"What?" The male fell to the ground, starring at the silver-colored Fire-type. His fall did nothing to concern the electric types. Jupiter was still sleeping peacefully in the make-shift natural bed he had used before the trip started, while Perkunas was likewise sleeping on the male's dresser, his eyes only briefly opening to observe the situation before they closed in indifference. "When...since when!?"

Since I was able to evolve. It was like being let out of a cage. The Ninetales stared in his face, her voice reverberating inside of his mind. In contrast to Eon's soothing and soft voice, Ninko's manifestation showcased confidence and proud femininity.

"You're not even a Psychic-type, or Dark...or hell, not even ghost!"

I have been able to put commands in one's mind with intense concentration since I can remember. Since my...ascent into this more powerful form, I can now put commands in one mind with ease and put a voice in their head.

"You're not communicating to me, you're giving me ideas on what you are trying to say?"

I can't hear anything at all from her. It sounds like you are having a one-sided conversation. His gaze was broken with the Ninetales to turn his Espeon. She was sitting on the other side of the bed, one paw draped over the edge while her eyes stayed locked on the trainer. I must warn you. She is not trustworthy. Recall that she tried to hypnotize you when you first met.

"I know that Eon, but despite that...incident when we first caught her, she's proven trustworthy. You don't have anything else to prove that she is dangerous."

I hypnotized you so as to deepen our newfound bond as Master and Fighter. Is that not what you would have wanted, a strong bond betwixt us? The Shiny Ninetales took her eyes off of Takuya's after expressing such a statement, turning them to the other female in the room. Besides, what proof do you have that I'm so untrustworthy? Her question was undoubtedly poised to the Psychic Eeveelution, who's dual-pronged tail whipped back and forth wildly in the air, displaying her distrust.

All those men you killed onboard the ship, even though you should surely know that our trainer has an intense disrespect for the taking of life.

What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides...it was in self-defense. Even on the mental plane, Eon could tell that the response that the silvery kitsune gave was mordacious at best, especially the last half.

"I know you two are talking, but I can't hear either of you at the moment." The trainer stood up, slowly walking toward the female duo. "What's going on?"

Are you aware that she's commited blatant murder-

It was all in self-defense.

Despite knowing of your dislike of such needless violence

It was all in Self-Defense...Master... Ninko broke eye-contact and rubbed up against the male. Her head rubbed against his waist, and she proceeded to wrap her tails around his body, wrapping him up like a thick silver blanket all the way up to his chest.

"What do you expect me to do at this point? Throw her off the team when she's been such a valuable asset? I...as selfish as that might sound...I have invested a lot of time into her since gaining her loyalty. Are you saying I should just leave her in the streets?"

I'm saying you should leave her in the forest, where nature can deal with her instead of letting her destroy you.

"Even if you are right, and she's a literal spawn of satan, would it truly be a wise idea to leave her out in the wilderness? Where someone else could catch her? She's a shiny, and you know how rare those are and that everyone would jump at a chance to grab her." He looked down at her red-eyes again

Master...you might only be hearing me now, but I've had these thoughts since joining with you on your journey. If I wanted to hurt and harm you, I could have done so ages ago... Her mouth opened and she lightly nipped his right hand while she continued to pace around him, keeping him tight in the coils of her tails.

"She has a point. How do I know that she wouldn't have already killed or maimed me some time ago if her intention was to do harm toward me, or for that matter, toward the rest of you?" He was left with no answer on the telepathic plane. Rather, Eon turned and looked elsewhere. If she was more expressive, the lilac female likely would have had shame on her face.

"But that does remind me of a crucial question though..." The male turned, looking down at the vulpine female. "Why did you choose to join my team, and stay with me, even at this point?"

I could acquire as much power as I want on my own with enough training and focus. But it's no fun being the only powerful being on the block. As opposed...with a trainer, especially one who was able to command a weak little pokemon such as her... The offense was overlooked by Takuya and unheard by Eon, to even weaken me, then imagine what we could do together? An entire team of powerful beings, ready to rule the world like we see fit.

"Lower your standards a bit." The canine was taken back by the statement, blinking rapidly in shock. "Even if the Elite 4 and current Champion of every region came together to take over the world, I doubt they would get much farther then their own backdoor. And hell, some people still seem to think that they are cut out as gods."

I could settle for a piece of the world...

"Besides. That's not my goal." Takuya looked back at the psychic-type, who was eagerly listening to his words, the only parts of the conversation she was able to hear. "My goal is to become a master strategist, and learn why Pokemon choose to bond with their teams and trainers...even if I've not been doing a very good job of that." The male crouched down beside the legendary creature. "If that's always been on your mind, I could understand why Eon would find you untrustworthy, even before now. And for now...I choose to believe you that it was in self-defense. I don't have any kind of record to prove otherwise."

You took that well. Takuya looked at the Espeon as she stretched and jumped off of the bed, walking toward the duo. I guess I would have expected you to be torn up more by hearing that she committed such violence.

"What good is it? In my excitement over Ninko's evolution, I had missed the corpses behind her. In a sense, I never saw the carnage, and it might not have been avoidable. Death has passed by my eyes before. I just don't want to personally add to that total. By the way...how did you come across those fire-stones?"

An ember attack I did made some boxes unstable and they broke. The contents of one of the was a small case with Fire-stones. I knew what they were for, so I ascended accordingly.

Eon pressed against Takuya's left side, nuzzling against him to show her affection...despite needing to push herself through the rival's thick tails that wrapped around his body up to his neck. I still don't trust her. She unintentionally shivered as his hand ran over her back, stroking her from the head to the tail. Memories of that morning coursed through her head, along with a twinge of nostalgia and confidence in her trainer. But I can trust you, and I hope that what you decide is best for us.

Just a thought Master... The vulpine pokemon asked as his gaze fell upon her once again. Are there things in the world which bother you? Which...upset you because they occur?

The male's incidents with Team Rocket in the bowels of Mt. Moon came to mind, coupled with the experience he had just that evening and the sickening feeling of pokemon being forced to mate akin to rape. He didn't even answer, but his slightly tensing within his hands was a signal to her.

You can plainly tell that us, all of us, have become more powerful since you first found us, right? I know I have...and I know she has, along with the two electric ones. If this continues, we will become very, very powerful. Shouldn't those who have power fight to make the world a better place, and change it so it will be?

"I...I guess. But that's for the Elite 4 and the Champion to do."

I only know a little about these Elite 4 and their Champion. But I know that you wish to become Champion yourself in time. She moved her body to position herself infront of his crouching form, her tails no longer wrapping around him, but rather, nicely tucked behind her as she looked him in the eye, mere inches from his face. At that point, we will make the world...or our portion of it...a more fitting place for us.

It's unlikely that anyone but that female kitsune knew what she would do next. She leaned forward, her muzzle pressing against his lips before they opened and she licked him at the entrance of his mouth. It was a sloppy excuse for a kiss, but the best she could do, and it was enough to stun the human and the Psychic-type.

"Arabella?"

"Sorry. I know you told me not to worry about it...but..." The Absol turned, facing the male and focusing on the dyed red streak in his hair. "...It's hard to ignore when you can feel their pain as their life ends."

The human knelt down beside the furry white creature that had been conversing with him. "I...don't understand how hard it is. I can't pretend to either. However, we've got to move on." The two of them gazed out the South-East window, watching the very first faint shades of night black be transformed into pre-dawn purple. "We've beaten the Gym-leader here. I see no reason in staying."

"You're right...but there was something else."

"What?"

"If we leave now, we won't have enough resources to last us until we can get into Fuchisa, almost like we'll be kept out." It's human-like face turned toward him, finally looking away from the window. "But if we stay here until the attack is over, we are likely to meet someone again, and not another casual trainer."

"I don't like dealing with people." Ryker remarked, leaning against the air-conditioning vent underneath the window and sliding into a sitting position. "They're arrogant, hyper-dependent, and shun anything that's not normal. If you thought the laws against our tight knit group was tight back home in Hoenn, it's worse here in Kanto. The public doesn't support our type."

She pulled off of the ledge, rubbing the hornless side of her head against his chest. "You used to be different. You made friends in a heartbeat. Besides, we'll be fine. We've made it this long." A moment of silence, and the two of them looked at each-other.

"Luck isn't always going to be on our side." They commented at the same time.

"Maybe we should head to Orre. I know the weather there is terribly hot, but I heard that their society has so badly degenerated that they don't care about relationships anymore, just basic survival." He chuckled. "Wouldn't be much different from what we have now."

"That's not what you want though, is it?" The response she earned was a disheartened sigh. "You've said it yourself, that your true desire is to travel the world with us."

The two stayed silent for a time. "We'll probably be out in the middle of the city when it goes down, so you should be in the Pokeball. That should numb your Foresight."

"I hope so."

From the bed in the center of the room, a shuffling noise could be heard. "Kyuo?"

"Good Morning Marlee." Ryker called out from his sitting position. The off-white Ninetales jumped off of the bed, walking up toward the duo and licking his face like a good-morning greeting. "Thanks. I needed that."

"You always seem to feel worse in the morning." Arabella commented as Marlee nuzzled his neck and the top of his chest. "Why is that?"

He shrugged in response, slowly standing up. "We're going to be here a while girls. We probably won't even leave until after the crisis is over, and if they lock the streets down, even later then that."

The Ninetales let out another 'Kyuo' before nuzzling the inside of his thigh, shortly afterwords bringing her attention to his pelvic region. "I guess. Just be quiet, I don't want the noise leaking into the adjacent rooms." He remarked as her canine jaws wrapped around his shrunken manhood. While she began to orally coax it back to it's full size, Arabella pulled up next to the female fire-type, and leaned forward to lick his testicular sac, trying to get him some extra epxierence. He groaned in satisfaction, placing one hand on the head of the Dark-Type's horn while the other was firmly planted on the back of the kitsune's neck.

"I hate your parents."

"Why? They laid out the entire guest room just for you."

"I would have rather slept beside you again..." Kris commented, leaning against the male as they walked through the city streets in the early morning hours. "I just don't sleep good without you next to me."

"Bull. I had to wake you this morning just to tell you that I was heading toward the Gym. You insisted on holding me up by eating, washing your teeth and face, showering, and then dressing before I leave, even though you and I both know that Gym Leaders don't allow on-lookers."

"That may be so..." Kris stretched a hand out to the male, stroking his hair lightly. "But I'd still like to see you there and back. We are going to head to Viridian together so we can discuss battle strategies and share information, right?"

"What the...no!" He recoiled from her hand, turning to face her with a shocked looked coating his features. "I was going to progress to the next logical stop in my trip. I was going to go south to Fuchisa after this, then head to Cinnabar Island. Viridian is run by a former champion, Blue Motherf*ng Oak! No way I'd want to take him on until I had taken out all the other gym-leaders!"

"What? I'd rather get the hardest out of the way first!" The teal-haired female sighed as they came up to the doors of what was his fifth gym, but her first Kanto one. "Tell you what...when you're done with the battle here, we'll talk about it again. Maybe you'll change your mind and want to come with me after a nice hard battle?"

"We'll see." He commented back, stepping into the dark room. "I'm honestly amazed people weren't already here. Hell, even his assistants are absent!" He clapped twice and whistled, but no answer was heard. The only noise he could perceive was that of the steady electric barrier thrumming in the background. "I know he's here, that thing is only visible to the public if he is here."

"Huh?"

"Surge's assistants claims he suffers from PTSD. I believe it's just some paranoia he picked up over the years before, during, and after the war." Takuya reached into his pack, fishing out a flashlight and shinning it on the contents of the room. "That electric barrier is always on, but it's only visible if he is currently here. I can assume he is since the doors were unlocked and I can see the barrier." Takuya walked over to one of the numerous trashcans in the room, taking the lid off and reach deep inside.

"What are you doing?"

"Of all these cans, two of them have switches to turn off the barrier. I know what they are, obviously, I played with them a lot in my younger years." Leaving that can alone, the male quick-walked toward the other side of the battlefield, throwing the lid off and reaching inside to flip the next switch.

"Funny. I didn't have to do anything of the sort when I came here."

"There had been an electrical failure at the Gym shortly before I left, which I guess is about the time you arrived here in Kanto." With the switch flipped, the bright purple streaks of electricity flowing between the two gates suddenly dimmed, then vanished all together. "Told ya so."

"Hey kid, what the heck do you think you're doing here!?" The Gym-leader's voice carried across the dark room, and with the sound of a large switch getting flipped, lights on the ceiling suddenly came on, blinding the two teenagers for several seconds.

"You won't make-Takuya! I knew I'd see you shortly!" The tall American cut a obnoxious laugh from deep within him. On his shoulders, the thin tail of his Raichu could be seen, ending in a sharp shape similar to that of a crudely drawn thunderbolt. "How many badges have you earned in the two weeks you've been absent from town? Two?" He walked forward, his thundering footsteps echoing in the room. "Let me guess, You've got your Pokemon really powerful, but you couldn't get into Saffron, so you're going to try and beat me, and hope that having more badges will get you past the guards?"

"You'd be my fifth badge."

A moment of silence. "I shouldn't have doubted you. Which four?"

"Pewter, Cerulean, Saffron, and Celadon." The mixed-ethnicity male remarked, folding back the left side of his jacket to showcase his badges.

"I guess that means you'll be fighting four of us now. Whaddya say kid? Ready to go all out, balls-to-the-wall?"

"Rai!"

"I'm game Sir!" Takuya looked at the female standing beside him. "Kris, step out. I know you've already battled and defeated him, but this is personal. I want to beat him on my own. It's not very often your family friend is a Gym Leader, and not very often you get to showdown with him." He smiled. "I don't care about anything else that Ninko, Eon, or you have to say at the moment about anything else." His voice began picking up as his attention shifted from the female to the war veteran. "I'll prove to you that I don't need to work for you and your Gym, and that I can become a trainer amongst the best of them! Hell, I could even become a champion!"

"You wish. Before you could even sniff the dust of the Elite Four, you'll have to get through me. I've not lost a battle since that Teal-haired chick over there." He pointed to Kris as she exited the door, respecting Takuya's wishes and the rules of the gyms.

"Let's do this!"

"Magneton, let's go!"

Takuya's mind 'shifted' into high gear. Unlike his last victory, which was more for survival and a new-found level of bonding...and the three before that, which had been steps in the ladder (Emotional steps, mind you, when it came to the first gym), this battle was more on the lines of Males comparing masculinity. Pride was on the line, along with bragging rights. In this mindset, he instantly recalled the types of all of Surge's main pokemon, and recalled that the secondary type was normally steel, as was the case with Magneton here. "Ninko, roast it and show them what you've got!"

The light created a shiny effect as the Nine-tailed fox was entered onto the battlefield, ready to brawl. "Get the environment nice and ready." Takuya commented at a much quieter tone, hoping that her canine-like hearing would allow her to hear him. She must have, because her tails stretched skyward, and from her body protruded a large mass of energy that produced light akin to a hot summer day in the deserts of Orre.

"Blinding..." Surge commented, shielding his eyes. "Magneton, Double-Team. He's going to try and hit you hard with a flame attack!"

"Mag-Ne-Ton..." The cluster of living magnets blinked from the bright light, before rushing about rapidly in the air, trying to confuse the opponent.

"Don't worry about it Ninko...Focus on wherever you think it will end up next..." The kitsune began starring at the air where it's opponent was flying about rapidly, trying to confuse her. Her tails twitched, as did her nose, and that was the sign. Her chest expanded outward as she quickly sucked in a deep breath, then released it with a stream of red-hot fire.

It streaked through the air, cutting right into the opponent. A harsh and high piercing metallic ring sounded out, the flamethrower attack billowing all around the enemy just before it dropped to the ground. It was a perfect shot. The environment had been suited for her, she was given time to accurately aim, it had a type disadvantage, and she had Same-Type STAB advantage.

"I walked right into that...That was super-effective." Surge commented, withdrawing his first contender from the ring.

"Especially against Living things!" Takuya automatically responded. Ninko replied with a victorious bark.

"Electrode, you're next!"

"Ninko, stay put. It might be pure-electric, but I have a feeling this will fall in your favor..."

The massive red and white hemispheric creature landed on the ground with a thud, it's blank eyes complimenting it's otherwise unnatural look.

"These things are great, you know." Surge commented. "It is one of the few Pokemon that humankind, has been able to create, and it really shifted the war. Granted, it shifted it against Kanto, but you'll see why it's effective."

"Ninko, ready your ball of confusion."

She looked over her shoulder. What?

"Confuse Ray..."

"Electrode, use Screech!"

The sound that came forth from the hemispherical pokemon forced Takuya to grab his ears in annoyance, while the Shiny Ninetales laid her ears down against the side of her head, very displeased with the noise.

"That's waaaaay to freaking loud...Ninko! What are you waiting for, attack!" The ball of bright purple energy shot across the expanse quickly affecting the opponent and easily making it delirious.

"You want to know why it was so effective back in the war?" Surge asked, his voice bold and proud. "Because they could set you up and make you unable to do anything with screech, and then they just...Selfdestruct."

The ensuing blast from the spherical pokemon sent Takuya flying off of his feet, and he skidded across the ground on his side. A brief millisecond passed where he thought he saw the trashcans being blown into pieces as they passed him, but it was nearly another insignificant detail in the suicidal blast. For several seconds his ears rang painfully, the effect of the blast incapacitating him.

The next thing that he noticed was the bright silver fur beside his face. He hesitantly began to sit up, glancing down at Ninko. The blast had sent her flying backwards also, and despite not taking a hit prior, it was a one-hit knockout, and a painful way to lose the girl that had been the best battler thus far.

He faintly heard talking from the other end of the battlefield, but the ringing in his ears was still much more powerful. Quickly, he grabbed the kitsune by her fur, and pulled himself up to her. To his relief, he could still hear a heartbeat, and it seemed like she was only knocked out from the blast. More then likely it would have killed him if he had been standing any closer to the red-and-white suicidal Pokemon.

"-only problem is that once it's used, they're out cold for days at a time. So you need to have large stockpiles of them laying around." Surge's voice cut through the ringing in his ears now, and he looked up at the 'Lightning American'.

"Eon...you're up!" Feeling a bit weak, he recalled the kitsune and let out the Psychic Eeveelution in her place.

You look like a bomb's been dropped on you.

"How about an Electrode in mid-seppuku?" He snarked back at her with a hint of jest in his voice.

"Electrode." The red-and-white spherical pokemon appeared again on the battlefield.

"Wait...I thought that they took days to recover?" He quickly glanced at his Espeon, who could easily detect the concern in his voice.

"I also said that it's good to keep small armies of them around! Self-destruct!"

"Firestone...Fuck." The next blast Takuya was a bit more ready for, or so he hoped. Like the prior one, he went skidding across the floor, only this time he was sliding on his rear, and a sharp crack sounded inside of him as his back landed right into the wall, paining him as his head slammed into it right afterwards.

Eon was knocked into the air by the non-religious jihad attack, flipping several times before landing, quite painfully, on her side. "Espee!" Was the only sound that accompanied the nightmarish cracking sound within her own body, and she lay there, breathing heavily, teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness.

"Clever girl...I've not seen anything with stand such a blast for a while that hasn't been Rock, Ghost, or Steel typing..."

Takuya began to crawl over to the girl, his entire head throbbing in pain in conjunction with the rest of his body. A look at his right arm told him that he must have sheared the skin off of his arm, as puddles of blood were starting to seep through his jean-jacket. Finding it as just another annoyance, he threw it off, leaving him only with his white shirt with a red 'Nintendo' logo printed on it.

"Es-spe. Es-spe..." Her heavy, laborious breathing concerned the trainer. "Eon, I'm going to try and save you. Just hold out on me here." She was quickly pulled back into her sphere, and Takuya grimaced. In just a few minutes, he had lost two of his best fighters, both females that were virtually willing to spill their lifeblood for him in some way or another, and while his opponent still had one Pokemon left to choose, he had a strong feeling about what it would be.

"Perkunas..." Takuya used his healthier left arm to grab the next sphere, tossing it into the battlefield. "You're up." It slowly rolled into the center of the gym floor,

The Pikachu landed in the center of the battlefield, scanning the area for opponents. Looking back at it's master with concern when it saw his skinned and bleeding arm, not to mention the mess he was, with black gunpowder-like dust covering his face, hands, and clothes. "Pika! Pika-PI! Pikachu!" He ran to him, it's smaller arms being placed on his knee as he tried to get into a kneeling position to allow him room to stand up.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine. Just get out there and deal with the next opponent."

"Pika-Pikachu!"

"Don't argue with me. It's not a matter of being mercilessly assaulted. I just got a little too close to an attack in a Gym-Battle. Besides, what kind of trainer am I if I don't take some of the same hits my Pokemon take?"

"Pika..." Takuya looked Perkunas in the eye, seeing it beginning to tear up. "Don't...don't start crying, because I might end up crying, and we'll never get out of this. I don't want to find out. Just deal with this!"

The Pikachu reluctantly turned and walked away from it's master, stepping toward the center of the battlefield, ready to do battle. A twinge of irony filled the trainer and pokemon as they recalled the first gym-battle, where he had still been a Pichu and had wanted to stay behind with his trainer in fear. It was a different reason now, concern now on the electric rodent's mind.

"Rai, show him what we've got going here."

"Rai!" The Raichu jumped off the Lt. Surge's shoulder, it's face covered in the same black post-explosion dust that his master and the gym challenger was coated in.

"Pika...Chu." The Yellow and red pokemon looked up at it's evolved form. It was much taller, much thicker, and just from the way it held itself, much more powerful. It was likely to be a one-sided battle, and not necessarily in the side of Takuya, who had so cleanly swept the first round.