"So how's it going over there, Radic? Still only got three Pokémon?"

Radic rolled his eyes. "You know how it is with me. I'll find all six eventually."

"You sure? 'Cause you're lagging behind me pretty bad right now. I already got my six, and they're all awesome," Red had a tinge of sarcasm to his voice, but Radic could hear the underlying pride. While Red may have been very focused on winning battles and making his way through the Gym systems, and therefore predisposed to certain types of Pokémon, he could still become fiercely attached to them in his own way. It was just not as obvious as with some others.

They approached training in such different ways. He supposed everyone did to a degree, but years spent battling, traveling, and talking with Red had given him at least a respect for how he decided to do things. Radic was sure that Red must have respected his methods in return.

"Sir, are you getting a clear read?" Farnsworth was hovering over his shoulder. Radic's growing sensitivity to the Wave, thanks to his Lucario's training, had made it much easier to sense the presence of his Pokémon near him. Air movement and sounds could only tell him so much, and the Wave helped him visualize things more easily, although details were still somewhat lost to him. "The Wave and technology do not exactly mesh well..."

"I'm not actually using it right now, Farnsworth."

He felt Farnsworth's one intact ear brush by his own as he straightened in surprise. "Sir, you told me you would practice!"

"It's a video phone, Farnsworth, I don't think it'd work anyway."

"So yeah, how's that Wave thing working out for you?" Red asked, and Radic could feel Farnsworth's somewhat wounded pride near him. It had taken Radic a while to get used to reading emotions as well as someone's general outline and presence with the Wave. Radic turned back to the outline of the videophone.

"It's actually working out really well... I'm still not that good at it, but just being able to see shapes every now and then really helps a lot. If I keep at it, it might be like I can see again."

"That'd be awesome!" Red did sound genuinely excited, although there was an undercurrent of awkwardness. While it was a reality that they talked about to an extent, the history behind Radic's blindness was something that neither of them felt particularly inclined to visit. "It must make things so much easier."

"It does, at times. Farnsworth is always after me to practice more." Radic was smiling, and he heard Farnsworth huff near him, offended. "Definitely makes battles easier when you can see what's going on."

"Yeah, I bet. So what do you have with you, again? You got a Lucario, and...?"

"Yanni and Splotchy-" Radic shook his head. The names wouldn't mean anything to Red right now. "A Chatot and a Torterra."

"A starter, huh." He had that smirk in his voice. "You always were such a sucker for starters."

"Splotchy's kind of unique." Radic smiled back in response.

"All your Pokémon are 'unique', Radic." He could almost hear Red doing the airquotes. "'Crazy' is more like it."

"I know," Radic said with pride, and he heard Red sigh lightly. "What about you?"

"Kind of got a mix of old and new going on," Red said casually. "Got an Abomasnow that's really got some power behind it, can't really take a hit though, and a Bronzong that's-"

"A Bronzong?" Radic blinked, and he felt Farnsworth start hovering over him again at his flicker of surprise. "You raised a Bronzong?"

"Yeah, what? You don't think I can?" An actual note of indignation in his voice. He'd heard that fairly often, particularly when conversation turned to Ratty and why Red, an acclaimed master trainer, still kept a Raticate on his team.

"It's just... not your style." Radic gestured a bit vaguely. "You're usually more... upfront?"

"Greco definitely pulls his weight," Red said, still slightly defensive. "You'll see when we battle again."

"But we're not even. I only have three Pokémon," Radic pointed out, smiling slightly, and he heard Red laugh.

"So find three more! Then you can call me and we can finally get this Sinnoh battle tradition thing done. It's like you're putting it off." Red sounded amused, and his tone was light.

Radic was still smiling, and while the momentary spike of surprise in his aura was gone, Farnsworth was still nearby, his one paw resting on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll find them... I'm just taking my time for now."

"Enjoying the journey?" Red said, with a smile and a touch of false sarcasm.

Radic laughed, and he touched Farnsworth's paw on his shoulder. "You know me. I always do."

Radic was indeed enjoying his time in Sinnoh, even though he had yet to find the rest of his team. While he may have been three short, he was deeply attached to the three he had, and that was good enough for him. After all, he'd built his team in the same sporadic fashion in Johto and Hoenn, and he didn't see any reason for this time to be different. Besides, the Feeling that told him which Pokémon he should catch and train hadn't steered him wrong so far, and he trusted that it would kick in again when he found his missing three, wherever and whatever they were.

He wasn't surprised that Red had found his team already, as he'd always been quick about that sort of thing, and Radic was sure that when he faced him again in the future, he would probably lose. It didn't particularly bother him, as he'd come to accept it as the way things went. It had been some years since his original disastrous loss in Kanto after all, and over time battling had gradually grown less important to him, as did his failures. Instead he spent more time interacting and learning about his Pokémon, all of whom were rather unique in some way or another.

It was more about the Pokémon for him than success. It was what cost him his victory against Red in Kanto, some thought, and possibly kept costing him victories against Red whenever they faced each other. His teams weren't balanced, they didn't have the right moves or types, or some of the Pokémon he raised were just objectively weak or flawed. None of that really mattered to him. He'd rather have the Pokémon he trusted and loved by his side, and his stubborn devotion to them hadn't faltered in the least since he first set off with Accident so long ago.

Some things didn't change. Radic was sitting on Splotchy's back with Farnsworth by his side, Yanni on his shoulder, his older Pokémon safely in their Pokéballs in his bag slung across his shoulders, and they were walking through the Sinnoh countryside. The sun was shining brightly on his skin, the air smelled sweet and clear, Farnsworth was trying to coax him into using the Wave to look at their surroundings (using the Wave as much as Farnsworth said he should would probably give him a migraine), Yanni was singing a soft tune he'd heard somewhere before, and Splotchy was grumbling to herself.

All in all, a beautiful day to spend outside traveling with his Pokémon and exploring the vast new region. Someday he'd fight Red and lose, and the two would travel together for a time before separating, training, and meeting again to battle once more, when he would lose again. Someday a new region would be discovered, new Pokémon classified to encounter and catch and train and befriend, and he and Red would seal their Pokémon away and start the whole process over again, as always.

A neverending cycle, and even though Radic was getting older than most trainers he saw, even if the methods of battle were changing around him, his journey and Red's continued on their parallel tracks, as they always would. He'd come to look forward to the future with an optimism he'd once thought he'd lost, a possible consequence of his growing up somewhat, and while he may have repeated the same patterns over and over again, he found he didn't mind. They were his patterns after all, his way of doing things, his journey, and he wouldn't have traded it away for anything.

Farnsworth's paw whacked him in the face, startling him out of his reverie and causing Yanni to flutter off his shoulder, chirping wildly.

"Ow!" He clapped his hands to his face and felt Farnsworth again hovering over him, concern almost flooding him.

"Oh sir, I'm sorry! I thought you were listening! I told you to use your Wave and dodge my paw, but- I'm sorry, sir! Are you alright? Are you bleeding?"

Radic gingerly pulled one hand from his face, and he touched beneath his nose. "Maybe a little bit."

"I'm so sorry, sir! It was a mistake, I thought you would see it in time, were you not using the Wave like I told you to?"

Splotchy grumbled something, and Farnsworth's aura again got that tinge of wounded dignity.

"I'm not nagging! I'm concerned!"

Yanni landed on his hand, trilling at him in a questioning way, and Radic smiled although his face kind of ached.

He wouldn't trade this for the world.

Radic inspected the peculiar package. It was flat and seemed to be wrapped. He turned it over and felt the covering, then blinked.

"What are these? Leaves?"

"Sssect," Callima hissed in confirmation.

Radic didn't understand. What was the point? This didn't make any sense. Regardless, he wasn't scared of some harmless mail.

"Well," he announced, "we'll never figure this out until we take a look, right?" He carefully felt the leaves and began to peel them away, but immediately felt a warm paw grab his hand. He instantly recognized it as his Lucario's.

"Sir!--uh, ahem... sir," he explained, even his telepathic voice wavering, "... do you really believe you should endulge this mysterious contact? There are maniacs all over the city. Stalkers, even! Mayhap we should just ignore whoever this is and let them run off to be crazy somewhere else."

Radic refrained from rolling his eyes. "It's not that I don't appreciate the concern, Farnsworth," he said calmly, "but maniacs? We're not in the middle of a dangerous city here, you know. We're just in a rest house in the--"
"But what about the time that psycho tried to get all your personal informa--"
"You mean the man who simply wanted to know if I knew what time it was?"

Farnsworth fell silent and removed his paw. "Like I said, we'll never know until we look into it," Radic explained as he pulled away the leaves. He then closed his eyes and concentrated. Soon his mind's eye was filled with a flickering, bluish outline of the world around him. This was "hadou," also known as "the Wave," the aura pulses generated by everything and everyone on the planet. Soon the image of what he was holding in his hand became clear.

It was a letter, which made sense what with the package being flat and letter-shaped and all. The paper was particularly old and worn, covered in wrinkles. Radic tried to make out the words, but the mental picture he was getting simply wasn't clear enough. He sighed and handed the crumpled paper to his tiny, bespectacled Quagsire.

"Dipsy?" he asked, "could you take a look at this for me?"
"Quag," the Pokemon responded politely as he adjusted his glasses. He took the paper from his trainer and inspected it, smiling at the thought of his talents being put to good use. However, his face quickly shifted from happiness to concern the moment he got a good look at the note. The writing was very squiggly and lop-sided, as if the paper was moved around while it was written. The "ink" was bright orange, and resembled the natural "paint" from a Smeargle's tail. He squinted and tilted the paper, hoping to make a little more sense out of it all. Farnsworth gasped almost inaudibly, trying to hide his paranoia. He was certain that Dipsy was reading a death threat. A scary one. About chainsaws. Chainsaws made of flamethrowers.

Radic turned to see his Lucario cowering next to the window, his snout pressed firmly against the glass.

"Something the matter?" he asked.
"No! No... just... looking for any chainsaws..." Farnsworth replied, refusing to look away from the window.
"Right of course... the chainsaws," Radic vaguely annoyedly trailed off, "... so what does it say, Dipsy?"

The Quagsire looked up from the note.

" 'Quag Quag-sire...'"

Radic blinked. "What?" he asked.

" 'Quag Quag-sire,'" Dipsy repeated as he shrugged. That seemed to be all there was to the note.

Radic was quite shocked and alarmed, his world was turned upside down, his soul rocked to its very foundation!! ... until he realized he had no idea what Dipsy's response meant.

"I... don't get it, I guess," he said.

Farnsworth picked up the note and looked at it.

"No that's really what it says," he told Radic, "... 'Quag Quag-sire'.... literally, that's what it says."
"Someone wrote me a letter in PokéSpeak?"
"That looks to be the size of it, yeah."

Radic sighed. "Okay," he said, "so what does THAT mean?"

"Quag-ag si, quag quag-sire..." Dipsy calmly replied as he adjusted his frames again.

Radic blinked, then hesitated for a moment.

"'Bring them all?' What? That's what it says?"

Farnsworth went back to his self-appointed duty as a lookout for any chainsaw-wielding maniacs.

Radic thought it over. "Bring them all?" What could that possibly mean? Maybe the note was meant for someone else, someone who spoke fluent Crazy and was supposed to go off with the crazy who wrote it and have a nice old crazy time someplace. Somewhere crazy.

Radic began pondering how many times a person could think the word "crazy" to himself when Callima nudged his ankle. He looked at the old Parasect, who stared up at him with her big brown eyes.

"Parasssect para?"
"I... don't know," Radic said as he patted her mushroom.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do about this," he continued as he closed his eyes. He again used the Wave to look around the room, wondering if perhaps there was more to the package and it just wasn't handed to him.

"'Bring them all'..." he repeated to himself, "what does that even mean?"

He then shuddered, startled by what he saw in the room. All of his Pokemon had been gathering around him, concerned about this strange development. Chirin wrung her paws, while Poe shivered in fear. Gulliver and Rollo quietly discussed what they'd do to protect their trainer in case of an emergency. Accident pouted, hoping no mean guys showed up. Splotchy growled at the door, almost daring any stalkers to try to get past her... though in her case, she might have really just been mad at the door for no reason. She was an odd one, that Splotchy.

Looking around the room, Radic's heart warmed up. He realized that no matter what happened, his Pokemon would look out for him. For all their quirks, they genuinely cared about him and would help him if anything went wrong.

That's when it hit him.

"Wait," he said to himself, "bring them... all..." Radic looked around the room as he spoke to himself.

"That's it!" he spontaneously shouted.
"YAAAAGH!" Poe screamed, startled by the noise. He jumped up and tried to fly to safety, but slammed his head on the ceiling and crashed into the nearby bookcase, which then fell on him shortly after he fell to the floor. Radic ignored him.

"You!" he said to his four teams.

"Whoever this is wants me to bring you! All of you!"
"You! All of you! All of you!" Yanni mimicked as he landed on his trainer's shoulder.

"Sssect?" Callima asked, wondering if Radic was sure.
"But sir!" Farnsworth protested, "what about the--"
"There are NO chainsaws, man," Radic interrupted.

Farnsworth sputtered, still very nervous about this whole affair. He momentarily searched the air for an answer, then quickly turned back to Radic, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Well I guess it doesn't matter," the Lucario said, "I mean it's not like we know where we're supposed to go or anything!" Farnsworth knew he had him this time; no directions, no possibility of violent, terrifying, nightmarish maniacs! Radic hummed and scratched an itch behind his ear.

"Yeah... you have a point there," he said.

Farnsworth let out an obvious sigh of relief as he wiped some sweat from his brow. Good thing that's settled! Now he could go back to more important matters, like looking out for any meteors that might land on their house. It's better to be safe than--

*fwmp!*

"Oh, what's that?" Radic said to himself upon hearing the noise. Another flat, leaf-covered object popped through the mail slot. The trainer quickly picked it up and pulled the leaves off. Farnsworth let out a barely audible wimper.

"It's another note," Radic said, intrigued. His mind was so focused this time that he could actually make out the words on this one.

"'Oh, by the way,'" he read aloud, "'I forgot to mention, go to the Rescue Team National PokéSanctuary. There is a map on the back. SEE YOU THERE!' Ah! well then, that takes care of that. We'll leave tomorrow morning then, I guess. A Pokémon Sanctuary, you guys! It could be fun. Right, Farnsworth?"

Radic turned to find that unfortunately, Farnsworth had taken the liberty of passing out from nervous fright upon hearing the contents of the new letter.

In front of the sanctuary was a large bronze statue. It featured a Squirtle, Meganium, and Combusken, each adorned with neck scarves and holding up a peculiar badge.

"Hmm, intriguing," Dipsy said as he inspected the statue's plaque.

"Once long ago, a human awoke in a Pokémon village, and found that he had become a Pokémon as well.
Originally, the human and the Pokémon were afraid of this turn of events, as the village was suffering through unthinkable natural disasters.
The human decided to help rescue the Pokémon that had become lost amidst the chaos, and through triumphs and hardships, the human and the rescue teams became friends.

We must always remember that humans and Pokémon are partners, forever united in the fight to preserve the planet."

"Wooowwww," said Accident, his face lit up in childlike wonder, "... is... is that story true? Can a person turn into a Pokémon?"
"Hmph, certainly not!" snorted Dipsy as he turned away, "This is merely a fairy tale to teach children about teamwork! Why, it would be impossible for a human's body structure to reform itself into that of a Pokémon! Where would things like feathers or scales come from? How could such a being evolve? How would he or she have an elemental affiliation? I daresay the notion of such a transformation is simply absurd!"

Accident's face and shoulders fell simultaneously. He immediately began to rub his claws together and looked them over with clearly embarrassed eyes. "Oh..." he muttered disappointedly, "... I was just kinda hoping to show Radic how to be a Blastoise, is all...."

"We've seen some weird things," Radic said as he placed a hand on Accident's arm, "Maybe it could happen. And you know what? It would be fun." Radic wasn't really sure if such a thing was truly possible, but seeing the sparkle return to Accident's eyes was worth it.

"Yes! It would be fun!" he growled happily. And with that, the group passed through the archway.

The sheer enormity of the place struck them all at once. Tall trees loomed over the fresh-smelling grass, a gentle breeze occasionally coaxing a few of their leaves into the air. Dozens of different flowers dotted the terrain with a rainbow of colors like a pointilist painting. There were massive wooden structures decorated with carvings of various Pokémon, each connected by long ropeways. Small canals spiralled about the land as if to specifically provide transportation for waterfaring Pokémon. A flock of Taillow could be heard in a nearby tree as they chirped and chattered away at one another. Combee gently buzzed as they flitted from flower to flower to collect pollen. Despite the size of this area, it was clear that the sanctuary stretched far beyond what they could see. This place was so full of life that Radic had no trouble seeing everything around him.

"Oh! I get it! It's like a umm.... playground, right?" Accident guessed as he noticed the ropeways.
"You know..." Radic said as he looked around, "I think you might be right, Accident..."
"Really? Really? Oh yay! I guessed it! Oh oh I hope there's a slide! Slides are real fun I think!"

"My word!" Dipsy said as he examined one of the trees "Some of these trees must be hundreds of years old!"

Callima simply stood silently in awe as the others looked around. She smiled a little and her eyes teared up a bit.

"It's... beautiful..." she softly said to herself.

Accident followed Radic closely, as he didn't want to get lost. He eventually tugged on Radic's sleeve to get his attention. "Um, Radic?" he asked timidly, "where are we supposed to go? Do you know?"
"I was kind of wondering that myself," Radic hummed out loud as he glanced around in search of their mysterious host. After all, the note wasn't exactly specific. Radic didn't mind, however. This place was nice enough that he was actually interested in staying for a bit anyway.

"Hello!"
Radic jumped a little at the greeting... It wasn't a voice in the true sense of the word. Rather, it was a telepathic message, typical of many Pokémon. Accident glanced around nervously, hoping that nobody was thinking about hurting his trainer. The plates that protected his water cannons shifted a little, just in case of an emergency.

A rush of Aura washed over Radic, and he instantly knew where to look. Nearby in a small pond was a smiling, young Lapras. He was an undeniably cute little tyke, with big, black dot-like eyes and a smooth shell. A small fang stuck out of his mouth, and he had several Bulbasaur-like spots all over his body. To top it all off, he was even wearing a little red baseball cap, which was tilted to one side.

"Hehe, oh, sorry about that. Didn't mean to startle you," the Lapras said.
"Who are you?" Accident asked. He tried to sound brave, but the fact that he was shivering slightly behind his trainer probably gave him away.
"Oh, right!" the Lapras cheerfully replied, "My name's PK! You must be Radic and Accident, right? It's so nice to finally meet you! You see, I was supposed to meet you here. Follow me!"

And with that, the little Lapras swam down the watery path. Radic hesitated for a moment and turned around.

"Hey everyone!" he yelled back to his Pokémon, "follow this waterway! This is where we need to go!" He and Accident then turned back to follow the little Lapras.

"This place was turned into an official sanctuary a few years ago!" PK informed as they travelled, "But it's been around a lot longer than that. There are big stone Pokémon statues everywhere, like they were made from an ancient civilization, or something like that, y'know? They say a Pokémon named Cresselia watches over this place, generating good dreams for everyone here. Sort of a guardian angel, y'know?..."

Accident began to feel a little better. He wasn't entirely sure what the Lapras was talking about, but for some reason he felt a type of kinship with him. Had he met him before? He was pretty sure he hadn't, but he couldn't remember. But there was something about the way the Lapras talked that seemed... familiar, almost.

"Uh, M-Mr. PK?" he asked timidly.
"Yeah?" PK responded happily.
"Are we friends? Did we talk before?"
"Oh!" said PK, "Well, we've never met, if that's what you mean. Hehe, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends!"
"... Oh...." replied Accident, still somewhat confused.

Radic noticed that PK was leading them to a darker, more secluded part of the sanctuary. The group was now in a shadowy, heavily forested area, and it seemed that more than a few wild Pokémon were eying them warily. Accident could just barely make out a statue amidst the trees. Several waterways converged around it, forming a crescent-shaped pool. The statue looked as if it was a Pokémon, but he wasn't sure which one. It somewhat resembled a swan, but with crescent-like fins around its body.

"Hey, please wait!" Dipsy called from the distance.
"Oh, sorry PK, but can we stop for a moment?" Radic asked, "I want to wait for the others."
"No worries there!" PK said happily, "This is where I was supposed to lead you anyway! See that big statue of Cresselia? Just wait there. I think my friend will be here soon. I'll be back some time though! I'm real eager to chat with you, Radic! If you'll do me the honor, of course. See ya!"

The little Lapras turned around and swam back towards the sanctuary's entrance, passing by Accident.

"Oh yeah!" PK said, stopping himself. He looked back and smiled at Accident. "I'll meet up with you too, Accident! My dad's real happy about getting to see you again!"
"...?"

Several minutes passed with no sign of the host.
"Let's go back," Dipsy muttered.
"I'm sure whoever it is will be here soon," Callima tried to assure him.
"Well you're wrong," Dipsy pointedly replied. Callima just looked away; She wasn't going to let Dipsy's aloofness get in the way of the natural beauty of this place. She didn't care if nobody showed up at all. She wasn't as quick as she used to be, and she was enjoying the peaceful rest this place provided. The Taillow were chirping, leaves were falling here and there, and the faint call of some Chinchou could be heard in a nearby lake. Callima could even smell the berries and Sweet Honey that seemed to be all over this forest. It was so wonderful here that she was quickly lulled into light sleep.

*RUSTLERUSTLE*

"Uh?!" Callima's eyes snapped open. How long had she been napping? She and the others noticed a figure in the shadows as it clumsily made its way through the bushes. It awkwardly stepped towards the group, staring at them ominously... that is, until it caught the scent of the Sweet Honey. It took all of three seconds for the creature to rush over and lick the honey right off the bark. As it ate, Radic could get a clearer sense of what it looked like.. It was an odd beast; It appeared to be covered in shaggy straw, with a long, scraggly mane covered in leaves and twigs. Its eyes seemed large and reflective. All signs pointed to it being a Pokémon, and yet...

"Hey! You there!" Radic called out.
"Ludi?" the creature erked out as it cocked its head at the trainer.
"What th--so it's a Ludicolo then?" Callima wondered aloud.
"Don't be silly," asserted Dipsy, "This... thing doesn't have a Ludicolo's lilypad!"
"Are you gonna catch it, Radic?" Accident asked.

"I don't think it's a Pokémon..." Radic said as he stood up. He narrowed his eyes at the mysterious being.
It stared right back at him, hesitated, and charged on all fours.

Leaping over the flowers and shrubs with the gracefulness of a bent-up bicycle, the creature dashed over towards the trainer. It broke out of the shadows and into the bright sunlight and leapt, crashing right into Radic.

"BUDDYYYYYYY!!!!!!!"
"What?!"

This "creature" turned out to be nothing more than a human. A human that had clearly been playing in the dirt and moss for too long. She gave Radic an internal-organ-destroying hug and laughed heartily.

"OHHH IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!!" she exclaimed, dancing around like a certifiable idiot, "They all said you wouldn't show up but you know what?! YOU DID! Yes you definitely did! You're here! And that's awesome! And--OHHH! Accident! It's been like a million billion zillion years!!! You look great though!!"

Radic just stared silently.

"..."
".....??"
"..... WHO ARE YOU?!"
"!!!"

The girl looked stunned, but instantly became enthusiastic again. "Don'tcha remember me?! It's me!! KING!!"

"...K... King.... ?"

Radic thought back. It'd been almost what? Nine, ten years? He had met so many people and gone on so many journeys that the details had gotten fuzzy. He remembered some girl and her Magmar. He remembered Kitsune becoming very angry at the Magmar for some reason, and a battle that he lost. And a quest to find Kitsune and the Magmar after both had gotten lost. How did that even end, anyway? He couldn't remember.

But... is this what she always looked like? This girl before him was certainly odd. She was wearing muddy and worn modern clothes, but over them she had a kind of straw poncho. Her hair was dotted with leaves and sticks, and her glasses were a bit cracked. Even as she was talking to Radic, her focus would temporarily shift to any noise or movement in the forest, proving she was easily distracted. Radic squinted, trying to remember. When did he meet her, anyway? Didn't she know he was blind? Most people wouldn't tackle a blind person who was flanked by several protective Pokémon...

"Hey hey!" she interrupted his train of thought, "Is this place not a PARADISE?! HA YES! Isn't it??"
"Um... yes...." Radic decided to remain calm and get as much information as possible without demanding it, "It seems nice. Uh... who owns this place? Is this... yours?"
"Oh HAHA! THE POKéMON! Yes! This is THEIR DOMAIN! Ohhhhh don't worry though. There are a few people here. And like uhh... houses! And stuff, yeah. But no caretaker makes a move if the Pokémon don't allow it! Oh it's perfect! Yeahhh perfection yep! I knew you'd appreciate a place like this!"
"Uh... ok. But what is it, anyway?"
"A SANCTUARY! Yeah that's what it is! Isn't that awesome?? It is! Here you don't have to worry about..." her voice suddenly became grim and her eyes shifted around... "THOSE trainers..."

"... 'those'... trainers?"
"COMPETITIVE! Those competitive jerks!" she said angrily as she launched into a crazy rant, "You've seen that stuff, right? They just--I... remember back in the day? You walked around and saw a Pokémon and said 'hey I like that Pokémon let's form a partnership and make a story!' But now ohhhh nooo! Only OPTIMAL STATS are allowed! Psh, have you SEEN?? I know you must have.. Hundreds of hatched Pokémon, tossed out like garbage because they didn't have the right 'naaaaature,' whatever that is. More types are considered 'useless' now! Did you know that? People actually abandon Bug- and Fire-types all over the place! I've seen a bunch of abandoned eggs left all around here because people don't care! Oh! And now lots more species are considered 'useless!' Can you believe that? Like, you remember how Pidgeots were everywhere? Everyone liked Pidgeot! But now people think it can't do anything! So they neglect them! Whatever happened to using them just because you like them, huh?! What happened to that?? They even leave BLASTOISE behind! Blastoise!! Seriously!"

Accident whimpered a bit. People don't care about Blastoise anymore?
"Don't worry," Radic said as he petted Accident's hand, "you know I won't leave you behind."

"HEY!"
"Er?"
"... weren't you blind???"

Oh, so she did know. Or... did she?

"Um, yes..."
"Oh, good to see you got better then!"
"...... actually, I've been studying the Aura... or Wave, whichever you want to call it..."
"Right! Of course! Yeah ok, sure! I gotcha! Aura. Right, okie-dokie."

"... are you even paying attention?"
"..............HEY LET'S BATTLE!"

"Are you serious?" Radic groaned, "You brought me all the way out here, tell me about how peaceful it is, and now you want to battle?"
"Well err eeuuhhhh... YEAH! I mean, how else are we going to introduce part of the cast?!"
"The... cast?"
"Like uhh, you know! If this was a story, and people were readin' it, then yeah! Wouldn't a battle be the best way to introduce some characters?"

And here Radic thought he was going to get some peace and quiet...

"Are you sure you want to battle?" Radic tilted his head a bit curiously. "I mean... I don't have the best luck, exactly."

"No no, I remember, I remember, man!" King held his hand and pumped it up and down. "Some of the most amazing battles I've ever seen, I remember fighting with you! They were unique, you know? DIFFERENT! No Choice Bands, none of that! It's somethin' new, man! We have to do that again!"

Radic DID remember his last battle with King being unique, but also a bit traumatic for some of the Pokémon involved, if he recalled correctly. On the other hand, he was here, she was here, and he wasn't one to turn down a battle, even if he'd usually lose. And it HAD been a long time...

"Alright, I guess if you insist." Radic shrugged, then smiled. "Besides, it is a good way to greet old friends, and make new ones."

"THAT'S EXACTLY IT!" King whacked him hard on the shoulder in congratulations, nearly knocking him over. She sounded almost ecstatic. "People don't THINK like that anymore, you know that? Can you believe that? Missing out, I tell you! Completely missing out! They don't understand what really makes Pokémon special, what we're all here for! Life, man! It's all about life!"

"Heh, yeah..." Radic rubbed at his shoulder a bit. He hadn't been prepared for that at all.

"Okay, okay, okay, let's do this! Ooooooh, this is going to be so great!" He could see King's outline pumping her fist. "What do you think, should we just throw out first? Six against six, maybe? How many regions you been to, man? It's been years, hasn't it?"

"Uh... I think all of them, as far as I can remember." Radic shrugged again. "So I've got a lot of different Pokémon... well, maybe not a lot."

"That's great, that's great! And I know you've got to have something new! Not the same thing you see everywhere! How about, how about..." King tapped her chin thoughtfully. "How about we use two from each region? That adds up to six, doesn't it?"

Radic paused and counted. "Not quite... that's two short."

"You're right, hmmmm... then one from each region, maybe! And then two others we can choose! How about that?"

Radic nodded.. "Alright, that works for me." If anything, this was going to be interesting. Most of Radic's teams worked as set teams together... although, speaking of which...

"Double battle?" Radic asked.

"Hmm? OH MAN! I didn't even think of that!" King grabbed his hand again. "I haven't even seen you double battle yet! We HAVE to do that!"

"Okay, okay." Radic was getting a bit of a contact high from her, and couldn't help smiling in response. He hadn't met a trainer this enthusiastic since he first started in Sinnoh, when he was traveling with two newbie trainers that had just started their journeys. That had been refreshing... he'd been training so long, sometimes he forgot how magical the world looked to a newcomer.

Another reason to keep following his patterns with Red. In a way, they saw each new region with new eyes.

"Okay, you ready, Radic?" King was almost vibrating with energy. Radic had to agree with her; this was definitely going to be more interesting than usual. "Should we throw down at the same time?"

"Let me find the right Pokéballs..." Radic knelt and felt through his bag, sorting through the various orbs stored inside. Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Poké Balls, and the etchings along the side... the Wave helped a little, in that he could get a general "read" off of what Pokémon was inside, but the names written on each ball helped confirm it.

Accident, Callima, and Dipsy were already out and walking by his side... he probably should choose someone new.

"Do you mind if I have another Pokémon on the sidelines?" Radic looked up to see King holding two Pokéballs at the ready. She cocked her head at him.

"Why, you need one to help ya?"

"My Lucario helps me focus sometimes." Radic pulled out Farnsworth's ball. "Sometimes in battle he can help me focus more clearly on the Wave."

"Oh, no problem, man! If it helps, that's great!"

Farnsworth appeared in a rush of energy, shaking himself with a soft purring sound, then immediately began fussing over Radic.

"Sir, are you alright?" Farnsworth's voice pulsed in his head. "Have you been murdered yet?"

"No, I'm still alive." Radic rolled his eyes. "I'm going to battle, so I was hoping you'd help me out."

"Oh, of course, sir." A touch of that butler mentality for a moment, and replaced with nervous energy just as quickly. "Who's that over there... staring at me like that..."

"Mmm? That's King, old friend of mine." Radic felt through the rest of the balls in his bag.

"Radic, you are seriously one of a kind, man." He heard King approaching, and felt Farnsworth back away nervously. "Lucarios, you see them everywhere, but of course you'd have the best one of all! Look at him! That is something else, Radic, seriously... It is SO AWESOME to have someone on the same wavelength! Or... Wave length... Hi! I'm King!" She held her hand out to Farnsworth, who retreated further away.

"Sir, uh..."

"Say hi, Farnsworth, she's not dangerous." Radic found the two he was looking for. This would be an interesting combination, but he was hoping it'd work in his favor. He hadn't double battled in a while. "When I heard about the Wave, I went to one of the Assisted Pokémon Living places to see if I could learn how to use it... I met Farnsworth there, and I knew he had to come with me."

Radic reached out for Farnsworth's glowing outline, which spiked when he touched his furry shoulder. Farnsworth stopped retreating, although he didn't stop fidgeting, his one ear lowered.

"Ah... h-hello, miss."

King put her hands on her hips. "You see? This is what it's about, there's so much more to Pokémon than numbers! That's all anyone ever sees anymore, numbers numbers NUMBERS!" The manic tone in her voice was making Farnsworth nervous again, causing the Lucario to edge slightly behind Radic. "It's NOT numbers, THEY'RE not numbers, there's so much more to it, their lives and personalities and- and they're people, they're people just like we are, and you'd think even with the APL stuff set up that people would realize that you can't just throw Pokémon away when you don't want them, but noooooo it's just all about stats and moves and natures and numbers, NUMBERS!" King stomped her foot, and Farnsworth jumped in response. "They wouldn't even give Farns the time of day! They'd take one look at him and boot him right out the door!"

"I know." Radic smiled, although it was a bit sad. He looked towards Farnsworth's dim, darkened blue aura, a clear sign that he wasn't happy with the conversation. "I wouldn't trade him for anything. I know no other Lucario would be like mine."

"Sir, you don't have to say that...." Farnsworth said, a bit awkwardly.

"But man, we gotta talk! We have to talk after we battle, I HAVE to know what you've been doing! I bet you have SO many stories to tell! I can't even wait!" King flipped a ball into the air. "But first, let's get this battle going!"

"Alright, I think I'm ready." Farnsworth took a few steps behind Radic, and Radic took a deep breath and focused, closing his eyes to help see the Wave more clearly. It was so vital to be able to see what was going on during Battle, and it was difficult to keep his awareness of the Wave going for very long...

"Go, Rezna! Natalie!" Radic threw the balls out.

"Crush! Batesy! I'm counting on you!" Twin rushes of energy, and King laughed loudly. "Man, I never get tired of saying that!"

Radic tried to focus on the outlines in front of him.. Natalie gave barely any outline at all, being a Shedinja and thus barely being alive, but he could still... feel her, in an odd way. Then again, he and Natalie had always had a somewhat odd connection. Rezna the Piloswine's aura was calm and smooth as always, much like her snoring. Still asleep.

Finding out what King's Pokémon were was a bit more difficult. He felt Farnsworth's concern and nervousness behind him.

"Can you see them, sir?"

"A little..."

"A Crawdaunt and a Girafarig!" King called out, then paused. "Oh wait, did I spoil it? Sorry."

"No, it's alright." Radic waved in response. "I'm still working on it myself, it might have taken a while."

He could see Batesy the Girafarig's aura spiking high in pinks and yellows, nervous and unsure, and it was clopping back and forth waiting for an order. Crush, on the other hand, had a firm, even color, and was waiting for a command with a general pleased sort of feeling, as far as Radic could tell. Radic wasn't entirely certain, but he could have sworn that the crayfish-monster was even waving at Rezna and Natalie.

"I knew you wouldn't let me down, Radic!" King shouted, obviously pleased. "A Shedinja! You don't see a lot of those around, everyone can't let go of the 'one hitpoint' thing! No one looks past the numbers anymore!"

"I'll tell you how I met her later, if you want." Radic smiled. "But maybe we should actually get this started."

A pause, and then both yelled their attacks at the same time.

"Natalie, Protect! Rezna, Earthquake!"

"Crush, Night Slash! Batesy, use Attract!"

"Rig?" Batesy timidly asked.

"On the Piloswine! I don't think Shedinjas really HAVE a gender..."

Radic focused all his attention on the outlines in front of him. Natalie's shimmered slightly, then burst in a flare of blue light, a shield around her moments before the Crawdaunt rushed across the void to attack her. Its large claw hit with a resounding clang, bouncing off and sending the Crawdaunt skittering off to one side with a series of surprised bubbling sounds.

Rezna, meanwhile, had yet to move at all. Radic saw Batesy's outline hesitantly approach her, lowering its head to sniff at her curiously.

"Rig? Giraf?" it inquired shakily, yet Rezna didn't move or do anything. Radic sighed... was she asleep again? Did she hear him at all?

"Is your Piloswine asleep?"

"Probably. She does this a lot, don't worry-"

Rezna moved, just a fraction, raising her front stubby legs up into the air, and then slammed them down with sudden rocking force. The ground shook in an unexpected wave, sending the Girafarig stumbling back to try and regain footing, and the Crawdaunt flying into the air for a startled second. Natalie, to no surprise, floated undisturbed.

This was no good... Natalie was always a wild card, and with two Pokémon out that could potentially hit her, he couldn't take that chance. "Natalie, return!"

"Thought you'd do that," King said, a bit breathless from the sudden earthquake.

"She's always a risk." Radic put the ball back in his bag. "Okay, let's do something a bit differently... Splotchy, go!"

"Crush, Swords Dance! Batesy, Psychic!"

The blue outlines danced back near where King was standing, the Crawdaunt's dark-tinged aura spiking sharply into the air like blades as it pumped its claws. Batesy stepped back and forth a bit nervously again before finally bracing himself, head lowered and shaking a little. A bright light suddenly leapt off his head, sending a swirl of colors towards the still Piloswine as he backed away from her. The attack slammed directly into Rezna, exploding into several small flashes.

Rezna took the hit, stumbling backwards slightly, but she shook her head and snuffled, and returned to her previous position. In the meantime, with a flash of energy, Splotchy took the stage, her thick limbs stomping hard into the ground. The Torterra growled at her new opponents... Radic hoped he wouldn't regret this. She could be a little unpredictable, particularly when enraged by battle. The massive beast glared at the battlefield, at Batesy and Crush, at King, and at several inanimate objects.

"Splotchy, move in front of Rezna and use Razor Leaf! Rezna, Earthquake again!"

"Crush, Return the Torterra, and Batesy, Attract her!"

Three Pokémon leapt into motion, leaving Rezna, as before, in the same spot, possibly asleep again.

Splotchy braced herself, snarling as loudly as a plant turtle can snarl (which was pretty loud), practically daring Crush to take the first leap towards her. Despite the display, Crush's aura didn't falter in the least... still pleasant and even, cheery almost. Crush danced for a moment outside her reach, waiting for the best moment to strike, before pulling back and leaping up at her without warning. Right at that moment, Radic could feel the Crawdaunt's aura intensify; it was clearly channeling all its love and devotion for its trainer into the attack. Radic could sense the monster's natural territorial instinct, as if it was defending King with its life. Crush tackled Splotchy directly in the face, a harsh blow that sent her back on her hind legs, teetering for a second, before slamming back down with fierce rage in her eyes. She shook her back, a storm of leaves falling loose and slashing through the air without discrimination. Radic felt one brush his face, leaving a thin cut, and heard King make a startled noise.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just didn't think she'd be so angry! Your Pokés don't usually get this angry!"

Batesy, in the meantime, seemed terrified of even approaching Splotchy, who was still glaring daggers at the carefree Crawdaunt dancing a short distance away that withstood her barrage of leaves, and his timid tiptaps up to her caused her to whirl on him with just as much incoherent rage. Batesy retreated, cowering, and just when Splotchy's eyes seemed to soften somewhat...

Rezna's front legs hit the ground again, another shockwave going through and rocking the area. Batesy stumbled and fell in the aftermath, just barely getting back to his feet. He began to whimper. Energy was running low...

"Rezna, Avalanche! Splotchy, Synthesis!"

"Crush, take the Torterra out! Batesy, Psychic the Piloswine!"

For a moment, when action was to be taken, Splotchy hesitated. She stared at Batesy with a plainly confused expression for a moment, enough for Crush to take advantage and land a sharp blow to her side. Splotchy reeled back, again nearly losing her balance, before reluctantly hunkering down somewhat. Rage was emanating off her in waves, and it was obvious this wasn't what she WANTED to do, but she sat and allowed the trees on her back to begin to pick up sunlight, healing some of her wounds.

Rezna for once reacted somewhat quickly. She shook herself, oinking, ice crystals beginning to form on her fur and around her body. The ice continued to build upon itself, as though someone were pouring water on her that froze instantly. A shimmering, twirling helix of ice began to form above her, spiraling into the sky. Once high enough, the crystal strands suddenly shattered with a loud crash, and shards of glass and powder rained down from above. A far larger amount than one would have thought, but Pokémon had their share of bizarre powers. It would have taken a different form if they'd been near a mountain, but as it was...

The cavalcade of ice and snow came down hard, burying Crush and Splotchy in a huge fluff of snow. In the moments before it hit, Batesy hid his head and braced down again, focusing and trembling, and Rezna took another shuddering hit and a step backwards, faltering on her legs before slumping down flatter than usual. That was it for her....

Batesy didn't poke his head out of the snow either, and it was obvious by Crush and Splotchy's slow movements that they weren't going to be hanging on much longer.

Time to switch. Radic recalled Rezna, and heard King do the same to her Pokémon. Maybe it was time to bring back some of the old guard...

"You ready?"

"I'm ready."

"Go..."

"NOVA! RUBY!"

"Do it, Classtech! Izza-Nilty!"

In a fantastic burst of light, Nova the Raichu appeared, sparks flying off of his fur as he leapt onto the scene. He landed on his feet with a thud and grinned arrogantly behind his sunglasses. Next to him appeared Ruby the Persian, calmly laying in the battlefield. She rolled her eyes and groomed the back of her paw. Nova glanced at her angrily, motioning to the arena in front of them. The Persian muttered something under her breath, not even looking up from her grooming.

"RAI!" Nova growled, shocking her a bit.
"PERS!" Ruby snarled back at him.

Radic knew this was going to happen. It always did. Double battles would be a lot easier if some of his Pokémon actually got along...

"Ohhh NOVAAA!" King yelled out. She could hardly contain herself. She always thought Nova was the cutest Raichu ever and could hardly keep from rushing onto the field to give him a big old hug.

"Keckeckeckec!" Radic heard from the other side of the field. He tried to focus, and a bright, almost bouncing light formed in his mind. The form danced around, its head constantly looking around with giddy excitement. A few moments later, he could see a relatively large curly tail and spiked crest.

"Ah!" he said to Farnsworth "... it's a Kecleon!"
"Very good sir!" the Lucario replied, "that's correct!"

Classtech the Kecleon gleefully bounced around, performing handstands and tailstands and headstands and various other non-footstands as she giggled and sang. Radic was rather enjoying the little Pokémon's energy, but he suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Farnsworth?... Where's the other Pokémon?"
"I... I don't know!" he nervously stammered as he searched the sky, "I saw something fly up high, but I can't find it now! Ohh, this can't be good!"

The Lucario tried to grab his trainer by the shoulder just in case this unseen nightmare creature was planning on ambushing them, but Radic quickly brushed off his paw.

"Nova, Discharge! Ruby, stay clear and uh... try Night Slash! And both of you look out; something's watching you from above!"

Nova rubbed his stubby paws together and smiled. No way was anything making it out of his laser light show with all of its flesh still intact. He planted his tail tip into the dirt as his yellow cheeks crackled. His orange fur stood on end as he built up power.

... Ruby, however, had simply moved on to grooming her tail.

"Come on, Rubyyy," Radic asked the Persian, "you got to fight!"

... again, no response.

"RUBY, COME ON!"

... nothing.

Callima sighed. The dangers of working with feline Pokémon...

"Wait for it, Classy..." King said, simply letting the Kecleon bound all over the place, "you'll get your chance in just a bit."

Classtech jumped up to the disinterested Ruby. The giant cat's ears flicked, but she didn't pay the chameleon any mind. Classy inspected and poked the Persian's cream fur, but got no reaction.

"Yeah, keep it up!" King yelled, despite the fact that the Kecleon wasn't really doing anything useful.

"... Keep your cool and we can win this! Just like that Pokémon contest the other day!"

"... oh... no," Radic breathlessly said to himself. She didn't just say that Classy won a contest, did she?
"What, sir?" Farnsworth asked, "What's wrong?"

Ruby's head snapped around and she locked eyes with the carefree Kecleon. Classtech just happily smiled and hopped around.

"SSSSIIIAAANNNNN!!" Ruby screeched so loudly that everyone in the vicinity reflexively winced. The great cat instantaneously pounced on the small reptile, pinning Classy between her powerful forepaws. Ruby wasn't playing around; she had knocked down her opponent with such force that it slightly skinned part of Classy's back, and got dirt and grass stains on both of their hides. She quickly extended her claws and raised a paw, muscles tense, her eyes filled with hatred.
If Radic wanted her to attack, then she might as well cut this ugly little lizard in half to test her claws.

"PERR!" she screamed again, but Classtech simply giggled. The Kecleon quickly slid backwards, out of Ruby's reach. She danced around, a little too happy about the 'game' she was playing with the cat. Ruby tried to react, but Classtech was clearly much younger and in better shape. She frontflipped and bounced right off of the cat's head, knocking her face into the dirt. Landing behind Ruby, she posed dynamically and waved.

Nova was about to strike, but he couldn't help but snicker at Ruby's misfortune. He'd always hated that stuck-up brat and he always would. He almost felt bad for having to attack the little lizard.

Almost..

"Raaiii-CHUUU!" Nova yelled out. A burst of electricity filled the entire arena, striking nearby trees, rocks, and of course Ruby, causing debris and dirt to burst into the air all over the field. A stray spark even landed right at Radic's feet, causing Farnsworth to instantly scoop him up with what he had left of both arms to carry him to safety.

"PUT ME DOWN, JEEZ!" Radic protested.
"Hahaha! Good work Nova! Man, what power! What grace! What adorabl--AAAAGGHHHHHH!!!" she erked as she was very violently shocked, falling over in a smoking heap.

Classy tried to dodge the attack, but as with so many things in life, there was no dancing out of this. A rather large bolt knocked her off of her feet.

"Rairairai!" Nova laughed. What a pathetic little Pokémon! On the other hand, Nova already knew he was the most powerful creature on the planet, so it was only natural he'd knock out an opponent in one shot.

"Keckeckeckec!" a voice giggled from beyond the dust clouds.
"... chu?"

Classy sprang out from the fog, playfully bonking the Raichu on the head. Nova noticed that instead of the usual green, the Kecleon was now a bright yellow, with small, orange lightning bolt patterns covering her body. Nova furrowed his brow. Who did she think she was impressing with this foolishness?

Radic tilted his head. He could tell something was different, but wasn't quite sure what. This was a little more complex than what he was used to sensing.

"Oh! Sir, the Kecleon has gone from being a Normal-type to an Electric-type," Farnsworth helpfully pointed out.
"Correct," Dipsy added, "Kecleon's type changes to that of the last attack that hits it. They tend to change color to match their new typing as well. This ability is called 'Color Change,' appropriately enough."
"Oh, that's right..." Radic said to himself, remembering another friend of his with a Kecleon. He hoped they were alright, wherever they were...

"Excellent!" King yelled out as she dusted the last bit of soot off of her shoulder, "Now your Thunderbolt'll be stronger! Hit 'im with it! Yeah do that!"

Classtech jumped over to Nova, who was peering at her angrily. He puffed up what he had for a chest and motioned for her to hit him with her best shot as his ears twitched expectantly. Classy just stared at him and gave a cute little pout.

"C'mooonn what're ya waiiiting for?!"

The Kecleon turned around and jumped a few times.

"Kec cleon keckec leon!"
"Yes, yes I know, he's the cutest thing ever, but sometimes you got to do the right thing and try to shock an adorable fluffy mouse with 10,000 volts until it passes out from the pain. SO DO IT ALREADY!"
"cleeeeeee..."

Little did Classtech know that as she was sorting through this moral dilemma, Ruby was stalking her from a tall patch of grass. Her pupils contracted as she saw the perfect oppertunity to strike.

"What are you doing?! Stop! Fight, you goof!" King yelled as Classy gave a very confused Nova a big hug.

Ruby readied herself, pulling back.

"C'mon!"
"Cleeee!"

"SIIAAANN!" Ruby screeched as she dashed towards Classtech. The Kecleon spun around and tried to zap the Persian with Thunderbolt instead, but she was caught off-guard, and the bolt missed by a rather wide margin. Ruby pinned the lizard under her paws, this time ready do some major damage.

"Ruby! Stop!" Radic pleaded. He considered recalling her just so she wouldn't hurt the Kecleon too badly. He made a mental note to ask future opponents to never mention Pokémon Contests in front of Ruby. However, his concentration quickly broke when he heard a faint sound from above.

"rooooo..." a voice howled in the sky. Radic looked around, but still couldn't sense anything.
"Sir!" Farnsworth eeped, "there's something coming right towards us! Fast!"

The howling quickly crescendoed, and Radic wasn't sure what to do. He decided something had to stop Ruby from causing any permanent damage, but what?

As it turned out, Radic had the decision made for him.

"ERRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Ruby look out!"

"PERS!" Ruby yowled as a large figure dive-bombed her. In an instant, she was being carried off in the claws of a gray pterosaur with purple wings.

"It's an Aerodactyl!" Farnsworth pointed out.
"... so it would seem..." Radic said thoughtfully. It must have been told to use Fly while Ruby and Nova were arguing. Now that Aerodactyl was carrying Ruby high into the sky, where it was hard to even tell what was going on.

"Good work, Nilty!" King called out, "Now use Ice Fang!"
"Ruby, Slash!"

Ruby tried to react, but the force of the attack caused enough sharp pain that she could only flinch. Izza-Nilty happily panted like a playful dog, and quickly bit the cat's tail. Ice formed around the creature's fangs and quickly spread onto Ruby's fur. She yowled in pain, and tried to twist her body just enough to swipe at the pterosaur's face. The shiny collar the Aerodactyl wore around her neck clanged as Ruby continued to strike. Unfortunately for her, Aerodactyls were part Rock-type, and the vaguely stone-like properties of their skin rendered such attacks ineffective.

Radic thought for a moment before calling out. "Ruby! Use.. uh... THUNDER!"
"Oh man!" King said excitedly "she STILL knows that?! AWESOME!"

The cat's ears flattened against her skull as she hissed. Dark rain clouds formed in the sky above the flying monster as it acrobatically spun and twisted in mid-air.

"Nilty! Try another Ice Fang!"
"Ruby you have to use Thunder NOW!"

Izza-Nilty opened her giant mouth, ready to deliver another blow. Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning shot down from above. With a deafening crash, it struck Nilty's right wingfinger. "AEROOO!" she howled in both surprise and pain. She flapped her wings in a desperate attempt to stay airborne, but her right wing was partially stunned and could hardly move. In a matter of seconds, the pair spiralled towards the earth.

The noisy crash threw up even more dirt and dust, the two Pokémon now in a confused, injured heap. Nilty had to get back into the air; pterosaurs were not exactly graceful on land. At that moment, Radic noticed a small, crown-shaped, ringlike stone decorating the end of Nilty's tail. He recognized it as the "King's Rock," a type of mineral that somehow caused a Pokémon's attack to occasionally be sharp enough to induce flinching and wincing in the opponent. This must have been why Ruby was unable to attack after she was carried into the sky. He had to think fast, or it would happen all over again.

"Ruby.... SWITCHEROO! Nova, try a Focus Punch on the Kecleon!"
"Nilty, Fly again! Classy, use Substitute!"

The Aerodactyl quickly flapped her wings again, trying to lift off. She quickly rose a foot or so, and then... stopped. She flapped harder, but couldn't get any higher into the air.

"Dac?" she barked.

She looked back, trying to spot what the problem was. Her eyes widened as she saw that her tail was now tied to a rather heavy metal orb, making flight impossible. Nilty squeaked in panic and continued her escape attempts, but it was no use.

"Oh man... oh man SOOO BRILLIANT!" King yelled out, but Radic was focused on the task at hand.
"Ruby, Night Slash!"
"Oh right uhh... Nilty! Try Iron Head!"

The top of the pterosaur's head instantly became smooth and shiny, resembling a metallic helmet. She tried to headbutt the Persian, but the weight of the iron ball severely reduced her mobility. Ruby easily sidestepped the attack, and circling around her enemy, quickly found a chance to strike. She descended upon the Aerodactyl's back like an immoral samurai testing a new blade on a peasant, and quickly slashed into Nilty's side. Nilty shrieked in pain, and after a few defiant thrashes, fell over and fainted.

"No, Nilty! Oh I'm sorry, you poor little thing!" King called out worriedly. She quickly recalled her Pokémon into the Pokéball. Ruby remained in the same spot, but quickly had to sit down. She was breathing heavily and her forelegs were shaking a bit. Radic knew that while she wasn't very injured, she was simply not as young as she used to be, and was just more easily tired out.

"Ruby, ret--"
"PERRR!" Ruby protested. She was clearly more interested in battling now that she had something to prove.

Meanwhile, Nova had gathered enough strength. It was time for Focus Punch, a rather powerful attack. No way would the chameleon survive this move. Nova snickered as he imagined how impressed the Kecleon would be right before she was knocked out cold.

The Raichu jumped to his feet and ran with a huff, closing his eyes to maintain his focus. Classtech just stood there giggling, not particularly afraid of the oncoming attack.

"Ok Nova, NOW!"
"Do it, Classy!"

Classtech's whole body glowed with a green light. The light maintained her shape, but suddenly her body was able to leap out of the glowing form. The light died down, and in its place stood an unmoving, translucent copy of the Kecleon. Nova's fist smashed into the copy with great force, causing most of it to shatter.

"Come on, Nova! You can do it! Hyper Beam!"
"Classy, he's not going to let up! Ice Beam!"

"Raaaii--" Nova said, now too impatient to spend too much time charging up, several orbs of light circling around his body "CHUUUUU!"

The orbs converged into one blinding beam, aimed directly at his opponent. Classtech quickly kicked what was left of her substitute into the beam's path. It completely shattered, sending pieces flying through the air. The pieces quickly disintegrated into green, sparkling dust and flew off on the wind.

"Cleeee!" she laughed as she clapped and danced around. She easily powered up her icy attack, and breathed a concentrated cone of light, snow and ice flying from the attack. It struck Nova in the chest, causing a few ice crystals to form there. Nova knelt down and tried to steady himself with his right forepaw as he held his sunglasses in place with his left. He wheezed just a little. Like Ruby, he was getting older, and the energy he was expending on his attacks was tiring him out. Hyper Beam was notorious for forcing the user to rest for a moment afterwards, but for him it was going to take longer than usual.

"Nova!" Radic worriedly called out.
King just scratched her chin. It wasn't fair to let Classy continue like this against Nova. She was just so much younger and healthier. She just stood there quietly, knowing the Kecleon was too friendly to attack on her own.

Nova kept his head down, trying to catch his breath. He noticed a shadow approach him.

"Cleeeee!" he heard her ridiculous giggling. Suddenly, he felt something on his forehead. What the--was she scratching his head?

He instantly looked up and glared daggers at the annoying lizard, who proceeded to hop back and laugh.

"You can call him back if you want, Radic," King said, "He's not looking too good."
"Thank you..." Radic said, retreating the Raichu into his Pokéball. He was starting to wonder if maybe he should retire some of his older monsters.

"Ruby, are you sure you should--" he started as he pulled out Ruby's Pokéball as well.
"PER!" she angrily insisted, even though she was somewhat sore as well.
"Well, ok," he said, trying to think of who to send out next.

"Go, Crush! Hang in there, ok!" King yelled. Once again, the pleasant Crawdaunt appeared on the scene. He pumped his claws, trying to get his second wind, but it was obvious that he wasn't going to be active for long. King figured that despite his strength, Crush's current situation made the fight against Ruby a little more even. Now it was up to Radic to decide who to send out with the Persian...

Radic couldn't let her sit on the sidelines forever. This was going to be risky... but his battles with King had always been unusual after all. Surely this time wouldn't be the exception. He'd just have to play things a bit differently than he had up to this point...

"Sir, are you alright? Your aura..." Farnsworth's paw on his shoulder again, and Radic picked up the Pokéball he'd set down earlier. He threw it at the other glowing outlines in the field, calling out while he did so.

"Ruby, Thunder the Crawdaunt! Quickly!"

No announcement of what Pokémon he had thrown out. Ruby perhaps sensed the urgency in Radic's voice, and she forced herself up on trembling limbs. She was glaring at Crush with all her strength, and from her growl it was clear that it was going to be between the two of them.

Natalie's dim outline appeared back on the field near her, hovering as motionless as ever. King however wasn't taken off-guard, despite Radic's breaking of general protocol.

"Crush, Crabhammer her! Classy-"

Ruby's aura in the dark world of the Wave was beginning to glow white and yellow, growing bigger in flashing arcs as electricity began to build. Radic could just imagine the look on her face, how her fur would be standing on end, all details that were hard to make out in the shadowy world of the Wave. The clouds overhead were already thick and heavy, thus saving Ruby some of the preparation time the move would have normally required, and a rolling boom of thunder that typically came with the maneuver drowned out the rest of King's words.

Classtech, as a result, stared at Ruby with an innocent curiousity, doing nothing. Radic hadn't been planning on that exactly, but he wasn't going to complain.

A highpitched screech that made him wince as a bolt lanced down from the clouds above to strike Ruby's body, her aura lost for a moment in a bright flash of light. With her eyes glowing white and her fangs bared, Ruby sent the electricity directly at Crush. Radic could catch King's outline moving, calling out a quick warning to her Pokémon to move and get out of the way, and he tried valiantly to obey her directions. The arc of electricity tore through the earth, forked and vicious, and it managed to hit the Crawdaunt as he darted to one side. Crush fell back, his normally smooth aura now sparking with yellow and white, and he stumbled to the ground.

"Crush, you okay?" King was at his side, and he could see the flash of red energy as she recalled him. "Good work, buddy, return."

"Sorry about that, but..." Radic called over to her, and King waved a hand back.

"Nah, it's okay! Battles are more interesting when you don't follow the rules exactly, you know? You gotta adapt!"

Classtech, in the meantime, was hopping up and down, apparently not too upset by her teammate's misfortune, and Ruby was glaring daggers in her direction, still growling deep in her throat. If something didn't come between them, this could get ugly. Radic did a mental count... he'd already sent out Rezna, Splotchy, Nova, and Natalie... he didn't have too many options left. King was still up one Pokémon to his, and Ruby, Splotchy, and Nova were exhausted. It looked as though his luck wouldn't be changing today, although he couldn't say he was exactly surprised.

Besides, it felt nice to battle someone who had some different Pokémon for once.

"Fatty, go!"

A rush of light and energy, and the familiar sound of a Pokéball opening and closing. A vague, small shape now stood on the field, round with pointed ears.

"Um..." Radic tried to focus, but he couldn't remember any Pokémon that looked like that.

"Sir, it's a Munchlax," Farnsworth whispered to him.

"Oh, right." Radic nodded. "I haven't seen many of those!" he called over to her. He could see King's aura brighten.

"I got him in a trade!" King sounded happy... obviously the Munchlax was important to her. "He's great! You've got to talk to him later!"

"I definitely will.." They still had lots of Pokémon to meet and talk about after all, and probably a lot of catching up to do. But for the moment... "But I guess we should probably finish the battle first."

"Oh yeah, that's right! Okay, Fatty, Metronome! Classy, Shadow Ball the Shedinja!"

Radic had been hoping the Kecleon wouldn't have anything that would hit her, but there was never a guarantee. If it hadn't been Ruby out with her, he would have tried to have Natalie's partner take the hit for her to buy her some time, but he knew Ruby better than to even ask her to do something like that. The risk that came with sending her out in a double battle didn't just come from her opponents, but if he got lucky...

"Natalie, Confuse Ray the Kecleon, and Ruby, Slash the Munchlax!"

Fatty and Classtech seemed to be kindred spirits in that they both weren't taking the battle very seriously. Classtech was busy hopping around in front of Natalie, looking at her curiously and poking her to try and prompt a reaction. Natalie of course didn't react to any of it, simply floating serenely. Radic was getting a vague read off of the Munchlax's aura, although it seemed to indicate... hunger more than anything else. Well, from his experience with Red's Snorlax, that didn't really seem unusual.

Ruby, however, was not in the mood to play. Her fur was still ruffled and on edge from her previous electrical attack, static sparking when she moved, and she was breathing hard. Radic would have called her back, but he knew her well enough to know that she was in the mood to fight until she dropped. She could really be too stubborn for her own good and when she wanted something, she usually got it. Radic had always been something of a pushover when his Pokémon were involved.

"Sir, shouldn't you switch...?" Farnsworth was hovering around his shoulder.

"It's true that Shadow Ball won't be good for Natalie..." Dipsy said, and there was an element of discomfort in his voice. He'd never really... liked Natalie, exactly. Most of Radic's Pokémon didn't, as she creeped them out. "But..."

Accident made a concerned noise.

Natalie barely moved, shifting slightly from side to side, and then a sharp, bright flash nearly blinded Radic's mental eye. Classtech made a sharp squeaking sound, then stumbled backwards, looping unsteadily in circles.

"Look, her colors are changing!" Accident said. "They aren't stopping! It's like a rainbow..."

"It must be because she's confused..." Dipsy said. "Maybe she's lost control of her color temporarily?"

Classtech tried to focus on her move, dark energy forming in front of her glowing outline, and then it seemed to... combust, knocking her back. Radic clenched a fist. Natalie stayed in a little longer! And with Classtech using Substitute, as well as being hit by Nova's Thunderbolt and her own attack, she couldn't last much longer...

Again, this was a game of chance, but that was usually the case with Natalie. He just had to hope that this time she'd work in his favor.

Ruby apparently didn't seem concerned at all that her opponent was a baby Pokémon, and came barreling towards the Munchlax with something close to a roar in her throat. Fatty didn't seem to entirely expect that much ferocity, and ducked close to the ground. Ruby overshot him, apparently not prepared for how small the Pokémon was, but whipped around quickly to lash out with one paw. The Munchlax was sent rolling some distance, kicking up dust with a distressed "Muuuuuunch!"

"Fatty, hang in there! Come on!" King was starting to get into things too... Radic loved this part of the battle. This was where real trainers showed their strength... if they began to take their frustration out on their Pokémon, yell or taunt their opponent, value winning or losing over the experience or the Pokémon...

The Munchlax pushed himself back up off the ground, shaking his head, and then held up one stubby arm. A tick-tock movement back and forth, and Radic braced himself. This could be anything, and anything was not good for Natalie.

Radic watched carefully, straining his knowledge of the Wave as best he could, and he saw Fatty's aura glow a solid blue, then start giving off soft pulsing waves. That didn't... seem overtly hostile.

"What move is that?" Accident sounded confused, and Radic had to admit he felt the same.

"I don't know... I've never really seen that before."

"I... don't think I have either." King scratched her head. "HEY, do you still have a Pokédex? Maybe that could tell us!"

"I... I might. Hold on." Radic hadn't thought about his Pokédex in years. He'd gotten a new one in each region, but had mostly stuck to using his old Kanto one out of familiarity. He dug around in his bag for a few moments, while Farnsworth beside him gave off small, thoughtful pulses.

"That... looks... I'm not sure, but... hmm."

"Do you know it?"

"I know what it did... Ruby's aura has been slightly altered... I think she may have had her mind muddled somewhat."

"Lowered accuracy, probably..." There, he found it. He hoped the batteries still worked... he flipped it open and pointed it at the Munchlax.

"Man, I haven't seen one of those in years! I love the old-school tech!" King said.

The Pokédex chirped in some garbled language at first, prompting Radic to smack it a few times to try and knock something back into place. Finally the words began to become intelligible. Thankfully most Pokédex information was verbal... Radic did not have the easiest time reading much of... anything, really.

"...lowers the opponent's accuracy by one degree. Signature move associated with Abra and Kadabra."

"What is it called?" These things were voice activated, weren't they? "Could you repeat that?"

"Kinesis. A non-damaging Psychic move. The user distracts the foe by bending a spoon. It lowers the opponent's accuracy by one degree. Signature move associated with-"

Radic shut the Pokédex. King was jumping up and down on the other side of the field, pumping her fist. Fatty watched her do this for a few seconds before echoing her, obviously just as excited.

"Oh wow, I heard about Kinesis! No one ever sees it, 'cause most Kadabras don't have it! That's so cool, Fatty! That's amazing!"

"Yeah, I've never seen it either." Radic couldn't help but feel a bit accomplished himself. A lot of trainers never saw that move! Well, as much as Radic could see things. "That IS pretty neat."

"Munch munch." Fatty seemed rather pleased that everyone was praising him, and definitely happy that his trainer was happy. At least it hadn't been something that would take Natalie off the field...

"Alright," Radic clenched a fist in the traditional way. "Ruby, Slash the Munchlax, and Natalie, X-Scissor the Kecleon! Ruby, try and stay in front of Natalie!" With Ruby's willful nature, it was unlikely that she'd do much of anything to protect or help her teammate, but it was worth a try..

"Fatty, Body Slam the Persian, Classtech, Shadow Ball the Shedinja!"

Ruby was still exhausted, but determined not to go down until forced. She stalked her way to the Munchlax, who backed away from her, as if preparing for an attack...

Then instead, waved his arms back and forth again.

"Fatty! Not Metronome!"

Before anyone could utter another word, there was a bright, blinding flash and a huge explosion. Radic gasped and fell back, Farnsworth moving almost too quickly to see to jump in front of him and shield him from the blast with his body. Accident, Dispy, and Callima all made their own startled gasps, and Accident instinctually moved to do the same as Farnsworth, though naturally the speedier Lucario got there first. He heard King make a strangled kind of sound from the other side of the field.

Radic knew that sound and the devastating effects of the attack... it was either Explosion or Self-Destruct. After fighting Red's Golem RockyBalbo enough times, he'd gotten painfully familiar with it.

Eventually the dust cleared, and he tried to sit up. Farnsworth AND Accident were both on top of him. "Guys, guys, it's okay. Let me up."

"Sir, are you alright?"

Accident just made a distressed sound, apparently unable to put how he felt into words.

"I'm okay, but..."

Radic tried to access the Wave, although it was a bit shaky in the aftermath of the explosion. He could see King stumbling to her feet on the other side of the field, shaking off the effects. Three bodies lay on the field, all unconscious. Fatty, Classtech, and Ruby...

And Natalie floated serenely, completely unaffected.

"Are you okay?" Radic called, letting Farnsworth help him up. Once he was on his feet, Accident promptly swept him up in his arms. Radic grunted a bit at his tight grip, but let him hold him.

"I'm okay! I don't think our Pokés are though..." King scratched her head, and two beams of red light arced through the dark world of the Wave. "Well, except your Shedinja there!"

"Yeah... I should call her back." Radic struggled to get an arm free from Accident's grip. "That'll leave us one on one, won't it?"

A moment to count. "Yeah, I think so. That'll work for me!"

Radic looked around the clearing they'd been battling in, noting some of the leveled trees. The relative peace and tranquility of the place had been a bit... upset by the violent explosion that had just occurred. "You don't think... the people who own this place are going to be angry about this, are you?"

"Naaaaaaah." King waved a hand. "I bet they get this aaaall the time. If there are any Electrodes around here, it's got to happen like once a day."

"Accident, let me down, okay?" Radic said gently. "Let me finish this, then we can all go eat something together, alright?"

Accident hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly let Radic down. "Okay."

"It's alright, Accident." He could hear Callima beside him. Accident made an unhappy sound... of all of Radic's Pokémon, he'd probably endured the most Explosion attacks, most of them directly in his face. A little anxiety related to it wasn't unreasonable, and Accident could be somewhat sensitive. Radic made a mental note to get him something nice to eat later.

"That was a bit unexpected though, I have to say..." Dipsy somewhere behind him... maybe searching for his glasses. "That's Metronome for you."

Radic brushed himself off, distractedly waving Farnsworth off who was already trying to fuss over him, and he picked up his final chosen Pokéball.

"You ready?"

"Yup!" King flipped the Pokéball into the air. Man, Radic missed the days he used to be able to do that. She threw hers, and he threw his.

"Kitsune!"

"'Lamper!"

And there was a somewhat awkward silence from both of them as their Pokémon coalesced on the field.

"Uh, you want to..." King said, gesturing vaguely at them, and Radic was going to reply, but by then...

Kitsune took shape on the field, tails leisurely moving in waves behind her, eyes narrowed and her aura moving in lazy red curls, spiked through with the occasional black of joyful malice. Expecting another battle where she could ridicule her enemy without consequence, as usual.

LavaLamper took form on the other side, a flare of bright red and yellow in the world of the Wave like a flame that mellowed down into a soft morass of red, orange, and brown. One area around his eye was darker than the other.

Radic had never really seen 'Lamper, just heard him, but his mental image matched what the Wave showed him now fairly clearly.

"Kitsune-" Radic reached a hand out to her, and King on the other side mirrored him.

"'Lamper, uh-"

"I hope this one's more interesting than the others." Kitsune hadn't even bothered to look at her opponent yet, lying down calmly with her tails waving back and forth. "At least there's no shortage of stupid-looking Pokémon in this region."

"We battlin' someone?" 'Lamper looked to his trainer, who was waving a hand near her throat in a "shh!" motion. "Didn't think we'd find any trainers who'd want to hang out in a boring place like this! HA!"

That same sharp, piercing laugh. Kitsune froze, and 'Lamper turned with a lazy shrug to see his opponent. "So, who we got toda-"

And 'Lamper froze.

For a moment no one moved, the Ninetales and the Magmar staring at each other, their trainers not sure whether or not they should intervene, years of history all of a sudden coming back rather sharply for everyone involved.

"Uh oh," Callima said.

The Magmar gave out a barely audible cough, staring in silence. He looked quite different from the last time he encountered Kitsune. His coloration no longer a glowing red and yellow, it had long since faded into more muted tones, almost as if he'd just stepped out of Radic's ancient Pokédex screen. His bandanna no longer hid his bad eye, but instead was tied around his tail. However, most of his scars seemed to have healed, and he seemed to be in a lot better shape than before.

He couldn't move, frozen in shock over seeing Kitsune again. So much had happened to them...

... they picked a fight with one another shortly after they first met...
... they tried to destroy each other in their first battle...
... they got lost in the woods and had to find their trainers again...

... wait, how did that turn out, anyway? It was almost as if that adventure never reached a proper conclusion...

Yet despite this, it looked like he was smiling. Not an evil or malicious grin, but a genuinely warm, happy smile. He laughed a little.

"... Kitsune?" he said quietly.

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. Radic was watching Kitsune's aura carefully... it had flared in surprise when she'd seen him, and now had tamped down into a black solid mass. The careful repression of her emotions, and one of her two basic moods, the other being carefree malice. If she was just going to lock up, that wouldn't be so bad-

Kitsune's aura suddenly flared bright red like a sunspot.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!" Kitsune screeched as she leapt to her feet, darting across the field quicker than the eye could see to collide violently with the Magmar's skull. She instantly began to slap him in the face repeatedly with her front paws.

"KITSUNE!" Radic called out. He was afraid of this fight escalating just like before, and it was already looking grim. He'd seen that shade in her aura before, and it wasn't common or good. Kitsune went through a lot of hardship in the years after that battle, and he simply didn't want to see her get hurt any more.

"Sir! SIR!" Farnsworth erked as he waved his arm about, "This looks like trouble!"
"I know, I know," Radic said, reaching for the Pokéball. Maybe it'd be ok to just call it a draw...
"SIR! PLEASE HURRY!" Farnsworth yelled. Unfortunately, his flailing accidentally knocked the ball from Radic's hand. It quickly fell and rolled into some nearby bushes.

"Oh!" the Lucario yelped, "I'm so sorry! Oh this is awful!"
Radic gritted his teeth a bit. Without that ball, he couldn't recall Kitsune. "Callima? Dipsy? I need that Pokéball back, and quick," he said as he motioned to his Pokémon. The two monsters made noises of recognition and quickly disappeared into the bushes.

"PLEASE STOP SLAPPING THE MAGMAR. I DO NOT THINK HE ENJOYS IT," King yelled as she helplessly watched Kitsune's constant barrage.
"INDEED HE DOES NOT!" 'Lamper said as he tried to use his arms to shield his face. Kitsune responded by biting his hand.

"AAAAGH QUIT IT!" the Magmar growled as he kicked her off.

Radic wasn't sure what to do. He tried to think of a way to calm Kitsune down, but he knew it would be an uphill battle, as she rarely listened to him even when her emotions were in check. In her current state she was practically uncontrollable. She was crouched down low near him, snarling loudly and the bright red was jagging sharply into the air around her. Occasionally tendrils of it reached out for 'Lamper like her aura itself wanted to harm him. This wasn't good, and he could hear Farnsworth fretting quietly near him. No doubt being more sensitive to the Wave, he could feel her emotions more clearly.

"'Lamper, try Flamethrower!" King suggested.
"Hmm, might as well," the Magmar said to himself. He fired up his internal furnace, his aura in the Wave glowing brighter in slow pulses. Kitsune watched him for a few moments, then darted towards him with a sharp snarl. Taking a few steps back, he took a deep breath, and exhaled a bright flame towards the Ninetales. The fire engulfed Kitsune, inches away from his face again, who quickly came to a stop.

It was a good several seconds before the flame died down, the subtleties of the auras involved now mostly lost in the glow of the fire attack. 'Lamper grinned, even though he was clearly out of breath. He wiped a bit of magma drool from his mouth. Sure, the Ninetales was a fellow Fire-type, so the attack wouldn't have done much damage, but 'Lamper was still confident that it was a hard enough smack to bring her to her senses.

Kitsune simply stood there, despite her body being on fire, growling. She quickly shook the flames off.

"Wait, what?!" 'Lamper said in surprise.

Kitsune's fur actually looked BETTER after the attack, a bit more vibrant and shinier almost. Her eyes glowed a bit as well, tails lashing with new energy. Radic could see her aura even more clearly now; the red glow moved faster and appeared to be more focused. Radic's Pokédex bleeped once more.

"Flash Fire makes the enemy's fire attacks useless. It also powers up the user's own Fire-type moves when activated. Ninetales is one of the few Pokémon with this ability," it beeped.

"Hmm, that's odd..." Radic thought aloud to himself, "I could have sworn that he used fire attacks against her last time... It's almost as if the universe has retroactively decided all of these creatures have these abilities..."
"Now that's just crazy talk, sir," Farnsworth reassured.

With that, Kitsune prepared to let loose with a newly powered-up Fire Blast.

"Kitsune, don't! Stop!"

She reared back, and suddenly her fur began to shine. The fox whipped her head forward and opened her jaws. A huge collection of flames poured out of her mouth, forming what almost looked like a written character, and she sent it directly towards her enemy. Tearing through the sky, the character struck the Magmar squarely in the chest, the flames bursting into different directions like dozens of bonfires lighting at once. LavaLamper was knocked back by the sheer force of the attack.

"'Lamper, hang in there!"

"Kitsune, don't do this! Please listen to me!"

'Lamper stumbled around a bit, his tail whipping about in an attempt to keep his balance. After steadying himself, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Look, Kitsune..." he said, his eye darting about as he searched for the right thing to say, "we... c'mon, we don't gotta do this!"
"You shut up," she shot back harshly as her tails lashed, "Don't even try to get all high and mighty on me, you disgusting, hideous cyclops."

Radic winced as he felt her aura turn a dark black. Jagged spikes formed in the Wave, arcing in different directions around her. It was as if she was trying to defend herself. Something really, really bad was going to happen if nobody could stop this conflict. He could feel it.

"If fire attacks don't work, just try Psychic, 'Lamper! Jeez!" King suggested, clearly forgetting that she COULD recall him and keep him safe.
"No!" the Magmar yelled as he glared at his trainer. He then turned to Kitsune, his face falling.

"... I'm not goin' t'do that to you," he quietly assured the fox.

The black spikes hovering around her pulled in close to her, as if to shelter her from an attack that didn't come, and then arced upwards almost like a challenge. Kitsune's eyes narrowed, and she swiftly charged at 'Lamper, who didn't move. If he'd hoped that his passive response would dissuade her or wake her from her rage, he was wrong. Headbutting him, she easily knocked him over and sank her fangs into his shoulder. The Magmar instantly felt a sharp, stinging pain in the wound, one that he was quite familiar with.

"Seriously?! Toxic? Again?!" he growled. Kitsune let go and leapt away from him.
"It's not my fault you're weak," she snarled.
"Me?! I'm weak??? Me?! Seriously?? You're th'one who apparently can't get over what happe--"
"SHUT UP!"

LavaLamper clenched his shoulder. "Listen, I'm not gonna do this. You can either keep beatin' me up, or you can--"
"Thanks, I think I will."

With that, she fired off a few shots of Ember, trying to aim directly for the Magmar's injured shoulder. 'Lamper refused to move to avoid them, and the toll of the painful attacks and the poison's effects was becoming obvious. It was strange... the contrast in their auras was almost startling. While Kitsune's had grown into a massive black, twisted thing, 'Lamper's was much the same as when he'd first appeared, only growing more muted with each moment.

Kitsune took a few steps back, her aura flaring up again with red and orange as she readied another Fire Blast. "Kitsune, STOP IT! PLEASE!" Radic yelled out, but there wasn't much he could do. Callima and Dipsy hadn't found her Pokéball yet, and she wasn't going to stop until she was knocked out and 'Lamper seemed less than willing to help in that department. Radic wasn't about to let a Pokémon suffer needlessly, particularly with the history between the two. There had to be something he could do, something that could make her stop, some weakness... and when he thought about weaknesses, his mind automatically went to the lists of types he'd memorized over his life as a trainer and what was effective against what. He shook his head, annoyed at thoughts that didn't present a solution, when suddenly it occurred to him. Two fire types, and beside him...

"Accident, use Surf!" he said desperately, turning to his Blastoise.
Accident's ears perked up, a little surprised that his trainer was asking him to do that.
"... Are you sure? I mean... they might get hurt..." he said, clearly feeling awful about doing such a thing.
"Don't worry, Accident. Just a... uh, little one. Just enough to knock them out. So they don't hurt each other any worse."
"Well... ok..." he guardedly muttered, still feeling uneasy about the idea. It just seemed mean...

Accident jumped up and landed with a thud, shaking the ground a little as he did so. Drawing the water cannons from his shell, he created a wall of water in front of him and Radic. The wall grew thicker and thicker, until everyone behind it disappeared behind it. Mist sprayed everywhere and the sound of the ocean could be vaguely heard from within it.

"Ohhh wow!!" King said cheerfully, "What an awesome Surf! Really man, that Blastoise of yours is the best! THE BEST!"
"Um... you do realize that it's about to knock out your Pokémon out, right?" Radic asked.
"Oh that's fine--WOW look at the size of that wave!"

"Wait, what?!" 'Lamper said as he worriedly tried to hold Kitsune's mouth shut to stop her attack, smoke and embers flying out of her mouth, "I didn't DO anything! I'm not th'one fighting! SHE is!" As he made his case, 'Lamper lifted up one of his hands to point accusingly at Kitsune, while Kitsune used her newly freed jaw to roast his face. After a few moments of horrible, searing pain, 'Lamper was able to see well enough to grab the fox by the head and forcibly turn it to face the towering Surf.

"Stop it! I--ohhhh..." Kitsune said as she finally noticed the gigantic wall of water.
'Lamper sneered at her as they shared an awkward pause.
"..."
"..."
"...... this is all your fault."
"MINE?!"

*CRAAAAAAASSSSHHHOOOOOOOMMMMMM!*

The Surf hastily washed over the two Fire-types, and subsided just as quickly. As it pulled back, it revealed two very knocked-out monsters.

Radic breathed a sigh of relief.

"How about we call it a draw?"

King had moved over to kneel by her Magmar's side, and Radic could make out her giving him a thumbs up.

"Sounds good to me! We've got to do this again sometime!" A pause. "But maybe we should hit a Pokécenter first."

"Yeeah."

He felt someone tugging on his jeans, and he turned and looked down automatically before remembering to engage his Wavereading instead. It was Callima, with Dipsy by her side.

"Looks like we were a little late." Dipsy held up Kitsune's Pokéball.

"So that's what you've been doing?"

King was sitting across from him at the picnic table, Fatty sitting in her lap and eating all the food on her plate that she didn't eat first. At this rate he was actually probably going to eat the plate too. She didn't seem at all bothered by the rather unorthodox nature of their last battle, but then again, now that Radic thought about it, she hadn't been before, really.

"Uh huh! After the Ludicolo dance contest it just seemed like the thing to do. Livin' off the land, you know, seein' how the Pokémon live. You haven't lived until you've survived on Berries, man! You've got to try some of the ones I've got growing here, they taste way better than the ones you see on the Routes and stuff."

"I didn't know humans could eat Berries." Radic tilted his head, and Yanni fluttered a bit before settling back down on his hat. "Well, Pokémon berries."

"Sure! Sure! People just don't want to try! For some reason. I don't know why." King scratched her head for a few seconds. "Man, and honey! Honey is awesome!"

Radic kept his head tilted.

"... Most people don't eat honey either, huh," King said.

"Well, Pokémon honey."

"But it's not just for Pokémon though! You know us and Pokémon, we're a lot more alike than you'd think! Seriously, we're kindred spirits in a way. Pokémon and people, the lost link." Like that explained everything. A mild electrical pulse went through him, and Radic picked up another bit of food from his plate and held it out for his Ampharos, who took it from him with a stronger buzz before settling back down on his lap.

"You know your hair stands up everytime she does that, right?" King pointed at him.

"Really?" Radic blinked. "Huh. Well, I guess that makes sense. I got her in Johto before I knew about this Wave thing so..."

"It's so COOL that you can see again, man!" King pumped her fists slightly, and Fatty mimicked her before turning back to eating all of her pancakes. "I mean, battling blind is amazing right there, don't get me wrong, but I always felt like- I saw you battle on TV when you could see, and it's just so awesome that you can do that again!"

"Well, sort of." Radic still wasn't used to praise, although he took it well enough. "It's kind of weird... it's sort of dark, and emotions show up more than details, but still... it's nice."

"Man, how many Pokémon you got with you now?" King sat up a little, peering at him like she was searching for his old belt of Pokéballs. "You got four whole teams?"

"Well... not exactly." Radic handed Chirin a strawberry when she buzzed him again. "I only try to catch Pokémon I connect with, you know? It doesn't feel right catching them just for the sake of having them anymore... and I haven't been connecting with as many of them as I used to, so..."

"That's it! That's it that's exactly IT!" King thumped her fist against the table, delighting Fatty and sending Yanni fluttering into the air, squawking. "That's what I'm talking about! That's what I don't see anymore, that connection! We're not that different, you know, Pokémon and us, and it's a partnership between us, I mean, they're people, you know?"

"I know." Radic held out his hands, and Yanni reluctantly fluttered back down to sit in them, his aura slowly calming back down to an even silver.

"But there are so many trainers out there that just catch and catch and catch and they look at their stats or their natures and just toss them out! Pfft! If they aren't strong then they aren't worth anything! They aren't partners to them, they're tools. Pokémon aren't tools! They're living creatures, just like us!" King paused, then threw her hands in the air. "MAN it is SO GOOD to be able to talk to someone who gets this stuff!"

Well, it was more like she was talking AT him, but Radic agreed with what she was saying anyway, and it had sort of been this way back when they'd first met anyway. Her aura was still a little vague in the world of the Wave, but when she raised her arms and her poncho (it kind of looked like one, it was hard to tell) slid down her arms so they were uncovered, he could see... blank areas across her arms, like scars.

"Actually, now that I can 'see'..." Radic said, interrupting her and King stopped to look at him. "Uh... are your arms okay?"

King stared at him for a few more seconds, and he was sure she must have been blinking, before smacking one fist into the other in recognition. "Oooooooh, I know what you're talking about! Man I didn't think anyone could even still see these, they're sort of faint nowadays. But you can like see people's auras and stuff so I guess you can probably see 'em a bit clearer. Yeah, I got 'em while raising 'Lamper. You know, skin the temperature of a volcano and all that." She waved a hand like it was no big deal. "Although actually, he hasn't been as hot lately..."

"Getting old, huh?" Radic looked down at his Chatot, who had fallen asleep in his hands. Not a surprise, as Yanni spent very little time awake. "Most of my Pokémon are too... especially the ones you know. My Kanto Pokémon..."

"Yeah." For a moment, King sobered for a few seconds, as much as she ever did. "It's been a real long time, hasn't it? That we been doin' this."

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever stop." Radic set Yanni down on the table with a smile. "But it's still kind of strange... like I don't quite fit in with everyone anymore, you know?"

"I gotcha man, I gotcha." Holding her hands out flat in... some gesture. Fatty meanwhile began gnawing on her fork. "The younger trainers, they're cool, they're just kids, they know what it's about. But we're not kids anymore, you know? I mean, you for example, you've like..." Waving a hand looking for a word.

"Grown up, go ahead. I don't mind." Radic smiled.

"But yeah, and then the people our age, it's like... I feel like we got nothin' in common with most of 'em. There are a few people out there where they get it, but mostly it's like..." A pause, then King slammed her fist down on the table again, startling everyone except Fatty. "AND THAT'S WHY I DECIDED I'D RATHER LIVE WITH POKEMON THAN PEOPLE."

Radic laughed a little nervously. "Uh, yeah. That's one way of dealing with it."

"But man, I can't wait to see all your Pokémon! I bet you've got some amazing ones with you! I mean, even though we battled with 'em I want to hear STORIES man! There aren't enough stories anymore!"

"I usually do have a story." Radic smiled, and he patted Chirin on the head. She buzzed again, her bell tinging softly. "But I bet you've got some too."

"You bet!" King leaned forward a little, resting her head on her hands and staring at him with light blue tinging through her aura. Expectancy. Fatty looked up momentarily from his work on eating her plate. "Where do we start?"