Let's just say that I am severely annoyed with my life. I've only done fifteen percent of my science fair backboard, so expect two weeks till the next chapter.

And so, this chapter indeed took me seven days to write. I had one main distractor- Avatar. No offense to you guys, but writing fanfiction can be tedious work... And Avatar was awesome. AWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOME GO WATCH IT NAO.

Without further ado, Happy Reading!!


Ziri didn't exactly walk out- Rather, he staggered out, partly because he still didn't have much control over his and had to sometimes, to his eternal shame, use the walls to help guide himself out.

There was a second reason, however- Demetri- No, Bale's letter.

It read:

Ziri, the only way I could get you into the Pokemon Center was to pretend that you had fallen in by accident. I saw what happened in your memories- They would have never let me- Or you- in if that had been the story I used. So I just said you fell in, instead of making the jump yourself.

So, I masqueraded as your brother to let you enter- Do you think they would have let Demetri Koslov himself in, a cross-regional criminal? That'll be when Growlithes grow wings. In any case, I went by the name Bale Anderson in order to get you in. Funny they didn't notice the difference in last names- I would have said I was your stepbrother or vice-versa, but they didn't ask. Anyway…

Don't mention the name of Bale Anderson to anyone else- If the Nurse Joy says the name, react normally. But keep that name out of earshot of anyone else- My name is Demetri Koslov, not that. And make sure this letter doesn't drift into anyone else's hands.

His head was spinning that he was still alive because of a lie, but if it worked, then it worked. But he still couldn't get the guilty feeling that the Nurse Joy was being violently duped…

When he walked/ staggered out into the sunshine, the first thing he noticed was a boy that seemed half-asleep; but one never knows.

He appeared to be staring at Ziri, but again- Nobody knows when it comes to those kinds of people.

In any case, Ziri tried not to give any sign about his current condition, and failed badly in this case.

This boy was actually one of the most observant people in town- No, he was the most observant person in town. He instantly saw through the valiant- But all too obvious, at least to his eyes- façade that Ziri had put up.

So, walking over, he said "Need help?"

Ziri was stunned that he'd instantly known something was wrong- So, his mouth worked for him.

"Yes, no, maybe so, but can you help me at all when the dead man's walking?"

The boy actually opened his eyes to the fullest extent, blinking in confusion about what the heck that meant- Until he realized his dopey complexion was the key point. "I'm not dead-"

"You look like it so you must be."

He shook himself. "Um, ignoring that…"

"Wonderful, I'm talking to a zombie. Now. Keep talking."

"Um… Uh…"

He was violently unnerved by the rapid-fire speech and very odd ideas that Ziri appeared to have floating around in his head, but then he solved it for him- "Okay, I do, but I don't want any. That good enough? I'm in a bad mood, if that's enough of a reason…"

He shook himself visibly- "Uh, yeah, that's fine… You're not the one who… Fell in… Right?"

Ziri remembered what Demetri had said in the letter, and keeping a perfectly straight face he said "Yep."

The boy instantly saw that there was something else behind the story- And this instantly got him asking "What really happened?"

Again?

Ziri decided to stonewall him this time around. "I fell in, as in slipping and letting gravity do the dirty work. What more do you need?"

Ziri's counterpart recognized the dismissal, but made no reaction to it. "So, uh, what's your name?"

"Zirienji Axlhedron. But," he added, as he opened his mouth, "You can call me Ziri."

The boy clamped his mouth shut, about to comment on the mouthful that his full name was.

"You ask me, I ask you. What do you go by?"

"Well, my name's Felix Taber-"

"Felix?" Ziri asked, eyebrows raised. "As in, cat?"

He blinked.

Felix had never really thought of his name like that before, but…

"Anyway," Ziri went on, "I came into this town unconscious. Can you give me a tour?"


It was impossible to say how lucky the gang of four was, when they saw three trucks attempting to navigate Route 31's path from behind.

"Hey kids, move!" the driver in the foremost truck yelled.

It was at that point that exact truck's front right tire slammed violently into a rock that jutted upwards through the dirt; he hadn't seen it, in his annoyance with the "kids"…

Who were still at least thirty feet away then.

"Instant karma," Urya muttered under his breath.

For once, sSynthia agreed with the most immature member of the quartet; that particular guy was quite the you-know-what-hole. In any case, Hannah observed with devilish pleasure along with the rest of them- except Gale, who looked exasperated by the sheer stupidity of adults- As the truck fishtailed wildly, sending the two behind it into screeching stops.

"You idiot!" One voice yelled. "The heck you stop for? You almost got us killed, and I know that move you just pulled just screwed up some of the supplies that we were supposed to be sending, but nooooo, you, the awesome guy you are-"

"Shut up, it's not like you could have dealt with the same situation that I just had-"

"Which was?"

That was a third feminine voice, but she sounded quite enraged as well. "We heard you talking to whoever was in front- That's what got you hitting whatever you did, obviously!"

The first guy, a balding one who looked like he could rip a telephone pole out of the ground, was reduced to sputtering incoherent bits of profanity; in any case, the second, much skinnier male, asked them, after coming out of his truck, "What we're you guys doing to tick him off?"

"Nothing," everyone responded in unison.

Instead of looking as if this wasn't a good enough answer, he just sighed and shook his head. "Figures, this guy is like a stick of dynamite that you can't stop from lighting when even one thing hits him. Even if it's nonflammable. Ugh…"

"Hey, you're not alone in your suffering," came the girl, who looked to be about thirty or so. Then she addressed them. "Where were you going?"

"Azalea Town," Gale answered, "but the going's really slow…"

The second guy raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? Route 31's something like thirty miles long the last time I heard, or maybe it was forty. It'll take you something like ten days to get there by walking-"

"Quit with the 'somethings,'" the woman grumbled, and immediately he shut up. "And then, you-" she indicated the four teenagers slash children-"How long have you been on the road?"

"A day now-"

"God, you guys are crazy," the first man, finally recovered from his bout of pouting, "it will take you nine more days-"

"I didn't mean it literally, idiot!" guy number two yelled. "Didn't I say-"

"something like ten days? Well, you somehow have the magical ability to make it the number you randomly declare for whatever anyone does, dolt!"

Silence, as the four digested this piece of information.

"Okay, shorten it, then!"

That was, surprisingly guy number one, who didn't seem to know what he'd said.

"Okay, how? Let them ride-" Guy number two.

"Why not? We've got plenty of space up top!"

And that was the woman- With that, it was settled.

"Um, who are you guys again?" Alex managed to ask timidly as the buff one began gruffly directing them to the top of the three trucks.

"I'm Martha, that's Mick, and Mikey," she jabbed first at the smaller, "magical" man, then at the bodybuilding-type. "So, you can call us M, M and M. The three Ms. We usually get along worse than this, but…"

Worse than this?

At the very least, they had much accelerated travel…


Bale had not left town- On the contrary, he'd decided to stake out an outpost on the eastern side, right opposite (Unknown to him) Malachi. It wasn't even a house he was using- In the dead of the night he'd secretly gotten Tyranitar to create a sort of hollow that allowed him to stay both hidden in the woods and to have a suitable place to not worry about people discovering him- The woods around Azalea Town were thick, and so would deter anyone from entering that particular section. You had to go around thirty feet into to see the artificial clearing that would prevent any stray Pokemon from bushwacking Bale- Now once again Demetri- while he thought about what to do next.

There hadn't been significant Team Rocket activity around for years now- Azalea Town was just too sleepy for that. Okay.

What else was there to do?

He groaned. There was only one thing tying him here- Ziri. Team Rocket just might get drawn to Azalea Town if they followed him here, and he, going through Ziri's memories, had witnessed the four Beta Squad members teleporting in there, in an apparently random act- But who knew what they were capable of.

They looked like buffoons, and had the deserving luck of buffoons- but they could do some things right, such as blowing up parts of a cave to trap certain people trying to go through.

What knew what they would do next?


At this point in time, the Beta Squad warped in, via Jonathan's Abra (Again), in front of Union Cave- Azalea Town side.

This time, they were here to give the nonexistent Azalea Town chapter of Team Rocket some much needed inspiration- Which raised the serious question.

To who?

In any case, they got the feeling that Malachi's implied sponsorship had pushed them significantly higher than their previous level in Team Rocket- It paid to have the filed commander say that he or she helped.

Anyway, they were now in the state of- "What do we do now?"

The answer came rather quickly.


Ziri and Felix had pretty much walked around the entire town there wasn't really much to see around here, but Felix had given Ziri the rundown on the people.

For one- never make anything close to an insult to Slowpokes.

Number two- make sure to not poke fun at the charcoal maker's Farfetch'd, even if it was for a valid reason. It was, after all, his pride and joy.

Number three- never insult Bugsy. And anything close to that.

"But I want to thrash him," Ziri grumbled, "How am I supposed to avoid that?"

"I don't think you can," Felix answered helplessly, "So I guess once you beat him you run away…"

"Wonderful, and I can't even walk in a straight line right now, let alone run…"

By now, they'd reached the front of a house that seemed quite old-fashioned- But, Ziri realized a second after he saw it, it had some of the newest machinery in the class of which they had been purchased in on the side thrumming away…

"Whose place is this?"

"Kurt, the Pokeball maker," Felix quickly answered. "One of the nicest guys here, but he can be really gruff."

Ziri blinked. "Did you say Pokeball maker?"

As he said that he meaningfully glanced down at Bagon, who in turn glanced innocently up at him. Felix, secretly noting this and inferring that the Rock Head Pokemon didn't actually have a Pokeball to reside in, said "Actually, he makes specialized Pokeballs, like Pokeballs for heavy Pokemon, ones for seafaring ones, the list goes on and on. He doesn't actually make normal ones… And you have to bring him Apricorns first."

"What are-"

At that moment Ziri then noticed a tree on the lawn within the fence, with some odd looking fruit on top- fruits that were both white and had and very much spherical. Since the sunlight had partially rejuvenated him, he managed to walk- Quite quickly, somewhat underneath his normal walking speed- and now stood in front of it.

Felix looked around nervously. "You might not want to do that-"

Gently, he grasped one- Noting its hardness- and slowly began to pull-

The front door burst open, startling him, but Ziri didn't change his speed of slowly pulling the Apricorn out of the stem.

"Kid, what the hell are you doing-"

At that moment, the stem relinquished its grip on the Apricorn with a light pop, and Ziri stood there, looking down at the white sphere in his hand.

He looked up, to see a wizened man in his fifties staring at him, openmouthed.

"Did… Did you just pick an Apricorn with your bare hands?"

Ziri blinked. "Am I not supposed to?"

"W-well, you could, but you might shatter it-"

"This thing?" Ziri said incredulously. "This thing's as hard as my Bagon's skull, how could it crack-?"

"They're actually very brittle," the man cut in, "And jerking too hard causes the stem to stay attached, which when you're making Pokeballs is not what you want to happen. But, I swear you've got nerves of steel, considering you didn't even flinch when I bashed my door open-"

Then he caught sight of the other teenager looking rather confused by the exchange. "Oh, Felix! I didn't know you were giving him a tour-"

"Well, he sort of asked for it after getting knocked out by the thing inside the cave-"

"So you're the boy that had to go to infirmary!" he laughed, slapping Ziri's back so hard he was forced to stumble forward a few steps. "I can see exactly why you survived that encounter!"

Grabbing Ziri's shoulder, he called back to Felix- "You don't need to finish up the tour- I'll do it myself!"

With that, he proceeded to drag the helpless teenager, still clutching the Apricorn, into the house, where the door slammed shut.

Felix stood there, openmouthed, before he shook himself.

He prayed that Ziri would come out alive…


It was twelve o'clock in the morning, a Monday.

By then, Urya and co., riding on the back of the three trucks, had learned that the Pokemon Center that would usually greet travelers that survived the long walk to Union Cave had been blown up in an act of blatant terrorism. So, these three trucks were being sent along in order to keep the tradition- Mikey's truck was lugging along tents, Martha's food, and Mick's other creature comforts.

There were, to the surprise of the four people aboard, reports from the witnesses of explosion and aftermath, that there had been a teenager- Particularly, to the swooning dialogue of the women- that was in the possession of wavy sandy-brown hair and handsome features who loudly and judiciously insulted Team Rocket itself, and who had then run off at blinding speeds. All people present at the scene wearing black and a large red R in the front of their shirts left in hot pursuit, but when they came back forty minutes later, exhausted, they were instantly assaulted by the law enforcement.

That instantly fit the bill for exactly what Ziri looked like and would do- But they made no mention that a buddy of theirs was a source of the destruction.

There were, as the drivers noted, suspicious reports of a fire alarm being pulled right before the Center had blown- But nobody knew why, save the Nurse Joy, who had within arms reach the only fire alarm there. Well, before it went up in smoke.

"The Center's coming up in ten minutes-" Mick began calling, but then Martha cut him off-

"Where the Center used to be, nitwit! Why else would we be delivering this stuff?"

"Quiet back there," Mick snapped, in the lead, "I'm trying to concentrate-"

"If you can't handle being in the lead, switch with one of us, you wimp!"

At this, he ground his teeth- considering how many times he did that, Gale noted, it was a miracle that he hadn't ground them to a dust yet- and became quiet for the rest of the short trip there.


At the very least, they knew where the hideout was- that should have given them points for knowing the important places. But, as of now they were the only Team Rocket members of the four-man Azalea Town chapter- consisting of the four-man Beta Squad.

They had chosen to move around the edge of town, as to not arouse the suspicions of the residents. When you're a resident of anywhere, anything out of place means that you instantly- consciously or not- decide to place it in the category of "threat."

They would have gotten to the lonely, abandoned shack unnoticed if there hadn't been one, particular problem…


Kurt, upon dragging Ziri inside, went into another room upstairs, allowing the poor kid to check his new surroundings.

For one- There was a large table here, with knives, etchers, various bits and pieces of machinery, and discarded pieces of what Ziri suspected were failed attempts at making a Pokeball. He looked around, seeing that although the workspace was cluttered it was kept ordered as well, a rare combination.

"Ah, like my workshop, eh?"

Ziri looked up to find Kurt bustling in with a jug and two small cups. From the steam slowly filtering from the cap, he guessed it must be tea, but he simply nodded and said "Do you only make Pokeballs from Apricorns?"

Kurt nodded, his face turning somber as he carefully set down the two cups- On which he somehow slid across the table to Ziri's side, another which he placed in front of himself; "It's a lost art that I'm using, and it barely pays the bills in any case. But, it's the only thing I know how to do, and I enjoy it."

Ziri looked down at the Apricorn his still held. "So you can only make stuff as long as you have one of these…"

"Correct," Kurt answered, and he looked at the teenager critically. "You are one of two people that I've ever seen- I haven't even heard of other people- to be able to pick an Apricorn barehanded. I've been doing this all my life, and I can't do it!"

"How do you do it, anyway?"

"Oh, with some cutters to cut off the stem- But then removing the piece that's still attached is murder. Technically, just doing it by hand is the best way, but you and another person from about twenty years ago are the only people that I know can do it- And since Apricorns only grow in Johto and Kanto…"

Ziri dimly remembered advertisements for some kind of specialized Pokeball in the past- "What kinds of Pokeballs to you make?"

"Are you joking?" Kurt looked at him in shock. "I can make seven different kinds from the seven different Apricorns there are! The one you're holding right now, I can make what you'd call a Fast Ball from it in a few hours!"

Ziri looked at it- Then he offered it Kurt. "How much would I need to pay- And what do Fast Balls do again?"

Kurt stared at him, openmouthed- Then, regaining his composure poured himself the cup of tea that had been delayed. "They catch Pokemon, obviously- But in certain situations, they work much better than normal Pokeballs. Fast Balls for example- If a Pokemon is hightailing it away, then throw them and voila, you have yourself a new Pokemon!"

Ziri was forced to admit that it did sound attractive- "So, how much would I have to pay-"

Kurt instantly cut him off. "For you, it's free- Since I don't have do any hard work! You just wait a day or two, and I'll have it ready."

Ziri opened his mouth to protest- But Kurt had already poured the tea into the second cup and slid it across the table right in front of him. "Drink up, I heard you had a body temperature of negative fifty last night. And yes, it's free. Now…"

He bustled upstairs once more, leaving Ziri with his mouth open like a fish on land- He closed his mouth a few seconds later, realizing that the man was serious.

Oh well. Free things are always nice.


Kurt, upstairs, was busy looking for where his box of snacks were- He was an oddity in this respect, keeping all of his spare munchies in one container- when he noticed a gang of four people outside his window.

Kurt had converted his house's entire first storey into a workshop, with no windows- well, no windows had been constructed for the first floor, anyway. So, his sleeping room and his granddaughter's (Who was taking an early afternoon nap) were right next to the kitchen, posing a fire risk-but not that he cared, since for years he'd been warned.

He hadn't had a single fire yet…

So, from his second-storey window he was capable of seeing half the town- And so, he was the first one to observe the Beta Squad's discrete, but not discrete enough, movements.

So, although he wanted to rush out and confront them at that very moment, he knew it would be a futile- And self-destructive- effort. If he just rushed out for no good reason, then maybe the kid, whatever his name would might follow and get dragged into the rapidly escalating mess.

So, he forced himself to locate his box of snacks and go back down the stairs- He'd deal with the Team Rocket grunts later.


Alex was stunned to find the Pokemon Center had been blown to the ground.

She had always expected Pokemon Centers to be havens of neutrality, places where anyone could rest, heal, eat, answer the call of nature, whatever- Anything could be done, all in peace.

But now, when one got demolished and the remains lay scattered in front of her, she was scared. She had the right to be- Ten year-olds will be ten year-olds. So, the ten year-old was speechless by the rubble- "Who could have done this?"

"Team Rocket, duh," Martha grumbled as she got ready to begin unloading. "Could you help-?"

Everyone couldn't help but notice the newfound zeal of Alessandra Cesarini as she unloaded what was later estimated to be two hundred pounds in supplies- In under ten minutes.


Kurt came downstairs with the box open, looking preoccupied- Ziri was no Felix, but he was perceptive enough to see something was wrong, and so he voiced his concern aloud: "Something the matter?"

"Ah, nothing," Kurt quickly said, expression clearing- And filling up with shock a second later. "How in the world did you finish already?"

"What, the tea?" Ziri looked down at his empty cup. "It wasn't that hot…"

Kurt stared at him, openmouthed.

"What," Ziri said defensively, "You think it was?"

Kurt decided not to waste words and simply touched the side of the jug.

In an instant, the calloused hand jerked away, and Kurt looked like he was about to mouth some violent curses- But managed to hold his tongue.

"You have no taste buds, boy? Because your tongue should have been roasted right now." He now gave his younger counterpart a very surprised look. "Really, you shouldn't have been able to finish that…"

"Well, I like hot stuff," Ziri said stoutly, "And I'm still recovering from my little flirtation with hypothermia, you know…?"

He then grinned. "Pull out your spiciest stuff and see."

Both temperature and taste? He wasn't kidding.

"Okay, you win at that one, kid," Kurt grinned before he sat down again, taking out the box. "You've eaten, right-"

At that moment, Ziri's stomach proceeded to make itself heard throughout the small world.

"Never mind."


The boy, from first light hadn't stopped in going through Union Cave.

His newly caught Zubat treated him rather sullenly, but he was quite sure that in time it would submit to his will. The few Geodude in the cave posed no threat to a good Water Gun, and even when that failed a Licking would paralyze and ultimately damn the poor rock-type into the simple act of being walked away from.

It swung its fists in anger whenever the teenager did that- Or at least tried, because paralysis would get to it first. In the meantime, he kept walking on.

Two hours into the cave- And absolutely no sign that there was another exit anywhere else. This was ten o'clock.

And that's when he reached the site of the Onix.

The first signs that came to him of something a bit too large to be able to be handled was the constant, low rumbling he began to hear as he neared that particular cavern.

When he saw through the opening in, he immediately backed away, because he was seeing the Rock Snake Pokemon do something of a constant patrol around the cavern; no, it was not letting anyone even think about messing with it today after yesterday's fiasco.

But, the boy had one distinct advantage on his side- He had a water-type, even if it didn't have a resistance to whatever it was packing in its arsenal. So, waiting a few seconds, he let the Onix cross to the exact opposite of where he and his Pokemon were, before hissing:

"Totodile, Water Gun!"

The jet of liquid blasted across the cavern and struck dead on the Rock Snake's head.

Normally, he would have given a grudging nod of praise, but instantly, the Onix remembered yesterday's Hydro Pump- And, mistaking this much smaller burst for a larger one, it roared and begin to blindly slither forward towards the source-

Blindly, as in very much blindly, since it had been blasted in the eyes. And Onixes are naturally quite slow, meaning that the boy, his Totodile, and Gastly (His Zubat, not being trusted, was kept inside its Pokeball) were able to slip out of the tunnel and behind a stack of stalagmites, as the Rock Snake simply raged right past them.

As it slithered into the tunnel, intent on destruction and death, the boy made a full-blown sprint for the passage on the other side of the cavern. Although he was no Ziri in this matter, he was able to reach it in ten seconds across the hundred foot room.

Desperation was a very good motivator.


As for the Onix, let's just say it went rather far.

First off, when it went through the tunnel, it was so blinded by rage that it kept going. And going. And going.

Second, since it was blind literally, it didn't realize that as it ripped through a few rock walls, and then through the wall of the cave itself, that it was actually going outside into the sunlight.

Onixes have compasses in their heads- So it went north. Dead into the camp.


Ziri was very much stuffed by everything Kurt had to offer, and that was saying something, having had no dinner last night and no breakfast either. As for the host, he was laughing his head off- Until he realized that the snacks he'd set out had been inhaled in five seconds. All twenty pieces of them.

In any case, Ziri, now sitting back contentedly, asked a question that had been gnawing on his mind for some time now- "Who was the other person that you were talking about earlier?"

"Oh, him? Well, if I'm not blind I'd say that you're a carbon copy of him… But maybe without the eyes, he had brown ones. You eyes do have an odd color to them, like gray, and not gray-"

"I just like to call it steel-gray."

"Alright then, let me go on. He was about your height- And I think he still had room to grow. How old are you again, whatever your name is-"

Ziri couldn't help but smile as he realized that with every person he met, he had to go through a rather long process knowing their name and them not knowing his, and just said "Ziri, fifteen years old."

"Oh yes, Ziri… I think he was around your age, sure… He might have been younger. I'd say that you two are related somehow…"

You inherited your father's good looks.

Was this unknown person his father-?

"Except you guys aren't."

Ziri blinked. "Excuse me?"

Kurt tilted his head in bewilderment. "I just said the two of you, one from the past and you from now, can't be related!"

"Why not-?"

"I know I said you two were carbon copies- But I can see your personalities are like day and night!"

Now he was confused. "What do you mean by day and night and the personality stuff?"

Kurt looked pensive for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"For one thing, the kid I met maybe twenty years ago was loud, boastful, and arrogant- And had the skill, strength, and talent to back it up, and he liked to do it, even for no good reason. You? You're just the opposite, quiet, thoughtful, and almost shy around people. But you have that same strength and talent, only it's hidden inside, and you don't seem to like showing it off. And when you do, it's either unconsciously done or consciously done with motivation."

Ziri couldn't think of anything to say after this.


The Onix with no provocation raged into the camp, mercifully causing little damage- The clearing where the Pokemon Center had originally been only had signs of human life, mainly those resting and those helping to one side and nothing in the center and left.

The Onix going straight north ripped right through the middle, which meant only a canister of food that was accidentally misplaced was crushed- Otherwise, it did nothing at all. Well, besides frightening people, but…

It want a mile north, before its eyes finally cleared and it realized that it wasn't inside the cave anymore but in the sunlight.

The Rock Snake roared again, and the flying-types from miles around immediately left their roosts, startled; now it remembered it had gone straight north, so…

Now it went straight south.

In what was turning out to be an extremely weird day, Gale first bore witness to an Onix who had nothing better to do than to barrel right past them, sounding very much enraged. Mick, frightened, accidentally let out his own Beldum- Correctly colored, as it was noted- who immediately floated away off into the woods.

It didn't like him, and he didn't like it- Would anyone like a Pokemon with one move that was nothing short of suicidal? There was Urya, but he was fanatical about Ragnarok.

Now the Onix came back, and now he had a dilemma on his hands- How do you get rid of a very angry snake made of rock that's ten times- Rather, fifteen times- bigger than you?

Blaze the Charmander was first to act, instinctively spitting out an Ember…

That seemed slightly reminiscent of what Quilava tried to do yesterday, and it had exactly the same effect- It immediately whipped its tail around at a ridiculously high speed, in an attempt to smash the Fire Lizard Pokemon into an insignificant orange pulp; to no avail, as he simply danced away, startled nonetheless-

Remembering that Onixes were both rock and ground-types, Gale threw out Slowpoke's Pokeball- "Water Gun! Aim for the face-"

His Slowpoke opened his mouth, but that was before the Rock Snake smashed its tail into the ground, sending shards of rock skywards- And onto the Dopey Pokemon. One landed with a rather heavy thonk on the pink skull, prompting it to jerk in what Gale recognized as a flinch…

With a groan, it shook itself out of the stupor it was in, but it was too late- The Onix had already dived underground, with only tremors barely detectable to them able to be felt.

As the three startled and frightened truck divers hung back, having not thought about taking along any Pokemon (Besides Mick, but since his Beldum had drifted off in an act of shunning, that didn't count), the four of them all stared at each other.

"Why do we always have to take down some really big and angry?" Hannah groaned, fishing out Flora's Pokeball.

"And what if this has something to do with Ziri? Again?" Alex added, looking quite depressed as she quickly stroked the currently shell-shocked Blaze along his back.

It was only half the story, but still. That was true.

In any case, the Onix roared right back up, slamming into Flora in the ascent. As the Leaf Pokemon flew through the air, wailing, Urya shouted "Ragnarok, Take Down!"

The faithful Iron Ball Pokemon sped through the air unhesitatingly- And simply bounced off, headfirst when it made contact with the solid rock wall that was the Onix. Alex, noting that simply beating it up with fists or anything related to pure force was no use, now shouted "Use Dragon Rage!"

The white sphere of flames, formed in the glowing mouth of the Charmander, only made a glancing hit on the side of the Rock Snake- But it was enough to make it explode on contact, sending it straight into the ground-

With a deep howl of anger, the Onix turned the momentum used for sending it into the ground and smashed into it with add deliberate force, sending skywards a rain of rock-

"Flora, use Vine Whip and smash them away!"

The Bayleef, highly miffed by the unfortunate event of the Rock Snake coming up right under her, was eager to get revenge and so lashed out with her vines shooting from her neck, whacking away the shards of stone coming near where the Pokemon other than the Onix clustered- As its neck rose up from the ground, she couldn't resist slamming it with one outstretched vine that just happened to have been overhead.

Though Onixes had rock-solid (Pardon the pun) defenses physically, grass-type moves were always a sore spot- So, even though it was more of a light whap than an actual whipping, it was still enough for it to jerk violently in pain.

All four trainers there stared at it, and then at each other.

"If grass-type and water-types are its worst headaches," Hannah began aloud.

"Then all we do is just that," Synthia finished smugly.

Instantly nodding to each other, they faced the slowly recovering Onix- While Synthia sneakily called out her Magby.

She had a plan- A very vicious one. In the meantime, Hannah called "Razor Leaf!"

The flying leaves never met their target, wising up to their motives, the Rock Snake had instead gone underground, where it contemplated the next move.

Not for long; Gale ordered, "Use Confusion to find it underground!"

It didn't take long for the muffled roaring of the Onix to begin being heard, as he was twisted, bent, town, and ripped at underground. Slowpoke simply blinked as a blue aura hovered around him, unaware of the pain he appeared to be causing-

And with that the Onix did it again, smashing through the earth skywards- Right under the Dopey Pokemon. Gale backed away in a panic, tripping over a sleeping bag that had been carelessly put out-

"Magby, Focus Punch!" Synthia yelled.

Hannah, remembering that particular move from May's Munchlax, knew that it would more than likely send it toppling when it hit- if it did, because it had the notorious habit of failing whenever anything hit it hard enough to break its concentration, but it that was talking about an extremely large range of things that could distract.

But then again, with the Onix roaring jubilantly over its apparent slaughtering of its tormenter, it could be said that it wouldn't- And couldn't- pay any attention to the little red thing that was waddling up to it with a glowing fist…

Until, of course, the Live Coal Pokemon punched it with said glowing fist.

With an absurd amount of force behind it, the fist sent the Onix tumbling away, as Slowpoke came down with a thud…

Dead on Magby.

"Slowpoke, get off," Gale groaned a few seconds later, as the Live Coal Pokemon gave out muffled peeps of panic, knowing Synthia was probably going to violently assault him now…

The Dopey Pokemon only looked at him with the same expression that it always had on its face, unless in extreme distress.

"Fine," his owner grumbled, "I'll get you Rawst Berries later… Now get off!"

Groaning, it rolled over, to reveal Magby mostly unharmed, but looking as if it had been traumatized to the nth degree.

Then Gale blinked. And remembered.

The Live Coal Pokemon was right in the hole where the Onix had ripped upwards from, so that it given it breathing room while Slowpoke had loafed around up top- But in any case, Synthia walked over and administered the expected assault via temporary strangulation, which Gale took quite calmly until she let go five seconds later.

"Never," she snarled, "do that again."

He didn't bother telling her that he didn't have a clue why Slowpoke had come down on her Magby, nor did he point out that the Live Coal Pokemon had thrown itself forward dead into the hole by itself; if he did, he'd just make it worse for himself, noting his own sore neck. And what else could possibly come up.

As the Onix got up, everyone got the sudden feeling that the violence was only going to crank up now, judging from the look in its eyes…


Three hours later from then, at one-thirty in the afternoon, a battered, exhausted, yet jubilant teenager emerged from the cave, wearing a cap which barely managed to hide the green lashes and mostly black clothes, save for a few stretches of red here and there.

What he had gone through?

Two hours ago, he had gone past the Onix for sixty more minutes before calling for (Grudgingly) a rest. After all, he wasn't dumb- He was cruel but smart, knowing any Pokemon starved was no Pokemon for battle. So, taking out the food that he'd thought to bring along, he fed it too them, watching them hungrily devour it in…

At that point in time he blinked.

Was that five seconds after he'd given it to them?

"Go find your own," he snapped, once they had gobbled it all down and looked at him expectantly- Wait, was that a Zubat looking at him?

In any case, crestfallen, they'd moped around, trying to find food when there was nothing but rock around them. Beginning to feel guilty- More for missing the obvious, than for the looks on their faces (Which was also a contributing factor), he reluctantly pulled out another packet of munchies- Which they pretty much inhaled in ten seconds.

That was enough for them, who proceeded to lie down contented- Again, the boy was forced to join his Pokemon in the moment of R&R, because he was exhausted from the amount of thinking and running that he had been doing ever since he gone inside the damn cave.

An hour after that.

Let's just say that when he walked into the tunnel where Demetri had his unfortunate encounter with the Golbat/ Zubat colony, it was violent.

First off- Humans were bad in their shared philosophy, especially when Gardevior and Demetri had decided to come through. The bad mood continued into the next day, and this day was the next day. So.

Second off, it's not good for anyone to face down what appeared to be fifty Golbat and Zubat flying at your face. Which is exactly what the boy realized when fifty Golbat and Zubat flew at his face.

So, when they flew at his face, he threw himself behind some stalagmites (A favorite tactic of his now) and shouted, remembering that Zubat and Golbat were flying-types: "Totodile, Ice Fang!"

And then he remembered that there were fifty Zubat against one.

Though the Big Jaw Pokemon fought valiantly, he was soon swamped by the tens of Bat Pokemon that descended upon it, most of them frozen from his bites but some of them did succeed in sinking their fangs and, for a brief moment, sucking out the vitality of Totodile…

"Gastly, Night Shade, now!"

The bolts of reddish-black flew through the black surroundings, striking a pair of Zubat as they crowded around Totodile; now, a Golbat, enraged by the assault on its kin, flew at the Gas Pokemon, opening its mouth…

"Confuse Ray, now!"

The ghostly light flew forward at the Bat Pokemon, who flew there in midair, an odd look passing over its eyes- Whereas it then began to swipe viciously with its wings at its fellows in obvious confusion.

Wing Attacks by Golbat hurt, and this was no exception- Barreling through the air, the confused Golbat knocked loads of its kind out- Painfully- with what appeared to be the edge of its wings…

Totodile finally flung off his attackers, to which he couldn't resist sinking his teeth into one last Zubat- His frozen teeth. The poor Zubat this time was frozen into a solid rock, the particular bite being imbued with an especially large amount of force on this particular chomp. Without losing any of its prior momentum, it proceeded to barrel into a cluster of fellow bat Pokemon that went down with indignant screeches as they were whacked by the flying block of ice. Elsewhere, Gastly on its own accord began Licking random members of the swarm, causing them to violently shiver- And then drop to the earth, immobile.

And then, there came down three Golbat which Bit down upon Gastly from behind- The change in expression, from gleeful to one of disbelief, was cut short when the boy on instinct returned the Gas Pokemon to its Pokeball.

Which leaves…

Reluctantly, as they turned on him, even as Totodile was freshly mauled by a new group of Zubats, the boy sent out his own Zubat to combat the threat. The Zubat, though surprised to have been fighting its own colony, nonetheless performed the Bite ordered by its master, who imagined the ability to frustrate that it demonstrated yesterday-

It was well based, but to be sure it worked miserably. No sooner had it sunk its teeth into one Golbat's wing did another clamp its teeth down on its wing, making the advantage of speed quite redundant. As it flew away, screeching, its owner backed away further.

Egged on by this apparent show of submission, the two Golbats, minus the one trying to pursue the nuisance that had been attempting to chew up its wing, began to advance.

He glanced over at Totodile, who was totally swamped; looking exhausted, the Big Jaw Pokemon could barely keep himself from falling over, as he staggered and weaved around the flitting Bat Pokemon that dive-bombed him from every side.

And the gravity of the situation struck him.

Why here?

Why does it all have to stop here?

Well, if they're going to do it this way…

Then I'll be happy to show that cornered rats, even one like me, and still bite back.

He did one of the most stupidest things ever in his life- He charged.

Pretty much everyone in the cave turned to look at the yelling as he ran forward, blindly punching, kicking, jabbing, grabbing, and screaming at anything he felt.

Totodile looked spellbound, even as a Zubat made a halfhearted dive at him- In any case, since it was halfhearted, it just bounced off of his scaly skin. His owner, unconsciously taking advantage of the fact that the Golbats were too stunned to even flap their wings and so fell onto the ground, began to stomp wildly at the dim shapes, bringing screeches of pain from below. But he didn't see the third Golbat, who had been previously chasing the pesky Zubat, coming up from behind…

Totodile saw it, and quickly Water Gunned it down; but it was that that broke the stupor that had descended upon the colony. Quickly, more Golbat descended on the boy, with some gripping his arms to be brought upwards, and more, about to close their teeth on his neck-

With that, Totodile barreled forward, clamping his teeth on the nearest attacker, but to no avail; in his haste Totodile had forgotten to add ice to his fangs, and so didn't do much more than make it flinch- Others grabbed the Big Jaw Pokemon and flung him away.

The boy stared dead ahead of the nearest, meanest Golbat, who looked to be enjoying this moment- Unknown to him, this particular Golbat had taken the brunt of Gardevior's Dark Pulse- And was relishing revenge on any human that stumbled across their nest. So, he began to close his four fangs upon this human, who only began to realize his predicament, upon his throat-

And that's when Totodile began glowing, in his horror that his master was going to die and by extension later so would he.

Slowly, though the boy dropped to the ground in pain, he made no sound as a crest began to crow atop the Big Jaw Pokemon's head. Spiky in shape, it was the most obvious thing that was going, as the tail, arms and height began to grow. Slowly, ever so slowly and ponderously, its jaws began to expand, with fangs becoming all the more visible-

And the light was gone, and before him stood a crocodilian, just like the previous Pokemon he'd seen in that exact spot, except larger and fiercer, with black marking around its eyes.

He didn't have time to use his Pokedex, so he yelled "Use whatever you want!"

For a second, it acted like it was deaf, as the swarm of Bat Pokemon swooped in for the kill, evolution or not…

And then, it suddenly jumped up and down, violently slamming into pretty much everyone in front of it. Even the boy was agape with shock as he viewed his Totodile- No, something else entirely- crash, smash, pummel, rip, tear, and simply throw himself into the hordes of Bat Pokemon. Zubat ricocheted of walls and stalagmites- The Golbats, heavier, went right through them, breaking them and sending fragments everywhere.

Things broke. That was all that could be said.

The tunnel was filled with the din of screeching Zubat and Golbat, as they accepted defeat and flew off to who knew where; in any case, the newly evolved Big Jaw Pokemon sent one last Golbat, flying off in retreat, whizzing forward and into the center of the disorganized crowd running away, causing mass confusion, pain, and general anger as they sent one last burst of sound waves in what the boy recognized as a mass Supersonic.

The Zubat he owned- It was hanging upside down, having hidden throughout the ordeal.

As for his newly evolved Pokemon…

The Supersonic had absolutely no effect, since it was already confused anyway and was bashing its head against the ground…


The Onix came back up, now content to use its nastiest weapon- Its tail.

The formerly mentioned appendage was busy lashing out, preventing any Pokemon from getting close- Even when Alex ordered another Dragon Rage from Blaze, the fireball was smashed apart in midair en route to its target. Even though it exploded, per custom, the tail simply whipped elsewhere, this time whacking Slowpoke in the face just as Gale managed to yell a Water Gun- which meant it was once again canceled.

"C'mon Ragnarok!" Urya called encouragingly. "Another Take Down-"

Floating up, the Iron Ball Pokemon charged once more, smacking the Onix…

Dead on the crest on top of its head.

The Onix stopped, bemused.

Then, almost carelessly, it turned around, drawing back its tail in a deliberate motion-

Finally, the long appendage, the only one the Rock Snake had, smashed dead on the Iron Ball Pokemon's eye.

Let's just say that when the oddly-colored Beldum flew, it flew fast. A bit too fast to be comfortable, to the point where five trees were the victim of the whizzing cylinder of metal.

It stopped, with its hooks end first, halfway embedded in the sixth tree, with its eyes going in circles. It should be noted that this was the exact same area of the woods where Mick's Beldum had drifted off to.

"Slam," Hannah's Pokedex read quite emotionlessly, "a normal-type move. With a long appendage, the user gathers speed and proceeded to smash the opponent with it."

Sounded just about right, but it wasn't any comfort to the devastated Urya.

At this, the Onix began to roar-laugh. "What do you weaklings think I am?" it demanded. "I could play this game all day…"

"But you bore me, so this ends now!"

With that, the Onix took a breath, before it let out a horrific high-pitched wave of sound that washed over all of them; even Slowpoke was forced to roll over and moan piteously at the sound.

Alex, whose Pokedex had been first used to check the Onix's data, now spoke: "Screech, a normal-type move. The user emits a hideously high-pitched sound, which stuns the victim and leave it open to attack with its guard down."

Taking advantage of this, the tail of the Onix once more slammed into the ground in another Rock Throw.

This one was aimed at Blaze, who yelped as three shards of rock struck him, sending him tumbling. However, most of it had been overshot.

And, Hannah just happened to be right behind Blaze.

Still clutching the Puppy Pokemon, she was frozen as the rain of rock began coming closer. And closer. And closer.

Only the timely intervention of Starlight right out of his Pokeball with a quick Reflect managed to save the day, but by then she had already protectively covered the Growlithe with both arms and head-

When she realized that she was supposed to be dead or at least seriously injured a few seconds later, she looked up- And the Growlithe bounded out of her arms.

Stunned, she didn't know that it- He- had begun thinking of her as a sort of mother figure. And now, with the protective gesture, he used, well, it.

Charging across the ground, the Onix, though it saw the runt rushing at him, somehow didn't even come close to landing a single blow…

As flames began to gather over its skin, trailing behind it, the Growlithe hopped on the tail, which happened to be embedded in the ground, and began running up the entire length of the Rock Snake. All thirty-something feet of it.

And as it turned its head, to look at what was tickling it, the Onix was smashed in the face by the full force of the fiery charge.

The Onix roared in pain, somehow, as it toppled backwards onto the ground; in the meanwhile, the Growlithe bounced away, flames gone, and fell a good fifteen feet vertically.

Well, would have, if Hannah hadn't ordered Flora to do a sort of catching maneuver with her Vine Whip. The Bayleef, looking somewhat stressed as it carefully began doing waiter duty, transferred the whimpering Puppy Pokemon right back into the arms of her owner, where quickly wrapped her arms around it once more while she, in a state of semi-shock, began checking her Pokedex:

It said, again quite tonelessly- "Flare Blitz, a fire-type move. The user flings itself at the foe wrapped in flames, causing serious damage. However, the user also sustains heavy damage as well."

She looked down, and remembered how she had first met it- A bush exploding into flames, and then a large smoking ditch and then a Growlithe with more bruises than were physically possible on something its size.

Oh, was all she could think, before…

Something came floating through the trees.

It was gray in color with spikes to its sides, along with two red eyes on its disk-shaped body.

What was striking about it, however, was the two arms connected to it by two seemingly spindly thin joints- but it was floating, anyway. Floating four feet off the ground.

And then, there were the two sets of very much familiar claws that were part of rather thick forearms, which were supposed to be the oblong body of two Beldums.

But.

It was at this point, when the Onix looked up, that the newcomer raised its arm…

Whose claws happened to be glowing.

With that, it suddenly zoomed forward, and slashed at the Onix, cutting three deep gashes into the stone; the Onix, roaring in surprise, attempted to Slam it; it most certainly succeeded, sending the Pokemon through the air…

But before it had gone ten feet, it abruptly stopped, turned, and faced the Rock Snake once more, with something of a smug look in its eyes.

Urya was stunned, but the color of the metal body gave him a clue…

In any case, Hannah opened her Pokedex again, slightly unnerved by this newcomer who had the power- And the defense- To stand up to the much larger Onix.

And so, it said:

"Metang, the Iron Claw Pokemon. This Pokemon is formed from the union of two Beldums who bond together, fusing both of their bodies and nervous systems together. The body of this Pokemon is so hard, it can survive even explosions without a scratch."

Urya now looked incredibly happy. "Ragnarok, I knew you'd grow someday!" he crowed. "I knew it I knew it I knew it- Oh, and what was the attack you just used? Iron Claw… Metal Claw-"

At the last two words, the Metang immediately boosted forward again, taking another vicious swipe at the unprepared Onix. This time it was across the nose, prompting it to throw its head back in pain-

"Flora, Razor Leaf!"

"Slowpoke, Water Gun!"

The two attacks, flying through the air, struck at exactly the same instant, alternatively soaking the rocky skin of the Rock Snake and slicing deep gashes- And now Synthia called out, as it roared its pain, seeking to thrash the closest Pokemon who happened to be the Leaf Pokemon: "Use Smog!"

Her Magby puffed up, and then puffed out, sending the sinister gas towards the eyes.

Onixes, being of both rock and ground-type composition, easily resisted the direct damage of the smog, but that wasn't the point- Rather, the point was to blind, and, if possible, poison.

It worked. Now thrashing weakly, poisoned, and blinded and covered in scratches, gashes, bruises, and soaking wet, it was a bit too much for it to handle.

With an earthshaking thud, it collapsed, and no sooner had it done so when Gale threw the prepared Pokeball before anyone could protest.

It went in, and three flashes of red from the button later, Gale Harper had himself an Onix- Weak, poisoned, battered, and very much angry, but still his.


And so, that's that. Gale has an Onix... A very angry one to be sure. And, epic chapter length is good- At least in my opinion, since there's a lot less need for you to randomly click click and click "Next chapter!"

Until next time, guys... But remember to review! Pretty please!! With a... Uh, Slowpoke tail on top- ARGH!!

*Gale violently mauls*