albeit in a tinier form.

I thought back to the day when I'd first found the sword that I now wore around my neck, remembering the insane man and the power that he had called "aura". Was this woman capable of using this so-called "aura"? No...it wasn't possible. The Guardians of ancient times were the only records in history of people being able to use aura, and those were just some fairytale for adventurous kids, right?

I might've literally jumped out of my skin if it weren't for the fact that I was unable to move when I suddenly found that the point of the trident was pointed right underneath my chin.

"Now then, since you've already done me the favor of staying awake, would you mind telling me where I might find a boy named Kai? I'm sure he's around here somewhere." The woman flashed us a pleasant smile, and I might've actually been fooled by it if I weren't about to be impaled by a giant pitchfork. I could sense my friends' anxiety beside me, even though we couldn't speak. We knew close to nothing about Kai, but if he had been running away from people like her, it might explain why he had looked like a hobo, as Lance put it.

If she's looking for Kai, then she must be a part of that Clan Seigen, I concluded. My heart started to race as I tried to think of what to say. But what could I say? Every time I tried to open my mouth it felt like someone was forcing it shut with a pair of tongs. If only I could get a Poké Ball...

At that moment, I felt a twitch at my belt. Was it just my imagination? But then it came again, and I realized, even without looking, that it came from Eevee's Poké Ball.

"Aww, too bad, it looks like you don't have enough strength to speak," The woman noted with a disappointed look. "Oh well. I guess I don't have a choice." She drew her arm back, the blue trident glinting in the light as she smiled once more. "I'll just have to eliminate you."

The atmosphere suddenly destabilized, perhaps even more so than before. This woman wanted to kill us, and her intent was so powerful that it emnated from her in muderous waves. Its force was crushing, and it felt like our existence could simply disintegrate at any given moment.

Darn it, this is pathetic...a pathetic way to die.

Frustration overwhelmed me as my vision blurred; I had never felt so helpless in my life. Time slowed down as the woman spoke words that I couldn't hear, and the trident plunged forward at an excruciatingly sluggish pace. I squeezed my eyes shut, my body screaming for the ability to move. In the midst of the torrent of thoughts that began to whirl around in my mind, I only had one, real thought, and it was:

Why?

I suddenly heard a chime that might've just been another illusion, followed by a loud, metallic crash. The pressure around us lifted immediately afterwards, and I soon found myself gasping for air on the floor, still alive and intact. Surprised, I glanced over at Lance and Riley, who returned expressions to suggest that they were okay.

"Oh-ho, look who showed up."

The woman's voice didn't sound taken aback, but it alerted me to another presence that seemed to have blocked out hers; one that was friendlier and not as prominent. My friends and I sat up on our knees, looking up in surprise at the familiar figure whose shadow was cast over us.

"Kai…..?" Riley asked, echoing each of our thoughts. Our rescuer turned his head in our direction, and we all saw that it was, indeed, Kai. This time, however, he was more well-kept and appeared to be much better off than he was before, his injuries, for the most part, nonexistent.

"Why...why are you here?"

Kai sniffed, lowering the object in his hand. I noticed for the first time that he was holding a long, obsidian scythe with silver patterns crawling along its rugged length, a large blade the color of ash curving from its end. Maybe I should've been shocked that he had something like that, but after what had happened so far, I couldn't really say that I was.

"Don't get the wrong idea," he said, glaring darkly at the three of us. "I'm just returning the favor."

The woman giggled, reminding us that our enemy was still in the room.

"Ah, Kai…you always were the 'noble' type," she remarked with another giggle. "But do you really think that with your abilities you'll be able to stand a chance against me?"

Kai raised his scythe, tightening his grip on it but saying nothing. I got the feeling that things were going to get much, much worse. The woman sighed, shaking her head.

"You're always in such a dark mood...seriously, you should lighten up once in a while!"

The next thing I saw was a blur of black, and Kai abruptly reappeared in front of the woman, slashing at her with his scythe. Her face contorted with astonishment a split second before her body collapsed into water, and the blade sent droplets of it flying into the air. A watery arm emerged from the blob with a solidified trident in hand, jabbing at Kai even as he barely managed to block the attack. He slid backwards across the carpet from the impact of the blow, only to lunge once more and lock weapons with the woman's trident. Then the watery structure wriggled until the woman's face had reformed on its surface.

"I have to admit, Kai, you almost had me there," she noted. "If only you had trained with us a while longer, you might have actually been able to get me."

"Don't talk to me," Kai snapped, pushing forward with his scythe. "I'm not going back there after all that trash you fed to us, Raine." With that, his weapon crackled with tendrils of power, releasing a black arc of energy that would have sliced through the woman's face if her body hadn't liquified once more. Soon, the two began exchanging a furry of blows that dragged their battle around the room, knocking over tables and crashing into walls at such a speed that it was insane to try and follow it with our eyes.

"This is mad..." Riley murmured, his face full of amazement. "Maybe we should help him."

"How?" Lance questioned, his voice doubtful. "Do you really think we can keep up with someone whose body is made of water?" He had a point, for once, and there wasn't much one could do to a person who was made of water. I rolled up my sleeves, my heart pounding in anticipation.

"We need to try, at least," I said, although I honestly didn't want to. "I don't want to be stuck on the floor again with a pitchfork pointed at my face. There has to be something we can do." Riley nodded in agreement.

"From what I can tell, I think her weakest spot is exposed whenever she reverts a part of herself back into human form. If that weren't true, then she wouldn't have turned back into water every time Kai tried to hit her flesh." That sounded pretty reasonable; all we had to do was wait for an opening. Lance, however, didn't look to sure about it, but nodded solemnly without a word. Meanwhile, the brawl had paused on the other side of the room, with Kai panting heavily and a newly opened cut on his cheek.

"It's such a shame, Kai," the woman named Raine stated. "Next to Aiden, you were the one with the most potential. Don't you realize how much you would've accomplished if you came back to us?" The upper half of her body materialized above the mass of water as she spoke, her back turned towards our direction.

There. I glanced back at my friends for quick reassurance before quietly trotting across the floor in approach, treading carefully so as not to make any noise.

"Aiden is dead," Kai spat shortly with a disgusted grimace, "and he's dead because of all of you."

Almost there...

"Not so!" Raine argued, flourishing her trident. "He chose his own path to walk, and it just happened to be one that you weren't willing to take."

Now! I raised my arm and aimed for the small of Raine's back. I was almost positive that I had gotten her, until I felt my fist punch through pure liquid. Alarmed, I immediately pulled back, only to feel the water tighten around my wrist just as I was about to withdraw. Shoot!

"Your instincts are pretty good for a human," she said, tilting her head towards me with a sly grin on her face. "But honestly, you people are so annoying." Raine stabbed at me with her trident backhandedly, and the weapon would've pierced my body were it not for the blast of dark energy that blew her a short distance away and forced her to liquify. Kai appeared in front of me, sweat gleaming on his face.

"Idiot," he growled. "Get back!"

"Why? Can't I help if I want to?" I snarled back.

"What can you do? Do you even know how to summon your weapon?"

I hesitated, surprised that he knew about my sword. If I remembered correctly, we had only shown him Riley's weapon, and no one else's.

Before I could reply, Kai was off again, since Raine had gotten herself together and was already closing in for an attack. Soon, the two had once more fought their way across the room. Lance and Riley ran up to me, concerned looks on their faces.

"Are you okay?" Lance asked. I nodded, gritting my teeth with chagrin as I did so.

"Dang it, I guess we were wrong about that," Riley muttered, attempting to watch the fight. "Now what?"

The answer revealed itself to us in the form of three simultaneous rings accompanied by a bright flash of white light. We hadn't even realized what had happened until we saw the three forms of our Eevee standing before us.

"Eevee?" the three of us said in unison, completely clueless as to why our Pokémon had released themselves. The Normal types, however, paid no attention to us, and charged forward simultaneously. Each of their pelts were cloaked with the element that they were able to use, their eyes glowing in accordance with it. Lance, Riley, and I stood stock-still, completely speechless. Things were getting way too weird.

Each of our Eevee leapt just as Kai was catapulted into a wall that caved in on top of him. Raine turned towards the three Pokémon with a raised eyebrow.

"What's this? Some familiar faces?" She raised her weapon, which began to emnate a brilliant, blue glow.

"Eevee, look out!" I called. By then the energy that had coalesced around each of the three small Pokémon had grown in size so that it looked like a tri-colored wave washing over Raine. My instincts told me that she should have been overwhelmed by its force and collapsed underneath it, but then there was a bright burst of blue light, and I saw three shots of water blast outwards and inbed themselves into the walls, leaving Raine completely unscathed. My friends and I parted ways and hurried over to our Pokémon. My Eevee was struggling to rise, sparks still flying from his fur despite the large gash that had opened on his side.

"Eevee, stop! You'll only hurt yourself more if you keep trying to fight." I reached out for him, but Eevee shied away, trying to make his way towards Raine. He bared his fangs, trying to endure his wound with a stubborn, determined look in his eyes. I had never seen my Eevee look that way before. How on earth are these two related?

"I'm not going to play games with you people any more," Raine hissed, water swirling treacherously around her body. "It's about time I brought this to an end." Numerous waves suddenly shot outwards, washing over everything in the room. I grabbed Eevee as gently as possible and shielded him with my body as the wave came crashing down, drenching me from head to toe. I hated getting wet, but I wasn't going to let my Pokémon get hurt because of that. The Evolution Pokémon glanced up weakly, seeming surprised by my actions.

Everything that happened next came in a flash. I saw Raine stab her trident into the ground, and the floor suddenly exploded with surf. The mass of it poured down on us, first in a terrifying blast that enveloped itself around us, and then in a force that blew us backwards through the water...who knew how far? I made sure to keep hold of Eevee, but even that became difficult as I suddenly found myself capable of only breathing in the water around me. The last thing I knew was that we were drifitng downwards, with a large, blotchy shadow looming overhead before my vision gave out to darkness.

Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this one :). About why it took so long for me to update, it's partially due to the fact that this chapter is so long and because of the fact that I had to change the entire second half of it for plot purposes. It was also due to the fact that school has been dishing out tests and projects like crazy and I had writer's block for a whole week because of rainy weather x.x . In any case, I have a feeling I won't be able to pick up the updating pace until either school is out or I figure out how the next few chapters should work. Well, I just hope you liked all the hard work I put into this chapter xD. Until next time!