Sorry, but like I feared, I wasn't able to get this up by Thursday. It's been a hard week, but it's the weekend soon, so I'll have plenty of time to work on this Saturday. Anyway, enough about me. Here's Chapter Nine! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9- Little Girl Lost *WHAT?!* *It captured him! He was seeing how this thing that keeps other trainers from stealing me worked, so he tossed a Poke'Ball at me. It bounced off and rolled onto the ground. It must've hit his foot or something, because it sucked him in!* The Raichu explained to me. *NO!* I yelled. I ran over to the shaking ball, trying to open it with my paw. As soon as I touched it, a bolt of electricity shocked me and knocked me back. It was a pretty powerful shock, because it knocked me back through the open door and into the wall about ten feet across from the door! *Ow...I don't recommend anyone else book that flight...* I moaned, rolling back to my feet. I wasn't hurt badly, just a little banged up. Joy got the idea from my example and put on a pair of special gloves that looked like the ones that girl with the Raichu was wearing. They must protect humans from electricity. She picked up the ball, which was now surrounded with rings of electricity. She pressed the button that would normally open the ball, but this time, nothing happened. The ball just continued to shake in her hand. "It's not opening...now what?" Joy asked. The Raichu and I were both clueless. What else could be done? We'd just have to hope he broke out. As long as the ball kept shaking, at least we could be sure he was still fighting. We sat in silence for a minute before there was a loud crash from outside. "Oh no, the kids!" Joy suddenly rushed out. I could hear her talking and trying to calm the kids down, to no avail. There was silence for a moment, then I heard the sound of fabric tearing. The next I knew, the sound of singing filled the air. "Chansey...Chansey, Chansey Chan..." *What's going...on...* I yawned, my eyelids suddenly getting to heavy to hold open. *It's...a...Sing..atta...* The Raichu never even got the chance finish as she fell and started to doze off. I was only a second behind her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" "Nido!" *Ahh!* All that screaming woke me from my slumber. I looked around quickly and realized I was back in Joy's house. Hopping down off the couch, I ran towards the source of the screams and ended up in the garage of the house. The first thing I noticed was Dan, still in Hybrid form, on the ground. It took me another second or two to realize he was the one doing all the screaming. He was thrashing about on the ground, creating a lot of noise. Looking up, I saw Joy standing next to a work bench that had my Poke'Ball, which was now smashed into little pieces. When I saw the mallet in her hand, I figured out what happened. "Dan, calm down! You're out!" She put aside the mallet and held my trainer, trying to calm him down, but he continued to scream and thrash about. "It's O.K.! You're safe!" I didn't believe what happened next. Since Dan refused to listen, Joy rose her hand and... WHACK! "Ran!" *Hey!* She slapped him! She just slapped him right across the face! While I stood there in shock, Dan stopped screaming and calmly sat up, rubbing his cheek. "Ow..." he muttered, looking around. "What happened?" "You were screaming loud enough to wake the dead, that's what happened!" Joy said, helping him to his feet. "I know that, but..." he shuddered like he'd gotten a sudden chill. "All I remember is the ball bouncing off my foot, and then it got really dark and quiet. I starting getting scared, so I just kicked and bit and...how long was I in there?" "A few hours, I guess. Come on, you must be starving." Joy had to help him move around a little at first. I guess all that fighting must have really worn him out. Once he was laid out on the couch, Joy went into the kitchen, and I hopped up onto his lap. Now, some of you may be asking, "If he's in Hybrid form, why isn't he speaking a little like a Raichu anymore?". The answer is simple; he is. Many people who asked that question are forgetting one thing, and that's why they're confused. I'm a trained Poke'mon, so I was taught to understand both English and Poke'mon speech, which Dan mixes together when he talks. While I hear him say, "Rai know that, but..." I still understand exactly what he says, so to save some time and aggrevation, I'm providing the whole translation in English. (You'd better appricate it, too! Poke'mon spend a lot of time understanding human languages, yet you don't spend any time to learn ours. How would you feel if the roles were reversed?!) "Nidoran, Nido?" *Are you alright?* "Hey Nidoran. I hope I didn't scare you too much with all that." Dan reached back and scratched the back of my head. I don't really know why he does that. Maybe it makes him feel better or something, but it doesn't really do anything for me. "Nidoran! Ran Nidoran Nido, Ran Ran!" I said sarcasticlly. *Of course not! I should be used to finding my trainer in a Poke'Ball!* "Hmm..." He stopped scratching and seemed to be thinking about something. Finally, he said, "Nidoran, is it always like that in a Poke'Ball? Is it always so dark and creepy?" "Nidoran, Ran..." *At first, but..." "Does it always make you think you're all alone? That's how I felt when I was in there..." "Nidoran, Ran Nido..." *At first, but it gets...* "If you don't want to, I won't put you in one again." "Nidoran,..." *It's really not...* "Here you go." For the third time, I was inturrupted, but this time by Joy. She bought in a pot of soup and a box of crackers. "It's just for starters, but everything else is going to take a while to cook." "Nidoran! Ran Nido, Nidoran Ran!" I yelled. *Listen to me! It's only like that when you're about to be caught!* "Thanks Joy." To me, Dan asked, "You say something, Nidoran?" "RAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!" *AGGGGGGGGGGGUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!* "Hey, what are you getting all excited about?" Ah, forget it. No one understands me totally anyway. Dan asked Joy if she could get him a regular bowl. She did, and he poured some of the soup into it before giving it to me. Hey, at least he shares. After a large meal that the three of us barely got all down, Joy asked if they should go out and try looking for Sara. Dan said he did, but first he wanted to stop by the gym and see if they could find out who was yelling in there last night, unless the paper said something about what happened. "Nope. Nothing about it, other that the police were called to check out someone making noise at the gym." Joy said, after scanning the paper for any stories. It was dark out now, so we quickly left after that. Upon reaching the gym, we searched high and low for a way into the building. There were no windows or doors that we could use to get in. I, however, found an alternative enterence. "Nidoran!" *Over here!* "What is it Nidoran?" They ran over and examined what I found. It was a small hole, on level with the ground. It was definitly small; even I could barely squeeze through. It was round, and smelt really bad. "It's just like the hole at the Center." Joy noted, running a pink arm along the hole. (She went to Hybrid form before we'd left.) "You're right. Still, only something small could fit through there, and what we heard was definitly human." Dan looked down at me. "Would you mind checking it out, Nidoran? Just don't wake up Lt. Surge, or we'll all be in real trouble." "Nido." *Sure.* I squeezed through the hole and found myself in the basement. Quickly seeing there was nothing intresting down there, I hopped up the stairs one at a time and through the door at the top, which someone had left open. Finding myself in the kitchen, I went through the nearby hallway and followed it into the battle arena. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. I started to wonder if there was anyone around. "Nidoran? Nidoran?" I called out. *Hello? Anyone here?* No one answered. I walked into another hallway, finding a door partially open. I nudged it open to see what was inside. I tensed up when I saw the person laying still, but I realized they were asleep and relaxed. It was dark, so I really couldn't see a lot. The floor was littered with various items; books, clothes, that sort of thing. Whoever the sleeper was, they weren't very neat. I was about to leave before I woke the sleeper when something caught my attention. Something long and thick was poking out from under the covers, mostly laying on the floor. Despite what little I know for certain about humans, they don't have anything that big. I snuck over carefully to get a better look at this odd body part. Still not able to get a great look at it, I tried to figure out what exactly this was. It felt cold, almost like ice. It was mostly smooth like skin, but parts of it were very stiff and rigid, and unless I was mistaken, it split down near the end. I couldn't see a color in the darkness, which sure didn't help. Suddenly the sleeper rolled over, pulling whatever I was studying along with it. I bolted out of the room, running on pure adreniline. I ran back through the arena, through the kitchen, down into the basement and out through the little hole, running about another hundred feet before I stopped. "Nidoran! What happened?" Dan asked when he finally caught up to me. I explained what I found quickly, still a little scared. He didn't seem to get much of it, but Joy translated everything I said for him. "Do you have any idea what he saw?" Dan asked Joy. She shook her head in response. We didn't stay long to think it over. Joy suggested that maybe we should just leave whatever it was alone. Besides, she pointed out, even if they called the police to report it, who'd believe them? Plus, they'd have to explain what they were doing there in the first place, which would be kinda bad. I followed them around for the next few hours, as Joy smashed the only Poke'Ball Dan had. Besides, after what'd happened to him, I don't think he could bring himself to putting me in one, even though it's not really that bad. Sure, it can kinda lonely, and I still need to be fed, but other than that... "Anything Joy?" "Nothing." ...of course, sometimes I'd rather be in a ball than walking around all the time and wearing myself out. After several unsuccessful hours of this, we finally started back for Joy's house. We all fell asleep soon after we walked in the door, for various reasons. Dan and I were worn out, me from all the walking and him from having to fight out of a Poke'Ball for hours and hours. Joy needed to be rested for all the kids who would be coming in with last minute needs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Nidoran! Wake up!" "Nido?" *Huh?* I blinked and looked around, still half asleep. I was in a forest...a familiar forest...and that voice... "Nidoran, you stupid Poke'mon! Wake up!" That tone of voice was definitly familiar. I rose to my feet and moaned. I didn't want to do this again. "About time! Come on, your in a practice battle, and you better do good!" Who was I battling? I didn't see anyone, and I sure can't fight what I can't see. "Nidoran...RAN!" *Who am I...OW!* Out of nowhere, a Rhydon stampeded in behind me and knocked me about fifty feet with a Horn Attack before I crashed into a tree trunk. "You're supposed to be ready for anything!" my old trainer yelled. "Nidoran Nido, Ran!" I yelled. *Why don't you come here and say that!* I painfully rolled to my feet and looked for the trainer who had done nothing but yell at me since he caught me...but I couldn't see him. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. His voice...it was all around me! He was yelling at me from everywhere! "RHHHYYYYYYY!!!" The Rhydon roared before charging again. I barely had time to roll out of the way and avoid being impaled! "Nidoran!" *That was close!* I charged and tried a Tackle Attack. Too late, I realized that normal attacks don't do well on rock-types. I smashed head-first into the rock scales, heard something crack, then stumbled back, my horn hurting badly, or what was left of it. "Nido..." *My horn...* The tip of my horn had seperated from the rest of it when I hit, and now laid on the ground in a jagged piece. It was quickly turned to pieces when Rhydon stepped on it and crushed it. Rhydon charged again, and there was no way for me to avoid it this time. I didn't get impaled, but ended up on the rounded part of his horn, right in the front. I hung on for dear life while Rhydon continued to charge forward. Too late, I realized what was going to happen. CRUNCH! "RAAANNNN!!!" *AHHHHHHHH!!!* Rhydon charged right into a tree, squeezing me between a rock and a hard place. Neither the tree nor the giant Poke'mon crushing me yeilded, fighting only harder. I couldn't breathe...too much...pain...needed...air... "Your worthless!" was the only thing I heard above my bones snapping and bending in two. "Nido..." *No...* Those were the last words I ever spoke... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "NIDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" *NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!* I woke up frantically, gasping for air. I looked around frantically, making sure I wasn't still dreaming. No, I assured myself when I saw Dan laying on the couch, clutching at his ears. I'm awake...it was just a dream. An awful, awful dream... "Nidoran, are you alright?" Dan asked when he was done covering his ears. "Nidoran..." *Yeah, fine...* "Alright, you. Come here." He picked me up and held me against his chest. I was a little shaken up, but I tried not to show it, even as I shook against him. "That's the second night in a row you woke up screaming like that. I want to know what's going on here." "Nidoran Ran Nido." *They're just bad dreams.* "I'm willing to bet that this has something to do what's been happening lately. Is that right?" "Nido." I shook my head. *No.* "It's not?" He was silent for a while. I thought he'd went back to sleep when he spoke again. "What about you're last trainer? Is that bothering you?" "Nido...Ran, Nidoran Ran..." *No, it's not that at all...* "Why don't you just tell me what it is that's bothering you so much? Even though I probably won't understand a lot of it, it'll make you feel better anyway." "Nidoran Ran." *That sounds dumb.* "Come on, Nidoran. I'm not letting you go anywhere until you tell me." This was really dumb! I didn't want to say what was happening, that's all. I struggled a little, but Dan held me against him and kept me from leaving. "Nidoran, Nido Nido? Ran! Nidoran Nido Nido, Ran Nidoran Ran!" I yelled. *You want to know what's bothering me? Yeah, I'm a little upset about my last trainer, and you would be too, after what he did to me!* He didn't say anything for a minute. How much he understood, I had no clue. I didn't really feel that much better like Dan said I would. Finally he spoke again. "Nidoran, I'm sorry I can't understand everything you say, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. Sometimes, you just need someone to talk to, even if the person your talking to doesn't totally understand you. I know it sounds kinda dumb, but sometimes it's just better to know that someone is actually listening to you. I should know. When I broke something or knew I was going to get in trouble, I usually talked to my stuffed Teddiursa about how I felt. He was a good listener, too." He laughed a little at that thought. "Of course, I was six or seven at the time, and it's not like he had much of a say in if he wanted to hear it or not anyway." I've always thought humans had some weird ideas, and this only added proof for me. Still, maybe he was right. The way he explained everything...it made sense, in a way. I don't exactly think of him as a large stuffed replica of a Poke'mon, but I started to feel a little better anyway. Besides, unlike a doll, he could at least understand that I was upset. "Come on Nidoran," Dan said, lifting me off his chest. "Let's go raid the fridge. Next to talking, food is the ultimate solution for almost anything." "Nidoran!" *Alright!* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Niiiiddddoooo..." *Oh...* I never thought I'd say it; I ate too much. Joy had went shopping yesterday, so there was plenty of food in the kitchen. Dan seemed to have no problem downing about a day and a half's worth of food in an hour, but I had to stop after a big bag of pretezels and three bowls of ice cream. Now I had the biggest stomach ache in the world, and the medicene Dan had given me hadn't taken effect yet. Anyway, we both stayed up the rest of the night, since the sun was almost up anyway. Joy came out, not wearing her usual dress. "Joy? Don't you have to work today?" "Not today!" Joy said happily. "I was promised the day off to make up for all the holidays I've missed. Finally, a day to myself!" "Hey, that sounds...huh?" Someone just shoved a piece of paper through the mail slot in the door. Joy walked over and looked at the paper, then said something Dan told me I wasn't allowed to repeat. "What is it?" "...They want me to work today! Of all the nerve..." "Work? At the Center?" "No, at the tournement! A few of the doctors called in sick, so now I've got to go and handle emergency cases that might come up during the battles!" "Ouch..." my trainer said, wincing. "Oh well, I wish I could help..." "No, don't..." she looked at the rest of the paper, then said even more things I'm not allowed to repeat. "...AND I have to look after the kids who aren't battling!" "What?! Where are the parents in all this?" "I don't know...Dan, I hate to ask, but could you come with me? The kids like you, and I need all the help I can get." "Sure," he said with a nod, "if you can think of a way to get me out of here without anyone seeing me." Unfortunetly, we had to walk the whole way, so we needed something that would offer a lot of cover. Joy had a large raincoat that covered up most of his body, but then there was his ears. There was no way, even with a hat on, that you cover them up. In the end, she ended up tying them together with string and used a bandana to try and cover up the rest of it. By the time she was done, my trainer looked like he had a cone shaped head, but she'd said it do. Other than a lot of staring, we made it to the gym unnoticed. There was a room where all the trainers that were battling had to wait till it was their turn to battle, and that's where we got placed. Not many of the kids flocked to me, which was good, because little humans are even stranger than big ones. Seeing my trainer swamped with them, though, I tried to get a few to come to me. My stomach ache was still a big problem. I guess Dan noticed, because he picked me up and took me to the bathroom. Maybe he thought I was going to be sick, and he didn't want to clean up any mess I might make. I didn't feel like I was going to be sick, but apparently he didn't see that. We passed by the door were I found that thing last night on the way there. "Nidoran Ran!" *Hey, this is where that thing was!* "Nidoran? What is it?" He put me down to see what I wanted. I ran over and scratched at the door. "Is there something in there?" "Nido!" *Yeah!* He looked around quickly to see if anyone was coming, then quickly opened the door and stepped in. I squeezed in right behind him. The room was still a mess like I'd found it. Whatever was in here last night wasn't here now. Whatever I'd seen was gone too. "Is this where you found that thing you told us about last night?" "Ran, Nido Nido Nidoran. Nidoran." I said, nodding. *Yeah, this is where I found it. Whatever it was.* "I see. Well, it not here...what the..." "Nidoran?" *Huh?* I was too short to see what my trainer saw on the top of a bookcase, but it seemed important. Someone had stacked up various things like a stairway to the top of it that I could follow up to the top of it. Still, why would anyone do that? "Something's in there. I can hear it banging around." I ran up the makeshift stairs to the top. There was a vent cover that someone had burnt a hole through, small enough for a Poke'mon my size or a little bigger to get through. "Nidoran, follow that vent in and see if you can find whatever is making all that noise. "Nidoran..." *Alright...* I was pretty sure that whatever was in there sure didn't want to be found, but an order is an order. I made it through the hole, notcing it looked kind of like that one I'd gotten through into the gym earlier. I've never figured out why humans have to make these things so complicated. I got myself lost a lot in there, and it was hard to follow the noises, since the metal made the sound bounce around all over the place. It felt like I was in there for an hour when I finally heard a "BANG!", then it got quiet. I couldn't hear the thing moving around anymore at all. I was considering heading back when I realized I was lost. That left me only one option; pick randomly and hope I got lucky. It must have been a good ten minutes when I turned a corner and found out what was making all that noise. "Ran Nidoran?" *A Vaporeon?* The blue Poke'mon was slumped over at a dead end vent. I nudged a few times, but it didn't respond. I could hear it breathing, so I knew it was alive. "Nidoran, Nido Nido..." *Well, I can't just leave it here...* In the end, I bit down on his tail and dragged him around with me. It was really tiring, but thankfully, I found the hole where'd I came in quickly after. I called out and Dan popped off the cover to let me out. "Nidoran, you're back! Hey, and you bought a present!" He took the two of us down, and noticed the poor shape of the Vaporeon. He said we were going to have Joy look it over and do what he could for it. No one saw us step out of the room and headed back, too wrapped up in the trainers battling. "Wait a minute..." My trainer looked over the Vaporeon more closely. Out of nowhere, he exclaimed, "Hey, I caught this Vaporeon already!" "Ran?" *Huh?* We rushed back to Joy, who was having problems keeping the kids away from all the medical stuff she had to work with. "Joy, we got an emergency over here!" "Now? I'm really...oh my!" Joy took Vaporeon from Dan, stared to walk off to help it, then turned around. "Wait...Dan, this is your Vaporeon!" "I know. Nidoran found him in the vents." Joy looked confused. My trainer sighed. "I'll explain later. Just take care of him, please!" Joy quickly went back to work, as did we. Slowly but surely, the little kids left one by one. The winners returned for their next match, but the loser usually went up to their parents in the stands, so we slowly had less and less to deal with. When we got down to the last four, Joy came over. "You're Vaporeon is awake." Joy informed us. "Go see him. I can handle these kids." "Alright." He went off while I helped Joy keep the kids from destroying anything important. He came back a little later, looking kind of depressed. Joy and him could take care of the rest of the kids by themselves, so I went to see this elusive Poke'mon. He was in an incubator like all the ones I'd seen a few days ago. "Nidoran, Nido Nido." *So, you're the runaway Vaporeon.* He peered down from inside his case at me. "Vaporeon, Vapor?" *And who might you be?* "Nidoran, Nido Ran Ran Nido." *I'm a Poke'mon trained by the person you ran away from.* "Vap." *Oh.* "Nidoran, Ran Nidoran Nido?" Silence. "Nidoran Nido Nido, Ran Ran?" *So, why did you run away from my trainer?* *Come on, you must have a good reason, don't you?* "Vaporeon Eon, Vaporeon Vaporeon." *If you're smart, you'll leave this place now.* "Nido! Nidoran Ran Ran?" *Hey! Is that some kind of threat?* "Vaporeon, Eon Vapor." *No, it's a warning.* "Nidoran? Nidoran?" *Warning? Of what?* He remained silent. I got annoyed with him and left him alone. What kind of warning could he be talking about, anyway? Ah, don't worry about it, I told myself. He probably just doesn't like my trainer because he's half electric type. Anyway, since Dan and Joy were handling the rest of the kids, I went out to watch the battles. I growled at anyone who came near me, so people left me alone. Soon, they were down to the last two trainers. I was kinda sad at that time, because I just saw a cute looking female Nidoran get knocked out by a Pidgey. "And now," The announcer on the loudspeaker said, "we have a special surprise. Lt. Surge is going to be the guest referee for the final battle!" The crowd cheered loudly at this. I moved from my spot by the entrance door for the trainers up a bit more to get a better view of the action. We waited...and waited...and waited. No one came out from anywhere. Soon there were faint whispers coming from the loudspeakers. "What do you mean they can't find Lt. Surge?!" the announcer yelled suddenly. There was an akward pause, then, "Did I just say that aloud?" "Um...yeah, you did." "Uh-oh...ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some...technical difficulties at this moment. Please hold on just a second." Everyone started whispering all at once. Where was Lt. Surge? Surely he should be here. "Nidoran Ran?" I said to myself. *Where could he be?* I was about to run back to Dan and let him know, but he must have heard the announcement, since he was running out behind me. "They can't find Lt. Surge?" he asked no one in paticular. "Where would he go?" We watched the officals run around, trying to find the missing Gym Leader. We were still mostly out of sight as we watched all the action. No one seemed to have any luck at finding him. We quickly learned, however, they found something else intresting. "WHAA!" From a hallway, three men just flew straight through the arena, crashing into the netting set up to protect the spectators. They seemed unhurt, but quickly ran out through the emergency stairs out of the gym. A few panicked spectators made their way out too, but a lot hung out to see what had hurled those men which such force. When the little girl came out into the arena, people seemed shocked. She looked to be about six, wearing a white dress and a white hat that covered up most of her face. You could see some green hair hanging out from under that hat. In her small hands, she held a solitary Poke'Ball. I started to tense up, and Dan looked ready for a fight himself. This girl just cast an arua of something... something bad. "Excuse me," she said in a soft, almost squeaky voice, "but has anyone seen a Vaporeon here? He seems to have gotten out of his ball again, and I must find him." "Nidoran?" I said. *Vaporeon?* "Please. I must find my poor little Poke'mon." Dan said nothing. I thought he would have more than happy to hand over Vaporeon, especially after he ran away. Maybe that's why he ran away, though. Maybe he didn't like this girl. If that was the case, I couldn't blame him. "I know who has my Vaporeon, but maybe he just doesn't realize it. I'll ask him directly, then." She turned to look at us. At us! Out of an entire crowd of people, how could she pick my trainer out?! "Excuse me. May I please have back my Vaporeon?" "I'm sorry, but I found him out in the wild." Dan said, shaking his head. " I don't believe he's yours." "Oh, but I just know he is. Please, may I have him back?" "How do you know it's yours? You haven't even seen him yet." "Please," she said, starting to sound impatient. "I really would like my Vaporeon back." "If you can prove he's yours, I will." He thought for a moment, then said, "Vaporeon has a very unique trait. What is it?" "Nidoran?" *Unique trait?* Vaporeon looked just like every other Vaporeon I've seen. What could my trainer be talking about? "Um...he's...um...his...no..." The little girl seemed to be unable to come up with anything. "Please, sir. May I just have him back?" "Not till you tell me what's so special about him." "Please, I must have him back." Now she was starting to sound angry. "Oh, just give it to her!" someone in the stands yelled. "QUIET!" The little girl certainly didn't sound like a little girl anymore. Now she sounded like an angry grown-up. The man in the stands who had called out started to float off the ground, by no action on his part. He kicked and flailed about, but was unable to break whatever control was making him float. I was puzzled, till I looked at the girl. Her hat was still covering up most of her face, but I could see two eyes glowing a bright blue. "Nidoran!" *She's psyhic!* "Now, please give me back my Vaporeon, before this man...this whole gym has to suffer for it." The little girl voice was gone. She seemed emotionless as she spoke. Emotionless, except for being very cold. "What are you going to do to them?" "Either give me the Vaporeon, or I'll turn everyone in here into a creature like you." "A creature...you can turn them all into Hybrids?!" "The Vaporeon. NOW!" "Nidoran, Nido Ran!?" I wondered aloud. *Can she turn me into one too!?* "Oh yes, you annoying little pest. You as well." How'd she understand me?! She wasn't a Hybrid or a Poke'mon...was she? "Everyone, close your eyes!" "Ran?" *Joy?* I looked back and saw Joy in her Hybrid form, the front of her dress slightly torn during the change. Despite her lack of strength and real hands, she managed to throw her egg rather well. It landed in front of the psyhic girl. When it started to glow brightly, I shut my eyes. "AHHHH!!!" The little girl screamed as the glow steadily grew into what Joy later described as a Flash attack. When I opened my eyes, she was clutching at her own, temporarily blinded. Dan quickly said what everyone was probably thinking. "RUN!" Everyone quickly bolted for the nearest exit. Despite my rush to find an exit, I noticed that somehow the egg remained unharmed during all this. "Dan, the egg! I need it to change back!" "Geez!" He quickly ran and picked it up. By the time the girl recovered, no one was in the arena, and the few people still in the gym were only feet from the nearest exit. In the confusion and chaos, no one noticed the two Hybrids or the Nidoran following them escaping down the street. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...despite the suspected powers of the girl, no one was hurt, and damage to the gym itself was minimal, though Lt. Surge is still missing..." "That's not good." Joy sighed and shut off the T.V. "So, do you think anyone is going to believe that a couple of half-human, half-Poke'mon creatures saved everyone that was in that gym?" "Not many." my trainer said doubtfully. They remained silent before Dan spoke up. "Can I use your phone?" "Sure, but why?" "I want to call home." "Are you sure that's wise?" "No," he admitted, "but after today...I want my parents to know what's going on. I can't let them wonder about me forever. "Alright...," Joy said with a sigh. "but I seriously advise against that." "Thanks for your input, but I'm still doing it." I followed my trainer into the kitchen. He picked up the reciever of the phone and punched a few buttons. I couldn't see anything from the floor, but I could hear a female voice at the other end. "Hello?" "Hello, Mom? It's your son..." he paused for a moment. I guess he was waiting for his mother to start screaming or something, but I didn't hear that. "Mom, I..." "I guess I should've expected this..." "Expected this? Expected what?" "Dan...we haven't been very honest with you, but now seems like it's the best time to say this..." "Say what?" "This...isn't the first time this has happened." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another two weeks, another chapter. (Braces for large onslaught of screaming and thrown objects.) I know, it's very late, but again, it's been a bit of a struggle to get to a computer. I now, however, plan to get out at least one chapter a week...starting the next time I don't get a chapter out within a week. "It's a big wooden stove. Harness it all mighty burning power. For the cooking of pot's and pans and stuff. Yeah" Tony Jones, Universal Magi, examining Gia's wooden stove.