The Mirage Kingdom

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC- This is INVITE ONLY. Anyone who joins without being invited will be warned and have their post removed. I have THAT kind of power >=D

BIC-

Diamond Dust, it was called. When the snow was falling, but it did not look like snow. It looked like miniature diamonds, littering the ground. The way the light caught them, it reflected beautifully, the snow glinting in the light. Nature's jewellery, Yoshimitsu thought to himself. It was beautiful. And the lake, Lake Acuity was so still, so tranquil. If Yoshimitsu didn't know better, he'd swear that it was frozen. The snow did not melt on the surface of the water, causing it to glint as though it was reflecting the light of a thousand cameras, all taking pictures of the sheer beauty that was Lake Acuity.

Yoshimitsu's appearence was unique, to say the least. His hair, for starters, was a shocking blue colour, like the water of the lake. It was spiked, but without any apparent use of gel. Around his head, he had tied a headband, keeping his hair from his face, though a few strands had rebelled, falling over the band instead. His eyes were the same colour as his hair, indentical. It was no surprise blue was his favourite colour. His top was also blue, but a much deeper colour. Dark blue, like the deepest ocean. It had no sleeves, leaving his arms exposed to the cold, which he apparently didn't feel. He definitely excercised a lot, his arms toned. On either wrist, he wore black wristbands, each with kilogram weights in them. On his bottom half, he wore combat pants that were blacker than the darkest night, with a number of pockets to hold his various bits and pieces. His shoes were completely black too, though definitely worn. Finally, hanging at his waist was his sword, the guard intricately decorated into the shape of a dragon's head.

Suddenly, a sound pierced the silent stillness. Yoshimitsu turned crimson, even though there was no one around to know that it was his phone that was ringing. Quickly, because he didn't want to carry on disturbing the calmness, he pulled out his pokegear and answered the call.
"Hey, Yoshi here," Yoshimitsu said. He listened for a moment, then said, "A castle over the desert near Lavaridge?" He had heard what his friend, Max, had said, but he wanted to give him the chance to change his mind. Max had described it perfectly. A ghostly castle, transparent but definitely there, in the sky above the desert, hanging upside down eerily. He knew that castle, and he thought he had left it safe. Apparently not.

"I'll be right over. I've got it covered, Max, and you should be on duty," Yoshimitsu said, grinning to himself. "I'll catch up with you later. See ya." And he hung up. The castle. The Mirage Kingdom, a kingdom hidden deep inside the desert, surrounded by sandstorms. It had been cut off from the rest of the world for ages. No one knew how long, and most people had never even heard of it. Yoshimitsu had been there before, when both it, and the entire world were being threatened. Together with his friend, they had taken down the threat and saved the kingdom. Now, the mirage castle was back, and that only happened when the kingdom was in danger. Yoshimitsu pulled a pokeball from his belt and pushed the button twice, lighting the area briefly as his pokemon appeared. Charizard stood, stretching and yawning.
"Charizard, we're headed for Laveridge," Yoshimitsu said, swinging himself up to Charizard's back. Charizard nodded, spread his wide wings and took flight, headed for the Hoenn region.

Yoshimitsu took his pokegear out again, punching a number into it and pressing dial. After five agonising rings, his friend finally picked up.
"Hey Katie," he said, his voice serious. "It's Yoshi. Are you in Hoenn? Whereabouts? ... Can you make it to Lavaride, like, now? ... Yeah, remember when we went to the Mirage Kingdom? Well, I just got a call from Max, that ghostly castle's back in the sky. ... 'kay, I'll meet you just outside Lavaridge, I'll get there as fast as I can. See you in a bit!" He hung up, sliding his pokegear back into his pocket and leaning in close to Charizard. He gave Charizard a light tap, and the fire pokemon responded, flapping his wings again and speeding up.

In no more than ten minutes, Charizard came to a stop, hovering ten feet above the ground on the outskirts of Lavaridge. Yoshimitsu slid from Charizard's back and landed, crouched.
"Thanks Charizard. We might need you again soon, just so you know," he said, extending his pokeball and returning his pokemon. Charizard nodded as he returned to his pokeball. Yoshimitsu thought for a moment, then took another pokeball from his belt and pushed the button twice. This time, an Aipom appeared in a flash of light. Aipom, too, stretched as he was released, but then ran up Yoshimitsu's arm and perched on his shoulder, his tail wrapped around Yoshimitsu's shoulder for support.
"Hey Aipom, looks like another adventure," Yoshimitsu said, grinning. He checked his poketch, and looked out into the desert. Sure enough, that ghostly castle that was all-too familiar loomed in the distance. Yoshimitsu's mind was alive as he waited for Katie.

 

[Sem]

James looked at his cool glass of tea through straight strands of dark brown hair, the glass was filled to the brim with ice cubes, condensation dripped onto his hand, the hand rested atop his right knee, part of a leg which was up against the small table before James, as was the other leg. His left arm rested across his torso. He was in black cargo pants, black 'skater' shoes, and a purple t-shirt. A black hoodie sweater lay discarded on the arm of the lounge chair he rested in, it was too hot to wear it unfortunately, he'd start melting if he did.

His lip was curved down, not out of unhappiness or annoyance, for it was always that way. He listened half heartedly to the news that was blaring on a large flatscreen mounted on the wall nearby. He gazed down to the floor, where on the neat, clean, pure-white tile was a purple coil. Or so it seemed at first, it was in reality an Ekans. The Ekans' head rested on the topmost coil, it had one eye open just a bit, surveying the room and its occupants. The Ekans was a recent addition to James' team, it was originally in the ownership of an ex-Rocket, a terribly abusive trainer who claimed the thing was weak and worthless, some scars were still visible, only a few months had gone by since the whole ordeal in Kanto. It was not all trusting of humans due to its past experience, and could be a bit aggressive itself. It was slowly warming up to James however, thankfully. Little outings from its ball helped as well, even if it meant earning strange looks from those who passed by.

James took a sip from his glass. "And it has been reported that this 'Diamond Dust' should end later today. In other and more startling news, a castle has appeared in the Hoenn desert. More startling is that his castle is in the air and upside-down." James perked up his ears, now listening intently, his one eye that could see was focused on the screen, footage of the castle was on it. A castle? In the desert? The very same desert that was pretty well less than half a mile from Lava Ridge's outskirts? Interesting... The newsman obviously had no more information about this phenomenon, not why it was there, or HOW it came to be there.

James chugged his tea and stood up, his un-scrunched body revealed a being that was fairly short in stature. He motioned to Ekans, who had lifted up his head and opened both eyes, both slit-like pupils fixed on him. "Let's go see this for ourselves." he said as he strode off out of the Pokemon Center, Ekans slithering after him. Within a few minutes time he was outside the city limits and on its outskirts, atop the cliff which had paths that led down to the base. It was crowded with people, James cringed. Those who were curious, those trying to explain it, as if they would know, some even fearful. And trainers. Plenty of trainers. Some of which could be seen as specks in the desert, making their way to the castle. Thinking they could brave the desert and get to the castle, well, good for them. Trainers had the hearts of adventurers after all, James was no different. He was making his way down the hill, Ekans coiled around his arm and neck. Once down the hill he walked the remainder of the distance to the edge of the desert. He knew once he arrived because the land ceased to bring forth green things, and the winds picked up, barraging his skin with molecules of sand. He rummaged through the messenger bag hanging across his shoulders and brought out a pair of goggles, looking almost new. He'd only been in the desert once during his travels, and only along its outer rim, he'd never gone as far in as he planned to do now.

OOC: Right, went off of what I could. XD And yeah, there's some spectators, since you said it was visible, I assumed other people would see it too, thus, a crowd. But that can be edited too, so just tell me.

 

[Linkachu]

There was nothing like being home again after an extended journey through a faraway region. From her perch high in a large, tall, sturdy tree, Katie Skyler gazed back at the

 

[Yoshimitsu]

"Means it's in trouble, naturally. Can't catch a break, can we?" Yoshimitsu said, his mood lightening at the prospect of an adventure with a friend. "Just makes me wonder. Last time, we left on good terms, kinda. They didn't hate us, but I can't help but feel that they didn't mind us leaving." Yoshimitsu shrugged, his finger running over one of his pokeballs. He plucked the ball from his belt and casually dropped it, the ball opening with a bright flash and releasing Charizard once more.

"Charizard, d'you think you could fly into the desert and see what's going on, then come back?" Yoshimitsu said. "Just remember to be discreet." Charizard nodded, then took off, soaring in the direction of the castle. "I don't want to walk into a trap. We've got no idea what's waiting for us. And that isn't going to help us any."

Yoshimitsu pointed down to the outskirts of the desert, to the masses of trainers that were starting their journey to the desert. There were loads of them, too many to count, all thrill-seekers and adventurers, looking to discover somewhere new and exciting in Hoenn, somewhere no one else had gone before. Doubtless, there were more trainers inside the desert, concealed by the sandstorm. They had no clue what might lie ahead, and they all thought they knew the desert. In reality, Yoshimitsu and Katie were the only two people who had gone that far into the desert and seen what lies there, hidden by shifting winds and dangerous sands.
"Not one of them knows what's out there. I swear, if I have to rescue anyone, I'm gonna sue the world," Yoshimitsu said. "So, shall we?"

The pair set off. The desert was, as always, merciless and unrelenting. The winds whipped up a deceptive storm. It looked like nothing, some sand dancing around in the breeze. However, it was blinding and attack any bare flesh. Yoshimitsu slipped his hand into one of his many pockets and pulled out two pairs of goggles, handing one to Katie. He slipped his own, and gave a great sigh of relief. He could see properly again. It didn't stop the sting on his arms, but there was nothing to be done about that. He chose not to wear a jacket, and now he was paying for it. Yoshimitsu grinned to himself, as Aipom adjusted himself on his shoulders. Yoshimitsu stopped completely.
"Oh god, sorry Aipom!" He said, pulling a third pair of goggles from his pocket. These ones were specially adjusted to suit Aipom's head, and could be adjusted for any of his other pokemon. Aipom let out a small "Pomm" of gratitude, and slipped the goggles over his ears. Then, he jumped and cried his name. Yoshimitsu turned just in time to see a jet of flame fly his way, and barely managed to duck underneath it.

"Aipom, go!" Yoshimitsu shouted, though he didn't need to. Aipom was already running at their attacker, a Magmar without a trainer. Aipom jumped up and spun in the air, swinging his tail round and smacking the Magmar right in the face.

"Magmar shouldn't be in this desert," Yoshimitsu said to himself. Katie, however, supplied an explanation.
"Could be from the Kingdom. We have no idea what they might have waiting for us," she shouted over the sandstorm, which seemed to have intensified.
"You'd think they'd recognise us," Yoshimitsu muttered to himself. "Aipom, Thunder Punch!"

Aipom landed, the sand cushioning him slightly, but was forced to jump back as Magmar launched a Fire Punch at him. The punch send sand flying everywhere, where it was claimed by the wind. The patch of ground he had hit cooled, revealing glass. Aipom ran forward and backflipped, bringing his tail swinging up this time, crackling with electricity. Magmar was thrown back, sparks playing over his face. The fire type pulled itself to its feet, shaking its head and inhaling deeply. It spat out a fireball, that exploded into a star shape. Aipom jumped back, then ran underneath the bottom limbs of it, dodging around another Fire Punch and jumping on to Magmar's back. Magmar tried to shake the monkey off, but Aipom's grip was far too tight.

"Thunderbolt, Aipom!" Yoshimitsu shouted, running forward to keep up with the two fighting pokemon. Aipom let out a shrill cry, then summoned up as much electricity as he could, discharging it all into Magmar. Magmar cried out in pain, and finally managed to shake the monkey off. Aipom rolled to his feet again, suddenly splitting himself up into no fewer than twelve Aipoms, in a circle around the fire type. Magmar looked between the Aipoms, then started glowing red as it gathered up heat energy. The fire type exploded, sending the heat blasting out in all directions. The real Aipom jumped, shocked, and pulled himself into a ball shape as he tried to protect himself, the Overheat attack burning him. As soon as the attack subsided, he was on his feet again, letting out a deafening Screech. Magmar's hands clapped to his ears, and Aipom shot in, his tail glowing bright blue. He jumped up above Magmar and flipped, bringing his tail smashing down with a powerful Focus Punch attack.

"Aipom, we don't have time for this! Just paralyze it and let's go!" Yoshimitsu shouted. Aipom nodded, latching on to Magmar again. He gathered static electricity and channelled it into Magmar. The static electricity overload caused the fire type's muscles to spasm uncontrollably, rendering it incapacitated. Aipom ran back to Yoshimitsu and jumped up to his shoulder as the boy set off running, getting away from the Magmar.
"Thunder Wave, Aipom prides himself on it," Yoshimitsu said to Katie. "Now, this begs the question, why are the people of the Mirage Kingdom sending pokemon out to stop people if they're in danger?"

 

[Snapdragon]

When one joined the Ruins of Alph Society, one was entitled to a few perks. A "survival kit," including such necessities as a flashlight, safety goggles, a Silph Scope, and rechargeable batteries; a complimentary roasociety.com email address with 50 GB of space; a nifty little badge that failed to impress anybody; and a Pokemon partner if you happened to be lacking in that department. The downside of the Ruins of Alph Society, however, was that their paranormal investigations were no longer, in fact, limited to the Ruins of Alph. Daniel Corley had spent the last few months mucking around Sinnoh, trying to dig up information on the Regigigas myth and meeting with very little success. He'd compiled his meager findings, only to be told that he was to join the remainder of the Regi team in Hoenn. A few weeks of seasickness later, and he was in Hoenn. While the warm climate was welcome after so much time in Snowpoint, Daniel was quite sick of all this Regi nonsense, and that team in particular was known for their dazzling ineptitude. Why couldn't he be assigned to the "go home and have a nice warm bath" team? Or if not that, something genuinely interesting?

Of course, interesting was in the eye of the beholder. At the moment, Daniel was sitting cross-legged on the back of an Aerodactyl. Despite the altitude and speed, his main concerns were less related to falling and liquefying his spine and more related to mundane annoyances. His sandy-blond hair was being churned into a wild mess by the wind, his contacts were getting irritatingly dry, and his cellphone was only getting one bar. Hazard, his trusty sidekick and officially appointed Porygon-Z of the team, was clinging to Varanus' neck with his stubby little... wings? Arms? Whatever those things were. He'd never turn down a chance to go fast, even if it meant clinging to a moody Aerodactyl that would be just as fine carrying him as dumping him unceremoniously. Daniel didn't mind too much; his phone kept dropping calls, so at least he had one person to talk to, even if he had to shout and Hazard responded by dicking around with his Poketch.

As it turned out, he needn't have resorted to that. A sudden buzz from his pocket made Daniel jump... and immediately cling to Varanus' back, heart racing at the abrupt change in balance. Carefully, he withdrew his phone from his pocket. A text message from the good old big cheeses of the ROA society, inquiring where in Hoenn he happened to be. ...Good question, really. That town he was approaching looked a bit like Verdanturf, didn't it? He fumbled out an answer and prayed it would send. Evidently, it did; moments later another buzz alerted him to a reply. Good. Forget meeting the team and head for the desert. Reports of a castle floating upside down in the air. Look into that.

Daniel didn't need to be told twice. Varanus veered off her original course, now making a beeline for the hazy blot on the horizon marking the desert's vicious sandstorms.

---

He certainly didn't seem to be the only one looking into it. Even from on Varanus' back, he could see a bunch of trainers marching bravely into the desert storm. He'd been sure to equip the standard-issue ROA goggles, though he lacked a pair for Varanus and Hazard. As fast as it was to travel via Aerodactyl, it wasn't long before Varanus began screeching at him in irritation. Rock-type or no, she wasn't happy about getting gritties in her eyes unless it was necessary. Daniel eased her down to the sand below and reluctantly returned her to her pokeball. Hazard, on the other hand, remained; he had the advantage of being made out of data. His eyes had more in common with a grocery store UPC scanner than with the squishy wet blobs found in most organic creature's sockets. He waited patiently as Daniel made an effort to gather his bearings. Nothing but sand-colored haze all around, as far as he could see. Not a single magical castle in the air. Great. Well, there was no way that a mirage would show up in a storm like this, so he could immediately rule out that option. There would need to be a large castle in the desert for that to make sense anyway; mirages had to reflect off of something, after all.

"Hazard... do me a favour and scan for the nearest life signs. We should at least be able to figure out where the other trainers we passed on the way in are now."

There was no way Daniel would be exposing his precious laptop to this sandstorm; instead he raised his arm and watched his Poketch. With a little wireless data-monster magic, it switched itself to the dowsing application, a blip appearing on the radar in the upper right corner. While handy and able to interact with Hazard, the Poketch could be woefully primitive sometimes; it would have been awfully nice to know how many things Hazard was picking up, and whether they were of the adventurous trainer variety or the "hungry Cacturne looking to devour innocent researchers" variety. Well... he supposed the old-fashioned way would just have to do. With the Porygon-Z orbiting around his head, head spinning with radar-esque steadiness, Daniel began trudging his way forward with his eyes on the LCD screen of his Poketch.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

It seemed as if there were more people on the outskirts of the desert than there was sand, although maybe it was just in his mind.

Though the desert itself has been generally well-traveled by trainers, its deeper recesses have been left largely unexplored due to some exceptionally strong sandstorms and deceptively stable-looking sand pitfalls. In areas like these, Trapinch

 

[Sem]

James slipped the goggles onto his head and over his eyes, veiling everything in a light shade of blue. He reached under his shirt to his belt and pulled a Pok

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

The sandstorm raged, but so far, the shield was holding. Visibility was low, but periodically, the Flygon let out a light signal, revealing his location and the direction to go to the trainer and two Pok

 

[Snapdragon]

This... was not what your average trainer would call fun. Daniel could barely see his own Poketch screen in front of his face. There was sand in his shoes, in his hair, and in all sorts of places sand oughtn't rightly be. The sand kept shifting under his feet, making walking awkward. Of course, Hazard wasn't having any of those problems; he simply kept chugging along, like some kind of hummingbird-esque moon orbiting a staggering planet. He seemed quite confident that they were headed in the right direction, so against Daniel's better judgment, he continued walking deeper and deeper into the endless sands. It was a little bit eerie, really... he had yet to see any signs of life, be they wild Pokemon, trainer, or stereotypical animal skull. That castle in the sky he was supposed to be searching for had yet to appear. With visibility being what it was, though, the stupid thing could be right above him and he wouldn't know. It was like the only living things in the entire desert were Hazard and him... though whether Hazard could be considered "living" was debatable.

At long last, a dark shape loomed out of the sand. It was too short and oblong to be humanoid, but at least it was something. Hazard ceased his orbit curiously as Daniel sped up, eager to find something to break up the monotony of the storm blasting at his skin. The object looked old and tarnished; it was mostly buried beneath the sand, with little more than a faded teal-grey arch and a wide, metallic base visible. Strange... was it maybe part of some ancient ruins? Daniel ran one hand over the metal. Slightly warm, and from the look of it, oxidized bronze. He was surprised by how smooth it felt beneath his fingers; he'd been expecting the unpleasant texture of an old penny. That could probably be chalked up to the scouring sandstorms, though. It was a shame that the weather would do a number on his laptop; he would have loved to have Hazard run a full diagnostic on the thing.

Apparently, Hazard was also curious. In his impatient way, he flapped his little arms near Daniel's head, emitting strange squeals and jabbing his head towards his trainer's other side. "Chill, Hazard, will you? This thing isn't going anywhere." Daniel shoved the Porygon-Z back out of his bubble, only to have Hazard dive right back into his personal space and collide with the side of his head. "Ow! Watch it, will you?" Again, Daniel pushed Hazard away, raising his voice impatiently against the shriek of the wind. Hazard refused to be deterred, however, and immediately resumed his endeavors. Daniel, being equally stubborn when need be, grasped the Porygon-Z's body in both hands and held it away at arm's length. Not that this was very effective when said Pokemon's head wasn't, technically speaking, attached to his body; that move just earned Daniel an antenna in the ear. He dropped Hazard's body to grab the offending bit protruding from the top of his partner's head. With his stubby little appendages now free, Hazard grabbed onto Daniel's left wrist and pulled urgently.

If the wind hadn't chosen that moment to die down a little, Daniel probably never would have caught on. Without the scream of the storm and Hazard's urgent squeals in his ears, he finally caught the insistent beeping of his Poketch. The thing seemed to be going haywire, though once Daniel was looking it jumped to the drawing board application. How cute; Hazard had written down a word. Though... exactly what was "brongong" supposed to mean? He was so hard to understand ever since the last upgrade.

Hazard's cryptic message wasn't cryptic for long, by any means. The lull in the wind had made it much easier to hear, and once his Poketch had also fallen silent, Daniel became aware of a soft noise, little more than a hiss. His first instinct was to check underfoot -- he was certain there were no snake Pokemon in the desert, but he'd rather not risk his ankles on an assumption. No, nothing but sand. So then...? A slap from one of Hazard's wings brought Daniel's focus back to the strange metal object he'd been examining earlier. The sand was streaming off of it as it slowly rose from the sand. Wait, rose? Ancient artifacts weren't usually supposed to do that sort of thing.

Nor were they supposed to open their eyes. The object swung its base forward suddenly, spraying Hazard and Daniel in sand and producing a muffled sort of "whump" that sounded a bit like a bell with its clapper replaced with cotton. While Daniel was no stranger to getting hit by sand at this point, he hadn't been expecting to get several eyefuls at once. He staggered back, covering his face and spitting out the nasty-tasting grit. Brongong... "Ugh. Hazard, they're called Bronzongs! What's one of these things doing here, anyway? They aren't native to Ho--augh!" The Bronzong was in no mood to wait for Daniel to point out the obvious; it immediately launched into a Gyro Ball, one steel "arm" catching Daniel in the shoulder and sending him sprawling as it whirled past. It came around for another pass as its spinning came to a halt. For an ominous second, the Bronzong stopped completely and just hovered above Daniel. Stunned as he was, he had the sense to roll out of the way as the bell came crashing down, sending up another spray of sand.

Hazard had not been idle while the Pokemon was threatening his trainer, however. His flat, eerie eyes studied the Bronzong, head flicking from one angle to another in jerky birdlike movements. Behind that blank stare, the gears were turning. Calculating probable outcomes, selecting optimal strategies, ceasing unnecessary programs to free up memory better spent on combat; an artificial life-form's Nasty Plots were very different from those of a regular Pokemon. When the Bronzong impacted with the ground where Daniel had been seconds ago, Hazard darted forward, a strange yellow-green light blooming at the end of his antenna. The Signal Beam erupted in a dazzling burst, momentarily lighting up the dull, sandy landscape. The Bronzong teetered wildly, each sway punctuated by a booming knell. With a final gong, it swung forward savagely, its solid bottom colliding with Hazard in a vicious Payback. The Porygon-Z skittered backwards, tail plowing a furrow in the sand as he struggled to halt his momentum. When he finally stopped, however, his panic didn't seem to fade at all. He flailed wildly in place, head spinning as he squealed like a radio gone haywire. Both the Bronzong and he were covered in the indigo aura of a Psychic. Rather than using it to fling his target around, the Bronzong simply held Hazard in place as it began to spin, readying another Gyro Ball.

Too bad. It should have taken Hazard out while it had the chance. The sand had a way of muffling footsteps, and the Bronzong's loud clanging was more than enough to mask the sound of a Pokemon being released. Before the Bronzong had the chance to reach Hazard, something heavy barreled into the arch at the top of its head, throwing its weight and driving it into the ground. The Bronzong actually bounced as it rolled over the sand, struggling to levitate once more. As for its attacker... he landed on his feet a few feet away. It was a Croagunk, leering at its opponent from behind a pair of triangular shades. Ordinary-looking Blackglasses weren't good enough for Dart; his concerns about his image were a pain sometimes, but the boost to his Sucker Punch and the shielding from the sandstorm, however small, were both more than welcome in this situation.

Yes, two on one was most definitely cheating, but Daniel was no battler; he was a researcher. He'd leave the heroics and the badassery to the people with a full set of badges, thank you very much. Hazard certainly wasn't going to complain, considering how Dart's Sucker Punch had freed him from the Bronzong's Psychic, and Dart had never really been one for playing fair to begin with. "Dart, Brick Break him. Hazard, be ready to cover for him with a Mirror Coat!" Daniel had to shout to make himself heard over the wind, but both his Pokemon understood. Dart bounded towards the struggling Bronzong with strange, zigzagging leaps, Hazard gliding in his wake. The Bronzong was obviously disoriented after being pulled so sharply out of its spin; it had only managed to get halfway into the air, the glow erupting around its form again as it sought to take revenge on the Croagunk that had struck it. Dart hopskipped to the side, allowing Hazard to blaze forward in his place. The air in front of the Porygon-Z shuddered and distorted, the glow of the Psychic attack seeming to peel away from its source and gather into a ball before Hazard. For a brief moment, it lingered there, then burst into a spray of light that pelted the Bronzong like bullets.

While Hazard was keeping it busy, Dart had circled around the Bronzong. He wasted no time, jabbing mercilessly at the bell's back. It swung forward under the blows, narrowly missing Hazard in the process. It was obvious that so long as the Porygon-Z meddled, it would be unable to polish the Croakgunk off with a psychic attack. And as long as the Croagunk was around, he wouldn't have the chance to attack the Porygon-Z. The solution seemed obvious. Instead of swinging back and hitting Dart, the Bronzong let momentum carry him back into the ground... and slamming down on Hazard. He was small enough that he hadn't been crushed beneath the heavy steel, but the Porygon was effectively trapped within the bell. Muted clangs could be heard from inside as Hazard threw himself against the walls of his unexpected prison in a futile attempt to break free.

"Hazard, you better be Magnet Rising, this thing's on the ground! Dart's gonna Earthquake before it gets up, and you follow up with the strongest thing you've got!" A beep from Daniel's Poketch and a smirk from Dart confirmed the orders. The Croagunk backed away a few paces, steeled himself, then charged in headlong. The Bronzong was already preparing another Psychic; subtle hints of the telltale glow were starting to gather around Dart's body. Dart's powerful legs gathered under him as he jumped, lunging as high as he could. The glow continued to build on the descent. Dart's signature smirk had turned into a grimace as some unseen pressure bore down on him. Nevertheless, he landed full-force, feet and fist alike pounding the earth. It was as if somebody had set off a bomb. Sand went flying in a massive spray, the tremors rippling through the ground wildly enough to topple Daniel off his feet. Even amidst the burst of sand, Hazard's handiwork was visible. First just a sliver of light as the Bronzong teetered, then a dazzling burst of sparks.

The Bronzong fell with a final clang, electricity still arcing over its body as it toppled. Hazard emerged moments later, looking dazed and sore, but still functioning. Dart had seen better days, though, without a doubt. The Croagunk was sitting on the sand, narrow chest heaving as he struggled to remain upright. It had only been one Psychic, but with his massive weakness, he was lucky to still be conscious. Daniel let out a sigh as he returned Dart to his pokeball, leaving only Hazard and himself. "Whew... what the hell was that? Nobody at the Society mentioned anything about being ambushed by death-bells." Another beep from his Poketch. Daniel glanced down to see the drawing application once again open, the "brongong" of earlier replaced with a cheeky "poor baby =(" from Hazard.

"Ha ha. You slay me. Let's just try to keep moving, and keep up your scans. I'd rather avoid another encounter like that. Bronzongs are better at taking hits than dishing them out... if we run into something that's more of a heavy hitter, I'm not sure we'll be so lucky in round two." It was just like Hazard to take things lightly. Daniel wasn't joking around. Dart had been exhausted by the battle, and Hazard himself had taken damage in that fight. The Porygon-Z was the strongest Daniel had to offer, but he was also invaluable on the field. Without his radar, they could just be going in circles until Daniel either blundered into another ambush or dropped from dehydration.

A weak little clang pulled Daniel from his thoughts. The Bronzong was moving again, struggling to get its heavy body upright and levitating once again. "Oh crap. Cheese it, Hazard!" In spite of his difficulty navigating the harsh conditions of the desert, Daniel could certainly move when he wanted to; he was running almost as fast as Hazard could float.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

"They're really pulling out all the stops, aren't they?" Yoshimitsu commented, climbing up to the Onix's head. There, not too far away, was the massive hurricane of sand. It snatched the sand from the ground and at least fifty meters around it, gathering it into it's already destructive force. The winds around the tornado were trecherous enough, but this hurricane... Yoshimitsu looked around the wind for some kind of weakspot, but instead found something else. Aipom shifted uneasily on his shoulder.

Trainers, who were apparently immune to the wind. After a closer look, their feet were all covered in a strange glow. Psychic pokemon must have been locking them in place. Yoshimitsu jumped down from Onix's head, landing crouched, and glanced at Aipom, who was trembling slightly.
"Aipom, what's behind that sandstorm?" Yoshimitsu muttered to his pokemon. Aipom whispered in Yoshimitsu's ear. Now, Aipom was still talking using just his name, but the pair of them were so close, they shared an almost telepathic connection. Aipom could tell what Yoshimitsu was thinking and feeling, and Yoshimitsu could do the same. He understood his pokemon, possibly more than another pokemon of Aipom's species would. Yoshimitsu nodded.

"Katie, that whirlwind isn't the only thing on this line of defense. Aipom's sensitive to other pokemon, even more so to perticularly hostile ones," Yoshimitsu said to Katie as he approached her. "There's something behind that wind, make no mistake about that. And to boot, there are trainers surrounding it too. Look." Yoshimitsu pointed to the nearest, a trainer stood with his Poliwrath. Yoshimitsu approched him, too, the wind threatening to lift him up and throw him away.

"Oi, what's going on here then?" He yelled, the wind nearly rendering him silent. The trainer turned to Yoshimitsu.
"We're gonna smash through the tornado!" He shouted back. "There are trainers all around this thing, and in a few minutes, we're gonna blast straight through it!"

Yoshimitsu clapped his hand to his forehead, and returned to Katie.
"This is ridiculous. They want to punch through the wind using their pokemon," he explained briefly. "We don't have enough time to tell everyone, and if we tell a few people and not the rest, we've got no idea what could happen. There are strong pokemon behind that wind, and I don't doubt that they're not gonna stay hidden for long."

All around, the trainers were readying their attacks. Pokemon were flexing, their trainers feeding them vitamins to boost their attack briefly, while swords weaved around them, or else the pokemon were sat down, calming their minds in preparation. Yoshimitsu frowned. This might actually work. The pokemon were just testing their attacks briefly. Fire pokemon spat embers around. Water types fired a few test shots. Electrical pokemon crackled with electricity. Psychic pokemon were glowing, the sand around them turning into mini tornadoes of their own. Grass pokemon were absorbing what little sunlight they could get. Yoshimitsu heard a loud beep, as hundreds of alarms went off at once, telling the trainers to attack.

It happened in a split second. Aipom sprang from Yoshimitsu's shoulder and threw up a Protect barrier as Yoshimitsu seized Katie's wrist, pulling her behind him. The tornado was split open, but not by the trainers. From within, hundreds of pokemon were releasing Hyper Beams, glowing beams of kinetic energy that shot out of the sand like bullets. Trainers and their pokemon were hit, send soaring backwards painfully. The Protect shield stopped the hyper beam heading their way, diverting it into the ground and blasting away a massive amount of sand. Yoshimitsu glanced at the hole, the deep hole, and for a second saw a smooth, grey surface. Rock. He looked back up, and before the sandstorm shielded the pokemon inside, he saw a Dragonite, an angry, hostile, inhuman expression on its face.

"Well, that went well, wouldn't you say?" Yoshimitsu said to Katie. "One good thing came from that. There's rock underneath this sand. My bet is, we need to dig down under the tornado. Think Onix can do that?"

"No problem," Katie said, climbing back on to the Onix. Yoshimitsu followed her up, sitting calmly behind the Onix's horn, as Alakazam floated up to sit just in front. The psychic type was regaining its icy composure, and started concentrating. "Onix, we're going down!" Katie yelled to the rock snake, who nodded (almost throwing Yoshimitsu off, who promptly wrapped his arms around the horn) and rammed his head into the ground, cutting through the sand like a knife through paper. Alakazam opened his eyes, and the hole was covered by a pale glow as it was opened.

"Nice. Alakazam's holding the hole open while we go down so it doesn't collapse around us," Yoshimitsu commented. Aipom shifted on Yoshimitsu's shoulder, one of his hands wrapped into his trainer's hair for support. Yoshimitsu started thinking on Katie's words.

 

[Sem]

The sand storm raged on as James, Ekans, and Starmie trudged through the sands. Vision was still really limited, but at least the wind wasn

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Something caught Arafel's attention - the Flygon paused in its tracks, twitching its antennae. Some things that did not belong in the desert were moving in the vicinity. He did not know whether or not it was a threat, but it wasn't too far away and was in the direction that they had to go.

The dragon-type lifted its head to the sky and unleashed a short burst of Dragonbreath and a short burst of Flamethrower, the two attacks entwining around each other in a helix pattern - a signal to proceed with caution. It then proceeded to stand vigil and await further instructions.

~*~

"Well, this is interesting." the trainer muttered to himself, the Electabuzz giving him a questioning look.
"Arafel's signalling to proceed with caution. I think it's best to see what he has in mind."

~*~

"So, what's the situation, Arafel?" the trainer asked, and the dragon-type twitched its antennae, turning its head in the general direction it sensed the disturbance. the Flygon twitched its antennae three times, wings vibrating mildly.

"Three lifeforms?"

A nod.

"No confirmation on hostility?"

The Flygon shook its head.

"Hn... Best not attract their attention then - although something tells me they've already spotted us. Stay on your toes, Arafel. Mari, get ready for possible encounter."

The Electabuzz nodded, electricity flowing around her form and sparkling lightly, creating strange reflections in the shield around them. Now what?

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Well, what do you know, another human!" the trainer responded, waving back. "Didn't expect to run into another one anytime soon."

He turned to the Electabuzz, whispering "Doesn't look hostile, but do stay on your toes."

 

[Sem]

James spotted a shield around the trainer, an opening was made for him to enter however. "Yeah, me too. Haven't seen anyone since first entering the desert." James said as he slowly entered, to further clarify that he meant no harm, he turned and saw that Ekans and Starmie had caught up.

"My name's James, you can call me Sem though." he said, holding out his hand and attempting a smile. "I was hoping to travel with you for the time being... Perhaps we have a better chance at making it to the castle." he said, motioning up to the sky with his eyes.

"And perhaps we wont be attacked by Tyranitars if we're in a bigger group..." he eyed the Flygon, Ledian, and Electabuzz, then returned his gaze to the trainer's face, his eyes, which were also covered with goggles. The trainer also sported a traveling cloak, colored almost like the sand of the desert itself.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Sylvanhart. Gad Sylvanhart." the other trainer replied, nodding. He had an odd accent - something which could have been described as 'vaguely British, but not quite'. "Yes, that actually sounds quite reasonable. This bloody path's been getting more dangerous the deeper we've been traveling into the desert - who knows WHAT is going to come at us next."

 

[Sami]

"Remind me again how this was a good idea?!" Shouting from above as there was an aerial showdown in the sky. Glimmering metal against the desert sun were dulled by the unforgiving sand as they narrowly avoided a Hyper Beam from behind. The cries from the blue and red Salamence in pursuit of the Skarmory caused the passenger on the bird to look back. "Falchion, he's charging up another Hyper Beam!" Eyes covered by snowboarder goggles could barely tell through the sands that the wind mercilessly whipped about. What was a Salamence with no trainer doing out here, in the desert, anyways?

This was not going how it was supposed to go. Seeing the hustle and bustle on the news in her home of Lilycove, Lavaridge was nothing more than a hop and skip away. It hadn't taken her long at all to dig out a pair of goggles from when her family had vacationed in Snowpoint and race off to join the many other trainers how wished to investigate the floating castle. "Be careful, Johanna!" Were the only words that her mother had time to call out as she ran out the door with her bag, stuffing it full of the essentials. Man, how cool would it be if she was one of the first to get there?!

Day-dreaming in the middle of a dogfight was never a good idea. Shaken from her thoughts as her ride gave a sharp turn, Jo's arms latched around the hot from the heat neck of her Skarmory. Watching in awe and relief as the next Hyper Beam missed the duo, barely. "Alright, I've had enough of this, Falchion, let's jar him a little so we can get away. Give him a good Slash!" There was a shrill cry in agreement as the Skarmory sped up, tilting upwards and turning himself around, heading straight on for the Salamence.

Aimed at a downward angle, the Skarmory started to fall into a nosedive. The plan was to hit this thing as hard as they could in one shot then flee like there was no tomorrow. The girl on Skarmory's back was wearing a cloak, having bought it at the mega-mart before leaving Lilycove. Jo had to fight for it, seeing as how everyone wanted one to protect them from the sand. To bad cloaks couldn't protect you from Salamence teeth.

The dragon let out a massive roar as the sharp, steel-edged wings collided with his shoulder, unfortunately missing the wings. Twisting his head and body, his jaws shot out as Falchion and Johanna were passing. Clamping down on the ends of the cloak, he promptly yanked his head back, ripping the teenager from the Skarmory's back. The girl let out a short scream of surprise as the Salamence didn't bother hanging on, promptly throwing her to the right with a swing of his head. Down below one could barely make out what looked like a boy and his companion, to small to be another human, running acrossed the barren sands. How long they had been below, was unknown to the girl, but it would've been hard not to hear the battle overhead. What with Falchion's sharp shrill for a cry and the massive roar of Salamence.

Falchion let out a shriek of anger as he turned sharper than the edge of his wings, folding his wings and heading for a dive to catch his trainer. Which was what the Salamence both expected and wanted him to do. Rearing his head back, he let a jetstream of fire fly as it collided into the Skarmory's back and folded wings, Falchion letting out a cry of pain as the damage made it's mark. Despite the pain, the Skarmory opened his searing wings as his claws reached out for Jo's cloak.

Just...a little...closer, gotcha'! Whoops, too late!

Unable to gain sufficient height after his claws sank into the fabric, the two hit the ground and proceeded to roll with momemtum. The Salamence seemed to lose interest in the now grounded duo as he gave a triumphant roar, flying off overhead as the two lay motionless for awhile, both in a tangle of girl and steel.

 

[Snapdragon]

Daniel and Hazard had been running for a good few minutes before it finally dawned on Daniel that they maybe didn't need to be all-out sprinting. Bronzongs were, after all, massively heavy metal bells, and he was fairly sure that Hazard had paralyzed the one they'd been tussling with a moment ago. A Slakoth on Valium probably could have outrun the thing. They'd probably want to save their energy; getting all worn out and dehydrated in a desert was less than smart. "Hazard... Hazard! Slow down...!" Daniel's sprint trickled down into a walk, with Hazard likewise slowing his pace shortly after. The Porygon-Z had his head tilted at an inquisitive angle; chances were, he hadn't quite figured out what Daniel had.

He wasn't going to risk jumping to conclusions this time around, though. He shot Hazard an expectant look, then glanced down to his Poketch. Rather than the drawing board, Hazard had returned it to the dowsing application. Oddly enough, two... no, maybe three blips were showing onscreen -- and they were close. Daniel looked around anxiously, but nothing greeted him but the sandstorm. Surely they'd at least be able to see an outline if something was nearby? They'd seen the Bronzong, after all, and it had been partially buried. Maybe it was coming from below them? Trapinches or Dugtrios? Wait... did he just hear something? It sounded like a... some kind of roar or shriek? Daniel strained his ears, but there was nothing but the howl of the wind. Now he was imagining things. Great. He'd probably start hallucinating shapes in the haze or someth--

WHUMP.

Well, that didn't sound particularly hallucinatory. A loud squawk from Hazard and two pings from his Poketch verified Daniel's suspicions. Something was definitely there, and it couldn't have been far. He nodded for the Porygon-Z to lead. Hazard lifted his arm-stubs in the best shrug he could manage and began drifting off to Daniel's right. The two moved much more slowly; the Bronzong incident had scared them into being a bit more cautious about strange things in the desert. Sure enough, a shape started to materialize out of the sandstorm. It seemed kind of... flat, with a few protrusions here and there. A really big Dunsparce? A misshapen Venusaur? A steamrollered Ditto? Daniel drew to a halt, switching back to the drawing board application on his watch and scrawling out a message for Hazard.

Go check it out. Carefully.

Hazard nodded and drifted forward, hovering as low to the ground as he could. Eventually, even the Pokemon's bright magenta and cerulean were lost to Daniel's eyes, obscured behind a veil of sand. Even if he had another five occupied pokeballs on him, seeing Hazard vanish into the storm brought a sort of loneliness settling over his shoulders. The desert seemed infinitely hostile, with its traps and out-of-place Pokemon and extreme conditions. He hadn't thought to pick up any more cover than the standard-issue goggles and the clothing on his back; both his jeans and the olive-green zip-up he wore were a few shades duller beneath the silty layer of dust coating them, and his exposed hands and face stung beneath the sand. Come to think of it... wearing a sweater into a desert was extremely stupid. He would have to be careful not to let enthusiasm cloud his judgment in the future.

A bleep from his watch drew Daniel away from his thoughts. He glanced down to find his own message replaced by an update from Hazard: its ppl lol. The words lingered for a moment before the screen blinked back to the dowsing application, pointing the way for Daniel. Finally, somebody who wasn't a fully-evolved and angry wild Pokemon. He made his way over to Hazard with relief, finally stumbling onto... a girl and a Skarmory, both looking very worse for wear. Hazard was hovering a few feet away; if it weren't for his built-in scanners, Daniel would have guessed that the Porygon-Z were trying to decide if the pair were dead or not. He glanced to his partner and stepped forward hesitantly. First-aid was not his specialty. If he had a severe injury on his hands, he didn't know what he'd do. "Um...? Miss?" He ventured, practically shouting over the wind, "Are you alright?"

 

[Sami]

Jo's eyes were closed as she felt frustrated. Well, the two of them could lie here for awhile, she already had sand down and in her everything after taking that digger, so it wasn't like things could get much worse. Falchion would live, though it was more-so a blow to his pride over anything. This marked maybe the second time he's ever failed to catch her mid-air. The first time? Well, they never talk about that one anymore.

Though it seemed her plans of simply lying there until the sand had buried them faded away as a voice called over the winds. Opening her eyes, she tried to sit up and push the Skarmory off of her, but there was much difficulty as he was untangling himself from her cloak. Falchion was trying to leap up in Johanna's defense, shaking the cloth that was still wrapped around his leg off.

Once free, he stepped in front of Jo, spreading his sword-like wings and giving a piercing cry. "Cool it, Falchion!" Jo called up as she stood up, shaking sand out of whatever she could before she walked out in front of the Skarmory. "Sorry about him, he's over-protective. Yeah, I'm good, thanks!" She pushed the metallic bird back a little to give the boy and his Poke'mon some room.

Johanna stepped foward as she held out her hand in a friendly manner. Falchion had folded back his wings and was standing upright behind the girl, revealing just how short she really was. Skarmory stand at about 5 feet and 7 inches while Jo stood at a mere 5 foot flat. She ended up having to look up at the boy through her goggles as she grinned. "The name's Jo, what's yours?" Johanna had to nearly shout over the raging winds. The winds were causing Jo's hair to move all over the place, the short auburn red strands flailing helplessly against the wind. One could barely see the brightly colored clips that desperately tried to hold locks of her hair in place through the sand.

 

[Snapdragon]

Daniel shook the offered hand, the sheer absurdity of the situation not entirely lost on him. One did not tend to make friends with sprawled strangers in the middle of a stormy desert somewhere in between searching for an upside-down flying castle and nearly being crushed by a sentient bell. "Daniel Corley, Ruins of Alph Society." He all but hollered back in response to the girl's -- Jo's -- introduction. Even if the conversation hadn't been taking place in the middle of a fierce windstorm, he could guarantee a "ruins of what?" would follow up that, so he finished with a "I'm a researcher, long story short" and left it at that. A barely-audible beep caused him to look down at his Poketch out of reflex, but the silent dowsing application was all that greeted him. The beep hadn't come from his Poketch, but the one on Jo's wrist. Daniel hadn't even realized she was wearing one; her cloak had hidden her wrists before, so he hadn't been able to see it until they'd shaken hands. Even so... how like Hazard to notice a person's electronics before anything else. "Oh, uh... check your watch. Hazard's talking to you."

Since Daniel had so rudely neglected to introduce him, Hazard simply took matters into his own... um, hands. The girl had a Poketch of her own -- lucky, since they hadn't caught on in Hoenn as much as in Sinnoh -- and it had a drawing board application on it, to boot. Naturally, this was the perfect medium to cram in a "hi j0 im hazard" for her to read. He even thought to include a small picture of a Porygon-Z. Borrowed, of course, from the Poketch's memory. Hazard was many things, but an artist was most definitely not one of them. He'd been created to defend Daniel and aid him in research, after all, and neither purpose really required the ability to create a stunning watercolor landscape. Not that lack of artistic ability was something Hazard mourned. He wasn't really the type for that, and anyway... he was good enough at what he did to compensate for that. Oh, speaking of... they'd been quite sidetracked from that castle thingy, hadn't they? All this wandering around in the desert was really... hazardous. Not Daniel's style at all; all it would take was a thorough long-range scan from Hazard and they'd be on the right track in no time. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that without hazard.exe, a program created specifically to interact with the Porygon-Z's systems. And in order to use that, Daniel needed his laptop. Which he wouldn't be using in the middle of a sandstorm because he was a pansy.

Well... maybe their newfound friend and her swordbird could help. Hazard quickly erased his own intro and replaced it with a new series of messages to Jo.

ur lookn for the castl 2 rite?
do u hav sum1 that can use protect?
if u do make a shield so dan can use his laptop
well find it much quickr

 

[Sami]

Johanna caught only Daniel's first and last name, and then something about being a researcher. She simply smiled up and nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Dan!" She blinked as he mentioned her watched and looked down, whoop, wrong hand, she looked to the other one to see the greeting from the Porygon-Z, Hazard. She had to squint to see the letters before she looked to Hazard and smiled, a hand reaching out to pat his head, maneuvering around the horn. "Well hello, Hazard!" She gave him a grin before the watch beeped again.

More squinting and more reading as Jo pondered for a moment. "Lucky us!" She had to nearly yell above the wind as she brought forth a Poke'ball, she released the red beam as it formed into a Lairon. The steel beast looked around the scenery as he looked up at the cloaked girl. "Challenger, use a Protect! Big one." She motioned with her hands a little as the Lairon nodded, letting out a gruff sound as the tell-tale glow of Protect surrounded the humans and the Poke'mon.

With the barrier around them, the inside of the Protect was surprisingly quiet. One could barely hear the howling of the winds outside the walls as the sands hit against the sides, piling up on the side where the wind was the strongest. The Lairon simply hunkered himself down and closed his eyes. He could keep this up for quite awhile, assuming nothing decided to come over and kick his Protect down.

With the wind and sand out of the way, Jo gave a shake of her head, using her hands to swipe the accumalated dust from her auburn hair. "Ah, this is a nice change of pace. Ugh, I got sand in my...well, everything." Johanna sat down on the sand as she started to unlace her tall, almost military-styled boots. "So, Daniel, right? How's a laptop going to help us find a way to that castle? Tech has never really been my thing, ya' know?" Jo had managed to take one boot off and flipped it over, hitting the sole as a small stream of sand, probably enough to fill an hourglass, poured out.

"Oh, this is Falchion and this is Challenger." Jo introduced the two Steel-types, who had engaged each other in idle conversation. Each gave a brief sound of 'hello' when their name was called. Falchion's backside and wings looked a little shaggy after the blow from the Salamence which he kindly pointed out to Jo as he pecked at her backpack that she had also taken off, laying in the sand next to her.

"Augh, even in the socks." Jo muttered to herself as she was now barefoot, noticing Falchion want for a fix-me-up, she fished him out a Super Potion. Standing up, it was once again apparent the height difference between the two, Johanna taking the time even rub the warm steel after spraying the medication.

"So Danny, you don't mind if I call you that right? Why you shooting for the castle? Official researcher business or more of personal researcher quest?" Jo spoke as she finished up with Falchion, sitting herself back down as she enjoyed having her shoes off for a little bit.

 

[Snapdragon]

Daniel, being quite unable to read Jo's Poketch screen, was in the dark as to what Hazard was telling her up until Challenger set up the Protect. Ohh... how convenient; that would be a huge time-saver. That, and it was nice to finally be out of the buffeting wind and the noise. Daniel sat down cross-legged with a sigh, one hand idly scratching the sand out of his tangled mouse-blond hair while the other opened his bag. As much as he would have loved to likewise get all the sand out of his... well, every part of him, he couldn't say for certain how much time they'd have to get in a detailed scan. The sandstorm was bound to interfere, too, so it would be by no means perfect. He carefully withdrew his precious laptop and booted it up, careful to keep it safe on his legs where the icky sand wouldn't reach. "I do mind, actually. My name is Daniel. The computer itself isn't what's going to show us the way; it's merely going to act as a medium for Hazard. He's probably more high-tech than the laptop is."

A minute to boot up the computer, another to access hazard.exe. Daniel's eyes remained fixed on the screen, the blank expanse of white reflected off the plastic of his goggles. Hazard was the one who'd be doing the work from that point on, leaving him free to converse with Johanna as he monitored the Porygon-Z's progress. "I was assigned to investigate the castle by the Society. I actually don't know anything about it, so I can't really say it's due to personal desire. Nevertheless... it has piqued my curiosity. In the event that there really is something big behind this, and I'm the first to properly document it, then that will carry me a long way in terms of recognition. So... I guess you could say it's both. A formal mission and my own ambition." He looked up from the computer screen briefly, watching Jo heal up her Skarmory. "And yourself...? Shall I assume that this excursion is merely for the sake of adventure in your case, and nothing of scientific merit?" The majority of the people heading into the desert seemed to have been ordinary trainers, as far as Daniel could tell; more likely than not, they had attributed the phenomenon to a legendary Pokemon. That seemed to be the first explanation people jumped to.

Hazard, in the meantime, may as well have been dead. He seemed to be frozen in midair, eerie eyes staring at nothing as he ran his scans. Daniel had been right; the sandstorm was severely limiting his scan radius. He was compensating the best he could, but so far it didn't look like he'd be able to catch the castle itself. Slowly but surely, the blank white screen filled itself. Not with text, but with a map. The area around them was mostly flat; the wind was doing a real number on the dunes. The desert itself wasn't what was of interest, though. It was when he got looking for life signs that things got strange. There was the Bronzong, still significantly behind -- Hazard was pretty certain it had yet to even get up. Something above them, though it was quickly moving out of range. To the northwest, interference got very heavy; the storm was probably at its worst there. The readings he was getting were insane, though. Incredible amounts of heat, a whole bunch of scattered life signs... something big was going on there.

> hey dan
> check out the power lvl in that spot
> ITS OVER NINE THOUSAAAAND

"...Shut up, Hazard."

> ur no fun dan
> im gettin sumthin odd under the sand 2
> hard 2 tell but sumthins makin heat i think its ppl?
> that or a steelix is waitin to pwn some1 lol

 

[Sami]

Johanna was already putting a boot back on as Danny, oh right, Daniel explained what he was doing. She had pulled the goggles down and they now hung loosely around her neck, revealing her pale green eyes. Really, anything that was high-tech was beyond Jo. Half the time she couldn't even get her Poke'tch or Poke'gear to work right for her, so whatever the Porygon-Z was up to with the laptop. As Johanna listened to Daniel talk, a twitch of annoyance hit her. Well that didn't sound condescending at all. So what if she wasn't out there as a fancy researcher? What's wrong with a little adventure? Oh, nevermind, she probably just took it the wrong way anyway. She had a habit of doing that, jumping to conclusions.

"You'd be correct. I'm here simply because I can be. It's something to do and it gets me out of the house. I'm visiting home for the week and boredom has been a killer. So why pass up a golden chance like this?" Jo had finished putting on both boots as she stood up. She held up her hands and moved them like a scale as she spoke, "Creepy castle floating in the sky versus Mom asking me to do dishes, it really wasn't a hard desicion." Her hand movements ended in a shrug as she walked over to Daniel and bent at the waist, looking over his shoulder. Her green eyes read the text as she straightened up and crossed her arms.

"Under the sand? Hey, Falchion." She looked over to the Skarmory as she left from behind Daniel and gestured to the ground. Metallic claws scratched and pushed away sand for quite a few minutes before a steel beak came down and one could hear the sound of metal on rock. "Huh. Wonder if there's some sort of underground passage below us..." Jo had squatted down beside Falchion as she swiped away some sand with a hand. The Skarmory tapped his beak against the rock some more. It didn't sound very hollow, then again, it could just be a thick layer of rock.

"So Daniel, think we should dig through this rock layer?"

Falchion let out a indigniant puff, folding his wings. He wasn't very fond of strangers, but Jo was Jo, and she seemed to be fond of making friends with whomever she could. Challenger was still as motionless as ever, but the mentioning of dig made him look over. Oh great. So now he was going to have to do another thing? Challenger was a lazy soul when he could be, so being little Mr. Helpful wasn't his idea of 'fun'.

 

[Sem]

With a partnership with this Gad Sylvanhart forged, the group set out towards the castle once more. From above they looked like the hive of a colony of Combee crawling across the sands, due to the uniqueness of the shield generated by Gad

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Well I'll say." Gad muttered, gazing into the tornado for a while "Definitely artificial. Something is in there and It looks to me like there's more than just Dragonites involved. But I like that idea of yours. With all these hyper beams and the sandstorm, though, whatever we dig would be clogged with sand in a matter of seconds. Unless... Tempest, get over here for a second, will you?"

The Ledian flitted down from wherever it was on the inside perimeter of the shield she was flying in and striked a military-style attention pose, complete with a salute. Her left eye flashed in an arthropod mimicry of a wink before she could not keep up the charade anymore and just rolled in the air in bemusement - illiciting a wry grin from the trainer. Always the hyper one...

"Do you suppose you could project a shielding field in a tunnel form to stabilize the dig enough for us to walk through?"

The Ledian paused, gazing at the trainer intently - a gaze which he returned for a few moments. Eventually both nodded at each other.

"She can, but it's risky - a sphere is easy to maintain, a running tunnel less so. It would weaken the longer it got and she would have to close it behind her as she goes. Meaning we're going to have to walk fast. James, can your Starmie hold some form of a shield around us while Tempest and Arafel get this tunnel going?"

 

[Sem]

"Sure." James nodded and looked towards Starmie who was stationary in the sand. Starmie responded with a flash of its gem, exerting more psychic force into its thin shield, making sure it can hold off any more Hyper Beams, making it safe for Gad and his partners to create the tunnel. Starmie gave a positive sigh to show that the shield was ready. James turned to Gad and gave another nod as an 'ok'.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Then let's get this show on the road." Gad replied, nodding back. "Alright then, Tempest, Arafel... get in position."

The two Pok

 

[Snapdragon]

"Let's look at this logically, Jo. Over there," Daniel raised a hand, waving it vaguely northwest, "we have something very big and very scary. Judging from Hazard's scans, whatever it is has managed to take care of a whole lot of somethings single-handedly. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess those somethings are trainers. An unreasonably powerful creature attacking trainers... and it doesn't seem to be moving from that spot. I think it's safe to assume that it's guarding something. Since there weren't any reports of anything unusual before that castle appeared in the sky, you can probably make your own inferences about what it's protecting. If we're going to reach that castle, we have to find our way around this little obstacle."

Hazard had remained silent, though he had dipped lower. The Porygon-Z was no longer levitating, instead lying on the sand with one cheek pressed into the ground. Penetrating a layer of rock wasn't easy, even for his sensors, and the damage he'd taken earlier was keeping him from running at optimal levels. He wasn't bothering to listen to Daniel; he knew from experience that Dan thought best when he talked it out, and that tended to mean stating stuff that was already painfully obvious. "If all those trainers couldn't take that thing out, the two of us won't be able to. We can't go through it. The sandstorm also gets worse the farther you go that way. We can't fly over it. Likewise, judging by the spread of the storm, the winds will be too severe for us to safely go around. We can therefore conclude that going under it is the only suitable course of action."

Which brought up another set of problems. The first was how to penetrate solid rock. Dart would be in no condition to break his way through, but Daniel was confident that either Hazard or another member of his team would be easily capable of doing so in their own way. If not, then it shouldn't be too difficult for one of Jo's Pokemon. That Lairon certainly seemed like a promising candidate, though he couldn't say for certain that it would be able to break through solid stone and maintain a Protect at the same time. There was also the matter of the sand. What was to stop it from simply flooding back into the hole they dug? Or the wind just blowing more into the hole behind them? Anybody who played in a sandbox as a child knew that getting a decent hole was next to impossible unless you were working with wet sand.

...Duh. "Hey, Hazard. Forget that for a second. What's the sand made out of?"

> lemme check
> quartz, silica, trace amounts of volcanic ash
> need moar detail?

"No, that's perfect." Daniel shut his laptop and returned it to his bag, idly brushing dust from his legs as he stood. He withdrew a pair of pokeballs and dropped them. The resulting bursts of red light revealed not the expected ground-types, but a Houndoom and a Slowking. The latter glanced at his surroundings, absently noting the newcomers, while the former immediately went crazy trying to bite the walls of the Lairon's Protect. "Ein... Water Pulse around the place where the rock is showing, then help me build up a crater." The Slowking nodded, ponderously shuffling over to where Falchion had uncovered some stone. He spat out a ring of water, reducing the fine sand to a soggy mess. Slowking and trainer alike then set themselves to sculpting up a wall around the stone, more than big enough in diameter to allow for a tunnel. Hazard seemed to take great amusement in seeing Daniel mucking around in filth, but seemed to be missing the point of it. Typical for Hazard, really.

"Okay, that'll do. Step back, Ein. Panzer! Leave the shield alone. A Flamethrower, if you please, directed at our lovely little wall." Once both Slowking and trainer were out of the way, the Houndoom slunk forward and vomited a spurt of flame over the sand. In the end, it had just the effect Daniel was hoping for; the sand had turned to glass, leaving a solid (albeit quite hot) barrier. That would keep their tunnel from being obstructed if they needed to exit again, as well as proving that it was quite possible to solidify the sand. "Now then... I have nothing currently suited to tunneling, Jo, so I'll leave that in your hands. Unless you have a better idea, I'll leave it up to Ein to strengthen the sand for us. Panzer can reinforce it further if that proves insufficient... provided you don't mind a little heat."

 

[Sami]

Painfully obvious was an understatement. Jo was bent at the waist, elbows propped on Challenger's back as she looked blankly at Daniel. Head cradled in her hands she let her mind trail off as she tuned most of what Daniel was saying out. His hair was kind of long, wonder if he never had any time to see a barber. Or maybe he liked it longer? It kind of matched the desert, being that heh, sandy-blonde color. Hah, sometimes she cracked herself up.

'I think it's safe to assume that it's guarding something...'

Vague expression remained as she slowly nodded, giving acknowledgement that she was still alive. Wonder why Hazard spoke like he did, text-wise on the Poke'tch. Granted it wasn't like he had much room to write on the things, but chat-speak? Come to think of it, when was the last time she saw a Porygon-Z? Probably briefly in battle or seeing someone else use it sometime. Huh, they were pretty cute when you got over the whole 'floating limbs and twitchy' behaviour. Porygon-2 were cuter though, they looked like those water birds that you'd find sitting idly on shelves at home, you know?

'..we can therefore conclude that going under is the only suitable course of action.'

Jo now found herself sitting on the Lairon as she blinked. Oh? He was done talking? Wow, this guy sure did talk alot. Hey cool, he was letting out some more of his Poke'mon. A Slowking and a Houndoom, rather spiffeh. Though, how were they going to be of assistance and what did what the sand was made of have to do with anything. Well, that wasn't good, his Houndoom didn't seem to take fondly to the Protect barrier. The Lairon she sat on gave the Houndoom a gruff sound of displeasure as he now had to put more effort into keeping the walls present.

As Daniel and the Slowking, Ein, made thier little mudwalls, Jo looked on with interest. Oh, well, that'd keep sand from flooding back into the hole when they tried to dig through. Her legs were crossed indian-style as she was watching when Panzer approached and released a Flamethrower. Both Falchion and Challenger took a good jump backwards when the fire erupted from the Houndoom's mouth. Being steel-types, it was only reasonable they'd dislike the fire. Seeing that the sand turned to glass after the fire was released, Johanna gave a light 'golf-clap'. "Oh, I see. Pretty slick thinking, Daniel. Whaddya' say, Challenger, feel like tunneling? Or would it be too much to also keep up Protect at the same time?" She looked down at the Lairon she was perched on.

Giving a grunt, he stood up, Jo barely moving as he moved towards the soggy sand and glass hole that Ein and Panzer had made. His Protect held as he walked over and onto the fragile glass. It cracked and shattered under the weight of the Lairon as his forelegs pressed against the rock. Challenger eyed Panzer before he turned his attention to scraping his metal claws against the rock, taking a few swipes before he got into a steady rhythm. Jo looked down as she watched him pushing away the stone by the claw full. "Want me to get offa' you or all you all good?" Using Challenger as a chair was nothing new to them so he stopped momentarily to show he didn't mind at all. "Alright then." She shrugged as she stayed seated.

It didn't take to long for the Lairon to half-disappear due to the rock. Jo was still sitting on him since she was curious. Falchion had taken it upon himself to move the pushed up rock from Challenger out of the area so he could push up more rock. He couldn't go too fast or else he'd lose his hold on the Protect. Plus, he was making sure to make the hole base rather wide, sometimes moving back to dig a bit underneath himself before moving his claws forward again. "Jeez, this rock is pretty thick." Jo commented as more minutes ticked by, part of the sitting Johanna having even dissappeard into the burrow.

Perhaps she spoke too soon. The Lairon stopped as one of his claws broke through to empty air. Having tried to keep his hole even, he soon realized his mistake as the now weakly thin ground beneath his feet was crumpling away. There was a futile attempt to backtrack before the ground broke way under his forepaws, the front of him falling forward and into the hole, taking Jo with him. She let out a sharp gasp as she dissappeared, taking yet another fall. Falchion gave a startled cry as he made a last moment grab for Jo that failed.

One could hear the loud, hollow rattling sound of heavy metal crashing into solid ground below and the not so loud, thump of the girl also hitting the ground. That was, however, followed by a rather loud line of swearing, proof to the people above the hole that she was, in fact, still alive.

 

[Snapdragon]

Rule number one of dangerous exploration: assign a scout, especially if you are carrying a laptop. Daniel and his Pokemon maintained a respectful distance as Challenger worked his magic on the rock. When the loud thud heralded their discovery of the underground chamber, it was met with mixed reactions. Daniel cringed. Panzer yelped and dove behind Daniel for cover. Ein stared for a second or two, then winced sympathetically; the intellect of a scientist had done nothing for his reflexes. Hazard... pinged Jo's Poketch with a "rofl ya pretty thick amirite?" The Porygon-Z followed down the hole moments later; being able to float was quite convenient for things like that. He drifted down to where Challenger and Jo had crashed, head bobbing as he let out feedback-esque squawks of laughter.

Moments later a high-pitched whine echoed from above as Panzer came scrabbling down, landing with surprising grace for such a skittish animal. Her first order of business was to retreat from the strange girl and her squat metal toad thing. She was a little too enthusiastic in backing up, however, and her posterior met the ornate stone wall quite soundly. Panzer barked and spat out another burst of flame, momentarily lighting up the carvings on the wall. A pity that Daniel missed it. He was still on the surface; until Ein had finished making a sufficiently long Grass Knot to act as a rope. After all, he hadn't discounted the possibility of needing to leave the same way they'd entered, and he doubted Varanus would be able to fly through a hole of that size. After the rope was secured around a particularly large boulder, he returned the Slowking to his pokeball, then finally climbed his way down.

Very little sunlight reached the chamber; the storm raging above did a pretty nice job of blocking out the light, narrow tunnel aside. Daniel could barely see the glint of Challenger's armor plating, and the bright yellow of Hazard's eyes was just visible. Panzer, being a dark type, had the keenest night vision; she wasn't too hindered by the dimness of the chamber. The moment Daniel's feet were on the ground, she was behind him, cringing and whining and headbutting the back of his leg. "Panzer, chill... Jo's on our side. Uh... Hazard? Some light would be peachy." And sure enough, after a brief moment, two flashlight beams illuminated the room, courtesy of Hazard's eyeballs. A little beep sounded from Daniel's poketch, which thankfully had a nifty light-up screen.

check it out dan im a luxray
lol
hay lookit the walls

Hazard swung around abruptly, eyes shining on the same wall that Panzer had lit up moments ago. This time, Jo's Poketch beeped as well. Hazard had deemed her cool enough to be in on his dazzling wit, apparently.

those look like togepy shells rite?
the shapes on them n stuf
i think we fell into a daycare
watch out for dittos

 

[Sami]

"Oh gee, don't worry about me, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Johanna muttered under her breath as she stood up, rubbing her tailbone, even though her everything hurt. Luckily, she didn't land on top or worse...under the Lairon, then she would've been a goner. Geez, what didn't she bruise when she fell? Even though it didn't seem like she fell a long distance, she didn't have anything to break her fall.

After Daniel had come down, Falchion followed, having to fold his wings as he jumped into the tunneled hole, spreading them out and landing with a the light tapping of his metal claws on the rocky floor. Challenger had managed to get himself back onto his stubby feet, shaking off the aftershock from clanging against the solid floor. He gave a grunt as he sighed, looking upwards to the bright hole above them that was pouring sand down into the underground tunnel.

As Johanna's Poke'tch beeped she looked down at the bright screen and snickered. Well at least one of the two had a sense of humor. Unlike Mr. Sensitive over there. Turning to her two steel companions she revealed two Poke'balls as she recalled both of them, drawing out a third and new Poke'ball. "Tazer, how about some more light?" She spoke as the red beam materialized to reveal a Magnemite.

The small steel orb of a Poke'mon buzzed swiftly and orbited Jo's head before complying to her request. The room obtained another nice glow of light as the large circle that was the Magnemites eye lit up much like Hazard's had done just a bit earlier. Though being an electric type, it did make a brighter glow than the Porygon-Z did because it was sort of it's specialty. Being bright...with electricity.

"Say, Daniel, think you can use your laptop again to figure out which way we should be heading?" Jo looked down both directions of the hall, each seeming to lead into more darkness. Taser perched itself on Johanna's shoulder, a bit crooked so its magnet limbs weren't smushing into her cheek or anything like that.

 

[Snapdragon]

Hazard didn't really have what you would call an expressive face; the same blank, painted-on stare was present when he was happy, upset, grossed out... you name it. The only time his face had ever really been animated was when he was still a Porygon 2. His last upgrade, apparently, hadn't included a program involving facial expressions. Nevertheless, Daniel had learned to recognize what irked Hazard and what cheered him. When Jo let out a Magnemite that easily outshone his eyes, he didn't even bother looking at his Poketch. He already knew there'd be a big "omfg HAX" written there. He wasn't too fond of being one-upped, especially when he was fully evolved and that Magnemite was very much not. Chances were, he could expect his partner to use Conversion in the near future, hoping that his Adaptability would boost his ability to shine. Which was stupid; they didn't need that much light, and Hazard had to conserve his energy for more useful pursuits.

"Oh, get over yourself, Hazard. Don't waste your stamina trying to be a bright shiny star. I'm going to need you in a second, anyway." Daniel rolled his eyes as he sat down, again pulling out his laptop. In true Daniel fashion, he utterly ignored what Jo had been saying to him; if she actually had something relevant to mention, he'd listen, but he honestly didn't see any reason why it would be necessary to her informing him that she wasn't hurt (obvious) and that he should use his laptop (also obvious). This was a very big discovery, after all; nobody had ever mentioned underground ruins with Togepi-shell marks on the walls being anywhere in the desert. Once he had hazard.exe booted up, he may as well have been on a different planet.

You know the drill, Hazard. Recording is a priority. Images of these murals especially -- I won't know for sure until we have the chance to do some carbon dating, but they could be a big step for anthropologists.
> k dan
> lets see a magnamit do this

While Hazard darted around the perimeter of the chamber, capturing images of the strange murals, Daniel was at work, too. He brought up the map they'd produced courtesy of Hazard's initial scan and carefully marked off their coordinates. In the event that the Society needed to send out a team on a more detailed expedition, they'd need to know how to get back here, after all. Panzer, who much preferred the dark, looked downright unsettled at all the glaring bright lights moving all over the place. She laid her snout on Daniel's shoulder with a whine. "Sorry, Panzer, but I'm going to need you watching our backs. No offense, Jo, but if one of those hostile Pokemon comes down here, I don't think a Magnemite alone would be enough to fend it off, and there may not be enough space for Falchion to maneuver. Hazard's going to have his hands full with research, so we can count him out for self-defense for the time being."

> hay dan im done takin pix
> lots of em have a big circle in the middel maybe its an egg
> its amzing how good condition these are in isnt it dan
> they arnt worn down or crumbled liek in most ruins
Strange, you'd think the sand would have eroded them. Maybe whatever buried also preserved them.
> or maybe they arent very old

> scnas complet dan
> *scans
> i think theres trainers down here
> im not sure but i got an energy reading like standard pokeballs emit
> neway the passages all seem to lead the same way as far as i can tell
> ill just take us the quickest way there k
Works for me, Hazard. I'm going to put the laptop away, but I won't shut it off. Keep recording and if you can, make a map as we go.
> sure

Again, Daniel closed his laptop and put it away, this time without bothering to power down. Hazard had learned how to kick his computer out of sleep mode and even turn it off remotely if need be; it'd proved to be quite the godsend in terms of battery life, even if it was a little tricky for Hazard. With his computer safe in his bag, he once again rose to his feet, this time stretching out. He'd missed out on trying to get the sand off of him last time, so he decided that a small break couldn't hurt. Just a couple minutes to try and tame his wind-tousled hair, get the sand out, and finally take off those stupid goggles. He got a laugh from Hazard when he did; there was a mock tan line around his eyes where the desert dust hadn't reached. He scrubbed a sleeve over his face in annoyance, then sighed at Hazard.

"Well... it's a matter of following him to wherever it is that we're going, then. Hazard leads, I go behind him, then you and your Magnemite. Your Skarmory can follow after that, and Panzer will guard our rears." That was Daniel asking, not telling, of course. Hazard leading was obvious, as was Panzer watching their backs. Falchion wouldn't be as useful in the dark as Panzer, but in the event of an attack he may be able to help. Provided the corridor wasn't too narrow. He followed behind Hazard simply because he understood the Porygon-Z's signals best. Even ancient abandoned ruins could be hostile, whether it be due to unstable ground, active traps, or wild Pokemon. The middle of the group was the safest place to be, especially if one was venturing into a hallway. Without bothering to wait for a response, he nodded to Hazard. The Porygon-Z drifted down a corridor, eerie eyes illuminating the space ahead, while Daniel followed at his tail. Panzer let out a high, nervous whine at her trainer's retreating back, eying Jo uneasily as she waited for the strange girl and her stranger Pokemon to fall in line.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

"Subtle, aren't they?" Yoshimitsu said with a smirk as he examined the murals. "Nice to know someone remembers us, even if it doesn't help us in the here and now."

The pair approached the end of the passage, which turned out to be a heavy, black metallic door. Yoshimitsu rested his hand on it. It was warm to touch. He took a step back, and examined the door. All over it were images, intricate patterns... or so he thought. A closer look showed that it was a story, told in images. Some of the images he recognised, for he had just seen them. Others, however, showed similar images but with different figures in them. One, he saw, had a cloaked in triumph over a samurai-esque individual. Another showed a seemingly regular boy, sprawled across the floor as a much more impressive and threatening individual stood over him, a twisted look on his face. Yoshimitsu frowned.
"Well that can't be right," he said, grabbing the handle of the door and pulling it, the door seeming to glide open, inviting them.

Yoshimitsu blinked repeatedly - the dazzling sunlight that greeted them was not what he expected. Once his eyes had adjusted, he looked out of the passage. In front of them was the Mirage Kingdom. He could see people walking past them, apparently oblivious to the massive, prominent door that had just opened. They passed by, not even glancing at the unlikely pair. Yoshimitsu looked at the people who passed them, relieved to see that they wore clothes like the rest of the world, not clothes that looked like they belonged in a museum. The Mirage Kingdom must have had some link to the outside world, even if it wasn't a detectable one.

"Looks like there's something stopping them from seeing us," Yoshimitsu said to Katie.
"Doesn't look like we'll have any trouble blending in though," Katie replied. Yoshimitsu could not miss the relief in her voice, which was a feeling he mirrored.
"Luckily," Yoshimitsu added in agreement. "I reckon we can just walk into the kingdom, just gotta try to not draw attention to ourselves."
"Agreed," Katie said. Yoshimitsu nodded, and stepped out into the warm sunlight.

The kingdom had changed since their last visit. For one, the security had apparently improved. Yoshimitsu counted at least six guards nearby, patrolling for any unusual activity. He made a mental note to stick to the shadows, and ducked into an alleyway to avoid detection. A quick jog, some fancy acrobatics and a deceptively long jump, and he was crouching on a rooftop with a good view of the kingdom. Security had definitely improved with a guard on every street, though he also noticed that they carried swords and such. Yoshimitsu glanced at his waist, glad to see that his sword had not been lost in the sandstorm. At least he could defend himself.

"Hmm... I hope Katie's alright around this place," he murmured to himself. Aipom jumped from one of Yoshimitsu's shoulders to the other, and looked down at the kingdom. Suddenly, he jumped and hit Yoshimitsu, pointing down at a nearby road. Yoshimitsu's eyes snapped to where Aipom was pointing, and saw a group of guards talking in angry voices, pointing at him.

"Well shit, looks like I've been caught," Yoshimitsu said. One of the guards aimed for him briefly with a bow, firing an arrow at him. The metal tip glinted in the sunlight. Yoshimitsu might have questioned the weapon had it not been on target. Aipom threw up a Reflect shield around them, slowing the arrow just enough for them to dodge. Yoshimitsu jumped from the roof he was on to the next, attracting the attention of even more guards. He grunted.
"Aipom, we can't keep getting more on our tail, no pun intended," he said, turning sharply on the spot and running in a different direction. "And we can't pick them off, someone's bound to notice a bunch of unconscious bodies all over the place."

Aipom began talking extremely quickly to Yoshimitsu, who nodded.
"If you're sure. If we get seperated, then I'll come find you, promise," Yoshimitsu said, hugging Aipom briefly. Then, he promptly jumped down to street level, pulling out his sword and facing down the guards.
"He's armed! Disarm and subdue him!" One of the guards yelled. Immediately, three of the guards advanced. Yoshimitsu's grip tightened on his sword, but he knew what would happen already. The guards flicked their weapons at him, two with whips, the third with a chain. The whips wrapped around his sword arm, and the guards yanked, loosening his grip on the sword. The chain flew at him, wrapping around his torso painfully. Finally, one of the guards approached him as he struggled, smashing a gloved hand into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

The last things he heard were Aipom yelling angrily, and a guard saying, "Put them in the same cell if that thing wont shut up!"

 

[Sami]

This guy...Johanna had little patience for people who blatantly ignored others. It was just downright rude! Watching as he ticked away at his computer, she crossed her arms and puffed a sigh. Tazer seemed a bit on edge, its eye looking back towards the Houndoom. It didn't know who would jump first, itself or the Houndoom, of course, if Panzer decided to get startled and start blaring blazes, it would prove more damaging to it and Falchion whereas a Thunder Wave wouldn't really do much to the Houndoom.

Feeling a chill against its metal shell, the Magnemite turned around, moving its spotlight eye around erradically. Did something just brush up against it? It moved its eye around more before a comforting hand patted the top of its head. "Relax, Taser." Jo looked to the anxious Steel-type as it closed its eye with a sigh, the light dissappearing for a minute before it opened its eye back up.

As Daniel told of his little parade order, Johanna shrugged as she looked to Falchion. The Skarmory gave a similar gesture with his shoulders and blades-for-wings. Jo walked alongside the metallic bird of prey as she had her hand running along the wall, feeling the etched grooves beneath her fingers. Light green eyes looked over the intricate designs that were illuminated by the Taser's eye. The rythmatic clicking of the Skarmory's metal claws against the solid, rock ground came to an arupt stop as the creature turned its head around, peering into the darkness. It felt like something that he couldn't see...was watching him. Or them, rather.

His odd behaviour earned him a glance from Jo who was still walking ahead. Staring at her blankly for a moment, he ruffled his steel wings and his claws ticked against the ground as he caught up before falling back into their rythm. Johanna was quiet, though it didn't take her too long to get bored and speak up.

"So, Daniel, where are you fr -"

Her words were cut off as a strong, very cold wind blew through the tunnel. It was soon followed by a strange, non-human sound. Was that...giggling? Falchion turned around as he lowered his body, wings tensed at the ready. Jo had to hold on to Taser, the Magnemite emitting a few worried noises that sounded like a cross between a computer humming and his name.

"Ghost Poke'mon?"

Johanna looked around as she felt the heel of her boot against the wall. Falchion stood to one side, she was looking forward, and Taser's eye illuminated the other direction, so...she was covered...right?

Wrong.

A pair of white and baby blue arms, shaped like Kimono sleeves reached out from the wall, chilly hands touching Johanna's back. With a startled yelp, Jo bolted forward and turned on her heel, shining the Magnemite eye-light upon the wall. One could the white and indigo face of a Froslass just briefly before it dissappeared with another chilly giggle.

 

[Snapdragon]

Ugh. What did this girl think she was doing, smearing her grubby, unwashed hands all over the walls like that? You'd think she were taking a stroll through a fairground fun-house, not navigating ancient ruins. Still... Daniel should have known better than to expect an ordinary trainer to have the sense to respect a discovery like this. Daniel had come to notice one thing about trainers and their philosophy: if they couldn't gain a badge or a new Pokemon from it, then it wasn't worth paying any mind to. Even so... you'd think all those movies with touch-activated traps would have at least done something to convince Jo that touching things more than necessary might not be the best course of action. Admittedly, Daniel didn't think they'd be dropping into a spike pit because she was touching carvings on the wall, but... ugh. He'd almost rather have a trap than have her accidentally ruin his find before he had the chance to properly report it.

Before he had much time to scold Jo, however, he became aware that something was amiss behind him. Jo started up some inane chatter that took a turn for the bizarre. "So, Daniel, where are you ghost Pokemon?" Not a very usual inquiry. Daniel glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Jo receiving a scare from a Froslass. An ice-type. In the single hottest place in Hoenn -- aside from Mt. Chimney, of course. One that required a stone to evolve, and was therefore extremely rare in the wild. Not that Daniel bothered to spare much thought on the logistics of that; Panzer had also spotted the Froslass.

It was like some invisible switch had been flicked. The Houndoom instantly jumped from cringing and whining to going completely bonkers. The moment she sighted a strange Pokemon, her quiet whimpers ramped up to frenzied barks. Panzer pounced, using Falchion's sturdy back as a springboard in her haste. Even so, she was a moment too late, and actually came closer to sideswiping Jo than touching the Froslass. Undeterred by the ghost vanishing, Panzer kept up her rampage. She'd been trained not to breathe fire in cramped spaces, and in spite of her panic, she thankfully adhered to that. One moment she was pawing wildly at the stone as if she could dig through it, then ramming her thin horns against it, then completely losing track of exactly who the bad guy was and jumping at Jo, jaws snapping as she attempted to take out the unsettling eye-light Magnemite on her shoulder.

"Panzer! Down! Sit, girl!" Daniel grabbed the Houndoom and all but dragged her away, one hand clamped over her muzzle and the other restraining her. "Ah--sorry, Panzer's a sharp watchdog, but she's always been jumpy--Panzer! That's my foot!" Hazard, who had drifted on ahead while the commotion was going on, finally floated back, emitting his peculiar squeals. He waved his arms in an attempt to get Daniel's attention while his trainer struggled to subdue his panicking dog. When that failed, he opted for beeping Dan's Poketch a few times. Still no luck. Finally, his cellphone started buzzing -- whatever Hazard had to say, by god he was going to say it. He briefly thought about sending it to Jo instead, but reconsidered. He was still sore over her deciding his eyelights weren't good enough. Besides, she just had a crazy Houndoom jumping all over her, so she was probably a bit rattled.

"Ow! Panzer, will you just... ah! Shoot, my contact...!" Panzer's flailing tail plus Daniel's eyes turned out to be a very unpleasant mix. Worse than that, it was enough motivation to get him to let go of her; no sooner had his grip eased up than she took off sprinting down the corridor like a Zubat out of hell. For a moment, Daniel seemed entirely lost as to what his priority should be: his contact lens, his cellphone, or going after Panzer on a wild goose chase. When another burst of barking echoed down the hall, however, he decided that his Pokemon's safety was clearly the most important thing. Neglecting his lost lens, he scrambled after her, Hazard lighting the way. It wasn't far to go, but what he ended up finding was definitely, uh... far-out.

Panzer had found a door, presumably left ajar by whoever had used it last -- which could have been aeons ago. If it weren't for the bustling sounds of human activity, anyway. Sunlight was streaming into the dim passage, but Daniel wasn't too concerned with the fact the sandstorm seemed to have cleared up. No, he was more interested in the fact that the door opened into the middle of a city. A city full of people wearing ordinary clothes, which they would not be wearing if this was a long-lost civilization. But this... was not any town he'd ever seen in Hoenn. And... there were what looked to be soldiers or guards of some sort, bearing weapons like whips. That was also very strange. Panzer was cowering behind his legs, very much done with her thrashing, and Hazard... Hazard bore the same blank stare as ever, though he did think to switch his eye-lights off. "Uh... Jo...? I think you'd better come take a look at this!"

 

[Sem]

With Gad

 

[Yoshimitsu]

The first thing that Yoshimitsu noticed when he finally regained consciousness was that his wrists were sore. Very sore, actually. As though something had been clamped far too tight to them...
"Oh, right," he thought to himself. He forced his eyes open, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't about to see some torture scene from a bad movie. Luckily, it seemed that he was alone, apart from the soft sound of a small life-form's footsteps. He turned his head to see Aipom, pacing back and forth in front of the room's only exit - a heavy, iron door. It had, Yoshimitsu guessed, been locked from the outside. Of course it had, he was in prison, though it looked more like a dungeon. Maybe the people of the Mirage Kingdom weren't that up to date.

"Aipooomm!" Aipom cried, seeing that Yoshimitsu had finally awoken. The monkey pokemon jumped up to Yoshimitsu's shoulder and swung his tail at the chains holding him to the wall, smashing them to pieces. A perfect Brick Break attack. The cuffs were still intact, but at least Yoshimitsu wasn't suspended painfully. He fell to his knees, Aipom jumping from his shoulder and landing in front of him.
"Hey Aipom, two minutes in and we're already in trouble," he said. Aipom nodded, grinning slightly, though his eyes were full of concern. Yoshimitsu glanced to his waist. "Looks like they still have the sense to take my stuff. Did you see what they did with it?" Aipom nodded, then pointed at the door.

"Doesn't look like we're getting out the easy way, eh?" Yoshimitsu said, looking around him. The remains of his chains lay on the floor, while Aipom's lay intact nearby. Yoshimitsu frowned, then looked around the cell, seeing at least three more Aipoms just stood there, looking gormless.
"You used Double Team to break out?" Yoshimitsu asked, picking up the chain that used to be holding Aipom to the wall. Aipom nodded, looking very pleased with himself, as Yoshimitsu stood up and took a few steps forward. He started swinging the chain around, slowly at first, but picking up speed quickly. He swung it around himself, the chain threatening to smack him on more than one occasion, but somehow never managing to. He swung it round, attacking the door with it. Apart from a loud noise, however, the door remained unharmed. Yoshimitsu tried again a few times, but each time had the same effect.

"Nope, not getting out that way either," Yoshimitsu said, going to sit down by the wall. "And they took my Pokegear too, so I can't even phone for help... Maybe someone'll notice I'm gone, eh?"

Aipom sat next to Yoshimitsu. The pokemon could tell that Yoshimitsu felt helpless, something that did not happen very often. Aipom had actually tried a few times to escape, but each time, nothing had happened. Whatever attacks he used had just bounced off, he had tried to Double Team his way through but the clones never made it through the door, he had tried digging but he couldn't plough through the solid stone. The dungeon was completely impossible to break out of, it seemed. The only thing he'd noticed was the wall was ever so slightly weaker than the floor, but his attacks aimed at that barely scratched it.

Suddenly, Aipom jumped and started shouting at Yoshimitsu, running to the door.
"What is it?" Yoshimitsu said, standing up and following Aipom. Something had gotten the monkey excited. He'd only ever seen Aipom like this once before, when he and Charizard had returned from a short recon trip. "Wait... Don't tell me..."

At that precise moment, the wall exploded, sending chunks of stone flying everywhere. Aipom jumped up and threw up another protect shield. He was getting very good at them now. The rock merely bounced off the shield, landing harmlessly. Once the dust had settled, Yoshimitsu saw Charizard, a white glow just leaving his body.
"Charizard!" Yoshimitsu shouted in delight, running up to his pokemon and glomping him. Charizard lifted Yoshimitsu to his neck, where the trainer seated himself comfortable. "Man, am I glad to see you! C'mon Aipom, we're busting outta this place!" Aipom cried his name and hopped up to Yoshimitsu's shoulder and Charizard approached the door. His hands started glowing silver, and he plunged them into the walls around the door, ripping the metal and chunks of rock out, throwing them to the side. They were out. Just god knows how many guards and pokemon between them and the rest of Yoshimitsu's pokemon.

Yoshimitsu swung from Charizard's neck, and Aipom jumped to the floor, running down the corridor. Yoshimitsu gave chase, with Charizard following him.
"Charizard, protect the rear! Aipom's leading us to the rest of the gang," Yoshimitsu yelled over his shoulder, turning a corridor. He came face to face with no fewer than fifteen guards. Fifteen guards against an unarmed teenager, a monkey and a fire-breathing lizard. It was going to be close.

"Aipom! Thunder Waves!" Yoshimitsu yelled. The guards advanced on Yoshimitsu, but the teenager was far too quick. Though primarily he was a pokemon trainer, he kept himself in peak physical condition. The first guard, armed with a blunt mace, lunged at him, but Yoshimitsu sidestepped him, then jumped on to his back, throwing him off balance and staggering to the floor. Aipom jumped on to Yoshimitsu's shoulder, then kicked off and landed on a guard, sending static electricity into the guard's armour, paralyzing him. Charizard was firing off warning Flamethrowers. The guards were reluctant to come near him.
"We need a distraction! We can't just fight through these guards!" Yoshimitsu shouted. Charizard promptly obliged, coughing up a thick smoke that obscured vision. Yoshimitsu seized his chance, grabbed Aipom and ran. Behind him, he heard Charizard's thundering footsteps, and knew that the lizard was following.

"Which way, Aipom?" Yoshimitsu asked. Aipom pointed, directing Yoshimitsu in the right direction. Unfortunately, the right direction happened to be down another corridor with guards. Yoshimitsu ran at them, but jumped and kicked off the wall, kicking a guard in the head. He ducked and dodged around the next few, and Aipom knocked out the last one with a well-aimed Brick Break attack. Any they left, Charizard ploughed through. Down another corridor, and another... Yoshimitsu was getting pretty tired by this point. He'd have to get someone out to Refresh him soon. That could wait, though, and would have to for now.

"There!" Yoshimitsu said, relief spreading through him. Two guards were in between him and his weapon, his pokegear and his other pokemon. Two guards that were terrified of the dragon right behind Yoshimitsu. "Alright boys, you can just go, or I can get Charizard here to fry you."

The guards chose the former, dropping their weapons and running with their tails between their legs. Yoshimitsu grinned and snatched up his possesions, fixing his pokeballs and sword back to his belt, his pokegear around his neck again.
"Alright Charizard, Flare Blitz our way out!" Yoshimitsu shouted. Charizard took flight in the little space he had and shot at the front door of the prison. He was wrapped in a cloak of flames, spewing them from his mouth as he picked up more and more speed. Finally, he smashed into the doors, blowing them right off their hinges. Yoshimitsu ran after his pokemon, pulling Charizard's pokeball from his belt and recalling the fire type.

"Looks like we're lying low for a while, Aipom," he said, running into an alleyway as Aipom jumped to his shoulder.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"... Definitely no moon." the trainer muttered. "Not a space station either."

The world beyond the door seemed to be a blast from the past - unique architecture, the kind of which he has never seen anywhere in Hoenn - or anywhere in general. Standing in sharp contrast to that were the locals, who seemed to be dressed in casual, modern outfits. Some of them seemed to wear some kind of uniform and carry some interesting looking weapons - Guards, he figured. "Makes sense." he muttered "If they put us through all this crap just to get here, I assume they don't really want people from the outside world to find them. Still. If you ask me, if you project a huge frelling castle into the sky, you're ASKING to be found. Worst case of Bipolarity I've seen since the KCC."

Mari was staring off into the city, mesmerized by the sights. Tempest fluttered dangerously close to the edge, but not enough to go through - even she was sensible enough not to spontaneously appear in the middle of a completely foreign city. Arafel was the only one who did not stare into the portal - he was watching their backs. Even his keen senses of the desert were no use here - he was attacked by conflicting signals from all around - was this part of the desert or not? Even the Flygon could not tell.

"Alright... Here's the thing." Gad muttered, as he removed the goggles and cloak, shook the dust off of them and absorbed them into his Digital Storage Device. "I don't see too many Pok

 

[Sami]

This was not Johanna

 

[Sem]

"Openly attacking a defenseless girl?" James thought at the introduction of this new character. Well technically she wasn't defenseless, she effectively put one guard out of commission for a while, and then she had her vicious Skarmory defending her. But still, these guys were insane. James' mind went to work while the remaining guards were distracted. The plan was simple: get the last three out of the way.

The psychic-bubble faded and out flew Starmie, spinning through the air and landing on the ground mere feet from a guard. It rotated itself quickly so that it faced the man and unleashed a powerful burst of water. The guard was flung through the air and into a wall, making a nice crack and indent. He was out cold. Beedrill flew out to the second guard, the tip of one stinger glowed faintly purple. The stinger made a tiny pierce in the arm, enough for the weakened Toxic attack to get into the bloodstream. It was not enough to kill the man, but enough to make him feel terribly sick within seconds and double over.

By the time the third guard noticed his comrades were down James had already run up to him and jumped up, (in order to reach) located the artery in the mans neck and applied pressure, he crumpled to the ground. It was a trick James had learned from his cousin, he'd never actually had the chance to do it before.

"Well..." James said as he scanned the area. "That wasn't the original plan but its worked out better than my other would have." he walked towards the girl, stopping before the Skarmory. He feared it would used its beak and impale him through the face if he went too close to the girl. "Erm, thanks for the help." he said. She appeared to be no shorter than he was, she wore boots and a cloak, strange. "The name's James." he attempted a smile. "I'm guessing you're an "outsider" too?

 

[Sami]

Falchion watched with interest as not only this boy's Poke'mon knocked out the other guards, but the boy himself had taken out the final guard. With a...rather interesting technique. The Skarmory looked over his Beedrill and Starmie before he looked around at the damage that had been done. Well, for anyone who was seeking adventure, this could certainly fill their quota for it twice-over.

Johanna looked to the boy as she gave an appreciating smile in return. "Yeah, guess they aren't to friendly to newcomers." She sighed as she looked at her cloak. There were tears in it from the Salamence's teeth and now a nice, new hole from the arrow. Shrugging she removed the cloak and crammed it into her rather festive-green backpack, deciding to also put her goggles in while she was at it. She gave her shortly-cut deep, auburn hair a shake, the many vibrantly colored hairclips swaying but remaining in thier place.

Underneath the cloak was a form-fitting, half-sleeved black shirt. Smack on the chest of her shirt was a vibrant yellow smiley face. The shirt stopped just below her ribs, revealing her flat stomach as she wore a pair of tan khaki shorts, they were actually boys-styled shorts. You know the ones, with so many pockets you could lose all sorts of things in them? Yeah, those. Hanging down from the belt she wore was a pair of purple suspenders, though it wasn't hard to see why she had them, one side of her shorts falling dangerously low on her hip. Even though the suspenders weren't over her shoulders now, they would find their way there eventually. Her boots were a military-style that came up to the higher portion of her shin, though any thoughts about why she would have military-styled boots escaped those who saw them due to the purple shoelaces that they were laced with.

Johanna was about to give her name to the boy before she let out a startled yelp, the hand of the man whom she had crippled with her foot had closed around her ankle. Reacting on impulse, Jo tried to move backwards, towards James and Falchion though the man had a rather good grip. Nearly falling over once again, Falchion managed to come forward under Jo as she wrapped an arm around his neck for support. One good stomp and a threatening cry from the Skarmory was all that was needed to make the man on the ground flinch and withdraw his arm. Falchion looked pleased with himself as he gave another stomp near the mans hand, just to watch him recoil in fear before he noticed Jo was no longer around his neck. Looking behind him, he noticed she had walked over to the boy, James.

"I'm Johanna, but 'Jo' will do." Johanna turned around and stood next to James as she looked to Falchion. "Neh, Falchion, how about leaving these jerks a nice present if they try to follow?" Jo lifted a brow with a grin as the bird nodded, walking towards the two teenagers as he ushered everyone, including James' Poke'mon backwards with his wings. Turning around, he lifted himself off the ground with his wings and made a small circle over the men, one could see the glimmer as small, metallic things made their way to the ground. They landed not only inbetween the men, but a few also landed lightly on the men, which would make for a nasty little surprise when they tried to get up.

Spikes.

Once he was satisfied with the number he had let fall down from above, he landed in front of James as he eyed him down for a few moments. Well, this kid had spunk, Falchion would give him that. His Poke'mon weren't to shabby either. The Skarmory decided that if Jo seemed to get along, even though she tried to get along with everyone she came across, he would have to try and get along as well. "Well? Staring is rude, Falchion, say hello." Johanna gave the final push as the Skarmory made a rather unique bow to the boy, his wings spreading out as he did so. It was a quick, and rather half-assed bow as he instantly straightened up, finding his place standing inbetween James and Johanna.

"So, uh...what now?" Johanna looked to James as she watched the one still-concious guard hassle with the few spikes that had fallen on him, digging into his uniform as he tried to stand up to no avail, another spike poking him even through the rubber of his boot.