[X] My Assistant

[Toogee]

“Ah!”

Pan tumbled over as Iko and Meiko crashed into her from behind. She found herself face first in a pile of snow, though thankfully, not buried. As everyone managed to pull themselves up (or were pulled up by a feraligatr), Pan found herself shivering all over. The sudden drop in temperature was quite a shock; the fact that she was wearing only a bikini made matters worse.

“I- I- It’s s-s-s-s-so c-c-c-cold-d-d-d…,” she said. The chattering of her teeth made her speech somewhat incoherent. Pan folded her arms over her chest and kept her legs close together to conserve warmth. She was tempted to curl up on the floor, but it was currently covered with snow. She’d have to stand up for the moment, though her bare feet were becoming painfully numb.

Turnip, being a grass type, was also shivering, trying to lead the others back through the cavern for warmth. Even Pivot seemed to be affected, levitating just a bit higher than usual above the snow. The only one who seemed to enjoy the snow was Chi-Chi. The pachirisu began rolling snowballs to pile onto her snow cone, the cone stuck firmly into the snow layer.

“SupasupasupasupaSNOWCONE!!!”

While Chi-Chi went to bug the delibird for snow cone juice, Pan watched as the door froze over to block out the rest of the avalanche from flooding in. Behind the door, moans of various grass and flying pokemon cried out for help.

“W-w-w-w-we h-h-h-have t-t-t-t-to h-h-h-h-help,” Pan said to the others. It seemed like a terrible idea to open the door, but perhaps there was another way to the greenhouse. But before they did anything else, they had to get warmed up. And dressed.

Pan quickly called upon her growlithe for assistance. Fenrir was a little confused as to what happened, even more so when he realized everyone was dressed to swim. Pan took the growlithe into her arms, holding him close to her. It had been quite some time since the old dog was held like a puppy. He wasn’t sure he liked it, but went with it anyways.

Pan turned to the others to share the fire type’s internal flame.

Remember that staircase from earlier? We can take that to the top to the beach area, then somehow reach the rooftop (via the aquarium skylight), travel upon the roof, and reach the greenhouse from there. Of course, if there are any other suggestions, I’m open to them.

[Master Houndoom]

Chompwater was being stubborn!

"Honey, let me down," meiko said, fighting a shiver. Chompwater only snorted, looking around. Meiko couldn't do much but scowl and sigh. Chompwater's strong arm held her above the snow, and the feraligatr, an average size for her species, was still seven feet from the ground.

It wasn't being held up that bothered Meiko. She didn't look forward to having her feet frozen, and she was in a bit better situation than Pan, as Pan was in a bikini and Meiko had a one piece. But she was hanging a little awkwardly over Chompwater's arm, and every time she moved, the Crocodylian would adjust so that Meiko stayed where she was.

"At least," she growled, as low as she could, "let me turn around so my butt isn't sticking up in the air!"

She could have sworn Chompwater chuckled, a low, rumbling sound, but she flexed and suddenly Meiko was sitting on the feraligatr's shoulder.

"Thank you."

She surveyed the area quickly. Pan was shivering, having been in the snow longer than Meiko had, and though Meiko's back felt like it was frozen, Pan's feet must have been even worse. Iko was righting himself, but the fact was that none of them were dressed for the cold.

"We need to get our clothes," Meiko said, clenching her jaw against the cold. "Wasn't there a stairway near here..?"

[Toogee]

“Yeah, you’re r-right!” Pan replied to Meiko. Being close to Fenrir had improved her speech; her teeth were no longer chattering as much. “Let’s head back up and see what we can do.”

Shuffling her frozen feet across the cavern, Pan was the first to make it back into the cave. Being so cold improved her speed, or at least her desire to find warmer locales. She held tight to Fenrir, who started too look towards the ground, wanting to be back on his feet and not carried like some pup. Chi-Chi rested on Pan’s shoulder, finished with her icy treat. After gulping down the large snow cone, the pachirisu finally started showing signs of shivering. Turnip and Pivot followed close behind as they all headed up the staircase.

The beach area remained relatively unchanged; the snow from the broken skylight landed in the water while the rest of the roof remained intact. The only things missing were the pokemon, who were promptly evacuated by the staff. A trawler in the water had recovered the last of the underwater residents, heading straight for the dock area.

The shopkeeper came running towards the group to their aid.

“Ah, I knew you’d be alive!” said the relieved staff member. “Your belongings have been moved into your dressing rooms. I can have the trawler pick you up-”

“There’s no time! I’ll explain later,” Pan said as she ran across the sand and towards the dressing areas. Whether her rush was mainly for the greenhouse pokemon or for her clothes was not known, though her happiness upon seeing her outfit was made very clear.

“Oh, sweatshirt and boots, how I missed you so,” she said, some excitement in her voice.

Soon, she was ready for action, back in her regular clothes and fully equipped with her backpack. Pan met back with her pokemon on the beach and quickly spoke with the shopkeeper on the situation.

“OK, the greenhouse pokemon need help escaping, but the cavern entrance is blocked. Is there any other way to the greenhouse?”

“Well,” the shopkeeper began, “you would have to go back to the main room, take the south door, into the billiard room, open the grandfather clock-”

Suddenly, the baltoy zoomed past the group, towards the large rock structure previously occupied by the prinplup rookery. Pan looked upon the monument and examined its position. The formation was fairly tall, but not quite tall enough for a person to reach the skylight. That is, unless that person was particularly adventurous and had an ivysaur on her side.

As soon as Meiko and Iko joined her, Pan looked at them, a smirk across her face.

“I’ve got a plan.”

[Master Houndoom]

Meiko did not need as much time as most to dress. She was used to dressing on the go, getting ready quickly. As such, she felt she had time to spare, and used it sitting on the bench, arms crossed around a strangely silent Eggheart, who clung to her stomach, looking at the ground when her eyes weren't squeezed closed.

Pan had gone straight to the change rooms, but Meiko lingered, looking down from the island, now little more than a platform, into the water, which was much lower; so much lower that she could see the plexiglass tubes that the other team had been in.

They were cracked, shattered in places, half exposed like rib bones.

Meiko knew she shouldn't be afraid, or worried. That odds were in the favor of the people. That safety measures must be in place. But one image bowled through her mind over and over.

Jaima had been in those tubes.

With a shaky sigh, she banished the image of him engulfed and crushed by water filling the tube and came out, dressed again in her moderate cold weather clothing. She walked up behind Pan, who turned from looking up a rocky outcropping at the skylight.

"I've got a plan."

Meiko looked up, and knew what the plan entailed. Pan's Ivysaur would be a great help. And Chompwater was over 7 feet tall and would bridge the gap a bit. She looked back at Pan, her mouth set in a line. "How can I help?"

[Toogee]

“First, we’re gonna need to get on top of that cliff,” Pan replied, pointing to the rocky structure. “We’re also going to need someone tall,” she added, nodding towards the feraligatr. If everything went to plan, they would propel up the roof and get to the greenhouse from there.

Soon, the group was at the base of the rock structure. Pan examined the surface; there were plenty of protruding rocks, perfect for a rock-climbing venture. While she was confident in her own abilities to make it to the top, Pan was not so sure about her younger companion. She did not want to be the one to tell Darryn (or her blond-haired beau) that Meiko cracked her skull open and that they had to clean her brains off of Vonmoto’s cliff. Also, Pan needed to take control of her wild imagination.

Just then, Pan’s baltoy started twirling near the side of the cliff. Pan walked over to investigate, finding a stone staircase carved into the mini-mountain, providing a far safer option to the top.

“Good work Pivot!” Pan complimented the baltoy, who simply nodded in the affirmative. Soon after, she recalled both Pivot and Fenrir; she would need them later. Plus, it would be easier to get everyone to the top, considering neither pokemon had hands. And so, the group made their way up.

Pan looked up towards the broken skylight. The frame appeared intact, allowing a good grapple point for Turnip. The surface of the cliff top allowed plenty of room for the feraligatr to maneuver without risk of falling.

“OK, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Pan started. “Chompwater is going to lift Turnip up in the air. This should give Turnip enough height to tie his vines around that frame. From there, Chompwater will lift us one at a time, then we’ll climb up the vines to the top. Kinda like gym class, except we don’t go back down.” Pan hoped the more pedestrian explanation would make her plan easier to swallow.

As soon as the plan was accepted, the two pokemon began working. Turnip felt odd being the claws of a potential predator, but it was for the sake of getting his human out. With a loud crack, the ivysaur unleashed a pair of vines, each twisting around each other to form a single strong rope attached near the edge of the metal skylight frame. As Turnip dangled in the air, level to the feraligatr’s head, Pan stepped forward as the first test subject of the escape plan.

“I’ll be the first to go, so I can test this out,” Pan said to Meiko, turning to Chompwater. “Ready when you are.”

The feraligatr lifted Pan up from under her arms, allowing her to easily reach Turnip’s vines. Pan did just that, grasping on and climbing soon after. One hand went over the other as she ascended to the sky. Her legs wrapped around the makeshift rope, keeping her path straight. Pan was figuratively patting herself on the back for keeping in shape.

And then she came to the top.

At first, Pan thought it would be simply a matter of climbing along the metal beam. That’s how it started; Pan switched from the vine rope to the metal frame, climbing as if they were monkey bars at a playground. It was at the end that she realized that getting onto the roof wouldn’t be so simple a task. There were no places to place her feet, meaning she would have to rely entirely on her tired arms.

“All I need to do is grab the edge. Then, just one more push…”

Her hand reached out to the edge, grasping onto the rooftop. However, her grip was compromised by the slippery snow covering the surface, her hand slipped off.

“WOAH!”

Turnip looked on, startled by his human’s cry. For a moment, Pan was dangling precariously over the makeshift island, only one resilient arm keeping her from an abrupt end. Her other hand went back to the metal bar almost immediately, maintaining her position.

“I’m OK!” Pan shouted, though it was unknown if it was to the others or to herself. She took a few breaths, closing her eyes to relax. She needed a calm mind before making another attempt.

Pan started by switching positions, the beam running along the frontal plane of her body. Using the nearby wall as leverage, she managed to get her right leg over the beam, allowing her to sit upright on the beam seesaw style. She scooted along the metal surface until she reached the roof edge. In a much better position than her previous attempt, the determined explorer put her upper body on the roof, put her fingers into the grooves of the stone roof, and pull the rest of herself onto the roof. A loud cheer signaled to the others that she made it. Pan’s head appeared from the edge, looking down to Meiko.

“See, piece of cake,” Pan smiled. Turnip only shook his head.

[Master Houndoom]

Meiko gasped as Pan slipped on the beam, then put her hands to her hips, pursing her lips. "Be careful up there! I don't want to be the one to tell Darryn that his friend splattered all over Vonmoto Island!"

Even though she was partially joking, she kept her hand on Desertdancer's pokeball. If push came to shove, she would call him out and try Sand Tomb to make a soft cushion for Pan to land on.

Meiko motioned for Iko to go next, and then it was her turn. She recalled Eggheart, who was starting to look a bit sleepy, and let Chompwater lift her to Turnip's vines. Slower than Pan, she climbed steadily, keeping her eyes up on the beam that had given Pan trouble. She needn't have worried; Pan had been the first up, and had no one to keep her from falling. Meiko had been last, and there were two sets of hands waiting for her. She relaxed and continued.

Trainer Meiko?

"WHOA!" She felt herself start, and felt her hand nearly release the braided vine. She reacted by grabbing on tighter and wrapping her leg around it. "Don't do that!"

I'm sorry!

"It's OK," Meiko said, starting to climb again. "Is Jaima all right? We saw the tubes had broken..." She couldn't hide the shakiness in her voice.

Trainer Jaima is fine. He's very worried about you.

Meiko smiled despite herself, and if not for her position, would have sagged in relief. "I'm worried about him, too. Can you teleport him to us?"

There was hesitation, and then a mental sigh. No. I'm sorry, but there's so much interference I don't trust myself to teleport where I haven't been. Besides, he's coming to find you, and Trainer Tuesday, and Trainer Darryn.


"I'd yell at him, but I'm going to rescue some grass types caught in a broken greenhouse." Meiko gave a smile, her confidence returning. She was almost to the top. "Thank you, Mercury. If you can contact me later, I appreciate it."

I wish you had a psychic type pokemon, Mercury sighed. It would be easier.

"I was worried to have one, Mercury, but I've met you and now I might have to change that."

At the top, she was helped up, recalled Chompwater, and went to the edge of the roof, confident that the others would follow. Without being too close to the edge, she peered over, swallowing thickly. "We're going to need a bigger rope..."

[Toogee]

Pan recalled Turnip before joining Meiko at the edge of the roof. Even with everything covered in icy snow, she could tell that the distance to the ground would prove deadly should they take a wrong step. Luckily, they didn’t have to go this way, as the cries of pokemon from behind alerted the group to the greenhouse’s location.

“This way!” alerted Pan, rushing over a mound of snow. Once again, she regretted not wearing proper attire: her legs were freezing, especially as she climbed the snowy hill. Pan carried on without complaint until she reached the hole in the roof, overlooking the greenhouse.

The pokemon were in a state of panic: a pack of sneasel had entered the room, intending to wreck havoc upon the ground of grass and flying types. Many of the dark types stood upon the fallen tropius, still buried in snow. The meganium was busy trying to stomp at a few other sneasel going after the younger residents. A flock of chatot chattered frantically as they tried to avoid bursts of icy wind attacks.

Pan quickly looked for a way into the greenhouse. No stairs were around, but there was a nearby tree limb, horizontal to the humans. She quickly summoned Turnip back from the pokeball.

“Hey Turnip,” Pan said as the ivysaur shook off the cold, “remember how we got away from those beedrils in Fidona?”

This was the only hint that Turnip needed. Vines burst out from the pokemon, wrapping around the tree limb. The ivysaur jumped into Pan’s arms, while Chi-Chi sat behind her human’s head (to avoid getting crushed by the ivysaur). Pan pulled back slightly to test the stability of the branch and looked back at Meiko.

“You’re gonna want to hang on,” Pan warned as a smirk crossed her face. “I always wanted to try this,” she said excitedly

With one step, they soared over the landscape. Pan gave a loud war cry as her boot met the face of one of the surprised sneasel. The creature flew straight across the room, slamming into a wall and fainting. The rescuers landed safely on the ground with the advantage of surprise on their side. Turnip stood in front of the humans, waiting for Pan to give the command.

It was time to kick butt.

[Master Houndoom]

As Pan let the swing take her into the first group of sneasel, Meiko let go of the vine, dropping the short distance to the ground and landing in a (if she said so herself) perfect three point stance. Before her was a second group, just turning to see what the disturbance was about. Meiko smirked, pulling two pokeballs off of her belt and calling Chompwater and Desertdancer in front of her. The sandshrew crouched low, ready to spring to attack, while the feraligatr raised her head and bellowed.

The sneasel did not seem impressed. As one they turned and bared fangs, holding out their claws, which extended in preperation for various claw attacks, some glowing dark colors, other with light blue effects. Meiko crossed her arms.

"Chompwater, use Water Gun! Desertdancer, Sand Tomb!" As the commands were given, the feraligatr opened her wide mouth, sending a spray of water that knocked several of the sneasel down, and the rest were encased by there legs in sand. The ones that had been knocked down, rose, screeching, and charged.

"Desertdancer, use Gyro Ball!" The sandshrew began to spin, hurling itself at the lead sneasel. The sneasel foolishly tried to intercept, and the difference in speed between the sandshrew and sneasel, while usually a detriment, ensured that the lead sneasel toppled to the ground. The only problem was, this left Desertdancer in the middle of several angry ice types. They drew in their breath for an Icy Wind attack.

"Chompwater!" Meiko cried in panic, and Chompwater dashed into the group, using her tail to clear one side of Desertdancer of attackers. The sandshrew leapt down, digging rapidly into the soil he was standing on to avoid the attack from that side. Chompwater turned as the icy wind attack struck, shivering, and snarled at the remaining sneasel.

Meiko chewed her lip. While the grass and flying type pokemon were mostly safe now, due to her and Pan distracting the group of sneasel, they were still outnumbered, and these sneasel didn't seem to have any problems with attacking humans. She still had Cosette and Eggheart to call out, but Cosette had as bad a type disadvantage as Desertdancer, and was inexperienced; Eggheart was still a baby.

As Desertdancer popped up from the soil, slamming into another sneasel, the ice at the door cracked, then shattered. In the doorway stood a large, blocky pokemon that Meiko recognized. She grinned even as the heracross who'd appeared charged at the sneasel around her and her pokmemon.

"Ramhorn! Sic 'em!"

[Toogee]

Meanwhile, Pan and her ivysaur were facing off against another group of five sneasel. Each was rubbing their claws together hungrily; they had the advantage of type and numbers. What they lacked was the brains of their leader, who lied knocked out with a big boot print on his face. Pan was about to show them how much they needed that leader.

“Turnip, Sleep Powder! Chi-Chi, back him up with Flash!”

Turnip quickly let off a blast of sleep powder, causing the group of sneasel to jump back to avoid its effects. Immediately after, the pachirisu jumped out of Pan’s sweatshirt, emitting a bright flash of light. The attack succeeded in blinding the enemy, stalling their attack. This gave Pan enough time to call out her growlithe Fenrir. The three pokemon stood in front of their human, ready for the next phase.

“Alright everyone, round ‘em up!” Pan shouted, pointing towards the weasel pokemon.

Fenrir was the first to move, showering the enemy in a stream of embers. This caused the blinded sneasel to run away in a panicked frenzy. Just when Chi-Chi was about to join up, her cheeks started to spark. The use of the flash technique had apparently caused her electrical pouches to activate.

“OMG!Mycheekssnapcracklepop!” cried the pachirisu excitedly. The activity did not go unnoticed by Turnip, who quickly grasped his vines of Chi-Chi’s tail. The ivysaur then joined the growlithe, this time wielding the pachirisu like an electrical mace! The “mace” made a whirling cackle as it was spun around, mostly the result of Chi-Chi’s maniacal laughter.

Like a herd of cattle, the sneasel were chased to the other side, holding their bottoms as they were within the flames and electricity of their pursuers. What the sneasel didn’t know was they were headed right into a trap: an angry meganium was waiting at the other end, ready to stomp upon the intruders. She did just that, followed by pound attacks from the clan of aipom. Bird pokemon cheered with joy as Pan’s pokemon joined in to quickly overwhelm the sneasel. Pan was taking pictures of the entire battle, smiling at the great job her team was doing.

What none of them realized was that sneasel were the least of their worries.

All the noise and yelling had awakened him from his slumber. He had found a quiet haven within this castle. The sneasel were just calming down before the humans entered.
Humans. They always bothered him. Trying to catch him, beat him, just plain annoy him. Now he was angry; they had returned. He must have his peace, and the only way for that to happen was to get rid of the humans…

Heavy steps of ice and timber treaded through the makeshift forest. His pace quickened as he saw his target: the one holding the camera. He raised his arm in fury and released a primal roar.

ABOMASNOOOOOW!

The mighty roar was followed by a small yelp as the creature hit Pan in her face. It was not a direct hit, but her body spun from the force of the attack, falling limply upon the snow. Though she was still conscious, Pan kept still, her face hidden under her arm. She knew from the pokemon behavior class back in Celadon that Abomasnow weren’t the brightest of pokemon; the best way to avoid death was to play dead.

She felt warm drops of blood stream down her face: the needle-like leaves left some scrapes across her cheek. She bit down on her teeth from the pain, but of greater concern, Pan couldn’t see what was going on. Was Meiko alright? Was Turnip coming, despite being outmatched by the giant tree creature? Were her other pokemon all right?

All she could do was listen and wait…

Welcome Team Kellor. Living Arrow shall open, then everyone else can join in .

[Living Arrow]

The Greenhouse was a large area - now covered by snow - that actually had two stone walls connecting it to the rest of the castle with the other two as framed glass panels which had now smashed under the impact of the avalanche. However, take a Co-Ordinator on a mission and give him a particularly powerful Rampardos and what do you get? That's right. A hole in one of those two stone walls.

"RAMPAR!"

"GO!" Darryn yelled, his Pokemon surging through the hole in the wall all over the battlefield with their orders already set and confirmed.

Down the slope, Romeo flew like a jet - a pure bolt of lightning on a mission to strike at the foes attacking Meiko. Ramhorn swept through the collected Sneasel with ease - knocking them flying out of his way as he charged. Even so, some dodged the initial attack only to get caught up in Romeo's screaming Charge Beam.

Across the slope, Bravo swept up into the air and span like a flying drill, scattering Featherdance and igniting the harmless projectiles with Heat Wave to create a shower of falling embers that pelted down upon a gang of Sneasel making their way across the slope to help their friends but cutting them short from reaching their goal. Amid their panic they missed the pounding hoofbeats of November as she crasheed through their ranks with a lustrous Flame Wheel.

The wild Abomasnow advanced on Pan's crumpled form, heavy footfalls driving through the snow with malicious intent. Closer it came, sturdy wood and freezing ice culminating in a giant of angry Pokemon. A thick, bark-covered arm rose into the air and swung down with the force of a bulldozer. In an instant, it was paralysed. A confused look passed over the enraged Abomasnow's face as he stared incredulously at his own fist only to find it wrapped in a blue aura of psychic energy. It frowned dumbly, having no time to react before a glowing fist crashed upwards in the uppercutting Hammer Arm of the century.

"PAN!" Darryn yelled, darting through the snow without a glance for the battles around him. Victor charged in his wake, ready to defend as need dictated although his stubby legs didn't allow him to keep up with the fleet-footed trainer. Joey brought up the rear, his worried face struggling through the snow behind the squirtle.

*****

Her task complete, Lady allowed herself to sink into the snow. She watched with tired eyes as her Prince and master raced to his fallen friend's side and curled slightly at their corners. She had done it. She had managed to get him there to protect someone he loved. It was worth the effort to Lady - helping one she loved in any task, large or small, filled her otherwise shadowed her with the sweetest glee she could ever imagine.

Cool, uncaring ice plunged into Lady's nostrils as she collapsed, unable to move another step forward. A psychic wimper escaped her mind, reaching out to all psychic Pokemon in the vacinity but she never imagined that her cry would be answered by someone that she had not seen in a very very long time...

[Protoman]

With his feet hitting the ground, Tyson rushed right behind Darryn, snow filling his pores and his face. With his Cyndaquil by his feet, he looked around, no longer seeing Darryn around anymore. He rushed towards Joey, utterly confused about the situation at hand.

"Joey," Tyson asked, "what's going on here? Where did Darryn go? Why is there more than one group in this room?"

[Toogee]

The greenhouse filled with the sounds of battle. Pan could hear newcomers crashing through one of the walls, evening the odds. Sneasel were running in panic as they were chased by various pokemon. The abomasnow was still nearby, but a loud smash of a hammer arm attack proved that the creature was incapacitated. Finally, a familiar voice called out to her, though it sounded a bit frightened. From this, Pan figured everything was clear; she rolled over onto her back to face Darryn, smiling at the return of an old friend.

“Do you think so little of me? It’s going to take more than a few scratches to bring me down!” Pan said sarcastically, referring to the bloody marks on her cheek.

“Now help me up. It’s cold down here.” She outstretched her right arm for Darryn to grab onto.
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As the pidgeotto rained flaming feathers onto the ice types, Turnip and the meganium stepped aside to avoid becoming collateral damage. Fenrir did not; the embers activated his Flash Fire skill, giving the growlithe more firepower. He unleashed twice as many embers as before, effectively knocking out two sneasel while healing from his injuries.

Fenrir noticed that Turnip and Chi-Chi were headed back to Pan, who appeared injured. Seeing that the newcomers had things handled, the growlithe quickly joined his teammates. He couldn’t help but feel good about himself, giving a bunch of young hoodlums the boot. Sure, he didn’t feel like a pup, but certainly he was back in his prime.
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The abomasnow laid flat on his back, seemingly knocked out. This was not the case; the tree creature was still recovering from Zulu’s devastating attack. All the while, his temper grew. More humans, more noise. He would not surrender his territory, his silence, without a serious fight.

With another mighty roar, the abomasnow rose. This time, he wielded several shards of ice. In quick succession he threw all the shards directly at the rampardos and prepared to continue the fight. Suddenly, the air filled with high-pitched squeal.

CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII…

Like a missile, the ivysaur released his electric mace, sending the electrified pachirisu flying across the room. Chi-Chi’s spark attack made a direct hit right into the abomasnow’s face. The tree monster stumbled back as the pachirisu landed on her feet right in front of the foe. The abomasnow would have crushed the rodent…if he could move. Paralysis had set in, just as the rampardos reacted to the ice attack.

Fenrir caught up with Turnip, but decided against getting in the way of the angry Zulu and the abomasnow.

[Master Houndoom]

Meiko sighed heavily as the sneasel retreated before the...

Ah, hell, they were retreating, and the might of her team probably had little to do with it. Ramhorn's appearance did set the tide in her favor once again; The Dark/Ice pokemon were extremely weak to his fighting moves. Chompwater, being her most experienced battler, was still constrained by the presence of Desertdancer, who was weak to her attacks. Not that he seemed to mind.

The presence of the abomasnow was surprising, and when he had charged at Pan, Meiko had pointed and called for Chompwater to attack. She was interrupted by the appearance of Zulu, and watched, stunned, as the fossil pokemon attacked the Frost Tree pokemon with an undeniable ferocity.

Then it was down, and Pan was up. Meiko ran to Darryn and hugged him. "Thank goodness you're OK," She said, sighing. "Mercury's contacted me. She says Jaima is also all right. But I hadn't heard about you and I still don't know about Tuesday. Have you heard anything?"

When the abomasnow rose, Meiko screamed and bounced back, pointing at it. It seemed to be a reaction borne of fear, and it was, in part. The other part was a command, and Chompwater recognized it, charging forward to flank the Frost Tree pokemon opposite Zulu. She did not attack, though the advantage would be theirs; The abomasnow was obviously paralyzed from the pachirisu's head on attack. However, she was ready, should the need arise, to keep this thing occupied, or, if it got too out of hand, put it out of its misery, to keep Meiko safe.

Sorry for the relatively short post. Bad week.

[Living Arrow]

"Thank goodness you're OK," Meiko breathed heavily into Darryn's collar as he buried his face into her hair. "Mercury's contacted me. She says Jaima is also all right. But I hadn't heard about you and I still don't know about Tuesday. Have you heard anything?"

"Not much - Mercury only got one message from Mercury to say everyone was OK but-"

"Aiiiieee!" Meiko screamed, releasing Darryn and bounding backwards through the snow stabbing a finger at teh Abomasnow rising back to his feet. In a flash, Chompwater flanked the rising creature to catch it in a pincer between herself and Zulu.

"Don't worry, Meiko..." Darryn chewed his lip. "I've got this one in the bag. Zulu!"

Darryn's Rampardos took off like a shot, his head gathering mystical energy as Zen Headbut slammed home into the wild Pokemon's body. Before it could rise, Rampardos was in the air, performing a reverse piledrive with a Hammer Arm. The snow all around the Abomasnow lifted of the ground in a rush of wind created by the enormous impact. Meiko gasped as Zulu draw back his fist for another attack but Darryn was faster.

"Pokeball, GO!"

The fallen grass Pokemon dispersed into red energy before the attack met its target, drawn into the capture device like a vaccuum cleaner. After a mere two shakes in the snow, the ball lay still and the capture was complete.

"You caught that thing?!" Pan gasped, her look stern.

Darryn recalled Zulu and walked to where the Pokeball lay, taking it up quickly in his hand. The device was still warm.

"Why not? It's a powerful Pokemon, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah but it's hardly catwalk material..." Meiko muttered, stroking Chompwater's arm absentmindedly.

Darryn chuckled. "Oh, God! It's not for me - Cleo will be having this one."

"Oooh!" Realisation hit Pan. A frown hit Meiko.

"What?"

"Darryn's sister is the top Apprentice at the Celadon City Gym - they specialise in Grass types so giving that Abomasnow to her would really help out her training." Pan explained.

"Best. Birthday. Present. Ever." Darryn grinned, the ball in his hand vapourising into transporter energy as it was stored in his PC back in Kanto.

[Toogee]

With all the attackers routed, the resident pokemon and the visiting trainers calmed down. Pan kneeled down to reunite with her team, congratulating everyone for a job well done.

“Was that you who paralyzed that mean ol’ abomasnow?” she said to her pachirisu. Chi-Chi was more than happy to take credit for taking down the tree pokemon, performing a bow before scurrying back into Pan’s vest to warm up.

Fenrir started licking her bloody cheek to keep the wound clean (as clean as it can get with dog saliva). Pan scratched behind the growlithe’s right ear in gratitude, causing the pokemon to drool and shake his right leg as if he was seizing up. Meanwhile, Turnip was pointing his vine at Pan, telling her off for putting herself in danger. The human responded by wrapping the ivysaur in her arms.

“Thanks, Turnip,” she said. The ivysaur’s protests were reduced into near silent grumbles, glad that his human was all right.

While this was happening, the greenhouse pokemon were heading out of the new exit in search of a warmer environment. The large meganium called back to the humans; she knew she would want them around in case more creatures showed up. Pan called back Turnip to keep him warm. She then walked up to the meganium and offered a small bow.

“May I?” she asked politely. The big green dinosaur nodded in approval, kneeling down at Pan’s request. The human climbed onto her back, holding onto the meganium’s neck as she rose onto her feet.

“Hey guys,” Pan called out to Darryn, Meiko, and the others, “let’s get the heck out here.”

With a loud “Hiya!” from Pan, the meganium reared up on its hind legs, just like the heroes in those old western flicks. They were ready to rush out of the cold environs and towards their destination.

[LittleShadowPoke...]

After Joey struggled in behind Darryn's Squirtle, he pretty much stayed out of the way as best he could while all the events folded out before him. He's had enough proof that his Pokemon just aren't strong enough, and he kept his Poke Balls safe within his scrubs top. He also wished he were wearing more, because between the snow collapsed environment and all the ice types milling about, he was very cold and shivering some distance away. His back was starting to hurt from the shivering, so he tried to straighten up as the main boss, Abomasnow, was captured by Darryn. Joey's expressionless face hid the awe he was feeling.

He took a look around to everyone in the room. There was a girl riding a Meganium who just called for their departure, a red-headed girl with a ferocious looking Feraligatr, and that girl had hugged Darryn, Joey noticed, so they must know each other pretty well.

After Tyson snapped in front of Joey's eyes, he realized he had been standing there for awhile, but Joey just shrugged and looked away. Everyone was starting to file out of the room, which Joey didn't particularly mind. The broken glass of the greenhouse dome was treacherous here, and Joey didn't feel like sticking around in it. He just wanted to get out. He nodded to Tyson to follow and Joey carefully walked among snow and debris to get within range of Darryn. Now was not a good time to be left behind. What if another Abomasnow was lurking around? All the Pokemon seemed to be attacking due to the avalanche trauma, and Joey didn't know if he could rightly blame them or not. With a sigh, he reached where Darryn and the two girls were, and followed them out of the room.

[Toogee]

As everyone began departing, a tropius rose from the avalanche of snow previously on top of it. The creature was shivering madly, which only gave it encouragement to get into the warmer hallways. The tropius followed the cries of the meganium out of the greenhouse. Between the two large grass types, they could carry two humans per pokemon. The tropius would certainly welcome the prospect of warm bodies on top of its shivering figure.

Pan was leading the way, riding a galloping meganium through the halls of Castle Vonmoto. A flock of chatot flew beside the group, while a troop of oddish attempted to keep up without getting squashed (they were surprisingly agile when giant crushing feet were involved). Several aipom were hitching a ride on top of the meganium and tropius, very happy about the change in the daily routine. Chi-Chi shared the top of the meganium’s head with one of the aipom. She grasped onto the meganium’s antennae while the aipom held onto the pachirisu. Each had a big smile on their faces as they rushed through the corridors.

Suddenly, the floor became very slippery, as if going down a bowling lane. The floor slanted downward and twisted around a stone pillar, while another stone wall protected the other side. The meganium was sliding on her belly, with Pan and the rest of the passengers hanging on for the unexpected ride.

They were riding a giant slide!

Pan laughed with delight as surprised yells from the pokemon and humans echoed through the corridor. As they advanced downward, Pan found that they weren’t the only ones using this route. A cyndaquil, a jigglypuff, a couple of marill, and even a large miltank were using their Rollout technique to race down the slide in ball form. Taking the advantage of a fun race, Pan had the meganium keep her head low to the ground. The human did the same; this allowed them less wind resistance as they raced past the rolling pokemon.

“Come on guys!” Pan called out to issue a challenge to the rest of the group. “You can go faster than that!”

We won’t see the end of the slide until we merge with everyone else, so enjoy the ride/hang on for dear life. :P

[LittleShadowPoke...]

Joey was lagging behind the rest of the group when he heard something behind him, the sound of snow being displaced while a shivering Tropius rose out of the snow and shook itself. It regained its balance and composure before following the group at a Tropius-like jog. Joey waited for it, and taking the girl riding the Meganium's example, he quickly swung one leg over the Tropius and mounted it, riding in front of its giant, leaf wings. It didn't seem to mind, and that was a good enough sign for Joey. After all, he felt it was time he had some fun too, and he preferred interacting with the Pokemon.

He loosely draped his arms around the lithe neck of the beast while it lumbered forward in the group, and he called out his Pokemon to share the ride. He kept a close hold on Kimiko, his playful yet innocent Igglybuff, while Claw perched shakily upon the head of the Tropius while various Aipom skittered over the Tropius looking for a ride. Jet, being an unwonted tame Seel on the back of the Tropius, sat behind Joey and remained rather still, either from exhaustion or uneasiness of being on a moving Pokemon. As the Tropius warmed up, it picked up the speed to rival that of the galloping Meganium, except it was too late to stop when it realized what had just happened to the Meganium.

It all happened so fast, the Meganium backpedaling on the suddenly slippery slanted slope of the slide, then the Tropius mimicking the movement as it failed to stop short of it, and the thump! as each giant beast slammed involuntarily to their bellies as they gained momentum on the slide. Jet, panicking, clung to his trainer with his flippers as best he could while Joey kept a tight grip on the bubbly Kimiko. Claw, the Pidgey, calmly spread his wings to balance himself while keeping an attempt at being gentle with his talon grip on the Tropius's head. A glance back showed he wanted to be his trainer, but an opportunity didn't arise and he was soon distracted by the rumble of a Miltank using Rollout flying past the group.

Joey let go of his death grip and managed to look up at what was happening around him. A fireball followed the Miltank. Upon second glance, Joey realized it was a Cyndaquil, and some other round Pokemon followed suit on both sides. The girl ahead of them on the Meganium was laughing, and shouts and laughter echoed through the chute. Joey even allowed himself to get caught up in the euphoria for once and ducked his head until he was almost laying on the Tropius, holding Kimiko in the crook of his arm, while Jet started to lay on his trainer's back, still clinging tightly. Reminding himself to put Jet on a diet, Joey called up to Claw, who then allowed himself to slide back towards Joey and took up the space of his unoccupied side and tucked his wings and feet in to resemble a small feathery torpedo.

The Tropius apparently loved the idea of a race as well, because it lowered its head and used its wings to pump it forward to come up next to the Meganium and the trainer astride it, who both now were ambitiously racing. Joey thought analytically, We're all too heavy. I would recall my Pokemon, but they deserve this too. We need to be more efficient. Looking around at his possibilities, he thought of it, then issued orders to his Pokemon.

"Claw! Grip the Tropius's shoulders as best you can and use your wing power as well! Jet, position yourself near the back and perform as the rudder, just like a boat. I trust you to make the steering decisions. Kimiko, inflate yourself and help Claw." His voice was muffled by the wind whipping past, but his Pokemon heard him and worked faithfully, which Joey was glad to see. He wasn't sure if it would work. Especially Jet, who gave a Seel salute, and set to work, work he knew well. With all the extra muscle power, they zoomed past the Meganium and the surprised trainer, only to clumsily hit a slight jump in the slide, in which the air time unsettled everyone on and including the Tropius. They managed to land in front of the Meganium, but it was rather swervy. It took about 5 strides to regain their momentum as before.

Joey kept in mind that the race wasn't won yet.

[Master Houndoom]

With the battle over, and Darryn having put the abomasnow in a position where it wouldn't be a danger (until, of course, it was first released by its new trainer), the migration began to get the pokemon not only to safety, but to warmth as well. Meiko took the time to kneel and stroke Desertdancer's forehead for a job well done, and hug Ramhorn before she held up their pokéballs, recalling them at their nods. Lately her pokemon seemed unwilling to leave her side, and she'd begun leaving them out like Jaima often usually did. Ramhorn had been especially adamant. However, both seemed to realize that not only would the great migration be easier without two more pokemon to crowd the halls, but that Chompwater, the large feraligatr, would be sufficient to survive her.

Or they were just tired. Meiko wasn't sure.

The group moved down the hallway, leading the procession of pokemon of all kinds; aipom and chatot, oddish and bellsprout, beautifly and butterfree, and some mothim and dustox as well. It was like they were Noah, except none of the animals were two by two.

Chompwater held out a massive claw, stopping Meiko, who had let out Eggheart. Eggheart was looking around excitedly, but something was still off about her. She was not as boisterous as usual. Unfortunately, Meiko was too distracted to take much more than passing notice. It had, after all, been a trying day.

Meiko looked up at her feraligatr and noticed that the people ahead of them were rapidly disappearing. At first she was alarmed, and then realized, with a growing grin, what was happening. The floor was slick, and began to angle downward. It was a massive slide, and after everything else they'd seen in the castle, this made a terrible amount of sense.

"Oohh ho ho ho!" she chuckled, and looked up at Chompwater. "Think you can catch us up, sweetheart?"

Chompwater grunted with a nod of her massive head (her lower jaw nearly striking the top of Meiko's head), and bent over, allowing Meiko access to her back. Meiko hopped on and Chompwater launched forward, landing on the floor on her belly, the momentum allowing them to start the slide at a decent speed. With a practiced precision, Meiko stood up, balancing on Chompwater's back like a surfer on a board. With a cry of delight, she maintained her balance as Chompwater's tail churned back and forth, slithering along the ground like a snake and lending them more speed.

Soon she was passing miltanks rolling out, sliding pokemon, and gaining on a pair of large sauropods, a tropius who was, for now, in a pokemon assisted lead, and a meganium who was lowering itself as aerodynamically as possible to catch up.

"Get us level with Pan!" Meiko shouted, and felt the surge as her pokemon complied. Eggheart climbed up to Meiko's head, jarring her stone, which flew out of her pouch and clattered down the slide. For some reason, though there was a surprised cry of "PY!", Eggheart did not burst into tears.

"Isn't this great?!" Meiko hollered as she and Pan became level with one another. The slide turned, and the floor tilted to turn it into a bank, which Meiko was on the outside of. Tilting her body and bending her knees, she leaned into the turn, whooping as Chompwater compensated. It wasn't exactly like surfing, but it was close enough to make Meiko happy.

Eggheart squealed from the top of her head, and Meiko laughed. "This is so awesome!"

[Toogee]

Before Pan attempted to get back into the lead, she looked to her side to see Meiko on top of her feraligatr. She loved her surfer style of riding. “Yeah, this is great!” Pan replied, as if Meiko was stating the obvious. She watched as Meiko handled the bank as if it were made of water.

“Nice!” she exclaimed. She flashed a smile at the successful attempt at land surfing, a skill she would have to ask Meiko about. Pan was going to try it out herself when she spotted her ivysaur Turnip sliding right past the two. On his back was her growlithe Fenrir, sitting regally as the wind blew through his fur. He certainly didn’t feel like a king though.

“Slow down. This wind is bugging my eyes.” The growlithe’s eyes were mere slits to keep the rushing air out.

“I’m sorry, do you need a rest?” the ivysaur replied sarcastically. Turnip kept between Pan’s and Meiko’s mounts, maintaining speed to keep at their sides.

Pan had other plans.

“See you guys at the finish line,” Pan shouted as she leaned her body across the meganium’s back. The meganium pushed her right legs against the wall, pushing her self forward in a diagonal direction. This increased her speed further, causing her to pass by Meiko and head for Joey. Pan’s hair rustled through the breeze as she rushed forward.

The aipom waved to the passengers on the tropius with his hand-shaped tail as the meganium entered their line of sight. The pachirisu Chi-Chi, however, stuck her tongue out; they were neck to neck in this race. Pan looked over to Joey to examine her opponent. He wasn’t much younger than herself, dressing in gray and black. His short brown hair flowed through the wind in a similar fashion to Pan’s. More significant to Pan, Joey didn’t appear to smile. Was he not having fun? How was that even possible?

“Hey,” Pan shouted, “why so serious?” Pan smiled to Joey, hoping to coax a similar action from his face.