His ears were ringing. Tears were streaming down his cheeks from the stinging in his nose, which must've been broken. He had a headache, felt so tired, so hungry that he just wanted to collapse and go back to sleep. But he couldn't. He's not taking Thurnax from me! Using all of his strength, Ryan stood up and sprinted down the road after the thief who had stolen his Dragonair. He was riding those fumes of adrenaline.

Up ahead, Rahul and Alex came strolling down the road, Rahul with an ice cream cone in each hand. When they saw the blur of the thief run past them and Ryan chasing after him, they stopped, mouths agape.

"Get him!" Ryan shouted. "He stole Thurnax!"

And thus, the three were off. Rahul threw his cones away, though one hit Alex in the hair and got lodged in there like a cozy, catatonic Kakuna. The Asian boy did not seem to mind, though, since the ice cream was green tea flavor, and that was of course Alex's most favoritest flavor in the whole wild world. The man they were chasing was faster than them, and he was starting to get away from them when he jumped into a nearby alleyway. Alex and Rahul were closer, but Ryan soon caught up to them. His years of being a swimmer and playing soccer were finally paying off. He saw the man just escape around another corner and chased him down like a Jolteon racing stormclouds. When they came to the center of town, Ryan shouted to the other pedestrians to stop him, but everyone just looked up wide-eyed or went back to what they were doing.

"Go, Swirlie Whirlie!"

"Pidgeooooo!" his Pokemon howled as she flew gracefully from her ball.

"Catch him, girl!" Ryan shouted desperately. "Don't let him get away."

Pidgeotto caught her prey near a fruit stand, causing both of them to fall into it, destroying the wooden table and sending melons and jackfruit flying in all directions. Still, the man, who Ryan could see was dressed in a fine suit, wore sunglasses, and a fedora, got up, slapped Swirlie Whirlie off of him and continued to run. He could not go so fast anymore, not with the flying Pokemon constantly harassing him.

Ryan left Rahul and Alex behind, for they were too slow, and pursued the well-dressed thief all the way to the edge of town. The man didn't stop there. He ran right out of Cerulean City and into the wilderness. He didn't care about the tall grass or the forests or the streams. He ran through them all, as if he had a max repel on. Ryan was not so fortunate, for he was as penniless as a boy without pennies and could not afford such luxuries, and he had to dodge a Pokemon every 10 or so steps, as they sprung up from the wild with a joyless obligation that made it seem like they were programmed to do so. But being wild Pokemon, that was surely not the case. Ryan just had to push his way past them - the Oddishes, the Bellsprouts, the Venonats - and probably KO'd a few in so doing, for these were of course some of the weakest and most useless wild Pokemon in all of Kanto.

Swirlie Whirlie was yet pecking away at the thief and perhaps even drew blood. At last, the man collapsed on the ground, in the middle of an open field Ryan guessed was quite a ways into Route 24. The man rolled over and raised his left arm. Suddenly, he pulled back his sleeve. Ryan could see a metal computer-device on his wrist. The man fended off Pidgeotto as he punched a few buttons into the device. Then Ryan caught up to him.

"Give me back my Pokemon!" Ryan demanded.

The thief laughed. Ryan noted that his voice was not that of a man's - he was a boy, probably only a few years older than Ryan himself. "Too late." The thief held the Pokeball up to his wrist and a white light shot out of the device and surrounded it. "Boss, I've caught another one! I think you'll like this one a lot!"

And before Ryan could speak or take even another step forward, a bright light covered the thief's arm, and the Pokeball disappeared.

"No!" Ryan rushed forward.

The thief went to stand up. "It's too late, dude. Your Pokemon's gone-"

Ryan punched him as hard as he could, knocking them both to the ground. He felt his fists connect over and over again with his foe's face until he could feel nothing at all. His whole body went numb, and he forgot the pain and tiredness in his body. He could hear himself screaming as he hit the thief, could hear Swirlie Whirlie answering in screams of her own from behind, but it did not seem like he was doing it. He wasn't meaning to attack this other boy; he wasn't thinking; he had no control. He felt detached from his body, as if he was merely an onlooker watching two people go at it.

Suddenly, a gust of hot air touched Ryan's cheek. He felt himself being thrown off the boy. Landing hard in the grass a few feet away, he sat up and peered around, confused. Then, he saw a shadow fall across the ground, and a second later, a Charizard touched down. Upon its back was a girl - no, a woman, Ryan thought.

She had silver hair and dark blue, almost purple eyes, and she wore a delicate sandsilk dress of pink and green. It was breathtaking, enough to make Ryan forget everything, if but for a moment. When she dismounted from her Charizard, the woman immediately walked over to the thief, who was lying still in the grass. Bending down, the woman made sure he was alright, and then stood up and walked towards Ryan. His heart was in his throat, and he didn't know whether to run from or to her. She's the most beautiful woman in the world. His fingertips were tingling. From a nearby tree, Ryan's Pidgeotto let out a long, forlorn cry.

"What were you doing?" she asked him once she reached him. The woman held out a hand and helped Ryan to his feet.

"That guy stole my Pokemon! M-my Dragonair…"

That caused the woman to give Ryan a curious look. "You were beating him up."

"I know."

"You shouldn't have done that."

"But wh-"

"Quiet." Her voice was imposing, almost regal. Swirlie Whirlie's shrieking cut through the air again. "Avarian, tend to the boy. But make sure he does not wake." She threw a little bag of medicine towards her Charizard.

The fire Pokemon caught it and nodded in obedience.

"Now tell me what happened," the girl said. "The whole thing."

"Well, I… I had just won my Cascade Badge, and I was coming out of the gym, and that…" Ryan scowled at the unconscious boy, "th-that… idiot punched me in the face and stole my Dragonair before I knew what happened!"

"And you chased him all the way here?"

Ryan nodded. The girl looked into his eyes. He stared back; there was a flush rising in his cheeks as he did, and it was only broken when the bushes behind the two began to rattle. Ryan and the woman looked over to see Alex and Rahul come running over.

"Did… did… didja miss me?" Alex croaked in that deep, low voice of his. He was panting, but not much. Alex sure has some good endurance, Ryan thought.

Rahul looked like he was about to pass out. He needed an ice cream cone bad, maybe even a cannister of ready whip. He's probably never run that much in his life.

"I caught the stupid thief," Ryan told the others, "But Thurnax is gone. He teleported her away on that device on his wrist."

"Where'd he take her?" Alex asked. Ryan shrugged. "H-hey, I know you! You're Derceyes!" Alex then said, as he got a clearer look at the silver-haired woman. "Aren't you?"

She nodded serenely, though her face remained expressionless. "It does not surprise me that you have heard of me."

"If you get some time, I would like to discuss some things with you," Alex said. "For my research."

"As you wish. Yet, our most pressing matter now is finding this boy's lost Dragonair."

"Do you know where she was sent?" Ryan asked.

Derceyes walked over to the thief and her Charizard. Looking down at them, she said, "I have a hunch. Is he stabilized, Avarian?"

"Rawr!" replied the Charizard.

"Good. You may return to your post."

The Charizard jumped up and marched off to the far side of the clearing, where it held its guard. Its eyes stayed on Rahul, Alex, and Ryan, though, and that made the teal-haired boy more than a little uncomfortable.

Derceyes knelt by the unconscious boy's side and pulled up his sleeve, revealing the device he had used to transport Thurnax's Pokeball. "Just as I suspected," she said. "He's a member of the Painted Dragons. Strange… he is still a boy."

"Painted Dragons?" Ryan was confused.

"A gang. One of the most powerful in Kanto, now that the older gangs are starting to lose power and die off." She pulled the thief's shirt up even further, showing that his arm was totally covered in tattoos of Pokemon - this one had Staryus, Starmies, Seakings (heck yeah!), and Gyarados painted across his flesh. It was the most bizarre sight Ryan had ever seen. "There's been a power vacuum these past few years, ever since Team Rocket began to decline. The Painted Dragons were the first to seize on the opportunity to become the new mega gang of Kanto. They have been growing steadily these last few years, and I'm sure by now, they are running operations in almost every major city. I have tried to stop them before, but I don't know where their base is. They steal Pokemon all the time, often never to be seen again. I don't know what they do with those they steal, or where they take them." She took the fedora and sunglasses off of the boy's now-swollen face and looked him over. "He's not as old as I had imagined. Most of the Painted Dragons are adults. This one is just a kid. It looks like their influence and ranks are growing larger and more diverse."

"We have to get Thurnax back."

Derceyes stood up and looked at the three. "Do all of you have Pokemon? Pokemon who can fight?"

They nodded in unison.

"We're all really good trainers," Ryan boasted.

"I'm the Doctor!" Rahul wheezed from the ground.

Alex remained silent, picking at the remnants of Rahul's ice cream cone in his hair and licking his fingers thoughtfully. He was probably thinking about when he would have to do the dishes or go to Kung Fu on Wednesdays, which would then require him to take a shower immediately afterwards and take up roughly four hours that he could have otherwise used to train his Pokemon.

"In that case," Derceyes began, "I may have an idea for how to get your Dragonair back." She stepped forward and threw three Pokeballs. Out from them came three Dragonites. Ryan nearly fell to the ground in astonishment.

"Dragonite, the Dragon Pokemon," Dex told them. "It is said that this Pokémon lives somewhere in the sea and that it flies. However, it is only a rumor."

"Wow, that is so cool. How did you get so many Dragonites? Aren't they like super rare? Do you use them to fight?" Ryan asked, his voice rising.

Derceyes smiled slightly. "I am the mother of dragons… but I have spent too long fighting these criminals and thieves. I cannot be everywhere at once, cannot take on an entire organization by myself. But with you three here, together, we can destroy the Painted Dragons; we can return the Pokemon they have stolen; we can remind them what happened to those who came before them." She walked over to her three Dragonites, who stood loyal and unmoving, like soldiers in regimented lines. "Vengeance," she whispered as she passed the first one. "Justice," she whispered as she walked past the second. "Freedom," she said as she made her way to the third Dragonite. Then, she walked over to her Charizard, who stood away from the rest. "Fire and blood," she whispered so softly, Ryan almost missed it, "for every one of them. They are not dragons like me. Fire cannot kill a dragon."

"M'lady", Ryan said, tipping his fedora.

The woman did not respond. Getting off her motorcycle, she approached the boy with a scowl on her face. "How did you get lost out here?"

He shrugged. "Chasing Pokemon."

"Fool. Let's go. The boss won't be pleased."

Ryan clambered into the sidecar of the Painted Dragon's motorcycle. Once he settled in, he wiped his sweaty palms on the slacks of his suit. This has got to work, he thought. Just stay calm. He was all dressed up, his sunglasses and fedora masking much of his face. They would never know he wasn't the thief who stole Thurnax, so long as Ryan didn't mess up. Just gotta find their base, the boy thought over and over in his head.

The ride was blindingly fast, awkward and silent. He didn't so much as look at his driver, lest he make a mistake. He felt the device on his wrist, thinking back to how he had called up the Painted Dragons' headquarters. I don't think they suspected anything, but this could be a trap. Gotta stay on guard. He had five Pokemon: Abra, Aegon, NaVorro, Swirlie Whirlie, and Myrrah. They're gonna get a lot of work today. Maybe Aegon'll even evolve. There's no way I'm leaving without Thurnax.

The woman drove the two around the eastern side of Cerulean City, just outside the city's limits. They passed by a waterfall, and then the woman pressed a button on her motorcycle. At once, the waterfall receded, revealing a hidden cave beyond. And into it, the two sped.

Once inside, the two dismounted, and the woman said, "Go see Lieutenant Miyazaki. He's not pleased with you."

"Why? I found a great Dragonair!" Ryan tried to sound as threatening as he could, but he feared his tone just came off as lame. Regardless, the woman didn't seem to notice.

"You're expected to catch valuable Pokemon. That's your job. Getting lost is not. The Lieutenant's gonna rip you a new one," she said, relishing the thought. "And don't think about hiding from him. You wouldn't want to make the boss wait."

"Okay, okay. I'll go." Ryan threw his arms in the air. "Just stop the nagging!"

But when Ryan left the girl in the garage, he made his way to the nearest room instead. Inside it, he found the place mostly empty, with a few dusty boxes of rope and jackets and Pokeballs, a couple empty rusty cages, and a large, partially broken lamp that looked like a woman's leg stuck in the corner. Once he was sure no one else was in there, he took the transponder that Derceyes had given him out of his pocket and pressed the button.

"Well, looks like they'll be here soon. Let's do this thing," he said to the dusty nothingness.

Ryan was reaching for his Pokeballs when a voice responded. "Uh, hello? Is anyone there?"

Ryan jumped back, but he remained silent. I'll take this guy out first. He can't let anyone else know I'm here yet. Not till the others get here!

"Uh, I just heard a voice. Hello? Heh, I know someone is in here."

"Who's there?" Ryan asked, suspiciously.

"It's me, David Liebe-hart!"

"Who?"

"Heh, well, you know I was abducted by the Corinians. I need to get out of here!"

Ryan walked around the boxes he thought he had already checked and found a man chained to a pole. In front of him was a plate with a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich on it. There sat a pathetic-looking man, mostly bald (what hair remained reminded Ryan of those fancy trimmed bushes that rich people have in their yards) and dark-skinned with glasses and many a wrinkle on his face.

"Who are the Corinians?" asked Ryan.

"There are other humanoids from, uh, another star, living among us! My favorite race is called the Corinians. They abduct me all the time. See, when you see them, they say 'Salame' for hello and goodbye!"

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Dude, Salame."

As the trainer went to leave, David Liebe Hart lunged forward as far as he could (which was no more than a few inches). "Please, take me on board your beautiful ship!"

"I'm not a Corinian!"

"Salame!" David Liebe Hart replied. Then, he produced a massive hand puppet from the darkness that was about as large as him. It looked like if Alf had been microwaved on the popcorn setting. "I wrote a song about them!" David screamed in falsetto, perhaps attempting to be a ventriloquist, but it didn't work, for he still moved his own mouth when he talked in a very obvious way. "Let's sing along, boys and girls!" the man screamed.

Leaving David Liebe Hart behind, Ryan returned to the hallway and saw several members of the Painted Dragons - all dressed in suits, fedoras, and sunglasses (even though they were inside in a poorly-lit underground secret base) - run by him. They were shouting orders to one another, preparing to battle someone. Looks like the others have arrived. Perfect.

All of the lights turned red, and a deafening horn began to reverberate through the bunker. Then, a voice came on the loudspeakers: "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! All Enforcers and Painted Dragon personnel with active Pokemon are required to make their way to the main entrance to battle a group of intruders trying to make their way into the base. Protect the base! Anyone who tries to hide or refuses to fight will be swiftly punished. Push the invaders back! Do not let them in! This is Lieutenant Miyazaki speaking. Over and out."

Ryan fell in with the next group of Painted Dragons who went running down the hall, though he was sure to remain in the back. When they came to the garage where the woman had dropped him off, Ryan caught a glimpse of Rahul, Alex, and Derceyes standing calmly on the far side of the room. Derceyes had four Dragonites out - though one was green-skinned instead of the standard orange - as well as a Charizard and a Gyarados.

Rahul had his full team out and ready to battle, too: a Lapras, a Rhyhorn, a Kadabra, a Magnemite, a Charizard, and a Dragonair. Alex's team consisted of: an Exeggutor, a Starmie, a Charmeleon, a Jolteon, a Tauros, and a Golem.

The Painted Dragons, this well-dressed group of Pokemon thieves, threw their own Pokeballs in answer. Dozens of Pokemon emerged - Raticates, Magmars, Pinsirs, Haunters, Kadabras, Hitmonlees, Hitmonchans, Gyarados, Raichus, Golbats, Electrodes, and many more. There were far too many for Ryan to count.

"Aw come on, they outnumber us three to one, at least!" Rahul yelled from the far end of the room.

"Heh, then it'll be an even fight," Alex replied. "Pokemon, go!"

The three sent their Pokemon forward, with Derceyes taking the lead. She spoke not a word, even as the other two directed their Pokemons' every move. Ryan was in awe as he watched the Dragonites soar into the field of battle, using Body Slams, Hyper Beams, Blizzards, Surfs, and Wrap attacks. He even saw one take out an opposing Cloyster, a Pokemon that should have wrecked a Dragonite, with a mere Thunderbolt.

"Dang, she's got some strong Pokemon," Ryan muttered to himself. "Alright, let's show everyone what we've got too!"

Ryan threw his Pokeballs out into the open.

Ryan's five Pokemon shot forward, hitting the Painted Dragons' legions from behind. Many a Golbat and Electrode fell that day to the stampeding force of Tauros and the flames of Aegon and the whirlwinds of Swirlie Whirlie. After a few moments, some of the gang members realized that they were also being attacked from behind. At first they were confused - Ryan was wearing the same garb as them. He was one of them. And yet, he was also, inexplicably, attacking them.

"Huh, what're you-" one guy managed to get out before Ryan shouted: "Abra, Psychic!"

That shut that thief up real good. Seeing his side winning the battle, Ryan recalled his Pokemon. "Looks like Rahul and the others have this battle just about wrapped up. Come on, let's go find Thurnax!"

Ryan began to run down the carpeted, if cramped, hallways. At first, he didn't meet anyone. He figured the entire base's forces were battling his friends. But, perhaps, that was not true. For when he pushed his way through a door and came into a new room, there he was met by an older man in the outfit of his organization, sipping red liquid from a glass. When he saw Ryan, he chuckled mildly.

"What are you doing here, grunt? Get back to the battle."

"I'm not with you," Ryan grinned. "If you don't move, I'll have my Pokemon make you."

The man laughed and then threw three Pokeballs. Ryan directed his Tauros forward.

Out from the man's Pokeballs came three Magikarp. They flopped about on the carpet gasping and panicking, shouting "carp, carp, carp!" ceaselessly. When the man saw that Ryan's Pokemon of choice was a Tauros, he dropped his glass. "Oh my word!"

It almost didn't feel fair, how easily Ryan beat that old man. He had thought, upon first glance, that such a man could only have been Miyazaki, or perhaps one of the higher-ranking members of the Painted Dragons. Yet, it appeared he was amongst the worst trainers in the history of the world.

One last charge by Tauros sent the man running for the hills, and Ryan was able to move onward. In the next room, he found two women in white lab coats huddling over a table.

Ripping off his fedora and sunglasses, Ryan rushed up to the two. "Where's my Dragonair?"

The two women looked up, startled, and then glanced at one another. "Who are you, kid?" one asked.

"We don't have any Dragonairs…" the other said.

"Liars! Aegon, Abra, go!"

His two Pokemon rushed forward, and though the women each threw a ball of their own - releasing a Butterfree and a Venomoth - Aegon's Fire Blast and Abra's Psychic easily took them out. Upon seeing their Pokemon defeated, the two scientists scurried out of the room in humiliation.

"Huh? What is this place?" Ryan asked. His Pokemon all grumbled in surprise as well. For on the walls around them, in little cages, were many a Ditto.

"Ditto, the Transform Pokemon," Dex stated as Ryan pointed the little red device at all of the caged animals around him. "When it spots an enemy, its body transforms into an almost perfect copy of its opponent."

A few began to do just that as Ryan's Pokemon went up to the nearest cages to check them out. "We don't have time to let them out," Ryan reminded his team. "After we get Thurnax back, we'll free everyone. I promise. Come on!"

So off they went, deeper and deeper into the base. Ryan met few people here - those he did, he dealt with quickly. Only the lowly grunts even tried to send out Pokemon against him, and like the ones he had already faced, they did not seem to have very powerful Pokemon.

"Why do all of you use Raticates?!" Ryan bellowed at the fifth one he defeated. "That Pokemon is useless!"

"We're the bad guys, and Raticate is a bad guy Pokemon, eek!" the Painted Dragon cried before fleeing.

"Man these guys are lame."

The next few rooms were long hallways, with rows and rows of cages on either side, stacked all the way up to the ceiling. Inside were Pokemon of all sorts. The stolen Pokemon, Ryan realized. Thurnax must be in one of these cages. He went down the rows until he came to a section where Arcanines looked out at him with soft growls and yellow eyes. They think I'm with the Painted Dragons. Ryan clenched his fists. Once I get Thurnax, I'll let all of you out. I will!

There were two people - one man and one woman - ahead of Ryan, inspecting one of the cages. These two were dressed in fancy white suits, and neither was wearing a fedora. When they saw Ryan, they didn't seem to think anything of it.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked. "Did the boss allow you in?"

"I'm not with you idiots," Ryan proclaimed. "I'm here to get my Dragonair back!"

The two people jumped back. Suddenly, Ryan's five Pokemon sprung out from behind him and ran up to the two. They were spoiling for a fight.

"So you're the one who broke into our base. All for a Dragonair?" the woman said, a bit of sarcasm in her voice. "That's so cute."

"My Dragonair has been with me for a long time," Ryan contended. "She's my Pokemon and my friend! I won't let anyone take her from me!"

The man laughed. "We've probably already sold her. The demand for dragon-type Pokemon is huge."

Ryan grit his teeth. "You better not have. If she's gone, I'll make you pay."

"Nieieieieieieie!" came the shriek from a nearby crate. Ryan knew that voice.

"Thurnax!"

"Neieie!"

Ryan ran past the two Painted Dragons, down the hall until he came upon his Dragonair. She was locked in a cage on the right side, on ground level. Ryan scowled when he saw her - she was strapped down to the inside of the cage with several different chains. And she looked as weak and tired as she did scared. Ryan put his hand through the bars to pet her.

"It's okay, Thurnax, we're going to get you out of there! Aegon, burn the bars off!"

"Char, meleon!" the Charmeleon replied, bounding on over.

"Hey, you can't steal from us!" the woman shouted. "That Pokemon is property of the Painted Dragons Cereulean branch!"

"You stole her from me in the first place. I'm taking her back," the boy replied.

The man and woman shook their heads. "We're Painted Dragon admins! No one talks to us like that!"

And thus, the two threw two Pokeballs each - and out came a Persian, a Rhydon, a Vaporeon, and Marrowak. Ryan's four remaining Pokemon attacked these other Pokemon at once, with Ryan shouting commands to each one of them, even as Aegon continued to burn through the metal bars.

"Myrrah, Aurora beam that Rhydon! Abra, hit that Marrowak with a Psychic attack! NaVorro, Stomp that Vaporeon! Swirlie Whirlie! Hit Persian with a Quick Attack!" Ryan said, with all of his authority. He felt like a real Pokemon trainer then, directing all of his loyal buddies at once. He felt in command for once.

The admins were shouting out commands for their Pokemon as well, but in the chaos of battle, Ryan could not focus on what they were doing. He had to think ahead, to prepare for the next round of attacks. He knew that he had to get Persian out of there quick, as well as Rhydon. So after the first round, in which only Abra's attack KO'd a Pokemon, he regrouped, and set everyone after Rhydon except for his Tauros. Tauros Stomped Persian this time, but Persian used Bite. When all was said and done, the Rhydon had gone down, but NaVorro had too, as had Swirlie Whirlie.

"Curses! Abra, Myrrah, attack Persian together!" The Persian hit Abra first, instantly KOing him. Ryan was forced to return his Pokemon just as he watched Myrrah hit Persian with an Aurora Beam. The attack KO'd the poor kitty, leaving Vaporeon and Myrrah to duke it out.

The Vaporeon shot Myrrah with Water Gun, but as we all know, that is a terrible idea, so Myrrah was not affected very much.

"Alright, Myrrah, this one's for all the marbles! Spike Cannon!"

His Cloyster obeyed, shooting three spikes at the Vaporeon. The lumbering eeveelution was hit head on by all three attacks, and on the third consecutive hit, it fell over, unconscious. Ryan had won - if barely. He let out a sigh of relief. The two admins fell over in horror and anguish.

"How could we lose?!" said the woman. "We're admins!"

"No fair, he cheated! I know he used some of our superiorly-bred Pokemon! That's the only way he could have beaten us!"

Ryan turned away from the now Pokemon-less airbags. "Nearly there, Aegon?"

"Char, char!"

"Great!"

Ryan could see the metals bars turning white hot, getting close to melting. Ryan was struck by how awesome his Charmeleon was, how much more efficient he was than a 767 would have been. Jet fuel can't melt steel beams. Just as Charmeleon was cutting through, even weakening and beginning to melt the chains that lined the metal floor of Thurnax's crate, he was thrown forward, into the metal bars, covered in a veil of electricity, and then crumpled on the ground, unconscious. Ahead, Myrrah shot itself at this new attacker, but she was hit by a burst of electricity as well, and fell with a sickening crunch onto the ground, KO'd.

"Raichu!" came the boisterous voice of a Pokemon.

For a second, Ryan's heart fluttered. Kelly, he thought. But no, that was wrong. Kelly wouldn't attack me. No…!

Ahead of him, a man came striding into view. Ryan returned his last defeated Pokemon to their Pokeballs and realized he had no one left to challenge this man. The man wore an expensive-looking purple suit and purple-shaded sunglasses. His hair was long, spiky, and black, pulled back with gel. His face was clean-shaven. He wore gloves, and in his hand was a bejeweled Ultra Ball. His Raichu ran over to him after defeating Ryan's last two Pokemon.

"Nice suit you've got there, kid," the man said, with a little smile. He took a cigar out of his pants pocket and lit it. Placing it into his mouth, he walked over to the two admins who had collapsed on the floor. "Get out of here, before I have my Raichu shock you into the next world!" he roared, and the two fled. Turning back to Ryan, the man's smile returned. "End of the line, kid. Looks like you're out of Pokemon. You may as well give up now."

"I'm not leaving without my Dragonair!"

"You ain't got a Dragonair anymore. All of the Pokemon in this place belong to me, Lieutenant Miyazaki! They are official property of the Painted Dragon clan! Now, I'll give you this option only once: turn around and leave. Or, you can stay and feel the wrath of my Raichu! Your choice, really."

"Raichu!" Miyazaki's Raichu laughed devilishly.

Ryan clenched his fists and frowned. He had once faced a tough guy with a Raichu. That had resulted in his first-ever Gym Badge. He didn't want to back down now and lose Thurnax forever. He owed his Dragonair that much. I have to fight to the end.

"I'm not leaving! I'm taking my Pokemon home."

"Fine, kid. Suit yourself. But this is gonna be a waste of a really nice suit. Oh well. Raichu, use Thunderbolt!"