A/N: Its that time again everybody. Time for a new chapter of Pokémon World Online. Unfortunately, updates will be once a month now. Its college time again so I'll be busy with school stuff. I'll update whenever I get the chance.

"Ren check this out!" Misaki exclaimed, holding a paper in front of me.

After we beat the Canalave gym, we headed to Eternia before continuing on to Snowpoint City. Clair and I were currently eating breakfast at the Pokemon Center in Eterna, when Misaki rushed in with this big news of hers.

"What's got you so hyper this early in the morning?" I asked.

"There's an event coming for the legendary Pokemon Shaymin!" Misaki exclaimed.

"What's a Shaymin?" Clair asked.

"They're a rare legendary Pokemon. But more importantly, they're super cute!" Misaki grinned.

"So what exactly do we need to do?" I asked.

"Apparently the Eterna Woods has a special flower called the Gracedia flower. Anyone who gets one by tomorrow will have a chance to get the legendary Pokemon Shaymin." Misaki explained.

"Then let's get going then!" Clair exclaimed.

We spent most of the day looking all over Eterna Woods. We eventually found a large flower field. In the center was a Gracedia flower. Misaki picked it up and put it in her storage.

"Alright! I got it!" Misaki cheered.

We headed back to Eterna City. It was late afternoon, so we decided to eat dinner and hit the hay.

The next morning however, Misaki was gone. Another 50 or so players had also gone missing as well. The only clue we had was that all of them had gotten a Gacedia flower.

Misaki... where are you?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Misaki POV:

What happened?

I felt groggy as I woke up. The weird thing was that I awoke in a wide meadow. A lot of other players were lying around too. A tall mountain was visible in the distance.

What is going on?

"Mmmmm... where am I?" a sudden voice moaned. Looking next to me I saw a player. She had long black hair, a yellow shirt, and jeans. I felt like I had seen her somewhere before. Suddenly it hit me. She was Dahlia, one of Team Reaper's admins.

"What are you doing here?!" I yelled, getting to my feet.

"I could ask you the same thing." Dahlia responded.

We each grabbed a pokeball but a sudden voiced stopped us.

Please... help...

The voice didn't seem to come from anywhere. It was as if it came from my head.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Is this... telepathy?" Dahlia wondered.

The mountain... corrupted... help...

The voice went silent after that. Dahlia began to walk away.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" I yelled.

"To the mountain. Where else?" Dahlia replied. "Weren't you listening? That voice talked about the mountain. That means we need to go there. If you wanna team up for now, I'm fine with it darling."

"Ok first of all, do not call me darling. Second of all, why the hell should I team up with you? You're with Team Reaper."

"Suit yourself." Dahlia sighed, walking away. I sighed and took a different route towards the mountain.

After about half an hour, I was starting to get low on healing items. The mountain was home to several strong wild pokemon.

As I was walking, I heard rustling in a nearby bush. I took a few steps closer, and a Carnivine came out.

"Here we go again. Let's do this Flareon!" I yelled tossing out my pokeball. "Use flame..." I began to call out an attack, but a bullet seed attack from another Carnivine interrupted me. More and more came out. There were about five in total.

"Crap! Flareon, return!" I ordered, brining Flareon back. I turned and ran. The horde of Carnivine quickly gave chase.

"Geez! Gimme a break!" I complained. As I looked back, I tripped over and fell. The Carnivine closed the distance between us in a few seconds. I screamed in horror, until a certain voice called out.

"Dusknoir, shadow punch!"

A Dusknoir blocked the Carnivines' attacks and sent them back with its fist. Looking over, I saw its trainer. It was Dahlia!

"Don't just sit there! Help!" Dahlia yelled.

"R-Right. Empoleon, let's go!" I yelled. My trusted partner let out a powerful cry.

"Use ice beam!"

A blast came from Empoleon's mouth, freezing the Carnivine. Another attack from Dusknoir finished them off. After quickly catching my breath, I turned to Dahlia.

"Why did you help me?" I glared.

"You know, most people would thank the person that just saved their life." Dahlia countered.

"Not if they're part of Team Reaper. Now answer my question."

"Simple. Because I want you to team up with me for now." Dahlia answered.

"Why?"

"Because you and I both know neither of us will make it up this mountain alone."

She had a point. If I ran into another horde, I might not survive.

"Fine." I agreed. "But do not make me regret it."

"Whatever you say darling." Dahlia winked.

"And stop calling me darling!"

Dahlia and I traveled up the mountain. The weird thing was that I didn't sense any hate or malice from her, unlike the rest of Team Reaper. After an hour, we took a quick rest.

"Hey Dalia, why did you join Team Reaper?" I asked. "You just seem different from the rest of them."

Dahlia sat there for a few seconds before answering.

"To get stronger." she answered.

"Just to get stronger? Then why join a team of PKers?"

"When I started this game, everyone around me was weak. I couldn't find anyone strong. Then Team Reaper showed up. Some of them had huge amounts of skill. They told me I could battle all the strong trainers I want. After all, strength is determined by whether you can beat someone or not."

"But why would you PK players?"

"Back in the real world, I grew up on the streets. They were cruel and unforgiving. I learned that only the strong survive. The weak get tossed away."

Hearing her story was heartbreaking. She had grown up her whole life with hardships. And while she had a point, there was a large flaw in her thinking.

"You're wrong." I told her. "Strength isn't about winning battles. I used to think that way too. But after traveling with Ren, I learned that I was wrong. I've battled so many people, and made so many friends. I think real strength is measured by the amount of friends and rivals you have and how much respect they have for you."

Dahlia sat there, processing all this. After a minute or so, she stood up.

"That's a long enough rest. Let's get going." she said.

I thought about trying to convince her more, but I went against it. This was something she was going to have to decide for herself.

After another hour or so, we finally reached the summit. But something was wrong. The summit was covered with gross slime and dirt. A thick fog with a putrid odor surrounded us. In the distance, I could see a small figure running towards us.

It was a Shaymin!

As Shaymin got closer to us, it tripped over and fell. Dahlia and I ran over to it. It seemed incredibly weak for some reason. Suddenly, a voice came into my head.

The flower... strength... help.

I looked down at Shaymin. Was it the one using telepathy? But what did it mean by flower? The only flower I had was...

"Of course!" I exclaimed.

"What? Did you figure out something?" Dahlia asked.

I opened my menu and scrolled down my item list. I touched one of them, and the Gracedia flower I got yesterday appeared. I gave it to Shaymin, who touched the flower with its nose. Suddenly, Shaymin flashed with a blinding light. When I could see again, the entire area had changed. The corroded filth was replaced with a beautiful scenery of flowers and grass.

"Thank you for helping me cleanse the mountain summit." Shaymin said. This time, it's voice was much stronger. "I owe you a lot. Let me join you on your journey."

I was speechless. This whole scene was incredible.

"What are you waiting for? Catch it." Dahlia said.

"Don't you want it?" I asked.

"Shaymin said it wanted to go with you. Hurry up and catch it already." Dahlia smiled.

"Thanks." I replied. I took out a pokeball and tapped Shaymin with it. After wobbling a little, it clicked.

"I finally did it. I got a legendary pokemon!" I exclaimed. Suddenly Dahlia jerked her head over towards some nearby trees.

"Dahlia? What's..."

"GET DOWN!" she yelled tackling me to the ground. A shadow ball attack passed inches over us.

"Damn you Dahlia! Why did you get in the way?!" a voice growled. Its owner appeared from behind the trees. It was Agatha! At her side were a Mismagius and Drapion.

"You better have a good reason for saving that brat!" Agatha glared.

Dahlia glared back. She was shaking with rage. She chocked out a few words.

"I'm done." Dahlia said softly.

"What was that?" Agatha snarled.

"I SAID I'M DONE KILLING PEOPLE! IT'S NOT MAKING ME STRONGER! ALL IT'S BRINING IS SUFFERING!" Dahlia screamed.

"You traitorous bitch! Fine! I'll just take care of both of you myself!" Agatha yelled.

"Bring it on!" Dahlia countered, sending out her Dusknoir. I sent out Empoleon.

"Mismagius, shadow ball! Drapion, night slash!" Agatha ordered.

"Dusknoir, shadow ball!" Dahlia yelled.

"Empoleon, metal claw!" I called out.

Mismagius and Dusknoir's attacks kept colliding with eachother. Empoleon and Drapion were locked in a standoff of strength. However, Drapion slowly pushed Empoleon back. It finally knocked it aside.

"Now kill her!" Agatha yelled.

Drapion charged at me. Its claw was about to slash me. Suddenly something came in between us. Dahlia shielded me with her body. She fell back into my arms. Her hp was gradually decreasing.

"Dahlia! Why did you save me?" I asked.

"Because you helped me see the truth." Dahlia responded. She returned Dusknoir to its pokeball. She then quickly accessed her menu and shuffled through it. Suddenly a window appeared in front of me. It was a gift request window from Dahlia. There was only one item on it.

Dusknoir

"Take it. Dusknoir is my partner. At least help me let it survive." Dahlia said weakly. Her hp was nearing zero.

"Dusknoir... But why?" I sobbed.

"To try and make up for what I've done." she replied. She grabbed my hand and forced me to tap 'Yes'. The window disappeared and Dusknoir was sent to my box storage. Dahlia's hp finally hit zero.

"No! Dahlia, please!" I begged.

"Please just tell me... one more thing. Was I... strong?" Dahlia asked.

Tears rolled down my face. "Yes. Stronger than anyone I've ever seen." I sobbed with a forced smile.

Dahlia shattered into fragments, but not before uttering one last thing. It echoed with her death.

"Thank you."

"Dahlia... why... DAHLIA!" I cried.

"That's what she gets for being stupid." Agatha smirked. My gaze immediately turned towards her. My eyes were filled with rage.

"You... I'll never forgive you! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" I screamed.

"Like I care." Agatha responded. "Now time to..."

Just as she started to speak, we both became veiled in a white light. An electronic voice spoke up.

"Shaymin event completed. All players will now be returned to the world map."

My vision went white. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in my hotel room.

"I'm back..." I said to myself in a hollow voice. It wasn't long before I started crying into my pillow, mourning Dahlia. After about five minutes, I finally forced myself up. I walked out of my room after I wiped my tears.

I found Ren and Clair in the streets. They asked me what happened. I told them a brief summary, minus Dahlia. Ren was trying his best to keep the horrors of the game away from Clair. I couldn't let her hear the full story. I told Ren everything that happened later when we were alone.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Ren said. "No one should ever have to suffer that much."

I went to bed, shortly after dinner. The next morning, the three of us set out for Snowpoint City. But now I had a new resolve.

Look out Team Reaper. Next time we meet, I'll destroy you. I will make you pay for what happened to Dahlia.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Comments, reviews, and suggestions are always welcome.