Pokemon2:The New Dimension

by Sarie Cigam

The beginning's not to good, but it gets a lot better... this is not your average Ash&Misty fic

1. Chapters 19-28

Chapter 19

Team Rocket AGAIN?!

After a short hike, the "twirp trio", as Team Rocket knew them, arrived in the massive industrial city of Saffron. Saffron rivaled Celedon in sheer size, and was the birthplace of Sliph and Co., the top manufacturers in the pokemon world. Usually, the city was a fun and welcoming place, but today, it was seething with dark-cloaked figures sneaking around in the dark shadows.

"Who're the sneaks?" Beth whispered to Adnap and Sarie as one of the figures in question stepped around them.

"I have no idea. We need to stop by the Sliph building, I know someone there." Adnap said. Sarie nodded, and the three plodded towards the huge Sliph Co. office building. They were followed by Chester the Raichu, Nida the Nidoqueen, and Oddy the oddish. The dark figures took long glances at the three pokemon and their masters, greed shining in their eyes.

Two of the figures growled like dogs as they watched the three. One pulled off his black hood, exposing his white hair. One patch of it was black and charred permanently. He yanked off the second figure's hood and put up a finger for silence.

"This time we do it right, Millicent. No screw-ups."

"Get offa me, Draco. I know what to do." Millicent shook strands of dark green hair from her eyes as she spoke. A lean looking persian prowled over to her, carrying a purse.

"Are you nuts, Millicent? Anyone could have seen that mangey feline! And stealing money! Leave that to the humans, slowpoke-brains!"

"Shut up, Draco! I know what I'm doing! Lets go now, before you alert the cops!"

The two figures slid their hoods over their faces and slipped into the Sliph Co. building without a sound.

As soon as the trio entered the building, they noticed that no one was working at the front desk. As the Sliph Co. Building was a huge office, the fact that there was no receptionist was not a good sign.

"Where is everyone?" Adnap asked herself. "This place is usually a madhouse."

"It's kinda spooky. Maybe we'd better go upstairs and see if anyone's there?" Beth suggested. Sarie looked around and agreed that it was the best course of action.

The stairwells were dark, as if the lights had gone out. By the time the three reached the fourth floor, there was not enough light to see by. Adnap's growlithe fixed that with his red glow. Still, it was eerie walking through the seemingly abandoned building with just the glow from Growlie.

"Sure is dark in here. I wonder where everyone is?" Sarie said to her companions as they entered the final floor. A large office building dominated this floor, and Sarie guessed that was were everyone was. What she didn't guess was that this whole thing was a deadly setup.

Nida sniffed the air, then let out a frightened yelp at the scents on the air. It was too late. A pair of black gloved hands shot out and tightened around the Nidoqueen's neck. Sarie turned around to see what the commotion was, only to find her Nidoqueen gone.

"Nida! Where are ya? Come on back! We need ta stick together!" Sarie shouted into the pitch blackness. Just as she was about to let out Helia for light, a dull flash lit the office. Adnap stifled a shriek of pure terror as she too was snatched into the shadows by a pair of black hands.

"So, we meet again, Beth and Sarie. This time, though, we have the advantage." Draco stepped into the greyish light and brandished a steely dagger in the two trainer's faces. Millicent appeared next to Draco with her own knife. Beth gulped and placed a shaking hand on Waterpup's pokeball. Millicent shook her finger at Beth.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, little girl. Look and see what will happen to two of your friends if you try to escape." Her finger guided both trainer's gaze to the desk at the back of the room. Nida and Adnap were tied to the desk legs with Millicent's Persian's claws at their throats. Sarie thought hard for a minute, then got an idea. She linked her mind with her Kadabra's, who was still inside his pokeball. She spoke to him telepathically, telling him to teleport from his pokeball and next to the desk, but remain invisible. She then sent a telepathic message to Beth.

(Beth, don't make any motion. Don't let them know I'm psychic, or else we're all in trouble. When I shout go, bring out all of your pokemon. Kadabra's got Adnap and Nida covered.)

Beth made a slight nod while Draco was facing Millicent. Sarie then told Kadabra, who was still linked to her mind, to communicate to Nida the plan. She told Adnap herself.

(Adnap, don't make a movement. Its me, Sarie. I'm Psychic. When I say go, Persian is going to fly off of the floor for a moment. You and Nida run to the other end of the room, out of danger and then help me and Beth fight.)

Adnap also gave a slight nod. Sarie readied herself for the spring, preparing her mind as well. She would need all the skills she had to pull this off without getting one for her friends or their pokemon killed. Then pandemonium broke loose. Adnap misread Sarie's intentions and leaped up. Nida and Beth followed, taking Sarie's concentration away. Persian clawed at Adnap's throat, missing it by inches and gashing her shoulder instead. Nida felt the sharp toe claws of Persian graze her shoulder as she ducked away from his attack. Beth just managed to leap away from the dagger that had been thrown by Draco, but took Millicent's dagger in her thigh. Sarie was kicked by Draco's hard boot as she put one arm around his neck, holding him in a headlock. Using her psychic powers, she hurled Mew's pokeball to the floor, depressing the release button as she did. Mew immediately leaped onto Millicent's persian, freeing Adnap and Nida. Both pokemon rushed over to Millicent and pinned her down. Kadabra appeared next to Beth and supported her with one spoon-laden paw.

"Stay still and don't move a muscle!" Sarie snarled into Draco's face. Beth shoved her foot down hard on the back of Millicent's neck.

"This is for that slash on my thigh." Beth grimaced in pain as the blood from her deep thigh wound stained her pants red. Adnap blanched and turned away from the blood, but kept a firm grip on Millicent's neck.

"What do we do with them now?" Adnap asked. Sarie looked around, holding a hand to her bruised knee. What would they do with them? She never figured that out, for at that moment a sweet song filled the air.

"Jigglypuff!" Beth shouted. Even as she spoke, her eyes became leaden and she dropped to the floor. Sarie kept her wits about her long enough to return Nida, Mew and Kadabra to their pokeballs, and then drifted off inches away from Draco's deadly dagger. Adnap had already toppled over in a deep, dreamless sleep. Millicent stood up and rubbed her sore neck.

"Stupid little twerps! We were going to just steal your pokemon before, but now I think we'll take you to the boss!"

"Yes, a visit to our boss might do them good. Go, Slythren!" Draco released a massive and powerful Arbok from the pokeball at his waist. "Grab those three and carry them for us!"

Adnap opened her eyes, only to see complete and utter darkness. She turned her head, but found that it caused her great pain. Her whole body ached and burned, and her head felt like twenty Golems had been tap-dancing on it.

"Sarie? Beth?" Adnap called into the darkness. Her throat felt like sandpaper and her voice was scratchy and painful.

"Adnap?" Beth's voice rang out in the darkness. Suddenly, a ray of light shone into the room. Beth inched her way towards Adnap.

"Where are we?" Adnap asked, frightened.

"This is Team Rocket's lair. They took Sarie away, and they haven't brought her back. It's been nearly an hour. I wonder where she it?"

"Team Rocket! Those evil maniacs! We have to get out of here and save Sarie! She could be in real trouble!"

"One problem, we're in a steel cell with no windows and one locked door, and the key is activated by fingerprints. If the wrong finger touches the keypad, an alarm goes off. In other words, we couldn't get very far if we did escape. Plus, my leg isn't very healthy and this place is like a maze. Basically, we're in here for a long time."

"Oh, great. Did they steal our pokemon?"

"No, we still have 'em. My Raichu is sleeping."

"Ok then, I'll let mine out. Come out, everyone!" Adnap's six pokemon showed themselves for the first time to Beth, who had only seen Pika, Growlie, and Oddy. The other three were a paras, dratini, and butterfree. Growlie's light lit up Beth's pokemon in the corner. They were Chester, Waterpup, Bubblebeamer, Moonstone, and El Ekid, as well as Fang. Oddy, Growlie, butterfree and pika snuggled into the heap of tired pokemon while Dratini curled his long body around them. Paras scrambled into Adnap's lap. Beth limped over to the Pokepile and grabbed Fang to sit with her.

"Adnap, I'm scared." She whispered quietly into the gloom.

"I am too." Adnap put her arm around her friend, and the two sat in total darkness as Adnap's worn-out growlithe's light faded to nothingness.

Chapter 20

Giovanni

Sarie knew she was in trouble when she was dragged into consciousness and pulled along the dank corridors by Draco and Millicent. Her head ached abominably, and her knee was swollen and bruised, but she resided in the fact that her pokemon had not been taken. Either team rocket was utterly stupid, or they were playing some sort of cruel joke on her. She would wait to find out, though. No sense in getting her pokeballs taken away before she could properly fight.

Draco and Millicent dragged Sarie into a large, dark room covered wall to wall with massive computer screens. Although shadows cloaked most of the room, Sarie could still make out a black leather chair near the far back wall. The wall had what looked like a long control panel protruding from it. The ever-present computer screens seemed larger and more prominent on that wall, even though it was the most shadowed place in to room. A bed made of ebony rested against the left hand wall and the back wall. On the blood-red cover sheet lay a massive, beautifully furred persian. It stretched, yawned, then leaped gracefully from the bed to circle Sarie. If the persian hadn't been so menacing, Sarie would have found it to be quite beautiful and attractive, but no where near her own Mew.

"Bring her to me, then leave." A grating, metallic voice sounded through the room, making Sarie shiver in fear. She was dragged to a small red carpet in front of the chair's back and left there. Draco cast a fearful glance at the chair before scooting from the room after Millicent.

"Whoever you are, I want you to know I am a very good trainer and I don't take any garbage off of anyone!" Sarie's quaking voice betrayed her fear.

A hideous laugh sounded from the thing in the chair as it swung around to reveal a man in an orange suit. The upper half of his face was shrouded in shadow. "You seem to have a lot of guts, girl. Not for long." The man snapped his fingers and the persian leaped at Sarie's throat. Sarie's reflexes saved her. She rolled out of the way, grabbing the Persian's back leg as she went. The cat skidded to a stop and wrenched its leg free. With a paralyzing screech, it leaped again. This time, Sarie wasn't fast enough. Sharp claws tore through her shirt and into her shoulder. Then the persian kicked backwards, knocking Sarie over. With a devious grin, it pinned Sarie to the floor and began to tear mercilessly at her back.

"We need to get out of here." Adnap whispered to Beth. Beth nodded and poked the sleeping Chester.

"Flash." She commanded. A bright white light lit the cell, nearly blinding the two trainers. With the new light source, Adnap and Beth could fully take in their surroundings. They were in a smooth-walled cell with one heavy iron door and no windows. A bit of light shone from beneath the door, giving conclusive evidence that the cell opened up into the main hallway.

Adnap spoke first. "Well, the good news is that this door seems to be the only obstacle between us and the rest of the building." she said as she patted the massive door. "The bad news is, there seems to be no way to get past this door."

"Wait, you have a growlithe, right?" Beth asked. Growlie peered up at the two humans upon hearing his name. Beth continued. "He can melt down this door!"

"Right! Now we need a plan of escape. We need to find Sarie and get out quickly, before alerting too many guards."

"Ok, why don't we ride our pokemon to safety? Chester can carry me, and you can use fang!"

"No need! Here, Growlie!" Adnap called her growlithe over to her. The puppy pokemon looked up at her with utter adoration in its eyes as it placed a paw on her arm. "Growlie, do you want to evolve?" Adnap asked, producing a shimmering fire stone from her pocket. Growlie nosed the stone, sniffed it, then put his paw on it. Suddenly, he began to shimmer! He grew in size and power until he nearly filled the room. Adnap leapt to his back and returned her pokemon. Beth did the same, hopping onto Fang's broad back instead of Chester, who looked pretty pooped out. Fang snarled in unison with Growlie, then bunched his powerful muscles as Growlie burnt a hole through the door. As soon as the door had been melted off, both pokemon sprang into the hallway. Fang sniffed for a moment before leaping down a corridor with Growlie in hot pursuit.

"Find Sarie!" Adnap ordered Growlie. The big arcanine barked at Fang to follow, then charged away in the opposite direction. Fang followed, his muscular legs pumping as his claws scrabbled for purchase on the slick tile floor. Growlie's huge claws dented the floor as he raced along, his yellowish fur bouncing and flowing to the rythem of his heart.

Finally, the four arrived in the black room. Growlie snarled at the sight of the Persian, while Fang fearfully backed away. Beth and Adnap gasped at the sight of Sarie's bloodied body lying, face down on the floor. They thought she was dead, but at the sound of Growlie's frantic barking she raised her head. Seeing her friends, new hope surged through her. She hurled Stryka's pokeball to the floor, kicking Persian as she did. The big cat shook its head and went after Fang in its rage. Fang ducked the leap, causing the Persian to slam into Beth. Her head hit the stone floor with a sickening thud, and she went unconscious.

"Growlie, bite attack now!" The Arcanine grabbed Persian cruelly by the shoulder and bit down, hard. Persian's shoulder blade snapped with a crunch. The man in te dark suit returned his pet to his pokeball and shouted into the darkness, "GUARDS!"

"Fang, grab Beth now! Growlie, sniff a way outta here, fast!" Adnap cried as hundreds of Team Rocket members entered the room. Sarie grabbed one and yanked his belt off. She looped it in a kind of harness to Fang, tying Beth onto his furry back. Stryka squawked and began to gallop after Fang and Growlie, kicking many Rockets along the way. Soon the trio came to a brick wall. Adnap tossed out dratini, and roared, "Use dig attack now!"

Dratini dug through the wall, then wound itself around one of Stryka's two heads. The three pokemon galloped full speed across the grass, hearts pounding in their chests as the sounds of jeeps grew louder and louder.

"We need to fly away! Sarie, grab Beth! On my signal, return Fang and get Stryka to fly away!" Adnap called. Stryka shook her heads, saying that two humans were too much to carry. Sarie looked around desperately for some way of flying Beth. Just then, Char came hurtling out of the trees. Sarie leaped off of Stryka and onto Char just as Fang shoved Beth onto Stryka's back. He then returned himself.

"Adnap, fly Beth outta here! Char and I will take care of Team Rocket!" Sarie cried as Char flew into the air. Adnap looked up at the dozens of helicopters and shook her head. She hoped Sarie knew what she was doing...

"CHAAAAAAAAAR!" Char roared as he melted the propellers off of the first helicopter. As the second came rushing towards him, he slashed deep into the metallic hull, spraying fuel across his fiery orange skin. He continued to shred the helicopters like this until no more remained.

At first Beth thought she was back in the black room at the Lavender pokemon center. She could see nothing, but knew her eyes were open. She looked around, or rather turned her head, but still saw no light. She shouted into the darkness, but no sound escaped her throat. Only silence remained. She reached out to feel something, a wall or the bed or something, but her seeking fingers did not brush across soft sheets. She moved her hand to where her face should have been, but still felt nothing. If her face wasn't there, then how was she seeing? She panicked, remembering Sarie's description of being dead. Her voiceless cry tore itself from her throat, her formless hands reached out for anything tangible. Tears that were not wet rolled down her not-really-there cheeks. Just as she was about to give up hope and allow herself to fade away, a strange, glowing form appeared in the darkness.

"Who are you?" Beth asked in her soundless voice.

"I am you, you are me, we are one. I am Beth surge or Burts, whichever you please." The figure said in an eerie not-quite-there voice.

"What do you mean, 'we are one?' I'm not you, I'm me!" Beth said in confusion. The other figure smiled.

"I am Beth, you are Beth, we are one!"

"I am Beth Burts!"

"I am Beth Surge!"

"Then you aren't me!"

The other figure looked a bit nervous as it mumbled to itself. "Sarie was always better at this than me... I can't do this whole mystical thing. Who does she think I am, a ghost?"

"What do you mean, 'Sarie was always better at this than me'?" Beth demanded, feeling annoyed at the figure.

"Oops, you weren't supposed to hear that. Oh well, too late now. Ok, I guess I'll just explain everything straight. I am your other-dimension self. In fact, you have two other-dimension selves, and I'm just one of them. You see, there are three dimensions and you are in the central one. The dimensions are arranged like this." Beth surge, the figure, traced three sharply pointed ovals in the blackness. They overlapped slightly, with the one on the left overlapping the center one more. "This," She said, pointing to the left oval, "is the first dimension of pokemon. This is my dimension, the one that is being destroyed now. This," She pointed to the center oval. "Is your own dimension. Your dimension is the one that is going to be destroyed after my own is if you and your friends don't save it. This third one," She pointed to the last oval, "is the third dimension. It is the 'standard' for the dimensions, being the most normal. Everyone has three selves, one in each dimension. I am your first dimension self. Likewise, you have another one in this third dimension, but you will never see her. Each self has similarities to the others. Both of us have pikachus that evolve into Raichus, and both of us are named Beth. See?"

Beth nodded. This was all so weird!

"You will not remember any of this when you wake up. Sorry, but that's the way it's gotta be. Anyway, hope you have a good time in the living world!" Beth S snapped her fingers and Beth B woke up.

Chapter 21

Psychics

"Ooooh, my head! What happened?" Beth asked groggily as she woke up. Her head hurt terribly and one eye had a bandage over it. Sarie and Adnap stood next to her bed, looking concerned.

"For a minute we thought you'd gone the way of mysterio!" Sarie said, blinking her scarred eye in agitation. Adnap wrung her hands and absent mindedly patted her oddish's head.

"Nah, you can't get rid of me that easily. I'm tough as nails! Anyway, where am I?" Beth asked, looking around.

"The Saffron City Pokemon center. Actually, it was Char who saved you. I couldn't get you to the pokecenter, so Char picked you up and took you over here." Adnap said. Beth noticed the huge Charizard standing behind Sarie. She sat up and grabbed onto the big fire lizard's neck.

"Thank you, Char." she said, hugging his neck tightly. The charizard sniffed once, then returned the embrace.

"Awww, how sweet! Ok, enough sentiment. Beth, you look fit! Lets go to the Saffron Gym!" Sarie Sarie, punching the air. Her Kadabra appeared next to her and did the same with one spooned hand. Beth and Adnap raised their hands as well, and the three trainers shouted together, "To the Saffron Gym!"

Saffron City was well-known for its amazing psychic gym. The outside of the gym was quite plain, but once inside the trainer found themselves in a maze of teleport tiles. Sarie used her own psychic powers to fin the way, leading her bewildered friends behind her. They were in an alien world of telekinesis and bending spoons, and they felt totally alone. Sarie, however, was in her element. She could sense the psychic emanations from not only her own Kadabra, but also the humans in the gym as well. Kadabra had become a stationary part of her mind, always with her no matter where he was. This bond allowed Sarie to command Kadabra flawlessly.

Finally, after a long trek through the gym, the trio reached Sabrina's chambers. The battle area looked more like a temple than a gym, but the battle arena was there none the less. Adnap called into the shadows.

"Hello? We three want a pokemon battle for a marsh badge, please."

From the back of the room, a panel swung open. A tall, thin woman glided from the hidden door, her long black hair flowing like water. Her violet eyes glinted dangerously and her hand strayed to three pokeballs at her waist. She spoke in a voice like a coming thunderstorm. "I accept your challenge. Who shall be my first victim?"

"I will." Beth said as she stepped forward. Sabrina allowed a small smile to creep onto her lips.

"Go, Hypno." She threw her first pokeball into the ring. A yellow-skinned Hypno appeared, swinging its charm back and forth and droning, "hyyyyyypno, hyyyypno"

"I choose you, Fang!" Beth shouted. Her raticate appeared, viciously snapping his huge fangs in Hypno's face.

"Hypno, Confusion." Sabrina said. Hypno began to swing its charm faster, chanting louder as he focused on Fang.

"Fang, don't look it in the eyes! Use hyperfang now!" Beth shouted. Fang pounced onto Hypno's head, disrupting its attack as he did. His fangs flashed down once, and Hypno fell to the floor, blood seeping from one torn shoulder. Sabrina smiled again as she returned Hypno.

"Good, very good. Now you with the oddish, you will battle my Venomoth." Sabrina next sent out a very large Venomoth.

"Go, Growlie!" Adnap's Arcanine appeared, snarling at the Venom pokemon.

"Venomoth, psybeam now."

"Growlie, Flamethrower now!"

Growlie's flamethrower trashed Venomoth easily. Sabrina again smiled as she returned her smoking Venomoth.

"Now the final one." She said simply. Sabrina's hands never moved as her last pokeball floated to the floor. It burst open to reveal an Alakasam, the king of psychic pokemon.

Sarie gulped. Nida was useless in this situation, Mew had too low of a special to be of much use, Stryka was the same way as Mew, Powerplant was half poison, and Kadabra wasn't as powerful as Alakasam. If she could evolve Kadabra, that would be another story....

"I am going to wait to compete for my badge. I'll come back later." Sarie said boldly. Sabrina's smile became an evil smirk.

"None of you will leave here until you defeat me in a battle." Sabrina pointed to Sarie.

"Fine. Go, Tassadar!" Sarie had no idea where the name Tassadar came from, but she knew instantly that it was the perfect name for her Kadabra. The second stage psychic looked up in terror at his final form and gripped his single spoon so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"A mere Kadabra. Hah. Alakasam, Psybeam now."

"Tassadar, Psychic!"

Tassadar cringed as the psychic waves of energy hit him. After the Alakasam's devastating attack was over, he used his own psychic powers to slam Alakasam to the floor. Alakasam resisted and put more painful pressure on Tassadar's mind. Tassadar looked back to his master for further instruction, only to see her holding her head in pain. The psychic bond caused Sarie to feel her kadabra's pain. Instead of calling a command, Sarie managed to tell Tassadar psychically to use recover. Instantly, Tassadar's many burns and wounds healed, and the pain in both his and Sarie's heads lessened. Sabrina's smirk disappeared as she called for a psychic attack. Sarie closed her eyes tightly and concentrated hard on helping her kadabra. Both of them used a combine shielding attack to ward off the powerful psychic blow. Due to the strength of the attack, only a small amount of damage was deflected. Tassadar fell to the floor, his eyes turned up into his skull. He thrashed about, groaning in pain. Sarie crouched over, holding her head and trying to ignore the exploding pain inside her brain. She reached out and placed the fingers of one hand on Tassadar's spoon, which was bent over from the psychic feedback that resulted from the Alakasam's psychic attack. Sarie fought to think over the pain, but could barely remain conscious. Some small idea kept flitting in and out of her brain, but she could not grasp it.

"Kadabra....." Tassadar mumbled as he crouched down near Sarie's feet, looking utterly dejected. No pokemon likes to be beaten by its evolution. His sad eyes peered up at his master, looking for guidance. Sarie could only look back at him in sorrow.

"How can I defeat this thing?" Sarie asked herself. She began to think hard on Alakasam's weaknesses, but her headache was impeding her thoughts. Psychics were weak to bugs, but she had no bug -type pokemon and she knew Tassadar wanted to beat Alakasam on his own. What was Alakasam's weak point....?

"Alakasam!" The powerful psychic blasted Tassadar again with psychic power, causing Sarie to fall to her knees. Her eyes were at shoulder level to kadabra, giving her full view of his brown-colored body armor. Wait, body armor... That was it!

"Tassadar, Hyperbeam now!" Sarie shouted. Tassadar crossed his spoons over his chest and sent a bright white beam of energy at Alakasam. When the dust settled, Alakasam had fainted.

"We, we won." Sarie said, speechless. Tassadar fell to the floor beside his master, tears of gratitude falling from his weary eyes.

"Yes, you have fought a most amazing battle. Here, these are your Marsh Badges. Now, go." Sabrina's eyes flashed green, and the three trainers found themselves at the entrance to the Celedon Pokecenter.

"Wow, she really didn't want us anywhere in her city, did she." Beth said, wiping the dust form her shorts.

"After Sarie's battle, I should think not." Adnap said.

"It was nothing. When you've got a psychic who's as close to you as Tassadar is to me, battles are pretty quick." Sarie said as she picked up her utterly spent Kadabra. He sighed and fell into a fitful slumber. Sarie stumbled into the pokecenter, dropped her five pokeballs and Tassadar onto the counter and fell into a chair. Her head thudded onto the table and she fell asleep.

Chapter 22

Peeves

"So, we're going up into the lavender pokemon tower to catch a ghost?" Sarie asked Beth

"Ummm, yeah, I've kinda always wanted one. I don't know who I'm going to put in the box to make room for it, though. I was thinking, maybe Erika wants to study El Ekid?" Beth asked herself.

"Sure! I think she'd love it. That's a great idea!" Adnap said.

After making sure El Ekid would be ok with Erika, they left for the pokemon tower. The huge, ancient structure had stood in Lavender since before Humans had come to Indigo Island. Now, humans had used the building as a burial ground for dead pokemon.

Sarie sniffed once when she saw Mysterio's grave marker inside. The trainer trio had buried the faithful pokemon when Sarie had been well enough to stand up. Now the three said a silent prayer for Mysterio, remembering and hoping that a tragedy like that would never happen again.

"Now, according to my sources, the ghosts like to hang out on the third level. Lets go!" Beth said as she led her two frightened friends up the narrow, rickety stairway.

"Err, how did you get permission to hunt ghosts? I thought this place was banned unless you were here to pray for a dead pokemon." Adnap asked.

"Well, heh, Sarie's Mysterio was dead, so I got a permit to pray for that." Beth held up a permit, grinning sheepishly.

"Look! A ghost!" Sarie screamed. A blob of black and purple floated in the center of the room.

"Go, Chester!" Beth cried. Chester ran right up to the ghost and growled at it. The ghost turned, showing its small fangs and evil eyes. It growled right back at Chester, paralyzing the Raichu. It then became invisible, leaving the trainer trio slightly freaked out.

"Chester! Here's a paralyze heal for you." Beth sprayed the curative on Chester, then stood up looking fairly annoyed. Then she turned around to see Sarie and Tassadar speaking to something.

"You look here, ghastly, we don't like your tricks. Now, if I have to, I'll make you visible so my sister can capture you. So, are you going to come along quietly?"

"Oh, yeah, she's psychic." Beth mumbled as she readied her pokeball. She threw it at the Ghastly as it appeared, but the pokeball bounced right off of its surface.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Beth shouted. Just then, Bubblebeamer sprang from his pokeball and blasted the Ghastly with water.

"Way to go, Bubble! Now, both of you together, Surfing Thunder!" Bubblebeamer grabbed Chester and put him on his shell, then blasted gallons of water onto the floor. More water gushed form the walls, and soon the three trainers were knee deep in icy water. The Wartortle grabbed a surf board and leaped onto it, making waves crash down on the Ghastly. Chester leaped off of Bubblebeamer's shell and used a massive thunder attack to electrocute Ghastly.

When the water drained out of the room, Beth got a good look the Ghastly. It was small, no more than level 19. She wondered if it was worth capturing, and decided that due to the lack of ghastlys, it was. She hurled the pokeball at the near-faint pokemon and held her breath as the ball wobbled and shook. Finally, it stopped moving and the light went dim. The final PING made Beth begin her victory dance.

"I caught a Ghastly! Yay!" She sent out the ghost pokemon and gave it a super potion. The ghastly looked at her with sorrow and asked for forgiveness. "It's ok, Ghastly. You were just acting on instinct! In fact, because you were so peevish, I'm gonna name you peeves. You'll be really good at making my enemies peeved!"

"Ghastly! Ghastly!" The ghastly obviously loved his name, and soon Beth and Peeves were leading the 'Twerp Trio' out of the Lavender Tower.

"The next question is, how are we gonna get to Fucia from here? My feet are killing me!" Sarie complained as they exited the tower.

"We can't walk there or we'll be late for the race! Wait, the race... I've got it! We can ride our race pokemon there! It'll be great practice, and we should get there quicker than walking!" Adnap shouted.

"Great idea! Go, Fang!" Beth sent out fang and hopped on his furry back.

"Go, Growlie!" The Arcanine licked Adnap before kneeling so she could climb on his back.

"I choose you, Stryka!" Sarie's doduo pawed the ground anxiously.

"Lets go!" The three shouted. Their pokemon leaped up and began to run at breakneck pace towards Fucia.

"Look, Growlie's the fastest!" Adnap shouted as her Arcanine pulled out in front.

"Not for long!" Beth's Raticate had been jogging slowly to allow the others to keep up, but now he ran full speed, quickly catching up to Growlie.

"No fair! Doduo's not evolved yet!" Sarie shouted. Stryka made fierce rumbling noises in her throat and ran with all her might. She still could not catch up.

"Doduooooooo!" Stryka screeched in fury at the two forms racing in front of her. She mustered all her energy and courage, and began to evolve.

"Doduo's evolving!" Sarie whispered as Stryka grew larger. Sarie winced as Stryka's right head split in two. Her legs grew longer and more powerful, and her tail burst through her backside along with sleeker, more streamlined feathers. When she was finally complete, Stryka easily outran Growlie and Fang. Her legs pumped and her three heads stood strait out as she exceeded 70mph.

It seemed the racers were ready.

Chapter 23

Taro's Race

Fucia City was a beautiful city south of Cerulean. It boasted a massive wildlife park called the Safari Zone where trainers could come to capture rare and elusive pokemon. Adnap's parents ran the park and also helped coordinate the annual Fucia City Big P race. Adnap was an expert at pokemon racing, and now was old enough to compete for her family's honor. She was determined to beat the favorite, Taro, who had won three years in a row with his Tauros. The trio entered the Fucia Pokecenter, and who should be standing there but Taro.

Sarie's first impression of Taro was not a nice one. He wore rags and his left ear was half missing. Not only that, but he had a constant scowl on his face. He swaggered up to Adnap and leered meanly at her.

"Well, if it isn't little miss Shiddo. You are racing this year I've heard."

"Wow, it's a wonder you can hear at all with only one ear!" Adnap sneered.

"Well see who can hear at all after this race, Adnap. You may not have ANY ears once my Tauros is done with you." He snarled.

"Ok, break it up you two. Excuse me, Mr. Err, what was your last name?" Beth smiled.

"I have no last name, shorty!"

"So you have no family?"

Taro glared at her, then stalked out of the center.

"Wow, good job, Beth. You got rid of him." Sarie patted Beth's shoulder. Adnap suddenly spun around to face them.

"Whatever we do tomorrow, Taro must not win the race." She said solemnly.

"Taro won't win. We promise." Sarie said. Beth nodded. But how hard would it be to keep Taro from winning?

The next day, the day of the race, the entire city had gathered in the bleachers, the streets, and the city center for the festival of the Safari Zone Nomads, the ancient peoples who had once roamed across the plains of the Safari Zone. The festival had food, fun, games, and contests, but the highlight of the day was the Big P race, honoring the nomads and their pokemon riding skills. Only Safari Zone wardens and invited trainers could participate. The Wardens themselves lived like the nomads, roaming with their herds of pokemon wherever the winds took them. Adnap's family owned a large oddish group and a parasect group, as well as many growlithe herder dogs. Adnap's own oddish and paras had come from the group, as had her growlithe. Growlie had been her friend and the pokemon who had helped her learn the ropes of pokemon farming. Now he would help her defend the honor of her family.

Sarie and Beth didn't understand the history of the Big P race, but they did understand that Adnap's honor was at stake, so they volunteered to represent her family. For one day, they were Beth and Sarie Shiddo.

After a lot of agonizing waiting and preparation, the call for the racers blasted from the loudspeaker.

"Will all racers please come to the verification and sign up booths now. Thank you."

The three followed a huge throng of people with every imaginable racing pokemon as they walked to the booths. Sarie was amazed to see not only the normal racers like ponyta, Rapidash, and Nidorino, but other uncommon pokemon like Electrode, Khangaskhan, Vaporeon, and Persian. Sarie was a bit relieved to see no other Dodrios on the field.

The judges checked each pokemon to see that it was within the rules, and both Beth and Adnap passed. Sarie, however, did not realize that flying pokemon were not allowed. The judges let her race Stryka as long as a rope was tied around her wings. Stryka did not like the rope, but eventually let her tie it around her middle. As soon as the final preparations had been made to their pokemon, the three lined up at the starting line, right next to Taro.

"Time to separate the winners from the losers, Shiddo. Good luck... you'll be needing it to stay in one piece!"

"GO!!!!" The race master shouted. Sarie's heart stopped for a moment as Stryka leaped forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Beth on Fang running just as hard as Stryka. Adnap's Arcanine let loose with a roar of challenge, smashing into Taro's Tauros hard. The Bull pokemon stumbled, but Taro hung on tenaciously as Tauros galloped to regain his lead.

"Stryka, never give up! Now, agility!" Sarie shouted over the thundering hooves. Stryka became a blur as she sped up to maximum speed. Beth glared at Sarie and told Fang to use focus energy. Fang snarled as he leaped from a cliff, one of the obstacles on the raceway. Stryka used the power of her fly HM to soar off of the cliff and onto the ground, way ahead of the other racers. Adnap's Arcanine slid down the rocks beside Taro's Tauros.

"Growlie, it's a flat out run for now! Use your endurance!" Growlie picked up amazing speed, bypassing both Fang and Stryka. Taro shouted to his Tauros to catch up, and Tauros did. Hooves pounding the dirt to dust, steam rising from his blunt nose, Tauros represented his species well.

"Look, the river! Stryka, hop it!" Sarie's dodrio bounded from rock to rock, her claws scratching the stone as she did. Fang swam across, just as fast in the water as on land. Growlie showed no fear of water by leaping half the river in one mighty bound. Tauros smashed Stryka out of the way, causing her to nearly fall into the water.

"Watch it!" Sarie yelled. Taro merely laughed.

The next portion of the race was a treacherous run across a narrow strip of land. On either side were mile-deep canyons where many riders and their pokemon had fallen to their deaths.

Fang entered the run in first, but failed to keep the lead. Growlie jumped over fang, leaving behind the scorched Raticate. Taro was about to catch up to Adnap when his Tauros slipped on a rock. Both plunged over the edge, screaming for help. Sarie saw this and, not thinking, undid Stryka's belt. The Dodrio leaped into the canyon, followed by Fang and Growlie who had heard the commotion. The two non-flying pokemon landed on a ledge, whereas Stryka plunged downward to Taro. Sarie Caught hold of Taro's hand and held on as he returned his Tauros. Stryka flapped fiercely to gain back her altitude, but the three were slowly slipping.

"Go, Nails!" Taro shouted as he released a mighty Fearow. He jumped to its back and followed Sarie out of the cave.

Once all four were at the top, Taro looked nervously towards the finish line. "Ok, we have ta catch up to 'em. Everyone, we can't let the others win. Look, Adnap, I'm sorry about that..."

"Shush up and get going!" Adnap cried as she leaped to Growlie's back. "We gotta race to win!"

The four racers took up the entire track as they made it to the flat-out run. They knocked over other racers, scared them from the race, even jumped over quite a few in Growlie's case. At the very end of the race, all four came in at the same time.

"A tie! Looks like the honor goes to the Shiddo farm this year!" The announced shouted.

"Yay!" Adnap ran to the crowd and shoved her way to her mom and dad and hugged them tightly. Meanwhile, Taro was looking decidedly uncomfortable. He looked on at the happy scene for a minute longer, then slowly walked away towards Fucia's East Side.

"What's up with him?" Beth asked.

"I don't know. All I know is, I'm hungry! Lets go to Snorlax Burger. Adnap seems to have some family things planned." Sarie said. The two trainers returned their pooped out pokemon, left them off at the center, and walked down to Snorlax Burger, a huge burger chain. The burger meat patties were so huge that they had gained the name of Snorlax Patties.

"Welcome to Snorlax Burger. How can I help you?" The cashier said cheerfully.

"I'll have a Snorlax burger with cheese, no mustard, no Tomato and a diet Mr. Salty to drink." Sarie's favorite drink was Mr. Salty, a soda beverage with a lot of caffeine in it.

"I'll have the Snorlax Burger also, no sauce, no onions, and a lemonade to drink." Beth pulled a few yen from her pocket and paid the cashier. They waited a bit until their food was done, and sat down at a table to eat.

"Go, Chester." Beth let Chester out, and Sarie did the same for Mew and Nida. The two humans and three pokemon sat down and began to bulldoze their way through the food.

Meanwhile in the slums of Fusha...

"Why do I have to be here?" Taro asked himself.

(Taro can understand his Tauros, Tauros's speech is in parentheses)

(It's not your fault. You just seem to have bad luck, that's all.)

"Yeah, but why? I don't think I ever did anything wrong to deserve this."

(You can't help the way your parents are. You are different. You take in abandoned pokemon like nails and chip, and you rescue pokemon without homes, like me. You deserve better.)

"How do I get out of here?" Taro rested his head against a dirty brick wall and wiped away a tear.

(You can escape, just try. Maybe you can go along with the trainers who saved your life.)

"Mom and dad would never let me."

(Don't tell them)

Fifteen minutes later, Taro rode his Tauros away from his home, his pain, his old life, and towards the life he'd always dreamed of.

Chapter 24

M-B Specimens

The Fucia City Gym was a haven for poison and sleep pokemon. As well as the many koffings, arboks, and hypnos, there was also a wide variety of ground-type pokemon as well. Sarie laughed to herself when she detected no psychic powers in the trainers who owned drowzees and hypnos. The quartet shredded the trainers lurking in the shadowy gym, but were perplexed by the invisible walls, which not even Sarie could detect. They had to feel for the walls as if they were blind, and they couldn't get to Koga, who was clearly visible at the center of the room.

"This stinks! How are we supposed to get badges with these walls?" Beth complained as she walked into another wall.

"Well, we know not to go that way, that way, or that way." Adnap said, pointing to the invisible walls they had already located. "And that's the way out. That means we are at a dead end."

"How intelligent." A voice mocked nearby.

"Quite." Said another.

"Shall we show them the way out?" Said the first voice.

"At a price." She second replied.

Two cat-like pokemon materialized in front of the three trainers. One was greyish with blue eyes and white pupils. The other was a dark purple mew-like thing with a tube connecting its head and shoulders.

"You look like a mewtwo, but your arms are really wrong." Beth said. "And you look like a messed up mew."

"Come to our world." The Mewtwo-thing said. It closed its eyes, and in a flash of light, the four were teleported to a desolate island with a massive ruined building at the center.

"Follow me." The Mew-thing said. The four trainers wordlessly followed. They crossed an expanse of deserted sand, then entered the building.

"What you see here is the lab where mewtwo was created. To answer your question, she did not destroy the lab. Another creature did, a creature so evil it can not be truly called a pokemon, or even a living thing. The creature is missingo, a beast made up of the DNA of over 170 species of pokemon. Ancient pokemon who became extinct by human hands were used, such as Mereep, Denreyu, and Mew. The thing called Missingo killed everything in this lab, then destroyed it. Millions are here now, beneath this island in its caves. They war against the only pokemon not used in their creation, the Mysterio."

Sarie gasped. "Mysterio? Alive?"

"Many, many mysterio, Sarie. Thousands. But listen before you ask about them. Listen to our story, how we became this way. I sense one of you is the child who will save us . . . "

The Mewtwo-thing began to speak, its voice like wind blowing across the sea. "A long, long time ago, there lived a pokemon named Mew. The Mew species was quite common, but alas, this was not to last. Humans came to indigo island and nearly wiped out the Mew. Finally, the last on died. She was fossilized in her own sand attack dust. Years later, a scientist found her fossil in a dark cave. The cave had carvings in it, made by ancient pokemon in respect for the Mew, which is said to have mothered all other pokemon species known."

"The scientist used Mew's DNA from her fossilized eyebrow to create Mewtwo, Mewthree, and other M-2 specimens. They also created the failed species. Those were code named M-B, and were never publicized. They had features not intended in the M-2 series. I am M-B, specimen A. The first 'failure'. They wanted me killed, but I escaped. Due to my DNA, I am unable to reproduce, so I am the last and first of my species." She finished.

The Mew-thing began to speak. "The M-2 experiments did not stop. Next they created me, M-B specimen B. They did not realize that I could foretell the future, or else I may have been spared. As it was, I still escaped. The next three M-B creations died. One had malformed lungs, the second had a head to huge for its body, the third had too few organs. The next two were the most dangerous. M-B specimen F was named Mysterio. It was surrounded by a magnetic field, and was almost put down. It escaped and crossbred with the dittos that used to be on this island. Now the Mysterio is an established species. Missingo can reproduce by splitting itself, and every day twice as many Missingos as before are born. If they are not stopped, they will take control of this world, killing everything on it. You must stop them, but for now you shall not remember this. Go back now!" A blinding flash of light blinded Sarie, Beth, and Adnap, and the three found themselves back in the gym.

"Where's Taro?" Adnap looked around, but Taro was nowhere to be seen. He was still on the island.

Back on the island...

Taro looked up at the M-B specimen A. "Where are my friends?" He asked, realizing he had just called Adnap his friend.

"At the Fucia Gym. You will be joining them soon. Now, you must listen to me. This prophecy must be kept in your heart until the time is right for your friends to know. Listen..."

Taro saw a scene in front of him of desolation, smoke, and fire. Huge shapes moved in the darkness, making horrible noises. He heard M-B A's voice as if through a thick fog...

When the new master is defeated,

By the dark trainer,

The worlds shall open to each other,

The third shall be destroyed.

Five trainers shall fight,

Leader, Fighter, Twice-Lived,

One of Knowledge, one of Love,

Shall unite with themselves.

Taro looked into the mists. A huge Dog-Thing grabbed a tree in his mouth and crushed it. A dragon swung its tail and demolished a pokemon center. A reptile with long blades on its arms slashed down towards a running Rapidash... Taro closed his eyes, and when he finally opened them, he was in the Fucia gym.

"Are you Ok?" Beth asked.

"I'm fine." He replied, wiping sweat off of his face. "I just thought I saw something awful, that's all."

Chapter 25

Nida Proves a point

Taro said nothing of the M-B specimens, but he was uneasy about what he had seen. He knew in his heart that it would happen, and was afraid for the first time in his life. He decided to shake the feeling by battling at the local gym, even though he had earned his Soul Badge and the other badges a long time ago.

"So this is the famous Fucia Gym, eh Adnap?" Beth asked.

"It sure is. I was watching battles here before I could walk." Boasted Taro.

"Well, I had other things to do. I had to help Mom and Dad with the herds. My Growlie was the first pokemon I ever saw. He was born the same day I was!" Adnap said.

"Tauros, Nails, Chip, and Drillbit are just as good as your pokemon." Taro challenged.

"By the way, who are your pokemon?" Sarie asked.

"Go, pokeballs!" Taro tossed four pokeballs, letting out his Tauros, a Fearow, a Rydon, and a Cloyster. They all had scars on them, as if someone had been beating them. The Fearow's wings had two long bone tips coming from them, hence its name, Nails. The Cloyster had many spikes worn down, giving it its name, Chip. Drillbit the Rydon had long lacerations on his rock hard hide.

"You beat your pokemon?!" Beth asked incredulously.

"No, I saved them. Tauros's heard was killed by poachers when I was little, and I found him. Mom was gonna eat him for dinner, but I didn't let her. Nails was beaten by his owner for not being able to fly right. I saved him, too, and helped him fly. Chip had an abusive owner, too, and so did Drillbit. I saved them and now they love me. I take in all injured pokemon. What's it to you?" Taro glared at Beth.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"Now you do."

"Hey, look! It's the Lame Team. And a new friend!" A mean voice smirked from the direction of the gym.

"Oh no, not again..." Sarie looked over to see Krad, Diana, and a strange boy and girl standing in the gym entrance.

"Lupin? I would have thought you had the sense to keep away from me." Taro snarled at the boy.

"I have more sense then you, street dirt." The boy had black hair and eyes, and was wearing a black fleece jacket and khaki pants. He looked rich, especially next to Taro.

"Snot face!"

"Rat's rear!"

"Quit it! You two are worse than I am." The girl, a big, tall, wide thing with long black hair said.

"Olive, not you too!" Adnap said, scowling.

"Adnap! Hah, I see you teamed up with the dirt team too." Said the girl, Olive.

"Toad, be quiet." Krad said.

"I'm soooo sorry, Krad, I was just insulting them." Olive said.

"Well, I suppose you want a battle." Beth sighed.

"Yup, shorty. Draw your pokeball!" Diana laughed.

"Ya know, this whole rivalry thing could get boring. Why don't we pick out of a hat and battle the other person?" Sarie suggested.

"Why should we listen to you?" Olive (i.e. Toad) sneered.

"Quiet, Toad! That sounds interesting, scum. Why don't we do that?" Krad said.

"Sorry" Toad whined.

In a few moments, the opponents had been chosen. Beth was battling Toad, Sarie vs Lupin, Taro vs Krad, and Adnap vs Diana.

"Go, Bubblebeamer!" Beth shouted.

"Go, Faerie of Fire!" Toad shouted. A Vulpix appeared.

"Hah, Bubblebeamer, Hydro Pump!" "War!"

"Faerie, Flamethrower!"

Bubblebeamer blasted high pressure water at the Vulpix, instantly fainting it.

At Sarie's battle...

"Go, Nidagoddess!" "NIDOQUEEEEEEEN!"

"Go, Moltrese!" "KREEEEEA!"

"Nida, Surf!"

"Moltrese, Fire Blast!"

Nida picked up a surf board and rode the waves into Moltrese, KOing it instantly.

Taro's fight....

"Go, Nails!" "FEEEEEAROWWW!"

"Go, Dugtrio!" "Trio, trio, trio!"

"Nails, fly attack Now!"

"Hah, your fearow doesn't even look like it can fly, much less attack! Dugtrio, slash!"

Nails may have looked like a flightless fearow, but those wings were just as powerful as any fearow's wings. He flapped hard an flew high into the air. Dugtrio looked up in alarm as his claws slashed thin air.

"Never, ever, ever insult my pokemon. NAILS, FINISH IT!" Taro shouted. Nails slammed into the Dugtrio hard. Dugtrio was smashed into its hole and fainted.

"Return, Dugtrio!"

"Good boy, Nails." Taro hugged his fearow's neck.

At Adnap's battle...

"Go, Oddy!" "Oddish!"

"Go, Dragoon!" "Dratini!"

"Petal Dance!"

"Dragon Rage!"

Oddy began dancing around in circles, shooting razor sharp flower petals from its leaves. Within moments, Dragoon the dratini was down. This was the way it was with all the other battles, and soon only Sarie and Lupin were sill battling.

"Nida, are yo ok?" Sarie asked her Nidoqueen. The poison pokemon had already fainted Lupin's Moltrese and Zapados. Now an Articuno stood ready to fight.

"Articuno, sky attack now!" Lupin's Articuno began to glow, gathering power for a devastating attack.

"Nida, come back!" Sarie tried to return Nida, but she refused. She slowly moved away from the red beam of light coming from the pokeball.

(Translated)

"I can not stop now. I must prove myself!" Nida whispered.

(Human speak)

"Nida...." Sarie blinked back a tear at her faithful pokemon. "Ok, Blizzard attack now!"

Nida used her remaining energy to leap high into the air, spinning and spraying ice all over Articuno. The most powerful fling pokemon ever to be discovered fainted.

"No! Return, Articuno! Go, Gyrados!"

"Nida, Blizzard!"

Nida took down the Gyrados easily. She did the same with a surf attack to Lupin's ninetails. The last pokemon was a small, newly discovered pokemon called snubble. Snubble was Lupin's best pokemon.

"Snubble, Bite attack now!"

"Nida, Earthquake!"

Nida was low on hp and horribly slashed all over, but she still had the courage and strength to attack. She slammed her tail into the ground, causing boulders to break beneath Snubble. Snubble jumped over the stones and bit into Nida's back.

"No! Nida, you gotta stop! He's too strong. Let another fresh pokemon take your place! Go, Tassadar!"

The Kadabra raised his spoon, ready to use a terrible psychic attack to finish the match. Nida struggled to her feet and shoved Tassadar over. She snarled at him and looked up at Sarie, the pain at being replaced showing her eyes. Tassadar tried to get in front of her, but she snarled at him and slammed her tail into his back.

"Tassadar, let her." Sarie told her Kadabra. Tassadar backed off obediently. Nida flexed her fingers and snarled at Snubble, who promptly snarled back. Nida closed her eyes, collected her energy, and blasted a stream of ice and snow at Snubble. Snubble wore a look of utter surprise as he toppled over.

"What? Inconceivable!" Lupin growled as he returned Snubble.

"We all lost, dogbreath." Toad sniffed.

"Lets go, you three." Krad grumbled.

"Yeah." Diana said, totally abashed. The four walked away, heads low.

""We beat them!" Beth crowed.

"Sure did!" Taro said, patting his Tauros's head.

"That was easy." Adnap said.

"Nida was so good!" Sarie kneeled in front of Nida. "Thank you." She said, holding the nidoqueen's head in her arms. Nida nuzzled her arm, then collapsed in her trainer's arms.

"To the pokecenter." Sarie said, picking up Nida. The four victorious trainers headed to the pokecenter for some needed rest.

Chapter 26

Evolution Solution

"Hey, Sarie, why hasn't your Kadabra evolved yet?" Beth asked.

"He has to be traded to someone else, and I don't want to lose him to some other trainer." Sarie said.

"I think if he wants to evolve, Sarie will know. After all, she's a psychic." Adnap said.

"You are psychic? To cool!" Taro exclaimed.

"It's not that cool. Sometimes it's a pain. Because me and Tassadar are linked psychically, anything he feels I feel. That means when he fights, I feel his pain. But it also helps him be stronger, because I can add my strength to his. I also have a constant friend who I can always confide in. He is as intelligent as any human, sometimes more so."

"Wow." Beth said. "I never knew it was all that. I just though you could read minds!"

"I can't read minds. I use telekinesis, which is the power to move things with your mind. Ever wonder why Kadabras and Alakasams carry spoons? It symbolizes the telekinetic powers. They bend spoons. See?" Sarie grabbed a spoon out of her backpack. She stared at it hard for a few moments, her eyes glowing a golden yellow. Then, slowly, the spoon began to bend. In one minute, the spoon head was completely bent over.

"Tassadar can do that faster and bend his spoon back, but that's because he's a psychic pokemon." Sarie explained.

"I see. So can we find Koga now? We've been looking for him for a while." Beth grumbled. She wanted to fight Koga, and the invisible walls were annoying her. She liked to get through things physically, and was very good at it. Puzzles were not her thing. Sarie didn't like the physical solutions, but was able to figure out logic puzzles. Together they were a great team. Adnap was a mixture of boh, being able to figure ut most puzzles and physically get through problems.

"That sign says 'out to lunch in SZ, be back in a week." Taro read.

"Of course! He, like most master trainers here, takes a week long trip to the Safari Zone every month! It lets him give his pokemon some rest. We might find him there!" Adnap said.

"I am the gym master here for now." A tall teenaged girl walked out of the gym. She had long, green hair tied back with a gold bracelet and was wearing a pink ninja suit.

"Who are you?" Beth asked.

"I am Koga's sister, Arianna. You will fight me." she said.

"Fine! How about a 1 on 1, miss ninja?" Beth said boldly.

"Fine. You first. Go, Vennonat!"

"Go, Bubblebeamer!"

"Vennonat, Psybeam!"

"Bubble, Hydro Pump!"

Bubblebeamer sucked in air and shot out a blast of icy water. The water hit Vennonat in the chest, and the bug toppled over. The Vennonat shook the water from its fuzzy body and blasted an intense beam of psychic energy and Bubblebeamer. Sarie felt the shockwaves. The Vennonat was obviously a high level.

"WAR! WARTORTLE! WAAAAR!" Bubblebeamer roared at the top of his lungs and began to glow.

"Bubblebeamer is evolving!" Beth shouted. Through the glow, the shape of a huge blastois appeared. When the glow faded, Bubblebeamer had become a huge, rock hard blasting machine. He extended his cannons, took aim, and blasted Vennonat into Arianna's leg. Vennonat fainted.

"Bubblebeamer, you are so great! And now you're a Blastois! I can't beleive it! Well, it's your turn Adnap." Bubblebeamer lifted Beth up and put her on his back. He plodded over next to Sarie and sat down. Beth scratched his head and patted his shell lovingly.

"Go, Oddy." Adnap placed Oddy on the ground in front of her.

"Go, Weepinbell!" Arianna sent out a large bell-shaped pokemon, the evolved form of bellsprout.

"Oddy, Solarbeam!"

"Weepinbell, slam!"

The weepinbell, faster and stronger than Oddy, bounced over the Oddish and smashed into him. Oddy angrily stared at the weepinbell and squeezed hiss eyes shut. He began to glow.

"Gloom!" He said as he emerged from evolving.

"Oh, he evolved." Adnap said unenthusiastically. Oddy put up a small hand and told Weepinbell to stop for a moment. He patted Adnap's leg and asked for her stone. Adnap brought out the green stone and Oddy too hold of it and evolved himself.

"That's more like it! Oddy, petal dance!" Adnap shouted. Oddy the Vileplume spun in circles around Weepinbell, covering it with razor petals. When he finished dancing, Weepinbell was fainted.

"Good job, Oddy!" Adnap said, breathing in Oddy's flowery smell. Oddy smiled and bowed. "Vileplume!" It said cheerfully.

"Looks like evolving didn't change his temperament one bit! Go, Tassadar!" "Kadabra!"

"Go, Arbok!" "Chaaaboka!"

"Tassadar, Psybeam!"

"Arbok, Acid attack now!"

Arbok was a very high level, and was faster than Tassadar. Arianna was a wise trainer and used Tassadar's low defense and Arbok's high attack to diminish Tassadar's health by half. Tassadar's psybeam missed, and Sarie knew that one more attack would finish Tassadar. She shook off the pain from the attack, which she also felt, and though of a command. Suddenly, the psychic contact with her kadabra broke off! She looked to Tassadar with alarm and saw a glowing form where he was a moment ago,

"He can't evolve without trading!!" She exclaimed. But despite that, Tassadar became an Alakasam in moments. He re-established the psychic link and Sarie was awed by his mental power. If she had been a weaker psychic, she would have been hurt by the power of Tassadar's mind. But, as it was, she actually had powers equaling her Alakasam's, so she had no problem talking to Tassadar.

"Tassadar, Psychic now!"

Tassadar crossed his two spoons in front of him and closed his eyes. Sarie found herself doing the same, and when she opened them again, Arbok had fallen to the ground. The Arbok glared at Tassadar and bit deep into his arm. Sarie grimaced and shouted to Tassadar to use a final psybeam attack. This time Tassadar held his spoons next to each other and sent a bright beam of psychic energy from them. Arbok was down.

"Yes Tassadar! We won!" Sarie held onto her arm, which ha begun to bleed. She wiped it off with her shirt and sprayed a full heal onto Tassadar. Immediately the wound in her arm closed up and all of Tassadar's wounds healed.

"Good job, Sar! That was intense!" Beth shouted.

"You two did a great job too!" Sarie said to Adnap and Beth. "Your Vileplume is sooo beautiful, and Bubblebeamer is really strong!"

"Tassadar is one amazing Alakasam!" Adnap said, staring at Tassadar's gleaming spoons and domed head.

"Aww, he's just a big old softie!" Sarie hugged the Alakasam.

Taro, who was still lost in thought, finally payed attention to what was going on. "That kadabra evolved?" He asked, mildly surprised.

"What is wrong with you, Taro? You sure are quiet, and you weren't even paying attention to the battle! Are you sick or something?" Beth asked.

"Naw, I don't get sick. I just have something on my mind, and I can't tell you what it is."

"Why" Adnap's curiosity was aroused.

"I just can't, ok?" Taro said huffily.

"Ok, ok, I won't ask! Sheesh!" Adnap snorted. "What could be so bad you won't tell us?"

'Believe me', Taro thought, 'It's bad enough.'

Chapter 27

Sky Tears

The four trainers knew their last stop before returning to Veridian City for the Earth Badge was Cinbarr Island. On the small island they could earn their Volcano Badges as well as check out the science lab there. All four were quite exited to be on their way.

"We have four tickets on the SS Golduck, a ship that sails from here to Cinbarr. I hope none of you gets seasick." Taro asked, holding up four tickets.

"Not me!" Beth shouted, grabbing her ticket.

"Me either." Sarie snatched her ticket away with psychic powers.

"I don't think I do." Said Adnap, reaching for her own ticked.

"Ok, well, there it is." Taro pointed to a tiny ship anchored in the bay.

"That's it?" Asked Sarie incredulously.

"That's it. All aboard!" Taro ushered them onto the ship. Once on board, they saw that the little ship was actually quite nice inside. Each one sat in one of the plush velvet seats and listened to the captain.

"Welcome to the SS Golduck, the finest ship on the seas! We will be sailing to Cinbarr Island, and the trip will take approximately 7 hours, so sit back and relax. The seas look calm, so we shouldn't run into any rough weather. You may let your pokemon out as long as the total weight does not exceed 500 pounds."

"Mew, Go" Sarie let her Persian out of her pokeball. Mew gracefully leaped to the floor of the boat and licked her creamy fur contentedly.

(Translated)

Nida sniffed the air nervously. "Hey, Chester, do you smell something?" She asked the Raichu.

"I smell salt and water. Other than that? No." Chester said, sniffing.

"I smell something bad. It smells like burning feathers. Hey, is the ship on fire?" She said in alarm.

"Look! Flame!" Oddy panicked and latched onto Chester's tail.

"The ship's on fire!" Taro pointed at the red flames licking the woodwork on the ship. Suddenly, a violent shudder caused all four trainers to fall to the floor.

"Something's on the roof." Beth said, looking at a mass of white fur on the window. Suddenly, a huge eye surrounded by orange fur glared into the window.

"SIRIUS!" A bellowed bark shattered the quiet.

"Return your pokemon and get to the front!" Taro shouted. The four returned their panicked pokemon and scrabbled across the floor to the captain's cabin. Adnap got there first.

"No..." She said, seeing the blood on the floor. The captain was lying on the wheel, blood oozing from his head. Taro shoved Adnap back and placed his fingers on the unconscious captain's neck.

"Don't look." Taro said, removing his hand. "He's gone."

"We have to get out of here!" Beth screamed as a huge, black claw came through the floor. She sent out Bubblebeamer and grabbed his back.

"Bubble, smash through the ship wall and swim!"

"Nida, follow them!"

"Chip, Go! Swim outta here!"

"Tiny, Evolve!"

Adnap's Dratini evolved quickly into a Draonair and dove into the water. The four trainers didn't look back at the ship until they were well away. When they did look back, they didn't believe what they saw.

A huge Arcanine-like thing had capsized the boat and was frantically pulling at the air, trying to swim. The waves it was making nearly drown the four trainers, but their pokemon were strong enough to stay afloat. Sarie looked into the sky and a look of horror crossed her features.

There was a tear in the sky.

Things were coming out of them.

Big things.

"Are those arcanines?" Adnap said in a shaky voice.

"BIG arcanines, Adnap. Big." Beth said as another one fell into the ocean.

"I think we need to swim, like, now." Sarie said.

"Tsunami!" Taro screamed as a huge wave raced towards them. The wave smashed into their bodies, driving them under the waves. The breath was driven from their lungs and their pokemon were knocked unconscious. The four trainers drifted towards Cinbarr island, at the mercy of the waves.

Adnap woke up and found herself staring into two huge eyes. "Aaa! What are you??" She scrabbled backwards into Beth's arm.

"Stoppit! Don't scream! It makes me nervous!" The thing said. Adnap looked closely at it. It looked like a blue mew with huge wings and a golden halo around its head.

"What are you?" Adnap sat on the beach, noticing that it was raining. Behind her, her three friends lay underneath huge palm leaves.

"I am Angemew. I am an angel mew from the first dimension. Listen, you have to remember this. In one month's time, a dark trainer will come here. He MUST NOT meet you four." Angemew said.

"Why?" Adnap asked.

"He will cause the dimensions to tear, and all the bad pokemon from my dimension will come. Here, let me explain this to you. In my dimension, the 1^st dimension, pokemon are a lot stronger. They come in high stages, which means special powers and things like that. There are evil ones, too, like the Ryblade your friends saw. The Ryblade was the only high stage pokemon here in this dimension. The evil ones have almost destroyed my dimension. When it is gone, all the things from the 1^st dimension will fall into this one. This causes an unbalance, and the 3d dimension will open as well. If this happens, the evil pokemon from my dimension may destroy this one, and then the 3d one. If the three dimensions are destroyed, then the pokemon world will die as well. See, this dimension, the 2^nd, holds the other two together. When it goes, the other two can not regenerate themselves. If the pocket dimensions die, so will many others. There are thousands of dimensions, each having three or more parts. This world is closely connected to the digital and monster worlds, with this one being the most important. If the digital world were to die, the pocket world would not be affected greatly. The digital world will die if the pocket dies."

"What does this have to do with a dark man?" Adnap scratched her head in confusion.

"The worlds may only open if the dark man beats one of you."

"How will we know who he is?"

"You will. I must go now. Remember, beware the dark man!" Angemew fluttered out across the sea, leaving behind a very upset Adnap. Adnap knew she had to tell someone, and for some unknown reason, she chose Taro to tell.

"Taro, wake up!" She shook his prone form.

"What? Adnap! Where are we, and why do I have a large palm leaf on me?" Taro shoved the leaf off and shook water from his short hair.

"Taro, a small angel mew just told me to keep away from a dark trainer, and I'm scared." Adnap cried, clinging to Taro's wet shirt. Taro awkwardly put an arm around her.

"I got a prophecy like that, too. Something about a dark master defeating a new master or something like that. I don't like this at all."

"Neither do I."

Chapter 28

Blain

Sarie woke up and immediately noticed how wet she was. Rain spattered down onto her head, running over here eyes, over the three scars. She shook her head and sat up, the wet sand sinking beneath her hands. "Where am I..." She mumbled, looking out across the vast sea. She looked over and saw Adnap lying, asleep, in Taro's arms and was even more confused. She crawled over to Beth who was still asleep and rolled her to her back. "Hey, wake up sleepy head."

Beth sat up slowly, holding her arm. "I think I sprained it." She said after a few minutes.

"Yeah, I think you did. The waves must have washed us up here, but where is here?" Sarie shoved wet hair out of her eyes absently.

"And what's with them?" Beth asked, pointing to Adnap and Taro.

"I have no idea. I just woke up. Ya know, we are so lucky to be alive. Actually, we're just plain lucky. I mean, we've been saved from death so many times, it's scary."

"Hmmm. Can we find some shelter? It's starting to rain harder."

"Sure. I'll go wake them up." Sarie pointed a thumb at Taro and Adnap. She crawled over the sand and tapped Taro's shoulder.

"Wha... who? Sarie!" Taro blushed, realizing he was still holding Adnap. "She just fell asleep on me!"

"Ok, don't have a fit! Just pick her up. We need to find shelter. Come on." Sarie giggled. Taro picked Adnap up and followed Beth and Sarie up the beach. After walking for a little while, they saw a large building looming up from the sand.

"It looks like some sort of office. Maybe we can shelter in there." Sarie shouted to her two friends over the howling wind. The other two nodded and followed her into the building.

Once inside, it was easy to see that the building Sarie had thought was an office complex was actually a science laboratory. White-coated scientists quickly bustled to and from the different rooms, most with clipboards in their hands.

"Excuse me, but we need shelter." Beth said to a passing scientist.

"Go right through that door. I think Dr. Flare can help you." The man said in a hurried voice. The three nodded and walked over to the door the man had specified. They knocked and a tall man in a white lab coat greeted them.

"Come in, come in. Sit down, I see you are in need of drying off!" He said cheerfully.

"Thanks." Taro said as he put Adnap down in a chair. "Can I use this blanket?" He asked the man.

"Why yes. Oh, by the way, my name is Dr. Flare. This is the Cinbarr Island research institute, and I work here on fossil regeneration. And this is my son, Alec Flare." Dr. Flare put his arm around a young boy who had just entered the room. The boy was scrawny, tall, and thin with messy black hair and dark, grey-blue eyes behind large, thick glasses. He seemed to be wearing a miniature copy of his father's clothing which consisted of a white lab coat, blue jeans, and a light blue shirt and tie. In his hand he held a clipboard and pencil, just like the other scientists at the lab.

"Hello. I'm Alec." He said as if it his father hadn't just stated that same phrase a second ago.

"Hi, I'm Sarie Cigam. These are my friends, Adnap Shiddo, Beth Burts, and Taro."

Alec looked at Taro with mild disdain, as if he was something dirty one wouldn't want to have in one's house. "What is your last name?" He questioned.

"I don't have one. My mom and dad weren't together when I was born and my mom never told me my last name." Taro said. Normally he would have glared at the boy and sneered out an answer, but he was too preoccupied with placing a wet cloth on Adnap's head to care. He looked up only to receive another cloth from Dr. Flare.

"I see. What did your mother do?"

"She didn't work."

"Oh. I see. She was UNEMPLOYED."

This time Taro heard. And he cared. "She wasn't worthless!" He snarled. "Just because you're dad works here is no reason to put us all down!"

"Alec, that wasn't nice." Dr. Flare said reprovingly. "You know not to put others down. I would think you of all people would know not to make fun of others."

"Sorry dad." Alec said, looking at his feet.

"Dr. Flare, when do you think she'll come around?" Taro asked, putting his anger aside. He indicated the still-sleeping Adnap as he spoke.

"In a few more hours. She's ok, just a mild head injury."

"Good. I hope so."

"Hey, Taro, me and Beth are heading down to the Cinbarr gym with Alec. Wanna come?" Sarie asked.

"I guess. She'll be ok, won't she?" Taro asked Dr. Flare one more time.

"I'm sure. Go on, the gym will be fun!"

Sarie was thinking about her gym match. She knew she was good, but for some reason, all her matches had been won in weird ways. She hadn't 'really' beaten a gym leader since Brock. She hoped that this time she could fight normally, a 6 on 6 battle. The five entered the gym, hot air burning their lungs. Alec led the way to a battle platform, which hung over hot lava.

"Gym master Blain, three trainers wish to battle you." Alec shouted. A tall, balding man walked onto the platform from a rock door on the other side of the gym. He smiled when he saw them and pulled out a great ball.

"All right. 3 on 3." He said. Sarie's face fell. Another dumb special battle. "Each of you will fight individually." Sarie's spirit rose. Maybe this would be a test of skill after all. "The boy first. Go, Rydon!"

"Easy. Go, Chip!"

"Very good. Rydon, thunder!"

"Chip, watch out! Surf!" Chip was faster than Rydon, and easily took out the Rydon with one blow.

"Nice one. Return, Rydon. Go, Magmar."

"Chip, Hydro Pump!"

"Magmar, Thunder!"

"AGAIN??" This time Magmar was faster. Chip was out like a light. "NO! Return, chip. Go, Drillbit! Earthquake!" Drillbit slammed his tail into the ground, causing the ground to shake and Magmar to faint.

"Good. Very, very good. Go, Ninetails! Dig!" The ninetails took out drillbit with one hit.

"Return. Ok, I'm counting on you. Go, Tauros! Stomp!" Tauros slammed his hard hoof into Ninetails's head, effectively weakening the fox pokemon. Ninetails used Fireblast, burning Tauros. Tauros fell to his knees.

"Tauros! Are you Ok?" Taro asked, concerned.

"Taaaaaaau!" Tauros let loose an angry bellow and rammed his horns into Ninetails's side. Ninetails fell with a whine.

"Return. Here, this is yours." Blain tossed a ruby red volcano badge to Taro, who caught it expertly. He returned Tauros and stepped back, making room for Beth.

"See if you can fight this combination of pokemon. I choose you, Jolteon!" Blain said as he threw an ultraball into the ring.

"I'm sure I can. Go, Peeves!" Beth sent out her ghost pokemon, who leered meanly at jolteon. "Peeves, Hypnosis!"

"Jolteon, Pin Missile!"

Although Pin Missile was super effective against Peeves, the ghost pokemon didn't show any fear. Instead, he dodged the needle spines and stared at Jolteon. Within moments, the Electric Eevee was asleep.

"Now, Peeves, your Best attack! Dream Eater!" Peeves smiled, gave a short nod, and closed his eyes. He sucked in a deep breath of air, inhaling Jolteon's dreams and replacing them with nightmares. Jolteon lost most of its health, while Peeves gained back all of his. "Finish it with nightshade!" Peeves glared at the Jolteon, who was still asleep. With a yelp of surprise and pain, the jolteon fainted.

"Return. Go, Flareon!"

"Come back, Peeves. Go, Bubblebeamer! Hydro pump!"

"Bite attack!"

Bubblebeamer was faster than Flareon and sent out a high-pressure blast of water at Flareon. The flareon shook itself and got unsteadily to its feet before launching itself at Bubblebeamer and biting hard into his paw. Bubble gave a roar of fury and flung Flareon into the lava below.

"Flareon, return! Go, Vaporeon!"

"Come back, Bubble! Go, Chester!"

Blain expected another pikachu, like the many that had visited his gym in the past months, and was surprised to see a Raichu glaring at his Vaporeon.

"Vaporeon, Dig!"

"Chester, Thunder!"

Chester glared at the Vaporeon, sensing his master's anger. His cheeks sparked as he gathered energy in his electric sacks. "RaaaaaaaaaiCHU!!!!" The thunder hit Vaporeon hard, sending it spinning across the floor. It shook itself off and glared at Beth. "Pooooor!" It exclaimed as it dove underground.

"Chester, JUMP!" Beth shouted as the ground rumbled. Chester leaped high off the ground just as Vaporeon crashed through the floor, missing its head by inches.

"Now, Thunderbolt!"

"RAICHU!" Chester let out a short cry of challenge and blasted Vaporeon with the thunder. Vaporeon gave a pitiful cry before falling in front of Chester.

"Return. Here, your badge." Beth ran onto the floor to hug Chester, catching the badge as she did.

"Good boy, Chester! Good raichu!" She picked Chester up and carried him to the ledge where Sarie stood ready to fight.

"Now you. Go, Rapidash!"

"Wait!!! Wait for me! I want to watch!" Adnap burst into the gym, a bandage wrapped neatly around her head.

"Adnap! How are you feeling?" Taro asked.

"Fine. Hey, Sarie's battling?" Adnap asked excitedly as she stood next to Taro.

"I sure am. Watch this. Go, MEW!" Sarie flung her pokeball, releasing Mew onto the floor. The persian stretched its long limbs before sitting in front of Sarie.

"This shall be easy. Rapidash, stomp!"

"Mew, dodge it and come back with Screech!"

Mew dodged the diamond-hard hoof and spun around to glare at Rapidash. It let out a horrible screech, causing Rapidash to fall to the floor in agony.

"Now, Jumpslash!"

"Rapidash, Fire Blast!

Rapidash sent out a star-shaped plume of fire at Mew. Mew opened her eyes wide in fear, but leaped over the flames, searing her belly fur in the process. With a scream of Rage, she landed on Rapidash's back and latched her claws into the vanilla-colored fur. Rapidash leaped into the air, the smell of cat and fear in its nostrils. It bucked in terror, eyes wide and rolling, fighting mew as it would a predatory persian in the wild. Unfortunately, those tactics only worked in wild situations. At last, exhausted from fear and panting hard, the Rapidash fell to its knees.

"Mew, come back. Blain, call it back." Sarie said, feeling sorry for the poor pokemon.

"Fine. Return, Rapidash. Go, Victreebell! Acid!"

"Go, Powerplant! Razor Leaf!"

Powerplant stood its ground as the acid from Victreebell's mouth landed on him, the let out a flurry of leaves at the bell pokemon. Victreebell was barely fazed.

"Powerplant, try another tactic! Sleep Powder!" Bulbasaur gritted his teeth and shot a burst of white, shimmering powder from his bulb. Victreebell easily dodged.

"BULBAAAAAAA!" Powerplant roared as he began to glow.

"Powerplant! You're finally evolving!" Sarie cried, expecting her pokemon to emerge from the glow as an Ivysaur. She was wrong.

"VEEEEENUS!" Powerplant had completely bypassed the Ivysaur stage, becoming a beautiful Venusaur instead.

"Powerplant! Now, show 'em a Body Slam!"

Powerplant reared up on his two tree-trunk like legs and smashed into Victreebell. Victreebell gave a short scream and fainted.

"Return. Go, Charizard!"

"Powerplant, back! Go, Nida!"

Both pokemon, obviously their master's most powerful pokemon, glared at each other with hatred in their eyes.

"FIRE BLAST!"

"BLIZZARD!"

Nida felt the searing hot flames skip across her skin, burning it and turning it black and red. She opened her smoke-filled eyes to see the Charizard laughing at her. She snarled dangerously, bunching her powerful muscles. Just as the fire lizard was about to launch another burst of flames at her, she leaped off the ground. In one quick move, she covered Charizard in ice and snow. Within moments, Charizard fainted.

"Return..." Blain started, but before he could finish his sentence, a huge paw crashed through the roof of the gym.

"Return, Nida!" Sarie quickly returned her Nidoqueen and rushed over to Blain, who was lying beneath the paw.

"Blain!" Alec shouted, staring transfixed at the gym leader of his home town. Blain coughed pitifully and extended a shaking hand, returning his Charizard. He gave a final gasp, his hand thudding to the floor, the pokeball rolling slowly across the tile.

"He's dead!! He's DEAD!! Alec said hysterically.

"Come on! Get out!" Sarie grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him out of the crumbling gym. What they saw outside was like a scene from a nightmare.

People ran screaming from huge dog pokemon, and many more lay dead on the ground. The gym lay in ruins, Siriuses everywhere poking through the crumbling and demolished buildings. Some brave people had sent out their pokemon in a desperate battle, and had lost. Everywhere flames licked the island's buildings, turning them to rubble.

"FATHER!" Alec screamed as a Sirius picked up Doctor Flare in its mouth and bit down...

"Alec, don't look!" Sarie covered Alec's wide eyes with her hands and shoved him to the ground. She watched in utter terror as Dr. Flare was killed, never letting Alec see. It would have killed him too.

When the grizzly scene was over, Sarie pulled Alec to his feet. Alec was sobbing uncontrollably, unable to believe what had just happened. "Pull yourself together, Alec! We have to find a place to hide!" She dragged him beneath a ruined segment of the gym roof and forced him to sit near the back. She peeked out from underneath the rock, looking for Beth, Taro, and Adnap, and saw them running towards the roof segment. "Over here!" Sarie whispered loudly.

The five frightened trainers huddled together as the Siriuses demolished the entire island. When they had turned the last building to rubble, they lined up by twos and dove into the churning seas. With powerful paw strokes, they sped quickly away from the island, leaving no one but the five trainers alive.

"This can't be good. No good at all." Beth mumbled.