Someone once told him that life is full of surprises, hopes, dreams, fears. That you can always change it, fix it, mold it into what you want. He heard it, but he never really understood it. But now he did. All the bad things in the world shall always be there, but we can rid the world of them once we do something about.

That's what it meant. That was his choice. Could you escape fate though? Was his fate something that he always fought against? Or was this just leading to his true destiny?

"Muddy!" shouted the horrified voice of the hyena as the Swampert's form disappeared in an infrared beam of light. What replaced Muddy's body was a crimson and gold ball floating midair before it zoomed through the now broken window the ball created when it crashed through. Snarling, Sirius jumped over Valiant and stood on his hind legs, grasping the ball in his teeth at the last moment. The ball fought back through Sirius' sharp teeth, fighting the urge to be pulled back inside.

"C'mon, we've got to help Sirius get Muddy back!" squeaked Thermo in fright as he quickly flew over and tugged at the hyena's long, black tail to pull Muddy and him back despite his tiny size and fragility.

These desperate attempts weren't worth the effort, for the odd-looking ball flew out of Sirius' grasp, glinting in the sunlight as it spiraled rapidly toward a tanned, open hand. The owner of this hand smiled deviously, his fingers wrapping themselves around the crimson and gold ball in sheer delight. Wickedly, he chuckled, scarlet eyes sparkling in the golden sunlight.

"Well lookie what we got here," he said maliciously, licking his chapped lips, amused, his eyes darting from the ball to the Mightyenas. He twirled the ball on his finger before swiping it with his hand again, tauntingly waving the ball at Sirius.

"Maxie," spat the Mightyena with disdain, a deep growl penetrating from the back of his throat. He shuddered, shaggy black and gray fur ruffling a bit. "Come on ya guys, we've got to save our friend!" Teeth bared, Sirius let out a tremendous roar, his nostrils flaring as he jumped through the broke window, glass shards sparkling in the sun flying with him.

"Aw, does the doggie want his friend back?" mocked Maxie as he stepped back, the furious hyena advancing on him. With his free hand, the leader enlarged a Pokéball to the size of a grapefruit and threw it toward the ground in front of the Mightyena. In a burst of white light and orange sparkles, a dragon emerged from within the ball, his orange, leathery body as hard as steel, his stormy-blue wings flapping against the wind. Tail burning with an orange flame, the Charizard roared vigorously, snorting out puffs of charcoal smoke. Menacingly glaring at the hyena, the Charizard growled furiously, claws extended, ready to strike.

The leader snapped his fingers, alerting the beast's attention. "Flamethrower," he commanded cooly.

With the end of his tail up in scarlet and amber flames as he began to summon energy for his attack, the dragon let out a steady stream of fire, its inferno growing larger as it made its way toward Sirius. The Mightyena, at last second, jumped out of the way, but Charizard's flamethrower continued to creep by, slowly following his footsteps.

Open mouth crackling with a strange mix of violet and cobalt energy, the fierce Bite Pokémon sent out a ball of dark energy, the ball continuing to crackle and snap, spiraling up toward the dragon. The Charizard was too preoccupied trying to engulf Sirius aflame, and as a result he took the attack head on so to speak, smacking his upward. The flames illuminated the brilliant blue of the sky before the dragon ceased his fire and pointed his head back down. He glared daggers at the dog, but Sirius only returned the hated look with a simple, smug smile.

Meanwhile, Cindy and Thermo were busy trying to wake up the unconscious Brendan as Valiant pushed together some chairs with his head since he was too heavy to jump out the window by himself unlike Sirius.

"Vul!" said the terrified voice of Cinders, jumping onto Brendan's chest and licking him on the face with her soft, pink tongue. "Pix, vulpi, pi VULPIX!"

Snorting, the boy awoke back into consciousness only to find a fiery fox jumping on his chest. "Cinders?" He yawned, wiping the sleep out of his eyes with a shirt sleeve. "What's wrong?"

"Vulpix! Vul, vul pix!" answered Cindy, too hurried and panicked to speak in a tone easy for the hum to translate. Turning her head toward the window since her trainer didn't seem to understand due to the confused look on his face, she babbled even faster, watching Valiant hop on the chairs he pushed together before jumping out the window.

Brendan too saw this and raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What's going on?" Picking up his squirming Vulpix, the boy strode calmly over to the window, Thermo, hovering next to his head, jabbering rapidly in timid squeaks. "What's wrong with you guys? How come you're not talking clear-" To his horror and surprise, he spotted the Magma Leader standing outside, a smug smile stretched from ear to ear; it made him uncomfortable about how his former boss looked so pleased. Instantly, his eyes narrowed in disgust, but he kept quiet, observing the battle from the safety of the room.

"Ah, so another one comes out to play," Maxie said deviously, rubbing his hands together in evil satisfaction. "Well, I got just the thing for you to fight!" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an oddly-colored Pokéball and enlarged it to the size of a healthy Oran Berry, the leader smirked complacently, throwing it a few feet in front of Valiant.

The odd-looking ball spiraled before opening on impacting against the hard ground in a brilliant flash of light, and from that light was that of a rather tall and muscular creature, his skin blue and rubbery-looking, his fins orange that clashed with his skin. Paws clenching tightly to form fists, the creature's eyes glowed an eerie, blood-shot red as he bared his teeth, growling from the back of his throat.

Brendan, horrified, quickly jumped out the window, dropping Cindy to the floor and pointed a finger at Maxie in a demanding manner. "What have you done to him!" he demanded, his ruby eyes boring into what was Muddy's friendly, bright orange eyes. Sympathy tugged at his heart for what happened to his friend, yet he kept his cool, determined to not show Maxie his fear. A lump formed in the back of his throat, but Brendan managed to mutter in a low voice, "Tell me."

Amused, Maxie laughed at the boy's assertiveness, unaffected by it. Simpering, he replied, "Now why would I tell you that? Why would you worry for a creature that isn't even yours? You need to not care about this . . . thing."

"What are you talking about?

"Thanks," said May, patting down Tai's red and blue feathery head gratefully before returning him in a beam of infra-red light. Sighing, clipping the ball back on her belt, the girl trainer observed her surroundings, sneakers sinking into the soft dirt. A waterfall thundered at her, a light spray cooling her body down when the water collided with solid rock. She breathed in the damp, sticky air and gazed at the marvelous sight. The waterfall seemed to sparkle as if enchanted with pixie dust, and the walls were alight with a deep, rich purple.

"Wanda's right," she said, marveling, "this place is beautiful." Taking a step forward, the girl bent down and dipped a lightly-tanned hand in the water, blasts of spray continuing to smack her in the face. She then glanced up toward where the water ran off the cliff and realized that there was another waterfall in Tohjo Falls, probably more gorgeous than the first. So, to check it out, May quickly flicked out a Pokéball and threw it into the water. In a blaze of white light, a gigantic, leviathan-like creature swam underwater, his shadow visible underneath the dark blue water, Then, then creature emerged, soaking May as the liquid poured off his scales.

"Hydro," she laughed, climbing on and gripping him tightly. The Gyarados let out a tremendous roar in delight and began to scale up the huge waterfall. She wasn't sure what happened next though; it all happened so fast. All she remembered were bubbles, lots of them. She remembered closing her eyes to stop the burning sensation. She remembered water filling her lungs . . .

"Hold your ground!" Sirius barked before gritting his teeth together as the dragon took a hold of his head with his claws, trying to push the hyena backward while he pushed forward.

Valiant, who narrowly dodged Muddy's fist, only glowered angrily at Sirius. "What made you leader!" he snarled viciously, preparing to ram Muddy down with his solid, iron head.

Sirius released his head from the Charizard's claws and clenched onto his rough, leathery skin with his sharp fangs. The dragon only kicked his legs upward, sending the hyena flying into a metal mailbox. Shaking his head, getting rid of the birdies and dizzy spells, Sirius rolled over at last second before Valiant crashed into where he formerly was. Turns out that Valiant's headbutt backfired when Muddy used Mud Shot to stop him.

"I don't care who's leader now," said the determined hyena. "Our leader and friend is brainwashed right now. Does it look like I care who's barking orders?" Cold crimson met icy blue. "Now . . . Did you see any foreign object on Muddy? Particularly a collar with a flashing red light?"

"No . . . Why?"

"It's what controlled Muddy and Flare last time as I have countless times from those two. Whoever wears it is at the mercy of whoever created it."

"Wait . . . I thought the collars overrode the censors when a signal was launched to all Pokéballs to return the Pokémon that is held inside and not let come out again!"

"There are two types of collars. Both can control, but for different reasons. Either way though, it won't matter which collar Muddy has on since he isn't wearing one period."

A jet of flames interrupted the two's conversation, scorching the mailbox down to charcoal ashes. Meanwhile, both boy and Magma leader were continuing their heated discussion.

"What do you mean?" Brendan repeated, furious. "What do you mean he's not mine? Why do you say I shouldn't care about Muddy?" He clenched his hands into fists and lowered his head, shaking with anger. "Answer me!"

Maxie only laughed mockingly at Brendan's little fit, continuing to twirl the crimson and gold ball on his finger. "See this ball Birch? The Devon Corporation created only one of these little beauties and I happened to drop by and . . . borrow it. This may look like a regular Pokéball, but it's not, it's much more than that. You see, this ball is more rare, grand, and powerful than even a Master Ball. A Master Ball can catch absolutely ANYTHING without any struggle as long as the Pokémon is wild. Now, Brendan, my boy, what do you think can possibly top that?"

Brendan looked up and pondered for a bit, and then, like a bolt of lightening, a horrible thought possessed his mind. "The ability to catch and control absolutely anything-"

"No matter whether captured or free," finished Maxie, smiling smugly. "That is correct Mr. Birch. This ball can control any Pokémon that it holds no matter how strong. Only the one that has captured it can release it, and of course obey it to do whatever the controller pleases. Though, even the tiniest of scratches can effect and even help the creature break free from control." Glancing at his watch, Maxie fished out a black ball from his pocket (which Brendan recognized as a smoke ball) and threw it toward the ground. "Until again Mr. Birch."

"Wait!" said Brendan, running into the thick, billowing smoke, the black air filling up his lungs. He coughed and pulled up his shirt, breathing through the cloth as he swiped through the smoke, groping for something to hold onto while trying to swipe the air away. After a few minutes of this struggle, the boy trainer saw through the smoke as it faded away and floated into the sky, and his eyes landed on a piece of white paper on the ground, dusty brown from the dirt road. He picked it up and walked out of the now hazy gray smoke, taking in a deep gulp of fresh air. He heard Cindy whimper which he could barely translate to "Muddy's gone" in Vulpix as his eyes darted back and forth across the paper.

"If you want your precious Muddy back," read Brendan out loud as his Pokémon circled around him, "then meet me at Tohjo Falls, Johto in less than an hour."

"Tohjo Falls!" exclaimed Sirius. "We'll never make it there in an hour without a Flying type! Not unless we use . . . Oh no Brendan, not her!" He yelped as he watched his master pull out a green and purple Great Ball from the back of his belt. "That . . . thing is weird! I mean, why else would May, who saw her first, let you capture it! She knew it was odd from the begin-"

"Sh, Sirius," said Brendan, enlarging the ball with a press of the button. "We don't need your loud voice to get her anymore well . . . her."

"Oh BS! The fool is already weird with or without my voice screaming in her ears. I swear Brendan, those bananas around her must be filled with oddness or something because that thing is a loony!"

"Well . . .Yeah. But she's our last chance Sirius. I mean, staying in a ball for that long has got to snap you back to reality, and she can be regular when it's a serious situation. I mean, unlike Muddy-" At that, Brendan stopped talking and shook his head, his breath caught in his throat. Relaxing, shaking himself a bit, the boy glared into the distance. "She'll understand once we tell her. She can be serious, seriously Sirius."

"That joke is so old it makes me cry inside!"

"Shut up." Brendan took in a deep breath and looked at the Great Ball in his hand before throwing it toward the open area. "Come on out," he shouted, "Viridian!" Flashes of white light danced before Brendan's eyes as a creature, way taller , emerged from the ball. The white light fizzled out, and there stood a tall, dinosaur-type Pokemon, her long, brown neck craned over Brendan and the other Pokemon, her large, green leaves rustling in the wind. A pair of bananas dangled from her neck.

"Hulllllooo . . ." said the Tropius in a dazed, faded voice, looking upward toward the sky. "Nice weather we're having huh?"

Sirius, open-mouthed, only glared at Brendan. "See! What the hell is that! Is she high or something! I mean what the fuc-"

Brendan chose to ignore his Mightyena and walked over toward Viridian, determined to get her attention. "Viridian," he said, "I-I need your help. You see, your leader, my first Pokemon, our friend, Muddy, was taken away from us by an evil man by the name of Maxie? Do you remember Maxie? He was the one that . . . He was the one that . . . Well, he did some wrong things to us."

"Maxie?" she said in a dreamy voice. "Yes . . . yes I remember Maxie. Muddy is taken you say?"

"Yes. We need your help though. We need to get to Tohjo Falls that's way across the ocean in Johto and since you're the only one that can fly . . ." He trailed off and licked his dry lips. "Anyways, do you think you can do it? For me? For our team? For Muddy?"

The Tropius seemed to get lost in thought (Sirius throwing in sarcastic remarks at that), but soon, her eyes seemed to snap out of her dream world. She bowed down onto all fours, low enough so that her trainer could hop on. "Muddy was the only one that really understood me," she said, her voice no longer airy and otherworldly as she glared at Sirius for mocking her. "So I'll do it. I'll do it for him!"

Brendan grinned and hopped on, returning Thermo, Valiant, and Cinders back into their Pokéballs. He was about to return Siruis back into his own ball, when the Mightyena dodged it. "I better make sure that she doesn't go crazy on us," he said cooly, hopping onto Viridian's back and sitting in between Brendan and her neck.

"You're very lucky if I don't throw you off," she cooly stated as she closed her eyes and let the wind kick her up from the ground.

Impatiently, a man with a thin mustache and beard waited at the top of Tohjo Falls, two roaring waterfalls next to his sides. This man was no other than Archie, and a really angry one at that for Maxie was late. He turned his eyes toward a young boy with green hair who was down on his knees, dripping wet, as he bent over a young girl with chestnut brown hair, soaked to the skin. "Get away from her Wally," he said cooly, alerting Wally's attention.

"She's my friend," he said softly, brushing back his wet bangs that stuck to his forehead.

"Nevertheless . . ." Archie trailed off as soon as he saw the shadow of a man and a Charizard behind him. He glanced at Wally again, who was too preoccupied with that May girl once more, and he grinned at his vulnerability. The soft footsteps and the return beam made Archie turn his head as Maxie came closer toward him. "Took you long enough didn't it?"

Maxie, who was playing with a crimson and gold Pokeball, shrugged and threw the ball over his shoulder, watching the ball spiral toward the sharp rocks, making the Aqua Leader curious. "I stole the boy's Swampert with Devon's new Pokeball," he explained. "We must get rid of the evidence once we do you-know-what to you-know-who. I hear that Swampert of his is rather infamous, so some must be able to recognize him. Don't worry, if someone does find it, they won't be able to open it. Only those who captured the creature can open it." Maxie's eyes landed on the back of Wally, and he growled. "What about him? Shall we dispose of him first before the girl?"

Archie grinned. "Well, I know how much you hated him. Let me be the one to do it, for he'd never trust you after that one night."

"Don't remind me."

Archie's feet sunk into the wet earth of the cave as he walked over toward Wally and placed a hand over his shoulder. "She'll be alright, it's for the best," he said, lifting the boy up to his feet. "We had to get her somehow after all. Brendan might go with his threat despite what he said to her that one terrible night." The purple light of the cave walls reflected and danced in the eyes of the leader as he led Wally over toward the second waterfall. "You know, you made me proud for what you've done for me Wally. You've saved lives."

"Yeah, yeah I guess I did," Wally replied halfheartedly, more concerned about May than trying to figure out what Archie was up to this time. "I'm glad that I did that then."

"You should be." Archie let go of Wally's shoulder and pulled out a small piece of rope from his back pocket. "Do you see those rocks down there Wally? They're rather sharp are they not?"

"Yeah . . . yeah I guess so. Why do you point them out?"

Archie ignored this question. "And this waterfall. Rather high up right?"

"Uh, sure." Wally snapped out of his daze and looked backward toward Archie. It was then he saw the piece of rope in his hands. Green eyes wide, the boy back away toward the end of the cliff. "Wh-what are you g-going to do w-with t-that?"

Archie only simpered and pocketed the rope again. "Well, it looks like I'm not going to need it after all, for you just trapped yourself between a rock and a hard space!" He pointed into the shadows of the land, and from those shadows sauntered a man, his red hair brushed backward and held in place with massive amounts of gel, his eyebrows furrowed together. This man laughed viciously at Wally's horrified gasp.

"You lied to me!" Wally snarled, fists clenched together. "I thought you were on the good side and that we were trying to save Brendan and May from getting hurt! Obviously . . ." His eyes narrowed in hatred. "I was wrong. H-how could I be so stupid thinking that an evil organization that once wanted to drown the planet could turn good! Latios, I hate myself!"

"You're not the only one," Maxie said. He stepped forward, causing Wally to look backward toward the rocks at the bottom. "How about we do this one together Archie? For old times sake."

"My pleasure," replied the Team Aqua Leader as both he and Maxie took a hold of Wally's shoulder tightly. "Needless to say that I'm thankful for what you did for me Wally. I never knew that you could do so much. But perhaps next time you'll be more aware so you won't be manipulated into doing that of what you call "evil." There is no such thing as good and evil. There's only those who strive for what they want!" And with that, the two leaders pushed Wally off the cliff, and he tumbled, flipping over, shouting, as the rocks awaited him eagerly. Maxie and Archie didn't bother to watch, for his future was futile, and instead decided what to do next with the unconscious girl.

"How did she get knocked out anyways?" asked Maxie, walking over and peering down at her.

"It was Wally's last mission; get the girl and knock her out cold," replied Archie, stroking his beard. "There's a secret piece of land behind the first waterfall where Wally stood. He grabbed her while she was riding on her Gyarados and kept her underwater for a few minutes to knock her out from lack of breath. Seeing as her Gyarados knows Wally, he didn't attack him, so he all he had to do is return him."

"Ah . . ." Maxie bent down next to the girl. "One down, two to go. But I'm sure we can make that two down." About to lay a hand on the girl, the shadow of a boy blocked the purple glow of the light. He looked up and grinned, for there stood a white-haired boy, his hands shoved deeply inside his pockets, his ruby eyes narrowed into slits. "So you've found my note huh? Took you long enough didn't it?"

Brendan didn't say anything but continued to looked toward Maxie and the unconscious May. Indifference passed over his face as he took a step forward, feet sinking into the soft dirt, ruby eyes still cast toward the ground. He stood in front of the two bodies that were on the floor and glared at Maxie.

"Don't touch her," he said in a hoarse, cracked voice like he'd been screaming or crying before he came. "Don't ever lay a finger on her Maxie. You've already done enough damage; why do you want to waste human lives? What do you have against us?" His eyes darted upward, meeting the icy blue of Archie's eyes. "And you, Archie. This girl was one of your top executives on your team and despite the fact that she did leave in order to not do evil, she still helped you accomplished great things. But still, you try and harm those who step inside and try to pop your little bubble huh? Have you no heart? Have you no shame!" He lowered his head as the tears began to roll down his cheeks. "Why do you get kicks out of torturing us? Why did you manipulate Wally into thinking that he was helping the better side like you did to me? Why did you steal my Muddy, the only friend that was still with me not matter what? Why do you put so much time and effort into trying to destroy us from the inside!"

Maxie only chortled. "Why do you ask such moronic questions Brendan my boy? What do I have against you? Why do I get kicks out of torturing you? Don't make me laugh; you already know what I have against you. You humiliated me, you ruined my reputation, you foiled my plans! That's all the answers to all your questions is it not?"

Brendan's body started to shake furiously out of anger as his head shot up, one fist raised toward chin level, the other gripping a Pokeball tightly. "If I'm going down," he said through clenched teeth, gripping the ball tighter, "then I'm taking you with me!" With fury in his eyes, his tears sparkling in the purple light, Brendan, about to throw the Pokéball, was stopped when Maxie picked May up by her wrist with one hand. "I said don't touch her!"

Maxie ignored Brendan's angry demand and walked over to the edge of the waterfall, staring down at the rocks below. He didn't notice the girl wake from unconciousness though.

"Hey!" she yelled, startling the Magma Leader. Sapphire eyes furious, the girl kicked and screamed, her legs dangling a few feet off the floor. "Put me down now!" Despite that she should of been groggy from waking up, May was fiesty as if she'd been awake and high on coffee. She reached behind her to grab a Pokéball but found none.

"Whatever you're looking for is probably not there," Maxie said cooly, dangling May's yellow fanny pack in front of her face before throwing it to the side. May only growled back and laid limp in his grasp, unable to do anything.

"Let her go," said Brendan, keeping his cool despite the predicament his friend was in.

"You say it like you don't care," replied Maxie, holding the girl trainer over the waterfall despite her screams of fright. "Perhaps I should be careless with your friend over here too." He saw Brendan start to sprint over, but he held up a hand, stopping his dead in his tracks. "Take another step forward and the girl is gone."

Brendan skidded, stopping in his tracks, kicking the wet earth up. Without a second thought, the boy was about to throw the Pokéball he held in his hand when a hand caught it midthrow and swiped the backpack off his back. Brendan turned around and saw Archie tauntingly wave his backpack and Pokéball in a few yards away, standing near the other waterfall, also ready to drop them.

"Aw, look at the sticky predicament you found yourself in." Maxie enjoyed the pained looked on Brendan's face. He dropped May, and May barely grabbed onto the edge of the cliff with one hand, her legs dangling wildy about as if it would help her hold on.

"Brendan, help!" May screamed, desperate.

"Pick!" shouted the Magma Leader, obviously getting a kick out of making Brendan choose someone's fate. "Your girlfriend or your precious Pokmon!"

Brendan's head darted back and forth between Archie and May, Archie's hand only hanging onto his belt of Pokéballs by one loose string and May barely hanging on with just four fingers. He knew that it would be practically impossible to find his Pokémon at the bottom of the waterfall, but he couldn't sacrifice May either. Thoughts clouding his minds, the boy rushed over toward his Pokéballs and swiped them out of Archie's hand before he dropped them down the first waterfall. He then rocketed over toward the other waterfall, but Maxie grabbed him and held him close so he couldn't escaped.

"You chose," he whispered in a voice filled with hatred. "So now you get to see your concequences!"

Brendan struggled against the Magma Leader, kicking him in the shin as a last resort. He ran toward the girl, but it was too late. She let go. She was gone.

Yes! One more chapter to go! Then it's on to the next sequel! (evil laugh)

LaTeR dAyZ!