Now, Together and Alone

[Birdybot]

The Route wasn't done with Kai yet. As she continued along the path, a few sounds could be heard, although none seemed too significant. They were just noises, typical stuff you could expect to hear as background noise on a wild route like this one. If she had been bothered to pay attention to the different noises, she would have noticed slight differences in tones and pitches as the different Pokémon came close, all remaining out of sight. After all, they didn't really fancy coming out of hiding, so why show themselves?

Then one cry rose above them all, causing the route to become pretty much silent aside from perhaps the occasional footstep/pawstep. The cry was shrill and wavering, as if a Pokémon had been hurt. Really, really hurt. The silence that followed was almost defeaning, as if all the other Pokémon on the entire route knew something was wrong. They were fleeing, too; a Tailow was racing overhead, clearly in shock and desperate to get somewhere, while a Rattata zipped from a bush into its den nearby. Something was up, but what? Would Kai dare investigate?

[Melody]

Every now and then Kai thought she saw shadows flitting by in the corners of her vision, too swift to be seen. The coming of spring made the world seem radiantly green for the first time in many months, and the many sounds of the Pokémon on the route helped contribute to the feeling that this was a place full of life. This was so different from her home town!

Suddenly, the shrill cry split the air, seeming to cut through all the other noises. Kai's initial reaction was the same as many of the wild Pokémon; she froze in her tracks and looked around, confused and instinctively scared at the pained sound.

"It sounds like someone has been hurt." The Absol Daemon was clearly agitated; his spiking fur made him seem larger than usual, and his muscles were tense and ready to move. He didn't have to say anything more.

"Let's go." The Daemon released the tension in his legs with a powerful kick off of the ground, sending him in a long leap off of the path. Kai followed as quickly as she could, thankful that Ark was moderating his speed for her - she could never keep up with the athletic and graceful Daemon otherwise. His senses were far sharper than her own, and she did not doubt that he'd be able to find the source of the noise - after all, he did take the form of the Disaster Pokémon.

She just hoped it wouldn't be a disaster that they came upon, as the heart-wrenching cry they heard predicted.

[Birdybot]

As Kai came nearer, a blinding flash of light burst from the bushes, a sense of ovewhelming power filling everyone's hearts, as if something ahead was powerful. As this happened, another gut-wrenching cry pierced their souls. This was enough to scare anyone away, man or Pokémon, but those with a strong determination to help might persevere. As Kai moved through the bushes, she came into view of what was happening.

A man and a woman were grinning evilly, standing in front of a large steel crate filled with a vast number of Pokémon, many of whom were crying out for their mothers, fathers or children. The two humans were dressed all in black, large red 'T's printed on the front and back of their shirts. The man's daemon was a Croagunk, the woman's an Ekans. They had clearly kidnapped all the poor Pokémon, many of whom were sporting terrible injuries. They'd seperated families, too, and a couple were even screaming for their trainers.

What was more impressive, however, was what was playing out in front of them. They were both ordering a Gengar to fight a Ninetails. This wouldn't normally be too impressive, but the Gengar and Ninetails weren't normal. The Gengar was pitch black, eyes a glinting blood red. It was surrounded by a faint black aura, and seemed to be from the depths of hell itself. It was clearly evil and on the two evil human's side. The Ninetails, however, appeared to be trying to defend the Pokémon. She was a pure snowy white, more beautiful than any other Ninetails. Her eyes were a shining soulful blue, and she looked as if she could have come from heaven to help. She too had a faint aura; a bright, white one. The Gengar was at a higher level than her, and somehow someone had clamped metal bands around her paws which gave off electric shocks every now and then. She was close to exhaustion, yet she was still fighting. It was her who was making the cries and light. It seemed Kai had just stumbled across two members of Team Tsuasa, the first captured Spirit Pokémon, fighting a Light Pokémon. This was connected with the breaking news story from several months back, wasn't it?

[Melody]

For a moment Kai could see nothing; her eyes were struck temporarily blind by the sudden light that cut through the leaves. Her momentum carried her forwards a few steps forwards, though she winced a bit as, unable to see where she ran, her arms were scratched by the bushes she pushed through.

Two thoughts raced unbidden through her mind when first her eyes cleared. Firstly, she found herself thinking she must still be seeing things, for the sight in front of her was impossible to believe. Secondly, she wished her eyes were still closed, for what she saw was just as terrifying as it was unreal.

The sight of the imprisoned and abused Pokémon tugged at her heart and rage might have risen towards the two humans obviously responsible for their sufferings, but the specter in front of them almost seemed to drain all emotions from her. It was... unnatural. There was no better word she could think of to describe it. In her dumbstruck state she just barely managed to recognize it as a Gengar... but surely Gengar weren't supposed to be that big? And that aura around it... the very air around the monster seemed corrupted and full of malice. All of the tales she had been told as a child came rushing back to her; memories of the nightmares evoked by stories of demons. It seemed that they had finally come to life.

She might have lost all will to continue, might have fled or fell without thinking, but for the proud form that stood opposite the Gengar. Ninetails were graceful Pokémon, but this one seemed celestial, pure. It was clear that she was outmatched and in pain, but still she was fighting to protect those Pokémon weaker than herself. Suddenly the demons from the fairytales seemed less frightening: for in each tale, there was always a hero who rose through adversity to conquer them. The light of the glorious Ninetails left that thought alone in her mind.

At this moment, it seemed like the hero was being pushed towards her limits. It didn't matter if Kai felt there was nothing she could do; the pained looks of the imprisoned Pokémon and the banded Ninetails told her that she had to do something. Instinctively she threw a Pokéball, her mind still between stories and news, reality and fiction: Temnis emerged.

Arcallian shook his head. The Torchic was visibly weak after his last battle - but there was no time to change plans, and perhaps this was the best path anyway. Temnis was Kai's strongest Pokémon, and also the one least likely to be paralyzed by the prospect of even being near a Spirit Pokémon. And, as he saw, Kai had a potion in her hand - that would help. But whatever they did, and however much he longed for the strength to believe in Kai, he knew that the two combatants were simply out of their league. Maybe their appearance would distract the Gengar and its companions for a moment, at least.

[Birdybot]

The Gengar might only be nearly five foot, like most of its kind, but his dark aura made him seem so much bigger and worse. It would be hard to see through the aura and look at him for what he really was, which just made you think how brave the Ninetales must be to actually be fighting such a thing. She gave a cry of dispair as Kai released Temnis. ~No, trainer! Do not get your Pokémon involved, unless you want them to end up like those poor dears over there.~[/color][/i] she told Kai. Her words were not spoken, but rather resounded inside Kai's head. Woah, Light Pokémon had telepathy, apparently.

Ninetales' attention was then taken elsewhere, back to the battle as the grunts called out another order. "Gengar, come on! Spirit Wave!" they called. Er, what? Spirit Wave? Since when was that an attack? But Gengar knew what they meant, since he attacked, his aura expanding outwards in a more solid form to cause Ninetales pain. The pure fox looked at Kai desperately. ~I can hold them off, but not for long. They're too strong... trainer, you're too new to be able to do much right now, but you can get help. The police, rangers, anyone you can contact with that phone. We need people to rescue those Pokémon and heal them.~[/color][/i] she begged of the girl.[/size]