"Every friend is a new adventure… The start of more memories." -Patrick Lindsay

This is true in every way of life.

So make the most of it.

Meet new people.

Make new friends.

Life does not last forever.

So make the most of it.

Enjoy Life.

-Orthros

-11 AM, Alex POV-

The harsh light explodes through the cave, blinding the army of poison types and myself as well. The Muk, Venipede, and Grimer screech and retreat a little ways, allowing room for this oddity. Suddenly the light vanishes, leaving without a trace. With my eyes adjusted a moment later, the source is revealed.

Standing in Nicky's place is a Gallade. The psychic type stands still as stone, eyes closed. All the pokemon are silent, except for Athena, the Riolu I rescued. That I am rescuing. She is crying softly, face pushed into my bare chest. The bandages I made from my shirt seem to be holding, but for how much longer, I have no idea.

As I watch, Nicky opens his eyes. He breathes deeply, bringing his long, bladed hands in front of him to see. I notice that I can feel almost no emotion emanating from the Gallade, which makes me slightly nervous. Unfortunately, before I can react, the poison types get over their shock and regroup, screaming a war cry.

Several Muk and Grimer start throwing globs of poison into the fray, and I know that even with his evolution, Nicky won't be able to hold all of them off. Nicky seems to get this as well. I watch in utter shock as he suddenly starts dodging all the moves. He slams to the floor, before vaulting to his feet and weaving around the poison. Something is wrong, however. I sense a growing panic within his mind, and his thoughts filter into my head, most likely without his meaning to do so.

"What the Hell! I can't teleport? No… It's just taking a while to charge. SHIT!"

The last part is accompanied by a scream from his mouth as the horde of Venipede join the fight, launching a gigantic wall of Poison Sting attack at the Gallade. There's absolutely no way to dodge it, and Nicky takes a huge blow, thrown to the ground by the sheer velocity of the endless barrage.

He backs up against a wall, and even from as far away as I am I can see the poisoned outline across his forehead, the various dots of blood from contact with the barbs. Panic rises in my throat and threatens to make me vomit, but by some miracle I manage to choke it down. I yank Nicky's pokeball from my pocket, fumble with the button.

The Muk launch a gigantic wave of poison at Nicky just as the beam hits. With Nicky returned, I exchange the pokeball for an unoccupied one as I turn and race down the tunnel as fast as my feet can carry me. I hear the Poison Types get over their confusion and start to give chase, but I have a good head start. The problem is that I have absolutely no idea where I'm going.

As I'm running, trying not to give in to my burning legs, I speak to Athena. "I need to put you in a pokeball, Athena. Please, or I won't be able to run fast enough." I can tell she doesn't like the idea, but at this point she's so wounded that there isn't much she can do about it. I tap the empty pokeball on her head and she too disappears in a flash of red light. After a moment, the device rings with a successful capture.

-45 Minutes Later (12 Noon), Alex POV-

Arceus must have been guiding me, because I somehow made it out of the sewers without being caught by the poison types. Unfortunately, my luck never holds. Now I'm stuck in the crevice. I can see a service ladder about one hundred feet away. As I bolt to it, I hear the roar of the giant Muk behind me, and instinctively duck. A blob of poison shoots over my head, into the ladder. The moment it hits, the ladder melts into a puddle of goo, steaming and smoking.

That Gunk Shot was way more powerful then it should have been. Because of course it is. Jeez, I hate my luck. I continue running, jumping and barely avoiding the pool of acid. The army seems to be gaining ground, and I take a quick peek behind me, noting them about twenty feet behind.

Then I turn back around and slam into a wall.

My momentum is all lost as I smash face first into the concrete foundation, I fall to the ground with spots dancing in my vision. My nose feels warm, and in my dazed state I feel it gushing blood. Must be broken. I shake off my shock and turn around, leaning against the wall, which I notice to be next to the giant grate that signals the next step in cleaning the sewer water. The band of Muk, Grimer and Venipede stop about fifteen feet away, and they almost appear to be gawking, laughing at me.

The sight should have been terrifying. After all, I was about to have all my skin burned off by acidic poison. Instead, all I feel is an overwhelming anger. I rise to my feet, dizzy but upright nonetheless. I wipe the nose blood from my mouth and speak.

"You bastards… I was only trying to protect an injured Riolu… Now she and my brother Nicky will die with me. Why don't you leave us…?" I say, almost slurring my words slightly. My head pounds, and I'm pretty damn sure I have a concussion.

Oddly enough, the Muk back off for a moment, almost considering my words. Just when I think I'm going to actually get out of this, They look back and roar. Suddenly the whole group slings Sludge Bombs and Poison Stings at me. An impossible to avoid wave of death. I close my eyes… but nothing happens.

Out of nowhere, a metallic roar screams in my ears. I open my eyes to see a giant, snake like pokemon made out of what appears to be solid steel. A Steelix.

"Nice job, Steelix! Now, use Flash Cannon! Skarmory, get the kid up here!" I hear a voice yell. It sounds like it's above me, and I look up just in time to see a Skarmory's claws, wrapped in duct tape, grab my shoulders. Out of nowhere I'm lifted into the air, in a sharp but bearable grip. The duct tape must be protecting my arms from Skarmory's claws… I momentarily thought to myself.

We quickly rise out of the crevice, watching over the battle taking place below us. Ok, maybe battle isn't a good word for it. Perhaps "massacre" or "total domination" would be better terms. The Steelix roars and smashes the poison army around, their moves having no effect on his body whatsoever. Silver colored beams are fired at the strongest ones in the group, and I could tell they were extremely effective. By the time I was released on the ground above the wall, the battle was over, and the last of the Venipede could be seen running into the pipes.

I stumble slightly as I drop a couple of feet, but an arm comes out of nowhere and keeps me steady.

"Woah, there. Steady now. Let's get you to the Pokemon Center before you drop, shall we?" I take a momentary look at the person who saved me. At first glance, she appeared in her late teens, with a large amount of light brown hair supported by two orange beads, with pale skin and a plain white dress. She smiles at me.

"My name's Jasmine! What's yours?"

"Alex… ugh." I say, before my legs buckle. I would have fallen if she hadn't caught me, and the last thought I had before I lost consciousness was that this Jasmine girl was extremely strong.

-4 PM, Terry POV-

"Where the heck is Alex?!" I say, shaking my head, frustrated. Angel stands behind me, nervous but just letting me rant. The Gardevoir was helping me search for our traveling companion, who was supposed to be back hours ago. We're just outside the City Circle, trying to decide where to go next.

"Let's try west, Angel. Perhaps he went to a park over that way." I say. She telepathically agrees with me, and the pair of us walk and float, side by side, through the Circle. Many people stare at us, particularly Angel, but no one causes trouble. We exit the Circle, and I make a mental note to congratulate Angel on almost conquering her fear of crowds later. She's been doing great, helping me search without complaint for the last three hours. As we near the end of the main street we chose, I hear the blaring TV's from an electronics store come on.

The ones in the window show a news report. A news anchorwoman stares into the camera, a look of nerves professionally hidden behind her makeup and control.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. This is channel six news network, bringing you a breaking news report. Police officers responded moments ago to a shots fired call at the 'Cleffa Cafe,' where witnesses and victims are left utterly shocked by the events that occurred mere moments ago." The camera changes to a security camera shot of a black van ramming into the building, and the woman narrates. "This van, witnesses say, was driven by Team Plasma recruits. The terrorists proceeded to raid the shop, killing eight pokemon and two teenage girls on their crime spree." The battle spills into the street, where two grunts are holding a gun to a captured Eevee's head. Suddenly another shot is fired, and the grunt with the gun drops.

The woman continues. "Witnesses say a man in his late twenties ran out from the women's bathroom where he had taken refuge. The person proceeded to pull out a shotgun and fired upon the grunt, killing him. A moment later, he tackles and defeats the other grunt." After this, a moment passes before a feminine scream is heard, sounding like a pokemon. "WItnesses say this scream was made by none other than a Shiny Braixen, whom survivors of the initial raid heard the man call 'Tana.' We switch now to a police cruiser's dash cam as he pulls up on the scene, before joining a car chase."

The camera angle turns to a grainy dashcam image of an officer's cruiser. It captures the form of a Braixen with purple fur, being thrown forcefully into the back of the black van. The van's driver pays no attention to the officers orders to stop, instead barrels down the road. Right before the officer can pursue, a black sports car barrels in out of nowhere and screeches to a stop. Another guy in his late twenties yells something like "ZEKE! GET IN!" Moments before the man, Zeke, wrenches open the passenger door and jumps inside, rolling down the window and starting to aim his shotgun outside it as the door closes.

The cruiser follows closely behind the sports car, and by comparison of drivers, the sports car driver must be a magician, fitting through the smallest of corners and keeping up pretty well. Suddenly Zeke takes aim and fires his shotgun. Over the sound of the officer yelling "shots fired" into his mic, a huge crash is heard as the bullets find their mark in the back right tire of the fleeing vehicle, causing it to veer out of control.

The camera captures the next scene as the two men jump out of their car, both wielding shotguns. The driver yells "OUT, OUT OF THE FUCKING CAR, NOW!" As he pulls the driver door open. He's faced with a pistol, but with expertise that suggest years of combat training, he ducks and smashes his shotgun's barrel into the driver's hand, forcing him to drop the weapon. He mutters something, before firing a single shot. The driver, another Team Plasma grunt, falls out of the driver door, a bullet in his head.

More screams, sounding like those for help, are heard from the trunk. Zeke smashes the butt of his rifle against the lock, but it does nothing.

"BASTARD, damn thing is tougher than I thought. Craig get this thing opened." He yells. A moment later, Craig positions himself on top of the trunk, placing the barrel of his shotgun against the lock in such a way that the bullets will move away from the car after fired. He lets off another shot, and the lock is busted open. The trunk opens and moments later Zeke is hugging the Braixen, who appears shocked but unharmed. The camera returns to the Anchorwoman.

"Zeke and Craig were both released from Police custody moments ago, after having cleared their attacks in self defense. Tana was evaluated by Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center, and only suffered minor injuries. The two plasma grunts await judgement. Zeke and Craig refused to comment on the attack, returning to the Pokemon Center as I speak. More developments will be reported as uncovered. Channel Six, signing off."

The TV returns to a cartoon and I look at Angel. "You don't think…" I can't finish the thought. Angel shakes her head.

"Only two teenage female humans got killed. Alex wasn't there. We should head back to the Center though, before things ge-" The TV flares up again. "You gotta be kidding me…" Angel mutters.

"Channel Six, back again, this time with Jasmine, a visiting Gym Leader from Johto. Larry has more on the matter." The Anchorwoman says. The camera changes to reveal a reporter in his mid thirties, standing next to a girl that appears in her late twenties, wearing a white dress and supporting a large amount of light brown hair on her head, supported by two beads.

"Thanks, Alyssa. Jasmine, you're visiting from Johto, and if I hear correctly, you're a Steel Type Gym Leader, correct?" She just nods. "You had another interesting story to explain, and it would probably detail the blood staining your dress. Please, enlighten us."

"Well, Larry, I came up from Johto following a request from the manager of Castelia Sewers. A large band of Poison Type Pokemon have taken refuge in the sewers, making it impossible to work down there. Since Steel types are unaffected by Poison, I was requested to come down and help flush them out so they can be relocated. As I was approaching the crevice, a ten year old boy came running out. He was shirtless and covered in blood, although he had no visible injuries." A picture of the boy came up, showing him semiconscious. My heart almost stopped. It was Alex. "He was running from the poison types, and ended up smashing into the wall, breaking his nose and possibly getting a concussion. At that point, the poison types surrounded him, and he backed against the wall. The poison types started laughing and taunting him. Angered by the jeering, the boy got unsteadily to his feet and started talking. A surveillance camera caught the whole speech."

The camera switches to a scene of a small army of Poison Types surrounding Alex, who was cornered by a wall and part of the steep crevice. He rises to his feet, wiping blood from his shattered nose and speaks.

"You bastards… I was only trying to protect an injured Riolu… Now she and my brother Nicky will die with me. Why don't you leave us…?"

The camera captures the momentary confusion from the army, before they fling a wave of poisonous death at Alex. It's blocked at the last moment by a Steelix appearing from one of the two pokeballs Jasmine threw. The other revealed a Skarmory, and the pair of pokemon defended Alex while Jasmine was seen running off camera. A minute later, she returns, carrying a pad of duct tape. She wraps Skarmory's claws and orders him to rescue Alex. The boy faints in her arms shortly after the rescue is completed, the Steelix having successfully forced the Poison Types to retreat. The camera turns to a live feed of an emergency room, where a Gallade and an oddly colored Riolu lay on beds, both being treated for severe wounds.

"Alex woke up long enough to explain both his side of the story and the oddity of Riolu's coloring to the press and police, before passing out from exhaustion."

The camera stays on the anchorman, but the audio changes, revealing Alex's voice. He sound strained. "Nicky, the Gallade, and I found a trainer who was yelling at an injured Riolu. He was talking about experiments Team Plasma had done, which turned her originally shiny coloring to this. Something about losing an easy battle. He threatened his pokemon and had absolutely no love for her. He smashed her pokeball and left. After that, we tried to help, but she was quick enough to catch me off guard and sucker punch me. We ended up chasing her for over two hours, ending up at Castelia Sewers. Nicky, still a Kirlia at the time, teleported us into the sewers. We proceeded to follow the Riolu's thought waves through the sewers, trying not to wake the dozens of pokemon we passed. We arrived in a large room, where the Riolu was conscious but unable to move, in a pool of blood. I tore my shirt into homemade bandages to stem the bleeding. I named her Athena. As Nicky and I were about to leave, we were surrounded by poison types, I guess they woke up." He says, before pausing for several seconds.

Another voice speaks up. "You need to rest, tell us later."

"No," Alex says quickly. "I want to finish. People need to know… Nicky teleported Athena and I behind the poison types. They all attacked him, and I can still see what happened next so clearly... " He sounds excited slightly, though still exhausted. "I dug through my pocket and flung the shard of Dawn Stone that we had won in a battle yesterday to him. He evolved right then and there. His nimbleness as a Gallade enabled him to avoid the attacks for a while longer, but the Venipede all shot him with poison stings. I returned him to this pokeball at the last possible second, and started running. I captured Athena in another pokeball so I could run faster and so she would be protected. I ran off and on for about forty five minutes before I got outside, and… someone named Jasmine saved me…? After that, I don't remember anything."

The audio ends and Larry the reporter speaks up. "Wow… So much happening today, and two, even three shiny pokemon reported in Castelia City at one time! Interesting… But what was it that Alex wanted us to know about?"

Jasmine speaks up, her voice hard. "He wanted the public to know what Team Plasma was doing. If his story is correct, and I've no doubt that it is, then Team Plasma is experimenting on Shiny Pokemon. They need to be stopped, as soon as possible."

Larry nods, glancing at Jasmine for a split second with a similar expression on his face, before returning to his professional attitude. "And there you have it, folks. Quite a day this is turning out to be. Back to you, Alyssa."

"Thanks, Larry. In other news…" I listen no longer, turning to stare at Angel, wide eyed.

"You're Terry, then?" Someone speaks up. I shake off my shock to see a small crowd had gathered behind us. The speaker looked like another reporter, but he turned off his camera. "If the stories are true, your Gardevoir Angel here can teleport. You two should get your asses down to the pokemon Center."

"Uhh… Right! Thanks!" I say confusedly, still having trouble concentrating. I glance at Angel, who nods. Placing my hand upon her shoulder, I close my eyes as I'm engulfed in white light. Moments later, we arrive at the pokemon center, where several news vans are parked outside. A split second later somebody recognizes us, and we're swamped with cameras and mics. I feel Angel panic and push out a weak psychic force, pushing everyone back a bit.

I speak up before the crowd gets over their shock, putting on a pissed off look. "Yeah, I did that. Back the fuck off, neither of us are in the mood. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to my best friend, Alex." I state, before pushing Angel softly on the back. She quickly gets the idea and heads inside.

Inside, I quickly see Nurse Joy talking to Callen. We head over, ignoring the sea of eyes turning our way. Callen sees us and almost falls over with relief.

"Oh, thank Arceus you're here. Angel, they need you in back. That Riolu has seconds left unless you heal the worst of her wounds!" Angel seems taken aback, but nods. Callen rushes down a side door, ignoring the shouts of the security guy he knocked over. Angel follows, floating right on his heels. I sigh heavily, scared for my friends. I glance at Nurse Joy, but she speaks up before me.

"Alex suffered only minor injuries. Nicky the Gallade suffered ninety three puncture wounds from Poison Stings, creating severe blood loss and poisoning. He is currently resting and being tube fed pecha berries. The Riolu, Athena, suffered extremely severe blood loss, as well as trauma from being handled by humans. She only cooperated when Alex came into the room. She's resting up, and I'm assuming now that your partner Angel is here, she will make a full recovery, due to her Heal Pulse move." She finishes kindly. I nod my head slowly.

Suddenly the Pokemon Center doors burst open. I wheel around and see the two men from the news earlier, Zeke and Craig. They lock eyes with me, and I recoil slightly. One of Zeke's eyes looks dark red and black, similar to and Umbreon's. I can only assume he understands the look because he sighs heavily.

"Ignore the eye, please. Are you Terry Collins?" He asks. As he does, a purple furred Braixen, looking nervous, strides up to stand beside Zeke. The man puts and arm on her shoulder, around her neck, hugging the pokemon slightly.

I furrow my eyebrows, nervous. "Yes. Why would you want to know?"

The other man, Craig, speaks up. "This is not a good place to talk. Come with us."

They turn and proceed to walk out the doors, pausing in the exit when they realized I haven't moved.

I speak up. "I'm not moving an inch until I know my friends will live." Craig responds by pulling a shotgun from it's holster across his back.

"We don't have time for games. I promise you we're on the same side, but if I have to force you to talk to us believe me I will." He says menacingly, pointing the gun at me.

The Center goes silent at the standoff, onlookers slowly backing away. I feel my blood start to boil at this comical act, as the fear in my heart as I looked for Alex starts to pour out of me. I can feel the very air radiating as my power starts to leak out of me, almost like heat rippling off a cement road. Zeke beats me to the reaction, though.

He grabs the shotgun and rips it out of Craig's hands, to the disbelief of his partner. Taking a moment to flip the safety switch on the gun, he drops the weapon to the ground and kicks it. It slides across the ground and ends up at my feet. He does the same for his own gun.

"There. You're armed, we're not. I promise, no matter how stupid my friend here is, we do want you on our side." Zeke says, shooting a look at his friend. "If you don't trust us, at least let us say our side of the story. We have the same enemies." He finishes, taking a badge from his pocket. It's charred from fire damage, but there's no mistaking the Team Plasma logo on the front. He drops this on the floor, too, and steps on it, shattering the pin to bits.

I consider this, and read their minds. I sense no lies from either side, but I'm still nervous. I think a show of force will keep them in line, just in case... But at the same time, I hesitate. I don't want to overdo it, especially with the recent increase...

I make up my mind. Concentrating, the whole crowd gasps as I raise a hand, whose finger tips, along with my eyes, are glowing light blue. Both shotguns raise on their own accord, simultaneously hitting their safeties off and pointing themselves at the men. I speak up.

"Fine. We'll talk. But we are going to a location of my choice, not yours." I state, leaving no room for discussion.

Zeke nods, looking pretty damn calm for someone being faced by two floating shotguns. "That's fine, as long as it's private." With that said, I turn on heel, and without a word march down the hallway, toward my hotel room allowed by the Center. The two men follow behind me at a respectable distance. I gaze farther into their minds, and get a shock that almost makes me stop. I turn around, walking backwards and staring hard at Zeke.

"You're part Umbreon?" I ask him. Blood drains from his face, which is holding a shocked expression.

"Y-yes, but how did you know?" He asks wearily.

"I can read minds, Zeke. I've been trying to see if I can truly trust you two." I state as we continue walking, turning the corner and finally getting out of sight of the cameras. Immediately, I return the guns to their hands.

I continue, though slightly hesitant. I hadn't admitted this to anyone, but I would rather have these bastards fear me, at least until I can trust them."You two should know that even before my partner Gardevoir, Angel, evolved from a Kirlia to a Gardevoir, I was already one of the most powerful psychic trainers on the planet. Since she evolved, however, my telekinetic abilities have increased so dramatically that it's more scary than it is cool. I'm only sixteen, but I've matured pretty damn quick. So you should know that while I would rather not kill anyone, so help me if I even sense a little bit of betrayal I will rip your bodies in half." I finish, glaring at the men with hatred.

In truth, I'm not sure why I feel so angry at the pair of them. Perhaps they just showed up at a bad time. Nonetheless, I'm not regretting it, at least not yet. I continue, although I feel like it's more to try to explain the Hell hole I feel that I've gotten myself into to myself rather then them. "I did the math while Angel was unconscious. There is no way I should have been able to keep us from falling to our deaths, keep us from becoming a grease spot on the floor of the Gym." I state, folding my arms and staring out the window of my hotel room.

The pair of them exchange glances, obviously sure that I'm not bluffing. I sigh. "I don't know what to think at this point, but you were telling the truth about Team Plasma being a common enemy. Now do me a favor and explain this. Just don't piss me off. I've had enough control issues lately."

(Author's Note: Things just got real. Again, for more information leading up to Zeke and Craig, read "The Red Sky" by Zenxolu here on FanFiction. He's got four chapters out, and at this point you should read all of them to get a good understanding of the events leading to this. As Zenxolu and myself are doing a sort of crossover on our stories, At the beginning of each "Gardevoir, My Angel" or "The Red Sky" chapter, we will let you know how far you need to be caught up on the other story to be able to understand the events that you will read about. At this point, you should go read Chapters 1-4 of "The Red Sky" before you continue on with chapter XV of "Gardevoir, My Angel.")

Good Luck, and Happy Reading! -Orthros