Sarik the Squirtle's Story

"Crimson! They're trying to get Seraphine to capture you!"

Crimson turned to the sound of Cinder's panicked cry. Cinder then looked from him to Sarik and put two and two together.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt. I guess you've got it covered though, by the looks of it!"

Crimson chuckled, "Yeah, I think we got it. I do appreciate your concern, but I don't plan on being captured any point ever. Besides," he motioned towards the humans and their conversation, "I think the conversation of pizza is more interesting than capturing a 'typical' Chimchar."

He couldn't help but smile at his sarcastic statement as Cinder ran to her trainer. He then turned to Tag and Sarik, "Seems like there's more to their civilization than just this island. Should we go and take a look-see?"

"Without the others?" Sarik raised a brow, "No way!"

Crimson nodded in agreement, "You're right. I forgot about Pert and Meryl. And Dobro and Domingo would want to come along too. Maybe another time, perhaps." The three turned their attention back to the conversation between Radegast and Touko, who was setting up a fight.

"And just like that...we can fade into obscurity," Crimson snapped his fingers. "Although I do want to watch this fight go down. I'm kind of interested to see how they both battle."

"Yeah, me too!" Tag quipped. "Especially Rage! He seems powerful!" A thought occurred to the Turtwig and he stared at Crimson, then Rage, then back to Crimson again. "Are you two cousins?"

Crimson burst out into laughter at the abrupt statement. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, you've got a similar build, you look somewhat alike, and while you're a bit more quiet about your own strength, Rage seems like he can fit to the hype he shouts." Tag looked back at Rage, who was stomping and chanting in some unknown language.

Crimson watched as well. "I doubt that. I think we just have some similar traits. But I'd love a good challenge! Maybe he could give me one."

Sarik crossed his arms, giving a quizzical look towards the two. "Aren't you guys forgetting something?"

Crimson and Tag both looked back at him with confused looks on their faces. "What?" they asked in unison.

Sarik shook his head, "Gah, I'm surrounded by idiots. Team RedEye! Y'know? Pounce and Gova? The ones we're trying to find?"

Oh. Crimson looked back at the massive gathering of new friends they'd just come across. "Y'know it sucks being an Isle Defender sometimes."

Sarik chuckled, "This coming from our glorious leader."

Crimson could keep the smirk off his face. "Hey, I can hate stuff, too."

"Do we have to go?" Tag asked Crimson.

Crimson smiled back, "Yeah, buddy. We have to find these guys."

Tag sighed, "I guess so."

"Alright!" Crimson started taking with new enthusiasm as he stood in front of his teammates like a leader. "Enough distractions! We have to find Pounce and Gova, so let's get to it!"

"Yeah!" Tag and Sarik chanted back, revitalized.

"The town's next," Crimson noted to them before beginning to walk off towards Oak Town. He waved towards Radegast's team as well as Cinder, Seraphine, and Touko. "Bye guys! We'll see ya around sometime!"

"Bye guys! Congratulations again!" Tag grinned widely. Sarik gave a little salute before joining Crimson and Tag. Together, the three began to set off towards the town.

Seraphine waved to the three pokemon as they left. She felt a little disappointment. She wanted a chimchar really badly, it would be a good addition to her team, but she knew she did the right thing.

"...Castelia Cones. It's all the way over on the main land, so we'll need to grab a ferry."

Hmm. Well, she really didn't want to leave the academy right now, especially with that cannon noise coming from the mainland. She didn't exactly have a lot of experience with battling, nor a lot of pokemon to battle with. She'd be with Touko and Radegast, so she'd probably be safe, but she really wanted to start making more pokemon friends. She took the paper and pointed to the cone with a questioning look at Cinder, trying to ask if she wanted a cone. Cinder shook her head and tugged on her pants leg. Something was up. She followed Cinder over to where the three pokemon were waiting.

"Char! Char char charmander!" Cinder pointed to herself, Seraphine, the three pokemon, then town.

What the heck was she trying to say? She hoped the academy had a pokespeak class, she hated not knowing what her pokemon was saying. So she had pointed to herself, Seraphine, and the three pokemon. That means all of them. Then to town. She wanted to accompany them to town! That made sense, since pokemon who didn't have trainers were probably taken to the pokemon center until their trainers showed up.

"Ok, we can go with them to town. I needed to get more supplies anyway." She heard Cinder give an excited "Char!" and go ahead with her friends.
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"Wait!" Cinder shouted to the three leaving pokemon. "Aren't you guys going to look weird without a human around you? I don't want you to get captured!" She knew Crimson and his friends could handle themselves if they got caught, but it would cause a scene on the level that Domingo caused, and she knew they couldn't afford another scene like that.

"If me and Seraphine come with you guys, you'll look a lot less suspicious, and I think she's been wanting to look for new pokemon, so she was planning on venturing out for a while!" She ran to get her trainer. Seraphine had a piece of paper and looked like she was asking if she wanted ice cream or pizza. But that stuff wasn't important right now. She shook her head and tugged on Seraphine's pants leg, trying to get her trainer to come with her. Seraphine gave a confused look, but followed.

When she got over to where Crimson and his friends were, she said "We should go with them to town so they don't get captured!" She pointed to Seraphine, herself, then the three pokemon and then the town, hoping she'd get the message.

After a moment of trying to figure out what it is she wanted, Seraphine finally nodded. "Ok, we can go with them to town. I needed to get more supplies anyway."

"Yay!" Cinder went over to her new friends excitedly.

"Wait! Aren't you guys going to look weird without a human around you? I don't want you to get captured!"

Crimson turned back around to see Cinder calling to them. She did bring up a good point.

"If me and Seraphine come with you guys, you'll look a lot less suspicious, and I think she's been wanting to look for new Pokemon, so she was planning on venturing out for a while!" she continued.

"It wouldn't hurt if they came along, would it?" Tag's eyes quivered with hope that Crimson would say yes.

"It would help us blend in when we enter the town," Sarik added.

"That it would..." Crimson noted thoughtfully. Still, he felt a bit hesitant about letting them join, not because he didn't trust them, but because he didn't want them to become wrapped up in his obligations rather than fulfilling their own. However...

He did see an advantage in tagging along with them. They could explore the town without suspicion. They would have two more sets of eyes looking around for Pounce and Gova, given the two would be searching for other teammates to join them at their academy. And he could help them search for suitable Pokemon to join them...maybe even train Cinder a little bit on fighting. Crimson's fighting style was very unique and a little bit of that rubbing off on Cinder would go a long way in terms of a fight.

"Alright," Crimson said finally, "Let them come."

"Yay!" came the shout, but it wasn't from Tag or Sarik. It was from Cinder, who had already caught up with them. Crimson smiled at their new traveler. "Hey there. Glad you could join us!"

He then looked over to Seraphine, who was right behind her Charmander. He gave a nod of appreciation, smiling genuinely to her.

"So," Tag said to Cinder as the five began walking towards Oak Town, "How did you and Seraphine come to know each other?" Sarik leaned in, curious in the matter as well. Crimson walked beside Seraphine, listening to the conversation, but more or less keeping Cinder's trainer company as well.

"crap" she says while reentering the atmosphere falling down in the plains in front of oak town "oww" she says rubbing her head as she could only think of one thing why she landed on the same planet but a different place but she fainted as soon as she stood up from the reentry effects

Seraphine smiled back at the chimchar and looked to her charmander, talking with the pokemon a few paces ahead. She hoped Cinder would be just as good of friends with any pokemon she caught. Seraphine looked around. She did have a couple pokeballs with her and she was eager to catch a new pokemon, preferably a fire type with a secondary type like psychic, which she could use to round out her team slightly. She doubted any would be in the plains, but there might be some near the mountains they were passing.

Alas, they got to town before she saw any cool pokemon. Sure, they saw a couple of pidgeys, but they always flew away before she had a chance to catch them.

"Alright, is there a specific place you guys want to go or are we just looking around town for the houndoom and greninja?"
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"Oh, actually Seraphine had always wanted a fire type, so her parents got me from the local Pokemon Professor. I was still an egg though, so I don't remember anything about the professor's place. But I hatched on her birthday so I was her birthday present!" It sounded a little like she was almost a... possession when she put it that way. But she knew she wasn't.

"I know it sounds weird to say that I was a birthday present but I know I'm her best friend!" In fact, she was her only friend for awhile, other than her parents. Her parents always supported her but were wary of Cinder for a long time because she was a fire-type. Other than them though, she really didn't have friends. The other kids at school would make fun of her for liking fire types. In fact, she learned later, it was an anomaly the local pokemon professor even had a fire type. Seraphine's home town hated fire types and thought they only brought destruction. He normally only had squirtles and bulbasaurs. One day, her egg magically appeared there. Even though it was obviously a fire type egg, the pokemon professor just couldn't bring himself to throw it out. So when Seraphine's parents came in and asked for a fire type egg, he was relieved to get it off his hands.

"What about you guys? Did you know Crimson before you were Isle Defenders?"

Oak Town was a fairly standard port town. A Pokemon Center, A PokeMart, a hospital for those injured, an Inn for those visiting, a few residential homes, and the harbor containing boats of all varieties, most notably the ferry. The Pokemon Training Academy functioned as both a school and as the lab for learning more about the Pokemon they came across, which was why there wasn't one in the town. It wasn't the smallest town, but it certainly was plain.

This was why Crimson had his doubts that he would find Gova and Pounce here as he walked into the city limits. There weren't any places they could hide for long should Team RedEye choose to set their camp up in this place. At the same time, Crimson knew Team RedEye would be the only ones skilled, eccentric, and crazy enough to try it, regardless. So he'd look here, but not for very long.

"Alright, is there a specific place you guys want to go or are we just looking around town for the houndoom and greninja?"

Crimson responded by motioning for her to lead the way. They would follow her on her errands and keep an eye out. It seemed like the best plan for now.

Meanwhile, Tag, Sarik, and Cinder were deep in conversation.

Oh, actually Seraphine had always wanted a fire type, so her parents got me from the local Pokemon Professor. I was still an egg though, so I don't remember anything about the professor's place. But I hatched on her birthday so I was her birthday present!"

"Aww, that's awesome!" Tag commented.

"I know it sounds weird to say that I was a birthday present but I know I'm her best friend!" Cinder went on.

"I believe it," Sarik said, "You and Seraphine have a special human to Pokemon bond that others wished they had. Kind of like how the boy in the sling and his Pokemon have. You two were practically made for each other."

They walked a bit in silence before Cinder asked a question. "What about you guys? Did you know Crimson before you were Isle Defenders?"

"I didn't," Sarik replied.

"I did!" Tag said, "We tried out for it together and both got in. It was when I found out he was-"

"Um," Sarik cut in, "Maybe you shouldn't tell that story."

Tag stared at Sarik, confused, "Huh? Why not?"

"It's a little strange and we don't know if-"

"Ah, go ahead and tell it," Crimson called out to Tag, "I don't mind. Besides, I trust Cinder. It's not like we're talking to a random Pokemon we just met."

"Can trust be gained over the course of a day?" Sarik asked skeptically and with a hint of sarcasm.

Crimson smirked, "Maybe."

"Alright," Tag looked Cinder in the eyes, "This is going to sound completely oddball...like more oddball than probably anything you've heard. But our leader Crimson back there was actually a human turned into a Pokemon."

Even though Crimson gave Tag the go-ahead with that personal bit of information, it still made him cringe a little bit hearing it out loud. It was that feeling of being a freak of nature. Crimson looked up at Seraphine as if she could understand what Tag was saying as well and would give him the same look of amazement as Cinder would probably give him.

Crimson motioned for her to lead the way, so she headed towards the pokemart. She needed pokeballs if they were going to catch something. She paid for five pokeballs at the counter. That should be enough to catch a pokemon.

Meanwhile, the pokemon were in deep conversation. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but Crimson looked at her at one point, as if searching for her input.

"What is it?" She asked, looking at the chimchar's inquisitive face. Not that she could understand anything they were saying.

Just then, she felt something tug at her leg. She looked down, expecting to see Cinder, but instead she saw a fox-like pokemon. It had to be domesticated, or else it wouldn't be in town.

"Hey little guy, where's your trainer?" She picked him up, he had obviously been looking for his trainer for a while.

"Fenn fen!" She looked at the other pokemon, hoping they could translate.
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Cinder's eyes got wide. "Wow, that's so cool! Do you like being a pokemon better? How come you can't speak human if you used to be one?"

Cinder saw Crimson look at Seraphine. Seraphine's "What is it?" meant that she couldn't understand what the chimchar just said. She didn't even notice there was another pokemon in the group until Seraphine asked the pokemon where its trainer was.

"I don't know! I haven't seen him for a few days!" Seraphine looked at them, obviously not able to understand the pokemon. Cinder paused for a moment, unsure of how to convey the information to her human.

Crimson just shrugged, "I don't know. I don't remember anything about being a human. I only remember I was one." he stopped as a Fennekin ran up to Seraphine and got her attention.

"Hey little guy, where's your trainer?" she asked, picking him up.

"I don't know! I haven't seen him for a few days!" he replied. Seraphine obviously didn't know Pokespeak and turned to the four of them for help. Crimson thought for a moment before figuring out how to relay the information to her.

He placed the hand on his head and started pantomiming the act of searching, as if it was the Fennekin searching for his trainer, before shrugging in an exaggerated manner, showing he didn't know. He then held up three fingers and then pointed at the sun, showing that it had been at least three days since then. It may show up as being a little obscure, but he hoped she would get the message across.

He gazed at the Fennekin, who was looking at Seraphine with expectant eyes. "Hey! Do you remember where it was you lost your trainer?" he called up to him, hoping they would get a location to start looking for him.

Meanwhile, Tag and Sarik spectated the situation.

"Man, if only we'd thought about taking the Translators with us," Tag mused, "This would be so much easier."

"I said we should probably take them before stepping through the portal!" Sarik stomped his foot.

"Yeah, but you said that about every gadget. We only have so much space."

Sarik hmphed! in response, leaving Tag to laugh.

Seraphine looked at the pokemon, they were obviously unsure of how to convey the information. Crimson attempted, she did her best to play charades.

"Alright, he's looking for his trainer.... and doesn't know where he is." That much she got. Then he held up three fingers and pointed up at the sun. Three... days? He hadn't seen his trainer in three days? He should get to a pokemon center. The fennekin looked young, too.

"Looks like we're making an extra stop, which is good for you guys. You can search around town more." She headed toward the pokemon center, still carrying the fennekin. When she got there, she went up to the counter to speak to the nurse.

"Hello, what can I do for you today?" The nurse asked in a friendly tone.

"Well, this little guy lost his trainer a few days ago," she said, handing over the fennekin. "I wasn't sure about the lost and found procedures for pokemon, but if his trainer is missing him, he should be returned."

The nurse looked really upset. "Oh, he just escaped again. He actually doesn't have a trainer anymore, his trainer abandoned him. Abandoned all of his pokemon actually, but we actually found homes for the rest of them. It's only this one that doesn't have a home still."

Seraphine was astonished that someone could think of doing such a thing. "What? Why would someone do that??" She asked in surprise.

"I don't know. Some people just can't handle being trainers." The nurse shrugged as if this was an every day occurrence.

"Well, this guy deserves to have a home. I'll take him. How much is he?" She assumed there was a price for adopting pokemon.

"Oh, adopting pokemon is free. He's all yours. I don't know his name though." The nurse replied.

"Awesome! Looks like you've got a new trainer little guy." She took out a pokeball from her backpack.
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Cinder was relieved that Crimson could relay information to her trainer. "Wow you have no memories of being human?" Cinder asked as they started walking to the pokemon center. "That must stink. I mean, losing memories of years, maybe even decades."

Cinder pondered the thought as Seraphine talked to the nurse.

The fennekin responded to Crimson "I don't know. He just left me and my friends out in the woods over there. We came here but other people picked up my friends already."

"Looks like you have a new trainer little guy." Seraphine pulled out a pokeball.

"Yay a new friend!" Cinder exclaimed. She liked being Seraphine's pokemon, but it got lonely being the only one.

"A new trainer? What happened to my trainer?" The fennekin still didn't know what was going on.

Crimson, Tag, and Sarik followed behind Seraphine and the Fennekin as they approached the Pokemon Center. Crimson smiled at Cinder's concern for him. "Well maybe. But I don't really focus on what my life was like as a human. The past has already happened and I can forget about it. The trick is to keep moving forward. I'm glad I'm with the company I'm with," he motioned towards Tag and Sarik, who couldn't help but smile back. "So it's a lot easier to deal with."

Before they knew it, they were inside the Pokemon Center. This was a new and strange feeling for the trio. Even with their numerous encounters with humans, they still had yet to enter a Pokemon Center up until now. Sarik was wary of everything, like the place was a death trap. He kept away from the walls and stuck close to Seraphine and Crimson. Tag was looking around in amazement at the cool looking technology spread out across the room. Crimson walked calmly, as if he belonged there, and studied the foreign atmosphere.

Crimson's attention was turned towards Seraphine and the nurse behind the counter as the story of the Fennekin was revealed. So his Trainer abandoned him...Crimson could see where people would get angry, given he'd been angry about that sort of thing before. If Seraphine and Cinder had met Crimson on Mohka, he wouldn't be nearly this level headed. But that was before that final battle...the battle that had changed his life. Now, Crimson viewed this as an opportunity for Seraphine to have another ally by her side...bonus for that ally being a fire-type.

Seraphine saw it the same way. She adopted the Fennekin without hesitation. Cinder was the most excited for it.

"Yay! A new friend!" she exclaimed.

"A new trainer? What happened to my trainer?" the Fennekin asked, confused.

Crimson was an honest fellow. That's just who he was. So he wasn't going to refrain any information from him."Well, your former trainer had to leave you in the forest. As to why, we don't know. Unfortunately, it's not likely he's coming back. But perhaps that's for the better. I know this girl well and she will take amazing care of you. And this is Cinder, the other member on her team."

Crimson then came upon a thought, "By the way, what is your name? Maybe we can find a way to get her to know it."

"My name's Flint," the fennekin said. "Why is he not coming back? What happened?" Flint was really upset. It's no wonder he couldn't find his trainer. His trainer left him in the forest. He didn't even know where the other pokemon on his team went. He would have to adjust to this new trainer. At least he had another pokemon to keep him company. He smiled at that thought.

He motioned for Seraphine to let him down so that he could interact with the other pokemon.
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Seraphine finished the transaction at the pokemon center then let the fennekin down so that he could meet his new friends. He needed a name though. Something awesome... Well she didn't have to name him right now.

"Hey guys, where to next? Now that we've been pretty much around town."

"Flint, huh?" Crimson grinned as watched Seraphine set him down, "That's a cool name. I'm Crimson, the dashing leader of TeaM PErSisTenCe."

Sarik has to stifle a laugh while Tag practically exploded in giggles.

The Squirtle approached next. "I'm Sarik. Nice to meet you," he said politely.

Tag bounded up to the Fenneking, nearly running into him. "I'm Tag, the fastest on the team. Watch this!" He bounded out the door before Crimson could even raise a hand and beckon him back. Instead, Crimson laughed and followed the Turtwig outside of the Pokemon Center, Sarik, Cinder, and Seraphine in tow. Tag was running around in circles at the entrance.

"Hey guys, where to next?" Seraphine asked, "Now that we've been pretty much around town."

Crimson looked out towards the center of town, seeing the bustle of people visiting the island, tourist taking the ferry, and students studying for upcoming exams and quizzes. But among all the people and Pokemon he saw, none of them were Pounce and Gova. Which made sense considering that despite their skill, they wouldn't risk compromising their mission by hanging around closer to the humans.

Crimson didn't really expect his trio team to find them anyways. The plains were...well plain, the Academy was extremely risky and the town had too much activity. He really wanted to come this way for what he saw last night and that paid off with the broken communicator. His next plan of action was to rendezvous with Dobro and Domingo in the forest.

"Alright. Then to the forest we go!" Crimson told his companions, pointing that way to demonstrate where he wanted to go to Seraphine before walking in that direction. Tag and Sarik were close behind, beckoning Flint and Cinder as well as Seraphine to follow.

---

"All set?"

One of the mysterious Pokemon was watching the other one work. He wasn't impatient and his tone didn't imply it. He just simply asked out of curiosity. The one working, however, was impatient.

"How many times are you going to ask me that?" she snapped.

The male Pokemon shrugged and gazed towards the sky, "Until you're all set."

Growling, the female Pokemon went back to her work, wiring switches, adjusting knobs, turning gears, and...

"There," she sighed, stepping back from her contraption, tired and irritated, but grinning out of triumph.

The male went to inspect it, studying the design and looking over the switches that interested him, "Excellent...better than Neeko's was, I'm sure. Except..." he looked at the female with a scowl, "How do I hold it with one hand? It's huge!"

Rolling her eyes, she stepped up and oriented the contraption until it was on her shoulder, "Like this."

The male's eyes lit up, "Ah...brilliant...and the best part is we built it in nearly two days! Neeko's took months!"

The female smiled smugly, "Thank you. If it hadn't been for me, we wouldn't even have come this far with it. We'd still be playing this dumb waiting game and spying on others."

The male's smile disappeared, "Maybe so. But still, I said pull out, not engage. You're just lucky no one saw you take down Grimsley and his Darkrai."

The female kept her coy smile, but her eyes were stone cold, "It worked out in the end, darling. And now instead of having one Legendary's power at your disposal, you have three."

The male suddenly appeared in front of her, siezing her arm and staring at her with a deadly gaze, "I don't care what benefit was gained by your actions. You defied my instructions. Do not do it again." he let go of her, snatching the device off her shoulder and putting it on his. "I will destroy you without a second thought," he threatened once more before walking away.

The female, angry and spiteful, glared on with hateful eyes. If she'd had it her way, she'd have destroyed him without a second thought. But, like it or not, she needed him to get what she wanted. So for now, she'd push away her pride and follow orders for once, no matter how much she hated Dark Types.

"You comin' or what? We've got a world to rule!" she heard the male Pokemon call back. She started walking that direction after him, a snarl on her face that slowly turned into a grin at the thought of killing him.

Soon, however, when the time was ripe, she would slaughter and betray him and take his throne.

The Psychic Rebellion shall rise once more...

Seraphine laughed at the turtwig running in circles outside the pokemon center. She was sure it had something to do with the conversation but it was still funny to watch. Crimson beckoned towards the forest so she followed, letting them lead. She let the fennekin interact with the other pokemon for a while but then she needed to figure out its name. She studied him for a while. He looked kinda like Flint would suit him, you know, like flint and steel. She smiled, it was a cool name. "I think I'm going to call you Flint little guy." The fennekin looked up in surprise. "What? Did I miss something?"
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"And I'm Cinder! I'm the other pokemon on Seraphine's team. Nice to meet ya Flint!" Cinder extended a claw for the fennekin to take. After Flint shook her claw, she walked out of the pokemon center to see Tag running in circles.

"Wow you really are fast!" Cinder exclaimed as she walked towards Tag.

"So, where to next?" Seraphine asked.

"To the forest!" Crimson said and started walking that direction. Cinder followed behind, trying to include the fennekin in the conversation. He had to have been younger than she was, couldn't have been more than a couple months out of the egg.

"I think I'm going to call you Flint little guy." Seraphine said. Wow, that was a coincidence.
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Flint shook Cinder's claw. "It's nice to meet everyone too." He was about to start asking more questions but then he saw tag running in circles and he giggled. "You really are fast!"

"So where to next?" Seraphine asked. She wasn't in charge of these pokemon? That is weird. I mean, Cinder followed her everywhere, but the others seemed to be leading her.

"To the forest!" said Crimson, and everyone followed.

"So you guys are wild pokemon then? You said you were on some kind of team but you're obviously not Seraphine's." Before the other pokemon could respond, Seraphine spoke.

"I think I'll call you Flint, little guy." Whoa. Is she psychic or something? She guessed his name!

"I think I'll call you Flint, little guy." said Seraphine. The Fennekin looked up at her in absolute shock as she had managed to guess his name on the first go. Crimson chuckled.

"It seems you two were more made for each other than you initially thought," he commented as they walked on. Crimson followed the path for the most part, glancing around for Team Justice or Team RedEye. Sarik kept glancing back, covering the rear. Tag was bounding all over the place, scouting out the area in front. Had Pert and Meryl been here, they would be providing support for Tag as he galloped about. They had a system for just about every scenario and they could improvise quickly. It was one of the reasons why they made a fantastic team.

"So you asked about our team?" Crimson remembered, watching Tag bound across the path in a green blur. "Yeah, we're members of an Exploration Guild called the Isle Defenders. Our goals are to explore foreign territories, help Pokemon in need, and defend our home from evil forces. Right now, we're on an exploration mission with two other teams: Team Justice and Team RedEye. But that has kind of stopped for the time being." Crimson glanced back at Sarik just to make sure everyone was with him before continuing.

"You see, we had an incident yesterday...an incident that didn't make us look good. One of the members of Team Justice was controlled by someone to snatch...well, Cinder over there," he motioned towards the Charmander before going on, "As to who, how, and why, we don't know. But we're hypothesizing all kinds of scenarios in our heads trying to figure this out. Our biggest lead is through Team RedEye with this," Crimson pulled out the broken communicator for the two to examine. "This is a Distance Communicator. It allows for Pokemon teams to stay in contact with one another from long distances. The only ones I can think of that would have this device is Team RedEye. And while we don't think they did it, we think they may know what happened."

"Woah!" came Tag's cry from the forest, "Guys, come check this out!"

Crimson and Sarik made an immediate detour off the path, moving branches and ferns out of the way to see where they were going. "Tag!" Crimson called out, "Keep talking buddy so we know where to find you!"

"Over here!" Tag called back, sounding closer.

---

The Murkrow blinked his eyes open. Everything hurt. The ground seemed dustier and less full of plant life when he'd first spotted it. Shaking his head awake, he slowly got up, his wings and claws protesting against the action.

"Aaaahhhh, this hurts," he groaned, rubbing his left wing with his right, "Damn Samurott..."

He checked himself over, making sure he wasn't viciously hurt, before gazing at the landscape in front of him. The once lush forest around the Berry Farm was reduced to dirt and dust. Uprooted trees were everywhere, sprinkling the area with wood chips and leaves. And it wasn't just this part of the forest here he'd battled the Pangoro and Samurott. The battles with the other members of the trespassers had left it's mark all across the landscape. The most destroyed area was where he stood at the moment. Damn Pangoro...

But, despite all the destruction, it was a miracle that the Berry Farm remained untouched. Sighing in relief and great joy, the Murkrow shambled over to it. He didn't dare risk flying in his state. Picking an Oran Berry from the bunch, he sat down in the shade and ate it. The wounds were healing and the pain receding. He would probably have to take another to regain completely, but he wanted to make sure the other members of The Sunrise Clan got their share. A lot of their members were hurt or taken down in their failed ambush.

He tested his own health, flapping his wings slightly to make sure nothing was too badly hurt. It wasn't. Good

The Murkrow had fainted, he knew that much for sure. But he remembered his best friend, Peggy, was fighting with him. Looking back over where he fought, he didn't see the Starraptor anywhere. That meant that either she escaped...or the two brutes had captured her. He would hope it was the former.

"Over here!"

The Murkrow spun around towards the direction of the noise. It was a voice he didn't recognize...but then again there were a lot of members of The Sunrise Clan that he'd never met, including the leader. Perhaps it was reinforcements. The Murkrow started making his way towards the calling sound, not risking flight as of yet, but took the more stable approach of hovering to where the voice was coming from...which was being accompanied by more voices.

---

Crimson burst through the final layer of trees to find Tag bouncing up and down in excitement. "So what is it?" Crimson asked curiously.

"Look!" Tag nodded towards Crimson's left.

Turning that way, Crimson saw...a hole in the ground. No, there was more to it. Protruding from the hole was a staircase made of ice. Right next to it was a rope of a sticky variety...like a Bug-Type would use. Peering down into the hole, Crimson noted the cold air as well as the tunnel network below him. Sarik looked over the edge with Crimson.

"It's a cave system..." Sarik said aloud, turning back towards Tag with a smile. "Nice find, buddy!"

"I say we should explore it!" Tag yipped, looking at Crimson for support.

While Crimson loved to explore caverns and find treasures, he had to be honest with Tag. "As much as I want to, we need to find Team RedEye first."

Tag whined, "But what if they're down there?"

"I doubt it," Crimson replied, "Neither Pounce nor Gova have any form of ground-type abilities or ice-type. They would've had to get help to make this cave. And knowing them, they wouldn't do that."

"But what if they discovered it like this and figured it was the perfect spot to set up their base camp?"

"Another possible scenario," Sarik nodded, "But take a look at this."

He walked over to the ice staircase and rubbed his paw on the top step. Sure enough, it was wet.

"It's melting," the Squirtle pointed out, "Had they discovered it this way, they would've had to within the previous few hours. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a staircase here. While the innards of the cave might be cold, the mouth is warm...too warm for ice." Sarik turned to Tag with the proof on his now wet paw. "I wouldn't count on them being down there."

Tag held disappointment in his eyes, but knew they were right, "Okay..."

"Hey..." Crimson walked over to his friend and patted him on the head, "That's not saying we won't go down there. It just means we won't go down there yet. Let's find Team RedEye. Then, we'll go down into the cave."

Tag's eyes lit up once more in anticipation, "Yeah! I can't wait!"

"Hey!" came a cry from the edge of the ferns. The three looked to see a Murkrow hopping towards them, a mean look on his face. He was covered in dirt and dust, as if he'd just been in a fight. There was a bandanna tied around his head, slightly disheveled and very dirty, but still visible was that red circle with beams protruding from it.

"Is that another member of an exploration team?" Sarik questioned, looking over the bandanna.

"Are there Guilds on this island?" Tag asked in thought out loud. Crimson stepped forward.

"Hey, there," Crimson held on to a smile, "What happened to you?"

"You're trespassing on our land!" the Murkrow shouted furiously.

"Your land?" Crimson raised a brow, "Who's the our in 'our land'?"

The Murkrow challenged him, "Oh don't play dumb with me! You can't seriously tell me that you've never heard of The Sunrise Clan! We own this part of the forest...the part that you're currently invading."

"Well we didn't meant to-"

"SILENCE!" the Murkrow's voice stopped Crimson's short, "First the Ghastly's team, then the Samurott's, and now you guys!"

Crimson's eyes widened when he mentioned the Samurott, "Domingo and Dobro were here?"

"AHA!" the Murkrow pointed an accusing wing at Crimson, "You know the Samurott, then! You're in allegiance with them!" with that, he threw a Sucker Punch at the Chimchar, who didn't see it coming. The sudden blow sent him flying backwards into the tree. Crimson was much stronger than he appeared and the Murkrow was weaker from the previous fight, so the blow didn't hurt too bad. But a hit was still a hit. Shaking his head, he got up quickly, holding his chest where the Murkrow had punched him.

"You alright?" Sarik ran to him.

"Yeah, I've taken worse than that," Crimson gave a reassuring grin, looking at the Murkrow who was grinning wickedly.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy taking down all you guys..." he mused as he set himself up for combat.

Crimson straightened himself and looked around him. It was five to one at the moment, a rather unfair advantage for his team to be holding over the Murkrow. It was also clear the Murkrow wasn't thinking straight, out of fatigue from his previous scrap or out of anger towards people who weren't a part of his clan. Crimson didn't want to hurt him so much as talk some sense into him. He looked towards Cinder and Flint. An idea formed.

"Cinder! Flint!" he called out to the two, "I want you two to fight him!" He then looked at Seraphine, pointing at the two Pokemon she now had and then at the Murkrow, who was shifting his own gaze towards them.

"Is that a good idea?" Tag whispered to Crimson.

"They know how to fight. They've got an excellent trainer with a heart of passion to direct them. They should do fine." Crimson could say that about Cinder, but what about Flint? What kind of moves did he have?

Well...it's a good time to find out...

Crimson pointed at Cinder and Flint and then at the Murkrow. The Murkrow looked hostile, so he wanted them to fight it? She wasn't sure, the last fight she got into she was creamed. But Murkrow was Dark/Flying, neither of which were resistant to fire or normal moves, so she guessed it could work. But how was she going to direct Flint when she didn't even know what moves he had? Well, this was going to be interesting. She bent down to talk to her pokemon.

"Ok, guys, looks like we're fighting. I don't know what kind of moves you have, Flint, but try to weaken its defenses so that Cinder can get more blows in. I'll direct you like always Cinder. You guys ready?" Cinder gave her nod of approval and turned around to fight it. Flint seemed more timid, but turned around as well.

"Alright! Looks like you're fighting us! Flint, weaken its defenses, Cinder, use ember!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cinder could tell already that the Murkrow was going to be hostile, so when Seraphine told her to fight it, she had no problem doing so. Flint, on the other hand, was more timid.

"But I... I've only practiced! I've never done an actual battle." The fennekin was really nervous. He only knew three moves: scratch, tail whip, and ember. He had just learned the third one, too. But Seraphine told him to weaken the opposing pokemon's defenses. Well, the only way he knew how was tail whip, so that would have to do, he supposed.

"Alright! Looks like you're fighting us! Flint, weaken its defenses, Cinder, use ember!" shouted Seraphine.

Cinder used the flame on her tail to produce more fire to hurl at the murkrow. Meanwhile, Flint darted towards the opposing pokemon and turned around for a tail whip.

The Murkrow was a bit surprised to see the other three bowing out, leaving him to battle Cinder and Flint. He knew the Chimchar was much stronger than he let on just by his stance. A typical Sucker Punch he threw would leave a Pokémon at least clenching his teeth from the pain. Crimson wasn't even breathing harder.

No matter, he thought. I don't have to deal with those three yet. Right now, let's take care of the fire posse...

He smirked when he heard the Fennekin's protest. He hasn't battled before? He glanced towards Crimson in suspicion who only watched with a curious look on his face. What kind of game are they trying to pull?

The flames reached the Murkrow first. He easily glided past it, flapping his wings and landing a bit to the left. He wasn't prepared for the Tail Whip, which struck a wing and sent him crashing to the ground. It didn't hurt much, but he knew he was vulnerable to this duo. He'd have to enjoy this a little less.

Meanwhile, the spectators viewed the battle from the base of a tree with a weird marking burned into the trunk. Crimson nodded at Seraphine's initial strike.

Excellent, he thought. Seraphine utilized her advantage of having two Pokémon by attacking with both. Yeah he dodged the damage dealing one, but now he's even more vulnerable to another strike.

Picking himself up, the Murkrow steadied himself and set up for a Wing Attack aimed at the Fennekin. "A lucky start, but I won't go down so easily!" He flapped his wings until he got to a vantage point, then dove with his wing aiming for Flint.

Seeing him get ready for a wing attack, Seraphine yelled "Flint, dodge to the right!" The wing attack barely missed Flint as it brushed against his fur. Whew, that was super close!, Flint thought.

"Alright Flint, do another tail whip! Cinder, tackle him!" Since he had tail whip, a physical attack should be more effective than a special attack. Flint, after dodging, felt more confident in his tail whip, since it had affected him before. Cinder, for her part, charged towards the Murkrow for a tackle now that his defenses were down.

Growling when his slice brushed passed Flint, the Murkrow sweeped upward, hovering high over everyone. He circled the two fighters like a vulture gazing at it's prey. The two attacks made their best attempts but to no avail as the Murkrow was too far above them.

"Hah!" he cried, "Can't hit me now, can you?" He began to twirl in the air before diving down, spiraling as he went. This was going to be one nasty Peck for Cinder.

Crimson looked on at the Murkrow's tactics, noticing that it was going to use it's flight to his advantage. Seeing this, he began to immediately break down the situation and study how to beat him.

Now Cinder and Flint aren't going to reach him if he continues to fly this high. Cinder's only range move is Ember. So Cinder could use Ember and Flint as well if he has it. That would be the safe option, but the Murkrow seems a bit dodgy. That might not work very well. They could also wait for him to attack and counter before he gains the high ground again. That would involve some agility and mobility which it looks like Fennekin might have enough of, but maybe not. However...

Crimson's gaze fell over to the trees as the third option came to mind...the option he would've taken. Tag and Sarik cheered from the sidelines.

"Yeah! You got this, guys!" Tag encouraged.

"Look out, Cinder!" Sarik cried, pointing at the spiraling black shape plummeting down onto the Charmander's head.

Seraphine was annoyed at the murkrow's flight. Most of her moves were on the ground. She could ember all day, but the Murkrow would just dodge. She needed him to be on the ground. but how to get him there with pokemon with such basic moves?

"Cinder, dodge that peck, then tackle immediately!" The Murkrow had a lot of speed, but that meant it couldn't switch course very well, so Cinder was easily able to dodge out of the way and immediately tackle. Her training with tail whip/ tackle combos had been invaluable here. "Flint, if you have a physical move, use it, otherwise use another attack." If he had Ember, that would be good, if he didn't have a physical attack. Flint had scratch so he dove in, claws first.

"Hrrngh!" The Murkrow made a noise as the Charmander leaped to the side and proceeded to tackle him. Coupled with the Scratch immediately following and the Tail Whip from earlier, this did some serious damage. He fell forward and hit the ground hard.

Tag and Sarik cheered. Crimson nodded in approval. It showed great mobility on Cinder's part as well as Seraphine's innate ability to take advantage of a situation. They could do this hands down.

But the fight wasn't done yet. The Murkrow groaned as he pulled himself upright, wincing from the pain. Snarling at the two Fire Types, he suddenly launched forward with amazing speed, landing a quick Sucker Punch on Cinder before taking to the skies once more.

"I'm done playing games!" He roared while circling above them, "I'm not losing to a couple of basic weaklings!"

He swooped low again and proceeded to Wing Attack Flint once more, his own determination and rage making him faster than before.