[WAR] Role Play: Terminus

[Lord Celebi]

Raidon Makoto
Hellcat VTOL Craft
En Route to AMS Deathwing En Route to Goldenrod City, Johto
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga

"Harper Tower in Goldenrod City..." Noah Ashfield was quick to reply. Makoto thought it would make for an interesting target. Entirely annihilating the building would definitely force the liquidators that Ericson was referring to to panic sell whatever they could to get their money's worth. It would be easy for DyneTech to get everything they were looking for at low, low prices. The dread lord of the Deathwing had to smile at the genius of the target.

"That's right, their HQ is still there," Tyrus Hale popped in.

Ashfield continued to reinforce his idea: "Yeah, that one. Let's light it the hell up. You want to make these pricks bleed, that's how you make them bleed."

"This is brilliant," Makoto said, throwing in his support for Ashfield's idea.

"I'm in," Reg Lando said. "How do you want to do this?"

Once it was clear to Makoto that this attack was going forward, his bloodlust got the better of him. He called in the Hellcat to pick him from the outskirts of Gateon Port and take him towards Goldenrod City. His hope was that he could catch up with the Deathwing before he made it.

"Bring in the trinity armada," Noah suggested. "We'll get the Deathwing, Fairy Dragon, and the Deathknight in on the bombardment. Oh, and gentlemen, I'll have you know that just managed to get my hands on one of the Ancient Burst Hearts. You won't believe the amount of damage you can do with this thing!"

Makoto was flabberghasted. He hadn't read any reports filed since he left to Orre. Noah Ashfield's work was commendable. The dread lord of the Deathwing made a mental note to give Ashfield a raise upon his return to the ships. He hailed a taxi and told it to take him towards the edge of Orre. Makoto then closed the window between himself and the driver so he could continue his line of conversation with the Captain's Conference.

After a brief silence wherein Makoto was sure the others within Aqua's leadership were pondering the significance of Ashfield's archaeological find, Makoto's best friend spoke up: "There was a new development while you were away, Neo, and my team resurrected Deoxys. It's a long story about how it was made possible, but now Yarvick has command of one of the strongest legendary Pokémon."

"Well fuck me twice and call me Sally. Tiantus, I really need to commend you on your work. That's a god damn powerhouse you've brought my ship," Makoto told him.

Hale's voice was noticeably more bashful, "Thanks, Raidon. That means a lot."

"You want me to lend the Ancient Burst Heart to Yarvick and have him Burst to become Mega Deoxys," Ashfield connected the dots.

"Good lord, I didn't even think of that!" Captain Lando exclaimed. The taxi had completed its journey. Makoto paid the driver and emerged from the vehicle. He grabbed a can of green smoke and threw the targeting device a few feet ahead of him. A column of green smoke shot straight up. The commander quickly saw the Hellcat coming in the distance. It dropped a ladder and Makoto climbed aboard, stowing himself in the passenger dock.

"Precisely," Hale said, reassuming his confident voice. "Nothing in Johto's first response will even be able to lay a scratch on him, let alone the naval trinity."

"Get the ships moving toward Goldenrod City," Ashfield commanded. Initially, Makoto felt uncomfortable with Ashfield giving orders that only he himself should be given, but after realizing he would have given the same exact orders, Makoto decided all Ashfield did was save him the breath. "Have Yarvick meet me on the deck of the Deathwing. I'll hand over the Ancient Burst Heart to him, but he's got to promise not to play nice with it. Get the forces together and let's unleash all hell on this place. Those are the orders, Operation Atlas Shrugged Too Much is in effect starting now. Now let's make those asshats our *****es."

"Finch," Makoto caught the attention of his other best friend. "I need you to stick around in Orre and keep some pressure on Ericson to follow through with his end of the deal. There's no one else I can trust other than yourself to carry out this mission."

"Copy that, sir," Finch Reynolds replied disappointingly. Makoto could tell that he wanted in on the action, but someone had to hold down the fort. Makoto fired off a text to Kaede Kuoykisaka, informing her that he was granting her additional leave time, effective immediately, to spend with Reynolds in Orre. The dread lord of the Deathwing figured he could try his best to make it up to the Captain.

"Hell yes," Lando summarized the thoughts of the group.

"Excellent. I am on the Hellcat right now. I should intersect the path of the Deathwing within three hours. Gentlemen, I'm looking forward to this. Good luck and see you soon."

[Grassy_Aggron]

(Canonically this post continues after post 90, due to the agreement reached.)

Claressa Nissa
Goldenrod General Hospital/Goldenrod City/Johto
Team Aqua: @Neo Emolga, @The Nonexistant Tazz, @Lord Celebi
Team Awesome: @XaiakuX, @Velocity, @TheProtobabe, @Death's Spook
Stormy tides and clashing sides.

The sky was growing swollen with the promise of rain, and all Claressa could do was sigh. The situation was tense, and she could not understand the feeling of dread within her heart. It was an odd sensation, creeping up like ice upon the spine and sinking its claws into ever fiber of a person's being. It spoke of misery and the promise of grief, and all the while it played upon the fears of its prey. The feeling was an insidious one and she cared little for it, tapping away on the monitor while Tony watched television. She had finally decided that she needed to talk with the creator of the Burst Hearts, and thus, was preparing to send the email.

It read something like this;

"Dear Dr. Petrovich,

You may or may not have heard of me depending on how often you keep up with research, or if you are focused on your own. My name is Dr. Claressa Nissa, and I work at the Goldenrod General Hospital in Johto. I wrote the book "Too Juice or Not to Juice?", a study about the effects apricorns have on both human and Pokemon bodies. Regardless, this is just a formality, and not me blowing a horn about myself. I am contacting you with a very grave concern considering your invention, the Burst Hearts. I have been studying them for just a short year, but I already have noted several problems with them. They are mass produced, correct? I had the chance to study one and I believe it is defective, as it rattles if you shake it softly. I do not have an actual device, mind you, but I have reason to believe this is not normal behavior.

I would attach my research notes, but I have a strong belief this will be intercepted by the Hoenn military. If that is the case, they should know my only qualms is the gross misuse of power of your product, and that there are some very real health concerns that are attributed to it. This is not an issue that can be ignored, and I insist that they discontinue the use of the devices immediately. It is a health hazard with repeated use, and the effects seem to point towards a very...grisly end. It has to be stopped, and this whole war has to end too.

I hope you will meet with me in private, Dr. Petrovich. You have a voice to them, and they will listen. I hope to hear from you soon, and I hope we can meet quickly. The sooner we can, the better chance for those using the Burst Hearts that are unaware of their effects.

Sincerely,

Dr. Claressa Nissa"

She hovered over the "Send" button. If she sent it, as her letter said, there was a very good chance Hoenn would intercept it, and while her intentions were clear, they were rather...paranoid and drunk on power. While she doubted it would trigger anything between Johto and Hoenn, who was to say she would be safe herself? No, she wouldn't be. The message was encrypted but any good hacker worth their money could easily break it down. Was it worth taking the risk?

...Of course it is. All I'm trying to do is help people, and there is nothing wrong with that. I shouldn't be afraid to follow what I believe is right. With that thought, she pressed the mouse, and with a blip the message was sent on its merry way. This was just in time for her to hear Tony suddenly swear, and she turned to view the television screen. Her mouth nearly dropped as she observed three large ships - they appeared to be Hoenn ships, but at the same time, not - lined up in the bay, guns cocked and ready to fire.

The navy ships that had been anchored in the bay had already turned and locked their guns on them, and undoubtedly the aerial reinforcements would arrive quickly if the situation took a turn for the worst. While the news could not report the warning sound, undoubtedly they were blaring a message akin to something like "THIS IS THE JOHTO NAVY. YOU HAVE INTRUDED INTO THIS TERRITORY WITHOUT PERMISSION. LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND PREPARE TO BE BOARDED. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING." Granted, she wasn't sure if that was what they were saying - it was probably something more grand and intimidating than what she could think of.

"Those damn fools! Barging like that into Johto... We weren't doing anything to them! They're going down, and down hard." Stark was off to the side, pumping his fists together and looking decidedly annoyed. "It's only three warships. We have a few of our own and smaller ships... And the air force can be called in at a moment's notice. They're not going to win." Well, Tony seemed to be sure of the outcome.

Claressa, however, raised an eyebrow, shaking her head. Unless they are idiots, they wouldn't just bring three warships... They have an ace up their sleeve. Something isn't right here. They have to have something that makes them feel confident enough they can take this city with little reinforcements to do this. In which case, it's about time we take our precaution to the next level. Lifting up a radio that every other doctor and nurse had, she pressed the button, fully aware of what she was doing. The hospital would never attack, but that didn't mean they couldn't defend themselves.

"Everyone, this might be it. Initiate Emergency Plan Dark Mime. The situation might get serious and fast, so work as quickly as you can without screwing up." As a side note, she hadn't come up with the name, and an agreement from Dr. Murkiv signified that the entirety of the staff, even those higher up than her, were also on the same page. Our job is to protect these patients, and we are not going to fail them. That is our sacred duty, and we will uphold it even if it costs us dearly. She hoped whoever was on those ships, however, had the decency to leave the hospital alone. There were children, mothers, fathers, and Pokemon here, not just the wounded military soldiers. Attacking a hospital never garnered any sympathy, and it rarely helped the attackers either - the wounded already could not fight.

Killing them wasn't an achievement, it was merely a slaughter.


(That's probably not what Johto is blaring at Team Aqua, but Claressa isn't very military savvy in terms of the warnings and that is what her mind thinks is happening. Feel free to tweak the warning as you like, so long as it's powerful and intimidating because that's what a military does :P Well, it would probably be more intimidating if you guys didn't have a Mega Deoxys XD)

[Lord Celebi]

Raidon Makoto
AMS Deathwing, Goldenrod Bay
Johto
Affected RPers: All
Suggested Listening: Pompeii by ES Posthumus

The VTOL craft landed on the Deathwing bay as the dread lord of the Deathwing himself, Raidon Makoto, stepped out of the craft to lines of Aqua soldiers saluting their captain. As Makoto worked his way down the tarmac of the Deathwing, each soldier he passed immediately assumed the at-ease position and grabbed their own assault rifle, ready to attack. Near the Navigations room, Captain Jamie Davenport was suiting up the dive squad for undersea operations. Daveport saluted Makoto and Makoto saluted right back.

Once he arrived in the Navigations Room, he assumed his rightful throne within the black ship's central cortex. Leaning his head on his fist, he asked politely, "Gentlemen, give me a sitrep."

With Reg Lando and Finch Reynolds in different regions and Noah Ashfield preparing for his own personal assault, the duty of right-hand man fell to none other than Makoto's best friend, Tyrus Hale himself. The scientist has emerged from the skunkworks to deliver to Makoto a full report. "Sir, the Trinity Armada has positioned itself to attack the Johto Navy on your command. Meanwhile, Captain Oreskovich of the All Clown Squadron of Fun has prepped her troops and is prepared to begin bombing runs on the Johto fleet. For our ground forces, those soldiers that are willing have been injected with Janine's Chimera formula, changing them into horrific abominations. They're absolutely wonderful, beautiful crimes against God. Really brings a tear to my eye."

"Good. Tiantus, get back to the lab. It's probably going to be the safest place for you," Makoto told his best friend with a concerned look on his face.

"Of course, but one more thing," Hale said, pulling a syringe out of his lab coat pocket. "This is the fruits of my recent labors. Project MEND. I think you'll find it most useful in the battle ahead." Makoto took the syringe and stabbed himself in the neck with it. "What...? Raidon... this probably wasn't the best time to do that."

Makoto copped a smile. "Nonsense. I can take whatever... oh my..." Makoto said, waves of pain shooting through his neck. Each individual muscle fiber in his body burned as Hale's mutagen rewrote his genetic code cell by cell. Makoto initially was brought to the floor, but through sheer force of willpower, he brought himself back to his feet.

The commander exited the Navigations Room and faced the group of soldiers on the tarmac, still in agonizing pain. He kept himself upright and gritted his teeth to keep a relatively unpained look on his face. As he looked upon his soldiers, his heart was filled with pride. These were men that he had trained personally to go with him into battle. Most were human, some where chimera, but all were unified in the fact that they would lay down their lives for Makoto's dream of world domination.

The dread lord of the Deathwing drew one of his katanas and pointed it towards Goldenrod City. The metal gleamed in the sunlight. Makoto roared, partially in excitement and partially in pain: "Gentlemen, I see a peaceful, sleepy city before us. Happy folk going about their lives, working in their offices, dining in restaurants, drinking with friends, spending time with their families... What do you say, men? Let's go ruin their fucking day!"

[VeloJello]

Lenore Valdis.
Goldenrod City, Johto.
Affected RPers: (By Lenore): @XaikuX, @Death's Spook, @TheProtobabe; (By the evacuation): @Neo Emolga, @Lord Celebi, @The Nonexistent Tazz
Thank God for prophets.
* Sidenote to Xaiku - if you need this removed for whatever reason, fine, but I figure we still need at least a little bit of momentum.

Rain spattered the windows of the limousine, doing nothing to improve Lenore’s mood. It wasn’t very good to begin with - she still detected tension from everyone around her, and she wasn’t a big fan of car travel, having almost never used it. In her humble opinion, if your city was so big you needed to cram yourself into a smelly metal box with wheels to move around through it, your city was too big. She didn’t care to be so close to Lance or Helena, either; her natural paranoia made it seem likely that she would be groped at or stabbed, and she -

<Lenore.>

Usually, Deborah’s tone was calm, unhurried, neutral. But now her psychic voice practically burned with urgency. “Excuse me for a moment,” Lenore said to the other limousine passengers with a quick, tight smile before lowering her head, closing her eyes, and pressing her hands against her ears. She needed to concentrate. <Deborah. What’s wrong?>

The reply was a long time in coming, too long. Finally, fumblingly, Deborah managed to say, <I don’t know. It’s nothing I’ve ever felt before, or seen…> There was a brief pause, during which Lenore only sensed undiluted distress from the bird. When the voice returned, it was a bit more controlled, but still overlaid with unease. <Three ships,> she said. <Three warships are entering the harbor, Lenore. I do not know much about your human weaponry, but I do not believe that they are from our enemy Kanto. There are seven Johto ships sailing out to meet them. Everyone on board the Johto ships will burn. Everyone.>

Nausea rolled through Lenore’s stomach. Neither time nor distance meant much to Deborah’s eyes; she was seldom wrong. Lenore was trying to formulate a response when Deborah continued, <There is more. On board the lead ship… I do not know what it is. But I sense two sources of immense power. One similar to your Burst Heart, but stronger, darker. The other similar to the energy signature of a Psychic-type Pokemon, but… Twisted. Strange. Immensely powerful and infinitely adaptable. Its is the power that will kill the Johto sailors. Then the killing will spread to the city. First Harper Tower. Then...>

The limousine jostled as it drove over a bump and Lenore’s concentration was momentarily broken - no bad thing, considering that Deborah’s vision was beginning to spill over into Lenore’s own mind, giving her the wonderful image of boats, buildings, and bodies rent to cinders in a flash of light. She looked up, out the window, hoping to perhaps wipe the memory away. In the distance, the bay stretched out into seemingly endless ocean. Several dark smudges dotted the horizon - hard to say for sure, but they weren’t necessarily not advancing ships. Lenore swallowed painfully. <You’re sure about this, aren’t you, Deborah?>

<When you arrive at your destination, consult with Micah - much as you can with him, anyway. Even Hananiah or Asiyah might be able to sense the coming disaster.> She fell silent, though Lenore could tell that she still had something on her mind.

<Do it.> When she received no reply, Lenore pressed on. <You know what I mean. You want to start warning people, start trying to get them away from the coast. I’m telling you to do it.>

More silence as the limousine pulled into the hospital’s parking lot. When Deborah spoke up again she sounded faint, far away. <I am near the tower, projecting my voice as loud as I can to try and spread the fear. Some of them are moving away. But most are caught up in the spectacle and they will not be moved.>

The others began to pile out of the limousine. <Show them what you saw, then. That’ll get them moving in a hurry. Now, I need to go. Good luck.>

Much as she wished she could help Deborah, she knew that the situation was out of her hands, and she had to focus right now on more immediate problems - like that the hospital, and the entire group she was with, was fairly close to the coast. She decided, like Deborah had suggested, to see what Micah thought.

Almost as soon as the Absol was released, he hurried over to her, nuzzling her so hard as to almost unbalance her. Alarmed by his alarm, she held his head between her hands. “Calm,” she whispered. “You need to be calm. You can feel it too, can’t you? Something very powerful will be here soon.”

She released her grip, and Micah nodded, muttering his own name and frantically gesturing with his tail to Helena and the Harper brothers. Sometimes Micah could get hard to understand, but his message was clear: “Why are these people still here? They need to move.”

“Lance, Alistair, Helena,” Lenore said to the others. She did her best to keep her voice calm, but she was pretty sure that her stress was obvious, if not in her tone then on her face. Quick as she could, she relayed Deborah's message, doing her best to keep it word for word. "Micah senses the danger as well," she added, gesturing to the still-anxious Absol. "If we stay here, our very survival may become unlikely. I don't know how much time we have, but I'd estimate no more than -"

<Between ten and twenty minutes, Lenore.>

"Between ten and twenty minutes before everything gets ugly." For once, Lenore was actually grateful for Deborah's interruption, quiet and strained though it was. "I suggest that anyone with a Psychic-type use that Pokemon to spread the word through the hospital en masse; it will save time. My next polite recommendation is that afterward we get the h*ll out of dodge."

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
AMS Deathwing, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected Aqua RPers: @Neo Emolga @Lord Celebi
Affected Awesome RPers: @Grassy Aggron @Protobabe @Death's Spook @Velocity @XaiakuX
BOOM! Here comes the BOOM! Ready or not!

"No need to be formal," Noah said. That was wonderful, he preferred him to Tiantus already. "Anyway, yeah, you got it, that's the plan. I have no idea how you managed to get a hold of Deoxys, but hey, it doesn't matter to me."

Yarvick, looking back, found it all just...Insane. It was SUPPOSED to be just a quick job for some huge money and a distraction for some ship-stealing, but somehow it turned into his Alakazam mutating into a Deoxys, then a mission for massive, ridiculous damage with the assistance of a freaking Ancient Burst Heart. Noah reached into his pocket, searching for the aforementioned Ancient Burst Heart, as some ships from Goldenrod in the distance started moving towards them.

"Simple orders, really," Noah said, handing Yarvick the Ancient Burst Heart "Unleash all hell on these maggots. As Mega Deoxys, you open up with the first strike on the tower when I give the command. The trinity armada will then follow up with the bombardment once we've assessed the damage from the first strike. After that, it's all about mowing these worms down like hay."

Noah gave Yarvick a grin of pure evil fun. "And most of all...have fun with this. Now get out there and enjoy yourself." He said, patting Yarvick on his shoulder."

"I think I will, Noah..." Yarvick said, immediately bursting with Hyperion the Deoxys.

Once he did...

...Holy s**t.

He felt like Arceus.

Yarvick's new form was two whole feet taller than Yarvick normally was, and definitely much heavier-he gauged he put on an extra hundred pounds or so of pure muscle. His face became that of Deoxys'es almost entirely, with only his eye color preserved to tell the difference. This was boring news, however, compared to the fact that he now had FOUR faces, each exactly the same, bar positioning around the completely round head. He could see from every angle...Which took a few seconds to get used to.

The upper body was more accurately described as four torsos merged together, with four arms and four legs. It also seemed like each body part was plucked from a different form of Deoxys. Yarvick knew there were four, but only knew the normal, attack and defense ones. The chests, pure-red and muscular, seemed to be the chests of the Defense Form, considering how big it was-or rather, 'they were'. The arms were either the normal form duo of tentacles that could twist and coil into a four-finger one-thumb hand (somehow), or the much more streamlined, stronger Attack Form tentacles-either way, he had two of each, one for each shoulder. Lastly, the legs were probably from the unfamiliar form, a totally gray quartet of legs, giving his lower half a distinctly crustacean apperance.

Smack dab in the center of his torsos were the 'cores' of Deoxys. The cores normally didn't glow when Psionic powers were not in use, from what he could see, but these cores glowed pretty brightly...And this was him doing a whole lot of standing around, impersonating a sausage.

Everyone on board, bar Tiantus, took a second to really absorb what they were looking at. Even Yarvick.

...However, Yarvick noticed a few crewmen apparently flapping their lips, pointing at him. No sound whatsoever, however. Just the flapping of lips. It took Yarvick several seconds to realize that he had no ears whatsoever, especially not with four faces.

"I've had to 'hear' strictly with telepathy. You'll get used to it quickly, Yarvick...Though, having four faces right now, I think we can keep an eye out for anything attempting to attack us." Hyperion said within his mind.

Yarvick had some experience with bursting with Hyperion, and definitely knew how to operate the whole psionic game at this point...With copious assistance from Hyperion, some Psychic types, and a few people who bursted into Psychic Pokemon. It just required focus, in good amounts-suddenly that Focalin pill made a lot of sense. It was essentially thinking about making the world your personal b***h, then having it actually happen. It would probably be as easy as actually speaking with an actual mouth to just use telepathy to speak and listen like this...But it would still annoy him.

He practiced with someone else, someone Yarvick recognized immediately. With two katanas, an incredibly dark-blue trenchcoat over standard Aqua uniform, a stature of six-foot-three, and a REALLY good tongue to bend others to his will, Raidon Makoto the 'Dread Lord of the Deathwing was instantly recognizable. Yarvick focused in a little "...a peaceful, sleepy city before us. Happy folk going about their lives, working in their offices, dining in restaurants, drinking with friends, spending time with their families... What do you say, men? Let's go ruin their f*****g day!" Raidon yelled.

He also sensed that he just took some MEND. He was in some severe pain over it-to see him able to keep a good posture despite that...Well, it proved that he was, in fact, charismatic.

He was looking forward to seeing what damage he could cause as Mega Deoxys...He felt like he could probably turn people into a nice, red pile of goop like this. He had about 5 minutes or so to go like this...5 minutes of unstoppable carnage.

He could already hear evil laughter in his head. He just had to pick a target...He had to help blow up Harper Tower or Tiantus wouldn't be very happy with him, but after that, he had free reign.

In the oceans, defending Goldenrod, were eight ships more than double the numbers of Aqua's forces. Poor sods probably had no idea a Mega Deoxys was on-board. He eyed a particular ship-an Aircraft Carrier by the name of JND Water Dog. Yarvick might get points for helping them out in blowing that up...Or taking it for them. It was definitely a juicy prize...

It took a few seconds of recalling how to do so, but after that was done, he shot a telepathic message to Noah: "Before I get to the tower...Do you think you'd like that Aircraft Carrier over there added to this fine fleet? Because, if I have any say in it...It's all yours." Yarvick said, making sure he pointed to the Water Dog.

He had a good feeling this was going to be excellent fun. He could already hear maniacal laughter in his head.

[Neo Emolga]

Noah "Neo" Ashfield
AMS Deathwing deck, Coast off of Goldenrod City, Johto
Affected Team Aqua RPers: @Lord Celebi, @The Nonexistent Tazz
Affected Team Awesome RPers: @XaiakuX, @Velocity, @TheProtobabe, @Death's Spook, @Grassy_Aggron
You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind!

I was pretty sure the lovely people of Goldenrod City were probably wondering why the hell there were suddenly three naval ships staring them down right now. Meanwhile, the Johto Navy was getting their balls itchy. Seemed like we were uninvited to their party.

I saw there were about seven ships in total. I just stood and smiled as they blasted some loud crap on their speakers. Stiffy, snotty soldiers like to do that.

"THIS IS THE JOHTO NAVY. YOU HAVE INTRUDED INTO THIS TERRITORY WITHOUT PERMISSION. LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND PREPARE TO BE BOARDED. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING."

Eww, I didn't want to let some stuck-up Johto pricks on our ships. I could smell their stink from here, and that was more than enough. It smelled like something between a dead Garbodor's asshole and Satan's week-old vomit.

And that was when I heard what sounded like a VTOL in the skies. I turned around and couldn't help but smile. That could only mean one thing. When the gunship landed, the bay doors opened and immediately, none other than Raidon Makoto himself in the flesh emerged. I casually saluted and smirked. And that was when Tiantus arrived and gave Raidon the heads up. He then handed him one of the MEND mutagens, and I suddenly realized I hadn't gotten one of those yet either. I had only heard about them, but while they had been handing them out like Halloween candy, I was out getting that Ancient Burst Heart.

While they were talking, I decided to get one of my own. Thankfully, I managed to find Kaede Kuyokisaka, standing besides a few other Aqua grunts on the deck. I wasn't sure if she had one of those MEND things on her, but I figured I'd ask before it was too late.

"Kaede, any extra MENDs?" I asked her. "Rather have it now than when I'm half dead."

"You sure could have picked a better time to ask for this," She told me, rolling her eyes but reaching into her pocket. "You're late, but consider yourself lucky."

"Thanks, you're one dynamite gal," I told her with a grin.

She then handed me one, and I didn't waste another minute. I quickly flung off the needle cover, jabbed the needle in my wrist vein, and pushed on in that sweet, self-healing juice. And holy shit did it burn. It crawled up my whole freaking arm and throughout the rest of my body. It burned... but it felt good, and I don't even consider myself a masochist. All I had to do was grit my teeth and turn my hands into fists, and this kind of burning could even feel pleasurable.

Raidon was then on the tarmac, armed with his katanas, pointing them at the targets ahead. Those sweet, sweet, burnable targets.

"Gentlemen," Raidon shouted. "I see a peaceful, sleepy city before us. Happy folk going about their lives, working in their offices, dining in restaurants, drinking with friends, spending time with their families... What do you say, men? Let's go ruin their fucking day!"

The Aquas on board all roared in response. I then turned and looked at Johto's fleet. We needed to shut those pissing mouths of theirs.

In the meantime, Yarvick sure didn't wait a second when it came to Bursting with Deoxys. I was curious to see how this was going to work and if we were just screwing around, but damn, it was the real deal. He was freaking huge and now had four faces. Damn, how the hell did that work? Was one of those his real face or were they all a face he could see out of? I didn't have a clue.

The upper body looked like four chests mended together with four arms and four legs, likely combined from all the Deoxys forms mashed into one. His lower half looked like a spider or a crab, and in the center, there were his cores, glowing brightly with some kind of ridiculous power. I just stood there, not sure how to explain what the hell I was looking at, but I knew it was pretty damn powerful just from the sight of it. Was that thing still Yarvick or was he just out of the picture for now?

For a minute, it tried to speak, but I couldn't understand a word of it. And then, it was like the guy jumped into my brain and just outright made me think I was hearing stuff in my head.

<I have a strong feeling that I'm going to have fun with this, Noah...>

"Yeah... no kidding," I muttered, still trying to figure out someone suddenly figures out how to use telepathy in the first place.

He then headed toward the end of the deck, facing the Johto resistance. So far, no signs of resistance anywhere on their behalf, but they probably had no clue what the hell was going on. But they were sure bound to find out in a few seconds.

<Before I get to the tower...Do you think you'd like that Aircraft Carrier over there added to this fine fleet? Because, if I have any say in it...It's all yours.>

I took a peek at it. The JND Water Dog. I liked the aircraft carrier and wouldn't mind seeing it in our hands, but that name had to go. Sounded like the kind of name someone gives to their wiener.

"Go for it, bad boy," I told him with a sneer.

In the meantime, something caught my eye. I saw Janine, and from what it looked like, she was handing out what seemed to be mutagens that were somehow transforming some of our troops into what looked like super-soldiers that were combinations of multiple Pokémon rolled into one. Damn, I swore, the stuff these scientists came up with... they could easily make the whole planet their bitch with this stuff.

With Yarvick borrowing the Ancient Burst Heart for now, I figured looking into these mutagens might be a good idea. There was still a lot of Goldenrod City left to annihilate and we were just getting the party cracked open and started.

---

Janine "Angel" Price
AMS Deathwing deck, Coast off of Goldenrod City, Johto
Affected RPers:
TEAM AQUA: @Lord Celebi, @The Nonexistent Tazz
TEAM AWESOME: @XaiakuX, @Velocity, @TheProtobabe, @Death's Spook, @Grassy_Aggron
Bringin' your little adventure to a screeching halt!
Recommended Listening: Powerman 5000: Drop the Bombshell

I was casually chewing some cherry bubble gum, handing out Chimera mutagens like an ice cream vendor gal. Service with a smile! And that was when the mayhem began! I had to watch.

The AMS Deathwing's Liquidator Gatling Railgun then began to warm up and soon began to fire! My own brainchild, pride, and joy! It was awesome to see it blast apart the JND Golden Glider Cruiser like a machine gun shooting a piñata! Almost instantly, the ship was shredded into bits, and I could easily see that was quite a shocker to the Johto Navy!

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?!?" I heard some sorry sap scream on their loud speaker.

Oh yeah, totally forgot to introduce them to the Liquidator! Ah well. In the meantime, the AMS Fairy Dragon and AMS DeathKnight launched cannon attacks of their own on the Johto fleet. And here they thought they were really going to board us. I couldn't help but giggle at the fiery display of explosions that used to be the Tide Changer. Sure, it looked like heavy ship, but it seemed like Hoenn had the better naval technology, as what used to be their heavy battleship could seriously sucker punch an opposing ship. So with the Tide Changer now in fiery pieces, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Aww, sorry, guys, but you're the weakest link!" I laughed cutely. "Goodbye!"

And I almost missed the AMS DeathKnight launching a rocket salvo at the JND Drunkard's Revenge off to the right! Come on, guys, I want to see all the fireworks! It was hard when they were happening all over the place!

"Wooo hooo!" I cheered.

"YOU HAVE COMMITTED AN ACT OF TERRORISM AND WILL BE-"

So that nonsense was actually coming from the JND Thunder Boom! I guess that's why it suddenly stopped when the Deathwing's Liquidator just turned and performed a nice seppuku on it! That is, if you were performing seppuku with a giant, invisible chainsaw! I didn't know what was funnier, the fact they were still trying to talk or the way they got grinded down into metallic kibbles and bits!

Shortly after, I had been approached by Noah. I could tell he was pretty interested in these new Chimera mutagens! I guess seeing a bunch of the infantry get pumped up with them was getting his interest! But yeah, it did look like he was in a rush. No surprise with that considering we had a whole attack going on!

"Hey, Janine, quick, I need one of those," He told me, interested in the Chimera mutagens. "Something good and quick. Gotta get in there fast!"

"You got it, dude!" I smiled at him.

Awesome, sounded like he wanted me to decide! I swear, the opportunities you get when people get hasty! But yeah, I quickly stepped in front of the computer, and rapidly got to work on making a mutagen for Noah. He wanted something quick for good reasons, so there was definitely no screwing around with this.

Impulsively, my mind just decided to go with Lopunny again. I mean, Noah as a Lopunny would be cool and cute! And maybe the Furret with Ninetales thing would be great for him too! But I knew he probably wouldn't go for the same white puffy look, so I decided yeah... might put Umbreon, Zoroark, and Honchkrow into that instead. No need for that crazy Whimsicott puff! So yeah, he'd kind of use the same form as I had, but he'd be a black nine-tailed bunny without all the unneeded fluff. Hey, he said he wanted something quick and good! I sure don't think he'd complain about how long I took with this one.

The machine quickly processed the mutagen and once it was done and was ejected from the release chamber, I quickly handed the syringe to Noah with a smile. And I could tell he hadn't been watching the screen as I was working, so he didn't even know what kind of Chimera mutagen it was! Oh, I'm sure he'd love the surprise!

"All done, have fun!" I told him with a wink.

"Damn, that sure was fast," Noah replied, liking how quick this thing could pump out mutagens. "Thanks, I swear, the stuff you white coats can do..."

"Ah, don't mention it," I replied to him, blushing. "You'll love it!"

He then left to get back to the action. I looked over for a few seconds to see how the utter carnage was coming along and yeah, it sure was coming along quite well. Johto Navy... yep, still blowing up! It reminded me so much of earlier days as a kid, busting open a piñata and grabbing all that sweet, sweet candy. I even got to catch a glimpse of Noah's Waillord, taking a smack at the JND Whisper Shot, causing it lurch and miss the Fairy Dragon

I quickly unwrapped a Cocoa-Power chocolate bar, just enjoying all the lively action. Mmm, I love this job!

[Lord Celebi]

Raidon Makoto
AMS Deathwing, Goldenrod Bay
Johto
Affected RPers: All

The sting of Project MEND gradually wound down for Raidon Makoto, but his cells never felt more alive than ever. With each flex, Makoto felt every single microtear in his musculature stitch itself back together. He picked up a fifty pound sledge from the Deathwing tarmac and curled it over and over. He was unable to tire himself out--the mutagen healed each tear in his muscles and prevented the cells filling with lactic acid. He hurled the sledgehammer into the ocean and howled at the Johto Naval Forces--like the hyena he knew he was.

He affixed an ear piece into his outer aural lobe and pointed out to the nearest ship to the Deathwing. It was the Tide Changer, one of the JND's larger battleships. He made a fingergun at the hulking craft and shot at it. Commanding over the radio, the dread lord of the Deathwing bellowed, "Deathknight and Fairy Dragon... Knock out the Tide Changer!" The Deathknight's mortars were the first to change position and fire at the battleship. It sailed across the ship, peppering its left side with shells. The Fairy Dragon graced the Tide Changer's right, spraying the ship with bullets leaving the air thick with the smell of the magical fairy dust called gunpowder.

As the ship's corpse sank to the bay that was fated to become a graveyard, Makoto commanded that the Liquidator start to rev itself. The Gatling gun began to turn at a high speed, screeching in Makoto's ear like a rip cord. The atmosphere around him warmed up as the advanced Gatling gun achieved enough speed to ruinate the the Johto navy. Referring to his mental map of where the ships in the bay were placed, Makoto ordered: "Deathwing, target the Golden Glider!" Makoto's baby turned itself sixty degrees right as Frank Bueller, Aqua's demolitions expert, loaded the rounds into the railgun. A loud popping sound was heard as the machine spat out thousands of softball-sized rounds at speeds that could only be measured in fractions of lightspeed. Not only was the Glider, destroyed, it was turned into a fine Swiss cheese. Blood ran thick around the cruiser as it too rest beside the Tide Changer.

"Sir, the rails still have enough integrity to take another shot," Bueller reported.

Makoto again referenced his mental map of the battlefield. "Point the Liquidator sixteen degrees starboard and fire on the Thunder Boom." He pointed towards the Battleship, painting the target with only a finger for Bueller. The Liquidator creaked as it turned and unleashed a similar hellfire upon the Boom, as it too joined its brothers in the Goldenrod sepulcher. The Gatling gun's rails--the pieces of metal that guided the softball sized rounds into their targets--burst off the Liquidator and dropped into the ocean beside the Deathwing. The air around the aircraft carrier was shrouded with steam as the ultrahot straight pieces of metal cooled within the ocean's waters.

"That's it for the Liquidator. We can repair it after the battle," Bueller reported.

"Excellent. Navigations Room, full speed ahead. We are going to make landfall on Goldenrod!"

[XaiakuX]

---
R
---

Giovanni
The Airspace above the Goldenrod City Harbor
Affected RPers: Fairly certain it's all of you.

(OoC: If these posts are at all inaccurate, let me know, and I'll change them to be better. I very much consider this RP post as 'testing the waters.')

'Soon, my plans shall come into fruition. With this Ancient Burst Heart in my possession, I shall soon make the world tremble in my wake,' he thought to himself. He was calm, and proud to be in the position that he was in. He had claimed a powerful artifact, and had greatly desired to use it against a worthy opponent. He was ready to use it. There was one most of all that he desired to use this new weapon on. His own flesh and blood, Alastair Harper. That miserable little cretin had started to become a problem, turning up at random Team Rocket missions, and trouncing the units that he had placed. Then there was his older half brother, Lance Harper. No doubt he would soon find that his parents weren't put down by just anybody. It was only a matter of time.

There was a moment of silence, as he patted the head of his Persian. He then received a transmission. One of his spies at one of the radio towers picked up on a tapped transmission that Team Aqua was headed for Goldenrod City, and specifically for Harper Industries. The good feeling turned into a dark pit in his stomach. That pit caught on fire almost immediately, as Giovanni began to boil with rage at this oncoming armada of Aqua ships. He stared at the screen as they began to invade the harbor. Soon enough, they started blowing up military ships, and then he realized that he must take matters into his own hands if he is to prevent them from meddling in his affairs.

"How DARE these fools come storming into my territory?! Don't they realize the already sizable dent they're putting into MY plans?!" His words carried a venomous hatred behind them. His left hand squeezed the wine glass it original held so gingerly, causing it to shatter in his grip. Wine mixed with blood trickled down his arm, tarnishing the sleeves of his new suit. His attention, however, was fixed on the monitor before him. The screen showed Hoenn ships invading the Goldenrod Harbor, and attacking military ships. This wasn't just an invasion of territory, but also a blockade for his personal business routes. He would not be standing for it.

As the ships neared the harbor, his helicopter sped across the sky, dumping a handful of mines into the ocean. There weren't many, but well enough to take a decent chunk out of their precious ships if they ended up hitting one. He had the chopper tilted so they could see the R painted on the side. He wanted them to know who he was. He then commanded that the helicopter hover just over the AMS Deathwing. It was at this stage that he stood from his seat, stormed over to the automated lift, and emerged from the top of the vehicle, glaring down as if to cast a looming shadow over Team Aqua. Blood still trickled from his hand as he snatched up the radio receiver, and held it in front of his face.

"You miserable, worthless, arrogant little imbeciles! How dare you invade the turf of Team Rocket! I will give you this one warning: Turn your ships around, and go home. If you comply with hostility, you come under the worst fire imaginable. I am Giovanni, and my will be done!" He threw the receiver down, causing a deafening, yet brief feedback. The missile systems locked on to the enemy ships, as three more choppers appeared from behind the much taller buildings and joined Giovanni's helicopter. Men and women dressed in black outfits, branded with an 'R' on the chest, dotted the shore line. Some held cannons, some held rifles, and some held Pokéballs.

Giovanni stood upon his balcony, still glaring and fuming, and his bleeding hand now gripping the side rail in front of him. The pitter-patter of the rain being drowned out by the whirling of the choppers' blades. He wasn't ready to reveal himself just yet. But these idiots made it impossible when they decided to target his future base of operations. He wouldn't allow it. So for this one time, Giovanni would defend this land, for it would be his land. He would not see it fall to scum like Team Aqua. If they wanted it, they would have to go through the most dangerous man in Johto and Kanto combined. A man that commanded the respect of Team Aqua, and had better damn well get that respect.


-----------------

Lance Harper
Goldenrod City
Affected RPers: Death's Spook, Velocity, TheProtobabe

It was a quiet car ride, Lance had focused on his phone, secretly studying his mobile phone, and researching Team Rocket. He wanted to find anything and everything on Giovanni. Some of the sickest things that Lance had ever seen is what the internet had shown him of Team Rocket. How could Giovanni do these things? How could he just get away with it all? He didn't know how he was going to take him down, but he was going to find a way. Although moderately lost in his own thoughts and internet searches, the quiet humming of rain drops hitting the roof of the limo was rather soothing to his ears, and his mind.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Lenore said before apparently deciding to take a nap.

"You sure know how to pick 'em, Alastair," He said, before returning to his investigations. Helena rested on his arm, to keep appearances, although no doubts sneaking in the occasional glance at his phone. He didn't mind it. He wanted her to see. To see the destruction put into play by Team Rocket, and what we all would have to look forward to.

When the limousine slowed to a stop, Lance got out of the vehicle, and noticed Lenore talking to an Absol. She carried on a conversation with it, before directing her attention to the group. "Lance, Alistair, Helena,” Lenore said, addressing the group. She did her best to keep her voice calm, but the stress in her voice and expressions were starting to seep through her facade. She began to explain the details of the situation that went on in her head as she pretended to nap. Lance decided to speak up, and address this whole ordeal.

"Lenore, if what you're saying is true, then our plans are going to be foiled. I can't give a speech to these people if we're walking into an assured Armageddon," he said, not sure if even he wanted to take himself seriously. But part of him wanted to believe her visions, as ludicrous as they seemed to be. Lance learned through his training to never leave anything to random chance. He would need to be certain of her explanation first.

"Micah senses the danger as well," she added, gesturing to the still-anxious Absol. "If we stay here, our very survival may become unlikely. I don't know how much time we have. But I'd estimate no more than ten to twenty minutes before everything gets ugly." She paused for a moment to think, and then spoke up once more, "I suggest that anyone with a Psychic-type; 'Use that Pokémon to spread the word through the hospital en masse; it will save time.' My next polite recommendation is that afterward we get the h*ll out of dodge."

"Well I don't have any Psychic Types, So I'll leave that to you, as for getting out of here-" He was cut off by the noise of a helicopter flying overhead, and heading for the harbor. A chopper that he had seen before, and knew without a doubt, who was on it. At the same time, barriers had started to form around the hospital. It was at this point that he decided to speak up, again, "As for getting out of here, that just isn't going to happen!"

In an instant, Lance took off in the direction the helicopter was headed, he managed to make it out before the barriers sealed him in there. He followed it all the way to the edge of a pier, only to find himself suddenly surrounded by Team Rocket goons. They weren't necessarily focused on him, though. They were focused on the objects in the distance slowly coming into view. They were ships. Were these the ships that Lenore had spoken of? If so, her visions were about to become very real. By the time everyone had caught up with him, Lance was pulling a studded leather bracelet from the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

"Sorry, Lenore. But running... Well that just isn't going to happen. So let's instead get ready to defend our home from these invaders, and let them know that we aren't going down without a fight. What do you say, Alastair? Helena? Lenore?"

[Death's Spook]

Alastair Harper
Goldenrod City
ARPers: Everyone

Leviathan tensed at Lenore’s words, <Alastair. Lenore is absolutely right at the prospect of danger. But there’s something she’s either left out or is not picking up. There’s a… thing with these people. It’s psychic signature promises power enough to raze buildings in a single shot and malevolence enough to do it as a fun little exercise. It’s Wrong, and Evil.> The Starmie managed to put capital letters on those words.

Alastair was more than a little surprised at Leviathan’s vehemence on this new creature’s character. The starfish wasn’t [i]a[/]moral, exactly, but he was certainly undermoral. The water type did not usually hold stock with moral judgements and preferred instead to do things that were “interesting”, thanks to a century of life. Alastair even doubted the star stuck with him out of anything resembling loyalty in a typical sense: Alastair was just one of the more interesting people the Pokemon had encountered, and sticking with the trainer had increased the psychic’s power besides. So, by anything resembling a rational thought process, Alastair should have wet his pants.

But Alastair was irked more than anything at this new development. Life and death situations had long since been able to muster up the same impact on him as they should have. He still felt absolutely terrified, of course, but there was no sting in it. His annoyance was far more prominent. Not only were these people going to destroy the city that he thought of as his home, they were apparently going to do it with a powerful creature that by all rights they should have kept as a backup. While Goldenrod was the home of Harper Industries, the company in its decrepit state was hardly the be all and end all of Johto. There was no tactical value in using an unstoppable superweapon to take it with the small exception of morale. Yes, using such a creature would be damaging, but it was entirely too possible that it would become a rallying point in convincing everyone to ally against this group. It would have been far more intelligent to keep the creature as an ace in the hole to take out a far more valuable target.

Alastair wanted to think there was no one smart running things from his opponents’ ends, but he had not gotten as far he had by being arro-

Why the hell were there Team Rocket munitions here? And why was Lance staring at them with hatred? Had he found out about “Uncle Van’s” origins and take offense to that? Did he know about Alastair’s? Did he think that Team Rocket had done them some wrong?

The only “wrong” Alastair could think the Rockets did was either that Lance knew about Alastair’s shadow wars or if they had some sort of hand in taking out Oliver and Mary. The latter, in Alastair’s thoughts, was far less probable than the former: while Oliver and Mary were probably not particularly sympathetic to the Rockets, Giovanni had no particular difficulty in twisting them to his whims before. So Alastair was going to cautiously proceed with the former assumption. He wasn’t going to reveal anything to his brother (a lot of his intelligence was very sensitive), but he’d have to keep an eye out.

<Alastair. I’m reasonably certain Giovanni is in that helicopter. I haven’t met anyone else with quite that kind of psychic imprint.>

Alastair wanted to berate Giovanni for stupidity while simultaneously cursing his luck, but realized that Giovanni had ulterior motives. The megalomaniac couldn’t have wanted a region historically under his influence to be destroyed, so he would defend it. They had the same objective in this, no matter Alastair’s personal feelings on the man. And if Alastair could arrange “friendly fire” without endangering that objective, so much the better.

Then another thought then occurred to Alastair: could Goldenrod be more valuable than he previously thought? Something Giovanni and these players had information on that Alastair did not?

It would explain the superweapon without assuming his foes were afflicted with terminal stupidity.

Plans bloomed in Alastair’s mind. Lance wasn’t going to go, so the younger Harper wasn’t going to either. Several elements began to slide into place as Alastair’s mind flew into trying to survive this fight. He grabbed his Burst heart. He was going to need it.

“All right. Lenore, if you would not object, try to defend Lance. My brother may be doing something dumb,” making his feelings on the subject well known, “but you’ve been hired to keep such things from being fatal. Helena, I suggest you leave. My brother is stubborn and Lenore and I are both massively powerful, but you don’t have to stay here.” Especially since I’m worried about Giovanni getting the same idea about “friendly fire” that I did, and you’re already in place to carry it out. “I have plans in the works, but we’re going to have to see how this situation plays out. They appear to be interested in mass destruction, so try to stay unnoticable. They’re the juggernauts, but we’re the guerilla fighters, and if we’re going to hamper them at all, we’re going to need to go for the oblique angle. I don't think they'd care about a couple of ants, which is exactly what we're going to seem to them.”

[bronislav84]

(I'm not dead! Really wish I had a tablet so I could write posts on the go, though.)

Karai "Kar" Horoshi
Hellcat chopper, Arriving in Vermillion city, Kanto
Affected RPers: N/A

The chopper touched down on a helicopter pad near the city reserved for police and military. The stealth feature that we had on this particular one allowed it to change the appearance on the outside. Right now it had identification as a Kanto Police Department helicopter, though of course we couldn't change the look from a military helicopter. There was a big KPD emblazoned on it now, as well as the proper identification. The chopper auto pilot was programmed to take off afterward for a nearby clearing in the wood where we would find it later anyway so it's not like it was going to be staying around very long. We just didn't want to be stepping out of thin air or out of a door to nothing. That would look even more suspicious. The five of us had our masks and KPD uniforms on, which had long been swiped from the real KPD. We weren't planning to stay in the region long if we could help it, anyway. We headed over to the guy in the sailor suit checking papers, clearing our throats to prepare for changing our voice to match the pitch and accent in Kanto. He was a bit taken aback at us just showing up, but quickly regained his composure.

"Papers, please. Kanto is at war and I can't take any chances. I'm sure you understand." He held out his hand for the papers.

I nodded. "Of course." We each reached into our pockets and pulled out our completely authentic badges but forged papers and handed it to the man. Dan had hacked into their database on the way here and inserted our info. He would remove it when the Op here was done.

He scanned them with a gadget that looked like a metal detector and it chimed a pleasant chime. "So, what brings you here Officers? Usually we call the KPD if we need it or patrols just show up."

As the usual voice of the squad I answered the questions unless one of them was addressed directly. We were a tight-knit group and what went for one went for all. Though this time I really wasn't aware of what the Op was, so Dan stepped up and handed the man what looked like a warrant. "We're chasing a wanted criminal last seen in Saffron City. He's wanted for two counts of murder and one count of burglary." Of course I was sure the warrant was completely forged, but it would come up as authentic when scanned. The machine beeped a pleasant chime again and the man nodded.

"Everything checks out Officers. Welcome to Vermillion City. If you're not in too much of a hurry, you should check out our tour which includes the Gym and the S.S. Anne." He said with a cheerful smile. Dan smiled back and we filed past the sailor. Once we were out of view I had to ask him about this.

"Dan, are we really chasing a criminal?" I asked him as we hurried north toward Route 6. He looked at me like I was crazy and otherwise didn't say anything. I answered my own question. "Of course we're not. So what are we doing on this globe trotting adventure?"

"We're tracking the black market and sales of manufactured Burst Hearts. I figure more of them for Aqua's cause counts as helping." The rest of us nodded as we quickened our pace.

~*~*~

About ten minutes of walking we reached Route 6. We were about to just continue when what seemed to be a trainer completely not watching where he was going bumped into me. It was always an awkward feeling when somebody bumped into me like that, especially since he was shorter and his head ended up in a weird position. "Kid, keep an eye on the road next time and not on your phone." I told him, still in the same Kanto dialect.

"You bumped into me, lady!" I looked him over now. He was wearing a white t-shirt over his tanned skin with a vest, and blue jeans. He also wore a local team cap. He pulled out a Pokéball, made it large, and gripped it tightly.

"Oh, a rude one eh? I can detain you for annoying an officer of the law!" I yelled at him, though really I couldn't and didn't know where I'd take him anyway.

The kid gripped his ball tightly. "Rude?! Seriously, YOU bumped into ME! Battle me and let's settle this the fair way!" I shrugged as he grinned and threw out a Charmander. It had the same cocky grin as it's trainer. I decided to play with him, tossing out my Venusaur.

"Saur!" Leafy bellowed as he roared out his name. The Charmander started laughing with pieces of his voice in there.

"You're really using a grass type against a fire type? What kind of trainer are you?" He was laughing really hard, but managed to ask his Pokémon to make a move. "Charmander, Ember attack!" The fire lizard started spitting embers as he jumped up.

"Leafy, Razor Leaf!" Leafy spit out a colossal storm of leaves from of his flower bulb. Some of the leaves got burned by the embers, and Leafy even took some hits as well, getting knocked back, but most of the leaves hit the Charmander, taking it out.

"No way!" Yelled the cocky kid. "There's no way. That attack only burned some leaves, but it did hit, I saw it!"

"So? My Venusaur is just trained better. You never had a chance." Leafy nodded and smiled, proud of himself. I then patted him on the head lightly. "Go and train then maybe you'll have a shot at the Gym here." The boy sighed and recalled his collapsed Charmander.

"I'm sorry. I really should be watching where I'm going while I use my smartphone. So what are you going to do now Officer, arrest me like you said?" He sighed and put his arms out to be cuffed.

"I was kidding about that." I slapped his wrists, recalling Leafy. "Just go train." The five of us walked past him as he let out a long sigh and leaned against a nearby tree.

We headed north toward Saffron City and were at the gate in no time. The guard didn't even pay attention, the slacker.