Steve

The camp that night was quiet and somber. Allan now lay under a thin layer of earth, his grave only marked by a hastily assembled bed of stones. Donna spent a long time near it and all of us passed by at one point or another offering our condolences. What had sunk in right now was the fact that we were truly at war.

When the last discussion on our plans for the next day finally broke up, I walked over to the edge of the camp and stared out into the darkness. I imagined shapes moving out in the fields. I thought I could smell burning or hear movement just by standing there. When I became aware of how paranoid I was getting, I muttered swearwords to myself and, still cursing, hurled a long stick out at one of my imagined aliens.

"You look troubled."

I turned. Marle was patting Arcanine on the head. "Oh, yeah," I said. I continued to stare out into the darkness.

"I guess Allan's death hit us all in one way or another." I paused a moment, thinking. "Yeah. Being reminded of mortality every second of the day is kind of a new experience for me. Even if I was falling out of the sky, I don't think I would have accepted that I was a dead man until I hit the ground. Now . . . Well, it's changed."

What Marle said next didn't really come as a surprise. "Are you scared?"

"Yes." I thought of saying more, maybe along the lines of "But I'm ready to go, if it's my turn next." But, before the first words could get out, I realized that I wasn't ready, not just yet. I sighed, casting one long, last look into the shadows. "Well, goodnight," I said. "Hopefully, I'll see you in the morning."

Katie

I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard Maxine whimpering. I got up and went to her, finding her sitting up as if in a trance, the mysterious light on her hand glowing brightly and lighting her up with an eerie light.

"Maxine?" I whispered, kneeling beside her and putting my arm around her. She didn't try to move away - in fact, I don't think she was even aware of my presence. Then, she began to speak in a strange voice that sounded very different from her own.

"The race that once dominated this world has been superseded," she said as her hand continued to glow. "We emptied the cities of their populations and aim to settle our own kind in them. However, we believe that a group of young Earthlings from the city they call Goldenrod escaped and we have been tracking them ever since . . ."

At that moment, Maxine snapped out of her trance and sat staring me in the face. I was rendered temporarily speechless as it became clear to me that Maxine was somehow channeling the aliens and they had spoken through her. How much did they know about us? I was about to ask this question when Maxine began to cry.

"Katie," she sobbed in my arms, "it's my fault Allan died - I'm the one who drew the aliens . . ."

"Shh!" I whispered. "Allan did a very brave thing and I'm sure he wouldn't want you crying because of it."

But, even as she spoke, I began to wonder if there might be some truth in what she said; it was only after she got separated from us in the Radio Tower and turned up with a glowing hand that the aliens really became a problem. Was the thing that made her hand glow a tracking device and, if so, could she be trained to control it? That would have to wait until morning.

"In any case," I went on bravely, "try and get some sleep and we'll talk about this in the morning."

As I sat looking at my sister lying with her Torchic on her chest, I began to wonder if we would ever truly be free of this menace.

Vicky

I lay and stared up at the stars. Although I had heard Maxine and Katie talking, I hadn't taken a word in about what they had said. I was lost in my own thoughts.

Have you ever stared at something and gone through everything that sticks in your mind? Well, that was what I was doing right then and the one thing that did stick in my mind was the first morning when the aliens arrived. I realised that this had become so special to me that I could describe what color my brothers clothes were, what time it was . . . In fact, I could describe everything. I tried to get my mind of it and go to sleep, but I couldn't. I turned to face the others and saw a shadow circle our temporary camp.

Katie

"Hey, you guys! Wake up!"

I sat up with a start when I heard Vicky shouting and instinctively reached for my Poke Balls. There was something hovering over us, but I couldn't see what it was. Even so, I knew it had to mean trouble for us . . .

Matt

The hovering thing, which I assumed was an alien ship, was either staying in one spot or was very large. I sent out Kadabra and, with only a thought, he was ready to throw anything anywhere. "Let's hope this is good . . ." I said to the others.

Katie

We stood transfixed as the thing - whatever it was - drew closer and closer. I had no idea what it was and wondered if I should release one of my Pokemon in readiness for when it got within range.

Nearby, some of the others had already let out their Pokemon. Matt was standing next to his Kadabra, while Marle and Rally had called on their respective Espeons and William had let out his Golem. Lizzie's Skiploom hovered a few feet above the ground, as did Olivia's Togetic. It was a tense moment with humans and Pokemon facing an unknown force.

"What's it doing?" I heard Vicky say.

"It's just . . . hovering there," said William.

"I can see that, but why? Why hasn't it attacked or something?"

When Vicky said that, I immediately realised there was something different about this spacecraft. The ones we had seen before were all wedge-shaped, but this one was more rounded. In fact, had I been asked to compare it to anything, I would have said it looked like a piece of piping that had been cut in half lengthwise and had a floor attached.

"You guys," I said, "I think someone should try and make contact with whoever's inside."

"What on Earth for?!" demanded Donna, who wanted as little as possible to do with aliens right now. And I couldn't blame her, not after what had happened to Allan.

I ignored her and turned to Marle and Rally. "Can you two contact that ship?" I asked.

"We'll try," Rally said doubtfully. "What do you want us to say?"

I paused. "Tell them . . . tell them we need help fast."

Matt

I wanted to know more about the ship itself, like if it had weapons. While everyone was eagerly awaiting a reply, I mentally told Kadabra to Teleport around the ship and check it out.

"Have they said anything?" Olivia asked.

"Not yet," replied Marle.

Kadabra returned. "The ship has what looks like a defence system, but no weapons as far as I could tell."

"What kind of defence system?" I said out loud. Everyone turned to look at me. "sorry." I turned from them all as Kadabra replied.

"It seems to be a shield generator - I couldn't even Teleport past it. It didn't hurt to touch it, though. it was like . . . glass, a very hard glass."

I immediately told everyone else what had been seen. I finished by saying: "Keep trying to contact them - me and Kadabra will help." Then, I concentrated on Kadabra. I didn't have any Psychic powers of my own, but I had an odd connection with Kadabra that allowed to me to work through him.

Katie

"Still nothing?" I asked Marle and Rally.

"No," replied Marle. She broke off her attempted telepathic connection and turned to the rest of us. "Whatever that shield Matt mentioned is, it seems to block all psychic energy."

"Which still doesn't tell us who these guys are," pointed out Lizzie. "For all we know, they could be allies of the Invaders and . . ."

She was cut off abruptly as the craft slowly began to descend towards the ground. We all huddled together, watching and wondering what was about to happen. Were the beings within - whatever they were - our enemies or our saviours?

Matt

As we huddled together, I realized something. "What if this thing lands on us?!" I cried.

This caused a general point of chaos, where everyone ran together to get out of the way of the ship. "Hurry!" people were yelling.

Katie

We hadn't gone far before the ship stopped a few feet above the ground and a strange figure slowly floated down inside a pillar of green light.

"An alien!" growled Rally, gripping her Charizard's Poke Ball and bracing herself to throw it. But, before she could do so, we all felt something that can't easily be described in words, but I will do my best. I don't what any of the others felt, but it was as though I was hearing a voice in my head, a commanding voice that carried much authority.

"Be not afraid for your enemy is our enemy!" it proclaimed like an angel come to deliver a holy message.

It took me a few moments to realise it was using some sort of telepathy and I wondered if it could hear my own thoughts . . . The idea of having my mind scanned in such a way unnerved me and I gripped my Poke Balls tightly. How did Marle, Rally and Jewel manage to live with such powers?

But there was no mistaking the meaning of its words and nor could you mistake its sincerity. Marle had told me that it is possible to lie telepathically, but it's a very difficult skill to acquire . . .

Anyway, the light surrounding the figure faded to reveal a humanoid creature - probably male, although the long robe it wore made it hard to tell for sure - with pale blue skin and large black eyes. We all stared in stunned silence as the being regarded us thoughtfully. Finally, it "spoke" again.

"I come to bring you salvation from the evil Empire of the Xantoli."

"Xantoli?" echoed Matt. "What on Earth is that?!"

"Alas, if only they were not on Earth," the stranger replied. "For they are the ones who conquered my world and now seek to conquer yours."

"And what do you want us to do about them?" asked Lizzie.

"By yourselves, with your primitive technology, there is nothing you can do. However, a handful of my race managed to escape when they conquered us and have been pursuing them ever since. When we received word they were heading your way, we tried to head them off. Alas, we were too late . . ."

"So now you want to help us drive these . . . Xantoli away?" commented Marle.

"That is correct," the stranger thought to us. "And we have precious little time. Already the Xantoli have set up beacons on the tallest structures in each of your cities . . ."

"You mean like the Radio Tower?" asked Vicky.

The stranger nodded. "Yes - that is why all such towers must be destroyed forthwith."

I furrowed my brow as I mentally went through all the possible locations for these Xantoli beacons, which I assumed were meant to act as homing signals for other Xantoli ships. We already knew the Radio Tower was a target, but in Johto alone there was also the Sprout Tower in Violet City, the Tin Tower in Ecruteak City and the lighthouse in Olivine. Kanto had its own radio tower in Lavender Town, as well as the Silph Building in nearby Saffron City. Finally, Hoenn had the Devon Building in Rustboro City and - I racked my brain - the Sky Pillar on an uninhabited island near Pacifidlog Town. Several famous landmarks that had to be destroyed . . .

I was jolted out of my thoughts when I heard Steve talking. "And how do you propose to destroy all these towers?" he asked.

"With a weapon our race have devised. It will take out the towers, but it will unfortunately cause massive collateral damage . . ."

"You mean . . ." I paused as the realisation dawned on me " . . . our homes might get destroyed too?"

The stranger nodded. "I fear it will be so, but there is no other way to stop the Xantoli invasion."

We all exchanged uneasy glances. What this stranger was suggesting sounded uncomfortably close to nuclear war and I wondered if we would be able to live in whatever remained after we were through. Then again, it would be a relief not to have to worry about the Xantoli . . .

"I think we should."

I looked up with a start when I realised it was Donna who had spoken. She had hardly said a word since Allan was killed, instead preferring to sit quietly and look at his Poke Balls. "What?" I asked, not entirely sure what she meant.

"I think we should destroy the towers. It'll stop any more Xantoli from coming and maybe finish the ones that are here already . . ." She paused and clenched her fists. "I hate the Xantoli! They killed my brother!"

We all knew her words were probably driven by emotion, which is rarely a good way to plan battle strategies. But, since alternatives were pretty thin on the ground right now and we all wanted rid of the Xantoli ourselves, we nodded our agreement. Steve turned to the stranger.

"OK, er . . .?"

"Call me Sedrask," the stranger filled in as it stepped forward and we saw for the first time that it had a small beard, meaning it was almost definitely male.

"OK, Sedrask," Steve went on. "Just tell us what you want us to do."

Matt

I had been stunned through the whole talk and had only just started recollecting my thoughts when Sedrask said: "Come with me" and entered his ship.

Katie

We entered Sedrask's ship and stood gazing awestruck at what we saw. We were in what seemed to be the main flight deck and I could see instruments more advanced than anything I had ever imagined. The sight of all the flashing lights prompted some of the younger boys to run forward, clearly under the impression that they were about to become real-life space pilots.

"Don't touch ANYTHING!" I ordered, checking the boys before they could press any buttons they weren't supposed to. "Sedrask," I added, turning to our rescuer, "what do you want us to do?"

"Just leave all the piloting to me, Katie," he replied.

I gaped - I'd never told him my name and nor had any of the others. "H - how do you . . .?" I stammered.

"Your friend Marle told me - or, rather, I picked up your names from her thoughts."

Marle, clutching her Poke Balls, grinned nervously. "Thanks - just what I needed," she remarked with a forced laugh. I could see from the expression on her face that the conversation was heading in a direction she'd rather it didn't and was wondering how to steer it away when Maxine's hand suddenly glowed again.

"The Xantoli are gathering!" she cried as her Torchic jumped out of her arms and onto the control panel. "They're heading for the Tin Tower!"

Matt

"Tin Tower?" I echoed. "I've always wanted to see that place - I heard there was a mystical Pokemon in the area. Anyway, lets get going then!"

Katie

When Matt said that, I remembered a story my mum told me when I was about six or seven. It was about the Tin Tower and how it had been the roosting place of the Legendary Pokemon Ho-oh for countless centuries.

No-one knew much about Ho-oh, beyond the fact that it resembled a large bird and left a rainbow in its wake whenever it flew through the sky. Few even believed it existed - largely because no-one had ever caught one - but I couldn't help wondering if there might be something in the story, something that made it more than just a legend.

A few years earlier, I had been training my Pokemon when I saw something flying through the air. I didn't have my binoculars with me, but its shape didn't look right for any of the Flying Pokemon I'd ever seen. And my own Pokemon seemed pretty awestruck by it - Gloom and Ledyba (I hadn't evolved them then) kept looking up as it flew overhead, Raichu clung to my leg and Ponyta kept pawing the ground nervously. Could I have been one of the few people to see Ho-oh?

Coming back to the present . . .

"I sure hope Ho-oh's not at home," Lizzie remarked as we neared the Tin Tower. Clearly, she had heard the stories too.

Nearby, I could see Donna staring at four Poke Balls, two of which contained her own Hoothoot and Delcatty while the other two held Allan's Quilava and Ekans. She hated the Xantoli with a vengeance and would probably never forgive them for what they had done to her brother. And I couldn't blame her; this was war and we had to destroy the Xantoli or risk being destroyed ourselves.