"I... Suppose." Desmond commented, not exactly sharing the concern with Jason over the fact Rudy didn't have a Pokémon. It didn't seem like too big of a deal, even if it was a little different for someone his age. He shrugged with indifference, simply continuing to listen to the conversation going on in front of him between Rudy and the Professor, waiting to see the verdict. Which soon came, with Rudy accepting the offer of trying to find his own Pokémon. Was there a partner for everyone in this very lab? It appeared to be time to find out. Though, footsteps caught his attention, and he looked back to notice somebody approaching. His eyes widened in surprise, as he nearly spouted out his thoughts, but managed to keep them to himself. 'Is that a member of the Blake Family? Here?' He looked back to the Professor, keeping quiet through his moment of shock. He had momentarily seen her as he was picking up supplies in Gateon Port before, and had heard a bit about the family during his travels, but hadn't expected to take a tour with such an individual. 'Guess the Professor attracts all sorts of people here.'

Happy to see Rudy accept his offer, Professor Michael glanced back at the door leading into the daycare, before looking back at the young boy. "It brings a warm feeling to my heart knowing that one of these little Pokémon will have somebody to especially watch over it, and give it the attention it deserves. No reason to waste any time, why don't we go ahead and go inside-"

Michael paused, as Elizabeth stepped up to the group. A small chill went down his spine, as she apologized for being late and introduced herself. He hadn't expected such a visitor, this was honestly surprising. "I-It's quite alright." he stuttered, scratching the back of his head, a mildly nervous feeling overcoming him. "It's a pleasure to have you with us. You came at a good time, actually. We were about to enter our Lab's daycare facility, and the Pokemon will be exceptionally happy to meet all of you, I'm sure of it. Of course, there's still much of our Lab to see, so we cannot stay for too long. The entrance is just over here."

The Professor bit his lip as he turned, thoughts rushing through his head. 'She must be Mr. Blake's daughter... Intimidating, for such a young girl.' He thought, though soon pushed past it as he made his way for the Daycare's entrance.

As soon as the door opened, a lot of the Pokemon turned their attention to the door. Each stared as Michael and the group behind him entered, some happy, some cautious of so many new faces. Though after a few moments, some went back to what they were doing. A small group of Poochyena pups ran up to the Professor, pushing each-other out of the way to get attention. Michael crouched down and laughed a little as he began petting them. "These little ones are still a tad too young to be given out to trainers, but once they are old enough, I trust they will find partners that they will be very loyal to." He looked back at Rudy, a big smile on his face as the pups were tickling his hands by licking them as he continued giving them attention. "Take your time, Rudy. Even if you don't find one right now, we can certainly return before you leave and spend more time looking." He didn't want the boy to feel like he might be short on time, though he addressed the others as well with his next words. "Feel free to ask the breeders here anything involving these little guys. They'll help you if they can."

Desmond nodded, slowly walking towards a sleeping Slakoth that was hanging from a post on the wall. He observed it, wondering if it was missing out on everyone being here, or it just didn't care. As he got closer, it opened one eye and glanced at him, letting out a slow, dramatic yawn. Desmond smiled. "Guess you were asleep, huh?" He asked, and stood there in wait of a response. It took the Slakoth a moment to even nod in response, making the conversation between it and him to be quite awkward. The Slakoth slowly extended an arm out and wrapped it around Desmond's neck, before taking it's other arm and doing the same thing. It released it's grip it's legs had on the post, instead hanging from Desmond's neck and starring at him with it's tired expression. It was almost like a hug, and Desmond's eyes looked away from the Pokemon out of sheer embarrassment as it smiled, seeming content where it was.

Slipping his hands into the pockets of his black shorts, Rudy nodded, taking a breath as he prepared himself to enter, when they were briefly interrupted by another arrival. He couldn’t help but gawk for a moment at her lavish appearance, her clothes implying her importance. He also realized that she seemed to be roughly the same age as he was. As she gave her introductions to the group, her name sparked recognition in Rudy’s head. He recalled seeing her before, though only briefly, in Gateon Port, where he lived. He’d heard the name ‘Blake’ several times before, generally in regards to the influence the family had in Orre. Suddenly, Rudy felt a bit flustered.

Trying to push it past him, he went along as Professor Michael went into the Daycare, keeping a bit of distance. The Professor’s words put him at ease a little, but being watched by the other tour goers certainly didn’t help any. Taking a breath and puffing out his chest, he headed in, watching his feet carefully, so as to not step on any untended paws or tails. He flinched as one of the Poochyena approached him curiously, turning away and ignoring it. Looking around the area, he tried to think: was one just going to come and choose him, or was he supposed to choose himself? And if he chose on his own, what did he want? His father typically trained water types... Going on that, he looked around, spotting a Panpour balancing on a toy ball. Approaching, he looked at the monkey Pokémon, which stared with cheery eyes. It began to move, as if running for Rudy, making the boy tense for a moment, but as it was on a toy ball, his foot made the ball roll away, increasing the distance between the two. Taking that as a negative sign, Rudy turned away as the Panpour and his ball struck another object on the ground, bounding into a heap with an innocent Ledyba.

As he walked deeper into the Daycare, approaching one of the breeders, with long blonde hair and a green apron as she tended to a bug eyed Paras, its mouth moving slightly. Smiling at Rudy, the woman asked, “Can I help you?”

Crouching down in front of her, Rudy looked over the orange Pokémon, asking, “What’s this one?”

The breeder answered, “This is a Paras! The mushrooms on its back grow alongside it through its life, and release spores which help it in battle.”

Looking closer, Rudy asked, “What kind of spores?”

As if on cue, the Paras’ mushrooms began to shake as the breeder answered, “Well this one’s too inexperienced to consis...consis...con-” As she spoke, her speech wavered as she inhaled some of the spores, her nose twitching. Taking in one deep breath, she let out a loud sneeze. The violent motion spooked the Paras, making its bug eyes widen as it jumped at Rudy, who let out an emasculating squeal of surprise, falling backwards onto his rear. The breeder apologized, collecting the Paras and calming it as Rudy stood back up brushing himself off, embarrassed. He was lucky the Pokémon didn’t hurt him, but he still wasn’t exactly in the mood to train a Paras now. He seemed to have a natural incompatibility for Pokémon, and that thought certainly didn’t help his morale. Making sure that his embarrassed expression wasn’t visible, he tried to keep focused, though was already considering Michael’s offer to wait until later.

Figuring he’d give it at least one more shot, he looked around, trying to find another Pokémon to check out. Spotting something, he approached, seeing one who seemed to be looking around as well. Approaching, it began to move towards him, suddenly intent on something. The two looked around, Rudy trying to spot what the pink and purple Pokémon was so curious about, not noticing as its own gaze scattered. Stopping in front of the Mime Jr, he looked down at it, watching as it stared at the ground. Simultaneously, they began to crouch down, each focused on what was in front of him. Curious as to what the Mime Jr had noticed, Rudy lowered himself even more, until his head was on the level of the Pokémon, his eyes seeing nothing in particular in between the two. Turning his focus to the Pokémon, they met eyes, both of their expressions focused. After a moment, Rudy realized something: this was the closest he’d been to a Pokémon intentionally in perhaps years.

Suddenly a bit conscious, Rudy stood a bit straighter, backing up, the Mime Jr mimicking his movements. It continued to follow him, even as he brought a hand to his chin contemplatively, beginning to pace around, the two circling each other. It became something of a game, with Rudy beginning to wonder how far it could go with its mimicry. It copied gestures well enough, but Rudy realized and advantage he had: taking his fingers, he interlocked them and twiddled his thumbs. Mime Jr clapped its hands together, but quickly discovered that it had no fingers on its pale purple hands with which to twiddle. It widened its eyes in shock, before sinking to the ground on its hands and knees in despair.

Suddenly feeling a bit of pity for the thing, Rudy approached, insisting reassuringly, “Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Crouching down, he reached a hand out to help it up. The Pokémon looked up at him, taking the hand with its own, much smaller one, before smiling at Rudy widely. Rudy couldn’t help but to mimic it, giving a matching one of his own.

Rudy stood, the Mime Jr falling in file behind him, as if able to read Rudy’s feelings. As the boy looked back to the others, he suddenly became a bit self-conscious about the little scene he’d just had. Flushing red, he pointed down at the Mime Jr, asking, “C-can I have this one?”

Velis turned to look at the new woman who had joined the tour and she had to say, she was slightly surprised. She had heard of the Blake family before, who hadn't? They were a very wealthy family. She had never met one of them before but that was to be expected when you traveled as much as she had.

She looked at all the young Pokemon running around in the daycare portion of the lab and a smile broke out on her face. "Can I ask you something Professor? Were all these Pokemon born here or are any of them from outside the lab?"

She turned from watching a small group of Poochyena to turn and look at Rudy who seemed to be playing with what looked like a Mime. Jr. Cute little guy. She thought with a wry smile.

Flustered, nervous glances.

You'd think Elizabeth would be used to them by now, but it still stirred something in the pits of her heart, agitating her, teasing her and hissing about how she wasn't like the others. Isolated. Alone. It wasn't something a housemaid could teach, nor was it something that money could remove. Once you were branded with a name, the scars never really fade. And Elizabeth knew that even if she lost everything she'd still be a Blake, and still be treated the same way. Not that it mattered, of course, Elizabeth wasn't ever going to see these people again after the tour and they meant as much to her as the dirt outside of the lab did. Insignificant. Just breathing bodies.

So physically, Elizabeth revealed no sort of anger or distress. Not even her facial muscles twitched. Instead, she strode past them all into the daycare, right into the very depths of it with a purpose. Even without having to look where she was standing, her feet moved to avoid frolicking baby pokemon with that same, familiar and graceful manner. She slipped past tiny srpouts of grass-type pokemon, avoided the sparks and embers of the fire-type pokemon, and went into a dark corner.

Of course, one would think she was being a bit odd, moving to a seemingly uninhabited dark area. But she sat there and looked up expectantly, whilst her dress robes spread out around her like a sparkling blossom. "It's safe now, you know this." she reported to thin air, and waited.

After a few moments, the hem of her dress ruffled as if something passed through it and a Misdreavus floated out warily,wearing a thin, translucent navy-blue scarf. She let loose a soft, ethereal cry and from the dark a ghastly popped its head out, peering at Misdreavus curiously. The pair of them started to play tag with each other quite happily in the shadows, inviting other ghost type pokemon to join in. Soon, there was quite the crowd of little ghost pokemon rolling around in the air, but Misdreavus stood out the most with her scarf. Satisfied, Elizabeth got to her feet and paced over to one of the breeders."Excuse me, sir, but I wanted to ask a question about your ghost pokemon."

"Oh? Sure! Ask away." replied the breeder, leaning on the bag of pokefood he was dispersing for a group of Evee. Elizabeth eyed the bag critically before turning her attention back to the man, pondering for a moment.

"It's about their feeding habits. I know for a fact that Misdravus and Shuppet feed off of negative emotions and fear. Do you let them scare the other pokemon? How can a trainer feed them properly? I understand that pokemon food helps stem the hunger but it's not working." asked Elizabeth. Her expression was completely blank, her voice was showing no distress. Whilst she sounded grave...it wasn't different from any other time she talked. Clearly, this is a girl who's been taught to do these things for a while now.

The breeder frowned, looking past Elizabeth's cold mannerisms and listening to the words themselves. "Yeah, I see what you mean...Well, you can let your Misdreavus out at night to scare the wild pokemon, but try to keep her away from inhabited areas when she's feeding. The last thing you need is complaints from the neighbours!" he said, jokingly. Elizabeth just stared at him and his laughter died in his throat.

"I don't live around people, but thank you for the warning." replied Elizabeth, turning to leave him to his work. "Misdreavus? Come on." she called. Misdreavus, who was busy tugging the hair of a Haunter - much to its protests, but it seemed to be a bit of playfighting - released her grip and floated over to Elizabeth's side, the scarf fluttering behind her smoothly. The pair of them didn't give Mr Mime or Rudy a single glance, returning to the back of the group and waiting patiently for the tour to continue in silence.

Rather notably, Elizabeth didn't put Misdreavus back into a pokeball.

"Aside from the occasional egg brought in by a trainer, these Pokemon were all born here, yes." The Professor said, slowly standing up. "Many of the Pokemon rescued from the second Shadow Pokemon Epidemic were kept here afterwards, and a lot of them are still living strong today. Over the last few years, we've been finding eggs outside, bringing life to all these little ones.As the Pokemon from the eggs grow, we let them out into the back garden. And some of them produce more eggs, therefor meaning more Pokemon. Occasionally we take some of the more wild Pokemon out to the Pokespots around Orre, for them to live more naturally. It's a well known fact for me that not all Pokemon like it here, so I do the best I can to take them to somewhere more reasonable."

Noticing Velis had seemed to turn her attention to something else, Michael looked to see what it was, and watched Rudy seem to encounter a Pokemon that captured his interest. Michael had spent time watching that Mime Jr and it's antics before, and was forced to hold himself back from chuckling at the sight of the two, as to try and not embarrass the boy. He stared down at Rudy and the Mime Jr behind him as he was asked a very crucial question. Shifting his gaze between and two as he put his hand up to his chin, taking a moment of silence to observe the two. Slowly, he lowered his hand, and slid it into his pocket. "Well, Rudy." He began, pulling out a Pokeball, and offering it to Rudy with a smile. "I think you two will be an excellent team! Here is a Pokeball for you to use for Mime Jr. Though you do need to capture him to actually make him your Pokemon, he does not have to stay in there. Feel free to keep him out, as I'm pretty sure he won't cause trouble." He looked back at the Mime Jr, keeping his expression. "Right?"

Meanwhile, Desmond's situation was getting mildly awkward. The Slakoth insisted on staying, and Desmond wasn't sure of what to do. He sighed, looking down at it's face. "Can you please let go? I can't take you with me, I'm not here for my first Pokemon." He said, being blunt on the matter. The Slakoth frowned, pulling itself upwards and climbing onto his back. Desmond's eyes narrowed as he glared at the wall in front of him, feeling the Slakoth plop down on his head, with it's legs and arms hanging off. He sort of looked like a hat, but Desmond wasn't able to notice this. Instead, he watched the Pokemon that was following Elizabeth curiously back to the group.

'A ghost-type? It seems that the Blake family may have an interesting taste in Pokemon. Makes me wonder if she ever battles? Probably not, at least in public. A ghost type like that though... It'd be at a stand off with this little guy.' His thoughts made him reach up and scratch the Slakoth on the head, which it responded to by yawning, and scratching the side of Desmond's face. After lowering his hand, he made his way back to the group, noticing Rudy had apparently found his partner. Desmond hadn't ever seen a Mime Jr before, and thought that it looked rather cute.

Before he could say anything, the Professor spoke up. "You are all allowed to release a Pokemon as well, if you wish. Perhaps try and keep them out of trouble though, okay?" Michael was rather confident that their Pokemon couldn't harm anything too much, but he'd stay alert, none the less.

"Thank you for the offer, Professor, but I'll pass." Desmond replied, not being specific as to why. He knew his Pokemon could get a bit... Rowdy, at times. And he didn't want them to get into trouble with the other trainers, or the Professor.

---

Outside the lab, the Bus Driver sunk into his seat as he noticed a truck skid to a halt in front of the lab, kicking up dust around it. Without even waiting for the dust to clear, the back of the truck opened and multiple people wearing Strange White Costumes jumped out, rushing to the front of the vehicle. with one similar looking person getting out of the driver's side of the truck, and the rather well-dressed individual got out the passenger's side. All of the men and women in the white costumes stood at attention, saluting the man that stood out so effectively.

"Alright! I was sent here with more of you then I probably needed. I mean, six of you? The Boss clearly has no faith in me, but I'm going to prove 'em wrong." He pointed at the three farthest to the right, grinning. "You three will flank the lab to the right, while you others take the left! Snatch as many Pokemon as you can, while I take care of the inside of the lab."

"B-But, sir... The Boss told us to only focus on the Purification Chamber-"

"Shuddap! Don't question me!" The man yelled, glaring at the white-wearing individual who spoke up to him. "I am here, therefor I am the boss of this operation! And I told you to steal Pokemon to take back to that pink-haired cooze to turn them into Shadow Pokemon! This is the job that'll get me in good with The Boss! I will be his right-hand man, after I crush the inhabitants of this lab and steal their Pokemon!" The man tipped his hat ever-so-slightly, before raising a hand into the air. "Now go!"

With his word, the group of six split up into groups of three, each approaching from a different side of the lab. The rather lanky man instead took the direct approach, heading strait for the doors of the lab, a smirk planted on his face as he was planning to take the place by storm. He stopped for a moment, to glance back at the parked Bus. He stared from behind his purple shades, before shrugging off the feeling he had, and entering the facility.

Though, back in the bus, the driver was hidden, digging around for a scrap of paper. After a minute or so of scrambling, he finally found the Professor's PDA contact information he had gotten yesterday, but almost lazily lost. The man opened up his own PDA, used mostly to keep track of business, and began contacting the Professor immediately, knowing this was a critical situation.

Jason contemplated the Professor's offer to release his pokemon. It was another chance for him to see his pokemon after so long. Jason couldn't stop himself from reaching down to his belt and unclipping the two pokeballs on his belt. "Come on out Aron and Fletchling. It has been a long time my friends." Jason told the pokeballs as they opened. The two pokemon landed on the ground with gleeful releases. Aron ran towards Jason's legs and toppled him over by failing to stop early enough. Meanwhile, Fletchling flew over and landed on top of Aron's back and released a scolding squawk. Jason was left speechless as he crouched on the group beside the pair. "I'm.... happy to see you to." Jason said after a few moments of silence.

"You are all allowed to release a Pokemon as well, if you wish. Perhaps try and keep them out of trouble though, okay?"

"Sweet!" Velis cheered. She knew that Makuhita and Bagon weren't the biggest fans of their Pokeballs and she knew that Makuhita loved to show off despite Velis telling him not to when she saw it. But if he decided to she would let it slide this time.

Velis grinned and grabbed both PokeBalls and a Makuhita and Bagon both appeared on the ground. Makuhita had it's regular large grin on it's face and looked over the various Pokemon in the daycare area and then looked over at Velis almost as if asking permission to do something while her Bagon seemed to look around the room as if it were looking for something specific.

"Go ahead Makuhita." She said with a laugh. Makuhita let out a happy laugh and began to flex it's muscles as it showed off it's strength to the younger Pokemon. Velis laughed again as she turned to look at her Bagon only to see that it was looking up at one of the Breeders with a expectant expression on it's face as if it were waiting for something.

"She's probably a bit hungry." Velis explained meekly.

At his suggestion, Professor Michael approached, handing Rudy a Pokéball, explaining a bit about how it worked. As the Professor turned to the Pokémon, questioning about how well he might handle himself, Mime Jr only smiled innocently. Ready to try and capture the Mime Jr, he crouched down, but was momentarily distracted by Elizabeth and her ghostly cohort. Mime Jr seemed to notice too, looking on warily. He was further distracted when Velis and Jason unleashed their small horde of Pokémon, making a bit of ruckus. He did take a moment to observe their respective teams, before going back to his own thing.

Regaining his focus, Rudy stooped down, getting closer to the Mime Jr, who likewise turned its gaze back to Rudy. Raising his Pokéball, he knew he needed to throw it, but felt like that was...excessive. Instead, he began to lower it, pressing the Pokémon’s head just as Professor Michael’s pocket began to buzz. At the distraction, Rudy looked up, but his Pokéball continued to descend, bopping Mime Jr in the nose. The Pokéball burst open, causing Rudy to lose his grip as Mime Jr. was enveloped in a red flash. The Pokéball closed around it, and dropped to the ground, beginning to wiggle.

The receptionist had just made it back to the front of the lab as the man came through the door. He continued walking towards her, even as she stopped. "Sir? can I help you?" She asked, as he stopped in front of her, his face being nothing more than distress. "Yes, ma'am. My Pokemon are feeling rather down, as of late. I was hoping you could take a look at them?" He pulled two Pokeballs off of his belt, holding one in each hand. "My babies... I can't stand seeing them in any sort of pain! Please, help me!" He begged, as the woman seemed to become more alert, nodding. "I promise to do what I can, sir. Can you release them, please?"

"Absolutely! Thank you, ma'am!" He said, perking up as he tossed the two Pokeballs into the air. "Come out, and show our dear friend here what is the matter!" The Pokeballs opened, shooting out bright white lights that formed into two Pokemon. One was a Smoochum, while the other was a Froslass. They stood strait, at attention, seeming tense and serious. The woman began looking them over, glancing up at the man curiously. "I don't see anything wrong at a glance... They don't seem to be showing weakness of any kind. In fact, they are quite sturdy and strong-looking."

"Correct." The man said, grinning. The woman's eyes widened, as he put his arms behind his back. "And if you want them to stay sturdy and not become mobile and freezing you into a statue, I insist you take a seat. Now." The threat was followed up by the two Ice-Types stepping forward and glaring darkly at the receptionist. She began shaking, fear taking over her as she walked over to the nearest chair and sat down, not being able to make eye contact.

"Sweetheart, please don't be scared. As long as you stay there, you'll be okay. Maybe everyone else won't, but you? You'll be spared." The man said happily, gesturing at his Froslass, which shot out a chilling Blizzard at the woman's feet, freezing them to the ground. She began to scream, but the man put his hand over her mouth, while raising a finger up to his own lips. "Shh. Make more noise, and you'll be thawing for weeks." His threat sunk in quickly, as the woman became dead silent. He removed his hand from her mouth, pulling out a hanky. He wiped his hands, before putting it back in his pocket. "Good. You're a natural." He commented, beginning to walk down the hall. His two Pokemon followed behind him, keeping an eye out for anything that could be considered troublesome.

---

Meanwhile, on the west and east sides of the building, the grunts had began their breaching plan. One on each side of the building released an Electrode, which then positioned itself onto a lab wall. The grunts cackled over their earpieces about the plan, as they released the Pokemon they had to actually battle with. They were certainly nothing impressive, but each grunt held two Pokemon to their name, not counting the Electrodes.

"Team One is ready, how do you fair, Team Two?"

"It's not fair!" A grunt cried over the earpiece, as another sighed. "Ignore him. He wanted to be in Team One."

"Wait, since we're all technically here together, just having a building between us, shouldn't we still count as one big team?" Another asked, as an excited answer came forth from one of the others. "That's a good point!"

"Enough!" One yelled, almost growling with viciousness. "Just do the countdown!"

"Aah, alright, alright. Don't get your helmet on sideways... Three! Two! One!"

---

'It's quite obvious these children care for their Pokemon greatly. This generation certainly isn't a disappointment, brings a warmth to my heart.' The Professor watched on, enjoying the sight of the trainers and their Pokemon. Though the sound of his P.D.A going off inside his lab coat pocket caught his attention, as he pulled it out and opened it. He hadn't even noticed that Mime Jr had gone into the Pokeball, though as the person that contacted him began to speak, the ball shook. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Yes?" The Professor answered, glancing at the very hesitant bus driver through his P.D.A. He seemed extremely worried, especially in his tone. "Some goons just drove up to the lab and began goin' around the sides! One of 'em came in through the front, and I don't know what they're up to, but the suits they were wearing looked familiar!"

Michael narrowed his eyes, glancing back at the exit to the daycare. "Familiar how, exactly?"

"Familiar as in those uniforms were worn by Ci-"

The driver's words were cut off, as the wall of the daycare blew open abruptly, sending the entire room into a frenzy. Michael dropped his P.D.A, and it smashed against the floor, disconnecting the call instantly. He coughed as the room filled with smoke from the explosion, though noticed three figures enter, along with a number of Pokemon. "A-An attack?!" He yelled, confused as to what was happening.

Desmond was sent into alert as the smoke engulfed his vision. He coughed and tried to look through it, but his eyes watered, barely allowing him to keep them open. He felt something grab his arms, and hold them behind his back. He let out a gasp in surprise, and another soon in pain,as a knee connected with his gut. "Good one! Let's nab his Pokemon!" One called out, releasing Desmond and letting him drop to the ground. The smoke began clearing as they snatched the Pokeballs off of his belt, before shoving them into their own pockets. "What about this thing?" One questioned, gesturing to the Slakoth. "Forget it! Let's nab something more valuable!" The other yelled, before reuniting with their own Pokemon, planning to knock out any opponent that got in their way.

The baby Pokemon rushed out the hole in the wall, crying and attempting to escape. It was up to any trainers in the room to try and assure this attack was ended with their own Pokemon not being snatched. Or injured too severely.

Michael backed up to the door, finally able to stop coughing as he exited into the hall. As his eyes managed to see clearly, he saw an individual walking down the hall, with two Pokemon beside him. "A-Are you behind this?!" Michael asked loudly, angered by the chaos happening around him. He gritted his teeth as the man simply laughed as he stopped his approach, crossing his arms. "Why yes, I am. You must be the beloved Professor of this facility. I heard you had quite a lot of Pokemon here... They'll be perfect for the plans I have."

"What plans?!" Michael yelled, demanding an answer. The man simply shook his head, sighing. "So rude... I don't think I want to answer you. Though..." He waved a hand, and his two Pokemon stepped forward. "Maybe if you managed to somehow win against me in a battle, I'd be a little more... Open. What do you say, Professor?"

"A battle...?" Michael felt himself tense up. He glanced down as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a single Pokeball. The man scoffed. "Do you think one Pokemon is all you need? You've got guts."

"You talk too much." Michael replied spitefully, before putting two fingers up to his mouth. He blew air out of his mouth, making a rather loud call. Few knew what it meant, but those who did, knew this challenger was in trouble. A lot of it. "Am I supposed to be impressed by a stupid bird-call?" The man asked, and Michael returned the man's smirk with his own. "No." He answered calmly, glancing down the hall.

"You should be scared."

"Good one! Let's nab his Pokemon!"

Velis's eyes widened in shock and the shock was quickly replaced by red hot rage as the wall of the daycare seemed to be blown open by some sort of explosive. "Makuhita! Bagon!" She called out. "Get ready to fight!" She called out as she saw one of the mysterious attackers walk confidently towards her. "Hehehe, don't worry little girl, you hand over your Pokemon and you don't get hurt."

Velis smiled darkly. "You just made a big mistake buddy." She said as Makuhita and Bagon ran to her side. Makuhita's smile was gone. It was replaced by a large, angry frown and Bagon's eyes were narrowed as it stared at the goon.

"Fine. Have it your way little girl, but don't say I didn't warn you." He chuckled as he threw two Pokeballs up in the air and a Kadabra and a Geodude appeared in flashes of light.

Velis smiled darkly. "Big mistake." She said again as she looked at her Makuhita and pointed at the Geodude. "Makuhita! Arm thrust!"

Jason stood up as quickly as possible after the explosion into the daycare. "Hey, there is a fletcling and aron over here." Jason heard one of the goons call out. Jason was startled for a few moments and then called out "Aron, hit the ground with mud-slap. Don't hit them. Fletchling just fly over them until I tell you more." Two goons slipped on the mud and cursed at Jason. "You're gonna pay for that kid." called out one of the goons as he and the other throw out their pokemon. A bellsprout and pidove appeared in a flash of blue light.

"Vinewhip that aron, bellsprout." called the goon with the bellsprout while the other one told his pidove to try and tackle fletchling, Fletchling deftly dodge the pidove's first hit but was grazed by the second run. Meanwhile, aron tried his best to dodge the vinewhips but instead got hit by three whips. "Fletchling, peck the bellsprout then fly towards aron. Aron, when the pidove comes by, hit it with mud-slap." Jason ordered his pokemon. The pidove fell for the move and ended up getting grounded by the heavy mud covering its feathers. The bellsprout was too agile to be hit by fletchling. "Finish the pidove with a series of tackles Fletchling! Hit that bellsprout with mud-slap followed by a tackle Aron." Jason told his pokemon. The pidove was weighed down by the mud-slap and could not dodge quickly enough to avoid Fletchling's barrage. It landed a few feet away from the second goon as it fell unconscious. Bellsprout was hit at its feet by the mud-slap which caused it to slip when Aron rammed hard into the small grass-type. Aron hopped back to gain more speed as it slammed once more into the frail bellsprout. The bellsprout slammed into its trainers leg heavily. The two goons were shocked by their defeat as Jason returned both Fletchling and Aron to their pokeballs.

The Geodude let out a shout of anger and pain as Makuhita's arms rapidly slammed into it multiple times, before the attacker even knew what had happened the Geodude was out cold on the ground. The Geodude vanished in a flash of red light as it was recalled to it's Pokeball by the attacker who turned to look at his Kadabra. "Don't just stand there! Attack!"

Velis smiled sweetly as she turned to look at Bagon. "Bagon! use Bite on Kadabra!"

"Kadabra!" The goon shouted, "Use Lightscreen then confusion on that fat freak!"

Makuhita was sent reeling backwards as it was hit by a blast of psychic energy but it seemed to recover enough that it wasn't too badly hurt. Bagon slammed into the Kadabra who seemed to be protected for a brief moment only to have that protective lightscreen vanish as Bagon bit down on it's arm which cause the Kadabra to flinch in pain.

As Velis ran over to her injured Makuhita, she turned to look over at Bagon. "Use rage and finish it off!" she called out. Bagon's head began to glow red as she slammed her head into the Kadabra's chest.

It hit the ground with a thud and with a flash of red light, it was recalled back into it's Pokeball.

The attacker was yelling at the two Pokeballs in his hands. "Useless idiots!" He shouted as he stomped over towards Velis who was protectively crouched over Makuhita. "You may have beaten my Pokemon but the way I see it, if I can knock you out, your Pokemon are fair game!"

"You can try." Velis snarled as she stood in front of her two Pokemon and prepared to fight the attacker herself.

As Rudy's Pokéball wiggled, the black haired boy watched in anticipation. When it finally stopped with a satisfying 'click', Rudy let out a sigh of relief. Grabbing the Pokéball, it shrunk in his hands as he stood, hearing the Professor speaking to someone on his P.D.A. Before Rudy could begin to follow the conversation, however, all hell broke loose, a pair of explosions rocking the building, engulfing the Daycare, and no doubt whatever room lay on the other side of the building, with smoke. It was followed by the chaos of panicked people and Pokémon. One would've assumed that Elizabeth would've simply turned and fled at the first sign of danger. When the explosion occurred her pitch black hair fluttered wildly behind her and she held her arm over her eyes, wincing at the dust and the smoke. Her Misdreavus slid closer to her, calling out fearfully, unsure of what to do.

Surrounded by smoke, panicked Pokémon and people, Elizabeth sought out helplessly for the exit. Misdreavus called out again in worry as Elizabeth's hand gripped her scarf tail, keeping her close. Her other hand reached out into the gloom, grabbing the nearest person she could find - which was, incidentally, Rudy - and trying to drag them both towards the exit of the Daycare. She was yelling something but it was lost in the noise - the only thing to show where she was standing happened to be Misdreavus' red orbs around her neck, which glowed brightly in all of the fear, absorbing it and using it as food. Rudy couldn't make out what Elizabeth was saying as she dragged him along, but as the smoke began to clear, and noise lower as some of the panicked Pokémon fled outside, he could spot a number of things. One was Elizabeth's Misdreavus, the illuminated orbs around its neck helping immensely, and the others being the barely visible silhouettes of everyone else: breeders, the Professor, Desmond, Jason, Velis, and three in bizarre white outfits.

As the two whom ganged up on Desmond were intercepted by Jason and Velis, the Professor had exited into the hallway, but seemed distracted by something out of sight. Rudy had a strange feeling they couldn't easily go that was. As Rudy looked around, the only other way out was also blocked, by the third grunt, whom was distracted as he attempted to rip a Pokémon out of the arms of one of the breeders; a distressed Swirlix. Only a few steps from panicking himself, Rudy looked around, trying to figure out what to do. However, the more level-headed Elizabeth acted first, waving her hand. Misdreavus, acting on the girl's orders, attacked, barraging the grunt with a Psywave. Stunned, the grunt let go of the fairy type Pokémon, letting the blonde breeder escape.

The grunt clutched at his helmet in shock, before turning to the two younger kids and the floating Misdreavus. "You..." he grumbled, before waving his hand, ordering, "Get them!" At his command, his two Pokémon snapped to attention, changing their course to Rudy and Elizabeth. In moments, the two were flanked, a vicious looking Venipede on one side and Gligar one the other, its tail poised to strike. Crossing his arms over his chest cockily, he demanded, "Alright, brats, cough up that Misdreavus. And whatever you've got in that Pokéball!" Swallowing anxiously, Rudy looked down at the capsule in his hands. Glancing between the two Pokémon, he knew Elizabeth was outnumbered, but Velis and Jason were still distracted, as was the Professor. The breeders were trying to get a handle on things, and Rudy himself had never battled in his life. He'd seen them, certainly, but he hadn't envisioned himself participating in one for years, let alone just after getting his first Pokémon. Gritting his teeth, he let out a frustrated grunt, throwing his Pokéball to the ground. It enlarged in midair, and Mime Jr burst out, as happily as every, despite the chaos. Rudy had no idea what he was doing, but in spite of that, he knew he simply couldn't just do nothing.

Elizabeth gave the grunt the same, blank, unimpressed look that she always gave. It was seemingly the default expression, as she had yet to show any other during her time in the lab. Inside, however, Elizabeth was undoubtedly frightened; Misdreavus wouldn't be able to hold off two Pokémon at once, and Rudy was...admittedly, this was his first Pokémon. Whilst Elizabeth herself had managed to reach a level of friendship where some actions need not to be yelled out so crudely, Rudy would need lessons.

Unfortunately, these lessons would be rather hard to give whilst surrounded and under threat of having her Pokémon kidnapped.

Misdreavus lamented their state of affairs, burying herself into Elizabeth's arms with constant, frightened calls of "Miii! Miii!" as if she was pleading for the girl to keep her safe. Elizabeth merely stared down at Misdreavus, unflinching, cold, and emotionless. Her gaze slipped to Mime Jr. "Misdreavus? Show them what they are up against, please." ordered Elizabeth, releasing her frightened Misdreavus out towards the Venipede and the Gligar. At first, the little ghost Pokémon looked pathetic, cowering with her head covered by her stubby little arms, floating eye-level with the Gligar and making small, terrified whimpers. Then the whimpers stopped. One golden eye peered out towards the Gligar with a menace that could only really be achieved by something who deems itself highly superior above his or her foe, like a bear staring down a rabbit before bringing its paws down for the final blow. Despite the high-pitched, ethereal vocal chords Misdreavus managed to produce a very low, and very threatening Growl, laced with cold fury and the promise of excruciating pain for even thinking about trying to snatch her.

Elizabeth used Misdreavus as a slight distraction - as she performed her Growl attack, Elizabeth pressed herself against Rudy, keeping an eye on the grunt whilst she breathed the words "Order your Pokémon to attack the other one" into Rudy's ear. She managed to keep the fear out of her voice, but did emphasize the urgency of the matter. Rudy nodded in response, starting to get the hang of things. He was starting to realize that it wasn't a normal battle, but a 'double battle' that he recalled hearing once. He wasn't quite sure if it made much difference, but he had to try his hardest. Looking at his Mime Jr, which faced down the Venipede, he tried to think, before finally saying, his voice full of uncertainty as he copied Elizabeth, ordering, "Okay, Mime Jr, attack!"

Seemingly understanding, Mime Jr hopped into action, rushing at the Venipede, arms raised. The Venipede braced itself, coiling into a ball, but Mime Jr's fingerless hands found their way into the sides, and he began to gyrate them. The Venipede shuddered, before opening up, tears in its eyes as it's shell shook with...laughter? Rudy looked on, unimpressed, as Mime Jr continued to rub the Pokémon's sensitive spots with the less than dreaded Tickle. Sheepishly, Rudy turned to his partner, asking, "Er, what kind of attacks does a Mime Jr have?"

Unimpressed, the grunt snorted, "You kidding? Even two against one, you aren't going to win without attacking. Venipede, Gligar, get 'em! Poison Sting!" Both Pokémon got some distance from their foes, before raising their respective, pointed rears, which glowed white, before shooting off a barrage of toxic stingers. Mime Jr cowered as he was showered in them, taking moderate damage and shouting out in pain. Misdreavus howled as the toxic stingers pierced her skin, dropping out of the sky and landing with a crash. Rudy cringed as the two Pokémon took their licks, particularly Mime Jr, for a number of reasons. Looking to Elizabeth hopefully, he tried to push past his worry, hoping for an acceptable answer. Elizabeth's expression remained stony and passive.

Finally, she broke the silence, murmuring "I don't know." whilst glaring daggers at the grunt. Rudy let out a low groan. Their options were limited - Misdreavus was clearly badly wounded, and won't be able to fight for much longer. Mime Jr was better off, having not taken such critical damage, but was still at bit of a disadvantage. Those two were going to wipe the floor with their Pokémon and there was nothing they could do about it...Well, almost nothing.

Elizabeth released her vice-like grip on Rudy, straightening herself up to her fullest height, peering at the grunt as arrogantly as she possibly can. She walked briskly towards, and then in front of her Misdreavus which was wailing loudly in pain, purple welts on her body from each poison sting, and stood eye-level with the Gligar. Then, in a surprisingly sharp movement, she brought the back of her hand across the Gligar's face, causing it to bite on it's tongue painfully and to slip back a little. "How dare you hurt my Pokémon. Perhaps now you have learnt your lesson." she snapped, leaving the Gligar to look at her, momentarily stunned, whilst she bent over to scoop up her Misdreavus. Rudy watched on, his mouth hanging open as he wondered as to which was scarier: the grunt's Pokémon, or Elizabeth Blake...

The grunt looked highly offended. Seemingly not understanding or perhaps even not caring about who she is, he gave the Gligar a dismissive wave, signalling for it to attack. The Gligar hissed, clicking its violet carapace threateningly and then firing a near-black barb towards Elizabeth's shoulder. The attack hit true, piercing through the delicate dress and ripping through the pale flesh, jutting out of the back of her shoulder and sending her reeling forwards, almost letting go of Misdreavus and falling face-first onto the floor. She took a sharp, ragged intake of breath, eyes stinging with tears. Slowly and carefully, she walked back to Rudy's side, shutting her eyes and trying to stop the convulsive spasms of pain that caused her to shudder every so often. It was very hard, now, to keep the pain and the fear out of her voice, but she choked out a quiet "P-perhaps, you should order it to hurt one of them instead." The Misdreavus in her arms had gone quite still now.

Rudy, nearly frozen from shock, could only raise his arms, holding Elizabeth by the shoulders to keep her from falling. His mind had blanked, his focus on the scene that had played before him, and the general situation he'd never once expected to find himself in. He didn't even realize it was worse than he thought, due to his Fairy-type's natural weakness to poison: it was only sheer luck that had kept Mime Jr from getting to the same state as Misdreavus. But, trapped into a corner, Rudy could only think to take Elizabeth's advice, to give them even the slightest hopes of getting through. After helping Elizabeth to a sitting position, where she could rest, Rudy shot a glare at the grunt's Venipede, hissing, "Mime Jr, blow it away!"

The boy's Pokémon, clearly wounded, raised its two arms, its expression intense. It's eyes began to glow blue, quickly following the Venipede being surrounded by a matching colored aura. It seemed surprised as it floated in the air, and was suddenly spun about before being tossed away. It crashed into the blown apart wall, taking another small chunk off of the structure as it landed outside, bouncing, before landing in the grass, lying still. The hit was effective, and the Pokémon was knocked out. Rudy gave a sigh of relief, wishing he had remembered the basic Psychic type attack he'd just seen a bit earlier.

Gnashing his teeth, the grunt spat, "Little shit!" Ignoring him, Rudy crouched down next to Elizabeth, examining the wound, feeling nauseous as he did so. Swallowing his disgust, he asked, "Are you okay?" Looking down at the weakened Ghost Pokémon in her arms, he corrected himself, "Are you two okay?" Whilst Elizabeth's grip on Misdreavus did not falter, a disgusting purple welt was showing under the torn dress, veins of violet spreading from the wound like a mockery of a flower. Her chest rose and fell quietly with the pain of even breathing, and she didn't look too good. As for her Misdreavus...well, her head was buried in Elizabeth's arms and Elizabeth did not seem at all inclined to let go for anything.

Elizabeth turned her gaze onto Rudy after watching Mime Jr's impressive attack. Those eyes were still, at face value, as blank and as hollow as anything, but they shone with tears of pain. Her voice came out, tinged with fright, slightly stammering but with clear evidence of trying her best to hide the emotions with a "I am perfectly fine. You may want to order y-your Mime Jr to at-...to attack the other one." Rudy couldn't help but to bite his lip, feeling a bit of pressure: time was of the essence.

Elizabeth shut her eyes whilst she nodded to the Gligar, which was busy laughing at Venipede's defeat, clutching it's sides with its claws, wrapping itself in the thin stretches of skin under its arms. Gritting his teeth, the grunt snapped, "Stop laughing and get those runts!" At the order, the Gligar ceased its jovial chortles, it's expression becoming vicious and focused once again. Flailing its arms, it hopped into the air before gliding at Rudy and Elizabeth. Turning to his Pokémon, Rudy commanded, "Mime Jr, Confusion!" With a nod of compliance, Mime Jr rushed over, its eyes glowing blue once again. The Gligar was once against surrounded by the aura, and was spun in the air before being brought against the ground, slamming into it roughly. As the Gligar glared at its foes, Rudy flinched, surprised that it was still conscious. The two Pokémon seemed to be roughly the same strength, but Rudy failed to understand why the Poison type Venipede had gone down quicker than this Flying and Ground type, the subtleties of type advantage eluding the novice trainer.

Seeing opportunity, the grunt ordered, "Sand Attack!" Digging its claws into the floor, the Gligar scraped at the Daycare flooring, sending debris about, before hopping into the air, head going over its limbs as it did a backflip. As it finished the aerial maneuver, its barbed tail struck the ground, flicking a small, concentrated cloud of dust at Mime Jr. It splashed in his eyes, blinding the Pokémon, who fruitlessly began to wipe the dust out, making pitiful wails of discomfort. Grinning, the grunt laughed, "Finish it with one last Poison Sting!"

Feeling that his loss was imminent, Rudy could only blurt the first thing to come to mind, a last ditch, blind strike against a seemingly impassable foe. "Confusion!" Rudy shouted. To his surprise, Mime Jr became focused, enveloping the Gligar in blue aura once again, as its tail shone, attack imminent. The Gligar began to flip and spin in the air, but it didn't stop its attack: poison barbs began to fly with abandon, sticking into walls, floor, and ceiling alike as the Gligar spasmed in the air. The grunt lifted his foot just as one stinger nearly impaled it, the man grimacing as it quavered in the ground underneath him. Rudy and Elizabeth were in more dire straights, however, as the opposing Pokémon was closer to them. Natural instinct kicking in, Rudy did his best to push Elizabeth away from the attack, praying she didn't get struck again.

As the poison barbs flew through the air, only two found their mark. One dug into the back of Rudy's thigh, making him cry out in pain, and the other impacted Mime Jr in the chest. The Pokémon's legs gave out, and it collapsed, fainting as the blue aura around Gligar faded, and the Pokémon ceased its assault, recovering in midair, returning to its natural, fluttering position. Rudy looked on in horror between his fallen Mime Jr and the dreaded Gligar, which awaited its master's orders.

It was a relief, then, that the Gligar never lasted long enough to listen to the Grunt even issuing an order. In the moment that Mime Jr was attacked, and in the midst of the chaos of poison bolts flinging into the air carelessly, Misdreavus had raised her head and started to float on her own accord. The moment the Gligar recovered, she opened her mouth, and let loose some sort of attack.

It was like a shriek - a single, high pitched note that lasted no longer than half a second - but from Misdreavus issued forth a conical wave of odd, hot energy, shimmering with every known visible colour hue and seeming to cut through the air itself, leaving a wavy distortion to the surroundings which one would associate with heat. The attack was quite spectacular in appearance, but didn't seem to be as powerful as it looked; it was rebounded easily off of Gligar's carapace, but something odd happened to the wings. They caught the intense heat energy and sent the Gligar flying backwards, and it didn't matter how strong the attack was - colliding with a concrete wall head-first was bound to leave anyone unconscious. Therefore, the Gligar landed with a loud clacking noise, not even able to cry out in pain before fainting.

Elizabeth stared at the Gligar, then turned her unnerving gaze unto the grunt. She kept her tone of voice low, and it whistled with weariness and breathiness of a sick person, but the way she carried her voice coupled with her injured shoulder and her cold glare was more than enough to show that she meant business. "I suggest you gather your Pokémon and leave, before I take them from you." she threatened. Relieved by there sudden victory, Rudy looked at Elizabeth, simultaneously impressed, worried, and intimidated. Briefly remembering his fallen Pokémon, he raised his Pokéball, returning Mime Jr to its confines before clutching it to his chest in worry. His other hand grabbed at his wounded leg, which continued to pulse in pain. As it began to afflict him, he was starting to feel the edges of his vision fade, his breathing coming a bit harder.

Coupled with the shame of defeat to two twelve year olds and the anger of knowing that there was nothing else he could do, the grunt snorted as he raised up his Pokéballs, returning his fainted Pokémon to their resting place.

Elizabeth looked at Rudy with something akin to sympathy, in the sense that she just stared at him blankly whilst the corners of her mouth were drawn downwards. "I can see that it's starting to get to you too," she stated perfunctionally whilst Misdreavus hit the floor with an odd 'splat' noise. With an effort, Elizabeth scooped Misdreavus up into her arms, almost falling to the floor herself. Clearly, she's staying upright out of a mix of adrenaline, arrogance and sheer stubbornness. "We should probably...see the...Professor," she said finally.

Velis waited until the attacker was dumb enough to strike first. The grunt threw a punch at her and she was able to dodge the punch and grab the grunt's arm. "Little brat!" The grunt shouted just as Velis used the momentum of the punch to flip her opponent so that he hit the ground with a loud thud. "You made a big mistake messing with my Pokemon." She snarled as she grabbed the grunt's arm and forced him back to his feet and slammed him against the wall.

"Knock it off brat!" The grunt shouted as he tried to get free. He tried elbowing Velis in the face but she managed to dodge the elbow strike. "Bad move!" She snarled as she took the grunt and slammed his head into the wall, leaving the grunt dazed and a bit confused.

"I learned a few fighting moves from my Makuhita." Velis said with a fake smile. "Like how to do an uppercut." She said as she steadied the dazed grunt who saw what she was about to do.

"Oh no..." he muttered as Velis's fist collided with the bottom of his jaw and sent him flying backward with the force of the uppercut. The grunt hit the ground with a thud and didn't move. He was breathing, but he was out cold. She turned and smiled as she saw her Makuhita stagger to his feet and begin cheering along with Bagon.

"Makuhita. Keep an eye on that one." She said as she pointed at the out cold attacker as she turned and looked around to assess the situation.

In response to the Professor's call, A Pokemon behind the lab, in the garden, perked up. It's talons dug at the ground as it turned, it's black eyes glaring at the entryway to the lab. In one quick motion, it rushed forward, opening it's shining silvery wings and lifting itself off the ground with strong flaps that kicked up dust behind it. It's speed increased drastically as it flew over other Pokemon that were in a panic due to the explosions, and aimed itself strait at the lab's back entrance.

Right inside the doors, three peons were searching for the device intended to be destroyed in their mission. "C'mon! What idiot doesn't get the info before getting in the building, Skits?" One peon grumbled, as the mentioned one responded irritably. "I don't plan the jobs, Slicks! I only do 'em!" The two butted heads, glaring at each-other from behind their visors. The last of the three peons tried to be a voice of reason, as he pushed them apart. "We ain't getting this job just sittin' here, guys. We need to go find the Purification Chamber before that brightly-dressed buffoon has our heads on a platter."

"Eh..." The two peons, Skits and Slicks, were convinced by threats from the man that was along with them for this mission. "Yer' right." Skits commented, sighing. "We need to go find that damned thing." The three nodded in agreement, turning and beginning to rush down the hall in attempt to find the Chamber's whereabouts. Though, after a moment, a screech made them pause, and slowly turn. "Did... Did ya'll hear that?" Slicks questioned, and after a moment of silence, the doors flew open as a rather angry and speedy Skarmory charged strait at them. "G-Get down!" Skits yelled, falling flat onto the floor. Slicks did the same, but sadly for the third peon, he hadn't responded fast enough. The familiar outfits of Cipher enraged the Skarmory. and though the peon tried to duck, he was snatched up by his shoulders, screaming as the Skarmory's talons dug into his flesh, and dragged him down the hallway.

"What do we do?!" Slicks asked hastily, and Skits stood up, shaking his head. "He's dead! Forget 'em, let's just find that stupid chamber before it comes back and snatches us up next!" The two hesitantly followed the Skarmory for a short while, before noticing a turn that would take them down another hall. They ducked into it, Slicks shaking like a coward. "M-Man! What if that thing comes back to eat us?"

"Shut up! I don't need you saying that!" Skits replied with both anger and genuine fear, smacking his partner upside the head. Slicks grunted as the hand connected, but ignored it for the most part, understanding Skits was scared. And angry. Mostly angry.

The two wandered on, coming to a door on their left. They could hear the commotion going on elsewhere, but ignored it to focus on their mission. Going through the automatic door, they came into a room that was filled with monitors, wires, and a strange chamber in the center. "Heeey." Skits cheered, walking in happily. "This must be it!"

"Yeah! We've just gotta trash this crap and get outta here, right? We'll be considered big time peons for this!" Slicks said happily, and the two pulled Pokeballs off of their belts, preparing to unleash some chaos.

---

Back with the Professor, he couldn't help but glance back at the sound of someone screaming. He was surprised to see Skarmory dragging a peon along the ground, and winced as the steel-bird stopped and landed, effectively breaking both of the peon's shoulders with a loud snap. The pain alone was enough to make the peon faint right then and there, leaving the man in front of Michael mildly stunned at the sight.

"Your late." Michael scolded playfully, and the Skarmory ducked it's head down in mild disappointment for a moment, before the Professor spoke once more. "But I see you brought me a gift as an apology. So I'll let you off the hook this time if you join me for this battle. Sound good?" Michael grinned as the Skarmory raised it's head, letting out a loud, determined cry. It stepped off of the peon, before swiftly smacking him with one of it's legs, sending him rolling across the ground and slamming into the wall. Michael laughed nervously. "Still considerate of others, I see." Michael commented, before addressing the man in front of him. "So you're with Cipher? You should have said something! I have a rather nice history with them, and I would've welcomed you with open arms!"

"I didn't come here to hear you be sarcastic!" The man yelled, obviously not pleased. "You think I'm as simple as a Cipher lackey? I'm out of their league, they are lucky to have somebody as powerful as me in their pathetic organization!"

"Oh, yeah?" Michael seemed mildly amused. "And who is this powerful person they are so lucky to have?" He asked, and the man seemed irritated enough to answer. "My name will be known to all of Orre soon enough, as I bring Shadow Pokemon into the ethics of Realgam Tower, and control one of the most impressive locations in the entire world! That name is Perdey, and you'd better not forget it! You'll consider yourself fortunate to have had me tell you myself!"

Michael shrugged. "You are way too confident in yourself." He stated bluntly, smirking as Perdey expressed more irritation. "I have the right to be so confident! I am one of the, if not THE strongest trainer in Orre! You think I'd be scared of somebody like you? Don't even answer, because you are obviously blind to not see the power behind the Pokemon before me! I'll have to crush you in this battle to prove my superiority!"

"Alright. If you insist..." Michael said calmly, tossing his Pokeball into the air. The ball opened, and shot out the usual white-beam, revealing a four-legged creature. As the bright light faded, the Pokemon was revealed to be a Jolteon, which shot out sparks as it let out a fearsome cry. Michael caught the ball, before slipping it back into his pocket and mentally preparing himself. "Jolteon. Skarmory." He spoke their names calmly, as he gestured a hand forward. "Shall we show this member of Cipher what happens to those who threaten our companions? Our home?!" His words caused the two to stand steady, staring down their opponents with very violent intentions. The Smoochum and Froslass did the same, ready for combat at a moment's notice.

After a brief stare-down, Perdey was the first to call out an attack. "Smoochum! Charge at that Jolteon!" His command was followed by the small, adorable Pokemon jumping into the air and diving down towards Michael's Jolteon. Michael wasn't sure how he was impressive with such strait-forward tactics, and decided to shut him down. "Skarmory! Shut down it's approach by blocking it's path with your wings!" Michael's Skarmory quickly did as told, it's left wing opening and blocking the path for Smoochum to get to Jolteon. Perdey simply seemed fine with it. "Smoochum! Grab onto it's wing and use that upper body strength I know you have to launch yourself higher!" Michael was actually surprised, as the Smoochum caught the top of Skarmory's wing and used it's strength to push itself higher into the air. Skarmory and Jolteon glanced upwards, surprised as their trainer. Soon Perdey was on the path of commanding again, this time for his Froslass. "My darling Froslass! Attack Skarmory with Ice Shard!"

As the words came, so did the attack. A swift throw from Froslass released a shard of ice that flew towards Skarmory, and caused it to pull it's wing back to block the attack. The shard shattered as it connected with Skarmory's steel wing, though Perdey expected nothing less. "Smoochum, sweetheart! Now is your chance to attack Jolteon with a stunning Shadow Ball!" Perdey's Smoochum smiled deviously, raising it's tiny arms up and forming a ball of pure darkness in her hands. Seconds later, she tossed it down at her opponent, the force behind the attack making it approach quite fast.

"Jolteon! Use Quick Attack and move towards the wall!" Michael called out, his Jolteon following his words as it dashed forwards, dodging the Shadow Ball that then exploded once it hit the ground, knocking Skarmory off balance and also causing Michael to retreat somewhat. As Jolteon reached the wall, Michael continued his plan. "Use that wall to get yourself into the air and attack Smoochum with Thunder-Fang!"

Jolteon leaped at the wall, planting it's paws on lightly before pressing against it heavily to launch itself off the wall and towards the Smoochum. Growling, it's mouth sparked viciously as it approached, planning to bite down on it's opponent and slam it down onto the ground with all possible force. Sadly though, this wouldn't be the case. As Jolteon opened it's mouth to catch it's prey, the Smoochum managed to grab onto Jolteon's ears and pull itself up on top of it's head. "What?!" Michael shouted, as Perdey cackled. "Yes! Nicely done, darling! Now show them what a real move is and send that pathetic overgrown rodent to the floor!"

The Smoochum kept it's grip on Jolteon's ears, pulling back and causing the entire Pokemon below her to shift, making it begin flying headfirst towards the floor. She planted her feet firmly on Jolteon's forehead, pushing down while also pulling it's ears up, causing it to cry out in pain as it collided with the ground, Jolteon's skull cracking the tiles it landed upon.

"J-Jolteon!" Michael called out, shocked that Perdey's tactic got the better of him. Jolteon grunted quietly, as the Smoochum jumped off of him and onto the floor, putting her hands onto her hips and standing proudly. "Wonderful, sweetie! You did so well! Daddy's proud of you-"

Perdey's words were cut off by Skarmory's screech. In the moment between Smoochum and Jolteon, even Michael had been distracted from his other Pokemon. Skarmory was currently pecking it's sharp beak at Froslass to no avail as it swiftly dodged each violent strike. Perdey shook his head. "This is pathetic! I expected more out of someone The Boss fussed so much about. Instead, I get a weak trainer with pathetic Pokemon!"

Perdey's gloating angered Michael, but he kept calm as Skarmory continued striking at Froslass. He looked at Jolteon, and frowned. "J-Jolteon! We can't let him get away with saying that! You haven't had enough yet, have you?!" Michael's words didn't seem to have much of an effective on the injured Jolteon, who simply twitched on the floor. The attack had obviously done serious damage, enough to leave Jolteon unable to respond or hardly even move. Looking towards Skarmory, he could almost feel the pure anger coming from it at the thought of Cipher. Michael remembered the difficult task of purifying that one quite well, and was surprised by how loyal the Pokemon had became after purification. It aided him in many battles against Cipher, and always fought on. "Hang in there, Jolteon. You've got to take a breather, I understand. Me and Skarmory will hold out for you!" He took in a deep breath, before calling out a command as he let it out. "Skarmory! Use Steel Wing, and get some revenge for Jolteon!"

Skarmory let out a cry signalling it's agreement, it's left wing glowing a brilliantly bright white as it pushed itself off the ground, taking Froslass off guard. Skarmory's attack connected, knocking it back a few feet and leaving it laying on it's back, vulnerable to a follow-up. "Nicely done!" Michael commented, feeling back in the battle. "Now land on top of Froslass and follow up with Peck, Skarmory!"

As it was told, the Skarmory landed on top of Froslass with all of it's weight, pinning it down as it began bringing down a barrage of pecks, causing the Froslass to squirm as much as it could to try and avoid the assault, kicking Skarmory's stomach with it's feet in an attempt to fight back. The steel type wasn't effected much by the measly attempt at a defense though, and kept on the attack, worrying Perdey. "Smoochum, attack that overgrown bird with a Shadow Ball, would you?!" He asked hastily, and Smoochum raised up it's arms to prepare yet another Shadow Ball, this time targeting the wide-open Skarmory. As it charged, the nearly fainted Jolteon behind it slowly began gaining it's footing. It noticed the seriousness of the situation, that Skarmory was in trouble, and rushed forward, opening it's mouth and biting one of the Smoochum's arms. The Shadow Ball dispersed as the small Pokemon cried out.

"Smoochum!" Perdey looked down at the sight before him, and the Jolteon's persistence angered him. He raised a foot to bring down upon Jolteon, but it was perceptive enough to notice and dodge the attack, dragging the Smoochum along with it. Perdey cursed under his breathe as his Smoochum was dragged away. Michael, unlike Perdey, was seeing this positively. "Alright, Jolteon! How about returning the favor from earlier! Show it what you've got!"

Jolteon threw the Smoochum upwards, causing it to spin around in the air uncontrollably, before it stood on it's front legs, and pulled his back legs in as far as he could. As the Smoochum approached, he pushed his hindlegs out and connected with a powerful Double-Kick, hitting the Smoochum in it's back, causing it to cry out similarly to how Jolteon had earlier. Perdey stared, speechless of the move, as Smoochum fell to the ground. He swallowed hard, noticing his Pokemon not moving whatsoever. "S-Smoochum, sweetie! Now's not the time for a nap! We have a battle to win...!"

"You aren't winning anything today!" Michael yelled, raising one hand into the air. "Skarmory! Finish Froslass off with Sky Drop!"

Skarmory gripped Froslass' arms with it's talons tightly, letting out a cry as it stopped it's assault and flapped it's wings, sending it into the air. It flew directly upwards, and shot through the glass dome ceiling of the lab. It soared up into the clouds, with the Froslass crying out in fear of the height. As sudden as they had gone up, they began coming back down. Perdey and Michael both watched on, as Froslass let out a final scream as Skarmory came back into the building, slamming Froslass onto the floor. Dust kicked up and the wind was enough to cause Perdey and Michael to retreat from the scene.

"Froslass!" Perdey called out, stunned from the sudden display. As the dust cleared, Skarmory stood victorious, with Froslass beside it, fainted and probably in need of medical treatment. Perdey quickly called both of his Pokemon back into their respective Pokeballs, realizing this battle was lost. Though that didn't mean he was willing to accept it as so. "You got lucky! Smoochum just went easy on that rat of yours!"

"Right." Michael replied, crossing his arms. "Now how about you tell me what Cipher is planning?"

"What can I really say? I'm not in it for their goals, only for my own. I don't know squat." Perdey answered, and Michael was skeptical. "So you came here by your own will? And had peons to follow you?" Michael gestured over to the peon against the wall, and Perdey laughed. "Okay, so maybe I was sent here. But I had my own agenda. The Boss sent me to destroy that stupid purification chamber of yours."

"Perdey, sir!"

Perdey blinked, glancing upwards as he put his hand up to his earpiece. "What is it?" He asked, ignoring Michael and his Pokemon for the moment. They stared on, wondering what was happening.

"This is Stiks! Me n' Slicks lost Trix, but we found the Purification Chamber and trashed it, heh!"

"Wonderful news, gentlemen! Don't worry about Trix, I... Already found him." Perdey looked over at the individual he assumed was dead. He shrugged. "The Boss will be proud to hear about our mission... Mostly. Report back to base as soon as possible."

"What? We're leaving together, right? ... Righ-"

Taking off his earpiece and throwing it to the ground, Perdey smirked as he crushed it beneath his shoe. "Well, Professor. I suppose this is where we say our farewells. If I were you, I'd worry about the peons in the Daycare. They certainly must have had some success." Perdey turned, glancing back for only a moment. "We'll meet again, Professor! And I won't go easy on you next time!"

Skarmory almost flew after Perdey as he bolted out of the lab, but Michael put a hand in front of him. "Skarmory. We have bigger things to worry about." He said calmly, and gestured over to Jolteon. "Please take him to the reception desk and allow him to get some rest. We must worry about our friends before dealing with our enemies." With his words commanding him, Skarmory slowly approached Jolteon, and began carefully scooping him up onto one wing. He lifted the electric-type up slowly, and began walking down the damaged hall, making sure not to drop his friend.

---

"Now, then." Michael said to himself, turning and running towards the daycare entrance. As he ran in, he was prepared to have to take control of the situation, but was surprised by what he saw. Two peons were bolting out the hole in the wall, and one was laying near Velis seemingly knocked out. He was surprised to see them retreating, but knew it hadn't happened without cost. Noticing Elizabeth and Rudy, his eyes widened at their injuries. "S-Sweet Arceus! What happened to you both?!" He asked, running over to them. He looked around at the breeders working quickly to try and calm the Pokemon that hadn't ran from the Daycare, before focusing his full attention on the two children.

Desmond slowly managed to his feet, noticing everything had seemed to be mildly taken care of. "You alright up there...?" He questioned, the Slakoth on his head nodding. He walked over to the knocked out peon and crouched down, searching his pockets for the Pokemon he had stolen. Pulling out two Pokeballs, he turned them around and looked on the back, noticing small heart symbols. He sighed in relief, standing up. "Thank goodness I didn't lose you two..." He muttered, focusing his attention on Velis. "I suppose you're the one who did this?" He questioned, though the fact she and her Pokemon were near the peon was enough for him. "I owe you one for doing that. You rescued my Pokemon from that thug, and I can't thank you enough for it." He offered a small smile, though the chaos around the area was still apparent. "I suppose the best thing to do now is try and address the Professor on the subject of who those thugs were, after everything calms down." His suggestion was truly the only one he had in mind, because he was, for the most part, completely lost.

Elizabeth was relieved - she didn't have to walk over to the Professor because he was coming towards them now. However, she didn't realise the full extent of the poison until the Professor tried to talk to her. She opened her eyes and everything was blurred, slipping in and out of sight like a thick mist fell over her face, covering her head entirely. The Professor's words came out muffled and distorted, and she couldn't make out what he was saying at all. And still the barb in her shoulder pulsated painfully, reminding her it was still there and spreading more of the poison through her limbs.

"Gligar, and Venipede. Poison sting. Antidote. Now." she said slowly, carefully, and threateningly. After all, she had to make sure the Professor got the message before she couldn't speak anymore. She looked down at Misdreavus in her arms, trying to count the number of orbs she had on her neck, finding it impossible to focus on her Pokémon. Misdreavus wasn't moving, except for raising and lowering her chest, so at least she was still breathing for now.

Elizabeth then looked at Rudy. He was also a bit of a blur now but she could see he was in pain. Putting some months of social diplomacy lessons into good use, she brought her good arm up and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. Clearly, Rudy was intimidated by her - Elizabeth was quite used to that kind of behaviour - but she did know that looking like you know exactly what's going on, and that you're able to solve it, is a good way to reassure people. "Don't worry, we'll be fine." she reported sternly, peering at his blurred form with that same emotionless look.

Some odd thought was nagging in the back of her head and she opted to listen to it, because she could barely make out what people were saying anyways. Why are you trying to reassure this person? it said. Elizabeth tried to shrug her shoulders but it hurt too much to do so, and the extra movement was threatening to tip her off balance and cause her to fall onto the barb, which certainly didn't seem like a good idea. She shut her eyes again, taking a deep breath, and then peering at Michael's indistinguishable face. "Please hurry." she added, hastily.

As Rudy lay on the ground, struggling to see, he caught a flash of white as the grunt they’d defeated took his leave. Trying to maneuver himself, he turned over, propping himself up on his elbows, raising his head a bit, one leg stretched out, and the other bent to avoid brushing the poison barb against the ground. As he tried to move though, it only seemed to make the poison worse, and he felt dizzy.

Noticing the Professor approaching, hearing his shock, which did little to calm Rudy down. However, despite her no doubt worse condition, Elizabeth was the one to instruct the Professor as to what happened. Rudy opened his mouth, wanting to elaborate, but decided it would be better to wait until later. He felt guilty though: Elizabeth had been stung first, yet she was still taking charge, and her Pokémon had been the one to finish off the grunt. And Mime Jr... Suddenly fearful for his Pokémon, he looked at his Pokéball, wondering if the Pokémon would recover.

He was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder, looking over to see Elizabeth, her face as placid as ever, the girl insisting they’d be fine. Knowing how much she seemed to care for the Misdreavus she had, Rudy couldn’t help but feel that ‘we’ referred to the four of them. Hoping she was correct, Rudy forced a smile through his agony, knowing that however bad he had it with this wound, she was worse off. Simultaneously filled with relief, guilt, worry, and perhaps hopefulness, the cocktail of emotions was almost enough to drive him to tears, but he managed to hold them back, for his sake and that of others.

"I suppose you're the one who did this?"

Velis nodded. "Yeah. He didn't really leave me much of a choice. Either I handed over my Pokemon to him voluntarily or he would knock me out and steal them anyway. I picked the knock him out and drill him for information option." She looked over at her Makuhita and a small frown appeared as the attacker groaned and began to wake up.

"Excuse me for a moment" She said as she knelt down and punched the attacker in the face, knocking him out again.

"As long as I'm around, no one is stealing anything." She said with quiet determination as she looked down at the attacker again.

A small amount of fear was put into Michael's heart as Elizabeth spoke. Her tone was somewhat terrifying, but he managed to push past it with her request for him to hurry. He knew there was much work to do and not much time to do it, and nodded at them before turning and calling out to the breeders in the room. "I need anyone who has medical experience to try and lend aid to these children, now!" His words didn't fall on deaf ears, as one breeder rushed over, though had no time to ask the Professor what exactly was wrong with the children before he ran off to a nearby wall full of cabinets, searching for spare antidotes.

"Oh dear..." The breeder muttered, pushing up his glasses as he observed Elizabeth's wound. "I've seen my fair share of injuries, but this'll take some work. We've certainly got to start with getting this barb out." He crouched down, pulling a Pokeball off his pocket as he did so. "Don't worry, I might have a solution that shouldn't hurt as much as just pulling it out." He said, releasing his Pokemon. Coming out of it's brilliant flash of white came a Grumpig, which seemed to observe the wound as soon as it was able. It looked up at it's trainer and nodded, seeming confident.

The breeder seemed surprised. "You up to the task of getting these out, Grumpig?" He questioned, as the Pokemon nodded again. The breeder smiled faintly, having full trust in his partner. "Grumpig here has been practicing his psychic abilities with me since before he even evolved. He is very talented, and is able to use his powers to teleport objects. I believe he can do the same with these barbs, which will avoid us the painful act of pulling it out. It'll still sting quite a bit afterwards, of course. I'm certain the Professor is searching for antidotes now, and by the time we remove these, he should be back. There's no time to waste, Grumpig is ready if you are. The longer the barbs stay in, the more they'll aid the poison in spreading by providing more."

Grumpig stood strait, seeming to begin focusing already. It'd wait for Elizabeth's word to start removing the bard, but decided it'd be best to be able to use it's power on very short notice. There was no doubt this would still be painful after it was out, but it was a necessity. Grumpig intended to do what he could for them, as he was certain they didn't deserve the pain they were in.

Desmond winced as Velis knocked the peon out once more as he had began stirring. "Yikes..." He muttered, ever-so-slightly backing away. He noted her words, taking them to heart in his own way. "That was... Certainly the best option. I think." He replied, unsure of how else to after witnessing her knock the poor man out first-hand. He was just glad he wasn't on the threatening end of that fist, as he was pretty sure he wouldn't last very long against it. He looked down at the floor in thought, about what happened.

'I wish I could have contributed more. They all fought, while I got knocked down so pathetically... It won't happen again, especially against those goons if they ever show their faces near me again. I can't get in another situation like this where I almost lose my Pokemon. There probably won't be anyone to save me next time.'

Elizabeth stared at the Breeder blankly for a while. She strained to hear each word of her proposal, and considered it for the best part of two seconds before shaking her head and wishing she didn't milliseconds afterwards. The pain coloured her voice with a new level of intimidation and menace. She passed the 'messing around' mark a fair while back, after she back-handed that Gligar. Now was not the time to be polite and diplomatically friendly - now was, most certainly, the time to boss people around.

"Right. No." she snapped, raising her arm to point to Rudy sprawled on the floor. "His Mime Jr. took one in the chest. My Misdreavus has around 4 in her. The order of this procedure will be Mime Jr, Misdreavus, the boy, and then me." she ordered sternly. It really was a miracle and true grit to keep trucking on like this, but she knew that her knees were moments away from buckling under her. In order to save herself from falling and causing a fuss which would cause her to be treated when clearly that Mime Jr. needed it more. If it was acting this badly on her shoulder, who knows what one right in the chest would do? And what about three in one go?

But, much more importantly, why did she put herself last? This had to be corrected quickly. "Scratch that. Put me before the boy. He just took-..." she started, before the inevitable occured. How graceful, were the only words that crossed her mind as her knees gave way and she landed onto her behind, the dress blooming around her legs serenely against all the chaos of the fight's aftermath. She felt giddy, and sick. Her face was pale and shone with sweat. She was shaking hard now and she doubted that she had ever been in such pain in her entire lifetime, letting loose a pathetic whine. in this state, she was unable to speak without sounding like a crying child, so instead she let her own weakness do the talking - surely, by now, the breeder would have no argument against her going before Rudy. She just hoped that her disappointing display of emotion wouldn't cause the breeder to take pity and put her own needs before the Pokémon...if she wanted to be pampered, she would've brought her servants with her.

Whilst in a moment of weakness, she surveyed the distorted figure of Rudy through her ever-darkening vision with a detached curiosity. Since she never went to school with other children, Elizabeth considered herself significantly more intelligent than most of her like-minded kin, and Rudy was a prime example of...like-minded kin? Or an actual child? And what was a child, in sense? Elizabeth had some fun when she was younger, admittedly, but not with other people of her age. She didn't have that kind of experience, so she pondered over what Rudy's life was like. Did he ever eat things with gold leaf in them when he was little? Was he taught social mannerisms around age 8 as well?

Elizabeth deemed it appropriate to file Rudy under "Interesting Case" and "Panicking Buffoon" until she knew more about him. She wanted to comprehend why her protective instincts kicked in when Rudy was side-by-side with her in battle. Surely she didn't take pity on his inexperience, right? She wasn't that weak, right?

Left in a state of doubt, Elizabeth realised that she had effectively been glaring at Rudy for quite a while now and he probably found that as unnerving as Elizabeth found the thought of caring for another human her age, so she quickly looked away. She knew for a fact that she felt no romantic feelings for the boy, so it certainly wasn't that. And now was a difficult time to muse over emotions when most of her body was being overwhelmed by poison.