Hi, guys! I hope your New Years celebrations went well! It was pretty quiet over here, all things considered.

Defender31415 - Well, Crystal going to Kalos is definitely going to happen - the problem is whether or not I'm going to write about it. See, I've got a lot of other ideas going through my head right now, and I can't concentrate too much on a large number of stories at once. At this point, for the most part, I'm trying to just get a lot of them done.

Here's the chapter! And it's my 50th, too! :)

Chapter 50

When Crystal came down into the cafeteria with her Pokémon the next morning, the Pokémon Egg sticking up out of her backpack, she was met with the rather unusual sight of a man covered head to toe in sand and looking like he was coming out of a panic attack.

"What's going on?" Crystal asked as she came to a stop next to Brendan, who was standing at the back of the crowd that had surrounded the man.

"He just rushed in here, yelling at the top of his lungs about monsters living in the desert," Brendan replied, glancing over at Crystal. "I'm not exactly sure what he means."

"Monsters?" Crystal repeated, blinking. She frowned. "That's …Hmmmm. I wonder if there's something going on over in the desert."

"There's something going on out there, all right!"

Crystal turned when she heard the exclamation, and she saw that the man who had come in looking in her direction.

"There are monster Pokémon hiding in the desert!" the man continued. "They completely barricaded off Mirage Tower, which I had been researching. The creatures they are using look like no Pokémon that I've seen before! I don't think that they're native to Hoenn at all. I definitely haven't seen them before, and I've been in that desert for months researching the ruins!" The man reached up for his head, as though he was about to tear his hair out.

"Mirage Tower?" Crystal's invisible ears perked with interest, and she looked over at Brendan with a curious expression. "Wasn't that the place that Flannery told us about? A tower that appears and disappears in the sandstorms?"

Brendan frowned. "I think so….but he mentioned Pokémon that aren't native to Hoenn. What does that mean?"

Crystal frowned in response. "Maybe there are Trainers who are terrorizing the area? If that's true, we should head over there and get them to stop. People really shouldn't bother researchers like that."

"You'd do that?"

Crystal looked over when she heard the man's question, and she blinked a couple times when she saw the eager, hopeful look that was on his face.

"You'd take care of the people who are causing all the trouble on Route 111?" the man asked.

Crystal nodded. "I'm willing to take care of them. You just stay here and recover from whatever it is that you ended up running into."

"Oh, thank Arceus!" The man looked like he was about to collapse – which he promptly did, collapsing into a chair that happened to be conveniently behind him. "Now I can finally rest and without worrying."

Crystal blinked a couple times at the man's actions, then shook her head and looked over at Brendan. "Would you be willing to give me a hand?"

Brendan nodded. "Sure. I'd like to have a look around and see what's going on in the desert." He smirked. "I might be able to find a Pokémon in there that could join my team. This is gonna be fun."

Crystal nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Time Break

Crystal looked over at Brendan, fingering the goggles that were resting on her forehead. "You ready, Brendan?"

Brendan grinned and gave Crystal a thumbs-up in response as he pulled the goggles down over his eyes. "Let's do this!"

Crystal smiled at her friend's enthusiasm, then pulled down her own set of goggles over her eyes. "All right. Time to explore the desert and figure out what it is that's going on." She looked over at Trisha and Ando and gave the two of them a nod. "You two ready?"

Ando raised a claw while Trisha nodded.

"Okay." Crystal turned and looked over at Brendan, gave him a nod, then turned and started into the desert.

Crystal had only taken a few steps onto the sand before she instantly started to feel the affects of the sandstorm. Instantly pulling up the hood of her pink jacket and zipped it up in order to keep the sand from slipping inside. Pulling out the bandanna that Crystal had gotten at Route 113, she tied it around her face. "The sandstorm here is really harsh! I didn't think that something like this could get to be this bad!"

Brendan opened his mouth to speak, only to get a mouthful of sand before he quickly pulled out his own bandanna and tied it over his mouth. "Oh, wow. Yeah – Maxie didn't say anything about it being this bad when he was in here a few days ago."

"It's never been this bad!" Trisha declared. "There are sandstorms constantly here, and there are one or two good days, but it's never been like this!"

Crystal frowned, her tail twitching in annoyance as the pieces of sand slammed into it. Dropping her illusion, she commented, "Then something must be going on that's causing the sandstorm to be this bad. Let's have a look around and see what's going on." She turned to look at what was ahead of them and frowned when the sand started to slam into her Go-Goggles more vigorously. Her eyes started to glow a brighter blue as Crystal tried to find a different way to see what was ahead of them.

Brendan nodded in agreement, then released Zuzu. "All right, buddy. I'm going to need your help."

"Whoa!" The Marshtomp looked around. "Man, this place is just full of sand all over the place! You'd better not let anyone else out!"

"I think he knows that already!" Trisha snapped back in response.

"Guys!"

Brendan, Trisha, Ando, and Zuzu looked at Crystal in surprise.

"Did I just hear you in my head?" Brendan asked, blinking.

"It's better than having to deal with even little pieces of sand coming into my mouth." Crystal frowned at the three of them. "We have to focus. I know the sandstorm is bad – we've said that enough times – but it's not bad enough that we can't see. And even if we couldn't, I'd still be able to tell where we were because I can use Aura Sight." She pointed deeper into the desert. "And it feels like there's something off that way."

Brendan blinked a couple of times, then frowned and rubbed sand off his goggles before looking out in the direction Crystal was pointing. His eyes narrowed a little. "Huh…I think that I can see something, but it's really hard to make out. It kinda keeps fading out."

"Yeah. I noticed that, too. But there are a lot of different auras around there. We're going to have to be careful as we keep going forward. Trisha, you might want to dig around and see if there are any hidden traps."

Trisha blinked for a moment, then gave a nod and burrowed under the sand.

"Zuzu, you do that, too." Brendan looked down at the Marshtomp.

Zuzu saluted, then looked over at the sand and dove underneath it.

Crystal nodded. "Okay. With those two having a look around, we should be able to move forward all right. Since the sandstorm is so bad, we'll only be able to rely on the Pokémon we have and what abilities I have access to. Are you ready?"

Brendan blinked for a moment, then snorted. "I'm standing right here! What makes you think I'm not ready?"

Crystal smiled a little in response under her bandanna, and she gave a nod before turning her attention to the desert between them and the mirage-like tower in the distance.

As Crystal continued to keep her eyes locked on the tower ahead of them, Brendan's eyes couldn't help but wander around the desert. The sand was making it very hard to see very far in, but they were far enough in that Brendan was able to see for at least a short distance away from where they were standing.

Something suddenly moved passed in a blur, causing Brendan to turn his head sharply. He frowned when he found that there wasn't anyone in sight.

"Uh, Crystal?" Brendan looked over at his Trainer companion curiously. "I think there's something out there in the sand, and it's moving pretty quickly, too."

Crystal frowned in response. "Something moving in the sand…."

Before Crystal could ask or look to try and see what it was that Brendan saw, the sand in front of them suddenly exploded upward.

Crystal jumped back in surprise when she saw dark blurs suddenly burst up from the sand, followed closely by a pair of Sandslash.

"Aha!" One of the two figures pointed at Crystal in a dramatic manner. "You're that person that Diamond told us about! The Mew Girl he ran into in Mural Cavern! You're Crystal!"

Crystal shifted her stance a little, then looked down at the Anorith. "Ando, be ready. Those Sandslash could do with a good soaking."

Ando raised his claws in response while Crystal turned her attention to the two figures. "I am Crystal. What's it to you?"

The two looked at each other. Now that they were closer and definitely not hiding in the sand, it was easy to see that the two of them seemed to be ninjas dressed for the sandy weather.

"We didn't think that you could talk using your mind," one of the sand ninjas commented. He looked like he was going to say something else, but then his friend elbowed him in the gut.

"Don't you dare say anything else!" the second one hissed.

"Now! While they're distracted!"

Ando raised his claws and fired the Water Gun, hitting one of the Sandslash square in the chest.

The Ground-Type stumbled back, spluttering. "H-hey! Who hit me?!"

Crystal nodded in approval. "Good. Keep going with that one; we'll focus our attention on the other one."

As if in response, Ando burrowed a little under the sand, leaving his upper half somewhat visible as he fired off another Water Gun at the Sandslash.

Brendan started to reach for one of his PokeBalls, but then he hesitated and dropped his hand a moment later when he remembered that he didn't want to let any of his Pokémon out right now – the sandstorm was too bad for any non-Ground, Rock, or Steel-Type Pokémon to handle. So instead, he started looking around to see if he could spot anyone else who might be nearby.

Meanwhile, the two sand ninjas looked at Crystal with shocked expressions before they quickly changed into anger.

"Hey!" the second one barked. "What do you think you're doing, huh?! Kids like you should know that you shouldn't be messing with other people's stuff!"

"I am Crystal, remember?" Crystal smirked slyly under her bandanna. "I've been causing trouble for all of you since I arrived here in Hoenn. Or do I need to say anything about what happened in Littleroot?"

The two ninjas didn't seem to like that very much, as they instantly tensed at Crystal's words.

"That's it!" The second ninja barreled forward immediately, bringing back a fist. "You're gonna pay for what you did back there!"

Crystal sidestepped the attack with a little hop, hovering in the air a couple inches off the ground.

"If you want to fight like that, then take this!" Crystal slammed down on the man's head with her fists clenched together. The sand ninja was slammed into the ground as a response, letting out a pained noise and reaching up and rubbing his head. "I'm not just able to use telepathy."

"We were warned about this," the still-standing sand ninja groaned, facepalming. "They said that she was really smart, remember? Diamond ran into her before! He said that she could use Pokémon abilities!"

Ando fired a third Water Gun, getting the Sandslash he had been aiming for again. The Ground-Type reeled for a moment, then managed to find his balance.

It was at this point that Zuzu suddenly exploded up from the ground – right underneath the other Sandslash that had yet to get hit.

"Oi!" The Sandslash landed on the ground, sending more sand flying up into the air. "Hey! You don't sneak up on people like that!"

"There are a whole lot of weird-looking Pokémon Trainers hiding in the sand around here!" Zuzu exclaimed. "Trisha's prankin' them, but we don't have very much time to catch them off guard!"

"Good job!" Crystal gave a thumbs-up to the Marshtomp. "Ando, keep going with the Water Gun! I'll give you some help, as well."

Ando scraped his claws together, then fired off another Water Gun, catching the Sandslash one more time and sending it off its feet, clearly knocked out.

"Nice one!" Zuzu gave Ando a thumbs-up and a grin before turning to look over at the Sandslash that was still standing. "But you're not the only one that can do stuff like that! Water Gun!"

The resulting blast of water took out the Sandslash without needing a second blast.

"Yes!" Zuzu fist-pumped while Brendand grinned under his bandanna and the two sand ninjas looked at the two of them with wide eyes. "Take that, you overgrown Sandshrews!"

The ninja that had been knocked to the ground leapt to his feet. "You guys aren't going to be able to last for very long out here! We'll see to that!"

"I'd like to see you try," Crystal replied, a knowing gleam in her eye. She raised one hand and made a motion. Instantly, the stand that was swirling around in the storm started hitting four invisible walls and an invisible ceiling about a foot above their heads.

"Barrier," Crystal said verbally, letting out a sigh of relief. "All right. How about you two tell us what it is that you guys are up to around here? I'm guessing that you're planning something that has something to do with that Mirage Tower over there." She pointed towards the flickering building in the distance.

"What's it to you?" the second sand ninja responded in a snarky manner, scowling. "You're not going to be able to stop us!"

"Really?" Brendan stepped forward, grabbing one of his PokeBalls. "We just got our fourth Gym Badges. I doubt that you can stand against Trainers who have that kind of power."

The two ninjas looks at each other, then burst out laughing.

"You really think that you can take on our boss?" the second ninja demanded. "You'd be dead before you would even have a chance of beating him!"

Crystal and Brendan exchanged looks for a moment before looking over at the sand ninjas with somewhat blank expressions. Then Crystal raised a hand and made an odd motion with one of her hands while her eyes glowed with an eerie light. A mere moment later, the two sand ninjas collapsed to the ground.

Crystal adjusted the bandanna around her mouth, frowning at the two now-sleeping ninjas. "Okay. I'm going to pull down the Barrier so that we can keep moving forward."

"What about these guys?" Brendan motioned to the two knocked out sand ninjas.

"Considering that they are wearing clothes that are protecting them from the sandstorm, I think they're going to be all right." Crystal paused. "Plus, I think that there might be someone hanging around who teleports these guys out of danger before they can be caught. I haven't figured out who it is yet, but it sounds a lot like Magnus managed to somehow find a way to…." Crystal hesitated.

"To what?" Brendan asked, frowning.

"To make someone like me."

Zuzu looked at Crystal with a wide-eyed expression. "Seriously?"

"I'm really hoping that it isn't true, but I don't really know yet. I haven't seen whoever-it-is yet." Crystal looked around at her Barrier for a moment, frowning a little, then raised one hand. "You ready for this, Brendan?"

Brendan gave a nod. "Yeah. Let's go."

Crystal gave a nod, then dropped her arm, the Barrier coming with it. Instantly, the group was bombarded by the sand the sandstorm was hurling around.

Zuzu let out a gagging noise. "Okay, I'm going back under the sand to see if there's anything I can do to help that Trapinch!"

"We'll meet you at the entrance to the Mirage Tower," Crystal said, nodding.

Zuzu gave Crystal a nod, then saluted Brendan before diving back under the sand.

"Okay; let's keep going." Brendan turned and started forward. Crystal followed after him, taking an almost casual, hovering step across the sand.

Crystal looked around as they went, blinking a little. She frowned. "I'm not sensing any other human or Pokemon presences around here…something tells me that Zuzu and Trisha are doing their jobs and are driving the Magnus Trainers off."

The ground in front of the group sudden started bunching up, revealing the head of a Trapinch.

"Crystal! Zuzu and I have managed to scare the Magnus members into going inside the tower," Trisha exclaimed. "It should be safe to go in now!"'

"Thanks!" Crystal gave the Trapinch a thumbs-up. "Where's the entrance?"

Zuzu popped up out of the sand. "It's over this way! Come on!"

Looks like Magnus is planning something - and it's Diamond, no less!

I'll see you guys next week!