[X] My Assistant

[Umbrae Calamitas]

”That was an awesome, awesome battle!” Ashleigh declared, happily dancing as he followed Tuesday and the other quiet girl. ”We did really, really good, huh? I really liked your glow-y paw trick! It was pretty! Could you teach me to do that! No, probably not, huh, ‘cuz that’s Aura and I don’t have Aura. I have the power of-“ He struck a sudden pose. ”Awesome!”

Zorro, rather than be disturbed by Ashleigh’s hyperness or annoyed at the questions he wasn’t given a chance to answer, was grinning.

”We did bueno,” he agreed, running backwards for a time to keep Ashleigh in his sight. ”Mi hermana teach us bueno, no?”

Ashleigh shook his head wildly from side to side. ”I dunno what you’re saying, but okay!” His tongue lolled out, dripping saliva in the snow, as he and Zorro grinned at each other.

~*~

Traveling through the snow had proved to be mildly difficult. Although most of the snow had surged into the halls in such a way as to pack together tightly now that they were settling, there were still pockets of air beneath some of the snow that both Tuesday and Lizzie seemed prone to fall into. Their pokemon, on the other hand, had less trouble.

“I suppose it’s because their weight concentration is more evenly distributed,” Tuesday said thoughtfully. “We have too heavy a focus on two sharp points.” She glanced down at her feet, thinking. She could do an article about that…

They continued on, however, and eventually, despite fumbling, falling, and sliding, they ended up in the corridor where they had chosen their room.

Unfortunately, it appears that they would be delayed yet further.

“The snow’s covering all of the doors, crap,” Tuesday said, scowling. She hadn’t anticipated this, but she supposed it was to be expected. There had be an avalanche.

“Idiot,” she scolded herself softly, and then stepped forward, calm and thoughtful. “Well, I guess we’re digging them out.”

[Dragava]

The walk though the snow was uneventful to Lizzie. There was some slipping, sinking, and cold toes, but that didn't faze her too much.
Lizzie reached the corridor where she and Tuesday had chosen her rooms. There was snow blocking the doors, but Lizzie felt that it would not be too much trouble to dig it out. It was clear that Tuesday was not thinking the same way as she was from the scowl and her tone of voice.

"We both have fire-types, Melting some snow can't be too hard," Lizzie explained. Regardless of Tuesday's reply, she told Charmander to use Flamethrower on the snow in front of her room door. It was a good thing she chose a room in an easy-to-remember spot.

It took a while, but the snow was finally clear. Lizzie thought that her Charmander might be tired, so she recalled it for a rest. It was true that she and Tuesday would have to travel in a darker environment now, but keeping her strongest pokemon well-rested was essential.

Lizzie took a deep breath and opened the door to her room. It looked like the snow did not do much, if any, damage to it. It was easy for her to find all of her belongings and she found herself heading out of the room much sooner than expected. Lizzie leaned on the door she closed behind her, waiting for Tuesday. There WAS safety in numbers, after all.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tuesday bit her lip hard to keep from saying anything when Lizzie had her charmander begin to melt the snow. She didn't want to tell the girl that she had known that would force the white mass away from the doors, but had been afraid to try it. Of course, she knew that there wasn't enough snow in this area to cause a massive flood, the prospect of being surrounded by water still terrified her. It was an irrational fear, and she stood watching the snow melt for a time, until she was sure that the amount of water wouldn't grow exponentially and drown her.

Shuddering, she turned quickly to face her own iced-over room before Lizzie could see her. Wiping the tears from her eyes that threatened to fall out of shame and terror, she motioned Ashleigh forward. "Use ember, Ashleigh. Let's get the door clear."

The houndoom wasted no time in obeying, fire erupting from his throat and striking the snow and ice. It immediately began to melt, water running down the door and walls. Tuesday took a small step back, shivering. The cold she could handle. The ice and snow was easy to deal with. Water, however, had terrified her ever since that incident when she was young, and the only time she ever felt remotely safe around it was when her brother was near - either Brone or Jaima.

I hate this, she thought darkly to herself. Weak.

She heard Lizzie's door open and the girl walk into her own room, and after some more careful ember attacks, Tuesday was able to reach the doorknob and push open her own door.

She stepped inside to find the room dry and warm, in comparison to the hall they had just been in.

Both of her pokemon were out of the pokeballs, waiting for her. Tempest was sitting on top of the bookcase, watching her closely. Dante was curled up on the bed, his tail wrapped around the egg to keep it warm.

A third pokemon, however, was waiting for her, as well.

Tuesday recognized the bird as a Xatu - a psychic/flying pokemon. It was standing on something hard that had been set down on the bed, and it was staring blanket at her, its wings folded over the front of its body like a cloak. Both of its eyes were glowing slightly, but as Tuesday watched, the glow faded and it finally did look at her.

"Xa," it said, and opened its wings. It then folded its right wing over its body and pointed to the left with the other. Tuesday blinked at it. "Xa tu atu," the bird said, pointed again to the left, and then down.

"You... want us to go that way?" Tuesday asked, pointing in the same direction. The xatu pointed downward. "And then down."

"Xa." The bird folded its wings over its body and nodded its head, its eyes closed.

"Thank you," Tuesday said, thoughtfully.

It opened its right eye and looked at her. "Tu." There was a flicker, and then the xatu teleported away.

Tuesday stepped forward to see what it had been standing on. It was a book.

"Dante's Inferno. How fitting," she mused. On a whim, she picked the book up and slid it into her messenger bag, before grabbing her backpack from the room and slipping it on. She found both Tempest and Dante's pokeballs and then turned to her pokemon.

"All right, I can't have all of you out, I can only have two. And someone needs to carry the egg."

Dante and Zorro looked at each other, the two most capable of carrying the egg. True, Dante's fires would keep the egg warm, but his skin, naturally hotter than even Ashleigh's, would make walking even more dangerous. With a sigh, he handed the egg to Zorro and was recalled.

Tempest took one look at Zorro and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away with a sharp "Chu!"

Tuesday sighed. "You two are ridiculous. Tempest, he didn't even do anything." But she recalled the pikachu without a fight, leaving Zorro carrying the egg and Ashleigh sitting calmly waiting for commands.

"All right, come on." Tuesday stepped out of the room, followed by her two pokemon. She found Lizzie waiting for her.

"I had a mild encounter with one of the psychic pokemon I think are helping us," Tuesday told the girl. She pointed left down the hallway - the way that they had just come. "The xatu said that we should go this way, and then downward, so it looks like we're going back. I'm hoping it told us that because we're going to run into some more people." With that, Ashleigh took the lead to watch for danger, and Zorro walked beside Tuesday, carrying the egg as they made their way back down the corridor.

[Dragava]

Lizzie was glad that they were being helped. She was a little confused as to why the psychic pokemon did not Teleport both of them, but said nothing.

Lizzie made her way down the dark corridor in silence. Her cloths were slightly damp from the melting the snow in front of her room,, but that did not bother her too much. She came from Sinnoh, a relatively cool region, which may be why she has a certain degree of tolerance to the cold. Or maybe it was the sweatshirt she rarely took off.

The Riolu on Lizzie's shoulder looked at Tuesday, Zorro and the egg. She worried that they might be feeling a little cold in her trainers place.

"Wow, that's an interesting egg. You are not too cold, are you?"

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Zorro glanced back at the riolu and grinned, holding the egg close to his body and keeping it warm with his fur and natural heat. "No, I no cold." He glanced at Tuesday, and then at Ashleigh not walking too far ahead and glancing back every now and then. "Mi hermana have perro demonio to... ah... ah - keep. To keep warm. Sí!" He nodded sharply, grinning.

He turned around until he was walking backwards, so that he could face the riolu as he spoke to her. Still, he kept in step with Tuesday.

"Where you come from?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "I from Carello cuevas. Mi hermana find me. I catch self." He grinned proudly at such an accomplishment.

Zorro remembered quite well how the sparkly boy and the fire-headed girl had fought over who would catch him, and how he had avoided all attempts. His hermana had been reluctant to try, and only now that he knew her and could look back did Zorro understand that she hadn't wanted them to be mad at her, but also, and mostly, because she hadn't agreed in fighting a pokemon into unconsciousness before capturing it. She hadn't done it yet, and Zorro didn't imagine that she ever would. Not his hermana.

~*~

The third time that Tuesday slipped, she finally decided to say something.

"Ashleigh, you need to slow down just a little bit." She smiled at the houndoom as he glanced back at her. "We're running on two legs here, and we don't have the balance."

Baring his teeth at her in a grin, Ashleigh, in his defense, did slow down. Tuesday scowled at the exaggerated motion of him lifting his paw off of the ground and watching her face expectantly as he ever-so-slowly placed it down on the ice again.

"May you slip and fall and crush your ego," Tuesday said to him. His let his tongue loll out with a grin. He turned around, however, to face the front, when Tuesday's eyes focused on something beyond him.

Their entire group stopped to stare at the trial before them.

There was a set of stairs that led downward, where they needed to go according to the xatu, but they were completely coated in ice.

"This... could be hazardous," Tuesday noted, and then kicked herself for being so obviously stupid.

Ashleigh barked at her and, with a grin, leapt from the landing out onto the stairs. Tuesday yelled his name, but there was no way for him to stop his icy descent. The ice, thick and well above the edges of the stairs, was a perfect ramp which he slid down with ease. Throwing his head back, he howled loud and long - an eerie, haunting and demonic sound that echoed up and down the stairs and through the whole castle.

Tuesday stared down after him, frowning. "Well... I suppose it's better than climbing a mountain." She turned to her companion. "What do you think, Lizzie?"

[Dragava]

"Ah..." Riolu took a moment to decode what Zorro was saying. "I was lost and I passed out, and Lizzie found me. I don't remember how I got lost..." Thinking back, Riolu did not remember much. She must have been really young.

Lizzie was walking slowly because she did not want to overtake Tuesday. The added bonus was the reduced slipping chance, which Lizzie noticed when Tuesday told Ashleigh to slow down. She grinned at the Houndoom's exaggeration, wondering what it would be like to have a pokemon like that.

As the party reached the stairs, the stairs were coated in ice. Ashleigh slid down easily, and howled eerily again.

"Which is more slippery, water or ice?" she replied. She noticed that the ice was partially melted because of Ashleigh's body as he slid down, but it was quick to freeze again. " I think that fire attacks may burn the stairs though..." She mumbled to herself.

"Charmander!" The pokeball bounced off a convenient wall, and Charmander broke free. "Walk down the stairs." Charmander looked surprised. It decided that it was safe to walk after seeing Ashleigh at the bottom of the stairs. The ice melted from its tail flame, but not enough for a slip-free trip.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"I'm not sure that's going to be safe," Tuesday noted.

Trying to use a flamethrower on the icy stairs might only succeed in setting them on fire. As they were now, only half-melted, walking down them could be treacherous, and Tuesday was also worried about dropping the egg. Already she had dropped it once during their run from the steelix and cracked it. She wasn't sure if it could survive another drop.

Zorro tapped on her arm, and when she looked at him, he made a sliding motion with his right paw, holding the egg gently with his left.

"You still think we should slide down, Zorro?" He nodded, glancing at the stairs. "They're melted now, though."

Tuesday felt silly for not thinking of it, as Zorro tapped the pokeball on her belt containing h only water pokemon. To be fair, however, she rarely thought of using water attacks if she could help it, and she was a little stressed out at the moment.

At Zorro's tapping, the pokeball burst open and Odysseus flipped in the air to land behind Zorro, looking around. Grinning, the riolu turned to him. "Captain," he said in greeting, saluting smartly.

The buizel grinned at him. "'ey, lad. Seems the lass is in a right tizzy. Wha's the trick?"

"They think melting ice ayudar, pero stairs icy still."

"So they are, lad. And what are ye suggestin' I do 'bout i'?"

"Freezey-breath," Zorro said with a grin. Odysseus gave him a strange look. "If you make smooth, they slide, sí?"

"All righty, lad, I got ye." Odysseus walking to the landing and stared down. "I c'n smell ye down thar ye great slobberin' furball!" he yelled at Ashleigh. There was a barking laugh that rose up to meet him. "Git out o' the way, unless ye wan'te be a mutt-cicle!"

Odysseus waited about three seconds, before he glanced back at Zorro and winked. "I'll give ye a slide, laddie." With that, he let loose with an Aqua Jet, surrounded himself with water before spinning and shooting down the stairs.

There was a clamber a few moments later, when the buizel landed on the ground and righted himself, but the lot of them were more concerned with what he had done to the stairs.

His Aqua Jet, spinning and shooting water in all directions, had frozen not only the stairs but the walls and ceiling around it. They stared at a cylindrical hole of ice - a giant slide.

Tuesday turned when Zorro tapped on her arm. He grinned at her, and then pointed down the slide.

Tuesday sighed and looked back at Lizzie. "I guess we're sliding after all," she said. She sat down at the top of the slide and stared down. "You know I can't see the bot- AH! Zorro! You pushed me!" she yelled, as she went sliding down the stairs. She'd admit later that the ride was incredibly smooth, the ice perfectly distributed so as to keep the slide from being bumpy or hurting them. The only complaint that Tuesday had was that her butt was now wet.

And that Zorro had pushed her.

Much to her surprise, the bottom leveled out, Odysseus clearly having taken the time to make certain they didn't go flying at the hard ground. She slid to a stop on her back, to find him staring down at her with an amused expression.

"Have you ever thought of going into construction?" she asked him lightly. He chuckled in response.

"Ri olu lu lu lu o!" Zorro cried in delight, as he came sliding down the stairs. The egg was clasped protectively against his chest, as he slid down right into Tuesday's arms. "Can we do that again?" he asked, grinning.

Tuesday looked back up the slide, but she couldn't see the top, the ice bending in a way that prohibited it.

"Come on down, Lizzie," she called. "It's not bad at all."

[Dragava]

"Okay," Lizzie said, a little upset that her idea did not work. It was the only thing she could have attempted, however, with the limited movesets and abilities of her party.

Riolu insisted that she slide down first, which she did. She called to Lizzie, as if telling her that she was missing out by not sliding. it wasn't too long after when Lizzie slid down silently. She brushed herself off at the bottom of the slide. The dampness on her but was annoying, but there was one thing t be happy about; they were almost at their goal. Lizzie recalled her Charmander and got up. If she remembered correctly, there was only a straight hallway left to cross.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Okay, the xatu said to go back the way we came and down, but he didn't specify beyond that," Tuesday noted. "So... this is just a bit of a predicament."

They stood standing at a crossroad of halls, which was rather odd, really. Roads were easily seen as branching off into a Y, but to see two corridors doing it was just a little odd.

In normal circumstances, Tuesday wouldn't have been bothered by choosing a hall at random, but she couldn't see the ends of them because the corridors turned outward at a curve, and since there had been an avalanche, there was no telling where they might end up, or what they might end up in.

"When all else fails, follow your nose." That had always been Brone's suggestion, but Tuesday thought that he was just a little too fond of that scene in Lord of the Rings, never mind that it had been the first movie he'd ever seen, watching it through Cassandra's eyes. A pity he couldn't take the time to read the book, which was, of course, much better.

"Well," Tuesday said, completely forgetting that she had a companion who was not privy to her internal memories or thoughts, "I suppose it's good advice, at any rate." She looked down at the houndoom, sitting at her feet with his tongue lolling out and tail wagging. "Either way smell clearer to you, Ashleigh?"

The large dog looked up at him, sloppily flapped his tongue up to lick his nose, and then started sniffing the air in either direction. With a bark, he leapt to his feet and bolted down the corridor that ran to the right.

"Hey!" Tuesday called after him. "Slow down!"

She raced down the hall after him, not at all keeping up with him. Zorro raced at her side and she could hear Lizzie coming behind her. She could smell something pleasant on the air, not quite a perfume, but more like a fresh breeze. A feeling of dread and worry filled her suddenly, and she glanced over at Zorro in concern - she'd suffered similar feelings before. The riolu had a disturbed look on his face and he was slowing in his steps, even though he looked like he wanted to speed up.

"Zorro, what is it?" she asked, slowing slightly.

"Bad."

The word came into her mind abruptly and left just as quick, an understanding that occurred only in the rarest of occasions. It was a sign, of course, that something wasn't right - the arrival of the ability again, as well as the word. Still, she was confused.

She was about to ask for clarification, when she got it from someone else.

A roar called her attention toward the space of the corridor they had not yet reached, followed by a sharp yelp that grabbed Tuesday's attention even more than the threatening cry. Ashleigh was cowering, his tail dropped between his legs, his body quivering and a bruise forming on his skull. An ursaring stood in front of him, roaring, and clearly not happy.

"Oh, shards."

[Dragava]

As Lizzie followed Tuesday, she noticed a nice smell in the air. It smelled a bit like home. Riolu was moving restlessly on Lizzie's shoulders. Was she homesick? Perhaps it would have been better if Riolu stayed behind in Floraoma.

But, then again, I think Riolu would have insisted to come anyway, Lizzie thought to herself. She remembered the time when a cloud of hophip floated by. Riolu was the first one to notice. On the days when the drifloon visit the Valley windworks, Riolu would run there and, sometimes, drag a wounded one home. She would look at Lizzie with pleading eyes. Lizzie would always agree to help, but of all the pokemon she had ever helped, only Riolu stuck with her. It was strange, really. Maybe she had something the adventures little pokemon never had; a place to return to. That did explain why Riolu was nowhere in the middle of winter.

Lizzie was still in a good mood when she saw the Ursaring. Judging by the way Ashleigh was cowering, it was a pretty strong one.

"Shall we run?" Lizzie asked. She felt strangely at home, as if Furoh was just a dream and everyone was actually someone she knew.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Shall we run?"

Tuesday shook her head sharply. "No. You never turn your back on a wild pokemon - especially an angry one. It's an invitation for attack, and foolish, at best." She grabbed the pokeball at her belt that was bound to Ashleigh and attempted to recall him. The ursaring, however, continued to roar and move in her way, prohibiting her from recalling the houndoom, who had an unpleasant look on his face. The bruise on his skull was already a sickeningly dark purple, visible even against his black fur.

She narrowed her eyes at the ursaring and felt Zorro tense beside her. She glanced at the riolu out of the corner of her eye. "Think you can distract him, Zorro?"

The riolu grinned impishly and gave a mock salute, before bounding forward. He leapt into the air and flipped, landing on the ursaring's shoulders. He jumped to avoid a swinging paw and did a handstand on the great bear's head, before flipping off and landing behind him. The ursaring rumbled angrily as he turned around to face Zorro, who was making a series of mocking faces at the enraged pokemon.

The ursaring roared and charged forward.

Zorro bolted in the other direction, leapt against the wall, and sprang into a backward flip that took him out of harm's way. The ursaring's momentum kept him running forward until he crashed into a door.

The door shattered on impact with the huge brute and the mass of snow which had collected behind him, unknown to them all, shuddered once, and then began to slide, tumble, and rush downward.

"Run!" Tuesday said sharply to Lizzie, and heard the girl's footsteps obey.

The ursaring, seeing the coming snow, turned and came running back, away from the snow.

Tuesday grabbed two pokeballs from her belt simultaneously and stepped forward quickly. "Ashleigh! Zorro!" she called, and recalled them both with a startled yelp and cry.

The snow tumbled toward her, and the ursaring rumbled in her direction. Quit frankly, Tuesday would rather face mother nature than an angry bear, and she leapt out of the way of the pokemon, crashing to the floor.

Something beneath her seemed to sink with a tremble and a soft grinding sound. There was a moment when Tuesday pondered what that could have possibly been, before she let out a cry of surprise and terror, as the entire floor gave way beneath her.

Tuesday yelled as she fell through the trap door, ignoring the startled roar from above her, as she continued to fall. She saw a light beneath her and for a moment, she had the horrifying fear that she was going to crash into an underground lake.

She caught sight of a familiar blonde braid, just before something hit her sharply in the head, and she landed on top of a familiar form, eliciting a cry from the tall boy.

Blinking, she sat on top of her adoptive brother, staring down at his startled face. And then she made the mistake of opening her mouth.

"Jaima! You make a wonderful cushion, do you know that?"

"Oh, thank god it didn't work," a familiar voice said, and Tuesday looked over to see that... that BOY standing there, picking a pokeball up off of the ground. "I didn't want one of you, anyway."

"You hit me a pokeball?!" Tuesday screeched. "You... you're a... I don't even know what you are!"

"He's a butthead!"

"Yeah! You're a butthead!" Tuesday agreed, deciding to figure out what pokemon she was hearing telepathically later.

"Would you people stop calling me a butthead?! My name is- shit."

"No, that's what you are!" Tuesday snapped back, but a look of startlement on Jaima's face and a strange shadow looming over her caused her to look behind her curiously.

The ursaring had apparently fallen into the trap door behind her, and he wasn't particularly happy about it.

"You know," Tuesday said in a strangely off-hand manner, "this... really kind of puts a damper on things."

[Dragava]

The homely feeling was gone and there was only one thing to do while the Ursaring was distracted. Lizzie quickly recalled Riolu then started running at Tuesday's command. She paid no attention to where she was going, she just ran as fast as she could for as long as she could. After taking a few turns, Lizzie found a dead end. There was a door there, but Lizzie's trembling hand could not open it in time. She turned around, expecting to see the Ursaring closing in on her and Tuesday trying to fend it off. Instead, she saw nothing. She was alone.

Lizzie's first reaction was relief. There was no big, dangerous, angry pokemon nearby. Her second reaction was panic, she was not with the more experienced Tuesday and had absolutely no idea what to do.

It seemed that Riolu had sensed the absence of motion, and popped out of her pokeball. That was a relief, Lizzie thought, at least I am not completely alone anymore. It took a quick look around for Riolu to realize that they were in a safe spot.

"Alright, so what do we do now?" Riolu pointed to the door behind Lizzie, the one she was too afraid to open. "Of course! Going back the way we came is too dangerous," Lizzie replied. That thing might still be there. As for Tuesday, I think she can fend for herself. If she needs to, she can send all of her pokemon out to battleat the same time. Lizzie took a few more seconds to gather her thoughts before opening the door.

This is definitely a banquet hall, Lizzie thought as she looked around the spacious room. There was no other explanation for the large number of tables and chairs.

"This is good, Riolu, since this is a banquet hall the kitchens must be close by. There should be food there." Lizzie looked around the room. There were many doors, so finding her way to the kitchen was not going to be easy. One door, however, caught her eye. It looked like an emergency exit.

An exit, huh? It should be connected to the kitchens. They can be big fire hazards. That makes a lot of sense... "Alright Riolu, I think we should go through the emergency door. What about you?" Riolu shrugged. It did not know too much about mansions, emergency exits, and the like. Then again, neither did Lizzie, she was mostly guessing her way around the mansion.

The emergency door led to a platform. There were stairs heading both up and down.

"We can go up or down." Riolu looked up, then looked down. It shrugged again. "I guess this is the kind of responsibility a trainer needs." Lizzie sighed, then picked Riolu up, The kitchens could be downstairs, less stairs to travel across to reach safety. But what if they were upstairs? Lizzie paced around the platform a bit. Riolu, noticing her trainer's lack of confidence, tapped Lizzie on the head, then extended a paw pointing down. She had keener ears than Lizzie, allowing her to hear some voices below them. Riolu thought that company would be good for Lizzie.

"Okay, if that's what you want." Lizzie headed down the stairs. The air was moist. It felt like there was some water in the room, and Lizzie, feeling that she might regret her actions, did not get out of the exit like she originally planned. She needed water more than food, and maybe there was some sort of container she could boil it in. She started to imagine how a pipe could be used to boil water. Lizzie's steps became careless as her mind began to wander. They echoed a bit as Lizzie put more weight in her steps than she usually would.

Going to meet up with part of Team Kuonji. Switching threads...

MOD NOTE: Cross posted and continued in this thread.

[Master Houndoom]

"The odds," Jaima said, seemingly calm in taking off his glasses, cleaning them, and slipping them back on, "are against us."

Jaima's fingers twitched toward his bandoleer as he weighed his options. Mercury was out, but monitoring. She was more than likely up to the task, but he would rather concentrate on that if he could help it. Ember would cause the nearby snow to melt, which may or may not be disastrous, especially in the close proximity of Reilly's monferno. Grondir was susceptible to the cold, but Tsunami would handle it well. With the water on the ground, Fang couldn't direct his attacks without potentially hurting someone else. Shadow had been left behind in the main hall. A mistake in retrospect.

"Tsunami, mud shot if you would. You're going to be our support." The marshtomp nodded and stepped forward, opening her wide mouth wider still and sending a ball of mud directly to the ursaring's face.

"Keep your eyes on your kids, guys. This thing is huge and hairy, and if it hits them, it's going to hurt." As Jaima opened his mouth to suggest that possibly they could try to drive it back, Tuesday's riolu, Zorro, dashed toward it, flipping up into the air just beyond the reach of the ursaring, landing on his shoulder, and slapping it in the face with a grin. As the ursaring responded with a roar and a raised fist, Zorro leapt into the air, back toward his trainer, leaving the ursaring to slam his own paw into his own shoulder with enough force to make him stagger.

"Oh, man," Jaima muttered, then called for Tsunami to use mud slap on the grizzly beast, trying to keep it from being able to hit the rest. Just as she did, and just as it hit, another form dropped behind the ursaring from the same trap door that he and Tuesday and fallen through. Jaima tensed, but a wave of affection and happy surprise struck him suddenly, and the ursaring pitched forward. He stumbled revealing his attacker. A tall, muscular, and angry looking lucario.

Shadow!

[Douken Sota]

Tag battles were made to show signs of teamwork between trainers and Pokemon, both sides having to communicate with each other as their two chosen competitors battled in unison, avoiding to mess each other up. Normally, those battles were considered two on two. This case, when the Lucario came forth,, looked a lot more like it would be five on one! The odds may look to be in favor of the large team, but the things to keep in mind were that the four trainers never battled together, the trouble of five Pokemon being in complete sync with each other, and the single opponent had a good chance of being twice the power of each of them.

Douken figured out of the entire group, he was the least experienced in combat, especially against such an opponent. Watching the Marshtomp using defensive maneuvers to blind the foe, he thought carefully on what his next move would be. I can try to assist in blinding him until he can't see, or maybe I can cause him pain through time... Almost like a cartoon image of all the Pokemon with health bars above their heads, he imagined his Croagunk using Poison Needle on the Ursurang, successfully poisoning it, and with him pounding and missing the others, his health steadily dropping til he got exhausted and the Poison causing the Ursurang to fall over with X's over his eyes. Once I get him poisoned, I will help make him blind more! was his last thought before he called out, "Now Croagunk, use Poison Sting!" The Poison Frog Pokemon's cheeks then puffed up before he opened his mouth to unleash a barrage of bright purple needles at the enraged bear.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Zorro grinned and laughed as the ursaring punched itself in the shoulder. His costume change was quick and efficient, as always, and left the bystanders wondering where he managed to pick up these items and when he changed. Soon his pirate hat had been traded in for a pair of boxing gloves, and he danced from foot to foot, jabbing the air in front of him mockingly, for the benefit of the enraged ursaring.

Tuesday's eyes flashed to the trap door at the ceiling behind the ursaring, and she watched the lucario fall through, landing gracefully behind their opponent. She grinned, but refrained from yelling out the lucario's name and giving his position away, before he had attacked the ursaring from behind and sent the great bear staggering.

Zorro leapt up in the air excitedly, his boxing gloves discarded. "Yay! Hermano mayor!" he yelled. He let out a yelp when the ursaring swung a great fist at his distracted form and sent him crashing harshly into the wall. He tumbled down into a pile of snow and lay there, groaning.

"Zorro!" Tuesday made a dash for the riolu, but the ursaring swung a fist at her back. It was by pure luck or some miracle of intuition that she dropped to her knees, ducking just below the attack. Her long blonde curls whipped over her head as the ursaring's attack barely missed.

Tuesday dared a look up at the tail creature as she heard him roaring angrily. A moment later, she felt a sharp pressure on her throat, as someone grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her backward. She choked, and then scampered to a standing position, as Reilly, of all people, yanked her away from the ursaring and tossed her unceremoniously behind him. Tuesday stumbled, barely catching herself, before a rush of heat against her left arm caused her to look. Indiana, Reilly's monferno, dashed past her with a screeching cry. He leapt into the air and somersaulted, his flaming tail coming down sharply on top of the ursaring's head, before his fist, glowing red and golden, smashed down against the great bear's skull in a Mach Punch.

The ursaring swung a fist and caught the monkey pokemon, but Indiana scampered lithely across the ursaring's hand, wrapped a tail around his wrist, and swung, flipping in the air and landing safely out of reach. He threw his hands up in the air and danced in a circle, cheering loudly.

[Master Houndoom]

Douken's croagunk's attack had struck both the ursaring and Shadow, but Shadow shrugged it off as the ursaring bellowed, stomping toward the croagunk. Tsunami drove it back with a Mud Shot attack, driving it back and slowing it down some. Shadow circled around to get to the ursaring's front side, to better protect the trainers.

Jaima and Shadow both had the same instinct when Tuesday was attacked, but Mercury managed to hold Jaima back telekinetically. While the monkey pokemon slammed a mach punch into the side of the ursaring's head and then flipped away, Shadow dashed forward and slammed a Force Palm into the ursaring's side. The wild pokemon bellowed, reaching for Shadow, who was not fast enough to dodge. It gripped his head, yanking him high off the ground, and slammed the lucario into the ground, cracking the stone flooring. Shadow rolled away, breathing heavily from the Seismic Toss attack.

Shadow! Mercury cried mentally, broadcasting to anyone in the vicinity in her panic. Her eyes glowed angrily, and the ursaring stumbled back.

"Guys," Jaima said as the large pokemon pushed off the wall he'd been shoved into, "you might want to call out more pokemon." He swallowed thickly as Tsunami managed to hit the grizzly pokemon in the eyes again with Mud Slap.

Shadow knelt next to Zorro. <<Little Brother, I have a plan...>> With that, he whispered to the riolu, who's eyes widened as he grinned. Stripping off the gloves was the only indication of the riolu changing, but when he was done, somehow, he had a gold wrestler's champion belt as well as the boxing shorts on.

Shadow charged the bear, sending a foot crashing into it's chest. Before he could dodge away, the ursaring grabbed for him again, but Shadow caught the bear's paw. <<Me First,>> he growled out, lifting the ursaring and leaping into the air, spinning around before throwing him violently back down. The bear staggered to it's feet, only to be grabbed bodily by the riolu, who also leapt in an incredible feat of strength, copying the attack the ursaring had managed to last use on Shadow and driving him to the ground again. While it was not as affective as the ursaring's single attack, both Seismic Tosses shook the bear visibly. He got to his feet and roared in defiance.

Please note that Shadow used Me First, a move that copies the damaging attack that a slower pokemon would use against the Me First user, and Zorro used Copycat, which copies the move used previously by the target. Both pokemon learn this move at level 29.

[Douken Sota]

even though it was a tough battle, Douken was surprised at the speed on how the little Riolu changed his clothes so quickly. Even if this was not the time to ask, he did anyways, "So how does that Riolu change outfits so quickly?" However, the thought changed when it was suggested they needed more to take him down. He already got blinded a bit, so the Marshtomp has that base covered, but his speed is still amazing. Taking a Pokeball off his belt, he enlarged it, adding, Guess i should take care of that... "Seel, I need your assistance!" He yelled, tossing the Pokeball up into the air as the giant bear went through his own attack twice thanks to the double Me First. "Seel, Icy Wind on his upper body. Croagunk, Bullet Punch Combo on his lower, go!"

Trusting them on their instincts to get out of the way, Croagunk charged in at the staggering Ursurang with his fists glowing brightly as he swiftly struck at the bear's leg non-stop, just as the Seel opened her mouth to send a wave of cold air at his upper body to slowly freeze his arms and torso to drop his speed.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"So how does that Riolu change outfits so quickly?"

"His name is Zorro," Tuesday corrected, glancing at the boy. "And we stopped wondering some time ago. It's futile, and he refuses to tell." She thought nothing of how things had changed. Before, she would have whispered to Jaima in a voice too low for anyone else to hear. Now, however, she spoke openly to a stranger she had yet to be introduced to. It was strange and very unlike the person she had been, and Jaima would have noticed, but she did not.

Instead, Tuesday turned back to the battle. She watched as Zorro used copycat, a move that she wasn't aware that he knew, to use a lesser-powered Seismic Toss on the ursaring. The bear pokemon still rose again, however, and Jaima was right. They were going to need help.

Tuesday ran what she knew of Ursaring through her head. All of the books that she had read about pokemon and the articles she had scanned in Professor Oak's laboratory came back to her immediately.

Ursaring were great bear pokemon, of course. Males, as this one was, had a smaller collar of fur around their necks. They were fierce fighters and normal type pokemon, which made them immune to ghost type attacks. Not that that mattered here. They were especially weak only to fighting type moves.

Zorro was the only of Tuesday's companions who was of a fighting type. She could call out Dante and rely on his steadfast fire, but the charmeleon wasn't as fast as he would need to be to avoid the ursaring's attacks. Odysseus was fast and agile, holding a similar style to Zorro, but his water attacks would be dangerous with Indiana already on the field. Tuesday didn't want to risk the monferno getting hurt.

Ashleigh... Tuesday was still trying to decide if Ashleigh just pretended to be a clumsy, floppy pup, or if he was still as prone to stumbling and tripping over his own tail as a newborn pup. In any case, the houndoom had already been in a harsh fight earlier that day, and though Zorro had been, as well, Ashleigh had taken more damage.

That left one pokemon.

The pokeball on Tuesday's belt burst open before she could call out the pikachu, and Tempest appeared in a flash of red light, racing forward swiftly. She dodged from side to side, using her agility to keep the ursaring looking, his eyes flashing back and forth.

"Tempest," Tuesday called, watching as the pikachu's ears flicked back toward her, "double team and slam!"

"Chu!" the pikachu replied. Her form flickered, and suddenly there were four pikachu racing toward the ursaring, each bearing an equally angry look. They all four leapt at the same time. With a snarl, the ursaring swatted sharply at the one aiming for his face. His paw went right through it and three of the pikachu vanished, as the fourth slammed into the ursaring's stomach, causing the bear pokemon to let out a grunt and double over himself. Dashing from side to side, the pikachu dodged an attack and skidded out of reach of the ursaring.

The bear roared angrily at the agile pikachu and lunged forward.

"I no t'ink so, Gigantor!" Zorro leapt into the air above Tempest and spun, drawing his paws above his head as the air seemed to gather around him with a pinkish hue. With a growl, Zorro threw his arms over his head, effectively guiding the force of wind toward the ursaring. It flew from his paws in the shape of a heart and slammed into the ursaring, shoving the great bear backward with a startled cry.

Zorro landed on his rear paws in front of Tempest, scowling without a hint of humor at their opponent. "No one touch the ratta. No one."

[Master Houndoom]

Deep down, Mercury knew that a battle was not the place for what was crossing her mind. Deep down, she knew she should be concentrating on important things, like not letting the ursaring squash her Trainer and friends. Deep down, she knew that it was entirely inappropriate for her to have the thoughts she was having.

But Zorro protecting Tempest like that was just so adorable!

Did you see that, Shadow?! Despite her enthusiasm, she had enough presence of mind to keep her mental projection limited to the lucario, and not let her trainer, who would scold her, or any of the other pokemon, hear.

Of course I did, Mercury. It was a very affective use of an attack, and noble besides. Mercury seemed, a bit, disappointed, until Shadows mental voice came through again, all hot chocolate and cedar wood. He's felt that way about her since we left DeBrody's... his first crush... Ah, my Little Brother is growing up...

Mercury giggled. The mental conversation had taken seconds, and another attack was launched, this time at Zorro. Mercury huffed. If I didn't think she'd scratch the blue off of my dome, she added with a giggle before sending a wave of confusion toward the ursine, I would tease Tempest about it.

* * * * *

Jaima chewed his lip. In the background of his mind, he cataloged significant things; Tuesday standing up to a stranger regarding the name of her pokemon, Reilly's moving to drag Tuesday from harm, Douken's use of his pokemon to slow the ursaring down. The four fighting types on the field were nimble and quick, but Jaima felt wrong. Something was bothering him, and he couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't a way to resolve this without the battle.

I wish there was, too, Trainer Jaima, Mercury sighed in his mind, But he is enraged and, for some reason, believes that we are the enemy. Until he is unconscious, we can't even get him to see reason.

Jaima sighed. "Tsunami," he called, "Knock him back. We need distance!"

Tsunami reared her head back and then flung it forward, sending a large ball of mud that hit the ursaring in the chest, causing it to stagger back. With the same motion, she used the same attack again, sending the ursaring stumbling now that it was off balance. Finally she charged forward, slamming into the ursine with her shoulder, staggering backwards even as the bear fell.

Jaima blinked. "Good... Good job, Tsunami!" He said, a large, figurative drop of sweat rolling down the back of his head.

[Douken Sota]

He watched the towering Pokemon with a loud thud onto the floor thanks to the excessive force from the Marshtomp's Ground attack which followed a powerful slam, and from he believed from his own Croagunk wearing down the foe's leg or affect his balance. "All right! Nice work everyone!" He knew it wasn't over, but it was a big window of opportunity. One Croagunk took advantage of.

Hopping onto the ursine's body , the Poison Frog Pokemon rushed in the bear's body and struck the bear's head as hard as he could. Seeing this, Douken blinked, muttering, "Was that Faint Attack?" From what he understood, it was a move that allowed him to get close to a blind or vulnerable spot while the enemy's guard was down to strike hard.

Turning to Jaima, he said, "If the Ursurang is still uncooperative, I have a plan to slow him down. If your Tsunami can wet him down, then my Seel's Icy Wind would freeze it faster. Then maybe a Psychic like Mercury can get into the bear's mind and calm him down."