Fun fact: Whenever I upload a chapter, any sentence that ends in a "!_?" gets changed to a "!." I can't even express questions and exclamations in the same sentence? FFnet, you disappoint me! Every time I upload a chapter, it's something else…

Review Response:

The main reason why you are one of the best in my opinion is because you're three-dimensional. What I'm saying is that you have actually created a world of your own. Most Pokemon fics start with kid wakes up gets Pokemon wants to become Champion in a game world when they are writing a story. But you advert that your world has an actual government, more then ten towns, actual reprecussions and the internet. Everything is so three-dimensional as I said before. Cody is a good example while he does want to be champion he is very realistic about it, he know's he won't just waltz through everything. And unlike most OC's he's very, very flawed. And it's not because he's an idiot hero who goes of on his own. His flaws make him dislikable, so not everything revolves around him, and I'll say again, three-dimensional. Seriously keep it up!

I liked this review, but that one comment made me a little nervous. How unlikable is he to you exactly? While I want Cody to be flawed and not be a Mary Sue, I do want him to be likable. He is the main character, and not the type that the reader is supposed to think is a complete bastard.

Cody: Bastion(Squirtle), Mars (Diglett), Colossal (Larvitar), Antonia (Skarmory), Elesa (Zebstrika), Cortez (Litwick)

Heather: Somnos (Poliwhirl), Feathers (Pidgeotto), Nadine (Nidoran [F]), Bella (Oddish), Flash (Trapinch)

Jared: Charmeleon, Servine, Croconaw, Gastly, Bagon, Nidorino

Chapter 24: The Angels of Haven

It was a disturbing sight, to say the least. Cody was horrified, Heather looked like she was about to puke, but Jared just stood there, emotionless. It wasn't something he hadn't seen before in his travels. Sad as it was, he had been desensitized.

"Is… is he-"

"Yes Heather, he's dead," Jared answered. His words were as cold as the frost that resided on the poor, dead teenager's face, but they were necessary. No point in dodging he truth. Upon hearing the words, Heather burst into tears, and Jared quickly offered his shoulder for her to cry into, as well as some soft words to calm her down.

Meanwhile, Cody knelt down and looked the corpse in its cold, dead eyes. The boy looked about his age, his red hair matching his face, which was spotted with dozens of freckles. However, his skin was icy blue, and his mouth hung in an awkward position. Half of the kids body was in his sleeping bag, frozen stiff around the poor boy. Cody shuddered at this trainer's fate. To die alone in the cold like this… it must have been awful… and lonely. If only the poor kid knew that the next town was only a few miles away.

"What do you think happened to him?" Cody asked, the normal enthusiasm that resided in his voice appropriately absent.

"I think he froze to death. You know how low the temperatures get out here. Looks like he couldn't start a fire, and-"

"How many times have you seen this?" Cody asked, softly so that he wouldn't upset Heather any further.

"This is my fifth. I saw four last winter. I'm surprised this is the first one we crossed. Then again, there are a lot of pokemon out here. Often if other trainers don't find the bodies first, they will and-"

"Please stop," Heather whimpered, receiving a kiss on the cheek from her boyfriend.

"It's okay, it's alright," he cooed sensitively, caressing her back. "I promise you'll be safe. This will never happen to you. I promise…"

Cody looked away from his two companions and back at the body. This certainly was one of the darker sides of training for the ones who couldn't adapt to the lifestyle. Bastion, who was by his side at the moment, walked up to the frozen corpse and began to sniff it curiously.

"Don't do that," Cody whispered, grabbing the Squirtle by the shell and pulling him back. The turtle looked back at him curiously. Of course he didn't understand. Many pokemon didn't think about their death. But knowing the complex questions that arose from such thoughts, that was probably for the best.

"Hehehehehehehe!" Cortez the Litwick slowly flew from his trainer's shoulder and landed on the corpse's head. Cody motioned for the candle to move, but it wouldn't budge. Of course…

"What, what is he-" Heather began.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, Cody!" Jared shouted furiously, "put a leash on that thing!"

"Fine, fine," Cody sighed, returning the ghost to its pokeball. Cortez was obviously sucking out whatever life energy was remaining in the dead body. There was nothing wrong with it. It was only natural that Cortez wanted to feed, but to keep in the good graces of his friends, he complied to their wishes. After returning the candle to his pokeball, he stood up. "Look, I really don't think we should be lingering here. We really should-"

"We can't just leave him here," Heather pleaded. "It's not right!"

"We can't take him with us though," Jared said, pointing out the obvious. "Luckily, they have an app for this sort of thing." He pulled out his phone and began press various buttons.

"What are you doing?" Cody asked solemnly.

"Simple." Jared began. "With this app, you ping your coordinates to some satellite, state the emergency, and rangers come to the location. I found application after we were attacked by that psycho. I suggest that you two upgrade your phones and get it too. iPhones are probably the greatest invention since the wheel." With some finishing clicks, he sent the message, and returned the phone to his pocket. "Come on. Let's get into town."

"Alright," Cody agreed, touching Heather's arm in an extra attempt to comfort her. Someday, the two of them would see the silver lining of this experience. It was a painful reminder of their own mortality.

"Welcome to Greenville!" The trio was interrupted from their somber thoughts by a girl their age in a winter coat. She seemed way too happy for the gloomy February day, and her look didn't match her personality. Her hair was dyed hot pink, and she had a nose ring that hung between her nostrils. Even though Cody thought she was kind of cute, he thought it was odd that somebody so "punk" was greeting people that walked into the town.

"Um, thanks," Jared muttered. "Can you direct us to the pokemon center? We've been on the road for awhi-"

"Center of town!" she announced joyfully. "But before you go, you trainers should go check out the new Haven House! Just built last week! You can get a warm meal there for free! A room too, if there are any available! Down the street and you take a left at-"

"Wait, how did you know we were trainers?" Cody asked. But the girl only laughed at him playfully.

"Because your friend just said you were looking for a pokemon center, silly!" she giggled. She then knelt down to Bastion's level and squealed. "Is this your pokemon? He's so cute!" Without even asking permission, she grabbed the turtle and squeezed him as she stood back up. Bastion struggled to free himself, but the pink haired girl's grip was too tight. "And he feels so strong! What's his name?"

"Bastion," Cody answered, reaching out for his pokemon. The Squirtle finally freed himself from the girl's grasp and leapt into Cody's arms. The turtle did not particularly enjoy being held by strangers.

"Aww, he wuvs you!" she cooed. "I bet you're a really strong trainer to-"

"Um, thanks, we need to go-" Cody began, but he was cut off as the girl thrust pamphlets into the hands of him and his friends.

"Check out the Haven House, down the street, after hooking a left on Gridstone Avenue. Best soup in town. And it's FREE!"

"Okay, see you around!" Cody gasped as he briskly walked away from the pink haired girl.

"Buh-bye, sweetie! See you and your friends around!" she called out.

"Bye…" Cody waved back awkwardly. What a spooky chick.

"Well… that was interesting…" Jared commented as the three walked through the town, which was quiet at the morning hours.

"Cody, I think you have another fan," Heather laughed, but Cody shrugged.

"I'm not into the peppy, scary types. What is this thing anyway?" He looked down at the pamphlet and frowned in confusion. The front said "Haven House" in big red letters, and it showed a picture of a child and his Bulbasaur happily drinking soup from the same bowl. How odd…

"Need a hot meal and a place to sleep, but you're down on your luck and low on cash?" Heather began to read from the pamphlet. "Haven House is the place for you. Funded by Ideal Imports, Haven House is run by trainers for trainers. It is our goal that we erect a Haven House in each city and town in Skitrex. So tell your friends! And hurry! Today, you can become a part of this establishment and receive the many benefits that we have to offer for trainers of all kinds. If you are interested, call…" She stopped at the phone numbers and cocked her head. "What is this all about?"

"Looks like a soup kitchen to me, but made for trainers…" Cody replied. "But why they make a trainer centered kitchen is beyond me. There are normal soup kitc-"

"Cody, the number of trainers has been skyrocketing since the 90's in just about every country," Jared answered. "The number of poor, unsuccessful trainers is also pretty high, as are the deaths of said trainers, as we saw earlier. I guess this is a response to that, so… it's a good thing. It also looks like they have membership openings, and since the kitchens are run by trainers-"

"What's Ideal Imports?" Cody interrupted. He had re-read the pamphlet during Jared's explanation, and he had become ever more curious on the subject.

"They're an import company," Jared explained, slightly annoyed that Cody had cut him off. "They buy distribution rights to products from other countries that other people here want, and then they sell them to retail businesses throughout the region. Basically, it makes it a whole lot easier for Skitrexian's to get foreign stuff, like Cuban cigars, foreign alcohol, clothes, and stuff like that. My dad used to work there before…" An awkward pause appeared in Jared's sentence. The wounds between him and Cody were still tender, so just bringing up his past was enough to warrant silence. "Why they're funding this is beyond me."

"Hmm… Maybe they're just good people…" Cody replied, though for some reason, he had a difficult time believing that. There were so many greedy people in the world that he couldn't imagine why such a large company would fund a charity organization. "Oh, we're here." The three of them looked up at the old brick building with the words "Haven House" painted in red letters on a giant wooden board above the door. Before they could move, a young greeter with sandy-blond hair approached them.

"Welcome to Haven House! Trainers, I'm sure you're hungry after a long trip on the road!" he greeted enthusiastically, a toothy grin pasted on his face.. All three of them stepped back in unison, slightly frightened. It seemed like every person affiliated with this organization was a creeper.

"Um… thanks…" Cody began nervously, "but we're not exactly… um… poor." This comment got Cody a swift punch in the arm from Heather.

"Cody!" she hissed.

"What? Somebody had to say it!" Luckily for them, the greeter laughed cheerfully.

"It's no trouble friend! Although this place is for trainers in need, anybody can partake! Besides, we want you to come in! Then you can tell your friends and everybody you meet about Haven House! We plan to have one in every city and town in Ski-"

"Yes, we read the pamphlet, thank you," Cody said as he and the others pushed past the overzealous man and into the building. What they found inside was heartwarming. The big room was crowded with teenage trainers and their pokemon. Most of them wore old, ratty clothes, and most of their pokemon looked underfed. Yet here they all were, eating soup and talking amongst themselves. Obviously, a nice distraction from the harshness of the winter.

"Wow, that soup smells really good…" Heather breathed as she inhaled the aroma. "Is that chicken noodle?"

"Smells like it. Let's get some," Jared suggested. The three trainers joined the line and waited for their turn. All in all, they felt slightly out of place in the room, given that their clothes weren't as messy, and they didn't smell as strange, but nobody was judging them by the looks of things. After a short wait, the three of them received their bowls of soup, pieces of buttered bread, and some apple from the overly friendly servers, and then they looked for a seat. Unfortunately, there were only two tables left, both of which only had two chairs each.

"We can move a chair over so-"

"No Heather, I'm just going to eat by myself. Give you two some alone time," Cody offered with a weak smile.

"Oh… okay." There was no fooling her. Cody and Jared didn't want to be around each other for too long now days, and that often meant eating separately. It wasn't a great scenario, but it was for the best. After separating from his group, Cody placed his tray on the table and sat down in the old chair so he could drink the warm stew. Bastion hopped up onto his trainer's lap and began to eat the apple.

"You're welcome," Cody muttered, patting the Squirtle's head with a free hand. The tiny turtle seemed to be eating a lot more lately, and it was a curious thing, given that the turtle's metabolism allowed him to go several days without food.

Cody looked back over at Heather and Jared, who were talking with each other. It was strange how isolated he felt now. The wounds between him and Jared were closing, but at a Slugma's pace. One thing that surprised Cody though was that Jared had not traded his Gastly away. The older boy kept saying that he planned on trading the ghost in the next town they went through, but every town they passed, he didn't bother. Perhaps he was growing attached to the gassy ghost? He hadn't used the spirit in battle yet, but he hadn't gotten rid of it either. Maybe Cody's stupid plan was working after all, although it was too soon to tell.

"Hey kid, mind if I sit here? I'd rather not eat standing up." Cody stopped thinking for a moment as he looked up to see who was talking to him. It was a young man, probably in his early twenties, with shoulder length black hair, pale skin, striking grey eyes, and kind of a baby face. He stared at Cody, unblinking, as he waited for a response.

"Um… sure." The man placed his tray on the table and sat down on the opposite side of Cody. Something felt wrong with this scenario. The man was giving Cody a very creepy stare, and yet, it felt familiar,

"Do… do I know you?" Cody asked hesitantly. "I feel like I've met you before…"

"Hmph, doubt it," the dark-haired man replied as he fiddled with his spoon. The shiny utensil had suddenly captured all of his interest from Cody. "I don't make a lot of friends, kid."

"Um… okay. Er… my name is Cody."

"That's nice." The man went on to eat his soup, and Cody did the same. Something about this guy was way too creepy, as was everybody else in this town he was in. But instead of being overly friendly, this guy was just overly… weird.

"That's a nice Squirtle you got there." The man had finished his soup, and now he went back to obsessively playing with his spoon again. "Looks strong too. Are you a good trainer?"

"Um… yeah, I guess I am," Cody admitted softly. "But how do you know Bastion is strong?" It was always strange when people said that sort of thing about a pokemon that wasn't battling. He loved his Squirtle, but in all honesty, it didn't look any stronger than any other given Squirtle.

"I have an eye for it," the man answered. "I'm a trainer too, obviously. After all, I work for Haven."

What, like I was supposed to know that? "What, you do?" Cody asked suspiciously. "You're not ladling soup."

"Cody, is it?" the man asked. "There's more to Haven House than soup. We're all about trainer improvement. I work as a trainer for trainers. I also train pokemon that I give to struggling trainers."

"Hmm… I didn't know," Cody stuttered. But then his eyes lit up. "Wait, you just give trainers trained pokemon? For free? Isn't that cheating?"

"Cheating…" The man sighed, though something about the sigh was so emotionless. "Storm, training isn't that simple. Even a good pokemon is useless in the hands of a weak trainer. Obviously, you should know that by now."

"Wait, what?"

"You'll understand some day," the man replied. He stood up and took his tray with him. "I need to get back to work, kiddo. I hope you learned something today."

"Um… thanks?" Cody replied, still confused about everything this man had told him. "I um… I never got your name…"

"Oh." Suddenly, the man's neutral lips twisted into a very unnatural looking smile. "It's Casper. Take care." He turned around and walked away, leaving Cody with more questions with answers. How could one person seem so off?

"Rup!" Bastion grunted as he stared up into his trainer's eyes.

"Yeah, you're right," he replied to his Squirtle. "This is a weird town. The sooner we leave, the bet-"

A black hole seemed to form in the pit of his stomach. Casper… I never gave him my last name… but he called me Storm that one time… how in the world did he know?

"Are you sure you're alright? You never call home anymore, sweetie. You know how I worry."

"Yes mom, I'm fine," Heather replied, rolling her eyes, though nobody could see it. "You shouldn't worry so much. Jared and Cody are with me, and-"

"Actually, that's why I'm worried," her mother interrupted. "It's dangerous for a young woman to be traveling alone in this day and age. I know you're not alone, but I've never met these boys. It just worries me. You're so young, Heather. I really don't want you to get hurt. That's why I didn't want you to go on this journey in the first place, but... Maybe if you went with some of your friends at home-"

"Mom, if I was having a problem, I'd tell you. I'm fine."

"I know, but-"

"Look, how about I introduce you to Jared when I come home in the summer. He doesn't exactly have a home to return to right now, so it'll be okay. I'll even introduce you to Cody if he's around, but he has his own family, so-"

"Alright, alright," her mother sighed. "Just promise me you'll be careful. I don't want you to end up like one of those kids on the news that got eaten by wild Houndoom or anything, okay?"

"Yes mother, I'll be perfectly safe," she promised again, leaning back on the hotel bed. "I'll call you in a week. I promise. I love you mom."

"I love you too, dear. Be safe!" A click followed and the phone went silent.

Heather fell all the way on her back and she stared at the ceiling, enjoying the silence of the tiny town, save the running of the shower in the bathroom. She savored these few moments when she was alone… truly alone. Jared was in the shower, Cody was out training, and her pokemon were at the center, being healed. The solitude gave her time to think in peace about everything, and the topic of the day branched from her mother's concern.

She understood that her mother's concern, while annoying, was understandable. Even more so, since throughout her schooling, Heather had always been the one out of her friends that was always getting into trouble and starting up drama among her peers. But such activities weren't uncommon for young girls. Even though she had calmed down in the past few years, but her mother still saw her as a dangerous spark. Ironically, she was the one in the group that was mature while Cody and Jared fought with each other like pre-teen girls.

That being said, a lot of their problems were… complicated. Jared was uptight and straight-laced while Cody was relaxed and liberal. But beyond that, they both had broken families (or breaking in Cody's case.) She had a hard time understanding that as well, given that her parents were still together, and her family life was never all that complicated. She wanted to be able to get what they were going through so she could help in any way she could, but the subject was difficult for both of the boys.

There was another problem that plagued her: when Jared told her to choose between him and Cody, she hesitated to give him an answer, and for one reason alone… she wouldn't have been able to decide. She really liked Jared as a boyfriend. He was mature (for the most part), cute and good to her. But Cody was her friend who was the reason she was living her dream of being a trainer. Plus, she felt so comfortable being around him and talking about things with him that Jared would have deemed "inappropriate." Was there a right choice to the question, if it was asked again? Was it wrong that she was considering choosing her friend over her boyfriend?

She sighed as she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. They were taking a day off to rest, and it felt so nice to be in a nice, warm bed. Yet, she couldn't relax.

I don't get my life… I wanted this adventure to be like Lord of the Rings, but here I am, feeling like it's becoming One Tree Hill.

"Skreee!"

"Skreee!"

"Skreeeee!"

Cody's bird call of Antonia was getting more accurate. So accurate in fact, that she was actually responding to it, and would even return to him when he made the call, making it easier to find her when they were out at night.

"Skreee!" Antonia flew into the grove where Cody and Bastion currently were, carrying a dead Bidoof in her beak. The metal covering her skin was getting even thicker and stronger, and her appearance was beginning to look more like a typical Skarmory. Cody reached out and pet her on the horn that was forming, put pulled away at the chilling touch. While the inner layers of metal were warmed by her body, the outer layer had been chilled by the winter wind.

"You're so beautiful," Cody said to the bird, smiling at how much she had grown. "I can't wait until you're finally cleared for competitive battling. You're going to clean house for sure."

"Skureee!" she roared proudly, her falcon-like voice bouncing off every tree nearby. Even if she could understand Cody, her response would have been the same. "She's like a spoiled teenage girl!" Jared had said countless times. Even Cody, who was totally in love with the Skarmory, couldn't deny this.

Once Antonia had flown back into the woods to find more food, Cody sat back down next to Bastion at the little fire he had built. "Of course, I'm proud of you too, friend," Cody told the turtle. Since Antonia and Cortez had been absorbing so much of his time as of his late, he spent most of his day off with Bastion, making up for lost training in the past few weeks. Luckily, Greenville was full of trainers, but none of them had pokemon that could outdo Bastion in battle. The tiny turtle had even been able to take on pokemon from some of the three badge trainers, but now, the boy and his Squirtle relaxed by the fire, just enjoying each other's company. "This is just like old times, eh?" he commented, thinking back to the previous July. "Remember when we first started? Just the two of us?" Of course, he had all of his pokemon with him now instead of just Bastion (save Colossal, who was spending the night at the pokemon center so his progress in his pupation could be monitored.)

Bastion just grunted in response, scooting his body closer to his trainer in order to be pat on the head. Just a simple response was all that was needed between the two. But the moment didn't last, because in a split second, Bastion had leapt to his feet and began to growl at a nearby bush.

"Something wrong, buddy?" Cody asked, unconcerned. Probably a Rattata or something. But the Squirtle wouldn't stop. Whatever was in the bushes finally appeared. It was a familiar looking round pokemon with purple hair, long antenna, and big red eyes. "Venonat…" Cody stood up and stared, but he was slightly confused on what to do. The Venonat had been following the group for weeks, but nothing seemed to come of it. Was the masked man just playing with him? Was the Venonat even worth running from?

"Rrrrrup!" Bastion's attention had turned to Cody… or rather, what was behind him. The teen slowly turned his body and could just barely see a figure in the shadows of the trees, wearing a black jumpsuit and helmet that covered his face. It was him. If Cody wasn't trying to look for him, he probably wouldn't have seen the man.

"Hm… your Squirtle has been trained well. I didn't think he would have sensed me. So much for a sneak attack." His voice seemed emotionless, but strangely familiar.

Where have I heard that voice before? "What do you want?" Cody said, trying to sound tough, though it wasn't really showing in his tone. "You've been following us for months, but-"

"I've been ordered to follow you, but not to make my move until your security dropped. And here we are. You're out here alone. Bad decision." His words were cold and calculating, and Cody saw the man's Roselia appear next to him from the darkness. Even though the pokemon was cute, she shared her trainer's coldness.

"I… we reported you to the police. How did you-"

"I can be very slippery," he answered. "But there's no reason to involve the authorities. The Superior One only wishes to talk with you. You have my word."

"I have your word?" Cody asked doubtfully. "You attacked us! You threatened my friends! I-"

"This can all end easily, Cody. All you have to do is come with me, and nobody gets hurt. And trust me, you don't want to test me. My pokemon are much stronger than yours. So-"

"Sorry, but no. You and your entire organization can burn in Hell. Bastion, Aqua Je-"

"Sleep Powder." Bastion shot his shell straight at the masked man, but the Roselia jumped in the way and shot a puff of powder into the head hole of the Squirtle's shell while punching him back. Cody looked down at the turtle pokemon in horror, as he had been knocked into a deep sleep. Using a quick burst of adrenaline, he managed to scoop up the turtle and made a dash for the woods. After running for a minute straight, he leaned against a tree and tried to catch his breath, desperately glancing about for the man that was pursuing him. But nobody was following him… or so it seemed.

"Chiip!" The Venonat had followed him, though it wasn't attacking him for some reason.

"Running. It's futile, you know." The man in black reappeared from the side opposite of the direction that Cody had ran from, his Roselia and his Luxio by his side. Cody tried to speak, but he was too in shock to understand what had happened.

"How did- how did you ge- get over-"

"You're surrounded. Now give up like a good little boy, and maybe you won't get hurt."

"Fat chance!" Cody announced, deciding he'd rather go down swinging. "Go!" He swept three pokeballs from his belt and tossed them in front of him. Elesa, Cortez, and Mars appeared, ready to kick the ass of any threat out there. "Now- Oof!" He was taken down from behind as the Venonat had launched its body into the back of his knee. When Cody pulled his face out of the snow, he saw that the masked man was gone, but his three available pokemon were doing battle (Elesa with the Luxio, Cortez with the Roselia, and Mars with the Venonat). But where was the man in black?

Picking the sleeping Bastion off the ground, Cody ran past the battlers, hoping that his pokemon would be able to hold the opponents off. Where the hell is he? But he had barely walked ten yards into the thicket before a blur of black came at him from behind a tree and made a quick swiping motion at Cody's chest, just barely missing him with the long gleaming knife in his hand. "Holy shit!"

"Easy decision," the man said calmly as he back Cody against a tree. "I won't kill you, but you'll have a few ways to remember me by if you don't quit while you can." While giving this threat, he was tossing the knife between his hands, catching it with only two fingers each time.

"Fuck you," Cody shouted in reply, and just barely sidestepped the knife's second slash. He kept backing away as the masked man kept trying to stab and slash at his chest. He was too afraid to turn around and run, given that the man could easily swipe him during his turn around. Finally though, the man had finally got close enough that a hit would be inevitable. But before he was hit, he instinctively held up the sleeping Squirtle's shell up in front of his chest, and the knife made a "chink" sound as the two elements collided. He parried the blade several more times with the turtle shell before the man finally knocked the Squirtle out of Cody's hands with his free hand and taking another swipe at his chest, this time connecting by the knife's tip. The young trainer screamed in agony at the diagonal slash that he received on his chest, cutting his shirt and skin. The initial pain of the cut was brief, but the stinging of the cold air, matched with the gruesomeness of the wound, made him feel more nauseated than he had ever been in years. He found himself pinned against another tree as the man in black was inches away. What was the stranger going to do next, now that he finally had his prey cornered?

Before Cody could find out, the man in black was knocked to the side by a blast of water. Bastion had woken up, but while the Squirtle was standing again, he was wobbling violently, probably from the poisons that were in the Roselia's Sleep Powder. Cody suddenly fell to his knees, feeling way too dizzy as well from the blood he was losing. Luckily for him, another distraction sidetracked the man as his Luxio flew through the air and into a tree stump. Elesa stepped into the clearing, but she was breathing heavily, as the Zebstrika had many tooth and claw marks all over her body. The two had severely injured each other, but they were hardly done yet. Meanwhile, Mars was chasing the Roselia, whose body was singed from fire. However, Cortez was nowhere in sight, nor was the Venonat. They must have fainted. But the sides were still uneven, as Cody was bleeding, and he only had a few usable pokemon left to fight back with.

"Luxio, Swagger!"

"Don't fall for it!" Cody sputtered in pain, trying to stand up again, though to no avail. But the Luxio roared proudly, challenging and enraging Elesa. Of course, the aggressive horse fell for the taunt and chased after the Luxio at a recklessly dangerous speed. But at the last second, the lion gracefully leapt out of the way, and Elesa crashed into a thick tree, letting out a roar of pain. Meanwhile, Mars was dodging the various attacks of the Roselia, since the flowered pokemon was too injured from her previous encounter and was unable to chase him down effectively.

"Rose, knock him out!" the masked man ordered pointing at Cody while trying to dodge Mars, who had begun to chase the Roselia's trainer instead of her. The Roselia turned her attention to Cody, and she was coming towards him when Bastion stood his ground in front of the grass pokemon, ready to defend his trainer.

"Bastion, Tackle her, but don't let her get her roses close to your face! Mars! Help Elesa!" His Squirtle immediately bashed his skull into the Roselia's chest. Meanwhile, Mars left the mysterious man alone and smacked the electric lion with a Bulldoze. Before the Luxio could recover, Elesa pinned him down with her hooves and channeled every watt of electric energy she could into the lion's smaller frame. The Luxio roared in pain, but eventually, these roars subsided when he overheated and fainted.

"Damn." That was all the unknown man had to say. He returned his Luxio and tossed out a new poke ball, which burst to reveal his Granbull. The big, pinkish-purplish colored dog let out a deep-voiced bark as it stood up on its hind legs and held its fists up like a boxer. Just the sight of the bulldog was enough to strike fear into the hearts of his pokemon.

"Elesa!" Cody shouted as he finally pulled himself to his feet with the support of a nearby tree. "Flame Charge!"

"Fire Fang!" the man in black called out. His Granbull was steadfast as Elesa charged, fire at her heels. Blocking the horse's fire with his own on his jaws, the large fanged dog bit her leg as she approached, and in a circular motion, he swung his head around, and with his incredible jaw strength, threw the frightened Zebstrika into a tree.

"Elesa!" Cody shouted fearfully as the zebra tried to stand up, but she couldn't. Judging by her struggles, it was likely that the Granbull broke her leg. "Return!" As Elesa was sucked back into her poke ball, Cody noticed that Mars had fainted as well. The Roselia must have gotten to him while he was distracted by the Granbull. Grudgingly, he returned the mole to his pokeball as well. All that was left was the masked man, his pokemon, himself, and a tired Squirtle that stood between them.

"Hmph, how I wish I could battle you on normal terms. It would be… amusing." He spun the knife by its handle on his index finger, like a basketball, seeming a bit too relaxed. "I have two more pokemon, not including these ones. Surrender and make this easy for both of us."

Before he even had a moment to consider the idea, Bastion shot itself at the Granbull with an Aqua Jet… only to bounce off the Granbull's ripped chest. The big dog grabbed the turtle by its shell with its oversized jaws and threw it like it did Elesa, though Bastion managed to land on his feet like an acrobat, although he was obviously shaken. The full day of battles was finally catching up with him.

"Granbull, crush him!"

"Bastion, Water Gun!" The turtle shot a stream of water at the dog, but the much bigger pokemon ran through the stream like a freight train and smacked Bastion with a strong punch. The Squirtle was launched backwards and tried to retaliate with a Water Pulse, but this was easily shaken off by the Granbull. What can possibly take this thing down?

Bastion was then forced to shake off a Leech Seed that the Roselia shot at him with a Rapid Spin. Just a painful reminder that if the battle against the Granbull wasn't bad enough, it was still a two versus one scenario for the Squirtle. All the while, Cody had to keep an eye on the masked man, making sure that the aggressor never got too close to him.

"Bastion, Iron Tail! Try to knock the dog off its feet!" Cody shouted in desperation. The Squirtle leapt into action, swinging its flashing, metallic tail at the Granbull, but the bulldog caught the turtle by the tail, and swung him into the ground. Then, the dog jumped straight up into the air, ready to perform some sort of Body Slam on the fallen foe, but right before he landed, a flash of silver flew into view, tackling the Granbull into the earth. Antonia had returned, taking the Granbull off his guard, but the young Skarmory's glory was cut short, as when she stood up again from the attack, the Roselia puffed a greenish powder into the armored bird's face, and she fell over unconscious. Maybe if she were a bit older, her body wouldn't have shut down so easily. Damn that Sleep Powder. He returned his Skarmory to her poke ball, cursing the loss of his wild card in this fight.

"This is getting annoying," the masked man stated, sounding incredibly bored with the fight. "Finish the Squirtle now." When Bastion reached a standing position, he saw that he was surrounded by the two pokemon he was fighting, both looking merciless and bloodthirsty. "Now!" he repeated.

"Protect!" Cody shrieked, though even he knew this would only buy him a little bit of time. Bastion retreated into his fortress, and a small bluish bubble appeared inches above his shell, surrounding him. But that did not stop the two enemies from attacking. The Roselia sprayed Bastion's protective bubble with powder, and the Granbull bit down on the bubble with a Fire Fang, igniting the powder. It wouldn't be long until the bubble burst, and the Squirtle would be the subject of a brutal double team. Panic was rushing in Cody's veins now. He had no usable pokemon, he had left his backpack and healing items back at the fire since he forgot to pick them up, and there was no way he could fight this stalker and his remaining pokemon by himself. I could really use a miracle right about now, he thought to himself as beads of sweat had made their appearance, despite the frigid temperatures.

His prayers were answered. In a burst of light, the protective bubble exploded, and both the Granbull and the Roselia were flung backwards, leaving Bastion's untouched shell on the ground. But something looked off about it. The shell looked… bigger. Why does it look bigger?

"Hauh!" a deep voice sounded as the turtle sprang to his feet out of his shell, and Cody's questions were answered. Bastion was now a bit taller, his skin a darker shade of blue, and he had two large, fluffy ears, and a bigger, fluffy, white tail. When the turtle opened his eyes, he had a mixed look on his face. It was a mix of loyalty and love for his trainer, and rage. Pure, unadulterated, rage. This new, improved Bastion did not look like he would be taken lightly.

"Holy shit…" Cody whispered in awe. "You evolved…" His wish had come true.

"Get him," the opponent ordered, undeterred by Bastion's sudden evolution. Both the Granbull and the Roselia charged the Wartortle at the same time, but using his newly developed legs, the turtle made an impressive vertical leap, and the dog pokemon ended up knocking the Roselia onto her back. As if on cue, Bastion immediately pulled into his shell, and Aqua Jetted his body into the fallen flower's body. The force of the attack was enough to finally end the Roselia's run.

"Don't fail me Granbull," the masked man ordered gravely. "Takedown."

"Water Gun!" Cody commanded. Bastion shot a blast of water at the charging bulldog, but this time, the much bigger blast of water had a fire hose effect on the aggressor, slamming the dog into a tree. The Wartortle immediately followed this move up with an Aqua Jet to the Granbull's chest. A weaker pokemon would have been stunned by such an attack, but the dog immediately shook off the attack and threw Bastion backwards. The two locked into hand-to-hand combat, but this was a battle that the larger Granbull would certainly win. But once he had the Wartortle in his mouth, Cody ordered a Rapid Spin, and with a sick sound of teeth grinding against the shell, Bastion freed himself from the Granbull's hold, leaving the dog in a state of pain as it clutched its jaw. Now's our chance.

"Iron Tail!" The Wartortle seemed to expect this command, and he did a backflip, metalicizing his tails halfway through, and smacking the Granbull upwards on his lower jaw. The big, pink pokemon let out a yelp of pain before falling over backwards.

"No matter," the stranger said coolly as he pulled another pokeball from his belt, but before he could release a fifth monster, he was smacked in the face by Bastion's tail, and he fell over, unconscious.

"What the… oh crap…" Cody muttered in fear as he looked at what his pokemon had just done. Self-defense or not, he'd be in a whole mess of legal trouble if Bastion had just killed the man. Then again, Bastion would probably have been taken out by whatever the man's next pokemon was, given that the day's fatigue would have overcome the Wartortle's adrenaline rush.

"Huap?" the Wartortle grunted, as if to question his trainer's expression. But Cody said nothing. Feeling the weight of capture being relieved, he knelt down and hugged the tired turtle tightly, feeling the tickle of his pokemon's ears on his cheek.

"You're growing up, buddy. Nice work," he whispered gratefully, squeezing the reptile even harder. Then he stood up and walked over to the masked man's body. Luckily, the man was still breathing, and his neck looked okay from a distance. If Bastion had used an Iron Tail on the man, opposed to just a normal tail slap, he would have easily snapped the man's neck. But seeing the man erupted a curiosity in Cody. Who was this stranger? If he had been following the group for months, did he ever see the man, but never notice him without the mask? To answer his questions, he knelt down by the unconscious man's head and slowly removed the helmet, only to feel his heart skip a beat at the answer to his question.

"It's… it's that guy from the soup kitchen…" Cody muttered in utter surprise. "Casper…" Sure enough, the dark haired, pale skinned man was there looking up at him, so to speak. This answer only raised more questions though. Casper had said he worked for the kitchen… were they involved in the organization Frank was a member of? Or was it just a coincidence?

"Hmm… what to do…" he pondered as he tried to readjust his breathing. He wouldn't be able to carry the body back. His chest was still hurting from the knife slash, and although the wound had clotted, he wouldn't want it to reopen under the strain of carrying the man that could possibly wake up at any minute. The only option was to leave the man there and to tell the police about the incident and where it happened.

"Well, we better go find Cortez and my stuff," Cody muttered to Bastion, who was now sniffing at the man's pokeballs. Should I take his pokemon and give them to the police? No… too messy. That was a bad idea. Taking somebody's pokemon without permission, a warrant, or general law enforcement approval was a very serious property violation. Even in a situation like this, it would only cause more problems. "We better get going. The sooner we get back to Greenville and alert the police, the more likely this sneaky bastard will get caught."
Cody and Bastion walked away from the battlefield that night, only having a taste of the organization's will. Little did the young trainer know, that someday, the faction would find a way to invade all of his senses.

You guys wanted Wartortle? You got him!

By the way, check out Xtreme Gamer's community "Pokemon's Best of the Best." He added Storm Warning to his archive, and he has a lot of other good stories there. Check it out!

I did ask Digital Skitty if she'd accept my story, but no response. Maybe she'd listen to you guys? (no, I'm totally not trying to push my story.) Thanks for reading! Until next time…