Pokémon Adventure

by MikauKaiousei

Well...it's my first successful fic. I have it sectioned in parts because that's how I wrote it. Sorry. It revolves around Eric, Cory, Luke, Jason, and Raimey as they travel around Kanto on their Pokémon journey. Not terribly original.

2. Part Two

Pokémon Adventure!

Part 2

By: Pikamew Triggara ( k_pikamew@hotmail.com )

Ch. 14

Eric

I was in a state of total turmoil. My hometown, Aquamarine City, did not hold good memories. I couldn't recall any details, though. I knew I had lived here, and lots of bad things happened to me. But what kind?

While Palmon and I ran to where we had heard the Gatomon, I thought. Would Cory get the Crest I knew was here? Would we beat Gatomon?

That last thought would be soon answered. After we turned a corner, I saw Gatomon. She looked like a regular cat, on two legs, with gold bands on her neck and tail.

"Lightning Claw!" she cried, smacking Palmon. Palmon bounced back. I growled, and activated my Digivice and Crest. My Digivice fired a white beam at Palmon, who glowed yellow. My vision blacked, showing Palmon on a glowing, white, star-shaped platform.

"Palmon, digivolve tooo..." she said, spinning.

"Togemon!" she continued, slowing to a stop. That vision was replaced by my Digivice, which shot a white beam that struck my Tag. The Sincerity symbol blasted out of the Tag, and shot upwards. It turned, and flipped, doing all sorts of acrobatics. Then, it glowed bright green, and burst. A white spiral fell downwards, and hit Togemon.

"Togemon, digivolve tooo..." she said. Pink flower petals flew out of her hair, and formed a giant red flower. It bloomed, revealing Lillymon.

"Lillymon!" she cried, as the same pink petals exploded behind her.

"Flower Cannon!" she called, floating upwards and pointing her flower rod at Gatomon. The rod bloomed, and out came a burst of green energy. The energy struck Gatomon, knocking her down. She got up, angry.

"Tail Lash!" she shouted, spinning around while Lillymon flew up, hoping to avoid the attack.

No such luck. Gatomon's tail extended, and Lillymon was hit with the gold band. She screamed.

"No!" I yelled. I focused my mind, intending to blast Gatomon. But, strangely enough, the others appeared in my mind. There was a bright flash, and they were standing there. Tentomon and Gabumon immediately digivolved.

"Tentomon, digivolve tooo..." Tentomon yelled, spinning.

"Kabuterimon!"

"Gabumon, digivolve tooo..." Gabumon cried, spinning on the glowing star platform as well.

"Garurumon!" Then, strangely enough, I saw a Digivice. It fired a beam, which in turn hit a Tag. A circle with two hooks on either side, pointing opposite directions, with an oblique line slashing down in the circle flew up, and revolved just like my Crest. It spun, glowed blue, and burst. A white spiral struck...Garurumon?

"Garurumon, digivolve tooo..." he called, flipping onto his hind legs. Leather straps covered his body, and he gained brass knuckles. Leather knee and elbow pads materialized. A dirt mountain appeared, and he fell onto it. He spun, kicking his legs, and howled.

"Weregarurumon! Awooo!" he howled, as blue fire burst onto the mountain.

"Wolf Claw!" he cried, slashing Gatomon. He kept his claws on her, and large walls of flame burst out. She screamed, and flew back.

"Garuru Kick!" Weregarurumon yelled, jumping up and swinging his leg left to right. An arc of glowing yellow energy appeared, and smashed Gatomon. She whined, similar to a dog, and dedigivolved. She was still a cat, but on all fours, with brown fur instead of white. Her tail wasn't as flexible, and it no longer had a gold ring. Kabuterimon gasped.

"That's Salamon! She is one of the rarest Digimon left alive!" he cried. I raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, something that had been bothering me clicked.

"Cory! How were you teleported with the others?" I asked. He answered quickly.

"My influence on psychics is conscious. I don't just spread my psychic repression instinctively. I used to do that, but my parents were psychic, so I was hindering a great part of their lives. They got me trained with Hayley, instead of a regular psychic trainer. Hayley and Sabrina are probably the only psychics in the world who could actually even contact their powers in my presence! The only reason I did that to you when we met was because you might have hurt me."

Suddenly, a voice rang out. Three voices, in fact.

"Prepare for trouble!

"And make that triple!"

"We will win, without creating a time ripple!"

"To protect the world from the likes of you!"

"To be masters, and kick out the League too!"

"Better than those bumbling baboons!"

"To proclaim the evil of lies and hate!"

"To take over the world, that 'd be just great!"

"We never ask, we just bate!" What that means, I have no idea.

"Jacques!"

"Jewel!"

"Jezelle!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of sound!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to never be found!"

"To climb the ladder of power, in leaps and bounds!"

"Electrode!"

"Blastoise!"

"Vileplume!"

Seemed like a new group of Team Bimbo.

"Hiya, Team Rocket! I just love your organization! Can I have your autograph? A lock of hair? Maybe even a fake eyelash?" a blond girl shrieked, fluttering around the three Rockets and their Pokémon like they were celebrities. I cracked up.

The Rockets didn't, though. They looked shocked. Then, they started to beam.

"Finally! Someone who understands us!" yelled Jezelle. She had long green hair in pigtails, green eyes, a green amulet, and a green uniform, consisting of green pants, and a green shirt. The shirt had a blue outline of an 'R' and was filled with yellow.

"Yes! Team Rocket will finally be on top!" Jacques cried. He seemed as addicted to yellow as Jezelle was addicted to green. His yellow hair was cut into a shape similar to that of Lt. Surge's hair. His uniform was a yellow shirt/pants outfit, exactly the same as Jezelle's, except for the fact that his 'R' was blue with a green outline. I couldn't tell (without enhancing my vision) that his eyes were brown. He had yellow contacts. He had a gold (or plastic that was colored gold, who could tell,) ring on every finger.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Jewel crowed. Her blue hair was draped over her shoulder, and wound around one arm. She had baby blue eyes, with matching earrings and glasses. Her outfit was exactly the same as Jezelle's and Jacques's, except the predominant theme was blue. Her 'R' was outlined in green, with yellow filling. I raised an eyebrow.

"Shoo, little girl. We have business." Jewel scolded the blond groupie.

She sniffed. "O-o-okay. I-if you d-d-don't w-want me h-here." she sobbed.

"You're right. Now go." Jacques said, pushing her away.

"Now, to business. Why were you beating up on our Digimon?" Jezelle asked us.

"Because they attacked us." I replied.

"Uh, no. Salamon may have attacked you, but I know Gomamon didn't." Jacques scolded.

"Birdramon definitely did. We had to have Kabuterimon and Weregarurumon before we actually did damage." Cory claimed.

"So?" Jewel asked. We didn't answer. "Well, since you won't answer, we'll have to force it out of you." she continued.

"As if." I snorted.

"And why not?" Jewel asked. She furrowed her brow, and her eyes began to glow. Cory snapped, and I felt a weight on my mind.

"Oops. Sorry, Eric." he winced, snapping again. My mind was suddenly free.

"What did you DO?!?!?!?!" Jewel screeched.

"I merely used my natural psychic repression to eliminate any chance of any of you three suddenly telepathically read our minds and learning all our deepest, darkest secrets." Cory answered her matter-of-factly. She wilted. "Luckily for us, Eric here is a psychic!" he added. I nodded, charging my powers.

"Oh, no! Biyomon, attack!" Jewel yelled.

"Gomamon, let's go!" cried Jacques.

"Come on, Salamon!" Jezelle shouted. Salamon, a pink bird, and a white, seal looking thing with war paint flew at us. (Or jumped, or ran, as the case may be.)

"Golden Disable!" Salamon said, her collar glowing. I felt my psychic powers diminishing, but they didn't completely fade away.

"Spiral Twister!" called the Biyomon, flapping her wings. A circle of green smoke appeared in front of her, and extended into a spiral that hit me, knocking me back. Hard.

"Oooh, you'll regret that. Confusion!" I yelled, throwing my hands forward. A golden wave flew out and hit Biyomon.

"Hey! That was cheating! Marching Fishes!" Gomamon yelled. Out of a nearby pond, five multicolored fish flew and tackled me. They immediately dived back in the water.

"That's IT!" Tanemon screamed. My Digivice lit up like the Fourth of July, along with my Crest.

Tanemon jumped in front of me, and turned into a green beam, which formed Palmon.

"Tanemon, warp digivolve tooo..." she cried, changing into another green beam which formed Togemon. One more green beam, and...

"Lillymon!" she shrieked.

Then, the rest of the Digimon digivolved.

"Gabumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Garurumon! Garurumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Weregarurumon!"

"Biyomon, digivolve tooo..."

"Birdramon!"

"Tentomon, digivolve tooo..."

"Kabuterimon!"

"Gomamon, digivolve tooo..."

"Ikkakumon!"

"Salamon, digivolve tooo..."

"Gatomon!"

After this bout of digivolving, my head was spinning. Then, the Digimon launched their attacks.

"Wolf Claw!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Electro Shocker!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Lightning Claw!"

All these attacks fired and hit Weregarurumon, even his. Jezelle had set up a psychic barrier!

"AAARGH! Garuru Kick!" Weregarurumon said, jumping amazingly high and swinging his leg up. An arc hit Birdramon, doing mucho damage.

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon yelled, striking Ikkakumon. He roared, and changed to Gomamon.

The Vileplume seemed incredibly slow. The Petal Dance attack just now hit Weregarurumon. The Vileplume was strong, to make up for its slowness, for Weregarurumon was severely injured.

"Cherry Blossom Blizzard!" Lillymon cried, crossing her arms on her chest. Pink flower ropes flew out of her flower cap, and twined around the enemy Digimon. The flowers glowed bright green, and vanished.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do, Ultimate Wimpmon?" Birdramon taunted. She flew up in the air, for preparation of her Meteor Wing, I assumed. What happened shocked me.

"Flamewing!" she shouted, diving. Her whole body, aside from her beak, became a cone-shaped flame. At the middle of her dive, she flung her wings out. A large fireball shot downwards.

Kabuterimon decided to fight Birdramon one on one.

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon roared. The blue-purple energy blasted through the fire ball and continued on towards Birdramon.

Birdramon nimbly dodged the electric blast.

"Meteor Wing!" she countered. Kabuterimon dodged upwards, but Birdrmon's fire feathers turned green and hit her face.

"Ow!" she yelped.

"Nova Blast!" a voice from behind her yelled. Greymon had finally reached the battle!

The incoming fire ball did not help Birdramon any.

"AAAAAAHH!" she screeched shrilly. The fire ball had thrown her. When she landed, she changed back to Biyomon. Greymon and Kabuterimon hurried over to the Gatomon battle.

Not needed. Lillymon's Cherry Blossom Blizzard attack had completely destroyed Gatomon's attack powers. Every time she even tried to scratch someone with her claws, they turned green and hit her. Kabuterimon hit Birdramon with a final Electro Shocker, dedigivolving her to Biyomon.

"Grrr...Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

"Vileplume, Solar Beam!"

"Electrode, Sonic Boom to blow them away!"

Oh, no! This wouldn't do. I focused my diminished psychic powers, and created a shimmering barrier. It drained the Hydro Pump of its power, but the Solar Beam smashed my barrier, shattering it.

"Grab a crystal!" I shouted. Everybody except Greymon, Kabuterimon, Lillymon and I got a hand hold. I focused my powers to their absolute maximum, and was about to blast Electrode, when a voice rang in my head.

"Eric, don't!" it shouted. My concentration was shattered. I saw the incoming yellow wave. Lillymon was flying against the giant wind, trying to get to me. The wave was very close to me when she finally grabbed me.

We lifted off, but then the wave hit. It blew us all the way through a shimmering hole in the 'sky'.

Ch. 15

Cory

When Lillymon finally reached Eric, she grabbed him. I cheered silently in my head. Of course, if I had shouted, he probably wouldn't have heard. There was a bright flash, and they were suddenly gone.

Suddenly, a boy came out from behind the one of the crystal clusters. He

was short. About four feet tall. He cursed when he saw the crystals covering the area that Eric had been in.

A winged pig flew from around the other side of the cluster. "Calm down, Raimey. We'll find him." it said. Raimey turned.

"Not 'it', he! He's a Patamon!" he corrected. I nodded, accepting the correction.

"How did you know Eric?" I asked, coming out from behind the crystals I had been gripping. So did Weregarurumon, but he dedigivolved to Gabumon.

"I can't say." Raimey answered suspiciously.

"Well, then. Did you see that flash?" I inquired.

"I made the flash." he replied frostily.

"Sorry!" I yelped, throwing up my hands.

"Hey, can I come with you?" he asked. I thought.

"Hmmm, Eric decides that, because he's the team psychic, but I suppose you can come for now. He'll decide the permanency of that." I told him. He nodded.

"Okay. WAIT! Are you a psychic?" I asked. He nodded. "Okay. WAIT! Again. Tentomon, you said something about Salamon being one of the rarest Digimon 'left alive'. What's with that?" I asked.

"If we can get comfortable, I'll tell you." he said. He and Agumon were dedigivolved as well.

"Once, long, long ago, this was a mysterious world called the Digiworld. Home to thousands of Digimon..." he told us. As he talked, I began to fall in a trance.

Suddenly, I was at a battle. Eight kids with glowing...Digivices and Crests!

"The eight Digi Destined. They were fighting the Dark Masters, Piedmon," Tentomon said. I turned, and saw a clown with a black and white face. "Metalseadramon." Tentomon continued. I spun, and saw a metal snake firing a blue beam at...Weregarurumon?

"What's Weregarurumon doing here?" I asked.

"That is the Digi Destined Weregarurumon, Gabumon's ancestor. To continue, the last Masters were Puppetmon and Machinedramon." Tentomon explained. I swiveled, and viewed a short, wooden puppet string Digimon and a large, metal dragon.

"The Digi Destined were losing, badly, until Angewomon digivolved." Tentomon said. I saw two angels. They each had six wings, and one had purple armor. "That's Archangemon, the other one is Angewomon." Tentomon said. Before my eyes, Angewomon glowed, got even bigger, and gained red armor. "She used her Reality Shift attack to wipe out the Dark Masters." As Tentomon spoke, Archangewomon pointed at Piedmon, and a swirling, red and purple beam shot out of her finger. It twisted, however, out of control. The whole battlefield was absorbed by the red and purple vortex. All the Digi Destined flew around and around, being swallowed by the vortex one by one.

The first was a boy with wild brown hair accompanied by an Agumon!

"That is Tai. His last name, however, is lost. He holds the Crest of Courage. His Digimon, Agumon, is one of the most powerful Digimon in the world, because of the augmentation of the Digivice and Crest of Courage." Tentomon said. Next was a boy with equally wild blond hair, followed by a Gabumon!

"Matt. He has the Crest of Friendship. You may be descended from him, Cory." Tentomon said. Following Matt, a girl with a helmet was sucked in.

"That's Sora. Her Crest of Love allows Biyomon to digivolve to Garudamon, or even higher, Skymon." Tentomon sighed. After Sora, a short kid with brown, spiky hair and a computer on his back, swirled into the vortex. Followed by a Tentomon. "Izzy. He and Tentomon use the Crest of Knowledge. Tentomon can digivolve from Kabuterimon to Megakabuterimon, and even Aerobugmon!" Tentomon exclaimed. I guessed he was happy to see his ancestor.

A girl with a strange outfit, cowboy hat and pink dress, was swallowed, along with a Palmon.

"Mimi and Palmon. Possibly two of the best and most powerful Digi Partners. With the Crest of Sincerity, Palmon digivolves to Togemon and Lillymon. If Lillymon is lucky, she'll digivolve to Lilacmon." Tentomon explained. A blue-haired boy followed by the seal that Team Rocket used on us, uh, Gomamon! That's it!

"Joe Kido. One of the only two Digi Destined who's last name was remembered. He has the Crest of Reliability. When activated, that Crest will let Gomamon digivolve to Ikkakumon, Zudomon, and Oceanmon." Tentomon told us. There were only two, small children left. The boy, along with a Patamon, was sucked to oblivion. "Takeru Takashi. Otherwise known as T.K. He uses the Crest of Hope to digivolve Patamon to Angemon, and then Archangemon. The Patamon species has less digivolutions than any other." Tentomon said. The last child, a brunette girl, was sucked through into death with a Salamon!

"Kari and Salamon. The most powerful Digimon, coupled with the Crest of Light, is what wreaked havoc on the Digiworld. Do you know of the Cross-Bound?" he asked. We all nodded. "Well, that wasn't always what it was called. Used to be, it was the Internet. When Archangewomon's Reality Shift turned out of control, it blasted through the Internet to an alternate reality. The Digi Destined called it the Real World. The Internet connected the two.

"When the Reality Shift reached the Real World, it came out over a continent known there as Australia. Unfortunately, this was a weak point in the fabric of space. The Real World and the Digi World were merged.

"For awhile, this merging was unknown. The Digimon stayed out of human sight. However, the Reality Shift kept coming through the Internet, and the Internet was weakening. Soon, pieces of the Digi World unmerged, and shifted back to their original place. As the Internet weakened more and more, the Digi World disappeared from the Real World. When the Reality Shift finally destroyed the Internet, no one could remember it. There was a huge explosion, and all of Australia's people were sucked to the Digi World.

"The Digi World had never had more than eight people. So, when the Aussies came, they civilized it, and killed almost all the Digimon. We had no idea how to fight back.

"All that was left were eggs, and one Digimon. Elecmon, the Caretaker. That way, Digimon weren't totally wiped out. But, instead of reinforcing their previous position of dominant species, Pokémon came to be. The Pokémon took over, and soon Digimon were forgotten. Digimon remember the Dark Masters, and everything before the explosion, but no people remembered.

"So, that's how Pokémon came to be, and Digimon were almost destroyed. We're the only ones left." Tentomon sighed. I felt tears in my eyes when he finished.

"That is...incredibly sad." Raimey said, his voice a bit wobbly with emotion. Agumon nodded.

"But, now that we know Gomamon, Salamon, and Biyomon are alive, that gives us hope!" Agumon exclaimed.

"Well, we need to start looking for Eric and Lillymon." Raimey said.

"How did you-never mind. You're a psychic. Forgot." I said.

"Okay, Tentomon needs to digivolve so he can search from the sky. Agumon digivolves to quickly search the land. Being underwater, there is only so much land to search. Gabumon, you digivolve to search underwater. It's unlikely that he was blasted through the seal, but I've heard that Aquamarine found an alloy that allowed things to go through one way, but not the other. If they use that, Eric could be drowning!"

"Raimey, do you have a Digivice?" Luke asked.

"Yes." Raimey answered.

"Well, then, if Patamon could digivolve into a flyer, you could search the skies with Tentomon." Luke explained.

"Right." Raimey nodded. We all gripped Digivices.

"Digivolve!" the Digimon shouted.

"Agumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Greymon!"

"Gabumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Garurumon!"

"Tentomon digivolve tooo..."

"Kabuterimon!"

"Patamon digivolve tooo..."

"Angemon!"

Patamon didn't dissolve into sparks, like the rest of the Digimon. He dissipated into feathers, which rebuilt themselves into Angemon.

This new addition to the Digi Team was tall, with long, blond hair, six white, feathered wings, and a yellow rod. His upper face was covered with an iron mask.

"Let's go!" I yelled, jumping on Garurumon. Jason climbed onto Kabuterimon. Luke leaped to Greymon's neck. Raimey clambered onto Angemon's back. Kabuterimon and Angemon lifted off, and flew way up. Garurumon dashed towards the 'horizon'. Greymon ran the opposite direction, intent on finding Eric.

When we reached the bubble, I got off. I couldn't breathe underwater like Garurumon could.

Garurumon stuck a paw up to the bubble. It went right through! He surged through the bubble, and as I watched, he swam away into the murky waters.

Ch. 16

Palmon

I buzzed my wings frantically. They weren't built for this kind of labor, but I buzzed them anyway. I kept a tight grip on Eric, and we finally landed on a soft, bushy surface.

I opened my tightly closed eyes, and saw we were on a whiteoh, no. We were on a CLOUD!!!

"Eric! Eric, wake up!" I shouted. He finally looked up, and saw me. "Um, we have a slight problem." I said. Eric looked at me strangely.

"Who are you?" he asked. I gasped.

"Oh, no. You have amnesia. This is bad." I said. I fluttered my wings, trying to decide which way to go. I finally chose a direction. While I flew, Eric ambled along after me like a puppy.

Awhile later, I saw a white (well, everything was white except me and Eric.) building. Well, not really a building, more like a palace. With towers and everything. I saw some words engraved in a cloud. That was weird, to say the least. They read: All psychics are welcome to the Palace of Clouds.

The Palace of Clouds? Hold on, I know something about that. Um...got it! Created by master psychics, only psychics could get in! I grabbed Eric's arm and flew towards the towering palace.

When we got there, a man was guarding the gate.

"Name?" he asked.

"Mine or his?" I inquired.

"Both."

"I'm Lillymon, and this is Eric." I said. The man raised an eyebrow.

"You expect be to believe that you are a Digimon? Don't make me laugh. What's the kid's last name?" he requested.

I sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. He never told me. You have to be a psychic, read his mind!" I said.

"Right." the man grunted. He put a hand on Eric's forehead, and closed his eyes. A second later...

"Whoa! Come in, come in! I'll have someone cure that amnesia." the guard said, surprised. The gates opened, and I flew in, followed by Eric.

"Are you Lillymon and Eric Price?" a woman asked me.

"Well, I'm Lillymon, and this is Eric, but I don't know about Price. He never told me his last name." I answered. The woman nodded, and waved a hand at Eric. He straightened, and looked at me.

"Lillymon, where are we?" he asked.

"Palace of the Clouds." the woman said.

"Oh. Hey! Doesn't that mean we're in the clouds?" Eric asked.

"Well, duh." I told him. Since we were on solid ground now, I let go of my energy and dedigivolved to Tanemon.

The woman gasped. "You are a Digimon!"

"Ye-es. So?" I asked sarcastically.

"It means you can't come in, and if you do, you're dead."

This was a shock. Eric glared at the woman.

"You even think that, and my Pokémon and I will tear through you." he growled.

"Is that so? Go, Pokémon!" she yelled. A strange Pokémon emerged. It looked like an Alakazam, except it had three spoons. One in each hand, and the other sticking out of its forehead.

"Presto, pres! To, pres!" it growled. I returned the growl.

"What is that?" Eric asked, pulling out his Pokédex. It beeped.

"Presto-the hyper PSY Pokémon. Evolves from Alakazam, its psychic power is triple that of Mewtwo. Specialty attack is Hyper PSY."

"Hyper PSY?" I asked. Wrong move.

"Presto....PREST!" it yelled. A red-purple beam shot out of its third spoon.

"I think not! Barrier!" Eric cried. A shimmering barrier of blue light appeared around us. The beam shattered it, but dissipated. Eric threw out two Pokéballs.

"Marril, Ice Beam! Squirtle, Bubble Beam!" he commanded. His Pokémon materialized, and fired beams of Water and Ice element energy. The Presto, however, barely felt them.

"Ha ha! Those puny Pokémon couldn't beat a Magikarp!" the woman laughed. Eric narrowed his eyes. His Crest activated, and I felt myself digivolving on automatic.

"Tanemon, digivolve tooo..."

"Palmon! Palmon, digivolve tooo..."

Togemon! Togemon, digivolve tooo..."

"Lillymon!"

Whoa, Eric must've used his psychic powers to activate his Crest and digivolve me without my permission. This time, however, I let it slide.

"Cherry Blossom Blizzard!" I called, hoping it would work on Pokémon as well as it worked on Digimon.

The pink petals wound around Presto, and glowed bright green, forming a net around him. Bright green flash, and boom. No more petals.

"HAHAHAHA! Presto, PSY Beam!" the woman commanded. I realized we didn't know her name. The monster fired a pink beam at Eric, but it turned green and reversed, hitting Presto.

"YES!" I shrieked. Cherry Blossom Blizzard affects Pokémon!

"Go, Caterpie! String Shot!" Eric commanded. A worm came out of his Pokéball and fired a sticky, silky web at Presto. It was completely tied up.

Suddenly, I felt the beginnings of a new attack. I focused on it, and it clicked.

"Flower Cannon!" I yelled, making a hole in the roof. Sunlight poured in. "Solar..." I cried. Green bolts poured into my flower cap. I smashed my fists together. "RAY!"

Green energy pooled around and through my fists, and blasted Presto.

"Great! Marril, Squirtle, Pray for Rain and Hydro Pump!" Eric barked. His Water Pokémon placed their hands together, and clouds appeared over them. Cracks formed under Presto, and water blasted up in a column. The water burst up a total of eight times, before finally quitting. Squirtle nodded triumphantly, and started glowing. It grew, and finally stopped growing. What emerged from the glowing shell was none other than a Wartortle! It laughed.

"War-tor-war-tor-war-tor. Tle." it guffawed, looking at Presto's sorry state.

"Ooooh, you! Presto, Recover!" she growled. Blue light shown through the openings in the web. "AAARGH! Teleport!" she screamed. Presto warped right behind me, outside of the silk.

"PSYCHIC!!!!" the woman shrieked. Presto nodded, and brought his three spoons together. A blue ball formed, and shot out. I was hit, but it healed me.

"YEEARRGH! I suppose you have beaten me. Presto, return." the woman growled, though submissively.

"Yes. Now, does Lillymon-" I undigivolved. "Erm, Palmon get to come in?" Eric asked.

"Oh, I suppose. You probably want a tour, don't you?" she inquired, her 'I WILL win, no matter WHAT' attitude replaced with 'yes, your highness, right away, your highness, yes, I shall, your highness'. It was almost sickening.

"Um, actually, I just want to go to my friends." Eric said. That was one of his traits I admired. His duty to his friends, to protect them, comfort them, or just to be near them. He was loyal.

Although he was fairly withdrawn when alone, even with his Pokémon and I. I wondered if it had to do with his past, or the reason the guard couldn't see his psychicality (is that a word?) before he actually probed Eric. When alone, battle was the only thing that brought him out of his shell.

"Okay. Where are they?" she asked.

"Aquamarine City. Just teleport me there, I can do the rest." Eric replied.

"I'm sure." the woman muttered. Eric put a hand on my shoulder, and the woman pointed at us. The room glowed white, and faded away.

"OOOF!" I grunted when we landed. "She could at least of landed us on our feet." I grunted.

"Yeah, but that's what happpens when you're teleported by a weak psychic." Eric quipped.

"PALMON! ERIC!" a deep, deep voice shouted. "I'VE FOUND THEM!" it continued. A six-winged person with an iron mask landed. A small, blond boy jumped off his back.

Seconds later, Garurumon and Cory burst out of the crystals behind the boy. Kabuterimon and Jason landed soon after. Greymon stomped all over about twenty crystal clusters to let Luke off.

Kabuterimon landed, and Jason propelled himself at Eric.

Eric found himself covered with wild animals that looked like Eric's friends.

"Get off!" Eric roared, blasting them psychically upwards.

"What did you do that for?" Jason asked, woozily.

"I like to breathe once in a while." Eric retorted sarcastically. One of his faults. Sarcasm.

Ch. 17

Raimey

Eric was glaring at each of us, until he started on me. His glare melted into a look of confusion.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Raimey. Angemon, would you undigivolve into Patamon?" I asked. Angemon nodded, and changed to Patamon. "This is Patamon. You should know this. Do you have amnesia?" I asked, confused.

"No, because that woman at Palace of the Clouds healed his mind." the vegetable Digimon told me.

"What are you?" I asked. It glared.

"I am a female Palmon, Mr. Rude." she growled. I recoiled.

"Well, excuse me!" I snorted. She sniffed, and turned away.

"Anyway, why would I know you?" Eric asked.

"Because we grew up together." I said.

He looked shocked. "Grew up...together? All the memories I have of this place are vague, but bad."

"Bad? We only had...oh. That's what you're talking about. Here, I'm psychic. I'll replace your memory." I said. I put my hand on his forehead.

The scenery was replaced by bubbles, a whole lot of bubbles. When we struck a bubble, a memory overtook us.

Memory: I am knocked into an alley, with red eyed people surrounding me...

Memory: I am punched, kicked, struck...

Memory: I run from my pursuers, while they throw any loose objects within reach at me...

This went on for quite some time. Eric had not had a good past, being a psychic. Psychics were not accepted in Aquamarine. I had had the same trouble.

"Eric? Eric, are you all right?" Palmon asked. I lifted my hand, and the flow of memories stopped. He staggered, shocked.

"Those are my memories?" he asked.

"Yes." I replied. I then realized something. Without his memories, he had been happy, always seeing the bright side, from Luke and Jason's memories of him. Now, he seemed older, greyer.

"Okay, let's go!" he exclaimed. "To the Power-" he started to say, when his stomach rumbled. "Um, Aquamarine Seafood!" he finished.

We walked to the main restaurant, Aquamarine Seafood, and got a table. When we got the menus, Eric blanched.

"$24.99 for a lousy Goldeen?!" he exclaimed. I shrugged.

"Aquamarine is pretty expensive. You're a trainer, and you should be able to afford it!" I told him. He glared at me, and sighed.

"We all pay for the meal. Pick what you want, you're paying for it. Except the Digimon, they get scraps." Eric said. Agumon sniffed.

"I'm insulted."

"Well, you don't need as much food as we do." Luke told him. He sighed.

I decided to have fried Goldeen, even though it was more expensive than regular Magikarp. Eric, for some reason, wanted the Magikarp. I supposed he had strong teeth, because Magikarp, even boiled, was stone hard.

When the waiter came, we gave him our orders. Confetti suddenly flew down on our table, and the waiter wasn't even surprised.

"You are the millionth, millionth and first, millionth and second, millionth and third, fourth, and fifth people to order from Aquamarine Seafood! You get a free meal, plus a water Pokémon of your choice!" he said. Eric beamed.

"All right!"

We had a great meal, and when we finished, the waiter took us to a tank with twenty Water Pokémon in it.

"Pick what you like." the waiter told us. Eric picked a Staryu. Luke chose a Tentacool. Jason preferred a Magikarp. (I have no idea why.)

4 Cory selected his favorite, a Goldeen. I had trouble picking, because I am not fond of Water types. Then, I saw a snakelike form slither behind a bush.

"Behind that bush, there! That's the one I want!" I exclaimed. The waiter got a net, and fished out the rouge Pokémon. It was a Dratini!

"Tini!" it shouted, wrapping itself around me. "Dra! Tini!"

"It likes me!" I cooed, watching it. The dragon snake smiled, and slept.

"Okay, this isn't really what I had in mind." I muttered, watching Dratini. It cooed in its sleep.

"Okay, let's go. Power Badges, remember?" Luke asked. We left the restaurant.

Ch. 18

Jason

Our trip to the Gym, which should have taken only about three minutes, was delayed about five minutes because of Raimey's Dratini. The dumb snake wouldn't get off him, and absolutely refused to get in a Pokéball. It finally decided to glide along on the ground. Its tiny ear-wings allowed it to 'swim' in the air above the ground.

Anyway, once we got to the Gym, things went a little faster. I was the first one to fight.

"Do you expect me to actually believe you?" the Gym Leader, Buttercup (why she was called that, I don't know) said. "YOU, Jason Mann, expect ME, Buttercup Lines to fight you?" she asked scornfully. I glared.

Eric? Raimey? I thought.

What? they replied.

Could you, I don't know, convince her to fight me? I asked. They smiled. Don't ask me how I knew this, I just did.

"AAAGH! Okay, okay. I don't think you had to pull that psychic trick, but oh well.

"This is an offical match, Buttercup Lines vs. Jason Mann for a Power Badge. Two Pokémon apiece." Buttercup said, adopting a professional manner.

"Agreed." I said, with the same inflection.

"Good. Go, Poliwrath!" she cried, throwing a Pokéball. A large, blue, gloved thing emerged. I scanned it with my Pokédex.

"Poliwrath: a tadpole Pokémon. Why it is a tadpole still, no one knows. Its gloves protect its hands from wear and tear while Karate Chop, Mega Punch, and Submission are in use." Dexter intoned. I smiled. Tadpole=Water, right?

"Pikachu, attack! Thundershock!" I commanded. My electric mouse materialized, hunched over, and white bolts of electricity swirled around it. They converged on Pikachu, and flew forward, weaving themselves into a large bolt right when it hit Poliwrath. It flew backwards, stunned.

"Now, use Reflect!" I shouted. Pikachu straightened, and glowed black. The glow subsided, but the black remained. The only way to see Pikachu at all was through the visor, which had glass and an orange rim. (For those of you who have played FF3/6, think Shadow.)

"Poliwrath, Submission!" Buttercup cried. Poliwrath grabbed Pikachu, and squeezed it. The Reflect armor made it look more like a Super Hug attack than a Submission.

"While it's in close range, Thunderbolt!" I barked. Pikachu smiled, and released a bright, yellow stream of energy. Poliwrath, being in such close position, yowled its pain.

"POLIIIIIIIWRAAAAAAAAATH!" it screeched, jumping up while releasing my mouse.

"Extreme Lighting, while it's above you!" I shrieked. Pikachu clenched its armored fists, and a yellow bolt of lightning struck, and went through, Poliwrath, hit Pikachu, and expanded into a Thunder Wave, paralyzing Poliwrath as well.

"Poliwrath, return! Go, Elfin!" Buttercup said, recalling Poliwrath. The next Pokémon was a small, humanoid thing with pointy ears.

"Use Karate Chop!" Buttercup commanded. The Elfin struck Pikachu with a hand, then screamed. The armor must have reflected the power of the attack! While it was stunned, I scanned it with my Pokédex.

"Elfin: a mythical Pokémon. One of the only Magic types alive, and certainly the only Magic/Fighting, Elfin only takes damage from either a strong Psychic, or a Bug." Dexter droned. My eyes widened. Psychic or Bug? I don't have-wait. Weedle might not have much of a chance, but if I could tie it up, and poison it I thought.

"Pikachu, return! Go, Weedle! String Shot!" I shouted. Pikachu was replaced by a worm with two stingers. It fired a silky stream of sticky string, and completely covered Elfin. The silk hardened, and the Elfin fell over.

"Weedle, use Poison Sting!" I commanded. Weedle nodded, and fired its hind, um, sections. It flew at Elfin, and struck the string. Its stinger penetrated the sticky silk, and poisoned Elfin.

"Now, use Tail Flail!" I barked. Weedle chirped, and continuously struck Elfin through the silk with its tail stinger.

After five minutes of sting-sting-sting, my Pokédex finally announced Elfin fainted. Buttercup recalled it, grumbling.

"Here, take the stupid badge" she muttered, tossing a brown object at me. I caught it, and snapped it into my badge necklace. The badge was a fist, similar to that of the Fighting symbol in the Pokémon Cards.

I walked up to the trainer's room. Cory got up when I walked in, and exited.

"There aren't windows?" I asked.

"No, but if you have a psychic-" Eric started to say, when Raimey interrupted him.

"Two psychics."

"Fine. When you have two psychics, you can see anything. Raimey, make a Viewing Window." Eric said.

"Oh, fine." Raimey muttered. A blue square appeared on the wall, making it transparent. I saw Cory, along with a blond girl I didn't recognize.

"Sound?" Eric asked Raimey, on the verge of exasperation. Raimey sighed, and pointed. I could now hear the battle taking place.

"So, you, Cory Larame, challenge me, Bubbles, to a Pokémon match? Okay." The girl said. My mouth dropped open.

"Bubbles? I fought some wack named Buttercup!" I exclaimed. Eric smiled.

"Well, they're obviously named after the Powerpuff Girls! If Raimey or I have to fight a Blossom, we'll know for sure." Eric grinned. I nodded, and looked towards the missing wall.

"Go, Hitmon duo!" Bubbles said. A humanoid Pokémon appeared, along with a strange head with limbs. Eric took out his 'Dex.

"Hitmonchan: the punching Pokémon. It uses its lightning fast muscles to throw elemental as well as physical punches, paralyzing, burning, or freezing an enemy.

"Hitmonlee: the kicking Pokémon. If expertly trained, it can use elemental kicks as well as physical, similar to Hitmonchan." the Pokécomputer intoned. I smiled. Cory had three very good Pokémon that could block all Fighting and Normal moves.

"Jolteon, Flareon, go! Reflect!" he commanded. His two elemental, dog-like Pokémon materialized, and created glowing black armor, just as Pikachu had.

"Hitmonlee, Waterkick! Hitmonchan, Poison Punch!" Bubbles barked. The Hitmonlee swung its leg over the ground, and a wave of water rushed at Flareon. Jolteon barked, and zapped it with Thundershock. The excess energy caused it to collapse. Hitmonchan lunged at Jolteon, who dodged with Quick Attack at the last second.

"Now, Double Sand Attack!" Cory yelled. Jolteon and Flareon nodded, and dug up lots of sand, which floated over to Hitmonchan, blinding it. Hitmonlee dodged the cloud, only to be hit by an Ember and Thundershock. It fell over, paralyzed.

"Now, while they're down! Thunder and Fire Blast!" Cory shouted. Flareon inhaled, and expelled a stream of fire. Jolteon's pinfur stuck straight out, and little electric sparks glimmered on them. The electricity shot out, just as the fire hit Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee was lifted up on a star shaped flame, while Hitmonchan was electrocuted by a pillar of thunder. Both Fighters fell, defeated.

"I suppose you won. Here, take the Power Badge." Bubbles said calmly, unlike Buttercup, who had grumbled and whined. Cory took his badge, and snapped it into his necklace.

Next up was Eric. Bubbles wasn't in the arena, but a redhead was.

"I am Blossom, Leader of the Power Gym. If you continue to make good on your challenge to fight me, there will be one Pokémon for me, and three for you. Agreed?" she asked. Eric had been right. This was the Power Gym, only we needed to add a Puff! (No, not Jigglypuff.)

"Certainly. I will call first. Agreed?" Eric asked.

"Agreed."

"Go, Marril!" Eric cried. Blossom just looked on calmly.

"You'll never beat this. Go, Pokémon." she said, almost lazily, covering a yawn with her hand. A large, four-armed fighting powerhouse materialized. A Machamp!

"What is that thing?" Raimey asked us.

"A Machamp. Don't worry, Eric's Marril has a Psychic move." I told him.

"Marril, Psyshock!" Eric commanded. Purple-black energy surrounded Marril's fat body, and gathered on its tail. It turned, pointed the tail at Machamp, and the energy fired, striking Machamp. It fell over, paralyzed and confused.

"Now, rapid fire Bubble Beam!" Eric shouted. Marrill squeaked, and fired hundreds of multicolored bubbles. When each one hit, they popped with a flash of light. Machamp's eyes blanked, then got a spiral.

"You...you beat my Machamp." It was more of a statement than a question. "Okay, here. The Power Badge." Blossom said dumbly. Eric took it, and placed it in his necklace. When Blossom was about to exit the arena, he called out.

"Blossom! How about naming this Gym the PowerPuff Gym?" he inquired innocently. Blossom stiffened.

"That's a great idea. Why don't you go out and do that!" she hissed. Eric shrugged, recalled Marril, and walked to the trainers area.

When he got there, he squinched his eyes, and Raimey put his hand on Eric's shoulder. After a moment, Eric unsquinched his eyes. "This Gym is proudly renamed the Powerpuff Gym." He said with a smile. Raimey smiled as well, and walked down into the arena.

"I, Raimey Bond, (Author's note: I couldn't resist. Sorry.) challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" he cried. For a second, no one answered. Then, all three of the Powerpuffs came out.

"We'll fight you if you have a partner." Buttercup said. Raimey turned, and waved at Luke.

"Luke Walkar, come on down!" Raimey called. Luke opened the door, and walked down the steps.

"How did he know?" Blossom asked, horror stricken.

"I made the wall transparent." Raimey said. Blossom fainted.

"Well, looks like Buttercup and I are going to fight you." Bubbles said. Raimey nodded.

"Fine by me." Raimey said. He and Luke readied their Pokéballs.

Ch. 19

Luke

"Go, Pokéball!" all four of us cried. Out came a Drowzee, Raimey's, an Elfin, Buttercup's, a Machop, Bubbles', and my Vulpix.

"Drowzee, Hypnosis!" Raimey commanded. Yellow waves emerged from Drowzee's, um, trunk-thing. Machop fell asleep, but Elfin seemed to be immune to Psychic power. "Dream Eater on Machop!" Raimey continued. I snapped out of my trance, and ordered Vulpix.

"Confuse Ray, Vulpix!" I shouted. Vulpix nodded, and fired a black beam at Elfin. It worked, and Elfin hit itself on the head several times, knocking it out.

"Drowzee, use your Dream Eater attack!" Raimey barked. Drowzee nodded, and placed its hands together in a praying position. White sparkles emerged from Machop, and were transferred to Drowzee. Machop fell over, fainted, while Drowzee practically glowed with health.

"I suppose you two beat us. Here, take the Power Badges." Bubbles said, protecting us unintentionally from Buttercup's anger. We took the badges, and hurried out.

Eric, Cory, and Jason were waiting for us outside. When we all got together, we set off for the elevator that would take us to the surface. This time, however, we wouldn't be interrupted by a rampaging Gyarados. Hopefully.

"Guys?" Eric asked. We looked at him. "I'd rather not go in the elevator. I can go on Gyarados." he said. We nodded.

"As long as you don't die of axphyxiation." Cory joked. Eric glared.

"That's not funny, Cory." he said. Cory winced.

"Right. Won't happen again." he said slowly. Eric must have brushed him with his mind. That could be painful.

We reached the elevator. Eric split off from us, while we boarded.

When we went through the bubble, I saw a Gyarados undulating in the water. It was going about the same speed as our elevator.

When we reached the surface, a horrifying sight met our eyes. Eric was climbing out of his Gyarados's mouth!!!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!" we yelled simultaneously. Eric glanced at us.

"If it makes you so nervous, I'll teleport out." he said, warping onto the snake's back. I slumped with relief.

Eric teleported us to the bank. The Digimon, ignored for awhile, snapped at us.

"Luke! Why do you never talk to me?" Agumon asked.

"I just did talk to you ten minutes ago." I told him. He sniffed, and walked over to Patamon.

"Well, it's off to-" Eric started to say, when we were interrupted by terrible poetry.

"Prepare for trouble!

"And make that triple!"

"We will win, without creating a time ripple!

"To protect the world from the likes of you!"

"To be masters, and kick out the League too!"

"Better than those bumbling baboons!"

"To proclaim the evil of lies and hate!"

"To take over the world, that'd be just great!"

"We never ask, we just bate!" What that means, I have no idea.

"Jacque!"

"Jewel!"

"Jezelle!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of sound!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to never be found!"

"To climb the ladder of power, in leaps and bounds!"

"Electrode!"

"Blastoise!"

"Vileplume!"

Just one group of Team Bimbo was bad enough, but we had to have two.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make that double!

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend out reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Mee-owth, dat's right!"

"DIGIMON, ATTACK!" we shouted.

"Agumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Greymon!"

"Gabumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Garurumon! Garurumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Weregarurumon!"

"Tentomon, digivolve tooo..."

"Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon, digivolve tooo..."

"Togemon! Togemon, digivolve tooo..."

"Lillymon!"

"Patamon, digivolve tooo..."

"Angemon!"

Lickitung saw the huge, champion Digimon, and abruptly fainted. Arbok got two concentrated energy blasts, one Grass type, the other a weird light beam. (Lillymon's Flower Cannon and Angemon's Hand of Fate.) It fainted immediately. Weezing and Victreebel took a Nova Blast and a Wolf Claw each. Faint.

"All together now!" Kabuterimon cried, after Electro Shocking Pidgeot. "On three! One...two...three!"

"Nova Blast~Wolf Claw~Electro Shocker~Flower Cannon~Hand of Fate!" all the Digimon shouted. Snorlax was bombarded by wave upon wave of elemental digital power. It yawned, and rolled over. That wouldn't have been much of a problem, had it not rolled over on Eric!

"Get off of me now, you stupid ball of fat!" Eric screamed, blasting Snorlax with a gigantic Devastation Wave. It rolled over, the opposite way, thankfully.

After that, Eric's legs were crushed. How he couldn't be in pain, I didn't know. Or maybe he was in pain, but wasn't showing it. How could I know? What I did know was that he needed help, and me, being his best friend, was going to give it.

Raimey had the same idea. We both tried to lift Eric, but he was very heavy. Raimey tried to boost him with his psychic powers, but the instant he did, Eric screeched with pain.

"QUIT IT! LET GO OF ME!" he yowled. Raimey immediately released his psychic grip. The Snorlax was recalled by Jessie, and a smoke bomb went off. They disappeared.

All that was left was the competent Team Rocket squad.

"Electrode, Thunder Boom!" Jacque commanded.

"Vileplume, Petal Dance!" Jezelle barked.

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" Jewel ordered.

The triple elemental blast was headed right towards Cory. He was petrified with fear. Then, Weregarurumon jumped in front of him, and shouted out an attack.

"Feral Claw!" The result? One triple elemental blast, coming right up, Electrode!

The blast completely KO'ed Electrode, completely erasing the possibility of even a Self Destruct. Jacque recalled it, visibly steaming.

"Now, Luke! Use Vulpix!" Jason cried, even as he called out Pikachu.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Confuse Ray!"

Blastoise was paralyzed, and Vileplume was confused after this round. Blastoise had fallen on its shell, but managed to right itself with a Water Gun from its cannons. Vileplume started glowing. I wondered if this was a Sky Attack. Then I laughed. It is completely impossible for a Vileplume to learn Sky Attack...isn't it?

My fears were calmed when Vileplume hit Blastoise with the Solar Beam. Jewel recalled it. My guess was that they had only one Pokémon each.

"Vulpix, Flamethrower!" I commanded. Vulpix reared back, and fell onto its front legs again, expelling a stream of fire.

"Vileplume, return." Jezelle muttered. "Salamon, go!" she continued.

"Gomamon, attack!"

"Let's go, Biyomon!"

The three Digimon, one aquatic, one a flyer, and one kitty, jumped in front of Team Rocket. Three Digivices went off.

"Biyomon, digivolve tooo..."

"Birdramon!"

"Gomamon, digivolve tooo..."

"Ikkakumon!"

"Salamon, digivolve tooo..."

"Gatomon!"

"Digimon, attack!" all of the humans present roared.

"Nova Blast!"

"Garuru Kick!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Electro Shocker!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Lightning Claw!"

The octuple Digimon blast combined, and streamers of power stretched out, wrapping around all of us humans.

"AAAAAGHAGHAGHAGH!" I screamed. The pain was incredible!

Cory's and Eric's Crests lit up, and two ribbons of energy struck the seething mass of Digipower. Nothing happened.

"Hand...of...fate!" Angemon managed to cry, firing a light beam into the incarnation of mass destruction. This just managed to overpower it, along with the double Crest blast.

All the Digivices glowed, firing beams of light at Angemon. He gathered all the light onto his glowing, orange fist. "DIGIBEAM!" he shouted, firing a glowing, well, glowing doesn't really describe it. More like a white beam so bright that if you looked at it, your eyes would see a black beam forever more. I averted my gaze just in time.

The beam hit the giant fireball, and exploded. Every one of us was sent in a different direction.

I flew towards a red speck on the horizon...

Ch. 20

Patamon

When my Digibeam hit the fireball, a great explosion occurred. I felt myself collide with a soft mass, but I didn't do much damage because I was undigivolving.

I felt myself shrink, changing back into Patamon. But, I kept moving toward the In-Training stage, in my case, Tokomon.

I blacked out, but my vision returned in what felt like seconds. I stood on my four legs, (the pride of all Tokomon) and looked around. I saw one of Raimey's new friends, Jason.

"Jason!" I squeaked. He stirred, and snorted. "Jason!" He blinked, and sat up.

"What are you?" he asked sleepily. I replied.

"I'm Tokomon. Last time you saw me was probably as Angemon." I told him.

"Ah. HEY!" he shouted, knocking me off my feet. "That's Indigo Plateau!" he added, standing up.

"What's Indigo Plateau?" I asked. He looked down at me.

"The place Pokémon trainers go when they have a minimum of eight badges or a special, League badge you get if you beat Professor Oak. I know who got one this time around." he muttered, looking at the ground darkly. "Laura."

"Laura? Who's that?" I inquired squeakily.

"Luke's sister. She stayed when we had all that trouble with Team Rocket. Only four of us were there, it must have been her. If she gets all twenty badges..." he said, trailing off.

"Then...What?"

"She gets the top bracket and a special, free battle pass."

"Is that bad?"

"Very. If she wins, Luke will die of embarrassment. And we can't have that, can we?" Jason asked me wryly. I shook my tiny head.

"Nope."

"Well, lets see if we can get passage to Cerulean City somehow."

We marched towards Indigo Plateau, Jason looking around nervously. Why, I don't know.

"JASON!" a voice cried. He turned, nearly knocking me off my feet. I righted myself, barely.

"Aaron?" he asked, staring. "Aaron!" he shouted again, dashing towards him. They stopped running, right before they would have smashed into each other.

"You're here already! I thought you'd be out getting badges for at least three months! It's been what, four days since I saw you last?" Aaron asked, laughing. His brown hair glimmered in the sun, and his green eyes flashed. I grunted, and nudged Jason's leg with my head.

"Oh, sorry. Aaron, this is Tokomon. Tokomon, this is my best friend Aaron. I used to live in Indigo, until I turned twelve." He explained. I cocked my head.

"Don't most people become trainers at ten?" I asked.

"Well, Ash did. Look at him now: Master of the Pokémon League. Look at him when he started: A rebellious Pikachu, no Pokémon till Viridian Forest, and only eight badges total. Now, if I wait till I'm twelve, adding two years of study under Professor Cedar, who do you think is going to have more luck?

"And, by the way," he added, "how did you know about the normal age of beginning trainers?"

"For question a)You, b)when I bonded with Raimey, most of his knowledge imprinted onto me." I answered. Aaron looked perplexed.

"How does this thing talk?" he asked. I glared at him.

"I am a Digimon, not a thing. I talk naturally." I snarled. He laughed

"Ha! A Digimon? That's funny!" he grinned. Jason frowned.

"No, he really is a Digimon. He's a friend of mine's." he said.

"Right. Hey, do you want to come over to my house?" Aaron asked.

"No, I really have to get to Cerulean." Jason replied. Aaron sighed.

"Well, my father's Pidgeot can fly you to Cerulean. But," he added plaintively, "can't you stay awhile even so?"

"No. I have to get to Tentomon, or else he'll be helpless." Jason said.

"Well, let's go get Pidgeot."

We walked down a small, narrow street until we reached Aaron's home.

"What happened to your mansion?" Jason asked.

"Oh, we still have it. But dad wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Elite Seven." Aaron answered.

"Elite seven? I thought there were only four!" Jason exclaimed.

"Well, at first there were only four. Lorelei, Agatha, Bruno, and Lance. But then, my father joined. He's a Bug Master. Then, that Hilda person came in. She has Flying types. The last, and most powerful, is Tanya. She uses, two new types. Um, one of them is Steel, I think. The other is...uh...oh, yeah! Evil!" he shouted.

"Evil?" Jason asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Hey! Dad!" Aaron yelled. A tall, dark haired man opened the door and looked out.

"Hey, Aaron! Jason! How are you?" he asked. Jason smiled.

"Just fine, Mr. Blake!" Jason called back.

"Please, call me Phil!"

"Whatever, Mr. Blake!"

The 'Phil' person grinned, and opened the door wider.

"What do you want, ruffians?"

"Jason wants to borrow your Pidgeot so he can fly to Cerulean City!" Aaron called back. 'Phil' smiled broader.

"Sure!"

So we went into Aaron's house, and 'Phil' gave Eric a Pokéball.

"Just release Pidgeot and tell it where you want to go. I'll keep the Pokéball so it knows where to go." he said.

Jason went outside, and threw the Pokéball. "Pidgeot, go!" he bellowed. A large, brown and gold bird with a red crest materialized. Eric scooped me up, and jumped on its back.

"Cerulean City!" 'Phil' yelled. Pidgeot shrilled, and took off.

Ch. 21

Luke

I stirred, feeling myself leaning against a wall. Someone was shuffling around, rattling something.

"Are you awake? Luke? Luke!" a familiar voice cried. I opened one eye, and saw a bug in my face.

"AAAAAH!" I screamed, shooting straight up. Tentomon, startled, flew back.

"Oh, are you awake now?" a voice asked. I looked around, and saw a short, brown haired woman.

"Oh, I'm okay. By the way, where am I?" I asked. She grunted.

"This is the Volcano Shrine on Cinnabar Island." she said. When I looked around, I saw she was telling the truth. The whole entire room had a faint red glow, and it was unbearably hot. Red crystals formed in clusters all around the room.

"Is the Volcano Shrine really under the volcano?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, no," the woman replied. I sighed with relief. "It's in the volcano."

"WHAT?!" I screamed. The woman grabbed me and put her hand over my mouth.

"Shut up! Do you want to start an avalanche?" she hissed. I obligingly shut up. She took her hand from my mouth. I sat down on a convenient rock chair. Note: I did not say comfortable. I said convenient.

"Well, what do you think you're doing here, eh? Only Gym Leaders, Elite League Members, and I are allowed here." The old woman asked.

"Could you tell me your name, please?" I asked.

"Oh, all right. It's Merilu. But, please, call me Meri." she answered.

"Okay. I was on my Pokémon journey, when I met up with some Digimon." I said. Meri listened intently as I told the whole entire story up until now, with Tentomon occasionally adding tidbits of information.

"So, next thing I know, I'm stranded here." I finished. Meri nodded.

"Quite an exciting story. Most people's Pokémon journeys aren't worth listening to. The exciting ones normally end up in the Pokémon League, as either Masters or Champions." Meri thought out loud.

"Champions...oh, I know what you mean." I said. Suddenly, the temperature of the room increased. "Does the temperature normally rise and fall?"

"No. But," Meri added, "It might have something to do with the fact that your necklace is glowing like an ember."

I looked down, and saw that she was right. My octagonal necklace was glowing bright orange. A tile on the wall started glowing the same color. I peered closely, and saw a sun shape carved into it. The tile separated from the wall, and floated towards me. It shrank, and turned around, so that when it slid into my Tag, the sun was facing outwards.

"Oh!" Meri exclaimed. "So, that's what that tile was for. I never knew..." she thought out loud.

"Never knew what?" I asked, curious.

"Well, I read some Japanese." she said.

"Your point?"

"Well, that sun symbol is an ancient dialect of Japanese. It means 'Courage'. That necklace of yours is carved with tiny writings, and they say..." she said, peering closely at my Tag. "The bearer of this Tag has qualities of courage so great that the Crest of Courage can be activated only by him. The bearer has power unimaginable when combined with a Digivice and a Fire element Digimon." she read. I blinked, startled. How did it know this? Why was I the so called 'bearer'?

'You seem to be confused.' a young, slightly familiar voice said. It wasn't anybody I knew, though. Then I realized it was in my head, not my ears. I thought, 'Who are you?'

'I am the true bearer of courage. You are my descendant.'

'So, that makes you...Who?'

'I am the Digi Destined leader, of the Crest of Courage. My name was once Tai. My name now is unimportant. You have my blood in your veins. If you wish to see your Digimon digivolve, you will accept the overwhelming burden of Courage. Do you accept?' Tai asked me.

I thought about it. Seeing Agumon digivolve would be great! But, Tai had said Courage was an overwhelming burden.

'I will be here to help you through it.' Tai added. After that, I felt I could handle it.

'I accept.'

Suddenly, I felt a sort of fire run through my veins. It spread slowly, starting near my heart and going through my body, till I felt permeated with the fire I could tell was the 'burden', Courage.

'This isn't overwhelming! It feels good!' I thought.

'It will eventually override your decision making until you go only with the hardest and most dangerous choices. I wasn't prepared for it, but you will be.' Tai replied.

'Have Eric or Cory gone through this?' I asked.

'Eric? Cory? Who are they?' Tai inquired.

'They both have Crests!'

'Which Crests?'

'I don't know! One's green, the other I think is blue!'

'Ah. Sincerity and Friendship. They should have. If they haven't, it's only a matter of time.' Tai told me. I nodded.

Just now, I noticed Meri and Tentomon looking at me strangely. "What?" I asked.

"You've been unresponsive for at least five minutes, and you just nodded for no apparent reason. What's up?" Tentomon asked.

"You noticed my Crest has been glowing?" I inquired. They nodded. "Well, some voice in my head was talking to me." I told them.

Suddenly, the wall that Meri was leaning on sagged inward. No, that's not completely accurate. It bulged, knocking Meri forward.

"Meri! Are you all right?" I asked. She got up, apparently unharmed.

"I'm all right. But, the last time that happened, the volcano erupted! We have to get outta here!" she screamed.

"Is there an opening?" I asked.

"The normal one is blocked, because it goes into the crater of the volcano.. The secret entrance was available, except now it's under construction. The only way out is through the way you flew in."

"You mean to tell me I made a hole in ROCK?" I asked, incredulous.

"You were going pretty fast."

"Well, let's go." I said. Meri led us through a door, and down a tunnel. We reached a circular hole in the rock after about a minute.

"This is where I found you. Let's go." Meri said. I climbed out first. Meri clambered through a bit more clumsily. Tentomon started to fly out, but then collapsed.

"Tentomon!" I yelled. He weakly called back.

"Luke...no...energy...Jason too far...away..."

The fire in my veins had been down to a low heat, but now it flared up, higher than ever.

"Don't worry, Tentomon! I'm coming in!" I shouted.

I dived into the cave. Meri yelled at me to come back.

"I can't! Jason'll kill me if I don't save Tentomon!" I screamed over the roar of the volcano.

Tentomon was right under the opening, thankfully. I grabbed him, and shoved him through the hole, hoisting myself out after him.

"COME ON! LET'S GO!" Meri shrieked, the roar of the volcano covering almost all of her words. I ran after her, carrying Tentomon.

She led us to a round, stone door in the ground. She tugged on it, and it opened easily. We dashed into it, and she closed it hurriedly.

"We're not safe yet. Go, we still have to get to Blaine's Gym!" she said, grabbing my hand. I ran along, a bit slower than normal because of Tentomon's weight.

We finally reached a large, fire-red building that didn't look fire-proof, let alone lava-proof.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I screamed.

"Positive! This building has withstood ten eruptions! Don't worry, Luke!" Meri yelled back. "Every trainer except Blaine has a Pokémon that knows Withdraw or Light Screen! Those barriers'll protect us from anything except an avalanche, and you don't have avalanches underground!"

We ran into the Gym, where the entire population of Cinnabar was staying. Thankfully, the population wasn't much more than Pallet, so I was used to it.

"Withdraw!" a large amount of people yelled.

"Light Screen!" a larger amount of people yelled.

We waited for the shaking to end, as all the Water, Electric, and Psychic Pokémon protected us. Whenever a Pokémon dropped, it was quickly replaced with another.

But, the eruption lasted longer than expected. I glanced at Tentomon, who was sweating heavily, and winced. Bugs don't withstand heat well. I looked at Meri.

I started, and looked at her again. She was glowing!

"Meri?" I asked.

"Don't disrupt me, I'm holding up most of the barrier." she said. I nodded, and thought. No, none of my Pokémon knew Withdraw or Light Screen or Barrier. I looked up again, and saw a hole in the barrier. People were pointing and muttering. The hole stretched downwards, and the psychic part of the barrier stretched with it. The hole continued downward, and went over me. I pressed my hands to the glowing wall, but nothing happened. I was trapped!

'Luke?'

'Tai! Help!' I shouted mentally.

'Don't yell. Use the Crest!' he replied. I looked down at my chest, and saw a brightly glowing orange spot. I lifted it out, and pressed it to the wall. The barrier disappeared.

"Hah!" Meri yelled, lunging out for the Crest. I pulled it back just in time. "Give that!" she cried.

"Why should I?" I asked. The Crest glowed brighter. An orange beam shot out of the Crest, and wrapped around Meri.

"Let me go!" she screeched. I was a bit shocked.

'Did you do that, Tai?'

'Yes. Like it?'

'Oh, yeah. Can you energize Tentomon?'

'Tentomon? No, only the Crest of Knowledge could do that. Who's he belong to?'

'He's Jason's.'

'Show me a picture?'

I imagined Jason, making sure every detail was correct. His spiky brown hair, his brown eyes. Tai was shocked when I showed him the picture.

'He looks just like Izzy!' He thought.

'Izzy?'

'One of my friends. No wonder Tentomon bonded with Jason!'

"Will you let me go!" Meri shrieked.

"No way!"

"Wizardmon, go!" she cried. A small, cloaked Digimon bounded out from behind a boulder. "Didn't think I had a Digimon, did you?"

"Not particularly. Tentomon!" I shouted. He looked up weakly. "You have to Digivolve!"

"I can't...Jason..."

'Tai! Can you communicate through Digivices?' I thought frantically.

'So, you've got Digivices too? Well, I can try. Which Digivice?'

'Jason's!'

A pause. Then, my Digivice started glowing. Tentomon's shell started glowing. In fact, his whole body was covered by shell, so he just glowed.

"Tentomon, digivolve tooo..."

"Kabuterimon!"

The entire cavernous room stopped rumbling. Everyone sighed with relief, then noticed the giant blue bug hovering above them.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" everyone yelled, except Meri and I.

"Thunder Gate!" Wizardmon shouted, pointing a rod with a sun doll on it toward Kabuterimon. Blue electricity struck Kabuterimon.

"RAAAGH! Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon retaliated. Wizardmon dodged agilely and the electric blast hit the wall. The wall had a hole in it after that electric barrage. Everyone poured out of that hole, so it was Meri and I left.

"Thunderbolt!" Wizardmon said loudly, throwing a yellow ball with a white core at Kabuterimon. It exploded on contact.

"Kabuterimon!" I shouted.

Ch. 22

Eric

When the explosion occurred, I was thrown. A large shape collided with me, but started shrinking. All I could see was red and green swirly colors.

When the color dissipated, I could see I was hanging in the air over a stone grey city. It wasn't Pewter, though. In the center, I saw a large, red, green, blue, yellow, brown, black, and purple cottage, made out of what I assumed was stone. I looked to the left, and saw Agumon. At that instant, we fell.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

We were hurtling towards that dome at incredible speeds. Right before we were going to hit, it occurred to me to slow us psychically.

A purple barrier surrounded us, but I hadn't done it. We slowed, and bounced off the dome.

We still hit hard, but we didn't either a)die, b)break all the bones in our body, or c)encounter extreme pain and agony. We were just knocked out.

I awoke to see a brown haired woman puttering around a kitchen. I was lying on the floor.

A purple haired kid came in. "Mommy! The stranger from the sky is awake!"

The woman turned, and looked at me. "So he is, Hilda. So he is."

"Pah!" a familiar voice cried. A green haired girl flew out of a door to the right of the woman.

"Aaah!" she shouted, her shirt burning.

"Ivy!" Michelle scolded. "I told you not to go into that room!"

"But mother!" Ivy wailed. "That lizard burnt my favorite shirt!"

A lizard? "Excuse me," I tried to say. My tongue wouldn't move!

Hilda stiffened. "Mommy, that boy is trying to talk!"

The woman looked down at her. "And why can't he?"

Hilda grinned sheepishly. "Well...I paralyzed him."

"Hilda." the woman glared. Hilda winked, and suddenly my arms and legs fell. They had been floating.

"Excuse me. If you would be so kind as to let me and my Digimon go?" I asked.

"No, please stay." the woman said. "I'm Michelle."

"I'm Eric." I replied.

"I'm Hilda." Hilda told me.

"My name is Ivy." the slightly older green haired child said.

"Mikey! Get your brothers out here, now!" Michelle shouted. A door burst open, and four men with wildly colored hair came in. Hair colors: Red, blue, yellow, and brown.

"Eevee brothers, this is Eric. Eric, these wild, uncontrollable men are Mikey," Michelle told me. The brown hair waved. "Sparky," Yellow-hair smiled. "Rainer," The blue haired one winked. "And Pyro." The flaming redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Wait! Aren't there five Eevee Brothers?" I asked.

"Yeah, there are! REX!" Michelle screamed. "GET IN HERE, NOW!"

A slightly younger adult male walked out of the door (which I supposed led to the living room) with spiky brown hair. A brunette the size of Ivy followed.

"These other savages are Rex and Whitney," Michelle explained.

"The young 'uns are the next generation of Eevee people. I can't stand the evos, but Eevee are cute," she continued.

"Right. I'm Eric, and that fire breathing lizard in what I suppose is a closet is my best friend's Digimon, Agumon." I explained.

"Oooh, no wonder it burnt me!" Ivy growled.

"That most likely happened because he was surprised to see a green haired young lady such as yourself leaning over him." I retorted.

"Oh."

I got up slowly, still being sore, and walked over to the door that Ivy had run out of screaming only seconds earlier.

"Agumon? You in there?" I inquired.

"Yes." he replied, walking out.

"Well, we need to go."

"Right. Are you going to teleport us?"

"I suppose."

"Hey! You're a psychic?" Hilda asked once I took my head out of the closet.

"Yeah."

"Wow! I'll bet I'm stronger than you." she sneered.

"Whatever. I don't have time to play telekinesis games with you."

"Hey!" Sparky yelled. I looked up, my danger sense going off. "What is that?" he continued.

I looked out the window, and immediately ducked. A large pumpkin had burst into the house. Agumon looked out the window, after running out of the closet.

"Oh, no! Pumpkinmon!" he yelled. I started.

"Pumpkinmon?" I asked, incredulous.

"Yes. He normally doesn't fight much, but is dangerous when provoked. Of course," Agumon sneered, "he is only a Champion stage Digimon."

"So, I'm guessing that you are going to digivolve." I said.

"No. I can't, not without Luke."

"Drat!"

"Hey, can Pokémon beat up that thing?" Sparky asked.

"Oh, definitely. Nine would be a perfect number." Agumon replied.

"Right. Eevee brothers, attack!"

"Great! Marril, go!" I said loudly.

"Sparkeon!" Sparky screamed.

"Surfeon!" Rainer shouted.

"Flameon!" Pyro yelled.

"Eeveerion!" Rex exclaimed.

"Leafeon!" Ivy screeched.

"Efi!" Hilda voiced.

"Agumon!"

"ATTACK!" we all shouted.

We ran out of the stone house, and confronted a stereotypical ghost (a white sheet with arms) with a pumpkin head.

"Marril, use Psyshock!" I commanded. Glittering, purple-black energy gathered on Marril's tail. The energy whipped forward, battering Pumpkinmon.

"Pumpkinmon Power!" it shouted. Agumon and I were hit my a large pumpkin from above.

"Ick. Marril, Surf!" I said. A raging wave swirled around Pumpkinmon, then cleared. What was left got smashed by the Stones.

"Thunder!"

"Hydro Pump!"

"Fire Blast!"

"Swift!"

"Razor Leaf!"

"Shroud of Darkness!"

"Psychic!"

The pumpkin Digimon was left battered and beaten by this elemental barrage. What interested me most was the Evil attack used by Blackie. A black cloud had descended upon Pumpkinmon, and burst into black flame. Strange.

Suddenly, Pumpkinmon started glowing. It shrank, and melted, revealing a yellow mass, not unlike a Ditto.

"Oh, no!" Agumon shouted. "That wasn't a Pumpkinmon! That was a Daemon!"

"What's a Daemon?" I asked.

"Its like a Ditto, except it can only copy Digimon!" Agumon replied.

Just then, the Daemon glowed, and grew, sprouting claws, wings, and teeth. What was left looked remarkably like a Scyther, only about twenty feet tall!

"A Snimon! This Daemon can transform from memory!" Agumon whispered, shocked.

"Well, let's get it!" Rex yelled.

"Hydro Pump!" Rainer and I commanded.

"Fire Blast!" Pyro barked.

"Hyper Beam!" Rex, Rainer, Hilda, and Ivy yelled.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon voiced vociferously.

The Snimon got knocked back a foot or two, but started hovering.

"Tseng Zinger!" it cried, firing purple bolts of energy. Efi and Leafeon immediately fainted. Flameon, Sparkeon, and the other Pokémon were relatively unharmed. Agumon was out cold.

"Agumon!" I shouted, knowing that Luke would kill me. My Crest started glowing.

Agumon was surrounded by a green light, which levitated him and carried him through the open door.

Time suddenly slowed down. I heard a female voice in my head.

'Do you hear me?' it asked.

'Uh, yes.' I answered cautiously.

'No need to mistrust me. I'm your ancestor, Mimi. If you want the Crest to give you its power, then you must take on the virtue of Sincerity. Do you accept?'

'What's the catch?'

'You are forced to always tell the truth.'

'Well, I try to tell the truth anyway.'

'This is deeper. It means you can't tell your host at a party that food that you hated was wonderful. No subject changes. Your conversational abilities will be greatly reduced. Other than that, nothing.'

'And the bright side is...what?'

'You gain the ability to control plants, speed up plant growth, gather information from nearby vegetation, regenerate body parts and heal yourself and your closest friends with power gathered from the sun. Your eyes will turn green.'

'All right, I suppose I accept.'

Later, when Luke told us about when he got his Crest activated, it felt like fire running through his veins. I, on the other hand, felt my veins shrivel. My skin turned faintly green, and I suddenly felt better than I had since we had started our Pokémon journey, was it only yesterday? So much had happened...

"Eric!" Ivy shouted. I snapped out of the trance the Crest had put me under, just in time to see a large, black and red dinosaur jumping at me.

"MARRIL!" my Pokémon screamed, blasting the dinosaur with bubbles. The monster flew on one side of me, rather than into me.

"Th-thanks, Marril," I gasped. Marril grinned.

"Mar! Ill!" he chirped.

"Right." I replied, smiling. I turned, and glared at the dino. I pointed, concentrating.

What happened next shocked me. I had intended to blast it with psychic power, but vines sprouted from the ground and jumped over it, diving into the ground again.

"Well, that was...funny." Pyro muttered. Ivy glared at him.

"I thought it was cool!"

"You would, O daughter of mine." Pyro said, laughing.

I turned, and walked into the house.

"Is Agumon okay?" I asked Michelle.

"Yes. He's recovering quite nicely." she told me. I pulled a stool from the counter that ran along the wall, looking around for the first time.

The color scheme was purple, green, and brown shot through with white.

"The house is color-coded as to who is in the room the most. The white is me, the purple is Hilda, the green is Ivy, and the brown is Mikey. He's ravenous constantly," she said, answering my unspoken questions.

"ERIC! GET OUT HERE, NOW!" Rainer roared. I shot up from the stool, and dashed outside.

The dinosaur had broken free of my bonds, and had shape shifted. Now, a larger dinosaur with a metal claw, upper head, and chest plate had emerged. Wings of steel were on its back.

"Giga Blaster!" it shouted, firing missiles as big as my arm at Ivy!

"Marril, Tidal Wave!" I screamed. Marril bent down, raised its tail, and pointed it at the missile. Ivy was suddenly swamped with water, but that passed quickly. The missile exploded on contact with the water, but no one was hurt, thankfully.

I ran up to the others, Marril right behind me. When I reached them, I saw that they were a bit singed, but nothing else.

"RRAGAGH!" the Daemon cried. I turned once more, and saw the largest Digimon I had ever seen. It reminded me of Angemon, except it had two wings that were ragged, torn, and black. Its face was black, except for red eyes and a white, vampiric mouth. (You know, pointed teeth that pointed downwards.) Its arms were as long as its legs, and covered with bandages. I paled.

"Haha! Touch of Evil!" it laughed, raising a hand, palm towards us. A black beam with red edges shot towards us. I raised a psychic barrier, the strongest I had, but that wasn't enough.

Out of the woods surrounding the stone cottage that the Stones lived in, a person with brown hair emerged. I took a closer look, and saw he had a green shirt and blue jeans on. His grey eyes flashed as he looked at us.

"Haha! You think that you can beat my giant Devimon?" he guffawed. "Use all your Pokémon, too!"

"Fine! Michelle, Mikey, would you come out here?" Sparky yelled. Michelle came out the back door, while Mikey jumped over the fence.

"Squirtle, Caterpie, go!" I yelled.

"Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon, go!" Rex commanded.

"Eeveerion, Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon, attack!" That was Mikey.

"Jolteon!" Sparky cried.

"Flareon!" Pyro barked.

"Vaporeon!" screeched Rainer.

"Venusaur! Victreebel!" Ivy shouted.

"Kadabra! Hypno! Attack!" Hilda ordered.

"Happiness, go!" Michelle said. Ivy, Hilda, and Michelle were obviously the only of the Eevee League that have non Eevee Pokémon.

I opened my Pokédex, scanning the Pokémon I hadn't seen before.

"Sparkeon: the Twinthunder Pokémon. Uses the two spikes on its neck to fire two Thunder attacks.

"Surfeon: the Wave Pokémon. Creates waves that suffocate enemies and swims faster than most boats.

"Flameon: the Lava Pokémon. Can live on or in the sun (theoretically) because its fur collects heat and blasts it out when it gets to intense. Said to cause solar flares.

"Efi: the Psychic Eeveelution. Can change bodies with any Pokémon. Beats itself up, then switches bodies for major damage.

"Leafeon: the Living Arbor Pokémon. The only Pokémon (so far) that learns both Absorb, Mega Drain, Photosynthesis, and Giga Drain, it is sometimes considered the Plant God.

"Blackie: the Evil Eeveelution. Its special attack is Shroud of Darkness, a Evil/Fire attack. Thought by some to have fire abilities.

"Happiness: the Egg Pokémon. Uses the small wings on its body to hover while pelting the enemy with Egg Bombs."

My quest for knowledge sated, I commanded my troops. Er, Pokémon.

"String Shot! Pray for Rain, Surf, Squirtle! Marril, Metronome!" I commanded.

The Devimon laughed through the Water type assault, shrugging off the silk. Marril, though, had more luck.

"Ma-ril. Ma-ril." it chanted, waving its long tail and short arms. It stopped suddenly, and glowed.

The blue sky above suddenly ripped. A large hole showed space outside the atmosphere. Chunks of rock rained down and smashed Devimon.

"How DARE you? Puny mouse, I will have my revenge!" Devimon shouted. A large, black foot flew at Marril.

"NOOOO!" I yelled, diving for Marril. It never occurred to me to return him.

Vines, glowing with psychic energy, whipped Devimon's foot, but not altering its course. At the peak of my dive, I grabbed Marril and rolled, but the foot was too big to dodge.

I felt a tingle, but dismissed it as fear. When a gigantic blue green ray fired at Devimon, I blinked, too shocked to do anything more.

"AAAARGH!" he screamed, obviously in pain. I just sat there, amazed.

"Venusaur! Leafeon! Victreebel! Solar Beam!" Ivy shouted.

"Kadabra, Hypno, use Psychic!" Hilda commanded.

"Happiness, Omelet!" Michelle barked.

Three blue green rays smashed Devimon, courtesy of Ivy. Hilda's two Psychic attacks bounced off his bandaged arm. But, Happiness' Omelet was a totally new story.

It carefully took its egg out of its pouch, and threw it at Devimon. When it hit, Devimon suddenly had egg in his face. Literally.

"That's it! You pay!" he growled. "Touch of-" Devimon started, when the house suddenly glowed a violent orange.

"Agumon, digivolve tooo..."

"Greymon!"

Greymon came stomping out of the now destroyed house.

"Nova Blast!" he shouted, blasting a large fireball at Devimon.

"Aaah!" Devimon cried. Then, "You'll have to do better than that, Greymon!"

A voice from above called down. "Eric! Is that you?"

"Yes! Who calls?" I replied.

"Jason, with Tokomon!" he replied.

"Yes! Send out your Pokémon!" I shouted. Then, to the Stones, who were staring with openmouthed horror at the remains of their cottage, "Hey! Are you fighters or are you zombies? Let's go!"

They snapped to attention.

"Hydro Pump!" Rainer and I shouted.

"Thunder!" Sparky commanded.

"Fire Blast!" Pyro barked.

"Solar Beam!" Ivy yelled.

"Devastation Wave!" Hilda ordered.

"Hardboiled!" Michelle called.

"Supernova!" Greymon shouted.

"Pidgey, Gust! Seel, Surf! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Jason cried from above.

"Bubble Blast!" Tokomon said cheerfully.

The blast struck Devimon in the chest. (The Pokémon attack blast, not the Bubble Blast.) The Pidgeot Jason was riding launched a Whirlwind attack.

"RAAAAAGH!" Devimon roared, glowing. It shrank, and formed the glob that was Daemon.

"What?!" the kid cried. "That's not possible!"

"Who are you anyway?" Jason asked.

"Me? Well, I'll tell you." he grinned.

"Nooo! We're in for an (in)famous Team Bimbo Motto!" I wailed.

"Prepare for trouble! And you would make that double, except my teammate isn't here! To take over in every nation, to blight the world, that's devastation! To denounce the evils of love and truth, to enslave every woman who's name is Ruth! Team Rocket Squadron 3, take over at 60 miles per hour! It's not egg in your face, oh, no, it's FLOUR! Miguel, with a partner named Meri who is absent at this time!"

"Ooookay." I said, after a long silence. "That made no sense whatsoever."

"DOES THAT MATTER?!?!?!?" Miguel screamed.

"You sound like me when you say that." I told him.

Jason sighed. "Pidgeot, Pidgey, Whirlwind!"

"Team Rocket Squadron 3, who is currently missing one member, blasting off again!"

"He's just obsessive." I muttered.

Ch. 23

Jason

I guided Pidgeot to the ground, and climbed off.

I was suddenly tackled by a strange, wild animal.

"Eric, get off me!" I gasped. He was hugging me so hard I couldn't breathe!

"Oh, sorry." Eric said sheepishly.

"That's-gasp-quite...all right..." I wheezed. "I don't think you did more than fracture a few ribs, or puncture my lungs."

"Heh heh." Eric laughed, waving an arm at me. His Crest of Sincerity glowed bright green, attracting my eyes to it. But then my eyes wouldn't move away!

Then, the glow subsided, and I got up, feeling better. Then, I noticed Eric's strange skin color.

"What's with the skin?" I asked.

"Skin? Oh, that," Eric said, grinning. "It has to do with the Crest of Sincerity activating. Now I get energy from the sun and light, plus I can use my plant power and my psychic abilities to heal people." he explained.

"Ah. That's why

"Ah. Now, question number two: Where are we? I was just flying to Cerulean on a borrowed Pidgeot, when I see this giant black thing being attacked by my best friend's Digimon, my other best friend's Pokémon, plus several other elemental Pokémon!" I exhorted.

"Ah, you would be in Stone Town, except once Rex lost the Pokémon League title, everyone in Stone Town became disgusted with us and moved off. We didn't like looking at a ghost town where our friends used to live, so we moved into Evolution Forest." Mikey explained.

"Oh." I said, nodding.

Suddenly, a yellow beam shot out of the ground right in front of me. A circle shape appeared, and hollowed, leaving a sort of cord that tapered at the bottom, with a stretched octagon connected to the point of the circle. When the beam faded, the necklace stayed, floating. In fact, it looked like Eric and Luke's Tags!

The Tag floated over to me, and slipped over my neck.

"Well, looks like someone didn't descend from a Digidestined." Eric smirked.

"Just because I didn't inherit a Tag doesn't mean I'm not a Digidestined descendant!" I practically shouted.

"Uhhh...If you want, I can teleport you to Cerulean!" Hilda intervened.

"I can too, little psychic." Eric replied, not without a touch of snobbishness in his tone.

"Well!" Hilda huffed. Her eyes began to glow.

"Oh, you want a psychic match, do you?" Eric sneered, narrowing his eyes.

"You got it, bubba!" Hilda retorted just as nastily.

"Well, then." Suddenly, a rainbow beam shot from Eric and was about to hit Hilda when she teleported away!

"Hah! Gotta do better than that!" she laughed, pointing. A blue aura surrounded her, and burst outward.

Eric did the exact same thing, except his aura was pink.

The beams collided, making a large grey explosion. (Think Pokémon: The First Movie.)

"Ah-hem." Rainer said. I turned. "We are the Gym Leaders of Stone Town. If your friend beats Hilda, he'll get an Evolution Badge, but you need to fight one of us." he continued.

"Sure. Who do I fight?" I asked.

"Me." Sparky answered.

"Fine."

Sparky led me to an arena in the forest. He went to the far side of the circle, and I stayed where I was.

"This battle will be one on one, with two Pokémon apiece. Got it?" Sparky inquired, adopting a professional manner.

"Certainly." I replied, wishing silently we had gone through Mount Moon so I would have had a chance to get a Ground type.

"Pikachu, go!" he commanded. A Pikachu? Hmmm...

I decided to take a major risk, as well as throw a Pokéball with a twist.

"Jason has a Seel!" I called, holding out my Pokéball at arms length. I then spun around quickly, becoming a blur. When the spin ran out, I tossed the ball in the air. It finally landed, and let out Seel.

"Quickly, use Surf before Pikachu can use an Electric move!" I commanded. Seel fired a whirling water blast from its horn. Pikachu was soaked.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Sparky snapped. Pikachu sparked at the cheeks, but suddenly electrocuted itself!

"PIKACHUUUUU!" it yelled. I smiled.

"Seel, use Aurora Beam from a distance!" I shouted. Seel chirped, and gathered energy on its horn.

"Pikachu, Growl!" Sparky yelled. Pikachu attempted to growl, but accidentally tightened the muscles that squeezed its cheeks.

"PikaCHUUUU!"

"Seelseel!" Seel sang, way too cheerful. A rainbow colored energy beam shot at, and froze, Pikachu.

"Now, Head Butt!"

"SEEL!" Seel cried, slamming Pikachu with its super sharp horn. Pikachu fainted after that.

"You may have taken out my third best Pokémon, but watch out! Here comes my best!" Sparky laughed, throwing a Pokéball and returning Pikachu.

"Seel, watch out! As soon as it materializes, Surf!"

The white energy slowly settled into the form of...Something I had no clue of. I took out my Pokédex, and aimed it at the cute creature.

"Pichu: the Cute Pokémon. Part of the Cuteness Preevo Trio, Pichu has the potential and power to defeat a Golem. The only drawback is its baby uncertainty, unless expertly trained."

"Pichu, Static Electricity!" Sparky grinned.

"Pichu!" Pichu laughed, creating a light yellow bubble around itself. Seel's Surf attack splashed off it.

"Now, Spark!" Sparky barked, suddenly all business. Pichu smiled, and a red column of electricity slammed Seel.

Seel was down for the count.

I faced a tough choice. I had Weedle, Pikachu, and Pidgey. Pidgey had no chance against Pichu, and I couldn't afford to lose. So I decided on the only Pokémon I had that could do actual damage.

"Jason has a Weedle!" I shouted, spinning and releasing. Weedle appeared, and automatically used String Shot.

"Pichu!" Sparky and his Pokémon cried, one amazed, the other tied up.

"Now, Poison Tackle!" I commanded. Weedle, curled up, and launched! Its stinger stuck in Pichu, dumping poison in its bloodstream.

"Now, Tail Flail!" I said, almost laughing. Pichu could electrify Weedle, but with Weedle constantly stinging Pichu, odds were it would only paralyze itself.

"Arrgh! Pichu, return!" Sparky growled.

"Weedle, come back!" I said, smiling broadly.

"Okay, here. Take the Evolution Badge." Sparky said, apparently a good loser. Not surprising, as his 'best' Pokémon was a little mouse. The

We walked back to the cottage area, where Eric and Hilda were blasting at each other and being blocked by a green field that looked like Pichu's Static Electricity.

"Hah!" Eric suddenly laughed, launching a Confusion attack that absorbed all of the energy between him and Hilda. The resulting purple ball hit Hilda, trapping her in a purple field.

Eric guffawed. "Looks like I'm getting that Evolution Badge after all!"

Rainer handed it to him, and he snapped it in his badge necklace.

"Well, Pidgeot, thank you for carrying me this far." I said, stroking the bird. It cooed, then trilled.

I backed up, and it started flapping, fighting for altitude. When it reached sufficient height, a breeze picked it up and it soared away.

"Well?" I asked Eric.

"Let's go!" he shouted, grabbing my shoulder.

"WAIT!" I shouted, breaking Eric's concentration. "Before the explosion, your leg was broken. How is it that you can walk now?" I asked.

"I healed him!" Hilda told me.

"Oh."

"Can we go now?" Eric asked, a little ticked.

"No." I answered. "Raimey tried to boost you psychically, but you acted pained. What happened?"

Michelle told me. "I have a small psychic talent, only useful for removing psychic resistance, but I had no experience with psychic repulsion. Lucky you it worked, otherwise you would have died." she said, directing the last part to Eric.

"Well," Eric muttered, shaken. "Shall we go?"

I gripped his waist, and Eric started the teleport. The world swirled around like a blender, and suddenly became bright blue. Cerulean, I should say.

Ch. 24

Cory

As I flew, I saw a green thing hurtling toward me. When we hit, I saw it was Palmon!

I curled my body around the unconscious plant Digimon, and looked forward. (Which happened to be east.) I saw a blue dot on the horizon that steadily got larger.

Then, out of the blue (no, not the dot, I mean nowhere) came a large Meowth head balloon.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make that double!"

Oh, no. "HEY! I'VE HAD ENOUGH TROUBLE WITH YOUR LOUSY ORGANIZATION!" I shouted.

"Don't interrupt the motto!" shouted the male.

The female cleared her throat. "To destroy the world's organization!"

"To rule all, and live in relaxation!"

"To denounce the evils of happiness and joy!"

"To rule the world, one girl and one boy!" Obviously, the boy was a tad obsessed with ruling the world.

"Crystal!"

"Jordan!"

"Team Rocket, flying at no significant speed!"

"To rule, and never, EVER do a good deed!"

"Perrrsian!"

"Oh, just leave me aloooooooooooooone!" I shouted, but they never got the chance to do anything, because I blew past them just then.

I started descending. As I descended, I saw a flash. My eyes tracked it, and saw Eric with Jason.

"ERIC! JASON!" I bellowed. Palmon woke up then.

"ERIC! ERICERICERICERICERIC!" she screamed.

Eric looked up. A purple barrier surrounded us, and slowly lowered us to the ground.

"Palmon!"

"Eric!"

Palmon ran over to Eric's side.

"Well, hello Cory!" Jason said brightly. "Lucky." he added.

"How so?" I asked.

"You didn't have any adventures. You weren't attack by a giant vampire and a psycho psychic girl! You didn't have to deal with a whacked out Team Rocket squad member, 'who is currently missing one member at this time'! YOU DIDN'T EVEN LAND HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Eric screeched.

"Eric, calm down. We have no idea what happened to Cory." Jason reasoned.

"YOU DON'T FREE FLY THROUGH THE AIR AFTER HAVING AN ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Eric ranted. A pink aura formed around him.

"Ahhh!" Jason cried, jumping back. I looked at his hand, which had smoke curling up from it.

"AAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!" Eric shouted, pointing up. The pink expanded, and would have disintegrated us if I hadn't turned up my psychic repression.

Jason and I were trapped under a wall of pink energy. Even my repression was almost useless against power like this.

"How is he getting this power?!" I yelled at Jason over the energy roar.

"I think it has something to do with his Crest! While we were off having adventures," Jason yelled back, "His Crest activated and he gets power from the sun, I think! See the green?"

"Yeah!" I screamed.

"That's Grass type energy! It'll fade out in a second!"

True to his word, Eric's psychic blast dissipated soon after.

"What was that?" I asked, shaken.

"Oh, that's what psychics do when they get extremely stressed or emotional." he replied, suddenly very calm. "Oh, Jason. Do you know just how I knew Cory hadn't had an adventure?"

"Noooo." Jason replied slowly.

"I said it. The Crest of Sincerity keeps me from lying." Eric said smugly. Jason nodded.

"Ah."

Suddenly, our Digivices started glowing and beeping, Jason's in particular. A voice came out of them.

"Jason! Jason, and anyone with you! I need help, now!" It sounded familiar. Like...

"Luke!" Eric shouted. He grabbed his Digivice. "Luke! Can you hear me?"

"Yes! Tentomon is with me, but he needs help! We're under a large volcano, which isn't erupting anymore, and we're being attacked by a Team Rocket agent!"

"Named?"

"Meri! She's got a Digimon, and it's doing really good against Kabuterimon!"

"We need to fly! Where are you?" Jason asked.

"Cinnabar!"

We glanced at each other. "How are we supposed to get to Cinnabar?" I inquired.

"I can digivolve and carry one of you." Palmon said.

"Hmmm. I can maybe get Pidgey to evolve. I have a Rare Candy my dad gave me, I just forgot about it." Jason wondered.

"Well, I don't have a single flyer besides Scyther, and I can't ride him unless I want either crushed mantis or shredded legs." I sniffed.

Tokomon, who had been so silent I hadn't noticed him, suddenly spoke up.

"I can maybe digivolve to Angemon if I really try hard." he squeaked. Of course, Tokomon can't really do anything else when speaking.

"I could ride with Cory on Angemon." Agumon suggested.

"Agumon, Lillymon can take you. I'll use my psychic powers to fly." Eric commented.

"Eric, couldn't you just teleport us there?" Jason asked.

"No. I don't know where Luke is."

"Ah."

"Well, Angemon can carry Cory, Pidgeotto (hopefully) will carry Jason, and Lillymon has Agumon." Eric summarized. "Tokomon, you go first."

The little white pig-Digimon squinted his eyes, and seemed to concentrate.

Absolutely nothing happened for about two minutes. Two minutes for Kabuterimon and Luke to be kidnaped by Team Rocket.

Then, he started to glow. He dissolved into white feathers, while muttering.

"Tokomon, digivolve tooo..."

"Patamon! Patamon, digivolve tooo..."

"Angemon!"

Angemon lowered its rod, and I grabbed it. He lifted it to his back, and I scrambled on his shoulders, gripping his back with my knees.

Jason threw down a Pokéball. White energy emerged, and slowly settled into the shape of a Pidgey.

"Pidgey! Pidgey, come here." Jason coaxed. Pidgey obediently flapped to Jason's shoulder, where he was fed a large, blue ball. He glowed white for a second, and squawked. Then, he flew up high, and started glowing again, enlarging and shifting form. From the glowing bird-shape emerged a Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeoooo!"

"Great! Pidgeotto, come!" Jason laughed. Pidgeotto landed in front of Jason, who immediately boarded.

"Pidge..." he muttered. Jason must have been quite a weight.

"All right, Palmon. Let's go." Eric said, holding up his Digivice.

Palmon glowed bright purple, and dissipated into purple sparks.

"Palmon, digivolve tooo..."

"Togemon!"

Togemon paused for a second, as if tired. Then, a daisy sprouted from her hair. She dissolved into pink petals, which shot out of the daisy. The petals joined to form a red rose, and Lillymon flew out.

"Lillymon!"

She grabbed Agumon's hands, and we were off!