((whoo, here we go...))

I shook my head at Leo. "No, I think we all need to go together. If the cops, er, her dad, is around, we need to know where everyone is. That said, we should definitely get a move on." I started to walk towards the city that I had noticed earlier, the rest of the group following behind.

Pushing my way through the trees, my first impression was one of size; the city didn't seem too big, compared to Saffron or Celadon. But was definitely big enough to get lost in... We emerged near a flattened area. It looked like a demolition zone. Katya's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Hey, I know this place! Daddy said that this was where the... the... the Gym, that's it, was! It was where some weird people called trainers battled with Pokemon." I walked over; it was abandoned. Elemental had destroyed it and moved on. All that was left to show of its previous grandeur was a broken sign that said, "Viridian City G-". I sighed, then guided the group forward. "Come on, guys, we can't stick around here forever.."There was a yellow caution ribbon surrounding the former Gym; I stepped over it carefully, then walked out into the main Viridian City.

Around this part of the town were the houses; most of them were worn down and dilapidated. Katya probably lived nearby, but when I asked her if we could just drop her off there, she said the police station would be better. This is crap... She keeps insisting on dropping her off there. I began to wonder if this was a trap, but the only way to find out would be to actually stumble into it - something I wanted to avoid. We continued through the suburb, then came to an intersection. Walking across, we arrived near a city square.

In the middle, there was a small fountain; it had moss growing on it, and was cracked and chipped in places. One of the four Magikarps was missing, and there was a pipe exposed in its place. The brick paths surrounding it were in a similar shape - worn down and occasionally gone. We came in from the east side; to the north, there was a large building; to the west, a road leading out; and to the south, a police station. Katya saw this last one, and grinned. "Thank you guys so much, there it is!" She started to run towards it, waving goodbye to us.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Suddenly, on the rooftops around us, Elemental grunts and police officers rose up. Some of them had weapons; others were holding Pokeballs. A helicopter zoomed in overhead, circling around the square. I could see a man in a suit seated inside, and four large grunts inside. Katya's pace slowed a little, then stopped altogether. "What's... what's going on? Daddy??" No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a man ran out of a building nearby. "Katya?! NO! Get inside, to safety!" He ran towards her; he was wearing a police uniform.

This must be Katya's dad... I began to morph, sensing the danger that was inherent in the trap. Black fur spread across my body, and fangs grew in my mouth. As I did so, I thought about Katya. That man is an Elemental goon. And yet, he has a daughter who loves him... And he clearly loves her, if he's willing to risk losing us to save her. It occurred to me that not all of Elemental was ncecessarily evil.. Some of them may have been conscripted into it, or may have been trying to make ends meet.

It changed everything, and nothing, all at the same time. And it got worse.

The helicopter landed behind Katya. Her dad stopped, and reached out a hand towards his daughter. "Please... please don't hurt Katya, Mr. Farquahar..." Farquahar? He's here.. The man who started it all. The man in the suit stepped out of the helicopter. Katya turned towards him, clearly terrified.

The man was cold. You could feel his indifferent nature from across the plaza. He had on a black suit, and small glasses. His face had scars running across it - one on the nose, and one down his eyes. He was large, but still lean. A red Pokeball gleamed from his belt.

Farquahar addressed us. "You. Rebels. Stand down now, or I will kill the girl." A huge Nidoking flared from the Pokeball, then stood behind Katya. It had malice and evil in its eyes; I shuddered involuntarily. "I know that you have been conspiring with the old fool known as Bill... I know that you can change your shapes. I know that you escaped us multiple times. And I know that you won't today." He took off his glasses, and took a second to clean them, then continued on.

"One of you is named Axel. We want you to come forward, with the cube. If you don't... like I said, the girl will die." I stepped forward, still in Pokemon form. <I am Axel, Farquahar. Here, in the Mightyena body. And no, you can't have the cube.> I looked at Katya, then at her father. <I'm so sorry, but I can't allow them to have their way. Too much rides on this.> I dashed forward, a Shadow Ball already forming in my throat. I loosed it towards Nidoking. The ball of dark energy hit it full in the face, causing it to take a step backward and release Katya. She ran forward, into the arms of her father, who drew a gun and started whisking her away.

Farquahar grunted. "Fine. This will be much easier." He took out five more balls, and threw them up in the air. "Kill the children, the little girl and her father included." A Steelix, Zoroark, Scizor, Tyranitar, and Electivire came out.

<Guys, we have to battle these guys! Take them out, then go for Farquahar! Morph out if you need to heal!> On the rooftops, guns and Pokemon started to come out, as insurance on the off chance that Farquahar's battle hardened Pokemon failed.

((okay, Part 1's end is here; everyone must make at least two posts battling against one of the Pokemon. Don't go for Farquahar yet, or try to rescue Katya.))

((Whew, mega-post FTW! Can we act to protect Katya at least? Also, what happened to redt and Shina? O.o ))

And just like that, things went to hell, and we were facing down a team of large and clearly well-trained Pokemon. Axel has the Nidoking covered, that leaves Steelix, Scizor, Electivire, Zoroark and that damned Tyranitar...

I grabbed for my morph, the adrenaline rush of battle curing my fatigue, switching to telepathy as my body shifted and changed, hair retracting and turning into smooth scales, calling battle tips. <Steel, use Gallade on the Dark types; Jeremy, if you can, take on the Tyranitar with Kabutops! Seth, go Aggron, we need strength-- Leo, use your Bulbasaur to help with that Tyranitar!>

I stretched dark-blue-scaled limbs and roared a challenge, the Garchomp's aggression making my heart rate surge as I charged the Electivire, the Thunderbolt Pokemon's fists beginning to spark, but the electricity bounced harmlessly off my scales as I began to laugh, floating on the high of the battlelust. <Electricity on a Garchomp, Farquahr? Really now?>

The Electivire's leg flashed out in an attempted Low Kick-- but I was faster, and managed to dodge it, the kick impacting one of my leg's spikes and making the Electivire growl in pain. I slashed at it, feinting a Dragon Claw to the right-- when it brought one arm up to block, I let the Garchomp mind take over, sinking teeth into the Electivire's arm in a Crunch attack, and snapping my head backwards like a crocodile swallowing prey, flinging the Electivire over my shoulder and into a knot of Elemental goons.

Leo's world stopped... Staring at the dark man before them... Farquahar... Farquahar... Farquahar... The man who was the leader... The man who destroyed his village and killed his parents... Farquahar... Farquahar... Farquahar... Leo grunted, his head in intense pain... He couldn't even hear Axel or Cassie now... Revenge... Revenge... He must have revenge... Farquahar... Farquahar...

"FARQUAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARR!!!" Leo screamed, morphing into a mean and dark looking Bulbasaur, <YOU BASTAAAAARD, I'VE BEEN SAVING THIS ATTACK JUST FOR YOU!!> he dug his feet into the earth, the bulb on his back glowing and glowing with pure energy from the sun. Back at Viridian Forest, he was expecting an ambush. He had forgotten all about it up until now. Which is why in that short time he managed to charge this attack, <TAAAAAAAAAKE THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!> Leo unleashed Solar Beam, his ultimate attack. The beam shot forth, his rage and emotions making the beam violent and slightly inaccurate as it spewed out. Leo laughed darkly, <OH DON'T WORRY, THIS WILL DEFINITELY KILL YOU!!> he clutched further to the ground, pushing it with all his might as he groaned to control this emormous power. The beam, little by little, was being swayed to the side and exactly where Leo wanted it... Meanwhile, the aftermath of the beam was destroying and crumbling buildings not strong enough to resist it... It had to meet it's target, it had to!

Suddenly, before the beam had a chance to hit Farquahar, Tyranitar knocked the beam skyhigh with a swipe of a shadowy claw. <Damn it, so close!> Leo swore, the bulb on his back drained of all its sun energy, <Tyranitar! You again! Alright, this one's mine!> Leo took a glance at the others, <Stay out of my way!>

The Bulbasaur ran into the battlefield as the Tyranitar stomped over. Hoping to collide with the monster, Tyranitar threw Leo overhead and into the air. Leo used Vine Whip, gripping hold of its arm. Leo detached, still flying up midair, used Razor Leaf, flinging one after the other leaf projectiles. The Tyranitar roared, swiping leaf after leaf after getting hit by as many as ten. Tyranitar opened his mouth to the air, unleashing a sudden red and yellow beam that burst forth in Leo's direction. Leo gasped, <Hyper Beam?!> he grunted, using his vines to curl up into a shield as the beam violently shot into him and consumed him.

Leo fell to the ground after almost being barbequed, bruised and battered. The Bulbasaur panted as the Tyranitar stomped over, Leo hardly being able to see his enemy clearly. But this was hardly over... And why demorph now...? He smirked. As the sun beat down on him, Leo's Bulbasaur body glowed and sparkled. It was Synthesis. The Tyranitar roared in surprise as Leo picked himself up for round two.

<Hehe... Ready?!> Leo said darkly.

((redt started college in August, and I don't know about shina; probably got busy irl. I think redt plans to come back, I dunno about shina. As far as protecting Katya, her role in this RP can allow for it, but don't focus on it too much; I haz plans for her. ))

The Nidoking almost seemed to grin, malevolently. Farquahar was still watching rather apathetically as his monsters attacked our group. They were highly trained, brute force Pokemon; speed and defensive strategies might do the trick.

Nidoking was ready for me this time. I ran in, intending to use Crunch and cause a flinch; but the thing was intelligent, and anticipated me. Right as I jumped, it reached in a massive claw, using Poison Jab to attack my midsection; I flew backward, feeling acids and solvents eating away at my coat. Landing in the plaza fountain didn't really do much good, either. I got back up, intending to finish this thing off so I could help my friends.

Now it was on the offensive. It charged forward with a surprising speed, its horn glowing an eerie green. Farquahar grinned. I rushed forward, gaining speed for a head-on collision with Nidoking. Its eyes flashed, and then we collided - but a second before, I had used Protect, and its attack glanced off, sending it in a totally different direction. Nidoking wasn't able to stop itself; it had picked up too much momentum. This gave me a momentary advantage. I used Odor Sleuth, so that I wouldn't miss; then, I leaped on its back, and used Crunch three times, quickly leaping off again.

Nidoking roared in pain, and lashed out wildly at me as I dismounted. A spike on its leg caught me, and I felt poison seep into my system... the Poison Point ability had injected a toxic chemical into my system. I instantly felt woozy and weak... I needed to find somewhere to demorph and purge this from my system.

((If they're not posting, I'm going to beat this Electivire and then start to handle one of the two steel types on the field, 'kay? I'll be doing it in my next post if nobody objects.))

The Electivire howled in pain as it hit the ground with a loud thud, blood starting to flow from the wound on its arm as it pushed itself back up, the red liquid staining my fangs and turning my already-intimidating Garchomp smile into a nightmare expression as I spun to face my opponent, roaring again as I rushed forward, the wingblades slashing through the Grunts with ease, blood streaking crimson across my scales.

I smashed into the Electivire with enough force to feel it in my bones, plowing into the Thunderbolt Pokemon with a roar and knocking it to the ground once again, carefully loosening my mental grip on the Garchomp's instincts and turning the dragon's aggression free, allowing it to hammer the Electivire with Dragon Claw attacks till there was a sickening crack!--

-- the Electivire's arm went limp, clearly fractured. Roaring in triumph, the Garchomp lunged forward in a vicious Crunch attack--

-- and I only just prevented the Garchomp from tearing out the Electivire's throat and feeding on the enemy. It was a struggle to keep control, especially when the dragon was so hungry-- I made a note to make a kill later, even if it was a raw deer, my dragons -needed- to eat-- but I managed it in the end, and allowed the Garchomp to vent its aggression by beating the Electivire into unconsciousness with its finblades.

Ducking behind the Electivire's limp body for cover, I concentrated on my human form and demorphed, breathing heavily but reaching for my other form, knowing the Charizard was safe now that the Electivire had been downed, growing larger as I felt the flames well up. I knew I'd be paying for this later, but figured that could wait till we finished the fight.

The Tyranitar lunged forward with a Shadow Claw. Leo whipped the dark claws back with his Vine Whip. Tyranitar grabbed hold of the vines, throwing and swinging Leo again overhead. Leo chuckled. He braced himself as his vines whipped and strangled the Tyranitar's arms and body. Leo landed on all fours, turning around as he strengthen the grip of his vines. The Tyranitar cried as Leo braced again. He lifted the Tyranitar, throwing it behind him. Smash. And again, throwing the Tyranitar back in front of him. Smash!

Leo returned his vines as the almost broken Tyranitar got up for another. He opened his mouth wide, launching another Hyper Beam attack. Leo spun his Bulbasaur body around the beam, avoiding it completely. He started to charge up. Many but tiny little lights started to enter his bulb as it glowed brighter and brighter. The Tyranitar roared, completely ignoring his recharge phase and going in for the kill. Tyranitar stumbled with a crash, uplifting brick and earth that sprayed all over Leo. However, the Tyranitar managed to reach for Leo, Shadow Clawing the pokemon.

Leo was sent high in the air. But it wasn't over. Leo opened his eyes. He spun around as the last glimmer of light charged his next attack. His body flashed, <It's over! Bulba's Ultimate Attack; Solar Beam!!> he cried. In the air, Leo unleashed Solar Beam, sending him flying backwards. It light directly hitting Tyranitar as it screamed a bloody roar. It fell to it's knees, it's lengthy body and head falling soon after.

Leo landed beside the fallen pokemon, mentally giving a sigh. What a battle... Leo jumped in surprise. The Tyranitar roared again, still squirming to get up, <I don't think so!> Leo used Leech Seed, shooting a seed at the pokemon's body, it manifested and sprouted outward, wrapping special vines around the Tyranitar like a net. As soon as it covered him completely, the vines shocked it, draining what was left of its health points before again finally biting the dust. Tyranitar fainted.

After absorbing what benefit Leech Seed gave the Bulbasaur, Leo transformed back into his human self. He looked down at the Tyranitar, smirking before flicking his nose up at it, "Hmph!" he felt good. His first real win... but it wasn't over, not by a long shot. Leo looked over the Tyranitar, glaring, "That was for Bill... You better not have hurt him."

Leo grunted, looking up and over to see the boss standing by his helicopter, four large men surrounding him... Leo's eyes filled with hate. He started to pace, beginning to run toward him, not caring for the goons that would readily fire upon will... "FARQUAHAAAAAAAAAAR!!" he screamed.

We had just entered Viridian City, when Katya started to run off.  Wouldn't you know?  Then we were surrounded.  Grunts encircled the entire plaza we were in, guns and Pokemon at the ready.  I heard a whirring overhead, and looked up to see a massive black helicopter descending to the pavement.  A man, who for some reason was wearing a suit, stepped out,  I could tell right away that he was some sort of leader of the group.  

Another man, presumably Katya's father, rushed out towards Katya.  "Please... please don't hurt Katya, Mr. Farquahar..."  No, it couldn't be... It's got to be a coincidence, right?  He can't possibly be THE Alfred Farquahar.  But in my heart I knew. It was him.  I made sure to slap my forehead before morphing into Kabutops.   Farquahar let out six Pokeballs, each containing a massive, threatening Pokemon.  

Let's see... there's a Scizor, an Electivire, a Tyranitar (couldn't forget that one), one I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it kept melting into shadows.  Was it wearing lipstick?  Intimidating.  Let's see.  That purple one is a Nidoking, I think, and that gigantic snake-like one is a... a.. Steel-something-or-other.  Oh, that's right!  A Steelix.

Farquahar demanded us to hand over the cube, and instead, Axel shot a Shadow Ball at the Nidoking.  Katya's father dashed in, grabbed his daughter, and turned and started running.  The fight was on.  Cat, who morphed Garchomp, took charge and recommended which of Farquahar's Pokemon we should battle, based on type-effectiveness.  Axel was already in combat with the Nidoking, and Cat went off to take care of the Electivire.  Steel said he had Zoroark covered (so that's what it's called!).  I was going to go for the Tyranitar, but Leo told me to back off, that it was all his.  That left Steelix and Scizor for me to choose from.  

Suddenly, I felt a blow on my back.  Fortunately, my tough exoskeleton protected me from much harm.  If it had been the front, it would have been a much different story.  I guess I wouldn't have to choose after all. I turned to face my assailant.  The Scizor took another stab at me, but this time I was ready.  I parried the blow with my scythes, and we started into something reminiscent between a fencing match and a dance, each slashing away, but neither of us making any defining moves.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye that we were nearing the fountain.  I had an idea.  I suddenly jumped backward into the fountain and used Aqua Tail, sending most of the contents into the Scizor's face.  In the split second of time this allowed me, I unleashed a full-powered Slash on it's claw, chopping it right off.  Due to the sudden lack of weight on its left side, the Scizor lost balance and fell to the ground.  It struggled to get up, but the other claw was so heavy that it just couldn't.  <Don't worry.> I said.  <You're a bug.  You'll grow it back.  Probably.>  I then froze it to the ground with an Ice Beam, just to be safe.

As I looked around, I saw that the Electivire and Tyranitar had been finished off as well.  Three down, three to go.  The Nidoking was hurt, but it was still going, and Axel was limping away, seeming to be in a lot of pain.  Cat had demorphed and was now switching to Charizard.  Leo was brazenly running towards Farquahar screaming.  Does this kid have some sort of death wish, or what?  Steel was still doing battle with the Zoroark, who kept changing from shape to shape, assuming the form of various people and Pokemon.  I didn't see Vincent or Seth anywhere, but I could hear the occasional cry of a Staraptor or Aggron every so often.

Axel looked seriously hurt, so I dashed over to him.  <I'll cover for you while you demorph to heal.  I've got your back.>

((Long post.  I tend to elaborate. ))

((decided i deserved a second post after all lol.))

"FARQUAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!" Leo's rage could not be faulted. His thoughts only for murdering him where he stood... Nothing was going to get in his way. Nothing at all... Not fear, not anything... All he could think about was revenge... Revenge... Revenge... And then...

Farquahar smirked. ...Suddenly, like out of nowhere, a person seemingly appeared... A figure dressed in black, with long red hair... She stepped from behind Farquahar's back, turning and looking outward toward the battlefield of the pokemon and pokemorphs... She stepped forward... She was dressed in a garb that was almost identical and distinctive to an old forgotten Champion, Cynthia...

Leo caught sight of her red hair, which almost immediantly stopped him in his tracks... He stumbled, getting a footing before darting upward. He cringed, his knees weakening... His hands shaking... He head and his heart thumping... Sarah...!!

"Sarah!!" Leo cried, "What the hell are you doing?!!"

"Little brother, it's nice to see you again... How long has it been? A year?" she said blankly, her misty blue eyes falling upon her little brother.

Leo's heart almost gave way. Her voice... after all this time, all he wanted... to hear and see her after all this time... "A year... and a little bit..." he added softly under his voice.

She smiled sincerely, "You've missed me?"

"Of course!!---" Leo blushed, turning a little, "...Of course I've miss you..." he darted back, "But that doesn't matter! Tell me, what the hell are you doing with him?! Get away right now!"

She closed her eyes, still smiling --- but different. Leo couldn't understand. She had to spell it out for him.

"...Like I said a year ago, I've abandoned you, little brother... I no longer care nor need the past. I told you, I have my own goals, and you have your own... And it just so happens, Farquahar's dreams for this pokemon world parallel to mine... And for that reason, I have trained and have become the ultimate pokemon master to achieve his objectives... I sought him out and he found me... And we together with Elemental will create a world I have always dreamed of..." she spoke almost ethereally.

Leo's heart was torn, broken... He fell into tears, "NO! It can't be! This has to be a dream! He's brainwashed you, right?!" he gestured, pointing at the monster behind her, "He practically... he murdered our parents!! He destroyed our home and our loved ones! He burned it all! And for what?!" Leo screamed, bursting into tears and falling part all over the place.

Farquahar chuckled as Sarah smiled to herself before answering her little brother, "You haven't changed at all, have you? ...Because it was necessary... Our home held something that was needed to create this dream... And when he couldn't find it... He simply casted it aside... That was, until he found me... With the knowledge and power I possess, along with the items we need yet to collect... Everything I ever wanted will soon come to pass..."

Knowledge... Power...? Items...?! Leo stumbled up, screaming, "Why don't you talk some sense?! What the hell are you talking about?! Do you even realise what you're sayng?!!" he took a sorrowful breath, glaring at her, "What happened to you, Sarah...? Are you even my sister anymore...?"

"Hmph," she smiled, closing her eyes as if in thought, "Well, I wonder..."

"Sarah...!!" Leo growled, readying himself to morph in an instant.

"Yes, that's right," Sarah turned to him, almost amused, "Fight me. You have the power now, don't you? I would have loved it if you had just given the cube to me like a good sibling, but this is way more fun anyway..." she reached for a pokeball or two from her belt, holding them between her fingertips as she irritated him, "I was worried you're powers would reflect those of the basic stages of the pokemon you fight as, but you're progressing, and by witnessing your last battle, it was almost as if a Venusaur was standing right before us... Such is the knowledge we have been given from our childhood... Knowledge gives us strength, and in return, gives us the power to fight for the things we believe in..."

"Y-You've... been watching me?!" he murmured in a breath.

"I have... In fact, it was I who told Bill of your presence which then encouraged him to seek you out... Like me, you are special, after all... It wasn't a mere coincidence he happened to find you, and it wasn't sheer luck you became involved with these people... It was my intention in the start to have you use the power the cube possesses, and to guide you all here... You have done me proud, little brother..."

Leo gasped in shock. Bill... Sarah must have visited him before, which was why he was so understanding of him... But why, for what purpose did Sarah want Leo to morph and have these abilities...?! What would Farquahar and Sarah gain by taking the Cube?! "No! You're lying!"

"It's all true... Now, let us fight!" she flicked the back of her coat over, rippling it in the sudden wind.

Leo protested in frustration, "We don't have to do this!!"

She pointed at him with her other hand, "We have lost our childhood, little brother! You cannot act like a child any longer... All that's left is our dreams. Your dreams for revenge, and mine... You and I are the fallen Prince and Princess of Ilex... Rise up and stand for your beliefs! Fight me!"

"SARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Leo screamed, morphing as he tossed his green bandana to the wind.

His big sister enlarged both the pokeballs in the cup of her hands, ready to toss the both of her pokemon into battle, "Show me what you've got, Leo!!"

((sarah's appearance will be up to you from now on in parts of the roleplay, rex. just like jacob, she's following farquarah's orders. if what she's said troubles you you can tell me and i'll fix it lol. i'll have leo battle sarah which will only go for just the one post.))

((LM: Go for it. Feel free to take one post for each one, or to GM redt and Shina as a tag-team kinda thing. Crunchy: Okay, but since she's related to your character, I'll probably PM you for advice on how to use her and whatnot.))

The Nidoking... was coming... Ugh, it felt terrible. My nerves were ablaze, furnaces of pain. It had spread all across my body... That thing was probably going to kill me, if I couldn't get rid of the poison.

Fortunately, Jeremy had my back. He covered for me, saying something about giving me time to morph out and heal. Oh yeah... I... need to do... that... I slowly, laboriously, began turning back into a human. As I rose up on two legs, I started to feel a lot better. It was almost like the poison was being purged from my system, pushing to the surface to dissipate near the sun. I finished morphing, and stretched my arms out, feeling really great.

I looked back over to Jeremy. He had started fighting the Nidoking. Hm, I have an idea... Feathers sprouted across my body as I concentrated on the image of Pidgeot. Soon, I had finished, and soared up above the battle. I focused on an image of rain; big, fat, dark rain clouds formed overhead, and it began to pour. Pidgeot's personality pushed itself through and shrieked in pride and courage; I joined it, and unleashed a massive Hurricane onto Nidoking. It traveled down from the sky a little ways, sending the Elemental grunts on the rooftops flying - then it settled on Nidoking, flinging Jeremy away without hurting him too much. It howled in rage, as debris and gale-force winds ripped at it. I had trapped the thing - now, to finish it.

I rose up above the mini-storm, then dived down through the eye. Nidoking broke through into the calm area, then glared up at me. I used Tailwind to redirect the winds behind me, then unleashed an Aerial Ace onto the hulking creature. It went down, bloodied, but still alive. It definitely wasn't going anywhere, though; it was unconscious. I grinned, and demorphed, dissipating the rain and the hurricane beforehand. I walked over to Jeremy. "Thanks for the help, man. I would've been toast without you. Now, who else needs help...?"



Joseph had been waiting on the roof of the police station when the girl game up. He grunted. Not one of those irritating kids, unfortunately. No, wait a second... That was them, over there, behind her! He started to pick up his radio, then realized that everyone had beat him to it. Another grunt. At least he'd get to watch the kids get taken down.

Then Farquahar came up, and started his little speech. That guy just needs to do the dirty work, already... Then the careful plan went awry as the battle broke out and the girl's father chose his kid over Elemental. He sighted up a sniper rifle; he loved the heft of it in his hands, that feeling of having direct control over others with just the twitch of a finger. He smiled, then sighted into the scope.

That thief, Axel, had just taken down the boss's Nidoking. He needed to finally be taught a lesson. The crosshairs settled over the head of the brat; it was going to be a clean kill. He spoke into the radio. "Nobody take him... this kid's mine..." The others respected him enough not to disobey. Fortunate for them.

Joseph's finger tightened on the trigger, about to send a metal slug right into the kid's brain....



I was still looking around for someone to help when I heard Katya start yelling. "NO, THEY CAN'T KILL THEM!" Suddenly, I saw her running towards me, almost flying when she leaped into a tackle. "Kayta, what're you doing?!" Then I heard a sharp crack.

Katya sprawled out on the ground in front of me. The world started to slow as I heard her dad start yelling. I sank to my knees. No... no, this can't be right... IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS. Another shot exploded behind me, going through where my head had been a moment earlier. I crawled over to Katya... She was dead.

Tears ran down my eyes. I looked up, and saw Joseph sitting behind a sniper rifle. My eyes filled with hate, and I became a Pidgeot, roaring toward him, aiming, for once, to kill.

(( yeah, that's why nobody was allowed to save her; there have to be consequences to the group's actions, unfortunately.))

I blasted a stream of fire into the air, roaring a challenge as I flared my wings-- there was a thunderous bellow in response, and I found myself facing the monstrous Steelix that Farquahar had unleashed. The enormous steel serpent grinned at me, and I snarled back, feeling my tail flame begin to burn with even more fury, becoming blue-white and almost painful to look at, before taking to the air, knowing I had the advantage there, since the Steelix would have a much harder time pelting me with rubble.

Swooping and diving, I let the Charizard's inner aerial acrobat out to play, flying literal circles around the Steelix's clumsy attempts at retaliation while scorching its metallic body with blue-white flames, the rain from Axel's Pidgeot evaporating in midair with a hiss as the Steelix roared in agony, rivulets of metal starting to drip off its hide--

-- then I heard the familiar crack that made my heart stop.

Pausing in my assault, I swung my head to look back at my teammates-- Axel, Leo, Gallade, Kabutops... all there. Then who...

... oh, no.

As the smell of gunpowder filled my nostrils, I saw a familiar small body sprawl out in front of Axel, then a second loud crack and the girl went limp. Dead.

<NO!>

The Charizard mind was howling its outrage at the killing of what it saw as a hatchling, the Garchomp screaming in the back of my head, and for once, I saw no reason to hold either back. I saw Axel take on Pidgeot shape and charge the killer, and I roared in response, blasting the Steelix with a Flamethrower that had gone white with heat, fueled by the rage of two dragons. I was vaguely aware that my entire black-scaled body had started to physically glow white as Blaze activated itself in response, as the Steelix shrieked and collapsed with a rumble, the white fire having punched straight through its armor to burn the sensitive flesh beneath, inflicting severe to critical injuries in one hit.

Not paying the Steelix any further attention-- no threat, kill the murderer-- I flapped my wings and dove towards the man with the gun, aiming a powerful jet of flame directly at him.

((I hope Joseph is not off limits?))

OOC: Sadly, he can't be seriously injured or killed. Sorry.

((Well, can I at least scare him? and if he doesn't scare by seeing a very pissed off six-foot dragon charging at him, then he has nerves of steel.))

((Joseph is open to scaring And he would scare rather easy, if a Charizard is doing the scaring. Also, nobody else follow us, mostly because I don't want the focus of the RP to shift to Joseph right now.))

Cassie and I were diving towards Joseph, screaming bloody murder. Katya didn't deserve to die - she was a bystander who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She didn't deserve to die. And so, to help karma along in its eternal quest for vengeance, we went for Joseph.

He dropped his gun, running backwards over the rooftop. I dived, claws spread. I was hoping that when I grabbed him, it'd be by the hair, so it'd hurt more. But no, I missed, and he dashed down a set of stairs, heading into the police station. I landed, demorphed, and turned into Mightyena, chasing him down the stairs.

I roared the Charizard equivalent of a curse as the killer managed to get inside, my blast of flame striking an air-conditioning unit and turning it into slag at once as the Mightyena bounded down the stairs after the fleeing man.

Taking a deep breath-- it wouldn't do to accidentally barbecue my allies-- I walked over to the edge of the building, crouching and extending my long neck, prepared to act as a flame-powered sniper, picking off enemy troops and hopefully the killer himself.

A terrified Joseph was tearing down the halls, running for his life. But the Mightyena was faster. I started to catch up to him; the hallways were narrow, but I was faster, stronger, and had more invested in catching him than he did in getting away. Vengeance is a great motivator.

He turned a corner, and leaped over a flight of stairs to land one floor below. He rolled to break his fall, then continued on his way. I leaped, using Odor Sleuth along the way. For once, it was me chasing him. I grinned wolfishly. Revenge... ah, it would be so sweet to rip him limb from limb.

I hit the floor, then ran in the direction of the scent. <I've almost got him, I can smell his fear...> Then I rounded a corner and heard another crack as I felt a sharp pain in my leg. It didn't stop me, however, as I leaped for him. I Crunched down on his shoulder, hearing the snap of a bone. I was about to continue, when I heard him whimpering. Coward. But it occurred to me that if I killed him now, I would be no better than him.

The revelation was shocking, somehow.

Discrediting him would be best. Joseph lived for the power his job afforded him; robbed of that, he would be nothing. I demorphed, and heard the bullet pop out of my leg and onto the floor. I grabbed it and stuffed it in his pocket. All he could do was moan in pain; he was barely conscious. "Joseph, when they find that in your pocket, they'll realize that you had me. But of course you goofed it up. Your job as a cop, as an enforcer, as a sadistic brutalizer, it's all over." And I walked away, back up to the roof.

I was practicing controlled thin streams of flame by picking off individual Elemental troops or pieces of key equipment when I heard the roof door open. I finished toasting another knot of grunts, before swinging my head towards Axel to regard him with a tilt of my draconic head.

<I take it you won. What do we do next?>

Leo pokemorphed into his Pikachu form, a dark little eyes shooting a glare in Sarah's direction as electricity violently crackled from his red cheeks... There was nothing he could say or do now... He had to fight her, and she had to fight him... Nothing around them mattered or was more important enough to them... It was like they were in their own little world or universe... Their background could have easily just been empty, nothing happening at all, nothing there to distract them from one another as they readied for battle... It was impossible to stop this battle, it was simply unavoidable... <SARAAAAAAH!!> Leo charged his entire body for his first attack.

"Hmph," she smiled, throwing the two pokeballs onto the field. It was Sandslash and Starmie, "Let's give two a try, shall we?"

<Two?! Hah! You think that will stop me... you're sadly mistaken,> Leo smirked wickedly. He noticed these were new pokemon since their year split, either previously caught and trained or given to her by Elemental, these pokemon would act under her orders without her even uttering a word... Despite telling himself it would be a cakewalk, he was unsure he could morph between Sparky and Bulba, while at the same time switching to his human self before the next morph, quickly enough... It was be a dead giveaway weakness... But what if...? Could Leo morph between pokemorphs simultaneously...? He glared. Leo had to give it a shot. The only shot he had was to use both his pokemorphs to cover both their weaknesses and type disadvantages...

The two pokemon, Sandslash and Starmie, both ran and glided toward Leo and into combat, <NOTHING'S GOING TO GET IN MY WAY!!> Leo cried, erupting into a Thunderbolt which flew toward Starmie. Sandslash jumped in front of it, completely nulling the attack ineffective. Leo cringed, giving a deep breath, <Moment of truth...> he concentrated hard on Bulba... Please, please, please, please work...

Not a second later, Leo awoke in his Bulbasaur form. He gave a chuckle of success, <Hehe, heck yeah!> throwing Razor Leaf at both of the opponents. The Sandslash used Dig, quickly diving and burrowing itself underground as the Starmie dodged completely, spinning to the right of Leo.

Sarah grinned, speaking softly to herself, "Yes, he did it, but can he apply it in battle to it's potential..."

Leo's Bulbasaur eyes followed the Starmie closely, too closely. Before he knew it, Sandslash burst from the earth below him and belted Leo skyward. Leo grunted in pain as he flew up in midair only to have Starmie ready an Ice Beam attack. Leo morphed into Sparky, Quick Attacking, into the Starmie's face and Thundershocking before it could chance an Ice Beam. Jumping from it. Sandslash lept up, swiping with a Slash. Leo morphed into Bulba, parrying with Vine Whip. Starmie charged an Ice Beam, Leo morphing into Sparky and Quick Attacking around the beam as Sandslash dodged as well. Both Sandslash curled up as Starmie used Rapid Spin at the same time, knocking Leo in the back, <Gah!>

Leo fell to the ground, the Pikachu thumping onto his back. He growled in pain.

"Finish him. Sandslash, Earthquake. Starmie, another Ice Beam--"

<Crap!> Leo swore, darting up as he saw something fall too close for comfort his way! He boosted his speeding using Agility, leaping in slow-motion out of the way as Sandslash crashed down at Leo's previous spot, quaking and uplifting the ruptures of earth. Barely rolling out of the way, Starmie caught up and hailed another Ice Beam. A sweat drop fell from his yellow head as he was chased by it, he screamed, <That's it! No more!>

He jumped up, the force of his boost sending him flying higher. The two pokemon looked on. Leo spun around, morphing into Bulba. The bulb on his back started to gather energy.

"Sandslash, Dig! Starmie, Ice Beam!"

<Hah!> Leo morphed back into Sparky, suddenly falling back to earth at fullforce, <I got you! Sparky's Ultimate Attack! Volt Tackle!!> he cried, the Pikachu erupting into a ball of lightning and firing toward the Starmie. The Ice Beam was no match. However... Sandslash appeared! It jumped up, covering Starmie at the last second, <No!>

"Sand Tomb! Starmie, Protect!"

As soon as the Volt Tackle connected, an explosion was felt all over the city of Viridian. BOOM.

---

Pant... pant... pant...

As soon as the sand left Leo's yellow body from taking more damage, he fell to the ground, his Pikachu morph almost fainting. The Sandslash and the Starmie returned to their master. Leo panted in exhaustion, sighing in frustration as he morphed back into a human, fully recovered...

"Damn you..." he glared, gritting his teeth, "Next time..." Leo's lack of experience meant winning was almost completely impossible... but he had to try...

Sarah simply gazed down at him, Farquahar watching in amusement by her side.

((I'm done here.))

((Ackk, I missed so much. Ok, I'll try to make my catchup post not incredibly long...))

I demorphed from Gengar, and proceded into Viridian. As soon as Katya said she was back, we were surrounded by team Elemental. Katya's father, dressed in an Elemental uniform ran up to his daughter as a helicopter landed in front of him. "Please, Mr. Farquahar," he said. "Don't hurt Katya..." Whoa, whoa, whoa. THE Alfred Farquahar was here? I should've known this was a trap... Before the battle broke loose, he threatened us. We either stand down or Katya dies. Axel made the first attack on the Nidoking holding Katya.

Farquahar then threw out a full team of six Pokemon, all battle hardened. "Seth, go Aggron, we need strength." Katya said. Then, the battle started as Axel went after Nidoking, Leo after Tyranitar, Steel after Zoroark, and Cat after Electivire.

I nodded and morphed into to Aggron and thought, <Farquahar, you want a fight? Let's go.> There were almost no Pokemon left to battle... Except Steelix. Steel on Steel type. This'll be fun I thought with a smile on my metal-covered face. Before I had a chance to move towards the Pokemon, Cat torched it with Charizard's flame. <Uhh... Ok then.> I thought. I looked around and saw Steel trying to take out Zoroark. He wasn't losing, but it looked like he needed some help. I took the few steps over to the Zoroark and said to Steel, <Hey, thought you could use a little help.>

I walked up from behind the Zoroark, so I was able to do a massive amount of damage using a Dragon Claw to it's back. That taking it's attention from Steel, it jumped behind me. <Big mistake.> I thought, and nailed it with a full-power Iron Tail, sending it flying into a wall. The Zoroark fell out of the hole it made in the wall and fainted.

I morphed back to human form. "That was actually kinda fun." I said with a smile. I looked around and saw the battle was over. Leo charged at Farquahar, but was stopped when a girl with red hair stepped out of nowhere behind Farquahar. She was pretty, but definitely evil. When Leo saw her, he froze like he was about to have a heart attack. When he called her Sarah, I nearly did the same thing. "That's his sister?" I whispered to myself. "Leo didn't say she was evil."

I watched from the sidelines, and Leo's face showed a rediculous amount of emotional pain as his sister explained how she was on Farquahar's side now. It was like someone shot him. He was dying to see Sarah again, and the fact that she was now the enemy probably had Leo feeling... I couldn't even think of a word to describe how hurt he probably was. They had a conversation about their past, and then Sarah said she wanted to fight Leo. Leo protested, but his sister threw out a Starmie and Sandslash, beginning the battle.

The battle was completely unfair. Leo was a good fighter, I mean, he took down a Tyranitar, but this was different. Sarah's Pokemon looked even stronger than Farquahar's, and plus it was two on one. Leo was taking on the two Pokemon well, but then things took a turn for the worst. Starmie and Sandslash pounded him with attacks, and soon enough, he was beaten. During I was about to intervene, but thought again and decided not to. Not only was there a chance Leo would come up with a reason why it was stupid to help him or something, but also, I knew this was Leo's sister, and it's not smart to step into a battle between siblings.

Leo morphed back to a human, fully recovered. He swore to Sarah that next time, she'd be defeated. I looked around for the rest of the group and just spotted Cat when I heard Katya scream, "NO, THEY CAN'T KILL THEM!" I turned to where it came and saw Katya do a flying leap into Axel, knocking him over... And then I heard the crack of a gun. Katya fell to the ground, and my blood froze. No. No. No. NO. NO! A bullet from what looked like a sniper rifle went right through where Axel's head was a second before. Katya and Axel were quite a distance away, so I started running for them. I saw nothing but my destination: Axel leaning over Katya. I was almost there when I saw Axel and Cat go after the person who shot Katya, who happened to be the Elemental goon who attacked Bill's house. I got to Katya's body, and found her dead. My eyes got watery, and a tear rolled down my cheek. She didn't deserve to die. That Elemental guy was about to kill Axel, but she cared too much about us. I kneeled down at Katya's body. "Don't worry, Katya." I said. "They're not gonna kill us. We'll win this. We'll crush Team Elemental."

((Ok, I only had to stop and get back to this 3 times, but it's finally done. ))

OOC: I just want to throw in that I don't want us abusing this newfound power; can we all agree that this changing between forms without going human in between can only happen under strenuous circumstances? I'm open to suggestion on otherwise, btw.

((I think that's a good idea, and personally I won't be using the direct form change unless really hard-pressed, though I will be playing with partial morphs. I also think that if the forms are somehow related by type or physiology, it makes it easier (e.g: it would be easy for me to go from Blastoise to Swampert or Charizard to Salamence, but difficult if not impossible for me to go from Ludicolo to Charizard) ))

OOC: Okay, so only during strenuous times (like a severely emotional or charged part of the RP, like right now what with Farquahar and Sarah) can you morph directly from form to form. And physiological differences should play a part in your choices, although I won't make it an *official* rule. But please keep what LM said in mind.

((I wasn't going to abuse it throughout the roleplay, but of course I like your idea. When Leo's battling Sarah, he'll be able to do it, otherwise it's just "human form into a pokemon into human form into a pokemon", etc. I'll make him try it later and fail at it. When I wrote that post last night, because Leo was in such an emotionally charged situation like you said, I thought that bit of action would give his first confrontation just that bit more excitement. I read it back and it's not something I'd like to continue doing, only for special cases such as a double battle between Sarah. However, when Leo switched between the two pokemon, I didn't add that; because he didn't morph into human form, he never recovered his health from Dig and the joint Rapid Spin. But it was still powerplay. I completely agree with LadyMiir, although chances are we're all wanting to have different types of pokemon, so we really couldn't apply it... I know for a fact Leo's not going to have two electric or grass pokemorphs at his disposal.))

((We're all reasonably experienced RPers, I think we can keep it under control. And now back to the story, maybe?))

((Haha why thank you LM. I guess would say I'm reasonably experienced. I am getting better at the whole RP thing. Oh, and the reason I made this is just to say I finished my catchup post, if anyone wants to look at it. Also, Rex, I updated my morph data, just so you know.))

((Okay, I wasn't really worried about its abuse; but after two posts that used that power in a row, I figured I would just go ahead and set down some limits for it. This group of RPers doesn't worry me :p Pory: Okey dokey. Now, on to RPing!!))

I nodded wearily to Cat. <Yeah, he's alive, but he won't be able to continue in Elemental any longer.> I walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down. Leo fighting his sister, Seth and Jeremy fighting Farquahar's monsters.... Katya's body. I felt tired of this. It needed to end.

<Where should we apply ourselves now?> I didn't feel like deciding for myself.