[X] My Assistant

[Kamaitachi]

A low growl emanated from Pino. Despite his warning, the child had continued to interfere.

"Dragonair." He threw a pokeball forward, summoning to the field the most elegant of Dragon Pokemon, Dragonair. She held her head high in the air, glaring imperiously downwards at the trio of pokemon assailing Horsea and Swablu. "Kid, this is your final warning. Back off now, or all of you end up in world of hurt. Back. Off. Now.

With the Dragonair floating between Pino and Vernon's trio, all hope was pretty much lost for Vernon and his team. On the ground, and still quite unconscious, Tag groaned and rolled slightly to one side, blood trickling down his chest, where the tank top had torn open, revealing a long, painful looking bruise from where Flygon had impacted. The Mystic Pokemon had not landed a fatal blow with his claws, but rather turned them for a more concussive force.

"Swablu, Horsea, Return." Lily recalled her two pokemon after they received another set of attacks from Vernon's. They were at a rather low level, so they didn't inflict too much damage on Lily's more experienced and trained pokemon, but still, the damage would stack up if she hadn't been careful. "Please, let us go." She begged quietly "We don't want to hurt you, too. We accomplished our mission, so please, let us be."

[Wildivlax]

"Fine! I'll leave you alone, but allow me one question: Are your Pokemon your friends? Or are they just weapons of power to you? Because if they were your friends, you probably wouldn't be so cruel and evil! Think about what I said, ok? And something else, why do you think he's evil?" Vernon gestured to Tag, "Dragonair! Is he your friend? Would you do anything for him? Can't you see he's the evil one? Pokemon are people's friends! And he's destroying that bond! Don't you understand what a terrible person he is?" Vernon shouted this all, recalling Zora and Ray MK III. He knew it was foolish to try and talk to a Pokemon, but he still tried.

[Kamaitachi]

Pino stopped, placing his hand just behind Dragonair's head, holding it there gently. Vernon's 'one question' easily turned into at least five, but, he was a child that lacked the maturity that Lily had. She was only a year older than him.

"Kid, the world isn't Black and White. A good person can use pokemon for tools, and an evil person can be friends with pokemon."

Dragonair nodded slowly, and nestled herself against Pino, floating around so that her head was nuzzled against his side, gently. A sure enough sign that Dragonair both loved and trusted her trainer, Pino. She'd understood Vernon just fine, but disagreed, like her trainer.

"That man, Taggarty Lee, committed a terrible crime and was exiled from our home, Blackthorn City. His pokemon were stripped of him, and he was set loose into the world. That was his punishment for his crime." Pino choked softly, fighting back the torrent of emotions, whirling dangerously close to the 'out-of-control' phase. "But our parents died, because of him and his Pokemon. His Dragonite killed them! That man took our parents from us! He used his pokemon as tools, and he doesn't deserve them!" The man's voice rose in pitch and intensity. "You cannot tell me that this Justice is wrong. He took something precious from us, so we're taking something back from him. But we're not killers, like he is." Pino spat towards the ground where Tag lay, then turned.

"One day, kid," he continued "you'll grow up, and you'll understand what this all means." Pino turned, resting an arm around Lily as they walked away, Dragonair floating alongside them as they rounded a corner and disappeared.

* * *

Once Pino and Lily were gone, Tag slowly stirred, propping himself up. Shaking his head slowly, his hands reached to his pokeball belt. His eyes widened suddenly as he felt the notable absence. Disbelievingly, he prodded around his waist a few more times, then sat bolt upright, seeing no one but Vernon.

"Vernon...where did he go?" He asked quietly, placing a hand to his aching chest. "Where did he take my friends?"

[Wildivlax]

"I'm sorry, but I tried to stop them," Vernon said, hanging his head, "But, they just rounded that corner." He pointed. "You might be able to catch up with him. If you want, you can borrow Zora or Ray MK III. They're weak, but you can count on them. Actually, because I let him get away, you can keep either one. Here, it's your choice," He finished pulling out the Pokeballs, holding one in each hand.

[Kamaitachi]

Tag looked at Vernon, surprised by the sincerity and utmost kindness of the gesture. Even though he was a child, Vernon was attempting something utterly selfless, with no regard to his own feelings towards his pokemon friends.

"Vernon. Thank you" A rare smile crossed Tag's face "But I can't take your friends from you." Shakily, he rose to his feet, then took a deep breath. "Follow me."

The more seasoned trainer made a beeline for the Pokemon Center, heading straight to the computer. After pulling up a few files from his personal records, he punched in a telephone number. Blackthorn City Pokemon Storage appeared on the screen, with a pleasant chiming phone indicating that a phone call was being made.

The screen opened, revealing an empty room.

"Edwin!" Tag called, almost frantically into the room. "EDWIN!"

Still no reply.

In disgust, Tag slammed down the phone.

"Vernon, heal your pokemon up quickly. Wait here for me. I'll be right back. I may need your help in getting my friends back."

The slighted Trainer made his way out the door with surprising speed, and total disregard for his current injury. His breathing was a bit labored from the bruising, but still he pushed himself forward. All he had in storage were Zuki and Orin, and those two alone would not be enough to re-challenge Pino. Dashing into the Pokemon Mart, Tag slammed some money down on the counter.

"Quick Balls. As many as I can get."

The clerk lazily reached into a drawer, procuring...two. Tag stared disbelievingly at the two fancily designed pokeballs, but resigned himself to that amount. Haggling at this point would only waste time, he felt.

The man rushed out the nearest exit of the town (which was, conveniently, the side he was on!) and scoured around the sand, looking for any sign of pokemon life. Any sign at all.

Some motion behind a rock on his left. A small head peeked around the corner, curious, spiral eyes staring at him. Without thinking to consider that the pokemon might've been a very weak one, Tag threw the Quick Ball with all of his might. The Ball smacked the creature, evidently a Spinda, square in the head, sucking the pokemon into its recesses. The ball pinged almost immediately, as the unsuspecting Pokemon had no time to react against the sudden move.

Tag questioned the ability of a pokemon that was captured so easily, but nevertheless he ran over and picked it up.

He smiled at the Pokeball. Spinda, the terribly undervalued pokemon. It's offensive prowess was on the low side, but the pokemon possessed many moves that would fit Tag's new style of play.

The aforementioned Rock next to him suddenly twitched, turning sideways to face him. Its flat face revealed something that looked like a nose, and it peered at him curiously through its 'closed' eyes.

"Nose. Pass." The creature sounded at him. "Pass?"

"Hello." Tag bowed respectfully to it. "Was this Spinda your friend?"

It shook its body in response, its arms now free as it wiggled them about, almost experimentally.

"Oh. Well...would you like to be my friend?"

The Nosepass blinked, for a moment. Its eyes slowly creased upwards, almost as if it were smiling at him, before it gave a slow nod.

"Then, welcome aboard." Tag reached out with his second quick ball, tapping the Nosepass on its...nose...and sucked it in, making his second capture.

Rushing back to the Pokemon Centre with his new Pokemon, Tag desperately needed to get in touch with Edwin and get both of his other pokemon back from Blackthorn. As he burst in, he ran over to the computer and pulled up his info again, to see a call attempting to connect!

Tag punched in his code, and Edwin's bearded face and smiling eyes appeared on the screen.

"Hey Taggaroo! I was using the john when you called. What's up?"

"I need my pokemon back. Pino arrived."

"Oh, how is ol' Pino? Which pokemon are you going to transfer over?"

"Pino took my pokemon, Ed. I need Zuki and Orin immediately. Pino knocked me out and stole my pokemon!" The frenetic quality of Tag's voice rose tremendously as he attempted to retrieve his still available comrades. It was the only way to get his entire team back. "And when we're done here, set it so that my Pokemon arrive at the Elm Lab in Johto, okay?"

"Tag..." Edwin frowned "You don't trust me?"

"I don't trust Pino. If he knows my Pokemon are going to Blackthorn, he can just get them there." Tag shook his head "Now hurry up, I have to chase him down."

"Well here, I'm going to send Zuki back over with a Dawn Stone, so you can evolve Orin into a Frosslass. AND! That way you can see it. Will that help a bit?"

"Edwin, you're wonderful."

"It's my way of saying sorry! Anywho, here goes!"

Within moments, two pokeballs appeared on the tray in front of Tag. He picked them up, nodding at Edwin.

"You're the best, Ed. We'll be in touch."

"Look forward to it, bud. Good luck with Pino!"

Tag turned, looking to Vernon and holding out his four new pokeballs. Throwing them on the ground, he revealed a confused looking Spinda, who wobbled about on her unsteady legs, The other, the opposite of unsteady, stood fairly unmoving in a very...Nosepass-y way. Then Zuki appeared, wagging his tail animatedly with a shining stone in his hand, followed shortly by Orin, who appeared and looked upwards at Tag with her beady eyes and her eternally concerned look.

"We have a mission everyone. We need to rescue Suzu, Bachi, Kyoko, Tonbo and Tobi" Tag swept his gaze across the four pokemon. He pointed at the Spinda, who stared upward at him anxiously. "Are you a boy?" She shook her head slowly. "Then how about...Kana?" A slow smile spread across her features. As she gave a little twirl, Tag noted that one of the patches on her back resembled a five pointed star with rounded edges. It seemed, very unique for a Pokemon whose fur splotches were random. "Kana, thank you." He turned to the Nosepass and blinked. "You must be a boy." A disapproving look appeared on the Nosepass's rather impassive features, and Tag raised his hands in defense "Sorry, sorry. How about I call you...Uchi?" The Nosepass beamed, her eyes moving back into their smiling position, and Tag reached down to shake the new girls' hands. "Kana and Uchi, I'm Taggarty Lee. Pleased to meet you."

"Okay, Orin, are you ready to evolve?" The Snorunt nodded, a bit anxiously. She seemed unsure, but she knew that if Tag was asking her, then he probably had good reason to do so. Tag knelt down before her, taking the Dawn Stone from Zuki's mouth. "Thank you, Orin." With that, he placed the Dawn stone in her hands.

A familiar 'jolt' sounded through the room, and Orin took on a faint, chilling glow. After a moment, it intensified, causing everyone present to shield their eyes as it floated up in the air. At its apex, there was a brilliant set of flashes, as if several cameras had gone off in rapid succession. As the light faded back down, a beautiful Frosslass floated in the air before Tag, shyly covering her mouth with one of her hands. Tag remembered that Frosslass tended to appear coy, but he figured that Orin had still retained her rather timid nature.

"Excellent." Tag reached out, taking Orin's hand as well. "Now, we need to fight...is everyone ready?" Tag's new team nodded in unison, sounding out their names with a mixture of eagerness and apprehension.

Finally, Tag turned to Vernon, nodding. "How about you? Are you ready?"

Orin
Zuki
Kana
Uchi

Tag caught a Spinda and a Nosepass, then evolved Snorunt into Froslass! It rhymes!

[Wildivlax]

"Ok. One second," Vernon handed over his Pokémon, recieving them back again. "Let's go!" He dashed from the center, heading for the corner. Halfway, he tripped and saw, with a gasp, an extremely badly injured Mudkip. He picked it up and dashed into the Pokemart, slamming down money, demanding a Potion. Once in possesion of the little bottle, he sprayed the Mud Fish Pokémon, waiting for a while with no response, hoping for even a twitch of life, waiting, hoping, desiring for this more then even the heal of Razor, because no Pokémon would die on his watch.

[Kamaitachi]

As Vernon rushed out the door, Tag called out to him: "Hurry back!"

It wasn't like he actually needed Vernon to face down Pino again, but the kid had a vested interested in Tag's success, and Tag, likewhile, was keen on having the company.

In the meantime, knowing he didn't have too much time to give chase to the people who had stolen his pokemon, Tag flipped out his pokedex. Scanning over Kana, his new Spinda. His eyes darted back and forth quickly, in an attempt to absorb information on the little dizzy bear. There wasn't too much he needed to know, until his eyes finally came across the much desired "Move List"

"Tackle, Uproar, Copycat, Faint Attack, Psybeam, Hypnosis, Dizzy Punch, Sucker Punch...Role Play?" He blinked. He hadn't expected to see such an interesting move in Kana's available techniques, and this was definitely one that could open up some possibilities. Pino was currently using a Sandstorm team, evidently, and having his Spinda copy the abilities of Flygon (Levitate), or Gabite (Sand Veil, or Rough Skin), would definitely open up some new things on his side, defensively.

He moved the dex over to Uchi, the Nosepass. She beamed happily up at him, but otherwise remained unmoving in her spot. Tag allowed himself to smile back at her, charmed by her silly eyes-only-smile. The lonely Nosepass seemed almost elated to have made new friends, and she quickly turned back to engage in what could only be conversation with Zuki. The Poochyena hopped happily around her, sniffing at her and placing his paws wherever he could; an obvious show of interest in the rock pokemon.

"Tackle, Harden, Rock Throw, Block, Thunder Wave, Rock Slide...Stealth Rock and Magnitude?" The Egg moves had caught him off guard once again. Stealth Rock was an excellent move, and he was surprised that Uchi knew such a technique. However, the main move that interested him, Thunder Wave, would have very little effect on the ground-dragon pokemon, but her ability to be a defensive bulwark in the sandstorm seemed quite viable. She also, evidently, possessed the innate ability "Sand Force", which would power up her Rock, Ground and Steel moves in the aforementioned Sand Storm.

He currently knew Zuki's moves, so there was no real need to scan the Poochyena once more, but Orin, however, had just evolved into Froslass. She floated hesitantly about the room, a curious look on her face. She wasn't yet used to movement in three dimensions, and was getting the hang of moving about in the air. As suspected, the Pokedex indicated that she had retained her moves from prior to evolution, but had added a few more to her arsenal. Tag's eyes widened as he noticed that Confuse Ray, Ominous Wind, Captivate, and Ice Shard had been added to her repertoire. Confuse Ray and Ice Shard seemed like precisely the sort of moves he needed against the Dragons, so he was definitely excited to see them.

Looking back up from his quick research, Tag noted that Vernon had not yet returned. Recalling the team to their pokeballs, he stepped out of the center. Immediately, he noted Vernon crouched over something, and he moved his way over. He was a bit irritated, but that quickly dissipated as he saw the battered Mudkip on the ground.

"C'mon, let's take it back to the Pokemon Center." Tag frowned. Reaching down, he scooped up the Mudkip as gently as possible, holding it as safely as he could for the time being. Signaling for Vernon to follow with a jerk of his head, he made his way back into the Center, where he gingerly handed it off to one of the Chansey Nurses.

"They'll take care of it, Vernon. We can come back to check up on it." He frowned "In the mean time, we've some thieves to chase. Are you ready?"

"

[Wildivlax]

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm ready!" Vernon replied hastily, bouncing from one foot to the other, "I just hope I'll be able to help. Zora!" The Evil Fox came out, looking up expectantly at Vernon. "Turn into a Ghastly and attempt to find Pino and Lily. Don't get caught by anyone, got it?" Zora actedd accordingly, floating out through the wall once changed. "Shall we go?"

[Kamaitachi]

Tag held up a hand, stopping Zora from floating off.

"Don't waste your time searching." The older trainer nodded to Vernon, appreciative of his enthusiasm and efforts. "We'll find them immediately."

He drew out the pokeball for Zuki, who appeared in the usual way. Standing proudly and sternly, the Poochyena awaited orders. Tag had not gotten too much time to get to know Poochyena, only having caught the puppy recently at Starfall Field. However, Zuki showed a great aptitude for battle, and a seriousness that most puppies did not possess.

"Track down the smell of my belt." Tag ordered, pocketing his pokeball. It was rather odd, after all, to not have the customary belt. He wasn't quite sure where to store the pokeballs at the current.. The Poochyena barked an affirmative upon receiving the command and immediately set about sniffing. Before long, he bolted out the door.

"Let's follow." Tag waved Vernon to follow, running out after the sprinting puppy.

* * *

Before long, they arrived at an unused building at edge of the Aridana Oasis Town. It appeared to have been the result of a fire some time before, lacking a roof, but had four fairly sturdy walls. Poochyena led them to the entrance, wherein Tag promptly burst through the 'doorway'. The door essentially disintegrated from Tag's entrance. While he could've simply opened the door and walked through, he had clearly opted for the more dramatic choice. Within, Vernon and Tag found Pino and Lily clambering up on Flygon to make their exit.

Upon seeing the two, Pino immediately dismounted, snapping his fingers for Flygon's attention. The two squared up against Tag and Zuki. The look on Pino's face implied that he had not prepared for Tag's speedy recovery. A slight nod of his head indicated that he was actually rather impressed.

Aware that serious violence loomed on the horizon, Zuki trotted forward, dutifully taking his place in the center of the field. Silently, Flygon moved to counter, standing opposite the makeshift playing field while Tag and Pino stared each other down.

Lily, meanwhile, moved quietly to her position opposite Vernon, ready to instigate round 2 of the fight.

"Swablu" The cotton-bird pokemon appeared before Vernon, floating gently in the air as she waited for Vernon's choice to appear on the field.

Pino looked over at Lily, and Tag immediately knew that Sandstorm would not be an issue this time: It had the potential to hurt his ally's pokemon throughout the match, and from the looks of it, Pino wasn't willing to risk that. He met eyes with Tag once more, and simultaneously, the two shouted out their orders!

"Flygon, Sand Tomb!"

"Zuki, Swagger!"

Flygon's wings slammed into the ground, creating a swirling vortex of sand underneath the Poochyena, who nevertheless managed to turn around and waggle his rear end in return. Now, for the moment, Zuki would be trapped in the sand, unable to really get out of it to land an attack, but Flygon was quite confused, and angry from the looks of it.

"Flygon, Dragon Claw"

Not waiting to witness the results, Tag called out his counter-order: "Scary Face."

Flygon lifted off the ground to fly forward, but due to his confusion, ended up jetting directly into the ground, for some surprisingly serious damage. When the Desert Spirit Pokemon looked back up, he found himself staring into the most hideous snarl that Zuki could've mustered. An evil chill from the pooch's bloodthirsty eyes and the sight of saliva dripping down the savage looking fangs was enough to make any pokemon second guess its choice in opponent.

"Flygon, stay at a distance, Dragonbreath!"

Shaking its head a bit, Flygon attempted to fire off the draconic beam with surprising success. It launched forward out of his mouth, slamming into the puppy. However, Pino had miscalculated Flygon's increase in strength and confusion; the beam launched Zuki clear of the damaging sand-tomb. With his mobility once again back in play, Tag's calm voice floated across the field:

"Poochyena, Howl!" With an adorable howl, the puppy drummed up some of his own courage and strength, ready to add extra force to his physical attacks.

"Not intimidated." Pino muttered to himself, then ordered: "Dragon Claw!" There was hesitation in Flygon's next move, as he moved to jet forward once again, but ended up tumbling into the ground.

"Zuki, Assurance." Unlike before, Tag was now prepared for the battle, and was, for now, pushing his emotions aside. Something about Vernon's utmost trust in him, despite the fact that he was the bad guy in this situation, made him able to focus on the battle. At least it meant that he wasn't truly beyond redemption. He watched as his Poochyena streaked forward, landing heavily on the Flygon's head and slamming it back down into the ground for extra damage.

Flygon rose slowly from the ground, and Pino seemed steamed at the fact that one of his prized Pokemon was losing to...well...a Poochyena. This was a pokemon that most people laughed at when faced, but now, the little puppy was proving a formidable opponent. The confused and dazed look seemed to have been removed from Flygon's eyes, but the creature already appeared to be low on stamina.

"Flygon, Dragon Claw!" This was the dangerous part: While Tag's gambit had paid off in full, he now had a fully alert Flygon with monstrous attack flying in towards his rather frail Poochyena. Even one of those Dragon claws could spell the end of the first round, and Tag intended to not lose it.

"Zuki, bite!"

The puppy obediently ran forward, defying the ferocious attack. However, the move landed cleanly, sending the puppy pokemon flying back at Tag, landing him in a crumpled heap at his feet.

Tag frowned, recalling his defeat friend back into the pokeball, not having wanted to give Pino the upper hand at all. He needed a pokemon to strike quickly now, to end Pino's advantage. It was early, but he had to play his trump card.

"Orin, Ice Shard."

Part of the strategy of nicknames was that the opponent was never quite sure what pokemon they were about to face. Pino heard the move ice shard, but still didn't know which pokemon would be using the move. Before he could react in full, Tag's Froslass had appeared on the field, and had already felled his magnificent Flygon. Stomping the ground in frustration, Pino recalled the pokemon and sent out his next: Dragonair. He had Gabite and one more dragon in reserve, but Dragonair would receive the least damage from the Ice attacks. To his surprise, Tag recalled his Froslass once again, summoning up another pokemon to the field.

"Uchi, go."

To Pino's surprise, it was a Nosepass, standing unmoving, before him on the field.

The two, knowing that they were currently even and at a standstill, turned to see how Vernon and Lily were fairing in their match.

[Wildivlax]

"Zora! Go!" A Froslass appeared, glaring at the Swablu. "Zora! Pursuit!" The Froslass started tracking the Swablu, following it's every move, getting closer by the second. Come on, Lily. Recall your precious little Dragon and send out that ink-spitting sea horse of yours. Vernon shifted, and an evil and mischievious gleam caught, set and stuck in his eye, having a perfect stradegy set.

[Kamaitachi]

Lily appeared taken aback at the fact that Vernon also possessed a Froslass. She had most visibly remembered a Croagunk and Riolu, but perhaps this trainer had more to him than just some baby pokemon. Zora the Froslass hammered at her Swablu with Pursuit, which most likely meant that she would finish up with a big ice attack. That was unacceptable.

"Swablu, return. Horsea, you're up!" Horsea had a resistance to the Ice attacks, and could at least set the tone of the battle more in her favour. "Let's use Smokescreen!"

Lily only had one other pokemon in her line-up: Trapinch, so hopefully Vernon didn't also magically possess any grass pokemon.

* * *

Tag, satisfied with how aptly Vernon appeared to be handling himself, set about to the battle at hand. Dragonair, magnifenct and beautiful, stared down his awkward looking, but still cute, Nosepass.

"Dragonair, Twister!"

"Uchi, Thunder Wave!"

As the Dragonair spun in the air to whip up her ferocious twister attack, she suddenly found herself reeling in pain as the low jolt of electricity coursed along her body.

Pino cursed loudly, despite the presence of the two younger trainers, and Tag took the immediate opportunity to keep the battle in his favour. He knew that there was a Gabite and one other pokemon in tow, but the Gabite, with his super-effective attacks was the one the worry about. Even if Dragonair shed her paralysis with Shed Skin, Tag was intent on keeping her in play.

"Uchi, Block!" As Pino shot out the beam of light to recall his pokemon, a rock wall shot up, obscuring the beam and rendering it ineffective.

"Rock Slide." Uchi nodded her entire body, then stomped herself on the ground, shooting up a wave of rocks from the ground, hammering the Dragonair repeatedly.

"Dragonair, Aqua Tail!"

Tag winced at the sound of the attack. He had made an oversight in forgetting that Dragonair possessed that technique. He watched closely for signs of paralysis, but Dragonair, at least for this turn, had surpassed it. She slammed her watery tail violently down on to Uchi, who clearly suffered some massive damage from it.

"Uchi, Stealth Rock!" Uchi slowly moved into a spin, then sped up, shooting out small rocks that floated around Dragonair's side of the field before vanishing from sight. Tag knew that Uchi was not much longer for the fight, but he had to set things up for the next few rounds. He would be down, but that didn't mean he couldn't make an impressive comeback.

"Dragonair, Aqua Tail!" He watched as this time, the Dragonair did indeed succumb to her paralysis, and remained rooted in her spot, her beautiful eyes shut tight in pain. This bought him a little extra time to add some more damage before his next player.

"Uchi, Rock Slide!" Once again, Uchi slammed her body down on the ground, shooting up a wave of rocks over at the Dragonair, who weathered them, if just barely. For a moment, she glowed, and Tag hoped that she was at the point of evolving (Dragonite, unlike Dragonair, had a quadruple weakness to ice after all). However, she remained herself, and appeared to be quite clear of the paralysis.

"Dragonair's Shed Skin." Pino smiled, relieved. Tag smirked; he knew full well Dragonair's abilities, and it was just fine for him. This was the best possible turn of events for this round of battle. "Use Aqua Tail"

Tag smiled as Uchi hit the ground next to him, dripping wet and looking quite displeased.

"Don't worry, new friend." He reached down, stroking the side of her stony head. "You did wonderfully." With that, he recalled her, drumming up his other quick ball from his pocket.

"Kana!"

Both Tag and Pino stared awkwardly as Kana appeared in a reclined position, resting on the floor like a Shah, or a lounge singer. She smiled a cheeky Spinda smile before spinning herself upwards into a standing position, staggering around like a drunkard. Both of the trainers took a moment to laugh quietly at the sight, Tag from amusement, Pino from amazement.

"Dragonair, Dragon Rush!"

"Kana, Sucker Punch!" As Dragonair sped towards her foe, wrapped in draconic energy, the tiny Kana sprang forwards, meeting her in midair with a surprisingly fast attack. The Dragonair reeled backwards, unable to finish her technique.

"Kana, Copycat!" Kana burst forward with surprising speed, slamming into Dragonair with the same draconic aura from earlier, producing a super-effective hit! Dragonair hit the ground hard, and Pino found himself at a loss for words. Kana took a bow at Pino, before tottering back to her place on the field.

"Dragonair Return. Gabite!"

The menacing looking, juvenile land shark appeared, staring down his opponent. Pino had the choice of activating Sandstorm at the defecit to everyone on the field, including Lily and Vernon. If he did, Tag would use Roleplay to mimic Gabite's Sand Veil, if he didn't, then Tag had a few other tricks up his sleeve.

He couldn't use any Dragon Moves, for fear of the Spinda's Copycat, so he opted instead for:

"Sand Tomb!"

Once again, a whirling pit of sand appeared underneath Tag's pokemon, trapping her there. However, just as before, Tag was already ready for the lack of mobility.

"Kana, Hypnosis!"

As the Gabite hit the floor, suddenly asleep from the Spinda's swirling eyes. Tag once again turned to Vernon to check up on his battle.

[Wildivlax]

You played right into my trap... Hehehe... Vernon shifted, and an evil and mischievious gleam caught, set and stuck in his eye. "Zora! Return! Go! Ray MK III! Astonish!" The Toxic Mouth Pokemon appeared and charged, cackling uncontrollably, his eyes wild.

[Kamaitachi]

With all of the build up, Tag had been expecting a much more potent strategy. He wasn't quite sure what Vernon planned to do with this, but at the very least, he currently had the advantage.

"Oh..." Lily winced as her Horsea took a heavy Astonish hit, clearly too flinched to do anything. Once the cute little pokemon had shaken off the effects, Lily swept her hand out, pointing at the Toxic frog. "Water Gun!"

* * *

With Gabite asleep on the ground, Tag anxiously watched to see Pino's next move. The only problem at the moment was that the Sand Tomb was chipping away at Kana's stamina, weakening her slowly. If Pino waited for Gabite to awaken, Tag would have some time to attack and weaken it up again, like before. However, Tag figured that Pino, like himself, had aimed for the mightiest Dragon Pokemon from each area. That meant, most likely, that Pino's final pokemon was a Salamence. That in itself was enough to take down the two remainders on Tag's team if he didn't play his cards right.

Pino seemed to be stalling, trying to come up with a solution while Kana wore down in the Sand Tomb, so Tag merely offered a chance to continue the battle.

"Kana, Psybeam!" The beam slammed into the sleeping pokemon, knocking it upwards, then flopping it dramatically onto its back. The Gabite continued snoring, as if the attack had never occured, but Tag knew that damage had taken place, and it couldn't last forever.

"One more!" Another Psybeam slammed into the Land Shark, this time awakening it. Growling, Gabite jumped back to his feet, and the fire in Pino's eyes lit up intensely.

"No more stalling. Gabite! Sandstorm!"

"Kana! Role Play!"

The Sand Tomb faded, but a much bigger problem arose in the larger sandstorm, filling the room. Pino and Lily instinctively slapped down their goggles, allowing them to shield their eyes. Tag, however, had to make do with closing and shielding his once again.

"Gabite! Dragon Claw!" As Gabite rushed forward, slashing with his glowing claw, it noticed that it couldn't actually find the Spinda it was searching for. Tag's effective command of "Role Play" had given Kana Gabite's Sand Veil ability, allowing her to hide in the Sandstorm.

"Kana, Faint Attack!"

Pino winced. Faint Attack had perfect accuracy, and sure enough, his Gabite was floored before the Spinda disappeared back into the Sandstorm. Gabite, likewise, did the same, and the two waited eagerly for their commands.

The Dragon Tamer (not to be confused with the Ex-Dragon Trainer), waited patiently, knowing that the Spinda's health was wearing down, but Tag, evidently, did not.

"Faint Attack!" One more, combined with the Psybeams, and the fatigue from fainting in the earlier battle was enough to fell the Gabite.

The Sandstorm remained on the field, however, even as Pino recalled his defeated Land Shark.

"Salamence!"

Tag, despite not seeing the field, knew the creature quite well. Its intimidate had probably already taken effect, lowering Spinda's already minimal offenses. However, Tag was not done with Kana's tricks.

"Kana! Roleplay!"

Pino winced once again. Appearing in the sandstorm, the adorable Spinda suddenly seemed a bit more menacing, and even the mighty Salamence appeared...intimidated.

"Salamence, Dragonbreath!"

It was an interesting choice of move, Tag decided. Even with the lowered attack, Salamence was still formidable, but Pino had opted for a special attack, which dispersed somewhat in the Sandstorm, but nevertheless struck true.

Kana stood up after reeling from the blow, but pain seemed to wrack her entire body. Tag frowned with displeasure, because Dragonbreath's paralysis had immediately taken effect.

"Copycat!"

The energy this time shot out from Kana, though rather weakly. It dispersed even further in the Sandstorm, but nevertheless hit home, dealing some damage to the Hoenn Dragon, but the lack of force in the move did not provide enough strength to paralyze the beast.

"Once more!"

"Evade!"

The command fell on responsive ears, but a numb body. Salamence's Dragon Breath had effectively settled in its entirety, and Kana was unable to even attempt a dodge before the wave of energy swept over her.

Tag slowly opened his eyes once he felt the sharp sting of the sand subside, and sure enough, the Sandstorm had faded. It, along with Kana's one Dragonbreath, had dealt some damage to Salamence. On top of this, Tag saw that several of the Stealth Rock stones were digging into Salamence's hide and wings, effectively dealing it more damage.

The end of the battle was near, but Tag took the moment to recall Kana and pause, looking over to see how Vernon had fared during the Sandstorm.

[Wildivlax]

The Sandstorm raked across Vernon, who wore clothes to protect himself from these, after living in Aridana for a year or two. Then, it struck Ray MK III, who wavered a bit, then the Water Gun hit it, replenishing it's health. "Ha! Hahaha!" Vernon chuckled, "I knew your Horsea knew that, but it's ineffective on my Croagunk. That's because of his ability, Dry Skin. Keep firing of those Water Guns and he'll stay at full health. Use those Smokescreens and you don't do damage yourself. You've already lost, girl. Now! Mud Slap!" A bolt of mud, dirt, grime and sand went streaking through the storm towards the Horsea, staying strong in the Sandstorm.

[Kamaitachi]

Shaking his head as Vernon explained his entire strategy to Lily, Tag returned to his battle, finally drawing out the last pokeball, which Pino was clearly expecting.

Lily, meanwhile, shrugged off Vernon's taunts, recalling her Horsea before it took any more damage. The Mud Slap had lowered her accuracy, and she had taken some damage from the attacks of Ray MK III. Her final pokemon appeared on the field, even though she still had Swablu and Horsea in reserve. Ever the cautious battler, Lily summoned forth her Trapinch.

The ground pokemon's ability, Arena Trap, would make things very difficult for Ray, since he could not retreat from this fight.

"Trapinch! Sand Attack!" The Ant Pit pokemon opened his mouth, firing off a cloud of sand aimed directly at Ray's eyes. While defensively, the typing was better, both of Trapinch's offensive techniques were dark type, which Croagunk resisted. Nevertheless, Lily wasn't sure how else to play at this stage in the battle.

* * *

"Orin, Ice Shard!"

Once again, before she had even finished materializing, Orin had slashed at the air with her arms, sending out several frozen daggers. The barrage peppered the Salamence, who roared angrily in pain. The double weakness to ice made this battle incredibly unfavourable for Pino, but he had a few more moves to try out.

"Salamence! Steel Wing!"

Tag grimaced visibly as the Salamence streaked through the air at his pokemon. The Steel Wing hit hard, slamming the Froslass back against the wall. Despite the super effectiveness of that attack, she floated back up, bruised, but unbeaten. A sigh of relief escaped from Tag's throat; luckily he'd had Kana lower Salamence's attack earlier.

"Orin, hang in there. Another Ice Shard!"

"Salamence, Counter with Steel Wing!" Pino yelled from across the field. As the Salamence readied himself to make the move, a look of confusion suddenly crossed his face. The technique failed to activate! This was followed immediately by the barrage of ice shards from Orin's own technique.

Pino, like his Salamence, seemed utterly dismayed and dumbstruck at the fact that Steel Wing had failed to even start up. Tag, unlike Vernon, didn't feel the need to explain the situation; he needed every advantage he could get. Little did Pino know, Orin possessed the ability "Cursed Body", which would occasionally disable physical moves that hit her. Steel Wing was no longer a viable option in the match, and Pino had to think fast.

"Orin, Ice Shard" Normally, Tag would've preferred to mix up the moves a bit, but in this situation, he had no problem spamming the same move over and over again, especially since the tactic was working, for one, and his pokemon were at stake.

"Salamence, Fire Blast!"

"Orin! Protect!" Tag inwardly cursed himself for his oversights. He should've remembered that Dragon Trainers took every precaution against Ice Pokemon, and that included making sure that each dragon had a variety of moves to counter them. His gut reaction to have Orin Protect herself had easily been the best possible choice. The Massive Five Pillared flame launched forward, passing by Orin, who had surrounded herself with a protective sphere of energy. Tag ducked down as well, to avoid the advancing flames. They passed him and struck the wall behind him. The rickety old walls immediately caught fire, spreading slowly along the wall, blocking Tag and Vernon's exit.

"Orin! Once more! Ice Shard!" The Froslass flashed forward, disappearing from sight, and reappearing behind Salamence, sending as many of the little ice daggers as she could downwards. With a discontented grunt, the Salamence slumped forward, having been hit with sandstorms, stealth rocks, and know three barrages of ice.

Pino disbelievingly stared over his defeated pokemon, while Tag, oblivious to the burning wall behind him, simply held out his hand for the pokeball belt.

Without saying a further word, Pino tossed them across the field, with Tag snatching them from the air before they hit the ground. Tag's pokedex pinged, indicating that he was now carrying more than six pokemon. With a sigh, he tapped the pokeballs for Kyoko, Tonbo and Tobi, and they disappeared in a flash of light, probably appearing in Edwin's lab, since Edwin probably hadn't changed Tag's registration yet.

Orin
Zuki
Kana
Uchi
Suzu
Bachi

With Orin floating nearby him now, Tag prepared himself to leap in and help Vernon with his match, but he wasn't sure whether or not that would be appreciated.

[Wildivlax]

As Vernon began to react to the Sand Attack, the building caught on fire. Suddenly, Vernon dropped to his knees, curled up in a tight ball, sobbing his eyes out. His un-wanted memory started appearing before his closed eyes...


"Dinner!" Vernon's mom called from the hut. "Race you in!" Vernon, five at the time, chanted playfully to his now dead sister, Katie. They giggled and laughed and charged in, washing their hands in the stream before going in. They each sat down at their regular seats around the table. They started digging in, starting up conversation. "Huh? Is it just me or does something smell like it's burning?" Vernon inquired suddenly. Then, the moment he said it, the small hut flared up. His dad swore loudly and his mom and sister, along with himself, started screaming.

The ceiling started falling in, smoldering and smashing anything in it's path, setting that all ablaze, too. "Mom! Dad! Katie!" Vernon hacked, his lungs and eyes filled with smoke and fire, unable to see, bearly able to breathe. He ran for the door, debris crashing down around him. A beam from the wall broke away and fell on him, cracking in half on contact, setting him ablaze as well, but he kept on running.

As he reached the door, he started shouting for help, coughing and wheezing all the while. As he was still on fire, he splashed into the stream, extinguishing his tattered remains of clothes. He got out and took a drink of cool, clear water to cool and clear his throat. He started shouting again, then. People started coming with buckets and Water Pokemon, bailing and spraying water on the house as quickly as they could. his aunt brought a towel and wrapped it around him.

As he sat, watching the efforts, his eyes red and puffy from the smoke and crying, a lone little Tepig approached him, crying as well. The moment it saw Vernon, it scratched into a nearby tree, the words, 'I'm sorry.' Vernon, having not learned to hate yet, hugged it close, murmuring, "It's ok... It's ok..." Both to himself and the Tepig. It stayed with him after he let go of it and gave it's best efforts to deter anyone who approached. Vernon told him his aunt Cheryl was ok. And Vernon called the Tepig Razor for how it scratched those words into the ash-covered tree bark.


All the while, Vernon was screaming, "No! Mom! Dad! Katie! No no no!"

[Kamaitachi]

Tag's eyes widened in surprise as Vernon simply fell over and began sobbing. No one expected the child to lapse into a PTSD episode at that very moment.

Turning, he saw the wall on fire, and swiftly marshalled Orin into action.

"Orin, Icy Wind!"

The efforts slowed the fire a bit, but it continued to spread. Pino quickly moved over, wrapping a protective arm around Lily and moving her away from the spreading fire. Not quite sure what to do, Tag moved over, bodily lifting Vernon into his arms.

"Ray MK III" Tag's stentorian voice resounded around the crackling sound of the fire, catching the Croagunk's attention "On my mark."

The Croagunk croaked an affirmative, waiting tersely for Tag's command.

"Trapinch, on my mark." The Trapinch nodded, bracing himself on the floor.

"Orin, Icy Wind!" Tag flashed his hand out at the wall behind Pino and Lily, covering it with a coat of ice.

"Ray! Trapinch! Attack!" The two pokemon rushed forward, both bodily tackling the wall that Orin had froze. A gaping hole appeared amidst the shattering ice and wall, forming the much needed escape. Pino grabbed Lily (who recalled her Trapinch), running her out through the exit, not bothering to look back at Tag, who was carrying Vernon, with Orin and Ray MK III in tow.

Once safely outside, and a good distance away, Tag set Vernon down on the ground, unsure as to how to broach a sobbing, emotionally paralyzed child.

"Vernon." He spoke in a fairly stern, but concerned voice "We're safe."

[Wildivlax]

Vernon's sobs slowed considerably, down to just whimpers now. He looked up at Tag, whispering, "I miss them so much..." Tears continued to silently stream down his face, glistening in the sunlight. He recalled Ray MK III and then inquired, "Did you get your friends back? And could we head back to the Pokemon Center? I want to see how they're doing."

[Kamaitachi]

"Hey, just think. You'll see them again someday."

Tag realized that it wasn't exactly the most comforting thing to tell a child who had evidently lost his family in a tragedy. The seasoned, former Dragon Trainer wasn't exactly a comforting sort of person though, and was easily one of the more awkward people ever to travel around Furoh.

"Yes, I got my friends back. I had to send a few of them back to Johto, since I can't carry more than six pokemon. Let's go get everyone healed up."

Holding out his hand as an offering to help Vernon along, the two made their way back to the pokemon center to get their friends healed up.

* * *

Before long, Tag and his pokemon team were all settled in at the Pokemon Center. Suzu and Bachi were meeting their new family, Kana and Uchi, for the first time. Suzu fussed about the two new girls, buzzing about chidingly as Kana perched precariously on top of Uchi's head. Bachi stood stalwartly by Tag, with the Zuki, the Poochyena, mimicking Bachi from Tag's other side. Orin, with her dainty hands on Tag's shoulders, peeked out from behind his head, her evolution not exactly helping her timidness.

Turning away from his pokemon for a second, Tag watched as Vernon received his friends, and was reunited with his Tepig, Razor, for the moment.

"Vernon." Tag called, beckoning the kid over. "I want to thank you for your help today. I don't have anything to give you, but I'm sure we'll meet again."

[Wildivlax]

"Y-your welcome... But, instead, I have something I want to give you," Vernon reached into a pocket and pulled out a pair of goggles, "I found these on the way over here buried in the sand. I'm giving them to you to help you when you fight Pino." He handed the Go-Goggles to Pino, then turning around and gingerly stroking Razor. "I hope I see you again someday. Oh! I almost forgot! Nurse Joy, how's that Mudkip feeling?"

((Here, I would like you to decide how this works out and play Joy, please.))

This post has been edited by Royal Summoner Kitten: Oct 24 2011, 09:34 PM