The battle raged fiercely on the side of the Jagged Pass whilst Mt Chimney grumbled and moaned ominously in the background. I stood with Jasmine and Nikki either side of me, my attention torn between the battle in front of us and the slow steady trickle of molten lava dribbling down from the mouth of the mountain. We didn't have a lot of time! That lava was picking up speed as it descended down the mountain and although it looked far away, if we dawdled down in Jagged Pass too long, we were pretty much risking our lives. We had to finish this battle and move as soon as possible! The only problem was that thick clouds of ash were falling on us, making it increasingly difficult to see and soon, to breathe.

"Come on, Meloi!" I urged as I started to cough. I could barely see through this thick gray haze, meaning I could barely see Meloi and the three Mightyena. I was practically stepping on eggshells. I didn't know where she was, where the Mightyena were or even where Blaze and Heather were either. Of course, it was a bitter irony none of us had a Flying Pokemon to even attempt to clear this ash.

'Dammit! We're running out of time!' I screamed inside my head as I took another desperate look at the volcano. The molten lava was oozing down the side and I could feel the heat from it even at the current distance. If we stayed around any longer we would…well, I couldn't even bear thinking about it!

"Meloi! Use Thundershock again!" I ordered, feeling the heavy ash force its way down my throat, clogging my airways, gagging me.

"Mareeeeepp!"

Thankfully I could just make out Meloi's Thundershock attack hit its mark, sending one of the Mightyena sprawling backwards. I don't think it got up again. A moment later, a well aimed Razor Leaf from Heather and a powerful Ember from Blaze sent the other two Mightyenas flying back into their trainers.

"Run for it!" I yelled as the three faceless men scrambled to their feet.

We didn't even have time to recall our Pokemon. Both Nikki and Jasmine simply grabbed Blaze and Heather whilst Meloi ran alongside me. We could barely see in the thick ash, and Jagged Pass was riddled with ledges and upright rocks, so we kept tripping, but we couldn't stop. I could smell something like sulphur and my breathing became fast and laboured as I tried to run, but my body was barely functioning now. My limbs burned with every step and it didn't help that we could barely see five feet in front of us.

"Look!" I heard Jasmine say as we managed to clamber further down Jagged Pass. "The Gym Leader!"

Squinting as we juddered to a halt in the middle of Jagged Pass, I could see the flame haired Gym Leader in a fierce battle with her large white fox Pokemon that I knew was a Ninetails. However the Ninetails was struggling against one of the faceless men's Pokemon. I think it was a Prinplup.

We found ourselves watching Flannery fighting against the last remaining faceless man. It was an amazing thing so see, the ferocious interplay between them. It was a fight full of clean, perfectly executed moves as the two Pokemon danced around each other, scoring hit after hit. But it was evident that Ninetails wasn't doing well at all against her water Pokemon foe. I swallowed hard as we saw the Prinplup gain the advantage and release blast after blast of water at Flannery's Ninetails. The Ninetails was howling with the pain at every successful hit, but it was not backing down!

"We've gotta help her!" I decided, taking off at a run towards her, Meloi at my heels. "Meloi! Use Thundershock on that Prinplup!"

Meloi's body started glowing blue and crackling with static. "Mareep-Ma!"

The look on Flannery's face was a total picture as the Prinplup was suddenly attacked out of the blue by Meloi's Thundershock. Although Meloi's attack was nowhere near powerful enough to take out the Prinplup completely, it allowed Flannery the advantage and the opportunity to execute the finishing move herself. The faceless man recalled his Pokemon and literally ran away screaming, giving us enough time to catch up to Flannery.

"Thanks, you kids really saved my neck!" She said gratefully.

'Kids?' I found myself thinking as I looked the young looking Gym Leader up and down. 'The cheek! She doesn't look any older than us!'

Flannery recalled Ninetails and let out a deep, exasperated sigh. She looked like she was in a similar state to us…ragged, worn down and anguished, maybe from a similar stint in captivity. I wanted to find out how she had escaped ahead of us, but she got there first. "But where did you come from?"

Jasmine opened her mouth to answer, but all of a sudden the place started shaking again. Nikki screeched and grabbed onto me as the ground began shifting and splitting underneath us. I looked up through the thick haze and saw deep plumes of smoke billowing up into the already heavy atmosphere.

"What the hell is going on here?" I heard Flannery yell above the noise.

Then just as she said that, there was another huge explosion! A huge chunk of rock was suddenly blasted from the top of the volcano! We all screamed and ducked as the giant hunk of rock crashed into Jagged Pass only a few meters away from where we were all standing. If we had been standing there…

"It's getting too dangerous! We have to run!" Flannery shouted.

We didn't need telling twice. We started to run, but suddenly another loud explosion and a vicious jolt underneath us sent us all flying to the ground. We shielded our heads as we felt lumps of rock rain down on us. I was vaguely aware of hearing people shouting. They sounded urgent and panicked, and as I looked to the side, I saw black boots running past us, kicking up the churned earth. I couldn't see the owners of the black boots but it didn't take a genius to figure out that they belonged to the faceless men. I couldn't quite distinguish what they were saying; their voices ran over each other in bursts and bellows so all I heard was an incoherent babble. So out of curiosity, I sat up and turned around to look for them.

Even in the thick ash cloud still hanging in the atmosphere I could see the faceless men running towards Mt Chimney again. I gaped in horror. They were practically running towards certain death! What were they doing that was so important those guys were risking their lives for? I mean, I'll be honest and say I didn't like the guys at all –I hated them, but that didn't mean I wanted to see them killed…

"Why are they going back?" Nikki voiced my own concern.

"Don't know." Flannery said amidst a coughing fit. "Oh, hell… this is torture! We gotta get moving! Quickly! Hurry up!"

Flannery, Nikki and Jasmine took off immediately, followed by all the Pokemon. I hung back, just momentarily, to watch the faceless men for a bit longer. I could hear their conversations, now only taking place between two or three men at once, echo down Jagged Pass. One of them was shouting in panic and the urgency of his words made me pay attention. Then I heard something I never would have expected to hear and my whole body very quickly became paralyzed…

"Cal! Thank heavens you're here, sir!"

My mouth literally must have hit the floor. 'No…no! No way! Seriously?'

A deep, haunting voice, one I was all too familiar with was speaking now. "What have you bumbling fools done now?"

"I'm sorry, sir…we lost control of it!"

"I can see that! You fools! I hand you the latest technology on a silver plate and what do you do? You still manage to screw up the biggest opportunity we have seen since we started this whole operation!"

"No… no way!" I repeated, but this time out loud and shrill.

"And for Arceus's sake, do something about all this ash! It's doing my head in!"

"Yes, Sir! At once!

At his instruction, someone released a giant bird Pokemon that I recognised as a Pidgeot that started to blow away the majority of the thick ash with its powerful downy wings. I squinted, desperately scanning the ranks of people. To my surprise and for some reason most of them had removed their masks, revealing their faces. Not that it mattered to me. I knew exactly who I was looking for and could have identified them from body build alone if I had to. I looked over every single person there, surveying their features almost hungrily…

…and I locked eyes with my father.

A shudder of terror ran through me as I realised it was him. I had run his image so many times through my head lately I could barely believe it was him in the flesh, standing so close to me. I rubbed my eyes at first and blinked, making sure it really was him. His image didn't fade even after I opened my eyes again. He was there! It was him!

He looked exactly the same as I remembered him, just maybe a little older. Red hair the exact same shade of mine kept in unkempt spikes, a broad, muscular build reflecting his years of training, and even though I couldn't see his face completely I knew his eyes would hold that same malicious glint in them they always did…

A flash of recognition passed over his body as he took a step back, his body language betraying any façade he could have ever hoped to keep up. I could feel his own eyes boring into mine and for just that moment, we were connected…

But then, at that point, anger took over me. My body seemed to act under a ferocious will of its own and I broke into a run up towards Jagged Path again. I didn't even care that the lava was now spilling out in huge gushes or the rumbling on the ground was so strong that I could barely put one foot in front of the other without almost falling over. All I knew was my rage. Burning rage. I had never felt anger like this before as I pushed my way up the Jagged Pass, never taking my eyes off him, and he never taking his eyes off me.

"SIENNA?" I heard someone bellow my name from behind me, but I ignored it. I didn't care. It didn't matter to me. Nothing mattered to me anymore.

Another explosion. This one much worse. Rocks began flying down to the ground, a huge one landing right in front of me. I shrieked in my panic and fell backwards, shuddering as I saw the huge bulk of the rock. I wondered in terror for just a brief moment at what would have happened if that thing had hit me. It would have squashed me no doubt…I would probably have been killed. This whole place right now was a death trap…

But that wasn't going to stop me.

I got to my feet again and started running again. I was getting closer and closer. My mind was a blur as I prepared myself for what I was going to do!

"YOU!" I screamed at him as I got within a close distance. I was so close it felt I could see every wrinkle, every freckle, and every pore on his face. It was a face I so dearly wanted to pummel until it was nothing more than a bloodied pulp…

And then I felt my body being uprooted. I felt clawed paws grasp me around my underarms and I was hoisted into the air. I kicked and screamed and looked up, seeing the eerie face of a Charizard. I twisted around trying to see, and then caught sight of Flannery straddling it.

"No!" I protested as Charizard began to hover higher into the air. I could see my father's figure grow smaller and smaller. "Put me down! Flannery! That's my father down there!"

"I don't care if it's the freakin' Queen of Egypt down there, we're going!"

"No! NO!" I screamed in protest, trying everything I could think of to shake myself free but the Charizard held me tight. I started screaming, my anger making me inconsolable and I struggled even though I knew I couldn't get away.

Another loud explosion from nearby sent rocks raining down on us, some of them narrowly missing Charizard, Flannery and I. Charizard bayed in fright and started flapping his giant wings harder and faster. As we gathered speed and started to turn, I craned my neck desperately to catch another sight of him. He was standing there, the lone figure, all the other men either running back inside the hideout or making their escape down the Jagged Path. I could not describe the look on his face…nor identify what emotion was there…but then, it did not matter. I lost his image as the grey ash clouded him over and Flannery's Charizard turned and swept down Jagged Pass.

We touched down briefly on the ground, but Charizard was not ordered to release me. By this time I had tears of frustration dripping down my cheeks and I was still screaming, my throat raw and burning. "I have to go back! That's my dad there! I have to—"

"Your dad is there?" both Nikki and Jasmine gasped, knowing all too well the seriousness of what I had just said.

"Enough!" Flannery bellowed as Jasmine and Nikki started clamouring o know more. "Look! That volcano is seconds away from blowing! We've got to get out of here!"

She was right. Lava was now gushing out of Mt Chimney. It had even hit Jagged Pass. All the local Pokemon were squealing, trying to get away as the surrounding greenery burned and rocks and ledges were swallowed up by the thick bubbling mass of red hot lava. My heart sank…

"Everyone on Charizard's back! NOW!"

I still don't know to this day how Charizard managed to support the weight of three teenage girls on his back, one in his arms and three Pokemon, but mercifully he did. Within a few seconds of Nikki, Jasmine and the Pokemon clambering on to his back, he had lifted off into the air. Albeit, he travelled somewhat slower than normal, but that was to be expected.

I still craned my neck to try and see Mt Chimney in the distance, but I could barely see around Charizard's massive orange body. Then suddenly, an explosion, far bigger than anything we had seen or heard up to then blasted away in the background. The impact and the violent rushing winds that came with it even knocked Charizard off course, twisting him around in midair so we all ended up facing Mt Chimney again. Then I saw something that still haunts my mind to this day. A sight so impressive, so terrifying, so awe-inspiring that I will never forget it as long as I live.

Mt Chimney was there with half of its peak blown off. Lava was spilling down its side, like it was an open wound, burning everything in its path. Smoke and ash were billowing furiously out of it, polluting the air all around us. Rocks were crumbling down to the bottom, the noise so loud I could barely hear anything else.

That was the day I saw Groudon.

The legendary Pokemon appeared to us only briefly, its giant red body emerging slowly from the molten lava in the mouth of the volcano. It roared, and in correspondence with its roar, I heard and saw tremors reverberate through the ground bellow us, splitting the earth and allowing the giant cracks to be filled with the streaming lava. Another vicious roar and then huge cracks appeared in Jagged Pass, kicking up thick, impassable ledges and creating wide gorges. We all watched in horror and in awe as the area of the hideout in Jagged Pass began to collapse from the inside!

"Is…is Groudon doing this!" I asked to no-one in particular, my eyes drawn to the huge red body of the Groudon. I could barely believe I was seeing this Pokemon…this thing that was literally like a legend in a story book come alive right in front of me. As I watched it, I wished I knew what it was thinking… I wished I knew what was going on…What had caused this Groudon to suddenly rear up out of the volcano like this!

I heard shouts and screams and as I looked down, I saw what looked like hundreds of men making their escape, often on the backs of Flying Pokemon as the Jagged Pass was flooded with molten lava. The only thing I couldn't see…was my father himself.

Then the entrance to Jagged Pass merely crumbled away, huge boulders and rocks falling from high up the volcano to right in front of it, blocking it completely from the outside. Then a thin stream of lava that fell from the mouth combined with the rocks creating a strange kind of welding effect, sealing off the entrance. Not only that, the route up towards Jagged Pass was completely inaccessible on foot now. It was like Groudon had raised the earth straight up into huge ridges and rocky outcrops to prevent anyone getting close to it. At that point, I understood. Groudon had done this. He had stopped anyone getting near the place on purpose. This volcano, this Mt Chimney, must have been its home…he was only protecting his home…

The Groudon suddenly turned and its huge eyes suddenly were focused on us. We all froze.

"That things staring at us…" Jasmine murmured.

"It's…it's gonna kill us…isn't it?" I heard Nikki say, sounding petrified.

Th Groudon cast his eyes over us one more time, as if sizing us up. Then for no reason, he turned around as if we weren't worth his time. He surveyed the area slowly as if inspecting his work. He seemed satisfied and then melted back into the lava as quickly as he had come, leaving virtually no trace to the unknowing eye that he had ever been there.

For a moment none of us spoke or moved. I think we were all in shock.

"All right…" I heard Flannery speak above me. "Rule number one when we get back to Lavaridge, yeah? No-one and I mean no-one lets on that we just saw Groudon. Understood?"

"Understood…" Jasmine, Nikki and I said in an awed croak.

Although our most worrying threat, Groudon, was gone, we still weren't out of the woods yet. Lava was still spilling out of the volcano's mouth and the ground beneath us was still shaking. If the volcano was simply allowed to keep belching out lava, it would cause even more destruction! Possibly even death! We couldn't allow that to happen!

"It's okay!" Flannery called from above me, as if she could read my mind. "We've got teams in Lavaridge and other towns and cities all set to deal with these things! Don't worry; everything will be fine!"

Even as she said that, I caught sight of huge bird like Pokemon go zipping past us, trainers adorning their backs. Some were Pokemon I could identify, like Pidgeot and Skarmony, but some I didn't know at all. We watched as what looked like hundreds of these Pokemon descended in and around the Mt Chimney area. Trainers effortlessly leaped off the backs of their Flying type Pokemon and began releasing more Pokemon, all of the Water, Rock and Ground types as far as I could identify. The Pokemon began using a variety of moves to try and stop the lava in its path, including spraying it with powerful gushes of water to harden it and shoving rocks and earth over it. We watched as a few brave trainers leapt right up to the top of the volcano, trying to stop it at is first point of origin. Within a few minutes, we were already seeing positive results.

"There's nothing more we can do here," I heard Flannery say. "Let's go back,"

"But…my father…"

"He'll be long gone," Flannery said firmly. "Long gone."

I took one last look at those trainers and their Pokemon battling desperately against the spread of lava on the still viciously shaking ground. They were doing everything they could to protect the natural environment and Lavaridge Town from further devastation. I let out a long sigh. My anger had vanished completely now.

My head was still reeling from all the incredible things I had seen…Terrifying, horrible, incredible things. I still didn't know what was going on exactly, but at least part of my suspicions had been confirmed. My father was involved. I had seen him with my own two eyes. But what was he doing here? What was his goal? Did it have anything to do with that Groudon that lived in Mt Chimney…? My mind rattled with these thoughts all the way back to Lavaridge.

We touched down in a scene of total devastation.

Lavaridge Town was almost practically destroyed. Buildings had caved in, there were huge rips and splits in the earth, trees had fallen and lay strewn across the ground and even amongst the ever-present rumbling of the earth beneath us, all I could hear were the sounds of people crying. Fathers yelled to get their families to safety, mothers wept as they saw their homes and belongings destroyed and children howled in their fright as they were pulled from the debris and I could hear the cries of Pokemon too. All this consolidated in a heart-rending wail of sadness and suddenly all the problems I had suddenly seemed so tiny.

"We've got to help these people!" Flannery yelled.

We all threw ourselves in to helping the local families. It was a difficult ordeal to begin with, but with the addition of the fierce shaking underneath my feet, it was almost impossible. With the help though of Flannery's Pokemon and Heather who took full advantage of her handy vines that all Bulbasaurs were renowned for, we were able to handle most of the rescues we were needed for.

Until disaster struck.

"Guys!" I heard Nikki scream. "I need your help!"

I looked from where I was standing to see Nikki perched perilously on a heap of rubble and debris, the remnants of what was once somebody's home, trying desperately to help a trapped child clamber out from the wreckage.

I saw what was going to happen before even Nikki did. But I couldn't move quick enough to make a difference. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I saw the topmost pile of wood wobble and shift and then suddenly it fell…

Right on top of Nikki.

"Nikki!" I screamed, taking off at a run towards her. I could see the tips of her fingers emerging from the rubble, but nothing more. I dropped down to my knees and begun pulling anything I could off her, beams of wood, stones, anything I could. "I need help here!" I screamed.

Within a few seconds I had assistance, including several trainers and their strong Machokes and Gravellers that had arrived from nowhere. We grabbed and pulled and heaved until eventually we unearthed Nikki and the child. We got to the child first. She was unconscious, but she didn't seem to have any physical signs of injury on her. We got her out and handed her over to her father before we eventually got to Nikki. She was conscious, just, but she was bleeding badly from wounds on her face, arms, everywhere her skin was exposed. We tried to pull her out, but she screamed in pain and then we noticed why. Her leg was caught under a huge slab of rock and judging from the look of it as we managed to push the rock off, it was broken. It took me and Jasmine as well as a couple of the other trainers to get her out safely.

As we got Nikki upright and got ready to escort her to a safer place, we noticed something. It had stopped shaking. The earthquake had stopped!

"It's…stopped shaking!" Nikki gasped between moans of pain.

"Looks like it…" I murmured in awe as everything returned to an eerie state of calm. Even the screaming people had stopped in their tracks as the suddenness of the calm hit them properly.

Snapping back into my senses, I turned to Jasmine. "We've gotta get Nikki to safety. She needs to get that leg seen to."

"Right!" Jasmine said, and between us we shouldered Nikki between us and took her to the only place we could. The Pokemon Centre.

Somehow, thankfully the Pokemon Centre was one of the few buildings that had managed to withstand the might of the earthquake. We managed to get in and found the place in panic. Chanseys and Blisseys were running around attending to people and Pokemon with minor injuries but as soon as the Nurse Joy caught sight of Nikki, she came immediately to our side to look at her. At first, the Nurse Joy looked shocked to see us and but after seeing Nikki was in pain, she quickly called on some Chanseys to come and help her with her official, calm demeanor. With that, Nikki was escorted into a back room for the Nurse Joy to work on her, who assured us that Nikki was going to be just fine.

Jasmine and I were left behind, reeling. For a moment neither of us could even say anything, just look at each other, before we simultaneously collapsed into a sofa.

"Okay…" Jasmine said slowly as we sunk into the first comfortable seat we had had in what felt like weeks. "What the hell just happened?"

"Well, we got captured, held underground, escaped by the skin of our teeth, had a battle on an exploding volcano, saw Groudon, got caught in an earthquake…" I rattled off a long list of things, finally realizing the finality and seriousness of the whole situation. "And…and I saw my dad…"

"Yeah, I meant to ask you about that." Jasmine's voice was low and concerned as she turned to look at me. In the bright light of the Pokemon center, I saw just how horrible her injuries looked... Her pretty face was crusted over with blood and huge angry red welts and sickly looking purple bruises were dotted all over her face and arms and shoulders.

I visibly shuddered, trying to get my attention back. I thought of my father's face, remembering that strange look that had crossed his face when the two of us made eye contact. "I…I saw him there…I mean, I knew he was there anyway…"

"Oh," Jasmine thought she understood. "You had a hunch?"

"No…not really." I admitted. "One of the grunts mentioned his name…"

"They did?"

"Yeah. Didn't you hear them in the cell? One of them mentioned a "Cal". That's the name of my father."

Jasmine thought about it. "...No. I didn't hear that."

"Well, you were kinda screaming your head off in there when it happened…"

"Yeah," Jasmine murmured, stroking Heather who had curled up on her lap now. "I kinda freaked out in there."

"Hey, don't be sorry. You ended up getting us out, after all."

Jasmine managed a weak smile, drew back and let out a long sigh. She turned to me again, looking me intently in the eye. When she spoke, she had lowered her voice completely so that no-one would overhear. "Do you think… he had anything to do with that Groudon?"

"I'm certain." I said at once. "Before I actually saw him, I heard one of his men say to him 'We lost control of it'…"

"Lost control?" Jasmine wrinkled her nose. "That sounds like they were trying to capture it or something like that."

"Yeah, I know... I mean, I don't have any solid evidence… but that's enough for me… and plus, he seems to be the head of that whole organization of people… I know for a fact now he's involved…"

"So where is he now? Did you see?"

I shrugged and sighed sadly. "I… I don't know. He just seemed to disappear… maybe he escaped…maybe he was burnt alive by the lava, though I doubt that…"

"So, what are you gonna do?"

For a moment the tail end of the rage I had felt on the Jagged Pass returned to me and I fumed silently. He had been so close to me on Jagged Pass… I could have had him! Hate filled me as I thought of his face, his eyes fixed on mine –like they were boring into my skull. I didn't know exactly what purpose the group he appeared to lead had with the Groudon that lived in Mt Chimney, but I knew whatever it was was sinister and threatening and he needed to be stopped!

Questions still remained though. Had the first explosions at Mt Chimney been down to them? Maybe I was jumping to conclusions here, but if they really were after Groudon to capture it, and if it really slept in the bottom of Mt Chimney like legend said so…did those people attempt to simply blast it out? Could that be the answer? Were those first explosions that everyone mistook for an eruption really my dad and his people trying to blast the Groudon out? What's more, was the strange weather attributed to them too? I was pretty sure the answer for those questions was a firm 'yes'. However, there was a more pressing matter I had to think about.

Where was my mother? This whole strange criminal organization seeming to want to capture a legendary Pokemon and almost causing a huge volcanic eruption and devastating Lavaridge Town with earthquakes just reeked of her 'incident in Hoenn' she had wrote about in her note. Where was she?

"Sienna?"

I realized at this point that I had totally ignored Jasmine. "Uh, sorry. I was just thinking about…stuff."

"I'll bet." She said with as much of an upbeat nature as possible. "You never answered me though. What are you gonna do about your dad?"

"Simple," I said firmly. "I'm gonna go after him again. And again if I need to, I'm gonna keep going after him until I find him. You can count on that."

Author's Note

And thus concludes the Showdown at Mt Chimney Arc with an extra long chapter! I tried to make it as exciting and interesting as possible because everything changes now!

And I have a LOT of people to thank for this chapter, bear with me here and I'll try and get through everyone. :D

K. A. Pyrde: It's a small world, eh? Thank you so much for your first review and such a detailed one at that. I had worried that the people were lacking in character a bit, but I hope that it's been remedied! Your fic is awesome too, I'm addicted to it!

WinterDahlia: Don't get used to the quick updates...the story is getting increasingly harder to write now. Thanks for reviewing again!

Kai-chan94: Like I said, it's no bother. I'm happy to answer any and all questions readers have. Battle scenes ARE fun to write, aren't they?

Daniel 'Chiryu' Ernston: Another first time reviewer! :D Thank you for pointing out that little typo and for responding so well to the prologue. Also, the thing with the stats and levels won't be that prominent from now on, so it should be all right! :) I was only worried about it being filler cos well...I'm a little paranoid that I'll lose readers if the story doesn't seem engaging or the plot doesn't advance quickly.

Splashstorm: Yet another first time reviewer! Your review made me really happy! I am trying to introduce as many unusual Pokemon or lesser used Pokemon (Persian, Spheal) etc. Thank you so much! You made me so happy! :D

Ampharoslover666: You, my friend are awesome. I always look forward to getting your reviews! They make me so happy! :D I'm so glad you're still reading and reviewing so far into the story! :)

Syzdoth: Yeah, I finally got into the exciting chapters, eh? Haha! Writing Sienna now is gonna be a challenge as she's a little different from who she used to be, but I'm eager to show a different side of her to all of my readers! P.S Your fic rocks!

Crukix: ANOTHER first time reviewer! I actually feel spoiled! Oh, I put a team list in Chapter 23 so you can remind yourself who has what Pokemon and I'll try to drop some more hints as to the identities of the Pokemon that are being referred to, okay? :D Thank you very much! Haha! I based Monty after my own cat Misty, actually! :D Trivia! :D

Anonymous: No, no, I like it when you guess! :D I did consider Leafeon but I wasn't comfortable giving Elliot two Eeveeloutions since he already HAS Umbreon. Hmm...nicknames for a Noctowl and Meganium? I can't think of any off the top of my head...what about Hedwig or Albusfor the Noctowl ? (Harry Potter references here! Haha) I'll get back to you though if I think of any or my lovely readers think of any.

The Warrior of Many Faces: You and your guessing. You're always on the money! :D To answer your questions, since I won't get a chance to explain this in the story, Flannery didn't get captured, she infiltrated the hideout after she went snooping around looking for the missing people. Then she tried to shut it down from the inside, but it didn't go so well. I changed that little thing in the last chapter about the Slugma, I went back and read through it and was like "Oh my God, I'm an idiot!" *facepalm*

Chalcodes: Hee hee! Another first timer! :D I've been chatting to you a lot and you know I freakin' love ya so I don't need to gush in the Author's Note. :D Thank you so much for your kind review and your kinder messages! :D

Dodectron: Another first time reviewer! I'm glad you like the story so much and I can confirm that there WILL be more legendaries in this story's future just not in the way you may think. :D

Wow. I can't believe how many people reviewed these past few days! You're all so brilliant!

Read and review please if you wish!