A League Of Their Own: Episode #5 ~ Team Rivals
An all-new style; Including a new world, new battles, and even new clothes.
A/N: Can it be?! ANOTHER CHAPTER?! *gasp* Actually, you can all thank my friend Allen, who made a bet with me that I couldn't finish by tonight. SEE THAT ALLEN?! YOU LOOOOOST! NOW STOP BUGGING ME ABOUT THAT DAMN PROFILE! *jumps up and down*

Trees and grass, trees and grass, trees and grass…How much more could they take? Behind Richie, who Eevy had decided should have a shot at leading, Ash, Gary and Eevy herself looked quietly about Route 104. All that seemed to be there…Was trees and grass. Aside from the occasional Pokemon popping up and running off, there was really nothing but green to see. Emerging from a small path between, you guessed it, trees, Richie smiled wide. On his shoulder, Sparky did the same, as did everyone else as they came up behind him.

"Water!" Richie grinned, "We're finally out of the trees!"

"Let's go swimming!" Ash shouted as Pikachu hopped into the air, holding up his mini surfboard.

"You do that," Eevy sweatdropped as they took off down the stone steps to their side and down onto the sand, "What about you, Gary?"

"I'll stay with you," he noted in his usual monotone, "I don't want to be anywhere around them when they make themselves look like idiots."

Eevy's sweatdrop grew as Vovo and Evo ran off with Ash and Richie, "Uh…Let's go find the dock."

Turning, they began walking along the edge of the cliff leading to the beach. Every so often, they'd look up to see a Wingull flying overhead, or off to the side to watch a Zigzagoon run through the grass. Every time they did so, they'd look at each other and smirk. As they walked, Eevy's arm found it's way over Gary's shoulder, and she yanked him over, hugging him tight to her side.

"So, Gar, are you happy you came?" she asked, releasing him to heave at her side.

Rubbing his sore ribs, he nodded slowly, "Yeah. It's a whole new experience for me. Maybe we'll do something worthwhile, maybe not, but either way at least we'll have seen something new."

"A very good attitude. You're growing up fast," she stopped as Ash went flying off Pikachu's little surfboard and into the water face-first, "…"

"…At least one of us is," Gary muttered, twitching.

"Is that the dock?" Eevy questioned, then ignoring Ash as he flailed aimlessly and Pikachu stood on his board, reaching for his master's hand.

Looking down the shore as she did, Gary noted the small wooden cabin seated right on the edge of the cliff, "Yeah, I think so."

Eevy jogged forward, and Gary rushed to keep up behind her, even though she was already up to the window with her head poked in before he realized she'd done so. Peering about, she noted a table with only one chair, a few shelving units, and huge vases standing in the corner. She saw no people, nor any Pokemon, but she'd learned that didn't much matter. With no warning, someone popped up from under the window.

"Hi there, missy! How can I help you this fine day?"

"WOAH!" Eevy shot back a good three feet, patting her chest frantically, "Good GOD! For one thing, you could never do that again!"

"Many apologies to you," the man scratched his chin, "Wasn't paying enough attention."

"That's…OK…"

He nodded and came out the door to the right of the window, dragging a fishing net with him, "I was too busy fixing this net to watch the docks. Sorry about that," as he was rolling the net up, he looked out over the water, "Hey! You'd better bring your friends in before they get-"

"YEOW!"

*^~^**^~^*

"Oww…" Ash rubbed his bruised thigh dejectedly, "Why didn't anybody warn me there were Tentacool in Hoenn?"

"It's common knowledge, Ashy-boy," Gary smirked, waving the fork he was holding before jabbing another piece of watercress with it, "Tentacool breed so fast, and all year round, they inhabit almost every body of water throughout the Pokemon continents."

Ash pursed his lips, "Yeah, thanks a lot for the information."

"Now-now, you two," Eevy waved her chopsticks at them, then taking another bite of ume-somen, "Be glad Mister Briney was nice enough to let us rest here a while. He could have left us to walk," she smiled wide suddenly, "And I get to be glad I finally met someone else who likes ume-somen. Heehee…"

She slurped a noodle, and Briney grinned, "It's really no trouble. I've been meaning to replace the Tentacool and Tentacruel warning sign for a week or so now. I'm just getting too lazy and too old for all this."

"What happened to the last sign?" Richie questioned, patting Vovo's head as he sat down beside his leg.

"…The Tentacool took it," Briney scratched the back of his head.

"Oh dear…" Eevy murmured, the ends of her chopsticks in her mouth.

"Well, enough about that," Briney stood and walked off to check the pot sitting over the fire, "Where are you kids headed?"

"To Rustboro," Eevy replied quickly, "To challenge the Gym Leader there."

"Ah, good," Briney nodded, "Judging by the way these four wonderful specimens are trained, I'll bet you'll do just fine out there."

All four Pokemon chirped a happy reply, "The town that's out across the water here," Gary pointed his fork out the door, "That's Dewford Town, isn't it?"

"That it is," Briney nodded once more, "One of the smaller towns in Hoenn, but a bustling place nonetheless."

"There's a Gym there too, isn't there?" Ash asked, perking right up.

"Aye, that there is," Briney lifted a gruesome set of teeth from the pot over the fire, "A Fighting-type Gym, if I remember correctly. Perhaps not."

"Hey, can you take us to Dewford Town before we go to Rustboro, Mister Briney?" Richie questioned, smiling wide, "That way we could hit Dewford and come right back with you and head on to Rustboro."

"Well, that sounds like a good idea to me, but I'm afraid I can't," Briney shrugged, trying to put off the depressed looks his was receiving, "I need to wait here for my dear Peeko to return."

"…Peeko…?" Eevy's right eyebrow raised, as did Vovo's, "Who's Peeko? A Pikachu?"

"Oh no-no-no," Briney waved his arms, "Peeko is my Wingull. She's flown to Rustboro herself, to fetch some Poke'Balls so I can keep working. Until she comes back and I have her and my order safe and sound, I'm not leaving the dock."

"That's too bad," Ash pouted, "It would have been so much easier."

"Sometimes life isn't easy," Eevy nodded, stuffing the last bit of her ume-somen, "But you just have to deal with it, don't you?"

Ash glared at her a moment, "Thank you, Miss Philosophical."

Eevy grinned wickedly as Richie turned back to Briney, "Have you, or has anyone else, seen or heard anything like…Wolves out in the trees at night?"

"Wolves…?" Briney tilted his head and held his chin, "Not that I recall, no. Why? Have you?"

Gary nodded firmly, setting his bowl and fork down on the table, "Yeah. A whole bunch of them too, by what we heard."

"Hmm…" Briney narrowed his eyes, "Why don't you give me your Poke'Gear numbers? I'll keep an eye out and my ears open. If I see anything, I'll most definitely let you know."

*^~^**^~^*

Richie plugged his nose as he walked along beside Eevy, "Why did Mister Briney have to give you more of that stuff? It smells disgusting."

Eevy merely ignored him, slurping down a mouthful of plum-flavored noodles. Richie backed away from her, walking back a few paces, as Ash and Gary had the entire time. She finally finished eating and slipped the plastic container into the side holder of her backpack. Grinning wide, she clapped her hands together, pausing in the middle of the road. She bowed her head a moment, then started moving again. Finally having been rid of that stuff for a few moments, the boys rejoined her.

The day was clear, so that was a plus, and the breeze was nice, and that helped too. Pikachu slept calmly on Ash's head, which went likewise for Sparky, who was doing the same to Richie. Vovo was perched on Eevy's shoulder, as bright and alert as ever, and Evo was lounging in the slight dip on the top of Gary's backpack, watching the shining sun and the fluttering Pokemon. Evo's ears began to slightly twitch, and he sat himself up, rolling his ears in every imaginable direction. The shift in weight caused Gary to pause and look over his shoulder at his Pokemon.

"What's wrong, Gary?" Eevy questioned, having noticed that he had stopped and had done the same.

"Evo hears something," he replied, turning around and ducking down as the Eevee scrambled up atop his head.

Vovo shot down from Eevy's shoulder, crouching low to the ground and bearing his teeth. Evo joined him, almost knocking Gary flat off his feet. Pikachu and Sparky's eyes shot open and their cheeks began to jolt with electricity. Crawling down their masters' sides like squirrels would a tree, they positioned themselves beside the two Eevee on the ground. All four bristled their tails, grinding their teeth and gnarling.

Eevy's ears began to ring, and she rubbed them with her fingers, "Do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ash asked, turning to look at her.

Before anyone could make any kind of reply, the roar of an engine called their attention away. The ringing in Eevy's ears got louder as the rumble did, and became almost unbearable when a cloud of dust appeared just from over a hill some yards back. All four Pokemon on the ground began furiously growling, and Gary squinted to try and make out what was making all that smoke. Within seconds, his need to look so closely was no more, because the motorcycle that was causing all the racket came tearing over the bump in the road a few feet away. All four Pokemon scattered to either side, as the blue blur was heading right down the middle of the street, with seemingly no care as to who or what was in the way.

"Move it or lose it!" barked the flame-haired woman seated on the bike, "I'm not kidding!"

"Watch it!" Richie grabbed Eevy's elbow, which was bent so as she could cover her ears, and swung her around and off to the side before following on his own.

"Look out, Ashy-boy!" Gary pulled the back of Ash's coat, ducking off in the opposite direction and grabbing Evo as they rolled past.

All four trainers hit the ground on their sides, and all four Pokemon kept on barking as the bike tore past. Eevy looked up, opening one eye only halfway, and watched as she passed. Her hair was long and fiery orange, and she was clad mostly in blue, with rings of white on her pant legs. Her shirt and shoes were a very dark coal color, and around her head she bore a blue bandana. On the front of this was some sort of symbol; white, and shaped vaguely like an Unown A. This woman laughed wickedly, then disappeared around the corner and into the grassy and dark entrance of Petalburg Woods. As she faded from sight, you'd think the ringing in Eevy's ears would have stopped, but it didn't. Nor did the Pokemon cease to growl as they were.

Looking upwards at the heavy rumble above, Ash pointed straight to a red plane. It flew so close to the treetops that bits of bark and a bunch of leaves shot from the branches. It flew smoothly, clearly directed in the same direction as that strange woman, and went right over their heads. Eevy had no choice now but to scream, the noise in her ears grew so loud. Both her eyes shot open, and she looked right up into the open hatch of the plane. Standing there, grinning at her, stood a black-haired man maybe a bit older than she was. He had some kind of red hood pulled over his head, and it looked to have black horns, or even ears, sewn on it. On the shirt this hood was attached to was some kind of black shape, like a mountain almost. Tied around his throat was a mid-length cloak of the same deep red. Eevy was unable to look anymore, as all he did was smile wider and the hatch slammed shut in front of his face. The plane tore off over the forest, and the noise in Eevy's ears died down. She quieted slowly, as did the Pokemon, and all eight of them sat up, looking about.

"W…What the hell was that?!" Ash shrieked, flailing around in all directions.

*^~^**^~^*

The redhead on the bike tore through the center of Petalburg Woods, weaving and dodging in every possible direction, so as to avoid trees and bushes and the like. Above her head, she could hear the plane's blades and engine roaring, and her eyes narrowed. If she didn't find that stupid Devon Corporation lackey, Master Archimedes would have her head. That's not exactly what she wanted. Beside her, in the second seat, the grunt who was with her popped open a blue communicator, on the other side of which was the very person who ran their organization.

"Master Archie," acknowledged the grunt, nodding his head to his boss, "We're in Petalburg Woods right now, sir. And there's something else you should know."

Archie shut the laptop beside him most of the way, turning directly toward the camera for the phone. His eyes were hard and deep blue, and he seemingly had no true emotion as to hearing from his workers who were out and about in the field. Crossing his arms, he nodded once, more exposing the white symbol on the bandana around his head.

"Let me speak to Shelly," Archie told him, and the communicator was handed off to the woman driving.

"Sir," she said simply, "We passed a group of trainers on the road just outside the woods. A young woman, and three younger boys. The map here on the bike showed a peculiar energy emanating from all four of them, each of a different Prophetic vibration."

"Go on."

"The young lady, sir. Her power was that of the Crystal Bell."

Archie shot bolt upright in his high-backed chair and pounded the desk with both fists, "You passed the vessel of the Angel of the Prophecy and you didn't stop?!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I felt at the time that finding the Devon Corporation's researcher was more important," Shelly rolled her eyes as Archie began turning a deep, deep red, "Sir, if we can use his research to call on the gods, the Angel will come to aid them, and we can get her then. There's no doubt in my mind, sir, that this would work better for our cause."

"Shelly, if you're wrong…"

"Yes, I know, sir," she merely clicked the communicator off and threw it back to the grunt beside her, "I still can't believe I've put up with him and Team Aqua all these years. But still, if nothing else," she gave an acidic grin, at which the grunt beside her winced, "I can take my agitation out on that ridiculous Tabitha."

*^~^**^~^*

Hovering above Petalburg Woods and over top Shelly and the grunt she was driving with, the red plane's instruments began to rattle. Looking about, the black-haired executive marveled at the way they jumped and jolted in every which direction. Turning his attention to the chart by the wall, he watched carefully as three colors began to leap up onto the screen. Yellow, orange and grey with a tint of purple bolted up from the very bottom of the chart, and thus alerted him that there was a sudden surge of power. With no warning, he heard a shrill scream, and the chart began flashing white. He heard everything on the plane begin to shake, and heard the warning buzzers start to sound, and he stumbled over to the boards to get to the phone. The pilot pulled back on the controls so as to steady the plane, and the grunt who was with them braced herself in the corner. The last thing they needed to do was crash Master Maxie's best plane.

"Master Maximus!" shouted the executive into the phone, "We have a slight problem, sir!"

Maxie spun quickly around in his chair, his fingers linked together in front of him. His eyes held clear signs of age and experience, and he seemed, in some strange way, to be a bit calmer than he typically was. That, however…Was most likely going to change. He buttoned the top few buttons of his overshirt, which had been half hanging open in his "leisure", and straightened his tight collar before speaking to his caller.

"What is it, Tabitha?"

Oh, how he loathed that name! "We're having difficulty with the instruments, sir. They seem to be going haywire."

"How so?"

"They're flashing white, sir, and straddling something fierce," Tabitha reached out and caught the pilot, who had begun to slip backwards, "I think we may have just passed over some of the Prophetic Council Members, sir. Possibly even the Angel."

Maxie's eyes flared up, and he began drumming his fingers, "And you did not stop…Why, exactly; do you mind telling me?"

"We're also pursuing two members of Team Aqua, sir. They're after the same thing we are. If they can get the Devon Corporation's research before we do, there's a good possibility they'd be the ones awakening the gods. If we let them do that, our mission would be not only seriously impeded, but possibly even obliterated."

"I see."

"What do you want us to do, sir? Do we go back after the Prophetic Council, or continue our chase of Team Aqua?"

"We are Team Magma, swore enemies of all those who oppose our mission. You will stop Team Aqua before you do anything else, and that includes chasing after possible Prophetic Council members. Once you have the researcher and his papers, I will mobilize Courtney and her squadron to stop the Angel and whatever other entities are with her," Maxie's eyes narrowed slowly and angrily, "Do your job and do it well, Tabitha. I want no mistakes."

"Understood, sir," he saluted and turned straight around to the woman still stuck in the corner, "Prepare to jump! Master Maximus orders it so!"

"Yes, sir!" she also saluted, only differently to him, as he was not the true master of Team Magma.

Tabitha turned around, clenching his fists in front of him and dropping his head while baring his teeth, "That stupid Shelly almost got me pummeled. I swear, one of these days, I'll make her pay for all the times she's thwarted me."

*^~^**^~^*

"My ears hurt…"

Richie leaned down beside Eevy, carefully poking her side, and wondering why she kept saying that. Ash and Gary each took one of her arms, forcing her to sit up, and watching the way her eyes spiraled around and around for a few seconds. Finally she reached up and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, looking around. Vovo hopped into her lap, and she raised a hand to scratch the top of his head.

"Where…Did they go?" she questioned, turning all the way around in her place.

"That crazy woman on the bike went into the woods," Richie pointed over his shoulder.

"And the guy in the plane went that way too," Gary nodded, crossing his arms, "Whatever they were up to, they were in a hurry."

"Hm…" Eevy placed Vovo up on her shoulder, wobbling to her feet, "I think we'd better follow them. I didn't like the feeling I got from them. They're doing something they shouldn't be."

"Ehh?" Ash drooped, his elbow nearly hitting the ground, "But we don't know who they are. We're not even sure they are doing something wrong. Your gut feelings aren't always right, you know."

Eevy rolled her eyes, "Listen, Ashura. Sure, they might not be doing anything wrong. But, hey, they could be. And just how would you feel if they were doing something, and you ignored it?" she poked his side with one finger, "What if they're in there…Ya' know…Beheading all the Taillow or something?"

He narrowed both eyes, "You've got a sick, sick imagination."

"Don't I?" she grinned crazily, "Well…" she started walking, motioning a hand for them to follow, "Come on. Cooome on."

Richie leaned over one of Ash's shoulders, and Gary the other, "How were we convinced to come with her?" Richie asked, putting one eyebrow up.

"I don't think I want to know," Gary shut his eyes, shaking his head.

"Pika-pika," Pikachu and Sparky echoed, appearing over their trainers' heads.

"Eev-ee," Evo agreed, popping up over Gary's shoulder.

"Come on, you guys!" Eevy waved a fist, "Don't make me come back there after you!"

All three boys sighed, grabbing their Pokemon and running to keep up. When they'd reached her sides, Eevy took a moment to fold her arms behind her head and ponder a bit. Those two on the bike and in the plane had looked strangely familiar. Where had she seen them before? She loathed her sometimes-horrible memory, especially at times like these. And, another question; why were they dressed so strangely? Those were uniforms, she was sure of it. Just thinking about Team Rocket gave her that conclusion. But still, those weren't Rocket uniforms. Unless, that is, she'd missed some really big change in Sakaki's dress code.

Eevy paused, her eyes drifting ever-so slowly off to the side, "Hey, guys…"

Richie stopped next to her, "What is it now?"

"Why don't you…Run on ahead a little bit," she murmured, turning all the way around.

"Wha?" Gary leaned around her side, "But what about you?"

"I think I might have left something at Mister Briney's," she said, plopping Vovo down to the ground, "Don't worry; I promise I won't get lost. The only way into the woods is this road. I just want to be sure."

"O…K…" Ash scratched his ear, "As long as you're sure. You don't want any of us to stay here with you?"

"No-no!" she waved both hands, "You go on ahead. Find out what those two were up to, and I'll be back with you in a few minutes. I'm the Champion Mistress, after all," she stood up straight, attempting to look smug, "I can take care of myself."

All three each raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, as long as it doesn't involve navigating for any good period of time," Gary smirked.

She froze and frowned, "Get going!" she ordered, shoving them along, "I'll be right behind you!"

"All right, all right! We're going!" Richie slapped her hand away as Sparky rested atop his head, waving to her.

"Be careful, OK?" Ash told her, walking backwards a few steps before turning around, "And don't get lost."

"Stop telling me thaaat!" she snapped, jumping up and down, turning red and flustered.

With her arms plastered to her sides, she watched them disappear behind a bush, then reappear on the other side, very obviously still laughing at her. The whole while, Pikachu was on top of Ash's head, waving at her. As they wandered, after a brief pause, into the entrance of Petalburg Woods, Eevy stretched her arms up above her head and sighed. Vovo looked up at her strangely.

"Eevee-eev."

She opened one eye and turned it down on him, "Yes, I am a good liar, aren't I?" she grinned wickedly, "Come on, little friend. Let's go find ourselves something interesting."

"Eev-vee…"

*^~^**^~^*

Dark and maze-like, Petalburg Woods had turned out to be. Way too dark and way too maze-like. They were surrounded, once again, by green. Trees, bushes and grass in every possible direction. Branches, some covered in leaves and others not so concealed, obscured the view of the sky, save some small, odd-shaped spots through which light fell. Even so, it was beginning to grow dim, so light was scarce. Following the trail of torn dirt the tires of that bike had left in their wake, Ash, Gary and Richie stepped hesitantly over a fallen log. All three wondered how that bike had gotten over it.

All was quiet, excepting a chirping Taillow or a screeching Zigzagoon somewhere in the trees. Needless to say, it was at least a bit unnerving. They could hear neither the helicopter nor the motorcycle, so either they were too far off to pick up on it, or they were gone. Part of each of them wanted to find out which was the answer, and part of them wanted to just keep going.

Sparky's ear began to raise and drop repeatedly, "Pika-pika…Pikachu," he growled the last bit, one blue eye narrowing as his cheeks sparked.

"I think Sparky hears something," Richie noted, grabbing onto Ash's backpack to stop him, "What is it, boy?"

"Pika-chu…" Pikachu crawled down Ash's side, standing high-up on his back legs and sniffing the air, "Pika!"

"Eev," Evo burrowed into Gary's hair, peeking up over the spikes with both brown eyes narrowed, "Eevee."

"You can both forget it!" said someone blocked from view by trees, "N-Neither of you are getting these papers! They're mine! They belong to Devon Corp.!"

"Then what are you doing with them, old man?" asked someone with him, "If they belong to Devon, then let us have them, and we'll take them to them."

"Absolutely not, you snake! These papers are too important to entrust to someone else! Least of all you!"

"Shut up and let us have them then," suggested a third person, this one a woman, "You can trust us to take them to Devon."

"Not on your life!"

Leaning either around trees or between bushes, Gary, Richie and Ash and their Pokemon attempted to see just who was going on about what. Once they were at good angles, they could see that one was a red-clad young woman, a hood pulled over her head, and a black dog Pokemon at her side. Across from her was an older man, dressed like some kind of half-made pirate, with a blue seal with large white whiskers standing beside him. Between them was another man, this one even older, dressed in a suit and holding a case of, obviously, papers between both arms. The girl stepped towards him.

"Give me the papers, and I'll ensure your safety with Master Maximus."

The "pirate" also moved closer, "Give them to me, and I'll ensure your safety with Master Archie."

"No chance," the middle-man snorted, "These papers are going back to Devon Corp, to Mister Stone, as ordered. There's no way I'll let either of you have them."

Each one was just preparing a Poke'Ball when something at each of their belts began to buzz. The woman looked down, as did the man, and both Pokemon looked up at their trainers. A small light began flashing on top a box, one each on their belts, and then a buzzer started sounding.

"Agent nineteen!" barked a voice from over the woman's device, "He's going to have to wait a while! Amatsubikei's vessel is approaching!"

"Agent twenty-one!" came a woman's voice from the box on the "pirate's" belt, "Head back to the entrance! The Angel's physical form is right there!"

"Sir?!" the woman choked.

"Ma'am?!" the "pirate" gasped.

"MOVE IT!" both boxes demanded.

She looked back at the suit, "You got lucky this time. I've got somewhere to be."

"As do I," said the other, "Good day."

Both turned off to the side, running back toward the direction they'd entered from. Running along side each other, they began cursing each other violently, each trying to shove the other to the ground at numerous points. Realizing they were headed directly at him, the boys flailed and laid down on their backs on the ground, their Pokemon hiding in the bush behind them. Both the woman and man bolted past, their Pokemon pulled back into their Poke'Balls by a stream of either red or blue. Waiting until they were well out of sight, the boys rolled over and peeked through the bush, their Pokemon popping out the other side.

"Where the heck did he go?" Richie questioned, looking in all directions.

"For an old man, he sure must be able to move," Gary noted, scratching the back of his head.

"Wait a second…" Ash shot bolt-upright, the other two humans and all three Pokemon looking at him, "Amatsubikei's physical vessel…?"

All three choked, "That's Eevy!"

*^~^**^~^*

"Geez it's dark in here," Eevy murmured, hugging Vovo close, "Maybe we should have had one of them stay with us…"

"Eev-eevee-eev," Vovo informed her, wagging his tail.

"Well, I'm just so happy you like it here," she narrowed her eyes, "Crazy little furball, next time I'll let you stay behind alone."

"There you are!"

Eevy looked quickly upward, finding that there were two people running at her. One, dressed in red, was screaming at the other, dressed in blue, and vice versa. Vovo jumped out of Eevy's arms and crouched low, growling viciously as both humans approached.

"Eeveeee…"

"I saw her first!" the one in blue shouted, "She's mine to take back to Team Aqua!"

"Like hell you saw her first!" the one in red returned, shoving him aside, "She's all mine! She belongs to Team Magma now!"

"Wait…That's it!" Eevy pounded her palm with her fist, prepared to give someone one good smack, "I remember where those two are from now! Now I know how I knew them!"

"She's even got the Crystal Bell! She's mine!" the woman called, an arm stretched out to grab the Bell hanging at Eevy's neck.

"She's mine now! The Crystal Bell will be ours!" the other ran up next to her, also stretched to grab the Bell.

One of Eevy's eyes narrowed, "Oh, I so do not think so."

Hanging just below her collarbone, the Crystal Bell began to slowly shine, and the buzzers at the Team members' belts started going off again. Both slid to a stop, the woman just a bit ahead of her counterpart, and tipped the boxes out to see. Eyes widening at the ever-growing meter, they both looked back at Eevy, backing away.

"It's true," the woman began to shake, holding both hands in front of her face, "It was all true! The Prophecy is beginning! Unbelievable!"

"She who holds the Crystal Bell!" the other covered his eyes, backing farther and farther down, "And he who controls the flames of Hell! They have come, as it was perceived!"

"Do not look upon the Bell! It is said that it will steal your soul and still your body, being if you are not pure of heart!"

"Don't look at her eyes! She has the power to control you, mind, body and soul, with the very thought of doing so!"

"Leave. Now," one fist clenching at her side and Vovo growling at her feet, Eevy raised a hand and pointed back into the trees, "Before I'm forced to crush the both of you."

Turning, both of them ran back the way they'd come. They shoved right between Ash and the others, who were running toward Eevy. They all stopped, but were barreled out of the way anyway, and the Pokemon were nearly tripped over. As they rounded the corner, the two Team members began shouting.

"I'll be back for you! And I won't be alone!"

"Be prepared for the worst! It's coming right to you!"

Richie, Ash and Gary looked back at Eevy, "…What was that about?" Gary asked, tilting his head.

Eevy sweatdropped and shrugged, "Uhh…I dunno."

*^~^**^~^*

Still seated in front of his computer screen, Archie linked his fingers together, leaning his head down on his hands, "That power…It was tremendous. From such a young woman, that ability is remarkable. I must have her. She can call upon Lord Kyogre, and complete the task I have been given. Shelly?"

"Sir," pulling the candy stick from her mouth and spinning it around, Shelly brought the leg she had up on the arm of her chair down to the floor.

"I told you I wanted no mistakes. Did you honestly think one of our mere lackeys could handle this job?"

"You're the one who sent him with me."

"Insolent wench!" he barked, shooting to his feet, "How dare you even think such a thing!"

She narrowed one eye toward him, talking with the rock candy in her mouth, "Oh…What's the matter, Archie babe? Afraid I might be right?"

Archie ground his teeth together, "Get out, Shelly. Now."

Shelly let out a loud, wicked, shrill laugh and hopped to her feet, "If you're so worried about it, and you don't like the way I work, send that goofball Matt after them," she flipped her hair over her shoulder and headed for the door, "However, There's just one catch. If," she stopped and turned around, eyes burning their color, "And that's a big if, he manages to catch that moron Tabitha from Team Magma, he's mine."

*^~^*Episode 5: End…*^~^*

A/N: Yeah, OK, that opening note was really bizarre, but at least the guy it's for will understand, right? ^^* Well, I'm off now already. Much to do, much to do.

*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*
-=O~The Pokemon~O=-
Next Up: TAA Season 5 ~ A League Of Their Own *Episode 6* ~ Flower Power!
TAA Pokemon Of The Month: December 2003: The Sealion Pokemon ~ Seel & Dewgong

I still don't own Pokemon...Though it would be kinda cool to...Why am I even saying this anymore? It's in my profile!